Brave Men

I received a Naval ROTC scholarship to the University of Miami in 1992.  I had planned to go to Lee for one year and then transfer back to Miami.  I never did.  I was 15 or 16 during the first Gulf War.  Had I been 18, I would have probably enlisted.  While in Seminary, I flirted with the idea of Military Chaplaincy.  I have a lot of very close friends I went to school with serving in combat and in chaplaincy.  I guess God had another plan for me.  Today, I have nothing but huge respect for our military. 

Memorial Day and thinking about how my grandfather served…enlisting about 5 months before Pearl Harbor humbles me.  So many people have paved the way for us to be free.  I guess the war in Iraq isn’t the most popular thing to support.  I think it is so hypocritical of some of our leaders to have supported it when it was beneficial for them to do so.  But, now that we are in the thick of it, they bail somehow explaining that they never supported it in the first place.  Politicians are pretty lame like that.

Anyway, I got this picture from one of my college roommates who is a Captain in the US Army today and I just had to say thanks to our troops publicly. The story behind this picture? This is a 1-504 PIR "Red Devil" paratrooper from Sean Lambert’s battalion.  A car bomb had just gone off and this guy maintains his cool, rifle ready, and is able to provide cover for a kid hoping to escape the violence.

Sean is Charles Lambert’s son.  Charles or Carlos as we call him is the missions Representative for south and Central America.  He’s an all around decent guy.  Life Pointe built a couple churches in Nicaragua through him.  Sean was right behind me in College.  He married my bud, Erik Kemerling’s sister Carrie.  They are a special couple, serving a great country.  I just wanted to pause a moment and say thanks to teh brave men I am privileged to know.

Interruptions in a Church Service

Joe McKeever had a great article today on handling disruptions in church services.  It is useful for any public speaker or any team involved in any type of public gathering.  We’ve had to deal with cell phones, crying babies, a lady that tried to kiss me while I was speaking (she even produced Scripture for that), loud talkers, and a truck crashing into our building.  I read the article twice.

Buzzed about the Buzz

I registered the day before the Buzz Conference sold out. Hitting it for the second year in a row. I’m glad I got signed up in time. I’m bringing Jesse with me…want him to check things out. Since he’s just coming on board, this will be a good opportunity to get the creative juices flowing.

Is This a Man Bag?!?

I’ve given Chris, Bob, Tony, Tadd, and Gary a hard time about their new purses they got to carry around their computers. You know…the whole Man Bag Controversy.

Dave is on board with the way I’m thinking. But, truth be known, he carries a backpack- something I quit doing ias a freshman in college. That’s almost as bad as your mom sending you to the 7th grade with a barbie lunch box while wearing three striped knee high socks. You get beat up for that kind of thing. So, I don’t think I could pull off the back pack like he does.

But, I guess we all have skeletons in our closet. As you can see in this picture, I got an Oakley “satchel.” Technically, it is not a man bag. It has handles which I used when I was around Bob Franquiz last week. But, it also has a strap. Check out the picture of my satchel…if you can see it around the clutter of my manly autographed Hurricanes helmet and football, “Real Men Love Jesus” bumper sticker, fraternity paddle, and a picture of me nailing a heck of a jump at Kirkwood in Lake Tahoe.

So, let the jury weigh in and determine if this is indeed a man bag. Real men cut through the bull. So, tell it like it is. If I lose, I will leave the toilet seat down in my house and sip tea while eating crumpets…at least for one day.

Freedom

I had a long conversation on Sunday with one of our guys about how I thought the most important right we have as Americans is Free Speech. That right manifests itself in so many other areas of the U.S. Consitution to the point that if it was taken away, all of our rights would crumble.

My heart hurts for people in the world who do not experience the same freedoms as we do in America and in other free societies. This weekend was another tough one on the people in Venezuala. Hugo Chavez is a charismatic socialist. With a smile, colorful words, and a heavy hand, he is rapidly pulling all of the national resources into government ownership. This week, it was the largest television station.

People are protesting. The government is cracking down on dissident voices. Their freedom and way of life is being taken away quickly. I pray for Venezuela. I also pray for individuals that have and are going through this sort of hellish takeover on a more personal level. In Christ there is freedom. He came to set at liberty those that are held captive. He does it right also…no partial freedom or liberty is granted. John 8:36 says, “if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.”

Great Love

Navy-Marine memorial honoring all the sailors that died during World War I.
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. "
    -John 15:13 NASB

Sunday Wrap-up

    
WOW.  Here goes:

• It’s 11:53.  I stopped hanging out with our people about 1 hour ago.  7:30 AM @ theater. 1 PM at Bayfront Park. 5:30 PM @ our house.  Crazy fun. 
• Hospitality setup was complete at 8:15 and tear down was over before church finished (not our M.O. but due to the summer schedule and the party at Bayfront, they did it).  Impressive.
• Phil and the band have done an awesome job filling in until Jesse starts on Sunday.
• Speaking of Phil and the band (and all the setup and engineering guys in the auditorium).  These guys have put their hearts into their ministry.  We ask for a lot out of them.  And, they give it freely.  Their service isn’t second rate.  It’s first class.
• For a Memorial Day weekend, our crowd was smokin’.  On days like today, I typically want to stand out on the curb to watch and see if anyone will show up.  Not going to feel that compulsion anymore.
• Paul did a great job speaking today.  He insulted me a few times.  The whole St. Peter joke was classic.  References to my argument with my wife over the toilet seat were unappreciated.  Now that that wound is re-opened, Kelly and I are going to have to get counseling.
• One thing about Paul- he made some comment about football and dreaming that he caught me in the backfield.  After service, I stressed to him it was a dream.
• For the fourth week in a row, we’ve had people come for movies and attend church.  This is getting to be hysterical.  These are some really cool cats too.  I love doing church in the theater for reasons just like that.
• Bayfront Park was awesome.  Good food.  Good people.
• Our people know how to party.
• Baptism was awesome.  Alex Link’s expression when he came out of the water was priceless!
• We baptize people about every 6 weeks.  The largest baptism we’ve done is 32 people.  That was cool.  Today, we baptized 8 people (6 guys, 2 girls).  We circled up and shared our stories.  Then, Jim Nelson, Paul Hollifield, and I baptized the group.  That is one of my highest privileges in ministry!  I especially love sharing it with guys that are coming along with me in ministry.
• Note to self.  Apparently, you have to have an "event permit" to baptize someone in the bay?!  Who knew? 
• FOOTBALL- the old man still has it.  Our team was dominant.  We were offensive and defensive giants.
• Paul did manage to catch me in the backfield one measly time.  But, the three Mississippi rule was violated repeatedly by my aerodynamic bro and his minions.
• I’m embarrassed that our opponents whined like a bunch of "man-bag toting" girly men.

Overall the day was great.  I enjoyed hanging out with a lot of friends and catching up with Paul, Annie, and their kids.  Great time.  Great Sunday.  Glad it’s over.  Time for some rest.

A Face in the Crowd

Paul Hollifield will be speaking this Sunday and I’ll be a face in the crowd.  I’m looking forward to it for a couple reasons:

1. I have a lot of confidence in Paul speak from the Scriptures and from his heart.  He’s a super guy with a heart to see the Church worship Christ.
2. I really enjoy being on the receiving end of a church service.  I get to sit next to Kelly in church and do the family thing.
3. I’m looking forward to slipping into Kids Life and our kids environments for a few minutes to check on our kids.  We have some of the best kids’ volunteers.

We also have our Memorial Day gig tomorrow after church (football, soccer, food, etc…) at Bayfront Park.  We have some of our crew going public with their faith in Jesus by being baptized.  I’m always fired up about that.

Dealing with Criticism – brush it off

Have you ever felt like people “dump” on you for no apparent reason? What’s the right response? President Bush shows how to just “brush it off.”

Girls do Groups better Than Guys

I don’t have any stats to prove what I’m about to say.  But, based on my experience, girls do better than guys at small groups.  Intimacy and empathy just come more naturally for girls.

I am not cursing the darkness.  I actually have an idea we put to work.  Beginning last week, IFL Battleground is on my 60" TV from 7-7:30 PM.  So the guys can come early and catch a couple fights while the girls mingle and chat.  Then, we can open the group in prayer.  We’ll pray for all of the rejected UFC fighters who just got pounded.  Ya’ dig?!

Controlling the information appetite

Everyday, I stand at the information buffet.  I routinely pile my plate high and over indulge.  I’m going on an information diet.  I won’t starve myself.  I’m just picking and choosing what’s going on the plate.  I don’t have to know, read, watch, or listen to everything that interests me.  In fact, too much information is detrimental to my ability to make a decision…kind of paradoxical.

I belieive in….

I believe in Hitler but I’m not a Nazi.
I believe in Ghandi but that doesn’t make me a Hindu.
I believe in Mussolini but I’m not a facist.
I believe in Lucifer but I’m not a Satanist.
I believe in girls but I’m not a feminist.
I believe in Jesus but that doesn’t make me a Christian.

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If
one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,"
but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. -James 2:14-16

American Idol Roundup

Blake Lewis rocks.  Simon Cowell’s hair trips me out.  Randy Jackson looked like more like General Stonewall Jackson than a former member of Journey.  Jordin has pipes.  I can’t believe she’s only 17.  I hope Blake wins it all.  Its obvious that Jordin Sparks is the new AI.

celebrating the good

When we did our latest survey, we added a line for people to share something good that has happened in their lives since being a part of life pointe. Here are some of the notes:

-We now pray for dinner and talk regularly about our faith. Our relationship has changed.

-I became part of something special, developed a relatioship with Jesus.

-I decided to save myself for marriage.

-Working on the hopsitality team.

-I’ve been blessed in so many ways, a loving husband, a nice house, a good job, just around the corner.

-Rekindled my fire for Christ.

-Fellowship, friendship

-My husband and mother in law joined me on Mother’s day.

-Each week God seems to meet me right where I am and with what I need.

-I connected with other christians and started relationships in Miami.

-I came back to Jesus.

-Joe and Mayra’s life group, quite special.

-better relationships with family, friends, etc…

-The people at LP and specailly the groups, have made our time here wonderful.

The number one reason people come back is the teaching (surprising and humbling, especially since I struggled with intense shy-ness as a kid). The number two reason people return is the relationships. I believe discipleship cannot take place outside of community. I am so honored to be a part of such a wonderful community of followers of Jesus Christ. God is doing exceptional things.

Mac Attack

I finally broke down and got a Mac Book Pro.  The girls are always after me to go to the Apple store to play on the photo booth.  They had the Mac most of the night snaggin’ pics.  We had fun…glad they’re in bed so I can mess around with it without starting a war.

Memorial Day Approaches

• Its a time to remember the men and women who have laid down their lives in service to our country (see Wikipedia).
• It is also the weekend where some more of the Life Pointe crew will go public with their faith at Bayfront Park.  Sunday, May 27th @ 1 PM.  Be there.

Survey results – drive time

Its always interesting to peel back the curtain and seeing whats in the shadows.  Above is our graph for drive time to the theater for the Sunday church service.

Sunday Wrap-up

I ate for the first time today at 6 PM.  It has been busy.  The reason?  Well,

I had two "firsts" in the Johnson house. #1 Kourtney had her first dance recital along with four other Life Pointe kids, Vanessa, Valerie, Julia, and Sari.  #2 McKenna learned how to spit.  Both occupied my day post-church.  Now, on to the church portion:

• We are in between worship leaders.  Omar resigned a couple weeks ago.  And, Jesse Santoyo doesn’t join our team until June 1.  So, we’ve been juggling leaders.  All have done a good job.  But, today we had a guest worship leader that was a no show.  No phone call…nothing.  With my brother out of town, Dave Torres stepped up and led like a champ.  He had 45 minutes notice.  I couldn’t be more proud of a team that rolls with the punches and does so well.
• Dedicating four little guys today was enjoyable.  It was a real privilege to be a part of Ikembe, Joshua, Abel, and Oslar’s big day.
• Somehow, there was a hiccup with theater cleanup.  Our volunteers were on it with vacuum cleaners and dust pans.  You guys are stars, especially Victor Lopez and Ollie Rodriguez.
• The auditorium setup team almost beat the hospitality setup team this morning.  I’m impressed.
• I am really looking forward to baptism and the picnic next week.  I am going to baptize Barbaro.  I really like this guy.  I pick on him all the time.  I’m glad to see him and guys like him going the distance and going public with their faith!
• A few people have asked me to clarify how "cutting and choosing" works.  Child A gets the knife and has to cut.  Child B gets to pick which piece of the cake they want.  That totally eliminates the complaints that someone else got "the bigger piece."
• The other rule my dad had for us was "If one of you cries, you both get a whippin’." This accomplishes one of two things.  Either your kids stop fighting or they learn how to beat each other up without the tears.
• We had a couple guys from Christ Fellowship pop in on us.  That’s always a privilege for us.  I think I’m going to do the same thing soon.  At some point this summer, I’m going to go hang with those guys and learn some of the stuff that they are doing right.  Besides, Eric, the guy that wrote Simple Church lives right down the street from me.  I’ve got to hang with him.  I could use his insight in a big way.  I am praying that God will continue to send churches and pastors to Homestead like CF.  We pray that God’s Kingdom would come via Life Pointe and other life giving churches.
• This is movie season.  Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3.  It’s cool to see people coming in for movies early while we are still in the theater.   We get a great opportunity to show off the great people that make up our ministry.  Plus, another family came early for a movie and checked out our service.  I really dig that about "movie church."
• One thing I miss about being in our own building is that back then you could stay around and hang out as long as you want.  But, you can still do it.  You just have to do it via Life Group.  If you aren’t in a life group and always find yourself as the last one out the door, get plugged in.

Book Review: Good to Great by Jim Collins

I just finished Good to Great by Jim Collins.  Here are my top 10 takeaways from the book:

1. “Personal Will” does not oppose humility. In fact, both are necessary to transition my church from being good to being great.
2. Acceptance of the brutal facts and an accurate assignment of blame and praise are keys to navigating from good to great.
3. If you don’t have the right people on the bus, the “what” of your mission won’t mean much. It all starts with surrounding yourself with the right people.
4. Before evaluating a potential hire for talent, evaluate him for character and work ethic.
5. Creating a culture of discipline and rigor starts at the top and requires consistent application of standards throughout the organization without bias.
6. When you know that you have a wrong person on the bus, let them go quickly. It is in the best interest of the church/organization and the person being released. It increases productivity, creativity, and morale when the wrong people on the bus leave.
7. Determination or faith that you will succeed knowing that significant obstacles will come is key to long-term success and survivability.
8. Focus specifically on your passion, what you do best, and the economics that drive your church.
9. Do not allow technology to drive what you do. But, find out how it fits with your ministry, the mission, and then leverage technology once you have a well thought out strategy. Don’t allow fear to motivate you to embrace technology before you understand it.
10. There is no silver bullet for success. Lasting success is built by the consistent pushing against “the flywheel.” It takes a while before you see the momentum you are looking for. But, in time and with persistence, the momentum will be so powerful, it will take on a life of its own.

BONUS: I learned I am excited to journey from good to
great. I am anxious to discover my
potential as a leader. I learned I’m
ready to make the toughest decisions facing me to make the transition.

Tagged: a word about our volunteers

Jason Curlee tagged me to say something awesome about our volunteers.  I’ve only responded a couple time to these traffic building, social networking ventures.  But, sharing appreciation for some really selfless people is a great idea.  Plus, I think you might like Jason’s blog.

Simply put, our volunteers have varying levels of buy in to the mission.  Some have high commitment.  Some are exploring Christ and working that out through volunteerism.  But, I believe all of them serve because they want to give back to people around them and to a God whom they know or are actively seeking.  The way, you live speaks loudly to your world that God is at work in you.  Thank you.

So, Joe Case, Carlos Whittaker, Rick Womack, Ray Hughes, and Mike Macon, you’ve been tagged to pass on the love.  I am adding an honorary 6th, Chris Elrod since he is sending my man child a man bag.  Don’t worry, my little girl needs a bag to store and transport her Polly Pockets.  It won’t go to waste.

a man child

update: isn’t this a cool little guy?!  Note that he isn’t carrying a man bag.

Blogging in Bullets

• My head is spinning from my trip to Chicago.  I didn’t get any down time to hang out with anyone with the exception of my good friend, Stu.  Even that turned out to be a 5 minute cup of coffee.
• Kelly and I find out if our third kiddo is a boy or a girl today.  Stoked.
• I landed in Ft. Lauderdale and immediately got a message from Chris Elrod who was leaving a meeting in Jacksonville.  He said that when he walked into the meeting, Ed Stetzer said, "I see you brought your man bag."  Ed, you’re a stud.  We do need to pray for Chris.  When he called me, he had just finished painting his nails and was going on a shopping spree.  Apparently, the virus has spread.  Earlier this week, I saw that Gary was "turning in his man card."  Chris told me to be careful about picking on him, Gary, Tadd, and Tony.  It sounded like a threat.  So, I asked him what they were going to do…gang up and beat me with their purses? Check out the picture that started it all.
• I just finished "Good to Great" by Jim Collins.  I marked it up a lot.  One thing I really loved about the book was the chapter summaries.  Every book should have this.  Cut through the bull and give it to me straight.  What made the book really "great" was that I never once wanted to skip ahead to the summaries.
• I can’t wait for Sunday.  I’m really looking forward to teaching the last half of James 3.  Its a challenging passage full of hope for us all.

Life Pointe Church – a redneck’s paradise?

The musical preference of 27.5% of Life Pointe Church is Tim McGraw!?  I don’t know what to say. 

We’ll be releasing some of the other results over the next week.

Leadership Development and Small Groups

About a month and a half ago, my life group (Palm Isles) broke off into about 3 other groups: one at Marbella Bay, the Redlands, and one near the theater.   Some of those groups had nothing more than a prepared life group leader/facilitator.  To be honest, I was concerned that a couple of the groups would survive because they really didn’t have the critical mass that they should have had.  What they did have were strong leaders. 

Last night we had 11 in our group and three very strong groups meeting elsewhere (I think the Redlands group is doing better than us).  This summer, we’ll break from our groups and have a church-wide gathering for leadership development.  Our goals are:

• to identify everyone who wants to lead and equip them.
• to give our groups a sabbath during the summer.
• to share a no holds barred vision with high commitment people where questions can be asked.
• to create more stake holders in the ministry.
• to allow people to simply come to something without them having to prepare themselves.

John Maxwell says, "Everything rises and falls on leadership."  I believe that is true.  At this point in my ministry, I have to do a better job developing our leaders.  We are putting all our eggs in that basket.

I would never do it BUT…

• I would never personally pick a fight with someone smaller than me but, I support the right of others to do so.
• I would never back into someone’s car and drive off without leaving my contact information but, I support the right of others to do so.
• I would never hack into someone’s financial account and withdraw money but, I support the right of others to do so.
• I would never intentionally run over a pedestrian with my car but, I support the rights of others to do so.
• I would never lock my children in the garage and treat them like animals but, I support the right of others to do so.
• I would never encourage a woman to abort an unborn child but, I support the right of others to do so?!?!

If you are going to be supportive of abortion, have the guts to say you see no problem with terminating the life of an unborn child.  Say that you believe that life begins at birth and not conception.  Say that the baby/fetus is not yet human.  But, you can’t have it both ways and be personally against an atrocity yet stand by while others participate in it. Where is the intellectual and moral honesty in that?

Miami #1 Road Rage City Again

According to AP, Miami is the #1 Road Rage city in the USA for the second year in a row.  Erik Pinto from South Miami said:

"You don’t want to know what I’ve seen.  I’ve seen
everything. I’m from L.A., and we don’t see the crazy drivers that you
see here."

The article went on to say,
"The most frequent cause of road rage cited in the survey was impatient
motorists. Drivers also cited poor driving in fast lanes and driving
while stressed, frustrated or angry." 

Guys, repeat after me…"the left lane is for passing."  Again, "the left lane is for passing."  I know you have a Sun Pass so you don’t have to stop at toll booths.  But, 50 mph in the left lane may get you killed around here…seriously.

I will say that I am going to do my part to alleviate suffering on the roads by:

• never driving too slow in the left lane. 
• changing lanes for the idiot tailgating me. 
• when someone gives me a south florida salute, I will smile and wave back.
• leaving a few minutes early to avoid speeding.
• avoiding I-95 whenever possible.

Now, I just need to figure out what to do with the guys in red BMW’s passing everyone on the shoulder.  I used to think it was a good idea to get over and block them.  At least then, they have to offroad it to pass everyone waiting their turn.  That was a good idea until I did it to a City of Miami cop in a red BMW.

Chicago Bound

Last minute secret mission.  Go tomorrow.  Return Thursday.

St. Arbucks, the Patron Saint of Coffee

I just found out bad news!  We have our church up for sale and are in active negotiations with a buyer AND they are putting in a Starbucks so close to our building that I can touch it…almost literally.

Check out the driving directions and weep with me.  We are being separated from the patron saint of coffee!

Never Court Christians To Attend Your Church

"Leaders who are content to fill their organizations with people
actively looking for new jobs risk attracting malcontents and mediocre
performers."
        -William Taylor and Polly Labarre in the book "Mavericks at Work." 

I have never asked a Christian to date Life Pointe.  We are passionate about our community that is not at the moment connected to Christ.  We do also love it when Christians find us by way of relocation or displacement.  It is a wonderful thing when someone walks into our community and is already spiritually mature, shares Christ with others, supports the mission of Jesus by giving tithes and offerings, and is ready to get on board with the team.

But, when a church courts Christians from another church and that already existing Christian comes on over, too often they:

• almost always bring their expectations for how ministry should be done.
• view themselves like a first round draft pick to be treated with an extra special level of attention. 
• go into a repair mode and try tinkering around with a church’s strategy. 

Their plan?  Morph the new church into the church community they just
left.  This is a recipe for disaster.  It’s a disaster that church
leadership has created for itself by the whole sheep enticing strategy
they started the relationship off with in the first place.  If you don’t court them, you have a greater level of authority in helping them to fit in the already existing framework of the church.

The best policy as Taylor and Labarre share (translated into a church context) is not to entice leaders from other churches.  Instead, it is much better to start at ground zero and develop the people you reach into the leaders they need to be.

Thanks to Tony for highlighting some good snippets from a great book.

Around the Blogosphere in 30 seconds

I love my blog.  Through it, I’ve made some amazing friendships.  I get a chance to talk WITH the crew at Life Pointe between Sundays.   Even the most mundame comments (many of which are found in the whole "man bag" and the "toilet lid" controversies) are an expression of community, which I highly value.

Anyway, let me clue you in on the recent conversations/activities involving me this week around the blogosphere:

• Tony McCollum, Jeremy Farmer, Ray Hughes, and Joe Case recently added me to their blog rolls.  That means on some level they want others to enjoy my blog.  I think that’s cool and I say thank you for sending people in your circle of influence to the Travis Johnson blog castle.
• Tony Wheeler and Gary Lamb had some comments about post 1 and post 2 on "Leaving a Legacy" (my entries about my grandpa also known as the Silver Fox).
• Brad Martin referenced this post and admitted that in addition to the other man bag carrying girly men, he too carries a computer purse.
• The Jobless Minister (who happens to have a cool graphic of what appears to be a lego assistant pastor being knocked down by a Bible weilding senior pastor) referenced my Atheist versus Christians post and shared some great thoughts on the whole Kirk Cameron video debate.
• Then, in the big shocker of the week for me, Jason Salamun says, "Have you ever been on a hot streak when playing basketball? When every
  shot would go in. Travis is on a hot streak the last several months
  with his blog. Travis is a smart guy with a great personality and it
  shows in his blog. I’m not just saying that because he gave me a Life
  Pointe Church coffee mug either."  I have to say, Jason…your observations are spot on.  Obviously, you are going places in life!