Halloweeeen! Halloweird! Hoallowfun!
Yahoo! Halloween is Hallowfun. I know. I know…it’s the devil’s holiday. Its also a cultural opportunity to be leveraged for the cause of Jesus. So, there you have it.
Anyway, I was torn between two events tonight. Ultimately, I chose the Halloween Party shared between my life group and Paul and Anne’s life group. We threw down on a raucous game of Apples to Apples, ate food, lit Kourtney and McKenna’s pumpkins, and gave away Life Pointe candy bags. I’d like to say I dominated Apples to Apples. But, I won’t say it. If I did, it would be true.
Before I left for our old folks bash, I left Casey, Jesse, Alex "the beat machine," and my old friend, Brent Maloney getting ready to
kick off the Halloween MaqueRave with the Awakening and The Saturn Project. Casey is a heck of a missionary, slamming concert after concert.
Pillar and Decyfer Down are just around the corner…going to be good.
Still, there’s no doubt tonight had to be interesting over there. As I pulled out of the parking lot, I saw the first two people walking up to the church…two guys cross-dressed as hookers in costume for the concert I guess. Hmmmm. I’m glad I was kickin’ it like an old man playing Apples to Apples.
Pictures from Sunday, Flickr, and eNews
Every week in our email newsletter, we include pictures from the most recent Sunday. Jesse, Rich, Reina, or someone from the Creative Arts team takes the pictures (email Jesse if you’re a photographer and want to get in on the action). We share them because we have several people who cannot physically be in our worship gathering with us. In addition to them being able to follow the service on audio and video, we want them to be able to see and be there as much as possible. We also want to capture the moments so we can look back and see the stages God brings us through.
We store the pictures on our Flickr accounts. We’ve found that sharing our pictures and service is key in helping people see in the window before they come to a service. To many, that’s one more barrier removed. Enjoy the pictures from Sunday and subscribe to the weekly email here.
Book Review: Slandering Jesus
"Slandering Jesus" is a great book by Dr. Erwin Lutzer. Seemingly, it was written in response to some of the discussions following the DaVinci Code Book/Movie.
In this book, Dr. Lutzer lists and answers the six lies people tell about the man who said He was God. They are:
- Jesus’ family tomb has been discovered.
- Jesus was not crucified.
- Judas did Jesus a favor.
- Jesus was only a man.
- Jesus had a dark secret.
- Jesus is only one way among many.
Lutzer does an excellent job of fairly and effectively answering each question using historical data. The thing that stood out most was how Lutzer framed up a motive behind many questions, especially those questions coming out of The Jesus Seminar and the strategically timed National Geographic exposes on the Gnostic Gospels. How is it that we conveniently dispose of corroborated historical writings by multiple authors in the New and Old Testament Scriptures and embrace historically flawed writings and imaginative findings of people hostile to the message of Jesus and whose writings were not published until two hundred years after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus?
Perhaps, one of the greatest responses to these 6 questions of who Jesus is can be found inscribed on the corner of a downtown Chicago block where D. L. Moody knelt and dedicated that city block, the same city block of the church where Erwin Lutzer pastors, to the training and sending of ministers of the Gospel of Jesus into the world. Slandering Jesus is an excellent book that will cause you to better know the Jesus you love.
Sunday Wrap-up
- Jack Bauer has nothing on Zeke. He was at the 9 AM service
today and was protecting the Dalai Lama earlier this week (Zeke is the agent on the left). Word is
Zeke a.k.a. Jack Bauer will be serving as one of the Kids Life team leaders. That
rocks. - I didn’t speak this morning. So, I came in and hung out with the guys and gals that make the lobby gleam each week. In addition to doing a great job, these are some committed, excellent people who love Jesus in a really practical way.
- The videos were great today. Jesse is a beast.
- I loved how people cheered each baptism in the 10:30 service.
- I also loved how Joe was wearing a Pink Floyd shirt during baptism…baptism seriously rocks. So does Floyd.
- Someone told me that they came back to our church because we weren’t overly happy. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!!! That’s my kind of compliment.
- Speaking of emotions, Reina has a killer quote on her blog.
- Paul did a great job sharing about how to seek God and that seeking God is like a walk…walking not for the exercise but for the friendship, the connection, the devotion.
- Last week, one of our new families had a brother in Caracas, Venezuela get shot during a car-jacking.
- This week a pastor we are connected to visited with him. He’s recovering and I’m amazed at how BIG the Church of Jesus is.
- It was great sitting with Kelly and Blake today…coolest thing in the world. I love being a dad.
- After church, we took over El Nachito’s. I love that place. The Seafood Enchilada with a Lime Jarrito is a seriously good lunch.
- Flagship Cinemas is still looking for a new GM. If you’re a good manager and can take care of a really great place, you should check these guys out.
- Someone commented about how they loved communion today and also asked why we take communion every week. We do it to remember Jesus (Luke 22:19), to announce His death and look for His coming (1 Cor. 11:26), to directly confront our sinfulness and to receive the grace of Jesus (1 Cor. 11:27-29), and to remind ourselves we have received Jesus and are to take Jesus to the world.
The Potential Podcast
Troy Gramling just kicked off a new leadership podcast called Potential. Check it out. The first podcast is here.
First takeaway? "To build a team means we’ll be slower today so we can be faster tomorrow." Great stuff!
Church Rocks!
Southbound US-1 just north of Home Depot and Wal Mart.
4 Reasons Why We Don’t Give with a Good Heart
Four Reasons Why We Don’t Give with a Good Heart (6 minutes – audio)
1. We don’t believe Jesus is who He says He is.
2. We think we know better than Jesus.
3. We don’t really know about his teaching on giving.
4. We are in development and this is the day God has chosen for us to embrace His redemption of the finances He has entrusted us with.
This is an excerpt from the first message in likeus.tv on Giving Your Best.
Midweek Mind Dump
- I got back in the office yesterday. Wanted to be home…missed Blake. He was home mowing the lawn. So, I decided to stay at the office until 5.
- I felt disconnected from the Jesse and Paul so we hit Sal’s Italian Ristorante and Starbucks at Southland today. Talked. Planned. Dreamed. Walked through the theater…hmmmm.
- Jesse is turning out some great vids. This Sunday is going to be awesome.
- I hate that I missed baptism Sunday…awesome seeing some great guys and gals going public with Jesus (more guys than gals. That’s awesome!)
- My message is done for next week. I’m pressing ahead and really enjoying ministry now more than ever. The message from this past Sunday needs to be heard by every person at Life Pointe.
- Kelly is incredible. She gave birth Sunday night. She’s in a pair of blue jeans, looking cute. What the heck?!
- We took Blake to his first doctor’s visit this morning. He’s a strong kid…holds his head up by himself.
- Paul is wearing a UNC Tarheels shirt. He looks like a fruitcake.
- Likeus.tv is my favorite message series we’ve ever done.
- Life Pointe Bloggers are cool. Ela should be a blogger. She’s cool too.
- I got a really great MySpace message from a girl that used to attend Life Pointe. She moved a little north. I wish we had her back (hope she’s reading this). See you at the Pillar concert at Life Pointe.
- Dan’s video hit home with people. I love that guy and wish that everyone was as passionate about giving as he is.
- One thing that makes Life Pointe such a great place is the love. I can feel it.
Undermine Gossip by following the Scriptures
"Where two or more of you are gathered in my name, there shall be gossip." Isaiso 9:11
How is it that it seems like church and gossip go hand in hand? I have no clue. But, put bored church people together and that’s what they do. They excuse it, cloak it, call it a prayer request, call it a concern, and use a ton of other stealth gossip techniques.
I know first hand. I grew up in church and have heard some of the most hurtful things in church parking lots coming from the mouths of people I had previously thought highly of. I struggled through my college years with bitterness for things I had seen in the church. Ultimately, I realized that people are human. The Church is filled with humans and humans do stupid things.
Regardless of a persons reason for it, the Bible says not to do it (Lev 19:16). Here’s what I’ve learned about gossip:
- When someone brings some juicy soap opera detail to you, ask if they’ve talked to the person directly (Matthew 18:15-17). They haven’t. That’s too straight forward and it undermines the real purpose behind the gossip.
- Habitual gossips live boring and dysfunctional lives. They want yours to be also.
- Tell them that you don’t listen to gossip. That will freak them out and they’ll tell you they weren’t gossiping.
- Listening to gossip is deciphered as agreement. Don’t be a silent bystander because they will leave that conversation and say, "I was talking to (your name) and he agrees with me that…."
- When someone says, "People are saying that…", ask them who. They won’t tell you. The reason is because "they" are the "people."
- If you can get the name of their gossip target, pick up the phone and say, "Let’s get them in on this conversation."
- If you shut down and gossip once, you shut them down from bothering you a thousand times. The best thing I’ve ever done is to politely but directly tell good people who gossip that I don’t want to hear their mess. They leave me alone and go bother someone else.
- People who are active in ministry and vested in mission typically don’t gossip. It isn’t on their mind because they have more important things to do and a bigger mission they are responsible for.
Another Birth
Congrats to Nathan on the birth of Independence Church in Weston. Preview service #1 is in the books!
My son is a cool cat
Blake is as cool as the other side of the pillow. He’s got my eyes. When he cries, he sounds like a little man. His first set of PJs had football helmets. He sleeps like crazy. Kourtney and McKenna are in love with him. Kelly is more beautiful than ever when she holds him. I’m loving life. I’m skipping the office again tomorrow. Sue me.
Leaving the Good for the Best
I missed the good stuff yesterday so I wouldn’t miss the great stuff.
With that said, there was some really cool stuff going down at Life Pointe yesterday. The message audio from the kickoff of likeus.tv should be up shortly. In the meantime, we have the first of 11 videos (heart-to-hearts) from our people posted on the likeus.tv message series website. Dan Bard shared about giving God your best. Dan is a great friend and a follower of Jesus that challenges me. His story about tithing was genuine and Scriptural…great stuff.
The pics from the baptism were great. Two people from my life group went public with their faith in Jesus. I am incredibly proud of these guys, the friendships we are building, and the public statement that they are going all out for Jesus Christ! To those of you that were baptized, keep going after it! Don’t settle for a dumbed down, easy version of Christianity. Give more than you take. Serve recklessly. Love Jesus with ever fiber of your being.
My Son Is Here
Today at 5:40 PM, Kelly introduced a handsome young guy by the name of Blake Matthew Johnson to the world. He’s 8 lbs. 14 oz. and 22 inches long. He is totally a guy. Right off the bat, he looked at me and gave me a head nod. What a cool little cat.
Kelly is an amazing woman. I could say that a thousand times and it would still be an understatement. God totally hooked me up with a wonderful girl that I’ve never deserved. I am amazed at His goodness.
Thanks to everyone that was praying for a healthy baby and mom, especially our super Life Pointe Church family. Leaving you guys after the 9 am service to cheer on my wife and meet my son was so special. What an incredible day.
Book Review: 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die
John Piper’s book by the same title gives "50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to die." Every reason is Scriptural, historical, and relevant. The book could also be called "50 Compelling Reasons why You Should Follow Jesus."
It is logical in structure. Piper gives two-page cases for each of the 50 arguments beginning with Scripture. I found myself snacking on this book everywhere I went. I couldn’t put it down. But, I also didn’t have time to read it in one sitting. The interruptions presented no challenge to reading the book since each reason was bite sized (just over 100 pages).
It is an excellent read that I would highly recommend to every follower of Jesus and seeker of spiritual truth.
Guess What?!
Guess what!…..my boy is comfortable. He’s not coming out. Lots of text messages, voice mails, and Kelly’s site meter is off the charts…still no baby.
Music at Life Pointe (earplugs required)
Upcoming concerts at Life Pointe Church between October 19th and December 29th are:
Murder in the First, MasqueRAVE (tons of bands, including The Saturn Project and the Awakening), Onward to Olympas, Decyfer Down, Blessed is He, Remove the Veil, Flatfoot 56, Great Day, Michael John Stanley, The Miracle of You, Pillar, Invisible Image, Horizon’s Fall, David’s Victory, Regret, Forgive Again, "Christmas Come Early Fest," Battle!, Stick Stickly, Attila.
There have been 54 concerts in the past year at our building. Quite simply, they seriously rock. In fact, I may have damaged my hearing in the last one I went to. So, if you’re into that kind of thing, you might get a kick out of these bands.
Pillar and Flatfoot 56 will be especially good. I’m also a huge fan of The Saturn Project (Jesse’s band). Jesse and his guys may be the best up and coming neo-rock band I’ve ever heard. FYI, they have a couple dates open between November 1st to 11th and would consider playing at your place if you’re in south Florida.
To book the Saturn Project, call our office @ 305.247.0889.
For information about the concerts, call Casey at Rock Pointe Ministries 305.321.5426.
Courageous Spirituality
I want to stop and honor people who have demonstrated a courageous spirituality, an unflinching yet fully human grasp of the way of Christ. These people have subordinated their personal ambitions to the cause of Jesus in a truly spectacular way.
We need more people who …wait, I need to be more of a person who does the following:
- prays for people who take advantage of me.
- refuses to give in to the urge of speaking whatever is on my mind.
- prays when no one is around to pat me on the back and say, "that was a beautiful prayer."
- who receives godly wisdom from all people with grace.
- who exercises amazing patience.
- who demonstrates integrity regardless of the outcome.
- who recognizes their own areas of immaturity and grows spiritually.
- who recognizes other people’s immaturity and loves them through their junk.
- who loves Jesus and people with reckless abandon.
The people that live like that truly inspire me to be a better dad, better son, better husband, better friend, better pastor/leader, better follower of Jesus. Perhaps, I’m feeling more reflective than usual because I’m waiting for my little guy. Or, maybe I’ve been in enough situations that God is giving me the first real glimpse of the route I need to take to become that man. I hope its both.
Independence Church Preview this Sunday
Nathan Griffis and INdependence Church host their first preview service this Sunday @ 10.29 AM in Weston, FL. Check it out if you are in the area. Be a part of the beginning of something special.
I’ll have my son in my arms
Kelly is past her due date. We’ve rearranged schedules. We’ve readied the house. We’ve hurried up so we can wait. Now, I’m ready for my son to be here.
It’s all I can do to not to share his name with you. I will soon. After I’ve held him on my chest and loved on my wife, I’ll begin the process of making phone calls to friends and family that are out of town. I’ll post a picture and the details.
In the meantime, I just wait and thank God for His grace through Kelly’s pregnancy. She’s an amazing woman. God has been good. I’m ready to be a dad for the third time.
Sunday Wrap-up
- Technically, we had major challenges today.
- My voice was shot from the first word I spoke this morning. I really struggled in the 9 am service…a couple times, I had a panicked thought about giving up.
- The theater didn’t get opened for us until 8:15. That created a whole set of issues.
- During my message I looked back and saw Jeff Reed. Of all the days for us to be "crappy" it had to be today when the super-cool, tech guy from CF was here.
- I feel like I know Jeff as a long time friend but, I’ve never been within 30 feet of him.
- Oh well. Today wasn’t about me or Jeff or how technically exceptional we were or weren’t. It was about Jesus and His intersection with us.
- The Lord’s Table was beautiful.
- I found myself praying with a newer couple from our church whose brother had been shot in Caracas, Venezuela last night in a car jacking. I saw them reaching out to a God that’s moved by our pain.
- I overheard a great new couple talking to Paul about being baptized this coming Sunday.
- We had a family that hadn’t been to church at the theater. They came in during our setup and asked how they could help! Now, that’s a heck of a guest!
- I got hugged like crazy by Jenna and Stephanie, Polly’s kids. I love all four of those kids and thank God for how our church family has reached out and loved them so well.
- I read what Chris wrote and am absolutely blown away at what God has done in his life and that God would give me family like him.
- I held baby Andre’. 17 months ago, I stood in Homestead Hospital waiting for doctors to pronounce him dead at birth and praying for some kind of miracle. He was born at 1.089 lbs. He can see. He’s strong. And, he likes me. This week he got a perfect bill of health from the doctor.
So, while I’d like to forget about how things went today, I don’t want to forget about what God is doing in us. I think its nothing short of remarkable. How am I allowed to be able to lead such an awesome community of followers of Jesus Christ? I have no clue. But, I’m loving every second of it.
Church Staff Dynamics
I have never enjoyed working with a group of guys more than I enjoy working with our team. This week was especially invigorating and intense. I loved what we were able to do. I was blown away by the intensity and creativity. You can see some of it here.
They are really excellent people who give it all, show up early, lead like they’re owners, follow-through, have an intense love for God and people, and display pliable hearts. In addition to that, going into the office is a lot of fun. I look forward to it every single day. The team is really strong and shows a ton of potential.
On the flip side, when teams break down, it shows everywhere. Once you get to that point, its hard to recover without human casualties. Some things I’ve learned from serving on a large staff, being the only person on staff, and from leading a staff (both professionally and in ministry) are:
- Never discuss internal team challenges outside the circle of the team. It breaks down team and undermines trust. If you break this rule, you create defensiveness and undermine transparency on the team.
- Be direct. Churches are famous for beating around the bush. Get to the point and leave no room for guess work. Honest assessments are necessary, even when it reflects negatively on the team, an individual, or on yourself.
- Give it your best. God’s business is the best business in the world. Lay it all on the line every day. Work like its up to you. Pray like its up to Him. Waiting on the Lord does not mean doing nothing.
- Protect your family. Don’t be a griper about unresolved, unaddressed issues at home. It builds unnecessary resentment between uninvolved parties. Be man or woman enough to have conflict quickly, privately, and respectfully. Unresolved unaddressed conflict builds steam with time. When it blows up, it gets really ugly.
- Be the instigator of generosity. Bring coffee and treats and share with the team. Creating a culture of generosity kills destructive attitudes (1 Peter 4:8) and undermines negative energy.
- Pray for the team and make the load lighter (James 5:16). Working in ministry, you see everything behind the scenes. Its great when your team is a family and your family prays for you and has your back.
- Have fun. Work like crazy and every now and then, take breaks together.
- Drop dead weight. When someone disengages and quits doing their part as unto the Lord, address the situation. Give the person a chance to change. If they can’t, be quick to help them find a place where they can give it their best, even if that means that place is on another team somewhere else.
I’m sure there are some other pearls of wisdom to be had. But, this is what I have. If you have thoughts, share them.
people like us
they were mere mortals like us.
Relevant Magazine’s Hit Piece on Life Pointe
Life Pointe Church is in the Fall 2007 issue of Relevant Magazine. Its a review of 6 different church websites. They slammed us for our small gray print. Sue me! The good news is that our new website might be out by the time the issue hits the stands. If that’s the case, I’ll respond by stomping and spitting about how Relevant put a hit piece on Life Pointe. If not, I’ll come back and delete my whining from this blog entry.
Enjoying the Last Days
I’m enjoying the last days of being a female dominated house. My little guy will be here soon. I almost fainted when Kourtney was born (seriously). I was wonderfully surprised when McKenna was born (we were told she was a boy). I’ll feel immensely complete when my son is here. But, for now, I’m enjoying my beautiful pregnant wife and two amazing little girls who rule the roost and mesmerize their daddy.
Drink it in! Thanks to Kelly for sharing a few pics while I’m in the office.
“The Magic of Thinking Big” by David Schwartz
I was unable to make it to my last coaching network session because Kelly is just too close to having our son…didn’t feel comfortable enough to be 4 hours away and have her potentially going into labor. I had a book review due of David Schwartz’s book, "The Magic of Thinking Big." So, I emailed it ahead and thought I’d go ahead and blog my takeaways here (pdf download).
More than it being a book on the power of positive thinking, it is a book on the power of positive action. There are some great insights here and a great opportunity for me to re-focus on the basics of insulating myself from people, situations, thinking, and behavior that create consistently negative energy and situations.
A new series coming around the corner
Thank Jesse for the hint. The website will be live soon.
Quick Hits
- Church Relevance gives 6 free motion backgrounds.
- Terry Storch lists Bill Parcels 10 Quarterback Commandments (great leadership stuff).
- With the search for the evil Travis Johnson here and here, people found the good Travis Johnson and gave me almost 1,800 hits yesterday.
- I have kind of stalled out in the top 68,000 blogs out of roughly 70 million. I will shamelessly barter reciprocal links to increase my blog authority (hint, hint). Just let me know if you want a link.
- Shawn Lovejoy talks about "What a Shepherd Does."
- Tim Stevens points us to the Free Innovate Conference Videos.
- Craig Groeschel talks about being Kingdom Minded (part 1 and part 2 of a 4 part series).
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twitter feed- pastortrav: @EdwardVegaLPC dude, thanks....just clicked over.
- pastortrav: @theB3 nope. But, it isn't new. I paid half of what I was willing to pay. I paid less than a new car would depreciate in it's first day :)
- pastortrav: Done. I got Kelly's car tonight. We turn in her lease Friday. No debt on cars. Buh-bye!
- pastortrav: I finished my Canning Hunger run 4 my neighborhood. 10% of the homes we left doorhangers at participated! I met neighbors & they met a need!
- pastortrav: We're wrapping up Canning Hunger in Homestead (flagship cinemas parking lot) & Plantation Key (cafe at church) today at noon. Great stuff!!
