Worshiply

The next couple of days I will be at Echo Church Media Conference in Dallas.

There are some great speakers who are going to be there.  I am looking forward to learning and connecting with friends from around the US. I am also interested in watching the dynamics of a whole lot creative types who are very savvy  in social media. Should be Fun!

If you are going, hit me up. I would love to connect.  You can also follow me on twitter to catch real time updates.

What are you doing this week?

A few weeks ago I downloaded a new pinball app for my iPhone.   As I started playing, here is what happened…

• Hit the pinball as hard as I could when it came to near the flappers and happened to luck into a really high score.
• After getting a low score the next go, I realized that hitting certain spots in a certain sequence increased your score dramatically.
• Started trying to strategically hit the pinball in the exact right spots to obtain the high score.
• Failed miserably. I realized that I was no pinball wizard.
• I quit playing pinball.

I can’t tell you how many times I have experienced this exact same sequence with new ministries, ventures, or projects.  I luck into a little success, only to realize it was just a buzz of excitement, realize it is going to be hard, identify the strategy to success, realize executing the strategy is difficult, and I am tempted to quit.

As a believer, i must remember that Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Job, Paul, and Jesus did not quit.  Jesus was the center of a large buzz of excitement at the start of his ministry.  He was alone on the cross at the end of it.

If God has called you to do something.  Don’t quit.  Beg for grace to keep going.

Over the last couple of months, I have had the privilege of getting to know Shawn Wood, the Experiences Pastor of Seacaost Church and the  author of two books.  He is the real deal.  He is one of those extremely talented, super smart kind of guys who you wish you were like, but he is also humble and approachable like an old friend.  His second book, Wasabi Gospel, is coming out very soon.  I have had a chance to preview it, and I really think you would enjoy the book.  You can  and should pre-order it today on Amazon.

Review

If you have ever had sushi, then you probably have had an experience with wasabi, the flaming hot green stuff that is always put on the side of your plate. It is a small dallop, and looks innocent enough, but it has extreme power if you put it in your mouth.  Shawn relates that experience to seven teachings of Christ.  He uses scriptures that are nice and cute and very familiar to a believer, but he unpacks them in a powerful way.

Shawn’s approach to the book is brilliant.  I approached the book excited for Shawn to highlight some of the hard teachings of Jesus and really push and challenge me to “Just Do It”.   However, his approach is much more effective.   Each of the Seven “wasabi”  teachings of Christ is woven around the story of Laura, a normal girl with a life full of emotional baggage (just like the rest of us).  Throughout the book,  she struggles with applying the teachings of Christ into her broken and un-perfect reality. This approach did two things to me.  First, it made me think through my own life to see how I am assimilating Christ’s teaching. This challenged me to evaluate myself instead of simply reading the book and saying “Amen” as I came to the hard teachings of Christ.  Second, as a pastor, it helped me have empathy for the people in my church (myself included)  who are trying to assimilate the life and words of Christ into their lives.  To see that it is not that they don’t want to, they just have a lot of questions and baggage to deal with.

Shawn’s writing style is refreshing and very easy to read.  He does not belabor points.  He gets to the point and uses humor that literally makes me laugh out loud. I highly recommend Wasabi Gospel, as well as  his other book, 200 Pomegranates and an Audience of One.

Tomorrow, the Renovare Interanational Conference is kicking off in San Antonio, and I will be there. For those of you that are not familiar with Renovare, they are an organization, started by Richard Foster (Celebration of Discipline), that focuses on Spiritual formation.  In other words, they help believers grow in their pursuit of Christ, especially in prayer, meditation of the Scripture, and other spiritual disciplines. These guys have had a huge impact on me in the last year.  In fact, the things I learned at the last Renovare Conference were foundational for the starting of EXAMEN.me.

The keynotes of the conference are Eugene Peterson, Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, John Ortberg and many others.  I am excited to see what God does in my heart.

I will try to update the blog as we move though the conference, but I am assuming I will have limited access to the interwebs.  So, make sure you follow me on twitter to catch the updates.

If you are going, I would love to connect.  You can contact me through the contact page or through twitter.

When my kids go crazy and decide to challenge everything I say, throw fits, and do things their own way, here is the process I go through.

1. Oh no you didn’t.
2. Frustration
3. Develop a plan to eliminate the negative behavior – still very frustrated.
4. Realize that I rebel against God just as much or more than they rebel against me. I challenge everything he says, throw fits, and do things my own way.
5. Humbled and regain patience.

My kids and my wife are gifts from God that constantly reveal that I am broke and in desperate need of a saviour.

Working with Bob Roberts means that you get nuggets of wisdom all the time.

A few years back I remember him saying, “Most people spend all their time and energy trying to find a way to get to the table of influence and power.  Don’t worry about the table.  Sweep the streets and do it with excellence. You will eventually be asked to come to the table.”

Bob’s advice has been true in my life.  It turns out, it is also biblical.

Luke 19:17 -  And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

It is can be difficult while you are sweeping the streets to not get distracted with all those around you are moving up to the table. Keep sweeping.  Our Father, the the most influential person at the table, is looking down to and is eager to reward faithful workers in his kingdom.

[Image: thevortext]

Ouch!

Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18

[HT: JT]

Yesterday was an incredible day at NorthWood. We have been implementing what we are calling the “Time of Obedience” for the last two months.  It finally feels like we are getting close to the sweet spot.

The Time of Obedience is where at the end of the service, we are giving time and space to let people respond to what God has been speaking to them.  We have Alter ministers positioned in 4 places around the room to lead someone to Christ and pray for them, we open the altar for people to  come pray by themselves or as a family, we have cards for people to sit and write what God has been doing in their lives, we sing, and yesterday we took communion. It is controlled chaos, but our people are responding to God, and I could not be happier!

If you go to NorthWood, What do you think of the changes?

I love to receive blessings from the Lord.

But when trials come, most of the time I do not see them as blessings.  I see them as stumbling blocks to what I think God wants for me.

God is teaching me that trials are blessings straight from his hands, and his plans are not thwarted by a set of circumstances on earth.

He is the king, and I am learning to trust him in new ways.

What is God teaching you?

There are two areas of my life God has been working on.  The constant message over both of these areas is “Be strong and courageous.”(Joshua 1:9)

I am usually a confident person, but in these two areas of my life, I have been scared like a boy at a middle school dance. The problem is my fear is starting to  hinder my obedience to what I KNOW God has called me to do.

Over the last two days, God has given me the grace to step out with courage and faith in both of these areas. I can’t tell you how good it feels to know that even though I have not arrived, or conquered my fears, I have trusted God and stepped when he said to step.

I am thankful for baby steps, and asking for grace to keep going.