Exponential 08 - National New Church Conference

Conferences are good - conferences are bad.  Ridley and I are finishing up the National New Church Conference "Exponential 08" in Orlando tomorrow.  After a day and a half of listening to speakers known world-wide for their insight into the church planting movement, by brain is just about mush.  No really.  Allan Hirsch has led my track, dealing with the"Missional" understanding, and it has been great.  I've heard him speak before, and he's been just as challenging as before.  I wont begin to download all of my thoughts from these sessions, but I will say this.  As a church, we have the greatest message the world could ever hear.  If we continue to do things, do church, the way we've been doing it, and expect different results, we will continue to see our culture slide further and further in to chaos.  We must do a better job of engaging the community.  We must do a better job of being intentional in starting conversations.  I did hear today that as churches become more missional in their understanding and practice, consumer driven participants will be propelled away.  Interesting thought.  We've seen a little of that at RCC.  

I also heard an interesting statement that comes from the Korean church planting movement... "Every Christian, a church planter.  Every church, a church planting church."  I wish more of our people and churches could embrace that.  

It's been a great experience to network with and talk with nearly three thousand people who are passionate about church planting.  It's been both challenging and encouraging to be exposed to, and reminded of, the need for new church starts.  Now is the difficulty of sorting through the info and prioritizing our action points.  It's also been pretty cool to hang with my favorite pastor.  I can't imagine this journey with anyone else.

Pam, Ben, I'm headed home tomorrow... get ready to listen to my download.  See you soon!

www.exponentialconference.com

Finding Perspective in the Sunshine

I've spent the last couple of days with the Pastor and staff at C3 Church in Orlando... wow, intense.  Scott, our worship pastor, and Robbie, a righteous dude from our church, had some great "hang time" with a staff that has been through it in the past few years.  The amazing thing is that while there are certainly some battle scars for this courageous group, they are sold out and determined to reach east Orlando with the saving power of the Gospel.  It's been a great experience of dialogue and observation.  Pastor Byron has a huge heart and determination, and C3, through God's grace, is getting it done.  

Now, with that as a backdrop, today is a "down day" for me in that I'm just chilling in the FL sunshine until Pastor Ridley lands tomorrow for the church planting conference.  So, I made a quick trip to Cocoa Beach, enjoyed some sushi on the beach, and had some one-on-one time with Jesus.  Nothing like the crash of waves to help put some things in proper perspective.  For whatever reason, God whispered through the waves that so much of what we do is temporary... just like the kids building the sand castles 50 feet from me.  They put so much effort in to their sculpture, but tonight's high tide will leave no trace of their work.  We are the same way, both personally and in our churches.

Hang with me, I'll tie this together in a sec... I got an email just a little bit ago from a Ridgie (someone at RCC), and it kicked me in the gut, but in a good way.  Again, just a reminder of how God is orchestrating so much all around us.  I wont get in to the specifics of the email, but he was just excited and grateful for the opportunity to be a part of RCC.  I would echo those thoughts.  All of this, combined with the way our family has changed in the past three+ months has really made me evaluate what is important.. what is lasting... what matters.

What a journey!

Student Pastors and LIFE Groups

Ok, I admit it, I don't always read other staff postings in a "timely" manner.  Yesterday afternoon, I was reading some past posts, and there was our student pastor giving some props to LIFE Groups.  You know things are good when the student guy is giddy about community building.  Go Paul!

I couldn't help but think back to the early days of RCC.  We were firm in our thinking that LIFE Groups would be our primary vehicle for relationship building and discipleship.  Some would say that we were hard headed.  but I prefer to think of it as confident obedience. 

Let me be clear:  we don't have the "group thing" perfect.  We haven't duplicated ourselves nearly enough, and almost all of our groups are too big.  However, every week I hear amazing stories of how important groups are to our people. 

Thank you Ridgeview for buying in!  Thanks for welcoming new people into your little "families."  And thanks, RCC staff, for taking the plunge!  The ride continues!!

Reflections on Easter

Yesterday was an amazing day.  After planning, preparing, and certainly lots of praying, our first Sunday with 2 services was a complete success.  Now, don't get me wrong, if God doesn't show up to do what only God can do, it's just an early morning with a bunch of people setting around listening to music and a south Georgia preacher.  But at the same time, we have a responsibility to work hard, and provide an environment that will be positive for people who are looking for a Christ encounter, whether they know it or not.

I was so fired up to see so many volunteering to serve in capacities that might be uncomfortable.  People serving in our children's area, people greeting in the parking area and on the sidewalks; people serving coffee; tables being moved;  breakfast prepared and served.  The RCC family was hard at work yesterday, and I believe the guest that came through our doors found our faith family to be real...

Thanks RCC for "getting it."  Thanks for stepping up so that people far from God could have the opportunity to hear the Gospel.  My prayer is that all of us will "act" on the challenge that our pastor gave to us.  Let's go be a reflection of our risen Christ this week.

Life, frustration, and in over my head

Good grief, has it really been over two weeks since I've blogged?  Where does the time go?  Actually, I know exactly where it goes... life has a way of sucking it up.  I really don't mean to sound like a downer.  It's just the way it is.  Stuff in the office, families in crisis, "parenting" surprises, follow-up with church members.  It's all good stuff.  And, blogging is as well, but I'm just trying to see where it falls in the priority list.  

The one thing that keeps coming up in my head is just how incapable I am.  I can't solve (READ:  FIX) my problems, let alone everyone else in my sphere of influence.  All I can do is be faithful... faithful to Christ, faithful to my call, and faithful to what I know I'm supposed to do.  

That all sounds simple, but my "control freak" nature is screaming to do something about things that I can do absolutely nothing about.  I guess it's just a part of human nature... and that is no excuse.  So, again today, I'm just saying, "Less of me, Lord, more of you."

What is God Up To?

Sometimes, even when God's direction is apparent, we are slow to respond. Yesterday, Ridley and I had lunch with a guy from KY who is ready to plant a church in Lexington. The fact that someone who knows someone helped us connect is pretty amazing in itself. The thing that makes it interesting, is that it is the 4th "church plant" conversation that Ridley and I have had since Christmas.

From day one, we (Ridley and I) have believed that Ridgeview would be a strategic church used to plant churches throughout North America and even around the world. Today's conversation, coming on the heels of my trip to India last week, and the numerous other conversations that have taken place in the past 6 weeks, has just confirmed that God is up to something.

What does this mean for our church? Does this mean we abandon local ministry? No way! It just means that we have to do everything possible to align ourselves with what God is already doing. We've been praying for men to step up in their leadership in our church... and Sunday we saw evidence of that very thing. We've been praying for multiplied leaders... we are seeing a glimpse of that. We've been praying for clarity in our worship planning... These past few weeks have been amazing in our corporate worship time.

So what is God up to? I believe He's saying, "Trust me... trust me enough to obey me, no matter what." These are exciting days, but we know that warfare is real. Stay tuned.

Catching Up

Wow, where has the week gone. The trip to India was amazing! Our friends there are doing such an incredible work. The trip home was overwhelming, but boy was it a great feeling to be back in the USA!

I've thought alot the past couple of days about how blessed I really am. Being away from family and familiar can do that to you. Especially with Valentine's Day falling just after my return, I've really been reminded how thankful I am for all that God has entrusted me with.

One of the things that had me a little anxious about going to India was being away from Pam. She's doing great... She is almost 6 weeks removed from her last radiation treatment and is getting stronger every day. Still, being that far away for that long caused me to second guess the timing of the trip more than once. Funny how God's timing works.....

I blogged several weeks ago that we had added a member to our family. A certain 16yr old has brought a very new perspective to us. It has been an amazing 5 weeks with Ben. Which brings me back to God's timing. On the one hand Pam and I were unsure if it was a good idea for her to suddenly be a "single parent" while I was away, but a few days before I left I had a real peace about the whole thing. As it turned out, I'm so thankful that Ben was able to be good company for Pam, especially the night the tornados were ripping through middle Tennessee.

Now back to the blessings. God new exactly what He was doing when He brought Pam into my life. The past year has had more than its share of surprises for us as a couple, but His fingerprints are all over the calendar. She is a perfect partner in ministry, an amazing friend, and a wife off the charts... and I love her. He's allowed me to be part of a church that continues to "get it," and he's added to my family (even if it's temporary) in an amazing way. I am truly blessed.

Awesome... Amazing... Almighty God