"Daddy, How big is God?"
It seems like an innocent enough question, but for a seminary "Preacher Boy" just learning theology, it was a bucket of cold water on a sweltering summer day, immediately snapping me into the reality of the moment. The theologian asking the question? My four year old son.
Have you ever noticed the relativity of size?
The captain of a cruise ship loves to tease his passengers as they pass beside one of the largest structures in the world, a huge vertical wall of ice protrudes hundreds of feet into the air. As the ship appears to pull dangerously close to this horrendous structure, the captain asks, "Who can hit that wall of ice with a baseball?" One man stands up and hurls the ball as hard as he can. The ball travels 20 or 30 feet, but then it seems to hang in the air without ever coming closer to the ice structure. When it finally loses momentum and drops into the ocean, it is obvious that the iceberg is so large, that while it feels like it is feet away, in all actuality it is miles away! There is absolutely no way to gain a perspective on its massiveness ~ you are just too small and the iceberg is just too large. Even if your mind could grasp the sheer magnitude, that is only about 1/9th of the total mass. 8/9ths still lie below the water line.
How Great is Our God?
This was my realization last night as I watched Louie Giglio describe the vastness of the universe. Our LifeGroup sat transfixed, hanging on the words, the graphic footage from the hubble telescope, every description stretching our minds like a rubber band, dangerously close to the point of breaking.
God opened his mouth and said, "Light!" and out of his mouth comes the sun ~ 27 million degrees Fahrenheit! A burning mass of energy 109 times larger than the earth.
What kind of God is this?
God measured the entire universe with merely the span of His hand. Imagine, God holds up his index finger and thumb, each on polar opposite ends of the universe. And the universe fits between his fingers.
How Big is this God?
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God celebrated by 3 billion Christians worldwide today. The God who humbled himself into the form of a man, setting aside His divinity to be brutalized for our transgressions. Beaten for my wrongs. Allowing himself to be killed in my place for my wickedness. Giving me life, hope, a future! What is man that this God is mindful of him?
Just a few weeks ago, my family drove to Washington, D.C. Driving into the city, we begin to catch a glimpse of the Washington Monument. It is huge! And as you get closer to it, it becomes even taller. When I finally stood at the base of the mammoth stone structure, I gazed upward. I felt like maybe if I stretched a little, I could reach up and touch the the tip of it with my finger. So I tried. I didn't come close. Standing at the base of that giant, I felt really small.
I can tell you how big the iceberg is, someone smarter than I came up with elaborate ways to measure it. They can send out a satelite and then look back to earth and figure out its size using complex calculations on complex machinery. There is actually a blueprint for the Washington Monument, so I can find that information for you as well.
But when it comes to God, our calculations aren't complex enough, there are no blueprints, he is the architect of the universe. All I can do is come closer to His feet, gaze up in amazement and stretch. And while I will never be tall enough to reach up to Him, he is willing to reach down and come closer to me.
Discover Jesus Christ!
How big is God? You will have to discover that for yourself.
I can only tell you that today, after 14 years as a pastor, I discovered that He is bigger than I had ever imagined before.
Take the Stand!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Pondering Leadership
My coach, Pastor Gary Combs, handed me a book yesterday that has captivated my attention. It is a must read for every senior pastor in my opinion.
The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni
is an enjoyable and enlightening read. I sat down and read nearly the entire book last night.
Lencioni takes the reader down an imaginative journey paralleling two companies, one with an obsession for maintaining a healthy culture and the other with an equal obsession of maintaining a healthy bottom line.
While it is expected that a leader will grow the organization, it is equally right to expect that a leader will guard the culture as well. If you practice what Lencioni preaches, you will discover that not every qualified leader is a good fit.
The four disciplines that the book identifies are 1) Build and Maintain a Cohesive Leadership Team, 2) Create Organizational Clarity, 3) Overcommunicate Organizational Clarity, 4) Reinforce Organizational Clarity Through Human Systems.
This book will shape your leadership style if you will let it. I believe it is on par with Collins business classic, Good to Great
. I would encourage you to pick up your copy today, read it through once and then come back and read it again with a highlighter, pencil and paper. You are sure to glean a wealth of knowledge that will help you become an extraordinary leader!
The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni
is an enjoyable and enlightening read. I sat down and read nearly the entire book last night. Lencioni takes the reader down an imaginative journey paralleling two companies, one with an obsession for maintaining a healthy culture and the other with an equal obsession of maintaining a healthy bottom line.
While it is expected that a leader will grow the organization, it is equally right to expect that a leader will guard the culture as well. If you practice what Lencioni preaches, you will discover that not every qualified leader is a good fit.
The four disciplines that the book identifies are 1) Build and Maintain a Cohesive Leadership Team, 2) Create Organizational Clarity, 3) Overcommunicate Organizational Clarity, 4) Reinforce Organizational Clarity Through Human Systems.
This book will shape your leadership style if you will let it. I believe it is on par with Collins business classic, Good to Great
. I would encourage you to pick up your copy today, read it through once and then come back and read it again with a highlighter, pencil and paper. You are sure to glean a wealth of knowledge that will help you become an extraordinary leader!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Monday, November 22, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving
Is It God's Garden?
Bill Gothard tells a story about a missionary in New Guinea who had a unique experience at Harvest Time:
At the end of seven years, he witnessed his first conversion, and many began coming to Christ once he fully gave his garden to God. The fruit grew so abundant that Otto began exporting it and growing other types of fruit, such as bananas. His village became the most evangelized in the whole region, yet for seven years he had not one convert.
Otto realized something each of us must realize: To gain your life you must lose it, along with your possessions. It was only when he gave all his possessions to God that he became free from them. God measured back to him manifold once He had complete ownership.
Otto Koning worked among a native tribe whose accepted village practices included stealing from others. When Otto and his wife arrived and moved into a hut, the natives often came by to visit.
{Get a copy of The Pineapple Story Here}
The Konings would notice that after the natives left the missionaries' home, various household items had disappeared. They saw these items again when they went to preach in the natives village. The only fruit Otto could grow in the island was pineapples and he was very proud of his crop.
However, whenever the pineapples began to ripen, the natives stole them. Otto could never keep a ripe pineapple for himself. This was a frustration, and he became angry with the natives. All during the seven-year period in which this took place, Otto preached the gospel to these natives, but never had a conversion. The more the natives stole, the angrier Otto became. Finally, one day Otto had a German Shepherd dog flown in from another missionary to protect his pineapple garden after other frustrated efforts failed. This only further alienated the natives from him.
{Get a copy of The Pineapple Story Here}
The Konings would notice that after the natives left the missionaries' home, various household items had disappeared. They saw these items again when they went to preach in the natives village. The only fruit Otto could grow in the island was pineapples and he was very proud of his crop.
However, whenever the pineapples began to ripen, the natives stole them. Otto could never keep a ripe pineapple for himself. This was a frustration, and he became angry with the natives. All during the seven-year period in which this took place, Otto preached the gospel to these natives, but never had a conversion. The more the natives stole, the angrier Otto became. Finally, one day Otto had a German Shepherd dog flown in from another missionary to protect his pineapple garden after other frustrated efforts failed. This only further alienated the natives from him.
Otto took a furlough to the United States and attended a conference on personal rights. At this conference, he discovered that he was frustrated over this situation because he had taken personal ownership of his pineapple garden. After much soul searching, he gave his garden to God. Soon the natives started having problems among their tribe. They discovered that Otto was the reason for their problems because he gave his garden to his God. The natives saw a correlation between what Otto had done and their own lives being affected by calamities in their village. When Otto gave his garden to God, he no longer got angry and was free from worry. The natives started bringing him fruit from the garden because they didn't want any more calamities to come into their village.
The light came on one day when a native said to Otto, "You must have become a Christian, Otto. You don't get angry anymore. We always wondered if we would ever meet a Christian." They had never associated Otto with the kind of person he was preaching about because his message did not line up with his life. Otto was broken in spirit when he realized he had been such a failure.
At the end of seven years, he witnessed his first conversion, and many began coming to Christ once he fully gave his garden to God. The fruit grew so abundant that Otto began exporting it and growing other types of fruit, such as bananas. His village became the most evangelized in the whole region, yet for seven years he had not one convert.
Otto realized something each of us must realize: To gain your life you must lose it, along with your possessions. It was only when he gave all his possessions to God that he became free from them. God measured back to him manifold once He had complete ownership.
Do you have a Garden that you need to give to God? Tell me about it.
"Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am." Matthew 16:24 the MsgThursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Second Time Guests
How Many of Your Participants Come Back?
Whether we run a business, a church or a OneHarvest partner site, we all have one goal in common. Getting first time participants to come back. Have you ever considered what is the greatest motivation for return customers. Most businesses know. The biggest motivator for a return visit is not price and it's not quality of the product although those things are important. Rather, its the level of comfort of the participant.
Why would someone drive by 12 churches to go to your church? Because the first experience was comfortable for them. Why does someone shop at a particular retail outlet over and over? Comfort. Why will your One Harvest friends keep coming back to your site? You guessed it! Comfort.
Let me challenge you to take a hard look at your ordering process, your menu communication process and your distribution process.
Are you doing everything to demonstrate to your participants that you value them highly?
What about your volunteers? Is the process easy and fun for them?
Ask yourself these questions as well ~ How many people ordered from our site last month AND this month? How many volunteers are returning to help out? If you are struggling to get dedicated volunteers, then most likely there is something about your system that is uncomfortable for them. Maybe they don't feel highly valued or maybe they don't know what to do. If you have a lot of first time participants, but few return participants then maybe something about the menu distribution, the ordering process or the distribution is uncomfortable to them.
Let me offer some points for consideration:
1) Evaluate the ordering experience. Ask your customers if the experience is comfortable or awkward and adjust as needed.
2) Poll your volunteers - especially those that came once and didn't come back.
3) Call any participants that haven't ordered this month. Look for hints and suggestions that they may give you that would make the experience better. This is also a great way to increase outreach. Everyone likes a personal touch.
4) Ask yourself, "Do I really love and care for these people." If so, then what do I need to do to communicate this message to them.
5) Do everything to the best of your ability. Strive for excellence.
6) Stress the convenience of ordering online and pickup. Communicate to your audience the time saving element as well as the money saving element of your food ministry.
7) Make an email distribution list and remind your customers to order again each month.
8) Love The People.
How about you? What's working for your site?
Whether we run a business, a church or a OneHarvest partner site, we all have one goal in common. Getting first time participants to come back. Have you ever considered what is the greatest motivation for return customers. Most businesses know. The biggest motivator for a return visit is not price and it's not quality of the product although those things are important. Rather, its the level of comfort of the participant.
Why would someone drive by 12 churches to go to your church? Because the first experience was comfortable for them. Why does someone shop at a particular retail outlet over and over? Comfort. Why will your One Harvest friends keep coming back to your site? You guessed it! Comfort.
Let me challenge you to take a hard look at your ordering process, your menu communication process and your distribution process.
Are you doing everything to demonstrate to your participants that you value them highly?
What about your volunteers? Is the process easy and fun for them?
Ask yourself these questions as well ~ How many people ordered from our site last month AND this month? How many volunteers are returning to help out? If you are struggling to get dedicated volunteers, then most likely there is something about your system that is uncomfortable for them. Maybe they don't feel highly valued or maybe they don't know what to do. If you have a lot of first time participants, but few return participants then maybe something about the menu distribution, the ordering process or the distribution is uncomfortable to them.
Let me offer some points for consideration:
1) Evaluate the ordering experience. Ask your customers if the experience is comfortable or awkward and adjust as needed.
2) Poll your volunteers - especially those that came once and didn't come back.
3) Call any participants that haven't ordered this month. Look for hints and suggestions that they may give you that would make the experience better. This is also a great way to increase outreach. Everyone likes a personal touch.
4) Ask yourself, "Do I really love and care for these people." If so, then what do I need to do to communicate this message to them.
5) Do everything to the best of your ability. Strive for excellence.
6) Stress the convenience of ordering online and pickup. Communicate to your audience the time saving element as well as the money saving element of your food ministry.
7) Make an email distribution list and remind your customers to order again each month.
8) Love The People.
How about you? What's working for your site?
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Are we ready to sacrifice for the Gospel?
"The freedom of this city is not negotiable.." ~ John F. Kennedy, Berlin, 1961
"We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty..."
~ John F. Kennedy, Inaugural address, January 20, 1961
"Greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city! There is no one like our God!" ~ Chris Tomlin, God of This City, 2008.
One of the greatest sacrifices the church seems to be making is the sacrifice of forgoing the Gospel. There seems to be a rush of pastors leaving the pulpit of the traditional church at an alarming rate in the western hemisphere. Thankfully, the majority of those who are leaving are doing so with honorable intentions, having become fed up with a congregation of unsalty Christians who seem to have forgotten that men and women are enslaved to sin. What our world needs is not more organs, pews and summer youth vacations. What our world needs is freedom; freedom that only Christ can bring. Freedom from the bondage of slavery to evil. Freedom from being destined to eternity away from God, suffering His wrath.
We need brave men and women, young men and girls who are willing to pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship in order to take the message of Jesus Christ into our schools, our workplace, our community clubs and into the world. We can rest assured that we will be successful, because God is the God of the city!
I am saddened at the rate of decline in our mainline denominations and churches; I am saddened by the shrinking pool of pastors in established, evangelical churches. But I am thrilled at the number of men and women who have faced the ridicule of others, who have bet against the odds, who have stepped out in faith to start a new movement that I believe might very well be greater than The Great Reformation in scope. All this in an effort to take Christ to the masses. I pray that our generation will be the start of Revolution. So let it be Lord, so let it be!
"We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty..."
~ John F. Kennedy, Inaugural address, January 20, 1961
"Greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city! There is no one like our God!" ~ Chris Tomlin, God of This City, 2008.
One of the greatest sacrifices the church seems to be making is the sacrifice of forgoing the Gospel. There seems to be a rush of pastors leaving the pulpit of the traditional church at an alarming rate in the western hemisphere. Thankfully, the majority of those who are leaving are doing so with honorable intentions, having become fed up with a congregation of unsalty Christians who seem to have forgotten that men and women are enslaved to sin. What our world needs is not more organs, pews and summer youth vacations. What our world needs is freedom; freedom that only Christ can bring. Freedom from the bondage of slavery to evil. Freedom from being destined to eternity away from God, suffering His wrath.
We need brave men and women, young men and girls who are willing to pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship in order to take the message of Jesus Christ into our schools, our workplace, our community clubs and into the world. We can rest assured that we will be successful, because God is the God of the city!
I am saddened at the rate of decline in our mainline denominations and churches; I am saddened by the shrinking pool of pastors in established, evangelical churches. But I am thrilled at the number of men and women who have faced the ridicule of others, who have bet against the odds, who have stepped out in faith to start a new movement that I believe might very well be greater than The Great Reformation in scope. All this in an effort to take Christ to the masses. I pray that our generation will be the start of Revolution. So let it be Lord, so let it be!
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