Loud & Clear

Amazing Grace

I just walked into the green room from the auditorium where I got the rare opportunity to just be a volunteer during the Lord’s Supper. We’ve done this many different ways. Today, we had people come in rows forward to receive the elements. As each person pick up the cup, a volunteer  spoke a blessing about Christ’s sacrifice for us and how he has forgiven our sins.

I watched row after row of our people come forward. And I was wrecked. God completely overwhelmed me with how much he loved each person individually. And each person, through this act, was signifying their surrender to God, recognizing and accepting his gift of forgiveness. I watched families come through, generations of a legacy of following Christ. Fathers leading sons, mother’s their daughters.

What an amazing God we have. What an amazing church who loves him. What an honor I get to be a part of a place where God changes lives.

poor education bridges socio-economic barriers

So my sister sent me this video and I thought it was hilarious.

But I think this goes beyond blonde. There’s a lack of common sense and then there’s a serious educational gap. You be the judge.

Crazy Products #3

Now I understand Get Smart was a much better movie than most of us anticipated (though I didn’t get to see it in theaters & now have to wait for DVD). And I understand that merchandising is just part of the movie machine. But seriously, who is buying extra bags of chips to get their very own Shoephone?

Notice there’s no actual picture of a shoe phone, so kids can’t see it and bug their parents to buy chips til they get it. And most adults (I’m sure someone somewhere “needs to have it”) could care less.

So this goes under Crazy Products as another moronic attempt to usurp our expendable cash.

My tag line: Because a cell phone can’t be too big.

What’s your tag line?

Leadership Summit favorite quotes

The Leadership Summit was awesome.  Here’s some of my favorite quotes:

Gary Haugen, CEO & Founder of International Justice Mission
“Just because I am leading, and people are following doesn’t mean I am leading them in things that matter.”

“Are Jesus and I really interested in the same things?”

“What’s God’s plan for making it believable that he is good? We are the plan. There’s no other plan.”

“People will take care for themselves the work that is easy and fun. Leaders must lead in the areas that feel frightening and really difficult.”

“Jesus did not come to make us safe. He came to make us brave.”

Bill George, Harvard Business School professor & former CEO
“People who fail, don’t fail to lead others. They fail to lead themselves.”

Wendy Kopp, Founder of Teach for America
“It’s your personal conviction in this that enables you to ask people to sacrifice to achieve the vision.”

“We channel the greatest future leaders against our greatest social injustice.”

John Burke, Gateway Community Church lead pastor
“The religious leaders didn’t like Jesus’ messy ministry. They wanted it to look clean on the outside.”

“Are we leading others to look at people through the eyes of grace?”

“Spiritual growth is scandalously easy. A child can do it. Are you growing your relationship with God?”

“Seekers aren’t opposed to truth… But what they are opposed to is arrogance.”

Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv lead pastor
“You have everything you need to accomplish what God wants you to. Not having what YOU think you need makes you look for the thing GOD thinks you need to accomplish his will.”

“People say failure is not an option. I agree. Failure is a necessity.”

“You are not what people say of you. You are a child of God, gifted by God and led by God to have everything you need to do what God put you here to do.”

Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship Ministries Founder & prolific author
“Stop blaming the culture when everything goes wrong.”

“Culture is nothing more than religion incarnate.”

“We don’t impose, we propose.”

Catherine Rohr, Prison Entrepreneurship Program CEO & Founder
“I felt compelled to give them a solution where they had no option to fail when they got out.”

“My prayer was simple. ‘Bring it on, God. Bring it on.’”

“God doesn’t really need me. He just needs me to follow instructions.”

“I sacrifice a lot of privacy for accountability. And it’s worth it.”

“These guys understand what it is to be willing to die for something. And that does something special to our culture.”

“This isn’t about pity. We hope this is about compassion. Suffering with people and taking them to the next level.”

Mother Teresa’s commitments she made to God and never compromised:

• Say yes to God in everything.
• Respond to God promptly.
• Refuse God nothing.
• Seek to love God as he has never been loved before.

Clovis Hills: a redeeming church

We say it alot around here. There’s a church for everyone. No matter your dress style, worship preference, beverage necessity or preferred baptism method, there’s a church somewhere that fits you.

But what about Clovis Hills? Who do we fit? What’s our uniqueness?

Pastor Steve and I had a telephone interview this week with the Willow Creek Association. As we talked about our history, defining moments, biggest failures and most important learnings, one thing kept coming around.  We are a redeeming church.

I can tell you story after story of people who’ve come to Clovis Hills wounded, a jerk, abandoned, burned out, a snob or disconnected. We’ve seen marriages fall apart and end in divorce, yet both continue to attend here. We seen folks with huge abuses in their past come to health and be restored to life and ministry. We’ve had guys who were the meanest, nastiest guys you’d ever run into transform into the nicest, loving-est guys you could imagine. Totally different people! I still can’t believe it sometimes the transformation that happens around here.

Pastor Steve even once started a special growth group he called the X-Min (similar to the comic name) that was made up of about a dozen ex-pastors attending Clovis Hills. Some had simply burned out. Others made personal mistakes that cost them their positions.

I’ve always wondered where these guys went after they stepped down from ministry, especially those in disgrace. Apparently, they come to Clovis Hills. Here they are anonymous, just themselves and rediscover God’s love, grace and purpose for their lives. They’re in growth groups, in ministry teams (some are greeters!), and other areas. It’s amazing to me.

On September 7, we’re starting a message series called Redeeming Grace. One of these pastors is going to co-teach with Steve for two of those weeks, sharing his own story about his fall and his restoration. It’s going to be an amazing series!

Pastor Steve has said from the beginning Clovis Hills is about Changed Lives. And while some staff including myself, and perhaps even you, have managed to create some image in our own minds of what we think Clovis Hills should look like and be, and have wondered sometimes at why we aren’t everything we wished, Clovis Hills is still a place where life change happens.

So who are we? What’s our identity, vision and uniqueness?  We’re the place the broken, the bruised and the battered find refuge, God’s grace and purpose for their lives. What an awesome place to be!

Now let me clarify. Some will think that this shouldn’t qualify as a uniqueness. After all, isn’t that every church’s mission? Well, yes and no. My parents church is a missional church. Seekers don’t go to their church really. But they are constantly doing community projects, sending missionaries, equipping leaders. That’s their uniqueness. Other churches are discipling churches. Or worshipping churches. God seems to gift churches as uniquely as he does people.

Every believer and church should follow the Great Commandment (love God & people) and the Great Commission (teach them to follow Jesus). HOW they accomplish that exactly is part of their uniqueness.

If Clovis Hills isn’t your church home, what is your church’s uniqueness?

Summit Week!

Well, it’s finally here!  The week of the Leadership Summit. We’ve been working on this so long, it’s going to be odd when it’s gone.

Last night I was at training (I’m going to be an usher). Got pumped up by Dave Love, encouraged by Moses with a dose of bonding with my fellow ushers.

Today, Jen and I are setting up the projector. Tests tomorrow and Wednesday.

I’ll give you updates on all the boring stuff going on behind the scenes as we prepare. Hope you’re coming. It’s going to be great!

creative element potential problems

When programing an element for your worship or youth service, there are a couple things you should think through first.  Potential technical problems should be near the top.

Check this out.

Thanks Dana for sending this my way.

By the way, if anyone knows a WordpressMU plugin that would make this thing show up on my page, let me know. I’ve tried a few, but no go so far.

prequal to greatest TV show below

If you know me well, you’ll know that I think the new Battlestar Galactica is the greatest show on TV right now. The fact that it is ending is only softened by the knowledge they chose story over dollars, and opted not to string it out simply to make money.

With the impending end of BSG, we may now take comfort the producers got the greenlight to create a prequal about Caprica. The trailer is below.

Wonder about the girl who’s a perfect copy? SPOILER: she’s a cylon. Betcha didn’t see that coming! Ok, maybe you did. Anyway, enjoy!

Crazy Products #2

Here we go. One pill is all you need to take care of that pesky sin issue. The good thing is, if you carry the bottle with you, you can do whatever you want!

Also, I never realized that forgiveness tasted so much like lemon…

Tag line provided: One a day makes the sin go away.

My tag line:  Forgiveness never tasted so good!

Your tag line?

wonderflonium is exactly how it sounds

Stop whatever you are doing right now and go immediately to www.drhorrible.com.

You may have heard some of the best programing isn’t coming out on tv, but the internet. This is proof.