Flat Rock is OSM!

A bunch of Greater Latrobe students and I kicked off the summer yesterday at Lynn Run swimming at flat rock. The water was FREEZING COLD!!! But we had an amazing time. Summer is upon us...YAY!!!

Grace and Peace to you.

My new favorite song

Some pictures from my cell phone that make me smile

10 reasons why ABS was awesome tonight!

1) Watching the Deuce nearly lose his pants when he tried to open the window.
2) Winging the dinger
3) Eating 10 boxes of hot tamales in one hour...something tells me that I'm going to pay for that later, though.
4) Seeing how red Patty's face got when he ate an entire box of hot tamales in one big mouthful.
5) Hearing the worship band members share about how blessed they were by getting to play on Sunday morning.
6) Listening to everyone share about why they "groan for their heavenly dwelling"
7) The tiny tunnel
8) When Cletus blamed his tardiness on the fact that his dad was getting a haircut...proving once again that, when it comes to a Claney, you just can't rush beauty.
9) Hearing the Zachs talk after they sucked the helium out of the balloons.
10) Seeing the look on Amber's face when she found John 14's reference to us being a part of God...PRICELESS!

I love my ABS group!!!
Grace and Peace to you.

Saddleback's Impact (a ferocious love affair)

I feel like I've spent the last 3 days engaged in a ferocious love affair, a steamy get away with Jesus. Over the last 3 days I have felt His presence in ways that I haven't ever felt before. Honestly, twice I even looked over my shoulder while I was "alone" in my hotel room because I felt such a manifest presence. While I have spent my days learning from, and rubbing shoulders with, some of the biggest names in ministry, I have felt Jesus scraping away at some of the ugly, broken layers of my heart. I've felt Jesus wooing me and courting me all over again. Though I can't really describe it, I've taken a recent measure of His grace extended to me and found that it is more expansive than all I've ever considered. I swear to you I'm more head-head-over-heels in ridiculous love with my King today than I've ever known. It's the most gloriously scary feeling that I've ever experienced. In some ways, I feel like I'm out of control.

That He made me...
That He saved me...
That He rose for me...
That He indwells me...
That He is preparing a place for me...
That He is coming back for me...
It is all just taking my breath away...

And that's not all...He is calling me. And more so than ever before, I hear His call. I've awakened in my sleep over the past few nights with dreams of encountering Jesus and Him saying, "Mark, follow me." "Mark, feed my sheep." "Mark, come and die." I awaken to those words with my heart pounding in my chest and sweat pouring off of me. I swear if I were not at this conference, I'd be convinced that I'm going a little crazy. But it's true...He's calling me. Over the course of this conference we've seen videos of the poor and oppressed; we've heard statistics about death and poverty and it is affecting me more profoundly than ever before. In fact, it's down right breaking my heart. When Rick Warren said this quote today, something snapped in me that is still deeply broken...He said, "What God wants more than anything is for His lost sheep to be found."

My God, forgive us that you are still grieving for your lost children.

Perhaps I've said it before, but this I say again. I'm done. I'm finished. I've seen Jesus, and all I know is that this world has nothing for me. I've seen His cross and been changed. As a husband, father, and disciple I will follow Him straight to the doors of hell to fight for those who are perishing. I know in whom I have believed. I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that He is able to do immeasurably more than I could ever hope for or imagine. May He ask no longer, "Whom shall I send?" I will go.

Let nothing hold me back, slow me down, distract me, discourage me, dis way me, or dilute my passion for Him. It's not about me...not anymore. It's all about Him. It's all about the approval of my King. That is true Charis and Arene. May I find it. May you find it, as well.

PS - As I said earlier, I'm just in stupid love with Jesus right now. And I intend to feed that love, so I'm going to be restructuring my schedule over the coming weeks to spend more time with Him. So...if it takes me a little extra time to return an email or phone call to you, I just ask for your patience. One of the things that I've learned this week is that I've gotta start giving Christ more quality time. I hope you understand.

Saddleback Conference Day #3

Wow...that's all I can say right now is wow...In this post I am going to give you some of my key learns and favorite quotes from the day, and in a later post I am going to try and sum up for you what is going on in my soul right now.

So...here are the quotes:
"Conflict is almost always a result of spiritual emptiness."

"There are 2 kinds of leaders: selfish leaders and servant leaders."

"Selfish leaders have moved from 'service' to 'serve us'."

"One of the most important words in our faith is the word 'Go'. You can't spell Gospel without 'Go'. You can't spell Good News without 'Go'. Islam's banner is submit. Budhisms banner is wait. The Christians banner should be go."

"It's not the Great suggestion. It's the Great Commission."

"Jesus invested the maximum amount of His time in those who would carry the maximum amount of the responsibility."

"The Christian objective should be the global glory of God."

"30,000 children die everyday from otherwise preventable or curable diseases."

"Most of the world would love to have America's problems."

"Half of the world lives on less than $2 dollars a day."

"One billion people alive today live on less than $1 dollar a day."

"For the last 50 years the hands and feet of Christ have been amputated, and the body of Christ has become nothing more than a big mouth." (Quote of the conference for me!)

"Every church must be a 'sending church', and every church must be a 'receiving church'."

"It takes a church to grow a village."

"If money could solve the worlds problems, the world wouldn't have any problems."

"Modern day churches have adopted a philosophy of 'you pray, you pay, now stay out of the way and leave the work to the professionals. This was never what Jesus had in mind for His bride."

"The antidote to poverty is job creation, not fundraising."

"The church that doesn't want to grow is telling the lost that they can go to hell."

"The Kingdom of God is anywhere that Jesus is King."

"The problem with most of us is that we set our goals too low, and we try to achieve them too fast."

"What God wants more than anything is for His lost children to be found."
(This quote breaks my heart.)

"72,000 people accept Christ per day."

I would like to end this post by going on record and saying that I'm utterly convinced that Rick Warren is the real deal and lightyears beyond ANYONE else in ministry. There's a lot of criticism written about Rick every day...Simply put, it's all trash. Rick is a true man of God who operates in a league that is truly all his own. We should all thank God for Rick and his many contributions to the Kingdom.

Grace and Peace to you.

Saddleback Conference Day #2

It was another extraordinary day at Saddleback today. The day opened with more of Rick Warren sharing his pearls of wisdom. Let me just say that I was a Rick Warren fan before I got here, and now I'm just blown away by the guy. Seriously, he's light-years beyond anyone I've ever heard before.

Today I had the pleasure of going one on one with Bethany Johnson, coordinator of small groups for Saddleback's Junior High ministry, Kurt Johnston, Pastor of Saddleback's Junior High Ministry, and Rick Warren, himself. Needless to say, my brain is on overload right now. I got so much good information today that it will take me weeks to really sort through it. That being said, here are some of the great quotes of the day:

"The family is the most important small group of the church."

"When I make decisions, I use the brains that I've got and all of the brains I can gather."

"Most Christians are already educated past the point of obedience."

"I strive to make my ministry fast, flexible, and fluid."

"If your church were a ship, your pulpit would be the rutter."

"Vision is not the ability to see into the future. Vision is the ability to see opportunity in the moment and jump on it."

"If God's gonna make you like His Son, then He's gotta put you through the kind of stuff that Jesus went through."

"Before God can work through you, He has to work in you."

"If you love Christ, you must feed His sheep." (referencing John 21:15)

"The challenge of teaching God's Word is presenting unchanging truths to an ever-changing culture."

"Preachers are bridge builders between an ancient text and a contemporary audience."

"The problem with many churches is that there are so many believers and so few doers."

"Never before has the Gospel had so many in-roads into people's lives yet made so little difference in the way they actually live."

"The Word of God was not given to us to teach us to be nice, eloquent, or tame. It was given to reform our lives."

****Also, I learned that Saddleback's Student Ministry staff is required to spend their first hour in the office every day in personal quiet time. They meet at 9am for staff prayer time, and they spend the rest of the hour at their desks in the Word. It's required during that time that their computer be turned off and their phones be forwarded to voicemail. Kurt Johnston said, "It's incredibly important to me and Doug (Fields) that our staff is growing in the Word. This is our way of making sure that happens." VERY COOL!!!

Grace and Peace to you.

Saddleback Conference Day #1

Today was the first day of my stay at Saddleback Church in Lake Forrest, California. As many have asked me to, I am going to update you on some of the key insights that I've gained from the unique opportunity that I've received in not only attending this conference but also getting to meet with Saddleback's Student Ministry Staff one on one.

That being said, here is a list of some of my favorite quotes from the day. These quotes came from Session presentations by Rick Warren and a meeting with Doug Fields in which we discussed my ministry and its impact on my family and marriage.

"In ministry, I get knocked down often, but because of Jesus I never get knocked out. Always remember that...down is not out."

"It takes more than prayer to grow a church. It takes skill as well."

"Sometimes I think that most churches are deacon possessed."

"God often puts the greatest gifts in the weakest vessels."

"If you have no friends who are unbelievers and disreputable, then you are not Christ-like."

"Humility is about being honest about both your strengths and your weaknesses."

"Most pastors are like bad photographs; they are over-exposed and under-developed."

"It's always too soon to quit."

"Pastors should learn to enjoy the grace of God more. The Pastor of a church often lives under the task of living up to a standard of perfection, but reality shows that the Pastor would better serve the Kingdom by working from his failures. After all, the Pastor is the church's biggest trophy of grace."

"Grace is the fact that God knew every stupid thing that I would ever do in ministry, yet He called me anyway."

"Being faithful to your calling has very little to do with what you "do"...It's more about to whom you belong. You don't belong to a church. You don't belong to Student Ministry. You don't belong to any other ministry either. You belong to Jesus."

"If God loves you unconditionally, what more do you need?"

"Gaze into the eyes of Jesus and know that He is fond of you."

"Never confuse prominence with significance. Your contribution to the Kingdom may not be prominent...who cares...it's incredibly significant."

"It's so easy to learn 'how to' and forget 'why'."

"A lot of disciples start off in their ministry as servants, and then they turn into celebrities. That's wrong."

"My church and the rest of the world can go to hell if it means that I can't be a Godly daddy and husband."

"You don't have to be perfect to be used by God, but you do have to be authentic."

"Run every idea through your wife. I've learned that my wife is uncanny in speaking into my discernment processes."

"Your children shouldn't be treated any differently than any other child in the church. They are babies in the Kingdom. Who cares what their dad does for the church?"

"You should give quality time to Jesus, but you better make sure to have quantity time left over for your wife."

"Most Pastors to Students make their exit from a church, or Student Ministry in general, because they reach the understanding that they are not able to use their primary gift set on the highest level in that environment."

"You have to be 'you' in ministry. If you don't be 'you', then 'you' will never make 'your' contribution."

"You can measure a Pastor's greatness by how much it takes to discourage him."

"A Pastor's greatest nemesis is not criticism. It's his fear of criticism."

"I don't worry about motivating others. I focus instead on increasing my own passion for what I'm doing. My passion, at its highest, is incredibly contagious. So is yours."

That's enough for day one. There's so much more that I'd love to share with you...maybe later. Grace and Peace to you.

What are the most difficult things about ministry?

During my time at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary two days ago, I was asked by a group of students to blog about what I felt were the most difficult things about working in ministry and how I deal with those difficult things.

So...shout out to everyone at PTS! And here we go:

1) Working in ministry, some people are just going to hate you no matter what you do.
It's the cold hard truth, but it shouldn't surprise us...Jesus said that they would. Regardless, people's distrust, dissatisfaction, and extreme criticism can become one of the most exhausting and hurtful parts of the gig. I've had people make hurtful comments about me over all kinds of crazy things...the types of games I allow to go on during my programs, my hairstyle, my vocabulary, my insistence upon praying in Jesus' name, the list goes on and on... And what's worse, in most cases they didn't even bring their comments and concerns to me. They chose instead to spread their opinions in the form of parking lot gossip. Ugh...

How I deal with it:
I confront the complaint with a teachable spirit. Not only is it Biblical (Mt. 18), but in most every case, a Pastor can learn something from confronting the complaint when they do it with a teachable spirit. Many times I have learned that at least part of the complaint carried some merit, and I was then able to make some healthy changes. That being said, there have been times when the complaint carried absolutely no merit. Regardless, confronting them in a Biblical manner let that person know that I was going to treat them the way that Jesus has called me to...that's a win in any case. At the end of the day, however, a Pastor has to learn how to deal with the emotional baggage of these types of things. I have learned that it helps me to FOCUS ON THE FRUIT of my ministry. For example, my last sermon series was a study on spiritual warfare called "All Out War". We began every program with a different kind of war just to get the ball rolling. One night we had a nerf gun war, then a marshmallow war, etc. Over the course of those weeks I had several parents become uncomfortable with the idea of such shenanigans going on at a church. Well...what they weren't aware of is the fact that several kids accepted Christ as a product of that environment. You can read about it here if you'd like. Everytime I started getting down on myself because I was being criticised I focused in on all of the fruit that was showing in our ministry. Bottomline, you and I can argue all day long whether or not a Pastor should have a Mohawk or whether or not there should be planned pillow fights in our programs, but no one who knows the power of Christ and His Gospel will argue with you over a changed life. FOCUS ON THE FRUIT!

2) No one tends to your soul on a consistent basis.
Who cut's the barber's hair? Who performs surgery on the Doctor? And in most cases, who shepherds the shepherd? This is quite a problem for a lot of ministers because they spend so much of their time and energy pouring into others, and no one pours back in to them.

How I deal with it:
Read this blog.

3) You're often unable to really worship in your own church.
It seems strange to say, but it's true. You'll go into the sanctuary of your own church with a hunger for God and a heart thirsty for Jesus, and then the service begins...and you can no longer focus on God because there is dust on the pulpit, or there aren't enough ushers to accommodate the morning's crowd, or the sound system keeps feeding back, or ____________ (fill in the blank). And the problem with any and all of these things is that, as a Pastor of the church, you feel responsible for fixing those problems. Let's not even mention the hundreds of people who may want to talk to you over the course of the morning. Frankly, I can't worship some Sundays because I'm so distracted by it all.

How I deal with it:
Let me begin by saying that I haven't gotten this one all figured out, but I have found it very helpful to pray about it BEFORE I arrive at church on Sundays. I do...I beg God to so captivate my spirit that nothing and no one will get in His way. Also, I've decided to live with the fact that I can only be responsible for my own weekend preparations...what I mean by that is this...If it wasn't on my personal "to do" list, then I don't have to carry a burden of guilt about the fact that it didn't get done. Dusting the pulpit, for example, is not on my "list" of Sunday preparations. That doesn't mean that I won't or wouldn't find a rag and dust it off if there were time to do so...It just means that I'm not going to grieve the fact that the pulpit didn't get dusted when I'm supposed to be in an attitude of worship.

4) Your Pastor is your boss.
This is something that is getting discussed a lot behind the scenes at Charter Oak Church in recent weeks. Not necessarily because we're having major problems with it, but rather because we are trying to be concious of it and healthful in our approach. That being said, if I may be so transparent, most days I live feeling like I don't have a Pastor. And the reason for that is simply because my Pastor and my boss are one in the same. Is it possible to wholeheartedly listen to the man who just held you to a strict deadline (because of his position in the organization) when he takes the stage to teach you about grace (because of his position in the Kingdom)? Think about it...

How I deal with it:
I don't know what the best fix for this is. Of all of the difficulties that I list in this post, this is the one that I struggle with the most. I've made compensations here and there that have been helpful overtime, though. For instance, I have a mentor that is not in any way connected to Charter Oak Church that I conference with on a weekly basis. He speaks into my life in many ways that a Pastor would, and I'm able to dialogue with him free of worry that this conversation could impact my employment. I have also learned to not wait around for my Pastor to minister to me. If I'm in need, I take the burden upon myself to get assistance. After all, I'm just one lamb in a flock of many. That being said, I hope that no one would ever read this and think that I am trying to speak critically of Pastors Dave or Chris by saying what I have here. I'm not! They are wonderful men of God who are both great Pastor's whom I love and respect very much. This is just a reality of church work that the enemy can use to get at us.

5) You're probably going to over-extend yourself.
Working in ministry, you're either going to be tempted to, or expected to, have your hands in on everything. From meetings, meals, and ministry steering committees, to preaching, programming, and problem solving...there are times when it seems like EVERYONE is counting on you, and you are left feeling like you have to manufacture time just to make it all happen. Don't...you can't. It isn't healthy. You'll burn out and become a statistic.

How I deal with it:
I read this book, and I learned how to say "no". I've also learned the value of delegating everything that can be done by someone other than myself...I'm still developing a habit of putting it to practice, but I'm getting better at it. Also, I sit down with my calendar scheduling as much of my life as I can weeks and months in advance when possible. I've found that this practice helps me find margin for Sabbath, family, etc. And once that schedule is set, I stick to it like glue. Time management = a happier life as far as I'm concerned.

To those who asked for this post, I hope that this has given you some food for thought. Grace and Peace.

My Savior's love language

This morning I spent my quiet time in 1 Corinthians 13 reading about love. This passage has always fascinated me because it sounds so simple, yet it is so incredibly hard to live into. And what intrigues me even more is the fact that Paul was writing this description of love as a mandate among the entire human race...as a description of the love that we as Christ followers should have for all of those with whom we come in contact.

Oh sure, people have used this passage of scripture in wedding ceremonies the world over ever since Paul's letter was first received by the believers in Corinth, but what hits me most is to understand that Paul's context was not to speak about love in the romantic sense (what the Greeks would have called eros). Paul, instead, was writing to a feuding fellowship that was struggling to live in faith-based community who desperately needed to learn how to better love one another unconditionally (what the Greeks would have called agape). With that context in mind, give these verses some consideration:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Wow...that's how Jesus wants us to love everyone...that's really intimidating to me because it's hard enough for me personally to consistently love even my wife and children that well. But something else jumped out at me today. As I stared at the above scripture, the words began to sort of reverse themselves in my mind bringing a new insight to the passage. Check it out:

What once was "love is patient...love is kind" became to me
"patience is love...kindness is love". In addition to that, the later verse became "boastfulness is not love...keeping a record of wrongs is not love". I found that very helpful because, in a life which Jesus wants His disciples to be identified by the way they love one another, I need to know how to speak my Savior's love language.

This may be remedial stuff to you, but this is tough for me.

Consider this, what if the next time someone showed you patience, you understood it the same way that you would if that person were saying to you, "I love you." Or better still, what if the next time you had good reason to get angry with someone, you chose not to get angry with them simply as a means of non-verbally communicating to them, "Jesus and I love you."

Are you so loveable to Christ that He would show you His love through anyone and everyone? I think that you are. Are you so convinced of Christ's love for all of humanity that you would love them back on His behalf? I think that you could. I think that I could, too, if I really put effort to it. It's my prayer that you and I would "tell" someone that we love them today...and everyday for that matter.

Grace and Peace to you.

I'm going to Seminary!

Well, at least for a day, that is. I'm going to Pittsburgh Theological Seminary tomorrow to present as a guest speaker.

It's kind of funny really. While I am very familiar with the Christian studies environment on the collegiate level, I've never thought of myself as the "Seminary" type...and I've certainly never thought of myself as the "would someday present at a Seminary" type. Regardless, I am excited about this opportunity.

I'll be addressing a class of Seminary students on the subject of evangelism, a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. And while I will spare you all of the dirty details of my presentation, here are a few of the thoughts that I'll be developing for the class:

NOTE: These thoughts are completely my own, and I invite you to receive them, or scrutinize them, with the full authority of Scripture, as I contend to be more of a student than an authority on this subject.

1) It's not the Gospel's fault that our churches are dying.
It's not. The Gospel has not lost its power, appeal, or relevance. In the same line of thinking, neither is it Jesus' fault that our churches are dying. What Jesus finished 2,000 years ago has not suddenly been made unfinished. It's our fault that our churches are dying. In our consumer driven society, we have created a consumer driven Christian mindset. What once was a faith walk built upon the love for God and His broken people is now a faith walk built upon "my personal Savior meeting my personal needs to make me a better person". Don't get me wrong, I believe that we need to emphasize the personal, intimate nature of our Lord and allow Him to change us from the inside out, but the Great Comission makes it clear that our faith walk isn't exclusively about Christ working in us. Rather, it is also about Christ working through us. To put it bluntly, many of our lost friends are lost because you and I have not awakened to the fact that it is our personal responsibility to spread the Good News. Perhaps we would be more successful evangelists if, instead of being "Gospel consumers" focused on reaping the benefit of the Good News, we became "Gospel connections" focused on building a fellowship of other connections to the Gospel all reaping the benefit of the Good News.

2) Your country club's membership will have to make room for the pierced, tattooed, addicted, jaded, unlovely, and ill-reputable of your community if it intends to be The Bride of Christ.
Show me a church where the town drunk would be asked to come back once he has sobered up, and I'll show you a body of believers who has missed the point. We serve a God who touched lepers, dined with misfits, and offered His salvation to people of all walks of life...first to the Jew and then to the Gentile. Here's a question: what are we saying then about the loving, relational nature of our Savior if we should carry the banner of His Gospel with more exclusivity than even He did? When He walked the Earth, He extended his invitation, without reservation, to who-so-ever would believe upon Him, and His invitation is still extended in the same manner today. May our doors then be opened wide to the unclean. And may our hearts be broken when the paralyzed man has to be lowered in through the roof because the "faithful" wouldn't allow him in through the door.

3) Grace demonstrated is better than grace explained.
It always has been, and it always will be. With that in mind, I believe that the reason that the lost world has not yet been successfully evangelized is simply that the body of believers who came before us, were not good practitioners of amazing grace, and, what's more, we are in danger of repeating their mistake. Providing you with an example, I could tell you about Jesus' desire that we would forgive one another seventy times seven, and you might appreciate the concept. But if I were to actually become so sold out to Christ that I suck it up and genuinely forgive you seventy times seven, then you see Christ's love in me...you see transformation and surrender in me...that's evangelism at its best. In short, we will evangelize better as we learn to practice what we preach.

4) Political correctness is condemning people to hell.
If the name of Jesus Christ offends people, then be offensive. Be nice, but be offensive. A Gospel with no cross is impotent. A salvation with no Christ is no salvation at all. BE OFFENSIVE!!! Share Christ, Him crucified and resurrected. Share the Truth of His Word. Share it in season and out of season. It is the truth which sets men free.

5) Extend the invitation.
I know quite a few people who have decades or more invested into other people whom they are trying to reach for the Lord who have never simply extended the invitation to accept Christ. I don't understand that. If it's nervousness that is getting you, then get over it. If it's the "right opportunity" that you're waiting for, then make it happen. Jesus' gift of salvation was never meant to save for a rainy day. Take a chance. Make a move. It's time...

Have an awesome day!
Grace and Peace

Rocked my world

I was reading in John chapter 4 yesterday when something jumped off the page at me like never before. It begins in verse 43 as Jesus travels back through Galilee when He arrives in Cana and is approached by a certain royal official. This meeting is a bit of a chance encounter, and an opportune one at that. You see, the official's son was dying. So as the official draws close to Jesus, he begins to beg Jesus to come and heal his son. And after a bit of dialogue, Jesus makes it clear that He will not come to the official's home, but instead speaks to the official saying, "You may go. Your son will live." And what's recorded next has rocked my world. The NIV records it as, "The man took Jesus at His word and departed." (v. 50)

That official, panicked, stressed, desperate and at the end of his rope enduring the living hell of watching his son die, made the decision to step out in faith and "take Jesus at His word".

He took Jesus at His word...
He took Jesus at His word!!!

There's something about that that sits in my gut and convicts me beyond words. Think about it for a minute...how much of our relationship with Christ; our understanding of His word; and our "faith for the moment" seems to make perfect sense when we are sharing it with others in their time of need, but when it comes to our own time of need...when our emotions take over; when doubt sets in; when hope seems lost...causes our faith to wilt? But not for the official, there was something in his childlike-faith, something unbreakable, that, simply put, was able to take Jesus at His word. Wow...

There are moments in the Bible that are championed by heroes of faith. Moments like Daniel in the lions den, Peter walking on the water, Moses returning to the Pharaoh, and I could go on and on and on...but this one is different. It's different because this official doesn't have years of faith in God to draw from. In the timeline of Jesus' ministry this event is near the beginning. In other words, this official had just heard of Jesus...and yet...he took Him at his word. I LOVE that!

It makes me wonder what areas of my life and your life could be healed and redeemed if only you and I would make the strategic decision to ignore the details and simply hold fast to the promises of God. After the official left Jesus that day, this happened:

"While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour." Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed." (v. 51-53)

Let me ask you this, will you take Jesus at His word today? I'm really going to give my best effort to that today. I really am. I hope you will, too.

Grace and Peace

DRIVE-ing it home

The DRIVE Conference closed yesterday with one of the most eye-opening, challenging,and anointed messages that I've ever heard. While Andy Stanley had prepared to speak on vision casting, he prayerfully decided to scrap that at the last minute for a more personal message entitled "random thoughts on leadership and ministry".

During this message Andy shared 5 quotes that he keeps in front of him (literally) during all of his study time at North Point. One of those quotes has so infected my spirit that I simply can't stop thinking about it. The quote is originally from Craig Groeschel (Pastor of THIS CHURCH). The quote is:

"To reach the people that no one has reached, you must do what no one else has done."

Think about that for a minute. That, in principle, is so simple and so profound that it's one of the most obvious yet brilliant things ever spoken in the arena of "church innovation". And what's more, IT'S SO TRUE...Think about it. We all know people who have no relationship with Christ who will never consider stepping inside of a church regardless of how cutting edge your production package, teaching style, worship style, or facility, etc. may be.

So, church, what do we do about that? Do we keep doing things the way that we've always done them improving upon our systems while never reconsidering our methods...and all the while condemning so many to hell...or do we start wrestling with the concept of reinventing our institution positioning ourselves to present the Gospel to as many lost people as possible? I, for one, think that there's only one Biblical answer to that question...

We must change. The method, that is, not the message...
I'm so convicted of this that I lost sleep over it last night. I tossed and turned in my bed for hours begging God to show me a vision of what that could look like for Charter Oak Church and its many ministries, and I'm going to continue praying that prayer. I'm going to continue praying that prayer because I'm becoming more and more convinced that the church who successfully reaches the "prodigal sons", "Samaritan women", and their strong network of associates is going to be a church that emphasizes, AT ALL COST, Christ, His Gospel, and His Word...not facilities, formats, or fruitless traditions.

God please give us the courage to break the rules for your Kingdom's sake. Give us the vision, the faithfulness, and the anointing to do what no one else will do so that we may reach those whom no one else will reach. In Jesus' name - AMEN

Grace and Peace

ps - the above pic is our Senior Management Team...pic was taken at the DRIVE Conference.

Izzy laughing

This is my three-and-a-half month old son Izzy laughing. I LOVE this!



Grace and Peace

I'm nobody

I had one of the most humbling experiences of my career in ministry to date this morning. As you may know from reading a previous post, I will be traveling to Saddleback Church later this month where, about a month ago, I learned that I have been given an "all-access pass" to their Student Ministry and staff thereof. Doug Fields personally orchestrated this for me, and I'm truly honored to get the opportunity.

Okay, now we fast forward to this morning. This morning I was sitting in a break-out session at the DRIVE Conference at North Point Church. You should also know that all of Saddleback's Student Ministry staff is here at the conference as well...while I knew that their staff was here, I've purposefully been keeping my distance from them as I didn't want to take advantage of their opportunity to learn and grow here at this conference. Yet this morning God took over and put together a divine appointment of sorts. I was sitting waiting for the session to begin when Kurt Johnson, Middle School Pastor of Saddleback Church, sat down right next to me.

Naturally, Kurt and I introduced ourselves to one another, and he got a funny look on his face and said, "Mark McMahon...Mark McMahon...Aren't you and I having lunch together sometime later this month?" I told him that we were and that I was really looking forward to that. He then shared with me a little more about the process that occurred within Saddleback's staff meeting during which Doug Fields set this whole thing up for me.

It went down like this. Doug walked in and told his entire staff that, unless they had a high-priority prior engagement, he expected every member of his staff to make themselves available to me at my convenience. Kurt said that everyone was quick to oblige, but, naturally, they all began to wonder who I was...I mean, I must be someone pretty important or of high status to get Doug to do this for me. Then Kurt asked me the question:

"Mark, who are you?"

It was the most scary question I've ever been asked in my life. Not because I feel like I've never accomplished anything in ministry...not because I lack self-worth or self-confidence...but rather, I knew in the grand scheme of ministry world there was only one honest answer to that question.

"I'm nobody, Kurt. I'm just a no-name youth pastor at a relatively small church in Pennsylvania."

To which he sat back in his seat quietly. I asked him if he was disappointed, and he quickly said, "No." Then he said, "Mark, you should know that this is the first time that Doug has ever done anything like this. God is doing something big for you."

After the session ended, I said goodbye to Kurt telling him again that I was looking forward to meeting with him in a couple of weeks. He replied in the same manner, and we went our separate ways. I share this with you today because I walked away more humbled and awestruck than ever over what I'm going to get to experience later this month at Saddleback. So I ask you again, would you please pray over this trip for me? May 20th-22nd I'll be at Saddleback with an opportunity that has never before been extended to someone like me. Pray that God will help me make the most of the experience. Thanks so much for helping me keep this before the Lord.

Grace and Peace

Wow...

Currently, I, along with the rest of the Senior Management Team of Charter Oak Church, am attending the DRIVE Conference at North Point Community Church in Atlanta Georgia. To quote Andy Stanley, the host of this conference, "DRIVE is about letting North Point's staff pour out everything they know about ministry into us so that we may go and pour it into others."

I tell you all of that to get to the real point of letting you know that Session 1 kicked off with one of the most incredible times of worship that I've ever experienced. Imagine standing shoulder to shoulder in a church that is packed like sardines with 2,300 ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ...and then imagine singing this song with them. I swear to you, the crowd was singing so loudly and passionately that I couldn't hear the vocals coming through the sound system. There were blacks, whites, latinos, europeans, males, females, people of all ages...all sinners saved by amazing grace...

As long as I live, I'll never forget what that sounded like. I'm convinced that in those moments I heard the roar of Heaven...

I've said it a thousand times, and I'll say it thousands more...it's not average grace that God extends to us in Jesus. It's not adequate grace...not even abundant grace...no, no, no...it's amazing grace! Grace that is sufficient...grace enough for you...grace that saved a wretch like me...

It is my hope that His amazing grace and glorious peace invade your day today.
Hallelujah
Amen

Bree said...

"I am not alone." You should read (this blog).

Great Quotes

"Some wish to live within earshot of a chapel bell. I, on the other hand, wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell. That way the cry of the damned will remind me to fight with all that I am for those souls who have yet to enter."
C.T. Studd

"How can we feel good talking about the Second Coming of Christ when so many have never heard about the first...?"
Oswald Smith

"Let my heart be broken by the things which break the heart of God."
Bob Pierce

"Show me someone who has faced the challenge of changing themselves, and I'll show you someone who has the right to talk about changing the world."
Rick Warren

"The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity. Rather, it is its sending capacity."
Mike Stachura

"The end of fear is where we begin."
The Goo Goo Dolls

"God didn't save you from what you've done...God saved you from who you were. You should thank Him for that."
Wayne Barber

"We love to hang on to things that feel good, produce great results, yet are completely irrelevent to our mission."
Tom Beagan

"It's Friday, but Sunday's coming."
Tony Campolo

"Some people preach because they feel like they have to say something...Other people preach because God has given them something to say."
Allen Weller

"Though He slay me, yet will I put my hope in Him."
Job (Job 13:15)

"Just because you step in a pile of mess doesn't mean you need to lay down and roll around in it."
Marie Slate (Marie is my mom. She would say this to me anytime she discerned that I was wollowing in self pity.)

"I want this church to be about changing lives for eternity."
Chris Whitehead

"I want to see you in Heaven and marvel at your knees roughly calloused from hours upon hours of prayer, your hands ever dirtied from the work of the Gospel, your back broken from carrying your cross, and your throat sore from a lifetime of telling others about His grace."
Anonymous

"To call me a prodigal would be only scratching the surface of what I've been known to be."
Rush of Fools

Grace and Peace to you.

A beautiful mind

This morning I had a fascinating discussion with a brain surgeon. It all began when he found out that I am a pastor, and he asked me, "Pastor, do you feel comfortable that the oral traditions of the Gospel events were accurately captured when they were finally recorded by the Gospel writers?" Naturally, I assured him that, by faith, I have never questioned the accuracy of the oral tradition, and, what's more, the study that I have done both personally and on the collegiate level has only verified their accuracy...so I turned the question around on him..."Doctor," I asked, "do you feel comfortable that the oral traditions were recorded accurately by the Gospel writers?" His answer surprised me. He said boldly and confidently, "Absolutely!" He then went on to share with me some facts about the human brain and its ability to retain information. He pointed out the fact that for at least 2 of the Gospel authors, Matthew and John, even though their Gospels were written well after the life of Christ the information that they had was being retained through multi-sensory first-hand experiences. Which, unlike trying to simply memorize words on a page, their brains were actually able to associate things like sounds, tastes, smells, and visual references...something that the doctor said, as you and I already know, greatly assist with the retention process. He then went on to speak of Mark and Luke...Mark the student of Peter who's passion for Christ made him like a sponge for information, and Luke who was a physician...an exceptionally well educated man who made a living on seeking and retaining information. And then the Doctor told me about people like the guy in (this video). This just blows me away...


I don't know about you, but I had goosebumps the entire time I watched that video. Praise God that there should be absolutely no question regarding the accuracy of the oral tradition.

Grace and Peace to you...