IT'S YOUR CALL

Are you a fixed or growth mindset person?

2012-01-18T13:08:00.000-08:00

Is it possible for Tim Tebow or Tony Romo to become elite hall of fame quarterbacks? What you believe about these quarterbacks may determine how successful you are in your career.

If you have the mindset that neither of these will ever become the quality qb that can lead their team to a Super bowl like Tom Brady or Aaron Rogers, that they don’t have the ability to improve much beyond where they are now, you are probably a “fixed mindset” person. If you think, yes they have a good chance of being great, you are probably more of a "growth mindset".

Chip Heath explains in the book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, that people are generally “fixed mindset” or “growth mindset” and this can make a difference in how you approach success. He provides this simple test to see which mindset you are.

Read the following four sentences and write down whether you agree or disagree with each of them

You are a certain kind of person, and there is not much that can be done to really change that.
No matter what kind of person you are, you can always change substantially.
You can do things differently, but the important parts of who you are can’t really be changed
You can always change basic things about the kind of person you are.

If you agreed with items 1 and 3 you’re someone with a ”fixed mindset.” And if you agreed with items 2 and 4 you tend to have a “growth mindset.”

People who have a "fixed mindset" would more likely believe that their abilities are basically static. If you are dumb, you'll always be dumb. You may get a little bit smarter or better but your ability to be a good speaker, football player or musician is determined by your giftedness or wiring. Fixed mindset people believe Romo and Tebo will never be much better than they are now.

However, those with the “growth mindset” believe that abilities are like muscles - they can be built up with practice. Their mindset is that they are not restricted by their genes. Failure is only a means to being better. An athlete should improve every year he or she plays until age begins to diminish their athletic ability. Good players can become great players. Romo and Tebo will become better players with more experience and hard work.

Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford University in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, establishes the case that a growth mindset will make you more successful at almost anything because those who stretch themselves, take risks, accept feedback, and take the long term view can’t help but progress in their lives and careers. Dweck, through controlled studies proved that the growth mindset can be taught and that it can change lives.Change is possible! But as Christians, we already knew this. Our faith is based on our ability to change, to become new through Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:13, All things are possible through Christ. Even for Romo and especially for Tebow!

The question is which mindset are you? And, if you are a “fixed mindset” person; are you willing to be retrained to become growth minded? Your success may depend on it.

Is tradition a stumbling block to growth?

2012-01-04T12:41:00.000-08:00

It is always interesting to see what the crazy new style of uniform the Oregon Ducks football team comes out with. The helmets they wore at the Rose Bowl were wild, very futuristic. The Ducks have worn 12 different uniform combinations in 12 games and 7 different helmet styles. I guess they took the "uniform" out of their uniforms. And it is catching on with other teams. I hadn't given much thought of it being anything more than a Nike commercial for their gear. I'm more of a traditionalist because I'm not crazy about them. I didn’t like it when my alma mater, Baylor, started wearing different uniforms other than their traditional green and gold.

However, I’m told that this is more than about innovative uniforms; it represents a movement in college football to forsake tradition in the name of winning. The theory is that teams focusing a lot on tradition and keeping the status quo like Penn State and Texas A&M actually are at a disadvantage. The logic is that tradition focuses on the status quo, not changing, and to get better we must change. Progress demands change, which tradition disdains. The Ducks and other teams that follow suit are forgoing tradition to focus more on whatever it takes to become a better team. The new uniforms appeal to the 17 and 18 year old athletes and actually become a recruiting tool to help them be better.

I'm not sure how much validity there is to all of this in college football. It has helped raise the Oregon program to a high level. But it got me thinking about tradition and the church and whether or not tradition can hinder us as individuals and churches to be what God wants us to be and do.

There certainly has been a great tension in the church throughout the ages between tradition and progress. The Catholic Church has gone so far as to elevate tradition equal to scripture in forming doctrine. While the protestant denominations don’t take it to that extent, most all embrace tradition and have a difficult time with any sort of change.
Could this focus on tradition actually hurt believers and keep us from being all God wants us to be and do? Is tradition a stumbling block? Hebrews 12:1

My thoughts:
1) Tradition helps us remember what is important and plays a key role in instilling in us our faith and values. It is what unites the Jews and helps them remember what God has done for them. The Lord's Supper is one of our traditions that help us "remember" what Jesus has done for us.

2) Tradition can hinder our growth when we place an inordinate amount of time on it. God's work in our lives includes justification (past), sanctification (present) and glorification (present and future). I believe the church has been set back because of an obsession more with the past than the present and yes, individuals have suffered much because of it. Even today Christians have a tendency to want to study more than apply the word. We can easily get caught up with the past and even the future while neglecting the present.

3) If we use tradition to help educate, instill, and celebrate our purpose and our values and give the right amount of time and emphasis to it, this will free us up to be flexible when it comes to determining the path to accomplishing our purpose. Our methods can and need to be dynamic in this ever-changing world in order to best make disciples. The church has lost ground in its purpose of making disciples and in order to be the influence it should be in this world, there needs to be a reemphasis and refocus on how best to accomplish that purpose. As Hebrews 12 states, our focus should be on Jesus. My thought is not the Jesus on the cross, but the Jesus who is alive in us, working to make us like him.

Your thoughts?

The Decision Tree

2011-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

One of the great take-aways I received from the book Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott was the idea of the Decision Tree. This is a great visual tool to help your organization be more productive (bear fruit) by identifying clearly, which categories decisions and actions fall into, so that an employee or volunteer knows exactly where he or she has the authority to make decisions and take action.

This word picture communicates to those you lead where they are free to make decisions and how to grow and empower others to get along without you.

Decisions are arranged in categories based on their importance and impact on the organization. The analogy of root, trunk, branch, and leaf decisions indicates the degree of potential harm or good to the organization as action is taken at each level.

Poor decisions at any level can hurt an organization, but if you unwittingly yank a leaf off a tree, the tree won’t die. A Root Decision if poorly made and implemented could cause major harm to the organization.

Leaf Decisions

Make the decision. Act on it. Do not report the action you took.

Branch Decisions

Make the decision. Act on it. Report the action you took daily, weekly, or monthly.

Trunk Decisions

Make the decision. Report your decision before you take action

Root Decisions

Make the decision jointly, with input from many people.

The goal is to provide employees or volunteers a clear upward path of professional development. Progress is made when decisions are moved from root to trunk to branch to leaf. As an employee demonstrates a track record of making good decisions in the trunk category, for example, it will be satisfying to both the employee and the person to whom she reports when those decisions can be moved to the branch category.

The Decision Tree also raises the level of personal accountability. Whenever we work diligently and brilliantly, without having to be told exactly what to do, it gives more ownership to the employee and unburdens the manager or executive of work.

It would be ideal if all leaders would be able to set the goal, “You have six months to teach everyone who reports to you to get along without you.”

Where might the Decision Tree work in your life?

Work place.

Church.

Home, with your children.

The Importance of Values and The Penn State Tragedy

2011-11-17T12:29:00.000-08:00

I must admit that I was once a skeptic of the whole idea of knowing and living out your values but I am now a full fledged believer. I confess that during the process of trying to define my own values and values for my church, I don't think I fully comprehended what values were and their importance. What difference does it really make that I know these values?  But two recent developments helped convince me how important it is to know and live out your values.

Maybe you've asked the same thing when you were pressed to memorize your company's values. What's the big deal with these values? And I've heard several people share that their church leaders go through the process of naming and proclaiming their values by rote because it's the current thing to do, not fully understanding the real value of values.

The first thing that helped open my eyes was reading the book Fierce Conversations. Author, Susan Scott explained that when your values and the way you live are not in alignment, you experience an integrity gap.  If your behavior contradicts your values, your body knows and will actually be affected on a cellular level.  You can become depressed, angry and prone to disease.  You will feel out of kilter, experiencing emotional, spiritual and even physical discomfort. Your immune system can actually be weakened when your are not living out your values and you can be more prone to illness.
Much like the body, when the employees or members of organizations and companies are not living out the values of the place where they spend 1/3 of their time, their lives and the organization suffer.

The second thing that convinced me of how important it is to live out our values is what happened at Penn State. I've heard over and over how much Penn Stare values moral character. But the leadership's walk didn't match their values when they chose guarding their reputation over doing the right thing.  They chose to look the other way and sweep the ugliness under the rug instead of making the hard decision to turn in a fellow coach and face the scrutiny of NCAA investigators and image police.  The leadership was "out of integrity" and it certainly hurt them and lots of others because the leaders didn't live out their stated values of integrity and character.
Understanding the importance of living in alignment with your values puts a whole new light on the value thing for me. And if values are this critical then as a leader of my family, a company, organization or church, I must:

Identify just what is important.
Communicate the values effectively,
Hire people that align with your values. (companies)
Encourage my employees, members, family to live them out. (celebrate and reward)
Model them myself.

Take an integrity gap checkup. What are your values? Ask yourself how well does my life life actually match my values? If there is a gap between your values and your lifestyle, you are out of integrity.

I am successful to the degree that who I am,
who God wants me to be,
and what I live
are in alignment.

The most important thing

2011-11-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

I like to listen to talks and sermons while I mow my yard so the other day I went on YouTube and pulled up Francis Chan's sermon, The Holy Spirit's Power and Our Efforts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Deuca-kXtnI&feature=youtube_gdata_player.
Right there on my riding mower, I had a come to Jesus meeting. His sermon had a profound and immediate impact on me. Not that themessage was something that I hadn't heard before, it just came at the right time and was delivered in a way that struck a deep chord in my spirit.
Chan asked the question, "What do you work hardest toward?" Then he gently reminded me that the most important thing for me personally to work toward was not the tasks on my to do list, or accomplishing great things. The most important thing is developing my character and who I am in Christ. I realized right then that I had ventured off course, gotten a little too preoccupied with changing the world and forgotten about changing me. As I thought about my situation, I realized that most all of the pastors and church planters I coach have so much on their plates that their tasks never seem to end. They become overwhelmed by requests of their time and unrealistic expectations and are even more prone to falling into the trap of chasing the urgent. Pastors, leaders, all of us can easily neglect the most important thing, to foster the growth of self. The irony is, Chan declared, that when we sacrifice the important for the urgent, we end up with neither. We will not be the person that God wants us to be and we won't accomplish His goals.
However, when we are the right person, things will happen. We will produce the fruit and we will fulfill our purpose in Christ. As Jesus said, "I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in me shall bear much fruit, but apart from me you are nothing."
The apostle Peter also addresses this in 1 Peter 2:5, In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. NLT
God is more interested in changing us than for us to accomplish great things for Him. He loves you and me so much that He doesn't want us to stay where we are.
The question I have to ask myself, do I want to change? Or do I just want more stuff, more accomplishments? Will I settle for surface and cosmetic modifications or will I strive for real change, deep in mycharacter and my soul? If so, I'll need to sacrifice the urgent for the important. I'll need to devote time and effort into being who God wants me to be, the most important thing and all other things will be added.
Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Lessons learned from Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

With word of Steve Jobs' death, everyoneseems to be writing and blogging about his impact on the world. So I thought I'd throw my two cents in also. Here are some leadershipprinciples I have learned from Steve Jobs' life and leadership thatcan be applied in leading a congregation.

Inspiration

The wordthat you hear most that describes this great tech giant is visionary. If someone is fortunate enough to impact societyin a way that changes the way all of us live or experiencelife, then that person is usually lifted up as a leader, an iconic figure. Jobs has had not one, not two, but six of thesebreakthroughs, any one of which would have made for a magnificent career. In order: the Apple II, the Macintosh, themovie studio Pixar, the iPod, the iPhone and theiPad. He certainly had a vision but evenmore important was that he was able to bring that vision to fruition. The key to doing that was his ability to inspire others to join him in the questto accomplish his goal. The story is told that to recruit John Sculley,the former CEO of Pepsi to run Apple in 1983, Jobs famouslychallenged Sculley by asking, “Do you really want to sell sugar water for therest of your life, or do you want to change theworld?” It was his ability to inspire the rightpeople he needed to join him in accomplishing his vision that made him a success.

AsChristian leaders, we have a powerful kingdom purpose, thegreatest and most inspirational call to action the world has ever known. Something Steve Jobs did not have. And Iwould say the ability to inspire others to this vision is the most important skill a pastor could possess in growing a church numerically and spiritually. It's hard to understand why a pastor would have trouble communicating thiskingdom vision and inspiring others to join what Godis doing especially when a pastor has the pulpit at least50 weeks a year, not to mention the opportunities for one on one conversations. Don’t you agree that one of the top goals of a pastor would be to inspireothers to join in accomplishing God’s vision for the church? Isn’tthat the most important thing you can help your believers do? Instead, you find pastors preaching about deep doctrinal issues or 10 steps to prosperity. If you can't inspire your folks to join you inyour vision, you may need to find another church or better yet, anothercalling.

Focus

Steve Jobsonce remarked, "focus does not mean saying yes, it means sayingno!" When he was rehired by Apple he began to develop the iMac computer. He kept the individual computer and computer line simple. Andall of the products that Jobs was responsible for creating have the sameconcept of powerful but simple. When I was given an ipad for my service at Grace Point, I opened the box and discovered thesimple onepage instruction sheet which said, push this button to turn on. Not muchinstruction was needed.

In churchwork, we can often be called to do many things. But it is imperative thatwe discover the talent and resources that are unique to our church and focus with laser like clarity on how we can best accomplish our purpose and vision using thepeople and resources we have. Keeping it focused means saying no to a lotof ministries that don't advance our purpose, whether they be great or not.

Innovation

Jobs wasnot one who wanted to follow the well traveled path. He was anout-of-the-box thinker. But his path to the creation of Apple was builtupon the ideas of other creative and innovative people. Jobs used theconcept of personal computing which was being developed by a young computergeek named Steve Wozniak who had no intentions of marketing his idea. Jobsbrought the concept to the masses and the rest is history. He may nothave had the original idea, but he took the quantum idea and built upon it.Innovators are readers, learners, developers, creative sorts who are not afraidto take risks and are willing to expand on ideas of others.

For manyin church, tradition is more valued than change and creativity. Soinnovation can be very difficult. But successful churches are usually those whoare willing to make changes, take risks and be creative. It is very easyto just reproduce what others have done in the past or what the denominationalleaders ask you to do. Religion often demands conformity and controland in the process churches can easily lose their unique identity andgifting and fall into a spiritual rut.Create a culture of innovation and ingenuity in your church. Itgoes back to vision and inspiration. Others will be willing to change when you give them a reason that is connected to the vision. Inspire others to imagine what is possible and then be creative about how you are going to accomplish the vision God has given you.

To read more on the life of Steve Jobs go to http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/10/jobs/

Grace at the Apple Store

2011-09-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

I dropped my ipad a few days ago walking in a parking lot of a conference center. It flipped out of my hand, which happens sometimes if you don't strap up the leather case. I didn't think much of it, because my case protects the ipad but when I picked it up, low and behold, the glass was fractured. It looked as if it had been shot with a bb, cracks extending all around it, all the way to the edge. Apparently, it landed face down on the parking lot where there happened to be a pebble which impacted the glass.
Bummer. I love my ipad. It is my office and constant companion and now I had to either get a new one or get this one fixed. How long would that take?
I am fortunate to have a friend who manages an Apple store in San Antonio and I emailed and told him about my mishap. He said come on in and they'd take a look at it.
Well, much to my surprise, Apple just replaced my ipad with a new one. Never would I expect this. I read that some people who had their ipad 2 glass cracked had received new ones. But mine was an ipad 1 which I had owned for 9 months and I did not have the extended warranty. Surprisingly, very few questions were asked.
As I drove away from the store, I felt this incredible sense of gratitude and blessing. And it dawned on me that this certainly was grace and what I should be feeling every day I wake up because I have experienced so much greater grace from God.
Did I deserve a new ipad? Certainly not. It was my fault, brought on by my negligence. I didn't even receive a sharp rebuke from the Apple rep. He had me sign a couple of papers turn my old ipad over to him and brought out a new one. All I needed to do was accept it. I guess I could have refused it and kept the old one but who wouldn't want a brand new one?
When God offers us a new life, we too have the option of keeping the old life, the one that is fractured, broken down by sin or trade it in for new life. But God says I want the old life and I'll replace it with a new one, no questions asked. No stern rebuke, no tricky deals or demand for promises to take much better care of the new one.
The question you may be asking, "would you have gotten a free ipad if you hadn't have known the manager? Did he pull some strings for you?" I don't know the answer to that. It certainly didn't hurt. My manager friend never indicated that this was a "special favor" from him. When I thanked him he just responded, "my pleasure".
But when I think of it, our favor, the grace we receive from God comes only because we have someone pulling the strings for us. Jesus Christ is our intercessor and it is because we know him, personally, that we are extended God's grace. Thankfully Jesus paid the price so we could receive forgiveness of our sins and eternal life. Without knowing Him, there is no grace.
Maybe there is more to the meaning of the Apple logo and branding than I thought. Then again, probably not.

Church Renewal Lessons From Restaurant Impossible

2011-08-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

I watched an interesting new show last night on the Food Network called Restaurant Impossible.  In this reality show, experienced chef Robert Irvine takes failing restaurants that are on the verge of closing and does a one day makeover, discerning what is wrong and making the necessary changes to turn the restaurant around.  It hit me midway through the show that the problems this restaurateur was facing with his declining business were the same issues many of the declining churches face today. I thought, wouldn’t it be great if churches could receive the same kind of evaluation and makeover.

In this episode, Chef Irvine's challenge was to revive The Dodge City Restaurant, a 30 year old "western" style steak house in Pennsylvania. The restaurant had not changed much in 30 years except to add more and more western memorabilia to the decor.  So the restaurant was cluttered, dingy, dreary and uninviting, in dire need of a makeover. But the owner/manager had such an emotional attachment to the decor and western memorabilia that he couldn't bring himself to remove anything, much to the chagrin of his wife.  You think many churches have the same issues? I’ve walked into some that remind me of my grandmother’s house. As I watched chef Irvine throw out loads of old, dust covered keepsakes and western relics, I was reminded of our mission trip to Denver last summer.

We had an opportunity to help a church outside the Denver area that had the same problem as the restaurant.  The church was not that old, perhaps about 30 years, and it had a nice, fairly modern facility, but the amount of stuff the church had accumulated inside was overwhelming.  I imagined that the staff felt obligated to use anything and everything that was donated to them so that the halls and rooms were packed with mismatched furniture and silk plants and flowers.  One small room that was used as a parlor had three sofas, a table and several chairs - so many pieces that you could hardly make it into the room.  Fortunately it so happened that we had two interior decorators on our mission team, one with a home restaging business.  We got permission to remove a lot of stuff and restage the halls and foyer.  We also painted some of the classrooms and gave the church a new, fresh look.  Thankfully the pastor gave us license to do the makeover and hopefully the church members appreciated the changes. How many churches across America would benefit from such a simple makeover?

The second issue that was hurting the restaurant was the owner/manager's control and inability to delegate the work.  Doug had two cooks who had worked for him for most of the 30 years but he still controlled the kitchen and the creation of all the dishes.  He wanted it done a certain way and didn't trust his employees to do it right.  For example, Doug spent 20 hours a week cutting meat when any of his chefs could have done the job.  This took away time that he could spend managing the restaurant, empowering his team and training his cooks.  When the chefs were given the opportunity to create their own dishes, they proved that they could.  One commented, "if only I had more freedom in the kitchen, I could prove to Doug that I can cook".

It's no different in a lot of declining churches.  The pastor does not delegate duties that others can do, and in doing so fail to grow teams and provide the leadership the church needs.  They would rather do tasks that a volunteer could do because it is easier and gives a false sense of accomplishing something.  But by not equipping the saints for ministry, pastors rob others of the joy of ministering and miss opportunities to help others grow their faith and abilities.  The pastor's control of ministries actually does the opposite of what they intend to happen. It puts a governor on the church growth, numerically and spiritually.

The third major problem with the restaurant was the menu.  Doug's menu had way too many items.  Customers were handed 5 different menus with almost every kind of food you could think of.  This was a steak house but you could get anything from spaghetti to Mexican food.  Doug thought that the more dishes he offered, the more he could please his patrons.  But he had so many, none of the dishes were done well and the customers were so confused that it took them forever to read the menu.  Chef Irvine immediately pared down the menu to a few items that he empowered the longtime chefs to create. And wouldn't you know, they were very good and the customers loved them.

I've seen the same problem in many churches today.  You’ll even see small to moderate size churches with programs that many mega churches don’t offer. The belief is that more programs attract more people.  But just like the extra large menu in the restaurant, a church that offers too long of a list of ministries and programs can overwhelm members.  You end up not doing anything very well. The problem is that many programs you start become fixtures in the church which you have a difficult time ending whether they are done well or not. Thom Rainer's book, Simple Church, gives great insight into how to overcome the over-programmed problem by simplifying your church, showing how less is better.  The principle is to focus on what you do well, what you feel called to do by God and less on trying to be and do all things for all people.

It was fascinating watching the transformation of a restaurant in one day. I know it's not feasible to revitalize a church in one day, but a dying church can have new life if the pastor and church leaders are willing to listen to outside consultants or coaches and be willing to change.  For the owner of The Dodge City Restaurant, his pride almost kept him from allowing the changes. But in the end, fortunately for Doug, his desperation overruled his pride.  How many pastors allow their pride to get in the way as they sit and watch their beloved church die?

Taking a Strong Stand

2011-08-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

photo by Ambro

I really enjoyed the Global Leadership Summit this year.  Those who have attended the Willow Creek conference over the years can attest that Bill Hybels and the Summit staff try very hard to steer away from politics and keep the focus on developing leaders through a Biblical model. It is a difficult proposition given the fact that sometimes they bring in political figures. And when they have brought political personalities in, from both the democratic and republican perspective, these political figures stay close to the topic of leadership or faith. Yet, of course when you are reaching literally thousands of people with your message, no matter what you say, you are bound to offend someone.
So it was this year, before the Leadership Summit even got underway, Starbuck’s founder and CEO, Howard Schultz, under pressure from a gay advocacy group, backed out of his speaking contract just days before the conference began.
Bill Hybels had to announce to crowd, many of whom were there specifically to hear Schultz, that he would not be speaking and why.
I thought Bill handled the announcement with grace and class.  And yet he still received criticism from religious groups for not taking a strong enough stand against homosexuality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFhSfr13Y6o&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Growing up in a conservative home and then developing my faith foundation in the Baptist church, one of the values that was instilled in me was to never be neutral. I was taught to take a stand and stay out of the middle, the moderate zone, that those who affect change in the world never reside in the middle.  Change agents are always on the fringe. With that in mind, I think there are those Christians who would criticize Hybels for being in the middle, for not taking a strong enough stand against homosexuality.
I would say that if Hybels is in the middle on this, it is in the center of the will of God.  Where you stand on any issue all depends on your ultimate goal, your desired outcome.  If Hybels' objective was to teach that homosexuality is a sin, or to make a political statement, then he did not accomplish his goal, that he was not polemic (actual dictionary word for today).  But if his objective is to reach the lost with the message of Christ, which I believe was his intent, then he was a long way from the middle, he was on the edge.  If he cares more about evangelism than behavior management, about building relationships and bridges to allow one to share the Gospel than teaching right or wrong, then he met his objective.  Those who are critical of this do so because they have a different focal point and they want their cause to trump others.
Whose cause is more important?  Go to scripture.  You tell me, what would Jesus do?

Is good enough really good enough?

2011-08-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

Recently I read the book Deliberate Simplicity by Dave Browning of Christ the King Church which argues the point that good enough is good enough in ministry, that the pursuit of excellence that many pastors and leaders pursue in churches may actually be a stumbling block to ministry. Now that's a new one. And it really got me thinking.

I've grown up with the mindset that we should always strive for excellence in our work for the kingdom, citing Colossians 3:23 "whatever you do unto the Lord, do it with all of your heart", as my reference verse. I recall being asked the question several years ago, why would anyone come to our church over the one down the street. My answer was that we do things better, with excellence. As I look back now I realize that is certainly one way to attract people to your church but probably not the correct way. Now I agree with Browning that excellence should not be our goal after all.

It is a very real struggle to keep up with not only the world, but also churches in our neighborhoods, to always come up with the bigger and better. And there should always be a tension and desire to do things better with "all of our heart". We shouldn't ever do anything half-hearted for Jesus. The church has been notorious for lacking quality in ministry, doing it without creativity, imagination and inspiration. But should excellence be the goal of the church?

As I look back on my thirty years in ministry, even though I thought I believed in the concept of doing everything with excellence, I didn't do ministry by that standard. Not until I read the book, Deliberate Simplicity, did I understand that excellence was never my goal. What I desired all along was transformation and it does not take excellence to transform someone. Actually the pursuit of excellence in ministry often times becomes a stumbling block to transformation. Rick Warren wrote, "You have heard it said, 'if it can't be done without excellence, don't do it'. Well Jesus never said that. The truth is almost everything we do is done poorly when we first start doing it - that's how we learn. At Saddleback Church we practice the 'good enough' principle. It doesn't have to be perfect for God to use it and bless it. We would rather involve thousands of people in ministry than have a perfect church run by a few elites."

Doing things with "all of your heart" in Col. 3:23 does not mean with excellence. It is a motivation to do things with a heart for Christ, not to please people or reach some man imposed standard of how things should be done. When my motivation is transformation to Christ-likeness, then when I am putting together a mission trip, I am more concerned with having a team of individuals that need transforming, that are willing to be transformed and those that can help transform those in which we are ministering to. I'm not trying to put together the perfect team that will get the task done with excellence.

A worship leader struggles with the tension between excellence and good enough every week. Do I limit the team to just the three or four best singers, or do I include others who don't quite meet the excellence standard? If you are more concerned with the sound than with transformation of your team members, allowing them to grow and use their giftedness for Christ, then you will exclude those who don't measure up. It is ironic that it is easier using only the top singers each week, not having to develop less than great talent.

An unhealthy focus on doing everything with "excellence" can take your focus off of relationships and put it on the task. It can cause volunteers and staff to avoid risk, to take chances and to do innovative things. We seldom do things quite as well the first time. It will limit the number of people who are involved in ministry because we are prone to do it ourselves or use the experts and paid staff. This is a real issue in churches. Pastors and staff must deal with the tension between effective ministry and "excellent" ministry on a regular basis

In a new church plant, with limited resources, you try to stretch every cent as far as it can go to reach people for Christ. Most new plants worship in less than excellent spaces, use less than excellent sound systems, have less than excellent children's and youth ministries. And yet church plants have a much better evangelical effectiveness than large, churches. Excellence has no bearing on the evangelical effectiveness and that is the point.

Should you always "do your best"? Of course, but with the proper goal in mind. We can't keep up with the world's insatiable demand for bigger and better and we don't have to, if we keep our focus on the prize; transformation into the likeness of Jesus. Then we can let go of the burden of "excellence" and be satisfied with good enough.

Taking your team to new heights

2011-07-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

I must admit I'm a sucker for shows like the Apprentice and Top Chef. I love to see how people interact, watch the creative group process and how leaders deal with their team members. You can learn a lot about leadership from the shows, especially what not to do. One of the most difficult leadership issues on these shows is the process of working with a team to choose and settle on one idea for a marketing campaign, room design or menu. It's great fun and drama watching creative individuals try to work as a team.

I often wondered why the leaders on the Apprentice didn't use brainstorming techniques more often to develop ideas. You'd think that these so-called entrepreneurial leaders would know how to use brainstorming to elicit better ideas.

As much drama and dysfunction there is on these reality shows, I've seen some of the same problems and leadership struggles on church staffs also (why I love the shows). I think many church leaders just avoid using teams all together because egos get involved, those who are more dominant get their way, people's feelings are hurt when their idea isn't chosen or there is a lack of control by the leader. So the process often times just does not produce the creative ideas one expects. Therefore, pastors and leaders just settle with relying upon the creativity of the individual instead of the group. Each staff member does his or her own thing and there is little input from the team and most of the time, they end up doing the same old thing over and over.

If more church staffs used brainstorming techniques (correctly), I believe we would have more creative sermons, ministries and ways to reach the lost. On one staff we tried brainstorming a few times but the leaders and team members just could not resist commenting and critiquing during the brainstorming session and it always stifled the creative process to the point that it was frustrating and not as productive as it could have been. If you do it, do it right and you'll be successful.

I'd love to hear if you have tried brainstorming with your team and whether it has been a success or not.

Here is one technique you can try with your staff or team that should help you in the creative process.

1. Clearly define your objective, with budget, and parameters etc.

2. Instruct the team leaders to leave the room, brainstorm by themselves for 15 minutes to come up with as many ideas as possible. Instruct them to be outlandish and as creative as possible within the parameters. Write each idea on a separate post-a-note.

3. Have the team members return to the room separately and post their ideas, spread out on a wall or white board.

4. When all team members have posted, bring them back together and read the ideas together without comment or critique. Because the brainstorming process is used to spark ideas, allow your team members 10 more minutes to come up with new ideas. You can send them out again to come up with them by themselves or do it as a group.

5. Add the new ideas to the others, and then group the ideas into related groups. Once they are in groups, now you can discuss the merits of the ideas.

6. Choose the specific group of ideas you like best and then you can narrow down from the group, to the individual idea you like best. In many cases you'll find that there are many variations of the same idea. You'll see where the team is leaning. But often there are one or two great ideas that come out of left field that may not have surfaced without the brainstorming session.

For more brainstorming techniques, go to http://www.mindtools.com/brainstm.html

Motivation to change

2011-07-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

A strange thing happened a few weeks ago. I suddenly became very motivated to conquer my diabetes. After struggling for 10 years, suddenly I had a renewed incentive to change my eating habits and workout routine. Why now? What exactly happened in that clinic that suddenly inspired me to change and could I use the same methods to help change other things in my life also?

I struggled for 10 years to manage my diabetes. There were times that I was a somewhat motivated to do something but I never really knew exactly what to do. I was given plenty of information but was not confident in how to proceed. The truth is that the world, culture that I live in, constantly puts pressure on me to do just the opposite of what I need to do. The speed of life, diet, commercials, everything temps us away from what we need to be healthy. Some of it is obvious, while most is so subtle we have a hard time even knowing when to say no.

I floated along until I reached a point where I knew I needed to change or I faced severe health consequences. People are usually not motivated to change unless they reach a point of desperation. For me I had recently had unusually high and low blood sugar readings and was feeling lethargic and ill at times. I knew I needed to change my eating habits and exercise more, but I did not have the energy to workout like I needed to. A relative suggested I try the Diabetes of America clinic to get specialized treatment.
At the clinic I was able to get immediate results and feedback of my blood tests. The doctor sat with me and asked questions about what I ate, my workout habits and gave me great feedback to what was causing my problems. I understood exactly what the problem was now and how to beat it.
The Doctor convinced me that it was possible to change, adjusted my medication to solve the immediate problem and gave me a vision of what was possible with a reasonable amount of change. I was given a new meter to test my blood sugar and introduced to a new way to keep track.
The nutritionist gave me a goal and a plan to reach that goal. I now know what I can do and have the plan to do it. I have a goal and will be held accountable to change. Since then I have been consistent in taking and recording my blood sugar levels. I am eating better and working out more. The positive results were immediate. Better blood sugar results and I am feeling much better without the highs and lows. And I've stayed on track for the first three weeks.

From this experience I can discern the ingredients that helped motivate me to change.
1. Must be motivated to change. Without a strong need or desire to change, ie. health, relationships, faith etc. a person will not change.
2. Must have correct knowledge of the problem. Truth is powerful. If you have any doubt, you will more than likely not follow through.
3. A reasonable vision of what can be done. What does victory look like. Without a clear and reasonable goal, one will not pursue change.
4. A plan to accomplish that goal. Sometimes small steps are the best. If we can get some immediate accomplishment, it helps to motivate us to go on.
5. An accountability to see that it gets accomplished. We need a person to hold us accountable.

Discussion question
What motivates you? Who are the key players in your life that motivate you to change and hold you accountable? Is it possible to change without any of these key components?

From the probable to the possible

2011-07-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

God tells us all things are possible. The world tells us what is probable. Our goal is to realize what is possible instead of what is probable. Left up to my desires and abilities I will accomplish only what the world requires, the "probable". What is it that motivates people to move beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary, from the probable to the possible?

I know that's a loaded question, maybe one of the top 5 mysteries of all time.  Men and women have given their lives to trying to discover what motivates others.  Theologians, politicians and business leaders all seek after the solution.  Some have stumbled upon the secret, like Adolph Hitler and used it for tremendous harm.  It is a fascinating topic but one that is extraordinarily valuable for those who understand it and can use it to motivate themselves and others.

And there are so many aspects of motivation from motivating self, to understanding how God motivates us to do His will.  So over the next few blogs, I'd like to focus on motivation and try to answer some of the questions.  I'd also like to look at some of the key people in the Bible and see what motivated them to accomplish what they did.  What was their "probable" and what was the "possible" that God brought forth in them.

What motivates you?  How have you seen God motivate you in your life, to move you from probable to the possible?

Is your church a stumbling block to full devotion or pathway to discipleship?

2011-05-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

Reggie McNeil made a bold statement at the Exponential conference that I have been pondering the past few days. He said that if the church is not producing disciples then all it is doing is producing consumers. In the book And: The Gathered and Scattered Church, Hugh Halter writes, Consumerism reflects what Jesus came to call people out of. It's exactly the opposite of what Jesus is telling us to go and make!
It is the consensus of many pastors and church leaders that the church in general does not do a very good job of producing disciples. Therefore, if the two statements above are true, then we must conclude that the church is actually leading people away from discipleship. The church can be and is often a stumbling block to many believer's pursuit of Christ. Now that is something to chew on.

Jesus on works vs grace

2011-04-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

People today are still very much like those in the New Testament times. They want the blessings of God more than they want God. We see in John 6:26-40, after Jesus feeds the 5,000, they begin to follow him wanting more food. Feed us every day just like when Moses fed us as our ancestors wandered in the wilderness.
We see the same kind of faith or lack of, today in the prosperity gospel churches where people come to receive "blessings". "Give and you shall receive", the preachers proclaim. "See how God has blessed me! You too can have a nice car, a beautiful house and riches untold if only you give to God (me) your money".
The prosperity gospel churches are not the only ones though that rely upon such tactics. You see it also used in mainline churches, just not as much. It's not the major doctrinal belief system that the church is built upon like the prosperity gospel churches. But in many mainline churches members are asked to give testimony to the fact that God has blessed them when they give to the church, building campaign, pastors discretionary fund, etc. It is a manipulatory tactic to get people to give more. Ironic that we use manipulation on our people by manipulating them to believe we can manipulate God into giving us material wealth, if we give to the church.
It was so in the new testament also. People wanted to know just what they needed to do to gain the blessings of God, to get a free meal every day. Jesus didn't say you need to give money to me. He didn't say you need to pray five times a day. He didn't say you need to sacrifice a lamb or go to the Temple on the Sabbath. He said in verse 29, "believe in Me". "God provided the bread from heaven, not Moses. I am the bread. I am the manna. Put your faith and trust in me. It is a relationship with you that I want. Not works, or your money. Just your time, your worship, your heart."
What would it look like if we understood that Jesus wants our devotion not works?. How would I live my life differently if I could fully comprehend the depth of that relationship and the grace that Jesus offers?

Like a Good Neighbor, Where Is The Church?

2011-04-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

I watched the Secret Millionaire this week for the first time. Or is it Secret Billionare? In this episode, the wealthy owners of the Curves workout facilities go on what is basically a "mission trip" to inner city Houston for one week where they live on $6 dollars a day in an old roach infested house and visit several social ministries and agencies. In the end they put a face to the needs of the community and are moved to help out the social agencies with generous contributions. It is one of the positive television reality shows that have become popular as of late.

I find it interesting that the secular world has co-opted the business of the church and is teaching and promoting principles that the church seems to have abandoned.

Think about how often you see commercials and popular programs promoting community involvement and charity. From the NBA Cares program to American Idol give back show, the world recognizes the benefit and need for one to take care of their less fortunate neighbors in the world.

My brother-in-law while working as a manager for UPS was required to take two weeks off and go on a "mission trip", (his words but not what the company called it). He chose to go work with a church in inner city of Chicago. He described it as one of the most inspirational and educational two weeks of his life, even though he got sick and had to go to the hospital at the end of the two weeks. The only requirement that UPS pbutton their managers was that they had to bring back what they learned from the experience and implement the concepts into their management at UPS. Here is a secular company that values the experience of going on "missions" and yet it is often difficult to get a pastor to promote a mission trip in their own church. Seldom do you see churches who actually instruct, encourage and expect their members to be going local or globally.

I think it is great that society feels the need to promote the idea of charity and responsibility for one's neighbor but isn't it sad that secular society values community involvement more than the church? Wasn't this Jesus' idea? Didn't he instruct his followers to do this? What happened to the church taking responsibility for the welfare of their community?

A good question to ponder; if your church picked up and moved tomorrow would your community or neighborhood in which your church is located miss you?

Lessons in losing control

2011-03-12T09:18:00.000-08:00

I had two experiences this week that reminded me how much I desire to be in control and how I need the help of others. If you want to get a lesson in letting go of control, try teaching someone how to drive. I offered to help one of the refugees this week to learn to drive. We took my SUV to the Grace Point parking lot and switched places. I thought he'd had some driving experience in Nepal so I was not too concerned. He just needed to get used to driving an automatic and driving on the right side of the road. To my suprize he was like a young kid behind the wheel for the very first time. With some instruction about the brake and the gas peddle and some practice stopping and starting, I gave the go ahead to drive through the parking lot. Easier said than done. Everything was fine until we made the first turn. On one side of the lane we were turning toward was the end of the parking lot and a grassy ditch and the other a row of cars. Stupid me for having him turn into this lane because as he turned left, he began to press more on the gas which sped the car up. As he over-corrected the steering we turned toward the cars parked on the left. I'm glad we had practiced braking because I was screaming step on the brake! He stopped just in time, only a foot or so shy of one of the parked cars.

Over the next twenty minutes, it was all I could do to not jump out of the car and end the lesson. But I had to make myself trust that he could drive without hitting a car, a light pole or building. I had little to no control except through my vocal instructions. But until I let him drive, he wasn't ever going to learn. No damage done except to my nerves. It was truly a white-knuckle experienc.

Two nights ago, God seemed to further instruct me on the art of humility and dependence on others with another experience in which I ended up having no control. Barbara and I went for a walk in the early evening. We always take the garage door opener and lock the house. When we returned back from the walk, low and behold the remote didn't work. The garage door would not open. We had no keys and no way to get back into the house without breaking the door or window. Of course, I blamed it on Barbara. I let her know that she knew the batteries were low on the remote and she should have taken keys just in case. After checking the doors and windows to see if we had left something unlocked, which we hadn't, we realized we needed help. I wasn't the one to go ask, that was for sure. After all, I again reminded her that it was her fault. So Barbara went next door to humbly ask for help. Perhaps their garage door opener was the same as ours and had a battery. Well that wasn't a solution, but the college age son of the Iranian parents next door offered to take us to Wal Mart to get some batteries. They also had to loan us money to buy a battery because we didn't have any on us.

Our trip was actually very pleasant and we got to know the young man better. He was attending UTSA and studying premed. I got to tell a little about my ministry. After searching all over for the battery in Wal Mart we found the right one and it actually worked. All was back to normal in the Walters' house. Why do we have such a strong desire to always be in control of circumstances? Why is it so hard to ask for help? Why can't I anticipate that the little trials are ways for God to work through me? Life is so much more interesting and richer when we have these kinds of experiences. (Looking back). Help me God to learn to trust you, to know that I really have no control of my life and to not hesitate to rely on you and others. Help me to not always blame others, especially my wife and to take responsibility.

Haiti mission trip

2011-03-01T10:08:00.000-08:00

Observations on Haiti mission trip
This being our first trip to Haiti, our first impression as we drive around Port au Prince is that this is a country devoid of your basic needs of decent food and shelter, the worst I've ever seen. There seems to be a total lack of a government structure to help deliver basic services. And there is little evidence that there has been much done since the earthquake to clean up and repair damaged buildings. A country that was in desperate need before the earthquake, is now even further behind. Although we see some teams from mission organizations trying to do some cleanup, for the most part there seems to have been very little cleanup and removal of the rubble left by the earthquake. But life goes on for the millions who call Haiti their home. They seem to be an incredibly resourceful people, making due with what little they have.

Port au Prince is extremely crowded with very poor roads to travel on and incredibly dirty. There are people in need wherever you turn. Any public land within the city of Port au Prince that once was a park or open area is now filled with tents. This nicest areas of Port au Prince would be considered extreme poverty in the United States.

There seemed to be opportunities for ministry all around us. The most impressive mission opportunity we visited was the Nehemiah Project outside of Port au Prince developed by Campus Crusade For Christ with other partnering mission organizations. Near a small community about 15 miles outside of Port au Prince, the mission has a School, Children's Home, clinic and housing for mission teams. They also provide a feeding ministry for the community at large. http://www.nehemiahvisionministries.org

We also visited an orphanage near where we stayed. Michael and Heather Popp had made contact about adoption through this orphanage and so we spent one afternoon interacting the with children and talking with the manager of the home. This would be a mission opportunity.

The Beree Baptist Church which hosted us, is a very traditional Baptist church which ministers to the educated and business class in Haiti. Pastor Jeanty preaches in French although he sometimes uses Creole when he feels it is appropriate. Pastor Jeanty sacrificed several days of his schedule to be with us and show us the city. We met with the mayor of Port au Prince and got to pray for him and visited the Baptist Seminary.

We also visited a hospital which was started by Pastor Jeanty's aunt. It was a nice, clean facility in port au Prince. We were surpassed to see so few beds occupied. There were only a handful of patients. We were told that most Haitians do not go to the hospital because they can not afford it.

One day was spent working with children at the Christian Academy. About 90 children came, either members of Beree Baptist or those who attend the Academy. We played games, did crafts and shared the Gospel with them.
While we were working with the children three of our team members lead a one day conference on Emergency medical training and medical care for amputees and the physically handicapped.

Any future partnership with Beree would be in either Prison ministry or conferences (medical or ministry related). The pastor and volunteers from the church visit the women's prison on Monday and Wednesday of each week .

The Walls International Guest House was a convenient place to stay. It was located near the church and orphanage. It hosted a lot of mission teams and was clean with a good breakfast and decent dinner included in the price. The downside is the lack of bathroom facilities. Our team of 12 shared two bathrooms and others in the house were using our bathroom also.

The one downside of doing missions in Haiti is the cost. Considering this is a third world country, the cost of food and services seem to be extremely high. Food costs are double what they are in the United States. We had to pay for our lunches each day and they were about $10 a person for meals that the church provided. We did have sandwiches one day at the seminary which were about $5 a person. Gasoline prices are incredibly high so the cost of transportation during your visit will be about double what it is in other third world countries.

The path that leads to many paths of blessings

2010-09-06T08:11:00.001-07:00

As I pondered Romans chapter 6 on freedom from sin, I pictured the contrast of a life of bad choices, living for oneself with that of a life choosing to live for Christ, making decisions based on your relationship with Jesus. The more bad choices, or the more sinful life you lead the narrower your choices become. You lose more freedom with each bad decision. It's like a funnel, narrowing you down toward death. When you live for Christ, each right decision opens up a whole host of good choices, sometimes making it difficult to choose what to do next. A good example of this is when we choose to follow Jesus to serve others. As I have gone to countries on mission trips or across town to share God's love in the inner city, I am amazed at suddenly the flood of opportunities that seem to come my way to bless others. I begin to see that there is a world of people out there waiting to be blessed by God and often times, I have that potential. But if we are looking at life through the lens of self, we don't see those opportunities. We just walk by and miss the obvious. But when we choose the right path, that path leads to other paths and life begins to become an adventure full of opportunities. However we must choose to take a step on that pathway. We can't stay home or we will miss out on the opportunities and the fullness of life that God has for us. God will continually give us opportunities. Just open your eyes and heart to them, and join Him in his work. Don't miss the abundant life!

Posted via email from John Walter's Life Stream

Would God lead me into the valley of death?

2010-08-10T05:52:00.001-07:00

Does God's will always lead us to safety and security or does He sometimes lead us into trials and hardship? I was reading Acts 21 today and writing in the discussions in Chapter of The Day groups about the leading of the Holy Spirit and find it an interesting study in determining God's will. Paul, being led by the Holy Spirit is focused on completing the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. It has been obvious from the start of his amazing journey that he has followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. Yet prophets and others are not only warning him but forbidding him to go to Jerusalem because of the danger there.Sometimes the counsel of friends, even well meaning friends, filtered through their fears and desire for safety, can actually be counter productive. Those who commit to going on mission trips often times find that the biggest hurdles are their friends and relatives who try to dissuade them from going because they are concerned for their safety.We in the west have an unhealthy regard for security. The early Christians and the heroes of faith were willing to put their lives on the line for Christ. Today it is hard to get believers to go into an unknown neighborhood because it might not be safe. How willing are you to sacrifice for the sake of Christ? Where are you not willing to go, to share God's love?

Posted via email from John Walter's Life Stream

Reinforcing the religion of consumerism

2010-07-25T17:38:00.001-07:00

During our mission trip to Colorado I was reading Alan Hirsch's wonderful book, The Forgotten Ways. He makes the case that one of the greatest hindrances to living a life of Christ is not the false religions that we can so easily identify but one that is deceptive yet so prevalent in our western culture, that of consumerism. He writes "This is a far more heinous and insidious challenge to the gospel, because in so many ways it infects each and every one of us." We saw this vividly as our mission team held a sports camp for children at a new church plant in an affluent area in the superb of Denver, Colorado. As we usually do, we promote the camp by giving away prizes for all kinds of things including prizes for those bringing their friends. These are bracelets, balls, and various inexpensive items that can be found at the dollar store.

We usually do the camps in poverty stricken areas and the children love the prizes, even the most simplest of awards. Although the kids here in the more affluent area were not so enamored by the prizes they still desired to compete for them. During our block party on the last night we had set up some simple games where the children won prizes and most of the children played the entire time, winning prize after prize. One of the girls had at least 15 skinny bands, a couple of other bigger prizes and a very nice soccer ball she had won in a raffle. She still wanted more. She was not satisfied. It was such a clear picture of the ugly side of our consumer culture.
It hit me the next day that we had unintentionally taught consumerism to the children at the camp perhaps more than we did the Gospel. We certainly had taught about Jesus and shared the Gospel with the children during the camp but by our actions, we just reinforced the "religion" of consumerism. By awarding the kids with these worthless items, we taught them that these are the things we should strive. Then we turn around and tell them that they need Jesus. We’ve just told them by our actions that worthless stuff that you buy is the real treasure to strive for. Note to self, don't do this again.

Joy Robbers

2010-06-02T04:05:00.001-07:00

What was it that stole the joy from the Galatians? They were being persuaded to fall back to a rules based faith. Fewer things can suck the life out of a believer than having to follow rules and regulations to earn their approval. I did this until I was taught the truth at a church who taught about grace. It changed the way I lived, thought, worshiped, even the way I played sports. We all know people who are the rules keepers and judges in our lives and I'd say not many of them are much fun to be around.

Join the Chapter a Day group and read along with us.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=109425295768824

Posted via web from John Walter's Life Stream

Living in God's grace

2010-06-01T05:17:00.001-07:00

Galatians 3

I can get very judgmental and point my finger at the many religions that set up a whole list of rules to attain salvation and ignore grace, the essence of the Christian faith. But Paul points his finger at me when he gives me notice that I am failing to live by grace and have fallen back into trying to gain God's approval by works. "After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?"
This maybe the most difficult aspect of the Christian faith to live out. I can accept that I'm saved by God's grace but it is much more difficult to understand that same grace will continue to shape me into the likeness of Christ. I don't need to fear, or feel guilty, or be anxious for anything if I'm resting in Christ's love and grace. Why is this so hard to live out?

Posted via web from John Walter's Life Stream

SACRIFICE FOR FREEDOM

2010-05-31T11:04:00.001-07:00

As I've listened to the radio and watched shows on televison commemorating those who fought for our freedom, how thankful I am for those who gave their lives so we could have that freedom. Then Galatians 2 comes to mind and I recall how Paul was standing up for freedom also, freedom from the chains of legalism and religion. He eventually gave his life in that cause. And then I am reminded that Jesus' sacrifice was for our ultimate freedom from the bondage of sin and spiritual death. Thank you for dying so that we may have life! Without your sacrifice none of us would understand what true freedom is.

Posted via web from John Walter's Life Stream

Two principles for winning the battle

2010-05-29T06:54:00.001-07:00

In Ephesians 6,after Paul encourages me on how to live he reminds me that I have all that I need to live the life God calls me to live. Sometimes Christians fall into the trap of the "former life thinking"...I am a sinner therefore I sin. However, as a new creation in Christ, I am no longer a sinner but I am now a saint. I have the power to overcome any temptation. I don't have to sin anymore. Paul instructs us to do two things. !. To prepare for battle. Stay in constant communication to God, read your Bible and absorb truth, have faith enough to obey Him in every decision. Before the trials come, be grounded and prepared. 2. When the storm hits, stand firm. Don't fear and run to things that you might have run to in the past. Hold your ground, trust God and do the right thing which most of the time is the most difficult choice. Two simple directives that can make all the difference in the world for us.

Posted via web from John Walter's Life Stream

Eph. 5 Mutual submission

2010-05-28T06:05:00.001-07:00

Many sight this passage in verse 21 as one to justify a husbands dominance over the wife. But in the following verses Paul describes how mutual submission works in 3 types of relationships: wives and husbands, parents and children, and slaves and masters. This idea of considering the needs of the other in relationships was world-shattering for its time. Paul takes the unorthodox stance that those who had the traditional power should submit as well as Christ submitted his life for us.
I've found that this principle is really the key to a great marriage. When both husband and wife surrender their own needs for the good of the other, then they are guaranteed a healthy marriage. When one or both live for themselves, the problems begin.
I pray that I can deny myself, pick up my cross and follow Jesus in my marriage and in every area of my life.

Posted via web from John Walter's Life Stream

Walk in a manner worthy of your calling.

2010-05-27T05:14:00.001-07:00

I find it interesting how Paul always begins his letters building a foundation of theology and then gets to the application in the second half of the letter. It's always more fun delving into the theology and discussing the meaning than reading about what we should do with it. But knowledge without function and purpose is just hot air.
In Ephesians 4 Paul gets to the point by reminding us to walk worthy of our calling. And gives the characteristics of one who is a child of God. Isn't it interesting that these are not characteristics that are preached about on Sunday very often; humility, gentleness, patience and relating with each other in love. He gets more specific in the middle of the chapter but ends again with the admonition to be "kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ." And I must always remember as Paul taught in the previous chapters that I can't do this on my own, but only through the power God provides through the Spirit.

The immeasurable riches of Gods grace

2010-05-25T05:02:00.001-07:00

In these incredible scriptures, Paul continues to remind the Ephesians and us today that all we have in Christ comes by God’s grace.For by grace you have been saved through faith, not of your own doing, it is the gift of God. And then he adds the reason God created us and the reason for the gift of grace, our purpose for this life on earth; to do goods works for Jesus.When I get off course and begin to be overly concerned about myself, my happiness, my comfort, my security, this verse reminds me that His purpose for me is to glorify God by loving God and others.He blesses me not so I will be happy, but so that I may bless others. And that it is accomplished not by my power or strength but through his grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.God, may I surrender my will to you today and allow me to be your vessel to bring the light of the gospel to those I encounter today!

Untitled

2010-05-24T08:51:00.001-07:00

Why do we so often forget about the hope that we have in Christ and the immeasurable greatness of his power? Reading Ephesians 1, I’m moved by so much of this chapter as Paul reminds me of the power, position and calling I now have as a follower of the King. If only we could fathom the riches we have in Christ. Not just understand but actually live by His power, how would my life change? What could I accomplish through Christ? What could God accomplish though me? God I don’t want to live a life on my own power, paralyzed by fear and doubt. Help me understand who I am in Christ, what you have called me to, and the power that I have through Christ to bring reconciliation to a world that desperately needs Jesus. Join me and others as we read a chapter a day. Today, Ephesians 1.

Posted via web from John Walter's Life Stream

Magic Kingdom not so magical

2010-05-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Barbs and I spent a week in Orlando on vacation earlier this month and four days at Disney World parks. Disney had a great vision but I'm not sure the parks bring about what Disney intended. He called the place the happiest place on earth. At 3 PM on the first day at the Magic Kingdom I didn't see many smiles. As a matter of fact, most of the people seem tired and angry. Why was that? At the happiest place on earth of all places.

Reflections of the championship game

2010-01-08T10:35:00.001-08:00

Last night’s disappointing championship game is a reminder that life is not fair, that no matter how prepared we are, life can blindside us. I can’t think of a much crueler fate for Colt McCoy than to get taken out of the game just as he got rolling, to get just a tiny but delicious taste of things to come and to have it yanked away. And to rub it in even more, Colt is sidelined by a hit that rendered his most potent weapon, his arm useless while the rest of his body was left perfectly fine. Standing and watching helpless without pain with a dead arm, as his Longhorn replacement struggled in the biggest game of his life, is like the cruelest prank fate could play. And in the end, Colt McCoy, holding back tears of disappointment held his head high and proclaimed "I'm a man of faith and I would never question God.'' I can’t remember a game in which I was more disappointed and it is hard to imagine the collective letdown across the country. Even Alabama fans had regret that they did not get a chance to beat Texas’ best. Although Gilbert led Texas back into the game in the second half, the excitement and anticipation of a match of the Titans had fizzled out with word that Colt would not return. We will all be left to contemplate what if. It is also interesting that all three of the great college quarterbacks of 2009, Colt, Sam Bradford, and Tim Tebow experienced disappointments this year. All three are strong believers and great examples of men who live out their Christian faith. It will be interesting to follow all three to see how they respond to their unique trials as they move to the next stage of their lives. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

Posted via web from John Walter's Life Stream

Prayer does not fit us for the greater works, prayer is the greater work.

2009-10-16T11:02:00.001-07:00

Oswald Chambers: Prayer is the working of the miracle of Redemption in me which produces the miracle of Redemption in others by the power of God.

Posted via email from John's posterous

Prayer does not fiet us for the greater works, prayer is the greater work.

2009-10-16T10:53:00.001-07:00

Oswald Chambers: Prayer is the working of the miracle of Redemption in me which produces the miracle of Redemption in others by the power of God.

John Walters

Grace Point Church

Calling Pastor

210-559-5954

Posted via email from John's posterous

Lack of Faith in God

2009-10-03T09:34:00.001-07:00

Forgive me God for my lack of faith

I witnessed two wonderful miracles of God this week and found myself giving a passing thank you God, going on about my business without much more thought or consideration to how great and wonderful God is. These were two very large prayer requests answered this week concerning friends in the ministry who were facing major obstacles. One was a getting a decision overturned in one day, something that everyone said would take weeks. One of our members had returned from the war with several injuries including brain damage. He could not get transportation to his rehab clinic using Via Tran which transports those with special needs because Via Tran said his injuries were not physically debilitating enough. But he couldn’t drive himself because of the head injuries. His wife couldn’t take him because of her work schedule. She filled out the paper work for the appeal while others in the church stepped up to volunteer to take him and prayed that she could win the appeal. She turned in the appeal on Monday and by Wednesday Via Tran reversed their decision! People said it was a miracle that they received an answer that fast.

The second was much like the first in that people said it wasn’t possible. One of our Faith Promise missionaries in Mexico was attempting to get a tourist visa to visit the United States. He married a young lady from the U.S. that he met while she was on a mission trip to the orphanage in which he worked. They both now work at the orphanage in Mexico and he had never been to the United States and had never met his in-laws. People said it was pointless to apply because immigration officials just assume a Mexican married to a U.S. citizen in Mexico would want not just to visit but to stay in the U.S. (They don’t have plans to stay in the U.S. and love working in the orphanage in Mexico.) They emailed me this week very excited to say they received the tourist visa and were so thankful that God answered prayers.

I have to ask myself, am I so numb to God’s working power that I don’t take significant time to stop, celebrate and praise Him when He answers prayers? Or is it that I really have little faith and just pass off such “miracles” as a coincidence and do not give God his due. I have seen many true miracles; at home and on the mission field but I pray I never take for granted God’s ability to heal, to change people’s hearts, minds and actions. He continues to pour his love out in spite of my selfishness and lack of faith. Forgive me God. Thank you for your grace and mercy!

Posted via email from John's posterous

Recharging your spiritual batteries

2009-09-23T13:19:00.001-07:00

I love the quote from St. Irenaeus that he wrote way back in 185 AD, “the glory of God is man fully alive”. But what if you don’t feel fully alive. There are those days, times or seasons, for whatever reason, when I feel as if I’m on spiritual life support. Here are four surefire ways get a spiritual recharge and help you to come alive in Christ.

· Befriend someone who is different from you.

· Change your routine.

· Take a risk.

· Go and serve in a unfamiliar place

Befriend someone who is different than you.

I know there is a desire to be around people who tend to look, talk, and act just like me. Most churches are assemblies of like people for just that reason. There is a sense of comfort and safety hanging with people of like interests and backgrounds. The problem with that is, it is difficult to grow when you are around people who think just like you. You won’t ever change much and you won’t have much chance of changing anyone else. So you pretty much stay the same. Instead of hanging with people who are just like you, befriend someone who has different interests, or someone from another culture. Find a church that has a diversity of people instead of one whose congregation think and worship just like you. Or better yet, reach out to someone who is not a Christian? Spend some time with people who don’t go to church, who don’t think like you and make an impact on them for Christ.

One recent ministry opportunity that really made me come alive spiritually was with the Amigo program at Lackland Air Force base. This program connected families in San Antonio with a student from another country who was in San Antonio for 6 months to study English. Many of the students were from Iraq or former Soviet countries. Many were Muslims. These men and women had little to no opportunity to get off the base and experience San Antonio. Families would commit to meeting them through Amigo and provide a way for the foreign student to experience life off of the base. Barbara and I met a wonderful man from Iraq who was serving in the Iraq army and had been put in prison while serving in the Iraq army under Saddam Hussein. We had dinner with him in restaurants several times and even had him over for dinner. We got to share about our faith in Christ and hear his many fascinating stories. It was really exciting and we left our meetings with him fully charged and felt fully alive in Christ. We still hear from him from time to time. He had an impact on us and I know we impacted his life also.

Posted via email from John's posterous

Legalism and NFL Football

2009-09-15T08:58:00.001-07:00

I got home from church last night and to my surprise the NFL game was still on because of the double header and late game on the coast. I am not at all a Raiders fan and because I lived for a time in San Diego, the Chargers have been a sentimental favorite. However, the overruled call by the refs after replay against the Raiders was a horrible call and a great example of adhering to the letter of the law without any regard to the spirit of the rules. Just what we fans fear most from the instant replay challenges, long delays while refs try to find marginal rules violations that would never be discernable without super slow motion replay. When a catch is made and the replay has to be slowed down to such a degree to find any sort of movement of the ball to determine if the receiver had “control” of the ball is a disregard for the spirit of the game. The catch would have been ruled complete 100 out of 100 times by the naked eye and even with instant replay all announcers agreed it was a good catch and should not have been overruled.

Unfortunately what seemed to be a good idea has turned replay refs into Pharisees of Jesus’ day. The refs remind me of many Christians today who love to point out the violators of the law without any regard to the spirit of the law. Jesus was adamant about his distaste for those who were the legalists of his day. He knew the hearts of those who tried to follow the law to gain their righteousness and Jesus strongly rebuked them. Legalism is bad news for the game of football but deadly in the game of life. I can choose not to watch the football games but having to deal with Christian legalism is much more difficult. It brings discord to the body, turns non-believers away from Jesus and brings a false sense of security to Christian brothers and sisters who try to gain their right standing by keeping the rules. If indeed we believe that somehow our obeying the laws and even our good works gain us any better standing before God, then we must believe the work of Christ alone is insufficient for our final salvation. Don’t fall into that trap.

John Walters

Calling Pastor

Grace Point Church

210-558-5954

Posted via email from John's posterous

Who did you encourage today?

2009-09-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

I read that baseball star Reggie Jackson once said "I'll tell you what makes a great manager; a great manager has a knack for making ball-players think they are better than they are. He forces you to have a good opinion of yourself. He lets you know he believes in you. He makes you get more out of yourself. And once you learn how good you really can be, you'll never settle for playing anything less than your very best." Don't forget to encourage someone everyday.

Inertia

2009-07-01T16:38:00.001-07:00

Have a dream you want to accomplish but can’t seem to get there? Inertia is probably what you need. The definition of Inertia is the resistance an object has to a change in its state of motion. Even though we believe the first steps to accomplishing something as being small or insignificant; actually they are usually the most important. Significant accomplishments never occur until the first small steps are made in that direction. Many times God inspires us to do or become but dreams don’t come true because we never take the first small step.
We usually think that we don’t accomplish something simply because we just don’t do it. Well that is not totally accurate. Newton’s first law of Motion teaches us that “objects tend to "keep on doing what they're doing." In fact, it is the natural tendency of objects to resist changes in their state of motion. This tendency to resist changes in their state of motion is described as inertia.
We don’t accomplish a certain task because we have a tendency to resist doing something different than we always are accustomed to doing. You go to work and you do certain things. And you will continue to do just what you always did until something changes. That change is called inertia. We all will just keep on doing what we always do, until we do something or something happens to cause us to alter our behavior or our daily routine.
I have dreams and grand ideas but I am a procrastinator at heart, waiting to take action until I know that I will not fail. Usually for me the most important step is just making up my mind to go and then taking the first small action to getting there. It could be packing my sports bag the night before to get ready to go to the gym the next morning.
So you can dream that you will someday have a certain job, get healthy, make a difference in the world, or lead your friend to Christ but it is only a wish until you take the first step, until you change your state or motion, your routine of life you provide the inertia to make that dream come true. It doesn’t have to be a big change, just something to get the ball rolling.
Dream big and then take a small step.

Evangelism in Spain

2008-10-18T13:07:00.001-07:00

In our recent trip to Spain, part mission scouting and part vacation, Barbara and I got a chance to see what people say is the future of the U.S, at least spiritually. It is not a pretty picture. Spain is similar to much of Europe in that it is has moved away from religion into a secular belief system, post modern agnostic. The beautiful cathedrals in Spain are mostly museums filled with a lot more tourists than worshippers. The older generations still cling to their Catholic faith, but middle aged Spaniards seemed to have broken free of the chains of legalism and religion for the younger generation doesn’t even register on the map.

Visiting the churches from the small Iglesias to the mammoth Cathedrals, you get a mixed feeling of awe and revulsion. There is a sense of the admiration of the incredible devotion that the people had that motivated them to build such magnificent buildings. But as you look at the incredible opulent religious adornments you can’t help but ask yourself why people would spend so much not just on one church but several in every town. Lavish furniture, golden altars, untold dollars spent on magnificent paintings, adornments that in today’s dollars would add up to the billions. You can almost feel the religious bondage as you visit the churches. Adding this to the ugly church history, you begin to understand why when people were given the choice of religious freedom they began to run from the church.

I asked one of our missionaries who hosted us this question. Who do you think is better off today in a practical sense, those who place their faith in the religion of works and penitence or those who have freed themselves from religion totally to a humanistic faith? Neither choice is good. Unfortunately that seems to be the picture of religion in Spain today and much of Europe.

Our job is to present another option, a religion based on grace and the love of Jesus Christ. The alternative is a faith that frees one from the bondage of legalism and works and gives one a reasonable faith and hope for the future. The task is an uphill battle for sure. But you would have to believe that people of Europe and Spain would soon begin to seek something of real substance, not tarot cards, palm reading and superstition of the past religions.

Can it be done? Perhaps not in our life time but we must begin to get the message to the younger generation in Europe. That is the challenge, just how do we do that. The new missions’ strategy is trying to do it through relationships. It is not a quick fix option, but one that will need time, involving Christians from all over the world and the help of the Holy Spirit.

Pictured is an interesting vessel called a monstrance used in the Roman Catholic church to display the Eucharistic. These are very large elaborately adorned vessels made of gold which in today's time would certainly cost millions designed to hold a wafer (believed to be the body of Christ).

When Culture and Christ Conflict

2008-06-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

How do you help change something in a culture that has persisted for hundreds of years? I’m reminded of the saying, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Perhaps changing anything in a third world country will take time.
We spent several days with a group of 45 Kenyan pastors and wives during our trip to Africa this past month and I believe we took a few bites of the elephant of the Kenyan culture.
You see even though most Kenyans call themselves Christians they still hold to some cultural practices that run counter to the values of a follower of Christ.
The Kenyan Christian’s faith is very conservative and leans to be very legalistic. There is a very hierarchical system of leadership with the pastor doing most of the ministering. The most obvious difference is the way the men treat the women in their culture. It is considered demeaning for a man to walk side by side with his wife. The men sit on one side of the church with the women on the other side. In one church in which I preached, the children sat in the middle with rows separating the men from the children and the children from the women. There is little love or respect in marriages where a Christian pastor could easily have more than one wife. It is culturally acceptable to beat your wife. Women are relegated to child bearing and doing most of the work.
During our time with the pastors we emphasized the need for the church to change and for men and women to be involved in ministry, using their spiritual gifts. In the small discussion groups we were able to share and talk about what the Bible says about love and respect between husband and wife. We used Ephesians 5 as we shared about the men’s responsibility to love the wife as Christ loved the church and what needed to change in their culture for the men to love their wives. The men were actually very open and honest about how their culture teaches the males to look down upon women. For instance the pastors explained that a man in their culture would never say he is sorry or ask for forgiveness from his wife because it would lower him to her level. We pointed to scripture and the words of Jesus to point out that Jesus requires us to lower ourselves by asking for forgiveness and forgiving others when we are wrong. We were able to share that when culture conflicts with the moral standards of Jesus and the Bible, a choice must be made. A true believer yields to scripture and does not conform to the world’s view. By the end of the conference we sensed a real desire from many of the men to change their ways. The younger men seemed to be more willing to make the change but there were some older pastors who accepted the need to change.
It was ironic that Jeff preached the same message Sunday but only as it applies to our culture in the U.S. Our conflicts may not seem as obvious as the Kenyan’s. But they are there just the same. We can point fingers at how ungodly the Kenyan Christians may be with their views on women but we have our issues also. Let us all seek to follow the way of Christ when we are given the choice between the morality of the Bible and that of the world.

Sharing The Shack

2008-05-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

I am sometimes afraid of being over bearing which is why I must come across as easy going and laid back most of the time. So this past week I’ve been encouraging others to read the book The Shack with some reservation. Why? I don’t know because this book has really made an impact on me spiritually. I can’t remember a book that has moved me so. I haven’t told everybody just the closest of friends and associates and those that I know will listen and perhaps heed my advice. One of those was Tiffany Crawford a Christian counselor who attends Grace Point. She uses our offices after hours to council and does a wonderful job. She had asked to use my office this week and I playfully agreed only if she read the book The Shack. She so promised and I wondered whether she would even remember the title.
But she did and she actually finished it in one day. I just received her email thanking me for suggesting the book. Her email said the book changed her life forever.
In her blog Tiffany wrote it better than what I could…This book is intriguing...and filled with God's love and patience-- His wonder and honor. It will teach you the truth of who God is---the truth of the Word he's shared with us for so many years. You will be free from religion and rules--from responsibility and expectation--you will learn to rest in Him, love Him and find joy in Him.
It is amazing how God can use people and the words they write to encourage, inspire, and bring healing and His love. And it can be passed on by just a few words of encouragement to buy and read a simple book. In this instance “The Shack”.
I feel ashamed that I have not told more people about the book, that I have chosen only a few when everyone I know should have been told. But it is the same with God’s love. Why do I choose to share with a so few? Why not tell everyone!
As Tiffany proclaimed in her blog, and I whole heartedly agree… Buy the book--read it, pass it on...make everyone you know read it...and then read it again... I will read it at least 1000 more times.... Next time, I will read it slowly--but I couldn't put it down this time...I just wanted to know more about God...

Creating Margin

2008-02-18T13:52:00.001-08:00

In yesterday's message, we saw a great video clip, God's pies, about stewardship of our lives, money and talents. We all struggle in today's culture with time, money and spiritual management.I am intrigued by the reality shows where the professionals come in and show the person a whole different way of living, dressing or disciplining their children. They usually throw out the unnecessary stuff. There is always this resistance at first but in the end you can see the freedom and excitement about a new way of living.How would you feel if an expert came in and helped you give away all the extra stuff in your house you don't need? Would you be willing to have a professional come in and open your eyes to see what you needed to remove or change in your life? In your wallet? In your time management? In your spiritual life?As a believer, Jesus demands that we transform, that we change the way we live and sometimes it takes someone from outside to show us that there is a better way, to show us a new perspective. That is what Jesus was trying to tell the Jews of his day. They were enslaved by their own culture and they didn't even know it.I remember a time when I was attending a conference in San Diego. We had some time to go to the beach so I rented a boogie board and headed out to catch a wave. I was out past the first wave for about 15 minutes when the life guard came swimming out to me. He shouted, “do you know what you are doing?” I didn’t know what to say. I grew up in California and I thought I knew what I was doing. I was just floating waiting for a wave. He said I was in a rip tide and he was there to help me get back in. So, I grabbed on and he pulled me to safety. I didn’t even know I was in trouble. That is so true with a lot of us concerning our life styles. We just float along with the world and if you let it , it will take you to a very dangerous place without you even realizing it. We end up in severe debt, or marital problems, or spiritual bankruptcy. If we are not willing to allow an outsider to come in and tell us if we are in trouble and make the changes they recommend, then we may end up in serious trouble.

Our bucket list

2008-01-24T16:01:00.000-08:00

Barbara and I saw the movie “The Bucket List” the other night, and found it to be a fairly uplifting tale of two men with terminal cancer resolved to doing all the things they had not done but really wanted to do. Jack Nicholson plays his ornery self absorbed usual character and Morgan Freeman is the voice of virtue and faith. Yet the actual “bucket list” of “to dos” with the exception for one small sacrificing act is a list of self-serving thrills.

The movie does cause one to contemplate what our own bucket list would be. I found myself realizing that I have already done most of the things I would want to put on my list. Because of missions, I’ve been to places and shared the Gospel with people of all types. I have been blessed to be able to live out my calling and experience incredible things for Christ.

And I also thought about how different that list would be written by a follower of Christ as opposed to one who has no faith or one with nominal faith. If we are living out our calling, as we Christians should, then shouldn’t we complete our “bucket list” long before we reach the end of our lives. We should not have to rush out in the last few months to fulfill our lives.

I love Grace Point because we are so encouraged to fulfill our life calling every day. We all have been given such a great opportunity to invest in the lives of others. That should be on all of our “bucket lists”. We are given opportunities to go places all over the world and experience God’s wonders, His people and His kingdom. How much greater it is to travel to places, live, serve, worship together and get to know the indigenous peoples of the world than just sightseeing. And we have so rich a community of believers and life groups in which to build lasting relationships.

A great line in the movie by Morgan Freeman’s character…“Even now I cannot understand the measure of a life, but I can tell you this. I know that when he died, his eyes were closed and his heart was open”.

I pray you are fulfilling your bucket list all along life’s journey and that you don’t have to wait until the end of your life for you to experience a life with a heart wide open.

Reaching out to the new generations

2007-12-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

On the subject of cruises, this past vacation, Barbara and I were curious about a cruise ship line that we saw in the Caribbean that we had never seen before. It was the Ocean Village line. I looked them up on the internet and found that they are a new cruise line targeting the 30 - 50 something age. I found it interesting that the cruise line business is just now making an effort to reach out to the younger generations. For a long time cruising was very static and unchanging. Very similar to churches. Until just recently on most all large cruise lines there has been a strict dress code for the meals at night and always two formal nights when you absolutely had to wear a coat and tie. The shows generally were Las Vegas type of entertainment, to suit an elderly audience. Most of the shore excursions catered to the older crowd also. I don't know if the ships just program for the elderly because the elderly are more inclined to cruise or younger people don't cruise because many ships seem to cater only to the older crowd. But it has been my experience that 80% of those on the cruises are of retirement age and up.
But some cruise lines are now changing and trying to reach the younger crowd. The Ocean Village line has no dress code for meals and no formal nights at all. The shows have more rock bands and comedians that appeal to the younger group. The shore excursions are more about activities than site seeing.
I can see the traditional cruiser complaining about how the cruises are changing and just going to hell. But the cruise line knows that there should be no reason why younger people don't take cruise vacations. They are a cheap, convenient and very fun way to vacation.
Theologians also know that the young need Christ as much as the old. They have asked some of the same questions about why so many churches have so few young people. Does the young stay away from church because the church caters so much to the older generations or do the church leaders feel compelled to program for the elderly because their members are mostly old?
A friend was telling me about going to a Christmas concert at one of the more traditional churches in town to see a friend who was involved in the production. Everyone was dressed to the max and most of the crowd was what you'd see on a cruise ship, over 60. My friend, a visitor to the church, couldn't seem to find a seat. He was there plenty early but everyone had programs, coats and various articles of clothing laid out to save seats for family members and apparently whole Sunday School classes. No one said much to him and very few stayed around after the program to fellowship. I'm not too sure this church was concerned much about anyone other than pleasing their members. It's a good reminder that we always need to examine what we do as a church to make sure we are open-armed and welcoming and not self-serving.
Grace Point is much like the Ocean Village Cruise Line. We purposed several years ago to reach the young and hopefully we will continue to be a vibrant church that is open, evangelistic and concerned about those who do not know Jesus Christ. And most of all a church that is willing to change its methods without compromising the message.

Vacations with a purpose

2007-12-12T14:42:00.000-08:00

Barbara and I returned this past week from a cruise to the Caribbean. It was relaxing and I do enjoy cruising and the time away. But I have to admit it is an exercise in pure selfish indulgence. Just eat and lay around. Eat, relax, eat, play games, eat some more. The food...is everywhere. Literally 24/7. You can't get away from it. They have it available everywhere you turn and when you waddle up to your cabin after a full day and night of stuffing your face and laying around you find they have left candy on your bed!
Barbara and I do love to travel but I'd much rather be going on a mission trip than a cruise. While on the curise I found myself comparing it to the mission trips we take each year. And they just don't compare. Given the choice between going on a mission trip or cruise, I'd pick the mission trip every time. Why? Here are just a few reasons.

A mission trip gives you a sense of accomplishment, giving yourself instead of just getting and consuming.
A mission trip allows you to really get to know the people of the place you are visiting. You not only meet them but you become life long friends with people who are very different yet who seem to relate to you better than many back home.
You always travel with a team on a mission trip and get to work together, serve together and worship togther. You always have another group of life long friends when you come home.
A mission trip teaches you many things about yourself, the people of the country you serve and the God we worship. About all I learn from a cruise is how selfish I am.

Mission trips are really vacations with a purpose. Those who go will almost unanimously tell you that they are life changing experiences that they would not trade for anything. Cruises are fun but they can't measure to a mission trip. When I think back to my travels to Sudan, Kenya and Brazil these will always be the memories that I cherish the most.

"Don't accumulate possessions; accumulate experiences!"

2007-11-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

One of my Silas', Marty Menchaca, was telling me this morning about a trip he took to Albuquerque this past week to visit his son, Carlos and see his son in a performance. He said Carlos had asked him to come to this one performance. Marty explained that it was not very practical to fly all the way for two days to Albuquerque, because of the cost and with all that was going on at home. And Carlos was not emphatic that they come, it was just an invite. But he and his wife chose to go and Marty told me that he was so glad that they did. He said he would have missed out on so much if had he chosen not to go. It was worth every penny, every sacrifice, every inconvenience.

I thought this was so much like our choices regarding global missions. God invites us to join Him. It's not a demand or command. Just an invite. Most times it is not practical for us to go. We have so much going on at home and it costs so much to go. But when we choose to go, He pours so much into us, He uses us in so many ways that we could not even imagine not going. We realize how much we would have missed out on if we had chosen not to go.

Mark Batterson in his wonderful book "In A PIT WITH A LION ON A SNOWY DAY" talks about a short term mission trip he took to Ethiopia and all the experiences he had. He said he remembered blogging in his pup tent on top of a mountain in the Ethiopian outback with these words: "Don't accumulate possessions; accumulate experiences!"

One great question from the book arises; do we live our lives in such a way that we have compelling stories to tell? At the end of the day, month, year, or lifetime have you lived a life that anyone would be interested in hearing about?

I have a lifetime of memories, stories of miracles and accounts of how God used me and others in amazing ways that I share with others whenever possible. I'm always able to tell others about God's amazing love and power through the incredible things I have experienced on mission trips. All because I've been fortunate enough to lead others on global trips. Come join me and see what God can do with a life surrendered to Him. You are guaranteed to accumulate some amazing experiences.

When I go to the grave at the end of my life I will not be taking any of my possessions with me. But at the end of life I certainly will be taking my experiences with me, all the way to heaven.

Upwards,
John

It Takes The Church

2007-10-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

It has been great seeing so many of you volunteering for our Habitat build. We’ve had about 20 people out on every Friday and Saturday hammering away and the house is going up on schedule. I know many of the Life Groups and even some ministry teams have encouraged their members to participate together. Serving together, especially on a ministry outside of your normal comfort zone really helps build community in a group. Participating is also a way of helping to bring about change. Habitat is a ministry that was formed to help those, who could not afford housing a way to do so, without government help.
To really change this world, the church is going to have to be involved in their community and do more things like Habitat to help solve problems. There is an incredible amount of resources and talent available if this huge mass of believers in the U.S. would use their gifts to make a difference. Experience shows us that government can’t provide the answers. We need to look at the real issues and problems around us and then do something about it.

Change The World

2007-10-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

Innovative ministry ideas

One of our biggest problems in San Antonio is the issue of child abuse. There are presently 5,755 confirmed victims of child abuse and neglect in Bexar County. One way we can make a difference is through the Child Advocates of San Antonio (CASA) volunteer program. The CASA advocates fill in the gap between the foster homes, the parents and the courts. The volunteers spend time with the child and learn about the issues involved in the case. They then become the voice for the child in child abuse cases. CASA helps train the volunteers. It does require a considerable commitment from the volunteers but what an incredible way to make a difference and share the love of Christ to a child who desperately needs love. Those who are involved in the foster care process will tell you how much a CASA volunteer can make a difference in the outcome of the case. The problem is that there are not enough volunteers. If you would like to help or know someone who would, contact Christina Diaz at 225-7070.

Innovation and the church

2007-09-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

There has always been a tension between innovation and the church. Tradition has long been seen as a necessary element so much so in many churches that it is part of the church’s doctrine. Change anything and you’ll find reactions varying from discomfort to downright anger. Many pastors are afraid to change or do anything different so as not to make anyone mad and cause them to leave the church. Therefore innovation in the church becomes very difficult and often at a high price. Because of the church’s culture of orthodoxy the church finds itself left behind in almost every area of ministry from missions to communication.
Grace Point is unique in that innovation and change are accepted and even embraced. Part of the reason is that those attending are new believers or Christians who want a different, more relevant way of reaching people for Christ. We realize God’s word is unchangeable but how we communicate and minister must be dynamic. Even how we see the mission of the church is a radical departure from many churches. *
In the coming weeks I would like to present some innovative ways our members are “being the church” in their community. And I hope that you will send me creative ideas of how you are reaching and ministering to your community also so I can share and inspire others. My desire is not to use this as an intellectual exercise, but for you to grab on to one of the ideas or allow the creative ministries to motivate you to reach out to a world that desperately needs Christ.
Innovative ministry: PAWS FOR SERVICE
J.C. and Cathy Smith minister with their golden retriever, Meg to the elderly in nursing homes and hospices through a ministry called Paws For Service. J.C. said he was recently contacted to visit a patient at the Alta Vista Nursing Home, “my visit was short because the patient wasn’t feeling well. However, while in the facility, I was surrounded by other patients and staff members. Meg was petted by more than a dozen residents and staff. The administrator asked how to get in contact with someone to request regular facility visits“. What a great way to brighten someone’s life and a great way to open the door to sharing Christ.
If you have a dog that you think would be trainable, Paws will train you and your dog so that you can bring some joy and Christ into the world to the elderly and sick. Paws for Service will be having a training class for K-9's and their "chauffeurs" (owners) early next year. If you are interested, please contact J.C. at n5rxs@satx.rr.com
*The church of the future must become what we call “incarnational” in the way it does ministry. Incarnational means that all of our members are called and view themselves as missionaries to their community and world. The local church is not a building or denomination but a body of believers living out the Word, with the power of the Holy Spirit (incarnation) sharing their faith, caring for and being involved in the lives of their neighbors and changing their community. We live, work, study and interact with others as a witness for Jesus Christ. Our focus is not “to come to church” but we encourage our members “to be the church.” This is really a return to the first century church in purpose. But the way we communicate and reach the world can be as modern and innovative as possible. There should be few limits and boundaries. The goal is to reach our world for Christ and that means using whatever tools are available in our world today.

Good advice from a strange source

2007-09-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

I heard some insightful wisdom last night while watching the Blue Man Group on a PBS fund raising special. They are the entertainers with the blue painted faces. I’ve seen their incredibly creative and off-the-wall show in person and tremendously enjoyed it. What they do is so simple, unique, weird, and hysterically funny that their show is sold out in Las Vegas and around the world. In an interview on PBS one of the team members said the secret to their success was to get over themselves. In other words he said they had to completely put out of their mind what others thought about them personally. They found that they could not be as silly or as creative as they needed to be as long as they were concerned with what people were thinking about them. If they were to be successful, they could not be pre-occupied with themselves. This freed them to be very creative and to get out of the box and be successful.
This is wise advice that if we all followed in so many areas of our life we would be freed up to be “Fully Alive”. Another way of saying it is to “die to self”. If we were not so preoccupied with self and worried about what people thought we could lead so much more effectively. Dying to self would even help with recruiting our team members. One reason we don’t have enough people on our teams is because we just fail to ask enough people to join us. We think announcements in worship and Bible study will do the trick. But the most effective way to recruit is to ask.
Why don’t we ask people to volunteer more? For myself I find that it is often a fear of rejection or some deep seated concern with what people think about me. However, when I die to self, then Christ takes over and much like The Blue Man Group, I am freed up to do what I’m called to do. Get over yourself as the Blue Man Group spokesman says. Great advice! Die to self. It will make an incredible difference is so many areas of your life and actually help you lead much more effectively.

Just inspire me!

2007-09-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Just inspire me!
This statement by Bill Hybels in his closing remarks at Leadership Summit drove home the point that people are motivated to action when they are inspired. As leader and Point Person, you’ll have a much better chance at recruiting a volunteer to join your team if you inspire them.

Inspire them with the need. Give your potential volunteers a clear and compelling purpose for joining your team. Sometimes we downplay the significance of our ministry area. Such as, “I’m just a greeter” or I just help in the office”. But each area of the church is critical for the overall work of the Kingdom. A smile and warm welcome from a greeter may be the key to a first-time visitor returning to church and making a commitment to follow Christ. As a leader you must paint the bigger picture to inspire and motivate your volunteers.

Inspire them with the solution. Show the potential volunteer how your team is making a difference in the lives of others. We know the task is great but here is how we are solving the problem. Tell testimonies and stories how your team members are personally helping transform lives through your ministry team. Email testimonials to prospective volunteers, especially new members looking for a place of service. Few things inspire others more than stories! Example: for some inspiration go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuOyBFEAylU&mode=related&search=

Inspire them with how they fit in. Volunteers want to know that they are needed and that they won’t be just another body on a team. Paint a significant picture of what they will be doing, the time that is involved and how they personally will help the team accomplish the goal. Don’t soft petal the job. Once they join the team, be sure not to be a ball hog. Give the ministry away and allow your team members ownership of the ministry. This entails involving them with planning and executing.

Inspire yourself. Bill Hybels reminded all of us that you can’t inspire others unless you are inspired. No one enjoys being around a negative, joyless person. A leader must live with inspiration that overflows to others. Purpose to hang around others who are inspirational. Listen to inspirational messages. Read books that inspire and excite you about ministry. If you do, you’ll find yourself communicating with joy and excitement about ministry. After all, serving God is the most exciting and challenging thing we can do. Even something as simple as cutting up animals for a children’s craft can be an exciting ministry activity that will make a difference in a child’s life or it can be a humdrum and boring task. It is really up to you. Keeping focus of the goal, the bigger picture helps us maintain our joy. Our core value of Encouragement, Choose joy…Give joy is the essence of leading well.
Choose joy and inspire people!