Turnaround

Title: turnaround. Why? When I came to Christ, I had to make a turnaround in my life. I am in the midst of a turnaround church, and Christ is still at work turning me around to following Him more closely.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Soccer coaching

I had my first practice with Justin's soccer team, AYSO under 8. I had 10 boys come, and I had a blast! It's been quite a few years since I was the coach(though I've served as an assistant coach for three years in baseball and soccer), and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it. Coaching and encouraging the boys to do their best is reward enough. Some of the boys are going to be really good, some will just be there, but the goal is to get some improvement from each one. I learned something from Justin's first coach that I tried implement, too, the first goal being to have fun.

The Scriptures talk about a gift of encouragement, and I must tend toward that. I enjoy doing that, and seeing others improve, especially kids. I did this because AYSO was really needing coaches, but I can see that the Lord was in this.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Yard sale 2

We did it! We actually got the yard sale done, moved a great deal of stuff out of the garage, and made a little money. But the goal was not the money, it was clearing out the garage. It's amazing what we can stack up thinking we'll use it "someday" and years later we're still waiting for that special day. I talked about that on Sunday at church, how we hang on to things, things we don't need, things that are sometimes painful, yet we don't let go. How many times has God asked us to let go of something, yet we don't? Yard sales are great for analogies on life. We accumulate, but for what or for whom? Whatever you're hanging on to, get rid of it! The feeling is freeing and fantastic.

Friday, August 19, 2005

AYSO Coach

I got the call, we need a coach, would you please be willing to do this? I've been the assistant coach for my son, Justin's teams for three years now, so it must be time to move up. I love coaching, so I think this will be fun.

yard sale

I didn't write this week, the reason? Two words: yard sale. It's that time of year, to get rid of stuff! I'll tell you how it went later.

Friday, August 12, 2005

16 years and counting

Traci and I are celebrating 16 years of marriage today. It seems so incredible, incredible because that sounds so long, and also incredible because the time just flew by, its both at the same time. Our marriage keeps getting better and better.

I always admired (and still do) my parent’s relationship. They’ve been married for over 45 years. I wanted a marriage like theirs, they love each other, love being together, they appreciate each other, and complement one another. Given the choice, they would rather be with each other over anyone else.

Our marriage is much like that. There is no one I’d rather be with than Traci. We laugh, tease, encourage, support and love one another. She is my biggest fan, and I hers. She is all I prayed for, and more. I admire her strength, courage, wisdom, kindness, perseverance and discernment. I would not be the man I am today without her. I thank God daily for her. The Bible says, “he who finds a wife finds a good thing, and is blessed by the Lord.” I am a blessed man.

How is our marriage so good? We choose to bless each other. She has never said an unkind word about me to someone else, nor have I about her. We mutually admire one another. We try to outserve each other (though Traci is definitely better at this), and we honor each other. And most importantly, our glue is our relationship with Jesus Christ. We have chosen above all else, to serve Christ, and that enables us to serve each other. As children of the King (not Elvis), we treat one another as that.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Intelligent Design

There is a fascinating discussion going on about Intelligent Design on a blog written by one of my church friends. The blog is http://peaceonthat.blogspot.com. The date is Monday, August 8. You might want to check it out. I even commented at one point. Let me know what you think.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Golfing with my boys


August 10, 2005

We’ve got four kids, two boys and two girls(see picture). Yes, we evened the score and we’re very blessed! Yesterday I took my boys, (ages 7 and 5) out golfing on the “short course”, a smaller course with less walking, that is all par threes. At the age my boys are, and as often as we go (we haven’t been since last summer), it’s perfect for us. We went in the evening, when everyone on the course seemed to be more relaxed and much less serious about the game. And if you were following us, you really needed to be relaxed and less serious! The evening was a perfect southern California evening, slight breeze, beautiful sun, and the ideal temperature.

What is the great thing about golfing with my boys? Life. They just enjoy life wherever they are. We’d be getting ready to hit, and I’d hear, “Daddy, look, a squirrel!” I loved it. I helped them with their swing, well, a little bit anyway, because I don’t know much about golf, which is evident by my own scores. They didn’t worry about the bad hits, they just picked up from there and went on. Justin amazes me at his ability. He has this smooth swing, and generally hits the ball straight down the fairway. Bryson is a different story. The little ball washers at each hole are very fascinating to a 5 year old. He had as much fun washing his ball as he did hitting it. Bryson would decide to hit the ball while we were walking to the next hole, and if I was ahead of him, oh well. And he really likes to use a tee, so he’d put a tee down whenever and wherever he wanted, so he could hit the ball better. I did keep him from putting a tee on the green, though. Some golfers would have been irritated by the delays, the side trips and the slowness of the boys. But I wasn’t there to golf, I was there to be with my boys, and I even managed to get a little golf in, too. In the hectic hustle and bustle of life, I need more moments like these. I thank God for my family. I am blessed.

Friday, August 05, 2005

August 5, 2005
Theme: intercessory prayer
History belongs to the intercessors.


There are two other pastors on staff at CrossRoad, both a blessing to me. I thoroughly enjoy being with them, they encourage me, I encourage them, and we laugh a lot, a great thing to do. As we were talking, sharing about what was happening in the church, how the Spirit is moving, and I gave them the reason for the change. Intercessors. It’s very simple. Here's the story.

I had a friend, Mike Evans, come one weekend (he has a great ministry, the web site is www.wholeness.org) to minister, and in spending time together he asked me a question, do you have any intercessors? It was embarrassing, but I had to answer, no. I didn’t think I had anyone that could or would do that. He challenged me to find some who could do that for me, his assurance was that it would radically change the ministry. I began to pray about who the Lord might be calling to pray for me and for the ministry. As I prayed, there were several that came to mind. I contacted them, asking each individually and through a letter to join me in prayer. Each answered yes. Our first meeting was in December of 2003. Their intercession became a source of great strength and encouragement. They stood with me, shared with me, listened to me, and were often God’s spokespersons; giving me the words I needed to hear to carry on. I found some material online (googled praying for your pastor) and gave that to them. I also have several prayer books, and passed them out for each to read and share. Then we prayed. It was as if God turned up the heat. His Spirit moved in new ways. I had people telling me how powerful the sermons had become. God was at work. All that we have accomplished has been done because this group of 14 people have stayed strong, stayed before the Lord and have prayed our changes through.

You want to see God move in your church? Call out the intercessors.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

leadership and change

Any leader that desires to change an organization, and change radically, is painting a big bull’s-eye on themselves. Be ready for accusations and criticism, and be strong enough to slaughter some sacred cows (those untouchable areas of the church, either programs or facility that can’t be changed, though keeping said areas are often either killing or at least prohibiting the church). George, Barna, in his book, The Second Coming of the Church, says this about plateaued churches:
Change: In essence, over the course of time, the drive for self-preservation overwhelms the desire for true growth.
He goes on to say,
“. . . unless intentional self-renewal is built into the development process, every organization will die.”
In becoming the pastor of the church, I was scared. I was scared that we would eventually be closing the doors, and who wants to be known as the “last pastor our church ever had.”

I like what was said by Lou Gerstner, former CEO of IBM, quoted in Wordcraft, by Alex Frankel: “You can’t talk a culture into changing. You can’t just exhort people to be different. You’ve got to point to fundamental strategic changes you’re going to implement in a company and then drive the execution of that strategy. And it is in the execution of the strategy that the culture begins to change.” That is an accurate description of what a leader of change needs to do. And by the way, pray alot! As I said on a previous posting, prayer has to be the foundation of all that is done. But after prayer, I did what I believe the Holy Spirit was leading me to do, and often times I didn't give people much of a choice, much like the quote above.

I’ll talk a lot about change, it’s one of my favorite subjects, and desperately needed if a church is going to renew their commitment to make disciples of Jesus Christ.