• Catalyst Conference - Nice flash site rolled out; didn't have anything to do with this one as they were working on it before I arrived.
• Catalyst Space - Same thing here - new updated design that I didn't have a hand in; we just moved it into our internal system, though, so I've added some new features to take advantage of our new ability for site membership.
• GiANT Impact - Minimalist company site; this one will go through several revisions.
• JohnMaxwell.com - Site for everything John Maxwell.

"Whether we subscribe to the "top down" structure of leadership (Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, etc.) or the "bottom up" structure (Baptist, free church, etc.), we need to recognise that both are based on control... either the vicar/bishop/PCC keeping the laity in check - or the laity keeping the minister/area minister in check. The primary function of both structures is to make sure that all is in control (finances, programmes, use of time, teaching, pastoral care, etc.) and that everything passes through formal channels. So whenever any of these areas are tested, the default position of both systems is to maintain the status quo. This will hardly bring the freedom for genuine and significant change in the way we do church! What is needed is a change of culture based on release, where the attitude of the church is more "why not?" rather than "why?"

Today I'm rededicating my life to Golf.

Why?

Well, I feel that I need to rededicate my life to Golf because I’ve never really done anything with my original commitment.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m truly a golfer at heart. I know for certain that if I were to die today, I would be remembered as a golfer. There is a certificate that says so hanging over there on the wall.

I made my commitment to golf as a young boy at golf-camp. I signed that certificate and my instructor signed it and wrote the date, July 18 1979. I knew deep down in my heart at that time that I was totally committed to golf.

After that childhood golf-camp, I wandered away from the desire to play golf. I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but since that camp when I was 9 years old, I’ve never actually seemed to be able to find the time to play a game of golf. But today, at age 38, I know my rededication will be real.

Read the full post...

Sometimes it seems appropriate to share a Bible verse with a client. Sometimes not. Giant Partners founder Matthew Myers just follows his heart and best judgment.

“People hire us first and foremost because we can help them grow their business. Because if we can’t do that first, they don’t care what we have to say,” Myers said recently. “As we do that, if they have other issues on their mind, then we’ll certainly use biblical wisdom we might find in the scripture to help counsel them.”

Oklahoma City-based Giant Partners works with its Atlanta sister company, Giant Impact, to provide strategic planning and leadership advisory services designed to “impact the heads and hearts of chief executive officers, their management teams and their companies,” the company’s promotional material says.

Myers said his professional background lies in starting and developing entrepreneurial companies. In 2002, he and Jeremie Kubicek decided to offer their experience and skills to help others do the same by founding Giant. It just so happens that some of that insight grows out of the tenets of Christianity, Myers said.

Read the full article...

• Tour all over the world running production for such acts as Pillar, Overflow, Daughtry, Switchfoot, etc.
• Being responsible for a cool new worship/music venue in Tulsa, OK called "Venue68"
• And now responsible for audio/lighting/production for a new campus of NewSpring Church, a megachurch in Greenville, SC!

• I'm glad I haven't been reminded of the looming meeting due to my work or church setting.
• I'm glad I have no idea what the annual 'mud in your face' issue is that the SBC has deemed worthy to debate this year.
• I'm glad that this week will come and go and I'll be no worse for wear, apart from my heart going out to my brothers and sisters who have misplaced priorities in an aging denomation.

[The authors have just been talking about how control is often a shaping principle of traditional church systems - whether the control be up-down, as in the Catholic/Anglican/Luthern models, or down-up, as in the free-church models (including Southern Baptist in my own heritage). They argue that breaking away from such controlling-shaped structures is a radical shift to take on.]

But if we move away from control as a shaping principle of the system and structure, the immediate question arises... how can we guarantee the health and orthodoxy of the multiplying communities of faith? In such a dispersed model of church, how can you protect from deviation? There is a right concern that things don't "get out of control"!

The first and most important answer, is that we can't! When a desire to protect orthodoxy and achieve risk minimisation are the dominant concerns, then mission and movement are discouraged or even stifled (emphasis mine). The disciples desired to control others who ministered in Jesus' name... but Jesus' response was that "those who are not against us are for us, do not seek to prevent them" (Mark 9:40). Paul's model of mission seems to have been similar. He planted the seeds of the Gospel, called forth new disciples and encouraged them to remain true as he went on his way trusting others who did the watering (1 Cor 3:6) and God who gave the increase. He then later returned to appoint leaders and to encourage them further. Still later he had to write letters in part to address the problems that his risk-taking mission had allowed. On one level, we could say that we only have much of the New Testament because the missionary movement initiated by Jesus and continued after Pentecost, was so releasing and permissive of initiative with dispersed responsibility, that letters of adjustment, correction and explanation had to be written (emphasis mine).

However, having affirmed the inevitable risk involved in a releasing approach to developing leaders, this system is not irresponsible. There is every bit as high concern to avoid anything destructive and to protect healthy growth. But the difference is that the mechanism is through an emphasis on accountability rather than control. It is crucial to understand that an effective mission movement based on healthy clusters (biblical congregations), depends on overall leaders developing an environment that is high on accountability and low on control. This I believe is the only way to deliver appropriate levels of protection without restricting the release of creative mission energy.

• Some authors try too hard - to make a point, to seem funny, etc. While the humor in the book was enjoyable a portion of the time, there were as many times when it felt like he was trying too hard. Kind of like sitting through the last Indiana Jones movie and literally looking at the guy I went to see it with and laughing because of the cheesiness factor at times.
• I'm tired of 'sermon' books. Seems like there are too many of these in the market these days. Not sure why. I seldom hear a sermon series or talk to others who's lives have been dramatically impacted by them. Not to say that they weren't challenging - just that when you look back several years later most of us can only remember a handful of things a pastor preached that sunk into the deep level of our hearts. I don't know much about Forefront, but I'm willing to bet it is one of those "planted knowing nobody 10 years ago and now is insanely big" churches because it seems like that tends to be much of the qualifications these days to write these kinds of books.
• Not every pastor should write 'sermon' books. If this were a sermon series, I would have left mildly impressed at the message and the deliverer. Craig Groeschel can write a sermon book. Andy Stanley can write a sermon book. Vince Antonucci should concentrate on preaching the sermons and not write another book.
• There are diamonds in the rough in most books. Putting my negative impressions aside, I'm glad I read Lousy T-Shirt for the simple reason that God almost always speaks to me even in the midst of a bad book (or bad sermon, for that matter) because He is not dependent on the deliverer. There were several things that weighed in heavily and left God's imprint on me through the book. Unfortunately, though, those diamonds were too few. I use a small Moleskine to write my thoughts and impressions while reading books. With my last read, The Passionate Church, I have 33 pages of notes. This one? 2.

God walks 'slowly' because He is love. If He is not love He would have gone faster. Love has its speed. It is an inner speed. It is a spiritual seed. It is a different kind of speed from the technological speed to which we are accustomed... It goes on in the depth of our life, whether we notice or not, whether we are currently hit by storm or not, at three miles an hour. It is the speed we walk and therefore it is the speed the love of God walks.

This is what's holding me back from living the Jesus life. I'm going 150, but God moves at 3 miles per hour. So I need to slow down and walk at God's speed. I need to move at the speed of love.

The monks have a theological idea they call perichoresis. They believe that God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit exist together in a sort of choreographed dance of love. Since the beginning of time they've been tangoing, moving together in a beautiful embrace. And we are invited into that dance. We get to spend our days dancing with God. In fact, we were created in God's image, and so if God is always dancing, we were designed to dance too. Our lives were meant to be a dance with God - and a dance is passionate, interactive, fun at times, romantic at others.

Abiding looks like a dance with God. Now when you dance with someone it's typically awkward at first. You're very aware of what you're doing, of what the other person is doing, of the correct steps you're supposed to be taking. But when people continue dancing together, eventually it becomes totally comfortable. You stop having to think about what you or the other person is doing or the correct steps to follow. It all becomes very natural. In fact, if you watch people who can really dance, it's sometimes almost hard to tell where one person ends and the other begins.

And that's what God is after with us. That's what abiding looks like. It's a moment-by-moment sharing of life with him that may be awkward at first. In the beginning it may take great conscious effort. And there may be embarrassing trips and falls and stepping on toes. But slowly it becomes more and more instinctive, effortless, and enjoyable. Eventually, we might even come to a place where it's not that I have to practice the presence of God and remember to focus on and spend my time with him. It will be like we're one person, connected and "lost" in each other.

The ancient Celtics believed in what they called "thin places." These are places where the natural and supernatural worlds come together at their narrowest, with only a thin veil between them. When you're in a thin place you're able to catch a glimpse of God, and it becomes easier to sense his presence.

God has buckets full of grace to pour out on us - but we have to be standing where the downpour is occurring. And that place is where He has designed for us to fit.

[On the fivefold ministries in Ephesians 4] We are not all called to be pastors, but we are all called to care. We are not all called to be teachers, but we are all called to hold out the Truth. We are all responsible for learning how to listen to God's voice, something that comes more naturally for the prophet. We are all called to share the Good News with others, but this takes all those who are not called to be evangelists out of their comfort zones. And we are not all apostolic, but we must learn to walk into what God calls us to do.

Many churches split, not because of theology, but because they don't understand the interplay between pioneers and settlers. In some churches, the pioneers are driven away by settlers who do not want to explore anything new. In others there is pain caused by pioneers who are not patient enough to wait for settlers to catch up with them. There needs to be a mutual respect and acceptance, for without both pioneers and settlers the Kingdom will not grow.

One of the Kingdom tasks assigned to God's people is to rebuild human community wherever we can.

Christ didn't run after the Rich Young Ruler because he knew the young man's heart wasn't ready. Jesus knew and let him walk. Jesus never ran after anyone. Instead, he made himself available to those willing to wholeheartedly seek the Way to God, the Truth about God, and the Life found in God. ~ Michael Simpson, Permission Evangelism

A Person of Peace is one who is prepared to hear the message of the Kingdom and the King. He is ready to receive what God will give you to say at that moment. This should be our prayer as we venture forth each day. "Lord, bring into my path today a Person of Peace, and give me the grace to speak your words to this person."

No amount of coercion on our part can make someone become a Person of Peace. This is the job of the Holy Spirit; He alone can prepare a heart to hear the Gospel. ... Our main job is to walk through life with our eyes open and our ears listening to the Spirit as He reveals to us the Person of Peace He has prepared.

This really is exciting news. Even in the most important task we have been given, the assignment to go and make disciples, God does most of the work.

Our outward relationships are not just to be occasional outreach projects or evangelism programs. We are to live a lifestyle of mission, evangelism, & service.

And the story continues…

Each week I get to live my childhood over again - climbing in the van, driving home from church with three young children, and listening to them recount the stories they learned from the Bible that morning. I remember the time in my life when I still found wonder and excitement in the stories of Moses & the plagues, David & Goliath, or Jesus walking on water. Nowadays? I barely flinch reading these passages (many probably for the hundredth, or event thousandth time or more), and I’d probably feel cheated in a way if our pastor decided to teach on such common narratives.

I was raised, in many ways, to see beyond the stories of Scripture. I know them all by heart, but I’ve also been taught the underlying truths and hidden lessons in each of them. Sure it was cool that Jesus fed the 5000, but what He was really trying to teach you and I was that we need to depend on Him in our lives. Walking on water? Don’t take your eyes of Jesus or you’ll begin to ‘sink’ away from Him in your life.

MORE THAN A MANUAL While each of these ‘lessons’ I’m sure are accurate and are things that we would do well to follow, the problem is that by de-storifying (yeah, I made that up) God’s Word we have taken what has been given to us as a Grand Storybook and reduced it to a step-by-step ‘Owners Manual for Life.’ Why’s that a problem? Because we lose a great truth - and one which resonates in the lives of young adults - in the process.

• Better Priorities - There are times in my life that blogging simply doesn't rank up there as one of the top priorities in my life. It might be that my mind is tapped from projects at work, or that I need/want extra time with Andrea or the kids - whatever the reason I sometimes take a break (even unknowingly) because my outlet here simple doesn't fit into the greater picture at that given time. I'm sure my writing, at least in some way, will assume a greater priority at some point in my life, but until my kids get bigger it's probably going to stay where it is.
• More to Say than I Can Write - I go through seasons, both short & long, where there are things of importance happening in my life that I am not at a point to share here. I'm a fairly transparent person, but sometimes there are things going on in my life that I'm not ready to share for one reason or another. When those times come I don't feel like typing about what seem like shallow, 'lesser' things when there are greater things in the background. Eventually most of these come to the light at the appropriate time. A good example was at the end of last year when we knew we were going to moving, but it wasn't public knowledge yet.
• Nothing to Say - It might be that I've tapped my creative juices elsewhere, or I'm simply brain-tired from having to give focus into other things. At times I'm absent because I don't have much to share - doesn't happen often, but it does from time to time :-)

Prayer was as fundamental an element in the life of Jesus as breathing. He inhaled his Father's presence so he could exhale his Father's will.

Today's unchurched are not so much rejecting Christ as they are suspicious of Christians. Churches that practice the presence of God have great appeal to a generation that is hungrier than ever to know and be known by a God worthy of reverence.

Many faith communities have become little more than gatherings of isolated individuals.

The affirming message of the Gospel is that God wants to aid and guide us in the struggle to be human and invites us into a relationship with Him. The Bible also teaches us that we find ourselves and true fulfillment not in isolation, not even as we engage with one another, but rather when we relate to God through one another.

One of the most obvious areas of seismic cultural change is in outreach. In the past nonbelievers clearly identified the church as the place to go for answers to spiritual questions. Many of our current models of evangelism are still based on that premise. Unfortunately, many of these methods are still navigating by landmarks that are no longer there: a shared moral code, childhood exposure to church, a common spiritual language. We continue to offer answers to questions that most unchurched people are no longer asking.

The idea of evangelism frightens many Christians. They rarely see outreach modeled in a way that they feel capable of doing. That is why their evangelistic efforts are usually confined to bringing a friend or colleague to church in hopes that you will share the Gospel with them.

A true leader looks like a sheep from the front and a shepherd from behind.

1. Commit To It - Following your Red Rubber Ball requires us to give all of ourselves to the pursuit
2. Seek Out Encouragers - Sustaining your life work cannot be done alone
3. Work Out Your Creative Muscles - The paths on your pursuit aren't always obvious or easy; creativity is required
4. Prepare to Shine - Each day is an opportunity live out your life's work; look for the defining moments
5. Speak Up - Never accept the boundaries imposed on you; sometimes you must alter the course when necessary
6. Expect the Unexpected - Be aware of & embrace the things that, no matter how unlikely, reinforce the pursuit you are on
7. Maximize the Day - Pursuit must become your daily routine

We are to work from our rest, not rest from our work.

Growth is not the same thing as bearing fruit... Growth must happen before fruit is produced. And growth comes from knowing how to abide. (John 15)

Pruning is not the fun part of life. We seldom see churches displaying banners advertising "40 Days of Pruning," or small groups practicing "Pruning Yourself to a Better Life." But if a grapevine is not pruned regularly, the branches grow spindly and weak. There is no abiding time when they gain their strength for the growing season.

We need to have times of pruning in our churches, times when most, if not all, activity ceases. Times of rest and abiding.

"My process and my Shack took me 11 years, and I moved it down to just a weekend for Mackenzie. I squeezed that process down. And I'm just trying to communicate to my kids... that it took me 50 years to come to love this God, and it was such a process of struggle with me because I had to unlearn so many things. And I want to save them 40 years - my kids are so far down the road from where I was, and I'm so grateful for that. But I wanted them to have a big picture so that they can understand where to put all the pieces, where to put the different pieces, of the puzzle pieces, that people give them - truth puzzle pieces. But now they have some place they can put it and they can be in love with this God that I'm in love with, Who pursues us the way He does."

"'The Kingdom of God is near' literally means that if you reach in the right direction, your hand will disappear through the curtain of this world and reappear in the reality of the next world. There is a portal in time that we can't see, and the in-breaking of God's presence is about to take place."

"Repenting will not by itself bring about change. Repentance is only the first part of the circle. Stopping after we repent only invites the experience to return and makes it harder to repent the next time."

"'My faith is personal' is a favorite. But that is a self-contradicting statement. Faith is always acted out, never kept bottled up within."