Tomorrow I have the privilege of preaching at LifeChurch in Aurora, CO, a church plant that began in 2008. Todd Sinclair, the lead pastor, and I share common threads in our background: we both lived and worked in San Diego at the same time, though we didn't know each other back then. Having planted a church myself (yay LifePoint!), I am honored to be speaking at another church plant. Simply put, I love church plants and church planters. I love the sense of mission that hangs in the air. I get energized watching the spiritually disconnected get connected. I enjoy the questions a searching soul asks. There is something special watching a person "get it." Starting new churches is the single most effective way to reach those who are spiritually adrift. Having lived it, I honestly believe that's true. We need more men and women who will help start new…
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While reading a post about worship leading, I was struck by this line: Recognize that God’s words outlast ours. While the post was written for worship leaders, the same holds true for those of us who preach and teach. Our goal is not to get people to think, "Wow, that was clever!" Our goal is to help them interact with the living God who has the power to transform their lives. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12
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This past week in Denver has seen the weather go from snow to a balmy 70 degrees back to snow and now ... rain. Technically, I believe we are in the spring season. One of the things I appreciate about the different seasons is the rhythm it brings to life. Spring marks the return of baseball and fall brings the changing of the colors. Summer is for cookouts and day trips. Winter is for ... well ... shoveling. We also experience seasons in our spiritual lives. We may find ourselves in a season of growth or it may be a season of simply holding on. It may be a season of new awakenings. Or a season of uncertainty. What season best describes your spiritual life right now: Winter, spring, summer or fall? And what are you learning?
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We had a great launch to E4U at Mountainview – over 100 adults participated in a class during the first two sessions. To keep momentum building before the upcoming fall semester, I would like to offer a series of E4U “Super Saturday Seminars.” These would be one-time classes/seminars/workshops designed around a 3-hour format (9 AM to noon). Ideally, I would like to offer three seminars on each Saturday – each running at the same time as the others. The Saturdays I’m considering are June 19, July 17, and August 21. Would you be interested in teaching one of the Super Saturday Seminars. Here are potential topics: Healthy spiritual habits Renewing your spiritual passion Evangelism The mission of Jesus Who is the Holy Spirit? Discerning God’s will Parenting/marriage topics Servant leadership Understanding worship God and the arts Marketplace success and kingdom significance And others that you may be interested in teaching! …
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It's been a busy week and it's only Wednesday night (Thursday morning for those of you readers on the East Coast). I spent Monday and Tuesday deep in the bowels of PowerPoint -- the first time I've plunged into PowerPoint in a few years. We used a program called MediaShout for our multimedia presentations in San Diego. I discovered that I liked the Mac version of PowerPoint better than the Windows version of PowerPoint ... and wondered, "How can that be?" when Windows is PowerPoint's native environment. I also dusted off my InDesign and Illustrator skills and did a few fliers for our women's ministry at church. That brought back good memories of cranking out design pieces for Blue Haven Pools and Spas Supplies Direct. Of course, there have been meetings, both planned and otherwise. And we still have children. And I've been working on a sermon I'll preach this…
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