Catalyst 2009

Last Week I attended the 2009 version of the Catalyst Conference along with some of our staff and Elders. Catalyst is an outstanding Christian leadership conference and this was their tenth anniversary. I have attended three or four of the ten. This year's edition had some great speakers including Andy Stanley, Rob Bell, Chuck Swindol, Malcolm Gladwell, Tony Dungy, Matt Chandler, Priscilla Shirer, Dave Ramsey, Louie Giglio, Francis Chan, and others.

A few people have asked me what my biggest "takeaway" from the conference was. That's tough to say because there were so many excellent speakers and I learned so much. I guess if I had to narrow it all down it would that I heard a clear word to return to my first love: Jesus Christ. At last year's conference it seemed like I heard more about things in our church that need fixing. This year's conference seemed to be more about things in me that need fixing.

We all have things going on in our churches. Some of them are good; and some are bad. In the end, however, we all have the same goal: to stand before Jesus and hear him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

It was Louie Giglio who pointed out that many of us are standing on our marks, ready to run the race, but we need to ask ourselves where are we headed. We need to settle the destination of our journey. Why is that so important? Because of the ways in which our destination impacts the journey along the way. Giglio shared a quote from Thomas Merton who once said, "Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire."

I left Catalyst wondering, what is it I desire? What is the destination of my journey? How does that destination shape my day-to-day life and ministry? As Giglio pointed out as he concluded his talk, "When the world says, 'I found God on your face,' that is leadership." That's what it is all about.

What am I going to do about this? Simple: In order to reflect Jesus' face I'm going to need to spend a lot more face time with Him myself. That's my biggest takeaway. Lord, help me to do just that... Amen.

Words to Live On

Today's New Testament passage in my dail Bible reading spoke to me in a powerful way. Great words for us all from the Apostle Paul from First Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 12-22.


Words to honor your pastor and other spiritual leaders (v. 12-13):
"Now we ask you brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest respect in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

Words to those who are pastors and spiritual leaders (v. 14-15):
And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody repays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kinds to each other and to everyone else.

Words to us all (v. 16-22):
Be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

Lost in Cyberspace

I just had a weird experience with email. One of my accounts is with AT&T (formerly BellSouth) and apparently AT&T is currently migrating all their mail to Yahoo. Somehow in the process 458 of my emails got temporarily "lost." At least I would call them lost - lost in cyberspace. But AT&T claims they never were really lost; my overly polite and courteous customer service agent told me tonight that AT&T knew where my emails were all the time. They just didn't get them to me.

Long story short...I was sitting at my laptop with Outlook open when suddenly emails started flying into my inbox, one right after another. I knew something was going on. I called and spoke with AT&T and they apologized, but still, I've got a mess to clean up.

It turns out that of the 458 emails only about 20 of them were anything even remotely approaching what you would call "important." Not a single one reached the "crucial" level. Still, it's scary to think people emailed me three weeks ago about something and I didn't get their email until tonight (I have already apologized to everyone who did). I suppose I rely too much on email; the failure to receive one, or worse, to respond to one can cause a lot of unnecessary grief and pain. Who wants a pastor who you can email, but who is apparently choosing to ignore you?

I am sure there is some deep philosophical, theological, or homiletical gem in this snafu somewhere, but for the life of me, I can't think of it tonight. Maybe I should just turn off my laptop and turn in. Yes...that's exactly what I'll do. Good night.

PS - if you ever email me and don't hear back within three weeks, please call.

FORTY DAYS OF LOVE
The time period of forty days appears to be important in Scripture. Over and over again this particular period of time is mentioned. Here are a few examples:

It rained for 40 days and 40 nights when God wanted to cleanse the world and start over (Gen 7:12) and then Noah waited another 40 days after it rained before he opened a window in the Ark (Gen 8:6). Moses was on the mountain with God for 40 days – twice (Exodus 24:18, 34:28-29 and Deut. 10:10). It took the spies 40 days to search out the Promised Land (Num. 13:25). For 40 days, twice a day, morning and evening, Goliath the Philistine giant strutted in front of the Israelite army and taunted them before he was finally killed by David (1 Sam 17:16). Elijah strengthened by one angelic meal was on the lamb for 40 days ending up on Mount Horeb where the Lord passed by and he heard the still, small voice of God (1 Kings 19:8). Righteous Ezekiel was punished for Judah’s sin for 40 days (Ezek. 4:6). Jonah warned the City of Nineveh they had 40 days until God would overthrow the city. The people repented in those 40 days and God spared the city (Jonah 3:4, 10). Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness (Mat 3:17) and was seen on the earth 40 days after His crucifixion (Acts 1:3).

Obviously, 40 days is a symbolic time. We believe 40 days are significant at NewSong as well. A few years ago we observed a 40 day season as we went through the Purpose Driven Life book as a congregation, focusing on personal renewal. We believe only changed people can change the world; renewal must start there. The foundation for everything in life begins with getting to know and love God and then to begin growing in him and serving. But we were never meant to live our lives in isolation. We need others, and they need us. There is a second kind of renewal needed – relational renewal. That’s what the 40 day season we are about to begin is all about. We must not only learn to love God with all our heart (personal renewal); we must also learn to love our neighbor as ourselves (relational renewal).

Relational renewal is so important we are going to spend 40 days – six weeks - learning how to add depth and health to our marriages, families, and friendships. We will be studying love and practicing love as we explore and implement the relationship principles the Bible teaches. Our goal in the end is to be more loving and to be better equipped with insights and a practical path for fulfilling God’s intention for all our relationships – even the difficult ones.

What does this mean for you? You have several options depending on how deep you’d like to go. You can come to worship for the next six weeks and listen as I preach on love and how to build stronger relationships (you can also listen to, or read, the sermons online, or request a CD or DVD of each message). A second option would be to hear the sermons and enroll in a small group to meet with others to go deeper. To go even deeper you can listen to the sermons, join a small group and then use the book the series is based on, The Relationship Principles of Jesus by Tom Holladay as your daily devotional guide for the 40 Days. This book is available at Barnes and Noble, on Amazon.com and at most other bookstores.

I’m very excited to see what God is going to do through this campaign as we learn how to build healthier relationships in all aspects of our lives. It will be great to all be all doing this together as well.

Stuck in the Past

I’ve been doing a lot of introspective thinking lately (too much, if the truth be told). Doing so has made it clear to me that I have become stuck in my thinking. Furthermore, my being stuck revolves mostly around the past – nursing and licking old wounds that should have been healed long ago and holding on to old hurts and bad habits that should have been jettisoned before now. Meanwhile, God says in the Bible: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19). God has new things in store for us; he wants to give us new ideas and take us to new places; he wants us to do new things and meet new people. Meanwhile we remain stuck in the old. Why? Mainly because we choose to be stuck. Paul makes that clear when he talks about choosing to press into the future and not be stuck: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:12-14).

I realize not everyone is stuck in their thinking right now like I am, but there is a pretty good chance that someone reading this post is. If so, put those bad experiences behind you. Forgive those who have wronged you. Let go of the past – move on! God says he is “making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” In that dry barren place you are in right now God is showing you a path to get on – a new way to proceed and he’s bringing refreshing streams of water to quench your thirst. God has new goals for you, new things for you to do, and you won’t be able to do a single one of them if you remain stuck in the past. What’s written below is found all over the Internet and commonly attributed to T.D. Jakes. I’m not sure if Jakes said it or not, but it is a powerful message – one that bears repeating here.

LET IT GO by T. D. Jakes

There are people who can walk away from you. And hear me when I tell you this. When people can walk away from you, let them walk.

I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you. I mean hang up the phone.

When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left. The bible says that, “They came out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not for us. For had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us." (1 John 2:19)

People leave you because they are not joined to you. And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay. Let them go. And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person it just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when a person's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead. You've got to know when it's dead.

You've got to know when it's over. Let me tell you something. I've got the gift of good-bye. It's the tenth spiritual gift, I believe in good-bye. It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me. And if it takes too much sweat I don't need it.

Stop begging people to stay...LET THEM GO!!!

If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to...LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to past hurts and pains...LET IT GO!!!

If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth...LET IT GO!!!

If someone has angered you...LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge...LET IT GO!!!

If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction...LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents...LET IT GO!!!

If you have a bad attitude...LET IT GO!!!

If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better...LET IT GO!!!

If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him...LET IT GO!!!

If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship...LET IT GO!!!

If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves...LET IT GO!!!

If you're feeling depressed and stressed ...LET IT GO!!!

If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying, "Take your hands off of it," then you need to...LET IT GO!!!

Let the past be the past. Forget the former things. GOD is doing a new thing and it's time to release and let go of the old...LET IT GO!!!

Get Right or Get Left...think about it, and then LET IT GO!!!

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

Missed It!

Okay, so last night I decided to watch a little of the Steelers-Titans game after I got home from a meeting. I got all comfy on my sofa and watched the game from half-time on. Near the end of the game I began to feel a little sleepy. The game was great though; it was a tough toe-to-toe battle and the score was knotted at 10-10.

The game goes into overtime. I get sleepier. So sleepy that I get up and go get something to eat (that's my excuse anyway). I get back from the fridge just in time to watch the Steelers win the toss for the sudden-death OT period. I watch the kick-off. Then I wake up and the news is on.

I didn't find out who won until I turned on my computer this morning. What's with that? How could I sit there for two hours and then miss the most important 2 minutes of the game simply because I nodded off?

I suppose that happens to many of us. We are vigilant; we persevere; and then we falter at the crucial moment all because the "spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Perhaps that's what is happening on Sunday mornings when I see folks nodding off while I'm preaching. Maybe next time I should go get something to eat sooner when I'm watching a good game. Maybe I should make sure my parishioners get fed something more spiritually nourishing on Sunday mornings. Perhaps I have put you to sleep reading this. Zzzzzzzzzzz

Yikes! Giant Spiders!

So much for blogging regularly (see my August 17 post). At any rate – I just got back from a dove-hunting trip to one of my favorite places in the world, my cousin’s farm in Bassfield, MS. Actually I spent most of my time down there bush-hogging, which is one of my favorite farming duties. I must have cut 25 acres of grass!

The hunting wasn’t bad either. I only got in one day of hunting because the season opened the day before I returned home. The hunting was poor in the morning, but we did pretty well in the afternoon hunt. The birds weren't flying in our field, but a friendly neighbor allowed us to come and shoot with them. I got 5 birds using 37 shells which is not too bad when it comes to hitting those little gray rockets.

The real excitement on the trip was my encounter with several really scary-looking spiders found in the Mississippi woods. I have been there several times but I had never seen one of these monsters before this trip. My cousin’s property is laced with wonderful lanes that run through pine thickets. We use them for driving four-wheelers and golf carts through the woods. On Friday morning I decided to take a walk using these lanes as my walking track. Sounds peaceful and scenic, doesn’t it? Well it was until I happened upon what South Mississippians call a “Banana Spider.” The spider’s real name is the golden silk orb-weaver spider (genus nephila). Apparently they are found throughout the world in temperate climates. And believe me, they are huge! I saw several that were as big as my hand (honest!). They also weave impressive webs that completely spanned the 6-8 foot lanes I was walking down. What's more, the webs were often head-high; perfect for catching an unsuspecting human. Well... actually they use their beautiful webs to capture all kinds of bugs and insects. An unsuspecting victim flies down the only path available to it, down the lane, and straight into a camouflaged death trap. Scary stuff. In fact, after I almost walked into two or three of the webs I finally turned around and headed back out of the woods the same way I came in.

According to some research I did on the web (pun intended), the spiders I encountered are not particularly poisonous but they do have a nasty South American cousin that is highly lethal. They also did not seem very aggressive. But let me be perfectly honest with you; I didn’t actually get close enough to tell if they were poisonous or aggressive. All I can say about them is they were huge and I would not want to walk into one of their webs, especially at night.