Back from the Arches

We got back yesterday afternoon from St. Louis. Alex had another doctor's appointment. The good news is that I think he is slowly improving.

The funny thing is that I learned to drive on the freeways of Los Angeles. I would travel them everyday and never be nervous or stressed. We got into St. Louis on Tuesday and it was raining. The traffic was moderate, but I was a nervous wreck. I guess the last six years of living in small towns has begun to effect my stress level when it comes to traffic. I just thought it was ironic that a guy who learned to drive in the mean streets of L.A. would get nervous while driving in St. Louis...

We had dinner with our friends Shaun and Jenny. They moved to St. Louis several months ago. Shaun co-designed and did all the artwork on our billboard. It was so good to talk and get caught up on life.

Sunday Reflections

I was suffering with a worsening case of the stomach flu all morning long. I was completely wore out by the time we were done. By late afternoon I was completely out of it! I felt like my preaching was not as sharp as normal, but God proved once again it is not about me. Several people stopped me to talk about the points of stress in their lives.

It was so great to see Rob and Michelle on Sunday. I think we don't always realize how much we miss someone until we see them again. I walked into band rehearsal and had to do a double take as I saw Rob up there with his guitar. We love you guys. Please come back often and visit us. I know you will always have a place in the band Rob!

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Last night we took the kids to see the second installment in the Chronicles of Narnia series. They did a great job of capturing the adventure that is so evident in the book. They also capture the feeling of hopelessness and utter failure that you get when you read the book. All in all it was a great ride and fantastic movie.

There were some great lines that just struck me on a profound level:

Lucy says to Aslan, "You've gotten bigger." Aslan responded, "Every year you grow I also grow." Remember that Aslan the lion is the representation of Jesus in the story. I have found that it is very true that the more spiritual growth I have the bigger Jesus gets in my life. Are you growing every year?


Lucy finally finds Aslan after a very perilous and difficult search. She tells him that she saw him but the others didn't believe her. Aslan responds, "Why did that keep you from coming to me?" OUCH! How many times are we reluctant to publically profess Christ because others (family and friends) don't believe you? Should that be a reason we fail to come to Jesus? I know there are times when I have failed to give Jesus the credit for blessings in my life because others don't believe me. May we never keep ourselves from coming to Jesus.

Finally, towards the end of the film Peter, Edmund, Susan and Caspian come face to face with Aslan. They all kneel before the King. Aslan says, "Arise Kings and Queens of Narnia!" Peter, Susan and Edmund rise, but Caspian remains kneeling. Aslan says, "All of you." Caspian says, "I don't feel ready to be King." Aslan responds, "For that very reason I am confident that you are ready." I love this scene. Do you feel adequate and completely equipped to do what God has set before you? Probably not, and it is for that very reason He has chosen you. In your weakness, He is strong! In your humility, He is glorified!

Good time great food

Last night we had our small group over for a meal. We decided that the theme for the night was Italian. My wife made her signature lasagna and I must say it was one of her best yet. We had garlic bread, salad and some wonderful dessert. The highlight of the night was sitting on our deck and sharing experiences and sharing life.

Some of the highlights

I wanted to share some of the highlights of the 40 Days of Community campaign. The main highlight is the rejuvenation of our small group ministry. TRCC has always had a very robust small group ministry. During the year that they were looking for a Senior Pastor the small group ministry started to wain. When I arrived it was pretty anemic and needed a huge shot of adrenaline. The small group leaders were just not sure how to get the fire lit and keep it burning in our small groups. I tried several things and read a ton of books, but nothing seemed to work. Then along came 40 DoC and things took off. We asked people to make a six week commitment and join a small group. If they did not want to continue beyond the six weeks then that was perfectly fine. What we saw was literally the quadrupling of our small group ministry overnight. Now as awesome as that is it is nothing compared to what the impact is now. Not only did we quadruple the small group ministry for the short-term, but all of the groups have agreed to continue to meet!

We also have seen a burn for greater discipleship within the people. They appear to have a fire for deepening their relationship with Christ.

Finally, we have experienced a greater level of volunteerism. People are wanting to share their gifts and talents with the church.

So overall, we increased the community within the church and increased the community outside the church. The bottom line is that we all learned to love a little more.

Weekend Reflections

This was a week where we really tried some different things. We wrapped up our focused 40 Days of Community campaign with a huge celebration. We had cake and drinks in the lobby and went to only one celebration so everyone could worship together (the theater was packed!). Here are some of the new things that we did this past Sunday:
- Lisa joined me on stage and we team-preached the message. I brought the teaching and she highlighted what God had done in the lives of our people over the last 40 days.
- The band played at the beginning and the end of the celebration.
- Our worship leader Rhoda Kennard dismissed the crowd instead of me...it was a nice change.
- We took our offering immediately after the bands first set instead of after the message.
- We played a homemade movie I worked on and set to "God of this City" by Chris Tomlin.

All in all it was a wonderful day. I have never really felt as relaxed preaching as I did this past Sunday. I guess my focus was Lisa and how she was doing and believe me she did fantastic. She appeared very relaxed and had good command of her message. I am so proud of her stepping up and meeting this challenge God put in front of her.

Branding

One my practices is something I learned from Bill Hybels. He calls it "best practices". The idea is that you study other churches and pastors to see what practices they excel at and then figure out ways to use those best practices in your setting.

The church is always looking for the best way to market itself in this media driven society. One of the best practices I have found is branding sermon series. Instead of advertising and brandishing the church you actually market the current sermon series. Lifechurch.tv and Pastor Craig Groeschel do this with extreme excellence. I have learned alot from watching what this church in Oklahoma is doing around branding their sermon series. We are going to be experimenting with this practice here at TRCC. The next three sermon series are going to branded and marketed to see what people think of this concept.

Weekend Reflections

Just reflecting on the past weekend:

- Don't let the grass get too high because then it will take you 20 minutes to mow your small lawn. I know, but mowing is not my favorite activity.

- Colin's baseball team is going to fun to coach this year. One of the parents said she thought I was having more fun than they were. I think she may have been right!

- Once again, the people at TRCC amaze me and go beyond my expectations. We conducted a ministry fair yesterday as part of 40 Days of Community. I wanted it to grab people's attention. Well it surely did that! They put highway cones leading down the ramp to the ministry fair table complete with roadway signs. You could not help but walk past that table and find a way to get connected at TimberRidge.

- It was good to see Pastor Robert Douglas yesterday at worship. He founded TRCC 12 years ago and now pastors a Hope Community Church on the south-side of Chicago.

- I enjoyed spending time with the family yesterday, even though most of them took long naps...maybe it was the quiet time alone I really enjoyed.

Have a great Monday!

Getting Caught Up Part II...

Sorry for my two week absence so let me get you caught up on what has been happening:

1. We have been fully engaged in the 40 Days of Community campaign. We have seen some wonderful things happen so far and we won't be done until May 18th. Just one of the awesome blessings so far has been a quadrupling of our Small Group Ministry.

2. We moved the office last week and we are still trying to get set-up. No internet connection in my office yet.

3. We started a new communication piece called "Coming Attractions". This will connect our people every week with the happenings at TRCC and beyond.

4. I am working on our men's ministry called "EveryMan Ministry". I am using 1 Timothy 6:11-12a as the foundational scripture.

5. We are still trying to get Alex's school situation squared away. This and his illness are causing Lisa and I a lot of stress.

6. I started a new workout regime today and it will get me ripped if I follow it.

7. Lori and I have been working hard on getting our InStep fitness ministry set-up at church.

Have a great evening!