Don't Try To Dominate... Listen...

Why is it so hard for us to listen to others???

Why do we feel like we are the only ones that have anything of worth to say???

Why is it that while we are "listening" to people share something with us... we are already thinking about what it is that we can say that will top their thought???

People want to be heard, and many times they can tell when we aren't really listening to them.

Yesterday my buddy James and I had the priveledge to hang out with John Cross, pastor of South Biscayne Church in North Port, FL (http://www.southbiscayne.com/). I always enjoy getting the opportunity to hang out with people like John, because there is so much that I can learn from them.

Yesterday... something else jumped out at me though. John is a really good listener. He is genuinely concerned with the lives of others. I had to check myself a couple of times to make sure that I wasn't talking too much (aka-my wife gave me the nudge). It was hard not to talk though, because John is such a good listener. If anyone should have been listening yesterday... it sould have been me!!!

In conclusion... a good listener is also a good conversationalist... so make sure you're not dominating the conversation.

Greeting...

This past Sunday I had a brief meeting with our greeters @ Mosaic. We discussed some of the issues that can present themselves when trying to make first time visitors feel welcomed.
Here is some of what we touched on with some additional thoughts as well:

• I believe that greeting is one of the essentials of the church. I would rate the message, music, and children ministry above greeting, but greeting sort of encompasses all of these areas. The pastor can make people feel welcome by the way he communicates; the worship leader can make people feel welcome by the way he, or she is able to get people involved in singing; the children's ministry not only can make the the children feel welcome, but many parents will tell you that how their children respond on Sunday mornings is essential in their decision making to choose a church.

• We have all had a negative experience when visiting a church. We pulled into the parking lot, walked through the doors and made it to an empty seat without one person saying "Hi". This can be very discouraging when you feel all alone in an environment that is supposed to be inviting and personable.

• It is not much better when a greeter pretends to be interested in you either. In fact... in some cases it might even be worse. Take the time to smile and be genuinely interested in someone you've never met before. A big part of this is listening. If they aren't very talkative... pose some interesting questions and sit back and listen.

• Help people find their way around. This is especially pertinent with families that have young children. Make it an easier process on them. Get to know them some as you walk them over to the children's registration area. I guarantee you that this will leave a lasting impact on them!

• Lastly... You can never have too many greeters!!! I don't care if you have 20 people, or 9,000 people at your church on Sunday! Some of you might be thinking... "Well... they are a much larger church, so they will obviously have more greeters. It's just easier for them because they are a bigger church than we are." Actually... that is not true! It's not easier for them! They have more people to greet if they are larger... meaning that they obviously need more greeters. That large church got to be so large for a reason! They probably were very good in their earlier years at making people feel comfortable and welcome. Don't think that I'm saying that God's hand wasn't in it, or the pastors messages weren't engaging, or the worship wasn't outstanding!!! Those are all important factors as well... but for the purposes of our focus in this blog, I am trying to focus on the greeting aspects.

A perfect example of this last point is NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. (http://www.newspring.cc/ ) They are an excellent example of a church that started small and grew quickly without loosing their focus. They are an 8 year old church plant that now has over 8,000 people on Sundays. My wife Joy and I have had nothing but good experiences when attending their. Last time we were their we were probably greeted by 15-20 people from the time we pulled in the parking lot, to the time we sat in our seats for worship! This only happens when churches have the right focus from the start.

Even if you have 50 people at your church on Sunday... greeting must be a priority! You must always think like a church that is twice your size. If you average 50 people on Sunday think like you are a church of 100. Have as many greeters as possible... getting to know new people... all the way from the street to the seat!!!

AND...

I guarantee you that no visitor will ever complain that your church was too friendly, or that too many people greeted them!!!

Slavery Sucks...

The focus of this past Sunday's message is that "the borrower is slave to the lender." This can be found in Proverbs 22:7.

Here are some alarming statistics I came across about the American cultures issues with debt...

• If you go to cardweb.com, you will see that the Avg. American family with at least one credit card is $9,200 in debt.
  
• The avg. cardholder has 2.7 bank credit cards, 3.8 retail credit cards, and 1.1 debit cards. That’s 7.6 cards per cardholder!!!
  
• 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year.
  
• In the past 10 years, bankruptcies have gone up by 100%.
  
• In 1929, 2% of American homes had a mortgage.
  
• In 1962, 98% of American homes had a mortgage.
  

The point is… We have a problem!!!!!!!!!!!

The good news is… there is some pretty cool principles in the Bible that can help lead us out of this debt that we have gotten ourselves in.

I would encourage you to read 2 Kings 4:1-7.

This is the story of a widow whose husband left her with some serious financial debt. It was so bad that the creditors were going to take her sons into slavery as payment. She approached the prophet Elisha and told him that she literally had nothing except a little oil. He then told her to collect as many jars as she could from her neighbors. When she had done this she was to pour the little oil that she did have into all of these jars. She ended up filling up all of the jars and had enough money to pay off her debts plus some to live off of in addition to that.

You and I might look at this situation and say that it was crazy that the prophet told her to go out and collect all of these jars from her neighbors. After all... she had NOTHING!!! Plus... thnk of how this must have hurt this woman's pride to have to ask her neighbors for these empty jars.

The worse off you are financially, the crazier the things you might have to do to get out of this "Money Pit" we call debt. Cut your cable; get rid of your WiFi; stop eating out at places you can’t afford; start cutting out coupons and shop for bargains; forget that vacation you’ve been saving up for and pay off your credit cards; etc, etc, etc… Even if you don't totally get rid of something like your cable... you can at least down size in the amount of channels you have. It's OK not to have 5,000,000 channels-4,999,980 0f which you'll never even watch!!! After all, do you really need ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN Alternate, ESPN Plus, ESPN U, etc... ???

So... with all of this in mind... Is there such a thing as a good debt??? YES!!!

Romans 13:8 says not to let any debt remain outstanding, but to be in debt to one another in love. So we are not to let any debt remain outstanding, but we are to have a continuing debt to love one another.

I believe that outstanding financial debt that you and I have can sometimes keep our focus off of the debt that we are supposed to have… and that is the debt to love one another!!! So if you remember any of this blog... remember this!!!

THE ONLY DEBT THAT’S PLEASING TO GOD IS THE DEBT TO LOVE OTHERS!!!

Imagine what we as the children of God could do for his kingdom, if we were financially debt free!?!?
I believe we could change the world!!!

Proper Priorities...

Nobody wants to hear your excuses... right??? It doesn't really matter what your excuse is... it is still an excuse!!!

Example: On Tuesday I was late to the Mosaic staff meeting. I showed up to the meeting with about four different excuses that sounded really good in my head... but actually weren't even worth uttering. They sounded stupid when I started sharing them with James and Eric, so I went ahead and just shut my mouth so my excuses didn't take up any more staff meeting time than necessary.

Excuses also apply to our marriages. Your wife doesn't want to hear your lame excuses... such as: I didn't take the trash out because... , I was going to do the dishes but... , I was just about to throw a load in the washer when...

Take it from me guys... SHE'S NOT IMPRESSED!!! There is no legitimate excuse that you can make that won't end up making you look really pathetic! The worst excuse of all (that should never be made) is why you haven't spent adequate time with your wife. She doesn't have to have Flowers, Fillet Mignon, or any of those Sappy Cards you might pick up for her on your way home from work! Those things are all nice... BUT... my guess is that she is just looking for some quality time with her husband!

The last thing your wife wants... is for you to get home from a long day at work and pick up the phone to call someone (business, or friend). She also doesn't want you to come home, eat the dinner that she cooked, and go pass out in the bedroom... leaving her all alone... yearning for your attention and affection. It's time for us to step up and be the men that God has called us to be! What are you waiting for???

First Day...

Joy and I started our first official day @ Mosaic Church in Crestview, FL http://www.mosaiccrestview.com/ . It was an amazing day all the way around! First of all... our amazing weekend actually started Saturday night. James and Christie had an amazing meal prepared for us and were so hospitable to a couple of young, green church planters like me and my wife! We really enjoyed hanging out with them in anticipation of what God was going to do Sunday morning @ Mosaic.

The next morning at Mosaic did not disappoint!!! We started our new message series "The Money Pit" and it was very insightful. Eric M. our Worship Leader did a phenomenal job of leading us into the presence of God! Got to love Pink Floyd's song "Money". Immediately following that... James R. (lead pastor/teacher @ Mosaic) did a phenomenal job of communicating what it was that God had put on his heart. It not only spoke to Joy and me... but I think everyone around us! You can check out a summary of James' message on his blog which is listed under the "blogs I read" section.

We then had a great time @ Whataburger for our "Vision of Mosaic" meeting/ open discussion. There was a good group of people there interested in the vision of Mosaic and where they might fit into the mix. We also had some pretty cool prospective interns (college students from BCF) there today. I'm looking forward to seeing some of them get plugged in @ Mosaic!!!

At end the day... we went to Starbucks for our first night of "Open" (a new small group for the Fall semester). This is a time for people to discuss their struggles, life questions, and how they relate to scripture. It went good... plus I got to eat a chocolate chunk cookie!!! Can't go wrong there!!! Great weekend!!! Can't wait till next weekend!!! Hope to see you there!!!

Last Day...

Ok... so it's been a while since I've posted on my blog. I know... I'm slacking! Sorry. Anyways... today was my official last day @ LBC. It feels good to have the good bye's out of the way! No one likes good bye's. They were good to us, but we are compelled by the Holy Spirit to move on. I am ready to see what God has in store for us next. We are ready for our first day @ Mosaic!!! I really believe that God is going to grow us through this period. I hope that I can be of as much service to Mosaic, as I know Mosaic will be for me.

Pray for us... this Saturday we are going to Pensacola to scout around and pray over potential places to plant Baytown. I'm excited that we are going to start getting the ball rolling. There is definitely a lot of uncertainty in this endeavor to plant a church, but we know that God is going to provide for us beyond any expectations that Joy and I could ever have!!! I know this because God never calls us to things that he hasn't already made provisions for.

Crazy Week...

This week has been so crazy!!! The new semester just started here at BCF, and I am already working on my third paper this week. Between my job and school I have began to get a little stressed out. OK... I am incredibly stressed out!!! It's amazing how your attitude can change when you are spread too thin. I have to catch myself and make sure that I'm not being a jerk to those around me. It's real easy to do when you justify in your head as to why you have the right to take the day off as a Christ follower. So... don't forget about the people who are watching you. You might be the only opportunity for someone to see Jesus! Let Him exude through you! Be an imitator of Christ as Paul says in Ephesians 5:1. Who knows... God might use you to change someones negative view of the church!?!?