Monday Morning Quarterback

yesterday was another sunday.  we came.  we prayed.  we sang.  we hugged.  we laughed.  we learned.   i preached.  you listened and applied.  we caught up a little.  we made decisions.  we gave.  we remembered.   some of us left and ate together…others went home.  we all went our own way.  a new week was begun.

i guess i’m going to sum up what i feel about yesterday by giving you some different kinds of observations.

• if what happened yesterday between 10:00 and 12:30 defines your life as a follower of christ, you’ve got a problem.
• if you were not inspired to go and spend your next six days surrendered to kingdom-living, you missed the point.
• or we didn’t do our job.
• if you think you can miss on a sunday morning and i’m not affected by it, you’re fooling yourself.
• if you think you can miss on a sunday morning and you not be affected by it, you’re fooling yourself.
• if you think you can come on sunday mornings and be absolved of guilt, you’ve missed the point.
• we have to learn the balance between the value of coming and the freedom to not come.
• we also have to learn another balance…

as i reflect on yesterday, i recognize that we are really good at one thing…and we really struggle at another.  and both of them are crucial to a healthy church family.  we like our friends.  we enjoy their company and find that interacting with them is comfortable and usually pretty natural.

i love watching us interact with each other on sunday mornings.  good friends catching up with each other after being apart for a few days, or even a week…or more.  that’s the way a family is supposed to act.  telling stories.  reacquainting.  catching up.  drawing friends deeper into life journies and cementing friendships before going their own way.  it’s good.  it’s healthy.  it’s godly.  it’s essential.

on the other hand, our friendship and familiarity with each other can actually be one of our biggest obstacles to growth and our ability to extend the kingdom.

frankly, when we are focused on those we know and are comfortable with, we are missing amazing opportunities to draw others in…into our circles…into our stories…into our family life…into north point.  our friendliness to ourselves actually becomes the way we push others away.

can i give you a challenge?  i know that some are actually gifted at interacting with others, especially people who you don’t know.  you are natural extroverts.  some have the gift of hospitality…the extraordinary ability to welcome strangers.  others are not so gifted.  no matter.

it’s time we got on with the business of living our lives the way jesus would…if he were at north point on a sunday morning.  jesus would be obsessed with finding those that were alone or those that were hurting.  he would be the friend to the friendless.  he would welcome the new and challenge the regulars.

he would never allow someone to be left out or forgotten.  he would be comfortable with the uncomfortable and would extend grace and friendship to those that the religious people overlooked.  his life was always inclusive.  strangers counted him a friend.

what do you think north point would look like if we treated people, especially those we know little about, the way jesus would?

Vacation thoughts #3

i got to spend some time with two high school girls on our trip.  demi and lauren are pretty amazing young ladies!  they are both dreamers and and believe in a god who is bigger than their dreams.  they are wise beyond their years…have passion for ministry…have a global vision…a heart for the poor…a commitment to the word…creative…compassionate…missions minded…confident…and yet they are incredibly normal.

they live in different communities and come from different parents.  they’ve traveled different paths in their education.  they’ve got different hobbies and interests.  they have different personalities and come from families with different lifestyles and priorities.  their church family experiences have been very different.

yet, in different ways and with different words and through different experiences, they were both raised by their parents to love god and to love people.  and so they do.  with a maturity and conviction that is missing in many young people today.

they inspired me.  they give me hope.  they re-affirmed that investment in young people is more than worthwhile.  it is the most important work we can do…as parents…as youth ministers…as teachers…as coaches…as neighbors…as a church family.

the world will be a better place because of demi and lauren.  the world is already a better place because damon and cindy and paul and terri have given us these girls.

Fifteen Important Questions

there are only fifteen days remaining in 2008.  then it’s over.  gone.  never more to be lived.  no do-overs.  no making up for lost time.  no going back and making things right.  a cloud of dust…

on that happy note, i thought i’d create a way for us to get a jump on 2009 by taking the next fifteen days and providing a different question to chew on each day.  maybe some of you will even wander to the edge and give some of your thoughts.  

no matter what, let’s start getting ready for next year.  it’s time to step up.

question #1:

what’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

give it a shot…

     

Monday Morning Quarterback

i think we had a great sunday, yesterday!  lots of momemts…

• i think there were two new episodes that moved into my all-time top ten north point moments.  two on one sunday.  pure greatness!
• the first was buzzy pulling off the orangefield rendition of “give me oil in my lamp”.  you should have been there to see his semi-reluctance turn to full-blown glee as he processed my request!  it’s scary to realize how effortlessly he pulled it off
• for those of you who walked away with concern over my spiritual depth (or simply my taste in worship music), can you say “tongue-in-cheek”??
• the second moment not only moved into the top ten, but it unquestionably took over the #2 spot on the list.  when i got up to give the welcome at the beginning of the second service and looked over saw ralph in his tuxedo, i about lost it!  few, if any of you, got to see the look on his face when he caught eyes with me.  he got this huuuuuge smile on his face, puffed out his chest, and waved at me!  couldn’t believe he walked right up to the front row…
• i’ve got a feeling this won’t be the last ralph moment you read about.
• was the new version of “joy to the world” awesome, or what?  can’t wait until our christmas eve services to sing it again…twice!
• i’m not a real christmas carol kind of guy, but i love it that we get to sing o holy night as part of our worship during this season every year.
• it was great to see some old faces yesterday…people who used to be part of our family, but moved away.  it was like they had never left.  there’s something really really good about church family.
• it’s awesome seeing new people come each week.  especially ones we met at holiday at the hall!
• it’s really cool how many people are connecting with us through our website.  logan did an amazing job…and it keeps improving.  you ought to check it out, if you haven’t lately.
• better yet, make sure you are pointing new people to the website.
• we have an unbelievably committed group of people that make our sundays rock every week.  people who faithfully and lovingly serve in a variety of ways.  some who are seen.  many who are unseen.  they make a huge difference.
• our offering was solid, again.  our people are amazing.  can’t wait to approve the 2009 budget next and then see us blow it away next year!  i think we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what god is doing in our church family…

SO WHO ARE YOU PRAYING FOR?  WHO ARE YOU GOING TO INVITE TO ONE OF OUR CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES?  it could be the one invitation that changes their life…forever.

Being part of a smaller church…reasons for, or possibly, against

i was thinking this afternoon about what it’s like to be part of a smaller church family.  with a couple of hundred people, north point is nearly twice as large as the median church size in america.  in spite of being large, compared to most, we sit in the shadow of lots of larger churches.  having intersected with churches of all sizes throughout my lifetime (as staff, speaker, consultant, or simply a friend), i am now a bonafide expert.

…of being a part of a church family.

here’s my afternoon dollop of wisdom.  there are reasons people gravitate to smaller churches.  and those same reasons become the motivation for different people to leave those same smaller churches.  check these out:

when you don’t make it to the weekly church gathering, you are really missed.

most everybody knows who you are…warts and all.

your sins get magnified and it’s really hard to hide.

you’ll know that your money is really needed…and you’ll probably feel guilty for not giving more.

you can park close to the church building.

you could seriously think the preacher was preaching a sermon about you…because he knows you personally.

if you don’t do it, it may not get done at all.

fewer choices on the program buffet line.

children come into the worship service.

regular people have the opportunity to influence how things are done.

you get to mow the church lawn.

you always sit within thirty feet of the stage when the band plays.

people will tell you, face-to-face…nose-to-nose…friend-to-friend, that you need to do your share of the serving.

it’s funny how the same reason could be good for one, but not for another.  what do you think?

can you think of any more reasons?

I’m smiling tonight…

what a great day at north point!  i love this church family.  i was going to list off all the things that i appreciate about doing ministry together here…but i thought i’d give you a chance to do it first.  what are some of the things you like about north point?  what keeps you coming?  what excites you about our future?  how do you see god at work in our family?  

come on.  if you haven’t got your feet wet, this is a great time to do it!  leaving a comment doesn’t get any easier…