Man Is Born To Live

Boris Pasternak was a Nobel Prize winning poet and writer. Mr. Pasternak was once quoted as saying:

"Man is born to live, not to prepare for life."

I believe that we, as Christ Followers, can learn a lot from this quote. God created us to Live Life and to live it to it's fullest. He didn't create us to simply learn about Him or His word but to allow Him to live His word through us. He created us to engage our hearts with Him. As we engage our hearts with the Creator of the Universe, we are then able to engage our hearts with those around us.

As we engage our heart with God and with Friends we will then be able to live like we were created to live. I've resolved that I'm going to take God at His word and live life to the fullest, allowing Him to direct each step. How about you?

G3,

Focus

A couple of weeks ago, our Connecting Point started a study on the book of Romans. Let me say that the book of Romans is Not for the faint at heart. Paul starts out nice and quickly gets all up in the grill of the people and specifically the Jews in Rome.

Last week as we were discussing the end of Chapter 1 and then Chapter 2. We talked about judging others. We talked about what happens if people know Christ and yet don't live like they do. We also talked about those people who God abandon. It's been a good study so far and I believe it will continue to be.

However, yesterday I heard a message from Perry at NewSpring and he made a statement that really stuck in my head. He said,

"Christians are way too obsessed with the behavior of people who don't know Christ."

It continued to solidify the fact that our job is to connect people with God through life in Christ. We can't expect people who are far from Christ to act like they know Him. Especialy when those who claim to know Him don't act like they do. Our job is not to be judge and jury. We, "the Church" and specifically NewSpective Church needs to stay focused on Connecting People with God and Friends. That's our job. Love God and Love Others. As we connect people with God and Friends, the Holy Spirit will convict people and take care of their sin.

Just a Thought!

G3,

Pop Goes The Review - Part 2

I was informed today that Tim pushed up the due date on his book review by 3 days. So, I buckled down tonight and finished my first read. I plan to go back over it again and ensure that my notes makes sense before I send it off to Tim this weekend.

All I can say is that this book has been an inspiration, a challenge, a blast to read and an eye opening look at what the church was meant to be. It has also been a sobering reality of how far away from God's plan the "church" has fallen. God never intended the church to be a Holy Huddle of the Christian Country Club where no outsider can gain access with out looking, smelling, talking and living a certain way. Jesus never exhibited this kind of thought process. Jesus met people where they were and then offered them the solution to their life situation.

Tim does a great job of illustrating, with success stories and real life examples, the importance of understanding the culture and language of those in your community. He then demonstrates how to use that culture and language to share Christ as the answer to life's challenges.

I'm not sure when the book is being released (3 days early I hope) but when it comes out I challenge every Christ Follower to read it and digest it. No matter if you work for a church, volunteer at a church or simply want to talk to your neighbor about Christ, this book will give you practical examples of ways to use Pop Culture to reach out to the world around you.

G3,

Just a Thought

It's been a great weekend. So as not to bore you with all of the details, here are some quick thoughts.

• Hung out with Tim Stevens, well at least his new book on Friday, which challenged me for the development & launch of our own new church.
• Had a great time discussing Romans with our Connecting Point on Friday night. We missed David but it was great to have Carol join us.
  
• Spent some time with some old friends on Saturday, celebrating their children's birthdays. It was great to re-connect.
• Both teams I was routing for today lost. Is it possible for both teams to loose the Super Bowl? Well, maybe we can have some good food that night at least.
• Today was the highlight of the weekend. I love worshiping with NewSpective Church and being able to share God's word with our people. We're building vision and team while taking steps forward in preparation for our Easter Launch.
• God has done some amazing things at NewSpective Church and I can't wait to see what He does in 2008.
• I tried a new Candy Bar tonight. All I can say is that Chocolate and Caffeine is a great combination.
• Our new lighting should be in tomorrow. I'm looking forward to getting it all set and ready for next weekend.
• I can't believe "The Moment Of Truth" is actually coming to TV. What will they think of next?
  

More thoughts soon.

G3,

Pop Goes the Review - Part 1

So I spent some time with a venti cup of caffeine and Tim's new book, "Pop Goes The Church." All I can say (because I'm not able to quote the book yet) is WOW. I'm only about half way through the book but Tim is hitting the nail on the head. This new book is a Must Read for all church planters and seasoned pastors alike. If only "the church" could grab hold of this thought process and put it into practice, the world would never be the same.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book and then a re-read before sending it back.

I'll keep you posted.

G3,

Big Day!

Not only did I receive Tim's book yesterday (More on that later) but the new Mac Book Pro is here and running well.

Software is all installed, turn it on and . . . It works!!!

Imagine that?

I think I may have seen the light!!!

Pop Goes the Inbox

Well, it arrived. I have the transcript of Tim Stevens new book, "Pop Goes The Church." I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. I'll start reading later today and keep you updated. Look for some "Pop Goes The Review" posts over the next few days.

G3,

Pop Goes The Church

As many of you know, I follow many blogs. I read a lot and study church growth and pop culture. One of the blogs I read, on a regular basis, is LeadingSmart.com by Tim Stevens.

Tim is the Executive Pastor at Granger Community Church in Granger Indiana. Granger is one of the top 10 most innovative churches in America. Tim, along with writing partner Tony Morgan, have co-written 3 of the most practical ministry books on the planet.

• Simply Strategic Stuff
• Simply Strategic Growth
• Simply Strategic Volunteers

Tim is currently working on a new solo writing project called "Pop Goes The Church."

Last week Tim reached out to the readers of his blog for some help with the new book. He was looking for 10 leaders to review and comment on the book prior to his final edit. Over 100 people volunteered to help and I found out today that I am one of the 10 selected to review and give input on this new project.

I'm excited about this project and while I don't need another task on my plate, this topic is critical to communicating the Gospel in today's culture. While I'm not allowed to quote from the book here, I will keep you updated on my progress. I will receive the book tomorrow and have 14 days to read it, comment and return it.

G3,

Good News!

I can't believe it's the 14th of January. I just realized that I've only posted 2 times in 2008 and that's unacceptable. Statistics tell me that people from 15 states and 11 different countries visited this site in 2007. To those of you who check out my thoughts on any kind of consistent basis, I say . . . I'm Sorry.

However, I have Good News!

This past weekend at NewSpective Church, I spoke about being disturbed by the status quo. The status quo on this site is that over the past year, I've posted only 91 times. That means I've posted less than 8 times per month and less than 2 times per week. If I'm going to say no to the status quo, that means I need to kick it up a notch.

One of the purposes for this site is to share what God is doing in my life and in the ministries that I'm privileged to be a part of. God is certainly more active in my life than 2 times per week. So, I'm going to attempt to carve out more time to share what's going on and what God is teaching me. I pray that as you read my musings, you too will be encouraged to be more intentional about sharing Christ with those in your sphere of influence.

I believe that God is getting ready to do something really crazy at NewSpective Church. Our partners are stepping up, giving time, volunteering to serve, giving money and taking steps to make our Easter Launch a reality. Our current series of talks called, "Facing the Giants" is really going to stretch us to prepare our fields to receive all that God has for this valley. The "Free Movie" night on February 10th is going to be a great opportunity to start creating some buzz in the community. More about that event in a week or so.

NewSpective, the next few months could get totally out of hand!!! And that's a great thing!!!!

Stay tuned. Who knows what might happen next.

G3,

Gas and Go!

Wednesday morning was my first day back to work. I'm working my "day job" at the Mars Snack Food national office in Hacketstown, NJ. (They make M&M's there).

Anyway, having been off for 10 days over the holidays, I had not driven my car much at all. So, I went to get in my care to drive to NJ and the fuel light was on. You know, the one that says, "you better get gas soon or you'll be walking." Anyway, I was frustrated because I didn't know I was low on gas, I didn't plan on getting gas, so I hadn't allowed time to stop. As I headed to NJ I got to Tatamy and saw the gas station sign. The price was $3.15 for regular.

I began to have an argument in my head. Do I stop now and be sure I have enough gas to get to work or do I try and make it over the NJ border to Belvidere where I know the prices is better. Well my wallet won out and I passed right by the gas station and continued on my way. I watched the gas gauge dangerously approaching the big "E." I continued to rationalize the price savings and tried to calculate the distance to Belvidere and convince myself that at 27-30 mpg I should make it there OK. As I crossed the bridge and pulled into the gas station I was relieved. First the price was $2.89 (that's 26 cents less per gallon) and second, I made it to the fill up.

Isn't that the way our spiritual walk is as well. We get filled up, at church, during quite time with God, while listening to some music, reading a book, seeing a sunset, etc. . . and then Life hits. We get caught up in the "stuff" of life and before we know it, the gas light comes on, we're running on fumes and we didn't even realize we were getting low. We start to hope and pray that we can make it to the next filling station, the next church service, the next quiet moment to reconnect with God, the next second in our day when we can talk with God and get some insight, energy or strength. When we finally do and God in His faithfulness meets us and rejuvenates us, we smile a quick sigh of relief that we Made It. We gas up and get going all over again.

What's really awesome is that God is faithful. He does fill us. Every second as we need it. We don't have to risk waiting to cross the boarder or for the next church service. We don't have to try and determine what's the best option. We simply need to lean on Him. Allow the Holy Spirit to live though us and fill us with His Power.

Gas and Go, every moment and see what God does.

G3

What's In Store?

January 1, 2008. I can't believe another year has come and gone. Like many of you, this time of year brings to mind many questions:

• Where did last year go?
• Why didn't I accomplish all I set out to accomplish?
• What's in store for the coming year?
• Will I be better off one year from now or not?

And for most of us the answers aren't easy to find. One year ago we all had plans. We had things we wanted to do, places we wanted to go, people we wanted to help, work we wanted to do and many more. Then along came . . . Life! We got busy just trying to keep up and before we knew it, the Summer had come and gone and Christmas was right around the corner.

So, here we find ourselves on January first of a new year and the same goals, thoughts, hopes and prayers are circling in our minds.

I believe 2008 is going to be an incredible growth year for me personally and for NewSpective Church. I don't have all the answers to all of the "new year" questions. I don't know if goals will be accomplished, I don't know if every need will be met, I don't know if loved ones will all survive the year or not. I don't know what God has in store for NewSpective Church. However I do have one answer. I can say with the utmost certainty that we will be better off one year from now, if we stay connected to God, through Jesus Christ each and every moment of each and every day. I believe it's impossible to walk through an entire year with God as the leader and guider of our lives and not be better off.

NewSpective Church, this year is going to be one of the most challenging and life changing years of your lives. God's getting ready to do something really powerful here in the Lehigh Valley and I believe that NewSpective Church is going to be right in the middle of it all.

We may not have all the answers but we have the God of the universe as our guide. So, this year is going to ROCK!

I can't wait to get started.

G3,