Recently, I was asked to be a part of a really cool leadership event called “The Nines”. It was broadcast over the web to about 25,000 leaders. They asked me to tell about a game changing moment in my ministry life and how it affected me. I had only six minutes to talk. Watch the video by clicking below to hear what I said and give me your thoughts.
We are really close to experiencing a huge miracle for the Dream Centers. There are several possibilities looming for us to get really large buildings donated that would allow us to pastor our city for decades. Remember, we are praying for buildings bigger than we think we need, ones that are better than we deserve and we are praying for them to be donated. The aforementioned buildings meet all three requests.
Right now, we are meeting with the owners behind the scenes, asking a lot of questions and trying to do due diligence. One of the big issues is actually operating such a large building once it is given to us. It will require thousands of dollars and hundreds of volunteers to even get rolling, but I am full of faith that God is directing our steps.
I am also meeting with leaders and pastors in the city who can serve with me on the board of the Dream Centers. As I have said before, the Dream Centers will not be owned by New Life, but will be operated under a separate 501(c) 3. I want to partner with other churches, business leaders and military leaders because the needs in our region are simply too big for us to tackle them alone.
Keep praying with me and be patient in this process. I know it seems like we have been waiting a long time, but believe me, once we open the Dream Centers, it will be all hands on deck to pastor our city. It is about to happen and God will get all the glory. Selah
Twitter and Facebook provide huge opportunities to have conversations, to share ideas, to promote products and events, and to share the random thoughts of everyday life. Pam and I are realizing more and more, though, that we have to be super careful about our posts because they can be misinterpreted and misquoted.
Not long ago, I posted a comment about the number of tattoos on the Denver Nugget players. It was just a little late night sarcasm, but it prompted a lot of angry responses from people who also have tattoos. I regretted sounding judgmental because that is not who I am. Last fall, after the Cowboys lost an early season game, I made a derogatory remark about Head Coach Wade Phillips and a wise man in our church kindly corrected me. Since those two posts, I have tried to use a bit more wisdom and discretion in what I put online for all to read.
Since Twitter allows for only 140 characters, we often cannot fully explain what we are thinking, thereby leaving a lot of room for misinterpretation. Here are some rules I try to follow.
1. Don’t post about things that happen in the bathroom. Enough said.
2. Don’t post when you are angry or hungry, especially when you are both.
3. Don’t post stuff that points out physical or mental deficiencies in others.
4. Don’t post stuff about movies or songs that contain material that others may find offensive.
5. Don’t overhype an event. Promotion is fine, but hype is not classy.
I cannot tell you how often I have had to delete something I was about to post because it broke one of these rules. I have never regretted a deletion, but I have regretted a number of posts. I love social media and have made a lot of connections with people that I would have never met otherwise. Like any good thing, it can become a snare if we are not wise with its use. What are some of the rules you follow with social media? What are some of the mistakes you have made that the rest of us could learn from?
Last week, the elders agreed to move forward and secure a building for phase one of the Dream Centers. We are actively meeting with local commercial realtors and ministries and should have some space soon to open a medical clinic and maybe space enough to begin offering ministry to our military families who are struggling. There are still several large buildings that could be donated to us, but while we pray and wait, we want to take a small step to launch.
Also, I want you to know that the Dream Centers will not be an exclusive ministry of New Life Church. It will be led by a coalition of churches, ministries, business leaders and military officials, all who have a desire to pastor our city. New Life will certainly lead the way, but it has always been my desire to see a group of people work together to meet the greatest needs in our city with no one caring who gets the credit.
Notice that I mentioned Dream Centers, plural, not singular. Many people are under the impression that only one big building will house all the ministries, but that is not the case. There will be multiple sites around our city with multiple outreaches all operating under the umbrella of the Dream Center board. One central location is not sufficient to meet the staggering needs of our city.
So pray that we will launch soon, even if it is a small space. Pray for the resources, both financial and human, to begin well. Pray for a coalition of servant leaders to rally around this God idea. Most importantly, pray for thousands of people to rediscover the dream that God has placed inside of them.
People sometimes quit praying for the same reason they quit a diet. It is really difficult and it seems to take too long. No one starts a diet and wakes up two days later able to wear their skinny clothes. The same is true oftentimes with prayer. Sometimes there is an immediate answer, but most often it takes weeks, months and even years to see the breakthrough.
I was reminded this morning in our prayer time that it is easy to get discouraged and tired after praying for such a long time without the big miracle happening. This is why the psalmist wrote:
“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
Psalm 57:7 NIV
This is my prayer today – “Father in heaven, help me to remain steadfast, unmovable, and unshakable. Help me to pray and believe and not lose heart or grow tired. Help all of us to keep praying until we are skinny.”
There is a lot of excitement at New Life about the Dream Center and that leads to a lot of questions. I will try to answer the most common ones today and will try to keep everyone updated as things progress.
Right now, we are praying for a building or buildings in the downtown area or south of the city, near Fort Carson. These are the two areas where the needs are most intense. We need the buildings to be donated and we need space for medical clinics, counseling and residential treatment. We have looked at several buildings and have had preliminary discussions with some key groups about getting donated space.
We have also spent a lot of time meeting with community leaders and the chaplains at the local military bases to evaluate what needs are not being met right now in our city. We do not want to replicate services. We want to support the ministries and agencies that are doing a great job, while providing services that are most needed.
Once the buildings are acquired, we will need hundreds of volunteers and the partnership of other local churches and ministries to operate the Dream Center. We suspect the operating costs to be as much as $100,000 per month, but it could be much less if we open the center in phases.
Keep praying with me and get ready to help pastor our city. The needs are great but our God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine …” – Ephesians 3:20
I have a pretty big imagination and I have some friends who are crazy creative, but I wonder if any of us are asking for the big stuff like we did when we were younger and less cynical. This passage in Ephesians says God is able to do a lot more than we can ask or even dream up on a sunny day.
What happened to our fierce faith and bold determination? Have we surrendered our idealism and settled for pragmatism? I believe in common sense living and making decisions based upon facts, but the Kingdom of Heaven requires us to live by faith, which means we have to take risks and rely on things that are not seen. It actually pleases God for us to live like this.
Life tends to drain us of this tenacious faith. The economy tanks and we run for the foxholes to wait it out. The pressures of paying a mortgage cause us to think in 30-day cycles instead of looking further toward the horizon and imagining all the possibilities that may exist. We ditch our five-year vision plans and strategically survive instead.
Recently, God has challenged me to pray for some big stuff. I am asking Him for a donated Dream Center building that is bigger than we think is needed and better than we deserve so we can pastor our city. We don’t have the money or the staff to even operate a Dream Center, but we do have the vision and the courage to ask for a miracle.
What big prayers should you be praying right now? Have you settled for foxhole living or have you started dreaming big again? My prayer is that all of us will regain our fierce faith and live with bold determination because God is able to do immeasurably more than we are asking or imagining.
I just took three Sundays in a row off from the pulpit at New Life Church and it may have saved my life. That may be a bit dramatic, but let me explain why I am not the speaker at New Life every Sunday.
Sermons on the weekends are not just 30-minute talks. A 30-minute message drains as much emotional energy as the average 8-hour workday. If a pastor has to speak more than once each weekend, the emotional drain is multiplied and if there is not a break from speaking, significant emotional and physical health is often compromised.
The elders at New Life are a group of guys who not only oversee the spiritual health of our fellowship, but also help me maintain a healthy balance between ministry to the local church and personal health. We have agreed that I should speak at New Life at least 36 weekends each calendar year. That’s an average of 3 out 4 weekends each month. The remaining weekends, I have staff, some members of the fellowship and some pastors from other churches teach.
I am not whining about my job, but I am being candid. Pastors who speak more than 40 weekends a year, with multiple weekend services are headed for burnout. There may be a handful of Superman pastors who can do this long-term, but there is a long list of those who have tried and have ended up losing their families, their health, or worse, their own spiritual vitality. I do not want to be on that list.
I miss New Life when I am gone, but I have to trust that I am not the only person who can teach Scripture. I believe in the power of team and I believe the church is strongest when a multitude of voices are heard on Sundays.
I will be back at New Life this Sunday and I am fired up to talk about Ephesians for the next several weeks, but I will miss some Sundays and I do not apologize for my absence. I am running a marathon and want to be an old pastor who finishes the race well rather than a young foolish one who is convinced his preaching is all that a church needs.
In the past ten years, I have never had one bad experience at a Discount Tire. That’s either an unbelievable run of personal good fortune or Discount Tire is really good at treating people well.
Yesterday, Pam hit a curb in my car and blew out the right rear tire. After changing the tire, I took it to a nearby Discount Tire driving past several other tire dealers on the way. Once again, a customer service rep named Israel exceeded my expectations.
He ordered a new tire, gave me a discount, checked my spare to make sure it was safe to drive and told me everything I needed to know without me asking. The Discount Tire streak continues and that’s why I am such a loyal customer.
What does this have to do with church? Well, it would be nice if church could operate like Discount Tire. What if everyone who identified themselves as Christ followers were cordial, helpful and smiled a lot. What if seekers and searchers went to all our churches in the next ten years and had a great experience each time. I’m guessing they would come back.
Regardless of our economic situation, most of us have things in our homes that are not being used that would be a huge blessing to another family. Starting this week, I have asked New Lifers to take a look at what they have and to give away anything that is not really needed. We are calling this “Freely Give and Freely Receive.” To find out more, go to:
http://www.newlifechurch.org/nln.jsp?id=205
There are only five ways to use money – give it, save it, invest it, lend it or spend it. I hope we all choose the first three more often and think of spending it less often. This would take a huge amount of stress and worry off our lives and allow us to be the generous givers and producers God needs us to be.
I do believe that God wants to bless us and I certainly believe it’s appropriate to enjoy the nice things God gives us. However, our possessions cannot ever be the focus of our worship and we must be willing to give any of it away. That is when we begin to take hold of a life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:19)
It will be great fun the next two weekends to watch as huge trucks are filled with the surplus of our homes and given to families in our city and in our own fellowship who are in real need. Better yet, it will be liberating for all of us to finally find freedom from the stuff that can so easily become the focus of our worship. Godliness with contentment really is great gain.
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