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Weekly Mind Dump 7.24.11 (The geriatric edition)

• I turn 40 this week...I am freaking out a little bit! Just don't let me do anything too weird during my midlife crisis, OK?!?
• Rebecca and I rolled our anniversary and my birthday celebration into a 2-day trip to NYC. (Thanks to my Mom coming to watch the kids, it was just the 2 of us!)
• New York was HOT! 104 degrees. Needles to say we did a lot more indoor activities than usual this time.
• We packed a lot of fun things into a couple days, but the highlight for me was the broadway production, "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark." Spider-Man, music by U2, -it HAD to be good! And it was amazing; truly exceeded all expectations!
• This morning the A/C didn't come on at church on time so I was sweating like crazy throughout the message.
• I continued in Esther (2:1-18)with a message entitled "It's Complicated."
• Today was a non-holiday attendance record for us at Calvary. Even without all the guests for the baptism, we were way up. Odd for July; but no complaints!
• The baptism was awesome this morning! What a privilege to be able to come alongside people during such a special moment in their lives
• Sad to hear about Amy Wineouse dying. Addiction is such an awful, destructive thing. Jesus really got a hold of me when I was just a couple years younger than her; otherwise I would have ended up just like her (without the fame and fortune).
• I know the fact that I am turning 40 is a gift from God, and so grateful to Him for changing my storyline. Thank you, Jesus!

Keeping the 10 Commandments & Words From the Fire

I recently concluded a teaching series through the 10 Commandments at our church. I really enjoyed teaching it and the feedback I've heard from people about it has been very positive.

In addition to my regular commentaries, I read 2 books in preparation that I found to be very helpful. If you are going to teach through the 10 Commandments or just want to understand them better, these books will be helpful to you:

"Words from the Fire" -Albert Mohler. -This book is fairly detailed, and gives good background information and some thoughtful analysis of modern day application. Some chapters felt a bit too long to me, but all were very good.

"Keeping the 10 Commandments" -J.I. Packer. -This is a very short book with very short chapters. But don't let size fool you, it is a potent concentrated blend that is very powerful. Funny enough, some chapters seemed too short to me, but nonetheless the entire book is jam packed with numerous gems to be mined and enjoyed.

Reading these books together expanded my insights and gave me a more in-depth understanding of the 10 Commandments. I am certain they also helped me provide a richer experience for those in our church learning about this valuable section of scripture.

 

Weekly Mind Dump 7.17.11 (The anniversary, Anvil & owling edition)

• Visited the Submarine Force Museum this week with some friends from out of town. If you are in CT, you need to go! You can learn a lot of history, see torpedoes and even walk through an actual sub docked outside) -and it is FREE!
• Not sure why I can't lure the Berggren's to move here from Atlanta. With the cold winters, high taxes, the lack of Chick Filas...CT has a lot to offer!
• Had lunch with Jared C this week and had my first taste of Colombian feed. Delicioso!
• On Friday Rebecca and I celebrated 11 years of marriage -my life was radically upgraded when she became my bride!
• 13 people from our church left on Friday for Jacmel, Haiti (the 1st of 2 teams). I am excited for what God will do in and through them, and I'm excited that our church is now at the place where we can do things like this.
• Dave (our worship leader) is leading the Haiti trip, so a band called "The U.N.I.T.E.D." led worship for us this morning. They were great! You should check them out.
• I kicked off a new series this morning called Agents of Change (the book of Esther) with a message entitle, "God Are you There?"
• One person gave their life to Jesus this morning even though we didn't offer an invitation. Thank you, Jesus!
• I watched "Anvil: The Story of Anvil" this week. The documentary was a fascinating and depressing look at at what happens when a dream stays just out of reach via a Heavy Metal band that never quite made it. I never really liked the band, but I couldn't but root for them while watching this!
• If you missed planking, you can still be an early adapter to the next stupid craze; owling.

Have some class in your church accounting

Many churches unintentionally create unnecessary accounting confusion by overcomplicating the process of tracking special funds. For example, let's say you collect an offering for a benevolence fund or have checks coming in designated for a short-term missions' trip. By law that money must be used for the stated purpose it was collected for. So how can you be sure that every penny is accounted for -especially when the fund carries over multiple years? Some people use spreadsheets or other external tools, but there is a much simpler and more effective way.
 
If you use QuickBooks (which I always recommend for church accounting) you can utilize a very helpful tool called class tracking. You can visit Intuit's support page for how to set up and use this very helpful feature.
 
Of course class tracking is most effective when it is utilized as part of an organized, integrated accounting system that is properly maintained. You can create one yourself or you can get one that has been specifically designed for churches, that is ready to go, and that includes personalized support to coach you through issues like class tracking or whatever else you need. If that sounds helpful to you, then you should take a look at SharpChurch's "Turnkey Accounting System."

Weekly Mind Dump 7.10.11

• I've had a great time connecting with my friend Jason Berggren while he, his wife and his kids are in town. He has 4 boys, so it's funny too see the contrast between my 3 girls. Fortunately, they all get along famously.
• This week I had lunch with Rich Johnson from We Are One Church in Greensboro, NC. He called me randomly because he was in town and we were able to connect. Awesome pastor who is very wise and I learned a lot from in our brief time talking and praying together.
• In the catholic tradition, it is apparently a regular thing to dedicate a service to a deceased parishioner. I have never experienced that before, but we did it to today at the request of our friend Barry Kirby's family. We got to minister to many people Barry had been pouring into for years that showed up for it; miss you buddy!
• Lots of first-time guests at service today and lots of regulars cycling through summer vacations -it almost felt like a different church today!
• This morning I taught a message on the 10th Commandment called "Enough is Enough."
• I mentioned how we often don't have because we don't ask our Heavenly Father. So after service Rebeccca and I asked God once again for His provision for a house (we've been looking for more than a year and something always happens) and an awesome opportunity (or 2) has emerged!
• I really enjoyed our 10 Commandment series -hopefully everyone else did too!
• I am pretty pumped about starting a new series next week called "Agents of Change" (the book of Esther).
• Donkey Kong Country Returns is the best game ever on Wii and me and my girls have been having so much fun with it. Don't get it; it's addictive!!!

What is holding you back? (to Calvary Fellowship)

Over the years, I have discovered a truth about spiritual growth: Most of us are educated beyond our level of obedience. That is, we all know more than we put into practice. That doesn’t mean we should stop learning, but I do think it means we should increase the implementation of our learning into our lives. A helpful question to ask ourselves is, “What is holding me back from obeying?”

This was exactly the question that a man in the New Testament asked Philip when it came to obeying the command of Jesus for all of His followers to be baptized:

Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" (Acts 8:36)

Baptism is one of the most basic commands of a Christian. And if we are struggling to obey in “deeper” areas then a good decision would be to obey in this area if we haven’t already done so. So let me direct the eunuch’s question at you, “What is holding you back from being baptized?” It certainly isn’t opportunity, because we have a baptism coming up on July 24^th. Maybe it is one of the following reasons:

1. I have already been baptized! –Congratulations! Let me encourage you to plan to attend our upcoming baptism to cheer on our brothers and sisters in Christ making this important decision.
2. I need more information –That is a good reason to pause, but a poor reason to stop. Click here to listen to a message I did called “Why Should I Be Baptized?” and click here  and here to hear why some others at Calvary have chosen to be baptized.
3. I am choosing to disobey. –I know none of us would phrase it that way, but if we know to do something God wants us to and don’t, how else should we say it? Let me encourage you, refuse to disobey any further, and choose to obey today! Click here to sign up right now.

I have never forgotten the day I was baptized as a child and the day I chose to do so as an adult. They were special for me, and I pray July 24^th, 2011 will be a special and memorable day for you too!

What do you teach during the summer?

It's no secret that the erratic church-going patterns of many people over the summer months presents a variety of challenges for most churches. One of the challenges for pastors is what to teach. Many churches do a bunch of one-offs or a series of self-contained topical messages creatively tied together so that people can come on any given week and still feel connected to what's going on that day.

I have done that in the past, but for the last few years I have opted to do a book study over the summer (I am excited to start Esther soon!). I have no dispute with people who teach topical studies or a different format than we do over the summer. I think as church leaders we just have to be very careful to resist the temptation to offer anything less than our best over the summer months just because less people will generally be present each week. Regardless of series format or selection of teachers, the quality of content and delivery must remain high so that people can be encouraged and exhorted to grow in every season.

Weekly Mind Dump 7.03.11 (Independence Day Edition)

• On Wednesday I had a blast teaching some New England pastors/church leaders Bob Franquiz's "21st Century Outreach Strategies Seminar." I love the true grit of people who do ministry up here!
• On Thursday, I checked in with Priceline and got a deal so good for a hotel in Newport that I feel like I violated the 8th Commandment. Thank you, Captain Kirk!
• I had such a blast with my family in Newport -it is probably my favorite place in all New England. And it was definitely  spent with my favorite people! 
• Hearing "Let the Good Times Roll" on the radio this weekend reminded me that nothing says summer is here like the cars! (Except perhaps very high temperatures).
• Today, Nicholas taught a message on the 9th Commandment called "Liar, Liar." (I must be nuts to let a Brit teach on the 4th of July weekend 2 years in a row!)
• I jumped in and served in the elementary class at Calvary Kids today. It was so much fun! I really believe what happens there is just as important as what happens with the adults, and I hope that was communicated to our church today.
• My good friend Jason Berggren and his family came to service and we got to spend the day hanging out with them afterwards. If you haven't read his book you should check it out!
• "The Unknown" didn't get great reviews, but to me Liam and crew delivered an action-packed film that was even better than "Taken."
• While in Newport we visited Trinity Church (pictured) and we saw George Washington's pew (pictured with my kids in it). The tour guide told us that George went to church there for 3 years and then left when he got the word Cornwallis was in VA. So he marched from Rhode Island and the rest is American history.
• And on that note...Happy Independence Day!!!