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Longing & Love Letters

16 Feb

Yesterday, while studying, I came across this story about Coach John Wooden. Seems like it’s a perfect one to share during the week of Valentine’s Day.

Coach John Wooden is the undisputed…best college basketball coach of all time…. But Coach Wooden had his eyes on something other than popular acclaim. [Once when asked about the reality of his approaching death, Wooden responded,] ‘I’m not afraid to die. Death is my only chance to be with her again.’ The ‘her’ John referred to was his wife, Nellie, who died in 1985 after fifty-three years of marriage. John is still very connected to this woman. On the twenty-first of every month, he writes a passionate letter to Nellie, telling her how much he misses her, loves her, and values the time they had together. Then he folds the letter and puts it on a pile near where he sleeps. That stack now has over two hundred letters. By his own admission, John would gladly leave this world of acclaim if in doing so he could be reunited with the love of his life.

John Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010)

 
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Posted by on February 16, 2012 in Family, culture, relationships

 

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Turnabout Is Fair Play

15 Feb

Last Saturday, a group of nine leaders from our church visited Grace Community Church for one of their Saturday night services. Grace Community Church is #47 of the Top 100 Fastest Growing Churches in the US in 2011 (weekly attendance growth from 500 to 1,800 since ’09). What was even more amazing to us was, Grace is in our backyard in Washingtonville, NY (35 min. drive for us). The opportunity to go, observe and learn what Grace is doing to reach a community so similar to our own was invaluable! It was a great encouraging and inspiring trip and we are thankful for all the help and wisdom the Grace Family shared with us.

On Sunday, a pastor and his wife from Pennsylvania, Bill and Sue Covert, from Hope Community Church, visited with us at VALLEY Christian Church for the same exact reason; to gain some encouragement and inspiration in leading a church through growth transitions. After our 11am Gathering concluded, my family and three other leadership families from VALLEY joined Bill and Sue for lunch and a time of questions & answers. It was very humbling to experience such a reversal of roles in less than 24 hours. At the same time, it left me with wondering why these type of experiences don’t happen very often in church world.

I’m praying that God would continue to bless churches like Grace Community, Hope Community, VALLEY and others who understand that learning from and helping other churches, not only blesses other churches, but builds the Kingdom of God! Meanwhile, if anyone is looking for a great church in Washingtonville, NY or Williamsport, PA, I’ve got some I can recommend.

 
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Posted by on February 15, 2012 in Church Growth, Leadership, Staff

 

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It’s All About Execution

31 Jan

Strategic planning, mission statements, career paths, growth goals, financial projections, blueprints and vision casting, ministry maps, all of these are important steps to accomplishing a task, but none of these actually accomplish anything. I love taking the time to plan and strategize, but too often leaders (especially in the church), make the mistake of confusing activity with actions. Plans are great, but they are only ideas unless they are executed. Execution is what distinguishes the doer from the dreamer, the achiever from the philosopher.

The Bible word for execution is “obedience”. Yes, I know it’s not popular to talk about these days, but it doesn’t change the truth of Scripture. Check out 1 John 5:2 (ESV)

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.”

Love is a verb and so is obedience. So, what are you doing today? How are you executing (obeying) the plan (directions) God has given to you. Maybe it’s time we started putting as much focus on our execution (obedience, doing) as our planning (dreaming, strategizing).

 
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Posted by on January 31, 2012 in Church Growth, Coaching, Leadership, Staff

 

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Elephant Room Highlights

26 Jan

I had an awesome day yesterday with Josh Brossia, Nnamdi Oparanozie and Tommy Niblack at the simulcast of Elephant Room in New Jersey. We’re all still process the incredible insights and wisdom that was shared in the eight sessions. Here are a few of the highlights that hit home with me:

  • “The character and caliber of a leader is more important than the denomination or network they are a part of.”
  • “What we forget about the Gospel is the urgency. Hell is forever! We don’t control the clock or the calendar. Please don’t be casual about eternal matters.”
  • “Don’t cloud the cross of Christ. It’s eloquent enough. Point people to Jesus. He’s powerful enough to save the lost.”
  • “My capability is not equal to my calling. My capacity is not equal to my ministry.”
  • “Don’t do the ministry and miss the moment.”
  • “My identity is not my ministry.”
  • “The Devil cannot steal my marriage from me. He has no authority for that. He will try to steal the joy from my marriage and then I’ll quit it myself.”
  • “We serve a God who challenges us to be uncomfortable.”
  • “A man will often grow silent about his marriage before his marriage goes south.”
  • “I have never met anyone who has fallen morally who was consistent in their time in the Scripture and prayer with the Lord.”
  • “The Spiritual responsibility of leadership is holiness and character. And character always counts.”
 
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Posted by on January 26, 2012 in Church Growth, Leadership, Staff

 

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The Elephant Room -Round 2

23 Jan

I am so excited to attend “The Elephant Room” this Wednesday (1/25) in New Jersey by way of simulcast. I’ll be traveling with my Executive Pastor (Josh Brossia), who introduced me to The Elephant Room last year. We have watched, re-watched and watched again the DVD from the first Elephant Room, used them for leadership training, and now we’re going to be able to be a part of Round 2. I’m sure my future blog posts will be influenced by what we experience over those 7 hours coming up on Wednesday.

Check out more info on The Elephant Room – Round 2. View a detailed description of the topics to be covered HERE.

Of all the topics to be covered, here’s the one that peeks my curiosity the most this year:

“Can’t Buy Me Love,” Steven Furtick and Crawford Loritts, moderated by James MacDonald

What elements must accompany a faithful presentation of the gospel? What can a pastor do to ensure that others in his ministry are presenting the gospel in all its fullness? What are some ways you have seen decisions for Christ effectively acknowledged? What responsibilities does the preacher have to lead people in a public response to the gospel? When have we oversimplified or made the gospel formulaic? When have we made the gospel too complicated, and demanded more in our evangelism than the Scriptures do?

 
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Posted by on January 23, 2012 in Church Growth, culture, Leadership, Preaching, Staff

 

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Living The Dream

16 Jan

As we celebrate and reflect back on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, I can’t help but think about how much he impacted my life and ministry. When I was a young pastor, I was challenged by and older pastor to read the book, “A Testament Of Hope”. While doing so, God put the desire in my heart to see the church that I pastor become a multicultural church (something I had never really seen or experienced before). You see, the town where our church is located was 96% white (and our church was 100% white), so it would literally take an “act of God” to make this desire come true.

Of course, most of us have all heard the words of Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech. The dream of a multicultural church became the dream of my heart. This dream was not realized overnight. but today, I can truly say, “I am living the dream”. Our church is now about 45% white (while our town is still about 95% white). God has sent not only African Americans to our church, but also Latinos, Asians and Indians as well. My life has been deeply impacted and changed through friendships with brothers and sisters in Christ of different races. What the VALLEY Christian Church family experiences each Sunday as we gather is nothing short of miraculous when one thinks about the condition of our nation on the issue of race just 50 short years ago!

Today, I am thankful to God for gracing our nation with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Because of Dr. King’s work and legacy, I am now living the dream God placed in my heart for my church, family and friendships. Thank you Dr. King!

 
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Posted by on January 16, 2012 in culture, Leadership, relationships

 

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Just Can’t Put It Into Words

14 Jan

Since writing my last post, another verse from Scripture has been rattling around in my head:

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. 1 Peter 1:8

After having studied up in the original Greek of this verse, it seems like there’s a clue here to the intensity and focus of joy. Joy is launched in our hearts when we choose to focus on Him. This joy is so powerful, that it really cannot be expressed! Yep, that’s what it says, it’s “inexpressible“. Wild to think about isn’t it? It actually gets better!

The whole point this passage is trying to make is, this joy is reserved for those who make Jesus the focus (center) of their lives who have never seen Him. The Apostle Peter wrote these words that were inspired by the Holy Spirit. He had seen Jesus; lived with Him, ate with Him, heard His words in his ear. Peter, in essence says, those who haven’t experienced Christ first-hand, in the flesh, will experience joy in this life that is not available for those (like the Apostles) who saw Him in the flesh! That’s pretty awesome to think about, and should fill each of us with even greater joy!

So if you find yourself filled with joy today (and I hope you do), but feel like you just can’t put it into words (inexpressible), that’s okay, Jesus and Peter know exactly what you’re talking about, even though you can’t talk about it :)

 
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Posted by on January 14, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

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Sorry, But This Just Has To Be Said . . .

12 Jan

There are times, that it’s inappropriate to discuss certain things or to make personal comments about some issues or topics. Generally, using wisdom with what you share with others is always the best policy. People shouldn’t just air it all, especially in a blog or on the web. Now that we’ve all agreed about that . . . Sorry, but this just has to be said . . .

I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED SO MUCH JOY IN MY LIFE AND MINISTRY AS I HAVE OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS!!!

There, I said it. I hope it doesn’t upset or offend you, but it is the truth. And here’s the real weird thing, I really don’t have any explanation for it! Yes, things are going well in my life and ministry, but they are far from perfect. There are still the day to day challenges and difficulties, but something inside just seems to be unflappably joyful and I’ve never quite experienced this before. This is not the answer to some prayer or a miracle that took place. It just is what it is, JOY! Not sure how it happened, but sure do like it.

There’s an interesting verse in the Bible that many of us have probably heard before:

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15

It seems like, as Christians, we’re pretty good at showing compassion and are able to “weep with those who weep”. But when it comes to the rejoicing with those who rejoice, maybe we need a little work on that part. So here’s your chance, join me in joy, just because of who He is! Let’s rejoice together! What do you say?

 
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Posted by on January 12, 2012 in Leadership, Staff

 

Are You One Of The Few?

03 Jan

2And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”. Luke 10:2

These words of Jesus have been on my mind today. It seems like, Jesus is making the point that there is no shortage of people he wants to reach and there is no shortage of people who want to be reached by him. The shortage seems to be found in people who are willing to reach out to others for his sake.

Is it possible, that the reason why our churches are not bursting at the seams is because of us? There seems to be a sense of urgency in Christ’s words spoken here. It’s pretty mind-blowing to think he said these words over 2,000 years ago. Are they still true in our generation? Is there a sense of urgency in your heart to reach those who do not know Christ? Are you one of the few? Is there a sense of urgency in our churches as we begin to execute to plans God has given to us for 2012?

I don’t know what dreams, hopes or prayers you have for 2012, but I hope they include being one of the “few”. It seems like nothing would be more in sync with God in 2012, than to have the same sense of urgency his Son has and to make that the focus of this year.

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2012 in Church Growth, Leadership, Preaching

 

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TRUE Friendship

30 Dec

A friend (Randal Langley), sent this to me today. I thought it was great stuff and wanted to share it with you too! -GW

True friendship is rare. If you ever get in a bind, have a major failure, or somehow lose your way, you realize how rare true friendship is these days.

To me, the difference in a true friend and one who calls themselves a friend, but is really an acquaintance is fairly easily identified.

5 characteristics of a true friend:

Unconditional love - Regardless of what you do, what happens, or where life takes you, a true friend loves at all times.

Unwavering support – You don’t have to do the “right things” to keep a true friend. They support you (if not in actions as a person) whatever you choose to do.

Willingness to challenge – A true friendship makes you better. The Bible says “iron sharpens iron”. True friends will correct you if needed.

Consistent over time – True friendships aren’t for a season. They are for a lifetime.

Gives grace freely and generously – True friendship weather the sometime difficulties of relationships, forgive where needed, and love even when it hurts.

What about you? Do you have “true friends”? Are you a “true friend” to anyone?

 
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Posted by on December 30, 2011 in relationships

 

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