Ouch!!

I'm experiencing a nasty new emotion as a parent. It's a combination of frustration, anger, helplessness, shock and stress. This feeling was elicited by seeing my children struggling and experiencing hurt and pain in an area of their lives. I realize that some of this is a natural part of growing up, and they need to walk this road and grow through it! However, that does not make me OK with it at all!! I just want to start rectifying the situation immediately---whatever it takes to protect my girls from disappointment and hurt. I'm sure as they grow older, more pain will come to them, and I'm NOT cool with that prospect.

Sometimes when I experience pain and disappointment in my life, it can feel like God is far away. Since He uses the term "Father" to describe His relationship to me, however, I'm betting He is experiencing something like what I'm feeling now for my girls, but on an exponentially larger scale. As I think about the pain that people around the world experience every day due to the lure of sin brought on by Satan's schemes, it's beyond comprehension. Creation is truly groaning in agony and begging for release! The only thing staying the hand of God from swooping in to fix everything is His grace. He waits so that more people can come into relationship with Him through Jesus and pass from death to LIFE.

One day Jesus will return and balance the scales of inequity. He will right the wrongs, judge the guilty and reward the faithful. Until then, I'm going to provide all the love and protection I possibly can for my girls, and do everything I can to help more people become fully devoted followers of Jesus.

Fall Fury

So much is going on right now that I've got vertigo! It's an exciting and tiring time to be in ministry. With the coming of fall, there is low rumble as momentum begins to build in the church.

It starts with attendance rising as vacationers get back in town. Seacoast Church had an unbelievable weekend from an attendance standpoint. The numbers at the Greenville Campus were large, but the church as a whole blew the doors off! ...and I love what Pastor Geoff Surratt said at our All-Staff Meeting yesterday in Mt. Pleasant: "Numbers only matter if you care about lost people!"

Momentum continues to build as we gear up for the next semester of Small Groups. The "Get Smart" small group series that tracks with the weekend messages has really created a buzz. In fact, we're training about 25 new small group leaders for this fall---WOW! People are regularly emailing me about small groups, and how they can get plugged in--it's very cool. I can't wait until next Wednesday when we have our Small Group Chili Cookoff as a draw for unconnected people to come meet our 'chili cookin' small group leaders and get into a group!

The youth group is growing as well...Middle School All-Nighter coming up September 14th in Mt. Pleasant, and the High Schoolers are going out to Monterey's with some of our adult leaders and then to Frankie's Fun Park. Good times in youth ministry as we move toward more of a small group emphasis.

The Alpha course will begin in a few weeks, and more people will get discipled, and although our building situation is not ideal, God seems to be pouring out His blessings on us.

I think the key to success this fall (...and always) will be to continue lifting up Jesus and relying on the Holy Spirit----not my feeble efforts.

Whew...I'm going to bed! :)

Current Positives and Negatives

++
1. Amazing family
2. Doing a career I love with friends
3. Getting free books to read at work
4. Facebook and Myspace
5. Contentment
6. New Computer...soon
--
1. Unbearable August heat
2. A '95 Saturn SL2 with no A/C while cruising in #1 above
3. PCs that crash, burn and lose all your data (O iMac, Where Art Thou?)
4. Moving stuff from one room to another to another to another...
5. Shoulder injuries that wreak havoc on my workouts
6. The constant struggle of the will to maintain self-discipline

Summer Reading Update

The summer is rocketing past, but I can check one more text off my summer reading list. I just finished The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis by Alan Jacobs. It's a biography that connects the events of Lewis' life with the works that he produced. How interesting to see what was happening in his personal life while he was producing his varied writings. It would have been useful if I were more familiar with the Lewis canon beyond the Chronicles of Narnia and the Screwtape Letters, but it was still excellent.

The tragedies of so many of Lewis' human relationships are heart wrenching, but the fact that he was pursued by the Hound of Heaven is so encouraging. God is not intimidated by scholarship or deterred by blatant unbelief. Rather, He presents us with His-story. The winsomeness of His narrative is so attractive that hard hearts are softened, and people of every background and training who will hear can fall into the loving arms of the truth of Jesus.

Favorite quote: p 210, ""God did not die for man because of some value He perceived in him...He loved us not because we were lovable, but because He is Love." It is His love that gives value; we do not possess it."

Note for the future: Either read these library books and return them on time, or BUY the book! This is going to be expensive.

Vacation Diary and Lessons Learned

We're officially back from vacation. This was probably the best trip we have ever taken as a family! There is so much I could say, but here are the highlights:

• Saturday 7/7/07 - We drove to Tampa, Fl in time to see Chris Sligh and the American Idol Tour. Gina's mom and some of her friends were sitting beside us, and Chris R's parents were in front of us. The show started late due to some (apparent) technical difficulty...there were several guys climbing around in the rigging near the ceiling replacing cables. The show itself was actually quite good. Not that I'm biased or anything, but Chris Sligh is amazing! I've heard him sing many times at church, but the power of his voice was remarkable at the show. Our girls were pretty exhausted after the 9 hour drive so by the end of the show, they were totally whipped; but we stayed around to use our backstage passes. We would have loved to have met all the Idol's, but due to the late hour and the exhaustion of the kids, we spoke briefly to Mr. Sligh and headed out to Aunt Mary's house in Lakeland, Fl.

• Sunday 7/8/07 - We attended church with Uncle Jack and Aunt Mary (Victory Church in Lakeland, Fl.) We went to the traditional service since that is the one my aunt and uncle attend. The church is quite large, and seems to be doing a great job. I would like to see the contemporary service--oh well, maybe some other time. After church, Uncle Jack took our family to the pool while Aunt Mary fixed a meal like my Grandma Turner used to cook: Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes with homemade, chicken gravy, green beans, homemade macaroni and cheese, iron skillet corn bread and sweet tea! Wow...it's time to get back on the South Beach diet!! During the entire week, Aunt Mary spoiled our girls ROTTEN!!! Really, I'm glad she did since my Mom would treat them that way every day if she were still living. The girls had a chance to see how Grandma Edith would have loved them--that is priceless!

• Monday 7/9/07 - It's Magic Kingdom day!! I expected to be totally miserable (July, big crowds, heat, tired kids)...but it was great! We were able to use the Fast Pass option many times to our advantage. We saw everything we wanted to see at the park! The worst thing was that when we were ready to leave, we got caught in the parade that passes in front of the castle, and literally could not move! If there was a way out, we couldn't find a sign to point us to it. Now a couple of good things about the Magic Kingdom: 1) You can do almost anything with good lighting. It makes an otherwise simple set come alive (Ex. It's a Small World After All ride). A little black light mixed in just makes everything stand out all the more. 2) Everything worked. I actually looked for burned out light bulbs and moving parts that had stopped moving---but I couldn't find any! Great attention to detail, and investment in maintenance. 3) We had to ask questions from time to time throughout the day, and every time, we were met with a friendly, smiling employee (Cast Member) who was knowledgeable AND happy to help us. That couldn't have been easy in the 100 degree heat. I even overheard a couple of attendants at the Country Bear Jamboree talking about their jobs is glowing terms. They were truly happy to be there. When I asked them how they liked working for Disney, they confirmed everything I had overheard. 4) They seemed to do everything possible to make the waiting-in-line pleasant by having the A/C on!! I'd actually rather be in line than walking around in the heat! 5) The place was clean---really clean...which leads me to 6) Kudos to Terry!! We had reached the point of bathroom desperation, and when we found the restrooms, my expectations were low to say the least. When I walked into the stall, I've never been more pleasantly surprised---it was CLEAN. I mean like going-to-the-potty-at-home clean! Then I noticed Terry--he had a spray bottle of disinfectant on his belt along with towelettes and squeegee. I noticed that as the 'cattle' exited the stalls, Terry went in behind them (without holding his nose!) and sprayed the seat down and wiped it off!! Wow! I spoke to him briefly and discovered that this restroom was his responsibility to keep clean. He stood quietly in the corner waiting to take care of his business after each sweaty Disney patron had taken care of theirs! If you have ever been to a theme park bathroom, you know it's UGLY---but not at Disney! Terry, you made my day!! Lesson from Disney---little things make all the difference--pay attention to detail!

• Tuesday 7/10/07 - Slept in, then drove to Clearwater Beach. It was a great family day at the beach. I brought several books to read, but it really didn't work out because the girls kept wanting me to get in the water with them--it's OK...I can read later! :) Aunt Mary made Spaghetti and Hot Dogs while continuing to spoil the kids (and me)!

• Wednesday 7/11/07 - Arrived at Sea World when the park opened. We saw most all of the shows. 'Pet's Ahoy' was great, and the Shamu show was spectacular as well. I think the kids enjoyed Sea World more than Disney, but I was frustrated. The signage could have been better to help us get around. We never felt that we had our bearings or sense of direction the whole day. It seemed hotter and more crowded, too. The pre-show mime at the 'Clyde and Seymore' show was very funny and helped the last 10 minutes before the show pass quickly. There seemed to be fewer employees running around ready to help.

• Thursday 7/12/07 - Hugs and love to Uncle Jack and Aunt Mary for putting up with us. It was so great to re-connect again. Then the long drive home! Whew!

Based on my experiences on this trip, here are a few reflections on what we can do to make church a better place to be for new people:

1. Do more with lighting. Maybe there could be a lighting change every minute during the 5 minute countdown. Also, I wonder what some black lights would do for our set design?
2. Who wants to volunteer for Bathroom Attendant?
3. Little things matter a lot. You don't have to have everything, just make sure that what you do have is in good working order and not broken!
4. Think like a guest, and make the church experience positive for them with friendly, available (not overbearing) people, and effective signage.

Well, tomorrow is going to be another great day at Seacoast, and I'm so glad to be back!

Camp Recovery

Youth camp was terrific last week. We took 16 teens and 3 adults to Submerge '07 as I mentioned in my last entry. It was POWERFUL! The music and the messages were right on target. I've never seen our students engage in worship as passionately as they did last week. They bonded together as a group, and encountered Jesus; what more could you ask from summer camp? Huge shout outs to Gayla, Brittany and the entire efficient and organized staff of Healing Place Church who helped put it all together. The beach was magnificent: white sand, aqua/green water that faded into a deep blue! I could have really relaxed if I wasn't so concerned about bringing all 16 students back home!

Another bonus from camp was running into Chris Douglas, a fellow ARC youth pastor from Life Church in Charlotte, NC. Other than rooting for LSU instead of the real Tigers of Clemson, he is a terrific guy!

Now for my own recovery, our family is headed back to Florida, but without 16 kids! I'll be decompressing for a few days away. I'm looking forward to time with the family, and a little reading. Who knows, I might even check out our Chris Sligh on the Idol Tour in Tampa!

Summer Reading

Since finishing school my level of consistent reading has fallen off drastically. There's something to be said for regular TESTS to motivate a little reading! This summer, I'm going to do something about it. I came across a great reading list on Rick Warren's Podcast, and I've already gotten started on it. (It didn't hurt that Dr. James Emery White was part of the conversation, either!)

In fact, I just finished Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner. Basically, I learned that my Mom was right: "Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see"! My take away is that people always respond to incentives, and it's helpful to see where the incentives are moving them. This is true in all areas of life whether seeking to understand real estate or attempting to modify the behavior of people or organizations. Conventional wisdom can be turned on its ear once the data is uncovered and analyzed. Unfortunately, most of us are to busy to do the hard work of finding out what is really going on. Instead, we often think with our emotions and believe what we want to believe. That, after all, is the easiest thing to do, right?

Well, there are a lot more books on the list (and some that aren't) that I plan to read this summer, so I better get busy. I hope this little post will inspire you to turn off the TV and sharpen your mind as well.

On Connecting People and Running the Bases

Part of my responsibility at the church is to help people connect. Translation: I want to learn their current situation, and offer them the opportunity to take their next step in growth. For some this means finding a place to serve; for others it means connecting into a small group, attending Newcomers, etc.

As we grow, this has become a bigger task since there are more people that need to take their next step, but there is still just one of me! However, one thing that we are NOT is high pressure, and that seems to have a strong attraction for a lot of people. In some recent conversations, I have learned of some who are enjoying a much needed rest at Seacoast from a prior church burnout.

I think that is really cool! They will serve and give their energies eventually, as the Holy Spirit leads, and we'll be ready to help them at the right time. For me it's a different way of thinking about ministry. Moving people through pressure or intimidation is unhealthy and counterproductive, and it requires much less faith than trusting God to move and hearts to respond to His leading. The natural tendency is to try to force the issue, but that is leaning on human strength to accomplish God-sized goals, and it will never work long term!

Last night (yes, that was Sunday night!!) Seacoast attended the local Greenville Drive baseball game. During those few hours of connecting with people, the following took place: Possibly three new teens going to youth camp, four new people interested in small groups, a couple will begin serving for the first time this Sunday, adult lady interested in attending youth camp to help with our female students, great conversations with several of our students, mild sunburn, a bad case of b.o., and two of my three girls ran the bases after the game. (One was at home with the flu.)

Well, you can't get any more low pressure than a baseball game, yet there was so much connecting that happened in those few hours. Relax! I'm thinking God was at the ballpark, too! :)

One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Youth Camp

On May 19, 2007, I was truly surprised! No, I was shocked, amazed, thrilled and exhausted all at once. In a previous post I mentioned that we are taking the youth to Submerge '07 in Destin, Fl. Well, in order to pull this off, we need lots of cash. So, the plan was to have a church wide yard sale to help some really terrific teens get to camp.

We announced this event for a couple of weeks in advance, and basically had nothing to show for the ink we had seemingly wasted in the weekly Opportunities Guide. Until...the week of the sale...when we were completely buried in stuff (mostly clothes...and books, and ceiling fans and shoes...you get the idea).

(Note for the future: If you have too many piles of clothing, it can overwhelm even the most crazed yard sale fanatic, and they won't bother to dig through it!)

Well, here is the cool part: We raised over $1,500 for the trip! And I was afraid we wouldn't have anything to sell. Now we aren't there yet financially, but I'm a lot more confident now that we're going to make it. Hats off to everyone who participated by donating their stuff, and to those amazing leaders, parents and teens who spent the day sweating and working together!

The best part of this whole deal is that we have a number of students who simply would not have the opportunity to go without the success of this yard sale. God gets ALL the glory! I just know that He has some amazing things in store for these students, and I can't wait to see Him blow their doors off with His glory and love in just a little under a month. Go God!!

At the Speed of Time

Well, it's been 23 days since my first blog entry. It's not that nothing blog-worthy has occurred since my initial post. Actually, I've been doing some cool stuff: counseling a couple who are planning their wedding, developing leaders, connecting people into small groups and areas of ministry, filming a video to promote Submerge (youth camp) etc. It's just that the pace of life seems to take over, and blogging doesn't happen. This is good evidence to me that I need to take more time for reflection. Blogging could be the modern version of the almost lost art of meditation--to mull over ideas like a cow chewing the cud (yuck, I just threw up a little bit in my mouth...).

My blogging history is a testimony to the pace of my life and work. At the Hospital System I thought of life in annual terms revolving around the organizations budget cycle. Now at Seacoast, I tend to think of life in weekly chunks since that's how often Sunday rolls around. I've gone from 365 units of time per year to 52. It's a little like transitioning from riding a tricycle to being strapped to the nose cone of the Space Shuttle. It's an awesome ride, and I love it...but the increased pace of my life demands more reflection, meditation and general cud chewing so that I can be a more effective leader.

It's a matter of cultivating a discipline, and I've generally been pretty good at setting my mind to something and following through. So, my next goal is to reflect and blog again in less than 23 days from now. The question yet unanswered is whether my ruminations will be beneficial or just me 'blowing chunks'.

Testing 1-2-3

Well, it's about time I started a weblog. It's as much about breaking out of my comfort zone as anything else, but I plan to learn from the experience as well.

Play nice, I'm a newbie! :)