SNOW!

I love it.

I Have a Dream!

Today, I sent a thank you note. If the recipient is reading this, you'll get it in the next day or so. She is the person who quietly, every week, makes sure there are fresh offering envelopes and sharp pencils in the chairs. She does this, I suspect, because she truly sees this as a ministry. I hope she does. I do, and I know the Lord does. In fact, my wife Carla and I were talking about how meaningful it is to walk into a church where it is obvious somebody cares. I can hear the lonely and despairing person saying "If the people care about how the pencils and envelopes look, perhaps they'll care about me."

I have a dream. I dream that Cornerstone will be the kind of church where everything is seen as ministry and a chance to touch somebody with the love of Jesus. I have a dream that we will never be satisfied with "good enough." I dream that every person who serves as a greeter would get up that morning on fire to do the Lord's work. I dream that they might see how much potential they have to be a friendly welcoming face to a guest, and that they can be the very first person to enter into some short, friendly dialogue with them.

I have a dream. I dream that we will have nursery workers who see that valuing children and valuing their parents is a way to show both the churched and those yet to be just how much Jesus makes our lives different. I dream that we show up early and stay late. I dream that we see each child as a gift to us and treat them as if they were our very own.

I have a dream. I dream that those who make coffee and prepare the snacks for our little kids will see the difference they are making. The church is the last place on earth where one is not welcome to have a cup of coffee. Not here! I dream that our people making coffee will "whistle while they work" and pray over each pot and each little serving of Goldfish...that the Lord will bless every one who receives.

I have a dream...well you get the picture. We are well on our way. But I will not rest until my dream is fulfilled: That EVERYTHING we do, we do for JESUS. And that we do it in such a way that He is pleased, and others recognize it!

My nerves are bad...

...so I am going to put them in time out.

My nerves are bad....so I am going to scrap them and get good ones.

My nerves are bad...

What does that mean anyhow? Today is one of those days where "my nerves are bad." How do I know, because even the expression "my nerves are bad" is getting on my nerves!

Do you ever wonder why you have those days? To what is it attributed? What can cure it? Any tried and true methods out there in blog land?

#*@&*$*!

The "F bomb."

This is one reason I go to the gym. Because at the gym, I get to hear the "F bomb."

I often joke that when I announced that I was going to be a pastor, a miracle occured. All of my friends and family immediately stopped swearing! It's a miracle! (or could it be that people get this goofy notion that I have some power to send them to hell for swearing...?)

And I spend so much time with Christians, which is part of my job, of course. But I never get to hear the "F bomb."

Not that I want to hear it, per se. But I know it is out there. And my life devoid of the "F bomb" lulls me into thinking that we live in a world full of Christians.

Ah, but at the gym, I am reminded "au contraire." For at the gym, people don't seem to know or care that I am a pastor. And so they drop the "F bomb" on me. For me, a powerful reminder of why Jesus got Himself into these kind of situations....

They that wait upon the Lord...

I can't really give you the details at this point, but I am very excited about a recent development in my life. First of all, read this. Is that great or what? Just a simple reminder that waiting on the Lord is where it is at. So why don't we wait on the Lord? BECAUSE WE'RE IMPATIENT, that's why! We don't like to wait (remember that car you were driving behind on your way to work this morning? I rest my case!). And we really don't like to wait where we cannot see the outcome. And so it is with waiting on the Lord. And yet, when we do, He renews our strength. Can I just say that my strength is renewed today? How about you? What are you "waiting" on Him for? Have you seen Him renew your strength?

A Revelation

At Cornerstone, I am preaching through the Christmas season from the book of Revelation. Christmas, after all, is the first revelation of God to the world in Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation deals somewhat with a coming revelation of the Lord to the world. But in the first few chapters, He also talks about how He wishes to be revealed to us in the moment. I think this is perhaps the greatest reason for the book. I believe that the Lord just wants us to see Him, to know Him, to love Him, to surrender to Him, to be with Him for eternity. That's His purpose in revelation, to make Himself known that we might love Him.

And so in these weeks of preparation for Christmas, my prayer will be that I might see Jesus revealed right here, right now, in and through my life....

Wow, is God good or what?

I had breakfast this morning with a man who, with his wife and son, wishes to be baptized. Talk about the fire of the Holy Spirit...this guy has it!!! It reminded me of why I do what I do. I can get so caught up in the institution of the church that I miss the ways in which Jesus is grabbing people's hearts and bringing radical changes to them. Thank you Lord, and may that fire spread to me as I rub shoulders with the world.

I'm hoping to have a chance to do that tomorrow as my wife Carla and I and some friends from Cornerstone help to serve a Thanksgiving dinner to the community of people in the South Side of Pittsburgh. It is to be a beautiful day, and I hope to have the chance to spend time on the street with people...just loving them and looking for ways to let Jesus shine through me. Pray for us as we have this privilege...that it would be one of Kingdom harvest.

Could these verses ever be truer?

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire!!! (NIV)

Return to your first love...

If you know me at all, you know that I love Carla, my wife. Our first date was on my 22nd birthday...she was only 16!!! That night I kissed her...her first ever. Although I had dated before, I can say she was my first love. I still get all giddy and smushy inside when I think about her, and when I think about how I felt on the first date. Yep, she is my first love. At least in the earthly realm...

But you know, I remember when I first gave my heart to Jesus. I was raised in a church going home and had the "religion," but I still remember when I knew beyond a doubt that God was real and that He wanted to be in a relationship with me. Talk about giddy and smushy....

So why do we forget? I'm preaching on Revelation 2:1-7 this Sunday...which you can read HERE. In this text, Jesus encourages the church at Ephesus (and I'm guessing the church at Cranberry) to return to their first love. It seems that the church in Ephesus may have gotten caught up in all the churchy stuff and in their busyness, forget why they were the church. Boy does that hit home.

Who is your first earthly love? What about in the eternal realm? How can we help each other to return to Him?

Perspective

In Luke 5, we read this interesting account in Jesus' ministry:

Luke 5:27-32
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 31 Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (NIV)

We preachers love to hang out with the saved. Jesus didn't. He went to where the sinners were. Maybe that's why He was so good at reaching the lost.

I'm going to Starbucks...gonna grab a Peppermint Mocha, and I'm going to work on Sunday's message there. Maybe I'll get some needed perspective...

Start with the foundation

It seems so simple, and yet the church just doesn't get it sometimes...

We in the Western PA Conference of the United Methodist Church are beginning a new campaign called "Believe Again." It is a plan for ministry...to try to stem the decline of our churches. Now let me state that I am all for that!!! If the church isn't growing, then it isn't healthy. If it isn't healthy, then it isn't doing something right! (or Godly....hmmmm)

So now, many of our congregations are trying to turn things around. But I am sensing a growing tendency to do what we do so well...to put bandaids on cancer. I am fearful that many of our churches will try to work with surface issues and ministries to try to patch their sinking ships. But we must start with the foundation! We must assess the real problem and be bold enough to fix it.

In some churches, that may mean merging with another nearby congregation. In some churches, that may mean a change of pastor. In some churches, that may mean a change in lay leadership. In some churches, that may mean ending programs that have no purpose but to perpetuate the institution. These kinds of radical changes are needed to rebuild the foundation. And no church or ministry will be stable without a sure foundation.

What will not work is "remodeling" the programs or ministries without addressing the cracking and crumbling foundations.

Shhhhh! (a.k.a. why do we keep secrets?)

Thursdays get me pumped! It is my early day...4:30 a.m. (that's right, 4:30 does come around twice daily!) to the gym and then to our men's group at 6:30 for bagels, coffee, and good company. We have a faithful group of 9-11 guys and we laugh, cry (but very little...we are MEN you know!), and try to figure out what God is saying to us through His Word. We have been studying Genesis...just fascinating. Today, we were on chapter 3 which deals with the first sin. We spent the entire time dealing with the issue of temptation. But when push comes to shove, we just can't let the secrets out. We are all friends...all trust each other...we're all Christians...we're all probably dealing with nearly exactly the same things, but shhhhhh. We only wanna go so far in admitting our sin struggles. We don't want to let the secret out.

But why? Won't that help? Isn't that what the Lord was saying through James when He said "confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed." Don't we really want healed? Then why are we afraid to confess, at least to each other.

I'm praying for strength today...strength to be real. Strength to be vulnerable. Strength to open up. Strength to ask some of the strongest guys I know to help me to be strong...

What about you?

Fun Quotes for the Day

"When I die, I want to die like my grandfather--who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car."

Advice for the day: If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle: "Take two aspirin" and "Keep away from children."

"My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, 'Mom, they weren't trying to teach you how to swim.'"

"A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just want to say to the authors of that study: "Duh."

"Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my.... I could be eating a slow learner."

"I think that's how Chicago got started. Bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west.'"

"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress.. But I repeat myself."

Oh to be like...

What a world we live in. Always wanting to be like somebody. I work out at a gym every morning and I see us guys trying to be as strong as someone else. I watch Ricky Skaggs play that bluegrass and wish I could pick and sing like he does. I was in the room with one of our sages of the church yesterday, a retired clergy man whose heart resembles the heart of Jesus more than mine...and I long to be like him.

Then as I am preparing for our Vision Team gathering tonight at our parsonage, I've been studying Nehemiah. You owe it to yourself to read at least the first chapter and the first part of chapter two. Check it out here.

So today, the man I wish to be like is our dude Nehemiah. A man who loves God more than himself. A man who loves the people entrusted to him more than himself. A man who sees a greater reality for God's people than they are currently experiencing. And a man who will risk it all to see that God reality come to fruition. Lord, could you help me with that....A LOT?

Leadership Summit

As Cornerstone Church, we held our first ever Leadership Summit yesterday after worship. All of our people who had been nominated to serve in any of our operational teams came together for a time of lunch and vision sharing. I explained to the group our current leadership structure, its flaws, and the process leading us to this point. Then I detailed the strategy for the new leadership structure and how the pieces will all play their part. We were focusing on how everything we do needs to be in line with our vision. I asked the group to focus their leadership on asking two key questions at every turn: Why, and What If? If we continually ask the WHY question, then we'll always know that their is a vision centered purpose for every discussion we hold and every decision we make. If we continually ask the WHAT IF question then we'll always be walking by faith...leading in a new direction.

After this initial presentation, we split into breakout groups in different areas of the building. Led by representatives from our Lay Leadership Team and Ministry Management Team, each operational team went through a team building exercise. There was lively discussion about how to make decisions and how the decisions we make in ministry effect people for their earthly and eternal lives. Each team member also filled in a survey during this time to share their hopes and vision for the operation of the team. They also wrote down the name of someone they would feel comfortable with leading their team.

Now the Lay Leadership Team will take our observations and the teams' written input and put the finishing touches on our nominations for leadership in the coming year. This was a radical departure from the way things have been done...both in structure and method. But to this point, I am declaring it a great success.

The GREAT pastor

First, read this from John 10:7-11!

"I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (NIV)

Now the word "shepherd" in the Bible is sometimes translated "pastor." That means that Jesus calls Himself the "good pastor." I like to think of Him as the "GREAT PASTOR!"

He is always loving, always holy, always concerned for the spiritual, emotional, and physical well being of others, always looking to see where God is leading, and always faithful to take His people there.

Oh, that I might be a pastor in the footsteps of Jesus...

How Do You? (and other parenthetical thoughts...)

Carla, my wife (and bestest friend in the whole wide world!), and I were talking the other day. (Which kinda makes it sound like that is a rare occurence...not true!) I asked her this tough question that I now share with you. How do you plan for the future when you don't know what the future holds? How do you plan for tomorrow and still be faithful to today? Some wise words of Jesus (as if there were any other kind!):

Matthew 6:33-34 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (NIV)

He makes it pretty clear that we are to live our lives faithfully in the moment. I'm down with that. (I say things like that to make me sound young!)

But, how do we prepare for the things of tomorrow that we really should prepare for? Cornerstone is at a very exciting time in our short history. Our attendance is up about 30% over last year. Our giving is up about 35% over last year. We are clearly a church on the move. Praise God...He is just awesome!!!

And yet there is this looming question of "where do we go from here?" We meet in rented space which we are rapidly outgrowing despite a recent expansion. Property in Cranberry Township is prohibitively expensive. What's a church to do? (Or what's a pastor to do?)

Any ideas from the blogosphere? I want to plan and I want to be an effective leader for the future of ministry here. AND I want to be faithful right now. The big question is HOW DO I DO BOTH? HELP! (Please comment, and feel free to use parenthetical statements in your response!)

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow, am I busy this week! Lots going on...lots going on that's good!!! I'll blog later this week about some of the highlights. Sorry to be so blogfully absent of late! I promise...more tomorrow!

The role of a friend...

If you read this passage from Proverbs 27:5-6, you'll see how friendship is elevated to a new level for the Christian. Go ahead and read it. I'll wait here.


Thanks for coming back. Good stuff eh? Or should I say God stuff? God is showing us that as friends in Him, we need to be open and honest with each other even if it hurts. Why? So that we can be nasty and not care about others' feelings? No. In fact, it is for just the opposite reason.

If we are desiring to grow in our faithfulness and holiness to the Lord, it is tough to do it alone. We are often not the best judges of our own character and struggles. If we have a brother or sister in Christ who will be honest with us, in order to help us to grow, then we have a much broader picture of who we really are.

I appreciate my friends who will love me enough to be truthful with me. Thank you!

(PS: Is there something you've been meaning to tell me?!?!)

There's only ONE!

HowManyOfMe.com

There is: 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

SO glad to be HOME!!!

You know, I really love being a part of Cornerstone Church. I was in Chicago last week for a conference at Willow Creek. It was a lot of fun, mostly because I was traveling with some great friends. I laughed until I cried...several times! All these serious people are sitting around us in the conference and there Chris (who wrote a great review of the conference) and I are giggling like little girls with tears streaming down our faces. Oh well, lighten up world!

We had a great worship service yesterday. I just love being able to be ME! Our church is so neat in that we really are a "come as you are" kinda people. I had the privilege of preaching from Mark 2:1-12...one of my favorite passages. We were talking about how we who are in Christ need to be on the corners of the "mat" of our unsaved friends carrying them to WHO they really need....Jesus. It is just so good to be home. Can you tell I'm happy?!?!?

Off to Chicago!

This is my last entry until the weekend...I'm heading to Chicago. A few of my fellow pastor friends (yes, I do have a friend or two!) are going to a Conference together. I will miss you in blogland. If I get to a 'puter out there, I'll check in.

PS: I can't wait to preach this Sunday at Cornerstone. I will be sharing one of my favoritest passages: Mark 2:1-12. Read it....very good stuff. See you then!!!

A new challenge

A friend recommended the following blog entry to me this week. Please go there now and check it out, especially if you're a man or a woman!

This is really good stuff. It just reminds me that as the culture in which we live is ever changing, so we who are leaders must be constantly aware. And so we must be persistent in our pursuit of understanding. As a man, my soul resonates with much that has been written there, and yet I could not have authored it myself.

I thank God for those around me who enlighten me, who broaden my perspective, and who challenge me!

Sharing the Journey

I meet this morning with four of my UM pastoral colleagues for our twice-monthly breakfast. We spend time just sharing our joys, our struggles, our issues, and our Savior. We share resources, books, ideas, and encouragement. We share laughter, anger, sadness, and hope. We don't always agree, but we are always in unity. That is because we find our unity in Jesus Christ. I am blessed to have this circle of friends with whom I can share the journey.

Do you have this kind of support? Do you belong to some kind of small group? Who is walking the Christian journey with you? How can I help to hook you up with someone?

Psalm 133:1 "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" NIV

Do you hate your family? I know I do!

OK, now that I have your attention, let me redirect. First read this:

Luke 14:25-27
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (NIV)

Harsh words from Jesus. Does He really mean that we need to "hate" our families in order to follow Him? I don't think so. But what He does expect is that we put Him first. Always. No matter what. Over everything. Over every relationship. Period.

And that will cost us, because we cannot serve two masters. As a Christian, the call is to turn it all over to Christ. All of it. Even the things we hold the most dear. So, Lord, help me!

He's Back!

Yes, if you showed up for worship at Cornerstone yesterday, you'll know that I was curiously absent! That's because I was at the wedding of my cousin in Albany NY. I had a great time...traveled by car with my parents and older sister on the way up. It was neat to have the chance to reconnect with them (although they labeled me as obnoxious...can you believe that? How unfair!) Then I rode back with my twin sister and her husband, who also tried to abandon me along the highway somewhere along route 80. (I feel loved!) The wedding was great. It was held in a gorgeous Roman Catholic Cathedral in Albany. The ceremony was really nice...very "high and holy" and meaningful. I was blessed to be able to read Scripture in the service. The reception was at a beautiful country club with much good food! It was nice to spend some time with extended family members that I too infrequently see.

Now I'm back. And I'm happy to be...there is no place like home. I'm looking forward to a new week of opportunities after a weekend of true refreshment...

I'm in a pickle...or I am a pickle...or I am a cucumber, but I want to be a pickle...

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, God uses Paul to say this: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (NIV) My favorite way of understanding that is by looking at the pickle. If you cut one open, it is as green and picklish on the inside as it is on the outside. Why? Because it has been cooked in the brine. It isn't just dipped in there for a while, but it is salty through and through.

So I am the cucumber. But oh, how I long to be the pickle. I want to be so "in Jesus" that I look like Him on the outside as well as on the inside. I want to be salted with His presence, His love, His grace so much that my whole being is consumed by Him. I am struggling with only dipping myself in His brine, instead of being cooked in His glory.

Lord, pickle me today. Set me apart...from this world and into you...

Home remedies

I received this list from a friend...some very helpful advice!

1. If you are choking on an ice cube, don't panic. Simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat and presto! The blockage will be almost instantly removed.

2. Clumsy? Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by simply using the sink.

4. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.

7. Have a bad toothache? Smash your thumb with a hammer and you will forget all about the toothache.

8. Sometimes, we just need to remember what the rules of life really are: You only need two tools - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

Jesus, Be the Center

Well Sunday is the last day of our Cornerstone message series entitled "Jesus, Be the Center." I am excited because the closing week is about Jesus being the center of Cornerstone Church. In the end, I am challenging us to paint a picture of what our ministry will look like as we continue to seek to put Jesus fully in charge. Whaddya think? What are some evidences of a church that is truly devoid of "the sinful nature." What will we the people, the ministries, the place look like as we let Jesus be "the Head" of our "body?" Any takers?

I need some Ephesians 6!

Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (NIV)

I need the shield of faith these days (see v16). I guess it is because God is doing so much good here in our ministry that I seem to be under attack. The flaming arrows are coming in every form, but there is only one defense: the shield of faith. Lord, I am believing in you, by faith, to forgive me, correct me, and to use me. May I put on your whole armor today and to stand strong. And in the midst of it all, please be the center of my JOY!

Feeling strong!

With each passing week I see more progress in my weightlifting. I made several strides this morning, doing 210 pounds on the pectoral fly machine and 180 on the overhead press. These were 20 and 10 pound gains respectively. I am enjoying my morning workouts and it fun to see the progress. I am up to 150 pounds on the bench press, only about 25 pounds from my goal. At this rate, I should be able to do that in 5-6 weeks.

Yet, I do not find my true strength in my morning gym workouts. I find my true strength in Jesus Christ alone. In our Cornerstone devotions for the day, we are reading Nehemiah 8:10. This is where we are reminded that having joy in the Lord is true strength. I am joyful. Today I am happy, but that is subject to change. I am joyful, though, which is NOT subject to change....only in the sense that it will grow. As I deepen my walk with the Lord and learn to trust Him more, my joy increases! As it does, so does my strength to face all that the world might try to throw at me today.

How about you...are you feeling "strong"?