Thankful

I’ve always said (and meant) that if being a pastor was harmful to my family, I would find a new job. I’ve seen too many pastors sacrifice their marriages and children at the altar of ministry. Lori has shared with me over the years how her parents (dad was a pastor) made sure she was always a priority to them. Most pastor’s kids grow up and hate the church, often because of the hypocrisy they’ve seen. With that said…

I’m so grateful for such an awesome church family we have at Palm Valley. First, I’m grateful that our church doesnt’ place unrealistic (or unbiblical) expectations on my family. My wife serves, but in areas she’s gifted and passionate about. My kids aren’t required to attend every service, nor do I expect them to act any differently because they’re my children.

I love that my kids love coming to PVC. They often beg me (yes beg) to allow them to come to all 4 services each weekend. I love watching my kids growing in their faith, knowing that they’re in a church environment that is nurturing their growth in Christ.

I’m also thankful for the kindness that people show my family that goes way above and beyond what’s “normal”. Last weekend an incredible gal brought us a lasagna for dinner, just because she knew we had a tough week. I can’t tell you how many times people in our church have slipped McDonald’s gift cards to my children at church. They are always so excited.

A couple of Friday’s ago we went to Macayo’s to celebrate a birthday for my middle son. While we were eating the “balloon guy” came to our table and said that someone (anonymously) had paid for him to come make balloons for our kids. Seeing the joy (and surprise) on my kids faces was priceless. As I processed this kind gesture I literally started to weep at the table. I was so overwhelmeed that people will love my kids enough to do kind things for them. I know I looked like an idiot sobbing at the table with the balloon guy right there, but I just felt so thankful at that moment.

Anyways, to the people of PVC, thanks for loving my family and allowing us to be human. Lori and I believe we’re called to lead this church for the rest of our life, and we’re thankful for such a great place and people to invest in!

If you’re a church planter or pastor reading this, I encourage you to set boundaries around your family. Honor your family and the Lord will honor your ministry. Your greatest ministry is to your family. I know the pressures of leading a growing church, but remember it’s the Lord’s church, not yours. Give Him your best and trust Him to fill in the gaps and grow His Church, his Bride.

Da’ Raiders

I’m sure everyone is as excited about this as me, so let me share with the faithful a quick not about the NFL. As of today, here’s the standings for the AFC West…

Oakland           2      2

Denver             2     3

San Diego        2      3

Kansas City     2     3

Yes, you’re reading that correctly, the Raiders are currently in 1st place. Just win baby!

Weekend Reflections

Great weekend at PVC, with an awesome vibe on campus. It was the first weekend of fall break for schools, yet our attendance was incredible. Here’s some thoughts from the weekend…

• Darius is SO gifted as a teacher. After sitting through the service I thanked him for feeding me.
• The praise band did an awesome job with Derrick gone. It’s cool to see so many leaders developing.
• It was a blast to sit in worship with Lori (I don’t get to do that much).
• Our pre-school team is hitting it out of the park every week.
• Met a lot of visitors on the patio, God is up to something.
• Daniel is doing a great job with the compassions ministry. I love seeing people go to the table for prayer after service.
• We need more people to step up and volunteer!
• Lots of changes coming this week; all our childrens and youth are moving to new (bigger) areas.
• New “pro-kids” policy in effect this weekend. I received a lot of positive comments this weekend about it.
• I’m pumped about the new series “Your Best Marriage Ever” beginning this weekend.
• Baby dedication was fun this weekend; I love praying over the new life in our church.
• 10:00 service was packed; we need people to move to Saturday night or 8:30 Sunday service.
• The weather is finally cooling down, I’m loving it.
• God is rocking my world right now. The other night I woke Lori up to read Scripture with her (not always a smart move ) because God was speaking so loudly to me.
• Lots of hurting people right now, our character as a church is being developed through this.
• I’ve made a ton of mistakes leading Palm Valley Church, I’m thankful for people who are willing to show me grace and allow me to learn.
• 7 years down, I can’t imagine what God will do in the next 7.
• Look out, PVC’s going to rock this community for Christ!

That’s it for tonight. Pray for the new series this weekend and bring people with you, it’s going to be a great weekend!

Catalyst Day 2

Sorry it’s taken me a few days to recap, but Catalyst just plain wiped me out (in an awesome way). Lori and I both felt like the whole conference spoke directly to our hearts, right where we’re at. God rocked our world in these 2 days, and we’re trying to process all that it means. I love when I’m hearing from God, and He’s stretching me right now in a huge way. Here’s some thoughts from day 2…

session 6 – Craig Groeschel – man, he hit the nail on the head. He talked about “practical atheism”, which means we believe in God but we live like we don’t. As a pastor I always want to live fully dependant upon God, but I have to admit there are times where I live and lead as if I’m in charge. I prayed over and over during Craig’s talk, “I must decrease so He can increase“. I want God to have free reign in my life, and I want to live like I believe it. I loved Craig’s authenticity, and his challenge for pastors to lead by faith.

special session – John Maxwell – John was given a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to young leaders. He truly is the guru of leadership, and has had a huge impact on my life and leadership. John spoke briefly, but powerfully. Some great quotes, “trust God more, trust yourself less“. His main point was a challenge to young leaders to “Intentionally add value to people everyday”. He challenged us to do this by…

• Valuing People
• Make yourself more valuable (grow in your leadership skill)
• Know and relate to what your people value
• Do the things that God values

session 7 – Dave Ramsey – best quote of the day, when talking about his bankruptcy 20 years ago… “when you fall that far you don’t bounce back, you SPLAT”. I’m a huge believer in Financial Peace, and it was cool to hear Dave speak live. As you look at the financial struggles in today’s economy, I believe every person I know needs to hear this talk. I think I’m going to take his 30 minute talk and show it as the message in an upcoming series (it WAS that good). Imagine if Christians got a grip on their finances, and the difference it would make as we were freed up to give generously.

session 8 – Erwin McManus – I love Erwin’s writing and speaking. The main reminder I took from his talk today was that it’s “good” to be human. As a pastor there’s a constant temptaion to be perfect (as it that’s possible). It’s comforting to remember that Jesus is perfect, and we’re simply serving Him. I never want to confuse my role, but to simply invite people to follow me as I pursue Christ!

Overall, as you can see, this was an awesome conference. I have a ton of action points, and a great sense of what God’s doing in my life. Pray for me as I unpack and apply everything I’m learning!

Catalyst Day 1

All I can say about day 1 of Catalyst is “WOW”.  I really enjoyed so much of today. It was great just to be able to worship, pray, laugh, and be challenged. As a pastor it’s rare that I get to just worship without any responsibility. Today was incredibly refreshing for me!

Here’s some brief thoughts from the sessions…

Session 1 – Andy Stanley – Andy had us consider the question, “what do you do when you realize you are the most powerful person in the room”. As a leader there are going to be these moments, and Andy challenged us to make sure we do what Jesus did when he washed the disciples feet; which was to consider how to use your power for the benefit of others. It was a great point to remember that leadership  is about helping others, not yourself. Very challenging!

Session 2 – Patrick Lencioni – I’ve heard Patrick talk before on the 5 dysfunctions of a team (which is incredible stuff). Today his talk was about helping people understand how much their work matters. People deserve to know that what they do makes a difference. In the church realm, they need to know that serving matters. It was a great reminder to make sure we’re helping every volunteer at PVC know that they’re impacting the lives of others. If you serve at Palm Valley – THANKS – you ARE making a difference!

Session 3 – Un-christian – a group of guys who have done incredible research about the perception of Christianity in America. One of the most challenging statistics is that 91% of teens have a negative view abotu Chrsitianity. We’ve got to do a better job helping young people experience Christ!

Session 4 – Francis Chan – this guy is an unbelievable speaker. He resonates with such a huge heart for Christ; you just know every word he says is heartfelt and genuine. Two challenges (1) say whatever God is telling you to say. Don’t worry about being popular or liked.  (2) He asked, “Do you love your church?”  I loved that I was able to answer “yes”. I love the people of Palm Valley Church and I pray I spend the rest of my life leading you to prevail for the Kingdom of God in the west valley!

Session 5 – Rick Warren – I was pumped to hear Rick again. I love Rick for the impact God has had on my life through him. It was nearly 10 years ago that God used Rick to speak into my life, and out of that message Palm Valley Church was born. Literally, there would be no PVC if it weren’t for Rick Warren’s encouragement to me. As I listened to him to today tears filled my eyes as I thought about all that God has done in my life over the last 10 years.  I was challeneged once again to dream big for God, lead with courage, and love the “castaways” in our society with the love of Christ!

Can’t wait until tomorrow, should be another awesome day! I’m whipped, working off a few hours sleep, so pray I still function tomorrow

Haiti Video

This weekend we unveiled the location of our next compassion project. We are teaming with Value Baptist Church in Value, Haiti to build a church building. This church family has about 150 people worshiping in an open hut each weekend. We’ll begin construction very soon and should have this church building completed in a few months.  We’re also helping to provide resources and education for the Pastor, Immanuel.

I’m excited to be a part of what God’s doing around the world. This is the first of what we believe will be hundreds of projects to team with churches in 3rd world countries.

Check out the awesome (and moving) video that Michael and the team put together….

Watch the Haiti Video.

Weekend Reflections

This weekend was our 7th anniversary as a church. It’s all flown by so quickly, I almost forgot about our anniversary. I’ll be taking time over the next couple weeks to talk about some lessons we’ve learned in 7 years, but for tonight here’s my thoughts from another weekend at Palm Valley Church…

• Baptism was incredible. We baptized people on the patio (in an inflatable pool) after every service. It was cool to see the crowds stay to celebrate with people who have come to Christ!
• Baptizing my oldest son was a highlight of my life. He loves the Lord, and it was cool to see him take this step of faith and obedience. I was blubbering like a big baby, took me about 10 minutes to challenge him with some thougths I had for him.
• Seeing a guy invite Christ into his life as he stepped into the pool blew me away. It was like Philip with the ethiopian eunich in front of my eyes. Muy cool!
• I had no clue why God placed this message on my heart months ago, but it couldn’t have been more timely. So many hurting people right now.
• Having people stand to be prayed for is moving, but it’s more powerful to watch our people stand up, put their arms around each other and pray for them. It made me cry in every service (a lot of tears from me this weekend ).
• Derrick’s brought a lot of new talent to the praise team, and I really see them growing.
• Michael did an incredible job on the Haiti video. It was awesome! I hope to have a link to it tomorrow.
• People really responded to the point that we need to give generously in a down market; it seemed to resonate that this unleashes God’s blessing!
• Our staff works very hard. Being a portable church of our size takes a lot of work. They are really growing and I see an awesome future ahead of us.
• Lots of life-change happening, it’s stretching all of us and growing us in our faith. I feel like God’s preparing me for something big. I’m praying more, reading Scripture more, and more in tune to hurting people. I love that God’s not done with this work in process.
• I’m off to Catalyst this week. Really need the time of refreshing, encouragement and growth. I’m looking forward to every one of the sessions. It looks like I’ll be drinking from a firehose for a few days (spiritually speaking ).