More Than Today

2012-01-09T15:50:00.001-05:00

While in Raleigh the other day I was blessed by many things that people said and one came to mind today. My friend Justin Meier said, after I had shared that I had planted a church that had ended and I felt like a failure in some ways, that my experience there played a part in the movement in Raleigh beginning. I appreciated his words not only because of their kindness, but because of their truth. We learn a lot from the things that don't go well and the point is to keep listening to God and trusting Him by just keeping on and seeing where He leads, even to helping to birth a church multiplication movement in Raleigh and throughout the southeastern area of the USA. I am glad that God cares more about us than about what we do for Him, while taking who we are and leading us to touch lives for Jesus far beyond ourselves and our own abilities.

Joy to the World

2011-12-22T15:07:00.002-05:00

Christmas is more than a state of mind. It's more than being nice to someone else. Christmas is about someone who came to earth not just to be nice or have us be nice. Christmas is not about being happy all the time or even for a time. It's about joy which is so much more than being nice or being happy.

Joy is rooted in our being, in our soul, in our being created in the image of God. We experience joy when we are connected to God through His Son Jesus. Nothing can take our joy away. We seem to yield it to others sometimes or experience the feeling of losing it when circumstances hit us that are beyond our control. But the joy that we find in Jesus is ours as we stay connected to God, even when at times we seem driven to disconnect ourselves.

I want to be nice to people. I want to be happy. But it's not what Christmas is all about. It is not about me, my niceness, or my happiness. Christmas is about joy to the world that Jesus brought. I have that joy. I want to share that joy. When I mess up and don't seem very Christlike I ask you to forgive me and don't give up on God because of my stupidity or lack of kindness or love. It's not God's fault that I mess up. God does His best and sent His best.

This Christmas move beyond the "nice" and being "happy." Experience the joy of Christmas and then let God lead you to serve others. Don't let the serving get in the way, though, of keeping that "Joy Connection" with God.

Joy to the World. Joy to you my friends.

Looking for the Master

2011-11-28T14:59:00.001-05:00

In his book What God Thinks When We Fail, Steven C. Roy tells a fictional story about a young violinist who lived in London many years ago. Although he was a superb musician, he was deathly afraid of large crowds, so he avoided giving concerts. But after enduring criticism for his unwillingness to give concerts, he finally agreed to perform in the largest concert hall in London.

The young violinist came onto the stage and sat alone on a stool. He put his violin under his chin and played for an hour and a half. No music in front of him, no orchestra behind him, no breaks—just an hour and a half of absolutely beautiful violin music. After ten minutes or so, many critics put down their pads and listened, like the rest …. After the performance, the crowd rose to its feet and began applauding wildly—and they wouldn't stop.

But the young violinist didn't acknowledge the applause. He just peered out into the audience as if he were looking for something—or someone. Finally he found what he was looking for. Relief came over his face, and he began to acknowledge the cheers.

After the concert, the critics met the young violinist backstage …. They said, "You were wonderful. But one question: Why did it take you so long to acknowledge the applause of the audience?"

The young violinist took a deep breath and answered, "You know I was really afraid of playing here. Yet this was something I knew I needed to do. Tonight, just before I came on stage, I received word that my master teacher was to be in the audience. Throughout the concert, I tried to look for him, but I could never find him. So after I finished playing, I started to look more intently. I was so eager to find my teacher that I couldn't even hear the applause. I just had to know what he thought of my playing. That was all that mattered. Finally, I found him high in the balcony. He was standing and applauding, with a big smile on his face. After seeing him, I was finally able to relax. I said to myself, 'If the master is pleased with what I have done, then everything else is okay.'"

1 of 1

Steven C. Roy, What God Thinks When We Fail (IVP Books, 2011), pp. 11-12

2011-11-07T20:50:00.000-05:00

Always becoming...

"Today I let a stranger stick a needle in my spine to relieve my pain. Trust. Everyday I want to trust my best friend, my leader, my Savior, to handle whatever pain I have at the moment. Some days I wonder how He puts up with me putting more trust in a doctor I don't know than He who knew me from before I was born. But thanks anyway God...I do love you...you know that." -Rich Thornton,lover of God, husband, father, sometimes humorist, storyteller, church planting strategist, songwriter, singer, guitarist, friend of the fallen, fallen himself but safe now in the arms of Jesus through life and beyond, enjoyer of roller coasters and ice cream and chocolate, reader on-line and off, sometimes philosopher, and becomer...so far yet to go, so very far...

Craigslist and Planting New Churches in Raleigh, North Carolina

2011-08-03T10:50:00.000-04:00

It's interesting how life is and how sometimes looking beyond takes you somewhere you haven't even visited yet. For the past year or so I have been thinking about the Raleigh, North Carolina area even though I have never been there. Heard about it, saw pictures of it, checked it out online, and believe that it would be a good area to spend time reaching people for Jesus who don't know Him yet.

So how does one do that when you live someplace else and can't just drop into Raleigh for an afternoon Coke and conversations? Craigslist. At least that is what I decided to try. So about a year ago I wrote up an ad inviting potential church planters to contact me about beginning new churches in that area. Somehow I don't even think the process worked enough for it to get posted. If it did, it never worked because no one contacted me.

So the idea continued to simmer this past year until a week ago, July 27, when I decided to post the ad I had written. Read it over again and decided to run with it. So I posted, got the phone call from Craigslist to verify it, and saw that it was posted. That same afternoon I heard from someone and within a day I had three contacts. And yesterday another person saw it and responded directly to the 2020 Initiative website as I had directed people to do. This isn't about me, this is the incredible team of church planting guides and leaders that God has and is putting together in the Churches of God, and I am blessed to be a part of it in the Eastern Regional Conference.

Who knows what will happen with this initiative in the Raleigh/Durham area. But I do know that right now there are already at least 4 pastors who are seeking God's will about planting a church in that area. Some are already building prayer teams and talking with others about financial support. Some are thinking through how they would reach the community for Christ.

I hope these become new Churches of God churches and are part of the 2020 Initiative to start 20 new churches by 2020. In the past several years many of these churches have been started and it looks like 20 is just the beginning. And perhaps a church in Raleigh will multiply and who knows what will happen in that area and out to Virginia Beach/Norfolk and down the coast to Florida. Some of these efforts may decide to go a different direction and be linked to another group or go independent. That's OK, it's all about the kingdom and we will help wherever we can. But my heart is to connect these planters with us and be a team together.

Yeah, it's just Craigslist. I sold a pool there once. But this is a much much bigger pool of opportunities and maybe just taking the risk and posting an ad will lead to new life in Christ. I don't know, but I could sure use your prayers and we will see where all of this takes us. Hey, maybe I will get to visit the area someday and worship at a new church...now wouldn't that be cool!

The Gospel of Grace Calls Out

2011-06-22T02:55:00.000-04:00

Reposting this from Brennan Manning’s book The Ragamuffin Gospel (page 86). He writes,

• “The question which the gospel of grace puts to us is simply this: Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? What are you afraid of?

• Are you afraid that your weakness could separate you from the love of Christ? It can’t.

• Are you afraid that your inadequacies could separate you from the love of Christ? They can’t.

• Are you afraid that your inner poverty could separate you from the love of Christ? It can’t.

• Difficult marriage, loneliness, anxiety over the children’s future? They can’t.

• Negative self-image? It can’t.

• Economic hardship, racial hatred, street crime? They can’t.

• Rejection by loved ones or the suffering of loved ones? They can’t.

• Persecution by authorities, going to jail? They can’t.

• Nuclear war? It can’t.

• Mistakes, fears, uncertainties? They can’t.

• The gospel of grace calls out: Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Garden Has Grown -- 26th Wedding Anniversary

2011-06-09T10:23:00.001-04:00

Today is our 26th wedding anniversay. Diane and I met at a singles group called Discovery, were married outside at Doubling Gap Center, and at our wedding reception sang a song that I wrote describing ourselves as "Two Roses." Our garden has grown and now we are blessed with Rose Thornton and Emilie Thornton, the best daughters anyone could have.

Don't Miss The God Voice

2011-05-18T11:29:00.004-04:00

This morning I was reading some more of Max Lucado's book, "Outlive Your Life." There was a little bit about microfinance, where regular people like me can give a few bucks so that people in other countries can borrow it and help their families by owning their own business. Then they pay it back and someone else gets the money. Pretty cool really.

My gift keeps getting recycled to help families climb up at least some as they help their families and the community around them. So many times I miss opportunities like this by just "moving on" to other thoughts. Not today. Helped some guy in Kenya, one of the next door countries to where Rosie will be in Tanzania in the Peace Corps. I easily could have talked myself into waiting until she gets to Tanzania and seeing what help may be needed in her village. But there is nothing to stop me from doing that then. But this is now.

Joseph Kimeto will also be able to send his children to school and purchase the materials they may need. Sounds like a good reason to help someone. I decided to give it through World Vision this time, (listen to me, already talking like there will be a next time :) Another good place to help is The Floodgate Foundation. Other places are around also I'm sure.

Despite the details of all this, the main thing I want to say is that when we believe God is inviting us to help someone it is a good thing to stop and do something. Don't miss the God voice.

Holding Onto Joy

2011-05-13T20:27:00.000-04:00

An overcast day may try to cast shadows on my joy in Jesus. Even when the weather and recent circumstances try to steal my joy, I understand that it can never be stolen. I can give it away, I can forget it for a time, but nobody can steal it. I am responsible to cling to Christ and to hold on with dear life to His joy. Laughter may elude me, smiles may not come as often for a time, but the joy of the Lord is my strength and I will not relinquish it.

Friendship Community Church streaming channel

2011-04-13T23:26:00.005-04:00

The Facebook Bible

2011-04-11T10:58:00.000-04:00

This morning on Facebook someone posted: "I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways." Psalm 119:14-15.

When I read the word "statutes" I saw "statuses" instead. It was the "facebooking" of the scripture I suppose. I then thought about it and it is true that "I rejoice in following your statuses, God, as one rejoices in great riches." God has a new post every morning, and all through the day he posts again and again...inviting us to read them and rejoice in following them.

May I not only see/read/acknowledge the statuses of God today but may I rejoice in following them. May I meditate on God's precepts (commandments, instructions, orders intended as an authoritative rule of action) and consider the ways of God. When I do this, my life will be enriched beyond measure. Doing this long enough you might not even recognize me even more. Or perhaps you will see the "rich"-ness in my life that God always intended.

I'm glad my mind saw "statuses" instead of "statutes" this morning. Perhaps God intended to remind me of who I am and who I am called to be. Time to quit making excuses and start living full out for God. The great riches of God are worth rejoicing in. Time to stop living like God is a pauper and start living in the knowledge that I am the child of the King.

But don't look for a new paraphrase of the Bible from me called The Facebook Bible anytime soon.

2011-04-11T01:00:00.000-04:00

Getting prepared to stream worship services at Friendship Community Church. For now there are videos online for you to watch.

Watch live streaming video from friendshipcommunitychurchdoverpa at livestream.com

We Praise You God

2011-03-30T17:38:00.000-04:00

You are creator and you are love. You made the stars above.
When we can't see way out ahead. You show the next step instead.

We praise You God. We Praise You God. For who You are.
We thank You God. We thank You God. For all you've done so far.

You are mercy and You are wise. You are the one who supplies.
Help us trust in Your faithful ways, through all our nights and days.

Crossroads

2011-03-23T09:52:00.000-04:00

This is what the Lord says:

"Stop at the crossroads and look around.

Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.

Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls."

(Jeremiah 16a, NLT)

God invites us to stop at the crossroads and look around. There have been many crossroads in my life. Times when I had a choice to make. Would I do the right thing, the hard thing, the thing that was difficult...or would I go my own way? A choice of my way or the old, godly way. Would I ask for the true way, the old, godly way, or I would I kid myself that I could just do what I wanted. I was going to walk from this crossroads in one direction or another. My soul cried out to walk in the old, godly way...the way of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob...Lester, Louise, and Mary...

I want to travel the path of the old, godly way, to find rest for my soul.

Oh how I wish the scripture ended there, that there was no part "b" for this encouragement to follow the right path.

But there is a part b. The scripture continues,

But you reply, "No, that's not the road we want!"

You have to give them credit. At least they were honest and said outright that they didn't want that road, the old, godly way. Then didn't beat around the bush or say one thing and do another. They straightforwardly took the ungodly way.

And then God said:

I posted watchmen over you who said,"Listen for the sound of the alarm."

But you replied,"No! We won't pay attention!"

Like a child who doesn't want to hear what they have to do and just puts his hands over his ears, or in front of his eyes and goes blindly on. "No, I want my way...I won't listen to you!"

And that path doesn't end well. Not well at all.

So I have my choice once again as I stand at this crossroads. And I know I can't even make the right choice let alone walk down the right path if God doesn't lead me. If God doesn't help me up I will lay fallen on the path.

But I choose to ask for the old, godly way. I choose to walk in it, God help me. I must travel its path because it is the only way to find rest for my soul.

Women of Faith 2011

2011-03-17T16:31:00.000-04:00

Freedom

2011-03-03T16:42:00.003-05:00

I am thinking today of current events such as: the Supreme Court stands up for free speech rights but at what cost; the President decides he is not going to defend the Defense of Marriage Act because his thoughts on this are evolving; and Libyans seeking freedom try to draw in an already over-stretched United States military. I am praying for freedom, marriage, and peace.

Meanwhile, I seek to refuse to cast the first stone at those who make important decisions on our behalf. I seek to discern truth, support those in authority, and speak up for those without a voice. These things seem to be at odds at times and yet I must wrestle with them none the less.

Is this thing, this idol that I'm holding in my hand, a lie?

2011-02-23T10:37:00.002-05:00

Once there was a wood-carver who measured a block of wood and drew a pattern on it. He worked with chisel and plane and carved it into a human figure. He gave it human beauty and put it in a little shrine.

He cut down cedars; he selected the cypress and the oak; he planted the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain. Then he used part of the wood to make a fire to warm himself and bake his bread.

Then -- yes, it's true -- he took the rest of it and made himself a god to worship! He made an idol and bowed down in front of it!

He burned part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He said, "Ah, that fire feels good."

Then he took what was left and made his god: a carved idol! He fell down in front of it, worshiped and prayed to it. "Rescue me!" he said. "You are my god!"

Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.

The person who made the idol never stopped to reflect, "Why, it's just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?"

The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can't help him at all.

Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, "Is this thing, this idol that I'm holding in my hand, a lie?" (Isaiah 44:13-20)

What thing, what idol, am I holding in my hand that is a lie? What is it that we treat as more important than God? What is really first to us? What is on our minds, in our activities, in our desires more than anything else? What would we give up everything else for? Would we do anything to have more money? Is a satisfying relationship with a human being more important to us than a satisfying relationship with God? Is recognition, power, fame, or even just a little more respect what drives us everyday? Money, sex, relationships, family, power, respect--are these the idols that we hold in our hand?

If I want to hold hands with God then I must put down my idol. If I want to use my hands to serve God by serving people I must put down my idol. I must realize that my needs, my desires, will frustrate me all of my life if I don't put them into God's hands. Only God can lead me where I need to go. The thing, the idol, that I hold in my hand is indeed a lie. To find truth I must set aside this lie, this idol, and lift my empty hands to God and let Him pick me up and love me and lead me as only He can.

Consumers or Disciples

2011-01-25T12:10:00.000-05:00

We all like stuff. We like to decide what stuff we can have. But more than that, do we want to be apprentices/followers/disciples of Jesus? It's a choice we make. To be consumers or disciples. Check out this video by Alan Hirsch.

A Blessing

2011-01-21T12:25:00.001-05:00

After many months, today I finished reading "Apprentice: Walking the Way of Christ" by Steve Chalke with Joanna Wyld. So it's like a chalke talk with a wyld woman. (Sorry about that.) There was much to consider in the book on how to really walk the Way of Christ. The book ends with this:

As Jesus said in Luke 6:40, 'Everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.'

May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial
   relationships
so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of
   people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom,
   and peace.
May God bless you with tears
to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection,
   hunger and war
so that you may reach out your hand to
   comfort them and
to turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough
   foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in
   the world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot
   be done
to bring justice and kindness to all our children
   and the poor.
Amen.

(an old Franciscan blessing)

You Are My Jesus

2011-01-10T19:17:00.004-05:00

At the end of the 1990's and beginning of the 2000's I worked at a church in Davenport, Iowa. I moved to that area to begin a new contemporary worship service at St. John's United Methodist Church. While there I wrote a few songs and used them with the worship band and congregation.

One of them was called "You Are My Jesus." One day I had been walking and the instrumentation for "American Woman" came into my head. I started singing a different tune and words of praise to Jesus as I walked along. I wrote down the song and my talented band, knowing "American Woman," was able to develop the parts they played.

It was fun to rock out to this song at worship. Came across it lately and decided to post it. Here it is for you to listen to and download an mp3. Soon I'm going to put the lyrics on for it so you can download those also if you wish.

The lyrics say "You are my Jesus, the One that I adore. You are my Jesus, the One I'm living for." That is still my goal. Some days I do better at it that than others. But I do adore Jesus and long to live for Him each day.

Jesus, son of Abba, born at Christmas

2010-12-24T22:49:00.000-05:00

In the beginning God

2010-09-16T23:00:00.003-04:00

1986 Congressional Race clips of myself

2010-05-19T20:27:00.003-04:00

Ahead of the PA primary I was looking through some old video tapes from 1986 when I was running for Congress. It was quite a learning experience for me and one which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I put the clips together from various TV news segments where I was talked about. You can watch it here.

Running

2010-01-25T17:57:00.002-05:00

Running. Up the rolling hills past the apartment complex I lived in. Pushing, straining, and churning with energy longing to be spent. Different than my normal jogging that was usually so casual, so slow, so safe.

This wasn’t safe. I was pursuing or being pursued, I wasn’t sure which and was just…running. Just me…no one else…alone…racing past familiar sights but now it was all different.

A short time before I had been in my cozy apartment getting ready to pray, not an odd thing for me, a usual occurrence in my day, when it struck me that there was no God. Not a thought that I had entertained before. In fact, I had spent my life running towards and then with God. Now that this thought of “no God” struck me with such force I grabbed my coat and ran out of my apartment.

Running. On the level past my apartment and the adjoining ones and around the turn I ran. Up and down the easy hills I ran harder, pushing myself. And at some point in running I just knew…that God did indeed exist. How did I know? I just did. The brief thought that there was no God just passed from my mind. I was back on track. I could ease my pace. I was not alone. Whatever would happen in life I would run, or walk, with God.

Many have had times of thinking that either there was no God or if there were, that a God who would let happen to them what had happened wasn’t worth following.

A man named Joseph was put in prison for a crime he hadn’t committed, attempted rape. He could have become bitter, raged against God and society, and lashed out or given up. It had been a set-up and he had refused to give in to the woman, his boss’ wife, who desired him.

He ran. Past beautifully decorated rooms and out the door and away from this place of temptation. When he was caught, his side of the story didn’t matter and he was thrust into prison where there seemed little hope. But he stopped running and continued to believe that God was with him, even in prison. (Genesis 39)

Could we get past what happened…can we get past what happens? As I ran 30 years or so ago and as I have experienced difficulties since, I know that putting my trust in Jesus and his selfless sacrifice on the cross makes all the difference.

Running…yet praying, “O Lord, by your dealings with us, whether of joy or pain, of light or darkness, let us be brought to you. Let us value no treatment of your grace simply because it makes us happy or because it makes us sad, because it gives us or denies us what we want; but may all that you send us bring us to you; that knowing your perfectness, we may be sure in every disappointment you are still loving us, in every darkness you are still enlightening us, and in every enforced idleness you are giving us life, as in his death you gave life to your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.” Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)

2010-01-21T13:22:00.003-05:00

Just wrote this song last week and used it in worship over the weekend. It's called "Sometimes When We Are Lonely."

Sometimes when we are lonely
Sometimes when we despair
That's when we say "if only,"
"If only there was somebody there"

We feel that our past is present
We can't leave our hurts behind
Powerless to move forward
Hopelessness controlling our mind

It feels like we have no choice
but to stumble and fall
Then we hear a quiet voice
the best solution of all

But admitting that we have problems
is so hard for us to do
Trusting in God to solve them
wondering what else we can do

And God says
"Just humble yourself,
and put your hope in me
I've got a plan for you,
find how good life can be"

Thank You there is somebody there

2010-01-16T12:26:00.006-05:00

Recently I have been able to see the new season begin for "Chuck" and I am looking forward to another episode this Monday evening. Meanwhile, this week my daughter Rosie sent me a link to an article about Zac Levi who plays Chuck. Seems that Zac is a Christian and this article shows how he hangs out with other Christians and has a house church in his home. Cool stuff. Give it a read.

2010-01-07T14:05:00.004-05:00

Lately I have enjoyed connecting with old friends from years gone by. One of them posted this video of a news show where someone commented on how God offers forgiveness to Tiger Woods, and of course to all of us. It was so cool to watch this guy share his faith in this way. No matter what we have done in life, Jesus is there with arms stretched out waiting to love and forgive us. This video is a positive expression of that truth.

2009-12-11T16:36:00.005-05:00

Christmas is around the corner now. Just two weeks from today we will be opening presents, eating good food, and spending time together as a family. I look forward to the day. One of my favorite parts of the season is Christmas Eve. At church we have candlelight services and I get to lead them with an incredible group of volunteers. They use their gifts and are there for 4 hours or so, a great birthday gift to Jesus and His family.

Thank you Jesus, my family, and my church family. Happy Birthday Jesus!

2009-10-19T13:33:00.003-04:00

Spoken word poetry is its own special kind of creativity. My friend and comrade in ministry, Kylee Spangler, recorded a spoken word poem that she wrote. Watch it here.

2009-10-17T21:42:00.010-04:00

We are using this video called "Gossip" in worship this weekend. It's good to laugh in worship sometimes and this fun video reminds us that we shouldn't go too far in sharing our requests for prayer.

It is so easy to slip from caring and sharing to gossip. Like most things, finding the right boundary can be tough, but necessary.

2009-09-29T11:34:00.003-04:00

Finishing up at the FIND Conference this morning. Multiple speakers sharing their hearts for reaching people with God's love and a variety of ways to do that.

After this conference ends at noon I will be spending the rest of the day with the other's in our group, 13 in all, in conversation and fun as we look around the Charleston, South Carolina, area and end up later today for dinner and the evening at a restaurant on the beach.

2009-09-28T13:19:00.006-04:00

Monday, September 28, 2009.
This morning we set up our 2020 Initiative display for the FIND Conference, a church planting conference, in Mt. Pleasant (near Charleston), South Carolina. Chuck Frank, Eastern Regional Conference (ERC) Church Planting staff person, led our “talented” crew of himself, Greg Utermahlen, Mike Schooley, and myself in putting the display together. There could be a video just for that adventure. But moving right along…

After meeting some other attendees including welcoming the others from ERC who had come for the conference, 13 in all, we had lunch. Then it was time to head into the opening session of FIND.

Worship was led by the Worship Band/Team from Seacoast and then Pastor Greg Surratt shared his heart to plant churches. Seacoast has 13 sites.

Important questions to consider.

Why plant churches? Many people are reached for Christ that wouldn’t be reached by established churches.

Is church planting for me?

Greg shared his passion to plant churches in the tough places.

Do I sense God’s call to church planting?

Leadership gifts—visionary. Is anyone following you?

Team building gifts. Work through other people.

People person.

Humility. God gives grace to the humble and opposes the proud.

Do I have the gift to teach? Is anyone listening to you?

Is your spouse on board with you?

Am I leading myself well?

Do spiritually wise people affirm the call?

2009-09-27T15:01:00.002-04:00

It's Sunday afternoon and I will soon be heading for the FIND Conference in South Carolina. I will be flying there tonight with four others and starting at the conference tomorrow with others from across the country.

I expect to blog my experiences there so if you follow this you will see a lot more posts from me than normal. This conference for church planters will be filled with information for any of us who want to make a difference in the world. So if you want to help people discover the fulfilling life that comes from a relationship with Jesus, join me these next few days as I share what I am learning at the Conference. Usually I learn a lot of things that weren't on the agenda. God is funny that way, wanting to teach us what we don't even "hear."

So I better go pack up and get ready to get picked up for my trip to the Harrisburg airport, the first leg of my journey.

2009-09-22T23:37:00.009-04:00

After giving Midnight Oil an "interesting" review concerning getting into my account on their site last month, I thought I should let you all know that the problem ended up being resolved. They are a good company/creative arts resource and right now have a great deal on purchasing Easy Worship 2009. Even those getting the upgrade get some additional resources of Midnight Oil when purchasing.

2009-08-13T10:33:00.005-04:00

This morning I got a newsletter from Midnight Oil Productions. They have a monthly freebie of a graphic or video and since I like quality and I like free, I decided to zip on over to their site from the link in my newsletter.

I watched the video and listened to the very cool voice over or under depending on which seems the most important to you. So of course I wanted to get it for free, hey who wouldn't, and I typed in my username and e-mail address. Well, it seems that the e-mail address matched but not my username or password. So I needed them to send me my password but the system wouldn't allow it without my typing in my username with my e-mail address. Well, I already told you that I don't know my username either apparently so I couldn't retrieve it.

Did I give up? No way. I thought to myself "I'll just register again." So I started through the registration, which is quite simple on their site, but was told in an appropriate font that my e-mail address was already registered with them so I couldn't sign up with them again with that address.

OK, now this is getting funny (well, not haha funny, a different kind of funny). After decades online I have accumulated many old, unused, e-mail addresses. But I don't check them much and some never so I didn't want to have to go to another place to check an old e-mail account. (If you happen to be an old e-mail account please don't take this personally.)

So I went on-line on their site and sent an e-mail and described this process and asked how I could possibly get to use their products. I think I was very nice, but then I would.

So...if a machine reads that e-mail don't expect to be able to use the Midnight Oil Productions website soon because it will probably crash. If a human reads my note, which is what will hopefully happen and I think will most probably, possibly occur, then I will assuredly, I live in hope, get an answer and a way to get on their site.

All this for a freebie. And to look at their other superb products and be able to buy them if I so choose.

In any case, this is a dynamic, well that may be to strong a word, illustration of something and an anecdote for the future as well as today. Perhaps a video retelling with a quality video and a nice audio over or under, I still don't know.

2009-07-29T20:35:00.003-04:00

Got back from vacation just after midnight last night. It is so nice to get away from the everyday activities of life and travel with my wife and daughters. We went to New York City last Friday to tour Columbia University. What a campus and what a history that university has.

Then we went to Tom's Restaurant and discovered while eating there that it is the exterior shot for "Seinfeld." That was cool and I had my picture taken outside.

Friday night we stayed with Sarah R. who lives in New York City. She gave us an insider's view of Columbia, where she had graduated and is attending again (for a few more weeks), and a unique look at the city. It was a special experience for our family to be welcomed by her...quite different than a hotel.

On Saturday we went to AMDA, the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, for an open house. They are all about training actors for the practical side of drama. Acting, singing, dancing, and even stage combat. Quite a good experience to be there.

My daughter Emily enjoyed visiting both Columbia and AMDA and I think would enjoy either, though she definitely has a favorite.

So one of my daughters, Rosie, is finishing college this next year and one is finishing high school. Life just keeps moving on.

2009-06-25T00:19:00.006-04:00

This week I'm on vacation with my family. So far it has been reasonably relaxing with lots of sleeping in...watching videos, The Price Is Right, and The Bachelorette...eating a bunch, and playing some board games along the way.

Tonight we went to Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre. Instead of eating there we went to Sonic and I enjoyed chili and cheese fries and a chili and cheese hot dog (a big one). Then we went to see "Singin' In The Rain." It was definitely well done. Very talented actors/singers/dancers. It took a little while to get used to having different actors than the movie version...but after awhile I just enjoyed the people who were in this version and went with the flow.

Afterwards? It was back to Sonic for a strawberry shake for me and a variety of other sweets for the rest of my family.

It has been a good vacation. Tommorrow it is supposed to hit 90 degrees and we are headed for Hershey Park. Roller coasters, the wave pool, and assorted other activities.

I am so glad for this time with my family. My wife, daughters, and I are talking, laughing, and enjoying life together. Busyness will come upon us again soon enough...but for this week it is nice being together and enjoying each other.

2009-06-05T19:12:00.001-04:00

It's raining tonight so the drive-in won't happen tonight...but hopefully it will dry out enough to show "Fireproof" tomorrow night at 9 PM.

2009-06-03T14:06:00.005-04:00

Friday and Saturday night I am looking forward to seeing "Fireproof" again. I have seen it three times already but it is so good that I am glad to get the chance to watch it and share it with the Dover/York area. It's free! No entry fee! No exit fee! No cost at all! Bring your own drinks and snacks if you like. The teens will be running the concession stand for those who wish to buy something. These sales will benefit the teens traveling to Baltimore in June to serve in a downtown soup kitchen and do other volunteer activities to serve the people there.

If you get the chance this weekend, come watch it at Friendship Community Church, 3380 Fox Run Road, Dover, PA. It's just off Route 74/Carlisle Pike. If you're northbound turn right at the McDonald's there and the ballfield & church are on your left within a 1/4 mile.

2009-05-29T11:40:00.001-04:00

Last night we had a great beginning to a new small group at Friendship. We met in the Friendship Cafe and ate cake and drank coffee and got to know others, ourselves, and God. Our study was "The Ten" and we began the series with the first of the 10 commandments. It's a series called "Liquid" which includes a dramatic episode and then a good teacher. Then we talked around tables and read and discussed scripture.

Twenty people enjoyed a nice night together and I'm glad to be a part of this group. Sharing life together

2009-05-25T12:14:00.004-04:00

Let's remember.

2009-05-24T22:30:00.004-04:00

It's nice to have a couple of days in a row off from work. Memorial Day holiday tomorrow and then Tuesday for my official day off for the week. Then I am looking forward to taking a couple of weeks of vacation this summer. One of the nice things about knowing that vacation is coming is just the anticipation of it, the dreaming of what could be experienced on vacation.

2009-05-22T19:44:00.003-04:00

Day Two of the Church Planting Summit in Harrisburg, PA with Ann and Jared Roth began by reflecting on what was learned yesterday. Then we immediately moved into looking at the ERC vision for planting new churches. We looked at the vision before we got into the specifics of implementing it.

Later in the morning and in the afternoon through 4 p.m. we covered a lot of topics and shared ideas. Throughout these two days I was stretched and gained so many insights from the Roth's and all of the participants.

The important thing is for us to truly love people and then work to implement ways of showing that love to everyone. And the best love of all, the most loving act of our lives, is to show people the love of Jesus and invite them to respond to His love.

2009-05-21T16:25:00.005-04:00

MOTHERING A NEW CHURCH

1) Create a sense of urgency. People need Jesus.
2) Build a team.
3) Communicate the vision.
4) Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.
5) Empower people.
6) Celebrate short term wins.
7) Consolidate. Deal with the laggards. Invite them to change their behavior.
8) Anchor into the corporate culture. Be glad for late adopters who finally have gotten on board. Announce your next church plant.

Jesus said, "I will build my church..."

The day ended by participants mapping out the next action steps that each of us needs to take.

It has been a good day and I am glad to have been here to learn and be surrounded by others who care about starting new churches.

2009-05-21T16:24:00.001-04:00

FUNDING OF CHURCH PLANTS

1) Planters raise money. Planters start a micro-business. 2) Denomination puts in money. 3) Mother church puts in money. 4) Several sources of revenue including mother church, denomination, and planter raising money. Bi-vocational planters work in the ministry area to develop contacts.

Typically different church plants cost different amounts of money and are funded at different levels.

2009-05-21T15:28:00.004-04:00

Jared and Ann Roth told us about getting a lot of multi-site church material from Leadership Network.

Look here and download a lot of free materials for how to do multi-site campuses.

2009-05-21T14:23:00.008-04:00

MODELS FOR STARTING CHURCHES

Hub model: Decentralized programming. Centralized administration.

Hive model: People recruited from mother church to start a new church. Substantial core group proportionate to the model of church. About 65% of people who go end up staying with the new church.

A larger church comes about when a planter networks for awhile in the community over a large core group coming from a mother church.

High Impact: Large start without a hive.

Home Church: Church meets in a home. Sometimes several home churches meet together (that could happen).

2009-05-21T14:04:00.004-04:00

The Multi-site Church Revolution book is recommended by Jared Roth.

Synopsis: This book captures the story of a widespread movement of churches that are expanding their ministries to include multiple formats, venues, and locations, using dozens of in-the-trenches examples, identifying the primary reasons churches succeed as well as how they overcome common snags on the route to “one church—many congregations."

2009-05-21T13:48:00.004-04:00

MOVING A VISION FORWARD

20% is the critical mass to move a vision forward. Having 20% of leaders on board gives you permission to move ahead and pilot something, try something, low risk.

After you have piloted something and either succeeded or learned a lot from it, the mid-adopters buy in. The late adopters come on board in about three years and it has become part of the church culture. There are some laggards who never come on board.

This is about preference, not character. We ourselves may be in these various groups at the same or different times about different subjects.

Give people time to get on board when they are ready to do so. Be patient and be persistent in sharing the vision.

2009-05-21T13:37:00.003-04:00

CASTING VISION

1) Model evangelism personally before you share vision with others. To be credible about planting a church to reach people for Jesus, you must already be developing friendships and getting involved in people's lives who need Jesus. (This is a point I am definitely weak in. Get to it Rich!)

2) Decide who are the leaders in your church and meet with them one by one. This group includes influencers and blockers. Meet with people individually for lunch, handball, etc.--do something with them that they enjoy doing.

3) Sharing the vision with the leadership group at your church. Don't ask for a quick decision about the vision. That will probably lead to a "no." It takes six times of sharing the vision and then many will say "yes." So...vision cast in multiple ways over a period of time.

2009-05-21T12:43:00.003-04:00

What is the starting point for mothering a church? What are the first things to do?

What do we already have in hand? What is our church good at right now?
Praying people? Money? Teams (college ministry, music)? Furniture, sound system, chairs, etc. Guest speakers, Bible teachers.

We were asked to think of things that our particular churches are good at. The ones I listed for Friendship Community are: 1) Training youth and children's workers, 2) Using media and music in worship, 3) Finding & using creative small group video teaching. 4) Angel Food ministry to help people with their food budgets and grow disciples who work together to serve in this ministry.

2009-05-21T12:17:00.006-04:00

When would it be right for "our" church to plant? What are the leadership issues?

Import, impart, and send. Desire to plant sooner rather than later.

IMPORT Look for planters in seminaries, colleges, college ministries within churches, and church planting "farms" (a place that is open to sharing their planters with others). Second Career individuals--look for leaders to apply their leadership skills in planting churches. Baby boomers who are wanting to do something else, to change careers. Jared shared about people who became church planting pastors at 72 and 78 years old. Campus Crusade staff people who are wanting to leave college ministry and plant churches.

Church planters can be of any age. Age isn't the issue.

2009-05-21T10:50:00.004-04:00

What are the signposts for planting a church? 1) If a church sacrifices more than 10% of its resource base (money, people, leaders) it will most likely do harm to the mother church. 2) What about the age of the mother church? The age does not matter, the leader does. 3) What is God prompting? Listen for specific smart goals.

So what do you need to plant? The God prompt. A person to plant. A healthy church (what does that look like...decide).

God interrupts/surprises everyone.

How much money do you need? Money follows vision. Vision first and then develop a financial plan.

2009-05-21T10:16:00.005-04:00

Ann Roth began the day with the story of one young woman she met. Ann stressed that church planting is all about reaching one person. One person at a time meets Jesus.

Persons shared a variety of reasons of what they hoped to take away from the day. 1) How do we create a parenting environment? 2) Raising/Training/Deploying Planters.
3) Awareness of why we plant churches. 4) Perspective/confirmation. 5)Examples of how small churches can parent churches. 6)Ministering to church planting couples. 7) Building confidence for church planting.

One of the questions for the day is how to balance reaching out from within a structure that spends a lot of time reaching those inside. At the end of the day the hope is that each participant will have a goal and action steps for accomplishing something to reach others for Jesus.

2009-05-21T09:59:00.004-04:00

Today I am at the ERC (Eastern Regional Conference of the Churches of God General Conference--yeah, I know it's a long name, that's why you will see ERC instead)Church Planting Summit in Harrisburg, PA with Jared and Ann Roth. More than two dozen persons interested in reaching people for Jesus through starting new churches have gathered to learn, discuss, pray, and plan for the future. At this point people are talking, eating donuts, drinking coffee, and getting ready for presentations. This is a good time of the day with lots of laughter. The picture, by the way, is of Jared Roth. Ann's picture will be posted later.

2009-05-07T14:57:00.006-04:00

Today I am attending a Memorial Service for Jill Martinez. Though I only knew her for a few years, she was one of those people who seemed like an old friend from the start. From the day she moved from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania I enjoyed her great smile and wonderful singing voice. She was instantly on the Worship Team and served well with others.

Several Christmas Eve's ago she and her brother Jeff sang a cool song called "Offering" (the "Christmas Offering" version) by Paul Baloche. Though I don't have a video of their inspiring version I decided to post this one by the author of the song. May it be a tribute to God and a reminder that all of us, like Jill, have the opportunity to live each day as an offering to Jesus.

2009-05-03T19:36:00.007-04:00

Last night I enjoyed seeing my daughter Emily, a Junior at Dover High School, in the York County Junior Miss Program (not a pageant :) Twenty-eight girls from across the county sang, danced, signed, acted, etc. and shared what is important to them. Lots of talent all over the stage at Central York High School.

Emily sang and accompanied herself on the guitar for her talent presentation. She did a great job and I was so proud of her, not just then but all through the program. She really lights up a stage (OK, I know I'm prejudiced but I'm allowed).

It was great to share the night with Diane and Rosie and Jess, a friend of Emily's. A teacher also came to see her and the two others from Dover. And the various families congratulated each of the girls for the wonderful job they did.

Emily won a scholarship as one of the two winner's of the Scholastic Award. No surprise for me there...she is a quite the bright young woman.

It's really cool to see my daughters grow and mature into beautiful, smart, and talented young women. Last night was Emily's night to shine, and she did.

2009-05-01T19:51:00.004-04:00

Just saw this great picture of five of us who went to Orlando last week to Exponential '09 Church Planting Conference. Thanks Ed for putting this picture in your newsletter...so that I could get a copy to share.

(l to r): Mike Schooley, Rich Thornton, Mike Allen, Dwight Lefever, Gilbert Thurston.

OK I know it looks like we spent a lot of time at Universal Studios, but actually I was only there three times. No rides though. But it was a fun place to go to that was close to our hotel.

2009-04-30T17:05:00.003-04:00

Ever feel invisible. No, not some superhero kind of invisible but a feeling that no one really cares if you are alive or not. It's easy to feel alone...at any age. And if you always feel like people notice you, then stop and take a moment to notice the people who are around you...and really see them.

2009-04-29T22:08:00.003-04:00

Tonight I got to meet with my small group and watch the rest of a video called "The Hope." We have been watching it this month. It is an overview of the Bible and led tonight to some interesting discussion. Check it out for yourself online.

2009-04-28T18:18:00.004-04:00

I was back at Doubling Gap Center, (Camp Yolijwa), near Newville, PA for the day. Craig Sider spoke again and was once again inspirational.

Also today, the Church Planting Commission that I am a part of gave its report to all of the people in attendance. It went well and I hope that people will want to plant new churches to help people begin a relationship with Jesus. For more info about this check 2020 Initiative here.

2009-04-27T18:11:00.007-04:00

I was at Doubling Gap Center, Newville, PA (near Carlisle) today and will be back there tomorrow. The annual ERC meetings are there and I have the opportunity to talk with old friends and meet some new ones. Today I got to hear the main speaker twice, once for the whole crowd and once for the seminar he taught. He is excellent and really inspirational.

His name is Craig Sider and he is currently VP and Executive Director of the Center for Leadership at Evangelical Theological Seminary in Myerstown, PA.

The setup at conference is the best that it's been. The people running sound/video/lighting, etc. are doing a great job and set up for a conference of today. There is a big screen so you can see the speaker even from the back of the gym and good sound and well-lit and creative lighting of the stage.

The best though is the chance to talk with people. Today I got a chance to have lunch with church planters and people from their churches along with others, like myself, who are overseeing the plans for new churches of the future.

And even though it was upper 80's today, at least in the mountains it wasn't as bad as it might have been.

2009-04-24T21:32:00.001-04:00

I am back home on a Friday night after a week in Orlando. I came across a video of the funny musical introduction of Francis Chan, the great speaker who closed the conference I was at this week, Exponential '09. Wouldn't you like to be introduced like this?

2009-04-24T09:00:00.003-04:00

O.K. Exponential '09, the largest gathering of church planting leaders in North America, is over. It ended yesterday. I am back home in Dover, PA and glad to be home. It was great to get home from the airport last night and see my wife and kiss her. And great to see one of my daughters this morning and talk with her as I drove her to school. I walked into my church this morning and said, "I'm home." It's great to be back home and I look forward to this weekend's worship and my life in God's service. I am embedding this sermon player one more time right here so that you can hear the opening and closing messages at Exponential. It was loaded in a few days ago but I will save you having to scroll down. You will also be able to download the messages so that you can share them with others or listen at a different time. The first two messages are from Exponential and the following ones are sermons from Pastor Dennis Hall here at Friendship Community Church.

Enjoy. Share the love of Jesus today!

2009-04-23T12:07:00.003-04:00

Francis Chan just finished preaching/teaching a powerful message. You can hear it by scrolling down to my sermon player on an entry a couple of days ago.

2009-04-23T10:41:00.004-04:00

I'm back in the worship center. After my last session I got a chance to talk with Tom Clegg. I had met him a dozen or so years ago at a Church Planters Bootcamp when my wife and I were looking at planting a church in Virginia Beach. He would have been our coach.

Anyway, that didn't work out for us to plant the church and a lot of interesting experience have come my way this past decade. But hearing and talking with Tom brought back a lot of memories. I believe in church planting so strongly even today. I want to help accomplish the mission of reaching people for Jesus.

I really enjoy serving as Worship Pastor. But I am hoping that we can expand our ministry to reach more in different ways. It takes many people to work together to reach the community and world.

Francis Chan is sharing next to close out the conference.

2009-04-23T09:11:00.006-04:00

Tom Clegg is very inspiring. He has talked about how God is setting a fire in many people today that may/can lead to revival in the church, in the country, and in the world.

I remember a bootcamp I attended a dozen years ago and have been looking back on the intervening years.

Tom is a church planter, a coach of church planters, and a trainer of coaches.

Fire produces hope, that's why a campfire is so powerful in a person's life.

Big question: Do we really believe that God's power is in each believer? God is able to lead people. Our job is to equip them.

Sustained momemtum on the journey of church planting comes from coaching. Coaching can seed a movement.

Tom challenged us to find one thing we can do from what we learned/experienced at this conference. Then develop a plan for doing it. What are the obstacles? When & Where? First achievable steps? Who do you want to go with you? How will you measure and celebrate? Who can join you on your next adventure?

A great quote/idea to think on: If you want to run fast, run alone, But if you want to run far, run together. Massai Proverb

2009-04-23T09:01:00.002-04:00

I'm back at Exponential '09 for one more morning. This morning I am in a seminar with Tom Clegg called "Seeding Missional Movements." Tom is with CoachNet. Click on his name to learn more of his work and today's presentation.

2009-04-22T22:09:00.002-04:00

Just got back to the hotel after learning about renting theatres to hold worship services and how to do it all portable. Then we saw "Knowing" with Nicholas Cage. I really enjoyed the movie. And it was a nice night out with the guys.

2009-04-22T15:23:00.004-04:00

Just finished the afternoon session. We're headed for a movie theatre to see a "theatre church" set-up in action. Then there's dinner and a movie of my choice. I'm thinking of seeing "Knowing." The previews look interesting to me.

2009-04-22T15:11:00.003-04:00

Now I’m continuing with Kevin Giddings' seminar “using the internet to gather, disciple and create community.” A lot of people are looking at the church website first. 13-24 year olds spend more time online than in front of the TV.

Building a missional web presence:

The url needs to be searchable. Your name must be able to be searched and found online.

3 kinds of websites: Brochure, dynamic, interactive (church websites should be interactive)

The rest of this will be available later (that's the plan :)

2009-04-22T15:07:00.002-04:00

I’m still blogging here at Exponential ’09 in Orlando, Florida. I just got back inside from sitting outside in 80 degree weather for lunch. It was nice to be outside.

My seminar this morning was Rick Howerton on “Selecting a small group system that is right for your culture.” He has served churches as Small Groups Pastor, was a church planter, and now works at a publishing house of small group materials. His outline and powerpoint presentation can be found at serendipityblog.com
It was a good overview of the various ways that churches can have small groups. Then he gave us a way of evaluating the systems and looking at the one that would be best for our particular, or your particular church.

Right now there is an introductory video of a church in Indonesia and Eddy Leo, pastor of a dynamic growin from there is speaking next. After that Bob Roberts will be speaking.

Bob Roberts shared passionately that the American church has a lot to learn from churches around the world and religions around the world.

Now it’s 3 p.m. and Kevin Giddings is speaking on “using the internet to gather, disciple and create community.” The outline will be available as a pdf.

Check out Yourchurch.com, postworship.org, xpointe.com, ParkCommunitychurch.org, kaleochurch.com

2009-04-22T10:01:00.011-04:00

Marc Choi from Korea and now planting a church in New York City and looking to plant in New Jersey has introduced the next speaker Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of LifeChurch.

1) Craig is sharing that a movement will never be safe and clean. It must be dangerous. The seeker sensitive movement had its place. But now the church needs to preach a dangerous message of full commitment. Trusting in the power of God's Word we need to take some risks.

2) A movement is not about our ministry but about His kingdom. We can't affect our city by ourselves. Build a church based on what you are, not on what you are not. Don't put down other churches. We are all in this together.

3) You will not lead a movement based on the old measurements of success. The scorecard has changed. Old: attendance, offerings, commitments, baptisms, small groups. New: identity is wrapped up in who you are in Christ, not numbers.

Don't blame yourself for the declines, becaus then you will want to take credit for the increases.

You will be tempted to preach messages that will bring people in rather than to bring glory to God.

Be a small church with a mega vision. No matter how many people are attending, dozens to thousands, there are 4 billion people to reach. "The Guardian" movie has a scene where a rescuer is asked his "number" and he responded with a number...that he didn't save, that died.

Where are we in commitment We have 3 choices. "I believe in the Gospel enough: 1) to benefit from it. 2) to contribute comfortably, 3) to give my life for it."

2009-04-22T09:09:00.009-04:00

The theme this week for this conference is "The Art of Movements." Not just having one new church but a movement where many churches are birthed.

The first speaker this morning is from Korea and is part of a movement there that began with a church, Onnuri Community Church in Seoul of 12 members and is expanding from the 53,000 members there now to planting churches globally. His name is Mark Choi and he was on the staff of this big church.

29% of Koreans today are Christians. Korea is #2 in sending missionaries. U.S.A. is #1

Marc planted a church in New York City 3 years ago called "in2 Church."

Marc spoke of 3 movements/principles for Christians. 1) Daily Quiet Time 2) One-to-one discipleship. 3) Small group.

They have weekend worship also, but people need to grow so they need these 3 principles.

2009-04-22T08:58:00.001-04:00

I'm back at Exponential '09 this morning. We're ready to worship.

2009-04-22T00:05:00.007-04:00

The sessions of Exponential '09 are being streamed live and there are also interviews. Check them out here.
Doug Foltz' blog offers insights and outlines of various sessions, some of which I didn't get to attend but am glad to learn about.

2009-04-21T21:29:00.005-04:00

At Exponential 2009 New Church Planting Conference this afternoon I got to hear Erwin McManus speak and then attended two seminars. Both seminars were not what I had planned to attend, but I believe they were what God wanted me to hear.

The first one was about raising money for doing ministry. Sharing vision and inviting people to participate in the vision through prayer and financial support. It was a very good presentation.

The second one was Top 10 Mistakes made by Church Starts. As someone who planted a church a dozen years or so ago that ended about a year and a half later this was an interesting talk for me. At first I felt bad that I had made most of those same mistakes but then I felt better because others had done the same (misery loves company) and the fact that the guy shared ways to fix the problems. Good stuff. The notes are here so if you want them you can look for them here. Good luck downloading them :)

At the end of the afternoon our group went out to eat--we are eating well--and it was great to talk with the other people with us and hear their ministry stories and get to know them. Then we had a question and answer time with Glenn Smith . I enjoyed the answers he gave to so many questions. A big thing he said is that because there are so many models for church planting there need to be different ways of assessing planters. Also, he told us that our systems are the perfect ones for the church we have. But if we want a different outcome we need to tweak the system.

We need to make sure that the vision we state is the one we actually have.

2009-04-21T09:58:00.005-04:00

5 Lessons To Save You 5 Years [to start a multi-site campus]--part four

More Extra Credit:

Churches that had a launch team of 41 or more are more likely to have an opening of 300 or more.

Make sure you have a big enough launch team and the right Campus Pastor.

Next in the seminar is a question and answer time.

One time they linked adding on to the facility at one place and launching 7 new campuses.

2009-04-21T09:40:00.008-04:00

5 Lessons To Save You 5 Years [in planting multi-campus ministries] -- part three

Lesson 4. The Small Group Lesson

A. Small Groups extablish a reproductive culture in your church.

B. People are still best cared for in small groups.

C. Clusters of groups provide an avenue to start new campuses.

D. Proximity increases the depth of community. Groups closer to where they live lead people to be more committed to the groups/campus/church.

Lesson 5. The Language Lesson--words matter. Don't talk about satellite campuses talk about campuses or sites. Talk about what God is doing.

Good Words: North, South, West, East, Campus, Location, Site, launch team.

Bad Words: Other, satellite, main, extension, branch, second, third (etc.), core team.

Lesson 6. BONUS Lesson--EXTRA CREDIT

The Failure Lesson--don't assume that what worked yesterday will work today.

2009-04-21T09:27:00.007-04:00

5 Lessons to Save You 5 Years (part two)-- For starting multi-site campuses.

Lesson 2. The Campus Pastor Lesson--the face does matter. The campus pastor is the person that people see and know in the local location.

The Campus Pastor needs to have love for people and a great leader.

Lesson 3. The People Not Like Me Lesson. The people you understand the least are the people you need the most.

Secrets to Developing Artists (singers, musicians, tech, etc.)

A. Use a variety of styles and develop multiple venues.
B. Make room for failure.
C. Start a school for the arts.
D. Commission artists to identify and recruit other artists and hold them accountable.
E. Let non-Christians play. Let people experience community in the band and find their way back to God.

2009-04-21T09:05:00.008-04:00

Good morning from Orlando. I'm back at Exponential '09 and this morning's topic is "5 lessons to save you 5 years." The presenter is Jon Ferguson of Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois.

Carl George was right, "The central leadership task of the church, after hearing from God is to develop leaders."

Lesson 1: The Leadership Lesson.

A. The Matrix (not the movie)--an organizational way of knowing how many leaders are needed and a chart for names of people to be these leaders.

B. Launch Team development--125 people to launch a new campus with 500 people on opening day with 300-350 people to stay after opening day. Launch Team meets monthly 4-5 months before launch. Last month before opening day the Launch Team meets weekly. The purpose is to develop the team, cast vision, and energize for the launch.

New people need a relationship and responsibility.

Children's ministry seems to be the hardest area to have enough leaders for.

C. Leadership Community--monthly meeting of leaders. Vision, Huddle, and Skills is the format for the meeting.

Share wins, challenges, and best practices.

2009-04-20T20:58:00.003-04:00

Great day with Dave Ferguson and team at Exponential '09 today. After that, our group of 9 went out for dinner and debriefed. It was good.

Then a lot of us went over to Universal Studios to City Walk and walked around. Twice in one day for me. Wow! More exercise than I've had for awhile.

Tomorrow morning I will be back at the "Multi-Site" seminar and then the main conference begins in the afternoon. I am looking forward to more to soak in and reflect on and then put into practice.

2009-04-20T16:28:00.010-04:00

"The Big Idea" session with Dave Ferguson (who has a Zondervan book on this).People are on idea overload. Ideas hit us every moment.

The idea has to stick to make a difference. We want something to stick with people when they go to church. But people get multiple ideas. One might be the quote on the church sign, one from the bulletin, one from the worship leader, etc. There might be at least 20 competing ideas in just one trip to church...and more with children and teens along.

The "cancel" effect means that multiple messages can cancel each other out.

1. More information can equal less clarity. Give people a single idea.
2. More information often equals less action.

One BIG IDEA equals more clarity and more action.

The Goal of The BIG IDEA is a community of transformation not just information.

Concentrate on one BIG IDEA each week for adults, children, and youth...geared for each age level.

They plan one year ahead and brainstorm and plan series. Not a lot of detail but a Big Idea for each week.

10-13 weeks ahead a summary is given out on what outcomes are desired.

10 weeks ahead the teaching team meets and creates the outline for the day. Then someone edits it.

9 weeks out the creative teams for adults, teens, and children meet to choose songs, video, etc.

5 weeks out the Arts Team meets to review the plans and see what can actually be done. This is a reality check.

16 days ahead the media is developed. Then cue sheets are developed.

Again, the purpose of The BIG IDEA is for the church to be a community of transformation not just information.

The two key players are the Lead Pastor and the Creative Arts Director. The Lead Pastor needs to know that the Creative Arts Director can be trusted and the Creative Arts Director needs the Lead Pastor to understand that there have to be risks taken.

Advance planning takes the pressure off of the artist who is expected to perform that week. And it gives the Lead Pastor freedom to not have to respond to a creative idea right away.

Proximity: keep Creative Arts Director in close relationship with Lead Pastor

Parameters: ask if something contributes to the Big Idea and does it distract from it.

Three Stages of moving to the Big Idea: 1) Basic--do one week with a big idea. 2) Integrated--do one week with age groups relating to the big idea. 3) Global--do Big Idea for one series with all age groups.

2009-04-20T16:06:00.004-04:00

Right now it's question and answer time. One question was about how big areas need to be to do multi-site. The answer is that the movement seemed to start in suburbs, go to the cities, and now it's moving into rural areas. Even smaller area can have multi-site churches.

Everything rises or falls on leadership. Developing leaders, apprentices, is the key. There is a need to always be training someone so that they can be set free to reproduce ministry.

These church sites used to use all the same kinds of equipment at every site. Now there are some differences from place to place.

A key is to be flexible to plant churches and keep the DNA of the church. They have started 10 churches and only one site has failed.

The next section this afternoon will be on "The Big Idea."

2009-04-20T15:44:00.008-04:00

I'm still in the "7 Moves to Multi-Site" seminar at Exponential '09.

One oops already (at least). The presenters are from Illinois not Indiana. They are 20 miles west of Chicago in Naperville. Check out www.CommunityChristian.org and/or www.newthing.org

One guy that just shared the "Arts" area is headed to France to start a church in Paris...what an Arts community there is there.

2009-04-20T15:15:00.007-04:00

I'm in the "7 Moves to Multi-Site" seminar this afternoon in Orlando. Staff from Christian Community Church in Naperville, Indiana are sharing. Right now it is a section on "Reproducing Artists."

It is essential: 1) To show a need for artists. 2) To show a need for new artists. 3) To have multiple pipelines for recruiting. 4) To have outside resources. 5) To create an environment of recruiting. 6) That you recruit from all age groups. 7) That you follow up fast.

It is essential: 1) That you have strong leaders. 2) That you are apprenticing new artists. 3) That you have people shadowing in tech. 4) That you have a long range plan. 5) That you have your artists grouped.

In this seminar with me today are Dwight Lefever and Gilbert Thurston. Here's a picture of us.

2009-04-20T11:40:00.005-04:00

Today I'm in Orlando, Florida at Exponential '09, a church planting conference. Thousands of people will be here to learn how to reach more people for Jesus by starting new churches.

But to prepare myself for the day I showered (a good idea after a long day yesterday), read my Bible (a wonderful idea and I read in the Gospel of Mark), had breakfast at the hotel, and then walked to Universal Studios. I walked around City Walk which is stores and eating places. As I got close to it and more and more people were approaching Universal Studios for the day I could feel the excitement building.

It was fun. Now it's time to head to the site of the conference. Today it's about satellites...churches that is. How to start a new "church/worship experience, etc." in a different location that is connected to the home church. Should be interesting.

2009-04-17T13:11:00.003-04:00

One thing that I often think about is that Jesus is the way to God and through life itself with all its bumps along the road. Way back in the 1970's I first wrote a song about this and then rewrote it this past year.

Fortunately, I am privileged to get to lead worship most weeks and a few weeks back we did this song, "Jesus is the Way." If you would like to hear it you can do so at my page for my songs at www.shapingworship.com

2009-04-02T00:30:00.005-04:00

This past week I wrote a new verse and rearranged some things for a song called "Another Dawn" that I wrote way back in 1975. The Worship Team at Friendship Community Church sang and played it with me in weekend worship.

The song's lyrics express thoughts on love that come from 1 Corinthians 13. Here it is for you to listen to...along with video to watch with some old family pictures. The first picture of the cute kids? That's me on the left, my sister Rosalyn in the middle and my brother David on the right. Later there is a pictue of a guy with a beard...yep, that's me too.

Thirty-four years after I first wrote the song it is still true. "And it's so hard to find out what love really is. But we can't give up 'cause it's something we all would miss."

2009-03-04T10:32:00.003-05:00

Today is Infantry Day. Just say today's date out loud and you'll figure it out.

Yes, it is time for all of us to make a difference. Be kind and help someone. That's my goal for today.

At church we are in a program called 40 Days of Love. We've been making videos of people telling stories of a time when someone showed love to them. Simple actions of love and kindness can be so important. Here is just one of the videos.

2009-02-13T12:32:00.002-05:00

Love is amazing...whether it's Valentine's Day or not! Right now I am collecting stories of times that somehow expressed love to another person. I am going to video people telling about a time when someone expressed love to them in some way. Yesterday afternoon I taped a video of Dennis Hall, Pastor here at Friendship Community Church, telling a simple story of how someone went out of their way to help him and what a difference it made to him.

I'll be taping and editing and posting video tales of love. We all need to hear about how life can be good sometimes and what a difference a little love can make.

2009-02-12T10:30:00.004-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I spent a little time walking down memory lane. I went through a file I have of programs/schedules from an event I used to attend in Findlay, Ohio each year called Workshop. It was for teenagers and I first attended it in 1965...I was a week or so shy of being 15 then. I made a lot of great friends there over the years as I grew up and helped at the event by singing and being on staff and eventually getting to be one of the directors. I attended 25 in a row, through 1989.

I experienced so many things there because it was a place that I looked forward to going back to each year. Seeing old friends, making new ones, and feeling comfortable in a life that wasn't always comfortable. I moved lots of times over those years but returning to Findlay was like a safe haven. Connecting with good friends and Jesus. There were good speakers and good music but the best was the friendship and the times spent with God.

Maybe you have a memory like that. It could be a path you walk down, a tree you used to climb and now sit under or lean against, an event you attend, a family get-together, a class reunion, or regular talks on the phone...or now chats on the Internet or connecting on Facebook.

It's nice to have a past memory to reflect on. Oh, and the picture here is of myself and some friends from the summer of 1970 at Workshop. I'm the second one in from the left.

2009-02-11T09:18:00.003-05:00

This morning I have been reading. First the Bible, a good place to start--finished up the Old Testament book of Ezra. Those guys had it rough trying to rebuild the temple and restore their relationship with God.

Then I pulled out magazines that I "need" to read. I read/skimmed through the Nov./Dec. 2008 issue of Outreach. Good article on The Joy of Sacrifice about Francis Chan. He and his family moved from a nice 2,000 square foot California home into an old, beat-up 1,000 square foot home to give more to the poor around them and around the world. A lot of Christians didn't understand why he would do this. He's speaking at a conference I am going to in April so that should be good to learn more. And I could find a book by him, Crazy Love. Ever notice how reading one book or article often leads to another one?

Then I moved on to Collide magazine. I'm still working through it but I came across a brief article on iamsecond.com . I went on their site and there are a whole lot of videos of people telling their stories of learning to be second, to put God first. Stories of addiction, bad marriages, etc. told simply by the people who lived the stories. Check out a story or two, you can even interact with the site.

OK, so it's time to dive back into reading. Never know what I'll discover.

By the way, here's a video of Francis Chan. He says some powerful things.

2009-02-06T15:59:00.002-05:00

All of us enjoy it when we get a second chance. But so often we aren't so quick to give second chances to others. Here is a great video of kids who got a second chance when and where they least expected it.

2009-01-21T09:32:00.002-05:00

Last week I saw the movie FIREPROOF three times as we showed it five times at our church here at Friendship Community. It is a powerful movie and I highly recommend it. If you have seen it you may appreciate the humor in this 60 second version of it found here.

2009-01-12T14:38:00.002-05:00

Here is an interesting video blog by Penn of Penn and Teller. He is an atheist and shares this interesting encounter of a guy who talked to him after a show.

2009-01-12T12:27:00.002-05:00

Enjoying life with my youngest daughter, Emily. We decided to try out the webcam for taking pictures. I think my smile is the best in pictures when I am with my family.

2009-01-12T09:58:00.002-05:00

Last night I finally saw the movie, FIREPROOF. What a good movie. It touched me and made me laugh and made me think and made me want to be a better husband, a better man (with thanks to Jack Nicholson :)

Anyway, I decided to try my first webcam video...so here it is. A simple one and it will be interesting to see if anyone shows up at the movie because they came across this "commercial" on YouTube.

2009-01-10T13:09:00.002-05:00

Another day that it was supposed to snow, but nothing has happened yet. I gotta say that as a Worship Leader I'm glad for people to be able to get out to worship tonight and Sunday. So hold off snow, OK?

This weekend we are going to introduce a new song at worship. It's called Pass It On. No, not the 1960's one that was a good one (and still is)... this is a more upbeat song from Tommy Walker. You can hear it and see it on video here:

2009-01-09T19:31:00.004-05:00

The discussion for The Shack went well last night, there were 14 people out. It has such meaning and touches people differently with new insights and brings up emotions. I'm glad to have read it (twice) and glad to get to talk with others about it.

Now I'm looking forward to our showing of "Fireproof" five times this next week. It ended up doing well in theatres and is coming out on DVD in a few weeks. We are showing it for free on our big screen in our Worship Center/Gym. We will be showing it Sunday at 5 p.m. (children are watching another movie in the teen room during this showing). Then we are showing it Tuesday at 6:45 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and there is a special showing for Teens at 12 Noon on Wednesday.

It is about the need to fireproof our marriages. Kirk Cameron, the Growing Pains and Left Behind guy, stars in it and is a fireman who becomes a hero but not to his wife.