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God is good!

Man, this weekend was another incredible weekend!! I can't explain how pumped I am about what God is doing in our church right now! I'm just telling you, there has never been a time in our history like we are experiencing right now! God is good!

This weekend Mac Richard shared his ONE PRAYER - Lord, Make us Magnetic. What a great prayer! Mac not only did a great job, he and his wife Julie were great to hang out with for the weekend. Robin and Julie have hit it off in a great way, which is such a blessing. If you weren't here go online and check out his message.

This weekend we wrap things up with my friend Mark Crow. You won't want to miss it!

Some of the Journey team will be sharing this week as I take a little time at the lake with the family.

Have a great week!

A little time at the lake

So there they are - my kids out on the water at the lake. This summer marks our 4th year as boat owners and by far it was one of the greatest decisions we ever made as a family! My kids love to just get away as a family and have a blast! Robin could not have been happier than to see all of her kids skiing, wakeboarding, and wake skating. She even tubed this weekend! I think that was a first in 17 years of marriage.

So why do I share all this? Because I want to challenge you, those that have kids at home, to figure out what you need to do to heavily pour into their lives. I have personally found that while I do an okay job of pouring into them at home, I have to pull away from the temptation of work to really disconnect and invest time in them. I have learned to become disciplined about making schedules work to invest. It might only be a 24 hour window, but we will happily drive the 2 hours to make the investment. Another decision we made was that our children could play any sport but baseball. (I know that kills a particular friend out there that is a Yankee's fan) Why? It takes up to much summer time.

So all that to say - I love my family! And I love being at the lake with my wife and kids! God has blessed me so much and I want to invest wisely!

Weekend Recap

I'm running a little late today on things because we just rolled back into town from a weekend at the lake. (A full report will be coming soon!) Robin and I took a long weekend to just hang out with the kids and do a lot of playing. Back in Norman, ONE PRAYER rolled on with great energy!

This weekend Craig shared his One Prayer - Lord, Make us One. Everyone responded in a huge way to Craig's heart, and God's heart, for the church! The ministry time at the end of the worship experience was great! I love that we have the opportunity to meet people and pray for them. God is moving in this time in an incredible way!

This coming week you'll get to meet a friend of mine, Mac Richard. Mac pastors Lake Hills Church in Austin. He and his wife, Julie, have become great friends of ours over the past year. Mac, and Julie, are coming up to Norman to hang out with us and to share on Sunday morning.

I went to church yesterday in Eastern Oklahoma. God was moving in this church in a really encouraging way. They had a great crowd, the pastor was a good communicator, they were big-time friendly, and they are passionate about life change! Plus, they had a Hulk Hogan look-alike leading worship! The guy was good and effective! I was scared not to worship!

Have a great day!

Creative Team

Yesterday we had a creative team meeting to discuss an upcoming series idea. Simply put, it will go down in current history as one of my favorite meetings in recent times! I had so much fun just sitting with 8 or 9 people in my office throwing out my thoughts and them making them better.

Creative meetings are something we always do, but it is very easy to get in a rut. It is easy to find yourself listening to the same people over and over again, doing the same thing over and over again. It is also easy for one group to have a great idea and for you to consider that "the group" from then on. Don't do it!

As I evaluate some of our routines as a church, the creative process is one that is about to get some attention and tweaking. Here is what I find important:

• Sr. Pastors, CEO's, etc., you have to be there for the start up. Here is what I mean - nobody else can represent your heart better than you! If you just tell one guy in a meeting and he goes and tells 4 people in a meeting, you're not going to get what you want! The four never heard your heart! Take the time, at least on important issues, to paint the picture personally. It might be muddy, but at least it's coming from you. The other thing this does is it gives you permission to direct the process instead of responding to the process, that saves alot of hurt feelings. (He just never liked my ideas.)
• Mix it up - always add different thinkers to the group.
• Learn to deal with frustration - when you can't communicate your heart effectively, or they just don't get it, don't give up! Keep talking it through!
• Everything goes - Make sure you create an environment where people feel safe. We usually go through a lot of offensive ideas before we get to a good one.
• Keep things moving - Don't over cook one thought. A silent room of thinkers doesn't help me much, but when they are just throwing it all out, I love it!
• No hurt feelings - Make sure from the beginning that people know the rules! If they don't, someone will get their feelings hurt when you don't use their idea. Lay the ground rules!!
• Don't compromise what God is speaking to you! There were some great ideas yesterday that had nothing to do with what I felt like God wants me to say. Don't compromise the message for creativity. I would rather be tuned in to God and not be creative! It is God that makes things happen, not our cleverness.
• Have fun!!

Creative meetings can be used in families, businesses, churches, etc. Make the most of other people's minds! Our next series is going to be really fun! 

Weekend Recap

I have a lot of random thoughts from this weekend. Some from the worship experiences and some just from personal life.

• As we prayed for churches around the world yesterday, during the song Counting on God, it was awesome. To think that there are over 1400 churches joining together for ONE PRAYER is incredible!
• I love listening to Chris Hodges! His talk, "Lord, Make us Authentic" was huge! If you were here and God spoke to you through Chris's talk I encourage you to shoot me an email at [email protected]. I'll forward your emails on to Church of the Highlands, so they can see how God is using Chris in other places.
• I was blown away, speechless, and stunned when a young couple came up and introduced themselves to me. As soon as they told me their story I knew who they were. What I was not prepared for was the second part of the story! The husband is 34 years old and is in really good shape. He went to the doctor this week to be told he has liver and colon cancer. He checked into the hospital this morning to begin the surgeries. WOW! Talk about putting life in perspective! Join me in praying for him this week!
• This weekend I started reading Vince Antonucci's book, "I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt". I met Vince a little over a year ago and was amazed at his story and his heart to reach people. After reading just a few pages of his book I can tell you I highly recommend it! Vince does a masterful job writing about his journey and putting some things into perspective that should affect all of us. Plus, it is one of the best titles ever!
• I wrapped up the weekend watching a debate, on one of the news stations, over the question, "Is America the greatest nation to live in?" Talk about making me want to cuss a little! Let me give you the answer - YES!!! Even with the things we have managed to jack up, there is no better place to live! We are so blessed! I better stop there. You probably should pray for me during this election season. I can deal with our differences - I don't deal well with people bashing our country. I have an idea, if you don't like it - move! I told you I need prayer.
• Oh, and then there is Tiger at the U.S. Open.

Have a good day!

Public Service Announcement -Part Two

A few weeks ago I shared with you a public service announcement about bathroom cell phone talkers. It felt so good just to get it all out in the open and the response was really solid. It was 2 weeks ago today that I announced Part 2 of the PSA, but I wanted to allow my feelings to settle a little before I shared. Now 2 weeks later I think I'm emotionally ready.

It was 2 weeks ago today that I took my family out to Belmar for dinner and to play some golf. (Family golf is a whole different posting!) Belmar has incredible food so Robin thought it would be fun to eat at the clubhouse before hitting the course. So that we did.

As we sat in the clubhouse, enjoying our time as a family, I began to take notice of a party of 5 a few feet away from us. They seemed to be a nice enough group. They were enjoying their time together, as we were, and doing some family bonding.

I noticed over a period of 30 minutes how a mid - 20's year old began to drink beer after beer. Not a problem. That is his choice and I don't need to judge, just don't begin to affect my evening. Allow me to sit at my table and bond with my family, while you sit at your table and bond with your family (and beer.) No big deal.

But then it began to happen and I thought, "This isn't right!" What happened? The more he drank the louder he would talk! Take a sip, talk louder. I don't understand, but I don't drink. Over 30 minutes this dude was talking loud enough for the people in the houses to hear! I know more about that guy's life than I do my own!

So here is the PSA: If your going to drink (which I don't endorse) have a designated driver and a designated duct taper. Have the person in your life that will help you by shutting you up! It will change your life!

Presidential Politics

Well, the race is on! It's that time that comes around every 4 years where every news station seems to be talking about the big election. Then you try to get away from it and you go to Starbucks where everyone is talking about presidential politics.

From time to time, people will ask me what I think, so let me share it with you. I think that as a follower of Christ I have the responsibility to be involved and make a difference in my country. I am so blessed that God allowed me to live in the USA! I have done mission trips to other countries and I can tell you that no other place even begins to compare.

While there are many things I can gripe about, there are many more things that I can be grateful about. One of the ways I can show my gratefulness to God is to be involved and to make a difference. While it is always tempting to take the approach of saying, "I don't like the candidates" or "Whatever happens happens", both statements are ultimately copouts! We have to care, we have to be involved, we have to vote.

Vote how? That's between you and the Lord, but take time to do your homework and to do your part.

Presidential politics might drive you nuts, but I like the fact we live in a nation where every 4 years we get a choice!

Weekend Reflections

Well, the bottome line is that yesterday was one of my favorite worship experiences in Journey Church history! I left, after the morning experiences, so pumped about what God is doing in our church! It is a blast to watch how God's presence is changing the lives of people in such a dramatic way! It is also a blast to watch people responding to the presence of God!

It doesn't matter what aspect you want to review from yesterday the results are all the same - God was there! As we worshipped I stood overwhelmed with with what it felt like God was doing! As I went to wrap up worship and greet everyone I began to tear up as I saw how people were responding to God during "God of this City." As I spoke I watched people responding to the heart of God. It was truly amazing!

I loved the changes we made at the end of the worship experiences! If you weren't here we moved towards more of a responsive ministry time this week. We still gave people the opportunity to recieve Christ privately, but then as we worshipped I enccouraged them to come up and allow me the privelege of meeting them. It was great!

Journey Church, there are some great days ahead of us! Thank you for the way you pray, the way you serve, the way you invite others, the way you give, and the way you worship! God is using you to see a city transformed one life at a time!

Summer Camp

I just rolled back into town from Student Journey Summer Camp. I drove up last night because I had heard how amazing it was, so what was 6 more hours in the car after already being in it 16 hours since Sunday's last worship experience.

So here is the run down: Off the charts! Wow! Over the top! Incredible! TIm and the team did an extraordinary job creating an environment for people to experience the presence of God. I sat overwhelmed as I watched hundreds of students engage with God through worship. They get it!

I was blown away by the sense of community that I saw in the students. Many times at camps things are hyped up around the speaker and it simply wasn't so this week. As God moved in students lives, in dramatic ways, they moved towards community! Some of you might be wondering why that is so important? Because relationships are what make churches unique. While there was great worship, great speaking, cool lights, and plenty of fog - relationships are what keeps things held together.

I'm so proud of what God is doing in Student Journey! I encourage you to get your kids involved!

Checking in!

Well, it has been a crazy few days. Robin and I made the I-35 Dinner Tour the past 3 nights. It has been a huge blessing to connect with our friends and mentors! God has confirmed so many things in my life over the past few days!

I'm pumped about ONE PRAYER starting this Sunday! I'll be sharing this weekend and then will be introducing you to some of my friends from around the country. Here are a few things I want to encourage you in during ONE PRAYER:

1. Make every effort to partner in a Love Works project.
2. Make every effort to pray daily for One Prayer
3. Make every effort to fast weekly during One Prayer
4. Make every effort to give to help start churches
5. Make every effort to comment on OnePrayer.com

This will be one of the most exciting times in our church's history as we partner with over 1,100 churches from around the world!

One last thing and then I'm on the road to our youth summer camp. I want to tell you, again, how proud of you I am in the way you are giving! God is using you in a huge way to position Journey for a great future. It is amazing all that happens when we all work together.

Have a great day!