simple church

i am reading this book and have been stirred up and its the second chapter…if you are a church leader let this stir you some… 

“to be simple is to be great” ralph waldo emerson…

simple church leaders are designers. they design opportunities for spiritual growth.
complex church leaders are programmers. they run ministry programs. 

several complex church leaders (programmers) that were interviewed said that there great amounts of activity were not producing life changes. It only gives the impression that things are happening.  one complex church leader confessed they were NOT seing a spiritual transformation in the lives of people. “we have become content being busy”

2008 – a year of a simple move of God! may we get back to encountering God like the book of acts and see lives transformed for eternity! i am writing out our vision for 2008, setting goals is a big deal! i don’t need to be busy…i need to be deliberate, engaging, hungry, assertive, passionate and just plain simple.

driving a bus….

today i got a text right in the middle of first service…and i read it.  my cdl was needed to drive a bus to pick up people for 3rd service.  driving a bus can be an interesting experience.the following are a few driving experiences…real life happens on a bus. 

- wednesday night on the bus home a guy/girl in pink stands up to another guy and they go at it…just before coming to blows our middle school pastor intervenes…

- some people don’t know what profanity is, it’s normal to them to wield curse words like an artist splashes a canvas with a brush.

- personal space is a real issue in my life…when someone doesn’t bathe and they smell like a butt it can be really a obnoxious driving experience-sometimes you just gotta drive with the window open!

- when its dark and you hit a curb with the bus turning a corner it almost feels like you could get the bus up on 2 wheels

- at night drive with the inside lights on in a bus…stuff happens in the dark!

- not really – but the passengers don’t like it much.- when i drive the bus through neighborhoods where our kids live they wave…i saw aj today…last time he was in youth he was in a foul mood…today he was smiling!

- how many kids can you pack on a bus?- when talking on the pa make sure the switch is flipped to the inside and not the external PA…i have yelled in a mic only to find out i was yelling on the outside of the bus.

**people in this world live in some pretty rough places in pretty deplorable situations…thats why we do what we do, so we can make a difference in the world. it breaks my heart to see what i see and then go home to my clean, furnished, immaculate home…kinda brings things into perspective when you take a trip on the bus and go where real people live with real issues. Jesus came into this world to touch what others would not touch lives that are broken and hurting- today i got a dose of reality and i thank God for the privilege to handle the good news.

a day at the pool:) december 29

its saturday dec 29th and today i want to reflect on how blessed it is to live in florida. i woke up this morning and the weather looked like it would hit a high of 83.  the boys and i played and wrestled, raced and played tag…we had a great time today in the pool. no polar bear club here- the pool was 84 and i feel sorry for the peeps in green bay and new york that are digging out of snow-not really!  the only way i would want to be there is on a snowboard!  

Florida…what an amazing place to live! spending a day with my kids-out of this world!

i’m back…

just got back from spending some much needed time with my family…so what did i do these past few days?  what did i get frustrated with?  what did i learn these past few days?

i’m glad you asked…we went to orlando and hit a mall on the 26th…by noon it was a zoo and the animals were as wrest-less as a tiger out of his cage…not much exaggerating here! retail therapy is fun especially when you can pick up a few great deals as well as take care of the one you love…that’s right i bought my love an amazing pair of jeans and a great purse, she was excited and i felt like a great husband.

we checked into our hotel and found out the entire football team for michigan state was there as well as every booster. it wasn’t bad at all, i ran into one football player that was like 6′7″ and 300 plus pounds-huge mass of a college student. i felt like a wee little man standing next to him.

mgm was the highlight…well there were some incredible lights and the boys love star wars, so we rode this simulator ride a few times…jake was so excited he talked to everyone, climbed everything and when the attendant said you cant eat drink or smoke on the ride, he replied – i don’t smoke…al on the other hand was screaming the whole time the ride went waiving his arms…i had more fun watching my sons than riding the ride. you know i think God really enjoys watching over us. his word says he created us for his good pleasure. so when i get a kick out of my kids enjoying life, i feel like God must really get a kick out of it when we enjoy life. Now that will mess up some people with the theology that we all need to suffer our way into heaven, and be miserable all the way…whatever- it’s not a sin to enjoy life!

if you go to mgm during the holidays be prepared to wait and be run over by foreign people, get cut in line and smell things you don’t really enjoy in long lines. but if you have a great attitude going into it, you will totally enjoy mickey’s fantasmic show, and the osbourne family lights are worth going to see.

merry christmas!

I am taking a few days off from blogging…we are headed to orlando tomorrow to shop, eat at this amazing churrascaria texas de brazil. i got some tix to go to mgm and see some lights and ride star wars…i will be back soon…i plan on leaving my laptop…i think i will have withdrawls, but i will bring my journal. i need to cut myself off from work and focus on family for a few days! i love my job, but i love my family more!

oh yah…whoever egged my house saturday night i found it today and washed it off-well scrubbed the rotten egg off! to you i hope you get lumps of coal in your stocking! HA

PEACE!

the excitement of christmas

its christmas eve and our boys are bouncing off the wall excited…they have set up blankets and pillows on couches by the tree in hopes of catching a glimpse of santa. jake keeps checking the computer and tracking santas’ location. what would we have done as kids if we had the technology today to track down santa…santa claus is coming to town and nobody can stop him!

Jesus Christ is coming…if we could track his return, then how excited would we get and what measures would we take in order to get ready for his return. get ready…get ready…get ready…Jesus is coming!

can’t wait to see his return!

cel phones and a 6 year old…

its christmas eve and we are scurrying around doing last minute things…i went to the church picked up some chairs and tables for a family christmas dinner and jake calls. Dad can you pick me up? sure…i will pick you up and we can deliver the chairs. on the way to uncle bears house…jake is talking about his new ds game (raymin rabids) he likes the movie theatre game where you have to call someone or someone calls you on a cel phone but if you get caught by the movie theatre guy a fridge or a cow gets dropped on you…nice.  now thats funny stuff. 

this morning one of our boys woke us up from a dead sleep….”tomorrows is christmas” then he ran out.  

merry christmas to all…tomorrow is gonna be a fun day with family!