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.