Lessons from the Journey

Sorry this post is more selfish than anything. As many pastors with much more experience than I will tell you, "there are good days and bad days". Here is some ammo that was very helpful to me today during one of the later days...

"Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.

But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.

But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul."

Hebrews 10:35-39.

Discover Church Gathering Nov 15

Whether you are a child or an adult, curious about Christianity or devoted Christ-follower, this event is for you. Once a month Discover Church will be Gathering to look at life from God’s perspective. By turning out you can anticipate experiencing a casual, energetic and powerful night of worship and teaching from God’s Word that will have you looking forward to next month.

Eventually we will be meeting weekly but for now once a month will have to be enough to get your fix. The next Gathering is almost here Sunday night November 15 from 6:30-7:30 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Palm Beach Gardens. Check out www.DiscoverChurchPBC.com for directions/details. See ya there!

Lessons from the Journey--Life @ A Sustainable Pace

As a leader of a church it is my responsibility to not only build a darkness penetrating, sacrificial, outwardly focused church but also to do this in a manner consistent with a balanced, healthy life. The first part of my job description as listed above is on most pastor's radar but what about the second part? We all know that it is impossible to be unhealthy and yet produce something healthy!

As the cultural architect of this young church it has been heavy on my mind and heart lately that Discover Church must start at a sustainable pace that works for your God and your family. Is this a possibility? Most of the stories I hear that are equated with success are of all the "sacrifice" and pain that is infected into families in the name of "God's calling". As I attempt to lead Discover Church through this VERY difficult balance here are some thoughts that I am implementing to create a culture of health and balance. I am really just digging into what this could look like. Please feel free to add your own suggestions or ideas...

• We must keep church life simple and healthy
• The Gathering (our worship service) must not ask so much of people's time that it ends up reinforcing the "busyness" cycle of unhealth
• Sacrifice is expected but should not come from essentials (family, time with God, etc.)
• Leadership Team must model the health wanted replicated in the church
• Their must be an atmosphere of trust/accountability/vulnerability to assist in maintaining healthy pace
• Everyone of our team members MUST be a part of one of our Gatherings (Discover Kidz or Adult)
• Set up/Tear down environments MUST NOT be beyond our ability to complete in a reasonable amount of time (preferred 1 hr)
• Pursuit of "health" is not a viable excuse for the lack of the hard work and sacrifice expected of a follower of Christ.
• If I lived a balanced/healthy life how much time would be a sacrificial offering to present to God?

Take Away from The Gathering

Yesterday was a great day for Discover Church. A lot of prayer, hard work, sacrifice, and most importantly the tangible presence of a faithful God made The Gathering a success! The following are some of my randomly organized "take aways" from yesterday.

• Beginning the day in prayer and worship with Launch Team was quite possibly the most important thing we did in preparation for the night.
• For future church starters, do as much organization weeks out as possible.
• We will have a list of all the things we purchased, price, and where we found it
• Last night was a beautiful picture of what the Church could be. We had volunteers from LifeChurch.tv, FBC West Palm, and FBC Lake Worth go over and above, THANK YOU!
• Discover Kidz area (birth-Pre K and K-5th grade) looked warm, comfortable, and safe. Stephanie and her team did an amazing job!
• Benj led a high energy, powerful, excellent time of worship.
• Thank you Russell, Anthony, and Dustin for giving your time and talent.
• Sound was a huge challenge as it was our 1st time setting up but not too much of one for Danny Dagher.
• The entire process of loading trailer, unloading trailer, setting up staging/Discover Kidz, sound check, etc was for the most part without major surprises because of excellent team members (led by Jon Killian, you are the man) effort.
• Brittni was great in her announcements and intro of message (plus she looked really good)!
• Exciting number of FAU Honors campus students. Way to go Jordan and Amanda!
• We tripped a couple breakers and had to reallocate our power output but Aaron Leahy from A-Train Productions rolled with the punches
• Our screen was too big for the space (we measured incorrectly)
• Hilton Garden Inn provided an excellent atmosphere and professional attendants for the event
• We unloaded at 2pm for a 6:30 service start to allow for plenty of time
• The "Clean Slate" (rv.worshiphousemedia.com) video provided an excellent intro to the message
• Message was from Luke 19:1-10
• "Jesus has time for those pursuing Him"
• "Things are never a sufficient substitute for Jesus"
• "Genuine transformation is seen in legitimate change"
• "Jesus came to find those who don't know Him"