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Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old!

I love change.  I even love change for the sake of change.  I get bored with the same foods, fonts, clothes, furniture arrangements, music.  I like the new stuff.  I like change. 

It’s amazing how we can get so used to certain things that they start to stink like old cheese…and we don’t even realize it.  In some areas of our lives…it really doesn’t matter that much.  It’s more about preference…if you are a creature of habit and still wearing your clothes from the 80’s…that’s your deal.

But in the church…it definitely matters.  People outside of our church walls can sniff out stinky cheese pretty quickly.  We have to be evaluating regularly…what are we doing in our programming that is getting old and stale?  Let’s not change just for the sake of change, but let’s make sure we don’t let it get old, stale…or stinky!

I’m not worried about James Cameron or his documentary.  It’s another ridiculous attempt to try and disprove the most important tenet of our faith…that Christ rose from the dead!  People have been trying to disprove this for years.  JESUS, OUR SAVIOR, IS ALIVE!!!  People need to deal with it.  My prayer is that this will cause more discussion and God will use it to draw more people to faith in Him.

Here’s a link to an article about the documentary showing soon on the Discovery Channel.

Anticipating Change…Get ready for the cheese to move.

Things are constantly changing…the way we do life on a daily basis is changing.  I like the new, the latest, the coolest technology that makes life easier or more enjoyable.  These changes are great…I have a hard time remembering life before DVR. 

When it comes to the business of church, we must constantly be watching the trends to see what is changing in our world.  The church business is the people business.  If we aren’t reaching people for Christ, then what is the point?  So when I say watch the trends…I am saying we must be anticipating the change in the way people in our culture are responding to church and the message of Christianity.  If we aren’t anticipating change, our ministry will become pointless and irrlevant in this world. 

That was the title of a talk given by Pastor Craig Groeschel this week to a group of 3,000 pastors.  I was one of those pastors…and yes, I am an idiot…at least I want to be! 

You see, God uses idiots to turn WHAT IF into WHAT IS. Do you ever spend time dreaming about the WHAT IF’s in your life?

• WHAT IF I got that promotion?
• WHAT IF I could meet Mr. or Mrs. Right?
• WHAT IF our family could spend more time together?
• WHAT IF my kids could grow up into respectful adults?
• WHAT IF I could make enough money to get out of debt? 

How do we turn our WHAT IF into WHAT IS?  Who does God use most often to turn WHAT IF into WHAT IS?  God uses insecure, risk-taking, pain-enduring idiots! Look at Acts 4:13 “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.” That word translated “ordinary” comes from the Greek work, idiōtēs.  Do I need to tell you what that word literally means?  God uses Peter & John…who people looked at as idiots…to do his work.  The important key here…don’t miss this…it’s the last part of the verse – “they also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus” Let’s talk about the 3 adjectives describing the kind of idiot that God uses: 

1. Insecure.  Can we all admit that most of the time we have no idea what we are doing?  Whether it’s parenting, relationships, job-related, financial…we all struggle with insecurity.  We want people to think we are smart and that we know what we are doing…even when we don’t.  I experienced that this morning in agonizing over whether or not to cancel services because of the weather.  God uses insecure people!
2. Risk-taking.  Peter & John were warned not to spread the Gospel.  They kept doing it anyway.  They had been with Jesus and they were on a mission from God.  Risk is involved.  If we want to see incredible stuff happen in our lives and in our church…we must be risk takers.
3. Pain-enduring.  This is the part I run from.  Who really likes pain?  Let’s try to avoid all conflict and hurt.  But when we do that, we become very dishonest people and we hurt both ourselves and others in our lives.  Idiots will endure the pain that comes with the territory.

Some of you may be reading this and saying, I might be on the right track because my wife and kids call me an idiot all the time.  Well, the question to ask yourself is: Am I the right kind of idiot?  The kind that God uses to affect change? How to become the right kind of idiot:

• Don’t believe for a moment that you have it all figured out in life.
• Become comfortable being uncomfortable in life.
• Make the right decisions even when they are painful.

“The difference between where you are and where God wants you to be is the painful decisions you are unwilling to make.” – Groeschel

• Spend LOTS of time with Jesus.

Thanks for reading today.  I hope you enjoy the day with your family.For some great online messages that you could watch and enjoy today:

1. www.lifechurch.tv
2. www.northpoint.org
3. www.fellowshipchurch.com

This is a painful post for me!  Because of meeting in a school, we have to start setting up at about 7:15…so we have to make a decision early.  I went outside myself to check my driveway and street…it is slippery.  Based on the current snow and sleet falling and temperatures staying below freezing all morning, we have decided to cancel today’s service.  I believe this is the safest option for all of our church families.

I will post a devotional for today later this morning…please check back later.

The nasty weather seems to be coming our way.  I will be checking the conditions early in the morning and will post an announcement by 7 am.

With the uncertainty of the weather for tomorrow morning, we are moving our 5th Anniversary Celebration with Baptisms and the Basics of Life message to the following Sunday - March 4th.

At this point, services are STILL ON for tomorrow at 10 am.  We will evaluate the weather later tonight and first thing in the morning and post any announcements here.

Tomorrow I will continue with our HEROES series and be speaking on Moses…a murderer turned deliverer

We will NOT be having OverTime after the service tomorrow.

The forecast doesn’t look good for tomorrow…more ice seems to be coming.  I am monitoring it closely and considering options for tomorrow’s church services.  Check back later for updates.

I feel better about driving in Northern Virginia after the fiasco of getting around Dallas the last 24 hours…the traffic may not be as heavy but who designed this mess?  Funny thing…even Ed Young admitted today that he still gets lost around here.  Our mapquest directions from the hotel to Fellowship Church turned out to be a disaster…glad we allowed extra time.

Great first day at the Creative Church Conference.  Today’s speakers were all money!  Let me rank them in order of who I enjoyed most.

1. Craig Groeschel - He talked about the fact that God uses idiots (Acts 4:13).  God uses insecure, risk-taking, pain-enduring idiots to accomplish His work.

2. Ed Young, Jr. - He talked about delegation.  “Delegation without investigation is relegation.”

3. Mark Driscoll - He talked about the Gospel…based on I Cor 15:1-4.  He focused on the 2 main enemies of the gospel: idolotry and religion. 

4. Ed Young, Sr. - Ed is 70 years old and still going strong.  His focus was on having strong theology and on focusing on reaching children and teens.

For more details…check out www.tonymorganlive.com.  He posted some good detailed notes…

The music has been awesome…no shock there!