Stress Relief – Worry Confessions

This week we kick off a new series – STRESS RELIEF. This Sunday is focused on finding stress relief from our worries. In light of this, I will make some personal confessions about worry in my life…

• I worry about my personal finances all the time. Am I prepared for the future? Will I ever pay off my mortgage? What about my kids college?
• I worry about my kids. Will they continue on the current path that is pleasing to God or will they stray? Am I being a good parent? Am I balanced in my dealings with them?
• I worry about relationships. Am I treating my wife as a Christian husband should? Am I meeting her needs? Am I a good friend to those close to me?
• I worry about our health. Are my wife’s back and neck issues going to get worse? Am I doing enough to take care of my body?
• I worry about taking care of my parents. As they get older, how will I be able to do this in a way that honors them? How will this work with my ministry?
• I worry about being a good pastor. Am I caring enough? Do people think I am sincere? Is my speaking good? Is it helping people to grow in their faith? Am I doing the right things so that our church can grow and be healthy? Am I balanced in my approach to ministry? If people leave the church, is it my fault?
• I worry about church finances. Am I being a good steward? Am I making wise decisions? Can I raise the funds we need for the next step in our journey?

These are just a few of the worries I have in my life. Worry is not healthy, but it’s something we all deal with. So Sunday, I will be sharing what God has to say to us about this topic…I’m coming at you as a fellow worrier.

Hammer Juggling

This should be a required skill for all church planters and pastors.  Being able to juggle a bunch of dangerous hammers while hitting the nail on the head at the same time…pretty amazing!

Separate Checks?

Odd question of my week…

My wife and I went out for a quick dessert date last Friday night around 8pm.  We both ordered dessert and extra spoons to share them with each other.  The waitress was very good…friendly, experienced, competent, attentive…then at the end of our time, she asks us if we want separate checks?  In all seriousness, she meant it.  We were sharing dessert/spoon slobber…but Sherri is paying for her own cake!   I tried to make a little joke but it fell flat.  The waitress was totally serious.  I paid the entire 12 bucks.

The Lateral

Around the Ministry…

• Check out Jamie’s blog for the Youth Chipotle Life Group event for this Wednesday. You got to see the video announcement!
• Check out Josh’s blog for past worship sets and to find out about his banjo.
• Check out Kristie’s blog for the Children’s Bible Quest of the week.
• Check out the upcoming series about STRESS RELIEF starting this Sunday.
• Be a part of Operation Christmas Child…click here for details.

Monday Morning

A nice cool October morning…gotta love it!

• Great day yesterday at LCC.  Great music, love talking about our purposes and vision, great to have new people sign the membership covenant…and to top it off with a baptism makes it an awesome day!
• My day was quite long…left from church with a friend to go to Delaware to help drive my grandparents moving truck to my parents house in Pennsylania and then unload it around 9 pm last night.  My mom’s parents are moving in an apartment in my parents house.  A real long…but productive day.
• The best part about the drive was NOT being able to watch the Redskins get demolished by the Perfect Patriots.
• And then the Red Sox win the World Series…must be nice to live in Boston!
• I’m looking forward to this upcoming series on STRESS. 
• We kicked off our Operation Christmas Child campaign yesterday with the hopes of doubling last’s year number of boxes.  1 family is doing 25 all by themselves…amazing!

Stress Relief

Stress Relief…it’s our new series at LCC beginning next Sunday, Nov 4th. I am going to be looking at how to find stress relief for: anxiety, busyness, indecision, hurt, dark valleys, uncertainty. I’m anxious to get into this series, but I’m also nervously praying that God will hold back on giving me too many fresh, personal, real life illustrations!

Seriously…we all have varying levels of stress that we carry…we just have to learn to deal with it. God wants to help us. Tune in on November 4th.

All over the place

Some days my thoughts are all over the place…

• My grandfather is having surgery today. They are replacing his defibulator and pace maker at the same time. He’s been through this before, but he’s weaker…so he’s in my prayers.
• We have several families in our church with relatives in the San Diego area…so we got to keep them in our prayers today.
• I assisted in interviewing 2 church planters today for the SBCV. It’s exciting to see more churches getting started in our state.
• I think the Redskins have a great chance on Sunday against the Patriots…that is a great chance to lose by less the Cowboys did to them.
• I’m looking forward to Sunday and our Basics of Life Sunday. I love talking about the vision and future of our church.
• I’m still in shock from our game last night…My son’s team I manage – the Tigers…we were down 7-3 going into the bottom of the last inning. We scored 5 runs…a walk-off win (8-7) to put us in the Championship Game next Tuesday. The team we beat was previously unbeaten. It was one of those “I can’t believe the just happened moments.” A lot of fun to be a coach and a dad on a winning team in that situation.
• Rockies vs. Red Sox…I don’t really care much, but I’m routing for the Rockies.
• Good news – I did just read that Brittney Spears is starting parenting classes.
• Loving the rain and cooler weather…
• Just started reading Made to Stick by Chip Heath & Dan Heath…so far so good…

Steven Curtis Chapman – The Moment

Just released today…just downloaded the new SCC Album on iTunes.

My first reaction…awesome, great, fresh new stuff from one of the greatest songwriters and musicians in the music world.

Where are all the attractive people?

I heard this story on Fox 5 News last night. Philadelphia is rated as the ugliest city in America…this is based on the attractiveness of the people. Guess who is 2nd ugliest? Yes…DC wins this honor. The most attractive??? Miami and San Diego.

So, how do they determine this exactly? Here’s the article.

How does this apply to my life and church planting? I guess we just need to reach more ugly people for Jesus…

The Death of the Coffee Pot

Our beloved coffee pot is dying…it’s about that time.  It’s about 3 1/2 years old and it’s leaking and it’s becoming a big mess every time we use it.  I’m figuring we have brewed about 2,002 pots of coffee based on 3.5 years and 11 pots per week…anyway it’s served us well and even though it’s a sad day…it’s time to move on.  I know there’s something new, bright, and shiny for us out there.  Memories will stay with us…

Sunday Night Post (on Monday morning)

• Too tired last night to post…tried to watch a movie with my wife and kept dozing off…I feel like an old man (at least on Sunday nights)
• Nice Sunday morning at church. Good crowd…several first time guests. Web searches and Personal Invites are still the top 2 reasons people check out to our church.
• Great worship…Josh’s music set had quite a variety….from hymns to bluegrass to fist-pumping worship Something for everyone…
• I’m looking forward to next week…the Basics of Life. I love talking about the purposes and vision of our church.
• It’s a good day to be a Boston sports fan…the Patriots and the Red Sox? Not so bad.
• Were the Redskins trying to lose to the Cardinals yesterday? Right now, I’m pretty negative about our chances against the Patriots next Sunday…
• Curbside To-Go is a pretty cool deal at Applebee’s. My wife and I ordered an appetizer last night (for our movie date in our basement) and I didn’t have to get out of the car to pick it up…pretty sweet.
• So, it’s going to be in the 80’s today? I heard right now this would go down in history as the hottest October ever in the DC area…
• The Desert…in the service yesterday we had a husband home from Iraq for a 15 day break to see his wife…and we also sent a husband off last week to Afghanistan for a 2-week mission. We’ve had soldiers coming and going and God has been good to our church family during this war time…we have not had any direct losses or injuries.

Love this Fed Ex Commercial

What’s Hot

• Looking forward to preaching on forgiveness this Sunday from Matthew 18.  Jesus’ words are so powerful.  I know God will have many people there that need to hear this message.
• My (Zac’s) team won our first round tournament game 14-4 last night.  We play at 1pm tomorrow in the 2nd round.
• College football is amazing this year…upset after upset after upset…love it!
• Looks like a foreign substance in the sky…no, actually that is rain...
• Looking forward to our next message series beginning November 4 – STRESS RELIEF.  I just hope that this topic is actually relevant to the lives of people in Northern Virginia.
• We NEED OFFICE SPACE for our church office.
• Love listening to Mike & Mike in the morning on ESPN Radio during my morning routine.
• Book I’m reading: Deadly Viper (Character Assassins) by Jud Wilhite & Mike Foster.
• I’m actually starting to look forward to my morning run
• I used to really care about the MLB Playoffs…now I have a hard time staying interested.  I don’t know if I’ll even watch the World Series…what is happening to me?  It’s probably something to do with my team (Orioles) being so horrible for the last 10 years.  Go Rockies (I guess?).
• God is doing great things at our church.  We have a wonderful church of servant volunteers that believe in the vision.  It’s never easy…but I definitely love my job and thank God for the privilege of starting and leading LCC.

920 Calories?

Are you kidding me?  Hardees new breakfast burrito packs 920 calories and 60 grams of fat?  They already boast a 1,100 calorie burger.

I’ve made a serious attempt to become much more conscience about diet and exercise.  When you become aware of the fat and calorie content of what you eat, it ’s amazing what you see.  This one from Hardees blew my mind.

This week I stopped at Chic-fil-a for lunch and decided to check the calorie/fat chart.  The regular chicken sandwich contains 16 g of fat, but the grilled chicken sandwich only had 3.5 grams.  Easy choice.

I’m not trying to obsess over these things, but want to make wise choices to take the best care possible of my body.  I want to be there for my family and my church for the long run.  And taking care of our bodies is something God expects of us.

I’ve never done this…

Doing our Duty

I was reading from Luke 17 this morning and verse 10 jumped out at me.  Jesus was speaking here and he said, “When you obey me you should say, ‘We are not worthy of praise.  We are servants who have simply done our duty.’”

This thought hit me…how often do we want to be praised simply for doing our duty?  How often do we want praise for simply being obedient to God?  As his servants our obedience should just be natural.  He deserves that.  We don’t deserve praise for simply behaving ourselves.  In fact if our obedience to God is done in an attempt to gain praise…we’ve got the wrong motive.  We should simply obey and serve God because He is our loving master and Saviour.

LCC in Iraq

How cool is this…

I received an email from a former attender of our church from about 3 years ago.  He is currently serving our country in Iraq.  He spotted a soldier with a Life Community Church t-shirt on last week.  They were able to connect.  They hadn’t met before but both had previously been a part of our church body.  I’m sending another LCC t-shirt over so they can get their picture taken together and send it back to us here!  I’ll post that when I get it.

A Family In Need

This is a post for our church family to respond to…a chance to BE the church.

We have a family in our church who is in real tough bind financially.  I have discussed this with a few others in leadership and feel that it would be appropriate to solicit donations to help this family.  What kind of donations?  Well, the most urgent need is groceries.  You could help with a bag of groceries.  If you want to bring a bag to church this Sunday, I can connect you with another church leader who will deliver these items.  BUT the EASIEST and most convenient thing would be GIFT CARDS to grocery stores, Wal-mart and gas stations.  If God leads you to do something about this need, you can hand me the cards on Sunday and I will anonymously deliver them for you. 

Let’s do this!

Joel Osteen on 60 Minutes

As I mentioned in my last post, Joel Osteen was going to be interviewed last night on 60 Minutes.  Joel is the pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, TX.  It’s the largest church in America with 47,000 in attendance.  I enjoy watching these types of interviews to hear what is said by both the interviewers and the interviewees.

Here’s some of the good:

• Joel has helped thousands of people to live better lives.
• Joel did deflect credit and say it was God using him.
• Joel seemed humbled (sincerely emotional) when he is questioned about how he is used to change people’s lives.
• Joel is a great motivational speaker and author.

Here’s some of the bad:

• Joel’s theology is flawed in many ways.
• He has been wishy-washy on whether Jesus is the only way to God.  See his previous interview on Larry King.  This is a crucial tenet of our faith.  See John 14:6.  We cannot change our theology in order to not offend anyone.
• Prosperity theology.  Osteen says things such as: “It’s God’s will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty. It’s God’s will for you to pay your bills and not be in debt. It’s God’s will for you to live in health and not in sickness all the days of your life.”  These statements line up with the Word of Faith movement.  It’s definitely positive thinking, but you have to take Scripture out of context to back up these statements.
• Joel doesn’t make much mention of Jesus or God in his books?  Is he called to be a pastor or simply a motivational speaker and author?
• Joel’s messages are full of fluff that just makes people feel good.  There is very little Scripture used.  I’ve personally downloaded a few of his messages and listened.  I feel good after them, but there is no depth.

In conclusion, I personally feel like Joel is sincerely a great guy who truly loves God, his family and his church.  I believe his amazing “success” has placed him in a great position of influence.  I believe that he has sold out in several areas of practice and theology in order to draw a bigger audience.  What I wonder is how many of the thousands of followers are actually followers of Joel and not followers of Jesus?  At his book signing you could get a glimpse into the possible answer to that question.

We must remember that having a big crowd doesn’t make someone or something right?  We must never water down our message or theology in order to reach our community.

Sunday Night Post

Not much to say tonight…feeling wiped out from a busy weekend…

• Well…it looks like I will be 1 for 2 on my predictions…Redskins lost a close one, but it the Cowboys did lose to the Patriots…that’s a relief
• At least my Fantasy Team is having a good day…my best so far this year…
• Great morning at church…love the people, the energy, the vibe of our church.  We’re having a great Fall.
• Joel Osteen is going to be on 60 minutes tonight…got my DVR set…I’m interested to hear what the pastor of the largest church in America has to say….
• I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this message series, JESUS ON.  The teachings of Christ are so challenging.  I know I’ve been incredibly convicted as I’ve prepared each week.
• I’m looking forward to my next series, STRESS RELIEF.

Cool October Vibes

• Absolutely LOVING this weather!
• Haven’t mentioned it much, but my Fall baseball team that I manage (my son’s team) is now 10-1 after last night’s 12-2 win.  The tournament starts next week.
• Looking forward to Sunday…we’ve got a great service planned…a few twists…
• If you want to read ahead for Sunday’s message…take a look at Matthew 15.
• We have a new printer coming…but it didn’t make it this week, so we had to use an old…VERY SLOW printer to print bulletins this week…slow technology is a pain!
• Redskins will BEAT the Packers this week.  Cowboys will get BEAT by the Patriots.
• I’m still amazed how God answers some of the little, seemingly insignficant, minor prayer requests in our lives.
• Our 3 kids’ interims just came out recently…they are doing awesome…I’m thankful that my kids really care about their academics.
• I am blessed with a great staff and leadership team at LCC.  God is good.

Catalyst Picture

Here’s a picture from the conference I attended last week in Atlanta.  This is from the area near where we were sitting.

What Makes A Good Leader?

That question was asked by the Army War College in a study of highly regarded major generals in Iraq. Subordinates rated the officers anonymously. The responses, in order of importance:

  1.) Keeps cool under pressure
  2.) Clearly explains missions, standards, and priorities
  3.) Sees the big picture; provides context and perspective
  4.) Makes tough, sound decisions on time

As pastors and church leaders…there’s much to learn here.

My iPod Mix

Here’s what’s on my current playlist…

• Spring of Life by Kristian Stanfill
• First Time by Lifehouse
• After Your Heart by Phil Wickham
• Savior King by Hillsong
• We Shine by Steve Fee
• Remedy by David Crowder Band
• All I Can Do is Surrender by Mark Roach
• The Highest and The Greatest by Tim Hughes
• Miracle of the Moment by Steven Curtis Chapman
• What Time is It? by High School Musical 2 cast   (j/k)

Steve’s Core Values A-Z: J – Jesus

Jesus.   You may hear his name used more often today in a derogatory manner than in a way of honor.  Jesus is the greatest name ever spoken. He is not someone we preach about from time to time…He is our message.  Without Jesus, we have nothing to say.  He gives us our reason for living and hope for our eternity.

There are many topics on which to preach and teach in Bible.  As we strive to learn and apply the entire Word of God, we must continue to see that the common thread is Jesus.  It begins in Genesis.  He was part of Creation.  It continues throughout the Old and New Testaments…all the way to the prophecies in Revelation.  As a pastor, every message that I give must ultimately point people to Jesus.

• Jesus saves.
• Jesus died for us on the cross.
• Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins.
• Jesus sacrifice his body and blood for me.
• Jesus loves me unconditionally.
• Jesus is the Son of God.
• Jesus is God.
• Jesus conquered death and the grave.
• Jesus is alive.
• Jesus is the greatest teacher of all time. 
• What Jesus said can be completely trusted.

Don’t ever be ashamed to talk about Jesus.  Don’t be afraid to speak his powerful name.  Don’t be afraid of being labeled a Jesus Freak…in fact, consider that an honor.

 2 Corinthians 4:5 “You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

Psalm 1:1-3

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.  But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.  They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.  Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

I read this incredible Psalm this morning and I’ve been meditating on it all day.  My thoughts:

• When I follow godly advice, I am much happier…it’s a fact!

• The best advice comes from this book – the Bible…why don’t I go there first?

• Following godly advice leads to endurance and consistent fruit-bearing…isn’t this my goal?

• I cannot go wrong by following God’s ways…God prospering me sounds like the way to live.

Sunday Night Post

God is so good…

• I thoroughly enjoyed today at LCC. 
• We had a great service today…Josh and the band did a great job…it was great to have Cara joining the band this week.  The song set was great…the worship atmosphere was definitely rockin’ for Jesus!
• Don’t forget you can vote for next week’s worship set…click here.
• It was great to interview Kevin Burgess in the service.  Kevin & his wife Kelly are the area Young Life directors.  I spoke on Evangelism today…and what Kevin & Kelly do is on the front lines of evangelism.  
• God definitely did a work in my life this week at the Catalyst Conference.  My heart is very full with anticipation for what God is going to do with our future at LCC.  My passion was overflowing into my preaching this morning.  I had a feeling of awkwardness though…I had my notes which I had prepared on Monday and Tuesday before the conference…and then I was speaking so much from what God was showing me since Wednesday…hard to explain…but in the end…my gut feeling is that I should have just abadoned my original notes…lesson learned
• Several regular families were out today…probably some were due to the Columbus Day 3-day weekend…but the attendance was still good.  What would have been a “high” day a few months ago…was a “low” day today…Good times!
• I plan to get back to my “Core Values” posts this week…no time last week.
• Wow…the Redskins looked awesome today…why was I nervous about that game?
• My almost 11 year old daughter went running with me this evening…that was cool…she’s no slouch!  I usually don’t feel like doing squat on Sunday evenings…but with not being able to exercise at the conference…I was anxious to get back to it.
• I spoke from Matthew 5 today…where Jesus told us that we are the SALT of the earth and the LIGHT of the world.  The question I posed to our people…What would what happen with our church if every one of us took this passage seriously and prayed each morning that God would give us the opportunities that day to be salt and light?  
• I truly believe that Evangelism is not about gimics or programs…it’s about us BEING Jesus to the world.  My heart is that our church be passionate about our mission in the world and in our community.  It must start with me.

Catalyst Reflections

Back in the hotel reflecting on all the messages we’ve heard the past 2 days…here’s a few thoughts from the various talks (of course there’s tons more)…

Andy Stanley – What do you do when you realize the you are the person in the room with the most power?  (Look at what Jesus did in John 13)

Erwin McManus – God uses broken messed up people.  We should be radical about living right to please God, but also radical about extending grace to those who mess up.

Craig Groeschel - I need to stop living like a practical athiest.  Sometimes I am saying I believe in God, but my life speaks something much different.

Francis Chan – It’s not so much about what I need to do in leading my church, it’s more about who I need to be.

John Maxwell – I should be looking for opportunities to add value to someone’s life every single day.

Dave Ramsey – I should spend more time teaching people about getting out debt and living within their means…then tithing will become natural.

Rick Warren – I need to think beyond our church and our local area and think globally.    What are we doing to take care of the widows and orphans?

Andy Stanley - Systems create behaviors within the church.  We need to examine the systems to make sure we have the right systems in place to produce the desires behaviors.

Quick Friday Post

• The Catalyst Conference is amazing.  11,000 church leaders together.  Incredible speakers and worship.  My head is full…and we have another entire day to absorb some great teaching from Craig Groeschel, Erwin McManus, and Andy Stanley…among others.
• Looking forward to Sunday…LCC is in a growth spurt…our move into the bigger, nicer auditorium has been exciting…can’t wait for Sunday.
• Miss my family…as always when away…
• Check out this site: http://www.landofathousandhillscoffee.com/  They been serving free coffee at the conference.  GREAT coffee…like Starbucks…but the great thing is buying it with help support the poor economy and the workers in Rwanda.  I want to start using this at our church…and at home.  You won’t be disappointed by it.
• When is it going to be cool?  Sounds like mid 80’s for Sunday…doesn’t feel like October yet….

Everybody Vote!

Next Sunday, October 14th, you get to pick the worship song set.  Josh & the band are going to play the songs that you pick.  Go to our website and vote by next Wednesday.

MLB Playoff Pics

Here’s my pics for the Major League Playoffs that start today.  Post your pics below as a comment.

AL

• Round 1: Red Sox over Angels, Yankees over Indians
• Round 2: Yankees over Red Sox

NL

• Round 1: Phillies over Rockies, Cubs over Diamondbacks
• Round 2: Phillies over Cubs

WORLD SERIES

• Phillies CRUSH the Yankees

The Office

I look forward to the day of LCC being a larger church with a great big office space and MORE THAN 1 GOOD PRINTER!  Josh and I were working briskly today to complete tasks usually scheduled for Thursday…because we leave tomorrow for a conference for 3 days…so we had to work ahead.  The biggest administrative task each week is the bulletin.  It had to be done today…and halfway through the printer decided it was done.  We have had a pretty decent color printer…but it’s out of the warranty period…therefore time to breakdown.  Anyway, after all the troubleshooting phone calls with Xerox we were out of luck and would need to pay a technician $279 per 30 mins or get a new printer!  Great timing!

Oh well…we are praying for continued church growth this Fall which will enable us to afford office space (that isn’t in my basement), better equipment and all that good stuff so the business side of ministry will function much easier.

Anyway…it will work out…but it may be only 1 bulletin per family this week!

Young Life

Our church supports Young Life.  This is an incredible ministry that reaches middle and high school students for Christ.  Kevin & Kelly Burgess, the Eastern Prince William County Young Life directors, are a part of our church.  I’m passing on an announcement from Kevin about how you can be involved in Young Life.  Kevin will be sharing a testimony about his ministry this coming Sunday morning in the service.

“Join the FUN!  The Young Life annual banquet will be on Saturday, October 27 from 12 – 2pm at the Outback Steakhouse (near Potomac Mills Mall).  Young Life in Eastern Prince William County is looking for folks that want to be involved in the lives of kids, folks who want to see teenagers be introduced to Jesus Christ and grow in their faith.  Whether you are a financial donor, committee member, prayer warrior or volunteer leader you can make a difference in the life of a teenager right here in our community.  Come hear how you can “Join the Fun”.  Tickets are $25.  Please contact Kevin & Kelley Burgess at (703)217-9827 or kandkburgess@comcast.net for more information.”

Powerful People in Sports

Businessweek.com ranks the most powerful people in the world of sports.  It’s interesting that in the top 15 only 3 are actual athletes…and 1 of those 3 is retired. 

The 15 Most Influential People in Sports:

1. Roger Goodell
Commissioner, NFL

2. Tiger Woods
Golfer

3. David Stern
Commissioner, NBA

4. George Bodenheimer
President, ESPN, ABC Sports; co-chairman, Disney Media Networks

5. Bud Selig
Commissioner, MLB

6. Brian France
Chairman, CEO NASCAR

7. Dick Ebersol
Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics

8. Phil Knight
Chairman, Nike

9. Sean McManus
President, CBS News and Sports

10. Rupert Murdoch
Chairman, CEO, News Corp.

11. Michael Jordan
Managing Member of Basketball Operations, Charlotte Bobcats

12. Scott Boras
President, Boras Corp.

13. Peyton Manning
Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts

14. David Hill
Chairman, CEO, Fox Sports

15. Donald Fehr
Union boss, MLB