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Working Together – one of my posts on the H2Go blog

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Here’s a post I wrote for our CBC H2Go blog entitled Working Together:

Too often, working together isn’t the reality when we think of church life.  If we don’t like something that’s happening, we pack up our toys and head for the church down the road that is doing those things that we like (at least until the next thing we don’t care for pops up).  But, God’s vision for the church is much more glorious.  He envisions His people to be wholly engaged, working together for His purposes.  Hear how this is described in Romans 12:4-5 “For as in one body we have many members and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”  God’s vision then isn’t minimizing the diversity that exists, but to allow that individuality to shine as it comes together for one big purpose.  

What can you strive to do today to be more wholly engaged to our body?  What might need to change?  What do you need to repent of?  How might you need to act?  Today, step into God’s vision and be wholly engaged in His work for you – His glory in a united church on mission under grace.

My Weekend – Disciple Now

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Blessed to have an opportunity to serve my former student and (still my) friend, Dale Baker, and the students God’s entrusted to him at Parkway Baptist in my hometown, St. Louis.

Our theme for the weekend is “a heart for God” and we’ll be looking at how our hearts function (Biblically speaking not medical journal mumbo jumbo) and how our hearts can be changed by the Gospel.

Would you join me in praying for a great weekend for these students and asking God to raise up from this group worshippers who give Him glory.  And, if you think of it, pray for me, that I would serve in God’s strength so that He’s glorified through me.

Weekend Recap – Impartial Judgment

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My 3/2/14AM sermon, Impartial Judgment from Romans 2:1-11, is online.  The sermon really went after God’s desire for us to be humble before Him, in light of our sin, fleeing our self-righteousness and hiding in Christ.  I hope it’s an encouragement to you as you struggle to fight to honor God in the way think about sin, others and yourself.

This week also featured the launch of Crestview Live (live stream of our service).  You can watch an archived video of that sermon on the Live page, starting around the 29:30 mark of the 3/2/14 AM Service.

LRC Email – Hard Stuff

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Here’s my 2/24/14AM email to Leadership Reno County alumni:

“This leadership stuff is difficult.  I mean I have wonderful ideas it’s just all these people around me that need to change.”  Sure we don’t verbalize much of this sentiment, but isn’t it laying dormant as a very real reality in our thoughts?  We’re not the problem…all THOSE people are.  Today, I want to remind you of one of the competencies at the core of our engaging in acts of leadership: Manage Self.  When we are thinking that everyone else is the problem, we’re forgetting that leadership starts with you and must engage others.  Today, then, it might be the case that you have a managing self issue more than a “THOSE people” issue.  Know your strengths, vulnerabilities and triggers.  Know the story others tell about you.  Choose among the competing values waging war in your heart.  Get used to uncertainty and conflict.  Experiment beyond your comfort zone.  Take care of yourself.  As you engage in these managing self behaviors, you’ll jump start your engagement and undoubtedly be more effective.  So, today, do the hard stuff—change yourself—and see if this doesn’t help you make progress in this issues you care about.

Weekend Recap – Wrath Revealed

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My 2/23/14AM Sermon, Wrath Revealed from Romans 1:18-32 is now online.  The sermon unpacked how God’s wrath should drive us to be a people not defined by the sins we struggle with, but by our relationship to God in the Gospel.  God is just to punish each and every sin.  We are driven to be a Gospel people in light of this.  I hope it was an encouraging sermon to you and hope you had a great Lord’s Day.

LRC Email: Head and Mouth

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Here’s my Monday Email to Leadership Reno County Alumni on 2/17/14:

We’re always on the look out for new and exciting ways to press you into thinking differently, to not be about “work avoidance” (anything below the threshold of change above) but to get into the “productive zone” (the orange highlighted area in the middle).  Hopefully, my Monday emails get you to think about these things (or at least keep them on your radar).  Here’s a short summary of a recent experiment we tried with the current Leadership Reno County Class.
In their book, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, Heifetz, Grashow and Linsky suggest that one of the reasons we don’t break into the productive zone by lingering in work avoidance is that we often don’t “speak the unspeakable”, giving language to the more provocative interpretations that are going through our minds.  On any issue, there are 2 conversations happening: the conversation you or someone else is saying publicly and the conversation inside your head related to the public conversation.  Usually, only a small portion of the “in my head” conversation emerges in the public convo.  And, what emerges is “polite banter” which we call “Kansas Nice.” 

So, think about a time when the head and mouth didn’t line up.  What could have been voiced?  What progress might the group achieved as you voiced your “in the head” conversation?  It’s not so much about others hearing you roar as much as helping the group or organization make progress on what you care about.  Today, then, think about how the head conversation needs to inform the public conversation and see if it doesn’t help you break out of work avoidance and engage the productive zone more effectively.

Weekend Recap – Gospel Power

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My 2/16/14AM sermon, Gospel Power from Romans 1:16-17, is now online.  In this sermon, I set out to awe my hearers with the amazing power of God coming into brilliant focus in the Gospel.  The message was simply: The Gospel is powerful in its message of rescue, for all, who believe.  I hope it encouraged those who heard it and I hope you have a great Sunday in these type of things.

The Gospel in a Nutshell (by Tim Keller)

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I love how Tim Keller outlines the passage I’m preaching on this coming Sunday (Romans 1:16-17):

Romans 1:16-17 – Paul’s Thesis: the gospel in a nutshell
Characteristics of the Gospelv.16a – The gospel destroys shame (its effect)
v.16b – The gospel is a living force (its power)
v.16c – The gospel can save anyone at all (its scope)
v.16d – The gospel saves only those believing (its condition)
v.16d – The gospel came to the Jew first, then the Gentile (its history)
Content of the Gospelv.17a – God provides a perfect righteousness and record for us
v.17b – It is received by faith permanently and exclusively
v.17c – The result of reception is a new way of life 

Why don’t you consider the amazing message of grace found in the Bible and believe?

LRC Email – The SOP

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Here’s my email to Leadership Reno County alums today, 2/10/14:

S.O.P.  Many of us live by it.  Certainly our work operates by it.  We trust that those police, fire safety and ambulatory service individuals among us will follow this for our good.  S.O.P. is a terrific was to engage in work.  What is S.O.P.?  Our standard operating procedure. 
I was challenged recently by a quick update from the Kansas Leadership Center which encouraged us to make experimentation your standard operating procedure.   The reasoning?  “Over time, ‘acting experimentally’ will become a way of being in situations that demand leadership.  It’s somewhat difficult at times to see experimentation as relating to leadership, though.  Here’s another quote: “Exercising leadership requires a resilient spirit and willingness to fail for the purpose of learning.  Test your assumptions by actively experimenting.  Imagine several possible approaches, then pick one and see what you learn.  Take smart risks to reveal the best path forward.” 
Another reason this is such important activity is because one of our main contentions is that we aren’t making the progress we’d like to see because we are doing the same old things in the same old ways.  The gap (between our reality and dreams) isn’t necessarily shrinking, in some cases it’s expanding.  So, it will require us act in different ways. 

How can you act experimentally today?  What can you try?  Experimenting might just be a key that helps unlock progress on your difficult challenges.  So, experiment and see what happens.