Prayer

One of the guys who’s blog I follow had a great prayer this last week…where I find myself many times and as I read it I found myself praying it too. Hope it helps some of my friends and ministry compadres out there serving faithfully in the fields…I edited to fit my church setting…try doing the same. It helps…

Dear God,

It’s Monday, but I am sure you’re already aware of that fact. I hope you were pleased with what happened at church yesterday. By the way, thanks for being there. Church is always better when you attend. I hope you felt honored and I did not hinder people from meeting you personally. I realize I am already rambling here, but you know how tanked I feel on Sunday afternoons and on most Mondays. Why can’t I be one of those pastors who are hyped after a service instead of one who feels like a can of Spam? Talking to people about you should be the easiest thing I do, but instead it takes every bit of my energy. Maybe it’s because we have an enemy who does not want people to hear the truth. I think Jesus mentioned something about birds eating the seeds off the ground as soon as it is scattered. I probably should pray more for these talks, so please remind me this week to do just that. I do not want any birds hanging around Hope Creek next weekend.

Lord, help me not to notice the empty seats more than I see the faces of people sitting in the occupied chairs. I do want to pray for new people to attend Hope Creek and fill the empty seats, but I also want to be a good shepherd to those who are there. Remind me on Sundays, when the attendance is a little down, that my popularity is not the reason people are gone. Sometimes, I take it personally, but you already know that, don’t you? Remind me regularly that we live in Durham and on Sundays, when the weather is perfect, some people go to the beach or to the mountains or to both. That is ok, because they can still listen to the talk online or by podcast. By the way, thanks for all the cool new technology that allows us to communicate and stay connected. Most people don’t give you the credit, but I know where great ideas come from.

Lord, help me to not be so aggravated when people give me immediate criticism about the Sunday talk. They should wait a day or so to give me their opinion but they don’t and probably never will. Forgive them Lord, because they have no idea how vulnerable and tired I feel right after a service. They have never been on a stage in front of people talking about life and death issues. When you give them that chance, I am sure they will then be more considerate about when to give their feedback.

Lord, help me not feel like every Sunday has to be “the best Sunday ever, in all of church history.” Not every talk has to be epic and not every worship service has to be “off the chain.” Remind all of my pastor friends on Twitter not to hype every weekend like it is the Super Bowl of all church weekends, every single week. You know that every Sunday service is not that great, because you attend their churches, too. Help us to build disciples with our weekend gatherings and not to create consumers who expect a new and improved product every weekend.

Lord, thanks again for allowing me to pastor Hope Creek and to spend my life serving your bride. I do love her and hope you come back soon to find her spotless and without wrinkles. Keep me focused on the important things and help me to ignore my own carnality. Thanks for the time. I hope to talk to you again real soon.

Read

I read an awesome summary and devotional today on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount…you know all the Blessed are’s…I’m always amazed at how just a little time in God’s word can clear my head, quiet my heart and challenge my thoughts on my future endeavors. When we approach God’s word with no hidden agendas, when we just come to Him and say, “Wherever, Whenever, Whatever, just speak to me and I’ll listen; we never walk away empty handed. Drinking deeply from God’s word is probably one of the most satisfying parts of my day.

Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?

It sounds cliche but my first heroes were cowboys. I remember the first time I read a book by a man named Louis LaMour. The pictures he created in my mind of vast sweeping plains, the lone gunman set against the world and determined to right wrongs, still move me to this day. (A reason one of my goals is to have all his books in my collection and eventually place them in my “study”, which is also a dream right now, for me and my son to read as we want…) As I grew older my cowboy heroes had a few other friends join them, Evel Knievel (yes i had the wind up Evel Knievel motorcycle!), The A Team, Police Officers, Fire Men and a Cowboy named Luke who I met as a young teen who taught me to ride a horse and spit (very important for a young boy)…There’s nothing quite like heroes to a child…the larger than life presence they afford, the influence they hold over our views and how perfect and strong we view them to be. As a man I’ve learned not to idolize other men or women, but I still think heroes hold a place in our hearts and lives. Folks who inspire us to live bigger lives, to impact eternity with the vapor of life we have been given…heroes are still needed. With the new report of Tiger Woods coming out today and his affair, so many of the Pastors I have known through the years having fallen victim to the same “mistakes”, presidents, CEO’s and Pop Music Starlets…I look at my kids and wonder who I point them to? (besides Jesus…I know that!) But who do I let them believe in and be inspired by? Today with a really heavy, heavy heart I find myself asking, where have all the cowboys gone?

Punks Teaching Leadership/Character

I’m a fan of MMA (mixed martial arts). I’m aware that this puts me in a bad light with many folks, but the competition, the merging of all the different disciplines and just generally the amazing commitment it takes to succeed in that arena impress me. But the thing I like best is the sportsmanship. You fight, you trash talk, you even get mad but at the end you shake hands and tell each other good job. It’s about character, integrity and a little thing called honor. This weekend I witnessed the complete opposite of that. After losing a match by split decision (for non MMA folks thing really close game) Tito Ortiz punked out and whined about an injury he had and blamed the loss on that. While the guy who beat him was standing there! It was the worst showing of sportsmanship and character I’ve seen. I will at some point watch these with my son and I told Karen, it would have been then that I looked at my son and said, “Don’t ever, ever ever be that guy!” Character counts and I was reminded of that all over again this weekend by a punk. See you can learn leadership from almost anywhere if you’re willing to look.

Tough week to Blog

Sorry for my lapse in blogging…the last couple of weeks have been difficult to say the least. I’m facing the possibily of foot surgery and we have a HUGE event coming up this Friday at the church. My mind wanderings have not been bloggable lately with all the pain meds and the lack of sleep, so hopefully I’ll have some good stuff to say after tomorrow when I find out that I won’t have to have surgery…(hope, hope pray pray)…take care all you bloggerland residents. Thanks for all you do!

A Night Of Love

So don’t miss your chance to attend “Oscar Night: A Night of Love” on November 13th here at The Creek. It’s a night where we say thank you to all our leaders, volunteers and ministry partners here at the Creek. A great dinner, some laughs and a time to celebrate all God has done and is doing here at Hope Creek. “Hope” you can all make it we would “love” that!

Sharks

Good leaders are like sharks…if they stop moving, dreaming, pushing, visioneering and learning they die. It’s why so few people truly are leaders…they stop swimming and then they die…worst part is most of them don’t even know they’re dead.

Here’s a guy with Vision

Last week in NY I got to meet one of my personal heroes. When it comes to vision, execution and just generally being a great leader I really like Bobby Flay…here’s a pic of me with him in his NY Bar Americain…nice…

Vision

Personal vision (as well as corporate) is a huge passion for me…it’s the age old saying, “If you aim at nothing that’s precisely what you’ll hit.” In the past I have been guilty of not being clear enough with vision to avoid being one of the name it claim it gurus that make me want to vomit…but I have learned the hard way that God given vision is just that and you can have that without coming across as a wanna be Messiah. So what’s your vision, for yourself, for your family, for the job you have or the people you lead…ask God to show you where he wants you to be this time next year…you might be surprised at the answers…I know I was.

New York

So later this week I’ll be posting some awesome pics from my trip to NY. Lots of folks say bad things about the city but Karen and I LOVED IT…it was one of the funnest trips we have had as a couple…plus it’s not everyday you get to officiate a ceremony in Central Park. More info later and sorry for the lapse in blogging again.