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Showing posts from 2012

Be Intentional!

I've been in pastoral ministry now for six and a half years.  Before that I worked in the computer industry for nearly 14 years.  In those 20 years I've seen a lot of different styles of companies.  I've seen very different church ministry models and leaders.  And even though all these organizations look very different at the micro level, I think  every single one of them can be put into one of two categories: Those that are in REACTION mode and those that are in INTENTIONAL mode. Let me explain this from what I've observed in the church world for the past half dozen years.  It would seem to me that the vast majority of churches are not intentional in how they do things.  In fact, it would appear that the leaders work much more in an reactionary type of way.  Something happens - we respond.  A crisis hits - we respond.  Someone resigns - we respond.  A phone call or an email in the morning will completely change the work plans for the day. Now, of course, when an e

I Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing

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Ever since I was a little kid I've been afraid.  I know people who see me up in front of hundreds of people, whether that's been in theater productions, preaching at church or doing training seminars, find this hard to believe... but I spent most of my life nervous, shy and afraid. I was the kid who was too afraid to ask for the free toy at McDonald's.  I was the kid too shy and nervous to play with other kids.  I was the teenager way too terrified to step up and ask a girl on a date.  I was the consultant so afraid of making a mistake and disappointing a client. Over the last few months, I've been praying and reading and asking God how does someone like me, who's natural flesh reaction is fear, lead?  How do my other gifts and talents trump that fear that wants to creep into my head at 2am in the morning while I'm trying to sleep?  The answer isn't really all that profound.  The answer is FAITH! Over and over and over again Jesus told his followers

Fifty Books I've Loved and Learned From - Book THREE: The Measure of our Success

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It has been WAY too long since I've simply sat down and written a blog post.  Kind of wondering if there's any writing still left in me by the time I get my sermon done :)  I'm sure there is... but I've been doing most of my writing in my private journals, which are just for me and for God and are not for everyone out here in the blogoverse. I have been doing some great reading lately that has really encouraged me.  One that I'm reading now is going to be taking a high place in my book shelf... actually I'm reading it on my iPad... so I'll be picking up a paper copy of it to go through again.  This book is The Measure of Our Success: An Impassioned Plea to Pastors by Shawn Lovejoy. It seems to me that a lot of the books that are directly for pastors seem to be few and far between... and the ones that I do find, don't seem to offer much.  And to be honest, at first glance, this book doesn't seem to be telling us stuff that we didn't already

Water Into Wine

Probably one of the most important sermons I've ever preached...

Easter Message

Been awhile since I've posted anything... I'm in the works of rethinking how I use the blog... for my own spiritual/leadership development and for sharing news with the church... hopefully in the next month it will all come together. In the meantime, here is our message from this past Easter!

A Called Marriage

This was probably my favorite sermon I've ever done!  I got to preach with my wife Danielle for the first time and LOVED IT!  Hope you enjoy it too!

A Called Identity

Kicked off our CALLED series looking at 1 Peter and what the apostle has to say about our identity.

Habakkuk - The Praise!

Habakkuk - The Low

Kicked off a new series this weekend... looking at the Old Testament book of Habakkuk.  Small book with a big message for all of us.

Resolutions - Fearless

What Are You Afraid Of?

Yesterday at Greenbelt we wrapped up our series called Resolutions: Living the Life You Know You Should.  This has been a really great series to get us to look closely at our lives and ask ourselves why don't we live the life that we want to... but we just don't seem to be able to make the necessary changes. I concluded the series talking about being FEARLESS. Let's face it... if we were really honest with each other, everyone is afraid of something.  It could be big things like death, illness, injury, or lost of employment.  Or it could be little things like afraid of letting people down.  Regardless of what fear you have... the truth is, we all have them. And I believe that's why the Bible has so much to say about being FEARLESS.  From beginning to end the Bible is constantly telling us that we don't need to be afraid. Fear will constantly get in the way of the life that you want to have.  Fear will always cripple you and keep you stuck.  And that's a

Resolutions - Generosity

Resolutions - Humility

Prayer for 2012

This time of year is always a period of reflection for me... looking back on the past year, all the blessings, all the learnings, all the challenges... each of these have helped to shape me into who I am today. Last year was one of huge blessing for my family and I. We've been settling into a new life here in a new city and new church. We have SO loved being part of Greenbelt. Living in Ottawa has really felt like being back home. Making new friends and new ministry connections was slow at first and now we're really thrilled where we see so many great relationships developing. Last year was a big one for me to trust God in all areas of my life. Since that was my main prayer for 2011 it's really neat to look back and see all the places where God showed up. Not all areas where perfect... but He has shown me so much and constantly reminded me that I can rest in Him and trust that He will provide! This year is going to bring more change into our family. We just feel that