A Heart-felt Thank You...

Last night (5/20/2009), we completed a remarkable ministry season. At Stevens Creek, we have discovered that organizing the church's calendar and schedule in seasons helps us to celebrate victories and maintain focus. Our service times change with the school semesters. For instance, we offer Wednesday worship from January 14th through May 20th and August 12th through November 18th. This gives us a natural time to re-launch which provides the infusion of momentum for the church. We also use this as a time to review our Sunday morning times too. We do not change Sunday morning unless we are forced to because of growth (we have changed Sunday times every year for last three years).  

Now, for the purpose of this post. Like I said, we just finished an incredible ministry season. We do water baptisms four times a year. Two of the baptism correspond to the final Wednesday Worship experience of the spring and fall semesters. One is in February to provide those individuals who received Christ during the holiday season and new year push. The other one is in August to celebrate the lives that came to Christ during the summer months. Last night we baptized in water around 50 new converts. So, for the first five months of 2009, we have seen around 75 new converts baptized in water.  

Last night was a record for us. Our previous record was around 35 at the conclusion of 40 Days of Purpose several years back. I grew up in a mill village church that constantly prayed for revival and had extended meetings in hopes that the lost would come and get saved. It just did not work. My home church is smaller today than it was when I was a part of their fellowship. As I said, we prayed for revival, but we never saw it come to pass, so I never really knew what it looked like. Well, that's not the case now. today I know what revival looks like.  

Stevens Creek is in the middle of a "move of God." When lost people are found and they bring their friends, revival happens. For the last several days leading up to this semester's baptism, I had a sense that this was going to be a big one. I have carried a deep sense of appreciation for the Lord allowing us to be a part of what He is doing. I am awed at what we have seen.  

Last night I baptized the daughter of the General Contractor for our three building projects. I have worked with this person since 1996. In fact, we were his first project back then. He was in his twenties and last year our new addition was his 92nd project. We have lived the life of Christ in front of him for over ten years. Last fall, he came on a non-dedicatory event. Then, he came back. Today, he is a regular attender and last night his daughter stood before our congregation and confessed Christ as her savior. It was very special.  

In addition to that, I baptized at least two twenty-somethings who earlier this year were strung out on drugs, but today they are free from their sin and free from their addiction. I am humbled by this move of God's spirit. Over and over last night, I heard similar stories like: "I was invited by my friend to come to The Creek." God uses people to carry his message.  

The members of Stevens Creek have been God's hands extended to our community. I am honored to serve them in the Lord's harvest field. It's an honor to serve along side of the wonderful volunteers, the leadership team, the contributors, the staff and elders. In addition to that, it was an honor to have the support of our Administrative Bishop, Dr. Don Walker. Last night when I shared with him the news of the baptisms. His reply was: FANTASTIC!  

Today I want to offer a heart-felt "thank you" as we celebrate God's grace on all of us.

Mouth in Motion ...Mind not in gear

Have you ever said something and the moment that you said it you wished that you could rewind the tape? Ugh. I hate it when that happens.  One of the marks of a seasoned leader is to know when to speak and know when to keep silent.  I consider myself a seasoned leader, but there are times when I revert back to putting my mouth in motion before I put my mind in gear.  Yes, there are times when I give a quick reply before the person has a chance to finish their sentence.

Instead of allowing patience to rule, I allowed my impatience to take the microphone. Whew, it happened again yesterday.  I was in a conversation with a incredible group of leaders when a comment was made about a situation that I have long since deleted from my conversation logs. I quickly moved to squelched it.  

As soon as I spoke up, I knew that I had just made a leadership faux paux.  I tried to patch it up, but the damage had been done.  I wanted to rewind the tape, but I could not.

So, what's the take-away?  Well, I will once again work at respecting the comments of other people.  I will allow them to finish their sentences before I speak.  I will pause and allow their words to sink in.  I will try to listen with an open mind so I can gain wisdom from another's experience.  When I am right, I will try not to make people feel that they should not have spoken.  When I am wrong, I will admit it and humbly accept a better way. 

How did the situation turn out? Well, after I realized my mistake, I attempted to build a solution that satisfies both parties.  Hopefully, this compromise will build consensus.  

In restrospect,  I regretted expressing my opinion so quickly, but I still hold to my original thoughts. However, I should have listened and then shared why I see things differently.  Next time, I will think twice before put my mouth in motion. 

Pace and Passion

If you are going to have a passionate life and be who you want to be, you must pace yourself for the long haul.  Life is a marathon, not a 100-yard dash.  The Apostle Paul wrote:Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24).

A passionate life requires a lot of energy.   It's important to plan times to be quiet.  You need alone time.  For some of you, the best thing that you could do this week is spend some time by yourself with no cell phone, no PDA, no Internet and no music.  Take with you a Bible and a note pad.  Allow God to speak to you.  Write whatever comes to your mind.  Allow God to replenish your soul. .

You will never experience true passion if you are constantly running here and there.  You must pace yourself. Let go of the things that are holding you back.  Be realistic about your schedule.  Establish some priorities and reorder your life.  You will find what you've been looking for and you will become the person you want to be.

Calvin Miller wrote in his book The Table of Inwardness about an antique wooden dynamite box in his home.  The box was made in the nineteenth century and it was carefully constructed to withstand shock so that so the explosive contents could be transported from the manufacturer to a place of use.On the lid were large red and black letters that said, DANGER DYNAMITE!  He said that the last time he saw the box it was filled with common paraphernalia.

The box is like a lot of us today.  We are created to be spiritually passionate people, filled with the energy of God, but instead of having spiritual dynamite inside, we are filled with common everyday stuff.

If we are going to be who we want to be and be the people God wants us to be, then we have to empty ourselves of the junk that has cluttered our lives and ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit.