Life is a matter of perspective! And from where I'm sitting it's looking good! I just choose each day to dwell on the victorious side of the mountain!

Safe Christianity does not intrigue me! It never has and I pray that never does! My worst fear is becoming  a safe Christian!!!! I want to become an unsafe radical follower of Jesus Christ!

This lifestyle is all throughout the Bible.............

• Noah built a boat that would house two of every species to provide shelter from this earth drowning storm that was coming. Problem......It never rained before! Very unsafe on Noah's part!
• Abraham left his place of comfort to obey the Lords invitation to go. Problem..... He had no idea where he was going. The invitation did not come with directions. Very unsafe on Abrahams part!
• Gideon agreed to fight. Problem........He only had 300 men compared to his opponents thousands. Very unsafe on Gideon's part!
• The three Hebrew boys did not comply to the kings orders decreeing it illegal to bow down to anyone but him. They would not bow down to him. The problem........The penalty for such disobedience was DEATH by ways of a furnace heated 7 time hotter than its usual temperature! Very unsafe behavior from these Hebrew boys!
• Daniel continued to pray spite the kings decree outlawing prayer.  Problem......Punishment for such behavior was the lions den with real starving lions. Very unsafe on Daniel's part!.
• Paul being beat to the point of death or so they thought, recoups and goes back into the same city. Problem......They wanted him dead, they already proved that. Very unsafe on Paul's part!
• Peter walking on water in obedience to Jesus' invitation to do so. Problem......Peter was 100% human and it is scientifically impossible to do such a thing. Very unsafe on the part of Peter.
• Jesus left Heaven to come to earth. Problem.......It cost Him His life. They crucified Him for His obedience. Very unsafe on the part of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit was never sent for a denomination! The Holy Spirit was sent for the church, to empower the church to be the church!

Maintenance mode can be a lethal cancer in the church. This could be the demise of a local church. I see it all to often. A church reaches a certain level numerically and financially and then gets comfortable. The bills are getting paid and the payroll checks are getting signed and as a result a false sense of security settles in. Usually unknowingly. As a leader you must identify and diagnose this cancer before it kills your church or stunts its growth. As the Pastor I have to have the guts to call it out in my team when I see it and so do you as a leader. If we don't it can mark the beginning of a slow agonizing death for your church. The church was called to take ground until Jesus returns! When maintenance is on purpose and planned or in other words part of the strategy thats ok. I'll talk about that in the next post. If maintenance is the result of laziness that is SIN and horrible stewardship! Below I will throw down a few thoughts on the subject!

MAINTENANCE MODE =

• It's the absence of innovation. The church should be the most innovative force on the planet! Lack of innovation in the church means the web site has been the same for years and is rarely updated. MTV Updates their site daily and changes the sites look regularly. Ministries are not growing. There is no sense of life in the house. New ministries are not being launched, we keep beating the same dead horse, ride the horse until it dies, then get a new one!
• It's the lack of execution. Some of the greatest ideas will remain on the page of someone's journal, because of the lack of execution! The church creates a false sense of advancement by talking about all it's going to do. Unfortunately this becomes an everlasting cycle.
• There is no advancement taking place. We were created to grow and to reproduce. The church was created to grow and to take ground until Jesus comes back. 
• Growth is minimal at best and accidental if there is any. There is no strategy for growth. Churches actually think if they just open the doors people are going to come. If it were only that easy. I heard someone once say if the Lord wants us to grow He will bring them in. WOW!
• Usually the result of a church getting comfortable and lazy

 

Distractions are nothing more than bait in a trap. They accomplish their mission only when we take the bait. The moment we do, the teeth of this ruthless trap latch on and force us to give it more attention than it deserves. This in the end will cost us valuable time and energy. Some break free from the trap and recoup all that was lost. There are some though that cant break free and as a result they watch thier dream die right before their eyes,usually living with huge regrets wondering what if. So, the moral here is don't take the bait as tempting as it may be. It may cost you more than you will ever know. So, keep your eyes on the prize and choose your battles wisely!

The enemy of my soul does not wage war over my salvation anymore. He lost that war years ago. The new war is over my focus. The enemies weapon of choice is distractions. They come in all shapes and sizes and at all times of the day and night. Distractions will cause me to retreat from the front lines of my destiny to fight battles that mean nothing in the end. Some of the distractions the enemy has tossed my way lately are....fear, doubt, finances, and an undesirable health report. My destiny must dictate my next and every step not the emotions derived from these distractions.The enemy fears a man who lives in the center of Gods perfect will for his life! So he'll do anything he can in his limited power to pull him away from this sacred place. So, with that said  we must stay alert and keep our eyes on the prize while fighting only the battles God has ordained!

I"m going to throw down a few thoughts regarding TLC and life in general........

• Yesterday was another amazing day @ The Life Church!
• Our numbers were low, much lower than I expected. We were down 70 from Easter weekend and 40 from the weekend before Easter. I can account for most of the 40, but it did cause me to lose a little sleep. We did have quite a few new folks so that was awesome. Always love seeing new faces. We did'nt even have 70 people in the church last year at this time so in keeping things in perspective were doing ok.
• The word was simple but heavy yesterday. At the end of the day I know this.......  despite how I felt about the message I preached the word that God placed in my heart. If just a small handful of folks can get a hold of what was shared yesterday, Stockton will never be the same! Seriously!!
• Church is an unusual creature. Big crowds usually equal record low offerings and small crowds equal record high offerings. Can't figure that one out. So I won't even try! I do know this, were doing everything that God has called us to do as a church in our city, so no worries.
• Systems work when you work the systems. Do not create a system to accommodate your current numbers. Create a system that will get you to the next level and beyond! Example...... A church of 50 people on a good day has 100 guest show up. Would they be able to accomodate that exponential and instant growth? Probably not. Just a thought here, If Jesus builds the church do you think He is going to cause people to go to a church that is ready for the growth because they're expecting it, or send them to a church that isn't expecting  growth so they're not ready for it? I have a hunch that He is going to send families to the churches that are expecting growth therefore are ready for guest. Just a thought.
• Systems are a simple matter of being proactive rather than reactive.
• Systems are not of the devil despite what the hyper spiritual critics may say. No one in mind with that statement so dont read anything into it. There are just some folks that think an organized church is legalistic and quenches the Spirit. No wonder the average church size is 60 - 70 people.
• God is really messing me up in my prayer time.
• I got a glimpse of where TLC is going. It's big. Scary big! Make you pray more kind of big! And we will be ready for what God wants to do through our young healthy church!
• Can't wait to launch our satellite services at our north side campus. That is a great harvest field over there. So many souls that need to know Jesus. I don't talk much about this, but trust me its alive! A couple of more I's to dot and t's to cross and we'll be ready for a launch!!
• Christians need to smile more!
• I need to live like I'm dying!
• The church needs to live like Jesus is coming back!...........Because He is!!!!!

    

• It was another good day at The Life Church today. Bob Kilpatrick was with us today and I think he did a great job! I think our folks enjoyed his ministry. Man that guy can play the guitar! Bob has a great heart and loves God, no doubt about it.
• I hate small thinking!!! I think it insults God!!
• I hate politics in the church, they suck. Worse yet, they usually hurt people. Thank God we dont have that issue at TLC. If that monster shows his face we'll crush it!!!!!
• We can never forget that the devil is defeated!!! We need to serve God like we believe that.
• We need to put more faith in God than we do our enemy!
• One thing Bob said this morning rocked my world, he wants to die running full speed. Me too!!!!!!
• The church needs to raise the bar in every area.
•  Small thinking = small church. A small church because of small thinking is never ok! NEVER!
• God deserves our best, but does He get it? He didnt give us His leftovers, He gave us His best, Jesus! We should follow His lead.
• Leadership can be a lonely road. If you're a leader you just said amen. I heard you!! Are you willing to stand alone on the things you know are right or best for those you lead? Don't  compromise your conviction for anyone or anything!
• I'm standing at a major crossroad and I need that  wisdom that God gives liberally to those that ask. God....I'm asking!!
• There are a couple pieces to the TLC puzzle that I need to get into my hands asap!
• This is going to be a huge week. Please keep me in your prayers. I need them big time.
• It's time to go and fire up the grill! That's right BBQ!!!

Came across this great quote from the man "Walt Disney." Chew on this one slowly and enjoy.........
“A leader’s job is to do what has to be done, when it has to be done, in the way it should be done, whether you like it or not and whether they like it or not.”

This is a great quote from Perry Noble. Perry is the Sr. Pastor of New Spring Church located in Anderson South Carolina. Enjoy........
"Lazy leadership = a lethargic church! Leaders have tough conversations, make tough calls and do unpopular things!"