"I know no lost"

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This really struck me:

Jesus did not say "I have come that you might have meetings". No, He said "I have come that you might have life". Life is not lived out in meetings at the church, it is lived out at home and at work and at school! Rick said the people do not bring their lost friends to church because they don't have any...because they are in meetings at the church too much.

Random Quotes and Wisdom

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Throughout the talk today, Rick Warren would throw out statements that I knew I needed to remember. Ones like:

  • 150,000,000 attend church on Sunday in America. That is more people that attend church in ONE weekend than attend Pro sporting events across America for a YEAR! Can you imagine what would happen if the church actually started discipling people?
  • Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is moving ahead in spite of your fear.
  • Church is about the people, not the steeple.
  • Use other people's ideas to build the Kingdom of God. There is nothing new under the sun. The person who wants to be original or nothing is both! Rick does not copyright his info. He WANTS people to use it for the glory of God. He said today "if my bullet fits your gun, shoot it."
  • You don't grow people to commitment, you grow people through commitment.
  • Spiritual growth is intentional...not accidental or automatic.
  • There is a big difference between growing old and growing up.
  • You are as close to God as you want to be. And if you don't feel close to God, guess who moved?
  • God does not bless programs, he blesses people.
  • Take Notes!!! The shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory.
  • It's not all about the weekend services. The weekend is just the funnel.

This wisdom just flowed!

Small Groups

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Today, Rick Warren shared several things about small groups. A few thoughts stuck with me.

First, he stated that he believes that people join small groups for content and stay in them for relationship!

He said that true discipleship happens through a believers commitment to both large group gatherings and small groups.

The last thing that really hit me was a story that he told about the week that they added 3,200 new small groups to the 800 that they had already. Here is the readers digest version of the story:

The staff was planning a big campaign push to start 300 new small groups. Before they did, the Holy Spirit spoke to Warren and told him that he needed to add a zero to that goal and expect for 3,000 new groups. He new that his staff would think he had lost his mind. Then, the Lord told him that he would do it by asking for people to serve as hosts. He was convinced that not many people could be lay pastors, shepherds, leaders, or teachers, (all names that they had previously used for the small group leaders) but that many people could do hospitality and be hosts. So, he asked the church if 3,000 would raise their hand to be a host. He further defined that all you had to be able to do to serve as a Host at Saddleback was:

H- Have a heart for people
O- Open up your home (or condo, apartment, Starbucks or park bench)
S- Serve coffee or a drink
T- Turn on a DVD player (they do church-wide DVD series)

3,200 people became hosts that week. 17 had to get saved first and 400 had to be baptized. Is that crazy or what!?!?!?!?

In case you wondered...Saddleback Church has 30,000 people attending small groups. That is more people than attend the church!!

Integrity: What's your definition?

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Here is Rick Warren's:

  • I am what I am.
  • I am what you see.
  • What you see is what you get.
  • It is NOT perfection or perfect honesty.
  • Base word is integer. Integer means "a complete entity or a whole number". Integrity is the whole picture of who you are. Togetherness of person.
  • As a result, Warren suggests that if you have integrity, your life cannot be compartmentalized. You cannot live in integrity and have your:
    • Personal compartment
    • Public compartment
    • Wife compartment
    • Anger compartment
    • Friend compartment
    • Pornographic compartment
    • Educational compartment
    • Spiritual compartment
    • Greedy compartment
  • Instead, your life is together as the WHOLE of who you are!
  • Finally, it is REALLY being who you REALLY are!

Wow!! That is a powerful way of thinking of integrity.

Church Growth Happens in Seasons

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As long as there is a heaven and an earth, there shall be springtime and harvest. Church growth happens in seasons. There will be seasons of growth in number and other seasons of growth in depth. Sometimes "winter" can seem long and discouraging, but remember that the roots grow in the winter. Without strong roots, you have no depth and will not sustain height. This really got me thinking about us at CCF! We have been in a season of growth in number (height) for about 3 years. I wonder if God is not calling us to a season of growth in depth now. I think He is. And I think we should take it seriously!

The way that Saddleback Church has done that is by way of ebb and flow. They do one "campaign" a year. Understanding that growth happens in seasons, they work to have a huge campaign that fuels their season of growth. They push hard, expect a lot and lead people into new levels of commitment. Then, they back off.

Examples of campaigns they have done:

  • 40 days of purpose
  • 30 Days of change
  • Love
  • Faith
  • Small Group Campaign (Started 3,000 new Small Groups in 1 week during this "campaign"!!!! Yes, you read that right. May share more about it later.)

They have used this strategy for 25 years! I think it has worked. 25,000 people. What do you think?

A Life-Giving and Life-Changing Day!

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Without exaggeration, today was a life-giving experiences! Wow! It was an unspeakable privilege to spend 2+ hours 10 feet from Rick Warren at a Pastors Event Forum in DC (in the basement of a coffeehouse). The guy is loaded with depth! He cranked out wisdom way faster than I could write. Let me give you an idea here. I brought 5 pieces of paper in case I wanted to take notes. I filled all 5 and the back of each. 10 pages of notes and then began writing up the sides.

So, needless to say...I need to process this stuff while it is fresh. Learning requires something beyond just hearing. I need to write some of this out a lot more than you want to read it (I think)! I am going to do it a little different. I am going to do several mini-posts instead of 1 long post. Read the ones you wish. The separate entries will help me organize my thinking. Obviously, I learned more than I can ever compile here.

(I took this blurry picture today. I also had my picture taken with him...at his request. His staff will be emailing it to me. Cool, huh?)

Chuck-E-Cheese, Take 2

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When Davis was about 7 or 8 months we took him to Chuck-E-Cheese for the first time. It was rather anti-climactic. We were well intentioned first time parents, but he was too young to get it. We left in 15 minutes with most of our tokens. Last night we tried again. 13 months old...take 2. It was a LOT BETTER! He was climbing and sliding and driving the little car. Good Times. Here is a short video clip from our excursion that I took with my Treo (it's not too clear, but you will see that he loves to drive like his Daddy). By the way, we've still got tokens left. I am telling you, this is the farthest I have ever seen $10 stretch. Looking forward to a 3rd visit sometime.

--Noah

How to Manage your Money

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Last night Tricia took my Mom to Toby's Dinner Theater and I stayed home with my main man. After I put him to bed, I was able to dedicate a few hours to something I have been wanting to do for a long time...check out online webcasts and podcasts. It is too easy for Pastor's to regularly give out but rarely take in. I struggle with finding that balance. Every Sunday I have to be "on" and TV preachers sometimes leave a bit to be desired. Hence, I need to find creative ways to hear sermons and glean fresh biblical insight.

Anyway, I enjoy listening to some messages that not only encourage my growth, but display new and creative ways to communicate! Let me show you an example of what I mean. I know I mention Mark Batterson, Lead Pastor of National Community Church quite often, but I make no apology. Not only do I know him personally, but he is doing some incredible stuff (yes, with the help of lots of resources and great staff)!

Last night, I watched his sermon from January 2oth. He is doing a series called "HOW". This message was about "How to Manage Money". I want to share it with you for 4 reasons:

  1. It is video form. Meaning that the church (all 4 movie theater locations) watched this sermon on the screen, not in person. Mark was out of town, so they prepared his video message before he left and they watched it in DC while he was in Utah snowboarding with his son.
  2. It's incredibly practical and relevant. That becomes very obvious when you find that one of the points in his message in "Open up a Roth IRA". So cool. Yes, you CAN do this in church.
  3. It's strongly Biblical.
  4. Finally, I dream of when I can do this one day! I would LOVE to be able to do this type of stuff. For example, it would be neat to tape a message or 2 like this before I leave for my Sabbatical this summer and show them while we are away. I look forward to continuing to grow as a church so that we can have the resources (money) to make this type of creativity a part of the CCF experience! (If you know something I don't...let me know and we will start filming this week!)

I know that most of you will feel that you do not have the time to watch this, but if you do or when you do...you will not regret it.

Click Here to watch the message!!

Working a 24

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Yesterday was a very interesting experience. I worked a 24 hour shift 8am Wednesday through 8am Thursday. Is that today? Wow! Yep! It really turned out to be a great experience hosting Safe Haven homeless in our building this week. We have 3 more nights to go yet. They sleep right in the gym on cots. Lots of great folks from our congregation and other local churches are pitching in and serving to make this possible.

Yesterday, I mentioned Randy cutting their hair. It was really cool. They were so thrilled...you would have thought that he had given them a million bucks. 8 of 15 got their haircut. I wanted to share a picture with you. Saw a couple regular readers at the church tonight. They remarked that I had not posted today...they thought I was asleep all day. I wish. I was lucky enough to get a morning nap. My bed is calling me soon!

--Noah

Sleeping at the Church, Loving the Needy!

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Or not! I may not be sleeping much. I am staying at the church tonight with the guys from the Safe Haven Homeless ministry that we are hosting this week. It has been a neat evening. A highlight was certainly seeing my brother in law Randy cut the guys hair for free. They waited in line all evening as he made them all look WAY DIFFERENT than when they came in tonight! Good stuff.
Today, in my quiet time, I decided to read verses about ministering to the needy. 2 verses emerged as ones that set the tone well for why we would engage in such ministry:

"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:11

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." Matthew 25:35

Simple Thoughts about a Complex Topic

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Recently, you may have read me talking about my last Master’s Class. Well, it was a counseling class and one of my final projects was that I had to develop a “hypothetical seminar” that I would lead in a local church setting. I did it on Grief recovery. I have been meaning to post a bit of my work here on my blog. This may minister to you or you may want to pass a pearl along to someone that is dealing with grief (if you find a pearl).

  • MOST people know very little about how to deal with death and loss in their own lives or the lives of the people around them. It is incredibly healthy for you to equip yourself with a basic knowledge of grief recovery before death strikes. If one does not have that chance, it becomes crucial that they do so after death strikes. There is no reason to go through such deep pain without the comfort and power of basic understanding.
  • When people experience death they are plunged into a place that is often painful and difficult. Even though it is not a place they ever wanted to go, people enter a journey of pain, adjustment and hopefully healing.
  • A journey through grief is often a long, difficult and unpredictable journey. Knowing that from the outset saves you the pain of wondering what is wrong with you!

  • The grief journey is as unique as the people that go through it. It requires patience, understanding, time, support and effort on your part.
  • Forget what you heard! Time is not as easy a healer as we make it out to be!

  • Don’t worry about letting people down. How you grieve is not up to anybody else. They do not know what you are experiencing. They are not going through what you are.
  • Make a commitment to accept that your journey through grief is unique to you. It will not necessarily be the way that you thought it would be. It will likely not be like anyone else’s either. If you believe that, you will save yourself the hurt and negativity that accompanies comparing yourself to others.
  • The nature and duration of the death and the level of relationship that the grieving person had with deceased make a huge impact on the intensity of the grief journey.
  • Make a commitment not to place additional pressure on yourself to do ANYTHING too early. Do what you feel ready to do when you feel ready to do it.
  • Embrace the power of empathy! This applies to your personal grief journey and the journey of those around you. It is essential that you are receiving the ever-so-important gift of empathy from the people around you. It is equally important that you are extending it to those who are grieving. Empathy is what people want and need more than anything else in their journey through grief. The problem is that they don’t often know that!
  • Don’t be searching for fast fixes. Take it one day at a time. If there was an overnight solution, you would have heard about it by now!
  • Keep the memories alive! It is ok, really!
  • What is the most important thing you need to do? Something! Do something. Understand that there are many resources available to you! Here is a great starting list:

o Scripture, Prayer & Presence and comfort of the Holy Spirit

o The healing power of Christ

o Your Family

o Your Friends

o Your Church

o Your Co-workers

o Support groups in the community or the church. One of the most popular church support groups is Grief Share at http://www.griefshare.com/

o Great Books!

o Christian Counseling

o Medication

Hi! Who are you?

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Hi! Thanks for checking in. Who are you? Please comment, email or tell me if you read my blog (just give me your name). Sometimes I am curious of my audience. That is the weirdest thing about blogging. You have NO IDEA who is connecting to you. So, if you do not feel bothered by the idea...please tell me in some way or another who you are. Go ahead, you can do it. Email (noahkaye@capitalchristian.org) or comment now (click below) or tell me the next time you see me! Thanks!

--Noah

A Great Search Team

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In last month's Capital we published the names of all of the members of our Youth Pastor Search Team. Well, I just wanted to brag on them for a sec. Last night we gathered at 6:30pm and we interviewed 3 candidates (2 in person and 1 by phone). The meeting went three and a half hours!! But it was a great meeting. This team is a lot of fun and really doing a great job! The youth were an asset to our time last night. Everyone pitched in and contributed to a super evening (that we had packed tight).

Do you want to know who we are going to hire? Yeah, me too. Keep praying for us. Here is how we have been praying...Lord, you have already selected our next Youth Pastor, so please help us listen to you so that you can lead us to them.

CCF Upper Room Almost Finished!!

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In case you did not know, in our spare time, we have been completing an 80x70 youth and senior center in the upstairs of our facility...elevator and all! I am telling you, THIS SPACE ROCKS!!!! Many thanks to Lew Good who has invested tirelessly into it's completion!! And many thanks to the people who have pledged and given financially to this dream. As of today, we have received pledges and receipts totaling $508, 294!!! Miracles! That is the only adequate word!

If you have not seen it, I guarantee you that you will be surprised by how cool it is! I am so excited that I went upstairs to see it 3 different times today. The paint is done, the carpet is in (fun carpet, I might add), flat screen TV'S abound and the sound system will be finished within the hour. I will post a pic soon!

Grand Opening TBA...

Weekend Reflections

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Here are few reflections from the weekend.

  • Got back last night from a great time in Lancaster County with the family. That is such a cool place to hang out. Relaxing. And the way of life of the Amish always does something to my world view. It's hard to explain, but it's good. Great bonding time, too.
  • Davis can now say 5-10 different words, is walking all over the place, climbing stairs, backing off of furniture and his favorite thing to do is to play ball. So fun!
  • Church was great again this morning! Attendance has been low the month of January. Not sure why. But, unity and energy have been high. We have had some great services where we have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and for some reason the numbers have not sidetracked me like they would have a few years ago. I want to be faithful to developing and impacting who is there! I will let the Lord deal with who is not there (and making sure that the bills stay paid...sometimes less people means less money...not sure what today's offering was, but we have been low this month).
  • I have always said, "numbers are not the vision, but they are a product of the vision!!" We look at the numbers and watch them, but they do not always define the health of where we are.
  • We are hosting Safe Haven homeless ministry at the church all week. Pray for this to be a time of great ministry to the men that will be sleeping in our facility.

Off to a Sunday nap! Feeling sleepy! Peace!

--Noah

Off to swim and see the animals!

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I love all the firsts that we get to do with our little man!! This afternoon we are headed off to Lancaster, PA where we have rented a room for tonight at a hotel with a pool. We are going swimming with Davis! We'll also eat some good Lancaster County food. Then, tomorrow we are going to a petting zoo to show Davis animals that he has never seen before. Horses, goats, and the like. It is gonna be a blast...if he doesn't get too scared. I have been pretty much checked out (mainly out of town) since Monday morning. Looking forward to checking back in and sharing some quality family time!

Oh, by the way, I wanted to let you know that miracles do still happen! I got my recent masters project back. I got an "A"! Modern day miracle, trust me.

--Love to you!