Most Fridays...Making Memories

Some Fridays I am "off work", but most Fridays I am with Davis while Mommy is at work. I have been spending the day with Davis today. He is really becoming loads of fun! The kid is out-of-control-cute. We sat in Starbucks each in our own comfy chair this morning while we shared breakfast together. He has learned the word "Hi" in the last week or so. Hence, everyone that walked in the front door received a loud "Hi" from young Davis. After that, we went and got his blood taken. That was a blast too! He pulled through like an ox, though. Now he is napping and Daddy is wrapping up his message for Sunday and blogging!

So, there's a little update for today.

FYI-- I write these types of posts mainly to capture memories with my son! One day I will be able to share this with him. That'll be cool. Every couple months I print my blog and throw it in our fireproof safe...that way if the internet ever vanishes, I've got these memories captured. If I was not blogging, I would only ever remember a fraction of these experiences with him.

--Noah

Sunday's Message

I am excited about Sunday's Message. I really enjoyed interacting with John 13:34-35 yesterday as I prepared for this weekend.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Sunday I will be sharing out of this passage. I will discuss:

  1. The Command
  2. The Qualification
  3. The Result

Wanna guess each? Go right ahead.

Trivia Question: How many times do the words "Love one Another" appear in the Bible before John 13:34? Hint: look at the second word of the passage!

God's Word always amazes me.

--Noah

Cool Chapter Titles

What makes you want to read a book? For me....sometimes it's the title. Other times it's the author. However, sometimes, it's cool chapter titles. Last week, one of our youth pastor candidates was holding a book that he was reading called "Confessions of a Reformission Rev." by Mark Driscoll. When I asked what he was reading, he opened it up and shared the chapter titles with me. They grabbed me! I decided that moment that I want to read this book! I will put it on the runway. For now, here are the chapter titles:

  1. Jesus, Our Offering Was $137 and I Want to Use it to Buy Bullets - 0-45 People
  2. Jesus, If Anyone Else Calls My House, I May Be Seeing You Real Soon - 45-75 People
  3. Jesus, Satan Showed Up and I Can't Find My Cup - 75-150 People
  4. Jesus, Could You Please Rapture the Charismaniac Lady Who Brings Her Tambourine to Church? - 150-350 People
  5. Jesus, Why Am I Getting Fatter and Meaner? - 350-1,000 People
  6. Jesus, Today We Voted to Take a Jackhammer to Your Big Church - 1,000-4,000 People
  7. Jesus, We’re Loading Our Squirt Guns to Charge Hell Again - 4,000-10,000 People

Interesting, huh?

Internet Explorer Stinks

Not that I am a computer expert by any stretch of the imagination....but I think that Internet Explorer stinks and the Mozilla Firefox rocks! The reason I am posting this is...

Some people have complained that sometimes when I post it will look jumbled up. You know why? Internet Explorer! That's why. Open up my blog in Firefox and you will not have that problem.

To download Firefox, click here! It's free (and better)!

A Valentine's Day Laugh

After the sweet things that I wrote about Tricia yesterday, it will be obvious that the jokes below are not about my wife...they must be about yours.

Warning: if you are easily offended and sensitive, don't read this. If you do read it, you do so at your own risk.

10 Reasons to love your wife today:

  1. Two times a week we go to a nice restaurant, have a little beverage, good food and companionship. She goes on Tuesdays; I go on Fridays.
  2. We also sleep in separate beds. Hers is in California, and mine is in Texas.
  3. I take my wife everywhere....but she keeps finding her way back.
  4. I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary. "Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said. So I suggested the kitchen.
  5. We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops.
  6. She has an electric blender, electric toaster and electric bread maker. She said "There are too many gadgets, and no place to sit down!" So I bought her an electric chair.
  7. Remember: Marriage is the number one cause of divorce.
  8. I married Miss Right. I just didn't know her first name was Always.
  9. I haven't spoken to my wife in 18 months. I don't like to interrupt her.
  10. The last fight was my fault though. My wife asked, "What's on the TV?"I said, "Dust!"

Fogo de Chao

Last night Tricia and I celebrated Valentines Day (2 days early). First of all, we don't like the long waits at restaurants on the actual day and second, we have Small Group tomorrow night.

Anyway, after several strong recommendations from trusted food critics, we made the (icy) trek into DC last night and had dinner at Fogo de Chao. It is worth checking out their website. It is a Brazilian all-you-can-eat-meat restaurant. It was totally cool! The food was outstanding and so was the experience. It was amazing. You have this little round card on your table (one side green and one side red). If you want more meat and sides, you have the card showing the green side. If you want them to stop coming to you, you face the red side up. If green is showing, they will greet you with lamb chops, fillet mignon, ribs, chicken, steak, pork, etc.

As cool as the restaurant was, Tricia was the highlight of my night! It is impossible to verbalize the feeling I had when I looked up at my wife after reading these words in the card she gave me..."I am honored to be spending my 10th Valentine's Day with you!" I had no idea this was our 10th Valentine's day together. Nothing feels better than looking into the eyes of a person that you have shared the last 10 years loving...a person who knows you better than you know yourself. I guess the only feeling better will be 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, or 50 years.

--Noah

Sick Boys

Home sick today. Been fighting something off for over a week now. Tricia decided that I would be staying home today. You know how that goes. We pushed hard all week and them all weekend hosting our guest speakers. It was worth it! Great weekend! But, need to take a chill day if I have any hope of getting well. Our little Davis is sick too, so we are taking him to the doctor today. Pray for healing for our house. So glad that mommy is home to take care of her 2 boys.

Pics from the day!

Ron Hall preaching our morning message in service today! Fresh message on authentic Christian friendships out of Phil. 2.

Trevor Hall playing a mean guitar in our service this morning! We had a Beatles song in church today!! I should just go ahead and mail back my credentials. Smile.

A great day of ministry....followed by a 3 hour search team meeting with more interviews. Am exhausted now! Nite!

To God be the Glory!

Today was a dream come true in many ways. It was really a magnificent way to use our new "Upper Room"...for the first time.

  • The teachings on relationships this morning and this afternoon with Ron Hall were rich and transformational!
  • The music this evening was ridiculous...people would pay big bucks to hear Trevor Hall play...and they should! He is worth it.
  • The fellowship was great.
  • The new space served our day perfectly. I only hope we served God as well as he served us today!

To God be the glory, great things he has done!

Tomorrow's services will be remembered. I have a lot of peace in my spirit tonight that we are in for some great ministry in the morning!

--Nite

Sound & Media Booth Done!

I hope to post more pics soon, but the Youth/Senior center is basically done! Today, Tricia, Davis and I swang in and witnessed Terry putting the last bit of paint on the trim around the sound booth. Just in time for our first event in the "Upper Room" tomorrow!! Great Space! God's faithfulness is so amazing. What a gift he has given us to use for ministry.

--Noah

BTW..."Official" Grand Opening will take place after or new Youth Pastor comes on board. We want him or her to be a part of that Genesis moment.

Deep Thoughts from a CCF Member!

Below, you will find the majority of an email that I received from a CCF member yesterday. It is really good stuff. The info below is from Kevin Stewart. He and his wife, Katie and their kids have been at CCF for over a year. What you will read below is one example of people really engaging with the process that we are in as a church to live to our full purpose.

Church growth is something that I have read and thought a lot about. And I’ve noted that (healthy) church growth and saving souls have at least one key thing in common – ultimately only God can do it.

Prior to Saddleback church there were whole libraries of books that had the “secret” to church growth. When Rick Warren started Saddleback he’d read most all of those books but didn’t feel bound by any of them. By the end he’d broken almost every “rule” of church growth ever written yet they still grew; healthy growth and incredibly fast. Understanding the seasons of growth probably was vital to that. But I think something else was even more so, something that I haven’t heard him say but that he just does and it works.

As I said, church growth really is God’s to do. We can do things to hinder or help God in His work, but that’s about it. The KEY passage in the Bible about church growth – foundational to all other growth “rules” – is found in Paul’s writings.

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.” (1 Cor 3:6-9 NIV)

Paul states clearly that God is the one that grows His church. Paul and Apollos were the gardeners doing everything to create an environment in which growth could happen when the time came. Or, in other words, they devoted themselves to church health. They tended the church to keep it healthy and then when the seasons of growth came, in God’s good time, healthy growth would happen.

Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Church” is full of his efforts to make sure his church was as healthy as it could be. He never actually says that, but his constant efforts to realign the functions of the church with their “purpose” have the same net effect. He and his leadership devote themselves 24/7/365 to this and results happen.

Church growth does happen in seasons - seasons of growth in numbers, seasons of growth in depth, seasons of apparent dormancy storing up spiritual energy only to burst forth into brilliant Spring. But throughout, if the leadership of any church will devote themselves wholly to church health, then when the seasons come in God’s good timing, nothing on earth will be able to stop the growth of God’s church – not even the mistakes we make along the way.

Personally, I find all this very freeing. I mean, if the church could grow by my power then I would bear the responsibility. That’s a weight that I KNOW I couldn’t bear. But God’s shoulders are more than strong enough to bear it. All I have to do is help tend my little part of the garden as God has called me to do – freedom at last to do the work I was made for.

Wow, Kevin! Wow! Great stuff. More than enough for me today! Thanks for engaging and blessing me and others with your good thoughts! I hear this in what you are saying...focus on BUILDING PEOPLE (discipleship) and let God focus on BUILDING HIS CHURCH. (Matt. 16:18)

Wanna Meet at IHOP?

I am not exaggerating when I say this...there are probably only 2 nights out of 365 that I cannot sleep. This is one. I usually love to sleep and fall asleep within 3-5 minutes of laying down. But I laid in bed tonight and tossed and turn, got up and read alot, emailed, blogged and am still wide awake! Crazy feeling for me. At least Tricia seems to be sleeping deep enough for both of us! What to do? Anybody awake? Wanna meet at IHOP? Smile.

--Nite!

Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels

I wish I could read for pleasure more often. My grad work keeps me reading for requirement so much! Since I just finished a class and decided not to take one this spring, I have a stack of books I plan to move through. Been reading "Courageous Leadership" by Bill Hybels. (Bill Hybels is the Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church.) Got drawn in tonight and read 90 more pages. Great book so far. Hybels wanted to write a book on leadership for a long time, but waited 30 years to do it. As you can imagine, this thing is rich! Here are a few highlights so far:

  • What is the key to the vitality of thriving churches? In Hybels' endeavor to answer this question, he explains that he has been around the entire world over the last 30 years observing more churches than you could ever imagine. He concluded that:
    • It is not location. "Affluent or ghetto, serene or war-torn, tropical or alpine, congested urban or sleepy rural, American or otherwise, location impacts the vitality of the church far less than any of us think."
    • It is not denomination. "Baptist, Methodist, Evangelical Free, Quaker, Non-Denoms, Inter-Denoms-- It doesn't matter."
    • It is not facility. "In barns and theaters, hotels and double wide trailers---in every imaginable kind of facility I have discovered thriving churches."
    • It is not teaching. "Although many preaching centered churches attract large crowds, there impact on the community is often negligible."
    • He concluded..."What flourishing churches have in common is that they are led by people who possess and deploy the spiritual gift of leadership."
  • "Vision is the most potent weapon in a leader's arsenal."
  • There are many definitions of vision. Hybels defines vision as "a picture of the future that produces passion."
  • He has found after many years of hiring and firing at Willow that you should always hire for:
    • Character
    • Competency
    • Chemistry
    • (in this order intentionally)

There was more stuff I liked, But I will type it somewhere else...you are sick of reading, right?

--Noah

Let's Make a Deal

Here is the deal I want you (yes, you....not the other people who are reading this, but YOU) to make with me.

I want to challenge you to attend the Relationship Events on Saturday. The chances are that you have at least a portion of your day available. There are 3 events on Saturday that you could choose to attend:

  1. 9:30am- Marriage Seminar
  2. 1:00pm- Communication Seminar (for everyone)
  3. 7:30pm- Acoustical Guitar Concert (I am willing to guess that this will be one of the best guitarists that you have ever heard in concert.)
  4. And then of course, church on Sunday morning, but you will already be there!

So, please come. In addition, please invite at least 1 other person as well.

What's in it for you? You will gain fresh insight to improving the important relationships in your life! Who among us does not need that? I challenge you to make the time for this event!

Tricia and I are looking forward to it. We know we need it!

--See you there!

The Jerk!

Another thing that Rick warren said yesterday (and I began to do some scriptural digging on this morning and developing it for myself) was about how predictable the devil is. The jerk (my own word-- you like it?) wears out the same 3 tactics every time he snags one of us! He is predictable! (You will find that in I John 2:16.) He will trap you every time with:

  1. Lust of the Flesh
  2. Lust of the Eyes
  3. Pride of Life

Maybe you understand it better this way:

  1. Sex
  2. Salary
  3. Status

Or this way:

  1. Passion
  2. Possession
  3. Position

These 3 are:

  1. The temptation to feel (flesh)
  2. The temptation to have (eyes)
  3. The temptation to be (pride)

However you get it, JUST GET IT!! The devil used these tactics on:

  • Adam and Eve
  • Moses
  • Joseph
  • David
  • Paul
  • Jesus
  • And he uses the same old dirty tools on you!

Want to hear another crazy one? Every commercial and ad you see appeals to one of these 3!

Finally, be leery of shortcuts, they are often the gate to temptation. If Jesus would have been into shortcuts he would have turned the stone into bread. Instead of doing the super, the spectacular or the snappy, he chose the suffering and the sacrifice.