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NEXT PHASE FOR THE JOURNEY: SYSTEMS & STEPS

This week I have been pondering the future and posting some questions.

SYSTEMS AND STEPS
We wanted to do something different from Day 1 of The Journey because the church is somewhat broke. The church as a whole has decreased drastically over the years and many had become a country club for Christians and their programs. So we decided to try to create a series of steps. We want people to have a personal relationship with Jesus and to look beyond themselves to care for others and reach out to disconnected people. With that in mind, we worked backwards to come up with a series of steps- like being in a group, service projects in community, invest and invite, all the way down to things like the 300 second party where you can find out about steps. So we have a system in place to help people take steps. There is a lot of personal responsibility on peoples part. We have always said - you are responsible for your level of connection with Jesus or at The Journey. We give you options, but you have to take the steps. I believe that whole-heartedly but it leads me to this question...

IN THIS AGE OF CONSUMERISM WHERE THE CHURCH BECAME INWARD FOCUSED, WILL PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY BE SUCCESSFUL? Some people totally get this, some don't. Some people are so use to being catered to at church that all they can think is programs and things to meet their needs. I have heard people say stuff about being fed, or going deeper, or can you basically make a group at my one and only time so I can make friends - the problem is the focus - it's not all about me (as Rick Warren would say). I don't want to hold peoples hand forever. I want people to take responsibility for themselves. If you want to really understand Jesus, be outward focused. Pray. Share. Give. Sacrifice. Care. Go out of your way. That is what we are asking people to do. We all have to play a part, but does that lead itself to less people taking the responsibility as we get bigger. Part of the issue is back to that lack our urgency as we get bigger, part of the issue is having the right systems and steps. How can we continue to help people take personal responsibility for their relationship with Jesus and push them to look beyond themselves? WHAT NEW SYSTEM AND STEPS DO WE NEED FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF THE JOURNEY? 

UNSUNG HERO: DAN

I was up at church last night to meet up with Dan Crouse to talk about a few projects. Dan is behind the scenes and does a lot of construction projects. He is someone you probably don't know about, but he's an awesome volunteer who keeps our facility going. The Journey is full of awesome volunteers that make it a great place that helps people take first and next steps! So - thanks to all volunteers!

So, I was chatting with Dan. We were talking about some other people who volunteer and how it's hard to coordinate people to work together on stuff. Dan says - Everyone's busy. (Pause) But it's about making yourself available. So, Dan was paying attention on Sunday. 

What about you? Are you getting F.A.T.? 
 Don't know what I'm talking about? Check out the podcast from our current series.

NEXT PHASE FOR THE JOURNEY: ENVIRONMENT

This week I am posting some questions about the next phase of The Journey.

ENVIRONMENTS: DO WE NEED A BIGGER MIX?
We've talked about starting more churches and sites on the lakeshore. I've been wondering... what would it look like to have some smaller or different environments? What if we could meet in a coffeehouse and include some interaction? A Family Service? Or a meditative, more reflective setting? I've seen some local shows lately that pulled in a metal/hardcore crowd - what would an environment look like for them? What about something geared for college students by MCC/Baker? Could we pull off some video sites in the future on a smaller scale that could be geared for a certain crowd? Where does it stop? What would we do with kids? Is it better to do things on a bigger scale or try to create smaller environments attached to the bigger church? Is that a good way and use of resources to connect with more people? This leads me to another question...

I know what we do connects with people, but do we need to mix it up more? I feel like my creative side hasn't totally been tapped lately because I've been pulled in many directions. I don't want to settle in or become routine or predictable. I want to keep God's message fresh. What kind of environment will you walk into coming up at The Journey? It will change up a little over the next few months we have some good stuff planned. But in the big picture, the question is - What kind of environments will be part of the next phase of The Journey?

NEXT PHASE FOR THE JOURNEY: BUILDING

This week, I am posting some things I have been thinking about for the next phase of The Journey.

Here are two questions I have been thinking about recently...

WAS ADDING ON TO OUR BUILDING A MISTAKE?
Don't get me wrong - I love our facilities and it enhances our ministry in many ways and it was a great inexpensive option. But we lost of ton of momentum last year. If you look at our growth curve, we are now where we showed have been last year. Our growth has definitely slowed down. We are at a place numbers wise that we've been at before. What if we didn't add on but we went to three services and added another site instead. I don't think we have the staff to pull that off, but what if we found the right people to pull that off? What would have happened if we didn't lose all that momentum when we were meeting at FHS? I still think adding on was our best option and I think we will push through this phase but I do wonder about our momentum and "numbers" and reaching out. I really don't care about "the numbers" but they represent people and the lives changed which leads me to the other question...

IS THERE LESS URGENCY TO REACH OUT TO PEOPLE NOW THAT WE ARE IN THE BUILDING?
Does the building give a sense of "we've arrived"?
Have we become too comfortable in this place?

I don't know - what I do know is, we built this building to have more space to reach more people and to help people take first steps and next steps. So how will the building play into the next phase at The Journey?

 

SUNDAY RECAP FOR OCTOBER 17 - KINDA

FOLLOW - WEEK 3
unleashing our God-given potential

CHURCH
I wasn't at church so this isn't much of a recap. I know a little about what happened but this isn't a first hand recap...

We all have more potential than we think. We can unleash it if we get F.A.T. Last week, we talked about being faithful. This week was all about availability. I think Paul talked about having margins in our lives - making space to see things clearer. Are we available to just work or to our families...and more importantly to God? We need to clear space in our life to connect with God, to reach our neighbors and to be used by God.

VIDEO
Biggest Gainer Week 2

SONGS
I think Caleb opened with an original song?!?!
Song of Hope - Robbie Seay Band
Chasing - Desperation Band
I Will Not Forget You - Waterdeep
Home - Phil Wickham
Living for Your Glory - Tim Hughes

WEAVE WEEKEND
I was up at Center Lake with our Journey Teens. Every fall we head up to camp for some paint ball, high ropes course and some other fun at camp. We also talk about weaving our lives together with God. The students have a chance to get away from some of the "noise" in their life to connect with God, journal, and refocus. We talked about increasing the "bars" in our connection with God; also about not avoiding the tough stuff in life - the tough stuff is a chance to see God move in our life - we need a life connected with God. We need to weave our life to become stronger.

Now - I am sore and tired.

TGIF RANDOM THOUGHTS

Yesterday was crazy. It started with kids sleeping in so it was a mad rush to get Emma to school and it never stopped. I didn't sit down all day until 8:30 at night.

How come kids never sleeping in on Saturdays?

Busy weekend ahead - I really want to take Emma to see Where the Wild Things Are - but it will have to wait. That movie looks great and one of mine and Emma's favorite books.

The Office hasn't been that funny this year. There are some funny things but overall not that funny.

Today on Facebook: Paul Urban With Virginia out for a while, there's not the balance of power between the sane and others in the office. The coalition for reason is severely compromised right now.That's funnier than the show.

We have been trying to eat healthier. I made spaghetti squash instead of pasta the other night and tried cauliflower last night (I don't like it - note the word "tried").

The farmers market is starting to dwindle but there is still good stuff. I got corn and made corn chowder again this week. Apples and great and still stuff like potatoes. I love the farmers market.

Great game last night to start the NLCS. Philly might win it all again this year. I think it will be them vs. the Angels. NY is gonna get shocked by the Rally Monkey.

I've watched some of the Wings and preseason Pistons. This is one of the best times of the year for sports. Pistons will be better than people think this year but not playing for championship. Wings won't be as good during the regular season but will come together and make a run at the championship. Lions will win 2 more games all year.

Tomorrow - ropes course and paintball with Journey Teens. I'll be sore after that. Should be fun.

I still have some stuff to do before winter comes in. Next weekend will probably be yard work weekend. Bummer.

Have a great weekend!

SHARE YOUR TIPS

This week, I ran a series of post about parenting - now I want to hear from you. What is your best parenting tip?

PARENTING TIP: BEHAVIORAL MODIFICATION

Parenting is tough. We don't have it all figured out by far, but this week I am sharing a few tips that have helped us almost keep our sanity.

BEHAVIORAL MODIFICATION
Emma is hilarious and keeps life very interesting. She is strong willed and stubborn just like her dad. So we are always challenged to train her in the way she should go. Stephani is good at coming up with creative ideas that are on the positive side. I'm a little more military in approach...like do what your suppose to do or there's consequences. We've done a few things that have help us work through some behavior issues beyond the typical things like time outs or taking away privileges. One thing was a sticker chart. We've used it for Emma staying in her bed all night...she likes to try to sneak into our bed. So, if she stayed in bed then she'd get a sticker and if she gets a certain amount of stickers than she gets something special (like out for pizza or go to the movies or a toy or something).  Next time she would have to earn more stickers to get the prize. We also have 3 pictures of Emma with the big rules for some key reminders: Follow Direction (a thumbs up), Be Nice to Eli (her and Eli), and Stay in Your Bed (her fake sleeping - it's so funny). These are the 3 big things we are working on right now. The pictures are on the fridge and in her room. What about you? What has worked for you?

PARENTING TIP: TALK ABOUT JESUS

Parenting is tough. We don't have it all figured out by far, but this week I am sharing a few tips that have helped us almost keep our sanity.

TALK ABOUT JESUS
This is an ongoing process that we need to improve and be more consistent with but we want to make sure we share our relationship with Jesus with our kids. So we do a lot of little stuff like praying together as a family before dinner, at times praying at bed time (last night Emma ask God to make tomorrow Halloween) or reading a kids story Bible, using the sheets from Journey Kids, talking about why we do stuff like helping people or even what I do as a pastor. I try to talk to Emma about what I've read in my Bible time or we talk about the kids we support through compassion. I tried to get Emma involved in the process with the Kenya kids. We talked about the chickens last Christmas. We even got a chicken thing in our kitchen. Then Emma said...I'm so tired of hearing about those kids in Kenya. We thought it was funny. I guess I would rather have them get sick of hearing me talk about Jesus and His ways than not talking about it at all. So what about you - what's worked for you to talk to your kids about Jesus?

NOT SATISFIED

The first Sunday of October was our 6th Anniversary for The Journey. As we looked back, I am amazed at what God has done and the lives changed. This past Sunday we had 6th Anniversary +1 week, we didn't have a big party or anything - what did happen was I felt totally dissatisfied. I feel like while we took huge steps to get to where we are, but I kind of feel like we're coasting a little now. I want to make sure we don't just change things to change, but we need to change methods and take risks so that we can take next steps as a church. We need to do our best so we can to help people take first and next steps. I don't want to let my ADD drive thing either - I want to listen to God, to be focused on God, and make decisions out of a focused mind. I hope that feeling of not being satisfied doesn't go away. I don't want to coast, settle, or get comfortable. Let's do all we can to make an impact for God. Remember you don't have to be a superstar - it's more about following than leading - it's about getting F.A.T. (faithful, available, teachable).