I’m enjoying this series (maybe a little too much)

When we planned this series months ago I expected it to be good, but I didn’t think I’d be enjoying it this much.  Let me explain.  I like talking with people and hearing stories about what God is doing in their life, but often I will hear one of the cliches we’re talking about it this series.  I’ll hear things like, “I know God wants me to be happy,” or “I just need to give it to the Lord.”  And while there is a nugget of truth in these cliches, at times people will use these as excuses or rationale for their behavior.  I then have to, as lovingly as possible, explain why God may not want them happy or why just giving it to the Lord won’t work.  Bob is speaking this weekend on this cliche, “Just give it to the Lord,” and I can tell you this message is “in his sweet spot” (to use another cliche). 

I do want to mention the Relevance Conf that Eagle Brook hosted last week.  In short, it was an incredible day!  Over 700 people from 96 different churches and organizations gathering to get better together.  The worship was phenominal, Bob’s teaching on leadership gave great advice to church leaders, and our volunteers are the best. I love it when people take the day off of work to volunteer and when I ask them why, they say they want to help the kingdom grow any way they can.  Have I mentioned I love this church? 

Finally, I’ll ask that you pray for the leadership of EB.  This week we’re going on our yearly retreat with the church board to talk about what God may have in store for EB in the future.  While we’ll have some time to just hang out and have some fun together (bocce ball, “Mafia,” and a bonfire), pray that God will speak to us, and guide our time as we look to Him for direction. 

Relevance Conference

I am fired up for this years Relevance Conference which is Thursday May 8th.  Once a year churches from around the 5 state area get together at Eagle Brook to talk about how to get better together.  We talk about how to get better at leading, serving others, teaching, and creating ministries that are trasformational.  We talk about how to get better at creating environments that communicate God’s truth in a relevant way, so that we can reach people for Christ and then help them grow in their faith.  It really is an incredible one day event where churches from many different denominational backgrounds come together, learn from each other, and ultimately focus on what matters most, reaching our neighborhoods, cities, state and world with the transforming message of Jesus.  (Can you tell I get pumped up for this?) 

Imagine for your friend or family member who feels like Eagle Brook is too far away, what if you knew there was another church in their area you could recommend.  The kind of church where they can’t wait to go back.  The kind of church where the Bible makes sense and the worship moves them to tears.  The kind of church where they not only understand what they’ve heard, but they can apply it to their life.  The kind of church where they walk away saying, “It was like God was speaking directly to me today.”  The kind of church where their kids love going to as well.  The kind of church where people are connecting with God and with each other and becoming authentic followers of Christ.  How cool would that be?! 

That’s what the Relevance Conf is all about.  It’s about helping each other become churches that carry out the Great Commission.  We don’t have all the answers, but we want to share what we’ve learned along the way from both our successes and our failures.  It should be a great day. 

3 groups of people

After last weekends message I’ve been spending more time on the “Elephant in the Room” blog, but there’s one more thing I have to say about the “Living (together) Room” message.  When it comes to living together and having sex before getting married, people seem to have one of three reactions. 

1. They loved it and want EB to speak on this topic more often.  2.  They recognize they’ve messed up in this area in the past (or present) and want to do something about it.  Or, 3. They think we’re wack jobs and totally disagree with what we, and the Bible, have to say, and think living together is no big deal.  And this week I’ve heard from all three groups.

The reason I feel like this past weekends message was a “success” is because I heard from a number of people in that second group who felt like God was speaking to them and want to make some changes in their life to set their current relationship or future marriage up for the best possible success.  Several singles have chosen not to date for a year, so that God can heal and repair their intimacy factor.  One couple, who are living together, right after the service went to look for an apartment so that one of them could move out.  And two couples who are currently living together have decided to get married.  That’s God at work in the lives of His people, and one of the many reasons I love this church. 

 

Elephant or no elephant?

I’m speaking this weekend on one of the “elephants in the room.”  The problem is the elephant I’m talking about doesn’t really feel like an elephant to a lot of people.  I just wrote a full post on the blog dedicated to this series.  To read it go to: http://ebcelephant.wordpress.com/

One of the best videos yet

If you were at church this past weekend you saw what I thought was one of the best (I’d say top 3) videos we’ve ever done.  It was a conversation between a father and son and the dad was asking all kinds of questions and the son was providing nothing but short brief answers like…”sorta, don’t know, nothin’,” all set to a catchy little tune.  I think the biggest laugh was in the middle of the video when the son held up his phone to do a little texting.  A little too close to home.  Jason Strand was right when he said, “It’s funny because it’s true.”  If you weren’t at church this weekend you may not get a chance to see it because there are copyright issues with the song, so we may not be able to put it with the message online. Not sure yet but check back and I’ll try to remember to keep you updated.  Just another reason to come to church each weekend. 

The message on teens was rock solid.  As a parent of a 15 year old I could relate with everything he was saying.  And because he just turned 15 that means he will soon have his driving permit.  That also means if you see a boy who looks a little like “Cousin It” from the Adams Family because his hair is covering his eyes, and he’s driving a maroon 4 door sedan, in the words of Elmer Fudd, “be vewy vewy careful.” 

If I’m being honest, for me the hardest part of parenting has been letting go.  My kids are sick of hearing me say, “God has given me the responsibility to raise healthy, responsible adults,”  but as they get closer to adulthood I need to give them more freedom (based on their level of responsibility).  They need to fail to learn from their mistakes and that’s hard to let them do.  When they prove their trustworthy I need to give them some more slack to do more stuff.  Maybe I just don’t want my kids to grow up, or maybe I’m turning into an old fart, but either way giving up control and letting go hasn’t been that easy for me.  Am I alone in this?