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Join Me Tomorrow To Talk About Innovation

If you are interested in what is next, how to discover what God is doing and innovation in the church - join me tomorrow at 3 PM CST (4 pm EST) in an interview sponsored by Leadership Network and their upcoming Innovation 3 Conference.  You can get in on this live web show by clicking HERE.,

Could You Live Like Jesus For A Year? This Guy Tried.

Dr. Ed Dobson who is the Vice President of Spiritual Formation at Cornerstone University (where my daughter Amy attends) in Grand Rapids, Michigan took on the challenge of trying to live like Jesus in 2008.  This challenge meant that Dobson would literally try to do everything Jesus did; this included not shaving, only  eating what he would eat and most of all doing everything that Jesus would do.  You can read the complete interview by USA Today with Dr. Ed Dobson by clicking HERE.  Or you can listen to Dobson on streaming video when he appeared on ABC's Good Morning America by clicking HERE.

365 CLUB - Committed to 365 Acts of Kindness in 2009

Last Friday I was walking into Kinko's to do some work on a book proposal that is due at the end of this month.  I walked in with my Starbucks in hand and was greeted by one of the Kinko's employees, George who joked, "Hey where is mine?"  I immediately said, "What do you want...I'm buying!"  I looked around and there were two other people working in the store that morning and I felt prompted to buy everyone at Kinko's the Starbucks of their choice.  When I got back with their favorite drinks in hand you would have thought they won the lottery!  They were super grateful and it was just a fun and spontaneous random act of kindness.  After I settled in behind my computer I decided to post my experience on twitter and remind the people who follow me how a small act of generosity can make an impact.  That is not where the story ends.  The next thing I know Scott Couchenour took the idea and set up a facebook group 365 Club.  The premise of the 365 Club is simple:  it is a group of people that are committed to doing 365 acts of kindness in 2009.  This all started on Friday.  It is now Sunday night and the 365 Club already has over 240 members who have committed to doing more than 78,000 acts of kindness in 2009. 

Michelle Thomas is one of the first members of the 365 Club and here is what she posted yesterday:  "Yesterday, I waited until around 2:30am and I gathered up a bucket of hot, soapy water and took it down to the parking garage in my condo building. I found the dirtiest car on my floor, washed it, dried it, and left a note card in an envelop on the windshield with the words, MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE, PAY IT FORWARD on it."

If you want to join the 365 Club on facebook, click HERE.

Free Journal for You 2.0 Series

This weekend we start a critical series in the life of COMMUNITY, it is You 2.0.  For a long time we have challenged people at COMMUNITY to become 3C Christ Followers. The 3C's are Celebrate, Connect and Contribute.  During this series we are asking people to move beyond just the doing of the 3C's to the being of the 3C's.  When you move from doing the 3C's to being the 3C's that is when you move from 1.0 to 2.0 - the next best version of You!

To kick off this series we are giving each person that attends a COMMUNITY campus a You 2.0 journal for FREE!  You see a pic of the journal on this post.  It is our hope that as you use this journal to hear from God everyday you will fall more in love with Jesus and become all that He wants you to be - You 2.0.  (Here you can download: You 2.0 Big Idea Journal Cover and You 2.0 Big Idea Journal )

It's one thing to be able to say, "yeah, I go to church every week" and it is entirely something else to be in love with Jesus.  That is the difference between Celebrate 1.0 and Celebrate 2.0.  A lot of us can say, "oh I'm a part of small group", but that is only Connect 1.0.  If you want to move to Connect 2.0 you have a group of people that you do life with and you will get each other through anything.  It's pretty easy to volunteer and be on a team, that's Contribute 1.0.  Contribute 2.0 is when you become a person who lives to serve and is generous in every area of your life.  When you make each of those moves from 1.0 to 2.0 you are becoming the next best version of you - You 2.0

One Stop for the Best Blogs

If you are starting the new year by wanting to beef-up your bloglines or just find some great blogs about church leadership, ministry and all things christian - then I have the place for you!  Alltop does exactly that!  They collect lists of the best internet sources of information on all topics.  One of the lists they have compiled is about church leadership, etc; and you can look at their list by clicking HERE.

And yes this blog is on the list.  Enjoy!

6 Questions That Create A New Future

For the last several years I have used the last week of the year and the first week of the new year to evaluate who I am; who does God want me to be and how I am doing.  The process has continued to evolve over the years, but much of it revolves around prayerfully working through six questions. These six questions help me discern the God-given possibilities for my life. 

There is just something powerful about writing down (or typing on your computer) your goals and having an intention about who you want to become!  I can now look back and remember writing down that I wanted to plant a church; write a book and start a church planting network.  Would those things have happened if I had not written them down?  I don't know for sure.  I do know that writing these down and reviewing them periodically keeps me moving in the direction that I feel God is calling me. I personally think everyone should do it.  So, I would encourage you to get some time alone and prayerfully work through these six questions:

1. What is my PURPOSE?  It starts with a purpose statement.  Just write something down.  Don't let this question intimidate you.  You can always edit your answer later.  Here is how I answer that question now: "To be a Spirit-led leader at home, church, and in new ventures resulting in a movement of people finding their way back to God."  It has taken me a few years of revisions to get that down.  It's a little long, but it includes everything that it is important to me.  So take a shot and write down a purpose statement for your life.
2. What is my PASSION?  Next you should list the things about which you are passionate.  There are four things about which I'm passionate:  Jesus, family, church and new ventures.  So, what are you passionate about?  List them.
3. What are the POSITIONS I hold?  Next I list all the positions I hold in relationship to the things about which I'm passionate.  For example, in relationship to my family I have two positions:  husband and father.  Another example, in relationship to to my church I have at least four positions:  visionary, Lead Pastor, teacher/motivator and intercessor.  List all the positions you hold in relationship to the things about which you are passionate.  You get the idea.
4. What are the POSSIBILITIES for my future?  This is my favorite part - dreaming with God about who He wants me to be in the positions He has put me in.  This is where I begin to dream about all the possibilities for my life.  This is the long view and it answers the question of who I will have been after I have lived on this planet for 75 years. (I'm planning on living to 75 and if I get more time that will be bonus!)
5. What is the PATH for making that future possible?  Now that you have a list of all the possibilities for your life you need to figure out the path to get you there.  I have a path that I break into 5 years chunks of time.  There are markers that I need to meet every five years if I am going to see those possibilities for my life ever happen.  So take a look at your list of God-given possibilities and create a path with markers along the way that show you are progressing towards those possibilities.
6. What is my PLAN for this coming year?  The last question you will want to answer has to do with 2009.  This year is the next step on the path to your future.  So, write down your plan for this year and make sure that it is taking you towards the next markers on your path to your God-given possibilities.

YOU 2.0 - Starts This Weekend At COMMUNITY

How To Know If You Should Plant A Church

I will often get e-mails like the one I responded to today:  "I have been following you on Twitter for a while as well as reading your blog. I have the desire to plant churches but am not sure if it is a call from God or just a personal desire. How do you know?"  Here are a few thoughts on how to know if you should plant a church:

Passion:  You really want to and it sounds like fun.  Don't dismiss your desire to plant a church as something only you want.  This passion may very well be there because God put it there within you.  I know that for me that I get a little buzz just thinking about starting something new, particularly a church or a new site.

Giftedness:  You have leadership gifts and a history of starting things from scratch that enroll other leaders and are successful.  Before we started COMMUNITY I had started a couple different ventures that saw some success.

Confirmation:  Other people whom you trust tell you, “you should definitely start a church and if you do, I would be a part of it”.  One of the greatest indicators of your ability to start a new church is others willingness to join you on this mission.  We have seen this over and over again in our NewThing churches.

Assessment:  Lastly, I would suggest that you go to our NewThing website and take the ELI assessment.    There is a small fee, but it is worth it and it will give you some good feedback regarding your potential as a church planter

Bono on the Incarnation

"I remember coming back from a very long tour.... On Christmas Eve I went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. ...It had dawned on me before, but it really sank in: the Christmas story. The idea that God, if there is a force of Love and Logic in the universe, that it would seek to explain itself is amazing enough. That it would seek to explain itself and describe itself by becoming a child born in straw poverty... a child, I just thought: “Wow!” Just the poetry. Unknowable love, unknowable power, describes itself as the most vulnerable. There it was. I was sitting there, and ...tears came down my face, and I saw the genius of this, utter genius of picking a particular point in time and deciding to turn on this. Because that’s exactly what we were talking about earlier: love needs to find form, intimacy needs to be whispered. To me, it makes sense. It’s actually logical. It’s pure logic. Essence has to manifest itself. It’s inevitable. Love has to become an action or something concrete. It would have to happen. There must be an incarnation. Love must be made flesh." - Bono

The Best (& Coldest) Bears Game Ever!

The record book will tell us that it was the coldest home game ever in Chicago Bears history.  For me it was simply the best Bears game I have ever attended!

When Josh and I arrived it was already double digit sub-zero temperatures with the wind chill factor.  However we had about four layers of clothes and were prepared for the evening.  When we arrived we stopped at the concession stand to get a hot dog and a pop.  By the time I walked from the concession stand and found our seats my diet Coke had already started to freeze!  It was cold and so was the Bears offense almost the whole game.  But our whole section literally stood and cheered for the Bears for all four quarters and then the overtime.  And when Robbie Gould hit that field goal to win it in sudden death overtime to beat the Packers we all went crazy.  We were giving high fives and hugs to every person around us.  It was close to going to church!  It was great game and a great time and a great win.  Go Bears!

I want to also give a shout out and a big thank you very much to Jim Woolums, my facebook friend (and Packer fan!) who gave me the tickets. 

Who Are You Inviting To Christmas Eve?

Don’t forget to invite someone to come with you to a Christmas Eve service.  Christmas Eve is the time when people are more likely to say “yes” to your invite to COMMUNITY than any other time of the year.  So, take a moment right now and think about people who you would like to see find their way back to God. It might be a neighbor, friend, co-worker or family member.  You can invite them right now by sending them this e-invite.  Or maybe you want to take a look at which Christmas Eve service would be at the best time, style or location.  We will have 22 Christmas Eve services at 9 locations on 2 nights and a variety of styles.  So, who are you inviting to Christmas Eve?  You don’t want to miss it and can click HERE for more information.

LET IT BE CHRISTMAS: The Gospel According to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, George & Ringo.

I just got back from the opening night of a brand new musical put on by COMMUNITY'S Epic Theater.  The musical is Let It Be Christmas:  The Gospel According To Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, George & Ringo  and it was brilliant.  The music was terrific and the way they told the story of Christmas using tunes from Beatles was a piece of creative genius.  Congratulations to Eric and Elic and the whole gang that made this happen.

If you are in the Chicago area you still have three nights to see Let It Be Christmas, December 19th at 7:30 pm; December 20th at 8:30 pm and December 21st at 7:30 pm at the Yellow Box in Naperville.