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Humbling Moments...

Yesterday I posted about the large church gathering this past week up at Château Élan and how positive and powerful the experience was.  But, it wasn't without it's humbling moments - I thought I'd share a few...

HUMBLING MOMENT #1 So, I'm the senior pastor of one of the largest UMC churches in Georgia - I've been in this annual conference for  going on a quarter of a century - I've earned, so to speak, some respect and recognition from my peers.  Now, put me in a room with the top 80 pastors in the nation -- Gee, talk about feeling like a small fish in the bowl...  That's a wonderfully humbling moment that's good to keep one grounded.  I'm glad I take what I do very seriously, but try not to take myself too seriously in the midst of it all...

HUMBLING MOMENT # 2  Night one on Monday - We're sitting around the tables together and Adam Hamilton leads us to have some silent prayer -- I find myself praying something like, Lord, let me get to know these other leaders better over the next two days - Let me build some friendships and relationships with them - Let me let my guard down and really get to know these guys...  Not a bad prayer, but, as I was praying I began to hear some clanging in the kitchen area - Pots, pans, something making a God-awful racket disturbing MY prayer -- That's when God interrupted my monologue and said, Why don't you try to get to know those guys in the kitchen a little better the next two days?  How about letting down your guard and striking up a conversation with the guy who opens the door for you every time you go in or out of the resort?  What about it, huh?  Now that was a sobering humble moment...

HUMBLING MOMENT #3  So, My table leader's a real health nut - I hadn't seen him in about 9 or 10 years when I attended a conference up at his church, and I was amazed how much weight he's lost - He's been running, lifting weights, eating healthily - I knew I would be running the next morning, so I invited him along - He decides it's going to be raining, so he's hitting the gym instead - I even tried guilting him, but, no, he wimped out on me - I get up, put on my shorts, Garmin, and running shoes and head out the door with prideful chest poking out -- Problem # 1 -- I forgot the main lobby door was on the second floor - I blasted out the door on the 1st floor - Guess what?  The second I realized I was wrong, Problem # 2 -- the door slammed shut behind me, and yep, locked!  I was standing on a putting green, in the dark, way back somewhere behind Château Élan wondering where the heck I was, and how far would I have to run across a wet golf course before I found some pavement -- About a half mile I found out - No worries, right?  Problem #3 -- About mile 2.5 into a 5 mile run the bottom falls out!  I'm talking buckets of rain, thunder, lightening, the whole storm thing dumping right on top of me.  I'm running in the dark, pouring rain, 2.5 miles away from the resort -- I slogged back into the front door to the stares of folks attending the gathering looking at me like, well, the insane person I guess I am.  it was a drenching humbling moment...

An Historical Gathering...

Dee ad I just returned from a gathering of senior pastors and spouses of the top 100 United Methodist churches in the nation.  There were 80 pastors and 50 spouses able to attend.  This was the first time since 1784 that a gathering of this magnitude has taken place!  It was a powerful and productive time led & moderated by Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of The Church of the Resurrection in Kansas.

We were broken into ten tables of eight each with a table leader guiding in the discussions of nine topics over the two days we were together (The spouses followed a similar format in their own meetings).   Our table leader was Mike Slaughter of Ginghamsburg UMC.  He, Adam and the other table leaders did great job keeping this high octane group focused and engaged throughout the course of the gathering.  We came from the gathering with a three-fold commitment combining our efforts to further the kingdom and strengthen the denomination.  We committed, together, over the next eight years, to:

1) Start 370 new faith communities in the United States.  These can be satellite locations, daughter churches, or even churches within existing churches...

2) Help 1,000 new young people hear and respond to a call to ministry and enter seminary...

3) Commit more than $256 million, over and above our combined conference apportionments (which total $200 million) over the next eight years for outreach beyond the walls of our churches for mission, health ministries, and serving the poor.

A commitment was also made to stay in touch through the table groups and to meet again next year to continue the process of growing the kingdom and strengthening the denomination.  We also committed to hosting a similar event for the executive pastors, director of student ministries, and directors of mission ministries this coming April at The Church of the Resurrection.

All-in-all it was a good, productive, and purposeful gathering that will surely make a kingdom difference through God's Church!

All Fenced In?

This morning, I was out removing some barbed wire fences on my place in Powder Springs.  My neighbor and good friend, Donald, no longer has his horses or any other livestock, so, the fences are not really necessary, and removing them will make it easier for me to keep things mowed and maintained.

As I was working with the barbed wire, I remembered why I don't like working with barbed wire - That stuff will cut, gouge and scratch you in a hundred different ways!  No matter how careful I was, those barbs seemed to find a way to prick my skin and slash painful furrows into my arms, legs, face, or anything else caught in their path.  But, I suppose the wire was doing what it is designed to do - Keep things from coming near, or crossing over the line it keeps. 

Painful as it was, I can understand how the barbed wire keeps the horses and cows within the boundaries Donald has set for them.  The livestock probably don't realize it, but, within those bounds is all they need for a healthy, whole, and fulfilled life.  They have their food, water, shade, and, other horses and cows to keep them company.  Why would they even care about leaving -- Oh yeah, the grass is greener on the other side...

I wondered, as I flinched and fussed at the prickling and scratching I was taking from the fencing, if, perhaps, I sometimes forget that the boundaries God has placed around me are more for my good than I recognize.  Those, Have no other gods before Me, Don't steal, Don't cheat, Don't commit adultery, Don't covet, and, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, or, Love your neighbor, and on the list might go... 

Maybe God really does know best, and when I violate His boundaries it's probably going to sting, might even bleed a little, and, perhaps, will leave a mark as a reminder of my errs. 

I think I'll just remain on the side of the fence God provides, and be thankful for all that's within...

Starbucks Drive-Thru...

So, yesterday I executed my civil duty and gave some simple hints on driving in Atlanta traffic in attempt to alleviate some of the rush hour congestion - I did my part, now, if those people driving in the left-hand lane will do there's - Voilà!  We have made a step in the right direction.

Today, since I'm on an observation roll, so-to-speak, I'd like to offer a few tips to those patrons of the Starbuck's drive-through window:

 

TIP # 1  People go through the drive-thru, because, well, they're in a hurry and would like to get their coffee and, umm, drive-through - Hence the name...

TIP # 2 If you are ordering drinks for all 12 people in your office - Refer to tip #1...

TIP # 3 If you just can't abide by tip #2, at least don't pay and ask for change for each individual drink - Once again, you may want to refer to tip #1...

TIP # 4 I know the person taking your order seems so far away - But that round thing you are speaking into is a microphone - It actually amplifies your voice and sends it directly into the ear of the person taking your order - Your inside voice will suffice quite well...

TIP # 5 We all appreciate that phone call you are on is important - But, for the sake of tip #1, will you just pause the conversation long enough to pay separately for those 12 drinks you've ordered for everyone in your office -- Please?

TIP # 6 (Taken form yesterday's Hints for Driving in Traffic) -- Your makeup still looks much better when applied before leaving the house...

TIP # 7  If you just can't grasp tip # 6, look up - Yeah, remember those 4 cars that were in front of you?  That's right - They're not there now because they've already gotten their coffee and driven through -- Drive forward please...

TIP # 8  Yeah, we saw your little red convertible yesterday while you were driving 10 mph under the speed limit on the express way in the left-hand lane - It still looks cute - Drive forward, please...

TIP # 9 Please don't be offended by this author's hints & tips - They're not meant to be indictments, really - Just suggestive observations from a guy who likes to move forward...  Next, please...

Atlanta Traffic...

So, two days this week I have had meetings that have taken me through the heart of Atlanta during the famed rush-hour...  I've observed that the traffic might flow a little better if just a few people could get a bit of a hint as to how to drive in traffic -- So - I offer, free of charge, Tommy Willingham's hints for the road:

Hint #1  The left lane is for the fast cars...

Hint #2  Fast cars do not run 10 mph under the speed limit...

Hint #3  If you are in the left-hand lane and there is 1/4 mile of clear road in front of you, and 3 miles of cars backed up behind you - You're in the wrong lane - Move over...

Hint # 4  When you are in the left lane, and there are dozens of cars passing you on the right - They are not gesturing that you are their #1 fan...

Hint # 5  Your makeup would look much better if you applied it before leaving the house...

Hint # 6  I know you are in a mid-life crisis, and that little red convertible is really, really cute - But, we can admire it just fine if you keep it in the right-hand lane...

Hint # 7 Speed dial!

Hint # 8  I understand & respect that's the way people drive where you are from - But you're not there now...

Hint # 9  Gas on the right - Break on the left...

Hint # 10 If you don't get any of this - Stay in the right-hand lane...

People Watcher...

I love watching people!  Anywhere Dee and I go, I'll be found watching the local crowd.  I guess that's why I did a degree in sociology/psychology when in undergrad school.  I've just always been infatuated with people.

I love to watch how people act, interact, react, and pro-act in their daily dealings with life.  I enjoy learning more about human nature and how and why people do what they do, and act the way(s) they act. 

People are just such complex creations!  Many I observe perhaps rarely stop to give a lot of thought to how they are acting, and, why...  They just go through those daily motions reacting and acting to the circumstances and situations they encounter in any given moment.

So, if you see me staring, I'm just observing, learning, admiring God's unique ways of creating human beings.  Because, well, I just love watching people... 

Made the Wheaties Box!

Well, little doubt that Olympic all-time gold medal winner, Michael Phelps, will once again make the coveted Wheaties box - And, rightly so - The guy's done things no other human being has ever been able to accomplish - He's definitely in an athletic league of his own...

But, I wonder if we've created a cultural mentality that only the winners are esteemed - where bigger really is better - that the winner stands on the top of the heap with more worth than, perhaps, the one who started but finished dead last - Or, maybe even more worth than the one who, for whatever reason, never even started the race...

We'll never see the pimple-faced fourteen-year-old struggling with identity and fitting in, nor the single mom working from the time she gets out of bed till the moment she wearily falls back into it at day's end trying to do the best she can in circumstances she would have never envisioned the day she stood at an alter and said, "I do".  The guy working on his third career, desperately trying to figure it all out in the midst of a flailing economy, or the elderly couple struggling with high costs in needed prescription medications and rising costs & uncertainties in health care will surely never be seen on the coveted box.

Heck, I'm pretty sure I'll never stand on the cover, Bible in one hand, finger pointed upward in the other as the greatest preacher of all time!  Or, in reality will most of us.  But, does that make us inferior?  Have we bought into the notion that we have to be the very best in what we do in order to be somebody, that we've lost focus on who we really are? - Children, children of God made in His own image with his DNA placed within our very soul.  Children destined and designed to inherit all that He has claimed for our lives and our living.  Children so beloved that the Father would allow Jesus to enter our world, suffer and die, to be resurrected so we could truly know both who, and whose we really are...

Maybe we'll never make the box, but in God's eyes we are forever precious and deserving of His unmerited love and acceptance -- And, I suppose, that's better than being on some old box that will one day degrade away to never be remembered again...

Olympic Trampoline - Yeah Baby!

So, this afternoon I flipped on the TV to check out the Olympics.  Lo-and-behold I saw the coolest sport I've yet to see in these 2008 Olympics -- TRAMPOLINE! 

Now, I know the other sports get more attention.  In fact, I didn't even know that the trampoline has been an Olympic sport since 2000.  But, the trampoline is just the coolest!  I mean, the gymnasts do lots of flips and turns - The divers do the same flips and turns as they decent from the board -- But the trampolinists (I guess that's what you would call a person who does the trampoline) - The trampolinists do all the flips, turns, jukes and jives going up and down -- And, they can't be off but a foot or two or they will be going splat right on the floor!

So, my hat's off to all of you unrecognized athletes of the trampoline!  Go for the gold!!

I Just Love Church Planters!

Church planters have to be some of the most inspiring people on the planet!  I love being around them, talking to them, picking their brains and seeing inside their hearts.  They're out there - On the edge, bridging that gap between the secular and the sacred - Focused on those who aren't yet, but, by God's goodness have the hope to be!

I am privileged to teach a lot of church planters, mentor and coach a few, and have the opportunity to watch them do what God has created them to do.  But, I learn so much from them!   I learn from their excitement and willingness to take risks for the kingdom - I learn from their honest, raw enthusiasm for reaching a non-churched world for Christ's sake - I learn from their commitment and tenacious nature to march the gates of hell without abandon!

I just love church planters - You guys and gals rock even more than ice baths :)  

Here's a list of some of our North Georgia plants you may want to check out if you're in the market for a shot of good-stuff today!

 

City On A Hill UMC
www.cityonahillumc.org
Sundays 10:30 a.m.
Johnston Elementary School
2031 East Cherokee Drive
Woodstock, GA
Pastor: Chris Bryant
(404) 862-7850
  
Covenant UMC
www.theumc.org
Grace Groups: 9:15-9:45 a.m.
Worship & Communion: 10-11:15 a.m.
Greenbriar Elementary
Evans, GA 30809
Pastor: Randy Monk
(706) 339-7090

Crossroads UMC
www.crossroadsum.org
Worship Beginning Fall 2008
Shelton Elementary School
1530 Cedarcrest Raod
North Paulding County
Pastor: Ken Hagler
(770) 861-3549
  
Fellowship Church
www.GodandPeople.com
Sundays at 10:45am
Nebo Elementary School
2834 Nebo Road
Dallas, GA
Pastor: Ken Ott
(678) 447-6147 

Impact Church
www.impactdcd.org
Sundays at 10 a.m. & noon
West End Community
Brown Middle School (Auditorium)
765 Peeples Street, SW
Atlanta, GA 30310 
Pastor: Olu Brown
info(at)impactdcd.org
(404) 758-7310

Life Springs UMC
www.thelifesprings.com
Sundays: Worship at 11am
Life Groups at 4:00pm
Former Fincher UMC Building
11033 Hwy 109
Zebulon, GA
Pastor: Kyle Smith
(770) 567-3921

Sacred Tapestry
www.SacredTapestry.com
Sundays at 10:45-12:15
Jazz Vespers Brunch
3000 Johnson Ferry Road
Marietta, GA  30062
Pastor: Teresa Angle-Young
(404) 451-1680

The Lighthouse UMC
www.lighthouseumc.net
Sundays 10:30 a.m.
McIntosh High School
201 East Walt Banks Road
Peachtree City, GA
Pastor: Mark Jordan 
(770) 487-3400

The UMC at the Well
www.discoverthewell.org 
3rd Sunday of month at 10am
Main Street Library
Cartersville, GA
Pastor: Andy Postell
(678) 314-7994
 
The Vine (Chateau Elan)
www.connecttothevine.org
Sundays 9:30am & 11am
Heather Wayne's Dance Academy
5370 Thompson Mill Rd.
Hoschton, GA 30548
Pastor: David Walters 
(678) 521-8691

Connection Church (Suwanee)
Stephen Walters
http://www.connectionchurchonline.com/

Navo UMC (Oakhurst)
Bryan Fowler

Ice Baths are Cool...

Well, actually COLD!  After a long run a nice bathtub full of cold water and a bag full of ice is just the thing to keep the aches and pains that come from pushing the body so much further than a normal day @ the office.  It makes the next day much more tolerable, and less painful from the long run day.

So, I guess I should have some deep, profound spiritual connection, but, nothing more than ice baths rock!