A Lesson From Gracen

I had an amazing night last night. I was sitting in my chair holding my son, Gracen, and we began to play a game. He has this thing where he opens his mouth real wide and “kisses” your cheek. The problem now is that he has two teeth on the top and two on the bottom. Here’s the thing about these teeth: SMALL BUT SHARP. He also has little fingernails that could be used in any Japanese restaurant. They are that sharp and he wields them as good as any chef. He obviously does not realize it, but you do the moment those little razor teeth or nails get you.

            So last night he was sitting on my lap and we were forehead to forehead, but he wanted a piece of me. His mouth opened in a large fashion the likes that have only been seen on Jaws movies (RIP Roy Schneider.) The problem was that with my forehead on his he could not get to me. I laughed hysterically as he desperately tried and tried. Finally he reached up with BOTH razor equipped hands and grabbed the sides of my face. Our eyes were two inches apart and it was like I could hear him say, “I am trying to get to you dad!” Impressed by his diligence and effort, I was about to give in and let him, get me, but in that instant I felt God. Yes God. It was like He was saying “Let him keep fighting.” So I did what any dumbfounded Christ follower does, I let him keep fighting. After a few minutes, to my surprise, he gave up and laid his head on my chest. You know what I did? I picked him up and kissed him. Gracen must have been like, “Are you kidding, I fought that hard to get to you and now you pick me up?!?”

            Gracen was held AFTER he surrendered. I believe there are a lot of great intentioned people that fight to get to God. We fight hard daily to get close to Him, yet we do not feel like we are getting anywhere. Then in a moment of exhaustion, frustration, or bewilderment, we give up. We surrender. We lay our heads on God’s chest and say “okay You win.” And in that moment of our surrender, when our will is gone, when we have stopped praying out of obligation, reading the bible out of guilt, and have put away our happy face, He picks us up. He holds us like a father holding His exhausted child.

            May you surrender today. May you understand that in your humanity you can not drive yourself to God, but rather you will have an understanding that it will be Him that draws you. May you live in peace knowing that God is in control, even when it doesn’t seem possible. This prayer I pray for you…and for me.

Sunday Rewound

Again I am amazed at ECC. As I sit and think about how far we have come, and how far God is going to take us, it is thrilling and scary at the same time. Our church is still growing and it as it is growing young (mostly college students and young families) it is growing closer. The older and younger are worshipping together, serving side by side, and God is pleased as it unfolds. Here’s a recap!

·        The foyer was crowded this week. It was hard to get in so we have to figure out how to get them into the overflow area of the sanctuary. Once the chairs are in, pews are out, and the café is built in the back part of sanctuary, I think this problem will alleviate itself.

·        Our greeters this week were great. One was about 65 and one was about 20. What a combo! Sometimes in an effort to be missional, we leave out a certain age group. (See travisjohnson.net blog to read about being missional towards all ages.)

·        Worship was great. People were involved, band did a good job, and yes I cried again during a song. Grace moves me…every time.

·        Opening video was extremely funny! It makes me laugh every time I saw it!

·        I never realized how many people take notes during my teaching. It is great to see, and I hope it helps them remember the main thoughts.

·        Prayers at the end of service were moving to me. Many of you had your eyes closed, but as we dedicated our lives to different things, God was listening…and responding.

 That’s it for this week…go and take on the world!!!!!!!!!!

Leading Volunteers

Planting a church is hard. There is no way around it. Starting from scratch is a long tough process. Replanting a church I believe is harder. Now as I say that please understand I have never planted a church from scratch, and what I know is through other people. I am in the middle of a replant and am learning just how difficult it is on a daily basis. Replants are tough because you are battling history, reputation in the community, and the standing mentality of those still in the church.

ECC is blessed in more ways than we know. Many of these things I just mentioned are here, but I have one huge positive thing. My volunteer staff is amazing. They have been willing to be retrained, restructured, and stretched in ways they never imagined. Our replant has included a complete “flip.” What once was is no more, and yet they have stuck through it.

Volunteers are tough to lead most of the time because of one simple reason: THEY ARE NOT BEING PAID! They are the greatest servant because it is a larger sacrifice for them, because they have full time jobs and are leading ministries here that are also full time. When leading volunteers here are some things to remember:

·        Tell them how much they are appreciated. Sometimes a word of encouragement can be more beneficial than a check. They are not serving for money, thus pay them another way.

·        Help them balance their lives. As they follow you they will get excited and want to do A LOT. Many times pastors will give them so much and after time their commitment will dwindle, their family lives will suffer, and they will end up blaming the church. Keep them balanced. We love those people who do a lot, but if you truly love them, help them enhance all facets of their lives not just what they are doing at the church.

·        Set them up for success. Make sure they have what they need. A lack of supplies, teaching times, or time to be heard can be frustrating for them. Also do not place them somewhere they are not gifted for.

 

There is a lot more to say about leading volunteers, but remember one thing. They are following you because they want to, not because they are being paid to. Love them, correct them when needed, develop them, and most of all, thank God daily for them.

Sunday Rewound

This past Sunday was another great one at ECC. It is crazy to think that even in a small town, with a growing church, and an unknown pastor, God still shines down on our services. I know it sounds a little “preachy,” but I do not know exactly how else to describe it. With all that is going on in the world, God truly cares about us. The hardest part is to understand that as much as God loves us for being in the Sunday Experiences, He also loves those not in a service anywhere, but we will save that discussion for a later time…

Here are some of the Sunday highlights:

·      I love having coffee in the foyer before church. It is a great feeling seeing everyone standing around a talking before the experience starts.

·      It is also impressive to see the mixed ages gathering together. You would think that all the college kids would be together and all the “older” people would be on their side, but this is not the case. They intermingle and share stories. Listen up college kids…you could learn something!

·      The band did an amazing job. The feel was more Pentecostal than normal. Not that they are not normally, but there seemed to be a spirit of worship. Great job to Arron and his team as they stayed obedient. (Remember all of you that do not attend ECC, the oldest person in the band is 25!)

·      This was week two of our series “The Unlovables.” It always seems that when we teach a series about certain subjects, people find themselves in those situations more often. After week 1 (Critical People) many people came and said how they had someone like that at work and now they knew how to deal with them. What a novel idea, actually using something you learned on Sunday in a real life situation!

·      I am very excited that we are a week closer to the sanctuary renovation being complete. Goodbye pews, hello café!

·      I was sad that we were without Ryan Lavalle and Grant Archer. They were out of town working and we missed them.

 

I am again amazed at God and the fact that he is using us to allow people to encounter Him in a personal, life changing way! Go take on the world…