Thanksgiving Eve

While I am looking forward to dinner with friends tomorrow, I will admit that I am missing hanging out with family right now… I remember Thanksgivings past in Greenville, SC with a house full of people, Alabama/Auburn fever, and building tent forts in my cousins’ playroom. Kind of sad that my kids are not experiencing that family bonding…

Wow, that sure was melancholy… On a lighter note, here are just a few of the things I am thankful for this year:

• A God who loves me even when I act like… me and not Him… who is big enough to be small enough and gives me hope beyond all limits.
• A wife who loves me even when I act like… me! 14-1/2 years fly fast when you love your life!
• Beautiful kids who love with abandon (n. Unbounded enthusiasm; exuberance. A complete surrender of inhibitions.) and challenge me to be better.
• Family all over the Southeast who love God and are fun to be around… looking forward to Christmas!
• Friends spread all over the US (all the way up to Canada!!) who are real people and are great to hang out with and do life together.
• A home (even if I am not the mortgagee….)- a place to rest and refresh my batteries- and the 50″plasma that sits in the living room.
• The opportunity to connect people to the real Jesus and have it be my job… So undeserving and consider it an honor, not a right, to serve Christ vocationally.
• A vision for seeing lives all over Cypress changed… marriages healed, families grown, and hearts powered by God’s Holy Spirit.
• A band of assertive, humble, intelligent, hard-working, passionate, sold-out for Jesus, crack of dawn waking servants to live that vision with.
• A staff who loves God, loves people, and puts up with me… challenges me to be better and leads people to greatness.
• Whataburger… and I am calling your bluff on the A1 Thick and Hearty thing… I can already hear “due to overwhelming response its back…”
• SEC Football and the ESPN Gameplan withwhich to watch said conference… Stuck in the land of BIG 1 football out here.
• Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide… an oxidizing agent- it accepts electrons from other molecules and becomes reduced. However, it is also used in other cellular processes, notably as a substrate of enzymes that add or remove chemical groups from proteins, in posttranslational modifications.
• Wikipedia.
• Everyone who has taken time out of their life to read my ramblings… You guys need some hobbies or something.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Family Christmas Card

Each year we send a Christmas Card to family and friends that live out of town and do not get to see our family on a regular basis… Last night I designed the card for 2009. Here is a sneak peek for you blog friends and family… Happy Holidays!

Sunday ReCap Nov 22

It has literally taken me 2 days to recover from Sunday… and what a Sunday it was! Here is the ReCap:

• We kicked off the annual Big Give emphasis on supporting the Mission of The MET and began a new teaching series: BELIEVE.
• I have yet to type believe without putting the e before the i… random fact for you.
• Sunday morning setup was kind of crazy, new set pieces on stage, but Andy and the Tech Team did a great job… kudos yall!

   

  

  Big Give Stage Look

• We have two volunteers who do our lighting: Chuck and Art… and they kill it every week, but outdid themselves this week. Great job guys! You wouldn’t believe (did it again) that they havent been doing this for years. We are blessed by all of our Fry Roadies.
• Loved the “HOPPER HOUND NIGHT CLUB” poster above the stage… Great reminder of the impact we can have on the school, not just using it as a place to meet. Also, I want one of the Husky cutouts for my office wall.
• Worship Team did a great job with a very complicated service and video/timing integration. If you missed the story of Samuel, I will see if I can get a link… lets just put it this way, it wrecked me. Video ended with this line: Its hard to believe when you go to sleep hungry.
• The message was ok… I probably made it more complicated than it needed to be… Here is the nickel version if you dont have time to listen to The MET @ Fry Blog: What we believe leads to margin which is the ability to give in our lives. How we give reveals what we believe about what we have. All we have (no matter how much or little) in Gods hands, is all they need.
• Teardown went great, and we chowed on some pizza before heading to Church Under the Bridge.
• CUTB was really cool… we got some wires crossed internally and had many more people than we needed down there… its was 2 to 1 MET to homeless people, but it was still a moving experience. So proud that so many from Fry went down there… next time, I promise we will not over populate and everyone will get to put their hands to the work.

   

  

  Communion Under the Bridge

• That said, anyone who says they had nothing to do was wrong and missed out on impacting people’s lives. I had some great conversations before the service and during the meal… sometimes serving is simply asking questions and listening. Or looking them in the eye or shaking their hand. You wouldn’t believe what eye contact will do to someone everyone else tries to ignore. Even calling them by name makes a huge difference. I hope you didn’t settle for standing around.
• I saw somewhere around 10 or so hands of people that said they prayed to receive Christ and become a part of God’s Story and make their Story a part of His Story… I hope to never take life change for granted.
• We capped Sunday off with the Bi-Annual (that means two times a year, right?) church business meeting… lots of Roberts Rules and voting and it was great to see 180 folks show up to hear what God is doing and make their voice known. I love it when people are passionate about the MISSION… its also really easy to see when people are off mission or on one of their own.
• Mad props to Fry Road folks at the business meeting thanks for believing that we are one church in two locations! It was fun to tell of what God is doing at Fry.
• Think that about wraps it up.. I hope you guys were challenged on what God is calling you to put in your Big Give bag and lay on the altar on December 13…
• The awkward end to the service was designed to leave you uncomfortable as to what is next. My prayer is that you are praying about what you have and what God is calling you to do with it.
• This Sunday you will get the chance to participate in a CHALLENGE to identify with our mission and check what you believe about what you deserve… Here is a hint: EAT UP on thanksgiving.

Enjoy time with friends and family this week… Looking forward to Lance being back at Fry this Sunday and bringing us week 2 of Believe.

Meet You on Fry Road.

Life Goal List Addition

I have a new Life Goal to add to my list… well, to make sure is on my list when I actually make one. Anyhow- here it is:

To be in a leadership position, and successful enough to take my entire staff and buy out the toys at a Wal-Mart to give kids a Christmas who otherwise wouldn’t get one.

A friend of mine allowed me to be a part of this with his employees today. As he explained to them, we work hard all year, not just for us, but to make a difference in other people’s lives as well. And then he thanked them for their work, on behalf of kids all over NW Houston.

Amazing and Inspiring.

Wonderful Time

A few signs I received today that Christmastime is here… despite Thanksgiving still being 6 Days away:

• Spent a couple hours at Wal-Mart buying Christmas presents for underprivledged kids in NW Houston… evidently, its Christmas when Wal-Mart says so.
• Actually heard a Christmas song on the radio.
• I am going to the first Christmas party of the season… tonight. You kids can call it a Holiday Gathering, but its a Christmas Party.
• I am dressing up as my favorite character from a Christmas Movie… here’s a hint: “They had to replace my metal plate with a plastic one. Every time Catherine would rev up the microwave, I’d piss my pants and forget who I was for about half an hour.”
• I am allowed one scatological term per blog until the New Year.
• Macy is going as one of the Hot Chocolate Guys from Polar Express, Matthew as Frosty the Snowman, and Kelly is going as the wife and mother who has to deal with the other three of us.
• I was digging around in our storage unit and saw all of our Christmas Decorations and the tree we bought at Lowes after Christmas 2 years ago… as yet unopened.
• This just in… Kelly is sticking a round piece of red paper on her nose and going as Rudolf. Lame.

I guess the point is, ready or not, Christmas is here.

Motivation

Just about every weekday morning for the last 4 or so weeks, I have experienced an internal struggle as the alarm on my iPhone, my digital brain, would loudly sound a blues riff that really more annoys Kelly than wakes me. As the ba-dah-dah-ba-dah sounds, right after I reach over and touch the snooze option, my head goes back to the pillow and instantly I wrestle with whether or not to get up and go to the gym. The level of internal dialogue would rival any bitter courtroom closing arguments, as I line up the reasons to exercise and reasons to sleep “just a couple more” snooze cycles.

Its not a question of whether I want to go work out- I don’t. There is nothing natural about going to a warehouse covered with a vomit of wall graphics of people that do not need to be there working out… a place that reeks of human pheromones, industrial cleaners, (and old vegetables?)… and pushing myself toward unnatural physical exertion on belts, pedals, handles, and pulleys. Nor is the random music, “from the 80s 90s & today!!” that is played at my gym compelling enough for me to actually be spurred toward any deeper desire to sweat. Unless of course Olivia Newton John or C+C Music Factory comes up on the playlist.

So what finally moves me out from under my nest of pillows and bedding, other than the urge to go to the bathroom? At some point, a motivator kicks in… a catalyst that directs my desire toward the betterment of my physical health, at least until lunch.

And our spiritual journeys are not that different… at some point a desire to grow in Christ, to see others come to know Him, and make an impact on those with whom God has given us points of intersection, becomes part of the motivation to study the Bible, to petition and praise God, and corporately walk this life in a way that honors Him. And for the Apostle Paul, who in describing what justifies his title, described part of his motivation:

9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. – 1 Cor. 15

So, my challenge for the week, like Paul, is to let grace be a motivator… in every area of my spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical life. At home and at work, and even at lunch. As I navigate stressful and challenging situations in ministry and spend time with people hurting, questioning God, and wondering what’s next, I will be praying “yet not I” kinds of prayers. And yeah, I guess I will get out of bed and get to the gym…

Sunday ReCap -Nov 8

I have noticed a pattern… when Saturday feels funky, its because God wants to do great things Sunday… distraction and discouragement are some of the greatest weapons the enemy uses to cause us to miss God’s greatness. Here are some highlights of Gods greatness from yesterday

• 4 people raised their hands to acknowledge their desire to know Christ as Lord and Savior and indicate that they had prayed and asked Him to do so.
• I got to pray with 2 of the 4- one young lady, going through some rough stuff at home, realized that a relationship with Christ wouldn’t take the problems away, but will give her peace and hope in the midst of the storm. She wants to be baptized next week as a public demonstration of this new found faith.
• Another 30-something guy I got to spend some time with, wanted to move from hoping he will measure up to knowing Christ is his only hope. Years of searching for God, and believing He could be found led to a moment on Sunday of being found. He wants to be baptized and take His new-found internal belief and transform it to an long-term external lifestyle.
• Not much else I need to say after those two stories, huh? That’s what it is all about – both of those new believers are connected to families that from day 1 said they would be pioneers at Fry Road. When we talk about family and friends coming to Christ, this is what we mean! Who is in your 5?
• One of our Power Team guys told me, as we were setting up curtains, that he and his family tithed for the first time in a long time last week. And it was a sacrifice. With tears in his eyes, he went on to talk about how God stepped into his world in a real and tangible way this past week, doing more than he ever imagined. And more than the financial benefits of generous giving in obedience, was the faith on display in his words and life as he spoke. More than the new opportunities, was the fresh faith in his life and the way he spoke of God’s leadership in his family and job.
• Great stuff, that obedience. Makes me even more excited about our upcoming BELIEVE series- starting November 22… be there every week and let God challenge what YOU BELIEVE!
• We had a Life Group get together with the leaders and hosts Monday night. We shared stories of what God is doing through Belonging in Life Groups, and it was incredible to hear of people praying for, celebrating with, and mourning alongside others in community. If you don’t BELONG in a Life Group, this Spring, we are shaking a couple things up and tweaking some stuff (based on leader feedback) in an effort to get as many people to experience what it means to BELONG as possible!
• Back to Sunday: Worship with Adam was really uplifting… Love how he leads us toward God and makes worship about Him, not a person, song, or style.
• Had some specific conversations with people who said that Sal’s message from the life of Joseph on being Resilient hit them between the eyes and was exactly what they needed to hear. If you missed it, check here.
• Our 6AM Power Teamers have been awesome the past couple of weeks- praying with some of those guys yesterday morning and hearing them share their joys and needs, was an honor… I love how we can work to set up a church, but really it is all set up for life change!
• I am also fired up about everyone who stays around to help us all get out of Hopper by helping in load out… every week I see new faces.
• This Sunday will be a blast: we will be baptizing toward the end of the 9:30 service… in the pool… in the courtyard… in November. This will probably be the last one for 2009, so don’t miss it! Come early if you hang out at the 11:00 AM service.
• We are also recognizing and consecrating some great guys in Deacon ordination during the 11 o’c service… these guys are leaders and I am honored to serve at a church where Deacons believe they are there to serve the body.
• Awesome stuff is going on all around The MET… I hope you are in the middle of it!
• I am ok with some funkiness on Saturday’s if God’s Spirit shows up like He did yesterday!

Have a great week… Ask yourself who needs to come in contact with the Living God this week, and then… be THAT contact. You never know what an intentional conversation toward a heart’s condition might result in.

Meet You on Fry Road

B

And God Drummed Let There Be Light…

After Miley Cyrus firmly implanted her catchy kitschy country-wide party anthem in my head as I was driving to work this morning, the radio disc jockey talked about an event coming up this Sunday known as the Texas Big Beat. On Sunday a large group of drummers in Houston will attempt to break a world record by simultaneously drumming with drummers in 10 other cities. Sounds like a pretty amazing thing to witness and with Christmas approaching and charitable giving down, the organizations that will benefit from this event are probably very thankful, to say nothing of the little drummer boy.

After hearing about this though, the DJ began to speak of the spiritual experience that this big drumming would be, and of how there is something mystical about drumming (I am sure that Tommy Lee is excluded here) and how he believes that drumming explains the Big Bang and the origins of life. Drumming. And God drummed, let there be light… In the beginning God drummed the heavens and the earth…

While thousands of people people drumming in unison would be cool to see, there is still no comparison to what God can do with just a word.

Convincing the convinced…

To me, probably the saddest place to end up going for lunch is the mall food court, especially if you really have no other business at the mall… just going there to eat. To eat and therefore to be harassed by toothpick wielding chicken pushers. While some might say you could eat for free by simply making circles, I say you have just as good a chance in contracting salmonella…. except maybe from the old guy handing out Chick-Fil-A nuggets.

Which brings me to this thought: why is Chick-Fil-A even participating in this chicken-hawking food court madness to begin with? Don’t they know most of us have a low grade addiction to their God-ordained products already? The thing is- if my childhood memories are correct, and admittedly, most are fabrications of 30+ years of trying to be funny- Chick Fil A might have actually been the first people to stand around with toothpicks. However, in some ways today, they are really just convincing the already convinced, right? There is really no attempt being made to actually drum up new business there. Especially when the old guy with the nuggets at my mall is handing them out to people as they are getting in line… at Chick-Fil-A. And, as I proved (TWICE), he will give you one as you are walking AWAY after purchasing or getting a drink refill. So really, when it comes down to it, I guess these are just bonus nuggets for being a customer… either that or I AM as good looking as I think I am.

Which makes me wonder… how much of what we are doing as the Church is just convincing the already convinced? Are we distributing our best product to those in line who are already raving fans? Might we be going so far as to focus our energies on those who are already “all in” and be oblivious to the needs of people walking in and out of our lives and ministry every day? There are surely a bunch of other options out there for them to choose from (bourbon to terriyaki?), and we might be missing those who are truly searching, going for the easy sell to those already in line. Thinking about this brought to mind the story (and the song for that matter) of Zacchaeus from Luke 19:

¹Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ²A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. ⁵When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” ⁶So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. ⁷All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ’sinner.’ “ ⁸But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” ⁹Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

So, Jesus was headed in a known way and intentionally intersecting with the lives of people who were looking for Him, doing whatever they could to just watch him walk by… Probably not so different than people around us who look to substances or relationships for fulfillment, even if it is fleeting and just walking in and out of their lives. It was not the easy or popular thing to do, but Jesus broke away from convention and offered samples of himself to the crowd of souls searching for something more. Not only did he meet them where they were, but He was compelled to be a part of who they were… allowing for public affection to become private adoration. And the result was salvation.

Jesus was here to save the lost, not satiate the found.

He came to seek the seeking, not convince the convinced.

Challenging thought as I lead myself and others to connect to the real Jesus in a real way.

Sunday ReCap Oct 18

You can sum up how I feel about last Sunday in 1 word: baptism. How can we not have a great Sunday when someone goes public with their faith in Christ! Here is the ReCap from Sunday:

• Setup team was SLIM Sunday morning… Our Power Team needs some recharging. We missed you at 6 AM at Hopper… if you are looking for a quick place to plug in, be a part of the Power Team!
• That said, we set a new record on Load Out Sunday, because many people stuck around and helped us load out! 1:13 and the trailers were shut! Wooo Hooo… I have always said that getting out by 1PM was the Holy Grail of load out… I think we can do it now more than ever.
• Worship was great Sunday, I am looking forward to having Adam lead for us 2 out of the next 3 weeks.
• I thought Scott nailed it with the message Sunday… I could see some holy discomfort in the crowd as I got up to lead in prayer at the end of the service.
• Also had quite a few people say they thought the message ended too quickly… that they were engaged in the thought of what resilience looks like from God’s perspective…. I totally agree and am looking forward to hearing from Pastor Sal this Sunday.
• Cannot say that I have ever been told I talked to little… oh well, maybe one day. Maybe not.
• Our Preschool and Children’s ministry leadership really felt the effects of the flu this past Sunday… I am guessing we can expect this for a few more weeks- I am drinking Lemon Tea as I type this… Please make every effort to fulfill your serve commitment during this crazy time.
• I did hear that the 1-3 grade worship has been pretty cool lately… I hope to get down there this week.
• Again, baptism was awesome – loved being soaking wet on stage during second service.
• If you didnt hear, during the 9:30 hour, I challenged “someone” in the audience who knew that they needed to be baptized to go ahead and do it- in their street clothes. I also said I would baptize in my street clothes as well…. One student who recently gave her life to Christ at Truth Students said it was her. So she did. And so did I. (see picture)
• We also celebrated new life in Christ with 2 other people who had never gone public with their faith through baptism.
• Every Sunday, my alarm goes off at 4:14 AM (odd alarm times help me get up) and I don’t usually get home until around 1:30 or 2:00 PM… then our Life Group meets from 5-7 PM… but let me tell you, Sundays are great, and our Life Group has been a needed breath of fresh air for Kelly and I.
• We are studying “Effective Parenting in a Defective World” in our Life Group, and every week we are challenged and encouraged by the study, but especially by our LG members. There is no way to express how much doing life together matters.
• I know some of you wanted to be in a group, but couldn’t this semester, even were willing to host or lead… don’t give up! Make sure and be a part during our next session… it’s totally worth the time and resilience!
• If you are not in a Life Group, already start praying about when and where you will regularly circle up with others passionately pursuing Christ and belonging.

That’s about it for this Sunday ReCap… I have a couple first time guests to email- one heard about The MET @ Fry by driving by, one received an invitation… Don’t forget about Your 5… You never know what God will do with a simple invite.

Have a great week… Meet you on Fry Road!

B