Written in Heaven

LIFEGROUP Questions

12/5/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Guerrilla Lovers Week 2: A Guerrilla’s Mission

1. Instead of your working, if you could spend that time supporting any cause, what would it be and why?

2. When in your life have you been filled with compassion for someone or something? Describe the situation and how you felt.

3. Read Mark 1:40-42. In this story, Jesus touches and heals a man with leprosy. Lepers were considered the most vile, disgusting people in Jesus’ day. Who in your world where you live today, would be the equivalent of those lepers? How can you minister to them like Jesus did?

4. It seems as though at Christmas time it’s easier for us to make a commitment to impact those around us for Jesus. Why is it easier around Christmas than the rest of the year?

5. What are we doing as a group to meet the physical needs of the 20% of people living in the world today in extreme poverty? What are we doing as a group to meet the spiritual need of 67% of people disconnected from Jesus in Tazewell County?

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

11/28/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Guerrilla Lovers Week 1: A Guerrilla’s Kingdom

1. What material item do you want for Christmas this year? If you could have anything at all for Christmas that wasn’t material, what would it be?

2. When you think of the word ‘revolution’ what comes to mind? Does this word apply to Jesus? Why or why not?

3. In Matthew 5:43-44 Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” What about this statement is revolutionary? How well do you obey this command? Why?

4. How would you describe the love of Jesus to someone? How has the love of Jesus impacted your life? With that in mind, is it difficult to do what Jesus commands when he says ‘Love each other as I have loved you.” Why?

5. As a group, decide on one intentional act of love that your group can participate in to impact the community in which you meet.

6. Take time to pray about what God would have you to do individually as well to love the people around you.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

11/21/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Dream Job Week 5: Choosing to Cheat

1. When you were a kid did you ever cheat or steal? What was the biggest thing you cheated on or the biggest item you stole? Were you ever caught? Why did you stop?

2. As you think about the priorities in your life, how have they changed from 5 or 10 years ago til now? Would you say life is easier or more complex?

3. What are three things you want to see happen in your family or in your work? Will the way you manage your time currently help to achieve that?

4. When we think about ‘cheating’ time somewhere, have any of us ever been guilty of cheating on our family with our work? How did that impact life at home?

5. What safeguards can we place in our life to make sure we don’t ‘cheat’ our families over our work?

6. What takeaways do you have from this series that will impact the way you view or act toward your job or home life?

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

11/14/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Dream Job Week 4: Worship

1. Who is the worst person you’ve ever worked with? What made them so bad? Who is the best person you’ve worked with? What made them so good to work with?

2. If I could describe my work place or my job in one word it would be: __________. Why did you choose that word?

3. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all of the glory of God.” What comes to your mind when you think of ‘whatever you do?’ Would you say that this is your mindset in life all the time? Why or why not?

4. What does it mean when it says in Ephesians to be “rooted and established in love?” How is someone who is rooted in love operate differently than someone who is not rooted in love? When you think about someone who is rooted in love, who comes to mind? Why?

5. Why does Jesus call us to operate as a servant towards those around us? What does this look like practically? How does being a servant tie in with being rooted and established in love?

6. Let’s wrap up praying for one another for our struggles in this area. Who do you struggle to love that we can pray for this week? Who do you struggle to serve that we can pray for this week?

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

11/7/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Dream Job Week 3: Transition

1. What was the worst job you ever had? What made it so bad?

2. The average person has 9.3 jobs in their lifetime. How many have you had? Do you think you’ll have more or less than 9.3? Why? Why do you think people’s jobs transition so much?

3. What is the most difficult job transition you’ve had to go through? Why was it so difficult? What did you learn from it?

4. Have you ever made a regrettable decision because you only used 1 dimensional decision making (just looking within) rather than 3 dimensional decision making (looking to God, others, and yourself)? Would any of you be comfortable sharing that story? What did you learn from it?

5. Have any of you fasted and prayed before? If you feel comfortable, could you share the details of the situation (why were you fasting, how did it go, what were the results). What would you say to others in the group about the benefits to fasting and praying?

6. This week as a group, let’s fast and pray for group members who are going through or about to go through a job transition.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

10/31/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Dream Job Week 2: Purpose

1. What was your first job ever? What did it pay? Did you find any kind of purpose in it? If so what was it?

2. What purposes do people pursue in the world? Do you know anyone who pursues these purposes? What do they lack when they pursue these things?

3. In the book ‘Holy Discontent’ Bill Hybels talks about having a ‘Popeye’ moment in our lives, where we experience something that makes us say, ‘that’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more.’ Have you had a moment in your life like that?

4. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us in advance to do.” Have you ever felt like you were fulfilling this statement? In other words, do you know that you are fulfilling the purpose God has for you? If yes, what is that purpose?

5. What does it take to find your purpose? For those of you who know what your purpose is, how did you find it? For those who are still seeking out your purpose, how are you discovering it?

6. Let’s pray for each other that God would help those who know their purpose to fulfill it, and those who are still searching theirs out to find it.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

10/24/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Dream Job Week 1: Identity

1. How many of you love your current job? How many of you dislike or even hate your current job? What do you love about it, what do you hate about it?

2. When you consider your current work environment, is it difficult for you to believe that you can encounter God at work? Why or why not?

3. A line Dale used in the message was “lack of an identity in relationship with God and God’s purposes = frustration.” How have you seen that truth played out in your life or in the lives of others?

4. What happens when we let other people shape our identity? How can this help us or hurt us? How has this played out in your life?

5. How do we go about finding our identity in Jesus, not through our work or other people? For those of you who have found your identity in Jesus, how has that impacted your life?

6. Would anyone be willing to share any struggles you’re having with your identity? We’d like to pray for you, that God would reveal to you who you are in Him.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

“But what about you?” he [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:16)

We made an announcement today at BridgeWay regarding the future of Brooke and I. We are going to be leaving BridgeWay to pursue the calling God has put on our lives to start a church in Fishers, IN.

In 2005, I attended North Point Community Church with the staff from Ottawa First Church, where I was serving as youth pastor. As I sat through their service, I was moved beyond words. At the end of the service I had a ‘cut to the heart’ moment. God was asking me to be part of starting churches like that one. Since then, I’ve prayed about that nearly daily waiting for God to give me the go ahead.

In 2007, I was presented with an opportunity to start (aka plant) a church. I had the passion to do it, but not the knowledge. I called a friend of mine named Dale Schaeffer who was a couple years into a plant called BridgeWay Community Church. I ran all this by him and asked him what he thought. He said if he were me, he’d come to BridgeWay to learn about planting for a couple years and then go out and do it. I thought that sounded pretty good.

Since March of 2008, I’ve been on staff at BridgeWay and Brooke and I have loved every second of it. There have been days where I couldn’t believe I was this blessed to serve with a team and serve people that I loved so much. God has been so good to us!
Last October, I was in a period of praying and fasting when the call to plant continued to surface. It was as if God were saying, “I know you love it here, but this isn’t your last stop. I need you to move.” I began to ask God simply, “where?” He took me back to a conversation I had with a youth pastor in 2006. Our youth groups were doing a joint missions trip to Noblesville, IN, a town neighboring Fishers. One night he asked if he could show me something. I hopped in his Jeep and he began to drive me around Fishers. He showed me and explained to me the exponential growth the town was experiencing, and shared with me how the church hasn’t been able to keep up with the cities growth. My response was “someone should do something about that.”

I know this now, but you should never say something like that, because God will make you do it. I’m kidding of course, but usually when you have that feeling, it’s a sign of God asking you to be that ‘someone.’

So there I was. I knew I had to plant, I knew where, but I also wanted to bring people with me. I knew that God wasn’t just calling me, but that he might be calling other families from BridgeWay (and other places) to go with us. Regarding BridgeWay, I asked God to bring families to mind that need to go with us. Almost immediately, two families came to mind: Dave and Lori, and Damon and Daylene.

I also decided that if this was really a “God thing” that I wouldn’t have the need to talk to them about this, but that God already had. So my prayer became that if God was really speaking to them about this, that they would come up to me and let me know, without me ever asking them or letting them know what God was doing in my heart. I figured, this has got to be pretty bulletproof at that point!

Two weeks after I began this prayer process, Damon came into my office and asked what I was going to do now that the Pekin Campus had closed. The conversation went like this:
“What are you doing?” (Damon)
“What do you mean?” (me)
“Now that the Pekin Campus is closed, what are you doing? Are you leaving?” (Damon)
“No, we’re going to keep on here and wait for God to tell us what’s next.” (me)
“Ok, well if you’re going to leave, we’re going with you.” (Damon)
“(nervous laugh), ok that’s cool. Hey how bout them Colts?” (me)

Not the most spiritual response. To be frank, I was pretty shocked and changed the subject out of sheer nerves. Damon and I were meeting weekly, so I continued to pray and knew that if God were doing this, he would bring it back up and I would have to act. The following week Damon walks in as angry as I’ve ever seen him:

“What’s going on man?” (me)
“Furniture, windows, and sprinklers.” (Damon)
(long pause) “I’m sorry, what are you talking about?” (me)
“Furniture, windows and sprinklers!” (Damon)
“Help me out, what are you saying?” (me)
“Furniture, windows and sprinklers – these are the things I’ve given my life to: furniture, windows and sprinklers. I’m so tired of working for industries that don’t matter. I feel like God has had me in these places to learn, and now he wants me to use all of this knowledge for the church. I feel like you’re supposed to go start a church, and I’m supposed to go with you to help you do it. Is that a possibility?”
After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I told him about Fishers and what God was doing in my life regarding that city. His words, “We’re in.” I told him that he should probably run that by Daylene (his wife), which he did. They’re in.

Two months later, I was still praying this prayer about Dave and Lori. Dave and I went to lunch one day (January 8 to be exact) with no real agenda, just a hang out meeting (or so I thought). On the way to lunch (dude couldn’t even wait til we sat down!) he says:
“Lori and I have a bet about you and Brooke. Don’t get mad.”
“What’s that?” (me)
“We think you’re going to leave to start a church.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Well, every time you speak on Sunday, I feel like God is telling us that you need to do that every week, and that I’m supposed to help you do that. Do you think that’s a possibility?”
Again, long pause. Luckily this time I had tortilla chips to fill the dead air.
“Absolutely.” I began to tell Dave of the Fishers vision and he said just like Damon said, “We’re in.” I recommended that he go run that by his wife, which he did. They’re in.

There are other folks who have prayed about this and God’s told them no. This is a win. Anytime you hear from God it’s a win. There are people not from BridgeWay that are praying about this and are planning on joining us. God is moving in people’s hearts in a huge way.
I can’t wait to see what God has for us. He already has his hand all over this journey, and we’re already ‘living in the miracle’ as Chuck Kohler would say.

I heard a song the other day by a guy named Fred Hammond. The song’s called ‘Not Just a Man.’ In Matthew 16:16 Jesus asks this pointed question, “Who do you say that I am?” He asks that question to each one of us and ultimately it’s how we answer that question that determines the life we live. In this song Fred Hammond says this, which sums up our Fishers journey:

“I hear Him ask again, who do men say that I am?,

and I feel the need to make the whole world see,

that He is not just a man (He is God),

He’s not just a baby (He is King),

No, he is not just a lamb,

But the Lion of Judah,

My Savior and Ruler of all!”

Thank you for your prayers and support for all of us as we pursue God’s calling on our lives!

LIFEGROUP Questions

10/17/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

DNA Week 3: Connecting with God’s Purposes

1. What is your current job? If money were no object, what would you do for a living?

2. Do you believe that God really has a purpose for everyone? Why or why not?

3. A common phrase that people say is, “it will work out in God’s timing.” What does that mean? Do you believe that? If so, how does “God’s timing” impact the purpose God has for you?

4. Do you know what purpose God has for you? If so, are you living it out?

5. What excuses do we make for not pursuing the purpose God has for us? Are any of those legitimate excuses?

6. What next step did we each take Sunday regarding our purpose (seize your season, embrace your destiny, surrender your life)? Let’s pray for each other regarding purpose. Pray for those who are engaged in their purpose that they would continue to pursue it in a way that honors God. Let’s also pray for those who are trying to discover the purpose God has for us that we would find it and embrace it.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

10/10/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

DNA Week 2: Connecting with Others

1. Who was your best friend growing up? Why did you guys get along so well?

2. Are you a person who would prefer to spend time with others or time alone? Why?

3. Why was Jesus so intentional about living in community? What does his example communicate to us?

4. What is something you’ve tried to do by yourself that required another set of hands (i.e move something, build something, etc.)? How did that work out?

5. What life situation have you gone through where you’ve tried to do it by yourself, but you really needed someone else? When have you gone through a situation where you had others along side you to help you through it? What was that like?

6. At BridgeWay, we talk about authenticity as a core value. If we can’t be authentic in our LIFEGROUPS, we can’t be authentic anywhere. Let’s pray as we start this semester that God would help us to be authentic and transparent with one another as we move forward in this semester.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

What a great day yesterday! Here are some thoughts on another winner at BridgeWay:

• It was a real privilege to speak today as we continued our series Modern Family. We talked about shaping the future of our children and families.
• Dale was in Fishers, IN today working with Landon and the team at a NewStart Church that has their Grand Opening next week. Be praying for these folks as they get ready to impact that city for Jesus.
• We also had another ministry team out in Champaign today helping a church with an outdoor service. It's great to see God using BridgeWay in so many ways on one day!
• We talked about step one in shaping the future of your family was to have a vision for where you wanted your family to end up.
• I talked about the vision God gave Dale for BridgeWay - "that people who are disconnected from the church would be encouraged and equipped to follow God's purposes for their lives." I asked for a show of hands of people who would consider themselves disconnected from the church prior to coming to BridgeWay. In both services, at least 75% of the people there had their hands raised!!!! God is doing some awesome stuff!
• We also talked about how it's tough to lead your family on the mission God has for you if you don't know what God's mission for your life is. This past Friday I was talking to a mentor of mine who shared with me a tool that he uses with people in his church to find their mission in life. It's pretty awesome. If you're interested in working through that tool with me, let me know (mattrobinson6504@gmail.com).
• Also, wanted to give a big shout out to the set up team for setting up in a torrential down pour. Always fun! These guys are troopers and never complain and are happy to serve.
• Reminder, we are moving to Tremont High School starting October 3! This should be a pretty great move for our church. We have an informational meeting this Sunday, September 26 at 5:00 pm at the BridgeWay Ministry Center. Come join us!
• We were also challenged by Dale to be praying and fasting this week for this move to Tremont, as well as for the families in our church as we are in the midst of this Modern Family series.
• Want to give a shout out to my lady, as she celebrated her 29th birthday yesterday! I'm blessed to have an awesome wife who loves Jesus and is a great mother to our son. Happy Birthday Brooke!
• The Colts brought it last night and got a phatty win against the Giants - a great way to end an awesome day!

Keep praying BridgeWay - the best is yet to come!

I ran across this quote this morning and I can’t get it out of my head: “The way we spend our days is the way we spend our lives.”

Upon first read, this seems like a pretty ‘duh’ type statement. However, there is a profoundness to this statement that won’t leave me alone.

This leads to the question, well, how am I spending my days? More importantly, how am I spending my days compared to how I desire to spend my life? That’s the most important question, and like any good planning exercise, we have to begin with the end in mind: “When all is said and done and I look back on my life, how do I want to have lived it?”

I have a few ‘greatest fears.’ Some involve my family, but only one involves me. My fear for myself is that I will come up short of the plans God has for me to accomplish regarding his work in the world. So how am I spending my days to ensure this doesn’t happen?

I decided to unpack how I’ve spent this week. It’s been a week of preparation for Party in the Park, a volunteer meeting, and LIFEGROUP sign ups kick off for next week, among other things. Along with all that, I’ve gotten to have some great conversations with folks about what God is doing in their lives, and through those conversations I’ve been grown and shaped as well. To be able to plan on 31 people being baptized, plus countless others positively impacted by the church, what could be better than that?

I really am blessed to be able to spend my time doing stuff that will make a difference for eternity. I’m blessed beyond words and grateful to God and this church for these opportunities and am thrilled about how I get to spend my days.

What about you? Where do you want to end up in life? Is the way you’re spending your days going to get you there? If not, what are you going to do about it?

God bless you on your journey to a life well spent.

I love Party in the Park! Seeing people get baptized is about the greatest thing that a pastor could ever witness. More than that, I love hearing the stories that come out of these decisions to be baptized. Many of these stories were the results of dominos and meaningless conversations.

On the dominos front for instance, I had breakfast with a guy today who has been radically transformed by Jesus. All he wants to do is see his friends come to be transformed the way he has been. So he was telling me about a guy who he had been on for months to come with him to church. He finally came, and within 2 weeks had decided to follow Jesus, experiencing incredible transformation. They both began to invite this guy’s son. Finally, he agreed to come only 2 weeks ago (from the time I’m writing this) and gave his life to Jesus and is experiencing real life transformation as well. As we sat at breakfast this morning, this guy kept saying over and over again, “I’m so jacked up! God is so awesome!” Dominos, spiritual dominos.

On the meaningless conversations front, there is a man in our church who is a leader in many ways. He got connected to our church because another leader from BridgeWay saw him in line in the post office and struck up a conversation with him about his t-shirt. Several years later, as a result of a ‘meaningless conversation’ this random dude from the post office has found his church home here, found the love of his life here who he married, and found his purpose in life through his ministry involvement at BridgeWay. Like I said, meaningless conversation.

This concept has really got me thinking. What meaningless conversation does God want me to have that could lead to a domino effect of lives being changed around me? On a much more introspective front, am I even aware of those moments where I’m supposed to have a ‘meaningless conversation’?

Maybe, there is no meaningless conversation. Maybe God designs all conversation to be some kind of domino effect. It may take seconds for the dominos to fall, maybe weeks, months or years, but you gotta think that He’s up to something much bigger than we can wrap our minds around.

So, prepare yourself for meaningless conversation! You never know when God is going to turn a meaningless conversation about a t-shirt into a long row of spiritual dominos toppling over.

I’ve really been thinking about the idea of discipline lately, namely self-discipline. I looked up the definition of discipline in the dictionary, and there are about a dozen definitions. In my life, I would have to say that discipline would be defined as “doing the things that I need to do, even though I don’t feel like doing them.”

I’ve also recognized an error in my thinking about discipline that God is slowly correcting. I used to think that discipline = workaholism. I thought a life of discipline meant that you spent relentless hours at work, studying, working, etc. God’s been showing me that that’s not what discipline is at all, and in fact, workaholism flies in the face of discipline at times.

For instance, I recognize that per my definition (doing the things that I need to do, even though I don’t feel like doing them) I violate discipline more often than I think. I know that I need to rest regularly and take time off, but sometimes I don’t. I know that there are times when I need to be with my family or taking care of things at home, but instead I do something else. In fact, there are times when I’m with my family and my head is at the office.

This is something that God has been really challenging me on for the past few months. God is saying to me that discipline requires presence. In other words, wherever I am, I need to be present there. I need to be present at the office when I’m counseling with someone. I need to be present with God when I’m reading scripture. I need to be present with my wife and son when I’m spending time with them.

It’s amazing how often I’ve caught myself violating this idea of discipline since God began to point it out to me. So, be present; wherever you are. The other stuff will get done; it always does. Live disciplined in this way, and watch how much more God allows you to appreciate each moment of your life.

What a blessing it was to speak yesterday at BridgeWay! Here are some of my thoughts the day after:

Recently I was blessed with a Kindle Reader (thank you so much to my friend) and am madly in love with it. I have been reading a book on there called The Prodigal God by Tim Keller. This book is basically a breakdown of the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.

Keller drops gut-wrenching truths all the way through this read, but the one that has stuck with me the most is one that reads: “To find God we must repent of the things we have done wrong, but…to truly become Christians we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right.” WOW!

The motivation behind our actions is a critical piece of Christianity. We can do all the right things, but for completely the wrong reasons. The Pharisees in the Bible were guys that had cornered the market for how to behave outwardly perfect, but inwardly Jesus described them as “whitewashed tombs,” i.e. dead inside.

I have been doing some serious motivation checking in my life lately. I shared this story on here before, but it’s a great example of this. I was sitting at my desk one day and a friend of mine came to mind and I began to pray for him. After a few minutes I decided I should give him a call. When he answered the phone he informed me that he had lost his job that morning and was pretty upset. Obviously, God had put him in my mind to be praying for him for this very reason.

After we got off the phone, my first thought was, “I can’t wait to tell _________ about this.” In that moment, the Holy Spirit checked me with the simple question of “why?” I didn’t want to share about this because of concern for my friend (though I was very concerned for him), but rather to make myself look like a spiritual hero. In that question of “why?” from God, so much was communicated to me about my motivations for ministry and for following Him.

If any of us (myself included) are in this for recognition, fame, power, prestige, or to impress others, just get out now and save us all the trouble.

How are your motivations today? Are they as pure as God would have them to be?

***Spoiler Alert – this post may fall under the category of TMI for some of you, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.

I don’t mean to brag, but I have always had a pretty keen since of smell. I could always tell when momma was cookin’ something up in the kitchen or when someone got a new cologne, even when they were a long way off. I’m not sure why, but God has given me this incredible gift (*sarcasm). Unfortunately with this gift comes a darkside. I have also always been very sensitive to negative odors as well, especially body odor (henceforth referred to as “b.o.”). This probably stems from a traumatizing experience I suffered in 7^th grade gym, but I digress.

Over the last couple weeks, about 1 or 2 in the afternoon, I can tell I’m starting to smell pretty ripe. I’m not sure what the deal is, but the best I can figure is that my deodorant is no longer up to the task. I have been using the same brand since 8^th grade and it’s always performed admirably for me. Someone once told me though that your body can actually immunize to certain brands of deodorant and render it ineffective. I’m guessing that’s what’s happening in my case.

Now, if I decided to push through and continue to use it anyway, even though it was ineffective, well, not only would that be pretty ridiculous, but I would soon begin losing friends.

In leadership, you sometimes run across something that stinks like that, especially in the church world. We are notorious for continuing ineffective programs and processes just because we’ve been doing them for a long time (i.e. since 8^th grade). Not only that, but personally there may be patterns, behaviors, relationships, attitudes, sins, etc. that we have been doing for a long time that continue to produce negative (or stinky) results, yet we continue to do them anyway, expecting something different to happen.

I heard a leader say this recently (regarding church systems, but it applies across the board) and it really struck me, “If your church has a system that keeps failing you need to do something about it. It’s like a baby. You can keep changing the baby’s diapers, or you can potty train the baby.”

What change do you need to make? What are you in charge of that needs to improve? Blessings on your search for a new scent.

Tomorrow June 5, Brooke and I will celebrate 6 years of wedded bliss. I'm sure I'm not the easiest person to live with, but my wife might be. So in honor of 6 years, here are the top 6 reasons (of many) that I love my wife:

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

If You Really Knew Me: You’d Know I Sometimes Don’t Feel Like Praying – Week 4

1. What was the craziest thing you asked Santa for as a kid?

2. Do we treat God like Santa? What kinds of things do we typically pray about?

3. Read the Lord’s Prayer, Matthew 6:9-13 (This is the prayer Jesus taught to the disciples).

4. What are things God gives us through prayer besides granting our requests?

5. Do you feel you should pray more? Why or why not?

6. Why don’t we pray more?

7. What would happen if we were more intentional about praying?

8. At what point in your day could you be more intentional about praying? (mornings, after work, before bed, etc)


***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

5/16/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

If You Really Knew Me: You’d Know I Sometimes Doubt God – Week 3

1. What has happened in your life that did or could have caused you to doubt God?

2. Is it okay for us to doubt God sometimes? Why or why not?

3. What kinds of doubts about God have you had?

4. How do you respond to doubt?

5. Why do we sometimes hide our doubts?

6. How has God responded to your doubt?

7. How should we deal with doubt?

8. How can we help others overcome their doubts about God?

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

5/9/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

If You Really Knew Me: You’d Know I don’t like Christians – Week 2

1. What is the weirdest thing that you have ever seen someone do in the name of Christianity?

2. Can you tell a story about a time when you had an encounter with someone who claimed to be a Christian, but their actions didn’t line up with their beliefs? How did that make you feel?

3. Why are we so quick to judge others rather than judge ourselves? Do you consider yourself a judgmental person? Why?

4. What minor details have you seen Christians focus on that have led to hard feelings or resentment by others? What should be the things that we focus on?

5. When we encounter people who don’t like the church or Christians, what can we do to help change their opinion?

6. Who do you know that doesn’t know Jesus because they don’t like Christians? Let’s pray for those people as a group, and do our best to impact them positively for Jesus.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

5/2/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

If You Really Knew Me: You’d Know I’m Hurting – Week 1

1. What’s the worst injury or illness that you have ever suffered? How long did it take you to recover? Did you have to do any rehabilitation? If so what was that like?

2. What are the things in our world that cause people to be hurting? What are the people in your circle of influence currently hurting from?

3. When you find yourself hurting, which of these responses most closely defines how you respond? “Rub some dirt on it” (suck it up), “Woes me” (give up), “God help me” (look up)

Why is that your response?

4. What past emotional hurts have you gone through that God has healed you from? What was that process like? How long did it take?

5. What does it mean to surrender those hurts to Jesus? How have you seen surrender to Jesus played out in your life or in someone else’s life?

6. Are there hurts that you are currently going through that we could pray for you for or about?

Leaders’ note: You can choose a different book of the Bible or Bible reading plan. This one is merely a suggestion. You will need to make sure you email out or somehow get the prayer requests in the hands of your group members if you do not do that already.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.