The LaunchPad

So Thankful For A Generous Church

This weekend is the time when we ask the people of APC to make Faith Promises toward missions (GenerationsProjects.Com) for 2010. The generous response of the people is something that makes me burst with a good kind of pride as a pastor...so proud of my people!

I tallied it up. APC is 43yrs old, and in those 4 decades this church has given almost 10 million dollars to missions!

Eight (soon to be nine) churches have been planted out of APC in the Pittsburgh area. Next year, one of our plants will plant a church...a granddaughter church!

Every year the actual giving toward our missions projects exceeds what was pledged. Which means that APC people not only keep their word, they exceed it.

Hundreds of missionaries have been supported by APC over the 40+ yrs. Orphanages built, water wells drilled, churches planted, signs & wonders festivals supported, and so much more.

Wow. I am so blessed to pastor such an amazing and generous church! And as we move forward into 2010 I am claiming our theme promise for every believer and every family: (Matt 6:33) Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well.

How The Mighty Fall

I just finished reading Jim Collin's latest book about how great businesses have failed.  His research on what makes companies GREAT and now what steps are involved in FAILURE is such tremendous insight.  I am also amazed at how so much research comes back to confirm some very basic and Biblical
principles.

Here are the five stages involved in the decline and failure of formerly great companies (the words in parenthesis are mine):

Stage 1: Hubris Born of Success (PRIDE)

Stage 2: Undisciplined Pursuit of More (GREED)

Stage 3: Denial of Risk and Peril (DENIAL)

Stage 4: Grasping for Salvation (SHORTCUTS)

Stage 5: Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death (RESIGNATION)

It's amazing how these stages of decline could be inserted into the description of how an individual moves from success to failure.  We can also see how the opposites of these qualities make not only for success but also for stability.

Humility (instead of pride)

Contentment (vs greed)

Accountability (vs. denial)

Discipline & Patience (vs. shortcuts)

Perseverance (instead of resignation)

There 's a lot good encouragement in this book and some hope that failure does not have to happen for a company, and I would add for a person as well. 

An Agreement With God

Life is designed to be a partnership with God.  Consider the promise of Matthew 6:33 - 'Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.'  This verse states the conditions of an agreement of sorts.

The challenge from heaven is this:  if you concern yourself with things important to the Kingdom of God, then God will even more concern Himself with the things important to you.

Now it has to be said that God is a God of love and grace. He is working all the time for your good.  He cares about you even when you fail, and even when your priorities are not on Kingdom issues at all.  But there is an extra dynamic of relationship developed when we share God's burdens with Him.

So what are the concerns of the Kingdom of God?

• Unreached people who have never heard the gospel.
• The ONE who is hurting, forgotten, alone, and disconnected from God.
• The orphan, the widow, the poor.
• Those who don't have clean drinking water in Africa.
• Those who go to bed hungry at night in Haiti.
• Families that are torn apart.  Kids who have no hope.

The promise is that if we put Kingdom issues first, that God will make sure that we have all we need.  Now don't read that wrong.  It doesn't say that we will have all we WANT.  But we can count on the fact that God will want to trust us with more since we have the issues of His heart in focus.

Rick Warren In USA Today

Monday Morning Insight summarized some of Rick Warren's comments about the role of the local church in bringing positive change to the world.  Warren was featured in an article in USA Today.  You can read the entire article here.  Check out the summary below:

USA Today featured an article yesterday about Rick Warren called "Purpose-Driven Politics".  Interesting read...Here are some quotes from Rick in the article:

"Last Sunday there were more Christians who went to church in China than all of Europe combined."

"If I thought politicians could change people's hearts, I would go into government. "If I thought laws could change people's hearts, I would go into government. But I don't, so I'm not."

About the estimated 143 million orphans around the world:  "whoever gets to those people first are going to get to their hearts and minds – either madrassas or radicals or fundamentalists, or whatever. That is anarchy waiting to happen."

"The actual number of secularists outside Europe and Manhattan is quite small. You need to get a life and get around the world because most people have some kind of faith."

"I could take you to 10 million villages in the world where there is nothing but a church.  The church has more locations than all the WalMarts and Starbucks and everything else combined. It has more volunteers. The church was global 200 years before anyone started talking about globalization. And you add in Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus (and) you basically have got most of the world."

I appreciate Rick's boldness and perspective! They are especially relevant to me during this week as we are looking to launch GENERATIONSPROJECTS.COM for 2010.

Four Steps To Make Yourself Ready

We showed this video in last weekend's services as a way to prepare spiritually for the upcoming GENERATIONS CAMPAIGN 'faith promise' weekend.  Here are the four steps that Mel and I follow as we pray through what God would have us do.  For more info visit GENERATIONSPROJECTS.COM

World-Changing Qualities

Bob Roberts Jr. makes some insightful observations about how great leaders have impacted and changed the world.  Anything you would add?

I just read several great articles on Steve Jobs in Fortune Magazine - he was given the title of CEO of the Decade.  As I read it, I began to think about him, and other leaders - like Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Churchhill and others I’ve read a lot on.  They seem to have some things in common.  There are probably a lot more - but here are some that come out in the articles and some that I’ve seen in biographies I’ve read. 

1.  Intuition.  They have a sense of where things are going.  They really don’t ask what the customer wants - what they are going to do is often going to cause revolution, uprisings, hardships, etc.,  Jobs says most people don’t know what they want.  They key has been his ability to see a little bit into the future and get there before others.  Lincoln is the most incredible illustration of that.  Jobs had a tendency to listen to “whispers” more than focus groups. 

2.  Spongeness.  They are constant learners.  Jobs was challenged by Andy Grove to not think he knows it all - Jobs response was - “OK, teach me.”  I found it interesting that Jobs is fascinated with Ghandi.  Jobs isn’t a philanthropist but was fascinated how he changed a nation and lead.  I think cross-disciplinary reading and learning is indispensible for this world. 

3.  Risk.  For weeks on end Apple would be on the verge of bankruptcy.  They worked harder not fearfully.  Neither were they ever content, they were always trying to perfect things.  To Jobs whatever they made had to be functional and aesthic.

4.  Execution.  They delivered.  Everybody was in the right spots and when they weren’t they were moved.  The mission was above everything else.  Research, decide, and act.  They would also build platforms that enabled more to happen than just the product.  It was always building things that were more operating systems that could handle other peoples ingenuity.  Ipod, Itunes, and now the applications on Iphones  

5.  Detail.  Here is what amazed me most and I’m still trying to get my head around.  Jobs was into the detail - even being called a micro-manager at some levels.  Churchhill was the same way.  Mother Teresa as well.  I could go on and on - even some of my pastor friends of huge churches - giga churches - are accused of the same thing.  There’s no way they can be in all of it, but in some details with some departments and divisions the CEO or leader is present and often the people in those departments don’t like it.  Where’s the balance?  None of them ever found it.

This One's A Tear-Jerker

Advice On Following The Holy Spirit

Johannes Amritzer spoke this morning at APC and here are my notes from his talk:

1. Follow The Inner Check - Rom 8
2. Don't Make Him Sad (Grieve Him) Eph 4:30
3. Respond To The Previews Of The Holy Spirit.
4. At His Command-Obey Quickly
5. The Holy Spirit Is Smarter Than Me

Putting Ministry In People's Hands

This past Saturday, we held our third annual LEADERS SUMMIT with over 200 leaders in attendance from Allison Park Church and other churches in the MCM Pittsburgh Network.  The theme of the morning was HOW TO BE USED IN SPIRITUAL GIFTS (specifically the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12-14).

There is a radical principle contained in these passages. EVERY MEMBER (of the Body of Christ) IS A MINISTER.  The Holy Spirit can use every one of us as he determines.  There is no distinction between ordained clergy and any other believer.  We are have the potential to be used by God.

Now there are two ways to go when it comes to releasing ministry.  One approach is to elevate the clergy to a level of distinction, where only the 'qualified' can perform certain ministry functions.  Another approach is to elevate the members of the body and equip them to perform the work of the ministry.

The New Testament advocates this second approach.  In fact, the very purpose of 'clergy' according to Ephesians 4:11-16 is to EQUIP THE PEOPLE FOR WORKS OF MINISTRY...so that the Body of Christ might be built up.  When this NT model is follow there is a REVOLUTION that hits a region.  Ministry is unleashed in every home, every work place, every neighborhood, and every small group. But when ministry is hoarded by just a few, the flow of what God wants to do dries up.

We are taking some active steps to put ministry into the hands of our leaders.

1. This week they will serve communion in their small groups.
2. We have encouraged them to be a part of baptizing in water those that they lead to Christ or to take that step of obedience.
3. We are challenging them to step out and be used in the gifts of the Holy Spirit in every day life.

It is such a rush to see one of my leaders experiencing the thrill of partnering with God in ministry.  It's similar to the feeling I have when one of my kids succeed.  I am so proud of what God is doing in the leaders in this region.  May God continue to bless their ministry.

Inventory & Alignment

There is an aspect of what we call the 'LORD'S PRAYER' that involves regular course-correction in our spiritual life.  The line in the prayer says, 'Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.'  So much is packed into that one sentence.

When we pray this prayer, we are working to align ourselves with the work of the cross in our lives.  My goal is to start every day with sins confessed and forgiven, and offenses forgiven and released.  I also want to be on the lookout for where I am being tempted or attacked.

So I do an inventory of sorts...five areas of investigation and confession:

1. Thoughts
2. Words
3. Attitudes
4. Motives
5. Choices

My goal is to consider prayerfully, if I am out of alignment with God's best in any of these areas.  If so, I confess it to God.  Then I choose to submit that area to Him.  I dedicate my mind to think God's thoughts.  Thoughts of faith, vision, purity.  I dedicate my lips to speak forth words of life, blessing, truth, and faith.

I set my motives to please God.  I choose to have an attitude of joy, courage, gratitude, and praise.  And I ask for God's help to choose and act in a way that pleases Him and invests in what is best.

Friday's Recommended Links

There are a number of great posts that I wanted to pass along today.  I haven't done this in a while...so enjoy.

1. Things That Are Changing In The Church - interesting thoughts on the church world in the US on the Monday Morning Insight blog.
2. Things That Aren't Changing - But Some Say They Are - this is a great comparison to the one above.  It is on the Learnings @ Leadership Network blog.
3. The Healing/Saving Work Of The Gospel (SOZO) - Chris Griffin does an interesting word study.
4. Worship Leader - What's Your Story? - David Santistevan launched a series on what makes a strong worship leader.
5. Saddleback Starts New Ministry For The Persecuted Church - this is very exciting for this often forgotten cause.
6. Convert Your Complaint - Steven Furtick writes a thought provoking post on how to transform complaints into something constructive.
7. Keep On Keeping On - Mark Batterson with some solid encouragement.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Great Weekend Ahead!

I am really looking forward to what's coming up this weekend.  Friday we have an OPEN HOUSE DAY at the MINISTRY SCHOOL and over 30 people have pre-registered to come and check it out. 

On Friday night, JOHANNES AMRITZER will be speaking at PITTSBURGH CITY OUTREACH.  They expected a packed house down in the North Side @ 7pm for their weekly Friday Nite Outreach Service.

On Saturday, Allison Park Church is hosting its annual LEADERS SUMMIT from 9am through lunch.  Our theme this year will be HOW TO BE USED IN THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.  Johannes and I will be team teaching throughout the morning.  This is one of his power spots.  His teaching on how to PRAY FOR THE SICK is clearly the best presentation on the subject that I have ever heard.

During our weekend services the JESUS REVOLUTION series will continue.  Johannes will be our speaker for the Saturday 6pm and Sunday 9am & 11am services.  His topic will be on REVOLUTIONARY POWER. Let me encourage you to get in on one of these services, and to bring a friend with you if possible.

If you are unfamiliar with Johannes, you can visit the Mission SOS site, or check out his or Peter Almquist's blog.  The video below will also tell you more.

Mission SOS in 150 sec from Mission SOS on Vimeo.

Just Show Up

The thought occurred to me this morning that so much of life is about SHOWING UP every day in the critical disciplines and responsibilities of life.  We often look for the big, extraordinary, earth-shattering breakthrough moments to bring the results we long for in life.

But the words that describe how much progress is made are words like:

Ordinary  -   Mundane   -   Consistent  -  Present

Can you imagine what can happen if we JUST SHOW UP consistently, everyday for the next few months.  If we just show up...in Bible study, or in our marriages, or in our exercise habits, or at our small group. 

Push past the excuses.  Resist them temptations.  And even if it doesn't feel exciting or life-changing, realize that one act of discipline connected to many others will make an enormous difference.

Random Thoughts On A Monday

Yesterday was an awesome day in many ways.  First of all, it was one of those incredible fall moments in Pittsburgh.  It was warm.  The sun was out.  Leaves are still falling.  Football was on TV.  Fall smells in the air.  I thoroughly enjoyed the day.

1.  I spoke at Sharpsburg Family Worship Center (which was the third plant out of APC).  Not only was I privileged to dedicate Pastor Russ and Jamie's baby, Nolan.  I was also honored to speak in the service which just happened to be the 10th Anniversary of the launch of this church.

2.  The church was packed out and there was life and excitement in the air.  I am so proud of Russ and Jamie and this entire church family.  They are a wonderful church and are doing so many effective things to serve their community.

3.  In the afternoon, I took my two youngest sons to the Pitt Basketball exhibition game at the Peterson Events Center.  Pitt rolled on a Division II school from South Carolina.  It was 41-2 at one point. 

4.  Because the crowd was so thin, we slipped down, after half-time, into some of the best seats in the house.

5.  On the way home they got a bit giddy and started telling every joke they know.  Most of them they read off the back of Cheerios boxes.  Here's a few of them:  Why were all the 'ants' so confused?  Because all of their uncles were ants!  What did the boy Bee call his girlfriend...Honey!  (you get the idea!)  They laughed themselves to tears.

6.  This past weekend, we received in the mail the official certificate for Melodie's Ministers License. I AM SO PROUD OF HER!!!! 

7.  It will be great to have Johannes Amritzer in town this week.  He is teaching at the Ministry School all week.  In fact, this Friday, the classes are open to anyone who would like to check out the school.  You can register here.

8.  While I wasn't there on Sunday, I was told that APC had a big day in terms of overall attendance. Andy did a fantastic job in delivering the second message in the series of the Jesus Revolution.

It's good to be home all week for a change.  I have been traveling a lot recently.  But it slows down from now until the end of the year.  My plan is to use this time to get back into my exercise habits again. 

Looking forward to a Steelers victory tonight in Denver.

The Haiti Project

Brian Lippert did an amazing job on this video overview of the Haiti Project we are involved with through this year's GENERATIONS CAMPAIGN.  Learn more at GenerationsProjects.Com.

Need For Haiti from Brian Lippert on Vimeo.

Peace Has To Be Made

One of the realities of relationships is this:  PEACE DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN, IT HAS TO BE MADE. Because every human being is stained with the sin-nature, we all have the tendency to react selfishly and defensively in life.  This tendency can cause division, conflict, bitterness, offense, and lingering frustration in relationships.

Jesus said, 'Blessed are the PEACE-MAKERS for they will be called the sons of God.'  Matthew 5:9

When we work against the grain of our own self-interest to make peace with an offender or enemy, we do something that is so Christ-like in its nature that it immediately identifies us as a part of God's family.  They will declare about you when you 'make peace' that you resemble God and are acting like His sons and daughters.

Peace-making is a skill set that should be high on our priority list to develop and learn.  It has the potential of improving the quality of our family life, business world, and church experience...and therefore the possibility to greatly improve the quality of our lives.

So how do we make peace?

1.  Forgive your offenders

2.  Seek forgiveness for those you have offended

3.  Humble yourself enough to listen to another point of view.

4.  Resolve conflict through Biblical steps (Matthew 18:15-17)

5.  Make restitution for that which you have broken, stolen, or destroyed.

6.  Refuse to participate in slander, gossip, or negative talk.

7.  Establish healthy boundaries against toxic people who refuse to participate in peace.

It is true that it is not possible to make peace with everyone.  Some people that we attempt to make peace with will remain hostile to our attempts.  Romans 12:18 says, 'IF POSSIBLE, as far as it depends on you, make peace with all men.'  Which means that it may not always be possible.

But if we choose to pursue the path of peace we experience Romans 12:21 - don't be overcome by evil, but rather overcome evil with good.'

Ten Factors That Center My Life

The past few weeks have been very busy for me.  I have been traveling, speaking on the weekends, giving talks at church planting events, doing some leadership coaching, as well as normal church leadership stuff.  The pace of my life has picked up quite a bit in the last few years.

At the same time, I think I am becoming a little better at maintaining a sense of balance and pace in the midst of it all.  This is truly encouraging to me.  I was trying to think about what helps me stay centered properly in my life?

1.  I HAVE IDENTIFIED MY 'GRACE ZONES' - I am not trying to do everything, I am now attempting to stay focused on what I believe are the MAIN THINGS for the calling that is on my life.  God's grace is on me to 1) teach/preach; 2) plant churches; 3)coach and develop leaders; 4) manage the vision and strategy of Allison Park Church. 

2.  I HAVE DELEGATED LEADERSHIP TO CAPABLE PEOPLE - it's so healthy to know where your limitations are and to surround yourself with people who can do what either you don't have time to do, or don't have the gifting to do.  These people have to be committed, character-solid, capable people.  Thankfully, I have a bunch of these leaders that currently surround my life.

3.  I AM AT PEACE WITH MYSELF - for a long time in my life, I was DRIVEN.  I was over-working and totally stressed because I was trying so desperately to avoid failure.  Several years ago, I had a breakthrough in this area and truly have come to appreciate God's acceptance in my life. 

4.  I AM ENJOYING WHAT I DO AND THE PEOPLE I AM WITH - even though my pace of life has increased, I am really working on slowing myself down to enjoy the moment I am in and to treasure the relationships that God has given me.

5.  I AM INVITING GOD INTO MY DAY - so often I fall prey to the temptation of limiting my interaction with God to a 'devotional time'...and then I can forget to invite Him to participate with me in the rest of my day.  I am still faithful in having daily time with God, but I am also trying to breath in His presence throughout the day.  I use my 'sigh' moments as mini-prayers where I tell Him how much I love Him and appreciate Him in my life.

6.  I AM INWARDLY FREE - every day I make sure that I have forgiven anyone I need to forgive, and have sought forgiveness from anyone I might have offended.  Currently, I am not dragging any baggage of guilt, shame, bitterness, or regret.

7.  I AM CHOOSING JOY AND REFUSING DREAD - In the past, when my life would get busy, I would have a tendency to dread what was coming next.  There is another choice, and that is the decision to ENJOY (or choose joy) and expect that God has something good in store with what is coming next.

8.  I AM CONNECTED TO MY FAMILY - while I haven't been around as much in the last six weeks or so, I do feel that I am present in the world of my wife and my five kids.  Actually, the absence has made me long for them even more.

9.  I AM WORKING TO GET ENOUGH TIME ALONE - if there is one area I feel a need to increase significantly, it would be more alone-time.  I am naturally an introvert and gain energy from solitude, so alone-moments are key for my spiritual, emotional, and leadership health.  Getting alone is a big deal for me being able to lead with clarity.

10. I AM SEEING WELL AHEAD - finally, there are some projects where I feel behind...but my clarity of vision is still several months ahead.  When I can't see where I am going, or where I am trying to lead others to go, my entire leadership life slows down.  But staying advanced in vision and strategy helps me remain at a faster pace and in personal peace.

These things have not always been true in my life.  Sometimes I go in and out of these.  But I do think these are ten factors that are critical to a healthy pace and quality of life.  Anything you would add?

How's Your Margin?

When I was in Birmingham earlier this week, I was talking with Chris Hodges about the way they manage the finances at Church Of The Highlands.  He talked about the principle of 'zero' budgeting which is when you purposefully don't forecast any increase in income for an upcoming budget year.

What often happens is that we project an increase and then if that increase doesn't occur, our budget plan ceases to work.  Cut backs have to be made.  Morale is affected.  Some degree of credibility is lost.  But if you forecast 'zero' increase (actually Chris explained that they budget for a 10% decrease in income), if you exceed your expectations in what you bring in...you will have extra cash on hand to do whatever needs done.

Chris said, 'we budget to create MARGIN - because when you have MARGIN, you have OPTIONS.  But if you have no MARGIN, you have no OPTIONS.'

That is a profound principle right there!  And MARGIN works for you in every area of life. 

• If you create margin in the use of your time, you will feel less stressed out and have options. 
• If you have margin in the way you use your money, you will have cash on hand to spend on what is needed. 
• If you are working on a project and wait till the last minute to start, you will have no margin for error or delay.  But if you start early, you give yourself options.

So here's a challenge for you today.  Where does your life lack MARGIN?  What will you do to build a healthy degree of it into your life?

The South Side Church Plant

In this video clip, Pastor Jack Thomas outlines the needs and reasons for planting a church in the South Side of Pittsburgh.  Lifestone Church will be launched in the spring of 2010.  It will be the 9th church planted out of Allison Park  Church.  Check out Jack's blog and the Lifestone Church website.

LifeStone Community Focus Video from Jack Thomas on Vimeo.

Breaking Fear Of Failure

One of the core fears that I have had to confront in my life is 'fear of failure'.  My sense is that this is a driving force in many lives and it can make an enormous impact on what we believe, how hard we work, and whether or not we enjoy our life.  Craig Groeschel had some tremendous thoughts on this....

The fear of failure paralyzes too many people.

I’ve found one of the best gifts God can give a leader is the gift of failure.

Too many of us are not doing what we feel called to do because we’re afraid to fail.

As I observe the people around me, it seems the most effective have failed far more times than the least effective.

The people making the biggest impact seem to:

1)  Try something outlandish.

2)  Fail.

3)  Learn.

4)  Adjust.

5)  Try something that works better.

Failure is never final. It is often the first step to success.

If you haven’t failed in awhile, why don’t you try something crazy and see what happens.