Breaking The Status Quo

Is there any real reason to stay in the status quo. Many of us are creating resolutions or goals in an effort to move forward. To try to reach the true potential that is in all of us.

How many of us will find ourselves shrinking back in six, three or even a month? Has that been you each year?

You envision a new future, a new you, only to find yourself back in the same place you were. You must smash through that wall. When the push is to go back to the status quo you must push through.

Resolve this year to not shrink back...to go through...that you are coming out the other side not only better but as a new you. The new you is so much worth getting.

Looking Ahead

I'm looking forward to 2009 for a couple of reasons:

• I get to do our campus full time. With that comes a lot of responsibility. I'm cool with that.
• I get to pour into developing leaders at our campus. Time is free and there are now no excuses.
• Building a community on our campus.
• Finding more ways to serve our community like we did this past year.
• Revitalizing my blog. I'm looking to do some more series that can help pastors and churches out there.
• Our Bay Area Fellowship Multi-Site initiative. I feel God is going to do something special in '09. And I'm pumped that we are going to start even more.
  
• Networking with like minded leaders across the country. I get to go to Innovation3 and to C3 Conference. I'll finally get to meet some peeps face to face.
  
• Deepening some new friendships.
• Raising my level of leadership.
• Continuing to grow my relationship with God.
• Being a better dad and husband.
  
• Living the adventure with God.
  

Sunday 12-28-08 Through My Window

Here are some reflections and pictures from this past Sunday's Experience on 12-28-08. A couple of days after the fact but I still thought I would get them in.

• Numbers were lower than normal but I felt they would be with the holidays.
• In retrospect I think we should have only done "one" Sunday Morning experience.
• Each week our haze machine seems to haze the room a little different. This week it all seemed to stay on the left of the room and didn't distribute at all.
• We had a bare-bone skeleton volunteer crew.
• Pumped that we can actually say we did our first Christmas as a church. Dreams do come true.
• Music was good...looking forward to seeing where we go. Time to push the envelope.
• Great and relevant points in the message from Pastor Bil. We really do have one of the best church communicators for our messages.

Here are some pics:

Tribes: Secret Of Success

In the book, Tribes, by Seth Godin, Seth makes a great statement about being wrong. It is as follows:

"The secret of being wrong isn't to avoid being wrong!
The secret is being willing to be wrong.
The secret is realizing that wrong isn't fatal.
The only thing that makes people and organizations great is their willingness to be not great along the way. The desire to fail on the way to reaching a bigger goal is the untold secret of success."

And so I ask: Where are you pushing the envelop today? Risking it all? Charting a course and not looking back? Being innovative...on the edge. Are you failing....are you possibly getting it wrong to be right?

Bay Area Fellowship Stage

Check out the new Bay Area Fellowship stage in action. This clip is from our Lights and Sounds of Christmas Production with the Corpus Campus band rocking Hillsong United's "The Time Has Come"

Christmas Production Opener Video

For your viewing pleasure here is the Bay Area Fellowship Corpus Band opening for the Lights and Sounds of Christmas Production.

Christmas ARK Project

Today we hosted a Christmas Eve Party for a local organization that works with children who have been removed from homes. It was a great first time experience and opportunity for our 5 Points campus. Below are my thoughts and some pictures. Due to the organization we worked with we were not allowed to photo any of the children.

• Our campus solely raised over 150 toys and gifts. That was almost one gift per our average attendance.
• Tons of people helped out this morning.
• We catered in breakfast and a local home school organization served breakfast to all the kids.
• We decked out our facility even more with Christmas stuff and all the tables were covered in Christmas wrapping paper.
• We showed "Horton Hears a Who" for the little kids...the older ones played Rock Band.
• The little kids were so pumped when Santa showed up...yeah...we had Santa out to our campus....get over it.
• You should have seen the smiles when these kids started getting their gifts from Santa...PRICELESS.
• Even the older teens were pumped about their gifts.
• I just happened to pick out a some gifts for an 8 to 10 year old boy. When he opened the ones I had picked out he stated "I was so wanting one of these". Then he opened the other one and got another...YES...I'm so good.
• The older teen said he wanted to come back to go to church here.
• My wife Robbie and our team did a fantastic job planning, organizing, and executing this event. "I love it when a plan comes together."
• Giving seemed to become infectious at our campus...people were really enjoying helping and being a resource....WAY TO GO 5 POINTS!!!!
• With all the gifts our campus was able to help two separate organizations with gifts this Christmas and also reach out to another family who's house burned down in the city of one of our other Multi-Site campuses.
  

Penn Says It All

In this video, Penn, of Penn & Teller, makes the most profound challenge to the church that I have ever heard. Understand...this statement comes from a self-proclaimed atheist.

Is this a challenge we must heed? Is this a challenge we must embrace? Watch this video and let me know what you think.



In the video Penn says:

I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell, and you think, ‘Well, it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward’… How much do you have to hate somebody not to proselytize?

Let's go out and make a difference and change our communities.

[HT: ChrisReeder.com]

Structure Your Church For Growth

Pastor Bil Cornelius of Bay Area Fellowship wrote a great article at ChurchSolutionsMag. Here is a sample:

In mentoring and associating with hundreds of church planters, I’ve discovered a very common trend: Although they have great vision, passion and a true sense of calling to a particular area or city, most church planters still are not equipped to be successful. In fact, pastors of small or struggling churches may encounter some of the same challenges. The main areas that seem to hold these leaders back from achieving their full potential are poor structure, ineffective staffing and......

Make sure you go read the whole article.

Sudden Death Tamales

Every year we make tamales. This year I had a wild idea. Why not put some Sudden Death Sauce? Check it out!