Awesome Starting Point
Tonight was the second to last session of Starting Point.
It has been going very well and everyone is really growing, learning and enjoying the time and community. Tonight they all agreed to keep the group going as a lifegroup and one of them stepped up to lead.
One brought home made barbecue sandwiches and everyone suggested that we do a pot luck next week in celebration of the completion of the series. I’ll miss this group, but I’m so glad they will be continuing – I’m really looking forward to see what God is going to do through them.
Hectic
That’s the best word I can come up with for things right now. There has been so much to do I haven’t had a moment to write . . .
I’ve been blessed with a position with the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood Kansas – www.cor.org and we are getting everything ready for the move.
- The house is on the market – several showings so far.
- The house is mostly packet – finishing up next week.
- The truck is rented – for the 19th, heading out next weekend.
- The truck has been ordered to ship the cars.
- The Townhouse has been selected in our new digs.
- Carolyn needs to find a job.
- Whisper is about ready for all her toys to come back out of the boxes . . .
- Now to notify everyone of the new address, get services turned on at the new address, services turned off at the house, mail forwarded, find a bank, etc. etc. etc.
The plan is to pick up the truck on Saturday the 19th and head out Monday morning. Aggressive, but, with this schedule I will have a week of work in the new place, a week to relax before starting the new position and then we run again. I’m very excited to learn the new environment and all the new toys. It is certainly going to be an adventure, but God has created me for this and prepared me for this exact moment. God is Good – All the time.
In the mean time I am working with offsite staff to take over my responsibilities and we work, share, document until one or both of them scream “My head hurts.” There is just so much to learn, there are so many devices and so much unique to this network. The team with which I work is very professional and works well as a team so it will be difficult, but they will prevail.
Toto we’re not in Kansas – Yet!
Yup! We’re headed to Kansas. I’ve accepted a position with The Church of the Resurrection (www.cor.org), in Leawood, Kansas.
I had opportunity to visit with The Church of the Resurrection and the IT staff a few weeks ago and was thoroughly impressed. While the large, beautiful buildings catch your first impression its not long before you see their heart for God. The Church of the Resurrection hits on all cylinders – the messages are educational and evangelistic, there is community outreach galore, they reach for growth with classes and small groups, multiple campus and worship styles reach out to the masses. Pastor Adam is real, genuine, passionate and a great leader. The IT team is lead by the well known and respected Clif Guy. The team is composed of a great group of guys who are clearly passionate about their service to the Lord and IT – in that order.
So, now you have the praise report – on to the prayer request.
Our house is on the market with an aggressive Realtor, in one week she has already shown the house 4 times and had an open house.
We need to find a place to live in Kansas City .
Carolyn needs to find a position in Kansas City.
There is a ton more, but these are at the top of our minds. All this need to happen pretty quickly as I report duty in June.
PrayerDonor.org
What is PrayerDonor.org?
It’s a website, it’s a vision, it’s a collaborative effort. PrayerDonor.org is a great opportunity to pray for and with others around the world. It is a simple site, with apps for many different devices. Simply connect, create an account and visit the map. From there you can find people that have posted prayer needs around the world. You can post prayer requests of your own. Additionally you can connect with Twitter and Facebook.
When you post a prayer a symbol appears on the world map indicating you have a prayer request. When you click on another prayer request you will see the request and a button to press saying you will be joining the person in prayer. When you click that button a message is sent to the user, confirming your intention as well as a Twitter and Facebook post is generated reminding others that you are participating and thus encouraging others to join as well.
There are people all around the world currently using PrayerDonor.org and more coming everyday.
I encourage you to sign up, get involved and consider supporting PrayerDonor.org
Finally: the house is on the market!
After much reducing, cleaning, and painting the house is finally on the market. The realtor came by today to finish the paperwork, tomorrow is the pictures. Selling the house is another step in our downsizing and obedience to God’s leading. We’ve selected a realtor that has a reputation for moving houses pretty quickly and priced the house aggressively.
We are anxious about what God is doing and how He will lead in this. I know His will and timing is perfect, but we are still quite anxious. Our hope is for a position to open soon so that we can move on, but if not we’ll be looking to rent something smaller for a while. That whole “light to my path” would be a lot easier if He would provide a nice spotlight to see way down the road rather than a step at a time. But the other side of that is that we might not take the step at a time if we knew too far down the road. He knows and we are obediently following.
Man Alive – Chapter 8
We wrap up “Man Alive” today with the primal need: To make a contribution and leave the world a better place.
Every man wants to make a difference. We strive in so many ways, but we only begin to make our mark as we align ourselves with our purpose in God. This book has done a good job of reiterating the fact that twenty are here for Him. All that we do all that we are is for Him and His purposes.
I would highly recommend this book both for individual study and use in a group. In fact in a group setting I would argue that the community and accountability would enhance the learning and growing potential.
CITRT
Last week I had the privilege of attending the annual CITRT round table event this year held at Watermark Community Church – Dallas Texas.
CITRT is the old acronym for Church IT Round Table – now the Church IT Network. This group was formed just a few years ago to provide community and communications within the Church IT realm. The week consisted of training, round table discussions, food, vendor booths and most of all community. Everyone made plenty of contacts with new friends and re-connected with existing friends. And today the word friend is way over used, but with this group we really do make time for each other.
Lots of good information was shared and resources made available. The group has a chat room that is always open and is a great place to find help, provide help, or just interact. There is a monthly group round table call and now they are on The City.
Man alive chapter 7
Chapter 7 brings us to the primal need: To love and be loved without reservation.
Patrick has plenty of practical steps at the end of this chapter to help keep our primary relationships fresh and healthy. The focus and purpose of the chapter is the fact that we were made for relationships. Yes, even men – we were meant for relationships. The world feeds our pride and herds us the way of self reliance and self dependence. This not only affects our lives here, but deeply affects our relationship with the Lord.
Men have a very deep need for honest open love and its only when we feel that being met that we can easily give of ourselves as we were designed. Patrick makes a strong case for shifting that thinking and seeking to give – even when we aren’t receiving and sowing into the lives of others. Through that giving we become more Christlike and reflect His heart.
Man Alive Chapter 6
Chapter 6 brings us to the primal need: “To satisfy my soul’s thirst for transcendence, awe and communion.
Every man wants to go above and beyond. We try in various areas and find ourselves knocked down and taken out – sometimes by those closest to us. How do we rise above that, how do we overcome. We don’t, that’s the point. I our strength we can never succeed and produce, over the long run. We can accomplish and have small victories on and off, but to really succeed and produce takes just the opposite – letting go.
Getting where we really want to be, where God really wants us, requires that we release our desire to control, maintain, achieve and whatever else, and instead hang out with Jesus. It’s in getting to know Him where we begin to become like Him.
It’s the difference between doing and being.
How do we overcome, succeed, produce – by being what Christ has called us to be.
Prayer
What’s it to Him?
That was the first question in our meeting last night. As we were finishing the study on the “armour of God” we had an amazing study lead by Matthew Sloop. Matthew is the founder of prayerdonor.com and he is passionate about changing how we as a church pray. The foundation of our prayer life is our perception of who God is. As men we identify by what we do and it is critical that we understand that 1) We cannot live the Christian life 2) Flesh does not give birth to spirit.
So what does prayer mean to Him?
It is His will that we pray – I Thessalonians 5:17
The Holy Spirit lives to make intercession for us Hebrews 7:25
Jesus died for our opportunity to talk with the Father Luke 23:34-46