A goal without a plan is just a wish

Several weeks ago, I began to share with our leadership team a vision of having a “Big Celebration”. A day where we go all out to invite as many people to worship with us at LifeSpring as possible.

Everyone was excited and encouraged even more when I shared with them that some friends from the Cordele area would come and prepare a meal for everyone who attended the worship service on that "Big Celebration" day.

“YES”, I thought, “with the support of this leadership team, God is about to take LifeSpring to the next level”.

A few days later, several of our LifeSpring leaders brainstormed ideas to get 300 people to the worship service on the “Big Celebration” Day. Creative ideas like putting up billboards, personally handing out invitations, offering rides, face painting, even painting encouraging invitations on our car windows, whatever it takes.

“YES”, I thought, “what great ideas, and we’ve set the goal high enough that it won’t happen without Gods power, this is gonna be great”.

Today, I was driving to work with a ton on my mind. I was consumed by the thoughts of all that needed to be done in preparation for the “BIG CELEBRATION” Day @ LifeSpring we had scheduled for 10/11/09. The anxiety of the moment caved in on me as the brainstorming ideas from the team have slown down, the teams schedules and other commitments are taking priority over the “Big Celebration” day, and those willing to volunteer are hard to find.

I found myself asking. “Why God, what did we do wrong?”

And then I saw it…the billboard at the local Library with the phrase that God used to center me again…

“A goal without a plan is just a wish"

(this was a quote of French writer Antoine De Saint-Exupery 1900-1944),

We had brainstormed what needed to be done, we had set the Goal for worship attendance that day (a lofty 300 people on 10/11/09)…

but we failed to plan HOW and WHO would do WHAT.

Then I remembered another quote that I use to have on my wall of my old office…

“What’s everyone’s responsibility is no ones responsibility”

The leadership team had been taking the approach that “everyone” would do something to make this “Big Celebration” a success. But we didn’t plan it out. We didn’t plan out assignments and responsibilities. We didn’t plan for accountability.

So, today we plan, tomorrow we plan, and this weekend we share the plan with the leadership team, and then we “work the plan”.

Now we will see what type of leader I really am.

Now we will see what type of leaders I have surrounded myself with @ LifeSpring.

Now we will see who will step up in action… who will step out in faith…. and who will side-step God’s call on their life.

Thank you God for your direction and patience with LifeSpring. May the "BIG CELEBRATION" day, be that... A big celebration of your love!

Rough Road ahead

I saw this sign when I first moved to Statesboro, about a year ago.  Just the other day while driving down the same road I saw it again.  Of course my mind began to ponder what I could expect as I continued to drive.  After a couple of hundred yards or so, I encountered the rough road…and it was rough, but only for a short distance. 

As the road smoothed out, I began to think more about the sign, who put it up, and why they put it up. 

Ok, some things are obvious; the DOT (Department Of Transportation) in Ga. put the sign up to identify a poor section of paved road and warn motorist ahead of time of this potentially dangerous stretch of road.  As I thought more about it, I wondered how many man-hours and cost the DOT had invested in designing, producing, and then erecting the sign in this location.  Not to mention they probably had to send a person out to verify that the road was actually “rough” and warranted a sign being erected to notify others.

It’s been a year, and I wonder - why DOT doesn’t just FIX THE ROAD and take the sign down?   They have the tools, materials, and manpower.  Isn’t that their responsibility too?  Not just identifying “problem areas” for others, but doing something about them? 

You know, some people in churches today do similar things.  They “IDENTIFY” problems in others lives, or in our community, and then put big signs on them that “warn” people about the things they have “identified”.  Then they do nothing about helping solve or correct the situation, even though many times they have the power and resources to positively make a difference.        Heck, even the disciples did this…

Matt 14:15

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."

The disciples identified the problems, and verbally were putting up signs of warning to Jesus about the problems that lie ahead.

But Jesus knew that through power of the Holy Spirit, these Disciples who had recently returned from “preaching the Kingdom of God” and “healing the sick” could take care of this problem too.  So, Jesus told the disciples what I believe he is telling his church today… 

 Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." 

In other words, don’t just “Identify” and put a sign up about the problem, but FIX THE ROAD.  Give them something to eat.

Tomorrow when your out and about identifying and putting signs up of all the “rough roads” that lie ahead for your family, business, church, community, and world, how about stopping for a moment, roll up your sleeves, and begin FIXING THE ROAD.  Make some WAVES of Jesus' love!

 

The Vines of our lives

This past Saturday, my boys and I cut and cleared some old fallen and partially fallen trees in the “natural area” behind our house.  As we were cutting and moving old trees, we found that there were a lot of “vines” of some sort that had grown some 40-60 feet above the ground and had intertwined themselves into the branches in the trees.  In fact, some vines had moved from one tree to others, and much of the tree top canopy was not made up of tree branches and their leaves, but rather twisty vines and their leaves,

As we tried to pull the vines down, we noticed how difficult it was to get all the vines down (sometimes two of us were hanging from the vines and still couldn’t get them down).  We also noticed the vines were choking out much of the new growth in the trees, and in some trees, were actually holding up broken branches that had been dead for many months, yet hadn’t fallen to the ground because of the thick vines keeping the dead branches suspended in the air by their web-like strength. 

It was in the midst of this “father-son” activity that I realized how much “sin” in our lives had in common with the vines in our backyard.  

1)Over time, sin grows from its one root, to spread into our lives, choking out our personal growth.

2)   The end of the vines are usually very far reaching from the root, but they are still connected; so to is the sin in our lives…the longer it is allowed to continue, there is no limit to where it can go (even jumping from one person to another…just like the vine jumped from one tree to another.

3)   Some vines could be removed with little or no help…but the largest, difficult, and most intertwined (complex) vines had to be taken out with the help of others…so it is with the sins in our lives

Once the vines were removed, the whole backyard looked better.  Sunlight began to shine through the tree top canopy to the ground and surrounding areas that hadn’t seen sun in a long time.  I am sure that we can look forward to stronger trees and new vegetation in our small backyard paradise. 

I think the same is true when we seek God’s forgiveness of our sins and allow Jesus to remove our sins.  Once removed, God’s light can shine through to allow for new growth to happen in our lives, making for a stronger and beautiful human being. 

Hey, I know what, lets help each other out…in fact, LET’S DO LIFE TOGTHER

 

Don't Even Think About It!

I saw this sign the other day and was blown away.    I laughed at first and then thought, “How witty, someone is making a point about parking here and that sign is going to get everyone’s attention…and it will probably ‘tick’ somebody off”

 

Then I thought about a church I once attended.  There were members there who would have loved to have a sign like this put in their pew that would read in big, red letters, “don’t even think about sitting in my seat”.    And do you know what, they wouldn’t CARE if they ticked someone off in the process.  As long as they had their seat, in their spot, on their pew they could “worship God” freely (I guess they were taught that God takes attendance for worship services by seating assignments, and if you are not in your assigned seat…the right seat, God may count you as absent that day)

 

 

I’m excited and encouraged when I see people at LifeSpring… slide over, and give someone their seat at our worship service.  It’s like they’re saying, “Don’t even think of sitting somewhere else!!! Here you go, take my seat right here so you can see better, I’ve already got it warmed up for you.“

 

You know, that’s one of the small sacrificial things we need to be doing in the world today to “get everyone’s attention” so people will feel welcomed.  Why don’t you try offering your seat to someone and see what happens…

 

Let’s do life together 

It's More than Bread and Juice

What a phenomenal worship service we shared at LifeSpring this past Easter Sunday.  It was the first Easter service in the history of LifeSpring and special to all who attended.  Especially when we all shared in Holy Communion (the Lord’s Supper) for the first time as a worshiping community.

A seminary professor of mine named Robert “Bob” Tuttle once told us that when we serve communion to others that it is a “slam dunk for the Holy Spirit’s presences”.   And you know what…HE WAS RIGHT.

 

Person after person who came up and received the bread and juice (representing the body and blood of Jesus) with anticipation, expectations, fears, doubts, hopes, hurts, disappointments, or whatever baggage or dreams they may have had, encountered the Spirit of God, and were different when they returned to their seats. 

 

The prayer I was taught as a young boy for meals that has stuck with me (and probably you too) for what seems all my life took on a stronger meaning this Easter

 “God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food.  By his hands, we are fed, give us Lord our daily bread”

 It was a great and good God who provided for the “bread of life” that would supply our needs daily.  Jesus, from the small town of Bethlehem (also known as the “house of bread”) became the bread from God’s hand to fed us. 

 

I hope you had a meaningful Easter this year, and feel as though you are ready to take on the world…because that is where Jesus’ new disciples are called to serve, so let’s get busy. 

 

Won’t you join us? 

 Let’s do life together!