sifted!

Overwhelmed. Challenged. A bit undone. Encouraged. Excited. Challenged some more. These are just a few words to describe Bryan's and my feelings following today's sessions. The theme of this year's conference is Sifted, a reference to what Satan desired to do to Peter in Luke's gospel, chapter 22. We've been talking about the struggles, trials and dangers inherent in church planting, and how God wants to take each situation and use them for our growth. 

There have been rich times of worship and testimony at the main sessions, and lots of nuts-and-bolts discussion at various workshops. Always great for me are the opportunities to meet other workers, especially those a few steps ahead of us, and connect with them about what they're doing in relation to what we're doing. 


My "aha" moment of the day actually came tonight as we attended a special gathering hosted by New Thing, a church planting network. Australian Michael Frost (right), special speaker and church planting leader, talked about the relevance of our message about Jesus in the US. His observation is that people find it more exciting to speak about their favorite sports hero or movie star than Christians typically do about Jesus. And that when we do speak of Him, we've become trapped in predictable cliches that have little impact and leave our hearers cold. We need to speak of Jesus like He is our hero, our best friend, the greatest person we've ever met.

I had sensed this very crisis recently in a discussion with a person in need, that my "Jesus talk" felt somewhat hackneyed and trite, realizing that the way we reference Him often creates little or no tangible connect for those who need Him. Oh, that I may speak of Jesus as my passion, my reason, my all...and may that depiction be clearly understood by those who hear me!


Because Jesus is my hero.

The Magic in Orlando

The first full day of the Exponential Conference is in the books, and Bryan and I are filled to overflowing. This church planters' gathering is an eclectic group of men and women committed to establishing new congregations throughout the country (and beyond), with a willingness to think outside the box (sometimes waaay outside!) in order to see Christ's kingdom expanded. 

There's a freshness in what we're hearing as we talk with those a few steps ahead of us in this church planting process. And an urgency that charges us up as we think of what God wants to do with us in the days ahead. There's also a camaraderie that places us in the ranks of those who are willing to do whatever it takes to get this job done. We like that, and we're challenged by it.

Then there's the information. Lots of it. All good, I'm pretty sure, but way too much for one person to gather and digest. So we're trying to determine the best stuff for us in order to get as much out of our experience as possible. And we love to see God lead as we pray. We knew there wouldn't be much, if any, connection here with Muslim outreach, so we asked God this morning to lead us to someone with some kind of contact for us in that area. The first guy we spoke with at the ministry booths just happened to be connected with a large group at his church doing Muslim ministry, and he's hooking us up! Go figure.

It's one BIG avocado!

Thanks to those of you praying. Bryan and I both sense the impact as we move about. Please continue to ask God to show us the right stuff, take us to the right people and teach us what we need to take from here. And know that God is impacting throughout our culture as we labor together for the expansion of His purpose. We see it in the faces, hear it in the voices, and feel it all around us.

There's magic in the Orlando air. 

On to Orlando!

It's that time again. Time to get on a plane and find out what's going on in another part of the world.  But this time it's different. For me, at least. This time I'm making a trip to Orlando for a few days to learn about...church planting.  That's right, if somehow you hadn't heard, KACC is launching a church plant this fall (more about that at another time and blog), and I'm going to be the lead pastor.  Some new heights to scale and a quick update in education are on my plate the next four days.


The conference is call Exponential and we'll be there with 4,000 of my closest church planting friends, all there to soak up and share insight and experience in the effort of new church planting. It should be a wild ride as I venture into a relatively new (at least in my recent history) area of learning.


Fortunately, I won't be doing this alone.  One of those who has signed on for this project is going with me. His name and Bryan Payne, and he and his wife Shelley (along with about 50 others) have committed themselves to the new church plant.  Bryan and I will have an opportunity to hear from a long list of church planters and innovators, as well as rub shoulders with men and women in the trenches as we discover strategies and principles that will fit contextually into our project.


Please keep us in prayer as we travel, as we learn and as we hear God's voice in this experience. Pray that God will lead us to people who can assist us in our quest to be the best we can in extending the influence of Knott Avenue. Pray that we will be able to encourage those around us in this process, as well.  And please pray for our families while we are away from them.


Bryan and I will update this blog at least a few times during the week, to give you some idea and flavor of our experience. We're grateful for the chance to be part of something new and are looking forward to what we can bring to the dance in Anaheim, as we reach out to those around us needing the truth and grace of Jesus. 


More soon...