I haven't meant to neglect the blog - it's just that I'm doing a lot more updating on Facebook. Right now I'm sitting at the Phoenix airport with Cambria (my daughter) waiting to take a flight that will eventually end up in Portland, OR.
We've got a 3 hour layover at LAX (almost enough time to show her the town!).
I was blown away by our Christmas Eve services! The total count was about 640 (I subtracted a few "double counts" to get it more accurate. This was by far the biggest and highest quality event Compass has done (at least since I've been there).
The band did an amazing job, Steph, Robin, Helen, Roland, Mike, Joey, Kyle, Jim, Robert, and the many others involved truly outdid themselves.
I'm proud to be a part of a team that is doing everything possible to be excellent and authentic at the same time.
And, it was a bonus to see my son Ryan up there reciting (from memory) Matthew 2:1-12!
Anyway, I'm stoked about Compass Church, and while I'm splittin' for a few days to hang out with the relatives in the Northwest (where I will freeze!) I can't wait to get back and jump back in to 2009!
Saturday, December 27
Friday, December 12
Busy, Busy, Busy
...is what I've been. But I feel great. A week ago Tuesday I got home and told Judi I was going to go to the gym.
"If you leave now you can make it to the muscle cardio class." she said.
Famous last words. Yeah, I was one of three guys in the class (if you count the instructor). But it got me on a roll, and I'm feeling awesome!
I've run 18 miles this week which is a good start for me as I'm getting back into it. And, I'm going with the "running club" at my gym - a new thing for me.
Whenever I've run in the past, it's always been alone. I'm independent like that.
But of course the paralells to life spring up, such as: you can go farther, much easier, when you're shoulder to shoulder with others who are going the same direction.
So we'll see where it goes. I've tended to take an all-or-nothing approach to things. I'm hoping my patience level increases as I'm getting older and I can take a longer term approach to progress and results.
That's how I feel about Compass, by the way. We've grown a lot, especially in the last few months. We're averaging about 500 on Sundays, and we're building a ton of infrastructure underneath the surface with missions, student ministry, and home groups.
But in my mind we haven't even scratched the surface of what we're capable of seeing in the future. That topic, however, is going to be shared in January when we kick off our Vision series.
Anyway, back to it...
"If you leave now you can make it to the muscle cardio class." she said.
Famous last words. Yeah, I was one of three guys in the class (if you count the instructor). But it got me on a roll, and I'm feeling awesome!
I've run 18 miles this week which is a good start for me as I'm getting back into it. And, I'm going with the "running club" at my gym - a new thing for me.
Whenever I've run in the past, it's always been alone. I'm independent like that.
But of course the paralells to life spring up, such as: you can go farther, much easier, when you're shoulder to shoulder with others who are going the same direction.
So we'll see where it goes. I've tended to take an all-or-nothing approach to things. I'm hoping my patience level increases as I'm getting older and I can take a longer term approach to progress and results.
That's how I feel about Compass, by the way. We've grown a lot, especially in the last few months. We're averaging about 500 on Sundays, and we're building a ton of infrastructure underneath the surface with missions, student ministry, and home groups.
But in my mind we haven't even scratched the surface of what we're capable of seeing in the future. That topic, however, is going to be shared in January when we kick off our Vision series.
Anyway, back to it...
Monday, December 8
It's Gonna Be Okay...
That line doesn't sell, but it's true!
To be positive is requires a lot more creativity and endurance than complaining. I believe it's actually difficult to think of real ways that tough situations can and should get better. Complaining about the world is easy because all you have to do is point out the obvious and construct a scenario that plays on people's deepest fears.
For example:
1) "The housing market is so bad, I don't know how its going to recover."
2) "Don't try to start a business now, no one wants to spend what little money they have."
3) "Things are so much worse than they used to be."
I've thought about this a lot, and I've decided that I never want to be on record to have any the above statements or any other negative statement come out of my mouth.
True optimism doesn't mean turning a blind eye to real problems - it means acknowledging the challenges and pointing out the possible solutions. Here's how I try and counter these common complaints:
1) "Once the market hits bottom and starts to come up even just a bit, I think people will jump in and we'll see a huge rebound."
2) "Right now the economic deck is being reshuffled a little, and there's a lot of people paying for bad management during good times. And, there's some great people who have products and services that just aren't as relevant as they once were. However, there's never a bad time for smart ventures that are able to meet a need in a unique way to give it a shot."
3) "There's no other time in history I'd rather live than now, and I can't wait for what the future will bring."
I really believe that last statement. Here's my evidence - in fact, here's a list of reasons why living in 2008 in the West Valley, in 2008, is the greatest time and place a person could live:
1) An hour ago I visited the new Basha's supermarket earlier on Esterella Parkway (about 2 miles from the church) and it was the nicest standard grocery store I have ever been in. I'm going to go tomorrow and try their Mongolian BBQ bar. I haven't had Mongolian BBQ since I lived in CA.
2) I can keep up with people on social networking sites like Facebook who I thought I'd never run into again. My "news" is quickly becoming comprised of things that are happening in the lives of the people I care about. Who needs to hear about an accident 25 miles away, or the weather in North Dakota, if I can read updates concerning my friends and personal contacts? Take note, old media.
3) Gas is cheaper than its been in years.
4) I have more options to get the things I want than ever before.
5) I can download an entire album while I'm sitting at the kitchen table for less money than cassette tapes I bought 20 years ago.
6) Friends of mine are alive and achieving a higher quality of life becuase of advances in medicine that were not around even a decade ago.
7) I have a Bible software system on my computer that allows me to "carry" wherever I go books that could comprise an entire library. Students of the Bible for centuries would give anything for the access to information I have.
8) I can heat or cool my house to the exact temperature I desire - most people in the history of the world could not say that.
9) The fact that I can sit here and arbitrarily type this to an unlimited audience.
10) If I really wanted to, I could stay within the borders of my country and freely move to just about any climate available on Earth.
Life is hard, yes. But it always has been. But there's no time and place I'd rather be than here and now.
To be positive is requires a lot more creativity and endurance than complaining. I believe it's actually difficult to think of real ways that tough situations can and should get better. Complaining about the world is easy because all you have to do is point out the obvious and construct a scenario that plays on people's deepest fears.
For example:
1) "The housing market is so bad, I don't know how its going to recover."
2) "Don't try to start a business now, no one wants to spend what little money they have."
3) "Things are so much worse than they used to be."
I've thought about this a lot, and I've decided that I never want to be on record to have any the above statements or any other negative statement come out of my mouth.
True optimism doesn't mean turning a blind eye to real problems - it means acknowledging the challenges and pointing out the possible solutions. Here's how I try and counter these common complaints:
1) "Once the market hits bottom and starts to come up even just a bit, I think people will jump in and we'll see a huge rebound."
2) "Right now the economic deck is being reshuffled a little, and there's a lot of people paying for bad management during good times. And, there's some great people who have products and services that just aren't as relevant as they once were. However, there's never a bad time for smart ventures that are able to meet a need in a unique way to give it a shot."
3) "There's no other time in history I'd rather live than now, and I can't wait for what the future will bring."
I really believe that last statement. Here's my evidence - in fact, here's a list of reasons why living in 2008 in the West Valley, in 2008, is the greatest time and place a person could live:
1) An hour ago I visited the new Basha's supermarket earlier on Esterella Parkway (about 2 miles from the church) and it was the nicest standard grocery store I have ever been in. I'm going to go tomorrow and try their Mongolian BBQ bar. I haven't had Mongolian BBQ since I lived in CA.
2) I can keep up with people on social networking sites like Facebook who I thought I'd never run into again. My "news" is quickly becoming comprised of things that are happening in the lives of the people I care about. Who needs to hear about an accident 25 miles away, or the weather in North Dakota, if I can read updates concerning my friends and personal contacts? Take note, old media.
3) Gas is cheaper than its been in years.
4) I have more options to get the things I want than ever before.
5) I can download an entire album while I'm sitting at the kitchen table for less money than cassette tapes I bought 20 years ago.
6) Friends of mine are alive and achieving a higher quality of life becuase of advances in medicine that were not around even a decade ago.
7) I have a Bible software system on my computer that allows me to "carry" wherever I go books that could comprise an entire library. Students of the Bible for centuries would give anything for the access to information I have.
8) I can heat or cool my house to the exact temperature I desire - most people in the history of the world could not say that.
9) The fact that I can sit here and arbitrarily type this to an unlimited audience.
10) If I really wanted to, I could stay within the borders of my country and freely move to just about any climate available on Earth.
Life is hard, yes. But it always has been. But there's no time and place I'd rather be than here and now.
Wednesday, December 3
Blown Away
I've been reading Packer and Dever's In My Place Condemned He Stood. With every page I am kicking myself: Why didn't I read this book 15 years ago?
Well it wasn't around, but Packer's essay contained in the book "What did the Cross Achieve?" has been around for decades.
Throughout my ministry I've tried really hard to avoid being one of these know-it-all theological types, because its so easy to make other people feel inferior who haven't had as much exposure to certain things.
But I have to say, I have been a Christian since 1989, and have tried to apply myself to understanding this faith I have embraced. This journey has led me to seminary, and now the pursuit of a doctorate. But in all of that, I am still moved to tears as I am reading through Packer's essay. I am discovering Jesus in a way I never have.
If you are able to get a hold of this book, please do. It is not easy reading, and anyone who says it is, is not honest. But there are some works that are worth fighting through, reading and re-reading until the message begins to become clear.
I brought this book with me when I traveled to Oregon to bury my grandfather. Next to the Bible, this book is what got me through that experience. While I did not supress my grief at his service (I was actually quite a mess, and I questioned whether I should have even officiated the service) I was able to have a sense peace and conviction about his passing that I have never experienced in my life.
It shouldn't be so strange that objective theological concepts would provide such a deep comfort in times of sorrow. I remember listening to a friend of mine who had lost his wife tell Wayne Grudem that the only thing that got him through his wife's death was Grudem's Systematic Theology, most specifically the chapter on Heaven.
I guess what hits me is this: eternity is a long time. It's probably worth figuring out the how and the why of life while I'm here on Earth, even if it takes me a little time. And if I'm created in the image of God, then the knowledge of him and his ways should be the most amazing and fulfilling realizations of life.
Just thinking...
Well it wasn't around, but Packer's essay contained in the book "What did the Cross Achieve?" has been around for decades.
Throughout my ministry I've tried really hard to avoid being one of these know-it-all theological types, because its so easy to make other people feel inferior who haven't had as much exposure to certain things.
But I have to say, I have been a Christian since 1989, and have tried to apply myself to understanding this faith I have embraced. This journey has led me to seminary, and now the pursuit of a doctorate. But in all of that, I am still moved to tears as I am reading through Packer's essay. I am discovering Jesus in a way I never have.
If you are able to get a hold of this book, please do. It is not easy reading, and anyone who says it is, is not honest. But there are some works that are worth fighting through, reading and re-reading until the message begins to become clear.
I brought this book with me when I traveled to Oregon to bury my grandfather. Next to the Bible, this book is what got me through that experience. While I did not supress my grief at his service (I was actually quite a mess, and I questioned whether I should have even officiated the service) I was able to have a sense peace and conviction about his passing that I have never experienced in my life.
It shouldn't be so strange that objective theological concepts would provide such a deep comfort in times of sorrow. I remember listening to a friend of mine who had lost his wife tell Wayne Grudem that the only thing that got him through his wife's death was Grudem's Systematic Theology, most specifically the chapter on Heaven.
I guess what hits me is this: eternity is a long time. It's probably worth figuring out the how and the why of life while I'm here on Earth, even if it takes me a little time. And if I'm created in the image of God, then the knowledge of him and his ways should be the most amazing and fulfilling realizations of life.
Just thinking...
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