Caution

Shawn Lovejoy over at Mountain Lake Church in Forsyth County, GA near Atlanta wrote the following caution for pastors in his blog as it relates to sexual temptation. But I think it applies to all of us, whether we're pastors or not. It's always worth it to make sure we're guarding our hearts. So, I share his words here.

"Pastors have a HUGE spiritual bulls-eye on our backsides! We are targets of the enemy. Strike the shepherd. Scatter the sheep. That’s the enemy’s strategy.

That’s why, more than ever before, I’m convinced that to protect ourselves as Pastors, we must NUTURE VITALITY. It’s the #1 Best Practice we talk about in our churchplanters.com ministry and coaching network. To NURTURE, means to care for; pay attention to; attend to; feed…our VITALITY: our spiritual, emotional, spiritual, and relational strength!

Below is just a simple list of practical ways to keep ourselves from being picked off by the enemy as Pastors. These are simple. But easier to KNOW and PREACH; than DO. Here are a few (OK, more than a few):

* Read your Bible daily, and read portions of Scripture that have NOTHING to do with this week’s message.
* Take your off day Religiously. Burnout leads to spiritual failure and dropout.
* If you don’t rest, you will burn out. Period. You are not exempt.
* Tell you congregation you will NOT be out more than 2-3 nights a week.
* Keep office hours. Go home at 5 or 5:30 PM. People have to see their doctor, their dentist, their lawyer, and their counselor from 8-5. Spiritual counsel should be no different. You MUST have a life at night with your family.
* Don’t open your laptop after you get home.
* Don’t answer your cell phone after you get home.
* When you walk in the house after work, don’t be on the cell phone.
* Spend less time on Twitter and facebook. Spend more time communicating with your family.
* Get secure in your own skin. The desire for attention or pleasing people is a flag that will get you in trouble.
* Confess your temptations or addictions to a trusted friend NOT in your church.
* Schedule a date night with you spouse AT LEAST once a month. If you don’t have the money, ask the church to pay for it. (my church doesn’t, BTW) Your church will, though, if you ask them.
* Tell your congregation that the best gift you have to offer them is NOT a close relationship with every one of them, but a close relationship with God and a close relationship with your spouse.
* Don’t just talk about ministry with your spouse. Start a hobby TOGETHER!
* Exercise! Flabby body=flabby mind=flabby spirit.
* Take walks with God early in the morning when you can talk out loud to Him and share your hurts, pains, struggles, and dreams.
* Get your spouse out of that ministry they feel tied to because no one else will do it. You’re burning them out.
* Have a family night regularly where you allow your kids to set the agenda.
* Have a hobby you enjoy by yourself.
* Tell your spouse you love them EVERY DAY!
* Speak positively of your spouse from the stage.
* Listen to friends that raise flags about your behavior.
* Don’t ever be in the car, or your office, or ANY PLACE alone with opposite sex with the door shut. NEVER. NEVER. NEVER.
* Make the above policy for every Pastor on your Team.
* Don’t flirt, including online, or in emails! If you’re flirted with (and you will be), don’t respond, and immediately tell your spouse.
* Think about the consequences of your sin if carried out and found out. Who and how many will get hurt?
* Remember, pride goes before a fall, and you can not stand too close to a fire and not get burned.
* Make Nurturing Vitality the most important part of your job description."

Father's Day

This Sunday is Father's Day. Dad's will get goofy cards telling them how great they are. Some will receive neck ties, although I'm not sure why when so few men wear them today. Others may receive grill utensils or a sleeve of golf balls. All of these things are good and well meaning. But what if this year you wrote your dad a letter telling him how much you love him and what he has meant to you? Why not tell him how grateful you are for the sacrifices he made for you to work long hours or to provide the things you enjoy or enjoyed when you were younger? I think most dads have this need to know that what they do matters and that they are respected for who they are. I know I do. It's part of being male. Dad's have enough insecurities worrying about their failures and mistakes. And believe you me, most dads know when they've blown it. At least internally. And for those of you whose dad made some major mistakes, don't write him off completely. Yes, he may have failed to be there for you and he may have been hard to live with. And maybe he wasn't the best husband to your mom. Those may all be true and you probably have every reason in the world to be angry at him. But don't let it control you. Allow yourself to extend forgiveness to him even as Christ has forgiven you for your mistakes. So, this Father's Day, take some time to write a letter to your dad. Let him know you still love him. Tell him you are so glad that he is your dad. Go ahead and make his day! I would love to be able to tell my dad what I feel, but I can't since he passed away over five years ago. So, tell him while you still have him. It's the least you can do this Father's Day!

Graduation

Well, today my daughter graduated from eighth grade. Now that might not seem like such a big deal to some of you, but to me, it's HUGE! My only girl is no longer in middle school. She is now a high school student. And you know what that means! Yes!! It also means she is growing just a little more independent and a little less in need of mom and dad. At least until she wants money or clothes or a car. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for growing up and becoming independent. That's what we raise our kids to be, independent. But it's just another reminder to this old dad that the minutes I have with "my little girl" at home are fleeting and the way of life as we've known it becomes a little less common with every single day that passes. But that's okay! The reason it's okay is that God is growing this "little girl" into the woman he wants her to be. He has stamped his love on her heart and he is not finished with her yet. Hopefully we have modeled for her a love for God, imperfect though it is, that will carry her through all of her life. It will be okay. I know that, but I just like the way things are now with my little girl, a slight dependence on mom and dad, the innocence of being a young teen, the lack of a serious boyfriend, the cute little girl who curls up on the sofa watching TV with dad and the constant sounds of "I love you dad" ringing down the hall. Some of those things will continue, but not all. So, today I take in and savor every minute. And I pray like crazy that "daddy's girl" never really grows up, at least not now and I trust God that he will see her through! Congrats Tay!

Burden

I have such a burden for my church and for my community. I want our church to know the joy of following Christ as a way of lfe. I want them to know what it means to radically submit their lives to Him in complete abandon and surrender. I want them to realize that our church is a body that isn't complete unless everyone finds their place of service on Sunday mornings throughout every ministry. I want them to long for Sundays and not dare miss our worship gatherings because they know Christ is there. I want our church to see the vision of filling every seat in Ardrey Kell, not because we want to be big but because we want to make a dent in the vast seventy-five percent of people who don't attend church. I want them to feel the burden that Jesus has for our community and see it through his eyes and sense the lostness and hopelessness that pervades much of our city! I want our church to find ways to tell their friends to "come and see" because they know they won't be ashamed to bring them to Crosspoint! I want them to see themselves as Christ's hands and feet in this community and give of themselves because they have so much to give and they can share of the world's goods because they know they have more than they need. I want our church to love this community, not because it offers them so much but because we can offer it so much! I want our church to love the unloveable, to touch the untouchable, to give to the ungrateful, to forgive the unforgiveable, to do whatever Jesus would do no matter who it is! I dream of this, I long for this, I pray for this, I believe in this. May God make it so!

Vision

Tonight our staff and spouses and one member of our band attended the first session of the Drive Conference here at North Point Church in Alpharetta, GA. To say that it was incredible is an understatement! There are over 2000 pastors and staff members from all over the world here. After experiencing engaging worship that rocked the house, Andy Stanley spoke on how uncertain times are the best times to minister to people and when God does his best work. I think that is so true. If you look at the scriptures, that's what the stories are all about. God working in uncertain times and using people in uncertain times to do his work! That's especially true for church planters in young churches like ours. We don't know all the answers about where we're going and what it will look like when we get there, but we know that we're called to lead our churches with the vision God has given us. Our vision is and has been since we started two years ago to create a culture where people live out the values of Jesus. And within that vision to help people follow Jesus by learning to Love God, love others and serve the world. It's that simple. So, we are determined to keep it simple and live by this vison. If we do anything else, we'll be doing the wrong thing! And even though there will be those who will try to deter us from our vision with other well-intentioned ideas and opinions, we're sticking to what we were called to do in our neck of the woods! So, I may not know all of the answers to the who, what and where questions. But one thing I do know is that God called us to lead this church plant to reach our community and so we'll continue to go forward with this vision! Hope you'll join us!

Beach Retreats!

I just dropped off my fourteen year old daughter at Ardrey Kell with the other students headed to the beach for their first ever retreat with Crosspoint. I must say it's a little surreal. She was going on the kind of retreat that I led every year for sixteen years. You know the routine. Parents drop off students, luggage is loaded in the vans, parents wave good-bye and youth leaders head off with teens in-tow for a time of fun and sun and bible study. The cool thing about this retreat is that I left my daughter with our volunteer team and one happens to be a former student of mine from back in the day. Her name is Lauren and she was one of our finest students. She loved God passionately then and she does today. She had a heart for her friends, constantly bringing them to our youth gatherings, and she does the same today, bringing friends to our church with her husband Chris. I tell you all of this because I'm moved that my daughter is now part of youth ministry being led by a former student who has taken up the mantle of ministry. Another generation leads another generation! That's the beauty of discipleship and giving your life away to something that has so many returns! God calls and adds new leaders to fill the shoes of others all of the time. So today, as my daughter drove away to the beach, I was awed that God has chosen to use every generation to reach the next generation. It's all the same. People loving students so that they will carry the same mantle that Jesus first gave to his disciples. And it never ends!

Good Friday?

It's commonly called Good Friday. I always wondered why the day the Lord died would be called "Good Friday." After all, it was a day of scourging and crucifixion. How would it be a good day? But of course, we all know as followers of Christ that because of his death it would surely be a good day for all who would come to understand what his death meant for those who believe. It would be a day of the just dying for the unjust, a day of God bringing man to himself. It would be a day of beginnings as Jesus would invite all to leave behind a life of self and give their lives to him so that all would know what it really means to live. It was truly a dark day in history but it was only Friday. Sunday was coming. And just as he predicted his death, he predicted something even greater that was about to happen. So, this day, focus on what his death means. And as you reflect, remember, it's only Friday and Sunday's coming! Peace!