Today, I challenged our congregation to tell the 2nd greatest story ever – THEIR STORY!  Additionally, I challenged them to write it & share with others how God transformed their lives.  You don’t have to attend Mars Hill to write your story.  In fact, I challenge you to join us and tell the world about Christ’s transforming power!

Here’s how you do it:

Writing Your Story

Will you accept the challenge?

Our leaders met this past Thursday to discuss and discern what God would have us to do corporately regarding the tragedy that rocked Haiti.  Although there are some conservative Christians labeling this as “God’s judgment,” we, however will take the high road & pray prayers bold enough to “WAKE… GOD UP.”   Please click the link for more information & join us!

MHBC Response to Haiti Tragedy 2010

What specifically will you do to respond to this tragedy?

These are a few words that come to mind regarding the earthquake that rocked Haiti.  Our leaders will meet tonight to discuss our church’s response to this great tragedy.  I will share our plan of action tomorrow.

Labeling any natural disaster as God’s judgment is nonsense.  True “judgment begins with God’s family” (1Peter4:17), not others.

Peter warned that God judges all people according to their deeds.  He also disciplines and judges his own children in order to refine them, as Peter has explained in 1 Peter 1:6-7.  This judgment purifies and strengthens believers, readying them for God’s Kingdom.  Natural disasters are the result of living in a broken world!  Please pray for nation of Haiti.

“Lord, let your glory reign in the midst of this devastation.”

There are many books that I consider to have greatly been a part of spiritually transforming my life.  When I chose my books there were some basic criteria that I considered:

1. I didn’t list the bible, because I’m hoping you assume that that is the book that has spiritually transformed me the most.
2. They were memorable (some books are just forgettable, and these were not)
3. They didn’t have to be written this decade
4. They are ones that I recommend to everyone
5. They are leading works in their field
6. They are ones that I have read multiple times, or are back on the reading rotation to read again
7. They needed to have fundamentally shifted some area of my thinking–paradigm shifting influence
8. They transformed me spiritually (my theology, my ministry, my prayer life, my leadership, my preaching, my counseling, my pastoring, my understanding of humanity, my relationship with God, etc.)

Additionally, since I have so many recommendations, I’ve decided to break them down into the following categories: Church Growth, Theology, Christian Living, Leadership, Self-Improvement, Business, Sociology, and African-American Studies.  I will devote blog space to cover each category in subsequent posts.

Here we go:

Church Growth

African American Church Management Handbook by Floyd Flake

Highly regarded pastor Floyd Flake; his wife, co-pastor, author, Elaine Flake; and church chief financial officer Edwin Reed offer a design based on key needs in the black church, and their experience at one of the nation’s most respected and largest black churches, Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in New York.  This unique, detailed, and thorough resource for black churches of any denomination covers virtually all aspects of church management from the theoretical and theological to the practical “nuts and bolts” of church administration.  The authors include a special section offering principles for economic development, an area in which Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral has experienced extraordinary success. The African American Church Management Handbook is sure to find a permanent place on the desks of African American pastors, seminarians, and church leaders for many years to come.

Church Growth From An African American Perspective

Church Growth From An African American Perspective is a MUST READ FOR EVERY INNER-CITY PASTOR!!!

This book is Pastor Donald Hilliard’s charge to active church groups to adopt and integrate a healthy Christian/biblical model for congregation growth and development. Senior pastor of Cathedral International in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Pastor Hilliard posits the value of the three basic L’s for growth: love, lift, and liberate. The power of the church to love, lift and liberate people through the truth of the gospel will sustain and propel them to become what God intends them to be. Pastor Hilliard differentiates between healthy and unhealthy growth in a church. He advocates purposeful prayer and preaching the whole word of God, not just favorite Scriptures. He believes that people matter more than programs, and that programs exist only to meet people’s needs. At the end of each chapter of explanation there are a series of action steps that will lead to a full and healthy development of the practical dimensions of a powerful African American church. “Church Growth From and African American Perspective” has many sound principles to recommend it to all congregations.

The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren
This book forever changed my view of church growth.  The thesis of The Purpose Driven Church is that when churches think first about their health, growth is sure to follow. “If your church is healthy,” writes Rick Warren, “growth will occur naturally. Healthy, consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church.” These five purposes are to “Love the Lord with all your heart,” “Love your neighbor as yourself,” “Go and make disciples,” “[Baptize] them,” and “[Teach] them to obey.”  I will forever be grateful for Rick’s contribution to the Kingdom of God.

Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches by Christian Schwarz

Critics of the church growth movement have often emphasized the need for quality congregations. We should not focus on numerical growth, but rather, we should concentrate on qualitative growth.

Although it’s a bit academic, Christian Schwarz has done extensive research world-wide and found that healthy, growing churches seem to share eight quality characteristics. These characteristics are:

1. Empowering leadership
2. Gift-oriented ministry
3. Passionate spirituality
4. Functional structures
5. Inspiring worship service
6. Holistic small groups
7. Need-oriented evangelism
8. Loving relationships

Schwarz uses the illustration of a barrel with eight staves to symbolize the eight quality characteristics. The barrel can only hold water to the height of the lowest stave. So too, Schwarz argues, a church can only grow as far as their ‘Minimum factor,’ which is the lowest of the eight quality characteristics in their church. He challenges churches to resist the temptation to work on improving areas in which they already excel, for by doing this they do not increase their minimum factor or their church quality.

Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples by Thom Rainer

While The Purpose Driven Church taught me how to grow a healthy church, The Simple Church taught me what to do with the harvest.  According to Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger, the simple revolution has begun.  From the design of the iPod to the uncluttered Google home page, simple ideas are changing the world.

Simple Church clearly calls for Christians to return to the simple gospel-sharing methods of Jesus. No bells or whistles required, so to speak.  Based on case studies of four hundred American churches, authors Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger prove that the process for making disciples has quite often become too complex.  Simple churches are thriving, and they are doing so by taking these four ideas to heart: Clarity. Movement.  Alignment. Focus. Each idea is examined here, simply showing why it is time to simplify.

Seven Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley

In my humble opinion, Andy Stanley is Rick Warren 2.0!  I love Andy’s practical writing style and he understands the mind of pastors & church leaders.  Seven Practices of Effective Ministry taught me how to measure our church’s effectiveness.  There’s no scoreboard in the sanctuary, and the only plate is probably for the offering. But every church leader needs to know how to win, and every congregation needs to know when to cheer.

This insightful book speaks to every church leader who yearns for a simpler, more effective approach to ministry.  An engaging parable about one overwhelmed pastor is followed by an overview of seven successful team practices, each one developed and applied in a ministry setting. Reinforced by relevant discussion questions, these clear, easy, and strategic practices can turn any ministry into a winning team.  Like your own personal trainer, 7 Practices of Effective Ministry is an insightful guide for any leader who yearns for a simpler, more effective approach to ministry.

When God blesses a church with numerical growth, the organization can drift towards complexity.  Deliberate Simplicity taught me the principle “less is more” and how this approach to church can equip believers for eternal influence.  Church innovator Dave Browning unpacks the six elements of a new equation for church development.  These concepts—minimality, intentionality, reality, multility, velocity, and scalability—provide a realistic plan for streamlining church while maximizing impact.

Biblical Church Growth: How You Can Work with God to Build a Faithful Church by Gary McIntosh

There are many popular models for church growth based on outstanding churches led by outstanding pastors. But unfortunately, specific models are temporary and go out of style quickly.  Gary McIntosh explores the biblical principles for church growth and applies them to today’s culture.  Instead of concentrating on the ephemeral how of church growth, he focuses on the unchanging why.  McIntosh defines church growth as “all that is involved in bringing men and women who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ into fellowship with him and into responsible church membership.” In other words, church growth is effective evangelism, not a methodology for increasing membership.

Taking Your Church to the Next Level: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Gary McIntosh

All local churches experience a predictable life cycle of growth and decline.  But if a church is on a downward trend, how can it turn around?  Taking Your Church to the Next Level explains the impact of age and size on churches and outlines the improvements that must be made at each point for a church to remain fruitful and faithful to its mission.  McIntosh deftly describes the cycles of fruitfulness and the importance of continual improvement to diminish destructive forces that keep a congregation from its mission.  Church leaders, pastors, and all who care about the church and desire to see it experience biblical growth will benefit from the sage wisdom offered in these pages.

Growth by Accident, Death by Planning: How Not to Kill a Growing Congregation by Bob Whitesel

A congregation that had been growing in numbers and spiritual vitality reaches a plateau, and then begins to decline.  Most of the time, the plateau occurs long before the church arrives at the optimum numbers of members it hoped to attract.  The real question, says Bob Whitesel, is why the church grew in the first place.  A GREAT READ!

Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement by Will Mancini

Will Mancini (founder, Auxano consulting group) believes that all churches need not be megachurches like Willowcreek (IL) or Saddleback (CA).  He helps leaders focus on their own unique cultures and congregational fingerprints.  Once churches grasp that they are one of a kind-much like galaxies, fossils, DNA, and sandbanks-they can then, Mancini writes, unleash their full potential.  The book, complete with an appendix as well as logos and icons illustrating various churches’ visionary thinking, is strengthened by numerous flow charts, diagrams, graphics, and pithy quotes.

According to some, it has the potential to unseat Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Church in popularity.  In my opinion, academic libraries will probably pass on this title for its admitted lack of supporting empirical evidence.

Which books have you read?

Did any of these books change your life?

Which ones do you want to read?

For all 48 questions, you will need to check out Ed Stetzer’s original post. Here are my top 15 personal favorites:

1. Have I spent adequate time in Bible study and prayer?
2. Did the Bible live in me today?
3. Am I enjoying prayer?
4. Have I given priority time to my family?
5. How do I spend my spare time?
6. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
7. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
8. Have I been with a woman anywhere this past week that might be seen as compromising?
9. Have I been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed my mind to entertain inappropriate thoughts about someone who is not my spouse this week?
10. Have any of my financial dealings lacked integrity?
11. Have I secretly wished for another’s misfortune so that I might excel?
12. Have I damaged another person by my words, either behind their back or face-to-face?
13. Is there anything that has dampened my zeal for Christ?
14. Is Christ real to me?
15. Have I been completely honest with myself?

What are some of your accountability questions?

1. The Mars Hill Gladiator Drill Team (Senior and Junior Team) competed in Houston, TX at the National Missionary Baptist of America’s Annual Congress.  BOTH ROCKED THE HOUSE and brought home 2 FIRST PLACE TROPHIES!
2. Before the message, members of our Drill team marched their trophies down the center aisle for all to see and received a standing ovation!  GO GLADIATORS!!!
3. Again, the worship experience was awe-inspiring.  Our Praise & Worship Teams led worship at 8AM & 10:30AM and ministered with power under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
4. We saw 10 people (4 gave their lives to Christ) connect with our church family…this NEVER GETS OLD since our mission is to turn the unchurched into fully devoted followers of Christ.
5. God is absolutely BLOWING my mind with thoughts and ideas about this fall – MARS HILL fasten your seat belts and prepare yourselves for an incredible ride.

The series, Can You See Him just may go down in history as one of the most thought-provoking series of all time!  Yesterday’s message, Can You See Him In Your Struggles, caused people to look inwardly and see if the cause of their most recent struggle was a SELF-INFLICTED STRUGGLE.

Andy Stanley says, “there’s often a tension between where we want to end up in life and the path we choose to get there.”  We fail to see that having good intentions won’t necessarily get us to the place where God wants us to be.  Personally, I believe God gave us principles to follow and when we violate them we suffer the consequences.

Scriptures teaches, A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it (Proverbs 22:3).  Let me say it differently: Wise people (prudent) see danger (struggles) and take precautions.  On the other hand, fools (the simple) goes on blindly and suffer the consequences of their unwise choices.

In short, the simple get to the point when all their options are bad.

Evaluate the path you’re on since it’ll ultimately determine your destination.  Remember, you can have every good intention on becoming healthy, ending bad relationships, or getting your finances in order.  However, good intentions are not enough!

What changes do you need to make today?

The Bible is filled with examples of an intimate God keenly interested in connecting with ordinary people.   He promises to be with us.  He says He will personally guide us.  Yet somehow, intimacy with God eludes us.   I believe my new series Can You See Him struck a nerve with God’s people.   This series shows how you can enjoy a vibrant, moment-by-moment relationship with your heavenly Father.  Not some abstract theological concept, but an intimate connection with a personal God.

Sunday’s message, Seeing is Believing (Acts 9:1-17) traced the Apostle Paul’s conversion experience.   Paul was hell-bent on destroying Christians and Christianity.   While on the Road to Damascus, he sees a light brighter than the sun and ultimately looses his sight for three days (Acts 9:1-4).  When Jesus asks: “Why are you persecuting me?” Saul responds by asking, “Who are you, Lord?” For me it’s comforting to know, regardless of where you are in life:

GOD ALWAYS INITIATES SALVATION!

Here’s a popular saying: “If you take one step towards God, He’ll take two steps towards you.”   NOPE, that’s not in the Scriptures.   Truth is, we’re utterly lost (Romans 3:23; 5:8) and God sends The Spirit to “quicken” or awake us to SEE we’re lost and in need of a savior.  I’m glad God chose to initiate Paul’s salvation and ours.   Remember, no one would ever expect Paul to become a Christian and his conversion experience shows why it’s important to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40).

Thirsty for more…tune it tomorrow for Part 2…

As the two disciples traveled to Jerusalem, Christ came along side them and began walking and talking to them (Luke 24:13-35).  In fact, He was close, but they couldn’t see Him.  Additionally, He was there before they even realized they needed Him!  The two travelers were sad because their Messiah was crucified and what they had hoped for (a reigning king to overthrow Rome) didn’t happen as they wished.  The same could be said about us.  We live our lives framed by the reality of five words: “I had hope…but instead.”

1. “I had hoped I’d be married; but instead I’m still single.”
2. “I had hoped for a job after college; but instead there aren’t many viable options.”
3. “I had hoped we’d live together in retirement; but instead he became terminally ill.”

Although it’s comforting to know that God is with us before we need Him.  It’s equally comforting to know when He reveals Himself to us it’s not to inform, but to CONFIRM.  Jesus confirmed He was the resurrected Messiah when He sat at the table and broke the bread (Luke 9:13-17; 22:17-19; 24:28-31a).  The two disciples may not have recognized Jesus’ face, but, they recognized his actions!  How were they able to see?

INTIMACY

Intimacy with God allows you to notice the details – the small things others often miss.  As Jesus opend the Scriptures to them, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him.  Becasue they could see they know themselves that Jesus was alive!

CAN YOU SEE HIM?

I invite you to join our congregation in studying this passage together.  The following questions were taken from Sunday’s outline and I invite you to “dig deeper” with us.  Please feel free to post your thoughts, comments, or questions and we learn together in community.

1. Sometimes it is easier to see God’s work as you reflect back over your life. Encourage others with an example of how you can see God at work through a challenge from the past.
2. The two men’s eyes were opened to see Jesus in their midst. Describe a time that you’ve had a spiritual awakening. How did God give you “eyes to see” something you missed before.
3. You (or someone you know) may be in the middle of a painful season where it is more difficult to see God at work. Take time to pray for each other and ask God to give you eyes to see His hand in your lives.

What if God granted you an opportunity to go back in time and speak to the wisest people who ever lived (people such as Moses, Apostle Paul, Solomon, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Fredrick Douglass)?  However, once you reached your destination, you sat at their feet and proceeded to do all the talking?  Would it be a worthwhile endeavor?  Did the aforementioned people need to know all you had to say?  Upon leaving would you wish you had talked less and listened more?  Incredibly, many people enter God’s holy presence in prayer and then do all the talking!

What God has to say to us is infinitely more important that what we have to say to Him, yet we generally monopolize the conversation. God already knows everything we plan to tell Him, yet we continue talking rather than allowing Him to tell us things we don’t know.  Why?  Our American individualist mindset tricks us to believe that we can dominate our conversation with God. Prayer is two-way communication, but it is not communication between two equal parties.

Tonight (7PM) we’ll gather @ the Mars Hill Baptist Church for our 1st Wednesday Worship.  This worship experience allows us to spend more time worshipping God and listening to the Word.  During tonight’s service, I will pose 5 Questions that will revolutionize the prayer lives of those in attendance.  The questions are as follows:

1. What is Prayer (the definition may surprise you)?
2. Why Pray (it’s not what you think)?
3. To Whom Do We Pray (is it God, Jesus, or The Holy Spirit)?
4. What Do God’s Answers Look Like (it’s more than, “God give me a sign”)?
5. What If There Is Silence?

Please come and join us!

1. During our 8AM Worship Experience, we were blessed to have a long-time friend of my father & our church preach the Word.
2. Dr. W.H. Foster, Sr., preached with passion and power as he encourage our members to continue to build on the legacy and expand for the Glory of God.  He blessed us by singing “Father, I Stretch My Hand To Thee.”  And yes, he ripped it & shouted EVERYTHING in our church.  What a mighty man of God!
3. During our 10:30AM Worship Experience, personally, I thought the music was UNBELIEVABLE!!!  WOW!
4. The Praise & Worship period blended contemporary praise peppered with traditional hymns.  From the response of the audience, I knew we were in for another awe-inspiring worship experience.
5. I sensed many in our congregation were carrying heavy burdens and needed a breakthrough.  Therefore, I preached “A Second Wind” from Isaiah 40:29-31 and saw how the words bypassed their intellect and pierced the very core of their souls!
6. To catch a Second Wind is to have increased energy or strength after feeling tired or weak.
7. A Second wind is a phenomenon in distance running, such as marathons (as well as other sports), whereby an athlete who is too out of breath and tired to continue suddenly finds the strength to press on at top performance with less exertion.  I FEEL A SHOUT COMING ON!!!
8. The phenomenon has come to be used as a metaphor for continuing on with renewed energy past the point thought to be one’s prime, whether in other sports, careers, or life in general.

A Few in Need of a Second Wind:

WIDOWS
SINGLE PARENTS
THOSE FACING HEALTH CHALLENGES
THOSE FACING LAYOFFS/DOWNSIZED
COLLEGE GRADS FACING A DIFFICULT JOB MARKET

As we wait on the Lord, we’ll find more strength (2ND WIND) to REST (while God prepares us for our next assignment), REFLECT (look around and see God’s faithfulness), and WORSHIP (to make Him the center of our affection).   Worship ended with a POWERFUL altar call for those who were ready to give up.  God interceded and gave them a “SECOND WIND” to go on!  As I prayed & laid hands, I felt the power of God breaking yokes & strongholds and people walked away with renewed strength.

Mars Hill…I love you guys…I am so blessed to be here and serving as your pastor.  I am BLOWN away by all that God is doing…and I can’t wait to see what happens next around here.  Ephesians 3:20 is becoming more and more real to all of us…we serve an amazing God!

Next week I begin a new series
“Can You See Him”

Here’s An Overview:

Daily life usually sets us on a path that’s almost robotic and we forget to see God in all things – the good, the tragic, or even the mundane.  Think of your day today.  Did you see Him in your kids’ laughter, the homeless person on the corner, or even the papers you stapled?  He was there. Join me as we discover how to see God in everything.

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