This is exactly what God did to Gideon…he had him put his clothes on! This Sunday is going to be great!
Judges 6:34 34Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon (ESV - 34But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon), and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.
Tonight, we're dropping the kids off at grandpa and grandma's house, and Megan and I are going to take in a romantic evening of…ND Hockey. Someone gave us free tickets, so I was all over it.
I have only been to one hockey game in my life, and that was years ago. Hockey is much like that silly sport of soccer…get the puck/ball into the net…nothing like the great American game of baseball or basketball. Now those are a couple of enjoyable sports, let me tell you.
Praying I don't get hit by a puck…or a drunk fan for that matter…
Update: Ok, that hockey game was an absolute blast! I think I've come to the conclusion that I enjoy watching any sport live…(I'm sure you can sleep better knowing that)…even Megan loved it! She laughed every time they got into a fight…go figure…
ND Stadium as of Friday afternoon…could be an interesting game against Syracuse on Saturday!
(picture thanks to Randy Beachy)
I spent the day today with the Pathway staff (Keith, Jason and I) at Granger Community Church for the Catalyst One Day event. Wow…worth every penny it cost and every minute given…Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel did an amazing job of leading us through the thought processes of how to lead the local church to stay on mission.
I'd be glad to share a few of my notes with you from the day, but:
1) I started at 6:50am this morning, and I'm just now settling in at the house (10:22pm). (Had my pastors' small group immediately following the day at GCC)
2) Like a bloomin' idiot, I somehow managed to lose my notes…from every session…I must have left them laying in my seat or something…ugh…I can steal Jason or Keith's, but it just won't be the same…their notes aren't as anointed as mine…(that's a joke)…
Was really encouraged though when Craig Groeschel said they have seen around 2000 people come to Jesus over the past 10 weeks through the multi-site/multi-campus church he leads (www.lifechurch.tv). Holy cow…that is just downright amazing and Bible like! God is a big God!
How about that…one of Pathway's own, Loren Miller, made the evening news…click the video link under the article title…
Funny how one small action can spark a memory from yonder year. Tonight, it was sneaking one of Megan's extra cookies she placed in the freezer.
Growing up, my mom would often make several dozen cookies at a time and freeze the extra's in the freezer. Now, I never once complained about this method of cookie making…on the contrary, I absolutely loved it! Just when you thought you had eaten the last cookie, there in the freezer was another delightful piece of my mom's best handy work.
The challenge came just a few days after my parents went to be with Jesus, back in 1990. The cookies on the counter ran out, and now all that was left, ever, was in the freezer. I remember the discussion with my sister Julie – who would get to eat the last of mom's cookies? What a challenging dilemma…
I really don't remember who ended up eating the last one, me or Julie, but I'd give anything to have another one. I miss my mom at times like these…(and her cookies)…
2 things for the Pathway radar:
1. Don’t forget to bring in your cleaning supplies for the
2. Another opportunity was just brought to me from Crystal Valley Missionary Church. They are going to sponsor what they are calling a Pass It Forward event. It will involve a FREE garage sale setup inside their building on the weekend of December 11-13 (first few days by invitation, later on will be open to the public). All they need are your gently used items! I know we have a lot going on already in the area of outreach, but if you would like to take part, here's a list of items needed...
This past week, I turned 100,000 rounds on the '98 Jeep Cherokee.
Can we do a little informal survey here…I want to know who's out there in Good Stuff blog land, driving a car with over 100,000 miles on it, and are proud of it?
Post a brief comment of the make/model/mileage…I dare you…
You can't tell from the picture, but this tire was punctured by a nail. We were out and about (on a frantic search for snow pants and snow boots for my kids) last night…glad the thing didn't go flat until we got home.
Now, I was no Bo and Luke Duke here, but I did get er' switched out pretty quickly if I do say so myself.
This past Sunday the Pathway worship team introduced the new to us song "Glorious Day." You can listen to it by Jeff Johnson here…or Todd Agnew here…
Great song…
I fully admit that being an encourager is not my greatest gift. I'm more of a grin and bear it, and let's just keep going type of a guy. Yah, life stinks sometimes, let's just keep moving.
I remember one time in college when there were 2 car loads of us going to this house, off campus. One of the other cars was involved in a bit of a fender bender. The gal who was driving came in crying and very distraught. Like an idiot, I spoke up and mentioned how it was all going to be ok, and let's get on with things here (after all there were games to be played and food to be eaten). One of the other students turned to me, and said out loud, "we are all moved by your concern here Scott." In other words, "you are being a bit of a dork here…would you just have a little compassion?"
God has called me, and you, to be encouragers. I must spend time encouraging Megan, my girls, those I work with/minister with, and any others who I come in contact with.
God has called each of us to encourage each other daily! Hebrews 3 says encouragement from others actually keeps us from sin! How about that…the next time I find myself slipping up somewhere, it might really be your fault. Thanks a lot! Sounds good, doesn't it? Hah!
Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
David says in Psalms 69:9 "for zeal for your house consumes me…" This verse is amazing!
I spent time talking today with the Leadership Team about the absolute necessity of the house, or what we call the local church. Think about it…without the corporate anointing of the local church, there is no way to live out the Great Commandment or the Great Commission. You CANNOT accomplish the Great Commandment and the Great Commission to its fullest extent without the local church.
I was preparing my notes for today's session the other day, and I wrote down (really, I typed out) the thought that the local church is God's method to reach a community. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the local church IS NOT a method. Methods change, principles never change. The local church is the principle, how we do local church could and should change (the methods we use), but the principle that God uses the local church as His main way of reaching and building lives will never change!
I could say a load of other stuff about this (and probably will in a message series), but I want to challenge your thinking on the house, the local church.
Psalms 92:12 12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; Planted in the House of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
It's been a great couple of days spent with the staff and Leadership Team here at Pathway. As I write this, I'm going over my notes for today's "vision" sessions with them. We're talking about where I see the Lord taking us as a church over the next year, as well as the next 5 years. Really excited to take on the morning!
This has been a crazy week…looking forward to the weekend though as Megan and I will be hanging out with the staff and Leadership Team for our yearly Leadership Retreat!
Looking forward to my friend Adam Loughrey bringing the Word on Sunday…
That's it for now…
Here is the question we ought to ask the people we meet: How can I serve you? I cannot save anyone. But I can serve everyone! And when we serve people, people get saved. – Author/Pastor Mark Batterson
It's more than a catchy slogan, it's a lifestyle. I will serve in my local church (Serve Here), God's hope for a dying world! I will serve in the community (Serve There), God's call for the church!
I ran across some thoughts I've used before concerning working/living/ministering out of your strengths. I thought of them again as I talked about how God said to Gideon "Go in the strength you have…" (Judges 6:14)…think on it…
Strengths: Consistent near perfect performance in an activity.
3 of the most important principles of living a strong life:
1) For an activity to be a strength, you must be able to do it consistently.
2) You do not have to have strength in every aspect of your role in order to excel.
3) You will excel only by maximizing your strengths, never by fixing your weaknesses.
(Taken from Now, Discover Your Strengths – Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton)
Do you agree?
Wow...take a couple of minutes to watch how the Lord used Mark Richt (Georgia Bulldogs FB Coach) and his wife to change 2 lives!
Thanks to Jeff Leake for the heads up...
I've been so busy the past two weeks, I've had a hard time disconnecting and relaxing! Usually that means I need to dive into a good biography or something…something to get my mind off of everyday things.
How about some fiction…Anyone else reading The Shack by William P. Young? (Why do people include their middle initials when they get famous?...I used to include my middle initial, D, on everything I did in memory of my father – David…don't do it much anymore for some reason) I've had the book for months (The Shack), but just now picked it up.
Just read the first 2 chapters. Apparently, something horrible is getting ready to happen to Missy. If you've read it, what do you think of it? Complete nonsense, and heretical? Or, wow, the most powerful thing I've read in a while? (I've heard both of these reactions from friends)
William P. Young: The Shack
Having a hard time getting into this one for some reason...everyone else seems to love it! Half way through... (**)
Ken Mansfield: The White Book: The Beatles, the Bands, the Biz: An Insider's Look at an Era
Ken Mansfield writes about his time with the Beatles...now Ken is a Christ follower and writes somewhat from this perspective...not great, but not bad... (***)
Jim Cymbala: You Were Made for More: The Life You Have, the Life God Wants You to Have
The most powerful thing about Cymbala's books are the amazing testimonies from his church! This book is full of them! I love it... (***)
Mark Batterson: Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God
Would be glad to continue this book if a certain sister of mine would return it to me...
Craig Groeschel: It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It
About half way through...great book for anyone with a passion for the local church! (****)
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