The Moss Pit

What if aliens abducted...

Here is one of my favorite things I heard from one of my favorite authors (Alan Hirsch) at the Exponential Conference a few weeks ago:

"If aliens came and abducted all of the Christians in the world and left only a Christian jr. high girl behind, she would have what it takes to spread the gospel enough to re-populate the earth with Christ-followers."

I love that. Here's his point: all of us as Christ-followers have the seed/kernel inside of us to continue to advance God's Kingdom. How? Because we have the gospel, which Paul refers to many times as being all we need ("I preach nothing but Christ crucified" and "the gospel contains the power to save"). And we have Jesus at work in us, who wants to spread this through us.

So why is this important?  I personally think it is so important because we need to continue to reshape the thinking of Christ-followers to help us really get that WE CAN be the ones to carry out the mission of Jesus. We don't need to rely on missionaries and pastors. We don't need to get more biblical training. If we have the power of the gospel and of Jesus, that's enough.

I also learned through Hirsch that currently in China, where the gospel is spreading similar to the way it did in the early church in Acts, that they consider every Christ-follower a church-planter.  I love that. What if we could help every Christ-follower in our churches today to see themselves as church-planters? Not the kind that have to move somewhere, find a building, raise lots of money, preach, and start services. But the kind where we can simply be the church to the people in our circles of influence that God has placed us.

So let's be church-planters and re-populaters of the Earth!  Who's in?

No More Dreading the Dreds

This Final 4 was much less dramatic than the college basketball version this year, but fun nonetheless, especially because it was Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame week. Here are my quick thoughts:

*David Cook -- I agree with all the comments made, and apparently so did he. Great thing is, even when he doesn't knock it out of the park (like "Hungry like the Wolf"), I still end up loving his voice on those songs!  I liked his take on "Baba O'Reilly", though it was weird without the recognizable keyboard riff. Cook still needs to win, he's got molten hot vocals, baby! 

*David Archuleta -- Oh David, why do you tempt me every week to be so unkind? I was really hoping he'd pick a rock song and totally blow it, but instead he picked safe. Simon was right on about him sucking on the end of the 2nd song, but of course everyone booed. Here's the thing I realized about Archie this week--instead of upset, I should feel sorry for him, because Idol wants him to win, because they can manipulate him however they want through the Idol machine. He's young, naive, and fits their perfect mold. (Of course, so did Clay Aiken and look where he ended up)

*Syesha -- Talk about lucky. She should've been gone weeks ago. Instead she somehow survives, and has actually gotten a lot better. She has a personality and learned how to perform now!  Is it enough to carry her to the final 2?  I don't know, but I doubt it.

*Jason Castro -- Sorry Jason, but you definitely wore out your welcome long ago. I'm still shocked he made it this far. He obvioulsy proved this week that he had completely given up, like he never expected to make it that far either, and didn't know what to do once he got here. I've decided he's either this year's "dumb blonde Kelli Pickler", or he really is the new poster boy for "just say no to legalizing marijuana."

Alright, next week after 3 songs a piece, we'll finally know the final 2!  The big question is, who will it be?  I'm still calling David vs. David. The bigger question is, who will win that?  I still say Archie.  So the biggest question is, which is better for Cook's career, to win (thus having to release whatever extra-cheese ballad someone wrote as his first single), or to go out early and go follow the wise path Daughtry laid out?

We shall see......

I Want My VH1 (Classic)

This last weekend I was flipping through the music channels on my DirecTV like I usually do (MTV, MTV2, VH1, Fuse). Of course I was looking for some actual music videos, or anything at all music-related, and as usual, found NOTHING. (I don't know why I assume these channels would have anything music-related on them).

Until I flipped by the channel that always taunts me by showing me what's on, yet doesn't come in (without extra $) on my DirecTV--VH1 Classic. Lo and behold, it was a "free trial weekend", and the shows were actually on!  Who can forget these classic music-related shows:

*Pop-Up Video (can't you hear that theme song in your head)

*MTV Unplugged

*Behind the Music

Remember those days?  They're still around--if you get VH1 Classic. Can't DirecTV have mercy on us and at least give us one channel with some sort of music-related programming?  It'd be fun to re-live the good ol' days!

(Disclaimer: if anyone under 21 asks, I am NOT old. VH1 Classic isn't just for old people. It's for anyone whose musical tastes extend beyond The Real World, Made, Jackass, Next, and The Hills.)

The D-Word

I got to cast some vision to the leaders of my campus this past Saturday morning at our monthly Leadership Community. I decided to talk about (after celebrating all our wins of course) the challenges we are currently facing as a campus. Now many of these are common to almost every church, and some are unique to us. I listed out things like:

*Stuff we measure: Attendance, Giving, Baptisms
*Stuff we can't measure: Healthy marriages, people growing spiritually
*The need for more contributors and leaders
*The need to continue reproducing (but the KEY question is: what are we reproducing?)

Then I shared what I feel God has been saying to me over and over again over the last couple of months, through the books I'm reading, the conference I went to, and many conversations I've had with those inside my campus and outside.

It all comes back to the D-Word: Discipleship

Now I realize everyone has their own words and phrases for this: spiritual formation, spiritual development, apprenticing the Big Guy (ok so I made that one up).  But this is the word I'm sticking to for now, even if it is a little old-school.

I know there is no easy formula to accomplish all the above challenges. But I do think this is the one thing we can focus on that will result in ALL of those things happening, over time. In fact, I can't think of a better "strategy," especially since it's the one Jesus used most.

Now I realize you might be thinking another D-word: "duh." As in, "you're a pastor of a church, of course you should be discipling people! Duh!"  I agree. But I'm learning it can actually be much easier to lose focus on this than I realized. And of course there's the question of "how" to go about doing it. I'm working on that. I think I have a 4-layered plan for it. Sounds like another blog...

Diamond Idol

We were down to the top 5 at Idol, and what better way to celebrate than with Neil Diamond week!  Actually I like Neil, I respect him, and I remember his songs as a kid. I was nervous about how the Idols would respond to his songs though.

Now that there's only 5, I'll do a person-by-person recap of my thoughts:

*Jason C. -- Has he just given up, or what? He should definitely have been the one to go home this week!  I can't believe the teeny-bopper crowd has carried him this far. Will it carry him to the final 2? Wow, I hope not. It's hard to picture him with a real music career--would he just space out mid-concert sometime and wander off the stage in a drug-induced haze?

*Brooke W. -- Should not have gone home this week (Jason & Syesha first!), but I guess her days were numbered. She gave Ramiele a run for her money with her show of tears. She did OK, but her "I'm a Believer" was so corny and uncomfortable.

*Syesha -- I'll admit, she's come out of nowhere and vastly improved from earlier in the year. But I still wish she'd go home, she doesn't stand out among the many other excellent R&B artists on today's charts.

*David A. -- I've lost all respect for Randy Jackson. David sounded terrible (and that's an understatement), especially on over-singing and changing the melody on "Sweet Caroline", but Randy said it was "da bomb." Really?  Archie is that annoying kid in choir that nobody liked (notice how he's always alone on the couch, and alone in the Ford videos).

*David C. -- Simon said it right: "brilliant!"  THAT is how you take a 70's song and make it relevant today. He did his thing perfectly on both songs.

Alright it's late enough in the year that I'll make my predictions:
David vs. David in the finale. Archuleta wins, but Cook goes on to have a much more successful music career. In fact, if he could get someone to write hits for him the way Daughtry had, he could rival Daughtry's success. Many like his voice even better.

We finally get a "rock week" next week, so let's see David Cook rise clearly above the rest!

Purpose-Driven Picture

Here's a photo of me with Rick Warren, gajillion-selling author, speaker, and pastor. Oh yeah, and some of the great team I got to be in Florida with at the conference.

Now you don't have to get on my case, I know the idea of "celebrity pastors" is kinda funny (and maybe even an oxymoron?). But that's what makes the idea that I'd get my photo taken and blog about it even funnier.

Rick spoke at our New Thing Network dinner, which was very nice of him. He didn't really end up talking about New Thing or multi-site, but everyone enjoyed it anyway.

Thoughts on Reproduction

As I continue to sift through all the thoughts & ideas in my jam-packed head following last week's Exponential Conference, I'm trying to lay them out here so I can understand them better (and so you can maybe find something useful).

I heard some excellent ideas about reproduction (as it relates to churches and disciples, not rabbits!) from Neil Cole, one of my favorite authors/speakers. Here are 2 ideas that stuck with me:

1)  Simple is most reproducible -- It's obvious: simple things are easier to reproduce, no matter what it is you are talking about reproducing. But here's the trick: simple is not simplistic. In fact, simple is a step beyond complex.  Because it's easy to make things complex, right?  Just keep adding more and more stuff to it. But to simplify things is the real challenge--whether it's simplifying a 2-page document down to 5 concise, accurate sentences. Or simplifying a laptop computer to give it as few parts as possible so it's lighter and cheaper. So when it comes to ministry, what are the simplest things to reproduce? Small Groups? How about D-Groups (LTG's), these groups of 2-3 people with no clear leader or host, that simply read the Bible together and hold each other accountable?  That seems simple and reproducible to me. And I'm wondering how simple can I make weekend services so they are more reproducible.

2)  Be aware what exactly you are reproducing -- This was a challenging question to me last week: what is it I am reproducing?  Whether you're talking about the level of campuses, small groups, or individuals, if they are unhealthy, then we are reproducing unhealthiness. If they are people that are consumers, not tithing, not understanding God's Word and obeying it--then if we grow and reproduce, that's what we'd be reproducing. But if we start with healthy disciples, that's what we'll reproduce at every level. So I'm convinced that I need to start with healthy disciples.

Spyders, Church Planters, & Orlando!

Sorry for the delay in blogging, but I really did have a good excuse this time--I was at the Exponential Church Conference in Orlando all week!  It was pretty awesome, I'm definitely glad I figured out a way to go this time.

To read the really good details about it all, check out Dave's blog (he has multiple entries and pictures).

Here are my highlights:

• Since they were out of the rental car that my friend Perry and I requested, we got to ride in a Spyder convertible instead!  Sure we got made fun of as 2 guys in a little convertible, but it was worth the jokes to drive around in one, especially since that's the only sun I got in Florida (I was inside the Conference the rest of the time).
• I loved all the break-outs I want to. Very cool hearing from these speakers whose books I've been reading, now seeing them in person. And it's always good to hear that even "famous" pastors struggle with the same challenges that I do.
• It was cool being a part of the CCC/New Thing presence there. Dave was the president and a main speaker, we had a great booth with tons of traffic, and whenever I introduced where I was from to people, most of them had actually heard of us!
• I got to hang with the teams from our various New Thing Network churches. Tons of fun.
• I got to eat some awesome meals, including twice at Cheesecake Factory!  Yes, I'll be playing basketball twice and softball twice this week to work it all off, because I ate a LOT.

Alright, that's it for now, still processing all I learned. And i'm sure that will turn into more blog fodder...

Another Upsetting Idol Upset

Another week on Idol, another week of slow ballads and songs that will never appear on the final album of any Idol winner, another week perfectly suited to the geeky David and challenging for the cool David, and another week of a stunning upset!

Yep, my favorite remaining girl singer is gone--we'll miss you Carly, and your tattoos too. Thanks for carrying on the rock, and showing your voice could do so much more, and that people with tattoos can sing beautiful ballads. And no, Ii have no idea why Syesha is still around. Or Jason. Or Brooke after that last performance.

Fortunately David Cook was the bright spot of the week again, this time by surprising us all with a NON-rocker version of a song, but by sticking to the actual original melody!  I guess he had to prove he can do it all.

And what do we have to look forward to this week--Neil Diamond!  Seriously, is this a joke? I do like the man's music and respect him, I just can't believe how completely IR-relevant Idol is trying to be. Wow.

Here's hoping nobody decides to don Neil's infamous sparkly coats.....

Mariah Scary

Well it was Mariah Carey week on AI and yes, it was as terrible as I expected!  I knew all her songs always sounded the same--even when sung by different artists!

Once again David Cook was the highlight (rock on!), while Kristy "not his sister" Cook finally met her demis (c'mon, we all knew it was coming soon). 

Here's my latest question--how many more weeks of Idol are entirely designed for David Archuleta?  I mean c'mon people, how fair is it to Dolly Parton week, then Mariah Carey, then "inspiration week" and now Andrew Lloyd Webber??

When is rock week?  Current hits week?  Rap week?  Dance week?  Anything that will show David A. for what he is--a 1-dimensional born-and-bred-to-sing-the-cheesy-Idol-finale-ballad boy that he is?

But I digress. We're down to 6 now, so everyone who gets kicked off is an upset. But I do hope Syesha is next. And then David A.

Who would I love to see as the final 2?  I think if it had to be 1 guy and 1 girl, I'd say David Cook and Carly Smithson. Who do I predict will make it?  I don't even want to think about it, or I might get depressed and stop watching...