Coaching Forza

I met with my buddy Bryan today down at Forza and talked about What he’s doing to raise the bar at the shop. He’s talking with a company about doing some consulting in regards to the operations and the business side of things but we also talked about me becoming involved with life coaching some of the employees.

Forza is very much a community oriented company and to be able to further that by pouring into the employees would be incredible. Forza would become more than just a coffee shop but a training ground for students and young adults. A place where they not only earn money but uncover their passions and develop their skills. If I had the opportunity to work at a place like that I would have gobbled it up.

We’ll see how things progress but it looks like this may kick off in Jan.

Posted on October 31st, 2008 by | 1 Comment »

W.

I went and saw the movie “W” last night with some people from The Crossing and I have to say. The movie wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Bush wasn’t necessarily portrayed in the most positive light but it’s wasn’t the bush bash that I was expecting. The truth is, a lot of the things that made him look bad in the movie, made him look bad in real life. Was there a spin, yes, but it wasn’t too over the top.

I actually would recommend seeing it.

Posted on October 30th, 2008 by | 1 Comment »

Simple Church

There is a book called “Simple Church” that our staff read a while back and essentially it was about simplifying your programing and making the main thing the main thing. Great principle. I still wonder though, do we as the Church, still make things more complicated than they need to be.

Think about it, Jesus was about two things, loving God and loving people. He wasn’t about anything else. Now that’s simple church. Granted, it’s not easy church but it is very simple.

The distinction between simple and easy is important because if we begin to think that “Church” is easy, we’ll become complacent. Additionally, the very nature of living in this sinful world is not easy. There are lots of temptations, trials, and tribulations, however, the mission of God in this world is still nonetheless simple. Jesus broke it down to two things, love God and love people.

What would the Church look like today if that truly was what we were about?

Posted on October 23rd, 2008 by | 3 Comments »

Is The Church Being The Church

Over the last couple weeks I’ve been mulling over some questions regarding the role of the Church, the effectiveness of the Church, the ministry philosophies of the Church ,etc. Here are some of the questions I’ve been toying with

1. Does the church, complicate the mission of the Church (big C)

2. Do we over think things when it comes to how we go about facilitating ministry?

3. What would it mean for a church to say, “we are so committed to serving that we are going to take a Sunday off from services each month to go out and serve our community?”

4. Isn’t ministry just about two things, loving God and loving others?

5. What is it that draws someone to church for the first time?

6. Are people drawn to church environments or Christians who practice what they preach?

These are just a few of the many questions I’ve been struggling through. What are your thoughts?

Posted on October 20th, 2008 by | No Comments »

"Where Faith And Life Intersect"

I just got done launching a blog for The Crossing. It’s going to be a place for ministry leaders to share what God has been doing in their hearts as a result of The Crossing, as well as for them to give thoughts or insights into the young adult culture. It’s going to be a fun site to keep up on.

Check it out…

Posted on October 10th, 2008 by | No Comments »

Creating A Culture Of Social Involvement

I am so excited about beginning to create/foster a culture of social involvement amongst The Crossing. It’s easy to take in God’s word. It’s another thing to practically live it out; especially in terms of being the hands and feet of Christ and reaching out into the community.

Tonight some of our core leaders are getting together and we’re going to talk about just that. What would it look like to have a ministry that is not a ministry of consumption, but production. A ministry that at it’s very core is about leaving a mark on the community and world at large. And not its mark, but God’s mark.

It is my hope that The Crossing will be defined as a young adult ministry, not because it’s ministry for young adults, but because it’s ministry BY young adults.

Posted on October 2nd, 2008 by | No Comments »

Lunch Buffet

I really enjoy getting together for lunch with other people in ministry. It’s great to be able to share wins. It’s equally great to be able to talk about frustrations and areas were we have missed the mark. But the greatest thing of all is simply knowing that you are not alone *cue Michael Jackson.* Seriously. It’s great to know that there are people all over who are passionate about changing lives. People who are passionate about making a difference.

I met with my friend Kevin today for a Round Table lunch buffet (classy) and we just talked about ministry and life and it was encouraging. It was real.

I think we all need those “real” type conversations over an all you can eat buffet. Conversations with someone who you can relate to. It gives you a little boost.

I look forward to those talks.

Posted on October 1st, 2008 by | No Comments »