Last concert for awhile...

Just wrapped up four days with our friends Point of Grace: Green Bay, Minneapolis, Chicago and last one was Baltimore in the beautiful Hippodrome. Here's a pic as I was leaving the hall. Beautiful moments celebrating Christmas and a great way to start a break from travel. Here's one...PCD singing "God bless us."

I'm taking a 6-mos leave from PCD starting in January. Just need some time to focus on the amazing things God is doing at SCCC: a growing church and our third semester of C3 Ministry Institute  for starters. Here we go!

Joy of Repentance

The truly great are quick to own up to mistakes. "The buck stops here." They make much of the gospel and this truth captivates them more than anything else: "God loves me and has forgiven me."

Leaders who are evasive and defensive when confronted with mistakes and shortcomings, haven't learned this secret: There is joy in repentance! Instead of participating in this joy, they are short-changed, missing out on buckets of mercy and rivers of grace. 

I've included a quote below from respected pastor/leader Tim Keller (author of "The Prodigal God"). I'm making the following suggestion part of how we choose future leaders:
 

Most churches make the mistake of selecting as leaders the confident, the competent and the successful, but what you most need in a leader is someone whose been broken by his or her sin and even greater knowledge of Jesus costly grace. So the number one leaders in every church ought to be the people who repent the most fully without excuses ('cos you don't need any now), the most easily without bitterness, the most publicly and the most joyfully - they know their standing isn't based on their performance. And therefore all of life is repentance and repentance increases joy, in other words if you understand the gospel repentance isn't occasional and wounding but its constant and its healing.

Tim Keller, EMA 2007

Defining Immaturity

How do you know someone is stuck in immaturity? Choices all begin with self. Their view of the world, of life, of friends is all about how it impacts me, myself, and I. This is why marriages fall apart, why friends get at odds, and the largest reason behind most civil wars: people think, "My needs first."

"What is the cause of wars and fighting among you? Is it not in your desires which are at war in your bodies?" (James 4:1 BBE).

• Babies don't care if it's 3 a.m. or 10 a.m. "I want my diaper changed now!" Mature people consider others' need for rest.

• Babies don't care if their crying is disturbing worship. They want to disturb you! Grown-ups consider others' experience in worship.
• Babies don't say, "Thanks for feeding me." Mature people say, "Thank you. That means a lot." 
• Babies are jealous of your time with others. Grown-ups understand that there's enough love to go around. 
• Babies are hyper-sensitive. Mature people aren't. (Remember the quote: "I knew I had grown up the first day I had a good laugh at myself.")

Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. (1 Cor. 14:20 ESV)

Your goal today: Try talking to someone for 5 minutes without the pronouns "I, me, myself, my, mine."

Whine Free

Yesterday, I began the 30-day journey toward "Whine Free Living." Based on Php 2:14, we have a command to "do all things without complaining." I have my green "whine free" bracelet on as a reminder. Here's what I'm discovering so far:

• This is an impossible task in my own strength. The only way I can "do things" without complaining is for God to change my heart!
• I'm finding that I'm thinking before I speak so much more than I did, sifting through my comments before I say anything!
• I'm discovering how easy it is to try and excuse myself about complaining. In other words, I can justify my own complaints which is the definition of the second word in Paul's command: disputing. (Disputing is complaints supported by my own reasoning.

Can I take the bracelet off and complain awhile? Just kidding.

Future Impact Begins with Faith in People

Howard Hendricks was born into a broken home from birth.  He became a troublemaker and in the 5th grade it peaked. His teacher had predicted 5 kids in her class would end up in prison. He was supposed to be one of them. Once, the Teacher even tied him to his seat and taped his mouth! When he entered 6th grade, his teacher Miss Noe said, ‘I’ve heard about you. I’ve been warned. I’ve heard you’re a troublemaker. I want you to know…I don’t believe a word of it.’ Today he says, that one teacher made him feel like someone really cared about him and it changed his life. He went on to become one of the most well-known profs at Dallas Theological Seminary. Some of the greatest Christian leaders of our day credit him as having the greatest impact on their lives: pastors like Tony Evans, Chuck Swindoll, and Andy Stanley. Before he retired, he spent 52 years as a professor. He says today, “People are always looking for someone to say, “Hey I believe in you.”

For Howard Hendricks, it was a 6th grade teacher. For me it was my Sunday School teachers who believed in me enough to encourage me to participate in music in the church by the 5th grade and preaching my first sermon in children’s church about the same age!

Impact is only as good as it plays out in future generations – David Jeremiah

New Mission Link

Hey SCCC community! Just wanted to let you know about a new link that provides some updates regarding our current mission efforts. Michael Reed, one of our rockin' interns, is updating the blog with any mission news--whether it's our orphanage in Guntur or a current mission partner we're featuring.

Sofa Series

Yes it's true. JoyFM is using our campus for their Sofa Concert Series! New artists like Revive, Kerrie Roberts (#5 single "No Matter What"), Chris Sligh are part of the series. Should be great.

I realize this will impact some Secret to Joy groups. But I'm hopeful our church folks will realize we're not holding these concerts to give them something else to do. Rather we are hopeful that people who AREN'T connected to a church may find us a welcoming place to be. I just heard from one of our partners last night, that several of her office friends who aren't born again listen to JOYFM! This is opportunity!