.digdoug

The Gamble's next season of ministry

2012-01-24T04:30:00.001-08:00

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Dear Blog,

Greetings!

If you would allow me a moment I wanted to give you an update on what is happening in the life of the Gambles. After seven years of serving at Suncrest Christian Church I have resigned as Campus Pastor for the purpose of planting a new church in the Oklahoma City area. It was a bittersweet day announcing my resignation Sunday. We have made incredible friends in Northwest Indiana and served an amazing church family. At the same time it was one filled with a sense of purpose and confidence in God's next step for the Gambles. What is exciting is that I am not merely leaving Suncrest. I am being sent out to start a new church. That is what Suncrest is about. That is what I want to be about.

So, I just wanted to share this news with you and ask you to subscribe to a "mostly monthly" e-newsletter that I will send to keep everyone interested in what is happening with the Gambles and the new church. If you would like to sign up just click here. I've also started writing about it on my blog to share more about what God has been up to in our lives and how He led us to this decision.

That's it. I hope you have a fantastic day and don't hesitate to drop me a line or connect on Facebook/Twitter/the real world.

doug

P.S. If you are reading this and thinking "why did he send this to me? I know this already." Let me apologize and blame it on technology (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). I'm just trying to get the word out as broadly as I can. Thanks!

Copyright © 2012 New Church OKC, All rights reserved.
You ar receiving this email because I love you and you were in my address book. :) If you would prefer not to receive updates about the new church we will be starting in Oklahoma City area then you can unsubscribe below. Thank you for reading.

Our mailing address is:

New Church OKC

1008 W. 62nd Ave.

Merrillville, IN 46410

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A break

2008-07-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

After some thought I've decided to give this blog a little time off. Obviously if you have checked it recently you know I haven't blogged much anyway. This season of planting Suncrest's second campus is so consuming that some extra things have to go. I've also realized that to make this blog something that adds value to others' lives I really have to work at it. It's a discipline all its own.

Perhaps after Suncrest-East launches I can get back at it (I'd love to blog about my experience after the fact. There's something about hindsight that brings clarity.) or I may decide that it is not something I want to maintain. Either way it has been fun and I appreciate those who have taken the time to read my random thoughts.

Blessings,
doug

Suncrest-East location announced

2008-07-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

We finally are locking this in!

Getaway in the city

2008-07-07T19:57:00.001-07:00

For Sheila's birthday.

What happens at staff retreat...

2008-07-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

more to come....

Answered prayer

2008-07-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

I realized this morning as I was praying through my daily prayer list that one big prayer that I prayed almost daily for had been answered. Now, in some ways it is old news because I blogged about it over at suncresteast.org. However, my practice on my prayer list is to check off those requests that have been answered. So it just really hit me this morning as I read "surpass exponential offering goal" that God had answered this prayer in a mighty way. The goal was $100,000. We have now received $108,000!

Awesome God!

I like to "holla"

2008-06-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

So there is no doubt I get loud in my preaching. Usually I'm so revved up many people ask me how many cups of coffee I have had. In truth it was only one Grande from Starbucks ($1.96 thank you very much) that morning.

However, I've always struggled a bit to NOT preach in one speed...fast! One time someone described my preaching as "trying to drink from a fire hose." Love it. Even though I do recognize the need for some rhythm and the use of different gears.

All that to say in the evaluations that we solicit from some of our Suncresters this week, one reviewer wrote this:

I thought Doug was going to go crazy the chairs on stage. However, I thought he seemed pretty comfortable and did a good job of balancing the chairs with moving around. Always a plus when Doug doesn't yell.

Makes me laugh.

N.T. Wright takes on Stephen Colbert

2008-06-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

Last month I had the honor of teaching on Heaven at Suncrest. One of my favorite theologians (in general and in specific on Heaven) is N.T. Wright. Below is an interview on the Stephen Colbert show. Not the typical thing you would expect to see Wright on as The Colbert Report is a show on Comedy Central. What is so great about this clip though is Wright is so poised, whimsical and clear in the interview. He is everything I wish other Christians would be when they appear on radio or television. What happens to the contrary more times than not is that they make us appear boring, irrelevant or judgemental. Way to go N.T.!

saturday

2008-06-21T18:14:00.001-07:00

1 man
6 kids
10 hours
No Problem

Friday's Foto

2008-06-20T16:45:00.001-07:00

DSC00791, originally uploaded by diggity doug.

Look's like we need a dental plan.

Starbucks has free WiFi

2008-06-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's about stinkin' time.

Read about it here.

I remember sitting in a Starbucks and this guy asks me about the internet there. I told him I never used it because it was like $10 and I could go down the road to Panera and get it for free. He said he would gladly pay because after all...it was Starbucks! I like Starbucks a lot...but not that much.

Now with the use of a registered gift card you get it for free. Yeah Starbucks. Here's a pic of my gift card which reminds me of my pilgrimage to mecca.

What I saw...

2008-06-19T07:42:00.001-07:00

Paper person overshot the porch a little.

Lifechurch.tv

2008-06-18T08:00:00.001-07:00

Those guys from Lifechurch.tv are just too cool. BTW, Suncrest is doing a God at the Movies series this fall. Can't wait. And no we did not steal it from Lifechurch.tv. We stole it from someplace else...

Anything Short of Sin from LifeChurch.tv on Vimeo.

Filming in Chicago

2008-06-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

Filmed some video for this week's message today. It was a great experience, even though I'm pretty uncomfortable on camera and can't quite make it into my "zone" when the camera is on. This is especially true when I'm on the street and people are passing by and staring.

We filmed outside of Harpo Studios because I am speaking on "What would Jesus say to Oprah Winfrey?" this coming Sunday. We fully expected to be chased off but was only asked what we were doing by security and then left alone. That is, until we ran into Joe who goes to Suncrest and works for Oprah! Great to see him in a different context other than church.

This video effort is a hybrid in concept of most of the videos we have done. This one more than others is intended to be a part of the message rather than stand alone from the message. In fact, I teach through the first point of my message on camera. (We did something similiar in the Catalyst series with Greg on video and me in person.) I wanted to try it this week as I have been really intrigued by others doing this. Lifechurch.tv has really made an artform out of live with video teaching. We'll see how it goes this Sunday.

Thanks to Kevin for doing all the hard work of videoing and editing.

On minor prophets and their prostitute wives*

2008-06-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you read through Scripture and it totally messes with you. Enter Hosea. God basically told him to marry a prostitute as an illustration for how Israel was treating God. What's more, she left him and found another "lover" and then God told Hosea to go and get her back just like He had done with Israel.

What is going on here?

First, I think it messes with us because we have this working assumption that God always acts in ways that we perceive as good. So, when something we perceive as bad happens, we ask, "Where is God?" Our perception is not always God's reality. And our perception of what is good is not always what is actually good.

Second, God's greatest goal in our life is not to make us happy. In a beautiful analogy to marriage, God said it this way in Hosea 2:9:

I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.

Those are God's ultimate goals for our life; Righteousness, justice, love and compassion.

Third, He doesn't call everyone to be a minor prophet. It's true that many of God's servants in Scripture had it rough. Isaiah had to walk around naked. Paul had a "thorn in his flesh" that he couldn't get rid of. Some of the things these men and women had to endure seemed very cruel. And yet, however unfair we might think it was, they seemed to think that God had a greater plan and that everything would turn out for their good in the end.

Most of us will not be called to bear the weight of something like Hosea. Yet we face our own challenges everyday. Maybe the most important thing we can learn from Hosea is not "why" they had to go through something tough, but "how" they made it through.

*Thanks to David Bazan for writing a song with that title. One of the best titles I've ever seen.

How are you growing as a father?

2008-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have to ask myself that question today. It's an appropriate time to pause and consider how I've grown as a dad. I've noticed something interesting with each child being born. My love for my children has grown exponentially over the years. When my first was born I did love him, but it seems I love him even more today. Along with that my desire to grow as a dad has grown.

I've had to give up some things along the way to be a great dad. I'm not going to be a good golfer. I'm not going to have a lot of hobbies. I'm not going to travel a lot.

And yet, despite all the things I'm not going to be or have, the one thing that I get to be that more than makes up for any sacrifice is dad. The one and only dad to Ethan, Daisy, Grace and Ben.

Ethan's gonna Know Sweat

2008-06-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

My son headed off with the Student Ministry for Know Sweat, a CIY sponsored mission trip. I love it that he gets this opportunity because mission trips are the most life changing thing anyone can do. Kid or adult, they can change your life. I've seen it with teens in youth ministry. I've seen it with adults. God does something unique when we get away and serve. Maybe I should say, we are open to God doing something unique when we get away.

It was hard for Sheila to let her "little boy" go, but we both know it will be a great trip for him.

What does this mean?

2008-06-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

You go on a trip to see your extended family but you can't stop thinking about the new Suncrest-East campus.

It either means I really need a vacation or I'm stinkin' excited about Suncrest-East. I'll think the latter even though the first may still be true.

3 things I love about Oklahoma...

2008-06-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

3 things I love about Oklahoma...

1. Less traffic;
2. QT gas stations...the best in the country
3. Friendly people EVERYWHERE.

3 things I could live without...

1. People who drive UNDER the speed limit (okay, not limited to OK, but there does seem to be an inordinate amount of drivers like that here);
2. Wranglers everywhere!!!!
3. Living 10 hours from it.

On delayed gratification

2008-06-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

"The next time there's something that you just can't live without, wait for a week and then see if you're still alive."

Guy Kawasaki
Art of the Start

On taking risks

2008-06-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes."

-Oscar Wilde

"Ignorance is not only bliss, it's empowering."

-Guy Kawasaki
Art of the Start

Ahhhh..the beauty of Google maps

2008-06-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

I realized the true beauty of Google maps this week. My wife left for a trip to Oklahoma and then on to Dallas to help her sister with a family matter. The first great use was when she called from Tulsa and could not find her Sister's apartment. Yahoo had messed it up. So I jumped on google and directer her turn by turn. You could say I was her personal GPS system.

Then later that night as they were looking for the hotel in Dallas, I provided turn by turn directions again thanks to Google. We almost bought a GPS unit before she left, but decided to save the money.

Gotta love it when technology really does help you.

Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee

2008-06-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

I've blogged about them before and I'm still getting my coffee from them. In fact, I'm thinking we need Land of a Thousand Hills coffee for East Campus! Here's a video about what they are doing. I want to have some fun with this so the first one who comments gets a free bag of Thousand Hills coffee! Now just to make sure you watch the video you will have to tell me what the video says the farmers used to earn per lb when they worked alone and what they earn on average with partnership.

Daisy and Locks of Love

2008-06-05T08:00:00.001-07:00

It was sad for mom to do it, but Daisy really wanted to donate to Locks of Love. I loved her long hair, but she looks beautiful in her shorter dew.

Christianity vs. Buddhism

2008-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Not an exact quote, but the gist is there:

The reason someone is more likely to pick up a book on Buddhism than Christianity is because Buddhism presents itself as a way of life and Christianity presents itself as a system of beliefs.

--Peter Senge

The White Sox and my son

2008-06-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

2 tickets to see the White Sox beat the Indians = $0 (thanks to some friends)

Parking = $22

2 hotdogs, a drink and a pretzel = $15

A night out with my son = priceless

On being inconvenienced

2008-06-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

I'm the type that loves to hit the day running. I don't like to get up and eat breakfast, read the paper, read my Bible or really do anything else before I go to work. To make sure I do the things that matter, like READING MY BIBLE and jogging, I set my alarm for 6 which leaves me plenty of time to be at the church by 8 (even though I'd rather be there by 7). And so today as I was jogging by my neighbor's house he asks if he can get a ride to work for his first day of training. After about 5 seconds of thinking, "this is going to make me late" I got over myself and worked it out that I actually would go in later in order to get him to work closer to his start time. And it was great to connect with him on the drive in.

Know this: I'm not bragging about a good deed. I'm confessing that I even had 5 seconds of feeling inconvenienced when a neighbor needed my help. If I don't think my FIRST job is to help my neighbor, then I'm not following Jesus of the Bible. After all, he did have something to say about our neighbor...

Saying Goodbye

2008-05-31T17:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a rather ironic few days of goodbye's. Not so much me saying goodbye but being around a lot of others doing that.

1st on Thursday Kevin, Julie (East Campus Children's Director) and a few others helped clean out the now closed Community Christian Church's belongings from the building they had rented for church. To me it was just stuff that was being donated to the Rummage Sale for the Women's center. But to them it represented 25 years of ministry. It's hard for them to say goodbye to it. Yet I now they are expectant of great ministry at Suncrest-East. Btw, the rummage sale raised $2000 for the Women's Center.

On Friday I went to the visitation for Steve Szoke. Even though it had just started a long line had already formed. I can't imagine what his wife, child and mom and dad are going through. Yet, I know they are held together by the fact they will see him again in eternity. His legacy will live on in his family and the church that was his dream, Impact Christian Church.

And today, I performed a funeral for the father of a Suncrester. I was very disappointed by the service the funeral home gave. This is not the first time I witnessed poor service for a family. It's one thing to have poor service over dinner. It's another when you are trying to grieve the loss of a loved one. I pray God will use something from the few moments I shared with them. I could only detect faith from a few of the family members.

Audio from The Passion Experience (Good Friday)

2008-03-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

I am delighted that this year we are able to post the entire Passion Experience. That is cool because the whole night was designed to be experienced as a whole, not just the messages. So everything is included, even some opening instrumental music. If you are interested, you can find it by clicking here.

Bobby and Beka Jackson (aka, The Culps)

2008-03-24T08:09:00.001-07:00

This just made my morning when we did this in our service:

I'm so glad there are others on Suncrest staff who are willing to make fools of themselves for a purpose.

People who need Jesus - Reason #1 for a new church

2008-03-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

I have been questioned a few times on the real need for another church/campus in the Merrillville area considering there are so many churches there already. 48 to be exact. On the surface it does appear like there really isn't much need.

However, a few things have to be considered:

1 - effectiveness of those churches;
2 - style of churches - I believe it takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people;
3 - the number of people yet to be reached.

One presenter today gave a "formula" for figuring out how many people in any given community there are to reach. It looks like this:

a - (b X 2c) = d

a = Population
b = Number of churches in community
c = Average church attendance
d = Number of unreached, unchurched and dechurched - people who need Jesus in other words.

If you plug in these numbers for Merrillville you get this:

32,000 - (48 X 200) = 22,400 of people who need Jesus in Merrillville alone.

I think that alone is reason enough for more new churches in that area.

In Seattle

2008-03-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

I'm in Seattle for a few days for a Church Planting Training event. The first item on my agenda was to make the journey to see the original Starbucks in Pike's Place Market. Not much really to look at but the live music outside of it was good. Then after strolling around Pike's Place a little while I went to Mars Hill's new downtown campus. This is their 6th campus that they have opened. What is cool is that they bought an old strip joint. So now what was used for evil is now used for good. The Bible would call this "redemption." When something gets bought back for good it is redeemed. Got to love that.

The coffee was good, but worshiping Jesus who bought us back was even better!

The Email Giant

2008-03-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

Anyone who works in an environment that uses email knows how easily this tool can become a slave master. I realized recently that my inbox had become my "to-do" list. As a result I was not using my time based on a set of priorities for the day, but letting email set the pace for my day. This was hurting my effectiveness and frankly it was no fun. This began my search for some productivity tips.

That is when I stumbled on this video from Merlin Mann who is a productivity guru in the online world. In the video he had some really helpful things to say regarding email. The video is called Zero Inbox and is at the very bottom. Be forewarned, it is about an hour. It is totally worth it though. It has changed how I handle email.

Here is what I have found most helpful from the stuff I have read:

Batch process email - that is to say only handle email at certain times of the day. Some only read email 4 times a day. I have adopted the personal policy of only handling email once/hour when I'm in the office.
NO email gets left in the inbox - it has to go somewhere. When I process email, they all go in one of 4 spots: Trash Can (becaue I've handled it and don't need it anymore), Archive (because I may need it later but I don't need it in my inbox), Read (to read later) or Act folder (I create a task out of the email and store the email here until I accomplish the task at a later time. It also gets added to my task, but is handled when I designate)
Another way to think of it is that with every email you do one of 5 things: Delegate, Delete, Respond, Defer or Do.
Remove all warnings that you just received email - I'm too tempted to look at my inbox when I get the notice.

The great thing about all this is that it has actually worked for me these last 2 weeks. I love looking at an empty inbox knowing everything is processed and handled appropriately. And more importantly I don't feel like my life is being run by Microsoft Outlook. Rather I'm running it.

Focus

2008-03-03T08:49:00.000-08:00

I have recently been reflecting on my need to focus more. By nature I'm a little ADD. I do like to keep moving and doing stuff, so it takes quite a bit of effort to just stop and focus on something for very long. There are so many things that feed this tendency.

Email - it's the worst. With a little sound on my computer I am constantly distracted by new email. It beckons me to "pay attention to me because I am the most important thing you have to attend to right at this moment." Even though a lot of the time it is something that can wait on or a Forward of a joke or a "special offer" telling me how I can get 1 million dollars by sending some stranger $1 or any other number of stupid things that fill up my inbox.
Interruptions at the door - the culture of Suncrest is that a closed door is just a signal that you need to knock before you interrupt....not that you shouldn't interrupt at all.
A "to do list" that is way, way to big - okay now I'm really sounding like I'm complaining, but it is true. It's way too big.
Things I want to do - let's face it, we all have things we don't like to do at work but we have to do. Then there are things we want to do, but may not be the most necessary at the moment. Many times I just choose to do the things I want to do instead of focusing on the more important things.
Going to the bathroom - okay, maybe a personal problem...or maybe I need to cut back on the coffee. Either way, it is a distraction.

This is just a partial list, but you get the idea and I am sure you relate. Because of all this I have been digesting some productivity stuff and found some sage wisdom out there. I am currently trying out some of it as it relates to the evil monster of email...and it's working! I will post some of the best advice soon. For now, I felt compelled to just comment on the fact that for all of us the cost is high if we don't FOCUS. Focus gives us clarity to our work. Focus maximizes our effectiveness on whatever it is we are doing. Focus makes us an invaluable contributor to the teams we serve on.

Growing by Serving

2008-02-28T06:08:00.001-08:00

It struck me last week when reading that day's 21 Day Challenge passage that sometimes I miss the boat on what it really takes to mature. When most talk about maturing in their faith they almost exclusively talk about "learning something." I think that is why so much emphasis is placed on the sermon in a service. People feel like if they learn some thing then they are growing. The reality is that just because we hear something doesn't mean we have grown. We have to actually put it into practice before we can say we have grown.

In Ephesians 4:7-16, though, a model is given that doesn't have much to do with listening to a sermon or studying. It has everything to do with serving though. In fact, in verse 13 and 14 Paul is so clear that we mature to the point that we are not "tossed back and forth" by deceit when we SERVE. I almost always talk about the motivation for service being twofold:

1. Jesus said to do it;
2. It is a great experience.

Those reasons are still valid, but Scripture also teaches that the main result of serving is that we actually mature in four ways:

1. Unity with other Christ followers;
2. Experience a vibrant relationship with Christ;
3. Have confidence in what we believe;
4. Have the ability to speak truth to other Christ followers.

Having said that, I don't want to minimize the role of sermons in our growth. I have to say that since I am a preacher. :) But perhaps, we should not forget that most growth actually comes from putting into practice what we hear. That is never more true than when we are serving.

Leadership by relationships

2008-02-27T09:53:00.000-08:00

Found this great article over at Lifehack.org, a productivity blog.

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/management/how-to-lead-people-for-results.html

Great perspective that is strangely familiar to Jesus' style of leadership. This is refreshing to read because I have read many things about leadership and witnessed many leaders that do not lead in this way. They choose to lead as a boss only. It is more natural to lead through relationships for me than to try and be only the "boss." It certainly takes time. And it does take a lot of effort. But with the teams I have led in this way it is a whole lot funner!

I'm speaking mostly of volunteer teams, so the boss analogy may not be the best comparison in those situations. Perhaps it is a lead through relationship versus lead through title. I'm the leader of this ministry and I love you so let's do this together versus I'm the leader so do what I say.

Ben is 1!

2008-02-27T06:44:00.000-08:00

Benjamin turned one last week. It was a rather busy week so unfortunately his birthday was pretty lowkey. Although because some good friend's son share his birthday we did celebrate with them at Chuck E.Cheese. So, Ben got his first real visual overload experience. Here's a pic of his 1st birthday cake:

Doesn't get much better than this

2008-02-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I have to stop and think about how blessed I am to do what I do. Just considering this week I have had more interaction with people who are diving into their Bible with the 21 Day challenge and/or considering going to the East campus. It's so awesome to hear from people who want to do something significant like being a part of the new campus. To talk to some who have only heard the smallest of details about the new campus and yet they are telling me, "I'm in!"

So cool to do this for a living.

21 day challenge

2008-02-11T05:53:00.000-08:00

So, I don't know what I was thinking. I decided to create the "21 Day Challenge" blog to go along with the Catalyst message series we are in right now. It will give all the staff a chance to share their thoughts and reflections in this journey. Now with this one, along with the suncresteast.org blog, I am managing and contributing to 3 blogs. That's crazy. Oh well, crazy is fun.

3 years

2008-02-04T12:47:00.001-08:00

This past weekend I celebrated 3 years at Suncrest. It came and went rather inconspicuously, as it should. It's not 10 or 20 or 30 years...something grand like that. And yet I feel like I have packed 10 years worth of experiences into 3 great years. I can't imagine serving a better place than Suncrest at this point in my journey. I feel like I have grown immensely, been allowed to serve in areas in which I am gifted and found a home.

For those reading that are a part of Suncrest, thanks for allowing me to have a place in your lives. You have been a blessing.

A reproducing church

2008-01-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

Suncrest is a reproducing church. We want to reproduce at every level: disciples, leaders, groups/ministries, services, campuses and churches. I prefer the phrase "multiply like bunnies" but not everyone is with me. Anyway, we are intentionally focusing on what this means for us. It has become so clear that this is the way of the early church and really the only way to effectively spread the Gospel.

Community Christian Church has been such a tremendous resource for us. So over a year ago to be asked to be a part of their New Thing network was such an honor. We are still figuring out what this means for us. It certainly means coaching and accountability. And now it means we have the opportunity to be a "network within a network" by getting to work with 3 other fairly new churches in the network.

This probably doesn't make a lot of sense but it is exciting to be a part of a reproducing church network with the mission of Jesus at the heart. I heard a great podcast with Dave Ferguson of CCC and NewThing today raising questions and talking about how to be a reproducing church. It was kind of cool to hear him talk about the NewThing network and then indirectly mention Suncrest. To get the audio click here.

A New Year, A new direction, sort of...

2008-01-25T20:21:00.000-08:00

It's been a crazy and great start to 2008. I have been reflecting a lot this month on 2007 and looking forward to 2008. One of the things that has been on my mind is the fact that I have been blogging for a year now. Can't believe it! It's been an experiment all along and fun. I have wrestled with the purpose of doing this.

Is it worth it?

Mostly I think yes. It has been nice to hear several say they read it. I'm not sure if it is helpful, but hopefully I can make someone smile occasionally, reflect a little and always point them to Jesus.

One thing I have been quiet about on this blog is the fact that this year Suncrest starts a new campus and I get to lead it! It's been a huge thing in the works for close to 2 years now. I'm excited to see how many people God draws to Him through this new campus. To help pull everyone together in prep for this launch I have opened up www.suncresteast.org. This will be the place to find updates on the new campus.

Keeping that site up to date and posting here may prove to be a lot so I imagine that I will post less, but maybe what I do say will be more substantial...nahhhh.

Thanks for reading.

Coffee time

2008-01-13T19:50:00.000-08:00

This was probably the funnest video I got to be a part of. We had two guys come out of the store and ask us what we were doing. Kevin (director and cinematographer of this fine video) just told them we were making a video about how I was hooked on Starbucks. They laughed. Wonder if there is anyway I could get some gift cards from Starbucks with this...

Oklahoma, take 2

2008-01-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

We are trying it again...visiting family that is. The last visit, over Thanksgiving, didn't turn out so well. All of the previous day's meals being purged from 5 of the Gamble's wasn't a fun way to spend Thanksgiving when I typically spend more time eating rather than...well...you get the picture. But we are here again to actually see my family and spend a little more time with Sheila's.

It's never been convenient or fun living away from family, but it appears to be the path God has chosen for us. When we were graduating college, I had many friends who said they would go where God led as long as it was in a certain area or not in another certain area. We never felt like that was really submitting to God's Will. So we live 9 1/2 hours away from my kids' grandparents. It definitely makes it tough at times, but it makes the visits all the sweeter. As I have reflected on this I have often thought that despite the disadvantages, there have been some blessings:

Early in our marriage and with our first child we HAD to depend on each other and had no other family to run to when conflict arose;
We made more and better friends because we didn't have family to spend time with;
We have had other people "adopt" our kids as grandkids;
We always have a reason to visit the promised land of Oklahoma.

I know the road that God leads us down is not always convenient or what we would choose, but it certainly has been the best path.

Christmas Eve

2007-12-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

It has been a great Christmas Eve so far. Yesterday we kicked off two of our 4 Christmas Eve services well. Some highlights for me:

Seeing a Mom come to the morning and evening services. She did this because her grown children couldn't come to the same one so she came to both in order to encourage them to be there;
Seeing a couple sitting together who were on the brink of divorce 2 short months prior;
Seeing someone worshiping knowing that just this week she found out her mom will need hospice care;
Experiencing worship of our King with my Suncrest family.

Reading Challenge for 2008

2007-12-21T14:12:00.001-08:00

Previously I mentioned that one of my goals for 2008 was to read 28 books in '08. I won't decide on all 28 books because I need to leave room for some new releases and books yet to be determined for a graduate class I will be taking. I'd love to have some more suggestions, but here's the start of my list:

Go put your strengths to work by Marcus Buckingham

Going all the way by Craig Groeschel

Prayer by Phillip Yancey

Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer

Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamont

Who moved my cheese by Ken Blanchard

Listening to beliefs of emerging churches by various authors

Vintage Jesus – Mark Driscoll

I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt by Vince Antonucci

The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn

Glocalization by Bob Roberts

Words that Work by Frank Lutz

Emerging Churches by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger

Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer

Elders

2007-12-20T08:17:00.000-08:00

I just have to say that Suncrest has the best Elders! We had an Elders meeting last night so it is fresh on my mind. I have served many churches with many good men serving as Elders, but as a group of men committed to do what it takes to see God work through Suncrest, our Elders rock. We talk about their responsibilities being to guard and guide the church and they do it well.

I'm so grateful to work in an environment with such outstanding leaders.

Raising a son

2007-12-19T09:45:00.000-08:00

This weekend's message on "Everlasting Father" was the most biographical that I have ever done. It was surprisingly less hard than many thought. I suppose this has a lot to do with the fact that I am "owning" my past. That is, I accept who I am and where I come from.

One of the biggest responses to my absence of a father is to make sure I pass onto my sons what only I can pass onto them. This is a toughy because I didn't have a dad do this for me. In the song "Father of Mine" by Everclear this line strikes at the heart of the issue:

"You would take me to a place inside
That is so hard to reach"

I believe that there is a place inside each boy that only a father can reach, only a father has the ability to connect at this level with his son. A part of my journey has been letting my Father in Heaven connect with me there in the absence of my biological dad.

As a dad though, I want to reach into my son's heart and connect with him. I want to help him transition to a man. One of the ways I am doing this is by covenanting with a group of dads to help raise our sons into men. We meet every Tuesday to share life and sharpen each other. This has been such a blessing to me.

Another element to our group is that we have designated certain ages along our boys' life to celebrate and mark with rites of passage. We have been deeply influenced by Robert Lewis on this subject. It is still a work in progress but it looks like this for us right now:

13 - retreat with all the boys, we give them a compass and talk about the definition of manhood as a compass for their life
18 - graduation from high school, probably something really cool like a sword
22 or so - college graduation
At their wedding - a family crest that we have yet to design and get made.

I'm looking forward to walking with my son through the various stages and helping him be a man.

14 years and counting

2007-12-18T10:40:00.000-08:00

Today, Sheila and I celebrate 14 years of marriage. I have a friend who always responds this way when asked how long he has been married: "10 great years...but 17 all together." I can say that we really have been married 14 great years. We certainly have had our ups and downs. Some years were definitely harder than others. But my perspective is that all of them...the ups and the downs...has made our marriage what it is today. I know I am so blessed to have such a great woman to put up with me and still be in love with me. We celebrated last night with dinner and a little year-end review and planning for next year. I know it sounds so unromantic, but actually it was all good stuff about what we want to improve upon next year.

For any guy reading, your wife will absolutely love you to pieces if you initiate these types of conversations. One thing I have at least learned in 14 years.

I'm looking forward to so many more years with an amazing woman.

Number 1 goal

2007-12-17T07:17:00.001-08:00

I was listening to Mark Batterson on the way in this morning and this comment has stuck with me.

"The church can get a new pastor. My kids can't replace me."

There's always this pull away from the family because they typically are not urgent. Work, the house, the car, whatever is always more urgent than my kids. I've placed some boundaries in my life that has helped, but I need to take some other steps.

One of the steps I have taken and been pretty successful at is always taking my day off. And when I do take it, no work happens. That is not only healthy for me, it's healthy my kids. My kids need at least one whole day where dad is not distracted by work.

There are some other ways though I need to take some extra steps. Specifically in my evening routine I have not done well at keeping our dinner time sacred. Furthermore, the whole evening meeting thing can get a bit out of hand during some seasons. Got to work on that.

'08 Challenges

2007-12-13T12:17:00.000-08:00

I'm preparing some personal challenges for myself for 2008. I'm thinking maybe 8 different challenges fro '08. Has a nice ring to it. By 8 challenges I mean 8 BIG challenges. 1 of the challenges will be in my reading discipline. I really feel like I fell away from as much reading as I need to stay fresh in ministry. So I'm considering 28 books for '08. I know, again with the 8 thing. But that would put me at 4 more than 2 a month and would definitely be a challenge for me. I'd love to do a book a week, but that is just not realistic for my schedule. So anyway, I'd love to have some suggestions. Are there books you have read that have gripped you? I think I want to include fiction on this list as long as it is quality fiction. I have my list started, but I want to hear from others to see what they would recommend.

Deadly Viper Character Assassins

2007-12-11T10:34:00.001-08:00

Every once and awhile a book comes along that is as much fun as it is helpful. This is one of those books. Deadly Viper Character Assassins takes on integrity issues with Kung Fu fun. Both the authors are big fans of Kung Fu movies, as am I, so they use the whole motif to describe those character issues that every single one of us face. The short pithy, proverb like wisdom filled chapters may not go deep into the issues at hand, but they describe them with Biblical wisdom that will help start the conversation with other leaders and have fun doing it. More then that they proved some great practical steps to defend yourself and prepare for an attack. The bonus for me was interviews on these subjects with the likes of Dog the Bounty Hunter, Marcus Buckingham and Craig Groeschel. Check out www.deadlyviper.org for some great extra content. In the blog section there are two posts with an audio interview with Craig Groeschel I thought were gold.

Key statement in the whole book: Radical Integrity AND Radical Grace. Many times we expect integrity from others but want Grace for ourselves. The need is to pursue radical integrity, helping others do the same AND accept radical Grace for ourselves while offering it as well. I think this means holding ourselves and other Christ followers to high standards but offering restorative Grace when others fail and seeking it for ourselves when we fail.

Sounds of the Season

2007-12-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

I have been unseasonably in the mood to celebrate all things Christmas. This has especially been true for Christmas music. So, I thought I would throw out my top 5 Christmas albums. Now understand, they will be anything but normal Christmas fare and I am NOT a Christmas music expert. These are ones that are on heavy rotation this year though. In no particular order:

Mindy Smith's "My Holiday" was a real treat for this year. Her delicate voice over holiday standards and original material makes me glad it is Christmas. I think her style can best be described as Sarah McLachlan meets Emma Lou Harris. Sometimes Jazz, sometimes almost country. I said almost. My favorite track is "My Holiday."

Relient K's "Let it Snow Baby...Let it Reindeer" is just pure fun. These guys know harmonies AND punk. Lots of fun with the kids on this one. I'm torn on favorite track. "I Celebrate the Day" is an amazing song, but "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is my favorite version of that song. Not for the faint of heart.

Barenaked Holidays is a classic by The Barenaked Ladies. These guys aren't doing anything anymore, but they made a classic with this CD. Check out "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings" for the best.

Sufjan Steven's "Hark ! Songs for Christmas" would be hard to classify. By far the least accessible. I'm not really sure I can even classify his style. I just like it. He's an amazing lyricist. "Amazing Grace" is amazing!

This compilation has more of the standard Christmas songs on it by Christan artists. Great arrangements by great vocalists. Jill Paquette's "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" blows the album away.

One of the things I do love about Christmas music is that most, not all, but certainly most is about Jesus. And so you have people singing about Jesus who don't' even follow him. I suppose some could look at that as a negative because many put out Christmas songs because it is easy to sell. However, what I see is that regardless of their motivation, Jesus is still praised.

BTW, all the artists above are Christ followers except The Barenaked Ladies.

The newest member of the family

2007-12-08T08:11:00.000-08:00

The newest member of our family is Twyla Gamble. She is a cross between a Blue Tick Hound and a German Short hair. A local farmer's dog had a litter of 12 and was giving them all away. We have been looking for sometime for the perfect dog for our family. Twyla fits the bill. In fact, we have been promising to get a dog for about 2 years. So...maybe we weren't looking the whole time. Something about taking care of a puppy AND a baby just hasn't apealed to me. Oh well, who needs sleep. She will be great part of our family.

Drink Coffee and do good

2007-12-07T05:55:00.000-08:00

If you know me very well at all, you know I'm a coffee addict, I mean affectionado. It's become quite a joke around Suncrest. I even had a guy harassing me after church the other day about it saying he couldn't believe I would be at Starbucks drinking "foo foo" drinks. I didn't tell him that I actually drink regular coffee there. I let him have his laugh.

Anyway, I stumbled upon this company last month called Land of a Thousand Hills. They are a coffee bean supplier that is ministry oriented. Essentially they roast beans only from Rwanda and every pound you buy between $2.62 and $3.00 goes back to Rwanda to help finance the coffee growers businesses.

Now you may ask why that is a big deal. Here's why. Rwanda is a country ravaged by genocide. The vast majority of women living there have been raped and left husbandless. In the wake of this tragedy, Land of a Thousand Hills is helping these widows support themselves by financing coffee growing businesses. You can read more about it here.

When I first heard about this I knew I had to at least try their coffee. This morning I'm sipping my first cup and it is excellent. And it wasn't anymore than what I was spending on coffee anyway. It's a win win situation in my mind. Initiatives like this are exactly what is needed in our day. A ministry like this is implementing the timeless principle of don't just give a man a fish, but teach him how to fish. And it's exactly what I believe God would have Christ followers doing.

Now back to my coffee...

Hypocritical - Unchristian trait #1

2007-12-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

In David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyon's book "UnChristian" one of the top perceptions of Christians is that they are hypocritical. For decades I have heard (I can't believe I can even use that phrase) from non-followers of Christ that they don't want to go to church because there are too many hypocrites. This new research among 16-29 year olds shows that this perception is still true.

Now the question that begs answering is, "Is it true?"

Being a hypocrite basically means you profess to believe one thing and actually believe another. More to the point, you say you act one way but you really act another. One caveat I have to give is that as a teacher for me to teach against a certain action and actually struggle with it myself is not being a hypocrite. It's being human. But if I say I don't struggle with it when in reality I do, then I'm being hypocritical.

My own personal observations on hypocrisy among Christians is that the perception IS based on truth. Many Christians tend to preach and rail against certain behaviors while they may actually participate in the behavior. A prominent example:

Christians preach against divorce and yet the divorce rate among Christians is actually slightly higher than the national average.

So what's the answer? Not preach and teach what the Bible has to say about sin...not at all. The answer is really quite simple. Be human and admit that you struggle. I have found this to be one of the biggest ways to help people "uncross their arms." What I mean by that is, when I am honest about who I am and where I struggle, people tend to drop their guard which gives me the chance to speak truth into their life.

Essentially it is not trying to appear perfect. When I look at Jesus, I won't see Him admitting that he struggles because He actually was perfect. You probably wouldn't have to hang around Jesus very long at all before you would see this. But he didn't waste his time worrying about what the Religious leaders of his day thought. The thought that you had to appear perfect was the teaching of the religious leaders of Jesus day. Jesus didn't bother trying to appear perfect, he just was perfect and acted himself.

A modern example to me is Craig Groeschel in his book "Confessions of a Pastor" where he essentially lays it all out there and admits openly what he struggles with. I love the book and love the effort to essentially say not all Christ followers are hypocrites.

I think we live in a good time when more and more Christ followers are holding up this value of authenticity and shunning the facade of perfection. We are embracing 1 John 1:8:

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

A little visitor

2007-12-04T14:01:00.000-08:00

We had a visitor yesterday. A scared little squirrel somehow found his way into our basement. How he managed to get in is still a mystery. Even though I pulled out all my interrogation techniques, he wouldn't crack. From what Sheila told me it was a scene right out of Christmas Vacation. You know the one...where the squirrel comes flying out of the Christmas tree scaring everyone to death. It so started her and my youngest daughter, Grace, that they went flying upstairs. I had to come to their rescue. I'd like to say it had a happy ending for the squirrel, but...I'll leave the details so as not to tick off the animal lovers. I have heard they make good eatin' but I'd rather not find out.

UnChristian

2007-12-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

Perception is reality. Whether we like it or not, what others think about Christians, for them, is reality. This book based on extensive research by the Barna Group reveals what many Christians already know, Christians have a negative perception in culture.

The research behind the book studied the perception of 16-29 year olds and revealed that the majority of this age bracket believe that Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind.

This book confirmed statistically what I have heard and sensed for some time. We can have one of two responses:
1. We can grow defensive and refuse to listen to a generations' views claiming that they just don't understand because they are not Christians.
2. Or we can listen and seek to understand so we can meet people where they are at in their beliefs.

This does not mean we compromise our beliefs or morals but it does mean we seek to actually follow Jesus and his pattern of loving people right where they are at.

What I like best about the book is that it doesn't just present the problem, it also presents some solutions. I would like to take several posts and comment on the issues raised.

The big idea that I think we have to hear is this: To be liked is not the point. To accurately represent Jesus and love like He did is THE point. It always has been the point and always will be the point. Sometimes we just forget that and get too focused on ourselves choosing to create a safe club where we feel loved and are comfortable instead of reaching out and stretching ourselves so that the Gospel can be heard and seen in our lives.

More to come...

New name!

2007-11-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

I have a friend...I know that is surprising, but my friend felt like I needed my own domain name, so he bought me one! What a great guy! So now you are on the official "digdoug" blog. Now I just need a cool subtitle. Something like "digging into the realities of doug" or digging beneath the surface." If you think of something, let me know! For now I'm getting a kick at having my own domain.

A Thanksgiving to remember

2007-11-26T12:13:00.000-08:00

In light of the message at Suncrest yesterday (complaining) I don't want to complain, but Thanksgiving was one we will remember for a long time. In the middle of the night before Thanksgiving 4 of the Gambles got horribly sick. I'm talking coming out both ends. It was not pretty in that little Oklahoma hotel room. We got up that morning and decided we didn't want to infect Sheila's family or my family so we headed home. We made it two hours to Joplin, MO and I decided I couldn't do it any longer. So we got a room and celebrated Thanksgiving in bed. On the bright side I was able to catch up on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and Hanna Montana episodes that was playing in the background as I drifted in and out of consciousness.

On the other side of that viral episode I did recognize:
1) I really should have left a tip for the person who cleaned our hotel room;
2)Nothing feels as good as feeling good.

The week wasn't a total bust though. Because we got home early we were able to get our tree up and watch Elf to officially kick off the Gamble Christmas season.

Thankful

2007-11-20T19:18:00.000-08:00

2 days until I stuff myself crazy...all in the name of "Thanksgiving." It's what our founding fathers would have wanted. It does seem rather funny when you think about the tradition of Thanksgiving. In the words of Jim Gaffigan, "It's like we didn't even try on this holiday. Let's overeat. We do that everyday!"

I am thankful...
...we made it to Oklahoma safely...
...for Starbucks on a nearby corner...
...for my church...
...for my kids...
...for my wife...
...for Jesus...
...for the ability to pay for food and a house.

So many things to be thankful for. Scripture says to count your blessings. I'm doing a bit more of that this year. The older I get the more things I even see as blessings.

I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Is there room for skepticism?

2007-11-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

Doing a little reflection on this weekend's message...

The big idea of how true faith leaves room for questions and doubt has me thinking. One aspect that certainly plays into this is personality. Some of us are more prone to skepticism than others. Even very analytical thinkers can drive down the road of doubt often. I'm wondering how much personality plays into this. I believe for faith to develop there has to be some amount of restlessness and wrestling with issues of trust. They are not all intellectual questions but many times just matters of control.

I lean by nature to be more of a skeptic. I have friends who don't ever question and some who question everything. I am probably more in the middle. I so appreciate the child-like trust of my friends who just believe. And I appreciate the honesty and curiosity of my friends who question. Both approaches shape me.

There has to be room for both in faith. Skepticism definitely can play a part. It pushes us to search for more...more than we are experiencing...more faith...more trust...more honesty...more and better answers. I am thankful that a few who lean this way expressed that the message was helpful. Many times those who approach life from this angle suffer because they feel like they are a failure at faith. Far from it...I believe it is from God.

Child-like trust reminds us that faith is ultimately a decision to trust when we don't see clearly...to step out and trust that your father in heaven does want what's best. I admit I wanted to poke a little at those who fall into this camp. We can grow too comfortable with our faith and become too plastic in the way we approach the hard questions of faith.

There's room for both approaches in our faith. And there's room for both kinds of people...and everyone in between, in the Church.

Btw a great book for skeptics is Philip Yancey's Reaching for the Invisible God.

No easy answers

2007-11-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

This Sunday I will be tackling a theme drawn from the song "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" by U2. The theme I will draw from this is that it is okay to doubt, struggle with unbelief and NOT have all the answers AND still following Jesus. It has me thinking about the questions I have in my life that I really don't have all figured out and what others' may be. So if you can, take a moment and share one of your BIG questions. Thanks.

National community church, D.C

2007-11-11T09:53:00.001-08:00

Sitting in a coffee shop right now owned by National Community church in D.C. Southwest had a whopper of a deal on tickets, $30, so i grabbed the chance to come check out a church I have admired from a distance. They meet in Union Station in a theater. Great experience. Now to do a little sight seeing.

doug

First day of the beanie

2007-11-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

Today marks the official beginning of "beanie" wearing season. It is now cold enough that I cannot walk around free and unhindered by anything on my bald scalp. With the temperatures dropping I face the cold, cruel reality that most heat escapes through my head. One positive in this is that guys who have hair (and care) try never to put anything on their head because it might mess up their carefully sculpted follicle creation. Not me! I wear away because no hair will be messed.

Multi-site practicum at Community Christian

2007-11-06T07:58:00.001-08:00

Sitting at Community Christian in Naperville at their Multi-site Practicum. 1 church in multiple locations is the concept behind the multi-site movement that is taking place across the country. What an amazing tool that most of just stumbled upon to help reach people for Christ. I've mentioned before that Faith Church in Dyer recently opened a campus in Cedar Lake. I'm learning so much from them as well. Surprising to me is that the leadership team from Granger Community Church is here. They are a huge church outside of South Bend that is going to implement this model.

Jon Ferguson is leading a session on "5 Lessons to save you 5 years" so I had better listen.

Can't wait to see how God can use Suncrest in more than one location.

The Villiage Christian Church

2007-11-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

Had the privilege of attending the management team meeting last night for The Village Christian Church in Minooka, IL. This church is about 3 years old and Suncrest helped start it. They are beginning the process of transitioning from outside leadership support to internal leadership support and looking at their first year without outside support. These are no small matters. It's like a child learning to walk for the first time and a teenager graduating and moving out. I don't have the stats in front of me but I know that a ton of new churches don't make it to their 2nd anniversary, so to see a church hit year 3 is a huge success. Nate Ferguson, lead pastor, is doing a great job. I'm so impressed with his mindset that he's doing it all for the mission.

What a great thing to see God working and moving through new churches!

Welcome back, Dan Thompson

2007-11-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take some space to welcome back to the area, Dan Thompson. Dan is the associate minister for Arundel Christian Church, former Suncrester, blogger, fellow coffee aficionado and good friend. Dan and his wife, Lara, were one of the first persons to make Sheila and I feel welcome at Suncrest. We were in fact a apart of his community group and traveled to Israel together. We had a great late night discussion after group last night. Coffee in hand we talked in depth about ministry things that would bore most people to tears yet spurred great discussion with us. Check out Dan's blog when you get a chance.

Ollie Horne

2007-11-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

It was great to have Ollie with us on Sunday. I love what God is doing through him and his family. Ollie is brother in law to Suzy Black of Suncrest. They are here in the states until December preparing to go back to Ukraine and establish a new church in February. You can check him out at www.lifepointkiev.com. You can also read a little bit more about Ollie in Starving Jesus by Craig Gross and J.R. Mahon. Ollie wrote me after he got back to tell me the following story about his trip to O'hare. How real this is:

I decided that for my trip back to O’Hare, I would take the Metra train from University Park and the blue line of the subway to O’Hare because it should cost about $7 instead $23 for the bus…plus I’d get a little walk through downtown Chicago…

When I went to the subway, I couldn’t find a cashier—just the “vending machine” deal. From what I could understand, the cost was $1.75 and I only had a couple $10 bill…so I put the $10 in to the machine and it gave me the little card with the magnetic strip…and NO CHANGE! I couldn’t believe I had just spent $10 for a subway ride to O’Hare!!

I went through the turnstile pulling my rolling carry-on behind me. I wasn’t paying attention and the bar of the turnstile got caught between the upright bars of the handle. I couldn’t get it loose, so I had to slide the magnetic card again to move the turnstile!!! (I’m SO glad no one was around!!!)

So I get on the subway with my card and its $6.50 balance. I start thinking about the fact that GOD knew I was going to spend the $10 bucks…he knew I was going to get my carry-on stuck in the turnstile and he’d provide a way for me to get it UNstuck…

I was wearing short sleeves and looked down at my “Starving Jesus” tattoo… I decided I HAD to give the $6.50 card to someone on the train who could use it…I was thinking about Jesus saying “I needed a ride on the subway, and you didn’t provide for my ride.”

So I was trying to think of how I could give the ticket to someone…without freaking them out for talking to them on the subway. Also everyone around me was wearing an ipod so I would literally have to tap them on the shoulder to get their attention, which I thought would add to the “freaking-out factor.”

I thought about leaving the ticket on the seat next to me, in hopes someone would find it and use it, but I was afraid it would just get thrown away…

A couple stops before O’Hare, this guy, who was obviously a construction worker, got on the subway and sat across the aisle from me. He was the only person besides me not wearing an ipod. As we approached O’Hare I started getting really nervous about speaking to him. We weren’t of the same race and I didn’t know how he’d react to me talking to him.

I finally leaned over and asked if he lived in Chicago and he did. I told him the card had a credit of $6.50 and I would probably not be able to use it before it expired…and offered it to him.

He got this huge smile and said, “Really? Wow! Thanks man.” He took the card and put it in his pocket.

A couple seconds later he looked at me and said, “Ya know, I wasn’t going to be able to buy lunch today, because I had to have money to get back home…you just paid for my lunch!”

Way to go Ollie! Please pray for Ollie and his family as they share God's love in Ukraine. I'm so blessed to rub shoulders (okay not shoulders because he is so stinkin' tall) with those stepping out in risky faith.

Mix Tape

2007-10-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about our MixTape series that starts this weekend. 5 songs that will be fun to hear our bands perform and 5 songs that will be great catalysts for teaching. Here they are:

10.21 - Life is a Highway
10.28 - It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)
11.4 - Unwritten
11.18 - Jesus, Take the Wheel
11.19 - I still haven't found what I'm looking for

I'm even more excited about how many people actually took one of the invitation tapes to hand out. I know many were wondering about the whole tape thing. Many asked, "why tapes?" The whole concept behind handing out a tape was for it to be strictly an invitation tool. A tape for a series called "mixtape" seemed to make sense. The message series and dates are listed on the front and it makes an easy something to hand to someone and say, "You're invited." We put something on the tape purely as a bonus for someone who might still have a tape player and decide to listen. Unfortunately many of the tapes went out without anything because they were defective. The tool still works though just to pass out.

In case you were someone who got one without something, here is the audio from it. The best way to describe the audio is basically the conversation you would capture if you recorded us and we didn't know it.

If you didn't get one of the tapes or if you want another to pass out, we still have more! They're good until the end of the series.

Staff Retreat '07

2007-10-16T15:07:00.001-07:00

Got back today from an incredible staff retreat. We typically get away for 2-3 days a year just to be together as a team and focus on leadership stuff. Most of these retreats have consisted extensively of long range planning. Coming on the heels of the 4c/Puzzled stuff we decided instead to focus on growth for our team. Great discussions...great teaching on utilizing strengths from Marcus Buckingham...and lots of laughter. Here's my highlighrts:

Relentless harassment of Bobby's sweater vest he wore on Sunday.

When Bobby ordered blackberry Tea, again we harassed him but the moment was sweetened when our waiter asked, "Is your name Chandler as well?" Oh man, we lost it.
Of course, the short jokes abounded with fervor. Btw, the target of our laughter did move to each one of us. That's what I love about this staff. We know how to have fun, and no one takes it personally.
Highlighting for each other the things we loved about each other and some things we each need to work on. That was not a comfortable experience, but man it was so helpful for us.
Eating at an incredible restaurant on the lake in Syracuse, IN. Don't remember the name though.
Worshiping together - we actually did this several times, incredible God encounters.

Sunday

2007-10-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how glad I did NOT run the Chicago Marathon today. It had to have been miserable for the some 35,000 participants. They even cut it short. When I watched a little of the live coverage it did make me miss the experience. 2008 maybe???

There was a photo finish for the men and a surprise for the women's finalists. You can watch both here. The women's finish reminds me to never "count your eggs until they've hatched...or something like that." Adriena Pirtea of Romania thought the women's victory was her's as she jogged down the final stretch. Not looking back, she did not realize that Berhane Adere of Ethiopia was sprinting the last 600 meters. She managed to catch up to Pirtea and cross the finish line before Pirtea even realized what was happening. What a finish.

I did get to visit Faith church's 2nd site. They launched a second site in Cedar Lake last month. It was a great service. They are doing a fantastic job of reaching people for Christ!

I also got to slip down into our Student Life Worship that went to 2 services today. I gotta say...they know how to rock down there!!!

Good day.

Incredible group

2007-10-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

Had our 2nd meeting with our new group. It's a great group that God has brought together. Our topic of cultivation led to a time of prayer for one couple who's son has a serious illness. I always love it when people "connect" with others in a real way. Our discussion was quite lively. It's cool to see the varied opinions and view points and yet every single one desiring to serve the same God.

Prayer

2007-10-04T05:14:00.000-07:00

I started digging into "Prayer" by Philip Yancey last night. Actually I picked it up again after starting it but not getting very far into it. Great stuff, especially in light of our emphasis on cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus this week. Here's what he said:

"How often do I come to God not with consumer requests but simply a desire to spend time with God, to discern what God wants from me and not vice versa? Prayer that focuses on God, meditative prayer, can serve as a kind of self-forgetfulness. Some have called it a useless act because we do it not for the sake of getting something out of it, but spontaneously, as uselessly as a child at play.

Though my needs may drive me to prayer, there I come face-to-face with my greatest need: an encounter with God's own self.

Prayer that is based on relationship and not transaction may be the most freedom-enhancing way of connecting to a God whose vantage point we can never achieve and can hardly imagine (55)."

To be honest prayer has always been the hardest spiritual habit for me. I'm not talking about the kind of popcorn prayers that we say as we go through our day. Those are good. But I'm talking about an extended "conversation" with God where the focus really is on Him and not on my needs and wants. It's hard for me to quiet my soul and focus...yet it may be my greatest need.

Some things that have helped me do this have been taking a walk or even a jog...for me sitting makes it impossible but when I'm moving...even driving, it comes more naturally.

Pastoral Mystique

2007-10-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

I am struggling here this morning with tiredness. Thought I got plenty of sleep last night but it seems something is not quite right...so I thought I would post about something that I've been thinking about while I drink a Mountain Dew. Craig Groeschel,l lead pastor of Lifechurch.tv, was taught in college that pastors should maintain what a professor called the "pastoral mystique." This is when a pastor maintains a distance from the congregation and basically doesn't have friends. He keeps a safe distance so that he will be respected and admired from a distance. Indirectly I suppose I was taught this as well. I think it is a load of baloney.

I'm a pastor because God has called me to that. That doesn't make me better than a plumber or lawyer...it just makes me have a different career. Yes, my career is more focused on "God things" but it doesn't make me better nor need to maintain some kind of distance from others. This is so completely the opposite of what Jesus did. He was with people. He had friends. He had a family who didn't even believe him...that's how real he was.

As a pastor I have always had this tension when meeting new people outside of the church. A conversation can be going great until I drop the bomb that I am a pastor. Sometimes this ends the conversation. Other times it means I have to work all the harder to build a friendship with them. Either way it plainly stinks that there is this awkwardness with people. Recently we were over at some neighbor's house and the man of the house was basically falling over himself to please me. I just wanted to tell him to relax. I just want to hang out...not be served.

I guess it is one of the things that goes with the territory, but I refuse to maintain a distance...I refuse to try to put up some facade that I should be treated differently...that I can't have friends who really know me...inside and out and still have the ability to pastor them.

Some may wish I was a little less open at times. :)

Blogging advice

2007-10-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

I thought this advice on blogging from an Innovate Conference (Granger CC) breakout session was blogworthy. Good stuff if you have a blog or are thinking about blogging. Things I would strongly echo are:

Be yourself - blogs where the author is always trying to "teach" you something don't hold my attention.
Blog when you can and don't apologize when you can't.

I would add one:

Be positive - I want to know what someone is for, not just what they are against.

And then the ultimate blogging resource: The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey
And then one I haven't read but understand to be THE book on blogging for businesses:
Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble

Whose line is it anyway?

2007-10-01T05:51:00.000-07:00

Here's some highlights from when we did Whose Line is it anyway?: World's Worst at Suncrest, all three services.

Suncrest is a teenager

2007-09-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

It didn't occur to me yesterday when I posted about Suncrest turning 13 but that does make us a teenager. That is one age I don't want to return to if given the choice. What a tumultuous time! There are some good things about being a teenager though...
...it feels like your whole life is before you...
...you can do anything you want with our life...
...you are in a state of rapid change...
...you adapt to new things easily and quickly.

Fortunately for us, being a teenager as a church does not necessarily make it tumultuous for us but there are many good things for us too.
-We haven't done everything God wants us to do. There are many great things ahead.
-We are changing...and that's a good thing! Constantly adapting methods to deliver the changeless message.
-I think we still relatively easily adapt and change to new things. Our recent service time change proved that to me. In the last 2 years we have introduced podcasting, 2 of us on staff have started blogs, we are creating our own videos more and more, and we have produced a total church experience (Puzzled?). Technology is a great tool to spread God's message and we are adopting it well.

While I wouldn't want to go back to my teenage years I'm so glad Suncrest is in them and look forward to what God is going to do with us.

Suncrest is 13

2007-09-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Suncrest celebrates 13 years today! I didn't know it until John Wasem, our founding pastor, pointed it out. Very cool. Can't wait to see what God does with another 13.

Yeah God

2007-09-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

Another yeah God happened yesterday. I was talking with some former neighbors of mine and they were recounting about their first experiences with Suncrest. The first time they came was at a comedy show we put on almost a year ago and basically the husband did not want to come. He did not want to come to a church. He did not want to be in a church. He wanted nothing to do with it. But our kids had become good friends and we had got to know them a little AND we payed for the event so they came....and loved it!! In fact, the husband saw someone he knew from High School (that stuff happens all the time here). And now a year later they are coming every week and are jumping into a community group. Yeah God!

Vacation

2007-09-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

Meant to do this earlier. Here's some pictures from vacation for those that are interested. We had a great time and it was very restful and relaxing. Click here for those.

Scripture reflection

2007-09-19T05:28:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share what I read today.

"In quietness and confidence is your strength."

Isaiah 30:15

What a great verse. While most of us try to do more and more to get more done...while we try to act a certain way to appear like we are something...while we look to all kinds of things to make us feel strong, God says that a quiet and confident faith is our strength. I needed that today.

Puzzled DVD Outtakes

2007-09-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

These DVD's haven't even hit the streets and we're bringing you the outtakes. They are just too funny to not pass along. The creator, Brennan Wilkins did a tremendous job. Here's a hint if you look for them on the DVD: the link is hidden in the menu screen. This DVD will be used as a discussion aid in community groups. Over 400 are signed up so we have some good groups starting and restarting.

A bunch of stuff

2007-09-18T07:50:00.001-07:00

Here's a conglomeration of stuff that I found interesting, helpful or otherwise amusing the past two days:

1. Interview with Don Miller of Blue Like Jazz fame.

2. What we can learn from Microsoft. Helpful stuff for church or business.

3. A new article about my friend, Jolee Mohr and the cause of her death. Her husband is in D.C. testifying about the whole case.

4. Just for laughs. A classic Youtube video. Worth watching the whole thing.

Back from vacation

2007-09-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

Back in the saddle again. Will hopefully be posting pictures tonight from vacation. Had a great time.

Until then here's a quote that really struck me this morning:

"Gotta kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight."

-Barenaked Ladies in the song "Lovers in a Dangerous Time"

On Vacation

2007-09-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

Leaving today for vacation. Going to be in the middle of nowhere Missouri. Just some time to relax, visit some landmarks and cool stuff for kids.

This past Friday and Saturday, me and a group guys had our first Father/Son retreat. This retreat was born out of a desire to help grow our sons into men. Inspired by the book "Raising a Modern Day Knight" we celebrated one of the boys in our group's entry into teenage years. We talked with the boys about what it means to be a man and prayed over Conlin, who turned 13 last year. All but one of the guys on the retreat had participated in Men's Fraternity at Suncrest and was inspired by the definition of a man that he gave. Here it is:

A man is one who rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously and expects a greater reward.

It was a great weekend. We plan on doing these retreats every year and celebrating the different stages of a boy's growth into a man.

Too funny

2007-09-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

Criticism is always hard to hear, even when you are in the habit of hearing it. I say that because every Tuesday several of us sit down to critique the worship service. We try to pick out the highs and lows, basically looking for what we could improve upon. Sometimes we get a little picky, but most of the time it is very helpful to help us keep reaching for excellence. One critique I did get, which amused me, was that my message had too much comedy and not enough content. Personally, I don't think you can ever have too much comedy. I do see where they were coming from, but I did not intend the message to be an indepth exploration of the nature of God...just something that would cause us to step back and consider how big God is and how deserving of our worship He is.

Still thought it was funny that I was too funny. I did love doing the song "If I had a little white box."

Pale Blue Dot

2007-08-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'm using the classic Voyager photo called "the Pale Blue Dot." Looking at this photo makes me see how small we really are compared to the universe. And then to consider the size of the universe with the size of God. Incredible! Tends to make my problems, house or otherwise, seem pretty small.

Home ownership

2007-08-29T04:47:00.000-07:00

I know our story is among many with the recent heavy rainfall, but last night when I got home around 8:45, I worked until after 11 cleaning up and temporarily fixing a problem in our basement. I'm not a plumber but it has something to do with the drain of our washer. I'm guessing some previous owners didn't fix it exactly right. Whatever it is the washer drained onto our basement floor. This after a separate problem of water in the basement on Monday.

Anyway, as I was sloshing around in water I was reminded of how much fun home ownership is NOT sometimes. I was also reminded of how I HATE not knowing how to fix something. I can't begin to describe the feeling of staring at a problem and not knowing what in the world I need to do about it. So I try a couple things...they don't work...and then I try again...and they still don't work.

Oh well, time to get some professional help. That's what they are there for right? Still don't like it that I don't know how to fix it.

Ethan's 11

2007-08-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my son's 11th birthday! I can't believe it. It seems like yesterday he was introduced to the world in Greensburg, IN. He and Ben now would be the only native Hoosiers in our family now. Ethan is also starting the 6th grade today. Can't believe that either. Even though he has already started participating in the Student Ministry, it's hard to believe this new phase of his life has started. He is so completely in that phase where he is holding onto things that children like to do, yet he is drawn to older kid things. I look forward to what God is going to do with his life.

bobbyjackson, comedian

2007-08-27T09:17:00.001-07:00

So bobbyjackson preached for the first time yesterday. Apparently he felt the need to dog me out...I can't imagine why he would feel the need to poke fun at me...hmmm? You can here his little attempt at humor here. It's about 5 minutes into the message.

Of all the good things we learned yesterday, the biggest is that the man can preach! Hope we can talk him into getting out from behind his guitar again.

The times, they are a changin'

2007-08-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

For awhile now our 3rd service has suffered a little with low enough attendance that it just "felt" empty. Even though we would have 150-190 in attendance, the space is so large it made that number not look very big. So, some gravitated towards the 2nd service and made it even fuller. We struggled with what to do and were not looking forward to Bear's season which makes the 3rd service even worse as fans attend an earlier service so they can be home in time for kickoff.

Anyway, we decided this week to go with some earlier times and I was inspired to make a short advertisement about it. Just for fun.

World Vision's AIDS Experience

2007-08-23T08:09:00.001-07:00

I just got back from World's Vision AIDS Experience at Faith Church, in Dyer. This traveling walk-through exhibit let's you get a close to first hand experience of a child in Africa who's life is affected by AIDS. By wearing headphones you are immersed into the world of a child who is struggling just to live. The experience culminates at a medical clinic where you discover whether or not you have AIDS. It was a moving experience. I encourage everyone to walk through it. I'm going to get Sheila and Ethan through it tomorrow hopefully and encourage as many others as possible.

You can click here to learn more about the experience and schedule a time to go through it.

It's my hope that out of this experience and others Suncrest can join other churches that are joining the mission to help those who are helpless as a result of the AIDS pandemic.

$100 challenge garage sale

2007-08-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

When our community groups director challenged us with the $100 challenge (each Suncrest community group was given $100 to multiply in some way and bless someone's life) our group's first thought was to make it personal. Not that we would be opposed to giving it to an organization, but we wanted to do something for someone that was personal...for someone we had or would have a relationship with. So we prayed...and prayed...and finally God brought someone to my wife's attention. It was a family who we had just started getting to know and who had fell on hard times. It seemed like a clear sign.

Our project was a garage sale. It was something Sheila knew a lot about as we had one annually and typically had a bunch of stuff to sale. So we gathered our stuff and our group member's stuff and then as if God was confirming our effort, we received a bunch of stuff from two other families not connected with our group. The result: we were able to give away $600!

Sheila delivered the money in a card along with some other items that had been given to the family from our group yesterday. She didn't say anything about what was in the envelope, letting the card say it all. 5 minutes later the family was on our doorstep thanking us. All thanks go to God though because he made the garage sale successful beyond what we imagined. It's always a blessing to be a blessing to someone else.

Bobbyjackson, worship leader

2007-08-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

So bobbyjackson, Suncrest worship arts pastor and who's name I write and speak as if it is one word because it sounds funny, is always talking about how I talk fast. He seems to derive some sort of base humor out of it. I suppose there is some truth to the matter...okay a lot of truth to the matter. However, it appears from the following video that he doesn't have much room to speak.

And then there's this. When he came on staff he said he was an authentic worship leader in that he could only sing stuff that he really meant. I guess this video really speaks volumes about bobbyjackosn's true identity.

All kidding aside, bobbyjackson is a great leader of worship and great addition to Suncrest's staff.

Leadership Summit reflection

2007-08-13T06:53:00.001-07:00

Spending a few moments this morning reflecting on my experience of the Leadership Summit. I wouldn't call this one the best one ever (I've only attended 3) but it had some good stuff. Bill Hybel's last session at first glance didn't strike me, yet this morning as I am reflecting on the summit, I do think he had some of the most practical things to say. His talk was on how to stay inspired so you can inspire others. Instead of re-writing all of them here I will just point you to Dave Ferguson's blog who wrote them all down. Good stuff.

3 I need to pay attention to:
1. Pay attention to health - have let that slip since running the marathon last year.
2. Be around exceptionally inspiring people - this may come through books or intentionally seeking someone out who is inspiring.
3. Pay attention to work environment - Kinda let my office get stacked up and messy. That's very de-motivating to me...so this afternoon I organize and clean.

The most inspiring moment above all though was seeing the story of Patrick Henry Hughes. A gifted musician who was born without eyes and the ability to walk. It was discovered as early as 5 years old that he could had natural ability to play the piano. Now he is in college at the University of Louisville. He actually is in the marching band there where his dad wheels him around during practices and performances. To be able to make all the practices his dad works a graveyard shift at UPS. What an inspiring dad! I love this quote by Patrick:

"I was born blind and not able to walk, big deal! God has given me gifts that I can use."

Leadership Summit Day 1

2007-08-09T19:12:00.001-07:00

Attended a great leadership conference today. Highlight for me was from author Marcus Buckingham (btw, a very funny guy even though you can't tell from his "magnum" pose.). I've read his Now, Discover Your Strengths. Key thought: Even though we are taught and ingrained with the idea that when it comes to our strengths and weaknesses we should play to our weaknesses, that is, focus our energy on our weaknesses to improve them, by focusing the majority of our energy our strengths we will be much more effective. Here's some myths and truths he presented:

Myth 1: As you grow, your personality changes.
TRUTH: As you grow, you become more of who you already are.

Myth 2: You'll grow most in the areas of your weaknesses.
TRUTH: You'll grow most in the areas of your strengths.

Myth 3: A great team member puts aside his strengths and does whatever it takes for the team.
TRUTH: A great team member volunteers his strengths most of the time.

I was challenged when I read the book, but am inspired to do more from listening to him. His follow up book, Go put your strengths to work is in my reading queue now for sure.

Changing hearts

2007-08-08T05:15:00.000-07:00

I was reminded today that God is in the business of changing hearts...even hearts of pagan Kings. I was reading Ezra 7 and read about how God made King Artaxerxes, grandson to Esther (which also makes him grandson to Xerxes, shown to the right from the movie 300), favorable towards Ezra and the Israelites. They were essentially still in captivity but he basically gave him permission to return to Jerusalem to teach God's Word to the people there and stocked him up with all the stuff he would need including sacrifices for worship and gold. It just made me think that if God can change the heart of a pagan king, he can change the heart of anyone for His purposes. This is encouraging because Suncrest is involved in an initiative where we could really use the favor of town and city leaders. So that is what I am praying for...that he would change hearts to make them favorable towards us.

Third Place!

2007-08-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

Ethan and Daisy participated in the Illinois Kid Golf Foundation (formerly Hook a Kid on Golf) Saturday. It was a skills challenge. Daisy participated in the S.N.A.G. competition which is a starter program for kids. Not sure if she will take to it like Ethan, but she had fun. And we were stoked to see Ethan get third. They competed at Rose Hill Farms in Sugar Grove. A fairly prestigious golf course which will host the 2009 Solheim. Got to see Peter Longo as well. He is a well known trick golf shot artist although this was the first I had heard of him. He was good.

Great Times in Indy

2007-08-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in Indy. Great conversation with Ron of Mission Indy and a great time having some fun. The first pick is at Great Times. 2nd pic is the bladder buster Sheila picked up at a gas station. Now that is super size.