This Sunday: ON TOUR

This morning, as I was studying and praying through some sermon prep for this weekend, I started to get really antsy about getting to preach this message. As I read and study the Scripture that we're going to mine this Sunday and pray over and think about our strategy as a church, I get so excited about what God wants to reinforce in our DNA as a called-out community of Christ.

As we conclude the series All Access this weekend, I want to particularly invite you to make SURE that you are in worship this weekend with an expectant and open heart and mind. Really everything that we've been talking about for the last few weeks comes to full fruition in the PRACTICE of what we'll talk about this weekend.

To all of you who decided to Rock Out and signed up to serve last weekend, welcome to the team! As we launch the new ministry season on Sept. 7, I know that God has positioned us in a place of indescribable promise. To everyone who is a part of what God's doing through and in LHC, thank you for your prayers, your service, your excitement, your giving, your inviting friends--everything that you do to make your church a healthy, vibrant, and welcoming community of Christ.

Spur Leadership

A local business leader and good friend asked me a great question over coffee this morning about the Spur Leadership Conference: How will this event hit my non-Christian co-workers?

This is an important point for this event. The Spur Leadership Conference is designed to equip and encourage all leaders in all arenas. There won't be any bait-and-switch where we offer to serve all leaders and suddenly switch to preaching or proselytizing. The speakers are all leaders from varied and different arenas who are also Christ-followers. But, this event is primarily about leadership practices that transcend both marketplace and/or ministry.

The first Spur Leadership Conference is just over one month away (Thur., Oct. 2) and NOW is the time to make arrangements and reservations for this one-day investment in the leadership culture of your organization, business, team, or church.

This one-day event offers you and your team the opportunity to learn from some of the strongest leadership practices of people who actually DO it every day at an incredibly high level:

* Rick Barnes, UT Men’s Basketball Coach
* Ed Young, Fellowship Church Senior Pastor, author of The Creative Leader
* Les Csorba, Partner, Heidrick & Struggles; former Special Assistant to the President of the United States, author of Trust: The One Thing That Makes or Breaks a Leader.
* Janet Mountain, Executive Director, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
* Rocky Mountain, Venture Capitalist and former VP and General Manager of Consumer Sales, Dell
* Steve Price, Vice President Global Consumer Business HR, Dell

These folks aren’t dealing in theories of leadership, productivity, and management. They are practitioners.

Early registration pricing is available through this coming Saturday, so register your team online and share the Spur Leadership experience with the people in your sphere of influence.

One of My Favorite Days

This morning was a mile marker day for the LHC family. First, AGAIN, what an amazing job from Mark Groutas and his team leading us in worship. It was a monster day of genuine worship. (And that was after having spent all week leading worship for our Middle School Beach Week in Alabama!)

Second, it was such a blessing to have Ben Young preach in our house for the first time in the history of LHC. Ben is such a gifted, unique communicator of God's Word, and he led us through a truly wonder-full story of grace from his own life parallel to the biblical account of Nicodemus (John 3, 7, & 19). If you missed it, you owe it to yourself to watch the online version when it becomes available on Monday.

As if that wasn't enough, LHC Downtown had another preview service this morning at the Austin Music Hall. Since Ben was preaching at the mother ship, I got to be downtown for a little while, and it was awesome. Campus Pastor Chad Zunker and his team have put us in as healthy and strong a position as we could possibly be four weeks out from the Sept. 7 launch of LHC Downtown.

God has given us the opportunity of a lifetime to launch this new ministry in a place and at a time that none of us could have orchestrated. What a blessing for us all to get to pray, work, give, and serve to fully realize the vision God has called us to fulfill.

Follow Through This Weekend

This weekend, I'm continuing the series ALL ACCESS with a message entitled "Sound Check". Part of my sermon prep included watching the DVD of Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones rock-umentary Shine a Light. Now, Mick and the boys have been doing their thing for a while. But, WHOA! They really are amazing at what they do. It's an impressive film of an amazing group. But I digress...

This weekend's message is all about spiritual growth. For the last two weeks, we've looked at the very beginnings of a faith journey, but this week we're going to really get into HOW we grow and mature in the Christian faith. It's a fascinating combination of individual and community responsibility. And, honestly, it's one in which we as a church are stepping up our game this fall. So, make it a point to be there and to bring someone with you this weekend. You'll be challenged, encouraged, and equipped to take your faith to the next level.

Believe me, too, when I tell you that you will not want to miss the creative conclusion to the message that our team has prepared. They have definitely taken it to the next level.

Spur Leadership Conference

We are less than 2 months away from one of the most exciting ministry opportunities that God has ever put in our path as a church. On Thursday, Oct. 2 we will host the first SPUR LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE. This one-day event is designed to serve those who lead in any arena, whether in the marketplace or in ministry, non-profits or government.

If you lead and influence in any capacity, you need to be a part of the Spur Leadership Conference. One of the primary goals of the conference is to encourage and equip future and potential leaders to begin developing their leadership capacity more intentionally and more purposefully. So, consider bringing with you those members of your team or organization that may not be driving the boat right now but would may prove to be the future heart, brains, and backbone of your group.

For more info and to register, go to WWW.SPURLEADERSHIP.ORG and be a part of serving those who get it done.

Also, Early Registration pricing lasts through August 30th.

BE A REVOLUTION

Yesterday’s worship experience was a monster reminder for us as we kick off a new week. The song “Revolution” really put us on notice that the church should never be about maintaining the status quo. That we are the agent of change that Christ commissioned us to be.

This week, as you enter into conversations, encounter new people, build existing relationships, do business — remember the privilege and blessing that we have to be the church. If you weren’t there on Sunday, listen to it online now.