Rev90 Checking In

GREATER THINGS Unexpected Lesson #1

Last night, I got to share with some LHC'ers the vision behind the GREATER THINGS season of ministry and where God is leading our church in the next few years. We talked about prayer, planning, giving, more prayer, and uniting as a church family through this season of ministry. It was a time of sharing, questioning, praying, eating, and a LOT of laughter.

The Unexpected Lesson from last night's gathering was the flat-out fun of community. This morning, we're making plans for another round of gatherings in the New Year where other pastors and I get a chance to just go and visit the LHC Community WEBs and fellowship and enjoy the amazing blessing of the LHC community. From the very first days of our church's existence, it's been clear that our greatest asset as a church is the people who are LHC.

Thanks to Bill & Laurel Daniel for opening their home and their hearts to make it happen and to everyone who made the time to be there and be a part of this amazing adventure called the Bride of Christ.

If you've received an invitation to a GREATER THINGS gathering, I hope you'll be able to join us. If you haven't and would like to, email Sarah Williams at swilliams@lhc.org.

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I Have a Dream

It's not an original line, but here's MY dream:

The Church puts the government out of the compassion business

Crazy? Maybe just crazy enough to work. Here are the dollars allocated to social programs in the current federal budget(these numbers are from the Congressional Budget Office):

$78.7 billion - Dept. of Health & Human Services
$47.5 billion - Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
$9.7 billion - Social Security Administration
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$135.9 billion

Now, here's another number:

$168 billion - Amount available if U.S. churchgoers tithe (the minimum biblical amount, 10% of all God-given income).

Hmmmm...

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Sanford, Farrah, & Michael

The week of June 22, 2009 will long be remembered as one of the strangest on record. First, the Governor of South Carolina revealed a multi-year affair in Argentina. Before the ink was even dry on that story, word came down that 70s icon Farrah Fawcett had lost her 3-year battle with cancer. Then, news of the death of Michael Jackson pushed the Farrah story aside.

Crazy.

As I processed each of these stories, a common thread started to reveal itself: The necessity of community. Sanford's extramarital affair likely doomed his 2012 presidential aspirations. But, it was born in secrecy, deception, and hiding. Farrah's entire career after "the poster" and Charlie's Angels was a search for significance beyond beauty and body (if you haven't seen Robert Duval's The Apostle, you should; Farrah's talent and abilities beyond her appearance are on full display.) And, Michael Jackson's life began its bizarre unraveling when he chose to isolate himself and remove all reason and accountability.

Univsersal transparency is not the answer. Universal authenticity is. It's in our best interest as people to be authentic with everyone and transparent with a precious few. "The world" does not always have our best interests and development at heart, so to bare our souls (even on Facebook or Twitter!) is unwise to say nothing of somewhat narcissistic.

But that is why real community, true accountability, is in our own best interest. It keeps us honest. It tells us the truth even when it's what we need to hear and not what we want to hear. It's real. It works.

New Works

Julie and I are heading home today from south Florida after a monster weekend at a phenomenal church. Church by the Glades is ROCKING the Ft. Lauderdale/Coral Springs area like few churches anywhere on the planet. Their pastor is David Hughes and they are killing it week in and week out. God is doing such amazing things, they have to offer SEVEN services to accommodate the people God is reaching through them (David shared that little factoid only AFTER I'd said Yes to preaching for him).

We've downloaded so much that we've seen and learned this week by being here, but the biggest thing that we've learned is how we learned. We got into a new environment, met new people and were challenged and affirmed in new ways (I even preached in coat and tie to their early traditional service!).

I had never seen Church by the Glades, didn't know any of their staff besides David, and didn't know what their services were like. But meeting with their staff, which is VERY lean--and effective--for a church of 5,000 (+/-), spending time with David and his wife Lisa, and stealing ideas and strategies will make a difference at Lake Hills Church in Austin.

And none of that would've been possible if we hadn't picked our heads up and gotten out of our normal traffic patterns, changed our perspective, and shut up and listened to other people. New works.

(OK, all that's true. But the fact that I spent my first day on a FL Keys tarpon boat sure didn't hurt the overall experience! And the fact that we got blanked just means I'll have to come back.)

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For Leaders, It's the Relationship, Stupid

Thanks to the almost singular message of his campaign -- It's the economy, stupid -- Bill Clinton overcame significant personal and organizational challenges to become the 42nd President of the United States (Ross Perot's maverick campaign didn't hurt). For anyone in any position of leadership or influence, the singular message to ourselves should be, It's the relationship, stupid. Since we're talking to ourselves we should say it in love, but we should say it.

And live it.

Remember, famous does not = leader. Rich does not = leader. Same for innovative, creative, popular, gifted, talented, intelligent, and unique. But, for people who truly lead, it's all about the relationship.

That's not to say that the relationship has to be or even should be cuddly, sweet, or cute. Matter of fact, I would argue that it CAN'T be any of those things. But a real leader who's interested in long-haul influence does have to be respect, challenge, inspire, correct, equip, encourage, and motivate those she leads.

Playing, dreaming, eating, working, sacrificing, serving, calling out, and raising up are all weapons in the leadership arsenal that exponentially multiply influence capital rather than merely adding to it.

I'd love to hear from you in the comments: How do you develop influence capital through relationships?

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Lifters vs. Climbers

Got an email yesterday from someone who was offended when I referenced a celebrity's marital track record in last week's sermon. At first, I thought, Seriously?? THAT ONE SENTENCE was the thing in the weekend worship experience that stood out?! But one sentence in the email made me stop and think: I just wanted to voice my opinion instead of just leaving [LHC].

And, the person who wrote that note was dead right. My intent and motive was never to take a shot at an individual; I really just wanted to personify a casual cultural perspective on something that should be honored and revered. But, the reality is that I did take a shot at someone else's expense. And I shouldn't have.

All of that is to say this: A few weeks ago, God led me to a principle that I violated in that sermon: I want to be a lifter, not a climber. REAL influence, REAL leadership, over the long haul encourages, lifts, and carries people forward. It NEVER demeans, belittles, or takes passive-aggressive pot shots.

That's not to say that leadership never critiques. It does. Real leadership and influence demands accountability, reviewing results. But real accountability is always connected to community and relationship. Lifters raise the bar, other people, results, and relationships.

Who's It For?

Craig Groeschel pastors Lifechurch.tv, based in Oklahoma with campuses over all the country. He's one of the rare people who gets it--spiritually, theologically, relationally, in leadership, in church. That's one of the reasons that God has done the amazing God-things that He's doing through Lifechurch.

His post on his blog today asks a few probing, revealing questions that every church should address. But, it also crystallized something very important for me about the sermon series Soulmate that we started yesterday and continue for the next four weeks, as well as our church as a whole.

This series is as much for those who aren't yet married as it is for those of us who are. If we can equip and empower young men and women to recognize the responsibility of marriage as well as partake in the privilege, then they have an exponentially increased chance of realizing God's design and desire for their homes.

That principle applies to LHC as a whole. If we build a church only for those of us who are here right now, or for those of us who are 35-50 years old, then there is NO WAY IN THE WORLD our kids will want to be a part of that and experience the blessings and community and accountability that Jesus calls his church to provide.

I'm so grateful and proud to be a part of a community that exists not only for the growth and encouragement of those already in it, but committed to doing what it takes to extend the love, and joy, and hope that ONLY Christ can offer.

I want to introduce you...

...to a good friend of mine and an amazing leader. Dr. Rocky Kirk is the Superintendent of the Lake Travis Independent School District. Rocky leads one of the fastest growing districts in the state at a time of unprecedented uncertainty, opportunity, and challenges.

Every time I get to have lunch or coffee with him, he is relentless in his praise of his people, their devotion to excellence for the students of LTISD, and his commitment to do the right thing for the right reasons. In addition to all these things, he married over his head--which I truly appreciate!

Rocky is one of those people who fills my tank. He is an encourager, but it's much more than that. He's willing to make tough decisions on behalf of the students and community he serves. He is a leader's leader and someone I'm grateful and proud to know and call a friend.