Journey Church

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Tom Planck the Lead Pastor of Journey Church in West Chester, OH. Tom has a GREAT story and I'm absolutely blown away at what God is doing in his life as a Christ-follower. Journey Church is the real deal. Tom really leads in his vision and the church is exploding with growth and influence. You can read a little about Journey on their website www.cincyjourney.org:

INSPIRING PEOPLE TO LIVE BIG!

Our days are mundane. Predictable. Often grating. It feels like we exist only to survive into the next day.

This is LIFE? Our dreams are of...what? Houses? Cars? A more stressful job?

And what role does the church play? We're all afraid that this thing called the spiritual life will only serve to destroy us—to rein us in and make us settle for being less than who we feel we truly are. One of our biggest fears about Christianity is that it will make us...boring.

There are few accusations in pop culture today worse than being boring. Or irrelevant. Or yesterday.

Tom is passionate about "those who are disconnected from Christ and the Church. Both matter," Tom says.

I really like this dude. I think Tom has got a heart to really reach a lot of people in the Greater Cincy area. Try to get to know this guy, you'll like him too. You can follow his Twitter updates at twitter.com/tomplanck.

Journey currently meets at Lakota East High School in Liberty Township on Sundays at 10:30AM.

Real Influence

For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearance, as though they were realities and are often more influenced by the things that seem than by those that are.
-Niccolo Machiavelli

Every Thursday, for the past 16 weeks, I've been meeting with a friend who spent 37 years working for a large consumer goods company based in Cincinnati. He was the plant manager for the largest manufacturing facility in the world located in Lima, OH and has been retired for about 15 years now. No, this isn't a Tuesdays with Morrie kind of thing. Anyway, these "meetings" have been quite the education in leadership and influence. He has a "wise" air about him (including the deep, thoughtful voice and intimidating presence) and is always thinking of ways to work in a story or two that will blow your socks off. Know what I mean?

Today's "lesson" was shear greatness! We met and talked business for a few minutes and then he got this mischievous look and said, "I want to show you something I think you'd like." He grabbed his little pocket-size datebook and retrieved a small, folded up piece of worn paper. The grin got wider as he unfolded. He handed it to me and pointed to a quote he had circled; it read:

You can buy a person's time; you can buy their physical presence at a given place; you can even buy a measured number of their skilled muscular motions per hour. But you cannot buy enthusiasm. You cannot buy initiative. You cannot buy loyalty. You cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds, or souls. You must earn these. - Clarence Francis

I immediately smiled and said, "Can I go make a copy of this?"

When I returned, he told me he had kept the paper in his datebook for 36 years. He cut it out of a 1972 Reader's Digest and has read the quote every day since. That means he has read it 13,140 times! How about that?

On the copy paper I wrote down a line from one of his stories that day: Influence is a lot more important than where you are on the hierarchy. He said, "I never really wanted to be promoted higher than plant manager. Some of the song and dance leadership books probably say I'm wrong, but I think I'm right." He went on to tell me that he believed that if he was doing his job, every manager that worked for him would be his boss some day. By the time he retired, 36 people who worked for him in the plant went on to be some of the top executives in the company. His conclusion:

I had more influence throughout the company through these 36 individuals that I could ever have by climbing the ladder myself. It made my life a lot easier and I could be heard. My level of influence was exponentially greater because I reproduced myself in other people. I didn't worry about my significance, I worried about the significance of others. That's my legacy.

Influence. Have we missed out on the true meaning?

Leadership Lesson from a Six Year Old

So, every night before "bedtime" my 6 year old runs to me with his "reader" and says, "OK, Dad, I'm ready to read, let's go." And dutifully...I go. I mean the kid never misses. It's clockwork. It's routine. It's breathing.

Then, it hits me. If I was half as committed to things as he was...

So, tonight, I observed. And, like the ever-learning leader I pretend to be, I got these 6 things out of it while we, I mean he, was reading.

One: When it's time to do something, just do it; just show up and do it. "Do you feel like reading tonight, son?" He answered in the most apathetic of tones, "not really, but I gotta finish this chapter."

Two: Concentrate; eliminate distractions. I asked him where he wanted to read. He said, "In your office, Rafe (younger brother) is not allowed in there."

Three: Shut up and listen. Now, for the record, my son didn't tell me to shut up. However, he did tell me to not help him sound out big words, "just listen and let me figure it out!"

Four: Repetition really is the mother of all skill. Half way through the reading, I break #3 (you know, shut up and listen) and say, "You're really doing better!" He replies, "Well, it seems like I'm reading the same words over and over, I'd be stupid if I wasn't getting better." I'm sure he was thinking, "Well, duh?"

Five: Learn the Basics. "Dad, did you ever have to read these kids books?" "Yes, son." "Cool, then I'll get to read big books one day, like you?"

Six: Partnerships are Priceless. "Dad, this is my favorite part of the day..." "What do you mean, son?" "I really like learning to read with you, I don't like doing it by myself."

Well, thanks God. Another reminder that I don't have it figured out...

The Bridge in Uptown Cincinnati

You have to check out The Bridge. Tim Dunn is the Lead Pastor and is one of the coolest guys I know in church planting. Tim meets in the Clifton area of Cincy across from the University of Cincinnati. He's reaching young professionals and college students and is taking this church thing to a whole notha level.

The Bridge is all about seeking truth and justice, exhibiting humility and mercy and finding purpose in redemption and mission. The really strive to be part of the fabric of life in Uptown Cincinnati through local outreach efforts by offering programs and ministries that are relevant to the people who live there.

For more info on The Bridge, visit the official site here. For more info on Tim, visit his blog here.

Passage Church

What up!

Spent some time today with Dave Dorr, the founding and Lead Pastor of Passage Church in West Chester, OH. First, let me say, Dave is a really great guy. We talked for about two hours about it all and he is just a regular guy who's easy to be with. Here's a little history on Dave if you're intersted.

In the spring of 2007 Dave was serving as an associate pastor at Apex Community Church in Kettering, OH when he sensed a call to start a new work in the Northern Cincinnati area. His passion was to see a church community that focused on discipleship and used that focus to pursue new church plants. That July, Dave, his family, and one other couple were launched from Apex to begin working behind the scenes to start a new church. Two months later a core group of 14 people from the area began meeting in a home and in Easter of 2008 Passage held its first public service at Endeavor Elementary school. And in the Fall of 2008, Passage moved locatons to Lakota West Freshman school and held its official Grand Opening in January 2009. In this short time, God has brought together like-minded people from all throughout the West Chester area to commit themselves to the work God is doing through Passage Church.

If you want more info on this really cool church, visit the official site here.

Urban Hills Church

Last night I got a chance to spend some time with my new friend, Ed Blackledge at Urban Hills Church (UH) in Anderson Township, OH. This was one of his 3 preview services before he launches on Easter Sunday. The church is meeting in the brand new Anderson Center Performing Arts Center. The facility is as nice as they come and it's a great place to start a church.

Ed spent nearly 10 years in entrepreneurial roles in the financial services industry. In 2002, he abandoned a personal pursuit for wealth to serve his King - Jesus Christ. Ed's passion in ministry is to connect new believers to the King of the universe and equip them to serve Him on His world wide mission. He is married to Buffie and they have two daughters, Katie (8yrs) and Anna (2yrs).

Check out Urban Hills here.

On the transparency thing...

This weekend, a friend of mine tried to prove to me that the "christian transparency thing is a bunch of #$&%" because he got burned while pouring his life into another on the journey. "So much for that experiment," he said. Since then, I've been reflecting...

There are NO SHORTCUTS to this "christian transparency thing!" I look at Galatians 2:20 and I read the words of the Apostle Paul, "I am crucified..." and I think — there is no shortcut given as an option. Crucifixion is a long, excruciating death. But, once I identify with Christ in His death, I can be real — transparent. It is at this point, I can be like Francis of Assisi — the life of Jesus can become transparent in my personality.

Transparency is clear-headed thinking (wisdom).
Transparency is clear-eyed vision (knowing the will of God).
Transparency is the simple joy in gratitude (humility).

"Being real" is not the attitude of "just deal with it, I'm just keepin' it real." Some of us need to watch Chappelle's When Keepin' It Real Goes Wrong and take some notes. The true heart of transparency is compassion, humility and wisdom. This can only come from the life that Christ lives in and through us.

I've heard of this "two-kinds-of-christians" rhetoric before — carnal v. spirit-filled; faithful v. backsliders; aware v. unaware; soul-winners v. pew-sitters, etc. But recently, I read Søren Kierkegaard's view of it. He was said to believe that there are two kinds of Christians: imitators of Jesus and those who are content to admire Him. Any questions? Merton called this a "convenient spirituality." We keep God close for those moments to which He fits. We are Zacchaeus — we want to get out on a limb for Jesus, but we also want to keep our distance.

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." These are the wise words from Harper Lee's timeless character, Atticus Finch. Is this transparency? Jesus has already climbed into our skin, maybe we should climb into His? Is this transparency? A simple disappearance of ourselves and the sudden appearance of Jesus?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. What does "being real" mean for a Christ-follower? Is "transparency" healthy and should this be such a hot topic in our christian rhetoric today? Please feed back...

Experiencing God Like Jesus Did

Last night I started a new teaching on personal revival. I think it went well, but as you know I am my own worst critic. However, I thought I would share a story with you I thought was really cool.

I was adding some finishing touches to my notes yesterday, January 7th and thought I would start the talk with a devotional from OC (Oswald Chambers). I went to myutmost.org and searched the word "revival" and it returned two results. One of them was for the reading for January 7th, the same day! Funny, huh? You can read it here.

Anyway, if you're interested in the notes for the study, I'll be posting them to the blog every week under the "Seeking Him" label. You can download the Introduction notes below:

Introduction | Experiencing God Like Jesus Did
Download here.

Brennan Manning Memoir

Publisher David C. Cook is planning to release The Furious Longing of God in March 2009. This is the long awaited memoir from one of my favorite's, Brennan Manning. Here is the descript from the publisher:

Imagine a stormy day at sea: your ship yielding to a relentless wind, pummeled by crashing waves, subject to the awesome force of nature. A force that is both fierce and majestic. A power that is nothing short of furious. Such is God's intense love for His children. The Furious Longing of God is the latest tour de force from beloved author and ragamuffin, Brennan Manning. Hold on tight as you discover the most powerful force in the universe: God's furious longing for you. There is nowhere God won't go to find us. No country too distant. No terrain too treacherous. No risk too great. It is a Father's search for His lost son, His lost daughter. And there are no boundaries to where His love will take Him in order to find us, embrace us, and carry us home!

You can pre-order the book at Amazon here.

If you've never read a book from Brennan, I would recommend The Ragamuffin Gospel or Abba's Child to start off. These are staple works for any follower of Christ that is tired of trying to live for God and chase the American Dream at the same time. If you're life has become too loud and out of control or if you just long for the simple voice of God, these books have helped me return to a place of real peace and simplicity. God is still speaking to you, is it that you can't hear him...

Check these blogs out...they're magically delicious!

These are some of the blogs I've recently been following. Check 'em out, you'll be glad you did.

Emily McGowin. The smartest person in the room.
http://thinklaughweepworship.blogspot.com/

Craig Kendall. My peep from CO and a guy who actually took "the leap."
http://www.mywalkblog.com/

AO, Alan Oliver. He is genuine and will fall flat on his face to prove it!
http://aotropos.blogspot.com/

Tim Dunn. A pastor's pastor. Keepin' real in the 513!
http://thebridgecincy.wordpress.com/

More to come, I just thought these could keep you busy...

New Teaching Series

Beginning this Sunday, January 11, 2009 I will began a new teaching series. My friend, Alan Oliver, and I sat down one day before Christmas and came up with 20 marks of the true disciple from the 21 verses in Romans 12. I am very excited about the study and can't wait to start. I haven't really come up with a title for the series, but here are the 20 topics we will cover:

Intro to Romans 12 and its context
Acceptable Worship (1)
Conformed/Transformed (2)
Knowing the Will of God (2)
Humility & The Affirmation of Others (3)
What is the Body of Christ? (4-5)
Service in the Body of Christ (6-8)
Genuine Love (9a)
Evil vs. Good (9b)
Loving Others (10)
Spiritual Fervency (11)
Trials, Prayer & Hope (12)
Christian Hospitality (13)
Blessing Others (14)
Transparency (15)
Lowly Associations (16)
Honorable Actions (17)
Living at Peace with Others (18)
Godly Revenge (19)
Overcoming Evil (20)

Some of these titles may change as creativity tends to hit me at 3 in the morning, however, the topics above will generally be followed in this order. I plan to post my outlines from week to week and certainly invite your comments.

Being Truthful...With Yourself

Today's quiet time with God was one of those not so quiet moments. In a matter of 10 minutes I heard loud and clear the question: Are you truthful with yourself? I hate it when that happens!

In a noble effort to return to the basics of discipleship in 2009, I confidently turned to Galatians 6 hoping to get a word about bearing my friends' burdens...then came verse 7. DO NOT BE DECEIVED: GOD IS NOT MOCKED. OUCH!!!

Jesus had a relentless passion for truth and I , as every "good law abiding Christian" should, do too. I spend half my pathetic life seeking to correct the injustices and lies that are perpetrated on humanity from the media, the gossips and the fibbers known for their tall tales. In fact, my truth detector has been tuned to a perfect pitch, justifiably aligned with "the Wooordddd of Gaaawwwwdddd" and ready to alarm at any sign of penetration. I'm good, I'm right and I know it! Awe, the false illusions to which I so tightly clutch and cling.

I heard one time that it takes guts to be honest with oneself. I guess that's true or else so many of us would not lie to ourselves and take comfort in our grand rationalizations and realities. And what about those easy, self-indulging justifications that conform us to the world's brand of truth? How easily we justify our "freedoms in Christ" and then forget that we gave up our rights when we chose to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The Book of James says it this way: "We look in the mirror, then walk away and immediately forget what we look like." This is certainly true in my profession; self-deception seems to be the ordre du jour. The senseless defenses we as pastors seem to come up with to make ourselves feel significant at the cost of truth in our own lives is astonishing. We believe discipleship is more Bible study, that "holiness" is the point of walking with God and that the size of our congregations are the proof of our church's success. Generosity, affirmation and justice are words we hardly utter to our "podcast followers." For many Christians, discipleship has become as much a brand as the cute little apple on the back of their computers. I'm cool if I have an iPhone, right?

Could I interpret Galatians 6:7 this way: Don't mislead yourself...God will not be fooled. If so, I guess the pursuit of truth must start with less of a moral eye on everybody else and more of an transparent eye on myself. To quote Brennan Manning, "The first step in the pursuit of truth...is not the decision to stop deceiving others. It is the decision to stop deceiving ourselves."

"For whatever one sows, that will he also reap."

Are you a "crap magnet?"

I thought today would be a good day to start blogging again with it being the first day of 2009 and all. So, with the new year upon us I thought I would be stupid and obvious and write about my single resolution for 2009. Yes, I need to lose weight. Yes, I need to be more disciplined. And yes, I need to renew my commitment to Jesus and live more for Him with no strings attached. Yes! I need to DO all of these things, but come on, can I really get excited about these? The answer is — not really.

So, after hanging out with some of the coolest people I know over the holidays, I've decided to take a challenge. It's the "Seven Day No Grumble Challenge." Let me explain...

Some friends and I were having lunch Monday at the great Genghis Grill and we began talking about life. One of the guys mentioned he was reading a book that challenged him to not complain, blame or gripe for a period of seven days. Every time he caught himself blaming, justifying or complaining, he would slide his index finger across his neck signifying that he was slitting his financial throat. Intense, huh?

He said quoting the book, "When you complain, you attract crap into your life. You're a crap magnet!" Now, that's funny...

Anyway, we all decided to take "the challenge." So, today is my first day and I've managed not to slit my throat. So far, so good...

FYI...The book is "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind" by T. Harv Eker. I have purchased the book, but I have not read it as of today. I have read Wealth File #1 starting on page 54, but that's it. I usually don't read books like this, so don't take this as an endorsement, but I do think there are some things to learn from it. Happy reading...