Tear down some walls.  Make room for Creativity. 

1.  Literally, tear Down walls.  I share an office with four other leaders in our ministry.  No doubt it
has it’s “ups and downs”, however creative processing is a huge “up” in this
circumstance.  Constant ideas being shared and developed.  Graphics being created, programs discussed, blogs being read, twitters announced, successes being shared, victories being celebrated… all in one room together as a team.

2.  NO bad ideas – Create an environment where everyone (EVERYONE) feels that their ideas and thoughts are as important as yours.  Walls of insecurity go up quickly if you blow people off, and you will lose tons of future brilliance if you don’t tear down those walls.  No more laughing or making fun of others.  No more saying, “That can’t work” or “Tried that once… it was a bad idea.”  Let everyone know that not every idea will be used, however, EVERY SINGLE IDEA will be considered. 

3.  Destroy Pride –  The worst “Creative Killer” of all may be… YOU!  If it’s true, get out of the way.  How would you know if it is you?  If you think things like, “That’ll never work” “The way I do ministry is the best way” “My Church will never go for that” “That will never catch on” and if you say them out loud, then you can be guaranteed of it.  Tear down those wall, and begin to pray that you are will to do anything short of “sin” to help people connect to Christ… and you that you need the help of God and other creative people to get there.

Demolition is fun… Tear down the walls. 

I absolutely love creative thoughts, thinking, sharing, dreaming, and borrowing.  It’s a huge part of what our team values and strives to produce.  For me the creative process is fun, I also get that for others it’s a chore.  Either way, creativity is a necessity to continue developing programs, organizations, teams, and future opportunities.  In order to grow creatively you’ve got to let creativity ring.  There’s a danger in having a “know-it-all” or “we’ve always done it this way” attitude.  I’m going to have a few follow up posts on “Letting Creativity Ring”.

Who have you invited into your life?  I’m looking over some notes on Luke 15, preparing for “The Buried Life” message, and am being gut checked.  The chapter starts off with a motley crew of guests who were listening to Jesus speak, and the religious leaders are muttering, “This man (Jesus) welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

When it comes to being “good” we are taught keep our distance from the riff raft, however Jesus had called the “outcasts” to draw in close to converse with Him… and the religious leaders were disgusted at Jesus.

As I look back over the last several years of my life, I can’t say that I’ve had many meals with druggies, prostitutes, or any number of those our society identifies as… “lost causes”

Isn’t it interesting that it’s the lostness that gives cause for Jesus to draw in close…

Who are you inviting to dinner?

Easter Morning Beach Baptism with Church by the Glades where we baptized 64 people.

Vote for the Peacock here

One of our students, Brooke Shaw is a finalist in the Teen Vogue and Tom Shoes contest!  I’m so proud and excited for her and am recruiting all my friends to go and vote for her.  I’ve posted some of her facebook messages below so you can get to the contest web site.  Please Go Vote!

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VOTE FOR BROOKE’S SHOES!

Spent the week hanging out with my sister and bro n law, Mark and Chanda.

Had an amazing week!

Who is your favorite airline to fly? Why?

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to
speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.  James 1:19-20

Key Words that should get our attention… “take note of this”.

Words can leave someone with a smile, or bring someone to tears of brokenness.  Passion, excitement, happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, and so many other emotions, all play into the words we speak.  The danger is that once you release words into the life of someone else you can’t get those words back.  Words help develop us, and words sometimes devastate us.  “Be quick to listen, and slow to speak…”

The CAUTION James speaks into our lives, help us to understand the powerful influence, both negative and positive, our words possess.

Be insightful… intentional… choose to build up.  Practice caution with your words.

What is something positive someone spoke into your life,
that helped to build you into the person you are today?

We are kicking off a new Series at THE WAVE, the Student Ministry of Church by the Glades, called The Buried Life.  We got the concept from some students who had seen The Buried Life, a show on MTV, and thought that would be a cool concept for a series for our students…  and I totally agree.  The premise behind the series is that in life we manage a lot of different things, issues, and people.  It doesn’t take long for everything to pile up, and for us to feel like our entire life is about to collapse on top us and bury us alive.   Tonight we’re taking a look at how Jesus, even from a very early age, perfectly prioritized His life…

What in your life is overwhelming you right now???   (could be several whats, issues, or who(s) that are causing you to feel overwhelmed…  feel free to comment below…