I am sending this post out to ask for some help in furnishing it.  Some of the furnishings in The Loft were part of the TNT project and funds were set aside at the beginning of that project for them (TV’s, gaming consoles, etc).  We had planned to purchase couches, tables and chairs out of our own “pocket” as a church.  However, with the impact of the economy our finances have not positioned us to do so.

We are asking for your help to fill the room with couches and other furnishings for our youth.  So far, we have had several good couches donated.  We still need some more.  If you have a “decent” quality couch that you would like to donate to our youth, we are interested.  We first want to inspect them all to see if they will work in the Loft.

Sorry, but these beggars will be choosers when it comes to our youth.  We are not looking for any ugly dated floral printed couches that your grandmother bought in the 50′s.  But if you have some modern couches that you just replaced or want to replace that are in decent shape, please email Joe Miller.

Or if you would like to donate some money specifically to help us get some good used couches from Craigslist, let us know as well here.

Many are already stepping up to the plate.  That’s what I love about our Church!

We are gearing up for a big weekend at Crossroads with the launch of FAQ and celebrating our 2 years in Lithopolis.  We are prayerfully expecting God to move in a POWERFUL way.

Join us this Wednesday as we agree together for the lives of our friends and family that need Christ.  Then bring them on Sunday and expect God to move in their lives.

• Our 10:30 experience was packed full.  Thought we were going to run out of chairs at one point.  I’m praying we fill it so much on 9/12 that we have to ask our regulars to stand along the walls!!  Praying the other times fill up as well.
• Band was spot on and worship was off ‘de hook!
• I preached on vision.  Probably spoke more to people who know they need to chase what God is putting in their hearts to do.
• Made this statement:  Dreamers dream with their eyes closed, visionaries look with eyes open to see a need to be met.
• A vision always begins with a burden.  Otherwise its just a self-motivated dream.
• I’m praying that God will turn our people’s passion into burdens that we can’t ignore.
• Don’t spend your life without discovering what God wants to do through you or it will be a life filled with regret.
• Preached from the Book of Esther.  Love the story in that book.
• Didn’t share the happy ending in Esther in the first 2 experiences and my wife said I should.  I did in the 12pm.  They usually get the best message.
• Talked with a bunch of first time guests that loved it!! 
• Talked with a Muslim leader who wanted me to condemn a church in Florida that is going to burn the Koran on 9/11.  While I don’t agree with that action, I will not get political or preach on what the Church should be AGAINST.  I have one focus – sharing Jesus.  That’s what I want to be known for.

Gearing up for FAQ.  We have some really tough hard hitting questions.  I can’t wait to celebrate 2 years in Lithopolis.  Bring as many people as you can that day.  I will be sharing the Gospel!

Also, don’t forget to join us on Sep. 8 from 12-1pm in the auditorium as we pray for the names of the people we are going to invite to church or share Christ with.

It was a great day.  I love my church.

This might be the best definition of evangelism I’ve ever heard.

Evangelism is nothing more than one beggar telling another beggar where to find food! (I didn’t come up with it, but heard it first from Perry Noble)

The problem is many of us in the church don’t see ourselves as a beggar.  You might have lived a pretty good life.  Maybe like me, you didn’t get into alcohol or drugs.  When we don’t see ourselves as “that bad” or needing saved “that much”, then we have no desire to tell others about what Christ has done for us. (Rom 1:14-17) Maybe its because we don’t think he has saved us from that much…

But God has made me more and more aware in the past years that even though I may think he didn’t save me from a horrible past, perhaps he has saved me from a horrible future!!  That messed me up. I got emotional.

At the end, I asked everyone to take a small paper plate that we gave them and as one beggar who has found food, to write the name(s) of other beggars in their life who need Christ.  We then tacked those plates up to a board that we are going to pray for every day.  It was a moving moment and a night that had me in tears!

Here’s what we’re doing to reach many more this fall.  We are kicking off our fall in a huge way on September 12th.  It is our 2 year anniversary in Lithopolis and we are inviting the entire community to join us.  We are handing out thousands of invites in the local parade on Sep. 6th.  We are expecting our church to invite as many people as they can.  We are also going to pray with desperation that God moves in their lives.

We are going to make the message I shared last night available to watch on the web soon and ask everyone to submit names of people they know need Christ that they are going to invite on Sep 12th.

On Wednesday, September 8th we are having an open time of prayer at the church between 12pm and 1pm in the main auditorium.  We are going to pray for every name that is submitted and beg God to do something undeniable this fall.

Join me in praying for an opportunity to lead dozens of people to Christ this fall!!

My students,

I want you to know that I am praying for you all day today.  I am praying that God will use you this year to be a leader in your class and not just a follower.  I am praying for your safety and for you to make wise decisions.  I am praying that you will be courageous enough to reach your friends for Christ.

Don’t be afraid to show your faith.  That doesn’t mean you have to be weird and spiritual all the time.  But don’t be afraid to stand up for those who are picked on, don’t be afraid to resist temptation, and don’t be afraid to speak up about your God and your church!

You might be in one of the hardest places of your life, but you are also in one of the greatest opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives.

I believe in you.  Be bold and know your pastor is praying for you!

Casting is a fishing term.  It’s when you throw a line out in the water with hopes that a fish will take the hook.  When I was a kid, my older brother used to take me fishing.  He loved it…I hated it.  It was incredible lifeless, especially when the fish weren’t biting (which was most of the time).  I think I’m too ADD for fishing.

The difference between casting and imparting is paramount.

Anyone can CAST a vision, but not anyone can IMPART one.  To impart is to take part of something in you and put it in someone else.   To do this the vision must be genuine and really IN you.

I went through a 6 month period of time when I was so desperate for God’s vision for our church that I fasted and prayed almost every day for it.  I lost about 25 pounds that year through much angst and internal termoil.  I was so desperate to see a clear vision from God or I was going to quit the ministry.  I remember praying, “God if something doesn’t change within a year…I’m done.”  Through that broken experience God ignited a red-hot vision INSIDE of me.  It wasn’t really any different from the vision we set out to accomplish, but rather it was now alive in me.

It can be so easy for a pastor to grab another person’s vision and try to cast it in his church.  I have seen that fail.  But if you own it, believe it, and truly receive it from God, then it will come out of you with fervor and zeal.  It won’t be a lifeless cast, but something communicated with passion and desperation.

People want an inspiring vision to follow.  People want to be part of something bigger than themselves.  Yet many are not inspired because they are given diagrams and 5 year plans on paper rather than receiving the vision through impartation.

If you want people to truly be passionate about your vision, impart it don’t just cast it.

• When major decisions have to be made, we have to give up evenings to get together and it affects our time with our families.
• When people are having a crisis in their life, we have to adjust our schedules to make time for them.
• When hard things need to be said, we get to say it.
• When challenges are brought to the church, we have already faced them and responded.
• When we ask people to give to a vision opportunity, we feel the need to give on a greater level.
• When we try something and it fails, we must humbly admit it.
• When we see something lacking in God’s church, we carry a burden for it.
• When we stand before God we have to give an account not just for ourselves but also for those we lead.

You see, being a leader even in a church setting sounds great.  People joke about pastors only working 1 day a week.  As if the rest of the week they get to play golf or sit by the pool.  Many do not know the burden and sacrifice that comes with ministry.

You want to know the truth?  Being a leader is a sacrifice that few are willing to pay.  In fact, the Bible discourages people who want to lead for the wrong motives.

James 3:1 says, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

It is often easy to criticize and pick apart people in leadership positions.  The next time you think negative thoughts about the people leading you, I would encourage you to pause for a moment and thank God that someone is willing to sacrifice a lot for you.  They may not always get it right, but they give up a lot trying.

To all of my leaders…I honor you for the sacrifice you have made for this church and for me.  Thanks for being willing to give up so others can grow up in Christ.

Today I just want to recap some of the things that I preached on this past weekend regarding LeaderSheep.

• Most sheep are followers.  But there is a breed of sheep known as Leader Sheep.  They have instinctive abilities to lead other sheep.
• I really did try to fill our church with real sheep.  Still waiting for someone to bring us a bunch of them!
• I believe all of us can be transformed from Ordinary Sheep into Leader Sheep.
• I shared this important thought:  Why is it that when it rains…sheep don’t shrink?
• Spoke from Romans 12:1-2 which says that our reasonable response to God’s mercy is to NOT conform to the patterns of this world.
• Some of the patterns I shared probably ruffled a few feathers.  (Like the ones about love and marriage)
• I don’t believe we should ever compare the most important human relationship (Marriage) God gave us to buying a stupid car.
• If you think you should “try it before you buy it” by having sex or living with your boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage you follow a pattern of this world.
• Yes, I spoke directly to students this week about keeping your pants on.
• We cannot transform ourselves…only God can do it.
• God WILL transform our minds when we are willing to get on the altar and be a living sacrifice for him.
• That means when we hear His Word and read it, we must RESPOND.
• Most Christians want to know what God’s will is for their lives.  You can only discover it when you surrender to Him and become a living sacrifice.

I truly believe that everyone that knows Christ has been transformed into a LeaderSheep.  God wants to conform you into the image of his Son rather than you conforming to the world around you.

Instead, I believe one of the greatest ways to silence your critics is with fruit.  (No, I’m not talking about sending them a fruit basket!)  In other words, prove them wrong by the fruit of your life or ministry.

In Matthew 7, Jesus was talking in his Sermon on the Mount about false prophets, people in the church that look religious but really are lost.  Many of the false prophets work hard to slander and destroy that which God is doing.  You could say they will be very critical of those who are truly serving God.  Jesus said “by their fruit you will recognize them…every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit”. (See Matthew 7:15-20)

If what you are doing is truly inspired by God and done with the right motives, I believe God will bless it.  The fruit or results of your life and ministry will speak for you.

It might be hard to stay quiet and allow the fruit of your life to speak because you’ll naturally want to defend your name.  But in the end, results speak louder than words.

Bear good fruit and you will silence your critics.

The other day I was reading from 2 Samuel 16, when King David fled the city because he was afraid that his son Absalom was going to take over the throne.  As David and his guys were riding away a man from Saul’s family, Shimei, came out cursing David and his men and threw rocks at them. (2 Samuel 16:5-14)

David had the power to take this guy out.  In fact, one of David’s men asked if he could go cut of his head.  David told him not to do it.

I was blown away by David’s lack of reaction.  I think I might have let the soldier take his head off.  But David let Shimei curse and criticize and simply went on his way.

He ignored his critic, he didn’t make him shut up.

There is something about taking the high road that is painful to do.  Perhaps the greatest example of this is Jesus when he was falsely accused before being crucified.  He simply stayed quiet.

Maybe a lesson to be learned is that if we are going to remain focused on what God has called us to do we must not stoop to a critics level or we will lose altitude.