First of all, these meetings are never dry. This one was smaller (only 8 new recruits), but the last one was much larger (27 folks) and lots of great discussion is sparked during every meeting. Most of the discussion orbits around surprising expectations and requirements for participation in this ministry and the need to make sure everyone knows exactly what they’re getting themselves into. Many are surprised at the level of commitment we’re calling for.

As for my current team (and my new recruits), I’m still the least experienced out of everyone. It’s weird, really. They all follow my leadership well (with a couple nameless exceptions) despite the fact that they all probably have more head-knowledge about this particular ministry than me.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that God is blessing me and this ministry with talented folks who have tons of experience and a humble heart. What more could a leader ask for, besides a real office? (inside joke)

a

What more could a leader ask for?

My Desktop

Tony Morgan posted a screenshot of his desktop and asked for two things; an analysis of his setup and a screenshot of my own desktop. So, I posted my comment on his blog and here’s my desktop. Click it to view full size.

Batman

Heath Ledger was a genius. The rest of the movie was incredible. Did anyone notice that Jesus is the ultimate Dark Knight? A Savior who becomes darkness so we don’t have to experience it. That’s my hero.

Compassion International

There’s been a lot of buzz in the blogging world about Compassion lately. So, I thought I’d add to the buzz by announcing Erica and my little buddy in Nicaragua. His name is Jimmy and we’ve been sponsoring him for almost a whole year now. Here’s his picture. Ain’t he a cutey?

a

My Desktop, Batman, & Compassion Intl.

a

Have you heard of Wordle?

I’ve been exploring YouVersion.com lately. It’s a much cleaner, more enjoyable, more “Web 2.0″ version of BibleGateway, the online Bible I used throughout Bible college and ever since. To keep this short, let’s just say I highly recommend that you use YouVersion.com if you’re ever in need of linking a passage of Scripture, quick references while preparing a lesson, or using the Bible for your personal needs. It’s incredible.

As far as features, here is a list of what’s available in the beta (current) version:

* Tons of translations side-by-side for easy, quick comparison.

* Several languages including Spanish, German, French and Chinese.

* User profiles for tagging content, creating relative content, keeping a journal that directly correlates with Scripture, following others, etc. Sky’s the limit on this feature.

* Reference and keyword search is accurate and logical.

* Mobile version.

* iPhone app (Bible app).

* Daily Bible reading and one year Bible reading plan.

* Invite new users with a couple clicks.

In the future, I see YouVersion.com becoming a major player in the online strategy that many churches are going toward to reach people with the Gospel and grow them as disciples. Features poised for release in the coming months include favorites, contacts, reading history, and groups among many others I’m sure.

If you’re already using YouVersion.com with a free account, find me. My username is “readscott”, but that’s not real surprising. Also, if you’ve got an account, comment below with your username so I can find you and follow your contributions.

As a sidenote, I added a Bible search widget to my sidebar that uses YouVersion.com as the engine. It’s partly to make this blog look more spiritual and partly to give YouVersion.com a special shoutout in my oh-so-exciting sidebar.

a

YouVersion.com Is Off the Chiz-ain [chain]!

Although I know Erica will be posting details about this trip (I’m sure), I thought I’d share a few of my own highlights. Warning: the rest of this post might sound boastful or sappy.

* Sitting on the top deck watching stars, a huge moon, and wispy clouds can make a partially-grown man cry. It was truly one of the most beautiful scenes of my life. It didn’t help that Phil Wickham was playing softly in the background. Talk about getting misty-eyed.
* The sun is hotter in the Bahamas, but the constant breeze mixed with perpetual sweating is nature’s perfect AC. I could sit in the shade for hours in the Bahamas. It’s irresistible.
* It’s super-fun to drive a boat in open water. Nothing to worry about. No ground to look out for. No other boats getting in the way. (They’re always in my way…I’m never in their way.) I didn’t get to the drive the yacht, but maybe next time. (August)
* Going SCUBA diving without a guide is so stinkin’ fun! This trip, we brought our own gear and tanks and just found some reefs to dive. Every reef was in less than 30 feet of water, so we’d spend an hour and half at a time underwater playing with fish, swimming through caves in the reef, and generally goofing off.
* Tiny heads (bathrooms) get old fast.
* The people at the marina in Marsh Harbour all know my father-in-law (Rick), so they’re all nice. I think they’re nice anyway, but they’re extra nice to Rick.
* It was good to spend a week with my brother-in-law, Boyd Bettis. He’s a godly guy with a lot of awesome ministry thoughts running through his head. We had plenty of time to talk and I love hearing his heart for God and for people.
* My mom also went with us and experienced a ton of new things. Snorkeling was one of them. After her first snorkeling trip, we couldn’t keep her out of the water. She was more interested in what was happening beneath the waves than above. It’s also good to see her grin like a child. Don’t you love it when you parents are so happy they become giddy?
* I found my new favorite dive buddy. Erica. She was a blast underwater.

What a wonderful week! When I got to church last night, I found a letter in my inbox (the real one, not my email inbox). It was an advertisement for the new Baptist Hymnal. The letter said that it’s the centerpiece for Lifeway’s Worship Initiative or something. Seriously? A hymnal is the centerpiece? Wow.

a

Short Trip Recap

Pastor Paul read a passage out of Romans 14 from The Message. Normally, the pastor reads the sermon’s main passage in a more traditional version and continues calmly with his sermon. Today was different.

When he was done reading the passage, the church broke into applause. They were applauding the Word! That freakin’ rocks!

That’s the end of my story, but it leads me to this question. When was the last time your church surprised you and made you proud? Tell us about it.

a

When was the last time your church surprised you?

Over the past four months or so, we haven’t gone a single Sunday without some sort of testimony. Whether it’s on video, in person, or a recounting told by our pastor, stories are flooding the church office. It’s incredible.

a

The Sanchezes’ Story [Video]

Amongst all the discussions about ministry, stories of people’s lives being changes, upcoming events, evaluation of recent events, etc, I realized something about our church culture. Thanks to our pastor’s leadership, we’re quickly becoming a two-stage church.

For the record, this is my interpretation of how this concept works.

A two-stage church is a church whose members/attenders fit in one of two stages.

1. People who are visiting, seeking, (maybe) non-believers, who are actively looking for a church, but want to stay in the shadows until they find a place to land. These are the folks that we might get a Connection Card from, but not necessarily ever find out who they are. We encourage these folks to attend, enjoy, and find out what God has planned for their lives and where they need to put down roots. These folks will not be asked to serve until they decided where they’ll be making their home.
2. People who are here. These folks have made the decision to make our church their home. These are regular attenders who are in a relationship with the Lord and know that they are staying here. While there are different levels of commitment in stage 2, the general idea is that they are here and ready to give their resources (time, money, passion, commitment) to accomplish the vision that God has given us.

The gist is this: if you’re looking for a church home, you won’t be asked to serve. If you’ve decided that this is your home, you will be asked to serve (assuming that you’re spiritually, physically, emotionally, etc able to do so - if you’ve just begun to overcome a major sin in your life, we’ll give you the appropriate time to heal).

If you should be in the second group (rooted here), but you’re unwilling to serve, then this might not be the right place for you. If you’re in the first group (seeking), but you’re unwilling to serve in the future, then this might not be the right place for you.

In any case, we love you, but God’s mission is too critical to allow folks who never intend to serve to suck up resources.

a

We love you, but…

This is a great chance to bring back the linkage. This link will take you to a great post by 37Signals, one of the best small businesses in the country. It’s a company of less than ten people that’s worth millions and millions. Although they’re an “internet business”, they’re not normal. Unlike others in the same category, they actually sell products. Their false counterparts simple opt for traffic and try to sell ads.

Anyway, here’s the best excerpt from the post, but you should definitely read the rest.

Most ideas are nothing without execution.

a

I had that idea years ago. [37Signals]

Can I just say that I’m not worthy? I wrote a post a few months ago (that attracted some blog-bashers) about Wayne’s World and the (stretched) similarities that they share with ministry. You might remember that every show had them repeating the phrase, “We’re not worthy!” Boy, can I relate to that sentiment.

In the case of Wayne and Garth, they felt unworhty of the presence of some rockstart musician. In my case, I very aware of my unworthiness in the presence of a miracle-working God. How is it possible, with so many capable, Godly church leaders in the world that are struggling in a ministry that’s bearing so little fruit, that I have this opportunity to be where God is moving. AND IN MY FIRST CHURCH?!?! It’s absurd. It’s almost more than I can bear.

a

Crazy Things Are Happening