So I don’t talk a lot about numbers on this blog but here are some worth mentioning. Outreach Magazine released the Top 100 Largest Churches and Top 100 Fastest Growing Churches in America list. I was proud of how well Florida was represented in this list.
Even South Florida, commonly referred to as a highly unchurched area, represented half of the Florida churches listed in the largest churches category. This does not change the statistics that this one of the top five most unchurched areas in the country, but for a church planter it is encouraging to think that it is possible to reach people here.
Any time you talk about “Mega” churches there are always the people that question the methods that are used to grow churches to this size. This week I was discussing one of the individuals on the overall list and I got “checked” by a friend with this thought… “Have you ever been in one of their services to know what really goes on?” My opinion was based on interviews, edited video and audio, media, etc. In reality I had no right justification for the opinion I had.
I have attended a few of these churches but this isn’t about methods today. What I want you to consider is that every one of these thousands or tens of thousands represents one of God’s kids. The word “go” in the Great Commission doesn’t say a lot about “how” we are to make disciples. There are some specifics on baptism there, but if these churches are expanding the kingdom of God and there really are 90,220 Floridians headed to heaven because of these ministries who are we question?
For a list of Florida Churches in each category click throught to the next page…
Continue reading ‘Top 100′
I had the best counseling session ever at 3:52 this morning. I don’t do a lot of counseling because there are a lot of people way more qualified. My wife is trained in counseling and all I have is a degree from the school of hard knocks. It wasn’t a scheduled counseling session but when my 4 year old came in to wake me up I had to do my vary best to be Daddy/Pastor.
Before becoming a church planter life was pretty simple for us. We lived a life right out of 1960’s television. Not the “Honeymooners” but more like “Leave it to Beaver”. I was home everyday at 4:30pm and our involvement in church was limited to a Council Meeting once a month, 2 services per week, and an occasional weekend event.
Our families were close and so Owen would have weekly contact with one set of grandparents or another. We had multiple family friends including some really close friends in our immediate neighborhood. So it wasn’t unusual for random drop-ins from neighbors so Owen and their kids could play while moms chit-chatted over cookies and coffee.
All that changed with our move to South Florida and is taking its toll on a 4 year olds emotions (and some 30+ emotions too.) So I spent an hour this morning explaining some pretty significant concepts to my son. These thoughts can encourage the 4 or the 40 so I thought I would share.
- A house is made up of walls floors, ceilings, doors and windows. But a home is made by a family. So even though we have moved to different houses and will hopefully be moving again in the not too distant future we will remain a family and that is what makes a home.
- God is bigger than all the monsters. Hence when we have God inside of us, regardless of how small we may be, we take on the size and power of God. So when we are scared of things we just need to remember that we have God on our side.
- God doesn’t always answer our prayers because He knows what is best for us. I was able to use our recent dog catastrophe to explain that even though we thought it would be a great idea to get a dog (two if you’re my wife) it wound up not being the right timing for us, given some of the other things going on in life. With a few scars to remind him he understood. So it isn’t that God doesn’t hear you or is ignoring you, it is that you may be asking for “good” but He wants to give you great!
- Enjoy the “fun” moments in life instead of worrying that they are going to end. In the last week or so my son (and wife) have made some new friends and since my son has just been starving for some play time he gets all worked up because he knows that at some point he is going to have to go home. Obviously we cleared up some “home” thoughts, but he needed to realize that worrying over what is going to happen in an hour or two when play time is over was cutting into the fun that he could have right now.
To relate that to us adults… The Bible says don’t worry about tomorrow because just as God has made provisions for the birds He will make provisions for us. This is that unexplainable joy that we read about.
The joy of the Lord is to be our strength so that even when it appears that the whole world is crumbling around us we don’t have to have an emotional breakdown. We can place our faith in God and even if a rough road comes, He able to bring us through it.
- God loves when we obey. Just like when Owen obeys us and we reward that, God also rewards our obedience. I explained to Owen that God asked us to leave the house that he loves in Oakland, FL and move here to plant a church. That even though we had to give up some things that made us comfortable, God was proud of us for doing it and in the end obedience pays. It may not always be in the dividends that we expect or desire but God certainly rewards obedience.
Seems like there were a few more things we discussed but in the end he just need some reinforcement. There are many things based on our current position that are in flux but there are certain things that are solid. Even though I have previously mentioned some chinks in the family armor we are fortifying that and have come a long way. So my wife and I are reinforcing that our relationship with God and our relationship with each other are things he can count on. I think we all need to know that those are things we can count on.
Well the results are in from my little time log experience. In case you are just joining me… For the last week I have documented how I have spent my time. I didn’t get too detailed but I walked away with some pretty good data to evaluate.
This past Sunday as a part of our New Testament Challenge we discussed the Challenge of Generosity. One area that we are to be generous is with our time. We looked at the story in Luke 10 of the Good Samaritan and how he felt that the best use of his time was to help the badly injured Jew laying beside the road.
We discussed how we really don’t have any promise of time for tomorrow but we have right now so that leads to the question: “God, what is the best use of my time right now?” To be honest I have not done a great job of asking that question. So because of that I have misappropriated my time and needed to evaluate my priorities based on the actual time I was designated to them.
This thought began with the definition of radical love: (previous week’s message) Love is the choice you make based on the actions you take. So was I really showing love to my wife and my family? Well in looking at the numbers I am proud to say that this week was one of the most balanced weeks I have experienced in a while. I proved that by making some conscious decisions in certain areas I could improve some areas I was clearly lacking in.
Still have some distance to travel and some areas to improve but I feel that this exercise helped me establish a base line to work from. So check out the results: 
Here is day seven. Tabulation and reason behind this exercise tomorrow.
12:01 am – 4:45 am
4:45 am – 5:10 am
5:10 am – 5:40 am
5:40 am – 6:00 am
6:00 am – 6:30 am
6:30 am – 7:30 am
7:30 am – 9:50 am
9:50 am – 10:00 am
10:00 am – 10:15 am
10:15 am – 10:29 am
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Final preparations
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Prayer with team
10:29 am – 12:05 pm
12:05 pm – 1:15 pm
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm
2:15 pm – 5:00 pm
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
6:30 pm – 8:15 pm
8:15 pm – 9:30 pm
9:30 pm – 10:30 pm
10:30 pm – 12:00 pm
So this is day two of my week long time log. So I have to admit there is some hidden agenda here. (I can’t stand being so transparent) I’ll let you know how this ties into our New Testament Challenge a little later in the week.
12:01 am – 4:00 am
4:00 am – 4:25 am
4:25 am – 4:50 am
4:50 am – 5:10 am
5:10 am – 5:25 am
5:25 am – 6:00 am
6:00 am – 6:30 am
6:30 am – 7:15 am
7:30 am – 8:30 am
8:30 am – 12:00 pm
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
2:00 pm – 5:35 pm
5:35 pm – 6:20 pm
6:20 pm – 6:45 pm
6:45 pm – 7:00 pm
7:00 pm – 7:35 pm
7:35 pm – 8:15 pm
8:15 pm – 8:45 pm
8:45 pm – 12:00 pm
So I told you yesterday that I would be documenting my week so that I can better evaluate my time. I have read, and frankly ignored, those chapters in many books describing this process. Well for the first time I am going to do it in hopes of improving time management skills and prioritizing my life. So here goes day one:
12:01 am – 4:00 am
4:00 am – 4:40 am
4:40 am – 6:45 am
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Edited and uploaded two audio files to our podcast site
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Inputted weekly receipts into QuickBooks and prepared deposit (I got behind so I actually had to do multiple weeks)
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Inputted 2 weeks worth of expenditures into QuickBooks
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Ran report of online giving and updated QuickBooks
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Modified a scheduled contributors account
6:45 am - 7:15 am
7:15 am - 7:35 am
This was supposed to be some scheduled “us” time but Owen woke up early and asked his mom “why she opened the kitchen so early?” So Harmony was going to surprise me with breakfast and Owen reaped the benefits also.
7:35 am - 8:20 am
8:20 am – 12:30 pm
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
1:30 pm - 5:30 pm
5:30 pm - 6:15 pm
6:15 pm – 6:30 pm
6:30 pm – 6:45 pm
6:45 pm – 7:15 pm
7:15 pm – 8:20 pm
8:20 pm – 9:30 pm
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Exercise time and shower afterwards (My wife requested that I take better care of myself and start going to the gym. She packaged it in a “I am concerned about your health and I want you to be around for a long time, and you know heart disease runs in your family, and the ministry is really stressful” package. But it may have more to do with being 32 now and the terrible combination of gravity and lack of exercise.
9:30 pm – 10:00 pm
10:00 pm – 10:30 pm
10:30 pm – 11:15 pm
11:15 pm – 12:00 am
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