Pastor Mark

If they're not interested, who cares?

Ben Decker shared some great insight for leaders and communicators on the Decker Communications blog today. If you desire to be a better communicator, you really need to let this fundamental truth sink in:

"...the communicator is responsible for the communications experience.  When you present your message to an audience, you are the conductor.  You lead.  It’s your job to create the environment in which participants are most likely to listen, engage and absorb.  You provoke connection.  You motivate your audience to care.  Your job doesn’t change when an audience is unresponsive, distracted or uninterested."

Read the rest HERE.

Quick hits

So here's what I have been up to lately:

• Gettin' psyched about speaking at Destiny Church on November 14/15th! It's been a while. Continuing the series "God is..." with the topic "God is Here." Invite everyone you know!

• I'm about halfway through "Mad Church Disease" by Anne Jackson and just started "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. Heard both authors speak at Catalyst '09 a few weeks ago in Atlanta. Both are incredible reads for different reasons. Highly recommended.

• Just started semester 2 of our Journey Classes at Destiny Church. I am teaching "Reading the Bible for All Its Worth" for the 2nd time around. Smaller group this time, but I really like the increased interaction. Looking forward to week #2 this Sunday night @6pm. If you want, you can still jump in!

• Continue learning how to use youversion live for all of our services. I totally dig it! If you have a mobile phone with internet, go to m.youversion.com/destinychurch during any service and interact, take notes, etc. REALLY COOL.

• Also continuing to learn about Planning Center Online to communicate with and manage all of our volunteers at Destiny. Currently working with the Production Team and it is going quite well. Can't wait to roll it out for everyone else.

• Spent Monday (my day off) doing one of my new favorite relaxing past times - wandering around the zoo taking pictures, praying, listening to podcasts, etc. Here's a few pics from Monday (click on them to see larger version)...

The Genius of Generosity

Here's the YouVersion.com notes from tonight's service!

(You can follow along on your mobile phone at m.youversion.com/destinychurch)

Mobile Phones and tonight's service @ Destiny Church!

Thanks to the awesome people over at lifechurch.tv, we have a great tool for those of you with smart phones (i.e. iPhone, Pre, Android, etc) to use during tonight's service!

When you arrive, just go to m.youversion.com/destinychurch on your phone and you will be able to follow along with the service, take notes and have them emailed to yourself, read scriptures, take a poll, and even ask Pastor Mike a question about the topic that he's preaching about!

Pretty stinkin' sweet!

Here's what it will look like (see you guys online tonight!):

Perry tells us what they REALLY mean

Perry Noble is one of my favorite pastors in the country both for his heart for God's Kingdom and for his willingness to be so direct when there's something that needs to be said.

One of my favorite posts from his blog was entitled, "What they REALLY mean..." Here's an excerpt from it...

One of the lessons I’ve learned while being in the ministry for the past 17 years is sometimes what people say isn’t exactly true…things such as… (WARNING…you will probably only like this post if you are a pastor or a staff member of a church!)

What They Say:  “I’m looking for a church that preaches the Word!”

What They Mean:  “I’m looking for a church that preaches MY view of the Word.  I think the BLANK translation should be used…I think BLANK should be talked about a lot while BLANK should be ignored.  And if you ever stop preaching my view of the Word I will leave and tell others that you don’t preach the Word!”

What They Say:  “Lot’s of people have been coming to me and saying they don’t like is…”

What They Mean:  “I basically only have three friends…and all of them think exactly like me.  The other night we were enjoying a time of self righteousness because, after all, we are right about everything…and were also slandering you (in the form of prayer requests) and thought it would be wise to approach you with our pet peeve.  We’ve actually talked to no one else about this but said “lots” because we wanted to validate our dysfunction.”

Click HERE to read the rest on Perry's blog - it's totally worth it! He talked about:
 "I'm leaving the church!" "I want a church that is more focused on discipleship!" and "Don't take this personally, but...!"

Joe McGee @ DestinyChurch!

• If you're in trouble, take heart! God loves to rescue people who are in trouble! He isn't looking for strong people - He's looking for people to be strong FOR!
• Psalm 60:11, Psalm 69:17, Psalm 81:7, Psalm 86:7, Psalm 91:15, Psalm 9:9, Psalm 20:1, Psalm 27:5, Psalm 31:7, Psalm 22:7, Psalm 37:37 
• Thanksgiving attracts heaven.
• Learn how to repent - it keeps you from being spiritually constipated!
• Hebrews 11:1- 
• NASA tells us that if you could travel at the speed of light (186,000 miles/sec) time ceases to exist at that speed. Isn't it interesting that the Bible says that God IS light? He exists OUTSIDE of TIME!
• Hebrews 11:6 It is impossible to please God without faith.
• Mark 4 says that the devil comes to steal the Word IMMEDIATELY when it is sown --  because it is the only thing that can whip him! But we aren't fighting the devil - we are fighting the fight of faith. Jesus constantly talked about people's faith.
• We are always whining for God to do something here in the earth - but God gave us authority. He is the Head, but we are the Body. He wants His Body to ACT.
• Faith is not a magic wand. Faith speaks. The centurion understood this because when he spoke, Rome was speaking. He knew that when Jesus spoke, heaven spoke. Jesus constantly said that what we BELIEVE is important. It wasn't just about what He did - without people having faith, He did very little, remember?
• Jesus whipped the devil. We don't fight the devil. We fight to keep the FAITH.
• Luke 8:40- Everyone was touching Jesus, but someone TOUCHED Him. Someone made a withdrawal!  Her faith made her touch different!
• James 4 says that you set your life on fire with your words! But you can't control the tongue! (So what do I do?) You control your HEART because that's where your words come from. By the time it hits your mouth it's too late. Your mouth is just reflecting what's in your heart.
• Luke 18:8- When Jesus returns to the earth will He be able to find faith anywhere?
• "God, either burn this in me or burn this out of me, cuz it won't go away!"
• 1 Corinthians 3:11- 
• 2 Corinthians 5:6- We live by faith, not by sight. It is to be our goal to please God whether we're in this body or away from it!
• Can you imagine a farmer who sows without expecting anything in return? That's crazy!

If you missed it, go to www.destinychurch.com and click on the MEDIA tab - you can watch the video or download the audio there (it will be up on Monday, October 19th).

He said a LOT more than I could take notes on so do what you got to do to get this message! (iTunes, destinychurch website for the audio or video - just get it!)

Catalyst 09 | Matt Chandler

History can be a life-giving reality check to help things make sense that cannot without the light of history.

·     What does God have for us in light of what He has been doing since this thing started?

·     The Scriptures are God preparing mankind for redemption.

·     The Gospel: The Great Exchange (He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we could become sons and daughters of God)

·     After Cornelieus’ family all got saved, the church then got together to decide whether or not Gentiles could be saved. Whew! Thank God we don’t act like that in the church today! ;)

·     Hebrews 11:29- …and women received back their dead. And some were tortured… No transition or anything… What he’s saying is that maybe we will be saved from the sword, or maybe we’ll die on its edge. Maybe we’ll be raised from the dead and maybe we’ll just be dead…

·     God looks at BOTH groups and says that the world is not worthy of these… THEREFORE since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…

·     Every time we delay and hesitate before we obey is God calling us to deeper waters…

·     Maturity comes through repentance.

·     Hebrews 12 Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… let us run the race set before us.

·     It is a lack of gratitude and therefore sin that has you wanting to be anything other than who you are.

·     Some of you are going to be called to shepherd a group of stiff-necked people just like Moses. Play your part. Run your race well…

·     So don’t be weary…

·     God has invited you to play a part in this thing that he is doing – THEREFORE lets throw off any weights. Confession must be an ongoing ethic for us as we go about what He’s called us to. Play your part well. Run your race well.

·     Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…who makes intercession for you.

Catalyst 09 | Priscilla Shirer

 (Sorry for the brevity of these notes - I really needed to soak in this and I didn't write much)

·         Joshua 3:1 – “Joshua arose early in the morning…”

·         1. Joshua acted immediately in obedience to God.

o   Are you procrastinating about something God’s told you to do?

o   We are so good at giving excuses!

·         2. Joshua acted fearlessly.

·         3. Joshua acknowledged God’s presence. If God ain’t doin’ it, I ain’t doin’ it.

o   What would our lives look like if we never moved unless and until we see the ark of the covenant moving?

·         4. Joshua consecrated himself in anticipation of God’s miracle.

o   Leaders – it’s your job to lead people to anticipate God’s move and to expect it!

Catalyst 09 | Dave Ramsey | The Momentum Theorem

·      When you have momentum, you look better than you are. When you don’t have momentum, you are better than you look.

·      Momentum is created. It does not randomly occur.

·      Some of you haven’t ever worked hard enough to burn out. You can’t burn out if you’ve never been on fire.
 
·      You don’t just “become” Andy Stanley or Malcolm Gladwell – God blesses AND you play YOUR part. It takes BOTH!!
 
·      Focused Intensity, over Time, multiplied by God, equals Unstoppable Momentum!
 
·      So many of us have such a Messiah complex because we think that if we don’t do this or that, these people are going to hell. As if it all depends on you…
 
·      Focus is lost for two reasons: Fear and greed.
 
·      We also lose focus when we take our eyes off of the ball and focus on the goal. We think about running before we finish the catch. You are walking in something in something you have yet to earn.

 ·      Focus: I can’t see anything except what I’m looking at.

 ·      Try focusing on your marriage/job/kids/spiritual life – because no one else in this culture is!

 ·      Rick Warren calls focus being INTENTIONAL.

 ·      Pour intensity into things that matter!

 ·      Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”

 ·      When you watch sports fans do you ever wonder if they are that intense about anything else? Have that focus and intensity about your marriage!

 ·      Intensity causes things to MOVE. And you can’t do that without focus because your power is spread out over too much area.

 ·      If I persist long enough, I will WIN. – Og Mandino

 ·      If you’re only focused and intense for a few hours or a few days, nothing will move or change.

 ·      1 Cor 9:24 “Run the race in such a way as to win the prize.”

 ·      Life is a marathon, not a sprint. “Focused intensity, OVER TIME…”

 ·      The tortoise and the hare: The tortoise ALWAYS wins. Because of focused intensity over time…!

 ·      You and I are finite. God is INFINITE. He is standing there are the starting line, with you in the middle of the race, at the finish line as you cross and with you 5 years before you start – all at the same time. Because He’s God.

 ·      Get PLUGGED in to Him as a power source, and your momentum will become unstoppable.

 ·      There is a process and you must follow it. Grow it slow, grow it right.

Catalyst 09 | Lab: Reggie McNeal

Here are my notes from Reggie McNeal's session on "Missional Renaissance":

• "Missional" is such a buzzword - all you have to do is put it in a book title and it'll sell right now.
• "Missional church" is a redundant term, or it should be.

What does it mean to be "missional?"

• The people of God
  
• Partnering with Him
• In His redemptive mission
• In the world

• We've all been brought up thinking of the church as a "what" - something I can like or not like, something I can write a check to, etc. But church is NOT a "what". Church is a "who". Until we get this we will never join God in the streets where He is doing most of His work.
• Church is not a noun - church is a verb. I am the church - I'm not the whole church, but I am part of it.
• It is a move from "a" to "the". God doesn't look at His church as an "a". 
• We were always told to "build it and they will come" - we built places and if they don't come we launch missiles from our silo to theirs.
• As long as we are still trying to build great "whats" we never get to building great "whos". 
• In Gen 12 God blesses Abraham so that he can bless the world.
• In this kind of thing we're not the point!
• God didn't build a church and then came up with a mission...! 
• God wants people to BE the church where they already are!
• The mission predates the church - we have a part to play in it, but we aren't the destination. Airports aren't destinations, they are just connectors. Nobody has books on their coffee tables called "Great Airports of the World". We aren't going there, but they play roles in getting us to where we are trying to go!
• Jesus didn't teach us to pray "Thy church come..." or "church and church more abundantly."
• How do our buildings bless the community? How do you re-scorecard your time so you aren't forever captured inside the "what?"
• We've been trying to get God to fall in love with the things we are pursuing and to bless what's important to us. We need to be recaptured by the things God cares about.
• We are so church-centric that we don't even count it until we club them into crossing "our finish line" (membership, etc)
• Do we really think that the mission of God is tagged to our small ego-centric church scorecard? What do we think God's lookin' at?
• We are far more concerned about how many people we have in our VBS than we are about how many hungry kids there are in our city. But that's ok because we know that God cares more about VBS than hunger, right?
• Kids don't learn when their stomachs are louder than their teachers.
• Why do we have to go pray about it or go on a vision quest to decide if our churches are going to feed hungry kids? What in the world did we do with the billions of dollars that came into our churches last year? And it's a renewable gift that will come back again!
• We don't need to learn how to build better churches - we already have 6 Flags Over Jesus in all of our cities! We are amazing at doing church!
• We consume all of our prayer on us! "God, be with us through this worship service." We have a God that raises the dead and we are praying about potluck suppers!
• What would happen if we went after broken marriages in our community more than after building a larger tower that does not matter?
• A church staff decided to cancel staff meeting and instead sent the staff to go out and sit alone in places where people gather like Walmart, parks, etc and were told to pray one prayer for one hour: "God, help me to see what You see." This activity completely changed the "way they did church." The next week they had the entire congregation do this instead of preaching a sermon. Then they put paper up everywhere and had people come back in an write what they heard. That COMPLETELY changed their scorecard.
• We need to stop building "a church" and start being "the church" in our culture.
• "The-Church-centric" instead of "a-church-centric".
• If we get this, we're gonna see the church at every Starbucks, every apartment complex all over all of our cities.