Light the Darkness

Turkey Give-away Draws Hundreds

One of the benefits of my perspective as the Co-founder of CMA is the contacts with guys we support on mission across the U.S. Sam Tanner is chasing the dream in CA. Here is his Thanksgiving story. Great job Sam! Generosity is the best form of evangelism today!

 

I just want to give you an update on our outreach we held this past Sunday. Two weeks ago I felt the Lord leading me to ask the church if they would be willing to buy an extra turkey and dinner items (box of stuffing, potatoes, 2 cans of veggies, 1 can of cranberry sauce) to bring to church so we could give it to those in our community who might be struggling in this recession.

 

I was surprised when we had 65 turkey dinners pledged. I immediately prepared 3 banners and 1,000 invite cards to be handed out advertising this outreach. When we arrived Sunday morning there were 20 people in line already (at 7 am) to get a turkey. By the time service started, it was standing room only at the first service and a full second service with a total of 401 people worshiping with us. That was our biggest day ever!

 

We gave out 140+ dinner kits with many members running out to buy more between services. One lady who had been coming to the church only for the past few weeks gave 14 meals. We covered everyone who wanted a meal kit without having the church to buy anything except the banners. Many of those who attended declared with tears that they have now found a church home. Most importantly, we had approximately 40+ people raise their hands to accept Christ. Unbelievable! What an amazing thing God did through his church. Please pray that many of these same people will return this Sunday.

 

Gary Kendall

Campus/Church Planting

"Planting...is the most critical strategy..."

The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for the numerical growth of the Body of Christ, the renewal of existing churches, and the overall impact of that Body on the culture of any city.

Nothing else—neither crusades, outreach programs, para-church ministries, mega-churches, consulting, nor church renewal processes— will have the consistent impact that dynamic, extensive church planting has. This is an eyebrow raising statement, I know. But to those who have done any study of the subject, it is not even controversial.

Tim Keller, The Cutting Edge Magazine (Vol. 9:2)

Winter 2007

I Called You

Last night I spoke at the CMA conference here at Indian Creek.  Our dance and drama ministry put on the Everything living video about how Jesus delivers and heals us from our stuff.  I titled the message, I Called You.  It talks about the need to deal with our stuff.  If you want to read the message Download i_called_you.doc

If you want to see the previous version of Everything you can watch the YouTube version.

Revealing

Cally Parkinson and Greg Hawkins, the Executive Pastor at Willow Creek, authored the book, Reveal.  It came out a year ago and introduced great insight into the church life in America.  A lot of controversy kicked up because the findings portrayed the American church as very consumer oriented so the finger pointing began.  What really matters is that we agree that we need to improve our ability to develop disciples that live out the love of Jesus. 

Rather than recap the most recent findings that are coming out in a sequel, Follow Me, I want to point you to the site where the learnings are unpacked.  If you want to learn more go to http://www.revealnow.com/.   I especially encourage you to listen to the interview with Bill Hybels.  Indian Creek was one of the churches surveyed.  I'm excited to learn from the others.  I'll write more about this later but I'm also thrilled to learn that the basic building blocks of the spiritual life are prayer and Bible study.  No one can do that for you but when you do it--you meet with God!  What could be better than that?  Okay, I said I wouldn't do all the digging for you so check out the website and tell me what you glean.

What are the Odds?

My parter in CMA and good friend, Robin Wood, wrote a book titled, What are the Odds.  It is a great book full of stories where God made the improbable possible.  Unlikely things happened to undeserving people because of the greatness and the love of God.  Time after time God revealed Himself when common people trusted in an uncommon grace.  You'll laugh, cry and be motivated to start spiritual conversations and give God a chance to break through into your world.  Yes, it can happen for you too!  God wants us to step out in faith.  Talk to people about faith, about God, about hope and see what He will do for you.  Belinda and I have enjoyed this book so much we've given away 70 copies at $15. a pop and we think it was worth every penny.  No, we don't get a discount, we think it is just that important that you and I give God a chance to reveal His love to His children who are finding their way back to God.  We bought copies for our staff and for our graduates and we've given them to our family members and even as wedding gifts. 

I'll make you a deal as a reader of this blog.  If you will contact me and ask for the book I'll buy you one and ship it to you on one condition--that you will also write me back and tell me one of your own, what are the odds stories.  I'm going to hold you to it so don't say yes unless you are willing to do what we should already be doing all the time :)  Here is what I believe, if you will give God a chance he will work through you too.  If you want more books to give away I have several cases in my office.  If you want to order from CMA just click on the highlighted link here. 

I can hardly wait to hear what God does through you.

Which Would You Choose?

We had a reservation for the Maui Princess.  The occasion was the celebration of our 29th anniversary.  Doesn't Belinda look great!  Our family pitched in and bought us two seats on the Maui Princess, "by far the largest and most comfortable cruise vessel in Maui."  We were excited we arrived a little early.  There was no one at the booth at Slip #4.  There were about 20 plastic chairs sitting in a row and there were about 10 people waiting.  I thought it was interesting that we were only about 20 minutes from the time to sail and there wasn't a gangplank down from the boat and there were no signs of activity.  We asked the others in line and no one seemed to know anything.  We let fifteen minutes go by and still no activity.  So Belinda called the office and they reassured her in a scolding voice that it was going to leave on time.  Belinda told her there is no one at the ticket booth and there are no signs of activity, it didn't seem possible that we could leave on time. 

The boat in Slip #3 was also a dinner cruise ship named "The Spirit of Lahaina."  It was supposed to leave at the same time.  From the time we showed up it was a happening place.  There were two grills on the back of the boat loaded with steaks, chicken and shrimp.  The cook was having a great time talking to anyone who would listen.  The scent was wonderful.  There was a lady dressed in Hawaiian attire with a flower in her hair taking care of anyone who had a question.  Music was coming from the ship and the tour guide was laughing, making small talk and prepping the crowd (about the same number as our boat). 

Finally I boarded The Spirit of Lahaina and asked the cook if he knew anything about the Maui Princess.  He said, I can't say for sure but they are known for canceling if they don't have a certain number.  I asked the captain if we could get on their boat.  But of course you needed a reservation.  About that time they said, "all aboard" and the party started.  They introduced the crew to the cheers of the crowd and you knew it was going to be a good night.  I got back off the boat and sat down in our plastic chairs, all in a row, facing forward toward an empty boat feeling about the same inside.  A few minutes later a woman sauntered up to the ticket counter and without greeting anyone sat on her seat while a line formed in front of her.  We were the last ones to get to the counter.  When we got there she told us she was taking tickets for the ferry to Molokai.  The Maui Princess isn't sailing tonight, she said.  We tried to call you several times she added (we later checked ours phone and there were no messages).  Belinda told her about calling the office and she said, I don't know why they would have told you that.  We have a cruise tomorrow, I'll add your reservation to tomorrow night's cruise.

Guess which boat we chose to sail on?  The Spirit of Lahaina was everything it seemed to be.  The food was tasty, steak, chicken AND shrimp.  There was a magician on board who was great.  The crew made everything fun.  It left earlier than the Maui Princess (when we left there were 20 people sitting in straight rows, in plastic chairs, waiting without music or any sign of life).  And when we returned from a tremendous evening where everything was first class (we even saw dolphins).  The Maui Princess was there in the slip all dark and deserted. 

We had a great celebration for our anniversary and it was a good lesson in how to take care of people.  At CMA we always say, the party begins in the parking lot.  I've been so proud of Jon DeWhit for his insistence at Indian Creek that we have greeters in the parking lot even if they are all members of his family!  I'm guessing the Maui Princess sailed but I don't think much of their operation is about the customer.  They do great on their advertising but their delivery stinks.  The Spirit of Lahaina on the other hand won't lack for great word of mouth.  It is no wonder that the First Mate said, we have a capacity crowd of 75 scheduled for tomorrow night and when we asked the magician to change his schedule because the 4th fell in the middle of the week he did it without complaining.  I'm not surprised.  That's how it works when you do things right.  So, which church, I mean, boat, would you choose?

By the way, Judy Sturman challenged me to a sunset contest, so visit her blog at http://www.judysturman.typepad.com/ and see what you think.  You can leave us comments to vote.  Have a great vacation Judy and Jeff.

CMA in Anderson

The Church Multiplication Association team had a good weekend in Anderson, IN.  The annual board meeting saw the addition of two new members, Harold Christ (gotta love that name) from Phoenix and Paul Keeler also from Phoenix.  Harold is in real estate and has participated in several land deals that have netted CMA churches property.  He attends the CMA church where David Hinnmin is pastor.  He has been a generous donor and he loves church planting.  Paul Keeler attended Mt. Park Community Church where Co-Founder Robin Wood pastored.  Paul has a heart for church planting and for missions.  He also serves on the board forHeart to Honduras.  Welcome aboard and thanks for your help.

Just over 20 persons attended the Church Planters Bootcamp jointly sponsored by the Church of God and CMA.  Both Robin Wood and Steve Chiles, field representative for CMA taught sessions in the camp.  The Bootcamp provides a good introduction for a planter or a planter and his team to what it takes to plant.  As many as three of the planters may well be planters for CMA.

The Meet and Greet brought together CMA planters and potentials.  Robin shared the latest news and promoted the upcoming conference at Indian Creek Community Church, September 22-24.  He also highlighted stories from his book, What Are the Odds?  I shared about our commitment to plant churches that will multiply.  There is a reason that "multiplication" is in the middle of our name.  We are not simply concerned with planting churches but planting churches that will plant churches.  When that happens we will know that we are succeeding in our motivation.  If you want to read a message (Download Why_Multiply.doc) I gave at our staff retreat about what we are doing at Indian Creek as it relates to multiplication click here.

We at CMA hope to add 8-10 churches this next year.  Last Easter over 25,000+ people attended 65 CMA churches.  We are excited about how God is using this ministry to reach the next generation and plant churches that will multiply.

Church Planting, The Bridge Anderson

Kristen and I visited The Bridge Anderson last Sunday.  Ironically they were doing an At the Movies series like we are doing in July.  We didn't see signage out front so we were a little confused on where to enter the parking lot and where to enter the building.  We went for the door where we saw someone with a lime green T-shirt on guessing correctly that the only reason someone wears lime green on a Sunday morning is if they have a job drawing attention to themselves.  Yes, she was a greeter and she was out at the curb to the parking lot so we got the message.  She was friendly and engaging.

We were met inside by the smell of popcorn which gave ambience for the "At the Movies" theme.  Just inside there was a large poster of the title for the day, August Rush.  Very nice.  Once inside we saw a couple of Harleys and a sign promoting an upcoming ride.  Two more people greeted us and asked if we were new or we had been there before.  It was a friendly reception.  The main hallway was attractively decorated and there was a great breakfast station with a place to eat.  The previous service was underway and we could monitor the progress via the monitor in the cafe.  That was nice.  A staff guy, Chris, came up and recognized me and gave me the lowdown on the day.  The Pastor Chris, the one without hair, was out of town but Kylee Larson was the speaker for the day.  She is a youth ministry intern but he had already heard the sermon and he said it was great.  He was energetic and positive.

When we went into the auditorium I immediately liked the three screen display.  The announcements were tastefully rotated through the slide show.  I wasn't sure I needed the mist the dry ice created but I admit it gave the sense that something special as coming and the lights shining through it put more color on the stage.  The opening song was a secular song that rocked and the band did it right.  I liked everything about the performance but the words to the song left me feeling as if there wasn't much hope but to keep moving on.  And maybe the message was that there isn't a lot of hope in the world but if that was the message no one connected the dots.  So I'm unsure of what I was supposed to take from the song and its placement. 

Announcements followed led by several staff persons.  They were warm and engaging so even though  there were four different announcements they made them fun and it didn't seem to take as long as it did.  It seemed early to dive into announcements but I would want to be around and with the persons making the announcements.  The worship set was short, three songs, but well done.  The audience which was late arriving as usual for a church plant seemed to engage.  The selection was good and the band did a great job.  Kylee Larson was as good as Chris said. She used clips from August Rush and wove her own story in.  She talked about everyone's quest for acceptance and signficance.  I think anyone could have benefitted.  She used the scriptures in Hebrews 10 and 11 to support her thoughts.  Personal application was good but clear next steps were missing.  All in all I was touched and the message spoke to me.

The Bridge Anderson did a good job on a summer Sunday with the Pastor out of town.  The energy was good.  The emphasis was on God.  The people were friendly and if I was church shopping I would go back.  Good job! 

Ask

When we joined the Willow Creek Association in 1991 I began to pray for Bill and Lynne Hybels.  My reasoning was simple.  He was doing a super job planting a church and I knew how hard it was to plant from what we were doing in Olathe.  I prayed for their family regularly for ten years.  Somewhere during that time I also prayed that I could meet Bill.  It wasn't long before God answered my prayer.  Bill came to Kansas City and invited several pastors to lunch and somehow my name was on the list.  I got a chance to tell him I had been praying for him for nearly a decade. 

Bill came to Kansas City another three times or so over the next few years.  One of the things most dear to his heart is to mentor young pastors.  Several times he made the remark, If you need something from me or from Willow just ask.  If I/we can help you we will.  He has backed that up repeatedly.  We've asked for resources repeatedly and they always knock themselves out to help.  Bill invited us to become an International Partner and we did adopting the nation of Germany.  He asked Dick Anderson to meet with us regularly and that has become a friendship that will last a lifetime.  He continued to make his offer to "just ask" so I did.  I asked him to come to Indian Creek for the dedication of our new facilty.  The building took longer than we thought so he came and did our Vision Retreat a few years ago.  When we did dedicate our facility he sent Dick on his behalf with a wonderful housewarming gift.

Recently he made the same invitation when I was a part of a lunch he hosted in Orlando--so I said there is something you could do if you were willing.  We are going to host the Leadership Summit this August with the The Church of the Resurrection at their facility.  I said, if you could come to Kansas City to help promote the Summit I think it would be very valuable.  I knew two other things were in our favor when I asked.  He loves Vernon Armitage who is the Pastor at Pleasant Valley and we are on the I-35 corridor.  On some of his mentoring trips he starts in Minnesota for breakfast, hits K.C. at lunch and has supper in Dallas.  He said yes.  While I'm sure that my request didn't swing the decision, there is a point to this story that is not about Bill.

You need to ask.  God has given us a wonderful privilege in prayer and James says, You have not because you ask not.  Is there something you want or need but it seems too far out of reach?  There is nothing too hard for God. 

Bill Hybels will be in Kansas City for a breakfast for leaders this Thursday, May 15, 7:30 at COR.  There is no charge but you do need to reserve a spot and you can do so by going to www.cor.org.  They have room for 300.  Let's fill the room.  Bill will talk about developing a leadership culture and he will promote the Summit.  I have another request for him when I pick him up at the airport.  I'll tell you about it later.  If he says yes you will see the result in one of our service.  You'll never know unless you ask.  I must say that Bill is one of the most generous and giving leaders you'll ever meet.  I give God big props for answering prayer and I give Bill thanks for seeing potential in others and giving them a hand up.  What are you waiting for?  Ask!

CMA Easter

As early as Sunday afternoon the stories from our 50+ CMA churches started coming in.  It is super to hear the stories of life change, full meeting spaces and kingdom wins.  Numbers alone don't begin to tell the story but since everyone counts with Christ we count too.  I was thrilled to talk with James Vogt, at Origins Faith Community and hear they had 190 for the weekend.  Just think at the start of the year Origins was only a glimmer in their eye.  I checked Troy McMahon's blog with excitement to learn that they hit 360 and their first service was this March.  I called Kelly Barcol who I've been coaching for a couple of years and they had a new high of 430.  Only two years ago Kelly was thinking the dream was dead in Valdosta, GA.  Mo Hodge, our good friend at The Bridge Church, a multi-site church in Indiana had 2,445 in their three sites.  Steve Sjogren, who Robin is coaching, just launched in March and he had 512.  Tom Carlini just launched in Gilbert, AZ and he had 122.  Nate Helm held his first Easter celebration in Dayton, OH and had 217.  In a very exciting story developing in San Tan, AZ, Mark Krenz started his church last year and this year he launched a second venue.  They went from 216 to 368 with 70 decisions for Christ.  I could go on but when I have the final numbers I'll pass them to you so we can celebrate together.  Oh, at Indian Creek we had 2,225 for the weekend.  Praise God! All CMA churches together hosted 29,029 for Easter.

With about one-half the CMA churches reporting decisions for Christ we totaled 421.  Just think of all the dancing going on in heaven!  If the angels celebrate every time a child returns to the Father then with various services going on around the world in different time zones the angels would have been WORN OUT by the end of the day.  But then again you don't get tired in heaven, do you?  My favorite part is the smile that must have been on the face of the Father knowing it was worth it all.  Thanks for your prayers, support and financial contributions.  Through Indian Creek and CMA we are impacting a nation for Christ.