One thing to do while you are watching the Olympics

I am looking forward to watching the Olympics over the next several days. I love everything about the Olympics. However, I was challenged earlier today to look at the Games with a differenct perspective. Rather than watching the Olympics and getting all caught up in nationalistic pride and competition, why not use this opportunity to pray for the countries represented at the Games?

Here's my plan:

1. Since they are the host country, everytime the word "Beijing" or "China" is mentioned in the broadcast I'm going to pray for that country.
   
2. To help, I signed-up to receive one of these. You can too!
3. Whenever watching medal ceremonies, pray for all the countries on the podium.

There it is. Simply and sweet. I'd love to hear any of your ideas too!

Go USA! (and JESUS!)

Close to the End...or really, the Beginning!

Sorry for the long time between posts. We are nearing the finish line on our adoption! Our baby girl will be born sometime around July 22nd or so.

Please keep a few things in prayer for us between now and then:

1. Pray for Michele's and my health. The past 6 weeks have been nothing but run-and-gun for us. The stress and nonstop go-go-go is starting to wear us down. We'd really like to have our batteries fully recharged once this little girl arrives. I know we'll need them to be!
2. Pray for a smooth delivery for our birthmother (whom we adore!) and that our baby girl will be born pink and healthy.
3. Pray for our birthmother. She is such an amazing young lady, and I know she's going to be grieving the "loss" of this little one. Pray for God's peace and comfort upon her after the birth.
4. Finally, pray for our adoption to go through - the only snag in this whole process is the birthfather. He could choose to contest, which would cause us to lose the baby. Please pray for God to move him to either not get involved or at least to give his consent. We are believing God is working on our behalf!

Thanks again, to all of you who take the time to read this blog. Once she gets here, there will be more consistent posts. I hope and pray God is bigger to you today than He was yesterday!

U R What U Read #3

Book #3: Too Busy Not To Pray by Bill Hybels

I stink at prayer. I'm like an ADD kid in a candy store - unable to focus or concentrate for any length of time. Sometimes I start praying at night right before I fall asleep and find myself waking up saying "Amen." My wife, on the other hand, is a prayer GIANT. She wears me out when we pray together.

This book has helped me tremendously in the prayer department. Bill Hybels is a man I respect for many reasons (and I've never met the man) and this book only served to deepen my regard for him as a Christ follower. This man communes with God. And I want to go there too. Here's a few things I picked up from this book:

• God wants to answer our prayers. (see Luke 18:2-8)
• God is able to answer our prayers.
• Prayer is God's invitation to His children to enter into His presence. You want to hang out with God? Pray!
• People make room in their busy schedules for the things they cherish the most. Jesus made time to pray. Shouldn't we?
• Some prayer requests, no matter how well intentioned, are inappropriate. This is one reason for unanswered prayer.
• Write your prayers down daily in a journal. It helps you focus and helps you see Him move with answered prayers over time.
• Comfort = complacent prayer life. Don't get comfortable in life. Stretch yourself constantly.
• When you pray, it's just as important to listen as it is to speak. Probably more important, actually.

What area(s) do you struggle with in your prayer life? When do you find is the best time for you to pray?

How we helped plant a church - Part 3

Once we said "Yes!" we quickly went to work. Initially, our role was to be "gatherers." The leadership of Lifechurch.tv supplied us with a list of names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses they had compiled over the years of visitors from the Tulsa area. Our job was to try and contact as many of them as possible, invite them to the first vision-casting meeting, and get a final headcount so preparations could be made. Needless to say, we tore through the list like there was a pot of gold at the end of it!

From this process I learned the following:

• The leadership had a plan. The fact that they had hundreds of people's contact information showed me they had been planning for this for quite some time.
• God had a plan. How on earth can you explain the phone call from Lifechurch.tv at the exact moment we were filling out paperwork to join another church? And why on earth would they call us?
• Both plans were brought to fruition by prayer.

If you feel called to plant a church, do you have a plan? Do you have any "gatherers" to help?

How we helped plant a church - Part 2

March 2000: I was in my last semester of pharmacy school and it became apparent we were going to be moving from OKC to Tulsa, OK due to my new job. Needless to say we weren't particularly thrilled about leaving our church and friends behind. It was about that time, with the urging of a friend of mine named Sean Vollendorf, we began to earnestly pray God would lay it on the hearts of our church leaders to plant a campus of Lifechurch.tv in Tulsa.


Fast-forward to September 2001: We had been in Tulsa almost a year-and-a-half now. Despite visiting multiple churches we couldn't help but feel like God had something more in store for us. Throughout this whole time, we had kept praying "God turn the attention of Lifechurch.tv's leaders towards Tulsa."


And then, one night it happened. As we were filling out paperwork to join a local church, a pastor from Lifechurch.tv called and asked if we would be willing to help plant a campus in Tulsa. We said "yes!" and immediately threw the paperwork in the trash. God had heard our prayers.


I'm convinced God wanted us in Tulsa for a purpose. I'm also convinced the ONLY way this plant happened was because of prayer. Do you believe the local church is the hope of the world? Could you be facing a relocation in the near future? Do you feel called to help your current church plant a new campus where you're going? START PRAYING!


Have you considered being a church planter? Where?

How we helped plant a church - Part 1

In his book entitled Courageous Leadership Bill Hybels said that he believed with all his heart that "the local church is the hope of the world." Let that soak into your brain a little bit. Do you believe that too?

In October 2001, my wife and I opened our home to approximately 20-some-odd people, many of whom were total strangers, to prayerfully discuss the possibility of starting a new type of church in our area. 7 years later our dreams have become a reality with almost 3000 people attending weekly. Also, a new separate campus on the other side of town was launched out of ours just last week. And we are only getting started!

This week I'd like to share with all of you how we got involved and took part in this amazing journey. My prayer is that you will see how tentmakers can make a Kingdom difference. Also, maybe you might feel called, as my wife and I did, to venture out and help plant a church. Believe me, there isn't a more rewarding experience in this world!

If you were asked today by your church leadership, would you be willing to help plant a church? What would be some of your reservations?