Road Trip!!!

Perhaps you have never heard of Exponential?

It promises to be an incredible event taking place next week in Orlando, Florida. The speaking line up will include people like Rick Warren, Andy Stanley, Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson. Other special guest will include Dr. George Yancey, Mark DeYmaz and this guy i know named Mont Mitchell.

Well over 2,000 people (including several from our church staff) will gather for four days to dream, envision and to prepare themselves and their teams to engage in the most significant task in human history.... planting and nurturing new churches. If you don't think this is critical work, think again. This is not just about new churches in the United States but around the world!

Some of you might be thinking, why do we need new churches... don't we have enough already ?!? The answer to that is simply... No. There are so many people around the world, we are no where close to having enough churches currently in existence to impact their lives!

i am particularly excited about this year's conference because there is a track designed especially for those who are interested in multi-ethnic/ multi-racial church planting. i am absolutely convinced that the future of the church will need to focus on creating communities of faith that celebrate and embrace racial and ethnic diversity. The material that will be presented in this track will challenge and encourage... and i can't wait!

As a result of not being in town next week my next blog entry will be May 1st.... between now and the next time i visit this blog again, i plan on "suffering" through 87 degree weather with partially sunny to sunny skies... someone has to do it... i am glad to volunteer!

Doing Life....Together!

It has taken almost 15 years but i have to admit it feels really good.... it feels great to be part of a small circle of people who are loving, safe, accepting and ready (if necessary) to get in my face ...

We get together every other week and when we do, i absolutely love it! Our group has been together now for several months and it's been very cool watching how all us interact with one another. Our children love being with one another when they have a chance to come together as a matter of fact have asked that we all spend more time together.

i can admit it now, i know i need community. i need a place where i can go and don't have to be "on"... i don't have to be the "Answer man"... no, in this group, we get to be just small group participants. Let me give you an example...

After a great but grueling weekend at Westbrook, my group simply gave me a break by letting me be me. i simply came to the group on that night and was able to soak up the comfort of the group... like a warm, rugged Carhartt jacket, my group became a place to be recharged and energized for the coming week!

On one level i knew i really missed this kind of community... i mean, that is what i am always encouraging others to do... connect in community... what i didn't realize was just how much it meant to me!

Do you have a small group that you're part of? A group of people that you "do life" with every week? If you don't, seriously consider making a small group experience part of your life... trust me, once you find the right group of people to connect with, you can never be the same... and that's a very good thing!

An Awesome Growth Weekend!

This weekend we are having one of the best teachers of the New Testament in the United States, perhaps the world with us all weekend. He will teach in depth sessions for our church on Friday night and on Saturday on 1st century wisdom for 21st century living... which will be a study on the letters that the apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament. Dr. Mark Scott is academic dean of Ozark Christian College where he has served since 1983. We are thrilled to have him with us!
He will preach for all of our Sunday services this weekend as well! That will be a treat!


Perhaps the best thing about these in depth teaching sessions that we sponsor as a church is that it gives our people who really want to be challenged in their faith walk a great chance to grow in the depth of their knowledge, to move to another level or tier in this thing called the Christian life... thus we call call these events Christian Life Development: Tier 2.


As i listen to him teach at this moment, i think how awesome it is to be at a great church like Westbrook... this is what it means to grow! i love it!