paulurban.blogs.com

Here's . . . Mark Rhodes!

Mark and I met in college.  Mark fell in love with Jen (his, not mine), who I knew from high school.  Mark was a business major who was doing ministry in college.  He was a Bulls fan (I know!!). 

Through the years, Mark and Jen, and Jen and I would stay in touch.  Whenever we got together there was a kindred spirit of caring for people who are disconnected from God.  We could not see each other for a year or two, but still pick up like we'd just talked yesterday.

Mark loves his kids, loves his wife, and loves people.  I think Mark could live in a slower-paced, Latin American country, because he is all about relationships.  I know in his heart, he would rather talk with someone about spiritual things then do just about anything else.

When we hired Mark, we knew we could connect, I had no questions about his character, and I had no worries about his competency. But, I wasn't sure if he would fit in with our culture at The Journey.  Two years later, there are no doubts, and many journeyers are where they are today because of Mark's influence.

Mark is someone who loves Jesus and cares deeply about what he does.  He's focused, He's intentional, He thinks about things I don't (and that's a huge help), he's a great friend, and I'm thrilled that he's here in West Michigan to do life with our family and minister side-by-side.

Here's . . . Matt Lewis!

Matt and I moved to Muskegon within months of each other in 1998.  We were youth pastors at different churches.  Our youth groups would occasionally do things together and I found a similar vision, a love for laughter, a heart for God, and a friend in Matt.

Matt is a HARD worker.  He works 3/4 time (which is really full-time, if you ask me), takes care of the kids during the day, and still gets more work done than most people.  Over the years we have been a great balance for each other.  We helped one another hold to the vision, picked one another up after a bad experience, and encouraged each other to stay focused. 

Matt loves The Church, he loves his family, and he really likes fantasy sports.  Matt's a super-talented person.  He's creative, connects with people, cooks up a storm, knows more about tech stuff than Mark and I combined (times 10), has taught himself how to shoot and edit videos, create all our banners and mailers, and so much more.

Bottom line - Matt loves God, loves The Journey, has my back, and I have his.  He's a great friend.  We've got lots in common, a lot of the same interests, and we laugh a ton.  It's a an honor to do life and ministry with him.

Ministry is about Team

One of the things that I want to always do in ministry, is to do life on staff with people I really like, with people I respect, and with people who are gifted and challenge me.

I firmly believe, that each one of our staff team could lead at much larger churches than where we are now.  That also tells me, that where we are NOW, won't be where we are TOMORROW.  Our team is too talented, committed, and God-focused - I believe God has bigger and better things yet ahead.

Maybe you know our team, maybe not - but starting tomorrow, I'm going to introduce you to them, from my perspective (which means, I may just make things up).

You know how they hang people and burn them . . .

I'm taking a vacation day today (sort of).  I've done a little work, and visited someone at the hospital, but other than that I've been working on some projects around the house today. 

Anyway, Will (my 7 year old son) just went off to play at a friends house.  He went running out the door to run down the street.  He turned around about 10 steps later, came inside, dug around his drawers in his room in order to find a couple 3 ft. long pieces of twine (how he got them, I'm not sure).  He headed back out and after the front screen door shut, he turned around and said:

    Will: "Dad, you know how they hang people by the hands and feet with rope and then burn them to death?  Well, you can kind of do that with this rope".

    Me:  "Okay . . . but, uhm . . . don't do that."

    Will:  "Okay dad!"

Phew.  Crisis averted.

5:45 am, the Windy City, Killing Cockroaches, and deep-dish pizza

Yesterday, we headed out as a staff from The Journey at 5:45 am and spent 8 hours in the car going to Chicago and back for a 3 1/2 hour conference.  It was a long but good day.  Great staff bonding, lots of laughter, some great evaluation, plus we blared "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi in the car (I'd forgotten how much I like that song).

After the conference we stopped at Giordano's for pizza.  It's been 11 years since we've lived in Chicago but it's like going back to see an old friend (as Mark put it yesterday).  I had Matt bring a cooler, and I bought a bag of ice, and I brough a deep-dish pizza home for our family!!

The speaker was Tony Morgan, and he was sharing leadership lessons he's learned along the way, which he's chronicled in his new book Killing Cockroaches.  The price of the morning was right, at only $29.99 per/person (and it was worth at least $34.99!).  Tony has a dry sense of humor that I don't think a lot of people seemed to get.  We all thought he was very funny.

Here's a couple of the questions and thoughts that have stuck with me from yesterday.  In many respects it was convicting, and in many respects it was confirming.  It's always good to go someplace and hear from someone else (someone you respect) that what you're doing is not crazy.  That you're on the right track.  The truth is that there aren't that many churches around the country that do church like we do at The Journey, and there are moments where you can begin to question yourself because of that.  I'm grateful for the vision that God has given us for The Journey and am more committed to it than ever.

Okay, on to the thoughts from yesterday:

*Leadership is very simple:  Are you hearing from God?  And then are you doing what He says? (how about you in your life??)

*Are we each doing the ministry God has called us to?  (what are we doing that someone else could and should be doing?)

*He talked about letting new leaders free.  Sometimes we get too focused on the execution, not the outcome.  If we can clearly define the outcome, there should be freedom for a new leader to get there, even if the execution isn't the same as we would have done it.  (Are we, or you, micro-managing people?)

*He talked about 4 levels of leadership.  We need to each step up to a new level.

*All leaders wrestle with either fear or pride.  The only way to beat it is humility.  What do you wrestle with?

*The second session was about strategy and about not creating more programs, but creating more helpful steps for people.  That's something that we do fairly well.  He talked about how all organizations lean toward "complexity creep".  They add and add and add and never take away anything.  It makes it difficult for people to figure out what to do, it spreads your resources of money and people to thin, and it becomes less effective over the long-haul.

*If the value is there for a ministry people will be there.  Instead of increasing value, most churches just try to promote it more.

Great day.  Good pizza.  Long drive.  Some great food for thought.   

Sharing our faith . . . I think I need my mommy!

For whatever reason, we get very nervous, even scared to share our faith with others.  We've been told for years that the two things you don't talk about is politics and religion.  We're nervous about what others will say.  How will they respond?  Will they still want to be my friend?  Will they think I'm some sort of religious nut?  I've had those feelings.

For the guys in the New Testament it was much simpler than that.  Check out this link to1 John 1:1-3 (go ahead, I'll wait).  They were simply telling other people their story of what they had seen and heard and touched.  It was their experience, and it's tough to argue with someone's story.  

You might think, 'Well, if I had been there and seen and heard, and touched Jesus, it would be a different story.  I would have NO problem telling others about my experiences then!'.  But, the truth is, for many of us, we've experienced just as much.  We've seen our life change, or the lives of others.  We've seen God provide for us in some pretty remarkable ways.  We've seen God heal someone that had no business being healed, but He did it.  We've heard God speak to us and encourage us to talk to someone, help someone, stop and give money to someone . . . and we've experienced the blessing from doing what He said.  We've 'heard' Him speak to us through His Word, the Bible.  We've 'heard' Him speak to our hearts during the worship experience at The Journey (or wherever you go to church).  We've experienced His touch in our lives.

The point is, for so many of us, we've heard and seen and touched.  So, sharing our faith is simply sharing our story of what we've experienced, and then letting God do the rest.  Will we still be nervous?  Of course.  But, God calls us to 'testify' about Him.  Sharing what we've seen and heard and experienced, so that others might see and hear and experience the same life change. 

How have you 'seen' or 'heard' or 'experienced' God this week?

It's Staff eval day!

Today we find out if Mark or Virginia will be with us for another year.  Hope their evaluations go okay, because I don't want to go back to leading kids stuff and groups.  We'll see . . . of course, if they bring donuts or something this morning, it might help their cause.

So, what do you think?  Should they make it another year??

Okay - listen.  For those that think their jobs might be hanging in the balance based on this eval - they're NOT GOING ANYWHERE!  (Picture Mark or Virginia walking away with Matt dragging behind them holding on to the right leg, and me holding on to the left leg).  We've got a great staff and I'm proud to serve along side of them.

Friday Fun - don't be THAT guy

Sometimes, you come across something like this - where you're like "oh no.  Dude, you've got to man-up!!.  It's like the guy who doesn't know how to grill meat (uh, wait, that's a bad example).  So, today - I need a little help - anyone got a caption??

Oh, and if you're at a ball game, or the fireworks, DON'T be THAT guy!!

Say a little prayer . . .

One of the ways you can support the staff at The Journey, or whatever church you go to, is to pray for the staff.  Pray for God's blessing, for God's wisdom.  Pray that they would personally be connected to Jesus in a deep way.  Pray for protection in their marriages, and with their kids.  Pray that we would be good, loving parents.  And pray for unity as a staff team.

If you'll pray for us, we would be thrilled (even more so, if you tell us).  But, I don't want it to be a one-way street, so - how can I pray for you?  Let me know, and I promise to pray for you right when I see your comment below.

So, what do you need prayer for?

What are you learning?

In a post a while ago we talked about how leaders are learners.  We need to be constantly learning in our areas of work, of ministry.  But, those aren't the only areas we need to keep learning in.  When we're learning, we're developing new skills, we're keeping our mind sharp, we're developing areas of affinity with other people.

So, today, I'm taking a vacation day and I'm learning how to tile a floor, and make drywall repairs.

So, what are you learning this summer?