Prep Time

I once read an article about Peyton Manning, NFL quarterback, and his thoughts on his role. He said there were times after a game when he wished he had made a better decision at a particular moment, but he never wished that he had prepared more. Peyton's message was that he always prepared effectively even if his execution wasn't perfect.

I am certain that my execution in my role will not always be perfect. This is true whether I'm describing my parenting, teaching, leading, or pastoring. I will most certainly stumble and make mistakes, but I can focus on being as prepared as possible. I can be sure to pray intentionally, meditate carefully, read voraciously, and examine myself daily as I work to prepare for whatever may come my way. I don't want my regrets to be based in laziness.

Unity In Diversity

I had the honor of witnessing something very special yesterday afternoon at one of our local churches. A friend of mine was sharing his initial message after receiving his calling. In his church's culture, he would preach and then seek the affirmation of the church to receive his license. It was a ceremony of worship, Scripture, recognition, and the teaching of the Word in a powerful way.

Not only was his testimony engaging and effective, but the reverence shown throughout the entire ceremony impacted me deeply. I left with a higher sense of honor for my own role as a pastor and a tremendous sense of gratitude for my friends in this church. The diversity that our churches continue to share with each other is exceedingly valuable and I appreciate being included in this special day. I pray that our openness and willingness to share will continue as we grow together with understanding and mutual admiration.

Power

A large part of what I do involves written and spoken word. I communicate daily through my blog and have significant conversations each week with people in need. Of course I also have the tremendous opportunity to teach hundreds of people frequently on Sundays as well. Fortunately, I understand how powerful those words are and the incredible trust I have been given to share them in the most influential way.

Recognizing that I need to be careful with my use of words has taken time. It's been a difficult lesson that has been taught through failure and collateral damage. I still don't always get it right, but my respect for the immense power of my speech and written word has increased tremendously as I have matured. Imagine the positive difference we would see in our culture if would carefully weigh each opportunity to communicate.

Preaching Rocket Thoughts

I was in Atlanta today at NorthPoint Community Church for a workshop sponsored by Preaching Rocket. It was a great time to get away with our preaching team & to hear from great leaders and pastors including Andy Stanley & Louie Giglio (and others.) I tweeted a few things earlier today, but thought it would be a better summary in a blog post.

• If we're not prayed up for our sermon, it will show up in our sermon.
• The reason God lets us be part of this process is that He likes to go to work with His kids.
• We are followers 1st & preachers 2nd.
• Set a goal in the realm of things you can control.
• Does my approach to communicating support my goal or trump my goal?
• Engaging unchurched people has more to do with your approach than your content.
• If you want people to fall in love with the author of Scripture, you have to get them into the text.
• When you give unchurched people an out, they respond by leaning in.
• If Christians would act like Christians, non-Christians might want to be a Christian.
• The reason we take the Scriptures seriously is because of Jesus-not the other way around.
• The main commodities to reach this generation are authenticity & vision.
• Humility is a by-product of walking with Jesus.
• Important information that's not remembered won't have the desired impact.