Can't say I'm sad about This

I just finished the book, “Good to Great,” & must admit it was: Great. Estevan Andrade, a friend of mine, & one of my coaches, recommended it to me. Here are some quotes from the last chapter titled “The Flywheel & the Doom Loop.” It outlines the momentum created by a people groups efforts.

“No matter how dramatic the end result, the good-to-great transformations never happened in one fell swoop. There was no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no wrenching revolution. Good to great comes about by the cumulative process—step by step, action by action, decision by decision, turn by turn of the flywheel—that adds up to sustained and spectacular results.”
When I read this I think about the countless people I know who are still looking for that one fell-swoop to end the issues in their life, church, etc. Still looking for the next church program or revival to help them get there.

“Here’s what’s important. We’ve allowed the way transitions look from the outside to drive our perception of what they must feel like to those going through them on the inside. From the outside, they look like dramatic, almost revolutionary breakthroughs. But from the inside, they feel completely different, more like organic development process.”
We just signed up for Antioch’s World Mandate; this is their 20th year holding this event. We see all the glitz & glam, numerous church plants being sent out, a nice church building, 3200 people worshipping their guts out & say, “this is it.” What most people don’t realize is that “this is not it.” What is “it,” is the countless mundane decisions made, the numerous habits created & sustained, the constant call to prayer, early mornings or late nights. World Mandate started as a weekend of prayer for the nations. American church culture is riddled with people who would conclude: “We need hold a huge conference about missions.”

“The good-to-great companies had no name for their transformations. There was no launch event, no tag line, no programmatic feel whatsoever. Some executives said that they weren’t even aware that a major transformation was under way until they were well into it. It was often obvious to them after the fact than at the time. Then it began to dawn on us: There was no miracle moment. Although it may have looked like a single-stroke breakthrough to those peering in from the outside, it was anything but that to people experiencing the transformation from within.”
The tortoise vs. the hare.

“When I look over the good-to-great transformations, the one word that keeps coming to mind is consistency. Another word offered to me by physics prof. R.J. Peterson is coherence. “What is on plus one?” he asked, “Four!” In physics, we have been talking about the idea of coherence, the magnifying effect of one factor upon another.”

“And like most overnight successes, it was about twenty years in the making.”
Look at Yaks. Yaks didn’t start when Vineyard opened the coffee shop doors; it started when Mike & Nancy expressed some of their core values: People who don’t know Jesus need to know, Christ-like character is developed in service, & be excellent. Yaks isn’t a coffee shop as much as it is an expression of values. I feel bad for churches who see Yaks & say, “Oh, what we need is a coffee shop!” No. Yaks is an expression of a people ethos.

“I believe that it is no harder to build something great than to build something good. It might be statistically more rare to reach greatness, but it does not require more suffering than perpetuating mediocrity.”
Wow. Who knew?

(Talking about a high school cross-country team) “They’re just focusing on the right things, and not the wrong things, not wasting time on anything that doesn’t fit. Simple, clean, straightforward, elegant—and a heck of a lot of fun.”
What are the right things? What are the wrong things? Are you having fun?

Jeff & I were talking the other morning about a young man who will not be joining us on our journey. We were both expressing our disappointment & I said, “Jeff we aren’t doing this for results; we're doing this for Jesus. We are doing this because it’s part of our worship to God & we believe it’s the only real thing in the entire world. We know it’s true: so let’s just stay focused on the timeless truths about Him, practice the disciplines we see in the Bible, & let it happen.”

I was invited to speak at a Vineyard church in San Mateo. They are a great group of folks who are trying to figure out what it means to follow Jesus. They recorded it & you can listen to the (message) if you want to. & we are starting a church in Santa Cruz, while living in Bonny Doon; we are not starting a church in Scotts Valley! Oh, the unsearchable humor of God.

Well it's official: I work at Starbucks! I applied at a managers symposium in San Jose & they hired me as a shift manager with the goal of making me an Asst. Manager as soon as January. I work at one of the busiest stores in our area. We are right next to Hwy 17, which serves as the main route for commuters into San Jose each day. I'm not sure how many people frequent our stores, but it's a lot. Too, the people I work with are all younger than me! It's a trip, & happens to everyone, but I now find myself saying, "I'm the oldest one here," or "dude, you can't be old enough to drive," or "uh...you're to young to have that hicky on your neck!" Anyways, I work with nothing but college & high school students. Great! Interestingly, until I become a Manager my wife & I won't be able to pay our bills. However, we recently enrolled Siena into a child work program to make up for the deficit. Please pray for opportunities to make relationships & share the gospel with these awesome people I’ll meet.

The church is doing well. We just started having two Lifegroups in the city. Both of the groups meet in public areas, one at a coffee shop & the other at a Bagel shop. This is because a) we live in the woods like a Christian commune & b) we haven't found that the people connecting with our church would be responsible in hosting our groups, so we decided to go with a "sure" location. It's been good so far. I am excited because we are setting in place one of the main formative events in our church: Life on life discipleship. Also, we get to do our thing in public; the harvest is ripe & weird in Santa Cruz!














I've been reading through John's letters, what a blessing. John is pretty hardcore about his convictions & has really encouraged me. This verse really stood out to me:

(2 John 7-11) I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.

I had to wonder: Who or what do I allow in my house? Holiness isn't a popular subject, especially in America, & more so on the "free" west coast. We are "free" in Christ & all things are "permissible." I wonder what John would think about the guests we invite into our homes? Often times we allow people or things of influence into our lives that we, or our culture, deem harmless. I thought about the countless Christians I know who invite unchristlike guests into their house through TV, music, or other media. John goes so far as to call them "Antichrists," but he's a little more radical than us. I have found myself wondering, “Why am I watching this?” or turning my head as I endure that “one bad scene.” I know it's not cool to ask, "How is that honoring Christ in your life or the work he wants to accomplish through you?" & it's must cooler to say, "Let's go watch so & so, doing this & that, drinking such & such, while listening to you know who." I am reminded that: you will become like the people you spend time with, listen to, & desire to be like. Who are we inviting into our homes? John says, "If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work." I wish I were cool, but...

There are many things Jesus accomplished when he lived, died, & was raised to life. Two things that were accomplished in this were: Life & Salvation. I've been wrestling with these two things as of late. Here's what I've been thinking.

Most Christians believe Jesus died to give salvation, & I agree. However, I believe Jesus' sacrifice on the cross (atonement) results in a more robust offer. I argue that he died to give us Life; & I think that salvation is included within this life that God gives. Salvation is often seen as having merit when I die, but this is not what God intends for us; he came to give eternal Life, which starts the instant you trust in Jesus as Messiah.

Ephesians 2:1-4 says, "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." We were dead but God gave us Life in Christ.

John 1:4 "In him was life, and that life was the light of men." In him was Life.
John 5:39-40 "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." Jesus has Life to give.
John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Full life is only found in Jesus.

This has become important to me because I see many Christians not living the Life God has empowered us to live; yet they profess him. Too, this goes against the "Just get saved" formulas, which are a mockery to God's offer. When you confess Christ, eternal Life starts & getting saved is just one part of this new Life; now, real, whole, healthy, & healed.