Letting God do His thing

This week I've felt a little overwhelmed. There are, by my last count, (warning:exaggeration ahead!) about 81,000 little details to get covered before we launch this church publicly on September 21st. And I had this great revelation today:

I'm not going to get all those details covered.

I'm just not going to. I'm one dude. I've been in Tennessee all week. Our whole church staff is in the mountains this week. We are all doing great stuff, but not a ton of it is directly related to all those little details. And today...I just don't care that we aren't cranking on all the details.

When I get home, I'm going to play with my kids on Saturday. I'm going to chat and snuggle with my wife. That's all I want to do. I don't want to write, memorize, strategize, or network. I want to just get home and BE.

But here's the thing I was challenged with today. This church is God's not mine. He's got this...He really does. It's my job to live like I believe that. How easy for us to try to play His role...for us to live like we're the world changer or world sustainer.

Go ahead God. Do Your thing. Sorry for the times I try to take Your job.

The American Idol Church

The other day, I was flipping through the channels when I saw one of those idol type shows. I think it was "so you think you can dance"...it had 3 judges...one of whom was British. It had music and staging strangely familiar. The whole thing basically looked like American Idol. It was a complete American Idol rip off. And you could tell that's what they were doing. And it was lame. There is nothing worse than a rip off of some other show. You can almost smell it a mile away.

So this got me thinking about our church.

In 1997, I read Purpose Driven Church and thought it was amazing. I wanted to try to "catch a wave". I thought Rick Warren was the smartest pastor ever.

Then I read "when God builds a church" and became convinced that all a church needs is to have great preaching and worship and then it will grow.

I read Brian McClaren's stuff and met him in 1999 (before he was all famous and awesome) and went through my emergent phase. I started using words like "conversation" and "journey" all the time. After journeying for a few years and not getting anywhere I got tired of the journey and moved beyond that.

I've learned from Andy Stanley that vision leaks so now I want a clear vision, that sticks..or is sticky.

I've read Mark Driscoll and thought that I should probably cuss more.

Over the last dozen years, I've figured out what color my parachute is, I've developed my purple cow and taken it from good to great. I've identified my 5 dysfunctions on my team, and have been wowed by the latest leadership parable. I've seized my divine moment, fell in love with the divine romance, practiced the art of the start. I've pushed the flywheel in an effort to find my tipping point. I've orbited the giant hairball and overdosed on Nooma.

All these things have been just fine. But none of it is authentically me.

If I try to Frankenstein all these things together and hope it builds a great church here in Richmond, I am doomed to fail.

I want to start a church that fits Richmond. This church is not being planted in mine or anyone else's head. It's being planted in the city and culture of Richmond.

So, in the next few weeks I'll be fleshing that out a little bit on this blog. I'll be talking about what our church will look like based on the vision God has given us here.

I'm done reading the books. I'm done going to the conferences. The temptation to rip off everyone else's ideas and make them my own is too great. I want to plant an original church.

The day our church has three judges, one of which is British...is the day I quit.

Cartwheels and Coffee is Open for business!

After about 64 days, thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours of volunteer labor, 20 or more gallons of paint, and about 5 city inspections, Cartwheels and Coffee is now open. Thank you to SO many great people who all pitched in to make this happen. I looked around today...saw kids playing in there for the first time and I was soooo happy. This whole process has been incredible. I want you all to see. Check out the pictures of the finished product. I used my built in camera on my laptop so all of the pictures are reversed...whoops.

The Launch Team Gathers

The gang came together last night for our first launch team meeting. We had lots of yummy desserts, and some coffee (some hot, and some cold due to technical difficulties!).

It was also the unveiling to everyone of Cartwheels and Coffee. It is not finished yet, but it's mostly finished. After the meeting last night we primed the floors, and this morning we painted them. So, a bit more plumbing, electrical, and about 3 city inspections and we'll be open. At this point we're hoping for Friday, but we'll see.

I'm thrilled with the people that turned out last night. There seemed to be a great energy in the room and people were pumped about what we're doing.

It really is an incredible thing, when the church you plant in your head starts to become the church that is planted in reality. God is up to good things. We'll keep you posted as it unfolds.

I'm drowning in Cartwheels!

This is crunch time...We are pushing to get Cartwheels and Coffee open by this coming week so I'm wrapped up in contractors and painters and volunteers and stuff. That's where my head has been.
I just keep telling myself..."this will be over in a few days"

It will be totally worth it...but it's a pain right now. I guess some of the best stuff in life requires hard work to get. Hopefully life will return next week to just normal church planter lunacy rather than church plant and open a business lunacy.

Who made America?

This is a conversation my kids had in the car today that I had to share:

Colin (5yo): Mom, did you know that Scrabble is America's Favorite word game?

Mom: I guess that's right.

Colin: And do you know what America is?

Mom: What? (ya' gotta humor them, you know)

Colin: The United States!

Mom: That's right

Colin: And do you know who made America?

Declan (3yo): Jesus!

Colin: ...and?...

Declan: God!

Colin: ...and?...

Declan: Emperor Palpatine!


So there you have your history lesson for the day. Props to my 3 yo for answering Jesus. He has already been in church long enough to know that if someone asks a question very excitedly, the answer is usually Jesus.

Our First Gathering is a Success!

Area 10 took a big step this weekend. We went public. We invited the neighbors and had a picnic and talked about the church we want to become. It was an awesome thing to see. We figured that about 83 people showed up for the event, which is just awesome. Major props, to the people who helped make it happen...Emily Harrison, Laura Shibut, and others who showed early to set it up.

Thank you to those of you who came and brought friends. That was so cool to see. This church will grow when people own the vision and bring some friends. And you guys stepped up to that this weekend. Thank You!

Here are two pictures from the picnic! One is a wideshot so you can see some of the crowd. The other is me giving my "I have a dream today!" speech. I don't know what I'm saying at the exact moment of this picture but you can just imagine it was something funny or profound or inspirational...or a bit wacky....whatever.

A guy named Rob came to the picnic. He showed up on a scooter which makes him extra cool in my book. He said he hadn't been to church in 3 years. After the picnic he said. "this is great...How can I help?" Guys like that are why we're here. Welcome to the party Rob.