As I think about ‘08, I’m grateful for all that God’s done. This year was much better than ‘07 or ‘06. Those two years I was at war, but in ‘08 I’ve gotten to live what seeing God win that war looks like. As I anticipate all the things God will do in ‘09, I’m wrapping up this year having learned so many things - a few are:
- The greatest blessings in life are not things, they are the people who make life richer and more meaningful.
- My bride and kids mean more to me than ever. I pray God helps me become the husband and Dad they deserve.
- The difference in sustaining an institution and building a movement.
- Unity comes with a price. Many churches are unified in their attempts at nothing, in their satisfaction of stagnancy, and in their “dislike” of others who are really doing something. ‘08 is the greatest year of ministry I’ve ever lived. I’m grateful that I lead a growing church that is passionate and unified about loving God and loving others and actually doing something to impact lives. I’m grateful that our church is unified about reaching “others” not about trying to re-live a re-written past.
- I’m learning that when you really love people, and sacrifice to show them, they are open to knowing the God who changed you to be that way.
- For the church, a struggling economy doesn’t have to be a deficiency, it can be a huge opportunity.
- When you begin to live what you were born to do and pursue Christ hard, those who aren’t will try to stop you… but they can only stop you if you let them.
- I’ve see God change more lives and develop more people in ‘08 than I’ve ever seen in ministry… with no permanent buildings, tons to set up each week, and less financial resources than when we were an “established church.“ We’re seeing more with less b/c we’re not distracted by churchy mess.
- I believe God has big plans for those who believe in a big God. To think that almost a year ago we had half the people we had last Sunday really humbles me. Growing a church is not hard but it is difficult.
There’s so much more - maybe I’ll hit this again after the 1st of the year. For now, this is enough. This was a year that God moved, God blessed and lives were changed and I’m so much more than grateful. I love Jesus and what he’s asked me to do, and we’re going to see more in ‘09 than can be imagined. In this one life I get to relentlessly pursue Jesus and him making a difference - the best is yet to come.
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Today we were wrapping up stuff from the weekend, then trying to finish Christmas stuff. This year Christmas seems to be flyin at me, but for some reason I’m just not wigged out about it.
Yesterday at C3 Church we had record attendance at our weekend gatherings. We’ve now completed our first year meeting at Regal Cinemas. Our average attendance before moving to Regal was about 400… yesterday we had almost 800 (our highest attendance). God really is “connecting the community with Christ” through C3. We also saw 20 adults become Christ-followers yesterday! Think about that… 20 more people will experience heaven in eternity, and knowing Jesus in this life as well, just because you cared, prayed and invited.
C3 - you made a huge difference in lives. Thank yo so much for your sacrifice of time, your faithfulness in giving, and your heart to love God and love others - obviously it’s more than just a saying. I can’t wait for Jan. 4, ‘09 as we talk about what God’s done, and what’s next! Loving God and loving others really does change people.
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After a number of conversations with pastors lately, I’m wrestling with some things I’m noticing. Here are just a few thoughts.
Pastor, your primary job is to please God. That’s done by serving him, passionately reaching people, and relentlessly pursuing the vision he’s given you for your life/church/ministry. I’m over pastors who work so hard to impress other pastors. Rather than “networking” to build a resume, what if we spent our time loving God and loving others - what if we bragged on Jesus more than on ourselves, our numbers, and our plans.
If you’re considering being a pastor - please understand there’s nothing like it in the world. You’ll have the privilege of stepping into peoples lives to help them by pointing them to Christ. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Make sure this is what you were born to do, not just something you think would be cool.
- Let God define your vision - don’t just take one from somebody else. Seriously, I think so many churches are in trouble b/c so many pastors are either lazy or impatient. Laziness means I don’t want to do the hard work of finding out what God wants from me/my church. Impatient means I want to “arrive” so others will notice me, so I don’t want to take the time to search God and his plan, I’ll just jump on another train and pretend it’s mine. If you’re “lazy” or “impatient” (as defined above) - do us all a favor and don’t become a pastor.
- No matter what you do now, you can’t fully understand the role of, pressure of, joy of, or burden of a Senior Pastor until you are one. Just b/c you’ve run a business doesn’t mean you have a clue about how to run a church. Just b/c you sit at the table on a staff, doesn’t mean you have any idea what it is to sit in “that” chair. I’ve been a Student Pastor, Senior Associate Pastor and Interim Pastor and guess what - none of them are the Senior Pastor… not even close. The temptation is to look at that role and think “I could do that“ - maybe… but only if God’s called you, not if you think you’ve got “what it takes“. If your pastor makes it look easy it’s b/c he’s either passionately following God and has a confidence in Christ from which he leads, or he’s lazy and doing nothing. You’ll never know in a month what he lives in a moment.
- Finally, this one’s huge - listen and be teachable. It blows my mind the guys who want to talk to me who really just want to talk at me. Recently I talked with two guys - they were worlds apart. One pastors a church in FL and drove over to check out C3 - this guy is the real deal. He’s older and wiser than I am and leading a church with record growth, but he wanted to learn whatever little bit he could learn from C3. We’re not growing as much as he has, he has much more experience in effective leadership and yet he’s still hungry to learn. I was blessed just to talk with him. The other guy I talked with… well really he hasn’t done much but try hard to make others think he’s got it all figured out. In our discussion I didn’t tell him anything he didn’t already know. He is phenom at one thing - self promotion… and it wore me out. Please, no matter how big and bad you get, please always be hungry to learn and more passionate about the movement you lead than impressing us.
I think I feel better… for now. Seriously, I communicate with tons of pastors each month. Many want to know how we transitioned a church or what it’s like to be portable, or why we sold a 20 acre campus to become portable - I love these discussions. If you want to connect and talk through these and other issues - I would absolutely love it. Just know two things - I’m probably going to ask you more questions than you ask me (I have a deep hunger to learn from you) and… if you already have all the answers and you just want to impress me… I’m busy getting my hair done.
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It’s been a long, blogless week. I’ve just been slammed. We’ve had a ton to accomplish and it’s been productive, but it’s been overwhelming at points. It’s done.
Today’s just been a chill day. The weather is phenom and the weekends are always jacked.
Tonight we’ll be passing out candy and also info about C3 childrens ministry. There’s no other time when people are going to bring children right to your door - huge opportunity for the church. I look forward to meeting more of my neighbors, having fun, and getting out more info about the incredible children’s experience at C3.
Here are a few more things I’m looking forward to:
- This Sunday at C3 as we continue “Google” with “Is this another great depression?” With so many hurting during these challenging financial times, we’re looking for answers. How do we navigate this? What should the church do?
- Nov. 7 with our volunteers. If you volunteer in a ministry of C3, please email info@c3orlando.com to get more info or to sign up for that evening. Because of space you’ll want to register quickly, also due to space limitations this is only for those who volunteer.
- I can’t wait to share the biggest initiative C3 has ever launched. On Nov. 7th I’ll be sharing it with our volunteers, then on Nov. 9 I’ll be sharing it with the whole church. This is going to blow your mind… it’s a huge opportunity!
- Cooler weather.
- Dallas winning (who am I kidding… that’s really 50/50 each week).
- The new C3 website, which will be launching very soon @ www.c3church.cc (more info coming later).
- Another chance this weekend to bring people to C3 so they can experience hope and know Christ.
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This Sunday as we launch “Google” we’re talking about major issues in our culture that have people searching for answers. Things that are… huge yet common, important yet deep and a part of our future yet very much in the now.
This weekend we’ll ask and answer the question, “Who Do I Vote For?” It’s a hot political season. There are huge issues at stake in this election. With so much at stake and so many things happening in our nation right now, who do we vote for? For the majority that have already decided, how sure are you…? For those still considering, what is it you need to know to settle the issue?
We’re going to dive in to this highly divisive subject and hopefully bring some clarity to the issue. Wait. Stop. Please don’t make the mistake of thinking this is going to be a typical message from a typical church. There’s nothing typical about C3… or me.
If there’s a question you have about the election or who to vote for, or something you think we should consider, feel free to use the contact page on this blog, or email us at byron@c3orlando.com.
Get ready to go “Google” C3 style. Invest and Invite!
