Lesson #8 from 2010: DON'T EAT!

I enjoy eating as much as anyone, especially meats and sweets. But there are seasons when we must learn to NOT eat. First, you can watch this guy to learn why you shouldn't eat "ghost peppers". But I'm not writing about avoiding foods that will light your intestines on fire, but about a critical principle in life and ministry.

DON'T EAT YOUR SEED.

If a farmer started with a single seed, what would he do? Cultivate the soil. Bury the seed. Water. Fertilize. Weed around the growing seed to protect it. At harvest, the seed might produce100 or 60 or 30 fold. Then what? Does he eat the entire harvest? If so, what will he plant in the spring?

A wise farmer knows to only eat what he must, so that he can sow even more seed in spring, and expect an even greater return the next harvest.

What's the point?

In ministry and life, we have a choice: enjoy the moment, eat our "seed" of financial resources and time OR only use what we must so that we can invest our finances and time into more fruitful ministry and the Cause of Christ.

Christ called us to be "good and faithful" AND to allow the grain of wheat to fall to the ground and die. When we follow the example of Christ, and willingly give up our life and agenda for Christ, our life (seed) produces a harvest- some 100, 60, or 30 fold.

Jesus promised, "If you are faithful with little, you will be entrusted with much. But to those who are not faithful with little, even what they have will be taken and given to those are already have much."

Are you eating away the little seed you have or are you investing it into what matters for eternity?

Lesson #9 from 2010 WARNING: CONTROVERSIAL

Most people HATE conflict, in fact, they have conflict with conflict.

Lesson learned: conflict isn't bad. How we handle conflict is either good or bad, but conflict itself is an opportunity for growth or reveals an area where we need to grow.

I've taught this since we launched Lifehouse, and often challenge our leaders to NOT avoid conflict but to handle it biblically. 2010 was a year when my conviction to hold to this biblical stance was seriously tested.

Here are my personal reasons why I didn't want to deal with conflict, (then I'll share how I overcame them):

• dealing with conflict felt scary and uncomfortable,
• was afraid a person wouldn't like me if I address a reason for tension,
• didn't want to lose a friend, and thought, "if I address this issue, they won't want to be my friend anymore". I know, it sounds like I'm a kindergartner, does it? But it's how you think, too.
• it takes too much time and energy. Time better spent elsewhere,
• it'll go away on it's own, and if I bring it up, it will get worse,
• what if I'm not "right"?
• what if dealing with conflict reveals a weakness in me?

How I've grown and overcome some of these challenges:

• deal with conflict quickly, before it becomes "cancerous" and destructive, both to relationship and the church,
• give people the benefit of the doubt,
• don't believe second-hand info, but let people share their thoughts first-hand,
• avoid my personal insecurities and fears from debilitating me by trusting God and getting over myself,
• recognize that I still have a lot to learn and that God will use conflict to grow me (this one is hard to learn and hurts the most),
• unresolved tension grows destructive, so deal with it headed on and often until it's resolved,
• allow people time to think and grow. Don't demand immediate resolution.
• conflict might take a lot of time, but it takes less time on the front end than if left unresolved. Eventually, it will become all-consuming and a massive drain on your time.
• Even when we disagree, people are still precious to God and should be loved and treated with value.
• I LOVE those with whom I've had conflict. Even when things don't turn out like I wanted, they may not even know it but I regularly PRAY for them and think of them often. I wouldn't address issues of conflict if I didn't care. 
• God heals and brings the ultimate reconciliation in relationships. If things can't be resolved, we must turn it over to God.
• When we receive forgiveness from God, we MUST give forgiveness to and ASK forgiveness of others.

This was a very raw and personal approach to conflict. Listen to a sermon I preached on this topic in BIG part 4.

Big take away, "Conflict inevitable, combat optional". Watch this video for a laugh:

Where are the moms?

I gave the moms fair warning that I would post this picture:

After stepping into nursery area to say "hi" to several moms after they finished their life group, I was startled when I started walking down the hallway. I saw a few (look closely to see for yourself) baby carriers WITH the babies IN them! Yea, where are the moms? Literally, I stopped in my tracks...

Not reporting, just saying. In their defense, I know that being a mom is the hardest job in the world and that they are intimately involved in every detail of their kids' lives.

Just thought you'd like to see what I saw.

Recommended Reading: SoulPrint by Mark Batterson

Here's a book I highly recommend reading:

Mark is offering a special deal today for life groups and leaders here.

If you've read Mark's other books, In the Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Primal, then you know he writes with passion and creativity. You feel challenged and inspired, ready to take bold next steps in your personal journey with God and practical insight to live His divine destiny for your life.

These books are also available on audio and Kindle.

Mark Batterson is the founding pastor of National Community Church in DC, with several campuses and a coffeehouse. I consider him a mentor and visionary leader.

An ANNOUNCEMENT and REQUEST

As a church, we're looking forward to what God has in store for us in 2011!

It's exciting to see our Sunday morning services filling up.  As we've been anticipating, we were actually over capacity in our 10:30 AM service this past Sunday!  While this is a great problem to have, we want to make sure we have seats for our guests and newcomers.

A Request:

If you are currently attending the 10:30 AM service, would you please consider attending the 9 AM service?  Every seat made available in the 10:30 AM service is another seat we can offer a first-time guest to Lifehouse Church East.

Here's why:

• LHE primary goal is the CAUSE of Christ and the MISSION of THE Church to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus and disciple them to become Jesus-followers.
• At LHE, we want to reach everyone in this region that we can, and want to overcome all limitations,
• as you've experienced, when a service feels full (over 75% of capacity), then we feel cramped,
• then, and worse, we don't think there is room for our friends and family,
• so, we stop inviting them.
• a packed service doesn't allow us to reach new unchurch and de-churched neighbors.

Please come at 9am and PLEASE INVITE YOUR FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, and CO-WORKERS.

Join us this Sunday for part 2 of the Unquenchable sermon series.

Big Announcement COMING SOON. Find out THIS Sunday a few steps we are taking to multiple our efforts to reach this region with God's Good News. Hint: includes church planting AND new services.

Lesson #10 from 2010

It's not the BIG plans but the LITTLE steps that matter.

Here are a few sub principles that undergird this one:

• under promise, over deliver. And when we can't deliver on the promises or expectations we've given, we must come to you and tell you honestly, and explain why.
• set realistic deadlines, eventually they arrive.

There are lots of big dreams and bold ambitions buried among the tombs of cemeteries. Why? There is a great divide between dreaming and doing the necessary action steps everyday to arrive at that dream.

Big dreams and bold initiatives feel illusive and unrealistic. And they are, especially if they're God-size and God-led. Those kind of Kingdom- dreams should scare us and leave us feeling like we will fail if God doesn't intervene. But should we sit around and wait for God to accomplish His dream in our life? NO!

How are we responsible to live out the BIG dreams of God in our life?

1. Pray and listen to God to receive God-sized dreams that will accomplish His purposes for our life, and advance His Kingdom rather than our agenda.
2. Develop clear strategy to accomplish this dream, set objectives and timelines,
3. Develop measurable, realistic, actionable small steps that daily move you in the direction of fulfilling the strategy of the dream. Attach reasonable timelines AND deadlines to these action steps.
4. JUST DO IT! Every day we must do the hard work of acting out our dreams by taking action and laboring. 
5. Prayerful seek out the resources (people, finances, etc) needed to accomplish the objectives of the dream.
6. Share and give away every small "win" or victory along the way. Give God ALL the glory! No matter how hard we've worked to fulfill the dream, God gives the increase and produces the results through us.
7. Adjust the strategy and action steps as needed but NEVER loose sight of the BIG dream. When you fail, don't give it, it was just a good lesson in achieving the ultimate dream.

Dreams are lived in the little, daily steps. We only make it to the mountaintop if we're willing to pay the price in preparation, pain, hiking, and enduring.

As a reference, read Collin's, Good to Great, chapter on the Flywheel Principle or a brief overview here.

Every little step leads in a direction.

Are you taking small steps toward God's purposes and plans for your life? Or are you stepping one direction but dreaming in another? 

Don't Miss the Start to New Series- UNQUENCHABLE

At Lifehouse, we're kicking off a new sermon series called Unquenchable.

For everyone at Lifehouse tomorrow morning, we have a very exciting and special gift for you that we've been preparing and believe will dramatically impact your life throughout 2011!

Invite friends and family!

Can't wait to preach in the morning!

For more information and service times check out www.lifehousechurcheast.org.

Yes, I am THAT guy!

As much as I hate to admit it, over the last few weeks, I've become THAT guy.

First, I got in my first car accident the week before Christmas, and so I was THAT guy on the side of the road, staring at my broken car with mess in the street and fire, police, and tow trucks around.

And it was the day we got the inch or 2 of snow, so it was freezing cold. Not whining, just explaining.

Then, yesterday, I wiped on the treadmill at the Y. Yep, I'm THAT guy that falls on the treadmill. I mean, who does that?!

It was pretty embarrassing. How? My ipod fell off when I hit the earphone wire.  I thought I hit the stop button when I got off to pick up my ipod, so when I got back on, I was surprised to step onto the still spinning machine. WIPE OUT! The gym was full, and several people started asking me if I was okay.

Honestly, from an average guys perspective, even if my arm or leg was severed, I still would have said, "of course, I'm fine!" However, that was the end of my run.

Here are some other people that were THAT guy, only way funnier:

You shouldn't have laughed, that almost was me...


What's your experience at being THAT guy? I want some good confessions here.

Lesson #11 from 2010

Less is More. The concept isn't original to me, but I learned this lesson the hard way in 2010.

First my confession: I can be a little bit workaholic and a lot passionate. So, I tend to work really hard in the ministry and want to get and keep my hands in everything. However, I learned early in church planting that I have to spend most my time training and developing leaders then giving them meaningful opportunities to lead. Once they're proven, I don't micro-manage, but trust them to lead and continue to build God's Kingdom.

However, I create more work for myself and our team by dreaming bigger dreams and running after even greater purposes of God. Then, I have to keep giving away major chunks of my job description, so that we can continue to reach more people and impact God's Kingdom. So far so good. But, there are lots of areas that I don't want to give away or not sure if I can trust the leader, so I keep doing it, even when I don't want to.

In 2010, I had a few areas that I thought I was good at, even gifted, only to learn that I'm not that good, and even worse, I was putting my hands into areas where others were better equipped. This zapped my energy, passion, and even caused me to start doubting myself. Since I was drained, I had less energy and focus to lead in the areas where I'm very passionate and feel most gifted. Result- weary, discouraged leader who had to learn to give away more opportunities and responsibility. Less is more!

Want biblical evidence for this lesson: read Romans 12.

The teaching part of this I heard and read from Andy Stanley in his book, Next Generation Leader and his leadership podcast here. I'd recommend all leaders listen and read them.

Here are the keys to what I've heard and now, learned the hard way.

The more I try to do, the less I get done. The more areas I try to work at, the less impact I have in any area. And the more I do, the less others can do.

The less I do the more I accomplish. The less I do, the more opportunity others have and the more they get done.

Hardest part of this lesson for me: to be honest enough and self-aware enough to realize that I am not as good at as many things as I thought I was. And there are others that are much better at most things than me.

My (and your) options:

1. to feel insecure and inadequate, and try to improve in those areas, and keep spreading our selves so thin, and hope that no one notices OR


2. admit my weaknesses in humility and acknowledge my strengths, then focus the bulk of my energy in the areas of my greatest strengths.

Leaders offer the most good to the Church when they leverage their greatest gifts, and maximize their full potential in the specific areas that God has uniquely anointed and gifted them. However, leaders hurt the Church when they focus on strengthening their weaknesses, then use those marginally improved weaknesses in the Church.

We must do what ONLY we can do.

This doesn't mean that we'll have shorter work weeks, just more focused hours while we're working.

This isn't an excuses to NOT strength areas of weak character. We must grow in Christ-like character. I'm writing about areas of limitations in skill, competence, and calling. In character, we must constantly be growing, in the others- less is more.

Thanks, Lifehouse, for your patience as I grow and learn these hard lessons the hard way.

Ask yourself: what are your strengths? What can only you do? how can you do that to the fullest for God's Kingdom? What do you need to stop doing? Make a "don't do" list.

Lesson #12 from 2010

I'll take some time each day to blog lessons I learned (many the hard way) from 2010. Starting with #12:

Transparency trumps failure. When, not if, we mess up, admit it candidly, take responsibility, then move on.

Biblical mandate for this principle: Isaiah 11:2-3, "

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD..." (NKJV)

I've never made any pretense of being perfect or fearless. However, when I mess up or fail, it can still be very disillusioning to those I lead. That fear of leaving people demotivated and disillusioned can keep many pastors and leaders back from being honest about their shortcomings, failures, and poor decisions. But I learned in 2010, regardless of how sizable the failure or painful the unmet expectation, just admit it.

During a particularly difficult season at Lifehouse, I had a choice, as I was preparing for our annual business meeting, where I was going to present that things did not work out like I had vision-casted that they would. Be the leader I was taught to be and act like I had it all figured out and just cast new/ different vision, hoping people won't figure out that we've dramatically changed course OR candidly share my mistakes, what I've learned, what I am certain God is speaking to us, and transparently invite people to follow in spite of my humanness.

To my surprise, Jesus-followers are more gracious with transparent, honest leaders than we give them credit. People are looking for vulnerability among leaders more than stoic, I-have-it-all-together-and-figured-out charades.

Thanks Lifehouse for giving me a deeper faith in God and the Church.

In what area do you need to choose transparency over saving face?

How and why we fast

Welcome to 2011 and the start to the 21 Days of Fasting and Prayer!

I get lots of questions about why and how to fast during this time, so I figured I'd address a few of them here. Please download and read the flyer/ schedule that we've provided for the church here.

Why we fast?

• It's a biblical mandate and a basic discipline of Jesus-followers. Throughout the Bible many key figures fasted (Moses, David, Esther, Daniel, Nehemiah), and namely Jesus fasted for 40 days before He began His formal ministry. The apostles and Jesus-followers of the early Church followed Jesus' example and fasted regularly (see Acts 13:2-3).


• We fast to leverage our natural appetites as an alarm to keep focused attention on God during a season of prayer. In essence, every time I get hungry, it's a reminder to pray and meditate on God's Word and continue to seek His face.

Why 21 days or any other length of time?

• Our 21 day fast is taken from the example of Daniel when he was fasting for breakthrough from God (Daniel 10:2-3).


• There is nothing sacred about 21 days or 7 or 40, but there are biblical examples of each.


• The point isn't to see how long a person can go without food, but to seek God and cry out to Him in desperation for our own needs, but more importantly, for the needs of the Church, our community, and our nation, even the earth.


• At Lifehouse, we do a 21 day fast from the model of Daniel- claiming breakthrough from God for the spiritual needs of our community and asking God's blessing over the Church of this region.


• Honestly, I personally started fasting to kick-off each year when I was in Bible college. First, I fasted 3 days, then a week the next year. After 10 years of fasting personally, I decided to lead our church in this discipline to start each New Year.

How do we fast? What kind of fast do we do?

• There are several different ways to fast: Daniel's fast (meats and sweets), media fast (give up TV, recreational internet, movies, etc), all food, liquids only, water only, and sunrise to sunset liquid only (standard Jewish method).


• There is no right way if your heart is right. The point is to use your appetite(s) as a reminder to focus your attention on God.


• This is a great opportunity to build new habits and kick old ones, so consider fasting TV, video games, or some food that you no isn't good for you.


• If you haven't fasted before, I'd recommend not going 21 days with liquids only, especially if you have a physically demanding job.


• Consider fasting your favorite meal of the day, or fast meats and sweets. I ask our leadership team to do a media fast during this time (it keeps us focused on God and not filling our minds with unnecessary trash).


• There is nothing "holy" or super-spiritual about a more extreme fast. I personally do a liquid only fast for these 21 days, but part of my reason is that I'm so thick, that it probably takes this much time for me to recalibrate, get refocused on God, and clear away all the junk that's built up over the past few months.


• IMPORTANT: this is NOT an effective weight loss plan. Do not fast to loose weight, trust me, you'll gain most the weight you loose back quickly, unless your are establishing good habits during the fast.

My recommendations:

• Fast one meal per day and set consistent prayer times each day and start reading through the Bible.


• If you are able, consider a liquid only fast for a few days during the week.


• Come to corporate prayer times at 6-7am and 7-8pm. Praying with other passionate Jesus-followers will both challenge and encourage your prayer life and focus.

Let's see what God does as we humble ourselves and seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways. Let's pray that God heals our land and transforms our communities!

Bible resources- FREE

The most critical step in growing in our relationship with Christ is studying and obeying the Bible. So, here are some FREE tools to help you:

• download and listen to the Bible (load onto mp3 player or burn onto CD) here. Also available- Old Testament & KJV,
• download audio NIV Bible in professional format for $23 here,
• read and study the Bible with these sites full of Bible translations, commentaries (authors research on each chapter and verse of the Bible), daily devotions, as well as many other helps. In order of usefulness: 1. biblegateway.com; 2. biblestudytools.com; 3. searchgodsword.org. Many of these tools would cost $1000s if you had to buy them in hardcopy.
• for smart phones, iPhones, iPads, etc: Bible resources at youversion.com.

If you'd like to download and have Bible research tools on your computer, here are a few I highly recommend and use myself:

• for everybody who wants to start seriously studying the Bible- powerbible.com for PC only ($19),
• for people serious about studying the Bible and building a library- logos.com for PC and Mac, as well as iPhone- packages range from those who want personal study (Home package- $120) to leaders and life group leaders (Bible Study Leader package- $212) to lay pastors and teachers (Leaders library- $260) to pastors and scholars (Scholar's library- from $504).

These resources are well worth the investment and dramatically speed up your ability to study the Bible. Honestly, what once took me 10 hours to do in college in the library, I can do on my laptop in 10 seconds. There is no excuse for not seriously studying the Bible. Plus, the Logos software is upgradeable and expandable, so you can start at a base level, and upgrade and buy books as desired. Hey LOGOS, you should give me a commission for this plug :)

We have a surprise for everyone at Lifehouse in January 2011 that will help you grow in your spiritual life through 2011. Come ready to grow and deepen your faith (not free software, but great nonetheless!).

Roller Coaster Living

Confession: Laura likes roller coasters more than I do. I enjoy them, but would rather do something else crazy, and honestly, I try to act like I'm enjoying the ride a whole lot more than I actually am.

Confession: I've lived the roller coaster life and don't enjoy that either. And unfortunately, so have you. And we don't enjoy watching other people live this way- roller coaster attitude, roller coaster marriages, and a roller coaster spiritual life.

You don't enjoy it either, even when you're life is swirling around on the track. Here's what roller coaster living sounds like:

• in love with their spouse one day, and ready to kill each other the next.
• happy about their weekend, then miserable on Monday afternoon.
• use words to bless, and then using such colorful language that you'd make a sailor blush, and mothers are plugging their kids' ears.
• speak of godly things in one conversation, and then tell a dirty joke.

This is partly the human condition. We battle between feeding our spirit and our flesh. We battle, as Christians, with being instantaneously made "perfect" in Christ's righteousness at the moment of salvation, and yet we are being "perfected" through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.

That part I completely understand. But I find the roller coaster life exhausting and unacceptable! Maturity, especially in the Christian life, means that we are becoming more consistent and stable. My directive, GROW UP! If you're loving your spouse one moment, and mistreating them the next- STOP IT! If you're words bless and curse, ask God to transform your vocabulary. If you're spiritual life looks more like this guy attached to the roller coaster track than a mountain path, SEEK GOD!

The apostle James challenges us in James 3:4-18 to be wise with "wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."

Hope this serves as a word of encouragement rather than correction. I feel the same tension and roller coaster ride. I'm just prayerfully submitting myself in humility before God to be transformed and unstrap from the tracks of my sin-nature.

COMING SOON: Red Carpet Sunday!

On Sunday, December 5, we’re rolling out the RED CARPET for all friends and family members of Lifehouse Church East! Every guest of honor can enjoy horse-drawn carriage rides, continental breakfast, family portraits, and admission to Legend, a special Christmas series.

Tickets for the event are FREE, but seating is limited in each service, so start making your guest list today!



The box office will be open November 21 & 28 before and after the 9:00 & 10:30 AM service. You may also call 301-824-4656 or email info@lifehousechurcheast.org for WILL CALL information.

Every guest can also submit their contact information on their ticket stub to be entered in the VIP Gift Package drawing ($225 value!). There will be one winner drawn for the 9:00 AM service, and one drawn for the 10:30 AM service. Guests must be present to receive their prize. Ticket stubs can be submitted at the box office on Sundays.

these videos are proof that EVERYONE is necessary at Lifehouse

In case you don't know where you belong or what talent you have to offer, I want to assure every person at Lifehouse is valuable and necessary.

As PROOF, we've discovered that one ministry partner's unique gift is making jibjab videos of the office staff. Who knew that this was a necessary role in the church, but hey, we want everyone to maximize their giftedness to impact God's Kingdom at Lifehouse.

I had to censor most, but here are a few jibjab videos of our team that may give you a laugh. OH, and be very afraid if you see someone at Lifehouse trying to get a close of picture of your face. You may find yourself in one of these.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Featuring: Lauren Layman, Melody Belotte, Corey Broadwater, Patrick, Brian Linn.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Featuring: Pastors Ron, Patrick and Laura, Corey Broadwater, and Dave Johnson

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Featuring: Pastor Joe and Lois, John and Jamie Aldridge, Lauren Broadwater.

Take-aways from our Leadership Advance weekend

Just got home from our Leadership Advance planning weekend with the pastoral/ staff team of Lifehouse. Here are some take-aways:

• First, this wasn't a retreat, but an advance, because we're not retreating to escape but to plan to move forward. Not semantics, Cause!
• We are full of "holy discontentment". We're not satisfied with our level of experience with God or our impact for the Kingdom of God. We want more of God and more of God's purposes.
• We're a band of mis-fits. Most of us on the team honestly think that we don't belong anywhere else, feel inadequate for the responsibility we've been entrusted, and really believe that God does extraordinary things through very ordinary us.
• Failure isn't failure if God's in it and we learn and grow through it.
• We only want to dream what scares us and demands God to show up!
• We've only just begun!! We're on the very front end of what God wants to accomplish through Lifehouse and our team. There are more lives to be changed, hearts transformed, and souls saved.

I've returned feeling excited and overwhelmed at the same time. I feel the tension between believing by faith in the impossible of God and the reality of what it actually takes to implement those BIG dreams!

Huge "thank you" to our amazing leadership team!

Who we are under pressure

When we're under pressure, what comes out of us? Our best? Our worst?

The truth is that our truest self is revealed. What we truly are is squeezed to the surface. Under calm and comfortable circumstances, we can hide our intentions and weak character. But in the thick of battle, our character is exposed.

Do you like what pressure reveals about who you are?

Trials, hardship, and pressure are not sent by God, but are used by God to expose weakness and sin, so that we can grow in our faith and Christ-like character by repenting of sin and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform our heart.

We may not like it, but trials and hardship are our greatest teacher. Here's how Charles Spurgeon wrote about this topic in his commentary on 1 Peter 1:7 "The trying of our faith..."

"Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith... Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators... no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity."

How is the Holy Spirit trying to develop your character today?

In what areas has pressure revealed sin or weak character of which you need to repent?

Celebrate! Our faith is growing stronger and our character more Christ-like!

a very inadequate THANK YOU to our Veterans

Loud shouts of thunderous appreciation and gratitude to ALL our American Veterans!!

Thank you for giving your blood...

sweat...

tears...

sacrifice...

and service...

financial well-being...

determination...

unwillingness to quit...

for missing your child's birth...

first word...

their first step...

and countless other firsts...

birthdays, anniversaries...

for putting on hold your dreams...

your families interests...

your needs...

your advancement...

for staying the course through the throes of battle...

fear...

pain...

death...

lack of support...

injury...

anxiety and stress about your cares at home...

for being vigilant...

to the Cause of Freedom

to defending the Constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic...

even when you wanted to run...

or hide...

or call home but couldn't...

Your sacrifice gave us...

comfort...

freedoms of speech, assembly, and so many more...

the right to bare arms, to protest, to vote...

the chance to see our kid's birth, first step, and a million other firsts,

the ability to live our hopes and experience the American Dream.

the opportunity to worship God in the greatest nation on earth.

THANK YOU to my heroes! May God bless you and may God bless America!

I can't express how much I personally appreciate your duty, honor, and sacrifice!

my lay-away purchase

in prep for the message this Sunday, I came across this video:

The trunk monkey chaperone version is my next lay-away purchase. I don't care how much! I'll pick it up in about 7 years, when my oldest daughter is able to get her driving permit. :)

Boys, are you afraid? Not nearly enough! You know I'll be hunting you!

The WHY behind "Don't Go to Church" Sunday

In case you're curious...

Here's NOT why we said, "don't go to church" on Sunday, October 31st:

• to save money- we didn't do this to be cheap or try to save on expenses. We believe reaching people for Christ and leading people in life transforming experiences on Sunday mornings are worth the investment,
• to get out of the theater- we like meeting in rented facilities that gives us the flexibility of keeping our focus on reaching the unchurched and serving our city by showing and sharing God's love. Meeting in the theater allows us to do that.

Here's the BIG whys behind why we lead Lifehouse to "don't go to church":

1. To say "YES" to God. First and foremost, this was a God-led idea. We didn't come up with this in a planning meeting. I had been sharing some ideas with our team that I felt God had placed on my heart, but I kept wrestling with them, and finally shared that it wasn't the right timing. However, i also expressed that there was something BIG that God wanted us to do to conclude the Bare-Naked Faith series, but I didn't know what it was. The next morning, in our staff prayer meeting, Lois Quesenberry shared an idea and my spirit leapt. I said, "That's it! That's the thing God wants to do." That's the genesis of the life group Sunday. It happened on a Tuesday, we announced on Sunday. When God calls us to respond, I've made a commitment to always just say "YES!"
2. To teach Lifehouse and our community that we DON'T GO to church, we ARE the Church. Church isn't a location, a building, or a Sunday morning experience. The Church is people gathered through their common faith in Jesus Christ for the purpose of worship, spiritual growth, building community, and sharing the Gospel with unbelievers,
3. To model our commitment to taking bold faith-risk steps. We, at Lifehouse, will do WHATEVER IT TAKES to teach and lead people to being devoted Jesus-followers,
4. To break us out of our routine of Sunday morning "church". Sometimes we need to be shaken out of routine. Even good routines can lose their effectiveness if we forget why we're doing them. So, Lifehouse's leadership takes bold, God-led steps to mix things up, surprise you with creativity, and catch you off guard with how powerful the Christian life is everyday,
5. To empower our life groups and leaders that they can effectively lead a life- transforming worship experience in their home,
6. To tease our community and Lifehouse with fresh ideas. I don't know if we'll lead a "Don't Go to Church" Sunday again, but I do know that we'll continue encouraging people to meet in homes for life groups. Who knows? We may even develop an idea of launching video church campuses in homes all around this region... Who knows?

Thanks for understanding the "why" behind the "what".

are you ready?

The other day I decided to swim again as part of my work out routine. I was excited, because I love swimming and missed being in the water. Since I'd been training for the marathon, I put all my focus into running instead.

Enthusiastically, I got to the gym and through on my shorts only to discover that I had no goggles with me. In fast, my goggles broke over the summer. But, undeterred I jump in the pool and swam in the highly- chlorinated water for a mile. Then, I spent the rest of the day rubbing my eyes and explaining to everyone I met with that I wasn't, as it may appear, hungover.

Fortunately, I'm a fast learner. Today, I remembered my new pair of goggles when I left for the pool!

Like I shared yesterday in my sermon, we must ready ourselves for battle before we get into the thick of it. Put on the armor before you need it, not after the bullets are zipping by your head.

Life is a battle, the enemy of our souls is out to destroy us.

Are you ready for the battle today? Or are you jumping in the deep end without goggles? Are you racing into the week ready for battle?

My challenge to all of us: SOLDIER UP!

"Be the Church" Sunday

We don't want anyone at Lifehouse to show up at the theater on Sunday, October 31st and be caught off guard, so we're spreading the word now- DON'T GO to Church!! That's right, we're inviting you to BE the Church!

On October 31st, instead of collectively meeting at the theater, we're meeting in 25 groups across the entire region. We're asking YOU and everyone connecting with Lifehouse to find a group and Be the Church by going to a life group that Sunday morning.

It's FRIEND DAY too, so invite your neighbors, friends, family out to the life group you'll be joining, and let's pack out 25 homes across this region! We'll have invite cards available on this Sunday, October 24th.

Most groups will meet at 10:30 in homes and various locations, a few will meet at 9 and 9:30am. Some will have childcare, most will have a live worship leaders, all will take communion, and YES! I will be preaching a message that morning!

We'll be kicking off a new sermon series that morning called "BIG: if you feed it, it will grow".

Don't GO to Church...

That's right, as a conclusion to our Bare-Naked Faith series, we're asking ever everyone at Lifehouse and all your friends to NOT go to church on October 31st, 2010.

Why would Lifehouse be making such a crazy request?

We don't want you to GO to church but BE the church. So, we're doing something very DIFFERENT on 10/31. Please mark your calendars, start telling your friends, and invite your neighbors to join us for "Don't GO to church Sunday"! You are NOT going to want to miss this Sunday morning experience, and you may never be the same.

We're asking everyone to get involved! It's going to be a FRIEND DAY, so we want you to start inviting your friends out soon.

We'll tell you more about what's happening in our next post... (can't wait, it's crazy, and just downright biblical!!)

Unexpected Encouragement

Last night, we sat and did our family devotion (thanks Pastor Lori and Jamie for the study guide from Sunday). The key verse to memorize was 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (NIV). Good thought! So, we went to the passage to read and discuss: Psalm 112. As I'm reading it to my girls, I had a moment where I realized it was more for me than for them. About halfway through I paused and said, "I really needed this tonight."

Here's it is. Love how God looks out for those who love, fear, and trust Him.

Praise the LORD! How joyful are those who fear the LORD and delight in obeying his commands. 2 Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. 3 They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever. 4 Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. 5 Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. 6 Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. 7 They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the LORD to care for them. 8 They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. 9 They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor. 10 The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted. (New Living Translation)

Invite your friends, enemies, neighbors, family THIS Sunday!

Friend Day is a great opportunity to invite your friends to Lifehouse. We go all out for our guests and do everything we can to make them feel at home. We, as a leadership team, will make sure we give this our best effort. That’s our part.

TAG, YOU’RE IT!!

Your part is to INVITE! So, make it a point to get busy- emailing, calling, asking friends, neighbors, whomever to join us at Lifehouse THIS Sunday, September 12th at either 9 or 10:30am.

We’re also kicking off life groups (all 25 of them) this Sunday and introducing you to the Bare-Naked Faith study guide. It’s going to be incredible.

See you and your guests on Sunday!!

THE TOP TEN THINGS I LEARNED FROM LIFEHOUSE CHURCH EAST

Written and originally posted by Melody Belotte Here's some inside jokes for your Lifehouse regulars....

"THE TOP TEN THINGS I LEARNED FROM LIFEHOUSE CHURCH EAST"

1.) How to fold a circular table cloth

2.) Cheese-ITs & Pepperoni are a perfectly acceptable breakfast food.

3.) When someone tells you to "go love on someone," don't worry-- it's not a sexual reference.

4.) If you see a man walking around kids ministry dressed in drag, he was probably actually going for more of the "old testament character" look.

5.) Those cups full of pens on the "endcaps of the aisles" are actually booby traps for new guests to knock over during a quiet part of the sermon.

6.) When we talk about St. Patrick- we're not referring to an actual historical figure, but our Pastor's Evil Alter-Ego.

7.) Lifesaver mints are like Lay's Potato Chips. I bet you can't just eat one.

8.) "FRIEND DAY" is actually code for "HOT BREAKFAST IN CAFE DAY." (God bless gravy.)

9.) Patrick Grach is "FIRED UP." When we figure out what "FIRED DOWN" is, we'll let you know.

10.) Church is a family of friends. It doesn't have to be uptight, boring, or detatched from reality. It can actually be an exciting experience...mostly because I'm pretty sure God drinks caffeine too...

Great to be back and kicking off week of fasting and prayer

It's great to be back from vacation and sabbatical. We thoroughly enjoyed our time away and feel refreshed. It was also so valuable to have a week of sabbatical to pray, get training (I went to a leadership coaching training seminar for 2 days), and write 9 chapters for a book I'm working on.

Today, we kicked off a week of fasting and prayer. Join us from 6-7am at Leitersburg Cinema for prayer. Why fasting and prayer? Honestly, I've never seen anything substantive or lasting happen for God's Kingdom outside of prayer and fasting. They key is intimate connection with Christ, humility of our own agenda and attitudes, and complete surrender. When we use our appetites as a tool to remind us to pray and seek God, wow!

Focus today is on personal repentance and allowing God to clean out sin and clean up our attitudes. We must allow God to do a great work in us before He will do a great work through us!

What are we building in leadership and Church?

Thought this was a great blog post by Steve Furtick of Elevation Church:

The house you have to live in

Posted: 22 Jul 2010 03:01 AM PDT

I once asked a group of fifteen pastors if they would attend the churches they were leading if they were not on staff. In other words, if they were just random people in the community working in different fields and they didn’t have to be there, would they actually want to be a part of their church? Would the programs impress them? Would the culture entice them? Would the vision inspire them?

Only two raised their hands.

Only two wanted to be a part of the church and the culture they themselves were trying to build.

It reminds me of an old illustration about a contractor who had been building houses for a friend. Eventually the friend gave the contractor one last house to build. He provided him with all the dimensions and told him to use the best material. But since it was his last house, the contractor decided to cut some corners thinking he could cover it up and save money. After the house was built, to his surprise his friend tossed him the keys to the house and told him it was his reward for his hard work.

We’re all building something.

Everyone is building their reputation. Their legacy. Their character. Parents are building marriages and families. Business leaders are building corporations. Pastors are building churches.

Whatever you’re building, make sure that it’s something you would actually want to live in yourself. Because you’re going to have to.

The reputation you’re building is the reputation you have to live with. The family you’re building is the family you have to come home to every day. The organization you’re building, whether it’s a business or a church, is the organization you’re going to have to lead.

So build something you would live in, even if you didn’t have to.

St Patrick season 2 videos and sermons available

Get them while they're available. St Patrick season 2 videos and sermons are now available at youtube and at our website, but they're only available to a limited number of people for viewing and download. So, if you want to see or hear, go NOW!

Ok, that's not true. Anybody can watch, listen, and download. And we hope you do! Pass them around, email the links to your friends, family, and neighbors who you're inviting to Lifehouse, or to those who would benefit from this sermon series. OR to those who need a good laugh at MY expense.

Here's the links for part 6:

Sermon audio here.

Hope you're laughing and being deeply challenged to truly become a Jesus-follower.

BTW, how many of you are interested in an out-takes/ bloopers video for this series?

Tested through Fire

Regardless of what's happening around us, God is using every situation, challenge, stress point, and trial to grow us into Christ- likeness.

I know that I've personally been on the anvil of His craftsmanship, and can see how the many challenges, hardships, and trials are being used by God to "crush" me so that I will become less so He can become more in my life.

Was challenged and encouraged by a verse a friend sent me today, (1 Peter 1:6-8, NLT):

"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

When I'm Wrong...

It happens often enough and most of the time, I realize it too- I make mistakes, mess up, or am flat out wrong. Much of the time, many don't even realize that I am, other times those around me are waiting for me to realize it or wonder if I know. But there is always this critical moment when I realize I was wrong. What do I do now?

The other day I sent an email out citing the example of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac, but instead of saying Abraham, I called him Moses. Sounds benign, right? But what if, in the middle of my sermon I'm recounting an historical narrative, and make a blatant error in recounting the story. For example, this past Sunday, I was retelling the story of how the Philistines "returned" the Ark of the Covenant by placing it on a new cart, yoked two oxen that had never plowed AND we're still nursing from their mother (where I got this from I have no idea). But that simple statement was wrong. Actually, here's what 1 Samuel 6 says about the oxen,
Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up (1 Sa 6:7).

So, they weren't young calves, but nursing mothers who wouldn't want to leave their calves behind and would be maternally wanting to stay with or return to their babies. Interestingly, I had not intended on telling the full background of that narrative, but once I started preaching, I felt the need to give more context. But since I had not recently read it, that detail was off.

I could overlook that error, hope that no one even noticed OR address it and correct it. So, as publicly as I can, I want to let everyone know that I'm wrong. I'm willing to study and make sure that I'm biblically accurate.

Wish I could say that my only failings have been in simple error or forgotten details. There are other times when I've really done wrong or hurt someone. Then what?

The bigger lesson: When I'm wrong, I'll take full responsibility for it, acknowledge it and let those involved know it, not blame or pass the buck, then correct my mistake, wrong, or sin with clear action. Repent if necessary. Make restitution when needed or warranted. Then, I'll move on and learn from my mistakes and failures. I don't keep looking back at my sins and failures, but accept forgiveness from God, others, and myself, and live looking forward.

Failures are expensive lessons to develop character, growth, and maturity in my life.

What failures or wrongs do you need to acknowledge and make right?

Watch St Patrick Gone Wild videos here

Kicked off St Patrick season 2 a few weeks ago. Very excited and having a ton of fun while also speaking on some very challenging topics. The theme of this series is "The Anatomy of a Jesus-follower". However, I hope that you enjoy the journey and watching the videos as much as enjoyed filming and acting in them.

For Part 1 watch this intro video:

And for part 2:


And now, to actually listen to the sermons follow this link to our website:http://www.lifehousechurcheast.org/nonflash/main.aspx?page=sermons.

What is Meekness?

Jesus called himself gentle and meek. Does meekness mean weakness? Was Jesus weak?

Best word picture for "meekness" is velvet covered steal. A gentle strength. A soft but unwavering firmness.

We are called to be meek, and can be meek, because we trust God alone to be our defense, our advocate, and we believe that He does look out for us. When we are fully surrendered to Him, we can have meek confidence that He will protect us, vindicate us, provide for us.

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. Isaiah 58:8-9

Love the picture that God is my rear guard. He's looking out for me.

Charles Stanley stated, "God takes full responsibility for those who are fully devoted to Him."

We don't have to fight or defend ourselves.

I'm learning to walk in meekness, and leave my concerns, worries, fears, stresses with God. Guess I'm better off with God looking out for His Kingdom and His servants than for me to try to do that job. He's a little bigger, stronger, wiser, and more powerful.

pastors in prayer

Started today off by meeting with a group of pastors for our weekly prayer gathering. These are pastors from a variety of denominational and theological backgrounds but who share a few things in common:

• we believe in the Bible wholly and fundamentally,
• we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior,
• we believe that the Church has been commissioned with the Gospel and is the only hope of the world,
• we believe that we, as churches and leaders, are more powerful and effective together than we are apart,
• we believe in the power of prayer,
• we believe that we agree on more than we disagree,
• we believe that unless we unite and serve together the Church will fail and continue to slide towards irrelevance and stale religion,
• we believe that our prayers and unity of faith will matter for eternity so that the population of heaven will be different because we got out of bed and prayed.

What are we praying?

• renewal of our city- true transformation to sweep through this region that will lead to physical needs being met, less crime, more caring, communities serving one another, and a significant drop in corruption,
• The Church- that The Church would be unified, powerful, and effective in both showing and sharing the Gospel of Jesus with a city desperately in need,
• salvation of those who are far from God- that the many who don't know or follow Jesus would be reached and discipled into true Jesus-followers, not so we can have more converts or fill churches, but that their lives would be rescue from the grip of sin and their souls freed from the bondage of hell, and that each person in our city would discover the eternal life of Jesus Christ,
• holiness- that we, as pastors, would live God-honoring lives, and in turn, those who profess Jesus as their Lord, would begin to live more like Jesus- in word and deed.

Ok, we're praying tons more but those are just a few things that are weighing on my heart as we pray.

Thought I'd take a moment and share.

Does what upsets me upset God?

I was jogging recently and thinking and stressing about a few issues that were upsetting me. So, I did what any God-fearing, super-spiritual pastor would do- I complained about them to God. I let Him know what was upsetting me and why and then asked Him to fix them. Sounds good and right?

While I was praying, er... complaining, a thought (maybe the Holy Spirit) struck me,

"Does what upsets me upset God?" Doh! That hurt. Do the things that stress me out, preoccupy my thoughts, attention, and energy also upset God? Is God sad over the things that make me sad?

Then, an even more disruptive thought raced through my mind like a run-away train about to dramatically change my day,

"Do the things that upset God also upset me? Or do I even think about the things that upset God?"

Maybe you're thinking, "God, upset?" Yes, certainly there are plenty of examples biblically of things that upset, anger, preoccupy the attention of God. Want just a few? People going to hell. Care for the orphans and the widows. The health and beauty (holiness) of the Church (Bride of Christ). Yea, those things are important and should be on my mind and when they are not given proper attention or care, they should upset me.

So, what I'm praying now, "God, break my heart with the things that break yours. Upset me with the things that upset you. And remove from my awareness or conscious thinking worries and stress of this life that matter little in the scope of eternity."

Are the things that upset you also upsetting God? Do they matter for eternity?

Are the things that break God's heart also breaking your heart?

Friend Day & New Sermon Series

Sunday, April 18th is Friend Day so invite your neighbors, friends, classmates, co-workers, family. Just make sure they are NOT plugged into a church already and then do WHATEVER it takes to get them to Lifehouse- bribe, kidnap (just make sure they're over 18), tranquilize, offer a dinner out on your dim... Just get your friends to church on Sunday. There are plenty of sets available in 9am service, but get there early for sets to the 10:30am service.

Also, kicking off a new sermon series called "Mixed Signals". It's about how to get clear direction from God in the midst of the noise around us. Watch the trailer here.

In case you were wondering where I was this past Sunday, I was grateful for a Sunday to visit one of our network churches down in Winchester (Lifehouse Church Shenandoah). Had a great time hanging out with Pastor Joel & Crystal Flower, who are doing a great job church planting. I feel privileged to serve alongside of them in Lifehouse Church Network.

Morning After Easter

Reflecting on Easter and Lifehouse services. Thanks to all volunteers and leaders who gave their best, served their guts out, and made Lifehouse a welcome center for people coming to experience God. Way to go! We really have an amazing team of servants and leaders.

We launched 2 services back in mid-January because we were at capacity in one service, and our second service yesterday felt like our only service did back in December. Hope everyone enjoyed a packed house! Always exciting to see so many engaged in worshiping and following Jesus. First service was a blast as well. Great to see the 9am crowd inviting their friends!

One thought that struck me yesterday, "The Resurrection changes everything!" If there was no resurrection, than we have no hope, no life, no meaning. If Jesus didn't rise, than Christianity is no different than any other religion, except that we should be most pitied (Apostle Paul said that no me), since we have a false hope then. BUT if Jesus died rise, and he DID, than the Resurrection changes everything. Through Jesus, we have life, forgiveness, hope, healing, purpose, power, and an eternal destination and the mortgage has already been paid in full.

Scars: a story of despair

Sermon audio and video testimony online NOW!

Here's a link to download or listen to the most recent sermon.

Here's the video for the video trailer that introduced the sermon. Tough, messy scar story, but if you listen to the sermon you'll discover how God can bring people THROUGH seasons of despair, depression, and anguish.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! (gotta watch the video)

Big HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!

Just a little jig to say, "You're awesome!"

Daylight Savings and Baptism THIS SUNDAY

Daylight Savings Time begins THIS Sunday, March 14th, so move your clocks FORWARD one hour THIS Saturday Night and pass on this video to other forgetful friends...



Baptism in Water is a significant step in the journey of a Jesus-follower, and if you or someone you know has not been baptized in water, take advantage of this special Baptism Ceremony held at Leitersburg Cinemas!

For more information- check out our event page here.

Is TRUE LOVE only in fairy tales?

ALL sermons for "is TRUE LOVE only in fairy tales?" series are up here. See the previous post for the trailer for the series. I'm strongly encouraging you to download the mp3 files and SHARE them. Get your kids to listen to them, pass them on to your friends, classmates, or secretly load them onto someone's iPod.

We took a lot of time on this series, and I addressed some tough, but very relevant issues, as we walked through the Song of Songs. These messages are straight from the Bible with no fluff, just honest, timeless truth that will profoundly impact the lives of those who will live them.

Really preached my heart and guts out on this series. Hope you enjoy and are impacted for eternity!

We'll also have the whole set on CD available on this Sunday, March 14th.

INVITE your FRIENDS to Lifehouse to Church on Valentine's Day

A reminder that tomorrow is Valentine's Day and FRIEND DAY! Invite your FRIENDS! We would strongly encourage you to invite them to either 9am or 10:30, but really want to encourage stronger attendance in the 9am service.

Here's our video to promote this FRIEND DAY and the Kick-off of "Is true love only in fairy tales?"

If you're wondering, graphics and video were taken from a series down by Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. Always nice when we don't have to spend 80 hours creating designs and videos from scratch.

Everyone wants a miracle BUT...

few want to be in a miracle- requiring situation. We like miraculous healing, provision, protection, wisdom, and strength. But how many of us are willing to allow God to place us in situations of that require such miraculous breakthrough.

We read the Bible with the end of the story in mind, but for those who lived it, they were desperate and in need of God's power. Put yourself in these situations, could you have handled them as these biblical heroes did?

• Moses and Israelites were cornered between the Red Sea and the charging Egyptian army BEFORE the Sea was parted (Exodus 14),
• Israelites were wandering in the desert, Elijah was enduring a famine, a widow was about to eat her last meal, and 5000 men were hungry BEFORE God supplied an abundance of food (Exodus 16; 1 Kings 17; Matthew 14)
• Daniel broke the law against prayer, was thrown into a den of lions BEFORE he saw God's protection (Daniel 6),
• Gideon has challenged by God to narrow his vastly outnumbered army down to 300 men against the Midianites that were as vast as locust over the valley BEFORE God used them to deliver Israel from their siege (Judges 6),
• Elisha and Gehazi were surrounded by a vast army of Arameans BEFORE God sent chariots of fire to destroy the opposing army (2 Kings 7),
• Early Jesus-followers endured persecution, beatings, martyrdome, running for their lives BEFORE the gospel spread throughout all the regions surrounding Jerusalem and Asia Minor (Acts 8:1-8).

Curious as to why you might be in a difficult situation, enduring hardship, suffering?

• For Israel in Judges 7:1-4, God "stacked the deck" against them so that they wouldn't take credit for the victory but so that God would get ALL the glory. Are we giving glory to God in our situations and with our victories?
• In 2 Kings 7:15-17, Elisha prayed that Gehazi's eyes would be opened to see spiritually that "those who were with us are more than those who are with them". Maybe God wants you to see with spiritual eyes rather than with eyes of doubt and fear?
• In Acts 8:1-8, the persecution and suffering was necessary to scatter the believers and spread the God News of the Gospel to the "ends of the Earth". How can we grow through hard times?

In each situation, obedience is required before the miracle comes. And always, God wants the Glory for His miraculous power.

Thanks to all for a great time at Lifehouse on Sunday

Great to see so many brave Lifehousers and guests out at Lifehouse for our 10:30 service. It was a wild weekend with anywhere from 18-30+ inches of snow around the region. Wow!

Grateful for all who pitched in to make our service possible- Bill Anderson for plowing and getting the parking lot ready (did you even go to sleep on Saturday night?), Simanes for having coffee & cafe ready when everyone arrived (we all were in desperate need of a cup o' Joe), to the guys that were willing to walk people safely from the parking lot into the theater, and all the volunteers and staff that improvised, served, and worshiped together. What a way to SHARE LIFE TOGETHER.

Here's a picture I took when I went out to check out the roads early Sunday morning. Couldn't help but pull over and enjoy the moment!

SHINE Sermons are available at www.lifehousechurcheast.org.

10:30am service ONLY on Sunday, February 7th

Lifehouse Church East will have 10:30am services ONLY on Sunday, February 7th.

For those of you who are volunteering, serving, and leading tomorrow, you may want to arrive between 9-9:30, depending on how much time you need to prep.

Please be careful and safe.

After being snowbound since Friday, I'm sure most of you are ready to get out anyway, and I've got a sermon I'm ready to preach. I spent the bulk of the day digging out as I'm sure you did. Here's a pic of my girls enjoying our giant mound of snow outside our door.

Enjoy your evening and we look forward to seeing you at 10:30AM.

DON'T FORGET, NEXT SUNDAY is FRIEND DAY!! So, invite your friends!!

SHINE sermon series

Just a heads up that recent sermons are up on our website here.

Here's the trailer for SHINE as a teaser. Check them out and listen, be challenged, glorify God.

The Invitation series from Christmas is also up.

LISTEN. DOWNLOAD. LINK. TWEET. Whatever you do, SHARE.

Stay Humble, by Mark Batterson

"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." I Peter 5:5

This is a re-post from www.evotional.com by Mark Batterson. Just thought it was an excellent post and great insight. I completely agree.

Let me make a confession: our family watches American Idol. I watch it for my kids, of course! Here's an observation I've made during the try outs to get on the show. The judges almost always react negatively to contestants who are cocky. It turns them off. It's almost like they naturally oppose them. But the judges seem to love contestants who have a quiet confidence or don't know how good they are. In a sense, pride and humility have almost as much to do with the contestants making the show as their voice quality.

Pride is a turn off isn't it? It invites opposition. But humility is endearing. It invites grace. And it's not just true in the natural realm. That is a reflection of the spiritual realm.

If I had one piece of advice for leaders I think it might be this: stay humble. If you have pride in your heart, God will oppose you and it's awfully hard to do the work of God when God Himself is opposing you! Stay humble in the way you treat others. Treat them as more important than yourself. And stay humble toward God. Keep giving credit where credit is due. And make sure you spend time on your knees kneeling before Him. The leaders that God uses the most have well worn knees.

Stand Firm: concluding 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting

Our focus in prayer today is for fruitfulness and faithfulness. Read John 15:1-11 as a reference point, and let's pray for "much fruit" through pruning, so that we are able to see increased impact in our community, many transformed lives, changed hearts, saved souls- all to the Father's Glory!!

When we are fruitful and faithful, the enemy will attack to discourage us, frustrate us, and lead us to believe that we should quite. But that is no time to quite. Instead,

"Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9.

Here's a very encouraging letter written by an anonymous pastor from the jungles of New Guinea explaining His situation to the preacher John Yates:

"Man, it's great to be in the thick of the fight, to draw the old Devil's heaviest guns, to have him at you with depression and discouragement, slander, disease! He doesn't waste time. He hits good and hard when a fellow is hitting him.

You can always measure the effectiveness of your work, by how hard Satan hits back. When you're on your back with fever and at your last ounce of strength, when some of your converts backslide, when you learn that your most promising inquirers are only fooling, when your mail gets held up and some don't bother to answer your letters, is that the time to bail out?

"No Sir! That's the time to pull out the stops and shout hallelujah! Satan’s really getting it and he’s launching an all out attack. And all of heaven is watching and asking: 'Will he stick it out?'

And they see who is with us…and they see around us the unlimited reserves, the boundless resources, and they see the impossibility of failure with God on our side…how sad the angels must be when we run away from hard times. Glory to God! We're not going to run away. We're going to stand."

So, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, BE ENCOURAGED, STAND FIRM, NEVER GIVE UP to the GLORY of GOD!

Help hold up the arms of those on the front lines

The prayer focus for today (day 19) is for our missionaries and those ministries on the "front lines" of spreading the gospel to the furthest reaches of our world. Here's a brief list, pray for:

• safety, generous provision to the missionaries and humanitarian workers in Haiti.
• our missionaries serving everywhere from US university campuses to Belgium, Central Asia, Japan, and beyond.
• other missionaries that come to mind and those that you are familiar with.
• the work of these missionaries, for fruitful ministry, protection, and great impact in make disciples of all nations,
• financial provision for missionaries, especially since the economy is rough and many people are pulling back in their support,
• renewed strength since ministry can be very tiring and spiritually exhausting, and that they would not "grow weary in doing well".

A great passage to read and use as a guide when praying for our missionaries and church leaders on the front lines of the Kingdom: Exodus 18:8-15 especially,

"When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword."

Personal Thoughts on Haiti

We've all seen the unbelievable devastation and heartache in photos and news feed out of Haiti. Like me, your heart breaks and you wonder what you can do. On that later this week! For a moment, allow me to pour out my heart and reflections from Scripture as I've processed this great tragedy in Haiti.

First, our American perspective is so limited. There are 10's of millions of people all over the world deeply suffering, without clean water, bathrooms, food, shelter from cold or heat, no medical help, and on and on. We have it SO good, yet we complain to God over our "suffering" when we do without the most lavish of luxuries. This season of fasting reminds of how much I DON'T need!

Second, the biblical perspective on gratitude and provision. I modified my prayers with my daughters over the last few days. I always emphasize our need for GRATITUDE and GENEROSITY! We take time to thank Jesus for our food, home, stuff, and his faithful provision. However, recently, I started leading them in a prayer that went more like this,

"Jesus, thank you for your lavish blessings of food. You amaze us with your daily provisions of food to eat, water to drink, and a home to live in. Together, we are not only grateful, but also want to say that we are thankful, not because you always give us what we want or even need, but we are thankful for YOU, for salvation, and for the promise of heaven. Even if we had nothing, we would still love you and be thankful."

I'm reminded that Christians throughout history, and currently throughout the world suffer immeasurable persecution, devastation, and tragedy. While we are spared from so much of that in America, we must be mindful that we are not promised to be spared, but just the opposite,

Paul wrote to the Philippian Church, "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him..." Philippians 1:29
Paul reminded other believers, "To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly." 1 Corinthians 4:11-13
And a thorough summation of many Jesus-followers pain, suffering, and willingness to endure hardship laid out in Hebrews 11: 32-40. Here's the highlight reel,

"Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground."

These verses (and hundreds that I didn't include for sake of brevity) make it so clear that suffering, hardship, and even tragedy are not marks of a lack of faith but of true Jesus-followers.

This isn't an exhaustive statement of my thoughts as I reflect personally, and I'll try to continue to blog those for you.

Our hearts, prayers, and soon (our generosity) are with those in Haiti.

What lessons are you learning as you observe the news of the devastation in Haiti?