The "what's next" leader

Hey there

I am writing these comments on my laptop in Maui.  With my family (some sleeping, some just hanging out, all of us together under one roof).   I am thinking about Christmas this year and how thousands in this county will attend church at one of your churches.  We have such precious opportunities that God gives us to tell folks about His plan of redemption.   Think about how high the stakes are.  Think about what could happen if we 'perfectly' listened to God, and courageously responded to whatever it is He asks us to do.  What would happen during this Christmas?  What would happen (as a result) in homes?  What would happen in our churches as people begin to fill every seat, invite their friends, believe, invest in and support the local church.  Imagine with me what could happen in our little county.  We are just one body, but we are one.  We can't do everything, but I am convinced we can do something.

As I was typing this my littlest daughter Hannah came up, kissed me on the cheek, thanked me for being her daddy and thanked me for us being here and said good night.   Friends that is the Kingdom of God in my reality.   Here's what I mean.  We are only called to be faithful in this moment to do the right thing, say the right thing and believe the right thing.  The rest is up to God.   

What if this season, each of us lived in the stark and sometimes messy reality of the moment we are in right now.  God is so much bigger than whatever it is you are worrying about.  It is a sin to worry, so stop.  Trust Him.  Believe in yourself.  Jesus does!   Believe that God wants to do amazing things in the church He has entrusted to your care, for this season.   Once you allow that belief to resonate in your heart, it will become your reality, and you can't not invest every ounce of energy to see the dream become reality.  This is the only Christmas we have.  You are the only dad your kids have.   You are the only husband, the only friend and the only one God has called to do unthinkable things for His glory and purposes this Christmas.  Live in the gift of now.  Believe Him and give everything you have to see one person come to Christ this Christmas.  What better gift could we give back to the One who GAVE everything to us? 

I am praying for you.  I look forward to our leaders gathering in January.  I want us to focus on leadership, developing leaders, building trust in teams, among some other things God is showing me. 

In the end....This is the only Christmas you have.   Instead of being leaders who are focused on what's next, what if we became leaders who were more focused on "what's NOW."  When we begin to think more about what's now, less about what's next.  We find God stronger than ever, because I find myself weaker and more surrendered than ever.

This Christmas, let's all give everything as if you believed the dream for our lives, our churches and for the Kingdom of God.

Have an amazing Jesus-saturated Christmas.

Your friend and co-laborer for the baby who grew up to die for each of us.

John

Comments

[*boggled*]

Amen, and halleleujah!

[Christ follower]

Aloha PJ,
I wanted to let you know that I was challenged by your message this last sunday. As a failful 9 o' clocker I felt like I was doing ok. With your message, I was challenged to step out in faith and bless others with my finances. We just bought a house and then I didn't not recieve the promissed raise from my boss. We're comming up short each month, but I have peace in that situation. It's not because I'm a lousy steward, but becasue I have Christ as my provider. Thanks for speaking the messages on finances regardless of the grief some may give you. We need to be challenged in this area as well as the others that teach on. My leadership question to you is this; what is the most effective way that we can serve the body at LH? We all have limited time, including you, so I know it's not an issue of being on staff or not. Love to hear your thoughts if you get a moment between waves.

[Zeb Cameron]

I am not sure but you guys at LH dont talk much about your recovery program. I have seen it work as a decipleship program and effectively move people to be more like christ and addicted to following him. We use Celebrate Recovery but I am sure yours is effective also. Just thinking about how many lives it has helped get out of the garbage so to speak. Anyway keep up the great work.

[Missy]

Hi Zeb! I'm glad you asked about our recovery program. We have a very unique program called, "Living Free." We have actually found a lot of success and changed lives within the life groups that follow our Living Free service. We have a full service with worship and teaching, followed by unique life groups that talk about such things as grief, depression, divorce recovery, addiction recovery & co-dependency. Pastor Rick Bosch is speaking about this program during part of his message this weekend. You can watch it online Monday if you like. Thanks for leaving your comment and I'd love to continue this conversation if you have any other questions. Have a great day!
Missy