Monthly Archive

Most people need to lead at some level of their professional or personal life. Many (if not all) of us are both leaders and followers. At times we have authority over others, other times we are under authority. As our church is pushing past the 500 barrier, I am finding myself increasingly on teams where I am not necessarily the leader. So as I read this article, I was reminded that for a lot of us at TJN - a primer or refresher on leading from beneath could be a huge benefit.

Leading From Beneath - Read the whole artical here>>>

By Andy Stanley

The fine art of challenging organization decay-without compromising your integrity.

Five ways you can develop the art of challenging the process without inadvertently issuing a challenge to the people in your organization.

1. When an instruction is given, follow through now; debrief later.

2. Never verbalize your frustration with the process in front of other team members.

3. Don’t confuse your insights with moral imperatives.

4. If you don’t learn to lead under, you won’t have as many opportunities to lead over.

5. When you can’t follow, then it’s time to get off the team.

This video was made at our sister church in Ukrane. It is great to hear from Pastor Dima.  The team had a great time this past month.  I am thankful to David Downing for leading it.

Most of the Brainerd Lakes folks visit TJN because someone invited them. So personal invitations are the most effective form of marketing. But we have a simple marketing philosophy: we don’t want anybody in the Lakes Area to be able to deny our existence. Sometimes a direct mailer can get you on someone’s radar so when they are looking for a church down the road they know where to turn.

More importantly for us is the invitation culture we are trying to create. We want everyone at the church inviting people. To that end direct mail does two things for us: 1) We teach the power of the ask, and 2) We provide great tools for people to partner in asking by giving extra mailers and invite cards to them.

As long as there are people who are far from God in this area…we have our work cut out for us.

I really love the design and the fall series we came up with. I think this Renew series will propel many of us to the next level on our spiritual journey!

• Mink Lake Camp is Awesome…I am planning a TJN family camp for next August.
• I loved the prayer garden
• The stories yesterday that we heard from Teen Challenge were incredible.
• We received our single largest offering when we received a love gift for Teen Challenge – God used them to stir many of us.
• Last week Caleb took me to school as we played chess. I hate that!
• I can’t wait for Sunday. I have a very special wedding coming up.
• Elizabeth, Caleb Rebekah and I watched the end of season 5 last night – we love 24!
• After five years, I saw a very old and dear friend yesterday. It was like we didn’t miss a beat.
• I love The Journey North and what the church stands for…it is a beautiful mess.
• The next few weeks are going to be incredible. I am stoked for our fall launch.
• There are about 12 more people who are seeking baptism on September 9^th – SWEET
• Don’t miss next Sunday – Brett is preaching and it will be inspiring as he unpacks using your gifts.
• The worship teams are working hard to create a very unique and intimate experience this fall.
• Aaron Sutton has taken the lead with our youth. He has monster gifts and I can’t wait to see him in action.
• There are marriages getting healed, families that are being restored and huge numbers of people making faith commitments – these are exciting times
• I am going swimming today with Bethany in Dade Lake. We love floating around
• I’ve lost 14 pounds since I confessed my “rational-lies” that I tell myself about my weight. I have seven pounds to go to reach my goal of 180.
• I miss Bryers Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• There is a great chance that TJN will be staying at the Franklin Art Center for a long time…I sure love meeting where we do (the next three weeks will be telling)
• The City of Brainerd has decided to pass on repaving the parking lot we use ((this year). Man that steams me! I may call for a large showing at the next city counsel meeting
• I love Monday. Mondays = Family Day!

A few years ago I met David Trotter on pastors.com. He is one of the guys out there that I have kept an eye on and consequently have learned a ton from. He is a church planter extraordinaire and fellow blogger. This next month he is giving his new book away. You may want to pick a copy up…and if you have a blog, get the word out.

70 participants from Teen Challenge in Minneapolis will be with us on Sunday. They have an incredible choir and the stories of God’s grace and mercy will inspire your soul. Make sure you invite a friend and come with an expectation to hear from God. This may be one of the most important Sunday’s in the lives of those who are hurting, broken and struggling. When God touches and heals lives it is a beautiful thing to witness. Don’t miss this Sunday.

Sunday I spoke about seeing God in nature. Tomorrow, I am heading up to Mink Lake Camp to join a bunch of TJN’ers who have been up there working for the past week. They are helping build out an awesome camp. I am so proud of the way our church is investing into the lives of others. This wilderness camp is a real special place and it is very exciting to help create a space were so many will experience God in nature. The Bible is filled with the reality of our great Creator God. When we see his work in nature it causes people to know more about Him and should bring us/them to worship Him.

• Psalm 95:6: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker…”
• Psalm 121:2: “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
• Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…”
• Acts 17:24: “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.”
• Revelation 4:11: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

• The Journey North was buzzing Sunday
• It was awesome seeing all the kid’s art on display
• Today I am reading The Dip by Seth Godin
• Caleb and I are going to have breakfast at Sportland Café in Nisswa
• I am going to remind my young son who’s the boss of the family chessboard
• I was wiped out last night and little bit of a crab
• Today could involve some amends
• My men’s group is reading The On-Purpose Person
• Teen Challenge will be here in 6 days – I can’t wait
• We have work crews at Mink Lake Camp…I’m planning to be there Thurs.-Sat.
• There are about a dozen trees down in my yard from the storm last week
• We had left our bedroom windows open - that was a disaster
• Kid’s have new school clothes (that cracks me up)
• Last night we started the series Lost on DVD…it’s not 24
• Anne Jackson is writing a book that I am eagerly awaiting called Mad Church Disease
• My neighbors came to church today…increasingly they’re becoming awesome friends.
• Jessie Keller did a great job leading worship Sunday
• The weather has been awesome on Sundays – heat is a killer in the auditorium
• Huge burgers are going on the grill for lunch
• Monday’s are family day…no work

Looking back on last week there are a number of reflections and thoughts that keep buzzing through my mind:

1. I am extremely impressed with Brett Richmond… his passion and his mad skills;
2. There were 70 adults meaningfully involved in pulling off an awesome event and I heard from a bunch of people (including a first time visitor) that they wished they had been involved;
3. I loved helping each night. Brett found a way to engage me in a surprising way;
4. Parents told me over and over that this was an event their kids will always remember;
5. Every now and then I feel that God looks down at what we’re up to and smiles…this was one of those times.

Enjoy the highlight reel:

…but not the fun.  Join us Sunday for an awesome gallery of the young blossoming artists.

You can’t tell me that those people down the street from the church don’t want to know about God…they do.

Hello Pastor… the phone message every minister dreads to hear.

I was talking to Pastor Joe Holloway yesterday (our Katrina Care connection in Mississippi). He was telling me that a team from Minnesota will be down there next week to try to help rebuild a house. He laughed at the thought of their over zealous exuberance. He said, “They have no idea how hard it is to work in this heat”.

This morning, I saw this video and thought about my awesome and (for those who know him) very funny conversation with Pastor Joe, as he joked about us Northerners. I found myself thinking again that it is often better to work smart rather than just work hard.

I love great finds. So much of life can be lived at a higher attitude. I want to fly higher today than yesterday. One of the things that fuels my flight is reading blogs. I want to find at least one great idea, short cut or inspirational thought every day. I stumbled across this Matthew May quote on Guy Kawasaki’s Blog “How to Chang the World” (he’s worth adding to your RSS reader):

Mind of the Innovator: Taming the Traps of Traditional Thinking. Here’s an excerpt for you:

1. Shortcutting. Leaping to solutions in an instinctive way or intuitive way—i.e. the “blink” method of problem-solving—seldom leads to an elegant solution because deeper, hidden causes don’t get addressed. Watch CSI and House: first they collect the evidence, then diagnose, and then solve. It’s never the guy or the disease you initially suspect.
2. Blindspots. Blindspots are the umbrella term for assumptions, biases, and mindsets that we cannot see through or around. Our brain does a lot of “filling in” for us because it’s a pattern maker and recognizer. Ths cn b hrd fr ppl t cmprhnd, hwvr, mst cn ndrstntd ths sntnc wth lttl prblm. But clear thinking involves more than simply filling in spaces in words.
3. Not Invented Here (N.I.H.). NIH means that you refuse to consider solutions that are from external sources. It means “If we didn’t come up with it, it won’t work. It is of no use.” Next time you’re waiting for an elevator, watch someone walk up and hit the button even though it’s already lit. We often don’t trust others’ solutions!
4. Satisficing. Ever wonder why some solutions lack inspiration, imagination, and originality? It’s because by nature we satisfice—satisfy plus suffice. We glom on to what’s easy and stop looking for the optimal solution. What’s the least number of “sticks” you need to move to make this Roman numeral equation correct? XI + I = X If you answered anything but zero, you satisficed. Look at it upside down.
5. Downgrading. Downgrading is the close cousin of satisficing but with a twist: a formal revision of the goal or situation. Reason? No one likes to fail. Result? We fall short of the killer app, so we pick the one that allows us to declare victory. Next time you’re playing hockey or football, try winning the game by hitting the outside of the post or taking the ball down to the one-yard line.
6. Complicating. Why do we overthink, complicate, and add cost? And why do we ALL do it so intuitively, naturally, and (here’s the killer) consistently? Answer: we’re hardwired that way. Our brains are designed to drive hoarding, storing, accumulating, and collecting-type behavior. We are by nature “do more/add on” types. Don’t believe it? Watch the customers at Costco or Sam’s Club buy thirty-six rolls of toilet paper.
7. Stifling. We do naturally do the “Yeah, but..” dance in which we stifle, dismiss, and second-guess ideas. It’s ideacide, pure and simple. And it’s not just others’ ideas we stifle; we often do it to our own and kick ourselves later when someone else “steals” our great idea. Remember how Decca Records rejected the Beatles? “Guitar bands are on the way out.”

The last one is the deadliest of the sinful seven. Because it is the most destructive. It’s the hallmark of the bozos!

• After almost three weeks the family got back late on Friday. Wow – I sure missed them and am glad they are home.
• Jesse and Jarid cracked me up and really set up the sermon “An Awkward Conversation” by performing the song Jenny yesterday.
• This is going to be a huge week as we launch Odyssey of the Arts.
• It looks like we might get rain today.
• Rebekah and I are going golfing this morning.
• I watched Boz last night for the first time – I loved hanging with the young ones.
• After the little kids went to bed Elizabeth and I watched Tiger and the Snow (great fun).
• I think that ArtSpace (our new landlord) is going to be great to work with.
• We just got season one of Lost (I’ve never seen it).
• Bobbie Wade…Keep an eye on him.
• I am excited for Bob Evans and find him in my prayers a ton lately.
• Teen Challenge will be at TJN in 13 days. I am stoked!
• Sinners row (rows two and three at TJN) had another new guy today. Man, I love our biker crowed.
• I am starting to like facebook (even more than last week).
• My furnace fix didn’t hold up. We need to call in the professionals.
• I officiated at two awesome weddings last week…love is in the air.
• Vacation time for the next year has been booked and set aside.
• What kind of back to school clothes do you get kids that are home schooled…yet my mom insists.
• I am reading more lately.
• I haven’t gone to bed watching tv in a week and am liking it.
• My men’s group is reading Gen 39-47 and Matt 12-14.
• The Journey North is a beautiful mess filled with people who have messy lives.
• The giving per person has been going up steadily…it means we have got to reach out to more pre-Christian folks and get the average back down.
• We should set a bench mark…like $30.00 per person, per week. If we ever reach it, we most likely have stopped reaching lost people and should just shut the place down.

One of the things I love about living in the Brainerd Lakes Area is all the fresh fish. Today was a fish eating extravaganza. Every year my friends Carl and Shannon Mills (They lead TJN’s awesome Sports Ministry) have an off the hook fish fry. I ate a mess of fish…and then I had a little more. As most of the gang hangs outside lounging on chairs and watching all our young yutes run around in anticipation of the traditional piñata, I wisely stayed in the kitchen close to the fryers and hassled Carl. I have never met anyone who puts on a better fish fry…what a great afternoon.

Paul Steinbrueck is a great blogger. He is at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit and is going to be blogging live from the Summit on his personal blog. If like me, you didn’t make the summit you may want to check out his blog at: Live Intentionally

I’ve heard that plagiarism is the most sincere form of flattery. Now in this case I am not actually accusing anyone of plagiarism but I could have just as easy written this…it sounds just like The Journey North Community Church in Brainerd:

“From the very start, Journey North Church will be about reaching people. Gathering a crowd and turning them into a core. Taking people who are far from God and helping them to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Helping people reset their compasses for “True North.” Being from the very beginning a church whose focus is outward. We want to be about the harvest, not just about maintenance.”

There is a new church in Minnesota (that is being planted by the Evangelical Free). It looks to me as if God has passed on a very constant vision to the new Journey North Church. Check them out and keep them in prayer…starting a new church is not easy.

In spite of our Outreach Elder throwing my office manager and administrative assistant into the trash, I still find her valuable. So Sheila, be of good cheer. Remember God doesn’t make junk (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

I found a great way to waste an hour. Make a Meez:

Listen to Session 3 audio from the Reform & Resurge Conference with Dr. Ed Stetzer, pastor of Lake Ridge Church in Atlanta, author and director of research at the North American Mission Board, preach on, “Breaking the Missional Code.”

I love reading Stetzer and just found this awesome session that he taught. If you love the church and have a passion for reaching people you will not want to miss this.

He once said:

 

Culture clearly does matter! For 2000 years, missionaries have courageously sought to take the message and make it understandable. Through these two millennia, changing cultures have impacted the church and its missional strategies. Conversely, in many cases, the church has also impacted culture. The reason ministry models have to change is because they have an unchanging message that must be conveyed in a changing world. That message is Christ, the gospel, and the Scriptures. Jude 3 says that we are to “contend for the faith once delivered for the saints.” That’s essential.

But, the Bible also clearly gives us a mandate to make the message understandable. We do more than just translate it into a language. We also have to translate it into a culture. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, “I have become all things to all men.” Why? Because the message needs to be contextualized. The “how” of ministry is, in many ways, determined by the “who, when, and where” of culture. That’s also essential.

Read On>>>