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What’s up?

This several days have been crazy fast and very productive. Let me try and recap for you.

• I have been asked by my good friend, Paige, to help with her American Express Member’s Project. You should go vote now. It’s free and could save the lives of thousands of children. Stay tuned for my little addition to the cause in a day or two.
• Adam’s team dominated on Saturday winning 30-0. Adam ran a 50+ yard touchdown to end the game. Wow!
• Noah’s team did not dominate on Saturday. They played hard but just did not come up with a win. Noah did play much better this week though. I’m proud of him.
• Sunday attendance was down because of Riverfest. I’ve said it a bazillion times that we are not in competition with other churches in Wilmington. We are on the same team. We are up against the world.
• Even with a lower attendance, people experienced God. People raised their hands acknowledging their need to give their lives to Christ.
• We are one week closer to having our sermon videos online.
• Yesterday was a hard message for me. I talked about who Holy Spirit is. I feel the need to help people understand who Holy Spirit is without watering down His power. I feel like it was a success because I delivered what Holy Spirit gave me.
• Next week, I am praying for an encounter with Holy Spirit like ROCK Church has never seen before. It’s going to be incredible. If you have been wondering where we are headed as a church, you want to be here. It will either answer your questions or give you more fodder for your cannon. Either way, you don’t want to miss it! I can’t wait!
• After church, we headed over to the Wilmington Life Chain event. We partnered with a ton of churches in a silent prayer vigil on behalf of the unborn. I love taking our boys and teaching them about this. We had 44 people from ROCK Church show up. Thank you all. I am proud of you!
• Later we had the whole family over for Don’s birthday and grilled burgers. It was a blast.
• About the time I finally relaxed last night, Jeff twittered that he wanted to catch the Steeler’s game. So, I jumped in the car to head across town and hang out. I am glad I did. It was good to hang out with a fellow senior pastor and talk shop and watch the game. Plus, the Steelers won!
• Now, I am wrapping everything up in the office to head out to Atlanta tomorrow for the Catalyst Conference. It’s going to be a great time and I can’t wait.

That’s it for now. Gotta jet. So, what was your weekend like?

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Unauthorized Guest Post: Jeff Kapusta

My good friend, Jeff Kapusta, is the lead pastor at Lifepoint Church. He is a part of Perry Noble’s Coaching Network (I will not be jealous, I will not be jealous). This morning, he posted some of his notes from their last coaching day. This is some amazing stuff. So, I am openly plagiarizing Jeff. Enjoy!

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During the coaching network Perry drew this picture on the whiteboard.

The picture breaks down into 3 levels.

The Dream Zone/Ministry:  10-6

• God calls us to live here.
• This is where you are hitting on all cylinders.
• We love what we are doing.
• We are always asking, “What’s next?”
• You still have bad days but they don’t ruin your day.

The Drained Zone/Tired:  5-2

• You are always tired.
• You are always stressed.
• You can’t enjoy the big days because you believe it’s just going to drop next week.
• You are Pessimistic.
• You goal is to just keep the plates spinning.
• You tell yourself that things are gonna slow down soon.
• When in this zone you face 4 dangers:

Pride-You think, “I’ve got to do more.  Be first.  Nobody can do it as good as me.”

Fear-You think, “Everything’s gonna fall apart.”

Insecurity-You think, “Maybe I can’t do this.”

Burn Out-This is where you quit or disqualify yourself from ministry.

• NOTE:  It takes a life altering decisions to get out of the drained zone.

Danger Zone:  2-0

• At this point a person usually falls Financially or Sexually.
• When you get here, only repentance will save you.
• At this stage you think, “I hope nobody catches me.”

Where are you? I believe Gods plan is for all of us to function in the Dream Zone.  However, most of us are living in the Drained Zone.  What life altering decision do you need to make to get out of the Drained Zone and into the Dream Zone?

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Tomorrow Jeff will post Perry’s thoughts about getting out of the Drained Zone. You should go subscribe to Jeff’s blog so you don’t miss it.

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More churches I don’t want to be

I have a concern that this series will offend area ministries two different ways.

The first is that I will offend because of misunderstanding. This series is not to slam local churches. It is to celebrate them and the diversity we all bring to the table. We can’t be diverse if we are all the same. When I say I don’t want The ROCK to be ____________ church, it is not an insult. If you are named in the series, it is because I have a deep respect for what you are doing in our city.

The second way this series may offend is by omission. If I don’t name your church, does it mean I don’t think you are making an impact? NOOO! There are many great churches going big for God. However, I will only highlight a few of the churches that I know what you are doing in our city to make God’s name great.

Today’s churches that I don’t want to be are First Baptist and Lifepoint.

Dr. Mike Queen and the team over at First Baptist will forever be close to our hearts. When our church burned in October 2000, Dr. Queen and his amazing church made their activity center available to us to meet. They were an amazing blessing to our church. Even though our churches are very different, they reached out to us in our time of need.

First Baptist Church was organized some time prior to October 1, 1808 and has a rich heritage in our city. One of the great things about First Baptist is that they do not stand on the merits of their history. They are making a significant impact in downtown Wilmington and many people are coming to know Christ through their ministry. I am proud to serve in the same city as First Baptist, but God didn’t call us to be First Baptist, He called them. I want our city to know that The ROCK loves First Baptist Church.

Do you want to know one of the reasons I don’t want to be Lifepoint Church? Here it is… they’re still portable. We have been portable twice in the history of our church and both times were by God’s direction and provisions. But, it is nice to be able to come in on Sunday mornings and just turn lights on.

Want to know one of the main reasons I love Lifepoint? The people. Jeff, Daryl, Drew, Dave, Tiffany and Brad are incredible. Their church is growing like crazy because they are crazy about God and their heart burns for this city. Jeff and his team are willing to take tremendous risks for God.

I am praying for God to bless them with their own building, more financial resources than they know what to do with and growth beyond what they have dreamed. God did not call Jeff and Daryl to Wilmington to plant a southern campus for The ROCK. He burned a vision for Lifepoint.

The ROCK is strengthened because of First Baptist and Lifepoint. God, thank you for letting me serve in the same city with these churches!

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