Evotional.com - Mark Batterson

Since Primal is all about getting back to the Great Commandment which is all about love and we're coming up on Valentines Day which is all about love I thought it was a match made in heaven. We're going to share the love by doing a little V Day Special on Primal.

If you need a case of books we'll hook you up with a bulk discount. We'll also include In a Pit and Wild Goose Chase in the V Day Special.

Email resources@theaterchurch.com for the 411.

Huge thanks to everyone who went the extra mile to make our services happen this weekend. It was a heroic effort. From Brandt, Will and Andy who shoveled like antarctic natives to Michael and Shana who walked more than a mile through the snow to teach our kids, all I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you! Dave Schmidgall, one of campus pastors, drove our minivan complete with snow mohawk, to pick up our Ebenezers band. Chris Jarrell, our Kingstowne Campus Pastor, shoveled for 25 hours in a 24 hour period to dig out and get to church. And the stories go on and on.

What a weekend!

Sometimes a little extra effort leads to a little extra blessing!

This weekend is pajama Sunday @ NCC. If you are snowed in, keep your pajamas on, pour a cup of coffee, and tune into our webcast @ theaterchurch.com. Thank God for technology! We're gonna redeem it and use it! For what it's worth, last year we had webcast watchers from 160 countries and 6,611 cities.

Because we have so many people that cycle through NCC--working on the hill or doing an internship or serving in the military--that we have come to view as NCCers as immediate family (those who attend one of our locations) and extended family (those who used to attend and stay connected via webcast and podcast).

Just got word from manager of Georgetown Theater and they will NOT be open in the AM. That means we need to pull the plug on that service. We're down to Kingstowne and Ebenezers. Planning on regular service schedule at those two locations.

Just wanted to share an update on our weekend service schedule. We had a great 4:30 service @ Ebenezers. Pretty funny when 63 seems like a huge attendance! We actually placed bets as a staff. I guessed 17. One of our proteges, Andy Pisciotti, guessed 55. You can tell who has the most faith on our staff. It's not me! Pretty impressed that we had that many people trudge through the snow.

Can I share a thought? I have zero issues with any one who missed service because they felt like it wasn't safe to walk or drive. Totally respect that. But I also believe that sometimes God honors the extra effort. I really feel like some people got more out of the service tonight simply because it took more of an effort to get there!

Here's the scoop.

Our Ballston Location will NOT have services. Theater is closed. We will have our regular service schedule @ Georgetown, Kingstowne, and Ebenezers. And we'll have the webcast up on Sunday morning so you can go to church in your pajamas if you're snowed in.

Here are a few shots from my pathetic phone camera. They don't do it justice! Here's a street view and my office view. You can barely see Union Station through the snow and it's half a block away!

This is getting ridiculous. The Midwesterner in me is loving this snow, but why on the weekends! Driving the pastor in me crazy!

Here's our snow plan at NCC: we don't cancel church. Even if it's the worst storm in DC history! We're gonna have church come hell or high snow. Obviously, we don't want anybody to endanger themselves. And we'll have the webcast live on Sunday morning so you can get the message @ home. But we're planning on holding services unless the theaters close.

At our Ebenezers location, we'll do one Saturday night service @ 4:30 PM. Right now we're planning on all three Sunday AM services @ Ebenezers.

Stay tuned and spread the word. Check theaterchurch.com for updates!

This weekend we kick off our Vision series. Not only will we talk about our corporate vision as a church. I also want to help NCCers discover the personal vision God has for their life.

I think church needs to be a two-way street. When you become part of a church you become a shareholder in the corporate vision. But churches also need to help individuals identify the unique vision God has for them. Churches that do both of those things have a catalytic culture that is hard to put into words. Vision becomes contagious. We believe God has called NCC to be a dream factory!

I tweeted this earlier this week: there is a fine line between "my kingdom come" and "Thy kingdom come."

Can I be blunt? I think it's easier for some pastors to pray for a church that is four states away than a church that is four blocks away.

I feel like I'm living in the tension between two verses this week. They are stretching me like one of those medieval torture devices that dislocated the limbs. I think they were actually called The Stretcher. Sorry for the visual image but that is what is happening in my spirit. Two verses are pulling in opposite directions.

How do we "increase" as in I Cor 3:6 and "decrease" as in John 3:30?

I desperately want God to increase NCC as we plant and water, but I also know that I need to decrease like John the Baptist. Bottom line? I want to stay out of the way of what God is doing at NCC. It's just hard to do both of those things at the same time! Thus the tension. I want us to grow but it cannot be about the numbers.

Word to pastors: it better not be about you. In fact, I think we need to find ways to intentionally decrease. How? For starters, we better not take any credit for what God is doing. God will not be robbed of His glory! Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain! I think one of the greatest dangers that growing churches face is this prideful temptation: "look at us." Why? Because we've been saying "look at me" since we were two years old. That is our default setting. But when we follow Christ there is a paradigm shift: look at Him.

May His Kingdom come. May His will be done.

So excited about this announcement. Drum Roll please...

We're going to do our first all church gathering @ the Lincoln Theater on U Street. This will be the first time since we went multi-site in 2003 that we'll all be together in one space. It's going to be an amazing night of worship and vision. And we've got a few surprises up our sleeves!

Here's the 411:

When? Tuesday, February 16 @ 7:30 PM
Where? Lincoln Theater @ 1215 U Street, NW

By the way, February 16 is Fat Tuesday and the Lincoln Theater is right next to Ben's Chili Bowl. That's what I'm talking about.

I live my life with a holy anticipation. I genuinely believe that God could come out of nowhere at any given moment, invade the reality of my life, and change everything forever!

I'm reading in Ezekiel this week and I love the specificity of Ezekiel 40:1: "In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me."

In the margin of my Bible I wrote: this could be the day.

This could be the day that God gives you a vision. This could be the day you experience a breakthrough. This could be the day God does a miracle. This could be the day the hand of the Lord comes upon you.

I also like the New Testament version of this Old Testament truth. The Message translation of Philippians 4:4 says: He could show up any minute!

May we live with that holy anticipation.

I read a verse that stopped me in my tracks this morning. The Holy Spirit arrested me. If I were completely honest, I'd have to admit that most of "my ministry" has been for God not to God. I don't think that is just semantics. It's a whole different paradigm. So many of us are so busy ministering for God that we rarely minister to God.

Ezekiel 44:16 wrecked me today: "They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge." Makes me think of the original commission in Matthew 10. Before Jesus "sent them out" he called them "to him." I think one of the greatest dangers leaders face is this: we get focused on what God wants to do THROUGH us instead of what God wants to do IN us.

Are you ministering for God or to God?

I think it's both/and, but you better prioritize ministry to God.

Catalyst is offering a Primal package. Buy the book and you'll get the catalyst lab talk I did last year for free. Offer is only good till February 5th @ midnight.

Check it out.

I've been thinking about getting a kindle for months because I'm out of bookshelves. I literally have books stacked on top of my bookshelves as high as I can reach! So today I got a package from Greg Darley with Backstage Leadership. Inside? A Kindle. Now that'll make your day! Gonna be a change of pace, but excited about downloading my first book.

I think I drive some people crazy with all of my mantras, but I honestly think mantras are a key form of leadership communication. The most important truths ought to be communicated in the most memorable ways. And that is why mantras are so important.

The reason why so many mission statements and core values have such little bearing on organizational culture is because they are so forgettable. You can't just say it. You've got to say it in a way that sneaks up on the right-brain imagination, turns on the lights, jumps out from behind the sofa, and yells "surprise." You've got to paint a picture like Jesus did with the parables. The parables are filled with mantras.

My latest mantra is: don't say it till you pray it. If you don't pray your messages before you say your messages I think it'll fall on deaf ears. It'll lack conviction. It'll lack credibility. You want a greater anointing? Pray it before you say it.

By the way, I highly recommend a book by Bill Hybels titled Axiom. It's my favorite Bill Hybels book! Must read for leaders. Why? It's filled with Bill's leadership mantras and it'll help you come up with your own.

The theme for our leadership retreat and our theme for 2010 is Garden to City. That's how we're framing our "read through the Bible" initiative. We're going to journey all the way from the Garden of Eden in Genesis to the Eternal City with streets of gold in Revelation. And we want every NCCers to join us on our biblical trek thru all LXVI books of the Bible.

We'll be rolling out our reading plan, blog, and reading resources before Lent. And, yes, we'd love to share it for free with other churches.

Stay tuned.

Next weekend we kick off our Vision series at NCC. We'll cast vision for 2010 and 2020. Honestly, the vision scares me a little and I think that is a healthy thing. It's a holy fear because I know there is no way we can do the things God is calling us to do. Not with our strength. Not with our wisdom. Not with our resources.

Our staff is going to do a week long fast. Praying for vision clarity. Love to invite NCCers to fast lunch this week as we seek God. I'm afraid that many visions are nothing more than our agenda for God. This vision needs to be God's agenda for us!

I was able to just attend a service with my family today. Nice break in between our Primal and Vision series. I'll be back in the saddle next week.

A few reflections this week.

#1 We desperately need to launch our next location. Hang in there NCCers! The snow hurt some services, but the service I was in @ Ebenezers was way beyond standing room only. More like breathing room only! We'll outline our 2010 launch strategy during our Vision series.

#2 Was it just me or was that one of the best sermons you've ever heard? I love Dick Foth. I always jokingly tell Dick, because he's been a mentor to me since we were a church of 19 people: "if you keep doing this you could be a good preacher someday!" Man, blew me away today. I love the energy of young preachers, but there is something about the wisdom of years that adds so much gravity to a message. That message had serious gravitational pull! I feel like I gain 30 years of wisdom when I listen to Dick Foth for 30 minutes! Makes me want to be older!

Josiah wanted to send his teacher a poem he wrote this week. So sweet. It's awfully short, but I absolutely love it. Part of parenting is capturing these glimpses into the destiny of our kids. I think this poem says something about Josiah. And it's awfully gratifying as a parent. I want to raise kingdom dreamers!

Dreams Dreams by Josiah Batterson

Dreams Dreams such a good gift we all have our own collections of such wonderful gift Dreams Dreams. We all have dreams.

I don't know how to frame my thoughts about our annual leadership retreat. It was the best yet. But most of my thoughts are what I would call sixth sense thoughts. Tough to put a finger on what I'm feeling but here goes.

First of all, I'm so grateful for a gifted team, but I'm far more grateful for our team chemistry. There is an amazing synergy. Love doing life and doing ministry with our staff and leaders @ NCC.

There is more energy and more excitement @ NCC than we've ever had. And we're dreaming bigger dreams. But it's not just vision in a vacuum. I think early in the life cycle of a church you have vision but there isn't much weight to it. Why? Because there isn't a track record. The more history you have the more vision you ought to have. Why? Because it's the faithfulness of God in the past that gives us faith for the future. God has delivered time and again at NCC. And it's our responsibility to keep dreaming God-sized dreams. In a nutshell, our team is maturing. I think the vision is maturing. I think we're maturing spiritually. There is a gravitas to the vision.

If our leadership retreat is any indication of what God is going to do in 2010, look out.

About to hop a flight back to DC. I feel like I'm "getting out of Dodge" just in time. Greensboro is expecting a snow storm that could shut the city down. Had a great time speaking to and hanging out with The Anglican Mission in the Americas.

Gotta get back for our 2010 Annual leadership retreat. It kicks off tonight. One of the highlights of the year every year! High-octane energy. High-calorie snacks. Gonna be a Holy High!

This is when our vision-casting season begins. We cast vision to our small group and ministry leaders. Then we'll do a vision series in February. We've got some amazing miracles and big visions to talk about.

We don't have a ton of youth @ NCC because we're 70% twenty-somethings, but we've got a great youth group. Check out Uprising on Sunday, January 31st @ 6 PM @ Ebenezers Coffeehouse.

We have a core value at NCC: love people when they least expect it and least deserve. Go ahead and love people when they expect it and deserve, but that doesn't count for much. Buying someone a birthday gift or giving flowers on Valentine's Day is like breaking even. Why? Because it's expected and deserved.

If you really want to impact someone, love them when they have just made the biggest mistake of their life and they are surrounded by an angry mob with stones in their hands! Isn't that what Jesus did to the woman caught in the act of adultery? He loved her when she least expected it and least deserved it. That is the example we need to follow.

I want my life to be about loving people and blessing people when they least expect it because that is how God loves us. He comes out of nowhere and surprises us with His amazing grace!

I couldn't not post this! Just got this picture. These are Tom's Shoes with the Lion Chasers manifesto written on them. Worn by Cubby Graham. Created by Hannah Moreno.

Now that is putting feet on your faith. Absolutely love it.

For the first time in my life, I missed a flight. I died a thousand deaths waiting in the security line. They actually shut down the security line for what seemed like forever because only two lines were open for hundreds of people. One security person told me I could go to the front of the line so I did. Then another security person yelled at me, pulled me out of the line, and put me at the back of the line. Missed my flight by minutes.

Long story short, I owe Margaret Feinberg big time! She graciously switched sessions with me so I can speak tomorrow. Please buy two copies of every book she's ever written. On a serious note, she is one of my favorite writers!

I fly in and out of North Carolina today. Speaking at the annual conference for The Anglican Mission in the Americas. I love the opportunity to speak across denominations. Gives me a greater respect for the diversity of traditions.

Just thought I'd process this "out loud" because I know lots of leaders wrestle with this. I'm more and more convinced that the key to sanity is boundaries. I've had to turn down a couple speaking invitations this week that are killing me! So hard to say no. But I'm so grateful for a stewardship team that put limits on my travel. If you don't have healthy boundaries here is what will happen: you'll try to be everything to everybody and you'll end up being nothing to nobody!

"Say no more" was one of my seven priorities going into 2010. But it's easier to resolve it than actually do it.

Not sure why, but I keep thinking about how numbness is one of our greatest spiritual problems and dangers. Numbness to the sin in our own lives. Numbness to the needs of others. Numbness to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The end result? We lose all spiritual feeling. We can't feel the presence or prompting of the Holy Spirit.

In a sense, we're all lepers. We lose our sense of touch. That numbness, physically and spiritually, results in a tremendous amount of self-inflicted injuries. I think what many of us desperately need is simply a heightened sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. But here's the catch. We want to hear His guiding, counseling, comforting voice. But we don't want to hear the convicting voice. And it doesn't work that way. Either you listen to everything the Holy Spirit has to say or you won't hear anything He has to say!

So how do we get back our spiritual sensitivity? There are lots of way. But it starts with giving our hearts to Christ because that is how Christ gives His heart to us. Our hearts start to break for the things that break the heart of God. But then you need to stay in prayer and stay in the Word. There are no substitutes. That is how to hear what He has to say. That is how you feel what He feels.

What am I getting at? I pray that you would feel pain. Lepers long for that sensation. Why? Because it's evidence that we feel. May you feel the way your sin pains God. May you feel the pain of those who are suffering. May you feel the pain of loving the lost.

One last thought. Numbness is a symptom of a deeper issue: the lack of blood flow. When the blood stops circulating we lose feeling in those parts of the body. May the precious blood of Christ surge through our veins. He is the one who gives us all spiritual sensitivity. Without Him we are lost and numb.

We just wrapped up our Primal series at NCC. My favorite series of the year! Of course, it's the only series we've done thus far. But it really seemed to fuel the hunger to get back to the basics of loving God.

If you want to do a Primal series, check out the free resources @ www.theprimalmovement.com. We've got trailers and graphics and bookmarks.

You can also get a bulk discount on books by emailing resources@theaterchurch.com.

My all-time favorite pizza is Lou Malnati's. So we found a recipe online and made it today. Holy Pizza! It wasn't as good as Lou's, but it was pretty doggone close. I have now added pizza to my repertoire of culinary delights: pancakes and burgers.

Gonna keep tweaking the recipe until we discover the holy grail.

Here's the recipe I used. You owe me one!

In the words of Shakespeare: "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." That's how I feel after a killer loss in the NFC Championship. Feel like I got my heart ripped out. As a diehard fan I've learned this lesson many times: the bigger the game the harder the loss! But I guess the other option is not making the big game. It's the price you pay for winning. The more you win the harder it is to lose!

Ah, now I feel better.

The only upside? If the Vikes had won the superbowl Favre would have retired. I just hope this means he thinks about coming back for one more year! What an amazing season.

Let me start the chant: one more year!

Earlier this week I read an article with one little quip that I cannot get out of my spirit: the only applause we are meant to seek is that of nail-scarred hands.

It was so inspiring and so convicting. We care so much about our reputation. We care so much about our approval ratings. We care so much about what people think. But we need to die to those things. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but we don't really care for people until we don't care what they think. We can't really help them until we've been crucified to their opinions. Only then do we preach with an anointed boldness.

I have a distant memory from many years ago when I didn't feel good about a message and my wise wife asked me a brilliant question: did you say what God wanted you to say? That is the only litmus test when it comes to preaching. Was God pleased with my message? Unfortunately, many of us measure our messages by human applause.

May we be deafened to human applause. After all, the only applause we are meant to seek is that of nail-scarred hands.

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

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.

My publisher just sent me the Chinese and Romanian versions of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. And Wild Goose Chase in German. Fun to see what those publishers did with the covers. Love the Chinese and Romanian versions!

The crazy thing is that there isn't a Spanish version, but it is in Portuguese!

Just wanted to update NCCers. We took a special offering last weekend for Haiti and we had hoped to raise enough money to send one container of food, water, sanitation and medical supplies for 12,000 people. Huge thanks for your generous response! You gave enough to send two containers!

NCC is partnering with convoy of hope. Check out their sites for updates and donations.

One of the lessons I've learned in ministry is that you cannot control outcomes. We plant and water, but God gives the increase! That drives us crazy as control freaks, but it also takes all of the pressure off of us. We can't do it. Only He can!

The most gratifying thing is ministry is when God does something you cannot take credit for. That's what I live for! And the truth of the matter is this: most of the good things that happen don't happen because of us. They happen inspite of us. We just need to stay out of the way!

This is hard to put into words, but I feel like NCC is entering a new season. I feel like we have very faithfully labored in the Nation's Capital. And God has added to our numbers. But I feel like we're about to enter a season of multiplication. I just wanted to blog about it before it happens. It won't be the result of our planning or preaching. It'll be a sovereign move of God. It won't have human fingerprints on it. It'll have the fingerprint of God. And it can't just be an NCC thing. It's got to be a kingdom thing!

I'm actually going to do a personal fast because I want to draw a line of demarcation. And fasting often marks the end of one season and the beginning of another.

We experience, on average, 40% turnover per year. So we have a new congregation every two and a half years. The wonderful thing about that is that we have extended family all over the place. We're almost like this revolving door church that is always sending people out. And that is a byproduct of our demography (70% single twenty-somethings) and geography (Washington, DC). In some ways, when you lose 40% per year, it's tough to grow. We have to grow 40% to break even. But I really feel like we're coming into a season of multiplication. I don't know exactly what that means. And it doesn't "add up." But that is what is in my spirit. And that is one of the reasons we'll launch multiple locations this year. When God puts something in your spirit you need to step out in faith so God can deliver what He has promised.

I was doing a video interview for our leadership retreat and Heather Zempel, our Discipleship Pastor, asked me if there were any leadership lessons to be learned from Brett Favre. Seriously? How much time do we have? I could have gone all day long. Just thought I'd share seven of them.

1) Slap your teammates on the butt.

No one does it better than Favre. Great leaders are great encouragers! They go around slapping people on the butt, figuratively speaking of course! Love the way he head butts his lineman too. Again, I would practice this one figuratively!

2) Call an audible.

On this one I'd say that the only quarterback who is better at it than Favre is Peyton Manning. Great leaders recognize when there are eight men in the box and they need to audible to a quick slant or screen pass. Leadership is not static. It takes all factors into consideration. It is the ability to process a ton of information in a short amount of time and make a good quick decision!

3) Throw a block downfield

One of the things I love about Favre is that he's not afraid to throw a block for his teammates. Quarterbacks don't do that. Favre does. Great leaders are great servants. They set the example they want others to follow.

4) Laugh in the locker room.

No one has more fun than Favre. Plays the game like a kid. Anybody see his rendition of Pants on the Ground after the game? Gotta love it. I think laughter is so critical to leadership longevity, especially in ministry! There's lots of crying so you need to counterbalance it with lots of laughing!

5) Huddle Up

Favre exudes confidence when he's in the game. You're never out of it with the old gunslinger in your huddle. I think great leaders build the confidence of those around them. Love the way Drew Brees does this in New Orleans too! Amazing pre-game chants!

6) Keep Watching Game Film

Favre has played the game for eighteen seasons, but he puts in the time watching game films. After every series you can see him coaching his young receivers and looking at pictures from the coaches booth. Leaders keep learning and keep teaching!

7) Don't be afraid of throwing interceptions.

Favre had his career-best when it came to interceptions this season, but he holds the all-time interception record. Lesson? If you want to hold the record for most touchdown passes you're probably going to throw some interceptions along the way! Great leaders aren't afraid of making mistakes. They're afraid of missing opportunities! Win or lose, they leave it all on the field.

Over the past few years, hundreds of churches have done a church-wide campaign around In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day or Wild Goose Chase. And churches are already starting to do Primal series.

Just wanted to let you know that we've created websites for all three books where you can download free resources like graphics and trailers.

www.chasethelion.com
www.chasethegoose.com
www.theprimalmovement.com

If you want books, we've got a bulk discount by the case and a super bulk discount if you do a church-wide campaign. Email resources@theaterchurch.com for more info.

I got an email from someone who was at the first service of Calvary Church in Naperville, Illinois back in 1967. That is the church my father-in-law, Bob Schmidgall, pastored for 30+ years. He said my father-in-law said something at he first service that he still remembers more than 40 years later!

"God has not brought us here to build a steeple, but rather to plant a cross."

I absolutely love that.

We continued our Primal series this weekend and I talked about the mind. Just thought I'd share one excerpt.

A few years ago, researchers from the National Institutes of Mental Health did a study that involved a simple motor task. As subjects performed a finger-tapping exercise, researchers did MRI brain scans to identity which part of the brain was involved in the exercise. The subjects were then asked to perform that simple motor task everyday for four weeks. At the end of four weeks, researchers repeated their brain scans and found that in every instance, that area of the brain had expanded. Their brains had literally recruited new nerve cells and rerouted neuronal connections.

Juxtapose that with Romans 12.

"Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind."

How is our mind renewed? The one word answer is Scripture. Scripture literally re-scripts our brain. As we read Scripture, much like the finger-tapping exercise, we are recruiting new nerve cells and rewiring neuronal connections. The end goal? Not knowledge! The end goal is the mind of Christ. As you read Scripture you are downloading the mind of Christ. His words become our operating system.

If you aren't confessing you're repressing. There is no alternative. And to take that thought one step further: if you aren't confessing you're repressing and pretty soon it'll get downright depressing.

I don't want to ignore certain neurochemical imbalances that lead to depression. And when it comes to depression there are certainly a wide variety of causes and kinds. But a big one is spiritual. Depression is the byproduct of repressing what's wrong instead of confessing what's wrong.

There is an old saying: confession is good for the soul.

So timeless. So true.

Just a reminder that we have new service times @ Ebenezers Coffeehouse. Our Saturday time slots switch to 4:30 and 6:00 PM. Our Sunday time slots shift to 9:00, 10:15, and 11:45.

We continue our series titled Primal.