I had two distinct thoughts today--both from the Holy Spirit. At the beginning of worship before the 9:30 service I said someting I've never said before but I felt like it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Don't let what you've done wrong keep you from worshipping God for what He's done right.
The other distinct impression was at th end of the 11:00 service. I felt like God was calling us to go back into the same situations we'd come out of. But he was calling us to go back into them as different people. God doesn't typically call us out of or away from things. He calls us into the eye of the storm.
It was a pretty powerful morning. I'm always amazed at how many people say, "That message was for me." The Holy Spirit has a way of touching 800 people in 800 unique ways!
I had such a great prayer time outside Union Station last night that I fully expected God to move in a powerful way this morning. But I never take it for granted.

What a Difference "A Century Makes"
"THE YEAR 1904"
Where we were a century ago. This ought to boggle your mind. The year is 1904 , one hundred years ago... what a difference a century makes.. Here are the U. S. statistics for 1904 ....
The average life expectancy in the US was 47. Only 14% of the homes in the US had a BATHTUB. Only 8% of the homes had a TELEPHONE. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11. There were only 8,000 CARS in the US and only 144 miles of paved ROADS. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower. The average wage in the US was $0.22/hour. The average US worker made between $200-$400/year. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000/year, a dentist $2,500/year, a veterinarian between $1,500-$4,000/year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000/year. More than 95% of all BIRTHS in the US took place at HOME. 90% of all US physicians had NO COLLEGE education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard." Sugar cost $0.04/pound. Eggs were $0.14/dozen. Coffee cost $0.15/pound. Most women only washed their HAIR once a month and used BORAX or EGG YOLKS for shampoo. Canada passed a law prohibiting POOR people from entering the country for any reason. The five leading causes of death in the US were: 1. Pneumonia &influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke. The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii And Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30. Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented. There were no Mother's Day or Father's Day. One in ten US adults couldn't read or write. Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from HIGH SCHOOL. Coca Cola contained cocaine. Marijuana, heroin and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." 18% of households in the US had at least one full-time SERVANT or domestic. There were only about 230 reported MURDERS in the entire US.

I think most people have a four-dimensional God. Their lack of faith is a lack of understanding. They think of God in four-dimensional terms. It's hard for us to think of God any other way because it's all we've ever known. We're trapped in or limited by our four dimensional mindset. Faith is unlearning those four dimensional limitations and simplifications.
The Light BarrierI heard Chuck Yeager speak at the Air and Space Museum a few weeks ago. He is the first person to break the sound barrier. I saw some amazing pictures. When a plane breaks through the sound barrier there is a ring that forms around the the plane. It almost looks like the plane is going through some kind of wormhole. I'm not sure if it's called a shockwave or mockwave, but it's an awesome sight.
What happens is this--all sound and pressure and resistance that buffets the aircraft shifts from the front of the plane to the back of the plane. It's the difference between going uphill and downhill, the wind in your face or at your back. When you cross over or break through there is "rest"--silence and stillness. I think heaven, in physic terms, is breaking the light barrier. I think we'll cross over from our limited four dimensions of spacetime to infinity. Time and distance will disappear. It will be our escape from entropy. The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics will have no jurisdiction on us any more. No more decay. No more rust. That is what Jesus meant in John 3:16 when he said we "should not perish." What a moment. It'll be awesome to see cremated remains rematerialize into a glorified body! God will put everything that has fallen apart as a result of the fall back together again. That seems too good to be true, but that is a good approximation of God. He is too good to be true but He is true! I've crossed some kind of inflection point or threshold. I don't have enough faith not to believe in God. At some point you believe what seems too good to be true but has to be true.
InvitationI had breakfast with someone who is on a journey towards Christ. I asked him, "What have you learned?" He said, "Christianity isn't about doing. It's about accepting." What a great distinction. He said, "Christinaity runs on a different fuel." I love thinking about it in those terms. Grace is what fuels Christianity. It's not about what we can do for God. It's about what God has done for us. We sang Invitaccion Fountain at our Bonfire Baptism this weekend and I had this thought. Every good thing that happens in our lives is the result of accepting an invitation. Christ says, "Follow me." Every good thing that happens afterwards is the byproduct of accepting an invitation. Christ says, "I stand at the door and knock." All the good things that happen in our lives originated with a knock, knock. Spiritual Maturity is hearing and answering more knocks at the door. The Tipping PointIt's been fascinating to walk with someone on this journey that started pre-Christ. I'm learning some things along the way. I've noticed a few subtle changes. One of them is the language used to talk about Christ. This friend has gone from future tense to past tense language without even realizing it. Somewhere along the way he's transitioned from 3rd person to 1st person. That point is the tipping point. The tipping point is the moment when everything changes, but you aren't always aware of it in the here and now. It's an ex post facto awareness. You look back and realize you feel in love with someone somewhere back there! You cross over the stateline and realize you'll no longer in Missouri. You're in Kansas. There is a boiling point, a threshold, a moment of critical mass. It's tough to see it when you're in the middle of it. The Litmus Test
Matthew 16:15 is the litmus test. Jesus asks a benign question, "Who do people say that I am?" Then he follows it up with a point-blank, there is no escape, put your cards on the table question. "Who do you say that I am?" That is The Question.
A person's eternal destiny comes back to the answer to that question. Do you believe Jesus was who he said he was? He was either a liar--he wasn't who he said he was and he intentionally misled people. He was a lunatic--he wasn't who he thought he was and was deceived and a deciever. Or he is Lord--he was who he said he was. Peter gives the right answer. "You are the Son of God." But the test just revealed what he already believed. When did Peter cross the threshold? I don't think it was at this moment. What it when Jesus said, "Follow me" and he did? Or was it somewhere along the way? I'm not sure. But there was a tipping point along the way where it dawned on him,"I'm in this thing for life." I'm not sure there is "a moment." There are "moments." That's how it is when you fall in love. There are "moments" that add up. It's the cumulative effect. Dating GodI think lots of people date God. They want the perks without the commitment. Dating is fine for a while. But when you really love someone, you eventually say "I do." That pace is different for every person. I asked this friend where they are. He said, "I'm engaged." That is a good analogy. There is the intention to commit. He likened baptism to saying "I do." All analogies break apart at their extremes, but that's an interesting why of thinking about it.
Are you dating, engaged, or married to God?

I've experienced another one of those convergences. I had a conversation with a church planter last week and he challenged me to write our story as a way of encouraging pastors and church planters.
Three days later I had a dream. I dreamt that I wrote the book. I can count the dreams I'd classify as "God-ordained" dreams on one hand. I think this was one of them. I got up and scribbled out a table of contents.
I think sometimes we let our inexperience and imperfections keep us from doing what God wants us to do. I'm a learner. And the more you learn the more you know how much you don't know. And that can be paralyzing. It can keep you from sharing what you do know.
I still feel like a rookie in the pastoral league. I have so much left to learn. But I'm about to take my tenth trip around the block. I'll keep learning. We'll keep doing reconnaissance. We'll keep going to conferences. I'll know so much more and be a much better pastor ten years from now. But I think it's the right time to share some lessons I've learned on my ten trips.

I'll never be the same.
I'm a chai guy. For years I've been drinking Chai and I thought it was caffeinated. I just found out that most vanilla chai isn't. I feel like my house of cards caved in. So many days I've needed my chai so the caffeine could kick start me. It's been a sham. A placebo. And now it's a nocebo.
What am I to do?
I was living a lie!
Oh, Ignorance. Oh, Ignorance. Where have you gone?
I guess I'll just have to readjust my entire life!

First things first. I had a first last night. We're on the way home from the Bonfire Baptism and we stop to fill up with gas. Pastor Dave checks the oil and I go get us some sodas. We hop back in the car and take off. Immediately, Pastor Dave says, "What's the noise." We look in the sideview mirror and the nozzle is still in the car. We ripped the whole hose off!
What do you do when you do that? I have no previous life experience to train me for that kind of thing! "I'm sorry" just doesn't seem appropriate. "I didn't try to." That's pretty obvious. Is it one of those "you break it you buy it" kind of things?
Long and short of it, I went in and found two employees and said, "I don't know how to say this, but I ripped the gas hose off." They were totally cool. They said it happens "all the time." The truth is, I worked at a gas station for a year and a half and it never happened once on my watch!
Another uniqueness :) Wow, am I unique :) Uniquely dumb :)
At least we made lots of people nights! People in cars were "circling the wagons" and just gaping at us! They were laughing (with us I"m sure, not at us). I can only imagine if I'd dragged the thing all the way home!
Bonfire Baptism
The Bonfire Baptism was awesome! I love sharing those experiences with people. That is one of the greatest things about being a pastor!
We had some "technical difficulties" last night. For example, no beach! It was high tide and the water litterally came all the way in! And the waves were about fifteen feet (and I don't think I'm exagerrating. They were huge. Baptism was not just a spiritual act of courage last night. It was a physical act of courage. And did I mention that it was cold, real cold?
But it was awesome to hear everybody share their story. And the stories were so different. It was a testament to God's omnirelevant grace.
One of the baptism canidates, Yosuke, was from Japan where they have a tradition of giving a new name when a person is baptized. He requested one so I had been praying that God would reveal what the name should be. It wasn't tough! He smiled the entire 2 1/2 hour drive from DC to Dewey Beach. He is joy personified. Even when he shared his story he did it in such a joyful, playful, and laughing manner. So his middle name is now Isaac which means laughter!
It was also cool that Marit got baptized while pregnant. We baptized two people in one.
I could sense God the Father smiling down on each person as they were baptized last night!
Praise God for what he's doing in the lives of Michelle, Yosuke, Lajauna, Melissa, and Marit.

What is the most important day of your life?
I think there are lots of important days. I've got some defining moments and milestones and Ebenezers. The day I put my faith in Christ as a five year-old after watching The Hiding Place. The day I won the 200 meter dash in 2nd grade. The day I made the front page of the Naperville Sun as a 7th grader. The day I was the commencement speaker at my college graduation. The day I got married. The day each child was born. The day I became pastor of National Community Church.
Those are significant days. They have relational, spiritual and emotional significance.
Here's a thought.
The most important day of your life isn't the day you're born. It's the day you discover why!
I think that is a process that never ends, but there are moments when something clicks or you feel the stars align or there is a convergence--this is why I was put on this planet.
I remember one of those moments in a Sunday school class. I had never verbalized these words in quite this way. "My mission is to help people reach their God-given potential." I've said it in different ways at different times, but that is at the heart of who I am. The prayer I pray more than any other prayer at this point is, "Help me help people."
I see life through that filter. Sin is wasting God-given potential. Stewardship is doing the best we can with what we have where we are. I love the way John Maxwell says it. "Potential is God's gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to God."
Most people just exist because they've never discovered why they were put on this planet.
You start dying when you have nothing worth living for. You start living when you have something worth dying for.

There are times in life when you feel a convergence--that somehow the past has perfectly prepared you for a moment or an opportunity. That's how I feel right now.
When he was chosen as Prime Minister of England, Winston Churchill said, "I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial." That was May 10, 1940.
That's how I felt yesterday--October 22, 2004. Some things feel into place with trying to get ID published that can only be described as God ordering my footsteps (Proverbs 16:9). I'll describe in detail if things fall into place the way I think they will. I don't want to be presumptuous, but I sense God opening a door and I want to give God credit before it happens. How's that for a mysterious blog?
A reporter once asked Sam Walton how WalMart became an overnight success. I love Walton's answer. He said, "It took twenty years to become an overnight success." That's how I feel about this book. It took ten years to write a book in five weeks.
There is nothing like playing on God's team and knowing we're only responsible for input. He's responsible for outcomes! And when you rest in the fact that God is in control of and responsible for outcomes then you enjoy every "success" with God. It's shared joy.
That's how I feel. I can't honest say, "I did it." I have to say, "We did it." I have to give credit where credit is due--the Holy Spirit.
It's hard to describe, but there was nothing easy about writing. At times I distinctly felt God's anointing as thing converged, but it was hard. It took lots of determination. I hardly slept the last week. I was up till 2 AM most nights and back up at 6 AM.
But if things come together the way they seem to be, there is nothing hard about getting the book published. And that's how it is when you're on the "moving sidewalk" of God's good, pleasing, and perfect will.
I sense God's favor.

I love new insights into DC. I found some fascinating factoids about DC today. Most of these are based on the American Religion Data Archive.
Only 20% of Washingtonians attend church. That is half the national average.
There are 200 churches in DC. Those 200 churches have 119,799 adherents. but only 40% of those adherents attend on any given Sunday. So about 48,000 Washingtonians are in church on Sundays.
Here's the bottom line: 80% of DC is unchurched.
The median age of DC is 34.6.
13% of Washingtonians are foreign born.
Foreigners
I had coffee with a church planter today and he shared a few valuable insights.
He said, "Evangelicals are foreigners." He asked a great question: if the Bible wasn't published yet how would you try to communicate the message?
That is precisely the challenge Paul faced in Athens. He cited their poet--Epimenides. That is what God @ the Billboard and God @ the Box Office series is all about. It is translating the truth into cultural languages.
We believe the Bible is inspired and infallible. But it's a quantum mistake to assume that apriori starting point in dealing with other people. I'm amazed at how many people comment on the variety of quotes I use--from ancient philosophers to modern thinkers. And the way those extra-biblical quotes seem to lend authority or authenticity to my messages. I believe the Bible is the textual authority, but that isn't where people are at. So we have a choice. We can go to them or stay where we are.
FailuresOne other interesting insight. This church planter did a study of 400 PCA church planters. He said, "The best church planters failed in their first attempt." The planters were graded on a scale of 1-5. 5 was the top score. He said that none of the 5's succeeded in planting a church. They were too perfect. 40% of 4's were successful. And 60% of 3's were successful in their second attempt. And the proved to be the best planters.
I think more and more about our failed church plant in Chicago and the way God used that in so many ways.
Praise God for failure!

I had coffee with a church planter today. I felt like I took more away from the meeting than he did even he wanted to ask me questions.
He has a history in psychology and he said something fascinating. He said every profession has unique psychopathic tendencies. He said ministry has two of them: paranoia and exhibitionism.
In light of the ID series, that really resonated. I think pastors tend to be paranoid--people are out to get us. We become defensive. And we dig ourselves a hole in the process because, just like Saul, we're more concerned with what people are thinking than functioning in the anointing that can only come from God. Dealing with criticism is part and parcel of ministry. People don't typically complain about food or movies or clothes. So chefs and producers and designers are somewhat protected. But pastors are called to say to what "itching ears" don't want to hear! We're called to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Every good message should have some "friction"--iron sharpening iron. We should be saying some things that people don't want to hear, but need to hear anyway.
I think exhibitionism is another fatal tendency. We become show ponies. We do what we do for people to see. We become "professional" Christians. God becomes utilitarian. And we become a hollow shell in the process.
Every pastor needs to consistenly confess and repent of paranoia and exhibitionism.

One of the lessons I'm learning lately is that leadership is, in part, the management of perception as much as it is the management of reality. That doesn't mean "spin" in the worst sense of the word. It just means that people see what they're looking for and hear what they're listening for. That has incalculable repercussions for doing church.
If people want to learn they'll get something out of message no matter how bad it is. If people come into it with a critical spirit they will find something to be critical about no matter how good it is. The attitude going into a message is much more important than the message itself.
Here is the pattern I've seen repeated countless times:
Someone forms a negative perception. They find things to feed that perception. The perception became reality for them. They share that perception with others. And the perception continues to grow until it becomes cancerous. It's often childish. It's often selfish. But it's their reality.
Someone says "I'm burned out" or feels underappreciated and everything passes through that filter.
So the challenge of leadership is to manage perceptions. I've learned that you can't ignore them. You've got to address them.
The fine art of leadership is knowing when to take constructive criticism on the chin and when to "return volley." We do lots of things wrong and have lots of room for improvement. But one mistake leaders make is always playing defense when it comes to criticism. Leaders need to know when to confront immaturity with a dose of truth and grace. Sometimes you have to put the ball back into the critical person's court.
That takes a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

Ten years of dreaming have finally become reality. I've dreamed of writing a book for ten years. I feel like it's part of my calling. I feel like my writing will influence many more people than my speaking. It probably does even now via the evotional that goes out to more than twice as many people than attend NCC.
It was sort of anti-climatic when I sent the manuscript to the publisher. It was a mouse click. But that mouse click was one small step one giant leap. I feel like it will open the floodgates and help me really fulfill this part of my calling. Now that I've tied off one umbilical cord I think I can tie off 2 or 3 next year.
In some ways it was more of a relief than anything else. It's been hanging over my head for so many years. And the internal pressure has gotten stronger and stronger with the passage of time. Unfulfilled dreams have a tendency to do that. And either you have to kill the dream to keep your sanity or you allow the pressure to prompt you to pursue the dream at all costs.
I lost alot of sleep in the last two weeks, but it was the determination not to be denied that helped me get over the hump. The day before the due date I was up till 1:30 AM and fortunately Josiah woke me up at 5:45 AM since I forget to set my alarm. I squeezed in under the deadline.
I've reset this goal so many times adjusting topics and timelines, but I think my 35th birthday coming up in a few weeks provided some natural motivation. Thirty-five isn't a bad age to begin writing. You're not as naive as you were in your twenties, but you're still on the learning curve. You've accumulated some life experience with a few more trips around the sun. I think my writing has a gravity now that can only come via the school of hard knocks. Of course, it'll have more gravity in five or ten years. But that's how dreams die. You never arrive. You're never 100% ready. You've just got to cast your bread on the water (Ecclesiastes 11).
In other words, I could edit my writing forever. But at some point you've got to close the document and quit making changes. You've got to say "That's good enough." You've got to let go.
I'm hoping the book is bound and really to go by Christmas. I'd like to give it as a personal gift to every NCCer.

I feel like I've hardly been home the past few weeks. Four trips in three week is way above my quota.
Here are a few more thoughts on our multisite briefing in Dallas. It was amazing to be part of such a high-powered group of churches who are impact players.
I’m amazed at the excitement NCC elicits from other pastors and churches. Part of it is that so few churches are reaching the missing generation. Twenty-somethings are the least likely generation to attend church. We’re doing what very few churches are doing. We’ve got just as many issues and imperfections and problems, but God is using us in unique ways. I think that is a big part of our identity and calling in the kingdom--to reach emerging generations. We are part of the research and development department of the kingdom.
The bigger a church gets the more centripetal becomes. It is easy to exist for those who are already “inside” instead of trying to reach “outsiders.” It's easy for people to become selfish. Churches have to constantly fight the tendency to become ingrown. Healthy churches remain centrifugal.
Most people fail to achieve their goals not because their goals are too big but their time frame is too short! Bill Gates said that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in two years and underestimate what they can accomplish in ten years. Success becomes exponential.
I'm a big believer in planting yourself in one place, pouring your life into it, and seeing what God can do. Most of the pastors and churches we met with have been at it for close to a quarter century! There is no substitute for longevity.

I'm at a multisite briefing this week with 10 churches that represent 46,000 people, 62 services, and 22 locations. The vision of these churches just continues what God started in my heart at Catalyst. I'm dreaming near-fetched dreams. I think dreams are always morphing, but I think the dangling carrot for me is Acts 2:41. I'm believing that we'll see 3,000 saved in one place at one time. I'm not sure how it will happen or when it will happen, but I believe God has given me that as a prayer goal. It may be twenty-five years down the line, but I believe it will happen. One observation. In the last week I've seen absolutely amazing church building. I can't imagine building a building or retro-fitting a building until we have at least 5 locations and 5,000 people, but churches like Northpoint, Buckhead, and LakePointe in Dallas are reasons to build a church. I love their children's ministry areas. They are like cityscapes. And their staging is on par with a broadway play. LakePointe has a slide going down the middle of the stairs from the first to second floor and a play zone. It's almost like churches are benchmarking and learning from each other. I can only imagine what church facilities will be like in ten or twenty years! This briefing is raising issues that every multisite church is dealing with. There aren't too many longitudinal studies because multisite is so new, but there are challenges that every multisite faces. Here are some of the major issues we need to keep wrestling with. Different ExperiencesShould we offer one experience or different experiences? I like the idea of multiple experiential options, but when we tried it before they weren't distinctive enough. What we really need is a second worship band at Union Station, but we're struggling to field one complete team. When I zoom out, however, it's tough to imagine not offering multiple experiences that are distinctive. One interesting scenario was live worship in two venues. Different members of the band would be in different theaters--split between two. But there would be one sound.
Should we go back to different experiences in different theaters in January? Organizational ChartAll multisite churches deal with organizational charts that define lines of communication and accountability. Most churches are similar to the way we're moving. We've got a verticle line of accountability to the Lead Pastor, but a horizontal line of accountability to the Point Pastor. VideoAre we committed to video? If we're committed to video then we need the technology to do image magnification so we've got the quality necessary to reproduce it. The coffeehouse will afford us the opportunity to capture video on Saturday and reproduce it in multiple locations on Sunday. SuccessOne of the best questions that we're grappling with is: what is success on 10.11.06? I don't want to define success in numbers, but that is part of planning. I think success in two years is four locations--three theaters and one coffeehouse. I think success at Union Station is 1,000 + in attendance. I think success at Ballston is 400+ in attendance. The coffeehouse gives us the flexibility of one or two Saturday night services as well as Sunday night services.
We'll survey the congregation in November in preparation for service schedule in September '05. I think another critical criteria of success is a discipleship map. We need to play off the metro map and come up with our own unique map to spiritual maturity. That map needs to be the centerpiece of this year's annual ministry report. MetaphorsOne of the helpful things about this briefing are the different metaphors. One church thinks of locations as siblings. They are each unique, but part of the same family. They are different yet equal. In that sense, some measure of sibling rivalry is normal. I love the cloud metaphor. We're the difference between the Temple (stationary) and Tabernacle (mobile). I'm praying for cloudbursts over dry places--let the dessert rejoice and blossom like a rose! I like thinking of new locations as "new stops" in keeping with our metro motif. Hive MindWe talked about a book chapter titled Hive Mind. The way we figure out the hive's mind is via surveying. It's the "wisdom of crowds." ReconaissanceI'm always on the lookout for churches to do reconaissance at. Here are a couple of them:Northland in OrldandoLife Church in OklahomaTimeline01.05 We'll launch a third service @ Union Station. 09.05 Launch coffeehouse services10.06 Launch third theater location IdeasOne church uses canvass instead of ropes to "rope off" and create spaces. I think we'll need to get creative so we can avoid the discomfort of a half-empty auditorium. Part of pastoring is environmental engineering. Any way you slice it, 100 people in a 500 seat auditorium seems like failure. 100 people in a 75 seat venue seems like success.
Perception is reality! ThoughtsI wish everybody was as excited about NCC as I am all the time, but that isn't realistic. No matter how healthy, no matter how large, there will always be pioneers, early adopters, late adopters, and resisters.
I think one reason vision is so important is that it keeps us missional. And if we're "on mission" we don't have time for petty problems. Most problems would disappear if we were missional all the time.
One of the questions every church needs to ask and answer is this: do we exist for the people who are already "in" or do we exist for the people who are still "out"? The ID series doens't just apply to individuals. I think it holds true for the corporate identity of a church. There never has been and never will be any church like NCC. We're not who we were. We're not who we will be. We're a work in progress. Part of knowing who we are is knowing who we're not. We have nothing to prove! And we become what we worship. Or maybe in the church context we become what we measure! What you win people with is what you'll keep them with. If you win with them with events you'll keep them with events. If you win them with relationships you'll keep them with relationships. I'm not sure what the exact population of the metro DC area is, but I'm guessing it's in the neighborhood of 4 million people. That means we have 4,000,000 reasons to exist. We need a report card to measure the key barometers of spiritual health. Here are a few of them:1) % involvement in small groups2) % involvement in ministries3) $ given to missions4) # of baptisms5) % of NCCers inviting unchurch friends.

We just spent the last two days at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It has become part of the rhythm of our year. I look forward to it as a time of renewing vision.
As we walked into the Gwinnett Center I had a flashback to last year. The focus was on the heart and that conference began a process in my life of recognizing some heart issues that needed healing. I feel like God has done that over the past year. My heart is healthier than it was a year ago.
Epic
This focus this year was Epic. It was based on John Eldredge’s new book by the same name. We’re all part of something bigger than us. History is His story. And we’re all small stories within that larger story. Here are some of the thoughts that really impacted me.
My first impression was being convicted for the size of my dreams. If we aren’t careful, our dreams shrink. At one point I prayed, "Lord, forgive me for dreaming near-fetched dreams. Help me dream God-sized dreams again."
John Eldredge said, “Most people live their lives like a movie you arrive to twenty minutes late.” They don’t see the plotline. And that leads to frustration and confusion.
Andy Stanley preached one of the best messages I’ve ever heard. He put Joseph under the microscope and on the couch and put us in his shoes. Things went from bad to worse for seventeen years. He didn’t know the end of the story. He didn’t even know the story. He just acted like someone who was confident that God was with him. That's it.
Just because you don’t understand your life doesn’t mean it doesn’t make any sense. Just because it seems like minutia, it might have a bigger purpose. Our responsibility isn’t to understand it. Our responsibility is this: what would someone do today who was absolutely confident that God was at work in his life? What would someone with my job, my wife, my kids, my problems, my personality do if they knew that God was with them.
Brian McLaren said, “You have never had a thought about God that is better than God is.” That is a powerful thought.
Ted Dekker talked about the power of storytelling. He quoted Eugene Peterson. Here’s a rough paraphrase. “Words separated from stories lose color and energy and accuracy. For every biblical scholar we need five story-tellers, novels.”
Erwin McManus said, “If you’re big enough for your dream you’re dream isn’t big enough for you.”
He talked about a no name in Ecclesiastes 9 that saved a city. He said, “When you come into Christ, greatness was thrust upon you! There is a city waiting for you, a city that needs you. If you keep looking for the hero, he or she may never show up because it’s you.”
The longer I pastor in DC the bigger my heart gets and the bigger my vision gets. I believe entire cities can be dramatically changed. The key is prayer. Prayer is what turns cities upside-down.
McManus said, “The greatest obstacle we’ll ever face in fulfilling our role in God’s story is our need for public approval. It creates space for arrogance and pride and selfish ambition. It allows them to live. Maybe the measure of our impact is not what is seen, but what is unseen. That is invisible leadership. We need to overcome this need for public recognition with secret deeds.”
John Maxwell closed things out. He said, “My desire to do something great for God was greater than my desire to have God do something great in me.”
When our desire to do something great for God supercedes our desire to have God do something great in me we get filled with pride and arrogance.
Maxwell talked about his tendency to keep score. He is a goal-setter. But he said, “Fall head-over-heels in love with God until your desire for God to do something great in you is greater than your desire to do something great for God and God will do something so much bigger and better and greater than you can imagine that you can’t imagine it.”
It was amazing the way Maxwell’s session mirrored my own experience. He said, “Place your ambition for God under your submission to God. Allow God’s work in you to be more important than your work for God.”
I think that’s the key. If I’m at a good place with the Lord then nothing can go wrong. If I’m not at a good place then nothing can go right. It all comes back to how I’m doing and why I’m doing what I’m doing.

Not too many blogs on this topic! I was at a conference and heard Dr. Richard Dresselhaus speak on this topic. Here are some notes. They may or may not make sense!
Textual criticism is the study of copies of copies of copies trying to get back to the originals. Homer wrote the Ilyiad in 850 BC. It was the Bible of the ancient Greeks. There are 650 copies, but the earliest copies are dated roughly 250 BC. That is a 1,000 gap. The NT has less than a twenty-five year gap. There are only six copies of Josephus and they are close to a thousand years ex post facto. The span between the original writing and copies are centuries upon centuries and only a few copies. We hardly ever question them because they don't make ultimate truth claims. So it's fair for Scripture to have a higher standard. Norman Geisler says, "The NT is 99.5% accurate according to the original authographs." When you read 100 verses there is only half of one where there is a problem. And even then it's usually a slight variation in word choice. That ought to give us tremendous confidence. Text Steams
Thre are two streams of texts. The first is the byzantine or Antiochian or Greek or Traditional text. They use manuscripts dating back to 400 AD. Erasmus was comissioned by Pope Leo X, an enemy of Martin Luther, to produce the first version in 1516. Stephanus did the 3rd edition in 1550. Prior to this there were no chapters and versions. Stephanus did that in this 4th edition. It is this text that was the basis for the KJV. The KJV was done in 1611. It predates the textus receptus in 1633. The Geneva Bible, the writings of Zwingli and Luther, use this steam of texts.The other steam is Alexandria and it uses the papyri text as a basis. So it uses older manuscripts. The modern translations use these manuscripts--ASV, RV, NEB, NIV, NASV. The modern translations use older manuscripts as its basis. Debatable TextsThe Lord's prayer in the NIV ends "for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever." The KJV doesn't include it. Should it be in there or not? Why or why not? Mark 16:8 says in the NIV that "some of the most ancient manuscripts don't include verses 9-20). Should it be in there or not? What about John 8? It says, "Two of the most ancient manuscripts don't include the following verses." Should the story about the woman caught in the act of adultery be in there or not? A manuscript is a script produced manually. We stopped using manuscripts in 1453 because of Gutenberg who printed a Bible in latin. There were 100 printed and 10 are still in existence. They are worth millions. The first Greek New Testament was printed in 1516. Prior to that time every text was done manually. Scribes would invest a lifetime making one copy of the Scripture. If you make copies, no matter how diligent you are, there will be mistakes. Period. Prior to the printing press there are no two manuscripts that are exactly the same! There is human error in the translation process. Imagine three exhibits--Greek manuscripts is exhibit A. There are 5,500. And those 5,500 are divided into four groups. The first group are papyri. There are 99 of these oldest manuscripts--centuries two through six. They are exhibit B. They all have a name and are identity by P for papyri. P45, for example, contains most of the synoptics and carries a date of 250 AD. P75 comes from 270 AD and has most of John's gospels. They are exhibit B. The second pile are called unchils and there are 306 of them. They are identified by letters and arabic numerals. They are from 350 AD. They are all capital letters written together with no periods or punctuation. They are identified by the alphabet. The third piles are manuscules. They are written longhand. They are late. They are from the ninth and tenth century. There are 2856 of them according to Bruce Metzger. They are identified with arabic numbers. The fourth pile are the lectionaries. There are 2406 of them. They go back to the fifth and sixth century. They are identified by an L and a number. These four exhibits total more than 5,500. How can you date these writings? Penmenship reveals date in time. Look at your grandmother's, mother's, and your handwriting. They reveal differences. The second pile or exhibit are the versions or translations. Already by the end of the second century the NT has been translated into Coptic, Syrian, and Latin. From the second century on there translations in Arabic, Ethiopic. And a whole bunch of other "pics." The Latin versions, there are 8,000 of them. There are close to 20,000 of these langauge translations. The third table or exhibit are the testimony of the Church Fathers--Athanasius, Augustine. These Fathers refer to Scripture and validate it. For example, does Origen quote from Mark 16:10? Do they include the end of the Lord's prayer? All these manuscripts have to uncovered and indexed. Hidden inside of all of this--more than 20,000 manuscripts--are the autographs. But if you are diligent you'll come close to the originals.
That's enough rambling for one day! Here's the long and short of it. The process of copying Scripture is amazing! And it ought to give us tremendous confidence. I think more Christians need to know more about the process of how we got the Bible!
I often think about the fact that ancients scribes would spend a lifetime making one copy of the Bible! And I've got more copies than I know what to do with.