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Friday, June 30, 2006

Milestone

Last night Lora and I were talking about Josiah and swimming. We were wondering how and when he would make the transition from non-swimmer to swimmer.

So Lora calls me from the pool today and Josiah did it. I think the key was goggles :) He actually swam under the water! I was so excited I hopped in the car and drove out to the pool to see it for myself. Sure enough. My son has officially entered the world of swimmers!

One small stroke for Josiah. One giant dive for the Batterson family. Or something like that.

The Arts

I just had a meeting today that still has my adrenaline pumping. I've always been passionate about Christians making movies that compete for the culture. I put my faith in Christ after watching a movie called The Hiding Place. I think we need to view Hollywood as a mission field. And we need to encourage Christians to go into culture shaping professions.

So I met with Barbara Nicolosi, Executive Director of Act One. Check out her blog @ www.churchofthemasses.blogspot.com; Karen Covell, Director of Hollywood Prayer Network; and Michelle Suh, the Director of Hollywood Connect.

I walked away flat out fired up about what they are doing. I'd like for Ebenezers to be a place in DC where films premiere. We talked about a Hollywood missions trip. And I really want NCC to be a place that encourages aspiring artists and actors. I think our meeting was the beginning of a real connection between DC and LA.

I'd encourage you to follow the links and learn more about what they're doing! Very cool. Very encouraging!

Liberal Arts Church

I just had a meeting with an NCCer who said he refers to me as a liberal arts pastor because of my diversity of interests. I took it as a compliment and it got me thinking.

What does a liberal arts church look like?

I think a liberal arts church is a church that competes for culture as opposed to creating a subculture. A liberal arts church recognizes that all truth is God's truth. A liberal arts church recognizes that every christian has a God-ordained calling. A liberal arts church understands the times. A liberal arts church lets non-christians belong before they believe. A liberal arts church asks questions instead of just giving answers. A liberal arts church is innovative. A liberal arts church celebrates the artistic impulse. A liberal arts church doesn't compartmentalize Jesus.

I think pastors and churches need to be more interdisciplinary. That is what a liberal arts degree is all about. That is why I read everything from business to physics to neurology to romance novels. Just kidding on the romance novels. But I think this is a stewardship issue. I believe that Scripture is the inspired word of God, but my appreciation of Scripture is enhanced when I cross-pollinize with other disciplines.

I've noticed something interesting in the response to my preaching. Christians love it when I quote Scripture. Non-Christians love it when I quote non-biblical sources like Aristotle or Pascal or Jack Handy :) In my humble opinion, a good sermon is both/and.

We need to follow the example that Paul set in Athens. He knew Athenian culture. In fact, he quoted one of their philosophers, Epimenides. And he didn't boycott the Aeropagus. He went toe-to-toe with the best philosophical minds of his day. We need to follow suit.

Random thoughts on a Friday!

Catalyst Monthly

I just wrote an article for Catalyst Monthly.

The entire article will be an an upcoming issue . You can subscribe here.

Here's an excerpt:

Go Jump Off a Cliff

A few years ago, I was part of a mission team that helped build a Teen Challenge Center in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. After a week of hard work, our family stuck around for a few days to enjoy the island. When we checked into our hotel I happened to pick up a tourist brochure about cliff jumping and the second I saw it I knew I needed to do it. But a few lazy days later, we were on an airplane headed back to Washington, DC and I remember having this thought at about thirty-thousand feet: I might never get back here. I felt like I had forfeited a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And I still regret it. In fact, one of my life goals is to go back and not just jump off a cliff. I want to do a cliff baptism. Talk about baptism by immersion!

So I missed an opportunity to jump off a cliff. So what? In the grand scheme of things, that regret is rather benign. But that experience taught me a valuable lesson: at the end of our lives, we'll regret opportunities missed a lot more than mistakes made.

That conviction is backed up by the research of two Cornell sociologists, Tom Gilovich and Vicki Medvec. According to their study, time is a key factor in what we regret. Over the short-term, we tend to regret our actions. But over the long-haul, we tend to regret inactions. Their study found that over the course of an average week, action regrets outnumber inaction regrets 53% to 47%. But when people look at their lives as a whole, inaction regrets outnumber action regrets 84% to 16%.

In theological terms, action regrets are sins of commission. And they certainly cause a twinge of guilt. But it is the inaction regrets or sins of omission that haunt us the rest of our lives. We are left to wonder: what if?

Leadership Podcast

We just recorded our first video podcast for NCC leaders!

We're trying to find ways to communicate vision more consistently and really invest in leadership development. I think the podcast is one small step in the right direction. It'll be a monthly podcast of about twenty minutes.

The podcast is being spearheaded by our Pastor of Discipleship, Heather Zempel. And it looks like we'll be talking about our core values to start out with. This week was everything is an experiment. Including a podcast for leaders :)

We'll launch the podcast at our leadership summit on July 8.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Coffeehouse Churches

Just spent several hours meeting with Curt Hughes and a crew from Life Church in Wheaton, Illinois. They are exploring coffeehouse possibilities.

We're still catching our breath from opening Ebenezers. And we've only been in the coffeehouse business for three months :) But I'm amazed at how many churches are interested in the possibility of opening a coffeehouse. Our coffeehouse manager has been fielding quite a few emails lately :)

We don't do anything without thinking about doing it again. I think it is part of our multi-site DNA. So I can certainly envision coffeehouses all over the DC area. And we've had numerous churches inquire about franchising Ebenezers in different places around the country. So one of the things we talked about today is how we could package what we're doing as "a coffeehouse in a mug" so to speak so that other churches don't have to reinvent the wheel. I'd love to leverage this coffeehouse church concept so other churches can piggy-back off of what we're doing. Maybe a barista-in-training program to compliment our church-planter-in-residence position :)

My sixth sense tells me that the church in a coffeehouse idea could take off like the church in a theater idea. In fact, there may be even more potential for coffeehouse churches as a church planting or multi-site model. Especially if it is financially viable.

Just blogging out loud.

All I know is this: I love doing church in a coffeehouse.

We need more caffeinated churches :)

Editing Stage

Thus far the editing process for In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day has been relatively painless. I thought it would be more time consuming, but I've simply read the edited chapters and said I like it :) Voila! I think that is a testament to the editing team at Multnomah.

At this point it's funny to look back at my self-published book, ID: The True You. I hate to admit this, but I didn't even have anybody proofread it. I was flying solo. It's very cool to have a team of editors and marketers and designers to work with.

To be honest, I never really understood all the credits at the beginning of books. I used to wonder why authors would thank so many people for the role they played in the project. I now know why.

Thanks for the book prayers.

Book Review

Just wanted to recommend a book to twenty-somethings or parents of twenty-somethings. Margaret Feinberg is a quarterlife guru. I just read her latest book titled what the heck am I going to do with my life?

I love the combination of inspiration and earthiness. Great thoughts and great stories. And Margaret is one of those authors whose personality comes through the words so you can't help but like her! If you're trying to figure out what to do with your life it's a must read.

By the way, I think my favorite quote from the book is this one:

Live so that the preacher doesn't have to make stuff up at your funeral.

Seriously, cut us preachers some slack :)

Here's an amazon.com link.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Evotional

I just sent out the latest evotional--an email version of my weekend message. If you want a free subscription you can follow the evotional link at www.theaterchurch.com.

The latest evotional continues The Neurology of Faith series.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Blogging Pastors

I never ceased be be amazed at the blog effect. It's amazing how many connections I've made via blogging. I met with two blogging pastors today.

This morning Tally Wilgis, from Focal Point Church in Virginia Beach, came to hang out with our team for our Big Idea Meeting. Very cool to hear about their story. I have huge respect for anyone who is part of the church planting tribe! We also picked up a cool idea from them. They are "four-walling" their theater and showing children's movies as an outreach. This last weekend they packed out the theater for Ice Age 2. Pretty cool way of letting people know you exist.

This afternoon I met with Rob Ketterling from River Valley Church in Apple Valley, Minnesota. He flew in for the day to hang out with some of our staff. I definitely got more ideas from him than he did from me! They've got a great thing going!

We actually met at a church planting event I spoke at last year and he got one of our Annual Ministry Reports. They ran with the idea and produced their own Annual Ministry Report that absolutely rocks!

I also got a couple sermon series ideas from him. They recently did a series called The Office and Deal or No Deal. I love the way they are redeeming culture by playing off those popular TV shows. Rob said they had eighteen decisions for Christ during Deal or No Deal.

Praise God and pass the popcorn!

700 Club Story

Just thought I'd post a link to the church of the week story that ran on the 700 Club yesterday. You can actually watch the show at cbn.com. Our segment is about fifty minutes into the sixty minute broadcast.

The Lost Spiritual Discipline

I think meditation is a lost spiritual discipline amongst western Christians. Our approach to Scripture is left-brain memorization instead of right-brain meditation. And I think it comprises our spiritual health. We have a deficiency in our diet because reading without meditating is like eating without digesting. We simply regurgitate the word instead of ingesting it. We're malnourished.

Meditation is a form of imagination.

In 1816, Sir David Brewster invented the first kaleidoscope. A kaleidoscope consists of fragments of colored glass that reflect light in an endless variety of colors and patterns. Isn't that what Scripture does? It reflects light in an endless variety of colors and patterns? If I had to describe Scripture in a word I might choose kaleidoscopic. I never cease to be amazed at the way different verses can inspire me in different ways at different times in my life.

Meditation is taking the time to turn the kaleidscope so we can appreciate different nuances of a text. I gaurantee this: the more time you take to look at a verse from a variety of angles the more God will reveal to you. It will help you internalize and personalize the truth. It will get the word into your spirit. Don't be in such a hurry to get through the word that the word doesn't get through you.

The phrase "look intently" in James 1 means to bend over or stoop down. We've got to humble ourselves and take a posture of submission when we read the word. Meditation is bending over to take a closer look.

For what it's worth, I'm meditating on Romans 12:1-3 today. I'm choosing a different passage each day this week to meditate on.

By the way, if you're looking for a good online Bible Study tool I'd recommend Bible Gateway.

Monday, June 26, 2006

Innovative Church Conference

Please click the peanut.

Just wanted to be part of the peanut buzz started by Tony Morgan. I'm totally fired up about speaking at this year's Innovative Church Conference. It's going to be a blast. Really looking forward to hearing Mark Beeson, Senior Pastor at Granger Community Church and Perry Noble, Senior Pastor of New Life as well.

Can't wait to see what Granger has up their sleeve!

Do angels yawn?

Every once in a while I have these offbeat thoughts.

I had a thought a few months ago, but yesterday was the first time I verbalized it in one of my messages: I wonder if some of us live such safe lives that our guardian angels are yawning?

I wonder if our guardian angels get bored. I wonder if they are just waiting for us to step out in faith and do something that lets them spread their wings and fly!

All I know is this: I don't want to be guilty of causing angels to yawn!

The Joy of Sox

Just reading a fascinating interview with Harvard psychiatrist, Eric Leskowitz, who is producing The Joy of Sox: Weird Science and the Power of Attention.

The interviewees describe watching the Red Sox at Fenway Park as a religious experience:

I've seen more people having religious experiences than in any church I've ever been to in my life. I think everyone says a little prayer before we come in.

The documentary interviews a variety of physicists, physicians, and spiritual authorities with questions like: is Fenway Park a sacred place? Can fans' prayers affect the outcome of a game? Can sports help us grow spiritually?

On one level, this gets my sanctified competitive streak riled up. If people consider a baseball game at Fenway Park more spiritual than a church service we've got some serious issues! But the sad truth is that people in our culture look to movies and concerts and reality TV and sports for their transcendent experiences. We are more religious about our favorite American Idol or our favorite team than we are about church.

I'm not pointing the finger because the enemy is us.

I subscribe to Michangelo's school of thought: criticize by creating! We need to make better movies, better music, and better experiences.

As I read the article on the joy of sox I couldn't help but think about the lessons we as a church could learn from sports. Here are some random thoughts on the sport of church.

For starters, pastors need to think of themselves as spiritual coaches. I think we need to teach spiritual disciplines in the same way as physical disciples. Didn't Paul liken spiritual growth to a boxing match and a marathon? What if we practiced the spiritual disciplines with the same intensity and intentionality? And what about developing a game plan? Too many churches are playing a prevent defense instead of a two-minute offense. What if the church started praying like die-hard fans before the big game? What if we worshipped with the same level of fanaticism? And I can't resist this one. What if churches with really long services instituted a half-time? Just a thought.

I'm still not sure where cheerleaders, kosher hot dogs, or jerseys come into play, but there has to be something we can learn from those things.

Random thoughts.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Weekend Reflections

I'm really enjoying The Neurology of Faith series but it feels like twice as much prep time going into every message. Lots of perspiration to go with the inspiration. I love preaching, but sometimes it's just good old-fashioned hard work :) I still don't feel like I'm 100% adjusted to the new rhythm of having my message ready to roll on Saturday night. It makes Saturdays a little more stressful, but Sundays are more relaxed.

We did a connection point after our services @ Union Station and it was very cool to connect with so many new NCCers. I'm also amazed at how many guests we have on an average weekend. Lots of first-timers! The Connection Point is a great way to make a connection and we give guests a popcorn box filled with NCC paraphenalia like our Annual Ministry Report, Small Group Guide, and of course, a bag of microwave popcorn :)

One incident is worth blogging about. I think it's something alot of pastors have to wrestle with. There was a guest dancing up a storm during worship in our 9:30 and 11:00 @ Union. Lots of gyrations. In the aisle. It's so hard to know where to draw the line. We want to encourage people to have freedom of expression but the line needs to be drawn if that person becomes a distraction to others. One of the challenges is discerning the spirit of the person worshipping. I never want to stop someone who is genuinely worshipping God, but what do you do when a person really becomes the focal point of worship and keeps others from worshipping God?

On the flip side, I honestly think that all of us could get alot more excited during worship! And I want to continue pushing the worship envelop so that we have a worship culture that is genuine and spontaneous. I just don't see the angels and elders in heaven holding hymn books and worshipping God with expressionless faces or motionless bodies.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Ebenezers Update

A couple Ebenezers updates:

We got our public space permit yesterday so we're adding outdoor seating! We've got a pretty cool patio space that surrounds the coffeehouse so we'll put it to good use.

We also started a customer loyalty program at Ebenezers this week. We've had a couple hundred people sign up in a couple days! It's pretty cool because you don't have to carry around a card that gets punched. Don't you hate those things? I always lose them or forget them. Our system is paperless. We have everybody entered into our computer system.

I'm loving Ebenezers more and more all the time! Nothing like having an office right above a coffeehouse :) I guess the only improvement would be a dumb waiter so I don't have to walk all the way down a flight of stairs!

Ten Reasons Why I Blog

I did an interview with a Washington Post reporter yesterday who is doing a story on blogging. It got me thinking about blogging. Blogging is second-nature to me.

Just thought I'd share ten reasons why I blog.

#10 Blogging is a form of digital discipleship. Neo-scrolls.
#9 Blogging is the way I share what is happening in my head and my heart.
#8 Blogging is cathartic. It helps me process what I'm thinking and feeling.
#7 Blogging is the way I leave a trail. My kids and grandkids can read it someday.
#6 Blogging is a sermon supplement. Actually, sermons might be a blogging supplment.
#5 Blogging is a way to carry on a conversation with lots of people at the same time.
#4 Blogging is a form of auto-biography.
#3 Blogging is one way of capturing the things God is revealing to me.
#2 Blogging helps me remember what God doesn't want me to forget.
#1 Blogging is a stewardship issue. It's one way I share what God is teaching me.

A couple blog thoughts:

I never cease to marvel at the variety of people who visit the evosphere. The largest majority are pastors from around the country and around the world. Certainly NCCers make up a large segment of the readers. But I'm amazed at the random connections that are make in the blosophere. It's three degrees of seperation in the blogosphere.

One of the blogging phenomenons I've noticed is how often an NCCer, who I haven't talked with in weeks, will start talking like we've been carrying on a conversation all week. Then they'll reference something I was blogging about and I realize that we have been carrying on a coversation all week.

I don't think blogging is for everybody. It has to fit your personality and the rhythm of your life. But I think it is one way of redeeming technology and using it to serve God's purpsoes. It is the printing press of the 21st century.

Blog On.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Church Planting Conference

Just wanted to put a church planting conference on the reticular activating system. I'm speaking at the National Church Planting Leadership Summit in San Diego, CA. The three-day conference kicks off November 30.

I love connecting with church planters. And I really love connecting with church planters in San Diego :)

Here's a link.

Familiarization

I've always thought familiarization is one of the greatest spiritual dangers we face. We become immune to the miracles that surround us. We lose our sense of awe. The sacred becomes mundane.

I just discovered the neurological reason. Neuroimagining has shown that brain stimulation depends on task familiarization. Novelty stimulates the right-brain. Familiarity stimulates the left-brain. So what happens is this: our relationship with God shifts from the right-brain to the left-brain. And God becomes routine.

The same thing happens with just about everything. The job we used to love becomes routine. Our marriages become routine. Kids become routine. Hobbies become routines. Every dimension of our life is subject to routinization. And before we know it, we stop living out of imagination (right-brain) and start living out of memory (left-brain). We repeat the past instead of creating the future.

I think that has huge implications on everything from worship to prayer to preaching.

Preaching needs an element of novelty to stimulate the right-brain of listeners. My preaching motto is say old things in new ways. In other words, find novel ways of communicating ancient truth. That is what Jesus did with the parables. The parables appealed to the right-brain of listeners.

The goal of every preacher should be to stimulate the anterior superior temporal gyrus. That is the part of the brain that is stimulated when you make new connections. That is where eureka moments and aha experiences happen. That is the part of the brain that is activated when you say: "I've never thought about it that way before."

I think one of our jobs as preachers is to keep God from becoming routine. We've got to help people think about Him in new ways (and obviously biblical ways). There are more than 400 names for God in Scripture. And each name reveals a different dimension of His infinite personality. We need to keep reintroducing people to God over and over again.

I think familiarization is one of the dangers we face in worship. Too often we worship from rote memory. But left-brain worship is often lip service. We're lip syncing. There is a difference between singing from memory and singing from imagination. Studies have shown that once we've sung a song thirty times we stop thinking about the words.

The same thing happens with prayer. We pray cliches. Our prayers become empty incantations.

We've got to keep our routines from becoming routine. In other words, one key to spiritual growth is reinventing our routines so we continue to engage the right-brain.

Try fasting something you've never fasted before.
Try reading another version of the Bible like The Message or The New Living Translation.
Try meditating on a passage of Scripture for a week.
Keep a prayer journal.
Take a personal retreat.
Try worshipping God in a new way or a new place.
Try a prayer experiment where you pray for someone or something for a month.

Do something, do anything, to keep your relationship with God from becoming routine. There is so much more of God to discover!

Fancy Rat

So Parker and I went to Petsmart last night. There are snakes and lizards. There are hamsters and guinea pigs. And then I spot rats for sale. But not just any kind of rats. These were called Fancy Rats. And the price tag was $6.99.

Where do we draw the line?

Trust me, I'm not prejudiced against rats. Alright, I'm a little prejudiced. But fancy doesn't strike me as the proper adjective. I don't care what adjective you put in front of a rat. You can call it a Cute Rat, Smart Rat, Adorable Rat, Good With Children Rat. It's still a rat.

Come on. How guillible do you think we are?

But sure enough, I started rat bashing and Parker became a rat defender. "But dad, they are fancy rats. You can train them." He sounded like a defense attorney for the worldwide federation of rats.

Anywho.

I don't care how fancy a rat is. It's not living in my house. That's final.

I have to admit however, $6.99 and you've got the potential for a pretty cool prank :)

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

700 Club

Just heard from the producer that the 700 Club story on NCC is supposed to air on Monday, June 26. Check your local listings :) I'll also post a link to the online version after it airs.

Evotional

I just send out the latest evotional--an email version of my weekend message. You can sign-up at www.theaterchurch.com.

I talked a little bit about heuristic bias.

One of the challenges of spiritual growth is this: we need to develop routines but those routines can become so routine that we need to change the routine.

Life in DC

So I'm driving from Results Gym to the office this morning and Senator Trent Lott is walking out of his house and hopping into his car.

I'm pretty immune to DC. Probably too immune. I jog on the National Mall. We take picnics to the Capitol. We pass the memorials everyday. I'm pretty used to the who's who and what's what of DC, but every once in a while it hits you where you live. It's somewhat surreal when you see a political talking head in person and realize they live a few blocks from you.

Maybe we'll trick-or-treat their house on Halloween :)

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

World Vision

I did a chapel devotional for the DC office of World Vision today. We actually hosted it at Ebenezers which was cool.

One of the things I talked about was how our prayers are eternal. I like to think of it in bioacoustic terms. According to the science of bioacoustics, every word you've ever said is somewhere in the universe. And if we had the technology to pull it off, we could actually recapture all of those sound waves. In the same sense, I think every prayer wave is eternal. There is no expiration date. I think every good thing that happens in our lives can be traced back to a prayer that was prayed by someone somewhere. Many of them can be traced back 2,000 years to the prayers of Christ.

World Vision is doing an incredible work around the world. There are thousands of employees in hundreds of countries. Their compassion efforts are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But I think it all traces back to prayer. I came across a picture on their website of Dr. Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision. He is in the posture of prayer. I actually put it up on the screen during my devotional. Bob Pierce started World Vision in 1953 to care for Korean orphans. But when you pray like it depends on God your vision can become much more than you ever imagined.

I wonder what was going through his mind when this picture was taken? Did he have any idea that World Vision would become what it is? What percentage of his prayers were answered before he died in 1978? And what percentage of his prayers were answered after he died?

Monday, June 19, 2006

Camping Trip

Just got back from a little Father's Day Camping Trip. We spent Sunday night at Pohick Bay campground about 30 minutes outside DC. It's sort of an annual tradition to kick off the summer with a camping trip.

I usually just take Parker and Summer, but this was Josiah's first official camping trip. He was living large!

We drove around the campground three times trying to find the perfect campsite. Then we set up our tent. I could tell Lora was pretty impressed with my new and improved tent setting-up skilzs.

A few of the highlights included waking up to very non-urban sounds. Just think Woody the Woodpecker. I opened my eyes around 6 AM to discover that Josiah was about four inches from my face with a huge smile on his face. Priceless. We found one of the freakiest slugs I've ever seen. The kids named him Bighead because, you guessed it, he had a big head. And I actually caught a water snake. Unfortunately, after a few seconds in captivity, it managed to slither out of my net. But for a few brief moments I felt like Jeff Corwin.

Good times.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

The Simple Pleasures of Summer

I feel like this past week was a turning point for me. I finally got some margin back in my life. Our laughter quotient was way up in the office. Lots of laughs. And I feel like I have the freedom for spontaneous conversations. I'm also back to my reading habit.

We took a picnic to the sculpture gardens last night. They play Jazz every Friday night during the summer months. Had a blast tossing the football on the Mall. Then we sat around and discussed our favorite jazz musicians. It was a very short conversation :) It would have lasted longer if any of us knew any jazz musicians!

Summer had her first swim meet of the season today. She is part fish. She won the backstroke and placed third in freestyle. During the summer it is rare to see her without her swim suit on. She lives in her swimsuit!

Good times.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Book Update

Just wanted to say thanks again to our prayer team and so many people who have "randomly" mentioned that they are praying as I am writing. What a blessing beyond words! There is a huge difference between self-confidence and prayer-confidence. I've got some serious prayer-confidence right now.

I feel great about the way the manuscript is shaping up. Lots of pruning. The manuscript was at 60,000 words and we're getting close to the target of 45,000 words. We're entering the line edit stage. Then it's on to copy editing. I sort of feel like the pressure is off of me at this point and I get to lean on my editors to do what they do best.

We have a core value at NCC: work like it depends on you and pray like it depends on God. I feel like that core value is finding expression in this book. I'll keep working. You keep praying. And we'll meet in the middle :)

Mucho Thanks!

Ten Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Pastoring

I just got an email from a pastor asking my advice: what are the top 3 things every person should know before they senior pastor their first church?

I haven't done a top ten list lately so here goes. Here are a few of my off the top of my head thoughts about pastoring:

#1 Be Yourself--even more important than being a pastor is being yourself. Be authentic. Be real. Share your weaknesses and struggles. Remind your congregation that you are a work in progress just like they are. Be true to the unique passions and giftings God has given you. Develop core values and core convictions.

#2 Put Your Family First--I limit my church-related meetings to one evening per week. Establish those boundaries early on. If there is ever a conflict between family and ministry it's a no-brainer. Family first.

#3 Have Fun--church ought to be the most enjoyable hour of the week. Don't take yourself too seriously. The healthiest and holiest people laugh at themselves the most. Let your congregation see you laugh at yourself. Alot.

#4 Keep Learning--readers are leaders and leaders are readers. Once you think you have it figured out it's the beginning of the end. There are ways of doing church that no one has discovered yet. Keep experimenting. Realize that if a 100 people give you 30 minutes of their time to listen to your sermon, your message better warrant 50 hours of listening time. Study to show yourself approved. And make sure you're doing both biblical exegesis and cultural exegesis.

#5--Hire people you like hanging out with--how much you enjoy ministry depends on who you're doing ministry with. Hire people you can laugh at. I mean with :) Hire people who love God and love life. Hire people who go the extra mile. Hire people who work hard and play hard. Hire the right people then let their portfolio conform to them like a new shoe conforms to your foot.

#6 Do Recon--You've got to do everything within your power to keep from going into maintenance mode. Stay in growth mode. Remain an open-source system. Go to conferences and visit other churches.

#7 Be a God-Pleaser--I remind myself of what Abraham Lincoln said all the time: you can please all the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can't please all the people all the time. Don't worry about offending people. Worry about offending God. Stay true to the vision God has given you. Don't waver when people want you to conform to their vision of what the church should be. You'll spend the rest of your life contorting yourself and your church into a thousand shapes. Make sure you're doing ministry out of the overflow of what God is doing in your life. Make sure you allow God to work in you before you ask Him to work through you. The church will never outgrow you! And if it does it's dangerous!

#8--Keep it Simple--less is more. We have two goals: plug into a small group and plug into a ministry. Don't try to do too much. Be really good at what you do. Know who you are. Know who you aren't. Develop a kingdom mindset. Learn to appreciate the unique role that others churches play in your community. Then play to your strengths.

#9 Paint Your Church Purple--either you are remarkable or invisible. Too many churches are ignorable. The good news ought to make the news. You've got to do things to get the attention of your community. Do what you do with an excellence that makes people do a double-take. Make sure you print materials are aesthetically pleasing. Do outreaches that bless the socks off your community. Find the needs in your community and fill them. Dare to be different. Add a touch of creativity to everything you do!

#10 Enjoy the Journey--if you're a visionary you'll tend to live for the future, but enjoy the moment. Be the best pastor you can be during every stage.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Catalyst Blog

If you've been in the evosphere for any length of time you know I'm a huge Catalyst fan. Already looking forward to this year's conference. Catalyst recently lauched their podcast. And they've just jumped into the blogosphere. Here's a link.

Evotional

Every week I turn my weekend message into an evotional that gets sent out to evotional subscribers via email. If you want a free subscription you can visit www.theaterchurch.com. There is a link on the home page.

I write the evotional for a couple reasons. I sort of think of it as a spiritual supplement. It gives NCCers a double dose. They can listen to a message and then read it. It's also a non-threatening way to share the message with a friend. It's as simple as forwarding the email. The evotional also keeps NCCers in the loop if they are out of town on a weekend.

I also write the evotional for other pastors. Hopefully it is a resource that gives them sermon ideas and sermon illustrations.

This last evotional kicks off The Neurology of Faith series.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Variety Show

Fired up about our annual variety show on July 9. I'm being told that we're going with a Vegas theme: what happens at the variety show stays at the variety show.

We take fun seriously at NCC. And the variety show is definitely the magnum opus of fun. This is your big chance. It could be your big break. So dust off your song or dance or stand-up comedy routine.

Deep Thoughts

We went out and shot a video that didn't make the cut last weekend :) I just couldn't bring myself to show it. I love Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy. He ranks as one of my favorite philosophers! So we went out and shot some deep thoughts at the National Arboretum. We were thinking about making it a feature of The Neurology of Faith series. But alas.

But just because it didn't make the weekend cut doesn't mean it can't make the evotional cut :) So here's what a video looks like that didn't make the cut. I hope it provides a modicum of viewing pleasure.

View the Deep Thoughts video.

Simple Pleasures

I feel like I'm starting to decompress as we enter the summer season. We took a picnic to the National Mall the other night and it was so relaxing to just let the kids run free. And we're turning into a frisbee family. It's amazing how much fun it can be throwing a round saucer-like object through the air.

My RPMs have been reving pretty high the last few months, but I feel like I'm getting my margin back. I'm trying to enjoy the simple pleasures.

I was reading Matthew 6 this morning and reflecting on two fascinating commandments. They aren't the kind of "commandments" we typically think of as commandments, but Jesus subscribed bird-watching and flower-smelling.

Look at the birds--Matthew 6:26
Look at the lillies--Matthew 6:28

One of my summer goals is to do more bird-watching and flower-smelling. Some of it is scheduled. We have a picnic night and pool night. But some of it is just spontaneous. Last summer was our summer of adventure. I was really intentionally about turning everything into an adventure. I guess this is our summer of simple pleasures :)

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Church of the Week

Just fininished an interview with Gorman Woodfin from CBN. The 700 Club does a feature called Church of the Week where they spotlight churches from across the country. I'm not 100% sure when our story will air, but I'll post a link when it does.

I totally appreciated the spirit of the crew. In fact, we spent several minutes praying together that God would orchestrate some divine appointments with some channel surfers. You never know how God is going to use something like this.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Thoughts on Writing

As I continue writing In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day I'm thinking out loud via my blog. I'm really viewing this first published book as a learning curve. I think every writer wants every book to be a best-seller :) But I'm trying to manage my expectations. And I'm being hyper-vigilant about learning along the way. Because I feel called to write I know this is one small step that will hopefully be one giant leap. I hope the first few books sell well and bless lots of people, but they are also about trying to find my voice. And I don't think that happens in one book.

Anywho.

Novelist John Updike said that books externalize our brains. I think they also externalize our souls.

In so many ways, I feel like In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is an externalization of my soul. And baring your soul can be an unnerving. It's a little scary thinking about reading what I wrote ten years now. Have you ever seen an old picture of yourself that makes you grimmace? Hopefully I won't look back on this book like I do on my zoot suit, huge glasses that covered 2/3rds of my face and required two hands to adjust, or mullet hairdo in college.

While I wrote the better part of In a Pit in one month, it really took ten years to write. I think writing comes in two stages. Stage one is living. Stage two is writing. I've read books that have bypassed stage one and they lack authenticity. A book is always part autobiography. There is a difference between writing what you're thinking and writing what you're living. The best books are the byproduct of a life well-lived.

In a sense, writing a book is sort of like making a model airplane. You painstakingly glue it together and hope it flies. But you also know it might crash :) So you tentatively launch the plane into mid-air. That's how it feels. The final edits are the final checklist before takeoff. And then you let her fly!

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Mondays Off

I switch my day off during the summer months to Monday. It is so much more relaxing than Wednesday. I feel like I actually get a psuedo-weekend because we don't have many Sunday evening events. So I'm off from Sunday afternoon till Tuesday morning. I've also learned that my relaxation quotient is directly proportion to how many days till our next service :) So in that respect, Mondays are as relaxed as I get.

Pastors

I just overheard a conversation between Summer and a friend. Summer's friend asked her what I did. Summer told her that I am a pastor. She said, "I thought he only did that on Sundays." Summer said, "No, he has to memorize stuff during the week."

There you have it. The mystery is resolved. That is what pastors do during the week :) Lots of memorization! I just wanted to clear up this misconception that pastors only work on Sundays :)

Vive La France

Very cool to have TF1 French Television filming at NCC this morning. Their newscast has a viewing audience of 10 million in France. They are going to do a feature story on NCC. There seems to be some European intrigue about non-traditional churches in the US.

It was also cool to meet Ken and Gina Witcher. They did a little recon with us this weekend. They are headed to Paris to plant a church in a movie theater near a subway stop. How cool is that? I can't be around a church planter without getting fired up!

You never know how God is going to use this kind of story. We don't really seek out these kinds of stories. But I always hope and pray that God uses them in some small way. If they give people a positive impression of the church then it's worth it.

The Neurology of Faith

Am I getting old? Man, I don't know why but three messages per weekend is pushing me these days. I almost lost my voice in the 11:00. But I feel like a wimp because I have friends who are preaching five times each weekend!

Great start to The Neurology of Faith series. A new series has a way of generating momentum. I was actually a little nervous going into it. These series require twice as much study because you're juxtaposing theology and neurology. Plus someone emailed me and told me that a group of neurologists who had read my book, ID: The True You, were really looking forward to getting the podcast. I better work on my neurological pronunciations :)

In this opening message I actually touched on some themes that have been threads in my teaching for several years. For what it's worth, I used to think I had to say stuff I've never said before every week. I used to think "old material" was a crutch. And then I realized two things:

1) People forget 95% of what you say in three days anyway.
2) If it's worth saying it's worth repeating!

Some series have very little "old material." Some of them have more. But I think 80% new material is a good rule of thumb. And 20% is worth saying over and over again. For me, that 20% are the core convictions and core values that are part of our DNA. Today was probably a fifty-fifty message. I used alot of themes I've talked about before. But the rest of the series will probably be eighty-twenty.

Anywho.

It was amazing how many people expressed gratitude that we weren't afraid to delve into the realm of science with a series. I think there are alot of spiritual scientific types who crave this kind of series.

I honestly don't get the false dichotomy we've created between science and religion. I think Ralph Waldo Emerson was right: "The religion that is afraid of science dishonors God and commits suicide."

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Galapagoes

Just had a team meeting for our Galapagos missions trip. Pretty fired up about going. We broadcast our messages on the Unsion Network in South America and our mission is to get this station broadcast on the Galapagos Islands and raise awareness of the program. So we'll do a little hut-to-hut action island-to-island.

Part of the reason I love going on mission trips is because I don't lead. I just serve. It's an opportunity for me to just be part of a team and part of a mission. I'm also excited that my son, Parker, is coming along. We really want our kids to get a heart for missions.

It was fun brushing up on my Spanish during the meeting too :) I learned how to say I live in a van down by the river in Spanish. I also learned that names are so much more fun to say in Spanish!

You hablo un poco espanol. Emphasis on un poco.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Reading Layout

So I went to do a video shoot for this weekend and when I came back the document I was working on looked different. I was editing a chapter of In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day and there were random sentences consisting of letters repeated about twenty times. And I had never seen a dual-page layout in Word.

It was an unsolved mystery till I discovered that Josiah had hopped on my computer while I was gone. Fortunately, he didn't delete anything. And I'm sure copy editors will catch any sentences that consist of a few letters repeated multiple times. But the funny this is this: Josiah discoved a feature on my computer that I didn't even know existed. I had no idea there was a Reading Layout in Word but it is revolutionizing my life :) I actually think it'll help me write this book :) I can see the text in book format. How cool is that?

I think I'm going to let Josiah get on my computer more often and see what he discovers. I've always wondered if there was a delete feature I don't know about :) That would be so great if I could just delete instead of starting a new document every time I made a mistake :) What if that feature already existed and I didn't know about it :)

Last Day of School

Is there anything greater than the feeling on the last day of school? Today is it. We have an annual tradition in our family. We bike to school on the last day. And it's an absolutely beatimus day!

Good times. Good times.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Book Sculpting

I'm about T-minus three days from my manuscript deadline for In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day. I still have quite a bit of plowing and pruning left to do, but the manuscript is really taking shape. I've been so encouraged by so many people randomly saying that they are praying for me! Even people I've never met. It gives me a sense of destiny about the book.

I think writing is like sculpting. At first there is more stone than sculpture and you wonder if what you envisioned will ever take shape. But there comes a point where the sculpture is literally coming out of the stone and you begin to see with your physical eye what you imagined in your mind's eye.

I can't believe how different the final manuscript is from the original manuscript. Night and day. Two totally different books. While I hope I don't have to write two manuscripts for every book that gets publish, I feel so much better about the revised manuscript than the original manscript. I think it'll be worth every ounce of extra energy!

Back to chiselling.

Good Intentions

I have a friend, Zeb Mengistu, who pastors the church we are helping to plant in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Zeb is the kind of guy that can't open his mouth without saying something profound. His insight into Scripture always inspires me. I just got an excerpt from his message this weekend that I thought I would share.

You remember the way David's older brother, Eliab, gave him a hard time when David started asking questions about Goliath? In fact, Scripture says he burned with anger. Then he talked ancient smack. "Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle."

Ouch! In the words of Tommy Boy, "That's gonna leave a mark!"

I love David's typical little brother response: "What have I done now? I was only asking a question." I think he probably said geez somewhere in there too :)

Here is Zeb's take:

David had good intentions, but they were misinterpreted. People will not celebrate or accept your intentions. You will waste your time fighting to prove your intentions. But where intentions are not celebrated, fruit is. The very ones who reject your intentions will rejoice over your fruit. In fact, by fighting to justify your intentions you compromise your fruit. We must learn to let our fruit fight for us. Scripture says that wisdom is proved right by her children. Wisdom does not fight for herself, her children do. Instead of fighting for man's approval, we must fight for God's approval because, "if God is for us, who can be against us?"

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Philly Cheesesteak

Just got back from Philly. Some of our team got up early today and made the drive up I95 to meet with some pastors to talk church planting and multi-site.

Here I am enjoying my first Philly Cheesesteak. I'd heard so much about both Pat's and Geno's that I had one from each. And my verdict is...drum roll...I know this may get me in trouble...Pat's it is :)

Here's my first bite!

Monday, June 05, 2006

Adenotonsillectomy

The Batterson family is breathing a sigh of relief. After years of marveling at the enormity of Josiah's tonsils, and listening to him snore like an old man, we finally had his tonsils and adnoids removed this morning. It was a tough decision, but we felt like it was in his best long-term interest.

Unfortunately, Josiah doesn't exactly have a high threshold for pain and he definitely doesn't like doctors. But we're thanking God for sedatives :) Josiah was absolutely hilarious. He was punch drunk. Lora and I could hardly contain the laughter. He was making faces and saying things that were so cute they shouldn't be legal.

I went into the operating room with Josiah while they gave him the anesthesia. It was a little unnerving. I've had half a dozen surgeries, but it's more difficult being on the parent end of the equation.

Josiah made it through surgery with flying colors. And he was pretty funny post-op too. He said he didn't want to go home. He wanted to go to Ebenezers to get an Ebenezer Freezer. We mistakenly said we're "going home" about a dozen times and everytime Josiah corrected us in less than a nanosecond. I want to go to Ebenezers! If we could have captured it on film it would have made a great commercial endorsement for Ebenezers coffeehouse.

We're thanking God that this surgery is behind us!

The amazing thing is that we can already tell a difference in his voice! No more nasal sounds. Lora said it sounded like he sucked helium :)

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Weekend Reflections

Great weekend.

Our big idea this weekend was no excuses and Heather Zempel, our pastor of discipleship, hit it out of the park. I felt like I was in the locker room getting a pep talk from my college basketball coach!

We really wanted to kick off our summer semester the right way. I'm hoping alot of NCCers get inspired to plug into a small group and plug into a ministry.

I also enjoyed just going to church with my family today :) I don't get to do that very often!

We did a connection point at our Ballston location and I met a guest who came to NCC via podcast. I guess she discovered the theaterchurch.com podcast via churchmarketingsucks.com and realized we were local. Pretty cool. Remember the days when people found churches in the yellow pages :)

The Writing Wall

You know how long-distance runner's talk about the wall. It's right around mile 18 during a 26.2 mile marathon that you hit a psychological and physical wall. And you either stop or you push through the pain.

I think there is a writer's wall. And I definitely hit it yesterday. I just felt like my head was swimming. But I really feel like prayer keeps helping me push through the walls.

I've got the entire rough draft done at this point. But it's closer to 60,000 words and I've got to get it to below 50,000 words for sure.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Be Yourself

Just had a conversation with a pastor who is really questioning whether or not to stay at the church he is currently at. He said something that really struck me. He said, "I don't feel like I can totally be myself."

I've blogged this before, but let me say it again. I am so grateful for a church where I can dress up in a Mr. Incredible Suit, river dance in the reflecting pool, or chase geese in the Anacostia river. In other words, I'm grateful for a church where I can be myself.

In the long run, I wonder if trying to be a "pastor" sometimes gets in the way of being ourselves. Life is too short. You've got to know who you are. You've got to know who you're not.

I honestly think my first few years of ministry I was really trying to be a pastor. Now I'm trying to be myself. There is a subtle yet significant difference!

Be Yourself.

Book Review

Just wanted to recommend another book.

The title is Breaking the missional Code by Ed Stetzer and David Putnam. I spoke at a church planting conference last year and heard Ed talk about some of the themes in the book. First of all, I really like the guy. I like reading people I like. Secondly, I think he is one of the leading minds in America right now on church planting.

One thing he said was so good: "We need to stop t