What a week. Just got back from New York and I'm headed to San Diego. Really excited about speaking to church planters at the National Church Planting Summit for the Assemblies of God.

The great irony of a week like this is that travel time is some of my most productive time. I feel like I'm able to get out of my routine and think 30,000 foot thoughts. I don't get as much uninterrupted reading time as I used to so I actually enjoy a good book on a long flight.

See you in San Diego.

Headed back to DC via train this afternoon. Throughly enjoyed Ethos and New York City.

Huge props to the entire Mosaic Team for pulling off a great event. After hosting a conference last year I realize how tough it is. And thanks to Steve Saccone for the invitation to be part of it.

Thanks for challenging and blessing lots of pastors this week!

Lora and I found a cool diner near Columbia Univesity that ought to look familiar if you're a Seinfeld fan. Good eats!

Man, New York has a zillion diners!

Had dinner with Erwin McManus and the Mosaic crew last night. Uber-impressed with their entire tribe! Also enjoyed connecting with some pastors around the table including a couple new friends, Thor and Vidar, from Norway! Good food. Good fellowship. Good times.

Excited to see the way the mosaic alliance will evolve as a network of churches. I continue to see this trend of churches affiliating based on philosophy rather than theology. It seems like church movements used to be bound more by a common theology, but newer church movements are bound more by a common philosophy of ministry.

Thought I'd blog some thoughts on Erwin's session.

I've always resonated with Erwin. My neck is sore from nodding during his session! I love his unique perspective and voice!

Here are some Erwinisms:

"Studying the Bible doesn't change people. Just look at seminaries."

Love the distinction Erwin made between knowledge and obedience. The true measure of spiritual maturity is not how much we know but how much we obey. And the truth is--all of us are educated way beyond our level of obedience! We certainly need to keep learning. But our primary problem isn't a lack of knowledge. Our primary problem is that we aren't obeying what we know!

I love the way Erwin validated ambition. I think God wants to sanctify our competitive streaks and use them to serve God's purposes. Erwin said, "Selfish ambition is a bad thing, but ambition is a good thing. I don't want apathy to feign as humility."

There is a new demand for authenticity and honesty! People aren't looking for perfect pastors. They are looking for human pastors who share their struggles. Erwin said, "Take people into your process." He said people are sick of sermons! They want to be invited into your conversation with God.

Two biblical analogies really impacted me.

Erwin cited the story of the Israelites moving with the cloud. When the cloud moved they moved. When the cloud stopped they stopped. I love Erwin's simple observation: don't be still when God is moving and don't be moving when God is still.

Erwin also said that leaders need to identify what drains them. He said one minute of counseling is more of a drain than an hour of strategizing for him. He referenced the story of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment. Identify what drains you?

Just heard Pete Scazzero, author of The Emotionally Healthy Church.

Here are some thoughts and reflections:

Most people in most churches are living off someone else's spirituality. Think of it as vicarious spirituality. It's very similar to reality TV. We're spiritual voyeurs! And it's as old Moses. Read the story in Exodus. The Israelites didn't want to go up Mount Sinai. They wanted Moses to seek God for them!

Pete shared some of his personal journey. He talked about the way our unhealthy family patterns find their way into our churches. Fascinating to think about the way our genogram affects the way we pastor. A pastor's personal problems become church problems. A pastor's immaturities become church immaturies. That's tough to blog, but it is part of the burden we bear as pastors. And it is a reminder that the key to church growth is personal growth. I've always believed that NCC can't outgrow me as the undershepherd. And if it does outgrow me it's actually a very dangerous scenario!

The most convicting part of his session was his discussion about the 4th Commandment. Leaders have a hard time keeping the sabbath! We mistakenly think that everything revolves around us and depends on us. The sabbath is a reminder that the world doesn't fall apart when we take the day off. Part of what makes this one tough for me is that I love what I do! Add in a driven personality and multiple callings to pastor and write and I realize that doing ministry in a sustainable way is my greatest challenge right now! I don't have it figured out, but I'm so keenly aware of it.

By the way, Eugene Peterson said, "A day off is a bastard sabbath." A day off is a day off. A sabbath is for resting, delighting, contemplating, and stopping. Scazzero said, "I need a day off to have a Sabbath."

Here's a thought: the greatest disservice a pastor can do to the church is to put the church before their family! Way too many pastors have sacrificed their children on the altar of church! A powerful reminder: you made a vow to your wife not your church!

I loved some of the thoughts Pete Scazzero shared on preaching.

He talked about pre-mature sermons that haven't had time to gestate. Every pastor identifies with that. It is so hard to have a fresh word from God week in and week out. The key is preaching out of experience. I love what Scazzero said, "I've determined to start my sermons with prayer, not a clever illustration."

Lora and I thoroughly enjoyed the train ride to New York. Pretty convenient having an office half a block from the Union Station. We just hopped over to the station, hopped on the train, and hopped off in New York.

You can feel the energy when you come out of Penn Station onto W 34th Street. New York has such a unique vibe. Walked from Penn Station, through Times Square, to our hotel. Not easy navigating those sidewalks in rush hour with a suitcase :) After checking in, our first stop was Carnegie Deli. Enough said.

The opening sessions of Ethos were amazing.

Their artisans did a performance called Scribble that was as good as anything you'd see on Broadway. The dancing and singing and humor added up to a cool celebration of uniqueness. Loved the way they used the scribble metaphor to validate drawing outside the lines. Also made me reevaluate the way we preach. There will always be a place for traditional teaching but we also need new ways of communicating ancient truths. I think I saw one tonight.

Here are a few of my random takeaways from Erwin's session:

Mosaic has a unique name for everything! They take naming seriously! Even their staff members have superhero names! For what it's worth, I think the number of nicknames on a staff is a good barometer of culture! Even Jesus had nicknames for his disciples--The Rock, Sons of Thunder, etc.

I also love the way their teams are called tribes. And from what I can gather, they have an artisan tribe that consists of music and art; a futurist tribe that is their kids ministry; and a connection tribe that does assimilation. I honestly love the way they rename positions and ministries. Renaming is one way of personalizing something.

I love the way Erwin frames the church--a movement of dreamers and visionaries. And he made an interesting distinction that made me think: "You can't change history. You can only create the future."

Erwin talked about I Chronicles 11 where King David conquers Jerusalem and he gave his men a litmus test. He said that whoever led the attack would get to command his troops. In other words, whoever takes the biggest risk gets to lead. What if we put people into leadership positions using the same litmus test? We don't just need leaders who know. We need leaders who do. Authority based on action!

I also found it interesting that Mosaic doesn't pay its artists to perform. He said they couldn't afford them! He said they pay people to identify, develop, and unleash talent.

So impressed with their focus on helping people identify their God-ordained passions and pursue them! And its so much more than taking people through a spiritual gift assessment. Mosaic seems to live, eat, and breath this stuff. They have created what this conference is about--an Ethos that celebrates the unique gifts and passions of each individual.

I'm on the road all week this week.

Heading up to New York City for the Ethos gathering.

Love NY City! Can't wait to get a corned beef sandwich at Carnegie Deli. Just blogging that makes me salivate! Throw in Times Square and Central Park and Erwin McManus and it should be a great couple of days!

FYI--every Ethos attendee will get a free copy of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day compliments of the Mosaic Alliance.

Then I'm flying out to San Diego to speak at the National Church Planting Summit for the Assemblies of God. Love connecting with church planters!

Just an FYI. We got some new chase the lion t-shirts.

We added a red t-shirt, a women's black tunic and a white long-sleeve termal. If you want to order a t-shirt, email amanda@theaterchurch.com.

So encouraged by the stories I'm hearing about the way God is using In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. Thanks for the emails! Seems like its inspiring lots of people to chase lions and it seems like alot of spiritual seekers are reading the book.

The sovereignty of God never ceases to amaze me! He has a way of getting the book into the right hands at the right time! Someone emailed me last week and said they got a copy right before their daughter had to be rushed to the shock trauma unit of their local hospital. She read the book during some tense moments in a hospital waiting room.

I still remember praying for divine appointments before the book even went to press. I like blogging answers to those prayers as a way of giving credit where credit is due.

Just thought I'd share the story behind the story.

Not sure if I've ever blogged about this before, but I actually wrote the book twice. My editors encouraged me to ditch the first manuscript because of one word in one version of the Bible. The New Living Translation says Benaiah chased the lion.

It was a little depressing to think about rewriting the book, but I'm awfully glad in retrospect. It just seems like chasing lions is the key metaphor. That one word--chase--turned a reactive book into a proactive book. Pretty wild to think that the word chase wasn't even in the first manuscript.

I continue to pray that God would use the book to raise up a generation of lion chasers!

The Batterson home is officially decorated for Christmas!

We got the lights and ornaments on our Christmas tree. We got all of our seasonal decor up including a wreath on our front door. Of course, we have to take it in at night. City living! We learned that lesson our first Christmas in DC. If you leave your wreath on the door overnight, you may be donating it :) Ah, the spirit of Christmas!

The kids put up Christmas lights in their rooms. It was so easy to get them to go to bed tonight! Maybe we'll have to go to year-around Christmas lights :)

We usually have about 50% of our normal attendance on the weekend after Thanksgiving and this weekend was true to form. We definitely had some out of town families visiting DC--very cool to meet parents of NCCers. But when your church is 73% twenty-somethings most of them go home for the holidays. Such is life!

Very rarely do I preach on Thanksgiving weekend. I usually try to take a break so I can totally focus on family, but because we're in the middle of the Chase the Lion series I was in the saddle.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the annual turkey bowl. Every year we find a spot on the National Mall and play a game of touch football the day after Thanksgiving. It's an NCC tradition! The funny thing is that the day after Thanksgiving is a huge tourist day in DC and for some strange reason we were a little bit of a tourist attraction. I saw several people stop and take pictures of us playing football with the Capitol in the backdrop.

My shoulder is sore from playing quarterback. My hamstrings are sore from playing a little cornerback. And I've definitely lost half a step :) But what a blast. I think ex-athletes have this sadistic side that loves the soreness. It hurts but it feels great.

If you see me limping into the pulpit this weekend you'll know why!

All four gospels record the story of Jesus multiplying the five loaves and two fish. And all four gospels say that Jesus gave thanks! Read the story. It doesn't say that Jesus asked for what he wanted. It says that Jesus gave thanks for what he had.

Scripture is kaleidoscopic.

On one level, this is a story about the mathematics of faith. When you have faith, 5 + 2 = 5000 R12. But it is also a story about thanksgiving. Jesus gave thanks for what little he had and the Father multipled what little he had so it was more than enough. A little thanksgiving was the difference between being 4,993 meals short and having 12 baskets of leftovers!

I think there is a profound spiritual truth in this story: if you keep giving thanks God will keep multiplying blessings! I think the natural tendency is to focus on what we don't have. And if we focus on the 5000, we won't be grateful for the 5 loaves and 2 fish. But if we keep giving thanks for the 5 loaves and 2 fish, God will keep feeding the 5000! The key to multiplication is thanksgiving!

If we keep giving thanks for the little stuff then God will keep doing the big stuff.

We went over to Arlington National Cemetery to shoot a video on inaction regrets today. What a beautiful day. And what a sacred place.

We're really trying to push ourselves during this Chase the Lion series to shoot an offsite video for each message. Not only does it mix things up and add a multi-sensory element to our services. Those videos will become part of a DVD curriculum for churches that want to use In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day as a small group or church wide message series.

Our goal is to put together a chase the lion package for churches that would include DVDs, CDs, transcripts, trailers, graphics, and bookmarks. Hoping to have the package ready to roll right after our seven-week series finishes on December 17.

Had a 3 hour meeting with our Executive Leadership Team last night and a 4 hour meeting with our Stewardship Team today!

I feel like one of my roles as lead pastor is to keep us focused on the mission of making disciples. I want to make sure that we don't stop doing what got us here! I've seen too many churches get side-tracked and become more consumed with committee meetings than the Great Commission.

Having said that, I actually enjoy the business side of ministry. I love the different hats I wear as pastor. My primary ministry hats are preacher, counselor, and vision caster. But pastors wear a variety of business hats--pastors have to be part real estate agent, financial advisor, insurance agent, lawyer, and CEO.

The key is remembering that the goal of ministry is ministry! Things like staffing structure and insurance policies and budgets and bylaws are means to an end. But I do think the Holy Spirit wants to anoint our financial decisions as much as He wants to anoint our sermons! Business decisions are spiritual decisions!

I continue to marvel at God's faithfulness and the faithful giving of NCCers. Right now we're on pace for 27% growth in giving from 05 to 06. I don't take that for granted. When I see our financial reports they are spiritual moments for me. And I'm so grateful for our Stewardship Team! We've come a long way. We didn't even operate on a budget five years ago! Sure seems like the bigger our vision the greater God's pro-vision!

Right around Thanksgiving time every year I go into strategy mode! I start thinking about sermon strategy, marketing strategy, staffing strategy, and development strategy for the next year. And the rest of our staff starts developing their ministry strategy--things like outreach strategy and discipleship strategy. We'll do a planning retreat the first week of December where we'll regroup, reprioritize, and reimagine the future of NCC. And because NCC is morphing so much right now we're actually hiring an outside consultant for the first time. I just feel like we need someone from the outside to give us a little insight.

I think 06 has been our greatest year yet! The convergence of so many dreams and callings! Everything from opening the doors to our coffeehouse on Capitol Hill to hosting our first Buzz Conference to launching two Saturday night services to our most successful semester of small groups this fall.

It just feels like we're hitting on all eight cylinders right now and I can't wait to see how that translates in 2007! Pretty fired up about launching NCC en Espanol and our next theater location in NW DC.

Definitely seeking God for lots of wisdom right now!

Just finished my last staff evaluation.

Here are the questions that we use to guide our conversation. We're more relational and less formal in the way we approach things as NCC. And the tension I'm feeling right now is how do we keep our chemistry and change our chart. We desperately need to restructure so that less people are reporting to me. But with that we lose our flat structure where it's a level playing field. I don't want to lose our collegial approach, but I don't want to lose my mind either :)

We ask employees to rate themselves on a 1-5 scale in seven competencies: initiative, team player, organization, follow-through, communication, integrity, productivity, and attitude. We also ask them to rate their job performance and job satisfaction.

Then we use seven questions to guide the evaluation:

1) What do you enjoy most and least about your ministry?
2) What do you feel are your greatest strengths and weakness?
3) Are there any issues you'd like to discuss?
4) Do you need clarification on any part of your portfolio?
5) Any part of your portfolio you want to add, subtract, or delegate?
6) What are your top priorities/goals for next year?
7) How can I help you reach those goals?

My goal as an employer is to make sure our staff has room to grow. And that means they might not do what they do forever. In fact, I really feel like we need to shuffle the deck periodically to give people new challenges.

I honestly try to make the portfolio fit the employee versus making the employee fit the portfolio. There are certainly seasons where you have staff doing a job that isn't a perfect fit. And all of us have parts of our portfolio we don't enjoy, but I'm committed to helping staff find that perfect portfolio.

I genuinely want people to enjoy working at NCC!

That is the bottom line for me.

My friends over at churchmarketingsucks.com have entered the world of t-shirts :) You definitely need to check them out. My personal favorite is the dinosaur t-shirt that says we've always done it this way. Also like the chistianese t-shirt spelled backwards.

Love the way CMS is pushing the creative envelope!

Found out last week that In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is going to a second printing. Hopefully that second run will be off the press before Christmas.

Not sure how many copies are left from the first print run, but if you're thinking about giving the book as a stocking stuffer, it might be worth ordering a copy sooner than later :)

You can get individual copies @ amazon.com for 20% off.
Churches can bulk order copies @ feedingthefold.com for 50% off in November.

We had our first baptism at Ebenezers tonight. Several NCCers went public with their faith. Historically, we have done our baptisms at the Chesapeake Bay or Atlantic Ocean. But we've always wanted an indoor option so we could do baptisms more regularly. Enter Ebenezers, lots of candles, and a portable baptistry.

I loved the setup. And it was really cool doing the baptism in the context of Catacombs--our quarterly worship event.

What a weekend.

Hung out with Chris Seay, pastor of Ecclesia in Houston, after our Saturday night services.

Chris is such a down-to-earth guy--what you see is what you get. Love his heart and vision. The longer I pastor the more grateful I am for a handful of pastor friends who identify with the same issues and challenges. I'm sure other occupations are the same way, but there is a trench effect amongst pastors! Talked some about balancing ministry and family and writing.

Chris is spearheading a unique Bible translation project called The Voice that is seeking to retell the story of Scripture via words, art, and song. Pretty amazing undertaking!

After one of our services this weekend, someone came up to me and told me they had brought someone to service who they had been praying for for thirty years! Somehow he picked up a copy of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day; discovered NCC was in the hood; and came to church after an awfully long hiatus.

That'll make your day!

What a feeling--to feel like you're part of the answer to someone's prayer. A reminder of the sovereignty of God.

Nothing greater than helping people find their way back to God.

We did a Thanksgiving dinner for our homeless friends at Ebenezers today. Rented linens. Lots of sparkling grape juice. And we even had a harpist! I honestly think it's the best use of Ebenezers thus far! We packed out the place.

So grateful for our outreach ministries at NCC--the lifeblood of who we are. We love to show the love of Christ in very practical ways. Serious props to our leaders and volunteers, but I honestly think we're the beneficiaries when we serve like that. On a personal note, I love the fact that my kids have opportunities like this to serve.

I've always felt like how much we give to missions and how much we care for the poor are blesssing barometers. If we keep doing those things God will keep blessing!

I know that every church looks different and plays a different role in the Kingdom. And a church in the city is in closer proximity to raw physical need. But if we are really serious about following in Jesus footsteps we've got to be meeting the needs around us. And it can't just be a "Thanksgiving thing." It's got to be a DNA thing.

I did a little devotional for a coffeehouse staff today.

Great opportunity to remind ourselves of why we're doing what we're doing. The vision for Ebenezers has always been a place where the church and community can cross paths.
The conventional place to congregate in first century Israel was the synagogue, but Jesus hung out at wells. Wells were more than just a place to draw water. They were natural gathering places in ancient culture! I think coffeehouses are natural gathering places in post-modern culture. And instead of drawing water we pull shots of espresso!

I shared some thoughts from John 4.

A Samaritan woman has a Christ encounter at Jacob's well. And a single conversation changes her spiritual trajectory. In fact, Jesus stayed there for two days and many of the Samaritans in that town became Christ followers! Generations of families were impacted and it all traces back to Jesus hanging out at wells!

The significance of that is this: if Jesus had stayed in the synagogue he would have never met this woman! She wasn't welcome in the synagogue--she was a Samaritan and she had a long sexual history! And I think that is precisely why Jesus hung out at wells. I think we've forgotten that ministry is proximity!

Here is my sixth sense: I think God is calling the church out of the church and back into the middle of the marketplace.

Ebenezers is a response to that callling.

We dug through our video archive today and found a VHS tape from Easter of 1996. It was a record attendance Sunday--42 people. It was funny seeing those old faces. I just kept saying, "That person left. That person left. That person left." The funny thing is that I can't blame them! The only reason I attended the church back then was because I had to--I was the pastor!

The funniest thing about the video is that I'm wearing a suit. And old-school glasses had to be the largest glasses on the face of the face! Holy Cow. We laughed so hard.

My peripheral vision was amazing back in the day! I think my glasses could have doubed as solar panels for the Pentagon! The only thing is that I had to hire a window cleaning company to clean the lenses!

If you're struggling with pride, just look at an old picture from about ten years ago! Works wonders!

I feel like I've been in a pit for the last two days. When was the last time I went 48 hours without blogging :) Been doing staff evaluations and shooting videos . FYI--based on the comment stream, I'll definitely blog some additional thoughts on how we staff and staff evaluations.

In the midst of busyness, I love the way God gives us little reminders of why we're doing what we're doing! I met with someone who is getting baptized this weekend. I love hearing stories of how people find their way back to God. And I'll never take for granted that we get to be part of that Master plan!

Is there anything more amazing? Any greater privilege?

So one of the baristas at Ebenezers showed me the front page of the Washington Times from Wednesday. And we cannot confirm it 100%, but it sure looks like an Ebenezers coffee cup made the front page of the paper :)

Decide for yourself.

This week's webcast is live @ theaterchurch.com. It's week two in our Chase the Lion series. I talked about facing your fears.

I also send out an email version of my message each week. You can sign-up here.

It is evaluation week at NCC. I'm meeting with all of my direct reports to do year-end reviews.

It's amazing how a few simple questions can promote such healthy conversation. My goal is to make sure that everybody on our team enjoys their job. I think job performance is really a function of job satisfaction. I'm less concerned with performance than I am with satisfaction!

So one question I ask our staff is what they'd like to add or subtract from their current portfolio? I really want to know what people enjoy most and least about what they do. Too often we try to make people fit their portfolios. I think that is backwards. I think portfolios ought to morph to fit staff--sort of like a pair of shoes.

I also ask staff if they have any issues they want to talk about. It's sort of an open-ended question that allows for honest dialogue. I really want to create an environment where people feel like they can verbalize issues instead of internalizing them.

During a week like this I am reminded of something I've said a thousand times: how much you enjoy ministry is largely determined by who you're doing ministry with.

The most important and most difficult decisions leaders make are staffing decisions. Hands down. They are the riskiest and lonliest decisions.

I had a cyst on my pointer finger removed two weeks ago and I went to get the stitches out today. Pretty wild. Without even asking me, the doctor handed me the tweezers and had me pull out my own stitches.

I still had to pay for the visit :)

A lot of bloggers have done reviews of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. Much appreciated by the way :) But this one is pretty unique. It's chase the lion week.

You can read a book review and watch the Rocky VI trailer all at the same time!

By the way, if In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy is ever made into a movie I definitely think Sylvester Stallone would have to be cast as Benaiah. Benaiah was part Rocky and part Rambo.

And yes, I'm still living in the 80's and proud of it :)

We had a leadership summit this weekend and I shared some personal reflections with our leaders. It's an opportunity for me to zoom out and share 30,000 foot reflections.

We are in a season of blessing at NCC.

It's remarkable when I look back at the last six months. We've opened a coffeehouse on Capitol Hill and launched two Saturday night services. We hosted our first Buzz Conference. We have seventy-six groups meeting this semester. And we've experienced a pretty remarkable growth spurt over the last few months.

I'm extremely grateful for all of the above, but it is coupled with a high degree of solemnity.

Here are seven reminders I shared with our leaders:

1) The bigger we get the more grounded we have to stay

Two words in I Corinthians 3:5 are a vital reminder--"only servants."

I think we have to continually remind ourselves that all we are only servants. No more. No less. Only servants! We have the privilege of planting and watering, but only God gives the increase!

One of the grave dangers that come with the blessings of God is that we can think we had something to do with it. Divine blessings can result in human pride. And if those blessings result in pride it would have been better if we hadn't been blessed in the first place! More often than not, God blesses us in spite of us not because of us!

Here is something I've noticed over the past year. People think I know more than I know because I've written some magazine articles and spoken at some conferences. I hate to say it, but I don't know more now than I knew then. I Corinthians 8:2 is a great gut check for leaders. "The man who thinks he knows does not yet know as he ought to know."

2) The bigger we get the more above reproach we need to be

I made a decision years ago that I would never be alone with a woman besides my wife. That may sound legalistic, but I felt like it was a safeguard against compromise. Leaders have to take extra measures to protect themselves against themselves and protect themselves against those with ungodly motives.

I have taken measures with my writing and speaking to make sure that I'm above financial reproach. For example, I always want NCC to be the direct or indirect beneficiary of everything I do. We've made arrangements with our stewardship team so that I don't benefit more from the sales of my books at NCC than NCC does. Is that necessary? I guess you could argue that it isn't, but I think it is.

I Corinthians 10:23 says, "Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial." As our leadership expands there can be an unhealthy and unholy tendency toward the permissible end of the spectrum! Guard against it. As our influence expands, I think it is vitally important that leaders move toward the beneficial end of that spectrum!

3) The bigger we get the harder it is to maintain unity

Ephesians 4:3 says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." No easy task as a church gets bigger! It was easy to manage sibling rivalry when we only had one child. A lot tougher with three kids! Our church family is no different.

Vision is the key to unity. As a church gets larger you not only need more vision. You need to cast that vision more frequently!

One other thought for pastors. It's ok for people to leave your church. Some people leave for the right reasons. Some people leave for the wrong reasons. Some people leave because there is something wrong with us. Some people leave because there is something wrong with them. We need to learn from all of the above! But the bottom line is this: you can't be all things to all people.

Pruning is normal and natural. It is less painful now than it was when we were a church plant with a few dozen people. We'd take all the dysfunctional people we could get! I have since learned that people need to attend a church they believe in enough to invite their unchurched friends to. That is the litmus test. Dead weight doesn't do anybody any good. I'd much rather have someone happy at another church than unhappy at NCC.

Pruning is part of preserving the integrity and unity of a church!

4) The bigger we get the more complicated things get

Confession time: sometimes I feel like crawling into a hole!

Pastoring isn't getting easier! It's getting harder. But I have to remind myself that the reward for good work in the parable of the talents wasn't less work. It wasn't an early retirement or extended vacation. The reward for good work was more work!

As leaders we have to guard against the Egypt tendency--there will always be people who want to return to the land of familiarity! Some people will want to go backwards. Some people will want to return to the good old days when everybody knew everybody and we sang out of hymnals.

All I know is this: as long as there is one more person who needs a relationship with Christ we need to keep growing. And as we grow, it'll get more and more complicated.

5) The bigger we get the more we have to guard our hearts

As we get bigger so does the target on our back!

We have to make sure we're doing ministry out of the overflow of what God is doing in our own lives! We need to make sure God is doing something in us not just through us! We have to make sure we're doing ministry at a pace that is sustainable! We have to make sure that we are seeking God day in and day out. We have to make sure we're doing the right things for the right reasons. And we have to make sure our heart is in the right place.

Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life."

6) The bigger we get the better stewards we need to be

It seems like God is explanding our local influence in the Washington, DC area. And in 2007 we'll launch NCC en Espanol as well as our fourth location in Northwest DC.

God is also expanding our national influence. We feel called to be a teaching church. That certainly doesn't mean we have it all figured out, but God seems to be opening lots of doors of opportunity. We want to be very intentional about sharing our best practices and lessons learned with other churches.

As we get bigger the stakes get higher!

Luke 12:48 says, "From everything who have been given much, much will be demanded."

7) The bigger we get the more we have to remind ourselves of why we're doing what we're doing and who we're doing it for

I've said it a thousand times, but I'll say it again. One of the greatest dangers we face is learning how and forgetting why. We stop doing ministry out of imagination and start doing ministry out of memory. We stop creating the future and start repeating the past.

One of the dangers a growing church faces is the temptation to stop doing what got them there! It is so easy to become reactionary or bureaucratic. My role as pastor is protector of the DNA. I need to make sure we keep replicating the DNA that makes us who we are! I need to make sure we keep living out our core values and core convictions. As leaders, our most important and most difficult job is creating and managing culture!

My life has changed dramtically over the past year, but I don't want to change. What I mean by that is this: I don't want to become who I'm not! And the key is remembering why I'm doing what I'm doing and who I'm doing it for!

Am I building altars to God or monuments to myself? Saul went from building altars to God in I Samuel 14:35 to building monuments to himself in I Samuel 15:12. The more insecure we are the more monuments we'll try to build. Go back to building altars to God.

I asked an author friend for some advice before my book came off the press and I got some great advice: "The longer you do this, the more you'll get pushed. And you need to know what's okay for you. That's between you and Jesus. And you need to know, because if you don't, then you'll become the thing you don't want to become."

At the end of the day, the key to leadership is following in the footsteps of Jesus. Follow in His footsteps and you'll never get off track!

Tailgate Jesus!

So we're shooting a video in front of Union Station today and who walks by? John Riggins--former running back for the Washington Redskins. I shook Riggo's hand and we captured it on video. And no, I haven't washed my hand yet. I'm sure he's washed his. Probably several times :)

You never know who you're going to bump into @ Union Station.

I've been getting emails from readers of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. Some of them make me cry. Sorry guys, I've got a sentimental side :) Some of them make me shout. So inspired by the lions people are chasing! This one made me laugh :)

I got a few lions to fight with only a toothpick and a chaquita banana but I am going in swinging!

Love that mental picture :) On guard.

So encouraged by the way God seems to be using In a Pit. Makes all the early mornings and late nights worth it!

I want to be careful to give credit where credit is due. I wrote my heart out, but I really felt like God anointed the words. Don't know how else to say it. I really tried to put our core value into practice: work like it depends on you and pray like it depends on God.

A team of people prayed for every person who would pick up this book. So amazing to see God answer those prayers day after day with person after person! Lots of divine appointments!

Praise God and chase the lion.

I was dialoguing with Kent Shaffer the founder of churchrelevance.com. The church needs to capitalize on the social networking phenomenon that is literally changing the way we relate to each other.

Check out what Kent is doing @ oaktreeidea.com.

The site is designed to help Christians collaborate. I think social networking is one key to evangelism! We've got to be good stewards of our social influence!

Stop. Collaborate. And listen.

So we're in the market for a new mini-van.

Let the games begin.

Decided to take the kids with us today since it was my day off. Thought it might be educational. I wanted to train my padawans in the art of mini-van negotiation :) Sure enough, my kids learned something alright. After seeing the new vans my kids learned that they don't like their old van! Surprise. Surprise. It's no longer cool. Not that mini-vans are cool.

While we're on the topic, I'm going to go on record as saying that I have never based my identity on the vehicles I drive. I would be in a heap of trouble if I did :) I'm a card-carrying, life-long member of the junky car club. I seem to have an inverse relationship with the vehicles I drive. The worse they are the better I feel.

The salesman had to think he had us dead to rights. Our kids weren't exactly discreet about their feelings as we were test-driving the vans. We love this van! This is the best van ever! Can we get this van? Please. Please. Can we?

So much for the art of mini-van negotiation!

FYI--we looked at the Honda Oddysey and Toyota Sienna.

I'll take all the advice I can get :)

The elections are like superbowl Sunday in DC. But the stakes are so high because so many NCCers work on the hill. It's more than an election. Their jobs are in jeopardy every election cycle.

NCC is about as diverse as you can get politically. We've been very intentional since day one about not turning the pulpit into a public policy lecture. NCC is apolitical.

Don't get me wrong. We talk about issues that some people consider political, but the truth is they are spiritual. So it's not that we don't talk about issues. It's just that we're very careful about respecting both sides of the aisle because we're about split down the middle.

Quite a few NCCers lost their jobs when their bosses lost their elections last night. Just mindful of them and praying for them today.

There is so much cynicism outside the beltway about what happens inside the beltway. And certainly some of it is justified. But I have come to respect the people who work day in and day out on Capitol Hill trying to make a difference.

Just felt like paying tribute!

Just got an email from a new NCCer who was dechurched before coming to NCC. What I found fascinating is the way he described himself as an unincorporated christian. For what it's worth, about 50% of NCCers were unincorporated christians before getting plugged in at NCC.

I love hearing stories of people who reconnect with God @ NCC. Spirit fuel. Just seems to be our niche in DC. Nothing like seeing people find their way back to God.

Our theaterchurch.com webcast is live.

Props to David Russell, our digital pastor, on the redesign of our site. Also, thanks to lightcastmedia.com for hooking us up and helping us enter the world of webcast.

Just posted the first message in the Chase the Lion series. It includes the trailer and offsite video we shot at Roosevelt Island.

You can can also check out the microsite for the series @ chasethelion.com.

Just did a short interview with Bob Franquiz. He is spearheading a conference for "churches on the go" called Momentum. It's March 1-2, 2007 in Miami, FL.

I love the concept.

I often describe NCC as a Tabernacle church. There were two places to worship in the Old Testament--the Temple and the Tabernacle. The Temple was stationary. the Tabernacle was mobile. Every time the cloud moved the production team tore down and set back up whenever the cloud stopped. The first multi-site church!

Check out Momentum.

Been reflecting a lot on the Ted Haggard situation. Very sobering. Obviously, a lot of new information has come out since my last post on it along with a long string of comments.

I still stand by my post. When something like this happens we have to look in the mirror. We ought to thank God for his grace. It is a reminder of just how human all of us are. There is a saint in every sinner and a sinner in every saint. And we ought to pray about it more than we talk about it.

I want to add an observation to the mix: know your tendency.

It's been interesting to see and hear the variety of responses to the situation. And it is a reminder, once again, of one of my theological linchpins. Job 11:6 says, "True wisdom has two sides." In other words, truth is found in the tension of opposites. Where there is no tension there is no truth.

So here is what I mean by know your tendency.

John 1:14 says that Jesus was full of grace and truth.

Grace means I'll love you no matter what.
Truth means I'll be honest with you no matter.

Jesus was the perfect combination of both. Unfotunately, most of us aren't :)

So here is my question: are you more grace-oriented or truth-oriented? Where do you fall on the grace-truth spectrum? I think it is important to know your tendency because it will dictate how you to respond to situations like this. And the truth is: one without the other doesn't cut it.

Grace without truth is Christianity without a backbone.
Truth without grace is Christianity without a heart.

Think of it this way.

Salt is a combination of two elements--sodium and chlorine. By itself, sodium is a unstable metal that is highly flamable. By itself, chlorine is a deadly poisonous gas. Combine them and you get a useful food staple known as sodium chloride or salt--the only family of rocks eaten by humans.

By themselves, grace and truth are dangerous. Put them together together and they are a power moral persavative.

So my advice is this: know your tendency!

If Ted Haggard genuinely repents then I don't have a single doubt that God will completely forgive him. Who am I not to? The way we treat those who have fallen is sometimes heartless! We shouldn't put anyone on a pedestal before they fall and we shouldn't throw them under the church bus when they do.

Now let me flip the grace/truth coin.

This isn't a time for us to be politically correct. The world is repulsed by that. So am I. We need to fess up when we mess up. We need to tell the truth, take it on the chin, and let the chips fall where they may. Lies were told. Sins committed. Lots of people were hurt. And leaders are called to live by a higher standard. The more authority the more accountability.

Humbling and sobering. That's what this situation is. Here is my biblical prescription: read Psalm 51. It is David's confession after a very high-profile moral failure. That is my prayer for Ted Haggard. That is my prayer for myself. That is my prayer for you.

All I know is this: I am challenged to guard my own heart.

Just wanted to let you know that In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is a November special on feedingthefold.com. You can get a case of books for 50% off. Pretty sweet deal if you want to use them for small groups, books clubs or a sermon series.

Wow. I gave away a lot of books to church planters for my birthday :) Fun stuff. You gotta try the reverse birthday gift thing if you've never done it before!

It was so cool to hear a few of the church planting stories, but this one impacted me big time. All I know is this: I still want to be chasing lions when I'm 65.

I am a church planter in Texas. At the age of 65 and after 42 years of pastoral ministry, my wife and I stepped out in faith to plant Bayou Community Church in Dickinson, Texas. It seems we are trying to prove that it is never too late to do something new.

Chase the Lion!

Just had lunch with Brad Abare from churchmarketingsucks.com.

Brad is one those guys that is a forward-thinker. I love the way he is pushing the communication envelope within the church.

Brad told me he read In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day in one sitting on the plane from LA to DC. Gotta love plane rides! It's wild how many people have read the book on a plane. Makes sense though. One reason I love plane rides is uninterrupted reading time :) Planes and bathrooms. Wait, did I say that out loud?

Just wrote an article for an upcoming issue of Ministry Today. I love what Matt Green has done with the magazine. Great resource!

Here's an excerpt from the article:

Everything is an experiment.

That is one of our core values at National Community Church. We aren't afraid of making mistakes at NCC. We're afraid of not making mistakes because it means we aren't stretching ourselves! That experimental approach to ministry not only inspires us to try new things. It gives us the freedom to fail.

We view every sermon series as a teaching experiment. Every outreach is an evangelism experiment. Every small group is a discipleship experiment. Building the largest coffeehouse on Capitol Hill and meeting in movie theaters @ metro stops throughout the metro DC area is an experiment in doing church in the middle of the marketplace.

The beauty of this approach to ministry is that it gives you leadership latitude. People are resistant to change, but it's tough to argue with an experiment. After all, it's just an experiment. If it doesn't work, we'll stop doing it. And if it does work, we'll continue improving it. Approaching everything as an experiment not only reduces the tension of opposition. It reduces the pressure to succeed. Some experiments fail and that's ok.

FYI--I share about some of our outreach experiments, sermon experiments, and discipleship experiments in the full article. I'll post a link when the article comes out.

The lion has landed.

We've got the Chase the Lion t-shirts. Totally digging the fit and feel. The black shirt is a reverse seam. The dark grey is a distressed shirt. And the whity tighty is a "normal" t-shirt. We're selling them for $15.

I honesty thinking clothing is advertising. One simple way of sharing your faith is wearing your faith. I think the shirts will be conversation starters!

So here's the deal. You can place an order with Amanda at Amanda@theaterchurch.com.

The cost with shipping is $20.

Just thought I'd share an excerpt from this week's message. You can get every message via email if you sign-up here.

Josiah is going through a fascinating phase right now. He keeps asking us how big God is. We were driving up the George Washington Parkway this week and Josiah said, "Dad, God is bigger than the cars right?" I said, "Yup." He said, "Dad, God is bigger than the trees right?" I said, "Yup."

But my all-time favorite is the question he asked Lora: "Mom, is God bigger than Target?" Lora said, "Josiah, do you mean Target or SuperTarget?" J/K.

God is bigger than SuperTarget!

I find this absolutely fascinating. Josiah is literally trying to figure out how big God is. He's four years-old and he's on a quantum quest to measure the transcendence of God. Must be a pastor's kid!

Now here's the thing. That question--how big is God--may be the most important question you ever ask or answer!

I think A.W. Tozer said it best: "A low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils." But a person with a "high view" of God "is relieved of ten thousand temporal problems."

A small god is the cause of a hundred lesser evils!
A big God is the solution to ten thousand temporal problems!

It is also the difference between scaredy-cats and lion chasers!

If your god is smaller than a 500 pound lion you'll run away! But if your God is bigger than two mighty Moabites, a giant Egyptian, and a 500 pound lion--you might just have the courage to chase!

Chase the Lion.

We had our first basketball practice of the season yesterday. Gotta admit. I'm loving it.

The big challenge at this level is teaching intangibles. It's so hard to teach defensive instincts and court awareness. Also trying to focus on basic skills.

Let the games begin :)

The lion chase begins this weekend.

A few years ago we started producing trailers for our sermon series. Why not? We meet in a movie theater! The seven-part series is based on In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.

Chase the Lion!