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The good and bad of being a Pastor

There's good and bad with the role of a Pastor.  One of the "bad's" is that when I'm speaking on a Sunday, I never get a weekend.  I work Monday through Friday (sometimes I'll cut short Friday by a couple hours), then I'll work at least 2-3 hours on Saturday - going over the full message a couple of times, and narrowing down my notes/outline to what I'll walk on stage with.  Then Sunday I'm at church by about 7:30 am and home around 1 pm.  So, I get some time off, but it's never where we can scoot away for a couple days, go camping, or whatever.

The good is that this morning I dropped the kids off at school and then took a walk with my beautiful wife.  Good times.  Flexibility makes the no weekend thing not such a big deal.

I've done some odd and end things so far this morning - the rest of the day is M & M time:  Meetings and message prep.

new building + growth = no offices

We used about every ounce of our building (we were limited to 12,000 square feet - we couldn't add more), to create as much kids space, auditorium space, and lobby space as possible.  That meant that storage and office space was not a possibility.  And, it's a good thing, because we need every ounce of that space as possible, because we continue to grow.  We've still got lots of room - I think we could have another 100-150 people in each gathering time before we'd need to add a third gathering, but we have to have that space available now.

Of course not having offices or storage space wasn't a big deal because we had offices across the parking lot with storage space there.  But then our economy did a nose dive.  So . . . we've decided that we are going to give up our offices and rent some storage space.  This will save The Journey about $1,200 per/month.  We may have offices again - I'm about 90% sure we will at some point here, but for the time being, we'll be office-less.

It's funny to think that we just got into a new building and we've seen significant growth, so we're closing down our office.  Strange.

Great Day!!

Had an awesome day at The Journey.  Couldn't believe the SNOW!!  But, it didn't keep people away - at least from the second service.  The morning went great & had some really good conversations with people, plus it looks like we're going to have a good crew baptized in a couple weeks.  Those are always great days.

This afternoon I came home with only one thing to focus on:  MSU vs. Louisville for a chance at the Final Four.  I am a HUGE MSU fan, but I didn't think they had a chance vs. Louisville.  I was prepared for a 10+ point loss.  And they ended up winning it BIG.  It was a blast to watch it with my very excited two oldest children.  Memories!

Then, we had a great group meeting tonight at our house.  I love Journey Groups and the connections and friendships they bring. 

It's a big week this week, and we've got an AWESOME surprise at The Journey this next Sunday!  Don't miss it!

Friday Fun

  Would anyone else have a problem with this???

uhm, yeah, those ARE urinals by the way.

Job

Maybe, like many you've lost your job, or you're wondering if you might lose your job.  I was thinking this week about all the uncertainty in life.  I think I like to control my circumstances, so that I know what's coming, so that I can feel secure.  I think "if I can just get these 10 things lined up, I'll feel secure and at peace".  But, it never really works that way.

This week I was thinking of Job.  The Old Testament character.  Who lost EVERYTHING, and yet stayed connected to God, following Him, willing to be uncertain yet still follow.

So, the question that begs asking in my life (and yours as well), is this:  Is God enough for me?

If everything else is gone, if my job is no longer there, if I can't get those 10 things lined up, if a relationship goes south . . . is God enough for me?

I want it to be true.  That no matter what, it's me and God, God and me.  I want to think the best about me, but I fear the worst.  That, if I lost everything, He wouldn't be enough for me.  That I wouldn't be able to be content in just being with Him, connected to Him.

How about you?

UnCERTAINty

We're in a brand new series called UnCERTAINty at The Journey.  I feel like I've been living in "Uncertainty" for the last 6 years!!  When I served in an established church, you could count on about the same amount of people to show up each week, the same offering, you could tell who the guests were because they were someone's family there for the weekend, it very rarely would feel unsettled.

At The Journey we have lived with feeling like every month could potentially be our last.  I don't even know why that is, but no matter how many staff we add, how many new people show up, how large our attendance gets, it still feels very uncertain.  And, for that matter, so does the future.  What will God have us do next?  When and where will we multi-site?  Who will be our Campus Pastor?  What will our budget look like next year?  What leadership areas do we need to grow in this year?  Next year?  The year after?  How will our positions change as we grow?  Uncertainty.

But, since day one, we have been CERTAIN of this:  God called us to reach the unchurched and de-churched along the lakeshore.  Everything else may be uncertain, but this we KNOW!  And, because of that, and because I am CERTAIN of God's love for people disconnected from Him, and because I am CERTAIN that not many other churches are engaging that crowd, I AM CERTAIN that WE ARE NOT DONE and that OUR BEST DAYS OUR AHEAD OF US.  How will that happen?  What will the outcome be?  How will it all shake out?  I'm uncertain.

Marley and Jake

Jen and I went to see Marley and Jake at the cheap theater last night ($1 on Monday's).

It was a little too close to home.  There are some scenes in there of Marley at obedience school (been there with Jake), of him jumping on people (and there), pooping in the lake (been there -sorry!), dragging Jen around (there too), or when Jen (Aniston) screams at Owen Wilson to get rid of the dog - that she's had enough (been there with my Jen too), and so much more.  On top of that, Jake is a yellow lab.  They looked so similar and just as big.  Beyond that, John and Jenny Grogan (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston) had three kids.  

So, when we get to the end of the movie, and (SPOILER WARNING!!!!) saying goodbye to Marley, and the kids saying goodbye, and then putting him down . . . well, we both were a little emotional.  I was picturing our boys saying goodbye to Jake, especially Will (our youngest) who wants to be a vet and save dogs.  When it happens, it's gonna suck!

Until then, though - like John and Jenny Grogan, we're still vying for the "worst dog in the world" title. 

Monday morning holy hangover

It was HARD getting up this morning.  But, I did, and Bob from the Biggest Loser, kicked my butt this morning!!  I'll be hurting tomorrow.

We had a great day yesterday (long, but great).  We had a ton of people at The Journey - Just over 475.  A number of new faces that came from the mailer.  A number of people I met that were invited by someone and finally came.  It was a good start to our Uncertainty series and Mark's interview with President Obama was SWEET.

Then, last night we had a great SNL - Annual Volunteer Celebration and Review Party.  Good times.  Paul and V did awesome as the Cheerleaders, we had a special guest appearance by Mary Catherine ?? - you know "Super Star" (nice get-up Shana), the Blues Brothers were there on a Mission From God, and Matt Foley was his usual motivational self - Matt does an awesome impersonation!

Mark and I were Hans and Frans.  We were horrible . . . horribly FUNNY!!!!  It was fun, we goofed a couple lines, had some very interesting muscles.

Then last night we went home and watched Amazing Race.  I had Matt tape the MSU game, because our VCR is broken.  I wouldn't let anyone tell me the score - we went and got the tape and then I realized - our VCR IS BROKEN!!  WHAT AM I GONNA WATCH IT ON??!!  I'm a dork.

SNL

  Sunday night is SNL at The Journey.  It's going to be a great night as we have our end-of-the-year party SNL style.  There will be a number of special guests, some good food, and a look back at the year that was.

Don't miss it - Sunday at 6 PM.  I know you'll be there, because, as Stuart Smalley would say "You're good enough, you're smart enough . . . "

In honor of SNL at The Journey - who's your favorite SNL character of all-time??  Go ahead and let us know in the comments below . . . I'll wait for you.

I'll tell you mine after I hear yours.

P.S.  Oh, and if you're really gutsy - come as your character on Sunday!

Wednesday morning message prep