Wasting Time

Im sorry if this seems a little harsh but unfortunately I feel that it must be said. This is my warning and plea to all young leaders that are seeking to come up and have success in their ministry area.

First, if you plan on being successful at all, Proverbs 21:5 says "plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage." What does that mean? PLAN! Plan and pray and seek God for your vision, if you don't have those components down first you can forget everything else.

Second, if you must meet with other high level leaders, and actually get time with them, realize that their time is precious and valuable. Don't even think about walking into a meeting like that without questions, a plan or vision or goals. If you do then congratulations you have managed to waste the time of leader actually doing something!

Third, READ! Think about this for a moment, if you want wisdom chances are someone has compiled all the knowledge and experience and written a book about that very thing. Most likely the questions you would have asked someone in person you could have found in a book. Leaders are readers.

If you're ready to change the world, then you better be ready to change yourself!

Seeing God

Isn't interesting how, there are times when God has clearly shown himself to us? I mean, where there is no way that you could deny having encountered Him...

I find that a lot of times people who say they cant see God, or have trouble really making a connection with Him, is NOT because God doesn't want to show himself but more often then not its because their vision of Him is blurred.

Paul, in Romans 12:1 says that we are to "present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice."

But what does that mean?

Do you remember when you were in biology class and used a microscope to look at cells and other objects your naked eye couldn't see? Well, like using a microscope as an instrument to see those cells, so to your body is the instrument with which you use to see God!

If your body is not clean or clear of sin, then your vision of God will most certainly be blurred. Remember, God wants to show Himself to you but its impossible if our bodies and minds are in the wrong condition.

Like the suns light that cannot be reflected in a dirty mirror, so too God cannot be seen in a life that is not wholly devoted to Him!

"99 Problems" sneak peak

Im excited for our new series to launch 2010, its called "99 Problems but My God Ain't One"

I think it will be our biggest series yet as we tackle some of the big issues in our life that seem to control, us and cause us to live lives without hope feeling alone and crushed under the weight of it all.

But there is a hope that is bigger than any and all of those issues and He is a Big God, just waiting for you to fall into His arms of Love!

New series launch is January 4th, see you then!!!

River of Guilt

I can vividly remember the time that I was out hiking and came upon a river that was flowing pretty quick from the recent rain and appeared to be quite deep.

As I stood on the shore of the river I looked both ways anxiously trying to find a way across so that I could complete my hike and get to my destination, only to find that there was clearly no way across. I felt defeated and discouraged as I turned around and headed back to the car to end my excursion.

Isnt it funny how our life has these rivers in from time to time? Things are going good and life is great you have a destination and purpose then all of the sudden, BAM! You get hit with guilt, shame, hurt, past failure and it becomes a surging river that we cant seem to cross.

We search desperately to find a bridge in which to get across, looking for just the right rocks directly in line, or an old log that might get us over, only to find ourselves drowning in our past.

When God sent His son to die on that cross, He became that bridge for us. In that moment when true love died, grace was bestowed upon us in an incomprehensible way. Grace, is not only is what is given that is not deserved, but it is the power to do what you could never do alone!

Whatever river you standing at, stop looking around frantically to find a way around and know that the way across is right before you!

Third Party Morality

By now, most of you know that Tiger Woods has done a fair job ruining his image with poor choices and reckless behavior, but what you might not have thought about are those people who sponsor him, work for him or affiliated with him and what has happened to them.

I read an article recently about a whole industry that has been created because this type of moral-less behavior is so prevalent in our society amongst those in the spotlight. Its being called "Third Party Moral Auditors" and it may sound like a joke, but I assure you it is not!

Companies are spending big bucks to make sure that, the people they pick to be figureheads or brand champions of their organizations mind their moral "P's" and "Q's." In a nutshell they would hire people to investigate the activities of those people beforehand to determine whether or not they are at high risk for some embarrassing moral failure potentially costing them millions later.

This all is a little comical to me, considering that we live in a society where the idea of a moral law governing and guiding our lives is considered intrusive and restrictive on our human rights.

What they are all missing is that, someone cannot be guided by a contract or even a third party investigator, Jesus knew that it was truly about the heart of a person that would ultimately guide them to righteousness. The Scribes and the Pharisees tried this very thing, by placing rules and regulations around them so as to appear righteous but deep down inside they were empty and lost.

In Matthew 5:20, Jesus speaking to the people said, "...unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." What Jesus was saying is that, your heart must be right in order to be truly righteous. Our heart then becomes a moral compass that guides us towards right and wrong and if we focus on making the heart right, then there is no need for contracts, investigators or background checks to keep people heading in the right direction!

Part 2: Being the Best

Earlier this week I posed the question "how far you are willing to go to be the best?" and that in order to be the best it takes hard, laborious even tedious work to get there.

Unfortunately, many people want and even dream about success but are either unwilling or too lazy to put in what it takes, and this article I just read proves it.

Love him or hate him you have to respect Kobe Bryant for his sheer determination to be the best, and for those that watched the last second victory over the Bucks, few could doubt his prowess.

Here is an excerpt from an article written by ESPN about Kobe:

That's what he does, right? That game-winner over Charlie Bell is precisely the reason that Kobe Bryant wins all kinds of surveys as most feared player in the NBA.

He knows who's going to be defending him. He knows where he wants to get on the court. He knows what he wants to do when he gets there. He knows how to account for his injured finger. He has practiced everything.

Other players are bigger and stronger. But nobody knows more, prepares better or better embodies sheer professionalism. Any success he has is well deserved.

Think back through his career. How many times have you seen him hit game-winners? 30? 40? A thousand? We can all remember plenty of them. And that's why he has the best selling jersey in the world.

Last night's shot gave Kobe Bryant fans precisely the evidence they need to prove, yet again, that this guy is the absolute best.

Who would question them?

God and the devil wage war

Great video from Tuesday night at Generate High this week. I love the talent we have at our church, I think that this is the best I have ever seen.

Turn or Burn

We've all seen them...The guy standing on the corner yelling, "Turn or burn!" holding signs that say "Repent or go to hell." They do more yelling than anything else and hope that somehow people will look at them and suddenly realize they are wrong...

It saddens me that these people actually think that they are doing good, when people either ignore them or argue with them. How does that ever show the love of Jesus to people that feel like they have no need for Him in the first place?

I would like to know where in scripture they find this type of behavior, because I just don't see it anywhere.

It makes me sick to my stomach to think that the one encounter some one may ever have with Jesus is through someone yelling at them! Im sorry to all of you who have ever heard the "gospel" screamed at you in this way...

How Far Will You Go?

I've been wanting to write this blog for a while now but have recently been inspired by some people to really ask this question; "How far are you willing to go to be the best?"

Whatever your field is, ask yourself this question, are you daily, doing everything you can to be the best at what you do? Whether you are a pastor, manager, chef or mechanic do you strive constantly to take yourself, your ministry or other people to the next level?

Think about this, in medieval times warriors that did battle daily would spend hours sharpening not only their skills, but also their weapons to be effective in battle. If your doing battle daily in any arena, do take time to sharpen yourself?

If you are a speaker, do you watch videos of yourself, critiquing your content, your stage presence, mannerisms and even speech? If your a manager, do evaluate your meetings and how people respond to you?

My point is, that in order to be successful, you will often have to put in extra time and effort to bring the best out of yourself and others. I have no doubt in my mind that Jesus was the best carpenter around, not just because He was God, but because Im sure He was willing to go the extra mile. Are you??

Tonight!

Im excited to talk about Hope tonight and how we can find perspective through the cross that turns our natural selfishness to selflessness!

We will be selling T-shirts that are sponsoring kids in Kenya for $35, that will keep them in school and take care of their personal needs for 2 years! This is a great opportunity to change a life for eternity 6000 miles away.

See you all tonight!

Hope gives vision

I know its been a while since my last post...been slackin...no excuses!

But here is what Im learning about hope, when we bring the truth of Jesus Christ to people they are given a transforming love that goes deeper than this world could ever comprehend. Its a love that isnt based in emotion or feelings, its stripped of all selfishness and seeks only the best for us.

That love gives people HOPE, and hope gives you vision to see past your current situation and see that you were destined for so much more in this life and the life to come. With that hope, problems become small in the light of a HUGE God that transcends time and space, yet He is so personal that he considered you worthy to die for and wants eternity with you!

Lets give this world love!

Lets give this world vision!

Lets give this world HOPE!

Friends from Catalyst

We love the guys over at Catalyst. They are doing huge things around the country uniting leaders from all around the country to brainstorm and help change the world for the name of Christ.

Brad Lomenick is the president of the Catalyst and has a great blog with incredible insight and wisdom as well as information.

Check out his recent post about "Whats Your Tone."

Great read and something all of us need to be reminded about.

Christmas Love

Im pretty pumped for this Christmas season.

Normally, that is not the case in fact most of the time I become so overwhelmed with shopping lists, credit card debt and parking spots that I forget why we celebrate Christmas in the first place.

Not this year though, Natalya and I have committed to living different and striving to get back to the real meaning of Christmas which is love. A love so deep that the King of the universe sent His only Son to take the full punishment of my crimes, a truly selfless love!

This year we are dedicated to spending more time with family and friends trying to find more ways to show how much we love them. We have also decided to find a cause to support or organization to give to instead of buying gifts for each other.

Im interested to hear what you are doing this Christmas season.

Taking a Break

Hey everyone thanks so much for following this blog for that past few months.

Based on some things that I have been going through and learning, I will be taking this week off to rest and be thankful for all the good things God has given me.

I will see you all next Monday

Psalm 46:10

How to have a conversation

It can be so simple, yet so many people are bad at it. The art of conversation seems to have eluded so many people, and if you are a leader, then you better learn the basics.

I think its because in our schools the emphasis is on how to speak and not nearly enough time is spent teaching how to listen! Check out this post from Michael Hyatt on the "Art of Conversational Ping Pong."

Google Parenting

So I've been wanting to write this blog for a while now but just wasn't sure I had the evidence, and quite honestly I don't know that I still have enough evidence to back this but here is what I have seen.

Google has become a staple on the internet for instant education and or information for millions around the world, which can be a great thing. Unfortunately, for much of our "gen Y" young adults, it has become the all encompassing parental format of the 21st century.

We all know that school is the petrie dish where crude humor and sexual innuendo grow, and as it seems nothing much has really changed, but what used to be left for parents to explain, is now sought after via a quick Google search. You can already see the potential problems, when a young child hears his buddies joking about pornography and is unsure what "pornography" is he is likely to go home and Google the word "pornography" and you can just imagine what happens next.

So, whats the solution? I don't really know. What I do know is that parents need to start pre-empting some of the things that our children are already hearing at younger and younger ages. Is it difficult to talk to your child about sex and pornography? YES!

But is it harder and more difficult to step in at age 14 and break an addiction that has ravaged a young boys life and potentially ruined his perception of women, or to have 1 hour conversation about what sex really is?

Finally did it

I finally did it...I jumped! Despite Scotts best efforts to catch me!

Just a pic from the weekend..

Learning to Fail

As I have been studying for next Mondays message about facing our fears and realizing our destiny, something hit me, but for some reason has never really clicked.

1 John 4:18 says that "perfect love casts out all fear" then that means in Christ we have nothing to fear, including failure. All throughout scripture you can see the reoccurring theme that while Gods plan allows for us to fail, His plan was NEVER for you to be a failure!

Often times through disappointment and failure we develop fear of facing certain things in our life but because God is sovereign, you can never disappoint Him...Think about that for a second...YOU CAN NEVER DISAPPOINT GOD!

He knew the failures you would have, He even knew the mistakes you would make, yet He loves you anyways because His Love NEVER fails!

Threat Level: RED

Its one thing to learn leadership principles, its another thing to actually live them out and experience them first hand.

I cant tell you how many times I have heard, read and been taught that high level leaders are always humble, in fact, Jim Collins in his book "Good To Great" states that a Level 5 leader "is an individual that blends extreme personal humility with intense professional will."

Im always constantly asking myself, evaluating myself and testing myself to see what level leader I am, but then it finally became real. I found myself in a position where someone directly underneath me demonstrated their incredible giftedness and in that moment I was forced to make a decision.

Do let that persons talent and ability threaten me and my position as a leader, or do I encourage and exhort that person, trying to do everything I can to make them better than I will ever be?

Often times I see leaders in high positions get threatened by people beneath them, regardless if the threat is warranted or not, then become extremely negative and at times downright hurtful to those people.

So if your wondering what level leader you are, ask yourself this question, "How threatened am I by those around me that may be more talented than me?" If your threat level goes to red instead of encouraging then maybe your not as high a level leader as you thought you were!

Generate Parkour

The truth is that this picture probably doesn't need much explaining, but here is what I know.

Adam, Jason and Jeremy are 3 incredibly talented leaders at Generate. They love the Lord and also long walks on the beach and drives through the country! You can see Adam playing acoustic alongside Natalya and the Generate band, Jason, can be seen playing acoustic on Monday nights and singing background and Jeremy is behind the scenes setting all the tech up each week!

Love you guys!

To Be Kind

I absolutely loved Pastor Chucks message on kindness this past Sunday. The thing that got me was that, it's through "kindness" that God would manifest Himself and reveal His true nature.

That, is a fact that I think too often we as the church have missed over and over again. I find myself in this precarious situation often, when talking with non believers about Jesus. We get so frustrated with their lack of understanding, that, what began as a healthy dialogue, turns into a heated argument with neither side really listening!

We argue vigorously, thinking that if we hit the right theological point, or illustrate the facts perfectly that they will surrender all their years of thought and suddenly concede, giving their life to Christ...rarely if ever have I seen this happen.

I find it interesting that in John 13:34-35, Jesus says that "if we love one another" THEN "the world will know you are my disciples." It was love and kindness that would show the world who Christ was.

My goal this week is to show love to those I have a hard time loving and being kind to those that need kindness.

Learning in your 20s

Tonight Ill be interviewing a good friend of the Generate family, Brad Lomenick. He is the director of one of the biggest movements in Christiandom today called Catalyst.

Brad is incredibly gifted at getting the top leaders in the country together to discuss how to further the Kingdom of God and has inspired thousands through this.

Brad has an amazing blog that is inspiration as well as insightful. Check out Brad tonight but also check out this post from him about what he has learned in his 20's.

1. Use your 20’s to build a foundation for your 70’s. Create deep roots that will give you a foundation for when you are older. Finishing well means starting well.

2. Don’t worry about climbing the ladder. There’s no longer a ladder anyway. It’s more like one of those spiral staircases. And sometimes you are going across or down when you think you might be climbing. So don’t worry about it. Spend your 20’s learning and having life experiences. Travel, explore the world, take on projects that seem fun.

3. If your “career” path doesn’t make sense to anyone except for you, it’s okay. My 20’s: college at University of Oklahoma, wrangler on a guest ranch in Colorado, management consultant, business development officer, Magazine and media company, strategic business plan developer. WOW. That is all over the map. But God was orchestrating steps very clearly for what was next in my story. And continues to do so.

4. Be diligent and aggressive in developing your friendships and relationships. Create a core group of close friends who you want to do like with. This group may change a bit over the years, but it is imperative to find a circle of trust that you are committed to and they to you.

5. Figure out who you want to be, not what you want to do. Who you are is more important that what you do or where you live. Spiritually, financially, family, emotionally, relationally. Find two or three older, wise “sages” that you can learn from and count on as he

Fire Fall Down

Im excited to share tonight about the power of prayer in the Christian life.

As I have been studying it, I find myself more and more dumbfounded at the idea that a sovereign God would allow His creation to have a say in what He is doing! I mean think about that for a second, no other religion can make that claim. God does not turn a deaf ear to His children, and when we cry out in His courts He hears us...Amazing!

My goal is that Monday nights becomes a house of prayer and group that is known as "The children that call upon the name of the Lord." That in any situation their first reaction is to get on their knees and pray fervently for the Lords intercession!

The church as we know it was berthed in the midst of prayer, fire came down from heaven during prayer and Jesus prayed constantly while on earth...lets get back to that place.

God is a Flashlight!

First off, I want to say thank you to Ronny, for allowing me to share some thoughts with you today. I know I'm not as good looking as he is, but I'm writing, so...I think it evens out.

Almost!

Have you ever thought about the end results of a task or assignment or goal you've had in life?

So often we have grand ideas and visions of what the future will be and how much God will bless us, and yet we have such a focus on what we will get out of it, rather than what God will! We are only given what God allows us to have, and so often we think we need something and it is completely be God-ordained and right for us, and thus God (though we will NEVER admit it) better give it to us, now! But so many times, we have no clue what is needed for us or not, because we only have a tiny scope of the picture God has laid out for our lives.

God is perfect, and He knows what is best for us, but like my favorite book Tale of Three Kings says, He's not telling!

Remember when Jesus gave us the Lord's prayer, He told us to pray, give us this day, our daily bread. Daily bread! That's it! Only enough for our day today, not tomorrow, not next week, not next year, but today!

And because of that, God is a flashlight for our path, not a gigantic spotlight showing us everything (though He can if He wanted to), just a flashlight, a Perfect Flashlight, giving us exactly what we need, everyday!

So today, think about how you can bless your Flashlight today! How can you put your own self aside and let God take to where He wants you to go, because that is perfect, not where you want to go because it seems right?

Thanks for listening...err...reading with me today.

Well see ya later...

~Vince

Dont be a donkey

There is a story in Numbers about a guy named Balaam, that makes his mind up before going to God, but spiritualizes it by "Praying about it."

Long story short, Balok the king asked Balaam to curse the Israelites and offered him money for it. Balaam "prays about it" and God gives him an emphatic NO!

I assume that Balaam wasnt as emphatic with his "no" to Balok, and thus Balok offers him more money to curse the Israelites. What does Balaam do? He "prays about it" again, but this time Gods answer is different. He says to Balaam, "If you want to go, then go." In other words I already told you "no" but if you already determined in your head thats what you want, then be my guest!

God cannot violate your will and still call you a free being. He has a plan for good in your life and will do everything He can to get you to see it, but He will NOT force you. Jesus in Matthew 6 reiterated this when He said, "if its the applause of men you want, then you have your reward in full."

If you already know that you shouldn't do something, don't try to spiritualize it by saying "Ill pray about it!" Just dont do it!

Crazy Love Lights

This picture may look like nothing more than a bunch of crazy random lights, but its much more than that.

What you see is love and hope for the family and friends of those junior highers that were invited via simultaneous text message to our "I heart night" at Generate Junior High next Monday. Im excited to meet all the new people!

We just finished up our "Human Torch" series on showing the world how we will LOVE OUTRAGEOUSLY and this is just some of what the students are doing on their own:

- giving to the "Lords Pantry"

-giving up Christmas for others

-1 year without shoes/Soles for Souls

-Linus Project

-Jacket Drive

-Volunteering with elderly

Im amazed at what the Holy Spirit is doing in these young adults week after week.

Pressure Cooker

Do you ever feel as though your life is inside of a pressure cooker all the time?

Are you constantly under pressure to obtain some form of success, a goal or even reach a level in a relationship to prove your worth? I know that I feel this at times.

If so, I want to have you think about something; Soren Kierkegaard defined sin as "not simply doing bad things, it is putting good things in the place of God." Think about that for a second, if the battle is being waged for our worship between God and satan, could satan use something like goals or even success as way of gaining that worship?

Whatever you base your life on you have to live up to that! If you don't live for Jesus you will live for something else, but nothing, outside of Him will fulfill you like the Creator can.

Take your eyes off of everything else in your life that is NOT Jesus and recognize Him as Lord of your life, a Lord that will never fail you, and will forgive you eternally!

This ones for you TARGET

Great post from Seth Godin about doing things begrudgingly. This one is for you Target, and your ridiculous return policy...what happened to you?

I don't know if this happens to you, but I'm noticing it more and more. Someone offers you a refund, or agrees to sell you something or even hires you to do a project, but then spend a lot of time explaining that it's a one time thing, or that it's against policy or it's not even something they like to do.

What's the point of agreeing to anything begrudgingly? Does it get your partner to do his best work? Does it increase the chances that you'll get to win next time?

If you're going to do something, do it. Go all in. Doing it half in makes no sense at all to me. It's a like a store that has so many rules and regulations about sales and exchanges that you wonder if they really want to be bothered to sell you anything at all.

Its a Sham-wow

Have you ever seen the commercials for this product? If you have then you know the salesman pictured.

Ive been thinking about this for a while now, do you suppose that this guy actually uses a sham-wow? With so much enthusiasm in his pitch for the product he must have a house filled with the stuff! What about George Foreman? Does he actually cook everything with his grill? I mean his name is on the cooker, for cryin' out loud!

If you found out that neither one of these guys, or the countless other celebrity endorsed products in the world were actually used by them, would you still believe in the product or even purchase it?

This has to be the most pressing issue for anyone who speaks the name of Christ today.

If 94% of americans believe in God, 74% claim a commitment to Christ and 34% confess a "new birth" experience, yet we see widespread massive moral failures in every social arena, are WE actually eating what we sell?

Or, is what we are "selling" irrelevant to our real existence and without any real power over our daily lives?

Untapped Power

I cant seem to get away from this study on the Holy Spirit. I mean, its clear in scripture that this incredible power from God lives inside all believer in Christ, yet why are so many people walking around weak and apathetic, addicted and overcome?

Think about this:

1) The sun sends 126 trillion horsepower to earth and thats only 1-2 billionth of its total energy, yet it has no power to move through the universe except as God directs it.

2) The stars have no power or force except that which God infuses in them daily

3) The archangel that stands next to the throne of God, who outshines a comet with its brilliance, who excels in strength, and listens to the voice and commands of God, has no strength except that which the creator gives him.

That same power has been promised to you!

Today, dont be afraid to pray and beg for that. Dont be afraid to pray the big prayers. God can, will and wants to give it to you!

True World Changers

Last night was an incredible display of passionate world change as we watched student after student bring shoes for our "Soles 4 Souls" donation.

One group from El Cerrito junior high got together with their school and started a shoe drive and managed to get 86 pairs of shoes in 1 week and are holding it open until the 30th of October!

I love to see the passion that this generation has to LOVE others above themselves. Thats true Agape love!

Short Accounts

In the first century church of Acts we see that believers and followers of Jesus Christ were selling their possessions in order to look out for the greater good of the body. I believe that this is how the church was always supposed to be, a family that lived together and shared everything in common.

Here is what gets me. Like any family or community the common thread to hold it together is communication, but why is it that when tensions rise, feelings get hurt and expectations dropped we clam up, hold grudges and never work past it?

Proverbs 14:22 tells us that if we seek to do good and be the righteous people God desires, then we need to handle every situation with kindness AND truth.

The idea is that we have short accounts with our family and friends. If you feel that you have hurt someone is some way, dont let it go or wait to hear from that person, go and let them know if you hurt them it was unintentional and you are sorry. Even if they weren't hurt by it, at least that person knows you love them enough to be honest.

Vice versa, if someone has hurt you, bind kindness and truth around you neck and let them know that you were hurt by them. No mitigating speech, just truth to a family member and in love you work through it.

If you have someone you need to have a short account with, go handle it NOW! Don't wait, this is your family.

Act Courageously

Im excited for Monday night as we look at what it takes to have a real Faith that pours out courageous actions in spite of what others or the world might think!

James 2:14-26 has been blowing my mind when it comes to how our outward actions should look if we have the inward connection to the God of the universe! See ya then...dont forget that its barefoot night

Social INjustice?

You have undoubtably seen them...The wristbands for a social justice cause.

Clean water, Feeding the homeless etc... All of these causes and more do incredible work to help change the world and bring "social justice" to those less fortunate.

So here is my question, Is it really justice to provide clean water and clothing for people for a moment in time or is it "injustice" if we dont give them the hope of eternity first?

Thoughts?

Spot Fires

This is the picture of the 21 students that dedicated themselves last night to Love Outrageously and begin to start fires of passion and true Agape love in their schools, teams and families!

I am so proud of their dedication and commitment to love others above themselves and cant wait to hear the stories of lives changed because of it.

PS. I just heard that so many students attempted to go to school with NO SHOES! I love it

Community of Love

Today is a day I will not soon forget!

We are in a series titled "Human Torch" where we are challenging everyone to love outrageously. Outrageous love, the "Agape" love that we see in scripture is only known through the actions it prompts.

It is selfless and sacrificial seeking only to serve others and put their needs above their own. This is what the church was designed to do and its exactly what our communities did for me and my wife this week.

As you know, our refrigerator went out recently and we didnt exactly have the money to buy a new one but through the acts of love from the communities at Generate they were able to purchase one for us!!! I was stunned and shocked and confused all at the same time, but realized this is what the church was designed to do. I was brought to tears as I thanked God for my beautiful family.

Thank you to all of you who serve at Crossroads and Generate, for your outrageous love!

Risky Business

This is a great post from Seth Godin about Actual Risk and Apparent Risk.

There are people who I will never encounter in a restaurant.

That's because when these people go out for dinner, they go to chain restaurants. These are the tourists in New York who seek out the familiar Olive Garden instead of walking down the street to Pure.

That's fine. It's a personal choice.

But it got me thinking about the difference between apparent and actual risk, and how that choice affects just about everything we do.

The concierge at a fancy hotel spends her time helping tourists and business travelers avoid apparent risk. She'll book the boring, defensible, consistent tour, not the crazy guy who's actually a trained architect and a dissident. She'll recommend the restaurant from Zagats, not from Chowhound.

Apparent risk is what keeps someone working at a big company, even if it's doing layoffs. It feels safer to stay there than to do the (apparently) insanely risky thing and start a new venture.

Apparent risk is what gets someone who is afraid of plane crashes to drive, even though driving is more dangerous.

Apparent risk is avoiding the chance that people will laugh at you and instead backing yourself into the very real possibility that you're going to become obsolete or irrelevant.

When things get interesting is when the apparently risky is demonstrably safer than the actually risky. That's when we sometimes become uncomfortable enough with our reliance on the apparent to focus on the actual. Think about that the next time they make you take off your shoes at the airport.

Love Outrageously

This Monday night we will be launching our new series called Human Torch "Some people start fires, while others look for matches!"The whole idea being that plenty of people talk about changing the world, while others are out there doing it.

Love as the world defines it is a selfish act, done only out feeling or emotion yet when we see the Agape love of the bible it is completely unselfish and done for the welfare of all men regardless of ones own personal feelings (Romans 15:2).

We will be interviewing Howie our drummer that started a cause called "A Year Without Shoes" designed to bring awareness to the majority of the population in the world that doesnt have the luxury of shoes...thats unselfish Outrageous Love!

Broken Fridge

It happened once again...The refrigerator that we just spent $160 to fix 3 weeks ago went out again this morning!

To top it all off it was one of those mornings. I had to run to the store to buy ice, when we were already running behind schedule, then the grocery store only had one check out line open at the time and everyone in the city was there to buy food for some odd reason.

On my way home the pressure began to build up like a boiling pot, but just then I had a thought. What if this is just one of those little irritating ways that satan uses to get under my skin, take my joy then cause me to quench the Holy Spirit?

Isaiah 54:17 says "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper" and in that moment I knew that the battle that satan was trying to wage against me has already been won by the Cross. If your having one of those days, just remember that "no weapon" that satan has can beat you...Not even a broken refrigerator!!

"General" advice

I thought that this was amazing leadership advice from one of the greatest leaders of our time General Tommy Franks. Michael Hyatt got a chance to speak with him on leadership and he gave a lesson that he learned from his father before he left to the Army.

If you are a young person wanting to get into leadership and ministry than pay close attention.

I love the last one on his list :)

I will tell you one story that I recorded in my journal. He flunked out of the University of Texas in 1967. Rather than wait to be drafted to fight in Vietnam, he enlisted in the Army. As he got on the bus to leave for boot camp, his father said, “Son, I have one piece of advice. Be feisty.”

He replied, “But Dad, I am feisty.”

His dad said, “Son, I know your feisty, but I mean it as an acronym. F-e-i-s-t-y.” He then went on to spell it out:

“F” is for focus. You need to get focused on what is important and stay focused.

“E” is for energy. Bring all the energy you can muster to every situation.

“I” is for integrity. This is your most important possession. Don’t ever compromise it.

“S” is for solve the problem. Don’t argue. Don’t make excuses. Just solve the problem and get on with it.

“T” is for take the blame when no one else will. Accept responsibility and be accountable.

“Y” is for “Yes, I do windows.” Don’t ever say, “That’s not my job.” Do whatever the boss asks you to do and do it with enthusiasm.

360 degrees of worship

Just a few thoughts about last night:

1) Being able to worship together in a 360 degree platform was incredible!

2) Some great questions were asked last night by the young adults...we were actually stumped when someone asked the total number of prophecies from the bible!

3)So excited about the next series "Human Torch" as we begin to set our schools, homes, teams, families and friends on fire for Jesus...literally! :)

Can You Change The World?

Francis Chan had an interesting question that was asked of him by a youth pastor once that he felt changed him.

Before I ask you the question let me tell you that I have come across many people in church that say they want to Change the World, yet I simply don't see the passion or drive that it takes to make this happen. I believe 100% that God has predestined us for incredible things in this life (Eph 2:10) and has even given us His Spirit to empower us, but here is the question.

If you are ready to change the world then ask yourself this; what would your church look like if everyone was as committed as you are? What if everyone gave, served and prayed exactly like you, would the church be healthy and empowered or weak and listless?

Praying this week that we take up God on His offer of the Holy Spirit and work like it all depends on us, and pray like it all depends on God!

Wonder and Amazement

On Monday night I asked the students to write down any question they had regarding the Bible or God and we would answer those questions in a panel discussion the following week.

Well, the questions came in and man was I floored! While some were quite theologically astute, it was a few of the other questions that caught my attention, here they are:

1) Did God have a last name?

2) In the bible why did they always eat little goats

3) How big is the hand of God?

Now, I know they sound silly but here is why they caught my attention. These questions obviously evoked a wonder and amazement in who God is. There is curious innocence to their heart felt questions. In Mark Battersons book "Wild Goose Chase" he says that children ask 125 probing questions per day, while adults ask only 6 questions per day.

What this means is that children are born with a holy curiosity, and not only do they question everything, they believe everything is possible.

Children dont make assumptions, they swim in the sea of possibility! Do you???

Guest Blog

So sorry that I haven't had much time to write lately but its definitely been a good thing, God has been showing me some incredible things. You can read more about it on my guest blog spot on Pastor Tony Woods blog on the Generate website.

Monday night was incredible and we had 11 decisions for Christ! Im constantly blown away by how many students are passionate about changing their school for their King!

Crossroads Revolution

Im so excited for what God has been doing here at Crossroads, and with the recent merger of Crossroads School and the church, I really feel as though a generation can now grow passionately in Christ together.

What I am most excited for is that through the passion of 2 leaders (Carrie Hoechlin, Adam Warren pictured above) at Crossroads school we now have two groups of students that spend 30 minutes every morning praying for their friends, school, families and even teachers by name with a passion to watch that school transform into the place that God wants it to be!

It brings me to tears that 12 year olds would devote so much time seeing others find the hope that is Jesus Christ!

Great Job Carrie and Adam...proud to serve alongside warriors like you.

Broken iPhone

So yesterday I borrowed Scott Andersons iPhone for a sermon illustration and it got a little outta hand...Well he asked for it back today and next Monday we will be showing his response...dont wanna miss this one.

Effective Prioritization

Check out this great blog from Seth Godin on how to make list and prioritize your time.

The priority list

What should you do next?

Is it better to email an existing customer, send a brochure to a prospect or improve your product a bit? Should you tweet or post a new blog post? Should you have a meeting to coordinate your team or spend ten minutes returning phone calls instead?

This is an unheralded skill, something successful people do really well and others struggle with.

How do you decide what to do next?

One of the challenges we have in reducing carbon emissions is that (as far as I know) there's no priority list. Which is worse: leaving your computer on all night or not having the windows weatherstripped? Which is worse: driving a car to Boston or going by plane with 200 other people? Is it worth driving across town to buy a pint of organic strawberries or should I get the ones from the nearby store that came from California? If you have a thousand dollars to invest in making a reduction in greenhouse gasses, should you buy new tires, switch to local foods or perhaps send $900 to help a factory in China switch away from coal and then use the other hundred to have a massage?

Without a list, you can see how making intelligent decisions is impossible, so we resort to confusing activity with productivity.

Back to your office: do you have a list? Have you figured out which metric you're trying to improve? Can you measure the impact of the choices you make all day?

I see this mistake in business development all the time. Assume for a moment that the goal of someone in this department is to maximize profit. Why then would this group spend most of its time tweaking existing deals (looking for a 3% improvement in yield) instead of spending the same time and effort doing new, game-changing deals?

Learning Patience

I get so upset at the lack of customer service lately. Just the other day we had lunch at a restaurant and waited 25 minutes just to be asked for drinks...and the place was empty!!!

Michael Hyatt has a great post that opened my eyes a little...Maybe it open yours too!

Passionate World Changers

Ok...I just have to tell these two stories cause they are just too good!

The first passionate world changer is an intern here at generate named Adam. Adam does something interesting early in the morning and when I say early I mean like 2am early! What he actually does isnt as amazing as what comes out of it. You see he takes these things called "spiritual walks" where he and friend walk around barefoot and shirtless in the streets hoping to find someone they can share Christ with...crazy I know! Well last week he met a security guard that had never set foot in church and shared with him how christ had changed his life but to make a long story short, Adam invited him to Generate and he gave his life to Christ...AMAZING!

The second, comes from 2 young girls in junior high that attend Crossroads School. These 2 world changers found themselves so moved for lives of their classmates and others that they took 15 minutes out of their own lunch to pray for them by name! Since then they single-handledly have formed prayer groups before school to pray each day that they can win the entire school to Chirst!

That is how world change begins! One person believing they can change the world...

Love you guys

Snow Leopard

Recently the Apple company released and upgraded version of their popular operating system “Leopard” to the new and improved “Snow Leopard.”

However improved or “better” the version is, it always seems that there are inevitably problems and some glitches that will occur in the change or transition from the old to the new! I thought that I completely lost a file that I spent over 3 hours working on, only to find out that it was just a simple kink that needed to be worked out and is working just fine now.

I know for a fact that from previous experiences with upgrades, they ALWAYS run better than the old one but for some reason in the beginning, the idea of changing from a system that is comfortable and certain to a new system can sometimes be difficult.

However, if it wasn’t for people constantly working to improve a system we could never have all the incredible technologies we have today.

The second you fall in love with a system then you have already decided not to grow!

Prostitute Pricing

We just finished our staff meeting this morning and one of the topics of discussion was how our church was going to get involved and help put an end to the human trafficking problem that is plaguing our society.

We just heard that the two top areas worldwide, that human trafficking occurs is the right here in our own backyard, with Phoenix having the the second highest kidnapping and trafficking rate in all the world!

The point is that this must be stopped and we have to take a bigger stake in this battle. Mike Foster in his blog "Deadly Viper" blog has an interesting take on our apathy towards this atrocity, click on the link for more.

Kanye "Waste"

Last night at the VMA's, Kanye West in a show of true character, grabbed the mic from a 17 year old Taylor Swift during her thank you speech and began ranting about how Beyonce should have won the award then stormed off stage. Its interesting to me what some people with that level of influence and publicity will choose to do with their 5 seconds on this earth. I think its sad really and to be honest...a waist!

Im curious, what are your thoughts on his shenanigans? Was it a publicity stunt or outright disregard for the world outside his own?

Proper Vision

I was blown away recently after speaking with a friend of mine who happens to be a financial planner. He was explaining to me how easy it is to save money and live debt free, and still bless others...Excuse me?...did you say EASY?

He explained to me that you have to see money with the right vision, not just as something to buy products that we need and want but more than that, it is the "value" given to something that we desire, what an interesting thought.

So when we put value to those things that we desire such as being able live debt free or bless others we place a higher value on that desire, therefore making it much easier to save and achieve those goals. This concept is known as VIM (Vision, Intention, Means).

If you have the right vision then you will have the intention to see it happen and ultimately the means to make it happen.

Did you know that Jesus taught this very same concept over 2ooo years ago on what is considered to be the single greatest message ever taught? Yup! The Sermon on the Mount.

In Matthew 5:3-12 Jesus paints the vision of who can be blessed, in vs 16 He gives the intention we must have to let our "light shine before men," then in Matthew 6:33 He gives the means by which all this is accomplished "seek first my kingdom, and all these things shall be added unto you."

Utilizing the VIM technique that Jesus outlined, surely we will be able to see the way that He wants us to see and to have the desires that He wants us to have!