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!

Letting Go

Letting go is the hardest things to do.

Letting go of the side of the pool so you can swim is hard. Letting go of the hand that’s holding you so you can walk is hard.

All of these things have some risk involved, but also necessary if we are to grow and experience new adventures and growth. The problem is that we always tend to hang on, simply so we can maintain our sense of security. The problem is, as a Christian, Jesus doesn’t call you to a life of security but a life of surrender!

Surrender means that you are no longer in control. It means that you no longer drive or steer the wheel. It also means that you no longer take the credit for you successes or your failures. If you let go and let God guide you to the places He wants to take you, no matter how scary the road may seem or how deep the pool may be, He is the one that is in control.

Letting go is risky business, but without risk there can be no reward. Mark Batterson, in his book “In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day” said it best, “When we live in fear afraid to take risks, we rob God of the glory that is rightfully His.”

What do you need to let go of today? What are you holding onto so tightly that you can’t experience the joy that God wants to give you?

The Price for Popularity

Last night was another incredible night where real connection was made for so many! I love Monday nights even when most of the country took the day and night off.

Im super excited about this next series we are launching "Sellin Skin." In our culture where, who you are and who you know take center stage amongst most of our friends, we will be talking about the price that we pay to climb the popularity chart.

The problem begins where our identity in Christ ends!

Greatest Comeback of All Time

So if your not planning on coming to Generate tomorrow night, then let me tell you what you are going to miss.

First, we are taking a look back at all the best and funniest Tony illustrations since we started, but second, there is a special guest entertainer that we are lucky enough to have back to Generate.

He has graced our stage once in a random rendition of a popular 90's theme song but tomorrow nights song will most certainly break all barriers and records when it comes to illustrations.

Dont miss this night! Whatever you do, dont miss this night!!!