Stand Still And Trust
When you were a little kid, did you have trouble standing still? I’m 46 years old and I have trouble standing still. I like to be on the move and exercise. I like to lead and get things done! But sometimes, it’s important for me to just stand still. After Moses led God’s people out […]
Small Beginnings
Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin… (Zechariah 4:10 NLT) This was a verse I clung to desperately in the first 3-5 years of the church because we certainly had a small beginning. In year 14, I still cling to this verse because I believe God is […]
Stop, Be Quiet and Listen
We live in a busy world and it can be difficult to stop and just slow down. Ask any person how they are and chances are they will say, “I’m really busy”. That is accentuated during the holidays. Rachelle and I were married December 14, 1996, which is a challenging time to celebrate because of […]
Dreaming Big Dreams
When Did It Stop? When did I stop dreaming big dreams? Have you ever asked yourself that question? In my life, I never stop dreaming about what is next, but there are times where I minimize the dreams to make sure they are within reach. Then, there’s a verse from scripture that reminds me that […]
You Will Do Even Greater Things
I’m a visual learner. Always have been. Draw something on a piece of paper and I’ll understand it much better than you telling me with words. So one of my mentors drew this picture on a piece of paper a few months ago. The first picture represents the church trying to get people to attend. This […]
Ending And Beginning
This past weekend, my wife, Rachelle, and I dropped off our oldest son Kaden at college. It’s an ending, but also a beginning. Now…before you worry about me getting sappy and mushy please read on. This is an encouraging and fun blog! When The Village Christian Church began Kaden was 4. It’s been a huge blessing […]
Girls, Noise, and Jesus
I have two teenage sons. They are AWESOME! We play sports together, go to events, eat great food, and get along great. My wife, Rachelle. for the past 4 years has held a high school girls Lifegroup at our house. For those who don’t have girls, they are LOUD! When 6-8 of them gather at […]
People Are Brilliant
One of my most trusted mentors and friends in life has said to me thousands of times… “People are Brilliant.” His point is that God made each person, He made you, with a specific talent that is brilliant. I’m lucky enough to be in a position to help people use those talents for the Lord. […]
Invest In Your Marriage
One of the very best things you can do for your marriage is to go a marriage retreat once a year. In fact, studies show that couples who take time for a marriage retreat each year are 70% more likely to stay together than those who don’t. It’s that “checkup” that re-centers your focus and […]
Surprise Me
Surprise – some people love to be surprised and some don’t. I tend to fall in the “I’m not a fan” group. Well, recently I made a choice to be more open to the unexpected. Here’s what happened… One of our church’s key initiatives for 2018 (and in my opinion the most important) is for […]
GivingTuesday – Give in Gratitude
Have you heard of #givingtuesday? Here’s a challenge for you, and it starts like this… Yesterday was a fun day a church. A friend told me that he was able to sell his house and move into another. He was so grateful that he decided to give a special gift. In gratitude to God, he […]
Speak Faith Into Fear
My facebook post on August 11, 2016 was this….. I’m surrounded by great leaders. While sharing with a leader that we are a little short in our offerings this year, he responded by saying “It won’t matter when we are reaching 1000 people and we need to expand parking”. I really needed to hear that […]
Get Off Your Donkey To Serve
Have you ever experienced something really great and recommended it to others? And then watched your friends have the same great experience? Get Off Your Donkey is that experience. Serving is so much fun and we think everyone should get in it. To help people get started, we made some recommendations and the experiences have […]
Don’t Let Anyone Look Down On You Because You’re Young!
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young! You have the potential to do great things in life. All you need to do is step up. Back in our portable church days, it was always a challenge to find space to have student ministries. Some of our best days included meeting in […]
The Harvest Is Plentiful
I recently attended a really cool conference called Exponential in Orlando, Florida. The conference equips and encourages church leaders to grow their churches and ultimately God’s Kingdom. The harvest is plentiful! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. We are in an amazing growth period at the church. Over the Easter season, we had 2 […]
Young Eagles Need To Fly
When do your young eagles get to fly? I just got back from an incredible Pastor’s conference where a speaker asked this important question. The question simply means this….is your church a place where people are encouraged and challenged to serve and lead? OR…are there just a few spots of service and leadership and you […]
God Doesn’t Just Work On Sunday
It was a Monday afternoon and I got a text message and the picture above from one of our Lifegroup leaders. This is what the text message said, “Just wanted you to know Barb is being baptized by our Lifegroup and her granddaughter today.” My first thought was, “Wow! So amazing!!!” Then I got to […]