Boot Camp

This week I am coaching at a Church Planter’s Boot Camp here in Minneapolis.  Boot camp may be strong wording.  There is not much yelling “YES DRILL SERGEANT,” but it is a week of intense training.

It was not to many years ago that church planters were given a slap on the back and sent on their way.  The slap may or may not have been meant as an encouragement.  Today church planting is viewed as an amazing tool of God.  Beyond that, it is kind of trendy.  The danger of a ministry being trendy is that it can draw people in apart from God’s plan.  That situation has the potential to hurt the planter and all people within his or her reach.  This thought should not deter people from planting, but reaffirm the urgency in seeking Jesus’ direction.

With these thoughts I am reminded that Jesus has a limitless human resource department.  Jesus using Amber and I in planting a new faith community is humbling and is an unbelievable honor.  I can’t believe we get to do this.

Death by flu

Last week Abrea got the flu and I hoped she could tuff it out, Kaiya got the flu and I hoped she would suck it up, but then it was my turn, I wanted to die.  Empathy was a little easier in that moment.

We had almost thirty people over last Wednesday for our vision and planning supper.  It was great.  Connecting with each other and with vision and sharing the flu.  My apologies to all of you that contracted the Woller flu.  And because I had it too...  I empathise.

We will laugh about it all someday... For now it means that I am covering a bunch of shifts at the coffeehouse.

Love the Church?

LOVE THE CHURCH?

I want to.

I want you to.

Listen in on my current series where we work through how we can love church beyond just going to it...

Click Here To Listen  In.

Vision & Planning Agenda

Please Comment if you would like something added to this agenda.

Focus of a vision and planning supper:

Connect Corner Church people with each other 

Connect Corner church people with the vision of the church

Walk away with each person having specific action steps in connecting with people and/or with living out our vision.

Agenda:

Eat with each other (This is a pot-luck meal)

            Contact Amber if you need ideas on what to bring (amber@cornerchurch.tv)

Share your Spiritual turning point

Each person share a brief story of a Spiritual turning point in his or her life (At Corner Church or not, both are perfect)

Scott share the five minute vision

Cheryl share a Corner Coffee update

            Brainstorm business growth ideas

                        Set action steps and point people

            Brainstorm how to be a better asset to our community

                        Set action steps and point people

            Talk through the logistics of the Lunch On Us in July

                        Set action steps and point people

Scott share vision and update concerning second location

Form Second Sight Exploration Team

            Set Second Sight Exploration Team monthly meeting time

Relationship building and fun events for the spring

            Brainstorm

            Set tentative dates

            Designate point person for specific events

            Set action steps

Talk through specific prayer focuses concerning vision for Corner Church

            Delegate out specific prayer focuses

            Closing group prayer

The Future

This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak together with John Trotter.  Each of us speaking half of the message.  The challenge wasn’t speaking with my friend, it was what we were talking about.  Real stuff…  We shared about how we are unable to fill the shoes of our future and that is OK.  Apart from Jesus’ reign fall short in figuring out where to go, fall short in knowing how to get there, and then to top it off we fall short in accomplishing once we get there.  The key is that this falling short ok when we are under His reign.  Not keeping our faith in our back pocket and pulling it out when we are desperate, but letting all aspects of our yesterday, today, and tomorrow be surrendered to Him.

Click here to listen in:

Fixer

There is maybe nothing more humbling than realizing that I am not good enough to be complete in life.  Well, maybe having some other tenants from our coffeehouse building come down to the basement to make sure everything is ok because they hear me wrestling a friend…  Humbling.  Besides that, it is hard to stomach falling short in any area of life.  I have been focusing on those areas in the current series “Unqualified.”  The reality that we need to understand is that we do fall short and that’s ok.  It is ok because of our living God.  He fills our given void.

Check out this week’s message as I deal with the issue of fixing people.  We are incapable of truly fixing people, and that’s OK.

Click Here To Listen In:

Do We Have Something Unique?

I have found it very easy to dismiss God’s hand in building His church.  What does that really mean anyway.  Are we taking that too literally or not literally enough?  Jesus loves the church.  He is interested in putting it together.  I have no doubt of this.  I do wrestle with the reality that it is possible to “screw up church.”  We can.  That has to be a hard one for Jesus to swallow.

This said…  I am blown away by the people at Corner Church.  AMAZING.  How can a “random” group of people be so intriguing, interesting, talented, visionary, influential, genuine…  As I continually get to know our growing church family more and more, I ask the question, do we have something unique?  I am confident God is building our church.  Not a building, not a system, not an organization, but people.

I guess I am feeling honored to be a part of what Jesus has, is, and will do at Corner Church.