Is this the end?

One of the things that must have confused Joseph (the dude with the tie dye jacket) more then anything was the seemingly confusing contradictions of his life.  He dreamed he would rule, but shortly after was in a pit and then slavery.  If that wasn’t bad enough, he is later falsely accused, jailed, forgotten and then finally realized the dream.

I’m sure someone has pontificated about how long it was from the dream to the realization, but for me only one thing matters.  God revealed something to Joseph then seemed to let everything interfere with it happening.  It seems like as often as God reveals His will, someone does something to screw it up.  Joseph’s story shows that God is sovereign, no matter what others try to do to keep His will from happening.

Maybe you have had a similar experience, maybe not.  Either way God can’t be stopped…things may be delayed, but never stopped.  If He told you something…it has to happen, if for no other reason then that He said it would happen and He cannot lie.

Take heart, it will come to pass!

Regret

It’s scratches on my truck, a stain on my shirt, a bad meal, or something that I’ve lost.  Everyone deals with it in different degrees and get it in different doses…regret!

When I survey my life there aren’t a lot of serious regrets.  Maybe, I’m obtuse, maybe I’m not as spiritual as I should be, but I feel like the mistakes that I made weren’t killers and they weren’t debilitating to the point that they affected me forever.  That doesn’t mean there weren’t some times that I was teetering on the line and it could have gone very differently.

Unfortunately for me the book of James is pretty convicting.  It tells me it’s not enough to keep myself from doing something stupid…I’ve got a responsibility as a Christ-Follower to do something with my faith.  My personal regrets have everything to do with things I didn’t do, when I had the opportunity.  When my life is always about me and I don’t do anything about injustice, the poor, or the lost…I’m one of the worst sinners ever.

I think it’s very possible that our churches in America may be filled with the most notorious sinners on the planet and they aren’t “doing” anything wrong!!

Vision/Thanks!

Is God Quick or Slow?

A couple nights ago Carrie and I decided to sleep on the couch.  I know that it doesn’t make since to the normal ear, but you have to sit on the couches to understand how great they are to know why I would give up my bed for the night.

About 5 AM, we heard a crying kid upstairs that sounded extremely upset and sounded scared and fearful.  Carrie jumped up and ran upstairs to rescue what she thought was our little boy Micah, only to find out that it was his cousin Addy.  Carrie isn’t what one would call an early riser, so it was amazing how quickly she was off the couch and up the stairs.  This was an obvious case of the “motherly instinct” kicking in and giving her super human strength to launch her into mommy to the rescue mode.

Parents and Pastors are always talking about how their kids teach them this and that about God.  I think there a lot of things that being a parent teaches about our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  However, that night didn’t remind me of God, it reminded me of what earthly parents do when their kids are about to hurt themselves.

Sure there are stories where God rescues someone from impending doom (Lot, Balaam), but in most cases God doesn’t swoop in like Superman and rescues us.  Many times in my life things worked out last minute similar to Israel being rescued after 400 years of captivity.

I’m not saying God is a lousy parent, but that we parent very differently then He does and we should make sure our expectations for Him allow for the sovereignty of His will.

Just force it!

If you have taken Physics somewhere along the way you have heard of this agent of nature.  Force = Mass X Area.  In other words if you have a sharp object that weighs a lot pressing down, its going to leave a mark.  If you pick up a marshmallow off a table, nobody would even be able to tell it was there.

I learned a long time ago that in preaching “force” is critical.  If you deliver a sermon full of insights, research, and Scripture, but people aren’t moved to do anything you preached about…then your sermon lacks force.  If you have a creative talk, full of pithy sayings or proverbs, and moving stories that cause people to seriously evaluate their lives…your talk had adequate force.

Some preachers get a bad rap for being too deep enough and other pastors that are full of insights and observations are criticized for not being meaty enough.

At the end of the day you can boil down anointed preaching to one thing…force.  If you audience leaves the same as they came into church, then there is a strong chance the preaching lacked force.

Anything cuter?

I think not!

Where have all the good people gone?

That’s a deceptive question and also a good song by Jack Johnson.  You may have heard someone say about a teenager, “he is a good kid, he just makes bad choices.”  To that I say, “Whatever!”

We can debate about what a “good” person actually looks like, but then reality strikes.   If you try to make a list of the attributes of bad person its going to include their choices.  If they make more bad choices then good ones they are a “bad” person…and vice versa.  You probably add a scale to try and make some bad decisions count more and thus put them in “bad” person category…but all of that is a waste of time.

Although some people’s names make you cringe and others make you smile, the reality is that we are all “bad” people who just make good choices from time to time.  If someone says Hitler, you think “bad” person.  If someone says Mother Teresa, it’s natural to say she was a “good” person.

Unfortunately, Paul clears up the debate for us in Romans 3…everyone sucks, we don’t get how bad we really are and we can’t do anything about it in our own power.  See Romans 3:10-12

We need to quit solving people’s problems by attacking the symptoms and not the root cause.  People need Jesus, not just self-control, a little maturity, or better friends…but that’s just me, oh and Paul.

Dirty Trick

Next Level Consulting

It may be cliché at this point, but I’m going to start doing some consulting.  God has given me a critical eye, a discerning heart, and the ability to help people think systematically.  At Oak Leaf Church, while I was Executive Pastor, we saw things happen in 3 years that God typically does in 10 years at other churches.  We planted a church, watched it grow to 1000 people, bought and renovated a building, hired a dozen or more staff, and saw God do amazing things at three different locations.

We were also able to create an entire package of documents and forms that have been a hit among church planters and pastors.  We put a plethora of systems in place that have gotten so much recognition that the Lead Pastor of Oak Leaf Church has been asked to speak about them at conferences.

Now that I have the time and flexibility I want to offer my unique insights and experiences to assist other Lead Pastors, Executive Pastors, or business managers to help them take their organizations to the next level.

I am sympathetic to a Lead Pastor under budget constraints and church planters that have very little money.  I have hired consultants in the past and know their fees were worth the invaluable help they offered.

After prayer and much thought, I’ve created a system that I believe will help both of us.  With a donation of $1200 to Axiom Church (in a lump sum or in monthly installments) and covering my traveling expenses, I will create a thorough assessment of your staff structure, your Sunday morning experience and provide leadership tips to help you move your church forward.

Contact me at gatorgratto@gmail.com if you would like more information or would like to set up an appointment.

4 Factors in Phenomenal Church Growth: Part VI

RIGHT PLACE:

You aren’t likely to find an orange tree orchard in New Jersey, nor are you going to see Redwoods in Miami.  Some things just don’t match up because of the economy, weather, population, or history.  You can’t excuse yourself and just say it’s church, or it’s exciting, or it will be so good it won’t matter.

The data that a church planter should consider should be similar to the amount that large corporations look over.  There are reasons why companies collect data on consumer spending, buying trends, and economic conditions before they open another location or add a line of clothing.  They don’t want to make multi-million dollar mistakes.

Fast growing churches can be planted right between two other church buildings…if it’s the right place for this kind of church. An aggressive pastor shouldn’t excuse themselves from considering these factors in favor of a strong faith.  Facts are your friends!!