Francis Chan should be calling me any day now.

“I understand, I just won’t participate in it.”

Those are the words I shared with my wife this morning as we discussed the topic at hand.  A few weeks ago, a pastor I know twittered that he loves collaborating with pastors from around the area. I responded with a tweet that said something like, “Then lets get together soon _____________”  This is where the story gets good (this is, of course subjective).  The local pastor in question evidently goes to his gatekeeper/secretary/hall moniter and tells him/her to set up an appointment with me.

About a week later I receive an email from gk/sec./hm who informs me that there is a spot for me in the schedule and to let me know when’s good for me.

Now before I go any further, allow me to say, that despite the slightly sarcastic tone I’ve used thus far in this blog post, I affirm this person’s wise system of making sure his schedule is kept clean, neat, and free of distractions so he can work more effectively.  In fact, I could certainly learn from this type of mentality.  I’m not one of those people who believes that business practice and organization is bad for the church.  As you know though, via this blog, I am really into relationships, and Stop being a stubborn muleI don’t know if I want to participate in the frenzy or to add to the dude’s schedule.  This post is not really about him, it’s more about me.

Yesterday I spent about 4 hours with two guys who are rockin it for Jesus in the Boston area, and it was all done because one of them called the other one, then the other one called me.  We had a great time and I learned tons just talking through some of the elements of ministry we’ve all gone through.

But for whatever reason, I have a mindset to not get back to Gk/Sec/Hm, and at the same time if Buddy, Andy, or Francis‘s Gk/Sec/Hm emailed me and said they wanted to get together with me, I’d say, “Sure, how high do you want me to jump?” So basically what I’d like you to do today is to tell me…

to stop being a stubborn mule.

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I suppose surrounding yourself with people who inspire you has some drawbacks as well

Have you ever tried to do something more than you were actually doing?  Like not just the status quo, but more or bigger or better?

I’ve been inspired this morning as I’ve read a pile of blog posts from 4:45 am to 5:30 am, to do my part to continue my quest to make Fellowship Church better, bigger, and more, with the intent of connecting and helping people abide in Christ.

Mark shared his adventures in Nashville,which he travelled to from Egypt this week.  He’s a worship leader there.  Pete tells of how the community he’s a part of is gathering steam and doing amazing things for God.  Katie inspires me to want to ride a bike, though the last time I tried, I almost got arrested for stealing a bike,  (the truth is,I had borrowed a really nice bike from a friend, had some problems riding it, rode past a construction zone, and the police officer told himself “no way is that his bike”)  And Buddy not only excels at leading one of the premier churches in the northeast, he also desires more for his health and competitive side.

I desire better when I can help make it that way.  I desire bigger, if bigger coincides with healthier.  And I desire more, if that is God’s intention in my life.  This kind of thinking is not wrong and it’s not easy. In fact, to accomplish this takes hard work, determination, and a lot of perserverence.  I’m thrilled to be surrounded by people in my life who foster this sense of thinking.

One thing that’s not difficult however, is the desire for people who don’t want better, bigger, or more to criticize those who do.  Being critical is outrageously easy.  I could do it in my sleep, and probably even yours (but that sounds more like an episode of “Fringe”).  I’m pretty sure there are times I’m surrounded by people who foster this way of thinking too.

Which one are you?

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Yes, this is true, my head feels like it’s exploding…in a good way.

I just spent some time with the guys from this church.  I used to hang a bit with this pastor from that church and all three of the pastors from the church spoke into my life today.  I feel energized and ready to go this week, and maybe this next year.  Thanks Brian, Buddy, and Nate.  Here are three lessons I’ve learned this weekend, not only from them, but also from the people around me, including Carie:

1.  Risk-taking – never get comfortable, and when you do, it’s time to take another risk.
2.  Clear expectations – “Marty, if you didn’t tell them, they might know that they’re supposed to have done that.” – uh, duh Marty!
3.  Sometimes if you want something done, you have to get dirty when you do it.

(4. Coldplay’s acoustic version of th song “Lost” almost brings me to tears. an unbelievable song!)

If you could teach me one thing right now that you’re learning, what would it be?

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 Welcome to MoMo’s! HERE are the guidelines. If this is your first time giving your “amazing story”, PLEASE take time to read them. It will save us both a lot of time.

To join me, write a post today (or a post you’ve written from last Monday to Sunday) sharing something tht has happened to you this last week - anything funny or interesting, crazy, fulfilled, too busy, hilarious, wistful, or any number of out of the ordinary happenings that made you happy or miserable last week.  Put a link in your post to this post permalink (not my general URL) and then put the permalink of your post (not your general URL) here at the end of this post. Thanks.  By the way, I do this because I love stories.  To tell them, to hear them, and to read them.

So tell me your “Inspired by the truth” story every Monday…

Here’s mine.

On Sunday night, right before my Celtics destroyed the Atlanta Hawks, I had the privilege to attend a vision meeting at Northway Church in Malta, New York.  Carie and I were in town and decided to take the opportunity to attend this meeting specifically for the volunteers of Northway.  Two blogging friends, Buddy and Brian, pastor this church in New York, and I was excited to hear what God had placed in their hearts for the future of Northway.

As soon as I walked in the door, I was awed at what God is doing in this church.  Volunteers from all 3 campuses (Malta, Clifton Park, and Colonie) were packed in, catching up and eating amazing some church provided food.  It looked from first glance that their was an excitement in this church that made the place buzz like the “Lost” island did whenever someone didn’t push that dang button every 108 seconds in the 2nd season.

After a while, the meeting started with one of the church bands leading us in some sweet music like “How great is our God”, “Shout to the Lord”, and “Let God arise”.  They were great – very professional and seemed to really enjoy themselves as they worshipped.

Then Buddy came on stage and introduced a first class video made by their production team (or whatever they call it) called “The Revolution” which highlited Buddy riding on a helicoptor and flying over all 3 campuses of Northway Church.  He shared some of the amazing things God is doing there at the church and through it all, I could see not only his passion for what was going on there, but the passion of the hundreds of volunteers looking on, obviously overwhelmed by what how God is using them.  By the end of the video, I was inspired and wanted to get in on the revolution myself.

After the video, Buddy came up to address the crowd.  he challenged them to Look back (to see what God has done), Look up (to see what He’s doing), and look forward (to see where God is taking us).  I was challenged in my own life to do these things and appreciated his authenticity as he tearfully recalled the early days of Northway, and the changes that had gone on in the process.

After Buddy finished, the band came up once again as the crowd sang “How Great is our God.”

Afterwards, I chatted with Buddy briefly and thanked him for his vision and for allowing me in on what God is doing there at Northway Church.  I believe we have a similar vision at Fellowship Church, and am more excited than ever to allow God to use us to carry it out.

How about you?

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