PCC

Everyone Should Be Mentored

2012-02-09T20:48:00.001-05:00

I had lunch today with a good friend who has been an important influence in my life. We don't get together very often, but when we do I can always count on profound truths, great advice, and sincere care for me, my family and my ministry. This is a pastor who is older than me, with far more experience. He really gets me and understands the particular nuances, pressures, rewards and schedules of someone who lives like I live and does what I do.

In my twelve years in ministry, there have been a few folks who have decided to invest in me and speak into my life. I'm much better because they took me under their wing and helped me when I needed good counsel. Sometimes I knew I needed help, but a few times they would reach out to me when I was in trouble and didn't even know it.

Everyone, in my opinion, ought to have one or two of these folks in their life. Senior Pastors, especially, need a mentor or two. But I would make the case that this applies to everyone.

I'm not a big fan of making this 'formal'. There is a school of thought that says you have to negotiate a mentoring relationship, spell out expectations and time limits. I prefer to let this happen naturally. Over time, as you build friendships, it becomes obvious who is around you who can mentor you. You don't always have to name it, but I know who's mentoring me and I know who I'm mentoring.

Who's speaking wisdom and truth and care on a personal level into your life?

Being Creative

2012-02-07T19:56:00.001-05:00

(Beth also wrote about our experience today. I encourage you to check that out by clicking here.)

Beth Brawley Stoddard led eight or so members of our creative team on a retreat today. A family graciously agreed to let us use their mountain cottage and we spent the entire day - after a 2 hour drive - being creative. We talked about ourselves a little and then we were given a creative exercise to do.

Beth had us take a piece of scripture - we all had the same one - and think on it. After some quiet meditation on our own, we were supposed to take a piece of posterboard and make a collage that highlighted what struck us or what we felt was the emphases from the scripture. We could clip magazines, draw or write, color - anything we wanted.

This is NOT my creative strength. I can't draw a straight line. My drawings look like stick figures...from a kindergartener. Seriously. It's pitiful. Plus, I don't usually think visually.

But rather than protest, I...cheated.

I took my posterboard, clipping letters from magazines and glued them onto the board to read:

Beth,

No Collage

Love,

Paul

(Paul, the Apostle, wrote the assigned scripture.) So, technically, I completed the collage assignment. But what I did instead was write about the scripture, and I presented my writing by reading it to the group, along with my lame poster. I wrote creatively, making the case that Paul, like me, used words for his art. "I bet he never did a collage," I said. "No...images may have been fleeting for him, but words were his art, and prayer was his pencil."

My writing felt invigorating and I felt alive! As I wrote, the words flowed with ease - unusually so - and it felt like my art was connecting...with me, with God, with others.

Creatives, you MUST live into your art. You need to, like Beth led us to do, step back from the normal framework of your normal routine and live into a new paradigm every now and then. For writers like me, that means writing by hand, or with some kind of different tool than the normal tool you use. Read a different writer from your normal repertoire. Listen to a different communicator. Write a different genre - like poetry or fiction or even the lyrics to a song. Get away and write from a different place. Sometimes I write from Starbucks for a change of pace. When the weather is nice, I write from my boat. Occasionally, I even retreat and go away. You cannot be creative if you do the same thing all the time.

Stepping outside of my normal writing routine breathed new life into my words today. And it felt like...the breath of God...

We Need Each Other

2012-02-05T12:30:00.000-05:00

I told a story today about my good buddy Chad and his encouragement of me to push harder to be better. If you missed church today, you can watch it here.

I really believe in the power of community. We have, at times, leaned into other important aspects of spiritual life, like serving and giving, prayer and time reading the Bible. Lately, we're coming back to a re-emphasis on the power and importance of community life.

At PCC, we do community in small groups. I can't encourage you enough to get in one. We've got groups meeting all over, doing all kinds of studies at all kinds of times for people in all kinds of seasons. If you have trouble getting in a group, let me know - by email, facebook, or call me at the office. I will get you to someone who will help get you connected. It's important to your spiritual life and your journey.

The Circle Maker

2012-02-04T14:31:00.004-05:00

I recently read a fantastic book that I want to recommend to you. It's The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. You may recall that Batterson also wrote Wild Goose Chase, which has a profound impact on PCC a couple of years ago. (It was the book about the cages).

The Circle Maker is a very practical book about prayer. I think for many of us, prayer is a mystery. After reading this book, I would still make that statement, but Batterson really helps clear the fog. The PCC bookstore has a few copies, if you want to pick one up Sunday. And we'll be doing a series called The Circle Maker starting June 3, which will finish with Mark Batterson himself speaking at PCC on June 24!

One of the things Batterson has really learned to do well is make a point with a memorable phrase or soundbite. My book is marked-up everywhere with these and I thought I'd share a few of them here:

"Well-developed faith results in well-defined prayers, and well-defined prayers result in a well-lived life."

"Potential is God's gift to us; what we do with it is our gift back to God."

"Change of pace + change of place = change of perspective."

"One litmus test of spiritual maturity is whether your dreams are getting bigger or smaller...There is certainly nothing wrong with an occasional stroll down memory lane, but God wants you to keep dreaming until the day you die...Our date of death is not the date etched on our tombstone. The day we stop dreaming is the day we start dying...Drawing prayer circles around our dreams isn't just a mechanism whereby we accomplish great things for God; it's a mechanism whereby God accomplishes great things in us."

I could have listed a hundred good quotes here, but you get the point. Now get the book. Read it. You'll be glad you did.

Planning at PCC

2012-02-01T17:36:00.000-05:00

Beth Stoddard wrote the BEST post about our planning process, and the chaos that sometimes becomes our idea of fun!

Further, people ask us often some version of this question: What do you guys do all week? I know folks don't really know or understand. That's ok. And it's hard to explain. Beth's post gives a good view of one of the things that take a lot of time every week.

We work very hard to make our services fresh, different, alive, fun, creative, reflective, meaningful, deeply Biblical, and practical. This is no easy task. And trust me, every week we feel an intense sense of pressure to keep the bar high. We don't do this for our own 'performance', but because, as Bill Hybels says, "Excellence honors God and inspires people." We want to give God our absolute best. Why would we offer to Him anything less?

I strongly encourage you to invest 5 minutes reading Beth's post, which you can get to by clicking here.

M & M's

2012-01-31T14:49:00.002-05:00

We did something unusual at our Powhatan Campus on Sunday. I wish we had been able to pull it off at both of our campuses, because it was really cool, but it was such a last-minute idea that we couldn't. I won't rehash the illustration, but you can see it if you click here (the illustration begins at 50 minutes on the video).

What we are talking about was giving. You may know that this is my least favorite subject to teach, since the number 1 reason people give for why they don't go to church is some version of the perception that "all the church wants is my money." I hate that people feel that way, and don't want our church to be perceived that way.

But the truth is that a Christ Follower who does not give financially is lacking. He is not living up to what a fully devoted follower of Jesus really is. She is not realizing her full potential. And that person is missing the blessing of giving, too.

I focused a lot of energy on the 'blessing of giving' on Sunday. There are really too many to name.

I am blessed when I obey God, because I know He is proud of me.
I'm blessed when I give because I get to help someone.
I'm blessed to know that I'm a part of some ministry or cause that is doing something important.
I'm blessed to realize that money is not that important. Giving releases me from it's stronghold on my life. (this is a BIG deal, and a MAJOR blessing of giving)
I'm blessed when God pours out the blessing on me, in proportion to the the measure I use when I give. (See Luke 6:38) (Note: the blessing I am promised is guaranteed, BUT it may not always come in the form of money!)
I'm blessed to see a glimpse of how BIG God is and how FAITHFUL He is.

People really want to see if they can argue their way around giving. "I can give time instead of money" is a very popular argument. "Tithing is an Old Testament idea" is also often heard. "I don't know if I should give on the gross or the net." Any of those questions, oddly, speak to the real heart of the issue, as they all say, "God doesn't really own it all." or "I'm willing to be a follower of Jesus with other things, but not completely with my money."

Can't you see the spiritual implications, here? Isn't it time for an honest conversation with God about this? We MUST get to the place where we lay our entire lives on the table and say, "God, it's ALL yours. You can do with it whatever you want. You say it, I'll do it."

That's my prayer for every person today, including me.

Pros and Cons of a GREAT season

2012-01-24T08:30:00.000-05:00

Right now, I am in a very good place. Having experienced the struggle and discouragement of not being in a good place, I'm grateful for this season. It's been a long time since I felt as good as I feel right now. And everything in my life and most things at our church seem to be firing on all cylinders. I mean just about everything is working - the energy is palpable, there is buzz. My family is healthy, my kids are doing well in school and love God. My spiritual life is good. My marriage is as awesome. Friendships are healthy. We're following the Dave Ramsey 7-baby-steps plan and our financial life looks a little brighter every day.

It's all good right now! And I often say that we should savor these seasons. They come and go, and we should enjoy them when they're here.

But there's a downside. I actually feel so good about our church and I'm genuinely so excited about it, I have a tendency to just live at PCC 24/7. Of course, I go home. But even when I'm there, all I think about is all that's going on here. I'm not anxious about it. In fact, I'm actually off-the-charts excited! I think about Westchester, the Preschool, Leadership Development, children and student minstries, administration, small groups, ways to pay for our building and pave the parking lot, care and guest services and hospitality, how to get more folks connected, what our next marketing push should look like, can we up the ante with missions, the upcoming service series', the teaching team, the Blue Team, the Steering Team, a new structure, incorporation, new ventures in middle school ministry, how our church should be led in a 3+ campus scenario, the playground, we need to incorporate, I need to spend more time with leaders one-on-one, we need some paint in the building and to finish the trim, how can we upgrade to HD?, I need to revise and update the 101 class, is there a better way to partner with Atlee?, can we have a workday at the building?, how are we going to celebrate PCC turning 10 this fall?, my office needs the touch of someone who knows decor, what are we doing to do to make Easter really exciting this year?, how can we better support our staff, are we communicating effectively with our leaders, and - oh yea - Sunday will be here in 5 days and my message is not finished!

All this is not intended to invoke sympathy or offers to help (though we don't turn those down!), but rather to note that many of us fall into this trap: when things are going well and we really love what we do, we tend to pour ourselves into that work beyond sustainability. 'Why not?' we say. 'This is so much fun!' And it's true. But so is the old adage, "too much of a good thing...is a bad thing."

When I give into my temptation to get unbalanced, I set myself up for an inevitable run-in with an unmovable wall. That collision is guaranteed. It will bring with it all kinds of negative things, as my life gets increasingly off-kilter in every area. That's not good for me or anyone else around me.

Being aware of this phenomenon this early in the process is good. It will help me be smarter and manage my energy and time and thoughts in a healthier way.

I know I'm not the only one who faces this challenge. Don't let a great season be cut short because you fell too hard into it!

6 Great Things about this Weekend at PCC

2012-01-22T18:52:00.000-05:00

It was another fantastic weekend at PCC, breaking some records, lighting fires, exploring new things, meeting new people and seeing God work through it all. Let me share with you 6 things that have happened in the past 4 days that are AWESOME!!!

1) P-Town After Dark (the student ministry Lock-In) was a MASSIVE success! We knew it would be fun, and we knew some kids would come, but we had no idea just how many. 148 students showed up and stayed-up all night having a blast! They jumped in the huge inflatable, Zumba'ed, watched a movie on the big screen, ate, ate, ate, and played hide-and-go-seek in the whole building (I would have loved that!). Angie Frame (even though she had been really sick) came and and led the fun, with the help of some great adult leaders who love teenagers. Way to Go, Angie and the PCC Student Ministry!

2) Thursday (which is not really the weekend, but I'm cheating a little), some of our staff, Steering Team and a couple of other leaders took a short trip about 40 minutes from our Powhatan location and started exploring the possibility of a 3rd physical PCC campus. It was very exciting and very promising. I believe God is moving among us to do a new thing. We're good at doing new things - it's in our DNA - and I'm pumped about what's about to happen. I don't have lots of details to share yet...mostly just praying and looking and knocking, but it's very cool.

3) Westchester is really growing. There is a palpable energy at our Westchester Campus, and it has grown at a remarkable pace in the past few months. A larger movie theater seems to be on the horizon as we're getting cramped in the room we're in now.

4) Once again, our Powhatan campus is starting to fill up, especially at 11:15. But both services feel good, with plenty of people and plenty of energy in the room. Wasn't it so great today to do "You Can't Always Get What You Want"?! It reminded me that God is at work, in every situation and every circumstance. Why should the Rolling Stones own that song? Can't it be used as a tool for us to see what God wants us to see, and at the same time have a blast during the learning?! It was a ton of fun! We're working hard every week to be as creative and engaging as possible with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

5) We had PCC 101 today. I always love that class. In part 1, we hear from folks about why they came to PCC and why they came back. Today, 25 or so people shared their story and it was incredibly inspiring to hear them. It reminds me every time just how important the work we do is. It matters, and people are bearing witness to just how powerfully God is moving at our church.

6) Idea's are shooting around here like crazy. People are calling and emailing and Facebooking with all kinds of ideas about children, students, service ideas, topics, ministry, problems and solutions - I can't remember a time when I felt like there was so many people engaged in so many ways. Seems like our folks are really getting it...and they're inviting their friends and neighbors,coworkers and families.

I think PCC is about to get crazy nuts insane...and you don't want to miss a minute of it. It's the most fun I've ever had. Hope you will be a part of it, too!

Jesus or Religion?

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

At this moment, as I write these words, this video has been on YouTube for 6 days and has had almost 13 MILLION views! It has already sparked a lot of controversy from leading voices in the Church. You ought to take a look at it and then I'll make a few comments of my own.

I have made the statement many times that 'Jesus didn't like religious people'. I have believed that for a long time. In fact, the only people Jesus really, really got bent out of shape with were the super-religious.

Confused? Let me help you.

Taking my cue from Jesus, I am unwilling to subscribe to a system that awards people who look good on the outside but are corrupt on the inside, and are unwilling to admit it. Real church - the kind that Jesus had in mind - is church where people...and especially the leaders stand up and say, "I'm broken, too." And they ought to mean it, because it's true. We all have our stuff, our junk, baggage, past, our temptations and our sin. None of us is perfect, and we all fall down. The Apostle Paul said that he was chief among sinners, the worst of them all. And he believed that. We ought to know that about ourselves, too, and be willing to say it. I'm broken, very imperfect, and deeply sinful. I take 3 steps forward and 2 steps back...but that's still progress, slow as it may be.

One time, Jesus was speaking to religious leaders and he said, "For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition....You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition." (Mark 7:8-10, NLT, excerpts) If religion is a system of rules, judgement, exclusion, and empty rituals & traditions, then count me out. Jesus condemned such systems, and we follow His lead.

This does NOT mean that we do not speak truth. Some actions are clearly wrong. There is nothing judgmental about saying, 'this is not right' or 'this behavior is wrong' or pointing out the truths of the Bible to someone. If we really love people, we want God's best for them. I want my friends and the people who care about me to help illuminate my blind spots as they see them. We should not be in the business of ignoring destructive actions or lifestyles.

But we don't judge the heart. Only God can do that. Do you see the difference? It's the difference this guy is talking about in this video. So, when I hear this guy, I want to cheer him on!

At PCC, of all the things we've not done well (and I could name a bunch), I think we've gotten this one right. And it's important. And I'm really proud to be a part of a church that isn't religious. We're just passionate about Jesus and the people Jesus died for!

Rules of Storytelling

2012-01-16T17:30:00.003-05:00

I cannot tell you how many people have asked me, "Was that story you told yesterday actually true?" I guess it was so outrageous that it was pretty hard to believe. The answer is: Yes. It's true. And I thought it would provide a good opportunity for me to talk a little about storytelling as illustration in any kind of public speaking - whether it's a sermon or a lecture or a speech.

First, if you weren't at PCC yesterday, you might want to click here and go 40 minutes and 35 seconds into the video and listen to the story.

Here are FOUR rules I practice in storytelling:

1) Exaggeration is ok. Most of the time, I look for ways to insert an absurdity. Strategically placed, these accomplish 2 things: 1- they make the story fun and funny, 2- absurdities tell the listener, "that part is an embellishment." In this particular story, I said something like, "I was so mad, I pumped iron like the old Arnold..." Well, that's clearly not true. But it's also clearly an embellishment. It's so absurd that it cannot possibly be true.

2) Fabrication is NOT ok. Often, I will change unimportant details or insignificant timelines in order to make the story better, make it tell better, etc. But the heart and message of the story must be true. I would never say, "I was at the Grand Canyon one day..." if I had never been to the Grand Canyon. I would never take the story to the point of saying, "I felt like God was telling me..." if I didn't feel God telling me. Do you see the difference? This is critical for any public speaker of any kind - it's a matter of integrity.

3) Always protect the innocent. There were critical details of the story I told yesterday that I DID change in order to protect the identity of the one who took my shoes. Facts like location, time and even whether it was actually a pair of shoes (for all you know, it could have been a shirt) - all of that is irrelevant to the story itself. But making those adjustments ensures that if that person were to show up in church, neither that person nor anyone else would know who I was talking about. The essence of the story is preserved, but identities are carefully protected. This takes a lot of time and practice.

4) Stories take us somewhere. The point of a story is to illustrate. It's not just to be funny. The story is not an end, it's a mean to an end. Let the crafting of the story take us to a better place - a place that is beyond the details of the story and a application that is beyond the storyteller.

The story I told yesterday was absolutely true. And I apply the principles above to all the stories I tell. Stories make or break a message. They allow the truth of Scripture to come to life in a relevant way and help people bridge the gap that consists of the 2000 years since the Bible was written. It's important that we tell them well, that we do it with integrity, protect the innocent along the way, and use story as a means to an end.

Come Meet Mark Batterson!

2012-01-14T14:13:00.002-05:00

ICN February Conference
Thursday, February 16 | 10am - 2:00pm |
Atlee Community Church, Mechanicsville

Mark Batterson

Best selling author and Virginia Pastor Mark Batterson is coming to ICN!! Mark is the founding and Senior Pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC. He has written several best selling and popular books, including In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase. He is known for his expertise with entrepreneurial leadership in the church and multi-site church expansion.

Mark will be speaking on The Circle Maker, his latest book focusing on the importance and potency of prayer.

He will also take questions and discuss Ebenezers, multi-site and church leadership.

Come and be a part of this great day with Mark Batterson and your friends at ICN!

Registration

REGISTRATION:
The conference is free but the cost of lunch is $15 (sandwich, chips, beverage and sweet treat). Change in registration: we are now requiring to have lunch prepaid. Please send payment along with names of participants, contact email address and lunch choice to Atlee Community Church, 7171 Verdi Lane, Mechanicsville, VA 23116. A confirmation email will be sent to you.
If you do not want to order lunch please rsvp to icn@atleechurch.org and a confirmation reply will be sent to you as well.

Lunch:

Sandwich:

Roast Beef
Club sandwich
Vegetarian

RSVP by February 10

About ICN

In 2006 four pastors from innovative churches in Virginia began a friendship. They formed the Innovative Church Network to help leaders:

Strengthen their Core Leadership Team
Foster Relationships
Lead Dynamic Training

The point of our Innovative Church Network is peer-to-peer learning and support. Our gathering will provide you and your entire team an opportunity to talk about specific aspects of ministry, allowing peers to share their successes and struggles. We want to spark a living network of innovative church leaders passionate about fulfilling the Great Commission in the 21st Century.

If you have additional questions or need assistance please contact:
Innovative Church Network
Atlee Community Church 7171 Verdi Lane
Mechanicsville, VA 23116
(804) 730.3676
icn@atleechurch.org

Join us on Facebook - Innovative Church Network!

A sad, sad day...and a Call to Action

2012-01-12T11:26:00.002-05:00

Today is a sad, sad day. A defining American icon; a traditional American food; a staple among millions of Gen X'ers for decades: The Twinkie is in trouble!

Yesterday, the parent company to Hostess - the beloved maker of Twinkies and Cupcakes - filed for bankruptcy. It's the 3rd time they've filed for bankruptcy since 2004, and there is speculation that they will take their final breath this time.

Which means we might take our final bite sometime soon.

I grew up on Twinkies. They were sometimes in my lunch as a single pack, sometimes as a two-for. Sometimes, I'd sneak an extra pack without Mom knowing it. Twinkies have a shelf life of like ten-thousand years and fend off radiation, bacteria, cancer and other diseases (so I've heard). They float in the harshest of soft drinks without falling apart, unlike their counterfeit, substandard rivals.

There is nothing like a Twinkie. So lets do something about it.

My fellow Americans, we need to rescue the Twinkie! It could be the most important issue in this next presidential election. For all the money the government wastes, couldn't we spend a few million saving a national treasure? Better yet, let us take matters into our own hands. Let us rise up to the occasion and speak with one voice through commerce!

Let us, this day, show the world how much we love our golden cakes with mysterious white filling. I'm going to buy some right now!

It could be my last.

Who's with me!?

Thanks to 3 VERY special people

2012-01-11T16:20:00.001-05:00

Three years ago this month, Brenda Boggs, Matt Towler and Shelton King began on our Steering Team. They finished their 36 month term on December 31, and I suspect they'd tell you it's been both fun and rough. In fact, I said on Sunday that I thought they had the toughest term of any Steering Team class in our history.

At our first meeting, the economy had tanked and we had to make some of the hardest decisions in PCC's history. Cutting the budget is never fun. But cutting the staff line is enough to make you sick to your stomach for weeks. That was their first job.

We navigated difficult waters with the troubled economy pretty much for their entire term. I don't think they ever had a 'fun' budget conversation. They are the only group who hasn't experienced the great joy of watching God just heap blessings on our church financially.

Then they took our church through the difficult days of building our building. To say that it was 'difficult' is such a gross understatement that it's laughable. I'll leave it at that.

Every class of ST members has some great experiences and notable moments. This group, in spite of our trouble, actually got us all the way down the home stretch and into our building. And while I lament scarce resources, they actually navigated those waters in a way that allowed God to be honored and our ministries to thrive.

On a personal note, Shelton King served as the Team Leader for two years and he became a good friend. He pastored me. He gave me time and an ear. There were moments when I needed someone to kick my butt, and Shelton knew exactly how hard to push. He guided the team, never lost his cool, put in enormous amounts of time, and always believed with God-like optimism in the mission of PCC.

All three of these folks deserve our thanks. They also deserve a season of rest. Our church is better because of them, and I'm personally grateful for them. They inspire me to be better and to work even harder.

2012 is going to be VERY good at PCC!

2012-01-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

I am really excited about 2012 at PCC. Let me share five reasons why, and a few very cool announcements:

1) Some fantastic series' are on the horizon! Here's a sampling:

'Ritual', which will look at the Bible's teachings about communion, confession, baptism, symbols and other relevant and important parts of exercising one's faith. We've never done a series like this one before and I'm totally excited about it! You may think these things don't affect you, but they do in big ways. Don't miss it.
Every year, one series I look forward to for months is the one about family. We'll look at marriage and parenting and other and family relationships. This is one of my favorite subjects and I can't wait!
You'll see more of the Teaching Team this year. I think God is doing some very cool things in these up and coming communicators, and I'm honored to speak into their gift and turn them loose at PCC!
We're going to do a series on prayer called The Circle Maker. I don't think we've ever done a series on prayer before, and it's going to be very practical and applicable to all kinds of people -whether you're new to faith or have been a Christ follower for decades. This series will finish in DRAMATIC fashion with...

(drum roll, please)

2) Mark Batterson! Yes, Mark Batterson is coming to PCC on June 24!!! In case you don't recognize his name, LOTS of you will recognize his book. He's the guy who wrote "Wild Goose Chase". We did that as a six week series in the fall of 2010 (it was the one with the cages) and it radically transformed our church. It was so incredible. So, when Mark's latest book - The Circle Maker - came out, we worked with him to nail down a date he could come and be with us. You won't want to miss the chance to hear him speak at PCC!

3) PCC turns 10!! That's right, this year is our TEN year anniversary. It's hard to believe! So, this fall, we are going to have a GRAND and AWESOME event to celebrate. Planning is in the works now, and we'll have a date nailed down soon and more details.

4) PCC Preschool opens this fall! We've been working on it for months and in the next week or two, advertisements will begin rolling in the local paper and we'll be taking registrations. We want PCC folks to know about it now so they can get in before it fills up.

5) After struggling through the first part of 2011, we seem to have finally gained some momentum in our finances from October 16 forward. That was the day that I told our church that giving had really been down and that we needed help. From that day on, all I can say is WOW! The faithfulness of our folks has been a great relief since that day and our finances continue to improve. So, don't let up! If we can stay on the pace we set in November and December, 2012 will be a breakthrough year for the ministries of our church and we can finally do some of the things we've been dreaming about to help folks in dramatic and life changing ways.

There is a lot more in the works. God is up to something. We have a strong footing and we're ready to climb the next hill - I honestly feel like 2012 is going to be the year of a dramatic, miraculous movement of God at PCC!

22 Years Ago Today...

2012-01-06T09:10:00.000-05:00

With the exception of the day I committed to following Jesus Christ, 22 years ago today marks the single most important day of my life. I don't remember much about the weather. And while I can name a few folks who were there, I don't really remember most of the crowd (no offense).

But I'll never forget the girl.

She came in from the back of the room. I was waiting at the front, with my Dad on one side and Dr. Wooten on the other. Having lost my contacts the night before (don't ask) and not wanting to wear my massively big glasses, I went without. So - just confessing here - when the doors opened and everyone stood up and there were smiles and tears at this thing of beauty coming into the room, all I could see was a big, white, blurry blob. However, being nearsighted has it's advantages, because the closer she got, the clearer she became. I was stunned, overwhelmed... I could hardly breathe.

I still can hardly breathe sometimes.

She has stood by my side through some of the dumbest, most reckless, foolhardy, crazy decisions. I've taken her on nutty ideas chasing impossible dreams. She's let me dream big and helped me to pray hard. She's taught me to be calm (er) and (more) patient. She's been my best friend, soul mate, accountability partner, encourager and biggest fan. She believed in me in my darkest moments and held me up when I could no longer stand. She's prayed for me when I couldn't pray. And I can't think of a better Mom anywhere.

We all joke about how we outmarried ourselves. I assume we all believe that.

I certainly do. The day Susan Payne became Susan Hughes - 22 years ago today - I won the lottery. I hit the jackpot. God granted me my greatest blessing and my most important life dream came true. That's no joke. And it's pretty much been that way ever since.

I sure am thankful to God on this day, and to Susan for 22 unbelievably great years that have made for one great journey.

An Insider Reflection

2011-12-21T12:03:00.000-05:00

I read an article recently published by Ron Edmonson titled, "10 Secrets Many Senior Pastors Keep" I debated whether or not to talk about it publicly. The truth is that most church folks don't really want to know. Ignorance is bliss most of the time. And this is no exception. So, this is probably a little too revealing for some folks, but I wanted to share it because I thought it would be helpful to a lot of people. I have a good number of friends who are Senior Pastors or Lead Pastors of other churches. I know that many of us struggle with these things. Perhaps church folks all over will empathize a little better after reading this. Ron's list is below, and my comments follow.

10 Secrets Many Senior Pastors Keep

By Ron Edmonson

1. Leading from this position is overwhelming at times. We know Christ is ultimately in charge, but we also know it often seems everyone looks to us to have all the answers.

2. People tell the senior pastor all kinds of things about what is happening in their life or in the lives of others…many we would rather not know sometimes…and sometimes the weight of others problems we carry is enormous.

3. Most pastors walk with a degree of uncertainty, which keeps us in prayer, but also makes us question our abilities at times. It makes depression common for many senior pastors. (Need a Biblical example…see 1 Kings 19)

4. Many senior pastors fear the possibility of failing in their role, so they thrive on the encouragement and prayers of others.

5. Sometimes we allow insecurity to cause us to become overprotective of our reputation and our position.

6. We face the same temptations and occasional spiritual dryness as everyone else. This means we need accountability, but are often afraid to seek it.

7. Our spouse is sometimes the loneliest person in the church and often feels extreme pressure to live up to unrealistic expectations.

8. Loneliness can exist for all leaders and many pastors suffer from it.

9. We seldom know who we can trust, which is why we become guarded and appear hard to get to know. Most senior pastors have been burned by someone they once trusted.

10. We suspect the staff, church leaders and congregation sometimes talks about us behind our back.

I think Senior or Lead Pastors struggle with varying combinations of these. For example, I have learned to differentiate well, so #2 is not usually an issue for me. I hurt with folks and pray for them, but usually do not carry that as an 'enormous weight'. Each of us has our own burdens, I'm doing all I can to just carry mine.

Also, I don't usually feel lonely. I've got a good support system around me, and a few very good friends.

And while #5 still occasionally rears its ugly head, I mostly have tamed that beast.

But #9 is quite real for me. I am quite careful these days about where and when I share my struggles, temptations, fear, etc. Most every pastor I know understands this well, along with #10.

One area I need to improve is accountability, as #6 and the issue of spiritual dryness is often something I have to wrestle.

I'll let Susan speak for herself, but I have at times been concerned about #7.

Now, it's important to note that there are many wonderful things about what we get to do. Seriously, I wouldn't trade this role and calling. Still, it's good to reflect and - in safe places - to talk about lists like these. I think the process makes us healthier, and that's why I'm writing about it today.

Who Really Made 'Behold the Lamb' Happen?

2011-12-20T06:48:00.001-05:00

(I make an ask of you in the last paragraph, so please be sure you see it)

This past weekend at PCC was absolutely defining. Behold the Lamb was, in my opinion, the single best production that our church has ever done (and we've done some good and cool things). The unique combination of dance, story, graphics, set design, technical arts, musicians and singers and narrators - and how ALL of them were talented beyond words - set this apart in a world all its own for our church. It was defining in ways we don't fully know.

As I reflect, I keep coming back to a deep appreciation to the one responsible for making it happen. Yes, all Good things come from God. No doubt about it. He gets the ultimate credit. But God's work is almost always done through human hands.

Andrew Peterson is a musical genius. He wrote it (Behold the Lamb of God), assembled the basic framework of what we saw at PCC. He is one of my favorite singers and songwriters.

But there is one person who was the catalyst, the steady hand, the quiet leader. I watched her play and lead and pray and encourage for an hour - most of which she existed in the dark, in the background, and not at center stage. By now, you probably know I'm talking about Beth Brawley Stoddard.

This picture wasn't taken during Behold the Lamb, but I thought it was a fitting tribute to her leadership. She has learned that incredible talent like hers is attractive to other exceptionally talented musicians. In fact, layers and layers of people, all of whom are incredibly gifted in their respective fields, gather around her all the time. She is a magnet for talented creatives.

But at some point, Beth recognized that she not only had a great gift in music, but in leadership, too. And leadership is as much about 'giving away' as it is displaying your talent. Slowly, deliberately, Beth shifted and took a role of equipper, encourager, coach, inspiration, and trustee of the big-picture.

It has been happening for a long time. Behold the Lamb was not the beginning...it was the culmination. It was the result.

I don't mean in any way to discount the HUNDREDS of hours that so many people invested. No doubt about it, extremely talented people donated serious time, energy and effort. They were vital. And we are the beneficiaries of their gift to us. I usually talk about these folks and leave Beth out. She'd prefer it that way, frankly. And yet, I just couldn't do that this time.

Make no mistake about it: Behold the Lamb would not have happened like it did without Beth. Her unique qualities of creativity, exceptional talent and high capacity leadership make her one of the gifted leaders I've ever seen.

When you finish a work like she did this past weekend, and especially when you have the role she had (which was mostly unseen), you do a lot of reflecting. My hope is that she will hear from you as she looks back. Let her know it was worth it, that our church is better in unspeakable ways because she's here, and that you appreciate her hard work that none of us will ever know about to make PCC happen.

The Emotionally Healthy Church

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

We did a series called "The Big Lie" in September/October that intended to look at a few different aspects of what it really means to be healthy. Emotional Health is one of those aspects that we must take seriously. And one of the books I read that helped me to look at emotional health in a fresh way was The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero. I wanted to share a few highlights from that book from the leader's perspective.

1) Leaders set the tone on emotional health. If the senior pastor of the church is guarded emotionally, the church's culture will reflect that. Scazzero points out: "I saw Jesus able to express his emotion with unashamed, unembarrassed freedom: He shed tears...grieved...was angry, filled with joy...felt compassion, sorry, showed astonishment and wonder and felt distress... Jesus was anything but an emotionally frozen Messiah." (p.33)

2) We spend too little time helping people become emotionally healthy, which inherently requires teaching how to resolve conflict in a healthy way. Scazzero talks about how his church equipped people to be good Bible study facilitators, small group leaders and even prayers, but how they "failed to equip people in foundational emotionally healthy skills such as speaking clearly, directly, honestly and respectfully; listening without making assumptions; and resolving conflicts maturely."

"With one breath, God made us human. Yet, somehow, today we slice out the emotional portion of who we are, deeming it suspect, irrelevant, or of secondary importance. Contemporary discipleship models often esteem the spiritual more than the physical, emotional, social and intellectual components of who we are. Nowhere, however, does a good biblical theology support such a division" (p.51)

One of my favorite quotes is this: "Conflict spreads like a cancer when untreated." (p. 46)

3) "It is not possible for a Christian to be spirutally mature while remaining emotionally immature. For some reason, however, the vast majority of Christians today live as if the two concepts have no intersection."

4) There is a VERY compelling evaluation of emotional maturity in Chapter 4 that took me some time to take (maybe half an hour), but was extremely revealing.

5) The core of the book is in the 7 Principles of an Emotionally Healthy Church

Look beneath the Surface. Blaise Pascal said, "All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone." This principle is about going beneath the 'show' part of who we are and to the stuff no one sees. Scazzero writes, "The gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, yet you are more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope because Jesus lived and died in your place." (p.83)
Break the Power of the Past. "In emotionally healthy churches, people understand how their past affects their present ability to love Christ and others." He says, "I often hear, 'Pete, perhaps my family was not perfect, but it sure was a lot more together than most others.' That is not the issue. Every family has been damaged."
Live in Brokenness and Vulnerability. "...leadership in the kingdom of God...is leading out of failure and pain, questions and struggles..."
Receive the Gift of Limits. "Emotionally healthy people understand the limits God has given them. They joyfully receive the one, two, seven or ten talents God has so graciously distributed. As a result, they are not frenzied and covetous, trying to live a life God never intended. They are marked by contentment and joy."
Embrace Grieving and Loss. "In emotionally healthy churches, people...understnad waht a critical component of discipleship grieving our losses is." (This is one of the best chapters in the book)
Make Incarnation your Model for Loving Well. "The essence of a genuine spiritual life is to love - God, ourselves and other people." Scazzero takes us through some very practical steps of loving well, including good listening practices here.
Slow Down to Lead with Integrity. This is the area I scored the worst in on my emotional maturity test. I don't slow down very well. I suspect I'm in good company, but that's only a small consolation. I appreciated how Scazzero offered some practical ways to apply this principal.

This book is worthwhile for any church leader. It will help give you a different perspective on your own emotional health and on the church where you lead.

5 Good Things about PCC

2011-12-11T15:39:00.001-05:00

This week has been one of those weeks were several not-so-good things came to light. It's never fun to look in the mirror and see just how badly you can mess something up. I'm as capable as anyone of making poor choices or failing to do something well. I usually spend a fair amount of time lamenting 'if only I had done this differently.' There is nothing wrong with that. When we make poor choices, part of growing is feeling the sting of the consequences.

When I have to face shortcomings, it's easy for me to be overwhelmed by them. This happens personally and organizationally, as any leader knows. So, I thought I might add some balance to my reflection by keeping one eye on some positive things while I work on some negative ones.

1) Our church baptized 103 people in 2011 (a record) and has baptized almost 600 people in 9 years. We may not be as well structured, mature, deep, planned or disciplined as we'd like, but we sure have helped a lot of people to know Jesus Christ and cross the line of faith.

2) People have a meal today who otherwise would be hungry. Chauncey Starkey, who heads up our benevolence ministry, briefed me the other day on how many people are asking for help with food. I was blown away at how many thousands of dollars we have given in Food Lion cards to dozens of families who need help.

3) Kids love this church! Parents don't have to drag their kids to church...they want to be here. PCC Kids servers at both campuses make coming to church FUN!

4) I get to work with my closest friends. I know this is more personal, but it's still one of the things I love about our church. Some of my closest friends are also all-in on making PCC happen. They passionately believe in our mission and are full-fledged partners in it. And that means that I get to work with them and do life with them at the same time.

5) People's lives really are better. I was at an event a couple of weeks ago and someone I know walked up to me to tell me how much better his life is because of PCC. His marriage, his spiritual life, his relationship with his kids. He thanked me, but I thought about how many people worked hard so that he could claim those blessings. And these stories aren't exceptions. Rather, we hear about them frequently, as people share the difference our church is making to them.

What we do matters. In spite of our failures and shortcomings (which we absolutely should address), on balance, I think our community is better because of what God is doing here.

2011 Year In Review

2011-12-05T17:56:00.001-05:00

For the past couple of years, we've kicked off the new year with a Sunday that looked back...and forward. It actually has been a healthy exercise for us, and makes for a fun, fresh and interesting day at PCC. Plus, it's a great way for folks who are new to 'see' what we're about.

So, we're gathering 'moments'. Are there particular moments at PCC that stand out in your mind from 2011? They can be something that I or another teaching pastor said. It can be a particular song or drama or video. It can even be a 'goof' or a funny moment.

What are the moments that stand out for you? (you may have already answer this on Facebook, and if you have, that's great. We're just casting as broad a net as we can.)

A Prologue You Don't Want to Skip!

2011-12-04T08:17:00.001-05:00

We talked about Matthew 1 today, which is a prologue to the Christmas story that very few people actually read. It's Jesus' ancestral record, the geneaology, the family tree. I admit it: I usually skip these things, too. But this one is filled with important - critically important - clues about Christmas that we need.

So, today, we looked at 4 hidden stories here that point to some very important Christmas realities that affect our lives. You should read these stories for yourself. Make this a family event. Ask questions of each story like:

Who is this person?
Why are they significant?
What does this story mean to my life?
Why would Matthew include them in his genealogy? (remember, women were not usually included in the ancestral record.)

If you missed the message today, you'll want to check it out at www.pccwiredlive.net.

We pointed out that there are 5 women mentioned here:

Tamar. Genesis 38
Rahab. Joshua 2
Ruth. Book of Ruth
Bathsheba. 2 Sam 11&12
Mary. Luke 2

Hope you enjoy spending some time with your family talking about the prologue to Christmas!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/pccwired

Christmas at PCC

2011-11-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

We are going to have a FANTASTIC Christmas season at PCC - it's an entire experience that you won't want to miss. BUT...there are some surprises and twists that make it unusual and possibly a little controversial. So, give me 7 minutes to explain it all to you by watching the video below. I put a few links and details below the video.

(sorry about the opening picture on this video...wow!)

To see the details on Christmas and especially which services offer what kinds of childcare click here.

To get tickets for one of the 3 Christmas Eve services, click here.

5 Thoughts and Perspectives about the Creative Process

2011-11-28T10:28:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a phenomenal day at our church. Regardless of which campus you attended (Powhatan, Westchester or Online), we had a great day together as One church! The fundamental reason it was such a great day had nothing to do with us, truthfully. We simply unpacked what God has done and is still doing for us. Still, it was so great to experience the truth of John 3:16 in such a fresh and creative way. Plus, the music that got us to that moment and helped us express ourselves afterward was incredible.

Days like yesterday make me think about our church and what we do, and I thought I'd flesh a few of those out here.

1) It's always a team effort. There were honestly multiple voices, all equally contributing, to yesterday's service. God is the One who ultimately speaks, but he does it usually through more than one person during the creation process. Someone found the video, someone worked the narration, someone edited, someone engineered the technology, someone selected the music around it, etc. It's almost never one person from start to finish. It's always about the team. And I'd rather do church like a team any day than do it with lone rangers and single stars.

2) It's almost never an original idea. Occasionally, we 'invent' something from scratch that we've never seen or heard of before. But most of the time, we're stealing it. That may be too strong. We're borrowing and modifying it. Better? The Bible says "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecc 1:9, NIV). ANYONE can take someone else's work and improve on it, make it better. That's what we often do. That's what we did yesterday. People do that with our stuff, too. It makes us all better.

3) It always takes far more time than the average person knows. If you were at PCC a few weeks ago, we did this video of David Brawley trying to take down Matt Warren (little guy vs. big guy - strength vs. weakness). We worked and worked and worked the shooting to get it right. At one point, while we were waiting on one of the shots to get set up, Matt said to me, "I had no idea you guys put this much into it." Matt's not alone - nobody really gets this. We're passionate about giving God our absolute best. Why would we give everyone else our best and give God some small or puny effort? We want what we do to be all we've got, all the time, week in and week out. This requires literally scores of collective hours (probably way over 100) every week.

4) Without God, it's just a show. With God, it produces lasting life change. Jesus said it like this: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5, NIV). We pray that God would show us what to do; what topics to cover and when; what Scriptures to use and how; what elements to choose and how to edit them. We pray when we start the creative process, when we choose themes, during the creation, writing, rehearsals, filming, and just before every service begins. We honestly believe that God uses what we do to make a difference in people's lives, and we have a lot of evidence to back up our claim.

5) It's almost always a lot of fun! Sure, it's hard work, takes a lot of time, often involves passionate debate and sometimes you get stuck. But most of the time, we're working alongside of a group of people who are full of energy, highly creative, love God and love each other. And you know what you're doing matters. It just doesn't get much better than that. Sometimes I talk to a pastor or church leader who is not having fun. We all go through this for short seasons here and there. But when it's pervasive and unending, you've got to change something, blow something up, stir the pot, start over...SOMETHING! This should be hard, but it should also be FUN!

Now, go create! Sunday will be here in 6 days!

Steering Team Selection

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

At PCC, our church's leadership is headed by a team of people elected by the church called the Steering Team. They are our only elected group, and each ST member serves for a three year term. They have to be a member of the church (one of few positions this is required), and there can be as few as 5 and as many as 15. We've never had less than 7 and never had more than 12. There are currently 10. The Senior Pastor is the only ST member who serves perpetually.

As I mentioned in one of last week's posts, our Steering Team concept at PCC has been extremely effective. It's role and the way it operates has evolved as we've gotten bigger and figured out how to lead a larger church, but the ST has always been key to our church.

The Steering Team nominates new ST members to the church each year. Before planting our church, I was not in favor of self-nominating boards. However, we realized at our first day that this system would be effective at preserving unity. What began as a theory has become a proven fact.

So, in August of each year, we begin a careful and prayerful process. First, we have a list of all PCC members. We consider a number of things, including:

They must be a sincere follower of Jesus Christ.
They have to really understand and buy into what we do and who we are at PCC.
They must be a person of character and integrity.
Capacity to make difficult decisions.
We also need people who, after serious prayer and debate, will get behind the team’s decision.
They must be vested in PCC.

If you were to ask a ST members how this process works (and I encourage you to do that), they would tell you that everyone on the team brings suggestions. We then ask, "Who would make the best candidates from this list?" (we assume all of them would make a good ST member). Sometimes this process happens quickly, sometimes it takes several weeks. But it is always healthy.

After the selections are made, I ask each person for some time and talk to them about joining the team. If they say 'yes', we submit their name to the church for vote at the Annual Membership Meeting.

Sorry for the play-by-play here, but I thought it might be helpful to take some of the mystery out of the process. Thanks jf, for asking the question!

New Steering Team Nominees

2011-11-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Every year, PCC has one or more Steering Team members come to the end of their three-year term and a few more are added. This year, we have nominated Chip Stettler, Charlie Towler and Peggy Tucker. In my post from a couple days ago, JF asked a GREAT question about how new Steering Team nominees get selected, and I'll answer that in another post later this week. But for now, I wanted you to have some information about the three folks for this year. While we obviously know some things about these folks, I asked each of them to share a little about themselves. These are their own words:

Charlie Towler

Been at PCC since spring of 2007. A member since 2008. (I think)
Married two and a half years to Jeanette. Three girls and four boys between us, aged 21 to 30. We live in Powhatan.
Presently retired. Was self employed as a commercial electrical contractor from 1979 to 2010. Founder, past Chairman and continuous Board member of the Virginia Electrical Contractors Apprentice Program since 1986. I was active in local and national trade associations and served on many committees. Own James River Land Development, a land development company; Licensed Class A General Contractor, built homes and commercial buildings in Powhatan and Chesterfield.
Accepted Christ as my personal savior and Lord on Nov 19, 1985 and became a member of Bethany Place Baptist in Chesterfield. My favorite verse is Prov 3:4-6.
What I love about PCC is the people and the atmosphere. Although PCC is different from my past experiences in church, it is apparent that the style of the messages, the music, and the many ministries within PCC result in a loving caring community oriented atmosphere. Your past is never judged nor are you pressured to get involved or serve. When you are ready to get involved, loving people welcome and encourage you. God's word is lived at PCC......John 3:17 "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him". There is no condemnation at PCC.
I enjoy golf, fishing, and hunting.

Chip Stettler

My wife Kim and I have been married for 21 years.
We moved to Richmond from Wilmington, NC in 1996 when I took at job a CapitalOne.
I have been employed at CapitalOne since 1996 working as a software developer and architect.
We have 4 wonderful children (Caleb -14, Katie -12, Nathan -10, and Kendall -8) who are homeschooled by the most awesome teacher in the world -- their Mom!
I became a believer at the age of 20 and have been actively working with children of all ages from preschool to middleschool. Prior to coming to PCC I taught Preschool Sunday School and worked as an AWANA leader for 10 years. Since coming to PCC I have continued to work with children. I have been a story teller in First Steps and a PowerJam leader for 2nd-6th grade boys.
For fun I like spending time with my family in various outdoor activities particularly youth baseball and softball and hunting.
My family and I joined PCC 4 or 5 years ago. What do I like most about PCC? I don’t think its one thing. It’s the total package. I love the people, the music, and the teaching. I am encouraged to be part of a church whose primary objective is to reach the unchurched peoples around us.

Peggy Tucker

Been coming to PCC for about 5 years. I was a volunteer at the Powhatan guest services/book store and then became involved in the Westchester campus shortly after it was launched. I mainly provide support as a production coordinator but also help out at First Steps and Guest Services.
Married (happily!) for 31 years to Pete, 2 daughters of our own Amber & Alison (28 & 24) and also raising a foster son Alex Higuchi (17) and foster daughterSecret Loving (16)
President & Owner of Monarch Meetings, a company specializing in planning & implementing large meetings, conventions and events.
What I love about PCC – the worship service, my HIGH light of the week. It’s church, but like none I’ve experienced and I always come away recharged and refocused.
Recent proud achievement – recently ran my 1st half marathon!

Things I Learned Through Meltdown

2011-11-18T14:37:00.001-05:00

I spoke today to a group of prison chaplains from all over Virginia. The were gathered together at a conference and I was invited to speak to them on the topic of fatigue and burnout - something I am unfortunately intimately familiar with.

So, I re-lived for them the story of my journey through depression (from 2008) after living an unsustainable pace for a decade. I'm glad to say that I manage my time and energy so much better today. But I'm saddened by the reality that many people - especially ministry staff, chaplains and pastors - are still living like I used to.

I thought it might be helpful to share here the 11 things I've learned from my meltdown and my battle with depression that came as a result. Hope it's helpful to you.

1) Not everyone goes through clinical depression, but everyone is a candidate for burnout and long-term fatigue.

2) You cannot get healthy without changing something.

3) Once you’ve been through depression, it’s like an old injury that has healed, but just isn’t quite as strong as it used to be. It's always just a little more susceptible to re-injury.

4) Every ‘Yes’ you say has a corresponding ‘No’. When you agree to a new commitment, you are inherently turning down another one.

5) Wayne Cordiero’s book, “Leading on Empty” is a must read for every leader.

6) Friendships cultivated in good times are most equipped to step in and speak into your life during bad times.

7) A gifted counselor is worth his or her weight in gold!

8) There is nothing in life more valuable than a spouse who really gets you and a great marriage is priceless. I never knew this more than when I was in the worst part of my valley and Susan was caring for me.

9) The pastor’s church leadership team (board, elders, deacons, etc.) can make or break him/her when fatigue and burnout happen.

10) There is no substitute for and no shortcuts to an investment in your relationship with God. If He is not first in your life, everything else will be out of order.

11) Romans 8:28 is an absolute promise. God will take the season of fatigue and burnout and even depression and make something good come out of it, if you’ll let Him.

The Mystery of PCC's Steering Team

2011-11-16T08:49:00.001-05:00

I've been consulted lately by several churches looking to re-structure their primary leadership teams. These are called different things in different places - Elders, Deacons, The Board, the Senior Leadership Group. We call them the Steering Team, and this is one of the places at our church that is really, really effective.

I know there is a lot of mystery around PCC's Steering Team and what they 'do'. It's one of those things that's actually hard to describe until you've been in it for a while. But I can tell you this: there is no group of people more vital to our church's heartbeat than these leaders on this team.

Their specific job is to manage the Senior Pastor (me) and to approve policy. But practically, they do so much more. They help me keep my fingers on the pulse of what's happening. Because their is a high level of trust, we're able to have real and healthy conflict, put the real issues on the table, and get to the bottom of things. I can assure you, they are a critical part of making PCC happen and they consistently make me better than I am.

What are some of the things the Steering team does and does not do? Here's a sampling:

Help make critical and sometimes difficult decisions. The ST walked through the entire building process with me. The kinds of decisions we were making then would make or break the church. The ST helped us navigate those waters. They also helped figure out what to do with our budget when the economy crashed a couple of years ago. It was excruciating. I wouldn't have wanted to do that alone.
When we are moving to a new leadership paradigm. As an organization gets larger, it's structure has to change. 'What got you here won't get you there' is the general principal. So, when we're doing a major restructuring, the ST helps ask the questions I don't even think about.
Major shifts in strategy. Like launching a new campus or when we stopped our Saturday night service or when we went to 2 services, moved to the high school, bought our land, etc. Sometimes I'm just looking for them to speak into something, not actually make the decision. Either way, they are a huge help and influence when we are making a significant change.
Protecting the church - both practically and in reputation. Nobody likes to talk about this, and I'm glad this is rare - very rare - at PCC. But it does happen. If someone has been accused of a crime against children, how we react and what we permit that person to do or not do at our church and whether or not they are even able to come to church is all highly sensitive. There are a million opinions and everyone feels passionate about theirs. We handle this with great care. The ST is involved and makes incredibly wise decisions here.
Me. Well, to make it accurate, the Senior Pastor. But for the moment, that's...me. I'm capable of working myself into an unhealthy place. I'm capable of making decisions too fast and without enough information. I'm capable of neglecting my family and even my spiritual life. And Susan and I are both capable of neglecting our marriage. Many people would find these temptations familiar. At PCC, we know that the quickest way for the enemy to melt our church down would be to melt me or my family down. One of our safeguards against this is the Steering Team. They poke around and ask hard questions about my personal life. There is no area of my life they are not allowed to talk about or ask about. And they ask Susan, too. I trust them. I've asked them to do this. It makes me healthy and the church healthy.

There are also some notable things the ST does NOT do, but I'll save that for another day. Just trying to peel back some of the mystery here. Hope it helps.

Managing Your Sabbath

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

I observe a Sabbath weekly. I use that word deliberately. Sabbath is not just a 'day off'. It's sacred. Holy. Given to me - and you - by God as a gift. It's also an order, and is one of the Ten Commandments:

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work...For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth...but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." (Exodus 20:8-11, excerpts, NIV)

We are not to be legalistic about the Sabbath. Jesus made this clear when he said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27, NIV)

What this means to me is that I do have a requirement to observe the Sabbath, but I also have to make it work for me, not against me. We're legalistic about it when we insist that it always has to be the same day for every person. Sure, that was a real plus in Jesus' day - no doubt about it. A few decades ago in America, it was also generally accepted that Sunday was a family day; a 'day off'; a Sabbath. Blue laws insured that we were all able to be together then. I remember my Dad insisting that I not cut the grass on Sunday. It was just the way life was.

As ideal as that is, things have changed now. Our society and culture and world just doesn't work that way. We have to find a way to observe the Sabbath and still function in the world around us. I normally take Friday as my Sabbath. But lately I've had several Friday obligations that are not really movable (like weddings and rehearsals). On those weeks, I have to get creative.

Added to this is the dynamic of marriage. Susan and I have the constant temptation to work all the time - to the neglect of our marriage. I've never met a couple who did not have the temptation towards neglect of their marriage. We have to be extremely vigilant about our Sabbath and about time away with each other.

Yesterday was one of those days. Three weeks ago, I made the arrangements and after church on Sunday we escaped to the mountains for a one day get-away Sabbath. It was so important for our individual health and for the health of our marriage.

So, have you taken a Sabbath lately...are you taking one regularly?

If you are married, when was the last time you broke away from your routine - and the kids - and spent 24 hours together, away from home, just the two of you?

What over Why

2011-11-06T17:34:00.000-05:00

I spend a lot of time every week figuring out what I'm going to say. My mantra is 'Words Matter' and, because I truly believe that, I consider every word, construct every story, shape every moment. I think that the Spirit of God works through our preparation and I believe it honors your gift (any and every gift) to come prepared.

But in spite of the pre-service work, sometimes you discover something in the moment that is better that what you prepared for the moment. At the end of the 11:15 service today, I made such a discovery. We do three services every Sunday (2 in Powhatan, 1 at Westchester). So only one group of our folks was a part of this discovery, and I thought I'd share it with the rest of you.

(If you want to see today's service, you can catch it at pccwiredlive.net)

My revelation went something like this: People say that you shouldn't ask God 'why'. I think it's ok to ask Him why. He can take it. The 'why' question is neither inappropriate nor irreverent. But it is incomplete. The answers will not usually satisfy. They fall short.

But there is a better question. The question we should ask is...What. What are you going to do with this situation, tragedy, sin, disaster, failure... the list goes on. But the one question remains: What. If God's promise in Romans 8:28 is to make something good come out of every bad, than we should ask - and expect an answer - "What are you going to do with this, God?"

It was a great day at PCC. People are inviting others. It's a great time to come back to church. See you next Sunday!

Regaining My Focus

2011-11-03T01:14:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine called me on Monday at my office. I was in the middle of a meeting, followed by another, then another, so I didn't get to call him back until the evening. "The fish are biting, the weather is good, and I wanted to see if you wanted to go with me sometime soon. I know you're busy." He had no idea. Swamped. Overwhelmed. Underwater.

Which is why I said 'yes' after thanking him for the invitation. I told my 10 year old Joshua that I'd be getting him early from school on Tuesday and taking him with me for a little father-son time. Honestly, I haven't been fishing in months. My boat is suffering from neglect. I took the invitation as the voice of God, insisting I take a break.

The experience was...heavenly. On a stretch of the river where Fluvana is off the north bank and Buckingham off the south, it is as primitive as it gets. I imagine it looked much the same when Native Americans were the dominant society as it does today. Stunningly beautiful. Crystal clear water. You'd cast your lure and watch the smallmouth bass chase it down until he latched on and then came up fully out of the water in a majestic display of ancient hunting.

For me, there is no better place to clear my mind than on the water. There is just something about it - about the peace of it - that allows you to set aside the distractions and the tangential issues so you can focus on THE thing at hand - THE decision, THE problem, THE challenge, THE scripture.

Just a few hours with a friend and Joshua was what I needed. I came home with clarity. I knew what was needed. I initiated important conversations and started taking the action I needed to take.

Perhaps the river doesn't do it for you. But something does. You need to find it. Rediscover focus. Engage with God.

Reflections after a long day...

2011-10-30T18:12:00.001-04:00

I'm sitting in my office. It's been a really long day. I'm exhausted. And I look back and think...What a day. What a GREAT day.

It's not great in an exuberant or crazy exciting kind of way, but more in a quiet, thankful, powerful-under-the-surface kind of way. I'm processing. And I want to share a few ways I'm thankful today (thankful on every side :-)

I got to drive to Westchester today. Haven't done that since early September. I get energized and filled up by being there in person. It creates a little anxiety for our production team at both campuses, but it's a wrinkle that's good to do every now and then. WC had a full house (at least that's what it felt like), they had a PILE of kids, too. It's really happening at our campus to the east. If you haven't been there or haven't been lately, you ought to check it out.

My girlfriend got to go with me. Most Sundays, Susan and I don't see each other at all. She's leading her ministries and supporting her team and I'm in the big room and talking to folks. Sometimes she makes an appearance backstage just before I go on, gives me an encouraging kiss and tells me she loves me. Those moments mean a lot. But today she was able to ride with me in my race to Westchester and back. While we were there, she was able to say thanks to the awesome team of PCC Kids folks there, but for me the treat was that we got to spend a rare 20 minutes together each way. No doubt about it, God gave me the greatest gift of my life when he introduced me to Susan Payne.

Beth Stoddard.... I don't publicly express very often just how grateful I am for her. But I've told her privately that I don't think I could search from now to the end of my career and ever find someone as talented, flexible and versatile, team-spirited, crazy-about-Jesus, energetic and creative as Beth. Plus, she's coachable and has become one of the most gifted leaders at PCC. She and I have been through a lot together, we have a lot of common stories now, and we've helped each other grow in our faith, in leadership and in our family roles. I just can't say enough to express how deeply grateful I am to work with her. She helped us create a powerful moment today, and led in a way that ensured the moment was created at both of our campuses. That's not the exception, by the way. She does that week in and week out.

Between church, visiting both campuses, helping make a meaningful moment, 101, the Edge party and a bunch of great conversations, it's one of those days that you feel like you did good; like you helped some people; like you've been blessed, too.

I think I'll sleep well tonight.

Update on PCC

2011-10-29T14:01:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the state of PCC finances both at church and on this blog (click here to see the 5 minute video of what I said).

Those next 2 Sundays were quite remarkable. People really swelled up and gave and we received about 3 normal weeks worth of giving in those two weekends. We made up some ground, and I am very, very grateful to the many folks who helped do that.

Where are we now? Well, the answer comes in 2 parts. Part 1: We're better than we were a month ago. Part 2: We still have some ground to make up.

Here's the bottom line: We don't spend what we don't have. So, we'll pay our bills, like we have always done. But the size and scope of our ministry has to fluctuate some with the size of our income. I think that we are where God wants us to be in terms of staffing and ministry funding. But good stewardship of resources demands that we adjust our outflows to never exceed our inflows. The next two weekends will tell us what kinds of long term adjustments, if any, we'll have to make.

Some have asked about Dave Ramsey's teachings and how they apply to PCC and the way we operate. In short, we have some changes to make. I'm bought into the need for an emergency fund, and we don't have one. I'm bought in to the concept of zero debt, but we do have some. Just like in our homes, it will take the church some time to baby-step our way to financial freedom, but we will!

So, thanks for remembering PCC when you give and when you pray. Our church is strong, especially given how bad things are in the economy. As always, if you have any question, we'd love to hear it and address it. Email me or Dennis Green at Dennis.Green@pccwired.net. And our books are open books, so anyone can look at almost anything they want regarding our finances (personal giving is an obvious exception.)

See you Sunday!

Help a Family this Christmas

2011-10-25T21:09:00.000-04:00

It has quickly come again... the Christmas shopping season! And once again, PCC has the opportunity to help at least 15 children who otherwise might not get any Christmas gifts.

As part of Middle District Baptist Association’s “Christmas Store”, PCC has been assigned to help 15 children and we need you or your Small Group to adopt them. Please consider helping a child in need.

Each child that is adopted will need to be provided:

one outfit per child consisting of a top, pants, socks and underwear
one age appropriate toy
a Christmas stocking (filled)

Donations of coats, books, toiletry items other miscellaneous gift items are also appreciated.

If you or your small group would like to adopt a child, please contact Angela Meadows at asissonmeadows@hotmail.com or look out for the small Christmas tree (in the Atrium at the Powhatan Campus) on an upcoming Sunday soon!

All donations must be received by Sunday, November 27th so let Angela know as soon as possible and she will assign you a child and you can start shopping!

I'm Glad It's Over

2011-10-23T16:05:00.000-04:00

We value being authentic, right? One of the things I LOVE about PCC is that we get to tell the truth - be honest about who we are, what we struggle with, and how we feel about things. So, I just wanted to share something that isn't hard to figure out about me: I hate talking about money! I don't mind doing it in small groups. I can easily discuss it over dinner. I like answering questions when they are initiated by others. My undergraduate degree is in Finance, so I can hold my own in fairly complex discussions about derivatives, small cap equities, spreads and inverted rate scenarios.

But when it comes to talking about personal finances at church, I really don't enjoy the conversation.

It's not the concepts that throw me, of course. It's the emotional part. I had conversations this weekend with folks who expressed relief that we would not be talking about money or promoting Project Freedom for a while. For some, they just aren't ready for money to be a part of the conversation about their spiritual journey. For others, there is a wound from a past experience with money and the church that was never really healed.

The church has done this to itself. Notable church pastors and leaders in every generation in my lifetime have been hypocritical on a personal level or dishonest on a professional one. Scandals have contributed to a general distrust. When the church talks about personal finance, plenty of people can't help but wonder, "What's the real agenda here?" Translation: "He might be saying he wants to help me, but what he really wants is for me to give more money to the church."

I don't blame people who feel this way. We deserve it (those of us in church leadership). Collectively, we've earned the poor reputation we have.

For the record, for whatever it's worth, I genuinely, honestly, sincerely believe that you cannot be healthy unless you turn your financial decisions over to God and the teachings of the Bible about money.

But I sure am glad I don't have to talk about it again for a while.

Final Note: People stay away from church when we talk about money. I know it. Pastors in general also know it. So, we're done with this for a while now at PCC. Tell your friends and family that it's safe to return. Invite someone new. Next week, we're starting a very compelling series called Imprint and I'm really excited about it!

See you Sunday!

Brian

Ending the Saturday Experiment

2011-10-20T17:36:00.001-04:00

"Everything we do is an experiment." This is a phrase we use all the time at PCC. Literally every week, we say it about all kinds of ideas and new things. It means, 'we're going to try this. It might work. It might not. We'll learn either way.'

Well, we tried the Saturday evening service experiment. We really did learn a lot about it. I can see several ways that I know I could have done it better. Perhaps it would have thrived if I had made a few choices differently. But isn't that the whole idea of an experiment? Do you know how many times they have to try something in a lab in order to find a successful combination of chemicals or drugs to achieve the desired results?! This is a lab. We try some things. Sometimes they don't work.

But we don't stop doing things very often. We 'say' it's all an experiment, but the reality is that most of our experiments move from short term 'tries' to long term ministries. So, when we do stop something, it feels painful and like a failure. I understand. I've grieved over this decision for weeks now, agonizing and praying over what to do.

On the one hand, every single person who comes on Saturday evening really matters. Every one of them.
On the other hand, the amount of resources it takes to have church at PCC is huge. Most people really don't know how much it takes. No one complained (which is unbelievably awesome, by the way). But it was clear the extra day was taking its toll.

So, this coming Saturday will be our last. We'll have a special service with different music from Sunday's service and we'll share communion together. Come celebrate with us if you'd like. We're celebrating what God has done, what the experiment has taught us, and what opportunities lie ahead because of it.

See you Saturday!

PCC Finances

2011-10-17T13:59:00.002-04:00

I shared this past weekend some information about PCC's current financial situation. I've put it here both in video and in written form. Thanks for investing 5 minutes here. I'm grateful.

Update on PCC Finances from Brian Hughes on Vimeo.

I need to give you some news, and it's pretty uncomfortable for me. You see, we spend a remarkably small amount of time talking about giving at PCC – that is, your giving. That’s on purpose. I don’t want people to be distracted by thoughts of, ‘they just want my money.’ So we largely just don’t talk about it and quietly work with whatever we get.

But the truth is that we rely on people giving in order to do what we do. From hard working staff to electric bills to equipment maintenance – We’re able to do ministry because people give money to our church. It’s just that simple. Together, we make the church go… or not.

The breaking news is that the past 3 weekends at PCC have seen remarkably low giving. We don’t really have a huge cushion, so when I realized this past Tuesday that we were $18,000 behind our normal giving in just the past few weeks, I knew I had to tell you about it. You see, at PCC, we don’t spend what we don’t have. So if giving goes down a little, we shuffle around a few things and figure out how to get by with a little inconvenience. But in this case, when giving has gone down a lot, the choices are more than inconvenient. They're quite challenging.

So, I am not trying to guilt you into anything. And I dread the thought of people thinking we only care about money – which is not true, but I know some will feel that way. Still, I just could not go through the difficult process of putting people and ministries on the chopping block without telling you first. Our church is strong, and we’ll be strong in the future and one of the reasons we are strong is because we don’t spend what we don’t have. But if we don't make up some ground between the next two Sundays, the only choices we'll have will be painful ones.

If you call PCC home and this is your church or you believe in what we do and are excited about our cause, now would be a great time to make a gift here. Susan and I made an extra gift this past weekend and hope to do it again next week. If we all step up in addition to our normal giving, my guess is that’s all we’ll need.

As always, if you have questions, we want to help answer them. You can contact me or Dennis Green and we’ll get you the answers you need. We’ll give anyone access to almost any information (an exception would be personal giving data, of course.) Ultimately, I have to trust that God is up to something, that He knows what he’s doing.

Thanks for praying for us and for your support.

3 Dangerous Church People

2011-10-12T09:29:00.005-04:00

I read an article today by Erik Raymond, who planted a church in Omaha, entitled "Do You Know the Most Dangerous Person in Your Church?" I wanted to expand a little on it. I can think of 3 types who are particularly 'dangerous'.

By 'dangerous', I am talking about people who can hurt you, other people or the cause you are trying to champion. It may not sound very compassionate or pastoral to put this on the table and openly talk about it, but I assure you these people are all around, I've worked with scores of them, and I have learned a few things the hard way.

Who is NOT automatically a dangerous person?

Wounded people. Just because someone is hurting doesn't mean that they're dangerous.

Unchurched people. In fact, often people who are not weighed down with years of church history give a fresh, unencumbered perspective.

Young or Less-experienced people. Like Unchurched folks, young people often bring fresh eyes and a new way of looking at things. I try to ensure that 20-somethings are always on our Board (we call it the Steering Team).

Who are at high-risk of being a dangerous person?

Wounded but unaware. I've seen wounded people who knew they were damaged, but sometimes didn't know exactly why or where. That's ok. I've seen some who were wounded and didn't know it, but were open to the exploration and discovery and healing. That's ok, too. But the person who is wounded or damaged and is closed the the reality of their condition - now that's a dangerous person. These people often deflect their issues, throwing emotional shrapnel around and hurting other people as collateral damage. Inside, they're broken. On the outside, their made of steel.

I know everything. People like this come in as experts. I've met a bunch of these people. Often on their very first visit to the church, they are giving you advice on how you could do this better or that more effectively. People like this are usually closed to the idea that they might not have everything figured out yet. They are more than willing to give advice, but the danger comes because they are unwilling to listen, seek to understand, and be shaped by what they hear and experience.

Uncoachable. The 'I know everything' person is an expert on something. But the uncoachable person is different. This person knows they don't have it all figured out, but they're still unwilling to learn and be molded. Sometimes it's a personality clash with the coach. Other times, it's embarrassment because they think they should know how to do this, and they push the coach back so that they can hide their deficiency. Sometimes, it's just plain ol' ego. 'Coachability' is a critical requirement for someone who serves on a team I lead. If they're uncoachable, I don't care how good they are or how proficient their expertise, they're too dangerous.

What do you do with dangerous people?

In short, you love them. That's what the Bible commands us to do. We love people. And love is not a word or a feeling, it is an action. You get there with 5 things:

1) Pastor them. You earn the right to tell people the truth about themselves when you show them you care. Good pastors listen, show up, care for them in times of need. In this way, you don't treat a dangerous person any differently than anyone else.

2) Tell the the truth. There are moments, after you've earned the right, where the conversation is ripe for truth-telling. Many dangerous people are unaware. You owe it to them to tell them the truth. But you MUST do it in love. That means what you say, the words you choose, the way you say them, the setting, the timing - all of it matters. All of it.

3) Limit their exposure. Don't fall into the trap of putting a dangerous person on a team so that you can 'change them'. I know a little yeast works its way through the whole batch - but it works both ways. Usually, it's not worth the risk. And I've seen piles of these people damage a lot of teams like this. If they're already in a place of influence, you have to navigate that carefully. But if you're not in the mess yet, don't go there.

4) Pray for them. Praying for people matters. It matters to God, but it also matters to you. The more you pray for them, the softer your heart will be for that person. Remember, dangerous people often aren't all that lovable, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't love them. Praying will help you do that.

5) Let them go. This doesn't always happen, but sometimes (often) these folks don't want to face the reality of themselves. They'd rather leave your church than look in the mirror and actually do the hard work of self-reflection. They're often not open to the truth that they are the problem. Love them, pray for them, but let them go. You can send them touches, call and check on them, etc. That's ok. But don't beg them to stay. That only feeds they're belief that you 'need' them.

We are called to love and serve dangerous people. But we are not called to let them wreck others or the church. As a leader, you have a responsibility to deal with these folks in a way that gives them good options for care and to become healthy. But the ultimate choice is theirs.

Rest

2011-10-10T18:30:00.002-04:00

There are so many components to being physically healthy. The required quantities of those components vary from person to person, and they vary as we get older and our conditions change, too. But one thing we all need is REST.

I read a story this week I found interesting:In 1983, Australia hosted an ultramarathon, a 573.7 mile race from Sydney to Melbourne. I thought people who run 10K's were crazy and marathon runners were insane, but this takes the cake. This is a race that takes DAYS to run, and professionals from all over the world came to participate. Shortly before the 1983 race began, a 61-year-old farmer named Cliff Young, wearing overalls and boots, walked up to the registration table. The people at the registration table thought it was a joke, but Cliff Young made it clear that he wasn't kidding. So they gave him a number and pinned it on his old overalls.

Cliff Young walked over to the start of the race. All the other professional runners, who were decked out in all their colorful running outfits, looked at him like he had lost his mind. Spectators laughed outloud at him. They laughed even harder when the race began, because Cliff didn't have the form of a runner, but ran with an awkward shuffle. Someone even yelled out, "Get that old fool off the track!"

Five days, 14 hours, and four minutes later, at 1:25 in the morning, Cliff Young shuffled across the finish line of the 573.7 mile ultramarathon. He had won the race. What was even more astonishing was his margin of victory: The second place runner was 9 hours and 56 minutes behind him! Cliff Young had set a new world record for the ultramarathon.

What was his secret? How did he do it? Cliff Young had shuffled his way to the finish line without a single moment of sleep! The other athletes endured 18 hour days of running, but then would stop and sleep for three or four hours. Cliff ran, nonstop, for 5 days and 14 hours at 61 years of age!

Now that's a cool story, and I bet Clff proudly displayed his trophy, but at what cost did he obtain it?

See, a lot of us live our lives like Cliff ran that race. We ignore our God-given gift of rest; our body's cry for rest; and we just move to the next thing as if rest was a luxury or a grand display of laziness instead of an essential element in our physical health.

Rest is required for you to be healthy. Some people need more, others need less. If you're sleeping all day, you're probably depressed and that's another topic. But generally speaking, you are not living your best - you are not really healthy - if you are not getting the rest your body needs. Often, working at optimal readiness for less hours gets more done than working longer hours when I'm trying to keep my eyes open. Much of my work is creative, and I am rotten at it when I'm tired. For linear, concrete, analytical types, your mind is also not working sharply when you are not well rested.

So, take the night off. Get some rest. Build it into your routine. And don't feel guilty about it. You're actually giving the rest of us a gift, too.

Need a Host

2011-10-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

By Sammy Frame

PCC Small Groups Pastor

If you've ever given thought to hosting a small group at PCC, you've never had a better opportunity than right now! If you know you're interested in hosting a small group at PCC, don't spend another second reading this blog posting. Instead click here to sign up to host a group.

If you're a little unsure of hosting a small group, here are some reasons why you absolutely should:

You and I were not created to be alone. We were created for one another. (see Genesis 2:18)
Life in community is easier and better than life alone. (see Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
Life alone is unhealthy. (see just about any pyschological study every written)
You get to make friends and hang out with your friends on a regular basis.
There's nothing to it! You don't have to be a Bible scholar (we'll provide you with the curriculum you need)! You don't have to spend hours preparing each week (all the material is ready to go)!
You'll help people connect to one another and to God!
You'll help people grow in their relationship with God!
You'll make a difference in lives.
You'll grow in your own relationship with God and be stretched in profound ways!

Of course, here are some reasons for why you might not want to host a small group:

You plan to spend the next 3 months or more in jail.
You hate people.
You prefer sitting on the sidelines and have no interest of getting in the game.
You're a big fan of Satan.

You can make a difference. You can have a part in changing the world by helping it re-connect to God. You could be the reason someone finds renewal, a new start, hope, and Jesus. Get signed up right here!

Appreciate Your Pastor

2011-10-05T09:13:00.000-04:00

The title of this post seems oddly self serving, but I assure you it's not meant to be. In fact, I would be rather uncomfortable with prompted self-appreciation as a result of what I write today. So whatever you do, don't make this about me.

But I would encourage you to point your gratitude towards someone. Let me explain.

I know that there are some folks who read this blog who are not PCC'ers, but are part of other churches. Others who are from PCC are a part of all kinds of ministries.

Either way, there is most likely a pastor in your life. You need to take the time to thank them for what they do. I can imagine a few eye-rolling looks when I mention that October is 'Pastor Appreciation Month'. But if you could hang on for a second, I'd like to speak to the subject.

You see, most people have no idea what a pastor does or even who a pastor is. Most people look at a church like PCC and think that I am the pastor. That's not really true. I am one of the pastors. But there many others.

There are also a bunch of pastors who don't have the title, but are pastors just the same. Your small group leader is very likely your pastor. You might not have ever called them that, but you know they are. Why? Because...

A pastor is someone who guides you towards God through deliberate training, teaching, care and prayer.

The best small group leaders I know do all four of those things.

Then there is another group of people who serve as staff pastors. They have been trained, educated, and specifically called to the vocation of pastoring. These are gifted folks who really love the people they serve. Our church would not be who we are, where we are without them.

Being a pastor on a church staff is a role that very few people understand. I have grown to accept that people have no idea what I do all day, and I've learned to be OK with that. There are still some folks who think I only work 30 minutes a week and have no idea at all what other staff pastors do. But I assure you, every pastor I know - from Student Pastors to Campus Pastors to Worship Pastors to Children's Pastors to Executive Pastors to Community Care Pastors (I could go on and on) - every one of them works harder, with more erratic unpredictable schedules, longer hours, for less pay and with a much more exhausting emotional toll than any other profession I've ever seen or been a part. If you've never done it, you have no idea the toll that pastoring can take. It is the hardest most exhausting work I've ever done. It may look like a cushy job to you, but if it was, than most people would stay in the profession, right? The reality is that most folks who pastor have short tenures and get out long before they retire. It's just that hard.

There IS a way to do it that makes it sustainable. And there ARE many rewarding aspects. That's a conversation for another day. But today, I'm asking you to take a moment, get out a card or open Facebook, maybe even get a little gift card for a nice place to eat, and write a note about a specific way your pastor has made a difference in your life. Think about the one who shepherded your teenager or your 4th grader or held your crying child. Think about the one who was there for you and prayed for you when you were struggling. Think about the one who taught you about Jesus, helped you to worship God, helped you know Him better, guided you to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus, counseled your marriage.... Don't think of me. Think of the actual pastor in your life.

Then write the note. Send a gift. Tell them thank you. Tell them you are with them, you've got their back. Tell them you love them.

Be specific.

It will help sustain them. These people pour out their hearts and souls for you. You owe them a little gratitude. Thank them today.

Attitude

2011-10-02T20:42:00.000-04:00

Today, we looked at the components of a healthy attitude. The Bible says that we are to have an attitude like Jesus' (Phil 2:5). Using this scripture and others, I argued that the components of a healthy attitude are: Humble on the inside, Encouraging on the outside and Thankful on every side.

A few more thoughts on each piece::

Humble on the Inside

Two different people asked me if it was wrong for them to be 'proud' of an accomplishment. Let's distinguish between humility and low self esteem. There is nothing wrong with having a healthy sense of accomplishment or self-worth, so long as: 1) we understand that ultimately ALL good things come from God, and 2) my ultimate worth does not exceed anyone else's. I think about PCC. I am really glad that our church has been so successful in many ways. I'm glad that God used me to contribute to the way PCC has thrived, but I have to say that God did the work. I really believe that. Am I glad I was used? You bet. But God didn't need me. He could have used anyone He wanted. In fact, He used a LOT of people to make our church happen. And all of us would be wise to recognize that, in the last analysis, the good thing we call PCC came completely because of God's work, not ours.

I also offered a 'humility test'. I'm going to list the questions here. I suggest that you not only evaluate yourself, but that you ask someone else to evaluate you. Give them permission to tell you the truth with no repercussions. You want to know how you are perceived by others. Are you ready? Ok, here goes:

Do you readily admit it when you are wrong?
When was the last time you admitted you were wrong?
How easy is it for you to say the words, “I’m really sorry for______ [something you did or said]”
When was the last time you apologized for something you did or said?
Do you normally think you are right, or do you feel open to constantly learning and refining and improving?
Do you live your life as if I HAVE to do this unsustainable schedule or keep an insane pace of life or the earth will stop rotating?

Encouraging on the Outside

I referenced a book you might want to check out. How Full Is Your Bucket by Tom Rath. Click here for more info.

Thankful on Every Side

You might look at Scriptures like:

Phil 4:11-13. What does it mean to be content? On a scale from 1-10, how 'content' are you? What would it take for you to make a 1 or 2 point improvement?

Phil 4:6. Do you have a thankful posture towards your life? Do you nitpick the little things? Have you considered a mantra like "In the scheme of things" that will help you put things in perspective and be thankful for what you have?

Phil 4:4. What situations do you feel like you are unable to rejoice in? Do you feel like you have a joyful outlook most of the time? How would others respond if they were asked about your disposition?

Fasting

2011-09-29T16:18:00.002-04:00

Fasting is not a discipline I've practiced much in my spiritual journey. I've known about it and known many people who have done it, some who fast regularly. My grandfather fasted many times and would talk about the huge spiritual blessing it was to him. I HAVE fasted a few times, but never regularly.

So, when Dennis Green (PCC's Executive Pastor) mentioned me to me that he would be fasting every Tuesday as a way of setting aside a day of prayer for Project Freedom, I was intrigued. He invited me and other staff members to join him, and I knew that God was calling me to do that. We have since extended the invitation to other church leaders and now there is a growing group of folks fasting about Project Freedom every Tuesday.

Why do we fast? Well, their is ample scripture to stand on here. I just finished reading Ezra and noted several times that Ezra fasted. Jesus mentioned it in the Sermon on the Mount. Some Kings fasted, and we read about a fast in Esther, Joel and Jonah, just to name a few places. There is a lot to say about fasting, but I do it as a way of focusing on God, reminding myself that it takes more than food to sustain my life, and every time I'm hungry, I pray. For me, it's easy to get caught up in the busyness of every day. Fasting reminds me that God is the most important being in my life.

So, most Tuesdays (sometimes it changes because of scheduling), I'm fasting. From midnight Monday to Midnight Tuesday. I pray for 4 primary things throughout the day: Project Freedom and its leaders; for PCC - and especially our staff; for a close friend who is wrestling with some struggles but clinging to God; and for Susan and my kids.

I have to say it's been an incredible experience. As I read Ezra, I found that fasting was a common way that leaders engaged with God on behalf of the people. And I invite you to experience fasting, too, if you feel called to do that. I recommend a guide by Bill Bright if you've never fasted before. You can get it by clicking here.

Finally, I'll say that telling folks about your fast is dicey. Jesus scolded people for visibly agonizing about their fast, saying that they were receiving their reward on earth instead of in heaven. I tell you about my experience not to bring attention to me, but to bring awareness to you: Fasting can be an important part of your spiritual life. If you have questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them.

Follow Up on The CORE

2011-09-28T16:10:00.004-04:00

About three times each year, we gather folks from our church at an event we call "The Core". Increasingly, folks 'come' via UStream and our internet feed and are able to participate fully. People also come in person, though, because it's hard to eat the great food from your living room! Either way, what we hope is that:
1) People who want to know what's going on are better informed
2) Excitement builds for cool new things that are coming for our church
3) There is a growing understanding that PCC is an open book
4) Questions are answered.

So, this past Sunday, we celebrated what God was doing through worship and some great stories and we shared info and data about our campuses, growth, finances, our upcoming Project Freedom initiative, and staff changes.

But the best part of these gatherings, to me, are always in the questions that people ask. PCC leaders are sharp, and when they ask questions, they ask GOOD questions. Sometimes I scratch my head and say, "I never thought of that!" or "I'll have to get back to you." Often, I defer to another member of our staff or another leader because they know better than I do.

And there are a few questions that, after I process in the hours and days following, I think, "I needed to say more about that." So I wanted to clarify a couple of things here.

Our Teaching Team. This past summer, I was away for an extended break (which I normally take every summer). In preparation for this year, I spent a few weeks working with a few gifted communicators,helping them refine their gift and preparing with them for a series they would do entirely on their own. (called Improv) I would coach them, and we would hear the messages ahead of time so that we could critique each other. Many, many people responded very positively and let me know they felt like this was a successful venture.

So, I've gotten a good bit of questions (both before and at the CORE meeting) about how and when I would use this team. There are a few parts to the answer.

1) I am in the process of planning my schedule through next September. That should be done in the next 4 weeks. Then I'll know when we need someone to be the teaching pastor for our weekend services. When I'm not on the stage, one of those folks will usually be the go-to person.

2) I'm hoping, over time, to use them not just when I'm away, but to train them and equip them to teach at times even when I'm 'here'. This is good baton-passing and helps the church be more healthy.

3) While they ALL did a great job, two folks have said that they essentially don't feel a strong sense of calling to that ministry. So the exact makeup of the Teaching Team is still being formed.

4) There are other opportunities for a teaching team to be used, including video and live teaching for discipleship-type classes that we will be offering (and offer today, like Bible Basics, SHAPE, etc.)

Saturday Night Service. On question that we took had to do with the style and teaching for our Saturday night service. Specifically, had I considered a different teaching pastor and musical style for that. The short answer is, "yes." and that's how I answered it that night. But there is more to it.

If we change the service and make it different, it becomes very complicated. A DUPLICATED service means that people will come to that one OR a Sunday morning service. But if we change the service and make it different, we'll have folks come on Saturday for that service and then come back on Sunday for the other one. That doesn't free seats. It actually hurts us instead of helping us.

We started our Saturday night service for 2 reasons: 1) to free some seats on Sunday morning by folks shifting to it, 2) to reach people who will not or cannot come on Sunday morning but who will or can come on Saturday evening. The duplication of our service, done as close to the same with the same teaching and the same music, etc, does that to the best of our ability.

Our strategy has been to offer the same service experience (to the best of our ability) at all of our venues. This is a strategy that has worked for us and other churches, will keep us united and operating as one church, and is the simplest to execute.

By the way, we've had two very reliable people come to us and make HUGE offers to help with Saturday nights. Please keep praying for us on that.

Care. I took a really good question about caring for folks by possibly publishing a list of deaths and births each week. Logistically, this will not be easy to pull off and I'm not sure it's feasible for our church. But we are talking about it.

If YOU have questions, please don't hesitate to email or FB or comment here or call. And while I'm at it, there are numerous ways you can stay informed through our text platform, weekly eblast, website, Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, and UStream, not to mention what we hand out on weekends if you come to church.

Hope this helps!

Relationship Evaluation and Next Steps

2011-09-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

Angie Frame, PCC's Pastor to Students and Online Campus Pastor, has done a good job with some follow up steps and a self evaluation for the topic we discussed today. You would really do well to spend some time on this. A Self Assessment is below. For some additional Bible Study and some good work for your small group, click here.

Self-assessment

Do I have good, trustworthy friends?
0—There’s no one for me to talk with about how I’m really doing.
1—I’m not comfortable telling my friends how I’m really doing.
2—I have friends, but they gossip about me.
3—I have several friends, and I can tell them anything, but they might not keep secrets.
4—I have one trusted friend who I can tell anything, and she/he’ll keep my secrets.
5—I have several friends who I can tell anything, and they’ll keep my secrets.

How healthy are my relationships and friendships for me?
0—I pretend to be someone else, so that my friends will like me.
1—My friends pressure and tempt me to be a person I’m not.
2—My relationships/friendships cause me a lot of anxiety, worry, and stress.
3—My friends and I don’t always get along, but they accept me for me.
4—My friends respect me, accept me, and tell me the truth.
5—My friends make me a better person than I am on my own.

How genuine are my relationships?
0—My friends don’t really care about me; I’m not even sure why we’re friends.
1—My friends and I compete, trying to out-do each other, and bragging about ourselves.
2—I have fair weather friends; they only want me around when I’m doing well.
3—I’d do anything for my friends, but they only talk about themselves; they don’t listen to me.
4—I know my friends care about me, but I don’t listen to them or help them very much.
5—I care about my friends, and they care about me. We’d do anything for one another.

A score of 0-6 indicates a critically low charge.
A score of 7-12 indicates some charge from relationships, but there’s room for growth.
A score of 13-15 indicates a strong charge and healthy relationships with others.

A few more thoughts on friends...

2011-09-27T07:56:00.002-04:00

I talked on Sunday about friends - REAL friends - the kind who love you no matter what, tell you the truth about yourself, and point you towards God. (see Prov 17:17, Prov 27:17, Ecc 4:9-12, just to get you started)

The question is: HOW do you find a friend like that?

I find the path towards this kind of friendship to be a combination of invitation, awareness and intentionality, all spiraling together in a cycle that takes my friendships to deeper levels. It happens like this: I'm aware of who is around me, make intentional investment in someone as a way of investigating (more on that below), invitation to that person to "hold me accountable" "push me on this" "ask me the hard questions" etc. Now, this is a cliff notes version of this process, but it does happen like that.

During the awareness stage, I'll be in some setting with people having more than a casual conversation and I'll think, "I really like hanging out with Bob." (I know this does not sound very macho, but it happens to all of us. We just don't always name it. I'm arguing that you SHOULD name it). Sometimes after being with some other couples, Susan and I will say, "you know, it would be fun to get to know Bob and Kathy a little more." This is an awareness statement. (for more on the kind of people you want to be around, you might check out the little book "How Full Is Your Bucket" by Tom Rath)

Once you are aware, you make an intentional investment. Ask Bob to have lunch. Invite the couple over for dinner. Play a round of golf. This sounds like a no-brainer, but most people do it accidentally. I'm talking about doing it as an intentional part of your search for a friend. If this sounds creepy to you, get over it. How's the friend search been going so far? Try something new and you might get better results. During your time together, talk about Bob's background and yours. Just as a way of getting to know each other. Again, guys especially will think, "yea, this sounds like of girly to me" But I know lots of guys - especially pastors - who are friendless. This matters. Do it.

Finally, you start to make some invitations. As your friendship goes deeper, your invitations get more serious and more intrusive (in a positive way). Recently a friend asked me repeatedly, "Just hold me accountable on this." What he was doing was inviting me to not let him back off of an important thing he needed to do. You can do this, too. Start small. "Bob, you know we've been talking about the fact that I haven't taken Margie out on a date for 3 months. I know it's important to her, but I always have other things to do. I wonder if you'd be willing to just ask me every time we talk, 'have you taken Margie out yet'. Just knowing that I've got someone holding me accountable will help me do what I KNOW I need to do." Bob will probably say yes, because it's a low level commitment on his part. And you'll probably make the date happen next week. So your marriage benefits while your more healthy because of your friendship.

Now, two final notes:

1) You cannot own someone else's problems or be responsible for their life - I don't care how close the friendship is. I tell my friends that I'm with them, that I hurt when they hurt, that I'll do anything I can to help. I mean every one of those things. But at the end of the day, Bob gets to make his own choices. I can't MAKE him do anything.

2) Friends make lousy counselors. We're biased. We want to take someone's head off for hurting our friend. We want to act on their behalf. We're too close. If your friend is messed up (and I have been and some of my friends have been), send them to a good counselor. You will still be their friend. But the'll have a counselor, too.

I think I could talk about this for hours. But I'll stop here. Hope it helps.

An Open Letter to PCC

2011-09-19T11:42:00.001-04:00

Dear PCC Friends,

Right now, PCC is coming out of 'summer' mode and into the high-speed, fast paced, quickly changing environment of the fall. This, of course, leads directly into the crazy chaos of January, when we normally see the already growing numbers of Christmas explode into something between overwhelming and awesome, all at the same time.

Add to that 'normal' cycle the gutsy move we've made to launch Project Freedom, the ever-controversial 'Christmas falls on a Sunday this year', and a couple of exciting staff changes (all good), and we have the makings of a whirlwind. Or maybe it will feel more like a mighty rushing wind, as the Holy Spirit blows with a force powerful enough to change lives on a huge scale right in front of our eyes and through our church.

I believe that's what He has been preparing for us. And I think we'll see that in the next few months.

If you are a part of PCC, I want you to see it, too. This coming Sunday, September 25, at 6pm at the Powhatan Campus, we'll have a CORE event. In 90 minutes together, we'll have some worship, share some information, and we'll enjoy some Q&A, as always. Refreshments will be there, too. (your kids are welcome to come, but we won't have any childcare).

I hope you can and will make it as we only do this 3 times a year and The CORE is a part of our strategy to keep you up to date. If you can't come in person, we'll live stream it at www.pccwiredlive.net. You can even ask your questions there in real time.

See you Sunday,

Brian

The Big Lie: Your Part

2011-09-19T09:12:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, we started the Big Lie series at PCC. I want to clarify a little and then offer some additional steps you might take.

First, the Big Lie is this: If you eat right and exercise and read your Bible, you'll be healthy. But that's just not true. Those things ARE required, of course, but they are not the ONLY ingredients in being a healthy person.

Don't you know people who go to the gym 3 times a week, eat pretty healthy food, and read the Bible but who are clearly NOT healthy? There's a reason: a healthy life requires more than those things. Each aspect of healthy living is not stand-alone. They all go together. So, yesterday, we looked at one aspect of truly healthy living - your relationship with the church.

Your Part. Beth Stoddard did a cool post on her blog about some folks who were finding their part and the part they played in our 9/11 service. You might take a look at that by clicking here.

We looked yesterday at the marriage of John 17 and 1 Cor 12. It resulted in the notion of unity among members of the body in which every member is doing it's part. If you weren't at PCC yesterday, this may not make sense to you. (The message is in 2 parts on Ustream. Click here for part 1 and go to 41 mins & 28 seconds into it. When it ends, go here for the rest of it.)

Unity. It's important that we define this correctly. Unity is not built around personal preference, but around common purpose.

Conclusion: If you are a Christ follower, you cannot be healthy apart from being your part of the body that is moving in unity.

Next Steps: Find your part. If you are at another church, talk to someone in leadership and plant your feet, get involved, do your part. If you are not a part of a church somewhere, you need to find one. You can't be healthy until you do.

At PCC, you can talk to a ministry team leader if you know your part. Or, you can take our SHAPE class if you aren't sure. (SHAPE will be offered on 10/2 &10/9 from 5-7pm at the Powhatan campus. Email shape@pccwired.net to sign up for this 2 part class.)

Further Study:

Read Romans 12:3-8. What does it mean to 'belong' to the other members of the body?
John 17 and circle the word "one" every time Jesus uses it. What does it mean to you for Jesus' followers to be "one" in the same way that Jesus and the Father are "one"?
Read 1 Cor 12. There are many questions that come out of this text that are worth considering. But Paul goes out of his way to talk about 'parts' that want to be different parts and parts that are less visible and seemingly less important. The 'many parts of one body' image really does work for us in an understandable way. What is YOUR part? Do you know? Some of us are this part for a season and another part for another season. How do you reconcile that with 1 Cor 12? (I think you can and that this is both appropriate and necessary, by the way, but it's worth thinking about how such thinking fits with the Bible's teachings.)

I Woke Up In Chicago, but I'm not exactly sure how I got here...

2011-09-15T08:16:00.003-04:00

I woke up a little before 6 am today in a hotel in Chicago...but how I got here is somewhat of a blur.

A few months ago, we booked a trip to attend a creative arts conference here called story. You can see more at storychicago.com.

First, let me tell you why we decided to come to this. Creative energy is just like any other kind of limited resource. If you do physical labor as your skill or gift (think: electrician, framer, welder, landscaper, etc.), you go through a regular cycle of work - rest. Your physical rest refreshes you physically for more physical work. Well, creative work is much the same, except the way we 'rest' or get 'refilled' is not physical, it's creative. What I've found is that people who are responsible for envisioning, planning and executing highly potent, highly creative events (services) have a steady drain in their creative tank. It must be replenished regularly (just like you would physically rest for replishment) or the ideas get tired, old, and stale.

So, that's why we're here with Beth Stoddard, Jackie Heberle, Lindsay Harris, Susan Hughes, Elijah Schiarelli, Sarah Brawley, Katie Rusch and John Ivins. These are some of the folks directly responsible for keeping PCC's services exciting, fresh and alive with promise. Creativity is one of our primary, God-given tools.

BUT, the summer was hard at PCC, financially. We just didn't have the money to fly. Driving was our only option. So, we left Powhatan at 9:15 and arrived in Chicago 15 hours later. It's a new record for me for the longest road trip of my life. Most of it was fun. Being in the car for that long is hard, though, especially the last third or so. After a while, it all starts to blur together, the next road, the next state, the next rest area/bathroom break, the voice on the GPS, the songs on the iPad. And you are so tired, you are in and out of coherent conversation. I'm not exactly sure how I got in my room. I don't remember much of the last couple of hours of the trip!

We'll come home Friday, after the conference ends at 5:30 (chicago time). Not sure if we'll drive all night or find a hotel along the way. Either way, it'll be a long day. But I really believe that God is going to do great things in us and that it will be worth it!

Thanks for praying for us - that today and tomorrow would be refreshing and a time of renewal of our creative juices. And thanks for praying for our trip home, too.

PCC'ers: 5 Quick Things You Need to Know

2011-09-10T10:04:00.003-04:00

There is a growing list of things to tell you. Here are a few of them:

1) Baptism. We have a baptism on Sunday, September 18, at 4pm at the James River at Cartersville. There is still time to be a part of it. If you have been thinking about this step in your spiritual journey, email or FB me or call our office at 804.598.1174. For the rest of us, come out and support this important milestone in the lives of folks around us!

2) No More Online Ads! Our Online Campus has been struggling with 'ads' since we started. These ads would come in the beginning (when you logged in) and 2 or 3 times during the streaming. At first, they were ok - just a nuisance, but tolerable. Then we started to get ads that were a little...inappropriate. I got one report that a family was online one Sunday during their vacation - WITH their kids - when an ad came on for a website where you could learn how to french kiss! That was pretty much it for us! So, we are paying a fee now to buy out of them. Some folks stepped away from our Online campus because of the ads. Spread the word - they are no more!

3) The CORE. Leaders, Members, Volunteers, PCC'ers and the just plain curious - we bring together our church 3 or 4 times a year for a gathering called The CORE. Here we talk about what's happening at PCC, do some worship together, and have an informal Q & A. There are many exciting things coming up, so come out and enjoy some time together on September 25, 6pm, at the Powhatan Campus.

4) Project Freedom. You may have been hearing some buzz about this. Information is coming out in the next week to the entire church - and it is very exciting. Keep your ears open. You'll hear about it from the stage and through our various communications forums.

5) Small Groups. Small group sign up's begin in the next two weeks. LOTS of people have been asking me about fall small groups. They're coming. Stay tuned.

God is going to do GOD-SIZED things at PCC this fall! Thanks for being a part of it!

Discipline: You may not have it, but you know you need it. Hebrews 12

2011-09-06T09:07:00.003-04:00

I grew up in a different generation than folks who are, say, 20 years old today (or younger). Discipline for me translated into 'spankings'. I put that in quotes because we actually called them beatings. Mom would say, "you are going to get a beating" or a "whippin". Now let's be clear about this: I know some folks are highly offended by this and consider any kind of corporal punishment to be abuse. I respect that. But I also respectfully submit that I was not abused. I joke about it, but the beatings were tempered and rare. And they were well deserved, I might add.

Most of all, they were memorable. That was the point. The discipline etched deeply into my psyche and it altered my future behavior. Isn't that the point of being disciplined? Ultimately, the best discipline changes poor, wrong or bad behavioral patterns such that they become productive, right and good.

The Writer of Hebrews spends a lot of time in chapter 12 talking about discipline. It makes me uncomfortable, if you want to know the truth. I steer away from modern talk of God's 'punishment' or 'judgment' because I think so many people have abused the idea. Who could forget the irresponsible way that some church leaders equated the 9/11 attacks to God's judgment on America for her immorality. That just isn't consistent with the God I know.

But one cannot ignore Hebrews 12. What should we do with these words about discipline? If you thought discipline from God was just an Old Testament principle, think again.

I confess that I'm still wrestling with this. There is a certain tension in the Bible over it. I think that The Writer makes a compelling argument here, and this is, after all, the Bible. I say I believe its teachings. I have to deal with this, too.

As I work to grasp it, I can see how God has disciplined me personally in a way that is like any loving parent. I'm sure it hurt Him more than it hurt me - really. But I'm still not able to reconcile a 'national' judgment with Heb 12.

Would love to know your thoughts, too.

Faith that changes history - Hebrews 11

2011-09-02T07:05:00.002-04:00

In my mind, September 1 and Hebrews 11 have something in common. That may seem a little grandiose in a minute, but I don't mean it to be any kind of ego statement at all. I just think Hebrews 11 relates a lot to September 1.

First, the chapter. Hebrews 11 is one of the most well known chapters in the Bible. It contains what is commonly known as the 'hall of faith'. It's a list of people who The Writer tells us acted in faith, which he also tells us, is an essential ingredient to pleasing God. In fact, The Writer even defines what faith is in v.1, "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see".

His list includes the who's who of ancient Biblical stardom - like Abraham, Noah and Moses, and some lesser known people like Barak, Jephthah and Rahab.

None of the people in The Writer's list were perfect. All were flawed and sinned. But they were, nevertheless, people of great faith. The moved boldly at critical moments in response to what God was doing. Apparently, this pleases God.

9 years ago yesterday - on September 1, 2002 - a group of people moved boldly at a critical moment in response to what God was doing, and that day we held our first PCC service. (Now before you get all fired up, I'm not putting us in the same category as Abraham or Moses, I'm just seeing the truth of the text through time and into this moment.) We took almost no time to plan (2 weeks), we had no money and almost no people. We really had no idea how many would show up. I remember Susan telling me that 50 would be good. She was concerned I was going to be disappointed.

That first day, 9 years ago, 148 people came. I have no idea how most of them found out about it. The only advertisement we had was word of mouth, and there was little time to spread the word. On that first Sunday, we had our first baptism - 1 person. She was a teenager then. We still see her (with her family now) at PCC today.

From that first act of faith, God blessed our church and has taken us to places we never dreamed of on that first day. I wonder about the places we aren't dreaming of today that we will find ourselves standing in 9 years from now.

We are people of faith. We move on faith. We act on faith. We believe on faith. We live on faith. And when we do, God takes us to incredible places through an incredible journey.

Now that I think more about it, I'm sure that Hebrews 11 and September 1 have a lot in common.

Not Religious?

2011-08-29T10:26:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I made a statement that always raises a few eyebrows. I said, "I am not religious. I don't really care for religious people and, to be honest, I don't think Jesus really liked religious people, either." (if you missed it, click here to see the service. My message begins 33minutes into the service)

When I read the Scriptures, I see Jesus being patient and compassionate with people who had spiritual questions. I see him inviting people who were of questionable character to be with him. I see Jesus teaching and mentoring and enjoying the company of anyone and everyone, except those who were pious, righteous and religious. Even Nicodemus, who comes to see Jesus in the shadows of darkness was questioning his religiosity. Jesus would invest in someone like that. But Jesus railed against those who were more interested in rules than people; more passionate about regulation and reputation than they were caring for people and meeting real needs.

Those who are indignantly religious may think they are God's agent. In fact, though, they are hurting our cause.

Why? Because it's easy to see that people focused on religion are uninterested in them.

This is not a case against ritual. Don't confuse the two. Ritual is an important part of our lives, especially when it comes to matters of faith.

Religion, though, in it's adulterated form, is an abuse of what God had in mind. God is real. He's alive. He's not a statue or a crucifix or a cup and saucer. He's not a book or a checklist. He's not a clothing style or a language. He is personal. He is loving. He is near. And He cares. The question is: Do we?

The kind of faith that Jesus had in mind brings heaven to earth - not out in the future, but in this moment right now. That kind of faith speaks into people's lives in a relevant, personal, caring way that is both tangible and spiritual. That's why I'm not a religious person. But I am passionate about Jesus.

Need a Shower?

2011-08-28T07:58:00.003-04:00

I spent my week meditating on this text:

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (Ephesians 5:17-19, NIV)

What does it mean to make the most of every opportunity? I'm talking about that today at PCC. Really looking forward to sharing what God spoke into my life through the Bible.

But there is a practical application. We have an opportunity to make an offer, and we're going to do just that. With tens of thousands of people around us without power, we are opening the doors of the Powhatan Campus today. We have a men's shower and a women's shower. We have electricity, running water and hot water. We will be here, at the Powhatan Campus today from now through 7pm. Anyone is welcome to come and clean up, take a shower, even lounge around and enjoy some A/C.

If you'd like to come or let someone else know about it, you don't need to call. Just come. I don't suspect many will come, but you do need to know that we only have one shower for me and one for women, so it's possible that there may be a wait.

Spread the word. Make the most of every opportunity.

Cancel Services tonight

2011-08-27T11:59:00.001-04:00

Because there is a good bit of concern regarding Irene, we are going to cancel the service tonight at PCC. This decision was not easy to make, but we are leaning onto safety for our folks as a precaution.

We WILL have services tomorrow at Powhatan and Westchester. See you then!

Free to Write

2011-08-22T12:27:00.003-04:00

I learned something over the past two weeks about productive message preparation. I came back from a substantial break and, expectedly, had a sizeable backlog of messages in my email inbox and Facebook. There were also a few lingering questions that folks had held until my return, so I had a lot of cleaning up to do.

I felt like I couldn't possibly really get to it all in a week, so I attempted to inter-mingle 'catching up' with writing for the weekend. But I could never really clear my mind. There was a constant nagging about what crisis or urgent situation needed my attention that I was neglecting. I learned that, for me, writing with stuff like that hanging over my head does not work well.

Every week, my standard operating procedure is to begin my week by going down my emails and messages and to-do list and addressing anything that is urgent. That normally takes until mid-day on Monday, if I start working on it Sunday afternoon.

THEN, when I'm finished addressing urgent things, I close gmail, close facebook, close twitter, close my reader, calendar, picasa, docs, blog, etc, etc. I shut it all down. Often, I will actually go through the formal 'shut down' process on my laptop - a psychological exercise that makes its point.

With a clean screen and LOGOS (my Bible study software) and a Bible next to my laptop, I write. My mind is uncluttered. I'm not worried about lingering things that I should deal with because I KNOW I've already addressed everything that cannot wait.

Normally, this buys me enough time for a rough draft. Then I open a few windows and step back into the world of 'important but not yet urgent'. When I do this well, I finish writing by Wednesday afternoon, and move into lots of other things Wednesday evening and all day Thursday. I take Fridays off and work most Saturdays.

So, I learned that my routine works for me, and that trying to put it all into one big calendar casserole doesn't.

Reputation and Mission of God Formula

2011-08-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

I introduced a formula at church today. Sometimes I think in formulas and over the course of many hours pondering Ephesians 3-4, this one kind of emerged. It makes sense to me.

The scripture came from Ephesians 3:20-4:13. You can hear the message by going to www.pccwiredlive.net.

Here are a few notes:

1) Glory = Doxa, which means 'reputation'. Jesus is the Doxa of God. Now, we are to be the Doxa of Jesus.

2) PB = Personal Behavior

3) IC = Individual Calling

4) EL = Equipping Leadership

5) FP = Focused Purpose.

For completely non linear people - total abstract types - this might bore you to death. I kind of live with a foot on the creative side and one on the concrete side. This computes in my mind. Hope it helps you, too.

The Case for Church - Hebrews 10

2011-08-20T09:31:00.002-04:00

Hebrews is an interesting book. I've never really studied it until these past few weeks. I have read it, of course. And I've looked at and taught on pieces here and there. But digging in is where you get something else...something more.

The entire book seems to be about the contrast between the Law of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the Promise of Jesus. The Writer is constantly pitting the two against each other, much to the dismay of his contemporaries I'm sure. Many today would also have heartburn over this.

But I don't think that the Writer is trying to disrespect the Law or Moses or the history. I think he's saying it's evolved, improved, and culminated in the Person of Jesus Christ. So, in chapter 10, he points out that the sacrifices under the law were required, but were not sufficient. Then he quotes and commentates on Jeremiah like this: " 'Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.' And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin." This is a RADICAL change for former Jews who now follow Jesus.

Which makes the famous verses 24-25 more meaningful to me: "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another..."

Apparently 2011 is not the only time in history when going to church was an easy habit to quit. What was important about church then is STILL important about church now. We 'spur' each other on. We offer encouragement. We connect with God. For some of us - and perhaps for all of us from time to time - church is the only time during the week we read the Bible, pray, or hear from God.

To me, going to church is kind of the foundational element of my spiritual discipline. It's NOT enough, but it IS essential. What I mean is that I also need to have deeper relationships than I can get by going 'to church'. I have to be in a small group where I can talk about me, pray for others personally, and hear from them. But attending church and participating in it is the rallying cry that we have in common, and it came with many benefits.

The Writer knew this. We should, too.

The Help

2011-08-19T16:55:00.003-04:00

I went to see 'The Help' today. Half the people I know are reading the book, including Susan (my wife), who just finished it. I didn't have room in my reading right now for a novel, so I opted for the movie. Susan and I normally take Fridays as a Sabbath and we often see a movie - something we both enjoy.

Wow. First, to my brothers out there, this is not just a normal chick-flick. It is a cultural statement about the realities of our past without making an indictment on our present. It's a documentary, a family video of our grandparents that we didn't know existed. The Help is one of the most moving films I've ever seen (and I've seen a LOT of films).

Being relatively tender hearted, I was moved to tears several times. But I think this movie could move the hardest of hearts. It left me ashamed that we treated people like that, even though there was no accusation made in the movie. Again, it was so carefully done so as to avoid any kind of 'statement'. It just painted the picture and left the emotions with the audience to go where they might.

This movie makes it into my top 10 list, and I highly recommend it to you.

Hebrews 9 and Ephesians 2

2011-08-14T15:12:00.002-04:00

I have not been very faithful to this study of Hebrews. Just a confession. I started saying, 'Well, it's summer...let's take it slow and casually and I'll do a chapter every few days.' I should have known better. I'm not that disciplined. I need to do something every day or every other day with regularity or it just won't happen.

So, with a certain level of guilt, I opened up Hebrews 9 today. What a great surprise! After studying Ephesians 2 and having this image of an impenetrable wall, Hebrews 9 paints a picture that is very similar and is too close to be coincidental.

The Writer begins by comparing the 'old' worship with the 'new' worship. Only priests could get near to God and only the High Priest could enter the place where God dwelt and then only once per year.

But not, because of Jesus, there has been a permanent breach in the barrier that separated us. Verses 24 and 26 summarize: "For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf...As it is, he appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself."

Verse 12 says that Jesus "entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption."

Jesus breached the separating barrier! Maybe I just see walls everywhere now!

Take a look and see for yourself.

5 Reasons why I love Leaders

2011-08-11T15:03:00.003-04:00

Today we attended the first day of the Willow Creek's Leadership Summit. I've been coming to the Summit for 11 years and it has been an essential part of my leadership development for every one of them. More than fifty leaders from PCC (including a couple of local pastors we invite to come with us) are part of this year's Summit.

Leadership is always on my mind, but never more than while I'm at this annual event. I looked around today and considered the leaders gathered here at Atlee. I thought, "I really love being with these people!" Which begs the question: Why? What is it about leaders that endears me to them, draws me to them?

I thought I'd share some thoughts about that here.

1)Leaders see what is not, but what could be. At lunch today, one PCC leader pitched to me an initiative that was beyond bold, beyond even imaginable in my mind. At first, I thought, 'he's crazy!' and then I thought, 'No. He's a leader.' That's what leaders do. They see what is currently not, but what could be. They envision a future of "what if's".

2) Leaders rally others to their vision. I'm not the only visionary at PCC. Within our clear mission to reach people outside of the church are particular visions that will reach the world. Lots of leaders speak vision into our mission. I love them for that.

3) Leaders make things happen. They are catalysts. They are unhappy with stagnation, unsatisfied with the status quo, unwilling to 'live with' less than our best. All day, one PCC leader after another has come to me and said, 'I've been thinking about...' This statement is followed by their assessment of some area that needs to be shaken up, changed, pushed, altered, fired up, etc. They don't just make suggestions, they make solutions. That's what leaders do.

4) Leaders grow. A real leader never says, "yea, I know what I need to know and dont' really need any more training." No, a real leader craves getting better, reaching new levels in their leadership. That is contagious. In fact, there is a certain conviction that happens here (in me). I hear these leadership gurus like Seth Godin talk about how to stretch to the next level and it makes me say, "My team is counting on me to grow. They won't tolerate me getting stale. They're growing. I've got to grow, too." This kind of accountability is good and it makes us all better.

5) Leaders know it's not about them. Real leaders care more about the cause than they do about their preference. Many people say, "I like..." "I want..." "I need..." But leaders say, "Forget what I want, this is what will make the organization better" "My need isn't as important as the needs of the people we're called to serve". The leaders at PCC have that kind of attitude

There are more reasons, but these are a few of the major ones. I stand in awe that these folks gave up 2 days of vacation and a hundred bucks, some are missing family events and other things. Bill Hybels says, "The local church is the hope of the world and it's future rests primarily in the hands of its leaders." I believe that.

And we are in good hands.

Blog-ation

2011-08-10T15:12:00.002-04:00

I'd like to coin a new term: Blogation. I guess if you coin a new phrase, you get to define it, so here goes:

Blogation: 1) A temporary hiatus from regular blogging. 2) A Vacation from blogging.

That's sort of what I've done for the past 2 weeks. I intended to do that in week one. I took a Blogation to coincide with my Vacation. But last week was more of an out-of-habit experience. I was in a pretty good rhythm of blogging but once I lost the beat, the music stopped.

So today I return from Blogation. I'll be back on the Hebrews series this week (and we'll finish in a week or so), post about leadership and some PCC things, too.

Ahhh...I think I'm hearing the beat again!

It sure does feel good to be back

2011-08-03T08:02:00.007-04:00

I came back to work today. I was out for 6 weeks - 2 weeks of vacation book-ending 4 weeks of study (click here for more info about my study break). Technically, I returned to my regular work on Sunday. But even that wasn't 'normal' because we had a mini-retreat planned with our senior staff (which we call the 'Blue Team'). So got home from vacation on Saturday and spend Sunday through Tuesday away on that retreat. Today, I finally got to my office after a long time away. There was some surprise waiting. Here's a sample of what I saw when I opened my door:

Everything had been wrapped in toilet paper and plastic! It was pretty funny. I guess I've been gone so long, they had to shrink-wrap the room!

But the favorite think I found was inconspicuous. It would be easy to miss by the average person. It looked like this:

So what...just a nickel. Can't even buy anything with it anymore. What's the big deal? Well, a few years ago, a group of guys at our church went to a men's rally in PCC kind of put together. They brought in a great speaker who challenged them in many areas. One of those areas was to pray for their pastor. His symbol was a nickel. "Pray for your pastor 5 days every week and give him a nickel every week when you do. I have a special flask in my study at home where those nickels have accumulated and grown into substantial collection now. Most Sundays, 1 or 2 or 3 guys (and occasionally a lady who found out about this ritual) will just walk up and hand me a nickle. It means a lot to me.

This nickel on my desk was put there for a reason. Someone - and I don't know who - is sending a message to me. They're saying, "even when you are away and not bringing us messages and making us laugh, I'm still praying for you." I can't tell you how much that means to me.

So, for all the saran wrap and toilet paper, I sure do appreciate the person who also sent a fun message that simply said 'I love you enough to pray for you regularly'.

Looking forward to diving back in really hard today.

Hebrews 8: better ministry, better covenant, better promises

2011-07-26T07:13:00.003-04:00

I had an Old Testament professor in seminary (Dr. M) whom I grew to greatly respect. He was one of the smartest people I ever met and he was a stereotypical professor type with small glasses, poor posture, big words, and a pacing-while-looking-at-the-floor style when he lectured.

And he had a sincerely, grand passion for the Old Testament.* He felt strongly that typical preachers at most churches spent far too much time in the New Testament and far too little in the Old.**

I can assure you that Dr. M inspired me to learn more about the Old Testament. His excitement for the teachings there was contagious and they way he applied them was compelling. There is no question in my mind that the OT is a critical part of God's word to us. The call from some Christ followers to ditch the first 39 books of the Bible and essentially ignore them is irresponsible. They are foundational, needed and valuable. God put them in the Bible for a reason. We must spend time there.

But the Writer of Hebrews takes a firm stand on their 'placement' in terms of importance.

"But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another." (v.6-7)

Wow! Dr. M would not like this conversation! Nor would any OT professor, I suspect. The Writer basically says that, 'When compared with the Old Days, Jesus has a better ministry, offers a better covenant, and makes better promises. There was something wrong with the first covenant. This one is perfect.'

I can assure you that this would make every OT scholar's blood boil.

But there it is...right in the Bible.

Now, let's be fair. The Writer is not specifically talking about the entire Old Testament. He's talking about the covenant that God offered to Abraham and passed down to his children. He's referring to the Law that God gave to Moses (loosely referenced in v.6 and v.10). Still, it's not hard to make the practical application here.

It's not that God is changing what is right and wrong. It's that, through Jesus, God is changing his delivery system of that law and code and the method of salvation that is final. It used to be we required a priest to stand in for us, but because of what Jesus did, that system is obsolete (v.13).

There is no doubt that the Writer is talking to a Jewish audience here, trying to convince them that what Jesus brings is superior to the old law, better than the old prophets, greater than the old promises. It may not sit well with lovers of the OT, but it's an indication of we are to approach the Bible.

What's the practical application? For me, I want to be sure I keep a good balance. While the OT takes 60% of the Bible's pages, I want to be sure that I lean into Jesus. (NOT to the neglect of the OT. It's still VERY important). The truth is, if I was stranded on a deserted island and could only take 3 or 4 books of the Bible with me, there wouldn't be any OT books in my selection.

I think the Writer would agree!

*Scholars - especially OT scholars - don't call it the 'Old Testament'. They call it the 'Hebrew Scriptures'.

**This is because the OT makes up about 60% of the Bible, but most teaching pastors only give it 20-30% of their attention from the teaching platform. I am also in this 20-30% range, intentionally, and I think Hebrews 8 describes why I feel that is appropriate.

Hebrews 7: Connecting the Dots

2011-07-25T05:00:00.000-04:00

I'm beginning to really like the Writer of Hebrews. He's far more creative than I previously thought. In chapter 7, he returns to Melchizedek, this time with a full explanation, and he connects dots for us that are not made anywhere else in the Bible. Melchizedek is not only a powerful person, symbolically referring to Jesus, but Melchizedek is also an important literary device - a refrain, if you will - for the structure of the book itself.

One other note, before we get into the chapter. To this point, our chapters have been short and easy. That is not the case with chapter 7, where we dive deeply into complex theological concepts. It's clear that the Writer was serious when he demanded that we leave elementary teachings (see ch.6) and move onto maturity. This chapter will help propel us there.

So, Chapter 7 starts with an explanation of Melchizedek. Don't be afraid of it, but don't try to speed-read it, either. It's hard. I had to read it a few times. It DOES sink in, it just takes a little extra effort and come concentration. That's ok. You would demand such focus from your college student or high schooler. Why should you be any less attentive when studying to know God himself?

Melchizedek, according to the Writer, is much more than a man. In Hebrew (which is the same as 'Jewish') law, 1 of the 12 'Tribes' of Israel were appointed as priests. (read note 1 below for more info) The priests had to come through the Levitical blood line. If you were not a descendant of Levi, it didn't matter if you were gifted, you could not be a priest. That was the law.

So why is Melchizedek a priest of God Most High? According to Writer, because God Himself sent Melchizedek. In fact, the Writer hints that Melchizedek may even BE God, in a physical form. (see v.3 and 11).

He perfects his argument in v.11-22, saying that Melchizedek is a precursor - maybe even a prophesy - about the coming of Jesus.

And he really ticks off Old Testament scholars, saying that the 'former regulation is set aside' and calling it 'weak and useless' (v.18). Through Jesus, he says, 'a better hope is constructed, by which we draw near to God.' (v.18) (see note 2)

People say they want to know what Jesus is like, and there is a very nice and concise summary in v.26.

The Writer's overall theme here is this: We don't need rotating priests anymore. That made sense when we had priests who DIED, but now we have one who lives forever and continues to be able to intercede on our behalf. Why don't we have sacrifices anymore? Burnt offerings? Slaughtered Cattle? Because the sacrifice of Jesus is perpetual. (v.23-25).

He is ABLE to do what we need.

This is really deep stuff! Hope you dive in and follow along! There is still time to catch up.

Note 1: in Genesis 36, we read that Jacob had 12 sons. When Israel occupied the 'promised land' that God gave to them, each tribe was given land, except the Priestly tribe - called the Levites. They were responsible for interceding with God on the People's behalf, and they were paid with tithes and offerings, and had no land.

Note 2: there are other examples here where the Writer slams the OT and lifts up Jesus over it. Can you find them?

Hebrews 6: College Level Spirituality

2011-07-22T06:43:00.002-04:00

My daughter is in her 3rd year of a 5 & 1/2 year degree program where you graduate with a bachelors and masters at the same time. Until now, she's taken mostly basic, entry-level courses. But this week, we helped her make some decisions as she registered for degree-specific classes. She is our oldest child, so the last time I made this transition from 100-level classes to 300-level classes was...well...a long time ago.

The lecture was simple: Mary Ashleigh, the classes you've been taking were basic. There was a good bit of review tacked in. They were foundational, but also elementary. They were easy. Now you are an upperclassman. Your courses will be more challenging, require more time, take more effort. But there is a reward for this: they lead to specialization and expertise. And because you are interested in the subject matter, they will largely be highly interesting to you. Still, you can't just show up for these. They require some work.

As Chapter 5 ends and Chapter 6 opens, The Writer tells his audience that they've been stuck in the basics and he encourages them to take some upper-level courses! (If you haven't read chapter 6, go read it). The first verse of 6 is a run-on sentence. I had to read it several times to get what he was saying, but I understand now. He's saying, 'look, by now in your journey as a Christ follower, you ought to no longer need teachings on the basic stuff. You already know how to read and right, now you need some calculus, chemistry, statistics, engineering or some other more challenging teachings.

The foundational stuff is critical. The Writer is not discounting the importance of the resurrection, baptism or faith. He's saying, "When are you going to grow up and grow past the foundation???'

Do you want the practical application of this? For some folks, the answer is 'No'. No, you don't. Because moving past the elementary stuff requires a higher level of commitment, more time, more study, more discipline, more energy. Many people just don't want to put more of there life into it.

Practically speaking, moving on to maturity means taking responsibility for your own growth. It means that you stop whining that 'the church is not giving me enough meat' and you start cooking your own meat! You become a 'self-feeder' as you read your Bible every day, digest the words and let them nourish you. Get to a passage you don't understand? You go get some resources to help you and you dig in and dig down.

The Writer is talking about discipleship - real, meaty Jesus-following stuff - and he's saying "if you committed your life to Christ but didn't grow up from there, it's not only the Church's fault...it's also yours."

I know many people who are stuck. The only time they read any of the Bible is when they come to church, but then they'll blame the church for not going deep enough.** Are you kidding??? The Writer would say, "Grow Up!" Go to the bookstore or to Amazon and buy a study guide, take a 300 or 400 level course. Commit to it every day, 5 days a week, for 45 minutes or an hour. Get into a small group that goes deeper into the Bible than you've been before and learn with them. Treat your journey like you would a training course for work or a college class. Be dedicated. Grow up!

At the end, it's not all about the commitment, but also the reward. Because moving on to more challenging scriptures and spiritual topics means you know God better, draw closer to him, develop skills that really can help other people and, because you are interested in the subject, you actually enjoy the journey most of the time!

Hebrews 6 helps us see that our greater maturity will lead to changed behaviors and ends with a reassurance that God is faithful to his promises. I hope you read it. It's very good.

**this is not just a phenomenon at PCC, but happens in many churches.

Food, Fun, and HELP!

2011-07-21T10:24:00.000-04:00

In case you have not heard, we are having a little fun while we do a little work on the Powhatan Campus building tomorrow (Friday) evening. PLEASE COME if you can. You don't have to be there the entire time. Dennis Green put this together and is coordinating. If you have questions, please contact him at Dennis.Green@pccwired.net. Here are the details:

PCC Friday Night Food, Fixin', and FUN!

July 22, 5:00 - 8:00 PM, Powhatan Campus

Bring a dish to share...hot dogs and drinks will be provided.

Our building at the Powhatan campus looks GREAT, but there's still work to be done. Join us on Friday night, July 22 for some food, fixin' up of our building, and fun times together!

No particular skills are needed, BUT if you have interior trim experience or wood-staining experience, we need you!

Children will enjoy supervised opportunities to help out, as well as some fun activities!

21 years ago today

2011-07-18T21:05:00.005-04:00

Twenty-one years ago today, I became a dad. The advent of that event was...unorthodox, the circumstances less than ideal. I had far more questions than I had answers. But she arrived anyway. Late in the evening on July 17, Susan had been having a few contractions. Some friends were over for a pizza dinner and someone had heard that taking a walk might initiate the full-blown labor, so we did. Shortly after midnight, we were on our way to the hospital. Later that evening, at 6:56 on July 18, Mary Ashleigh Hughes came into our world and changed it forever.

I will never forget that moment, or that little girl. She was full of life and energy. Everywhere she went, she made people smile. We ran her up and down the road, she logged more miles than a long-distance truck driver, taking her to see every relative - distant or close - it didn't matter.

It doesn't seem like it's been 21 years. Many things have changed since then, but some things have not. Mary Ashleigh still brings life and energy into everything she touches. What a great blessing she has been to me.

Hebrews 5: Priests, Melchizedek and Growing Up

2011-07-15T07:39:00.003-04:00

Before I start here, I want to remind you of something that is easy to forget. When the Bible was written, it was NOT written in chapter and verse. In other words, the original human hands who penned the words of the Bible (under the inspiration of God), wrote in narrative form, or some poetic form, but did not divide their writings into chapters and verses. Those were added later.

The transition from chapter 4 to chapter 5 is one of those places where you can't just start reading in 5:1. The Writer is saying something that is a conuous thought and to read 5 without the context of 4 is to not gain the full meaning. Chapter 4 ends by telling us that we have a high priest who is able to understand us completely - including our temptations - but who never experienced sin. Therefore, we can approach God with confidence, knowing that He can and will issue grace and mercy with a total appreciation for our circumstances.

Chapter 5 is a continuation of that thought. Every high priest is selected from men (at the time, only men could be priests), and his role was to 'stand in' for ordinary people. The high priest was a mediator between regular sinners and God. There was a chasm: people who fell short of God's glory stood on one side, God who is flawless on the other. And never the twain shall meet. The role of the priest was to be an intercessor on our behalf, offer sacrifices for our sin, and, in the words of the Writer, to 'represent' us before God. Until Jesus, the high priest was one of us - selected among men. But in Jesus, we get a High Priest who stands on BOTH sides, and brings them together. He was called of God and is now our 'priest forever' (v.6). No longer do you require the pastor, a priest, the bishop, deacon, elder or Pope. You only require the representation of Jesus Christ, to whom you have access.

The Writer invokes the memory of Melchizedek. This is a largly legendary and mysterious figure who shows up briefly in Genesis 14. (you should go read it). Abram (who later becomes Abraham) had just rescued his nephew by defeating some armies in battle. Melchizedek, who is the 'Priest of the Most High God' and the King of Salem, meets with Abram, who gives Melchizedek a tenth of everything he has, presumably as an act of worship. Incidentally, this represents the first tithe and is an indication of Abram's devotion to God and God's representative (the Priest). Melchizedek is mentioned once in Psalm 110 and then by the Writer of Hebrews. That's it. Much has been written about him, but its largely speculation. We only know what is written in the few verses of Scripture which name him.

The chapter closes with some hard words about growing up and maturity. The Writer says, "look, I'd like to explain these truths better, but you can't handle it. You ought to be able to track with me, but you are are still acting like babies. In fact, you need to go back to basics and re-learn the elementary truths of God all over again!" It's a harsh teaching, here. But let's consider the practical application. I will pose these as questions for reflection you should ask yourself and ask God to reveal the truth to you about them:

How mature am I when it comes to matters of faith?

How dedicated am I to learning spiritual truth?

How much time do I devote to studying and learning (reading, reading the Bible, studying the Bible with friends - maybe in small group, etc.)?

Do I allow myself to be stretched by new experiences that God wants to give me, or do I stay comfortably in my safety zone?

What is one thing I could do in the next week that would take a small step of growth towards maturing in my faith?

What is one thing I could do in the next month that would represent a step of moderate growth towards maturity?

What is one thing I could do in the next year that would be a huge step of growth?

Hebrews 4: Enter the Rest

2011-07-11T21:09:00.002-04:00

Right now I am having a pretty uncanny experience. It's Divine...a bonafide confirmation that I have heard from God in the past couple of days. And it has everything to do with Hebrews 4. Let me explain.

Last night, I sent an email to some of the leaders at PCC - specifically the Steering Team - and shared with them some of the anxiety I'm having on my study break. I'd like to share wiht you a piece of what I said:

"Just a quick note to say I'm still alive. It's starting to feel a little painful on my end to be gone for so long with no gear-up in sight. This is an important part of the process for me, though. I start to get a little scared about PCC - attendance is dismal, etc. - and I want to come rescue the church. But then I remember...this is not my church. PCC belongs to God. He can handle the ups and downs and manage just fine without me. And He can do whatever He wants with it anyway. So, being away from weekends for a few weeks is healthy for me and I'm convinced it's healthy for our church. But that doesn't make it easy..."

Then I went on to share what I had accomplished so far on my study break and what I still hoped to accomplish in the next 2 weeks.

So, today I opened Hebrews 4 and, though I had read it many times, the words jumped off of the page.

Hebrews 4:1-2 "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard it did not combine it with faith."

Now the Writer here goes on to use the Sabbath as a word picture to represent something larger. (read the rest of the chapter). He's talking about relying on yourself and your own effort vs. relying on God and His. He's saying that the truth about God is THE Truth, regardless of whether you believe it or not. However, that Truth is only a benefit to your life if you receive that Truth with faith and allow the Truth to direct every part of your life.

So, some heard the Gospel, but they didn't receive it on faith. Therefore the Good News (which is what 'Gospel' means) was of no value to them. Instead, they insisted on doing things their own way, in their own strength, relying on their own effort.

Sort of like I do sometimes when I feel the need to rescue the church. Or my family. Or some problem or challenge.

You see, the Writer here takes a moment to refer to the Sabbath to make a point: It's really not about our effort. It's not about how strong we are, how educated, how fit, smart, trained, experienced, well read or prepared. Of course, these are all good things. I'm certainly not arguing that we don't give our best to the church, our employer, family, etc. But at the end of the day, we don't enter the rest God promises until we acknowledge and accept the Power God promises. It's not about me. Or you. It's about what only God can do.

Hebrews 3: Jesus is better than Moses

2011-07-09T12:20:00.002-04:00

So far, the Writer is making an overarching superlative-style point. Chapter 1: Jesus is better than angels. Chapter 2: Jesus is better than humans. Chapter 3: Jesus is better than Moses. Now, there's a little more to it than that, but I'm looking at the big picture for a second. The Writer wants to be sure we know: nobody trumps Jesus. Not the senior angel, the greatest human, the most legendary figure in Jewish history. Nobody.

In chapter 3, we are admonished from the very first words to focus on Jesus Christ, not any person, not even Moses himself. This would have been a pretty provocative statement to make to a Jewish audience, since Moses was the person who led the single most defining event in Jewish history - the Exodus from Egypt (you can read about this in the book that bears that event's name - the second book of the Bible). Moses encountered God in a very unusual way, was chosen by God, spoke on behalf of God, performed miracles to display the power of God, and recorded the Law of God. Nobody - and I mean NOBODY - had the kind of memorial power that Moses did. in a way that is far beyond what most of us can comprehend, the Jewish people revered him. Think George Washington (to all of us who are Americans) or Henry Ford (for the innovators) or Michealangelo (for artists) or Beetoven (for the musicians). Now, multiply the feelings that person's name invoke in you by a thousand. Now you're somewhere in the vicinity of how the Jews felt about Moses.

For someone to be superior to Moses would be...blasphemy. unspeakable. unthinkable.

But Jesus is better than Moses. He's higher than and superior to Moses. The Writer says, 'hey, who's greater: the house or the builder of the house?" And he answers his own question: the builder, of course. Moses is a created being - a GREAT created being, but a created being nevertheless. Jesus is the CREATOR.

Now, there is a curious part of Hebrews 3 that most leaders in the Church today want to ignore. I admit that I want to ignore it, too, because it messes with my theology of salvation (what it means to be 'saved' and assured of heaven). I believe, based on other texts, that if you sincerely give your life to Jesus, ask for forgiveness, and dedicate yourself completely to him, you are saved, forgiven of your sins, and guaranteed a place in heaven when you die. But the Writer opens the door to the notion that salvation can be 'lost'. 3:14 "We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first." And v.6 "...And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast." Personally, I don't like these 'if' statements. But it doesn't really matter what I like, what matters is truth. And this is a link in our pursuit of truth.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to do with these texts, but they require more research than we can do here. One application is easy, though: Stay close to Jesus Christ and hold firmly to the commitment you made to Him! Ask God, "What does it mean that I promised you my life? How can I live out that promise more fully right now?"

Fields of Gold

2011-07-08T16:45:00.003-04:00

I finished reading the small but potent book today called Fields of Gold by Andy Stanley. It's a book about giving and it's one of the best books on the subject I've ever read. It's a quick read, but extremely powerful. In typical Andy fashion, the book includes moving illustrations and begins with THE best story related to why we should give that I've ever heard. (you have to wait all the way to the epilogue to see how that story gets resolved, and it's a real gem if you do!).

So, I highly recommend this book. Even if you are a long-time giver or tither, you would still benefit from it.

It's available in paperback or for your Kindle, and you can get it be clicking here.

When I read, I underline, highlight, dogear pages, make notes, etc. Here are a few of the notable quotes (for me) from Fields of Gold:

* I already mentioned the opening story, beginning in chapter 1 called "Dust in the Wind" and resolving in the Epilogue. Don't miss it. It's awesome.

* "...doesn't that make it irrational to trust God for your eternal destiny, yet decline His invitation to direct your finances?"

* "When you give away something valuable, it feels like a loss. You had something. Now you don't. And that can be a tremendous disincentive to give more. But Paul (2 Cor 9:6-11) puts this concept in a completely different light. He says that giving to God's work is not giving something away. It's an investment, not a loss. The farmer who sows doesn't lose seed. He gains a crop." What rational farmer would say, 'I'm afraid to sow my seed because then I won't have the seed anymore? What will happen if I need this seed?' Any farmer knows that if he wants a crop, he's got to sow his seed. It doesn't benefit him to stuff his pockets full. Neither does it do any good to pray, 'Oh God, please give me a crop. I'm not sure I'm ready to sow any seed, but God I'm trusting You to get involved. And I'm holding onto my seed just in case.'"

* "True wealth is having everything you need when you need it. And God is able to give you all things, at all times - all that you need."

* "The fact is, God can be sitting on the sidelines watching you struggle financially, or He can be actively involved as your financial partner. It all depends on what kind of steward you are....I think you already believe that God can intervene directly to change your financial picture. Here's why I think this. As a pastor...I've never heard anyone pray: 'God, as You know, I've withheld from You all these years while I followed my own plan. And sure, I've gotten into this financial catastrophe while on my plan, but I still think my plan can work. So I'll figure things out here on my own, and You can go help somebody else.' No. When the bottom drops out, we suddenly what God involved in our finances.

There is a LOT more that is notable here, but hopefully this has wet your appetite. Go get the book and read it!

5 minutes for Every Leader

2011-07-07T14:01:00.004-04:00

For years, communications at PCC has been haphazard. At times, we have done it better than others. Mostly, it's been hit or miss (with a lot of misses). We just couldn't quite put our finger on how to communicate like a big church.

But I am really happy to say that we have now jumped the hurdle. Thanks to the efforts and skills of Lindsay Harris, we have one of the best, easiest, clearest communications strategies I've ever seen at any church anywhere.

Invest 3 & 1/2 minutes watching this video, even if you're a leader at another church, and especially if you are a PCC'er. It's in full form below, or you can click here to link to it.

Hebrews 2: Making it very personal

2011-07-05T20:23:00.002-04:00

There are two things that jump out at me as I read the 2nd chapter of Hebrews a couple of times, and they bookend the chapter.

The opening part reminds me of the familiar scene of a Mom telling her misbehaving child, "Just wait until your father gets home!" When I was growing up, both of my parents could be stern disciplinarians. Mom was swifter to punish. We grew up getting a good spanking when we needed it (and we were NOT abused because of it). Dad issued spankings much more sparingly, but when he gave one, you tended to remember it. (we STILL weren't abused).

The Writer of Hebrews starts out chapter 2 by saying, "look, in the old days, angels delivered messages on God's behalf. Those messages were important, carried the weight of law and the punishment for violating the law. Now, if you couldn't escape the punishment from ignoring them how much worse is it going to be if you ignore God Himself?"

It really isn't intended to be a scare tactic as much as it is a compelling reason to pay attention. The Writer has already established (in Chapter 1) that Jesus is greater than the angels. Now he insists that his words and actions are greater than the angels' words and actions.

The chapter closes with something very personal. Let me illustrate first from my own experience.

I am particularly good friends with some other pastors. Some other senior pastors, to be specific. Now I have some close friends who are not senior pastors, but the truth is that very few people really get me like they do. When Hank, Jeff or Mark say, "Hey, brother, I know exactly how you feel" or "I know exactly what you're going through", they mean it and they do.

There are countless situations I don't understand.

I have no idea how it feels to be a resident physician and work those crazy long hours.

I have no idea what it's like to put on 100 pounds of gear and run into a burning house.

I don't know the pain of divorce (from a spouse's perspective) or the loss of a spouse.

I have no real reference point for being very poor or especially rich.

In any situation you can name, when we struggle, it's always helpful to be able to connect with someone who really understands because they've been where we are. That's why our recovery groups include people who have been through what we're going through. It just helps to know we're not alone in our struggle.

The Writer wants us to know that Jesus knows our struggle. Verses 14-18 are heavy and require a little concentration to understand, but they basically mean that Jesus became like us so that we could know He understands us and so that He could save us.

If you didn't see that, read it again. Read it slowly. Pray first and ask God to show Himself to you.

Happy Birthday America

2011-07-04T10:55:00.002-04:00

I got an email today from a good friend today who is a helicopter pilot stationed in Iraq. He helped remind me about how important this day is to our way of life. Below is an excerpt of my reply to him, and it expresses my own feelings of gratitude for our unbelievable country.

I'm probably not unlike many Americans who particularly think about our incredible blessing to be a citizen of the USA on this day every year. Conversations are everywhere today and the sense of national unity is high - even if only for the day. My Dad is here visiting with me today - a Vietnam Vet, with a purple heart, who should have died when he stepped on a landmine, but didn't. Our conversations are usually about the state of our country, the future for our children, and the political mess that seems to be getting worse in Washington, not better.

But behind it all is the consideration of true, honorable national heroes. You are one of these. We are anticipating your return safely, and I believe that will happen. But you can be breathing and still give up your life. You have done that - you have given huge portions of your life for us. It's hard to really grasp, and emotion wells up inside me to think of it. Why would someone do what you are doing now?

The answer is hard to swallow: You do it because you believe in us. You believe in our cause. You believe in our future.

Ironically, because of your courage, we believe in it, too. Regardless of the disgust that I and many others have over our political processes and the politicians that drive them, we remain firm in our belief, resolved to our cause. America: Where government is for the people, by the people. Where the land is free and the brave make their home. Where heroes are born and give themselves to a cause larger than the horizon, greater than life itself.

We believe in you, and we are profoundly grateful for what you do for us.

Looking forward to your safe return.

Brian

An Answer to Prayer

2011-07-03T16:00:00.001-04:00

Last week, we had that big meeting at PCC (which you can learn about by clicking here) and just before it started, Mandy James shared something urgent and asked that we pray. There had been a mixup with the travel agent and Natasha, Caroline and Gareth Stewart had not received their visas. After months and months of work and preparation and fundraising, they were hours from departing, but they could not go without a visa.

Getting the visa at that point seemed impossible for a number of reasons. And no one ever gets a visa as fast as they needed one, through multiple bureaucracies and 6-hour differences in time zones, basically starting from scratch a process that normally takes weeks.

So, we prayed. On behalf of everyone in the room, my words were something like this, "God, when the Stewart family gets their Visa's, we're going to give you the credit for it, count it as a miracle, and be thankful for your intervention."

Well, check out this picture...

After they traveled to DC and spoke directly to the US Ambassador from Macedonia, God orchestrated the miracle we asked for, and the Stewards got their paperwork in literally record time! And now they are in Macedonia with the rest of the team.

Thanks, God, for your work in this situation. We trusted that you were Good either way, but we're very grateful that you made a miracle happen.

TWO Teams on Mission right now!

2011-07-03T07:36:00.003-04:00

In case you didn't know, we actually have TWO teams out this week on mission! One is in Belize and one is in Macedonia. And 2 weeks ago, almost 100 PCC'ers went to Chesapeake for the World Changers Mission there. It's VERY exciting for our church to have so many people do mission work. This is a part of the calling of every Christ follower (see Matthew 28:18-20). Not everyone is called to go to every place, but we are all called to go. Where is God calling you?

By the way, when you give to PCC, you are supporting missions in our backyard and around the globe. We make a difference when God takes our tithes and offerings and multiplies them to change the world.

You can follow the Belize team's blog at http://pccinbelize.blogspot.com/ or by clicking here.

You can follow the Macedonia team's blog at http://iwcmacedonia2011.blogspot.com/ or by clicking here.

Hebrews 1: My Dad is better than Your Dad

2011-07-02T08:20:00.003-04:00

I know the title is a little inflammatory, but I couldn't resist. You might remember being a little kid and comparing fathers (I guess we compared our Mom's, too, but I don't ever remember telling someone "my Mom could beat up your mom.")

The writer of Hebrews (I will call him 'the Writer", and in spite of lots of speculation, we don't know who he is) opens his sermon with a few 'better than' comparisons.

1) Jesus is better than the prophets. In the past, God spoke to our parents and grandparents through the prophets. It was nice and good and important. BUT NOW, God has spoken through His Son, who "sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven". In other words, Jesus is better.

2) Jesus is better than the angels. You think the archangel Gabriel or Michael is impressive? God never said to them, "You are my Son" or "Let all the angels worship him" Regardless of what an angel of God can do or how awesome they are, they are nothing compared to him. Jesus is better.

Now, these are the two explicit comparisons that the Writer makes. But there is, underlying these, an implicit comparison:

3) Following Jesus is better than the Religion of Judaism. I'm sure this will upset some folks. It sounds judgmental. It's not meant to be. The Writer is writing to people who are either considering following Jesus and/or Jews who currently follow Jesus, but are considering a return to becoming Jews again. Why would they do that?

1) Judaism was safe. If you were a Jew, you knew exactly what to do and what not to do. No fumbling around with asking God for direction. Through the prophets, God had given some instruction. Through the priests and religious teachers, they had 'expanded' on that instruction and developed an elaborate set of do's and don't's.

2) Jesus had not come back. When he departed at the end of Luke (24:50-53), the assumption was that Jesus would return. He said he would do this (See John 14 for just one example). But to Jesus' original hearers, the assumption was at the return was imminent. Clearly, from our perspective, that's not what Jesus meant. But by the time Hebrews is written, Jesus has been gone for 20 or 30 years. The Jews who decided to follow Jesus were beginning to question if Jesus really was coming back.

3) There was intense persecution. A hunt was on for followers of Jesus. There was a powerful political determination to root out the infection called 'Christianity'. Anyone who followed Jesus was at risk. Going back to being a Jew or just staying away from Jesus was an easier pill to swallow for many.

The underlying theme the Writer wants to debate - and prove - is that following Jesus is far superior to being Jewish or irreligious or following another religion. His opening words are powerful, inflammatory, but (can I say it?)...TRUE.

Would love to hear your thoughts and comments on chapter 1.

Journey through Hebrews

2011-07-02T07:59:00.004-04:00

I had hoped to study a book of the Bible with you on this blog beginning June 1, but I just couldn't settle on the right book. Not that there aren't enough to choose from (there are only 66 books in the Bible), but I wanted the ONE that fit this moment.

Anyway, I have landed on Hebrews and am really enjoying reading through it a few times. There is SO much to be gleaned from studying this book!

Beginning today, I'll blog about a chapter every 2-3 days (there are only 13 chapters in the book). I might write about some chapters more than once.

IMPORTANT NOTE: For you to really benefit, you can't just read what I write! In fact, what I am going to say is nothing compared to reading the Bible for yourself. Look, we're talking about a very small commitment - like 5-10 minutes a day. But you will grow if you will approach those few minutes with an open heart and a prayerful spirit. I like to pray something like this,

"God, I really want to know you. I trust that you gave us the Bible for a reason, that you want me to invest some time reading it, and that you will speak through it. So, here I am, Lord. Show me something today that I've not seen before. Teach me something about you. Give me an application to make to my own life. And whatever happens, I'm grateful to spend a few minutes with you today."

So, go get your Bible. Read Hebrews Chapter 1, and then come back to this blog. In a few minutes, I'll post some thoughts on chapter 1.

Sending my kid to the other side of the world

2011-07-01T06:14:00.004-04:00

Seems like we're not parents of little kids for very long. Just a few years ago, this is what my children looked like.

But today, Daniel (who is on the right side of this picture) travels to Macedonia...without us. Half way around the world, for ten days, with $100 in cash, a passport, and a lot of prayer.

As parents, these are scary moments. But they are also moments that give us pause. My family is changing. It's a part of life. My kids are growing up, but there is much to celebrate along the way.

Like today. Daniel raised his own money to go on this trip (well, mostly :-) He's handled himself responsibly and as a respectful, respectable young man should. I'm proud of him, and I really do trust that God will do great things through Daniel and the team today.

He looks a little different these days. (Daniel's the tallest one in the picture). It's a good moment to look at my family and be thankful for all that God has done and for the unspeakable privilege of being an entrusted with their lives, even if it has been for such a short period of time.

VERY Excited about a New Thing at PCC

2011-06-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Untitled from Brian Hughes on Vimeo.

Working a Split Shift

2011-06-29T20:53:00.005-04:00

In the summer, I work a lot of 'split shifts'. You probably know what that is - I think a good bit of medical professionals (and some others) are familiar with the concept. But I'd love to reduce the mystery that surrounds what pastors do all day. And many pastors, because of the necessity of normal ministry and care, work unusual and unpredictable hours.

This is amplified in the summer, when kids are out of school and vacations are planned.

For me, I tend to be most productive in the morning. I love getting up early and reading, studying, writing and being creative before the rest of the world awakens. I get a lot done before 10am. But then my productivity wanes. Because my kids are home all day during the summer (well, the 2 younger ones, anyway), I can take the middle part of the day, when I'm not productive anyway, and play. Then I can return to work in the late afternoon/early evening when I get my creative second wind.

Today was one of those days. I got a lot done early, spent the afternoon at the river with my family and some of our good friends, and was home at 4:30 energized and back at being productive again.

It was a good day, balanced, where I can look back and know that I did it right. I wish I did it this well every day!

Finished Book 1: QBQ

2011-06-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

I had gotten this book at the conference I attended in Tennessee a couple of weeks ago (see my post at http://tinyurl.com/3ftkw8m). It looked intriguing, had an unusual title and it came from an organization I highly respected - they GAVE it to me, so I figured it would be helpful to read it. Plus it was very small - a quick read.

QBQ (which stand for the Question behind the Question) is a book all about personal accountability. It forces you to take a hard look at yourself - your behaviors, attitudes and thoughts - so that you ask questions that will prompt solutions, not endless complaining and fingerpointing. It's basic premise rests on a 3 legged stool:

1) Your questions should start with What or How, not who or when. Instead of asking 'who's fault is it that this wasn't completed' or 'when am I going to get the budget I need', the QBQ would ask 'What can I do to help resolve this' or 'How can I be a part of the solution'.

2) Your question should always contain an 'I'. How can I help. What can I do.

3) Finally, your questions should always contain an action. Words like do, solve, help, tackle, overcome, contribute, make the team better, make it happen, achieve the goal, accomplish, etc. are all a part of the QBQ.

There is no single QBQ. There are lots of examples of them, though, that John Miller poses in a helpful chapter near the end.

I found the book a helpful reminder of my personal responsibility for my own life, my leadership, and my circle of influence. It was a little choppy, not particularly well written and lacked some continuity. It WAS helpful, but if it had been much longer, would probably not have been worth the the read.

As it was, with only 2-3 hours of reading time, it was a worthwhile investment, especially since it was free.

Guess that wasn't a rousing endorsement, huh?

The MOST EXCELLENT Mobile Church I've EVER seen!

2011-06-26T17:46:00.006-04:00

I am really digging into some studying now...after a few days of playing. I've almost finished reading the first of four books on my reading list (will finish that book later today), and have written a good bit about the formation of a teaching team that may be helpful for leaders outside of PCC and folks inside who just want to know more about it.

But I wanted to tell you about the church I visited today. One of the things I like to do on my study break is something I never get to do in the normal course of things - visit other churches! This has become an annual ritual for me and - though I love our church and think it's awesome - visiting other churches helps me see some things we could do differently (and better) and helps keep me fresh because of inspiring messages and creative elements that make me think differently (and better).

My wife, Susan, had found a church in Fredericksburg that intrigued me, so I decided to go up there and take a look. I was completely blown away. You can imagine that in a decade of studying innovative churches, I've visited a LOT of them. They vary in quality from A to Z. But this one takes the cake, by far, hands down. It was awesome. The church? Lifepoint Church in Spotsylvania. You can check out their website by clicking here or going to visitlifepoint.org.

Now, perhaps it was an atypical experience. They had a guest band in that apparently makes regular appearances at Lifepoint - The Andy Cherry Band - and they were outstanding. The technology and the artistic talent was top notch. Plus, the Senior Pastor was out on break (go figure). They had a message from Steven Furtick from Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. the audio/video quality was excellent and after a few seconds, I felt like he was in the room with us.

Other notable parts of my experience include:

Lifepoint had a 'family worship' area, with chairs and black curtains and a monitor where families who didn't want to take their kids to the children's area could participate without disturbing others in the big room.
The music was LOUD - but not painful at all. (WAY louder than PCC). About 500 people were in the service I attended and were really into the music and seemed to enjoy it. It was edgy and very cool. Nobody had their fingers in their ears. I thought it was excellent.
They meet in a High School auditorium, but they use 8' or 9' black curtains (which they set up and take down every Sunday) to make the room feel 'full'. It really worked, too. The mood was electrifying and the energy was palpable. They really understood the concept of critical mass.
People were friendly, signage and literature were excellent, parking folks helped guide you in and waved goodbye as you left.

There were only a couple of things I think they could have done a little better. They were mostly minor, and you can find those in any church anywhere (PCC has several, too). For the most part, this church understood excellence without extravagance. They honored the folks who came to church.

So, I had an extremely formative experience at Lifepoint church today. I suspect you'll hear lots of things about them as they grow (and I suspect they will grow rapidly). If you are ever up that way and can check it out, let me know how your experience was!

Introducing the Teaching Team

2011-06-26T10:27:00.011-04:00

For at least two years, I've felt strongly that it was time for the formation of a 'teaching team' at PCC. Others have 'stood in' for me in my absence, but what we needed was something more systemic. I have been studying this concept for a long time, slowly building the mechanisms and trying to gauge the winds of the Spirit in terms of people and timing.

Rationale for a Teaching Team

Almost every Senior Pastor holds the responsibility of the 'platform', whatever they call it (pulpit, stage, etc.). Every pastor I know treats this honor like it is the greatest of privileges - because it is!

Some people think that teaching pastors keep a tight reign on the platform because of his ego, and I supposed there are a few who think they are God's only gifted communicator. Mostly, though, teaching pastors feel that a great trust has been given to them. Think about it: every week, scores, hundreds, even thousands of people come to a given local church. They come to encounter God through worship, to ask their spiritual questions, and, yes, many of them come to hear the teaching pastor communicate spiritual truth. Most innovative churches wouldn't have strong attendance or healthy growth without a good communicator (a lot could be said to define what it means to be a 'good communicator', but that's for another conversation).

All of that is to say that the person who holds the teaching platform does so 'in trust'. We don't just let anyone speak. We want to be sure of a few things:

1) The person speaking will do their work. Most of us do not speak extemporaneously. We don't just wing it. We prepare. We study. We write. We ball up the bad stuff, toss it in the can and start over, we work and re-work and re-work again. We come prepared. And we want to know that the person standing in for us will also come prepared.

2) The person speaking will look to God. After all, we are trying to be a conduit of sorts. We want to know that the person speaking in our stead will seek out God's voice, hear his words, and relay them accurately.

3) The person speaking will not make a mess. This is what I call the 'lowest common denominator'. Above all else, no matter what, the primary communicator does not want to come back from a break or vacation to find that the guest speaker ran people off, sparked a needless controversy or made a mess that has to be cleaned up. In fact, this is one of the main reasons that teaching pastors are so protective of the platform - the horror stories abound. The main issue here is TRUST. Once a group of people have come to know me and trust me, I can say things that others cannot say. I used to think it was the other way around - that you brought in guest speakers to say what you cannot say. I've come to realize that this is backward thinking that is dysfunctional and somewhat cowardly. Our core value of authenticity would dictate that the better you know me, the more I have the trust foundation and, indeed, the responsibility to speak the haredest truths, not run from them.

Selecting a Teaching Team

There are many people who are or could be good public speakers. Others are well versed in the Bible. Others still have a history that would help them connect with a certain segment of the folks who come. But what I was looking for were people who contained within them a certain set of characteristics:

1) Are they coachable? It didn't matter to me if they were Rob Bell or Billy Graham. If they weren't coachable, then it's not workable. Their spirit has to have a willingness and excitement about learning from me.

2) Do they have an indication of giftedness? Most people can learn the mechanics, but for a teaching team, you need folks who have gifts in communicating with people. They don't have to be fully developed gifts, but they have to be there.

3) Do they 'get' PCC? There are many people who fit 1 & 2 above who don't really understand what we are trying to do at PCC.

4) Are they willing and available? I brought this team in for weeks before they started speaking. They prepared a mock message for me, based on a scripture I gave them (and it was a VERY hard scripture). They had to come and 'deliver' that message in front of the other 5 members on the team and get critiqued by all of us. We had training times when we watched other great communicators, heard teachings about preaching. I had them read material. And, for the past few weeks, they've been gathering every week (some with me and some without me) and delivering the following week's message to each other, and then assessing, making suggestions, and coaching each other. All of this takes a LOT of time an energy. I needed people who would make the commitment and could keep it.

The Teaching Team at PCC

I will continue to be the primary teaching pastor. That is my calling and I believe that's where I'm supposed to be. But there are five others on the team:

Beth Stoddard

Sammy Frame

John Tiller

John Ivins

Dennis Green

(pictures are in that order)

You will notice that the last Sunday in this series (July 31), Angie Frame will give us a GREAT message, too. Very occasionally, someone not on this team will teach instead of me. But mostly, when I'm absent or not on the stage, it will be on one of these five.

Pastors, I hope you will begin to develop a teaching team. Getting away would not be possible for me if I didn't have these great folks working with me.

A VERY Exciting New Thing at PCC...

2011-06-20T21:15:00.003-04:00

For those of you who can make it, who love PCC and want to help make a real difference, I just can't tell you how excited I am about something very innovative and very exciting that's coming this fall. It's so significant that we actually have to begin preparing right now.

If you are able to make it, we will spend 90 minutes together next Tuesday, June 28, at the PCC Powhatan Campus. 6:30-8pm is the time. Anyone is welcome to come, so spread the word.

Why I take a Study Break

2011-06-19T05:55:00.002-04:00

I need your help. Every summer, I take a study break in addition to a vacation. I've done this in different ways. Sometimes I break it up. Some years I've gone away. Some years it's only two weeks. But early every year (like in January), I try to get a sense of my own pace, fatigue, spiritual and emotional health, and the condition of my family. Based on these things, I plan my summer and, specifically, my study break.

Most people don't really understand why I take a study break. It's ok. I don't really understand what most people do in their jobs. Likewise, most don't understand what I do in mine. But I am quite sure of this: being the senior leader in a church like ours, coupled with being the primary teaching pastor leads to a very high burnout rate among my peers. Let me explain a little more...

I LOVE being the Senior Pastor of PCC!! But in addition to being the most fun job I've ever done, it is also the most challenging and taxing. I have found that the combination of trying to be an intuitive, strategic leader AND a creative, excellent and effective communicator every weekend is somewhat unique. At moments like the one I'm in right now, I feel pretty good, but also like I'm slowly draining. I'm older now, and I can see the pattern of my life better and in a more mature way. I know I have to have some extended time working from a different altitude, thinking about our church from a birdseye view, and seeing PCC from a very big-picture perspective. I also desperately need to dig deep into some Bible study that doesn't require me to write a message out of it. And then there are some projects that I can't seem to get done, such as:

- I'd very much like to do a video curriculum for new believers that can be shared online or through DVD's. This would be 8-12 sessions that would cover the basic practices of a good spiritual life. What does it mean to pray or have a prayer life? Bible Study? Giving/Tithing? Small Group life (Community)? The symbolism and significance of Communion (the Lord's Supper) and Baptism. What is worship and how do we do it? I could easily spend 80 hours or more developing this, and I'm not even sure I'll get it all done on this break, but I'm going to try.

- Series planning. Beth and I (and some others) did a good job earlier this year of planning our services out into the summer, but we're not planned out beyond July. I have got to spend some time finding a fall series that's as good as Wild Goose Chase was (no small task), and plan us through the end of the year.

- Restructuring. A church like ours should restructure our staff every 18-36 months. We're not the same church we were 2 years ago. We'll need to have a staff that's ready for 2,000 people in 5 services in 3 physical campuses plus an online campus.

- Coaching Network. I'm committed to organizing a coaching network for Senior Pastors who want to take their leadership to the next level. I have a website and am just about ready to launch this for the fall. This is Kingdom-minded work, and I'm really excited about it.

- Read 4 books: QBQ by John Miller, The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, and Innovative Planning - your church in 4D by Bud Wrenn

- Other things include incorporation for PCC, some work for our teaching team, learn how to use Evernote, prep for a staff retreat and for my leadership summit presentation, prep for a VERY exciting church-wide study that begins in mid-October, catch up on some leadership blogs (Michael Hyatt and Tony Morgan particularly), and finish moving all my files to the cloud, just to name a few.

In addition to all of this, I'm going to dive deeply into a study on the book of Hebrews and will blog a lot about my journey through it.

AND, finally, I'm hoping to rest some. Recenter. Take some long walks and hear God speak. Pray for long periods about our church, our people, our staff, our leaders, and our future.

As I think about all of this and look back on the agenda I just created for you, it occurs to me that I've already bitten off more than I can chew. I'm going to have to whittle this thing down, and I haven't even started my study break yet!

What I'm hoping that you see is that study break is still working. It's not vacation. But it's working in a different way. This year, I'm mostly going to be gone. God blessed me with access to a few places that folks have generously lent me or rented to me at a very low cost. I've got some fun planned and some family time, in addition to the work.

When I go away, I always get a little pushback about the teaching platform at PCC. I'll have more to say about that in a blog post this week, but for now, let me simply say that you will not be disappointed this year. In fact, I think you are about to be blessed!

Thank you for supporting me while I take a breath. You can help me by being positive with folks who don't understand. This is important, and being away for a short while will make me better in the long run. This is a marathon, not a sprint. And I can make it for the long haul if I get a little break like this once a year.

Thanks again,

Brian

My Seminar in Tennessee

2011-06-16T07:55:00.003-04:00

I wanted to tell you about what I'm doing in Tennessee. A little background first, though.

For almost twelve years, I've been a hawk about removing empty rituals from the church. I know this offends some folks, and 'empty' is subjective (what is meaningless to some is profound to others). But I saw the church in many respects just 'going through the motions'. People were bored, which is one of the many reasons why they didn't come.

I wanted to do something about that, and we did. We asked very hard questions like, "Why do we do that?" and "Why do we do that every month, week, year, on the first Sunday, etc." Some of the answers made sense. Others, we discovered, were simply, "that's the way we've always done it". That's not good enough.

Its seems, though, that I've fallen into my own trap. From the beginning of my ministry, I adopted the standard, obligatory routine when it comes to money.

The preacher does a 4 week series every year, mostly about giving.
Attendance goes down because people avoid the subject like the plague.
Giving goes up a little, so the leadership calls it a success.
The church quietly celebrates that it's over, but already dreads next year's same-ol', same-ol'.

Why do we do that?!!

I'm not going to lay into a fiery sermon that will answer that question, but suffice it to say that our motives are pure. I believe that every Christ follower should give a tithe (10%). I believe that the tithe is Biblical and is the minimum, starting place for giving for the Christ follower. I believe that Christ followers who are not obedient and passionate here have a major issue in their spiritual lives. I have gone through this annual routine because I want to help people. I didn't know any other way.

But it clearly wasn't helping much. A few would take the plunge and start giving. A few would step up and give more, working towards a full tithe. Most avoided the subject. I used to think they were just telling God to keep His hands off of their money, but this week, I'm learning that there is a far more pervasive reason.

I'm just outside of Nashville. Beth Stoddard and I are attending an intense 3 day seminar with Dave Ramsey (yes, he was live with us yesterday)**. There are only about 100 church leaders here, from all over the country.

What I realized yesterday is that people want to help other people. Christ followers want to give to the church and other organizations. People want to be generous. But most folks are so incredibly strapped down in debt, payments and bills that they have no capacity. It hurts their lives in many respects - their marriages, their time with kids, their health and stress, and their spiritual lives.

Dave Ramsey is teaching us how to help our church - not to give, but to LIVE! If, using the 800 verses in the Bible that deal with this subject, can help people get out of debt, get on a budget, and live within their means, so many great things will happen because of it. I think that's the key. I'm convinced.

So, I guess you'll be hearing more about this :-)

Thanks for praying for us while we learn and try to hear from God on this important matter.

See you Saturday and Sunday!

**Our spouses traveled here with us (it was a 10-hour drive), but aren't going to the conference sessions.

Great Surprises and God Moments

2011-06-13T01:55:00.009-04:00

We had a weekend to remember around PCC - a truly historic weekend. It was fascinating to see how God worked through our people and some very unusual circumstances. Just a quick overview.

We were gearing up for our Saturday evening service when a terrible storm came across our Powhatan location at about 5 o'clock. I was standing in the Atrium watching the swirling rain when all 4 doors blew open. They were literally sucked out! I was concerned about a tornado at that point. Cars started to pour into the parking lot because (we later learned) one of our huge oaks had fallen into the road, completely blocking route 60. Folks traveling down the road had nowhere to go except PCC. We had an opportunity to show them good hospitality and care. We invited them to come in, out of the storm, and have some coffee, comfort and conversation. I was so proud of our people, who just loved on these folks who weren't trying to come to church but were just looking for a safe place to land for a while.

Of course, with the power out, we couldn't have a normal service. We had no air conditioner, no lights, and we couldn't flush the toilets!

Sometime that evening, I called Dennis Green, who was on his way back to Richmond from northern Virginia. He had GRADUATED from seminary on Saturday.

I guess he thought I was calling to congratulate him, which I did, just before telling him we'd have no DVD for our Westchester campus and the he or Sammy would need to download the message, stay up all night so they could know it really well, and deliver it at WC the next morning! Dennis returned the bad-news favor by telling me that so much rain would make a literal mess of parking cars in the field at the baptism and we might have to shuttle 300-400 people from somewhere up the hill.

When we finally get power back at Powhatan, we learned the lightening had fried part of our lighting system in the big room.

Oh yea...and MORE storms were forecast to come at 4pm Sunday - the exact moment of our baptism!

The bad news was stacking up. But underneath it all was something...Divine. God was reminding us that the great things that happen aren't about how good we are, but about how GREAT HE IS! Our job is to follow, and this is one weekend where I think we did that well. Here's what happened...

Saturday evening, Beth and her team ditched our normal service and quickly developed Plan B - a completely unplugged service...in the Atrium. No lights. Not mics. No hype. Just us, unfiltered, unprojected, unassisted by technology.

And it was very good! I said a few words - 5 minutes of something uninspiring, to be honest, and we thanked God for His power when we had none of our own. We prayed for the people about to be baptized and something mysterious and mighty happened. It's hard to explain, but it was a genuine moment for PCC. Some of our stranded traveler friends stayed and some said they loved our church, felt welcomed, and would come back.

Beth was on a roll with good ideas, too. Earlier in the week, Sammy Frame introduced to us the notion of being live one Sunday (just to do something different) at Westchester AND Powhatan, driving back and forth, instead of being on video at Westchester. (For the record, I thought was a very good idea for sometime down the road. I had no idea we'd be doing it a few days later. That's how God works!) I asked Beth for her opinion about the message for Westchester. We could take the camera and I could film it remotely, or a Campus Pastor could deliver it live while I remained in Powhatan (which is what I told Dennis we would do). She suggested that this was the moment to try Sammy's idea. We had to make a few small adjustments and plan for me being held up in traffic, but it was a great time to try the experiment - and it was so great to be at Westchester AND Powhatan in the same day!

Of course, people wanted to know about the baptism and the predicted storms. I told them we'd figure it out, but I wasn't sure what that meant. By 3:45, we were standing on the banks of the river, keenly aware that we were about to get hammered. Sammy checked the radar on his phone, there was a warning issued with 60 mph winds and hail expected. We sent everyone back to their cars to wait it out. 4:20 was our new target time, and with a little rumble still happening to the south of us, we began.

It was overwhelming, as person after person; family after family; changed life after changed life came into the water to tell the whole world that Jesus is Lord. Several people - like Anna Holland, Chauncey Starkey and Delores Moss - were performing that sacred act for the first time. Angie Frame was my partner when families were baptized, something I count as an honored part of our long ministry together.

I haven't actually gotten a final count, but it was around 80 people - by FAR the largest baptism we've ever done. In fact, it was more people than we've ever seen baptized in an entire year. And yesterday, PCC baptized the 500th person in less than 9 years.

Lots of people worked really hard to make the baptism happen. It would add pages to this post for me to name them all. So I'm only going to name one. Rachel Huff is the most skilled care team leader I can possibly imagine. She has a unique set of gifts, and I'm so thankful she's on our team. You made a real difference yesterday, Rachel, and I thank God for your commitment to the people of our church.

God is always Good. If church had been cancelled and the baptism had been delayed to another day, He would still be Good. But this weekend, He poured His favor on us...just heaped it until it was overflowing. And I am exceedingly grateful to be a part of what He is doing and to be on the unbelievably dedicated team that God has brought to PCC.

Baptism

2011-06-10T20:04:00.002-04:00

We've been working this week with a lot of people and a lot of logistics for the historic baptism we have coming up. Right now, 88 people are scheduled to be baptized, but it changes every hour or so. You will not want to miss this incredible day. Here are a few things you need to know, so please read this information:

1. If you would like to be baptized, there is still time. Please contact me or a member of our staff asap. I can be reached at brian.hughes@pccwired.net.

2. The baptism begins at 4pm on Sunday at the Cartersville Boat Landing in Cartersville, It's about 15 minutes from the Powhatan Campus.

3. We are expecting a record crowd and a record number of cars. We will have a completely different traffic pattern than we have ever had before. We will have signs and parking people in place to help accommodate the change. We are asking all our volunteers and guests NOT to use the main entrance to the boat landing area. Instead, we have a back entrance that will allow us to park more efficiently and effectively. If you are coming down the hill toward the river, this back entrance is about 100 yards before you get to the main entrance on the same side of the road. We will have signs and parking attendants to help direct and park you. Once you park, you will have a fairly short walk to the landing area, however, if you want to ride, we will have our shuttle van coming by to scoop you up and deliver you right to the boat ramp.

4. We are saving a few spaces up close for handicapped parking and those who may not be able to walk from the parking area to the landing. Depending on the volunteers and the demand for close up parking, we may even have a Valet parking service available!

5. You may want to bring a chair. The baptism will last around 30-40 minutes (don't hold me to that...We've never baptized 88 people on the same day before!)

6. After a baptism, many people often stick around and swim (bring or wear your suit if you want to). You are welcome to do that (I will probably swim for a while with my kids, too). However, we are technically not supposed to swim right at the boat ramp, so we usually swim out into the river. It's not swift at this spot and the water is not deep, so it is relatively safe. Still, it's a river and you need to used your own judgment.

Finally, let me ask you to pray for those people who are being baptized. This is a huge celebration for them, but it's also a serious moment. These people are 'going public' about their decision to follow Jesus Christ. Much is at stake, and it's important that we surround them with the Church. WE are the Church.

I'm looking forward to seeing you there!

Brian

Tribes

2011-06-09T18:33:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I finished reading Seth Godin's book, Tribes. A short book, but packed with really great help for leaders who are passionate about doing something significant in our techno-savvy world. It was really helpful to see how the role of leadership is to help connect people who share a common cause or vision. It was a new way of thinking about leadership for me. A few notable quotes include:

"If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader."

"finally you begin to realize that the safest thing you can do feels risky and the riskiest thing you can do is play it safe."

"So great leaders don’t try to please everyone. Great leaders don’t water down their message in order to make the tribe a bit bigger. Instead, they realize that a motivated, connected tribe in the midst of a movement is far more powerful than a larger group could ever be."

"Settling is no fun. It’s a malignant habit, a slippery slope that takes you to mediocrity. Managers settle all the time. They don’t really have a choice because there are too many competing priorities. Heretics don’t settle. They’re not good at that. Managers who are stuck, who compromise to keep things quiet, who battle the bureaucracy every day—they’re the ones who settle. What else can they do? The art of leadership is understanding what you can’t compromise on."

(these are just a few, I had many!)

I recommend Tribes to anyone who is a leader or wants to be a leader.

A really Great Weekend

2011-06-06T13:15:00.002-04:00

I tend to think that pretty much every weekend is good. God always shows up and great things always happen. But some weekends are exceptional, and while I occasionally can see a great weekend coming, normally it's a surprise when it happens. This past weekend was one of those. Let me share with you some of the great things that happened this weekend.

Saturday. When we launched our Saturday evening services, there was truly unbelievable attendance. 265...245...it was shocking. Now we've settled down to something more...predictable - around 100. What's great about that? A few things, actually. In the beginning, we had some 'missionaries'. These were solid PCC'ers who wanted to come on Saturday just to support what we were doing. I can't tell you how critical this was (and still is to some extent), and how grateful I am. But now many of these folks have said, "OK, I came for a while and now I'm going back to Sundays." That means that now we have a pretty good bead on how effective Saturday evenings are. Something like 80-100 adults (plus around 25 kids) are coming fairly regularly on Saturdays who would not or could not come on Sundays. That is incredible. If we can make it through the historically low month of July, we'll be home free.

Baptism. Off the top of my head, I think we baptized 63 people in our biggest year (both baptisms combined). Next Sunday, it looks like we'll baptize OVER 70 PEOPLE in ONE baptism!!! I met several folks yesterday who want to go public with their commitment to Jesus Christ next Sunday with their baptism. It's truly incredible what is happening.

101. We had a PCC 101 yesterday (part 1) and I got to meet a dozen or so people who love our church and what we do. These folks remind me that what we do matters and is effective. For the record, almost everyone in the room was someone who was not going to church when they came to PCC. Some had very little exposure to church at all. (I was also in that category as an adult, as we didn't really ever go to church when I was growing up). We are uniquely equipped and called to make a non-threatening environment for these folks, and the conversation in 101 today reinforced that in me again.

Transformational Moments. God really touched some people this weekend.

- One person told me that there was someone she had struggled to forgive for many years. That person, she said, was on the bottom of her 'list'. God used the message to help her see that she was in the same boat - neither got 100, both needed Jesus, and she finally forgave.

- Another told me that he had prayed today for the first time to accept God's grace through Jesus Christ and offer Him his life.

- One of our staff pastors had an opportunity to pray today with someone as they also committed their life to Jesus.

- I met two people today (independent and unconnected to each other) from European countries, both of whom raved about PCC and how there is nothing like what we do in their hometown across the Atlantic.

- A couple approached me last night to excitedly ask me for the scripture reference I quoted in the message. "Philippians 3:4-11," I said. Then I noticed the lady flipping through the Bible we had given to her a few minutes before. She began in Genesis and flipped, trying to find Philippians. I helped her get there, and she pulled out a highlighter and marked the scripture. It was obvious that God was really working in them both.

- Jim Mustian, our PCC Bookstore Manager, told me today that we have given out 1690 Bibles...before yesterday's services.

The bottom line is this: God is at work at our church, people's lives are changing, and it is a great privilege to be a part of it!

Don't miss the historic baptism next Sunday. See you there!

Change in Children's Ministry for Sat evening services

2011-05-31T15:58:00.004-04:00

We will NOT have any children's ministry or childcare for the Saturday evening services after June 11 (so, effective June 18). We are hoping to resume children's ministry for Saturday services after the summer. Please spread the word.

If you have questions or want to talk or if you'd like to be a part of helping us grow our Saturday campus, please let me or a member of our staff know. You can find our staff by clicking here.

I posted a video on Facebook where I flesh this decision out a little (it's only 4 minutes). You can click here to see it.

Thanks for your support on this decision and for our church! Great things are happening at PCC!

How 'bout THEM Apples?!

2011-05-30T20:54:00.003-04:00

I was really surprised today. Surprised with a very cool gift. It isn't my birthday or a special anniversary. It certainly isn't Christmas. But I got an awesome gift anyway.

A little background first...

About two months ago, I started having some trouble with my laptop. I got it fixed, then it broke again. In the meantime, I got a little mini (netbook) to tide me over until I could figure out what the long-term plan was. Frankly, there really isn't any money for new laptops and I was just trying to get by.

Then my mini got infected with a nasty virus - a malware that threatened to steal my identity. I had never been the victim of identity theft. It was scary. Yesterday before church, I was pretty distracted by it, worried that some faceless person was out there living it up on whatever he could buy with the Brian C. Hughes credit line.

So, before church yesterday, I was lamenting my situation here and there, but especially with some of my colleagues on staff like Chauncey and Beth. I've had a lot of trouble with computers lately, I vented.

And then, today, Beth calls and asks to meet with me face to face, and...immediately. This is almost NEVER good when someone requests that kind of meeting! You can imagine the kind of thoughts that traveled through my mind, but Beth assured me it "wasn't bad".

Susan and I went straight to Beth and Tony's music store, where they both presented me with a huge basket of apples. Wow. That is important. But under the first layer of apples, I noticed a bag, and after digging to get to it, I noticed the boxes. White boxes with an Apple emblem on them.

Turns out, some good friends chipped in to get me an iPad, instigated and orchestrated by Beth Stoddard! I've never had any machine like this one. It's like your first ride in a limo after driving a Pinto your whole life. Even the packaging said, "quality". I think it's time I leave the dark side...I'm probably going to say goodbye to the PC world now.

But not before I say Thank You to those who pitched in to help make it happen (I don't know who you are, except for Beth). You really made me feel appreciated and honored and special. This is an unusual surprise, and I am really, really grateful.

And a special thanks to my good friend Beth Stoddard, too. I was at a rare loss for words as the apples peeled back and revealed the Apple, but it was a really overwhelming and incredible thing you did for me. Thank you for the way you honored me today. I'm so glad we get to be on this journey together!

So, this is me-signing off, with a huge smile, heartfelt thanks, and a little more pep in my step, from...my iPad. :-)

A Few Thoughts about this Weekend...

2011-05-29T21:01:00.005-04:00

It was a great weekend at PCC! Of course, Memorial Day Weekend is historically low attendance, and that was certainly the case this year! It was our lowest attendance since July and the first time we've seen attendance go below 1,000 since August. But it was predictable - the weather was mostly good and it's hard to resist a 3 & 1/2 day weekend! (And a good bit of folks were able to join us online from the river, beach, pool or lake.)

Those who were able to be at PCC today (either physically at one of our campuses or online) got to participate in some really great music, the pinnacle of which was an unbelievable song that closed the service, written by our own Lindsay Harris. That song is not just good...it's awesome! You'll hear it on the radio some day. Can't wait to get some great original music recorded for a PCC album!

We dealt with a difficult subject today in talking about hell. Plenty of churches take it on, but I think God has uniquely equipped PCC to handle topics like this in a way that feels less judgmental to someone who's not used to going to church. I'm not trying to make hell sound like a vacation spot. Rather, I am trying to create a forum where people are willing to approach these tough subjects with an open mind. This requires that they set aside their pre-conceived notions about the church, based on their previous observations and experiences. To get there, I usually lean into the conversation with that person by trying to ease the tension somehow. That's why I began with the Far Side cartoons and pushed the envelope a little towards the end with the...'expressions' about hell that are part of our vernacular.

I'll post most of the scripture references I used as well as some of the basic emphases of the message in my next post.

It was a good weekend at PCC. I think we may have helped some folks. Using both our best work and the work that fell short - God showed up. He always comes through!

Thinking of a new study...

2011-05-28T05:30:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, as we led up to Easter, I did a series on this blog on the book of John (called it "Easter Soul Prep" and you can read the entire series on this blog. To see the first day, click here). Pretty much every day, we took one chapter of John at a time and finished all 21 chapters at Easter. For those of us who participated, it was a really good and meaningful part of our spiritual lives for those 3 weeks, and there was a good deal of very healthy discussion. For me, it served as a devotional time that was not a part of preparation for messages. Having some of you say you were counting on my posts was a healthy accountability for me, too.

Several have asked me to do it again, and I am sensing God nudging me that the time is right, so I'm eyeing some books:

1 Corinthians. 16 chapters keeps it concise. Paul covers a lot of topics, including unity, heaven and hell, sin, the way for the church to be healthy, gifts from God, etc.
Genesis. One of my favorite books. An endless list of spiritual truths doused with familiar stories to most people. 50 chapters makes the commitment long, though, especially through the summer.
Proverbs. 31 Proverbs make it perfect for a month. Many, many great things for us to talk about and hear from God about.

I'm open to something else. But these are the pieces I'm kind of pondering. Let me know if something strikes you or if you have another idea. But do it quickly, because I think I'm going to start on Wednesday, June 1.

The Friend who Calls Again...

2011-05-26T09:10:00.003-04:00

I have a very close friend who is the Senior Pastor of a church like ours. This is someone who knows me well, and we've earned the right to poke around in each other's lives to help keep our lives healthy. We have permission to ask questions - sometimes hard or uncomfortable questions - to ensure we're not pretending, living duplicitously, or wearing a mask.

So Monday he calls me. We usually talk every week or two - sometimes about nothing, other times there is an agenda or a specific reason that's church related. "I'm just calling to check on you" he said. (this was prior to yesterday's blog post, by the way). "I'm good," I replied. I shared some frustration I was having with message preparation and a couple of other church things and shared a piece of personal good news I had gotten. But twice more during our 15 minute conversation he asked, "Are you sure you're ok?" I peeled a layer each time, but pretty much ended where I started - "I'm ok. I'm doing well."

Later that evening, my phone again and his name was on the screen. "I had to call you back," he said. "Since we talked earlier, I kept thinking about our conversation and...I'm just not sure you were completely honest with me earlier about being OK. I'm not sure you're telling me everything."

Everybody needs a friend like that!

A real friend calls again. He or she risks ticking you off by making that statement: "I'm not sure you told me the truth." And some people do get offended by such a question. But smart people would never rebuff such an inquiry from a good friend, because we understand that their motive is to help you take your mask off...and sometimes you don't even know you're wearing it.

I wasn't deliberately hiding anything...but the call pressed me to take a harder look, talk through some things, and see what I previously was missing. He prayed for me and I hung up and thought, "Now that is a good friend."

Real friends call again. If you don't have a friend like that, be deliberate. While this is true for everyone...Pastors - this is especially a message for you, because I know many of you don't have a friend who calls again. That kind of friendship won't usually happen for you on its own...you have to be intentional. Those kinds of friends are around, and even though they take time to develop, they are worth it.

A little...blah

2011-05-25T08:29:00.004-04:00

When I was in sales (20 years ago) one of the lessons I learned that has served me well is this principal: Business is always good. Always. You might have not had a sale in 2 months, but if someone asks, business is always good. You don't have to fabricate data or lie about your production. But business is always good. why? Because no one wants to buy from a salesperson who is on his way out, can't sell his product, or is just miserable. They want to do business with someone who believes in their product and sells it like crazy. Business is always good.

Along the way, though, I learned to undergird that attitude with truth. You can still believe in your product while admitting it's a tough season.

Pastors of churches like PCC, as authentic as we can be, often hide behind the notion that 'business is good.' The last vestige of mask-wearing for innovative church pastors involves 2 areas: marriage and the blues. We can admit to struggling with temptation, sin, parent issues, being flawed, etc. But these 2 things...well, we just don't want to talk about them.

So, I thought I'd venture out a little and say, "business is still good, but I'm kind of struggling anyway."

You see, creative types tend to move in 'seasons' where everything is good sometimes and everything not at others. It's not really grounded in circumstances or even reality. Sometimes, everything is a disaster, but I feel great. Other times circumstances can be incredible, but I feel...blah.*

This is one of those seasons. I'm a little overwhelmed...a little tired...a little unsure of some decisions that need to be made...a little lacking in direction. As I described it to a friend, I feel a little unsteady. It's not a long term thing and I don't need a thousand pieces of advice about how "the sun coming out tomorrow" and "just whistle while I work". It's a short season and you just have to work your way through it. I'm not miserable. Nothing is particularly wrong. I'm just a little...blah. It's ok. Even the pastor can go through these times. (Yes, men have these seasons, too. They just don't know how to talk about them. Hopefully, someone reading this will feel inspired to share a little about what they're going through with a spouse or friend.) There is no shame in it. It's just part of life.

And, just to be sure we're clear, business is still very good!

*having struggled with depression in the past, I'm always aware that it can happen again. I'm quick to intervene if I see some red flags and have friends and family that serve as an 'early warning system', too. There is a difference between being 'blah' and being depressed, though one can lead to the other. Pastors who struggle with this should read Wayne Cordeiro's Leading on Empty.

Scriptures on Heaven

2011-05-22T17:09:00.002-04:00

Today, I made reference to a LOT of scripture. Thought I'd recap here in case you wanted to look some of it up.

John 14 is a critical chapter in my thinking on this subject. I really think you should read it.
Matthew 4:17
Romans 6:23 says that “the gift of God is eternal life with Jesus Christ.”
2 Cor 4:18 says, “we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Cor 5:1-2 says “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dewelling…”.
WHEN will Heaven happen? I referred to Jesus' conversation with the thief on the cross next to him in Luke 23. I would also refer you to the account in Matthew 17:1-8 of Moses and Elijah appearing with Jesus on the mountain. They were not laying 'in state', but were present with Jesus (presumably from heaven). I also noted 1 Cor 15:52 to note that something happens when Jesus returns.
Speaking of Jesus' return, you can read about that in John 14, 1 Thess 4:16, Mark 13, Hebrews 2, 2 Thess, just to name a few.
1 Cor 15:40-58 will give you a taste of what Heaven will be like.
Finally, how do you get into Heaven? I refer you to John 14:6, John 3:16 and Romans 10:9 for the answers.

More discussion about heaven later...