A tip about commenting

Thanks for reading my blog! It is so nice to know that I can communicate and stay better connected with you who chose to read it. This blog is getting increasingly more hits each day...just shy of 100 unique hits yesterday (which is a record).

Anyway, I wanted to offer a quick tip about commenting. If you DO NOT have a google account AND you have wanted to comment, but do not feel like setting up an account...

Then, simply click to leave a comment, select "anonymous" and then write your comment and sign your name to it. That way, although it will say that the comment is from anonymous, we will still know who it is from.

That may help some of you. Peace. Gonna be working offsite today on my message for Sunday.

Gag Reel...

Sabbatical Postponed

Some of you knew that Tricia and I were supposed to be on Sabbatical this summer from June 9-August 9. This is a gracious gift that the church gives me every 4 years of ministry and is intended for spiritual renewal. Well, what some of you may not know is that God moved on my heart that this is NOT the time to go. For many reasons, I sensed strongly that my sabbatical needed to be postponed a year. After talking with Tricia, some mentors and friends, I took it to the Board and they affirmed it the same. Hence, my sabbatical will be summer 2009, Lord willing.

Just thought I would let my blog readers know....because I mentioned my sabbatical in my blog before and recently a few people have reminded me that I will be leaving on Sabbatical soon....and I will not be.

Love you all!

Momentum Video

If you missed my video message two weeks ago, you can watch it right here, right now.

Ark

Contemplating building an ark!! Have you ever sen so much rain? My yard is a jungle and I cannot cut it because it is wet.

Anyway, I have been made fun of my whole life about building an ark. I think I may build one now. Smile.

Grammy & Mommy Awards

For the last few weeks, we have been advertising our first ever "Grammy & Mommy Awards Ceremony". As people were entering church yesterday they were asked to nominate a Mother or Grandmother for an award in the service. We got LOADS of nomination...more than we knew what to do with. A few of us rallied and picked some of the best nominations and we honored some Mommies and Grammies. The picture is above. It was a fun moment and a good memory.

Mother's Day Shout-Out

Great Mother's Day service today at church. Lots of Mom's, lots of excitement. It was also Pentecost Sunday....not coincidental that we had a very rich time of worship....really sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit this morning! We will receive POWER to be witnesses when the Holy Spirit comes on us (Acts 1:8)!

Well, before this Mother's Day comes to a close, I wanted to give a BIG LOUD I LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU to my mom and my wife. They are my 2 biggest fans and much of the reason that I am where I am and who I am. Love you, Mom! Love you, Tricia!

--Noah

Summary of North Point Experience

I can summarize my experience at Drive and North Point in 4 statements. These 4 principles were a recurring theme in every session and breakout. They are the essence of this church's success. This is their vision. I DID NOT NOT KNOW THIS BEFORE ARRIVING IN ATLANTA! I want to make sure that is clear before I share them with you. Once you read them, I trust you will see very close connection between what you read and what God is doing at CCF. It was the Lord that directed us to this conference! Lots of confirmation in the Spirit! So, here goes:

1. First Impressions are lasting. The most likely entry point for people into your church for believers and the unchurched is through your Sunday morning Worship Services (Large Groups). So, create irresistible and excellent environments for adults and young people to experience Christ and be sure that the experience CLEARLY invites them to take their next step!
2. Real life Change happens in circles not rows! People must be connected to a Small Group in order to be most connected to God and Others.
3. Serve the Vision. Every person should want to serve in a place of ministry in the church....that promotes one of the 2 above (large group or small groups).
4. Do less for more! Concentrating on doing a few strategic things with excellence will produce greater results than doing many good things well (or with mediocrity).

There you have it...North Point in a Nutshell! And soon...CCF too!

Random Quotes....

The last session of the Drive Conference consisted of Andy Stanley sharing quotes that he is still grappling with. Many of these bother him, as they should. He did not claim to have them figured out, and nor do I. They each give us something to think about:

• To reach people no on else is reaching, we must do things that no one else is doing! Takeaway: Stop reaching the reached. Become preoccupied as a church with those you have not reached as opposed to those you are trying to keep.
• The next generation product (how to be effective in ministry) almost never comes from the previous generation. Each generation needs to take the previous ones seriously, because young people know what will work for them more than I do. Give them rope. They WILL definitely mess up, but it will be worth it. Takeaway: Be a student not a critic. Fund it, don't fight it!
• What do I believe is impossible to do in my field, but if it could be done, would fundamentally change my business? Takeaway: Pay attention to the people breaking the rules.
• When your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near. Takeaway: Don't let success or momentum overshadow vision. Keep vision out in front.

...Some things to think about. They can apply to the church as well as your place of business.

Issues of Trust

To maintain relational integrity and healthy teams we must chose to trust and be trustworthy.

Choosing to Trust:
Often there are unexplainable gaps between what we expect people to do and what they actually do. When those gaps appear:

1. We CHOOSE what to put in the gap.
2. Our choices determine the INTEGRITY of the relationship.
3. We can choose to fill the gap with trust or suspicion.

As believers, we are called to trust. (I Cor. 13:7)

There are 3 commitments we need to make in choosing to trust:

1. When there is a gap between what I expect and what I experience, I will fill it with TRUST.
2. When I observe someone filling a gap with suspicion, I will come to your DEFENSE.
3. If what I experience begins to erode my trust, I will come directly to YOU about it!

Choosing to be Trustworthy:
To be trustworthy does NOT mean that you are flawless. It simply means that you are worthy of trust. Trustworthy people address the gaps they create! There are 3 commitments we need to make in being trustworthy:

1. I will do what I say....and when I don't, I will tell you!
2. I commit not to over promise and under deliver. But, if it looks like that is where things are headed, I will tell you.
3. If you confront me about the gaps that I have created, I will tell you the truth.

Harboring suspicion and mistrust will poison the culture and your organization. (I think that this teaching applies to marriages, families and friendships as well.)

3 Weddings in 2 Weeks

I am marrying 3 couples in the next 2 weeks! I think that is a record for me (being that close together). The first one is tomorrow with the rehearsal tonight. It is at a lighthouse in Belair...hope they have good weather.

Every one of these weddings means many hours of work already done leading up to the big day with premarital counseling and such. A lot of work and time goes into marrying couples, but it is always really cool to share such special moments with them. Hey, just last night, we were at Small Group with 2 couples that I have married. They are some of our closest friends! How cool!

Blogosphere

I have not felt as connected to the blogosphere as much these last few weeks. It comes in seasons. I do intend to post some of my key learnings from the Drive conference....TODAY! I want to capture them while they are fresh.

With being away 3 days and the playing sermon prep and catch-up and be-with-family, I have fallen behind on other things...like my house, blogging and exercising.

Gotta get back in my groove!

--Noah

Home

Got home last night. Awesome experience this week! I am offsite working on my message for Sunday. Loads of things I could be doing, but all of them are lower on the priority than preparing my communication for Sunday (Mother's Day, BTW).

If I make enough progress on my message, I hope to blog some of my key takeaways from "Drive". Talk to you later!

--Noah

Jeff Foxworthy

Last night, the conference hosts decided that 2,500 people needed to take a road trip....so, hundreds of cars caravaned to one of their other locations. It looked like an oversized funeral processional. North Point has 3 campuses. We all caravaned to one of the other facilities. By the way...this church owns 3 buildings. One was 33 million, one was 42 million and one was 50 million. They own all 3 free and clear. The church was planted in 1995. Take a moment to re-read that.

Anyway...back to last night. We arrived at the Brown's Bridge Church and had a big barbecue and tours of the building and then loaded into their auditorium for a night of fun. After listening to a great bluegrass band, a smart car (tiny little vehicle) drove onto the stage and out stepped Jeff Foxworthy (comedian and host of popular show "Are You smarter than a 5th Grader?"). He did an hour long comedy show for a room full of Pastors and Church Leaders. It was incredible. He actually did an awesome job and even got serious and talked about his commitment to Christ. He attends North Point Community Church.

Heading into our final session today. Conference ends at 2:30. We fly home this evening. I look forward to sharing some of the highlights with you later.

--Peace!

Hello from Atlanta

I am standing at a table in the lobby of North Point Church checking email and checking in. We are having a marvelous time here. Learning lots and laughing lots. The whole entire conference is going on a Road Trip tonight. 3,000 people will be caravaning down the interstate to one of NP's other locations. There is evidently a BIG surprise for this evening. I look forward to telling you about it later.

--Noah

Gag Reel

Awesome morning at church today. Did my first video message. I said publicly that I would post our gag reel on my blog by tomorrow....forgetting that we would be traveling. Sorry for the delay...but I should have it posted by the end of the week. It will be worth the wait, trust me. Smile.

Flying to Drive

I am flying out in the morning at 7:00am. Headed to Atlanta, GA for the Drive Conference at North Point Community Church. I am really looking forward to:

• Breaking normality with a few days away.
• Learning new things.
• Gaining new tools for ministry especially related to Small Groups.
  
• Hearing Andy Stanley speak (3x).
• Observing North Point in Action.
• Hanging out with Nelson and Mike.

I will miss my babies back here in MD. If I have WiFi, I will post from Atlanta. If not, talk to you Thursday.

--Noah

40 Years

My parents celebrated 40 years married yesterday. All 5 of their kids (and their spouses and kids) threw them a lovely anniversary dinner last night. We had an awesome time sharing memories, eating, watching a tribute DVD, etc.

I am totally blessed and inspired my my Mom and Dad. They are an example of God's design for marriage! Never perfect, but always faithful. Not always easy, but always hopeful. Not taking the glory for making it 40 years, but giving it to the Lord Jesus Christ! Mom and Dad cried from the moment they got in the door last night until the end. It was so moving and so meaningful. I do not take for granted the parents that God put over me.

My siblings are spectacular people as well. I love growing older and maturing with them. They are more than my siblings, they are my friends. I am thankful for them today, too!

We sent the parents off to Williamsburg, VA for 3 days. That's where they went on their Honeymoon 40 years ago.

--Noah

35 More Days

All of the sudden I fell really, really ready for our vacation. We are leaving in 35 days for a journey in oceanography. The host for the trip will be a company called Carnival! We have been looking forward to this. We love to cruise! Putting in long hours these days. March-May are busy times in church life. The upcoming break will be well needed and well used. Meanwhile, we press on...

Hidden Love

While reading the scripture this morning (at Starbucks), I ran across this verse in Proverbs 27:5..."Better is an open rebuke than hidden love." That caught me. What is hidden love?!?! What is this verse meaning? Want to look at this deeper. More later.