Me and my entire family...yes, all of us...Mom, Dad, their 5 kids, their spouses, their kids....I think 18 in all have rented a huge beach house in Bethany Beach, DE. It's gonna be loud, but it's gonna be fun. We are heading out this afternoon. We'll be back to see you at church Sunday. We will continue our Habakkuk series and be in chapter 2. Read it if you can. Just finished preparing. Really excited about what God will show us this weekend from his Word.Diverse in age, culture, class and spiritual background, yet loaded with unity and celebrating our uniqueness! We even express incredible diversity in our services, music and ministries.
Flexible enough to embrace change, take risks and experiment! Sometimes the experiments work and become successes and even define our culture. Sometimes the experiments fail and we try new ones. That is the strength! We try! We will not stagnate at CCF!
Authentic…in relationships, faith and community. We are the real deal. You will not come to CCF and sense distance, cold or legalism. You will experience warmth, welcome and that we are real people with real issues who really love God!
Purpose Driven. Our ministry, budget, leadership and discipleship decisions are all driven and informed by our purpose…which is plastered everywhere and becoming cultural language. Loving God, Loving People and Living as Disciples. We live this out through people gathering in large groups and small groups for relationship and discipleship.
Fun and High energy! We do creative and fun stuff on a regular basis. It has become a part of our DNA. You never know what is next. It creates an atmosphere of expectation.
Are you a CCF'r? What do you think of these? Do you have others you would add?
--Noah
In church life, we are always in a season. A key responsibility of the leader is to know what season the organization is in, to name it, and then to communicate the implications of that season.
Here are a few of the seasons that Bill Hybels defines in his book, Axiom:
An easy season to identify is a season of growth. In a growth season, everything is rosy. Attendance is spiking, giving is on the rise, programs are thriving, and the future looks bright. In seasons like this, leaders have to be organizationally aware enough to say, “Look, everybody, we’re going through a fun growth spurt here. Let’s enjoy this season and play it out for as long as we can. You know as well as I do that it won’t last forever, but while it’s here, let’s thank God for it and see how long we can keep it going!”
Another season might be called consolidation, which usually follows a season of growth. The goal during consolidations is to assimilate and support the people who showed up during all of that growth. Newcomers typically need discipleship and community and care. Investing in your infrastructure and protecting your recent gains proves you can be trusted with the growth God graciously gives. Effective consolidation earns you permission to enter yet another season of growth sometime in the future.
Another season that is familiar to leaders is a season of transition. It might begin when several staff decide to leave all at once, and everything and everyone feels at bit off balance and uncertain. It might be complicated by external factors such as a downturn in the local economy or a major upheaval in the community, and leaders are the ones who must give voice and language to that reality. They must explain why the era is occurring, what it means, and how to navigate through it.
Finally, there’s reinvention. This is when the leader announces that it’s time to put every ministry of the church under the microscope and discern whether it needs a face-lift, an overhaul, or a funeral----a necessary pruning exercise to make room for future growth.
This leadership-seasons idea traces back to Ecclesiastes 3:1, which says that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
Do yourself and those you lead the favor of learning to spot your season and give voice to the realities of that season. Assign appropriate language to it, designate helpful parameters to succeeding within it, and confidently offer solutions for moving through it. You’re always in a season! It’s your role to know which it is and what to do about it.
I found this really insightful. I will be writing soon about what season I see CCF in.
--Noah
Just sitting here in my recliner doing some reading. Just to my left our fireplace is burning, popping and crackling. We are going to try to use it more this winter to try to keep the utilities down. Every half hour or so, I need to move some wood or add some wood to keep it burning nicely. It sort of inspired me tonight. Thought I would take a moment to encourage you to keep the fire going tonight in your life.
I am getting excited about the message series that I will begin this Sunday called "Habakkuk; When God Seems Unfair". 3 chapters, 3 weeks. If you are a CCF member, I invite you to read Habakkuk this week. It will really prove helpful as we engage the scripture this weekend. Be in prayer about how the Lord will meet us over the next three weeks.
Some people have asked me recently if I’m nervous about the church and the future as it relates to finances and this current economy. First of all, let me say we have NOT met our projected income for 2008, but we have also NOT spent our projected budget. As a result, we are in great shape as we close out this year. God has once again been super faithful to us.That said, our financial strategy has to undergo some changes this coming year in light of our economic realities. Even so, I am deeply confident and excited about the future. We will be sharing more at the upcoming business meeting.
Well, I really like what I saw on swerve tonight. It captured two principles that I thought were enlightening. Here is what it said:
Instead of being paralyzed with fear, church leaders should be postured with faith for how God will use these rocky financial times to draw people to himself.
--Noah
We heard back from an overwhelming majority of Retreat Attendees that you want to have this every year. We listened. We will be having a retreat at Black Rock in 2009! MARK YOUR CALENDARS now!!! It will be October 23-25, 2009. Tell everyone you know.
