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Friday Five: Peeps, Pollen, Books, Bibles, & Twitter

Oh yeah...it's a random Friday Five.

1. I got a box of Peeps for Easter. What's the coolest thing to do with a Peep? I ate one, and we put one in the microwave. Any other ideas?

2. Pass the Claritin, please. My car is yellow, my head is clogged, and my eyes are on fire. I'm convinced that hell will be filled with pollen.

3. This week's sign that church planters form the greatest fraternity ever: an up and coming church planter in a state far from South Carolina sent me two books off my amazon.com wish list...for no reason at all. Are you kidding me?! And somehow, he knew which two I wanted the most: The Reason for God by Tim Keller and Vintage Jesus by Mark Driscoll. Man, what a blessing!

4. I need a new Bible. I've primarily used the same Bible since 1992. But alas, the duct tape binding job I did about 2 years ago has run its course. Thinking about getting an ESV...any thoughts? What translation do you use and enjoy the most?

5. Twitter...yes or no? Do you? Should I? What's the point?

I'm With You Moses

Leadership is tough. Always has been. Always will be.

Moses had an experience in Exodus 17 that every leader can identify with and learn from...I know I did.

The Israelites are once again complaining...this time that they don't have enough to drink. I wonder if Moses wanted to go Coach Herman Boone on them and say,"Water is for cowards. Water makes you weak...we are going to do up-downs until (all you Israelite wimps) are no longer tired and thirsty." Can you imagine a million Israelites doing up-downs in the middle of the desert? :-)

After Moses hears enough of the complaining, he cries out to God, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me?" (17:4) If you're a leader, you've asked God that question.

And as you ask it, you're thinking about all the good you've done for them and how much God has blessed you and them to this point. And you're frustrated that all they see is the current challenge and all the good is forgotten. I have no doubt Moses was in the same boat.

Look at what God says in response:

"The Lord answered Moses, 'Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.'" (17:5)

God gave Moses a choice: Keep moving forward and trust Me or sit around and wallow in self-pity because everything is not "gee whiz and hallelujah" at the moment. If Moses decided to "walk on," he'd take a step of faith because he would have to turn his back to the people in order to walk ahead. Remember...he was scared they would stone him. But, Moses knew he could not provide what was needed.

The only thing separating the people from the provision was Moses' obedience. Moses' question was about the people. The solution had nothing to do with them and everything to do with Moses obeying God.

What step of obedience do you need to take to "walk on" and unlock God's provision for the people entrusted to you?

Just last week, I had to make an incredibly difficult decision to say, "No" to an awesome opportunity in order to say, "Yes" to the next step God has called us to take in Columbia. Easy? Nope. Did God provide? He still is! He'll do the same for you. Walk on!

Biggest Mistake or Greatest Asset

There are so many things at that are critical for success in church planting. I get lots of emails from potential church planters asking advice for what they should do to prepare themselves to plant. Had these guys asked me the question a couple of years ago, I have no doubt that my answers would have been very different. But one answer would have been the same...only I didn't do it when we started Catalyst.

And looking back, it was probably my biggest mistake.

When we set out on the journey to start Catalyst, I was easily about 6 months ahead of Lara Beth. I had been digesting books, studying churches, talking with leaders, meeting with what would be our initial staff team...I had immersed myself in all things church planting. I would come home jacked up about the latest discoveries, the latest trends, what so and so is doing in XYZ, USA, and I'd rattle on and on about it all. Lara Beth would patiently endure my white hot vision talk...and then ask me a foundational, basic question that usually dealt with our certainty of God's call, our preparedness as a couple, or my preparedness as a leader. I would look back in shock that she didn't "see it," or "get it."

She saw it and got it way more than I did. I was too stupid to realize it.

It took a while before we got on the same page, but my mistake was that I kept charging onward while trying to make her jump through hoops at hyper-speed to catch up. I thought she was against me...turns out she was big time for me and saw what was ahead way better than I did.

When God began to move in us to call us to a new city to launch a new work, I told Him to tell Lara Beth first...and, He did. :-) I'll never forget the moment at our kitchen table when she looked at me and said, "What if we're supposed to move to a new city and start a new church."

Now, she is 100% my greatest asset. And she proved it again last night.

For the better part of an hour, she encouraged, motivated, challenged, and helped me with several key issues related to the vision God is birthing in us for Columbia and for our lives. I said nothing...I kept my mouth shut and just listened and thanked God for this incredible gift that He has given me. She is my #1 fan and wants so badly for God to move on our behalf.

Guys, if you're dreaming about planting a church, that's great. But don't you dare make a move until your wife has given her heart fully to the dream. He won't call you without calling her, too. He won't birth a vision in you without birthing it in her, too. And shut your mouth and listen to her...sometimes, okay often :-), she gets it more than you do. She is not against you...she is very much for you.

You can move onward with her as your greatest asset.
Or you can move onward without her and it will be your biggest mistake.

The choice is yours.

Yes, We're in the South...WOOO!

If you give professional wrestlers a key to the city...you might be in the Dirty South.

The Nature Boy Ric Flair styled and profiled today in Columbia as Mayor Bob Coble presented him with a key to the city and heralded March 24, 2008 as Ric Flair Day.

Anybody willing to admit you were...or still are...a professional wrestling fan? If so, who was your favorite?

Mine = Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson...the Rock 'N Roll Express...kings of the double drop kick, baby!

You?

Easter Highlights

The Hardwicks had a fantastic Easter weekend...a few highlights:

• Molly, our 3 year-old, had the theological statement of the year at breakfast yesterday.  She said, "Easter means that Jesus isn't dead on the cross anymore.  He's alive...and that's a good thing."  You better believe it's a good thing!
• Loved singing "In Christ Alone" to close out the service yesterday.  So much truth wrapped in such powerful lyrics..."And as He stands in victory/Sin's curse has lost its grip on me/For I am His and He is mine/Bought with the precious blood of Christ"
• It was weird not preaching or preparing for and pulling off an Easter service and/or Easter event.  No question we needed the "rest"...never have I sensed the power and voice of God in my life like I did this weekend...but hopefully I'll have a little more to do next year. :-)
• I think we've warped Molly's mind when it comes to egg hunts.  She asked several times, "Where's the helicopter?"  Oops...
• This guy's text message yesterday afternoon gave me chill bumps...literally.  Awesome to hear and see how God worked all over the country yesterday. It's an honor to pray for my friends and co-laborers and celebrate how God uses them for His glory!
• Pretty cool dyeing Easter eggs at my in-laws house Saturday night with all the family and grandkids sitting around the table laughing, sharing past memories, making new ones, and enjoying each other.
• My father in-law had a great line in his message yesterday: "Many tombs are revered because of the remains that are in them (he listed a few).  But, Jesus' tomb is revered because He's not there.  And He didn't even need His own...He borrowed one because He knew He wouldn't be there long."  Love it!
• Our girls are growing up fast...watching them run around yesterday afternoon finding eggs, laughing and enjoying each other was something special.  And their mommy...all I can is wow! How does a screwball like me receive such blessing? I'll never know, but I am forever grateful.

All weekend, I had a recurring question in my mind: What if I lived everyday with the confidence that death, hell, sin, and the schemes of man are powerless over me, my family, and my calling because of Jesus?  My takeaway from Easter 08 is to not just hope in Jesus, but to be confident in Jesus!

I Can't Wrap My Mind Around This

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
Isaiah 53:3-12

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8

Praise You, Jesus, Praise You.

Move On

I second guess myself often. I'm sure you don't...but I do. I want so badly to get it right...to have the right answer...to know clearly what the next step is...to have the skills to pull off something huge. And most of the time, I can honestly say that it's not for me or my glory.

I want so badly to be a part of a move of God that sweeps this city, this nation, and stretches to ends of the earth. I don't just want to talk about it...I want to see it happen and be a part of it.

That's a good thing. It quickly turns into a vice when I think it has to happen right now and that I have to generate all that is necessary to make it happen. In those moments, doubt creeps in and I turn into a wreck.

I start to doubt God calling us from Greenville to Columbia. I start to doubt the early glimpses He's given me of what we are to do here. I start to doubt myself as a leader capable of pulling it off. Anybody with me on this?

The Israelites faced a similar scenario in Exodus 14. Pharaoh changed his mind on releasing them and now was in hot pursuit. The news alone made the Israelites stop everything and cry out to Moses and to the God who delivered them. They questioned the power, motives, and goodness of their Rescuer. And Moses says to them:

"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring today...the Lord will fight for you; you need only be still." Exodus 14:13-14

What incredible encouragement...don't be afraid, you'll see deliverance today, the Lord is fighting for you, rest in that fact...but then God chimes in and confuses the situation a little:

"Then the Lord said to Moses , 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.'" Exodus 14:15

Be still.
Move on.
Which is it?
Both.

So often, my doubt is based on what I can/can't do with little to no consideration for who God is and what He can do. This only leads to a pursuit of being ____________ enough as a means of relieving my doubt. The problem is I'm trying to relieve my doubt with more of me...not more of the One who fights for me. To that pursuit, God says, "Be still."

But God didn't rescue you and me so that we would just sit around and wait on Him to fight all our battles and when He's done, come get us and say, "It's okay to move forward now."

He called you and me out of slavery and into this journey by faith so that we would live by faith. So that each day, we'd have to make a decision to MOVE ON because of our great confidence in His power, not in our own. When you doubt yourself, but know what has to happen next, God says, "Move on. I am fighting for you."

Be still in your attempts to be good enough.
Move on with full confidence that your Heavenly Father is more than enough.

What do you need to do today to move on in your journey?

Church Marketing Doesn't Have to Stink

As I finished up some work at home yesterday afternoon and the girls were watching their one afternoon show, there was a knock on the front door. This is unusual...normally when people come to our house, they come to the door in the carport. Clearly, this was a "first-timer."

I opened the door and there stands a man in a suit that parked his black SUV in between our house and our neighbor's so his friend, who was also wearing a suit, could visit them. I knew without him saying a word what he was here to do...

He tells me what church he is from, hands me a flyer inviting me to their Easter show, and then his last line sealed it...

"We're handing out these flyers because it's what Jesus wants us to do and we think He wants you to come to our program."

So Jesus called you to ignore the piles of rubble that people used to call homes while you invite them to your Easter show? I'm having a hard time with that one...a really hard time with that one. Did he give the same speech at every visit? I can't imagine that going over very well.

It would have been a thousand times better if he would have at least asked if we were okay...or at least acknowledged what happened less than 48 hours before his visit. Granted, our house is fine and we are fine...but a few houses down is a different story.

The most angering and saddening part of it all for me is that this only cements what so many think about Jesus: He only cares about heaven and hell and couldn't care less about every day life. That perception wasn't formed in a vacuum...it was formed out of experiences like I had yesterday.

I bet if that church sent teams of people into the hardest hit neighborhoods to help collect belongings, clear debris, cook meals, provide gift cards for groceries, and provide ears to listen and shoulders to cry on, they wouldn't have enough seats for their Easter show. And the best part of it all...the people who were served would have already seen Jesus in action and the show would fill in the blanks.

God, Help Us to Trust You

Our family had a first-time experience on Saturday that I hope we never have again.

We knew a line of severe storms would impact our area at some point during the afternoon. As the afternoon wore on, the sky got blacker, the wind got stronger, and the local channels switched from sports coverage to weather coverage.

I watched intently as it seemed we were in for a bumpy afternoon. Little did I know just how bumpy it would be. At about 5:15 pm, Lara Beth and the girls moved to the hallway and we closed all the interior doors - all the rooms in our house have windows, so our only option is the hallway. My eyes went back and forth between the latest weather reports and the front windows in our house.

At about 5:30 pm, the weather man was tracking a possible tornado heading for our area that according to his computer model, would arrive in 12 minutes. As soon as he said that, he said, "But keep in mind, this storm is moving very quickly and it takes a few minutes to update our radar reports." I heard the end of his sentence as I looked outside to see something I have never seen...and now I know, it was a tornado.

"Here it comes," is all that could come out of my mouth. I ripped the mattress off our three year-old's bed, got her under me, Lara Beth covered our 20 month old, and we pulled the mattress over us. The power went out, hail or flying debris busted out a front window, we heard the eery freight train sound everyone associates with a tornado, hail pelted our house like paintballs, and our house shook.

In that moment, there was no time to think, pray, or have a meeting about what to do. It was time to act. The urgency of the situation demanded it. But, in a matter of seconds, we went from tracking this storm's every move to not having a clue what was about to happen.

Obviously, our girls were scared to death...Lara Beth and I were, too. And you want to say, "It's going to be okay...we're alright..." but you can't. You have no idea what's going to happen. You've done all you can do...now you just surrender.

We prayed and all I could pray was, "God, help us to trust you." Not trying to be spiritual, that's all that could come out of my mouth. When you're hunkered down underneath a twin mattress with your entire family while who knows what is going on outside, there's not much else to pray.

After about 10 minutes, things began to die down and I scoped everything out. We were okay...the tornado went behind our house. A building that I could hit with a rock from our front yard was completely destroyed...and that was just the beginning of the damage we'd find in very close proximity to our house.

Amazingly, no one that we know of in our little, sleepy, one-stoplight town on the outskirts of Metro Columbia was seriously injured or killed. But there are a lot of people trying to figure out what to do next while they look at their houses or businesses that have been severely damaged or destroyed. We are just overwhelmed with gratitude for the grace of God over our family and our little town.

There's so much to learn from this whole experience. It will take weeks to process it all. I do ask that you pray for our town and the people who lost everything. Pray for our girls...obviously, this was traumatic for them. Pray for us to leverage opportunities God will give us to serve people around us. Pray for us to continue to trust God with everything...it was our only hope on Saturday and it's our only hope everyday.

Seth Godin on Catalyst Podcast

Just finished listening to the latest edition of the Catalyst Podcast which features marketing-guru, uber-blogger, best selling author Seth Godin. Do yourself a favor and invest 30 minutes to listen to this interview.

Godin talks about being the best in the world, knowing when to quit, his creative thinking process, the future of social networking, his influences, the influence of worldviews, the problems religious & faith communities face, among other things. Might not sound like it, but there is a ton in this interview that church leaders need to hear, wrestle with, and apply.