Johnny Leckie :: The Next Step

Free Ebook: 31 Refutably Irrefutable Laws of Lame Leadership

2007-09-14T12:11:00.001-05:00

Check out my free Ebook:

This is my old blog, by the way. I'm really glad you found it, but you need to know that I'm rarely here!

Now you're hip and can come on over to the new place to join the fun:

JohnnyLeckie.com

Thanks for visiting. I'll see you there!

Major Announcement Coming...

2007-05-18T12:16:00.000-05:00

We have news. It'll be posted at the newer blog next week...

To Be Continued at WordPress.com

2007-01-21T14:42:00.000-06:00

The time has come for my blog to move on. "The Next Step" is taking the next step, as it were...

I know that whenever bloggers change services and start moving their blogs around they usually lose a few readers and subscribers in the process. But I hope you come along.

The new blog is http://johnnyleckie.wordpress.com.

If you subscribe with a reader like bloglines (and I hope you do), please use my "feedburner" feed to do so:

The new rss feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/JohnnyLeckieTheNextStep.

I've moved the first two posts in the "Steps series" to the new blog already, and the rest will continue from there.

I'll be leaving this blog as it is rather than moving everything to the new one. I'm just taking the next step and moving forward.

Thanks for being a part of my world! Hope to see you there...

Kickin' Back at Starbucks

2006-12-27T00:38:00.001-06:00

Kickin Back at Starbucks
Originally uploaded by Johnny Leckie.

Leona and I had a great cheap date tonight - Taco Bell, Starbucks (with a gift card) and wandering around Southlake Town Square.

This pic sums it up pretty nicely...

Pictured are my new Christmas jeans, one of my old shoes, my tall gingerbread latte and the general ambiance of Starbucks...

Nice.

Posted a few more here.

Merry Christmas 2006

2006-12-25T12:02:00.000-06:00

Leona and I want to wish all of you a very merry Christmas! Thanks for being a part of our adventure! The best is yet to come. ..

O (un)Holy Night

2006-12-23T11:51:00.000-06:00

We have to hear this at least once every Christmas. Fortunately there's now a MySpace page in the "O Holy Night Guy's" honor.

Check it out here.

And be sure to not miss the climactic ending. It always brings a tear to my eye...

Christmas Shopping Fun

2006-12-21T16:14:00.000-06:00

Two Christmas ads/promotional signs I saw recently:

1. Sign outside of a "Flooring Supply" store: "Shop Here For All Your Holiday Flooring Needs!"

Ok, let's see....we've finished the Christmas shopping, decorated the house, set up the tree, sent out Christmas cards....Oh no, we forgot to get the Holiday flooring! Dang! Get back in the car!

2. Sign in Target store above some shelves of merchandise: "$2.50 each, OR 'Mix and Match'- 2 for $5.00!"

Wow, honey, look! What a great deal! If I only buy any one of them, it costs $2.50. But if I "Mix and Match," I can get two different ones for only $5.00!

Hel-LO...

Biggest Part of Christmas...

2006-12-21T15:58:00.000-06:00

Forget "reason for the season;" He's just the biggest part.

Again, I know they mean well, but it still made me laugh.

Click to listen:

First Steps (Part 2)

2006-12-14T10:37:00.000-06:00

This post is the second in the "Steps" series. It's the "follow up" post to this one: First Steps

When we first arrived in the Alliance, Texas area, it was a place full of promise. There were new neighborhoods being built everywhere, and just a glance at a master plan for the area made it clear that this was the place to be. It was shaping up to be the fastest growing area in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

But when we started the church there were far more cow pastures than neighborhoods here. The neighborhoods were in the works, but the population was still pretty slim.

The "Alliance, Texas" area itself was more of a concept than a reality at that time, consisting of a master planned land development project by the Perot family (Yes, that Perot family .) And as such, it loosely included the towns of Keller, Roanoke, Haslet, Justin, Westlake, Northlake, Trophy Club and North Fort Worth within what is sometimes referred to as the "Alliance, Texas Corridor." A brilliant development with big business appeal, Perot's company, Hillwood, aimed at the big boys first. Retail and housing developments followed.

The heart of this development was the Alliance Airport, located about a mile or so away from the Texas Motor Speedway. When we discovered a building near the Airport that we could rent for worship services, we were excited. We would be able to meet in the dead center of the Alliance, Texas area. [Of course we didn't know at the time that it really was the "dead" center, but - more about that later.] Yes, one location to rule them all...:-D

Our last Sunday at the Church we were leaving was in October. I was free to begin recruiting team members around this time. One couple said, "Yes" right away. Another couple called us up and came on board a few weeks later. In November, another couple was on board. We had our first public worship service in January...

Yeah. About 2 months from Team to Start.

...It wasn't very pretty.

Of course, to most church planters today (myself included), starting public services this soon in the process would generally be considered insanity. But, start them we did. Not "despising the small beginnings," we basically hit the ground running and didn't stop running for four years.

And on a personal level, I knew that this was where God wanted me to be - planting a church, learning to risk, caring about people, becoming a servant, making sacrifices, working through challenges, creatively solving problems, becoming fully dependent on Him and working through my understanding of what church could and should be.

Today, the Alliance, Texas area is everything that was predicted about it in those early days. It is truly a booming area, adding new neighborhoods and retail environments at an amazing pace. There are people everywhere. For reaching that "boom" of population, however, we were probably about 3 years too early.

But I am certain that God wanted us here, nonetheless. When we didn't draw the crowds we had hoped for early on, I knew it was going to be tough, but hey. That's just part of the deal. What worthwhile endeavor isn't challenging?

Now it would be very easy for me to "pick apart" every decision at every turn and challenge we experienced along the way and spend a ridiculous amount of time over-analyzing why our church plant has drawn to a close after four years, but doing so would be tedious and unproductive. Instead, I'll be focusing on the things that I have learned and that will be helpful for the future. I'll throw in a few "behind the scenes" stories along the way.

The next post in this series will provide a basic "time line" of the journey of Compass Church.

...And what an exciting, difficult, powerful, frustrating and wonderful journey it has been...

Leckie Loco Salsa

2006-12-09T23:05:00.000-06:00

This year, Leona and I decided to bottle up and give our delicious homemade salsa to my family members at the Leckie Family Christmas gathering.

We've been wolfing this stuff down in embarrassing quantities since we made the first batch this past summer, so we thought it was time to share.

Oh, man. Add some salted tortilla chips and this salsa's a taste of sweet heaven.

Click the image for a larger view, and be sure to read the "Nutrition Facts."

Hey, it's crazy tasty...

Fellowship Church Christmas Fun Pack

2006-12-04T08:34:00.000-06:00

Everyone present yesterday at Fellowship Church received this bag of promotional/invitational items following the services.

Pretty cool stuff.

I think that giving your church members and attenders great tools to make it easy to invite friends and family is generally better than using mass media invitations. It's a mix of produced quality and personal touch.

It also helps if they are very excited about what's going on at your church, and really do want to invite people. The church then becomes the "street team" and partners with the staff to reach out to those far from God.

That was definitely the case at Fellowship Church, yesterday. People grabbed this stuff up like crazy.

Photos From "Santa Duty"

2006-12-03T00:30:00.000-06:00

Here are a few images from my "Santa Duty" tonight at the Roanoke Christmas Parade. Once again I had to stuff my jacket under my shirt to provide enough "girth" to keep my belt from falling to my knees!

Enjoy.

Santa Duty Tonight

2006-12-02T16:13:00.000-06:00

I have "Santa duty" tonight (Saturday, 12/2) at the Roanoke Christmas Parade. The parade and festivities (including free pictures with Santa) begin at 6 pm tonight in Roanoke and will be going on till about 9 pm or so.

If you live in Roanoke, Keller, or the general Alliance, Texas area you really should check this out. It's one of the more unique, fun and free Christmas celebrations in the area! If you're not yet in the Christmas spirit, this event will be just the ticket.

Oh, and if you make it to the event tonight, be sure to say hello. I'll be the one in Red and White...

A Plan For "Changing Plans"

2006-12-02T14:43:00.000-06:00

Taking a cue from my sermon, "Crash: When the Plans Change," [Acts 27:1-28:10] here are a few things I'm currently working on during this time of transition:

* Remembering that plans change, but vision remains the same. [Acts 27:9-11] (Thanks, Andy Stanley & Visioneering)

* Understanding that sometimes the plan is out of our control. [Acts 27:11] (Unanticipated events, choices of others, and circumstances sometimes take the wheel for a period of time. When this happens, it is now "big picture" time.)

* Acknowledging that God is not limited by plans or the planet. [Acts 27:14-18] (Sometimes the vision is realized in a different way. There's nothing that takes God by surprise or that He hasn't planned for- even our mistakes.)

* Realizing that hope & stability can be found in instability. [Acts 27:21-25] (Uncertainty provides a powerful and unique opportunity for courage and faith to be strengthened.)

* Striving to obey God more than my plans. [Acts 27:30-28:10] (Taking my eyes off of my goals and more intensely onto God and His guiding.)

* Developing strong relationships. [Acts 27:1, 3, 6; 42-43] (Friends, neighbors, family and community.)

* Sharing the truth. [Acts 27:30-32] (Still caring enough to share Christ with neighbors and others in my community - there is no "break" from this. The mission is for all Christ followers, not just for church planters!)

* Staying connected to God. [Acts 27:35] (Daily time in prayer and Scripture, keeping the 'God lines' clear.)

* Meeting my needs. [Acts 27:33-36] (Lots of mental & physical rest, eating right, building financial resources, paying bills, focused time with my wife and kids, evaluating and planning.)

* Meeting the needs of others. [Acts 28:7-10] (Still volunteering, looking to meet needs in my neighborhood - interestingly, this confirms in me the authenticity of the serving, because I truly have no strings attached...)

When in doubt, love God and love people. Work on becoming and learning. Plans and "next steps" will generally follow and flow through that.

Big Little Church in Grapevine

2006-12-01T09:34:00.000-06:00

We returned from Tennessee late last Saturday and made a last minute decision to help the attendance of a little country church in Grapevine on Sunday. :)

The service was incredible and was a nice change of pace for us. Kind of strange not leading anything on a Sunday morning, but this short break has been more refreshing and energizing than I imagined.

Keep following the "Steps" series for the inside scoop on where we've been and what's ahead.

Oh yeah, the coffee there was pretty good, too... 8^D

First Steps

2006-11-30T10:45:00.000-06:00

* This is the beginning of a series in which I'll be "unpacking" my experience thus far as a church planting pastor and how we arrived where we are. It won't be a voluminous anthology or anything, but by necessity the posts will be a little long. "Popcorn" posts on unrelated stuff will be scattered along the way...

In 1972, I placed my faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized at the age of seven. From that day forward I have never known a time when I have not sensed God's leading and presence in my life.

When I was a teenager, God unmistakably called me to serve Him in full time ministry. I remember the night I fell on my knees at an altar in response to His calling and prayed fervently, "Lord, I'll do whatever You want me to do and I'll go wherever You want me to go."

And God has pretty much held me to that. In fact, He's had me "doing" and "going" quite a bit over the years.

In fact, I've been in ministry since 1984, serving in a paid staff position from then to now with no lapse between church positions.

[Do the math. I'm a "geezer" to some and a "whipper snapper" to others. But for just a little perspective, I'm two years younger than Johnny Depp, so I've definitely still got a lot of life in me. Barely getting started, in fact.]

I have served as a youth pastor, worship arts pastor, recreation coordinator, associate pastor and senior pastor. I've worked with children in a variety of ministry settings. I've been a summer missionary, written, produced and presented a full scale dramatic musical with orchestration, performed concerts, spoken to groups of all sizes, conducted weekly nursing home services, performed weddings, ministered in many funerals, made countless hospital visits, led hundreds of Bible studies, written worship songs, counseled students and parents of students and served in a variety of volunteer roles with the cities of my community.

I helped start a Christian club on campus and was in the first graduating class of the Caddo Parish Magnet High School for the performing arts and academics, receiving a diploma with distinction. I've earned a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry, and a Master of Arts in Religious Education, including a minor in Music and a Youth ministry specialization. I'm a certified graduate of the Covey Leadership Center's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." I was voted "funniest" in high school, and elected "wittiest" and "Junior Class Favorite"in college. I think I have a few perfect attendance certificates and other miscellaneous awards lying around somewhere. I like long walks on the beach and kissing in the rain. Yadda, yadda, I think you get the point.

And it's all fine and dandy. If you're a Christ follower, you could probably tell a similar story. If you're also a pastor, your list may certainly be longer than mine.

But when God called me to plant a church, I really entered a whole new world. It was one He had been preparing me for and one in which He wanted to prepare me.

Back in 2002, there was no mistaking that God wanted me to leave the comfort of a thriving, long term ministry (with a great salary package and housing allowance, I might add) and move to a new area for the purpose of planting a new church.

He didn't tell me what would happen next or how it would turn out, but He most certainly told me to go. To not go would have been disobedience.

And although I wrestled with it for an extended period of time, I eventually said, "Yes" again to His call, even as I remembered my teenage prayer. God's call is not static, after all, and the deal was still on.

So like a skydiver who grabbed a blanket to break his fall on his way out of the plane, and with only a slight backward glance, I jumped full force into the big blue sky.

(To be continued.)

Coffee Creek

2006-11-30T09:46:00.000-06:00

Think "Wonka Land" for adults...
I've driven by this many times before, but just had to stop this time on our way back through Oklahoma.

Yes, it's a real creek.

No, it's not really flowing with coffee.

But can you imagine how jittery the fish would be?

If you happen to drive by "Lake Latte" or "Venti White Mocha Skinny Extra Hot With Whip Falls" please let me know. I'll bring extra cups.

Much To Be Thankful For

2006-11-23T11:03:00.000-06:00

We have much to be thankful for.

I could make that statement at any point in my life and under any circumstances, because it is simply true.

Following the horror and loss of the American "War Between the States (Civil War)" in the last part of the 19th century, President Abraham Lincoln Proclaimed the need for a national day of repentance and thanksgiving to God.

Here is part of that proclamation:

"No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing
with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American
people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United
States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign
lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the day to the next to last Thursday of November to allow merchants a little more time to sell goods and services before Christmas during the Great Depression and here we are.

The Leckie family is spending this day in Maryville, Tennessee, visiting family. There will be 19 friends and famiy members gathered around the table in "Norman Rockwell" fashion to enjoy far more food and blessings than we deserve.

As we do, I will also be remembering some other famous words written to Christ followers in all times and circumstances:

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. " - Colossians 3:15 (NASB)

I pray the same for you. May God bless you with a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving Day!

Solution to the "Adventure Beach Picture Code Game"

2006-11-17T12:49:00.000-06:00

It seems only right that I provide the solution to the "Adventure Beach Picture Code Game" that has been on the Compass website since the summer. It's actually pretty clever, if I do say so myself!

It may have been too clever, however...

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, this game coincided with the "Adventure Beach" series, and involved solving several "clues" that were all based on the promotional image shown above. Solving the clues provided passwords that allowed the player to open a "pdf" file with more information and clues. There was also an "easter egg" link to fun extras like videos, mp3 music files, desktop wallpapers and things like that.

Solving all of the clues worked together to provide a final password to open the final "pdf" file that ends/wins the game. That final "pdf" file also contains the answers and rationales behind all of the clues, as well as direct links for the hidden "easter eggs" contained in all of the earlier files.

In other words, if you solve the final one, you get all of the rest.

So.

First, here's the link to the game, because it is no longer linked from our home page:

Adventure Beach Picture Code Game

Scroll to the bottom of the page and find "The End of the Game" and click on the phrase, "When you think you have the answer to win the game, Click Here to enter the password."

When prompted, enter the password...

But before I give you the password, let me pause to also mention that there was a hidden clue in one of the "Adventure Beach" sermons. It was at the beginning and end of the audio of the first message and it was played "backwards." Reversing the audio allows you to hear the clue as well as some Leckie family shenanigans. But you don't have to reverse the audio, because on the bottom of the page is also a link to the audio playing forward. Check it out. But I have to warn you, it's pretty silly.

Ok, so what's the solution? What is the password of passwords?

Here you go. The password is...

Are you sure you want to know this?

Really?

I bet you could figure this out with a little effort....

Alright.

Password.

You want the password.

Ok.

The password is..

Last chance.

I'm not kidding.

The password

is

splash

So now you know. Enjoy.

Thanks for the emails & comments

2006-11-17T12:38:00.000-06:00

Thanks for all of the encouraging emails, offers of lunch, and opportunities to talk. If you haven't heard back from me yet, you will very soon. It's a busy time.

God's good, He's in control, and it's all going to be fine.

His voice has been pretty clear to me over the past few days. For that, and for all of the encouragement from many of you, I am very grateful.

Crash - When The Plans Change...(Reprise)

2006-11-16T07:59:00.000-06:00

In the strangeness that is this week, this message is worth hearing again:

From the Series: Adventure Beach
Title: Crash - When The Plans Change

Jesus calls us to a life of adventure, not a long, tiring, annoying trip.

In this message, "Crash," we discover what we need to know and what we need to do when in the course of following God's vision for our life, the plans suddenly change.

To listen now, click the podcast icon below.

Run Time: 34:56

And Then The Unthinkable Happened...

2006-11-15T16:25:00.000-06:00

* Update...Click here.

Your reaction to this news may vary. Anything from "How can you do this?" to "What took you so long?"

Either way, I get it.

It ain't easy, so please be kind. The email went out this week:

Friends and Prayer Partners of Compass Church,

Thank you for all of your prayers and support as we have strived with all of our hearts to "re-plant" North Point Fellowship as Compass Church. We have worked very hard, made great sacrifices and reached out to our community in creative and strategic ways.

Please know that words cannot express how much it grieves me to share this with you. But this weekend marked the end of this phase of our journey. After much prayer and seeking on the part of our lead team, we now believe that God is drawing our church plant to a close.

Our final gathering and celebration of the past four years will be this Saturday, November 18th, 10:30am. I wanted to give you a "heads' up" before you see this in my blog or on our church website. Rest assured, there is no scandal or impropriety of any kind - we have just realized that God is leading us to move on.

We have great sadness and grief about this, but do believe that God is in it. I'm not sure what the next step for me and my family will be, but we are earnestly seeking God's direction and still greatly need your prayers. Our kids are a little freaked out right now, and money at the Leckie home is tighter than ever.

I will be blogging about more of the details and my thoughts related to this time of transition (http://johnnyleckie.blogspot.com) over the next week or so.

Thanks for your prayers, support and friendship.

Grace & Peace in abundance,

Johnny

Well, there you have it.

What was "unthinkable" by me as recently as last week has now become very "thought-able" and "a done deal-able." I'll be sharing more in the days ahead.

We greatly value your prayers, and I want to say thank you to everyone who has already voiced words of encouragement and support.

It looks like I may now be able to write the sequel to Mark's book. The working title is "Eaten by a Lion in a Pit on an Overcast Day with Medium to Mild Temperatures."

I'll have to get back to you on that.

In the mean time, I would greatly recommend reading Mark's book. (It's actually good stuff, and has nothing to do with the rest of this post!)

Church Planter Mood Pattern

2006-11-09T09:10:00.000-06:00

No, it's not a design on a blanket that changes color with each new emotion or mood swing. Although that would be kind of cool and probably beneficial for marital conversations...

I'm talking about the fact that I've discovered something about myself over the past few months. I have a weekly "mood pattern" that I've unknowingly fallen into as a Church Planter.

It goes something like this:

Monday:
Depressed, frustrated, hopeless, ready to quit ministry altogether and explore a different career path. Psalm-like exchanges with God verbalized by me, usually when I'm in the shower...

Tuesday:
Not as depressed, though still frustrated, but now confused about whether to stay in ministry where I am or whether I need to pursue somewhere else. The idea of taking another career path now lurks farther back on the "back porch" of my mind. Mood wise, this is kind of a blurry day.

Wednesday:
No longer depressed, fog begins to clear and I begin to see things more clearly. I reflect on Monday and Tuesday with a "what was I thinking?" type of attitude. Thoughts of quitting anything have now turned to "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine who comes against the army of the Living God???" Righteous indignation and holy motivation rule the day.

Thursday:
I reflect on my "church planter mood pattern" and strike a balance between acknowledging current realities and challenges and working toward future hope and possibilities. Not depressed, not overly optimistic, but feeling sharp and on task.

Friday - Sunday:
Mood "ups and downs" as events warrant, usually depending on the amount and success or lack thereof of events and worship experiences. (Try saying "thereof of" out loud. That pretty much sums up the mood.)

Now before you order me some Prozac, understand that "Church Planting" is an emotional, personal, highly spiritual, relational and often physically demanding experience. Many church planters as well as other Pastors could probably describe similar mood variations. The intensity and regularity of the mood pattern depends on the experience and temperament of the Pastor, as well as other factors. This is just my observation; I'm not a doctor or mental health professional, nor do I play one on TV...

The trick is discovering your mood pattern, recognizing it for what it is, and then plan your schedule and prayer life accordingly. I'm currently making adjustments to my calendar now to offset and even change the pattern in a way that prevents the "roller coaster" mood ride.

Some verses for the task:

Proverbs 25:28 - Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control. - NIV
Philippians 4:13 - For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. - NLT

I'll let you know how it goes.

Until then, I'm going to let "mood" be what the cow did, rather than let it be what's ruling me.

Scary Church Signs

2006-10-31T09:36:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I was driving down the road yesterday and saw a church sign displaying the following message:

"No mask can hide your sin from God."

True statment; bad use of church sign.

I guess since it's Halloween, this sign is meant to communicate, "Oh sure, you can put on your masks and eat candy and all that, but don't think you're fooling God! He still sees that you are a sinner. ...That's why you're wearing the mask, right?... To hide your sin from God?... Yeah. Well you can't do that. You're kidding yourself. That candy may be sweet, but hell is hot!....You... you...spawn of the devil!"

Alright, so maybe it isn't meant to communicate that. A Little exaggeration on my part, there. Chill out, people. Just having a little fun here. No need to get stakes and torches to storm my blog castle. :-) I'd hate to have to turn off comments here like Gary Lamb had to do after a post about fall festivals!

So anyway, I kept driving along and literally 4 minutes later I passed another church with the exact same phrase on their church sign!

Now that's scary.

I've said it befor e and I'll say it again: "The canned sayings have got to go."

[Disclaimer: I'm sure they are a great church with great people and I'm sure they mean well. I'm just talking about the issues, here, folks. We should hate the sign but love the signer.]

Book from across the pond

2006-10-31T08:54:00.000-06:00

Have to give a quick public "thank you" to Martin Strickland in Combe Martin, North Devon, United Kingdom, for surprising me a few weeks ago with a book from my Amazon wishlist! I now have "Louder Than Words" by Andy Stanley and am looking forward to reading it.

I've never met Martin, but he lives in a very beautiful part of England. Here's a sample image from his blog:
Very nice.

My "Guitar in the wall" post from several weeks ago apparently cracked him up, and he decided to make my day.

That he did.

Thanks again, Martin!

Idiot Email Snafu

2006-10-27T23:27:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm an idiot.

I can't believe that I made such a goof up. Such a snafu.

Somehow in the setting up of the Compass contact email last November, I did something wrong. To make a long story short, last night I discovered 35 emails that had been sent to info[at]compasswired.com that we never received.

Some of those emails were from people who were very interested in our church...back in January.

Yeah.

I'm an idiot.

If you sent an email to us at that address and didn't hear back from us, that's the reason.

I've responded to those stray emails, but really - after 9 months, the prospects have a tendency to get a little cold.

"Oh, Technology...I love thee yet hate thee....But can't really blame thee, because in the end it was me." - Sir Johnny Da Idiot Snafu

Rats.

I'm going to bed.

Another Amazing Weekend

2006-10-26T10:44:00.000-05:00

The "amazing weekend" from my last post was apparently so amazing that I was left blogless for over a week! Actually, if you’ve had trouble reaching me, I apologize. We’ve had a few technical (read financial) difficulties with a few services this week. :-D Hey, I'm just keeping it real, here, folks...

Another great weekend coming up for Compass and the Leckie Family, however.

Friday night:

We’ll be serving at the Harvest Ridge Neighborhood “Fall Festival.” My family will be wearing the Compass Church “colors” and handing out flyers about our Family Movie Night on the Green. Incidentally, another family in our church will be doing something similar at a festival in their new neighborhood.

Saturday:

AM - Leona and I will be administering the ACT test to High School students in the morning. (The SAT went fine, by the way.) Before long, we will have given all of the alphabet tests out there….

PM -
"Family Movie Night On The Green." (Thanks, Scott Whitaker, although unbeknownst to you, for the cool "on the green" part of the name!) This is shaping up to be a cool but simple event. We’ll be showing the movie, “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” outside in the park across the street from the Roanoke Rec Center. We’re also showing a short promotional video trailer about our church before the movie:

“The following preview has been approved for all audiences by the people who are bringing you Family Movie Night on the Green…”

Another cool side note about this event is that we had 400 glow sticks and bracelets donated by a friend of Compass. Should be a fun surprise to our guests. But to you, it's just another reason to be there. :-)

Sunday:

AM –
“Ever After: Creating A Marriage That Thrives” Series continues. I'm taking a different angle on this topic than I have used in the past. I'm diggin' it.

PM –
Crash on the couch with Leona and watch disk 4 of Lost Season 2.

An Amazing Weekend Ahead

2006-10-12T15:38:00.000-05:00

This is going to be an amazing weekend. Full to overflowing, schedule overlapping, non-stop excitement.

I hope I survive it. :)

Here are the highlights:

Friday:

* Hopefully, our new T-shirts arrive (Navy blue and simple with a cool compass on the sleeve).

* Because of Saturday afternoon & Sunday morning (see below), we will be frantically cleaning our house, doing laundry and polishing things up.

Saturday:

* Leona and I are administering the SAT test for high school students from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Every extra penny's currently very precious. :-)

* Compass is serving at a big community event called, "Celebrate Roanoke" and the team is supposed to arrive at 11:30 a.m. Overlapping of schedules kick in here...

* Leona and I will grab a quick lunch on the way from the SAT, pick up our kids and meet up with the team around 1:30 p.m. We'll remain at this event till after 8:00 p.m.!

* During the event, we'll also be distributing flyers about our upcoming "Family Movie Night on the Green."

* Leona's parents arrive sometime in the afternoon. Hence, reason one for the aforementioned cleanup.

Sunday:

* Team setup at the Rec Center at 7:00 a.m. New series kicks off today and Kim is back to lead worship. Yay to that!

* Volunteer/Team run-through/worship service at 9:00 a.m.

* Public Worship Service at 10:30 a.m. (Biggest highlight of the weekend)

* Somewhere during the middle of the service, Leona's parents are picking up her brother from the airport. Hence, reason number two for the aforementioned cleanup.

* After teardown, we finally arrive home around 1:10 p.m. or so, visit with company, and eat a late lunch together.

* Afternoon - Company heads to Oklahoma; Leona and I crash on the couch. (Second biggest highlight of the weekend)

Cooler weather has rolled in, there's much to do and enjoy, and it's great to just be alive. I'm looking forward to what God does as we blast through a weekend of service, worship and relationship building.

Maybe I'll have an amazing story or two to tell sometime after the Sunday nap. :-D

Updates ahead...

West-room

2006-10-09T15:39:00.000-05:00

On a lighter note about my trip to Louisiana, there was a very kind church who provided a meal for my family following the Memorial Service. And it was a truly classic southern meal including fried chicken (of course), deviled eggs and potato salad. It was some seriously delicious and comforting food, and the hospitality was awesome.

But I have to tell you about the restroom. It was decorated in the most cowboy-western style imaginable. From the ropes, cowboy statues, and pictures on the wall to the wooden fence style stalls, it was a fun sight to see.

But the cattle skull by the urinal took it to a whole new level.

I had to get my brother, Kenny to snap a couple of pictures and send them to me on his cool new xpress mail camera phone pda thingy.

I would say, "Only in Texas," but this was Louisiana. :-D

I mean no disrespect; I just thought it was a hoot.

Check it out:

My Uncle Vince

2006-10-06T14:04:00.000-05:00

I was out of town all day on Wednesday for a memorial service for my Uncle Vince, who passed away a week ago.

The service was held in Ida, Louisiana (pop. 258) in a little church near where my Granddad lived till his death in the late 80's and where my mom spent her childhood years. The church has a big iron bell on a pole that is still used on Sunday mornings.

My brother Bill did the officiating and did a great job under the circumstances. Vince's body had been cremated and the ashes placed in a box that he had crafted himself. Following the service in the church, we walked across the street to the cemetary where Vince was buried at the foot of my Grandpa's grave.

My uncle lived a pretty wild life, including a reported period of time in the Bandidos motorcycle gang, sleeping in caves on occasion, getting in barfights (involving a stray bullet or two), and generally pushing the limits of most of the boundaries in this life.

But he was always kind to my brothers, sister and me, and the few times we were able to see him in the last ten years or so, he always went out of his way to tell us that he was proud of us.

It seems like just yesterday we were wrestling and playing football with him in the front yard of my house as kids in Shreveport. Just thinking about that is a great reminder to me that this life is truly a blink of the eye (James 4:14) and that every day is precious. It's also a reminder that we will all stand before God one day. All of us, without exception.

We are told by my mom that her brother made a decision to follow Christ and was baptized as a boy, but honestly, only God knows the condition of his heart when he stepped into eternity.

I'm hoping for the best. May God's grace abound.

So long, Uncle Vince. I hope with all my heart to see you on the other side.

How about you? Are you ready for the ultimate appointment?

In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day

2006-10-02T10:06:00.000-05:00

Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church (www.theaterchurch.com) in Washington, D.C. and is a daily (and I do mean daily) blogger@ www.evotional.com.

Mark is a sharp guy who often falls into the "bloggably linkable" category around here. Genuinely nice, he's a creative pastor who has been one of my prayer partners along the way and is a fellow coffee connoisseur.

He also chases lions.

Into pits.

Snow be danged.

And of course, this is one of the reasons I like him.

His new book, "In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day," is inspired by one of the most obscure yet courageous acts recorded in Scripture (II Samuel 23:20-21):

Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it.

Here's a "stand out" quote from chapter one:

"What sets lion chasers apart isn't the outcome. It's the courage to chase God-sized dreams. Lion chasers don't let their fears or doubts keep them from doing what God has called them to do."

Having been in a few pits myself a few times, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of Mark's book!

It's available to all as of today - Order it from Amazon her e.

Current Life Soundtrack - Mutemath

2006-09-26T10:01:00.000-05:00

Earthsuit was a cool band a few years ago, and it was a bummer when they broke up. Fortunately, the leader of that group formed a new band called, "Mutemath."

Based out of New Orleans, this is a creative band that's not afraid of the "Keytar." But don't let that scare you or keep you away. The Keytar is completely tricked out and this is definitely no 80's band.

My musical tastes are wide and varied, and Mutemath is a like a jumbalaya mix of many of them, served up hot with just the right spices. (Now there's a sound byte...) With influences of Jazz, alt-rock, and electro-something or other - they're kind of hard to peg.

But pegged or not, Mutemath is my current life soundtrack.

Blogging - 2 years and counting

2006-09-26T07:59:00.000-05:00

Time is a greasy bullet that left the barrel five minutes ago....

In other words, it really goes by quickly.

Yesterday marked 2 years for this blog, so to carry on the tradition from last year (and in case you missed them the first time around), here are my favorite posts/series from this past year...

Creative Podcasting (By far, the most read/linked post of the year)
Un-Wired-er Analog PDA Mindmap (The combination of words has resulted in a ton of hits from people searching for something other than this pic...)
Spiritual Maturity "Sound Byte" (Still true, and you still either get it or you don't.)
Being Missional in a Postmodern World While Trying To Emerge Past Modernity
"Surprised by Santa" Series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part the 4th, and Epilogue
Fun on the Redneck Trampoline (with video - The title says it all)
"Where God Guides, He Provides" Series: A Slippery Excuse, WGGHP Part 2, and Part 3 (Part 3 is a close second for most read/linked post)
Church Sign Series: "Here's Your [Church] Sign" and "Suggestions for Better Church Signs" (Unfortunately, most of the people who landed on these posts after doing a search were most likely not happy with what they found...)
The Sincerest Form of Flattery
Church Planting Strategy (The Short List)
Usable
Thoughts on Spiritual Growth

Well, there you have it.

Such as it is, this blog has helped me to sort through things as I've faced challenges, allowed me to focus my thoughts, provided a way to connect with people from all over and has given me a creative outlet for my random thoughts and ideas. If it has helped, encouraged and/or made you laugh along the way, all the better.

Thanks for reading, listening and watching.

Comments are welcome. Feel free to stop by and say hello.

Wacky Religious Stuff For Christmas

2006-09-16T15:35:00.000-05:00

The season before the season is now here. And I must say that it's just as weird as ever in the "wacky religious stuff" department.

On this year's slate of silly sacrilege:

First up -

It's "Religious Candy Cane Pacifier Rings!"

Individually wrapped with Bible verses celebrating Christ's birth! Peppermint flavor. 3" Fat-free.

Words fail me.

But there have to be at least a dozen jokes that could be inserted here... I guess we can at least be glad that they're fat-free.

Printed on the bag is Matthew 1:21-23. Baby Jesus. Baby toy. Candy. This makes sense to someone.

Next Up -

It's "A Stocking For Jesus" Stocking with Card!

Honestly, I'm not really sure which bothers me more, that Jesus needs a stocking for Christmas or that it's just so stinkin' small.

Here's the poem on the card:

"It is not great deeds we do in life that matter very much, but the Love with which we do them and the joy of those they touch! So lets hang this stocking for the Lord, to honor Him above. For Jesus did great deeds for us, and did them all with Love! Then maybe when we leave this life as every mortal must. We’ll find the Savior’s mantle hung with stockings just for us!"

Let's move on. There's a tear in my eye.

Next Up - It's "Plush Long Armed Religious Gorillas!"

Not really a Christmas item, but I didn't make up that title. That's really how they are listed.

Unfortunately, the furry little things all seem to be recovering from surgery.

Oh wait. That's a cross.

On a gorilla.

You know, now that I think about it, I think I've known a few "plush long armed religious gorillas" in a few churches along the way...

Last Up - (And also for all seasons, I might add)

It's "Religious Bouncing Balls!"

Yeah.

I think I'll just leave it at that.

...But if you purchase the balls, the web site recommends that you may also be interested in these: "Religious Paper Bags."

...Oh yeah. There's also an item in honor of anyone who buys this stuff:

"Religious Suckers"

Mouth to Speak; Ears To Hear

2006-09-14T23:14:00.000-05:00

Preachers are a funny lot.

We work like crazy to deliver messages that are acurate, biblically sound, powerful, moving, God honoring, timely, and memorable for our churches and all who hear them.

But we often hate to listen to ourselves.

This could be for a number of reasons:

Arrogance - Not feeling a need to improve.

Lack of Confidence - Can't bear to hear ourselves.

Ignorance - Not realizing the need and advantages of listening to ourselves.

I had a pastor friend who refused to listen to recordings of his sermons. He'd preached it, why should he have to listen to it? I responded to him with a good natured laugh and said, "Well, we had to listen to it! Why shouldn't you?"

I believe that all preachers should listen to their own sermons. Not for self focused or arrogant reasons, but for the purpose of constantly improving their communication skills. If you listen to your own sermons because you think you're brilliant and you just love the melodious sound of your voice, you have other issues to deal with...

The truth is, if you preached it, you haven't really heard it.

Here are some things I've learned from listening to my own messages:

Some messages were not as good as I thought they were.

Some messages were better than I thought they were.

I have annoying habits that I need to work on:

Repetitive phrases like, "you know," and "and ah.."

Nervous laugh

Talking too fast

My introduction was too long.

My timing was off.

My energy level was not what I thought it was.

I can see through the "baloney."

I was trying too hard.

I was not trying hard enough.

The joke was lame.

The message was too long.

The message was not long enough.

I hear what really worked and connected.

There's more, but I think you get the idea.

I know you can obsess in this process but the point is not to beat yourself up every week. The idea is to sharpen and hone your ability to communicate the Word of God in a creative and compelling way.

James 1:19-20 says:
"19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." - NIV

So a word to my preaching pals:

Be quick to listen.
Be careful (slow) about what and how you preach (speak).
Don't get offended (angry) that I'm suggesting that you should listen to your own words.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Mercy Me, there's a guitar in the wall...

2006-09-06T18:12:00.000-05:00

Click and you'll understand:

Phone is Alive Again...For Now...

2006-09-06T17:18:00.000-05:00

Click to listen:

Pics of the new Well's Baby...

2006-09-06T16:52:00.000-05:00

Fast pics of our worship leader, Kim's and Ricky's new baby, Sydney Kate Wells...

Kim didn't want to be in the pictures, so I honored her request and got Ricky, instead! :-D

Gotta post and run. Enjoy!

Hard to Get

2006-09-06T12:59:00.000-05:00

But I'm not playing.

There are 2 basic reasons that I've been a little hard to reach, lately.

The first is just that my phone is dead. Not the service; just the phone. I tried to turn it on Sunday evening and it just flashed, tried really hard to power up, then went dead. It's not the battery. It's just time for a new phone. I'll get to it as soon as I can, but until then if you need to reach me, just leave a message and I'll eventually get it when I'm at a phone that I can use to check messages. I also check email througout the day.

The second is that my schedule has become a bit full, to say the least. To move the vision for Compass Church from dream to reality, I'm working other jobs. And yes, that was an "s" on the end of the word "job." And no, it is not a small irony that the dude in the Bible who had so many difficulties went by the same name. Even if it was pronounced differently. :-D

As always, thanks for supporting us with your prayers and resources! Many exciting things are in the works for Compass, and I can't wait to tell you about what's ahead.

But it'll have to wait, because I'm heading out the door.

Oh by the way, I now have a basic page on MySpace. I'll be in and out of there sporadically, also! Check it out here: myspace.com/johnnyleckie

New Little Compass Kiddo welcomed to the world

2006-09-05T18:09:00.000-05:00

Our worship leader, Kim Wells and her husband Ricky are definitely doing all they can to grow our church...

Today a little after 4 p.m., they welcomed their new baby into the world!

The newest member of the Wells family is a bouncing baby girl, weighing in at 7lbs and 6 oz, and has been given the name, "Sydney Kate Wells."

Mom, Baby & Dad are all doing fine.

Congratulations, Ricky and Kim!

Cool Tool - CellTell for Backpack

2006-09-01T08:32:00.000-05:00

Back in the days when my "Toshiba Pocket PC e310" actually worked, there was a feature that I used all the time. It was the "voice recorder."

I would be driving down the road, have an idea, and would immediately record it by talking into the Pocket PC. Later, I would sync it with my desktop PC and have a more permanant way of storing those "captured" thoughts, ideas and reminders.

Now I don't need it.

A cool little "web 2.0" tool called "CellTell" makes it possible for me to do the same thing with my Backpack account using my cell phone.

I put the phone number in my speed dial, call it, record whatever and it's immediately posted to a page in Backpack. I can then listen to it in Backpack and even download it to my computer if I want. I can also share it with others, but I'm using it to store my own personal reminders, ideas and stuff.

Here's a sample I copied from my Backpack account:

Simple. Functional. Helpful. Cool.

And of course, like my backpack account, it's also free.

The Return of My Chin

2006-09-01T08:21:00.000-05:00

Lost the goatee.

Slightly scruffy, still, however.

Leona's cool with it or without it.

Heck, she's just cool.

Should it return?

What say you?

Information Stupid Highway

2006-08-29T18:01:00.000-05:00

Go ahead.

Talk on your cell phone on your way down the road (I did!). Eat a hamburger. Shave with an electric razor if you must.

But please...do not do this:*

*For some reason, this audioblog is just making its way to my blog, even though it was recorded last week!

By the way, in the audio, I make a reference to Chris leading worship this Sunday, but that was actually last Sunday! Chris did a great job and it was a blast having him with us!

The Return of Chris

2006-08-23T15:53:00.000-05:00

A long time ago in a church far, far away, my family stepped out in faith to plant a new church in a new developing area called the Alliance, Texas Corridor. Another brave soul with a heart for God and a willingness to serve, prayed with his wife, grabbed his guitar and came along for the ride.

And for the incredible journey that was "North Point Fellowship," Chris Roberson was our worship leader, a Trustee, and basically my "right hand man." As North Point's time was drawing to a close, Chris moved on to new adventures but has remained a faithful prayer partner and friend.

So I'm happy to report that this Sunday (8/27), Chris returns to fill in for Kim as she takes a maternity leave from leading worship at Compass.

Kim, by the way, will most likely be bringing baby number two into the world before this week is out. I know that she and her husband, Ricky would appreciate your prayers this week!

But in honor of the return of Chris, I thought it would be fitting to post this classic video from an old series in the archives. It stars me, my fam, Chris, and the off-camera voice of a hot chick I know...

Enjoy.

Watch the video, here: Johnny's Extreme Makeover

[Sorry for the ".wmv" file, to those of you who hate them, but I had trouble quickly shrinking the file size any other way and time was rocking on. Eh, it is what it is.]
Update: Ok, here's the video in a ".mov" format. It's a much bigger file, but it looks 10 times better.
Johnny's Extreme Makeover.mov

[And yes, the hot chick in question is my lovely wife, Leona.]

Fun With Planets

2006-08-17T23:29:00.000-05:00

When I was in first grade, I made a lame painting of the "9" planets that orbit our sun. It was for a science fair. The project was 100% made by me (hence the lameness), but I was very capable of describing each of the planets in great detail to the judges as they stopped by.

Unfortunately, my display of the current knowledge of planets at the time was not enough to win the blue ribbon. Apparently my watercolor and marker painting on plywood didn't make the cut. But the judges were very impressed with my command of the facts. Thank you very much.

Of course even then, there was talk of a mysterious and possible "planet X" out there. We always thought that sounded cool, although it was highly debated among scientists. So when I discovered the news yesterday about the discussions about planets within the scientific community that are currently going on, I was very interested. First grade curiosity is hard to shake, sometimes.

It seems there is some disagreement right now about what constitutes a "planet" and it is very possible that the new accepted understanding will be that there are 12 planets instead of 9 making their way around that lucky old sun. If that happens, there will be a lot of textbooks and educational toys and my 1st grade science project that will need to be updated.

This little news item inspired me to scribble the following cartoon as I was about to head out the door tonight. Sorry for the lame drawing, but I was in a hurry. A quick scribble, a fast scan and there you go. ...How bout that hair? (Feel free to pass it along, by the way. ...The Cartoon, not the hair....)

Actually, generally speaking, when people say that they "believe" or "trust" in science, they really mean that they believe in the scientific method. I do too. It works pretty well for what it was designed to do.

Unfortunately, science and the scientific method cannot adequately answer the ultimate questions of life or really even the origin of life. The changing nature of the facts derived through the scientific method make it the wrong discipline for discovering answers of meaning and purpose.

Faith and science do not have to always be in conflict. By their very nature they will sometimes be at odds on ultimate issues, but do not have to cancel each other out.

Faith in scientific "facts" alone, however, is fairly shaky for maintaining certainty, because the "facts" could change at any moment. That makes the definition of "fact" itself a little shaky, also. Not to mention that it's a fairly cold and empty way to live life on the third rock from the sun.

Faith in Christ, however, provides a rock solid stability that is not shaken by the latest "changing of the facts" that results from the latest scientific discovery. He's trustworthy and constant.

Colossians 1:15-17
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation.
16 Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see – kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him.
17 He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.
- NLT

Science, Faith and a Cartoon.

Welcome to my blog.

George Harrison 80's Video for Church Planters

2006-08-16T20:04:00.000-05:00

If George Harrison of the Beatles was about to plant a Church in the late 80's...

I started laughing out loud when I made the lyrical connection!

:-D

"Master Plan" Quotables

2006-08-16T18:22:00.000-05:00

Here a couple of quotes that stood out to me from "The Master Plan of Evangelism" by Robert E. Coleman. All italics bold print are added by me:

"One living sermon is worth a hundred explanations."

"Obedience to Christ thus was the very means by which those in his company learned more truth. He did not ask the disciples to follow what they did not know to be true, but no one could follow him without learning what was true (John 7:17). Hence, Jesus did not urge his disciples to commit their lives to a doctrine, but to a person who was the doctrine, and only as they continued in his Word could they know the truth (John 8:31, 32)."

"...evangelism was not interpreted as a human undertaking, but as a divine project which had been going on from the beginning and would continue until God's purpose was fulfilled. It was altogether the Spirit's work. All the disciples were asked to do was to let the Spirit have complete charge of their lives."

Chew as necessary. I'll post more of these along the way...

The Master Plan of Evangelism

2006-08-16T07:42:00.000-05:00

I recently finished the book, "The Master Plan of Evangelism [second edition, abridged]" by Robert E. Coleman, and was amazed by how timely it is. Originally published in 1963, the 85th printing was in 2003.

There are many thoughts on the best way to reach the average "Unchurched Urkle" in the United States here in the early days of the 21st century. Some are still effective and work well and others are quickly showing signs of age and ineffectiveness.

Having read a ton of stuff on evangelism in recent years, this book was refreshing to me. Even though it was written over 40 years ago, I found myself making immediate, relevant application for today.

In some ways it has "filled in the gaps" in my thinking about our current evangelism strategies and has helped me to "round them out" in a stronger way for the long haul.

Coleman's description of the "Master's plan*" is a timeless, long term, and cost- effective way of making disciples of Jesus Christ. It emphasizes the importance of growing strong believers who in turn, can and do begin making disciples. In the process, the results are eventually multiplied in an exponential way.

Just makes sense.

A few stand-out quotes to follow.

* Not to be confused with Kirk Cameron and Ray "banana man" Comfort's TV show of a similar name...

Why didn't I think of that?

2006-08-15T18:48:00.000-05:00

The times they are a-changin' in the music industry.

Check this out... SellABand. The music company, the band and the fans all profit from the deal.

There are a lot of indie bands that I have never heard of on this site and the ones I listened to weren't exactly stellar, ...but what a great idea.

This system doesn't really work for churches, but I like the thinking. There are definitely creative ways to reach people and fund ministry that have not yet been dreamed up.

Time to start dreaming...

[Link via Springwise.com]

"Move" Series begins tomorrow!

2006-08-12T20:19:00.000-05:00

Begins Sunday, August 13th. More info here.

Thoughts On Spiritual Growth

2006-08-10T21:51:00.000-05:00

I've discovered something about spiritual growth and maturity that really isn't that profound. It is, however true:

"Knowing and not doing" = Pride, Bitterness, or Both.

OR

"Doing and not knowing" = Pride, Bitterness, or Both.

I believe this basic "formula" is true with rare, if any, exception.

Have you ever known anyone who knows a LOT of Bible, but they are also snobby, obnoxious, uncaring, unkind, ungenerous and cranky?

How about someone who is a dizzying display of service, volunteering, hard work and "spiritual" activity, but they are also snobby, obnoxious, uncaring, unkind, ungenerous and cranky?

One without the other leads to an arrogant attitude or a bitter spirit. Or both.

Many people have not grown past the last thing God told them to do. And others have not stopped long enough to know what God is telling them to do.

Spiritual maturity is not just about how much you know. It's about what you do with what you know. It's also about how much your life is reflecting the One you are following.

And becoming Christ-like is the goal.

Iron Man at 41

2006-08-06T14:48:00.000-05:00

I'm 41 today.

And this is how I feel.

Notice the look in my eyes. That's the "steely resolve" I was talking about in that last post. :-D

Hey, I'm just getting started...

Blog Backlog Soundtrack - Leeland

2006-07-31T13:07:00.000-05:00

Talk about a blog backlog...

I've been very focused over the past few weeks.

God. Family. Vision. People. Scripture. Order. Strength. Strategy. Stuff like that. :-)

I can honestly say that I've never been more excited about what's ahead for Compass than I am right now. God has been doing some very cool things around us here, lately and I'm looking forward to seeing where some new developments end up taking us. More on this later.

It's been awesome, but hasn't provided much time for blogging.

Fortunately, as many of you know, I usually have my "Un-wired-er Analog PDA Mind Map" with me or close by during the day, so I have a little log of blog posts that I'll be getting around to before long.

To ease back in, and because I'm short on time, here's a little of my life soundtrack for the past week or so:

Leeland is a cool new band from the great state of Texas. I've enjoyed listening to a few of the songs from their site, and I like that the drummer (on the far right) looks a little like "Hurley" from "Lost."

One song in particular, "Tears of the Saints," could easily be a lyrical anthem for our church. The first time I listened to the words of that song, I got a bit of a lump in my throat and a steely resolve in my heart.

I can't believe I just said, "steely resolve in my heart," but that describes it pretty well, actually... "Father, we will lead them home..."

Check out their MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/leelandmusic, and look for the new release, "Sound of Melodies" on August 15, 2006.

All Get Out

2006-07-20T23:09:00.000-05:00

Compass Church is a church plant. If that means nothing else, it means we are mobile, agile, and ... uh, nimble?

Anywho.

For three short weeks leading into our fall schedule at the Roanoke Recreation Center, that's exactly what we will be. Mobile, that is.

I have several books in me that I hope will one day find the light of publishing day, and one of them includes a chapter that was originally titled, "Why the Church Must Get Out of Its Building." Now I'm pretty sure it will be called, "All Get Out." That's a post in and of itself, and is actually the topic for my talk this Sunday.

"All Get Out" is an expression that Dictionary.com defines this way:

The utmost degree that is possible or even imaginable: “It's snowing like all get-out up here” (Hans Thorner).

The church striving for the "utmost degree that is possible or even imaginable" and the church "getting out of its building" - I like the play on words here.

The walls of a church building, rented or otherwise, should serve to provide a church focus and ministry for a lost world, not protect a church from it.

We all need to get out.

Get out and serve. Get out and share. Get out and be the church instead of merely going to it.

This is a very cool time for our church. It's also a great time to join us on the adventure. If you are a Christ follower who is tired of church as usual and ready to get out and change the world, give me a call.

But you may need to leave me a message - I'm going to be "out" quite a bit over the next few weeks...

Usable

2006-07-12T10:25:00.000-05:00

Sometimes mistakes and disobedience cause consequences that make future ministry limited, or at least redirected. Moses didn't get to go to the promised land after striking the rock, Elijah was replaced after losing the vision, and a few others like Achan, Annanias and Sapphira lost their lives after direct disobedience.

But God in His great grace has not always made that the case. More often than not, God uses us in spite of our mistakes and our disobedience when we turn back to Him.

One of the more famous "disobedient servants" in scripture was Jonah.

Jonah should have gone to Ninevah. Instead, he went toward Tarshish.

Jonah should have been preaching to the Ninevites. Instead, he was confessing to sailors.
Jonah should have been in the presence of a king. Instead, he was in the belly of a fish.
Jonah should have been the "mouthpiece" of God. Instead, he was vomited from the mouth of a fish.

His mistakes, and even his disobedience, didn't "get him out" of going to Ninevah. Certainly there are sins that may disqualify us for particular areas of service. But fortunately for us all, our past does not necessarily disqualify us from the mission.

God did something very compassionate and merciful for Jonah.

He did not let him go.

Instead, He continued to command him to go.

Leckie Kitchen Photo Booth

2006-06-29T12:36:00.000-05:00

Leona and Me
being goofy
before making
the
home-made
pizza
and
home-made
salsa... and
Michael
with his
new
contacts.

Cert

2006-06-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

Okay so maybe I'm not completely "uncertain." I'm just not completely "certain." I'm somewhere in between "certain" and "uncertain."

I guess you could say that I'm just "cert."

The good thing about certs is that even when things bite, at least there's a spark in the dark...

I would say that I at least have a spark in the dark.

:-D

Uncertain in Texas

2006-06-26T11:44:00.000-05:00

I know you can thrive in it. I know you can embrace it and run through it.

But it can really be the essence of church planting paralysis.

And with all due respect to my friends in East Texas, it's a terrible place to be.

And it is where I am today.

...and I don't mean the place and I don't mean Jefferson.

Adventure Beach "Picture Code" Game

2006-06-23T16:29:00.000-05:00

More clues to the "Picture Code Game" have been posted and we've now included some hints, as well.

Here are a few more:

The clues do not have to be solved in order, but you must solve all of them to reach the end of the game.
The first clue is the hardest. I know. It should have been the easiest, but hey.
The solved "clue" is a password.
ALL of the answers to the clues in the "Picture Code Game" are found in the picture.
There are fun "payoffs" and "easter eggs" at each level.

The "extras" of the "Adventure Beach" message series come in 3 categories.

The "Picture Code Game" (Online and available to anyone, anwhere)
The "Real World Game" (Involves going to real locations in Roanoke and the Alliance area to solve the clues. Not yet available, but will be posted after the third message in the series.)
Easter Eggs (Online and in the real world, some only discovered by being present in our Sunday service)

Again, none of the extra features are necessary to enjoy and be a part of the series, they just add to it. That of course, is why they are called "extra features." :-D There is actually much method to this "extra" madness, and I'll explain more about it as we go through the series.

Speaking of, this Sunday at Compass, we're going to CLASH as we look at one of the more freaky encounters with Jesus that is recorded in the Bible. In the process we'll also discover that there is hope for even the hardest of hearts.

And there's a good reason for that.

...But it'll have to wait till Sunday.

Oh, will the mysteries ever end?

Here's a hint: No.

:-D

Not What They Seem

2006-06-20T13:41:00.000-05:00

Just posted an "extra illustration" from Sunday on the Compasswired blog that involves this picture:

Check it out here: Things Are Not Always What They Seem

Dinner With Mark & Tori Bjornholm

2006-06-16T13:09:00.000-05:00

Last night we had a blast with Mark and Tori Bjornholm, who blessed our socks off by buying our family dinner at Cavalleros. I met Mark through my blog, and you may remember that he was one of the guys at our gathering of bloggers at the River Nile a little while back.

First, let me say that the food was delicious. My "Chimichanga de Pollo" was a mouth watering crispy rolled tortilla stuffed with grilled chicken fajita meat, Jack cheese, peppers, a flaky crust and ...mmm....Tex mex.....

So we were at the table for about 3 minutes when my lovely wife, Leona "accidently(?)" knocked over her glass of water, spilling the entire contents down my leg! The laughs began there and pretty much continued throughout the meal, much to the chagrin of the other restaraunt patrons, I'm sure! And just to cap things off, Leona spilled her water one more time for good measure before we left...(Leona has a tendency to "talk" with her hands [not sign language] in an expressive manner, something I learned when we were dating and she "accidently (?)" knocked me into the hedges...but that's another story).

Mark and Tori are awesome people. They were gracious, sharp and funny and our kids just loved them. We really enjoyed visiting with them and getting to know them better. Ask Mark sometime about the history, shape and souveniers of Michigan. Hint: oven mitts are very popular. :-D

Thanks, Mark and Tori for a great night of food and fun. It was truly a blessing to us!

Creative Series...

2006-06-12T20:31:00.000-05:00

Yeah. This has to be one of the most creative series I've ever been involved with. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've never seen a "preaching" series ever done this way before.

Get an idea of what I'm talking about -

here: Immersed in Adventure Beach

and here: Living The Adventure Life

and here: Adventure Beach Clues.

The "C" of our values is "C3: Christ Following, Creative & Caring." This series definitely covers the "C."

...And it's a great vehicle for our goal of developing more, stronger and closer followers of Jesus Christ.

Coffee With Clay Hilton

2006-06-10T00:32:00.000-05:00

I'm just now getting around to mentioning this, but I had a great time of coffee and conversation several days ago with fellow church planter and encourager, Clay Hilton. Clay is the pastor of Mid-Cities Community Church in Bedford, Texas.

He, like me, also hails from the great but tainted state of Louisiana, was a part of the Church Planting network that I started with and is a church planter who has stayed the course through much difficulty.

Clay is one of those guys who is full of wisdom and experience and knows how to dispense it with humility and balance. He also has one of the funnest pictures of "the Pastor's family"on his church website that I've seen so far!

We talked about a lot of things.

We acknowledged those we know who have "fallen" and those who have "fallen by the wayside" in this church planting adventure. We talked about the abundance of conflicting advice we've received from various coaches and well meaning pastors along the way. We talked about how few church planters that we started with are still standing. We talked about God's faithfulness and the importance of church planting.

It was a great reminder of how much church planting isn't a solo endeavor.

Thanks, Clay for the ear, the insight and the encouragement!

Kim Rocks! ...a baby in a baby carriage....

2006-06-07T23:47:00.000-05:00

We have a very cool worship leader. Of the worship leaders I have known over the years (including myself), Kim is by far the coolest. She has a heart for God and people, a great voice, and is a constant source of encouragement. I've known Kim for many years, and was actually her Youth Pastor back in the day. Leona and I are so impressed with the leader she has become and her constant "can do" attitude.

Kim is also expecting her second child in early September. This child is truly a blessing from God as the doctors had told Kim and her husband Ricky that they would be unable to have additional children. Ricky has Leukemia and is on a medication that has put the disease in remission, but it also supposedly ruled out the possibility of children. Well, apparently God and this kid ignored that bit of information and the baby is now on the way!

This has presented some interesting challenges for us for the months of July through September as it is getting difficult for Kim to play her guitar or bass on stage without the baby kicking the heck out of the back of the instrument and throwing the timing off! Well, not really, but you get the idea. It's getting harder for her to lead as the due date gets ever closer.

Anyway, all this brings me to the fact that we are looking for an additional worship leader or leaders to work with Kim and fill in as needed during this happy time! :) We are looking for someone who is talented, senses a call to ministry, can get behind our vision and is looking for a great opportunity for experience. This is a volunteer/small stipend type of role, and would be great for a college student. Generally our style has a slightly edgy rock feel.

If you are interested in serving with us and would like more information, we'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line at the address(es) below:

Johnny[AT]compasswired.com
Kim[AT]compasswired.com

Hoodwinked & Cory Edwards

2006-06-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

When our extended family was visiting with us recently, we decided to rent a dvd on one night. After a quick trip to blockbuster, we arrived home with the movie "Hoodwinked."

The "audience" for our dvd viewing was a mix of people, ages 12 to 94. (Yes, you read that right. Leona's Great-Grandmother who is 94 was in the room watching the movie with us.) Kind of fun watching a movie that includes a cool granny with two grannies in the room.

Anyway, as we watched the movie, the "impromtu reviews" from the family assembled ranged from "I've never seen anything like that before" to "that was hilarious" to "can we watch the billy goat scene again?"

I was actually kind of surprised by how much I liked this movie. It has received a variety of mixed reviews since its debut, but I believe that any negative reviews came from people who must have missed the point. The overwhelming majority of reviews since the dvd has come out have been very positive.

The animation has a "storybook" look to it rather than an overly slick "cgi" look to it, which was perfect for the story. And although the movie has been compared to "Shrek" in how it plays off of the fairy tale/story book genre, I felt that "Hoodwinked" was really a different animal all together.

A few things I liked about it:

It has a great premise. (Great lesson on why appearances can be deceiving. Things are truly not what they seem most of the time)

It was clean. (No need to worry about kids repeating cursing cartoon characters.)

It had a great sense of comic timing. (The director has much to do with that - keep reading)

It has some unexpected "genre bending" moments (The scene where the wolf walks in slow motion past Red as they exchange glances to the sound of the thumping soundtrack cracked me up.)

"An avalanche is coming and I do not feel prepared" (Gotta see it to understand.)

It was creative, clever, slightly complex in the overlap of the stories, and it had great lines.

I can recommend it as a good family flick that will crack up the parents as well as the kids.

The Guy Behind The Movie:

After our visiting company departed, Leona, the kids and I watched the special features on the dvd. That's when I made an interesting discovery.

When I saw the "guy behind the movie" I said, "Wait a minute. That's Cory...Cory... um, what's his last name? Edwards. Yeah, that's him." I then refreshed the memory of my family by saying, "Grimmace? What is he? What product does he represent?!"" and "Crack that corn, Jimmy! We care! We care!" - All lines from Cory's standup comedy routine from a while back that they recognized immediately.

Some time ago, we had seen Cory's video preview on Outreachcomedy.com, and it just cracked us up. You can still read his bio and see the video of some of his comedy here.

Cory is a preacher's kid and Christ follower who is creating great stuff in the marketplace of the entertainment world. "In the world but not of it," while being "salt and light" in bland and dark places. I love everything about that.

I do not know him (and I hope he stays immune to the temptations and struggles of the industry he is working in) but guys like Cory Ewards are inspiring to me.

I think it would be cool to see a film making/art/writing/music school develop out of Compass Church, eventually. Where the best artists, musicians, authors and filmakers in the world trace their roots back to a church with a heart for Christ and a big vision for impacting the world...

Go rent or buy "Hoodwinked," and check out Cory's blog here.

Adventure Beach

2006-06-03T15:59:00.000-05:00

Only have a minute, here.

Thought I'd toss up the graphic of the series that we're starting at Compass.

It's meant to be a bit mysterious, allowing the images to draw you in and build curiosity.

Are you curious?

More later...

Church Planting Strategy (the really short list)

2006-05-30T11:58:00.000-05:00

Make sure your "grilled cheese" plan includes cheese.

Colossians 1:28
28 So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect [or mature] in their relationship to Christ. (NLT)

Mix with the short list.

Stir briskly and serve.

Dugout 2

2006-05-29T19:48:00.000-05:00

Had a great time at "Dugout," yesterday! Grilling, kickball, hotdogs and a short service was the perfect formula for our holiday weekend at Compass. We had folks out of town, but we also had returning visitors, so I felt great about the day.

We've done many, many outdoor services along the way, but now they are a great reminder that we have a "permanent" home at the Rec Center. It makes events like "Dugout" more fresh and fun because they are a change of pace rather than the norm. After being "homeless" for so long as a church launch team, I am extremely thankful that God has blessed us with a great place to grow as a church!

Unlike the last "Dugout" back in September, there were no cool "Dugout Awards" bestowed because Ricky apparently didn't feel like pulling any muscles or "wiping out" on the kickball field this time around...

But I spilled ketchup and pickle relish down my shirt and carried the aroma of BBQ grill smoke around with me the rest of the day. Does that count?

Either way, we've kicked up some dust and Compass Summer has officially begun!

I Won A "Free Prize Inside"

2006-05-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

Cool! I've signed in almost weekly to the free business book site, "Inbubblewrap.com" for the past four or five months....

Today I was notified that I am a winner.

Before long I should be receiving the marketing book by Seth Godin, encased in "bubble wrap," as it were. The book, not Seth.

But it's not just the book. It's the original version that comes in a cereal box. And for the winners of this offer, there's also a real free prize inside the "Free Prize Inside." What could it be? I'm hoping it's a "Mr. Of Vinci Magic Decoder Ring!"

Maybe I won because there were 250 winners today instead of their usual 25 or so. Maybe it's because it's been so long since I've been signed up but still haven't won anything. Maybe it's because I'm special.

Who cares? I'm a church planter.

I'll take whatever free wins I can get...

:-D

Church Planting Strategy (the short list)

2006-05-25T13:24:00.000-05:00

Not one or the other:

Colossians 1:28-29
28 So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect [or mature] in their relationship to Christ.

29 I work very hard at this, as I depend on Christ's mighty power that works within me. (NLT)

"Work very hard..."
"Depend on Christ's mighty power..."

Both. At the same time.

If you only do one without the other, you'll never get anything done.

Ready or Not

2006-05-18T14:21:00.000-05:00

So I'm sitting by the coffee pot at the orthodontist's office, totally engrossed in the "want ads" of the paper while looking for that second job to help make ends meet, fighting back a headache, juggling thoughts related to Compass Church's strategy for the summer, Leona's return from camp on Friday, the relatives I have to pick up from the airport tonight, when in the world I can meet with our Team this week, while trying to discover a way to write shorter opening sentences for blog posts, when my intense and focused world in a bubble is interrupted by the lady who is usually behind the desk but who is now making a fresh pot of coffee.

:-D

If that was a bit much to chew, listen to it here:

"How are you doing, today, Sir?" she asks, while going about her task.

Slightly dazed, it takes me a few seconds to realize that she's talking to me.

I slightly shift the "want ads" in my lap and respond with what sounds like the first words out of my mouth this morning. "I'm doing ok, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine," she responds.

I look back at the "want ads" and at the last lead I had written down: "Seeking key person to help grow our business," when she speaks again.

"So, do you have a lot of activities planned for this summer?" she asks, still working on the coffee.

"Activities? Summer?" I'm thinking. It takes another second or two for it to register that she is talking to me again.

"Always a lot of activities goin' on," I manage to mumble, immediately becoming consious of the fact that I need to clear my throat. My headache feels like it's allergy related.

I look back at the "want ads." "Seeking key person to help grow our business?" I read again and think, "Dude, I could have placed that ad!"

"Now, you're a minister, aren't you?" she asks.

Busted. I begin frantically trying to shift gears, becoming more and more self concious of how "dressed down" I am today, the gravel in my voice and the "want ads" in my lap.

She asks me the name of our church and where it is and I tell her the vital statistics, also mentioning that we are a "church plant." She doesn't know what that is, of course, because most people don't. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have even used that term.

"Brain not work. Me not think right. Must shift gears...1 Peter 3:15...Try to smile..."

I finally clear my throat and explain that it's a "start up" and she seems to understand. She then asks me what church that we, for lack of a better term, "spun off from."

"Oh, we're still spinning," I say with an awkward chuckle.

"I'm not selling this very well," I'm thinking. I place the "want ads" on the seat next to me and briefly explain how we are meeting at the Rec Center, serving in the community, building relationships, etc.

She responds with something like, "Well hang in there. These kinds of things really grow over time."

That's when I remember the business-card-sized "invite cards" that I have with me. I had encouraged everyone in our church to have some with them at all times for just such an occasion. Cool! Sermon illustration for later!

I turn to pull one out of my "Un-Wired-er Analog PDA Mind Map" (which doesn't work well as an acrostic, by the way) and turn back with card in hand when I discover that she has returned to the front desk...

The scene from the movie, "Groundhog Day" flashes across my frazzeled brain:

Phil: Did you really want to talk about the weather, or were you just making "chit chat?"
Mrs. McAllister: Just...chit chat.

Ah.

"Ok, this is bloggable," I think, and reach for my pen and start writing.

Way too many lessons to learn before 9 a.m....

This post scribbled in the "Un-Wired-er Analog PDA Mind Map" and later "digitally" transferred to this blog. Pun unapologetically intended. :-D

Mr. "of Vinci" and His Magic Decoder Ring

2006-05-18T11:22:00.000-05:00

First, let me just say that his last name isn't "Da Vinci" any more than the Apostle Paul's last name is "of Tarsus."

He's Leonardo, "of" or "from" Vinci. It's a place.

Just to be clear, we're talking about this guy:
(Leonardo of Vinci)

Not this guy:
(Leonardo of DiCaprio)

or this guy:
(Leonardo of Ninja Turtle)

I believe that the best way to help those who have read the book and/or who will see the movie, to understand the sheer goofiness of the author's challenges to the Bible and authentic Christianity is simply to point them to secular sources like the History Channel, PBS, and the Discovery Channel. Those guys have done a pretty good job of ripping the story as being pretty much a work of total, not partial, fiction. Pretty fun, fast paced, thriller fiction, but fiction nonetheless.

But I know that there have been some who have responded to the "Of Vinci Code" with a statement like:

"Of course it's a work of fiction, but it does raise some interesting questions..."

So for these and for those who would have conversations with these, I offer the following links as a public service announcement. It's just for starters, because there are now officially one gazillion responses and to Mr. Brown's novel and upcoming movie....

A variety of links from "Pastors.com"

Great Article from the Dallas Morning News by Jeffery Weiss, but you need a free subscription to read it.

"Breaking the DaVinci Code" in Christianity Today

5 Big Questions From The Da Vinci Code, also from Christianity Today

Why I Can Trust The Bible - Faith Facts

And if you're really into it and just can't get enough, I've heard great things about this book, "Breaking the Da Vinci Code" by Darrell L. Brock, Phd.

And if you're still really into it and can't get enough, but don't want to buy a book, Midwestern Seminary has MP3's, PDF's and other letters and numbers that you can download here.

But please, if you are a Christ follower, don't freak out, boycott, or anything like that. Just see it as a great opportunity to grow more deeply in your faith and for helping other people understand the Truth.

As for the decoder ring?* I can't help but think of a cartoon I saw the other day that said, "These conspiracy theories are a smoke screen to hide the incredible truth!"

* There is no decoder ring in the "Da Vinci Code." You'll need to check your box of breakfast cereal for that.

The Sincerest Form of Flattery

2006-05-17T12:05:00.000-05:00

It's inevitable.

We all imitate people we like and aspire to be like. It's not a bad thing.

But we're not talking about cheap imitations, here. Often it's just a style or way of saying or doing something more than it's just a direct copy.

Sometimes it is a conscious, intentional thing and sometimes we have no idea we are even doing it.

Singers/vocalists do it all the time (see American Idol).

And preachers do it also.

Every now and then I catch myself using a phrase or "accent" that sounds like one of the preachers I've been listening to lately. Maybe it's just the way I pronounce a word or punctuate a point, but to me it's obvious and a little embarassing. It usually cracks me up when I listen to the recording and realize why I said something in a way that I said it.

But hey, I like to think of it as having a multitude of top of the line preaching mentors. I'm learning from the masters! :)

And I'm not alone. I've heard "whispers" of famous preachers in the preaching styles of a lot of "not-so-famous" preachers, lately. Podcasting just has a way of messing us up like that! But again, it's generally in a good way.

Imitation of style is not really anything new. It used to be that preachers tried to sound like Billy Graham and his contemporaries. Now it's Ed Young, Erwin McManus, Andy Stanley, Louie Giglio and many other great communicators that we are emulating. And again, that's not a bad thing. It helps us to get into a groove and style that becomes uniquely our own over time. (
Sometimes it is weird, though, like when a preacher starts adding an "UH!" to the end of every phrase because they think that's what preachers are supposed to do in their setting.)

And it's a good reminder that creating a "derivative work" is better than just being a copycat.

But we are all influenced by someone.

And we all influence someone else, for better or worse. It's true with preaching, it's true with singing, and it's true with just about everything else in life. It doesn't matter who you are. Preachers, homemakers, computer systems analysts, teachers, administrators, fathers, mothers, friends, or...you get the idea.

The trick is to imitate the right people and be worthy of imitation.

It's sincere. It's flattering. And done in the right way, it's actually biblical. Really.

So, who are you imitating and who is imitating you? Are you living a life worthy of imitation?

Podcasting All Over The Place

2006-05-04T13:08:00.000-05:00

Well, our "no brainer" podcast is now available. Although I must admit, it was a bit more of a "brainer" than I thought it would be to get it onto itunes! And of course, I used my brain delivering the message on Sunday. I suppose that could be open for debate, but I digress.

Such as it is, you can now hear Sunday's message from Compass Church in 4 ways. Download it from our website, download it from the new "Sunday Rewind Podcast" blog, subscribe to it via the "rss" feed there or subscribe to it through itunes.

It took a little effort up front, but now it will be very easy to update every week. We're not even a twinkle in a mega church's eye but now we do have a podcast that's available on itunes. I believe that's important for a lot of reasons, but I'll save those for another post.

And what about the second podcast I talked about in an earlier post? Still working on the name of that one, but it's on its way. I'm really leaning toward calling it the "Double Shot Podcast" of Compass Church. Podcast2 seems a little generic. :)

And yes, before long, the Poor Pastor's Pod Blip will be making an appearance on itunes as well. There are some great comedic possibilities there, and each post is only about a minute long. How could you not subscribe to that? :-D

****
Geek alert:
The following info may cause your eyes to glaze over. If so, please keep moving, there's nothing more to see here...
****

I'm pretty sure there are simpler ways to create podcasts and get them into itunes but here are the steps I took and the free programs I used ...

Create the Podcast from the audio recording of Sunday's message and save or export it as an "mp3" file. I used Audacity to do a quick edit.
Create a graphic to use with the podcast. (This isn't really necessary, but cool, nonetheless)
Publish the file to a host site; in our case, it's on our website.
Create a "subscribable" page to update with links to the "mp3" file. I created a free blog with blogger.
Create an "rss2.0" feed so that itunes can read it. (Blogger is apparently only making "atom" feeds, now.) I did this fairly simply by using feedburner. In the signup process, there is an option for podcasts that makes it really easy to sign up with itunes.
Submit the new "rss2.0" feed to itunes.
About a day later, the podcast is available in itunes.

Of course, you could just go to Odeo or a number of other free sites and upload a file you created using a microphone and a laptop....

Suggestions For Better Church Signs

2006-04-18T08:45:00.000-05:00

This post is the followup to this one: Here's Your [Church] Sign. (Please feel free to continue posting goofy things you've seen on signs as well as any that you think are great examples of good, positive, and effective ways to use a church sign.)

A funny cartoon from a few years ago showed two guys watching a grumpy pastor change the letters on the church sign. The caption underneath said, "I can always tell when Rev. Jones needs a vacation..." The pastor was putting up the message: "This Sunday's Sermon: Just come and find out, meathead!"

The silly thing is, there are a lot of church signs out there that don't really come across much better than that on a week to week basis. I have no ax to grind but I do have a few suggestions for better church signs.

These are not exhaustive and they do not provide all of the answers, but if you have a church sign, please consider the following before pulling out the little black letters and posting that next witty and pithy homily...

The obvious:

Update your church sign regularly.

Keep your church sign clean.

Keep your church sign maintained - change the bulbs when they go out on the day they go out, trim the weeds, etc.

If your sign is faded and weathered looking (Unless that's part of the design) it's time to replace parts or it's time for a new sign.

The apparently not-so-obvious:

Determine who your sign is for and write for them. (Hint - If it's for your church only, send them a newsletter instead.)

Think of your sign as a 24/7 personal billboard for your church, because that is exactly what it is. It is a "front door" to the community that tells them what's "inside."

Be sure it's part of your PR/Comumication Strategy so it's not simply relegated to the maintenance person to come up with "clever" sayings.

Think through how you will be received/perceived/heard by the people driving by. Ask, "What do we want to communicate about our church? Will it attract? Will it help create interest in what's happening at your church?

Do not use the internet to come up with clever sayings to put on your sign.

Do not use a "church sign book" to come up with clever sayings to put on your sign.

Come to think of it, do not use clever sayings at all...It's like the person who tries to tell a joke that's already been told a million times and wasn't really funny the first time. They are usually tired, worn out and corny. And really, do you want to be known as the "clever sayings" church, anyway?

Do not "slam the evil doers" on your church sign. You'll just reinforce the negative, judgmental stereotype impression that most people have about churches, anyway.

Assume that everyone who sees your church sign has never been to church before. You don't have to "dumb down" to do this, just leave out the words and phrases that only church people would understand.

Plan ahead so you're not tempted to just "throw something up there."

It's ok to be funny, but you'd better really be funny. Get lots of feedback on something you think is funny before you put it on your sign. Ask people who don't go to your church. Generally, humor that smashes stereotypes about church are better than things like, "CH_ _ CH - What's Missing? U. R."

When in doubt, promote upcoming events and programs that appeal to the community. If you're still drawing a blank, communicate the values and vision of your church.

Bottom Line: If you wouldn't print it in a letter to the community, put it on the front page of the newspaper or say it in a televised interview, don't put it on your sign.

I know that most of the time, churches do not intend to come across the way they often do. Churches care about people. They want people to know the love of Christ. I know this. I'm not intending to be mean and overly critical.

But if you have a church sign, you have a great opportunity to communicate with your community every single week. So what do you really want to communicate?

I love churches. We're good people. We have the best message in the world. Let's just not allow that message to be dismissed and never given a hearing because of a goofy line on our church sign...

Once again, a church sign can be a powerful thing. Please use your powers for good. :-)

Finding Margin

2006-04-17T23:28:00.000-05:00

Several years ago I did a series called, "Finding Margin" that generally ate my lunch. If ever there was an area that has been a constant challenge for me it is in the area of "margin." It was tough to preach because it was so "where I live." But it was needed and on target.

I am excited that we are revisiting this series beginning next week, April 23rd. It's not really the same series, but a fresh and new take on the same issues. ...And it's still where I live.

I still need margin...breathing space.

To understand the difference between what I carry and what I can bear.

The ability to do and be well.

Over the next few weeks we will be examining 5 areas that are notorious for lacking margin: Clutter, Time, Work, Family and Money.

I'm breathing better just thinking about it...

Here's Your [Church] Sign...

2006-04-14T00:43:00.001-05:00

It has been a busy week heading into the Easter weekend, so I thought I'd post something that's just been lying dormant in my red spiral notebook (Not to be confused with my Un-wired-er Analog PDA Mind Map, mind you) for months, now.

What's the deal with Church Signs? For some reason, some of the goofiest stuff in the world can be found on the signs of churches. But I wish it weren't so.

Here are a few actual Church signs that I have seen with my own eyes, some as recently as last week. I've added some commentary in parentheses.

On a broken down looking church that was converted from an old house - "Miracle Revival Center" (Looks like it could use a little of that. Physician, heal thyself..)

On a stencilled black and white sign with picture of Jesus wearing a crown of bloody thorns - "This blood's for you!" (Bleh.)

"The only Ghost in this house is holy!" (So your church is holy haunted?)

"Jesus is healing the sick! The blind see! The deaf hear! ...Next Exit." (Call Ticket master now to reserve your seat! Cotton candy and peanuts available but optional!)

"Somebody call 911 cause this church is on fire!" (Somebody get some butter cause this church is full of corn!)

On a giant sign with lights and an arrow that was almost bigger than the one room church building - "Here's the Church you've been looking for!" (I'm guessing that's because it was so small and was behind the giant sign...)

And one Kim saw just the other day - "Jesus is coming. Resistence is Futile!" (Yes. We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Spare yourself the hassle later, and visit us with your family this Sunday!)

And my personal favorite - "This is missions month. Come on in!" (I thought missions was about...go... uh, hello?)

Generally speaking, these signs and many like them might as well just say, "We're kind of weird and we're not very bright...And we wanted you to know about it!"

Ok, I probably shouldn't be so harsh, here because I really believe that most of these churches probably mean well. They may actually think they are being clever. So I'm not meaning to sound so critical, it's just that cheesy church signs just drive me crazy.

As a church plant that meets in rented space, we don't have the luxury of a "24-7 personal billboard" for our Church. But if you have a permanent Church Sign, that is exactly what you have.

A Church sign with changeable lettering is an opportunity to "connect with" or annoy or anger or "draw in" or "make eyes roll" or "create interest" or "demonstrate cluelessness"...it's really up to you.

So I have some tips/suggestions for churches with permanent signs that I'll share in another post. Think of it as a "Public Service Announcement" for Churches with signs. Because A church sign can actually be a powerful thing. And I want you to use your powers for good.

But right now, I'm heading to bed.

So what are some of the goofiest things you've seen on church signs?

Read part 2 here: Suggestions For Better Church Signs

Some Random Friday Stuff

2006-04-07T09:01:00.000-05:00

Just some random Friday stuff today...

Team 100:
I want to say, "Thank You," to everyone who has been a part of our "Team 100!" We have now wrapped up the series, but we would love to have you continue to pray for us, and we would be honored to pray for you, as well. Does prayer make a difference? I believe that it makes and has made a huge difference, and I hope that you have also been blessed as you have prayed for us!

Buzz Conference:
I'm bummed out that I am unable to go to the Buzz Conference! I'm way too low on cash for the trip across the country, right now but if Drive was the conference I most wanted to attend last year, this is the conference I would be attending this year if I could.

I actually spent some time as a "summer missionary" in Washington D.C. MANY years ago, and would love to go back. Here's a hilarious picture to give you an idea of HOW long ago that was... What is up with the hair? Oh, wait, I actually had hair, then! :-D

Some of my favorite bloggers are going to be there, Ebenezers is now open (Hmm, imagine a Compass version of Ebenezers in old town Roanoke...) and I could have gotten to hang out with Ed Young.

But of course, since I live not too far from Ed, I can just call him up and hang out with him any time.... :-D (That was fun. I actually enjoyed saying that. Ok, now back to reality...)

This Weekend at Compass:
This Sunday I am looking forward to sharing about "The Point: More, Stronger and Closer Followers of Jesus Christ." More on this later!

But on Saturday, we are helping the city of Roanoke with the community Easter egg hunt and my lovely wife, Leona will once again frighten children as the Easter bunny.

Someone asked recently: "What does the Easter Bunny and eggs have to do with the Resurrected Christ?" My answer - Nothing. What's your point?

So why are we, as a church, helping the community with an event that involves an Easter Bunny Costume? Because we want to be good neighbors and we want to connect with the people in our community where they are. It provides an opportunity for us to crash stereotypes, meet needs, and meet people, so we can ultimately point them to Jesus.

The "Easter Bunny" is just a goofy secular thing akin to "Frosty the Snowman" at Christmas time. Hey, he doesn't scare me! Besides, I know what [s]he looks like under the mask, and there's nothing but cuteness going on there.

Sorry, I didn't mean to chase a rabbit..... Then again... ;-D ...Alright, I'll stop. :-D

And A Good Quote to wrap up your week:

Teddy Roosevelt said,

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat." [Quote via Mark]

Bully for that! Let's kick up some dust...

To the arena!

Blog Spring Cleaning

2006-04-05T09:08:00.000-05:00

Had to freshen up the header. The row of cups was getting pretty dusty....

More blog "spring cleaning" ahead.

ZomboChurch

2006-04-03T18:06:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist.

It's that time of year when churches have a tendency to start "puffing up the promises" of what will happen when you visit their church. It can get a little silly. I know we all just want to reach people with the Good News, but I think sometimes we may be "overselling" ourselves a bit in our mailers and stuff. I know we've been slightly guilty of this at times...

Will all of people's wildest dreams really come true if they visit your church this Easter?!

:-D

This post makes makes more sense if you see the previous post, first...

Zombocom

2006-04-02T16:50:00.000-05:00

I've been kind of serious here at the blog, lately.

Frankly, that's because I've been working through all that it is going to take for Compass Church to be all we are supposed to be and I have been a bit overwhelmed. Maybe I've just been weary.

But folks like Jason have cheered me up recently with his pod blip shout out and the weather today is 91 degrees and sunny. We also had a great time enjoying burgers from the grill at our friends' the Robisons, this afternoon and the kids have just pulled out the big blue "fillable" pool.

I've also been enjoying the fun of Zombocom. Some people think that it may actually be the future of Web 2.0. It was a little tricky for me at first, but soon the stress melted away and I realized that the only limit is myself...at zombocom! Enjoy.

If you really need it, there is a spoiler here.

Where God Guides, He Provides (Part 3)

2006-03-29T21:01:00.000-06:00

This is the last in a 3-part series:

To sum up from parts one and two, sometimes where God guides, He provides immediately with financial resources. Sometimes He doesn’t. But the bottom line is that where He guides He does provide. I hit both sides of that concept in those posts, so now here a few “other ways” that God provides…

Sometimes God Provides :

An Idea. In Nehemiah 7:5 , God gives Nehemiah an idea to deal with an issue on the way to fulfilling the vision. I think of Mark Batterson and his prayer for two million dollars to pay for the construction of their coffee shop, Ebenezers. Instead of giving him the money, Mark says that God gave him a "two million dollar" idea, instead. If you were waiting for cash, but God gave you an idea, would you take it?

People. The apostle Paul was blessed by Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus who made up for the help the Corinthians couldn’t send. [1 Corinthians 16:17-18] Paul also sent Tychicus to the Ephesians. We could go on and on here. Maybe it's people with money. Or maybe it's people who have a better idea. Or maybe it's people who know many people who can help make what God is guiding into a reality.

Stuff. Sometimes God just provides food for your stomach, a donkey for the road, or a room in the town. Instead of cash to pay for stuff, He just provides the stuff. For us it was free storage space at the Rec Center that was provided rather than money for a trailer…A much better deal. We've also received things like computers and nursery supplies rather than the money to purchase these things.

A Training Ground. The Disciples couldn't cast out a certain demon, even though they were generally doing what Jesus had instructed them to do. [Mark 9:14-29]– The provision was an experience that helped them understand that "this kind can only be cast out by fasting and prayer." Their inability to accomplish the task provided the training ground for dealing with the situation in the future. They needed additional information that was deeply ingrained in them by the experience itself.

A Lesson to Learn. Consequences of bad choices do not necessarily disqualify the mission or the “Guiding.” Jonah made mistakes and suffered for them, but the mission remained. He had to learn to go the right way. Moses, after throwing and smashing the tablets that had the 10 commandments inscribed on them by God, then had to go back up the mountain and chisel a new set the hard way.

Strength and resourcefulness. Philippians 4:12-14 – Surely no one would doubt that God was guiding Paul even when the money ran out. God provided extra strength and an amazing ability for Paul to do the best he could with what he had.

Wisdom. Ecclesiastes 10:10 - Sometimes God provides the "smarts" for making something work without having to buy a new ax to make it happen. "Sharper" is often better than "newer."

A call to persistent prayer. Sometimes God simply calls us to keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. He intentionally withholds the provision for a time and provides a burden that will not go away until He satisfies it. [Luke 11:5-12] God knows what we need before we ask and He wants us to trust in Him more than His provision.

An Invitation to Know Him More Deeply. [2 Thessalonians 3:1-5] He is our goal, more than any task He guides us to perform and more than the things that He gives us to accomplish it. Whenever and wherever God guides, He always provides an opportunity to know Him in a closer and stronger way. The lesser, more "tangible" provision always follows. [Matthew 6:33]

A Cool "Web 2.0" Tool

2006-03-25T08:16:00.000-06:00

I meant to add this to the last post, but it was already getting a little long, and the post before that was a mini-book. :)

As we have been tracking the list for our Team 100, we have realized that some of our team members' friends have been a little shy about sending an email to the pastor they have never met. However, they haven't been shy about sending that same email to their friend.

A simple way to for us to keep track of those names without a ton of double emails has been to use the online word processor called writely.

According to their website (and my experience), here's some of what you can do with writely:

· Share documents instantly & collaborate real-time.

Pick exactly who can access your documents.

· Edit your documents from anywhere.

Nothing to download -- your browser is all you need.

· Store your documents securely online.

Offsite storage plus data backup every 10 seconds.

· Easy to use.

Clean, uncluttered screens with a familiar, desktop feel.

Back to me:

It's like a "write board" on steroids.

I've used it in a number of ways so far, and it is very cool.

I uploaded a document from "Microsoft Word" and even added pictures and it worked beautifully. For our Team 100 list, I invited some team members to "collaborate" and now when they have someone to add to the list, they just go to that page in writely and add it themselves. No need for an email. One document in one place. I was working in writely the other day, and noticed that my lovely wife, Leona was there working on the same document at the same time. Pretty fun.

Writely is now a part of Google, so reliability isn't a major concern. You can read about it and follow the blog here: Writely.blogspot.com

I kind of like having the world wide web as my "company network" and extra external drive. :)

And yes, it's free.

Yes, you have to have access to the web to access the files, but you can also download them and take them with you if you're planning to go camping with your laptop in the mountains. But that would be kind of sad, anyway, wouldn't it? Oh, the possibilities...

Update: Terry Storch has mentioned a similar online word processing program called ajaxwrite. Haven't seen or used it but it could be another alternative if you're looking for options.
Update 2: D'oh! Apparently, Writely has "closed off new registrations" until they have completed the move to Google. Sorry for the teaser, but I still recommend that you get on the list and try it out. Thanks Terry, for the info.

Team 100 Friday Update: [3/24/06]

2006-03-24T13:58:00.000-06:00

We are halfway through the "ENGAGE" series, and interestingly, we are about halfway to our goal of 100 prayer partners.

We are now at 53 people outside of our Church who are praying for us on Team 100.

Actually, we have had a number of responses that added us to a "praying team" of their church, but we only counted them once, unless we were given a list of names. Also, we haven't included spouses in our count unless they are specifically listed in a response. If you are praying for us and your spouse is on board as well, please let me know if you haven't already done so.

So maybe we are already to 100... :)

It's not too late. For those of you who have been faithfully praying for us, could you rustle up one other person around you to pray for us? If each person enlisted one, we would reach our "Team 100" goal today!

Since the last update, we have added people from the following areas:

Greenville, North Carolina
Cedar Hill, Texas
Oak Hill, Virginia
Gillette, Wyoming
Lufkin, Texas
Texarkana, Texas
Washington, D.C.
Sapulpa Oklahoma

This "Prayer Team" thing is reciprocal, by the way. We'd love to pray for you as well. Send me an email to let me know how we can pray for you. Let's "unleash the power of prayer" together!

Thank you for praying for us. We have sensed your prayers in many ways as we have gone through this series! Very cool stuff.

God is teaching and growing us in so many ways and I am very excited about this weekend at Compass!

Where God Guides, He Provides (Part 2)

2006-03-22T11:02:00.000-06:00

This post is a follow up to this one: "A Slippery Excuse."

Sometimes where God Guides, He actually provides with cold, hard cash. Just out of the blue. Here are two (of many) stories from my own journey where He did that very thing.

Story One:

When Leona and I first moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, it was because we knew that God was leading (or guiding) us to be here. He had guided us to a specific church and He had guided me to attend seminary. This was very clear to us. The provision for this to really work however, was not very evident. We moved anyway.

The "What" and the "Where" were settled in our hearts. It was now just a matter of "How."

Initially, I was paid a very humble part time salary. Leona, who is a teacher, had a hard time getting hired at first because we had moved in the middle of a school year. It was not long after our move before we were pretty much at the end, financially speaking. I had no idea how we were going to pay the rent. It was late, in fact.

We were where God had guided us, doing what God had guided us to do, but the provision was lacking. So we prayed.

Then it happened. Out of the blue.

A gentleman in our church approached me one afternoon and told me that God had impressed upon him and his wife to give us something. He then handed me an envelope. I thanked him for his kindness and generosity and after he left, I opened it, expecting to find cash for lunch or something like that. It stunned me to discover in that envelope ten crisp, new $100 bills. It was more than enough to pay (what seemed like a fortune at the time) our $415 rent, and then some. I was blown away.

Receiving that money caused a flashback . This “out of the blue” financial provision reminded me of another experience that I had had long ago as a teenager. It was the day I really learned to tithe and give with a generous heart, and it was the day my adventure with the “God Who Provides” really began.

Story Two:

I was sitting in a church service out of town and the speaker was talking about tithing and generosity. Up to that point, I had never really tithed or even given anything. I had only brought to church an envelope with a buck that my mom had put in it for me to give. I didn’t have any money of my own, so I never really had anything to give.

But by the time I was sitting in this service, I had recently earned a little cash. I had mowed some lawns and had amassed the great sum of around $40. But I hadn’t given any of it back to God. I hadn’t tithed at all.

During this worship service, I began to sense that God was guiding me to give. I also sensed that for some reason, I needed to give more than ten percent this first time around. So I began a silent “dialogue” with God. It went something like this:

Me: Ok, Lord, I get it. I know I need to give. I know You want me to give …So how much, Lord?

God: Ten dollars.

Me: No, really. I thought You said, “ten dollars.” Really, now. How much, Lord?

God: Ten dollars.

Me: I think I’m just saying this to myself. Maybe I’m trying too hard here. God, please tell me how much You really want me to give.

God: Ten dollars.

Me: So, You’re saying, “ten dollars.” That really is more than 10 percent, Lord.

God: …

Me: Really? Ten dollars? I only have forty. That’s more like 25 percent.

God: …

Me: Ten dollars. Ok, Lord. It’s Yours. (Foreshadowing of reality, here…) I don’t have it with me, but it’s on my desk at home. As soon as I get there, I’ll put it in an envelope, and bring it with me to church next Sunday.

This was all a very silent conversation with God. I wasn’t talking out loud, and I didn’t tell anyone what I was praying about. It felt great, though, knowing that I was clearly doing what God was guiding me to do, beyond the “letter of the law” and with generosity.

When the service ended a few moments later, I stood up and saw my sister in law, Debra, walking towards me from across the room. What happened next I will never forget as long as I live.

Debra said, “Johnny, during that last song, I really sensed God guiding me to give you this.”

She then handed me …ten…dollars.

My mouth slowly dropped open, and just as slowly I sat back down. Only God and I knew about the ten dollars. I had "goose bumps" as I realized that God was very, very close to me in that moment. Very, very real.

Unmistakably, powerfully and with little fanfare, God taught me that whenever He asked me to do anything, He would always provide what I needed to accomplish it. He would even provide what He asks me to give to Him, because He owns it all, anyway. He asked for ten dollars, then He gave me the ten dollars to give Him.

It was not so much a lesson about money and tithing (although that was clear), it was a lesson about trust. God wanted me to know that He is good, and that He is trustworthy. And as I have trusted Him, from that day till now, He has never ceased to be just that.

The Key

Sometimes God provides with cold, hard cash. But it’s not about the cash; it’s about Him. That’s why when God guides me to do something and the money doesn’t appear out of the blue, I still can trust Him.

Just to be clear, let me mention again that sometimes the lack of funds really is an indicator of God’s lack of guiding. God doesn’t provide it because He isn’t in it. Sometimes that is definitely the case. But again, it's not always the case.

This is why it is so vital to have a close, fresh, daily connection with God. To daily draw near to Him. [Hebrews 4:16, James 4:8] It’s the only way to make the distinction. A close connection with Christ helps us to see our circumstances more clearly and helps us to ask the right questions about provision and every thing else as we strive to follow His lead.

I love it when God provides “cash out of the blue.” I believe something like that will happen for Compass Church, very soon, in fact. "Instant" financial provision is incredible and necessary much of the time.

But I also love it when He provides in other ways. I’ll wrap up this "mini series" of posts with some of the other ways that "God provides" for "where He guides."

“Creative Podcasting” Addendum

2006-03-20T20:17:00.000-06:00

When I first posted my creative podcasting ideas back in September, I was just thinking through ways that Compass Church could use podcasting to its fullest potential. I was surprised, however, when that post took on a small life all its own.

Here’s some of what’s happened to “the little post that could” since then:

Terry Storch graciously mentioned it on Blogging Church, and the traffic to my blog and that post in particular, went way up.

It has been quoted or talked about in blogs from California to Australia to Englan d and parts in-between.

It has become the #1 post on my blog, bringing new visitors weekly, even though the original post was made almost 6 months ago.

As of today, if you search Google for “creative podcasting” (even without quotation marks) it’s the #2 listing, and #1 is a post about it that links to it.

The post is included (along with Blogging Church) in an “internet in parish ministry” article in the online "Vincentian Encyclopedia" (A Catholic wiki devoted to material related to a 17th Century Priest and those who follow his example today. But no, I’m not Catholic, and I don’t know anything about this group.)

Since the first post, I’ve added 2 more ideas, bringing the total to 21.

So all of this begs the questions:

Have we implemented these ideas, yet? - No. Although we have made a few noble attempts. The guy trying to read his book at Starbucks who kept glaring at us over his glasses while we tried to do a little "live podcast" is still a funny memory. :) Oh, the hilarious, sweet irony.
Are we going to? - That’s the plan.
When? - Great question. We’re kind of “rolling out” features of Compass Church, right now. :) We’ll be trying each of these ideas at one time or another over the next year.

If that post has inspired you to actually implement any of the ideas, or you have any additional “creative podcasting” ideas, I’d love to hear about it.

How are you using podcasting in your church or ministry? Has anyone added the 2nd podcast?

Creative Podcasting Ideas

One More Podcasting Idea (or so…)

Snap Video Update - Thanks For Praying

2006-03-18T21:03:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for Leona! Enjoy.
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Quick "Snap" Update #2

2006-03-13T18:12:00.000-06:00

Ok, we're back from the doctor, and I'm fairly amazed. If you had been in the room with my wife when she experienced the initial pain, I think you would be amazed, as well. Here's what we discovered.

Basically, something in her upper vertebral column has "slipped and jammed." But because of her stenosis of the spine (a degenerative condition) this cannot be repaired by a trip to the chiropractor.

The great news is that the doctor is hoping that within the next 48 hours or so following muscle relaxers and pain killers that it will "pop back" into place on it's own. (Ouch.) This injury apparently is not in the same area of difficulty from earlier this year which is actually a good thing in some ways. It was part of our biggest concerns.

I guess we really won't know for sure for a few more days, but Leona seems to be making great progress today. Much more mobile. She still can't turn her head much to the left or look down without experiencing a lot of pain, but the pain killers should help with that.

Thank you for praying! I fully expected a different result from the doctor, and I believe your prayers have made all of the difference in the world, today!

Oh, and I've decided to not say "surgery" again in this blog unless there is a scheduled date on the calendar.... :)

Quick "Snap" Update

2006-03-13T12:45:00.000-06:00

Leona has a Doctor's appointment today at 4:30 p.m. After another MRI or something, we'll know a bit more. Fortunately, she has a lot more mobility, today and is in good spirits. She rocks.

She also laughed at the picture of the broken pencil in the last post and thought it might have been a little over the top. Little did she know that it referred more to me than to her!

Snap

2006-03-11T11:16:00.000-06:00

My lovely wife, Leona slipped and fell last week, and apparently weakened something in her neck. Friday night she was just sitting down on the couch and suddenly something snapped and she cried out in pain....

She has basically been immoblized, in pain and wearing a collar brace since then. Tomorrow we go to the doctor to discover what happened and figure out what to do about it. I'm thinking surgery may be unavoidable, now.

Our finances have been tighter than ever, I'm needing to be bi-vocational for a while and there has been considerable stress around the Leckie house this past week. This little incident just topped it off and left us asking, "Man, what else?" (Although I really don't want to know.)

I'm not sure what tomorrow or this week holds for us, but I'm sure glad we have a small army of people praying for us. :)

A few weeks ago when it was icy here, I received a great encouraging email from the cool and blogging trailblazer, Scott Hodge. He was letting me know that he had prayed for us that morning. Little did he know that moments earlier, I had slipped on the ice, landed on my shoulder, and slid down my driveway all the way to the street! My response to Scott while nursing a sore shoulder was, "Imagine what would have happened if you hadn't been praying! :-D

That's kind of the deal, here, also. Thanks for praying. Something in Leona's neck may have "snapped," but as of today, she and I have not. Although I am developing a slight twitch in my right eye...

So.

How can we pray for you?

This post written while praying for daylight and caught between the tension of 1-10 and 11-20.

Team 100 Friday update (3/10/06)

2006-03-10T19:23:00.000-06:00

Our growing list of prayer partners on our way to 100 is now at 42. (How Cosmic can you get?)

At this point, we have people who are committed to praying at least 2 times a week for 4 weeks from the following places:

Aurora, Colorado
Keller, Texas
Woodstock, Georgia
Richardson, Texas
Austin, Texas
Hurst, Texas
Abiline, Texas
Haltom City, Texas
Edgewood, Washington
Saginaw, Texas
Rhome, Texas
Watauga, Texas
Summerfields, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Springfield, Missouri
Shreveport, Louisiana
Anderson, South Carolina
Maryville, Tennessee
Azle, Texas
Anchorage, Alaska
Chicago, Illinois

Thank you to everyone who has signed on, so far! 3 more weeks to reach our goal of 100 people on our "Team 100." I'm particularly humbled by the senior pastors and fellow bloggers who have enthusiastically joined us in this effort. Pretty amazing.

If you'd like to join us, it's pretty simple. Download the simple prayer guide here, and zip me an email telling me where you're praying from! You can also just leave me a comment, here.

Seeking 100 Prayer Partners

2006-03-04T20:00:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow we are beginning a new series called, "Engage: Unleashing The Power of Prayer." I began thinking about the possibility of a series on prayer back in November of last year. Many of you may remember my personal request for prayer [here] and the update [here.] I was reminded then of the incredible power of prayer and what a foundational principle it is in the life of every Christ follower. I was also reminded how vital it is for every church.

Over the last month or so, I have been reexamining what is commonly known as the "Lord's Prayer," and have been really "praying through" how Jesus taught his disciples to pray. As I have been adjusting my praying to the form and sequence of Jesus' prayer, it has been rocking my world. Or maybe I should say "He" has been rocking my world. And that of course, is the point.

The bulk of the series will be walking through Jesus' model prayer. There is far more there than immediately meets the eye, and it is very cool stuff. I'm not the same because of it, and my prayer is that Compass will be pointing in the right direction and off to the right start as a result of this series.

Throughout the series we will be creating systems and creatively emphasizing prayer. One of these that I am most excited about is the opportunity to invite 100 people from around the world and country to become a prayer partner with us for the length of the series.

100 people committed to pray specifically 2 times a week for 4 weeks for me, my family, Compass Church and that God would be honored through this series. That's our goal. No need to send money, join our church, like edgy music, be a part of our denomination or anything like that. We just want people who will pray. You can read more about it here, but that really is about all there is to it.

If you'll pray for us this month, drop me an email [johnny@compasswired.com] and let me know where you'll be "praying from." You can also just leave a comment here to be a part. I'm keeping a growing list and will post our progress toward 100. I won't list names, just the number and locations.

I am convinced that the essence of real prayer is all about being fully engaged with the God of the universe and adjusting our life to His purposes. I'm ready to ENGAGE, and unleash the power of prayer. Will you join us?

By the way, if you want to see the video "trailer" for the series, check it out here: Engage Trailer It's a big file, [11.5 mb] so a high speed connection would be best. The music is by Flyleaf.

Gathering of Bloggers

2006-02-23T18:46:00.000-06:00

Had a cool time today, hanging out at the Nile with a fun mix of bloggers. There was unfiltered, honest and lively discussion about everything from technology and the church to churches and seminaries who are stuck in the '80's to...well, it's safe to say that we covered a lot of territory...

Today's Coffeehouse Ratpack:

Mark Bjornholm - This was my first opportunity to meet Mark in real life, so that in and of itself was very cool. He is a genuinely nice guy, has a great heart for serving, and currently has many irons in the fire. I hope to get together again with him, soon. Mark also blew me away today by handing me the audio version of one of the books on my wishlist: "Now Discover Your Strengths!" by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton. How cool is that? Thanks again, Mark!

Jason Simmons - Was crackin' me up, as usual, today. Jason is definitely the man with the word pictures! His story is one of serving on a church staff, coming from a family in ministry, wandering away from God for a time, working in the world of business, and coming back to God with a fresh heart for ministry. A standout quote - "Ministry for me now is a passion rather than just a position." Great stuff.

Anthony Coppedge - Where do I begin? It's always a blast hangin' out with Anthony. Always challenging, passionate and fun. And some fun facts to know and tell that I did not know before today - He plays the drums and a few more musical instruments, as well! Who knew? Anthony is the most knowledgeable guy in media ministry today, and has a heart for helping churches become all they can be to reach people for Christ. He was on a roll, today and was giving me plenty of stuff to laugh about. Look for some cool stuff in the works from him in the days ahead...

Thanks, Mark, Jason and Anthony for a great time of dialog, laughter and encouragement. I'm sure we'll be converging on the unsuspecting coffee shop again, soon!

A Slippery Excuse

2006-02-16T16:04:00.000-06:00

(Revised, 11:02 p.m.)
I know a very sharp guy who was at one time on staff at a large and exciting church, but who later left to plant a new church. When I met him, he had already raised thousands of dollars and recruited several team members from across the country to be on the team. He had also won the admiration of the "funding crowd" of organizations and churches in the area. His time at the big church had apparently carried a lot of weight.

But there was a slight problem, and he really had been struggling with it when I had the opportunity to talk with him about it. The problem was that he had a dollar amount in mind that he felt he had to have before he could plant the church. I remember him telling me that if he couldn't raise "x" amount of dollars by a certain date, he wasn't going to commit to going any further. He had it in his mind that there was only one way to do what he was called to do, and that it took "x" amount of dollars to do it. Sure enough, when he didn't raise "x" amount (although he had at least half of it) he pulled the plug on the whole thing!

Did he do the right thing? Maybe. But not necessarily.

The reason for not continuing? A slippery excuse that may sound surprising:

"Where God guides, He provides."

The reason that this is slippery, of course, is because it is actually a true statement. Where God guides you to do something, He most certainly provides. So how is it that this phrase can become an excuse?

It becomes an excuse when the "what" and the "when" are in the wrong hands. When we narrowly define what "provides" means and we decide when we should receive the "provision." When we tell God what it is He is supposed to provide and when He is supposed to provide it in order to accomplish what He wants to do, we're on shaky ground.

It is God who says, "I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge uprightly." (Psalm 75:2) Quick reminder: He chooses, not us.

Often when people use this expression, they are simply talking about money. It goes something like this: "If God doesn't provide the money for this [you fill in the blank], He must not be in it, or we're not the right people to do it."

"Good grief, how safe do we have to make the plan before we trust God to provide?" I mean really, how many established churches raise their entire budget for the year before they begin to spend any of it, become good stewards, do what they're supposed to be doing and trust God for the rest?

Sometimes God provides like he did for Moses, where He opened up the whole blessed Red Sea before anyone took a step to cross it. Other times God provides like he did for Joshua, where the dudes carrying the ark have to be waist deep into the water before anything happens.

I'm not discounting the importance of planning, budgeting and wisely considering the cost of a task before entering into it. (Luke 14:28-30) To not do that would be unwise. I'm only talking about what we originally have in mind and how it sometimes contrasts with God's ultimate idea of what it is going to look like and what it is going to take to make it happen.

God sometimes unveils the story slowly, revealing and providing what is needed for this stage only. I believe that Jesus taught us to pray "give us this day our daily bread" instead of "give us this month our monthly bread" for a reason. He wants us to follow Him daily. He wants us to trust in Him more than His provision.

Of course God provides where He guides, but He doesn't always do it before you're feet are on the trail-sometimes it's not until you get around the next rock. But if you didn't go around the rock, you'd never discover the provision, and the journey around the rock might just help you to realize that the provision didn't look anything like you thought it would.

Sometimes where God guides, He simply guides some more, and His guiding is the provision.

So what does God provide? What does that look like? Money? Sometimes. But sometimes it comes in other ways that can help validate His calling, guiding, and shaping of things into His better plan.

I'll share some of those ways in another post...

"What's Your Excuse?" & Other Matters

2006-02-15T09:12:00.000-06:00

First, I have to point you to a great post by Perry Noble.

I've had pages of stuff just sitting in my "un-wired-er analog pda mindmap," (or my blog in hand) for a while, now, and Perry's post is a great spring board for me to share it with you. Check out his post here. You may have to scroll down to find it. The title is "Stop Complaining About What You Do Not Have."

Go read it and then come back. Really, go ahead. I'll wait....

Hey, welcome back.

Can I just say that I couldn't agree more? There are a million excuses for not doing what God calls you to do, and a million more for not completing what He calls you to do. I've heard them, seen them and used them myself more times than I care to admit.

I'm going to talk about some of those excuses over the next few posts. And we'll start with one that may surprise you. In fact, it sounds more like "doctrine" than an excuse. Should be fun.

But before I get to that, let me take care of a little "house keeping:"

Anthony and a gathering of bloggers: In the comments on the post, "New Friend At The River Nile," the ever fun and challenging Anthony Coppedge threw out some dates for getting together for coffee. The suggested date, time and place? Thursday, Feb. 23rd. 11 AM @ the River Nile. I think it's a "go," so if you'd like to join us, drop me an email ( johnny[AT]compasswired.com) or just leave a comment here. Or I guess you could just show up. It is a coffee shop, after all. :-)

Valentine's Dance & My Growing Number of Keys: Because we are renting the Roanoke Recreation Center for our Weekend Worship Experiences, I have been given keys to the building. Originally, there were 3 (Outside door, classroom, and storage). We soon discovered that we were unable to adjust the lighting in our worship area because the controls were in a locked room within another locked room. When we were serving at the Roanoke Valentine's Dance (a hoot, by the way), I asked for keys to those areas, also and got them. When the Parks and Rec Director handed me the additional keys (now a total of 5), I just held them all up, laughed and said, "You might as well just make me a janitor here!"

I've decided to stretch the "fun post ahead" I was going to make a while back over several posts. Some of it is about how we've made stuff happen that we didn't have the money for and some of it is about free or low cost web 2.0 types of resources for churches and church plants, in particular. Here's one to play with: Calendar Hub. We are experimenting with it right now, and so far, it has been a pretty cool tool. It's an online calendar with a clean, simple look that can be updated by people you share the user name and password with. You can make some events public and others private between people you select, all on the same calendar. And yes, once again, this resource is free. Check out our simple start here: calendarhub.com/pub/compasswired

Look for the "excuses" posts sometime after I get the "fined tuned and updated version" of this Sunday's Messsage | Sermon | Talk | Whatever outline to Kim...

Special Valentine's Day Pod Blip

2006-02-14T09:45:00.000-06:00

This is a special Valentine's Day edition of the Poor Pastor's Pod Blip.

Lighten up.

Pink Piece of History

2006-02-13T10:40:00.000-06:00

Back in August of 2005, Ben Arment of History Church had a short post on his blog about a pink shirt that he wore during a sermon. Across the front of the shirt were the words, "I feel a sin coming on." That really cracked me up, so I made a short comment on his blog that "I think I need that shirt."

Fast forward to a few days ago. Ben sent me a package that contained 2 of the resources from my Amazon Wishlist: "The Art of the Start" and "The Tipping Point!" What a cool blessing that was! Very cool.

Nestled among the books was the lovely shade of pink that was and is the infamous shirt! Yes, boys and girls, it is now in my possession.

So I used it this past Sunday during the "Heart Check: For Healthy Relationships" message. I wore it under another shirt, and did an "unveiling" at the appropriate moment. I'm pretty sure I frightened people when I started pulling up my shirt, but it got a great laugh and helped make my point!

Hmm, maybe I should sign it and send it along to another pastor....

Ben is a church planter who understands perseverance. "History" is and is becoming a great church because of a church planting pastor who has held closely to the vision God has given him and who has been willing to press on through time and obstacles. That's always inspiring and encouraging to me!

Thanks, Ben, for the inspiration, the books, the shirt and the laugh!

Oh and by the way, I've never met Ben face to face. [...yet]

Behold the power that is Blog. Blog on... :-D

[Fixed the "appropriate moment" link.]

Ta-da To Do Tomorrow...

2006-02-11T00:23:00.000-06:00

Let's see, there are 24 hours in a day, so if I do 2 of the 30 items in my "ta-da" list every hour I should be able to accomplish them all with 9 hours to spare! Yeah, that should work...

Well, time is my enemy, so of course that didn't work, but I have spent the last two days trying. Only 20 items to go! :-D

I'm heading to bed before I fall asleep right here, but tomorrow I'll have to fill you in on:

- Ben Arment and a pink piece of history that is now in my possession.
- Anthony and a gathering of bloggers.
- Tonight's Roanoke Valentine's Dance and my growing number of keys.

Back tomorrow...

Maybe.

Ta-da To do Today...

2006-02-09T08:55:00.000-06:00

My Ta-da "to do list" for today has 30 items. Before my sleepy head hits the pillow tonight, I'll let you know how many I finished.

I have a fresh pot of coffee brewing, and I'm gearing up for a crazy day. If you've commented on my blog or emailed me last night or this morning, getting back with you is most likely on the list!

Oh yeah, Ta-da is a cool little online tool. You can create clean, simple "to-do lists" that you can access anywhere you can connect to the web. You can also share them with others, which is cool for a simple task oriented group project, like the one I'm preparing for a meeting I have tonight.

And it also... is free.

There are some blog posts that are on my list, so hopefully I'll be back to the blog before the day is over.

Otherwise, I'll see you on the other side of daylight. Gentlemen, start your engines....

Compass Church Wired : Blog

2006-02-08T23:26:00.000-06:00

It's just an experiment with many cool possibilities. Check it out: Compass Church Wired : Blog

An online [collaborative, interactive and rss/atom subscribable] newsletter that's up to the minute current.

And free.

Alright, so it's not exactly a novel idea. But I have more free, web 2.0 type links and ideas for churches [and especially church plants] on the way...

"I lo-o-o-o-ve technology... but no-o-o-o-o-o-t as much as you, you see...always and forever....always and forever..."

·	Share documents instantly & collaborate real-time.
	Pick exactly who can access your documents.
·	Edit your documents from anywhere.
	Nothing to download -- your browser is all you need.
·	Store your documents securely online.
	Offsite storage plus data backup every 10 seconds.
·	Easy to use.
	Clean, uncluttered screens with a familiar, desktop feel.