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

Click and you'll understand:

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

Click to listen:

Pics of the new Well's Baby...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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!

Begins Sunday, August 13th. More info here.

Thoughts On Spiritual Growth

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

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

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

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

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.