Cool Created Creatures at the Cincinnati Zoo

(Granny Nickloes, unidentified kid, Morgan, Judy, Andrew, Mackenzie, and Allyson)

Man, I'm behind on the blogging thing. You could tell, couldn't you! Well, back in August we took a week off and went to Cincinnati to visit family and the family decided that they wanted to go to the Cincinnati Zoo for a day, so that's what we did. Click on the pic above to see a slideshow.

It was an awesome day at the zoo as we marvelled at God's creation. The variety was incredible. While most of what we saw is explained by zoologists as a work of evolution. Well, that takes a lot of faith and I'm not buying it. God created some of the most extrordinary creatures I've ever seen. Most of them have been given engenious camoflage that gives them the ability to hide from predators.

But I have to say that the most incredible created creations were those wonderful people who accompanied me to the zoo. God has blessed me with such a wonderful family. Thank you Lord!

Pictures from Men's Fraternity AM

I finally got caught up on my pictures tonight. Click on the pic and check out these pics by Kim Pagel (Rusty Nails) of our second meeting of Men's Fraternity. Click here to read about Men's Fraternity at New Covenant Bible Church. We had 142 men the first morning and 125 the second. We had 17 at the evening version that meets at Joe Meyer's house. WOW!

Men's Fraternity PM

Brian, Steve, Zach, David, & Joe

Tonight we kicked off Men's Fraternity PM and we had 17 guys there. Just like the morning version, we had the banner out front of Joe's house with a flood light on it - I think we confused a couple of airline pilots trying to land at the airport :) There were more pick up trucks than cars and minivans - my kind of meeting.

Hats off to Joe Meyer and the leadership team of Men's Fraternity PM - Steve Boerhave, Zach, Harlan, Brian Wohlers. It was cool watching all those cars stream down Landau Drive in seach of a men's group that is geared to helping men lead lives of authentic manhood.

Joe started the evening version of MF in reponse to many men who could not make it to the AM Men's Fraternity. Thank you so much for opening your home and being so gracious to lead this awesome group.

What is the name of your city?

It's been a while since I blogged a devo. I just finished the book of Ezekiel and a phrase caught my attention.

And the name of the city from that time on will be: The LORD is There . Ezekiel 48:35

This is speaking about the millenial kingdom when Christ will rule and reign from the throne of David. For thousands of years Christ has been rejected but one day he is coming back and will set up an eternal thone. And the name of the city from that time on will be: The Lord is There.

What about your city, spiritually speaking. The bible tells us that we are his temple (1 Cor 3:16) so let me ask you the question, "What name is on your city?" I'm not going legalistic on you here, so hang on. I wonder if people in your realm of influence know by your love and servant leadership that the name on your "city" is "The Lord is There"?

Love someone today in the name of Jesus. Serve someone today. Be a blessing to someone. Share the love of God with someone, and if necessary use words.

All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other. Jn 13:35NCV

Bill Clinton gets fired up

I got home from church tonight and Judy asked me if I heard about former president Bill Clinton's interview where he went off on Mike Wallace. No. So, I went out and read the article and sure enough Clinton got fired up and I must say it was refreshing to see him fired up about something. Click here to see video.

I have to admit that I never really felt safe when Clinton was president because he downsized out military when we know full well that there are evil people who would like to see our great country brought to its knees. But I have to say that it is good to hear that he went after Osama Bin Laden.

There's a catch to this story. Can we believe what Clinton is telling us? Is this not the man who said "I did not have sex with that woman"? Hmmm. What should we believe? I wish I knew.

The man of integrity walks securely,
but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. Pr 10:9 NIV

I'm not feeling well : (

Welp, it was bound to happen. When you burn the candle at both ends you lower your resistance and you become susceptible to getting sick, and there you have it. I survived a long day today and I'm thankful to be home. We're watching Forest Gump right now - I love this movie. I'm taking Tussin (generic Robitussin) to take the edge off the pain.

Judy asked if I am heading into work tomorrow. Of course I am. Lots to do and I would go stir crazy sitting around here. Tomorrow I'll be in my usual spot up at Panera recharging my spiritual batteries, studying the word, reading some, and chatting with friends.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you.

When a believing person prays, great things happen. Jas 5:16NCV

I'm glad it's Saturday!

Whew! This was an extremely busy week. It started out with a day off on Monday that turned out to be a work day for me. I am teaching lessons now (sax, flute,clarinet) on Monday night and I now have three students. Tuesday was the typical busy day getting ready for staff meeting. In addition to this, I have been busy trying to arrange meetings for Men's Fraternity PM and Adult Singles ABF. I am also the point person for our Impact that launches October 8th and we are launching over 60 groups.

Wednesday morning I arrived at the church at 5:15 AM to get ready for the official launch of Men's Fraternity. We were all humbled when 142 men showed up. Then It was more emails meetings, and getting ready to meet with the Men's Fraternity PM leadership team Wednesday evening. I got home around 9 PM.

Thursday our Men's Fraternity AM met to debrief, uh, celebrate Thursday morning at 6:30 AM. Then it was more emails and arranging meetings. Lunch was L.C.A.E. (Linn County Association of Evangelicals) at the Salvation Army. Then another meeting. Back to the office for more emails and work on the MF PM.

Thursday night I played with a city big band at the IMax center. That was a welcome rest and a lot of fun in a busy week.

Friday, typically my day off turned into another work day as I worked on MF PM promo materials. I also met with a couple for whom I am playing for their wedding in October. Friday night I played at Covington Church in a "Singspiration" - remember those? Darryl Broderick and I performed some pretty bluesy numbers on piano and sax. It was a lot of fun, but a late night.

This morning I was at the church at 7:45 AM for Leadership Community. I got to play in the band and the whole morning was phenomenal. I came home for a couple of hours, and then back to the church for a premarital meeting then back home for a few hours before small group tonight.

Whew - what a busy week, but a good one. Praise the Lord for the ministries that are finally coming together. Tomorrow I will be leading an Impact Host Orientation at 11 AM and then Adult Singles ABF planning meeting at 6:30 PM. Our team is coming together nicely and we are excited about this new ministry here at NCBC for adult singles.

I am so thankful God brought us here to NCBC where I have the opportunity to lead ministry, equip leaders, and make disciples through many different avenues.

I'm going to bed. Nighty-night.

Men's Fraternity Launches at NCBC

(Me and Lance greeting the guys!)
(Click on pic for slideshow)
This morning we launched Men's Fraternity and it was an incredible morning! Before I share with you the good news, I just want to say thank you for some of the poeple who have supported the launch of Men’s Fraternity. From Pastor Bob’s announcement and support, Peggy’s eNewsletters, Gina’s printing the business cards and flyers, Kim’s tips (prelaunch idea), numerous staff involvement, deacon and elder support, etc, etc, etc. Thanks to the Men’s Fraternity Leadership team for their tireless efforts and commitment to excellence that made this morning possible, not to mention a summer of 6:30 AM meetings every week since the first week of May. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

This morning, our team arrived between 5 & 5:30 AM and began setting up. We set the room up for 120 people. Coffee was made – lots of it! (thanks Jim Knudsen) 8 doz donuts were delivered at 5:30. Everyone took their positions: 4 greeters, 19 table leaders, 3 sound guys, Matt preparing the dvds, Ed giving oversight, and the rest of the team executing the plan. Then, at about 5:40 we gathered in a circle to pray for the morning – I’m not sure we were prepared for what was about to take place.

At 5:45 our first “customer” arrived – Jerry, a new guy to the church. Then, it was a steady stream of men for the next 25 minutes. The east parking lot filled up and men were circling the parking lot (lots of pick up trucks!) looking for a place to park. It looked like the final scene in “The Field of Dreams” with a steady stream of trucks and cars (very few mini-vans!) coming from 2 directions! 4 men walked in, then 6 at a time, and then it became hard to shake everyone’s hand because there were so many streaming in. A couple of guys asked if there was something else going on because there were so many cars in the lot. I said “no, just Men’s Fraternity!”

At 6:10 the activity center was buzzing with activity and the team hurried to set up additional tables for the overflow. I wasn’t in there when we started but they said it was a powerful moment when 142 men sat down around tables and watched the launch of Apollo 13 (think Tom Hanks) to signify that Men’s Fraternity was officially launching! WOW!

Needless to say, we are all on cloud. We only had one dozen donuts left – and they are prob gone by now. Relationships are already forming and men are mobilized!

Mission accomplished. To God be ALL the glory!

T-Minus 9 hours & 4 minutes to Men's Fraternity Launch

Welp, tonight I am resting at home and thinking about what will be taking place in just a few hours. Starting May 4th I called 6 other men to join me at 6:30 AM to begin discussing the start up of a new ministry at NCBC that would be an entry point for men into men's ministry. Two weeks later we added two more men with a total of 8 plus myself. We worked through a mission statement, the structure of the leadership team, defining positions, and began strategizing toward a September 20 launch and here we are!

After weeks and weeks of planning and 4 successful pre-launches, tomorrow morning we will officially launch Men's Fraternity at 6 AM and I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight.

Our mission statement: Men’s Fraternity provides men with an encouraging process that equips and teaches them how to live lives of authentic manhood as modeled by Jesus Christ and directed by the Word of God.

We are praying for 200 men. There has been quite a buzz around the church and I can't wait to see how this is going to work out. Emails have been flying around, invites have been passed out and enewsletters have been sent. The donuts are ordered (8 dozen), table leaders have been identified, sound techs have been trained, and we are ready to launch! I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes!

For more information on the DVD series we chose to use you can go to www.mensfraternity.com and click on "Authentic Manhood."

Uncommon Valor

Sunday night my son and I stayed up until 1 AM watching a documentary by a frenchman on firefighters that was being filmed in New York City when the call for the first hit on the World Trade Centers took place. I was rivoted from the opening scene and I think the thing that impacted me more than anything else was seeing that hollow look in the firefighter's eyes as they waited on orders as to what to do next.

These firefighters were strapping on 60 lbs. of gear and ascending a stairwell that presented immiment danger - i.e. a collapsing building. Their courage was incredible. They actually believed they could go up there and put that fire out.

Needless to say, many lives were lost by firefighters attempting to rescue the people trapped as well as save a burning building. As the men made their way back to the the station, they openly embraced (hugging and even kissing - love them New Yorkers, many weeped, and others just collapsed under the weight of such an overwhelming event.

So, we decided to do something to say thank you to those who serve our community often with little or no thanks. And we did. (read the next blog)

Where were you on 9/11

I was sitting in the music office of FBC working on music. Debbie Catanzarito walked in in tears saying something about a Cessna crashing into the World Trade Center and it being a terrorist attack. My initial response was like - "you've got to be kidding me. You think that a Cessna hitting a buidling of this size is a terrorist attack? Come on Debbie, that's a stretch."

Well, as we watched the news with total disbelief that an airliner had hit the tower I couldn't believe it. As we stood there watching, the second plane drove into the other tower. That was a sick feeling. I'll never forget it.

Our church had a Christian School and we locked the place down fearing what we didn't know what we should fear, but we needed to protect the children. As I went to teach my 9th-10th grade class I told them what had happened and that the world as we knew it would change drastically, and it has.

May we never forget this dark day and innocent lives of over 3k people who lost their lives in an hour's time. Please pray for our troops fighting the aggressor and for the families who have been impacted by not only 9/11 but also the war on terror.

Did man really evolve?

Ok, I found this pic online while looking for a pic of Steve-o the cro hunter and thought it was pretty funny. As I sit here at my computer typing this I am wondering if we really are further ahead of men that lived 6,000 years ago when God created the earth and mankind. hmm

Steve-o the crocodile hunter is dead

Terri & Steve Irwin

I feel sad this morning. It started off as a good day with a 17 mile bike ride - it was a bit chilly but still enjoyable none the less. I got back home and opened my laptop to discover that Steve Irwin the crocodile hunter had died. I liked that guy. He did things that I wish I could do. I'm kind of a scared-ee-cat and not much of a risk taker, but I admire those who do.

It's strange to feel sadness over someone I don't even know, but then again I feel like I knew Steve because we do share some things in common: we're are both fathers, husbands, and human beings. Terri, his wife, will now raise an 8 yr old daughter and 3 year old son alone. His 3 year old will prob not remember much about daddy-o.

CNN interviewed Jack Hanna, dir. emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, who knew Steve quite well. When asked about the way Steve died Jack said that the Sting Ray has a God-given barb on its tail to protect from predators. hmmm

God-given barb. I wonder if Jack is a believer. A quick Yahoo! search brought up an article in Today's Christian that confirmed that he was a believer. Click here to see article.

I wonder if Steve-o knew the Lord. I hope he did. I hope Terri has a support group. She’ll need it now.

So, today, let's celebrate the life God has given us and say a prayer for Terri Irwin and the kids. Also, let's share the love of God with someone today, and if necessary use words.

We believe in training our leaders!

Steve Lizzio and me

This past weekend our adult ministries equipping staff (Erin Bird, Pat Reick, James Wartian, Kim Pagel and me) was privileged to provide an awesome training for all our ABF leaders. There were 45 of us in attendance Saturday morning and it was a total success.

First of all, Steve just oozes with passion for discipleship and ABF communities as well as small groups. He shared with us tons of illustrations about ABFs that were successful and some of the over-the-top things they had done to celebrate community. The last session he talked about the 10 deadly sins of ABFs.

It was cool to collaborate with the leadership team of my ABF Parents With Teens. In fact, we have already implemented something that came out of the conference.

I am so excited that I am part of a church that values its leaders and we put our money where our hearts are. Personally, it was a joy to get to know another servant-leader who lives his life for others and Jesus. He was an open-book for us and I'm glad he came!

The Kaufman's stopped by!

(L-R) Mackenzie, Wes, Natalie, and Gina

We love it when folks drop in on us and tonight Wes, Gina, and Natalie Kaufman stopped by tonight for a few minutes. Gina is the administrative person for our small group and now she is the new ice breaker queen! Well, the Kaufman's have never been featured on my blog so ladies and gentleman, may I introduce to you - THE KAUFMAN'S!!!

We love you guys!

Pee Wee's Big Adventure comes true!

Help! Someone stole my mountain bike right out of our garage. A friend told me that their neighbor had the same thing happen to them in broad daylight! The really bad part is that I had just received it as a gift from a friend and I was going to give my old mountain bike to some deserving individual. hmmm.

Cedar Rapids is a great town and I love it! This in no way changes my attitude about this town, but I will keep the garage door closed from now on. :)

P.S. For those who don't know about Pee Wee's Big Adventure, it is a story about his attempt to recover his stolen bike.

Leadership Summit - part 2

Here we are at Leadership Summit at the satelite site in Peoria, IL at Northwoods Community Church. What a cool church with a wonderful plan for ministry. They have been awesome hosts and it has been wonderful being here.

This morning we had the privilege of hearing three interviews conducted by Bill Hybels. Here is my brief summation before we head to supper.

Ashish Nanda - associate professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Bottom line? Take care of your people. Serve the people who serve you and the company. Also, hiring "stars" is risky business. It almost never works for a failing (or non-growing) company to hire a "star" performer. They simply cannot "work their magic" in the new setting simply because their support network is gone.

Moral of the story? If you hire a "star" then you better hire his entire staff. I feel bad for churches that attract and hire "stars" and expect them to produce growth. It's a mistake of huge magnitude. Often churches hire a new senior pastor who is a star and when he shows up he gets rid of the current staff. This simply doesn't work and the research bears this up.

Jim Collins - author of Built to Last and Good to Great. I read Good to Great and it strengthened my resolve to serve those around me and to pour my life into the lives of those with whom I serve. It also affirmed my desire to collaborate with teams and to work together. Jim was enthusiastic and engaging. Interestingly enough, Jim is not a believer and a couple of times Bill Hybels actually kinda challenged him about his faith journey. It was cool seeing Bill reaching out to Jim in front of of 80k people!!!

Bono - lead singer of rock band U2. Ok, Bono is prob not my fav theologian. But the guy apparently loves God but has had some issues with God's church. I have to confess that I too have had issues with the church. Us musicians and artists in general were rejected by the church years ago so a lot of us went out and did our own thing. (a little rant there - I'm ok now)

Bono is in the halftime of his life and has been wildly successful but wants to leverage his influence to make a difference in the name of the Lord. So, meeting the needs of the poor and especially helping make a difference in the AIDS crisis. You see Bono can't understand why the church is following Jesus' command to feed the poor and meet the needs of the needy. I can't either, but I guess I've gotten comfortable in my 4 bedroom house and nice cars we drive. I have a nice office will lots of cool tools. (or is that toys). I am glad to see that he is desiring to make an eternal impact.

For more info on his endeavor go to www.one.org

After lunch we were treated to a private tour of the building.

Arts and Worship (or Arts are worship) - an artist performed sand art on a lighted glass as an act of worship and it was awesome! (why has the church - and me for years - said no to artists other than piano and organists and classically trained vocalists?) After lunch we were envigorated by the ministry of Nicole C. Mullin. She was better than ever and by the end many of us were in tears, including Nancy Beach one of teaching pastors at Willow Creek!

The last session featured Patrick Lencioni author of Death by Meeting, Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide, and Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars. Buy his books and read them. Here are some sound bytes: (it's late and I'm tired)

• If everything is important, then nothing is important.
  
• We have to choose between what is better and best - not good or bad.
  
• Don't make perfect the enemy of the good. (This is my problem)
  
• Our ability to work together is a testimony of our relationship with God .

I'll be talking about this stuff for a while. Stay tuned. I'm out.

P.S. Thank God I am finally in a church that values leadership development and puts its money where its mouth is. Thanks New Covenant for investing in me. I love this place!

The doctrine of Hairology

Ok, let's have some fun. I subscribe to Monday Morning Insight and this is one I have to pass on. I don't know where they got this "sermon" on the doctrine of "Hairology." I laughed harder this morning than I have in a long time. So, here is what MMI (mondaymorninginsight.com) had on their site: (Click here to go to MMI's page)

As a public service to our Friday audience at MMI, I thought I would pass on this from our sermon archive. This one is by famous evangelist Dr. G. I. Barber. For many of you who grew up (like I did) in a strict theological setting, I'm sure Dr. Barber's "Doctrine of Hairology" will bring back some memories. Listen, enjoy, and be convicted (if need be)...

Click here to listen. It will take a little bit to fully download. Please be patient (it’s worth it).

I hope you enjoyed it!

Leadership Summit - Peoria, IL

(See the badge? Proof I'm at
Leadership Summit!)

I'm writing from Leadership Summit at the Peoria Illinois. Our church is a member of the Willow Creek Association and this is one of the highlights of our year here - actually it's my first year! Today we heard from Bill Hybels who motivated us to spend our time developing leaders and gave us a great pathway concept for doing just that.

Next up was James Meeks, pastor of Salem Baptist in Chicago's Roseland's neighborhood. He said that "everything that is planted is supported is supposed to grow." In other words, the church is supposed to grow. Like the weeds among the wheat, there are enemies of church growth:

1. Lack of faith
2. Lack of Knowledge
3. Failure to realize that God is no respector of persons (God loves Bill Hybels and Rick Warren just as much as he loves me)
4. Growth is ALWAYS the goal of a NT church
5. An unsure pastor
6. Failure to build upon small victories
7. Failure to preach the announcements (ask me)
8. Lack of corporate prayer and fasting
9. Getting started - analysis paralysis
10. Motive (check this out...)
Are we building the church for our sake, or the kingdom sake?

Next up was one of my favorite pastors, Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point in Atlanta, GA. The title of his talk was "The Best Leadership Decision I've ever Made." He challenged us that if we were going to cheat someone (because of the demands of ministry and family) that we choose to cheat the ministry. Here's why:

• Jesus promised us that he would build his church.
  
• He then commanded us (husbands) to love our wives as Christ loved the church.

The problem? We think that Jesus is supposed to care for our family while we are busy building the church. This is wrong.

Andy only works 45 hours per week. As senior pastor he encourages his people that if they need to cheat somewhere on their time, cheat on the ministry and not their families. His church actually takes off the week of Christmas - no services at all! Now THAT is a commitment to the families of the church!

It all boils down to focus. Leaders must be focused!

The last speaker was Peg Neuhauser who talked on Tribal Warfare. She talked about the anatomy of a conversation and gave us some cool tips on conflict resolution.

It was an awesome day and I have a lot to think about. I capped the day off with a 10 mile bike ride.

Relationship Reality Check

Ever wander if God loves you? I mean, REALLY loves you? Part of our issue surrounds the fact that we have a skewed definition of love. We think that when someone is loving us then good things are happening, harmony exists in the relationship, and we are safe from hurt. This is simply not true.

Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him. Psalm 4:3 NIV

I underlined "the godly" but go back and reread that line and put your name in the blank. (I'll wait) Now, let it soak in. Read it again. Again. One more time.

You see, the Lord has set you apart for himself in a sovereign act apart from you. Are you godly? Are you following him today? Then you are godly. If you are living in rebellion to God and have known unconfessed sin why not stop right now, confess it, and be free from the weight of that sin in your life. You see, he has set you apart and you have the privilege of praying and having your prayers answered. When you pray, he hears, and forgives! It's that simple! Then, commit to turning away (repenting) from that sin with God's help. (doesn't' that feel better!)

All relationships, including your relationship with God is going to be put to the test, and here are some practical steps on how to deal with trying times in any relationship:

v4 In your anger do not sin - you see, there are times for anger and we should be careful not to sin by attempting to make things right. Let God handle that part.

v4 search your hearts - you can't search someone else's heart. We've got a fight on our hands just dealing with our own hearts.

v4 be silent - Whoah! That is not easy advice, but it is good advice. When we are silent God can talk to us.

v5 offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord - Keep your focus on the Lord. When we start to look around at others we have a tendency to blame them.

What are the results of living life according to this plan? (glad you asked)

Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?"
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord.
You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when the grain and new wine abound.
I will lie down and sleep in peace
for you alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in safety. Ps 4:6-8 NIV

Let me know what you think!