Against The Flow

As we are nearing the end of the first month of 2008, I wonder where we are in all the “things” we wanted to start? I know you had good intentions, but maybe before we start some new things we need to stop some old ones. Lead Pastor David Fosterhas shared the following list as a starting point for us to stop…
1. I’m going to stop looking back with regret, wondering what might have been if I’d made other decisions or other people had been more cooperative.

2. I’m going to stop putting off starting the things that are really important to me; things that have been lingering around on my to-do list and my what-if list. I’m going to stop putting off what I need to start doing.

3. I’m going to stop holding grudges toward people who have slighted me in the past. I’m simply going to count up the debt, forgive it, and let it go.

4. I’m going to stop saying, “yes” to so many good things. There are none of us who have enough time to say, “yes” to all the good things clamoring for our attention. You have to learn how to prioritize your time, which leads me to number 5.

5. I’m going to stop saying “no” to the best things. So if I stop saying “yes” to the good things, that means I can stop saying “no” to the best things. The challenge is to know what those best things are. What are your best things? Usually they are the things that are important, but not urgent.

6. I’m going to stop putting my family second. You know exactly what I mean. No further explanation needed.

7. I’m going to stop putting myself last. We have this idea that if we work hard and love others we don’t really need any attention. That usually happens after we crash. So I’m going to stop putting myself last.

8. I’m going to stop wanting what I don’t need. Again, a lot of people pay a lot of money to get my attention and to get me to feel unhappy with the things I have. That’s called advertising. I’m happy with the life I have and I have far more possessions than I’ll ever need. I’m going to start focusing on the things that are more important.

9. I’m going to stop spending all the money I make. I’m going to learn how to live on less than I make so I can be generous and give, and save for the future.

10. I’m going to stop running until I break.

It’s a long line, but I hope you find hope from this video.

The most important people I’ve got at New Journey are our JourneyLand volunteers (Children’s Church). We believe in Kids at New Journey. We believe that they are the church of present not just the future. As a new church plant the one thing that has thrilled me the most is the days we had more kids in JourneyLand than we had in worship. I believe we have the best “Children’s Church” in our county because our volunteers understand they are making a great impact by providing the best hour of the week for kids in an environment that kids want to come back to week after week.

Guest Blogger Gina McClain from Oklahoma recently wrote the following on the Swerve Blog and I agree with her.

Do you embrace the potential within your Children’s Ministry? Or do you dismiss their significance based upon age?

Embrace It!

Big “Thanks” to my JourneyLand volunteers!

Gary says if your a pastor, planter, or church leader you have to hear this. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, you’ve got to listen to this. From stay at home mom to company CEO there is something for everybody. It will be the best 43 min. of your week, guaranteed. Pastors and church leaders you’ve got to hear the last 2 min. Go here for the Podcast interview of Brian Houston of Hillsong interviewing TD Jakes. You will be inspired.

So you’re not “being fed?” You hear people talking about how they are “not being fed” from their churches more and more these days. I like what Vince has to say here and love the illustration he uses at the end of his post.
vinceantonucci.com: “Waaaaa. I’m Not Getting Fed” (Part 2(a))