Killing Cockroaches pt.4

10 things I'll remember after visiting Disney:

I like Disney Land but not as much as Amanda LOVES Disney, I get tired too fast and my legs start hurting, what can I say I'm getting old! Anyways Tony Morgan points out 10 things that he remembers after visiting Disney (p.53):

1. The experience begins in the parking lot.
2. We will invest a lot of money to make dreams come true.
3. It helps to have someone with you who's been there before.
4. The value of excellence transcends socioeconomic and cultural barriers.
5. It's hard to communicate with people who wear masks.
6. The journey is more fun when you're on it with friends.
7. The world is small.
8. Lots of people fulfilling the same mission can achieve great results.
9. It's possible to leave behind a lasting legacy for future generations.
10. We remember the fireworks at the end.

Do people want to go to church like people want to go to Disney? Can church really be a place where dreams come true?

Killing Cockroaches pt.3

Compel them to come in
"Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." -Luke 14:23

Near my house there is this little center that holds a IHOP, a laundry mat, a video store, and a Chinese buffet. Now I have gone to both restaurants and both are good but one seems to be better than the other because they have a more selections on their menu. See there have been several times that I've gone to this same location on a Saturday morning to eat breakfast and I see this long line of people awaiting to eat at IHOP but to the right is this untouched chinese buffet. Now I have a choice to make at this point, wait 20 minutes for moons over my hammy or I can get quick access to sweet and sour pork and noodles, what will I do? well not sure about you, but for me I will stick to the obvious, IHOP. Why, you may ask? well there is a reason people will stand outside to wait to be seated, it maybe their service you know what you see on the menu is what you will get, their selection varies from breakfast to dinner they give me an option, or just the experience someone always knows me there. Those are just some reasons why I will choose IHOP over the Chinese buffet all the time.

"Is your church service compelling? after all, our church services are competing with every other opportunity people have to invest their time. They could be reading the Sunday paper, sipping Starbucks coffee, golfing, sleeping in. We can shout the claims of Christ all we want, but if we don't compel people to come in and listen, our message is fruitless." -Tony Morgan (p.26)

Why aren't people compelled to come to church? I mean if we are serving the best thing possible, JESUS, why isn't their crowds of people in service on Sunday mornings. If you read throughout the gospels Jesus always attracted large crowds, what kind of crowd is your church attracting?
How can we make church more compelling for others to come?

Killing Cockroaches pt.2

What are Cockroaches?

Have you ever had an encounter with a cockroach before? what is your first reaction? Do you take care of it (by taking care of it you know what I'm talking about) or do you just look at the cockroach skedaddle along? ok ok I've hit you with many questions, but do keep them in the back of your mind as you read along.

I've had my shares of Cockroach encounters and to be honest with you , AHHHHHH, I hate cockroaches! You know what I mean, they are these ugly, crawling, small/big (I've heard Hawaii has a couple juicy ones out there) pretty fast, CRUNCHY (It only takes one crunch) insects that live in the cracks of dark warm places. Nobody, and I mean Nobody likes Cockroaches (and if you do I'll give you should repent) 

I can remember just recently going to this taqueria with some friends and all of a sudden, yes you guessed it a cockroach on the wall!! I literally was paralyzed and thought to myself, "If I stop looking at it, then probably it will disappear and I will be able to enjoy my super burrito." Well as much as I tried  not looking at it, I could feel it looking at me with those long antennas and eyes (not sure if they even have eyes) I couldn't take it anymore so I did the impossible. I got a napkin knocked it down. Then to the hard part. I don't like killing cockroaches b/c of the crunch. Now I could have let the cockroach go but then I would always know, "he's somewhere around here?" so I did it...I introduced him to my size 11 vans and sent him to cockroach heaven, or hell.

Cockroaches in ministry or in leadership are those little things that many of us don't want to take initiative of squashing. Thinking that the more I don't look at the problem the quicker it will disappear, the opposite is true for this method. 

I just looked up "Cockroaches" in wikipedia just to find out that cockroaches adapt readily to warm conditions found within buildings. Got me thinking if something (Church or team) remains the same (a constant warm temperature) Cockroaches will adapt and start manifesting and growing, because you don't have to be an Orkin man to know that where there is one cockroach there are several!!

What Cockroaches are crawling around your church, ministry, or team? are you willing to squash'em?

Killing Cockroaches pt.1

Recently I just finished a book, "Killing Cockroaches" by Tony Morgan, that has totally challenge the way I think about "How to do Church." Now a quick background, I have been raised in church spent most of my time sleeping under a pew when I was younger, tried so hard to rebel but I just couldn't because the fear of God (you know the one your parents tell you about like when He will ZAPP you as soon as you enter a movie theatre), and now I help out at my church with whatever I can do. Church for me can just become something that is routine. You know you come to through those doors and you expect some older individual to give you a handshake and a bulletin and tell you God bless you, then you enter the sanctuary only to hear the same songs playing and the same people on stage, if the songs didn't get you well the preaching will because instead of giving something attainable, applicable and astounding the preacha man just goes through a long history about who Jesus was...Ok if you read through all that you might be laughing (b/c thats your church) or you might be sick in your stomach because you church still hasn't changed.

So throughout this week I am going to bring up some main ideas, that I wrestled with, which Tony wrote about and I'm just going to share with you, the reader.

(If you are a church leader get your hands on this book it really challenges the status quo on how to do church?)

Ok with that said I just want to leave you off with this one question that I asked myself as I read through this book...

"Can CULTURE and CHRIST crossbreed?"