Our Most Important Command

The most important command we have from Jesus is found in Matthew 28:19-20a.  "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (NIV)


I grew up in the church and but was never discipled.  I was taught the importance of accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior, but not what it meant to be a disciple or how to make other disciples.  It wasn't until my first position as a church staff member in California that I was discipled in relationship with other guys.  I remember thinking, "why hasn't anybody taught me this before?"  I committed myself to discipling others, and when we went to our next church in Indiana I began to develop relationships with guys who I thought I might disciple.


I went through a discipleship process with a few guys over the time we lived there, and they subsequently discipled other guys.  They gave me my first spiritual grandchildren.  The guys they discipled have discipled other guys who have discipled other guys, and I now have at least spiritual great-great grandchildren.  I've also discipled some guys here in Phoenix who have discipled others.  It's amazing what God does when we obey His command to make disciples.  


Have you ever been discipled?  I'd love for you to leave a comment below to share your discipling experience.

What's Your Plan for Your Life?

Last year, I began to get serious about having a life plan.  What's a life plan?  A life plan is an intentional direction you point your life in order to end up where you want.  Most of us go through life as spectators and reactors, allowing life to happen to us.  A life plan allows you to be proactive and intentional instead.


I'm linking to Michael Hyatt's e-book on Creating Your Personal Life Plan.  I strongly encourage you to read his post, download the e-book, and get to work on creating your own life plan.  It has been very beneficial to me personally by helping me stay on course with what I have determined to be important to my life and where I want to end up.


I'd love to hear from you.  Do you have a life plan?  What keeps you from doing one?

An Immersion Experience

A few weeks ago, the other guys on the leadership team and a couple of our Elders and I had the opportunity to participate in a training experience in Idaho titled "Immersion 1."  The event is hosted and led by Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, ID.  This is a church that began 11 years ago with 4 people meeting in a home and now has over 8.000 attend their weekend services.  The point of the conference, and it is something that RLM does very well, is to help churches focus on their primary goal - making disciples who make disciples.


This conference brought great clarity and conviction to our team that we are on the right path with our vision and mission, but we need the laser focus on our goal - making disciples who make disciples.  We were created for relationship with God, but we were also created for relationship with one another.  Without relationship with one another, we are not complete.  Our relationship with God and with others is the key to becoming, and making, disciples.


Jesus told those who would become His disciples, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."  From this, we can see that:

• A disciple is one who is committed to following Christ - has made Jesus Lord of their life.  Luke 9:23; John 8:31 - being changed at the head level.
• A disciple is one who is committed to being changed by Christ - is becoming like Christ in attitude and action.  John 15:8; Romans 8:29; Galatians 5:22; John 13:35 - moving God from the head level to the heart level.
• A disciple is one who is committed to the mission of Christ - the ministry of reconciliation.  John 15:8; Matthew 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 - when people know God - head - and their relationship with God begins to change their heart, that's when they begin to engage - putting their faith in action with their hands.

Our goal at FCC-Phoenix is to make disciples who make disciples by connecting with God, growing together, and serving others to see real life change in Central Phoenix.  I'm really excited we are on this journey together.

Too Busy to Connect with God?

One of the common complaints I hear from people is how busy they, and everyone they know, are.  I was struck by a passage from Luke 5 that speaks to how busy Jesus was and how He responded.  After healing a leper in verse 13, Jesus instructs the man not to tell anyone about it but to go to the priest and present himself as clean.  But word about what Jesus did got out, and "the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses."


What a ministry opportunity!  Crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed.  I can see the disciples telling Him, "Jesus, all our dreams are coming true!  Look at the crowds of people coming to hear you and to be healed by you!  This is great!"  But then verse 16 throws us a curve: "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."  Why would He do that?  People had come to listen to Him teach.  They had come to be healed.  But Jesus thinks it is important enough to withdraw to lonely places to pray.


I think there is a significant lesson for us in this.  In the midst of our busyness; in the midst of all of the "good" things we are doing, are we connecting to the source of our strength?  Are we spending time talking to, and listening to, God?  Do we know what we are missing out on when we are too busy to connect with God?  I want to encourage you to carve out some times during the day to connect with God.  Just plan on a few minutes several times a day just to quiet yourself and to talk to and listen to God.  I believe you will be surprised at what it will do for you.


What do you need to do to make time to connect with God?


I want to encourage you to click on this link to watch a powerful video from International Justice Mission.  Then determine how God wants you to respond.  Go ahead, ask Him.

Be On Your Guard

We're going through Andy Stanley's book Enemies of the Heart, and yesterday's message I preached was dealing with Greed and it's antidote - Generosity.  In Luke 12 Jesus said, "Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (vs. 15 - NIV)  At the end of the parable of the rich fool, Jesus warns us that those who store up things for themselves but are not rich towards God will lose everything.

In his book, Stanley recommends that we ask 2 very important questions of God and ourselves: "Why do I have so much?"; and "Lord, what do you want me to do with the extra that I do have?"  The answer to both is to be generous.  If we are willing to look into our hearts and deal with our selfishness, we can really be generous and do some good Kingdom work with our finances!  Be rich towards God and those in need (see Matthew 25:31-46)!  Be generous with the time, talents, and treasure He's given you and don't use it all on yourself!

Post your response below with how you answer the question, "why do I have so much?"

We had another great day of service this last Saturday working on 40 different projects for Serve Sunnyslope.  We tried moving the projects into our neighborhoods where we live and meet, and from everything I've heard it was a great success.  Thanks to everyone who came out to serve and help us accomplish our mission to connect, grow, and serve.

It was so great to see 3 more baptisms this last Sunday!  God is on the move and we continue to have increasing numbers of baptisms over these last 2 years.  As Perry Noble says, seeing people get baptized "never gets old!"

Catching Up

I'm loving the current message series we are in: Enemies of the Heart.  It's based on Andy Stanley's book by the same name, and it is a great book.  We have some for sale each Sunday, or you can order one here.  If you've missed either of the first 2 weeks, listen to Chuck's messages here.  I challenge you to read the book and listen to the messages and let God work on you.


This Saturday, October 22, is another Serve Sunnyslope day for FCC-Phoenix.  Be at our campus at 7 am on Saturday to get connected to a job in your neighborhood (or where we need you!) where you can serve.


We are collecting a Thank Offering on November 20 to benefit some ministry partners: Missions of Hope International in Nairobi, Kenya; Tornado Relief in Joplin, MO; and New City Church right here in Phoenix.  Our goal is to receive a $25,000 offering that day to share with these ministries.  Our hope is that giving to the Thank Offering will be over and above your normal giving as we all have so much to be thankful for.  Thanks for sharing generously with us in this special way.


In September, June and I were able to take a 5 day trip into the beautiful mountains of northeast New Mexico.  We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary which was in last August.  The weather was great (we enjoyed the nice cool temps!), the scenery was beautiful, and we really enjoyed hiking and exploring the area and our time together.  We're very grateful to some friends for making this trip possible!

See you Sunday.

Book Review - Enemies of the Heart

I recently finished reading Andy Stanley's book "Enemies of the Heart," and it is a great read!  I strongly recommend you purchase this book.


In his book, Stanley addresses the four enemies of the heart: Guilt, Anger, Greed, and Jealousy.  He so clearly defines and describes them that I found myself discovering each of these enemies in hidden areas of my own heart where I thought I was okay.


Stanley also gives clear and simple antidotes for each of these enemies, but as he often writes, "they area simple, but not easy."  I have several points to work on as a result of reading this book.  He writes that once we begin to practice the four habits that are the antidotes to the enemies of our heart, "life will be noticeably different.  These four habits set us free to love as God intends for us to love."


As I said, I strongly recommend this book, and am purchasing it for the entire staff at FCC.  In fact, one of our Neighborhood Groups will be studying it this fall.  Get your copy today.


I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

A Little Gift Can Make A Big Difference

One of the exciting pieces of news I received while in Kenya was that the Hope Partnership website for giving to their micro-finance loan program was up and running.  It is called bigdent.org.  As you go to this website, you can learn about micro-finance, how it benefits the people living in the Mathare slum, and how you can make a big difference in someone's life.


When you give to help an entrepreneur start a new business, you help that person have dignity and worth as well as help them change their income, their situation - their life.  I strongly encourage you to visit the website, read through their information and program, pick a project that captures your attention, and give!  You'll be glad you did, and more importantly, you'll change the life of an entrepreneur and their family.

The Power of Hope

On this, my fourth trip to Kenya, I am experiencing many familiar sights, sounds, and smells.  Once one has made their initial visit to the Mathare Valley slums, the pure shock that comes from the concentration and level of extreme poverty lessens.  It is still a difficult thing to see and experience, but one is not as shocked by it.

Even with the familiarity that comes with several visits to this location, there are also new things each time I am here.  There are many changes to the physical surroundings – new buildings, new merchants, additions to the centers, the constant changes to the roads in Nairobi – but these are superficial changes that don’t reflect the deeper, more significant changes that are taking place.

The one thing that is constant with each visit is the very strong sense of hope one gets by being involved in the work of Missions of Hope, International.  From seeing and hearing the children in their centers and sensing their hope for the future because of the education they are receiving; to visiting the boarding school at Joska and knowing the hope that comes from the great success with their schooling, meaning they will get to attend a good high school; to visiting a home in the Kosovo community and seeing the homeowners face when the tin is peeled back for their new skylight; to seeing someone who is ill being cared for by a physician or nurse and to receive medications; to sharing the gospel with a resident of the slums and watching them accept Christ; there is a very real sense of hope that one experiences when one is here.

Seeing and knowing the hope that comes from what God is doing in Mathare is very powerful. Hope comes from educating a child and knowing it will make a difference in their life.  Hope comes from instilling Christian principles in the lives of thousands of children and knowing they will someday change their culture.  Hope comes from visitors from America simply providing a sky-light and sharing the Gospel and knowing the encouragement it brings to a home filled with darkness.  Hope comes from offering a free medical clinic and knowing that the medications provided will help the ill overcome their sickness.  Hope comes from seeing another person make Jesus Christ the Lord of their life and knowing the difference that will make in their eternity.

Hope is very powerful, and it’s growing in the slums of Mathare Valley in Nairobi, Kenya.

Greetings from Kenya

It's great to be back in Kenya!  Our team of 6 from FCC joined our partners from CCV on 5 July to begin our journey to Kenya.  On our way here, we got to stop in London for an overnight stay, and we got to visit the city for about 5 hours.  It is such an amazing place.


We arrived safely on 7 July, and made it to the Grace House hotel late in the night.  On Friday, we went to the Pangani Center of Missions of Hope International in the Mathare slum for an orientation, some tea, some lunch, and a brief tour of this part of the slum.


Even though this is my fourth visit and it is less of a shock each time, it is still surprising to see the conditions some 800,000 people live in on a daily basis. Friday night was a good nights sleep, and Saturday found us heading back to Pangani to sort meds for the medical clinic that will take place next week.  We also got to visit a Giraffe Refuge Saturday afternoon.  Sunday we will visit Joska to see the work at the MoHI boarding school.


As the medical team is working next week the rest of us will be doing VBS in the morning and Bring the Light projects in the afternoon.  I will be doing some coach training next week with the MoHI pastors, and I'm really looking forward to that.


Thanks for your continued prayers for our team as we are on this trip!  More to come!  Go to my or the FCC facebook page to view photos of what we've been doing so far.

Accept the Challenge

Early in June, I preached a message on "A Fool and His Money" (listen here by opening the media player) and about the 10/90 Challenge.  What is the 10/90 Challenge?  It is simple: Give 10% of your income for 90 Days and see what happens in your finances. This is the only area of the Christian life where God's asks us to "test Him".

"Will a man rob God?  Yet you rob me."  But you ask, "How do we rob you?"  "In tithes and offerings.  You are under a curse - the whole nation of you - because you are robbing me.  Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.  Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour our so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.  I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.  "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.  Malachi 3:8-12  NIV

Many people want to wait until they can "afford to tithe", but the truth is, the reason they are struggling in their finances is that they are under a curse as Israel was and their "fields" don't produce as they should until they have God's blessing (vs. 10 & 11).

I ended the message by saying, "Learn God's financial principles and live by them; be a wise saver, a cautious debtor, a prudent consumer, and a generous giver.  Don't devour all you have. Be grateful and joyful."

Take the 10/90 Challenge.  Test God in this.  Give 10% of your income for 90 days and see what God does.  If you would like some help, direction, and hope for your personal finances, sign up for our next Financial Peace University class.  It begins in early September and will definitely put you on the road to financial peace.  Register in July for a discount on the price of the class.

A Different Perspective

How often have you heard someone asking the "why" questions when things are not going as planned, or when there has been a major disappointment or setback?  You know the ones - "why is God allowing this to happen?", or "why me?", or "why isn't this going the way I had planned?"  There are many variations to these questions, and I'm sure I've asked most of them at one time or another.  Maybe you have, too.


I've just finished reading a great new book by one of my Coach Trainers, Tony Stoltzfus.  Tony is pretty much the "guru" of Christian Coaching.  His latest book is titled "The Calling Journey" and it focuses on the different stages of life that a leader will find himself in.  You can complete your own calling timeline by visiting this website.  It's a very interesting exercise.


Towards the end of the book, Tony writes "[a new] perspective moves us away from thinking that life just happens to us and we have to endure it, and toward believing 'God is in this - what is he doing?'  This is the 'called according to his purposes' perspective mentioned in Romans 8:28.  When we engage life like someone who is called, where God is in everything, purposefully preparing us, then everything that happens to us ends up working out for good."


When we change our perspective from "why me?" or "why is this happening to me?" to, "where is God in this?" or "what does God want me to learn in this?" that is very powerful!  Instead of asking the why questions, begin to ask the where and what questions.  This idea has impacted me in a big way - it really does change your perspective and your focus, and the outcome.


The next time you are in a situation that isn't going the way you planned, or there is pain or disappointment, try looking at the issue from a different perspective and see how it changes for you.

Random Thoughts for June 9, 2011

First, I want to give you a reminder of how you can help Joplin, MO recover from the devastating tornado a few weeks back.  They have enough clothes, toiletries, and immediate supplies.  The need as they move forward will be money so they can recover and rebuild.  An organization we've worked with before is IDES.  They work through the local churches in the area to distribute money and aid.  If you'd like to give something to the recovery effort, I strongly encourage you to do so through IDES.  FCC-Phoenix is hoping to send a team of workers in late summer to assist in whatever ways are needed.  We believe God gave us the experience of helping in Bogalusa, LA after Hurricane Katrina so we can be a blessing to other recovery/rebuilding efforts as we can.  Stay tuned for more information on this.


This month I complete my life coach training program.  It has been a wonderful experience and I'm so glad I decided to go through this training.  I've learned so much about myself and about the coaching practice, and I've really enjoyed coaching others throughout my training process.  I love coaching and feel it is a big part of the calling God has placed on my heart.


If you're unfamiliar with coaching, it is the art of engaging a person in a conversational process that results in levels of growth and performance they would not have achieved on their own.  One can be coached on any area of life, as long as they want to grow or make progress in that area.  If you'd like to learn more about coaching or being coached, post a comment below.

2 Great Weekends

These last 2 weekends at FCC-Phoenix have been great!  Easter Sunday was a beautiful and great day.  We had a good crowd at the sunrise service; some great breakfast burritos afterwards provided by the Cordova family; great worship services; and great crowds with many new faces!  I hope you were fully able to celebrate our risen Lord that day - "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead..."  I Corinthians 15:20


This last Sunday was our 2nd Baptism Day and Family Fun Fest.  We had 20 baptisms on May 1!  Praise God! It was so encouraging and moving to see so many people respond to God's call on their life, and to make the decision to follow Christ.  We had 1 other baptism earlier in the week, so 21 lives were changed last week by entering the baptistery and coming out with new lives!  Wow.  2 great weekends.  I really hope you were here to experience them.


This Friday (5/6) is the Chik-fil-A Leadercast, and we are one of the valley host sites.  If you'd like to come, you can register here.  May 15 and 22 are the 2 parts of our First Steps class.  In Part 1 we talk about connecting with God and with this church family, and in Part 2 we talk about getting plugged into service here on our campus or in the community.  If you've never been to First Steps, then now's your time.  Sign up here.


We've had some great (and busy) months, and summer is just around the corner.  Make sure you're spending time with God each day and don't let the busyness of life keep you from being with Him.

Let's Pray!

Beginning this Friday night, April 1, FCC is starting another week of 24/7 prayer.  This has been a great week for this body of believers and the individuals who participate.  I strongly encourage you to sign up for an hour (or more) during this very important week.  This church is strengthened and encouraged every time we do this.


The week kicks off with a worship and prayer service on Friday evening at 7 p.m.  I know you will be blessed if you come to this event.  Let's pray!

A Couple of Book Recommendations

Last week I finished reading an amazing book - Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward by Dr. Henry Cloud.  Dr. Cloud is one of my favorite authors and speakers so I knew I'd like the book, but it went way beyond my expectations.  His main thesis is that there are necessary endings that we must all deal with, but we typically don't because we don't know how.


My main learnings were: the three different types of needed pruning; how to distinguish between a hope and a wish; and the three types of people we all deal with.  I strongly recommend this book to everyone.  It's already impacted my life and relationships, and I believe it will yours, too.  Get a copy today.


On March 6, Chuck mentioned a little book called Two Roads, Two Rooms.  It's actually a condensed version of a book titled TrueFaced.  Our small group is reading the book and going through the study guide, and I highly recommend them for you and/or your group.  It's a transformational book and concept, and I very strongly recommend these books as well.  Click on any of the titles to follow a link to more information.

I'm Beginning to Understand

There are some great stories in Mark 6.  I was reading this chapter today and some points jumped out to me.  


First of all, Jesus sends out the apostles and gives them authority to teach and over evil spirits.  "They went out and preached that people should repent.  They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them."  (vs. 12,13).  Then, after they have sought out a solitary place, the crowds find them and want to hear from Jesus.  He teaches them, and then the disciples decide the crowd should be sent away to find food. "But he answered, 'You give them something to eat.'" (vs. 37)  The apostles protest that it would cost too much to feed the crowd. Jesus answers, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see." (vs. 38)  Of course, they fed 5,000+ people that day with 5 loaves and 2 fish - and had leftovers!


Immediately, Jesus sends the apostles back out on the water to cross the lake.  He is walking past them when they see him, and "they thought he was a ghost.  They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified." (vs. 49-50) "They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened."  (vs. 51b-52)


Let's recap: the apostles teach, heal, and cast out demons; they see him feed 5,000+ people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish; they see him walk on water - but their hearts were hardened.  It's easy for me to read this and think "what kind of morons were these guys?"  But then I catch myself and think, "how many times have I see God working in my life, but I can't put 2 and 2 together and understand His goodness and love because my heart is hardened?"


Lord, open the eyes of my heart so I can see where You are moving and working so I can understand Your great love and power.  "I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.  I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms."  Ephesians 1:18-20 (NLT)

Is He listening?

These verses really encouraged me this morning in my quiet time.

"To you I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me.  For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.  Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help; as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.  Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy.  The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."  Psalm 28:1-2, 6,7

I am so encouraged to know that God hears my prayers and my cries for mercy.  He is our strength and our shield.  Trust in Him.  Be joyful.  Give thanks to Him in song.

The Space Between...

Wow!  I've just read a great post from Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing.  He's a blogger I regularly read.  Here's the link.

Read the post and then tell me, how about you?  Can you live in the space between the stimulus and the response?  I'm working on this one, too.

Key Item I'm Working On

A key item I'm working on in my life is to have the courage to trust God.  I know He's faithful and true, but sometimes my doubts creep in and I trust myself instead, and end up regretting it as I crash and burn.

I read these verses this morning - "To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.  I trust in you, my God!  Lead my by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me.  All day long I put my hope in you."  Psalm 25:1,8

I can put my trust and hope in God.  He leads me by His truth and teaches me, and He is the One who saves me.  I'm trying to re-train certain thought pathways in my brain to think these thoughts first instead of doubting.  I think I'd better memorize them and meditate on them!

Here we Go!

2011 is off to a great start!  I'm still writing 2010 on some things, but hopefully that will pass in a few weeks.  We have some great service opportunities to start off this year - serving our refugee communities in the park on Monday, January 11; and then a "mini" Serve Sunnyslope on January 22.  Click here to go to our website to see more information about these opportunities.

We have several Winter Camps coming up for HS, JH, and elementary ages.  These are great opportunities for growth for your kids - make sure they're signed up here.

Our next First Steps class is on January 23rd, and we've completely revamped our material.  If you're new to FCC or even if you've been here awhile but want a refresher course, I'd love to see you there.  Click here to sign up.

My youngest son and I will be travelling to Missouri later this week for my Dad's 80th birthday.  All my siblings will be there, and I know we'll have a great time celebrating with Dad.  He is one of my heroes and has been a great role model to me.  I'm so glad I get to join him and the rest of my family for this great occasion.

I've been working on establishing some personal goals for this year.  Not resolutions, but goals.  I spoke about this idea of goals vs. resolutions on January 2nd.  You can click here to launch the media player, and go to the January 2 message to listen.  I'm retraining some negative pathways in my brain to discipline myself to accomplish great things this year.  What about you?  Any big goals for the year?  Let me know!