From time to time I have people ask me this question: “Will you mentor me?” The answer is always yes. I’ll teach you what I know (which is usually not much) about: public speaking, preaching, becoming a stronger, more committed Christian, being a good dad, planting a church, starting a ministry from scratch etc, etc, etc…..
I find it odd that no one has ever asked me to mentor them in physical fitness training but oh well :-/
Most of the time, these relationships are only meant to last for a short while because in reality, the person asking usually is on the road to do what they are wanting to do and they only need a couple pieces of information to help them get to the next step.
What I have found in this process along the way is curious however. Many of the people who ask me this question want me to chase them down via email or text so I can set up a time to teach them something. They will often tell me “call me so we can set something up.”
That’s not gonna happen.
I pastor a church we planted, I’m finishing up a Master’s degree, I’m a husband, a father and I have several other irons in the fire. I’m not bored or just looking for something to do. The problem we run into is we usually have differing ideas about what a mentoring relationship looks like.
This is how I view that type of relationship: Many years ago, I read a book called “Self-Made in America” (by John McCormack - if you haven’t read that book, read it), that book taught me the power of asking people to mentor you. Since then, over the years I’ve asked various people to mentor me and to help me grow. When they agree, then in each instance, I take it upon myself to make the meetings happen. I will call or email them (or their secretaries) to get me on their calendar and then I will drive (sometimes hours) or fly to meet them (all on my dime) so that I can spend an hour with them because they have something I want. It might be an idea they’ve developed, a skill they possess that I’m trying to refine or they have achieved a step I’m trying to take. Whatever the case, I want something from them, so I pursue them and I make it happen. A couple of weeks ago, I was able to set up a meeting with a very busy pastor I’ve been wanting to meet for about a year now. He just moved to Parker, CO from California and he agreed to meet me over coffee. My truck was out of commission and Diane needed our car so I rented a car and drove three hours round trip for a 45 minute meeting. (I bought the coffee, by the way). It was worth every bit of the finances and time invested. The point is, if you want something bad enough, you’ll find a way to make it happen, to reach out and get it.
That being said, I also want to encourage you. If God has burned a desire in your heart to do something for Him. Then start SERVING. You’ll never be given a platform to preach on or sing on if you’re not willing to mop some floors, run a vacuum or hold a door open for somebody. When it’s time for you to do what God wants you to do, NO ONE will be able to hold you back, but until that time, stop trying to promote yourself, just be faithful and let God build the firm foundation in you now, so he can add on the weight that you’ll need that foundation to hold up later.
Be faithful, serve and God will do His thing when it’s time. That’s some free mentoring right there. ;-)
Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.
Dear Mosaic,
I’m sitting here reflecting on this morning and I thought I would put it down on “paper”, so here goes:
Well, that’s about it for now. I’m loving this journey and I know God has big things in store for all of us in 2012!
Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.
This year I’m turning 40. I know, I know, I don’t look a day over 50.
Anyway, I’m surprised how reflective this has made me. I think age is just a number but in a way, it’s also a way to keep score. Have I done what I set out to do? Have I done the important stuff? Have I focused my time and energy on the things that really matter?
Maybe age isn’t the scoreboard, but it is the timer and if I live a normal life, I’m about halfway through the dance, maybe more. With this coming up, a few years ago I set myself a few goals to reach before I turned 40.
This brings me to the reason for this post. About six or seven years ago, I saw an ad in Men’s Health for the Nautica Challenge in Southern California. It’s a mini triathlon or a sprint. It starts with a ½ mile ocean swim, then an 18 mile bike ride and finishes with a 4 mile run. This is one of the goals I set for myself before I turned 40.
What was I thinking?
Anyway, I’ve decided to lower my sights a bit and sign up for the Greeley Triathlon in June. It’s also a sprint, but I won’t have to travel to do this one. It’s a 500 yard swim, 10 mile bike ride and 5k run.
So I have a goal, and I’m training.
I’ve been working out at Phoenix Training Studios in downtown Greeley. A friend owns this gym, the classes are small and the workouts are tough.
I think this is just the incentive I need to Bring Sexy Back in 2012. Sexy has been gone for a LONG time but if I reach my goal, I’ll no doubt lose a few pounds and BRING SEXY BACK!
I’d like to invite you to join me. My friend at Phoenix has given me a bunch of free one week passes to the gym. If you’d like to try it out for a week, just call them and ask for Kris. Tell him Angel sent you and you’ll get your free week.
http://www.phoenixtrainingstudios.com 970-356-1109
Let’s Bring Sexy Back!!
Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.
There are all kinds of reasons that people don’t make it to church. Some are legitimate and quite honestly, some aren’t. That’s not the point, the point is that Hebrews tells us we need to meet together with other Christians (Hebrews 10:25) so instead of explaining why we can’t, we just need to find ways to make it happen. Case in point: Anna. Anna is a teenager from our Spanish service. She encourages me every time I see her. Here’s why:
Anna works at Taco Johns. Now I have nothing against Taco Johns, as a matter of fact, I eat there regularly (much to my wife’s dismay). But I understand that working at a fast food place isn’t usually fun or exciting. Anna works at Taco Johns every Sunday at 11:00. Our Spanish service runs from 9-10:30. So she shows up to church in her Taco John’s uniform so she can head straight to work after. That, my friends is dedication and an understanding of Hebrews 10:25 that she could teach many of us about.
So what about us? I must admit that in the past, I’ve made excuses when I didn’t feel like doing something I knew I should do or I found reasons to avoid responsibilities. Today, Anna has both encouraged me and challenged me to stay the course and just grind it out. I know when I see her in her uniform at church, I’m encouraged and I think that makes Jesus smile too.
Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.
My first tumblr blog post.
A few weeks ago our associate pastor Ray was contacted by the local Harley-Davidson dealer. They asked if our church would be interested in hosting a bike-blessing booth at their dealership for their big summer bar-b-que kickoff event. It took us about 2 seconds to say yes: we love bikes and bikers and annually host Biker Sunday at Mosaic (This year it’s July 10th).
As the event moved closer we found out we would be positioned right next to the bikini bike wash…..um, oooo.kay. This can present a unique position for a church. Should we participate in an event that some see as degrading to women or should we politely decline? We decided to move forward.
I heard it said once that light shines the brightest in the darkest places.
We set up our booth and sure enough, we were RIGHT NEXT to the bikini bike wash: complete with about a half-dozen bikini clad women in their late teens and early 20’s washing motorcycles while men stood around taking pictures. Is this any kind of a place for a church to be?
I say YES!!
I think this is exactly where the church SHOULD be. Too often Christians become insulated from people around them who desperately need Jesus. They, under the guise of “avoiding the appearance of evil” choose to retreat from those who need the light the most. Was the day uncomfortable? Not really, it was actually a lot of fun. We prayed with several bikers and blessed a bunch of bikes. All in all, it was a great day and I hope to do it again next year.
I think you should ask yourself: What is it that God might be wanting me to do? Maybe you’ve overlooked it because you thought: “There’s no way God would want me to do that, to go there or to reach out to that person.”
I say go for it, because if you don’t, who will?
Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.
I’m writing this blog post in a Starbucks on Montclair Road in Birmingham, Alabama. I flew in earlier today to meet with a man that could help Mosaic get to the next level in God’s plan for His church. Tomorrow I’ll spend the day with Chris Hodges, pastor of Church of the Highlands because I’m taking part in a pastors mentoring group called Grow Leader. You can read more about Grow Leader by clicking here. Essentially, Chris is offering a mentoring relationship to pastors of churches who wish for their churches to grow. He has a lot of experience as the pastor of a growing church. His church has grown from 34 people to 12,000 in a little over 10 years so he knows a lot about growing a multi-site church. Spending time with him will be invaluable.
So why am I writing this? Well, I received a call about two weeks ago that this opportunity was being presented to me. Flights to Birmingham aren’t cheap on a few days’ notice but thankfully I had enough United Miles to get the ticket for only $ 5.00. The reason I came here is simple: I have a dream. Lately a friend and I have begun going through John Maxwell’s book: “Put your dream to the test.” This has caused me to sit down and really ask myself what I want to see happen in my life, and particularly at Mosaic. I know what I want to see and when I found out that someone in Birmingham, Alabama might be able to help us get there, I jumped at the chance that they could.
My dream is simple: to duplicate what we have done with God’s help at Mosaic through planting 12 Mosaic campuses all around northern Colorado. Even as I type this, it sounds crazy and big and ridiculous. That’s exactly why I believe it’s God’s dream for Mosaic. Because without Him doing something BIG, it’ll never happen. Why more campuses? Because we are seeing lives changed by Jesus at Mosaic and we want to see that happen over and over in communities all over northern Colorado. I love this region and this is what I dream about.
What’s your dream? What are you willing to do to see it come to pass? Are you doing it or are you just daydreaming? So often we blame our inability to achieve our dreams on circumstances, people or situations around us. Enough of that. Decide today that you will take one step toward making your dream a REALITY.
Do it today.
Even if it involves climbing on a tiny plane and flying to Birmingham, Alabama. Anyway, if that’s the case, stop by Starbucks on Montclair, you’ll find me here waiting for tomorrow.
Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.
This afternoon I went and watched Justin Bieber’s documentary: “Never Say Never.” I must admit, I enjoyed it. The kid is very talented and he goes for it when he performs. He puts on a good show and his story was inspirational: unknown kid in small town gets discovered on Youtube and is now selling out Madison Square Garden. Awesome story.
But that wasn’t what struck me the most.
There’s a scene where he’s sitting in front of a theater playing his guitar before he’s discovered. His mom said he would sit out there and just sing and play for people walking by, FOR HOURS. This scene reminded me of the 10,000 hour rule in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers. The rule is basically this: if you want to become great at something, practice it for 10,000 hours. Sounds simple on the surface but imagine the power in practicing something, ANYTHING for 10,000 hours.
To put this in perspective, if you work a 40 hour week for a year and take 2 weeks of vacation, you will work 2,000 hours. If you do this for 5 years straight, you’ll hit that 10,000 hours. Now imagine that instead of working a job for all that time you:
“Oh, Angel, I couldn’t ever make time to work on that, I’m too busy.” I know, I know. That’s why there are only a few Justin Biebers, because only a few people are willing to put everything into their craft, into their calling. I say: No more excuses. Just get going on your 10,000 hours.
Today we announced at Mosaic Church & Amanecer Cristiano the incredible miracle that God performed this week. This is how it unfolded:
A couple of months ago we were contacted by Rick White of the Agur Foundation out of Denver. The Agur Foundation’s mission statement is: To build up the body of Christ around the world by providing properties for new Christian churches to develop, grow and flourish. With this mission in mind, after a series of conversations with Rick and his team, it was decided that the Agur Foundation would donate a piece of land to Mosaic/Amanecer Cristiano. The land is less than an acre in size but is in a high traffic area in Greeley and is valued at between $401,000 and $461,000. The intent of the donation is that we would either sell or somehow leverage the property to get into our own building.
This past Monday, we closed on the property and it is now ours. I cannot say enough good things about Rick White and the Agur Foundation. They are some of the most kingdom-minded people I’ve ever met and only eternity will fully reveal the far-reaching effects of their generosity.
God has continued to amaze us on this 3 year church planting journey and I can’t wait to see how this chapter will unfold.
Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.
Today is day 3 of our Staycation (Stay at home vacation). We planned several vacations for this summer but each time one or two details didn’t work out. Sometimes it was conflicting schedules for me, sometimes for my active kids and sometimes we couldn’t find the deal we wanted. This week we had family come in from South Texas and it worked out that we could take this week off and enjoy a staycation.
On Monday we drove up to Estes Park and spent the afternoon there. Then we went into Rocky Mountain National Park ($20 per car!) and saw the Aluvian fan. The waterfall was incredible! Tuesday we drove to the Royal Gorge. It was amazing. If you’ve never been there, you should go, it’s awesome. Today we just hung around Centerra in Loveland and did some school clothes shopping. A relaxing day. Tomorrow: Elitch Gardens Amusement Park in Denver.
Diane and I have been extremely blessed in the travel department. We recently visited our 46th state and are anxious to get those last four (Alaska, North Dakota, Michigan and West Virginia in case you were wondering.) I love to travel and see new places, experience new things and try new food but I never realized how much fun a staycation could be. It’s been awesome.
That’s kind of how life can be sometimes. We spend so much time looking out past the horizon that we miss what’s right around us. We miss what’s close by. It’s easy to give the majority of our time and attention to climbing the ladder and getting ahead. I have nothing against progress, but don’t move forward at the expense of missing what’s all around you. Time has a way of sneaking past us. Don’t miss what’s around you.
Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.