.Real.Greg.Lee.

I loved Sunday at Suncrest because I thought the whole service embodied who we are.

1.  Bon Jovi – Suncrest is a fun place where we don’t take ourselves too seriously.  Where else can you get a very well-done cover of “You Give Love a Bad Name” to start the service?

2.  Communion — We have had two weeks in a row that have just been uniquely powerful leading into communion.  I love our worship teams and the way they lead us to encounter the cross and God’s grace in amazing ways.

3. Cheaters Spoof – Now, that was funny…and it opened up a challenging topic in a way that gets our guard down.  Who knew that Mark (our volunteer who created the entire video) had a friend who could play the host so perfectly?

4. Texting – We think the best worship and teaching are engaging and interactive, not just a “sit and listen” experiences.  Having people text in their questions and try to answer them on the spot creates the beginning of a great dialog.

5.  Priorities – The whole basis behind the message “Choosing to Cheat” is the understanding that we get things totally messed up when we give our time, energy, and attention toward less important things in our lives while more important things are left without.  This shows up in all kinds of ways, but I came across this video from Steven Covey that I’ve used before (the outfits give it away as an early 1990’s presentation).

This is worth 6 minutes of your time  – and if you are familiar with the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” it has some insightful humor too.

Posted in Suncrest

I know I’m biased, but I think every couple at Suncrest and every couple you know should figure out a way to come to a Fun and insightful Marriage Seminar Suncrest is hosting.  It’s called “Understanding the Love of your Life”

Why?

1. Marriage is hard even when it’s good.  We can all use a chance to refresh and gain perspective.

2.  Marriage is really hard when it’s bad.  And the hope and renewal that can come from an experience like this can be a huge step in hitting the “reset button.”

3.  No kids.  We love them, but if you are smart you’ll create sometime without them too.

4.  It’s enough…but not too much.  A full evening and morning will cover stuff we could never cover in a sermon. But it’s all done within the first part of a weekend.

5.  It’s led by real people who aren’t perfect AND they are GREAT communicators.

And one more…

Wouldn’t this be better than roses?  Or a dinner? Or an over-priced card and chocolates?  Seriously…it’s $48 and I’m pretty sure it is the best investment you have had the chance to make this year.

DETAILS:

March 4/5

-Friday:  7:00-9:30

-Saturday: 9:00am-Noon

Cost:  $48/per couple includes materials

Register:  Sundays at any campus or by emailing kay.roberts@suncrest.org

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I thought I would share the one page annual report overview that we shared with all of our leaders and others who attended our annual meeting last week.

My quick reflections on it:

-What is missing?  Stories.  Stats are great.  Stories are better.

-Interpretation…Contributors is the number of Suncrest people serving somewhere through Suncrest.

-2011 YTD…The snapshot of our first four weeks was great for attendance and rough (but typical for January) on offerings.

-The Right Response…Gratitude to God.  That’s it.

Click here to see the report as a PDF file:  Annual Meeting Summary – 2011

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Does that picture look like one from a museum somewhere?  Welcome to a world where half the people under 30 don’t even have a checkbook!

A conversation has mushroomed around here in the last 6 months about how people give.  We have more people than ever asking about online giving, automated giving, even kiosks and giving by smartphone.

Suncrest is exploring all those options right now and we have ONE that has been available for a little while – Automated Giving from a checking or savings account.  You should check it out because I’ve heard more than one person tell me it is essentially their “secret weapon” to help them be disciplined to give.

Here is a note that Matt and Kristen Hankins — a young couple from our Highland Campus — sent me last week.

I would say that the automated giving is a great way to consistently give within our means. We would often forget the checkbook on Sundays and with Matt not working, it was really tough to write that larger check as the tithing was continually forgotten. Now, I am able to give freely and without worry. It also frees up the ability to give when we feel we can give more than we budgeted for in our automatic tithing. It helps us keep our commitment to God without breaking the bank or having guilt for forgetting.

It sounds like a great source of  Peace to me.  This is how Jenny and I give.  For us, it is practical and spiritual.  It is easy for us (and easier/cheaper for the church). More importantly, it is decision to say the first part of our income each month is going back to God and we will adjust the wants and needs of our lives around that.

If you are interested in giving this way, just check out the brochures this Sunday or in the mailing with your 2010 contribution records.

Posted in Suncrest

One of the things I love about Suncrest is how much people love to talk about the various things we teach – even the messages about giving!

This week Mike Budack sent me the email below and it struck me what he said about comfort zones.  He and his wife Ann are a great picture of people who have found a home at Suncrest, have begun serving and finding friendships.  I share this note about how their giving has evolved with his permission.  It will resonate with many, I’m sure.

My wife and I did not attend church before coming to Suncrest therefore our established spending habits did not include tithing.  Once we decided to make Suncrest our home, we started to give. The tough part was changing our existing spending habits.

We eased into tithing by increasing slowly over a period of time but never really went “all-in”. We always made excuses (primarily me) on why we couldn’t bump the amount too aggressively despite continued blessings in my career. I kept on setting road blocks on why not to increase i.e. wait until the car is paid off, wait until savings is $x, etc. and never truly put my faith in what I believe.

When the Jesus Mission was announced, my wife and I discussed and prayed on what we should give. Our goal was not to have the Jesus Mission affect our normal giving. In order to do this, we (primarily me) definitely were pushed out of our comfort zone. Come to find out our spending habits “magically” shifted to accommodate for the extra giving. We now look at the Jesus Mission as a blessing as it opened our eyes to give what was already there.

I love who Mike and Ann are and who they are becoming in faith. My righteous one will live by faith…-Hebrews 10:38

Posted in Suncrest

Worship Area right after early morning set-up

I went to our Highland Campus for the first time this morning.  It’s been up and running for 4 months now and it was a blast.

Allie and Team transforming a classroom

Great Staff…Jared, Wes, Daniel, Allie!

Church in a Box. It all goes in this trailor.

Incredible Launch team volunteers (from both St. John and Hobart Campuses).  I’ll get in trouble if I start trying to mention names because there are so many, but Ken Foster was not only there from beginning to end, but he is the mastermind of efficient storage!

Love seeing kids/families set up together

Got to meet a lot of new people since it launched.  Prayed with a couple of them who are obviously on a journey toward trusting God.

All Possible…becuase of Suncrest’s generosity to The Jesus Mission!

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worship space...and current staging area

As I’ve written about before, Suncrest had a church building in Hobart given to us for our Hobart campus.  Wild, eh?

It's amazing the life some new paint brings

What is really wild is how many volunteers come Saturday after Saturday (and more than a few evenings in between) update/rehab the space for our use.  I’ve included some pictures here, but you’ll have to get over there yourself to experience it.

Painting and Lunch Prep in the Kitchen

Most impressive…seeing a multi-campus church working together.

creating a cool "commons area"

The number of Hobart attenders that are there week after week is amazing to me. Their “buy-in” on this project is not only what will make the rehab successful (and pretty inexpensive), but it is why we are so confident that this move will be a difference-maker for their ministry.

Nash and Daniel still doing destruction

Also cool…the number of St. John campus people there. Some community groups have gone to work and there were quite a few individuals painting today.  Might be two campuses (or 4),   but ALWAYS one church.

Teens hanging out in their freshly painted orange room

Posted in Suncrest

Yesterday was an annual trek for my good friend Gordon Barker and me.  After visiting a few Big 10 basketball arenas together about a dozen years ago, we decided to try to visit every one.  I grew up as an Illini fan (and always will be), but have been swayed to Purdue by Gordon’s influence so we mostly have seen the Boilers play.

Last night, we completed our adventure to all 11 stadiums by visiting “The Barn” in Minnesota. (Though Nebraska joins the Big 10 next year…so there will be one more!).

View out the front. Gave up co-pilot seat this year.

The last two trips have been even more interesting because Penn State and Minnesota are almost impossible to do in one day’s drive.  So, with the kindness of a another friend who has access to a small plane and knows how to fly it, we expanded our group to 6, had everyone chip in for gas, and flew to those places.

Jerry and Jeff in the back...

I’ve included some pictures from our adventure yesterday.  Great friends.  Fun Adventure.  The only thing we were missing was Purdue Victory.

My seat-mate. "We have clearance, Clarence. Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?"

Posted in Suncrest

I feel like I can constantly tweak personal things throughout a year, but life is so layered and integrated where you have to be in sync with others, that a yearly assessment and overhaul is worth a look.  I do this at the start of every year.

This year, I’m working on New Rhythms that will (I hope) be beneficial to at least two things that are wildly important to me — my wife & kids and Suncrest’s mission.

1. Less travel. If you are a regular reader, you know this haunted me last year.  I’ve slept in my own bed every night this year so far and think I’ll get into March before that changes.

2.  Tuesdays and Sundays. Being a multi-site church has added layers of leadership challenges that I didn’t see coming.   Everyone in “church world” knows Sunday is a non-negotiable day.  In our rhythm with campuses and staff spread out, we have added another day for all full-time and part-time ministry staff.  Tuesdays are our day to be together.  There are tons of meetings and (even better) side conversations to help with our alignment as one church — whether All Staff, Campus Pastors, All the worship staff or children’s staff.  It’s a hectic day, but one of my favorites. And, it gives us a lot of flexibility on the other days.

3.  Blocking Time. Pastors are weird.  Not like you are thinking. 🙂   On one hand, we have a lot of flexibility with time.  On the other hand, we work during the day to get stuff done and then in the evenings and weekends because that’s when all of our volunteers/teams are available.  When I’m not careful/intentional, the day and evening stuff just run together.

So, my solution going into 2011 is to maximize the right parts of the day for family and church.  It includes starting super early most mornings and walking out of the office at 4:00pm, so I have a full evening with the kids or at least a good block before returning for meetings.  One day a week I’m going to work straight through until my evening meetings, but on that day I’m going to take one of the kids out for breakfast and come in a little later to the church.

I imagine most people are like me — knowing my natural drift is to let healthy patterns erode over time.  So a reset to my schedule at the start of a new year is intentional and invigorating.

Even harder (but on my radar) is to not just schedule better, but to function better, lead better, and love better in the New Rhythms.  That will be a post for some other day…

Posted in Suncrest

A lot of people are skeptical of what they read these days in the “news”.  Count me among them.  I’ve been misquoted or mis-represented (accidentally, I think) more than once.

Maybe that’s why I cringe a little when reporters call.  So, I think it’s worth noting when someone gets it right.  Last month Sue Bero from The Times called me to do a profile for the paper.  She was easy to work with, had good questions and we had a great conversation.

And she let me push the attention to the church and what I love about how Suncrest is impacting the community.  I couldn’t have been happier with it when it came out last week.  The only thing I cringed at was the picture….gotta update that!

Click here if you are interested in the profile.

Posted in Suncrest