.Real.Greg.Lee.

Summer has meant a nice blogging vacation for me.  And while I’m planning to post a number of times this week, I’m going to take next week off again as we get out of town for a few days on a family vacation.

I couldn’t think of a better topic for a first entry coming back tot he blog than this one:  Church Planting.  Starting New Churches is central to who Suncrest is and to who I am.  So here’s the cool stuff happening right now…

1.  I’m out in New England to teach a group of top-tier High School Students from around the country. No hidden agenda:  I want to influence sharp young men and women to be involved in starting new churches. It was cool tonight to hear stories of “alums” of this week who are now doing that.

2. While I’m out here, I’ll get to visit 4 churches Suncrest has made MAJOR investments in starting. We give substantially both in terms of both money and leadership.  I’ll worship at both Rockingham Christian Church (Salem, NH) and Reunion Christian Church (Boston).  We’ll also visit EastPointe Christian Church (Portland, Maine) and Northpointe Christian Church (Providence, RI).  Click on the links to visit their websites!

3.  Three of us leave in a couple of weeks for partner-building trip in Liberia, Africa. We are super excited to potentially 3 groups to interact with who could be partners in planting churches there.  They will be making proposals to us for how we could most effectively use our Jesus Mission offering to plant churches there.  And it seems like our efforts to make it self-sustaining could result in some innovative models that also assist with economic development.

Posted in Suncrest

I took a few weeks off from blogging…as if it was planned!  Basically last week I noticed I had not posted for a couple weeks and then decided I’d take one more week off while I was at it.

Everything in me wants to write a summary post of my last month, but how boring (and long!) would that be?  So i thought I’d just post a bunch of pictures and let them tell the stories with short captions. There has been lots of church stuff, but family stuff dominates the pictures!

Our Family went to see the Cardinals beat the cubs…and Jack got Ryan Franklin’s autograph on his hat.

Jack Graduated from Kindergarten and Abby loved hanging out with her neighbor friends.  Jack had a great experience largely because of a great teacher. – Mrs. Pollit.  (Not sure many people have more influence than educators!)

Abby had her birthday party with friends…A storm made us take down the bounce house in a hurry and a few of us had fun doing it.

Jack was awarded the “game ball” along with Bryan –  one of his best friends – after a T-ball game.  At the end of one of his games (pay no attention to the hat he is wearing!)

Our 6 person team leading the effort to plant churches in Liberia asked me to be on a small team to go explore opportunities and partnerships there.  Three of us will go in August.

My last post was about Janelle Knox and her husband going to serve in Myanmar.  The next week, I got to have coffee with Les Andrews who was in the same student ministry and is leaving in August to do medical missions in the Ivory Coast (right next door to Liberia!)

Jenny and I got invited to a pastors/spouse retreat with about 40 other couples.  It was great to spend 3 days together with each other.

Jack lost his second tooth…And when the tooth fairy forgot to come for 2 days, he made a sign and put it in his bedroom window to remind her to stop. (He wanted to attach his nightlight too, but we assured him the sign would be a sufficient reminder!!)

Lot’s of ministry stuff without pictures!  But I took this picture outside our house and I still love that Rainbows were designed by God as a reminder that he keeps his promises (Genesis 9:16).  I’ll begin posting more tomorrow on the ways I’ve seen that be true around Suncrest over the last month.

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Last night, we had Johnny and Janelle over to our house.  Janelle was in my youth ministry at Suncrest 10 years ago.  It was through relationships with friends and youth leaders that she decided to embrace Christ whole-heartedly and be baptized.  Now married and with education complete, Janelle and her husband are in town this week connecting with people as they prepare to go serve to equip church leaders in Myanmar in Southeast Asia.  Check out some info on them by clicking here.

I’m calling it a “A Dinner to Remember”.  Jenny cooked an incredible meal.  The conversation was great.  Yes, I think it is awesome to expose Jack and Abby to stories like Janelle’s and let them meet people willing to live by faith who live all over the world.  All of that could make it a “Dinner to Remember”.

But I’m calling it that for another reason…Spending the evening with these guys caused me to remember many, many incredible stories of teens who came through Suncrest, were challenged by one another and adult leaders who invested in them.

From that student ministry we have people who are now serving God in various ways…

-Some got their education at Christian Colleges preparing to serve full time at orphanages in Romania, Medical Missions in Ivory Coast (Africa), multiple people in youth ministry and worship ministry or serving the poor in urban areas around the country.

-Others became key leaders in campus ministries at Purdue, Ball State and other universities…and are now key volunteers in their churches where ever they have been scattered around the country.

-Some of my favorite stories are students whose faith is shaping the way live out flourishing careers in business, politics, education, and other fields.

Each one had their life shaped at Suncrest.  And each one is now being used by God to change lives.  Love that.

Posted in Suncrest

We took our kids to a local Memorial Day Service today. It’s important to me.  It is important for them.

It’s important for them to know the stories of their grandfathers/great-grandfathers who served our country.

It’s important for them to say the pledge of allegiance to our flag in a civic ceremony full of people in uniform.

It’s important for them to listen to a mom speak whose son died in Iraq.

It’s important for them to see the wreaths presented, the guns fired and Taps played.

It’s important for them to hear the lady behind us crying as taps was played.

It’s important for them to ask “Why was she crying?”

And it’s important for them to get a good answer to that question from their mom and dad.

I probably will fail a hundred times this week as a parent, but I am resolved about this:  I don’t want to raise selfish kids.  They will know the responsibilities that come with rights we enjoy.  They will know that payment that was made for the privileges we all possess.

One Memorial Day service each year won’t produce that on its own, but for our family it’s one of the respect-filled building blocks.

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Last Night I got to hang out with our leadership team for Celebrate Recovery.

Celebrate Recovery (or “CR” as we call it) is a great place for people who struggle with ANYTHING to come and go through an intentional process of working through that struggle with God’s help.  People come with some “classic” issues like alcohol or over-eating, but more often the issues are in a relationship or with anxiety or a struggle to forgive (someone else or yourself).

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…Probably every single one of us could benefit from this experience at some level!

My favorite part?  This leadership team is committed to changing lives like this because every one of their lives has been changed by God through the recovery process.  And the team has expanded from the 4 leaders to now include 2 emerging leaders.  Yeah!

It was also cool to hear we have more people connected through CR than ever before following the kick-off a few weeks ago.  If you are struggling…with anything…you can find a community to help you walk through it and work through it at Suncrest.  It meets Mondays (7:00pm) at the St. John Campus.  Click here for more info.

Posted in Suncrest

I sometimes tell people that being a Pastor comes with complete job security.  Why?  Because the job will never be done.  The church’s mission will never be completely accomplished.

Still, that doesn’t mean the Mission hasn’t been accomplished in some powerful ways. And since our mission is to be Used by God to Change Lives I always ask myself:  How is God using us…Suncrest? I got that question answered a few times recently:

Last week, I played golf with one of our church planters from Minooka, IL.  The Village Christian Church is five years old now and almost 400 people worship with them each Sunday.  Nate has expressed his gratitude to Suncrest many times.

On Sunday, I stopped in our “Starting Point” class where people new to Suncrest (and often to faith) get a chance to learn the ropes and ask their questions in a great setting.  I had baptized three of the people in the class earlier this year and this group connected so well in the classes they have decided to stay together as a new community group.

On Monday, I was in Boston to meet with our church plant there and it is a very similar story.  Your investment there (money, leadership, and even a Suncrest college student in Boston who plays drums in their band) means there are hundreds and hundreds gathered for worship at Reunion Christian Church in the Back Bay Hilton.

Last Night, we saw at our leader’s gathering how 2010 has already become a year of “more” – in areas that important to measure internally:  More people worshiping God each week, more people “contributing” by serving in roles, more people “connecting” in community groups, more campuses launching, more benevolence giving, more baptisms than ever before.

Are we ready to declare “Mission Accomplished”?  I’m not.  But is sure is inspiring to be part of a church that selflessly and sacrificially makes that the goal.

Posted in Suncrest

Look closely at that picture.  It is a picture of my mom’s belly when she was 8 ½ months pregnant with me.  See my foot?  I must have been stretching.

I talked to my mom on the phone today and was glad she had a good weekend.  Dad took her our last night (I took Jenny out last night too…learned from the best).  After church today, they went to the nursing home and had lunch with my grandmother.  Then she went over to my brother’s house for a while this afternoon.  This week she’ll help watch my other brother’s son and then they are coming up here for a long weekend with us next weekend.

In every way she is just a fantastic mom…I knew it when I was a kid.  I have no memory of her not serving God.  She was my den mother in Cub Scouts.  She would yell loudly at my ballgames – which is more cool now than it was then.  I’m only more certain of it now.  She is supportive without being intrusive.  She cares deeply for my dad and is at his side always (can I keep saying it? The best thing to do for your kids is to work on your marriage).  And she is a natural as a grandmother…now seven times over.

By the way, even though it made it more interesting the opening line of this blog was a total fabrication.  That picture is a random one off the internet…you didn’t seriously think I was going to “honor” my mom by putting a picture of her belly on my blog did you?

Posted in Suncrest

For the last 9 weeks, 18 of our staff (including a few spouses) committed to shed some extra pounds and take a healthier approach to life.  And…I’m amazed at the good a little healthy competition can bring about.

We weighed in every Tuesday morning and published our loss or gain to each other (a little healthy accountability helps too!)  The results were pretty amazing.

Overall, we lost 247 pounds.  ALL 18 were lighter lost at least SOME weight.  Five of the staff (not me!) lost over 20 pounds…the Hobart Campus dominated with all 4 of their staff in this group!

And the winner…Hobart Campus Pastor Doug Gamble lost over 30 pounds!

Posted in Suncrest

Today was Opening Day for Crown point Youth Baseball…and Jack’s baseball career.  If we are friends on Facebook, you may already know that Jack ended up on “The Cubs” for his T-Ball Team.  Still sorting that one out!

Crown Point does it right…They had 700+ kids do a parade around the square and then opening ceremonies at the main field.  This community  loves to support their kids.  And it was cool to see two of the Youth Baseball board members were from Suncrest…and a few coaches I ran into also.  I love seeing people invest in their communities…and Dad’s invest in their kids!

Jack loved it and it was great to see him smack one to the outfield in his second at bat.  The second picture I caught as his bat was hitting the ball — pretty natural form!  And Abby was a champ herself.  She actually enjoyed her brother’s game…and we were grateful for the play area near-by.

Posted in Suncrest

What do elders do on a retreat?  Besides laughing a lot and praying together, here are 2 important areas we covered in our time together.

1.  Life Check-in.

-I mentioned in the last post that the elders prayed for me and my family.  That was after I gave them a candid personal update about how I am doing with life – spiritual, physical, family stuff, etc.

-But it’s not just me that does this.  We go around the circle and do it with one another.  Very honest about struggles, challenges…and things to celebrate!

2.  Look back and Look ahead for Suncrest

-The conversation is free to become pretty imaginative about where God is leading our church, but we always bring it back to just a few areas that we sense God leading us to and that we can focus on.

-Outward…we are consumed with the initiatives of the Jesus Mission (Highland, South Bend, Liberia).

-Inward…we sense Community Groups need more leadership attention.  Our volunteer coaches are incredible in the way they have served without a staff leader for almost 7 months now.

-Community…One HUGE takeaway was a clear sense God is leading us to make more and more and more impact on the communities where we live.  More compassion ministry…more integrated into every level and fiber of our church.  We said we didn’t want last year’s “servolution” to be something that was just a seasonal emphasis.  But we are afraid it has been.

-Leadership…Lots of stuff here:  How are we REALLY doing at reproducing leaders/leadership development?  How do elders roles look as we move to 4 campuses and bring on new elders later this year?  We also had a challenging, but necessary conversation about our need to develop a clear approach to church discipline.

I love our elders….Jim Bowman, Dan Smith, Gordon Barker, Randy Parish, and Bill Davy (our team leader).  These guys like to serve in the background to GUARD and GUIDE our church, but their influence is in the changed lives we get to see so often around here.

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