.Real.Greg.Lee.

This will likely be the theme of my posts this week…and next week.  I’ll blog as I have internet access next week in Africa, but I’m expecting that to be pretty limited.

-We leave for Liberia on Saturday, but we won’t get there until Monday.  After encountering our 5th airport later we will touch down in Monrovia, have a short chance to clean up, and head right to a welcome dinner put on by our hosts.  It’s then one good night’s sleep (hopefully) and up the next morning to start serving.  VBS, medical clinic, construction…whatever it takes!

-Just found out from our church planters there that I’ll get to teach the joint Sunday school class at their church in Monrovia next Sunday morning.  He wants me to talk about what it means to “follow” Jesus.  Can you say “The 4 C’s”?

-We are working on different tech pieces to try to do a live video link in our suncrest services on Sunday, Feb 22.  We’ve tested www.ustream.com (good option, but only one way communication), www.tokbox.com (great site, but probably better designed for one-on-one communication.  Today we are looking at www.skype.com (had lots of recommendations on this) and I just had another recommendation for www.oovoo.com.  If you have Internet available, why use the phone anymore?  These are all free.

-More to come.  Please do pray.  Lots to come together in these last 4 days.

Posted in Suncrest

Our student ministry got back today form their winter retreat.  From what I can tell, it was an incredible weekend.

Jared told me today they had two decisions over the weekend to embrace Christ and be baptized. 

I got some pictures from one of the youth leaders (including the one above) who couldn’t stop raving about the trip.

The students were pouring into the church building as I was walking out a little after 1:00 today and you could tell there had been some real connections made and a lot of laughter.

Great Job Jared, Nathan, and Chris.  You guys Rock.  And our volunteer youth leaders are the best…John, Diane, Chris, Jason, Kris, Ashley (and probably more I’ll regret forgetting!)  I love how you give a part of your life for these students.

Posted in Suncrest

If you are from suncrest, this is either a powerful reflection (if you are from west campus) or preview (if you are from east campus) of the essence of the teaching.

I love it when someone is so sold out to serving that they would “give their life” for it.  (Disregard the Al Gore reference.  That really has nothing to do with it.)

Posted in Suncrest

I’ve been following a blog over at Catalyst Space that targets young leaders…especially entrepreneurial leaders.  Nothing below is original with me.  It’s all from them.  And, I think, it’s priceless if you are thinking about doing something new…something significant.

——————————————————————-

5 Lessons for Kingdom Entrepreneurs

1.  “If you’ll do now what most people won’t. You’ll be able to do, for the rest of your life, what most people can’t.

It’s the biblical principle of delayed gratification. You sacrifice your desire now so you can reap future rewards. That may be: investing in your retirement, working out, eating healthy. In the case of Kingdom Entrepreneurs it means sacrificing time (every week, even every day) to start working on, praying about, researching, discussing your venture. Whether it’s a church plant, a collaborative project, or launching a non-profit, to start your own thing, it’s going to take sacrifice.

2.  If you go looking for money, you’ll get advice.  If you go looking for advice, you’ll get money.

It’s hard to find funding for a risky startup. But when you ask for advice, everyone loves to share their opinion, and some people really want to share their knowledge. When you come to someone humbly asking for advice, they will invest their experience and knowledge in you, and perhaps also buying-in to your project.

3.  Once you build your financial model, double your expenses and double the time it will take to get your revenue, and that will be about right. It will always take longer and cost more than you expect.

This is a great rule of thumb for any project. In our culture we tend to over promise and under deliver. It’s easy to be overly optimistic and plan from a best-case scenario perspective – but that’s often unrealistic. To avoid surprises and heartbreak in your entrepreneurial ventures, plan for fewer people, less interest, and higher development costs.

4.  The only difference between failure and success in the startup arena is the ability to survive the lows.

There will be highs and lows when you’re first starting up. Make sure you don’t go bankrupt in the lows. Countless startups have gone bust with large orders and opportunities on the horizon, but were unable to get there because of over spending or poor planning. Minimize your startup costs, minimize your overhead, minimize your debt.

5.  There’s only one way to fail, and that’s quitting.

Keep this quote in large letters on your wall: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP – Winston Churchill

Posted in Suncrest

Some stuff I’m realizing…

-How God has pulled this all together pretty quickly…from adjusting schedules to Jenny’s sister having the freedom to come hang with our kids.

-How supportive everyone has been…especially financially.  Our church.  Our family.  A network of friends and other churches I have tried to bless along the way.  It’s amazing how it comes back to you.

-That “25 hours on the plane” isn’t combined for the trip there and the trip back.  It is one way!

-That our missionaries there recommend sleeping under a mosquito net each night. 

-That the malaria pills I start taking this Sunday are known to cause hallucinations.  Fun?

-That over the last 14 years, our missions ministry at Suncrest has invested over $100,000 in the Church planting ministry there.  Can’t wait to personally thank Danny Buegar for his faithful leadership and see the fruit of such an investment.

Posted in Suncrest

Once a month, we gather for an all-staff meeting.  Full-time/part time doesn’t matter.  Ministry Staff/Office support staff/custodial staff.  We are all there.  I think it’s really important to get everyone in the room to talk through things from time to time.

As with every church and business I know, the economy and finances are on our mind and become part of the conversation about how to accomplish the most ministry…So I shared the most ludicrous thing I have read in the last few months.  I’ve removed the names because I have no desire to attack someone else.  But, I do wonder if what gets said here isn’t actually true for some in ministry…a mindset we slip into when we have lost our focus.  Here it is:

 On Sunday, November 12, ___________Church held a ceremonial mortgage-burning in each of its three morning worship services. _______loaned the church nearly $15 million almost five years ago to facilitate construction of the church’s 150,000 square foot, first-phase facility, which sits on a 146-acre campus.

On the morning of the ceremonial mortgage burning, Pastor _______________ called it “the largest and most significant celebration in our 38-year history.”

Really?  The mortgage burning?  The most significant celebration in the church’s history? 

Was paying off the debt more significant than…

…the marriage just restored?

…the child who understood Jesus in her class last week?

…the teenager who experienced God’s grace in his small group?

…the addict who is finding freedom in Jesus?

…the lost person who found faith?

…the baptisms in last week’s serivce?

I’m not taking away from a great accomplishment of retiring debt…just putting it in perspective.  As I’ve learned from the Scriptures…  Money makes  great servant, but a lousy God.

Posted in Suncrest

A few things that caught my attention this week and might be worth yours…

1.  An article from the Tribune about the trend toward churches meeting in movie theaters…Click here

2.  For all my family and friends who call Illinois home, this picture:

3.  An article by Larry Osborne that hit me in the gut as a Pastor/Leader who can be unrealistic…Click here

4.  I’m in a group with my brothers that predicts each NFL game.  I stink at it, but get this…My older brother won the local area contest for the whole season (1st place out of 900 people) and got 41st out of 145,000 people nationally.  Way to go, Tim!

5.  Tried to run 2 miles today, but my right calf quit at one and a half miles.  Thought it was a cramp, but it has gotten worse through the evening.

6.  12 days until Africa…wow.

Posted in Suncrest

Bear with me here…I predicted Bears games all year long and was BAD at it.  You think I’m going to let that stop me from predicting the Super Bowl?

There are a lot of reasons I like the Cardinals in this one…and most of them are more sentimental than substantial:

1.  I grew up rooting for the Football Cardinals while they were in St. Louis.  They were terrible.  In fact, the franchise has gone as long without a Super Bowl appearance as the cubs have without a world series appearance.

2.  I had a Jim Hart jersey growing up, but mostly imagined myself as Otis Anderson, Roy Green, or Pat Tilly.  Later, it was Neil Lomax.  Never Dan Dierdorf (Who imagines himself as a lineman?)

3.  The only NFL game I saw in person during my childhood was the Football Cardinals.  Ironically (now that I’m a huge Bears fan) I was rooting them on as they beat Chicago on October 14, 1984 with my dad, my uncle Bill, and my older Brother.  Box Score of the game if you click here — amazing what you can find online, eh?  I didn’t get it at the time, but best part of day was seeing Walter Payton score a touchdown.

4.  As for the actual game…I like Kurt Warner’s story and experience.  Larry Fitzgerald is incredible.  And their Defense and Running game has come alive in the play-offs.  I don’t like Ben Roethlesburger, but I do have a lot of respect for the Steelers D and their head coach, Mike Tomlin.

Posted in Suncrest

Let’s be honest.  I’m not the most edgy guy in the world.

I drive a plain, efficient compact car.  When I’m driving, I listen to AM radio or other people’s sermons.  My mom usually cuts my hair and does so with a pretty conservative look.  My fashion limits don’t really push beyond names like Dockers and Nike.  In fact, there is even a part of me that pushes back against things that I think are just faddish in style.  Everything in me would rather be respected than considered cool. 

However, there is something happening in our world at a SUBSTANCE level, not just a STYLE level.  A new way people are communicating.  New realities our world is facing.  New environments for relationships to grow and the gospel to be spread.

Some who have been doing non-traditional church for 15 years now comment with sarcasm that many churches out there are “ready to go if the 1950’s ever come back around”.  Sad but true.

My fear…those same people are now leading churches that are “ready to go if the 1990’s ever come back around”.  And it’s not (mostly) about being cool.  Not about using hip-hop music in worship.  Not about making the “lobby” of your church look like starbucks.  It’s so much more substantial than that…

I might write some more reflections on this later, but the video below is a must see about the changing nature of our world.  And…why if Global and Mobile are not central to your understanding of future ministry you deserve to be the punch line of this new generation’s ministry jokes.

Posted in Suncrest

Had a true friend send me this picture.  Some wise soul had a little extra time on his hands outside of Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals.  Cardinals have 10 world championships in the last 100 years, which is approximately 10 more than the team referenced in the picture.

Posted in Suncrest