.Real.Greg.Lee.

My prayer is that this season and the coming year will be marked by the presence of Christ in your life…his light in your darkness.

Posted in Suncrest

There was an article in the paper today about Lynn and Daryl Schweitzer…the suncrest family that lost their house in a fire on Friday.  As you can read at the link below, our church family and the community has responded to this family.

Our church does this all year long, but there is something uniquely powerful about it in this season.  You can also read the article for info on how you can help!

Click here for the article

Merry Christmas!

Posted in Suncrest

I love our Christmas Eve Services.  It’s always a combo of a traditional feel (carols and candles) with something family-friendly (this year, an interactive reading with the kids in the audience, and a cool video to start) and some elements to not let it get stale.

This year, I thought the band nailed it with their versions of Joy to the World and Hark the Herald Angels Sing to kick it off.  Also had some worship tunes that aren’t Christmas-centric.  Those help us remember this isn’t just a ‘carol-sing”, but a night of worship.

We had a big crowd tonight in some very challenging weather conditions.  I expect equally large ones for the 3 services tomorrow.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.                   –Luke 2:11

Posted in Suncrest

I was twittering back and forth with a friend who was at the Bears game last night.  Bitter cold…and Incredible.

Once again, I’m happy my prediction was wrong.  I know everyone is hoping I’ll pick them to lose again on Sunday against Houston as they tend to do opposite of my pick!

And the best part was this:

When Alex Brown blocked that field goal with 25 seconds left, it not only gave the Bears a chance for victory, but it gave me the 2 measly points I needed to win one of my fantasy football leagues.  Gotta love it.

Posted in Suncrest

If you ask me, this is the perfect formula for a Bears Loss.  I hope I’m wrong, but I call ’em as I see ’em.  (and, notably, I usually call them wrong!)

The Bears have every reason to play well tonight…home in the cold, play-off hopes alive, Monday night football.  And that’s exactly why they won’t.  They struggle to win the games they should.

On top of that, if they win tonight it will be the first time since the Super-Bowl run that they would have won 3 games in a row.  It just doesn’t happen.

I’ll be glued to the set (s much as I can with a million things to do, a 5 year old and a 2 year old who need baths and getting to bed).  I’m watching because I need the Bears Defense to score 8 points in one of my fantasy leagues for the championship.

Posted in Suncrest

I know it seems like every Sunday is crazy, but yesterday was as wild as they come:

-Bitter Cold – sub-zero temperatures.  Wind Chills in at -30.  Once I finally got home, it was a good day to build this fire!

-Jared taught on gift-giving and I thought he had some really excellent thoughts…and some great one-liners.  Good Stuff.

-Heat went out during second service in the worship area! 

-Power went out before 3rd service and during third service.  It didn’t stay out long, but it does take a while to power everything back up…lights, sound system, screens, etc.  Jared handled it flawlessly.

-Since I wasn’t teaching, I got to visit children’s areas.  I tend to think we have the best volunteers on planet earth.  It was awesome to be able to poke my head in and say “thank you.”

-I also got into Student Life Worship to hear Nathan teach (our intern).  He did a really nice job!  When I took the picture above from SLW, my phone made the sound of a camera…and all of a sudden I was a huge distraction.  ugh!

-Best part…4 baptisms.  One was a guys’ second visit.  Three were from another family…mom, daughter, son…who have had a rough ride in life.  I did a funeral a few years ago for a teenage boy, their son/brother.  The daughter doesn’t live in NWI, but does listen to our podcast every week and is growing in her faith.  There is always a story, isn’t there?

Posted in Suncrest

We went to Indy Friday for the Christmas Party for Jenny’s company.  She teaches pre liscence Insurance classes here in NW Indiana for Pathfinder Corporation, which is the largest Insurance School in the state.  She’s been with them since January, so it was her first Christmas Party and a chance to meet many staff she only interacts with by phone/email.

A few fun observations:

-We ate at Bravo Cucina Italiana…really great food/ambiance…hear it’s one of the best places in Indy.

-Talked to 2 employees who attend East 91st Street Christian Church — our Mother Church!

-A lot of the instructors  are part time or hold other roles.  One is a stand-up comic, who writes a lot of humor also.  One is a  pastor.  I sat close to a former criminal court judge and an attorney…some wild stories!

-They asked me and the pastor who works for them to both say the dinner prayer.  I still laugh at how I’m regarded as the “professional prayer” in most settings.

-I was thinking today about how huge this business is and yet it has fewer staff than Suncrest.  A couple of things hit me…

• One was how much work they contract out.  I wonder if churches will ever do that (Can you imagine just contracting out our children’s ministry or worship ministry?  Nope. 
• Second, was how much LEADERSHIP we demand of our staff vs. a company like this.  Everyone who works for Pathfinder is very highly skilled in their expertise and they do collaborate about best practices/decisions/etc., but as near as I could tell there was only 1 leader…the owner.  None of the them need to accomplish major goals (let alone changed lives) by setting goals, creating plans, recruiting volunteer leaders, motivating those leaders to recruit volunteers and an emerging leader, providing training, executing the plan while caring about both the people involved and the RESULTS of the initiative.

It really was a great experience.  I appreciate the staff Jenny works with…and appreciate my staff all the more!

Posted in Suncrest

It looks like we won’t see double digit temperatures here until at least Tuesday.  Had quite an ice storm at our house Thursday night…it was almost an inch think on the driveway.

Posted in Suncrest

My tech skills are suspect, but there should be a video below.  (If you get this by email, you’ll have to click on it to go to the site.) 

It’s a personal summary that reflects the letter we sent to suncrest last week about end of year finances and the growth momentum at our church right now.  Thought a number of people might engage with a video more than a letter so here it is…straight from my office.

Posted in Suncrest

From the chatter I hear, Campus Pastor is the new cool and/or default place to serve in ministry-world.  I’m glad to hear it.  As the multi-site movement grows, this need for great leaders in this role is going to be huge.  But not everyone is cut out for it…because I’m also hearing that there is a premium on finding the right campus pastor – one who has the leadership skills, personality skills, and humility you need.

In this way, Suncrest is blessed.  Doug Gamble has launched our east campus in Merrillville, leading it beyond all expectations.  On his blog, he is reflecting this week on some of the different things he has been surprised by.  I thought his most recent one titled “I can’t know everything” was really good, and was real about the tension that exists internally as ministries expand.  You should read it.

Also, I read another blog today from a campus pastor from LifeChurch.tv He is actually the campus pastor of their Phoenix, Arizona campus (Lifechurch’s original campus is in Oklahoma).  He also deals with the tensions…and ultimately the blessings of this role called “campus pastor” on the LifeChurch Blog.

Here’s to GREAT campus pastors…and my thankfulness that we have one of them

Posted in Suncrest