I’m Going To Be A Father!!!

No this is no joke…we found out today that Denise is pregnant…we are going to have a baby!!! God gets all of the glory…the doctors told us we’d never be able to have a baby at our age…but God wasn’t listening. Words cannot express the flood of emotions I am feeling tonight…I have laughed…and cried…and prayed…a lot. Denise is about five weeks along…it’s going to be an AMAZING December!!!

Exponential - Day 1

Let me begin this series of posts by first thanking Todd Wilson for asking me to be part of the blogging team at this year’s Exponential. His invitation to have an inside look at a major conference…as well as the ability to be in such close proximity of some of today’s top Christian leaders had a profound effect on me and my pastorate. Secondly I would like to thank Scott Hodge and Todd Rhoades for putting up with me for three days. I’m definitely an acquired taste and those guys are some of the best men in ministry. God used both of them to speak into my life in ways they can’t even begin to imagine.

Day #1 of Exponential started with a flash…and didn’t let up until Rick Warren left for his flight three days later. In a sense the entire conference was a blur and it is only now that I am able to process everything I heard…and discovered there. The first order of business was to get with Todd Wilson, Scott Hodge and Todd Rhoades to coordinate the blogging and video taping. That meeting never really took place…everytime we tried to sit down to talk somebody we knew would come up to chat. That in and of itself is the beauty of Exponential….the connecting of old friends and the making of new ones…with a few great session talks thrown in for good measure.

At some point Jay Hardwick…my old “Guitar Hero” nemesis joined us…and the “party” went into overdrive. Most of the first day was spent playing a game of “hurry up and wait” trying to set up the interview with Andy Stanley. One minute it was on….the next it wasn’t…kind of like the video of the interview.

The conference kicked off with a bang…the band was REALLY GOOD!!! Ed Stetzer took the stage to offer up some pretty interesting stats on church planting in America. In nutshell he was saying that we American’s suck when it comes to church planting…compared to other parts of the world. From there he had a BUNCH of seasoned church planters hit the stage for a sit-down “round table” discussion about the future of church planting. I know I’ve heard this phrase before…but when Dr. Stetzer said, “You become what you celebrate!” it just seemed to resonate with me. Church pastors have a tendency to really explain what they are against…but never really properly celebrate what they are for…at least this pastor does.

After a break it was time for Andy Stanley. I gotta be honest with you…I had to do another interview and never got to hear Andy’s main session. I understand it was good and have checked out many of the notes that others have blogged about it…I wish I had been in there.

Soon after Andy left the main stage…the interview was on (got Chris Reeder’s question in). I will go on record as saying that Stanley and his entourage was told the interview was going out live…but somehow that didn’t register with any of them. The answers were honest and candid…it was a different Andy Stanley that I’ve ever seen speak at a conference. That was the problem…Andy was pretty candid about the church planting Northpoint is doing overseas…mentioning leaders of those churches in the process. Some of those leaders pastor in parts of the world where Christianity is outlawed…thus the video got pulled…and the remaining copies are being edited for later broadcast. Some highlights of the interview:

1. Andy won’t be blogging or Twittering anytime soon.
2. There is some concern that Los is paid too much because of the clothes he can afford to wear.
3. He was recooperating from back surgery when he hijacked Adam Cleveland’s blog…and on pain medicine…thus explains the mis-spelled words.
4. At 50 Andy still has a drive to speak into the lives of young church planters.
5. When you’ve been successful in church planting it is easy just to sit back and coast on your achievements…but don’t.
6. ChrisElrod.com has had a HUGE impact on the ministry and leadership style of Andy Stanley.

By the way..the video has been edited…is in route to Andy…and should be up pretty soon.

I had to leave the interview early to go start the blogging workshop. I must admit…I was surprised that anyone showed up. Thank God people had questions about blogging or it would have sucked. As much as Todd, Scott and I blog…we actually know very little about the technical side of blogging. It was pretty cool to see some of my friends…Adam Mayfield, Erick Bauman and Bobby Triplett…in the workshop. The biggest surprise was David Foster’s attendance (his book, A Renegade’s Guide To God rocked my world)…I’m sitting up there thinking, “Holy crap David…you should be teaching this workshop…not us”.

After the workshop I packed up…headed to a local restaurant for an invitation-only shin-dig by folks with Fermi and International Mission Board. I was pretty cool getting to hang out with Shawn Lovejoy, Dave Putman and Ed Stetzer in an informal setting. Rick Warren stopped by and I was shocked that he wasn’t there to speak…just hang out…which was really cool. The highlight was getting to sit with Brad Lomenick of Catalyst…and listen to a bunch of passionate young church planters be on fire for God.

The night ended with an hour’s drive home…and only a few hours rest. Day #2 was coming up…

Whiteboard

It looks like we have found a way for me to make Whiteboard on May 22nd…but I gotta fly up that morning and fly back that night.  By the way, Ben promised me that if I’d get there he’d let me be one of the speakers…at the 5:30p.m. time slot. 

The “Revival” In Lakeland

Before I begin posting about Exponential…I feel a need to address something I have been questioned about a BUNCH over the last few days.  It is concerning the “revival” that is taking place at a local church in Lakeland.  The questions started last week while I was at Exponential, have continued through dozens of emails a day and now have begun showing up in the comment section of my blog.

I’ll go on record as saying this…I have not been to the church or the “revival” meetings.  I do not feel comfortable in commenting right now on whether it is real or fake.  At some point before the week is out I will attend one of the meetings…take a few days to reflect…discern what I see and experience with Scripture…and then let my congregation know my take on it Sunday.

I am comfortable enough to say that I have some questions as to the validity of it.  There are several reasons for this…the main one of which is that the Assemblies of God in Florida (of which the church in question is a part of) is not endorsing it…Southeastern University is not endorsing it (I respect their leadership very much)…and very few people in Lakeland or Polk County are even aware that it is going on…or are affected by it.  The majority of the attendance has been from people flying in from other parts of the world desperately trying to relive what happened at Brownsville and Toronto.  Those in Lakeland…or from Lakeland…are also skeptical of the church sponsoring the event.  This is not a new church…just a new name.  It is the remnants and leadership of a former hyper-Charismatic mega-church that came crashing down amid scandal.  This will not have been the first time the church or its leaders has used “signs of wonder and healing” to hype itself on the national and international Pentecostal stage.  Most folks in Lakeland are looking at the “revival”…and the hype from the church sponsoring it…as “same song second verse”.

Even though I am Southern Baptist I still believe that the “gifts of Spirit” are alive and well today…in certain situations.  It is certainly not a Biblical issue that is causing me to question the validity of the “revival”…it is the issue of integrity within the church’s leadership that is causing me to question it.  As I stated above…I will attend…and discern…and talk to my church about it.

Initial Thoughts From Exponential

Beginning tomorrow I will post a day-by-day summary from last week’s Exponential Conference in Orlando. It was crazy hectic the entire time and I never really had a chance to blog about much of it…or reflect on what I learned. Roughly four days have passed since I was there and only now am I starting to process everything…here are my initial thoughts:

1. I can love a man…and learn from a man…that does not share my doctrine.

2. America is more interested in church growth than church planting…I’m not sure how I feel about that?!?!

3. Twitter may be the only true social networking tool on the Internet.

4. God uses diverse styles, structures and leadership for His kingdom…there is no one right way to plant churches.

5. Urban church planters care way more than rural church planters about cultural relevance…probably because they need to.

6. The are a bunch of mixed up, running-into-walls, making mistakes, passionate young church leaders out there…that are going to set the world on fire for God!!!

7. Never judge a book by it’s cover…or the man that wrote it.

8. It is much easier to say stuff…blog stuff…or write stuff…when you are not in the same room with the person.

9. Cool “church” words are becoming dying fads…people just look like idiots when they try to use them.

10. The church has “emerged”…those still clinging to that term no longer sit at the “cool kids table”.

11. Those not in the game…are not relevant…ignore their banter.

12. Don’t get comfortable…or God will stop using you.

13. Life is too short to hold a grudge over something so stupid as the way in which we need to go about reaching people for Christ in the 21st Century.

14. A good video, cranking worship and relevant marketing…can’t take the place of one older gentleman speaking truth from the Word of God.

15. You don’t have to drink the Kool-Aid to be friends with someone.

16. The smallest voices seem to be making the biggest noise…and impact…these days.

17. We’ve lost ground in the cause for Christ…the world is becoming less “churched”.

18. Only other pastors understand what it’s like…to be a pastor.

19. The biggest names in Christian leadership…wrestle with the same things that the smallest names in Christian leadership do.

20. There is still much work to do for God’s Kingdom…and we’re wasting time!!!

Conversations And Realizations

Without getting too dramatic 2008 has turned into quite a defining year in my personal life and ministry.  Over the last few months God has given me the privilege of being around some of the greatest Christian leaders and voices of our time.  He has used these men to speak into my life…not always directly…but many times indirectly through their private, candid conversations concerning ministry, church leadership and legacy.

My grandmother used to say, “Any idiot can tear down a bridge…it’s takes a genius to build one”.  It’s a thought that ran through my mind all week at Exponential as I watched diverse church styles, structures, leaders and age groups.  I watched a young leader like Bobby Triplett exhibit the same passion for the Word of God as Tim Keller…a not-so-young leader…and both excited me…and gave me hope for the Church of tomorrow.

There is still a long road before us…before me…but I no longer feel satisfied to sit on the sidelines as some kind of travelogue commentator.  Life is short…at 42-years-old I”m in the locker room at half time…there is still more of the game to come…but things are half over…I better get busy.  I think I’ll spend the third and fourth quarters of my life figuring out how to help others make the journey.  I do not yet know what that looks like…or feels like…but I love being in the midst of change and risk!!!

On Monday I will begin several days of posting my thoughts about the people I met and conversations I had at Exponential.  After that…who knows…I’m feeling restless…boxed in…ready to run free…and speak.

Dave Ferguson Singing “Be Our Guest”

One of the funnier moments in our interview with Dave Ferguson at Exponential 2008.

Tim Keller’s Rock N’ Roll Introductions

What do Alice Cooper, the 70’s rock band Boston and Dr. Tim Keller have in common? Check out the videos below to get the answer.

Answers To Questions About Backstage @ Exponential

Over the last 24-hours I have received a lot of calls and emails all asking the same three questions concerning Exponential:

1. What happened to the Andy Stanley video?

2. Why didn’t we do an interview with Tim Keller?

3. Is it true that Rick Warren missed his plane to do an interview with Scott, Todd and I?

Here are the answers:

1. Yes, the Andy Stanley interview went out live via streaming video…was also recorded with better equipment…and I do have a copy of the raw footage.  For the truth (there’s some crap floating out already) behind the removing of the interview from the Internet…go over to Scott Hodge’s blog for the answer.  There is no spin…Scott’s explanation is dead on.  At some point in the near future (a couple of weeks at the longest) we’ll have the video up on our YouTube page.   Andy was incredible to work with…answered every question we asked…never dodged any hard questions…was very candid…and the video allows people to see another side of him.  I can;t wait for you guys to see it!!!

2. Dr. Tim Keller was very sick…yet still spoke at Exponential three times in a single day.  In between sessions he rested his voice…an interview with us might have prevented him from speaking at all of his scheduled times.  His schedule was pretty tight…he had to do a “quick out” after his main session in order to catch his flight. He was gracious enough to spend a few moments with us before he left…but it was obvious he used all of his voice to bring the Word of God to the conference at large.  In all honesty…Dr. Keller’s knowledge of the Bible and church leadership is so far above mine…I might not have understood anything he was saying had he been able to do an interview. 

3. Rick technically didn’t miss his flight on accident…he chose to miss his flight in order to do the interview with us.  I’m not kidding.  He has such a heart for young pastors and church planters that he wanted to be able to speak to those that were not able to actually attend the conference.  We had a BUNCH of people watching the live feed…and Rick answers were rich with knowledge.  I was blown away by his accessibility and his desire to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached in every corner of the world.  To know that he could have been home a few hours earlier…and yet stayed to talk with those that didn’t make the conference…was inspiring!!!

So there are the answers.  If anyone tells you anything else…they are full of bull excretion…because only a handful were “in the know”!!!

Rick Warren

Scott and I just finished an AMAZING interview with Rick Warren…he made some pretty special arrangements to make the meeting happen. I was impressed by his deep desire to invest in young church leader’s lives…in fact I’ve been seeing him do it all week. I was at an “invitation only” function the other night…no one knew that Rick was going to be there…but he showed up with no fanfare…no entourage…just a seasoned pastor wanting to fellowship with newer pastors. I was shocked that he was not the keynote speaker…in fact…he wasn’t there to speak at all (and only led the closing prayer)…he was just there to hang out. He was just “one of the guys” talking about social justice, the future of church planting and things that affect pastors from all backgrounds. I gotta tell you…if you didn’t know who he was…you would have never known he was a best-selling author and megachurch pastor.

People make so many judgment calls from far off…make assumptions without never really being around the person. I’m not saying that I know Rick Warren…far from it (though I would like to)…but I was around him quite a bit over the last few days. Rick has a genuine love for God…love for the local church…love for people globally…and a desire to see people come to Christ. For a man that could easily rest on his laurels…he still has the fire in his belly for the Kingdom of Christ. I was blown away and moved by that!!!