Hey there blog fans.  I wanted to let you know of a few changes.

Here at “Meanderings” you will continue to find updated posts about pretty much everything under the sun except for our upcoming transition to New Orleans and subsequent creation and launch of The CENTER – a new community center launching in Fall of 2010.

We have created a separate blog (just click here) for all updates of The CENTER and I would ask that you subscribe to these updates as we want our friends and family to be on this adventure with us every step of the way and to be praying for every aspect of our transition and The CENTER.

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement.

Christopher

I had just been working on a blog about criticism in leadership when I came across another great post from Mark Batterson.  I figure why redo something that captures exactly what I want to say?  Criticism will always exists when you are a leader and I think Mark is far more pastoral in his assessment then I could be.  So here you go…it’s a great read.

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Criticism 101 – Mark Batterson

Thought I’d share a few thoughts on the topic of criticism. I’m honestly surprised I don’t have more critics than I do, but I have my fair share. Here is a simple rule of thumb: if you are a leader you will be criticized. Period. If you’re not being criticized you might not be a leader! But how you handle it is so critical.

A few months ago I heard Brian Houston say something so good and so true: “I’d rather be a film maker than a film critic.” His point? There are those who do and those who criticize those who do. I’d rather be a doer than a critic. And I’ve learned that the more critical a person is the less they’ve probably done. Just shooting straight.

In the words of Teddy Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or the where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.”

Life is too short and the message is too important to spend our energies criticizing each other. Infighting must break the Heavenly Father’s heart. It’s self-righteous. It’s sideways energy. And when we take pot shots at each other we’re just playing into the enemy’s hands. We need to be about the Father’s business!

Let me share a few lessons I’ve learned about criticism:

1) Thou Shalt Offend Pharisees. Jesus didn’t have the time of day for the self-appointed critics who formed the religious establishment. He didn’t back down. He confronted their hypocrisy. If you follow in Jesus’ footsteps, you’ll offend some pharisees along the way!

2) Don’t play defense. Life is too short to get defensive. Celebrate your weaknesses and failures. That’ll defuse criticism quicker than anything else. Keep a humble spirit but keep playing offense for the kingdom!

3) Consider the source! An insult from a fool is actually a compliment and a compliment from a fool is actually an insult.

4) Preach for an audience of one. The only person you’re accountable to as a preacher is the One who called you in the first place. Never forget it. And for the record, critics will also be held accountable for the criticisms they wield so easily and so quickly.

5) Don’t get into an argument! I love Proverbs 26:4, “When arguing with fools, don’t answer their foolish arguments, or you will become as foolish as they are.” The very next verse says, “When arguing with fools, be sure to answer their foolish arguments, or they will become wise in their own estimation.” Those back-to-back verse seem to contradict each other but I think they reveal a deeper truth: if you’re arguing with a fool you can’t win.

The bottom line? Don’t be a critic. Be a doer of deeds.

Timing is a funny thing.  Three years ago when we found out we were pregnant we ended up moving to Southern California a month later.  Sure there was stress but a lot of that came with our daughter being born a week and half before I was to launch our second campus for church.

Now it’s kind of like Deja Vu.

On Friday morning we found out we are expecting our second kid.  We are excited and hope that everyone will pray for us now…but that whole timing thing comes into play.  You know since in January we are moving to New Orleans and in fall of next year hope to launch a new community center.  God is funny.

The next few years will be quite exciting.

Alright brain trust I need your help once again. As most of you now Leanne and I are moving back to New Orleans to begin a Community Center and future church. The community Center will be called THE CENTER. We need to buy a domain name for our future website…which is why I need you. What I wanted was taken so I need something that reads easy and is remembered easily. Which do you like?

centernola.org

nolacenter.org

thecenternola.org

centerme.org

or create your own.  In fact, if you create a domain name I like better than any of the above and we choose it – I will buy/send you a 25 gift card to the store or restaurant of your choice.

Occasionally I find something on another blog that I find helpful or interesting and I like to share that with all of you.  Today’s is from Mark Batterson on his reasons he likes conferences.  I have a few of my own reasons that are not on his list but I enjoyed it and I think it might be a good read for anyone in leadership.

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I’m a conference junkie. Always have been. Always will be. But here are a few “reasons why” and a few “how to” thoughts.

#1 I never want to become a closed system.

Over time, we develop what psychologists call inattentional blindness. In other words, we stop noticing things in our environment. Going to conferences is one way to overcome this. It gives you fresh eyes. I always come back from conferences seeing what we do at NCC in different ways. Conferences keep me from becoming a closed system.

#2 Allot 5% of your church budget to leadership development.

The 5% can certainly include a resource budget for staff members. And it should include some staff retreats or team building experiences. But I think conferences are a big part of this budget. I’m just a big believer in reconnaissance. I’m always looking for new ideas. And one of the best ways to get new ideas is to go to conferences. Think of it as R & D (research & development).

#3 Conferences are a great way to make relational connections.

I used to go to conferences for informational reasons. Now I go for relational reasons. The greatest added value are the relationships you make. Conferences = kingdom networking.

#4 Conferences get me out of my routine.

I have a little formula: change of pace + change of place = change of perspective. Going to conferences gets me out of my normal routine and helps me think about old problems in new ways.

#5 Conferences force me to look in the mirror and evaluate myself.

#6 Conferences help me dream bigger dreams.

One of the reason I love going to conferences is to listen to speakers who inspire me to dream bigger dreams. I know conferences can be overwhelming. Information overload. And that’s why I always try to identify three applications ideas. But if you can process the information and inspiration, conferences have a unique way of fueling dreams!

#7 Take someone with you!

I’ve had so many defining moments and defining thoughts at conferences. Many of the things we do at NCC trace their genealogy back to a conference where we “got an idea.” But here is a big lesson learned. I used to go to conferences by myself and I’d have these personal revelations, but they were tough to translate to our team. You need to take your team with you. Nothing like a shared experience!

Want to help change the face of Las Vegas for the better?  A buddy of mine Vince is launcing a church on the Vegas Strip and recently God provided an awesome opportunity.  I come to you friends to ask you to help.  Below you will find his blog post as well as all necessary links.

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From Vince,

We have an unbelievable opportunity to get an amazing space as the permanent, 24/7 facility that can be home to our church services, seminars, food co-op and all we’re doing for the church we’re starting here in Vegas.

So if we can get this space it would change everything for us, in an awesome way. The problem is that there are expenses to get into the building, and so we need to raise $50,000 – and the way we’ve chosen to do that is $100 at a time. To make this happen, we need 500 people who will give $100. Would you please be one of those people?

To learn more, and to give, go to www.verveventure.org.

Also, 500 is A LOT of people, so would you please let your friends know about this, put it on your blog, Facebook it, Twitter the web site, send smoke signals, whatever you can to help us get the word out.

Thank you SO MUCH for considering this – you have no idea how much it means!

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Links

- Vince’s Blog

- Verve Church

- Verve Venture Capitalist

Alright movie fans, this is for you.

Someone shot me a link to this and I thought it was kind of cool so I thought I would share it with you. It brings two of my favorite things together.  Maps and movies.

For a better view CLICK HERE.

For many people change is a curse word.

The fear it.

Run from it.

Hide from it.

I embrace it.  It is a reality and inevitability of life as well as growth. However, just because I like change does not mean its always easy.  Specifically those large transitions in your life that change everything.

Today is a rough day because the realities of the current transition and coming change have befallen me.  Where as my wife will struggle and mourn the changes once they have happened I struggle and mourn long before the changes actually occur.

I love the church we are leaving.  I love the people, the leadership, and the vision.  Over the past three years (specifically the last year and a half) we have shared intense brokenness and healing together.  We have shared frustrations, joys, heartache, and much ridiculousness.  It’s hard to just walk away from that, even if it is following the call of God on your life.

As I finish up at Revolution, doing my best with the ministries I am involved with and helping in the transition of new people, I also am looking ahead to New Orleans.  I never knew how overwhelming it could be to be in the middle of the two worlds. On the one hand you have the realities of New Orleans.  Obvious facts like, the city is different since we left, most of our friends are gone, we have no place to live or jobs to make money, and then we have the exciting but complicated and time consuming process of beginning a community center and possibly a church launching out of that community center.

Couple that with the realities here in Southern California, namely, not being around family and friends as often, walking away from a ministry that you know God has used you in ways you didn’t even think possible, finishing strong, and the odd sensation of helping plan for a future that you will not be apart of.

It is all of these things that for some reason have all come crashing down on me today.  It will all be fine, I know that in my head and heart, but today I mourn the transition because I need to.  I need to wrestle with the pain, fear, doubt, and loss that accompanies change.  If I don’t how can I move forward with the excitement and passion that is lurking deep within?

So I guess I leave you with this, transitions and change are not the end of the world…

but today, for me, it kind of feels that way.

Until next time…

Someone recently asked me…”What do you enjoy the most?”  That got me thinking of a few of my favorite things.  In no particular order…here you go.

1. Grace – Really really really a big fan.

2. Jesus – What can I say…He’s the coolest.

3. My family – sure were crazy, but who isnt?

4. Anything maple – MMMmmmmm maple.

5. Entertainment Weekly – It makes Friday mail exciting.

6. Movies – I have a top 150 if that gives you idea of how serious I am.

7. Snowballs – New Orleans frozen treat.

8. Disneyland – Happiest place on earth…seriously.

9. Young MC – You know you love him too.

10. Top Chef – One of the greatest reality shows ever!

11. Cooking – I secretly want to be a chef/pastor/philanthropist.  I can do all three right?

12. Books – Like movies only better.  I have a top 200…and none of this Kindle crap but the sanctity of the written word.

13. Traveling – I pretty much want to go everywhere but Nebraska and Kuwait…oh who am I kidding…I would totally go to Kuwait.

14. Explosions in the Sky – I’m not talking about fireworks.

15. Ensemble sitcoms – From Friends and Seinfeld to How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory it makes my laugh heartily.

16. Bread – I love it.  If there was a bread diet I would be the thinnest person in the world.

17. Scarring the crap out of people – Nothing is more entertaining to me…I’m kind of sick like that.

18. Helping people – Theres something about doing the things that God wants you to do that just enlivens the spirit.

19. Tea – It has nuances and it is one of the few things in this world that relax me.

20. Preaching/Teaching – I learn most in preparation to teach others.

21. Air Conditioning – The most amazing thing EVER!

22. Killer Whales – I’m not really sure why.

23. The San Fransisco 49rs – That’s right baby!

24. St. Louis Blues – They made me fall in love with hockey.

25. Dreaming – The bigger the dreams the better.

26. Wind – Specifically when it rustles the leaves in fall.  It is by far the best sound in the world next to your kids laughing.

27. My kid laughing – For obvious reasons.

28. Frosted Flakes – They’re GREAT!

29. Journey and U2 – Both great…ALWAYS.  Come on, Don’t Stop Believing is perhaps the best song in the entire world.

30. Fall – The best time of the year.

31. Samantha Brown – She’s my tv girlfriend…Leanne’s ok with it since the teacher on GLEE is her tv boyfriend.

32. Burmese Mountain Dog – The most beautiful dog.  I want one.

33. Factcheck.org – A great website.

34. Farmville – The most addictive thing since Super Mario Bros. 3

35. Seeing people come to know Christ – Ain’t nothing like it in the world.

So there you have it, a few of my favorite things.  What are some of your favorite things?  For an added bonus scroll down.  I added my top 5 guilty pleasures. (Don’t judge me.)

My Top 5 Guilty Pleasures

1. Pop Music – Beyonce, Justin, Britney, Black Eyed Peas….I can’t help it.

2. Wizards of Waverly Place – Sure I’m 30 and a guy, and sure this show is on the Disney channel targeting tweens, and sure it may seem creepy that I like the show, and sure my wife makes fun of me…but I still like it.

3. WWE – It’s true.

4. Vegas – Not for the gambling but the sure audacity of the architecture.

5. My iPhone – Sometimes when no one is looking…I hug it.

Christians are crazy!  That seems to be a dominant thought with some people I know who are not Christians.  And who can blame them?  Let’s face it, for all intents and purposes we wave a freak flag of another sort…one that many times says I don’t give a rip about anyone but myself.  A while ago I saw the movie “Saved”.  I laughed so freaking hard in that movie partly because it was just that funny, and because they showed some truth in it.  Of course, I was actually depressed after watching it too, due to the fact of realizing that’s how much of the world views the church and for good reason.

Recently as I have been praying and thinking through the realities of living as if God actually cares about people  (which he does) and that I should care about people (which I do sometimes) I was struck with a thought.  Christians are crazy. In truth no more crazy then the next person but still…crazy.  I was h perusing different blogs and websites the other day and I came across several sites that solidify this in my mind…in fact much like “saved” these web sites make me laugh and get a little bit depressed.  They make me sad because I see so much hate. They make me sad because it is so hurtful to many people…and done in the name of “truth”. It makes me sad because although I am sure they have the best intentions those intentions are lost through the degradation they show for other people.

However these sites also make me laugh. It’s pretty freaking funny…that is if you can laugh at yourself.  They make me laugh because there is much ridiculousness. These sites make me laugh because I don’t know what else to do. These sites make me laugh because in my head I say, “they can’t be serious”, but in reality I know they are.

The only thing I know how to do is trust that God can use all of us…even when we think each other are crazy and wrong.

If you want to be saddened and slightly entertained…don’t say I didn’t warn you.

http://www.apprising.org/index.html

http://christianresearchnetwork.com/

http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/

http://www.oldtruth.com/

http://www.teampyro.blogspot.com/

http://www.reformedgadfly.blogspot.com/

http://www.pajamapages.com/