Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley

I want to have a healthy marriage, so I think I'll flirt with my secretary.

I want to be financially secure, so I'm going to rack up some consumer credit buying things I can't really afford.

By this time next month I want to lose 5 pounds, so go ahead and supersize that.

I want to get into a great college on a scholarship so I think I'll party tonight instead of studying for that test tomorrow.

Recently I had the opportunity to read a really great book by pastor and leader Andy Stanley called The Principle of the Path. This book reveals a very simple principle that we all know to be true - Direction, not intentions, determines destination. Andy explains the incredible disconnect so many of us have between what we say we want to happen, and what we actually do about it.

It's a quick read and really simple to understand. As a pastor myself, this book has given me a great way to talk to people about the connection between our choices and the circumstances we find ourselves in on a day to day basis. I believe this simple principle could transform the way you and I think about the choices we all face every day.

If you are finding yourself frustrated with your present circumstances and want future decisions to lead to better results, then I would highly recommend you grab a copy of this book.

(Disclaimer: Booksneeze gave me a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.)

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Close your eyes

This morning in my reading through the One Year Bible, this one verse stuck out to me.

2 Corinthians 5:7 says "We live by faith, not by sight."

Wow, so much packed into that little sentence. For me this is a constant tension in my life. Really up until a few years ago almost all of my decisions and my actions were based on what I could see. In other words, if I didn't know how it was going to work out, I probably wasn't going to do it. But then there was church planting. Since I began this process I've learned about moving and acting in the midst of uncertainty. From moving to surviving financially to leading down a path I've never been - all of it has been by faith. And God has proven himself so faithful during this time. He has provided for us when we didn't know how it would happen. He has blessed us for taking steps of faith where we didn't have clarity.

But the tension for me remains. Almost every day as a pastor I'm faced with what I can see - the very real circumstances of people's lives. There are marriages that are struggling, people healing through an abusive past, surgeries, and all kinds of hurt and pain. I'm faced with statistics, with attendance numbers, and with budgets. I'm faced with a growing church and growing kids ministry that doesn't have the volunteers to keep up. There are facts and figures and dates and schedules that start to dominate my thinking.

It would be very easy for me to allow what I can see to consume me, to overwhelm me, and to ultimately paralyze me. But we can't live that way. We won't live that way. We, as the people of God, we live by faith not by sight. The unseen drives us and compels us to keep going and to keep believing a different future is possible even when all that we can see now tells a different story.

Don't let your sight overcome your vision.

Sometimes I think you and I would do better if we closed our eyes every now and then. Because what we can see often keeps us from taking steps of faith. We lose hope. We lose our vision.

Your marriage doesn't have to be this way. Your finances can turn around. You can heal through this struggle. There is hope for you. When we stop living by sight and start living by faith our vision outgrows our sight. We start to believe things that right now seem impossible.

So whatever is holding you back today from doing what you know God has called you to do - close your eyes to it. Let the vision in your heart override what can be seen, and may your faith drive you forward into the uncertainty of the future.

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A follow up to Sunday

Hey church, can I just say that Sunday was awesome? Seriously, it was an incredible day. I think it was maybe the best start to a new series we've ever had. If you weren't there, make sure you download the podcast and check it out.

Here are a couple thoughts I've had since Sunday. If we really believe that 1 > 99, then here are a few things I'm asking you to commit yourself to:

1. Pray for your lost friends - Seriously. Pray.
2. Invite - You do what you can do, and I'll do what I can do. You invite your lost friends, neighbors, co-workers, relatives and baristas, and I'll make sure we communicate the life-giving message of Jesus to them in a non-goofy, engaging way.
3. Be friendly - If you have been to STORYCHURCH more than once, then you are part of the welcome team. Invite someone to lunch, give out your phone number.
4. Be aware - If our goal is to reach lost people, then constantly be aware of how you contribute to that! Park far away, give up your seat, jump up to get more chairs, walk someone to kids ministry, give them the last muffin, introduce them to someone else.
5. Serve - join a serve team. We need kids ministry people, greeters, ushers, set designers, artists, cooks, writers, musicians, smilers, hand-shakers, coffee makers, and lots more. Each person helps contribute to an environment where lost people can be found by the One who is pursuing them.

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Courage Day 2011

Happy Courage Day!

Three years ago today my family and I said goodbye to CA and headed east to follow a crazy calling to plant a church. We celebrate the day every year now as a family holiday - Courage Day. Though this year our big celebration will be on Saturday (Kimi is planning something secret, anyone know what it going on?), today is that day and I didn't want it to pass without calling attention to it.

The church that now exists is the greatest church on the planet. I'm so proud to be part of this community of people and I'm blown away every day that I get to be part of it. Thank you STORYCHURCH for having the courage to follow Jesus wherever He leads us.

This thing is just getting started!

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