Feb Series at LTG

Don't miss this month!!! it's getting GOOOOOOD!!!

Why?

This is an email that I sent to my staff today and at the suggestion of a few decided to post it here as well... Apply it to your situation.

I want to challenge you to think about something today... I know that most of you are like me, in that we are people who like to accomplish great things. You wouldn't be a part of this team if that were not the case but as I've been praying today I was reminded of this thought... Sometimes I have to get my mind off of the who, how, when and where of my goals and focus on the why. Without the why we will not have the passion that we need to persevere through challenges. Without the why we become enticed by our own dreams. Without the why we begin to burnout just as we reach the pinnacle of God's best for us. My challenge is this... Think about why you do what you do. Why do these people we are leading need to be a part of Living To Go? Why does this church need each of us... In short, what is the why?

You Really Do Matter!

Do you matter? Does your job matter? What about your passion? Does it really matter? I grew up a middle child in a preacher's family (let the PK remarks begin :) in the middle of the bible belt and I believe it's that very positioning that gives me a unique perspective on life, business, and faith. Being a middle child you feel, many times, that you have to try harder to be noticed, heard, or just seen. You sometimes feel like you are always compared to the older sibling who is smarter or the younger sibling who is cuter... Or God forbid you have a sister! ( sorry Alisa ;). Now I know it sounds like a bunch of whining but I have a point... Being in the middle has always made me try harder! To stand out a little more. To be a little different than those around you and that position is what gives me the resolve and the experience to he the beat at what I do! I don't want to just live... I want to matter! I don't just want a business that makes money... I want a business that matters! I don't simply want to pastor a large church... I want to pastor a church that matters! I don't just want to see thousands of people in my church.... I want to see thousands of people that matter!!! As my dad would say, that'll preach!
If the God we serve all powerful. If we really believe what the bible says... Shouldn't our lives make a difference?
So I'll wrap this thought up with a question. Will what you do tomorrow matter? Will it make a difference? Don't just live the day.....SIEZE IT!
Grab every drop of sunlight that God has given you and make something of it. Your position gives you a unique perspective in life no matter where you are. Use your position to be a difference-maker!

Guest Blog: via tonycooke.org

Breaking a Lone Ranger Attitude in Ministry -Pastor Eddie Turner
(This article is re-posted from www.tonycooke.org)

When my wife Amanda and I accepted the assignment to pastor a handful of saints in a sleepy little town of 2,000 people, it never dawned on us that one day we would have more people in our church than residents in the community. But it happened. Over the years, the river flowed, the fire fell, the wind blew, and the results were remarkable.

I pastored the largest church in our county, and there was a time when I thought very highly of myself because of that fact. I had an excellent staff and a leadership team of motivated leaders, so over time it was easy to effectively insulate myself from the things I didn’t want to do. I was having fun pastoring and relishing the growth my church was experiencing. However, all of my attitudes about success in ministry changed one day when a Baptist pastor from across town showed up to see me.

This pastor and I had been casual friends, as well as peers in ministry. I would visit with him briefly at citywide ministerial functions, which I reluctantly attended because I was always busy and felt those events were a waste of time. This man’s son was the same age as my son, so we also crossed paths on the baseball diamond and the basketball court. My friend’s church was growing, but he still had less membership than I had – and I carried those comparative statistics as a badge of spiritually superiority.

As this Baptist pastor seated himself across from me at my desk and we exchanged greetings, God used the next few words this man spoke to change my entire perception of ministry in a local community.

“Pastor Eddie,” the man began, “I want to ask you and your congregation to join our church in conducting a citywide service.”

I knew I needed to appear interested, so I feigned patience as I listened to him explain his vision. However, in all honesty, I didn’t want to get involved with his project. Our schedule of speakers and programs was full. We didn’t need this type of “interruption” that I thought would only take time, energy, and resources from our agenda.

I politely responded, “Our church calendar is already full, but I’ll check it anyway. When were you thinking about having this service?”

He replied, “As I was praying, the Lord impressed me to do it during Easter.”

Immediately I thought I might actually be able to accommodate my minister friend. Our Easter musical was scheduled to take place a couple of weeks before Easter Sunday, and we traditionally canceled our Sunday evening service after that afternoon’s performance.

“Okay, what Sunday did you have in mind?” I questioned hopefully.

“Pastor Eddie, I believe the Lord wants us to do it on Easter Sunday morning.”

I sat in stunned silence, thinking, What has this guy been drinking? Easter Sunday morning is a banner day in the Bible Belt. Easter Sunday’s service is our most attended service of the year. Saints, sinners, SMO’s (“Sunday Mornings Only”), the lukewarm, and even the heathen know you’re supposed to attend church on Easter!

Besides all that, I had recently read a vivid description of the Crucifixion by Max Lucado in his book Six Hours One Friday, and I was memorizing parts of it in order to wax eloquent in my pulpit on the big Sunday. I had it all planned out – it was going to be a homerun sermon, with the altars brimming over with people who had rushed forward to repent and return to the Lord.

I arrogantly said to my minister friend, “Pastors are not going to cancel their Easter Sunday morning service to hold a crusade! Why would you want to do this?”

What this precious pastor said next completely revolutionized my thinking, and my ministry. Very humbly, he answered me, “The Lord told me to give Him our best.”

Give Him our best. As I heard the words, I sat speechless – long enough to hear what sounded like an audible voice, yet I knew it was the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. The Lord said to me, “You know how to be a leader; you need to learn how to be a follower.”

Hurriedly and under much conviction, I escorted that Baptist pastor out of my office! I told him I would have to pray about what he had presented and that I would get back to him with my answer.

A Spiritual Journey – Go Higher by Going Lower

Over the next few days, the Lord began breaking down my prideful, arrogant, “lone – ranger” attitude. Although it was a brief spiritual journey, the work God did in my heart directed me toward a new season of ministry filled with excitement and fulfillment – a season I am still enjoying today.

The truths I learned, which I will share with you, are things you probably already know – things you are perhaps already practicing. However, I hope you will allow them to sink deeply into your heart. I had always known these truths in my head. But until my encounter with a fellow minister who truly wanted to give God his best, all that information was only mental assent, not revelation knowledge in my heart.

Truth #1
I am not the only God-called laborer in my harvest field.

It slips up on us so subtly. I’m talking about the attitude that we are more spiritual and creative than others and that God must go through us to reach our community. We wouldn’t admit it, yet our actions reveal when we have fallen prey to such deception. Even the prophet Elijah struggled with this temptation. He said, “I, even I only, am left” (1 Kings 19:10). Jesus’ disciples also succumbed to pride’s deceptive lure. They said to Jesus, “…Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us” (Mark 9:38 NKJV).

I had definitely been caught up in a web of spiritual pride that blinded me to God’s intention for ministry among fellow laborers. I’d cloaked my lack of participation in ministerial meetings behind the excuse of a busy schedule. I’d blamed my isolation from others on the anointing upon my life that I needed to protect. Yet in reality, I was a “lone ranger,” assuming I didn’t’ need anyone else in ministry.

Truth #2
The harvest is more important than “my” ministry

It’s not by accident or coincidence that the Church is often referred to in Scripture as a body with its various contributing parts. With his dissertation in the books of Romans and First Corinthians, the apostle Paul is empathic about our inabilities to function properly without one another. He goes on to say in Ephesians 4:16 that it is the Body joined together that causes the Body to increase.

Although I pastored the largest church in the county, there were countless numbers of people who didn’t know Christ or who weren’t connected to a local church – no, not even mine. When we were a small church, some people said we were too small, and when we became a large church, others said we were too large. Although I tried, I couldn’t be all things to all people.

I finally concluded that some people were simply not going to receive from my ministry, but God could reach them through someone else. I also learned that if I really loved the harvest and the people as the Lord did, I had to change my attitude. It could no longer be about my ministry, my church, and my anointing. I had to transition toward becoming Kingdom-minded.

Truth #3
When I embraced the harvest, my ministry expanded.

Following a few days of prayer and dying to self, I called my Baptist pastor friend and told him that our church would cancel our Easter Sunday services and join them for a citywide service.

We held the service together, and thousands attended. The impact reached beyond our county borders into other cities and counties. The Body of Christ in our community experienced a new sense of unity. New relationships and friendships were forged among the clergy, and walls of separation came down as insecurities and jealousies were laid at the foot of the Cross. From that joint service, monthly ministerial prayer meetings were birthed, and my personal ministry and influence expanded in the community.

In summary, now I am on a new journey – not to build my own ministry or kingdom but to see how many churches and ministers I can partner with and bless. I enjoyed my past successes, but this business of ministry had taken on a whole new level of fun and excitement for me. And it all began when ministry stopped being about me and my accomplishments and started being about Jesus and the harvest!

(This article is re-posted from www.tonycooke.org)

The Mind Diet

Today I wanted to give a follow-up challenge to all of you who have listened or plan to listen to the current series called "UPGRADE". Sunday we talked about the process of upgrading our thoughts or as the Bible teaches us, to renew our minds daily. Every day we are bombarded by ,what I call, "Junk" thoughts. We wake up...check our email...make some coffee...check our social networks... Watch the news... Then we listen to drive time talk radio (ok, maybe that's just me..lol).. We are basically polluting our day before we even get started! We wonder why we feel overwhelmed, depressed, or just uninspired but the truth is this.... You are what you eat! We believe that when it comes to our food intake but we need to learn to apply that same concept to our minds. Fill your mind with junk and it will output junk. Fill your mind with crude conversations and output crude thoughts... So today my challenge is this... Go on a "Mind Diet" (thank you for the concept Tim Sanders in your book 'Today We Are Rich'). Get serious about what you allow into your mind. I prescribe Phil 4:6-8 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer & petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. & the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts & your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.". Let me know how it goes for you....

Easter Weekend Thoughts

What a wild weekend at LTG Church! First, I have to say that Easter is one of my favorite times to be a pastor. Not because people seem to come from everywhere on Easter Sunday but because the people that come seem to be so much more open to the Gospel during the Easter season. Today we saw so many people commit their lives to Christ and that never gets old. The Creative Arts Team was spectacular! Their commitment to this production really shined brightly. Kaden, Jesus as a 5 year old, was a personal highlight to me. He reminded me about the danger of being distracted from doing what we know we should be doing for the Kingdom of God. The enemy loves to sneak into our lives in subtle ways and we have to learn to tell him to 'get away from me', just as Kaden did today. I was so knocked out watching our audio team work through a nearly impossible situation of losing our entire sound system before the first service and still making it happen with excellence. You guys are awesome! The ushers, greeters, parking attendants, nursery workers,altar workers,etc... I love watching this church rise to the occasion.
OK... Easter Weekend is done.... Let's open a new campus next week! 1001 Center Point Rd. In Hendersonville Sunday May 1st at 9am!
Also, this Wed Nite we are baptizing believers. Come on out and join us at 6:30pm at the Rivergate Campus.

Guest Blog: TIM SANDERS

This is a guest post by Tim Sanders, author of Today We Are Rich. Tim is a speaker, author, and change-agent. He’s making a difference for the Kingdom through his connections and his influence. I’m honored to participate in Tim’s ministry with this guest post.

April 20 has a variety of meanings leading to various celebrations – some in the moment and others for future generations. For me, it’s a big day I’m conducting a media tour to support my new book, Today We Are Rich. One of the key points of the book is that you can give your way out of burnout. In principle four, Give To Be Rich, I echo Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s obsersvation: Generosity is a Wonder Drug.

In the spirit of Carpe Diem, I’m claiming 4-20 as a national day of giving, observing and sharing of emotions. Much like Scrooge, anyone can lift their spirits dramatically by giving, helping, volunteering or directly donating to those in need. Researches have a name for the medicinal power of giving: Helper’s High. This is the promise made in Isaiah 58: 7,8.

When you share what you have to help others, in that moment, you are worth something – and it will help you ease any pain. Looking for a blanket to throw over your blues? Here’s what Dr. Stephen Post of the Institute For Research on Unlimited Love would deal to you: ”To rid yourself of negative emotional states, push them aside with positive emotional states and the simplest way to do that is to just go out and lend a helping hand to somebody.”

Looking for a buzz? Volunteer. Women participating in a study by the Institute For The Advancement Of Health reported that after volunteering time to help others, they had a physical experience similar to meditation or a vigorous workout. In a compilation of fifty studies recently published by Case Western University’s Stephen Post, the exact phenom becomes clear: When we perceive that we’ve helped someone, we trigger the reward center in our brain, which produces Dopamines, Endorphins and Serotonins. These powerful chemicals give us feelings of profound joy, calmness and spiritual connection. We get as high as a kite, or gain the internal/chemical feeling of true Richness.

We lift off, emotionally, and it lasts for days, sometimes weeks. Researchers found that you could reinject yourself with the WonderDrug Of Helping just by thinking about it (but you need to focus your energies on recollecting all the details to generate empathy). During my book tour stop in Franklin TN, I had a cup of coffee with Sandy Griffin, fellow author and big giver to the homeless in greater Nashville. As she recounted how she secured some corrective shoes for one of her new friends, and the difference it would make to his quality of life – she lit up, high on the loving-giving experience. Proof positive that this research is true!

In his research, Dr. Post also observed that when we are in Helping Mode, our body produces Oxytocin, which is known as the “bonding hormone.” When faced with a crisis or a problem, people on Helper’s High spring into “Tend and Mend” mode, instead of the more aggressive “Fight Or Flight” mode. In other words, Helper’s High brings out the emotion of trust and nurture.

And that’s not all, choosy drug shoppers, you also get relief from Helping too! In a surprising study back in 1956, stay-at-home moms had less emotional stress markers than the breadwinners, because their mothering gave them natural relief. Post explains it this way: Helper’s High (fueled by the brain’s reward center) dominate Cortisol, the stress hormone. Help and you’ll conquer stress, and according to research in teens as well as adults: You’ll beat most depression too.

Giving, then, is a WonderDrug, the only one to take when you need a dose of Euphoria or a cure for the blues or a stressful life. It lasts much longer, probably costs you less than substance or alcohol and more importantly – converts your selfish approach to ‘coping with life’ to a life of service and significance. Try it out today, you’ll see. Turn up for ‘helper’s radar’ and find an opportunity to do something helpful for someone. The research warns that writing a check or texting a donation will NOT produce the high, you need direct contact with someone you generally care about or feel sympathy towards. Give encouragement, a hot meal, a hand up or some volunteer time. Keep your eyes open for the difference you make and savor the high that will come. Make a note to reinject your psyche with the experience on May 1. It’ll work then too!

Here’s How To Spread The Word: Retweet this post if you a Twitter-head or click the Like button is Facebook is your thing. After you help someone today, either comment about your emotional experience (document your Helper’s High) or share your deed and feeling on Twitter with #HighOnHelping as a hashtag. The more you talk about it, the more you are dealing a new solution to your extended network: Take Giving, It’s a WonderDrug.

Pick up a copy of Today We Are Rich: Harnessing The Power Of Total Confidence and sharpen your ability to give, help and produce real meaning with your life.