I had a nice time with Jeremy down in Ohio yesterday. It is always good to catch up with a buddy, even if you have to drive a few hours to do it. Heck, it gave me time to catch up on my radio if nothing else. But here’s a little takeaway from our hours of chatting. See, Jeremy’s church is huge into the Saddleback, Purpose-driven thing. They just ride that horse like crazy and it’s done well for them. Their church has been able to really focus on a few key areas and move a long way. As he mentioned, when George (their SP) got there 18 years ago, they had roughly 32 people. Really zeroing in on a few keys things has helped that tiny church grow… a lot. It’s kind of fun to see a church grow like a weed in a town that is turning into weeds. Here’s my point. New Hope does all the purpose driven stuff. They buy the philosophy, they use their materials, they copy shamelessly from the best churches in the country.

Part of me looks at that and says, "Are they so uncreative that they just copy everything from everyone? What are their churches paying them to…." That’s when it sinks in. The value their church has sent to the staff is that the people want the staff’s time invested in equipping, not curricuclum development. Less time in the books means more time in front of people. Less time making cool graphics means more time with people. Less time preparing for small groups means a better small group. That’s a lot to chew on for me. In some ways, doing what they are doing takes a lot of pride swallowing. It’s not that Jeremy and the rest of the staff can’t create great materials, their own vision and goals, it’s that they chose not to for the sake of equipping people. That’s a pretty unique take on it.

Pretty smart for a bunch of copy-cats.

Below is an article that I’ve written for our churches newsletter, the Romeo Peach

We’ve just completed our first week of 3 Story Life groups here at church. Our goal has always been bold. We want to equip 100 people with skills for sharing their faith in 2006. With the groups we have going right now, the number is already nearing 50.

It is an accident that we’re starting 3 Story during the Olympics, but I’ve also gotten caught up in it’s symbolism. I’ve had the pleasure of traveling in the Swiss and Austrian alps, I’ve been on some great ski mountains, and I have to be honest and say that I was terrified by the challenges I faced. The very first time I went skiing I got on the wrong lift and ended up on a very steep ridge, far beyond my skill level. (You can’t snowplow down something nearly vertical!) It was a beautiful trip to the top of the hill but when I got to the top and looked at all the skiers hurriedly gliding to the edge so they could start their decent… I had to stop to catch my breathe. Reality had just smacked me in the face. Of all the times I had watched skiing on television it never sunk in how high or steep the hills might be. I was very afraid of what would happen. It was at that moment that I realized that since I had no idea what I was doing, I was taking a huge risk. My mind raced with pending realities. I could get hurt! I would likely get laughed at. I would fall, it was just a matter of how hard I would fall and how much it would hurt to fall.

With no way out but going down the hill I had to swallow my fears and head down the mountain. Just as I had imagined I fell several times on my way down the mountain. I was laughed at, I got some bruises, and I learned some hard lessons the hard way. But I also lived to tell the story. Oddly enough I even found that while it wasn’t easy, it was worth it. When I made it to the bottom I found that, while I still had a healthy fear of the mountain, it was exhilarating to swallow the fear and take the chance!

This is the same look I’ve seen in our 3 Story groups. A little bit of fear, a lot of excitement, and some expectations that learning to share our faith with people we already know may come with bumps along the way. Paul writes, "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

For those who are now in 3 Story groups, thank you for counting the cost, swallowing your fears, and heading down the mountain! For those who haven’t "headed up the mountain" yet, there will be more opportunities later this spring.

The other day I opened up John Piper’s weekly e-mail to see his article was called Don’t Waste Your Cancer. He wrote this article on the eve of a very scary thing for anyone to go through, cancer surgery.

Here’s a sample of one of his ten reasons not to "waste your cancer."

7. You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.

When Epaphroditus brought the gifts to Paul sent by the Philippian church he became ill and almost died. Paul tells the Philippians, “He has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill” (Philippians 2:26-27). What an amazing response! It does not say they were distressed that he was ill, but that he was distressed because they heard he was ill. That is the kind of heart God is aiming to create with cancer: a deeply affectionate, caring heart for people. Don’t waste your cancer by retreating into yourself.