Reminder that if you’re reading this on the web, or if you’re subscribing to the feed, you need to update your feeds and links to the new site. I am no longer blogging at youcanknowgod.com.  Everything is at heretolead.com

I started blogging at youcanknowgod.com several years ago, and it’s been a great journey.  But as the times have changed, I feel like it’s time to go in a slightly different direction with the blog.  In addition to writing here, I’ve been contributing all kinds of church planter advice at a separate site.

I’m merging these two blogs under a new banner and a new domain name.  And I’ve always felt like my current blog sounded like it should belong to a TV evangelist.  (If you’re a TV evangelist and want to purchase this domain, please send your faith promise and financial gift right away.)

Anyway…the new domain is heretolead.com. Visit the site and subscribe to the RSS feed.  The focus of the blog will be church planting, church leadership and communicating, with a little bit of personality thrown in for good measure.

My twitter name has changed too.

Here’s to a new season of blogging.

After two weeks off, it was good to be back teaching at my favorite church in the world. Props to Jake and Russon for filling in for me the last two weeks. Here’s some weekend highlights.

• Continued the Jesus series by preaching a sermon about a sermon.  The sermon on the mount.
• Remember your homework is to read Matthew 5-7 and ask yourself how you can “live backwards.”
• It’s backwards to love your enemy. And it may seem backwards to start a church for people who don’t like church.
• It’s backwards to focus on giving, not on getting.
• You might not be broke because of your bills; you might be broke because you’re not honoring God in the area of finances.
• Yes, you can get a “live backwards” shirt at Oak Leaf Central.
• Great to have Dean and Kyle back on the stage in the band.  The whole band sounded great, and Brad had the sound system sounding great.
• Loving our VIP seating…a comfortable seating area right in the auditorium for guests.
• Loved seeing kids and parents walk into the new check in areas.  And the elementary environment looks great as well.
• We’ve got a live feed in the new check-in lobby for parents.
• The new year is a great time to invite people to church. MANY people who do not go to church WOULD go to church if someone would just INVITE them.
• I don’t like not having Tracy there on the weekends.  But she’s still recovering from foot surgery, so keep her in your prayers.
• Proud of so many leafers for showing up in 15 degree weather on Saturday morning and serving in the community.
• Tomorrow, I’m relaunching my blog with a new theme, new domain, new focus and new RSS feed.  Everything’s changing, so stay tuned.

Just thought I would take a moment to remind everyone about the official Oak Leaf Church Bad Weather policy…

We never cancel services, activities, or events due to weather.

Pretty simple.

I figure I don’t want to get to heaven and meet Christians from communist China who meet in secret for fear of their lives and tell them we canceled a service because it was too cold.

Five quick hits for you this Friday…

1.  My earlier post about Gary Lamb starting a church received a lot of comments…most of them very thoughtful and respectful. I approved nearly every comment, even those that disagreed with me.

2.  A lot of people have been working hard on the House of Rock this week, and there’s one more day of painting and cleaning on Friday.  Come by anytime today if you can help.  The elementary and check in areas are going to look great.

3.  Second Saturday is this Saturday.  We have 10 projects lined up all across the county.  Just show up and serve.

4.  Excited that our Saturday night service starts back this Saturday after taking a two-week break.  One service at 6pm.

5.  Excited about the NFL playoffs.  I like college football too, but the NFL playoffs are the best.  I think any team in the playoffs has a legitimate shot to win the Superbowl.  My pick: The Dallas Cowboys.

It’s been a little over a month since we announced the plan to launch a second campus in Canton. Here’s a few updates on what’s been happening and what you can expect to hear in the next month.

• People are signing up to be on the Launch Team. We hope to send about 100 people from Cartersville to Canton, either permanently or temporarily. If you’re interested in helping, here’s more info.
• The first official launch team meeting will be Sunday night, January 24 at 6pm.  If you think you might want to be a part of Oak Leaf Canton, then you should attend this.
• If you know people in Canton who might be interested in joining the launch team, let them know.  Anyone and everyone is invited.
• We have a campus pastor. This person is currently involved at Oak Leaf Church and I can’t wait to let you know who it is. We’re going to make the announcement on the 24th.  We’re also going to let you know the meeting location for the campus.
• We’re planning four preview services (one in May, June, July and August) and with a launch date in August on our four year anniversary.
• Right now, we’re planning for me to teach in person in Cartersville AND in person in Canton on Sunday morning. We’ll utilize video for other services, and I’ll always teach in person in Cartersville on Saturday night.
• We’re setting aside money from HOPE to fund the campus.  We saved some stuff from our time at the theater, but there will be lots of other things to purchase.  If you would like to give specifically to the campus, you can do that.

One of our big goals for 2010 (and part of the Hope project) is to do even more to serve the community, so beginning in January, we’re doing something called Second Saturday.  On the second Saturday of every month, we’re asking everyone connected to Oak Leaf Church to just show up and serve. We’ve got a team of people who have organized a bunch of community service projects throughout Cartersville and Bartow County. Here’s a few quick facts.

• The first Second Saturday is THIS SATURDAY, January 9.
• You can show up at 8am.  The Coffee Bar will be open.
• You sign up that morning for your project.  We’ll have projects for large groups of people, and small projects for smaller groups of people.  Some projects will be kid friendly.  Some are indoors; some are outdoors.
• We’ll provide all the supplies.  You just show up wearing work clothes.
• We’ll leave the House of Rock at 9 am and head out to the individual projects.
• You’ll be done by about noon.

Bob Eberle came up with a helpful mnemonic that I’ve recently discovered. It might help you think through a problem and come up with a creative solution. When you’re stuck, try to SCAMPER. And the questions actually come from a thinking game called Thinkpak. The content on the back of the cards are better than most books.

• Substitute something (what can be substituted, who can be substituted, what material can be substituted, what place can be substituted, what other approach can be used, what other format can be used?)
• Combine it with something else (what materials can be combined, what ideas can be combined, what products can be combined, what resources can be combined?)
• Adapt something to it (what idea can be adapted, what process can be adapted, what behaviors can be adapted, what ideas can be adapted from nature?)
• Modify or Magnify it (what features can be added, what can be exaggerated, can it be made enormous, what functions can be added, can sound be added, can it be built up, can it be overstated, what could add value?)
• Put it to some other use (could it be in a new form, can the shape be modified, how can it be given a new twist, can the packaging be modified, can attitudes be changed, can the marketing be changed)
• Eliminate something (how else can it be used, what can be done with the waste, what other uses can it have, what other markets could use it, what can be streamlined, what’s not necessary, can it be made smaller, what could be divided, what can be simpler?)
• Reverse or Rearrange it (what arrangement might work better, how could the schedule be changed, would the opposite work, could the process be reversed?)

Since lots of people will ask, and since I’ve said these same things to the person in question, I will blog about it here.

My friend Gary Lamb resigned from his church last year after having an affair. He’s written publicly about this, admits it was wrong and is seeking counseling. Yesterday, he announced on his new blog that he is starting a new church in Canton, the same city where he started Revolution.

While I do believe in second chances and I wholeheartedly believe that God is a God of grace, this is not a wise decision. Gary’s decision will just further divide a church and result in another black eye to the Kingdom of God. I do not question the fact that God will use sinners…David became the greatest Isrealite king and a man after God’s own heart, even after his affair with a married woman. But that was after genuine repentance and restoration.

I don’t want to argue theology or how much time it takes for restoration. Those are fair discussions for another time. In this case, however, it’s a wisdom issue. It was not wise for Gary to joke on twitter about starting a new church just months after his affair and resignation. And it’s not wise for this new church to start in Canton.

Gary says that he was called to Canton, and that calling apparently trumps the calling to his previous wife and family. Can we please not act like there’s just a vocational calling? What about relational callings, like marriage? Gary says that he’s received advice from pastors, and this is no surprise…we will always find people who validate our decisions, even poor ones.

The “call of God” is the Christian version of “it’s not you…it’s me.” We claim the call of God as an excuse to do something that we really want to do, because it turns your critics into people who don’t seek God. I believe in the call of God, but there is also wisdom. There are also Biblical principles. There are also steps to restoration.

Gary mentions confirmation from friends, but he did not follow the steps to restoration outlined by his board of directors. Those trusted friends and advisers who he respected for years who laid out a plan for him were shunned, and apparently a new group of friends who have affirmed this plan have emerged.

Gary has a gift and a passion for reaching people, and I believe that God can use that gift again. I don’t wish any ill will towards Gary and I still pray for him. It just grieves me to see people do things that ultimately hurt the Kingdom of God, the people of Canton, and the reputation of pastors.

First weekend of the new year, and I spoke at a friends church in Decatur, Alabama. My friend Dave is currently taking a sabbatical, so I filled in for him at Crosspoint.  Dave is in my coaching network and he’s really doing a good job.  On the home front, Russon (our discipleship pastor) continued the Jesus series. Here’s a few highlights.

• God is really doing a great thing at Crosspoint.  The staff and volunteers were amazing, and they did a great job creating an environment at the movie theater.
• I took a few pictures and got a few ideas from Crosspoint.  Anywhere I go, I’m always looking for things we can do better.
• Really encouraged to see so many awesome volunteers serving and leading people to Jesus.  Great volunteers at Crosspoint!
• Speaking at a church back in the movie theater made me remember all the great times at the movie theater in Cartersville.  I loved doing church there.
• Though I spoke today, it’s been two weekends since I spoke at Oak Leaf Church.  I’m so ready to continue the Jesus series next week.  I’ve had my message ready for a while.
• We introduced some VIP seating today.  A living room style environment right in the middle of the auditorium.  Our greeters are looking for guests and volunteers each week to upgrade their seats.  Fun thing.
• Next week, we’re going to talk about the sermon on the mount.  Though we’ll hit it from the book of Luke, you can read the whole thing beginning in Matthew 5.
• It’s awesome to have great people who can teach for me at home.  Jake did a great job last week, and I heard Russon did a great job today.
• I think it’s healthy for a church to have different speakers and preachers from time to time.  The church isn’t about who is preaching…it’s about the One we’re preaching about.
• There’s some renovations and remodeling going on this week at the House of Rock.  We’re creating a new check in area and kids classroom and doing some big work in our elementary environment.  If you can stop by and help for a couple of hours, please do so!
• At the next leadership summit, I’m going to introduce you to our Canton Campus Pastor.  I can’t wait for you to learn who it is.  We have a meeting place nailed down, and we might let that cat out of the bag soon.
• Speaking of Canton, our team is putting out “teaser” road signs over the next couple of weeks.  The first preview service in Canton will be in May.
• 2010 is going to be an amazing year for Oak Leaf Church…get ready!

Six quick updates for you this Saturday…

# 1 – The Jesus Series continues this weekend. Just two services on Sunday morning.

# 2 – Saturday night services return on January 9. One service at 6pm. I need as many Oak Leafers as possible to make the switch to free up seats on Sunday for guests.

# 3 – We’re doing some renovating and remodeling at the House of Rock this week and we could REALLY use your help. It begins Sunday after church and will last until Thursday. Day or night.

# 4 – We are starting several new Journey Groups in January. If you’re interested in joining a small group, email Russon.

# 5 – Oak Leaf Students are getting together on Friday night, January 8. I’m sure it will be legit.

# 6 – The next baptism is January 16 and 17. If you want to follow Christ’s example and go public with your faith in baptism, email Jody to sign up.

I’m going to use YouVersion and read through the Bible in 2010 and I want to invite you to join me.  The particular reading plan I’m choosing is the chronological reading plan.  I’ll read events as they happened throughout history, not necessarily the order they are arranged in the Bible. YouVersion allows you to read on the web or on your mobile device.

If you want to join me, leave me a comment and just dive in.  From time to time, I’ll share thoughts here on the blog about the daily reading.

Showed this video from Ellis and the people of Gallery Church in Baltimore in our services last weekend.  We’re financially supporting Gallery Church and we’re honored to be a part of what God is doing in Baltimore.  When you give to Oak Leaf Church, you also give to great churches like Gallery.

We decided to charge $3-$5 for tickets to Christmas Eve Eve and give that money to Orphan Aid Liberia. And you guessed it…some people got mad that we didn’t give that money to a local organization or somebody helping kids right here at home.

Seems that if you do something internationally, someone will yell about local, un-met needs.  And if you do something locally, then someone will ask about Africa.  Good thing we’re not out to please men, because it’s impossible.

I’m proud of our church for supporting these children.  And I’m proud of you if your family supports a child through World Vision or Compassion or Orphan Aid. And I’ll be proud of our church when they show up for Second Saturday on January 9, where we’ll serve in about a dozen places all around our own county.  In the coming year, we’re going to ask you to give food to a local food bank, diapers to a local women’s center, water for Africa and coats for the homeless.

There are needs all over our community and all over our world.  I’m not out to rank them, or play the part of the Holy Spirit.  My advice is pretty simple:  Do what God asks you to do.  Find a need somewhere and meet it.  You don’t owe anyone an explanation.

If you haven’t purchased Docs & Forms yet, then now is a great time to do so.  You can get every document, spreadsheet, and file we use at Oak Leaf Church for $49.  Our budget, our bylaws, our follow up systems.  Employee evaluations and planning documents.  Letters we send to guests and givers.  And everything else you could imagine.  If you’re a church planter, or if you lead a church…there’s some helpful stuff in here.

I’m also releasing an e-book on making decisions.  I think it’s a practical and helpful system for making decisions and it will really help you.  It’s just $5.

Go here to purchase either or both, and download instantly.