The Principle of the Path

I've been soaking up Andy Stanley leader-ship podcasts on my way home from work. (Like I said, he's my new favorite!) On the last one I listened to, he talked about the Principle of the Path. Never before have I heard a principle that was so simple, yet so profound, and made me have one of those "AHA!" moments.

The principle is this:

Direction--not intention--determines your destination.

It seems like there are so many people who look back on their lives and think, "How in the world did I end up here??!" Failed relationships, loads of debt, poor health, moral crisis. The fact is that, despite their best intentions, they traveled down the wrong road, and kept going!

OK, to make it personal, I've wanted to be healthier for a while (lose some weight, gain muscle, and develop good eating habits). But the truth is, I find myself going over to McD's lately for mochas. That's the road I am choosing to travel, but it's not getting me to my destination. On the other hand, I've seen lately how the renewed vision and ever-increasing reality of our move has helped me to be more purposeful about taking steps to prepare for the church plant. I am listening to podcasts, reading books, learning from other leaders, blogging :) and getting our house out on the market. Instead of just great intentions, Shanygne and I are moving down the path that will get is to our destination.

There are so many applications to this principle that I feel a sermon series coming on!! :)

What roads are you taking to get to a destination? What roads are you taking that are not getting you to your destination?

Picture from www.sxc.hu, submitted by K_Alex.

Visioneering: Success

Andy Stanley is my new favorite. He is an excellent commun-icator! I've been listening to his podcasts and reading his book Visioneering. The book is right on target with where we're at in the church planting process (the "pre-start"). It's a great book for anyone who has a burden or vision for something that just will not go away. (Hopefully that's most believers!)

Here are some quotes that have been meaningful to me from what I've read so far. These are all related to success:

• "Success often leads to self-sufficiency. Rare is the successful individual who has not lost sight of what he would be without God."
• "God's work, done in God's way, in God's time, is always successful. And it come off in such a way as to point back toward the source: God."
• "Success is remaining faithful to the process God has laid out for you."

Good stuff, huh?

How would you define "success"--especially as it relates to ministry? What do you consider some of the successes in your life?

Getting Our Ducks in a Row

No deep thoughts right now. Just an update. The biggest news? The house is up for sale! We had our first showing yesterday (they only stayed for 5 minutes, so probably not going to be a bite), and we have our second one tonight. Please pray that all goes well and in God's timing!

Last night we touched base with Marty. Marty is the Church Planting Coordinator for our region. Every day we are trying to take another step forward, so Marty is helping us to do that and making sure we have all our ducks in a row.

That's about it, so I'll leave you with some prayer requests. There are two areas where we really need to see God move:

1. Selling our house

2. Building a team

We appreciate the prayers!

What is a next action you need to take right now to move you closer to a goal?

The Importance of Core Values

Of all the organi-

zations and denom-

inations I've been a part of, the Vineyard hits closest to the mark for me. It's definitely not that I think it's the only one, or the best necessarily, but I appreciate the strong emphasis on the kingdom of God. As you can see from the last post, it's a very big deal in the Vineyard.

One of the things I've been thinking a lot about is the Vineyard core values. If we are going to be part of this movement, I think it's important to understand what defines the movement and makes it unique. A new lady visited our church a couple Sundays ago. She said that one of the reasons she came is that she looked at the Vineyard USA site and was impressed by the core values. I'm embarrassed to say that I couldn't remember them and rattled off something about the great music and relevance. If you read the article in the link above, written by the President of Vineyard USA, you'll see why I needed to review them!

The Importance of Vineyard's Core Values | Vineyard USA

What are the core values of your church or denomination? Are they clearly defined? Does everyone know them?