In Memory of Steve Jobs

A few years ago I read this.  It is the commencement address that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford University in 2005:

     Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

DNA- Week 1 review

This past Sunday we kicked off the DNA series with the first subject, Evangelism.  


God has placed within each one of us a desire to share Christ with those around us. 


What did we learn?


1. 89% of church goers say that the church exists to meet my needs and the needs of my family. Only 11% said the purpose of the church is to win the world for Jesus. 95% of all Christians never win a single soul to Christ. 


2. Evangelism is not easy, yet for many it is scary. 


3. Evangelism is one of the highest values of the church, but one of the least practiced. 


4. Over time, the church if it does not practice evangelism will move towards self-centeredness. 


5. Evangelism must be loving. The greatest command is to Love God, the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. 


6. Evangelism must be relevant. It must meet real needs that people have. 


7. Evangelism must make connections. 6 million people were asked, "What would it take to get you to church?" 90% answered, "Someone to ask me." 74% of people today came to Christ through a friend or relative, not as a result of an altar call, pastor, or church program. 


8. Evangelism must be with urgency. There will be a time when it will be too late. 


I don't think we ever purposefully stop doing evangelism personally. I think over time unless we keep reminding ourselves of the great commission, we just lose the focus we need to have on it. 


Coming Next Sunday, DNA- Relationships -


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Location:Historic U.S. 66,Galena,United States

New Series

We are excited about a new series we will be starting this next Sunday, October 2 at Galena Assembly.  The series is entitled DNA.

DNA is essential for life.  It is essentially the blueprint for our lives. The instructions for how to build your body are encoded in your DNA.  It is responsible for gender, hair color, eye color, how big your ears are, whether you have dimples, freckles, or attached or unattached ear lobes.  Our fingerprints come from our DNA.

Since Christ has told us that we are his body here on this earth, we need to rediscover our DNA.  What defines us as a church?  What defines us as followers of Christ?  It isn't the building we meet in.  It isn't the programs that we have.  Both the building and programs make it possible for our DNA to come out.

Over the next 4 weeks we are going to look at 4 things that God has placed in our DNA as Christ followers.  These things are important to the health of the church, just as DNA in our bodies in important to the health of our physical bodies.

We hope you can join us Sunday Mornings at 10.  You can attend in person or watch live here http://www.ustream.tv/channel/galenaassembly

Accountability

Last night in church we talked about the issue of accountability.  I believe that the lack of accountability is one of the major hindrances to healthy, vibrant, growing churches today.  The bible in James 5:16 says, "Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed."    When we have those same people in our lives that we are able to confess our sins, issues, problems, and areas of weakness to it makes a way for the healing power of God to come into our lives.  


The power of sin tries to keep us in the dark. Our enemy, the devil, wants to isolate us and make us feel like we are the only ones in the world who struggle with (fill in the blank).   But when we are able to share our struggles with others who will hold us accountable, pray for us, and encourage us, a transfer of power takes place.  The power of sin is deflated and the power of God is released.  Read these verses and see how the power can be released in your life.  
  
     Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.  But someone who falls alone is in real trouble..... A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.  Three are even better for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."
                                                                                          Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12


In order for us to be healthy as followers of Christ we have to have the friendships that provide accountability for us.  No one likes accountability because our flesh pushes so hard against it.  We must pursue accountability if we want to be all that God desires us to be.


Here are some questions that can be used for accountability:
     1. Are you spending time alone with God?
     2. Are you in studying the Bible?
     3. Are you praying?
     4. Is your thought life pure?
     5. Have you seen something you shouldn't see (movies, magazines, Internet)?
     6. Are you misusing your power on the job? At home?
     7. Are you walking in total obedience to God? (Remember, partial obedience is disobedience.)
     8. Have you lied about any of the previous questions?


These questions are one's that Leadership Guru John Maxwell recommends.  This is a base to start from and not an exhaustive list.  Feel free to add your own that is more applicable to your situation.  Find someone to whom you can be accountability partners with and then get free.


Be free in Jesus name because "he whom the Son sets free, is free indeed!"

Update

I am really enjoying the Hostage series that we have been teaching on over the last 3 weeks.  It seems to be a very popular topic and everyone seems very engaged by the messages.  This coming Sunday will be the final message in the series.  I will be announcing the subject later this week. My prayer is that those who have heard the messages have found freedom in Christ.  If you missed any of the messages, you can watch them on Ustream Galena.

Great Sunday

We had a great Sunday yesterday as we kicked off the HOSTAGE series.  So exciting to hear how God is touching people lives and how people are getting healed of various problems.  So far this year we have had 2 blind people receive their sight back, a deaf ear opened, and numerous other healings and miracles have taken place.  Take God at his word and believe!

Tuesday

We are continuing to focus on taking care of teams as they come in to work providing food, lodging and food for them.  We are also continuing to sort through donations as they come and get them where they need to go.  We are also making all the resources available to those who come and pick items up.  Our biggest need right now is for teams and individuals to come and help organize and sort the donations that have come in as well as help get them to the areas where they are needed the most.  If you would like to bring a team or come individually please call me at 620-202-3257.  We can also house your workers here if needed.

Weekend Update

We had a good weekend @galenaassembly. Preached on What's Left? 1Corinthians 13:13, Faith, Hope, and Love. We want to be encouraging people and building faith and hope through the love of Christ. A lot of new faces in the services. To give you an update on needs we are needing drinks other than water a personal toiletry items, food, sunscreen for those out going through homes and survivors sorting through the destruction. We are hearing that many other places are turning away donations. We WILL not. The needs are going to be ongoing for months and we want to make sure we have what people need. Have a great day! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Joplin Tornado

This week has been very hectic with all the chaos caused by the tornado 6 days ago. The response has been unbelievable and overwhelming. At Galena Assembly we are focusing our efforts on being a resourcing point for victims and other shelters and a resting and rejuvenating place for workers. We are housing many of the Convoy of Hope workers as well as workers for many other outlets. Some teams are getting in to work but the bulk will be allowed in early next week. The needs are great as we continue to meet needs. On a personal note, this is definitely the most devastating natural disaster I have ever seen. Please continue to pray for the victims, the families affected, those that are missing and those who have the difficulty of identifying bodies. Pray for an overwhelming presence of God to be in churches all over the area tomorrow. Lots of healing and hope needs to be given to those in our churches tomorrow. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What a Weekend!

We had a great weekend at Galena Assembly!  The youth ministered at the Kansas Fine Arts Festival and did an amazing job.  So proud of them.  We had around 10 of our entries qualify to compete at the National Fine Arts Festival in August in Phoenix.

On Sunday morning all of the youth ministered in the morning service.  It was so exciting to see all the parents in church that normally are not here.  Everyone in the room felt the power of God as each one of the teenagers ministered.  So proud of the Youth!

It reminds me of how much we can underestimate people.  I have to be honest, to see the talent and gifts that each one of them have is stunning.  I wonder how many more people that we run into have talent that needs to be mined out of them.  We need to wake the sleeping giant that is Galena Assembly!

Weekend Summary

What a weekend we had at Galena Assembly.  I was so proud of the volunteers who gave up time, resources, and energy to make it such a success.  We don't have definite numbers yet but we know that for the Saturday night Sanctus Real concert we had over a thousand people in attendance.  It was amazing to see all those people in the building.  We had an email from a guy in Neosho Missouri who said that his experience exceeded his expectations and that we have a beautiful facility.

On Sunday morning we had the highest attended service of the year and the second highest since we came go Galena.  We also had another miracle take place last week for the church that I cannot share all the details on yet but it is evident that God's hand is blessing us and moving us forward.

Exciting things are happening at Galena Assembly!

Vision

"Vision is seeing what everybody has seen but thinking what nobody has thought."


As a pastor many times it would be easy to get caught up in trying to do do what every other so called successful church is doing.  We have to be people that see everything we can but then pray that God would give us eyes to see what He see's and that we would see what He wants us to see.  


At Galena Assembly we have a thriving bus ministry.  I can remember when churches started moving away from the bus ministry and then tried to say that bus ministry will not work in this day and age. It works for us. We break records every week for how many kids are coming to church through bus ministry.  It may not have worked at other churches, but it does work here.  


Let me challenge you as a leader or pastor.  Just because something is or isn't working for another church does not mean it will or will not work for you.  Pray, get vision to see what God wants you to see, and then move out.  

	Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Romans 12:2

New Book, Soul Print by Mark Batterson

I am a big Mark Batterson fan.  I have read all of his books and used materials from each of them for teaching in church.  I love the way his mind processes information and how he is able to clearly communicate old truths in the Bible in a new and refreshing way.

Soul Print takes the story of David and breaks it down into moments that become Soul Prints on Davids life.  Every hardship, every mistake and every victory becomes a building block on which God builds David  into the great king that he becomes.  The author then uses these events to show how God puts his print on our lives through our trials, temptations, struggles, failures, and victory's.  This is by far my favorite book by Mark Batterson.

The only criticism I have is I wish that the publisher would have put on the cover that there is a discussion guide in the back of the book.  I did not discover this until I was halfway through reading the book.  I have to say that once I found the discussion guide and looked at the questions, they brought a new depth of insight and understanding to the book.

Great Book!!

No Wednesday Services

There will be no Wednesday night services at @galenaassembly. If you want to see why, here is a picture of the snow depth at one of the doors.


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Snow day

Home today due to heavy snow. Sometimes I find it hard to slow down. Not much you can do but just relax, read, rest and roast!


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Sunday Recap

Had 2 great services at @galenaassembly today. We had a young man get healed this morning when children prayed for him. We are beginning to see a stirring of the Spirit and more people responding to God. God always responds when people are truly seeking Him. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday AM

Home you can make it to @galenaassembly this morning. Message is "Building an Accurate Prayer Life." - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Book Recommendation

I just finished reading the book God's Generals. I would recommend that every pastor or ministry leader read this. It give their successes as well as their mistakes and failures. Some of the best lessons to learn from are the mistakes of others. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone