So if the best and brightest of the current and next generation aren't bring their gifts into full time ministry, why not?  Here are some initial thoughts.  I'd love yours:

• Not enough risk.  Face it, the church is often not known for blazing trails.  In an era when the iPhone 4 is a huge story, clearly we need a better plot line (and yes, I'll be getting an iPhone 4 this month like lots of other Canadians).  When the marketplace is leading the way, the church needs to create a better story.  We have the most powerful story, after all, at the center of our faith. The church is known for boring and timid.  We need to get known for being radical.  Talent gravitates toward the most compelling plot line.
• The wrong kind of scandal. Sadly, when the church is not boring, we often embrace the wrong kind of scandal.  When headlines spring from moral failure, emotional manipulation and eye-rolling born of intellectual simplicity, we really resist attracting intelligent people.
• An absence of power. Sometimes I wonder if the church suffers from a divine power failure.  In some churches, things are slow and traditional enough that you don't need God - a semi-retired bureaucrat could run things.  In others, we claim power, but the power is just smart leadership or semi-charismatic emotionalism...is it really of God?  Of course in some places it is, but maybe there are just not enough churches like that. What would happen if God really started to move in people's lives - not just in some churches - but in the church? Would people come running?
• Underchallenged leaders. Numerous people manage, lead, and care for huge numbers of people and major responsibilities each week, only to show up at church and be asked to wash dishes or park a car.  Don't get me wrong - parking cars and washing dishes are awesome ways to serve.  But when that's all we ask people to do - the church misses out.  What if people were asked to bring their best thinking to the Kingdom, not their leftover thinking - or not being asked to think at all?
• Overwork. I resonate with the comment that we've worked ourselves to death in this generation of church (kinda guilty of it myself - I'll preach about it in August).  The other side of the coin is this though - some in ministry are just plain lazy. So which is it?   But what if ministry became a place where human energy combined with divine energy to produce fruit no one could claim credit for?  What if the answer was not just more of our power - but more of God's power? The market place can't compete with that.

What if we risked more - took the right kind of risks?  What if we tapped more into God's heart and power and really saw the church explode with that?

Do these things keep people with great gifts for ministry from doing ministry?  What else do you see?

I'm not talking about the handful we twitter about, follow, admire or whose books we read and conferences we attend.  I'm talking about what happened to great leaders leading in churches in every province, state, city, town and even village?

Maybe it's just nostalgia, but it seems to me there was a day when the best and the brightest got into ministry.  When leadership in the kingdom was serious work and people with true hearts and skillful hands were regularly in leadership.

I'm pretty sure a lot of the smartest and most capable teens and college students sitting in church today (if they are in church at all) are not even seriously toying with ministry.  They're going elsewhere.  And, sadly, sometimes people who might not have the gifting and perhaps only think they have the calling end up leading ministries.  (I know you're wincing...so am I...I'm just sayin'.)

Is there a dearth of great leadership in the church? Do we live in an age when the most gifted leaders using their God-given talents to help corporations make better sugar water, squeeze out a better bottom line,  make music, create art or spawn design that in the end, helps people buy new mini-vans or ends up as just another voice in pop-culture?

What would need to be true to get our best, brightest, and most gifted people who also have authentic hearts and solid character moving into ministry?  Yes, I know....I've read 1 Corinthians 1 and I know God chooses the weak of the world...but the Apostle Paul brought an incredible mind, heart and skill to ministry that led to the explosion of the early church.  Moses was no sap either. God will surprise us and use people we never expected to do great things...but being a capable leader and having a supple heart are not mutually exclusive.

I'll come back with some ideas in a few days, but in the meantime...What do you think?  Are we seeing the best head into leadership?  If not, why not?  And what would you do about it?

On Father's Day, we often say "Dads, time to get your act together...step up...accept responsibility...be a leader...we expect it, and you're not measuring up."

Try that on Mother's Day.  Exactly.

I'm not saying we should be hard on our moms (not at all), I'm just asking why we think the best way to challenge a man is to beat him up.  That's all.

What would happen if we encouraged dads?  What if we celebrated each time a man took a step toward where God wanted to be?  What if the church was a place where men felt encouraged and empowered?  I'm not saying we don't need an occasional swift kick...I'm just saying maybe it's a good idea to stop once in a while and celebrate the good.   We need to be called, but when we've answered, it might be great to come alongside and say "good job".

Maybe men don't want to go to church because men tend to gravitate toward where they are respected.  Maybe it's time to encourage the family rather than criticize parents and spouses who have heard enough criticism already.

Happy Father's Day guys...and thanks for taking steps in the direction God is encouraging you to run.   It may not feel like you're making progress, but God sees all, and there are more than a few of us who are cheering for you!

That's God speaking , by the way.

Most of us spend a lot of time trying to figure out whether we think God is trustworthy. But this verse changes the game significantly.  Maybe the only question isn't whether we can trust God.  Maybe the question for those who want to live a life alive in God is this:  Can God trust you? 

Trust is dependability - a deep confidence in someone.  We tend to trust people who are reliable, who are consistent and who don't change with the season or the wind direction.  Ever think that maybe God is looking for people He can trust? 

Many Christian I know say their faith varies daily. And mine has seasons too.  But what if our faith was strong enough and we became solid enough that God felt he could trust us?

Trust killers include:

• Losing faith in God the minute circumstances don't go our way.
• Putting ourselves at the center of our relationship with God, rather than God at the center. (What can I do for God, rather than what can God do for me?)
• Keeping God at the periphery of our lives, not at the center.

What I love about Moses is that he was gut-level honest with God.  He got upset, but God heard about it first.  He went straight to God.  He believed God against all odds (like trusting that somehow God would make a way across the water even if it looked impossible). 

I first got challenged with the trust-reversal idea when Reggie Joiner and I were writing our parenting book together.  In one of the drafts he introduce this idea that parents might stop thinking in terms of simply being able to trust their kids and start asking a different question: do we live in a way that our kids trust us? Are we consistent?  Do we inspire confidence?

I love that thought.  It's challenging me.  And it's a great thought to kick off a new week. 

Have you ever thought that God might be looking to trust you?   If so, how would you live different as a result? 

Conferences are often places for information and ideas.  And I'm a strategy wonk for sure.

But what I love about Orange10 is that this year, it feels like God is trying to do something in us.  This conference has felt even more personal than usual...more like God was trying to speak to me and in me.  Which is so helpful.  Often we just want God to do something through us. But God usually won't do anything through us until he does something in us.

One way I know where I'm at spiritually is how I feel when I sing the words to a worship song.  This year, I'm not only singing the words, I'm feeling them.  There's a sense of awe and wonder that's returning to my heart and life that is so refreshing. I've had those moments where I think "If only everyone could get this"!  Inspiration is the rocket fuel that propels action, and when you are actually inspired, it can bring life like nothing else. 

So...Orange leaders....what's your experience been?  What is God doing in you?  What's been your biggest "God is doing this in me" experience so far?

As I watch my own patterns, I realize this truth - I gravitate to where I feel valued most.  My guess is you do too. Probably your favourite people to be around value your input, listen to your ideas and respect you both on an intellectual and personal level.  You feel appreciated and you feel like you're making a difference.

If you want a deeper, closer relationship with your spouse and kids, value them.  Desire deeper friendships?  Value people.  Want to be a better boss or co-worker? Value people.  If you're a ministry leader in charge of volunteers, value those who serve with you.

Conversely, if you want people around you to lose heart, make them feel like they don't matter.  That rule works on a personal and professional level.

Valuing people sounds easy, but it can be challenging:

• Most of us tend to take for granted those close to us.  That undercommunicates value and sells the relationship short.
• Insecure people can't value others because it threatens their own sense of worth.
• People feel like they are valued in different ways: some prefer public or private verbal recognition,  some look for input and a seat at the table, others appreciate gifts, some just like time with you.  Often, it's a sustained combination of all these that communicates value most deeply.

Who do you value?  This coming week (or even today), how are you going to let them know?

What makes you feel valued?  What are some of the best ways you communicate value to other people?

So what did we do (many of you were asking)?

• We opened the service with Led Zeppelin's Rock and Roll.  The band did a great job, and people hung in the tension of liking what they were hearing but realizing this really wasn't Christmas music.
• We had a 'producer' interrupt the band two minutes in the song and tell them they couldn't play it because people had come for Christmas.
• The band then regrouped, and starting playing Rock and Roll again, only this time subbing in Christmas lyrics.
• I got up, cut them off and told them they had to play real Christmas music (at one of the services, people started calling out for more Zeppelin)...welcomed everyone and launched into some Christmas tunes.
• Musically, we then did some rearranged Christmas carols (like Chris Tomlin's version of Angels We Have Heard on High).  We brought out some dancers who did a couple of kid versions of some Christmas songs to actions, and closed the service with Robbie Seay Band's Go Outside and O Holy Night.
• The message was simple and fairly short (20 minutes).  Everyone got an invitation that was handwritten by someone at Connexus.  It simply said "My name is _______ and I want you to know that you are invited to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ".  My message was simply that Christmas is the greatest interruption in human history accompanied by the greatest invitation in human history.  We invited people to respond to the invitation.

What I loved about the service this year was how the opener surprised people, caught them off guard and got them engaged in the first few minutes.  It was a bridge for people with little church background, and in many ways, modeled the message.  We interrupted the song...God interrupted history... we handed out a personal invitation...so did God.  We hoped it would work, but as usual, you don't know until it's all happening live.  I loved the kids' dance too because it helped the kids stay engaged and gave the younger kids music they loved.  Plus it helped families see that we sink some significant time and resources into families.

I was so thrilled with our community...we asked people to invite friends and family and they did.  Being a portable church is hard and when you can't even meet where you normally meet for Christmas services, it makes it even more difficult for a crowd to find you Christmas eve.  But our Christmas eve attendance has doubled in the last two years and was up 50% from last year alone - all because people told their friends.  We'll plan for over 1000 attenders next year.

So that was Christmas.  If you were at Connexus, what did you think?  If you weren't, please share some thoughts or share what your church did.  We're always learning and would love to hear.

One of the hardest battles I face internally is related to my heart.  Like you, I'm most effective when my heart is fully engaged.

But over time, it takes work to keep your heart fully engaged.  It usually unfolds this way - starting out, you give your heart (to someone, something, some worthy cause) and at some point, you get stung.  People you trusted let you down.  People say nasty things. Sure, it wasn't all their fault.  But regardless, it didn't turn out as you expected. 

You soldier on.  You give your heart again, only to discover that people and life truly is a mixture of hope and disappointment. And somewhere in the process our hearts get damaged. 

The last three years (leaving a denomination and starting a church) have been incredibly rewarding in ministry but have also included the most challenging passages I've had to navigate. 

I found myself in a dialogue with God this fall asking Him to give me 100 passion for ministry.  I had a commitment to ministry, even an excitement over it.  But I felt my passion wasn't where I longed for it to be.  Not sure everyone around me saw it, but I promise you inside I felt it.  I was puzzled.

I prayed about it and talked to a few people about it and then one night, I believe God showed me so clearly what the issue was - it was my heart. Having been stung a few times, I think it had quietly shrunk back - not wanting to be hurt again. It may have been 90% there, but 10% was hiding out in the back, cautious, reserved.

Late one night as I was praying with my wife and some friends, it was as though I heard God nudge me to say "I'm in, if you're in."   It was a weird message, for sure.   Why would God not be "in"?  Maybe it was the nudge I need to get going.  Maybe it's a reflection of God's character - He usually partners with people and prefers not to do things alone (see 2 Corinthians 5). 

But I realized if God was in it, I had nothing to fear.  That what I need to do most is fully throw myself into this - every last ounce.  Every bit of this constantly-beating heart.

After all, don't you love seeing someone whose heart is in it?  Whether it's a hockey player, a chef, or a kid in a Christmas play, the people who bring their whole hearts to whatever they do are not only more interesting to watch, they are better people to follow and do life with.  They are fully alive.

So, here's my heart.  It's fully engaged.  I'm putting it out there every day. I know I'll need to do that again, but I'm doing it now.

How about you?  Does your heart get banged around?  Does it shrink back after attack?  What do you need to throw your heart into: your marriage, your family, your ministry, your job?  God is in it, what's keeping you back?  What would help you fully engage your heart?

This is a huge series for us, because we built our church around a family ministry strategy.  In Orange Families, we're covering for the first time the parenting strategy that Reggie Joiner and I have been developing over the last year.  I'm so excited to share it with our families and the wider church community (some of you have heard snippets of this on the Orange Tour and at last year's Orange Conference, but this is the first full run at it).

The easiest way to get the messages is via the Connexus Podcast. Just go to iTunes and search "Connexus Community Church" and our audio and video casts will pop up (don't have iTunes? click here.)  Subscribe away.  It's free.

You can also go to our website where we stream the messages.  You can also burn a DVD for yourself off our site.  Click here.

If you are a church leader or volunteer who wants to know more, I'm teaching a breakout at the Orange Conference on how to position your church to maximize a parenting series.  Orange is an awesome conference (you have to get to it) and, if you're interested, the breakout covering this is called "Communicating the Family Ministry Strategy to Your Church". 

Really looking forward to the next five weeks of Orange Families.  Excited by how God might change families because of it!  Looking forward to hearing your feedback and comments!

But the shadow side of outsourcing and delegation is that it can lead to an abdication of responsibility.  When I was in high school, I thought math was so awful I remember thinking "when I get older I'm just going to hire someone to do my math."  Right.  Then I ended up in ministry.  Glad I married a smart woman and have smart kids.  And that I have a calculator. And that I don't do the finance at Connexus.

That attitude is not healthy.  Nothing wrong with not being good at something, but I absolved myself of responsibility.

Been doing lots of prep work for our Orange Family series that starts February 15th. One of the things I'm wondering about: have families outsourced spiritual development?  I don't mean in some old-school "let's read six chapters of the Bible while we sit in neatly lined up rows" kind of way, but I mean do we expect someone else to raise our kids spiritually?

What do you think?  What's your experience?  If you're struggling in this area, can you identify what the issue might be? 

I'd love to hear back from you!