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James 4:11-5:6 Discussion Guide

This morning, I'll be asking everyone to reflect on whether God is central to all our plans, or is God an afterthought in our plans, or are we professing a faith in Christ but living our lives like practical-atheists?

We'll be covering James 4:11-5:6.  See you in a few!

Here's the small group/Bible study discussion guide for this week: How Faith Works 8 - Planning

Why No Moss?

If you've been listening to sports talk this week, you've heard about the mini-saga about Randy Moss, arguably the most talented (at least top 3?) receivers in the history of football.

Let's face it. Randy's got game. When he's "on," he's unstoppable.

So after he was cut by his 2nd team this year, and a sportswriter listed the Chiefs as a potential team to claim him off waivers, the debates were on.  "We've got to pick up Randy now!!"  "We need his playmaking ability!!" "No way! Leave it alone...don't mess a team that's  5-2!!"

When the Titans picked him Randy Moss yesterday off waivers, the Chiefs players supported the team's decision not to bring Randy in right now.

The whole debate reminded of me how critical CHEMISTRY is to any team.  It is the leader's job (e.g. the husband/father; the GM; the depatment head; the little league coach; the CEO) to maintain the chemistry of their team.  It's crystal clear from Scripture

• Chemistry matters in the HOME.  It is better to live in a rented, run-down APARTMENT & eat beans & rice with GOOD family chemistry, than to live in a large, beautiful HOME in the best neighborhood & eat the best food money can buy WITHOUT good family chemistry. (Proverbs 25:24, 21:19, 15:17, 17:1)
• Chemistry matters in the WORKPLACE.  It is better to sacrifice SHORT-TERM gains on your team and maintain GOOD team chemistry, than to assemble HIGHLY-talented people WITHOUT good team chemistry. (Proverbs 16:19, 22:10, 24-25, Mark 3:24-25)

Randy's got game, no doubt about it. But if, at this point in time, the team leadership thought that he would bring down the team chemistry, they absolutely made the RIGHT call.

P.S. I learned a great acronym from Bill Hybels & Willow Creek years ago on looking for "The 3 C's" in hiring.  Look for people with:

1. Character -- Do they have high character & do you trust them completely?
2. Competency -- Will they work very hard, do the job very well, & be very successful at it?
3. Chemistry -- Would they add to or take away from the team skill-set, comaraderie, & unity?

Children's Ministry - A Place To Lead

Hey, I know there’s lots of people out there who are not yet connected to "A Place to Lead" right now here at Grace (i.e. serving in a ministry).  Check out this video and try out Children's Ministry a couple weeks...call it an "experiment" to find God's plan for you!

Grace Place for Kids from Grace Church on Vimeo.

If you're interested in exploring how to get connected (potentially) in Children’s Ministry, click here.

Join Us Live at 9pm CDT tonight

Tonight's the night.

Join Pastor Ben & I LIVE ONLINE @ 9PM CDT in a round table, talking about "Senior Pastor / Worship Pastor Relationships."

• What's it REALLY like to work on staff in a church?
• What's it REALLY like to navigate leadership/relational challenges in the public eye?
• What's it REALLY like to work with Ben?  (I wanna know!)

Click here for details on how to join us online.

See you at 9p!

Web Bonus - A Place to Lead (i.e. Serve)

"Are you strictly a 'Weekend Warrior' here at Grace?  Or are you connected?"

Yesterday was the final week of our "Are You Connected?" series where we've been encouraging every single person to go beyond "Weekend Warrior / Regular Attender" status and get fully connected.  What does that look like?  It's going 3-for-3...

1. Friends to Love -- Have at least 1 friend at Grace
2. A Place to Learn -- Join a small group OR Bible study OR 1-on-1 discipleship
3. A Place to Lead -- Volunteer in a ministry at Grace OR outreach beyond Grace

In other words...

Yesterday we took on the topic of connecting to "A Place to Lead" -- finding that ministry IN the church, or outreach BEYOND the church, to get connected to Christ.  We went through the greatest description in the Bible on how the church is SUPPOSED to look & work together: Ephesians 4:11-16.

• The Church is a Body -- I love this example.  God describes the church, not as an organization, but as a living organism...a body.  It's so descriptive.
• • Our Head = Christ -- Christ wants us to depend on Him, as our body depends on our head -- where every movement, every direction, every thought is rooted in direction sent from the head.
  • The Body Parts = Us -- We are like body parts.  We are all created with a unique design with unique gifts & placed into the body to play a specific role.  As body parts, we need to be connected to the body to receive support, energy, food, strength, care, etc.  If we are not part of a body (a church), we die.   If we don't serve in a body (a church), we atrophy.  If we get connected & serve, we grow & flourish & fulfill our purpose.
  • The Body Joints = Relationships -- The most vulnerable part of a body is the most vulnerable part of a church -- the connections between members (i.e. relationships).  We need to protect them & heal them.
• Spiritual Gifts -- Check out all 4 lists of the 21 or so spiritual gifts of the New Testament:
• • Romans 12
  • 1 Corinthians 12
  • Ephesians 4
  • 1 Peter 4
• The Video -- You can check out the powerful "Body of Christ" video we used here.

 Next weekend, we kick off a new series called "Lie$", where we're taking on the lies that money tries to tell us.

Halftime Event

Hello to all the "People-Beyond-Halftime-in-Life" crowd,

Three of our leaders at Grace (Phil Royston, Michael Wilson, & Dean Callison) wanted me to pass along an 2-hour event that they will be attending together on Thursday, February 11, at the Doubletree in Overland Park.  Lloyd Reeb will be the speaker.

So -- if you want to find out more information about the event -- and spend a couple hours before work in a vision casting time with some leaders from Grace, click here.

-Tim

Web Bonus - Hold Loosely

I'm a little late on posting thoughts on last weekend's services.  This has been one full week!

Anyway, the topic last Sunday was incredible rich & challenging for me personally.  It was week 3 of our January "Ultimate Resolutions" series for 2010, called "Hold Loosely" from Mark 10:17-30.  Specifically, we were talking about Christ's call to hold loosely to (a) our possessions, (b) our plans, & (c) our lives.

There are a number of things bumping around in my head & heart from this week.

• Zeroing In -- Did you notice that the 5 commandments that Jesus did not repeat to the rich, young ruler all dealt with his relationship with God & covetousness (his 2 weaknesses)?  Did you notice that Jesus' new commandment focused on both of those?  Jesus told him to sell all he had re:his covetousness) & follow Him (re:his relationship with God).
• Sell My Home? -- Dean Callison gave me a heads up about the Parade Magazine article on Sunday entitled, "Why we gave up our home."  That's exactly what we were talking about...would you do it, if God asked it of you?
  
• Jim Elliot -- Someone reminded me of Jim Elliot's quote, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, in order to gain what he cannot lose."
• What about You? -- So...what would you give up or change if you became aware that Jesus had a different direction for you?  Would you give up your possessions/stuff?  Change your plans/dreams?  Let God do WHATEVER he wanted with your life?
  
• Where's Tim? -- So, I'm out near the information center, talking to Merideth Niztel & her in-laws an anonymous family, when I hear the most sickening thing I could...nothing.  Our praise music had stopped & I immediately thought, "Oh NO!  Should I already be in there?"  I ran in to see no one on stage.  I was motioning to people to ask, "Am I on?" but I wasn't able to get that question across well.  So I just started speaking from the back, explaining what I had done.  Ben said he was about to head back on stage to sing "something".  :-) That's a first for me!

If you've can swing it, you've GOT to join us live or online tonight from 6:45-8:00 p.m. to see the AMAZING ways God provides for us in Numbers 18-19.  We're also going to talk about the significance of the extremely rare "Red Heifer" and it's implication on the End Times.

L8R.

Web Bonus - Lead Under

Yesterday, it was back in the saddle for week 2 of our January series called "Ultimate Resolutions." We're exploring 5 key conversations Jesus had as potential resolutions for our lives in 2010.

This week's topic was  "Lead under" from Matthew 20:20-28 (with the parallel story in Mark 10:35-45). Hmmm...what to say...

• Servant-Leadership -- In God's mind, that's the only type of leadership that counts! The greatest leaders are ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS the greatest servants. David was. Moses was. Paul was. The greatest example of this in Jesus in John 10.
• Extra Resources -- The book I referenced was "Lead Like Jesus" by Ken Blanchard & Phil Hodges.  Great personal story.  And great book.  They also have a website called LeadLikeJesus.com which is worth a look.
• (Mis-)Management Quote -- Here's a quote that showed up on my daily calendar last Friday: "To err is human. To blame it on someone else shows management potential. (Duck and Cover)" :-)
• James & John's Mom -- She was a seriously committed follower of Christ.  Her name was "Salome" which means "peaceful" (Mark 15:40). She followed Jesus around with wealthy women and ministered to him out of their resources, and was with the handful of people with Jesus at the cross (Matthew 27:55-56).
• The Cup & Baptism -- Here's are more verses I didn't have time to talk about on the two challenges Jesus was struggling with about the cross.
• • The Cup (His Suffering) -- Isaiah 51:17, Jeremiah 25:15, Psalm 75:8, John 18:11
  • The Baptism (His Death) -- Luke 12:49-51, Romans 6:3-4
• Their Pettiness -- This story wasn't the only time the disciples argued about petty stuff.  Check out Luke 9:46-48.
• Related Media -- In a review session, someone mentioned that the "servant-leadership" concept reminded them of two shows.  (1) Undercover Boss -- where the boss decides to go incognito & work as a humble employee in his own corporation...like what Christ did.  (2) Dirty Jobs -- where the star goes & does the lowest jobs of society...like what Christ modeled.

L8R.

Board Nominations

Hey Gracers, as you heard Eric Buresh, our board chairman, talk about today, we are looking for nominations to add a couple new board members. Our board provides official business, financial, and policy oversight for the church.

Their duties include:

• Financial oversight and accountability
• Official business and policy approvals
• Strategic input and advice
• Senior Pastor 360 degree performance appraisal

Here are the qualifications & giftedness that a candidate would have:

• Known character of Christ (1 Timothy 3)
• Spirit of God and wisdom (Acts 6)
• Passion for Grace Church
• Think strategically
• Collaborative skills

If you know someone you think might be a good fit, email Trudi Fletcher by Saturday January 30.  Just go to our church home page, click "Contact Us" at the top of the screen, & email her.

6 Minutes on Small Groups

"Beyond: Jonah & Nahum" Wrap Up - Tim Howey from Grace Church on Vimeo.