upward & inward

I get the privilege of leading a group of folks in a study of the Acts of the Apostles. On Fridays now, we're having some College and Career aged young ones (18-24 year-olds) over to the house to have food (physical and spiritual) and fun. We had a great first session and I want to ensure everyone who wasn't able to attend has all that's required to be prepared when they come the next time. However, I haven't figured out how to post documents for review. Until then, here, at least, is our approach to the study. More coming... Goal: To study the story of Jesus’ work in the early church and how to apply His Word to our daily lives. Approach: The Bible is God’s Word. Therefore, we will: 1) Trust it. It is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. 2) Seek to understand how He interacted with those we read about. 3) Seek to understand ourselves better as we look into the reflection it presents us. 4) See ourselves as God sees...

I'm continually reminded of the importance of understanding how a large group of tasks are accomplished in unison and in synchronization with each other. This is what a typical project is, isn't it? However, one of the KEY success factors is PRIORITIZATION. And, prioritization can't be done without understanding: WHAT needs to be done, HOW will it be done, and WHEN it needs to be done. According to classic, tried and true, project management techniques, this translates into SCOPE (what needs to be done), COST (how it will be done), and TIME (when it needs to be done). Time and again, we want everything done immediately at minimal cost. This departure from reality places our faith in the most unlikely places, doesn't it? Yet, I recently had another conversation that transcends the natural by assuming we can actually do everything yesterday with just one person. Prioritization comes when we decide among these three project attributes which is flexible, somewhat flexibl...

I had the privilege of preaching on Sunday morning in the Sunrise Service here at Central Community. You can hear this message - and see/hear many others by Pastor John and other pastors here .

As promised, here are a few of the lessons learned after the challenges wrought in the experience on Thursday night's Living Last Supper: When we do something intentionally to God's glory, He receives the glory and protects us. Continue to put trust in God alone. As we trust God, if an outside organization desires access to the church, one must perform due diligence to verify who they are and what they intend to do. If there is no time to perform due diligence, then the offer remains unaccepted. The farther away an interviewer/videographer lives, the more due diligence is required. Interviewers or videographers rarely (if ever) pay you to do their work. If sufficient due diligence is performed, review ALL waivers before signing or making them available for signatures. If after due diligence, a group is allowed on site, increase security to ensure the group behaves as promised. And, the oldest lesson of all: people may not do what you expect them to do, but they will do what you...

Some of you may know of what happened on Thursday night (3/13) when a film crew, purporting to be filming our Living Last Supper for a German TV One documentary on American culture, tried to ruin the event at the end of the production. By God's power and providence, the plan was thwarted. In order to get the word out and hopefully help other churches avoid a similar situation, we agreed to interview with KAKE TV here in Wichita and discuss the incident. Deb Farris of KAKE was very kind and sympathetic to our situation. I really appreciated her approach to the segment she led at the 6:00pm news hour and consider her and Tyler and so many others who have helped us through this as instruments of God's continued blessing. Lessons forthcoming...

Here is an excerpt from a sermon by Josh Harris discussing discernment with an illustration of an "almost" encounter with the guy who portrays Borat. As this speaker tells his story, I can relate.

In an effort to get the word out to warn folks about the film crew incident at the Living Last Supper on Thursday night, I agreed to give an interview to KAKE TV in Wichita. Having been burned just the week before, I was a little nervous about speaking to them. However, Deb Farris and Tyler Schiffelbein were great and per our agreement, Deb allowed me to review the afternoon segments via email before airing. However, on the evening program, the script was handled by another reporter and I was given credit for what happened at the end of the production rather than Clint Dunn (who God worked through mightily). I have sent Deb an email asking her to change the text of the posting on their website to reflect the truth of the evening's activity.