Rediscovery!

I was privileged to share my (Southgate) story with Mark Meyer and the Maximizer guys that meet weekly to talk about making an impact through business in the context of the kingdom of God and the local church. They were so receptive and supportive! A real blessing! I rediscovered (as I do quite regularly) the heartbeat of our vision found in Jeremiah 29:7 "Seek the Welfare of the city where I have sent you..." It dawned on me as I was driving to the 6:30 am meeting that "J297" would probably be the best way to describe what we want to be all about at Southgate. What a great way to start the day!

The Church is the Cause

One of the challenges of local church life is money... you know, having enough of it to do what the church is supposed to do. Why is that? Lack of teaching? Skepticism? Greed?

Here's what I think. Most people aren't greedy, they just need a good reason to give and the church just doesn't seem like one. This chasm in our understanding of seeing the church as a viable cause is deep and wide but, it is earned.

But, I for one think the church is a good cause. It has the potential to mobilize an army of volunteers in a moment's notice because its rooted in a value system (theology) of love, compassion, care & hard work. (Notice I said it has the 'potential' to do this.) There has been too much separation in our understanding of who we (the church) are and what we do. Our identity has too often been rooted in a doctrine we talk about rather than a way of life we demonstrate and sometimes describe. Perhaps if we witnessed churches catalyzing movements & becoming more like community centers and less like temples we would earn a new reputation.

This is Isaiah's confident, hopeful prediction about God's people, his church...

"The nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory. And you will be given a *new name by the LORD’s own mouth."

Isaiah 62:2 (NLT)

* The new name: "Sought Out" from Is. 62:12 (NASB)

What kind of shift needs to happen for the church to be seen as a good cause?

Change is Hard

You never know how hard until you're being tested by it. Change that is... We (Cynthia & I) experiencing change in a big way in our lives right now...

• Cynthia's grandmother just passed marking the end of an era for her family and even our church.
• We are now empty nesters as our youngest (18) son graduated early and is pursuing his music dream out in California.
• Our church leadership team has gone through a massive transition that has tested friendships, faith and loyalty. Not easy, but necessary.
• We are in a 21-day season of prayer & fasting that is leading us back to our king, Jesus. It couldn't have come at a better time for me. That much is certain.

"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." Machiavelli

"Christmas on Wheels"

What can I say? In all my years of ministry I've never been as excited about a 'church service' as I am right now. We determined that just like Jesus caused a ruckus at His arrival that we would too. No candle lighting in this one. Less than six weeks ago we were in a staff meeting that turned into a brainstorming time and voíla, we agreed a bike giveaway was a good idea for Christmas at Southgate. Initially we figured we could pull off giving away 25-30 bikes on short notice but that soon ramped up to 100. You know how brainstorming meetings go; you lose all sense of reason. So we began to execute a plan that would have us teaming up again with five of our local partners: Heroes Camp, Five Star Life (Jackson Middle School), Xavier School, Sonnyvilla & The Crossing Educational Center. We would also ask Southgate people to 'nominate' kids they thought could use a big Christmas surprise. We also figured every kid should walk away with something, so we purchased hundreds of sleds so that every kid received a gift. So, tonight & tomorrow we gather to worship Jesus and open gifts... and witness some kids being surprised by the generosity of people who love them enough to buy 100 bikes (& 700 sleds), lovingly put them together and open their arms to these precious kids on Christmas weekend. This moves me!

Merry Christmas!

Repost: On the Floor

This is the way we want to lead our church.

What She Loves to Hear

I've learned after 25 years of marriage to Cynthia what she loves to hear. Perhaps you might suppose "I love you!" or other sweet messages, but that's not what my wife loves to hear. She loves to hear the sound of a vacuum cleaner with me at the controls. She is more of a show-me kind of girl than a tell-me type. I actually do verbalize my love for her quite often but mostly because "words of affirmation" is my love language. Hers is "acts of service." She appreciates when I tell her nice things, but it means more to her when there is a healthy balance of other sounds around the house as well. I love to serve my wife.

"3 in 5"

We're on the threshold of a new day at Southgate church in South Bend. We will be starting three new church campuses in the next 5 years. Our 1st campus pastor is Jack Hildreth. He and his wife Olivia will be joining our team the middle of next month. This month we have been teaching and sharing about what it means to step into a new reality in our giving. So to culminate our series "The Blessed Life" we will be pooling our resources to make our vision of "3 in 5" a reality. We are asking our people to give a generous investment to this vision. Plus there are a couple of other outreach projects included as well. Our goal is $40k! Let's blow this goal out of the water, Southgate! Take the Generosity Challenge!