Yes, I’ve been away from the blog for a bit. The beginning of the fall is always a pretty packed schedule for me. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve…
- Seen my church transition going from two weekly services to one, with a change in strategy to boot
- Formatted Bible studies for small groups in order for them to be published
- Laid the foundation for my church to become a publishing house (of said studies)
- Written and finalized our church’s new membership material, of which we sent out 1400-15o0 copies to our small groups
- Written the foreword and conclusion to my book which, by the way, is before the senior editors of three different mainstream publishers thanks to the gracious efforts of a noted seminary professor and author
- Hosted the Acts 29 Network Boot Camp
Let me say a little about the last point.
Yes, for those who have followed my church’s journey with the Acts 29 Network, we not only are a part of the network but hosted one of their boot camps this week. This was a personal highlight for me for many reasons. First, these are my people! The men (and women) of Acts 29 share the same values, beliefs and convictions that I have. Most of these guys would be my friends had I never heard of the network. Needless to say, my heart easily resonates with this group. They are humble, smart, love the Lord and his church! Secondly, my heart has been that our church join this movement of church-planting churches. I not only think A29 fits me, it fits our church. We have always been about planting churches that are theologically robust, gospel-centered and culturally savvy for missional purposes. Now we get to partner with like-minded churches on a broader scale. You only get stronger when you work together on-mission. Thirdly, I think our partnership with A29 in general, and the boot camp in specific, will help Houston have more gospel-centered church plants. Indeed, we have already seen this happen. Lastly, I think A29 will not only help us, but I think by God’s grace we can help A29. We are a church that has grown slowly, in a healthy fashion, without being a personality-centered church. We are also strong in gifts of leadership (organizationally, strategic, etc.), team building and creating a culture that blesses the church. It would be bragging if it weren’t so true. I believe that with all my heart.
So devoted readers (all two of you…just kidding), my apologies for being away. It’s been a little busy around here, and that’s been a very good thing. I’ll leave you with some pics from the boot camp. (These were taken by David Barron, a professional photographer who is a part of my church. Many thanks for donating his time, talents and photos for this weekend. I made these low-res so as to save space. Don’t hold it against Dave. He donated 15MB images.)
