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I’m here in Charlotte for the Southern Area FUEL.  So far, Josh LeRoy has presented some hard teaching.  It has not been the rah rah pat on the back kind of stuff.  He has been transparent about his own personal dealings with the subjects he’s addressed:  racial reconciliation and mercy.  Bottom line from Josh has been that if we feed people but fail to share the gospel then we have missed the point.  Lots of John Wesley references.  Appropriate since he is a great example of how to do both effectively.  He shared some personal experiences from his neighborhood including various shootings that have occured.  Josh does not live in New York City.  He lives in Asheboro.  Well, Philip Martin scored us some free breakfast so it’s off to facc what is sure to be an interesting one.  I’m hoping we have a big group go see the new Trek tonight.  We shall see.  I miss my wife and kids.  I will see them in 24.

We had several couples renew their wedding vows yesterday at church.  One couple has been married 56 years and were not believers when they were first married.  The way they looked at each other during the ceremony was unforgettable.  With that in mind, here’s a video of a couple(married 62 years) putting on an impromptu piano recital.

5 weeks from right now I will have just completed(or about to complete) my first half marathon.  The training has been slow, fun, frustrating, exhilirating, etc.  I am finding that legs that are designed to carry 150-160 lbs don’t function as well when they are carrying considerably more.  This has hampered the consistency and intensity of my workouts.  The good news is that I am much more active than I was two months ago and (present box of Milk Duds aside) eating much healthier.  So, I’ve got 5 weeks to amp it up and get over the hump.  Speaking of which, gotta run(literally).

Several weeks ago I started twittering.  Just before that, Facebook changed their look which I didn’t like.  Now, after twittering for close to a month, I’ve grown to like it.  Since setting my Facebook status to coincide with my twitter updates, I have gotten 200% more comments.  So, I think that using the two together can help build more converstation and community.  When people ask me what twitter is, I tell them it’s basically the Facebook status page without all the gifts, pokes and stuff.  Although today, Matt Rhodes got the first Twitter Technical Foul for referencing wesleyan women.  By the way, we are having a contest to name the Twitter Technical Foul.  Send me your suggestions.  It does not have to include the words twitter, technical, foul, or redundant.  Winner gets full credit and something named after them.  Easier to do that than to get “Mullikined.”  Speaking of Facebook, watch this video right now.  Now, I just need someone to show me how to do twitter pics.  Saw something about joining a twibe today.  Looks like twitter is taking a page out of the SWU handbook.  That is to name every event using the letters “S-W-U.”   The SWUperman shirt(anyone know where the template went), the SWUpy’s, SWUper Saturdays, SWUsical, SWUne flu, etc.  I take full responsibility for this as all of this started with an idea Mike Keaton and I had(the before mentioned SWUperman shirt).  Does this mean that all of us on twitter are twits?  I should get a Twechnical for that one.  Ding ding ding…we have a winner.

I’ve been thinking about alot of things regarding mega-churches, church plants, denominations, and pastoral changes.  Here are some of them and I would love to get your take.

1.  Vision and long-term commitment seem to be two charicteristics I see in growing church plants.  The pastor is unwavering on the vision God has given them and they are open about the fact they want to be at the church until they retire.  Would you rather attend a church with that kind of leader or one where the pastor is just trying to get a positive vote every 2 to 4 years and doesn’t really do anything to rock the boat.  Are some pastors scared to get a vision from God because it might disrupt things and affect their vote?  I’ve never been in that position and that’s why I’m asking the question.  This leads to my second thought…

2.  A growing trend in larger churches is to have a hand picked successor when the senior pastor/planter retires.  Heard about a big church in Louisville that picked their next Sr. Pastor 5 years in advance.  Seems to be biblical to “pass the mantle” rather than bringing in a stranger to preach a trial sermon.  When a successful Sr. Pastor gives his vote of confidence to the next guy then good things can happen.  Of course, if the pastor wasn’t successful then people are gonna want to look elsewhere.  Of course, having the foresight to “pass the mantle” would require vision and long-term commitment.

3.  I also see churches hiring from within much more than in the past.  Again, it does make sense to bring people on staff who are already sold out to the vision and direction of the church and have been actively plugged in.  Bringing a staff person from the outside can have tremendous results, but is it safer to go with a proven commodity in someone you already know and trust?

4.  I guess my point is if every year we see the church in decline then what are we doing to change that?  I’ve heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  What would it look like for the Wesleyan denomination to adapt some of its procedures to follow a pattern that seems to be working?  Or we can keep shuffling the deck every few years and getting the same results.  Just some thoughts.  Am I way off base in my thinking?  Why do we often lack the vision and passion needed to reach the world for Christ?