The Journey: blog

@BhamDreamCenter mind-dump, from Thursday 06-09-2011

Here we go... that's Rob's t-shirt- the shirt that stopped a bullet that was headed to his heart at the shooting on Monday morning. Other than that, here are a few highlights, updates, and random thoughts from the Thursday Night gathering at The Dream Center (5:30 p.m. food / 6:45 p.m. worship & Word):

• Rob Malcom, who was shot multiple times this week, was with us. We've posted more about that on this blog throughout the week. You can catch up there.

• You can catch the audio of Rob's testimony during the middle of the teaching time from this week. The audio from the teaching is here. Rob talks from 12:00 - 18:15 in the talk.

• Kids' church (called Dream Nights), began this evening. Randall & Kay Moore are children's ministry vets who have stepped up and completely taken the bull by the horns on this. I thank God for them and for what they are doing!

• This opens up more seats in the main area. Invite some more people. We now have more space.

• By the way, your kids are still welcome in the service. Do what you feel led to do with them.

• We're still working out some kinks on 101, 201, 301, 401... no worries. We'll get it in a good flow soon. I'm grateful for the team we have leading this.

• Tonight was the second Thursday of the month- and bike night. It's great to see the motorcycle crew out- though I think (between me and you) it's too hot to ride at this point in the year.

• Thank you to all of you who serve every week- and to those of who you simply show up,  start working... and we don't even know who you are! It will be great to get to know each other as we serve our city together, loving the people and expressing the life of Christ.

• Later in the week, I'll post ways you can serve on Thursday nights on this blog. I have a pdf file that needs a few more tweaks.

• One of the young woman who helps with the food on Thursdays, Geri Martha, made the bread for the burger that just won Birmingham's best! Congrats to her.

@BhamDreamCenter mind-dump, from Thursday 06-02-2011- better a week late than never

 

 Here it is... the low-down from last week's gathering (5:30 for food; 6:45 for worship & Word) (yes, I know... the next event is today / tonight):

• We began running 101, 201, 301, 401 this week... at 5:45 p.m., next door to The Dream Center at Christ Health Center. That four week set of classes runs every month, always on Thursdays... and teaches Basic Christianity (101), how to read the Bible & pray (201), ways to discovery your talents and gifts (301), then releases you into your ministry (401). 23 attended the first run of it!

• 8 more people saved! (That brings the total to 141 since we began mid-way through January.). That's 141 people whose eternity is different now!

• This was week 19 of the event, by the way- including a week we changed-up for the tornado. It's amazing to see what the Lord is doing through everyone in such a short time.

• Someone had the bright idea of serving around the front side of the building, rather than the side (where we had been)... now, we're running everyone to the front door instead of the garage bay doors. 

• I loved it! It kept the worship area (fire truck garage) cool, and it made that atmosphere different in some way.

• It was great to see Pastor Peeples in the house- he's a Pastor and friend from the Woodlawn area, who is a great supporter & ministry partner through Prayer Force United.

• We're talking about Simple Christianity right now... simply making some practical applications to what it means to follow Jesus. Tonight we discussed being the absolute best you can be in the place God has you right now. Instead of waiting for "the next big thing," the opportunity around the corner, or the dream gig... do everything you can do serve strong now.

• It's basic; it's easier said than done; but it's revolutionary.

• Fun fact: I didn't give an invitation. I prayed for everyone in line with the teaching from tonight. Jason Cooke came up, as planned, to take the next leg of the service, gave an invitation... the 8 people were saved. Incredible how God uses teams to make things happen.

• The food was exquisite: half-chickens (200 of them), fresh corn on the cob, and gourmet potato-salad (chef works at Bottega's in Southside). Then, for desert, Bud's Best Cookies. I think Bud should pay us to advertise or something- for pairing his cookies with such great food. That, or just send more free cookies : )

• Pastor Short-Tee was in the house tonight- and served up an opening number from his previous CD. The Track? "Thrown the Devil Fits!"

• I like it when we open up with fun songs- whether it's a rap song by Short-Tee, a Gospel Choir number led by Jonette, or kids dancing and rhythmically hitting trash cans (that's coming in a few weeks!)

• By the way, Short-Tee was leading an outdoor church service at Park Place with us last year... When it was time to launch again for the Spring, we prayerfully decided that it would be best to pray for a team that would help carry this event off each week. That team has started to emerge and will begin meeting again in the next few weeks, so that the event doesn't land on a few people- but on many. It's been incredible to see the Lord bring this team together, in His timing. It appears that the Hip Hop Church in the Park will resume sometime around August. Here's a video link to 42 News, who covered the bi-weekly outdoor church last Spring.

@BhamDreamCenter mind-dump, from Thursday 05-26-2011

Here's the re-cap from last night's service The Dream Center:

• The highlight of my night, of the week, was baptizing my oldest son, Noah ("I'm six, almost seven in June," he would say). I'll post some video and pics when I get them from Cristy's camera.

• It rained that afternoon... and we had planned to have baptisms outside. Last month, the tornadoes halted the baptisms (April 27). This month, we prayed the rains wouldn't...

• We moved the service inside, b/c of the rain- but the rain stopped in time for us to hit the front lawn and baptize outside!

• The sun actually broke through at the end!

• The rain did throw off the normal flow of eating outside, having the prayer ministry tent set up, registration tables... but, everyone simply rolled with it. 

• Next week, we'll run two food-service lines (grill fires at 5:00 p.m., food served at 5:30 p.m.). This means that both 1) more people can be served and  2) more of you can help serve!

• Thursdays are becoming my favorite day of the week- because of what is happening on Thursday nights.

• We are out of space- but something will work out for more- and, if you come, we'll gladly squeeze you in!

• We have a team starting The Growth Track next week, Thursday June 2. Classes are at 5:50 p.m., next door at Christ Health Center. We'll have food for those taking class- and dismiss at 6:35, in time for worship at 6:45 p.m. FYI, the classes will be tweaked specifically for The Dream Center and the ministry happening in the inner city!

• We have over 25 signed up for the first run of classes! And, we have an incredible group of teachers ready to lead the group. 

• By the way, the grill masters will be cooking whole chickens this next week. It will be an incredible break from the hot dogs!

• I'm sure our lady from Bottega will bring corn on the cob, fresh watermelon, or something else that goes well with the meat! By the way, the gal from Bottega, @GeriMartha , was baptized tonight!

• Robert Record brought an incredible word about baptism. That's him teaching above. By the way, you can get the online recording of his teaching right here.

@BhamDreamCenter mind-dump, from Thursday 05-19-2011

For the past 14-15 weeks we've been running a small group at The Dream Center (though it's not that small, anymore). We fire up the grill around 5:00 p.m., then feed everyone that comes until around 6:30. By 6:45, we're worshiping... 

Here's some thoughts from last night:

• We had 13 people saved last night!- that's 115 in the first 15 weeks.

• 20 people signed on cards that they want to be baptized next week.

• The 50 new red chairs we received two weeks ago are already full!

• Each person baptized will receive a shirt that says, "I got baptized." It will also have The Dream Center logo on the back.

• Best part of the shirt... Robert Record actually took his polo off- during the cookout and put the model on. It was a small- and, yes, it fit!

• 1,250 Bibles were donated by Books-A-Million to The Dream Center. We were able to give many of them out to people who attended last night.

• It is incredible to see so many teams coming together of people that are so eager to love and serve the people of our city... whether it be by cooking, serving meals, praying in the prayer tent, beginning new classes... It is an honor to serve with all of these people.

• Many of you have asked how you can serve, what you can do... We are actually going to create a list this week that Mark Bensinger will have in his hand on Thursday nights... 

• 101, 201, 301, 401... classes to help you discover basic Christianity (101), how to read the Bible & pray (201), your gifts and abilities (301), and your ministry (401) will start in June. Until then, we can work from the list and put you to work!

• I ran into a young man that I met at The Dream Center last week... then, providentially, ended up praying for him at the LIFE retreat on this past Saturday morning. He has someone that needs the men's discipleship program we do... The Lord continues bringing him back before me... I believe the Lord is going to raise him up to do some incredible things. I'm starting to see that He brings some of these relationships full circle.

• In two weeks, Eddie (the grill master- and, yes, he really is a grill master) is serving donated chickens from the grill. He told me that he believed cooking for the Kingdom may be his calling- I agree with him 

• We scored a baby sitter last night- Cristy and I are going on a date Monday. Thank you, Jaclyn!

Mind-dump: week of May 30- Memorial Day weekend

So much to be thankful for this week- as I look back and see what the Lord has done... all through a bunch of meetings. I hate meetings (normally), but not when they roll like this...

* Monday, we looked at some property... property which will allow us to serve and help more people in need. By the end of the week, many of the details were resolved and we had some keys.

* Tuesday, a friend of ours, Randy Walker (who leads Life Link ministry) came to the intern training at The Village. Over the next few weeks, he is going to train them to all lead house churches. This means that within the month, there will be the potential for 10 of them happening downtown. What a great meeting!

* Wednesday, I met with a local foundation in Birmingham- one that makes charitable donations to non-profits in our area. The trustees were so gracious and hospitable- even when visiting us. I'm honored they came to take a look at what we are doing. It was great to sit and talk with other people who want to see our community reach its full potential.

* Thursday, I had a great meeting with a local pastor- one we're going to partner with. They are doing incredible, grace-filled work- I'm excited about seeing where the relationship goes. As well, he turned me on to others with whom we can network. God continues to build His kingdom through relationships.

* Friday, more great meetings. Sounds odd- a week of meetings... but so much life and energy and more open doors from each of them. 

* Sunday, today, we visited the good people of Open Door Outreach in Woodlawn, where Pastor Herman Peeples ministers. A crew from The Village joined us in a worship service that was so real, authentic, and grace-filled. Peeples has gotten to be a great friend through a relationship that was birthed through Prayer Force United, over the past year. I'll post more about the visit- and a quick video- in the next few days.

* Looking ahead... June 5th, next Sunday, we resume the Park Place "Hip Hop Church in the Park," which will be a great cap-off to a loonnnnggggg and exciting weekend that takes me, Rob, and Kelly to The Dream Center in Los Angeles. We'll be shooting video and posting what we're learning from the road. Looking forward to the trip- and to the return.

Mind-dump: week of May 23, 2010- haven't penned one in a while!

I like the weekly rewind, b/c it gives me a chance to work through the week I've just lived, reflecting back on what went good, what I could have done better... and to see God's grace sustaining on both ends of the spectrum. So here's to the past seven days...

Last Sunday, May 16, I was honored to preach on behalf of Pastor Jhun Cook, the senior leader at CBF Ministries in downtown Birmingham. They are a fresh, new church that worships at the Carver Theatre near the Civil Rights Museum. Pastor Jhun (pronounced John) is another pastor I have become friends with through the partnership of Prayer Force United. He was the host pastor, in fact, for our walk through the downtown business district earlier this year.

Monday... was just another day. Staff meeting day, to be precise. Increasingly, though, I am becoming more and more thankful for the leaders God has allowed me to work with at The Village. They are all top notch- and could all be leading at any level of the organization. They are diligent, sincere- and get it done.

Tuesday... we wrapped another teaching series at The Village (Tuesday night is the night we break into ministry teams, have a large group Bible study, etc.). I'm excited about a new method of learning we're trying beginning next week... we'll teach a "theme" each week- in the large group. All smaller groups will discuss the same theme from week-to-week... diving deep on the major theme we hit. This breaks the discussion into topics, but it allows each topic to stand on its own (even while building on others). This way, new residents aren't lost when they arrive- but there is incredible continuity. More to come on this... By the way, we are now loading audio and video on this page... 

Thursday... I learned that we are not too far from completing a great project that we are trying to put together... yet there is still so far to go. Pray for open doors.

Friday... we had an incredible board meeting at The Village- followed by a great meeting with the State's Prison Reentry Network. We met with some local ministry leaders, as well as some state officials. It's amazing how 1) everyone was on the same page, 2) how much work can get done when no one cares who gets the credit, and 3) how life-giving (rather than draining) these meetings can actually be.

Sunday... I was back in the pulpit at New City Church. They are another great church located downtown... led by Pastor Gerald Austin. More on that tomorrow.

Mind-dump: a week of God's provision & plenty

Normally, on the mind-dump, I recount random things... this time, focusing on a theme: provision. The last seven days of all been small testaments to God's provision for us... for those we work with... for those whom we serve at The Village. 

Monday, February 22nd, The most over-qualified man you could possibly imagined came to our offices and asked if we were hiring... of course, we were looking for another staff position, but had not posted it yet. This is a man that I have known for quite some time who had circumstantially found himself unemployed- and with the specific set of skills and abilities needed to take the ministry to another level. I am excited about working with him this week, as I ease back in from the birth of Miri (our 3rd daughter).

Tuesday, February 23rd, A pastor from another nearby church in town came to our office to talk about potential partnership with them- and a few other churches in our area- for urban ministry. I'm looking forward to what these relationships with others will bring. It has opened up many doors since we have formally announced to everyone that The VIllage will not do Sunday morning services but will, in fact, partner with all the churches in the downtown area.

Wednesday, February 24th, Another pastor called. "The Lord laid it on my heart to sow our ministry's van into the ministry down there," he said. I gratefully told him that we would harvest it and reap it if that was the case. This came at a time when we were needing another vehicle to ease the transportation load (we make about 100-plus trips each day taking people to/from work, appointments, etc.). That's a pic of a van "like" the van we received above (same color, size, etc...).

Thursday, February 25th, My wife & I were at a leadership event for the Global Impact Celebration at Shades Mountain Baptist. A man there mentioned to me, "Come see me after the dinner, before you leave..." So, we did. They knew that they old white MacBook I had been using for three years was threadbare (I had almost replaced it three times in the last four months- but, never did have feel freed to use the money). He gave me... in the box... a new MacBook Pro!

Friday, February 26th, We were humbly blessed with the addition of about 50 new volunteers to the mix at The Village. We'll start meeting with- and releasing them to serve- this coming week.

Saturday, February 27th, My wife & I were given the largest "diaper shower" we've ever seen- for the expected birth of Miri (which, then, happened to be later that afternoon!). What better gift than a little girl?

Why the recollection? Simple. I tend to look at what's wrong, what the opposition is, etc... and get tired, worn-down... But, God's hand of provision is often so clear even in those times and we simply neglect to see it.

Mind-dump: Mid-week better than no time during the week

 

Last week I ate lunch with my friend Kris Broadhead, who pastors Mosaic Church in downtown Birmingham. He's a sincere, genuine preacher of the Gospel... we've visited him at his church a few times... His only downfall is that he looks exactly (and I do mean precisely) like David Cook of American Idol fame (that's David Cook above- but he's a dead ringer for Kris.. or vice versa).

We were at Surin last Friday and a teenager actually walked over to our table, wanting an autograph. I've encouraged him to shave his head, gain weight, etc... all to no avail. We're supposed to get together with our wives and eat one night and pray together... all four of us. I'm guessing we'll eat "in" so that we don't get mobbed by a slew of more teens : )

Other than that Friday blunder, here's what else happened... a week-in-review, or sorts:

* Sunday, we began the prayer meetings in our home with The Village staff and others who are working with us downtown. I posted more about that incredible time here, so I'll spare the details. I'm looking forward to the next time we're all together.

* Monday, we hit the last week of the 21 days of prayer and fasting. More on what I learned that day right here. Amazing how God delivers His Word to us, right when we need it. This was an incredible time of not actually leading a fast or prayer time or anything else... but of just participating. The Lord showed me so much... I will post more later this week, as time permits.

* Tuesday, The Village actually began receiving women into the program. Long term, we desire to be able to help families, prostitutes wanting freedom, etc... This is a step in that direction. This move brings a new set of challenges- and an incredible set of opportunities.

* Wednesday, I took the day off- as usual. Noah decided we should all go to The Lego Store... so, we did.

* Thursday, I met with Danny Wood, pastor of Shades Mountain Baptist. He's an older, wiser leader that is years ahead of me in many areas. I am blessed to have many men like him that I can call, that are able to pour of their wisdom and experience with me. I'm looking forward to attending their Global Impact Conference (missions emphasis week) at the end of this month. 10 years ago he laid out an absurdly large vision to his church for world missions- and they did it! They have planted numerous churches, sent missionaries to every time zone... have given (each year) over $2 million away for missions... they are on an incredible journey. We were one of the first groups they sponsored when we came to root down in the inner city years ago. They have walked with us since... and we have grown relationally close to many of them, even after the ministry was self-sufficient.

* Friday... well, I hung out with the American Idol. Or, maybe it was just Kris : )

* Saturday, we celebrated Emma's birthday. 

* Sunday, as I evaluated all the opportunities ahead of me for this week, I began to think that cloning might actually be a good idea : ). I"ll post more about what's going on this week... later this week.

Breaking the silence: Mind-dump, for the week of January 24, 2010

I've noticed that I haven't written in quite a while. With the onslaught of the new year, ministry role changes, a slew of meetings... I've not had time. So, time to start hitting it, again...

Here's the top few thoughts from the past week- the little milestones behind us and the opportunities that sit before us:

* Monday, Cristy & I had dinner with a couple we'd not seen since resigning from our post at our former church. Throughout the night I was intrigued as to how often having "professional" ministry to do (i.e., leading a church) keeps us (somehow) from simply enjoying the people we are on the journey with... we so much loved sharing the evening with them.

* This past Tuesday, Theo (new staff guy at The Village) began his choir. To say the least, the choir was incredible- having 25 voices, nailing a complete song, and locating various instrumentalists all in the first one hour practice. They are slated to lead worship at Mount Calvary on Sunday, February 14, 2010. I'll update the calendar as the date approaches with more specifics.

* Wednesday, I built a flag with Noah (5). Looking at a large 20 foot flag atop a massive pole, he asked, "How did they get that up there?" So, I told him about pulleys, etc. Finally, we opted to simply make one and "show" him. I guess, in a real way, I'm right where he is right now... and am thankful that I have others who are showing me how prayer ministry works, how city transformation happens, and how to mobilize the church to do more than we can ask, think, or imagine.

* Thursday, I took the girls to 6 am prayer. Amazing... a 7-year-old and 8-year-old ("almost 9," she'll remind me) have so much to offer- and can pray fervently.

* Friday, the Lord was gracious and brought a wiser, older pastor to my office that wants to network with us in writing a grant to help people in the Norwood area- about one mile from where our offices sit- right where he is. My prayer is, still, that at the end of 2010 we will see an army of over 100 ministry leaders networked together in the inner city to help bring about city transformation. 

* Saturday, 9 am, we took the kids back to a weekly prayer meeting. I'm intrigued that they jump in so quickly and simply pray... and, I'm excited that they are learning at an early age how to do things that it took us years to even begin to learn...

Mind-dump: Christmas Eve-Eve // updates from this week

There's been so much going on lately, that I've not made time to sit and blog... but, there are a few incredible things that I want to take time to share. So, here we are...

* Monday, December 21, I walked through a property with The Village staff that would effectively allow us to triple our capacity in the residential program. Upwards of 25,000 square feet of space... very, very minor renovations...

* Tuesday, December 22, we received an un-applied-for grant check in the mail. That is, we didn't apply for the grant- someone from a trust fund simply sent a check to us! I am incredibly honored by this.

* Wednesday, December 23, great meeting with Victor Brown- from The Birmingham Chamber of Commerce... he's also a board member of The Village. We sat at Grump's, prayed, ate some un-healthy food, and shared some ideas that will likely lead to some big things for the organization in the future. I'll post more about that in the near future!