Lifestone Church is seeking Launch Team Members
We are approximately one year away from the launch of Lifestone Church, and we are looking for people of all types to hear the vision, see the vision, and be the vision of this "Life-Giving" body of believers! Some people might be called from across this great nation to move to Pittsburgh, others might already live in and around this great city and feel the tug to join the team! Whoever you are or where ever you are, we are looking for you who are called to join this journey which I believe is for the record books! Please pray and consider if the Lord would want you to help build a "Life-Giving" church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! If you are interested in joining our team (which is growing, by the way) please contact us by sending an email. We would love to hear from you!
Yes everyone, this is the newest Super Bowl ring of the Pittsburgh Steelers and most importantly, YES, that is my hand in the picture! I had to share this with you because I know many of you wouldn’t believe me unless I actually showed you a picture. This is the real deal! No fake, no photoshop, no nothing! Just a Super Bowl ring and me! As we were finishing our closing at the office, a lady came through who’s husband is the financial guy for the Steelers. I think he works with the salaries of all the players and personel. She brought it into our closing and allowed me to hold it and put it on. This thing is even much bigger in person than it looks in the picture!
I might not ever become a Super Bowl champion, but I can always say, I know what it feels like to wear the ring!
Teamwork is so important in life, marriage, sports, and even ministry! Together we are most definitely better! I look back in my life at the times when I have been the most successful and each one of those times, my success came in the form of a team! Here are some wonderful truths that when applied, will cause you and your team to become “movers and a shakers”!
A good friend of mine and colleague at the school I teach at and professor at George Mason University, Dr. Walter Hays, put together these leadership laws and I found them quite insightful. These laws will make your team and life meaningful in the eyes of God and will help change the world you live in.
1. Law of Significance – The addition of God into a team or in your life will transform an insignificant team or an insignificant life into a significant one.
2. Law of the Big Picture – Significant teams and lives will expand far beyond all boundaries.
3. Law of the Niche – Within the infinite series of life, there is always a unique place and a unique purpose for every team and every life.
4. Law of Mount Everest – Growing from good to better to the best is always possible (read “Good to Great” by Jim Collins).
5. Law of the Price Tag – Becoming the best team and making your life significant has a price tag.
6. Law of the Chain – The weak link in every team and every life can be fixed and made stronger.
7. Law of the Compass – A team or a life will aways move in the direction of “True North” with six readily available compasses.
8. Law of the Catalyst – Applying heat at the right time will accelerate a team’s progress and make a life become what it is intended to be.
Times of transition are very interesting because I think they tell us a lot about who we really are on the inside. Transitional times, test our integrity, work ethic, drive and desire to fulfill our passions for life, and much more! If you have ever gone through a time where you were transitioning from one job to another, or one city to another, or one school to another, then you can relate to the mixed emotions of ending something only to begin something new. I have gone through several major transitions in my life (more than I would want, that’s for sure), but I have learned several things during my transitions which have really helped me. I am really working at making this the best and most stress-free transition I have ever had. We will be making our big move to Pittsburgh in less than a week and sometimes we feel as were are under the gun: finishing school, packing, organize, cleaning, trying to live in what seems like a warehouse with all the boxes everywhere. But I think by keeping some of these things in perspective, our last transition for a LONG LONG LONG time will go as smoothly as possible.
- Putting God first - I’m not moving to Pittsburgh for a job or to buy a house, I am moving to Pittsburgh because the Lord has a plan. And that plan consists of giving life to a community that so desperately needs it! In this plan, God has carved out a couple of notches for my family and I to participate. This calling by the Lord is the whole reason we are moving so I have to keep in mind and perspective that if it weren’t for God and his amazing plan for Pittsburgh, then I wouldn’t be packing and moving in the first place! We are in a constant state of gratitude and thankfulness for the Lord choosing us to do this Kingdom work! As the tough times of moving and transition come, making the conscious decision to keep God in the driver’s seat is the best and the safest thing you could possibly do!
- Take the “High Road” – There can be nothing worse in a time of transition than leaving a place in bad graces. There is a spiritual principle in doing your very best with God’s help until he moves you on. One thing people like to do as they are on their way out is talk bad about people. I urge to you to speak life and remain positive in everything you say about the people you are about to leave. Remember, it’s not that you are leaving a place, it’s more about how God is sending you to another place in life to do his work. The moment you start burning bridges is the moment that you start setting your transition and your future up for failure. Be an example of what it means to be called of the Lord somewhere else, but yet staying committed and joyful until the very end in your current situation! I believe that this way of departure honors God and it honors those people you have spent time with and invested in! It shows you truly care about people!
- Don’t neglect the details – It is natural to spend time in finishing up all of the big things, like packing, getting transportation, finances and all of that stuff, but what about the small, detailed, yet very important things that seems to get overlooked? The last thing you want to happen is to turn a “mole hill into a mountain” because you failed to pay attention or prioritize your transitional situation. Pay attention to the small stuff as you prepare for the future during times of transition. By tying up all loose ends, you are saying to people, “I have put my best effort into making this transition a good experience for everyone”.
- Stay Connected – It is so important that during times of transition you remain connected and plugged into your personal, growing relationship with God! Your relationship with God comes before the importance of any ministry, resume building, network, church or group. It is imperative that you and God continue to grow together and your passion for “Kingdom growth” multiplies! It also might be tempting to relationally tuck yourself away and never be heard from again! You might get the feeling that since you don’t have any immediate responsibilities for a job or vocational ministry, you really don’t find yourself pursuing relationships and staying connected with people. This is a big problem. If you find yourself, falling into this pit of not wanting to be relational, you might need to spend some quality time with God and ask him to give you a passion for people. I mean, that is what ministry is about, right? People? Stay connected with friends and pastors. Network with key leaders in your community and remain “about your Father’s business”. It’s essential that during times of transition that we remain connected with God and people!
- Enjoy your last moments – If you don’t make the conscious effort to enjoy your last days, weeks, months before complete transition, you might be missing out on some great times! You might never get the opportunity to hug this person, laugh with this person, talk with this person, play basketball with this person for a long time or possibly ever! Make the most of your last moments and truly continue the ministry that God brought you there for in the first place. Relationships! Show the people you love them, care for them, enjoy them, and how much you will miss them! Of course, if you are leaving on the “low-road” or under bad terms, this is virtually impossible to do. All the more reason, to do #1, #2, #3, and #4 so #5 can propel you out with flying colors!
God has truly blessed us in during our time here in D.C. and we have made so many life-long friends! We are very sad to leave people from our school and church, but we are super pumped to experience God and his plan for the city of Pittsburgh for a lifetime!
In a couple of days, the vision for Lifestone Church will be taking a huge step in the “God” direction! That’s right, the direction 
towards God’s ultimate plan and desire for our influence in the community of South Side. This Saturday will be the very first informational gathering for our community group that will begin meeting in and serving the South Side. This community group is actually the beginning phase of Lifestone Church and it’s ministry. The purpose of the community group is to start with a core of people who’s desire is to reach out and serve the South Side. This is not a Bible study or an exclusive discipleship course. It is designed with the community in mind and heart. The community group will meet once a week until the launch on April 4, 2010 (including four monthly preview services December-March) and during that time will plan and conduct outreaches and serving opportunities for our community. We are praying for people to feel the call and tug of the Holy Spirit to join the team and get connected with the South Side community group! Needless to say, this Saturday is a huge day! My good friend, prayer partner, and pastor of church planting at Allison Park Church/Multi Church Movement Nick Poole, will be conducting and leading the meeting.
If you live in or around the city of Pittsburgh, especially in the community of South Side and would like to get involved and connected with this community group, please get in contact with me ASAP! All you have to do is comment anywhere on this blog or the Lifestone Church Blog. You can also email me directly by clicking on the email link in the side bar.
Well, what can I say…..I can’t believe I am going to have a son! Yes, that’s right, we are having a boy! What an exiting time in our
lives. I mean, all of the changes that are happening in ministry, our geographical location, new church, and now we find out we are having a little boy! I got to tell you, God really hit home on this one. Our hearts desire was to have a boy so we could have one of each. There is no question that God definitely hooked us up! We are spending a lot of time trying to come up with the right name for our son right now. We don’t just want to give him a name and be done with it, but we want his name to be special and have a wonderful meaning to it (the power in a name). We do have several names that we like a lot, but I guess only time will tell.
If you get a chance to comment on my wife’s blog to congratulate her, I’m sure she would greatly appreciate it!
Over the last several weeks, my blogging has kind of taken the backseat to “Life”. I have made it a desire and a priority of mine to be a consistent blogger no matter how busy or difficult life gets. Although I can’t say that life has been difficult lately, because it hasn’t, but it sure has been fast paced. I just wanted to let all of you know that I haven’t fallen off of a cliff or randomely disappeared without a trace. I am alive and well and God is continuing to prove himself faithful over and over! Our time is narrowing down here in D.C. with exactly four weeks to go. We are very busy getting things prepared to start packing and I feel like I have sold a thousand things on Craigslist over the last two weeks! All in all, details are getting hammered out for our house, ministry, church, and new baby! Unfortunately, blogging has taken a backseat for a short while, but please keep us in your prayers as we finalize this great season in D.C. I’m sure my blogging will be very inconsistent over the next couple of months and you can pretty much count on it, but that just means that once our transition isn’t so much of a transition anymore, I will have tons and tons of great stuff to share with you!
P.S. My daughter won first place in an art contest at school. She did a mosaic piece with small square tiles glued to a blank canvas. We are so proud of our three year old! Speaking of kids, we find out whether we will be having a boy or a girl in three weeks! Super pumped about that too (I will definitely keep you posted on this one)!
Bless You guys!
It’s very important that we all go through continual periods of taking inventory of our lives. As this event is extremely important to
any business who provides merchandise on site, so it is very important for you and I to take inventory of the things we have allowed to enter into our sphere of influence. The verse in 1 Corinthians 10 comes to mind when Paul says, “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial”. How true is that??
It’s usually obvious once sin has been detected, but what about the areas and things we have allowed to come into our lives that aren’t necessarily sin but they aren’t growing our relationship with God either? Those areas have the potential of becoming the most detrimental to our spiritual lives than anything. Why? Because we are spiritual beings! And spiritual beings are meant to be in a constant state of growth. If we allow things (relationships, tv, hobbies, recreational events, etc) to cause us to stop growing in our relationship with God, then they become idols! An idol is anything that we deem more important than God. Sometimes we create idols on purpose, other times they happen completely undetected. If you don’t inventory your life, then you might never find these “permissible but not beneficial” areas .
This is why taking inventory in your life is such a key component to spiritual growth. Maybe you should set a time once a week, or once a month to take inventory of what is going on in your life. You might find some things that that look good, you might find some things that look bad, you also might find some things that might not be so bad, but aren’t helping you either!
Take inventory!
A week ago this Sunday was the birth of the eighth MCM (Multi-Church Movement) church plant, Element Church. Element 
Church is pastored by a guy who has such a heart for the city of Pittsburgh and is becoming a good friend of mine, Rich Jones. Last Sunday was their first monthly preview service gearing up for their public launch in August and they had 140 people in attendance! Just amazing stuff! They are launching in the community of Millvale and are making such a tremendous impact for Christ in that area!
Go Element Church, Go Rich, Go God!
Go ahead, check out Element Church’s website and see what’s happenin! I DARE YOU! Let me also say that overall, God is doing some really cool stuff in Pittsburgh. Just with the Multi-Church Movement alone, Easter of 2010 will be their NINTH, I repeat, NINTH church plant in the city (guess who???) and hope to plant a TENTH church before 2011 has rung its first bell. Not to mention, we have been in communication with several others who are planting churches in the city from multiple denominations and fellowships! There is literally a church planting movement happening in Pittsburgh right now. How exciting is that!?!?!
Do you believe the Lord is calling you to plant a church? If so, contact THIS GUY! His name is Nick and he is the Pittsburgh church planting guru (he won’t call himself that, but I do!!!). Get in touch with him and let’s see what God is up to!
Last night was my daughter’s school spring concert at McLean Bible Church in McLean, Virginia! Here are some pictures of her on stage performing her little heart out! She did a fantastic job! As a reward for her great performance, we took her to McDonalds for ice cream! She love that too, as you could imagine!
Most of you know that Jamie and I are going to be planting a church in Pittsburgh next year (I’m still amazed that God would choose us)! What many of
you don’t know is that we will be joining an amazing church and a network of churches called the MCM (Multi-Church Movement). This network is based out of Allison Park Church which will be supporting us and sending us out to plant Lifestone Church! We are so grateful for this tremendous church and leadership (Pastor Jeff Leake and Nick Poole). I can’t say enough about these two guys and their heart for “Kingdom Growth”. They give people like me an opportunity to fulfill the vision and calling from the Lord to plant a church in the great city of Pittsburgh! They lead leaders and they pastor pastors! They are true inspirations!
Grafted into the Allison Park community and located on the campus of Allison Park Church is a branch campus of Mission SOS called the MCM Ministry School. Here is a description of what this fantastic ministry is all about:
The MCM Ministry School is designed to provide a prospective student not only with classroom training but with real life experiences in ministry. Every day we involve students in our PRAYER SCHOOL. Once a week, we engage in PRACTICAL COMMUNITY OUTREACH in connection with one of eight churches that have been planted in Pittsburgh. Once a year, the students participate in an INTERNATIONAL TRIP to work in partnership with Mission SOS in a Signs and Wonders Festival among UNREACHED PEOPLE’S GROUPS.
The passion of the MCM MInistry School is to raise up faith-filled adventurers who are committed to living out the supernatural lifestyle of the book of Acts. The practical experiences come in the context of a growing church that is actively planting churches and sending teams to reach unreached people groups.
The ‘09 MCM Ministry school year will be starting up this September and is looking for students who want “the practical experiences that come in the context of a growing church that is actively planting churches and sending teams to reach unreached people groups”. I truly believe that for some of you, this is the ministry opportunity that you have been waiting for. Don’t hesitate to get plugged into this amazing school and church that is “Kingdom Minded” through and through!
If you are interested in learning more, you can go to the NEW MCM Ministry School Website and see it for yourself! Also, Allison Park Church will be hosting an OPEN CLASS DAY on May 8th from 9am to noon. If you are interested in talking to someone about this tremendous ministry school, you can contact the leadership and administration of the MCM Ministry School through the above website or contact me and I can connect you with them ASAP!
I have gone through some long and trecherous situations in my life, but none compared to finding our first house! Last night was the culmination of our house searching because we agreed upon a price with the seller of a FANTASTIC home right in the heart of Pittsburgh. We actually got the call from our realtor, Rachael Schafer, around 9:50pm last night which interrupted the last ten minutes of 24. Once she called, I picked up the remote and tried to press pause but suddenly realized that I don’t have TIVO!!!!! But this phone call was well worth it. We are going through the never ending paper procedures, getting the loan from the bank and closing the deal as we speak, so it’s not complete, but it will be soon!
I can’t help but view this house as more than just a house. To me, it represents the provision of God! By God providing this great home for us, he is proving to us that he doesn’t call the equipped, but he equips the called!!! This process so far has been one God event after another, which I have to admit, has stretched my faith time and time again. But you know what, God has stayed true to his word. This new house is going to be the base station, if you will, for our growing family, ministry, friends, and much more! This house is going to be a foundational piece in the formation of building Lifestone Church and creating a Life-Giving culture in and around the city of Pittsburgh! I am so thankful that God sees the bigger picture! All we have to do is obey the Holy Spirit tugs and follow his leading!
Thank you God for this new house you have provided us (I will post pictures soon)!
Thank you God for this new spiritual house being built in Pittsburgh…Lifestone Church!
I have had this question asked of me several times over the last few months “What will Lifestone Church look like?” and I thought I would try to give a little preview of what you would experience at Lifestone Church. My wife and I have put together some key aspects of what we consider to be an effective church environment. These four key aspects are very important to us and will be embedded into the everyday culture of Lifestone Church. Our intentions are for every person who darkens the door of Lifestone Church to feel and experience this environment and atmosphere.
Attenders of Lifestone Church will have:
- A Relaxed Church Experience – We want people to feel as relaxed in church as they do in their home! We believe by making dress comfortable/casual, always keeping people in the inside loop of what’s going on, and making our facility easy to get around and locate things, we can assist people in having a very relaxed and stress-free church experience!
- A Relational Church Experience – We want to create a relational hub that will propel people into conversation and communication that will impact their daily lives. Church should be a relational experience for every person of every age! Our hope is for people to instantly feel the relational connection with Lifestone Church and it’s community!
- A Relevant Church Experience – We want to be extremely relevant in three specific areas of our services: the Media, the Music, and the Message. You will experience all types of high-quality/high-energy media formats in most parts of our services. The music and worship will be of contemporary and modern styles. And all the messages/series will be delivered in an applicable, biblical,and personal way!
- A Real Church Experience – We want to be a real community of Christ-followers who are open and transparent in our everyday lives! People are fed up with fake churches and are looking for churches who possess real people, with real problems, being real open! Our hope is that people will sense the genuine yet, spiritual nature of the people at Lifestone Church anddesire a real connection.
As we reach out to the unchurched people of our community, our hope is that they will feel welcomed into a relaxed, relational, relevant, and real church environment that will lead them to much more than just a “church” experience, but a “God” experience!
Sound like a church for you??? You know how to get a hold of us!
This week we are trying to wind down from a very busy and hectic last week. Last week was a tremendous opportunity for my 
wfie and I to spend time in Pittsburgh and get many things accomplished as the launch date to Lifestone Church inches closer and closer. Can you believe that in less than a year, Lifestone Church will be an official spiritual and relational presence in the city of Pittsburgh? I can’t believe it is actually going to be a reality in less than a year! I thought I would take a few minutes and break down our week to show you some awesome things God is up to:
- Church Planter’s Assessment – This was the final step to recieve the support, backing, and approval of the PennDel district of the Assemblies of God to plant a church. By the grace of God we assessed very strong as church planters and are well on our way to impacting the city of Pittsburgh for Christ!
- Opportunities – While we were in town, I took the opportunity to visit with my mentor and spiritual father, David Thomas, Lead Pastor of Victory Christian Center in Lowellville, Ohio. What a tremendous man of God he is and it is always so good to talk and spend time together! During our time together, God has opened up three opportunities for me to share our vision and calling to the city of Pittsburgh. I spent an extended period of time with Victory’s Masters Commission students sharing what God is up to in Pittsburgh, and this coming October and November I have been invited to share at Victory Christian Center and a Pastors/Leaders conference called the “NXL Conference”. I am very excited about these opportunities to share what God is doing in Pittsburgh! I am so thankful for these oppotunities, but I am praying for more of these encounters to occur over the next year! If you are a pastor or maybe you attend a church and would like to have me come and share our vision for Lifestone Church and Pittsburgh, please email or comment me and we can talk!
- Details, Details, Details – I was able to connect with the leadership of the Multi-Church Movement, Nick Poole and work out a bunch of necessary details as we will be transitioning in less than two months! God is a God of detail, is he not? We have been believing that God will work out all of the intricate details of this entire process and after this past week, He is well on his way! Thank you God for your provision!
- Housing – We searched long and hard for three out of the six days we were there! We only found one house that “WOWed” us and of course we put an offer in. Only to find out, three other offers went in just before ours on the same day! One offer was accepted and unfortunately it wasn’t ours! Big bummer! But that means the perfect house for us is still out there (we will be heading back this weekend to look at more)!
- Church Location – Nick Poole and I spent an afternoon in the SouthSide and ate lunch at one of my favorite places, Primanti Bros. Great Pittsburgh food! We also met a business owner in the community and established a relationship there. Not to mention we searched and found several potential Lifestone Church meeting locations! God open up the right one for us!
- Launch Team Member – I also spent some time with a future launch team member! He is a great guy and is going to be a tremendous asset to our team!
God is “no doubt about it” up to some huge stuff and I feel so honored that he would choose my family and I to have a role in transforming the city of Pittsburgh for Christ! If you are interested in becoming a launch team member or want to know more about Lifestone Church, please email me (you will find a link to my email in the side bar) any time! I would love to talk with you!
It has only just begun!
I’m looking forward to updating the blog as soon as we get back to D.C. next week! God has opened up some awesome doors for Lifestone Church over this week and some tremendous victories have occurred. I will also be sharing some things that the Lord has put on my heart to encourage all of my blog readers! I’m very excited about that too!
Stay tuned next week!
Today begins the journey of a two month mission to clean, clear out, and diminish as much stuff as possible in our home. The 
less we have to take with us to Pittsburgh, the better! So I have made it my personal mission to; commit to this goal, work on the goal, then finish the goal! Today I have been doing things like; getting the car in the shop, vaccuming the floors, cleaning out junk drawers and closets, doing the dishes, painting over scuffs on our walls, finishing our taxes, cleaning the car, and organizing things around the house. This is just a start to what we have to do as a whole, but it is very fulfilling and great to get stuff accomplished in preparation for our big move!
As I thought about the process of our “Spring Cleaning” (commit to the goal, work on the goal, finish the goal), this is the same path we take in our Christ journey, isn’t it? Aren’t you thankful that we don’t have to get all spiffied and cleaned up before we come to Christ? In other words, how could I possibly work on our goal of “Spring Cleaning” if I haven’t committed to it? It does take commitment to clean and organize for a major move, you know! In the same way, God doesn’t require us to get cleaned up and then commit to him. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. Our Christian life starts by committing our lives to him and confessing that we have a lot of dirt that needs to be picked up and moved out!
Once we commit to the goal (a life with Christ), then we can actively work on shaping our lives to be organized and in order with the Word of God. God does the spiritual cleaning, but more than likely we have some external dirt that needs to be removed. This is the tough part, right? Although our every desire wants to separate from the things of the world, many of those things have had a hold on us for sometime! This is where the daily grind, effort, and work of deep cleaning our lives comes in. It starts with the commitment/relationship with Christ and it’s that commitment that gives us the strength and power to say no to addictions, to push away temptations, and to disconnect ourselves from negative and sinful associations. Spring Cleaning is not easy but with our commitment towards the goal and hard work we can become effective and honor Christ in the process.
Last but not least is the excitement and fulfillment we receive once we have completed our goal. Let me be the first to say that I will be jumping for joy once we finish all of our cleaning/organization and get ready to move on out! The entire time I am working hard towards my goal, I am keeping the end result in mind (a stress-free and simple move)! The life of a Christian is not easy, there is no question about that! But as we live our daily lives and are a constant work in progress, we should never lose sight of completing our goal. What is that goal again? It is being like Christ in every way! We all know that we will never be fully like Christ on earth, but as we are welcomed through the gates of heaven, everything about us will be perfect and our goal of becoming like Christ will become a reality! HOW EXCITING!
My question to you is: How much “Spiritual Spring Cleaning” do you need to do?
- Do you need to start it off by committing your life to Christ? Initiating the goal of becoming Christ-like?
- Maybe you are a follower of Christ but you need to work a little harder at becoming more and more like Him here on earth?
- Or maybe you can’t work hard because you have forgotten God’s ultimate plan for you to become and be like him? Keeping the end result in your mind and heart is something that all believers must do. It continues to give us hope as we live, work, and minister in a fallen world!
The great part about this whole process is that it’s very different from actual Spring cleaning that happens once a year. This process of a spiritual cleaning can happen and begin at any moment you wish to start or re-start! The days of an annual atonement sacrifice for our sins are so outdated and are not relative to the open door of the cross! Through Christ’s sacrifice, we can come to him at any moment to commit and recieve a spiritual cleansing! It’s not too late to start!
“Spring Cleaning”…..Tough? Yes! Work? Yes! Good times? Yes! Difficult times? Yes! Rewarding? ABSOLUTELY!
