#Drive09 Tuesday Evening

Tonight was so practical. We got to actually see some of the environments at NPCC. I went to NEXT and JUMP START. Both were so engaging. NP does everything with such excellence. Get to catch some rest time and the it is back to NPCC early in the morning. It all wraps up tomorrow around lunch. And, then, it is back to setup for our move to our summer facility. I have lots to share with our volunteers. You guys are the GREATEST!

Drive '09 Tuesday

Andy Stanley said:

Leadership is not about making decisions on your own. It's about owning decisions once they are made.

Your private decisions (organizational) will be judged publicly.

If you want great leaders in your organization, you have to develop a system where great leaders are heard.

Leaders want to know they have an opportunity to influence their own destines.

Never shoot for fair - shoot for right. Fairness ended in the garden of Eden.

Bill Willits said:

Principles are what practices are built on.

Simplicity is the path to excellence.

Leadership is what we do AND who we are!

Drive '09 Monday Evening

Drive got off to a great start tonight. The worship was off the charts! And, Andy was, well, Andy! Here are some quotes.

"The further up in the organization you go, uncertainty grows exponentially." 8:12 p.m.
"Uncertainty is why we need leaders." 8:12 p.m.
"Uncertainty makes leadership necessary." 8:14 p.m.
"God leverages more out of times of uncertainty than any other time." 8:17 p.m.
"Two things to hang on to in times of uncertainty:
1. Clarity
2. Flexibility"
"Plans change - Vision remains the same."
"Don't die on the hill of your plans. You die on the hill of the vision."

Orange '09 Part 2

"I am way more concerned about you than the way I do." Andy Stanley 9:59

"People can identify more with our dumb mistakes than what I've done right." Perry Noble 10:03

"Don't raise the bar on parenting, but lower the bar. God loves broken families."

Orange '09

Reggie Joiner kicked off the conference with a cutting talk! Some quotes from it:

8:46 p.m. "What does family look like for you? We all have a picture."

8:59 p.m. "God is interested in writing a story in or hearts and lives."

9:01 p.m. "God is interested in using broken people to tell His story."

9:03 p.m. "Every family we come in contact with is a platform to tell His story of restoration
and redemption."

9:14 p.m. "There is a bigger story going on and God is the Author and it's about God."

9:15 p.m. "If you want your children to have a personal faith, it has to be in you first."

9:28 p.m. "How about trading your picture for a bigger story?"

Check back tomorrow for more news from Orange '09.

"Good Questions" for Small Groups

Tara Miller and Jenn Peppers wrote a book entitled "Finding the Flow". Sam O'Neal (smallgroups.com) wrote about one of the chapters, "Asking Good Questions". They said "Miller and Peppers identify a key issue: When facilitators don't know the answer to a question, they are generally instructed to own up, admit that they don't know, and offer to find out. Then they research (usually by calling the pastor) and come back next week with the answer. Right? Except that it misses the point of small groups. They are not about answers. They are more about interactive experiences."

He went on to write, "small groups are not so much about the answers as they are about the questions. The facilitator should be asking far more questions than answering them. Questions form the skeleton outline of a group—the basic structure on which everything else hangs."

So, my thought was - How do you ask good questions?! Well, I think good questions are those that:

1) are open-ended questions
2) questions where we expect and believe that the members of the group will have something
valid to say
3) And, they are questions that grow out of Scripture

I thought about what was said about small groups are more about the questions than they are the answers a lot today. My first response was to say, "NO, the answers ARE the important part." But as I have thought about it today, I have decided that these two writers may be right on! The interaction may be as important, if not more important, than the "correct" answers.

I would be interested in hearing from about a couple of things:

1) What is your response to the question/answer debate?
2) What do you think comprises a good question?

Hey, these are just a few of the thoughts I had this morning. I think I am going to buy this book and read the WHOLE thing! That's quite a statement for me.

By the way, if you weren't at The Journey (in Murray, KY) yesterday we had an awesome day! The discussion in our LifeTeams (small groups for those of you that are familiar with that terminology) has been beyond all of my expectations. This series on marriage has generated a lot of interest and a LOT of discussion.

Wednesday Afternoon

I am sitting here reading the latest blog from Luo. Our church has taken on the huge responsibilty of adopting two orphanages in Managua, Nicaragua. It is an awesome opportunity we have to make a difference in the lives of these kids. We are taking an exploratory trip the end of May and we are planning on taking one or two teams to Nicaragua in July. I hope you will be praying for the team that goes in May and especially for the potential teams in July. This will not only be used by our Heavenly Father to affect the lives of the children for eternity but will also change the lives of those who go.

I also hope you will be praying for God to help us raise the rest of our commitment to sponsor this work for this year. Our church has already raised approximately $20,000! The KidStuf, WaumbaLand and UpStreet children raised approximately $1,100 just by themselves! This was an awesome response - kids helping kids!

You can go to Luo's website (http://luo-setfree.org) and click on the blog tab to read their latest information about the orphanages in Nicaragua and Africa. Let me know your thoughts about our comitment to Nicaragua and our partnership with the Luo ministry.