Joel Young Blog.com

AHHHHH! That’s how I’ve felt over the last few weeks. I have been all over the east coast at conferences and workshops learning from some of the brightest and most passionate men in the world of church growth and multiplication. This whole trip has really set me off and most of the the time I was left screaming, “AHHHH, I want to get back to Cincy to get back to working on Horizon’s re-birth,” or, “AHHHH I hate driving and would really rather be home right now.” Either way, I’m glad to be home.

For now I’m going to do my best to keep my mouth shut until I have a chance to process things more and preach this Sunday. But, I can say that there are a lot of changes that are going to be made at Horizon and I want them to go through leaders and partners first. They will come to you soon enough. All I will say for now is this…God has shown me that unless you are living boldly, then you’re not living up to your potential. He has convicted me that for the last two years I have grossly underestimated His power, and thus stunted the growth of my work. These changes are not the implementation of a new model or system I learned, but rather are going to be a return to the passion this church was started with. It’s funny how a year of church planting can kill passion.

If you’re coming to Horizon this weekend, you better bring a seat belt! This rocket’s ’bout to blast off.

This past week was a refreshing time of learning for me. I had the exciting opportunity to travel to Orlando, FL with several other church planters to be with several thousand more at EXPONENTIAL (The National New Church Conference). It not only gave me some much needed energy, time off, and encouragement, but it allowed me to see what God is doing through church planters world wide. It’s cool to see that the things our church struggles with are the same things that churches in Korea struggle with. People across the world are more alike than we realize.

The greatest part of this week is what happened at the end. Well, technically it was the beginning of a new week, but if you’re a pastor you know what I’m talking about (our weeks run Monday to Sunday because Sunday is what we work towards all week and Monday is when it starts all over). Today, I was able to sit back and enjoy what God is doing at our church; not what I was doing, not what someone else was doing, not what our planning was doing, but what God is doing.

That is worth more than a building, a budget, or a salary. Some of us need to open our eyes and look at what God is doing more often. I know I do.

If you call yourself a Christian then you need to read this article. It has me thinking very deeply about the labels that followers of Christ have come to wear and how that is affecting the world’s ability to identify with Jesus Christ.

Read “I’m Through with Christianity” by Geoff Surratt

The last couple weeks have been tough for me. I have been caught between the wedge of disappointment and excitement. I know God is doing something great in and through me, but I also know that my church and family is in the midst of a severe trail at the hands of Satan.

As I did some normal blog reading I decided to check out what the creatives at Elevation Church were doing. They had an entire blog post about the following video they had produced for their Easter Sunday services. I checked out the video in hopes that I might get an idea for something, but instead what I got was a message; a message that moved me to tears all alone in my living room and whose effect have not yet left my mind.

This is why my work matters, and this is why my God will succeed. Watch it, but be prepared to be rocked.

Elevation Church Easter Opener from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

The past couple weeks I have struggled with writers block. As I have worked as both a creative freelancer and a writer I have occasionally experienced the pain of blockage. Life is difficult when your source of productivity and direction is suddenly stalled. Sure, its still possible to move forward, but the process is more labored. In order to remove the block I normally have to do something drastic or out of the ordinary. I have to get my mind out of the everyday and into a much bigger way of thinking. Then, once my perspective has shifted movement through my tasks comes easier.

Ever feel like the movement of your life or life’s work is blocked? Maybe you need to get your mind out of the everyday and into the eternal. Maybe you need to get off your routine and experience things from someone else’s perspective. Living a life that is blocked will be difficult and labored. Maybe it’s time to unblock you’re life, but how?

Seek God at every turn.

Yesterday was an significant day for my wife and I. It was ten years ago yesterday that we met and fell in love. It may sound weird to put those two things together, but for any of you who have met my wife you know that it’s hard not to love her from the second you meet her. She just has a way of making you feel like you’re the only person in the room when she talks to you. I may not have known the full extent of that love or how it would grow over time, but I was hooked from the beginning without any hesitation.

With our relationship gaining the perspective of the X factor this year (X is the roman numeral for 10 for those of you that didn’t put that together) I have decided to share ten things I have learned over the past ten years about my wife (in no particular order).

10. She has the gift of discernment. She’s sees things in people and situations that I never will.

9. Even when’s she’s mad at me, she still loves me. My wife has put up with a lot of crap from me over the years, but she has never stopped loving and respecting me. Not many people can do that.

8. She hates it when I say this, but she is gorgeous (inside and out).

7. She is an incredible mother. She has a patience and understanding with our son that I will never have, and I thank God for the way she balances out our parenting.

6. She is an incredibly loyal to my leadership. I am constantly leading both at home and in my professional life, but I have never had anyone who is as loyal and trusting in me as a leader than my wife. Her attitude gives me the confidence I need to lead our family.

5. Her sense of humor is more than a little weird. She’ll laugh at things that no one else will, but she doesn’t care. I’ll never stop loving that about her.

4. Her dedication to God’s work through our family is amazing. I don’t know too many women who would tolerate the path ministry has taken us on, much less handle it with the grace and perspective my wife has over the last seven years.

3. She has an ability to change someone with a conversation. Even if she says very little.

2. She hates watching movies because instead of engaging in a conversation we sit and stare blankly at a screen for hours. After ten years I’m starting to agree.

1. Her generous spirit has helped me to become a more giving person in every aspect of my life. No one else could have done that.

Here’s to ten more great years, and ten more after that, and ten more after that, and well…you get the picture. Love you honey.

Today has been a busy yet productive day for me, and I don’t have much to say; rare for me I know. So…I thought I would share something that someone else said with you today.

One of the things I am constantly doing is listen to sermons from other preachers. It’s a great way for me to learn new techniques and challenge myself to be the best preacher possible. I probably take in 5-7 different sermons every week and this week I was really impressed by the boldness of two guys I happen to know.

Mike Edmisten and Brian Morrissey are both pastors at Amelia Church of Christ. Recently they preached these two sermons on back-to-back Sundays at Amelia and they are both on subjects that I feel are of great importance to every follower of Christ. If you have an few free minutes you should check both of these sermons out. I guarantee the content will challenge you, and the passion these guys put into communicating the message is contagious.

Listen to “Tolerance” by Mike Edmisten

Listen to “No Excuses” by Brian Morrissey

Today is opening day in Cincinnati, Ohio. Though the opening day of the baseball season might not be such a big deal elsewhere in the world, in Cincinnati it is a HUGE deal. Cincinnati loves its baseball. We have the oldest major league baseball franchise and we celebrate it every year in a huge way; even on a day like today.

As I write this the outside temperature is 37 degrees. I even felt a little bit of sleet falling as I walked in from my car. By all accounts, this is not a great day for baseball, but that doesn’t seem to matter to anyone in Cincinnati. Like every year the great hoopla surrounding opening day continued, despite the weather. There was a parade, tv specials, and everywhere you go people are wearing their Reds gear.

Though I am a great lover of all sports I am not a huge fan of baseball, and because of this I haven’t really participated in any of the opening day festivities today. Sure, if the weather was awesome outside I might have gone to the parade, or a cookout or something that celebrates the event, but not when the situation is less than ideal. I guess you could say that I’m, quite literally, a “fair weather” fan.

Here’s what I’ve learned today as I’ve watched this city’s response to the sport they love. I’ve noticed that no matter how bad the situation looks or how uncomfortable it makes them, true followers of the game WILL continue to celebrate. If you haven’t guessed where I’m going yet then let me finish this thought….Even when things look difficult in the church, or less than ideal, true followers of Christ still show up and celebrate. It doesn’t matter if it’s inconvenient, or a bit uncomfortable for them they still show up to celebrate the grace and freedom that they have in Christ Jesus; they still do it. It doesn’t matter if service to the church or its mission adds to their already busy schedule; true followers make time.

I’ve been leaving you with a lot of questions this week and I want to continue that for at least one more post. Are you a committed follower of Christ, or simply a “fair weather” fan? The truth of our answers could be killing the church and we need to do something about it.

For some reason I have been talking about and reading about age all day. It’s like God is trying to tell me something. Listen to what Perry Noble had to say recently when he comprised his list of the top 5 leaders he would most like to meet with. His #4 guy was Matt Chandler of The Villiage Church. Here’s what Perry said about Matt,

“His series on Ecclesiastes is one of the best freakin series of messages I’ve ever heard.

Pride is the thought behind that statement! If people actually think that more years somehow equal superior knowledge…then they cut themselves off from some of the greatest leadership instruction that is out there.”

Sure, this benefits someone like me who leads many people who are decades older than I am, but it also benefits me in that I need to be looking at the courage and passion of those who are even younger than me to see what I can learn. Ask yourself these questions.

Are you closed off to learning from, or receiving guidance form someone who is younger than yourself? What have you missed out on because of this attitude? What will you do to ensure you don’t do this in the future?

I have been learning a lot over the last couple weeks. It’s like God is giving me what I’m praying for, but I was never ready for it to happen, stupid I know. I’ve been praying for him to clear a path that will lead our church to change the community we exist within. I want God to change the world through us and I knew he could do it. What I didn’t count on was that this path would lead me to so much adaptation.

Over the last month we have restructured, restaffed, and reevaluated everything we’re doing. Through it all I have seen that the mark of a true leader isn’t how well he/she executes the plan they have set into motion, but rather how well they adapt to the inevitable changes that will need to be made along the way.

What kind of leader are you? Are you unwilling to change your path or thinking because it will make you look like a failure? If so, you care more about your ego than whatever it is you are leading. Leaders of the church can’t afford to live this cliche. We have to adapt and change our strategies and methods to follow God’s path for our ministry WHENEVER HE ASKS US TO.

What do you need to adapt?