Slovakia Day 2

What a day. I can't believe the honor God has given us as a church to partner with these folks. It was a room full of people from all different church backgrounds, different ages, and different stages of leadership. I asked them what they wanted from today and their response was encouragement, new ideas that would help them be more successful and skills that would make them better leaders this week.

We are training this week based on the Maxwell book, Winning With People. I used this book in 2006 as a tool in the series I taught at CAML all year, Winning with Others. I brought all those notes with me and they were of great use. I was also able to give each attendant copies of all those note sheets. Lukas and I alternate teaching sessions. I can't understand any of what he is saying, but I can tell that he is a gifted commuicator. I am trying to use a few Slovak phrases and I will hear something in his teaching every now and then that I can understand. He seems to have great influence with these people and I also found out he has published several books on leadership. His materials were very popular today. I am glad for this connection. He gave me some tips on how to communicate with these folks and they were right on.

I shared some of our successes at CAML, and some of the road it took to get there--the stuff that you will find in The Villa Rica Sky chapters that I have posted. It was those stories that seemed to connect with them. Instead of hearing about all of our American church successes, they also heard about some of the hard lessons learned. This generated lots of questions and enabled us to get past that awkwardness that happens when no one knows each other. We found some common ground and launched from there.

I shared lunch with a neat group of young leaders from a Charismatic Catholic church. Great interaction, lots of fun, and new friends made. Also enjoyed a nice latte, some cranberry juice, sausage and grilled cheese. Then back to the center for the rest of the training. Imet Jan Lacho (pronounced John in English). John started a church here during the Communist era. He told me stories of praying for freedom, of harassment and persecution by the Secret Service, of friends and members being arrested, and moving meetings to avoid attention. I was blown away that here was a hero of our faith sitting in training sessions I was leading. How could God trust me with such a task? What an honor that CAML is allowed to partner with this country in bringing the Kingdom to a new generation. I asked Jon to pray for me and it was a beautiful thing as he placed his hand on my shoulder and prayed for God to use me and our church.

Pasho did a marvelous job translating. He was able to handle the Southern Drawl without a glitch. In fact, he informed me that I didn't sound very Southern. How about that all you folks who make fun of my drawl! At the end of the day I could have stayed on for hours to talk and answer questions with these wonderful people. I asked if they got what they came for and they said yes. I met David who works with children and teenagers. His English is just as good as my Slovak. But he and I are going to communicate by email and he is looking forward to seeing me again in September, as I am him. Thank you CAML for the giving and prayers that make this possible. I hope to bring some of you along with me on future trips. Thank you Billy Hornsby for connecting us to Lukas. Thank you Lukas for your vision. Thank you God for the privilege. Thank your Sheryll for the confidence and encouragement.

Well, off to bed. Woke up at 2 AM this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Guess it was a combination of jet lag and excitement. Hope sleep comes easily tonite.

05/24/09 - Putting on Your Socks - Humility - Tony Sherrill

Tony Sherrill continues the Dressed For Success series this week, discussing "Humility" in this Sunday service.

Humility
Tony Sherrill
Sunday, May 24, 2009

www.churchatmirrorlake.com

Day 1 in Bratislava

Lukas, my teaching partner, and Pasho, my new pastor friend and soon-to-be translator, picked me up in Vienna this afternoon and we drove to Bratislava, a city of 500,000 that is the captial of Slovakia. Pasho pastors Bratislava City Church which was started during the Communist regime by his parents and others. Some of his older members were imprisoned because of their faith. The unchurched rate in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia is around 95%. The average church size is 60. Pasho's church is about 400, making it one of the largest in the nation--a megachurch. He says the 3 biggest obstacles to growing churches are 1) apathy due to the success of captialism resulting in a measure of comfort, 2) religion--people consider themselves Christian because their grandparents were practicing Catholics. But less than 5% of the population actually attend church. Even Christmas or Easter fail to draw them, and 3) a failure by the church to present relevant, life-giving solutions.

Tomorrow, about 45 leaders from Catholic, Baptist, AG, and other denominational and non-denominational churches will come together, hoping God will give them some tools to change this city and their nation. According to Lukas, many of them are discouraged and feeling like the situation is hopeless. But his encouragement to them is the church is not a sinking ship and we didn't sign on to spend our lives in a fruitless cause. Pray that the Holy Spirit will use us to bring at least one fresh idea, or maybe nothing new, just some encouragement. I am believing that each leader will leave refreshed and equipped to further the Kingdom this year in Slovakia. Thanks for your prayers, your financial partnership, and your friendship. Even though you are not here with me, your giving or your time, talent and resources are part of you and those parts are here with me. Heaven will be richer, and the Kingdom of God in Slovakia and the Czech Republic stronger because of you.

Running for the train

Getting off the train at Concourse E at Atlanta Airport, I met a fellow running wide open with a frantic look on his face. He was shoving by everyone leaving the train desperately trying to reach the doors of the train before they closed. Probably trying to make a connection and cutting it very close. I watched his face as he neared the doors. There was a change of expression from frantic to confident as he began to realize he would make it onto the train. As we pushed past me and another passenger to enter the doors, his face broke into a big smile as he celebrated his victorious march. I had to move on toward my gate and was unable to stay and see his reaction as he realized the train he had so valiantly overtaken was now out of service as it was at the end of the line! Instead of a successful beginning or continuation of his journey toward his destination, he had hit a dead end, mistaking it for his desired goal.

That’s a place I have been before in my spiritual life, and we can probably all identify with his dilemma. How many times have we chosen a path, worked hard to get there and found out we were at a dead end or heading in the wrong direction. It’s like deciding to pursue God with all your heart and then finding out you were chasing after religion. You had jumped through the hoops, met the demands, kept the rules, but were no closer to God than when you started. Anytime we base our relationship with God on our performance, on what we can do, instead of on what Jesus had done, we are getting on the wrong train and will end up disappointed and disillusioned. That’s why it’s called “dis-illusioned”—because we were chasing an illusion. I think it was Bill Hybels who said you spell religion “D_O” and Christianity “D_O_N_E”. Pursue a relationship with God by celebrating and living in what Jesus has done and, even when you jump on the wrong train, you’ll find God with you, smiling and ready to lead you to the right one.

3 H's

A little more on the 3 H’s…

I had a great time Tuesday night at The Church at Mirror Lake sharing some on how powerful it is when you join Happy with Holy. If you didn’t get to be there, you should listen to the podcast. Just thought I’d add some more thoughts to that…

There are tons of verses in the Bible (the B-I-B-L-E, that’s the book for me) about being happy. Just go to biblegateway.com or some other Bible search site and do a keyword search for happy. (Use the Holman Christian Standard Bible version for the search since some of the other versions change happy to other great words that mean happy). There are so many, you just get the feeling God really wants you to be happy. Seems a shame that He is so often presented as so serious and somber, almost like He’s never happy. Yet, the Bible says He is a laughing God, a dancing God, a God who moves to the sound of joyful shouting, a God who smiles over us. I mean, think about it, He named the child of promise, Isaac, “laughter.” Isaac’s Hebrew name is literally “Ha Ha.” Jesus’ name is the Greek version of “Ha Ha.” Joy is not a feeling, it is a person—Jesus! The book of Hebrews says Jesus is the exact representation of God. I can’t imagine the face of Jesus without imagining a smile. Tell me He wasn’t smiling when, after He told them to “beware the leaven of the Pharisees”, his disciples thought He wanted to know who forgot to bring the bread! I know He had a twinkle in His eye and little smile on His face when He responded to James and John wanting to call down fire by calling them the “Sons of Thunder.”

Jesus is all about transforming lives. Taking us from mediocre life to amazing life, from faking it to making it. Life is better with Jesus. Even the tough times are better with Jesus. We are going to have tough times. Jesus promised us that, but He ended the promise with reminding us to be happy. The Gospel could be called the “Get Back Up” Gospel because it promises us that when we get knocked down, we won’t be knocked out. Life with Jesus means we get back up and move forward. And it means we make a choice to be happy. Holy simply happens when Jesus moves into our life. Combine it with happy and you will change the world. Happy doesn’t last long without Jesus, cause this broken world will steal it. Holy gives happy the staying power. I know I am a winner, even when it feels like I am losing, because I have Jesus—because I am holy. Not because I lived up to a bunch of rules and regulations, but because I have a relationship with a laughing God who smiles over me, even when He is bending down to pick me up out of my self-induced mess. I am holy because of Him, nothing about my performance, all about Him. Happy + Holy = Harvest. Celebrate Jesus by making the choice to be happy and watch what happens—people you care about will be drawn to great life in Him.

05/19/09 - The 3 H's - Pastor Tony Ashmore

Pastor Tony Ashmore discusses "The 3 H's" in this Tuesday evening service.

The 3 H's
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

www.churchatmirrorlake.com

05/17/09 - Putting on Your Socks - Intentional Servanthood - Pastor Tony Ashmore

Pastor Tony Ashmore continues the Dressed For Success series, discussing "Intentional Servanthood" in this Sunday service.

Intentional Servanthood
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sunday, May 17, 2009

www.churchatmirrorlake.com