If its not broke, break it and fix it!

I have pet peeves just like anyone else. One of the ones I hear a lot is this statement,

"IF it is not broke, don't fix it."

I realize that most people who make this statement mean it in the most innocent way possible. However, this statement is also the reason why most people never become great at whatever it is they are called to do.

If we had lived by this statement we would still have prop planes instead of jets. Today we would be talking on 5 lbs. cell phones instead of the one that is in my shirt pocket. The model T that Ford first manufactured would have been what I went to work today in, instead of my air conditioned, stereo, cruise controlled, F-150 4x4. Notice that all of these things transformed the way the world did things, but there is always ways of doing them better.

Evolution is a word that has not been welcome in churches. Evolution is what every church, ministry and mission needs to embrace. It is simply finding a better way of doing something. The Church needs to reevaluate, tweak and refocus on a continuous basis.

Here are some thoughts that should be asked about "Church".

• Are we reaching people?
• Do we know who we are reaching?
• After we reach someone, what do we do with them?
• How could we do this more efficient?
• How could we do this better?
• Is our vision Crystal clear?
• Has our vision changed?
  
• Are we doing it the same way as five years ago? Why?
  
• What are the pink elephants in the room? (Things everyone is thinking, but everyone is ignoring)
• Can technology improve the way we do it?
• Can Volunteers have more of a responsibility, so leaders can free up and dream more?
• Can paid staff improve how we are doing things?
• Can we merge these ministries, thus doubling staff, resources and volunteers?
• Should this be taken out of its misery?
• Lets ask the right people the right questions and get the right answers.
• Is the wrong person in charge.

I am a fan of evolution in the church. I have been blessed with a first hand experience of the post modern evolution in the 21st century church. My life has been blessed because of the pastors who choose to be cutting edge in the world we live in. I am a product of church evolution. My spiritual growth is due to the passion of my spiritual leaders who choose to make the church a fascinating, technological, revolution where I have experienced revelation, anointing and fascination from the Call of God in my life. I choose to be a leader the way I was led, by asking one simple question, "How can I do this better?"

Rachel Jackson in Concert

Rachel Jackson and Band will be our guests This Sunday (10:00 am) and Monday (6:30pm)

Rachel's concert will be great. Invite a friend.

C3 conference (First Day)

Here we are are the Creative Church Conference. (Crill, Corina, Damitra, Cigi and Heather. Then you have me and two guys I just met from Arkansas)

We are ready to listen to Jensen Franklin. He is one of the most dynamic speaker/pastors around. Come back for sermon notes.

C3 conference 2009

I am giddy! Tomorrow the staff of Cowboy Junction Church and the department leaders head to Grapevine, Texas for the Creative Church Conference.

This the most people that we have ever brought to this conference (10). I will be posting and up date everyday on the conference so be sure to revisit this blog for great material.

This is by far my favorite conference because of the speaker lineup. The speakers are Ed Young Jr., Bishop T.D. Jakes, Tommy Barnett, Craig Grotchell, Jentzen Franklin and many more.

We also get to reconnect with old friends. The Rock Church staff and Pastor's Jeff and Melinda Knight always go. It will be fun to see them.

Check back for sermon notes, video posts and personal reports. Talk to you soon.

Compassion International reminder.

This is a reason I love our Church.

Our church is not afraid to fail.
(we don't like it, but were not afraid of it)

I see all the ministry past, present and future CJC does. One thing keeps coming up, "Wow, did we come up with that?" Some was good, some not so good. What were they?

The Bad things.

• Roping's at the ranch when we first got the place.(Summer Round Robin Roping's) The arena was to small, no announcer stand, no sound system, the arena was barely lit, cattle busted through bad fence, no computer to keep books, etc. Needless to say, "The worst roping I have ever been to."
• Sale Barn in the Summer and Winter. Though it was our beginning and all we had, it reached a limit for what we could do. By the way, do you remember our children's church and nursery at the sale barn? (an old restaurant and a closet) I look back and laugh.
  
• The Sermons. This is mine. Though you may disagree, this is my turn. They were to long, to hard, immature (from a young pastor) from a frustrated speaker, manipulative, done how I was taught to do them instead of how Jesus was telling me to do them, and many more to count.
• Lea County Championship Roping's. Now there is good and bad in this. I loved the LCCR. I was honored that CJC got to host them and carry it through its 50th anniversary. I hated the fact that in some ways we did a poor job hosting them. The prizes, the cattle, our organization and the fun we had is where we shined. However the tradition and citizenship is where we failed. We neglected some things that cost us some dear friendships. It bothers me to this day. It was an awesome opportunity for grace, but we still own this one.
  
• Neglecting People. I could not keep up with everyone as a one person staff. Because of it some people were neglected. For this I am truly sorry.
  
• The list of our mistakes could go on and on. ( If at any point you were hurt by one of these or one I did not mention, this is for you.) I humbly apologize. I am not perfect and I hope you can find a way to forgive me (Ty Bean) or Cowboy Junction Church.
  

So there you go. Wow! That was liberating. Is that it. No! That's the thing about our Cowboy Junction Church. Even though we have made BIG mistakes, we don't allow them to stop us. We learn and we get better. How? Let me show you.

The Good things:

• We stopped kicking a dead horse (pun intended). Instead of feeling like we're letting God down by continuing to put on crappy roping's, we ended it. We could have felt bad that we were a cowboy church with no roping, or we could develop a "spirit of excellence". We ended our roping until we could do them right. We even discussed the other day in the board meeting the need to finish our new arena. But first we need to take care of our kids and youth. WHAT DID WE LEARN? We are not afraid to end some ministries to excel in others.
• We step out in faith. The purchase of the ranch was a leap of faith. Attendance was down, offerings were low and we had no money for a down payment. We knew however, that if we did not step out when we did our church would never have an opportunity to grow. I ran across the county as a fund raiser so we could have enough money for our down payment. ($30,000 was raised) Our attitude was, "This might fail, but the risk is worth it." Today I am so glad we went for it.
• I feel like Jesus is talking to us. Okay, that was a weird way of saying, "The sermons have gotten better." I finally got free of some baggage I was carrying as a public speaker. The pressure to perform, the pressure to please, the pressure to carry ALL the needs of Cowboy Junction Church (finance, leadership, vision, etc). Because of the release, I feel like I am being the man God wants me to be. I wasn't afraid to own up and change. DISCLAIMER: Due to the nature of Ty Bean he might have momentary flare ups of his flesh. Please be aware that God is still working on him. He's slow, but worth waiting on.
  
• Cross your T's and dot your I's. Visionaries often have one tiny flaw, the details. One thing is definite at CJC, communication and consideration. Because of things like the LCCR, the staff of CJC have become sensitive to people. Recently our staff came up with a great idea to solve big problems we are having in our Kids Church. We were Soooooo excited. Immediately the wheels began to turn and the dates to start began to be thrown around. "March, we can start it in March", was the cry from one staff member. Then we paused. Though we were excited, we remembered that some communication with certain people must first take place. We have to be considerate of others and their ministries. We can't get ahead of ourselves because we have a good idea. Because of our failures with the LCCR we have become better leaders.
  
• To lead people we need people. This year our leadership agreed that, even though we needed to improve our buildings and facility, staff was more important. Beyond buildings, staff blesses individuals. We hired Cigi and immediately felt like we had made a great move. We then hired Jonsie Hicks as our church secretary, same result. Our staff now consists of myself, Heather, Cigi and Jonsie. Our new board consists of Crill Allen, Jeff Medlin and Larry Tuttle. Then we have also been blessed with a core group of volunteers and leadership in our "Mission Drift". I feel like we are filling in the gaps for our people. People do matter at Cowboy Junction Church.

There you have it. We are not afraid to fail. We don't like it, but were not afraid of it. Have patience with people, Gods working on them. They could be in the process of learning from their mistakes. If you get offended you just might not get to see them at their best, and benefit from it.

Wow! Where did I GO!

I lost all track of time. I have had my plate full and neglected my blog. I read some great posts on good blogging. The first rule of having your blog is to update it regularly. I dropped the ball this last week and a half.

Here's why.

1. Hudson had teeth surgery, Thursday, in Lubbock. (5 caps, 4 fillings and 1 root canal) Pretty tough on a three year old.

2. "Blessings" Equine Therapy Program is off and running well after Saturdays open House.
80 people came to our open house and several thousand dollars came in. Congratulations Corina.

3. Our Series "Core" continued Sunday and Monday. Apple covered three core words we believe at CJC. (Generosity, Creativity and Relationships) These are the seed and harvest words in our life. You can listen to it by clicking here.

4. Tuesday was staff meeting day. We covered many subjects, but one took most of the day. (Kids Church) Cigi came up with a great idea. This is by far the best idea that had ever been given in regards to Kids Church. I wish I could tell you, however we need to go through the proper channels of communication before we move. This change is less stress on our volunteers, involves a new location solving the growth problem and exciting for our Kids. If I was a Kid this would Soooooo be my Kids church. Needless to say, the CJC staff is extremely excited.

5. Today - Brady is home sick. We are getting ready for the VALENTINES BANQUET TONIGHT! Just a friendly reminder.

6. Thursday -The staff is shooting video on a new series coming in March called "MY LIFE".

7. Friday - Getting sermon ready for Sunday. "Heart" will be the third message in our series.

Busy, Busy, Busy - Love it. However, not to busy to keep in priority the things that are important.

Weekend Reflection

• I got in from The Young Pro Friday. It was good to be home. The camp was a hit and I can't wait until next year. "Ata Boys" to all the volunteers, professional ropers, pastors, and students.
• I love it when the Enriquezs get to come and lead worship for us. Casey, you did a great job and you are always welcome here.
  
• Sunday morning was a hit with new series "Core".
• The first message for our core word was "Lava". This message covered the three core words that represent the foundation of CJC. These words are revelation, faith and prayer. Make sure you take advantage of our podcast and down load this message for free.
• Thanks to Cigi for all the hard work that went into putting this message together.
• "SUPER BOWL" was a great game to watch. What a game! Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
  
• The Super Bowl party was a blast. It is great to be with friends.
• Thanks to the NFL for allowing churches to broadcast the Super Bowl in a public venue this year. Did you know that prior to this year it was illegal to view the Super Bowl at Church's or public venues.
• Thanks to Hadley Howe for selling the best sandwich I have ever ate. If you did not buy one of Had's sandwich you missed out.
• A big thanks goes to Dimitra Selman for being the new volunteer in the sound booth for Monday nights.
• Thanks to Adam Bryant for leading worship Monday night. You did a great job. Good to have you back.
• We ran out of time Monday night and so we skipped communion. Cigi and the youth group wanted to do Communion any way so... they had their own private communion service. Too cool.