Staff Show & Tell 10/28

We ended our staff meeting today with an old fashion show and tell.  The goal was to share things that inspired you over the last week. Here are a few of the items that were shared today:

1. Pencil artist who draws on wood – toxel.com

2. Lanes Ferry Dock & Grill – Amazing food including bacon wrapped hotdogs http://www.urbanspoon.com/rph/331/1339161/3277164/wilmington-lane-s-ferry-dock-grill-hotdogs-photo

3. Slow motion wedding video made by our very own Adam Clayton – http://youtu.be/6rMpNeoNzK4
4. Crossfit video of one arm dude executing a clean – http://instagram.com/p/urCu7UtDR8/?modal=true

5. Every kid needs a champion – Rita Pierson – Ted Talk http://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion 

6. Caine’s arcade – A cardboard arcade made by a 9 year old boy – http://youtu.be/faIFNkdq96U
7. Calendar 5 – Smart calendar app for iPhone, iPad – https://readdle.com/products/calendars5

Don’t get to the starting gates exhausted

WARNING: this is honest and vulnerable and you may think less of me after you read it but it may help someone, so I decided to post.

Too many times in my short ministry career I have ended up exhausted at the starting gates. I’ve shown up on Sundays tired from working all day Friday or Saturday because “NO ONE” else was gonna do it. Or I have led capital campaigns and building projects and worked unGodly hours because it “HAD TO BE DONE”. I even saw myself as a martyr, sacrificing for the cause of Christ. But at the end of the projects when I was supposed to be excited and ready to roll I wasn’t. I lacked joy and energy because of the pace that I picked and the methods that I chose. I robbed my wife of her husband, my kids of their dad, myself of joy but most of all I robbed God of the opportunity to grow my faith.

You see, I believed that what I was doing would lead people to an amazing God that would radically change their lives but I wasn’t allowing Him to radically change mine. I didn’t trust Him to take what I was doing in the natural and make it super natural. I didn’t believe that He could make up the difference between what I could give Him during reasonable work hours and make it come across as excellent. I made the decision on what “WE” needed to do every weekend or project instead of God defining that. I didn’t bring people with me and allow them to use their giftings, I just judged them for not taking initiative like me.

So in my ignorance and lack of faith I tried to do God’s part and totally disregarded His Word. I didn’t rest when He said rest. I tried to lead other families before I led my own. I didn’t equip the saints and If I can be really honest, it wasn’t that fun (rewarding absolutely, fun, not so much).

Which brings me to today. I can say with all honesty that for the first time in ministry, I am having fun and enjoying the ride. God is doing some amazing things in our church, in our city, in my family and I am loving it all. What’s the difference? John 3:30 Less of me and more of Him and Colossians 3:1-2 Seeing things from God’s perspective not my own.

I have realized that there will always be more ministry to do and I can’t get it all done everyday. I have realized that God doesn’t ever want your family, your health, your rest, your relationships to suffer because you are in ministry. I have realized that people are the most important thing to God so they should be to me as well. Projects and processes help us reach more people and are very important but they are never more important than the people, especially the people right in front of us.

Some good questions to ask God are:

1. Are you pleased with my efforts today?
2. What changes do I need to make?
3. How do you see this situation?

Hope this helps someone!

Before and After P90X

This year has been a year of health for me (more on that in another post). Part of that has been a physical up-fit that included P90X.

I started this year weighing in at 230 pounds and wearing size 40 pants. The current stats are 180 pounds and size 32 pants!!

Here are some photos of the 230 man and the skinnier guy that’s working his way out.

Photos: (1-3 are 230 lbs, 4-5 are pre-P90X, 6-10 are post-P90X)

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Ten Commandments of Purity (Perry Noble)

I posted this back in 08 and it’s so good that I’m bringing it back.

Ten Commandments of Purity from Perry Noble.

1. No other human relationship comes before my spouse.
2. I shall remember the date night and keep it Holy (my phone will be off and in the car).
3. I will always view my wife as my bride and the standard of beauty in my life.
4. I will never think that I am above temptation. It’s by God’s grace that I have not fell.
5. I shall not spend time alone or travel alone with a woman.
6. I shall not talk about my spouse in a negative manner.
7. I shall not ever discuss the intimate details of my marriage with anyone (especially another woman).
8. I shall not watch pornography or expose myself to other illicit material that would cause me to lust and devalue my wife.
9. I shall not confuse fantasy and reality.
10. I shall remember the implications of breaking the seventh commandment (committing adultery).

The whole thing is riding on purity.

Don’t Waste A Day

Me and God have a cool thing going on right now where He is not affraid of hurting my feelings. Having said that, here is something I felt like He shared with me last week.

If you are a follower of Jesus (meaning you have given your life to Him) then here is the deal. When you open your eyes in the morning your first thought needs to be similar to this:

• God, what do you want me to do today?
• Who do you want me to encourage?
• What should I do in this situation?
• How can I most honor you in my roles?
• Am I on track with who you want me to be?
• What do you want to change in my life?

You need to follow this up with reading God’s Word and prayer! (I will argue you to the ground on this, morning is the best time)

If this is not how you roll then I would say just stay in the bed and here is why:

• If you don’t hear from God then you will not handle that meeting right or that situation correctly.
• If you don’t hear from God then you are more prone to getting in the flesh.
• If you don’t hear from God then you are wide open for the enemy to distract or derail you.
• If you don’t hear from God then Your best efforts will be Your best efforts and worst than that you will take credit for anything good that happens instead of giving God credit.
• If you don’t hear from God then it’s a wasted day. (this sounds harsh but if you follow Jesus, then it’s legit)

If hearing from God is foreign to you email me at daryl@lifepointnow.com and I would love to point you in a direction. I can’t quite Him down right now and I love it.

How To Spot A Leader

The following is taken from Leaders At Levels by Ram Charan:

Many people who think they know how to recognize a leader focus on highly visible attributes and skills, such as analytical brilliance, charisma, the ability to make great presentations, and the drive to succeed. These are fine things to have, but they aren’t sure signs of leadership ability. Look instead for the actions, decisions, and behaviors that reveal true leadership potential:

What is the person’s ambition? Is it clearly for a leadership role, or is it oriented more toward making an individual contribution?

Do they take pride in accomplishing goals on the basis of their own ability, or do they talk about bringing together and motivating others to achieve those goals?

Does the person seem curious about subjects outside their area of expertise?

Do they have a grasp of the business (organization) and basics of success?

Can the person articulate clearly the requirements for doing their bosses job? Their bosses, bosses job?

How does the person ensure that she is continually learning?

How well does the person deliver results, and what is extraordinary about the results?

Does the person have an incessant drive to shape the external environment and make progress?

Does the person like to work with divers, high-caliber people, or do they bring along with them to a new job the people they are comfortable with and who are loyal to them?

How driven and passionate are they about leading? Is it just talk, or is it realistic?

Is the person dealing with increasingly complex and uncertain situations and using the occasional failure as an opportunity to learn?

Is there clear evidence that this person has a methodology to continue to build new skills and hone their personality traits to achieve their dream of what they want to become?

Daryl Fast

Goals worth having require sacrifice and hard work. Another John Maxwell quote that I love is that “You have to give up to go up”. In order to focus on achieving this years goals I am starting the year with a 40 day fast. The goal of the fast is to focus in on God and hopefully create some good habits towards my goals.

Here are the things that I will be doing without for the first 40 days of this year:

• No computer at home for me.
• No business emails outside of work hours.
• No late nights. All bedtimes before 10pm (other than nights with bowl games :-).
• No sleeping in (all days will start at 5am).
• None of the following food or drinks:

Beef, lamb, pork, and fish.

Milk, cheese, cream, butter, and eggs (execept limited amounts of low fat cheese).

Sugar, raw sugar, syrups, molasses, and cane juice.

All leavened bread.

All refined and processed food products including but not limited to artificial flavorings, food additives, chemicals, white rice, white flour, and foods that contain artificial preservatives.

All deep fried foods including but not limited to potato chips, French fries.

All solid fats including shortening, margarine, lard and foods high in fat.

Beverages including but not limited to coffee, tea, herbal teas, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and alcohol.

There it is….The Daryl Fast….The next 40 days of my life. It isn’t designed to help me with all my goals but rather to focus me in on where God is leading me (to be healthier physically, spiritually, mentally). Don’t let me slack!!