mike utech dot com

Not really sure where I fall in the whole Brett Favre debate. If he is going to play I don’t want him to play for anyone but the Packers (still not happy with Reggie White playing with the Panthers for a few years). But at the same time I think he should stay out and let other people step up.
I think churches can learn something here though. One of the biggest challenges facing congregations is a lack of younger people stepping up into leadership. But, based on my own experience and from conversations that I have had younger leaders also need to be allowed some game time.
My wife and I have both served in various ministries over the years but shortly after we stepped up the church we were at had some leadership changes and we were told ‘no’ - on many occasions. It wasn’t until another minister gave me the opportunity to preach that the leadership that had stopped us publically apologized and repented.
Back to football, Favre is being allowed to practice but he will have to perform on the field if he is gonna start again. I am not sure how that would carry over to ministry other than to say that the younger players can’t perform during game time if they don’t get practice. Yes those with less experience will make mistakes but how else did those with the experience actually get it…

Put me in coach. I’m ready to play, today!

I took this weekend off from my regular weekend duties at Journey Church. So this morning I am sitting in the third row rather than the middle of the auditorium behind a soundboard.
It is a completely different experience especially in my own thought process. I love my team of voluenteers that I am able to do this - you guys rock!

Episode 52 of the Catalyst Podcast has a great interview with Erwin McManus. During the interview Erwin spoke about the difference between being creative and being an artist. I wrote down a good portion of what he said and have it below. But go listen to the entire interview for yourself.
Erwin’s main point is that we are all creative, being made by and in the image of a creator. We are not all artists, artists are creative but being creative does not make one an artist. In light of that fact, the church has not been a place that has encouraged creative people and that needs to change. At least that is what I head Erwin saying.

There is a difference between a person; a creative and an artist. Everyone is creative, is part of our basic world view at Mosaic but not everyone is artistic in that sense. Not everyone is a painter or a dancer.
We are talking about unleashing human creativity. You ask do we put art on the walls? Well we don’t put art on the walls. We let people paint during services but that’s really not what we are talking about. We have doctors that go throughout the year that go into under-served underprivileged parts of the world, who take humanitarian gifts down there, dentists and medical teams…
We consider that a creative act. When people organize and administrate and when people use their gifts of mercy and service alll of that is creative. And so if we can begin to realize that art becomes a metaphor for artistry for creativity. And if we can begin to believe that every human being is creative… We will begin to see a lot more happen from the church.
If you begin to nurture a value for creativity then you will discover that artists will be drawn to your [church]. The reason we don’t have many dancers and painters and film makers and writers in the church is because the church has for so long has basically told them they have no value here you have no place here. And once the church becomes a place for everyone’s creative expression you will being to have people that you have never imagined.
Source: Catalyst Podcast - Episode 52 - Erwin McManus interview 39:51 to 41:42

As a participant in a portable church each week has the potential to bring new challenges. Since we meet in a local high school a couple of times during the year we have to accommodate some other events that move us out of our preferred environments. These last 3 weeks of April have been and continue to be a challenge. With the spring drama performances last weekend and this weekend we expected to be in the gym for two weeks but found out that the week prior we would also be there as the auditorium was no longer available until the performances were over. That made the first weekend in the gym a big challenge as we had planned to get in the space that weekend to plan for the next but not having the time to plan we had to figure it out on the fly. Over all we pulled it off well - the biggest improvement this weekend was getting some alternative sticks for our drummer. That made a huge difference. This weekend the other half of the gym is being used by another event and we are trying to find a different environment that will work for us but not disrupt the other events. To be honest I am looking forward to seeing how we will overcome this challenge.
Still, I can’t help but dream about a day when we will be able to acquire some commercial real estate that we can share with the community.

With all the (hyped) news about the credit crunch. I am sure some maybe searching for budgeting and planning solutions. Personally I think it is better to follow the K.I.S.S. method (keep it simple, stupid) and have found a great deal of common sense and success in the methods that Dave Ramsey presents. More over in doing some research on DaveRamsey.com I found information about Momentum. Which is a new church program from The Lampo Group that is based upon the question, “Imagine what The People of God could do for The Kingdom of God if they were Debt Free.” After just a few minutes of reading more about Momentum I knew instantly that it would be such a logical step for Journey Church. This needs to be apart of our DNA, what could more empower a community of people to LIVE BIG!