Hey Friends,

Legacy is written about a lot, but thought about and acted on much less! I am not trying to be morbid nor do I have a consuming thought of death, but I realize that the race will be over for each of us sooner than we think. I just turned 50 and I can see the end of the ministry and this leadership race.

Yesterday my father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and the same day a lady that used to play in one of our bands at church was killed. Life is short here on the cursed planet. Every day is a gift from God and should be lived to the fullest. Because of this we must make succession plans for our leadership and for the groups we lead.

Elton Trueblood wrote, “We have made at least a start in discovering the meaning in human life when we plant shade trees under which we know full well we will never sit.” I have watched many of my leadership and ministry heroes leave great organizations without any thought for the future. Some just walked away and let thriving ministries close! Not good leadership.

When I was in Israel I visited Yad Vashem. It is the Holocaust museum and is a must visit. Never have I been more moved as that day. There is a street in honor of the “Gentiles” who helped the Jews during this horrible time. For the famous ones like Corrie Ten Boom or Schindler, they plant a tree. This tree will give fruit after 30 years. It is a selfless tree. It is known as this because if you plant one you know you will never eat of the fruit. You planted it for others.

That is what we need to do for the next generation, for the church and for ministry. Far too many leaders hang on until they are too old. The church loses its focus and momentum, and the great leader leaves as the church is dropping like a rock without a plan for succession.

Let’s do better!

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

We all know it is hard not to be self-focused and self-absorbed! Come on, let’s be real, you know it to be true. The number one word used in the English language is “I.”

As leaders it is beyond imperative that we carefully consider those who will follow in our footsteps. This is even more important for those of us leading in the Kingdom of God – His Church!

Henry Ward Beecher said: “We should so live and labor in our time that what came to us as seed may go to the next generation as blossom; and what came to us as blossom may go to them as fruit. This is what we mean by progress.”

This is awesome, written by a Tennessean named Will Allen Dromgoole:

The Bridge Builder

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came at the evening, cold and grey,
To chasm, vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned when safe of the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“Your wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide-
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head:
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pit-fall be,
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him.”

Look behind you. Do you care to help those who will follow in your footsteps?

Just a thought.

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

I wonder why Mother’s Day is a huge deal and Dad’s Day comes and goes without much fanfare? Dads, do you ever feel slighted? Sometimes I think of us guys like Archie Bunker. That is not how God sees dads. I have never thought about it before, but He calls us the same title He gave Himself  – FATHER!!!  That is a big honking deal, don’t you think?

No matter what happens this Father’s Day we must never forget the power of the father! There is a reason that God placed the dad as the spiritual leader of the home. If a mother takes her kids to church, about 15% will continue to go to church after they are grown. If the dad takes the kids, about 75% of the kids will continue to go after they are grown.

Dads can affect their kids’ lives forever, for good or for bad! That is how God designed it. Here is another amazing fact I found today while preparing for the message this weekend. In Malachi 4:6 we see the mark of a major move of God. “The hearts of the children will be turned to the fathers and the fathers to the children.” I could think of a lot of marks of revival and never would I have come up with this. God did! Dads can change the world!

Let me give you ten mistakes most dads make:

1. Emphasizing weaknesses over strengths

2. Avoiding physical contact

3. Giving too little time

4. Pushing for performance

5. Forgetting to have fun

6. Fearing failure

7. Abusing their power

8. Neglecting the need for friendships

9. Being inconsistent

10. Being complacent and passive

We can all do better and grow as dads. It is not so much how great a parent we are, it is how great a person we are. If no one else tells you, let me be the first – Happy Fathers Day! Let’s all tell the same thing to our heavenly Father. Happy Fathers Day, Abba. We love you!

Hope this helps.

Pastor Chris

P.S. If your dad is still alive, give him a call. He will appreciate it.

Hey Friends,

Today is the 15th birthday of Faith Promise Church. Thank you, Lord! It is going to be a great weekend. Tonight we are going to have a celebration dinner with the members that were adults when the church first started. I am so grateful for these people. They have hung in there through so many changes and have given and served so faithfully. I believe God has been honored and I am grateful.

There is no way to have a great ministry without great people serving a Great God. We will also honor the person who, by faith, started the church -Terry duPont, and his wife, Arlene.

One of the things that I have learned after almost 30 years of ministry is that people leave! It seems to me that most people stay at a church on the average for about six years. The folks we honor tonight have been at Faith Promise for 15 years. Very impressive. I am sure that when they called me as the Pastor they had no idea what they were getting. These folks have been faithful even though today we look nothing like we did when the church began. At the core of the core, they care more deeply about souls than they do style. We would not be anywhere near where we are today if they had not been committed to the vision. Like everyone who is saved, we owe a debt to those who went before us.

It is my prayer that when February is over we will all give God the glory and we will be grateful for our legacy. It is also my prayer that we will all be excited about the next ten years as we encounter a decade of difference.

Yours to count on,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Most of us want to leave a legacy. We want to be a part of building something that will make a difference and outlast us. One of the great things about leadership is being able to help others to develop their potential and thus outlast our lives. No matter who you lead or where you lead them, part of your job is to be a coach – a dream manager, if you will. You get paid to pour into others so they will be better, and it is not all about the bottom line. It is about changing lives and leaving a legacy.

Effective leadership is about taking people on a journey. It is about casting vision for their lives and for the organization you get to lead. So many dislike their job, and yet few see themselves as a coach for the people they lead. It is so easy to get caught up in the deadlines, the goals, the quotas, and the grind of  the task that we miss helping people to develop. You might be surprised how people would work and even be loyal if you took time to coach them.

In the last several years I have coached Josh Whitehead, our Executive Pastor. Wow, what growth! He eats personal growth daily. He is so easy to coach because he wants to improve his game. In the process we have developed a friendship few get to enjoy, especially at work! I have to tell you the payoff is more than I ever imagined.

You know what? If you begin to see yourself as a coach you will enjoy your job much more and your life will be so much more rewarding. It is just a thought.

Who are you coaching? Are you growing yourself? It is hard to help others grow if you are not growing yourself. Life is so much more than the bottom line. The bottom line is important, but lives are at the top of the priority list. Today, see who you can coach. Start with you, your kids, and then move out. Life is about to get better!

Yours to count on,

Pastor