What’s Next for Francis Chan? A Conversation with Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris from Ben Peays on Vimeo.

This past Sunday morning, I took 9 students with me to partner with a local family who has been loving on the homeless of Little Rock since 1996 (that kind of hardcore ministry longevity is UNHEARD OF – even among those who have “comfortable” jobs!).

When you sign up to help out with a homeless ministry, or any kind of mission trip, you know that you’re going to experience some crazy stuff. I just wasn’t ready for the weight that I would feel when I left that place.

A couple thoughts from yesterday:
- Apparently, a lot of people are OK with “serving” the homeless, but aren’t OK with shaking their hand or hugging them. Something about that isn’t right to me.

- I saw a guy pull out his knife collection. I realized these weren’t just possessions. They were protection.

- I saw people sleeping on cardboard mats under the bridge when we pulled up. Cardboard for comfort. Think about that for a second.

- During the message that was being taught, I sat down on the ground next to one of the guys. I was privileged to do so. My mind really changed about all this when I realized that I would be going home to a family who loves me, an air-conditioned home, a home-cooked meal, and a comfortable bed. And they won’t. That isn’t OK.

- Some of the people that we met were once self-made success stories who threw their life away by turning to drugs or alcohol. We’re tempted to say, “It’s their fault. They’re the only reason they’re in this position.” But haven’t we all screwed up? Does that mean they don’t deserve a second chance? I’m not sure that Jesus would say that “this was their fault.” Think Prodigal Son.

- I thought about the kind of people that Jesus would attract, and those who would turn away from Him. Think Rich, Young Ruler.

- I thought about the students that our youth ministry serves. My knee-jerk reaction (I understand I’m wrong. I’m just being transparent) was to be so utterly disgusted at the fact that they are all so hard to reach…mainly because they have what they need. We have a couple students who are a part of a leadership environment we’ve created to encourage them to reach their friends. My first thought? These students don’t need me. I’ve got to go to those that are the outcasts. We’ve got to help those that are in desperate need! In a moment of clarity, I remembered that people all over the world need Jesus. We’re just placed in different contexts. It’s true: it’s hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven! But what if I reversed my flawed thinking, and used that energy to multiply our efforts, so that our students could have a chance to serve the broken? PS. If you’re one our students, expect this in the future!

- I’ll be honest. I’m broke. But I’m broke because I made some poor choices when I was in college (that I can’t wait to fix permanently). I walk around with the weight of those poor choices and their effect on my life now. And then I sat next to someone who carried everything they own in a tattered, old backpack. Talk about perspective.

- They took an offering at a homeless ministry! My first thought was, “What do they have to give?” Sometimes, our gut reactions to things like that are so ugly. I looked at the offering jar after it was passed around. I saw green pieces of paper in it. Most of our thoughts concerning giving to the homeless on the side of the street is, “I hope they don’t spend it on drugs or alcohol.” Did you ever imagine it might end up in an offering plate?

- When I started thinking about how often I’d like to see our students and youth workers get involved in helping the homeless, the weight of the work that needed to be done weighted heavy on my shoulders. The truth is that it took a lot of spaghetti and vegetables to feed them. I ended up taking around 10-12 huge containers of spaghetti that our youth ministry moms made (thank you so much! we fed several!). I started to think about the sacrifice I’d be asking people to make if we did that every week. It’s not rational. It’s not rational to think that my wife could spend all day Saturday every single week making three crock pots full of spaghetti. It’s not rational. It’s radical.

- I started to think about the financial sacrifice I’d love to make to help those that don’t have homes. I drank a $2 cup of coffee that morning. It was sitting in the church van when we left. I couldn’t help but think, “That could buy someone a small meal at McDonald’s.” I would count it a privilege to give up what freedom and resources I have to show the love of Christ!!!

- I met a couple of guys who had actually made it off the street that keep coming back to participate in the ministry that helped them to get them back on their feet. That’s a huge win!!!

- Last, but not least, I started to think about all the times I’ve gone to church with little to no purpose. I show up, because that’s what we do. I show up, because I work there. I show up, because it’s tradition. I feel like I did more good in one Sunday than I’ve ever done in 52 Sundays. I think a lot of us need a wake-up call!

If you’re a part of Indian Springs, get with me if you’re interested in going back. This isn’t over.

If you’re a part of another church, ask them how you can get involved in helping the homeless. If they can’t resource you, find someone who will. I guarantee your heart will be changed!

I had 45 minutes to teach the material, and brought way too much material to go over. So, as I promised, here are the notes we went over.

If you weren’t able to attend the conference, but would be interested in holding a half-day seminar, let me know by shooting me a quick email to markhcox@gmail.com. The notes I just posted are really only a guide to everything we talked about. There is so much more that we talked about than what’s in that packet. I’d be thrilled to help you and your team walk through the creative process.

p.s. If you’d like pictures of the creative boards, I’ll post those shortly. If you’d like help learning how to make creative boards, shoot me an email. I’d be glad to connect with you over the phone to help you through that process as well.

What I’m about to share is something they call, “The Ten Before.” Before their services (I’m assuming), they show this ten-ish minute clip, giving announcements, guidance, clarity on vision, and random entertainment.

The reason I’m so enthralled with this isn’t the quality of video, although it’s as high as it gets. It has everything to do with the “why” behind this video. Yes, communication is important. And yes, creativity in your communication is desirable. But I got to thinking. Don’t most of us do our announcements within the time slot that our services happen in? Isn’t that normal?

It is. And a lot of people miss the first part of the services (and thus, important information), because they didn’t arrive on time. What might happen if we actually were so bold to schedule something 10 minutes before the service starts? Personally, after seeing this one video, I’d make it a point to get there in time to catch “The Ten Before.”

I know that’s not everyone. My wife and I just had a talk about this, and I equated it to wanting to get to the movie theater early to see the previews (which I love doing). And even if they’re late for the previews, you definitely catch the whole movie. I hate to miss the beginning of a movie. I wonder the whole time if I missed some crucial detail that is going to have a profound impact on the ending. She’s the opposite. She’s never made it a point to see the previews, and on-time for the service is good enough for her.

But make sure you catch what just happened. One out of two people want to get to church early. I’m all for it. I think it’s a brilliant, creative way to inspire people to do something we want them to do (in other words, lead them to be on time). As a church leader, I don’t want people to miss anything that God may have for them just because they didn’t find a parking spot in time. That’s why I love this.

TenBefore – 1/3/10 from North Point Media on Vimeo.

But seriously. If you do, or you know someone who’s in the planning phases of an upcoming camp or retreat, I’d love to work with you! I love speaking to teenagers, college-aged students, or adults (though my sweet spot is teenagers).

So, if you’re interested, let me know. Feel free to email me at markhcox@gmail.com. Make sure to check out my Speaking Page and download the speaking request form.

I’d love to make myself available to you, so let’s talk about the vision for your next event and partner to watch God do great things with our people!

Making moves in ministry is dangerous. Making moves can influence someone to downsize their involvement level. Making moves can hurt peoples’ feelings. Making moves can change someone’s perspective about the church.

But when God calls you to do something, you’d better get moving.

That was the thought that crossed my mind on March 1, 2010. I was sitting in my car, waiting to meet someone. They were super-late. That usually bugs the heck out of me, but I was re-reading “The 7 Practices of Effective Ministry” by Andy Stanley, Lane Jones, and Reggie Joiner and didn’t mind waiting (by the way, if you haven’t read it yet, what the crap are you doing reading my blog?!). I came across a line that jarred me into a line of thinking I wasn’t ready for.

“Maybe you need to eliminate what works, so something else can work better.”   (Page 106, “Seven Practices of Effective Ministry”)

At that moment, I knew what I needed to do. I didn’t know the specifics, but I knew what I needed to kill, and I knew what it needed to be replaced with (I plan to talk a lot about this change over the next week, so don’t worry – details are coming). The comfort in knowing that God was leading me to make those decisions was overwhelming, but comforting. It wasn’t on me to figure out the replacement. Sure, I’ve had to work through some details, but I’m OK with that as long as I know I’m on the track God wants us on.

My point is this, though. When God plants a big vision deep in your soul, what do you do with it?

What did Noah do when God told him to build an ark?
What did Abraham do when God asked him to get up and go?
What did Moses do when God told him to lead a group of people on the longest journey he could imagine?
What did Daniel do when God let him be taken captive?
What did David do when he was selected to slay the giant?
What did Nehemiah do when his city needed him?
What did Job do when every comfort he had was gone?

They followed with reckless abandon, because our Heavenly Father is worth following!

He’s all-knowing. Are you nervous about where He’s taking you?
He’s all-powerful. Are you afraid He can’t give you the strength?
He’s the Creator. Are you afraid He isn’t able to make things happen?
He’s our Provider. Are you wondering if taking this risk will leave you in need?
He’s our Father. Do you think He’d lead you astray?

Is it possible that God might be calling you to take a risk this year? What will your response be? Are you ready to cast fear out and lean in to what God is leading you to do?

Jar Illustration from Mark Cox on Vimeo.

We teaching pastors do our best each week to communicate God’s truth to people. Between Sundays (or whenever you meet), we prep. We have differing methods, but at some point, you take time out to get ready for what you’re going to say.

We’re always thinking about what to say next (Obvious, right? Follow me. I’m going somewhere with this).

I had to make a two-hour drive the other day, so I decided I’d listen to one of my favorite pastors/authors’ audiobooks. As he taught, I kept thinking, “That’s so good. I need to teach that some time.”

We’re always thinking about what to say next.

One morning this week, I stopped in to Starbucks to read through a passage in the Gospel of Matthew before my day started. I hit an incredible portion of Scripture and was so excited about teaching our students through it.

We’re always thinking about what to say next.

The pitfall of the teaching pastor is that we’re always thinking about what to say next. Sometimes, God tees up a huge lesson that’s meant for US to digest for OUR OWN personal growth. But we start framing it in the context of a sermon series. Maybe our first thought is what the graphic could look like, or the concept of a cool promo video.

Pastors, let’s remember to be Christ-followers before we’re pastors who get up to say stuff every week.

Challenging Thought: How many layers does God have to peel back before we start applying Scripture to our own life rather than a creative board for our next teaching series?

But I had to post this one.

I ran across this one tonight, honestly, while I was surfing for other stuff. I’ve been pretty intrigued by Planetshakers lately, so I thought I’d check it out. And it didn’t disappoint! I love watching churches creatively portray the Gospel of Jesus with the resources they’ve been given. Check it out for yourself and be inspired!

Planetshakers – Carry from Andrey Polishuk on Vimeo.