Monday Mind Dump

Monday mornings come with such frequency. Almost as much frequency as Sunday mornings. You wake up and start the cycle all over again. For me that cycle begins by processing all that happened the previous day at our services. That is the purpose of Monday Mind Dump.

Yesterday was a wonderful day at Harvest Church. We continued our series #Bringer where we talked about looking for those who are in life's storms and being the voice that calls out, like Jesus did to Peter, to "Come." We encouraged our people to look for three people this week who are in the middle of a storm and invite them to attend #EasterAtHarvest with them. I have to say that our people have responded to this series on creating a culture of inviting much more enthusiastically than I could have imagined.

Sidebar: If you don't have a home church and live anywhere near the Sand Springs / Tulsa area, I would love to host you as my personal guest this Easter!

Our teams did a wonderful job creating an atmosphere where we could respond to God's presence. Amy, in the Harvest Cafe, is knocking it out of the park! She and her team have created a new drink for the month of March and it is AMAZING! If you haven't tried it, you should!

In our evening, traditional, service Miranda Freeman preached and she did a phenomenal job! She talked about "What's in a Prayer" where she pointed out that prayer should be filled with and supported by humility, patience, and faith. We were stirred with faith to start looking at those around us, not from face-value but from faith-value.

If you haven't checked this girl out, you need too because God has truly gifted her! You can peruse her blog here.

Also, she and her husband, Joshua, who happens to be the campus pastor at Harvest Church West Tulsa, are going on a missions trip to Haiti this September! They will be serving Hope House Haiti and participating in local children's programs and feeding projects. They will be helping with sustainability projects in the surrounding areas such as fish farms, chicken farms, and producing crops to help produce lasting sustainability. To get there this couple is having to raise $3,500.00.

Would you pray about sowing into this couples journey? You can do that by clicking here and then clicking the giving link. When the new page is opened, scroll down to other and type in your amount. The click in the box next to it and type in "Haiti Trip." Thank you so much for considering this wonderful work!

Monday Mind Dump

It is Monday of spring break and today has started out like your stereotypical Monday. First, I overslept by like TWO HOURS!! (Who does that??) Now that I've gotten my coffee and morning banana, I am fine!

Yesterday was a great Sunday! Though our attendance seemed a little low to me, our people seemed to engage in worship. Our teams knocked it out of the park and the message seemed to connect with the people. There was a great response to the invitation at the end and there were a ton of names of people that we would pray for and invite to #EasterAtHarvest! There are always things that I think we can tweak but overall, it was a great morning.

For those of you who are unaware, we have an evening, traditional service. This is a time of worship with traditional hymns and southern gospel music that is really geared toward those that love that style. It is also a time for me to give opportunities for up and coming leaders, that I'm in relationship with, to preach. It is also a great time to hear from the wisdom of some of our retired ministers! But one of the things I love most about Sunday nights is that I don't have to worry about preaching another sermon. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE to preach! It is one of my greatest passions but when I have to focus on two messages in one day, I don't feel like I can fully focus on just being present in the moment with people before the service. On Sunday nights, I get to be fully there! I get to stand around and have conversations that I don't get to have any other time. I get to joke around. I get to connect with our people in a way that I don't get too on Sunday mornings. I LOVE Sunday nights!

This past Sunday night we had Veronika Jones speak on "Do You Know Me?"

Now, I don't know if you know this young lady but she is a powerful preacher! Whether she knows it or not, she has a great prophetic ear and a wonderful way of communicating what she hears the Lord is saying. Though I can't claim any responsibility for mentoring her in her calling, I am proud like she is one of mine! I can't brag on her enough!

Not only is she a powerful preacher but she is also a missionary and she is taking a trip this Summer to Africa! She does the hard work of raising the money all by herself and I would like to help her get that money raised! I am asking all my family and friend, near and far, to pray about giving a gift towards her trip this Summer. She needs $6,200 before she can go on this trip. Could you give something towards it? If so, log on to our website at http://harvestchurchok.org and click the giving link. When the new page opens, scroll down to "Other" and type in your gift amount. Then in the box to the right of that type in "Veronika Jones." Then you should be able to follow the instructions on the page from there. Thank you in advance for helping her reach her goal and get to Africa to expand the kingdom!

Let's talk about it!

What did God do in you yesterday? Tell me about it so we can celebrate together!

Monday Mind Dump

For those who do not know, my family and I have recently moved to Sand Springs, Oklahoma to take the Lead Pastor position at Harvest Church. I haven't written in a while but I used to do these "Monday Mind Dumps" to clear my head after the Sunday service. It allows me to process most of my thoughts about the Sunday service and you to see my process in evaluating the things that were done. (Don't worry! I will not evaluate anything that deals with specific people. I don't put people on blast like that.) I thought I'd try this again.

Yesterday we had to cancel our onsite services because of winter weather. Can I just say that I hate snow and ice! I hate to cancel church. Most people assume that it is because we can't take offering and then I have to be concerned about meeting budgets for the week. That actually isn't it at all. (I mean, I do think about those things but that isn't my main reason for despising having to cancel.) I LOVE getting together with God's people to worship and celebrate Him. I love the dynamic of corporate worship. I love to hear other people singing. I love it when spontaneous worship breaks out. I love to see how people respond to the Holy Spirit's presence. I love to teach God's word to a room full of people who are hungry to hear from Him. There is just nothing like it! Sunday really is my favorite day of the week. So when we have to cancel everything in me fights it. With that said, when we had to cancel yesterday, I contacted a skeleton crew who felt comfortable getting out in the cold to meet me so we could broadcast a livestream service for everyone who was at home.

Now, what you should know about me is I am comfortable in front of a crowd and I am comfortable in front of a camera in a small room with no one else present. What I am not comfortable with is a nearly empty auditorium and ceiling mounted cameras and you could probably tell it. I preached to the ten or so people that were there and to the cameras, all the while hoping that someone was watching. I stood in one place and tried to put the majority of my focus on the one camera. I tried to deliver what God had spoken to me but it wasn't my greatest preaching moment. We will be working on another method doing online services for such occasions.

The worship team, however, knocked it out of the park. They played and sang as though the room was full of people. They worshiped like it was just them and God. I couldn't have been a prouder pastor. And then there was the people that never get recognition; the people in the sound booth tweaking sound for the online audience, the people putting words on the screen so it could be broadcasted and you who were at home could sing along. Then there's the camera guy who showed up and had to sit there to make sure I didn't walk off screen! (And then I didn't even move! Sorry Steve!) We had people who showed up to just help in any way they could and also people who came to watch children. I was moved because these people, volunteers, came anyway. They chose to get up, get dressed and come out in the COLD so other people could still worship at home in their PJs!

As a pastor, our hope is that people will eventually be able to look beyond themselves and grasp the servant nature of Jesus for their own lives. We long for people to stop being so selfish and to serve others in the same manner that Jesus would and did. We hope and pray and teach so that people will get it. And yesterday they did! They served. No payment, no external reward and with probably very few thank you's. But I was ministered too. I am so thankful. I am incredibly proud.

So, not too much today in the way of critique today. Just a great big THANK YOU from an incredibly grateful pastor to the dream team at Harvest Church! We love you and are honored to serve God and our community alongside you! You rock and I can't wait to see as God brings you all into your More!