Here’s the link for the audio. It’s a bit long to go through all of the questions here but I want to hit a couple of highlights.

It’s always fun to read Song of Songs…always…especially in church. That’s all I’ll say about that.

Amy is a rock star. I mean, she really is. Amy hit it out of the park with her insight and answers. I’m glad Western Hills got a deeper look at the incredible woman she is.

I think the Q&A revealed how important dialogue is in discipleship. It’s why Life Groups are so huge in the maturing process because Life Groups provide the perfect context for asking questions, real questions and getting real answers.

So when I tell you that the Lord has given me a verse for our church this month…you have to know the story behind it.

Yesterday I was at Oasis and waiting for the keynote speaker to start up. He went through the normal new speaker ritual of giving his life story. (I’m not sure why this happens. I’m pretty sure I’ve been guilty of that but I hope not. I speak every Sunday and new people hear me every Sunday. Do they not listen because they don’t know my life story? Just wondering…)

So my ADD kicks in (look a squirrel) and I start writing, doodling, whatever. He (the speaker, not God) then says something that shatters the fog of distraction in an instant. He starts reading scripture. Not just some scripture…but this scripture:

Exodus 36:5
[They] said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.”

“Are you kidding me??” I said out loud. The guys at my table shot me a look like I’d just jumped off the crazy train.

I’m dumbfounded because I know this verse is about Moses building the Tabernacle with limited resources with a million plus moving refugee camp. And they not only had the stuff to build the Tabernacle, but they had more than enough. Read the story a jillion times…never, ever, ever saw this verse.

MORE than enough to do the work of the Lord…

MORE than enough to do the work of the Lord…

Grant…are you listening to me? Quit worrying, being scared, being anxious. Your faith is small. Let me grow it. Hear me clearly in the middle of your ADD – MORE than enough to do the work of the Lord.

Lord, the Harvest? Can we raise enough money in this economy to pay off debt? To hire a student pastor? To do more at McCarter Elementary? To help the Native American mission? Brazil?

MORE than enough…

This Sunday will be the first Sunday of the Harvest. We’ve heard some great stories so far, we’ll hear more later but for now…

Exodus 36:5

1. Churches that have debt can’t be as outward focused. They are leveraged because they owe a bank money. Therefore, their first ‘tithe’ or check they write is to the bank, not ministry. Some will argue that the debt represents ministry, that the building allows the church to do ministry. Reality is that most buildings were/are built for the benefit of the people who paid for them. Not so much for people who aren’t there yet. I’m glad that’s not the case at WH. Our actions prove that our buildings were built for others.

2. It’s hypocritical of the church to teach tithing, giving, and simplicity and be in debt.

3. If this current financial crisis has taught us anything it’s this – get out of debt and stay out of debt. The Church should be an example of this.

4. The less debt, the more free you are to give. That’s true personally and corporately.

2 minutes @ 2pm for 22 days

This week – leadership. When we talk about leadership, we really mean followership. We want to be able to say the same words as Paul – follow me as I follow Christ. So any leadership starts first with following Jesus. No exceptions.

So we start with questions – how am I following Jesus? At work? At home? At school? Are there places in my world I don’t follow Jesus in? What does it mean to follow Jesus? What does a growing follower of Jesus look like? If I wanted to start following Jesus, what steps would I take? Where do I start? How do I continue?

There is a small group of us wrestling with these questions. We don’t have hard pressed answers right now. We’re still wrestling with some concepts but this week, I’ll unpack some of what we’ve discovered as you do the same here.

For today – leadership starts with following. The first question is – who are you following? If it’s not Jesus, then who or what? Why not Jesus? What do you think following Jesus looks like for you?