Thursday, February 28, 2008

OKC MAPS vs. Lakeside MAPS

It is evident that taxpayer supported capital improvements brought on by the OKC MAPS initiative have accomplished much more than building new buildings in Oklahoma City. What we have seen is an improved image of OKC to both citizens of OKC and to the nation. We have seen an economic impact and increased tax revenue brought in by the new businesses that have flooded into the improved areas. We have also seen that as we grow and increase in size that new and larger projects come into play to keep up the momentum.

The purpose of Lakeside MAPS is also twofold. First and most obvious is that we have a responsibility to maintain and improve the property that God has entrusted to us. In a twenty-five year old facility, there will always be improvements that must be made to sustain or increase the value of the property. But in a larger sense, we, as existing Lakeside attenders will have an increased sense of excitement as we see the improvements begin to take place. As we catch this excitement, we should feel a desire to invite others to come. As we grow in numbers and in excitement, we will see more and larger projects that will need to be done. I have a sense that should the Lord tarry his return that we will be involved in some form of building or remodeling for years to come.

Be sure to contribute to Lakeside MAPS and encourage your friends to do likewise. Remember, the goal is to collect $250,000 which will do many capital improvements as well as pay of the church's indebtedness. Let's see this done in 2008!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

I have a tee time!

Finally, after several months, I have an actual tee time to play golf. I actually won a free foursome with carts at any of the city owned courses here in OKC, and I didn't have to listen to a sales pitch for a timeshare opportunity. So, I am playing at Hefner South on Thursday. It is supposed to be warm but windy, but hey, it is February. You don't get perfect in February. But you can get FREE!

Monday, February 25, 2008

Voting in Church

Something that I have thought about quite a lot in recent years is the matter of voting in church. I have heard people say that a vote revealed God's will in a situation, but it hasn't always seemed that way to me. I guess my feeling is that a vote doesn't reveal God's will unless the vote is unanimous. I never figured that God was 78% sure that he wanted someone to be a pastor or a deacon. I always figured that God was 100% sure. So, it seems to me that votes reveal the will of the people who are voting. If they are in one accord, then the vote would almost certainly be close to unanimity, and if they are all seeking God fervently to find His will in a situation the vote would express God's will, but what I have experienced is that votes by their very nature create winners and losers. It seems strange to me that we invite the atmosphere of competition and winners/losers in the Body of Christ. I think that our fixation on the secret ballot is due to the idea that our democratic processes have served our nation well, and we live in a so-called "Christian nation", so the democratic processes should naturally work well in the church. What we forget, however, is that the democratic process is inevitably argumentative and divisive. Motions are argued and amended, candidates are examined and critiqued, and razor thin majorities tied to loyal voting blocs are the order of the day. The losers don't accept the defeat and go along with the majority; rather they regroup and work to enlarge their consituency and live to fight another day. We see this dynamic in the church when the democratic process is embraced too closely when deciding spiritual matters.

I know the arguments for the democratic process in the church. I know them because until recent years I embraced and defended them. There is the dread that one person or a small group will force their will on the congregation. There is the feeling that by not voting we deny the "right of the people to be heard". And there is the fear that there will not be sufficient accountability or transparency; therefore there will be a loss of integrity. And finally, we will not be able to remove the "bad pastor".

However, I have seen several models in churches here in the states as well as in churches in other countries which have a high degree of integrity and accountability without opening the door to division that is inevitable when there is too much voting going on. There can be a healthy respect for spiritual leadership with an inherent trust that the spiritual leader is speaking what God has truly laid on his heart. There can be true accountability for the spiritual leader through spiritual eldership which does not involve subjecting himself to the power of popular opinion.

What do you think about this? (I'll write more about the model of spiritual eldership in a future post.)

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Great Work Day!

Today we had our monthly men's breakfast. This time we had a work day, too. We had 12 or 13 men devote most of their day to working in our men's bathroom remodel and in the nursery remodel. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work. We got a lot accomplished. However, there is still a lot of work to be done, and we really want to have both of those projects finished by Easter.

Thanks to every guy who helped today!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Book of Hope Celebration

Carole and I just returned from the Book of Hope Celebration in Ft. Lauderdale. This organization consistently amazes me with their ability to reinvent themselves without betraying their original purpose of putting the Word of God into the hands of every child of the earth. Their goal for 2008 is to distribute 70 million copies of the Book of Hope worldwide. This total does not include the millions who will hear the good news by telecasts of the movie they produced called "Godman". It is always a real energizing and faith-building time to be with more than 300 people who are totally committed to world evangelization and discipleship.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

What is a blog?

I'm getting the feeling that most of the folks that visit my blog don't understand the difference between a blog and a website. I am posting new info nearly every day and anyone who is reading can subscribe to the blog and get auto notices of new posts. Also, it is possible to make comments about a post, ask for more information, or even have extended discussions with many people about a particular posting. I hope to use this blog to get out current information about Lakeside Guys events, post devotional and discipleship materials and have good healthy discussion about many topics. Ask a teenager how to use a blog (like I did) and let's make this blog something you will want to come back to time after time.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Goin' to Florida

I will take a blogging break this week because Carole and I are leaving for Florida for the annual Book of Hope Celebration in Fort Lauderdale. This is a great time to see all of our BOH friends and listen to reports from many of the national directors from around the world. I always come back all charged up after hearing what God is doing in places where people trust Him to do what He already promised. I'll see you when I get back.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

My Grandson


I became a member of the grandpa club on January 20. Clyde Tyler Pickens was born to my daughter Elizabeth and my son-in-law Mark Pickens and everyone is doing fine. I plan on being a really cool grandpa.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Integrity and Stewardship

As the business administrator at Lakeside I take the responsibility of stewardship very seriously. It would be easy to assume that people would trust me or my motives when something doesn't look just right, but it would be wrong for me to do that. In many discussions I will say that we need to do things in such a way that they would satisfy someone who is mad at us. This isn't to say that everyone will agree with every spending priority, but that the processes and the accounting would reach a level that even the mad person would be satisfied with. We are beginning the process of our financial review of 2007 and in a few months it will be available to the membership. By bringing in an outside firm to look at our procedures and our accounting, we have the opportunity to offer proof of the integrity of our systems. These annual reviews are expensive, but they help us to reach the mandate of II Corinthians 8:21 "For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men."

Friday, February 15, 2008

Arizona revisited

If you talk to Ray Ortega or Michael Weed about the upcoming Arizona construction trip for Lakeside Guys, you will want to go. They are talking about canopies and grilling steaks and what we will do to relax after hours. It will be a great time. We have 9 guys committed so far and several guys saying they are thinking about it. We can take as many as 20. Remember the dates are June 21 to 27 and the cost is only $350. Let me know if you need any iformation, because we want you to go.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Wow, what a week!

This is being a crazy week. We are introducing a new payroll service for the paid staff that will allow direct deposit for the first time at Lakeside. Of course, that means lots of forms for everyone to fill out and I get to gather them and make sure that they are all filled out correctly so we can be ready for next week's payroll.

The demolition is complete and the rebuilding has begun on the men's bathroom project. The plumber will be here to do his thing on Friday, then it is time to sheetrock and begin tiling. Jason Engelke and Michael Weed were here late Wednesday night framing in some new walls, and there are a couple of design surprises incorporated in the plan. It will be awesome!

We are restructuring our accounts payable systems to streamline them and to make them more efficient. Gregg Yeilding is taking charge of this, and he and I are making sure that nothing falls between the cracks during the transition.

It is funny that all of this has hit all at once, but the stress will be worth it when these projects are completed. We will reduce our overhead expenses, offer better benefits to our paid ministry team and have a bathroom that we can all be proud of.

Great days at Lakeside!!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

James Sasnett is awesome!!!

James Sasnett came in this morning and began final demolition on the men's bathroom project and after working all day tore out just about everything all by himself. If you want something totally demolished, James is your man! Thanks, James!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Lunch with Tim Sebastian

I had lunch today with one of our missionaries, Tim Sebastian. Tim and his family are working in Northern India and are home on furlough. They are among the crop of young missionary families who I have met in recent years that want to go to the unreached places. They are not content to work in the places where the road has already been paved; rather they are going into areas that have not been reached. I have the greatest respect for that.

Tim and his family will be with us in service during our Spring Missions Emphasis week in April. Make a point to meet them.

Lakeside MAPS Progress

Saturday was awesome! There were crews demolishing nurseries and bathrooms until our dumpster was overflowing. Tuesday evening some guys will finish demolition on the bathroom so we can begin to reconstruct. If you want to be a part of this, contact Jason Engelke or Michael Weed.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

I'm itching to play golf

It's been a couple of months since I last played golf, and I'm ready to go. Yesterday was a perfect day, weather-wise, but I was with several of the Lakeside Guys working on the men's bathroom remodel at the church. I just received an e-mail notifying me that I won green fee and cart for a foursome at any of the OKC municipal courses to be used in the next 60 days. That's worth like $125! I don't have to listen to a presentation about a timeshare, or anything! Just make my tee time and find three other guys to go with me. Great deal. Now I just have to find a good weather day and go.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Fleetwood Mac

In my college days one of the most influential bands was Fleetwood Mac. They created incredible music while living a very chaotic lifestyle. Lindsey Buckingham was one of the creative geniuses of Fleetwood Mac and I saw him sometime back on one of those VH1 retrospectives. During the interview he was talking about the creative process of the music and he said at one point, "There is little gain without loss, and little redemption without forgiveness." There is a tremendous insight in this quote, and even though his lifestyle could be described as anything but "christian", he has a real understanding of the foundations of the gospel. The night of that interview I said a prayer for Lindsey Buckingham that the Holy Spirit would take that "eternity in his heart" and cause him to realize that he had gained an opportunity of eternal life by the loss that Christ suffered and that complete redemption was his by Christ's forgiveness.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Our Next President

In this election season you hear a lot of stuff. I don't like pulpit politics, because I have met many people who are passionately following Christ who fall both to the right and the left of me on the liberal/conservative continuum. Pastor Darren said it quite well a few weeks ago when he said that God is neither Republican nor Democrat; He is neither liberal nor conservative because He is God. I am going to state now, before we know who the nominees are, and long before we know who the next president will be that I will not speak derisively about my president because Romans 13:1 tells me that there is no authority except that which God has established. If God has established the authority, I have no business taking potshots at it. Will you commit with me to support and pray for President Bush for the remainder of his term and then to continue in prayer and support for whoever is elected president this November?

Happy Birthday, Nelson!

Nelson Alfaro is celebrating his 50th birthday today. He is a good friend, good prayer partner, good electrician, and all around good guy. He looks like a million, although he's not near that old!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Dead Horses

Michael Lowder, our Childrens/Christian Ed Pastor sent me this. I thought it was great.

Dead Horses
The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians says when you discover you’re riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. However, in modern business and ministry, because of the heavy investment factors, other strategies are often tried with dead horses, including: buying a stronger whip; changing riders; threatening the horse with termination; appointing a committee to study the horse; arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses; reclassifying the dead horse as “living-impaired”; hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse; harnessing several dead horses together for increased speed; donating the dead horse to a recognized charity and deducting its full original cost; doing a time management study to see if lighter riders would improve productivity; declaring a dead horse has lower overhead and therefore performs better; and promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position.The KELLYGRAM 12/02

Communion This Sunday

We are taking communion this Sunday. We were supposed to take it last Sunday but I forgot to prepare it. (oops!) I was really aggravated that I forgot because I love to take communion. It is one of the really cool parts of the church experience. All of the history, the deep meanings, and the beauty of the ceremony all serve to connect us to the Body of Christ in a very meaningful way. I definitely won't forget this week. I'm looking forward to sharing communion with you.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Great Game?

I watched the Super Bowl with some friends from my small group. What a game! It looked like the inevitable was going to happen when New England scored with just over two minutes left, but then the Giants came back and had that amazing pass play on 3rd and 5 and before you knew it the upset was complete. I kept telling people that it was a great game, but finally I realized that I enjoyed it only because I didn't have an emotional investment in either team, so I was okay with any outcome. If the Dallas Cowboys had been in the game, I wouldn't have enjoyed it, even if they had won. I get overwrought and become a person I don't like when my team is in a close battle. I don't know what that means for my future as a sports fan.

Breakfast & Work Day- Feb. 23

Hey Lakeside Guys- We will be having a work day in conjunction with our monthly men't breakfast on February 23 at 9am. We will be working on the nursery remodels and on the men's bathroom renovation. Contact me or you can talk to Jason Engelke about the bathroom renovation and Mike Lowder about the nursery renovation. Be There!!!!!

Goin' to Arizona

The Lakeside Guys will be going on a construction trip to Bylas, Arizona in June. We will leave on Saturday, June 21 and return to OKC Friday, June 27. This year we will be helping to build a church on the Apache reservation. We will be arriving after most of the sheetrock is hung, so we will be doing a multitude of miscellaneous mischief to ready the church for completion. The cost will be $350 per man and that will include transportation, lodging and meals. Let me know if you are interested in more information.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Prayer for Bob

I just learned that a good friend of mine, Bob Hoskins is facing a medical challenge. Without going into detail, just suffice that Bob needs our prayers. Bob is founder of Book of Hope International, a ministry that I have worked with many times. Please remember Bob in your prayers.

What does 3M Blog mean?

At my church, Lakeside Assembly in Oklahoma City, I am on staff as the business adminstrator, missions coordinator and men's ministry pastor, so the 3M stands for money, missions and men. I come from a business background, so the whole church staff thing is new to me. (I've done this for about a year and a half.) This is the best job I've ever had, because I enjoy all three parts of it and I really enjoy being around the rest of the team at Lakeside.

Keep watching our church website, www.lakesideassembly.org because we are redoing it and it will be really good when it goes live in a couple of weeks.