Archive for July, 2007
Ok. This could be the best summer of my life!
I had time with the kids in Maine and then off to Florida for 10 days with my beautiful babe bride! Then to return to the BEST CHURCH in the country… NORTHWAY CHURCH! Oh yeah….BONUS, ED YOUNG as our guest!
C’mon. Somebody pinch me! (Please do not actually try to do this as it could be hazardous for your health)
This weekend was simply the Best! So great to see everyone again and catch up!
As far as Ed’s, talk? INCREDIBLE! 
Hard to believe the dude just keeps getting better as a communicator!
He challenged all of us on the power of COMMITMENT! In order to go to a… “Hole Nutha Level” you have to be committed. The secret to success in anything….Spiritually, Relationally, Vocationally, is…
TO COMMIT NOT TO QUIT!
I’ve met a lot of people thru the years in ministry and sometimes when you get up close and personal, unfortunately they are not all they appear to be. But let me share an inside scoop with all of you in the blog world…. Ed Young is the real deal…passionate about Jesus, his family and the local church! He is gracious, down to earth, and one funny dude! You know what… of all his accomplishments, his family is his greatest! They are the best!
I’ll be sharing some behind the scenes…. leadership video blogs featuring Ed Young in the upcoming weeks, and this weekend at Northway, I’ll be talking along with Ed about when “Faith Doesn’t Work.� So keep checking in and don’t miss this weekend at Northway!
And, in two weeks (August 18th & 19th), Mark Batterson will be here!
It’s 11:20pm Tuesday evening, and we began our day at 6 o’clock this morning. We took a flight from Florida to Washington, D.C. and there we reconnected with our kids and drove to Pennsylvania for a pit stop. Then, we finally drove back to New York from there. After 19 hours, I sort of feel like the Griswolds. With all that driving, I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on the past several weeks, and I want to share some of the things from our trip…from the first week in Maine with the kids to a week with Debbie in Florida.
Here are the top ten:
10. Monopoly tournaments with the kids
9. Shuffleboard in Maine with the fam
8. Lobster rolls in Maine
7. Riding our bikes through the parks in Maine
6. Kayaking down the Saco River in Maine
5. The beautiful weather in Florida
4. Kayaking with the dolphins and manatees in the gulf
3. Riding our bikes on the beach watching the sunsets
2. Visiting the Miami Campus of Fellowship Church and meeting the cool staff
1. An airboat ride in the everglades as the alligators approached our boat
By the way, did I mention that Ed Young will be here in three days? Really excited about having him here!
Today I’m flying from Florida to Washington DC and then I’m driving home to NY! It will be a long day in transit, and I can’t wait to get HOME! So, I appreciate your prayers.
Yesterday, I had my first opportunity to be online, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the guest blogs. I’m flying high as I think of the exceptional people that I have the privilege to serve with.
People ask me all the time, how do you do it all? The answer is simple; I don’t. Church is a TEAM SPORT. I have the honor of working and serving with what I believe is one of the best teams in the game: Northway Church.
I’m wrapping up a sabbatical which is ministry speak for a break for a pastor. We’re just finishing up a full court press of our fourth year since Northway began…in short…it’s been thrilling and exhilarating to see all that God has done. I don’t know of anything more rewarding but I’ve also experienced that it can be exhausting.
Taking a break is a spiritual discipline. Check out the gospels and you’ll be astonished at how many times Jesus practiced this discipline. What’s really shocking is when you consider that Jesus only had 3.5 years to save the world. You talk about pressure? We’re just finishing up year 4 and Jesus was already DONE. If anyone needed to have a sense of urgency, if anyone understood a looming deadline, it was Jesus.
QUESTION: Why in the world would Jesus take so many breaks?
ANSWER: To recharge and reconnect with God, the Father. Download that thought…if Jesus, God’s Son, needed to unplug from society to solitude, how much more do you and I? Let me encourage you to give yourself permission to take a break. I’m grateful to God for this time, and I believe God is teaching me some very specific things that I have been ignoring. I’ll blog more about that later. But I have to tell you though…it’s pretty cool to come off of this break, and this weekend have Ed Young speak at Northway!
I’ll be blogging every day this week…
Jim Ether has been the Facilities Director at NorthwayChurch.tv for a little over a year now, and he does an amazing job! He has an incredible team of dedicated people, and it is an honor to serve alongside him. Check out what Jim has to say about his own heroes…
I have been thoroughly enjoying the Heroes series and am learning a lot in the process. Such amazing men and women in the Bible have been used by God in powerful ways and through their experience we learn very important lessons about how God wants to use each one of us. And these lessons are no less relevant today then they were in the times of the Old Testament!
Well, my hero has always been my dad, Robert Ether. He passed away in 2001 when I was only 34. But he taught me so much in the time that we had together. Besides the typical father/son stuff (and the occasional spanking) he taught me the importance of serving others. Dad was always quick to spot the needs of others and to respond to it. He was always offering the use of the house, dock or boat to people. (He once even told a complete stranger to come over and use the boat to go fishing!) Dad was fast to help someone along the side of the road, or with some other need. One family in the neighborhood who always seemed to struggle with one issue or another referred to him as “Mr. 911� because he was always ready to bail them out of a jam.
You see, Dad knew that at the core of our being, God created in us the need to both love and be loved. That as Christians it is imperative to demonstrate to others the love that Jesus has shown to us. That SERVING others is an incredible way to express the love of God to them through our actions. People need to feel valued and that by serving each other we express this value in a very tangible and personal way.
My dad showed me that putting others first was the right way to live. What I have discovered as I have grown closer to God is that it is the ONLY way to live. Jesus gave us so many examples of His service to others. He set the bar for us. He has shown us what he wants us to do. We ARE Jesus to others when we serve them. Everyday God gives us opportunities (Joshua??) to help someone in a way that shows them His love.
I have the PRIVILEDGE of serving God here at Northway Church. I have the HONOR of serving with some of the most selfless, committed SERVANTS of Christ that I have ever met. These are people who understand and are committed to this life changing concept of serving others. And they serve with Gladness. And they serve with Joy. And they are helping to change lives!
I could name names here. I could post mug shots. I could boast of them and embarrass them in this forum they call the Buddy Blog. But they would have nothing of it. You see, it’s not about recognition for these people. They serve to make a difference in the Kingdom of God. They serve so that others can come to Northway Church and experience the life change that they already have. So that people can walk in the doors of one of our campuses and be comfortable and receptive of the words that God has for them that day.
I am so thankful that God gives us the ability to serve Him by serving others, and when we are obedient to Him in our service, He blesses us in so many ways!
Dave Bookhout joined the NorthwayChurch.tv staff in Spring of 2005. As Production Director, he has taken Northway Media to the next level and beyond with his unique skills and passion for God. He’s the best! Let’s see what he has to say on the virtue of patience….
Patiently Posting
It seems like my whole life God’s been trying to teach me patience.
Yesterday as I was staring down a bowl of steaming hot Won-Ton soup, I was faced with a decision…to hurry up and eat or wait for it to cool.
With my stomach growling and my mouth salivating, I grabbed the spoon and hungrily attacked the first Won-Ton full-steam ahead.
My anticipated enjoyment instantly turned to scalding horror as the fiery Won-Ton slid down. Aghhhh!!!!
Q: “Can a man take fire in his being and not be burned?�
Proverbs 6:27
A: Noooooo!!!!
Countless times I have rushed through my life full-steam ahead, not waiting for God’s best but instead saying yes to the rest.
Something God has been teaching me for 21 years now is that He always has what’s best for me in mind, if I just patiently wait for it. He’s teaching me to wait for life’s Won-Tons to cool before I rush in and get burnt.
“Good things come to those who wait.”
What will you do the next time someone puts you on hold for 5 minutes, or you get stuck behind a slow driver or a long line at the store? If you get through it with a good attitude, Patience Produces Wisdom!
I’m learning that so many times we’re looking for the next thing in life to satisfy, but the things in life that truly satisfy are always from God.
“Every good gift comes from the Father above.�
- James 1:17
I’d like to introduce you to Chad Clem. Chad is the Children’s Director, Group Life Director, and Security Director at NorthwayChurch.tv. He wears a lot of hats, and he performs each role with excellence! Chad also had the opportunity to speak at Northway this past weekend as we continued with part three of our series, Heroes. Check out what Chad had to say about Joshua and his superpower of obedience.
Enjoy his thoughts on life change and community…
As I sit here and write this, I realize that I’m all alone…door closed with a phone and a MAC as my best friends for the day. Gets me thinking. I recently read an article from the Washington Post that identified, “Social Isolation� as a growing epidemic in the US. WOW! Talk about a culture shift. It’s hard to imagine Friends without “Central Perk�, Swiss Family Robinson without the tree house, or the Brady Bunch texting rather than actually sitting down for dinner. Unfortunately that’s where we’re headed and there’s a decline of authentic relationships that’s changing the fabric of our culture.
Q: What’s the deal? How do we change it?
A: Community & Care - Connection
We recently had a Celebrate Recovery Northeastern conference at our Clifton Park location. The place was buzzing! The excitement was contagious! The worship was even better! However, what stole the show was their ability to connect. They had something in common. They were living life together. It was a hotbed of relationship building…why? Life Change and Community. A person’s need for connection is so strong that we’re willing to change our life around it.
This is what one of our VIP’s had to say:
“I can’t even express the awe I feel looking back on the past 16 months. I started going to Northway Church back in March 2006, and then began Celebrate Recovery in May 2006. I went from being a Jewish atheist with a non-functional existence to a Christ follower with a new found zest for life filled with God and my amazing extended church family in Celebrate Recovery. The unconditional, non-judgmental love and support I receive every week in my small group helped to strengthen me and continues to bless me every time I go.
I was so convinced - up until 16 months ago - that I WOULD NEVER believe in God. In my head, I was the LAST PERSON that would ever be WHERE I AM TODAY!!! I see that as a testimony within itself!!! Because of this drastic change, I am filled with the Holy Spirit and want others to feel the healing that I have experienced. I am NOT saying that everyday is a walk in the park, but I find that everyday I connect with God and give up more and more control to him, my baggage gets just a little lighter.�
WOW! Life Change and Community is what it’s all about. That’s why we have Group Life here at Northway Church. From Home Teams, to Starting Point and Purpose, community is becoming a reality. The future of community is up to us…you & me. What if your world consisted of people who actually knew what was going on in your life…and cared? Brady Bunch here we come!
