Over the last several weeks we have had some great communicators at Northway Church. I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you and introduce you to these difference makers for Jesus Christ.

Brian Howe: It’s been an honor to watch Brian grow over the past 5 years into the leader he is today. Brian is our Colonie Campus Pastor and our Global Programming Director. Brian brought a fantastic message on “The Lord Is My Shepherd.”

Mark Batterson: This guy probably needs no introduction; he is as networked as they come.  But in case your living under a rock here, Mark is a Leader, Pastor, Author and Entrepreneur. I’m proud to call Mark my friend!  I am loving his book “Wild Goose Chase.”  If you haven’t picked it up, it’s a must read. I will have Mark on Cremeans Couch very soon…it promises to be very entertaining.

Chad Clem: Chad has been with me since the start of Northway Church. I would have to say Chad has grown more in the past year than any other year. Chad brought one of the most courageous messages I have ever heard on “Jehovah Rapha, God our Healer.” Chad shared how God is healing him as he and his wife await the birth of their third child. Eliana will need heart surgery as soon as she is born. Please pray with me for Eliana’s complete healing. Eliana means “God has Answered.”

John Cremeans: John is a Northway favorite, and he just so happens to be my big bro! John has taught me more about transparency in my relationship with God than any other person. One of the greatest blessings of my life is having John as my brother. I still can’t get over the fact that God chose both of us to Pastor…it’s just the best! John brought a great message on “God our Peace.”

Tim Chambers: Tim is another Northway Favorite. If it wasn’t for Tim, I wouldn’t be in ministry. In other words, there would be no Northway Church. Years ago when I was as far from God as you could be, Tim reached out and befriended me and invited me to camp. The rest is history. Today, Tim pastors Shore Fellowship in Ocean City, New Jersey. Tim’s church has recently been featured in the book, “Pop Goes the Church,” and also in Outreach Magazine for their skate park.

I packed my bags and prepared myself for camp. Camp? Yeah, sort of like camp for adults.  I found this place that instructs you in nutrition, stress, and fitness. This three prong approach was relevant to my situation, and I figured I had everything to lose and desired nothing to gain.  So, I went for it!

I got to tell you God has allowed me to accomplish a lot of difficult things in my life, but I can’t remember being this scared! Seriously. I thought the hardest thing was making the decision to go, and then talking to my family.  But to actually get on that plane was terrifying! I think the fear of failure freaked me out.  I’m so nervous if this doesn’t work…I’m toast!

Well, I kissed my bride goodbye…jumped on a plane and hours later landed. I had no clue what to expect. What would the other people be like here? Would they torture me like the Biggest Loser show? What will happen if they find out I’m a Pastor?  How can I keep that one on the down low?

Who will be my roommate?

.

Jordan Howell is a former student of mine from youth ministry years ago.  He now serves his country proudly in our armed forces over in Iraq.  He sent me this incredible email today…

First off, please let me thank you for the prayers and support your church has given me and the Soldiers of my unit. But this is not the point of writing this email.

I wanted to tell you that I found a service I really enjoy attending, and have been attending for a while. I do believe however that God kept me from finding service right off the bat for a reason.

You sent me your video series when I first got here b/c I could not find a service I enjoyed. Now that I have that, I have given the video series to the Army Chaplain who in turn is playing them to the international service which includes all the local national Iraqis that are allowed on our FOB, Turkish, Phillipino, Indian, and other nationalities that work for KBR.

Northway is (if it hasn’t been already) an international ministry; and you became that way, just by trying to help a Soldier out. Thank you again for your prayers and please keep doing what your doing for God.

Weight Issues+ Stress+ Doctors Visits+ Blood Work= High Risk

Crossroads is a great description for where I am. I feel intuitively that if I don’t beat this thing this time, I’m done. I’m not trying to be dramatic…I just know it. Besides, my options from the doc are not too bright if I don’t.

I recently heard that asking for help is a great compliment. I like the sound of that because I stink at it. Just ask my wife. It’s a pride thing. Now with the latest self-imposed equation in my life, I know I have to ask for help beyond myself. I simply don’t have the skills or history to do this on my own. One of the first things I did was pull my family together and we talked. I should say I talked. I was extremely nervous…but the talk went something like this…

Dad has a problem. My weight is out of control, and it has kicked my butt my entire adult life! I have to make some changes. I’m going to need some help outside myself.  So, instead of family vacation at the beach this year…(where I would just gain more weight), Dad is going away to get some help. Sort of like camp. Their response? My precious family just smiled at me and said, “Dad we love you, and you can do this…we know you can!” So with that humble pie eaten (I like food analogies)…

I packed my bags and prepared myself for camp.

Can I be brutally transparent for a moment? I don’t like skinny people. Let me rephrase that. I don’t like skinny people who can eat whatever they want and not gain weight. It’s just wrong! So I’m at the doctor’s office and I stepped on their scale and apparently it doesn’t work as well as mine at home. I even did the old “lean up high on my tippy toes” routine to no avail. It was humiliating and embarrassing to discover that I’m larger than I’ve ever been.

Now for all of you who never struggle with this issue…good for you…however, let me caution you not to judge me and others as I’m pretty sure you have your own issues. My weight issues started for me when I was 20 years old…just a few years ago. Do the math and basically food has kicked my butt for 23 years! It’s weird. I don’t know if anyone else does this, but I seem to recall the years by my waist size. Frankly, I don’t know of anything more discouraging or defeating for me.

It just makes me sad.

From seeing a closet full of clothes that don’t fit to avoiding people from the past who knew me when I wasn’t this heavy. To speaking in front of a couple thousand people every weekend that watch me swell up like the stay puff marshmallow man. It just stinks! I like to joke it off, but the pain is real and deep. Now I feel like I’m at the crossroads.

What shall I do? Here is my first step.

Ask for help.

This summer in our series “At The Movies,” I spoke on navigating thru the dark seasons of life. To my surprise, it has been one of the most popular and requested series to date. In fact, I started writing a book on it. More on that later…

Throughout the series, one of the things I repeatedly encouraged our church to do was to go see a doctor if you are not feeling well. It sounds simple, but it’s one of the most spiritual things we can do.

I don’t know about you, but I hate going to the doctor! Maybe it’s the whole turn your head and cough thing. At any rate, I have been to more doctors this summer than at any time in my life. I have been poked and prodded like cattle…moo. I have had more blood drawn from my body than I thought was humanly possible. I had no clue I would turn into a blood factory!

The results? Bottom line they said I’m Borderline. My Doc had a long talk with me. He said, “Buddy you are at High Risk for heart disease, a heart attack, diabetes, and more.” Well, thanks a lot for the encouragement, Doc! I’m still absorbing this high risk thing, and frankly I’m working through the ramifications if I don’t change.

Well that’s the bad news. Here is the good news…if I drastically change my lifestyle, I can get out of the high risk area. Well, I’m going for it. My plan?

I’ll share that tomorrow…

To engage or not to engage? That is the question. When is it right, and when is it wrong? There are strategic times as a leader that you must disengage. For instance, if you don’t disengage to rest and replenish yourself, your well will be dry. If your well is dry, you will have nothing to pour into any aspect of your life, whether family or work. But what about when your well is full?

If you create a leadership culture of disengagement, it will eventually engage you. All of us as leaders have people or circumstances we would like to disengage from and hope they go away. We pretend that everything is OK when deep down inside those spiritual spidey senses are going off! In part 2 of CC, Mac will share from his pain of disengagement and encourage all of us that engaging on the front end of problems is always less painful than engaging on the back end.

Who or what do you need to engage……NOW?

Cremeans Couch airs every Monday on BuddyCremeans.com.

CREMEANS COUCH; Mac Richard – Episode from Cremeans Couch on Vimeo.

Everywhere you turn today, the pressures of life seem to be increasing. Stress and anxiety are the norm, locally and globally. Rising prices, the falling dollar, an energy crisis, and emerging foreign super powers are just a few of the external pressures. Consider the internal pressures of managing relationships, marriage, parenting, or taking care of your parents. The list of pressures today can be overwhelming and endless. So how do we find a “new normal” in abnormal times? Is there a way to find peace in a pressure world?

This weekend at Northway, we will be introduced to Jehovah Shalom…God of Peace

Decisions shape our destiny. Proverbs tells us the decisions we make will have a ripple effect that surges throughout our lives and that of others. So how do you make good decisions? What about those decisions that don’t seem to have a black or white answer? I heard of 4 questions that Bill Hybels uses as a compass to make difficult decisions. Now I have used these many times intuitively but not necessarily intentionally. That simply means I may have missed one of the key questions. This is why I’m focusing on question number 3.

QUESTION #1: “What does the Bible say about this decision?” The authority of God’s word has the first say about any decision we make, big or small.

QUESTION #2: “What would smart advisers tell me about this decision?” There are people that God has intentionally put around you to help you make critical decisions. There are things they know that you do not know…rely on them!

QUESTION #3: “What have you learned from the pain of past decisions?” Leaders should be adding to their learnings year after year. Journaling is a discipline that allows you to chronicle the positive and painful decisions of the past and empowers you to repeat them or not repeat them.

QUESTION #4: “Is the Spirit of God prompting me?” Romans 8:6 says, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” When you are in step with the Spirit, it will bring life and peace.

What question is easiest for you to skip over?

Ed Young invites you to C3 On The Road! He and his amazing team will be at the Northway Church – Clifton Park Campus on Monday, October 13th. You don’t want to miss it!

Sign up today; space is limited.

[flv:http://northwaymedia.com/BlogClips/Ed%20Young%20C3%20Invite%20To%20Flash.flv 432 240]