I've heard it said many times that organizational culture always trumps organizational vision (culture > vision). Although vision is a picture of the preferred future, culture is the way you actually do things. It is the language, values, and behaviors of your church. You may have an incredible vision (and vision is important) but the culture of your church is the reality.

Although we have tried to mobilize our church to "go" from day 1, I quickly realized it's easier to develop a catchy mission statement and preach about "going" than it is to develop it as the culture of your church. Over the last 3-4 years I believe we've made some significant steps towards making it our culture, not just our vision.

5 WAYS WE DEVELOPED A "GO" CULTURE:

1. Everything we do is an opportunity to disciple someone.

• The small things matter. Even now we are preparing to send our youth to a 4-day retreat/conference this summer. We are currently working with DHS and the children's shelter in Tulsa county to take 5 teenagers in the foster care system with us. Why? Because this could be a life-changing experience for one of these teenagers in the foster care system and our own youth need the opportunity to invest and disciple someone else. Don't just create events/opportunities for your church but see everything as an opportunity to reach or disciple someone else.  

2. Sunday is a time to be encouraged, equipped, and sent.

• Sundays are a time to worship, grow, connect, be encouraged, and ultimately be sent to live out the gospel and make disciples. Over 75% of our church serves in some capacity. We tell our people constantly "Sunday is not the time to sit back and observe but to help create an environment each week where those who are far from God can find Jesus." The result is a missional and serving culture where people understand, "It's not about me."  

3. We constantly and continually celebrate the "go" and the "send."

• I've always heard it said, "Your people will value what you celebrate." If we were going to be a church living on mission we would need to constantly celebrate the "go." Now, we constantly share stories of people living out God's mission for their lives and how they are engaging the people around them. When someone discovers God's unique mission for their life and begins to live it out we REALLY celebrate - even if it means they leave our church to go and pursue that call. For us, the SEND is the biggest WIN.

4. We changed up our systems and structures to fit the missional culture we were trying to create.

• Until just recently we had Community Groups that were meeting all over the city to grow together and to participate in various outreaches together. There's nothing wrong with that system but it fell short of the missional living we wanted to create, so we changed it. Now we have CityGroups scattered throughout the city who gather together to grow, build community, disciple new believers, and live on mission together. Groups spends time each week talking, praying and asking the Holy Spirit where they are feeling called "to go and make disciples." Groups are now moving into specific communities, adopting areas of the city, partnering with various organizations, mentoring kids in local schools, etc. - all around the focus of going and making disciples of others.

5. We developed a training and equipping class for missional living.

• Each spring and fall we offer an 8-week missional training class called CityLife. We want each and every person in our church to go through this discovery process. It allows each person to look at their story, discover how God has wired them, develop a plan for growth, and begin moving towards God's unique mission for their life. It has become a leadership and development factory for us where we launch people into mission and ministry.

I'm not saying you need to do any or all of these things. They're just ideas that may be helpful. More than anything, I hope you move beyond just a vision for "mission" and "going" and make it the culture of your church. In all honesty, It isn't too difficult to come up with a compelling vision. I've learned, however, a missional culture takes a great deal of hard work, sacrifice, and commitment.

About one year into planting CityChurch, I realized if I was going to take this church to the next level my leadership would need to expand rapidly. I began to meet, talk with, and study high-level leaders.

What made them a high-level leader? What set them apart? What were the rhythms of their life? What were they doing differently?

There was one word that seemed to be a common theme in each of these high-level leaders: INTENTIONAL.  "Intentional people are disciplined people who end up somewhere on purpose."

Characteristics of High-Level, Intentional Leaders:

• They set very specific goals: short-term, long-term, family, leadership

• They establish real deadlines and accountability with their goals

• They protect their schedules: time for family, vision, learning, brainstorming, free time

• They make growing/learning/mentoring relationships a priority

• They eat, sleep, and breathe the vision & mission of their organization

• They learn the art of delegating & empowering other leaders

Yesterday we celebrated our 3rd birthday at CityChurch. We are both humbled and excited to see what God has done in just 3 years. Check out out this recap video of 2012.

1. I never created space for those "special" moments in life

• Special moments with my wife, family, kids, loved ones, close friends. Those moments don't just happen; they are created and planned.

2. I wasted way too much time

• I never had time for all the stuff I needed/wanted to do. How much could you accomplish if you cut just half the time you watch TV, use your phone, browse on facebook, etc?

3. I feared failure more than wasted life  

• You can either sit on the sideline and watch or you can get in the game, occasionally take a shot on the chin, and learn how to grow from it.

4. I never created deep friendships/community  

• I had a lot of "friends", I attended a church somewhat regularly, I was even friendly most the time but I never cultivated real, genuine depth with any of my friendships.

5. I never went for those 1 or 2 things I'm really passionate about

• I always planned on it. The season of life, finances, job situation, and circumstances were just never perfect.

6. I settled for mediocrity over time

• I stopped thinking that "greatness" in my walk with Christ, marriage, family, job was possible.

7. I was never "that person" to someone

• I was never "that person" - that bus driver, teacher, neighbor, friend who showed me what a real relationship with Jesus looked like.

WHAT WOULD YOU ADD TO YOUR LIST?

If you've been in the church very long you know it can be really easy to just go through the motions. It's easy to fake it. You know the format, you've heard the sermons, YOU CAN DO CHURCH!

In Luke 7 we get a picture of a woman the text describes as having lived a "sinful life." This woman boldly walks into the house of Simon, a religious leader, and right into the middle of a dinner party - COMPLETELY UNINVITED! In the next few verses we get one of the most amazing pictures of extravagant love as the woman weeps at the feet of Jesus, washes off his feet with her hair, and then pours expensive perfume over his feet. It was bold. It was absurd. It was extravagant.

I BELIEVE THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE SITTING IN CHURCHES EVERY WEEK WHO HAVE NEVER HAD A REVELATION OF GOD'S GRACE & LOVE.

They know the stories, they know the scriptures, they truly love Jesus - but they're just going through the motions. They would NEVER consider walking uninvited into a room full of religious men and do what she did that day. The woman in Luke 7 had received a revelation of God's grace and love and it changed everything. She didn't care what other people thought, she didn't care she was breaking every social and religious convention - she had experienced unconditional LOVE for the first time.

When you live the Christian life without a revelation of God's grace & love…

• You wonder why other people do what they do.
• You will feel a sense of entitlement instead of gratitude.
• You are quick to see the sin in others but fail to see your own.
• You easily get burned out, bitter, and cynical.
• You learn to go through the motions - YOU FAKE IT!

However, when you truly get a revelation of God's grace & love for you IT CHANGES EVERYTHING:

• You will be quick to forgive.
  • You realize that you deserved death but God let you off the hook - free of charge. Makes it easier to forgive others.

• You will be compelled to love, serve, and share Christ.
  • Instead of being motivated by guilt or duty, you are motivated by a passionate pursuit of God.

• You will weep over your sin in repentance.
  • A revelation of God's grace leads us to holiness, righteousness, and purity - not a flippancy toward sin.

• You will boldly and extravagantly pursue Jesus.
  • The kind of extravagant love that doesn't care what people think - it's focused on one thing.

• You will worship differently.
  • It's no longer just a song or just words or a program - it's the event that changed you forever

WILL YOU BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF? DO YOU NEED TO RECEIVE A REVELATION OF GOD'S GRACE & LOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME OR MAYBE EXPERIENCE IT AGAIN? IT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

I encourage you to create some space in your life and simply ask God to give you that revelation!

Watch the message "Extravagant Love" for more on this topic

CityChurch,

WE HAVE A LOT TO CELEBRATE! I wanted to take a minute and give you a quick recap of what's been happening at CityChurch this fall…

• On Wednesday, September 12th we launched an all new CityYouth! Since then, this group is now meeting every Wednesday night, we have an incredible CityYouth leadership team in place, they're having a lot of fun, and most importantly we're connecting teenagers to Christ!

• On Sunday, September 23rd we officially launched TWO SERVICES at CityChurch. As a result of a lot of hard work and so many sacrifices by our volunteers it was a huge success. Before our launch we were averaging around 200 people each week at CityChurch. Since our two service launch we have averaged around 300 people - that's almost 100 new people connecting to Christ and the local church - YES!

• On Sunday, October 7th we celebrated Love Tulsa Sunday by being the church, not just going to church. We had 200 people all over the city serving at nine different projects. That evening we concluded with a huge party downtown where we served dinner, prayed for, and blessed over 300 homeless people in our city. Thanks for living out the gospel! The results of Love Tulsa Sunday are immeasurable.

• Sunday, October 14th was Community Group Connect Sunday where Jason Fitch, our new Community Groups Director, gave people the opportunity to get connected to a life-giving Community Group. We launched several new groups and saw many people take the next step in their walk with Christ.

• This past week our first every missions team went to Honduras! We have partnered with Mission of Mercy and a local church in Choluteca, Honduras to reach that entire city for Jesus Christ. While we were there, we conducted children's ministry, a women's ministry event, leadership training for pastors/leaders, sports camps, and began laying the foundation for a long-term relationship with the local church in that community. You will hear more this Sunday!

• I SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST! Over the past 2 months we have seen many, many people come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. That's what it is all about! That's why we exist!

Although we have so much to celebrate, I believe the best is yet to come. Thank you for your prayers, your partnership, your commitment, and your sacrifice. It's an honor and a privilege to be a part of something that God is using to change lives forever!

Please don't miss the next two Sundays and our new series, A Church on a Mission, as we refocus around being the church God intended for us to be - a church sent to reach people with the gospel!

Pastor Matt

This past Sunday we debuted our new mission video at CityChurch! Our heart and passion is to see people forever changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. We also believe that God transforms us in order to be sent - to take the gospel to our homes, businesses, schools, neighborhoods, etc. If you want to know what CityChurch is all about, this video describes it!

Time to Celebrate...

Last Sunday at CityChurch we launched two services & it was a huge success. We saw several people make commitments to follow Jesus and we had one of our biggest attendance Sundays ever (300 people). I want to say a HUGE thanks to everyone who partnered with us to pray, serve, and invite. We've now opened up a lot of new space on Sunday morning to fill with people who need to hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. Let's continue to take the gospel to our city!

What's God's will for my life? What if I make the wrong decision? Which path should I take?

For most of my life I just somehow assumed that there was always a clear right path and a clear wrong path in regards to God's will. One path would lead to utter blessing and the other to utter failure. I would hear people talk about "The One," that single person out there somewhere that I was supposed to marry. What if I never meet "The One"? What if I marry someone who isn't "The One"? Is God's blessing only on that "One" or are there several "Ones"? You get the picture.

I think I've spent more of my life terrified that I was going to somehow get it wrong than I did truly trusting in God and taking comfort that he was in control.

I want to make it clear that there is a clear path on issues of sin or on issues of obedience/disobedience. I'm talking about the neutral issues like, "Should I move to Dallas to take this new job or should I stay where I'm at?"

There are some important factors that have always helped lead me into an understanding of God's will. Some of these include God's word, godly counsel from trusted advisers, specific circumstances, an inward peace, or a vision, dream, or specific word from God. All these are great guides given to us by the Holy Spirit at times - but that's not what this blog post is about.

This is about truly understanding the nature and character of the God we serve. God is not up there looking down on you waiting to see whether you go right or left. You see, we crave the clarity, we want to know, we want certainty - God desires our heart, the trust, the complete surrender to His ways.

Can I encourage you with this? I think the actual decision of whether or not you go right or left at the fork in the road is secondary. What is primary is that your heart is fully surrender to Him. Your motives are truly to honor God and trust him fully with your decisions. I don't believe that God desires that we walk around in fear that we will miss something big, but he desires that we stick close to Him, we keep our hearts fully committed to Him, and we stay fully surrendered to Him.

I don't know about you, but I find it reassuring to know my primary responsibility is to stay close to Him - not to figure it all out.

(We'll be discussing the topic "God's will for my life" during week 2 of our new sermon series at CityChurch, Plan B).

I've always admitted that I struggle with an ADD prayer life. Lately, it's just seemed to be worse than ever.

Once a month I take one day out of my schedule to gather together with 6 pastor friends to talk about life, personal growth, challenges, etc. It's always a day that I look forward to.

I couldn't help but notice last Thursday sitting around a table with these pastors that every one of us had our phones laid out on the table and every few seconds you would feel the entire table vibrate when someone received a text message, phone call, or email. When we would take a 5-10 minute break immediately everyone would immediately check their voice messages, emails, reply to texts, or update social media.

Later on in the day our conversation came around to "margin" in our life and how we create space in our lives for God to move. Almost everyone at the table reiterated how being "connected" through a cell phone can become such a roadblock to spiritual growth, prayer, and solitude. There's like a gravitational pull to make sure we don't miss something. Maybe it's just that we've created horrible habits or maybe we just lack the discipline to limit it's use in our life. Whatever the case, I'm willing to admit it's a problem for me.

Here's a few things I'm trying to implement to help me combat this issue in my life:

• I don't check email in the morning before my time with God. If I start mentally "working" I have a hard time turning it off.

• There are certain times in the day - focus times, lunch times, evenings with my family, etc. where I am completely disconnected. That means my phone is off or not even in my reach.

• I limit the amount of time I view Facebook or twitter. It can be easy to get into an unhealthy habit of checking your social media every time you have a break or free moment. I rarely ever check Facebook during the day and I limit twitter to 1-2 times during a workday.

• When I'm around other people I've tried not even have my phone out so I can give them 100% of my attention and not feel the tendency to check email, text messages, etc. It's actually kinda nice - give it a try.

I think we've got to be willing to admit that it's negatively affecting our relationship with God and our relationship with others and we take control back in our lives.

Sara's Story from Trinity Grace Church on Vimeo.

Every great story begins with one simple act of obedience!

I think many times when we view stories like this one we automatically think to ourselves, "I could never do that." What's really important, however, is not necessarily that we do what Sara did in the video but that we're willing to respond to that tug inside of us - that pull that we should be doing something about ___________.

You might think to yourself, "I can't quit my job" or "I don't have that kind of time." What you don't realize is that Sara didn't wake up one day, quit her job and begin taking care of all the kids in her neighborhood. What Sara did was open her door to one child who needed dinner that night? 

Don't ever forget that God always calls us across the street, across the cubicle, or across the hallway before he calls us across the world!