Mark Waltz | ...because People Matter

Quick Vacation Recap

  Our week in Florida was a gorgeous week ocean-side. The plan was to relax. The setting couldn't have been more conducive to relaxing. It was a great week of 80 degree weather, walks on the beach, resting in the pool and reading in the gazebo.

Some quick observations:

• Saying, "no" to email was the right thing to do.
• An after-vacation purge is in order: I consumed more fried and junk foods than anyone should consume in a week.
• Eating fresh seafood four evenings out of the week was awesome! Stuffed flounder - Yes!
• Reading Erwin McManus' new book, Wide Awake, was the perfect read for vacation.
• I love strolling the beach holding my wife's hand. We had some special moments. She's my best friend.
• Liv's laugh, pool-side dancing, and love of shell fish was a hoot. The more she grows the more fun she is!
• My in-laws are interesting. And I love them. (I'm sure they think the same of me.)
• When you go on vacation with extended family, don't extend the vacation. A week was just enough.
• It's good to be home.

 

                               

In Case You're Wondering... I Love Where GCC is Headed

If you're following Tim Stevens, my friend over at LeadingSmart.com, you know that he has been posting about some very exciting days ahead for Granger Community Church. Here are some excerpts of Tim's posts that celebrate where we're headed:

• The Reveal survey conducted at Granger in January was jarring in its' revelation of who we are as a church. It was an awakening. We learned some things that were extremely positive...and we also learned some things that were deeply concerning to us. More on that in the coming days.

  But the bottom line...we are changing. Tonight Mark Beeson announced the following...

• Our weekend services will be changing. Instead of doing five 60-minute services, we will be doing four 75-minute services. The message will not grow in length...but we will be adding artistic and participative opportunities for people to experience God. We are going further up and further in.
• All the weekend service times, length and format are changing beginning August 23rd.
• New Community will end on August 14th. This is the mid-week service we have been doing every Thursday for more than fourteen years.
• Beginning September 3rd, we will offer a once-a-month service called First Wednesday where we will experience the awe and wonder of God.
• Beginning September 10th, we will offer Journey Bible Classes for adults (three options to choose from) along with full programming for children and students. Each Wednesday (except on First Wednesday), a class will be offered in each of three categories:
  • Encounter -- Bible studies (i.e. book study on James, Ephesians or Proverbs)
  • Empower -- Spiritual disciplines (i.e. how to study the Bible, prayer, solitude)
  • Engage -- life application (i.e. marriage, parenting, finances).

There are many things that won't be changing. We will continue to reach people who are far from God. We will continue to make our weekend services work for those who don't normally go to church. We will continue to leverage the culture to reach our community.

We are not changing directions--we are changing gears.

Hear Mark Beeson introduce the vision - the gear shift - here.

I'm stoked about where we're going. It's a new chapter, same book. New gear, same direction.

God loves people right where they are... but, too much to leave them there.

Recreation & Rest

Saturday, I'll drive down to Camp Adventure with my nephew, Tyler, and Liv's friend, Tori to pick up Liv (who's been leading a group of girls all week as their counselor) and head to the airport. We'll meet Laura, her brother, Bruce, and his wife, Heather and head to Florida.

Our destination is New Smyrna Beach where we'll link up with my in-laws, Harold and Myra. Beach-side, we'll spend the next seven days riding waves (actually my in-laws probably won't), swimming, eating seafood, and relaxing.

Recreation and rest.

I'm looking forward to it for a few reasons:

• Any time with Laura and Liv is treasured time for me. My girls make me smile and laugh. I love being with them.
• Laura's family accepted me as their own nearly 27 years ago. They're really good people (and I'd say that if they never read this).
• I need the rest. Laura needs to unplug. Liv is cruising fast this summer. She needs to rest. It'll be a week-long Sabbath. Actually, in Old Testament, Jewish terms, it's more like a festival. A week-long party. And that will be good rest.
• I'm seeing opportunity to continue practicing spiritual disciplines in this week.
  • I want to intentionally celebrate God's goodness over every meal, every cresting wave, every sunset, every book, every song on my Zune. I'll practice celebration. I hope to reap a fresh growth in joy (gosh, I hope everyone cooperates with my plan).
  • There will be opportunity to practice patience. This trip won't be all about me (nuts). This will be a shared experience (most of the time). They'll want to do things differently (read "wrong") than I do them. Human stuff will happen this week. Stupid human stuff. I'll have occasion to be impatient a time or two (and so will they, I suppose). I'll practice self-control. I'll hopefully grow in patience by extending grace, not merely tolerance (remember, rest, rest).
  • The ocean, the sand, the breeze, and the sun will help me meditate (I'll sneak away now and then for some quiet, not just because I'm impatient, but because I'm an introvert). I'm looking forward to connecting with God. I want to listen - on the beach and in the middle of noisy family conversation for what he might be saying.
• The waves refresh me. I don't surf though. A body board is good enough for me. Watching Olivia beside me, laughing and screaming as the waves crash over us is a hoot. And it's rest.
• I just finished my book, Lasting Impressions. I'm going to go read someone else's book this week.
• I'll be better for the task of leading my family, leading our church, and moving forward with my team after some rest. They all need me to rest.

I don't know that I'll have or find internet access to post often or at all while I am away (New Smyrna isn't your cutting-edge, technology town; people retire there). If you see a post related to church and ministry - I cheated and put it up in advance. If you see vacation pictures, I'm online - not to read email or engage work... only to post snapshots of recreation and rest.

See you soon...

Experiencing God Beyond the Weekend

I happen to be one of the pastors at Granger Community Church, but if I weren't, it would still be my church. My spiritual transformation and experience of God is wrapped up in the community and experiences in this group of people.

Every weekend is phenomenal at Granger Community Church. Still, I didn't expect what I experienced this past weekend. 4th of July weekend. It's a celebration weekend. A time for gratitude, hope and sober reflection. I didn't realize how impactful the service was on me until the very end. Every element had been appropriate and moving for many. From Mark Beeson's setup of the service and pledge, to the gripping media, drama, song arts piece, to Stephen Mansfield's hope-filled message ... it was all good.

Then we sang a song I wasn't sure even fit in the service. But "God of this City" punctuated every moment in the service for me.

• Our one hope is the Spirit of God moving his people to live out the kingdom freely and openly, bringing the love of Jesus into a broken, hope-hungry people.
• Our area is still filled with thousands of people who don't know they matter. Their concerns at the gas pump, the housing market, the future of their kids really matter. That God wants to be Lord of their daily, coming and going live matters even more.
• We're preparing to launch our first multi-site just a few miles east of our campus this fall. We'll extend our reach into the "city".
• I'm giving my life to see people submit their one and only life to joining God's agenda to restore and re-create heaven and earth.

I experienced the nearness, the wonder, the Lordship of Jesus this weekend with the flag flying high, Martin Luther King on the big screen, and Jesus lifted up as the hope of the world.

I listened to the song, God of the City, today on my Zune - in my office, in the car... and I experienced the wonder of the weekend moment all over again. I experienced God.

It's the kind of experience many others had throughout the service. It's the kind of moment we're praying for in every weekend. We want people to connect experientially with a relevant God.

Camp 2008: Shared Lives, Changed Lives

(pictured above: Rachel, Maddie, Liv, and Peyton)

(This post was to run Monday... Typepad? Human error? Probably)

Our Liv is at middle school camp with a bunch of her friends, serving as a counselor this week. She's having the time of her life! Over a Starbucks coffee on Sunday morning before she finished packing (yeah, she's a lot like me... why finish before you have to?) she told me she was a little nervous, but very excited about the opportunity to pour into the lives of a small group of girls for six days.

While she's laying her life out to listen, pray, and speak into others' lives, a whole team of adult leaders are pouring into hers.

Here, DC Curry, our Student Ministries Director, addresses the counseling team as they prepared to head out to camp on Sunday afternoon. It was fun to join the prayer circle as DC shared his passion and eagerness for God's work in every life.

These kids are the Church. It's here. It's now. Up there. Down here.

Looking forward to the stories!

Friends, Ministry, and Life

(picture taken by Mark Beeson)

Why I Love Life and Ministry with This Team - GCC's Senior Management Team:

• When we're together, good food is usually involved (like it was this evening a week ago).
• The variety of stories about kids and all the joys, mishaps and memorable moments are downright entertaining.
• The talent and competence in this group is inspiring.
• Half the fun of hearing Mark Beeson tell a story is watching the rest of the group lean in with double-you-over laughter.
• They call out the best in me.
• There are four other marriages that inspire ours.
• Time together is celebrated. Period. Whether we're eating, praying, seeing sights, learning together - we're celebrating that we get to do so together.
• My wife is valued by Mark and Sheila Beeson and the other friends on our team.
• I'm always reminded of the value of community.
• I'm profoundly aware that we can do more together than we can apart.

I know some of my friends posted this picture days ago. You may be seeing and reading more reflections of the past 4 or 5 weeks as I emerge into the blogging sphere.

Contemplatives and Meditation

We contemplatives are an odd bunch. At least for those whose pathways are more action-oriented, we're an odd bunch. We love alone time. It seems like a normal expectation to find quiet. And when we're really focused, we like to find quiet with God. In addition to focusing the quiet on God, I'm realizing there are a couple other cautions for those of us who find meditation to be a comfortable and engaging connection with God. 

First of all, we must be careful to not continually be seeking one more experience.  One more time of feeling “spiritual”.  One more time of feeling.  We must remember that it is God we seek, not merely an emotional experience.

Secondly, we must not love the monastery so much – wherever that is for us – that we neglect experiencing relationships with those around us.  God created us for each other.  There is a sacred experience, a holy exchange between 2 or more Christ-followers who lean into each other’s lives - calling out the image of God, the formation of Christ in our lifestyle.  Relationships are an encounter with God that must not be missed – even for the contemplative seeker.

By the way here's a verse I'm committing to memory lately from The Message - Ephesians 3.20:

"God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." Ephesians 3.20

I want to create space and time for God's Spirit to work deeply and gently within me. How about you?

 

Twitter Community

I can't say I completely understand Twittering. I mocked it, refused it, and ignored it for some time. Who has time? What a waste of time!

But, I bit the bug a couple weeks ago. It hasn't changed my life yet. And I'm not holding my breath.

But... several of my office hallway conversations are interestingly more connected than they were. I'm up-to-date with my friends more than I was. And I'm realizing what an avid Sox fan Dave Ferguson is!

So, I'm hangin' around Twitterville a while longer. You can follow me here. I know - why?

Why not?

Stripped: A Personal Story

We're in week three of our midweek series, STRIPPED, where we're exploring and practicing spiritual disciplines of abstinence (watch the services here). These aren't easy topics to practice: solitude, fasting, meditation, and simplicity. They require us to unplug, create intentional space, and focus.

We have a dedicated blog for this series at NCStripped.com (also accessible through GCCwired.com). After last evening's focus on meditation, John and Peggy left this comment. It's another great story of the wonder of almighty God who still works mysteriously in our lives. Thought I'd share it here.

Just a note to tell you that June 26th was my wife's and my first mid week service at GCC. We were blown away! The teaching was incredibly relevant to our busy lives. We enjoyed the "meditation" session and worship.

That being said I need to share what happened when we left the church. As we got into our Jeep to go home our oldest daughter sent my wife a Flix Message via Verizon. It was a picture of Jesus and a text talking about how we as humans have busy lives and how ironic it was that we can sit through a 2 hour movie and yet we fall alsleep halfway through a 45 minute sermon. (Surely never at GCC though) :-)

Now this might not seem incredible to most but let me put this into perspective with the timing.

1. My wife just last week purchased a new cell after her old unit was retired. This new unit being a phone capable of Pix and Flix. She only did so at my pleading because she was comfortable with her no frills phone. It was "out of her comfort zone" to get this Pix/Flix capable unit.

2. We NEVER have ever been to a Mid week service. It was our 1st ever.

3. She was reluctanct to go to the "Cult" church in the 1st place!

4. She is finding out, after a 52 yr "religious" upbringing, what it means to have a relationship with God.

5. Our daughter is not the communicative type to send anything to us......let alone something about Jesus.

6. My wife cried tears of amazement and felt as if God spoke to her heart through the events of Thursday night.

All of these events were no accident or coincidental timings. As we sat (patiently) in line to exit the parking lot we recieved this special little message. It is God reaching out to us. We are humbled! and this we know for certain........we cried out to him and he has heard our cry! God is GOOD!!

If we'll learn to be aware - by practicing disciplines that help us experience God in private - we'll see the faithful work of God all around us, in us and through us!

Do you have a story to share about God's work in your life through the practice of spiritual disciplines? Share it in a comment on this site and/or over at NCStripped.com.

N.T. Wright on Comedy Central's Colbert

Todd Rhodes over at Monday Morning Insight just put this up.

What do you think?

Base Level Living

This past Thursday Jason Miller addressed the spiritual practice of fasting (watch the service here). I use the phrase "spiritual practice" intentionally. There are dozens of diet books and even more weight loss plans that call for fasting. Purging. And I suppose that's good. Not that I personally have much need for fasting. I really don't need weight loss.

But fasting as a spiritual practice is about doing without. Abstaining for a reason other than mere physical weight control. As Jason said this past week, it's about "starving your craving." All kinds of cravings - even for good stuff, like food, recreation, Xbox - that can be ultra-powerful in our lives. Good stuff can become bad stuff when it detracts from the passion that should be first place in our world: Jesus.

Jason was clear: when you can't say "no" to base-level desires there is a cost, a high price. There's more to life than base-level living. Those base-level desires will literally starve our soul of the abundant life Jesus promises. Somewhere and somehow we need a shift from our utter dependency on the stuff that makes us feel happy, as though our moment-to-moment happiness is our goal. Wow, do we cheapen the life God calls us to when we boil it down to a focus on "me" and "my happiness."

Richard Foster wrote, "Fasting confirms our utter dependence upon God by finding in him a source of sustenance beyond food." (The Spirit of the Disciplines)

Like I said, I don't need to lose weight. But I do need to practice fasting. From food. From Xbox. From TV. Base pleasures. I need an increased diet of the Bible, meditating on the life Source that promises abundant living. Happiness redefined.

What's your fast look like this week? Will you set aside - say "no" to - base level stuff in order to seek the presence of God and his sustaining power? Will you seek a level of fulfillment in relationship with him that surpasses mere happiness? Will you focus on God's agenda as you give up normal food, recreation, or habit for a while?

Get above the base-level. Jesus promised more.

(Read this post and others related to our current midweek series, Stripped, at Granger Community Church - here.)

Space for Solitude… and Silence

I have the capacity to fill my own silence with noise. I bring the noise.

• Sometimes I bring my Zune (that's an iPod alternative) into the silence and fill the space with music. It's good noise, but it's noise.
• On some occasions I bring my own bias to Scripture. I look up verses that I know. That say what I think I need or want to read.
• Other times I bring my list with me. My "Please God… will you please…?" list.

I'm quiet. I'm alone. I'm listening to "Christian" music. I'm reading my Bible. I'm praying.

But it's not quite silence. I fill it with my own stuff.

Without realizing it I set the agenda. I script what my interaction with God is going to look like—if it's interaction at all. Maybe all I've accomplished is being alone.

If that's all I've accomplished then I can play 9 holes of golf (nah, too much frustration), walk alone, or take a nap. I'd be alone, but it doesn't mean I've created space to connect with God. That is, to listen and hear from God.

Somewhere in this space of silence I need to shut it all off. My agenda, my list, my bias. This practice of solitude and silence involves the challenging quietness that allows a sacred emptying to occur. To so center my mind and soul on the wonder, the presence of God in such an open way that I can hear a whisper. An Isaiah kind of whisper.

This requires practice. Quiet. Space. It may help to quote a single sentence from scripture, not to extrapolate or interpret, but to center our mind on God. Verses like, "Be still and know that I am God." or "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened…" Verses that allow us to remember that we're not merely emptying our mind, allowing any thought or any presence. Rather, we are intentionally seeking Jesus Christ. We are entering silence alone to meet him. To be open to him. To listen. To "be still and know that I am God."

Stripped

Over the next four weeks we'll take a journey during our midweek New Community service at Granger Community Church, exploring spiritual practices. We'll worship through singing, studying the Scriptures, practicing quiet, and engaging the arts. These four weeks can be transformational - if we want transformation.

It will require more than participating in the services, although that experience will be God-centered. When we gather during the midweek service, we'll do so corporately - as a large gathering. But the four disciplines of abstinence we'll talk about will be best experienced personally. Alone.

Our lives are filled with noise. Some of the sound is good. Kid's laughing, music playing, chatter at a ballgame, a great movie, an office filled with conversation. Some of the noise is just noise. Clutter. We always have the radio on, the ipod in our ears, the TV on. Our schedules are full. We can't imagine squeezing anything else into our already fast-paced day. The challenge over the next month will be to strip away the noise. Create space to practice solitude, fasting, meditation, and simplicity. This quiet space allows us to connect with God, to practice the presence of Jesus.

If you're a part of GCC will you commit to the following during this journey?

• Attend all four weeks of the New Community service on Thursdays at 7 pm.
• Practice the discipline we examine. We'll look at four, one each week. For the next seven days, following each service, practice that particular discipline. It may require you to step out of your comfort zone. It may not feel natural. It may not even feel productive. It's practice. Practice generally assumes whatever we're practicing is new. We're learning. We aren't used to it. It's practice.
• Share your experiences. Find someone - ideally, someone you can meet with face to face or by phone. Touch base. This isn't a test. No grades here. But, if you'll tell the story of your experiences (highlights, blahs, questions, confusion) with someone, you'll instantly begin to overlap God's story with your story with their story. When God shows up, life change happens.
• Visit this blog site every few days. We'll post at least a couple articles a week, feeding off the previous week's message, fielding questions that may come from comments, and offering ideas for practicing the disciplines of abstinence.

The journey begins now.

Over the next four weeks we'll take a journey during our midweek New Community service at Granger Community Church, exploring spiritual practices. We'll worship through singing, studying the Scriptures, practicing quiet, and engaging the arts. These four weeks can be transformational - if we want transformation.

It will require more than participating in the services, although that experience will be God-centered. When we gather during the midweek service, we'll do so corporately - as a large gathering. But the four disciplines of abstinence we'll talk about will be best experienced personally. Alone.

Our lives are filled with noise. Some of the sound is good. Kid's laughing, music playing, chatter at a ballgame, a great movie, an office filled with conversation. Some of the noise is just noise. Clutter. We always have the radio on, the ipod in our ears, the TV on. Our schedules are full. We can't imagine squeezing anything else into our already fast-paced day. The challenge over the next month will be to strip away the noise. Create space to practice solitude, fasting, meditation, and simplicity. This quiet space allows us to connect with God, to practice the presence of Jesus.

If you're a part of GCC will you commit to the following during this journey?

• Attend all four weeks of the New Community service on Thursdays at 7 pm.
• Practice the discipline we examine. We'll look at four, one each week. For the next seven days, following each service, practice that particular discipline. It may require you to step out of your comfort zone. It may not feel natural. It may not even feel productive. It's practice. Practice generally assumes whatever we're practicing is new. We're learning. We aren't used to it. It's practice.
• Share your experiences. Find someone - ideally, someone you can meet with face to face or by phone. Touch base. This isn't a test. No grades here. But, if you'll tell the story of your experiences (highlights, blahs, questions, confusion) with someone, you'll instantly begin to overlap God's story with your story with their story. When God shows up, life change happens.
• Visit this blog site every few days. We'll post at least a couple articles a week, feeding off the previous week's message, fielding questions that may come from comments, and offering ideas for practicing the disciplines of abstinence.

The journey begins now.

Wall Street Journal: Granger Community Church and Personal Finances

The Wall Street Journal took a recent look at credit card debt in the current economic down-shift and discovered Granger Community Church. Seems a simple Google search led journalist, Jennifer Levitz, to check out the steps hundreds of GCCers took in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University sessions this spring.

The article isn't about GCCers alone, but about people across the country who are taking debt seriously. In the article Jennifer quotes GCC attendee, Richard Rice:

"Back in January, one day, I had $30 to my name," he said. But now Mr. Rice said he has knocked $2,000 off his card debt and put aside $1,000 in an emergency fund. "I finally made a decision I wasn't going to live like this anymore," he proclaimed, drawing applause and a few raised fists from the crowd.

"I'm proud of you, dude," said Dave Dewey, a church volunteer who led the meeting. "A thousand may not be much, but it's $970 more than you had before."

Many thanks to Kathy Guy, Susan Frucci, and the rest of the phenomenal team who continue to lead this great offering for our people at Granger!

Check out the full article here.

I Think He Thinks I Flipped the Bird

Just a few minutes ago, I was cruising down Main Street, anxious to get around a slower moving vehicle to my destination. A driver beside me seemed to read my need and backed down his speed, allowing me to move in front of him to pass the slow poke.

I was grateful. Actually, I was amazed and grateful! So, I lifted my right hand to wave "thank you", but I'm not sure I communicated my intent. You see, I was holding my money clip in my hand, so in an effort to not drop it as I waved, I maintained a firm grip. Then, in a split second I realized that every finger stayed on my clip - except my middle finger. "No! That's not what I meant! I'm not flipping you off!" I thought. I scrambled to get another digit in the air and realized I had gestured the "peace" sign. Again, not exactly what I intended, but better.

Communication is challenging. It requires focus. Intentionality.

And like it or not, much of our conversation is on the fly. It's in the hallway. It's in a quick email. It's an off-the-cuff response.

Focus. Think about what you want the person to hear. Think about whether you're building up or tearing down. And empty your hands if you're gesturing endearing, grateful signals. It'll help.