10 Happy Memories From 2013

God did some amazing things in our church in 2013. Tomorrow closes out this year, so I want to pause for a moment to reflect on ten happy memories that I will cherish.

1. My wonderful wife who continues to shine for Jesus and pray down the kingdom of God and love people to within an inch of their lives.  Robin brings me great joy even as she battled the consequences of being rear ended in a traffic accident four years ago that continues to be her thorn in the flesh.

2. My 84 year old father is able to communicate clearly, read a 700 page novel in a week and live independently.  Three years ago he could not have done any of these. So grateful to have my father back and to see how God used my siblings to help my father escape from a dark and scary place, headed in a bad direction.

3. My prodigal son, Nathan, rededicated his life to Christ and was baptized on November 24th.

4. My son Josh didn't die. He fell off a roof and broke his foot terribly, which led to surgery, which led to blood clots that lodged in his lungs and almost killed him. Fortunately, Robin felt the urge to be with Josh after his surgery and was with him in the middle of the night when the life threatening clot lodged itself. Robin made Josh go in to the ER... thank you Lord for forceful mothers.

5. Heather is attending William Jessup University and excelling.  Thank You Lord!

6. My oldest brother and I reconnected on a four day backpack trip. His fourteen year old son Daniel, my daughter Heather and her friend Mary joined me as we hiked the adventurous Rae Lakes Loop trail in the high sierras, summiting at Glenn's Pass. The views were breathtaking, but the best part was the joy I had in walking and talking with my brother to hear his heart and story of what God has been doing in his life.  Many answers to prayer!  Confronting a bear who wasn't about to back off the trail and a big honkin' rattlesnake were entertaining and scary, but no where near as exciting as hanging with my brother while talking on the trail. That's my favorite aspect of backpacking.

7. Pastoral Staff:
James Berteig discovered that he has lupus and his wife Amanda discovered she had a tumor that ended up being benign. These two are a gift from the Lord and I'm so grateful that the Lord has given them health to serve wholeheartedly. They are over-comers who continue to give and serve even when they are limping along. What an inspiration to me!
Matthew & Christine Griggs move from Oregon to join our church staff, overseeing our Family Life ministry to young families. They are a gift from the Lord. Where do you find such a quality Children's Ministry Director who can also connect with families?  I cannot wait to see what takes place in our Children's Ministry. Matt is a keeper!

8. Young men to train in ministry:  Joe Yarbrough moved up from Murrieta to join our staff as our High School Ministry Directory. Joe is incredibly gifted as a young man and has a bright future of ministry in front of him.  What a kick to invest in this young man.  Jesse Wallace, also from Murrieta moved up here and is an Intern working with Jr. High students. Jesse is a jewell!

9. Mel Douglas - the chairman of our Elder Board. Mel has been an incredible source of encouragement and a valued team member for counsel and wisdom in leading our church. Where would I be without Mel's steady hand and wise perspective on ministry.

10. My health - I'm so grateful that I can ride my road bike up to the park at the top of Park here in Rocklin. That 14% grade is a bear.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger? We'll see.  Thanks to Don Blodger for helping me find a steal on a road bike. Now I have no excuses.

There's the list that comes to mind, but I could go on an on.
What's on your list?

Leading From the Sandbox - TJ Addington: The gift of failure and pain

Love this blog from TJ Addington... a must read.

Leading From the Sandbox - TJ Addington: The gift of failure and pain

Vibrant Christian Leaders

A vibrant Christian is a powerful tool that God uses to transform lives in building the church.  How can we prevent leaders from becoming empty from pouring themselves into the lives of the people in their ministries?

Huddles do not grow by adding new members; Huddles grow when members of your Huddle start their own. Why do it this way? Because we take seriously the principle that Jesus established: Every disciple disciples. You can’t be a disciple if you aren’t willing to invest in and disciple others. That’s simply the call of the Great Commission. Cockram, Steve; Breen, Mike (2011-08-16). Building a Discipling Culture (Kindle Locations 551-553). 3DM. Kindle Edition.

Jesus' Call to Discipleship

Jesus called us to count the cost and become disciples of his. While salvation happens at the instant we place our faith in Christ, discipleship is a lifelong pursuit of becoming more like Jesus.

Disciplemaking Culture

Huddles do not grow by adding new members; Huddles grow when members of your Huddle start their own. Why do it this way? Because we take seriously the principle that Jesus established: Every disciple disciples. You can’t be a disciple if you aren’t willing to invest in and disciple others. That’s simply the call of the Great Commission. Practically, we’ve seen it play out in what we call the 8:6:4 Principle. In this picture, the senior leader gathers eight leaders, and eventually those eight leaders Huddle six people each after an agreed period of time.

Cockram, Steve; Breen, Mike (2011-08-16). Building a Discipling Culture (Kindle Locations 551-556). 3DM. Kindle Edition.


So how can we challenge people to obey Jesus' command to make disciples, when they have somehow concluded that it is ok to ignore Matthew 28:18-20?

African Renewal Christian College, Uganda

In July, five of us from The LIFEhouse travelled to Uganda for an amazing two week mission experience. I was invited to speak for several days at the Alumni Conference for the African Renewal Christian College in Kampala, Uganda. As we flew across the Atlantic, I was reading about the East African Revival in a book called, "God Sized Vision." I was fascinated to read about how God used Simeon Nsibambi and an Anglican Missionary by the name of Joe Church, to bring about the largest recorded revival in the history of Africa. These two met in 1922 and were committed to pursing the holiness of God and the victorious Christian life.

When I arrived at the African Renewal Christian College, I was fascinated to see that Apollo Nsibambi, Simeon's son, the Prime Minister of Africa, dedicated the school at the grand opening in March, 2011. The following video tells the story of how God coordinated the details so that this amazing Bible institute would be located on the family land of Simeon Nsibambi, whom God used incredibly to bring revival to Africa. Check out the rest of the amazing details in the following video that we put together!

African Renewal Christian College from Stan Lubeck on Vimeo.

Ministering in Uganda

I'm sitting at a desk in the administrative offices of Gaba Bible Institute. This campus is an example of the power of networking and functioning as a team. So much more can be accomplished when we work together as a team, than when we isolate ourselves and think we can do it ourselves. Gaba Bible Institute, under the umbrella of African Renewal Ministry is benefiting from many partners who have been bringing resources and manpower to bring this former boarding school back up to speed to be used to equip Christian leaders to impact the nation for Christ.
This morning I met Samuel, the "Community coordinator," for GBI. He oversees the intern ministry where they go out into the community to identify the needs, then prepare students to be equipped to meed the needs of the community. As the needs are identified, the school then researches the best resources for meeting those needs, with an eye for equipping students to meet those needs.

Just a Thot

This short video describes the challenge we face in helping people stay in the world, so they can reach their friends for Christ, while not being "of" the world.

The natural gravitational pull is always inward, so that all of our friends are Christ followers. It is the most comfortable to hang out with believers, but if we are to carry out the Great Commission, we must have loving relationships with those who do not know Christ. Enjoy the video... and let me know what you think.

Freddie Milligan Testimony

Who would have known, when I first met and invited Freddy Milligan to church, that God would do such a fantastic work...

Freddie Milligan from Stan Lubeck on Vimeo.