Walking through the Aurora Theater Weekend
Where the Aurora Theater shootings occured
As this last weekend has been a blur of action and emotion for the city of Aurora. I am taking the next couple of days to get my thoughts together. It is my hope for the next couple of weeks to share what I have experienced and seen. It is an opportunity to share from the perspective of a father, community member, and as a pastor. I pray that over the next couple of weeks we will walk together and experience this tragedy in a way that helps us learn in many different ways. Keep praying for the community and the families that have been hit so hard through loss and injury.
What were you doing when you heard about the Aurora Theater shootings?
UFC Fighting and Man
Here is a unique video where Pastor Mark Driscoll talks about MMA and how it equates to the everyday man. If you know me at all then you know exactly what I think about what Pastor Mark says. But I am curious to what some of you think. Share your thoughts and comments below.
Mark Batterson “Primal” Blog Tour
Over the past couple of years I have had the pleasure of reading the books that Mark Batterson has written. It was also my pleasure to be able to listen to him share about the amazing things that God has been doing in the church that he pastors in Washington D.C. at a seminar for church starting at “Exponential”. Each time I have cracked the pages of one of his books I have be fortunate to learn something new about God, have a great time doing it, and been challenged to step out on faith. It was through reading the book “Wild Goose Chase” that God spoke to my wife about starting a church. It was through the reading the book “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy day” that we as a family felt the spirit speaking to us as a family to set life goals and take the fight to this life that God has given us. In his newest book “Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity” I have been impacted beyond my anticipation. In this book there is a great gathering of the historical, the biblical, the analytical, and the creative.
“Have you ever noticed how many times Psalms tells us to sing a new song? That creative command is repeated no fewer than half a dozen times. Evidently God gets tired of old songs. He doesn’t just want you to worship Him with your memory; He doesn’t just want you to worship Him with your memory; He wants you to worship Him with your imagination. Love isn’t repetitive, Love is creative. As love grows you need new lyrics and new melodies. You need a new song to express new dimensions of love. If you tell your wife that you love her the same way over and over again, she may stop believing you at some point. Why? Because your words are an expression of memory instead of an expression of imagination. It’s half-hearted because it is half minded” Mark Batterson “Ritual” pgs 110 – 111
I think that this is a book for everyone that calls themselves a follower of Jesus should read. It pushes and prods in ways that enables you to really grasp some old areas of faith in new ways. This will be a book that I read as well as my whole family, this is a book that I am excited to say has as much of my ink in it from marks and high lights as what the book originally came with when it was printed. Take the time this Christmas season to share with those around you a great expression of what it means to follow Jesus in some new ways. LET’S GO PRIMAL!
Reflections on Sunday
Yesterday was the last Sunday that we as the Bloyer family would be serving at Northgate Christian Fellowship. It was very bittersweet. We have been so blessed to have been a part of this church for the last two and a half years both as a staff member and as a church member. Through all this time we have been able to see God do amazing things. Students not just attending at a church but leading and serving in the church. Students that have taken steps of faith with Jesus with over thirty of them getting baptized. Parents recognizing the need to be the spiritual leaders in the lives of their kids. Fathers dedicating to restore the relationships that have with their kids and their wives.
It is amazing to me that I am amazed at what God does. But this is what God does the amazing! So I thank God and the people of Northgate for allowing us to be a part of something amazing. I know that even now God is preparing the church and it’s people to do something even more amazing then we have been a part of in the last two years. It has been my pleasure to serve with the staff of Northgate and watch their blood sweat and tears when it comes to not just talking about church but being the church.
I personally want to thank Pastor Ken Jensen for his support and leadership as we have walked through the last two years. I also have been blessed with his encouragement as we embark on this journey into starting a church. Much like he did nineteen years ago in his living room. I have appreciated his care and concern for our family and the church that God is bringing together in Colorado.
As we leave to start a new journey in Colorado we take with us the friends and family that God has placed in our hearts and lives from Northgate. Thank you Northgate we love you.
Building the Lead Team
“The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven.” by Knute Rockne
This is a quote that I have had on my desk top for the last couple of weeks. I believe that this is a quote that I think that many church leaders really need to chew on for awhile. Unfortunately I believe that many people see the pastor of the church as the paid player in the game and that he is the one to get everything done. This is why I believe that so many churches are struggling to reach the people that are already attending their churches. So I think that we need to get back to some basics, we need to work together as a team we need to delegate off to capable leaders to work together so that people would be able to feel loved and cared for in the body of Christ, the church. We need to play the best players that God has provided to us as the church team.
Why do I say this? I say this because Moses experienced the same thing and was given some amazing advice from his father in-law.
The question that I have for you as a leader is: “What are you doing to prepare the men around you to shoulder the load for taking care of Gods people?” We need to be able to identify the leaders that we have and get them into the game to get them into the place where they can lead more people in a growing relationship with Jesus. How are you building the team?
Church Growth Strategy #3492
Pastor Steven Furtick recently blogged about church growth. I have to say that I have really enjoyed getting to know Steven and watching how God is doing amazing things through him and the church that he pastors. So I want you to check out what he has to say about church growth.
Just click on the link below and check out what he says.
Starting today!
This is where it started!
Today I am going to start taking the time to share some of the areas of a life that is seeking to be psycho for Jesus. When I was 18 years old I received a tattoo on my right arm that said “Psycho” it was a nickname that I was given by my teammates while playing college football at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska. (Explanation can be given on a need to know basis) It wasn’t until I had given my life to Christ to use as a pastor to students that a friend and pastor Rick Richardson that I was working with challenged me to change the tattoo. But what do you do when you just have the word “Psycho” on your arm? That was when someone said “Why not let it tell others about who you are.” So that is where the “for Christ” came from. It was a way to share with people around me as long as this body is alive on this earth that I am crazy about the son of God who came down from the ultimate place in heaven to die on the cross for me. It was basically saying this is who I am now and this is who I will always be. So starting today I am going to share with you about the crazy life that I have in Christ and the crazy way that He is constantly opening my eyes, heart, and mind to how much He loves me and is alive around me in this world.
