Woah...

rainy day...

today i had plans. i had plans to get alot done, which i still could. but, when i woke up and saw the rain and found myself surrounded by good friends many of my tasks got put on hold. real value comes in the relationships we have with each other.

our culture places priority on wealth and success in our tasks. but, really, at the end of the day what matters more is the impact you are leaving on the lives' of the people you bump into every day. your spouse. your kids. your family. your close friends. the people you work with. the people who scan your groceries.

so, today. on this rainy day. no matter what you have planned. no matter what tasks you need to get done. take some time out for the people in your life. the little people. the big people. the people you haven't connected with in awhile.

after all, the only thing that will last past our time here on earth is the relationships we've had with each other.

Improv Everywhere

I dig Improv Everywhere. They are creative. Witty. Funny. And, oh so random.

Check out their latest - Grocery Store Musical.

Fall in Holmes County Ohio

life is short

today i had a new, surreal experience. a student at garaway hs died in a car accident yesterday, so i went to the school today to talk and pray with students. it was really good to be there for students, hear what they were thinking, and just give a few hugs. it was good. but, it was really weird.

when a kid dies there aren't always answers.
when someone passes away everyone processes it differently.
when you lose someone close your emotions run wild.

it's good to grieve, but it feels weird when you need to get back to normal life. i encouraged the students today not to go back to normal life, but pick one thing they want to change about themselves.

what about you? in light of death and the reality of life what is something you need to change?

i never want to miss opportunities to show people how much i care about and love them. yet, the busyness of life and petty things get in the way of doing my goal. today, be intentional about showing people around you that you care.

Group Life Conference

If you serve in small group ministries here at NewPointe we want to invite you to a one-day training event on Saturday, October 24th from 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. The event will be held here at NewPointe, and will feature some of the best communicators in the country. We'll even have time to break down the material together so we can directly relate it to the area in which we are serving. More details are available at the link below.

You won't want to miss it!

Click this link to register online!

bohemian act...

started a good book this morning. you know - a book. it has crisp pages. clean white margins. it's like facebook - except with purpose. and you have to think when you read it.

a thousand miles in a million years by donald miller is on deck this morning. if you've never read him check out blue like jazz, then searching for god knows what, then catch up to his latest. this book is great so far. his honesty is refreshing and gives me an honest belly laugh - like facebook profile pictures.

it's funny to think about the way we portray ourselves in our work and every day life. so many of us try to be the upstanding leader who is unshaken. donald miller, like many of us, tried the mysterious, dark and unaffected bohemian act. or maybe we throw ourselves into work avoiding relationships - knowingly or unknowingly. i'll admit it - i've tried all of these at times.

there is something real and almost beautiful when you sit across from someone and they strip off the mask, exposing their weaknesses and insecurities. when the bohemian act is off real relationships can turn on.

maybe you are hiding. fearing that your weaknesses being exposed will make you look...well, weak. jesus blows this myth out of the water. in fact, so many things about following christ are counterintuitive. the first shall be last. love your enemies. pray for people who curse you. losing life will give life. exposing weakness makes you stronger.

put off the bohemian act and get real...

I Gotta Feelin'

read a post by Carlos Whittaker this morning called, "What The Church Can Learn From The Black Eyed Peas."

carlos says, "I believe this video annihilates the idea that people want to show up to an event (church) and stand in rows and be sung and talked to.
Safety is overrated.
People want to be a part of something big."

i totally agree.

check this out...

Campus Launch

Yesterday was a big day for NewPointe. We launched two brand new campuses on the same day! It's been exciting to see what God is doing in both Millersburg and Louisville Ohio!

Nothing but the best...

My high school career was spent between the music wing, yearbook office, and the theatre of Stow High School. The bulk of time was most definitely spent in rehearsals for plays and musicals. At this stage in my life I had natural abilities that the directors saw and used. One director pulled more out of me than I ever expected. Mr. Putka.

Mr. Putka was an extremely talented artist. He had the ability to paint three dimensional bricks or siding on a piece of plywood. He was able to make a paper mache sculpture look as though it was made out of Italian marble. His voice was roaring, but he knew how to use it to calm and soothe or fill a 600 seat auditorium.

Students at our school fought to get into Putka's plays. He did good shows, yes. But, the real win was the opportunity to work with him. My junior year I had the chance. I was cast in "Look Homeward, Angel" in a lead role. I was estatic. Being a lead role you spent more time with Putka. He gave you deeper feedback. You really had the chance to learn.

So, we started practices and I was doing great. I had most of my lines memorized. I had the blocking down. I knew my Southern accent. I had my movements and characterization perfected. Then - it happened.

One night in practice Putka drilled down on me in front of the entire cast. He picked apart my blocking. He challenged my accent. He questioned my choices of movements and characterization. I was crushed. I thought I was doing everything so well - what went wrong. As I sat there in front of the cast my chin started quivering and a few tears just rolled down my cheeks.

After practice that night Putka pulled me aside and explained our interaction. He explained how much he cared for me and how he wanted me to succeed. He unpacked the potential he saw in me as an actor and a leader. Putka said I was doing great, but he knew there was so much more in me I hadn't given. That night something changed. I grew as an actor, leader, and as a person.

As we go through life we are constantly changing and growing. If you're lucky - like me - you have people in your life who are genuinely interested in you as a person and want you to grow. It's our job to give people permission to speak into our lives and really make changes. Even when we sit there with chins quivering and tears rolling down our cheeks we can know that we're being pushed to change and grow because someone sees something in us that we haven't seen ourselves. It's painful to hear that we aren't reaching our potential or we're doing something to stunt our growth, but when that's said in love and genuine interest we can rest assured that our best is waiting on the other side of the hurt.

Putka had a saying. True then - true today...

"Nothing but the best and no regrets."

I want to live my life offering the best I know how and looking back witout regrets.