Patrick O'Connell

Asking Questions

I met with my friend Jeremy last week to catch-up. We talked church planting and family and calling. I found myself asking him question after question about his experiences with his church plant.

After Jeremy arrived back home he emailed me and thanked me for asking him so many questions. I am not sure what benefit he received from my cross-examination.

That's the way I need to do it. I want to stay learning. I've been involved with seven church plants in the past 4.5 years and you might think I have it figured out. But I don't. 

It was great catching up with Jeremy. I hope we have the opportunity to work together again soon. And I am grateful to Jeremy for his willingness to share his expereinces with me.

Remarkable lives for Jesus

One of the questions that I've been wrestling with is this: how do I help people live REMARKABLE lives for Jesus. Taking this a step forward, I am wondering what are some of the things the church can do--that it's currently not doing--to achieve this goal?

I have more questions than answers at this point and so would appreciate your thoughts.

Grow(ing)

So I've been thinking quite a bit about spiritual growth within the context of community. Here are some things I've heard that have helped/confused this issue for me:

• The hard part of doing community is that some people aren't ready to grow with the community.
• Pain is a megaphone to change a hurt and dying world.
• We are often times put on the position of being the catalyst for people to grow and some will resist it, and ultimately refuse it.
• Community is messy and sometimes ugly.
• People who you think are the most unlikely to be willing to grow will surprise you when they say yes.

Nobody said this stuff would be easy.

Make Big Problems Smaller

Here's some good wisdom I heard this past week.

Take a big problem and break it down into little pieces.

Sounds straight-forward doesn't it. Like this is so obvious that you wondering why I am even botherning with it.

Because it's not easy. Big problems are big for a reason. Sometimes big problems can't be made smaller. The trick is to always be trying. You can't always make them smaller but you also can't afford not to try.

Questions from the Road

Yesterday, Troy and I took a ride to Des Moines, Iowa, to retrieve a trailer full of church gear for Restore Community Church. That’s a whole story unto itself because it’s a way cool thing. But this post is about questions and the church.

Troy is a gifted leader who has taken a step-forward in faith to plant Restore. He brings a great deal of experience and passion to the table and frankly I can already sense that I am going to need to notch up my game to keep up with him.

During the 3 hour drive there and the 4 hour drive back we were able to talk about a lot of things. I am not going to bore you with all of the details, but I did want to let you on to some of the things we covered because, well, because it was just so darn interesting:

·         What will the church look like (not just Restore but the North American church) in 5, 10 and 25 years.

·         What is the best way to reproduce leaders and artists?

·         What are the unchurched looking for in a church?

·         What mistakes is the church making today?

·         What kind of church planting model is going to work best at reaching the unchurched?

·         How do we honor God in all of this?

·         How do we build a church that balances the dichotomy between inviting seekers into the church while maintaining a focus on orthodox Biblical Christianity?

·         How do you maintain the uniqueness of the church from the larger culture?

·         Why do some churches simply die?

·         How do we really avoid becoming a church that merely provides religious goods and services?

As you can see, we asked more questions and came up with few answers. But what I love about all of this is that we are asking questions: I am inspired that we are not simply building another church but thinking the very nature of church.

Leaders are Servants

Someone told me this but I can't remember who...

Being a leader is about being a servant. The point is to go out and find someone to help and...help them.

Nothing remarkable. No planning or formulas necessary. Simply find someone who needs help with something and help them. Now multiply this across society. Wow, the things we could do...

Significance...

We are all seeking significance. This explains much of why the world is the way it is.

Imagine if we carried this truth around with us and really tried doing something about it. We could try and help someone attain their significance and count on the fact that others would do the same for us.

What do you think?

Commitment

John Maxwell on Commitment:

7 Enemies of Commitment

1. A Lifestyle of Giving Up
2. A Wrong Belief That Life Should be Easy
3. A Wrong Belief That Success is a Destination
4. An Attitude of Negative Thinking
5. An Acceptance of Other People's Fences
6. An Irrational Fear of Failure
7. A Lack of Vision

Now here are Ways to Develop Commitment:

1. Realize it Usually Begins With a Struggle
2. Understand That it has Nothing to Do With Talent or Ability
3. Recognize That it's Not a Matter of Conditions but of Choice
4. Start With the Little Things
5. Settle Moral Issues Before You're Confronted
6. TRUST IN GOD

Seth Godin--That Moment

Here is an example of why I read Seth Godin. His new post entitled 'That Moment' nails it. I am having one of the 'moments' Seth describes so his words were quite helpful.

Attitude is a Choice

I've been reading a book by John C. Maxwell called, The Choice Is Yours: Today's Decisions For the Rest of Your Life. (See link to the book on the right.)

Maxwell's thesis is that life is about choices. The only freedom we have is the freedom to choose.

I thought I'd pass along some of his ideas.

The first choice is ATTITUDE. Life, Maxwell asserts, is 10% how we make it and 90% how we take it. He passes along these truths:

1. No matter what, your attitude is a choice.
2. It's easier to maintain the right attitude than regain it.
3. Your attitude determines your actions.
4. The people you lead reflect the attitude you possess

He identifies what is an ATTITUDE?

It is the advance man of our true selves.

It's roots are inward but its fruit is outward.

It is our best friend or our worst enemy.

It is more honest and more consistent than our words.

It is an outward look based on past experiences.

It is a thing which draws people to us our repels them.

It is never content until it is expressed.

It is the librarian of our past;

It is the speak of our present;

It is the prophet of our future.

Attitude is a choice.