I heard Tony Dungy at Catalyst as well. He had one quote that just stuck with me:

“Sometimes you get so busy building something

that you forget what or why you are building. “

I am not a huge Rob Bell fan. However, I heard him speak at Catalyst 09 recently.  What he said challenged me greatly in the area of my family. Here are two questions he posed and one statement:

1.    Does your wife get the best you have or does she get the scraps left over?

2.    What day of the week do you not answer or send emails and what day of the week can no one talk to you because you turned your phone off?

3.    (Statement) What Jesus wants to do is set us free to enjoy him and not worry about the “best church list,” the accolades, prestige, or power we arrogantly desire.”

The context of this talk was directed to leaders – mostly church leaders – who are driven by numbers. He boldly confronted this fearful plight by urging us to leave a mark with our families and churches without the pursuit of ungodly definitions of success.

I love listening to Andy Stanley. He has learned the art of communication brilliantly. He is the pastor of Northpoint in Atlanta, GA. I love the one-liners he has  (he calls them the BIG IDEA or TAKE AWAY) when he speaks.  He has helped me when I speak to make sure people have something they can walk away with, chew on, and apply. He spoke at a conference I recently attended and here are my “take aways.”

1.    “Every leader leaves a mark – what kind of mark will you leave?”

2.    “At the end of your life/leadership will you be able to say God used me in a significant way?”

3. “God is not asking, “How am I going to be apart of your story” BUT “HOW ARE YOU GOING TO BE APART OF MY STORY?”

4.    Joshua – A leader UNDER authority not IN authority.

5.    “God takes full responsibility for the life wholly devoted to Him..”

6.    “Whose mark is it for?”

7.    “Who am I for?”

8.    “Living to make your mark is TOO SMALL to give your life to.”

Check out this video providing a recap of the first year of The Creek. The video says it all. I am a blessed man with a great family and team. I love you guys.

I have written in the past about preaching my own stuff. I have a team I often consult for illustrations, and another pastor and I get together to create a sermon calendar. However, I have a conviction to start with the text. I am puzzled and conflicted by pastors who preach 5 chapters from this book or 4 chapters from this book. I love listening to Andy Stanley, Mark Discoll, and Matt Chandler. They have blessed my life and I have learned a lot from the. I have quoted them and adapted an illustration from them, but never preached their messages.

We, at The Creek, have been through Nehemiah, Philippians, Ephesians, and  John to name a few.  It has been hard and sometimes tough, but so rewarding. I encourage you, pastors – preach your stuff. Don’t take the shortcut. Learn from others, read and listen to them, but allow the Holy Spirit of God to “bake” something in you for your people – not to “warm” something up from someone else.

I am on Twitter. I am trying my best to keep up. Follow me @mricethecreek. This is new for me and the process has been slow.

This is a great quote from John Piper in “The Supremacy of God in Preaching.”

“”God is the goal of preaching, God is the ground of preaching, and all the means in between are given by the Spirit of God. “

In my house interruptions are often.  Clear, concise, adult conversation only happens after 8:30 pm. Interruptions can be good and some can be bad. I remember a conversation I had with my wife about 15 years ago. I had just finished preaching at my grandmother’s church. Since 87 of the 100 who attend are related to me, they had a good old -fashioned covered dish lunch after the sermon.

My wife turned to me as we were in line – and spotting my cousin from a distance – “Oh, I didn’t know Erin was pregnant.” I mumbled to myself not knowing the information either. A short time later, I found myself walking up to my cousin and greeting her with a hearty, “Congratulations! I did not know you were pregnant!”

She responded, “I’m NOT. I’m just fat.”

A while later I noticed Dana talking to her. I did not want her to make the same mistake I made so I ran over in typical Rice dramatic form, interrupted their conversation, took Dana over to the side to tell her about the truth of the “pregnancy.” Dana responded, “Oh, I meant to say she looked pregnant, not that she was pregnant.”

Sometimes in life you get interrupted. Some interruptions are good and some are bad. God is in control and sometimes He gets our attention by interrupting our “plan” to reveal to us His plan. I want to encourage you to take some time to think about the interruptions in your life – it may be a way God is using to get your attention and redirect your path back to Him.

I love to hear Matt Chandler preach. He is the pastor of The Village Church in Texas. He preached a message in Luke on authority. He said there are three reasons why people do not obey God:

1.    The answer: God wants me to be happy.

2.    The answer: Grace is redefined. “I will do what I want to do and God will just have to deal with it.” (sex outside of marriage; live together; etc.)

3.    The answer: Bargain. God says go left and you say no, but I will go right harder faster and stronger than ever. Maybe you will read your bible more, witness more but you will not go where God said go. Instead, you will add something to your life to make you feel better.

He said a lot of people who give these excuses see themselves as victims in Gods plan. Chandler says, “No, you are not a victim, but a sinner and you need to repent.”

Play games with your kids, not with God. Don’t redefine what He has perfectly defined. In terms of obedience he in interested in:

1.    Making you Holy (not Happy)

2.    Giver of Grace – not a license to sin or redefine biblical and historical doctrine.

3.    The Guide for your life who knows what is best. Don’t bargain but obey.

Colorado is a great place to ski. I have mostly skied in the man made stuff in NC, but there is a big difference in skiing in what God has made. On our trip to CO 9 years ago, Dana and I were on a two-seat chair lift with no bar. I am terrified of heights. The “no bar” reality did not help.

The hardest part of the chair lift is getting on and off. In getting on, Dana and I got our skies tangled. I was in my seat completely but Dana was not so lucky. She yelled at me in desperation for help, as she and the chair were moving quickly up the mountain. I mustered the manliest words I could say at the time, “I’m sorry. I can’t.” I was squeezing the metal out of the center pole of our chair. I was too afraid to let go.

When you call out in trouble whom do you call on? Verse 1 of Psalm 120 says, “In my distress I called to the Lord, (here it comes) and He answered me.”

Maybe your marriage is in trouble, your kids are rebelling, and you are loosing your shirt in various investments, making bad decisions or wondering aimlessly without purpose. I encourage you to read this Psalm.

Make sure you are calling on the right Person when you are distressed.