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Everyone At Friendship Church Should Read This!

Yes, I know that more than just my people at Friendship Church follow my blog, and this article will be great for you as well. But, it is essential that everyone from Friendship read this article. It is probably one of the best, if not the best written and most practical article on the subject of our guests that I have ever read.

Geoff Surrat planted Seacoast Church and lead it as it grew to one of the most influential and effective churches in the United States. He recently retired and has been visiting several churches anonymously, and has shared some of his insights in this article, along with some solutions.

Take 10 minutes and read through this great article and ask where you can improve!

5 Simple Ways To Make Your Church Stickier – Geoff Surrat

Posted by davecrandall | February 7, 2012 | Categories: Church, Leadership | 1 Comment

Charm is deceptive…

“Charm is deceptive…but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” – Prov 31:30

I want to start by saying I am no male chauvinist! I have three sisters, two beautiful daughters, and an amazing wife. I believe that women are incredible and except for the role of Senior Pastor within a local church can be used by God any way He sees fit.

However, I have noticed in almost 20 years of ministry and an equal amount of time growing up in a pastor’s home, that there is a type of woman who is incredibly destructive, the charming/deceptive Woman.

Now, she doesn’t wear a t-shirt saying she’s dangerous, but she should. In fact, most people don’t even see her as dangerous, they see her as sweet, kind, and considerate; but nothing could be further from the truth. This type of woman uses her charm to gain access to information and to gain favor so that she can later leverage them for information or for her benefit.

Allow me to help you uncover this dangerous woman:

She comes off as very sweet, charming, and innocent.
She’s NEVER offended by anything, but she ALWAYS seems to know the people who are.
She seems to know everything that’s going on in everyone’s lives.
She is constantly having lunches, coffee, and meetings with other ladies.
She rarely says anything blatantly wrong, but she often makes snide comments and derogatory statements.
She doesn’t like anyone giving her rules or guidelines (now she doesn’t buck them directly, she just complains to all of her friends about how stupid or silly they are).
She sees herself as a “mediator”, simply another way of gaining more information.
She sees a legitimate need, tells no-one about it, answers the need herself, then complains about how no one (except herself of course) is doing anything about it.
She is often seen after services or during functions off to the side having a “conversation” with one or two other ladies.

I’m sure we could add more to this list but this should give you some good warning signs if you have someone like this in your life. If you do, you must immediately cut yourself off! Here’s why,

A woman who will tell you about others and their problems will tell others about you and your problems.
A woman who can’t follow leadership is only in it for herself, you’ll become collateral damage.
A woman who puts down or is negative about the authority over her, will tear you apart if you ever try to confront her with any kind of wrong she’s doing.

Now, contrast that with the woman who “Fears” the Lord. First, the word fear, as it is used here, means to have incredible respect, honor, and a healthy understanding of what God is capable of. In other words, this is a lady that puts God, his agenda, and knowledge of what he can do ahead of her own desires.

She doesn’t attempt to manipulate a situation to her advantage, she knows that God is her advantage.
She doesn’t try to get the juicy details, she trusts that God will take care of what she doesn’t know.
She willingly and joyfully submits to her authorities because she knows that they are there to protect her, and when she bucks them she is bucking God.
She knows the destructive nature of the tongue and the anger that God has for those that cause division, and puts massive guardrails around her life to keep her from straying down that path.

This woman God praises, lifts up, exalts, and gives greater honor.

If I were a woman I know who I would hang around!

Posted by davecrandall | February 6, 2012 | Categories: Christian Life, Church | Leave a comment

Humility served with Grace…

Friendship Church has been growing like crazy lately and I must be honest in saying that I’ve taken a great deal of joy in it. I’m fairly certain I’ve been able to steer clear of pride or taking undue credit, but I’m pretty sure that yesterday was God’s gentle preemptive strike on any pride that might be flaring up inside of me.

I drove up to the church yesterday around 7:30am. I had already visited my local Starbucks and had a pleasant conversation with a couple of the barista’s that I know. I was looking forward to having just a tremendous morning worshiping unhindered with my Friendship Church family.

You know that feeling that you get when you know something is about to happen? Yeah, I didn’t get that feeling, but something sure did happen! In fact, a whole bunch of things happened! Without going into detail, not an awful lot went according to plan. I grabbed the guys that were there already, and said in my most confident voice, “Guys, when things like this happen we can be certain that God is up to something great! Our job is just to be flexible.” I truly meant it, I’d been here before, but it didn’t stop my heart from beating a little bit faster.

I went to my office and read through my notes and Scripture passages one more time and then I began to pray for the morning. I prayed for my family, the families of all the ministry leaders who were on for the day, I prayed for the band, ushers, greeters, coffee team, kids volunteers, and every body else I could think of. As I was praying I felt my voice crack, just ever so slightly. I’ve been struggling with my sinuses for over a week and my head felt like it was about to explode. So, I prayed for myself, that I’d be able to think clearly, to communicate with energy and enthusiasm.

As I walked out of my office for our morning prayer/pep-talk with all of our volunteers, I could literally feel the heaviness of the spiritual battle that was taking place. I sensed that something was going on, I just couldn’t put my finger on it, and still can’t. We all gathered together and I told them the same thing that I had told the guys earlier and we all prayed together.

As the service began there were a lot of empty seats, and that old fear began to creep back into the back of my mind. I had just sent out an e-mail telling people how great things had been going, what they could do to help us continue to grow like parking on the grass, sitting in different spots, etc… And, now our attendance was going to be low, “I’m going to look like and idiot” I thought.

Just then it hit me, now it wasn’t an audible voice but I heard it just as if it was. “Do you see how fragile ‘your’ success is? With just a few sick children, a couple of families that stayed up too late last night, an alarm clock or two that didn’t go off, and the numbers are all gone. Remember, it is only with ME that all things are possible.”

At that moment I thanked God for all He has done for us, and will do for us. I confessed any potential pride that was welling up inside of me, and I simply prayed that somehow, in some way that the message and the music would make an impact in someone’s life.

When I got up to speak, I was stunned. No, not every seat was filled and we were down a little bit, but what I saw was that God had already worked even before I said a word. My message was certainly not the best, my head is still throbbing and I’m pretty sure I lost my train of thought more than once, but I’m also certain that he used it, IN SPITE OF ME!

And there my friends was God serving me a little bit of humility with a side of grace…

Posted by davecrandall | January 29, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | 1 Comment

10 Questions Unchurched People Aren’t Asking – Perry Noble

One of my new favorite guys, both as a speaker, pastor, and blogger, is Perry Noble. A while ago Perry posted 10 Questions that churches tend to answer even though no one is asking. Perry doesn’t suggest that these aren’t important questions, just that no unsaved, lost person is asking them.

A lost person cares about 1 thing and 1 thing only, is what you are offering going to be of value to me. Now, before you get all uppity, stop and think for a second. The term the Bible uses for people who don’t know Christ is, “LOST”. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been lost on more than one occasion in my life, one time in the woods (I’ll tell you that story later), and do you know the only question I was asking? “How do I get out of here?!” I want to be the type of church that points lost people in the only direction that will actually help them get, Un-Lost!

Check out his post here: 10 Questions Unchurched People Aren’t Asking

Posted by davecrandall | January 18, 2012 | Categories: Church, Leadership | Leave a comment

Unexpected, but not Unprepared

I woke up this morning to high winds, rain, and thunder…in the middle of January in Indiana! Now that is unexpected.

I have a friend who up until just recently was the main trainer for an entire State Police force, who visited us just recently. We had a couple of different long conversations and one such conversations veered into being prepared for things you can’t prepare for. We talked at length about things that had come into our lives that were unexpected and completely unplanned for, and how we handled them.

Near the end of our conversation he said, “What I teach State Troopers each week is eerily similar to what we’ve been talking about.” He went on to explain the levels of preparedness he teaches all his recruits, I’m using my own terms but it’s the same idea:

Oblivious: you go through life with absolutely no clue that something might not go as planned. So, when something hits you, you freak out, you have no plan, you have no backup, you are, well to put it bluntly, screwed!

Aware: you are walking through life with a plan, but you don’t expect anything to happen. You have an idea of what you would do if something does happen, but you haven’t fully thought it out. So, when something hits you, you don’t totally loose your cool but it takes you a while to recover.

Alert: you are walking through life with a plan, and a back-up plan, and you know how you’ll react if something does happen. So, when it does you’re not shocked, you can quickly correct course, and continue to move forward.

Alarmed: you walk through life with a plan believing that the very next step you take will bring about the destruction of everything around you, you have 7 different plans of reaction. So, when it does happen, you have the potential of over-reacting and making a bigger deal out of it then necessary, and thereby cause bigger problems.

As I listened to my friend talk, I realized how often I had talked with people who were living in oblivious-ville. They were stunned and their lives were almost destroyed, simply because they were walking through life without any expectation of the unexpected. I also thought about the amount of times, especially early in ministry, that I assumed I was walking on alert status, when I was only really aware, and how long it took me to make the necessary corrections because I hadn’t clearly thought through my backup plan.

I have made it my goal to walk through life living comfortably on Alert status, not red alert borderline paranoia, just alert. I want to be ready when that thing comes around the corner in my life, I’m determined to expect the unexpected.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. – 1 Peter 5:8

Posted by davecrandall | January 17, 2012 | Categories: Christian Life, Leadership | Leave a comment

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus…My Thoughts

Recently a “spoken word poet” Jefferson Bethke posted a compelling, and very well produced video talking about religion and Jesus. Here is his introduction to the video and the video itself. Below I share a few thoughts:

A poem I wrote to highlight the difference between Jesus and false religion. In the scriptures Jesus received the most opposition from the most religious people of his day. At its core Jesus’ gospel and the good news of the Cross is in pure opposition to self-righteousness/self-justification. Religion is man centered, Jesus is God-centered. This poem highlights my journey to discover this truth. Religion either ends in pride or despair. Pride because you make a list and can do it and act better than everyone, or despair because you can’t do your own list of rules and feel “not good enough” for God. With Jesus though you have humble confident joy because He represents you, you don’t represent yourself and His sacrifice is perfect putting us in perfect standing with God!

I agree and applaud 90% of what Jefferson says. I appreciate his efforts to communicating the truth of Christ in a compelling and excellent fashion that has reached over 12 million people, that is amazing! He clearly reveals the true method of salvation through Christ alone by grace. And I believe if someone looking for answers watched this video they would be able to respond to Jesus Christ call on their life.

I love the fact that in the middle he clarifies that he doesn’t equate religion with the true church of Christ. This is such a common error or misconception that people have or make. The truth is that Jesus established his church not on us (human based religiosity) but on himself and his truth, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God…and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” – Matthew 16:16-18

I disagree with a few things, far less than what I agree with:

Christ didn’t come to abolish religion, period. I am not a “religious” person, and I am not defending religion. But to state that is the purpose of Christ’s coming undermines his true reason. Jesus said, I have “…come to seek and to save that which was lost” – Luke 19:10. He came to pay for our sins, to die in our place, to become cursed so we could be blessed.
No, voting Republican doesn’t make you a Christian, just like voting Independent doesn’t make you an atheist and voting Democrat doesn’t make you catholic (these are called stereotypes). This I simply don’t understand why it was included in his statement. It smacks of opinion in something that should be absent of opinion and should be based upon facts found in the Bible. When it comes to politics Christians shouldn’t be concerned about “party” as much as they do values that line up with Biblical principles.

All in all, I give it a thumbs up and I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments.

Posted by davecrandall | January 16, 2012 | Categories: Christian Life, Church | 1 Comment

It’s Time To Be A Man!

I’m not really sure when it began for me. Maybe it was when I saw my first Clint Eastwood western, who knows, but at some point in my early childhood I realized I wanted to be a REAL man!

As I’ve grown up my idea of being a real man has matured and been honed by the manly role models we find in the Bible. I’ve learned that a real man has integrity, cares deeply for those around him, protects and provides for his family, loves God passionately, is ready and willing to admit when he’s wrong, and many other things.

It’s also become increasingly disappointing to me to see how culture and, yes even the church, has attempted to redefine and diffuse what being a real man is all about (usually a man is portrayed either as a mindless idiot or a wimpy submissive boob!). In the church we’ve tried to civilize men, make them into…well manly-women (Keep being a man but act and behave like a woman, not sure how that’s supposed to work).

Well, I’m calling all you men out there who have a desire to reclaim your true, authentic, God designed and God given masculinity. I’m calling you to become men of character, men of integrity, amazing husbands, awesome dads, and unbelievable role-models to the next generation. I think it’s high time we become all that God has intended us to be!

Who’s with me?!

Posted by davecrandall | January 16, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Week 2 Playoff Predictions (let the bashing begin)

I sat on the sidelines last week, still licking my wounds for being a Colts fan. I haven’t felt this uncertain about my team since I was back in High School and Captain Comeback (aka Jim Harbaugh) was our quarterback. I wasn’t a fan of the coach then (Jim Mora aka Playoffs?) and I’m not a fan of the coach now (Jim Caldwell)…hmmm maybe I just don’t like Jim’s?

Okay, so here are my predictions and my reasons:

Saints & 49ers: This is going to be the game of the weekend. These two teams which are the yin to each other’s yang when it comes to style, will bludgeon it out. The Saints will come out of this with the victory but, will not come out unscathed. Winner: Saints

Broncos & Patriots: I hate the Patriots! As a loyal Colts fan, it is a test of faith. The Broncos defense is finally healthy again, and I believe that they will make enough plays (turnovers, sacks, tackles for loss) that will turn the tide for them. The Patriots (Oh, how I hate them) will keep it very close but Tim Tebow will have a game ending drive setting it up for a winning field goal in the closing seconds. Winner: Broncos (did I mention I hate the Patriots?)

Texans & Ravens: I think that the Ravens are going to come out flat, and show their age in this game. Texans will come out quickly and put up a two touchdown lead on them and never look back, which means that Ray Rice, there only hope for winning, becomes a non-factor. Winner: Texans

Giants & Packer: Okay, this game I could legitimately go either way. I like the Packers because they went after history and made no bones about it (16-0), Rodgers has been playing lights out, and the defense often does just enough to secure the win. On the other hand, the Giants have turned it on over the last few weeks, Manning has been playing near perfect in the 4th quarter, and the defense has looked like the 2007 defense that won them a Super Bowl. In the end I think it comes down to which defense makes the biggest play, and in this I trepidatiously pick the Giants to do just enough. Winner: Giants

I’d love to hear both your thoughts and your picks!

Posted by davecrandall | January 14, 2012 | Categories: Random thoughts, Sports | 1 Comment

Women Stop Submitting To Men! – Russel Moore

Wow, when I saw this title I almost lost my cookies! Then I read it more carefully and realized what the author was saying. Way too often the Bible is mistaught, specifically in this area of submission. Specifically, it’s taught that women are to be in submission to men as a whole.

This is not Biblically accurate or Scripturally sound, children are to submit to their Fathers (ie daughters to dad in this case) and wives are to be submissive to their husbands, but nowhere does the Bible teach general overarching submission of women to men. My wife is not to be submissive to ANY other man but me, and her submission should be reciprocated by me with love, honor, respect, consideration, and I should cherish her as I would a Ming Vase! My girls are not to allow ANY man but me to hold authority over them until the day I walk them down the aisle and “give them” to their husbands, and at that point my authority transfers to him.

Dr. Moore takes great care in both explaining the problem, then goes into great detail as to the disastrous results of this teaching. To all my Sisters in the faith, please read this article carefully, and be empowered to become the women God has called you to be!

“Women Stop Submitting To Men!”

Posted by davecrandall | January 11, 2012 | Categories: Christian Life, Family | Leave a comment

Turn out the lights, the party’s over!

As I was driving the other day in the car I heard a familiar refrain from my teenage years come across the airwaves. No, it wasn’t Bon Jovi or Huey Lewis crooning out some rock ballad, it was one of my favorite sports announcers poorly singing, “Turn out the lights the party’s over!”

Now, he was singing it as a close to a game that the home team had solidified with a winning basket, but my mind immediately connected a whole bunch of thoughts (minds tend to do that) and began to think about when I checked out of this life and entered into eternity. Not in a morbid, brooding, foreboding way, but more of a I wonder what that will be like? My mind then shifted to those I would leave behind, and I began to wonder what they might say or think about me. Will they miss me? Will they say I was a good man, a great man…just a man? Then I realized that at that point not only would it not matter to me what they thought, but even if it did there wasn’t anything I could do to change it. This next thought is what really made my mind come alive,

“What if I lived my life in reverse? Start with what I want people to think about me, remember me for, and miss me for; and then live in such a way to achieve that end result!”

In other words, if you want people to remember you as a great husband/wife, start doing things that will make you a great husband/wife. If you want to be idolized as the dad of all dads or mom of all moms, you better start spending a whole lot more time with your kids. If you want to be remembered as a great spiritual mentor, you better start mentoring people…I think you get the picture.

The bottom line: Once the lights are out, the party is truly over. And whatever people think about you won’t change, but as long as the lights are on there’s still time!

Posted by davecrandall | January 10, 2012 | Categories: Christian Life, Family, Random thoughts, Sports | Leave a comment