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coffee church lightsWhat a weekend!  On Saturday we decorated both campuses!  Thank you to so many of you who showed up to help.  “Work” Days are often the times when friendships are formed and stories are written.  I LOVE ’em!

We got A LOT of comments about how beautiful the Christmas “Chandeliers” turned out.  Here’s the trick: Hula Hoops criss crossed with fishing line where bulbs hang randomly down.  Before you start bulbing, wrap your hula hoop with icicle lights.  They are time consuming, but inexpensive.

Our stage also consisted of a really cool wood structure that will continue to be a part of our stages in the future.  And here’s the eye-deceiver at Hazel Dell….the back wall is PAINTED to look like wood.  It’s not real.  I bet you’ll come back to church next Sunday just to see what I’m talking about.  You’ll tell yourself that you thought it was real wood.  Alecia Krause is our genius painter!

I had a young lady ask to be baptized on Sunday.  If you are ready to be baptized as well, you can fill out a form at www.coffeechurch.com.  We have a portable hot tub so anytime you are ready, so are we!  I love baptisms!!!!

We had a new Tiny Town teacher this weekend.  Thanks to Michelle for jumping in!

Mark preached at Battle Ground and the Deaf Church this weekend.  Always a privilege to be at our Deaf Campus.  I don’t know sign language, but it’s another reason that I am a Facebook fan!  Such an easy way to communicate with the hearing and the deaf.  If you are not my friend, find me!

Speaking of Facebook…our last small group was filled with a lot of Facebook junkies.  I noticed that many of them became fast friends because they had an additional way to communicate on a regular basis.  I had never had that happen before, but thoroughly enjoyed watching it!

We got a new baby at Battle Ground yesterday!  Congrats to Tatiana!!!

coffee church teamOur staff team did a video shoot this weekend for some of the upcoming Christmas events.  We laughed, we cried, we ate fudge…  We have such an amazing team!  We were missing a few of them, but nonetheless, we had a good time.  Thanks to Brian Enquist of Home Video Studio of Vancouver for filming us and to the Swensons for having us over to destroy your house.  Have I mentioned that I appreciated the fudge???  Cause I did….a lot.

It’s December!  In honor of the Modern Family sermon series, spend this month reconciling one relationship before the new year.  I know it’s not always that simple, but what if it is?  What if the worst relationship in your life can be exponentially better with a phone call?  This is life, so it might get worse, but the risk might also be worth it….you’ll never know until you try.

Now, I’m off to make that phone call…  Be blessed!

Last week our team headed off to a Pastoral Leadership Conference in Kirkland, WA.  What a sight!  There were 19 adults and two newborns in our band of misfits and we had a great time!  I often say that leading our team is like chasing cats, so imagine an entire day surrounded by inspiring people talking about being better leaders…it was like a bunch of diabetics in a candy shop.

Here are some of the highlights:

  • Unhealthy cultures are slow to adapt to change…We must be healthy because our church name is secretly North Creek Changes A LOT Church.
  • Hire and recruit your values…our church will mold to the DNA of our team.  Whatever we want in our church, we should hire in our team.  Good lense as we hire people in the future.  P.S. Administrative people…we need you.  We are too creative for our own good and could use people who like to control cats.  Yeah, I know…
  • Drop the term loyalty from your vocabulary.  TOTALLY agree.  We never use it.  If we have to ask you to be loyal, we don’t deserve your loyalty.  If you think we can push you to the next level in your relationship and faith, you’ll be glad to stick around.  If you don’t think that, why would we even want you to stay?
  • Create and maintain a sustainable pace.  This sums up why we don’t have very many traditions.  This year we are doing a big musical Christmas Concert because Matt got a vision for it.  Next year we may or may not do it.  Why?  Because we don’t have to.  It’s not about doing things because we ALWAYS do them.  It’s about doing things because God has asked us to.
  • You’re a sharp guy, so fix it.  That was a little tidbit from Craig Groeschel.  Bottom line: stop whining about your problems and solve them.  Troy Jones always told us a similar thing:  If you don’t solve your problems, you deserve your problems.  Haunted me my whole life…  It’s a good tip though.  Fix it.

I think overall I was reaffirmed in the fact that we have to stick to the plan that God gave us and continue to fight for our culture.  We’re not perfect leaders, we don’t have a perfect church, and we don’t have a perfect team, but we do know what God has told us to do.  There is no time to get discouraged, weary, or overwhelmed.  All we have time for is to continually point people to Jesus.

Thank you to our team for taking a day out of your life to devote to being better leaders!  We love you very much and are glad that you are partners with us on this journey.  Keep on keepin’ on!  We’re fighting for the greatest cause on the planet…