This past weekend I had the opportunity to preach the last message at Sun Valley Community Church in 2011 and the first of 2012. It was a great weekend and God used this message to speak to a bunch of people. The feedback was incredible! Hope He uses it to encourage you. Enjoy!
It’s one thing when you’re stuck in the airport, in the wrong checkout line, or traffic; but it’s a completely other thing when your kids start making decisions that don’t reflect the values of your family and those decisions are leading them on a path towards an impending trainwreck. When that moment comes and you don’t know what to do next…your stuck in your parenting. When you get married and you think you’ve met Mr. or Mrs. Right and your headed towards eternal maritial bliss only to find out that their breath smells bad in the morning too, all of the sudden this marriage isn’t what you thought it was going to be…your stuck in your marriage. People are stuck in their singleness, their finances, in their carreers, even in their relationship with God. This past weekend we landed a series that we’ve been working through at Sun Valley called “Momentum.” In it we’ve been unpacking the life of Moses and the story of the Exodus…having a conversation about what to do when you feel stuck in life. Here’s the talk that I gave this weekend to land the series, hope you find it encouraging!
Broken Window Theory is the idea that your environment tells you to act. That is to say, if you live in a community with run down dilapidated buildings, with broken windows, graffiti, and trash on the streets it affects your ideas, feelings, and ultimately your behavior. In the 1980’s New York City was at the height of one the worst crime epidemics in its history. In particular perhaps one of the worst places to be, was on the New York Subway. As a result, in the mid 80’s the New York Transit Authority hired George Kelling as a consultant to help with the problem. He urged them to go about combating crime in a unique manner. Clean up the subway, literally. Get rid of the trash and the graffiti. Then they began going after fare beating, people who jumped the turnstile to sneak onto the Subway without paying. Two incredibly small, non-essential, seemingly inconsequential items when you’re talking about fighting an epidemic of crime. But guess what happened. The environment of the Subway changed and with it so did the criminal behavior on the Subway.
We all know that the environment we place people in matters. And when we’re dealing with heaven and hell and not simply selling more lattes, cars, clothes, or fast food it matters all the more. Below are four simple criteria to consider when building your environments:
Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Christopher Coleman, a friend of mine who was pronounced dead at birth and who spent the first 15 minutes in this world not breathing. God had other plans for him however, and while he struggles with cerebral palsy, Chris serves in full time ministry and is an incredible communicator. His story is heartfelt and impactful, you can read it for yourself on his website
What does a comprehensive and holistic approach to developing students from birth through late adolescence and the families that influence these students mean to the infrastructure and ministry of the Next Generation Team?
I help churches make vision real. I am a pastor, speaker, strategist, and ministry consultant at The Unstuck Group.
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