Saturday Night Thoughts

With HBC Saturday Night now 5 months old, we are asked frequently how do we think things are going and progressing.    In case you don't know...here is some quick history:

• HBC made the decision to launch a new service with the idea of reaching people who do not attend church regularly and to minister to people who think church isn't relevant.  
• We assembled a launch team and made preparations for over a year (research, meetings, advertising, etc...).  
• We launched this new service on September 10, 2011. 

Did we have our ups and down in the preparation?  Absolutely...but we assembled a strong team of volunteers, worship band members, children's workers and many others who made commitments to help begin this new service.

Has this been successful?  Well...

• 18 people have made first time decisions for Christ  
• 12 people have been baptized in our Sat Night service
• Many people have taken HL101 & HL201 (our assimilation process)
• Many people are now involved in Connection Groups
• New people are discovering their gifts and are now using them in ministry

Are we perfect?  No!  Do we have a long way to go?  Yes!  But we are seeing fruit and seeing people experience new life.  Our prayer is that we would witness this happen over and over again and see more people in our community find a home at HBC!

Finish

That's right, I am finishing up my final 2 classes at Southwestern Baptist Seminary to complete the MDiv program.  Looking at the syllabus and emailing back and forth with the professors have reminded me why I have "put-off" finishing the degree since 2008.  Why have I put these classes off?  First, I could only take these classes online since moving Michigan and one class in particular (Baptist Heritage) hasn't been offered since 2008, and the second reason is because I haven't been motivated to finish the degree (yes, I admit that I have been lazy).  Although, I expect the next few months to be challenging, I am excited to begin, excited to learn, and excited to finish the degree.

Here is my challenge:  Regardless of any decision that we are "putting-off" in our lives (relational, financial, losing weight, completing a major project, etc...), I encourage each of us to finish strong and complete what we have started out to do.  There is joy to be found and I think we will simply just feel better about ourselves.

Top 5 Books of 2011

On a regular basis, someone will ask me what books I am reading or have currently read.  I try to tweet each book, although tweeting is still a work in progress for me.  So I figured that I would answer these questions here in my blog.  I read many great books in 2011 but here is my list of the top 5 books from last year:

1.  Great By Choice (Jim Collins) - I have read every book that Jim and his research team has put out in the last 10 years and I thoroughly enjoy each and every one.  Great By Choice is an incredible book on leadership and I am looking forward to implementing these principles in my ministry both now and in the future.

2.  Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (Peter Scazzero) - Right time and right place.  This book greatly encouraged me in a time of great spiritual need in my life.

3.  Onward (Howard Schultz) - I read this book on my summer vacation.  You just can't go wrong with a leadership book by the founder of Starbucks.  Before you read Onward, I would encourage you to first read, Pour Your Heart Into It. That would give you a good base line for Onward.

4.  The Principle of the Path (Andy Stanley) - This book was packed full of great reminders.  I encourage everyone under the age of 25 to read this book now.

5.  Deep Church (Jim Belcher) - I am thankful for the approach that Belcher took in writing this book.  It cleared up some confusion and encouraged me to strive for balance.

How about you?  What are your top 5 books of 2011?