Category Archives: Church

The Power of an Hour

06 Friday Nov 2020

Posted by in Church, Church Leadership, emergency room, leadership

≈ 14 Comments

According to Christianity Today, 85% of churches are dying. That statistic was given before COVID. Imagine after COVID! We won’t know the full impact of this season for some time but we can see it unfolding before our eyes.

I’ve said it before, “I LOVE THE LOCAL CHURCH.” Yes, all of them (that preach the Word of God). It takes many kinds of churches to reach many kinds of people!

Unfortunately, many churches continue to remain closed or hold services outside or not at all. And frankly, according to national surveys many churches will simply not reopen whenever they may be “allowed” to.

I was talking to a pastor friend of mine (whom I had encouraged to open when we did in June) who, 14 years ago, started his church. He shut down his church as Covid hit and has not reopened. During these past 9 months of closure, he’d been calling some members to see how they were doing and found out most of them have been going to churches that are OPEN! He has just made the difficult decision to close down his church permanently. This is a very common story across the spectrum of churches in the United States.

One thing we know God hasn’t said is, “Church, sit back, relax, wait for this Covid thing to pass, don’t worry about my mandate to meet together, (Hebrews 10:25) just wait until your Governor says it’s OK to meet again. People can go to Hell while you wait for permission to obey my instructions.”  So how can the church actually grow during this season? We have to remember the power of an hour together on Sunday! 

During these unprecedented times, we need to be MORE loving! We need to be MORE courageous as Churches. Learning to love and accept people where they are is how we will grow Christ’s church. People need hope. And, let me tell you, people are looking for churches who will follow God over Government. We cannot forget the power of an hour together on Sunday!

During this Covid season, 199 people have taken the step of outward obedience to Christ and have been baptized at Skyline Church. 

While I continue to receive hate mail, phone calls, and text messages from pastors and their staff whose churches are closed or meeting minimally, I can tell you, it doesn’t matter to me. It’s sad, but when lives are being changed during a season like this, keep the hate mail and calls and texts coming. It’s only affirmation that they may be feeling a sense of conviction from the Lord and perhaps they’ve forgotten the power of an hour together on Sunday.

They’re not going to get me to do what they’re doing, which is, in my opinion essentially hiding. I want them to open fully and do what we’re doing because, as I’ve said before , we all benefit when all churches are open. The kingdom grows when we’re all in it together. 

One pastor told me, “We’re watching you guys, letting you take the hits from the county, you’re the tip of the spear we want to see what happens to you.” Well, bro, we’ve been fully open for six months and I can tell you that what is happening is lives are being changed. 

People need their church to be fully open! Suicides and mental health issues continue to rise. We need to help people. An open church helps people. An online or even outdoor service has minimal to NO effect. I’m not saying if you’re having outdoor services that it’s useless, it’s just not helping as much as some churches may think. It’s a constant reminder to people that things are crazy. People need a sense of calm and even an hour to escape. When they sit outdoors week after week, it’s a reminder of how depressing things are. And this weekend there’s a 90% chance of rain in San Diego. What are you going to do, shut down the church because of rain?  Don’t underestimate the power of an hour together on Sunday. Go ALL IN.

People need some sense of normalcy even if it’s just an hour on Sunday INSIDE their church building.  The church should be leading, especially in these moments. 

While some churches sit back and wait for their marching orders from “NebuchaNewsome,” we will continue to storm the gates of Hell! THAT gets me fired up! Think about it. Every single one of those 199 people who were baptized experienced Jesus and made a decision not only follow Him, but to announce it when they weren’t supposed to according to the Governor!

Along with that, we’ve had 1,337 decisions for Christ and Commitments to join the church! All during a time when we should be shut down due to a supposed virus that has a survival rate of 99.998%! Are you picking up what I’m putting down? The flu kills more people year in and year out. You’re more likely to die from a lightening strike than Covid. I could go on and on.

Every one of those people who made a decision for Christ has a story that matters to God. We say it all the time, “Every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God.”

We want them to know that their story matters to us too. And as a church we want to love people BEFORE they make a decision for Christ. Just like you and I, newcomers are NOT perfect. They have fears and concerns and hang ups and habits and need the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.  When churches are open, they are more likely to receive this love and power. Don’t underestimate the power of an hour together on Sunday!

I can’t imagine missing out on these life-change stories had we listened to the Governmental mandates to not hold services. If you’re a church leader who happens to be reading this, don’t you see how this is the devil’s perfect plan? To have you not hold services, not impact people, not have salvations and baptisms, not give the Word of God in the House of God? 

Remember, Scripture tells us that we are not unaware of the devil’s schemes. He’s always operated with the same game plan. Page one of his playbook has always been to divide and conquer, isolate people, give them a sense of hopelessness, make them feel lonely and depressed, then he can really go to work.  Think about it, if he can get the church to stay closed, his job is so much easier. And, just look at the statistics, he is really going to work on people. 

When we get to Heaven, I’m convinced God is not going to say, “Did you obey your Governor during the 9+ month lockdown while people committed suicide and fell into relapse of drug and alcohol abuse?” Or might He say, “Did you have the courage to continue to follow me and focus on reaching the lost, helping the hurting, and giving people hope during a hopeless time?”  

It has always taken courage to be a pastor, but perhaps never more than in these days and times. Don’t underestimate the power of an hour together on Sunday. 

As we hear about churches shutting down, remaining closed, and struggling to survive during this time of COVID, we grieve the continued lack of understanding of the importance of being FULLY open as a church, regardless of what the Governor might say. 

There are a couple of things that are certain. Churches will not grow if they remain closed during Covid. But, churches may indeed experience growth if they decide to walk in obedience and courage and be fully open. Don’t underestimate the power of an hour together on Sunday!

MODEL

30 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by in Church, grow, vision

≈ 3 Comments

What does it look like to have a model faith? I’m not talking about a perfect faith. The faith journey is never one of perfection, but it should be one of progress. I’m talking about a way to practically model faith. Can you envision it?

My vision of a model faith is like a North Star. It doesn’t mean you’re there already, but it means there’s something that guides us and it’s something to look towards. I’ve told you this before, I’m a goal setter. I have about 10 categories for all the goals I’m setting out to accomplish … to be a better husband, dad, pastor, golfer (sometimes it’s more wishful thinking) but … it’s a very long list. Will I achieve them all? I certainly hope so!
By definition, a vision is: The future state of what you want to accomplish over time.

As a church we have a very clear vision. We’ve talked about it regularly all year long. Our vision is to become a model church in serving, caring, loving, and reaching our community in producing Champions for Christ. At the beginning of 2020, I asked God for a word of the year for our church. I wish I could say it was … COVID, Slam Diego, or something prophetic … but no, I didn’t know what 2020 would bring. The word God gave me was “model.” I want us to be a model church. A church that others come to with questions on how to bring the Gospel to more people!  We often ask, “What would the model church do in this situation?” It guides us like a North Star. 

Throughout the pandemic, we haven’t lost sight of our North Star. In fact, we have studied the COVID virus to ensure the safety of our community, we’ve connected with our people in a daily devotional called Today Matters, worshipped in person and online, served and blessed our first responders, held prayer meetings to pray for our governmental leaders, cleaned up various areas in our community, seen over 600 people make decisions to follow Christ, and even sent out a new church plant. All of this during a season where churches chose to close and remain closed for 8 months now. God doesn’t stop the kingdom advancing when the world decides to stop. 

We reopened in person services in June and found a way to continue sharing the gospel with those looking for hope! We are very thankful to the Lord that Skyline Church has thrived and set an example of what it looks like to both love and serve our community during extremely trying times. This group of Skyline pastors and staff is truly amazing. I am so grateful to be a part of this team. 

Now, let’s bring this home. How do we individually live out a model faith day in and day out in front of those 8-15 people we commonly connect with (even during this time) the New Testament calls our Oikos? The place we’ve got to turn to is, Hebrews 11. Here, God walks through examples of what a model faith looks like. Let’s look at three.

Right away in the first verse of Hebrews 11, it tells us exactly what faith is. “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead” (Hebrews 11:1). People often say things like, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” But the first thing we have to do in order to have a model faith, is to believe it when we don’t see it.

The second thing we have to do in order to have a model faith, is to obey when it doesn’t make sense. In Hebrews 11:7, we read about Noah building an ark to save his family from a worldwide flood. The funny thing about Noah building the ark and preparing for a downpour was that it had never rained before. Or what about Abraham in Hebrews 11:8? He was called to move, leave his country, and go to a foreign land. Some of you may be thinking, that’s not so bad. But let’s remember, at the time, Abraham was 75 years old! 

So often, we want a guarantee before we move. But God wants to stretch our faith in order to grow us. Are you going to listen to God, or listen to your gut? Are you going to wait for security, or are you going to step out in faith even when you don’t understand it?

The third habit we need to exercise in order to build a model faith is to give when we don’t have it. If you’ve been a Christian very long, you know I’m not just trying to get you to empty your pockets because YOU have seen first hand how God has blessed you abundantly for giving in faith. The first example that Hebrews 11 gives is of Abel who offered a gift to God. It wasn’t how much Abel gave, it was HOW he gave. It’s never the amount, it’s always the attitude. It’s why one of our core values is You can’t out give God!

I’ll never forget one of my mentors who spoke into my life when he said, “Pastors are always afraid of talking about money because it turns people off. But you need to tell people, you need to tell business owners, the best time to give is when they are in the dumps. Tell them to give because that is when they need God the most!” 

Now, those who are well off and want to give, bless you. But, no matter who you are, you need to know that it’s not about the amount. It’s always about your heart. 

Many of you gave to Skyline Church at the end of the year last year when we talked about finishing strong in 2019. Little did we know that we’d be walking into an unprecedented season like the 2020 pandemic. Each of you that stepped out in faith and gave to the Lord through the church, have helped us keep the main thing the main thing … we’ve been able to live out our purpose of helping people find and follow Jesus seven days a week. Hundreds of people have made a decision to follow Christ and several more have found a church home when there were no churches to go to. Thank you for your faith! 

I realize this is a crazy time for so many people. But, I want to encourage you to keep going even when you don’t feel like it. Make it a goal to grow your faith in these unprecedented times. I want to encourage you to keep moving toward the North Star of a model faith by  believing when you don’t see it, obeying when it doesn’t make sense, giving when you don’t have it, and just KEEP going.

We don’t know what the elections will bring, what the holidays will bring, or even what 2021 will bring, but let’s be certain of what we hope for, with a confident assurance, that it WILL happen. 

Biblical Understanding = Lives Changed

23 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by in Church, grow, patience

≈ 3 Comments

It’s a special time in SO many ways. On one hand, there are so many churches closed and will not reopen all over the world. While this happens in a typical year it is especially true in 2020. At Skyline Church, we decided to open (after clearly understanding the virus and it’s risks) and stay open. That decision has given us the opportunity to see SO many people taking incredibly important steps of faith.

In the past few weeks, we’ve baptized 99 people and even more have made first time decisions and/or recommitted their lives to Jesus. That’s one of the main reasons we can see the importance of ministering to our community by having an open church during this time. People need hope to cope! 
Thank you for continuing to invite people! As we near the the holidays, and even the 2020 Elections, we know that more than ever people are going to be looking for hope. I want to encourage you to remember that an invite can change a life. Extend an invitation to someone to church.

 If they are more comfortable watching the service in the comfort of their own home, send a link to our service (we have been incredibly encouraged by the number of decisions from people literally all over the world who tune in online). Let them know, they are not alone. They matter to God and they matter to us!

Some of the people you may be hesitating to invite, maybe people who’ve expressed doubt and uncertainty about the Gospel in the past. Understandably so, some people get hung up on certain aspects of the Bible before understanding its full context. Whether people think the Bible is confusing, a list of religious rules, contradicting, condemning, or whatever … the truth is, God IS Love and the Bible is His gift to us. In order to truly understand God’s Word, sometimes we need to do some deeper digging. That might mean …

  1. Reading the chapters before and after the chapter you’re reading to get the bigger picture
  2. Learning some basics about the original languages of the Bible; Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic
  3. Maybe God wants us to wrestle with a concept or idea with Him so that He can give us true wisdom and understanding

Every week we do ALL of that! We love to look at the Bible as a whole and give the bird’s eye view. But we also like to dive deep and help you have a clearer understanding of God’s will which helps you understand God’s purpose for YOUR life. 

We believe that God has big plans for each and every one of us. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” Philippians 1:6. 

We also recognize that the Bible wasn’t originally written in English. We value learning the Greek going to learn some Geek and Hebrew words like “Oikos.” Aside from being a great yogurt brand, Oikos is a Greek word used in the Bible meaning “household.” When reading verses like Luke 8:39, someone was told to “… return to his household and described the great things done for him.” But, someone who understands the original language would understand that “Oikos” actually means MORE than your household. In Greek, Oikos means your relational network! 

That means, tell your family, neighbors, coworkers, local barista, mechanic, carpool buddies, dentist, etc. … Some of you are imagining the last awkward conversation you had with your dentist while they poked around your mouth. Understanding the original text is incredibly important. It makes understanding God much easier. 


Maybe at some point in time, you’ve put down your Bible and walked away feeling like you didn’t understand what you just read. You may have felt offended, discouraged, or even like it was pointless. I want to encourage you to not give up, but look up, in other words pray about it! 

God wants to help you understand and will work through it with you! James 1:5 reminds us that, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” 

More than ever, people need hope to cope! I want to encourage you to invite someone in your “Oikos” to church this Sunday. Tell them about the wonderful things God has done for you! Many people have lost their jobs. Others haven’t seen family in months. And for the first time, many will experience the holidays alone. But as we continue to fix our eyes on Jesus, we can look forward with eager anticipation for what is to come! We can rest in the fact that God gave us His book to prepare us, not scare us.

ABC’s for Loyalty

02 Thursday Jul 2020

Posted by in Church, comfort, grow, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

What a week! 

I’m on the road just outside San Francisco at a gathering of pastors for Convoy of Hope. This incredible ministry serves our local community and the poorest of the poor all around the world. I’m out here to learn more about them and looking into how we can partner with them in the near future. Stay tuned for more information on that!

I’m also thrilled to be with our Executive Team meeting with a group of great people in the city of Pacifica (near San Francisco) as we discuss our next campus “Skyline Pacifica.” You’ll be hearing more about that soon!

Today, I want to talk about “loyalty.” When conflict begins to heat up between those who are relationally close, it can be increasingly difficult to solve the problem. If a problem continues to go unsolved, the person you’re close to can begin to feel like an enemy.

If you’re not currently at odds, just make sure you’ve got these tools of loyalty ready to go because it’s never IF you have conflict, it’s always WHEN you have conflict, you’ll want to be prepared with these habits. 
It may seem impossible to affirm a loved one with loyalty during strenuous times, but today I want to encourage you with an easy way to remember practical keys to make this possible in your life. Use the ABC’s to remember 3 ways to affirm loyalty during conflict.

  1. Accept them! Part of loyalty is accepting each others differences. Acceptance doesn’t mean that you approve of everything they do, but it means that your love for them is not dependent upon them changing.
  2. Before you seek to be understood, seek to understand. It’s easy to all the sudden start focusing on the problem and to forget the value of the relationship. Pretty soon you start seeing yourselves as enemies. Remember, they’re NOT the enemy!
  3. Cloth yourself in Compassion. Colossians 3:12, reminds us that there’s an act of putting on compassion. Compassion is really defined as love IN action. 

Implement these habits of loyalty and when the fires of conflict begin to heat up, you’ll be able extinguish the flames before you get burned.

Defeat Discouragement

03 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by in Church, comfort, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Today I want to talk about one of the biggest hurdles in our faith. It’s one of the enemy’s favorite tools in keeping us from growing––not just spiritually … but economically and educationally. In fact, I don’t think there’s one area of your life that isn’t affected by this obstacle. 

Today, I want to talk about defeating discouragement.

In any race there is fatigue. No matter what you do, we ALL get tired. Fatigue makes cowards of us all. It causes us to shrink back from our duties, goals, and expectations. But if we overcome it, we can live out God’s best for us! In Acts 20:24, Luke tells us on behalf of the Apostle Paul, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Unfortunately, most people never finish their race. They get distracted. And for one reason or another, they grow old with unachieved dreams without ever realizing what God had planned for them. Often times, discouragement is the biggest deterrent in our lives. 

But that thing that discourages you, or intended to discourage you from God’s purpose for your life, doesn’t have to! Right now the state of our communities and chaos across our country can make us feel overwhelmed with discouragement and dread. 

Here are 3 ways to overcome discouragement:

  1. Ask yourself, what is slowing you down?
    Hebrews 12:1 reminds us, “We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

    There are a lot of people in your life that want you to run their race for them. They’ll add so many expectations, responsibilities, and distractions that God never intended for your life. The Bible makes it clear, if you’re going to go far in this race you’ll need to remove those things!
  2. Remind yourself, why you became a Christian.
     Ephesians 2:10 promises us, “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

    Remembering your WHY will give you determination. Remember that this whole life isn’t about you. The more we focus outwardly, the more excited we get to live out God’s purpose in our life. 
  3. Get in the Word on a daily basis!
     2 Corinthians 4:16 encourages us, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
     
    Just like your physical body gets hungry, your spirit is hungry. It’s hungry for the Word of God. To go without it for a day is like starving it. Stay encouraged by knowing what God has to say about your life and the instructions and direction he can give you every day.

Overcoming discouragement IS possible! So, let me ask you … What has God called you to do? At the end of a long lived life, will you be able to say that you endured? Will you have lived the life that you were created for?
The key to endurance is perspective. Most people in this world are living life as if all that matters is today. And that’s wrong. Today’s going to be over … TODAY! We need to live with the perspective of eternity in mind. If you’re going to avoid discouragement, you’ve got to know how to recharge yourself spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. Especially during this time!

Set yourself up for the race ahead by refueling your faith in these 3 key ways that a mentor of mine gave me as I was entering full-time ministry:

1. Divert daily
Take time each day to get quiet with the Lord. You need some time where nothing is demanded from you. Where the distractions are gone and you can be focused in silence for some time of renewal. If this is new to you, start with as little as 5 minutes. As you do this you’ll notice you want more time to do this. Add 5 minutes at a time as you build up and you’ll soon realize you don’t want to go a day without it. 

As I mentioned, 2 Corinthians 4:16 encourages us to be renewed day by day. We know that each day carries enough challenges of its own. While we do not always know what obstacles are headed our way, we can trust that the Lord does! And it is He who will navigate you through those waters. 

2. Withdraw weekly
The race ahead is going to require rest. Take a whole day each week to do something different, something fun or relaxing. Make a list of things that refuel you and choose something from this list one day each week to get your mind off of your daily grind.

3. Abandon annually
Schedule the time to get out of town and do something for an extended period of time like a week or two or more! Know what refreshes you and do something engaging and fulfilling! It takes energy to do God’s will and you need a plan for when you run out of gas. 

Discouragement can ruin a conversation, a job, a marriage, a faith, OR a life. When we talk about “the building of our faith” we’re talking about taking the first steps of change. God takes His time in growing us step by step and piece by piece. Did you know it takes a mushroom about 24 hours to be fully grown. Ha. It takes an oak tree about 100 years! A mushroom could be brushed over. Pshh! But an oak tree is immovable. It’s solid! God is interested in building oak trees of faith. He’s strengthening us through everything that He allows in our lives. Yes, even a quarantine and social unrest! 

The race of life is tough. But you CAN overcome discouragement and refuel your faith regularly with enough fuel to finish in a strong sprint. Implement these practices this week, and you’ll see discouragement leaving you and encouragement coming. Let me know how it goes!