“All You Can Eat”. Many restaurants offer this culinary ritual by asking you to pay a flat fee of about $5.99 and then stuffing yourself on an never ending array of options…from fried chicken to egg rolls & salisbury steak to tacos. After 4 trips to the “food bar” it is then time to visit the “dessert bar” where you can pour hot fudge & sprinkles over anything that you can reach before scarfing it down.

What ALL these restaurants have in common is that the food is bad, the quality is cheap, and choices are endless.

The truth is that many of our churches have an “all you can eat” approach to the number of ministries we offer. We think that the if we offer something for everyone then everyone will come.

What actually happens is that the program is bad, the quality is cheap, and a lot of people don’t come. In other words, the variety is impressive but the impact is not.

At 12Stone Church, we have adopted a lean approach to ministry. In our children’s ministry we don’t have a VBS, a Wednesday night program, a sports ministry, a choir program, MOPS, Mother’s Day Out, and a handful of other things we could offer.

In our Children’s Ministry we focus our energy on Sunday large group experiences, small group environments, & partnering with parents. With this lean approach to children’s ministry, it still takes tremendous effort to do them well.

Our Executive Pastor, Dan Reiland, gives some excellent advice to move toward a lean and more robust ministry…

1. Don’t stand at your pulpit, brandish your Colt .45 and declare that you just shut down half the ministries in your church. Please. I don’t have any job openings.

2. Invest weeks or months thinking and praying with key leadership asking God what your focus needs to be.

3. Cast vision and teach the principle of lean ministry. Tell why you are leaning into it. (No pun intended.)

4. Once you know your focus, take six months to a year to s-l-o-w-l-y close down other ministries.

5. Keep casting vision. Tell success stories of primary ministries.

6. Develop relationships with ministries in your community and around the world that you don’t “own and operate” but can support. (Keep this group lean too.)

7. Remind people that they can do any ministry that they want, but that doesn’t obligate your church to do it, support it, advertize it, find a room for it, pay for it, and on the list goes.

8. Don’t feel like this limits you. You can start a new ministry any time you want. But be intentional. And when you do start a new ministry, be tough about considering what ministry you may need to drop.

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You see on billboards as you drive down the expressway. At ball games written in big letters on small signs and held up in the stands.  The In-N-Out Burger chain prints it on the inside of the bottom rim of their paper cups. Forever 21, a clothing chain, prints it on the bottom of their shopping bags. Football players have it printed on their eye black. And the list goes on & on…

It is the most quoted & most famous verse in the Bible. John 3:16.

But has ‘John 3:16′ become a trite, stereotyped expression; that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse? Has ‘John 3:16′ become a cliche?

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Good Friday…seems strange to remember the day Jesus died on the Cross by calling it ‘good’.

Why do we call this day “good”?

It is ‘good’ because Jesus died for us. It is the ultimate act of love.

It is ‘good’ because our sin separates us from God and only through Jesus Christ can our sins be forgiven.

It is ‘good’ because His death restores our relationship with God and removes the separation caused by sin.

It is ‘good’ because Jesus’ death sets us free. We are free from the penalty of sin, free from the power of Satan, & free to live a full & meaningful life.

It is ‘good’ because Jesus died so that I might live.

It is ‘good’ because Jesus took the punishment for my sin.

It is ‘good’ because redemption comes through the cross.

It is ‘good’ because I am so bad…and Jesus is so good.

It is ‘good’ because the grave could not hold Jesus. Three days later he rose and is alive today!

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April 1st is no longer “April Fools Day” in our family; it is our daughters “Gotcha Day”!

One year ago today, Nicole and I met our daughter for the first time. We had traveled to Taipei, Taiwan to adopt Szu Yu Chen (Emma Szu Yu). I remember pulling up to the orphanage, stepping out of the cab, and taking a deep breath. All the anticipation, questions, anxiety…flooded my soul. How will this 4 year old little girl react? What will she think of her new family? How will she get along with her brothers? Will she love us?

We walked up the stairs to the meeting room where Szu Yu and her foster family were waiting for us. When we opened the door…she ran to us and said “ba ba, ma ma” (daddy & mommy in mandarin). Then the reality hit her. She ran back to her foster parents and didn’t want to let go. I know she was scared. I know she had the same questions, anticipation, and anxiety we had. What will my new family be like? Will we get along? Will they love me?

Looking back one year later, I’m SO thankful Nicole and I took the risk to adopt a child into our family. I have a beautiful, precious daughter!

This has been an amazing year & has far exceeded my expectations. She and her brothers DO get along. She DOES love her new family. She KNOWS she is loved! It’s as if Emma has been with our family since birth. My prayer for Emma is that she will never doubt her place in our family, that she will always have a sense of belonging, & that she knows she is deeply loved.

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