God reminded me once again today, that perhaps the most vital choice I make every day is to focus on the inside; or focus on the outside.

Focusing on the inside means I will focus on:

Spiritual fitness vs. physical fitness.

Sacrifice vs. Comfort.

Faith instead of Feeling.

Character vs. Charisma.

Ministry over materialism.

Generosity instead of Greed.

God’s perspective, vs. the problems.

What I can’t see vs. what I can.

The Audience of ONE vs. the audience of everyone.

The Eternal vs. The Temporary.

Here’ the good news: If I am bigger on the inside than I am on the outside, then I won’t worry about the outside! When the outside changes, the inside will still be solid and secure!  God reminded me today that there’s great peace, fulfillment, and reward through focusing on the INSIDE over the OUTSIDE!

What about you?

Are you more worried about being bigger on the INSIDE? or the OUTSIDE?

Shawn Lovejoy is the Founding and Lead Pastor of Mountain Lake Church, the Directional Leader of churchplanters.com and the author of the newly released book ‘The Measure of Our Success – An Impassioned Plea to Pastors”.  God has used Mountain Lake Church and churchplanters.com to become one of the most influential church planting ministries in the world, and Shawn gives Jesus all the credit. Shawn loves his wife, his kids, the church, pastors, college football, and PlayStation3. In that order. He lives near Atlanta, Georgia.

Why did Jesus love to hang around with people like Levi? “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Mark 2:17).

Here’s my question: As churches, if we are to follow the example of Jesus, why  does the majority of our ministry programming  relate to religious people, or long-time Christians? Is the church as a whole guilty of being so focused on itself that it can’t meet the needs of the spiritually sick? While so much fuss is made about fast-growing churches, is anyone asking about how much of that growth is actual conversion growth? Years ago, a friend of mine once joked that the churches in his town didn’t grow; they swapped sheep. In years of ministry since, I’ve often found that to be true, even with some of the fastest-growing churches in America.

The cry of the day seems to be deep preaching, more Bible studies and more Christian activities for the kids. Don’t get me wrong. Equipping believers to grow in their understanding and knowledge of God are crucial elements of the healthy Christian’s life, and it is our responsibility to equip believers to do just that.  However, if we begin to cater primarily to the church crowd, that becomes a problem. When that happens, we’ve ignored the example of Jesus, in going after the spiritually sick! Sadly, too many of our churches are designed to meet the needs of people who already know God and ignore the needs of those far from him.

The reason we planted Mountain Lake is because we wanted to create a safe place where we could welcome our unchurched friends;  a place where they would be accepted as they were and allowed time to get to know God; then allow Him to change them. To date, we have baptized over sixty percent of our congregation’s weekly attendance. Success in our church is reaching the spiritually sick. We’re just trying to follow Jesus and His example. Anyone want to go with us?

Excerpt from The Measure of Our Success: An Impassioned Plea To Pastors, available today on Amazon.

Shawn Lovejoy is the Founding and Lead Pastor of Mountain Lake Church, the Directional Leader of churchplanters.com and the author of the newly released book, ‘The Measure of Our Success – An Impassioned Plea to Pastors”.  God has used Mountain Lake Church and churchplanters.com to become one of the most influential church planting ministries in the world, and Shawn gives Jesus all the credit. Shawn loves his wife, his kids, the church, pastors, college football, and PlayStation3. In that order. He lives near Atlanta, Georgia.

Today, Tricia Lovejoy shares about an exciting new site for pastors’ wives and women in ministry. Check it out:

You Can Flourish!

Late last year I got a phone call from a lady named Kathy Litton. Kathy is a national consultant for Ministry to Pastors’ Wives for the North American Mission Board. Sounds like a mouthful, doesn’t it? More like a life-full. Kathy has been a pastor’s wife for many years and has been on the front lines of ministry in both volunteer and paid positions. To say she understands the unique calling of PW’s is an understatement.

So, Kathy called to pick my brain about what PW’s need….how they could be better equipped to face the challenges of life in a fishbowl…..how they could be loved and encouraged…..how they could relish their roles and responsibilities. We spent a couple of hours over coffee, and our friendship was born. I admire Kathy’s zeal for ministry – it challenges me. God added a mentor to my life that morning over coffee, and I’m thankful.

That’s why I’m so pumped to share what Kathy has been up to. Working through NAMB, Kathy has launched a website designed specifically for PW’s and women in ministry. At Flourish, you’ll find great blog posts, good reads, help for trying times, and best of all, some new friends – friends who walk the same road you do. We all need that, don’t we?

I’m honored to be included as a contributing writer on the blog, so I hope you’ll check it out. If you know me at all, you know I LOVE connecting with and investing into our tribe – whether in traditional churches or cutting-edge church plants. No matter where we serve, we need each other. So, click the link and let me know what you think!

In the meantime, I hope you flourish today. Wherever you are, whatever you do, lead well today, my friends!

About Tricia:

Tricia is married to Shawn Lovejoy, Founder and Lead Pastor of Mountain Lake Church and author of The Measure of Our Success.  She leads the women of her church in a monthly environment called Girlfriends, and she mentors Pastors’ wives across the country.  Together, she and her husband lead out in ministry and life. They have 3 children.  You can connect with Tricia at http://SharpenHer.com or http://MountainLake.tv

How do pastors measure success? Is it through the number of people who fill the pews on Sunday morning? Is it tied to programs, building projects, salary, or book deals? Is it about how much technology they use or what their worship band sounds like?  Shawn Lovejoy has seen all of these measures of success lead pastors toward pride, self-reliance, loneliness, isolation, exhaustion, and, in the most extreme cases, self-destruction.

In this honest and encouraging book, he calls pastors back to the “main thing”–the call to love people and make disciples–and to measure their success the way God does. Using Scripture, personal examples, and case studies, Lovejoy gently leads pastors back to their first love, and in doing so he leads them toward a more effective and joy-filled ministry.

This book is a great resource for pastors and ministry leaders!  Order yours TODAY!  Take your leadership teams through this book, if you order five or more books you receive a special discount and free shipping, email mlindelli@mountainlake.tv for your link and special code.

Shawn Lovejoy is the Founding and Lead Pastor of Mountain Lake Church, the Directional Leader of churchplanters.com and the author of the newly released book ‘The Measure of Our Success – An Impassioned Plea to Pastors”.  God has used Mountain Lake Church and churchplanters.com to become one of the most influential church planting ministries in the world, and Shawn gives Jesus all the credit. Shawn loves his wife, his kids, the church, pastors, college football, and PlayStation3. In that order. He lives near Atlanta, Georgia.

This week, Tricia Lovejoy is giving us a preview of the upcoming Exponential Conference.

Next week, Churchplanters is honored to partner with the team at Exponential for the Sifted Conference in Orlando. 4 days of transparent teaching and encouragement from main session speakers and TONS of workshops.

I was surfing the Expo website, and wanted to share with you what I found:

Church planting is not for the faint of heart. Over 4,000 new churches start each year, which means upwards of 20,000 planters are in the trenches in years 1-5, many of whom are discouraged and have considered quitting.

Sifted – the theme of Exponential 2012 – emphasizes the planter’s spiritual, physical and emotional health as the very foundation for reproducing. In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus’ reference to Peter being “sifted” is based on the process of sifting wheat from its chaff during harvest, a form of refining and distilling the good from the bad and removing impurities. As Believers, we have been perfectly sifted by Christ’s blood and are being continually sifted to extract our chaff (sin). Life’s troubles and difficulties serve in some measure like the winnowing fork. What if we could be better prepared to deal with life’s troubles? Join sage and seasoned leaders at Exponential 2012 as they impart their years of wisdom to help you in your journey and lay out a plan for finishing strong.

Shawn and I are looking forward to sharing our personal story of success and failure during one of the main sessions next week, as well as hosting the Survive and Thrive Family Track - 18 workshops specifically designed to not only equip you for ministry, but to encourage the entire family along the way.

Church planting is definitely NOT for the faint of heart. If, like Peter (and Shawn and me) you’ve been sifted while planting a church, join us for some much-needed encouragement and training. If you can’t make the trip, catch the live stream. There’s no excuse! See you there!

About Tricia:

Tricia is married to Shawn Lovejoy, Founder and Lead Pastor of Mountain Lake Church.  She leads the women of her church in a monthly environment called Girlfriends, and she mentors Pastors’ wives across the country.  Together, she and her husband lead out in ministry and life. They have 3 children.  You can connect with Tricia at http://SharpenHer.com or http://MountainLake.tv

Today, Tricia Lovejoy is throwing her two cents in about life in ministry on holiday weekends.

Easter Rewind

I’ll never forget it. Easter, 5 years ago. As my husband and I were shaking hands and hugging necks after each of our weekend services at Mountain Lake, I heard person after person relay their afternoon plans.

“We’re having lunch at my grandmother’s house.”

“All of my brothers and sisters are getting the kids together for a huge egg hunt.”

“We have 13 people coming to our house for an Easter feast!”

“Our entire family is in town, and we have an afternoon full of food and fun planned.”

I was genuinely happy for these friends, but after about 51 comments like that, I began to feel lonely, and I found myself crying in my husband’s office. You see, my extended family lives in different states, so munching on some fried okra with them wouldn’t be possible, and I was feeling the sting of one of the small sacrifices we’ve made to be in ministry – we don’t live near any family. To make matters worse, I didn’t even have a meal planned for my family.  No celebration.  Our focus was the work we were doing at church, not working in the kitchen.

We went home that day to hot dogs instead of an Easter feast, and we vegged out in front of the TV instead of laughing with family and friends. After multiple worship services, that’s all we had energy for.

That’s when I made the decision. Life in ministry didn’t have to mean missing out on the fun of the holidays. While we had done a great job teaching our kids the value and meaning of these special days, we had missed the mark on celebrating the fun side! No more. I made a plan. Since I didn’t have time to cook a big meal on Sundays, I now cook our holiday meals 1-2 days in advance. Easy stuff that can be re-warmed. I find a family or two that are in the same boat as me – no family nearby – and invite them over. Oh, and I make sure plenty of caffeine is on hand because we’re usually dragging by 2PM on Sunday.

My planning doesn’t stop there. My kids get their Easter baskets on Saturday, since Sunday morning is full of ministry prep. Giving the baskets a little earlier means I have more time to focus on them. And, to top it all off, I give Easter treats to our entire Ministry Team, too. Nothing extravagant. Just little tokens on their desks (for their spouses and kids, too). Life in ministry might be lonely for them, just like it can be for me.

Since that Easter 5 years ago, my plan has been working. My family has created some fabulous holiday memories, the sting of loneliness hasn’t been part of it, and I’ve felt the joy of brightening a few others’ day, too.

So, there you have it. My plan. Life in ministry may look different sometimes, but it doesn’t have to be lonely. What about you? Do you have a plan to enjoy the holidays that we help others celebrate? You deserve to celebrate, too! Make a plan of your own, and create the fun moments you want your family to remember.

About Tricia:

Tricia is married to Shawn Lovejoy, Founder and Lead Pastor of Mountain Lake Church.  They are also the Directional Leaders for Churchplanters.com.  She leads the women of her church in a monthly environment called Girlfriends and mentors Pastors’ wives across the country.  Together, she and her husband lead out in ministry and life. They have 3 children.  You can connect with Tricia at http://SharpenHer.com or http://MountainLake.tv

Coming to the Kindle, iBooks,  Google Play Stores, & bookstores everywhere on May 1!

Exponential Conference Attendees: Pre-release copies will be available at the Exponential Conference at the end of this month!  Pray that God gets this book into the hands of every pastor!  Are you a Pastor?  Pre-order NOW.  Do you know a Pastor?  Order them one now!

Shawn Lovejoy is the Founding and Lead Pastor of Mountain Lake Church, the Directional Leader of churchplanters.com and the author of ‘The Measure of Our Success – An Impassioned Plea to Pastors” releasing in April 2012.  God has used Mountain Lake Church and churchplanters.com to become one of the most influential church planting ministries in the world, and Shawn gives Jesus all the credit. Shawn loves his wife, his kids, the church, pastors, college football, and PlayStation3. In that order. He lives near Atlanta, Georgia.

Today, we’ll hear from Jenni Catron, Executive Director, Cross Point Church, Nashville. She’s an exceptional leader. Read on and find out why.

You’re Not a Circus Act

One of my greatest passions is the intentional development of women, especially women in leadership. And one of my greatest burdens for women is helping us truly identify and understand who God has made us to be and to embrace that calling wholeheartedly.

As leaders, I believe it’s so critical that we do the tough work of understanding ourselves and how we are uniquely wired. Oftentimes we have a tendency to allow a lot of other things in our lives to define us and we lose sight of our God-given gifts, talents, and abilities.

“Over the last fifty years women have secured for themselves greater opportunity, greater achievement, greater influence, and more money. But over the same time period, they have become less happy, more anxious, more stressed, and, in ever-increasing numbers, they are medicating themselves for it.”

From Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham

That statement is heartbreaking to me. It’s heartbreaking because I really believe it’s true. I’ve seen this in my own life. Our opportunities have increased rapidly and we’re adding pressure, responsibility, and activities daily, but we’re not taking the pressure off in other areas. We’re just piling more onto our already overflowing lives.

Marcus also shares in his book:

“The conventional image of a successful woman today is that she’s a virtuoso juggler, somehow moving fast enough to keep all the many aspects of her busy life in the air at the same time. This is a common image, but it’s also quite sad. The core skill of juggling is throwing, not catching. To keep every object in the air, you have to get rid of each one as quickly as possible, barely allowing it to register on your fingertips before you toss it up and away, preparing for the next object to throw.”

I’m willing to bet that most of you are jugglers. You’ve learned to be really good at keeping things moving but rarely are you stopping to evaluate what you should be spending your time on. You feel like you can’t put anything down and as a result you tap into your strengths less and less until you are not even sure what they look like anymore.

One of my favorite verses is a constant reminder of my need to evaluate who God is calling me to be:

Galatians 6:4-5 (The Message)

“Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.”

Can I challenge you to stop juggling and seek to understand what makes you uniquely you?

How has God uniquely wired you? What are your strengths and gifts? And how do you need to reorganize your life to experience the joy of leading from them?

I’m praying that God would awaken you to the beautiful, uniquely gifted individual that He has created you to be!

About Jenni:

Jenni Catron serves as the Executive Director of Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN, where she leads the staff and oversees the ministry of five campuses. She loves a fabulous cup of tea, great books, learning the game of tennis, and hanging out with her husband and border collie. Jenni’s passion is to lead well and to inspire, equip, and encourage others to do the same. Jenni blogs at www.jennicatron.tv.