I’ve been reading the story of the death of Lazarus in the book of John chapter 11. It really is an amazing story. Lazarus was a close friend of Jesus. He spent a good bit of time with him, enough that the message Jesus got said “Lord, the one you love is sick”. If you got that message today, who would you think of? That tells me that Jesus was very close to Lazarus.

When Jesus gets this message he makes a statement that this sickness will not end in death, but will glorify God. The weird thing is this, Jesus did not go to visit him. He stayed where he was for two more days. Can you imagine hearing that someone you love is sick and you ignore them for two full days? Of course his followers were glad they were not going, because the last time they were there, the people tried to kill Jesus. They thought Jesus was not going, so that he would not be attacked and killed.

Then out of the blue Jesus says, OK lets go back and see Lazarus. His followers here all confused and frightened and tried to convince him to not go. Jesus said his friend has fallen asleep and he is going to wake him up. They told Jesus that is is good if Lazarus sleeps, so he can get better.

Then Jesus says it, the most offensive, insensitive thing imaginable – “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there” What? Glad he was not there to heal his close friend, glad he was not there to comfort the family?

He finishes the sentence “so that you may believe”. Jesus knew that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, he was doing it to show his great power and to reach many Jews that did not believe. You see, Jesus is always more interested in you putting your faith and trust in him than your comfort, your health or your circumstances. He is always using bad things to bring about opportunities for people to believe in Him. He can use sickness, death, relationship problems, divorce, abuse and many other bad things to draw people closer to Him.

So Jesus finally goes and Lazarus has been dead for four days. He didn’t even go to the funeral. Again, he was setting this up to make a big impression on all the people that had come to mourn the loss of this popular man. He knew that many would be there to mourn and to see if Jesus would show up.

Jesus has a conversation with Martha Lazarus’ sister. She told Jesus that she knows that God will grant him whatever he asks. Jesus then says that her brother will rise again. Martha thinks Jesus is talking about the resurrection on the last day, but Jesus says this “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” That question is for us today as well. He is talking about our spirit living forever, even after our physical death.

She says Yes Lord. So Jesus goes and talks to Mary the other sister and again sees her pain as she weeps. This is where Jesus wept, even though he knew he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. He felt their pain and had compassion on them. Some of the people watching this commented that why did Jesus not heal Lazarus, he healed many others and even caused the blind to see. Why not heal his close friend. Jesus knew there were skeptics in the crowd and so he moved ahead and asked Lazarus to come out of the tomb.

When Lazarus came out many believed and put their faith in Jesus. Then Jesus said “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

I believe that our spirit will live forever somewhere, either in the presence of God or separated from him forever. Jesus told us the only way to make that happen is by believing in Him. Very simple, easy and available to anyone. It does not matter where you grew up, what your background is, what your ethnicity is or what you have done in the past.

Jesus made a powerful statement in this story, He said that He is the key that each of us can have to experience the glory of God forever. The key is free and anyone can have it.

Today I met with a group of guys from my church. We went to one of the guys homes, actually a farm that is fairly secluded. All of these guys have a heart to help other men. They are mentors, real men that love the Lord and other people. As we went around and introduced ourselves each guy shared how someone had made a difference in their lives, that helped them become the man they are today.

As I was preparing for this meeting today, I started to write down some of the men that have influenced me or mentored me over the years. I easily filled a page, and could go on. I had to think how blessed I have been to have so many people be a part of my life. These men took the time to get to know me and encourage me or sometimes even push me. Most of the time it took me being open to this idea and letting others into my world. When I did that I was able to make some positive changes in my life. These men have helped me become a better man, husband, employee, leader, follower and mentor.

God’s purpose for every Christian is that he or she develop into Christ likeness or godliness (Romans 8:29). But how does that happen? 1 Timothy addresses this idea “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” So how do we discipline ourselves? For most of us that is very hard on our own. That is where mentoring comes in. Having someone come alongside us to encourage us in discipline and also to hold us accountable.

Tom Landry, the coach of the Dallas Cowboys for nearly 30 years, said “The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do in order to achieve what they have always wanted to be.” It is the same way in our Christian walk, we need other people to help us do some of the things we don’t want to do in order to become who we want to be.

I have mentored numerous men and have seen great changes in some and very little in others. What I have had to remember is that I am not the one doing the work, but the Holy Spirit. I am simply making myself available to be used as an instrument in another persons life. I am planting some seeds of truth that are helping God shape this person.

I really believe that a lot of guys are searching for what it means to be a man. For a safe place where they know someone understands them and they are not alone. Men need a compelling vision of a biblical masculinity that they can grasp. Men want to know what God intends for them. We need practical how to’s and time to process how to put that into action in our lives. Men need other men that are cheering them on and encouraging them to stay the course.

Guys need to have defining moments when they know they have become a biblical man, when they know they have purpose and meaning in their lives.

I am passionate about helping other men grow, and then mentor and help other men themselves. As we shared story after story today about how God has worked in our relationships I was very encouraged that we are making a difference every day. We will never know the full extent of our influence until we are in heaven. Can you imagine what could happen if hundreds of guys would band together to mentor and encourage other men?

Of course all of this also applies to women mentoring other women.

Who are you mentoring? Who is mentoring you? If you said no one to those questions, something needs to change.

I believe in mentoring. I have had key people throughout my life that have been mentors for me and have helped me to grow and become who I am today. I have also been a mentor to others and tried to help them on their journey as well. As I look back over the people that have influenced my character, work ethic and faith, I must say that I was impacted more dramatically by a few important people, than anything else. Some of my mentors have been through reading books or listening to talks, but the most impactful have been the ones I met with face to face.

I work at NewPointe Community Church and we have been implementing a mentoring ministry over the last several years. A definition of a mentor is a trusted counselor or guide, a teacher or coach. Another great definition would be: Mentoring is the process of opening our lives to others, of sharing our lives with others; a process of living for the next generation.

Mentoring is a relationship in which a mentor helps a protege reach her/his God-given potential.

At NewPointe we have Pre-marital Mentors that help engaged couples prepare for marriage. We have Marriage Mentors that mentor couples that are struggling in their marriage. We have men and women mentors that mentor one-on-one other men and women. In each of these relationships the focus is helping the mentee take their next step spiritually, relationally or emotionally.

Mentoring allows a couple or an individual to give time to another couple or individual. Time to listen to them, encourage them, share wisdom with them and help them view their situation in a new light. Our mentors help prepare people for the next step in their lives. They help to repair and reconcile damaged relationships and help to maximize or deepen and enrich current relationships.

When you take the approach of one couple at a time and one individual at a time you can make a bigger difference, because you are up close and personal. This ministry allows mentors to speak truth into the lives of their mentees. God has been bringing couples and individuals with the gift of mentoring to our mentoring team. Couples that have been through hard times and were able to reconcile make great mentor couples. Individuals that have been through hardships like addictions, divorce, grief, job loss, bankruptcy and other difficult experiences make great mentors as well. We try to match up mentors with people that are going through similar experiences as they did.

If you have experienced depression, you can relate to someone that is struggling with depression. If you and your spouse went through a separation or an affair and were able to reconcile, you can use that bad experience to help a couple that is going through it right now.

I hope you get the idea. God never wastes a hurt, He uses it to minister to and mentor other people if you are willing to make yourself available.

I believe that Marriage mentoring is a key to reducing the divorce rate, because it prepares people for marriage and it helps couples reconnect and reconcile. At NewPointe mentoring is required for anyone to get married by one of our pastors. We also require people asking for financial assistance to meet with a mentor. This ministry is already making a difference in peoples lives, helping them, preparing them, enriching them and encouraging them.

I hope you will consider finding a mentor and being a mentor.

Think about yourself a year ago. Go back to 2008 and think about what you were like, who you were hanging out with, what you were doing, what weren’t you doing? Think about the type of person you were, the relationships you had, the work you were doing the way you were parenting, the quality of your relationships, the health of your marriage.

Now think about where you are today. Have you changed? Are you a different person? Are you pretty much the same? Are you doing worse? Deeper in debt? Are you closer to God? Farther from God?

Sometimes it helps to have a bigger perspective on your life. When you step back and look at the bigger picture of your life story, it helps to see things a little more clearly.

Now start thinking about next year, 2010. Where do you want to be? What are some things you can start doing today to become the person you want to be? Maybe it is reconciling a relationship, or maybe improving your financial condition. Maybe its going to school or having a different job. Maybe its getting closer to God and exploring the Bible. Maybe its finding a church that you can relate to. Maybe its developing some friendships. Maybe its becoming a better parent, maybe a better husband or a better wife or a better son or daughter.

How will you be different a year from now? Will people notice you have changed for the better or will they say you are the same old person as last year?

Today I officiated at a funeral service for Jack Beans. It was a pleasure to meet his family and hear stories about this man. I could tell his family loved him deeply and that he had influenced them in a profound way. The legacy that he was leaving behind will go on for generations.

He was married for nearly 58 years to Esther whom he adored. He loved to be with her and spend time with her. They did everything together. What a great example to the rest of us on how to love your wife. He also was a very humble and self-less man. He loved to help and serve other people. He used his gifts and abilities to fix things and build things to bless his family and friends. He was always thinking about other people and how he could serve them to make their life a bit easier. He served his family, friends, country and community.

The family shared with me that he did not go to church much over the years. However, recently they started attending NewPointe with his daughter and grandchildren and he loved it. Before he got sick he came as often as he could. He loved the music, the messages and the environment. He felt welcomed and was growing in his faith. He also loved to see his grandchildren and great grandchildren loving church.

He recently shared with someone close to the family that he had faith in Jesus Christ as the forgiver of his sins and the leader of his life. Wow, that gets me excited, to know that he came to that understanding late in life. He was a forgiven man.

That is the best gift he could give to his family; the assurance of where he is going to spend eternity. The Bible says that God has placed eternity in the hearts of men, and that means that we will spend forever somewhere, either in the presence of God, or separated from Him. How great to know that Jack is with God right now and that we can see him again someday.

I have been sitting in the Maximum Impact Simulcast at NewPointe today. I just finished listening to Liz Murray talk about her story of going from being homeless to attending Harvard. What an amazing story of growth. Her parents were both drug addicts and they lived in welfare her entire childhood. She described going days without food, eating ice because it felt like eating food. Splitting a tube of toothpaste with her sister and on.

She talked about making empowering decisions or dis-empowering decisions. Those moments in time when we can go either way. She said that self-pity will always lead us to dis-empowering decisions. After losing her mother to AIDS, she started to realize that she had to change something. She started to make empowering choices, like going to school, working hard, getting up ever morning. She ended up applying for a scholarship and getting it, which allowed her to get into Harvard.

Hearing her story was worth the entire day. You can check out her website to learn more. You can also learn more at this site as well.

Also heard from Linda Kaplan Thaler, John Maxwell, Kevin Carroll, Tony Blair, Al Weiss (Disney CEO), Mark Sanborn, Jack Nicklaus and Bill George. More on some of them later.

What a great day at NewPointe. Three services, eleven baptism’s, six families dedicating their children to Christ. The entire reason we do what we do is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Today you got a chance to see people growing in that relationship. If you missed the stories checkout our website for baptism videos, coming soon.

Every month we are hearing stories about how God is moving and working in peoples lives. My prayer is that we stay focused on giving God the glory and making Jesus known in all the communities around us. We are getting some incredible opportunities to share the Good News and reach more and more people with the truth from God’s word.

One lady that was visiting today because of the baptism’s mentioned that someone was talking about NewPointe at a Curves location in Cambridge. We have a group of 70-80 people meeting every other Sunday night in Louisville. There are new small groups forming in Sugarcreek, Dover, Louisville and Strasburg. NewPointe Community Church has “it” right now. We need to make sure we don’t lose “it” by getting distracted and thinking we are better than we really are. As leader’s at NewPointe we need to stay Humble and Persistent; Focusing and Determined; Bold and Compassionate.

I love the idea that people are talking and excited about their church. That is good and I want to encourage everyone that calls NewPointe their home to invest in the people you know and invite them to church. We promise to do everything we can to make it an incredible experience and connect with them in a practical real way.

Introducing people to Jesus and then helping them grow in that relationship is what we are all about. NewPointe is outward focused and on mission to change the world.

Today I had a really cool story happen right in front of my eyes. This past Sunday at church someone stopped me and said he would like to donate a car to a needy family. I told him that I did not have anyone in need of that right now, but that I would let him know if I came across anyone with that need.

Well today it happened. I got a call from a single mom on disability. She was very stressed out, because she had lost her child support, because her daughters father had lost his job. That had put her behind on all her bills. She had bought a cheap car recently, only to find out it needed a new computer. The cost was half of what she paid for the car, and she still owed money on the car.

I told her I may have another option for her. She told me she had been praying a lot lately and had been going to church and trying to do the right thing, but things only seemed to be getting worse. I called my friend and told him the situation and he said that is exactly what he was looking for. He said he would have the car ready in a week.

When I called her back with this, she was blown away. I could hear a difference in her voice. I believe it was a faith building moment for her, a defining moment. I will be working with her on some other issues as well, but I believe that God is already working in her life. My prayer for her is that her personal relationship with Jesus Christ gets more intimate through all of this. This act of compassion and kindness could be what she needed to break out of the problems she has been facing. She still has some work to do, but this helps big time. God is good.

God works through people, what story is He writing through your life?

I met with a friend for breakfast this morning, and he shared a story with me that I had to share. My friend does not come to NewPointe Church, but recently left his church of 20 years and is attending another church. He told me about a couple that were members of his old church for over 30 years. He told me that he can only remember them attending the church a couple of times each year. They were a very nice, well liked couple, but they just rarely went to church and never got involved.

He said he met with them last week. They came into his office and got to talking about church. This couple is now in their 70′s, retired and they have grandchildren. They told my friend that they are attending NewPointe Community Church. My friend was surprised that they would attend a larger church with contemporary music. Their old church did only hymns and had a large pipe organ.

They went on to say how much they love going to church. They enjoy the music and the messages and they are now taking their grandson with them. Their grandson absolutely loves going to church and is upset if they don’t come and get him. Last week they both were not feeling good, but they went and took their grandson to KidStuff, which is between the two services. This couple is excited about Church and God and is growing after 30 years of being a member of a church and going through the motions.

I love hearing stories like that because it let’s me know that NewPointe is reaching a wide variety of people in all stages of life. It let’s me know that we are connecting with people and are helping them grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

I’ve been having some interesting conversations about church growth with some other guys. We have been discussing the reasons that some churches grow and add new people and others stay the same or decline.

One of the guys asked if the church I attend wants to keep growing. I immediately said yes, because there are still unchurched and lost people in Holmes & Tuscarawas Counties.

One of the other guys said that growth is not an option for a church it is a command from Jesus. You see, the church is the plan for reaching the entire world for Jesus Christ. Therefore churches should try to spread the Good News to as many people as possible. It would be easy and safe to sit back and protect our own and feed ourselves and forget about the people that do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Some people decide against going to a growing large church because they think it will be impersonal and cold. They think they will be ignored. Maybe they think its just a cool place to be seen and a status thing. So without ever experiencing it they choose not to go.

The truth is that there is a reason a church is growing and attracting new people. I have heard many stories in my church and other Church’s that the experience has been amazing. I hear over and over again how welcome they felt. How warm and friendly everyone was and how the music and the message really spoke to them. I hear comments all the time about how they could understand what was being taught and how they felt the pastor was speaking directly to them.

If you have never gone to a growing church, I encourage you to try it. It is probably much different from the church you grew up in or have heard about. Church can be fun and exciting. God is not boring or uninteresting. It’s all about changed lives and growing churches have stories of changed lives.

Ever Monday morning at our staff meeting we share stories, and there is never a time we don’t have several stories of lives that have been impacted because of the church. That is why we do what we do!