Quick Update (June 6)

This morning I had a great meeting with a long time friend of mine. He was a minister and pastoral vision caster at Mosaic Church in Los Angeles, CA. Have you ever met someone or have known of someone that was considered a man before his time? Well, this man is one of them. We met at the Cracker Barrel for a quick brunch. What was planned to be just a "quick" time together due to busy schedules, turned out to be a 3 1/2 hour meeting! One of the key words he stated throughout our meeting was the word "speed." He mentioned how this word was the newest "buzz" word around many cutting edge churches. He than explained that the word speed is a word that a church and its leadership will catch or a word that will haunt the very thought of it. It will haunt them due to an already established mindset that the church and its ministry has "all the time" in the world to grow and journey together. Yet he says, in reality, time is of the essence and church meetings are still long, drawn out, boring, detailed and little gets done! A church needs to focus on speed (actually "hyper speed" is how he put it). If the church and its leadership catches on to this "buzz word" than the urgency for salvation's, family, ministry, discipleship and growth can become the fuel that rocket launches a church to amazing growth! He lectured for about an hour sharing his heart and laying out a vision of "what ifs." For example: What if the first Hispanic mega-church was birthed in Texas? What if men like Chuck Swindoll, Tony Evans and Ed Young were serving under one church together? Are there any Hispanic leaders close to the caliber of men just mentioned? And if so, can they work together under one roof and be considered the next generation Hispanic "Dream Team?" WHAT IF? What I found interesting about his "what ifs" is that Pastor Dave and I had a similar conversation like that when we first started the church 5 years ago! I found it fascinating and yet refreshing that there are other men that think like us. There were many other areas of our 3 1/2 hour meeting that I won't go into detail about, but I will say this; If you thought I was kind of fast before, get ready for the ride of your life! I can honestly say, that there was something that was birthed in my spirit when I met with this brother. Actually, it was already there, I just needed to get it "watered." (Something about the Cracker Barrel right brother Edward? wink) I thank the Lord for what was brought to my attention because it was a reminder of who God made me. At times I found myself trying to fit the "mold" of other pastors and leaders. I will not do that again! God has a specific purpose and plan for me as the pastor of FCOH, and yet has given me a character and an influence that can become a blessing to others or a curse to myself. Yet, there has not been a better time such as this. My brethren of FCOH, put up the "old yokes" and strap on the "lighter" one that comes from God, and let's get ready to move at "Hyper Speed." Until Next Time- Pastor Sammy