Thoughts on Being Us

First, I want to say how grateful I am that you’re here. I know many of you rearranged your lives, gave up time off, maybe even missed work to be at this retreat. That kind of sacrifice doesn’t go unnoticed. I personally don’t take it lightly. And I believe God doesn’t either. There’s a phrase I’ve been holding onto as we enter into this time together: “The soil you plant in matters as much as the seed you plant.” And is true. We need good soil. Without good soil, no matte what we plant, what we try to accomplish, if we are not cultivating the soil that we plant in, nothing will take root. When someone asks, what is Falcon Community all about? What do we say? Whenever we talk about a vision or mission statement, I love how the church approaches it. If we were a company, or any organization or institution, we’d have to get together and decide, “What’s our vision going to be? How are we going to define our mission?” Then we would put together a process for coming up with the right vision and mission. But I need us to understand something… God gives those things to us.. Now, here’s the thing.. today and tomorrow were going to spend time I pryer and worship and decreeing not so much what is the vision and mission, but how were going to word it go make it unique to what God iscalling us in. Why? Because our king has already given us a mission and vision. It hasn’t really changed in 2,000 years. So what’s vision? Vision is what your eyes are fixed on. Vision is how you see the world; the lens through which you look at everything. And we sometimes think visioning is thinking about what we want and we say things like, “Well, our vision is to have this many thousand people.” “Our vision is to have this many campuses.” Or “Our vision is to do this or that.” When we say things like that, we show that it’s possible for the church to lose our pursuit of Christ, replacing it with pursuit of success—however we may define that—in the church. But here’s the dangerous thing. We can have 20,000 people, but not have Christ. We can have crowds at a hundred campuses, but not have Christ. We can have all kinds of things that will get us on all kinds of lists of successful churches in our culture, but not have Christ. We should not want any of that. We should want Jesus. I think of Paul in Philippians 1 and 3, “I want to know Christ. For to me to live is Christ. He’s my life. My eyes are fixed on Him. I want to know Him, enjoy Him, love Him, exalt Him.” And this is not just individually—it’s what we want as a church. So our vision must be Christ centered. To see God glorified all over falcon and Colorado Springs. That seems pretty basic, but I believe this is very different from how much of our church culture is driven. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard the term “consumer Christianity,” but it’s a label given to a mentality in American church culture that says if you want the church to be successful, then make church as comfortable as possible for the consumer (i.e., the Christian). Build places and programs where people can conveniently come. Give them a nice latte when they walk in the door. Provide state-of-the-art entertainment for their children while you treat them to a smooth service that leaves them feeling good when they drive away in a timely fashion. Variations of that vision, engineered for the savvy Christian consumer, have been multiplied across the landscape of our country. And they work! Crowds come and their vision is realized. But what happens when our vision changes? What happens when our gaze is not fixed on making sure crowds feel comfortable, but on making sure God receives glory? Suddenly our priorities start to transform. More than we want to appeal to people’s self-centered preferences, we want to awe people with God-centered praise. More than we want men and children and women to be impressed by the services we can manufacture, we want them to be amazed by the God they cannot fathom. And the last thing we want to do is raise up people who are casual in worship—as they sit back and enjoy lattes. No, we want to raise up people who are captivated, awed and mesmerized by the greatness of God in such a way that we will gladly lose, not just our lattes, but our very lives making His glory known in the world. Now, that’s a different way to approach church. It leads some to ask, “Well, what’s so wrong with the lattes?” I mean, pastor, didn’t you say you wanted a coffee shop in our church? Yes, I said that and I do want that… Someone might rightfully ask, “Isn’t it good to cater to people’s preferences, particularly people who don’t know God? Don’t we want to be sensitive to those who are seeking after God?” That’s a great question. Without doubt we want to see as many people in our communities as possible come to Christ. But then I think about what the Bible says. We read Romans 3, where the Bible makes it very clear that there is no one who seeks God. In our hearts, we are running away from God. But the Bible tells us that God is seeking worshipers (John 4) and that Jesus came to seek the lost (Luke 19). So it’s clear that Jesus has been seeking sinners for thousands of years. He’s pretty good at it—far better than any attractions or allurements we could ever assemble .So if we really long to see people come to Christ in the church, then what shall we do? Let’s make our community together as God-centered as possible. Let’s do everything we can to put the wonders of God’s glory, holiness, majesty, justice, kindness, wrath, grace—and all the glorious attributes of God we saw last fall—on display in the church every single week in everything we do. We want to show people the most biblical, holistic, clear, comprehensive, captivating vision of God we possibly can. And when we do, we can trust Him to do the seeking. So where’s my heart in all of this… Well first, lets understand this… Jesus has all authority over this church. Not me,us. He must be our center. He is the king. He has all authority over nature… he walks on water and calms the storms. He has all authority over, nations. He has all authority over disease. He speaks to the blind, and heals the lame to walk. He has all authority over demons. They do whatever Jesus tells them to. He has all authority over sin. His authority gives us the ability to resit sin and temptation. And He has all authority over death. Jeuss is Lord. And that must be - without compromise - our center. And if there is one thing the gospel denies is for us to submit our lives to HIs withtity over all. Listen, No one decides to make Jesus Lord. Jesus is Lord regardless of what anybody decides. Regardless of what you decide, Jesus has died on the cross. He has risen from the grave. He is Lord. Philippians 2:9–11 makes it clear: “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. Every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” That pretty much covers it. The question is not whether or not you or I will make Jesus Lord. The question is will you submit to His Lordship now, or will you submit to His Lordship when it is too late? So what does that mean for me as your pastor? And the truth is—my heart is relational. I care deeply about people. I care about walking with people through joy and through pain. I care about names, not just numbers. I believe ministry moves at the pace of relationship, not results. But even more than that, I believe God is calling me—and calling us—to be a people who are deeply rooted in presence and boldly committed to mission. I carry a burden not just for the people who already know Jesus—but for those who don’t. Not just for the sheep in the fold—but for the ones still lost in the dark. Not just for a healthy church—but for a multiplying one. I am a church planter at heart. Not just in strategy or title—but in spirit. I believe God has called me to seek the lost, to disciple the found, and to equip the faithful to go. And I don’t believe that calling is mine alone. I believe it belongs to all of us. I believe this church is a sending church. A planting church. A disciple-making church. Even now, while we’re still mobile, still stretching, still growing—God is preparing us to send and to scatter and to reach. Over the course of the next two days, were going to discern how that looks. And remember, its not about preference, but presence. We all have an idea and a desire for the church to go to the next step. But that next step doesn’t come from our ideas, but from our centering on Christ, and trusting and believing that he will work through us to accomplish His will and to build his kingdom. Now, for the staff. My expectation comes form the book relational leadership. The book I gave you, and I’ll have one for you Pua soon, is a mirror for us to see if we’re becoming the kind of people who can carry the weight of God’s work at Falcon.Let me be clear—these aren’t preferences. These are postures. They aren’t about performance. They’re about presence. The kind of presence that reflects the character of Christ. We all have ideas and dreams for what the “next step” of our church should be. But hear me—the next step doesn’t begin with better ideas. It begins with deeper surrender. It starts by centering on Christ. Trusting that He will lead. And believing that He will work through us—as we walk in unity, humility, and dependence. So let me walk you through the expectations I’m holding myself to—and that I’m asking you to hold, too.

Be Generous–Grateful We give because Christ gave. We lead from a place of gratitude, not grumbling—thankful for the privilege to serve and quick to pour out what’s been poured into us.

Be Outgoing and Overflowing We initiate connection. We don’t wait for people to come to us—we go to them, and we serve out of the overflow of what Christ is doing in us, not the fumes of burnout.

Embrace Passionate Creativity We don’t do things just to get them done. We bring the best of ourselves to the table—energy, thought, joy—because the church is worth our holy imagination.

Embrace a Balanced Work Ethic We work hard, but we rest well. We don’t idolize ministry, but we don’t coast either—faithfulness looks like showing up and following through with integrity.

Be Extremely Flexible Ministry will never go according to plan. So we stay open-handed, flexible in schedule but firm in spirit—willing to pivot for the sake of people and the purposes of God.

Embrace a Green-Apple Attitude We’re not overripe. We’re not bitter. We stay fresh, teachable, and full of joy. A green apple still has room to grow—and so do we.

Embrace a God-Can Faith We don’t lead with fear. We lead with expectation, believing that God is able—abundantly able—to do more than we can ask or imagine.

Be a Lover of Laughter We take God seriously—but not ourselves. Laughter is holy when it comes from joy, and joy is strength when it flows from trust.

Embrace a Lifesaver Mentality We’re not here to build comfort; we’re here to pull people out of the deep. Every conversation, every Sunday, every meeting could be someone’s lifeline.

Be Holy-Spirit Reliant We don’t move forward unless He leads. We pray more than we plan, we listen more than we talk, and we walk by faith—not by formula.

Be Pro-Jesus and Anti-Sin We don’t flirt with compromise. We lift up Jesus without apology and we fight sin in our own lives first—because purity is not optional in leadership.

Be an Intercessor for God Prayer is not preparation for the work—it is the work. If we’re not praying for our people, we’re not really pastoring them.

Breathe Proactive Loyalty We don’t just show up for each other—we fight for each other. We cover each other in grace. We protect the culture of unity. We stay in the room when it gets hard. So that’s my heart. That’s what I long to see in us—not just as a staff, but as a people. And I would defiantly ask the board to encompass these values as well. As we together move forward as one in Christ, and one in another… for the sake of the community we live in. Amen? *