Posted by Doug Cowburn on September 21, 2009 at 11:15 PM in Canyon Ridge | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Doug Cowburn on August 08, 2009 at 04:34 PM in Just Stuff | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
This weekend we had two Communion services in our home. It started by Brian asking if we could have Jesus time on Saturday. I told him, "Sure!" I was assuming we would read the Bible and pray together (which we don't do often enough as a family). When I got upstairs I discovered that Brian and Zach had prepared Communion and a devotional.
First, Brian read out of his Bible (Jeremiah 29:11) and then Zach pretended to read out of his Bible as he recited the story of Jesus' birth, death and resurrection. I was blown away!
Brian and Zach explained what the elements meant. Zachary actually told me that the bread was for Jesus' broken body. And Brian told us that the juice (which was Gatorade lol) was for Jesus' blood which is for forgiveness.
We did this both Saturday and Sunday. I was completely taken by surprise and humbled as God used my kids to lead me this weekend.
Brian's verse, which says, "I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord…" It was clear to me that God has plans for both of these young men!
Posted by Doug Cowburn on June 30, 2009 at 11:39 AM in Leadership, Transformation | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
When pastors sin, people are shocked, stunned, upset, grieved, offended and in most cases scarred. It's no surprise that when a pastor has a character fault or an immorality revealed the wounds run deep. If I'm honest, I tell you that I was shocked when the story about Ted Haggard came out. I heard what the press was saying and as the story was fading from the headlines I heard that he had stepped down from ministry… for life.
That didn't sound like restoration to me, but I didn't really give it any thought.
Recently, Ted Haggard has started speaking again, with the blessing of his overseers. If you haven't read it yet, I'd encourage you to take a look at Ted's story that is posted on his website. Although he and his family have a long journey towards restoration ahead of them, it sounds like God is working in and through this.
http://www.tedhaggard.com/overview.htm
This leads me to a couple of questions:
Posted by Doug Cowburn on June 10, 2009 at 12:05 PM in Transformation | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I had a plan for my small group tonight. I thought we were going to do a study out of the book of Joshua. I thought I was going to lead. But nope, God had a different plan. Over the last month, we've added two new people to our group (which is a very good thing). Whenever you add new people to a small group you have to give everyone time to 'gel'. Tonight was all about gellin'. Our community/fellowship time where we stand around and raid the snacks rolled right into the time where we would normally do our study. As our time together progressed we were all able to share about what was really going on in their lives. And the awesome part was that other people in the group we're facilitating life-giving conversations. As the leader of my group I got to sit back and watch God use the stories of others to encourage and minister to one another. We never did our study, but as someone mentioned, we were definitely 'groupin'!
Sometimes the best time as a leader is when God inspires others to lead and to do the ministering instead of you. I just need to make sure I'm not standing in the way with my plans when He does this!
Posted by Doug Cowburn on May 22, 2009 at 01:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Today I picked up a new book. It's called TransforMissonal Coaching: Empowering Leaders in a Changing Ministry World. This book was recommended to me by my good friend Bill Simmons. I have high expectations for this book and I have a feeling it will be informing my thoughts on leadership development in the coming ministry year. Look for future posts on what I'm picking up from this book!
Posted by Doug Cowburn on May 07, 2009 at 01:46 AM in Books | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Pastor Kevin Odor and I had the great privilege of traveling to Kampala, Uganda on March 16 and taking part in teachings and preachings to students of Makarere University and Makarere Community Church (MCC). It was an amazing week – "beyond incredible" – and was transformational on so many levels. We went to be a blessing and ended up being the ones blessed.
Day One (March 16) was spent in the air – 19 1/2 hours, to be exact! Fortunately, it was broken up into three segments (LV to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Entebbe, Uganda). The second leg was especially tough, in that two long-legged pastors really couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep in seats better suited for short-legged ballerinas on a flight that was completely full. However, the in-seat entertainment system was our mental salvation and, along with two surprisingly good meals, made the nine hours go by fairly quickly. Kevin's movie highlight was "The Changling" with Angelina Jolie, which he gave a thumbs up, and mine was "Slumdog Millionaire," which I had been wanting to see and enjoyed immensely. I think it deserved the Best Picture Oscar (though I only saw two of the five nominated films). The third leg was SO much better, since the flight was only about a third full and, once the plane took off, we each had our own row and proceeded to sleep for about four hours. The extra rest really was nice in preparation for a busy few days ahead.
Day Two (March 17) was really just a continuation of Day One. Since Uganda is 10 hours ahead of Las Vegas, the combined air/layover time meant that we would actually land at around 9 p.m. the next day (March 17). Where did the day go? I was reminded of a trip our family took last summer to Europe (we took in London, Paris, Rome and Florence). The time change was definitely a shock to the system that first day. We were picked up at the airport by three of Pastor Martin's "lieutenants" (KO's word), two of whom we would get to know much better throughout the week – James and Jerome. The drive from Entebbe to Kampala took about 75 minutes, and I didn't see much since it was night. I do remember the drive being extremely bumpy – my first introduction to the practically non-existant transportation infrastructure of the area surrounding Kampala. I mean, cars could get LOST in their potholes! Kevin and I arrived at Adonai, a modern-looking guesthouse that would be our living quarters, around 11 and were greeted by the manager, Tom, who along with three others would make our stay most pleasant.
Day Three (March 18) was an incredible day. I didn't sleep much the night before (a combination of excitement and anxiousness), but the adrenaline more than made up for it. Our room (the "Shalom" room) was great: single beds that, although small (remember the short-legged ballerina comment?), were comfortable; a large wooden closet plenty big to hold our clothes and shoes; and a fairly good sized bathroom complete with shower and hand-held nozzle. The beds had mosquito nets that draped over four tall posts at each corner of the bed. We were VERY thankful for the nets, since it was the beginning of the rainy season and mosquitoes came out in force at night. I was on anti-Malaria meds and so didn't worry about getting sick; I was a little concerned about Kevin because he wasn't taking anything and we both got chewed up pretty good during the week. We had a great breakfast (every breakfast was great: usually eggs, toast, bananas, passion fruit juice and coffee, and the bananas were the best I've EVER tasted) with Pastor Martin, who told us he had arranged for a big dinner gathering that night of college ministry leaders from different universities that would serve as a pre-Summit promotional event. It would be held on campus at Makarere, in a big lecture room, with a buffet-style dinner held in an adjacent courtyard – but the trick would be how to pay for it! Fortunately, we had brought contingency funds, so the dinner was covered. It was an amazing evening involving preaching (Kevin), impromptu worship by a very Spirit-filled young lady, and fellowship between leaders who in some cases were meeting for the first time. Several local pastors were there as a show of unity, and the dinner meeting definitely served its purpose. EVERYONE was motivated to promote and attend the Summit! Earlier in the day, I got to see the White House (MCC's ministry center), and we spent quite a bit of time there so I could capture it on video. The reason? Our Christian Businessmen's Network from Las Vegas has committed to funding a "temporary" ministry center on another site (the Palace, which I'll describe later), and when that happens the White House will be razed and eventually a new, five+ story building will go up in its place. The new White House will include space for the church, which has had to rent space at the university to hold services. It's all very exciting, and I wanted to show the CBN guys back home what it looks like now – offices, counseling rooms, radio station, prayer room and open air prayer center – and what it will become.
Day Four (March 19) was an incredible day (that will be a recurring theme) of teaching and training 30 of Pastor Martin's top "lea-dahs." I sleep very well the night before (I basically crashed while reviewing my material; Kevin said it was rather funny how I got everything out to study – he was also reviewing his materials – and probably lasted about 90 seconds before collapsing) and felt ready to teach. After breakfast Jerome picked us up (he was our main driver during the week) in the church's Bronco (which is a source of pride for Jerome, since it may be the only one in all of Kampala and one of the few cars with the steering wheel on the left) to take us to the Makarere University library. With him was Emma, a sweet serving brother who was ever-present and so faithful to our needs. What a great guy. KO and I taught in two separate meeting rooms (he took one group of about 15 and I took the other), and it was great. He taught his group on organic leadership and creating your Life Map, and I taught my group on the power of networking (principles in the morning and a case study in the afternoon). I began the day by sharing my testimony (Pastor Martin had asked me beforehand to do that) and then in the afternoon I shared how I met Patty before we were married. Had a lot of fun with that. We broke for lunch at 1 (I grew to love the food, which included matooke – mashed green banana served in the peel, usually served with ground nut or "G-Nut" sauce – lots of different potatoes, rice, mostly green vegetables and always beef medallions and grilled chicken), and the entire day just flew by. The students asked lots of questions and were so engaged; they really got the whole concept of networking, to the point where it became THE buzz word for the week. That night KO and I attended a dinner at a Chinese restaurant (Chinese? In Uganda? That blew me away!) with Pastor Martin, his wife Tracy, Pastor Joshua (head of the Born Again Pentecostal Church of Uganda) and Pastor Joseph (head of the Victory Christian Centers of Uganda) and his wife. The dinner, according to Martin (who planned it with KO and me earlier that day), would provide strategic planning for the big Leadership Summit in November. And he was right.
Day Five (March 20) was an incredible day and was somewhat of a mirror image of the previous day. I slept well (we didn't get home from the dinner until quite late) and felt excited about teaching a new group. KO had told me he didn't feel he had quite succeeded in helping the kids understand the Life Map the day before (I think time was a big factor, since the afternoon flew by), so he was determined to make sure his new group "got it." It was a great day of teaching; I shared my testimony/how I met my wife anew, and we had to cut our day short by about an hour because Pastor Joshua wanted us to travel to one of the surrounding villages that afternoon to introduce Kevin at one of his churches so the villagers could meet the Senior Pastor from the Las Vegas church that helped purchase goats and pigs. Canyon Ridge raised close to $30,000 last Christmas, with the funds used to purchase goats (Pastor Joshua decided to add pigs because the litters are bigger) that would give villagers who attend Pastor Joshua's churches an opportunity to make better lives for themselves. A single goat – which costs about $35 – or pig could make all the difference for an entire family in Uganda, and selling a goat or pig gives a teenage boy or girl the chance to go to secondary (high) school, which could eventually propel them out of a life of poverty. I captured Kevin speaking to the villagers (with interpreter) on video, and it was one of the most incredible (there's that word again!) moments I've ever been part of.
Day Six (March 21) was an incredible day, because it was the day of the Student Leadership Summit. I got no sleep the night before (again, I think it was a combination of excitement and anxiousness; I was nervous about how the students would respond, and would I be able to relate to them). KO was really helpful and reasurring when I told him how nervous I was ("they're here to hear YOU, because you have something for them to learn"), so I felt more confident on the drive over to Makarere. The adrenaline definitely kicked in by the time we arrived around 8:45. SIDE NOTE: Ugandans have no sense of time. We were supposed to get started at 8:30; it was closer to 10 by the time we began. It was like this all week!
Posted by Robin Joyce on April 16, 2009 at 05:28 PM in Canyon Ridge | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I'd like to introduce Robin Joyce. He is one of the pastors here at my church, Canyon Ridge. Recently, he has returned from a mission trip from Uganda. In the next post he will be sharing about his journey there. Be sure to check out what happened!
Posted by Doug Cowburn on April 16, 2009 at 05:28 PM in Canyon Ridge | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I'm still trying to figure out how I want to use my blog, Facebook and twitter. I've learned a lot and I'm having a lot of fun. I've also been thinking about how the church should be using social media too. Chances are I've been interacting with you on Facebook and twitter; I've been watching how you use these tools in your ministry. As I was doing this today I came across a few articles from ChurchCrunch on social media and I wanted to pass them along:
7 Reasons Why Churches Struggle with Social Media This is a good basic strategy article. It asks lots of good questions for us to consider.
10 Reasons Why your Church Blog needs to be "Multi-Author" This is another good idea. I've been toying around this idea for Canyon Ridge
A Social Media Strategy for Ministry This post takes a four-step approach to strategizing how our churches will use social media
These articles are going to help me and I hope they challenge you as well!
Posted by Doug Cowburn on February 23, 2009 at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Last week I went to the Monvee Alpha church gathering. I want to say, "I'm really excited about the potential of what Monvee will do for the Big 'C' Church. If you don't know what Monvee is, I would describe it as an online personal spiritual development tool for individuals to use. But it's more than that too. It's a tool for churches to help guide their church as a whole while ministering to the needs of the individual at the same time. Monvee learns how to work with an individual taking into account how they learn, what works and doesn't work for them. It plugs them in to the local church and provides a way to increase accountability as they walk out their spiritual development plan.
Those are just some of the ways Monvee will be helping people live out their faith and helping churches to move people forward in growth. While in California, I had the privilege of listning to some of the people behind the development of Monvee… people like Mike Breaux, Dallas Willard, Gary Moon and John Ortberg!
Monvee is just entering the Beta phase and the team has every intention of releasing a public version this fall. For more info, you can visit their Facebook page too.
Posted by Doug Cowburn on February 11, 2009 at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)