In 2010 VOSD declared this to be the “Year of the Ultimate”. From the beginning we have set our hearts on God’s best for our lives! The numbers always speak the truth. As we close out the year VOSD has broken records in attendance, evangelism, leadership & finance. If the next 10 years are going to be the best 10 years, we have certainly gotten off to a great start. To God be the Glory!!

Here are 10 things 2010 taught me.

1. To enlarge my heart.

2. Right when you think you got it figured out. You figure out you don’t have it figured out.

3. It is possible to be blessed & equally broken.

4. The higher we go, the more we must stretch. Or vice-versa.

5. Excellence is what we repeatedly do.

6. When you take care of your team, your team will take care of you.

7. Family is more important than anything in your life.

8. If you eat less than 2000 calories per day & workout 3 days a week, you will lose 40 lbs.

9. Passion will challenge everything & everyone around you.

10. Growth is a painful experience.

Let’s finish strong together. Love ya.

Before I begin, allow me to say thank you. I have not posted a blog in months and I deeply appreciate my readers & fellow workers. Especially those of you who have been checking in from time to time.  I have not posted for a few reasons:

-Twitter & Facebook are major distractions from serious blogging. These micro blogs aren’t fair to serious writers.

-Work schedule has been intense. Building a growing church is definitely hard work.

-I became aware that some pastors do not like bloggers. Of course I am speaking of people who write negative articles. That is certainly not my focus. I am gearing my blog more towards inspiration, church updates, various learnings along the journey.

Great to be back. Leave a comment if you like.

1. Our dream is about us. God’s dream is about others. How many times have you heard someone talk about how they can see themselves doing this or that? I believe that is a singular dream. But God’s dreams are always plural. Whenever God gave a dream to a great figure in scripture, that dream spoke to generations. Remember that the dream of your life is always bigger than the dreamer.

2. Our dream is in the far distance. God’s dream is in the now. It may be true that we do not become everything God has called us to be over night. However, God’s plan for our dream is to get involved in it now. Hard work plays a vital role to any dream and we should never delay for tomorrow what can be done today. Your daily choices will manifest in your future, so choose wisely, dreamer. Never despise the small things in life. When we are faithful in the little, God will put us over much!

3. Our dream is an event. God’s dream is a journey. There may be a particular moment(s) when we realize that we are living the dream, but God’s dream is all about the journey. God is so awesome, that right when you have hit the pinnacle of all that God has for your life, He says, “Let’s go a little bit higher.” There are always new and exciting layers unfolding before us. And all along the journey, God is building up our character and preparing us for something better.

Elevate, dreamer, elevate.

1. Attended C3 Conference here in San Diego. Was great to hear from some of the leading voices in the Body of Christ about creativity and church growth. I have to say that a major highlight was speaking personally to Benny Perez and his staff about church growth. They were so gracious and humble. Being one of the leading Hispanic pastor’s in the USA, we spoke about being Latin and not speaking spanish, preaching style, multiple services, building space and mixed martial arts. He told me, “I could probably tap you out.” I said, “You probably could.” He smiled, I smirked. My staff chuckled because they knew I was just being nice. The Church of South Las Vegas has 3500 people on Sunday crammed into 28,000 square feet. We have 1200 adults in 48,000 sq. ft. Let’s just say, we have a lot of work to do still.

2. Spent a weekend at Victory Outreach Church of Phoenix. It is so nice to get out to preach a little this year. I have been invited by a number of friends to preach this year, but I had to get to Phoenix. Tony & Patsy Garcia has been pastoring in Arizona since 1985 and have recently been experience some awesome growth. In their history they have planted 7 churches, but this year they have been growing so much that they need to have multiple services on Sunday with plans to build on 5 acres of land. It was an honor to speak to capacity crowds on Friday, Saturday & all day Sunday. Their love and hospitality was off the hook and my wife introduced Patsy to Words with Friends on the iPhone. We made a great connection.

3. Kicked off our Leadership Experience on Sunday Nights @VOSD. This is such a big deal for us because we have been doing Sunday night services for so long. Even though they say that you shouldn’t count the Sunday night crowd as growth, we often considered counting it because of the people who were so faithful to it. We never counted them, but we we had to make the tough decision to make the shift. Our heartbeat is to focus on the leadership of our church. We want to recruit, transmit and minister to the people that are so active in helping us to reach our city. we felt it was time. Our goal was to recruit 250 leaders and volunteers to help reach our community. We were so blessed to surpass that number and to reach 300 leaders and new volunteers. Let’s just say that Sunday nights have been fun!

4. Launched out 2 new churches. That’s right 2 churches. It has been an amazing ride. Pablo & Rachel Gonzalez launched out to Spring Valley, CA as Alcance Victoria Spring Valley. On their first day they had over 150 people and are completely self-supportive. They are meeting in a very nice church building and are experiencing a wonderful moral. Patrick & Cindy Robbers were launched out Bridgeport, Connecticut to assume the role of pastor. Their first service had over 225 people and they have plans to grow the church and to add a spanish ministry.

5. Easter Weekend. What can I say? Easter is probably the most important weekend of the year! This time we kicked off Good Friday with special musical guests The Katinas. What I love about them is that they are so genuine, so humble and love God so dearly. The house was packed to capacity and together we glorified Jesus. Many people were saved and broken before God.And The Katinas gave us their best. It was amazing! After an awesome Good Friday, we capped it off with an even more powerful Easter presentation called “RISE” created and directed by our VOSD media/arts team. It was one of our best yet. Simple, clear, touching and the music was amazing! We have a saying at VOSD…when we do the possible, God will do the impossible. We worked hard, prepared, promoted and God honored it. Easter weekend we had 4 services, 2850 attendees & over 200 salvations, we also had almost 100 live online viewers. God is so good. People were broken and weeping at the altar. God was truly glorified.

Love you all.

Elevate.

Visionary people are trailblazers to their generation. Jesus was the greatest trailblazers. Read John 4. In order to be a trailblazer we must do 4 things.

1. Go the unfamiliar way. Trailblazers always do. I believe that God’s vision for your life will call you to unfamiliar territory. When you step into your vision, you will come into contact with new things, new people and new favor.

2. Go the unpopular way. Trailblazers are aware of the critics. Notice that critics do not have to get to you, but we should be aware. Remember, not all criticism is bad. But there is such a thing as negativity. Trailblazers know the difference between negative criticism & positive criticism.

3. Go the uncomfortable way. Trailblazers factor the pain. Anything worth while is going to produce some pain in your life. But we have a choice. We can choose the pain of regret or we can choose the pain of progress. Trailblazers recognize that there will be a season of loneliness. There will be a season of no fruit. There will be a season of being misunderstood. All these thinsg create pain, but trailblazers keep on pressing.

4. Go the ultimate way. Trailblazers know that God’s way is always the ultimate way. What made Jesus such a powerful trailblazer was that he moved like a man under orders. We do not know exactly how much Jesus prayed but we do know that prayer was a major part of his ministry. Sometimes Jesus would pray all night. I can imagine my Lord talking to God about his mission, I can imagine Jesus asking God for strength. Here is what I want to say: Do not go…unless God has spoken to you. When you step out to trail blaze, it is going to be tough, it is going to be difficult, but remember if God said, Go! Then God will be with you.

And God hates pride. It’s nothing new. Israel was guilty. Others who have gone before us were guilty. We are guilty. Who’s name is more famous in your city? God or yours? I would like to introduce you to a devotion I read, written by John C. Maxwell based out of Jeremiah 48:26-30.

Take the pride test.

1. Pride. We enjoy thinking we did it on our own.

2. Possessions. We pursue the perks that come with our visibility.

3. Popularity. We begin to believe our own press.

4. Power. We recognize our clout and we use it to advance ourselves.

5. Prestige. We love the feeling of being important and irreplaceable.

6. Pleasure. We think we deserve special treatment not given to others.

7. People. We cross a line from serving others to pleasing people.

After enjoying leadership success, a sequence of events often follows:

1. Satisfaction: We enjoy the victory we have achieved.

2. Indulgence. We unconsciously feel we deserve a pleasurable reward.

3. Compromise. We rationalize our behavior.

4. Denial. We continue leading, not realizing our impure motives.

5. Adultery. We give ourselves to another, sexually, emotionally, or financially.

6. Obsession. We get trapped in a pattern that consumes us.

Let’s examine our hearts. Elevate.

Prayer turns our weakness into strength. Prayer acknowledges our desperate need for God. What should happen to us in prayer?

1. Groaning. When we pray, we can cry out to God. David, famously stated, “A broken and contrite spirit you will not despise.” God honors brokenness, because brokenness honors God. When I am broken before God, I feel so close to Him. He is my father and he understands me. He knows my every struggle. He understands my heart. I long to understand His.

2. Growing. Pray grows us in such a profound way. There is a certain confidence that happens in my heart. It seems that when I go down weak in prayer, I come up strong in God’s power. After prayer I am immediately stronger spiritually. My faith is stronger. My character is fortified. I am more loving. I am more patient with people. My insight is sharper. I am more positive. Nothing seems impossible.

3. Glowing. For me prayer always wants to keep me there. It doesn’t allow me to move. I am locked in, but I must move. I must walk out my witness. Prayer also gives me the power to do just that. There is a particular glow that radiates from a person who prays. People know when we have tapped in. The glow is attractive. The glow is warm and inviting. The glow from a person who prays changes the environment. It changes the atmosphere. God is happy with that.

Here is the point: As long as you are worried about what other people think, the idea will never get off the ground. Not only won’t you believe in it, but your team won’t buy into an unconvincing presentation of “Let’s see how it goes.” Take a risk, it may mean the difference between growth & another year of the same ole’ thing.

3 Tips:

1. Buy into what God is speaking to you & your team. God is a creator. Therefore he has created us to have ideas & to constantly be reaching for fresh outlook and progressive plan for growth. I do believe that God will drop ideas on us. Whether they are so called original ideas or just something that we see in our study. The important thing is to buy-in. The idea may come from us or from someone else on the team.

2. Believe in the idea! This is so important, because people can tell when you believe in it or not. As leaders we often go through this cycle of thoughts where we rationalize new ideas as secondary to the so called things that really matter in the church. We dismiss ourselves to deal with the so-called real problems, such as finances, or missions, or staff, or the home, etc. Meanwhile there is a group of leaders who have some really great skills and get frustrated by our dismissive attitudes. People with ideas are always looking for those who believe in the idea.

3. Back the idea. Ideas need backing, they need prayer, they need resources. They need feeders. There is nothing more frustrating to a risk-taker than to work hard on an idea only to find that it lacks the backing it needs to soar. Get all the way behind an idea even though it runs the risk of failing. As long as you back it, it can only fail forward.

No risk, no reward.

What I have discovered is that personal growth is an intentional act of the believer. God’s desire is to grow us, but we are the one’s who must take the initiative. Growth happens when we pay attention. It’s not about the answers, its always about the questions. That is why I agree with Leonard Ravenhill when he says, “A man only twenty-eight years old may die a hundred years old in wisdom. The richest garments of the soul are spun on the looms of prayer and dyed in the travail that fills up the sufferings of Christ.” Amazing insight as you might agree. As you step into the ultimate decade of your life, I would like to express some things that have helped me to grow personally.

1. Prayer. Being intentional is the order of the day. I have to admit that the past 3 years of my life, I have wanted God more than I ever have. I have needed God more than I have ever needed him. Nothing in my life would possible without God’s force in my life. I have cherished my prayer life. It is important to me.

2. Great books. I must admit that I have made a personal commitment to reading. I consider myself like Paul who cherished reading & writing. I receive many requests from people about my reading schedule, I do my best to pass on what I read, but I consider it very personal, just like music. At the start of every new year I purchase a black composition book for notes, thoughts, journal. When the year ends I stack them neatly in my home office.

3. Relationships. When I was young my mother gave me advice. She said, “Son, if you die with one true friend, you are a lucky man.” So as you can imagine, I have not needed much as friends go. However, I have discovered that relationships are the currency of the kingdom. I choose friends who will stretch me. Challenge me, make me uncomfortable in a positive way. I choose friends that enjoy who I am, and I can enjoy who they are. We don’t try to change each other.

4. Personal records. At the beginning of each year as ask God this question, “What personal records would you lead me to break for you this year?” I have tried to follow a pattern in my life that will glorify God in every area of my life. I believe that God is glorified through a life that is lived out for Him. Leaders who die the best are leaders who have lived the best for God. I have a desire to be an example to my wife, children, church & community. I am not called to lead all, but I am called to lead some.

5. Pain. I have learned that life hurts. At times it hurts badly. However, I am learning to control what kind of pain I experience. There is the pain of regret and there is pain that changes us. I would rather live in the realm of change. Change produces growth. Regret produces…well, you know.

6. Positivity. I am learning to work from the positive. Negativity can really drain a leader. There is always something to be negative about. So positivity is a choice. I truly believe that being optimistic is much more attractive to a hurting world, then to spend time telling people what’s wrong with it. I think people get that. Growth happens for me when I make the choice to be positive.

Keep rising.

1. We believe the Ultimate belongs to those who are willing to plant themselves. We stand upon Psalms 92:12-15. People of the Ultimate know how to be planted in the House of God. If we are going to build a life in these next 10 years we must decide where we will plant our seed. God has promised us that when we plant our seed/life in the church, we will flourish as a “Cedar in Lebanon”.

2. We believe that the Ultimate belongs to those who are willing to take the lead. Leaders set the tone for the entire organization! This is so important because people are looking for a winning team. However, they are looking for the win, before the team. It seems like people cannot tolerate another losing season. They want to get on a team that is winning. Leaders determine the win!

3. We believe that the Ultimate belongs to those who are willing to partner. 2010 belongs to those who recognize that relationships are the currency of the kingdom. We will rise to the levels of our relationships. What does your team look like in 2010?  Remember, when God is on your team, you have a guaranteed win! Start there. You won’t regret it.

4. We believe that the Ultimate will require greater faith! Ahh, faith. Without it we cannot please God. Without it, we cannot rise to the Ultimate. Whenever, the disciples hit a barrier in their relationship with God, they ask the most important question they could. They said, “Lord, increase our faith.” Often it is the question that move us to the next level and not the answers. Let’s start asking the right questions, not giving old answers.

Elevate. Keep Rising.