SPECIAL REQUEST

I usually post requests for our family and ministry, however, I had a special request today. Ms. Edna Arnold is a lady in south Alabama who has been a part of our prayer team since the beginning. She went home to be with Jesus last week. Please remember her family in your prayers.

2/26/07 UPDATE

We had a really good week this week. For those of you who have been praying for my midweek request about the church planting coach, I decided to go ahead and apply. I sought the counsel of several people, and all of them thought it was a sound decision. As I prayed and thought about it, I felt stronger about the decision, so I applied. I'm awaiting hearing the outcome.

One other thing I've been requesting prayer on was opportunities to share the Gospel. I've been working really hard to solicit the help of believers (more about that later, I think its essential) but I also realize how necessary it is to reach unchurched people. So this week, I've been praying fervently about it. I experimented with several ways to get out and bump into people, start conversations, etc. Well, it really didn't go well until Thursday. I went to Scooter's as normal and had a great discussion with a lady who works there. (If you want to read more about the whole story, you can check out my other blog, but I'll spare the gory details here). It was a great conversation where you know the person is hearing and processing what you're saying. Please pray for her as she wrestles with this - her name is Lisa.

I also had several good contacts with believers this week. As I said earlier, I think believers who are willing to set aside their preferences for the good of others is essential (and also hard to find). I went to check on a building where we can meet. As I talked to her, I found out they are members in an SBC church where they are finding it difficult to connect. They've helped start a church in Massachusetts before moving out here. She said that she thought we were in a good area because she knew of 4 couples off the top of her head who were searching for a church like we were describing. It was encouraging and may lead to some people to plug into the launch team.

We also met with two couples on Sunday night who have been talking about helping us. They are seriously considering it, but they are also struggling to make the decision. Its a big step for anybody to leave behind what they know (friends, family, church, etc.) to go across the country or the city. I shared with them that I don't want anybody doing it just "cause" - because they don't like their church, think it would be cool, or anything else. I want people involved because they are convinced God is calling them to be a part. Otherwise, when it gets hard (and it will), they'll bail out. I actually find people who wrestle with the decision more encouraging than those who say, "cool, let's do it" the first time they hear.

This week involves a lot of preparing for what is to come. I'm meeting with a guy who's helping me file all of the necessary paperwork to get the church "official." I'm also working to finish several of the things I've got to submit for my application to a church planting network. We're being assessed (again) in March, so i've got to finish several papers, surveys, etc. this week.

PRAISES:
We continually find places where God is working.
God is answering the prayers that are being made for the work.

PRAYERS:
Our assessment with Acts 29 (church planting network) and our application for coaching.
Clarity for those we've met as to whether God is calling them to be a part. Specifically, Kyle and Kim, Nick and Kelly, Bruce and Brenda, Al and Mary.
God to show people their need for salvation and opportunities to discuss it with them. Specifically, Lisa, Brad, Mandy, Duane and his wife.
Wisdom for the myriad of decisions that have to be made.

WISDOM

Greetings all! I have a special, mid-week request. I learned of a coaching network for church planters that is meeting in New York once a month, April-September. A friend participated in a coaching network by the same group and i saw dramatic results in him and his church's ministry. I am very interested in the opportunity for learning and assistance and think it would make a real difference. Since 80% of church plants fail, I can use all the help i can get. At our assessment, one of their recommendations was to get a church planting coach. I've tried locally with no success. Additionally, after completing this, it would open the opportunity to coach other planters in our area, which fits my vision of starting other churches in the area.

All of this makes it seem like a no-brainer to me, but the concern is over two issues. is this the best use of my time and limited resources? The use of time is probably the most difficult issue right now. I think it would help focus my work and planning now. In addition, it will lay the groundwork to free up time after the launch by helping me engage others in the work. The major challenge for resources is that it will require airfare to NYC six times and a monthly fee.

I am trying to make wise decisions in this time and I would appreciate your prayers to that end. I'm trying to solicit prayer and counsel for major decisions.

Thanks!

02/19/07 UPDATE

GOD IS GOOD!!! I make that statement totally seperate from anything related to church starting. rather, it was 40+ degrees and sunny yesterday!!! WOOHOO! I never thought 40 would feel so warm. I went for a long run just to enjoy the sun. I have heard many people say this has been the worst Jan and Feb in a long time. It hasn't really been that bad, but it sure is nice to have it warmer.

On other news, you know the housing market is in the tank right? Well, my mother-in-law has a new idea. She's been in the process of retiring, selling her house and moving out here with us. She decided to sell her house by doing nothing. No sign in the yard. No ad in the paper. Certainly no realtors involved. She got a call on Feb 7th from her neighbor about a lady interested in buying. Her neighbor mentioned Juanita's place. The lady (who's 81) looked at it, liked it and brought her son to look at it on the 9th. They closed last Friday (16th). Go figure. The week before she had started to pray for God to send the right person who could buy it and would enjoy it the same way she had. It looks like she'll be here around the end of April. Now we have to get that basement finished:)

I also finished my prospectus last week and emailed it to several people. If you have any interest, email me and I'll send you a copy (can't figure out how to post it here). Please pray that God will use it to show people the need for churches in Omaha and lead them to either help us or someone else in the work. I met with a pastor from Lincoln, NE that is starting a new church and has a vision for starting one church in each of Nebraska's 93 counties. Many of them are very rural and have NOTHING - not like they have a Lutheran or Methodist, but not a Baptist. i mean NOTHING. I have a vision for planting several churches in the Omaha area, so there is a huge need and several opportunities. Please pray for a movement of new churches in Nebraska.

Saturday, I thought I would take a day off and take the family to a fish and game expo. OK, I know it sounds like something I would want to do, not the family, but I think J enjoyed it more than I did. She and the boys watched guys tie flies, talked dog food, watched a seminar on dog training, and sampled several things they'd never tried (elk, duck, pheasant, etc.). The really cool part for me was that there were several people I have needed to talk with that I haven't been able to catch. I think I saw just about every one of them there and had several productive discussions.

One specific request I have is that you would pray for openings for the gospel. We have several people we've gotten to know and are trying to follow up on those. There are a lot of open doors. Much of evangelism in my book involves these repeated contacts, sharing, praying, until God opens their hearts. I am probably most productive with this approach, but we really need a quicker harvest. it has been difficult to meet people lately (they all bunker down with the cold), but I really need wisdom on how to meet them, opportunities to share Christ, and some to respond. Salvation is God's work, not the result of our efforts alone, but concerted prayer to open the hearts of unbelievers moves God to work. You have not because you ask not.

PLEASE PRAY FOR:
Supporters for a church planting movement in Nebraska.
Open doors to share the Gospel - and fruit from it.
God to call those who are to be involved in the Launch Team.

Thanks for the prayers - they move heaven and earth!

For those of you who are interested, both of you, I've created a new blog for my random thoughts, things God is teaching me, encounters, experiences, or anything else I feel like writing about. This blog will remain focused on updates to the progress of the church start, the other will allow me to share other stuff. That way, I can talk about stuff without offending the majority of you:)

http://leecordell.blogspot.com/

By the way, you may notice some changes to this blog. The picture is the downtown Omaha skyline. Also, there is a feed that you can subscribe to at the bottom of both blogs (Suzanne). It will allow you to get the new info when I post it without checking the blog (I think the new Internet Explorer has a feed reader).

02/12/07 UPDATE

Man have things gotten busy! We had a really eventful week that I hope will prove productive. On Friday of last week, I had a meeting that resulted in a guy volunteering to make a promotional dvd for us. The only problem was, I had to have a script written and ready to go by Wednesday night. I also had to finalize my prospectus and prepare to preach yesterday. The DVD really took a lot of time. I hope it will turn out well and give some of you a look at the area.

I had to finalize the prospectus because our Director of Missions had a meeting with a group from Missouri who was interested in helping us and was going to Mississippi to meet with some other prospects. I've also got several contacts that we are pursuing. Please pray for God to pull things together as He sees fit. We need these groups to help with sending mission teams, praying, and financial support. Our salary is being provided but there are a lot of startup costs for equipment, advertising, facility rent, etc.

Preaching went pretty well yesterday too. Thanks for praying.

I also had meetings with prospects almost every day last week. Several doors opened for relationship building and sharing Christ. I also had a significant discussion with two couples who are considering helping us out. We have similar thoughts about church and ministry, so it seemed pretty good.

Again, the frustration is that things don't follow my schedule. For example, I had a follow up meeting with one of those couples for tonight, but something came up for them and we won't get to meet for almost two weeks. I keep having to remind myself that God is in control and things are moving along according to His plan, not mine. I've experienced that before, but in a normal church situation, your "postition" is secure and there are other things clamoring for your attention. Here, everything depends on those contacts working out, so it's a little more stressful.

Please pray for:
God to begin tying up some of these loose ends for us.
Opportunities to share the Gospel - pray especially for Brad and Mandy, Duane and his wife, and Spencer.
God to call those He wants involved in the work. Pray for guidance for Kyle and Kim, Nick and Kelly, Don, and Joe.
Wisdom as we make decisions for everything that has to be done.

2/5/07 UPDATE

It's strange how numbers affect your perception. I told a friend that so far things were going well . . . but then again, we haven't done anything "measurable." For instance, you look at contacts made, plans developed, time spent praying, etc. and those things can look good. The problem is, there's nothing about them that is concrete to evaluate as good or bad. That's why people say you should make goals that are measurable. That way, you know if you met them or not. Well, our first measurable thing is "The Gathering" on Sunday night. The good news is, it's easy to measure. The bad news is, it's easy to measure - you barely need both hands:) it went really well in continuing to develop our relationship with Jeff and Kelly. I had hoped to invite several unchurched people i've met since we were watching the football game, but none were able to make it.
Next week, we're going to work really hard to involve some others and begin praying and preparing for the church launch. Pray that several will respond.

The other bummer from last week was that several of the meetings i had set up fell through. We rescheduled, but it was frustrating that they didn't work out. I did get one to work out and it proved really helpful. There's a couple here who are really excited about church planting. They don't think they're cut out to personally do it anymore due to being "chronologically challenged," but they are very supportive and helpful. I met with Carl on Friday and he is going to help me with a lot of the administrative work - WOOHOO! MAY HIS TRIBE INCREASE!!! Hopefully, that will take several of the less exciting items off my plate. In addition, he has a friend who makes DVD's coming to town and set it up for him to help make one for us. It will hopefully be a promotional piece for those interested in supporting us. It will also have a track for those of you on the prayer team, so that you can see a bit of what we keep talking about. I hope it will work out well. The bad news is, I have to put together a script for both of them by Wednesday night. Oh yeah, and I'm preaching Sunday at Heartland. So. . . this is a busy week.

Please pray for me as I prepare to preach on Sunday and as I prepare the script for the DVD.
Also pray for us as we begin taking care of these administrative items - securing the name, domain name, building a website, finalizing the prospectus, on and on and on . . .
Pray for The Gathering and people we are inviting. Continue to pray for God to call those He wants involved and to connect us with them.

HELPING DADDY BUILD "SUMPING"




Last week I spent a lot of time putting together bookshelves and stuff. During that time, I made a new little buddy - Leighton. The other two were busy with school and since I wasn't "working," he decided to "help" me out. He really just hung around and talked to me and showed me stuff he built with lego's. Whenever i started working on one of these projects, he decided he wanted to help. He'd say, "Daddy, can i help you build sumping." (that's 4 year old for something)

Ok, i know it makes me sound like a loser-dad, but i don't really do well with that. I just want to get the junk done and move on. More often than not, the boys only slow me down and make things take longer. I decided to let him help, though. I realized that he does well when i give him a project and let him go for it. I'd start a screw and give him a screwdriver. He'd sit there cranking on one screw while i did the rest. Then, I'd come back, finish up what he was doing and polish it off. He'd be really proud and tell everybody to check out what "we" built. I really started to enjoy it and snapped a couple of pictures.

A few days later, I was thinking about the whole deal. Suddenly it hit me. That's how things work with me and God. I bust my chops doing stuff to start a church. In reality, at my best, I'm just cranking on a screw that never even gets tight. God puts it all together and then I throw up my hands and say "YES! Look what we built!" Right.

It's cool that God lets us in on what he's doing. We get to know Him better and see things done that we could never accomplish. It's also nice to know it doesn't depend on our abilities, but His power. That's how things really work, we're involved, but He's the one that really does it.

So. . . Daddy, you wanna build sumping?