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Brazil 2011: Early Team Safe & Settled In

Greetings from São Jose dos Campos, São Paulo, Brasil!

Our early team of 5 CPC’ers have arrived safely and settled in. We’ve enjoyed a great day of fellowship with 3 sets of missionaries already! The Deans, McClures, and Faircloths all came together with us tonight for a fantastic dinner. We shared stories and talked about God’s calling on our lives.

Here are some pictures from our travels yesterday and today as well as dinner tonight:

Lexington Airport

Laughing on the flight to DFW

Look closely... I found a fellow proud Apple supporter in São Paulo.

My favorite restaurant in São Jose: BABY BEEF! Deliciousness.

Me & Holly Smithwick at the Deans at dinner time.

Gary Mabley with the McClure kids

Holly Smithwick & April Pilcher with Ann Janel McClure

Me, Diane Dean, & Patrick McClure hanging out after dinner.

Matt Webster & Russ Dean getting in a few laughs at dinner time.

Tomorrow & Friday, we get to help the missionaries with preparations for our group. That entails grocery shopping, trips to the open-air market, and preparing for the work project for next week. Pray that we accomplish all we need to and bless the missionaries through our service and time with them.

Thanks!

2011 Brazil Team!

Our church, Center Point in Lexington & Richmond, KY, is sending another team to serve the great people of São Paulo, Brazil! We are working with a number of missionaries this year — Mike & Rebecca Powell, Patrick & Ann-Janel McClure, Donna Faircloth, Russ & Diane Dean — as well as a number of local Brazilian pastors. The majority of our time will be spent at Haven of Hope Children’s Home, a ministry to impoverished children in Jacareí.

This is my 7th trip to Brazil (4th time as leader of a group) and I’ll be co-leading with good friend and pastor Tim Parsons. The team consists of 25 CPC members. Many of them are first-timers, not only to Brazil, but to missions ventures in general. I’m pretty stoked to see what God does in their lives.

We made a quick video to introduce the team (minus me and Tim). Each team member stated why they are excited about going on the trip. Check it out below:

Check back here for the next two weeks for more updates. We also covet your prayers… we want to see the Lord move in big ways. Thanks!

Deus te abençoe! (God bless you)

4 Poisons To A Team Or Organization

Brad Lomenick, director of Catalyst and leadership enthusiast, recently posted a helpful article on his blog about things that can poison any team or organization. I found it to be pretty accurate and revealing of team issues I’ve experienced in the past. It also made me look long and hard about the teams I currently lead and serve on and the importance of safeguarding them.

Here’s a repost of his article which you can also read on Brad’s website:

I’ve been reminded recently of the constant tension on a team. And…. the Tension is Good. We talked about this and leaned into this phrase at our Catalyst event earlier this fall in Atlanta. The right kind of tension is important for teams, as well as for individuals. It stretches and shapes and allows for growth.

But there are other things that can creep into a team and poison it quickly. Things that sneak up fast and before you know it, start to define the team and take everyone off course. In the wrong direction. Headed the wrong way.

Here are a few of the poisons to make sure and avoid:
1. Arrogance- Pride comes before the fall, and for teams, the same holds true. Jim Collins talks about this at length in his book How the Mighty Fall. Humble confidence is the ticket.

2. No communication- this one is the most common poison for all teams to have some form of. The remedy? Overcommunicate. Be intentional and make sure folks are in the know. For team leaders, this one is tough. I struggle at this.

3. Me first, vs. We first- see this alot on high profile sports teams. Or with celebrities. As they say, there’s no “I” in team. A WE first mentality starts at the top with the leader who has to set the tone in word AND deed. If you are hearing “it’s not my job,” then it’s time for a gut check.

4. Jealousy and Cynicism- many times these go hand in hand and one follows the other. The remedy? Confronting it head on. Don’t allow jealousy or cynicism or cliques to form. Stomp it out immediately.

Hopefully this is as helpful to you as it was to me. I wholeheartedly agree with Lomenick. We need to fight off these poisons at all costs.

10-10-10: A Very Special Sunday

This past Sunday was a pretty special one for us at CPC… Our pastor, Tim Parsons, preached on the call to vocational ministry. We’ve done this in the past and God moved in powerful ways. Matthew 4 was the text he taught from, the simplicity of “Follow me.”

It reminded me of my call. I was in 9th grade, and God used a camp speaker named Ken Gillming from Springfield, MO to awaken my heart to God’s call. I am eternally grateful. My life has never been the same since.

We didn’t know what to expect, but Tim laid the challenge for our people to respond to God’s call on their life if they sensed it. They responded. 14 people total between our three morning services. We had a time of prayer over them. My heart was moved beyond explanation. Many thoughts ran through my head in those moments… Here’s a few:

1) Why would God ever call me? His grace is so real in my life. I am overwhelmed every day that I — a sinner deserving of no good thing from the Lord — gets to give my life for the cause of the gospel.

2) The missionaries that took the gospel to Kerala, India. I was moved to tears thinking about this. Someone answered God’s call and took the message of the cross to the region where my family is from. Because of that, our destinies were altered forever.

3) The pastors/leaders who responded to the call to ministry and had an investment in my life. Dave & Kathy Vandenbergh and Doug & Becky Williams in New City, NY. Jamie Gillespie, Dave Watkins, and Jeff Miller in Youngstown, OH. Chip Collins, Dave Adams, Jimmy Scroggins, Chad Brand, etc. from Southern Seminary. Russ & Diane Dean in São Paulo, Brazil. I am sure this list could go on. I am so grateful that they responded. My soul has been blessed to know them.

4) Stewardship. We need to be thankful and obedient to God’s voice. This is a privilege, not a right. May my life always glorify The One who called me.

This is an exciting time. We are going to do our best to pour our lives into those who sensed a call. From the middle schooler to the 50 year old man, our hope and desire is to equip and encourage. May the God who called them do marvelous things through these servants who surrendered their lives to the gospel ministry.

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