Real Life with Levi... #1

So I recently pulled my article from the weekly e-newsletter that we send out to our church. I pulled it so we could focus on announcements and events in the newsletter and allow me to publish a separate piece every week or two.

I couldn't think of anything completely creative to call it so for now it is "Real Life with Levi". Anyway, here is what I wrote...

Hey Catalyst,

Like millions of others this time of year, I am trying to drop some weight. In fact, I am in a contest with 17 other people trying to lose the excess weight we have put on over the years. The other day I was remembering an encounter I had with an acquaintance a few years back. As I was shaking hands with this gentleman, he made a comment about me having gained a few pounds since we had last run into each other.

Right or wrong, I thought of a lot of stinging comments to fire back, but I managed to shrug it off on the outside while I was reeling on the inside. In that moment, this person was removed from my “safe” list (I don't really have a list). It almost felt like a power play of sorts, a way of putting me on my heels. I’m not sure if I landed on my heels or was just highly offended.

Contrast this encounter with another person that I see once every three or four years. His name is Jerry Gardner and while we are not best buddies, I always look forward to seeing him. Beyond his being a great guy, he is a “safe” and encouraging person. Around the same time I had the first encounter, I saw Jerry and he said, “Levi, you look great. Have you lost some weight?” The truth is that we both knew I hadn’t lost any weight but it didn’t matter, Jerry drew me in with his words instead of putting me in a definsive mindset.

One person used their words to insult and create distance and one used their words to encourage and draw me in. Guess which person I look forward to seeing? Am I pushing for us all to walk around distorting the truth? No! But I am pushing for us to find ways to be “safe” and encouraging people. Do people cringe when you walk into a room or are you a refuge from what they are used to hearing? Hear these words from Romans 12...

Romans 12:4-9
4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Utah Trip: Day One

The days are long and tiring... I will try to load some pics and video when I can.

We started the trip by waking at 3:30 a.m. Mon. morning so that we could catch a 6:00 a.m. flight.

We landed and my Uncle Everett picked us up and took us to breakfast and dropped us at he and Connie's condo in Salt Lake. We dropped off our stuff and put on riding gear and headed to the bike shop to pick up the bikes. There was a bit of delay but quick enough we had the bikes and headed to Park City. I have no idea how far we rode but it was between 6600 and 7000 ft and my lungs were burning.

These are our trusty rented steeds...



This was a pic about halfway down a mountain where we got a glimpse of our car in the parking lot...



This was a technical little section that got a little more gnarly than I planned at the end...


I will close with a video we shot coming down a mountain. It is not edited and has some stops to adjust the camera...

Weekend Recap...

This was perhaps the busiest weekend in the short history of Catalyst Church. It was incredible to watch our people serve, celebrate and connect like never before. It seemed appropriate to recap the whole weekend rather than just Sunday.

Friday Evening- Movies on Main

• We partnered with the city of Rowlett to sponsor the movie "Tangled" on the lawn in front of the public library.
• We popped popcorn, manned bounce houses, and passed out fans to hundreds folks spread out on the lawn.
• It was beautiful to see our Event Volunteer t-shirts scattered all over the place, our people talking to folks who were asking questions about the church.
• The highlight of this night personally was that I did nothing but show up and lend a hand here and there. It was all planned by Tim and Pam Moriarty and pulled off by our great volunteers.

Sunday Morning

• I was nervous about the day because I was not "preaching" per se. I was telling the story of God's provision, faithfulness, and goodness to Catalyst church in a land gift we recently received.
• I was nervous because this Sunday was the 10th anniversary of 9-11 and I knew that a lot of other churches were focusing on that and we were not.
• I was nervous that people would somehow be disappointed on a day that was to be a celebration.
• Catalyst scared me to death on this day... at 10:30 when the first song began, we had about 40 people in the building. I even commented on my facebook check-in that I was hoping for a late rush. I literally felt sick that we may have a half empty room on a day of celebration. We ended up with nearly 170 in attendance and had to pull out folding chairs. I guess they say "better late than never".
• We decided that on a day that brings up many different emotions like hate, anger, unforgiveness, revenge, etc... we would be better served to hear of God's faithfulness and leave with a sense of hope rather than any other emotion.
• I'll be honest, it felt like a risk, but one that I knew we had to take. We prayed for our country, our first responders, and those who were hurting over the loss of people they loved, but then we spent the day focused on God's goodness.
• The worship (musically) was off the charts. The band sounded great, the mix was great, and it was just a little bit louder than normal. The best part was that I could hear our people belting it out. I love that our church doesn't just stand and watch the band play.
• It was amazing to look across the room as I was telling the land story and see people wiping their eyes from beginning to end. I'm sure they were all "happy tears" .
• After the service, we took a group picture on the new land. I dislike group pictures as much as anybody and was thrilled that most of our people treked over for the pic. Thanks to Dan Pence from Stillwater Church for Snapping the photo.

Lunch...

• HUGE turnout for lunch. Probably our best ever result as we munched on fried chicken, baked beans and potato salad.
• We got everyone fed quickly and for the first time (thanks to Stillwater Comm. Church for the tables) we were able to house everyone inside around tables.
• It was great to see everyone linger long after the food was gone. It reminded me of family dinners when the food is secondary to the company.
• Another shout out to Tim and Pam Moriarty for organizing lunch. This church would not be where it is without them working behind the scenes.

C-Group Game Night/Launch Party

• We decided to try a new way of attracting folks to our C-groups in the form of a Game Night.
• As people arrived, we helped them find a group based on location and time and day if they weren't already connected to a group. It was great to see so many new faces.
• Each group had a circle of chairs and competed in various games ranging from Trivia, to minute to win it-esque games, to a Playdough version of Pictionary. It was loud and there was lots of trash talking among the groups, but in the end the teens triumphed and won a pizza party for their efforts.
• Nobody seemed to mind missing the start of the Cowboys game. I would have rather missed the end... ugh!
• Special thanks to Gary and Denise Cuppett for organizing the games.

Highlights for me...

• The way our people came together to pull of so many events in one weekend was amazing.
• Seeing people post, "I love my church" all day long was amazing. The thought was echoed by young and old alike.
• Seeing new folks take a courageous step to join a c-group.
• Watching our church continue to become a family is amazing.

Sunday Recap... Sept 4th

• Woke up before 7 a.m. and had butterflies in my stomach about preaching. This doesn't happen on a regular basis and I almost felt naucious. This usually happens when I feel impressed to explain a scripture in a way that may be different than what many of our people have heard before.
• I was also a bit nervous because we had a worship band from SNU (Southern Nazarene University) called Remedy leading worship. I am routine person and while I knew they were going to do a good job, I think it added to my nervousness for the day.
• Remedy blew me away. I have never met a college worship band that has a collective heart for ministry like these guys and gals. I worked with them at a youth camp this summer and they are incredibly authentic and equally as talented. The university they represent should be very very proud of them.
• I was nervous about the sermon for a couple of reasons
• 1. I had so much to say, wanted to say it all, but didn't want to keep people at church all day.
• 2. The message was a tough one because if flies in the face us the message that is preached in American churches on a regular basis.
• Here are the highlights:
• We live in a contractual society but serve a God of Covenant.
• Contractual agreements are abandoned when there is too much suffering, frustration, or one party doesn't live up to their end of the bargain. Suffering is the antithesis of contracts.
• Covenant is at it's best in the midst of suffering.
• As Christians, we should not expect that we will suffer less than our non-Christian friends.
• Just because we are "living right" doesn't mean that we will avoid suffering.
• God's call is for us to suffer well, to suffer and hurt differently than the world, and to honor and give glory to God in the midst of the worst that life sends our way.

You can tell that it is not a popular sermon to preach. Who call their people to suffer and suffer well for the glory of God?

• I will say that I could almost see a collective sigh of relief washing over our people. The realization that suffering and difficulty are a part of the deal when we sign on with God. I think it just "clicked" with so many Catalyst folks that our pain and suffering is not in direct correlation to "right living", although we can certainly avoid certain hurts when we live into the life he has called us.
• We took a huge group to Burger Island to eat with Remedy. I am pretty sure there were near 50 Catalyst folks in that restaurant.
• Since this blog is a place where I feel an obligation to be as transparent as possible, I will admit that I got some difficult news that threw me into a bit of a funk for the rest of the weekend.
• I responded by driving to Tom Thumb and buying a half gallon of Blue Bell Rocky Road Ice Cream. I served up ice cream for the whole family and had five scoops myself (I usually eat one or two). I then ate four more scoops. I confess that I struggle with stress eating and pretty much blew it. Heather told me she was glad that I didn't drink alcohol because she feels certain I could be a binge drinker. I agree!
• I skipped my Sunday bike ride and sulked (pretty stupid move in hindsight).
• I woke up this morning and realized that we had 150 people in church on Labor Day Weekend and I pastor an incredible group of people who are collectively known in our community as "Catalyst".
• I wore shorts and a t-shirt to work this morning, met with a group of other Rowlett Pastors, met a banker about a refinance loan, realized I have a church and family that love me and that life is good.

12 Crazy Minutes on a Monday...

This is an email that I sent out to our church body regarding a meeting with a landowner on Monday, August 29th at 11 a.m.

Catalyst,

We have asked for your prayers regarding a meeting that occurred at 11 a.m. this morning. Everything has happened rather quickly regarding this land and you should know that the meeting went well. I will give details on the meeting in a moment but I want to give you some backstory first.

6 Months Ago.....

God began stirring something inside of me that Catalyst would be called to do something that required a lot of faith. I told our leadership team about this stirring and also told them that I had no idea what God was calling us to do, but I asked them to join me in prayer that God would make this clear.

1 Month Ago...

I began sensing that we needed to pursue some of the land that surrounds Catalyst. We are landlocked and do not own enough land for future expansion. I continued to pray and put "call land owners" on my to do list. We had inquired about the land a year before out of curiosity and one piece was listed for $365k while the other was $150k. Those numbers were very discouraging as they were much too expensive to even consider buying.

Two Weeks Ago...

I picked up the phone and called the landowners. Nothing had changed price-wise on the $365k land, but I had a very interesting conversation with a lady, whom I had met a year earlier, representing the $150k land. She asked that I meet with our leadership team and come to them with an offer of what we could pay. I told her that I was worried about insulting them with an offer because "what we could pay" was nowhere near their asking price. She assured me that she understood and told me that she would be in touch.

Eight Days Ago...

We called the church to pray for God's will regarding the potential land deal. We committed to trusting God in all of this.

Four Days Ago...

The Catalyst Leadership team met for about 90 minutes. We prayed, we discussed, then discussed some more about what we should offer. We settled on an amount that would ensure we were being good stewards of what God has given us and would be honoring of the landowner as well. We hoped that I didn't get laughed out of the upcoming meeting.

One Day Ago...

We asked for the church to unite in prayer for the meeting that happened this morning.

11 a.m. this morning...

I made my way to a meeting with the landowner. It was by far the shortest meeting I have ever been a part of. The owner pulled me into a side room and asked me what was going on with Catalyst . I told him of the great things God is doing and how amazed we have been at the lives He is changing.

Then we got down to business. He asked me where we were at on an offer. I told him that I did not want to insult him and proceeded to give him our offer. He shook his head and opened a bible to 1 Timothy 6 and read these words out loud...

17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

He then told me that we could figure out something to do with our offer because he was GIVING us the land. My eyes teared up and then I began to laugh. I told him that I had heard stories of this type of gift being given to other churches and that it just seemed surreal.

We talked for a bit more and he thanked me for giving him the opportunity to be obedient. Did you catch that? The gift giver gave thanks to us (Catalyst), the recipient, for the opportunity to give a gift.

I prayed a prayer that probably only made sense to God, we hugged, I was told to never mention a name, and I giggled all the way to my car. I stopped, looked at my cell phone, realized it was 11:12 a.m. and that I had just experienced twelve crazy minutes on a Monday.

Thanks and Praise be to God for all he is doing in and through Catalyst!

Grace and Peace,

Levi

Sunday Recap....

Thought I would give you a rundown of the day...

• Alarm at 6:45, up at 7:00, at the church by 7:10 in gym shorts and a t-shirt.
  
• Prayed for my buddy Ian Shaw and Modern Life Church. He is planting a church in Chattanooga, TN and they held their Grand Opening today. Found out later that it was an incredible day as 80 people showed up for the service. A huge WIN for them. They have worked themselves silly getting their worship space ready for the big day.
  
• Go through the building turning on the A/C units so that the building will be nice and chilly when folks arrive. The building temp will rise 4-5 degrees when people fill the room and the outside doors are opened and closed a hundred times or so.
  
• Practice the sermon one last time to an empty room and time it at 35 minutes. That is not good as I usually speak for 5 minutes more than the last practice time.
  
• Head home in time to see Heather out the door for band practice and spend some time hanging with the kids.
• Participate in a Sunday ritual that is nearly as sacred as going to church. We drive to the doughnut shop and each of the kiddos picks out their breakfast for the day.
  
• Get to church in time to hear that last few songs of the band rehearsal and get all mic'ed up for the service.
  
• The band opened with an Alanis Morissette song, "Ironic" as we are talking about the Irony of God's people expecting a roaring lion for a savior, but what they got was a slain lamb.
  
• The music was incredible as usual and a song that I have really not liked for a few years has become really powerful for me during this series. It is called "Revelation Song" of all things. It has been popular for a while but I have never been a fan until now.
  
• The announcements are usually, well... announcements, but lately we have been showing some sarcastic "How Not To Pray" videos we shot to promote Cover Rowlett, a prayer project we are participating in with several other churches in the area. Yesterday's video was the "Father God" prayer, I will post a link when we put it on youtube.
  
• I was nervous about that video offending people, but it actually received more laughs and applause than any of the videos we showed in previous weeks.
  
• I spoke on Revelation 6 & 7, and had more to say than time to say it. We are pressed for time not so much in minutes but in weeks. We have to finish this series up before Advent which begins four weeks prior to Christmas.
• I felt there were two main thrusts to the sermon.

1. We are invited in to a life of Self-Giving Love.
   
2. Purity and Holiness is not just about what we DON'T do, but has a lot to do with how we choose to align our lives with the mission of God.

• I actually finished the sermon at 33 minutes, shaving two minutes off the practice time. Nobody complains about a sermon not lasting long enough.
• After the service we had a lunch for our C-group leaders. This year we have 6 groups to choose from and I am really excited to see what God does in and through these groups. These groups are critical for people connecting to Catalyst and feeling like family. Simply attending on Sunday mornings can leave people feeling like they are sitting at a kids table during a family meal.
  
• Went home and sat on the couch, completely wiped out. I wish I understood why preaching is so exhausting. It seems like it is just a 30 minute talk, but it leaves me so worn out most weeks. My dad was telling me that a study was performed and they found that preaching a sermon was equal to a six hour work day. I have no idea how the study was performed, but it seems fairly accurate to me.
• Chillaxed until we headed over the Mautner house for some delicious tacos. They have four girls under the age of 8. Holy Cow! It was awesome to see all the energy and personality these girls have. I joked that when the teen years hit, they could apply for a reality show. It was great to get to know them a bit better.
• Headed home and had a couple of teenagers waiting out front to get some help with their math homework. That is Heather's domain. I got the kids tucked in bed while I over heard , "did you get x+7 for that one". I felt obligated to tell the teens that the last time I ever had to solve a math problem involving letters was in my last math class.
  
• I watched the second half of the Raiders vs. Saints game while streaming some "Billy the Exterminator" from Netflix on the laptop.
  
• Hit the hay around midnight...
  

WNR... What those letters mean to me.

I grew up going to church on Wednesday Nights. Here is a rundown of my Wednesday Night activities...

Childhood
When I was a kid I went to a program called"Caravan" which is basically like a church version of Boy Scouts. We would earn badges and all that. I always had soccer games on Saturday, so I never got to go to the camp-outs, not that I minded. My most notorious Caravan moment happened at the end of the year banquet. I set my napkin on fire by holding it above the table candle. Seriously, who puts candles on a 9 year old boy's table. Sheesh...

Teen Years
I graduated to youth group. During my teen years we would be divided onto teams and earn points for various things. Bringing a bible, memorizing a verse, inviting a friend, winning a game. It was a season long ordeal with the winning team getting a free trip of some sort. There was usually music with lots of corny motions that I never wanted to participate in.

Youth Pastor Days
After college, I was hired as a youth pastor and so I spent my life gearing up towards the youth service ever Wednesday night. I did everything I could to get as many kids to come to the church so that I could tell them about Jesus. If you wanted to be a good Christian, you had to be at church on Wednesday nights. Nevermind that many of the kids that came every week ended up going off to college only to walk away from the church and quite possibly their faith. I am no judge of that, but suffice to say that their lives did not reflect Christ in any way, shape, or form.

Today
So what do I do with my Wednesday nights these days? Do I spend them gathering people at the church I pastor? Nope! (nothing against churches that do). I spend my Wednesdays at the WNR. See, the WNR is the Wednesday Night Ride is a local mountain bike ride that happens like clockwork on Wednesday evenings during the late Spring and Summer months. We gather and ride in various groups ranging from beginner to beginner-mediate, intermediate, and fast. I rode in the fast group for the first time last night and those boys put a hurtin' on me.

It is a lot of fun and I have gotten to know quite a variety of people. Some of them cuss like sailors and talk about sex like it is a commodity. Most are really nice and laid back, but many of them would never consider coming to church at all.

Occasionally a smaller group of riders will go to a local restaurant and hang-out a bit longer. I haven't been able to do this very often, but my hope is to eat with them on a more regular basis. The WNR is a chance to get outside my church bubble and interact with folks who I wouldnever know aside from our common love of ripping up trails on mountain bikes.

I have no motive other than to reflect the love of Christ as I get to know these people. My hope is that the secret gets out that I am a pastor and they will remember that when a crisis occurs in their life and they are seeking guidance or prayer. I won't be telling people about Jesus every time we have to pull over to fix a flat, but also won't shy away from an opportunity to talk of the difference God has made in my life. I am trusting that God will provide the right conversation at the right time, I am not going to force it. This is about truly caring for people with no strings attached.

Thanks to the WNR, I look forward to Wednesdays more than ever before. I have to find ways to remind myself that the church is not a building, I (we) are God's church and we are at our best when we are pursuing relationships with people who know very little of our God.

p.s. I do meet with a group of people on another night of the week to strengthen our relationship with each other and also with God and there is usually good food involved.