Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Hero of the Week

My ACC Hero of the Week is…drum roll, please…Seth Bunton. Seth is a high school student who officially joined our church family yesterday. But as awesome as that is, his membership transfer is not why Seth is this week's hero. The reason I chose to feature him this week is because of his servant's heart.

We just completed our Developing a Servant's Heart series, and Seth is a great example of what this servant's heart looks like. Seth is a gifted musician, but he had really never played bass guitar. Bass was one of our greatest needs in the worship band, so Seth said, "Let me learn it." And he is picking it up with blazing speed.

Seth has a very humble attitude. He isn't afraid to ask one of the other guys in the band for help. And he's making the sacrifice of coming to practices, putting in the time to get it right.

I love it when humility and commitment are displayed in the lives of our volunteers! I'm looking forward to sharing more servant-hero stories in the coming weeks.

Weekend Reflections

Gotta love a Sunday where you leave energized instead of worn out. Don't get me wrong. When I left Sunday night, I was plenty tired. But it was such a great day that I still felt good even though I was exhausted.

Had a great morning together yesterday. Amazing attendance. Great spirit among our people. It seemed like the message really connected. And it was great to welcome Seth Bunton into our church family. Awesome stuff.

Also had a great evening last night as we welcomed my dad's band to come and play for the entire hour of our Chapel Service. It was really an interesting thing yesterday…our APEX band practiced until 5:00 yesterday. And then it was on to set up for The Bluegrass Bunch's concert. It was such a shift in musical directions that it almost gave me whiplash!

But here's what kept running through my mind…our APEX band was playing a driving, very rock-oriented style of music. The Bluegrass Bunch played with a more relaxed style heavily influenced by the country/bluegrass genre. And yet the message in the music was the same throughout. It sounded different, but it was all about worshipping God.

Not only that, but our APEX band and The Bluegrass Bunch are both extremely talented…and all the members of each group have surrendered their talents to God. Their talents look different, but their desire to serve God with their talents is the same.

I feel blessed to be a part of a church that gives us so much freedom to worship in such a variety of different ways. When you utilize creativity and variety, you can minister to a greater number of people. The potential for outreach and inreach goes up exponentially when we're willing to use different methods.

I think Arby's has it right…Different is good!

Timing

Homer Bailey, the highly touted Reds pitching prospect, was reassigned to Minor League camp this morning. There is a fifth spot open in the Reds starting rotation, and a lot of people in Cincinnati have been clamoring for Homer to fill that spot. But his numbers this spring would suggest that he isn't ready for a starting role in the Major Leagues yet. In three spring training games, including one start, he was 0-1 with a 19.64 ERA. For you non-baseball folk, those stats aren't very good.

The Reds have definitely not given up on Homer Bailey, though. He is still their top pitching prospect. But he's also only 20 years old. This is only his third professional season. It's not time to bring him to the Majors yet.

Timing really is everything. It's something that I struggle with in ministry. I'm not the most patient person by nature. When I see a necessary change, I want to make it now. When I see a need, I want to meet it now. But the thing is, now isn't always the right time. Sometimes it is actually better to wait.

If Homer Bailey came to the Majors now, chances are that he would get rocked pretty hard. That could seriously undermine his confidence. He could start trying to do too much, messing up his mechanics. It could have a permanently adverse effect on his career.

In the church, if an idea is launched before its time, it can do damage…even if it's a good idea. A good idea launched at the wrong time ends up being a bad idea, which in turn can hurt future progress.

However, the flip side is also true. It's possible to wait too long for an idea. Sooner or later, the Reds will have to roll the dice and bring Homer Bailey to the big leagues. There are no guarantees with how he'll fare. They will eventually have to take a chance.

Same deal in the church. There may never be a perfect time to launch an idea. Any good idea will involve some amount of risk. If it's totally safe to launch an idea, that probably means that you waited too long.

So how do you know when it is the exact right time to get your idea in motion? You work hard. You pray hard. But ultimately, you won't know for sure whether it's the right time or not. That's the risk of leadership in the church. That's what makes it exciting, fresh, challenging, and even at times, fun.

Fresh Eyes

Had a chance to get together with several folks who are checking out our church earlier this week. I'm always hungry for input and insight from people with fresh eyes. Sometimes I am so intimately involved with the stuff at ACC that I don't see the proverbial forest for the trees.

I've gotta say that this was one of the most encouraging meetings I've ever had with people who have been guests at our church. They fired a ton of honest questions. That's refreshing. I love it when people just lay it on the line.

They also gave our church some serious props. Some of their comments:

"The worship is great! You actually give us the time that is necessary to shift gears and get into a worship mindset. And the band is awesome!"

"This is the first church I've ever attended where I would feel comfortable inviting a non-Christian friend. Even a young person with tattoos all the way up their arms. I wouldn't think twice about inviting them to ACC."

"You've got the tools in place to make a huge impact for Christ in our area."

It may sound like I'm bragging, but none of this stuff comes from me. It all comes from other people. So I'm not bragging.

I'm just reporting. :o)

Can I Get Excited Yet?

The Reds are 10-2 in spring training so far. That is the best record of any MLB team this spring. Can I get excited yet? Do I dare get my hopes up for this season? Too late…my hopes are already flying high! Can't wait for Opening Day!

Drowning

I took an unexpected respite from the blogosphere for a few days. The sole reason is extreme busyness. You know how you sometimes feel like you're barely keeping your head above water? Well…I'm drowning! Running too hard, working too long, stretched too thin…that's me right now.

I am really looking forward to next week. Our worship weekend is March 24-25. Jason Miller will be leading the weekend…and all I have to do is show up. That means that I don't have a sermon to prep next week. I plan to use the week to catch up on a lot of stuff that I've been neglecting…including some much needed rest.

Hero(es) of the Week

As promised, I'm going to highlight a different servant-hero from our church each week. And this first week is a no-brainer. My servant-hero this week is actually a group: our Leadership Team. It's been a really tough week in our church. I've been honored to work with our Leadership Team through it all. They have really stepped up and acted as leaders.

Special props go to our elders. The elders and the staff of our church have had mucho meetings lately…and we've got another one tomorrow night. It's definitely been "death by meeting" lately!

Thanks a ton to everyone on our Leadership Team. You guys make my ministry at ACC a joy!

DST

Daylight Saving Time starts early this year. You've been warned! Be sure to "spring" all your clocks forward one hour before bed on Saturday night. This is especially important for ACCers. Lateness will not be tolerated this Sunday! Ok, that's a stretch. But we are in the homestretch of our Developing a Servant's Heart series. You won't want to miss out. Set those clocks!

Little Luke's Review

As promised in my previous post, here's my review of Little Luke's Pizza. In a word, their pizza was impressive. Very good crust (we had the traditional hand tossed), a sweet sauce, and fresh toppings. We'll definitely be ordering from Little Luke's again. If you're in a pizza rut like I was, give Little Luke's a shot. Good stuff.

Little Luke's

I'm going to try something new tonight: Little Luke's Pizza. When it comes to pizza, I'm a picky guy. I know what I like and I generally stick with it. Trying a new pizza place isn't something that I normally do, but this one comes highly recommended by our youth/worship minister, Brian Morrissey, as well as many students in our church. Who knows pizza better than teenagers, right? So I'm giving it a shot. Tomorrow I'll post a review of my Little Luke's experience. I'm sure the management of this establishment is holding their breath while they wait to read my review. Such a recommendation on my blog could make or break their business. :o)

I allow myself to get into ruts in my life. It goes far beyond just eating the same pizza all the time. I'm often guilty of just doing the same thing over and over again. I call it routine, but it can easily become a rut. And I'm learning that the only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth. I want to keep expanding my horizons. I want to follow the example of my older brother's family. They want their kids to accumulate experiences instead of possessions. They don't want their family to fall into a rut. They spend their money, their resources, and their time on pursuing new experiences.

I, too, want my family to live a life of accumulation: the accumulation of experiences.