Tory Farina

Coaching Call

Every week Elizabeth and I sit for one hour on the hone with a coach. We talk about life and work and family, but most of all he helps us gather strength, Hope and understand ourselves better. We have been meeting with him for the better part of this year and I can honestly say it has been the best thing for us.

I am in the process of working on my reaching to make it clearer and more effective while taking me less time to produce. We are talking out what it will take for us to become a church that reaches hundreds of people and beyond. We are also talking through how we are hard wired and how to make sure that we are taking that into account as we staff, grow and hire. We talk about our interaction with you and our interaction with te community. He helps us understand how to counsel people who are going through difficult times.

It is my favorite hour of the week and I am so glade that w found this person for our life. He feels called to support pastors. He used to be one and then God directed him into the support role for other pastors. He is one of the only relationships we have that we do not have to give anything to. Sometimes we voluntarily do but we don't have to meet his emotional, spiritual or physical needs. I can say anything to him and n ot have to worry if the idea is half backed and what are the consequences to that. E and I can bounce off the model we have in our heart of having a co leadership run church. He gets it, loves us and sees Gods greatest potential in us even when we have a hard time seeing it.

In a lot of ways he is more like a pastor to me. Everyone needs a coach/pastor/spiritual adviser/mentor. Do you? If not I encourage you to get one. It has changed my life.

Prayer call

Tomorrow the pastoral team of High Point gathers for our annual vision retreat. I am excited. We are hashing through some big things. I feel like it is the kind of stuff that when done puts wind in our sails for a long time to come. We are asking God to show up and guide our time together. Please Pray for us, we need it. 

See you Sunday for Week #3 of "The Dirty Dozen"

Whats your Excuse?

God has been hitting me over the head lately. I feel like I have personally been making excuses for things that don't nee to be excused. It is easy to come up with an excuse and say things like... (these are mine but I am sure yours are similar)

• If we had a building things would be different.
• If we had more money then we could do more and people would bust down the door.
• If I were more organized and a perfectionist then I could get more done.
• If I had a mac life would be less frustrating... (Waite... I do... and it is ;)
• If my team could be full time we would put the enemy to flight big time.
• If I had a million dolor's... (that would make a great song)

The truth is that more doesn't always mean better. God has called each and everyone of us to a certain task. For me I feel like it is to reach this city with the message of Jesus. To create a movement that will see this city transformed to Christ. I feel called to something that is bigger than I am and bigger than I probably will ever accomplish. But God wants me to succeed as much as I do and God has all the resource I need when I need it.

The truth is that I probably am not ready for what I want right now. I feel like I am a 12 year old wanting to drive... I know it is a weird analogy but God is teaching me to be content in the place I am because he is working deeply in me.

Here are things I have done recently to grow into the man, leader, husband and friend.

• E and I are meeting with a "Life Coach"- life changing!
• I am working on being more accountable in life to a few people
• I am listening to more people and reading there blogs... this put things into perspective
• I am talking about it more with E and as a family we are praying through things
• I have started reading again... a baby can knock the book out of your hand but now O is bigger
• I am learning how to enjoy the journey
• I am realizing that the most creative is when you have little to no resource. Big Money does not always equal big results.
• I am slowing down. Or at least taking breathers.

how do you know?

Making decisions is an art form... there are no two decision makers that are the same. Some take longer to come to a point of decision and some come to a decision almost instantaneous.

I take a little longer... I like to bounce my ideas or my plan off a few people let them kick it around and then use that to help discern how I feel about it and what God is saying.

E takes about  half a second. She is a master at knowing yes or no. Right or wrong. She knows definitively what she thinks about that.

I think that is what makes us work so well. I gather the background and she hits it from the front and together we have covered all the angles.

I think we make good decisions. Compare our decision making to 99% of the world out there and we are well above average. So how do we do it? What things do we ask ourselves and do we FIGHT through in order to feel confident in our decision?

This has taken time for us and is not perfected yet but Sunday I want to share with you some quick questions to ask to help uncover Gods best in your situation. I think it will really be helpful.

What a week... part1

Ill try and recap things as they happened starting with Sunday and then moving through today.

Sunday- It was another great week. We saw people respond to the message of

Stop... when the fires of live start to rage.

Drop... to your knee and get below the smoke of the situation.

Roll... Let things roll of your back and leave them in Gods hands.

It was another good attendance day. I am encouraged because whenever you do a mailer you are unsure of the results but I feel like this has been our best turn out from the mailer and our best season of keeping those who are visiting. It has been a lot of fun.

Don't miss this week. There are still some spots open for the blood drive.

Monday... I spent the morning with E and O. They are my favorite people to spend a morning with. We made some chicken tortilla bean soup. It is so good and good for you as well. I love my wife's cooking.

Then I hit a plane for Springfield Missouri. I tell you this is the strangest place to have the National Headquarters for the Assemblies of God which is the credentialing organization that our Pastoral team is connected with. I got in around 7:30 and met up with some of my blogging friends. Paul Stewart, Mark Batterson, Brad Leach, Jeff Leake and George P.Wood. We went to a little dive called Mexican Villa that was Marks trip down memory lane. He told us stories and had to take a picture or two. I on the other hand left my camera in my bag in the car.

Paul my best friend who is going to Des Moines as there small group pastor and I spent and hour or two being friends and talking life with one another. We have both been walking through some stressful days.

It is always good to step away from life for a few hours this trip was less than 48 hours but it was a gauntlet, But I came home much more relaxed.

Ill tell you more in a few... I have an uncle in law speaking at North Central University today and Have to go support the team.

And your local FORECAST is...

Forecast...

Every night I hear a three not tune that tells me to pay attention and listen because i am about to find out what to expect outside tomorrow. It is great my favorite weather person gives me all the things i need to know about in a few minute time span. I then am able to tune out and get back to what I was doing before.

I sat at lunch today with a new team member Chad. He is a highly skilled sound technician and was a strong support to a youth ministry for a number of years in town. He is a youth major in college and has aspirations to be vitally involved in the work of the church. He said something to me today that made e think...

"I would love to know what is coming up next so that I can be prepared and think ahead. I am always thinking of great ideas about what you are talking about and cool things we could do as a church to reinforce the message while your talking."

So I says to myself... "Self, if Chad is asking this questions who else in the church is wanting to know whats coming up in order to partner with the future vision." I then heard three notes in my head that sounded very similar to the weather persons three notes.

Forecast! DUH! I have told you things are coming but I can forcast better what is on the horizan and give you more details...

check back more often and I will let you know what is coming up next!

Future AG Fallow up...

I told you a while back that I started a blog for the Future of the fellowship we are associated with. It was a smashing success. We hit it hard. Wrote what we had been feeling and found a whole group of like and not so like minded people who were ready to talk openly and honestly about some deep issues.

I discovered the power of a God Idea. He takes the small things and blows them up.

We have now been invited down to the AG national Headquarters to talk with the Superintendent. He wants to continue the conversation and we want to help make a difference. I was afraid and didn't think I could make a difference. Now I know that when I feel like that... I need to do it.

Future AG Blog Down

Blogger shut down www.FutureAG.blogspot.com because its security machine thought that we may have been involved in spam. We had over 30 links on one post and that is what flagged us. This is a temporary issue and as soon s they realize that we are not spam we should be back i business to find a new GS. Keep coming back and spread the word we do not want this to stop the momentum.

Maybe it is time...

I love the way Erwin McManus says it in his book Unstoppable Force: “The center of God’s will is not a safe place but the most dangerous place in the world.” Then he makes a great distinction: “To live outside of God’s will puts us in danger; to live in his will makes us dangerous.”

Maybe it is time… to do something that scares you to death but if you don't do no one else will.

I am tossing around starting a web page that would be a dialog of the future of the AG. Who will lead and who will step up to vote and make a difference? If we as a young generation showed and voted we could have fresh leadership overnight. What Power we have as young leaders. But will we show? (I say that and feel guilty because i am about to have a baby then and my wife is needing me to stay home and take care of her.) But others will be there and could if they wanted to make a difference. So pray with me about this.

If nothing else at least it would be a place to rally who knows what could come out of it? The ideas exchanged the people reached and encouraged because we collaborated. I am working on the details so any help you can give let me know.

Either memory overtakes imagination or Imagination over takes memory

Either memory overtakes imagination or Imagination over takes memory!

Think about that for a moment... It is why churches after 30 years of one leader are dying. It is why businesses lose market share. It is the essence of age. I think that if you're imagination is overtaking your memory then you are young no matter how old you are. I think if your imagination is overtaking memory you will be a success and you will live by faith and take risks and live LARGE.

God may I be captivated by your imagination and never live in the memorials of my past.

Lets imagine a better future where we are holding on for dear life wondering what is at the end of the rapids we are on. I love that quote!