From Indy 500 to Tiger Woods to...

Hey everyone, Sarah and I are currently in Columbus, OH visiting our friends Scott & Kirsten Drummond. As many of you know from my last post, last Sunday we spent the day at the Indy 500. It was rainy and wet but still a ton of fun. It was great to see my brother, mom and dad and race cars at 235 mph.

We spent a couple of days at mom & dad's house and then left the boys with "Mamaw & Papaw" and took off for Columbus. In the spirit of my "sports junkie tendencies" Scott got us tickets to the Memorial PGA Golf tournament today here in Columbus. So I got to spend the afternoon following Tiger Woods around the front nine! It was something to behold! At one point I stood next to the rope and let him walk by. He's about my height (6'1 1/2") but is skinny and really strong. (Like ridiculously strong. Like stand back away from the ropes b/c he's that strong,) kind of strong.

It's just great to spent time with Scott and Kirsten. They totally share our heart for ministry and people and we have such a unity of spirit with them that it's almost uncanny. (They also have 2 boys who are a few years older than ours as well, so I'm always asking for parenting tips...) Anyway, it's great to rest and relax for a few days. I'll keep all of you posted as to our where-abouts in the next couple of days.

Can't wait to see all of you soon,

Matt

My Indy 500 Experience - It's Craziness I tell You, Craziness!!!

So I'm headed for the Indy 500 this weekend, and I'm so excited! This will be my 20th year of attending the Memorial Day race! It's really become a family tradition for us. Each year my dad and I (and other family members as well) wake up early drive to the track in Indianapolis and experience something that, in my opinion, has no equal by any other sporting event in the world. Here are a few things I'm looking forward to:

• The sheer size of the event. From one end of the track to the other is 3/4 of a mile. It's so big, you can't see the whole thing. We have great seats (50 rows up on the front straightaway) and we can see all the way into turn 4, most all of the pits, and all the way into turn 1. It's just massive. You can't even describe it. It's as big as the Vatican City, Yankee Stadium, Churchhill Downs, and the Michigan Football Stadium combined. It's huge!!!


• The people. There will be an estimated 300,000 to400,000 people there. Are you kiddin' me? It's ridicuous and loud.


• My wife being with me. Sarah loves the race as much as I do. However, in recent years, she's had to play the role of mom more than race fan. Well, not this year, baby! She's going! And it's going to be sweet!


• Breakfast at the track. When I was a kid, we had friends who would drive in from Iowa with their motor home and we would cook breakfast in some guy's yard about a mile from the track. Today, it looks more like buying breakfast on the infield of the track (it's just cleaner and safer and, well, the Iowa people don't come any more so...). There's nothing like the sound of Indy Car engines warming up to make your eggs taste better!


• Seeing my brother. Since we moved to Florida 5 1/2 years ago, I haven't gotten to spend as much time as I would like with my brother. But the Indy 500 gives us an excuse to hang out for a day or so and reconnect. it's just good.


• the first Green Flag. Peyton Manning is waving the first green flag this year. So that will be cool. There is no feeling like watching 33 cars do 235 mph straight into a 90 degree turn. It's by far the most exhilarating feeling of my year. (I'm not exaggerating that!)


• Eating lunch in the grandstands. We always pack a cooler full of Soda and Sandwiches. Dad always buys Twizzlers and calls them (Tweeeeezlers). We have pretzel rods and m&m's with peanuts. Historically, we have gotten Subway sandwiches the night before and then bring those, but this year we're just doing the whole "pre-bought box lunches" from the track. They're just better. (One year we tried Ice Cream. Yeah that didn't work too well.)


• Listening to Bob & Tom on the way to the track. It's become tradition that we listen to Bob & Tom on the radio driving in to the track b/c they always do a special race day morning show that is hilarious.


• The Keller Family "Pool." Because we're not particularly big race fans other than at Indy each year, in order to get us more into the race and have a few drivers to root for, we always have a pool. Everyone pitches in 5 bucks and then you draw 4 names out of a hat. (Literally it's out of a hat... dad used to wear this bright, flourescent yellow hat when I was a kid. He told me it was so that if we ever got separated I could spot him in a crowd. Unfortunately, it was the 80's and all 300,000 people were wearing flourescent yellow hats...) anyway, drawing 4 drivers out of a hat gives each of us different people to cheer for during the race. Winner gets $25, 2nd place gets $10, and 3rd place gets their money back. (In 20 years of racing, the stakes have never been raised. I can still remember the first year my dad made me kick in the 5 bucks myself...)


• The noise. the Indy 500 is loud. Here's what we do. Each of us brings a walkman radio with earbuds to listen to the official radio broadcast of the race. (It just helps you follow what's happen... this was before they had jumbo-trons on the infield bleachers) So you put in your earbuds, then we put on noise blocking headphones, then we turn our radios all way up as loud as they can go. Here's the thing... when the cars go by, you can't hear your radio! It's that loud! And I love that! I will scream myself horse on Sunday. Not from preaching, but from yelling at Race Cars as they drive past me at 235 mph. That's intense!

• The Memories. The Indy 500 has been apart of my childhood since I was 11 years old. The only one I have ever missed was the first year we moved to Ft. Myers in 2002. The church was 4 weeks old and I just couldn't leave. I remember coming home from church that day and watching the end of the race on TV. It was a weird and eery feeling. May it never happen again! When I think about the memories that I have of this race track and what it means to my dad and I, it brings tears to my eyes. What a cool thing to have with my dad. May I be privileged enough to have an "Indy 500" with my kids as well someday. Thanks dad for making Race Day special for me! Let's do 20 more!!!

Have a great race day everybody... oh yeah, anybody going to church, have a great time too!!! (Don't worry Mike & Caleb will be there, so you're in great hands!!!) And the race doesn't start until 1 pm so you'll be home in plenty of time to watch the entire thing!!!

Matt Keller

NLC & the Attributes of Jesus; (Intentionally Hanging Out...)

Ever since the Monday, May 21st, post when I wrote the statement, "I don't just want the blessing of God on Next Level Church, I want the attributes of God to be present at Next Level Church," I have found myself really wrestling with that whole idea. Here are a few of the ways it's been effecting me... May it do the same for you...

• I am challenged to discover the Attributes of God in the Bible. If we really want that, then what does that look like according to the Bible. I think this may be the focus of the next 10 days of my life. I am going to have some time over the next 2 weeks to pursue this. What does the Bible have to say about "resembling Jesus?"


• I am challenged to discover the Attributes of God in my own life. Where am I already living like Jesus? There is a good chance that many of us "resemble Jesus" in our everyday lives more than we think we do. It might be a good source of inspiration to find those moments and be able to celebrate them.


• I am challenged to discover the Attributes of God already present inside of Next Level Church. Here's one for you... When a small group of people get together to encourage one another in their faith, and pursue God and study His Word together, that looks a whole lot like what Jesus did. Here's another one... when a group of people come together to serve someone else, that resembles Jesus. One more... when two or more are gathered in His Name (read attend church on Sunday) they resemble Jesus. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that He (Jesus) is in the midst of them when they gather together.

My hope for us as a church is that as the busyness of summer approaches we will continue to make "doing life together," a priority... because when we do, I think that in some little way, we reflect an Attribute of God.

I'll keep working on this if you will...

Just another bloggish thought...

Pastor Matt

I wish you Could Have been There...

Last night was our Connection Group that Sarah and I host for a group of young leaders at NLC.  It was by far the most powerful time together we've had yet.  The idea of the night was that, "Just as every organization or business has to have a Vision in order to stay focused, be successful and reach it's potential, so do we as individuals."  I took a few minutes and shared how once Sarah and I were able to wrestle with and define this "Greater Vision" for our lives that everything changed... the way we view the world, our lives, our jobs, our family, our money, our relationships, everything!!!

         I shared with them that my life verse is:  2 Timothy 2:10  which says, "I am willing to endure everything for the sake of the elect that they may know the salvation that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  I can still remember where I was when God placed that verse in my heart as a life verse for me to reach our generation.

          Back to last night... We were talking about wrestling with the Greater Vision of God for our lives, individually.  Well, at the end of our discussion notes were 3 questions.  I challenged every person in our Connection Group to let these 3 Questions wreck them for the next 2 weeks.  I challenge you, my bloggish thoughts readers to do the same...  Here they are.

1. What is it that I am going to do that will OUTLAST me?

    2.  What is it, that, if I don't do it, something bad will happen / something good won't happen?

    3.  Who is it that I just can't stand the thought of NOT impacting?

          There's a good chance that if we can wrestle with and begin to drill down into our hearts to find the answers to these questions, we'll begin to discover the true Vision of our lives.

          I want to close with a quote from the lead singer of the group Big Tent Revival from way back in the Christian Music Scene.  He said, "Your occupation is how you pay your bills.  Your Pre-Occupation is why you live your life." 

          In light of those 3 questions, what are you pre-occupied with?  Happy wrestling...

Just a few of my bloggish thoughts,

Matt Keller

How do you Ride a Bike & Cry at the Same Time???

So yesterday's blog about "Big League Leadership" & all that I am going to have to do in order for us to get there is convicting the daylights out of me!!! This morning during my prayer ride, (if you haven't read Mike Ash's blog about "Unpopular Thoughts #2, click here) anyway, this morning while I'm riding my bike and seeking God, the song "Yearn" by Shane & Shane comes on and the words to the chorus say:

"I want to yearn for You, I want to burn with Passion, for You & only You..."

So right there on my bike @ 14 mph, I find myself crying and lifting my hand (I only got one in the air, there are limitations to what you can do on a bike) and just crying out to God declaring my hearts desire in that song!!!

You guys, I don't know how else to say it, except that I just have this desire in my heart to "Yearn for God" like never before!

One more thing, I have to tell you how the last question on yesterday's blog did me in as well. The question was, "If people threw a party in your honor, how long would it take for them to use the words, "Resembles Jesus," to describe you? Holy Smokes, that one is tearing me up!

I should be so blessed that everyday begins with a great ride and a good cry...

Just some bloggish thoughts,

Matt

My Most Current Thoughts on Big League Leadership Development

My first bloggish thought ever on this site centered around the idea that God is positioning Next Level Church to break into the Big Leagues in the near future. Consequently, as of late, I've really been praying about what that means for me personally as a leader. This morning I was on my "prayer ride" (which apparently is what I do now since I've been riding my bike again) and here are a few thoughts on my personal development that I need to begin working on:

• Focus on keeping your heart right and surrendered before God. I believe one of the biggest keys for our church breaking into the "Next Level" or The Big Leagues has to do with my yieldedness as the senior leader. Leadership and spirituality flows down. I love what Francis Chan said at the Orange Conference I attended 2 weeks ago. He said, "If you don't love Jesus with all your heart, it will be impossible for you to make disciples who do either." So needless to say, I'm really making my heart tender before God these days.


• Focus on living as a light to the world. As I mentioned in my message from the ARCADE Series - Part 1, this thing is real inside of me. It's not enough for me to just lead this organization where God wants it to go, I've got to really live this stuff in the unbelieving community around me as well. I'm working on this one. "God give me the courage and boldness to be a light for you."


• Focus on seeking God's face. When I was a teenager, i had a preacher tell me once, "Matt, it's not enough to just seek the hand (or blessing) of God. Everybody does that. If you're going to become who God wants you to become, you're going to have to seek His face (the characteristics of God)." I have never forgotten that. I don't just want the blessing of God on Next Level Church, I want the very attributes of our God to be upon us.


• Focus on becoming the leader God has called you to be. I know that in order for NLC to break into the bigs, I've got to work on my own leadership. As leaders, we can never find ourselves at a place where we think that "what got us here, will get us there." We have to keep learning and growing in our leadership.


• Focus on making sure God gets all the glory. At the end of the day, I want more than anything for God to be the one with all the glory. I hope and pray that when people come in contact with this thing that is Next Level Church, they will say, "Wow, I think I just saw the image of Jesus." That’s something I can live my life for.

So here are the challenge questions for each of us:

1. 1 to 10, how surrendered is your heart to God right now? Where are you holding back?


2. 1 to 10, how much of a light are you to the world around you? If someone from your work place showed up at NLC and saw you, would they be surprised? Would they be offended that you didn't invite them sooner?


3. Have you been seeking God's face lately? When was the last time you escaped from your overscheduled life and simply prayed, "Jesus, show me an attribute of you I've never seen before?"


4. What is your strategy for leadership development? Are you a better leader today then you were 30 days ago? In what way?


5. If people threw a party in your honor, how long would it take for them to talk about your life before the words, "resembles Jesus" came up?

Thanks for reading my Bloggish Thoughts on Big League Leadership...

 

Steve Fee Album Information

 

Here are the links to the Steve Fee Websites that I spoke about on Sunday in our ARCADE Series - Part 1 - Pac-Man. You can download a few of those songs for free from his myspace.com account, which is totally cool.

 

My recommendation is to go to iTunes and search “Steve Fee” and just download the whole album. It’s totally worth it!

 

I hope this helps you connect with Jesus in a greater way this week:

 

www.SteveFee.com

 

www.myspace.com/stevefee

 

 

Pray for me this week as I keep learning to live “Missionally.”

Pastor Matt

Thoughts on Understanding the Will of God for our lives as Leaders (Part 2)

Hey guys, I have been excited to share with you 4 more insights from Colossians 2 about Understanding the Will of God.  In part 1, we hit the first 4 things we can do when we understand the Will of God for our lives.  Here are a few things I see in verses 11-14.  Let me review the first 4:

• We can live a life worthy of the Lord.


• We can please Him in every way.


• We can bear fruit in every good work.


• We can Grow in the knowledge of Him.

  Alright, here's 5 - 8:  

• We can be strengthened with all power.  I love the idea that when we're walking in the Will of God for our lives, we don't have to face our lives in our own power.  We can walk confidently in His Strength, not our own!  I am challenged with how often I tend to lean on my own strength and power, rather than leaning completely into His strength and power.  ? Who are you leaning on:  You or God?


• We can have great endurance and patience.  I am blown away at what we will endure and "put up with," when we are confident that we are in the Will of God for our lives.  In fact, I would venture to say there aren't too many things we WOULDN'T endure in our lives in order to fulfill God's Will, right?  Paul wrote about this in Romans 8 when he said that, "nothing could separate him from the love of God..."  It's also interesting to note that he wrote most of the New Testament while under intense persecution.  Wow.


• We can give Thanks.  I can't tell you how much of a daily occurance this is for me now.  To wake up and give God thanks for what I have the privilege to be and do in my life.  I am so blown away at the Mercy of God that is apparent everyday in my life.  What a privilege to be where I am.  I was mowing my yard and thinking that, even though I'm not particularly fond of mowing my life, "This is the time of my life!!!"  I just love being in God's Will for my life right now.


• We can share in His inheritance.  So check out how Paul finishes his thought right here.  By giving us the long perspective of living a life in God's Will.  We get to share in the inheritance of heaven!!!  Come on!  That is just incredible!  We get to.  Not because we've earned it, but b/c God just loves us that much!

 So, here are the closing thoughts I want to challenge you with:

?  Are you walking in His strength or yours?

?  What are you presently enduring for the Will of God?

?  Where do you need to give God thanks?

?  When was the last time you placed your life against the perspective of Eternity?

Just a few bloggish thoughts... hope they add insight to your Bible Study...

Pastor Matt

90 minutes... 1 meal... 9 people... 3 kids... 1 crazy birthday party

90 minutes... 1 meal... 9 people... 3 kids... utter craziness. 

          So tonight was my brother-in-law's 35th birthday party.  And it was like a b-day party gone bad!  (Read chaos, crazy, funny, hilarious, etc.)  First, the day started with Josh's wife, Aich, getting sick (read vomiting) profusely this morning... so that kind of set the day in motion.  2nd, Josh has had to work all through the night on a job site for his painting company, so he didn't get to sleep until 8:30 am this morning!

          Enter "The Kids!"  (Read Holy terrors!)  Will 6 1/2, Drew 4, & Zach almost 3.  In the course of a 90 minute meal (at my mother-in-law's house, by the way) the kids proceded to:  1) Spill ice cream  2) cry about ice cream  3) eat each other's ice cream  4) jump on the couches  5) fall onto the couches  6) kick each other while jumping on the couches  7)  spill ice cream on the couches  8)  get 3 time-outs 9) watch a VeggieTales 10) sing happy birthday (which was really cute by the way)  11) open the presents while taking them to Josh 12) drop the presents  13) cry about not playing with the presents 14) fight with each other 15) accuse the other 2 of "doing weird stuff" with their dessert, and 16) throw a strawberry stem into grandpa's coffee. 

 90 minutes... 1 meal... 9 people... 3 kids... utter craziness.

 Enter the "Adults."  In the same 90 minute birthday celebration the adults proceded to:  1) Show up late (I won't say who)  2) consume 2 liters of Diet Mountain Dew (that was Josh and I)  3) Consume 8 Authentic Mexican Tacos  4) 5 Tostatos 5) 6 Shrimp & Guacamole Mexican Somethings (that were delicious by the way) 6) 2 pounds of chips 7) 3 kinds of salsa 8) 1 chocolate / peanut butter cake (that was shipped from my sister-in-law's mom in Texas) 9) open presents 10) remember the first 15 years of Josh's childhood 11) hear how he stole a car 12) Hear how he got caught 13) send kids to 3 time outs 14) keep my sister-in-law from throwing up again 15) & learn that the "gray stationwagon" that Josh stole actually had a nickname that he couldn't share with us!(wow... somethings a brother-in-law just doesn't want to know.)

90 minutes... 1 meal... 9 people... 3 kids... utter craziness

          What is it about family... even though it's crazy and  chaotic... it's a memory... & we love every minute of it, don't we?!?

 Just a little slice of my life...

Thoughts on Understanding the Will of God for our lives as Leaders: (Part 1)

I really enjoy sharing “how” I read and dissect scripture, so here’s another passage that hit me last night…

In Colossians 1:9-14, Paul unpacks his thoughts on the whole “Knowing God’s Will” thing… Hidden in these 5 verses are some huge insights… Here are my most current thoughts as I take a read at it…

In verse 9 he lays out his desire for the church in Colossae to understand the Will of God in their lives. V. 9 “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will…” Then starting in verse 10, he says what living and leading from that perspective can do for us:

1.  We can live a life worthy of the Lord. V. 10. Are you kiddin’ me? I can’t wait to look up that phrase, “worthy of the Lord,” in the original Greek. Remember, it’s all about Word Pictures in their culture. What image does that drum up in Paul’s mind as he writes it? What’s he really trying to say?


2. We can Please Him in everyway. V. 10. Think about it guys, it’s actually possible to please the Lord in every way in our lives! Not in our own strength, but through the grace we find in Jesus! Last week, I heard a story about a dad who’s son gave him a wallet for his birthday. Unfortuantely, the dad doesn’t use a wallet. But he said, “Do you think I berated my kid b/c he wasted his money buying me a wallet? No, I was so pleased with him for showing his love to me in that way!” What if that is how God views our life, when we live “by faith” trying to please him in every way???


3. We can bear fruit in every good work. V. 10. I find it interesting that Paul separates this one and the one before it. In other words, in his mind “pleasing God in every way,” is completely different than “bearing fruit in our lives.” Man, that smacks me in the face that life is not just meant to be lived for my stuff, my job, my things, my toys, my benefits. Bearing fruit has to do with our lives impacting others. Period.


4. We can grow in the Knowledge of God. V. 10. Check this one out… Understanding the “knowledge of His Will,” is different than “Understanding the Knowledge of God.” Wow. What are the implications of that in our lives? How often do we seek one or the other??? How do the two overlap in our lives? Where does the Knowledge of God meet the Knowledge of His Will for our lives.

I think I am getting closer to discovering the true “calling” and “passion” of my life. As best as I can see it from where I stand on the field, my most current thoughts lead me to see 4 things primarily:

• “A Teacher who is Excellent in Marketing.” I love that description of what I do in the realm of public speaking.

• “A Writer.” I think it’s still too premature to actually have a catchy phrase for the way I write. (My wife calls me “run on” because of all the run-on sentences I have in my wriritng.)

• “A Coach / Mentor.” I really have a heart to mentor and coach young leaders and specifically church planters. We have learned, and are learning, so much and I love every opportunity I have to share what we’re learning with others.

• “An Entrepreneur.” Yeah, I got this thing in me to see stuff that isn’t there yet, as if it were. I guess it’s the vision gift in me.

Anyway, enough about me. As I conclude this session of “My Bloggish Thoughts,” I would challenge you with what your most current thoughts are on the “Knowledge of God’s Will” for your life. When was the last time you checked in on it?

Breaking into the "Bigs"

My leadership is being stretched in so many ways right now, it’s ridiculous. I absolutely love being stretched as a leader to think thoughts I’ve never had before and look higher than I’ve ever done before concerning NLC. If I had to sum up the One Big Goal of NLC in the next 6 to 9 months I would say it’s, “Breaking into the Big Leagues.”

I love Baseball Illustrations and this one has served me well for quite sometime now concerning the present state of NLC. I feel like last fall we were definitely at the Double A (AA), Farm Team, Level. But as of the first of the year, we have definitely broken into Triple A (AAA). The stakes are higher, more people are tuning in, the pitching is faster, there are more seats in the stadiums, the ticket prices are higher, even the concession stands are different. I can’t explain it entirely except to say that it just feels “bigger.” Like there is more at stake.

Well, in the last few weeks, there has been this urgency in my heart, and Sarah’s heart and Mike’s heart that God is wanting us to get prepared for “The Major Leagues.” I think that everything we do across NLC is going to be morphing and changing in some amazing ways in the next few months. From the opening of the Warehouse space, to some staffing opportunities that are opening up, to internal structural changes on a leadership level that will position us to be more streamlined and effective. Life at NLC is about to “Break into the Bigs.”

I imagine that this illustration will continue to surface over the next few months here on my blog as I work through, grow into, and learn all that I need to know to “Break into the Bigs.”

Thanks for reading, “My Blogish Thoughts…”

Bob FM

So I’m at the marketing team meeting on Monday night (which rocked the house, by the way… the summer “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” Series is going to be ridiculously cool! More on that later) and someone brings up the “new” radio station in Southwest Florida. It’s called BOB FM and apparently it’s all 80’s music that so many of us grew up on. Everyone of them was ranting and raving about it for like 4 ∏ minutes. They also said that it’s “DJ-less radio” so all they do is attribute DJ qualities to this fictional BOB who supposedly picks all the music.

I couldn’t resist, so on my way home I tuned in for the first time. All I can say is, “It’s real…” and really funny. They threw out a couple of “bob-ish quotes” like “When Bob hears this song it makes him think of the girl he dated briefly on Captiva Island.” That’s classic. You should tune in just to hear the “Bob-ish thoughts.”

www.1029BobFM.com