Thanksgiving Week Highlights

1. I took last week off and had a blast with my family!

2. We went to IHOP and Jimmy's Egg in the same week. I really like breakfast!

3. Cale, my oldest son, said IHOP's pancakes are better than Jimmy's Egg's. I would have to agree, but Jimmy's Egg's biscuits and gravy and hash browns are better than IHOP.

4. My dad and his family came to our home for Thanksgiving. We had a good time eating and watching football.

5. My wife and I saw the movie Blind Side. It was a great movie. I started to cry two times. You have to go see this movie!

6. I was surprised that my Oklahoma Sooners smashed Oklahoma State. It was a long season for my Sooners, but I'm glad we got the win.

7. The Dallas Cowboys looked a lot better on Thursday, but it was just the Oakland Raiders. So I'm not that impressed.

8. My good friend, Lynn Wheeler, preached at People's Church on Sunday. Pastors, I would encourage you to have Lynn at your church. He is one of the best evangelists on the field. He is easy to work with and has a heart for God and the local church. www.lynnwheelerministries.com

9. We kicked off Revolution Christmas on Sunday. The stage set is incredible. I heard The Beatles' song All You Need Is Love was awesome.

10. Don't you dare miss this Sunday. There will be a Nutcracker drum performance, a 12-piece orchestra performance and snow, and I will be teaching a message titled All The Lonely People!

11. Start inviting everybody you know to church to experience the love of God.

12. I went to the Oklahoma City Thunder game last night with Lynn Wheeler. The Rockets killed us on the boards, and we lost the game.

13. It goes without saying, but I ate too much food this past week.

14. On Wednesday, I took my two oldest boys with me for some daddy time. We made six different stops, and they loved spending hours with their daddy, and their daddy enjoyed it more than they did!

15. On Friday, I took Caris, my little 3 year-old daughter, on a date. We went to Starbucks and then to Wal-Mart. My little princess loves going on a date with her daddy, and of course, her daddy loves it more than she does. My kids are precious!

16. I'm ready to hit the ground running. I have a lot to get accomplished this week. It's ON!

THANKFUL, Very Thankful

1. I'm so thankful that I know Christ! It's an indescribable feeling knowing that I've been forgiven of my sins! It's an awesome feeling knowing that I get to have a daily intimate relationship with the God of the universe through His Son, Jesus Christ!

2. I'm thankful for my wife. My wife is my best friend. She knows me better than anybody in the whole world. She loves me, nurtures me, encourages me and laughs with me. God knew what He was doing when He brought Tiffany into my life! She is so fun, loving, caring, tender, genuine, sexy and loves God with all of her heart. I'm so thankful for my wife!

3. I'm thankful for my kids. I love those little people so much. They bring so much joy to Tiffany and me. They are so much fun. I am thankful that God entrusted these precious gifts to Tiffany and me to raise in the fear of the Lord. Cale, Cade, Caris and Case, your daddy loves you so much. I am so thankful that I get to be your daddy!

4. I'm thankful for my friends. I have some really close friends who have been there for me. They tell me like IT IS! They love me through the good and the bad. They help me be a better follower of Christ, husband, daddy and friend. To all of my friends, I'm very thankful for your friendship.

5. I'm thankful for my mentors. I have many mentors that have invested and continue to invest in my life. Today, I want to honor and thank Craig Groeschel. Craig, thanks for investing in me when our church was really small and I lacked confidence in myself. Thanks for taking time to coach me on decisions that probably seemed small to you but were huge for me. Thanks for pushing my voice on a national level. All I can say is that you'll always be the Bishop and I'll be the Apostle :)! I'm thankful for your mentorship.

6. I'm thankful for my staff. I thank God for all you do. You work countless hours and sacrifice more than most people will ever know. You believe in this vision of connecting people to God and to others. You support me and each other in a God-honoring way. I'm very thankful for your integrity, your extreme talent, your incredible work ethic, your unwavering loyalty to the vision and team and your superb passion for Christ! Team, this has been a grueling but very rewarding year. I want each of you to know that I'm thankful for all you do!

7. I'm thankful for my People's Church family. Thank you for your passion for Christ. Thank you for volunteering hours of your time to make the dream continue to become reality. Some of you work 40 to 50 hours a week on your job and then volunteer your talents to PC 5 to 15 hours a week. THANK YOU! Thank you for tithing and giving offerings above your tithe. Because you continue to be faithful to God with your giving, we are seeing tons of lives changed by the power of Christ. Thank you for inviting your friends and family to church. Every week people give their lives to Christ because of your passion to invite those you care about to PC! Thank you for the incredible unity that we have. We are truly diversified and unified at the same time. I am very thankful to be your pastor!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Revolution Christmas

Revolution Christmas

We are kicking off one of the most exciting series ever at People's Church beginning this Sunday. You don't want to miss one week of it. There will be Beatles music, Trans-Siberian Orchestra music, a light show, a special choir, a 12-piece orchestra, a Nutcracker drum performance, snow in the building and much, much more. Check out the short promotional video for the hottest series of the year at PC!

Revolution Christmas from People's Church on Vimeo.

Weekend Highlights

1. It was another great weekend with my family.

2. We hung around the house a lot.

3. I'm a very boring person. My favorite thing to do is hang around the house with my family. Good times and lots of noise with 4 little kids.

4. My Oklahoma Sooners football and basketball teams got blown out on Saturday. What is up with my Sooners?

5. Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys don't look good at all.

6. People's Church was rockin' again on Sunday.

7. Many people gave their lives to Christ.

8. I got to meet a mom and her son in the hallway in between experiences, and her son had just given his heart to Christ! The mom and her son were very excited. The mom was almost in tears. I was very moved to see God's grace at work.

9. God did an incredible work during the Green Peace series. People are putting God first, getting out of debt, living within their means and finding financial peace. People are kicking greed, envy and the monster of more in the teeth!

10. Pay God first, pay yourself second and pay your bills third. This is a recipe for financial peace!

11. When you put God first in an area of your life, He blesses it.

12. Don't go into debt during this Christmas season. If you can't pay cash for it, don't buy it.

13. Revolution Christmas begins this Sunday. This is going to be an incredible series. Every weekend there is awesome stuff: Beatles music, a light show, a special choir, a 12-piece orchestra, a Nutcracker drum performance, snow in the building and much, much more. Get ready for some unforgettable experiences.

14. Many people are open to coming to church during the Christmas season, so get busy inviting everybody you know.

15. I'm very excited to see many people come to know Christ through the Revolution Christmas series.

16. The Green Peace Workshop is Wednesday, December 9 and December 16, at 7PM at People's Church. This workshop is absolutely free, and it will help you establish a budget, get out of debt and find financial peace.

17. I'm so excited for Thanksgiving at the Cooper house!

Thursday's Download

1. I'm very excited about what God is doing in my life.

2. I'm very excited about what God is doing in my family.

3. I'm very excited about what God is doing at PC.

4. I am learning to trust God at a greater level.

5. God has been so good to me.

6. I can't believe the way God has blessed me. Wow, I'm so humbled by his blessings.

7. I can't believe my wife loves me so much. I am so grateful for our relationship.

8. I am so blessed to work with a team who loves me, serves the vision of PC and honors me in spite of my faults. I'm humbled by the team that I get to serve with.

9. I'm hungry for God. I so want to know Him in a greater way.

10. I'm excited for the week of fasting at PC in January. It will be life-changing.

11. This Sunday, we are wrapping up our Green Peace series. I am going to share some of the best advice that I've ever received. This could change your life and destiny.

12. Get ready, get ready, get ready PC. Revolution Christmas begins next Sunday. Throughout this series we will have special Beatles music, a Nutcracker drum performance, Trans-Siberian Orchestra music, a light show, 12-piece orchestra, a choir and much, much more. The Gospel will be preached in a clear way. This is a series that you have to invite your friends, family and co-workers to. GET READY!

13. Our staff is interviewing tons of people to find the right fit at PC. It's exciting and hectic.

14. PC, I am so honored to be your pastor. It's been a great seven years, but our best days are still ahead of us!

15. See you folks on Sunday! God is going to help you get Green Peace!

Raise The Bar High

1. Expect people to perform at a high level

2. Stretch people to be all they can be

3. Pull out of people what they never thought was in them

4. Tell people they are awesome and can do great things

5. Help people discover the greatness that's inside of them

6. Don't let people settle for second best

7. Expect people to win and win big

8. Don't let people make excuses

9. Create a culture of excellence and not of meritocracy

10. Help people to work harder than they've ever worked before and love it

11. Recruit winners onto your team

How To Make The Right Decision

Life is a series of decisions. Some decisions are big, and some are small. Some decisions have a huge impact on our quality of life, and some don't. Some decisions can make us, and some decisions can break us. Some decisions are right, and some decisions are wrong. Decisions are an important part of life. Here are some things I do to try to make the right decisions on a daily basis.

1. Stay in God's Word on a daily basis.

2. Spend quality time praying and seeking God's face.

3. Keeping my heart uncluttered from bitterness and unforgiveness.

4. Go with my gut.

5. First impressions of others when choosing friends, staff members, etc. are huge.

6. I've learned that a red flag is a red flag. Don't overlook the flag.

7. If I have to make myself like a person, there isn't a divine connection.

8. Proceed slowly with big decisions.

9. Get godly counsel often.

10. Listen for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

11. Check references and double-check them if needed.

12. I have to have peace. If I don't have peace about a decision, it's usually not the right decision.

13. Be a God-pleaser. Make the decision that I believe pleases God even if it doesn't please people.

Weekend Highlights

1. Cale's football team won the championship and had their end of the season football party at CiCi's Pizza on Thursday night. All the boys were super excited. They did a great job in their first season.

2. On Friday, we did a lot of hanging out around the house. I changed some outdoor light bulbs by the garage, on the porch and in our landscaping.

3. The Cooper family broke out the Christmas trees this weekend. My wife is a great decorator. We have trees and lights all around our house. I love the Christmas season.

4. On Friday night, we made a trip to Braum's for ice cream, and I got an eggnog shake. Those things are awesome. You eggnog lovers need to try one.

5. I taught the PC folks what the Bible says about Dumping Debt.

6. Many people made a commitment to get out of debt and to honor God with their finances. I can't wait to hear the testimonies of what God does in people's financial lives. GREEN PEACE!

7. Many people committed their lives to Christ.

8. We launched a new 4 year-old class in our Kids Ministry on Sunday. The 3 and 4 year-old kids have been worshipping together, but the Kids Ministry is growing a bunch. Now the 3 year-olds have their own room, and the 4 year-olds have their own room. The volunteers loved this change, and I know the kids did as well.

9. Our junior high students moved into a new worship area on Sunday. We renovated our only multi-purpose room plus some of our office space and turned it into a new junior high room. I hated to lose the office space, but our Kids and Youth Ministry is more important than office space. Our kids and teenagers deserve the best!

10. Our Starting Point class for new believers and our Next class for those who are new to People's Church and want to learn more about PC and/or get plugged into PC have moved from the old multi-purpose room to the coffee shop. I'm glad our coffee shop is big!

11. It's amazing how quick we can fill up a 61,000 square foot building. Just a few months ago we only had 17,500 square feet.

12. Thanks, PC and the PC staff, for your flexibility and passion to reach more people.

13. Be a part of the first ever special Christmas choir. Go to choir practice this Tuesday night at 7PM.

14. Our Christmas series is going to be SUPER GOOD! It begins Thanksgiving weekend.

15. Where was my Oklahoma Sooners offense last week against Nebraska? Oh well, at least we beat A&M.

16. My Dallas Cowboys looked awful yesterday. Come on BOYS!

17. What in the world was Bill Belichick thinking on the 4th down call? You have to be kidding! I was going for the Colts, but I thought that was a horrible play call.

18. Have a super Monday everybody! Run to win!

Thursday's Download

1. Where in the world is the time going? The year is almost over!

2. I love seeing all of the Christmas decorations coming out everywhere.

3. Week 3 of Green Peace is Sunday. People are finding financial peace during these difficult days.

4. I am teaching a message on Sunday titled Dumping Debt. I'm very excited to teach this message.

5. I went 4-2 in my fantasy football leagues this past week. I have a winning record in 4 leagues, and I'm 4-5 in two leagues.

6. My staff and I have been interviewing a bunch of people. With the growth that God has blessed us with, there are several key staff positions that we need to add. These are exciting and very busy days.

7. I am very grateful to all of the volunteers at People's Church. You folks provide such great ministry to so many people every week. Thank you for all you do.

8. If I don't connect with a person, I don't hire them. There is something about divine chemistry.

9. Cale's flag football team won the championship. All of the kids got their own trophies. Cale was super excited!

10. Revolution Christmas is going to be awesome. PC, get ready for some unforgettable experiences during the Christmas series. It all begins the Sunday after Thanksgiving!

11. I'm going to have a laid back weekend with my family.

12. Invite a friend, and I'll see you on Sunday!

Making My Family A Priority

Here are some things that I do to make my family a priority:

1. I go on a date night with my wife at least twice a month.

2. My wife and I go on overnight trips without the kids around once a quarter.

3. I take my family on a family date night once a week.

4. I take my off day and spend it with my family.

5. We eat dinner as a family around the dining room table around 4 to 5 nights a week.

6. I have 95 percent of my meetings during the day. Our board even moved our bi-monthly board meetings to the daytime so that we can all be at home with our families during the evening. All three board members are lay leaders. I am rarely away from home in the evenings.

7. I say no to a lot of speaking engagements so that I can be home with my kids while they are little. Plus, I like to sleep next to my wife every night! :)

8. When I do go on ministry trips, I try to take my family with me.

9. We canceled our two Saturday night services almost two years ago for several reasons. One of the reasons was because of the long-term impact it would have on our staffs' families over the long haul.

10. We limit the activities our kids can be in so that we can spend time together as a family.

11. When I get home from work, my wife and I limit our internet activity while the kids are awake. Our goal is not to use the internet at all when I get home from work until the kids go to bed. We are not totally there yet, but we will get there.

12. I release ministry to our staff and volunteers so that I can keep my family a priority. I don't personally do most weddings, funerals, hospital visits, home visits or counseling at our church. It gets done through our staff and volunteers so that I can focus on studying God's Word, prayer, leadership development, the vision and direction of our church and leading my family well. I firmly believe the greatest ministry that I provide to our church is me leading my family well. I don't have much of a ministry without my family being healthy and strong.

Family Is A Priority

Occupational ministry can be tough to balance with family life. There are sermon preparations, weddings, funerals, counseling, budgets, bills, building to build, building to maintain, people going through crises, board meetings, preaching, hiring, firing, leadership, ministries to launch, programs to stop, missions, outreach, the poor and the list goes on and on. Occupational ministry can be a 24 hour job if you let it. There is always something to do. There are always people going through problems or a crisis. There are always decisions that need to be made. It can be a challenge not to put the ministry ahead of your family.

When it comes to this issue, there are some pastors who are lazy and use family as an excuse not to work hard. This bugs me big time. I think pastors and church leaders should work super hard. We don't hire lazy people at People's Church. There are other pastors who are workaholics and neglect their families for the church. This also bugs me big time. I don't think someone is a spiritual giant because they are always at the church doing ministry and neglecting their family. I'm the first to admit that it can be tough to find the happy medium, but it can be achieved. There have been seasons that I've really struggled to find the balance, but I think I do fairly well with this overall. More importantly, my wife says I do a good job in this area, and that's what really counts.

Tomorrow I'm going to share some things that I do to make my family a priority.

Weekend Highlights

1. Some of my family had an early Thanksgiving meal on Saturday because one of our family members will be gone for Thanksgiving. Man, did I eat. I sinned! I was a glutton. Lord, forgive me. I did do 25 minutes of cardio and only ate a pear for lunch before I ate that good food.

2. I ate the best dressing and gravy. I mean it was the best I've ever eaten. I mean it would make you slap somebody it was so good. Man, did I eat good!

3. Enough about food! We had a great Sunday at PC!

4. We had tons of people give their lives to Christ. Thank you, God!

5. We had a bigger attendance this Sunday than we did on “fall back” Sunday.

6. People are finding financial peace through this series Green Peace.

7. I really enjoy teaching our people what the Bible says about getting financial peace. How we handle money is such a heart issue.

8. We are kicking greed in its teeth! We are going to praise God for what He has blessed us with!

9. What you live for is so much more important than what you live on.

10. My Oklahoma Sooners are making me mad. I can't believe we lost to Nebraska. Oh, well!

11. My Dallas Cowboys got it done against the Eagles!

12. We are having a special Christmas choir the second Sunday of December. Everyone at PC who is interested in singing, be sure to be at practice on Tuesday night. Our Christmas series is going to be super awesome. It's going to be a Christmas to remember at PC!

13. My wife's dad made a quick visit to our home on Friday night. He was headed to a Cowboy Church Conference in the Dallas area and spent the night with us. I love the fact that my wife's parents are sold out to God.

Thursday's Download

1. It has been a very busy and productive week.

2. I am behind on my sleep and feel it. I will get caught up over the next couple of nights.

3. This is going to be an intense season of networking and interviewing for me and our Executive Team.

4. I'm very grateful that our Executive Team does a lot of the interviewing.

5. I've become a lot more patient when it comes to hiring.

6. I'm very excited about the future and direction of People's Church.

7. I can't believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

8. I'm very excited about our series Green Peace: Peace For Your Finances. God is going to bring peace to so many people's finances through this series.

9. I'm psyched up for our Christmas series. It's going to be a Christmas to remember!

10. Cale's flag football team is playing for the championship next week. He is very excited.

11. I watched some of the World Series last night.

12. My kids are growing up too fast.

13. Some of my family members are making an early Thanksgiving dinner celebration meal on Saturday. I can't wait to eat. :)

14. My wife's parents, brother, sister and her husband and kids live in Nebraska. My Oklahoma Sooners will pounce their Nebraska Cornhuskers!

15. I'm going to enjoy a relaxing weekend with my family. They are my favorite people in the whole wide world!

People's Church Calendar

I am a big planner. I believe the Lord can speak to us months out and not just at the spur of the moment. God tends to speak to me through prayer, planning and preparation. Here is a list of things that have been nailed down for 2010, or that will be nailed down by the end of the year.

1. Our 2010 sermon series are 90 percent nailed down. This really gives our Creative and Media Teams time to produce high quality work.

2. My time off from speaking has been nailed down.

3. Our advertising strategy. The times throughout the year that we want to do heavy marketing.

4. The speakers who will be speaking at PC when I'm not are 90 percent nailed down.

5. The events to help people grow spiritually and develop Kingdom friendships through our Community Groups.

6. We are working on nailing down our baptismal dates.

7. We are working on what events we want our kids and youth ministry involved in during the summer.

8. We have nailed down our Next class dates.

9. We are working on nailing down our Starting Point dates.

10. Our Volunteer Celebration Banquet has been nailed down. Volunteers, this will happen on January 29. It's going to be blast! Thank you for volunteering faithfully every week.

This list is not exhaustive, but gives you an idea of what we are working on at PC! I enjoy planning ahead!

CALENDAR PLANNING

It's not a lot of fun, but today we're doing calendar planning at church for 2010 as we try and get the important things on the calendar first. Important things like outreach events, all church events, Kingdom Builders, church picnic, additional services, Christmas Eve services, global trips, camps, conventions, leadership training etc. All of that has to be balanced with the school calendar, and other cultural events that dominate life in the United States! (See why I said it's not exactly a lot of fun!)

The hardest thing to do is keep the calendar from loading up and overwhelming the staff and the congregation and making the Kingdom of God the priority it needs to be. We have to keep reminding ourselves that our DNA is to have weekend services, small groups and global projects and not get distracted from that vision. It's a real challenge and there are a lot of things that won't make the cut, but its all part of the strategy for the future.

Thanks www.robketterling.com for this post. Rob pastors a great church in Minneapolis. Our team is currently planning our calendar, so this post struck a chord with me.

Weekend Update

1. Wow, wow, wow, what a great Sunday at PC!

2. We baptized tons of people! I love seeing people go public for Jesus!

3. Many people gave their lives to Christ! We are seeing people come to Christ in record numbers. It's so exciting!

4. Our people are pumped up about Green Peace! I know many people are going to experience financial peace like never before because of this series. It's going to be a very practical series that will help everybody gain peace during these difficult times.

5. We were once again over 1000 people bigger than the same Sunday last year. Actually, we were 1034 people bigger. I am blown away and humbled by what God is doing at PC!

6. Lives are being changed every week at PC! That pumps me up!

7. I flew to Philadelphia on Thursday morning. Due to the rain, my flight was delayed out of OKC. I missed my connection in Cincinnati. I had to sit around the airport for a few hours because I missed my flight! Bummer!

8. I got to hang out with one of my pastor friends on Thursday evening. David Crosby is a great pastor on the east coast. He pastors www.poconocc.com. This is a great church with a great leader. I didn't get to sleep until after 12:30AM.

9. On Friday morning, I spoke at a college about church planting. It's always a great honor to invest in students.

10. I caught a late afternoon flight home on Friday. Once again, my flight left late. Long story, but the airline made me check my bag, and my bag didn't make it to OKC with me. I had to report my bag missing to the airline. I didn't get home until around 10PM.

11. Early Saturday afternoon, my bag was delivered to my home. I was very glad because I had my hair clippers and edgers in the bag.

12. Late Saturday afternoon, my wife and I went to dinner with some of our friends, and then we went to the Oklahoma Sooners game with them.

13. My wife and I got home late from the OU game.

14. The Sooners offense looked great, but the defense didn't look so good.

15. I'm tired from a long weekend, but I'm also very excited about what God is doing in my life, family and PC!

16. My Dallas Cowboys are looking good! Miles Austin is the real deal. I'm glad I added him in my dynasty FF league.

17. My fantasy football teams did average. I think I will go 4-2 this week, which isn't bad, but I was hoping for better.

18. Cale lost his first two teeth this weekend. He looks funny, but thinks he is cool. I love my kids so much!

19. Financially, if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. Break your patterns and habits, and do something different starting today.

20. I can't wait for this Sunday at PC! GREEN PEACE BABY!