Pastor Appreciation

October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and I wanted to take a moment and appreciate the pastors who serve with me at People's Church.

1. Thank you all for your passion for Jesus. I'm grateful to God that you have a growing relationship with our Savior.

2. Thank you for believing in me. I'm a far from perfect leader, and you love me and believe in me. Thank you for believing in me and the vision that God has put inside my heart.

3. Thank you for your loyalty and unity. One of the greatest strengths of our church is our loyalty to God, the vision and each other. I'm grateful that we have each other’s back!

4. Thank you for your hard work and commitment. No one will ever know the sacrifice and hard work you put in to make this vision a reality. I see it, and I'm grateful for all you do. You are extremely hard workers.

5. Thank you for being passionate about your marriage and families. One of our core convictions as a church is to take care of and invest in our families. I'm grateful that you deeply love your wife and kids. Keep serving your family well!

6. Thank you for fighting for the vision. It's easy for many leaders to turn inward instead of outward. You all fight for the vision and for that I'm thankful.

7. Thank you for being you. I love each of you. I value your unique giftedness. I value our friendship. I value the call of God upon your life.

8. People's Church pastors, YOU are APPRECIATED! I honor you today! I can't do what I do without you! We need each other! THANK YOU!

LESS $TRE$$

We are kicking off a new series this Sunday! I'm super pumped about how God is going to use this series to decrease the stress load for people in the area of their finances. Our Video Team did an amazing job on this promo video. This is for sure one of my favorites. You have to check out this short video!

Less Stress from People's Church on Vimeo.

Weekend Highlights

1. It was a life-changing day at People's Church. I taught a message on how the Holy Spirit makes us holy.

2. Many people gave their lives to Christ. Many people were convicted, filled, set free and changed by the Holy Spirit.

3. My OU Sooners lost. NUF said.

4. I hope the Dallas Cowboys beat the Giants tonight. I hope they win in style.

5. My fantasy football teams are on the fence right now. I for sure have lost in one league, but have a chance to win in 5. It comes down to Monday Night Football. I'm a fantasy junkie.

6. I'm super excited for the new series Less Stress...Peace For Your Finances to begin this Sunday. It's going to be a great series.

7, If you haven't, be sure to get signed up to be baptized in water on November 7 by emailing anita@peopleschurch.tv today. I can't wait to celebrate with you as you get baptized!

8. I had a super great Saturday with my family. It was a very rejuvenating day. I love my family so much. I am so blessed. I'm so grateful to God for such a great wife and super kids. THANK YOU, JESUS!

9. I had my first eggnog shake from Braum's on Sunday night. I'm getting started early. :)

10. Make it a great Monday!

Motivated

The staff at People's Church who thrive and are very successful are highly motivated. We have a great team of highly motivated people. Below is a list of five qualities of highly motivated people.

1. You don't have to ask them to do something twice. They get the job done the first time.

2. They don't make excuses of why something didn't get done. They get their job done and produce high quality results.

3. They are self-starters. They don't need somebody looking over their shoulders to work hard consistently.

4. They understand that working hard is not necessarily about how many hours you work. It's about being productive and producing results.

5. They multiply themselves by developing leaders and not just doers. They raise up people to lead people and not just to do tasks. This is what we call working smarter instead of harder. On the front end, developing people is hard work and takes a highly motivated person. On the back end, work life is much easier for the staff who take the time to invest and raise up leaders to lead people.

Signs Of Knowing Yourself

1. You can freely and openly admit the things you are not good at doing

2. You can freely and openly admit the things you are good at doing

3. You realize you are only really good at a few things, and you know what they are

4. You know if you are a morning, afternoon or evening person

5. You know how much sleep you need to function at a high level

6. You know what time of the day you get your best work done

7. You don't have a false perception of yourself. If your mom is the only person who thinks you are good at something, you're not, and you need to be honest about it.

8. You know what makes you happy, sad and mad

9. You know what relaxes you

10. You know if you are an introvert or extrovert

11. You know your love language

12. You know if you are more of a spender or saver

13. You know the kind of people you enjoy being friends with

14. You know how God usually speaks to you

15. You know the spiritual gifts God has given you

Weekend Highlights A Day Late

1. Sometimes I don't feel like doing a blog, and yesterday was one of those days.

2. It was a busy weekend for the Cooper crew.

3. My uncle, Tommy Johnson, passed away due to cancer, and we had his funeral at People's Church on Saturday.

4. I had a lot of family in town due to the funeral. It's always great seeing everybody.

5. Friday evening, we went to my uncle and aunt's home for a family dinner. I had a super, great conversation with my aunt from Rochester. She poured into my life about raising godly kids. I enjoyed it and gleaned a lot.

6. Saturday, after my uncle’s funeral, I went to Norman, OK, and I had the privilege of speaking with the OU Sooner football team and coaches. It was a great time investing spiritually into the Sooner team.

7. My Oklahoma Sooners got another win and are now ranked 1st in the BCS poll. If we win out, we will be in the National Championship game. Tough to do, but it is very possible. GO Sooners!

8. My OKC Thunder basketball team will be tipping off the regular season soon. Let's roll, Thunder!

9. Dallas Cowboys 1-4. WHAT! Nuf said! :(

10. Church was awesome on Sunday. I love teaching our church about the person of the Holy Spirit. God is at work BIG time!!!

Craig Groeschel

My good friend and one of my mentors surprised me and People's Church with this congratulations video. In all four experiences, our church clapped while Craig talked. Thanks, Craig, for believing in me and People's Church. I'm super blessed to have you as a mentor, cheerleader and friend!

Congratulations From Craig Groeschel from People's Church on Vimeo.

Weekend Highlights

1. I took my wife on a date Thursday night. It was a great time of conversation, food, conversation, dessert and more conversation. I love that lady so much.

2. Friday and Saturday were great relaxing and fun days around the Cooper house. Awesome family time.

3. It was a great day at People's Church. God is at work big time. Lives are being transformed by the power of God.

4. I taught a message titled The Holy Spirit For Dummies. If you missed church on Sunday, I encourage you to go to www.peopleschurch.tv and listen to or watch the message this week.

5. The Dallas Cowboys stunk it up again. 1-3. Come on, Cowboys.

6. I couldn't believe Alabama got hammered by South Carolina. Loved it.

7. I have a very slim chance to go 6-0 in my fantasy football leagues. VERY slim.

8. Tiffany and I got to reconnect with a family who attended People's Church back in the movie theater days. This family moved away, and we have not seen them for several years. This family was very instrumental to PC in the early days. It was great to see them. I'm always super grateful for the people who believed in the vision in the early days.

9. This Sunday, we are going to talk about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. What are they? Do you need them? Is speaking in tongues really for today? What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit giving people gifts? I can't wait.

10. Have a super Monday. Remember attitude determines altitude. Stay positive.

Signs Of Brokenness

1. You listen to others

2. You receive correction

3. You help people who can't do anything for you in return

4. You don't toot your own horn

5. You don't name drop to make yourself look good

6. You don't talk bad about others to make yourself look good

7. You are nice to people who can't do anything for you

8. You admit when you are wrong

9. You say "I'm sorry" frequently

10. You admit your faults

11. You give compliments to others

12. You encourage people instead of demeaning them

13. You have a good attitude even when you don't get your way

14. You are more concerned about what God thinks about you than what people think about you

15. You make Jesus famous instead of making yourself famous

Making Your Vision Become Reality

Nobody wants to just have daydreams that never come to pass. Nobody wants to be all talk and no action. How do we see our dreams and vision become reality? Here are some thoughts:

1. Seek and trust God. Put God first. Living for God is key.

2. Get a dream from God. Your dream from God will always line up with the Bible.

3. Write down your dream.

4. Write down an action plan to accomplish the dream.

5. Write down specific goals and deadlines to see the dream come to pass.

6. Put the right people around you who can help you accomplish the dream.

7. Eliminate distractions. There are probably some things you are doing now that are distracting you from accomplishing the dream. Remove the distractions.

8. Stay focused. Many people lose focus. Dreams don't happen overnight. Oftentimes dreams take longer than anticipated. Joseph in the book of Genesis can tell you that dreams don't happen overnight. Stay focused.

9. Work hard. Lazy people don't see dreams come to pass. There are a lot of lazy people who only dream but never pursue the dream.

10. Get a mentor. Find people, books, blogs and other tools that can help you grow and reach your dream.

Weekend Highlights

1. It was a great weekend.

2. On Friday, my wife and I went on an overnight trip without the kids. These trips with my wife refuel me.

3. Tiffany and I went to dinner, shopping and then a movie. The next morning, we went to breakfast and then did some more shopping.

4. We got home on Saturday afternoon, my wife made nacho cheese dip, and we ate junk food and watched OU beat Texas.

5. On Sunday morning I didn't teach, so I got to drive my family to church and worship with my church family. This doesn't happen very often, and it was nice.

6. After church, I took my family out to eat at one of my kids’ favorite spots, IHOP.

7. Sunday afternoon consisted of football and a nice family walk. Well, the three oldest kids rode their bikes. Fun times.

8. I have a chance to go 6-0 in my fantasy football leagues this week. I should for sure go 5-1.

9. I'm excited to teach this coming up Sunday on the Holy Spirit...Forgotten God.

10. Because I didn't teach the last two weekends, I was able to study and plan ahead for the current and future message series. This always relieves pressure from me.

11. Chris Smith, our Student Ministries Director, did a super great job kicking off the series Forgotten God. People's Church is blessed with great staff, leaders and volunteers.