Knowing What You’re Called To Do

It's so important that you know what you're called to do. This can be dictated by God's call, your season of life or by your God inspired priorities. Without knowing what you’re called to do, you will do a lot of good things but miss out on doing the best things. Here are some ways that this is playing out in my life:

1. My family and I get asked to do lunch, dinners and a host of other wonderful opportunities. We say no a lot of the time because our family is a top priority. I believe my greatest calling outside of being a follower of Christ and the best way that I lead People's Church, is to first pastor my own family.

2. I receive many wonderful opportunities to travel and speak. Because of my season of life (my kid’s ages are 6, 5, 4 & 2), I say no to many speaking engagements so that I can be a daddy to my kids. This is a season for me to invest in my little kids, and one day, Tiffany and I will be able to travel and speak out more.

3. I've been asked to write a book but now is not the time. I believe one day I will write a book, but I feel during this season of ministry that God has called me to focus my attention, leadership energy and time on investing into People's Church and its leaders.

I've learned that not every opportunity, even good opportunities are not God. Just because there is an open door doesn't mean you should step through it. It's about knowing God's calling on your life. It's about knowing your season of life. It's about knowing your God inspired priorities.

Everything Christmas

Our BIG Christmas series kicks off THIS Sunday! Everything Christmas is a Christmas series like you've never seen before at church. Check out the short video to see some of the cool things that will be happening throughout this series. There will also be some awesome surprises!

Everything Christmas from People's Church on Vimeo.

I'm Thankful For....

1. My God. I'm grateful that God has washed away my sin and has changed my heart and life. I don't know where I would be without Jesus. It's a scary thought to imagine what my life would be like without God.

2. My wife. God blessed me with the most amazing, godly woman to be my partner for life. My love for Tiffany grows day by day and year by year. I love her so much and am so grateful for our life together.

3. My kids. Wow, those little people make me so happy, mad, emotional, happy, blessed, upset, impatient, happy, irritated, happy. LOL! I love my kids so much. I'm so grateful that God has entrusted Tiffany and I to raise these four kids to be God fearing followers of Christ.

4. My and my family’s health. I don't take our health for granted. I'm grateful to God that my family and I are healthy. Thank you Jesus.

5. My kids already falling in love with Jesus at an early age. Watching and listening to my kids talk about God and sing about God brings such joy to my heart. Thankful!

6. My church family. I'm so blessed to be the Senior Pastor of People's Church. What God has done in eight years has been a God thing. God has graced us in amazing ways, and I am humbled and very thankful to get to be a part of what God is doing in these last days.

7. My staff. I am super blessed to work alongside of godly, hard working, loyal, passionate and gifted people. You are only as strong and as good as those closest to you. WOW, I'm blessed and grateful for the People's Church staff.

8. My family. God has blessed me with a wonderful family. I'm grateful for my dad, my brothers and sisters, my mother and father in-law, my uncles, aunts and cousins. I'm thankful that my family has played a huge role and has been very supportive in my life throughout the years.

9. My friends. I have some incredible friends. Some of my friends work with me. Some of my friends live in OKC. Some of my friends live out of state. I'm so blessed to have great friends to share life and ministry with.

10. My mentors. I'm grateful for the men of God who have and who continue to pour into my life. I would not be where I am today if it were not for my mentors. Thank you mentors for believing in me.

Weekend Highlights

1. It was a great weekend for the Cooper crew.

2. I took my bride on a date on Thursday night. We went to dinner and a movie. We saw Unstoppable. We liked the movie, and I felt like I could run through a brick wall without being injured after it was over!

3. My OKC Thunder basketball team won back to back games without Durant or Green. Pretty impressive, especially against Boston in the Garden.

4. My OU Sooners won. The stage is set for the big in state rivalry game against OSU in Stillwater. My Sooners will have to bring their A game to win this one.

5. The Dallas Cowboys have won two in a row. WHAT! LOL!

6. Church was great. I love being the pastor of People's Church and seeing more changed lives. God is at work.

7. I enjoyed taking communion with my church family yesterday. Jesus paid it all!

8. Mine and Tiffany’s assistant had her first baby on Saturday. Congrats Jimmy and Jessica on your new bundle of joy. God has blessed you with a precious gift.

9. I'm so pumped up for our Christmas series kicking off this Sunday called Everything Christmas!

10. If you are leaving OKC for Thanksgiving, be sure to get back in time for church on Sunday. It's going to be AWESOME!

11. Be sure to get all of your friends and family to church on Sunday. This series will be simply amazing! Start inviting today.

12. I won in all 6 of my fantasy football leagues! Yea! I am .500 in one league and have a winning record in the rest. I think I will make the playoffs in all 6 leagues. Go Stallions!

My Critics Help Me

1. Process why People's Church does what it does

2. Stay focused on the main thing

3. Become a better vision caster because they point out areas where I may not be communicating clearly

4. Get thicker skin while maintaining a tender heart

5. Walk in forgiveness

6. Stay broken and dependent on Jesus

7. Remember that God uses so many different ways and methods to advance His Kingdom

8. Stay passionate about reaching those far from God

9. Remember why I don't want a church full of religious people

10. Remember that I can learn from everybody

11. Be a better pastor and man of God. My critics help me in a positive way even though they mean it in a negative way.

The Compare Game

Don't compare your church to others because:

1. You will always be depressed because you are not them and they are not you

2. Their circumstances are different than yours

3. What works for them may not work for you

4. They may be in a season of reaping, and you may be in a season of sowing

5. They may have paid a private price for their public success that you are not aware of

6. You may base their progress on things you can see, and it could be that their progress is from the intangibles you cannot see

7. Their community is totally different than your community

8. They may be a 1-talent person, and you may be a 5-talent person. Jesus is rewarding us for being faithful with the talent(s) He gave us, not them

9. A fast-growing church doesn't mean it's a successful church. A church can have amazing growth, and the pastor and/or his family is falling apart. You can do the work of God, and it can destroy the work God wants to do in you.

10. You will never enjoy life and ministry if you are always comparing yourself and your church to others.

Decisions, Direction, Destiny

Our decisions determine a direction for our lives and that direction will determine our destiny. Our daily decisions matter. We must choose wisely!

Here are some crucial decisions:

1. Choosing to give your life to Christ

2. Choosing to spend daily time with God

3. Choosing your spouse

4. Choosing to nurture and invest in your marriage daily

5. Choosing to invest in your kids daily

6. Choosing your friends

7. Choosing your career and job

8. Choosing what level of education you will achieve

9. Choosing to be connected and faithful to a local church

10. Choosing to stay out of debt, especially consumer debt

11. Choosing to put God first by returning the tithe

12. Choosing to flee from evil and to pursue holiness

13. Choosing to develop yourself

14. Choosing to eat healthy and to exercise

15. Choosing to be a person of your word

16. Choosing to have a good attitude

The list could go on and on! Daily decisions do matter. We are where we are today because of decisions, and where we end up in 1, 5, 10 or 50 years will be determined by decisions. Choose wisely!

Church Culture pt. 2

Every church and staff has it's own unique culture and flavor. Here is part two of some of the People's Church culture.

6. We have a strong work ethic culture. We value people who work extremely hard. People who want to coast, take it easy and are lazy don't work well at PC. People who are extremely driven, have a great work ethic and who produce results thrive in our culture.

7. We have a diverse culture. We value people from every walk of life. We value every skin color and age group. Diversity is a huge part of who we are. We are very unified and very diversified at the same time.

8. We have a reaching people far from God culture. Every Sunday and Wednesday (youth ministry) people give their lives to Christ. We have a come just as you are and no matter where you are in life and experience the love of Christ culture. Every Sunday our church is filled with people far from God, and it can get really messy, but we love it.

9. We have an outreach and loving our community culture. We spend tons and tons of money investing into the hurting, broken, lonely, poor and lost in our community. We feed, clothe and help educate our community. We send our people out to do community projects. We have a huge heart to show the love of Jesus to our community and around the world in tangible ways.

10. We have a doing life together culture. Our mission statement is to connect people to God and to others. We are passionate about connecting our church family in small groups, and we have tons of people connected in a small group. We have a culture where the church body ministers to one another, and they are not dependent on the paid pastors to provide all the ministry. Our church family cares, supports, encourages and holds one another accountable.

Church Culture

Every church and staff has it's own unique culture and flavor. Here is a list of some of the People's Church culture.

1. We have a Jesus and Bible culture instead of a religious, stuck in tradition or motivated by denominational dogma or preferences. People don't last long around People's Church who are religious, stuck in tradition or motivated by denominational dogma. We are all about Jesus, the Bible and loving people.

2. We have a very raw and honest culture. Most people who come to work at People's Church are shocked at how brutally honest we are about everything, whether good or bad. People always know where they stand at People's Church. Honest and open communication is what we are all about.

3. We have a volunteer culture. We value equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry. We equip our church family to do the ministry instead of hiring a bunch of staff. We like to have a lean staff and a massive amount of volunteers.

4. We have a change culture. We are always changing things. It's a part of who we are. Change is easy for us. Our people respond well to change because it's what they are used to.

5. We have a leadership culture. We value equipping others to do the ministry instead of doing the ministry ourselves. Doers don't excel in our culture. People who love to equip and make others successful thrive in our culture and continue to rise to new levels of responsibility.

MORE TOMORROW

Interesting Things About Me

1. I don't do much of my studying and message preparation at the church office. I prefer a coffee shop.

2. I enjoy being alone. I am energized by being alone.

3. I am a huge planner. I am on edge if I don't have my calendar planned out for six months to a year.

4. I am more of an introvert than an extrovert.

5. I speak what's on my mind. Those closest to me always know what I'm thinking and feeling about myself, life and them.

6. I am a black or white person. I rarely see things in shades of gray. Either it's right or it's wrong.

7. I do not like to feel like I'm being taken advantage of.

8. I really like food. Eating good food brings me pleasure.

9. I enjoy a good cup of decaf coffee or decaf Americano. I like steamed half and half poured on top of my coffee.

10. Listening to and watching sermons of other pastors is one of my hobbies. I enjoy hearing God's Word taught.

Weekend Highlights

1. It was a great weekend for the Coopers.

2. My wife and I went on a date on Thursday. We did dinner and a movie. I fall more in love with Tiffany every day. So blessed!

3. Friday was a fun-filled day with the family.

4. On Saturday, we went to the gym as a family. We spent the afternoon at home, and then we went to one of our staff member’s family’s home for dinner and to watch the Sooner game. The food was unbelievable, and the game was bad. Thanks, Merle and Cheryl, for the great food and fellowship. We love you guys!

5. Sunday was a super day at People's Church. Tons of people were baptized in water. Tons of people gave their lives to Christ.

6. Worship was great. The performance was great. I thought the message went well. I'm elated that people are hearing and responding to God's Word, and many are experiencing Less $tre$$ in their finances. Thank you, Jesus!

7. The BIGGEST series of the year is quickly approaching. Our Christmas series is titled Everything Christmas, and it begins November 28. Every Sunday for four weeks will be power-packed. There will be an orchestra, jazz bands, massive Christmas choir, unreal performances, laser light show, pyrotechnics, apple cider, hot chocolate and much more. This is a must attend series and you MUST INVITE your friends to this series!

8. The Oklahoma Sooners didn't look good on Saturday. Let's go, Sooners!

9. The Dallas Cowboys looked......................................BAD on Sunday night! WOW!

10. I can't believe the holidays are right around the corner. I love this time of year!

11. Wednesday Connection is going to be huge on Wednesday! Be there for snacks, friends, fellowship and spiritual growth!

12. I think I'm going to win in all 6 of my fantasy football leagues for the first time this year. Yea!

13. Have a super Monday!

Thursday's Download

1. It's been a great week of studying.

2. People's Church is looking to add two awesome youth pastors to our team. If you are interested, please email your resume to our Student Ministries Pastor Chris@Peopleschurch.tv.

3. People's Church is looking to add two administrative assistants to our great admin staff. If you are interested, please email your resume to Josh@Peopleschurch.tv.

4. I plan on giving more details on these positions on one of my blogs next week.

5. We are in an exciting season of growth and expansion at People's Church. I'm grateful for all God is doing.

6. I'm super excited about the Less $tre$$ series.

7. This Sunday, there will be another super performance right before I teach God's Word. I can't wait to see it.

8. What's up with the Dallas Cowboys??? I foresee some changes.

9. The Oklahoma City Thunder have lost two in a row. It's time to Thunder UP.

10. I'm planning the 2011 calendar and have some great message series that God is laying on my heart.

11. My kids are doing really well. I love watching them grow and learn.

12. My wife is doing awesome. She handles four small kids with such grace. She is an amazing woman.

13. I love being the pastor of People's Church. I'm blessed to the max.

What I Look For In A Staff Member pt. 2

11. They have a passion to reach people far from God

12. They are gifted and talented

13. They are a learner

14. They work well with a team

15. They are a leader of leaders

16. They are loyal and trustworthy

17. They have a strong marriage and family unit

18. Their spouse is supportive and has a positive attitude

19. They are teachable

20. They don't settle for average. They love making things that are good great

What I Look For In A Staff Member

1. They have a growing relationship with Christ

2. They have strong character

3. They don't have a track record of causing problems at their past jobs

4. They left their previous jobs well

5. They have a positive attitude

6. They have a track record of producing results

7. They have a strong work ethic

8. They are likeable. If I don't like somebody, I don't bring them on the team

9. They are a team player. The goal is more important than the role

10. They are not trapped in tradition, religion and denominational pride

More tomorrow.