News
All of the event and blog posts from Disciples Church are combined in the news feed below! You can check out Pastor Stu’s latest Leading Thoughts, what’s happening in our missions ministry, and much more.
Note: We’ve only included news and event posts from 2017. If you’re looking for something older, sorry!
Student Ministries Winter Camp 2017 – SHIFT
Disciples Church is holding it's first Winter Camp at a real youth camp! Students are invited to join us for a life changing weekend at Forward Bible Camp in Georgetown, CA. The weekend will focus on learning to SHIFT with God as He challenges us to take on new adventures [...]
Mission Trip Aftermath: Detox, Rehab or Renewal?
Yesterday I returned from what I think was my seventeenth mission trip. Read on, it’s not as spiritual or impressive as you might think. I’ve been on mission trips in several American inner cities, Mormon headquarters, Paraguay, Mexico and Guatemala. Each trip is unique and I’ve learned to expect the [...]
Six valuable principles I learned as a restauranteur but forget as a pastor
My wife and I owned a restaurant for nearly 10 years. She had grown up in that industry and knew it inside and out. I had worked retail a bit and managed a bike shop and knew just about zero - other than I liked pizza and I wanted to [...]
What Are The Rules?
This past week I was sharing a meal with our newest staff member, Jason, when he posed a question I had never heard before: "What are the rules here?" I was intrigued and really engaged not only in trying to get him a suitable answer that was honest and true [...]
The Chase is On
Yesterday I sat with a fellow church planter in a restaurant in Southern California discussing the best ways to lead the various people that come in and out of our new churches. My colleague's frustration with the state of people's pursuits in church was obvious and while I know him [...]
Does Honor Trump Achievement in my Life?
Recently I sat with a friend and local pastor who often helps me out by speaking when I have to be away from Disciples on a Sunday. We were discussing his last preaching assignment at our church and planning for his next that was soon approaching. In the course of [...]
Strategic Expansion through Reduction
Financial struggles in churches all over the U.S. is a well documented saga over the past year and Disciples has been no different. Add to that mix the loss of a few influential staff members partnered with the summer slump and you have a pretty depressing landscape for fostering health [...]
Reflections on Year 3: Bad Beats & Big Pots
There was a time in my life when I considered myself somewhat of a poker player. My experience amounted to a weekly game in the garage with guys from the neighborhood where we would swap quarters or the occasional "monster pot" with enough to buy dinner for two at the [...]
The Leader’s Pregame Warmup Routine
It's Olympics season and so chances are good no matter how much of a sports fanatic you are or are not, you have been tuned in some. Some of the sports defy physics. I mean people who can jump 27 feet across a sand pit not only amaze me, but [...]
Suffering’s Essential Role in the Formation of Perfect Leaders
Yesterday on my way home from the office I stopped off at Ted's house (Ted is our worship leader) to sit on his patio and talk for a bit. Not only do these talks feed my soul but they tend to be a welcomed and unpredictable mix of topical discussion [...]
Compartmentalizing: A Leader’s Ability or Disability?
For years I have prided myself on my ability, at least perceived that way, to package up a bad day or bad meeting and head into the next with the lingering thoughts and feelings of the last neatly wrapped up in some place out of view of the rest of [...]