This past week we bid a fond farewell to a valuable member of our team. We say “goodbye” with very mixed feelings. Brad Causey will be greatly missed.

A couple of months ago, Brad let me know that he was contemplating leaving his post at CMN and accepting the position of Executive Pastor with Randy Quackenbush. Randy has been the Worship Pastor at James River Assembly in Springfield until he recently accepted the invitation to become the pastor of a 52 year old church plant. Literally. The founding pastor has been there for 52 years and decided it was time to conclude his leadership role with St. Paul Evangelical Church.

Randy has known Brad and his wife Christin for years. He invited Brad and Christin to join him on this adventure. In some ways, Brad will be doing what he did for CMN…high quality management of a diversity of projects. However, this opporunity will give Brad the chance to “get his hands in the clay” of local church leadership.

So, these last few months have been a bittersweet time…first, I hoped that God would speak to Brad or Randy or somebody and tell Brad he was supposed to stay right where he was! But, of course, that was a selfish prayer, and so we just prayed that God would lead Brad to the center of His perfect will. And so, today, Brad and Christin are arriving in Lexington, Massachusetts to begin a new chapter of life.

One other feature of this story is that Brad and Christin are expecting their first child sometime in January. They know he’s going to be a boy and I’m sure they’ll name him Steve after Brad’s favorite boss ever! That’s a joke folks!!!

Anyway…thanks Brad for a job very well done. It has been a great privilege to serve along side you for the past two and a half years. We are praying that God will richly bless every aspect of your journey!

The title of this post could save you $90! If you want to know how, read on….

Multiplicity Zero is the annual face-to-face connecting point for anyone and everyone involved in any aspect of starting a new church. The Zero theme was born in my heart during a talk by Craig Groeschal at Buzz 07. Craig made the comment that when our limited resources encounter increasing passion, we experience exponential innovation. He used a great example to illustrate this point. First, he asked anyone in the crowd who would be willing and able to give him $100,000 by tomorrow at 5pm to raise their hand. He was greeted with laughter and nobody raised their hands. Then, he increased the passion component by asking “Suppose your son or daughter had been kidnapped and I guaranteed their safe return if you gave me $100,000 by tomorrow at 5pm.” It was amazing how much more creative we all became. Suddenly, I realized that if I had a the right level of passion about something, I would be willing to do anything to get the resources to get it done.

Then Craig zinged us with the following thought….Our problem in reaching Americans with the Gospel is not one of provision or finances…it’s a passion problem. If we are truly compelled by God’s love toward our fellow citizens, we will do everything we can to find the resources to reach them. Instead of saying that we can’t plant churches or start new ministries because we don’t have the money or the people, or the (fill in the blank), we are called to step out in obedience with Jesus on His mission and do whatever we can to find the resources to make it happen. We do what we can do and God will do what we can’t do. But we must not allow ourselves to be held back by our perceived lack of resources. Everything starts at Zero. Our limited resources combined with increasing passion will help us find God’s provision for every step of the journey.

So Multiplicity Zero is a chance to interact with leaders who have started at Zero and went on to see God do great things. You’ll be inspired and equipped. You’ll be exposed to new ideas and perspectives on the world. You’ll have multiple opportunities to spend time and interact with real leaders you’ve probably never heard of who are faced with some of the same challenges and limitations that are in front of you.

Now, here’s how you save $90. The registration fee is $199. But readers of this blog can get the special rate of $109 by putting the title of this post into the “discount code” box when you register. That’s all there is to it! So don’t delay. This special offer will not last forever. You can learn more about what to expect and how to register by clicking here.

Wow, this post is beginning to sound like an infomercial so I’m going to quit before I get too weird! I do truly hope to see you in Houston December 4-5, 2008.

Jay Covert is a US Missionary multiplier in East St. Louis, Illinois. Three years ago, Jay arrived in East St. Louis with a lot of faith and little else. East St. Louis is a challenging place and most observers didn’t have much hope that Jay could be successful. This morning I received the following note from Jay.

“Hey UO Pastoral Friends,

We planted the UO Church in East Saint Louis on July 9, 2006 in a small one room store front building. For 2 years we averaged upper 30’s to mid 40’s in attendance then we were given the task and challenge to renovate and revitalize the Washington Park Church and replant a new work there all the while renovate an abandon building in ESL for our 3rd sanctuary expansion.

I had no reservation on launching the second work, I have been looking forward to this for a long time expecting for a great harvest but if today is an indication of what happens when a small church installs, releases and mothers a daughter church plant then wow!!! In just two shorts weeks we have grown triple in numbers then meeting on Sunday mornings 116 weeks in one place!

Pastor Tommy Smith @ Washington Park had 48 folks in service today, today we moved into our new sanctuary in East Saint Louis and it was pretty much a normal service BUT we had 69 folks in attendance. Praise God! We grew almost triple with 117 folks in attendance in two locations verses holding on to folks in just one location.

God is awesome and we believe the increase and harvest in these two cities is being released. Church Planting is vital if we are going to reach and change our communities all across Illinois. If a small inner city church in a very poverished city can do it then just think what your church can do with the resources God has given you………….”

Thanks for sharing this great news Jay! It proves once again that God is bigger than any challenge we face. I heard a great illustration the other day. A scarecrow indicates the presence of much fruit. Jay ignored the “scarecrow” and is finding a lot of fruit. America has thousands of harvest fields guarded by “scarecrows” of crime, poverty and economic challenge. It’s time for us to run past the “scarecrows” to the harvest. That’s where we’ll find Jesus.