So, I have been working on this new series for over a month now! Yes, folks, we take seriously the work of God. I have had people, on Saturdays, look at me and go, “Don’t you need to head home and work on your sermon for tomorrow?” I usually laugh…not at them…but, I laugh because most pastors are frantically trying to get a revelation late Saturday night and some are working hard on Sunday morning. Folks, God wants us to prepare. Remember this prayer plus preparation always equals the Presence of God! Anyways….I want to say this to you! DO NOT MISS SUNDAY MORNING! This new series will change peoples lives. It will help you with some things in your home. Once again…DO NOT MISS…it will change your life.
Sneak peek question….
What subject did Jesus talk the most about in the Gospels?
He talked about this more than anything else in the Word! See you Sunday! Make sure and bring someone with you.
Ok…so I am a little late in getting our Sunday Recap up. I have been extremely busy….Eternity play is going on at City Church, we are trying to find a new place to have church…..uummm you know the usual stuff is going on. Ha! So, here it goes.
- Praise and Worship once again was out of this world! Literally, what a great spirit on the team. I am so proud of them.
- We were PACKED! It is becoming obvious that we need to something on Sunday mornings.
- In my hand…I am holding cards for 2 people who gave their heart to the Lord and 5 people who re-dedicated their lives to the Lord. OH YEA!
- The church is starting to catch the vision. You can feel it beginning to catch. What a great feeling!
- Gen church had kids sitting in the floor on Saturday night. What an awesome feeling to know that we are making an impact on our kids.
- The men’s meeting is tonight and I am excited about what God has to say to us.
- Florida lost…Tennessee won…you know it’s going to be a good service when that happens :).
- What a beautiful day outside. It was a gorgeous day for spending some time with the family, and hanging out with the kids.
- I took the staff over the see the Eternity play. We liked what we saw. Also, they have had alot of people give their hearts to the Lord. What an awesome week this is turning out to be!
- Right now we are seeing God challenge people about their giving. It has been awesome to see folks continue to strive for God’s best.
- I have put alot of time and thought into this new series. Now, since it seems that I have some much material…it’s almost too much…I need to take some time and boil it down to what God wants to say to His people.
- We are trying to come up with some creative ways to invite people to church. If, you have some shoot me an e-mail or post a reply to this blog.
- More to come this week….look for my sneak peek for this weeks sermons, how to tell if you are becoming religious, and more.
Filed under: All things Leadership
The first one that messes with me every time I read it…..
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond imagination. It is our light more than our darkness which scares us. We ask ourselves – who are we to be brilliant, beautiful, talented, and fabulous. But honestly, who are you to not be so?
You are a child of God, small games do not work in this world. For those around us to feel peace, it is not example to make ourselves small. We were born to express the glory of god that lives in us. It is not in some of us, it is in all of us. While we allow our light to shine, we unconsciously give permission for others to do the same. When we liberate ourselves from our own fears, simply our presence may liberate others.’
This second one has helped me through some rough times. It is taped to my mirror hanging on the wall in my bathroom.
It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or when the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worth cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.
~Theodore Roosevelt
Venti Vision
The article talks about the rapid growth of Starbucks and, among other things, attributes that growth to the “Starbucks experience” rather than the coffee. Here are some highlights from the article and the questions and thoughts it raised in my mind:
Vision. “From a base of just 100 stores 15 years ago, Starbucks has grown into a 13,000-strong coffeehouse armada. It operates cafes in all 50 states and in 37 countries… The company now opens more than 2,000 coffeehouses per year, an average of six new stores a day.”
The company’s current goal is to have 40,000 stores worldwide. Does anyone else read that and think our vision for the Church pales in comparison? We complain about and try to discredit the ministry of churches that are approaching 40,000 people while this company (that’s just trying to sell more coffee) is trying to open 40,000 unique locations. Aren’t we thinking too small?
Intentionality. “At Starbucks, nothing is accidental. Everything the customer interacts with, from the obsessively monitored store environment down to the white paper cups, is the product of deliberation and psychological research. The coffeehouse as we know it is a calculated creation…”
It ticks me off that Starbucks has demonstrated this much intentionality in selling coffee while the Church embraces a passive (or maybe it’s just lazy) approach to spreading the Gospel.
Community. “Starbucks filled America’s need for a public gathering spot–…a ‘third place’ with home and work being place one and two. This became Starbucks’ community rallying cry: It wasn’t a coffee company, but a place for bringing people together through the social glue of coffee.”
Here’s an example of a need that people had that could have easily been filled by the Church. Maybe we’re too focused on arguing about what we’re against instead of being what the Church was intended to be in people’s lives.
Atmosphere. Starbucks interviewed coffee drinkers and found that they “talked very little about the coffee itself, but quite a bit about feelings and atmosphere… The coffee wasn’t the point–the feel of the place was.”
Here’s the reality–Starbucks just wants to sell more coffee. But, we don’t hear blogging baristas complaining about how Starbucks has watered down the coffee because they’re actually paying attention to people’s feelings and the atmosphere of their stores.
What if God gifted artists to create an atmosphere for people to be more receptive to hearing the Gospel? What if God created some people with the gift of hospitality to design a welcoming environment for people to hear the Gospel? What if God gifts people and directs them through the Holy Spirit to think about effective building design, sound systems, video capabilities and children’s ministry so that more people might hear the Gospel? Is it possible that we’re trying to put God in a box by limiting how he chooses to reach people?
I happen to believe God will use methods we’ve not seen before to reach people who have yet to commit their lives to Christ. As I’ve read through the Bible again, I’m amazed at the variety of different approaches he used to get people’s attention and transform lives. I don’t think God’s done creating. And, I don’t think he’s done redeeming people’s lives.
(Taken from Newspring worship pastor’s blog)
Filed under: All things Church
God is really good! I have spent a few weeks preparing for this new series and it turned out to be everything I wanted the first week…what a great day weekend we had!
- Nate wrecked his car! Sorry man, get it fixed quick!
- I could really sense the people soaking up every word that was being said Sunday! It was way too good.
- We changed the order of our services and I think the change is going to be really good.
- We had two more people give their heart to the Lord! Amazing!
- Praise and Worship team did an intimate setting for worship today. It was awesome. Just an acoustic guitar, djembe, and bass. It was sweet. Then they did some older hymns as well.
- My kids lived through their “incident” with their mom. I bet they won’t hide again.
- We sat in my office for about two hours as a team talking about some adjustments that need to be made to win more people to the Lord. It was an incredible “divine appointment.”
- Pastor Roy and Pastor John have their blogs up now.
- We are getting ready to totally revamp our website. I can’t wait. It’s going to be really good.
- This church has been really pumping me up and stretching my faith.
