Today Was A Good Day...

To quote the great Ice Cube "...today was a good day..."

We had a really good morning at Lifepoint...starting a new teaching series that serves to remind us what our mission is as the church. From time to time we have to be reminded, challenged, encouraged and pushed. This morning's talk was very stern, but taught in love. If we, church staff, can't be honest and transparent with those who attend...who's going to do it? I'm just like everyone else...I need a firm kick in the butt sometimes.

After our time together at church...a whole bunch of us headed down to the park for a cook out and a time of just hanging out. So much food! Everyone ate way to much and just sat around enjoying each other's company. Several of us played "cornhole"...the worlds greatest redneck game. So much fun...with so many great people. Today was a good day.

Hope to see you Sunday.

Question...

Question: When was the last time you set up a "portable church" in the pouring rain?

If you would have asked me that Wednesday morning...my answer would have been - never. However, this morning my answer is very different. Last night we set up our student ministry, preK, and Kidz club...in the pouring rain. It wasn't just pouring...it was stinking freezing...like 37 degrees. Me and 4 other guys pulled up and unloaded our trailer in record time! It's funny how freezing conditions and soaked bodies can increase productivity.

Setting up my thoughts instantly went to "...man, our student ministry, kids and adult activities tonight are gonna take a huge hit because of the weather..." It's so easy to dwell on the externals and not focus on the job that God has given us. I challenge you to not allow the enemy of your soul to mess with your mind. It's hard...I struggle with it just like everyone else...but the bottom line is that God is God...and we have to trust Him regardless of situations and circumstances.

When the night of frigid temps & rains was over...everyone went home, trailer was loaded and dropped off at the storage facility...we added up the total attendance for the evening. Honestly, I was shocked. We had over 70 people come out to connect with God and grow closer in their relationships with others...despite the freezing temperature and rain. Freakin' awesome! I'm constantly proud of YOU (attenders / members) Lifepoint Church!

Hope to see you Sunday.

Prayer...

Today we started a great series of talks called "Prayer." We kicked off the series with just a simple foundation of what prayer is: communicating with God...that's it. I'm really excited and the feedback today after the service was great. Next week we'll be looking at the mystery of unanswered prayers and in week 3 we'll learn how pray like Jesus prayed.

Today, in week 1, we covered why people don't pray:
1. People aren't sure how to pray.
2. We get bored or distracted while trying to pray.
3. We think our requests are too small for God.
4. People aren't sure if our prayers will make a difference.

We also looked at four steps in talking to God:
1. With gut-level honesty.
2. Talk to God about everything that matters to you.
3. Pray continually.
4. Listen for His response...this is the most important in my opinion!

I'm excited with what God is doing at Lifepoint and the direction, momentum and future...

Hope to see you Sunday.

New Look...

I've spent some time over the last several days working to get the Lifepoint Church website updated. The main page has a new feel...I've removed some of the previous elements and added a cleaner looking "rotating banner." The rotating banner (when clicked on will take you to the information within the site that directly relates to the image clicked on) is just a simple way to make the site look cleaner and to change things up a bit.

From time to time we personally need to change things up and get a cleaner look in our personal lives. Even when it feels like and seems like we're rolling along in our journey with Christ. We need to be willing to pray the prayer that David prayed in Psalm 139. David says "...search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts..." - and this is a deep and powerful prayer that we should all pray. We need to pray this prayer often because we at times, not intentionally, can deceive ourselves and overlook some things that may be in our lives, thoughts and hearts...that shouldn't be there.

Hope to see you Sunday.

Crazy Awesome...

So, I had the opportunity to go to C3 last night...and took it! What's C3? C3 is the "creative church conference" that Fellowship Church puts on every year. Last night was amazing! Pretty much standing room only and the crowd was truly electric. There was a tremendous sense of anticipation around what was going to happen.
Last night's session had both Ed Young (Pastor of Fellowship Church) and Craig Groeschel (Pastor of Lifechurch.tv) speaking...and what they had to say was incredible!
In all honesty when we pulled into the parking lot last night I was sick and really just wanted to go home. I decided to tough it out and I am so glad that I did. I walked away from the conference last night excited, inspired, challenged and ready to take on the world. To all my friends in ministry...let me just say this - go to C3 next year OR any conference that inspires you! I LOVE being around so many creative, innovative, inspiring and God fearing leaders!

If you can't tell...I'm pumped!

Hope to see you Sunday.

Messing With My Head...

Here's a few quotes / ideas that I came across today that are completely messing with my head:

-A problem cannot be fixed by the same consciousness that created it.

-The church needs artists to help people see clearly what they have always vaguely felt.

-Churches too often look for "Lights, Camera, Action" instead of "Father, Son, Holy Spirit."

-Technology functions somewhat as alcoholism and drug abuse used to. As a counterfeit experience of the ecstatic.

-Every 500 years the church has a yard sale and decides what to keep and what to get rid of...we are in that moment.

-It's amazing that in a faith where we see death and resurrection as beauty...yet we're unwilling to let our churches die (some churches just need a proper burial).

Pretty heavy ideas...but oh so very good!

Hope to see you Sunday.

Goals...

As the year is coming to a close...I find myself sitting back and reflecting on some goals I had set for myself and Lifepoint Church. I spent about 6 hours in the car yesterday driving out to Abilene to meet with a friend and church planter...so I had a lot of time to think. During my talk with Chuck, that's not what I call myself when I'm alone...Chuck is my friend in Abilene, I realized that one goal in particular was most likely going to be reached before the end of the year...possibly even this Sunday. What's that goal?!?! I'm not saying...it's my goal...not yours. But it's an important church planting milestone.

All that rambling to say this...if you don't have goals in your personal life, marriage, with your kids, at school, work, and most importantly spiritually...you'll never reach them. If you don't have goals...you won't achieve them. Sounds incredibly simple...yet so very true.

If you don't have a goal / desire to grow closer to Christ in your daily walk (through reading the Bible & prayer)...guess what? You won't grow. Other things might just happen to you at work, home or school...but spiritual growth just doesn't happen. I challenge you to set spiritual goals for yourself and your family. Grow, grow, grow...

P.S.~ I found this in Abilene...Christmas is just around the corner. Hint, hint!

Hope to see you Sunday.

Tough Talk...

Sunday's talk was a rather tough one. Not only did we discuss Hell, in our current series "So You're Dead...Now What?", but I also touched on giving / tithe. How do Hell & tithe go together? Let me explain it this way...

During our talk yesterday I said that "...If I were the devil...my number one priority or strategy would be to convince people that Hell wasn't real...or at the very least...Hell wasn't that big of a deal." By convincing people of that...2 things would happen: 1.) Unbelievers would continue to reject Christ & believers would not fear (be in awe / have respect) for God and ALL His commands. 2.) You wouldn't feel the need to share your faith. - - I'd submit this because of the way that most of us live our lives...we don't fear God (we don't obey ALL his commands) and we don't share our faith...which means we must not fully believe in Hell. That's hard to teach and hard to hear isn't it?!?!

In America we have a "cafeteria" approach to Christianity. It's like we walk through a cafeteria line picking and choosing the things from the Bible that we want to believe and live out in our lives...while leaving the things we don't want to believe or follow sitting on that "cafeteria" counter.

I was VERY CLEAR THAT NOT TITHING WON'T KEEP A BELIEVER OUT OF HEAVEN. However, I pointed out that all to often the tithe is one of the things we decide not to put on our tray as we go through the cafeteria line...and by doing so I was also perfectly clear in stating that "...by not tithing...you may be keeping someone else out of Heaven." Let me explain...

When we are not obedient in EVERYTHING that God calls us to do...which includes the tithe...churches won't be able to function...churches all over America close every week because of the lack of finances. And when churches close...well, that means fewer people are likely to hear about the amazing love and grace of God...thus missing a chance to have a relationship with Christ. Again...it's hard to hear, isn't it?! We've all got to do our part...not just in the easy things (like showing up to a service, giving of our time & energy)...but in the things that we as Americans find so hard...giving of our finances.

Tough talks are hard to teach and hard to hear. But when those tough talks come (and they will)...we have to remember that reaching people who are far from God is what we are called to do. That's what it's all about...LOVE WINS.

Hope to see you Sunday.

Another Reminder...

A few weeks back I posted a blog with a very important quote in it. The quote was "pray like it all depends on God and work as if it all depends on you." I just wanted to remind myself and you of that quote...that's all.

Hope to see you Sunday.

Savannah Community Event...

We had an amazing time at our event with the Savannah community on Saturday (8.30.08). We set up our Lifepoint booth, painted a couple hundred faces, handed out tons of invite cards, connected with a bunch of people, and our band played for those in attendance. I love being part of this community!

It's a wonderful feeling to have the community come to us and ask if we'd be willing to participate in their event. We've been very diligent in not only building a wonderful relationship with Savannah...but building trust. They trust Lifepoint Church. They know that they can call on us and our people will show up, love on the community and provide a great atmosphere for those in attendance. That makes me proud!

I was also proud to see so many Lifepointers at the event. We must have had over 50 of our people (including kids) at the event wearing their Lifepoint t-shirts, connecting with people at the event, inviting neighbors to Lifepoint, and having fun while the band played for nearly an hour. It's important for us to have a strong presence in our communities...because they are our mission field.

Don't forget...this Sunday (9.7.08) is our 1 year anniversary...don't just show up...bring your neighbors & friends!

Hope to see you Sunday.

Jonah...

Today is the last week in our current series "Jonah"...we'll be talking about Jonah's anger and unforgiveness in our own lives.
We'll also touch on the point that it's NOT about us...it's about Nineveh. Everywhere we go is NiniIt's gonna be a good one.

Hope to see you Sunday.

Yankees vs. Rangers...

Last night me, Micah (MC Director), Johnny (Student Pastor), and Clint (our kidz director's husband) went to The Ballpark In Arlington...or whatever they are calling it this week. We watched the New York Yankees (my favorite team) play the Texas Rangers...we had an awesome time!

We had fairly decent seats (upper deck - home run porch in right field)...but we never made it to our seats. I got us reservations at the Diamond Club (air-conditioned, upscale, restaurant & buffet - overlooking left field). The food was good...not your typical ballpark meal - nachos, hotdog, 72 oz coke and peanuts - we had pasta, fish, prime rib, salad, fruit, and iced tea...did I mention it was air-conditioned and nice?!?! Oh...and to top it off...we met Nolan Ryan! He was 2 people behind me in the buffet line...supper nice and friendly - Clint talked his ear off and Micah got a handshake.

We watched a good portion of the game...my team lost...but the hang time was amazing. I love hanging out with people, building relationships, living life together, and laughing.

Genuine relationships is a key focus of Lifepoint Church- Lifepoint Church is a community of real people who are committed to connecting individuals to Christ through: Genuine Relationships, Engaging Worship and Relevant Teaching. Building relationships and connecting people to Christ...that's what it's all about, right?

I challenge you...spend some time with people this week...your family is important, but for this challenge they don't count. Have dinner with a friend or someone from Lifepoint, spend more than 5 minutes talking to your neighbor (how about inviting them to church?!?), take to to connect with people...they matter to God...they should matter to you.

Hope to see you Sunday.