Sunday Rewound

The morning weather started off great, and that only led to another great experience at Genesischurch.tv West. Each week I am amazed at the amount of new people that are willing to try something so different than most people know. Even in the midst of a chaotic world, there is something to be said for the community of Christ, and the stability it brings. In case you missed today, or are wording what is going on at GCTV West, here is another edition of Sunday Rewound…

·      The morning was cool and when I got to the church the AC did not turn itself on. Fall is coming!

·      Hung a new logo in the lobby. I do not like big empty walls, so why not slap a huge “G” on there. Branding at its best…

·      Worship was very intense this week. Different feel, but it was a good thing.

·      The band did the song “Run” by Hillsong, and they sounded great. Fast song, crazy musical stuff, and awesome lyrics. Loved it! They are really starting to come together. Most bands take at least a year to really start to gel, and while they are coming together, I can’t wait to see what God will do with them in another year!

·      I saw Ashley on stage before sound check stretching. When your drummer is stretching, you know it is about to get loud. She did a great job. Ryan is doing some “nasty” stuff on bass, Flint is screaming the electric guitar, and Arron is alright too. Kidding, kidding, Arron did a great job as well.

·      Today we launched Project Compassion. This is our monthly compassion project that is geared to raise supplies for Second Harvest. We are handing out paper bags for you to fill up with non-perishable goods to bring back next week. We will be delivering next week. If you haven’t picked up your bag, or if you need another one, stop by the Annex this week and get one. We want to make a difference! I want the West Campus to lead the way…

·      “G.P.S” was a special one day event we did today to help explain the 3C discipleship process at Genesischurch.tv West. Connectivity, Community, Compassion: we are you on your journey?

 

As a reminder, OneNight (our believer’s experience) in this Wednesday at 7:00PM. We will have worship, prayer, communion, and I will be teaching live. It is a passionate night aimed at seeking the deeper things of God. If you are ready to go to a deeper level, this is your night. Have a great week!

Sonic Slush From God

On Thursday, my 3rd grader, Mackenzie, won her class spelling bee. (I will save the bragging for later!) She gets to go on to the regional spelling bee which is a big deal. So afterwards we decided to go to Sonic for a celebration Slush! My kids love them, and okay, I like them too! And if you go between 2-4 it is happy hour and they are half off which make them 80 cents each. Perfect for a Pastor’s salary!
Here’s the lesson I learned in that moment. The girls were so thankful. They kept saying “thank you,” over and over. They were so grateful for something that only cost me 80 cents. It was really nothing to do it, and as a matter of fact I actually paid for them with the change in my car’s console. But to them, I had done something amazing. I want to be like that with my relationship with God. I want to be thankful for the little things in life. Sure it easy for me to be thankful when someone gives their life to Christ, when someone is healed, set free from addictions, or a host of other “big,” things. But to a God that created the universe, it really is not hard for Him. He can do those things easier than me paying for a slush with “car change.”
I want to be thankful for my kids’ laughter. I want to be grateful for just being here one more day. I want to be thankful for a great book, or maybe just the ability to read. I want to be thankful, for a long hard day of serving Him. I want to be cognizant of the smallest places to say “thank you,” to God. I want to be thankful for the small things, for in those I am granted the ability to receive the bigger ones.

Where can you find ways to be more thankful?

David Crowder Is The Man

Last week I watched a video by SONSEED. You can watch it here

 

Then thanks to Josh Lane, I found this on his site

David Crowder is without a doubt THE MAN!!!

Church Leaders Get Ready

If you haven’t heard by now, Andy Stanley has a new podcast. It is called Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast, and if you are in church leadership, this should be a must for all Lead and Staff Pastors. There is only one episode right now and it is titled “Assumptions.” The first 6 minutes could be a liferaft for people in platued churches, if they are willing to get in. 

Seriously, no matter what area of ministry you serve in…check this podcast out!

Sunday Rewound

I love being a Pastor. There are days that it is one of the toughest and most unrewarding jobs on the planet, but then there are days like today. Today I once again was reminded how my calling and job are worth it all. I watched today as countless volunteers served in many capacities, and did so with no expectation of anything in return. They serve because they know in their hearts they are part of something bigger than themselves. It is humbling to lead this remarkable group of people. What else happened today? I am glad you asked, because here we go…

            * Numbers were a little down today due to the FSU game being at night last night. Weird but true. I know I am supposed to just accept it and move on, but come on, really?

            * I walked over to take a look before service at the GenesisKIDS building and WOW! There were 17 kids and three workers. Good thing the kids did not recognize they outnumbered the staff, could have been a revolt! I love seeing adults serving Kids. The kids looked so happy and I stuck around for a second and watched them have their praise and worship time. HIGH ENERGY! Congrats to Brenda and her team, truly remarkable.

            * More visitors in the experience today. Love it. And I also saw several visitors return from last week. Love it even more!

            * Ashley led one of the songs today, and she was “in the zone.” She let the song come through her, and the emotions were tangible. I loved the song, but I loved watching someone who truly believes the words sing it even more. Great job Ashley, even if you weren’t rocking the drums! Also, great call Arron. It takes security to let others lead, and the fact he moved out of the way so God could work differently is a great thing.

            * Finished “Politically Incorrect” today. Great series that tackles some of the tough sayings of Jesus. Jesus never ceases to amaze me as He challenges my heart to be a better person. Our church was changed by this series.

            * Next week we have a one week event called “GPS.” This deals with the 3C Process at Genesis: Connectivity, Community, Compassion. It is the core of what we do, so if you are new, this will be the week for you.

            * We also announced that October will be a month full of Connectivity events. There are so many new people, and we want everyone to get to know each other as we share life together. The calendar will be out next Sunday. Get ready!

 

Okay, its halftime of the Packers game and we are behind. I have to yell at the TV more so they will know what to do! I am the greatest football coach that never leaves the couch… 

Crisis Point

A crisis, as defined by one of my counseling text books, is a turning point where people can possibly move toward growth, enrichment, and improvement, or they can move toward dissatisfaction, pain, and in some cases, dissolution. It is without hesitation that Genesischurch.tv has faced a crisis in the last two weeks. So where are we? Are we moving forward or moving toward the dissolution that the enemy desperately wants?

We are:

·      A church that is resolute to reach this state for Christ.

·      A church with leadership that has become more determined, focused, awake, and  unwavering in our mission.

·      A church with new and improved checks and balances in many areas of our ministry.

·      A church full of people that love, forgive, and trust in ways that are unimaginable.

·      A church that has never relied on God more than it does now.

·      A church that has moved from comfortable to active, stretched, and better off for it.

 

Is everything perfect? Not even close. Is everything “back to normal?” That will never happen again. We will strive to be alert to attacks, complacency, and elitism. We will commit to excellence like never before, and will do everything in our power to improve the lives of everyone that attends Genesischurch.tv. We will Know Christ and Make Him Known! We will win. We will be a place that will be known for what we have gone through and the fact that God brought us through it. We will not give up. We will not “tap out.” We will be victorious…because Christ already has.

Sunday Rewound

So I am sitting here watching the Jets/Patriots game and reflecting on today. Today was another wonderful day, as I watched God continue to develop a group of people into a living church that is willing to do something different to make a difference. Here is another edition of Sunday Rewound:

·      Parking lot attendants are amazing. Those four guys were out there sweating, yet when they came in to the auditorium, they were smiling. A true illustration of a servant’s heart.

·      I wore a vest and a tie to church today. Yes it might have been with jeans and an untucked shirt, and the tie was not completely up and tight around my neck, but I wore one. I wore a jacket last week, so if you put the weeks together, I wore a suit. Except for the jeans…

·      The GC Kids experience looked exciting. Lots of kids, lots of energy, and I am happy to see people willing to go through that chaos to get kids in touch with God.

·      Band had what I think was their best experience in probably a month. They gelled well today and the people were responding. They have been stretched so much lately, I am in awe at how such young people can just keep pushing.

·      Pastor Brian brought it today! Dealt with adultery and the root being found in the heart, not in actions. I closed it up with a time of prayer and I believe God worked in the hearts of many people. Hearts were cleansed.

·      Still working out technical glitches, but each week it gets better. Its technology, not people. The people did great.

·      We had another great crowd. Almost as many as we had last week, and that is good. Keep bringing people!

 

 

Keep our staff in your prayers this week, as we have a long week dealing with a lot of very difficult matters. Sometimes, leadership requires making tough decisions, and this week will have no shortage of tough decisions. But for now, I am going back to watching football and getting ready to make one of my famous spaghetti sauces. Okay, so I stole the recipe from Carrabba’s, but I still make it!

Recipe for A Good Saturday

Let me start off by saying that this has been one of the craziest weeks of my life. I have learned a lot this week about leadership, brotherhood, and how to make tough decisions  in the middle of crisis. I am a better leader having gone through a lot of things this week, and I have seen the staff of Genesis rally as a team to do whatever it takes to continue to expand the Kingdom of God. But even through the week we have had, I am having a really good Saturday. Okay, so I admit, I worked a little this morning, but then I have turned the “church leader” switch off for a while and have had a good day. Here is my recipe for my good Saturday:

·      My wife is on her way home. She has been gone all week, and I am counting the seconds until she gets here. She has my son as well, and I miss the two of them incredibly.

·      House is completely cleaned. Except I didn’t do the floors. If I did them, my wife would just redo them so I’ll just let her do it.

·      Laundry is almost done. Well, started anyway.

·      Daughters are not fighting…at least not yet.

·      College football. Even though no good games are on yet…it’s on.

·      My MacBook Pro and wireless internet.

·      Working on my Doctorate.

·      Ultimate Fighter Marathon when no games are interesting or during commercials.

·      Knowing we are going to have a great day at Genesischurch.tv West tomorrow.

 

Yes, it has been a week, but it has been one we needed. In the words of a Switchfoot song… “The shadows prove the sunshine.”

Ownership

There is a character on the show “Southpark,” (which I absolutely do NOT recommend watching, I am only using this as an example) that looks to me that he is overweight. But from what I have seen, it appears that he always says he is not, that he is just “big boned!” It seems like he does not own his life, and instead tries to make excuses. He fails to grasp what he is, and as a result does nothing about it.

Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells a parable about two men who were praying. One was a Pharisee, and prayed an egocentric self-righteous prayer. The other was a tax collector (which was the worst of the worst sinners) and he prayed one line. “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13) The bible then goes on to say that he was justified before God. Why was this prayer so powerful? The answer is simple: ownership. Here’s the kicker, it is not just because he accepted ownership of the fact he was sinner. There must have been more.

When he accepted the fact he was a sinner, he also was accepting the fact that God DOES forgive. The fact that he took ownership that God forgives, is what propelled him into a place that He could go to God. In today’s world, many people know they are living in a manner that is not pleasing to God, because it is not really pleasing to them. Yet, even armed with this knowledge, they do not go to God out of a degree of unbelief that God will forgive them. God loves. God heals. God forgives.

 

May you own your life today. May you truly understand that there is a God that is reaching out to transform your life into one of purpose and fulfillment. May you be put in a place of unending grace from God. May your faith be increased as God gives you what you truly need: forgiveness. 

Brenda is gone and I don’t like it!

So my wife is out of town all week again. She is working in Gainesville all week, and I understand it has to be done, but that makes it no easier. She took my son with her, and not having the two of them all week can really mess me up. Here are some things that I am reminded of each time they leave:

·      God made Brenda and I one when we got married, so right now it should be no surprise I feel like something is missing. It is! And she took all the good parts!

·      The house is real quiet without Gracen throwing toys on the wood floor. I always think it would be nice to have a quiet night, but when it happens, I don’t like it. I miss my little guy. He is so much fun, and I need him around.

·      Brenda is like no friend I have ever had. She tells me what she thinks, she tells me even when I don’t want to hear it. But she always loves me…even when I don’t deserve it.

·      In the morning, I will have coffee alone. That, well…stinks! I was going to use another word, but it is a word she doesn’t like so I will refrain from using it…at least via blog.

·      I would not want to be a single dad with these two girls of mine! How do you do a French braid? What is a French braid? Why do the French get a braid? What about a good ole United States of America braid? I sound like Jerry Seinfeld all of a sudden!

 

It might sound sappy and mushy, but I really miss my wife. Many of you might be thinking I am just writing to get on her good side, but she’s not here. What good would that do! Friday will not come fast enough. Pray for me…