North Point Church in Atlanta has 3 campuses that all have their own unique flavor. For their special Christmas service they did a “live” song that linked all three services together via video. The clip above is filmed at one location, but you can see on the screens the other two locations chime in. I don’t know about you, but one thing I love about Andy Stanley and his team is their relentless pursuit of “trying new things”. I don’t know how long they must of practiced this, but it was great to watch and I’m sure even better to see live. How about you? Do you like when churches do things “outside” the box? Or is this too flashy for church?
Read this great short article from another youth ministry blogger that I thought was good. Here is his website if you want to read more. http://joshpease.wordpress.com
I’ve gotten really tired of comparing the Church to corporations. And I’m just tired in general of critiquing the Church. It’s starting to feel like poking fun at your old, slightly senile grandma. Sure she’s a little crazy, but you love her not just because she’s family, but because we’re all a little crazy right, and who are we?
I just felt like I had to get that out of the way before saying …
… that I was at Starbucks today getting some writing done. And as happens every holiday season at Starbucks an employee was cruising the store, passing out dixie cup shots of caffeinated holiday cheer. Today’s was egg nog coffee. Bad idea.
Anyway, Promotional Barista Guy offered a sample to these two ladies who were sitting at a couch talking and one lady turned him down saying “I’m not really a coffee drinker.” And all I could think was “really? You know you’re at Starbucks right?”
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Starbucks is absolutely brilliant. They’ve managed to create a space so inviting, that people who really want nothing to do with their product, who passionately are AGAINST consuming coffee, will come to their place to catch up with a friend, to find a quiet place to read or work, to do life.
And what Starbucks probably knows is that, given enough time, this non-coffee drinking lady will eventually come around to coffee. It will start subtly — ordering a chai tea, or one of their smoothies or something. But then one day she’ll eventually accept Promo Barista Guy’s free sample, and to her surprise find she likes it, and next thing she knows she’s a coffee drinker without even knowing when that change happened.
And this really isn’t anything new, but it hit me in that moment this is what the church should be like (and in its better moments is ) — a place where people might not be all that interested in Jesus, but where they feel comfortable, and connect with others, and experience community and maybe — over time — realize they developed a love for Jesus without even knowing how that started.
Tonight we took a tough topic and talked about the paranormal (ghosts, spirits, fortune telling, etc.). We talked about an uncomfortable scripture found in I Samual 28, where Saul sought out a spiritist who called up the dead prophet Samual. We talked about how fear can drive us to dark places sometimes and that we are spiritual people first. We are not “body” with “spirit”, but “spirit” with “body”. We all can recognize that there is more to this life then just the physical. God has given us a natural desire to WANT to connect to Him, but when we don’t, we open the door for other spirits to fill us up. We also looked at the story in Luke when Jesus cast out a demon from someone and talked about how our physical body is a house and we can do ALL we want to clean up the house, but when we don’t let the spirit of God do the work He needs with our souls, then we can get caught in the frustration of bondage and can seem even worse than it was before.
The final question we asked was… “what kingdom or spirit are you walking in?” Because if we’re not walking in the spirit and Kingdom of God, then we are walking in the spirit of darkness.
Overall we had an awesome night and prayed with a ton of students who are making huge changes in their lives. God just blows me away each week.
Sermon In a Sentence:
When God interrupts, you have the choice to switch.
Element of Fun:
Tonight Blake and the team led us in a simple and always fun game where each tribe takes their shoes off and piles them in the middle of the gym. The first team to have all their shoes on and in a line wins. CRAZINESS. You have to have leaders watching because a dog pile with over 100 people can get crazy. Lot’s of fun though!
This Week’s Scale of Difficulty:
4 out of 10. A fairly good week of preparation. We have so many excellent leaders in place who are playing their part and contributing so much to each week. Because of this, I can really focus more on the message and not the other details. The message was one that has been on my heart since the beginning of the year, it just took some time to flesh out.
Attendance:
The attendance was up 176% from last year.
Service length:
95 minutes
Music Playlist:
Life Redefined
Break Free
You Hold Me Know
The More I Seek You
Wednesday Night Video:
Funny video Jordan and his video team did that ties into topic of the paranormal.
Overview of the Night:
We officially ended the series with a bang. Great night with an amazing team of leaders and student leaders. We also had 8 students who have signed up to be baptized next month. Student leaders were all over the place helping out and serving. This fall term we have 40 students who are participating in OT (student leadership). We are growing so much each week that next week we will have to push back our pipe and drape to make room for more chairs.
For those interested, here is the schedule for last nights service..
So I’ve been talking with my brother, who is starting a church in Las Vegas. He was sharing all the struggles and frustrations that come with being the head of a church. And it got me thinking about the weight that our senior pastors carry day in and day out. I work closely in our church with Sam, our senior pastor, and get to see first hand the meetings, the late night calls, family interruptions, counseling, weddings, etc. And that doesn’t include the spiritual weight that they carry day in and day out for their sheep. The enemy can do more damage if he can bring down the pastor. So the attacks are more fierce and intentional. Maybe that’s why so many pastors give up in the first year. So if you really want to freak out your pastor, here are a list of things that I can think of.
Take him/her out for lunch - even if they say no, you still at least get credit for the ask. But better yet, if they say yes you get the chance to spend time communicating and developing that all-important relationship with the leader of your ministry or church.
Spontaneously buy them a gift - when your senior pastor walks into their office, they’re greeted by voicemails, a mountain of email and a list of items to repond to all with varying urgency. A little gift from you, the more personal the more meaningful, could get them off to a good start. Even something little could be really big.
Tell him/her your story- Many times your pastor only hears the “bad” things going on in the church. If God is doing something great in your life, let him/her know. Sometimes those encouraging stories really help brighten up a day.
Say ‘Thank You’ - It goes without saying, that a simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way. Wether a written note or an email, a simple “thanks for all that you do” can say a lot. A written note is more personal and meaningful. Why do we have to wait for “pastor appreciation month” to send an encouraging card?
I saw this video and felt worry and excitement at the same time. Excited, because the future is up in the air. It’s an open canvas for anything to happen. What works in churches now will not in the near future. But this is good, because God always brings leaders to lead the church within the times. Joshua and Caleb were visionaries leading a new generation into it’s destiny, and there are many young leaders now being prepared, and are prepared to lead this next phase of the church. I’m worried, because I don’t know what the future will look like in 10 years and I’m the type that wants to anticipate and know NOW.
What will the church look like in 10 years?
What will be my role in the new promised land?
What will my daughters role be?
I don’t know… and I may never till I’m smack dab in the middle of it. And I’m ok with that. Are you?
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