Water Baptism Lake Alvin

Today started out less then desirable, it was one of those raining mornings that just would not stop like a bad toothache, and the weatherman said it will last most of the day. And as we started to consider what we were going to do about our Lake Service and as the phone calls, text messages from our members began to pour in (Most people said Rain or Shine lets do it) on the one hand I was exited and on the other hand fear started creeping in. 

 

• What if it rains too hard? 
• What if nobody shows up?
• What if people who are being baptized change their mind?
• Should i go to our church building and fill up the pool?
• Should we begin calling people – telling them we want to cancel?

 

Those thoughts crossed my mind, however for some reason I was very calm & excited, my team was looking to me for leadership and i could not go freaking out on them, that would be a bad example.

The Lord was really testing my patience. There was a moment when 11 am hit and only like 10 cars were there i was beginning to get nervous. So i had to remind myself, I’m not in control here, God is doing something i just had to trust Him (i don’t like that) 

Worship team did an OK job; i think they were feeling  a little bit out of their comfort zone so i had to encourage them on the spot

Our people came through big time by 11:30 am – but i give them a break, they had to be there 1.5 hrs early, it rained & they had to drive extra 10 miles.

Our ladies exceeded themselves - the food was freaking awesome, those brats were amazing. Thanks everyone for that.

My kids wanted to swim, so some of us went to the beach area and it turned out to be crazy & wild. It started pouring so hard like we never seen it before (OK,Thats a little overstatement, but it rained hard and everyone got so wet that it didn’t mater. Jill decided to get Pastor Tanya in to the lake & we did,  people ran in to the water in their closing hey we were wet anyway. It was one of those experiences that only happens once in a life time. Our people are cool, love them all.

This week Audre is going to try out for American Idol – so please be in prayer for her. We will write more about it latter.

Watch for photos this week

Good night

Help. I’m broken and I can’t get up.

By Scott Rodgers 

“Broken by God”—that’s a statement I’m hearing a lot of lately.  What does it mean to be broken by God? I’m not so sure it’s something God does as much as it is a place we find ourselves in.

I think there are two primary places of brokenness.  First,brokenness can be the result of sin.  We’ve messed everything up, and now life is just broken.  Second, brokenness can be the result of surrender.  We’ve submitted ourselves to the purposes of God so much that we are experiencing pain; the pain of selflessness, submission, being misunderstood, etc.

It’s critical we don’t confuse the two.  We need to stop saying, “God is breaking me,” when we’re really just breaking ourselves by repeating destructive, sinful behavior.  And, if you’re experiencing brokenness as the result of surrender, lean into it; you’re going through a process of transformation.

Help.  I’m broken and I can’t get up. I’m flat on my back.  My sin is great. Lord, please forgive me and restore me.

Help.  I’m broken and I can’t get up.  I’m on my knees.  My surrender is great. Lord, please give me the strength to stay the course.

What are your thoughts or experiences with this topic of brokenness?

One reason God created Singing & Poetry

By John Piper 

In the Religious Affections Jonathan Edwards ventures this explanation of why there is song and poetry. And the duty of singing praises to God, seems to be appointed wholly to excite and express religious affections.

No other reason can be assigned, why we should express ourselves to God in verse, rather than in prose, and do it with music, but only, that such is our nature and frame, that these things have a tendency to move our affections. For this to have the weight it does for Edwards we need to remember that

1) “true religion consists very much in the affections,” and

2) there is no true Christian faith without the affections being awakened, and

3) God is most glorified when he is affecting us and not just known by us.

Sense Of Humor

by Craig Groeschel

Hybels wrote about the 3 “C’s” in Courageous Leadership. He said you should hire someone with character, competency, and chemistry. Many people overlook the “chemistry” part in hiring.

• If we don’t enjoy each other, we won’t likely do a good job together. That’s why we ask questions to see if a person has a good sense of humor.
• Tell us one of your most embarrassing moments.
• What is one of your favorite jokes?
• What is one of the funniest things that you’ve seen in the church world?
• These questions can be a little tough on the spot.

Even if a person is nervous and can’t immediately come up with a funny joke, in an hour interview, he or she will certainly show signs of having a sense of humor or not. At the end of the interview, if you don’t enjoy the person at all, you might look elsewhere.

Sunday Thoughts

• Today God surprised me big time
• I played and led praise & worship
• It  was the shortest service we have ever had, only about 40 minutes  
• Special Guest Michael Tarel Was to lead Music,Singing & Preaching but because of schedule conflict we had to take over
• So we put together a praise & worship team quick 
• Yes! Pastor Tanya, Maria and myself  did three amazing songs & Spirit of God moved mightily 
• It was a graduation day & many of our people were at the arena, yet we had many people who showed up 
• My good friend and his wife gave me some good news – they want to become members of New Life (He is the most talented guy i know, he can fix almost anything) Im excited for their decision & they would be a perfect fit to Gods vision for New Life
• Talked with my old Pastor from the church i grew up in, we had a great short conversation:) We are getting better every year
• Watching Joseph on TBN, this story always gets to me 
• God is in the proses of doing something great even when we don’t understand it, HE has a greater plan 
• Jesus is just as radical today as he was in the day when he physically walked this earth  
• Make it your purpose to be like Jesus, that what Godliness is (Being like God who reveled himself through Jesus)
• Good night 

Question that changed my life

By Perry Noble

We all have them…life changing moments, you know, the ones where the world seems to stand still and you come face to face with something that just about engulfs you… It happened to me in August of 1999. I was having lunch with a friend/mentor of mine at Red Lobster (LOVE their garlic cheese biscuits!)

I had been restless for about six months and I knew God was pushing me towards something…but I wasn’t sure what. AND…I didn’t want my restlessness to turn into rebellion by me trying to force something…so I began processing with him out loud… And he asked me THIS question… “What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you could not fail?”

I knew the answer…I didn’t even have to think about it…it literally just flew out of my mouth, “I would plant a church.” He looked at me dead in the eye and said, “then you are a coward if you don’t!” SO…literally…at that moment I said “yes” to the call I knew God had placed on my life. I didn’t know the answers (still don’t), I didn’t know anything about strategy or structure, didn’t know how technology would play a part of the church, didn’t know how we were going to establish leadership…I didn’t know a LOT… BUT…what I did know is that God had placed a DREAM inside of me to plant a church…and when Dale asked me the question I mentioned earlier it SHOOK me…and DROVE me to take a DIVE of faith.

SO…what about you…what would YOU be willing to attempt for God if you KNEW you could not fail? If the answer isn’t, “what I am doing right now” then I would say you need to do some serious praying and rearranging. You see…life is SHORT…our days are numbered…and God didn’t put us on this planet to screw around…but rather to MAKE A DIFFERENCE by USING what HE has given us to advance HIS Kingdom and MAKE HIM FAMOUS!

Too many of us are held captive by fear…but remember He is THE MOST HIGH GOD!!! Never let fear trump the potential God has placed in you! Too many of us are held captive by the unknown…but remember HE KNOWS! Besides…if we have EVERY answer to every question then what He is comanding us to do would not require faith on our part…and where would the fun be in that?!?!?! Too many of us are held captive by people who say “it” can’t be done…but if you will look at who is saying that “it” you will discover that they aren’t actually doing anything except for trying to hold back the people God is letting loose to do ministry.

Too many of us are held captive by critics…but if you will notice Jesus was criticized…and, if you are not experiencing some opposition then that means the enemy is pleased with you…not exactly the calling our lives should fulfill!!! What would you be willing to attempt for God if you KNEW you could not fail?

You’ve GOT to beg Him for revelation on this…and when He gives you the Word…you’ve GOT to act. God doesn’t reveal Himself to us so that we can CONSIDER IT…but rather so that we will be CONSUMED by it and OBEY HIS VOICE! BTW…if the thing that you would attempt scares you to death…if you have had sleepless nights thinking about it…if you KNOW that failure is a sure thing unless HE gets involved…then you should probably make a move…SOON! (Like…maybe even RIGHT NOW!!!)

When Dale asked me that question I told myself, “I’ve got nothing to lose…I am going to give this a shot…I don’t want to waste my life and then look back 20 years from now and begin asking ‘what if’ questions!” (AND…you don’t want that for yourself either!!!) SO…what would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you could not fail?

You’re not waiting on Him…He’s waiting on you…do you need to make a move, share Christ with someone, plant a church, change careers…WHAT IS IT that BURNS YOUR HEART and DRAWS YOU to DESPERATE DEPENDENCE ON HIM? What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you could not fail? Can you imagine what the world would be like if all of us allowed that question to drive the vision for our lives? What about it?

Faith on loan

By Steven Firtick

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
-Romans 12:3

I consider myself a pretty faith-filled person.  I mean, I’m no George Mueller, but you don’t start a church from scratch without a good dose of active faith.
Still, from time to time, my faith supply runs really low.  And trusting God for even the simplest things seems like lifting 1000 pounds.  When that kind of deficiency kicks in, there’s only one thing to do:

Go borrow some faith.

Man, when I’m paralyzed by fear or doubt, I shamelessly mooch from people around me.  I start with my wife.  I ask her to talk some faith into me.  From there I move on to my staff.  And I have a few favorites in the faith department.  I’ll literally walk around the office, grab one of my go-to-happy-people and say:
“Tell me something good…”
Or
“You think we’re really gonna pull this thing off?”
And by the time they get done talking to me, I’ve siphoned enough faith to get me to the next day.  Until I can find some faith on my own.

By surrounding myself with faith-filled people, I’ve avoided going spiritually bankrupt even though my optimism level is often in the red.
But the thing about me is, when someone loans me faith, I pay ‘em back with interest.

Green Grass Deep Crap

By Steven Firtick

We have several patches of unusually green, extremely tall grass in our front yard.
We also have a problem with our septic system.  It leaks into the aforementioned part of the yard, where the grass grows tall and green.

There is a direct correlation:
The place where the crap runs the deepest
is the place where the grass grows the greenest.

(It’s a stretch, but…)
The same is true in our lives.
The more crap we go through, the more we grow.

James said it in a more profound and appropriate way:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
(James 1:2-3)

Thought for the day:
Deep crap=Green grass

Easter Sunday Thoughts

• This was an exciting Sunday 
• We had a real Lamb in the Church
• 3 People gave their life to Jesus (Makes Everything we do worth it)
• Creative team did such a great and impactful video that it made my heart hurt by watching it
• Crowd was way better than usual
• Some New people would get up and come to the alter to lay down their envelops with their offering 
• We had drunk man come to church and he tried to  ruing my message, but i didn’t let him, 
• Doing the altar call i asked people to close their eyes and bow their heads - but this drunk man came to where i was standing and people wanted to see some action 
• Little distracting, but i have not seen something like this for awhile, and this guy was not to bad
• Audre our warship leader was amazing with her song 
• Ilia who led the 1st song lost his voice & had a hard time singing
• Nikky did free portraits of ton of people in both services – people were pretty happy 
• I love what God is doing in New Life and this is Just a Beginning 
• Kids came out and did a great job reciting memorized poems 
• It was a Great day 

That can’t happen

By Steven Firtick 

One of the sayings we used to employ around here is:
That can’t happen.

Battery in a handheld died during announcements?
That can’t happen.

Audio on a video didn’t fire on cue?
That can’t happen.

Staff member showed up late for a meeting?
That can’t happen.

We don’t use the phrase quite as much these days.
Because fact is:
That can’t happen does happen.
Inevitably.  Inconveniently.  In recurring patterns.

So what do you do when that happens?
Here are a few suggestions:

Force accountability for the mistake.
In our weekly production meeting, there’s a section called hits and misses.  Under misses, everything that went wrong on Sunday is listed and scanned by the entire group.  We don’t discuss the majority of the items, but requiring that they be listed and acknowledged is a step toward ensuring that it won’t happen next time.

Diagnosis systems-not symptoms.
Don’t settle for: “Jeff forgot to change the battery…I yelled at him”
as an acceptable explanation for the mistake.  Cause Jeff might not be the one to change the battery next time.  What’s the system to make sure the batteries get changed?  Is it a good one?  If so, why was it violated?  What have you done to prevent it from happening again-not just next week-but 6 months from now?

If that keeps happening, either change the standard or change the personnel.
Otherwise, you’re sending a message: that really can happen-it’s no big deal.
Mistakes aren’t fatal.  Apathy is.