I have been "securing" some great office furniture in the past week. I was able to land some cubicle panels with a desk and some storage cabinets. Also our chiropractor Dr. Vince Hassel donated some desk and office furniture as well.
Needless to say my once clean garage is now filling up with items that go in the new office. Maybe its silly to be as excited as I am about making the switch, but I am pumped.
I have a meeting with The property manager at One Corporate Place today at 4 to pick out color of carpet, paint, and base.
Yeah! Definitely a step in the right direction.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Sunday
WOW. All I have to say is 117.
Not ears or hands, but people. 117. Our record attendance.
Amazing.
Not ears or hands, but people. 117. Our record attendance.
Amazing.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Deeper is Doing
There is this amazing thing that happens to some Christ followers as they grow into mature believers. Sometimes they get this idea that they need to be "deeper." Which in and of itself is great. We do need to be deep, not shallow Christians. But some how "deeper" gets translated as "mystical" in the mind.
So what starts off good as being a deeper or fully devoted Christ follower becomes a mess. I have a new theory. I call it "deeper is doing." Simply put deeper is applying the truth of God's word to our life right now. Not just looking for the mystical.
Deeper is asking the question "what does my giving look like?" A biblical mandate is giving.
Another is "am I living out all the text that we have heard being preached in the past 6 months?" Every single one? If you aren't you don't need a deeper bible study you need to be living already what you know.
Still yet another is "who have I brought to church this week?" or "who am I bringing this week?" Since the great commission was Chisst's last command to all the Christ followers, I think it is applicable to us.
I think Deeper is doing. I am trying to live by it myself. I don't want to be mystical and odd, I want to be applicable. I want to be able to be used of God. To be able to respond to his voice. If we are so heavenly minded we are no earthly good, we aren't really going to be able to impact anyone.
So what starts off good as being a deeper or fully devoted Christ follower becomes a mess. I have a new theory. I call it "deeper is doing." Simply put deeper is applying the truth of God's word to our life right now. Not just looking for the mystical.
Deeper is asking the question "what does my giving look like?" A biblical mandate is giving.
Another is "am I living out all the text that we have heard being preached in the past 6 months?" Every single one? If you aren't you don't need a deeper bible study you need to be living already what you know.
Still yet another is "who have I brought to church this week?" or "who am I bringing this week?" Since the great commission was Chisst's last command to all the Christ followers, I think it is applicable to us.
I think Deeper is doing. I am trying to live by it myself. I don't want to be mystical and odd, I want to be applicable. I want to be able to be used of God. To be able to respond to his voice. If we are so heavenly minded we are no earthly good, we aren't really going to be able to impact anyone.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Childless
Both my kids are at Poppy and Mawmaws house this week in STL. They are riding horses and fourwheelers and having a blast!
I am enjoying myself as well. I am working at Scooters right now looking over my laptop at my Beautiful Wife. I have a wonderful job that allows me to be with her a lot. We are both working right now on different things. We aren't talking or really communicating in any way, but it is nice to be with her.
Amazing.
I am enjoying myself as well. I am working at Scooters right now looking over my laptop at my Beautiful Wife. I have a wonderful job that allows me to be with her a lot. We are both working right now on different things. We aren't talking or really communicating in any way, but it is nice to be with her.
Amazing.
Relevance
Wow, I have been studying for this weeks new sermon series called relevant. The is Sunday we will simply be talking about "table talk."
The questions that arise are "what makes something relevant?" or "this used to be relevant but not anymore. What do we do with that?" Then it just gets crazy after that.
The real issue at hand is that we are supposed to making disciples of people. We are supposed to be helping people who are seeking truth make a decision for Christ, but instead so many churches split hairs over things that really don't matter.
I am not trying to be relevant to be cool or trendy. That is not the objective at all. But Jesus was amazingly relevant. Rarely do you hear him making profound things hard to understand. He simplified them for people to understand. Yet we make simple things difficult and hard to understand.
He also spent most of his teaching time teaching those who didn't have it all together. He was careful and loving with those who didn't know him. He was bold and even harsh to the religious crowd who were more often pretending to be something they weren't. Yet we focus our services to the "religious" not the seeker. Why when Jesus spent most fo his time with the non-religious?
We are here to build believers, yes. But also to serve seekers with truth.
This weekend we will have a table set up that represents the church. It will be the focal point of each sermon for the next 5 weeks.
Think about your role at the table. Were do you sit, what do you eat, what do you do? Ultimately who are we serving?
The questions that arise are "what makes something relevant?" or "this used to be relevant but not anymore. What do we do with that?" Then it just gets crazy after that.
The real issue at hand is that we are supposed to making disciples of people. We are supposed to be helping people who are seeking truth make a decision for Christ, but instead so many churches split hairs over things that really don't matter.
I am not trying to be relevant to be cool or trendy. That is not the objective at all. But Jesus was amazingly relevant. Rarely do you hear him making profound things hard to understand. He simplified them for people to understand. Yet we make simple things difficult and hard to understand.
He also spent most of his teaching time teaching those who didn't have it all together. He was careful and loving with those who didn't know him. He was bold and even harsh to the religious crowd who were more often pretending to be something they weren't. Yet we focus our services to the "religious" not the seeker. Why when Jesus spent most fo his time with the non-religious?
We are here to build believers, yes. But also to serve seekers with truth.
This weekend we will have a table set up that represents the church. It will be the focal point of each sermon for the next 5 weeks.
Think about your role at the table. Were do you sit, what do you eat, what do you do? Ultimately who are we serving?
Monday, August 07, 2006
Sunday
Yesterday was another amazing morning. We had such a good crowd, 89 in fact! It was great. We finished the Zip It series with a sermon on Gossip.
It is amazing what the tongue can do. It really does hold the power of life and death.
We start a new series this weekend called "Relevant" Man am I looking forward to it.
It is amazing what the tongue can do. It really does hold the power of life and death.
We start a new series this weekend called "Relevant" Man am I looking forward to it.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Blog Comment changes
I have been having some robot comments left on my blog that haven't been so great. So I have enabled word verification before you can leave a comment. It only takes a second. I also have turned on the "you have to be blogger" as well. It only takes a minute to become a blogger too. You don't have to maintain it, just use it for your posting on mine and other blogger accounts.
Sorry.
Sorry.
Spelling and grammatical errors
Just a side note, leave me post if you find an error. I have had some in the past, but am really trying hard not to have them. Unprofessional. Sorry.
Thanks for the "encouragement." It is a little application for Joshua. I say all the time "excellence honors God," even in blogging!
Thanks for the "encouragement." It is a little application for Joshua. I say all the time "excellence honors God," even in blogging!
Sunday Service
As everyone knows we have been growing all summer. I am just about to turn in for the night and I was just thinking about the mornings service. We have had steady growth all summer long and I can wait to see what is going to happen in the morning.
I am praying we break 90! It would be a great way to start the month!
I am praying we break 90! It would be a great way to start the month!
New Office
Just thought I'd let everyone know that we are officially signed sealed and soon to be delivered to our new office space.
The office is located in the One Corporate Place building off 42nd and Westown Parkway in West Des Moines. Man am I ever glad to be getting moved in there.
The official address is 1501 42nd Street Suite 204 WDM IA 50266.
We take possession on the first of September and then we will be directing all mail correspondence to that address. Very Exciting.
The office is located in the One Corporate Place building off 42nd and Westown Parkway in West Des Moines. Man am I ever glad to be getting moved in there.
The official address is 1501 42nd Street Suite 204 WDM IA 50266.
We take possession on the first of September and then we will be directing all mail correspondence to that address. Very Exciting.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Mel Gibson
I was saddened to hear about Mel's drunk driving arrest this weekend. He has tried to take a stand for a lot of things, and only looks ashamed at best.
To his credit he has since apologized and said his behavior was "despicable." Which I applaud him doing. Most men would just hide.
As to the anti-Semitic words he used. I don't know. Was he reacting with some Jewish disdain or was he just drunk and rambling about the danger and peril in the Mid-East? I don't know, nor can I really speculate. I just know that it was an unfortunate event, and he does seem to be very remorseful.
Pray for Mel. He really has a heart toward God. Pray he has clear direction to the feet of the cross and to the resurrection of the living savior.
To his credit he has since apologized and said his behavior was "despicable." Which I applaud him doing. Most men would just hide.
As to the anti-Semitic words he used. I don't know. Was he reacting with some Jewish disdain or was he just drunk and rambling about the danger and peril in the Mid-East? I don't know, nor can I really speculate. I just know that it was an unfortunate event, and he does seem to be very remorseful.
Pray for Mel. He really has a heart toward God. Pray he has clear direction to the feet of the cross and to the resurrection of the living savior.
Sunday
All I have to say about Sunday is Awesome!
From the music to announcements -Awesome!
We had 82 in service another high for us in the summer! I am blown away by Gods hand in this. I was reading another blog earlier by scott hodge , a great blogger from IL. He has experienced the same thing...
I can only think about the return of Christ. I have always believed it is imminent, but with all the turmoil in the Middle East and the growth of churches... imminent means more than it used to.
From the music to announcements -Awesome!
We had 82 in service another high for us in the summer! I am blown away by Gods hand in this. I was reading another blog earlier by scott hodge , a great blogger from IL. He has experienced the same thing...
I can only think about the return of Christ. I have always believed it is imminent, but with all the turmoil in the Middle East and the growth of churches... imminent means more than it used to.
515 Alive
Wow What an amazing event this was. There were over 6,000 people in attendance and it was smoking hot! We passed out 2500 water bottles with our name and logo on it, and we were out by 9:15! I keep going back to that scripture were Jesus says, "if you give a cup of water in my name..."
Here are some of the break dance competition. These guys were off the hook! Crazy in shape!
The event cooridantor called me today to thank me for such an awesome booth and the service that we provided. He said more than once, "that we kept a lot of people from taking an ambulance ride." He said if it wasnt for the water we gave out, he would have been one of the passengers.
We were thrilled to have been a part of this urban event. We didnt see anyone in church yesterday from event. (which we expected) But we know that those people who were there saw the love of Christ and realized that Christians arent so crazy after all. The next time they are in a hard spot, they are going to think about Jordan Creek Family Church. The church who cares enough to give away free water....
Here are some of the break dance competition. These guys were off the hook! Crazy in shape!
The event cooridantor called me today to thank me for such an awesome booth and the service that we provided. He said more than once, "that we kept a lot of people from taking an ambulance ride." He said if it wasnt for the water we gave out, he would have been one of the passengers.We were thrilled to have been a part of this urban event. We didnt see anyone in church yesterday from event. (which we expected) But we know that those people who were there saw the love of Christ and realized that Christians arent so crazy after all. The next time they are in a hard spot, they are going to think about Jordan Creek Family Church. The church who cares enough to give away free water....
Friday, July 28, 2006
Bread Drops
I love doing bread drops during the week. What we try to do is connect with the guest during the week by dropping them a loaf of bread at their home.
It is great. Mostly we have a welcomed and surprised responses. Last night I attempted 7 drops. (I couldn't complete one because security doors in the apartment.) At Paul and Sandy May's house I was greeted with super enthusiasm! They connected with the church a few weeks back at Super Saturday, they have loved it!
They had some friends over and took me in the back yard to meet them. Everyone was friendly and excited. It is so awesome to be around people who just want to know more about Jesus and are pumped to tell their friends! Paul and Sandy, Way to go!
I am just stoked about the next few months. Looking forward to this Sunday morning when I will be speaking on the series Zip It. This week is "Criticism Gone Bad." Use the E invite to invite a friend. This is tag team deal ya know!
It is great. Mostly we have a welcomed and surprised responses. Last night I attempted 7 drops. (I couldn't complete one because security doors in the apartment.) At Paul and Sandy May's house I was greeted with super enthusiasm! They connected with the church a few weeks back at Super Saturday, they have loved it!
They had some friends over and took me in the back yard to meet them. Everyone was friendly and excited. It is so awesome to be around people who just want to know more about Jesus and are pumped to tell their friends! Paul and Sandy, Way to go!
I am just stoked about the next few months. Looking forward to this Sunday morning when I will be speaking on the series Zip It. This week is "Criticism Gone Bad." Use the E invite to invite a friend. This is tag team deal ya know!
515 Alive
Well tomorrow is the day! We have got out water bottles, stickers, and 9 foot banner ready to go. It is going to be blazing hot tomorrow as we try to touch the loves of thousands. There will be all kinds of things happening tomorrow, but we are trying our best to be right in the center of the marketplace.
Just were you would find Jesus, sitting at the well. Talking and sharing his heart. We want to be that kind of servant. We will only be giving out physical water that can only quench the thirst temporarily, but we pray with each water bottle given out it will symbolize the living water they can find at JCFC.
We are definitely outside the box on this one. But I firmly believe that God is in the business of redeeming people as well as events. Pray with us.
Oh and bring Ice... To cool the water off!
See ya between 5 and midnight. 4th-6th and court downtown.
Just were you would find Jesus, sitting at the well. Talking and sharing his heart. We want to be that kind of servant. We will only be giving out physical water that can only quench the thirst temporarily, but we pray with each water bottle given out it will symbolize the living water they can find at JCFC.
We are definitely outside the box on this one. But I firmly believe that God is in the business of redeeming people as well as events. Pray with us.
Oh and bring Ice... To cool the water off!
See ya between 5 and midnight. 4th-6th and court downtown.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Office Lease
Well I met with Heath Bullock today to discuss our new lease at the the office at One Corporate Place. Everything looks great, and we are on track to get in by August 15th. Our attorney will be looking over the lease papers before I sign. Just to keep everything on the up and up!
YEAH!
YEAH!
Lead Pastor at Point of Grace
I had coffee and chatted with Jeff Mullens, the lead guy out at Point of Grace. What an amazing guy to connect with. He has been at PoG since day one, and has been apart of the growth process the whole time. They currently meet in Waukee and run around 2000-2100 in Weekend attendance. They started 10 years ago in a rented facility in West Des Moines.
He really bore his heart to me and I tried to soak up everything he had to say. I left the meeting with some new insight and great ministry ideas for the upcoming future.
They are very open to help us in any way possible. I am going to try to jump in to a few of their staff meetings and glean some insight from their team.
It was a real encouraagement. Great to know that others in this city are really kingdom minded and want to connect as the Church not just on a superficial level.
He really bore his heart to me and I tried to soak up everything he had to say. I left the meeting with some new insight and great ministry ideas for the upcoming future.
They are very open to help us in any way possible. I am going to try to jump in to a few of their staff meetings and glean some insight from their team.
It was a real encouraagement. Great to know that others in this city are really kingdom minded and want to connect as the Church not just on a superficial level.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Truth Project
Starting after August 16th, following Rich Farthing coming to share about Bolovia, my Life Group is taking a hiatus.
We have decided as a group that a short time off is going to be good, and allow us all the be refreshed and start again in Septemeber.
The hook is that is won't be at my house any more for a while. The location is yet to be announced, but we will be going through the Truth Project. It is a DVD curriculm that Mark and Amy Main have been trained to lead. It is going to be awesome. Check out the link.
Our group will be oponed up to anyone who wants to attend. We will have some sign up sheets and registration online coming soon. If we need to we will do it two nights a week.
I challenge everyone to prayerfully consider making thia a part of your fall program.
Check it out!
We have decided as a group that a short time off is going to be good, and allow us all the be refreshed and start again in Septemeber.
The hook is that is won't be at my house any more for a while. The location is yet to be announced, but we will be going through the Truth Project. It is a DVD curriculm that Mark and Amy Main have been trained to lead. It is going to be awesome. Check out the link.
Our group will be oponed up to anyone who wants to attend. We will have some sign up sheets and registration online coming soon. If we need to we will do it two nights a week.
I challenge everyone to prayerfully consider making thia a part of your fall program.
Check it out!
Ministry Opportunity
Well I spent a better part for the day yesterday developing ministry descriptions, and working through what each of our ministries really are for the church. Upon further investigation we have a lot of things going on or in the works right now.
Here is a basic list of ministry options we have right now.
Worship (band, worship team)
Media (Song Show Plus, projector, videos (production, editing, etc)
Creek Kids (children's ministry 4 yrs to 5th grade)
Baby Steps Nursery (infants to 3 years old)
Life Groups
Leader, or house host
First Impressions
Greeter, Usher, Parking Lot attendant, Info Table, Coffee/food
Sound Tech
Set Up
Tear Down
Connections (follow up)
Girls Night Out Coordinator/ assistant
Guys Night out Coordinator/ assistant
Adopt a Missionary
Single Parents
Graphics Team
New Moms Help (hospital, meals after birth etc)
I am sure this is not an exhaustive list, and we have ministry descriptions for some of these. I will continue working on that this week!
Leave a post if you have a comment or thought about this.
Here is a basic list of ministry options we have right now.
Worship (band, worship team)
Media (Song Show Plus, projector, videos (production, editing, etc)
Creek Kids (children's ministry 4 yrs to 5th grade)
Baby Steps Nursery (infants to 3 years old)
Life Groups
Leader, or house host
First Impressions
Greeter, Usher, Parking Lot attendant, Info Table, Coffee/food
Sound Tech
Set Up
Tear Down
Connections (follow up)
Girls Night Out Coordinator/ assistant
Guys Night out Coordinator/ assistant
Adopt a Missionary
Single Parents
Graphics Team
New Moms Help (hospital, meals after birth etc)
I am sure this is not an exhaustive list, and we have ministry descriptions for some of these. I will continue working on that this week!
Leave a post if you have a comment or thought about this.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
515 alive
This is the banner that will be hanging on our tent/booth at the 515 alive event this weekend. We are a corporate sponsor for the event. We have chosen to step outside of the box and do something a bit risky.
One of our core values is "playing it safe is risky." This is probably the "riskest" thing we have done yet. We are the only church that is a sponsor which I really like!
We will also have water bottles with our logo. Lastly we have stickers to match just to give out. The idea is to get people to our website! They are expecting between 7 and 10,000 people ! Awesome!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
