Sailors, Saints, & Sinners

NEW BLOG

2007-04-23T17:39:00.000-05:00

My new blog address is www.mattevans.cc

Staff Retreat

2007-04-14T15:19:00.000-05:00

We just got back from a staff retreat in Toccoa, Georgia.
I love Toccoa ... even though I played my final high school football game there. We lost to Stephens County, 13-6 in the state quarterfinals.

Anyway, great time with our staff. We had a lot of fun going to Toccoa Falls, riding horses, eating, and playing games. We discussed a lot of stuff and really got some great things done/planned:

--Leadership lessons from Moses (Exodus)
--Rock Bridge vision (what is God doing that we need to pay attention to)
--Creative process (how we plan messages and worship services)
--Effective follow-up/assimilation (how we help people get connected)
--Staying healthy in ministry
--Leading volunteers
--Multi-site preparations
--Calendar planning
--Office reconfiguration (in preparation for new staff)
--New financial process/procedures (What works at 400-500 does not work >1000)
--Prayer time

Bottom line for me after this weekend:
--Our staff is fun, faithful, and fruitful.
--Our staff sees God working and wants to see MORE for Him!
--Our staff is a little crazy and that's a good thing!
--Our staff is rock solid behind our vision
--Our staff loves the people God is bringing to Rock Bridge.
--Our staff is expecting BIG things from a BIG God who wants it more than we do.
(God wants Rock Bridge to fulfill the Great Commission more that we want it!)
--Our staff is pumped about Exodus 14:14

Multi-Site: Rock Bridge Calhoun

2007-04-10T07:01:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday was a great day at Rock Bridge Calhoun with ~100 coming to worship!!There are lots of great questions that people have about multi-site so here are some answers (this is a long entry):

WHAT IS MULTI-SITE?
One church meeting in multiple locations but with a common vision, budget, and leadership.
Multi-site is not a new concept. The church at Corinth and several other first century churches were multi-site. They consisted of several house churches that were part of one city-wide church.
--9 of the 10 largest churches in America are multi-site.
--7 of the 10 fastest growing churches in America are multi-site.
At Rock Bridge we believe that 'church' is not a specific building or location. Church is a group of believers connected to other groups of believers by a common mission!!

WHY IS ROCK BRIDGE TAKING A MULTI-SITE APPROACH?
To make more disciples for Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8) by bringing the church closer to where people are.
We have noticed a trend at Rock Bridge: people are driving from several communities outside of the Dalton-Whitfield area, including Calhoun. We are commanded by Christ to "go and make disciples" ... multi-site is part of us being obedient and not being afraid to take risks for the cause of Christ.

HOW DID ROCK BRIDGE CHOOSE CALHOUN?
The short-answer is: it was a 'God-thing'.
One our teaching Elders, John McIntosh, was asked to preach for a church called CrossPoint. The church had been without a pastor for several months and John really enjoyed his time with the people there.
At the same time, myself and others had been praying about planting new churches and/or starting new sites as a way to reach more people for Christ.
From there the idea of merging together to have greater influence was born. After much prayer and discussion, CrossPoint asked to be adopted by Rock Bridge.
--In 2004, 1500 churches were multi-site. 30% of those 'sites' were adoptions/mergers like what Rock Bridge is doing in Calhoun.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS FOR ROCK BRIDGE CALHOUN?
On Easter Sunday, Rock Bridge assumed teaching responsibilities for the new site. Additionally, our two sites now share the same type of bulletin.
The biggest first step is to prayerfully locate a Campus Pastor to lead the charge in Calhoun (we are very close).
After that we'll begin organizing ministry teams, locating a meeting facility, and getting ready for the official launch in the Fall of 2007.

WHERE WILL ROCK BRIDGE CALHOUN MEET?
To be determined.

HOW WILL THE TEACHING BE HANDLED?
As of now, the Calhoun site will either watch a video of the 9:00 am message from the Dalton campus or there will be a 'live' teacher.
We believe that the power of God's Word is not limited by the medium through which it is communicated and that through excellent technology both Dalton & Calhoun will experience the same teaching.

WHAT ABOUT WORSHIP?
The worship will be with a live band and worship pastor like at Dalton.
Children & Youth programming will also be similar once the site is officially launched.

WHAT DOES THE CAMPUS PASTOR DO?
He will lead the ministry efforts in Calhoun and pastor the people. He will be responsible for everything but the Sunday morning message. That means he has to organize and coordinate small groups, children's ministry, worship planning, student ministry, pastoral care, community care & outreach, church operations/administration, and supervise the staff & ministry team leaders.
And he will teach from time to time as well.

WHAT WILL CHANGE? WHAT WILL BE THE SAME?
In Dalton, not much will change.
In Calhoun, there will be a Rock Bridge.

This is kind of like the opening of 2 new Starbucks here in Whitfield County (one in Kroger and the other by the North Bypass). They are in two locations. One has a drive-thru and one does not. One is already open; one will open soon. One will own its building; one rents/leases its facility.
Both have the same goal, the same leadership structure, and both offer the same thing -- great coffee.
Rock Bridge Dalton & Calhoun will have some differences, but both will still communicate Christ in creative and relevant ways done with excellence!!

After-Action Report: Easter

2007-04-09T06:42:00.000-05:00

Some random thoughts going through my head the day after Easter:

--If you volunteer at church in ANY capacity, you are AWESOME! It makes such a huge difference to what God is able to do through His church.

--We had more people at the 9:00 am service than at 10:45 ... many of you proved that you CAN actually get up that early ... keep it up!

--The buzz building in Calhoun is great!! We've got a long way to go before we officially launch but the people are GREAT, the need in Gordon County is tremendous, and God is opening doors for His Gospel there.

--How long can we stay at two services at our Dalton campus?
I want to stay at two as long as possible BUT we will not stay at two services IF it hinders growth or our ability to reach disconnected people!!

--We had several people make decisions yesterday in the worship services and in the children's theatre!! That means there is a big ole party in heaven!!

--We about to go into overtime adding new staff. We learned at Newspring that the optimal ratio is 1:100. We are currently at 1:175. Our staff is stretched and stressed ... but we are ON FIRE for what God is up to!! If you want to hear the two main sessions of the Newspring Unleash Conference, you can check them out here.

--We have a 3-day staff retreat this week that will be very important to how we get where God is taking us.

--God is good!

--John 3:30

Easter Sunday recap (4/8/2007)

2007-04-08T09:09:00.000-05:00

WOW!!
Great day today at Rock Bridge with over 1750 at Dalton and around 100 at Calhoun (We have not officially launched Rock Bridge Calhoun ... more on this later)!!

This was a bit of a different Easter sermon for me. I always struggle preaching Easter b/c it is so familiar. But I felt better about today's message than any previous Easter sermon I have given.
He is risen!!

Message Highlights:
We focused on two phrases: "What if" and "As if"
--What if Easter did not happen?
--Life events, distractions, time all make us live "as if" it did not happen

I Corinthians 15:12-20
If Easter did not happen ...

1) Life would have no real purpose.
--We would have a hope so, think so, & maybe so faith
--We would not understand how life fits together
--We would be half-hearted in our endeavors

2) Life would have no real authority.
--Jesus would be a liar and a fraud.
--The authority that supposedly makes us unique and gives us value would be discredited.
--We could not relate to God. We'd be stuck in sin.
--Many people's religion lacks power because is it based on rules rather than the resurrection.

3) Life would be a dead end.
--we should be pitied; we'd live for the moment with no hope for eternity

*However, often times we live AS IF Easter did not happen.
--Where is this thing called life going? What does it mean? What can give me meaning?
--We are confused and uncertain.
--Illustration: after 9/11 America was clear on defending ourselves, our values, and our way of life. Today, the patriotism is almost gone and people are apathetic. Is the same true of us regarding Christianity some 2000 years after the resurrection?

Evidence for the Resurrection
A) Some say Jesus did not really die.
--Flogging & being crucified were not survivable.
--The Romans were experts at it.
B) Some say they went to the wrong tomb.
--I Corinthians 15:3-6 (500 people saw Him ... go ask them!)
--Jews and Romans would have wanted to produce a body ... but there wasn't one to produce.
--The Apostles repeatedly spoke of Jesus' burial. Someone could have checked out the burial site.
C) The disciples stole the body
--Who would die for a lie?
--Acts 4:18-20
D) Cannot explain the changed lives without the resurrection
--If there is evidence you can experience it and you can live AS IF it really happened!

We have a choice:
--Jesus is who He says He is ... Lord, God, King of Kings, the way to salvation OR He is still dead to us. He cannot be a moral teacher or good person.
I Corithians 15:56-58
--We have a gift (eternal life; purpose; salvation; forgiveness)
--We have a victory
--We can ourselves fully to a real purpose.

Monday Night Madness

2007-04-03T04:59:00.000-05:00

This Monday night was pure madness ... no, not the basketball game but 24.

For the first time in like 2+ years I did not watch the entire episode. The "constitutional crisis" with the Prez. and Veep did me in. What is going on?
Can anyone say "jump the shark"?

I'm not sure where Prison Break is headed either and some have already spotted the shark.

What will become of my Monday nights without those 2 shows???

Reaching Churched People?

2007-04-02T12:25:00.000-05:00

Planting a new church has been and continues to be one of the great blessings in my life. Church plants tend to get a lot of criticism, especially from other churches and Christians:
--"You are stealing church members" (Perry Noble addressed that here)
--"We have already have enough churches."
--"If you would just {insert: just do what I like} then I'd join your church."

Now I've learned (as has every other church planter with a BIG VISION) that you have to listen to God and go all out for DISCONNECTED people. But every church plant will have some 'churched' people transfer to their plant. At Rock Bridge we have historically seen anywhere from 50-60% of our new members be UNchurhed. At our last Inquirer's Lunch 60% of the people there were not in church before Rock Bridge ... and that is what we love.

But what about the other 40% of people? I have watched an interesting dynamic take place. Do you turn these people away? What is God doing in the lives of Christians who leave a church to join yours?

First, make it hard for churched people to join your church.
We require that everyone go to an Inquirer's Lunch. We do things in church that might make the 'churchy' types uncomfortable ... anything from the songs we sing to the way we sing them to out-of-the-box dramas to casual dress ... it all forces people to think about a "different way to do church".

Second, realize that God may be actually leading them to come to your church.
There are a whole lot of Christians who are spiritually malnourished, who week in and week out sit through another irrelevant, uninspiring church service out of obligation.
They wonder, "Is this the way church is supposed to be?"
They read the Bible which they wholeheartedly accept and believe, and wonder,
"Why are people NOT getting saved in my church like they did in Acts?
Why isn't my church growing?
Why is the most significant thing I am asked to do is to serve on some committee that doesn't really do anything?"

Then they show up at a new church with less restrictions, less traditions, but with more vision and something gets ignited in their souls. The music feels like a victory has been won (duh ... empty tomb!) instead of feeling like you are on the Baton Death March. They actual understand the message and might actually be able to apply it to their life. They leave challenged and inspired not bored and tired. They hear stories of life change and salvation.
They leave thinking, "Maybe this is sort of what church is supposed to be like?"

Third, some healthy Christians who are genuinely seeking Christ will be attracted to healthy, Christ-centered church plants.

--I think about a guy who recently joined Rock Bridge. He shows up at "O dark thirty" to put signs out around our campus. Yesterday, I thanked him and he replied, "No thank you for letting me serve."

--I think about J.M. who wanted to see people saved in church and came alongside Beth & I about 5 years ago. Now he and his wife say, "God had us ready. At age 72, thank God we did not get to miss what we have experienced at Rock Bridge."

--I think about my parents who were happy where they were but have always supported my brother and I. They both serve every week at RBCC. This journey with them is a great blessing for both of us.

--I think about others who came for the first time because their husband or kids actually wanted to go to church.

--I think about some who after years of legalism and guilt in other churches, finally tasted God's amazing grace.

--I think about some leaders from other churches who got saved at Rock Bridge.

--I think of long-time Christians who never tithed or gave sacrifically to the strategic cause of Christ but have now done so only to understand first hand that you really can't "outgive God."

--I think about "Ned Flanders" (see post here.)

So at Rock Bridge, we'll keep going all out to reach disconnected, unchurched people. They will always be our target.
But we'll still make room for anyone who is hungry for Christ, sold out to God's vision for Rock Bridge, and crazy enough to be radical for the Kingdom.

Sunday Recap (4/1/2007)

2007-04-01T13:11:00.000-05:00

Rainy day in Georgia but a great day at Rock Bridge!!
--It was awesome celebrating baby/child dedication today with 15+ families!

--"Jesus Take the Wheel" was the special song today ... WOW! That song set the service apart ... it was awesome!!

Message Highlights:
--The part of NASCAR that always makes the ESPN highlight reel are the crashes/wrecks.
--The same is true in our lives ... often times the crashes are what we hold onto and play over and over again in our minds.

Life is all about movement.
--movement or progress in our careers, relationships, and spiritual journey
Life will have crashes.
--You are either going to crash, have crashed, or are coming out of a crash

--The myth we hear most when we crash is -- "It'll be okay. It'll all work out."
--This is wrong. Crashes have to be cleaned up and corrected or else the race of life is impeded and restricted.

You have to go under caution and deal with a crash when it happens.
--Acts 1:15-17
The believers needed to resolve the betrayal of Judas. So Peter led them to a discussion based on Scripture where everything was put on the table. Peter helped the believers get God's perspective on what had happened.

Crashes leave vacuums or voids that will be filled with something.
--Acts 1:18-21
Something will fill up the void: bitterness, fear, worry, angry, inabilty to trust, doubt.
God wants to fill the void for us. He wants us to be complete in Him not incomplete in the world.
--James 1:3-4

What defines your life?
--Acts 1:22-26
Our life will be defined by what happens to us or what God has done for us. The new believers defined their life by the resurrection.

I Love It!

2007-03-30T10:33:00.000-05:00

I love the fact that God lets me do what I do with, through, and for His church!
Take this week for example:

--We interviewed personnel for several positions and opportunities here at Rock Bridge. Awesome to see how God has worked in people's lives to equip them for Kingdom service! Awesome to share with people the Rock Bridge story!
I love it!

--Had lunch with a potential church planter yesterday (Adam Walker). One of the sharpest and most passionate guys I have been around in a long time. I'd probably hire him tomorrow if he'd let me. I love listening to people who "get it", who have big dreams for a big God!
I love it!

--Prepared the message for this week, "Coming Out of Caution" on how to get past the 'crashes' that happen in life. I always doubt myself but I have learned never to doubt God's Word and its ability to speak to people and change their life.
I love it!

--Met with the design build firm CoGun to hear how the plans for the renovations of our building are coming along. These guys have a heart for the local church and their work will help us be more effective for the Kingdom!
I love it!

--The optimal staff ratio of staff to worship attendance is 1:100 per NewSpring. Right now we are anywhere from 1:175 to 1:200. Our staff is stretched way too thin. Some awesomely freakish volunteers have stepped in to help us out. But everyone is excited because we know what God is doing through Rock Bridge is WAY bigger than any of us.
I love it!

--God is awesome!
I love it!

Hand Down a Toilet

2007-03-27T04:53:00.000-05:00

Right now we're in the middle of hosting a community wide youth revival (called Oasis) that is sponsored by area churches and put on by their youth ministers.

Having over 1100++ students in one building to hear about Jesus and worship like crazy is pretty awesome (band is Julian Drive ... WOW!) ... HOWEVER, there are some drawbacks.

Sunday night one of our AWESOME youth workers went into the male restroom and discovered someone had stuffed TP into the commode enough to clog it and then covered their tracks with good ole urine (or as my mom used to say 'Tee Tee').

Our volunteer was of course upset and a little angry but in the end he took one for the team and instantly became the church plumber using his hand to unclog the toilet.

No, we don't like to have our building or any building treated with disrespect or damaged in anyway. And sometimes it is tempting to NOT use our building because there is always spilled coffee, overflowing trash cans, messy bathrooms, etc ...
However, we do not worship our building or serve it.
Our building serves our purpose which just happens to be God's purpose ... which is to redeem people through Jesus Christ.

...the first night there were around 70 decisions made for Christ. Last night there were somewhere around 30-40 decisions made!

So yes, reaching out to lost people and teenagers can get a little dirty, a little messy, (maybe even a little gross) ... but Jesus got pretty dirtied up and messed up for us (remember Mel's Passion of the Christ?).

The question to ask is this:
What bothers us more:
--Sticking one's hand in a toilet filled up with pee?? -OR-
--Seeing people go to hell and doing nothing about it??

So we'll keep saying "No" to hell and "yes" to 'tee tee' ... if that is what it takes!

Sunday Recap (3/25/2007)

2007-03-25T21:21:00.000-05:00

What a day!!
--We had over 1300 again in worship for the 2nd week in a row!!
--We had a record crowd in our Inquirer's Lunch!!
--We interviewed two potential staff members for children and youth/generational ministry.
--We kicked off the community Youth Revival tonight, Oasis, with about 1200 students packed into the Wink and over 40-50 decisions made for Christ!!

Great service this am ... we have hit some hard stuff the past few weeks on discipleship type themes as we taught on evangelism and then the cost of following Christ and last Sunday was Vision Sunday. So this week we went back to a felt need type focus and talked about taking strategic "Pit Stops" in life (using the NASCAR parallel).

Here's the message rundown:
*Life consists of WOW and VOW moments.
--The WOW when everything is good and awesome and our passion and focus are strong (honeymoon, closing the deal, buying your home, first date, awesome church service, etc.).
--The VOW is when your just keeping your commitments as best you can even when you may not 'feel' like it.
--The WOW enables and encourages us to keep the VOW. Like in NASCAR if the drivers never took a 'pit' stop, they'd never win or even finish the race. We need WOW moments in our relationships with each other and with God.

Matt's definition of 'pit stop':
strategically and temporarily pulling out of the race of life so you can ultimately race faster, race farther, and race better.

Taught from Matthew 17:1-8 on the Transfiguration which was a big WOW moment. It followed a big VOW command in Matthew 16 to 'deny yourself' to follow Christ.

Here's the main points:

v.1
1) You were made to go places with God--God wants to take us to the mountain. Jesus led them away from the hustle and bustle of life for planned experience ... where He could WOW them. Later, these would be the men Christ would build His church through.

v.2-5
2) You were made to recognize and respond to God.--When we see who Jesus really is, we're WOWed and we then want to "listen to Him."
--We have to be available for God to take us places with Him where He reveals Himself to us.

5 WOW moments with God that are available to us:
1) Baptism
2) Lord's Supper
3) Weekly Worship
4) Small Group community
5) Time by yourself with God
--Talked about how easy it is to spend time with God. He wants to WOW us with Himself through His Son and His Word.

3) You have to be available.
--Busyness is a choice.
--If we give God some of our time, He'll make something of it and something of us.

v.6-8
When is the last time you saw nothing but Jesus?
What are you doing to let God 'WOW' you so you can keep your commitment ('VOW') to Him?

Me & Mo

2007-03-19T15:56:00.000-05:00

Been hanging out with Moses lately in Exodus ... WOW! Good stuff on how Moses' developed as the spiritual leader of God's people.

Here's just a few things that struck me:

--Moses' was discontent with the status quo early on (He killed an Egyptian for mistreating some Hebrew slaves). However, he lacked the maturity and God-given revelation to deal with it appropriately.

I think a good portion of visionary leadership begins with discontentment -- we see things that just are not right and then develop a passion to do something about it. God takes our passion and focuses it with an inspired vision that leads to action.

--When God called Moses to act (Exodus 3), Moses was focused only on himself. His doubts, his weaknesses, and his worries totally drove his conversations with God. God kept reassuring Moses with Himself: "I am who I am."

Whenever my focus on me, there is doubt, fear, and worry. Whenever the focus is on God, there is peace, confidence, and clarity. We have to remember we ain't nothing without God. Where's my focus????

--After all the trouble to call Moses to lead the Hebrews, God still almost killed him. Moses had not circumcised his son in accordance with God's law.

As leaders of God's people, we cannot neglect our own personal walk with God. Many times we focus on who we are leading and forget our own relationship with God. God demands integrity and purity and repentance constantly in order for Him to use us for His purposes.

Sunday Recap (3/18/2007)

2007-03-18T12:51:00.000-05:00

What an awesome day we had today!!
--Over 1380 people in worship: record crowd!!
--Several salvation, rededication, & baptism decisions!!

THANK YOU FOR INVITING PEOPLE TO COME & SEE WHAT CHRIST & HIS CHURCH ARE ALL ABOUT!

Here's the service in review:

--The band opened up with "Free Ride" ... it was cool!
--Great 'country' version of "Victory in Jesus" ... got to love that twang!

Message:
--The church has a historical tendency to complicate what God has made simple and erect barriers to God instead of being a bridge to connect with God
--Visual illustration: a ladder with rungs missing is useless. The church is supposed to help people step closer to God but has removed rungs.

Acts 15:1-5
1) We will be the church God wants us to be.
--Rock Bridge was God's idea from the very beginning.
--We can be a church made by man, ruled by traditions, and goverened by personal preferences OR we can seek to be the church God wants us to be.

Acts 15:6-9
2) We will love and accept people like Jesus did.
--no dress codes; no judgemental looks;
--simple, accessible, understandable, excellent
--We can tell people to 'come as you are' or to "Go to hell!"
--Jesus accepted people as they were and offered them grace

Acts 15:10-11
3) We will break some 'rules'
--man made rules need to broken if they keep people from connecting to Christ
--Some rules we have broken:
a) We meet in a theatre
b) I have never been to seminary.
c) New churches don't work and don't grow
d) There are hypocrites in our church.
e) We don't have dress codes.

--Less is more philosophy. Rock Bridge will do less for more:
a) Weekend worship
b) Discipleship & Care: groups; Bible studies
c) Generational Ministry: Children & Youth
--need specialized environments; if people don't make a decision for Christ by the time they turn 18, 80-90% chance they never will!
d) Multiple Sites

{Awesome testimony from Steve Edgeman of the difference Christ & Rock Bridge made in his life.}

Acts 15:12-14; 19
4) We will believe God for 'more'
--more people need to connect
--more people need Jesus
--more life change

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:
Rock Bridge will launch a new site in Calhoun this fall!
We will be one church in two locations.
Why? Because communities all around us need a church that is simple, accessible, and understandable so that people can CONNECT to God!

Big Day!

2007-03-17T18:40:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Vision Sunday which has become something we do every year at RBCC around this time in March.
It is roughly the same weekend back in March of 2002 when I shared the vision for Rock Bridge to about 90-100 at the NW Georgia Trade Center. Since we launched, we've been recasting and resharing the vision for our church at this time of year.

We make it a big invite day for our people to bring a friend(s) with them to church. This one day alone has year in and year grown our church, broken attendance barriers, and helped us reach and connect new people.

--I've already heard of one couple who has SEVEN people coming with them tomorrow!!
--One person is bringing FOUR with her.
--Two weeks ago a guy brought TWENTY-FOUR people with him to church!!
--Hundreds of other personal invitations have gone out ... it's AWESOME!

We have done advertising, marketing, mailers, billboards, radio, tv ... BUT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BEATS ONE FRIEND INVITING ANOTHER FRIEND, ONE RELATIVE INVITING ANOTHER RELATIVE TO COME & SEE WHAT CHRIST & HIS CHURCH ARE ALL ABOUT!!!

Watch out!

2007-03-16T07:11:00.000-05:00

The Unleash Conference yesterday at NewSpring was absolutely amazing! We took 33 people over to Anderson, SC to be stretched, encouraging, and enlarged by God and the conference did not disappoint!

The last main session was unforgettable as Perry talked about the challenge of leadership & pastoring and the need to keep the call & vision strong. I was reminded/challenged on a few things:

January 12, 2002
That was the day when God called me to start Rock Bridge: to start a different kind of church than Dalton-Whitfield-NW Georgia has ever seen!

Obeying God is as simple as listening to God.
What a statement!
As our church has grown my need to listen to God has greatly increased ... I sense it, I know it, now I have got to do it!

Vision
--I must own it.
--Some people won't get it (let them leave or ask them to)
--Budget & Staff for vision ... nothing else!
--Vision comes from God not man, not tradition, not personal preferences.
--Rock Bridge has a BIG vision ... get ready for Sunday!

GENERAL QUARTERS

2007-03-14T17:15:00.000-05:00

General Quarters (or GQ) is when a ship gets ready for battle ... everybody has a role to play to put the ship in the position of maximum readiness to fight, to defend, to protect, and to win!

I feel like our church is about to go to General Quarters as we approach Vision Sunday this week.

OUR PEOPLE ARE INVITING THEIR FRIENDS IN A BIG TIME WAY!
We did a 3 week series about going after people who are disconnected and then provided our folks with gift cards to local restaurants to treat their friends to a lunch/dinner to talk to them about church/Jesus.
I've heard so many AWESOME stories ... Sunday is going to rock!

WE GET TO GO TO NEWSPRING TOMORROW.
32 people from Rock Bridge are going to get a glimpse of something awesome tomorrow. They'll be motivated, encouraged, and challenged to go to war for the kingdom of God!

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT
We're on the verge of making a major announcement about the impact Rock Bridge can have. It's going to be AWESOME!

PRAYER
I have to say my personal prayer life is no where near GQ level but I'm getting there. I find I need more time to pray than ever before!!

CHURCH IS AWESOME!!
There's no other way to describe it. Church is the greatest thing in the world. Thank God for letting sinful play a small role in His greater plan.

Weekend Wrap-up

2007-03-12T08:56:00.000-05:00

Beth & I are wiped out BUT ... this was an INCREDIBLE weekend for God's kingdom!!

DISCIPLE NOW
--Absolutely amazing!! Our volunteers in this area are SUPERHEROES! They led Bible studies, went without sleep, listened to LOUD music, got lured into crazy skits, prayed with teens to receive Christ, and set the example for what is means to be a Jesus Freak!! THANK YOU!!

--Our students rock! They got about 200 teenagers to church this weekend to hear about Jesus & have fun at the same time! Don't let any lie and say church is not supposed to fun & excited. Jesus is something to be passionate about!!

THE MESSAGE
Without question, this was the most challenging message I have EVER PREACHED. There is no way to water down what Jesus said in Luke 14:25-33.
I was sick to my stomach before the message and after it because Jesus' words are SO hard, SO different than what we are taught, and SO challenging to what it really means to be a Christian.

Here's the recap:
--We all limits on how far we'll go with God.
--Jesus said to be His disciple there can be no limits.
1) Disciples do not hold back their love, loyalty, and affection for Him.
2) Disciples go all out and all the way for Him.
Jesus wants to finish His work. When we say no, we leave His business unfinished.
3) Disciples win.
We are destined for victory yet so many of us have forfeited and made peace with the ways of the world rather than the Prince of Peace & King of Kings.

DECISIONS
--Despite the challenging message we had around 15 people make decisions for Christ!!
--For the Youth this weekend, it looks like we also had around 15-20 decisions for Christ! (We're still getting all the cards in and processed).

--This is awesome! Stop right now and praise God!

This Weekend!!!

2007-03-10T08:05:00.000-05:00

To all the Rock Bridge family ... stand by for this weekend!!

1) We need anyone who can to come to the 9:00 am service this Sunday!!
Disciple Now has >200 participants and they will ALL be coming to the 10:45 service which could stress our seating. So if there is anyway you can, please show up ready for God at 9:00.

2) Daylight Savings Time
Spring forward tonight!!

3) This weekend is going to be incredible!!

John 3:30

Oh Nelly!

2007-03-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Top 10 thoughts running through my head as we end this week and get ready for this weekend:

10: I wish Jack Bauer were here.
9: I have NEVER been so aware of Satan until we started Rock Bridge.
8: I have NEVER been so aware of God's work until we started Rock Bridge.
7: I need God's wisdom like never before.
6: The importance of prayer is much more important to me.
5: I am SO BURDENED for people who are not following Christ.
4: Can I do this?
3: It's not about me.
2: The people in our church are ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!
1: I must BET IT ALL on God's faithfulness!!!!!

PRAY!!

2007-03-07T21:13:00.000-05:00

I just want to ask as many of you as possible to PRAY like never before!! Some incredible God things are happening that are WAY beyond our control but are completely in His control. I believe even more incredible things are on the way that are beyond what I can imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21).

--This weekend is "iGod" or Youth Disciple Now. We believe we may have close to 200 students coming!! Spur 58 will be leading worship. I love the fact that from Day One Rock Bridge has been all about kids and students. We resource it big time and deservedly so!!

--We are under contract to buy the 9300 sq. foot furniture building across the street from the church!!!!

--We are entering a master plan phase to help us better use our facilities for our current ministries and future growth.
Right now our children's space is inadequate whether we grow or not (we plan to keep growing).
Right now our youth use everything from my office to sitting in chairs made for 1st graders.

--Next Sunday is VISION SUNDAY!!! I cannot wait to see all the new people that will come and discover Christ and re-discover His church. INVITE! INVITE! INVITE!

--We are sending out a direct mail piece to EVERY residential address in Whitfield County. Something like 33,000 people will get our "Up to Speed" mailer, inviting them to check out Rock Bridge. (We have only done one small mailer and very limited, small-scale advertising. I am excited to see the potential response.)

--Our search for a new Children's Minister is going well. Aaron is talking to some great people right now!! Please pray hard for this!!

--Next week we are taking around 30 people to NewSpring Church for their conference. I think this will take many of our ministry leaders and key volunteers up a notch in their excitement, vision, and passion for the local church.

Matthew Party

2007-03-07T06:33:00.000-05:00

This year for Vision Sunday (March 18th) we are doing something different.
In the past we have gone up to the Trade Center for a big meal afterwards. We decided this was not feasible for a few reasons:
1) Cost: the number of people is so big that the cost outweighs the benefits.
2) 9:00 am service: we think it would take away from the 9:00 service and we have to continue to grow that service
3) Future: in the future we could have 3+ services at all different times on Sunday and/or Saturday night. At some point in the future we simply would not be able to go to the Trade Center due to scheduling and logistics and we are all about preparing ourselves for the future.

SO ... instead what we did is purchased restaurant gift cards for our people to use. We give them a card, they treat guests to lunch and work on building that relationship with them, answering questions, and just hanging out and having fun. It's what Matthew did after he decided to follow Christ: he had a dinner party, invited friends, and brought Jesus with him.

I love how this has challenged us to be intentionally more evangelistic ... to think about WHO we know that is outside the faith and outside the church and to really pursue that relationship with them.

Here's what one person wrote:
Church was awesome yesterday wasn't it/....... I have been talking about it all day today.... I am so glad we found Rock Bridge ... I have 4 people that promise me they will be there next Sunday.

I cannot wait!!

Sunday Recap (3/4/2007)

2007-03-04T16:43:00.000-05:00

Great day! Great energy! Great crowd ... how 'bout the 9:00 service at 411!! It's filling up and freeing up seats at our prime time service (10:45) for guests!

This was predominantly a message for our church attenders and regulars as we concluded our series, "Off Road". As of now, we know we had 2 people receive Christ today which is AWESOME despite the fact that we were challenging our people (insiders) to share their God-story with others.

I Peter 3:15 tells us to "be ready" to share the hope we have in Christ with anyone and everyone but to do it with gentleness and respect. We focused how we share this story and how to be ready:

1) Understand barriers
There are barriers that keep people from experiencing Christ and the community of the church. We talked about five: shame & guilt, personal pride, perceived irrelevance of the church, Christians, and religous check-lists (versus a relationship with the living God).

2) Be proactive with people.
Using John 4 and the interaction Jesus had with the woman at the well we talked about seeking to engage people in easy, natural conversations that can be used to bring up spiritual matters. Jesus gave her acceptance, grace, and love. He asked a non-threatening question.

Read Matthew 5:13-16 and discussed that we all have a platform with which to engage people in salt & light interaction. Salt preserves and influences; light penetrates and points out a path. Salt and light is the role Christ has given us.

3) Share our story.
Every Christ-follower has a before & after story. We talked about how to share the difference Christ has made in 45-seconds or less. Be real. Be natural. Be clear. Be concise. Don't use 'churchy' language. Don't tell 'weird' God stories. Just tell the simple story of what Christ has done in your life.

4) Share God's story.
God's story has 3 essential elements: 1) God loves us -2) Christ chose to pay our sin debt/penalty -3) The choice is ours whether or not to receive His payment.

5) Do you have a story?
We challenged folks here to look honestly at their own story and where it intersects with God's.

We closed the message by breaking 'glow sticks' around the theatre. First, we let the middle schoolers and then the high schoolers. Then we did it by zip code and occupations. The theatre gradually lit up with individual lights ... representing where we have been strategically positioned by God to share His story.
120 people in Acts 2 took Jesus' salt & light analogy seriously ... what would happen if everyone at Rock Bridge did the same??

Saturday Night Live

2007-03-03T19:57:00.000-05:00

Well, it's Saturday night and I'm excited to be preaching again tomorrow at RBCC!! We'll be sharing something pretty cool that we're going to be doing for Vision Sunday (aka 'get as many people as you can' day) on March 18th.

Here's some things rolling around in my head and heart:

EXPECTATION
Let's expect God to do something awesome each week in and through the church. Church should be the most exciting and irrestible thing we do BECAUSE God is fully in it and fully committed to it!
--Expect people to come to know Christ.
--Expect record crowds.
--Expect to encounter God.
--Expect God to become more personal.
--Expect to fall more in love with Jesus.

CHRIST-CENTERED
We do a lot of cool things, a lot of creative things ... but it is all for naught if Christ is not at the center. The Bible says that if we lift Christ up, God will draw men to Himself.
I pray every Saturday night that people encounter the risen Christ and not the sinful Matt Evans.

THE GOSPEL & GOD'S WORD
The Gospel is simply the 'good news' that Christ died to pay a debt of sin we could never pay and through His death & resurrection, He offers us eternal life. God's Word tells the story of the Gospel and then explains its meaning. Those two things contain power beyond me to change lives and eternities.
So many Saturday night's I believe the message for Sunday is terrible and a total bomb; however, I have come to realize that the power is in the message (the Gospel and the Word) not in the messenger. As a result teaching is more about preparing myself than preparing a message.

John 3:30

What are you thinking?

2007-03-01T20:27:00.000-05:00

My wife used to ask me that question when we were dating. I was a pretty introverted guy until Beth came along and helped me realize that relationships are an awesome part of life.
So I'd thought I answer that question ... here's what I'm thinking:

--My LASIK surgery went well and I praise God for it! I'm 20/15 or 20/10 right now and my eyes are still healing!!

--Vision Sunday (March 18th) is going to rock! We must get every single lost, unchurched, disconnected person we know to church that day.

--My prayer life has got to go up several levels. This is something God is demanding from me and I have got to surrender my time, my excuses, and my focus to Him.

--I believe our church is on the verge of something amazing ... something God-sized.

--We've got a ton of staffing decisions to make to better equip our church to accomplish our vision.

--CoGun: we have partnered with a design-build firm to help develop a Master Plan of how we use our space. This will involve a renovation project within the next year.

--Youth Disciple Now (iGod) is going to rock!

--I can't wait to get back to work ... I've been at a conference and wearing dark sunglasses so I'm kind of 'away' right now.

--Sunday we wrap up 'Off Road' message series.

--Are we doing what we need to be doing to reach the people God has called us to reach? What needs to change? What needs to stay the same? What needs to improve?

--Unleash Conference! It's going to rock! We dropped from 1st to 3rd in the most # of people signed up according to Tony Morgan's blog.
This is really going to encourage, challenge, and equip our people to take things to a new level.

--My dogs: Bear & Sammie are the best.

--God is good and forever faithful ... why don't I trust Him more?

John 3:30

Shot in the Arm

2007-02-28T08:32:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the Churchplanters.com conference in Cumming ... WOW! What a shot in the arm for us at Rock Bridge! I am pumped and excited about getting back to work on the vision & mission we have at RBCC!!
Here's some of the things that are sticking out in my mind right now:

--Be mean about the vision. (Shawn Lovejoy)

--Seek to relate the Gospel to people not just creativity. We relate to people in our culture so we can take them to the Cross. (Ed Setzer)

--God wants our churches to be successful more than we do.
--Value risk taking for the kingdom more than success.
--When was the last time you/we/I took a risk on God. (Dave Ferguson)

--God wants us to live with holy urgency for His mission.
--God is resolved to bring us to a place of trust. (Matt Carter)

--Then Perry Noble spoke from Exodus 33 and challenged us to RELOOK at four things:
1) Our calling: God always calls us to things that are unsafe
2) At our people
3) At our vision
4) At our potential -- Eph. 3:20-21

This conference was a shot in the arm for me. It affirmed a lot of things we are thinking about and things we are doing. I am more excited than EVERY about what God is doing and is ABOUT to do at our church!!

BIG

2007-02-26T06:51:00.000-05:00

I've been convicted lately about the need to think BIG, dream BIG, and pray BIG.
God is BIG and He is honored when we engage Him in BIG endeavors worthy of His glory and honor.
So many times I've been guilty of the little god syndrome and then God steps in and reminds me of how BIG, AWESOME and FAITHFUL He is!!
Here's some examples:

--4.5 years ago we started Rock Bridge. We pondered meeting in spaces that held anywhere from 250 to 500 people. God put us in one that seats over 1100!

--When we had 80 members I thought we had peaked. I worried about finding new people and then connecting them. Shortly after that God pushed us over the 300 barrier in worship.

--Last year we seemed stuck at 550 in worship. I told a group of church planters that I thought we were losing our evangelistic steam. We didn't panic but we did pray. Now we've been in our longest period of sustained growth in our history.

When I get confused and worried it is usually because I am trying to be big and keep God small. I have learned that we basically have two choices:
--BIG me & little God
--BIG God & little me
We can't have it both ways. God doesn't work near pride or let humans steal or hide His glory ... He just becomes painfully absent. I've seen this over and over again in my life.

But the opposite is amazing! When I truly get right with God, when I get in a blessable position ... WOW! The BIG God shows up BIG time ... that is what I love, pray for and live for ... because when BIG God shows up lives get changed, eternities get altered, and no one is same!!

John 3:30

Whirlwind

2007-02-25T07:11:00.000-05:00

Got back last night from Snowshoe, WV ... here's how things went down for me:

--I love snowskiing. I have no clue how to stop or slow down so I used my rear as a brake and it hurts!
--Our students are great! I loved hanging out with them. They are awesome and I pray they all seize God's plan and promises for their lives.
--I had a great time hearing Michael speak and hanging out with him at Starbucks (I drank more coffee this week than my whole life combined!) His church is rocking and facing growing challenges and key decisions at a very early age (4-5 months). I am pumped and excited for him and all the people at Oak Leaf Church!

Today, I'm speaking down at First Baptist Cartersville. My aunt & uncle attend church there. This church has really been through a lot in the past year so I am happy to help them out on a Sunday when Aaron is speaking back at the home front.

Monday & Tuesday I'll be at the Churchplanters.com conference in Cummins, GA. Excited about it! I haven't been to a conference in a long time so I'm pumped to learn, grow, and meet some other great people!

Wednesday is EYE SURGERGY day (LASIK) ... please pray for me, for a successful surgery (I want to be 20/20 again!!!) and for a quick recovery.

We continue our OFF ROAD series this week about going out of our way for people who don't know Christ or have a church family. Be praying about WHO you know and WHERE you go ... that God will give you opportunities to share your story and represent Him to others! This is WHY WE ARE HERE!!!

First Time for Everything

2007-02-21T06:19:00.000-05:00

I'm headed up to Snowshoe, WV today to go snow skiing ... it will be my first attempt! Hopefully, I'll come back in one piece.

We're taking a group from our Student Ministry for about 3 days of skiing with some worship services as well. Should be a blast. Michael Lukaszewski from Oak Leak Church in Cartersville is going to be our speaker.

I met Michael about a year ago before they launched. God is doing a great work at Oak Leaf and meeting a need in Cartersville.
I LOVE to hear how God is working all over our area and the world to redeem lives through Christ!!

John 3:30

Things that make you go 'hmm'

2007-02-20T23:18:00.000-05:00

Here's some great sayings ...

If the goal of getting saved is to go to heaven, then why don't we die once we're saved?
--Because God leaves us here for one purpose: to be salt & light ... to help others come to know Christ!

If God told a church or the church or our church, to do worship in Rap because it would help reach more people for Christ ... would we/you do it?
--After all, it is His church and worship is for Him and as long as He is worshipped in Spirit & Truth He is honored. That means music style is negotiable, not sacred. That means God can be worshipped in a variety of musical styles. That means we can use music as tool BOTH to honor God and CONNECT with disconnected people!!
--(P.S.--God has not asked us to switch to Rap ... that's not the point. The point is are we willing to do whatever it takes to reach people?!?)

The church is a body and every body has a rectum.
--We cannot please everybody and let's face it, not every person belongs at your church or my church. It's okay for them to leave ... it's hard but okay and sometimes necessary.
...Another phrase for this is 'addition by subtraction'

Check your EGO at the door.
Ego = 'edging God out'.
I really do not believe a church can grow or sustain growth if people in the church are interested in control, power, and/or personal advancement. Those things leave no room for the God who wants to fill us with His power & might to do His work for His glory.

You can structure your church for control or growth.
--Hard one for some of us to give up control, especially if you started or helped to start the church.
--If I tried to control everything at Rock Bridge, we'd be running about 400-500 people right now. I think this is a major reason we've hit a plateau at certain points in our history ... I had to grow and change as a leader.

A Church That Gets Dirty

2007-02-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

After week one of "Off Road", I'm sensing people beginning to step up their personal pursuit of people who don't know God or have a church family. I can only say that this gets me PUMPED and gets our Father in heaven ready to move heaven & earth to work through Rock Bridge (Psalm 67:1-2).

Here's a couple of things to get the blood flowing:

--One guy after church yesterday felt so strongly about one of his friends that he went to visit him. It just so happened that this friend needed a lift up to Cleveland, TN. He was able to speak with this guy for several hours about Jesus!!
Now that's going "off road"

--One of our young adult small groups has decided to support the 9:00 am service together at least twice a month in our effort to make more room for our guests @ 10:45!

--Walking through the Wink this morning, I glanced at all the names and places that our people are praying for and going 'off road' for ... OVERWHELMING ... AWESOME ... our community will be changed for Christ!

--Read this article.

Sunday Debrief

2007-02-19T09:49:00.000-05:00

--Yesterday it was AMAZING to see hundreds of people go "Off Road" to write down the names of people they know who need Jesus and a church! I am praying for what God is going to do as our church takes reaching out to others to a whole new level ... it is going to be AMAZING.
Remember the four things we need to be effective at going 'off road':
--Close proximity (we've got to be near people that need God)
--Radical inclusiveness (we've got to accept people no matter what)
--Death of preference (our personal preferences cannot get in the way of reaching out to disconnected people)
--Heart of the Father (we must reflect Christ to everyone we come in contact with)

--Support the 9:00 am service.
Since the Fall, we've seen our church grow tremendously. However, our 9:00 am service has not grow at all. This means that our 10:45 service is almost full. We have 3 choices:
1) Start a third service
2) Build a bigger building
3) Get 200+ people that regularly attend the 10:45 service to move to the 9:00 am service to free up more seats at 10:45 for our guests.
Which option is easier, quicker, and makes sense financially?
Number 3.
The vast majority of our guests visit at the 10:45 service time. We have to free up seats for them.
SO YES, simply by coming to the 9:00 am service you will be helping us connect disconnected people.
I believe we will go to 3 services at some point in our future ... and I hope it is real soon!
However, realistically we should be able to grow to between 1500 and 1800 people in two services at the Wink. After that we can talk more about a third service or possible 'dual' services using a second venue (two services that occur simultaneously on or near our campus).

--Whatever it takes
We've displayed that attitude for the past 4+ years. We must remain as committed as ever to reaching our community for Christ. We must be burdened for our friends, co-workers, relatives, and neighbors that do not know Christ and do not have a church home. This is WHY we exist. This is WHY we started Rock Bridge. This is WHY we do 'church' the way we do. This is WHY we can never be satisfied as long as one person in our community does not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ!

Just One More Mistake (Ha!)

2007-02-17T08:07:00.000-05:00

Actually there are a lot more mistakes I've made, but I thought I'd share one more BIG one:

ON YOUR FEET vs. ON YOUR KNEES
In the Navy when doing P.T. (Physical Training) after we'd finished sit-ups or push-ups or something else, they'd yell "On your feet." It signaled the time to move on to the next exercise.
As a pastor/planter/leader I find the desire to get 'on my feet' but the need to stay 'on my knees' in prayer before God.
Being a task-oriented, results driven person ... extended times of prayer have been a hard and difficult discipline that I am still learning.

BUT when I do pray, I know with 100% certainty that God works more in me, around me and through me than when I shorten or cut my prayer time. In other words, results still happen but they are much greater and God-glorifying.

John 3:30

Mistakes I've Made

2007-02-16T16:03:00.000-05:00

I just got a shot in my left cheek to help me get over a massive sinus infection ... so with steriods pumping through my blood, I'm going to share some mistakes I've made.

TOO MUCH, TOO FAST
When this happens you run the risk of burning people out, burning yourself out (or your family) or just confusing people.
Lessons learned:
#1--A strong foundation of vision should be laid before an any acceleration of ministry. Part of this vision includes being opportunistic ... that way when you do have to act fast, folks know it is to achieve a great vision = reaching lost people!
#2--Most of the time, less really is more.

POOP OR GET OFF THE TOILET
I know this may appear contradictory ... but sometimes I have delayed making a decision that needed to be made.
Lessons learned:
#1--Always err on the side of action over inaction.
#2--Have a wise process for making decisions (mine includes prayer & godly counsel)

BE OBESSIVE COMPULSIVE
It is true the devil is in the details. Pay attention to EVERYTHING!! When you start seeing problems in 'little' areas, bigger problems are usually right around the corner. It's better to put out a small brush fire than a forest fire!
(Nelson Searcy has a great CD resource called: "OC Church Leaders".

QUIT TRYING TO PLEASE EVERYBODY
Somewhere along the way I thought I would be the one exception that could keep everybody happy. Boy, was I wrong & stupid ... and I've wasted a lot of time trying!
Lessons learned:
#1-Play for the Audience of One.
#2-Cast vision, love people, lead with example, & lead through your legitimizers.
#3-Those that don't get it, don't get it. Lead on & move on.

There's a story behind each of these but hopefully you get the idea.

UPCOMING

2007-02-12T17:37:00.000-05:00

We/I have got a crazy rest of the month ...

NEW SERIES
This Sunday we start a new series called, "Off Road". It's going to be challenging ... you'll never look at other people the same again. You'll never approach work the same way again. You'll never go to the gym or out to eat the same way either. You'll never doubt why you are here anymore.
(I can't say anymore ... just be here on Sunday!)

SKI TRIP
My wife loves to ski + Youth Ski Trip during Winter Break = I am going skiing!!
I've never been on skis in the snow before (water yes, snow no!). Pray I don't get hurt. Pray I get some good 'sermon' material from the youth and from myself!

CHURCH PLANTERS CONFERENCE
I am pumped about this!! We are sending all of our staff to several conferences this year to help us grow, motivate us, allow us to meet new people, and challenge us. I've visited Mountainlake Church once ... it is great and they really set an example for us to follow. Aaron and I will be heading to this conference and I'll get to spend some time with one of my best friends, Dr. Mark Gravlee ... one of Rock Bridge's core group members who recently moved to Alpharetta.

LASIK EYE SURGERY
I'm going under the laser to fix my nearsightedness ... I am excited!! However, I had my pre-op today where you have to sign all this stuff that says you could have complications and this could happen and that could happen, etc. So it makes me a little nervous but the risks are worth it to me: no contacts, no glasses, no dry eyes in the morning, no more guessing who's at church on Sundays ... I'll be able to see you!

The Incredibles

2007-02-11T17:25:00.000-05:00

Today was absolutely a day full of INCREDIBLES!!

--We finished our most INCREDIBLY creative teaching/worship/arts series ever -- Extreme Makeover: Life Edition. The band rocked! The dramas were hilarious and introduced the message topics well. And today ... the finally revealed mystery picture was ... well, it was INCREDIBLE. I don't think any of us will ever look at heaven and the Cross the same again.

--Even more INCREDIBLE is that we broke an attendance record today: 1250!! That's the largest crowd ever in the history of Rock Bridge! We challenged our people to bring people to church to hear about heaven and how to get there ... WOW!! Our folks are INCREDIBLE at inviting people to church.

--But most INCREDIBLE is that we had several people signify their desire to receive Christ's gift of eternal life!! Many others indicated a desire to recommit their lives to Him.

--God is INCREDIBLE and I thank Him that I get to be a part of something so INCREDIBLE as the local church in my hometown of Dalton, Georgia!!!!!!

Message Preparation (Part 7)

2007-02-10T19:06:00.000-05:00

Here's my final thoughts on giving the message and these deal with the actual delivery.

PRE-GAME
--I try to spend an hour plus in prayer before coming over to the service. I hang out my office or 'Green' Room since we met in a theatre.
--I come over about 30 minutes before the service kicks off for a quick mic check and then I spend time greeting and welcoming people to Rock Bridge.

WORSHIP
--Time in worship really helps me get open to God and get past myself.
--Also, let me just add that our Band and Praise Team have been taking things to the next level in '07!!

GO TIME
What can I say except that I love to preach. I never went to seminary so I sort of taught myself by listening to Rick Warren, Charles Stanley, Andy Stanley and others ... now I have learned the most important thing: just BE MYSELF.
Here's what that means for me:

1) ENTHUSIASM
--I am passionate about this stuff and by this time I better be passionate about the topic. That needs to be transparent.

2) HOLY SPIRIT
--He lives in me and I need to let Him out of me!! This is has been my biggest learning curve as I have transitioned from heavy notes and a 'pulpit' of sorts to now using only a rough outline and a 'bistro' table. I now say things I had not planned to say but are things God prompts me to say. This is when things are really clicking.

3) LEAVE IT ALL ON THE 'STAGE'
--My old football coach used to say "Leave everything on the field." Then it meant give it 110% and don't hold back.
--Now it means much the same BUT with the addition of don't rehash the message afterwards 763 times, don't bug my wife with the pesty, "How was it?" question, don't doubt God's ability to use my inability, don't think, "It's over. No one will show up here next week."
--I use to do those things every week. Now, I'm down to every other week! Seriously, when it is all said and done, let it all be said and done and leave the outcome with God ... it all starts with Him and it all goes back to Him!

Message Preparation (Part 6)

2007-02-09T08:29:00.001-05:00

Here's the weekly routine for me. I have just changed to this because I was only preparing over the course of 1 1/2 days and I needed more time to ponder the Scriptures and let things marinate in my head and heart.

WEEKLY ROUTINE FOR MESSAGE PREPARATION
Tuesday mornings: study
Tuesday afternoon: creative team meeting
All day Wednesday: study
Thursday morning: finishing touches on the message
Friday morning: go over service w/worship pastor + prayer
Saturday night: review message and prayer
All week: marinate and ponder God's truths

The Friday-Saturday 'Bout w/Doubt:--For some reason, between Friday and Saturday night (sometimes it goes into Sunday morning) I have serious doubts about the message. I used to wonder why or what is going on. I am slowly learning that this forces me to depend on God, helps me realize this is God's endeavor not mine, reminds me that I am merely a broken vessel that God has chosen to use (for which I am so grateful), AND ... the biggest thing is does it is pushes me to do something that Mark Driscoll emphasizes: "Go with the Ghost"
Driscoll concentrates heavily on being filled with the Holy Spirit and then preaching "as God leads and trust[ing] that God will direct my words, and He always does."
--I am really trying to learn how to depend on God more in my preaching. A John 3:30 kind of work going on in my life.
--For example, last week I had serious sermon block. I am almost called our Associate Pastor, Aaron Gable to fill-in. (Aaron has a back-up sermon ready to preach in case I get sick or something.) I felt sermon block classified as 'something' and it was making me 'sick'. When I got up to preach I just let go ... at the end I believe we had an awesome service. In fact after the 9:00 am service I was worried that I would not be able to preach the same message because it was so God, so not in my outline, and so not what I envisioned. But God is faithful ... duh? Why do I EVER doubt that??????????

John 3:30

Message Preparation (Part 5)

2007-02-08T17:17:00.000-05:00

Next up is structuring or outlining the message. This is the fun part where we think through transitions, illustrations, phrases, 'sticky' statements that help people remember, and takeways that people can apply to their lives.

Here's my general structure for most messages:

INTRODUCTION--introduce the theme, issue, tension, or life issue we are addressing.
To do that we use drama, personal stories, maybe a compelling question, etc.

TEXT
From the introduction we usually transition to the Bible text to uncover what God says about our topic, how God's truth can help us resolve the tension, and how we can move our lives closer in line with God's truth (doers not just hearers).

I generally use just one main passage and go through it verse by verse stopping to explain, apply, or further amplify what the text is saying.

APPLICATION
Application is generally throughout the message but here is where we really try to focus people to thinking what they can do in light of what they heard. This is the "Now what?" part of the message. Applications can take several shapes:
--A few bullet points
--An time to 'imagine' what if we really lived this truth in our homes, church, community, at work, in friendships, etc.
--A penetrating question or set of questions that forces people to get off the fence and move one way or the other

Message Preparation (Part 4)

2007-02-08T10:41:00.000-05:00

After I get what I like to call the 'Ah Ha moment' from the Scripture, then I work to structure the message clearly and creatively with conviction. Let me go over these four things:

AH HA MOMENT
This is when my heart starts racing, my blood starts pumping, and I run down the halls. The staff knows when this moment arrives because I usually run out of my office and disrupt and disturb whatever it was they were doing.
Usually, the AH HA is a simple yet memorable or profound statement that becomes the central idea of the message or the 'one big thing'.

...now on to structuring the message.
I find that once the 'AH HA' occurs, then everything else usually falls quickly into place. Why? because everything will either lead to or come from the 'AH HA'.

CLEARLY
I think it is better to be clear than creative. In fact, sometimes the creative can actually detract or distract from the main idea of the message. Some questions for clarity:
--How does this resonate after people leave church? Can they discuss this over lunch or at a small group? Is it understandable and obvious what this truth means to them and their lives?

CREATIVELY
Once the message information and structure is clear then use creativity to make it either more memorable or more understandable.
For example, we did a message on connecting to each other through church and specifically, in small groups. The 'AH HA' was you need to be connect to the team/family to be effective. We illustrated this by using a mannequin (I had to look that word up) and I would take its arm off throughout the message to talk about being 'disconnected' vs. 'connected'.

WITH CONVICTION
I have learned this the hard way and forget this several times a day ... but ...
NO ONE PREACHES BETTER THAN THEY PRAY.
I sometimes get wrapped in the preparation and forget where the true power comes from ... God!
Teaching/preaching with conviction also means I have to be personnally passionate about the topic or idea. I am usually passionate because of the difficult process God takes me through to arrive at the 'ah ha' moment ... but when I see the Word really come alive ... I get pumped.
Conviction also comes when I have experienced the truth personally in my own life. Sometimes this means I have to repent of something before I can preach it with integrity. Sometimes I am my own congregation, but when I change or learn something new or am challenged ... boy, that makes me passionate and able to speak with conviction.
Conviction also comes from the many wonderful people who pray for me! Thank you!

Message Preparation (Part 3)

2007-02-07T12:54:00.000-05:00

When I first started teaching regularly on Sundays, I worried about finding enough material, what to talk about, etc. Then I heard a statement that basically said, "You cannot outpreach the Bible." Since that time I made a major decision that I would bank everything on the truths, power, and authority of God's Word. I almost always preach through a Bible passage or story and the one big thing that I want people to go home with is derived from that passage.

So here is a rough approach I use to get into the Bible when preparing a message:

1) What is overall theme or topic of the series and message? (see previous post)
2) Find an appropriate passage that addresses that theme or topic.

Once the passage is located, here's what I do:

1) Pray
2) Read the text in prayer
3) Record any initial observations from the text
4) Find the LIFE (God's Word is living and active) in the text:
--What are the key words, phrases, or ideas?
--Is there anything shocking or surprising about the text?
--Is there a mythbuster?
--How does it us point to Christ?
--Are there any repetitive words or phrases? Why are they repeated?
--Is there an obvious outline, flow, or structure of the text?
--Is there an obvious application?
--How does the way people normally live stack up against the text?
--How can vision be cast from this text for our lives, community, or church?
5) Use other sources to see the topic or text from other perspectives.
--This includes listening to other speakers, reading books, commentaries, etc.

Again, let me say that this is where preparation is both fun and frustrating. It is fun to really engage God's Word but it is frustrating to labor through to try and discover the central idea or one big thing or how to help people understand and apply these truths.

During this phase of preparation, I frequently have that '1000 yard stare', get up and do push-ups, abruptly resign as pastor (just kiddin'), get tempted to 'talk like a Sailor', throw my King James (just kiddin'), walk around aimlessly, and really cry out to God in desperation ... it is about this point that a breakthrough occurs and I see what and how God wants me to share His truth with His people in a timely and relevant way.

It is also at this point that I THANK GOD THAT I GET TO DO WHAT I GET TO DO!!

Message Preparation (Part 2)

2007-02-05T09:31:00.000-05:00

Today, I'll tackle a common question: Where do the ideas for a message come from?

LONG-RANGE PLANNING
I try to plan our message series out at least six months in advance. Right now they are planned through December. This does not mean I know what I am preaching on exactly but the main themes and concepts are mapped out. This reduces my week-to-week stress and greatly increases our creative team's ability to do engaging things like dramas, stage decorations, video, special music etc.
These concepts/ideas for message series come from the following sources:
--Other speakers and churches
--My own prayer & Bible study
--Seasonal considerations (I'll explain that below)
--What haven't we talked about lately?
--What are people experiencing or struggling with?
--Our staff

SEASONAL CONSIDERATIONS
We plan series according to the following seasons:
--Growth patterns (We typically grow in the Fall and first of the year. These are good times to do series on felt needs or everyday living issues or church vision)
--Special holidays (Christmas & Easter)
--Where our church is and where we are going
--What people are experiencing (i.e. - New year = people open to new things; Fall = people are regrouping and ready to get back into routines that were disrupted by summer vacations)

BALANCED APPROACH
We try to divide our communications into couple of themed areas. For example:
--Spiritual life (growth, habits, etc.): how to grow in your walk with God
--Felt needs/topics: money, sex, relationships, family, emotions, hard times, etc.
--Doctrines (Christianity 101 type stuff): the Bible, Holy Spirit, grace, etc.
--Relationships: marriage, dating, friendships
--Church/Church life: vision & values of RBCC; small groups; serving; evangelism
--Seasonal: Christmas & Easter; occasionally Mother/Father's Day; patriotism

Here's how this might look in a typical year:
--New Year (Jan-Feb): Spiritual life & felt needs
--March: Church life/vision
--April: Easter themes
--May: relationships
--Summer: loosely connected; stand alone messages since attendance fluctuates
--Start of school: spiritual life & felt needs; church life
--Fall: felt needs; spiritual life
--December: Christmas themes

Message Preparation (Part 1)

2007-02-04T15:00:00.000-05:00

Developing and communicating God's message is one of the greatest and hardest things I get to do with my life so I thought I'd devote a few blog entries about it.

Let me first start with a few MYTHBUSTERS:

#1--Preachers/Pastors only work one day a week.
WRONG!! There is so much to do in a growing church that most people would be shocked. However, the MAIN thing I do that brings the MOST to our team is the weekend message. They've done studies to show that growing churches have pastors that spend 20+ hours in message preparation.
I find that the best ideas, illustrations, and insights come HOURS into preparation. I call it the 'marination' time when I am soaking up God's Word, thinking how it relates to my life, etc. Communicators must guard, protect, and schedule this time to hear from God!

#2--Just teach the Bible
A lot of churchy people say this and think churches like Rock Bridge water down the Bible or don't go deep enough. What a joke!
First, the goal is not Bible knowledge alone. The Pharisees knew more of the 'Bible' than anyone in Jesus' day and they are the ones who killed Jesus ... the very One the 'Bible' they supposedly knew was written about!!
How many of you know people who know tons of Scripture and Bible stories, but don't apply half of what they know?!
Second, the goal that we have at Rock Bridge is changed lives. That means we have to go beyond outlining Scripture for people to actually teaching people how to APPLY and LIVE out the truths and principles in the Bible in today's world.
Preparation would be so much easier if all I worried about was taking some Scripture verses and simply explaining what they mean based on some Matthew Henry commentary. What people really need is a TIMELY, RELEVANT, and APPLICABLE word from God. That is why as a communicator I have to be in touch with God's Voice and people's lives. God's Word speaks to people TODAY about things they face TODAY. As a communicator my challenge and goal is to bridge the ancient truths of Scripture into today's culture so people can live them out.
If the people who attend RBCC, leave church knowing when Ephesians was written and who wrote it, but they cannot apply the AWESOME truths of Ephesians on Monday morning or around the dinner table ... then I have failed miserably. This is why THOUSANDS of people no longer attend church ... because they believe it does not relate to real life!
WE ARE CHANGING THAT BELIEF AND PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE BEING CHANGED FOR GOD'S GLORY!!

#3--The King James Version of the Bible is the only true version.
(I know this is a tricky subject in the Bible belt ... )
Some people actually think this is the version Jesus read from when He taught in the Temple! Some people believe that all the other translations are just translations of and thus distortions of the original King James! Actualy, other translations (like NIV and NASB) are translations of the manuscript copies that we have of the original Greek & Hebrew texts. Also, there have been lots of advances in scholarship and archaelogy since KJV was written that have INCREASED the accuracy of our more modern translations. Would you go to a doctor who just practiced medicine as it practiced was in the 1600s?Do you know in some churches they are more concerned if a person or another church uses a different translation than if people are being saved and if lives are being changed?
For me, I use a variety of translations (including KJV/NKJV) when preparing but I almost always teach from the NIV (New International Version) because it is an accurate translation and it is easier to read/understand. Greek has a lot more words than English and sometimes it is difficult for one translation to completely convey the meaning of the original Greek text.

#4--Preaching is easy.
Fun, rewarding, exciting ... Yes! But easy ... no!
#1-There is a weekly deadline that never gets pushed back. Sunday comes with amazing regularity.
#2-There is the sacred responsibility of hearing from God and speaking His truth.
#3-There is the tempation of pride and getting the 'big head' when the sermon is good ... trust me, if it is good it is 100% a 'God' thing!
#4-We do get 'sermon' block ... which makes Saturday's anything but a 'day off'.
#5-We do have people unload on us 2 minutes before the service kicks-off ... I would love to revert back to some of my old "Navy" language at times like these ... but I just quote some King James instead.

Isaiah 26:8

2007-02-01T17:40:00.000-05:00

This morning I read Isaiah 26:8 and it totally woke me up. The verse says that "your Name and renown are the desire of our hearts."

How often my desire is simply for my own name and my own fame instead of God's. The lure of self and the danger of pride are constant obstacles in my path for intimacy with God.
Ironically, is the fact that when I pursue my own ends and my own agenda with my own strength I lose peace and gain anxiety, I forfeit God's unlimited strength for my limited strength.

Here's some insights into how this plays out for me:

a) The temptation of pride is HIGH for people who work in public (i.e. preach)

b) The need for humility is great because God can only fill & use a person empty of himself.

c) Pastors can be very competitive and comparative.

d) There are really two questions:
--Who really builds a church?
--Who is the church really built for?

e) How I am working to be humble, stay humble and get humble:
i) I pray John 3:30 a lot
ii) Pray more and "work" less = "stress" less and "me" less
iii) Celebrate the successes of other churches and pastors
iv) Pray for other pastors and churches
v) Thank God that He lets me do what I get to do.
vi) I don't have to 'do it' all. (There was a time when I did and thus there is a dangerous tendency to think: "If it is to be, it is up to me.")
vii) Laugh at myself...there is plenty of material!

Missed It!

2007-01-30T17:42:00.000-05:00

Monday is normally the day reserved for Beth & I. We created that boundary for ourselves right after our church launched in 2002. I was going to try to go to seminary one day a week and then pastor and do the family thing the other six days. Beth quickly discerned that this would not cut it. I'd either lose my ministry, my marriage, or myself!! So we blocked off Mondays as a day for us. We sleep in, go have a nice lunch, catch a movie, do a project together, or whatever ... as long as we are together. To us it is sacred and special.

However, this week we missed it (I had to do a funeral for an awesome lady. Funerals for people like her are celebrations ... and it was a joy to conduct it).

So while everything else in our church is rocking and rolling this week ... I'm stumbling and bumbling because I missed Monday with my wife.

I'm thankful our church understands how Beth & I try to guard Mondays for us. Sure, there are times like yesterday we have to gladly work and do ministry on Monday ... but for the most part our church EXPECTS us to NOT be available as much on Monday and they RESPECT us for it.

A few reasons why I need Monday with my wife:

#1--My wife is incredibly FUN.
I'd be the most boring person in the world without her to lighten me up. Mondays are my FUN day to be exclusively with my FUN wife.

#2--My wife makes me feel good about being me.
No matter if I stink on Sunday, Mondays with Beth help me bounce back for the next week. My wife helps bring out God's best in me.

#3--My wife tells me like it is.
My wife is not afraid to call me on stupid stuff I do. Many of times I have regretted that I did not listen to her wisdom or heed her discernment. Mondays we get to talk to each other at a deeper level than we normally are able to do the rest of the week. We need that uninterrupted time to say what is on our hearts.

#4--My wife is so passionate about life, Jesus, the Bible, and His church.
Most people don't know that Beth has a potentially life-threatening genetic condition. Most people with it don't live past 20-21. I love the fact that Beth loves life, loves God's Word, and the church so much. We fell in love having conversations about how the church should be the most incredible organization on the planet. Mondays I get psyched up being around her passion for the things that matter most and that make life matter!

#5--On Mondays our two favorite shows come on: Prison Break and 24.
(I'm a little worried about 24 this year ... a little slow so far??)

Can't wait until next Monday!

Any Given Sunday

2007-01-28T13:40:00.000-05:00

As a church plant, we did good just to make it through a Sunday. Sunday was the focus of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.
Now four years later, Sunday is still the focus ... it has to be. That is the day God set aside for us to focus exclusively on Him. For us in leadership that means that it is our one shot to impact the most number of people for Christ, to help our members/regular attenders be more like Christ, and to pump people up with God-sized vision for their lives and the church.

Here's a couple of goals and expectations I have going into any given Sunday:

#1--That WHOEVER walks through the doors is treated BETTER than the best restaurant they've eaten at, the best hotel they've stayed at, or the best store they've shopped at.

#2--That WHOEVER walks through the doors feels welcomed and accepted unconditionally. How many people have told me they just didn't feel comfortable at other churches because of their dress or their known past. How different was the reaction of sinners to being around Jesus.

#3--That WHOEVER sits down in our service senses something (or Someone) significant is present.

#4--That WHOEVER attends the service finds the service exciting, energizing, and engaging.

#5--That WHOEVER listens to me (or God through me) finds their faith growing (faith comes by hearing the Word) and becomes less of a hearer and more of a doer of the Word. This means they can use some truth they heard on Monday at work or Sunday night with the family.

#6--That WHOEVER is NEVER bored in Church!

#7--That WHOEVER's kids have a blast learning about Jesus.

#8--That WHOEVER thinks of at least one other WHOEVER who they know that needs to come to Rock Bridge with them next week.

#9--That WHOEVER is not saved gets SAVED! (I need to start EXPECTING people to get saved in our services each and every week. In Acts 2 the church grew DAILY!! If it can happen then, it can happen now: same God and same mission!)

#10--That WHOEVER leaves thinking, "I cannot wait until next Sunday!"

John 3:30

GOT GROUP!

2007-01-25T15:59:00.000-05:00

This past week our small groups have taken it totally to the next level!! We had over 100 people sign-up for our Starting Point groups ... all of them were only coming to worship on Sunday and many just started coming since the beginning of the year!! This tells us that people are coming and wanting to connect with WHAT God is doing at RBCC and with WHO He is doing it with.

Here's our lessons so far on a doing a good push with small groups:

#1 -- DREAM OUT LOUD SESSIONS.
We toyed with doing a North Point type GroupLink (tried it last year); we considered a small groups brochure/menu to give people ... finally we landed on the Starting Point concept. We bring people to the church campus. I teach for about 15 minutes and then people discuss the topic for a few minutes. This guarantees everyone knows where to come (church campus) and they know at least one person there (me). The point is we talked, prayed, discussed, planned, revised, etc. until we found something that might work.

#2 -- HAVE A SYSTEM
Vision does not become reality without a system that executes or can "git r' done". Sign-ups, follow-throughs, group leaders, facilitors, good questions, the right environments ALL require a good system, good support and in a word ... leadership.

#3 -- LEAD PASTOR SUPPORT
Group life/community has to be championed by the pastor in a message on Sundays.

#4 -- SIMPLE, EASY, & OBVIOUS STEPS
Whatever step you are asking people to take needs to be very EASY and extremely OBVIOUS!
We used to tell people to sign-up and show-up. The sign-up was easy & obvious. The show-up was hard and complicated. For example, it is easy to tell people to come on Sundays and when they show-up everything is obvious. However, when it comes to small group involvement we'd say "well go down Highway 41, turn left at the 2nd light, take the 3rd left by the old barn, go through the stop sign, and it's the fifth house on the right." Hard! We still do connect some people that way ... mainly through personal relationships and personal invitations. However, that still leaves a large part of our church unconnected and struggling with the steps needed to connect.
With Starting Point, we sign people up, follow up with them, and have them show-up to a great environment.

Now from Starting Point, we'll either transition folks into one of three environments:
1) An existing home group
2) A new group that will continue meeting on campus for a few more months
3) A new group that meets in a home

Either way we've achieved our goals of giving people relational connections in the church and placing people in a great environment for life-change!

Big Push!

2007-01-20T10:56:00.000-05:00

This month we have been doing a BIG push to help people get connected with in a small group environment. I believe this is crucial both to our church's growth AND our growth as individuals. Here are a few of the initiatives we are launching this month:

STARTING POINT GROUPS
They meet on campus on either Wednesday night or Sunday morning for 6-weeks. I'll be teaching either live or via DVD for about 15-20 minutes and then smaller groups will form to discuss the teaching for about 45 minutes. At the end of the 6-weeks we can help you find a long-term group OR those starting point groups may wish to stay together and meet off campus.

MEN'S GROUPS
On Monday, January 29th, a men's group studying, "Wild At Heart" will begin meeting. This is an awesome study and an awesome opportunity for guys to hang-out and connect

AREA BIBLE STUDIES (Students)
Since we've got students coming from all over our county and from different high schools, we're starting an Area Bible Study (ABS) in the northwest part of our county. The first meeting will be Wednesday, Jan. 24th. This will be our pilot ABS but could begin an entire new approach to helping students connect. Contact Beth with questions.

As I have studied the Bible and other churches, prayed, and thought about this, I believe getting in a group is paramount to spiritual success and sustained growth as a church and a believer. In a group the truth of Christ is applied and experienced in a way that cannot happen on Sunday morning. Yesterday, I visited a guy in the local jail that part of our family. He was amazed that his small group had come to see him!! He had heard us teach and talk about grace, acceptance, and support BUT his group allowed him to experience it!! That experience is what we need.

Too many of us have grown up thinking that having Bible knowledge is equal to spiritual maturity ... we have a natural tendency to be a hearer and not a doer of the Word. Knowing the Bible is easier than doing the Bible.
However, in group life the Word of God is not only discussed and explained, it is applied ... it becomes personal; it becomes real to your life; it results in life change; and when lives are changed God is glorified and seen in us ... and that is what it is all about!

John 3:30

10 Greatest TV Shows

2007-01-16T21:08:00.000-05:00

My friend, Gary Lamb, has written before about how much he loves TV. He attributes this to the fact that TV is an affordable form of entertainment for church planters.
My wife and I could not agree more. When we first started RBCC, we had no money and little spare time. When we did have free time, we wanted to be at home (since we were usually at church or in the community). TV became a favorite thing for us to do to chill out.
So here it goes, here's my TOP TEN GREATEST TV SHOWS.

#10-Grey's Anatomy ... for my wife and the mass of young adults that come to my house to watch this show EVERY SINGLE WEEK!

#9-The Three Stooges ... always good for a laugh; Curly=hilarious!

#8-NWA Wrestling ... old Superstation TBS show: Ric Flair, 4 Horsemen ... awesome!

#7-Happy Days ... the teenage Opie, the Fonz ... the infamous "Jump the Shark" scene!

#6-The Dukes of Hazard ... the greatest car ever, Rosco & Flash set in Georgia!

#5-American Idol ... more people vote on Idol than for the President!

#4-Andy Griffith Show ... hey, my nickname used to be 'Opie'!

#3-College Football ... SEC Game of the Week and the ESPN night game are tops

#2-Prison Break ... great acting and great show that comes on right before ...

#1-24 ... it is an act of God's goodness that as soon as the college bowl games end, 24 begins!

How Far God Has Brought Us!

2007-01-14T19:31:00.000-05:00

Today was another incredible day!! We had TONS of guests, TONS of people, and very FEW seats! It was a record crowd (except for Easter)!!

After church Beth & I were reflecting on how far our church has come since we launched. Here's where we came from:

--We had 1o-year old projector of 500 lumens (that's about like a night light) projecting onto a 6x8 screen. No one could see any of the words.
--We had drums and a keyboard and that was it. No true worship leader. No one with any real experience in a band.
--I had preached only like nine times and never twice in a row. I read through some of my old sermons and think, "What was I thinking?!?!"
--We used no graphics, no banners, no signs, no creative sets, and no drama.
--Our children met in cramped rooms in the back of the theatre with no central heat or air. We had no signs telling parents where to go.
--We had to use the theatre's sound guy who was not happy to be helping us out. Our sound was sorry. I preached a sermon without my mic on. Feedback was the norm.
--Our bulletin looked like it was made out of recycled cardboard. It was dull and boring.
--I knew NO ONE who was planting churches up this way in Northwest Georgia. Everything we did was from scratch and everything we learned was the hard way. We went through the mine field of church planting alone. So many of the church plants that are starting today are years ahead of where we were and that is a huge plus to kingdom growth.
--Our Youth group met in people's houses (until they got tired of us) and then we met in an old pharmacy with one toilet that barely flushed and clogged easily.
--I was the preacher, evangelist, janitor, and secretary. Beth did children, youth, and music. We were burning the candle at both ends.

BUT we had a few things:
--BIG VISION. The Wink Theatre (seats apprx. 1100) was 90% empty which according to experts is a HUGE mistake. But we had a dream to fill-up it with people seeking God and needing Christ.
--LOTS OF LOVE. From Day #1 our Core Group loved people ... whoever came through our doors on any given Sunday was welcomed, accepted, and valued. Love overcomes a ton of the previously mentioned shortcomings.
--A CALLING. On January 12, 2002 God called my wife and I to leave Virginia and return to Dalton to start Rock Bridge. No matter how tough it was or is or will be, I know that we are 100% obedient in following God's call to start RBCC.

A day like today reminds that the journey has BEEN WORTH IT!!

What It's All About!

2007-01-07T13:44:00.000-05:00

Today was absolutely AWESOME and was such a reflection of what our church is all about!!

1) Creative Communication
Our worship teams, staff, & creative people all came together to kick-off this Extreme Makeover series with a BANG. The Makeover Bus out front, Ty's appearance on stage, stage lay-out, the lobby, the Host Teams decked out in 'makeover' attire ... everyone was on their A-game to communicate the ancient message of Christ with contemporary methods.

2) Our volunteers rock!
The time, sacrifice, and energy all of our teams put in is tremendous and it shows up every Sunday. THANK YOU for how God is using you to impact lives in this area. A few groups to mention:
a) Host Teams: great job handling the rain and seating people this morning!
b) Band/Praise Team: music was so awesome, so worshipful, and so inspiring! This team puts in so many late hours to make our worship on Sunday as excellent as possible for the King of Kings!
c) Drama: thanks to our drama folks for bringing Ty to church!
d) The mysterious painting: each week the piece of the painting that appeared this Sunday will gradual take shape as the Makeover process continues. You do not want to miss this ... it will be a 'moment' like no other when it is finally revealed.
e) Prayer Team: today we began having prayer during each service. One person was scheduled for the 9:00 service and 3 people showed up!! I felt the power of God's presence knowing that you were praying for our service and for me! THANK YOU!!!!

3) EXCITMENT!
Get more people here next week!! The sense of excitment, the buzz, the energy ... all of that is from God and for His glory!! We don't want ANYONE to miss it!

John 3:30

Officially Excited

2007-01-04T23:03:00.000-05:00

So I am officially excited about our new message series that starts Sunday (Extreme Makeover). I was walking around our block today and went into the Wink to see our lobby and entire stage set-up. It is awesome!!
You'll definitely be entering a 'hard hat' area Sunday!! This series will be fun and thought provoking with a few surprises thrown in here and there. Don't miss it and bring unchurched friends!

Another reason I am excited is that starting this Sunday we will have someone praying during each worship service!! This is a goal we have had for awhile and I've really felt like my prayer life and the church's prayer life needed to go up a notch. I can't tell you how awesome it is to have each service covered with prayer ... praying for our volunteers, our musicians, for me, for God's power & glory, for people's lives to be changed forever ... OH MY!! I know this will bring more of God into our services, into me, and into our lives. He'll receive more glory and we'll see more lives being changed!

2007 is going to be a GREAT YEAR for God at Rock Bridge!!

John 3:30

EXTREME MAKEOVER

2007-01-03T13:51:00.000-05:00

New message series kicks-off this Sunday!!

John 3:30

Psalm 46:10

2007-01-01T18:43:00.000-05:00

This weekend I got away. I mean way away. To a place where cell phones don't work and Wal-Mart is at least 30 miles away. I basically spent time in prayer and preparation. I mapped out sermon series for 2007 and just spent time with God ... time being still and knowing that He is God ... thus He is in control (not me ... thank goodness -- there's a lot of peace in realizing this!) AND that His plans are more than I can imagine!!

Needless to say I am pumped about 2007!! We'll get started with a bang this Sunday as we kick-off a new series called "EXTREME MAKEOVER: LIFE EDITION". Pray for these services, for me, for our staff, and for God's glory to fill us up! Invite your unchurched friends and neighbors ... many of whom are willing to try something new in the new year.

Also, special thanks to John McIntosh for preaching this past Sunday. John always does a great job motivating and challenging our folks with his insights.

New Year Excitement (Part 2)

2006-12-29T09:11:00.000-05:00

Historically, the New Year has been a tremendous time of numerical growth for us. We grow in members and new people during the Fall and moderately in attendance. However, attendance fluctuates among our regulars due to football games and hunting season.
January through May have been times when we really see our attendance jump for a couple of reasons:
1) It's a new year and people try new things (like church!)
2) We have at least 2 big days that bring new people: Vision Sunday & Easter

All this fuels my excitement even more for 2007. Here's a few more reasons to be excited:

#4--PRAYER
We challenged our church about 4 weeks ago to pray specifically for our church as we approach 2007. I know God is going to honor our prayers.
For me, I am actually taking my first ever Prayer Retreat this weekend. I am going to place where there are no cell phone signals and the closest Wal-Mart is 30 minutes away!! I am excited to get away to pray, plan, and prepare for the upcoming year.
Even more exciting, is that God promises to do more than we could ever 'ask or imagine' to bring Himself glory through the Church! (Eph. 3:20)

#5--GOD'S WORD
The Word of God is living and active. I am humbly reminded of that every time I preach. When I am stubbornly committed to preaching God's Word with conviction, clarity, and creativity ... supernatural power is unleashed. I want to deepen my knowledge of and committment to God's Word in '07.
Exciting verse: Ezra 7:10

#6--THE CHURCH
God wants to bless His church. God wants to see His church grow and bring Him glory as disciples are made. I must remember that it is all about Him (He is I AM and I am not)... but the local church is awesome & incredible!
I cannot wait to see what God is up to in '07 at Rock Bridge!

New Year Excitement (Part 1)

2006-12-28T10:34:00.000-05:00

There's some awesome stuff going on in our church -- some definite things, some possibilities, and always, some exciting stuff! From small group structuring to staffing additions to more outreach to greater opportunities ... 2007 is going to be an awesome year for the Lord!!

Here's why I'm excited:

#1--GOD
His Name is "I AM" for a reason. He is ever present and ever ready to show-up when we humble ourselves, pray big "If-God-is-not-in-this-it-will-fail" type-prayers, and give Him the glory.
God is "I AM" in '07!

#2--PEOPLE
Working with, serving with, and sharing life with people is exciting. Our church loves people ... ALL people. I love seeing people 'get grace' for the first time. I love seeing people 'come back' after a season of life away from God. I love seeing people 'give' themselves passionately to a cause greater than themselves.
People matter to God and they matter to our church. This why we care so much about first impressions, hospitality, creating community, and serving others.

#3--RISK
As Christ-followers, we cannot play it safe. After all, what do we have to lose if we have Christ ...? As a church we'll risk more to reach more people.
But with "I AM" with us ... is it really a risk??

John 3:30

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T09:11:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas morning ... wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & a great 2007!!

Being in the military for several years (and with my older brother still in the Army), I especially appreciate the 'family' part of Christmas. It was great to see and meet so many of your relatives yesterday and last night. Thanks for bringing to meet your church 'family'!!

I cannot wait for 2007 and what God has in store! I'll be getting away for a few days this week to pray about and seek God's direction for the upcoming year. I know several pastors that make it a regular habit to take a 'prayer retreat' a few times a year. This will be my first time doing this and I am excited and expecting some awesome times with God!!

John 3:30

Thankful

2006-12-20T10:30:00.000-05:00

Beth & I are down in Panama City Beach for a little vacation/belated 5-year anniversary get-away.
It is awesome ... we're having beautiful weather ... got in the pool yesterday.

Being down here has been just a great chance for us to slow down, relax, and reflect. One of the things that I reflected on yesterday was just things I am thankful for ... my wife, my family, our church, grace, salvation, heaven, Jesus ... etc.

We'll be back for the Christmas Eve celebrations.

I do want to mention that I am thankful God brought Aaron and his family to join our team at Rock Bridge!! This past Sunday as he preached, our entire church got to hear his heart and passion and insights. It was awesome!!

Keep praying for our church as we head into 2007!!!

First Time for Everything

2006-12-17T20:30:00.000-05:00

Today was the first time in four years that I have attended Rock Bridge but not preached!! Aaron Gable, our new Associate Pastor, did an outstanding job using King Herod to talk about pride and its negative effect on our lives.

I did get to ... help baptize 6 people in our services. (This was our first non-creek baptism in about 2 years ... it was good for all our folks to witness those special celebrations of new life in Christ).
I did get to ... actually listen to a sermon on a more personal level and not just as part of my own preparations or study.
I did get to ... visit our Kidz Ministry areas ... AWESOME volunteers! Thank you for what ya'll do!!
I did get to ... RELAX.

Beth and I head to Florida as soon as she gets home from Youth ... we're excited to get away!

See ya'll Sunday!!

Twas' the Week Before Christmas

2006-12-16T22:05:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love Christmas!! Family get togethers, food, gifts, regifting, Dirty Santa, more food, shopping, some more food ... it's awesome!

When I was in the Navy I was at sea in the Indian Ocean during one Christmas ... how I missed being at home. However, we were south of the Equator so it was summer time. Our Captain got us all out on the helo. deck and we did skits, laughed, and then sang Christmas carols under a star filled sky ... it was incredible ... miles away from home but very close to God.

This week Beth and I will be taking a little vacation (Mon. - Fri.) for a late celebration of our 5-year anniversary. We're both excited and thankful for some time away together ... BUT we'll be back for an AWESOME Christmas Eve with our awesome Rock Bridge family -- regular services that morning (9 or 10:45 am) and then a special service @ 5:30 pm.

Great Time!

2006-12-13T06:57:00.000-05:00

Our staff had a little Christmas get together last night at the new Mexican restaurant in town, Garcia's. It was an awesome time with some of my favorite people that I am privileged to serve God with!!
I love the diversity on our staff in that we complement each other's strengths with different skills and personalities BUT our vision is the same: TO REACH PEOPLE IN NW GEORGIA FOR CHRIST!

Thanks for all of you who pray for us on staff!!

Christmas Kick-off

2006-12-11T09:18:00.000-05:00

I want to share what God has been sharing with me these past couple of weeks. Basically, God has been challenging me to be more about Him and less about me and less about Rock Bridge. What I mean is that so much of my pastoring/leading is about me and by extension the success of Rock Bridge. I believe God wants RBCC to keep growing and keep reaching people BUT not for me or because of me. God is God no matter what, worthy of my praise & life no matter what, and He is good no matter what.
If Rock Bridge suddenly stopped growing or something else happened, God would still be God, He'd still have died for my sins and given me eternal life, and He'd still be the only thing worthy of my worship!!

This really hit me as I remember what UGA Coach Mark Richt said after the big Auburn win this year:
"Win or lose, I'm going to praise the Lord ... no matter what. That's just the way it is."
That statement has been liberating me from myself!! No matter what happens I can praise God. No matter what happens God loves me. No matter what happens God is in control.
These thoughts are framing up my prayers right now. I still ask God for big things that are worthy of His glory & kingdom BUT I rest in the fact that He is a BIG God no matter what who loves little me no matter what!

What a Wednesday!!

2006-12-07T19:59:00.000-05:00

Our 1st Wednesday this week was absolutely incredible!! We talked about how God wants to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine (see Eph. 3:20-21) through His church & His son. We talked about praying for those things to be done @ RBCC. Then we took Communion and asked our people to commit to praying a certain amount of time for Rock Bridge during the next 4 weeks.

It was totally overwhelming to see our people take the Lord's Supper and then commit to praying for their 'body'!! We had over 100 people commit to praying over 440 hours for their church in the next 30 days!! I cannot wait to see how God moves in our midst as a result!!

The Play-Action Pass

2006-11-26T17:33:00.000-05:00

The play-action pass has got to be one of the greatest plays in football. It works only when a team is patient, disciplined, and understands timing.
(For those who may not know, the play-action pass in football is a pass play that looks like a run so it lures defenders up to play the run, when in reality a pass is coming. When it works the play makes big gains).

For those of us whose team (like UGA) runs the play-action, we understand how frustrating it can be. The Coach calls boring run play after boring run play. The Crowd gets frustrated and maybe even boos. They wonder what he is up to. But the Coach is patient and knows that boring run plays in the 1st quarter will set-up bigger plays (like the play action) in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. The Coach is seeing the big picture ... he understands that football is not just about one play ... but about an entire game.

In leadership, we have our own sort of play-action pass. We do things now that hopefully will pay off later. We are patient now doing things that some people may question, but later will pay off big. As a leader anytime we make decisions today with tomorrow in mind, it is similiar to the play-action pass.

For example, at RBCC we are changing some things today while our church is running 900-1000 to set us up for success when our church is running 1500+. It involves change, patience, and vision but it is worth it.
For example, we are changing our membership class (Inquirer's Lunch) to get people more involved faster. We are restructuring our Children's Check-in because what worked at 500+ is not working now and certainly won't work later. We are revamping all of our hospitality and usher/greeter processes to better greet, direct, seat, and treat the people coming to RBCC who need Jesus. We are retraining and rethinking our small groups to make them easier to get into, improve the overall group experience, and rapidily multiple new groups for new people.
Why?
Because we believe we are in the 1st quarter of an awesome, God-thing. We are thinking about the 2nd quarter and how to get better, how to score more points for the Kingdom of God, and how to be more effective in fulfilling our God-sized vision.

Getting Excited

2006-11-25T17:03:00.000-05:00

Here's 5 reasons why I am getting excited:

1) Army - Navy game next weekend. GO NAVY!!
2) Holidays -- family, food, relaxation, bowl games galore!
3) Expectation -- my level of expectation in what God wants to do at RBCC is growing. Every time I pray I get so pumped about seeing more lives changed and God get the credit.
4) Small groups -- we're getting ready to do some amazing stuff to take our small group ministry to the next level in '07.
5) Trip w/Beth -- Beth & I are going to take a 3-4 day vacation during the week before Christmas (Mon-Fri). We're both looking forward to it.

Membership

2006-11-19T14:38:00.000-05:00

Since we started we have asked people who want to join RBCC to attend a class where we cover vision, history, structure, and ministries. This class has been a huge success and helped us build ownership, commitment, understanding, and involvement with our members.

However, like Tiger Woods changing his swing, we're going to change the format of the class starting Dec. 3rd. I think this is a positive change.

Basically, instead of giving people a ton of information, we're going to give people an opportunity to get involved. The New Testament example of church membership (Acts 2) seems to indicate that members where saved, baptized, connected, involved, and known. Over the centuries membership in a church now means, "My name (or letter) is on the church roll." We're going to streamline our class to help newcomers get involved quicker and easier because that is really what membership is all about.

The class will also offer an opportunity for those who are not ready to join or don't want to join, to just get involved with what God is doing at Rock Bridge. So that people who come to Rock Bridge don't just come to worship but they can serve on a ministry team or be connected & known in a small group.

Here's the new format:
--Salvation, Baptism, Vision & Values (20-25 minutes)
--How to get involved: Small groups & Ministry Teams (20-25 minutes)
--Membership Commitment (5-10 minutes)

The old format if you are curious:
--Vision Values, Salvation, Baptism, Church Structure, History, why membership (45 minutes)
--Getting involved (10-15 minutes)
--Membership Commitment (5 minutes)

Get 'R Done

2006-11-15T07:29:00.000-05:00

Great Elders meeting last night!!
I usually leave those meetings excited and thankful --
Excited about what God is doing and thankful for the collective wisdom those guys have. They have allowed our staff to focus on ministry efforts while they help RBCC navigate through our facility, financial, and other big issues.
We had a great discussion last night about long-range planning for our downtown campus/facilities. I'm pumped, and we all continue to sense God's hand at work @ Rock Bridge.

Two ministry areas we are working hard to put good systems in place are our small groups and our children's ministry. Our facilites create some unique challenges for our children's ministry that we are working to solve through our volunteers, better signs, and clear communications.
Aaron Gable, our Associate Pastor, is working hard and doing a great job getting our small group ministry to the next level and I can't wait to see all God will do once our groups reach flank speed!

I guess after last night's meeting and a great day of meetings with our staff, I felt like we got a lot accomplished. I like getting things done ... and especially for God's purposes!!

Great Weekend

2006-11-13T16:23:00.000-05:00

Great weekend with the Dawgs winning big over Auburn. My Midshipmen of Navy took care of business and are headed to their 4th straight bowl!!
AND ...
we finished up our Desperate Households series by talking about 'submitting' in relationships. On the whole, I think it was a great series for us, our people and our community.
We're starting a new series called Deal or No Deal next week which should be pretty cool as we talk about finances. We're hoping the Dalton version of 'Howie Mandell' shows up to host us during this series.
Let me encourage everyone to invite your friends!!

Church & Sex

2006-11-07T17:22:00.000-05:00

Can you talk about sex in church? Absolutely!!
This past Sunday we talked about sex the whole message (Listen to it here). The feedback was awesome!!
One person wrote,
"I ... wanted to say that I really enjoyed your sermon this past Sunday. That’s one of the reasons that I love our church so much…you’re not afraid to address real world issues and just put it all out there."

That's why I love our church too!! Relevant, practical, and life-changing ... that's who Jesus is, that's what the Bible is, and that is who RBCC is striving to be!

It Starts With Me

2006-11-04T20:42:00.000-05:00

With the addition of our new staff member and tons of strategic conversations & reading, we're really ramping up to follow God to the next level.
We've talked about what we have to do to get there with our ministries, facilities, staffing, etc. ... but before all that it begins with me as the pastor.
Here's some areas for me:
1) Prayer. I've got to 'just do it'. I'm not getting it done in this area.
2) Leadership growth. I've got to read more and get around other leaders. From conferences, to contacts, to calls ... I've got to take my leadership to a new level.
3) Personal integrity & purity. I've got to make sure I safeguard these critical areas (money, marriage, morality). The enemy would like nothing more than for me to stumble.
4) Personal accountability. Having someone to ask me the tough questions.
5) Boundaries. Setting healthy and protective boundaries around my time, my health, my marriage, etc.

The funny thing is that to one extent or another I have addressed these areas before in my life but as the church has grown things have changed, Satan has gotten more upset ... and as a result I have to keep growing, stretching, and allowing God to change me to be a better communicator, pastor, leader, and husband.

Absolutely Awesome!!

2006-11-01T09:11:00.000-05:00

Last night at our Fall Festival I was totally amazed!!

#1 -- We believe that at least 3500 people attended ... probably closer to 4000.
#2 -- The # of volunteers from RBCC was outstanding ... smiling, welcoming, serving ... the church in action! (Thanks so much for your time and efforts!!)
#3 -- We heard many people amazed that a church would go to that 'extreme' effort to produce an excellent event. Many who watched the video about our church were not even aware Rock Bridge existed!!
#4 -- Word travels fast!! Last year we had ~2500 ... this year 4000!! That shows us the power of the invite and the power of buzz!! Rock Bridge is a place that you can INVITE people to and there is a BUZZ about what God is doing here in our community!!
#5 -- God is good. The local church is awesome! I have the best job in the world!!

Great Day

2006-10-29T22:52:00.000-05:00

Today was a day that reminds me why I do what I do, why I love Rock Bridge, and why the local church is awesome!!

We had over 1000 people in worship today in a service with a great feel as we talked about God's plan for relationships and making them last (i.e. marriage).
Tonight we did our Youth Hayride with over 150 6th-12th graders coming to have fun and hear about Jesus. It was awesome ... especially, since I got to drive a John Deere tractor!!
Even more awesome were all the volunteers who worked hard to make this event happen. I was blown away by all the work that made this event rock!!

Thanks to everyone who prays & serves ... what we do echoes in eternity!!

Simply Strategic Stuff

2006-10-26T16:16:00.000-05:00

We had a great mini-staff retreat on Thursday. We got to hang out, pray together, and dream about where God is leading Rock Bridge ... and I have to say I am pumped and as excited as ever!!
Here are the highlights:

1) We want to start acting and thinking like a church of 1500. If we wait until we become a church of 1500 BEFORE we act & think like it, we'll never make it to 1500. Why? Because we are still doing certain things that worked for a church of 500 but are not working now that we are a church of 900-1000.

2) We talked about how we go about making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) and what we can do better. Our goal is to define a process for people to move through versus keeping people busy with church programs that don't have a guiding purpose/philosophy other than filling up their calendars.

3) Here's a summary of the process we discussed (B-R-I-D-G-E):

Build & Bring -- build relationships with people and bring them to a Christ-centered environment
Relevant Environments -- the best environment to bring someone so they can experience God's love (examples: Wink on Sundays, Fall Festival, Kidz Korner, Youth/Area 51, etc.)
Involve -- involve people in a small group and a ministry team
Give -- giving time and treasure strategically & sacrificially
Expand -- Expanding God's kingdom (planting churches; helping people; doing missions)

This process isn't confusing ... it's simple and it helps everyone understand what the next step for them to take is. It's still a work in progress ... but we think it works!!

Got Group?

2006-10-25T19:13:00.000-05:00

We had a great meeting today with our current small group leaders. I am so pumped about the direction this ministry is taking with our new Associate Pastor, Aaron Gable, leading the charge.

Over the past few months I have become convinced that an effective small group ministry will (quicker than anything else) take us to the next level spiritually and numerically as a church. In fact, I don't think Rock Bridge can grow much more without being great in groups!!
What does this mean for us in the coming weeks?

--We've all got to understand the value and importance of small groups in our personal lives and in our church's life -- groups are just as important as our Sunday services in terms of their strategic impact

--Training for our current group leader/facilitators so they are onboard and up to speed so that all our groups have a consistent level of excellence and produce similiar environments for people to grow in their faith and connect with other people.

--Recruiting more people to lead more small groups

The 411 on Drama Ministry

2006-10-22T16:43:00.001-05:00

The other day our drama ministry team leader was in Chatsworth and overheard someone talking about Rock Bridge. Specifically, they were discussing our drama ministry -- telling their friend why we do drama.
(I was pumped to know that they were saying the right things!)

From my perspective here is why RBCC is currently doing drama in about 50% of our Sunday services:
1) It prepares people for the message introducing them to the major theme and concepts in a creative way. It makes introducing the message easy.
It's sort of like the play action pass ... it's a great play and a potential big gainer but requires the run to set it up. Drama is like the run to set up the message.

2) If drama is done well ... with creativity, good acting, good props, etc. ... it creates a buzz and gives people another easy yet effective way to talk about God and our church.

3) It gives people another way to serve that is fun and meaningful.

Where do we get our dramas ... one of two ways:
--We write our own based on the sermon series and message topic.
--We purchase from other churches and adapt to fit our church/community.

The 411 on Drama Ministry

2006-10-22T16:43:00.000-05:00

Desperate Households

2006-10-19T20:22:00.000-05:00

I'm excited about our new series which starts this Sunday!! This will be the first series we've dedicated (almost) entirely to family, marriage, dating, sex (yes, sex), & relationships. I think these are subjects that Hollywood, MTV, and 'Reality' TV have dominated for far too long. As I am learning, the Bible has some pretty amazing things to teach us about these subjects.

So be in church, bring a guest and be ready because it is going to fun but challenging. We're going to go where the Scriptures take us to be encouraged, convicted, inspired, and challenged. It's going to be awesome!!

Bible translations

2006-10-19T06:09:00.000-05:00

Some folks have asked me what translation/version of the Bible I use on Sundays. I use the NIV (New International Version). The NIV is an accurate translation that attempts to capture the literal meaning of the Greek/Hebrew and communicate the thought & meaning of the text. It is also easier to read.

For studying I also use the NKJV or the NASB.
For Bible reading and devotional stuff, the NLT is pretty good.

Building Bridges

2006-10-17T14:36:00.000-05:00

I am so excited about what God is up to here at RBCC and where I think He is leading us in the days ahead!!
Sunday was incredible with a great crowd and many people making it their spiritual birthday by being "born again" (John 3) ... AWESOME!! There is nothing better than that!

Our new staff member, Aaron, is off to a great start and creating some great momentum and energy as we look to rev up our small groups and the way we as a church build a "bridge" for others to experience the life Christ offers.

Think about what a bridge is. A bridge connects two disconnected areas by bridging a gap. The church as a bridge helps connect people to God, to community, and to purpose. Christ is the bridge that connects sinners to God.
This all illustrates who we are and what our business is: connecting the disconnected, bridging gaps between people and God, and promoting movement in God's direction.
But a bridge must have strong support or a good foundation. Our foundation is our 'Rock' which is Jesus Christ ...

Awesome stuff!!

Why Blog?

2006-10-09T18:14:00.000-05:00

Being new to the world of blogging, I've struggled with finding a purpose for it. Initially, my main goal was simply to share thoughts and ideas and mistakes in the realm of church planting and leading a church. Then I began to feel like I am not qualified to pontificate because there are plenty of better advisors and more experienced and more successful planters/pastors/leaders out there. So my posts of late have been seldom.

Then 2 things happened.
First, I was leading an introductory small group for people in our church who have yet to connect in a home group when a lady asked me a question.
She said (I'm paraphrasing), "In a church the size of Rock Bridge, how do you as pastor know everyone and stay connected with them?"
I of course gave the answer that it is impossible for me to know everyone and stay in touch with them and then gave a great plug for small groups and the role they play in the church.
But as I thought about her question and my answer, I was not satisfied. Is there a way to stay 'connected' and in touch with people in a church >250+ people?

Second, I read a post by Perry Noble (Click here to read it) that was awesome. Perry shared how blogging had helped him stay in touch with the people of NewSpring by sharing vision, prayer requests, and basically his heart.

So after those 2 things, my whole view of blogging has changed. Only about 3 people at RBCC even know I have a blog. But from now on I'm primarily going to blog to connect more with the awesome people of Rock Bridge and the people who want to know more about us and the crazy ex-Sailor turned pastor.

New Staff; Expectations

2006-10-06T13:37:00.000-05:00

We just called our new Executive/Associate Pastor, Aaron Gable. We're pumped about having someone on staff to oversee small groups and help execute our church's vision! He starts next Tuesday (Oct. 10th)
Aaron blew us away in our discussions with his strategic vision and analytical thought process. I think this hire will help us take things to a new level across the board at RBCC.

I'm busy now thinking of the 10 million things I want to talk to him about. Nelson Searcy at the The Journey Church in New York has a great podcast out on how to bring in new staff. It talks about keeping them challenged, motivated, and busy in the first 90 days.

A couple of weeks ago I went over with our current team what I expect of a Rock Bridge staff member:
1) Lead a spiritually surrendered life.
2) Follow-through and follow-up.
3) Communicate! Communicate! Communicate!
4) Lead with enthusiasm
5) Value the team
6) Be ready for Staff Meetings
7) Build ministry teams ... multiple yourself.
8) Think ahead, plan ahead, & pray ahead.
9) MBWA: Management By Walking Around (get out and about: the church, with your ministry team, and in the community)
10) Remember the following: If you make a mistake, admit it quickly and move on! Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do!

A Passage for Preachers (Titus 2)

2006-09-21T13:31:00.000-05:00

I've read a ton of books on preaching. Listened to a bunch of preachers. And I still struggle as a preacher with basic stuff like am I accomplishing God's goals in communicating His truths? What are His standards for preaching? I mean there are SO MANY theories on preaching: expository, topical, with notes, without notes, one point, multiple points, etc. etc. Sometimes it's easy for me to lose my way. So last night as I was reading, I encountered what I think is the definitive chapter in the Bible on how to preach/teach -- Titus 2. Here are some of my initial thoughts (I plan on studying this chapter A LOT):

WHAT SHOULD WE PREACH/TEACH:
--sound doctrine (v. 1)
--for live change and life application (v. 2-6; 12)
--salvation (v. 11; 13-14)
--Jesus as the Center, the Hero (v. 13-14)

HOW WE SHOULD PREACH/TEACH:
--with integrity and by our example (v. 7)
--with authority (v. 15)
--with seriousness (v. 7b)
--with inspiration that motivates people to do good (v. 7; 14)

AWESOME STUFF!!

Initial Reaction to 2 Services (Week 1)

2006-09-15T09:39:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday we launched a 2nd worship service @ 9:00 am and changed the time of our original 10:30 service to 10:45 am. With only one week under our belt, here's our initial reaction & feedback:

--2 services did bring in more people. Our worship attendance grew in Week 1. We'll see how it continues.
--We were able to split the attendance about 40% @ 9:00 am and 60% at 10:45 am. We need more younger families with children to come to the 9:00 service ... hopefully that will happen in the coming weeks.
--2 services creates a buzz in the church and in the community.
--2 services has helped us involve more folks in ministry.
--2 services has created additional space for future growth.
--2 services is a challenge for the preacher who tries not to preach with notes. I felt like I cheated the 9:00 crowd because I was just so uncomfortable with the sermon for some reason. The 10:45 was better ... but I have to make sure I am ready to go for BOTH services!!
--2 services is a challenge for our band/muscians but they like to play so they ain't complaining ... yet.

--A lot of churches wait until they have to before they start an additional service (due to space issues). By watching our growth pattern the last 6 months and through much prayer, we added the new service before we had to and I think it did 2 things: 1) It kept us from stagnating due to the feeling that 'the service is full' and there is no more room and 2) It generated additional growth and acclerated our historical Fall growth trend.

--2 services has created some more 'Mo for us.
We did a big invitational evangelism push with our regular folks and through our small groups. We also did some street signs and newspaper ads. We hadn't planned on doing anything after the launch date, but to hopefully add more 'Mo we are keeping the street signs out and running another set of ads in our local paper. Plus, we hope the new guests come back and bring friends with them!!

All of this is new to us, but it is exciting. We'll see how things settle out in a few more weeks but after Week #1 ... I'm a big fan of multiple services (if I could only figure out to preach the same message twice!).

Random Thoughts

2006-09-12T07:24:00.000-05:00

We turned 4 on Sunday, had 2 services, interviewed for a new staff position we are creating, and baptized 38 people Sunday evening!! Awesome day for God's kingdom and the part He has called Rock Bridge to play in it. But needless to say I/we are a bit overwhelmed, drained, excited, scared, having a blast, etc. etc.
Planting a church is the GREATEST ride of my life and I pray the next 4 are as exciting as the last four have been.

Sometimes I am tempted to get tunnel vision and think that Rock Bridge is at the center of God's universe and that He isn't working anywhere else ... or at least not in a 15-mile radius around us. How awesome and humbling to know that He is working everywhere!! Just a few things that I am blessed to know about:
--My friend, Danny Echols, launched Cross View Community Church in Rockmart, GA this past Sunday. And God showed up big time!! I know God is going to use Danny and the people of Cross View to bring many into the kingdom and connect them to His Body!!
--Another friend, Gary Lamb, is rocking down in Canton, Georgia. Gary has been such a help and blessing to me as friend and as someone to bounce ideas off of. A member of my church visited Ridgestone (they aren't leaving us -- I know Gary would like that but they just have a lake place down near Canton and stopped in over Labor Day), and they were impressed and blessed by what God is doing about 60 miles south of us.
--Michael Lukaszewski, has started Oak Leaf Church in Cartersville, GA and they've got some momentum going as they launched back in August.

A final random thought -- this Sunday was our first with multiple services. And other than the 1st sermon feeling like a total bomb ... I think things went well. 2 services has helped us create a buzz and some momentum and also has gotten A LOT more people serving and inviting which is good!

Praying for KINGDOM GROWTH and to all who are on the front lines ... God bless you!!

The Lord's Supper

2006-09-07T13:21:00.000-05:00

One of the things we've struggled with at RBCC is how to incorporate communion into the life of the church. We all know how important it is biblically and how crucial it was to the first church.
Growing up in the Southern Baptist church, we took communion about once a quarter. When I first started to plant/pastor and after studying Acts I became convinced that communion should be done more frequently than that. (Mars Hill does it every service).

We have tried to incorporate the Lord's Supper into some of our Sunday services but we ran into a couple of problems: our theatre setting is not good for serving communion to a large crowd; what about the number of unbelievers/unchurched who are present? and for me, it sort of slowed down the pace of the service and for us ... pace on Sunday (our main event) is important.

Our recent attempt at being faithful to the Scriptures and practice of the first church regarding communion is to institute a new service on the First Wednesday of the month (similiar to Perry Noble and New Spring). This will be (we hope), a regular time for us to fellowship, worship, pray, and observe the Lord's Supper. Last night was our first 1st Wednesday and it was awesome with passionate worship, prayer, and a reflective time of observing the Lord's Supper.

Strategically, this hopefully will help us "make disciples" or "keep those we are reaching" by creating another environment that takes people a little deeper in encountering the risen Christ in a corporate setting.

I don't know if anyone else struggles with this ... if you do and have another solution/approach, I'd love to hear it.

Matthew 18:15-17 (You better know it!!)

2006-09-02T08:54:00.000-05:00

I am person who absolutely hates confrontation. It is one of my greatest weaknesses as a leader/pastor/planter. However, it is one of the most necessary things for a leader (especially in the local church) to practice. Thankfully, the Bible has something to say about how it should be done (see Matthew 18:15-17)
I would highly recommend all pastors, planters, leaders, staffs, etc. study this passage in Matthew 18 because without a doubt YOU WILL HAVE TO DO THIS! As planters we hate to confront because we are desperate for people and we don't want anyone to get upset.
However, it is inevitable. I've done things to upset people who have left our church while others have followed Matthew 18 to confront me ... I prefer the hard conversation & confrontation with someone rather than have someone leave who never speaks to me about it.
People have done things to hurt me or the church and sometimes I've done nothing hoping it will go away and the result is usually 2-fold: #1--I feel bitterness and anger grow in me (not good and they block the Spirit) and #2--The situation does not go away but grows (not good because it hurts the church).

So here's some practical commentary based on our experiences the past four years regarding Matthew 18:

1) People have to be taught and encouraged to do this. We aren't taught this. This isn't modeled. We're taught to get upset and leave or sweep it under the rug. If small groups and other teams don't practice this, they will eventually crumble do to lack of openness ... and you're not really open until you can openly discuss differences.

2) A lot of times people will want to tell the pastor/leader they have a problem with someone in the church or with a staff member. Encourage them to pray and speak directly to the person, rather than let you handle the 'dirty work'. Matthew 18:15 is pretty clear -- they go and discuss it in person individually first.

3) For pastors/planters: I don't think we are supposed to go around doing all the confronting. We've got to pick and choose our battles and not expend leadership capital on every little rumor, incident, issue, or situation that pops up. However, other leaders, staff, etc. need to be willing to not let 'bad stuff' hang around. Deal with it in love and deal with it quickly! (Trust me ... I've dealt with things in anger and dealt with things with delay and both are bad). This is a strong reason for pastors/planters to have some type of advisory board or Elders or leadership team (preferably lay people) -- people that have the vision, are loyal, and are willing to protect the church, the staff, and their integrity. This group will have the pastor's/planter's back and you can trust them to handle situations AND to confront you when needed (and let's face it we all need it every now and then).

4) For churches: what does taking an issue to the church look like for your church? Does that mean a called business meeting? Does that mean you as the Pastor deal with it? An advisory board? Elder Board? Deacons? A special team?
I don't think it matters so long as you have a plan, a process, and a commitment to follow Matthew 18:15-17.

Tagged?

2006-08-28T07:17:00.000-05:00

Tagged?? I was tagged by John Smulo who is the pastor/planter at LifeSong Church in Elk Grove Church in California. The questions have to do with books you've read. Here's my answers:

1) One book that changed your life.

Sorry, no surprises here ... The Bible ... and it keeps changing my life!

2) One book you've read more than once.

To Kill A Mockingbird ... I know that's random but I was an English major in college and I've love this book!!

3) One book that made you laugh.

Pretty much anything I've read by Mark Driscoll. Currently I'm finishing up: Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out.

4) One book that made you cry.

4th grade -- Where the Red Fern Grows

5) One book that you wish had been written.

(There's probably one out there on this subject) ... Something on the realities of spiritual warfare that will benefit Christians and churches who are serious about 'redeeming' stolen territory from the enemy. This is reality I don't think a lot of us are prepared for until we step into that territory (i.e. planting churches).

6) One book you wish had never been written.

Tough question ... ??? How about a category of books? Any book that presents a cookie-cutter approach to church planting, Christianity, etc. Those books that say ... "Just do this because it worked for me and it'll work for you." One thing I learn every week is that people are complicated, people are often contradictory, and God loves us anyway. One size does not fit all, it's awful hard to put people in categories, what works over there may not work over here. Yes we can learn from each other but we have to listen to God for how He wants His work expressed in our unique settings with the people God sends us.

7) One book you are currently reading.

Simple Church by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger

8) One book you've been meaning to read.

Too many to list ... my shelves are full of them.

What God Has Taught Me

2006-08-22T07:06:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I struggle between differentiating who I am in Christ with who I am as a Pastor. For example, studying for a sermon and praying for my church DOES NOT COUNT as my personal Quiet Time. I will be a Christian long after I retire from being a Pastor.

However, I can say that God has taught me SO MUCH about Himself during the past 4 years that He has let me pastor Rock Bridge. Here's some of the things I have learned or am still learning (these are in no particular order):

1) The Bible is awesome! Don't underestimate or neglect it's power OR potential to bring life change in you and in others.
2) Pray first, last, and always. Pray about anything and everything.
3) God's grace really, really is AMAZING.
4) Never take your spouse or family for granted. They are one of the main ways God can speak to us, bless us, help us, shape us, etc. They are a gift from God.
5) God's presence is more important than human skill, creativity, eloquence, fancy facilities, cool graphics, awesome music, or anything else.
6) The devil can make a minority seem like a majority.
7) Get to know the 3rd Person of the Trinity ... there's a reason He's called the "Helper" and "Counselor"
8) God is in control ... always.
9) Satan can really use Christians to discourage Christians ... mainly through that organ called "The tongue"
10) God can really use Christians to encourage Christians ... mainly through that organ called "The tongue"
11) Only God can save someone.
12) God wants to bless the church.
13) People (including me) do stupid things ... love them anyway.
14) Knowing WHO you are and who you ARE NOT are two good things to know.
15) It's not about me.
16) Is it about church growth or kingdom growth??
17) God loves sinners (I know that's basic John 3:16 stuff but how quickly I forget!)
18) People are hungry for Jesus.
19) Many times the question is not, "What is God's will?" but "When is it God's will?" -- Wait on the Lord.
20) The enemy is not other churches.
21) It's still not about me.

The Big Mo'

2006-08-12T09:12:00.000-05:00

One of the things I have learned as a pastor and church planter is to appreciate the power of momentum (The Big Mo'). For about our first year we didn't really understand this and the potential it has to generate growth, life change, and bring glory to God. I rarely preached strategic or creative series, we didn't understand 'seasons' of growth in a church, and we did little to capitalize on a 'big day' when God sent us one.
Here's some things I have learned about this:

a) Preach in series and time those series to begin at big times (School starting back, first of the year, Easter, etc.) -- numerous times the series will keep people coming back and help make church a habit. For the unchurched, getting up on Sunday morning is not a habit yet and they may come to your church but only once a month ... series help them become habitual attenders.
To help with this: know your attendance patterns, know the school calendar, know when UGA plays at night in Athens ... you get the idea.

b) Keep the Mo' going: after a big day how can we keep the Mo' going?
1) Pray: first, last, and always
2) Send out a mid-week communication to your folks that celebrates what happened and anticipates what will happen
3) Throw a twist in the next week's service ... keep it exciting and the Mo' building
4) Pray some more
5) Keep your key leaders onboard, involved, and pumped up! Encourage them, pray for them, challenge them, pour vision into them so they can fuel the vision as it catches on throughout the church & community.

c) The church leadership CAN generate momentum!! Enthusiasm is contagious and if folks see the leaders excited and passionate ... they will get excited and passionate to serve, invite, pray, witness, worship, etc.

d) Typically summer is sort of a down time for churches and other times of the year are more plateau times. Plan something big, do something especially creative during these times. Help folks understand that God doesn't plateau or take vacation. The folks that missed it will hear about it and the folks that were there will learn that God is ALWAYS at work even when we are not.
For example: we did a real creative series in June (a down month for us). We even had 2 guys repel out of the ceiling!! Yes, attendance was down but excitement was up and it generated some Mo' that has helped make this summer one of our best.

It took us over a year to learn these things and we're still learning the power of Mo'. But is an awesome time in the church when you see clearly God working!!
(Read the Book of Acts ... Paul was a master and getting the Mo' going as he planted churches, encouraged them, and put leaders in place to keep it going!)

Two Services, Church Splits, and Staying Focused

2006-08-06T19:30:00.000-05:00

Even though school doesn't start back in this area until this coming week, we still have had record crowds today which goes against our historical trends ... we aren't complaining but we cannot get to two services soon enough!! Just a few thoughts on going to 2 services:
1) We are going to two services before we hit 80% full. Some folks like Searcy at The Journey Church say 70% is the new 80%. Either way we are attempting to use the launch of the 2nd service to create the big mo' and acclerate our growth by giving people an additional option and freeing up space both in our theatre and in our preschool areas AND challenging our regulars to be evangelistic!

2) We are expecting growth. I think we as church leaders need to EXPECT God to grow our church in the spirit of the Great Commission. There are a million things that can keep a church FROM growing but only one legitimate source that causes a church TO grow ... and that is God! I find that when our work meshes with what God already wants to do ... it is a powerful combination. God wants to redeem people, wants people to worship Him, wants people to be transformed by the Truth ... so we can and should EXPECT God to bless these efforts.

A church in town just split. We picked up a few from that church in our service today. Always interesting to hear people's reactions to Rock Bridge. But as always our challenge is to remain focused, to not compromise the vision of our church, and to be WHO we are and nothing more.

P.S. -- If you haven't read Thom Rainer's new book, Simple Church. I'd highly recommend it. Church plants can so easily do what he suggests in building a church with a simple yet strategic process for making disciples. Church plants by nature have to be simple but we need to STAY simple even as we grow. The challenge is to be strategically simple to maximize effectiveness in producing disciples. This book shows us how and verbalizes a lot of what many of us already think. Good stuff!

Adding Staff

2006-08-03T20:09:00.000-05:00

Recently the CEO of the largest floorcovering maker in the world (Shaw Industries) announced his retirement. He built a company from the ground up to make over $5 billion in profits annually. His influence in Dalton and big business is huge. The compliments and praises are being given to him and rightly so. However, I heard something about him that I'm taking to heart as we are in the middle of adding a new staff person. Someone said that Mr. Shaw may not have been the smartest person in the carpet industry, but he had that person working for him.

So as our church prayerfully seeks God's man to be our executive pastor/discipleship guru ... I am asking God to bring someone here that is strong in areas where I am weak, someone who is smart in areas that I am dumb, someone who can add a dynamic to our team and church that might be missing with our current staff and help us take things to the next level.

All this forces me to be brutally honest with myself and humble enough to acknowledge where I am weak (and the list seems to grow the more I think about it). It also forces me to look hard at where Rock Bridge is not measuring up and to ask God where we need to work harder and get better.

So it is not just as simple as finding someone who meshes with our team, buys into our vision, agrees with our philosophy/strategy ... it is also finding that someone who has gifts and a perspective that we don't have but need to continue reaching people and turning them into passionate Christ-followers. Needless to say, I am praying a lot these days!!

Why We Do This

2006-07-26T16:18:00.000-05:00

Recently I've felt like I needed to get back out in the community more, build relationships, and as Paul tells Timothy, "do the work of an evangelist." So I sort of set a goal to try to go to lunch or breakfast with an unchurched person, lost person, or new guest of our church at least once a week.

Today I went to lunch with a real 'seeker' and after he drilled me with some tough questions, he stepped across the line of faith and received Christ into his heart!! I was so blessed to see the light come on in his eyes when he understood grace for the first time!!

As I shared a few weeks ago, this summer I have done 2 funerals -- one for a 33 year old and the other for a 31-year old high school classmate of mine. Two vivid reminders that all of us are just a moment away from spending eternity somewhere. Two vivid reminders of why our work in the church/church planting is so important.

Today reminded me in a first-hand kind of way, why we started RBCC almost four years ago ... to see people experience Christ and begin a personal relationship with Him.

It's awesome ... yes it can be tough and frustrating and discouraging at times ... but it is worth it ... and just think all heaven throws a BIG OLE PARTY after one lost soul who repents!

God bless all of your efforts to share Jesus in your community!!

P.S. -- If you haven't read Andy Stanley's book How Good is Good Enough ... I'd highly recommend it. It was instrumental in helping me explain salvation today to my friend.
We also give it away at Rock Bridge to all our first-time guests. It's an excellent witnessing tool and an excellent way to help people understand that only forgiven people go to heaven!!

Moving Forward

2006-07-23T15:19:00.000-05:00

This has been a great summer for us ... giving has stayed consistent, new people coming each week (and many are coming back), and fairly good attendance. Today our attendance was more than our average for a non-holiday, non-summer Sunday. We were shocked but excited ...

All this confirms that we are on target to go ahead and launch our 2nd service in a few weeks when we turn four years old. I'm so pumped and I sense growing excitement in our folks. We've got a key leadership dinner/meeting this week to lay out the vision for multiple services in a strategic way to grow the church AND alleviate our space issues. Please pray for us this week.

We have decided to offer a 9:00 & 10:45 am service. We didn't want to go earlier than 9:00 because '8' scares a lot of people. 10:45 means we'll be changing our current worship time from 10:30. Our service runs about 65-75 minutes and I feel if we cut something we'd sacrifice creativity, worship, the Word, prayer time or rush the service. Plus, we'll need a good 20-30 minutes to clear out parking, preschool, and the theatre. Some folks are nervous about the change from 10:30 ... (mainly they like beating the other churches to lunch) but I think strategically 9 & 10:45 gives us two optimal times to reach people.

Lead through your Legitimizers

2006-07-20T05:27:00.000-05:00

One of the intangible factors in the success of a church is leadership. We all spend countless hours planning creatively, preparing messages, working on worship sets, designing graphics, doing outreach, etc. However, the glue that holds it all together, focuses everything, and moves the troops together is leadership. It might even explain why two organizations who do basically the same things have different results.

As the planter, pastor, and chief communicator God expects us to lead and the church will naturally look to us to lead them forward. However, when leadership is absent a vacuum develops and someone(s) will eventually rush in to fill that vacuum ... often times in an ungodly, prideful, controlling kind of way.
The leadership baton is in our hands and it is up to us to use it for the glory of God. I tell our staff and ministry team leaders all the time, "Everything rises or falls on leadership."

Here's something about leadership that I have learned. As planters/pastors/leaders we want people to follow us and sometimes it is easy to take the "I'm the pastor and you're not so you better just get onboard" approach. We don't want to have to explain ourselves, do the work of casting vision with clarity and passion, or be questioned by the guy who seems born to play Devil's Advocate (and yes, you do need that guy on your team).
Now, I've played the "I'm the pastor and you're not." card a few times and you will have to do that sometimes to certain people. But I think there is a better way.

John Maxwell calls it "leading through your legitimizers." There will always be (or should always be) some folks in your church/organization that have your back, believe in you, practice loyalty, love you enough to tell you you are wrong, and will be right beside you as you lead the church to take the next hill.

When you sense the Lord leading you/your church to do something 'BIG' then get these folks together and share your heart. Get them onboard with you and then when you communicate the next 'BIG' thing to the whole church ... your legitimizers are in the crowd nodding, saying 'amen ... let's go with this'. They help answer questions when your folks get together for lunch after church, they explain things in small groups, they spread the 'vision' on a grass roots level.

Another reason why this is so important. There will come a time in your church when you won't know everybody but you need everybody to get onboard. Most likely, the vast majority of people in your church will know at least one of your legitimizers and can be brought onboard through them.

Last thought on this ... the more people who can articulate your church's vision with passion, clarity, and conviction ... the better your church will be. As your organization grows you won't be able to go to every meeting, lead every Bible study, handle all the financial stuff ... but you'll want people to do those things that know your heart and support the vision 110%.

I'd recommend that every planter/pastor spend some time each week with a leader or potential leader in your church who isn't on staff (and they don't necessarily have to do anything other than come to your church). Ask them questions and tell them what's going on. Tell them how they can support God's work.

We can't forget to run with the baton of leadership in the church ... it's just too important.

Preaching

2006-07-19T07:02:00.000-05:00

A friend and fellow planter asked me the other day what the one thing is that I've learned (and try to practice) when preparing a message.

It didn't take me long to answer but it is something that God has continually shown me. My big lesson for message preparation is to have faith in the Word/text that you are speaking from. So many times after a hectic week I've been tempted to drop a passage I was studying in favor of something easier or more familiar ... and after getting desparate ... God would then open my eyes to see something cool, practical, and awesome in the text. God's Word is the power and it is my 'crutch' (so to speak) as a teacher/communicator. I can't improve upon it and folks love it when they leave a service understanding the Bible better AND able to apply something from it to their lives ... because it works Monday through Saturday.

Back in the Swing

2006-07-18T21:14:00.000-05:00

Been off line for awhile on some vacation and then catching up on things around here. We're hoping and praying for a big Fall as we turn four years old and kick-off a 2nd worship service.

I'll catch up on more later.

Recharged

2006-07-08T09:17:00.000-05:00

The wife and I have just returned from several days of vacation down at Clark Hill Lake near Lincolnton, GA. Great time for some much needed rest. After conducting 2 funerals for 2 friends in their early 30s I was emotionally and mentally drained.

One of the mistakes I think I made in the first 2 years was not taking enough time off. Jim Akins of West Ridge told me that planters should preach the first 6 months after launch and then take at least one Sunday off per quarter ... I should have listened.
Sometimes we think things won't get done or done right without us there. However, our folks always step up, people get saved, and make spiritual decisions without me there!! Plus, when I do return I am better able to serve and lead the church than before.

So now that we're back in the saddle, we're getting excited about the Fall. We're planning on launching a 2nd Sunday am service after Labor Day, we've got some potential facility improvements to seize, and we're praying about adding a staff member to be sort of an Executive Pastor with a focus on overseeing our small groups/assimilation/connection processes -- similiar to Kerrick Thomas' role at The Journey in NYC.
For more info. on the Executive Pastor role, check out this site.

Opportunistic Evangelism

2006-06-20T07:56:00.000-05:00

Been reading in Acts lately ... WOW!! I think all pastors/planters envision and pray to be an "Acts" Church. Those guys were on fire for Christ and fueled by the Spirit.

One thing I've noticed is how they waited and prayed and then responded to what God did. They were what I would call "opportunistic" in their approach. They didn't try to manufacture or coerce they simply walked faithfully and courageously through the doors that God opened for them.

For example, they spend 10 days praying after Jesus ascended into heaven and then BAM! the Spirit came. Peter preached an awesome sermon in response to the confused crowd who thought the believers were drunk. Peter even showed his knowledge of his culture when explained that they had not been drinking since it was only the "third hour of the day" (Acts 2:15). Then when the people asked what to do, he told them to repent and be baptized.
In Acts 3 Peter & John were on their way to pray, when the opportunity to heal the lame man appeared. Again, they seized the moment and brought glory to God!

Lesson learned for an impatient sailor like me: wait on God, pray for Him to move ... be alert and simply respond to what He does.

Tough weekend ... worship God!

2006-06-19T10:52:00.000-05:00

This weekend was one of the toughest of my life. I got a call around 10:45 Saturday night that one of our church members, a 33-year old new Father, was found dead at his home. Sunday would have been his first father's day. We spent several hours with the family into the wee hours of Sunday morning.
This guy and I played football together in high school, and he got saved a few years ago, starting coming to Rock Bridge, and eventually got most of his family back into church after a 20+ year absence!

So Sunday was a tough day for me and for many people in our church and community. But it was one of the most powerful WORSHIP services of my life!! Sometimes it is hard to worship God when you don't understand why things happen, but we must worship Him regardless and true worship has a way of reminding us that God is still on the throne, with a perspective we don't have.
We called an audible after the message and had a special time of prayer for the family and closed in another powerful worship song by my friend from the land down under, Phil Baquie, called "God of Mercy."

Lessons learned:
1) How much more difficult would this weekend have been had this guy not found Christ and his family not found a church? How many people out there still need Jesus and need aggressive churches to reach out to them?

2) We were made to worship and thus need it!! If we don't worship God, we'll worship something worthless. Sometimes just real authentic worship is needed and unchurched folks are hungry for the real deal!! I just want to thank our worship pastor, Greg, for preparing and leading an awesome service that pointed us to God!!

Structure: Yea or Nay

2006-06-16T19:17:00.000-05:00

I just want to comment on my friend Gary Lamb's latest blog entry about how and when to structure a new church plant. Gary's got a great point and I agree with his insight into the need for a new plant to be able to act, react, and move quickly.

Because of my military background I thought/assumed that we needed to be structured from Day One. So we put a lot of time into Bylaws, Elders, our Finance Team, and getting a couple of small groups going. I will say for us it worked not because of the structure but because of the people we placed inside of the structure. Being from my hometown I personally knew ALL of the people I was asking to serve in these areas and I had known some of them for years -- I knew they were loyal, and I knew they bought into our vision 100%. So I don't think our structure slowed us down BUT it had the potential to do so.
Having that structure in place did free me up to work ON the church vice work IN the church.

So I would agree with Gary NOT to structure unless you are 100% sure of the people that will work your structure. That advice holds true whether you structure at Day One or Year Three ... know and trust the people inside whatever structure the Lord leads you to establish and they must be as committed to the vision as you are!!

The one area I do wish we had spent more time training, vision casting, and leading was in our small groups. I think small groups need structure from Day One but probally more than structure they need support from the Planter in the pulpit. There is not a better way to build vision into your people and encourage your people to develop godly habits/disciplines than talking about those things in the message. Two areas I did not/do not talk about enough are finances and small groups ... we struggle there a lot. I do talk a ton about baptism/membership and we've got a lot of members and have baptized a lot of folks in 3 1/2 years...go figure.

Sunday Morning Insight

2006-06-14T17:39:00.000-05:00

Sunday I did something a little different. Instead of staying down front (at the 'altar' area) after worship, I went out to the main entrance/exit to shake hands and greet people that I usually don't get to see.

The scary and awesome thing was I only knew about 1 out of 7 people leaving our church!!
That's scary because:
--we have a lot of people I don't 'know' about coming to our church ... are they getting connected? have we followed up with them? what next step do they need to take spiritually?

That's awesome because:
--we are having a lot of non-members coming to our church during the summer when a lot of our members take off on vacation, the lake, camps, etc.

I think church has to be the coolest thing in the world!!