Church

Church Staff Reality TV Show

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8dd047dd61b832392e Being on a church staff is not exactly what you think it would be.  Unless you have been a part of one, you can’t really appreciate the randomness that can happen in a week.

Sure there are the tasks that you might expect, but then there are the things they don’t train you for in seminary.  In my first 10 years of ministry on a church staff, I wish I would had been trained how to subdue a violent person, unload a handgun, helping someone who is confident their house is haunted, confront someone siphoning gas from the church parking lot, minister to someone in Jesus name who thinks he is Jesus, bats swooping down on people in worship, how to keep a straight face when people high on medication try to explain why they are in the hospital, and the regular weekly stuff like that.

So, I had this idea.  It’s a great idea even though it will never work.  Wouldn’t you love to see a church staff reality TV show?

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The Mission of the Church

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We had some guest worship leaders helping out this Sunday for Father’s Day at North Side.  I assembled some of the band to recruit their children to help lead in worship and we had a stage full.  I was so honored to have my two sons leading beside me.  Obadiah and Eli are passionate singers and musicians.  Many people commented on their energy, and I told them this was them on calm.  If you were out of town, watch online here.

Family is important at North Side.  We prize lifestyles of worship lived within the homes.  This wasn’t a stage idea for Sunday, this was an example of what real life in the home should look like – men leading their children to love Jesus.

That’s what was great about the other elements in the service today.  It was about fathers and sons going on mission together.  Men of God stepping up to lead in the Great Commission.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bad Church Sign: Tired of Contemporary?

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This week’s bad church sign says:

TIRED OF CONTEMPORARY?

COME TRY US.

I don’t know what town this is.  I’m unsure of what church this is.  But I know the situation exactly.  Want me to paint the picture?

It’s in the Bible belt.  It’s in a city where there is a lot of transfer growth.  Sheep hopping from flock to flock.  There is one (or more) churches who have grown recently due to a contemporary service or flavor.  Some of them are traditional existing churches that have turned more and more contemporary over the years.

The church in the picture has lost some members due to that fact.  In an effort to lure people into their flock, they use an advertising campaign for anyone passing by.  But the ad is not for just anyone, is it?  Read it.  Is it for church people or unchurched people?

It’s for churched people of course.  Outsiders don’t even know what a contemporary is in the context that us regulars understand it to be.  This church is appealing to members of another flock.  Actually, they are appealing to disgruntled members of other flocks in hoping that those worn out with the 20 minutes of contemporary worship music within a week’s time (which is .1% of the 10,080 minutes we are called to be the church all week long) will now join their flock.  Let’s gather a group of disgruntled sheep in hopes that all their hopes and preferences will be met at our church house.

That’s a flock full of quite the dynamics, I would say.

This sign reveals a bunch about the state of the American Church today:

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The Membership of the Church

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What a special day to be a part of North Side!  Our service started out with the band leading and then we got the joy to pass the microphones over to Point of Grace’s Leigh Cappillino and her husband, Dana, and their daughter, Darby.  I tried to give them some band names for the day but they never stuck (The VonCapps, The Flying Cappilinos, The Cappillino 3, Leigh & the Cappillinos).

Jo Anne Reinhardt gave a great testimony about giving or going to Shake-n-Shine this year, a great church membership testimony from Terri Budreau, and then we got to hear a fantabulous message on church membership.

Leigh Cappillino sang with the Parlers and Kennerlys in college at Charleston Southern and have remained friends since then.  They were nearby visiting family and were gracious enough to pop in and sing for us this morning.  What I love about this family is how real they are.  With all the success Leigh and Point of Grace has had over the years, they are so grounded, humble, and genuine.  And in addition to their character, they are phenomenal musicians!  They did such a great job!

Today, we worshiped to:

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The Authority of the Church

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While Jeff Lethco can preach anything well, I love the stride he gets in when talking about the church.

It was a powerful start to our “Church Matters” series today as we focused on the authority of the church. For us, it’s Scripture.  We won’t be conditioned by expectations.  We don’t have to cave in to comparison traps.  We don’t have to try to woo or keep anyone based on preferences.  We want to be obedient to God’s Word.  And oftentimes, churches can begin to base all of their activity and identity on something that is totally absent in the Bible.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Church Matters

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Sunday, we are starting a series at North Side entitled “Church Matters.”  During the summer, we are going to look at what the New Testament says about what a church is and is not.

Much confusion exists today on what a church is and what a church should be doing.  We hope to clarify that.  Not with our opinions or thoughts, but the Word of God.

We recently got some church members together to talk about how being a part of North Side has changed their lives.  It was incredible to listen to their stories:

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The Story of Job

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What a wonderful day of worship at North Side!  I got the incredible privilege to preach to finish up our 2-week series, “Through the Storms.”  Ken Petrus did such a fantastic job sharing his heart last week, and it is an honor to follow his lead!

During his message last Sunday, I felt the direction to go in a different path than previously scripted.  I feel like the Holy Spirit was guiding me to preach through the entire Book of Job.

From the perspective of Job.

I went into character for the message today.  I even grew a beard for this message (that’s commitment ;))!  I tried to convey what it’s like when you go through a storm and want to ask God why you are in it.  Then, what it is like when he actually responds.  As I traveled through the book, we would put up key scriptures to keep people moving along.  At the end when God finally speaks, we used some really neat pictures of God’s creation to drive home the truth that God is in control.  The band went right into “Indescribable,” which much of the imagery there comes straight out of Job 38-42.

Today, we worshiped to:

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“Are Your Musicians Paid?”

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During the process of “Knowing Jesus,” I was asked a question frequently by many different people: “Are your musicians paid?” I think it stems from the fact that I am around such quality people and it causes many people to stand in bewilderment.  Surely, he has to pay these people because of their high caliber.  I really am blessed to …

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Bad Church Sign: We Love Hurting People

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  This week’s bad church sign: WE LOVE HURTING PEOPLE Thanks for the warning.  I will make sure to steer clear of you in the future so that I am not your next victim 😉

Bad Church Sign: Your Mother is What?!

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  Here’s a church sign for you just in time for Mother’s Day: “SHE AIN’T HEAVY SHE’S MY MOTHER.” Good to know, church with a pulse, good to know. And I imagine your mother is happy to know that as well!

Send Montreal

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This has been a whirlwind of a week.  Monday morning, I traveled to Montreal, Canada to meet, encourage, learn, and pray for church planters in that area.  We were back Tuesday night!  It was a fast paced but a very special time.

Our time was spent with passionate men of God, who are dedicated to the Great Commission.  They love the Lord with their hearts but also their minds.  They have studied that city and know the areas in which they are trying to reach.  Spending time with the Send Montreal team of the North American Mission Board was not only educational but edifying as well.

Montreal’s history is unique.  There was a time when the city basically walked away from organized religion.  The city is now 0.5% evangelical Christian and there is 1 church per 185,000 people in that area.

We were invited to come and see the work that is being done.  While the stats seem bad, God is at work.

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The Love of Christ

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Powerful day of worship.  It was great to begin celebrating Passion Week as a church family.  Jeff’s message was so true.  1 John 4 paints a picture of the love of Christ that is simply breathtaking.  He wanted to save us.  He loves us.  Christ loves people like me!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Love {in}Deed Recap

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Still hearing reports of all God did through his church on Sunday as North Side participated in a Love {in}Deed day as we served Greenwood.

We said, “Amen,” and then we went throughout the city to serve others.  As the worship service concluded, the real service began.

Here were some of the feedback we received from just a few of our sites:

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Love {in}Deed

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What a great day of worship all day long with North Side!  What started in a worship center ended all over the community.  When the service ended, the real service began!

Our church left worship and went to every corner of Greenwood and showed love in deeds rather than in just words.  As we studied 1 John 3:18, we decided to put it into practice.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Build Your Church Here

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  In gearing up for our “Knowing Jesus” weekend, we are pinning some quotes from some of the music on Pinterest and other social media sites.  You can see one of them above from a picture from the last time we did the event at North Side. We can’t wait to do this live again on March 29 & 30th.  Here are some links …

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The Withstanding Church

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07 - THE WITHSTANDING CHURCH

 

Continuing on through the Book of Acts, we arrive at one of my favorite passages of Scripture.  In Acts 5, Peter and the disciples are at it again.  Preaching in the name of Jesus when they have been warned to stop.

They continue anyway.

While they are threatened, they show no sign of wavering.  One of the Pharisees, Gamaliel, escorts the disciples out and tries to reason with the angered religious leaders.

His comments are incredible:

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The Lying Church

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06 - THE LYING CHURCH

 

In this week’s study of the Book of Acts, we have arrived at the Lying Church present in Acts 4:32-5:16.  In this section, it shows how the early church continued to grow and how no one was in need because people were actually selling land and homes and giving it away to those who had need.

Pretty incredible stuff!  We think it is awesome when people give 10% to meet a need, and these people were actually selling stuff if the need was too great.

Then, they walked in.

Ananias and Sapphira were a part of the church.  They were watching all the hype happening with the people.  The church was celebrating individuals for their acts of holiness, and they decided to try to cash in on the excitement.

Bad, bad idea.

They did sell a piece of land.  They did give some of the money to the church, but they lied about how much it was so that they could: 1) benefit themselves, and 2) receive praise from man.  The Holy Spirit alerted Peter of their deception, and he calls them out individually and each of them dies in the midst of the church body.

I’m sure Peter had everyone’s attention then!  Can you imagine this scene at your church house if this happened on a Sunday morning?!

Here’s what we can take away:

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The Proclaiming Church

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In Acts 3-4, we see the story of the lame man sitting outside the temple.  Peter and John pass by and instead of giving him money, they get him to walk.  Much better.

As they enter the temple, the man is leaping and praising God.  He is also clinging to those that reached out to him.  And with the great thing that happened, enemies of Jesus are against it completely.

Here are some things to note about this proclaiming church:

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The Family Church

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As we continue our study in Acts, we come to the topic of the family church.  While Acts 2:42-47 is descriptive in nature, it does have some activities in which all churches should emulate.

Here’s the description of what the Church looked like after Peter’s message at Pentecost:

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The Empowered Church

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Week 2 in our study of Acts and we come to see what the empowered Church looks like.  What could happen when the Spirit of God radically changes lives in a congregation?

One of my mentors, Chuck Lawless, once taught me that the scary thing about many people is how much “ministry” they could actually do in their own power.  Natural talents and gifts could be so visible that it appears that God is blessing something when in actuality, maybe it’s just worldly success.  It could be simple influence.

I don’t want to settle for influence.  I want the Spirit of God.

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The Clueless Church

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I’m teaching through the Book of Acts this semester.  I’m not teaching at Lander this Spring, but I am teaching a survey of sorts.  I’m teaching it in 3 places: 1) College group at our house on Wednesday nights, 2) worship team practices on Wednesday nights, and 3) this blog.  I will be sharing some insights here weekly.

I’m teaching on Acts for a few different reasons: 1) it’s a book of the Bible, 2) it’s really good, 3) we are tragically neglecting the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and 4) I have never known such a time as then when Christians were more confused concerning what the Church really is.

We are clueless to what the Church really is.

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Fantasy Football Champs (& How It Misguides the Church)

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I am the Fantasy Football champion.  Well, at least for my league.  The guys in my community group created a league for the 2nd year, and after being blown out in the 1st round of the playoffs last year, I was able to withstand some serious close calls to pull out for a championship victory.

I have so arrived.

What’s interesting about fantasy football is your attention becomes solely on the players instead of the teams.  I didn’t care if the Vikings or the Panthers won, I just wanted Adrian Peterson and Cam Newton to rack up points.  I was more concerned with the success of one than the victory of the team.

And the majority of the Church in America is operating out of the same perspective.

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Peace Kept

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If you have ever wondered who is the media mastermind behind our services, look no further.  My son, Eli, is the technological guru behind all things AVL during our services.  Well, he at least likes to act like he is.  Honestly, he’s so smart and skilled in these areas, it won’t be long.

I always love the Sundays before Christmas.  Today was a little different.  The worship was great.  Message was powerful.  Great services full of eager worshipers, but so much stuff happening before, during, and after services that it is hard to process.  Watching families work on reconciliation in our midst.  Unemployed fathers trying to find assistance to provide for their family this year.  Single moms trying to find hope.  Families unable to attend worship because they are beside hospital beds.  And so much more.  It’s the Body of  Christ.  It’s church.  It’s not usually glamorous, but it’s real life, and I’m honored I get to alongside these people as Christ draws them closer.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bad Church Van Sign of the Week: Whoremongers

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This week’s bad church sign is actually a bad church van sign.

Can you imagine riding by this vehicle on your way to work?  I have been trying to imagine the driver’s face as he pulls by people.  He is definitely not embarrassed.  Maybe he turns a glance at every passing car in a judgmental, arrogant stare.  Maybe he thrives on getting people upset.  Who knows?

The sign says:

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Would My Life “Fit” in the Bible?

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Is my life biblical?  Is our church biblical?  In 50 years from now, what will people look at us and say was weird by the way we followed God? Great message clip to make you think:

We Can’t Hear THE Name Because All We Hear is YOUR Name

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We live in a very interesting time in American Christianity.  In some ways, so much incredible Kingdom stuff is happening.  In other ways, I feel like we can’t hear THE name because all we hear is YOUR name.

Translation: many Christian leaders and Christian ministries are focused more on building their kingdoms than they are on building God’s Kingdom.

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The Holy Spirit

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What a great, unexpected, turn-at-every-moment day with North Side!  As we were gathering for soundcheck this morning, the power went out completely out in the worship center.  With flashlights going and people scrambling, it appears that all the AC units in Greenwood on non-stop decided to take out our air and electricity at 8:40 Sunday morning.

So, what is a worship pastor to do?  I got the right people working on getting it back on, and I gathered the worship team in the commons area outside the worship center.  I told them we would either do things acoustic in the dark or out in that open area with no AVL or we would try to setup up shop in the gym.  But in the moment, we just gathered round some acoustic instruments and began to worship.  I have actually planned for a more acoustic service later this month to worship like our family is over in Africa, and thought maybe God wanted it earlier.  In our prayers, we didn’t pray for the power to come back on, we just wanted to be obedient in however God wanted to teach us this morning.

At about 9:20 when people were gathering to go inside the doors, our team was singing “I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it, when it’s all about you, all about you, Jesus,” and then the lights came on.  We went into the room with people finding their seats, plugged in our instruments, got a camera feed up so we could watch our baptisms, and started the service on time.

I say this a lot, but today is one of those days I don’t think anyone truly understands how serious I am about this: our worship team is amazing.  They are incredibly flexible, no one was running frantic, no one seemed frazzled, no one was rude to one another, we just each did our part and God decided that we should have power back at that time.  And as everyone came prepared, the services went off great without anyone able to see anything that would have said there was no run-through that morning.  I am honored to work with such great people.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Updates from the Frontline

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Last night, I shared a quote in our community group from a book I’m reading entitled Total Church: A Radical Reshaping Around Gospel and Community by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis.  Interesting read about what these guys are doing with The Crowded House network of home churches in the UK.

Here’s the quote that woke me up concerning missions:

“If someone was being sent as a missionary to a hostile context overseas, our attitude would be something like this: We would expect to pray often for them.  We would expect progress in building relationships and sharing the gospel to be slow.  We would be excited by small steps – a gospel conversation here, an opportunity to get to know someone there.  We would thrive on regular updates from the front line.  But the truth is that the lives of many Christians in work, and play, are just like the life of that far-flung missionary!  They are lived out in tough environments where progress is often slow and many factors make evangelism extremely difficult.  The challenge is to make news from the staff canteen as valued as news from the overseas mission field.”  –Total Church, p. 36

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Foot Washing

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The only problem with today’s services is I could have done that a few more times.  Incredible time with Jesus today.  Absolutely incredible.

The above picture was taken during soundcheck today by one of our vocalists from her phone.  The boys normally go to soundcheck with me.  Today, amazingly enough, both of them had to go poo-poo during it and yelled it out really loud after we had finished a song during soundcheck.  I love being a dad.

After everyone was out of the bathroom, it was a very special day indeed.  Jeff’s message was powerful.  He explained that Jesus’ example of washing the disciples’ feet was an expression of unity, acceptance, and service.  What if every church, every home was full of people who applied this example?  Still processing.

We had a great ensemble do a dramatic reading of the foot washing to setup the message.  It was incredible.  Every time that Laurie started saying, “You can’t wash my feet, I should be kissing your feet,” I couldn’t help but get weepy.  Strutton did a great job of making a Last Supper table that will stay with us during these weeks of Jesus’ teaching through John 13-17.  Amazing what he can do with stuff he got from Big Lots and the Dollar Tree.  Love creativity on a budget!

Today, we worshiped to:

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What Need Grabs Your Heart the Most?

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There are many needs in the world. You can’t do something about all of them, but you can do something about some of them. You can spend your life focused on confronting evil, pursuing justice, and loving mercy. Your life can potentially change the lives of others.

As you go through life, you probably resonate with certain needs more than others. We are each wired differently — that’s the beauty of the Body of Christ!  It’s best for each of us to specifically get involved in a need we are passionate about.

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Bad Church Sign: Stolen AC

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This week’s bad church sign says: “WHOEVER STOLE OUR AC UNITES KEEP ONE IT IS HOT WHERE YOURE GOING.” Let’s just say that you were the person who stole that unit.  You went to that church intentionally because you know you could easily acquire them.  You either needed the money or you wanted the cool relief in your home.  You …

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How to Love Your Wife

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Maybe you are married, unmarried, remarried, once married, or want to be married.  For anyone out there interested in how to love a wife, I want to give you some advice today.  Not because I’m an expert, but because I’m learning.  My wife has endured a man trying to learn how to truly love her for almost 8 years now. …

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“I Don’t Like the Music on Sundays”

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It’s wild to think that it has been six months now since we changed our worship styles from contemporary and traditional to a united format.  While there have been concerns along the way, there has been minimal, and I mean minimal drama.  I can’t overstate how God has blessed this decision.  Instead of splitting or losing tons of people that others predicted we might, our attendance is actually up significantly than this time last year.

Was it the right move for our church?  Without a doubt.  Does everyone love the music portion of services week in and week out?  Not a chance.  But for the most part, people are adapting and giving it a shot.  We are truly worshiping together now as a church.

To illustrate where our church is, let me share a conversation I had with a church member the other week.

The church member walked into my office and the first words were, “I don’t like the music on Sundays.  I just can’t help it.  I do no like it.”

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Newspring Coming to Greenwood

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dI’ve been asked by a few people lately: “So what do you think about Newspring coming to Greenwood?” Normally, it’s also been followed by other phrases to express their thinking.  I’ve heard: “Do you think ya’ll will lose members?”  “What kind of church do you think it will hurt the most?”  “I heard they take your bank routing number when …

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North Side Would Fail Church Growth 101 Class

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Saturday morning, leaders from North Side gathered together to continue on this journey God is leading us.  We talked about discipleship.  We celebrated the lives that are being changed, and yet we also focused upon those people who are still struggling to follow Christ.

We laid out a strategy that is a little different for a church our size.  In fact, North Side would fail Church Growth 101 class if we were taking it.  Let me explain:

Church growth these days is all about the large groups.  Get more people in the seats and that means that you are winning.  What we are finding is that it is easy to fill seats, it is hard to disciple people.  And in our current church culture in America, people are church hopping, filling out commitment cards, getting baptized, and then dropping off the face of the earth!  The parable of the Seed and the Sower should scare us enough to realize that we might be giving people false assurance of their salvation that way – they need to be discipled!

Here’s some things I took away from Saturday:

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The Republican Candidates’ Bickering (And How It Is Like Many Churches)

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As we watched last night what seemed like the 84th debate for the Republican party this election season, I was reminded of a few things: 1) I wouldn’t want the job of president, 2) I respect all of their knowledge because just to run, you have to know a ton of info concerning a ton of stuff, and 3) the Body of Christ in America looks a lot like these candidates.

Let me explain.  As these debates have continued, the dialogue has gotten increasingly nasty.  I actually remembered one of the first debates when Newt Gingrich was being lured by a moderator to attack some of the candidates around him.  He replied something to the effect that the issue at hand is not to attack other Republicans, his issue was to get the current Democrat president out of office.  Basically, the guys and lady on the platform were not the enemy, Barack Obama was the enemy.

My, how things have changed.  While the remaining contenders beat each other to shreds, their “enemy” is rallying support to face a bloodied Republican nominee in the near future.  By the time this round is over, the contender will be a weary mess to face the incumbent.

And it is just like the Body of Christ in America.

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Courageous in Lancaster

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I had the extreme privilege to go and minister with Second Baptist Church Lancaster, SC last night. They were having a “Courageous” weekend, and I got to serve their church in some really special ways.

They had a men’s only screening of Courageous on Friday night.  Sunday morning, their pastor, Brian Saxon, had preached on fatherhood.  From 4 to 6, I taught a large group of guys who gave up a Sunday afternoon nap and a football game concerning fatherhood.  We took a 5 minute potty break, but we got into God’s Word and talked about what it meant to lead our homes.

At 6, I got to preach to the entire congregation.  Adam Langley and his crew did a great job leading worship – so wonderful to be led by him!

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Unless You See Signs

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What a great day of worship at North Side!  I enjoyed borrowing my buddy’s mandoguitar to play on Sunday morning.  I had many questions about this little beauty.  It’s not a mandolin.  You play it like a 12-string guitar.  Besides trying to get my fingers to stay within the frets, I had a good time playing this little chimy instrument.

Jeff’s message was incredible!  The thought that many people would believe in the miracles of Jesus yet not have their lives changed was so applicable for today.  So, so good.

It was one of those worship services that I had all types of undercurrent themes riding throughout.  It was a different service intentionally, but had some fun turns along the way (at least, I think ;)).   Here’s what I mean.

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