Getting Caught Up...

Sorry for the delay in posting, but let me take a few minutes and get you caught up.

On the 20th the church gave me a Sunday off and the family got away to the St. Louis area for a little relaxation and shopping. We had to redeem those gift cards we got at Christmas...no need in letting that stuff go to waste.

This past Sunday night I went with our youth group to Winter Jam '08 at the Family Arena in St. Charles. I went to hear MercyMe and NewSong. I might have been in the minority among the 10,000 people who packed that arena. Most of them, our youth included, were there to see and hear Skillet. Now I loved hard rock as a teenager, but this was my first experience with Christian hard rock. All I really know is that it was...LOUD. Sorry did I shout that? My ears are still ringing... NewSong was the highlight of the night for me. They performed the song "Arise, My Love" and I think all 10,000 people were on their feet praising God.

We are going to be doing some different things in worship over the next few months. We are experimenting (isn't everything and experiment?) with countdown videos. We will be streaming these videos out to the lobby of the theater. These videos will help us all know when it is time to start and get our hearts prepared for worship. Our worship is also going to get much more thematic from the opening song to the closing prayer.

Bitter cold

This is my 11th winter in the Midwest, but I simply cannot get used to these bitterly cold winter days we get sometimes. Today the high temperature was in the teens and it is going to get near freezing tonight. According to the Weather Channel it feels like -6 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now. I don't care who you are or how long you have lived in this part of the country...it is cold!

Well I hope you stay warm this weekend. They say it is only going to get colder.

Mosaic

For a few years I have followed, read and listened to the teaching of Erwin McManus. He is the Lead Pastor of Mosiac in Pasadena, California. Mosiac is one of the leaders of the emerging church movement that began several years ago. In my opinion they have their finger on the pulse of the church today. They understand that the church is about the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. We are to love the people around us and we are to serve them in mission. In their Core Values it says that "church is movement, not an institution." How true that statement is, or at least should be.

I am looking for ways that we can begin to incorporate some of what Mosiac is doing. Now I understand that we are not in California, but believe it or not, Jesus is the same Jesus in Missouri and California. The same hurt and brokenness is felt all over the country. So the same love and service is needed here as much as it is needed there.

I will be reading four of Erwin McManus' books this year:
Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul
An Unstoppable Force
Seizing Your Divine Moment
Soul Cravings

I would welcome you to join me in reading them and then let's dialogue about what you found.

Have a great day!

Interesting study results...

Yesterday we finished up our series looking at the vision for the next 40 months at TRCC. I focused on the "why" of the vision. We need to understand what our mandate is as Christians to the people of this world and how we are to partner with God to make this the world He intended.

Well I woke up this morning to find some interesting research from Lifeway Research. They are the research arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. The results are not surprising, but none the less disheartening.

- 79% think Christianity "is more about organized religion than about loving God and loving people."
- I think the church is not demonstrating the Great Commandment. If people are not seeing the church as loving them, then we are truly failing in what it means to be Christ-followers. Jesus left us with very clear instructions in Luke 10:27: He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'^[a]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'^[b]" We are clearly not loving our neighbors enough.

- 72% said they think the church ‘is full of hypocrites, people who criticize others for doing the same things they do themselves,"
- This is where the church has become a bit pharissetical in the way we behave. We quickly point out the problems of others and fail to hold each other accountable when we fall short of the mark of God.

- 86% believe they "can have a good relationship with God without being involved in church."
- Can anyone say community? We were created in community to be in community with others.

I don't know about you, but our mandate is clear. We can see what we need to do and where we have fallen short. So let's get rockin'!

Chasing the Lion

At the end of January we are going to begin a series called "Chasing the Lion" based on Mark Batterson's book "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day". He recently posted the Chasing the Lion Manifesto and I want to share it with you.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.

Happy New Year

I just want to take a minute to wish you all a very Happy New Year. May you be open to God's leading this year and follow Him with your heart and soul.

Blessings on an awesome New Year!