Just another list

I'm in the mood to list some things this morning, so here we go:

• 4-0... that was the score of our soccer game on Saturday. I love coaching Nathan's team. The kids are hilarious and they felt so good scoring 4 points.
• I'm still recovering from Clemson's loss on Saturday. My friend Josh Phillips said it best: Pulling for Clemson is a curse. I mean that. It's a curse that there's no cure for.
• These two posts (here and here) from Ben are great and I love this question from Tony.
• Anybody else watching Chuck. We officially switched from Prison Break to Chuck last night. It's hilarious. The quote "We work with macs, we're IT artists" was so funny I'm still laughing this morning.
• While we're on the TV talk, I love Heroes. It's a great show. I just wish it were on for two hours a week instead of one hour.
• I can't wait to go to Catalyst tomorrow. I'm excited about going with Ryan.
• Tomorrow AM I get to be Patch. Who is Patch? Patch is a big panda bear. Patch is the mascot at Nathan's school, River Ridge Elementary. Nathan is so excited that he's told his entire class that I'm going to be Patch.
• Liz and I were hugging on Sunday (we only hug once a week) and we looked up and saw Matthew watching us. Liz asked him, What do you think about mommy and daddy hugging? He said very seriously, It's beautiful. Liz says he's such a sweetheart. I think we might be in trouble when he's a teenager. He's our romantic child.

That's enough for now.

Perceptions of Christianity

I heard about this book last spring at the Q conference and I can't wait for it to come out. I think it's true that Christians in America have an image problem. When you think about what we're known for it's stands in stark contrast to Jesus' words that "They will know that you are my disciples by the love you have for one another." Heck, we can't even love our fellow Christians, let alone those people around us who aren't Christians yet. I'm excited to see what conversations this book is going to spark and hope to see a change in perception that comes from those conversations.

Steph's crazy puppy

Can anyone say, "We need puppy school"? Who needs David Copperfield when you can just chew your way through the door? Maybe Steph and Chris (my sister-in-law and brother-in-law) aren't feeding the fellow enough!

I just thought this was a funny photo that needed to be shared. What would you do if this was your puppy's fault?

What if?

I was reading in Ezra this morning and came across Ezra 6 and it got my imagination going. In Ezra 6 we find King Darius endorsing, funding and protecting the rebuilding of the God's temple in Jerusalem. Get this... Darius is a Persian, pagan king who endorses, funds and protects a Jewish, God-project.

I started dreaming when I read this. What if the secular city officials of any given town/city sought after someone to plant a church in their city and then decided to fund and endorse the church plant? I know this is really unheard of and could be the source of endless court battles and constitutional discussions, but what if God touched the hearts of the secular officials in an area in such a way that they would partner with God's people to build the Kingdom?

I know organizations like World Changers, Habitat for Humanity and others do this, but what if it happened with a church plant... and what if it happened here in Spartanburg?

Who knows, I'm just dreaming, but that would surely be an amazing God-thing to be involved with, don't you think?

Weekend Reflections

This past weekend was a full one for us. Here's the breakdown:

• I coached my first soccer game. Actually, I'm not sure you would call it coaching. It was a mix of laughter, chaos and encouragement. It's such a blast coaching Nathan's team of first and second graders. We scored one goal. The other team scored three goals. But this is Upward, where every child is a winner, so we didn't really lose!
• Got to watch Clemson take out NC State 42 to 20. It really should have been 70 to 20. We looked good. Now if we can take that same intensity and skill into Georgia Tech on Saturday (there's a chance I'll get to watch the game in HD on a 60 inch screen).
• I finally got around to cutting my grass Saturday afternoon. I'm sure my neighbors are happy. To bad most of my yard is dead. We need rain.
• Levi was sick all weekend with a bad cold and fever. Poor guy. He doesn't understand why he feels bad and is just pitiful.
• Speaking at SCC yesterday went great, at least that's what people said. I really appreciate the opportunity to speak and help Hub out. I think you can listen online here.
  

Now it's off to start a new week.

quote

Boy, do I resonate with this: “I despaired at the thought that my life might slip by without seeing God show Himself mightily on our behalf. I didn’t want merely to mark time. I longed and cried out for God to change everything - me, the church, our passion for people, our praying. One day I told the Lord that I would rather die than merely tread water throughout my career in the ministry... always preaching about the power of the Word and the Spirit, but never seeing it. I abhorred the thought of just having more church services. I hungered for God to break through in our lives and ministry.” - Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

Off to Roebuck

I have the privilege of speaking at Roebuck Baptist Church in two hours. I'm going to showing some statistics about the state of the church in America and the problem therein, and then presenting a solution of investing in the Kingdom. It should be fun. I put on Khaki's. I feel like I'm dressed for a wedding!

You've got to read this blog. Out of all the blogs I regularly read, Vince Antonucci is the one that's connecting with me and speaking to me the most.

Someone paid for my lunch today. DJ Horton, pastor of Anderson Mill Rd. Baptist Church took me to lunch. I'm really excited about what God is doing at Anderson Mill and his vision for churches planting churches. Thanks for the lunch!

Statistics

I know that we can make statistics say whatever we want them to say, but I still love statistics. They can show us a lot.

Here's something I just came across in preparing to speak at Roebuck Baptist Church tomorrow night about church planting and the state missions offering.

South Carolina had a population of 4,198,068 in 2004.
New studies show that only 23% of SC's population is in church on any given weekend.
That means that there are 3,463,406 people in SC who are NOT in church on any given weekend.

My question is: How many churches do we need to start to reach those people? And, what do our existing churches need to do to reach those people? Sounds to me like we need to stop arguing and fighting amongst ourselves (as Christians) and start getting after the people that God cares about the most.

More speaking

I just got a call asking me to speak at FCA at Wofford on Monday night. I am so thankful for the speaking opportunities God is sending my way. It's an honor to be invited to speak at different venues and it's great for me to be able to do what I feel like I'm gifted to do while our church plant is in a time of transition.

Now I've got to figure out what to talk about... and should I wear a Clemson shirt to Wofford?

I'm listening

Today's just one of those days when I feel an overwhelming need, a burden to hear from God. Do you ever feel like that? It's really a desperation that comes from deep within. So I'm trying to listen. If you've got a moment, please pray that God will speak and that I will hear. Thanks.

Systems

Yesterday I spend all day in a group with Glenn Smith learning about creating systems for a church. This post is just a way for me to process what I learned and to maybe get some of you thinking about systems. I'll warn you that this is going to be a long post.

As a church planter I've believed the lie that in order for things to get done (or for things to get done well) I need to do them. This is an easy lie to believe because when things start I end up playing the role of technician -- one in which I end up doing all the work. But I have to learn how to engage others in doing the work and delegate (not abdicate). The goal is to be a strategic leader who creates jobs, spends more time working on the ministry than working in the ministry and who creates and manages critical systems in the church.

The problem is that most pastors/church planters, including myself, are the system. We need to move away from being the system toward developing systems and then leveraging those systems.

The three critical systems that a church needs are an assimilation system, a spiritual formation system and a leadership development system.

An assimilation system works to move persons who are far away from God to a place where they are relationally connected to two or more attenders and towards a role where they are making a meaningful contribution to the larger group.

A spiritual formation system works to take the person who is relationally and meaningfully connected and move them from where they are to faith n Jesus and then to being a reproducing missional disciple (I hope to write more on what a reproducing missional disciple is later). This spiritual formation typically involves three factors: A meaningful relationship with one or more Christ-followers that leads to internal processing and accountability, an interactive relationship with God, and an engaging of the person's natural talents/abilities in service to others in order to accomplish God's kingdom purposes.

A leadership development system involves creating a leadership pipeline that develops leaders over a lifetime. I need to think about and process this a bit more. It was the most confusing of the systems, probably because I've never been a part of anything like it (unfortunately).

Now that I've shared these I want to get to work creating some systems so that, whatever happens with The Point or with a new church plant, that we'll have some systems in place to assimilate people into the body, grow them into reproducing missional disciples and develop leaders.

Sunago

I'm pretty pumped about speaking at Sunago this coming Thursday. Tracy has done an incredible job creating a relevant gathering for college students in Spartanburg and it's an honor to be invited to speak.

Time's, they are a changin'

Boy, it's been a long time since I last blogged. I was beginning to think I fell off the face of the planet. I know you've each been waiting anxiously for a new post.

A lot has happened over the past week. Clemson beat FSU for the fourth time in five years, then 5 days later whooped up on LA-Monroe. Matthew went to the game with me on Saturday. It was great spending some time with him. He ate more candy in three hours than he has in three months, but he had fun! USC beat UGA... who would have thunk it?

The Point has moved into a time of retreat and restructuring. I would appreciate your prayers for me and the wonderfully amazing people that are a part of The Point. God's teaching all of us some stuff right now. Maybe when I've worked through some of it I'll post some more. Last night we looked at this passage in Hebrews. It has a lot to say to us right now. Some more changes will be coming soon, but it's too early to go there.

I've read some books on grief and grieving. I've never really thought about this, but life is filled with losses. Some are small, some are big, some involve death, some involve relationships, some involve dreams, some involve stuff... but with all loss comes some form of grieving. I think it would be fair to say that I've been in a state of grief now for the past few months... lost relationships, unmet expectations, the death of some dreams... each of these have left me, and Liz and really our church, in a state of grief. We don't want to sweep the grief under the carpet as if it doesn't exist, but my desire is to work through the grief, so that on the other side we emerge more mature and more like Jesus. Thus, the reading of the books on grief. If you know of any good books you'd recommend then post a comment. I'm learning some good stuff.

I'll end by sharing a link to a post I read on vision. I can relate to this.

8 hours, 36 minutes, 13 seconds

Can anyone say Clemson Football. We leave for the game in three hours 37 minutes. GO TIGERS!

Hilarious #2

Here's another we've got to use.

Hilarious #1

We've got to find a way to use this.

The problem

I stumbled upon a new blog today that needs to be read. Even though I know this to be true it really hits me between the eyes. You can check out the posts here, here, here, and here.

Click and read those posts and then come back.

Did you read them? If yes then read on, if not then READ THEM.

Ok...

In all honesty, I don't know what the future of The Point is going to be. It's been a tough past month losing 80% of our people. Those of us that are left need some healing. We need time to recover. We need God to renew our passion, confidence and vision (or at least I need these things). So with that in mind we're not jumping ahead. We're taking some time for healing. That's why we've got a stripped down gathering. That's why we're not doing small groups. That's why we're not doing marketing or trying to grow.

This stage could last a week or two months. I don't think we need to put a time frame on it.

But here's where all this goes back to the posts I wanted you to read. No matter what happens with The Point's future, I don't want us to be a church that just grows at the expense of other churches. I don't want us to be just the next cool church in town. I really want us to be about reaching people who are far away from God.

If you're a Christian, and want to be on that kind of a mission, then we want you on our team. We need you on our team. We need mission minded followers of Jesus who are in this for those who aren't in the family yet.

If you're just interested in the next cool place to be (not that we're all that cool... have you seen me?), or a place that caters to your needs then I could recommend some cool churches for you (you might have to drive), but don't waste my time or your time at The Point. And since I'm being honest... you might need to do a gut check, get your eyes off the person in the mirror and get on board with the mission of Jesus. It's pretty clear that the heart of our heavenly Father is tilted towards those who are on the outside more so than it is with those of us who are already in (click here for proof).

I've also got to say that I really have no idea how to do this. I suck at evangelism. I'm chicken. I don't have all the answers, but this post wasn't about answers. It's about the problem, and in order to get to the answers you've got to correctly address the problem first. So here it is.

The Eleventh

Today's a big day. Eleven years ago today Liz and I committed our lives to each other. I read this passage this morning and thought it was a great description of Liz. E-mail me and I'll tell you where you can send the Anniversary gifts :)

Liz, I love you. I am so honored and privileged to have you as my wife.

Faith

I'm almost finished reading A contrarian's guide to knowing God: Spirituality for the rest of us by Larry Osborne. This is a great read that will stretch your conventional thinking... in a good way.

I was so blown away by his chapter on Faith. I'll read that chapter again and again. I think we often confuse faith with wishful thinking or vague superstition, but his definition is great: Bottom line: God wants us to trust him--to trust him enough to do what he says, no matter how we feel or how certain we are that things will work out.

Faith really is all about trust: Trusting that God is who he says he is and that he'll do all that he promised to do. I love the part where he says it doesn't matter how we feel or how certain we are that things will work out.

Go buy the book. This may turn into a series some time in the future. We'll see.

O happy day

I'm pretty pumped. I just found out that Switchfoot is coming to the Bilo Center on November 3. It should be a great show with them and Relient K.

Add to this that Clemson football starts on Monday night and what more could you ask for?

Survival

I survived my first practice as coach of Nathan's soccer team. I thought my coaching tenure was going to be over before it began. I called the head of the Upward's league to find out about equipment and practice field and he told me that they were combining Nathan's team with another first/second grade team. He didn't mention anything about who was going to be the new coach of the combined team. I was beginning to get depressed. I was pumped and prepared to try out coaching and now the possibility seemed to be slipping away (I know that's dramatic, but I was feeling dramatic). Parents and kids started showing up, and I introduced myself to some of them. I met an assistant coach from the other team. He had a whistle and looked professional. I knew I was doomed when one of the parents from the other team said that they didn't have a head coach, so I felt partially hopeful. Then the league head showed up and told me that I was going to be the coach. RELIEF. SURVIVAL. I feel like a little kid who just got one of the coolest gifts in the world. Now on to season prep: Go Vikings!

First practice

Tonight's my first practice as coach of my son's soccer team. I'm a bit nervous. I've never coached before. Go Vikings!

Not to be left out

Since big brothers got to have their picture's posted I thought we'd better include Levi. In the second picture he's trying to grab the camera.

Second first day

Today was Matthew's first day of school. Here are some pics to celebrate the occasion.

Whose dream is it?

Last night at The Point we started a series on the life of Joseph. I love Joseph. No, not Jesus' earthly dad, but the Joseph found in Genesis 37 and following. He's one of my favorite characters in the Bible. I'm pretty pumped about spending a few weeks studying his life.

We started by looking at Genesis 37:1-11. In these verses we're introduced to a spoiled, cocky teenager who ends up being the recipient of a pretty profound dream sent by God.

At the end I asked a question, that in retrospect I wish I wouldn't have asked: What is one of your wildest dreams -- one that only God could bring about? It's not that the question is bad, but this morning, as I reflected on what we talked about, I realized something: Sometimes we mistake our dreams (what we want to see happen) with God's dreams for us. Do you see the distinction?

I know I'm guilty of substituting what God wants to happen with what I want to happen. There are times when my ambition and agenda gets in the way of God's ambition and agenda.

This is a dangerous trap, one that we need to avoid at all cost. God caused the dreams that he gave Joseph to come true. I don't think his life would have had the same ending had Joseph just had visions of grandeur. The source of his dream was God.

I think God has a dream for each of us. But let's be careful to make sure we're pursuing God's dream and not our own. Then, as the Scripture says, The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

Just call me coach

That's right. You read the title correctly. You can now call me coach. I just found out yesterday at Nathan's "meet the team and coach" practice that his team didn't have a coach. Well, I volunteered, so now I'm coaching my first ever soccer team.

The cool thing about it is that Nathan is so excited to have me as his coach. I didn't know he would be so pumped. That makes me pumped.

Now if I can only figure out how to be a coach. Anybody out there have any suggestions?

Uninvited guest

Life's major trials seldom send a memo telling us they're on the way. Instead, like an uninvited guest, they just show up, leaving us no choice but to let them in.

I read that today from Larry Osborne's book A contrarian's guide to knowing God. It is so true.

He goes on to say that the best way to be prepared for those uninvited guests is to be connected in a community.

I'm excited about connecting with The Point folks this Sunday night. More excited than I've been in a while. We're changing up our format for Sunday nights for the time being. We're going to do dinner together at the B and then have a discussion-based Bible study (instead of a sermon). This week we're going to begin looking at the life of Joseph (from Genesis). Everything still begins at 6 PM. See you there.

Hearing from God

I am by no means an expert on hearing from God. I do believe that God speaks through his Word. I also believe that he sometimes speaks to us through other people (though sometimes I think we mistakenly believe God is speaking through them because they are saying what we want to hear). But at the same time I think that hearing from God is a bit mystical and can't be objectively defined.

I think that God speaks to us through his Holy Spirit... or at least I think he wants to speak to us through his Holy Spirit if we are in a position to listen. Jesus talks about this. He says that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of things Jesus said (John 14).

Jesus also says that his sheep follow him because they recognize his voice (John 10).

I feel like I'm relearning how to hear from God. I know that so often I'm guilty of doing what seems right, sounds good, and appears to be from God without taking the time to actually hear from God. I don't do this on purpose, but I do fall into this trap.

You know how to tell you're in this trap? To use a cliched statement, you end up praying for God to bless your plans instead of praying for God to give you blessed plans. Another sign is that you end up being stressed and filled with pressure to figure everything out instead of resting in the sovereignty of God.

I guess I'm posting this to encourage you to listen to God. I can't explain how it all works, but He's talking. And he actually wants to talk to me (and you).

Mixed emotions

Today is a big day for Nathan. It's the first day of first grade! I am so excited for him. He's such a great kid (all of my boys are great). It's a bit sad too, because of how he's growing up.

Speaking of growing up, Matthew is off on a week-long trip to Wildwood, NJ with his grandparents. It's his first trip by himself. I know he'll have a blast.

Harry Potter

Last night I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows... all 759 pages of it. I've been reading about 2 chapters a night for the past month and now I'm a bit depressed. I'm not depressed because the book was a let down. I'm depressed because it was such a great book and now I'm done reading it.

Now, if you're one of those anti-Harry Potter people who say that the book's Satanic then I need to ask you a question: Have you read the books? I am continually amazed that people make all kinds of judgements about Harry Potter and they've never read a page. So in all kindness and love: Shut up and go read the books, then make the judgment. I think it is important, vitally important, to view culture (books, movies, TV, internet) through the filter and lens of Scripture, but you can't do that from an outside, uninformed position. When we do that (and we Christians are good at doing that) we look like close-minded, ignorant idiots instead of informed and educated critics. So read the book!

There are so many great themes lived out in the book: Loyalty, responsibility, obedience, sacrifice, friendship, love and family. I think what stood out to me the most was that Harry was willing to do the right thing, regardless of the personal cost. He was willing to sacrifice himself to do what was right for the good of many. Sounds strangely similar to another story that has become central to my life.

I won't share how the story ended, but I will say that the ending is happy and the loose ends are tied up. I love stories that end on a happy note and tie up all the loose ends.

So with that in mind, if you haven't started yet, get to reading and enjoy entering the world of the boy who lived.

Great post you need to read

I love Shawn's post on what makes our [his] church different. That's what I'd like to see and be a part of here in Spartanburg.

Two must reads

I read two books last Friday that I've been meaning to write about. First off let me say that I'm a slow reader, but these books were both short and easy to read, but at the same time filled with some incredible insights.

First, Andy's book on Making Vision Stick was an amazingly practical look at communicating vision so that it is heard and known. I especially was challenged by what he said about your vision statement being short and memorable. (The Point's: To create a church that unchurched people will love to attend). I'll read this book again many times.

Second, I read John's book, You have what it takes. It is written to fathers (which I am ) and gives the number one question that our sons and daughters are asking. Since I have three boys I focused on what my son's need to know from me: Do I have what it takes? For those of you with girls (I'll pray for you) he says they're asking: Am I beautiful? It's the dad's job to communicate a resounding yes to each of these questions in multiple and creative ways. This is one of the most practical parenting books I've ever read. If you're a dad you need to order it today. It's only $2.99.

Apartment list

Like I posted about yesterday, we're going to be putting door hangers out in 14 apartment complexes over the next few weeks. Here are the places we're targeting. Pray for the people who live in these complexes. Pray for God to work in their hearts and draw them to himself. Pray for God to grant us favor and pour his Spirit on us.

College Point
North Town
The Bluffs
Campus Edge
Riverwind
Arbor Glenn
Autumn Park
Country Club
Hunt Club
Timber Creek
Park Place
Meadowgreen
Timbers
Corners

We're not just starting a church...

I read something from Dave's blog today that got me thinking about The Point.

• We're not just starting a new church in Spartanburg. We are doing is creating a relevant church that non-religious, irreligious, unchurched people will love to attend.
• We're not just starting a church. We're partnering with the Holy Spirit to see people's lives transformed.
• We're not just starting a church. We're participating in a movement that was begun thousands of years ago to connect disconnected people to God.
• We're not just starting a church. We're joining in on the greatest mission ever!

The Church is the hope of the world. What a privilege and honor it is to be invited into God's work in the world.

Big week

This is a big week for The Point. This Saturday we're going to be putting out door hangers on a bunch of apartment doors and then on Sunday we're going to be handing out water and sodas to USC Upstate students who are moving on campus.

PLEASE PRAY! I read this passage this morning and it's going to be my prayer this week. Please join me in praying. Pray that our servant evangelism and marketing will fall on fertile soil. Pray that hearts will be open and responsive to our invitations. Pray that apartment management will be open to us putting out door hangers. Pray that God will bring us the right people as a result of what we're doing.

Instead of gathering to worship last night we went to a number of these apartment complexes and the dorms at USC Upstate and prayed for the students and people living there. Will you join us in praying? Later this week I'm going to send out the names of the apartment complexes we'll be targeting so that you can pray more specifically for the people we're contacting.

Wanting...

I think if we're honest we all struggle with what I'm about to share.

My life's journey with God is usually more characterized by what I need or want from God instead of just needing or wanting God. Does that make sense? Here's what I mean: Lately, I find myself praying for things that would benefit and grow The Point... things like a band, the right leaders, more people, wisdom to lead, help with moving forward, favor with the community we're trying to impact. None of those things are bad. They are all good, and honestly, I think we need them all, but there's a difference between praying for those things and praying to know God better.

So, I don't know how long it will last (I get distracted so easily), but I'm praying that I will come to know God more. I'm praying for a greater spiritual hunger for God.

I read this quote from Margaret Feinberg's new book, Organic God: I want to discover God again, anew, in a fresh way. I want my love for him to come alive again so taht my heart dances at the very thought of him. I want a real relationship with him -- a relationship that isn't altered by perfumes, additive, chemicals or artificial flavors that promis to make it sweeter, sourer, or tastier than it really is. I want to know a God who in all his fullness would allow me to know him. I want a relationship that is real, authentic, and life-giving even when it hurts. I want to know God stripped of as many false perceptions as possible. Such a journey risks exposure, honesty, and even pain, but I'm hungry and desperate enough to go there. I want to know the Organic God.

Half-hearted work

I read Craig's post this morning and it got me thinking.

If there's one thing that the Kingdom, or The Point, or I don't need it's half-hearted work.

Now let me clarify... I know that some people will have more time to do more work than others, but the amount of work or service is not important. The key is to take care of your responsibility with all of your heart. Whatever you're committed to, do it to the best of your ability, do it with passion, do it as if you were doing it for Jesus.

I know I'm thinking in terms of your service within a local church, but this applies to every area of life: Work, relationships, finances, your physical life and your relationship with God. Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, work at it with all of your heart as if you were working for the Lord.

The Potter

No, I'm not posting about the "Harry Potter" (even though I might when I finish the last book), I'm posting about how God is the potter and we are the clay. I love that imagery.

This morning I read this out of Jeremiah. It's a great reminder about who God is and who we are. I think we need to be reminded of this often because we often forget.

So many times we try and shape and form ourselves instead of resting in the arms of and submitting to the will of the potter God. God has a plan for us to be used for his purposes. But, so often, our grandiose plans for how we can best benefit God get in the way of his amazing plans for us.

Today, may you submit to the shaping of the potter God.

Starting over

That's really what I feel like I'm doing... Starting Over. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's tough. How do you restart what's been started? I would appreciate your prayers as we seek God about moving forward with what he's called us to do. Pray for wisdom and guidance. Pray for protection. Pray for God's favor.

I read this commentary on Jeremiah this morning: Calling one to difficult service may actually be God's way of honoring his servant's strength of character. I don't know if this is true, but it is encouraging. At the same time, I can think of other ways I'd like to be honored!

For your benefit

As most of you know, I'm not only a blogger, but part of my learning and daily reading comes from the blogs of some other guys. There are a few that have really spoken to me this week and I wanted to share them with you.

• Loved what Jay had to say here.
• Ben had two great posts here and here.
• Jonathan's quote from Piper is good stuff here.

The Point: Defined

Last night I shared about The Point's vision and mission. Below is a bullet point snapshot of who we are going to be as a church.

Vision and Mission – Our vision is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus.

Strategy (How we are going to accomplish our mission) - By creating relevant environments where people are encouraged, equipped and empowered to pursue intimacy with God, community with insiders and influence with outsiders.

Three environments:

· Gathering: A safe and relevant environment where people can explore and discover what following Jesus is all about. Our word for this is Connect.

· Small groups: I believe life change happens in the context of small groups that pray, study Scripture and do life together. Our word for this is Grow.

· Service – My passion is that we are a church of people who serve in the church (to help the church be what it needs to be) and in the community (so that Spartanburg is a better place to live). Our word for this is Serve.

The day after

I haven't really blogged much about our church plant in a while. In all honesty it's been a rough couple of months. Well, last night we had a third and final town hall meeting with some of the influencers in our church where I re-shared the vision and mission and direction of The Point (which I will post in a later blog). At the end of the night we had some great people, some great servants, make the decision that The Point is not where they need to be.

This isn't a bad thing. God is in control, and Jesus has promised that he will build his church. Sometimes people need to leave, and as much as I want The Point to be a place where people can safely explore what following Jesus is all about, I also want us to be a place where people can follow God safely, even if that's to another church. I never want people to feel guilty for following God.

Following the meeting I was overwhelmed with this question: What now, God? The question wasn't asked out of discouragement or despair, but out of an anticipation and desire to move forward with what God has called and invited us to do. And then this morning I read this out of Philippians 4: I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength, and My God will meet all of your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

I don't think it was an accident that this passage was a part of my Bible reading for today. God can be trusted. He will do all that he's promised to do. I think there are exciting days ahead for The Point. I don't think we're here by accident. I think God has a plan and purpose for us. Today I'm motivated by another verse from Philippians: Forgetting what is behind, and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal....

That's quotable

I'm re-reading Good to Great by Jim Collins. It really is an amazing book. This quote is worth posting, especially in light of where we are as a church plant: If people join the bus primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get ten miles down the road and you need to change direction? You've got a problem. But if people are on the bus because of who else is on the bus, then it's much easier to change direction: "Hey, I got on this bus because of who else is on it; if we need to change direction to be more successful, fine with me...."

I think this speaks to the church's need to love and respect one another as family.

He goes on to say this: The right people don't need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great. Great vision without great people is irrelevant.

That's good stuff.

Robo-dog, a live toy, and wisdom

When Levi crawls he looks like Robo-dog. It's hilarious. His big brothers now think they have a live toy to play with... one that doesn't require batteries! It's amazing how a crawling baby changes everything around the Everette house.

On another note, I am in need of your prayers for wisdom. We've got some big decisions involving The Point coming up and I need wisdom and insight from God. I do appreciate your prayers.

Speaking of The Point, I am excited about the fall. I am looking forward to what God might do. I'll fill you in soon.

"One small knee..."

"One small knee for Levi. One giant life change for the Everette family." That's right, you heard it first right here on this blog read by 3 people. Today was the day that Levi started crawling. He held off until I got back from my trip, but I got to see the first three knee-steps. It was a momentous occasion celebrated by a standing ovation from Mom, Dad, Nathan and Matthew. Now the hard part begins: Containment!

It's great to be back in the blog mode. This past week I had the privilege of being the Project Coordinator for a Power Plant mission project in Myrtle Beach. It was an amazing honor to be able to speak into 100+ lives about church planting and following Jesus.

A big shout out to Jancy, Bob-O, Corley, Jonathan and Clark for all your hard work as Summer Staff. You all were awesome and we more of an encouragement to me than you'll ever know. Thanks for the fun. I love you guys and can't wait to see how God is going to use you.

The cool thing is that I get to do it again next year. The bad part is that I get to go another week with hardly any sleep (I slept more last night than I did the past three nights combined).

Advent Conspiracy

Thinking about doing this. Would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Tom's Shoes

I heard Blake Mycoskie speak a few months ago and was intrigued by his story. He's a Christ follower who is putting his faith in Jesus into action by providing shoes for kids in developing nations.

Not that any of us need new shoes, but here's a way for you to serve/minister to some kid in a developing nation and get a pair of shoes at the same time. Check out the website and story here.

The guy in the kayak

What emotions go through your head if you're the guy in the kayak?

Staff

As most of you know, The Point's "official" staff consists of... me. But the other day I read Devin's post about Staff Expectations and thought it was worth passing on for a couple of reasons. First, I do believe that one day we will have an official paid staff and I think his list of expectations is one of the best I've run across. Second, since we don't have an official paid staff our volunteers are the staff and I think these expectations translate to volunteers just as easily as they do to people who are getting a pay check. (Giving credit where credit is due, some of the following is a direct quote of Devin's post and some is commentary from me.)

1. Loyalty -- Devin says loyalty is: I've got their backs and they have mine. I don't think you can have a healthy, functional, growing church family without loyalty among those who are in positions of leadership and influence.

2. Excellence -- My passion is that we strive to maintain an attitude of high excellence at The Point and it stems from the top down. We should not settle for second best. I want people to have the "holy discontent" that Hybels talks about and to constantly strive to get better. Now I've got to say that excellence is different than perfection. We don't need to get the two confused. Excellence means maximizing and doing the best with what we have. It means giving our best and not the left overs.

3. Personal and Spiritual growth -- Our ministries need to be an overflow of what God is doing in our personal lives. We need to be seeking after God with our whole being and submitting to his authority in our lives. This really is a given, but needs to be stated.

4. Passion -- For God, His people, and our ministry. If there is something that we are doing that we cannot be passionate about, then we are doing a disservice to God and the church.

5. A Positive Spirit -- Negativity kills. I want people to be who they are (crazy, zany, and sarcastic) but to be careful of belittling others, even in humor. This positive spirit should come through in everything.

6. Wisdom -- Be wise in your use of words (what you say and how you say it) and in your actions.

7. Have Fun -- I want us to have fun together.

8. Mistakes -- People are free to make make a mistake (once). Experiments are allowed. Risks are encouraged. However, repeat mistakes due to a lack of preparation are not allowed. I don't want staff or volunteers to be afraid to try new things, and with that comes mistakes. I want us to learn from our mistakes and allow them to move us to the next level.

9. Honesty -- Integrity at all times, in all matters. There are too many horror stories in ministry about a lack of integrity. My passion is that we have a climate of authenticity that allows our people and our leaders to be real. This helps eliminate the temptation to internalize struggles for a fear of repercussions. Integrity is a must. The gospel is at stake.

10. Work hard -- Give 110%. This means at church, in the community, and at home. I want my staff to have healthy lives at church and in their homes. I want them to work harder on their marriages and relationship with their kids than I do their ministry at church. Their primary ministry is at home. But when they are serving God through The Point, give it all you got. Laziness is unacceptable. God and the people with which we have been entrusted deserve our best.

Friends

Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your life.

When I was working with teenagers I taught this often. I have seen so many people screw up the direction of their life because of who they decided to hang out with.

Scripture teaches this in Proverbs 13:20 - He who walks with the wise grows wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm.

So this begs the question: Who are your friends? What is the direction of their life? Do you like where their life is headed? If not, then you need to change friends because you will end up where they are going.

Now people argue against this all the time. They say things like, I'm strong enough to not go where they're taking me... or They would never influence me. Can I be honest with you? Those are just lies you're telling yourself. If you don't believe me, just keep doing life with the people you're doing life with and come talk with me in five years.

So, where are your friends taking you? Surround yourselves with wise friends. Protect yourself from harm.

Equation

Sometime in my teenage years I heard a speaker say: God + nothing = Everything. While I understand how you could argue with that equation and find ways to pick it apart, it speaks to an amazing truth.

I was reminded of this as I was reading this book the other day and came across this question: Do I believe more and more that he is what I'm desperately searching for, or is there something else I think I need? Do I believe he is the source of the kind of life I really want?

Let's be honest, we've got so much clutter in our lives that we think we need. We trust in all kinds of stuff to make us happy, to give us security, to fill us, and we think we need it all. But what ends up happening is that we replace God with all kinds of other stuff when all we really need is him.

God + nothing = Everything... just something to think about.

iPhone Funny

Yes, I must confess, I would love to have an iPhone. My iPod is awesome and the iPhone just seems cool. There's no way I'd pay for one though (but as a gift...). I came across this video today. I'm pretty picky about funny stuff, but this made me laugh so hard I almost cried.

Stop pretending

I'm reading the book No Perfect People Allowed right now. It's thoughts have inspired a series by the same name that's going to begin on Sept. 9. I was reading on authenticity when I came across this:

Can we be this kind of church: The kind where people don't have to pretend? Where we can be ourselves and stop pretending we're more or less than what we are right now? That's the only way we can help each other grow to be all God intended us to be. If we can't do this, we're just playing church.

My passion, vision, hope, dream for The Point is that we are a church where people can come as they are. As you'll hear me say over and over again in the next few months, there really are no perfect people allowed... because there are no perfect people. Since that's the case, let's stop pretending. Let's be authentic. Then let's allow God to work in us to make us into the people he's created us to be.

Discipline

My friend Cliff started blogging a few weeks ago. I love the definition of discipline that Cliff shares in this post. That will give you something to think about.

Birthdays

No, this is not a shameless promotion of my 33rd birthday (which is today). But, if you didn't know, today is my birthday. 33 years ago today I was born in Weisbaden, Germany. Donations and gifts can be sent to the following address... just kidding.

The first thing my boys did when they got up was bring me my presents (a pair of Crocs and a Clemson flag to hang outside the house... cool gifts!). I had to open them before breakfast. The miracle is that they kept silent about my presents. That's a first. Matthew still thinks I need to be having a "Pirate Party."

Really, my 33rd birthday is the small news around here. One of my room-mates from college, John Gallman, got engaged over the weekend. I'm happy for the guy. I'm worried for the girl!

Back to the birthday... whenever I have a birthday I reflect on this question: I wonder what this year will hold? Year 32 was the toughest year of my short life. I'm curious to see what's going to happen, what God is going to do, how I'm going to grow and change during year 33. It was a big year in Jesus' life.

Now I can't wait for some of Liz's amazing carrot cake tonight!

Marketing

Today I'm spending some time working on the text for the door-hangers that we're going to hang out on the weekends of August 18 and 25. Here's what I've got so far... and I float these ideas out there for some constructive criticism and insight.

Door Hanger #1:
Front: Church for people who like to sleep late.
Logo, web site
Back: The Point meets on Sunday night @ 6 PM
Creating a come as you are church
Logo, web site, phone #
Map, address
Door Hanger #2:
Front: Warning: No Perfect People Allowed
Logo, web site
Back: A new series beginning Sept. 9
sermon titles and dates
logo, web site, phone #
map, address

What am I missing? Any ideas?

Pictures from Stephanie's wedding

Theme verse

I don't know why, but for the past few weeks, and more intensely the past few days, I've been coming back to this passage. I believe that this is our theme passage at The Point. I think it has the potential to make us unique. It is the goal. From it comes our mission (to create relevant environments where people are encouraged and equipped to grow in intimacy with God, community with insiders and influence with outsiders).

I heard a church one time say their mission is to help people find their way back to God. That's good stuff. That's what we're trying to do at The Point.

Giving

I was challenged by this quote that I got out of this book: Giving isn't really giving until it interrupts your lifestyle. That's powerful and kind of convicting.

Follow your heart???

This is such a great passage.

We are so often controlled and directed by our heart or by our feelings. "But my heart is telling me this is the right thing to do.... This just feels right.... I've got a feeling about this...." The list could go on, but think about your life. How often do you follow your heart?

The passage above states that "the heart is deceitful above all things." Above ALL things. The heart is DECEITFUL.

I think that's why we're commanded to "Trust in the LORD with all of our heart...." We're not to trust our heart. We're to trust in the LORD with all of our heart. So... where's your trust?

Habits

Our lives are really the sum of a bunch of different habits. It's those things that we do over and over again that give our lives meaning, stability, structure and manageability.

I've been thinking about habits lately. Maybe it's because I changed my morning routine a few months back. I used to get up, take a shower, drink coffee and have my quiet time, eat breakfast and then go on to the rest of my day. Well, I'm getting up a bit earlier now to make sure I have enough time alone with God before my boys wake up (they never sleep past 7 or 7:30, and are frequently up before 7). With this earlier wake up call I've changed from showering first to drinking coffee and spending time alone with God first. It's been a great change. I really enjoy it (I know you're thrilled to know my morning routine, but hang in there, I'm going somewhere with this.)

The problem is that sometimes, if I have to be somewhere early, I have to revert back to my previous routine. This small change in my morning habits always throws me for a loop.

I know what you're thinking, "Man, Jonathan's a loser!" While that might be true to some degree (I was #1 on my tennis team in high school and never won one match), you try switching things up for a minute and see how you're left feeling. Here are some ideas:

• Change the way you drink your coffee.
• Rearrange your bedtime routine.
• Order something different at your favorite restaurant.
• Get a pizza with toppings you've never had.

The list could go on and on. So what is my point? If our lives are really the sum total of various habits I think it would be profitable to take an inventory of those habits to see which ones are beneficial and which ones we could do without.

Take for instance: Do you have the habit of spending time with God on a regular basis? If not, why not? If you're a Christ follower then I would definitely ask, "Why not?" Then, if you do have that habit, are you making the most of it. I switched my morning routine to maximize my time alone with God. I'd recommend, I'd beg, I'd plead, do whatever you need to do to prioritize your relationship with God.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Just in case you're wondering, there's no way I'm changing the way I fix my coffee. Why mess with perfection?

Humiliating

This week our oldest boys have gone camping with my parents. It's been a bit odd just having an 8 month old around the house (it's a lot quieter!), but great having some less interrupted time with Liz.

That's not the humiliating part. This AM I had to go to the doctor. No, I am not sick, but we thought (actually, Liz thought) it was time to get a doctor here in Spartanburg just in case I do get sick sometime in the future. So, Liz signed me up to get a physical. I don't like going to the doctor. I especially don't like getting a physical. It's a pretty humiliating experience for me (thank goodness the doctor said I don't need a prostate exam for another 2 years. I'm leaving the country in 1 year 11 months 29 days.). But in spite of the humiliation it's supposed to be good for you to get a physical, right?

This got me thinking. Really, the only thing that keeps me from regularly getting a physical (I've had 2 since I graduated high school--and I turn 33 on July 9th) is laziness and pride. I really think I'm too good, too healthy, altogether alright and such, so I don't need to go to the doctor... so I put it off. I change the topic when Liz brings it up. I put off what's good for me.

That got me thinking. We do this a lot don't we? We do it with God all the time. God tells us the best way to do relationships, but we don't want to play by those rules because we think we know better or we're just too lazy to find out what God says. God tells us how to handle money the right way, but we ignore that because we've believed the lie that it's all our money anyway. God tells us how to be in a right relationship with him, but we're not to keen on that, so we mix and match different religions or cultural beliefs together to find something that fits us better.

The problem in all of this is our stupid self-centeredness. It's all about us and if we don't like it we either ignore it or flat out rebel or change the topic so we don't have to think about it anymore.

We're going to talk a bit about this on Sunday at The Point. It will be worth your time. It sure has been eye-opening to me.

One good thing about today: I didn't have to make a follow-up appointment, so maybe I can postpone my next physical for another 7 or 8 years!

Must See

We don't go see many movies together as a family... especially since we have to take out a second mortgage to take all of us, but last night I took the fam to see Evan Almighty. I had heard good things about this film, and I was not disappointed. I laughed throughout the entire movie. It was clean. It was creative. And I think that the way they had Morgan Freeman portray God wasn't all that bad. It even emphasized obedience.

I don't normally recommend movies, but this is worth seeing in the theater.

I want to be like that

Sometimes I read something and think to myself, "Man, I want to be like that!" I read this passage this morning. I want to be like that.

Sunday night change

This Sunday, The Point is going to switch things up a bit. It's going to be an M&M night: Mexican and Movies. Instead of meeting at the BCM building we will be meeting at Corona's on Blackstock Rd. After some Mexican food we're going to head over to the Spartan 16 theater to watch Evan Almighty at 8 PM. Bring some friends and come have some fun. See you Sunday.

Wedding report

We're finally back from our adventure in the northeast and so I've got Internet access and a few minutes to report about my first wedding. I am no longer a virgin wedding officiator. I successfully completed my first wedding. It was a blast and a huge honor to do Stephanie and Chris's wedding. I am so thankful that they asked me to be a part.

People always talk about how beautiful the bride is, but I wish you could have seen my bride. She was gorgeous.

I'll share a funny story... well, it's funny now... during the ceremony I noticed that my wedding band was missing. My first wedding, I'm talking about commitment and doing the exchanging of rings and vows, and MY wedding band is not where it was supposed to be. This really stressed me out and was deeply upsetting. We looked all over the hotel room, had the people where the wedding took place be on the lookout, called the grocery store where I went to by Tylenol for Levi...but alas... no ring. Then Liz is getting earrings out of her small jewelery container and lo and behold, there's my wedding ring. It was a huge relief for me.

After some great fun and great food in Cape May we headed to NYC for 3 days. I wasn't sure what to expect dragging three small boys around the Big Apple, but besides some small complaining they did awesome. NYC is an amazing place. We visited Liz's twin brother, Matt and her sister-in-law, Emily's tiny apartment on the upper east-side. I think God might be calling some of you who read this blog to go plant a church there. They need to have at least one house church per apartment building. If you can do that take off. I'll support you.

I think this every time we head up to New Jersey, but I am so glad Liz has relatives from that part of the country. It was great seeing everyone and hopefully we see you all sooner rather than later.

From Cape May, NJ

I'm sitting out front of my hotel room at The Heritage Motor Inn at the corner of Stockton Pl. and Beach Ave. in Cape May, NJ. Nathan and Matthew are across the street at the beach with their cousin Zack and Aunt Judy, probably freezing to death. I'm babysitting Levi, who is taking a much needed nap, and working on the wedding gig I have for tomorrow. I think it may be all of 62 degrees outside right now. It's supposed to be 91 on Sunday. The pool is about 3 degrees above ice, but it's really beautiful out here.

I don't know how much I'll be posting over the next few days while we're here in NJ and then in NYC. I picked up some wireless from some other hotel nearby.

I would ask that you pray for me as I officiate my first wedding tomorrow. It's going to be a lot of fun. Pray for Chris and Stephanie. It's a big day and a big committment for them.

I have to share some bragging on my boys. I've got great boys, but I wasn't sure how the 8 hour drive to Norfolk or the 5 hour drive from Norfolk to Cape May was going to go. They were awesome. There was no fighting between Nathan and Matthew for the 8 hour trip and only a little bit of squabbling yesterday. They were great. Then Levi, the dude is a trooper. He was great. He's the happiest baby. All this goodness... and without a traveling DVD player!

I'd better get back to the wedding stuff.

Authority

I've got this question that's been running around in my mind the past week: What authority are we allowing to direct our lives? I'll make it more personal, what authority are you allowing to run your life?

I've noticed something over the past few months, personal experience is king. The majority of people I meet (including the one in the mirror at times), Christian and non-Christian, allow circumstances, feelings or peers to be the authority that they align their lives under. While I do believe that God does speak through all three of those I think it is a tragic mistake for us to allow them the ultimate voice of authority in our lives.

So what should be the ultimate authority in the life of a Christ follower? The Bible. Duh!?!? The problem is that we know that, but we don't line our lives up under the authority of Scripture. We think that in certain areas (finances, dating, relationships, work ethic, ect.) that God has made an exception for us. Or we just don't give a rip about what God says (which is what Proverbs refers to as a fool).

That's why one of our core values at The Point is Biblical Authority.

Now let me say what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that you need to know the Bible better. I think that knowledge is great, but if it stops as some intellectual exercise then we're missing the point. What I'm saying is that we need to do what we know. We need to align our lives with how God tells his followers to live in the Bible. We need to submit to the authority of Scripture (by the way, if you want a life of freedom, maximum freedom is found under God's authority, but that's another sermon).

It's about trusting God enough to obey what he says to do. Trust and obedience... these are essential characteristics of a Christ follower. (But I thought love was...? Yes, but the command to love makes love an issue of obedience and "loving others" is just one of the things that Jesus talks about.)

I don't know what your daily Scripture intake is, but I want to encourage you to increase it. Then do what it says!

Stories of grace

I have to admit, I don't understand grace. I like grace. I believe in grace. If it weren't for grace I'd be doomed, but grace is messy. Grace forces me to actually trust God to do what he's promised to do. My bent is to try and fix people, but that's God's job. Grace transforms people who rest in it.

Stripped is another one of those books I got for free (I love free stuff!). I wasn't sure if it would really be worth my time. It was more than worth my time. Reading these stories of life change was a big inspiration to me. I love stories and this book is filled with stories that will increase your trust in the God of grace.

Why you should do Music on Main

Last night Liz, Chris, William, my boys and I went to give gum away at Music on Main. We gave away 318 pack of gum in about 20 minutes. I've got to tell you a story. Liz, the boys and I were giving some gum away to some people who were sitting on benches. One guy looked at the card that we give away with the gum and said, "I got one of these before and called the number on the card and somebody prayed with me." I said, "If somebody prayed for you then it was me." He was so thankful to have been prayed for and it was cool to meet face to face someone who I had talked with and prayed with over the phone. Who knows how God is going to use the giveaways in the future. Who knows how he is going to use you. Come be a part of the fun next Thursday. "Small things done with great love can change the world." - Steve Sjogren.