You Can Know God

We kicked off a new series this morning and celebrated Mother’s Day at the same time.  The new series is called “Summer Reading” and the first book in the series was “Why Men Hate Going to Church.”  Some highlights from the day:

• We talked about the differences between men and women and how most churches are designed to reach women and children.
• Men like to take risks, men like to fight, and men want to be great.  We need to make room for that in the church.
• Men don’t like to sing, don’t like to share, and aren’t really concerned with developing intimate relationships.  We may not need to make those requirements of church.
• The band rocked out to We Stand, O For a Thousand Tongues, and How Awesome is the Lord.
• At the end of the service, we blessed a single mom in our church.  She’s raising her child as well as some of her grandchildren, and she serves every weekend in our church.  We were able to send her on a weekend getaway…the site of her honeymoon.  Because of some faithful givers, we were also able to make her car payment for a year.  Days like this make me proud to be the pastor of our church.  I’ll post the video this week.
• Elementary kids all gave their moms flowers today.  Except for my kid, who pulled all the petals off in the car.
• Yesterday, several people from our church went to Woodland High School to help clean up the campus.  I helped pick up trash.  We also had a crew helping out with the Stan Wilkins Memorial Ride.  I love it when our church serves like that.  Next Saturday, by the way, we need a crew of people to help with the Duck Derby.
• Next week, I’m talking about “The Best Question Ever.”  It’s going to be one of the most practical services we’ve ever done.
• Use some of those bookmark sized invites to invite a friend.  If you have store or shop, set a stack out.

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I wanted to give a blog shout out to two amazing volunteers at Oak Leaf Church.

DeeDee Baxter is one of our lead volunteers and she’s recently stepped into the role of coordinating all greeters and hosts on Sunday morning. She’s been on the job for a few weeks and I’ve already noticed a difference. She’s got some training, a greeter dinner and an observation trip on the horizon and everyone on this team will benefit from her leadership.

Michelle Shelton is one of our impact volunteers and helps out in a bunch of different ways on Sunday morning. She was also the one who organized our volunteer prom. She took care of the games and the decorations and put together a team to get things done. She did an amazing job and put on a fun event.

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I was really proud of you at your school’s talent show.  I know it took a lot of courage to stand up on the stage, and most of the kids were much older than you.  You did a great job singing.

But most of all, I am proud of you for singing a song about Jesus.  There’s nothing wrong with Hannah Montana songs like many of the other kids performed, but you chose to sing a song about God.  In the morning when I drop you off for school, I pray that you’ll always be a good example about Jesus and our church at your school.  And at the school talent show you did just that.

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My friend Adam went through the church planting program at Westridge and is starting a church in Decatur. He’s also quite good with graphics and blogs and such. Last week, we talked about how hosted Wordpress blogs are much better than the free things because you get additional tools and look more professional.

As a church planter, he’s raising support for much of his salary. One way he earns some money is to design and install hosted Wordpress blogs for people. If you’ll let him set you up for hosting, he’ll hook you up with a blog design and some good plug ins. He’s also a web designer and would be happy to look at some projects for you.

Sent him an email at onewaydesigns [at] gmail [dot] com.

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A few weeks ago, I challenged our church to begin practicing the Biblical discipline of tithing - giving 10% of your income to the storehouse. I know there are lots of people who debate this, but here’s the bottom line. I have NEVER met a person who feels like they were being robbed by God because they tithed. I know many people in our church who tithe, and they are some of the happiest people I know.  They know what I know…that living on 90% and honoring God is better than living on 100% and robbing God.  On the other hand, many that do not tithe, also get in financial trouble and money becomes a huge source of stress.  As I said that Sunday, giving is the ONLY way to combat selfishness.

Tithing is putting your money where your mouth is. Jesus said giving was a heart issue, not a money issue. Which is why people that tithe tend to have their hearts bent towards God. As we wrapped up the message, I issued the tithing challenge. Basically, I asked everyone to do what God’s Word says…to tithe, trust and test God. Tithe for three months and see if your life is not blessed.

So far, there have been many people who have taken the tithing challenge. I am praying for them all by name. So is everyone else on our staff. I believe God will bless people, and bless our church, and bless our community when people honor God with the first fruits.

We are also setting up appointments for people who are interested to sit down with someone and talk through their personal financial plan. We want people to tithe, but we also want people to work from a plan become financially free. So if you’re interested in taking the tithing challenge - do it. If you’d like to sit down with someone - let me know.  You can do this.

One last encouraging story.  Yesterday, two children came by the office (with their mom) to drop of their tithe!  How cool is that?

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So is Andy Stanley. And T.D. Jakes. And Brian Bloye from Westridge.

See, as a pastor, I’m pretty much busy on Sunday. I don’t go to church to get fed…I go there to feed others. But throughout the week, I am feeding off of some of the best preachers and teachers out there. I usually listen to five or six sermons each week…not to hunt for material, but to be challenged as a Christian and as a pastor.

I subscribe to about a dozen different podcasts. In addition to the guys listed above, I regularly listen to Matt Chandler, Steven Furtick, Francis Chan, Craig Groschel, Mark Driscoll, John Piper. I’ve recently added Larry Osborne and Jeff Kapusta to the rotation. These guys are all different, but they all preach Jesus. And they all challenge me throughout the week.

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Fads and trends come and go. I imagine there will come a time when we look back on the ministry in our church and say, “Can you believe we were using guitars and drums in worship?” The styles that we enjoy now will one day be considered a fad or trend.

Is church planting a fad? Yes and no.

Church planting has always been one of the most effective ways of advancing the Kingdom, all the way back to the book of Acts.  It’s not a new idea.

But in some cases, I think guys are jumping on the church planting bandwagon, not because they are called, but because they think it’s cool.  They hate their last church, get mad at something and start a church so they can be their own boss.  This is a bad idea.

Allow me to make a prediction. Five years from now, there will be a slew of church plants that close their doors for a variety of reasons. Secondarily, there will be a lot of church planters that realize that they were not called to plant a church but wanted to work for a church that focused on a mission. These guys will join up with others as executive pastors, small groups pastors or associate pastors.

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A fad is something that is very popular with a small group of people for a short time. A trend is something that becomes popular within mainstream society over a period of time.

Stamp collecting was a fad in the 1930’s.

The hula hoop was a fad in the 1950’s.

Tie dye shirts were all the rage in the 60’s.

Our church has been accused of being a fad. In fact, there are many that would call the modern contemporary church planting movement a fad. Theming a service around the 80s or a reality TV show…that’s a fad. A commitment to teaching God’s Word in a way that could be understood by the average person, that’s something deeper.

The Protestant Reformation centered around the idea that people could interpret the Bible for themselves. I’m sure there were church leaders tat believed or hoped this was a fad. Instead, it turned out to be a movement, and the reason that you can buy sixteen different Bible translations at Wal-Mart.

The Internet was once a fad. So were blue jeans. And cars. But those fads actually stuck. So what causes some fads to become movements? And what causes some movements to change history?

I’ll post more tomorrow, but what do you think?

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Great day at Oak Leaf Church this morning.  Here’s some highlights from today.

• We celebrated the Lord’s Supper as a church today.
• I started off in Exodus with an explanation of Passover, and continued with a passage in 1 Corinthians about the Lord’s Supper.  Jesus was celebrating the passover celebration when he took the third cup, changed things up and instituted communion.
• Although Jesus used wine, we used grape juice.  Because there weren’t Southern Baptist in Jesus’ day.
• A lady that grew up Catholic came up to me and said that it was the first time she ever understood communion.  That was so encouraging to me.
• Joel and Matt both led today.  Songs included Nothing But the Blood, Beautiful the Blood, Burn for You and Marvelous Light.
• Will actually let me lead Marvelous Light and it was a lot of fun.  I used to lead worship as a youth pastor, and I really enjoyed it.  Maybe I’ll post some video later this week.
• We had more people sign up for The Tithing Challenge.  If you’d like to sit down personally with someone to talk through your financial plan, let me know and I will hook you up.
• Next week is Mother’s Day and we are kicking off a new series called Summer Reading. The first book in the series is called Why Men Hate Going to Church.  We have a SPECIAL TREAT planned for the service, and moms and men will both have a great time!
• I really sense that God is beginning to do something new and exciting.  I can tell He is preparing us for something.  Numbers have been down over the past few weeks, but I feel like we’re at Gideon time.  God is bringing who he wants here - who is called to be a part of this mission.  Pruning us to get us ready for something God-sized.

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Here’s a few quick updates this early Saturday morning.

• Saw Jerry Seinfeld at the Fox Theater last night.  Very funny.  Amazed at how hard he works to present 75 minutes of material with no notes.
•  We’re doing a garage sale today, so our garage is filled with stuff we want to get rid of.
• My middle child turned three this week…she’s having a party this afternoon.
• My youngest child is out of the high chair and eating with a fork.
• My oldest child is operating a lemonade stand at the garage sale today.
• They actually scientifically created the most annoying song ever. I thought you would enjoy.
• Will is actually letting me lead a worship song at church tomorrow.  I’m really looking forward to reliving those days.  Hopefully, it won’t stink.

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