We announced it to our leaders at the Leadership Summit and then dropped the news on the congregation yesterday…Oak Leaf Church is going to Canton.

In 2010, we’re going to open up a campus in the town next door. We’re not starting a campus because we don’t think there are good churches there (there are a bunch), or because we think we’re the hope for Canton (Jesus has that covered), but because we believe God is asking us to go there. We’ve been praying, planning and working on this for a long time, and now is the time. Here’s a few quick hits, with further information coming at you in the next few months:

• We are still working on logistics, but it looks like I’ll teach live in Cartersville on Sunday morning, and then drive to Canton and teach live there.
• We will have a campus pastor who will be “the face with the place.”  The campus pastor will develop leaders, organize community service opportunities and lead the ministries in Canton.  I’ll let you know who the campus pastor will be in January.
• We have a couple of potential meeting locations, but we will finalize that and go public a little later, probably in February.
• The worship, kids environments, discipleship plan and all that will be the same.  We will be one church meeting in two locations.
• We’re going to treat this campus launch much like a church plant.
• The launch team will begin meeting in January; we’ll do some preview services in the summer; and the expected launch date is in August of 2010.
• If you’re interested in being a part of the launch team, let us know.  If you know people in Canton who might be interested in joining us, let us know.
• We strongly believe that there will be other future campuses as well.  But one step at a time.

God has done amazing things in Cartersville in the last three years, and we’re excited about what God is going to continue to do in Canton.  Launching this campus is one of our five big goals for 2010, and it’s one of the reasons I want you to give once on November 21/22 and give regularly in 2010. Check out this PDF for more information.

We’re kicking off a new series this weekend at Oak Leaf Church.  Specifically, we’ll address three big hopes that people have.  I hope my life has purpose.  I hope my future is bright.  I hope my eternity is secure. It’s going to be the most important and historic series that we’ve ever done.  If you have EVER been to Oak Leaf Church, I really want you to come and connect with the truths we’re talking about in this series.  Spread the word nationwide!

Here are a few web-friendly graphics that you can tweet, send out via facebook, or plaster all over your stuff.  Email or message everyone you know.

Solomon writes that oxen make the mangers messy.  And while some might not want to deal with the mess, a messy manger is actually could be a sign of a coming harvest.  In the church world, if we want to have effective ministry, then we’re going to have to deal with some messes. And if you’re setting out reach those who are far from God, the mess level goes even higher.  Here’s what a messy manger means for us.

1. People might smoke and cuss on church property. I had a guest come up to me after a sermon a few weeks ago and say, “I really #@#3&ed up my marriage.”

2. Because of what is at stake, I’m going to call staff to higher standards. Honestly, what some people get away with on some church staff’s won’t fly here.  If you’re on our staff, you’re going to work hard and be accountable.

3. We’re not going to get comfortable and keep doing things the way we’ve always done them.  We must keep pushing and keep changing.

4.  People’s kids might not act right or know all the Bible stories.  For that matter, adults might not know all the Bible stories, so you have to explain things.

5.  We have to learn how to do more with less money.  Church people tend to be tithers, those far from God need to be led to understand Biblical stewardship.  It would honestly be easier if we bent our programs and catered to Christians, but that’s not our calling.

6.  We might offend a few Christians.  Keep in mind, we’re not setting out to offend Christians, and being offensive is not a fruit of the spirit.  But if you go after the sick, then the healthy will sometimes complain that they aren’t getting enough attention.

7.  We can’t lead via twitter and facebook from behind our computer screens.  Helping people with messy mangers means that we have to have real conversations with real people.  And sometimes these conversations don’t happen at convenient times.

In November, we’re doing a three part series called HOPE. We’re going to talk about our purpose and our future, and I’ll unveil the location of our second campus.

Then in December, we’re beginning a 22-part series simply called Jesus. Yep, 22-weeks long. I confess, that is a really, really, really long time for me. But the subject of the series is the life of Jesus, so that’s a great topic that deserves a lot of attention.  We’ve been planning and praying about this series for more than a year.

We’re actually going to walk through the Gospel of Luke in this series. It will begin in December with Jesus birth, and go through his death and resurrection next Easter. There’s some great stuff coming in this series, and I’m really excited.  Plus, if you’re a Christian that’s mad that we’re talking about sex, then you should now be happy.

Can’t wait!

We’ve seen God do some incredible things in the last three years. Literally hundreds of people have been saved and baptized and God has given us the opportunity to serve so many people. In addition to that, we’ve been able to encourage, challenge and teach a bunch of other young churches and leaders.

But we’re in a pivotal time financially, so I wanted to openly and honestly address a few things for those of you that call Oak Leaf Church home.

Obviously, the economy has affected a lot of people. I know many in our church have lost their jobs or taken pay cuts.  In the last few months, it has really affected our church.  So much so that it’s caused us to make a few changes. Our budget needs basically call for $16,500 a week. About 80% of that would be considered fixed costs…things like the payment for the house of rock, insurance, utilities, kids curriculum. For the last 4 months or so, giving has averaged more like $14,000 a week. That’s about a $10,000 a month shortfall.  There are some weeks that giving is 50% below where it needs to be.

I wanted to tell you what we’ve done, what we’re going to do, and what we’re praying for.

What We’ve Done: We’ve reorganized our budget based on $14,500 a week. It’s just not good business not to plan well. We’ve cut everything that we can cut. It was a painful decision, but we had to eliminate a couple of positions on our staff.  This was a very tough call.  I also made the decision to give myself a pay cut.  (I cannot make the decision to raise my salary by the way, but I figure it’s within my authority to decrease it.)  We just can’t pay for things or for staff with money that doesn’t exist.

What We Are Doing: I feel very strongly that we should not cut anything from church planting support or community service, so we are not messing with those budget categories. We’re going to continue to ask God’s people to give. Times of uncertainly should cause us to trust and rely on God even more. Personally, I’m looking for ways that our family can give more, not less. If you’re connected to Oak Leaf Church, quite honestly, we need you to give.  I need everyone to contribute, not a few select people to foot every bill.  There are 1,000 people that attend our church on a regular basis.  We should all be able to meet these needs.  If you’re not involved in giving, will you step up?

What We’re Going to Do: We are going to keep serving, teaching God’s Word and doing what He has called us to do. We are not going to shrink back when times get tough. We are more committed than ever to leading people from where they are to where God wants them to be.  I’m not going to teach giving and tithing sermons every week, but I want you to understand where we are.  I want us to keep our eyes on Jesus and the mission that He has given us.  Our best days are ahead.

I am not complaining or whining. We trust that God is going to provide.  But I want to be an honest leader and let you know where we are.  If you’ve got any questions, let me know.

This weekend, we are beginning a new series called Storybook Sex. We’re spending five weeks in the Song of Solomon talking about dating, sex, marriage and relationships.

In addition to kicking off this series, we’re adding a 4th service! You now have four opportunities to invite your friends to church. There will be two services on Saturday – 5:00 and 6:30 PM, and two more on Sunday – 10:00 and 11:30 AM. I need as many people as humanly possible to come to one of the Saturday services. PLEEEASE!

This series is going to have something for everyone. If you have teenagers, you need to get them to church for this series. There is so much junk information out there on these subjects…they need to hear the truth.

If you are married, then you need to be there. Guys, I promise you that it will be worth it! Ladies, you will not regret attending.

This is a great series for you to invite. Call or text someone right now if you can. We’re putting out some road signs featuring the series website, and we’ve mailed out a few postcards as well.  Here are some graphics that you can put on your Facebook profiles and other media outlets.  Let’s spread the word and get people to Oak Leaf Church this weekend!

Oak Leaf Church is just three years old and in many ways, I feel like we’re just scratching the surface of discovering our identity and reaching this community. On the other hand, we’re already a big church. With 1,000 people attending on the weekends, we’re larger than 90% of the churches in America. (If it sounds like I’m bragging, it’s because I am. I’m proud of our team and take pride in what God has done!)

We’re all making somewhat of a transition from leading a church plant to leading a big church. Here’s some of those things.

1. When we plan events, we have to plan them big.  We learned this when we planned for 2,000 people to show up for our first Egg Drop and 5,000 people showed up instead.  We have to think about more parking spaces, more seats, and more food.  That can get complicated.
2. Big churches have bigger opportunities.  I’m not being down on small churches, but the larger we grow the more opportunity we have to invite people, serve people and share Jesus.
3. Big churches have a greater responsibility.  Because we have more opportunities, we have more accountability.  To whom much is given, much is required.  There’s more at stake these days…even in simple things.
4. We have to fight to keep things personal.  The bigger we get, the easier it will be for people to feel lost.  So we fight to have more personal conversations and more small groups.  Recently, our pastors have started making themselves available after the service down front to pray and talk with people as long as necessary.
5. Our people are our greatest resource.  It’s not money or facilities…it’s people.  There is an army of people connected to our church to accomplish things.  It’s tough to remember that sometimes.
6. We must fight to focus.  It’s easier to lose focus on what really matters because there’s so much going on.  For example, we can’t announce everything from the stage.  In fact, we can announce very little.  We’ve decided that it must directly matter to at least 80% of the people in attendance to announce something.
7. Volunteers cannot be recruited from the stage.  The bigger our church gets, the more I realize that I can’t just announce something and have people come rushing in.  We have to personally invite people to leverage their gifts, talents, and resources to accomplish the mission.  This takes relationships, not handouts.
8. I learned this one from Andy Stanley’s leadership podcast.  As a church, we’re big enough to where we can say yes to a lot of things.  But I personally cannot.  I must focus my time on stewarding the vision and preparing messages.  This means that I can’t meet with everyone that wants to have lunch or grab coffee.
9. We have to communicate with pockets of people, not just the masses.  The larger we get, the more important it is to communicate with sub-groups within our church.  We have to have ways to communicate just to students, and just to married adults (and those ways might be different).  It’s confusing and hard, but it’s more effective than shotgun announcements.
10. I’m learning that in order to lead a church of 2,000 people, I’ve got a lot to learn.  So I’m setting out on a mission to get in touch with pastors who lead churches of 2,000 – 3,000 people.  If you know of anyone, or could set me up on a blind date, let me know!

If you’re part of a large church, what lessons have you learned?  What would you add to this list?

One of the things that makes me proud to be the pastor of Oak Leaf Church is being able to help and support other church plants. And one of the churches that we help fund is The Gallery Church of Baltimore, led by Ellis Prince.  Recently, Gallery Church organized an event called City Uprising, which was a massive outreach effort in the city.  Here’s what Ellis writes to the people of Oak Leaf Church:

Through City Uprising, we were able to serve over 1,500 people in the name of Jesus, test 900 people for HIV, pass out more than 1,000 meals, clean 5 city parks, serve 5 public schools, and share the Good News of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection with hundreds. Government Leaders, Medical Professionals, Academic Leaders, and people on the streets experienced the love of Christ. We had over 100 volunteers walk over 100 miles of the streets of our city as a “Display of God’s Greatness!”

The State Aids Administration is asking us for a plan for sustainable testing. Principles of local schools are calling us their best partners. The Parks and Recreation leaders in our area are say thank you over and over again because they can’t keep up with the demands of the maintenance. This would not have been possible without your contribution.

We are planning to host a citywide celebration on October 27, 2009, to share the victories of City Uprising with the volunteers of the past year and new potential partners for 2010. We are inviting Pastors, Educators, Parks and Recreational Leaders, Local and State Government, and Citizens in the “trenches” laboring hard for the souls and peace of our cities people.

It has not been easy starting a Church in this city that is multi-ethnic and multi-economic. Yet there is great joy in obedience despite the difficulty of the task. We have seen over 30 first time guests since City Uprising (four weeks). We have 35 people signed up for our “covenant class” (membership) and nearly a dozen people we are trying to get to follow the Lord in the obedient step of baptism. This is a direct result of your support and prayers. Thank you.

From time to time, we get emails and comments from folks asking if we have a particular ministry. Or sometimes they wonder when we will be starting a ministry. Sometimes, they ask because their last church had it. Sometimes, they ask because they are passionate about it.

Here’s a few examples.

Do you have something for teenagers on Sunday? Yes. It’s called the church service. In other churches, this might be referred to as “big church.” But we believe that nothing is more effective on Sunday morning than students and adults worshiping together and hearing the Word of God.  Why would we want to pull teenagers out of a great environment that’s appropriate for them and try to duplicate what we’re already doing?

Do you have a men’s ministry? Yes. It’s called go to church, get involved and lead your family. You really don’t need 50 dudes on motorcycles to accomplish that. If you want to be a real man and Christian leader, you should volunteer with kids or students or parking or production or be a greeter. And if you want to go camping or riding, you don’t need me to validate your hobby by calling it a ministry. Just get some guys and go.

Do you have Awanas? Nope. And we’re probably won’t have it in the future.  Not because we have anything against mid-week kids programs, but because we’re not trying to busy up the lives of families. You’ve got sports, school and church on the weekend. Instead of dropping your kids off at church all the time, you can spend some time with them talking about God. That’s WAY more effective that more programs for kids.

We are decidedly simple at Oak Leaf Church, meaning that we don’t have a buffet of ministries. Instead, we try to focus on the weekend, connecting people in teams and groups, and serving the community.

If you are committed to the mission and vision of Oak Leaf Church, and you want to use your gifts and abilities for a good purpose, and you know how to play an instrument, then we might have an opportunity for you.

As we continue to grow and expand, we’re looking for people who can play guitar, bass, drums or keyboard.  We’re also looking for singers.  Guys, girls, young, and old.  Auditions are coming up, and you ought to give it a whirl.

Being a part of our band is a big deal, and it’s a huge platform.  If you’ve got the skills and the passion, then maybe we should talk.

Here’s the preview for BREAK FREE, a series at Oak Leaf Church that begins on September 12/13. Lessons from the Exodus in the Old Testament will help you break free from habits, bondage and hangups, and live in freedom.  Here’s the schedule:

September 12/13: Trapped in Bondage
September 19/20: The Great Escape
September 26/27: Living in Freedom

If you’ve been waiting on the perfect series to invite someone, then this is it.  Break off that phone call or send that email.  Pray for boldness and opportunity and then extend an invitation THIS WEEK.  And as an added bonus, here’s a bunch of graphics that you can plaster all over your digital real estate.

Really excited about this semester of Oak Leaf University, which begins in a couple of weeks.  We’ve got five classes, all last six weeks and meet on Tuesday nights at the House of Rock.  Choose from:

• Starting Point – if you’re a new Christian or coming back to the faith, then this is where you should begin.
• Money Management – this is a great class, and everyone, no matter how much money you have should go through this
• Prayer – what is prayer, how to pray, etc.
• Defending Your Faith – learn how to share your faith, answer questions about God, etc.
• Church History – from Acts to the present, see what’s happened throughout history.

Childcare included with $20 registration.  And you can add a dinner option via the Coffee Bar.  Here’s a little video introducing some of the classes.

If you’re a new Christian, you should start with Starting Point.  And I am a huge believer in the financial class…everybody needs to go through that one.  And Church History is really interesting.  All of these classes look great.

Get more information and register right here.

Here’s a 60-second video of some of August’s festivities.  We turned three and baptized a bunch of people in the river.

Tenth Avenue North played at a summer camp for me back in 2002.  I’ve done half a dozen weekend retreats with them.  They played at our first two preview services in the summer of 2006.  They played at our first service at Woodland High School in October of 2008.  They signed a record deal.   They moved to Nashville.  And they are playing the House of Rock in a couple of weeks.

Headlining their first tour this fall, the stop at the House of Rock on Wednesday night, September 16.   It’s the first concert event we’ve done.  Won’t be the last.  Tickets are $10, and the show will sell out, so buy them fast.

We’re not just doing services on Saturday night to be different, but to reach a group of people that might not be able to come on Sunday morning. We’re hoping to create a bit of an identity on Saturday nights, and so far, I love the vibe. But we want to keep pushing even more, so this fall, we’re starting a couple of new things.

• Beginning September 5, we’re going to keep childcare open for two hours after the service so people can go out.  And every other week, we’ll add something fun to the mix…like a movie or a football game on the big screens. This will be open to those who come on Saturday night.  If you have kids, we think you’ll appreciate this, and it will be just another great reason to come on Saturday.
• And starting in October (with the kickoff of a series on the Song of Solomon), we’re adding a second Saturday night service. 5:00 and 6:30 will be the new times. If you’re a volunteer, you can serve during one time slot and attend the service during the other.  And with four service times on the weekend, that’s four opportunities for you to bring those you know so they can hear about Jesus.