Who Says God Doesnt Have a Sense of Humor…

The worlds ugliest dog… didnt think it was possible for ONE dog to be THE ugliest… but this one takes it hands down!

Good Stuff

I think that God uses different people and different times to speak truth into our lives.  One of those voices that I have been listening to recently is Perry Noble from Newspring church in Anderson South Carolina.  This is a guy that God has used to make a huge impact in his community.  In just seven short years Newspring has grown to more than 7000 attending a weekend service (HOLY STINKING COW!!!) but more importantly has seen hundreds come to Christ (just a few weeks ago they baptized 212)!

Perry had a post today that just confirms some things that I have been thinking, its a good read and worth remembering. 

No more Tooth Fairy

Our oldest daughter Lindsay has reached a milestone in her life… she no longer believes in the tooth fairy.  This is a difficult transition for her mom and me.  Our “baby” is growing up.  This stinks!!!  Why can’t she stay our little girl who belives in a freakish old lady (or dude) in tights that breaks into peoples homes and leaves money under the pillows of periodontally challenged kids? 

We have come to realize that she is growing and (for all my complaining) we would be concerned if she didn’t.   We would recognize that there was a problem if she still used a pacifier when she is seven or was struggling with potty training at sixteen (although thats not a bad idea, it would be hard to get a date wearing a diaper;-)! 

The same is true for Christians… we should be growing!  If we are not then, just like Lindsay, there is a problem.  I get very frustrated with believers who will not grow up!  Christians who act like spiritual babies.  I’m not the only pastor who has felt this way, look at what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3.  In essence Paul was telling this church to GROW UP!  If you are a new Christian, its ok for you to act like a new Christian… if you have been a Christ follower for years it is NOT!  Spiritually immature Christians and infants have alot in common:

*  They both can’t tolerate solid food

*  They both must be catered to

*  They can be critical and uncaring

*  They are both short sighted

*  Each is selfish… caring only about themselves

Lifesong will be a church that will encourage everyone to take the next step in there journey of faith!  If you are not willing to do that, this may not be the church for you.  I’m not trying to be mean or cold-hearted, just honest.  Spitirually immature, lifelong church members have done more to hurt the cause of Christ than just about anything!  At Lifesong church, this will not happen… the stakes are too high to settle for anything less!

$$$$$$$

Things are ramping up for Lifesong.  The letters for our “Be the One” fund-raising campaign will drop tomorrow.  We will have the web-site updated and we will be adding on-line giving capability to the site. 

We are praying HARD for 150 people to stand with us and give a one time gift of (minimum) $200!  Holy stinkin’ cow… there is alot of stuff that needs to be purchased…

Nursery equipment…

Sound stuff…

Staging…

Lights…

Coffee (must have COFFEE!!!)…

Post cards and postage…

And about a million other things for a church to start from scratch!  With that said all the “stuff” is secondary to the vision!  Lifesong is going to rock this area with the Good News of Christ… and though your giving, you get a chance to be a part regardless of where you are! 

We are planning to use all the funding from this campaign to take care of the majority of our “pre-launch” needs.  I have been sharing the vision with other churches and praying that six churches will partner with us and commit to give at least $2400 per month (total) in support.  This has been going well and many churches are praying about their part in the Song! 

Be praying with us for these financial needs.  I really believe that God is going to blow us away with His provision through this campaign!  Its going to be awesome!

Great Start of the Week

Wednesday is going to be a busy day!  Taking care of some paperwork in the morning.  Then I will be driving over to Newnan to meet with Scott Whitaker the lead pastor of Stonepoint church to learn from a guy who is a little further down the church planting road.  Scott is doing an awsome job, I am jacked about having lunch with him! Then I will be heading over to The Church of Joy and preach at their mid-week service.

This past weekend was great.  Our “Imagine” meeting went well.  We had 17 people in attendance and at least one more family has joined the launch team!  Sunday night we stuffed envelopes for our “Be the One”  launch fund campiagn.  We even had some amazing God stuff happen finacially (can’t say anything yet… stay tuned!) to get the campaign kicked off!  Then on Monday morning I recieved an email that reminded me of why we are starting Lifesong:

“My family is looking for a home church. It is hard to find a place where you feel comfortable when you have been away from church. We have a three year old daughter and I feel that it is time, for her sake, to return to church. I went to church on a regular basis as a child, but not so much as an adult. My husband did not go to church on a regular basis while growing up. However, I believe If my daughter and myself were to start attending church somewhere we feel comfortable that he would follow.”

That is the reason Lifesong is being born… to reach the disconnected for Christ!

I really think that God is about to rock our world!  Lifesong church is coming and this community will never be the same!  We WILL reach this generation with the message of Christ! 

Imagine

Imagine – “To form a mental image of something that is not present.”

I think the word “imagine” is one of the most powerful and positive words in the english language.  When we use our imaginations, we unlock the world of “what if,” and releases our mind to create.  The mind is amazingly powerful (some a little less than others!).  Every great movement in history started as a “what if” thought. 

“What if” man could fly?  The Wright brothers imagined that we could… and the airplane was born.

“What if” there was a better mode of transportation?  Henry Ford imagined that there was… and the affordable car was born.

“What if” you could live in a free country?  Those first Americans imagined you could… and the United States of America was born.

“What if” you did’nt have to drag heavy crap around all the time?  Some caveman imagined that there was… and the wheel was born.  (This post was getting too serious!)

The point is that every action that we take, good or bad, starts as an impulse of the mind.  When we release our imagination we begin to create a different reality… a better world.  The reason that many poeple are unfullfilled in their lives is that they are living in the world of “what is” and not “what if.”  We have learned to just accept what is and not imagine what could be… and then work to make it a reallity. 

Tomorrow night we are having our “Imagine” meeting.  We began asking the question of “what if” in the church.

“What if” church could be relevant and exciting?

“What if” church was not just a place to go but who we are to become?

“What if” the church really took seriously Jesus’ command to impact the world with the “Good News?”

What if?  We imagine that these things can be and Lifesong will be born!  Join us tomorrow night at 6PM at the Church of Joy.  Help us bring life to Lifesong and imagine what can be!  See ya’ there!

Be the ONE

Starting this next week we will be launching our “Be the One” fund-raising campaign.  We are praying that 150 people will commit to give a one time gift of $200 to the launch fund of Lifesong church.  When I began this journey to start Lifesong I had NO CLUE how much money it would take to start a church! 

I thought about doing something cool to go along with the campaign like put on a white suit, comb my hair into that “preacher style”  and claim that God (said with an “A” at the end) was going to take my life if the money wasn’t raised.  Maybe  we could open up a gift shop and sell really useful and “spiritual” cra… I mean items.  I thought we could promise to send a cloth specially anoited with olive oil form the Holy Land (purchased form Kroger) that contain magical powers to those that give.  I decided that the “purple haired” lady on TV had probably already used these, so I decided against them.

So, instead doing any of that, I decided to do something else… trust God.  Its His church and His dream, so I figure He will take care of it.  We are trusting that God will use people like you to make a difference and ‘Be the One.”  I can honestly say that I have no idea how all the money will be raised, and to me the task seems impossible.  Its a good thing that He specializes in the impossible!

If you would like to give to the launch fund to help bring Lifesong to life, visit our website and contact us.  We will have a link up sometime next week that will allow you to give electronically.

How do you “start” a church?

Its an interesting question! And although I don’t claim to know the final, definitive answer to that question, I do have some thoughts of the subject. I think Jesus gives us an idea when some of the teachers of the law asked Him what the “greatest commandment” was?  His response is found in Matthew 22:37-38:

“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

In less than fifty words, Jesus gives us the secret of leading a healthy church and living a healthy life.  Love God completely and put others first.  Pretty simple… huh? 

I sometimes think that in many ways we have made the church much more complicated than it was ever designed to be.  Especially in starting new churches we get so caught up in the details of DOING church that we fail to BE the church.  The essence of church planting and of life is to love God by serving others.  Everything else that we do must be driven by this pursuit. 

There are many important details when it comes to starting a new church, but they must never take the place of loving God completely and putting others first.  It is a simple process and one that Lifesong will seek to live out every day!