Awesome day

We had an awesome day today.  The launch team made a visit to The River church in Kathleen, GA (never heard of Kathleen have you???  Its right between nowhere and “holy crap where are we?”).  It was a great visit.  Steve Wood and his people were so hospitable and helpful.  They completely opened their church up to us to see “behind the scenes.”   They really are a Kingdom minded church!  Thanks guys for making it such an awesome day!

I found myself sitting alone during the service today (the team was all around the building) and I had a great conversation with a nice lady before the service.  She is so proud of her church and wanted to make sure that I (the guy sitting alone apparently looking pitiful) felt welcomed.  We talked for a few minutes about her family, her church and, of course, I shared with her that I was the lead pastor of Lifesong and that I had brought the team to observe what was going on at The River.  About halfwway through the message she reached back and handed me a note that said she was involved with a sports wear company and she wants to GIVE us custom printed shirts and hats!  Are you stikin’ kidding me!  We had been talking about t-shirt designs the previous week!  Go God!

God is on the move and it is only begining!  Lifesong is coming and it is going to turn this city upside down with the Message of Christ!

Good Stuff…

I ran across this quote from John Piper.  I don’t always agree with Dr. Piper, but he nailed it with this comment on starting a new church.

John Piper on launching new churches:

Jesus never said, “I will build my social service agency.”
He never said, “I will build my parachurch ministry.”
He never said, “I will build my university or my Christian college or my Christian school.”

He said, “I will build my church.”

One institution in all the universe is given this promise. ‘I will build my church.’ So, brothers, be encouraged that you are about something extraordinarily important.

I = A Risen Christ, worthy of eternal worship, is the one who plants the church.

Will build = Christ builds His church through “ripping the gates of hell off of the human heart… so they can see.”

My = The church belongs to Jesus Christ and Jesus is already at work in the city where you are planting. “For I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:10)

Church = Only one institution in the entire universe is given the promise that Jesus will build it.

 

Our Method: Invest

One of my favorite stories in the bible is found in Mark chapter 2 (don’t skip over this… READ IT!).   It illustrates what I mean when we say that we invest in people’s lives.

(You still didn’t read it… did you?  Hurry up, its worth it)

These guys were willing to do whatever it took to get their friend to Jesus.  They invested in the life of their friend for the purpose of introducing him to Christ.  They were willing to pay the price…

It cost them time… to carry him to the house where Jesus was.

It cost them effort… to haul their friend to the roof of the house.

It cost them trouble… to tear off the roof.

It cost them ridicule… the people in the house werent real happy about the roof falling in on their heads.

The point is they were willing to do whatever they had to do to get to Jesus.  It was not easy (in fact it was alot of work), but it was simple, their friend needed to meet Jesus and they did something about it!  Investing in someones life doesn’t start with your hands, it starts with your heart.  We must care about people enough to put them first, to put their needs ahead of our own.  What exactly should we be investing?  We should give our time, love, energy, compassion and resources into the lives of those who are disconnected form God and the Church.  To put it simply… be a friend ( I seem to remember Jesus being called this)! 

One of the amazing qualities that Jesus possessed while he was on earth was that Jesus was very attractive to people who weren’t religious. If you look at the life of Jesus, you find that religious people were often offended by Jesus, but sinners flocked to him. As holy as Jesus was, they felt comfortable in his presence. Jesus was somebody that people far from God like to be around.  He was a friend… he invested in people’s lives.

To be honest, it is easier to judge and condemn people who are in the “world” than it is to invest our lives in friendship.  But this verse tells me that Jesus didn’t come to condemn people… so what gives us that right?     

Friendships  will not happen by accident, we must intentionally develop relationships with people who are disconected from the church.  The truth is that the longer you are a Christ follower, the fewer non-Christian friends you have.  I believe that a mark of Christian maturity is whether or not you are investing in people who are not Christ followers.

So… How are you doing?  Who are you investing in? 

Our Mission…

Lifesong’s mission statement is this:

“To reach this generation with the life-changing message of Christ.”

In all honesty, this is what EVERY church’s responsibilty is!  That what God has called His Church to do… get the word out about Him, to reach those who have not put their faith in Him.  In order to accomplish this, we better have a plan in place.  At Lifesong we have a simple method to accomplish the mission (even our logo is a visual reminder of the method). 

Invest in people’s lives

Invite them to take the next step in their journey of faith

Involve them in meaningful relationships

Impact our community with the love of Christ

Over the next few post’s, I will discuss each part in detail.  If you want to understand what the Song is all about… read on!

Launch Plan…

Some people have been asking me when/how we are going to start this church.  I thought I would take a moment and answer this question.

I really believe in launching your public services as large as you possibly can.  If we are going to reach the disconnected, those who have not been to church in a while (if ever), it makes it easier for them to attend a larger gathering than a small group.  I have said from the begining that one of Lifesong’s jobs is to eliminate any barrier that would keep someone from hearing the Message of Christ… and for most that means meeting in a larger group where they can safely and anonymously hear that message.

To accomplish this we are planning on having 2 monthly “pre-view” services in August and Saptember and launch our weekly services in October.  In between these services we  have events designed to allow people to get to know us a little better, create relationships (cookouts, movie nights, etc) and grow the launch team.  We are also planning a large community wide event (stay tunned…) as a ministry to our area and as a way of creating a positive “buzz” in our community just before we launch.

Technically the church is already started… the team has been active in the community (check out this post and this one), holding information meetings (read here) and doing alot of planning and growing!  This church is going to rock this area with the “Good News” of Jesus and make a difference in our community and in peoples lives… it already is!

Our feet hurt…

Lifesong was in the parade yesterday for the fourth of July parade.  We had a float (ok, it was a trailer but it looked cool), gave away a couple thousand popcicle’s, sprayed the crowd with mist from a pressure washer, and distubuted postcards about the church.  It was two miles of flat out RUNNING for Jesus… but it was worth it!  We made a small impact in our community, helped show the love of Christ and created some “buzz” about the church! 

It was awesome yesterday to see this, still yet to be “official” church, out doing ministry in our community!  I was jacked at seeing 24 people representing Lifesong!

After the parade the “church” hung out for the rest of the day.  Some of the ladies registered the church for our “baby shower” (more info soon) and the guys grilled out.  That night we went to the park and watched the fireworks… a really good day of just “doing life” together.

I am humbled

We launched our “Be the One” fundraising campaign about a week and a half ago, and I have to say that I am HUMBLED at the response.  The very first $200 gift we received came from an older couple, who very honestly, probably would not find Lifesong’s style to their taste… but they believe in the vision of the Song and they believe in me… I am HUMBLED!

This past Friday I had lunch with a pastor friend of mine and he gave a check (also for $200) towards the launch fund.  This gift was supposedly for me filling in for him during a mid-week service… I have heard me preach, I am not worth $200 for a thirty minute message!  Maybe I should take him to lunch this week (your treat this time)!  He gave because he believes in the vision and he believes in me… I am HUMBLED!

Yesterday, we dropped in on Life Church and they committed to giving $300 per month.  This is a huge step of faith for them, considering that they are a new church plant as well!  They believe in new churches and they believe in us, and they are willing to put they money where there mouth is!  I am HUMBLED!

After church yesterday we were doing a little shopping and bumped into a couple from our previous church.  Before we left the store the husband came up to me and gave a gift for the launch fund.  He said to “continue to reach the people God has called you to reach.”  That couple believes in the vision and in me… I am HUMBLED!

Today we recieved a check from a young couple who live some distance away, so Lifesong will not be their home, but they want to be a part.  They gave above what was asked… they gave sacrificially to help bring life to the Song.  I was overwhelmed and again HUMBLED!

I am blown away and honored that God would call me to such an awesome task to lead this new church and I am truely humbled at those who are giving to see the vision come to life!  I know that God is writing this song and we all have a part to play… what will your part be?