the 'rep' adds to our rep

The Canton Repository came down to Dover a few weeks ago to do a story on NewPointe Community Church. On the left is one of the photos they took of De-light (better known as Dwight).

The article ran December 16. From what I'm told, the reporter and the photographer were blown away by the church (which, I guess, shouldn't be all that much of a surprise considering the fact that I'm still blown away by NewPointe--and I've been working there almost five weeks).

I think they did a great job with the story. Here's the link: Canton native finds truth, leads fast-growing church.

Make sure you click "view slideshow,"...and turn up the volume on your speakers.

his vision is now 20/250

Recently I've become better known as "Andrew's Dad." Andrew is my four-year-old. And he's a rock star. Seems like everywhere we go people flock toward Andrew--"Hey, there's Andrew!...Yo! Andrew! What's up?...Andrew! Hey man! How's it going?" It's all about Andrew.

He can walk through the lobby at church and create quite a stir. He's one of those kids with a magnetic personality. Never met a stranger. And...absolutely everything that enters his little brain makes its way out of his mouth. Scary sometimes (if you haven't heard the Djibouti story yet, ask me about it the next time you see me--hysterical).

Back to the matter at hand. Well, if you haven't seen Andrew recently (like, within the last week), you wouldn't know that he now sports a sweet pair of Harley-Davidson eyeglasses.

Turns out he needed them. Apparently the poor guy couldn't see anything very well and we had no idea. Hey, if you thought he was cute before glasses, wait till you see him now! The eye doc told us he's 20/40 in one eye and 20/60 in the other. Unbelievable. I can only imagine how the visual world has opened up to him within the past week.

Anyway, remember, I said Andrew mouth always blurts out the thoughts in his head...well, when the optician placed Andrew's eyeglasses on his face for the first time last Friday, the first words out of his mouth were: "I can see!" The second thing out of his mouth? He turned toward me and said, "Wow! You're fat!"

Thankyouverymuch.

time, talents, treasure, and...(wait! you mean there's another 't'?)

I was doing some reading during my "God time" this morning and a new thought occurred to me (well, it's really not a new thought, I've just never really put it in the context you're about to see it in). The thought is this: as Christians, we know that God has entrusted us to be faithful stewards of what he's given us. Most commonly, we refer to these things as our time, talents, and treasure. We would all agree that all three of these things are, in fact, on loan from God. We should use our time wisely...we should use our talents to glorify God, and we should use (spend) our resources as though they are God's and not our own. But I have another "T" word that I'm going to add to the equation: Truth. Because God has revealed truth to us, it becomes incumbent upon us to be good stewards of truth. We must share it. It's our responsibility as Christ-followers.

You know what I've found? Good stewards, faithful stewards, keep good records. They know where and exactly how rescources were used. If we're using time that's been given to us by God, talents that are on loan from him, treasure that belongs to him, and truth that has been revealed to us, isn't it the wise thing do to to track how we're investing each of those? Kick it around. E-mail me your thoughts.

when recruiting an apprentice leader...

......challenge them! Don't be afraid to ask the question: "What are you doing to make a difference?"

One of our core values in Group Life at NPCC is that we "enlist an apprentice." Do you have an apprentice? When leaders answer "no" to that question the reason that I ususally hear is just simply because they're afaid to ask. I don't want to be pushy...I don't want to impose...people are busy, I want to be sensitive to that...

Here's a thought...maybe they're waiting to be asked. What's the worst thing that could happen if you mustered enough courage to challenge someone in your group to "step it up" and get into the game by apprenticing and preparing for group leadership? They might decline your invitation. That's the worst thing that could happen.

I had lunch with one of the guys in my small group Wednesday. And I issued a challenge. I said, "As we begin a new phase in the life of our group after multiplication (in January), I'm asking you to take on some leadership responsibilities. I want you to help me lead. I want you to be my apprentice leader."

Guess what the response was. He's said yes. He's willing to "step it up" partly (or mainly) because he has assurance from me that I'm going to help him.

So I'm challenging you to challenge the people in your group to "step it up." People want to make a difference with their lives. They want to give themselves to something that matters. And besides, wouldn't it be nice to have some help?

bubba joe makes his first appearance in kidstuf

If you haven't been to KidStuf yet, you have to go! I've been extremely impressed at what Kevin West and Jim Howard have been able to do for parents and kids in this way cool environment. It's first-class. I think I've heard more parents comment on it than kids. They all love it. Once again, the room was packed out. Lots of energy and excitement. I can't wait to see what's next.

Bubba Joe first visited SFMC (now NewPointe) on Father's Day 2006. He did a live remote from the parking lot into the Worship Center. He interviewed folks while trying to sell them "quality used vehicles." He needs help. But he's kinda good-lookin' if you ask me.

NewPointe in the NewsPaper

The local newspaper (The Times Reporter) featured NewPointe Community Church on the front page of today's paper. Two articles and full color photos. In my opinion, it was very well-written and thought-out.

You can read the articles online by following these links:
A Positive Change
New Beginning Brings Increased Focus...

I met a family at church today who was visiting our church for the very first time. They said they'd been thinking of coming but had just been putting it off until...the got the today's newspaper, read the article and decided it was time to visit. They were blown away and plan to return next Sunday.

The Canton Repository also plans to run a story this week.
NewPointe is one very exciting place to be.

leaders are readers

I want to read more. Mainly because I'm not the leader I need to be. I need to grow and become better equipped in order to lead at a higher level. My goal for 2007 is a modest one, it's simply to read at least one book a month. I know guys that read WAY more than that. I'm just not there yet. I'd like to be able to read a book a week. Problem is, I just like watching sports and movies too much. A book-a-month is doable. And I've got the first nine lined up (I'll share that is in a later blog). In the meantime, if you're interested in knowing what I read in 2006. Here's a partial list:

• The Emeging Church by Dan Kimball
• Communicating For a Change by Andy Stanley
• Jesus, Life Coach by Laurie Beth Jones
• Revolution by George Barna
• Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
• The Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley
• Experiential Storytelling by Mark Miller
• The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

and I'm currently reading Leading With a Limp by Dan Allender, which, by the way, I HIGHLY recommend.

Email me your 2007 reading recommendations.

moving from ABFs to group life

If you've been around SFMC/NewPointe at all lately, you know we've experienced major changes. In fact, nearly everything about us has changed; where we worship, the name of our church, the service times...and the list goes on and on. One big shift that took place recently was that we phased out ABFs (Adult Bible Fellowships). ABFs met on Sundays, during the worship services. ABF attenders could attend worship during one of our three Sunday hours and attend their class during another hour. ABFs were a very good thing for SFMC for a long time.

Ultimately, though, as leadership, we decided that we really couldn't do both ABFs and small groups and do them both exceptionally well. As we discussed the options and our mission and strategy, it became clear that our approach would be to move people into small groups. We want to send a clear message about something we believe in very passionately: we have discovered that the best place for people the experience real life change is when they're connected to others in intentional relationships. And we are convinced that the best place for this to happen is in a small group. We know that other approaches (such as ABFs) can work...we just think the small group model works best.

If you were here last Sunday, you'd know that with over 2,500 people here, we flat-out need volunteers. This is another huge factor in our decision to move away from ABFs and go small-group. See, our small group approach frees up attendees from choosing whether to serve on Sunday mornings or attend a class.

There are several (in fact, many) other reasons for the move away from ABFs to toward small groups. I'll be happy to discuss it further with anyone who'd like to.

When a change like this one comes down the pike it is guaranteed to ruffle feathers. I think this is especially true when an established, traditional structure (like Sunday School/ABFs) gets messed with. It's uncomfortable, it's different, and it can be flat-out hard to swallow. In fact, folks have left our church because of the change. That's unfortunate. But we're absolutely committed to the small groups strategy. I've had ABF leaders and attendees question our approach. And that's fair. We're cool with that. We openly invite questions and push-back.

We don't pretend to have all the answers. We just feel a deep conviction about the direction our church needs to go in order for us to carry out our mission: to lead people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

I hope you'll find your place in the story God is weaving. I hope you'll find yourself in authentic, life-giving, soul-quenching community.

first sunday at NewPointe

Wow. What a day. My best guess is that there were at least 2,500 people who came to NewPointe today to celebrate our first service in the new buidling. Incredible. I hope you were able to be there. Today was one of those rare weekends for me where I didn't have have any specific responsibilities. So I just walked around and shook hands, gave hugs, welcomed folks, and observed. Here are a few of my observations:

• I arrived at 8:30 a.m. and there were already a couple hundred (at least) people there. Tons of excitement and enthusiasm.
• The check-in for kids went smoothly for my family. We waited only 5 minutes or so. Getting there early definately helped. By 8:50 the check-in lines were ridiculously long. I heard that some folks missed the music portion of the service altogether. The Family Life deptartment will adjust. I'm sure it will go much more smoothly next weekend.
• There were really no major problems at all. The word of the day was "preparation." I really think that our staff and volunteers had their act together. The sound was great. Video worked nicely. Traffic flow, parking, foot-traffic...it all went very smoothly.
• I sat in on both services. Second service was better than the first, in my opinion. The sound was fuller (I think they turned it up), and Dwight's message was better.
• I sat in the first row. From there, the band and singers seemed a little far away. I wonder how it seemed to folks who were sitting farther back.
• I attended KidStuf with my family. Awesome. The KidStuf package jumped up by two or three levels instantly. It was strong...high energy, cool video and music...the KidStuf dancers added quite a bit to the experience. A+. And the room was packed. Standing room only. Amazing.
• Origins Cafe = good coffee!

What a place. I mean, there's no church like it, anywhere! I'm so proud of our people for all the hard work, prayers, and sacrifices they made to make NewPoine Community Church a reality. It's an honor to be on staff at such a great church. God is good!

what i've been listening to lately

If you're like me, you're always looking for good music recommendations. Here are a couple of CDs I picked up recently...I'm wearing them out:

North Point worship recorded live. The songs Glorious One and Everlasting God are two of my favorites right now. If you visit my office you're likely to hear this CD playing on my i-tunes.

By The Tree - World On Fire. I took a chance on this CD. Bought it at Berean a couple weekends ago when it was on sale. It was a good move. I love it. My favorite track is #2: I Will Follow You.


E-mail me with your music recommendations.