married life live! is coming

Chances are, if you're a NewPointe attender, you've already heard mention of Married Live LIVE! It's something brand new coming your way April 28.

If you haven't heard anything about it yet, here's the scoop:

Four times a year we design a totally new event for you and your spouse to be with other couples for a night out. Think of it as a date night--NewPointe style. At MLL you'll experience incredible music, creative programming, and a message that's very relevant to your marriage. It's all specially designed to encourage and empower you as a couple.

Included in MLL is:

• A fabulous dinner (including mouth-watering desserts)


• Unbelievable live music


• Hilarious shenanigans and comedy


• An encouraging engaging message that will be very relevant to your marriage


• And a whole lot more!
  

You just gotta trust me on this one...you don't want to miss it.

At each one of the MLL events, we'll theme the entire night around one of our six marriage essentials:

• TRUST GOD:: If having a healthy marriage seems impossible, it's because it is. But we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants to make it possible. We believe the number one essential to having a healthy marriage is to allow God to control our lives. Our number one goal for your marriage is for you to TRUST GOD.


• HURRY HOME:: If you want a healthy marriage then your time together has to be a priority. For marriages to thrive, schedules must reflect the huge priority of home. In other words, cheat at work if you must, but do not cheat your marriage. In fact, we think it's extremely important for you to HURRY HOME.


• CULTIVATE COMMUNICATION:: Is there anything worse than feeling misunderstood? And maybe, there is just nothing better than feeling understood...being known. Good communication is paramount to a good marriage. We want you to have great communication with your spouse. So we think it's absolutely essential for you to CULTIVATE COMMUNICATION.


• NURTURE ROMANCE:: The power of romance, sex, and intimacy can be a marriage's biggest ally...or it's biggest enemy. We all want our spouses to remember that we have certain needs. Married Life Live believes the goal should be to remember first that our spouses have certain needs. We think it's the best way to NURTURE ROMANCE.


• CELEBRATE DIFFERENCES:: By God's design, men and women are very different. As couples we can use those differences to complement and serve each other or they can be used to drive us apart. A lot of times we try to change our spouses in the name of love. MLL thinks a better option is to love our spouses even if they never change. We think it's crucial for couples to seek to understand and accept each other's differences. So we think married couples should CELEBRATE DIFFERENCES.


• FINISH TOGETHER:: More and more people are putting divorce on the table as an option. One essential thing every healthy marriage needs is security. People need to know that together as a couple, they can work out anything. MLL wants couples to FINISH TOGETHER.

So, does all this sound like something your marriage could benefit from? You bet! Here's the deal: tickets for Married Life LIVE! go on sale THIS SUNDAY in the bookstore at NewPointe (you can also buy tickets online beginning next week). The cost is $30 per couple.

At this very first MLL event we'll nail the TRUST GOD essential for you. The theme is "A Night at the Movies." Dress is casual but the event will be first-class.

It all starts on Saturday, April 28. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Dinner is served at 6. Oh my goodness...you DO NOT want to miss this. Hey, here's a great idea: bring your neighbors! Make it a double date. Invest and invite! MLL is an event you can be proud to bring people to.

Oh yeah, one more thing...seating is, in fact limited. We only have room for about 250 couples so buy your tickets early to make sure you have a spot.

a couple of blogs you might be interested in...

First, you may not yet realize that my homeboy, Dwight Mason, has his own blog now. I know, I know...mind-blowing. He just started and he's only a few posts into it but it's definately worth checking out. His blog has entered blog-o-sphere in a kinda stealthy way...not much introduction or fanfare. But now that it's been featured here on "Outside the Bunn," watch out! You can find his blog at www.DwightMason.com.

Also, as I was bumping around the Internet yesterday, I stumbled across this blog: Church Hopping. Fascinating. In this blog a couple of agnostics choose a church (usually in Columbus or Cincinnati) to visit and then they file a report about their experience on their blog. I'm totally intrigued. Included in their church-hopping are serveral churches I'm familiar with including this one in Cincinnati I attended as a teenager (and I still have a lot of friends who attend there).

This pair of agnostics rates churches on a 1 to 10 scale with a 1 being "I was so uncomfortable and/or offended that I did not stay to the end of service" to a 10 which means "This church was welcoming and thought-provoking. I would recommend that others experience this church." (Actually, they admit in earlier posts that a "10" is reserved for a conversion experience--one church got a 9.9 (Crossroads Community Church near Cincinnati).

Very interesting. And it's not like they're going to these churches with closed minds intended to bash them...they seem very respectful and earnest.

top ten reasons to be at NewPointe on Easter Sunday

As I typed the title line I was struck with this thought: Why do we refer to Easter as "Easter Sunday?" Isn't that a bit redundant? Are we trying to avoid confusing it with "Easter Thursday?" We say "Easter Sunday," don't we? It just hit me today as strange that we do that.

Okay, that was a rabbit trail. Sorry. Back to the top ten reasons to come to NewPointe on Easter:

10. No cantata. No choir. No organ music. (Actually that's three reasons...you always get more for your money at www.johnbunn.net).

9. This will be our first Easter in the new building. You don't want to be the only dork in your neighborhood who missed it, do you?

8. You don't have to worry about buying a new suit or a fancy new dress in order to go to church on Easter. At NewPointe we think the most important thing is just that you're there. There won't be a fashion show. Will there be new suits and fancy dresses? No doubt. Will there be people wearing jeans and flip-flops? No doubt (I'll probably be one of them).

7. I heard, through the grapevine, that the band will be doing a Toby Mac song. Sweet!

6. You don't have to get up at 5 a.m. in order to get ready for a sunrise service.

5. Your Momma really, really wants you in church on Easter...and if you gotta be in church, I can't think of a better place than NewPointe.

4. It will be the beginning of at brand new message series called "No Strings Attached." And trust me, you will not want to miss week one (or any week) of this unbelievable series.

3. I was talking to Danny about some of the creative elements that will be included. Jeepers! I can't disclose too much information at this point but...bottom line...it will be phenomenal.

2. People are going to be introduced to Jesus Christ. I know you don't want to miss that. And you can get in on that...all you have to do is bring someone with you! Invite them now so they can plan for it!

1. As always our worship and the entire experience will be all about Jesus. And I can't think of a better way to celebrate the fact that Jesus is alive than at NewPointe with NewPointe people.

Easter services are at regular service times: 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. No KidStuf (but we'll have two KidStufs the following week!).

aqua-esque

Last night we "aquafied" in the warehouse. As I blogged yesterday, none of us involved had any clue whatsoever as to what to expect (turn-out wise) at the first-ever Aqua.

Overall, I think the night exceeded expectations. I know you're wondering about attendance: 65 total--which I think is a solid beginning. We totally expect momentum to build and the intensity to increase.

I met a lot of new faces. I love meeting new people. I think Aqua makes it easy to do that.

The band was flat-out awesome. Benjamin and his crew did a bang-up job of leading us into worship. The thing that I like about them is that they're not coming to Aqua to "do a show." They're coming to Aqua to worship and to lead those of us who attend into passionate, heartfelt worship of our Creator. Very cool.

Dave D'Angelo did a tremendous job setting the tone for where we want to take Aqua. He spoke from John 7:37-38 (Aqua's theme verses) and challenged us all to be the kind of people from whom living water flows. His talk was very provocative (provocative was the word of the night). His biggest scud: "I need Jesus RIGHT NOW!" (I'm going to check in to the possibility of getting the Aqua messages online...I'll keep you posted).

I'm most pleased with just the way the whole night came off. Basically without a hitch. Transitions were smooth. The music was great. And we feel like people connected to God and to each other.

The credit all goes to: #1. God. Apart from him we can do nothing. With him all things are possible. #2. Our amazing Aqua volunteers. They have taken ownership of Aqua and that makes all the difference. #3. the NewPointe staff. They're completely behind the vision of Aqua. Thanks guys.

Best of all, I feel like we were very prepared for Aqua. I just feel like we were ready to pull of a great experience...and I feel like we did. Our team didn't leave things to chance. Every detail was covered from sound to lighting to PowerPoint to greeting to the cafe to the setup and tear down and everything in between.

Everyone I talked to was glad they came. I'm already looking forward to the next one (April 10).

Man, I can't wait to see what God is going to do in and through Aqua.

aqua is here!

I'm completely stoked about the first AQUA! Aqua is our brand new environment for college/singles. And the very first one begins at 7:00 tonight.

We sense a need for an environment like this. There's a minstry gap between high school and young families at NewPointe. Tonight we take a huge step toward filling that gap. Aqua will be a place where our area's college/singles arrive worshipping, corporately praises, prays, and learns together, then leaves worshipping.

We believe that simply filling a room with a few hundred people means nothing if lives are not changed. Aqua will be an avenue for college/singles to experience God in personal ways, intently consider their lives, and be encouraged as they choose their steps.

Dave D'Angelo is going to teach tonight. I know he's going to nail it! Benjamin Payne will be Aqua's regular worship leader. And the band...well, they're gonna rock!

I have no idea what kind of numbers to expect tonight. We'll see. I'll keep blog-world updated as we go.

If you'd be willing to pray for Aqua...please do! The more prayer the better.

If you're interested in coming, here are the details:

Aqua meets on every 2nd and 4th Tuesday.
Doors open at 6:30, coffee bar will be open till 9:00. Aqua begins at 7:00 sharp.
Each night is pretty simple: Passionate worship and practical teaching.

Click this link to find out more.

a review of the scuds i launched yesterday

If you attended church at NewPointe yesterday, you know that yours truly spoke about one of the six elements that we feel God uses to "move our faith beyond periodic."

What you may not know is that at the office we talk about "scuds"--as in scud missiles--that got fired on any given Sunday (our definition of a scud is this: a missile that gets launched by any one of us on staff at NewPointe that has the potential to "do damage" to the listener or reader). My man, Kevin came by my office to ask me if I'd heard any reverberation from the scuds I fired yesterday (by the way, you can listen to message online right here.

I told him that I hadn't received any backlash from the the multiple scuds fired into the crowd. I've only heard positive stuff (although, admittedly, the positive stuff is what I'm most likely to hear from people).

So, in case you missed it...or you just want a Sunday scud review, here are a few of the missiles I launched in church yesterday:

• "One of the things we hear from time to time is, 'I wish you guys would go deeper with your teaching.' What that person is usually saying is, 'I want you to confuse the snot out of me so I can leave feeling smarter but not having to actually do anything about what I just heard."
• "We don't think NewPointe attenders need a history lesson, we think people need practical help with how to live their lives."
• "Our lives don't end up screwed up because we don't know the Bible. Our lives get screwed up because we don't we're not applying it."
• "The problem with the church in America isn't that we haven't been teaching people the Bible. We just think that maybe that isn't the right goal.
• "Spiritual maturity is not synonymous with Bible knowledge. Spiritual maturity is synonymous with Bible application."
• "There's no blessing for knowledge...knowing is irrelevant...knowing doesn't count for anything. It's all in the doing. The doing is what spiritual maturity is."
• "If you can't control your tongue, it doesn't matter what you know. Your religion, according to the Bible, is worthless."
• "We're not against knowing...we're just against knowing without doing.
• "The goal of teaching at NewPointe is to teach people how to live a life that reflects the values, principles, and truths of the Bible."
• "If you haven't yet applied what you learned at NewPointe last weekend, you need to examine yourself to see if you're one of those people who just comes and sits and doesn't do anything with what they've heard."

If you got hit by a scud, don't worry...it's a good thing. It means that God is pointing out some things in your life that need examined. Scuds are good...if you take the time to prayerfully consider them.

more bubba joe

Bubba Joe finds another way to get himself into trouble. Enjoy!

unleash conference: general session two

Here are some of my notes from the second general session of the Unleash Conference at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC.

Perry Noble, senior pastor, spoke on "The Leadership Challenge."

"Myth: growing a church is all about style." Wrong...if a church grows, godly leadership is in place (and you'll find no exceptions).

Leadership Principles we learn from Moses:

1. Moses simply listened and obeyed.

"Leadership is as easy as listening to God."

"Time with God is the most important thing I do. Period."

"In Scripture, God never gave the vision to a committee. Your pastor is accountable to God." (Heb. 13:17)

"A personnel committee in a church? That's of Satan."

2. Moses didn't compromise the vision.

"Powerful people in your church will always try to alter your vision."

"As a pastor, I can't please everyone. I'd rather offend the people in the church seats than offend God (who gave us our vision). "

"We always talk about closing the 'back door' of a church. If the church is a body...then you need a back door. Maybe the problem with many churches today is that they're constipated."

"God will test every senior pastor with people who have money. What will be revealed is whether the pastor is a prostitute or a prophet."

3. Moses didn't try to do it all. (Numbers 11:14-17)

"Surround yourself with godly people.

"The best place to find people to staff your church is with the people already in your church--they own the vision." personal note: unless, of course, Tony Morgan is available (I guess there are exceptions to every rule).

4. Moses was willing to attempt the impossible.

"One of our biggest mistakes: we want a vision that's safe."

"What are you asking God for that's big?"

"If it's God's will, it's God's bill." (God isn't limited by a lack of $$$). "Don't use lack of money or resources as an excuse." Deut. 6:10-12

"Ask God for big things!" This means not asking for stuff that are my big things...he's talking about the things God lays on your heart.

If you're interested in the notes from the breakout sessions at Unleash, click here.

"...his priorities for that period of time."

I was watching Cold Pizza this morning. One of the news items was on Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid. It's been pretty well-documented that Coach Reid has had some heavy-duty family issues to deal with lately. One of his sons tested positive for heroin, another son was arraigned on drug and weapons charges.

So Coach Reid took a five-week leave of absence from the Eagles in order to attend to his family. That's good and all, but I just can't help but wonder if some of these problems with his boys could have been avoided if Coach had taken more time away from the Eagles prior to the arrests. Like waaaay prior, and waaaay often.

Now, I don't know Andy Reid personally, and I don't know what kind of father he is. But I do know that most NFL coaches are work-a-holic, job maniacs who sometimes sleep in their offices so they can spend more time at work. Again, I don't know if that's the case with Andy Reid but it is the case with many NFL coaches.

Now, for those coaches who don't have families, I guess I'm okay with that. But if you have a family...well, that's just no good.

The thing that caught my attention on Cold Pizza today was when Skip Bayless was asked if Coach Reid did the right thing by taking five weeks off--away from his team. Skip had a good answer. He said, "Yes, absolutely he did the right thing. If a guy can't lead his own kids, how's he going to lead an NFL team?"

Skip's right. My question is, has Andy been leading his kids well all along? Or has he been primarily leading his NFL team at the expense of his family?

I think about this stuff all the time. Andy Stanley wrote a book called Choosing To Cheat. The premise of the book is this: as leaders in our family, we have to choose where to cheat and where to not cheat with our time. He says, basically, that inevitably, with all that we have going on in our lives, something is going to get overlooked. And then he says that cheating home is never the right choice. When we cheat our family, we say, you are important, but work [or football, or shopping, or whatever occupies your time] is more important. We end up, in a sense, devaluing each other. "Cheating" will express security and worth to your family.

So I have to evaluate: where am I going to cheat. Because the reality is, something or somebody is going to get cheated sometime in my day/week/life. So my challenge is that if I'm going to err by spending too much time somewhere, I need to err on the side of my family.

I just wonder how this all played out for Coach Reid.

I read an article on MSNBC that quote Eagles' president, Joe Banner. At the time of Coach Reid taking the leave of absence, Mr. Banner said, “(Andy's) not going to come into the office. His priorities will be his family for that period of time."

For that period of time, huh?

My goal, my challenge, is to make my family my priority for every period of time.

I hope it all works out for Coach Reid and his family. Maybe his perspective on all this is different now.

notes from NewSpring's Unleash conference...as promised

About a week ago I promisedt that I would blog some of my notes from the Unleash conference we attended at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC.

In the first session, senior pastor Perry Noble challenged us to "Go For It!" His text was Matthew 17 (the Transfiguration).

He kicked things off this this little nugget: "The problem with most churches is this. They say, 'If you don't know the rules, to hell with you.'"

Then he talked to us about the four things the church needs:

1. We need Creative Environments (vv. 1-3)

"Christianity is the most important, exciting thing to happen to the world...it took the church 2,000 years to make it boring."

"The sermon begins in the parking lot."

"Every week is somebody's first week at our church."

2. We need to look beyond ourselves. (v. 4) ...because we are selfish people.

"What type of people do we want in our church? We want people who need Jesus. Some people in our church will not be okay with the type people we want to reach and the methods we use to reach them."

3. We need to pay attention. (vv. 5-7)

"Get up (take some steps) and don't be afraid (you will make some people mad)."

"When you take steps to honor God, people will criticize you. When you begin to do what God wants you to do, you're going to piss some people off." (direct quote).

4. We need to focus on what matters (v. 8)

"People's behavior won't change until their perspective changes. Jesus changes perspectives."

"Focus on Jesus!" ("When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus" Mt: 17:8. )

"What we do matters for eternity."

I'll blog my notes from session two tomorrow.

sunday sneak preview

We're winding down our 'Elements' series at NewPointe. Four elements down, two to go. This Sunday we're going to talk about one more of those elements that God uses to move our faith beyond periodic: Relevant teaching. And for those of you who ask me, "Hey John, when's the next time you're going to preach?" Your answer is: this Sunday. So come early because now that the cat's out of the bag about who's speaking, it may be standing-room only. Yeah right.

As I've been preparing for this message, God's been rocking me with some incredible truth. The main text I'll be using is from James 1:22-26: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says...." So at NewPointe, we put a whole lot more emphasis on doing rather than knowing. Learning is good. We thinks it's important, but what's more important is the doing part.

Spiritual maturity, in fact, is not gauged by how much you know. It's gauged by what you do--application. One of the questions we're going to ask Sunday is this: What's harder, knowing something or loving someone? The Bible tells us that knowledge puffs up. Love builds up. It’s easier to know something than to love somebody. And James couldn’t make it any clearer. I don’t know how we’ve missed it…that it’s not about what you know, it’s all about what you do. The difference is in the doing, not in the knowing.

So do you know what that means for us at NewPointe? It means that the approach we take to communication is all about inspiring people move in a certain direction, motivating people, training people, showing people how to do what the Bible says. Because that’s what makes the difference in the world and that’s how spiritual maturity is gauged.

Sometimes we get criticized because we don't "go deep enough" with our teaching. When I hear that it DRIVES ME CRAZY! What that usually means is this: "We'd like it if you could just go ahead and confuse the snot out of us so that there is no application point…that way I can leave feeling smarter and not having to worry about applying anything to my life."

Knowledge puffs up. Love builds up. Wanna go deep? Love somebody. Serve people. I've heard Dwight say this many times: You don't need another Bible study, you need to serve! I guaran-freakin-tee you that you'll become more like Jesus through serving than through sitting through another Bible class!

This is why, at NewPointe, we…

• We create sermon series around felt needs.
• We have identified a handful of key principles for each environment that we come back to over and over.

We're all about application. Let's take what we're learning and apply it to our everyday lives. I'm convinced that people don't need history lessons...they need practical help, based on biblical principles, on how to live their lives.

My main man, Kevin West, wrote a great blog about going deeper: Link to it here. You go, Kevin!

Read James chapter 1 this week. See what the Bible has to say about this stuff. Unbelievable.

See you on Sunday!

2,206 hits in 42 days...

It's funny...now I get emails that begin with these words: "Don't use this on your blog." Cracks me up. Come on guys, I haven't used all that many of your emails in my blog. :) Interestingly, I'm now getting several emails a week from people telling me that they're reading my blog, that they like it, that it makes them laugh, or cry, or both. I think that's really cool. Just let me say to all of you: Thanks for reading my blog.

When I started blogging (exactly one year ago), I began with this thought: I need to get some of my thoughts recorded. I'll start a blog...primarily for me...and if no one reads it, that's okay, I just wanna have a place to express myself.

Well, to my complete surprise, people actually seem interested in what I blog about. Amazing. Again, thank you. I'm humbled and honored that so many of you would take time out of your schedules to join me in "Thinking Outside the Bunn." Very cool.

I added a stats analyzer on February 5. Since that time, Thinking Outside the Bunn has been visited 2,206 times by 1,106 unique visitors (in only a month and a half). Again, I'm just amazed.

I've gotten visits from South America, China (quite often, actually), Africa, and all over Europe. Why? I have no idea. But it's cool.

So to those of you who take the time to read this blog, I again say, "Thanks." But here's my one beef...you guys don't leave comments! Afraid to put something out there into cyberspace, huh? Afraid that people might actually read what you have to say about my posts, huh? That's okay. I still love ya. But if you're ever so inclined...go ahead and leave a comment (or two). Believe it or not, just as you may be interested in my thoughts, I'm interested in yours.

the T-R gives leader's edge some love

Anybody that knows Dwight knows that the dude just oozes leadership. For those of on staff sometimes we feel like, "Yeah, yeah, we get it...leadership!"

What some of you may not know is that Dwight offers his leadership wisdom to anyone who wants it at monthly breakfast and lunch meetings. It's called Leader's Edge.

The T-R (our local newspaper) sent a reporter to the last Leader's Edge. Yesterday there was a nice, full-color spread on the front page of the business section. So, in case you missed the article, here's the link: Leader's Edge: Mason delivers ‘practical, relevant, current advice’

Props to the T-R for the coverage. And, by the way, I attend Leader's Edge every month--not because I have to (I don't) but because I always learn something. Come check it out. Bring your whole office. Good food + good advice = Leader's Edge.

how's this for an idea to get your town talking?

So I was bumping around the Internet yesterday and came across this little attention-getter that the good folks at LifeChurch.tv came up with: lifechurch.tv billboards. Read the blog I've linked and find out what the billboard companies in Las Vegas thought about the signs.

Think something like that would create a buzz in our community?

They built a website to go along with the campaign: www.satanhateslife.com.

Whether you like the idea or if you think it's too far out there, you gotta admit...people are going to be talking. And I think that's a good thing. And maybe they'll just be curious enough to visit their website and find out more.

I love to stir the pot. Guess Lifechurch.tv does too.

groupLink makes it easy to get in a small group

Man I hope you're in a small group. I mean, it's incredible. I can't imagine life without my small group. If you're not in a small group...well, you're probably not going to heaven. Kidding... kidding! (sorta).

At NewPointe, we make it easy for a person to test drive a small group and see if it works for them. The primary way we connect people to small groups is through an event we call Group Link.

I love Group Link. It's a blast. We do four Group Link events a year. The next one is Saturday, March 24 @ 7 p.m. Here's the gist:

It's in the Warehouse at NewPointe. We always have incredible desserts (often it's gourmet cheesecake) and we treat Group Link guests to all the complimentary specialty coffee and drinks they can pour into their gullets. How's that for a deal?

We engage in some get-to-know-you type activities (nothing weird or uncomfortable--I promise). We laugh a lot. We introduce attendees to a bunch of small group leaders who are staring new groups. And then we give everyone an opportunity to talk with leaders about trying out their new groups.

That's it.

The cool thing about Group Link is this: if you're the type person that just not quite sure about coming to something like that...you know, just not sure what's going to happen...well it's important for you to know that we'll never put anyone on the spot or make them feel uncomfortable at Group Link. Anyone is welcome to come and just be a fly on the wall and check it out. We won't force you to get in a group. There's no "sales job." You can just come and see if the small group thing is something you think would be worth trying.

And then (this is cool, too), if you do decide to try a group, that's exactly what you get to do: try a group. We'll ask you to give the small group thing an eight-week test drive. No obligation beyond that. You get an automatic, no-questions-asked out if you want out. You can just try it for eight weeks to see if the group thing looks good on you. Kick the tires on the group...we call it the try-before-you-buy approach.

If you like the group, you can stick with it (for another 18 months or so). If not, that's cool...you can come to another Group Link sometime and try it again.

I say all that to say this: if you're not in a small group yet, come to Group Link! If, for nothing else, come for the free Chai tea and cheesecake. You literally have nothing to lose (except for a couple of hours...but we guarantee you'll have fun).

It starts at 7 p.m. on the 24th. And yes, you can just show up. We'll have you out of there by 9. If you have more questions about it you can stop at the Group Link table in the lobby this Sunday and someone there will be happy to answer your questions.

Oh, one more thing: our next Group Link isn't until late August. So if you want in on a group (and I know you do), then man, I don't want you to have to wait for five more months. Come to this one! Hope to see you there!

my roadtrip to south carolina

If you're wondering why I haven't blogged in a few days, it's because Dwight, Kevin, Mike Conn, and I took a bit of an impromptu trip to South Carolina to visit a church. We left the Dover at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday and drove to Anderson, SC (about 9 hours). Got there about midnight and crashed...long trip.

We were there for a one-day conference at a church called NewSpring. NewSpring is a lot like NewPointe in terms of approach to ministry--how we "do" church, intentionality toward reaching unchurched people, creativity, a commitment to excellence and relevance.

So we heard about this one-day conference they were doing (Unleash). Kevin decided that he wanted to make the trip. The church is intriguing--mainly because they seem so much like us (they just moved into a new building a year ago, they've grown large very quickly, they're not in a huge town, their style and approach is very similar to ours). Back to my story...Kevin decided he was going to go, asked me if I wanted in on it...it just so happened that calendar-wise it worked for me so I said, "Yeah, I'm in." Next thing I knew, Dwight and Mike were also on board.

Bottom line: great trip. Shoot, being able to talk with those guys for 8 or 9 hours uninterrupted was worth the trip.

The conference itself was decent. We definitely picked up some good stuff. When I visit a church like that it usually inspires me or makes me a bit envious.

A little about NewSpring...they're only seven years old. They've grown to a weekly attendance of over 7,000 in those seven years. They're reaching people for Jesus. They're doing a whole bunch of things really well.

But here's what was cool about this trip: When I visit a church like Willowcreek or North Point, it's easy for me to leave there blown away and feeling like we're light years behind them. As we were talking in the car on the way home, for maybe the first time, we visited a church that's large and cutting-edge, and we didn't feel that we were all that far behind them. In fact, in many areas we are ahead of them.

Here are couple where we are ahead, in my opinion:

• Building. We've got incredible, incredible environments for our kids, students, and worship. Building-wise, I'd take ours over theirs.
• Small groups. NewSpring is doing a lot of things right...and I gleaned a couple of ideas but overall, NewPointe is ahead of them in terms of connecting people to group life. For example, they have 7,000 in attendance each week, yet they only have 120 groups (with about 1,250 people in them). We have about 2,100 attend on Sundays yet we have over 90 groups with close to 900 people in groups). If you're a NewPointe group leader or coach...you should feel good about that! We have a lot of work to do...but we're definitely on the right track.
• Family ministry...Kevin and his gang are waaaay out in front of NewSpring when it comes to ministering to our kids and students. And if you've visited the Reign Forest or KidStuf lately, you know what I mean. Props to Kevin for leading so well in the area of Family Life.

Areas where NewSpring is ahead of us and could teach us some things:

• Volunteers. We were very impressed by their volunteers. Now, we have great volunteers at NewPointe, but we were blown away by the friendliness, hospitality, and willingness to help of NewSpring's volunteers at the conference. Very impressed. We left with some ideas of what we could do to help our volunteers take things to the next level.
• Musically, creatively, NewSpring is ahead of us (but not light years ahead like we used to feel). I learned some things that will help in our creative process, particularly when it comes to my message preparation, First Wednesdays, Aqua, and Married Life Live (coming in April--shameless plug).
• Community impact through outreach and serving. Looks like NewSpring is doing a great job of partnering with organizations and individuals in their community in an effort to serve others and just be a blessing. Props to them. We can learn from how they do it.

Overall, we were all glad we went. NewSpring's senior pastor, Perry Noble is a passionate, in-your-face, no-hold-barred guy...and I like that. Check out his blog and you'll see why we were interested in checking out his church.

I'll blog some more about Unleash over the next few days. I'll share more thoughts and some of my notes.

It's good to be home. It's good to be on staff at NewPointe.

best day ever

Everybody who was at NewPointe yesterday is talking about the incredible worship services we had. If you missed it, you missed it! You can read Danny's blog to get the scoop on what happened. Mad props to Danny and his team, Dave Mast and everybody else who worked so hard to pull off yet another powerful experience (and I thought the announcements were especially good...brought a tear to my eye).

The band kicked things off yesterday with Beautiful Day by U2. Two words: "un" and "real." Really, it's a great song and they totally nailed it. It got me to consider how every day is such an incredible gift from God. Every single day of life is meant to be a beautiful day. Now, we (I) don't always live that way. We often allow circumstances to drag us down and keep us from a 'beautiful day' mentality. That's too bad because I believe every day has the potential to be the 'best day ever.'

All this reminded me of a story. This happened to a friend of mine and I think it's worth sharing:

My friend Ginger was schoolbus driver in Columbus. A few years ago, on the first day of school Ginger was driving her route and she stopped to pick up a 15-year-old boy who was waiting at the bus stop with his mom. Ginger could tell immediately that this boy was physically handicapped. His mom helped him onto the bus and Ginger introduced herself and the boy (whose name escapes me) did the same. And then he proceeded to inform her: "I've been in underwear all summer!" Ginger didn't quite know how to respond. It took her a moment to put things together: she discovered that this was the first time in this 15-year-old's entire life that he hadn't had to wear a diaper. And he just couldn't wait to tell somebody. He was thrilled and decided to share his good fortune with the first person he saw, in this case, his bus driver.

At the end of the day Ginger picked the boy up from school. She asked him, "How was your first day of school?"

His response sticks with me: "Best...day...ever! We had two projects and peanut butter and jelly!"

Is that awesome? Best day ever! I mean, hey, it just doesn't get any better than having two projects, peanut butter and jelly, and being in underwear! Life is good, man! And we think our day is ruinied when we're stuck in traffic or our car breaks down.

I love this kid's outlook. I mean, best...day...ever!

Later in the school year Ginger learned that her new 15-year-old friend was going to have surgery on his hands. They were badly withered and curled inward. The surgery would help open them up. Ginger wanted to be a blessing to the kid so she got him a gift (A Blockbuster gift card and some popcorn--something for him to do as he recovered). As he began to exit the bus on his final school day before surgery, Ginger gave him the gift. His mother was there to greet him as usual. As he stepped off the bus and and showed his mom the gift, he looked at her and said, "I'm the luckiest boy in the world!"

The luckiest boy in the world. What a great outlook. What incredible perspective. I want that kind of approach to life. The luckiest boy in the world. Just maybe he is.

Maybe I am, too.

this email rocked me

I received an email yesterday that pretty much rocked my world. As a pastor, it's so valuable to get positive, heartfelt feedback that just kinda lets you know that you're hitting the target--that you're connecting with people and that life-change is happening. I never get tired of hearing that. And I'm always humbled by it. When I receive feedback (postive or negative), I try to treat it like our lead pastor, Dwight told me to treat it: like bubble gum, chew on it away but don't swallow it. If you swallow the postive feeback all the time, your head will enlarge, if you swallow the negative, you'll get discouraged. I think that's pretty good advice.

And then every once in a while I'll get an email like the one I'm about to share with you, my blog readers. When I read it, at first I smiled, then my heart was warmed, and finally, I started sobbing while sitting here at my computer. I was just flat out humbled. Read it and maybe you're understand why (I've changed it slightly to keep it anonymous):

John,

I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how much I have been enjoying your messages. My family and I have been attending regularly the past couple of months. I truly have gotten alot out of your messages. I have not been this enthused about God since I was a kid. This church as a whole has renewed my faith in many ways--in God, in my family & my mariage. My wife and I split up(recently). Since that time the things we were going through were huge. Since (a couple of months ago) I have been back home. (Several other people who attend NewPointe) were very instumental in restoring our marriage. My wife's started with one of Dwight's sermons. CHANGE is what I call it. Change your marriage! (The folks who helped us)did not pass judgment but threw alot of encouragement our way.

(Change is) what she wanted to do! (It took me) a little longer. I had to go (to NewPointe) myself to hear what changed her outlook on our marriage. It really helped me as well. Our kids also helped me to look for a renewed relationship with God. They love church now period. They are mad if they miss one Sunday! Sunday (after) the (little league) coaches meeting when you were talking about motorcycle riding and (I saw) how passionate your were about (it) and how you have just been riding for a year & how much you love it! Then (at First Wednesday) you talked about how much you Love God!!! WOW! Passionate does not even cover how much you love him. Thats what I want! Thats the kind of relationship with God I want! I hope I didn't ramble a whole lot. Thanks again!

Unbelievable. Humbling. Inspiring. Motivating. It makes me want to dig in deeper and press on harder. Made my day. Heck, made my month!

first wednesday

I love First Wednesdays at NewPointe...and not just because I get to speak at them (although, I will admit, I do love to communicate in that setting). I think it's because God always seems to show up at my seat at First Wednesday. He speaks into my life. Sometimes I wonder if God led us to do First Wednesdays just for my spiritual benefit.

Based on the reaction I get from many of you, you like First Wednesdays as well. If you haven't been to a First Wednesday at NewPointe yet...what are you waiting for? It'll rock your world. Here's one of the emails I received after this week's edition of FW:

I’ve been meaning to send you a note – I wanted to mention that we attended our first 1st Wednesday Service this week – it was also the first time we’ve heard you “preach”. Might I just say “AWESOME”!!!!! Unbelievable experience!!!!

I've heard tons of great feedback from the latest FW. If you missed it...well, you missed it. In case you did, here's a quick recap (with photos):

The theme for the evening was "Deal or No Deal." And yes, we actually played the NewPointe edition of the game show with actual contestants and models selected from the audience. It was a hoot. And it set up where we were headed for the rest of the service. After the game show Dwight asked us all if we'd ever played "Deal or No Deal." He said, "Sure you have, we all have, we've played it with God...If you will then I will and if you won't then I won't..."

After some worship time I talked about how I have a tendency to try to "do deals" with God. My deal-making began as a kindergartener when my Sunday School teacher offered all of us kids a deal: "If you'll ask Jesus into your heart, then you'll get to go to heaven." Sounded like a good deal to me. And thus the beginning of my deal-making with the Father.

We looked at how the 12 disciples had basically the same attitude. In fact Peter just came right out and said it, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" (Matthew 19:27). The cool part is that even though the disciples started out with that kind of attitude, all of them (except for one) successfully made the transition from a "What's in it for me?" attitude to a "I don't care if anything's in it for me, what's in it for the kingdom?" attitude. That gives hope to a guy like me. The bottom line, we said, is that God's hand can't be forced and his will can't be thwarted. God is God...he's gonna do what he wants to do. The great news is that he invites us to be a part of it. We can get in on his gig. To do so, we have to fully surrender. (Enough of the sermon, you can just listen online here: http://www.newpointe.org/content.cfm?id=2006)

Thanks to all who came and especially to all who served (special thanks to Cindy, Dave M., DD, Teresa and Franscene--you guys are awesome!).

warning: some people might find this post offensive

Occasionally I get asked to speak at non-church events in the community (company Christmas dinners, business meetings, etc.). I always try to say yes to these type of engagements because it affords me the opportunity to meet people I may not otherwise meet.

Last week I had the privilege of speaking at a local business association meeting. It was great. Saw a lot of people I knew and I also made some new friends. It's always interesting to see how the conversation goes once people find out what I do for a living. One lady I met at this particular event said, "Oh, I know your church. I think it's great. In fact, I've been there a couple times...but I'm Lutheran." In other words, I could never attend your church regularly because, well, I'm Lutheran and...you're...not. Fair enough. I don't make it a habit of inviting people who are already a part of another Christ-centered church to come to our church. At NewPointe, we're not interested in "stealing" people from other churches. Our mission--our primary focus--is to reach unchurched people. More on that in a moment...

This Lutheran lady went on to say, "However, my daughter and her husband are moving back to this area after having lived in another state. And when they return, I want them to attend NewPointe." In other words, there's nothing for them at my church and I'm afraid it might put them to sleep, so I want them to go to a place that's exciting and has a lot to offer their kids. Cool. I'll take that as a compliment. (By the way, that's not a knock on the Lutheran church...I don't even know which particular chuch she attends.)

I met another guy at this event who wanted to talk to me about our new building. Now this was a very interesting conversation. He used the third person approach to see what he could find out about how I might be able to justify spending millions of dollars on a building. He said, "I have some friends who attend other churches. And when they drive by your building they're put-off." He continued, "They tell me that their church has taken a vow of poverty and that they would never dump a whole bunch of money into a building like that because it would be wasteful. That kind of money could be put to better use, like giving it to the poor. So their church has taken a vow of poverty."

He wanted to see how I would respond. Here's what I said, "We're all for giving to the poor and making a difference in our community. I won't argue that that's not important. At the same time the mission and vision of our church is to reach unchurched, irreligious, disillusioned people who have given up on the church because they think it's irrelevant to their lives. If we're going to reach those people for Jesus Christ then we need to create relevant enviroments that are going to connect with them and speak into their lives. We can't invite them to some shabby shack and where things are old and unsafe for their kids. We're in competition with the world...and the world has nice stuff. If we're going to have any chance of reaching Joe Unchurched, we have to have a place that's attractive to him. Is our new building nice? Yes. You bet. Is it extravagant? No. Not in my opinion."

And then I fired a scud. I said, "Now, you'll have to give me some grace on this one. But when I hear people say that their church has taken a vow of poverty and that they'd never be interested in building a building like that, it usually means that nobody at that church is giving anything anyway, and so they're kind of forced to take a vow of poverty--they don't have any other choice. Now, I'm not saying that's the case with your friends' church. And if they're raising a bunch of money and giving a ton of money to the poor then I can't knock it...but the real question is: Have they taken that vow of poverty in their own lives? What kind of car do they drive? What kind of house do they live in? Are they giving away all their money to the poor? Or have they just taken a vow of poverty as a church...because that's easy. We'll just keep our money and let the church be poor."

I hope that's not the case but all-too-often it is. The dude who asked the question had to think about that. I could tell that his wheels were really turning. He went on to tell me that he and his wife had been checking out different churches, trying to find one they liked. He said, "We haven't visited your's yet, but I think we should give it a try."

I said, "You're welcome there any time. But fair warning: NewPointe is not your typical church. In fact it may change the way you view church." I love that about NewPointe.

amazing grace

A few posts ago I told you that I'd soon be blogging about the movie Jenny and I went to see a couple weekends ago: Amazing Grace. Jenny and I both gave it the "thumbs up."

It was one of those rare movies that inspires. Maybe it wouldn't inspire everyone. Perhaps some would find it simply very educational, if anything. It impacted me.

For those of you who don't already know, William Wilberforce was a member of the British Parliament and was the key leader of the parliamentary campaign against the slave trade.

The movie documented his struggle against the 'good ol' boys' network, politics, and high society. The main thing I took from the film about Wilberforce was this: The dude persevered. He did not give up. He had passion and he wasn't willing to stand by and do nothing while knowing that fellow human beings were suffering. And he didn't just assume someone else would take care of it. He decided to do something about it.

Have you ever wondered what makes some men great? I have a theory about the key to greatness: Great men just get off their butts and make things happen. I don't know if William Wilberforce was exceptionally smart, or eloquent, or charismatic. I just think that he, like a lot of other men we would consider "great," just decided to get into the game and engage in a full-on assault against the slave trade.

I really think that the difference between a great man and a good man is that the great man just decides to do something.

We've all had that stirring within us to make a difference in the world--a divine restlessness that God has given us in attempt to awaken us from our sleepwalking on this earth. We've all been moved to the point of tears at some kind of human suffering in the world. Yet few of us act upon that stirring. Few of us do anything more than throw a few dollars at the problem and then pat ourselves on the back for being such a compassionate human being.

I think we all could be great. I know we all won't be. Why? Because most of us are just plain lazy. That or we're afraid. Fear paralyzes. I say we get over it and just go for it. I don't want to be the guy who could have made a difference in the world and just didn't have the courage or the gumption to act. I want to be a part of ending suffering in our world.

Is it too big of a task? Am I just talking pie-in-the-sky? Maybe. But so what? I can take that attitude and do nothing. Or I can act. I can actually do something about injustice. I want to be that guy. I want to rock the world with the power of compassion.

is wal-mart offering a new service?

Yesterday was grocery day for the Bunn family. And yesterday was one of those weird days that meant three different stops for groceries--Buhler's for produce, Aldi for cheap stuff, and Wal-Mart to fill in the gaps.

As we were entering Wal-Mart, Jenny and I decided to split up because we needed things from opposite sides of the store. I invited our four-year-old, Andrew, to come with me. I said, "Andrew, wanna come help Daddy look for hooks?" (I needed a coat hook for the back of my office door.)He agreed to come with me.

As we approached the aisle where I thought the hooks might be located, Andrew assessed the situation and proclaims to me in a loud voice, and in a crowded area, "I don't think they have hookers here, Daddy."

"Hooks!" I replied--for the benefit of other shoppers in the vicinity. "We're looking for hooks!"

Having no luck in the housewares section, we proceeded to hardware--back in the far corner of the store...but still plenty of people around.

Andrew, still trying to help, in his usual loud voice asks, "Daddy, are we still looking for hookers?"

So I just went with it. "Yes, son, let's we're looking for hookers. Strong ones to take home with us. And one for Daddy at work, too."

you might be a grammar redneck...

Probably all of us by now have received emails with photos of funny signs that really screw up the English language. I get a kick out of it. I consider the folks who actually spend money and/or receive money to make a screwed up sign to be "grammar rednecks."

And I just happen to consider myself a bit of a grammar cop. So when I see stuff like what I'm about to show you, I chuckle. And then I roll my eyes and think grammar redneck.

I will actually, on occasion, photograph the offenders' work, with the intention of posting it here (and now I have a camera phone...so watch out!).

What you are about to see is real. These are Thinking Outside the Bunn exclusives. Enjoy.

Exhibit "A"

No alcohol on premise. Hmmm. On the premise of what? I'm going to operate on the premise that whoever did this sign has alcohol on their premises.





Exhibit "B"

Gotta blow the whistle on that one. Inappropriate use of an apostrophe. Unless, of course, the door belongs to the employee.







Exhibit "C"

Oops they did it again. Wait...maybe this sign belongs to one of the contractor's. :) Yeah, that would make it possessive. And, by the way, even if resident said OK....duh...NOT OK!






Exhibit "D" (my personal fave)

That's right, folks, we only got one, count 'em, one slushie here. Better hurry...it won't be here long...and then we'll have to take our sign down dangit.








Now, if you're reading this particular post and looking at these signs and saying to yourself, "What?...I don't see anything wrong with those signs." You might be...a grammar redneck.

how to live a life of quiet desperation

After the Easter sermon series at NewPointe, we'll begin a series called Adventures In Missing the Point. The premise is that so many of us live lives of quiet desperation...settling for less than what life could be, substituting easy highs and quick-fixes for authenticity and real love. And so I've been thinking about this concept of quiet desperation. Thoreau is quoted as saying, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." As my buddy Dave D'Angelo would say, "Don't be that guy."

Or as my friend Rhonda Lowe would say, "Let the song out" (or, Just Sing). :)

So, if you're interested in continuing to live a life of quiet desperation (or you're interested in beginning one, here's my list of ways to accomplish that:

1. Save your love for the weekends. In other words, exclude love from your relationships at work. Wait till you get up on Saturdays with your family before you share love.

2. Never learn anything more than the headlines (Who's Anna Nicole's baby's father, who's going to win American Idol, etc.) and then limit your conversations to that kind of stuff.

3. Don't read books.

4. Spend at least three hours a day in front of the TV.

5. Don't ever act silly with your kids.

6. Get locked into a job that you despise and then tell yourself you could never leave because it would be "too risky."

7. Speaking of "risky," don't ever take risks--it's too risky.

8. Make sure you're really, really concerned about what people think of you.

9. Find your comfort zone and stay there.

10. Turn on the TV while you're having dinner with your family.

11. Be bitter. Hold onto a grudge.

12. Pay more attention to what Oprah and Dr. Phil say than what the Bible says.

13. Blame your spouse for the reasons your marriage is less-than-perfect.

14. Do all your correspondance through e-mail. Don't write notes and stick them in the mail.

15. Make sure your lawn is the absolute nicest in the neighborhood...and keep everybody off of it!

16. Complain often.

17. Assume you're entitled to stuff.

18. Make sure you're always asking, "What's in it for me?"

20. Look for quick-fixes and easy-way-outs.

21. Choose the remote and the sofa over helping your wife with the dishes.

22. Don't volunteer.

23. Be too busy to spend time alone with your Heavenly Father.

24. Make $$$ more important than relationships.

25. Stop reading and learing new things. Adopt this attitude" I'm out of school, I don't need to learn stuff anymore."

26. Be passive. Let stuff happen to you instead of going out and making things happen.

27. Have secrets.

28. Listen to that voice in your head that says, "I'm too old to do that," or, "I don't have the willpower to do that."

29. Don't journal. It takes too much time.

30. Always play the devil's advocate. Always bring up the negative side of things.

31. Don't sing. Keep that song inside for goodness' sake!

I could go on...but I figure that's enough to get us started. Leave me feedback with stuff you think should be added to the list. I'm interested to hear your thoughts.