sunday's scuds (april 28, 2007)

Yesterday Dwight wrapped up the No Strings Attached series. The whole series has been about forgiveness and...wow...just wow. Just a few minutes into Dwight's talk, he stepped aside and showed a Nooma video (Luggage). Here are a few of the scuds from that one:

• "Everyone I know has wounds."
• "I don't want what somebody else did to me to determine how my life is going to be."
• "Whatever wrong was done to you...God saw it."
• "Don't take revenge. Leave room for God...It's a nice idea but not easy to do."
• "Revenge is like saying to God: I don't trust you with this situation."
• "Revenge doesn't satisfy, does it? Have you really ever evened the score? Revenge doesn't work."
• "None of us have clean hands. We've all wronged someone...but with Jesus, there is no condemnation."
• "When I forgive somebody, I'm giving them what God has given me."
• "If he's hitting your or you're being abused, you need to get out...now."
• "Forgiving doesn't always mean forgetting."
• "To forgive somebody means that I actually wish them well."
• "When I forgive somebody and set them free, I'm really setting myself free."
• "God didn't create you to carry that stuff around. He created you to be free."

Then Dwight brought it home...

• "Forgiveness is our responsibility." I don't need to wait until the offender asks. They may never ask."
• "Forgiveness is not forgetting. It's not 'excusing the wrong.'"
• "Forgiveness is dealing with the pain and leaving the other person to God."
• "It doesn't mean going on with life like nothing happened."
• "You can't afford to wait to forgive someone till you feel like it...you may never feel like it."
• "Time heals all wounds is not true. They can become infected over time."

His main points:

1. Forgiveness is our responsibility
2. Ask God to reveal people and hurts
3. Realize that forgiveness is the first step
4. Determine the boundaries
5. Maintain short accounts

For more on forgiveness, check out:

• John 8:11, 51
• Luke 11:4, 15:30, 2
• Acts 8:18-23
• Romans 1:5, 4:6-8, 12:19-21
• Ephesians 4:32
• Hebrews 10:17

extraordinary! larger than life!

Here it is...the Married Life Live! recap. First let me say, it was an extraordinary night. In fact, you might say it was larger than life. And I'm not just saying that because my department was in charge of it. Really, I think we exceeded the legal limit for fun that couples are allowed to have in one evening. In case you missed it...or you're still reveling in it...here are some pics that you might enjoy.

This is a look at how the evening began:

Danny, Jeff, April, and the rest of the band were amazing! They delivered the goods with some incredible movie tunes including: That Thing You Do, Footloose, Eye of the Tiger, Danger Zone, Because You Loved Me, Up Where We Belong (Danny's Joe Cocker was worth the price of admission alone), and Unchained Melody to name a few.

Yes, Bubba Joe showed up. That dude really knows his movie trivia.

Kevin talked to us about Trusting God in our marriages...turning the director's chair over to Him. Powerful. Make sure you pick up a CD of that one.

Danny wrapped up the night in an unbelievable way with the song You and I. It was one of those memorable moments for me with my wife. Thanks Danny.

Here's a collage of some of the couples and some of the shenanigans we all enjoyed. A huge "Thank you" goes out to all of the amazing volunteers that made our first ever Married Life Live! an unforgettable experience. You guys are EXTRAORDINARY!

the obligatory sports post

It's been a while since I've done a post about sports...here you go.

This weekend was NFL draft weekend. I enjoy it. I like tracking with the drama (seeing Brady Quinn in a day-one free-fall was good drama), and I like tracking with my favorite teams (the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Ohio State Buckeyes).

The Bengals got a solid player in the middle of the first round...too bad he's a Michigan dude. The Bengals like to draft guys who wore maize and blue. I don't get it. But now that Leon Hall is a Bengal...I'll root for him. It's like he's crossed over to the good side...he's seen the light...played college football in the desert (U of M) but now he's playing in the promised land (Ohio...namely, Cincinnati).

The Buckeyes had a total of eight players drafted. There are always a ton of Bucks that get picked in the draft. The most intriguing of all was Troy Smith. Mr. Heisman was once considered one of the top three quarterbacks in the draft but his stock took a severe nose dive after his poor performance in the NC Championship game (that and he seemed to 'let himself go'--got out of shape in a hurry after the game).

He was the last player selected in round five. ROUND FIVE! Here's some perspective on that: Troy Smith won the Heisman trophy, is a bona-fide Buckeye legend, was 25-3 as a starter, broke tons of OSU records, he owned Michigan, and he got drafted LATER than did these other Buckeye QBs: Bobby Hoying (round 3), Joe Germaine (round 4), and Craig Krenzel (round 5). Astonishing.

Here's something I found very cool: the Buckeyes had two players selected in the first round of this year's draft (Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez). That now means OSU has had more players taken in the first round of the draft than any other school...ever. Check it out:

thinking outside the bunn: #1 website for...

Alec Baldwin unresolved anger.

That's right, if you Google "Alec Baldwin unresolved anger" my blog comes up #1 out of 877 sites.

I like to look at the stuff people Google in order land on my blog. Here are some more:

If you Google "Proud of my wife," out of 8,370,000 websites that come up, my blog is #4. Not bad.

If you Google "Redneck Grammar," I'm #2 out of 268,000 sites.

Google "How to live a life of quiet desperation," and I'll come up #2 out of 1,040,000 websites.

Try "can't shut my brain off." My blog is #1 out of 8,140,000 sites. That's right, #1 baby!

"Deep religious truths" gets me ranked #1 out of over 2 million sites.

"History, prophecy, Revelation" gets me a #2 out of 1,190,000 sites.

And finally, if you Google "Bubba Joe," Thinking Outside the Bunn comes up #4 in the world rankings. We'll have to work on that one.

The most frequent searches that get people to my blog are, of course, "John Bunn" or "John Bunn blog." Makes sense...I am, after all, John Bunn. Oddly, however, I'm not the #1 result on Google for "John Bunn." (I'm #2 ...you'll have to Google it yourself to see what's #1)

What's my point? None really...I'm just havin' fun. I'm glad I started blogging, though. It's given me an avenue to share my thougths, cast vision, correct myself, etc. rather than just relying on word-of-mouth or reputation. Many of you comment to me about stuff you've read here. Thanks for reading.

And thanks, Google, for sending folks my way! (Now maybe I'll be a top search result for people who Google "Google.")

sandwich series

This Sunday we'll wrap up the No Strings Attached series at NewPointe. If you think the first three have been good, wait till you see how we wrap it up this week.

The next series is a quickie (but a goodie) called Remember: a modern interpretation of ancient traditions.

Here's the unique part (the sandwich part): The series begins on First Wednesday (May 2) and concludes on Sunday morning (May 6). Which ancient traditions we're going to look at? Communion and baptism. We're going to dig deeper to discover where these traditions came from and why they are still important in our lives. Dwight is going to talk to us about communion at First Wednesday--be prepare to be rocked! We'll participate in communion in a way you've never experienced before. And then on Sunday, I'll be exploring what the Bible has to say about baptism and how this informs our understanding of this universal Christian practice. And yes, we'll be baptizing some folks on that day too.

So there you have it: a two-part series that includes First Wednesday. Come get your faith informed.

are you the one?

I was doing some reading today and came across this passage in the Bible:

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between
Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."
And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no
one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Luke Luke 17:15-18

You'll recognize this as the story Luke tells of the ten who were healed of leprocy. And this thought struck me: Only one came back? One?

See, I think we live in a world of entitlement--we're all entitled to stuff. Am I right? I think that's what's going on here. There's just no gratitude.

So the question for today is this: Are you the one who comes back to give thanks? Are you grateful to your parents...your spouse...your employer...those you lead you...those whom you lead?

Let's not assume that those close to us assume that we're grateful. Let's express it. What would happen if we all started responding to one another with more gratitude? Let's try it and find out.

Be the one.

coolest thing i've seen today...

It's official. Married Life Live! is sold out. Hope you got a ticket! See you there.

getting to the pointe...

sunday scuds (april 22, 2007)

Today Dwight continued the No Strings Attached series with a powerful, thought-provoking message titled The Usual Suspects. It centered around what we should do about those who keep making us angry--and how to respond to this powerful, God-given emotion we have called anger. Here are the scuds:

• "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me is a lie from the pit of Hell."
• "Most people would rather take a physical beating than a verbal beating."
• "Paul tells us: Because you are living as one who's forgiven, you have no reason not to forgive."
• "One of the reasons we have a hard time dealing with anger is because we lie about about it--I'm not hurt...I'm okay... Liar, liar, pants on fire."
• "We tend to talk to everybody else about the issue that makes us angry but we rarely or never talk to the offender."
• "Legitimate anger is a God-given emotion. It's okay to feel angry."
• "Don't practice sin in your anger...don't allow your anger to control your tongue, your actions, or your decisions."
• "Don't prolong anger...We must learn to deal with our anger in a timely manner."
• "Unresolved anger increases the potential for sin in a huge way."
• "Unresolved anger will eventually work its way out into our lives."
• "Don't provide Satan an opportunity....If you prolong anger, you've thrown out the welcome mat for Satan.
• "It's not that Satan has taken territory in your life, you have surrendered it to him.
• "If you prolong anger, eventually you'll forget what mad you angry in the first place--you'll just be an angry person in general."
• "Forgiveness is the first step...it's not the only step, it's the first step."

He concluded by asking: Who are the usual suspects in your life--the repeat offenders--who regularly need to be forgiven?

read this or i'm gonna be ANGRY!

Alec Baldwin is all over the news today. The tragedy at Virginia Tech still haunts. Then there's the babysitter in Illinois who drowned three kids in the tub. Actually, I could make a giant list of things in the news--just today's news--that centers around people's anger issues.

Your anger issues and my anger issues may not be quite as extreme (and thankfully not as public as Alec's)...but we all have them. And out of all of the emotions that we have, anger the rawest, strongest, and most destructive.

The Bible tells us that not all anger is sin. It does say, however, "In your anger, do not sin..." (Ephesians 4:26). One of the things we learn here is--and you can see this all throughout Scripture--that often times anger precedes sin. Anger sets sin on the tee for us. Proverbs 29:22 says, "An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins."

Hey, we all have to deal with this incredible emotion called anger. The question is: What do we do with? How do I resolve real-life anger issues God's way? How do we respond to people who keep making us angry?

Here's good news: Dwight's going to nail these questions for us on Sunday has he continues the No Strings Attached series.

Chew on this between now and then: People or circumstances can make us angry, but we can respond in forgiveness because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. God is bigger than circumstances. He's bigger than our emotions. And He wants you and I to be free...free to love...free to live...free to forgive.

Don't miss this Sunday @ NewPointe! I hope Alec Baldwin is there.

married life live! update

We had a MLL production meeting today. You guys, it's going to be a blast! I can hardly wait. Here are a few things to whet your appetite:

• My main man Kevin is going to speak. He shared some of his content with me today. STRONG!
• Dave D will be co-hosting the event with yours truly. That'll be fun.
• Danny and the band are working on some music that is guaranteed to make u wanna dance! :)
• You can expect to see several movie stars live (yes live--in person) at MLL.
• The food's going to be crazy-good. It's a sit down meal designed to be enjoyed thoroughly by you and your date.
• Everyone who comes will have an opportunity to win fabulous prizes!

The stats show us that there are less than 100 seats available (out of 480). If you don't have a ticket yet, you can buy online right here. This Sunday will be your final opportunity to buy at church. Online ticket sales end Monday.

DO NOT miss it!

can't shut my brain off when i go to bed

It's 3:12 a.m. Can't sleep. I hate that. Happens to me at least a couple times a week. I'll feel tired and ready for bed but then when my head hit the pillow it's like the switch turns on. I just CANNOT shut my brain off! Here's the stuff racing through my mind at midnight:

• Married Life Live. I'm totally stoked for it. Worked on it pretty much all day yesterday. We've got some wonderful creative elements that I can't wait for everyone to experience. But lying in bed, my brain just keeps chewing on ideas for MLL. So I got up and started writing some down.
• First Wednesday. I'll blog more about the next FW soon...but it's going to be amazing. Dwight's going to speak at this one. I'll just say this: Don't miss it! I promised you will have never experienced anything like it.
• July sermon series. I'm speaking in July. And I'm trying to nail down some ideas. This is one of those things that's out there in the future a bit...and I know I should be working on it now but there are some other things that are pressing (Aqua, MLL, First Wednesday, May 6--I'm speaking on that day).
• Aqua. A new series begins May 8 and so my mind is blitzing through ideas for that one. We're going to call it It's All In Your Mind. We're going to talk about biblical truths on the battlefield of the mind, overcoming strongholds, defeating worry, and understanding the mind of Christ. Looking forward to that big-time.

But man, I wish I could just shut off my brain sometimes. And I absolutely do not want to take sleep-aids. Anyway, if you have any ideas that you think could help me, leave a comment. Thanks.

everything God wants from us he gives to us

A couple of weeks ago I read a book by Graham Cooke called The Language of Love. Powerful little book. Since then it's been sitting on my desk because I've been planning to, at some point, blog a little about it.

And today, I've finally gotten around to it. My guess is that it take several blogs to even begin to communicate what I'm beginning to learn from this book...here's the first little nugget:

"It is not possible for us to initiate anything to God. Paul asks who have ever given to God first. God initiates. We respond by receiving, and then we give back to God the very thing he gave us in the first place...Everything He wants from us He gives to us.

This is amazing, wonderful, outrageous, and mind-boggling! This means that when the Holy Spirit convicts me of something, He is also relaying the Father's willingness to supply what I lack. Therefore:

• Unable to pray? Conviction releases the promise that he will help us.
• Struggling with unclean thoughts? Conviction brings with it the promise of purity.
• Problems with doubt or unbelief? With conviction the Lord seeks to initiate faith.

Get the message? The promise releases the gift. Conviction seeks to reestablish the divine order. The Holy Spirit points out our needs and the provision at the same time. Conviction restores us to being open to the goodness of God."

That's powerful. That encourages me. It inspires me. I hope it helps you, too.

four deep religious truths

In the serious times we live in, it is important for all of us of allfaiths to recognize these four deep Religious truths:

1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God’s chosen people.


2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.


3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian world.


4. Baptists do not recognize each other at Hooters.

Hey, I'm not knocking Baptists. I'm just passing along the information as it was given to me.

"i'll pray for you..."

One of my faithful blog readers sent me this cartoon:






















Funny...but at the same time it carries with it a dose of reality. Have you ever done that? Okay, okay, I confess. I've done it.

Here's why this happens: if you're like me, you have people who sometimes--or in my case, often times--ask you to pray for them. And you, like me, fully intend to pray for them. But what happens? We just flat-out forget sometimes don't we?

Have you ever told someone you've prayed for them when you really haven't? I confess, I've done that. Maybe most pastors wouldn't admit that...but I'm just trying to keep it real.

I'm fully aware that I can screw this "Hey, I'll be praying for you," thing up. And I don't wanna screw it up. So I sincerely strive to be faithful to the promises I make when I tell someone I'll pray for them.

But how can we be sure to honor the commitments we make to others that we're going to pray for them?

Outside of carrying a notebook everywhere and writing everything down, here's something you can do:

When someone asks you to pray for them, pray for them right there--on the spot. I do this. I don't care where we are--in the lobby at church, in the restroom, at a restaurant, on the golf course--I just ask them right then and there if I can pray for that right now.

Sometimes I'll even tell them, "Hey, I don't want to forget to pray for that, so lets pray about it right now."

I get phone calls at the office and at home with people asking me to pray for them. Know what I do? I pray for them right then...on the phone.

I've never had anyone tell me, "No, right now's not a good time." On the contrary, they always appreciate it. The prayer is almost always followed by a hug because they're so grateful that I took their request serious enough to pray for it on the spot. It also builds their faith when they actually hear your prayer rather than hearing a mere, "Okay, I'll be praying for that."

So don't ever miss an opportunity to pray for someone. It'll bless them...and it'll bless you.

sunday's scuds (4-15-07)

Yesterday Dwight continued our No Strings Attached series. He brought a powerful message on forgiveness, focusing on forgiving others. Here are some the scuds:

• "Many of us are confused about forgiveness. We tend to think forgiveness is for the benefit of the offender."
• "We think to forgive someone is to do them a favor."
• "Our attitude is ususally, 'They owe me!'
• "We hold on to bitterness and rage and we begin to build a case against the offender thinking, that person needs to come to me and beg for forgiveness. If they do that then I will consider forgiving them."
• "We also tend to surpress our feelings and emotions. This leads to depression."
• We all have a tendency to hold on to anger and bitterness because we feel justified in doing so."
• "Jesus tells us through the parable of the unmerciful servant that we absolutely must forgive those who've wronged us."
• "Unforgivness in your life wreaks havoc on your body."
• "Jesus said: if you don't forgive others, I'm coming after you."
• "To refuse to forgive is to self-destruct."
• "If you fail to forgive you will drag the hurt into every one of your relationships."
• "70% of second marriages don't work out because the same issues, resenment, and bitterness that killed the first marriage never gets dealt with and so it carries into the second marriage."
• "Forgiveness is not for the benefit of those who've wronged you--forgiveness is for your benefit."

As Dwight wrapped up he gave us five things we need to do to "cut the strings." Here they are:

1. Identify the source
2. Acknowledge the pain
3. Grieve the loss
4. Cancel the debt (this is a willful choice)
5. Release the offender

a day in the life of jenny bunn

Not that this day is typical for my wife, but days like the one I'm about to describe give me great appreciation for Mrs. Bunn:

Monday, April 9

2:15 p.m. Her parents arrive from Cincinnati toting two of our nieces (ages 5 and 7) and the family dog.

3:55 p.m. As Jenny is about to leave to take our girls to music lessons, Naomi calls her into her bedroom. How's this for a series of words you don't want strung together: Nail polish, spill, bedroom floor, new carpet.

3:59 p.m. Dogs have been sequestered to the master bedroom (so as to avoid stepping in nail polish...One of the dogs (we'll assume it wasn't ours) poops on bedroom floor.

4:48 p.m. Naomi drops a full, large, glass jar containing applesauce on the kitchen floor. Shatter. Splatter. You know...

5:50 Jenny receives phone call from me informing her that I'm on my way home early from Natalie's softball practice because Natalie tried to catch a flyball with her face. Bloody mouth. Fat lip. Crying kid.

How's that for a two-hour stretch?

God bless Jenny Bunn.

come on and take a free ride! come on and get by my side...

Yesterday evening my main man "The Big O" (Owen Lehman of Lehman's Cycle) came to the house and installed a new battery in my bike. It's runnin' good and I'm ready to go.

Today was a beautiful day so I figured I'd take it out for a spin (I think all I got in was about two miles but hey, that's better than nothing. Anyway, it was enough to confirm that I've completely got the riding "bug" right now. Dude, I am so ready to hit the open road. Problem is, I've been watching the forecast and there's no warm weather in sight. Grrrr.

Hey, I know we've got a lot of NewPointers who are into riding, so here's a heads-up for you. The 2007 ride schedule will be available at church this Sunday at the information stations.

Bill and Kathy Whitmire have put together a fun and creative ride schedule. We'll have about one ride per month May through September.

Here are a couple other things you need to know: parking for motorcycles at NPCC is on the concrete pad on the east side of the building (they added the pad specifically for bikes, I'm told). All rides will leave NPCC at 12:30 p.m. and return between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. The first ride is scheduled for May 20.

Hope to see you on a bike at NewPointe very soon!

Oh yeah, click here for a pdf of the ride schedule.

no, i don't just write blogs

Some of you know this, many of you don't...in addition to writing on this blog, I write a regular column for a Christian magazine, Light & Life. It's pretty cool how I ended up becoming one of the regular writers. One day while at work, I ended up on the phone with the managing editor of L&L. She had called the church about something unrelated to me and then through the course of our conversation she found out that I was the "small groups guy."

I guess she was intrigued. NewPointe has about 100 small groups and oh, by the way, NPCC is the largest church in the Free Methodist denomination. I don't think she was impressed by that, or even thinking about that...but it probably helped. I think more to the point, she just really needed someone to write the next small groups column for the magazine. She asked me if I liked to write. I said yes. And she gave me a one-time shot. I submitted my first column. It got accepted and published. She called me a couple of weeks later to offer me three more columns. The three columns have now turned into a regular gig.

Why am I telling you this? Quite frankly, it's just top-of-mind with me right now. My next deadline is this Monday. I've got my rough draft done. The next step is for me to give it to DD for editing and feedback.

In case you're wondering, I always write about small groups. I try to tie my column to the feature article by giving practical advice, tips, or action steps for groups. This is not always easy. Feature articles have dealt with pornography addiction, suicide bombers, and homosexuality. Try tying small groups to those!

Anyway, it's fun and I'm humbled by and grateful for the opportunity.

So now you want to hurry over to the L&L website and subscribe, don't you?

Oh, one more thing...don't be surprised that if, in my next column, you read some ideas that I've shared here, in my blog.

i didn't want to like it

I tried hard not to like it...but I liked it.

What am I talking about? The movie Facing the Giants.

I didn't even really want to see it. I've had friends recommend it to me. Chad even blogged about it. I wasn't interested because of the hype...because a church made the movie (I was very skeptical of the quality)...and mainly because it is a "Christian" movie. And really, "Christian" movies just usually aren't very good.

So as I began watching it, I was looking for reasons to not like it. I was being super-critical of the acting (which, honestly, is not so hot) and the dialogue (which is pretty weak at times). But the story ended up sucking me in. Some, no--a lot of the football scenes were not realistic--and I HATE that...but I couldn't help but liking this movie. Weird, huh? I'm so disappointed in myself for liking it!

Nothing about the film is exceptional...it's mainly just that it's a feel-good story. And I think non-Christians will probably find a bunch of reasons to not like (I don't think it's an outreach kind of flick--show me one that is--I think it's more of an encouragement/warm-fuzzy flick for believers). But bottom line, I liked it. And so did the fam.

expect a no-cringe factor at Married Life Live!

Today I received a phone call from a friend asking me more about the "format" of Married Life Live! He said he had a list of friends that he wants to invite to MLL but he wanted to make sure that MLL was not going to be "preachy" or uber-religious. He just wanted some assurance that his friends, if they come, would not feel like the whole evening was just a big push for people to come to church at NewPointe. And he for sure did not want them leaving feeling like they've been "preached at."

I appreciate his heart on this one. He's got friends in whom he's investing. And now he's inviting them to MLL. He's not sure how they'd respond to an invitation to church but he thinks he can get them to come to MLL for a "date night." That's it! He gets it. Our hope, then, is that they'll have a great time, meet some cool people, and begin thinking, maybe we should give church a shot. Those people are not so kooky after all. The music was good, the environments were cool...maybe sometime we'll try church at NewPointe. And the key...they'd be, in a sense, trying church on their own terms. Not at the nagging or pestering of people.

So here's what I told my friend: You can expect this at MLL: lots of interaction, entertainment, laughs, a great meal, and a 30-minute talk (that ties to the movie theme) about marriage. Will it be religious? No way. Will be talk about God? Yeah. In fact we're going to make a case that the #1 ingredient to a healthy, joyful marriage is that we TRUST GOD.

No "preaching"...it'll be conversational. No "alter call." No cringe-factor for you if you bring friends and neighbors to MLL. I promise.

Expect to have fun. And expect your friends to be talking about it for days.

One last thing: I am totally stoked that my buddy is making a list of people he wants to invite to MLL. That's huge! That's invest and invite in action.

staff meetings

I just feel I need to get this out there. I have a sense of duty to let NewPointe attenders know...to let the blogworld know, what actually happens in NewPointe staff meetings. It's important for you to know which people take their roles seriously, which people are the ones truly getting stuff done...and who are the ones that are just along for the ride.

I couple of weeks ago I snapped this photo with my camera-phone in one of our NAV team meetings:

As they say...a picture is worth a thousand words. Notice DD laid back, arms resting on his noggin, paperwork is a mess (notice: he's not writing anything down) and of course, tongue flapping in the wind (doing his best Gene Simmons impression).

I know what you're thinking...poor John and the rest of the staff have to put up with this kind of uncalled for behavoir? Yep.

Pray extra hard for the rest of us. And, oh yeah, pray for Dave, too.

I saw hope...

By now you know that we had an absolutely incredible day at NewPointe yesterday. Man, I love Easter. There's an extra buzz--an excitement, an energy that is unique to Easter.

Here's what happened as I roamed the hallways of NewPointe yesterday: every few steps, someone would stop me and introduce me to someone they brought to church with them. I met dozens of precious people that God loves so very much. I met one guy's dad who hasn't been to church in a long, long time. I met a lady's husband who never comes to church with her...she got him to come yesterday! I met another guy's niece who's new to the whole "church thing." I met people's neighbors, parents, kids...all these are people who are not typically in church. And do you know what I saw?

I saw hope.

I saw the eyes of that person whose dad finally came. I saw the eyes of the lady who can't usually get her husband out of bed on Sunday morning. I saw the eyes of the couple who finally got their grown kids to come to church with them...and I saw love...and hope.

Their hope is this: "God, please let something connect today. God, please let them have a good experience. God, please speak to their hearts today. God, please let them meet someone cool today. God, I hope church is extra awesome today."

I saw hope.

I love hope! And as I look into those eyes, and talk with these precious people, I'm reminded of how high the stakes really are. It's exciting...and scary at the same time.

I'm reminded that as a staff, as volunteers, we have to bring our "A" game every Sunday...because every Sunday is somebody's first Sunday at NewPointe--and it may be our one shot at reaching them--at connecting with them.

The stakes are high. The task is big. Eternity weighs in the balance.

I'm proud of our staff and volunteers at NewPointe who work so hard ever week to create relevant environments that are designed to connect with those people we bring that we care so much about.

And I'm so proud of everyone who invested in and invited other to come be a part of a very special Easter at NewPointe. I know that God was there...and you all have plenty of reasons to hope.

As a staff, we're more committed than ever to helping your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers experience God's forgiveness.

Man, I'm fired up! And I can't wait to see what God's gonna do!

sunday scud review (april 8, 2007--easter)

We began a new message series--No Strings Attached. It's all about forgiveness--both forgiving others and being forgiven. It was a phenomenal start to a new series. Message title: Eyes Wide Open.

Here's a review of the scuds he fired:

• "Maybe you've had an abortion. Maybe you've committed adultery. Maybe you've been divorced. Maybe you've murdered. Do you ever feel that what you've done is so bad that you could never be forgiven? Easter is about forgiveness. God and and will forgive you of every sin you've ever committed."
• "Your wife might not know about your addiction to pornography...but God does. And he STILL wants to forgive you."
• "Though God is willing to forgive you, it doesn't mean that what you've done doesn't matter."
• "Sin robs you of God's potential in your life."
• "This is how we usually handle forgiveness: If he comes knocking on my door I'll consider forgiving him."
• "The way God handles forgiveness: He initiates it even though he's the party that's been wronged."
• "Definition of sin: Doing what you want instead of what God asks you to do."
• "Has everyone sinned? Yes. "
• "For everyone who chooses not to be forgiven, the result is an eternity in hell."
• "Does God send people to hell? No. People choose to go to hell by not accepting his forgiveness."
• "You may not be as 'bad' as Hitler, but apart from God's forgiveness, you're as 'bad off' as Hitler."
• "God does not want to give you what you deserve. He wants to give you what you need."
• "The ONLY way to get right with God is through Jesus.
• "Most people never really live...they just exist. The only way to really live is to embrace God's forgiveness."
• "Guilt is the #1 destroyer of happiness...it's the #1 source of stress...it's the number one source of ill health...we could empty half of all hospitals if people would just embrace God's forgiveness."
• "Forgiveness is not just for the here-after...forgiveness is for right now."
• "When Christ died on the cross he covered my past sins, my current sins, and my future sins."
• "The way we operate is: we're interested in building a case against people. God doesn't operate that way. God did not send Jesus to condemn. Jesus came to save (John 3:17)."
• "Do you want to be free from guilt? Why would you continue to punish yourself when someone else (Jesus) has already taken your punishment for you?"
• "You'll never be able to out-run guilt. You can't drink it away, party it away...it'll always come back. There's only one way to to eliminate it...by embracing God's forgiveness.
• "I wouldn't trade lives with anybody. Know why? Because my purpose is bigger than my problems."

multiplying your small group grows you spiritually

One of the toughest parts of my job has to be getting small group participants to see the value in actually breaking up the group in order to create new groups.

The push-back that I get from these groups generally goes like this:

• "We love our group. We're growing in Christ together. Why in the world would we want to break that up?"
• "We've got so much invested in each other. We don't want to leave that investment behind. It doesn't make sense to 'start over' after we've gotten so far along with this bunch."
• "We're just not ready. We like it here. We're comfortable here."

Hey, breaking up is hard to do. But let me plead my case for why it's so important:

First, it grows you spiritually. Yes! It does! Honestly ask yourself this: Will I grow more over the next 24 months with the same bunch of people I've been "doing life with" or will my faith grow more by stepping out and starting a new group with new people? And by encouraging the folks currently in my group to do the same?

See, I believe God wants to ignite your faith and there's no better way to do it than by stepping outside of your comfort-zone--to a place where you have to rely on the Holy Spirit. Plus, consider this: people who are new to faith, investigating faith, and are new to Christian community--the ones you'll have in your new group--will help keep your perspective fresh and your faith alive.

Secondly, if we just stay in small group with the same people year after year we, in effect, stunt or limit the growth of those we are leading. I guarantee there's new leadership potential within your current group. If you keep those potentential leaders inside your group, you basically are placing a lid on them and not allowing them to grow by using their gifts. Worse, you're hindering what God wants to do in and through them. As leaders, we're accountable to God on this one.

Thirdly, when we refuse to multiply, we're basically telling people outsiders--those who are not yet a part of Christian community, "Sorry about your luck...hope that works out for you." Or, "You're outsiders, we're insiders, and we'd prefer to keep it that way." Now, you'd never say that, but that's exactly what you're doing. Quite frankly, that kind of attitude makes me sick.

If you're in a small group and especially if you're leading a small group and you're reading this right now...get ready because this next paragraph may offend you...

The group that refuses to multiply is narrow-minded, short-sighted, and just plain selfish. That's the way I see it.

"But John, you don't understand...these are our best friends, if we split up we won't see each other very much anymore." Here's what I say to that: You'll have all of eternity to see each other. Hang out in heaven. In the meantime there are people in our own backyard who need us now. They need friends. They need accountability. They need care. And when a group decides to stay together and not multiply...I say they're in it for the wrong reasons. It's not about us. It's about others...it's about the kingdom.

Do you really want to grow your faith? Do you really want to build the kingdom? Really? If you do then you'll get serious about multiplying your small group every 18-24 months.

Is it hard to do? You bet. Is it worth it? Eternally.

life lessons from my amish neighbor

If it weren't for us, the average age on our block would be about 81. Our next-door neighbors to the north of us are Amish. They're really good neighbors. We don't see much of them in the winter. They're not out much and, well, neither are we. Now that spring is upon us, we're starting to see them more.

I enjoy conversations with Dan (also known as "Sleepy Dan"--I asked him about his nickname today and he didn't seem to be too fond of it...so I dropped it). Dan has always shown an interest in our new church building. I kept him up-to-date as it was being constructed. I also promised him that one of these days I'd take him over to see it.

Now that spring is here--sort of--Jenny and I figured we'd invite our Amish neighbors, along with the neighbors behind us (Albert and Ginny, who by the way have lived in the same house for 59 years) to lunch at Bob Evans and a tour of NewPointe.

Today was the day. We loaded up Dan and his wife, Viola, into our mini-van (Al and Ginny drove themselves--they're in their mid-eighties, by the way), and we headed over to the church.

It's so much fun to give tours to folks who haven't seen NewPointe yet. My favorite part is not just showing them the building (although it's very cool)...my favorite part is explaining how we use the building and our vision behind it.

The tour took a little over an hour...partly because Albert just talks and talks...and talks. We had a great time. Of course, I always wonder what Amish people really think about the way we do church.

The room they raved the most about? The kitchen! :)

After the tour we took them all to Bob Evans. Andrew went along with us. He even offered to say 'grace' before the meal so we took him up on that. His prayer went something like this: "Dear Jesus, thank you for...what are their names Mommy? Albert, and Ginny, and..." he went around the table and thanked God for each of them.

On the drive home Viola shared with us that she wishes her grandson would come try NewPointe. He's 21 and doesn't have a church home. She even told us that she's offered to come with him but she just can't get him interested in church. I told her to tell him this: "My neighbor, John, is going to preach on May 6...and I want to hear him...and I need you to take me." She said she just might try that.

Also on the drive home, I mentioned to Dan, "Boy, that Albert sure is a talker!" Dan chuckled and said, "There's only one Albert." He continued, "Sometimes I'm hesitant to begin a conversation with him because I know I'm gonna be stuck there a while." Cracks me up because we've all thought that...he finally said what we all think.

And then he added this nugget...thus the title for this post...a life lesson from Sleepy Dan: "So sometimes I just walk away while he's talking."

I laughed and said, "Really?" Dan says, "Yeah, and Albert just keeps on talking as I'm walking away."

So...the lesson...sometimes, if we want to get anything done, we just have to walk away. That conversation will be waiting for Dan tomorrow...and the day after that...and the next day...and the next day...

introducing www.johnbunn.net

Maybe you've already figured it out by now...but in case you haven't noticed, this blog can now be found at www.johnbunn.net. It just makes it easier to find. So now, if say you're at another computer, or out of town, and you don't have my blog bookmarked, you can just type in www.johnbunn.net and you'll be here.

Another reason I changed it is because it's just easier to tell people (and easier to remember).

Oh, one more thing...thanks for reading my blog! Over 200 of you visited yesterday! A new one-day record! You guys are awesome!

i love first wednesdays!

Okay, so First Wednesday was AMAZING! And I'm not just saying that because I spoke at it. The worship was intense! Check out this email from someone who was there:

Just had to tell you again, what an exciting experience last night was!
It was such a perfect blend of history, the Bible and WORSHIP! I was
just telling my buddy at work this morning, that there seems to be an
exceptional freedom (at First Wednesdays) when it comes to
worship. God was definitely on the scene last night, and
it showed. Each song kept drawing everyone closer and closer to
God's throne. The scripture really came alive last night. To
think that we will some day be at the foot of God's throne participating
in eternal worship. Gives me chills just thinking about it.

You guys definitly knocked one out of the park last night!!!!!! I think
my buddy has (now) become a permanent part of NewPointe! I sure am glad I invested and invited!!!

Here's another one I got last night:

Hi,
I just attended my first (First Wednesday) service. Absolutely
amazing! The message you delivered was very powerful and
thought-provoking. I’ve heard messages on Revelations before, but none
compared with yours!

Wow! Humbling. Amazing. And THAT KIND OF STUFF JACKS ME UP!

Here's another:

I absolutely love First Wednesday. One of the reasons I think I do
is, I believe that I see a glimpse of the passion of David & Jesus
(in the burden he had for people and their salvation) when
you do First Wednesdays. I hope you don't ever get
discouraged with what you're doing, you have helped me big time!

God is on the move, big-time at NewPointe. And he always speaks to me at First Wednesday. I'm still totally stoked about last night.

So, if you haven't figured it out by now, you do NOT want to miss a single First Wednesday. Just go ahead and mark your calendar for the rest of the year.

Oh, one more thing, if you want more of the scoop on what went down last night, visit Tina's blog (thanks for the recap Tina!). See what else she has to say about First Wednesday here.

buy married life live! tickets online

This is very cool...I just bought Married Life Live! tickets on the Web through the NewPointe website. It was fast and easy.

Find out more about MLL here.

And for the record, yes the theme is MOVIE NIGHT, but we are NOT watching a movie. It's just the THEME folks.

It'll be amazing. Seating is limited. Get your tickets before they're gone!

i got saved!

A couple of nights ago, Jenny and I watched the movie Saved! Ordinarily, Saved! would not be at the top of my Netflix queue but I've always been curious about this one. Many Christians have bashed it saying that it's disrespectful, irreverent, and sacrilegious. So, naturally, I wanted to see it.

The movie is about a group of teenagers who attend a Christian high school. Each of the kids has issues (the main character gets pregnant after sleeping with her boyfriend because 'Jesus told her to,'...she did this because he thinks he's gay and she wanted to cure him from his gay-ness. Another kid who attends the school is a smoking, cussing, Jewish rebel. One character is stereotyped in the film as the holier-than-thou, goody-two-shoed, judgmental Christian. The school's principal is a pastor whose marriage is on the rocks and ends up having an affair with the pregnant girl's mom...I could go on). I know what you're thinking...John, why in the world would you watch this kind of junk? The short answer: I wanted to see what Hollywood is saying about Christianity...and I want to do my best to stay connected to culture. And I guess it was pretty much what I expected.

It's disappointing that Christianity gets such a bad rap. In the movie, the "Christians" are the villains and the rebellious kids end up being the heroes. The movie's goal, in my opinion, was to make Christians look like