stuff i'm learning about life from coaching softball

I coach my 12-year-old daughter's fastpitch softball team. Every game, I talk to the kids about doing these three things:

1. play the game the right way
2. be good sports
3. have fun

I tell the kids that if we do those three things consistently, the results will take care of themselves.

What if we took a similar approach to life?

1. play the game the right way (live a life of integrity)
2. be good sports (treat others the way you want to be treated)
3. have fun (don't take yourself so seriously)

If, in our daily lives, we practiced those things every day, perhaps life's results would take care of themselves.

After our softball games, we don't evaluate based on whether we won or lost. We evaluate on how well we did each of those three things. If we nail them...then I'm happy.

Another thing I do with the kids is this: I have one of the moms keep a list for me of the good things that each player does during the game...and it's not all related to performance on the field (it could be encouraging a teammate or displaying good sportsmanship). At the end of the game, I get the list from the mom and have the team gather 'round me. I go down the list and highlight at least one good thing that each player did during the game. We clap and cheer and hoot and holler for each girl as their name is called.

Is there a life-lesson there? I think so. And I think it's obvious. It's called: catch people doing something good and celebrate it. You can do it with your kids, with your spouse, with co-workers, even your boss!

I admit that I'm not the world's greatest softball coach. But if I don't do anything else, I want to build into the kids I coach. I want them to gain confidence and learn to have a positive approach to life.

If that happens, I'll consider it a success.

If we all live it out, the world would be a better place.

things i enjoyed as a kid that are no longer around

Do you remember Burger Chef? Man, I loved Burger Chef. In fact, as a kid, I would take Burger Chef over McDonalds if given the choice.

How 'bout the adventures of Buger Chef and Jeff? Man, I loved those guys!

Okay, what about these? We called them Knicker-knockers. I think they're more commonly known as clackers.

Basically they were two giant marbles attached by a string with a ring in the center. The idea was to get the two balls clacking against each other by pulling up on the ring lightly.

I think they were done away with due to too many kids getting hurt.




I loved watching the Land of the Lost on Saturday mornings.

Remember the sleestacks? Terrifying. Here's something you may not have known: One of the sleestacks was played by NBA bad-boy, Bill Laimbeer when he was in college. Watch the video again and check the credits. Interestingly, when Laimbeer got to the NBA he kept right on playing the role of a sleestack.

I had a bike just like this one. Never wore a helmet. Rode it on the streets in Cincinnati. Even rode it down to the Ohio river once and took a ferry over to Kentucky. We used to set up ramps to jump over stuff. Again, no helmets, and often times no hands. And somehow I'm still alive.

And here's one more thing I enjoyed as a kid that I'm convinced I'll never see again...the Big Red Machine. Pete Rose, George Foster, Tony Perez, Johnny Bench (my favorite), Ken Griffey, Cesar Geronimo, Davey Concepcion (who lived right down the street from me), and Joe Morgan. Unbelievable team. Now the Reds flat-out stink. We'll never see another Big Red Machine. Those were the days.

monday morning prayer

I meet with a group of people every Monday from 6 to 7 a.m. in the prayer room. We pray for NewPointe. We pray for our leadership, our volunteers, and our staff. We pray for lost people.

A few years ago Dwight and I decided to start meeting on Mondays for prayer together. We opened it up to anyone who would like to come. We covenanted together to make this time a priority...even if no one else showed. Others showed and we've been praying every Monday morning ever since.

We met yesterday, even though it was a holiday. It was very cool to see my prayer-warrior friends there so early on a non-work day. I prayed with them for an hour and then I went home and went back to bed. :)

I'm so thankful for the dedicated group of people who come every Monday morning. They believe in the power of prayer and their hearts' desire is to see NewPointe fulfill the Great Commission in Tuscarawas and Holmes Counties and beyond.

The Monday morning prayer time is open to anyone. It's informal and well worth it. I'm absolutely convinced that it makes a huge difference in our church.

If your heart burns for God and for what he's doing in and through NewPointe, I invite you to join us on Monday mornings at 6 a.m. The front doors are open. We meet in the prayer room.

What would happen if a whole bunch of us got real serious about prayer? What would happen at NewPointe if a bunch of us committed to making this Monday morning prayer time together a priority? I'd like to see what would happen.

See you Monday.

spreadin' around some link-love...

Check out this post by Tony Morgan.

Classic.

sunday's scuds (may 27, 2007)

Today: week three in Adventures in Missing the Point. Dwight shared about how we have moments of calm and mistake that for peace. Here are the scuds that he launched:

• "The world defines peace this way: the absence of conflict. If that's how you define peace, you're missing the point."
• "God doesn't want you to worry. When you worry, what you're saying is that you don't trust God to handle things."
• "Worry is akin to atheism. By worrying you're saying basically, 'There is no God. I must be in control.'"
• "Jesus' promise to us: if we will put our full trust in him, he will give us the product of peace."
• "Guilt is the number one destroyer of peace."
• "If you've never received God's pardon, you're not at peace."
• "There are many Christians who are at peace with God but they don't have the peace of God."
• "You have a choice, you can choose to focus on your circumstances, or you can choose to focus on God."
• "Whenever worry enters my life, I guarantee you, I've lost my focus on God."
• "Worry is like a rocking chair...a lot of motion but not much progress."
• "God's purpose for my life is bigger than any problem that I'll face."
• "Nothing can't stop what God wants to do in my life...so I don't have to worry."
• "When you and I experience peace, it enhances our relationships."
• "Peace increases your productivity. When you worry, you're good for nothing."
• "Peace makes us more attractive."
• "For Christians, peace is not the absence of conflict...because confict may be the very thing God leads you to in order for him to fulfill his plan in your life."

For more about the peace of God, read:

• Philippians 4:6-7
• John 16:33
• Galatians 5
• Ephesians 2:14-18

ruby tuesday, transvestites, and happiness

Jenny and I had a 'date day' yesterday. We were able to head up to Canton for lunch and some shopping. While enjoying a fantastic salad bar experience at Ruby Tuesday, I glanced upon an interesting-looking group at a table near us. At the table were at least two transvestites. Long hair, long fingernails, make-up, the works...but clearly dudes.

And honestly, I was not intentionally trying to listen in on their conversation, but I did overhear a little of it. During the portion of the conversation that I heard, one of the younger transvestites was lamenting over his home situation. He couldn't understand why his parents were so disappointed with his decision to cross-dress. He said, "You'd think if you go to your parents and tell them that this is what makes you happy then they'd be okay with it. You'd think your parents would want you to do whatever makes you happy."

At NewPointe, we've been in a series called "Adventures in Missing the Point." Talk about missing the point. I see it so often: people think that whatever makes them happy is what's most important. Dwight talked last week about how, believe it or not, there are more important things in life than mere happiness. Things like character. In fact, he said that God is more interested in our character than our happiness.

As the person Ruby Tuesday griped about his parents and not understanding why they wouldn't want him to happy above all else, I started thinking about how our relationship with our parents is such a great analogy for our relationship with our Heavenly Father. In this person's case, he absolutely did not understand why his parents were disappointed with his decision to cross-dress. After all, they should just be happy if he's happy...no matter what...right? Wrong. What if the things that 'make you happy' are destructive? What if they're going to lead you down a path of confusion and pain? What if the thing that makes you happy is going to hurt or impede character growth in you?

My 4-year-old cannot understand why he can't have candy any time he wants it. Shouldn't I give it to him? After all, that's one of the things that makes him happy. My daughters tell me that staying up late on a school night would make them happy. Guess I should be supportive of them doing it if it makes them happy, right?

You get my point. Our parents, in most cases, are like God in the sense that above happiness for you, they want what's BEST for you. My kids have a hard time understanding that. The transvestite at Ruby Tuesday had a hard time understanding that. I have a hard time understanding that about God sometimes.

But I'm learning that He always wants what's best for me. He wants to grow me. He wants to build character into me. He wants to use me. And what's best for me doesn't always equal what makes me happy.

God's not against happiness--that's for sure. But he favors character.

stats and thoughts from graham cooke...

I read this book by Graham Cooke a couple of months ago. I've kept it on my desk because it's amazingly quotable. I reread this today. Check it out...

• • 60% of all pastors quit leading churches
  • 50% of people leaving the ministry do so because of immorality
  • another 30% leave because of stress

  Behind most of these statistics is a rundown devotional life. When we lose our focus on God, we end up with a working relationship but a lousy friendship with Him. The only way a lot of ministers relate to God is on the basis of what they do for Him. Everything is businesslike when people have lost their devotional lives. They end up praying about ministry--the youth group, Sunday School, finances and so on--and activity rather than the joy of friendship with the Father consumes them.

  I wonder how many of us have upgraded our abilities to praise and thank God in the past 12 months. We need to praise and thank God more this year than we did last year.

Graham Cooke, The Language of Love

npcc biker trip to wv

Here's my report on the first ride of the year: It was a GREAT ride. 30 bikes! Here's a pic of the gang after gorging ourselves at Quinet's in New Martinsville, WV

The route we took was way fun. Lots of curves and hills...and that's the way we like it. One of the highlights of the day for me was the ferry ride (with 30 bikes) across the Ohio River.

Bill and Kathy Whitmire did a fantastic job planning and leading the ride. Here's a picture of Bill enjoying the ferry ride:

Yup...Bill's the dude! Great route, great restaurant, great people = great day of riding.

If you missed it (yeah, I'm talkin' to you Duane M., Jared Y., Bob & Lisa T., Bob R., Mike D....just to name a few)...you really missed a good one.

The next ride is June 17. We'll be riding to Dresden and having lunch at Popeye's.

To see the rest of the NewPointe summer ride schedule, click here.

newpointers...do you blog?

I know there are several, if not many, NewPointe people who have blogs of their own. If you have your own blog site, leave a comment on this post. Give me your blog address and I'll spread around some link-love.

Don't assume I already know about your blog...I may, but leave a comment anyway so I can be sure not to exclude yours.

Blog on!

free hugs

Maybe you've already seen this but I just stumbled across it. It's the YouTube video of the year. Enjoy.

sunday's scuds (may 20, 2007)

Dwight continued the Adventures in Missing the Point series. He talked about how so often we're willing to settle for mere happiness when we could instead have joy. He said that in fact, we often mistake happiness for joy. They're not the same. Joy's deeper, it's better, it's a state of being...happiness is fleeting. It's merely an emotion. Here are the scuds:

• "If you're in pursuit of happiness, you'll never get there."
• "There's a common belief that happiness can be achieved and help on to. This is not true."
• "The truth is this: if you could be happy all the time, you'd get tired of it.
• "If our goal in life is to pursue happiness, we're going to be disappointed.
• "God's more interested in your holiness than your happiness. He's more interested in your character than your circumstances."
• "There's absolutely nothing wrong with being happy--but God has so much more for you than mere happiness."
• "Happiness is fleeting. Joy is lasting."
• "Joy is the positive confidence that you know and feel when you're trusting God completely."
• "James's (as in the Book of James from the Bible) message to us is, 'Grow up!'"
• "The main reason people don't have joy in their lives is this: selfishness."
• "Bitterness eats up emotional energy."
• "The person that God most wants to use to form Christ in your life is your spouse."
• "When fear enters, joy leaves."
• "Fear builds walls not bridges."
• "When you're full of fear there is no emotional intimacy."
• "God knows the worst about me but he loves me the most. Because of that, I can have joy."
• "You can give without loving but you can't love without giving."
• "If you don't like to give then you won't be happy at NewPointe."
• "Our tendency as human beings is to re-live our hurts rather than release them."
• "I can't fix my past...but I can get free from it."

For more about joy check out:

Romans 5:1-11

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

1 Peter 1:3-9

Proverbs 10:28

confessions of a mega-church pastor

Here's a video blog from Ed Young. We learn a lot and get some cool ideas from Ed's church. In this video he shares raw, honest thougths about being a pastor and the demands and challenges that come with it. Check it out.

Credit where credit's due: I first found this video here.

i read this book today

We've all heard the phrase, Winners never quit and quitters never win. This book explains how that phrase is a lie. Intrigued?

I liked this book so much, I'm going to have the Group Life team read it. It's all about quitting...knowing when to quit and when not to...knowing when to fight through 'the dip.'

The Dip is a huge concept that my team can expect to hear come out of my mouth often. The more I think about it, the more I realize that The Dip can--no, will--occur in every area of our lives. We have to know how to navigate it. This little book can help.

As I reflect on my life so far, I've experienced The Dip in my faith, my marriage, my career...every organization experiences The Dip. The idea, basically is that when we hit The Dip, our typical reaction is to bail...because it's too painful or too hard. The organizations and individuals that push through the right dips can come out on the other side being "the best in the world."

Here are a few quotes to whet your appetite:

Quit the wrong stuff
Stick with the right stuff
Have the guts to do one or the other

The Dip is your secret to success.

Average is for losers.

dealing with negative people in your life

Last week at Aqua we began a series called It's All in Your Mind. I blogged about it last week.

At the end of Aqua we made some positive promises to God. One of those promises was simply that we would not hang out with negative people. That thought spurred this e-mail to me the next day:

Hi John,

...I was present at last nights aqua. I really enjoyed the message that you guys had for us. I (have a friend who's) in a dilemma. Her mother used to be her best friend and she (has recently moved away). they still talk quite often. The problem is, is that her mother is a VERY negative person. Do you have any advice about how to steer away from negative people and not lose her mother?? I really didn’t know how to answer that question... Thanks for your time

My response:

I’ll try to answer your question: If your friend's mom is truly her best friend and they talk all the time…what would happen if your friend was just very frank with her about her negativity ,in a loving way, of course. Something like, “Mom, God is changing my heart. It’s the craziest thing and I can’t even fully explain it. But I know he’s changing me. Mom, one of the things he’s changing is my attitude. I want to be more positive. We’ve been learning about having the same kind of attitude
that Jesus had…and I want that for me. Mom, I love you and it’s important that you know that…but sometimes our conversations just seem to head toward negative stuff. I don’t want to be like that. What can we do together to avoid that? Will you help me in my efforts to do that?”

Now, I don’t know what your friend's mom’s reaction would be to a conversation like that. But it may be a good place to start…at least begin talking about it.

The best place to start would be with your friend sharing how God is changing her. Notice in the example I gave you that I never blamed or pointed a finger at Mom. I had your friend talking more about herself. Maybe she could begin there and see where that leads the conversation. Bottom line though: I’d be very honest and up-front with Mom about what’s going on in my life and my heart and how I want to change. Also, your friend may just need to establish some boundaries with her mom about what they’re going to talk about and what they’re not going to talk about.

The other thing is to pray, pray, pray for God’s wisdom in the situation. He’ll help your friend…and her mom.

You can listen to the Aqua message Dave D and I gave at Aqua last week right here.

sam the prayin' appliance repair man

Our upright freezer started acting up the other day. It's only a couple years old so we called the dealer. They sent Sam out to fix it for us. Sam's a guy a know from church. He volunteers as a small group leader for Studio 56.

We chatted while he worked on the freezer. He started telling me how when he makes repair calls in people's homes, he looks for opportunities to engage in spiritual conversations with his customers. He told me that if he finds out that they attend church somewhere, he celebrates that by encouraging them. If he finds that they don't have a home church, know what he does? Of course you do. He invites them to come check out NewPointe.

I love it. Here's a guy in and out of homes all day long and he's investing and inviting at each one.

But here's the real reason I wanted to blog about him: Sam told me that inside of his work truck, he keeps a list of all the 56er kids that are in small groups at NewPointe. Guess what he does with that list. He looks at it all day long while he's in his truck...and he prays for each kid by name. He tells me that he prefers praying for those kids over just listening to his truck's radio all day long. How awesome is that?

God bless Sam. I know God honors that kind of effort. What if we all took prayer as seriously as Sam does? What if we all made a conscious effort to pray for people, by name, on a regular basis? Think it would make a difference? I KNOW it would.

So take a lesson from Sam. We all can find/make time to pray like he does. We all can turn off the radio or the iPod or the TV or the X-box long enough to pray for someone.

You go Sam! You inspire me!

which translation of the Bible is best?

I sometimes get asked this. Here's my answer: Read one you can understand. The most imporant thing is not which translation, it's just doing it!

If you can roll with the KJV, then go for it! If you're NIV or CEV, great! Read it...study it...let the Word of God transform you.

I get in these conversations sometimes with someone who's really hung up on which translation should be used. And always, by the way--without exception--the person who wants to debate about it--the person with the hang-up is a KJV person. Often times they just have a dogmatic approach they are convinced that no other translation is appropriate.

Before I go any further, let me say this: I am not anti-KJV. Again, if that's the best translation for you personally, and you're comfortable reading it, I wouldn't steer you away from it. For me, it's a tough read, quite frankly. I read multiple translations. Right now, I'm reading out of the NIV. Often I will spend time in The Message. My wife reads her CEV Bible.

If you're trying to decide on a translation, here are a couple things you might want to consider: When the Bible gets translated into a new language for today, it's translated into the language a particular culture speaks and writes today, not how they spoke and wrote 400 years ago. Why should people who read and speak English today have to use a Bible translation that is not translated in the English they use in everyday life? Here's the thing: the Bible was originally written in the common, ordinary language of the people. Bible translations today should be the same. That is why Bible translations get updated and revised as languages develop and change.

God wants you to understand His Word. And the Bible was originally written to be understood.

Now, by far, the most common objection I get from KJV-only people about other translations (specifically the NIV) is this: "There are whole verses missing from the NIV (John 5:4, Acts 8:37, and 1 John 5:7). People say, "The Word of God can't be added to or taken away from, and the NIV has obviously taken verses out, so consequently, it's no good."

When I hear that argument, it tells me that that person has not done any research on the subject. Here's my two-cents on that: the KJV was translated in 1611 AD. Since then, many Biblical manuscripts have been discovered that are older and more accurate than the manuscripts that were used for the KJV. When Bible scholars researched through these manuscripts, they discovered some differences. It seems that over the course of 1500 years, some words, phrases, and even sentences got added to the Bible. The "missing verses" are simply not found in the oldest and most reliable manuscripts. So, the newer translations remove these verses or place them in footnotes or in the margin because they do not truly belong in the Bible.

We know a lot more now than they did in 1611. I wouldn't want a doctor from 1611 doing surgery on me...I'm not so sure I want a scholar from 1611 translating my Bible.

The bottom line, again, is this: Read your Bible. If it's KJV or NIV or CEV, just read it. I recommend you read multiple translations. By comparing and contrasting the different translations, it is often easier to get a good grasp on what the verse is saying than by only using one translation.

I'm always amazed that some people can get so hung up on this subject. There are much more important things to be doing than worrying about which translation of the Bible people are reading.

shameless request for a joost invite

I just wanna be savvy and cool when it comes to my online-ness. So I'm shamelessly asking for a Joost invite. Feel free to invite me at jbunn [at] newpointe [dot] org (poor man's spam protection) Huge props will go out to the first one to invite me.

I'll be glad to spread the love around once I'm on board.

sunday's scuds (May 13, 2007)

Yesterday we began a new series called Adventures in Missing the Point--the search for something more. Here's a review of the scuds Dwight launched:

• "Our incomes allow us to hide the pain in our lives...at least better than a prostitute...or the drug addict."
• "The higher the income, the higher we erect the walls to hide our pain and emptiness."
• "We've become more concerned with what people see us do than we are with what's going on inside us."
• "If you're afraid of losing your position, you're already on your way to losing it."
• "If you're afraid of what your friends will think of you if they knew what was really going on inside you, then your relationship with them is already sick."

Dwight hit on five signs of quiet desperation:

1. Life seems useless
2. Life seems tiresome
3. Life seems unfulfilling
4. Life seems insignificant
5. Life seems uncontrollable

• "Most people look for purpose in life by pursuing success."
• "What we're looking for is really not success...when we find success, we keep looking for something more."

Dwight quoted an NYC taxi driver, Jose Martinez. Dwight's version was tame. I'm including the unedited version here:

We're here to die, just live and die. I drive a cab. I do some fishing, take my girl out, pay taxes, do a little reading, then get ready to drop dead. You've got to be strong about it. Life is a big fake. Nobody gives a damn. You're rich or you're poor. You're here, you're gone. You're like the wind. After you're gone, other people will come. We're gonna destroy ourselves, nothing we can do about it. The only cure for the world's illness is nuclear war-wipe everything out and start over.

• "In honest moments we ask: Why isn't life more rewarding? Why isn't life more fulfilling?"
• "Could it be that deep down inside of you, without anybody but you knowing it, that you're leading a life of quiet desperation?"
• "When God created man, he gave us significance, acceptance, and a sense of destiny. But man missed the point. When he did, he lost each of those things."
• "Ever since the Garden, man has tried to find those things independent from God."
• "We perform in order to try to gain significance. The fear attached to this is failure."
• "We try to please people in order to gain acceptance. The fear attached to this is rejection."
• "We control or manipulate in order to gain security. We create ways to keep what we have and get what we want."
• "Sin is simply our attempt to meet a need in our lives independently from God."
• "You can't control me because I'm more concerned about what God thinks about me than I am with what you think about me."
• "I don't need to be in control because the One who loves me is already in control."

It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for... Ephesians 1:11

In Christ I am complete." Colossians 2:10

You can listen to the full message here.

loud music in church

Apparently, NewPointe isn't the only church that gets occasional feedback about the "volume" of the music.

Check out what Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC did to alleviate the "problem":


It's an earplug dispenser. If you can't read the fine print, here's what it says:

CAUTION, loud noises ahead that could potentially damage tympanic membrane. Hearing protection is provided to you free of charge. So if you need to plug your ears, please take a pair...because we're not turning it down.

Photo credit: this dude.

"this church is too big"

A guy approached me after one of the morning services last Sunday and told me that he'd been bumping around to different churches for a while, looking for a place to land. He said that he's been hesitant to land at NewPointe because, get this, "it's too big." He said, "I don't like big churches."

Interesting. "I don't like big churches." What?! Instead of me writing a response to this, let me share with you how one of my heroes, Andy Stanley responded to a blog that criticized his church for being too big:

I’m writing to aplogize for the size of North Point Community Church. When six of us gathered to think through the idea of beginning a church we had no idea that it would become so large. For this growth I am truely sorry. I realize that the size is intimidating.

I have read the comments on this site and have decided to make some changes. To begin with I am going to spend time with each and every parisioner so that they can get to know me personally. Like many of you, I wouldn’t want to attend a church where I could not connect personally with the pastor. I’ve shared this with my wife and three kids. They are in complete agreement. So beginning next Sunday I will be at the back door to shake hands.

Secondly, I am going to suggest to our elders that we sell our three campuses, consolidate, and move the church into a much smaller building. Smaller space will mean smaller crowds. And aparently large crowds are unbiblical. I agree, the church should be no larger than 40 to 50 people. Most of whom are believers.

Regarding my shallow, simplistic preaching…for this I am truley sorry. I am doing the best I can. I know deeper is better. I’m just not deep. I’m not really sure what to do about that. These changes will take some time. Please be patient. If you have any helpful suggestions as to how I can transition North Point Community Church into a church made up of a handful of believers who enjoy deep preaching please let me know.

On a positive note, the 8,000 adults who meet in groups of 8 to 12 in homes throughout our community can continue to meet in spite of the fact that they will no longer be able to worship together.

Thank you for your valuable insights. And please accept my apology.

Andy Stanley

Pastor, North Point Community Church

You can read the original blog posting and all the discussion that led to Andy's response here.

Now, when you're in a conversation with a dude that's telling you that he doesn't know if he likes your church because it's too big, it's not like you can just tell him to go read what Andy Stanley has to say about that. So you know what I said to him?

I said, "Too big? Too big? How could it be too big? Hell's too big!"

He snickered (a little uncomfortably), but I think he got the point(e).

positive promises

We had a great night at Aqua on Tuesday. Aqua is just a great place to be.

We started a new series in there called "It's All In Your Mind." On Tuesday we dealt with negative attitudes. Philippians 2:5 says, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…" We asked the question: Is that even a legitimate possibility? Is that achievable? I say it is...but it's not necessarily easy.

We ended the evening by passing out little reminder cards that had the positive promises that we committed to make. Here they are:

I WILL NOT HANG OUT WITH NEGATIVE PEOPLE.
Bad company corrupts good character. 1 Corinthians 15:33

I WILL NOT DWELL ON NEGATIVE THOUGHTS.
… we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

I WILL REPLACE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS WITH GOD’S THOUGHTS.
…the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true… noble… right… pure… lovely… admirable -if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Philippians 4:7-8

And then we wrapped it up with this prayer of commitment that's printed on the back of the card:

God, I commit to you not to hang around those who pull me away from you with negativity. Give me the power not to dwell on negative, destructive thoughts, but to replace them with your truth. Renew my mind with the truth of your word. Help me to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus.

I'm keeping my card with me. What a great reminder for me to keep a positive attitude...the attitude of Christ. I've got some extra cards. E-mail me if you'd like one for yourself. Also, you can listen to the whole message by clicking here.

today was a good day because...

I rode my motorcycle to work today.

I get to work at NewPointe.

I love my job.

I love the people I work with.

I got to help plan the next First Wednesday.

I ate lunch in Origins Cafe.

I got home from work to see my 9-year-old daughter waiting at the door for me. She started jumping up and down when she saw me pull in the driveway.

Both my daughters ran to the garage to greet me with a hug.

It was buck-a-burger night at Edelwiess Inn.

It's been a good day.

"...looking for a church that meets my needs..."

A guy came up to me after one of the services Sunday and said, "You must have grown up Baptist, huh?" I said, "No, I grew up Nazarene." He said, "Really? Do Nazarenes baptize by immersion?" I replied, "Yes. They always have."

This guy went on to explain that he was new to NewPointe. Said he'd been attending for a few weeks. He was very interested in the doctrine and theology of our church. He was trying to get a read on where we stand on some "issues."

I really don't like putting it that way..."issues." They're really only issues if you allow them to become "issues." He asked if there was a way he could learn more about what Free Methodists believe. I encouraged him to check out this site. And this one.

He went on to tell me that he and his family have been visiting churches for several months. He said, "We couldn't find a Baptist church that we liked...we're really just having a hard time finding a church that meets our needs."

I had to bite my tongue. I knew this wasn't the time or the place to lecture him about what church should be about. I wanted to say: Meets your needs? Meets your needs? Is that how you view church? As a place where you can come and consume? A place where you plop yourself down and say, "Okay now, feed me...thrill me...entertain me...minister to me...I have needs ya know!"

Unfortunately, this "the-church-exists-to-serve-me" attitude is much too prevalent among Christians. And quite frankly, it makes me sick.

At NewPointe, we've decided that we're not going to take that approach. In fact, we're adamant about the fact that we're not going to cater to Christians. See, we're more concerned about reaching people than we are keeping people. So everything we do runs through that filter. Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. And so we're just not going to be deterred by people who come to NewPointe with their own ideas and expectations of what church should look like.

We recognize that NewPointe is not for everybody. Mainly, it's for people who are far from God. People who have given up on church. People who think God could never love them. That's who we're trying to reach.

And so if a guy like the one who approached me Sunday wants to get on board with that...then we welcome him with open arms! In fact, I encouraged him to serve. I said, "Buddy, get on a serving team here at NewPointe and be a blessing here!"

He agreed that that's what he needed to do. I hope he does. That's where he'll "get it." That's where he'll thrive. That's where he'll begin to see church through eyes other than his own. And that's when we begin to realize that it's not about us. It's about others...and what God wants to do in and through us to reach them.

sunday's scuds (may 6, 2007)

Yesterday at NewPointe, we wrapped up a quick, 2-part series that began on First Wednesday. We looked at communion on Wednesday and baptism on Sunday. Here are some of the scuds that were launched:

• "Your view of baptism probably has more to do with the way you were raised than any research you've done."
• "Jesus commands those who become his followers to be baptized."
• "There are exactly zero examples of infant baptism in the New Testament."
• "When you come out of a religious environment where you don't read the Bible, you're going to do what the church tells you to do."
• "There's a big difference between a version or a realm of Christianity where the church is the authority and one where the Bible is the authority."
• "It's easy to understand baptism. Baptism is a public declaration of a new association."
• "Baptism was not inherently spiritual just within one context. It was a somewhat common thing that became central to Christianity."
• "Baptism is for individuals who have individually, personally made a decision to associate with Jesus."
• "We don't believe there's any inherent spiritual value in infant baptism."
• "The tragedy of infant baptism is that it can give a false sense of security to parents and children."
• "If you ask the authorities in denominations that baptize infants why they do it, they may have some answers that make pretty good sense to you...but their answer will not come from a clear teaching from Scripture."
• "There are churches that teach that a person is 'saved' through being baptized. The Bible doesn't teach that."
• "Baptism is extremely important but it has nothing to do with where you spend eternity."
• "If you have not been baptized since putting your faith in Jesus, you need to be baptized."
• "Do it in a way to where it's public enough that it's a public declaration of this brand new association."
• "The issue isn't how or where, it's when."

For more information at baptism at NewPointe, check out this link.

You can also read Chad's take on the 2-part series right here.

this sunday: baptism

At First Wednesday we began a two-part min-series called Remember. Dwight gave us some great insight on communion. The worship was amazing--some of the best at First Wednesday...ever. For me, this past First Wednesday was truly a "God moment." He showed up in a big-time way. The communion time was extremely meaningful and special to Jenny and I. I hope you were able to get in on it.

We'll conclude this mini-series Sunday. I'll be sharing about baptism. If you're interested in a sneak preview, here it is:

I'm going to answer three common question we get at NewPointe about communion:

1. Who should be baptized? We'll also look at infant baptism. Is it biblical? Does it count? And so on.
2. Must a person be baptized in order to be "saved?"
3. What's up with the way you guys baptize at NewPointe?

It'll be interesting. And the answers may surprise you.

Oh, and we'll also get to celebrate with some folks as they publicly declare their association with Jesus Christ through the tradition of Christian baptism. I can't wait.

See you Sunday.

quiet reverence vs. joyful noise

Sometimes we get asked why we do the kind of music we do at NewPointe. Sometimes people ask, "Could you throw in a hymn every once in a while for those of us who prefer to worship that way?"

The truth is, if we all had our personal preferences, the Sunday morning services at NewPointe would probably look very different from the way they look right now. We all have preferences. We all have things we wish the church would do differently. What we have to ask ourselves is: Am I on board with the mission and vision of the church? If you attend NewPointe, you ask: Am I on board with the mission and vision of NewPointe?

What is the mission? It's simply this: To lead people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ through relevant environments designed to encourage intimacy with God, involvement in community, and influence in the world.

So what's that have to do with preferences? Well, maybe my personal preferences are not the best possible means by which to accomplish our mission. And at NewPointe, we've decided that we're not going to sacrifice the next generation on the altar of our preferences.

On Sunday mornings, we aim to create a relevant environment that will connect with people who view church as having nothing meaningful or worthwhile to say to them. So we design our services to speak the language of the generation we're trying to reach. In many cases, this includes your kids and grand kids.

As for the music...well, we could debate that from now until the cows come home, but as a church, we've decided to take the "joyful noise" approach over the "quiet reverence" approach.

We've found that our current generation is attracted to high-energy, exciting, colorful, multi-sensory things. Concerts, ballgames, amusement parks... Now, we're not trying to be a theme park or "put on a show" but we are trying to speak the language that our generation speaks.

Let me bring this back to the music theme I began with: I was doing some reading the other day and I read this verse (Isaiah 6:4): "At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook..." And I got to thinking, it's hard to shake doorposts and thresholds with organ music and traditional hymns. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

We, as church leadership, have decided that we're going to land on the "shaking doorposts and thresholds" side of things. And it has more to do with being relevant and connecting with a generation than it does anything else.

Do I wish we did some things differently at NewPointe? Sure. But I'm more concerned about reaching people for Jesus Christ. So my preferences will lose out to that every time.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.