more press coverage for newpointe (big give style)

It seems like NewPointe is making a splash in local newspapers lately. Wednesday, the Coshocton Tribune did and article about NewPointe's Big Give. This particular article highlights one of the projects that three NewPointe small groups are teaming up to do.

You can check out the story here: Church Helps Boxing Club

online theology quiz (what's your theological worldview?)

I took this online quiz this evening: What's your theological worldview?

Here is the summary paragraph from my quiz results:

You scored as a Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan
You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavily by John Wesley and the Methodists.

I'd say it's fairly accurate.

What's the quiz say about your theology?

suhad in the canton rep

In case you didn't see it, here's a link to an article in the Canton Repository about Suhad (the lady NewPointe brought to the U.S. from Baghdad for special surgery).

click here: Beyond Prayer

It appeared in Saturday's Faith and Values section. If you missed the Sunday we introduced her, or you're not familiar with her story, read the article. Very cool stuff.

niagara (the canadian side)

On Sunday we journeyed across the border to view the falls from the Canadian side. Spectacular. Here are a couple pics I took with my camera phone:

American Falls:

Horseshoe Falls (see the Maid of the Mist?)

As I viewed the falls, I was struck with the thought of what an amazing artist God is. Who but God could think up such incredible, massive, mind-blowing art-in-motion? His creativity is beyond measure. Creation screams at me: HOW BIG IS GOD!?! The power of the falls, the beauty of the blue foam-filled waters, the expansive sky...it's art that penetrates every one of your senses...who but God?

The Canadian side offers a great view...and it's interesting to venture into another country...but everything there is pretty darn expensive (I visited the Harley shop on Clifton Hill...$50 t-shirts...T-SHIRTS!). There are also a lot of crazy, touristy type places (Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Guinness World Records, haunted houses...we didn't do any of that stuff). We managed to spend very little money in Canada ($12 for two blizzards and a small cone from Dairy Queen and $5 for parking). The weather was perfect. More later....

niagara falls

Here's the first installment of some thoughts, highlights, and photos of our trip to Buffalo for my cousin Karen's wedding.

We took the kids to see the falls each of the last two days. Saturday we viewed the falls from the American side.

The mist from the horseshoe falls is visible from miles away. The whole experience is breathtaking.

Here's a shot of Natalie and Naomi standing atop the American Falls (right in between bridal veil fall and the American falls...it's 170+ feet to the bottom)...

Here we see the three crazies mugging for the camera at Three Sisters Islands near the falls.

Today we pack up to head back home. It's been great to see all the amazing sites and do some pretty cool stuff. But the best part, by far, was just being able to hang out with family that we love (and...they really know how to have a good time). It's been awesome spending time with Aunt Jenny, Uncle David, my dad, and my sister Allison (we also managed to squeeze a little time in with my newly wedded cousin, Karen and her sister Jamie). We all decided that we don't see each other often enough. We're going to try to correct that.

blogging from buffalo

I'm blogging from my hotel room in Buffalo right now. We just returned from my cousin's wedding and reception. We had a great time. First-class wedding. Tremendous reception. I ate too much (why do I do that?).

I've got a lot to blog about in the next few days. Here are a few "quick-hit" previews of coming posts:

• It only took us four hours to drive from our house to Buffalo. I honestly didn't know it was that close. We should come here more often.
• My cousin married a really nice guy that works for the Buffalo Bills. It's always great to see family (including my dad and my sister Allison who flew in from Kentucky).
• Speaking of the Bills...the team's QB (Trent Edwards) was in the wedding. Andrew (one of the world's great football freaks) was lovin' it. He got to meet Trent (who was very cool to Andrew). More on that, including pics, in a later post).
• My cousin, Karen, got married at this church: The Chapel at Crosspoint. VERY impressive. I'm hoping we can make it to church there this Sunday.
• We're also disappointed that we're going to miss church at NewPointe this week. Sunday's going to be an absolutely amazing day (including baptisms). I sure hope YOU don't miss it!
• We're going to take the kids to Niagara Falls while where here. I'm looking forward to seeing Andrew's reaction when he sees it (although I'm guessing he'll come home talking more about Trent Edwards than Niagara Falls).

Bed time...I'm out!

top google searches

Statcounter is pretty cool. It give me all kinds of juicy information about my blog including where readers are from, how long they stay, how often the come back, just to name a few. I can also tell what kind of Google searches have led people to my blog.

So I was curious to know, What are the top Google searches that have caused folks to hit my blog. Here are the top four (these top four get hit almost every day):

5. dealing with negative people in your life

4. how to live a life of quiet desperation

3. can't shut my brain off when i go to bed (apparently I'm not the only one)

2. if i had a million dollars (why is this one so popular? I don't know!)

1. the tithe...net or gross? (this one is BY FAR the number one post on my blog. Interesting, huh?)

sunday's scuds (may 18, 2008)

It's week two of the WHAT LIES BENEATH series. Last week we learned that you can't be spiritually mature unless you're spiritually healthy. We also learned that "Christians," in many cases, don't live lives that are much different from those who do not claim to be Christians. We learned that we have to deal with things "below the surface" if we want real, lasting change that leads to emotional health and spiritual maturity. Here are this week's scuds:

• We like to see other people mess up. And since we don't "have all our stuff together," we like to point out what's wrong with other people's live, exposing the fact that they don't have all their stuff together either.

Three falsehoods we tend to believe:

1. I am what I do. Who I am is attached to what I do. (Performance)
2. I am what I have. Who I am is attached to what I own. (Possessions)
3. I am what other people think. (Popularity)

• Some of us in this room are addicted to what other people think about us. When this happens you end up developing a false self. You live an inauthentic life.
• True freedom comes when we no longer need to be special in somebody else's eyes...we just know that we're loved and valued by God.
• When Satan tempted Jesus, everything that he offered Jesus was offered in the form of a short-cut. Everything Satan offered Jesus, God ultimately gave to Jesus...in his time and in his way, with way better results, and lasting impact.
• God wants you to grow up and in order for you to grow up, you need to know yourself.
• Authentic people can withstand pressure.
• If you are true to who God created you to be, you will be misunderstood. because your ultimate allegiance is to Christ.
• When you become the real you, you'll make a lot of people uncomfortable...because there aren't a lot of "real" people out there.
• If you're willing to go beneath the surface of your life, you're going to encounter some ugly stuff.
• But God offers you a safety net: it's called his unconditional love.
• Because of Christ's death and resurrection, I can be free to become ME!
• Most of us in this room are not as free as Jesus died for us to be. God wants you to be free.

weekend miscellany

1. Took the fam to see Prince Caspian last night. The whole Bunn family agrees...five thumbs way up! The movie seemed to get better and better as it progressed. The battle sequences were ridiculously amazing. The special effects...some of the best I've ever seen in any movie. Bottom line: we highly recommend it. There are some "scary" moments in the film (we were wondering about how Andrew might handle them). No problems. Everyone slept well last night (no bad dreams). The theater was packed. We got there early so we could get decent seats (there's nothing worse than having to sit in the front and look straight up to see the movie). It's fun to watch movies when the theater is full. More energy. More excitement. Kinda like going to church at NewPointe.
2. Looks like the weather has walloped the Faster Pastor race again this weekend. I showed up at the speedway yesterday for some practice laps and was informed that the races has been rescheduled for August 9. Oh well...plenty of time to get ready for that one now.
3. Naomi's softball games were supposed to start this week. We had games scheduled for Monday and Friday. Both games were rained out (which is why we were able to go see Narnia last night). I'm coaching Naomi's team. We should be tough. We've got a team full of hitters. If our pitchers can throw strikes (big question mark--it's most of these kids' first year of kid-pitch), we should be okay.
4. We're heading to Buffalo, NY next weekend for my cousin's wedding. We're trying to do it "on the cheap." With gas prices as ridiculous as they are right now, we're re-thinking everything. We've saved some restaurant gift cards for the trip (we even cashed in our Speedy Rewards points for a $50 Applebee's card). So we'll be eating at Applebee's (probably twice). We also cut our nights at the hotel from four to three (another big savings). And really, it's all about the gas prices. It's probably going to cost about $250 just for the gas next weekend.

josh wilson at newpointe!

Danny was the first to let the cat out of the bag. I figure I might as well follow suit (now that it's totally official).

We just nailed down the details of an agreement with Josh Wilson's booking agent that will bring Josh to NewPointe for the worship services and an evening concert on Sunday, July 20.

Never heard of Josh Wilson? You will. He's a terrific new artist (just released a sweet new CD). You can find his music on i-Tunes.

Josh will also be playing at the Alive! festival in Canal Fulton next month. Here's a YouTube video of Josh to whet your appetite...

faster pastor (the sequel)

Yes, I'm racing in the Faster Pastor race at Midvale again this year. Last year I finished third (out of ten). This year...I'M IN IT TO WIN IT! Of course, because we start single-file, where you place has more to do with the luck of the draw for starting positions than it does with how you drive. But it's still a lot of fun.

The race is THIS SATURDAY (May 17). The action starts at 6:30 p.m. The pastors will race sometime around 8 p.m. And you're all invited! They tell me that if you bring your NewPointe weekly (bulletin), you'll receive $2 off admission.

Stay tuned for race results. And oh, by the way, if you've got any great racing tips, please feel free to pass them this way.

Here's a link to the Midvale Speedway webpage. http://www.midvalespeedway.com/

i love stuff like this...

check it out:

sunday's scuds (may 11, 2008)

Yesterday we kicked of a brand new series at NewPointe. It's called What Lies Beneath. It's based on the book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero. Dwight read this book last year and it rocked him.

We've been planning this series for several months. And I feel we got off to a tremendous start to the series yesterday. If you missed it, you missed it! Anyway, here are the scuds from Dwight's message:

• We've bought into the lie that it's safer to pretend than to be open and vulnerable.
• We use the "I'm not perfect, I'm just forgiven" slogan as an excuse for our lack of spiritual transformation.
• When it's all said and done, there's not much difference, morally speaking, between those who call themselves Christians and those who don't.
• Our solution is to look for "Christian stain removers."
• You can "do" all the right things a "good Christian" should do and you can still be missing something in life.
• We can only stay in pretend-mode for so long before we finally give up and throw in the towel.
• My main responsibility as your pastor is for me to grow up in Christ.
• The number one responsibility of any pastor is to lead his family well.
• You cannot be spiritually mature unless you're emotionally healthy.
• You can't know God without knowing yourself.
• When we're emotionally undeveloped we end up hurting the people we say we love.
• There's a theological word for growing up emotionally: sanctification.
• Just because you're a Christ follower does mean that you're untouchable.

...put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24

bubba joe and his mom...together in kidstuf

Check out this pic...

You know, Bubba Joe just wants to be a blessing (especially to his Momma!).

Amazing. How did they do it?

(great work, Paul)

nomie, john q, and me

Tonight Naomi and I spent the evening together working on her big end-of-the-year school project. It's a reading assignment and an oral report that is to be accompanied by what's called a bio-bottle. What's a bio-bottle, you ask? A bio-bottle is a two liter pop bottle that's been made to look like the historical figure you've read about. The assignment allowed the students to choose any historical figure at all. Naomi chose...John Quincy Adams. She's read the book, she's ready for the report so tonight was bio-bottle night!

We went shopping last week for the craft materials needed in order to transform a Diet Coke bottle into John Quincy Adams. Tonight we put it all together. The result...

the new newpointe starting pointe

Does that title make any sense? Let me see if I can clear things up. Some of our staff along with a volunteer writing team have spent the past year writing a brand spankin' new Starting Pointe curriculum for NewPointe. It's been a long and sometimes challenging process. But it's also been fun. The most fun part, however, is seeing it come together. A couple days ago Dave D called me into the team meeting room to take a look at the full color proofs that just arrived from the printer. The project looks awesome.

I took this pic of Kris McVaney (the project designer) as she reviewed the final proof.


The study guide, titled The Journey, goes to press sometime within the next week. If you've been through Starting Pointe, you already know how helpful, informative, and faith-building it is. With the new version, the idea is the same but there are some major changes. Here are a few:

• The first, and most obvious, is that it's all original NewPointe material. For the past few years we've been using study guides and message CDs from North Point Community Church. Beginning this fall, we'll be using the new material that includes message cd's with messages from Dwight, Dave D, and yours truly.
• The new SP course is 10 weeks long (formerly it as 13).
• The new SP "kit" will contain a sweet full-color study guide, a CD case with 10 supporting messages, a SP bookmark, and a brand new NIV Bible.

Stuff that hasn't changed:

• It's still a small group environment that meets on campus on Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings.
• Group size is limited to 12.
• It's one of the very best ways to inform your faith.
• At least one new SP group starts each month (all you have to do is come to the orientation--it's always held on the first Sunday of each month in between Sunday services in the auditorium).

We're already talking about getting this new material translated into Arabic and Spanish. How cool would that be?

john alan turner

John Turner was the communicator at last Saturday's Married Life Live. He knocked it out of the park. I've had multiple people ask me about how they can get ahold of John's books. So...here's some information that you may find useful:

Amazon.com link to John's books

John's blog, Faith 2.o

John on Facebook

John also reads my blog. So John, once again bro, Thanks! There still a buzz about your talk around NewPointe.

married life live...is it worth $30?

Got this email today:

(A married couple I know) have been attending NewPointe for over a year. They have been to several MLLs, saying that each one gets better. Over the last 4 weeks, friends have been attending church with them. They talked MLL up and invited them to go...with some reluctance, (not knowing what they were in for) the couple said OK.

Then (the wife) thought, "Oh no, what if it's not as good as we said!" That night prior to the start of events, (the husband) approached me, wanted to know if things were in order and if it was going to be a good one. Half way through the evening the husband leaned over to (his wife), with tears in his eyes and said, "this is the best 30 dollars we have ever spent!"

Afterwards they said to count them in for the next one, they loved it! (The wife) wanted to know how they come up with all the great ideas and if all aspects are done by people of the church. They had a GREAT time!

She then added (what many others have been saying), "How are they going to top that?"

Well, your work is cut out for you and it is all appreciated!

Best $30 you ever spent, huh? Now that's quotable! And yes, I know, we DO have our work cut out for us. But I just expect each Married Life Live to keep getting better and better.

the softball story...now with video

Last Thursday I posted a link to an incredible story about sportsmanship and grace. Here's a great video that's now available. It's a great reminder of what winning is really all about.

reflections from sunday

Wii had a great day at NewPointe Sunday. The theme: Wii Serve. Wii sent Lee Ann Miller with a camera crew to visit a bunch of NewPointe environments...LIVE! Wii also had a great time playing Wii on the gigantic center screen in the auditorium. How cool was that? Here's a pic of Danny and Brandon going at it during one of the services...

Yep, if you got there late, you probably missed that. If you got there late you also missed the NewPointe band opening the service with Loverboy's Workin' For the Weekend.

Here's a quick story to go with that: Monday in our weekend design team meeting, Dwight popped in to ask a question about something. I said, "Hey Dwight, you wanna know what song we're opening with Sunday?"

He said, "Yeah."

I clicked on my iTunes and cranked up the song.

Dwight listened for a few seconds and then said, "Loverboy...cool."

Okay, a couple of observations:

1. How many senior pastors anywhere could listen to 10 seconds of Workin' for the Weekend and instantly know that it's Loverboy?
2. How many senior pastors upon learning that the band intends to open a service with that song would say, "Cool."?

It's another reason why I love working at NewPointe.

sunday's scuds (may 4, 2008)

Today we were in between series at NewPointe. Dwight gave a scud-a-licious message on "Getting in the game." It was called Wii Serve. I hope you got to experience the service. It was probably the most unusual service we've done since moving into the new building. Here are some of Dwight's scuds:

• There are three reasons we don't get into the game (serve)

1. You don't realize you're needed. You think things miraculously happen.

2.You've been working for one thing for your whole life: I get to determine what I get to do. I'm autonomous.

• If you're focused on the right things, with your autonomy, your thinking is, "How can I best leverage this for God? If you're focused on the wrong things, your thinking may be, "What do I want to do for me?

3. You've forgotten that you're a Christian.

• God defines your success in terms of your commitment to His church.
• If you choose not to get involved, the kingdom of God will still move ahead. We'll be okay...but you won't be okay.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

• You're going to have to decide what's important. Not everything is important...although we act like everything's important.
• Many of us just say, "I don't have the time to serve." You do have the time to serve...you're just not willing to make the commitment.
• When we tell God we don't have time, we're actually saying something like this to God, "God thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins. Thanks for giving me gifts and talents. Thank you for my job. Thank you for my family. Thank you for giving me so much. And by the way God, would you just continue to bless me? See, you've given me so much, that I now don't have the time to serve you by getting involved in serving at the church..."
• God did not give you your gifts and talents so you could fulfill the American dream. He gave you your gifts and talents so you could impact the world for Jesus Christ.
• Some of us are only willing to serve if it fits our schedule--if it doesn't cramp my style.
• You will never feel more alive than when you're serving God.

Don't forget, if you're out of town or unable to make it to NewPointe on Sunday morning. You can watch the services live online right here.

get your motor runnin'...

The 2008 NewPointe summer motorcycle ride schedule is out. Click here to download it:

2008 Ride Schedule

We've got some sweet rides planned...the first one is May 18. We're doing one per month through September. Here are some of the highlights:

• A scenic ride around Atwood Lake to Waynesburg for lunch (June 29)


• A great ride to the Ohio River for a ferry ride across the river to West Virgina for a lunch at Quinet's 75-item lunch buffet. It's pig-out city, baby! (August 17)


• A great back-road ride to Smithville to eat at The Barn (September).

Yes, all of our rides involve eating...a lot! Each ride leaves after 2nd service, usually around 12:30. Most of the time we're home between 5 and 6 p.m. It's a ton of fun and, yes, I plan on going on most (if not all) of the rides. All riders (and bikes) are welcome. We have Harleys, Hondas, sport bikes, dual sports, couples, trikes, you name it...So if you have a bike...get your motor runnin'!

cool story about sportsmanship

Someone directed me to this story this morning: Unique Display of Sportsmanship

Now I'm telling you about it because it's definitely worth reading. Goosebumps.