easter video

I love stories. And I especially love true stories. I believe that few things are more effective and connecting with people that real stories from real people.

So when our team began programming NewPointe’s Easter services, we began talking about ways to communicate real-life stories to those who would be attending. We decided to shoot a video with nine different people telling their true-life stories of how their lives have forever changed because of Jesus. We decided to weave the nine stories together to make one story (a difficult task).

Planning and shooting took place several weeks prior to Easter. Cindy Colucy deserves major props for doing such an excellent job coordinating the shoot. We shot on a Saturday for about six hours (each person came in at a scheduled time to tell their story). Huge thanks go out to Katie Conrad and Brandon Bunnelle.

The shoot, though long, was actually the easy part. The most difficult tasks took place after the shoot. Jane Miller was assigned the task of transcribing the entire shoot. 17 pages worth of transcription. God bless Jane.

The next task belonged to me: read through the 17 pages and strategically select phrases that would help tell and weave one story together. I used my PC to organize and color-code  over 100 key story parts.

Next: story-boarding. Cindy took the key story parts and put each (with names and color codes) on 3x5 cards. It took us about three hours to complete. The Weekend Design team then got together to read through the cards and assemble a the story. Here’s a photo from the process:

Then it was off to Brandon for editing. Brandon did a nice job with a difficult project.

The video piece rolled right into the song How He Loves. It actually intertwined with the song so what you see below is not quite exactly how it appeared in church on Easter. But I still thought it was worth showing here.

Nine people, nine different stories, all pointing toward Jesus Christ changing their lives. Wanna see it again? Here you go:

Easter Chairs from NewPointe Community Church on Vimeo.

I love it when a plan comes together. :)

service programming/first impressions training day

We highly value training and vision casting at NewPointe. Four times a year we ask our volunteers in the Service Programming and First Impressions departments to come to special training events at NewPointe to sharpen their skills and get a big ol’ dose of why we do what we do.

The next Training Day event is THIS Sunday (May 3). I always look forward to training days because:

• it’s great to hang with my peeps
• we get to find out the latest, greatest best practices in each of our ministry areas
• we get a fresh dose of vision every time (it’s so good to take some time to re-center on Jesus and His mission)
• two words: AWESOME DINNER!

For those of you who don’t serve in SP or FI at NewPointe, or just if you’re curious, here’s how each training day shakes down:

3:00 – 5:00 p.m. each ministry team meets together for training, strategizing, teambuilding, and, sometimes, brainstorming.

5:00 p.m. we all gather together for family dinner (150 – 200 of us)

5:30 – 6:30 p.m. we have a large-group teaching/vision casting time

Sometimes we hear from other leaders in the church world via video. Sometimes we hear from Dwight. Sometimes I teach (I’m teaching this Sunday).

Sometimes there are great prizes to be had (there may be some schweet prizes this Sunday—ya never know!).

The idea is that if you volunteer on a SP or FI team, when you sign on, you’re also committing to attend the four training day events. Like I said, we highly value training and vision casting. So four times a year we really do it up big.

For many of us, Sunday will be an extra long day. But I promise you this: it’s going to be an extra good day, too.

(I snapped this photo with my cell phone at a recent training day)

mo bubba

Because you can never have too much Bubba. Bubba Joe made a surprise visit (actually a last-minute fill-in) in KidStuf Sunday. It was a blast (and it’s always fun to ad lib with Kevin). Here’s a pic:

Check out Kevin’s reaction to Bubba’s rant. Classic.

The good news: it all worked out.

The bad news: parents had to have conversations with their kids on the way home about who David Bowie is, Abednego building his house upon the rock, and the Fresh Prince’s virtue.

Good luck with that.

sunday’s scuds (april 26, 2009)

Sunday was a continuation of the He’s STILL* Got the Whole World in His Hands series. Message title: He’s STILL* Our Source (part 3 in the series). Here are the scuds:

• God is an expert at leading his people through times of uncertainty. And you and I have nothing to worry about.
• How do you remain calm and gentle in uncertain times? By rejoicing in the Lord.
• The world’s version of peace comes only when our jobs are secure and our bank accounts are good. The peace Jesus gives is still there even when our world is turned upside down.
• Guilt is the number one destroyer of peace of mind.
• There is absolutely no reason at all for anyone to leave this room today and still have a guilty conscience.
• Some of us are afraid to ask God for help.
• You have the choice of either focusing on your problems or focusing on your God.
• You and I were not made to live with a fearful spirit.
• Grumpy, cantankerous people are not focused on God. They’re focused on themselves and their problems.
• God’s purpose is bigger than any problem I face.
• Your Heavenly Father already knows your needs even before you ask.

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13

sunday’s scuds (april 19, 2009)

Sunday was part two of “He’s STILL* Got the Whole World in His Hands.” Here are Dwight’s scuds:

• How does a recession affect the church? Attendance goes up and offerings go down.
• It’s during times of uncertainty that God gets our full attention.
• God gets more done in our lives during times of crisis than at any other time.
• When we read the Bible we find out that the things we’re experiencing in America right now are just normal.
• If you know Christ you have nothing to worry about because he’s still got the whole world in his hands.
• Many of us believe in God but live like atheists.
• Some of us rather than having faith in God have faith in faith.
• God is a faithful, active God.
• When your faith intersects with God’s faithfulness, something supernatural happens.
• If you go with your heart, if you go with what you “feel,” you’ll get it wrong.
• You can’t trust your heart.
• You can’t be worried and happy at the same time.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. –Proverbs 3:5-6

• We tend to think that we’re old enough, smart enough, and experienced enough to lean on our own understanding—we’re not.
• “…in all your ways acknowledge him…” in that scripture all means ALL, ALL the time!
• God promises to make your paths straight. He doesn’t say he’ll straighten out the path you’re on.
• His promise: he’ll make the path you should take so obvious that you can’t possibly miss it.
• In times of uncertainty, we can be certain about God.

dave ramsey live @ newpointe

Yes, he’s live…via satellite. But here’s the thing: It’s going to be awesome. Over 6,000 churches and businesses are hosting Dave Ramsey’s Town Hall for Hope. This 90-minute free event will address what’s happening with the economy, how we got here, and where we’re going. During the town-hall-style gathering, participants will have a chance to ask Dave financial questions through email, phone, text, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.   It all starts this Thursday, April 23 at 8:00 p.m.

We’re pleased to host this important event at NewPointe.  And we’re excited to see how God uses Town Hall for Hope to change our country!

“no medical explanation”

Some of you know that I drove to Chicago on Thursday to be at the hospital with my sister, Debbie. On Monday she passed out and when she came to, she was unable to walk, talk, or remember things. Scary. Weird. The first thought, of course, was she must have had a stroke. Even weirder is the fact that she’s only 34.

She was taken to the local hospital in Hobart, IN (near Chicago). They ran tests and confirmed that she did, indeed, suffer a small stroke. Further tests revealed a couple more things:

• she suffered no significant brain damage
• her carotid artery was messed up—it was narrowed to only 5% of normal blood flow.
• She most likely was born with this condition

The neurologist, after an MRI, decided to send her to University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago where they were better equipped to handle the situation. Apparently the artery’s problem was so close to the entrance to the brain that it could be a real problem requiring special procedures. The neurologist said that basically Debbie was a time-bomb that could explode at any time. The MRI showed it.

By Friday morning the news was worse. A team of doctors were working on her situation. They were all very concerned. Every time one came into her room, the news got worse. I decided it was time to hop in the car and head out.

As I headed out, Debbie’s husband Mitch told me that Debbie was headed in for an angiogram. The angiogram would offer more information about the blockage (narrowed artery).

An hour later Mitch called me to say, “Um…the results from the angiogram are in…and the doctors are speechless because there seems to be nothing wrong. In fact he said one doc was just shaking her head saying, “there’s no medical explanation for this.” They had the MRI, it was obvious there was a huge problem…but now it’s gone!

Mitch said, “Johnny, she’s been healed!” He put my dad on the phone. He was crying, he said, “Johnny, we’ve just witnessed a miracle. We saw the MRI, it was there, but it’s not now.”

Now, I don’t throw stuff around and jump to conclusions about healing. But I’ll tell you what, something supernatural happened in Chicago on Thursday. I’m convinced of it. God showed up in my sister’s hospital room.

Now, I have to admit. My first reaction was, well, they probably misdiagnosed her to begin with…the problem probably wasn’t as serious as it was first thought to be. But that’s not true. Talk to the doctors and you’ll find that they’re blown away. 

Mitch said, “Maybe you don’t need to come now.” I replied, “Are you kidding me, I’ll come celebrate with you guys!”

And that’s what we’ve been doing. My sister is still in the hospital. They’re still running tests. They’re still dumbfounded. She’ll probably be here for at least a couple more days and continued prayer is appreciated.

I can’t tell you how awesome it is to be here with her and much of my family, feeling encouraged and blessed rather than worrying and fretting.

I’m sitting in the waiting room in Chicago typing this. Debbie is currently undergoing more tests. I’m wondering this as I type: why was I surprised when we got the good news that there’s no longer a problem? We prayed for God to heal her. And we he did, I acted surprised. Why do I get surprised when we pray for something and God delivers? God is amazing. And he’s in control. He’s teaching me new things all the time.

I’m so glad I came.

two cool stories. one awesome God!

Here are two stories I’ve heard (experienced) recently that I thought were worth sharing. Each story is about someone who in the past did not attend church, didn’t consider themselves a “church person” and now they find themselves inviting others to church. Check it out:

The first one is about my friend. A few months ago I had the incredible opportunity to pray with him as he received Christ. We’ve been meeting on Monday mornings for breakfast for discipleship ever since then. It’s so much fun to watch him grow in his relationship with Christ. It seems that he’s even surprised as himself and how much he’s actually changing.

The Thursday before Easter he texted me. Here’s what the text said:

Hi how’s it going? I think my sister & her family r going to come to church sunday. Hope it all works out. Never thought i’d be leading anyone to church.

How cool is that? Here’s a guy who before last summer, never went to church, now he’s brining people to church with him.  I love it!

Here’s the second story:

I received this email from a NewPointe staffer last week. Check it out:

I had to pass along updates about my friend (we’ll call him Ted). [This is my friend that had the stroke].

Ted has had new people to church with him multiple Sundays.  Last Sunday he brought his step-brother. When I met the step-brother and his wife Sunday they were awe that this is church. 

I just spoke with someone who called to say they couldn’t believe that guy (Ted’s brother) would go to church!  He has never been to a church and he is a real “bad boy.  : )

Think about what a miracle that is!  Ted is inviting people to church AND THEY ARE COMING!!!

He has a really great inviting technique and since he can BARELY SPEAK, it has nothing to do with his words! 

It is LIFE CHANGE!  His life has changed so much in that past few months since he accepted Christ that people ‘hear’ his testimony even though he can barely speak! 

HE MOTIVATES ME!!

I LOVE  NEWPOINTE! 

Two cool stories. One awesome God. Many lives impacted.

easter @ newpointe reflections

Okay. I’ve had a couple days to process what went on at NewPointe on Easter Sunday. Here are some of my thoughts and notes:

• NewPointe volunteers are the best! We got started very early (production-wise—6:30 a.m.) and stayed late (till 2:30 or so). I was completely impressed by everyone who was involved! From the control room to the usher attendants…everyone was on top of their game! I LOVE serving with the great folks at NewPointe.
• In case you were wondering, the total attendance @ NewPointe on Easter was 4,519—a new record.
• The new 3rd service went great. Over 350 people attended the 12:50 service.
• First and second services were flat-out jam-packed. We had to open the overflow (KidStuf theater). Over 500 participated from the KidStuf theater on Easter.
• The stories video/How He Loves song element was STRONG! Many awesome staff members and volunteers made that one happen. We’ll see if we can get the video portion online sometime soon.
• The ushers did an amazing job helping people find seats and then shifting things to overflow. The parking team did a stellar job managing a record number of cars. The host teams were as busy as ever doing their usual great job welcoming people and making first-time guest feel comfortable.
• God showed up in an incredible way. He spoke through Dwight, through the music, the videos, the host teams, the children’s workers—many lives were impacted @ NewPointe on Sunday. Stories keep pouring in.

It was an all-around GREAT day! And it’s going to be a great series. We’ll continue this Sunday! See you there!

sunday’s scuds (easter 2009)

What a great day at NewPointe. Unbelievable. First and second services were flat-out packed. Had the overflow open (KidStuf theater) in both hours (about 500 people watched the services from there). Don’t have a final count yet but I’m certain more than 4,000 people showed up @ NewPointe today. Most importantly, God showed up and he spoke right in to people’s lives. No doubt many prayed with Dwight to begin a relationship with Christ. It’ll be fun to see what God does in their lives.

Dwight kicked off a brand new series today—He’s STILL* Got the Whole World in His Hands (thanks to North Point for a great series title). Today’s message (and the whole series) is so relevant to what so many of us are dealing with nowadays—uncertainty. Dwight kicked off the series with a message entitled “He’s STILL* In Control.” Here are some of the scuds:

• We have a tendency to think that wherever God is, things there will automatically get better.
• The Easter story is not a story about people who lived problem-free lives.
• Most of the Scriptures that you and I draw comfort and encouragement from come from a time of great difficulty and tremendous uncertainty.
• If there were ever a time when we needed to turn to the Bible, it’s now.
• In the midst of chaos, difficulty, and uncertainty, God still has the whole world in his hands.
• The question you and I have to answer is this: Do I trust God?
• The Easter story proves that God is in control.
• We make our own plans but God always has the last word.
• Most of your life is out of your own control.
• You were not created to be a worrier.
• How do you know that you’re really trusting God with a problem? You stop worrying.
• If you’re worrying about it then it’s out of control.
• The Easter story proves that God keeps his promises.
• No matter what your problem is, there’s no need for despair because God is still in control.
• God often does his greatest work during times of uncertainty, when he seems quiet.
• Though everything around you is uncertain, you can be certain of this: God is still in control.

Anyone who trust in him will never be disappointed. Romans 10:11

meet dan knight

Dan Knight is NewPointe’s newest team member. He just came on board as Tech Director. Monday was his first day on the job. Wednesday I stuck a camera in his face and fired some questions at him. He has to be thinking, “What in the world have I gotten myself into?”

Introducing Dan Knight:

Welcome aboard Dan!

the apostles of comedy are coming to newpointe!

That’s right! Just announced…the Apostles of Comedy are coming to NewPointe on May 9.

The Apostles of Comedy features four well-known comics, Brad Stine (yes, THE Brad Stine), Anthony Griffith, Ron Pearson, and Jeff Allen.

“Apostles” is kinda like the Blue Collar Comedy tour. Four comics, each doing their own stand-up act, and then at the end they all come out, sit on stools, tell stories, and make fun of each other.

It’s going to be an incredible night. Here’s the ticket information:

Tickets go on sale at www.newpointe.org Monday, April 13. You’ll also be able to purchase tickets at the NewPointe office as well as in the atrium at NewPointe on Sundays.

Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. “Apostles” is a big deal and I expect tickets to go fast. So don’t mess around and wait to buy yours!

bubba joe…outta control

It’s been a while since Bubba Joe appeared in KidStuf. Well…he was back Sunday—in full Bubba force. Man, it was wild. Honestly, I love doing Bubba Joe—it’s always fun being on stage in KidStuf but last Sunday TOTALLY ROCKED! Man, it was a blast! Here are a few pics:

Now, I think it’s important for me to point this out: I have people come up to me all the time and tell me how hilarious they think Bubba is. I’m honored and flattered, HOWEVER, this must be added: Bubba would not be nearly as funny if it weren’t for his straight-man, Kevin West. Really, Kevin is amazing as a straight-man. Strong. He offsets Bubba Joe perfectly. He told me Sunday that it’s so hard for him not to laugh sometimes (because, truthfully, he doesn’t always know what Bubba’s going to say). But Kevin always nails it.

So here’s to you, Mr. Bubba Joe Straight-Man. You’re a real man of genius.

sunday’s scuds (april 5, 2009)

Sunday we wrapped up the series on the Holy Sprit (Up Close and Personal). Great series. Very helpful. Here are Dwight’s scuds from the final installment of “Up Close”:

• Jesus gives us two gifts: 1. the gift of salvation, 2. the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• You can have the Holy Spirit in your life but have very little understanding of who he is.
• It’s possible to go through life, knowing Christ, having the Holy Spirit in you, but not realizing all the benefits of the Holy Spirit because you never get intentional about your relationship with the Holy Spirit.
• Willpower is not what you need to break bad habits in your life. What you need is Holy Spirit power.
• Is there anything dead in your life that needs resurrected? That’s what God does—he brings dead things back to life.
• Are you a thermometer or a thermostat? Do you just take the temperature of the environment you are in or do you affect the temperature?
• We know people by their fruits, not by their gifts. The true evidence of God at work in our lives is the fruit that you bear.
• Men, you don’t have what it takes to love your wife. Wives, you don’t have what it takes to love your husband. Why? Human love wears out.
• Gifts do not say anything about us. They do not declare how spiritual a person is. Gifts simply tell us that God is generous.
• Is NewPointe a better place because you’re here? In other words, are you using your gifts?

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:25-26

It was a great series…and the next one might be even better. VERY excited about HE’S STILL* GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS (starts next Sunday—Easter). See you there!

50 pound challenge (week 12)

Not much happening this week. I’m still losing (both pound AND the challenge) but at least I’m still losing. Here’s the update:

Craig: –31 lbs.

Me: –26 lbs.

I’ve been hitting the weight room and the elliptical machine pretty hard this week. We’ll have to see if it pays off at next week’s weigh-in.