a classic kidstuf moment

Well…at least I think it is…

Anybody wanna add a caption?

sunday’s scuds (may 31, 2009)

Sunday Dwight concluded the LIVIN’ IN THE HOOD series with a powerful message on relationships. Here’s some of what he had to share:

Three questions we need to ask ourselves as parents:

1. What am I doing to enhance my relationship with my children?
2. What am I doing to advance their relationship with God?
3. What am I doing to influence my children’s relationships outside of the family?

The scuds:

• Friends determine the direction and the quality of your life.
• Your life’s greatest regret probably came about due to a “friend’s” influence.
• Your friends often have more influence than your personal convictions do.
• Your friends often have more influence than your parents do.
• We believe this so much that beginning in Kindergarten, we encourage all NewPointe kids to be in a small group.
• Your kids need an adult in their lives other than you that offer the perspective of both a parent and a friend.

He who walks with the wise will grow wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. Proverbs 13:20

• The “wise” are those who know right and then choose to do what is right.
• The “fool” is the one who knows what is right but chooses to do wrong anyway.
• If your kids hang out with fools, they won’t necessarily become fools—it’s worse than that—they will suffer harm.
• Your children really don’t pick their friends. Instead, they tend to gravitate toward those who accept them.
• As parents, we must be aware of and intentional about the fact that those who are closest to us influence us the most.

celebrating spiritual birthdays

This month we’re celebrating two of our kids’ spiritual birthdays.

When our kids made a decision to follow Christ, we mark the date and then celebrate it each year.

The way we figure it, if our natural birthdays are worth celebrating, our spiritual birthdays ought to be. So every year when their spiritual birthdays roll around, our kids get gifts and sometimes a special night out to dinner to commemorate the most important decision they’ll ever make.

We don’t ever want our kids to forget the day they surrendered their lives completely to God. We want them to hold on to that special day and keep it sacred for the rest of their lives. I think it’s huge that they each have a specific day that they can point to and say, “That’s the day that Jesus came into my life.”

“i like the rollercoaster. you get more out of it.”

Love this clip from the movie Parenthood:

 

Grandma is so right. I mean, this thing called parenthood is so frustrating, taxing, wearisome, thrilling, fulfilling, and worthwhile…all at the same time.

I experienced it today. Kids making poor choices, seeming ungrateful, crazy morning…I could go on…let’s just say, we’ve had better mornings.

Life just keeps comin’ at ya, doesn’t it? It’s ball season. Love it. Hate it. Three kids playing ball. One kid taking dance classes (recital this weekend), one kid working at the ice cream shop, one Dad coaching two teams, on top of it all, school’s not even out yet. Crazy right now.

Our oldest has a tough choice to make about this weekend. We’re leaving the decision with her. We told her she’s old enough to make the right choice. We encouraged her to pray about it and run it through this filter: “In light of my past experiences, my present circumstances, and my future hopes and dreams, what is the wise choice?” Love that question. We trust her to make a wise decision.

Another one just needed a Daddy-talk. So we went for a walk this evening. I told her that there’s nothing she could ever do to make me stop loving her…nothing. I also told her that there are some things she does that disappoint us. And tonight, we need to talk about one of those things. So we walked…and talked. Such a good time. Such an important time together.

We ended our time sitting on the front steps talking about life. I told her that God has, for reasons we may never fully understand, chosen to bless her with an abundance of talent. I told her that the only reason God has given her those gifts is so that she can honor him and bring glory to him through those gifts. I also told her that God gives her the choice of what to do with those gifts…and that my prayer, and God’s desire, is that she would leverage her talent for the sake of God’s kingdom. I told her the parable of the talents. I told her she’s a ten-talent kid and she has unbelievable opportunity to please God with those talents. She could leverage them, like we talked about, or she could squander them through poor choices.

My hope for all my kids is that they would be able to carry the ball further down the field than I can. MAN I want to see them do great things for God! MAN I love my kids.

Parenthood is such a rollercoaster. Up…down…up…down…thrilling…sickening…

Today the ride ended with our youngest, when I was tucking him in, asking me, “Daddy, can we pray right now for Jesus to come into my heart?”

What a ride!

sunday’s scuds (may 24, 2009)

Sunday Dwight continued the series, LIVIN’ IN THE HOOD with part 3, THE BIG “I”. The “I” stands for influence. Here are the scuds:

• You may not always understand your kids but you can always engage them.
• Nobody is an expert in parenting.
• Nobody should try to be a perfect parent.
• If you try to be a perfect parent, you’ll destroy your relationship with your kids.
• As a parent, you have more potential than anyone else to influence your kids for God.
• The Bible doesn’t have much to say about the church influencing your kids.
• You (not the church) need to be the spiritual leader to your kids.
• Seventh-graders are mean.
• We don’t give you a history lesson on Sunday mornings. We believe the Bible teaches us how to live.
• Relationships determine level of influence.
• Your kids don’t care how much you know till they know how much you care.
• Your relationship with your son or daughter sets them up for all their other relationships.
• The most important thing you can give your kids is a healthy relationship.
• Two keys to all healthy relationships: acceptance and time together.
• The way you get back into a relationship that’s been damaged: serve them.

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and humankind. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:1-6

kevin west

Not sure how he got his face to do that. Really cool…really weird. I do know this much: Bubba Joe was standing right next to Kevin with an air horn in his hand when this photo was taken. That may have had something to do with this look.

Gotta love Kevin!

think kris allen was surprised?

A couple of observations from last night’s AI finale:

• The kids in my house erupted with screams of joy when Seacrest announced Kris Allen had won.
• The weren’t anti-Adam, they just thought he was a little freaky.
• They voted 10 times for Kris on Tuesday.
• I thought Adam was gracious in defeat.
• Overall, I thought the finale was entertaining and fun (with a couple of exceptions).
• Adam singing with KISS, loved it.
• All the guys singing, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”—weird.
• I agree with Danny, Allison will have the best recording career of any of them.
• I’m taking Dan Liebman (KidStuf) to audition this summer for Idol season 9. :)
• Idol is THE ONLY show our family watches with any kind of regularity.
• Too bad Bubba Joe is too old to audition. If Norman Gentle can make it Hollywood…

transparency and vulnerability

There are about seven of on on staff at NewPointe who’ve been involved in a book study on Craig Groeschel’s book, It.

The chapter we discussed on Monday spawned a great discussion about “getting real” with one another—moving to a deeper level of authenticity as a team.

Dwight shared some great thoughts about accountability and what happens when we truly make ourselves vulnerable to a mature and trusted friend.

I wrote this down: Do you know the difference between transparency and vulnerability? It’s important to distinguish between the two because it’s possible to be transparent without being vulnerable.

Transparency would be this: “Here’s some stuff I’m willing to let you know about be.” But really, it usually takes a tone of, “this is who I am, get used to it.”

Vulnerability, on the other hand: “You have permission to ask me anything. I truly want to change and I’m asking you to help me do it.”

Transparency is fairly easy. Vulnerability takes courage—and faith.

video shoot

Saturday was shoot day for an upcoming NewPointe video. I’m not going to tell you a lot about the video, but I’m giving you these exclusive from the shoot:

Dave Hartman studies his script

Cindy Colucy (video coordinator) applies makeup to Ryon Philbrick (oh yes, you’re gonna wanna see this video)

Dan Knight (tech director @ NewPointe) works with Dave on his delivery.

Dave gets jiggy wit it during the shoot (notice who’s scratching in the background)

Some of the fabulous cast

You can see the video next Sunday at NewPointe. Don’t be late for church! :)

sunday’s scuds (may 17, 2009)

Sunday Dwight continued the LIVIN’ IN THE HOOD series (part 2, Three Critical Questions). Here are some of the scuds:

• Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs that anyone could sign up for….it’s also one of the most rewarding.
• Your goal is not to become a perfect parent. God does not expect you to be a perfect parent.
• If you try to be a perfect parent, you’ll kill everyone around you.
• We are the sum total of our experiences, relationships, and choices.
• Your kids, 15 years from now, will be wherever they are because of their experiences, relationships, and choices.
• The key in all those are the relationships.
• Our culture influences us to have our kids be experience rich and relationally poor.
• If your kids are going to make it in this world, they’re going to have to be relationally healthy.
• What would happen if your son or daughter would surrender every area of their life to God?
• I believe that God’s will for my kids is exactly what they would do if they knew all the facts. The problem is, they don’t know all the facts. So my responsibility is to nurture a relationship with them that helps them understand that they can trust God.
• You can’t do that simply by “saying grace” before meals.
• If you’re not intentional about this, they’ll pick up the wrong things.
• Kids need to see Mom and Dad trusting God, even when it doesn’t make sense.
• We, as parents, need to be intentional about helping our kids develop healthy relationships outside of the home.
• Your kids’ friends will determine the direction and quality of their lives.
• Y’all okay?
• What you don’t want is your kids growing up and saying, “I wish my parents would have been more intentional about helping me develop a relationship with my Heavenly Father.”
• If your kids cannot develop and maintain healthy relationships, they will not enjoy life.

great music, great prices

Amazon.com is offering 50 digital albums for $5 each. It’s a really good deal. Let me highlight a few that you for sure should add to your iTunes library:

Francesca Battistelli. I already have this one. This whole fam likes Francesca. The whole album for $5 is a steal.

Kristian Stanfill. I’ve met Kristian. LOVE his music. He’s an amazingly gifted worship leader at North Point Community Church. If you like NewPointe’s music style, you’ll like this project.

Remedy Drive. Another one that’s already on my iPod. I like it. I think you will too.

In case you’re wondering, Amazon MP3s download automatically using the free Amazon MP3 Downloader and they automatically sync with your iTunes library. Let me know what you think.

worth dying for coming to newpointe

It’s official! Once again, because you read my blog, you learn it about it first. :)

Worth Dying For will be leading worship at NewPointe on June 21. Very cool. Great worship band. They’re playing at the Alive Festival this year (you may have seen them there last year as well). They’ve been touring with the Creation Tour (along with bands like Kutless, Fireflight, Thousand Foot Krutch, and Pillar).

You can check them out on MySpace by clicking here.

Hit ‘em up on iTunes and add them to your playlist. You’ll be glad you did. And whatever you do, don’t miss church on June 21.

apostles of comedy recap

Saturday night was off the chain! The Apostles of Comedy delivered big-time. Yes, the were funny…yes, they entertained…yes, they said some outrageous things…but they also ministered to people through sharing personal stories of faith, struggles, and their faith journeys. I hope you got to be there.

It was extra cool for me because I got to hang with the guys a little bit. Backstage, I was able to view the guys from a different angle. Got to pray with them, talk with them, and eat buffalo chicken pizza with them…and it’s worth mentioning that these guys are not only genuinely funny, they’re just genuine. They love each other. They love God. And I think they truly care about people. Again, I hope you got to be there.

Here are a couple backstage pics:

Me and Brad Stine (yes, he’s shorter than I expected him to be)

Me with Ron Pearson (did you know he’s been on The Drew Carey Show, That 70’s Show, and Boston Legal? …and, he’s taller than I expected him to be).

They gave me a tour of their tour bus (amazing)…

Chillaxin’ on the Apostles Express (check out the flat screen)…

a few pics from the last two sundays

Paul Rothel shoots photos at NewPointe most every Sunday. He does a great job. Here are a few from Sunday’s services…

The awesome and amazing KidStuf dancers kicked things off Sunday with Ah, Ah, Ah, Yeah!

We all got to test our knowledge with a game of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader (NewPointe style)

The new set design

 

Also, I thought you might like to see a couple photos from last Sunday’s services (May 3)…

Here’s a shot of the beginning of the second service:

Here’s a shot of the closing song:

If you were there May 3, you’ll find this funny. If you weren’t, you’re going, “huh?”

sunday’s scuds (may 10, 2009)

We started a brand new series at NewPointe on Sunday. It’s called Livin’ In the Hood. It’s a series on parenting. Dwight’s message, part one of the series, was not only full of great scuds but MAN, it spoke to me in a big way. I was challenged, convicted, and motivated to be a better dad. If you missed it, I strongly encourage you to get the CD or listen online.

Here are the scuds:

• We all grew up in dysfunctional homes. None of us had perfect parents…none of us ARE perfect parents.
• You’ll never be a perfect parent.
• Every parent needs to learn how to be a parent.
• The basic job of a parent is to equip their children for life.
• Our kids are getting older at a younger age.
• How well your kids respond to authority in your home is an indicator of how well they’re being prepared for life.
• If you don’t master your hormones, your hormones will end up mastering you.
• The greatest gift you can give your child is authentic faith.
• If we’re going to hang together as a family, we’ve got to eat together.
• The church is not your kid’s spiritual leader. YOU are your kids’ spiritual leader.
• If you want your kids to have an authentic faith, teach them spiritual disciplines.
• Do you know that God created sex? He didn’t look at Adam and Eve and say, “What in the world are they doing?”
• Young ladies, if you want a guy to appreciate you for you mind, don’t overwhelm him with your cleavage and your navel.
• The biggest issue in most marriages is the issue of trust.
• Your friends will determine the direction and the quality of your life.
• I want to equip my kids with a compass rather than a map.
• If you’re self-absorbed, you won’t do very well in life.

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. –1 Corinthians 11:1

the church has left the building

NewPointe’s second Community Impact Day is scheduled for August 2. Community Impact Day is one of my very favorite things that we do at NewPointe. I recently submitted a column to Light and Life Magazine about last year’s Impact Day. The following article won’t be published till the July issue but because you read my blog, you get a peek at some of it two months early! Check it out:

Last summer the church where I serve closed their doors on Sunday. Yep…no services…no preaching…no kids’ classes—absolutely nothing happened inside the building on Sunday morning, August 3, 2008. And God was pleased.

Instead, families, small groups, and serving teams gathered in dozens and dozens of locations all over our county to roll up their sleeves and serve our community. They met at schools to paint and landscape. They met at other churches to do clean up and repair. They met at nursing homes to minister to residents. They met in parking lots to offer free, no-strings-attached car washes. They met at firehouses to deliver food and gifts to firefighters. They met on highways to collect trash. They met in homeless shelters to cook and clean. They met everywhere but church on that Sunday. And do you know what I find interesting? Though we didn’t meet in church that Sunday, we looked more like the church than we ever have. That’s because instead of attending church on that day, we actually went out into our community and we were the church.

Here’s another thing I find interesting: The single most talked about and cherished day of 2008 at NewPointe Community Church was that day. When we look back on last year, that’s the day that nobody will ever forget. Why is that? It’s because we’re the most like Christ when we’re serving others. As a church, as a small group,  as individuals, we have the greatest impact on others when we serve them. Furthermore, we experience the greatest spiritual growth when we serve others.

I find it interesting that one of the big reasons people want to get involved in a small group is because they want to grow spiritually. Yet so many small groups do not intentionally serve others together.

So what can your small group do? What would happen if you “skipped church” one Sunday and instead took the church to your community? Plan to serve together. You and your small group will never be the same.

So mark your calendars. NewPointe Community Impact Day: August 2, 2009. The church will leave the building!

are you smarter than a 5th grader?

So…are you? You can find out for sure at NewPointe this Sunday as we play “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” LIVE on stage.

We’ve got a couple other cool surprises up our sleeves, too. So you definitely won’t want to miss it.

This week we kick off a brand new series called “Livin’ in the Hood.” Hood—as in parentHOOD. Yep, it’s a series on parenting. Check this out: I talked to Dwight today. He told me several times that he’s unusually excited about what he’s going to be sharing this Sunday. That’s huge…because here’s the thing: Dwight’s pretty much excited about what he’s going to be sharing every Sunday. When he tells me he’s especially excited about a particular message, that tells me that it’s going to be extra good, extra relevant, and extra helpful.

It’s a great series to invite friends to. Those of us who are parents could all use help when it comes to life in the ‘hood.

I can’t wait. See you Sunday!

the weekend

Things that went great this weekend:

• Taught Andrew how to ride a bike.
• Washed and detailed my Jeep (and it’s lookin’ schweet).
• Got the lawn mowed.
• Natalie started her first job (working at Creek Creamery in Sugarcreek)
• Got to have an impromptu picnic with a bunch of friends at our house Sunday afternoon.
• Went undefeated at cornhole (me and Dave Mast).

Things that could have gone better:

• NewPointe services 2 and 3 were cancelled due to a power outage. Really bummed me out. I was so excited about the services.
• Consequently, Service Programming/First Impressions training day was postponed. I was really looking forward to that, too.
• Jean Vacha was planning a taco bar and a sundae bar for our SP/FI volunteers at training day.

The good news:

• We did manage to get one service in.
• We were able to record the message (you can pick one up next Sunday).
• Got to spend some unexpected quality time with the fam.
• Jean told me the food taco and sundae stuff will save till next training day!

apostles of comedy

May 9 @ NewPointe, 7 p.m.

One week left to get your tickets. It’s going to be a great night. Just to whet your appetite, I’m posting a short clip from each of the comics that are coming.

Brad Stine

 

Jeff Allen

 

Anthony Griffith

 

Ron Pearson

Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. You can purchase tickets online by clicking here. Tickets will also be available in the atrium at NewPointe on Sunday and in the church office next week.

See you there!