vacation

Yes, I'm on vacation. There's a two-week window between the girls' softball season and the beginning of volleyball. So here we are...Ft. Myers Florida for about 12 days.

I say this calls for a top ten list. So, here you go, the top ten things I like about vacation:

10. Having no specific agenda
9. Eating out
8. Just being in a place other than home.
7. Seeing my mom (she lives about an 45 minutes from here).
6. Sleeping in
5. Getting caught up on 24, season 7.
4. Reading a couple books
3. Working two 1,000 jigsaw puzzles with the fam (we've got two going at the same time)
2. The beach!
1. Quality time with my family.

i’d love to do a wedding like this one…

This weekend I did two weddings at NewPointe. Both went very well and I was honored to be a part of them. I’m still blown away that I actually get to “tie the knot” for couples. It’s always neat to be a part of such an important event in people’s lives.

And I LOVE it when people do things to make their weddings memorable. Isn’t it true that for the most part, all weddings pretty much look alike? That’s why when I see something creative and bold like this, I get so excited:

Chances are you’ve already seen this video on YouTube (it’s up to almost 7 million views). But in case you haven’t, I felt it was worth of including on my blog because it’s just so fun. And isn’t that what weddings should be?

I love that this couple, along with their wedding party, took a risk and broke the mold for wedding entrances. Very cool. Their risk has paid off. Their wedding is now one of the most famous weddings in America. AND…they even got to go to New York and re-create their entrance dance on the Today Show. How awesome is that? Here’s the video of that…

As Jenny and I watched the video we said to each other, “Wish we’d have been courageous enough to try something like that at our wedding.” Naomi watched it and said, “I’m totally doing that at my wedding.” And I hope she does. :)

I predict that many weddings will now have fun, untraditional entrances because this couple has broken the mold. Can’t wait till I get to officiate my first one like that.

a few pics from sunday

What a great day a the ‘Pointe. Blake shared a powerful message about how one person CAN make a difference in the world. Baptisms were awesome as usual. We had so many people want to get baptized that we had to add an extra baptism date (August 9). Eight people “went public” with their faith Sunday by being baptized. The music was off the chain. Danny let a strong and engaging worship set that culminated with How Great Is Our God/How Great Thou Art. Awesome. And to top it all off, the KidStuf theater was home to a wonderful missions fair. 16 of NewPointe’s missions partners were on hand to meet and greet.

Here are a few pics from Sunday @ the ‘Pointe…

Wes rocks it out…

Blake delivers the goods…

A peek at the missions fair…

 

Next week: “The Church Has Left the Building…”

the two best points on earth

One is NewPointe. Duh. The other is Cedar Point (duh again).

On Thursday the Bunn fam visited Cedar Point. It was pretty much the only day we had available to go this summer—and the forecast looked crappy all week. We decided to go ahead and go anyway…and boy did we make the right call. The threat of rain (and a couple of brief showers) was enough to keep the big crowds away and the lines relatively short. In fact, the longest we waited for ANY ride was 25 minutes! Even the Dragster—we only waited about 20 minutes. Unreal.

Rode Millennium Force twice (got off and got right back in line because we only waited 15 minutes). Got to ride everything we wanted to ride (Maverick, Raptor, Magnum, Wicked Twister, etc.). Andrew was barely tall enough for two “big” coasters…and he loved them! Naomi was brave enough to try Millennium Force for the first time (and she rode it both times). Great day. Great fun. Here are some cell phone pics:

The view from up high:

This ride is called MaXair. I wanted nothing to do with it…but the Bunn girls were on it in this photo.

All the way to the right…there they are!

 

One last look back before leaving… 17 coasters—yes 17! And we’ve conquered them all!

the view from the stage

Ever wonder what the view is from the stage at NewPointe? I snapped this pic with my phone a few weeks ago from behind the curtains. Not the best quality but you get the idea.

the newpointe staff’s mountain top experience

Every Monday morning the NPCC staff meets for prayer, story-sharing, and staff-related business. This morning was a bit different…

Upon arrival, everyone was asked to step outside and load up into pick-up trucks and jeeps. We then hauled everyone up the hill on the south side of the building for a very cool time of prayer and sharing. The view was amazing. Very cool way to begin the work week. Here are some shots from my camera-phone:

On the way up…

Prayer time in groups…

Large group sharing/update time…

Looking back down at the church building…

Here’s a funny story that goes with it. Danny B. was running a bit late this morning, showed up to the meeting and not a single staff member was anywhere to be found. We went from room to room in the building figuring, “They’ve GOT to be around here somewhere…” All our vehicles were still in the parking lot but not a soul was to be found. He assumed the Rapture took place and he missed it. Not really. It didn’t take him long to figure out where we where though, because twitpics starting making their way to his Mac within minutes of our arrival on the hilltop. Very funny…he never did make it to the meeting though.

wanna see a vacation video of dwight?

Thought you might. So here’s the deal: supposedly, Dwight is vacationing in South Carolina—well, he’s MOSTLY vacationing. He also took some time to connect with the folks at Seacoast Church in SC. Seacoast is one of the leading/pioneering churches in the area of multi-sites (one church, 13 campuses). So, of course Dwight would want to connect with them.

While he was there, he was able to hook up with Mac Lake. Mac is Seacoast’s development pastor. He also has a web site devoted to helping multi-site church leaders.

Mac decided to sit down with Dwight and get his thoughts on launching two new campuses simultaneously. He shared the video on his website. Here it is:

 

So at least he LOOKS like he’s on vacations (with his sunglasses on his head). By the way, great job Dwight!

i’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse…

A screen cap of Dave D. from his message on Sunday looked a little too Godfatherish for one of our NPCC interns to resist.

Here he is, ladies and gentlemen…Don D’Angelo…

the new guy in the fridge

Why is the new guy, Wes, inside the NewPointe kitchen refrigerator?

You’ll have to come Sunday to find out.

P.S. Wes, we’re glad you’re here. Somebody had to do it. :)

sunday’s scuds (july 12, 2009)

Last Sunday Dave D’Angelo continued the “God Can Not Be Trusted” series with powerful message about sin and its consequences. There were many excellent scuds (and we also learned that his 4-year-old cusses—but that’s an entirely different blog post). Anyway, here are some of the scuds as I see ‘em:

• Where would the name “Jesus Christ” fit into your life’s sentence?
• Too many of us settle for a life with God rather than a God-sized life.
• Sin DOES carry consequences.
• The definition of sin: anything and everything that is contrary to God’s holiness.
• Sin is the stuff that we do, think, and say that moves us away from God.
• We all know the truth about sin, we just don’t believe it.
• We live our lives out of what we believe. If we believed that sin really carried consequences, we wouldn’t sin so much.
• 2 lies that disguise the truth about sin:
• I am the exception to the rule.
• My sins and their consequences only affect me.
• There’s NEVER an exception to the fact that sin carries consequences.
• We’re so eager to have God’s blessings in our lives that we’re willing to take short-cuts to get there.
• Any time we receive a lie from the enemy, we have to replace it with God’s truth.
• God’s blessing always follows God’s principles.
• Most of us are moving way to fast to have our priorities right. Slow down and put God first.

a shout-out to my homies

Just wanted to give some big time props to DD and Aaron Mencer. These guys delivered the good Sunday morning—big time.

Aaron led worship and knocked the ball out of the park with the Linkin Park opener.

Aaron is one of NewPointe’s summer interns. He’ll be a senior at MVNU this fall. He also leads worship in HSM and MSM. Great job Sunday, Aaron!

And then there’s this guy:

Dave D’Angelo brought a powerful and helpful message about the consequences of sin in our lives (scud review coming Monday). Dave’s been on staff with us for about three years. He leads our communications department, student ministries, and right now he’s giving leadership to our multi-site effort.

I’m so proud of these guys…mostly because they love Jesus and they care about people. I’m blessed to be able to work with such talented and terrific dudes.

sunday’s scuds (july 5, 2009—guest contributor)

Because I preached last Sunday, Lee Ann Miller (host of the TV show Amish Country Living and NPCC creative team member) offered to do a guest scud review.

We continued the four-part series God Can Not Be Trusted that Dwight started last Sunday. The message this week: People Can’t Really Change.

Here are the scuds through Lee Ann’s eyes (by the way, she asked if she could call it a “nugget review” since food is kinda her thang anyway)…so, without further ado, here is Lee Ann’s Nugget Review:

• Pride is a cheater and tells us when our life is falling apart to hide it. Be fake.
• Shame and Guilt are cousins. We've sinned too much and we are beyond help. Big Lie.
• We're scared and when we operate in fear we sin. And sin takes you farther than you wanna go, sin keeps you longer than you wanna stay, sin costs you more than you wanna pay. Shazam!
• It's not about stickin' it out or following through, its about surrender. Putting your hands up and saying, "okay God, I surrender all of this to You."
• People who come to Jesus know they need a Savior.
• You gotta come to Jesus- its the only way to change.
• God's plans are to prosper us and not to harm us. Surrender to His plan and His Word. The B-I-B-L-E.
• John used to be a jerk and now he's not. God changed him.

Those are the nuggets, as I see them.

Lee Ann

Thanks Lee Ann!

the newpointe back nine

Wednesday afternoon the NewPoi nte staff was treated to a surprise “golf outing” (or perhaps it would better be described as a golf in-ing—because actually never left the building). We gathered in the office area at 3 p.m. to find out which teams we were on and to get instructions. We then proceeded to the main hallways and atriums to participate in the first ever NewPointe Indoor Open.

Kevin West and Ben Carver created a fun (and challenging) nine holes with prizes going to best team score and best individual score. The festivities concluded with a closest to the pin competition. Here are some pics:

Cindy Colucy (one of my teammates) zeros in on the giraffe hole.

Jeff Conn (aka Bagger Vance) tees off for the closest to the pin contest.

Chuck Yoder lets ‘er rip.

Joe Schulz: what form!

Fun times. Love the team at NewPointe. It was good to chillax and have fun with my staff homies (even though my team didn’t win—yes, I’m whining a bit). Thanks Kevin and Ben for hosting the outing. It’s great to work at a place that like to have fun!

when an idea strikes (part 2)

Ideas can come to me while watching ball games, while reading, while listening to music, while surfing the net, you name it. This morning I had a killer programming idea just pop into my head while on the way to work.

Sometimes, ideas come while playing games with my kids. During the series on parenting, I remembered playing Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader with the fam. Goes well with a parenting series, right?

So I brought the game with me to work. A photo of my desk during that series:

And so it goes…from my family room, to my desk, to the stage in the NewPointe audiorium:

How cool is my job? :)

P.S. Yes, those are broken Bubba Joe teeth on my desk. I’ll have to blog on that later.

when an idea strikes

There’s no way to know when an idea is going to hit you. Sometimes an idea for a creative element or a song for a future service at NewPointe will strike me and then I find myself scrambling write it down. Sometimes, the only thing available to write it down on is…say…a napkin from a restaurant. This picture is of a napkin from a restaurant when I was inspired by an idea that spurred several ideas. Sometimes people ask me, “How do you guys come up with that stuff we see on Sunday mornings?” Well…sometimes it just hits me—and gets written on a napkin.

The napkin above is a list of ideas for the recent series on parenting. Obviously not every idea gets used but often times the crazy, ridiculous ideas spawn good ideas that we actually use.

Next post: brainstorming

you can’t really change who you are

Last week we started a new series at NewPointe: God Can Not Be Trusted (and three other lies of Satan). Dwight kicked it off with a message that addressed the first lie: God Can Not Be Trusted.

This week, I’ll be tackling another thing that Satan wants us to believe: that people can’t really change. We’re going to look at five big things that keep people from believing they could ever really change—five things that keep people from taking the steps necessary to change.

Here’s a sneak preview:

One thing that keeps people from changing is P-R-I-D-E. A lot of us are just too proud to admit we need to change—too proud to admit we need help.

I found this quote from Beth Moore:

My name is Pride and I am a cheater. I cheat you out of your God-given destiny because you demand your own way. I cheat you out of contentment because you “deserve better than this.” I cheat you out of knowledge because you’re too full of me to forgive. I cheat you out of holiness because you refuse to admit it when you’re wrong. I cheat you out of vision because you’d rather look in the mirror then out the window. I cheat you of genuine friendship because nobody’s ever going to know the real you. I cheat you out of love because real romance demands sacrifice. I cheat you out of greatness in heaven because you refuse to wash another’s feet on earth. I cheat you out of God’s glory because I convince you to seek your own. My name is Pride and I am a cheater. You like me because you think I’m always looking out for you. Untrue. I’m always looking to make a fool out of you. God has so much for you, I admit, but don’t worry, if you stick with me, you’ll never know.

You can get the other four things that keep us from changing this Sunday…and then we’ll examine if people really can change…and how that might happen.

Bring a friend. It’s going to be a good one!

See you Sunday.

my motorcycle babe

Jenny and I are kid-less this week. The kids are staying with their grandparents in Cincinnati. It’s weird. Jenny and I have never lived near family so we don’t know what it’s like to just drop the kids off at the grandparents’ and head out to dinner and a movie. We’ve never had that convenience. So…our kids are with us A LOT! But not this week. Just Jenny and me. It’s nice…but strange, too.

Anyway, no kids means date-night every night this week. And one of my favorite things to do is to take my babe on a bike ride to dinner. What’s better than having your wife’s arms around you while you’re maneuvering the countryside on your bike?

Fun times. (She looks good in Harley gear, doesn’t she?) :)