sunday’s scuds (january 31, 2010)

Sunday Dwight kept the Monopolized series rolling with part four in the Monopolized series. This was the first of two straight messages that deal with debt. Here are a few of the scuds:

• Just because you earn money doesn’t mean you can manage money.
• Two ways to improve your lifestyle: 1. save and invest, 2. go into debt.
• The average car payment is $378 a month over 63 months. If $378 was invested each month between the ages of 25 and 65 at a 10% return, the amount would increase to over $2.4 million.

The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is the slave to the lender. Proverbs 22:7

• Discipline is the ability to postpone gratification.
• Women tend to spend impulsively. Men tend to spend extravagantly.
• We’re happy with what we have until we see what others have.
• If you feel the pressure of debt in your life it’s because somewhere along the line you’ve been spending recklessly.
• Wise people anticipate hard times and save for the future.
• Today’s Americans are saving less than those who lived during the Great Depression.
• By the time you catch the Joneses, they’ve already refinanced.
• If someone’s grass is greener you can bet their water bill is higher.
• If your out-go exceeds your in-come it will be your down-fall.

lion chaser’s manifesto

Came across this today and thought it was worth posting here again. We used this in the “Untypical” series we did a couple summers ago. It’s from Mark Batterson’s book, In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day. Great book. Great manifesto. Here it is:

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.

happiness machine

I love stuff that’s creative. I love stuff that makes people happy. Coke hit it out of the park with this creative, fun, amazingly popular viral video. They floated it out there about two weeks ago and it’s already had well over a million views on YouTube.

I think it’s brilliant marketing. They’re associating fun and whimsy with the Coke brand.

Check out the video. It’s all legit. Happened at St. John’s University after Coke installed a magical vending machine overnight. Watch what happens the next day:

You may not be able to rig a Coke machine like this one but you CAN do something simple and fun to make somebody’s day today. Will happiness strike through you?

what sparks your passion?

I had a great conversation with a friend over coffee yesterday about what sparks my passion. There are many things that make my heart beat fast but the two that rev my engine more than any others would be:

1. social justice
2. evangelism

I told my friend that I don’t want to be the guy who almost did something great for God. I told him that, while I’m sure of my calling and I know that I’m where God wants me, there’s still a restlessness within me to do more—to take my faith to a new level by taking action.

I don’t really know exactly what that means. But I know God’s got something he wants me to invest in heavily.

Ideally, I suppose, it’s something that fuses social justice with evangelism. Again, I don’t know exactly what God has in store for me but I know he wants me to be a man of action.

I think the people who make the biggest difference in the world are not necessarily the most talented or intelligent. I think the world’s biggest difference makers are the ones who TAKE ACTION!

Enough sitting around and expecting others to take action. Enough merely being moved to emotions by something that pulls on my heart strings.

God, help me to be a man of action!

sunday’s scuds (january 24, 2010)

Sunday brought us part three of the series Monopolized (taking control of your finances). The band kicked things off with some Bon Jovi. They closed it with Surrender (Lincoln Brewster) and it was AMAZING!

In between Dwight told us how “It All Goes Back in the Box.” Here are some of the scuds he fired:

• God’s grace doesn’t give us what we deserve. It gives us what we need.
• Many of us are Christ-followers but we’re not totally free because we’re in financial bondage.
• What a tragedy it is for someone to be a Christian but remain trapped.
• A fool is a person who knows what is right but chooses not to do it.
• We’re all pursing something.
• There’s a difference between being rich and pursuing riches.
• It’s foolish to make wealth your main pursuit in life.
• When you and I pursue spiritual riches, God throws in a good reputation for you.
• What would your kids say if I asked them, “Are your parents pursing spiritual riches or are they pursuing “stuff”?
• Your kids are learning from you right now about what’s important in life and what’s not.
• Who’s more content: the man with 6 kids or the man with $6 million? The man with six kids because he doesn’t want any MORE.
• Don’t confuse contentment with laziness.
• Our kids need to learn how to wait for stuff.
• Your kids will never leave your home being dysfunctional because of a lack of stuff. They’ll leave dysfunctional because of a lack of love.
• Contentment has little to do with how much stuff you have and everything to do with your attitude.

possibili-days

At various times throughout the year I take each of our kids out for a “Possibili-Day.” It’s a day with just one kid and me where we sit in a bookstore or a coffee shop and just dream about the future.

Each kid has a scrapbook in which the dreams get written. I want my kids to dream big. And I want them to have their dreams in writing.

Saturday was Naomi’s turn. We went to Wallhouse and talked, dreamed, and scrapbooked. We added four pages to her book. One page included her favorite scriptures. Another was about what’s most important to her. And another included this story: Follow Your Dream.

I love Possibili-Days with my kids for a couple reasons: First, I think it’s huge for my kids to have an outlet where they can dream big. Second, I just love having one-on-one time with my kids.

the good, the bad, and the ugly

Married Life Live is back! And it’ll be here just in time to make a great Valentine’s Day gift for your honey.

The theme? The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, of course.

Every marriage experiences the good. We’ve all seen the bad. And sometimes in marriage, things just get downright ugly.

We’re going to have some fun this this whole idea at the next MLL. Our creative team has been working on some new stuff (never seen or attempted at MLL before) that we think will knock you off your saddle.

Here are the details:

What: Married Life Live, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

When: February 20, 6 p.m.

Where: NewPointe (Dover campus)

Cost: $30 (includes dinner)

Tickets go on sale next week at www.newpointe.org and next Sunday, January 31 at all NPCC campuses.

just because i think it’s cool…

Sunday’s attendance at NewPointe (all campuses): 3,412

Last year’s total attendance: 2,339

Are you kidding me? Up almost 1,100 from the same Sunday last year? Wow. Just wow.

sunday’s scuds (january 17, 2010)

Sunday brought us part two of the “Monopolized” series—a series on taking control of our finances. In this message Dwight talked about money traps that we all need to avoid. Here are some of my favorite scuds:

 

 

 

 

• YOU are rich! If you own a car, if you have a roof over your head, if you don’t worry about where your next meal is going to come from, the reality is that you are rich—wealthier than 95% of the rest of the world.
• TRAP ONE: the trap of success. When you and I experience success along with it comes the trap of pride.
• There’s a tendency within us to go for more money at the expense of things that money can’t buy…like family.
• TRAP TWO: the comparison trap. This is a deadly trap that leads to envy.
• The Bible tells us that envy causes disorder and envy.
• God doesn’t want your stuff. He just doesn’t want your stuff to get you.
• If we’re willing to get our eyes off of our stuff, God will restore sanity to our lives.
• God doesn’t want your stuff. He wants what your stuff represents: your stuff.
• God will mess with your stuff in order to get your heart.
• Three truths: God owns everything. God controls everything. God provides everything.
• What should drive your finances? It should be to honor God with everything you have.
• Is the bottom line of your finances about taking care of you or is it about honoring God?

help for haiti

NewPointe has a plan of action for our response to the crisis in Haiti caused by the recent earthquake. It is reportedly the worst natural disaster in the western hemisphere in the last 200 years. The magnitude of destruction is still unfolding but we can be sure of this - this is a time when the body of Christ has an opportunity to stand up and engage a need by shining the light of hope and the love of Jesus in Haiti.

Here's what we'd like to invite you to do with us:

1. Join us in praying for Haiti – You can pray for specific daily needs and keep updated through this website: www.helphaitiheal.org.

2. Engage the Immediate Needs by Giving – We’ll be receiving a special offering this Sunday at all three NewPointe campuses. Anything marked “Haiti” on an envelope or memo line will go directly to aid in the relief effort.

monopolized video

I want to brag on NewPointe’s video crew a little bit. Wes Feldner and Keith Joki did a fantastic job creating a message bumper video for the current series, Monopolized.

If you saw it Sunday you may have thought, cool video—wonder where they found it. Well…we didn’t find it, we MADE it.

Creative, talented people shot and edited this video in less than two days.

Check it out…

sunday’s scuds (january 10, 2010)

Sunday we kicked off a the new message series, Monopolized. Strong start. Hope you got to get in on it. If not, it’s not too late, you can get caught up at www.newpointe.org and then jump into the rest of the series this Sunday.

As always, Dwight’s message was loaded with scuds. Here are the ones I wrote  down:

• God is not affected by the economy—it doesn’t faze him a bit.
• You can’t have your finances in a mess and fully follow Christ at the same time.
• Is money managing you or are you managing your money?
• More money usually means a greater likelihood for unbalanced finances.
• More than likely, you have more than enough money in your household. You’re just not managing it well.
• If your kids never hear you pray about financial decisions, they’ll carry a distorted view of finances into their adulthood.
• It’s entirely possible to be out of balance financially because you save too much (it’s called hoarding).
• There has to be a connection between what you purchase and what you pray for.
• Finance does not follow the rule of fairness.
• The truth is, you don’t want fairness. You want opportunity and financial freedom.
• It’s not about being fair. It’s about being responsible with your money.
• Your biggest challenge tomorrow will not be between God and Satan. Your biggest challenge tomorrow will be between God and your stuff.
• The reason there’s tension in your marriage is because one or both of you are serving “stuff.”
• You want to know how spiritual someone is? Look at their checkbook and credit card statements.

Misconceptions about Money:

1. Money is evil. (It’s not. Money is neutral. The Bible tells us that the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil)
2. It’s unscriptural to be rich. (Again, false. We’re told, however not to put our trust in money)
3. Everyone should share equally. (Again, it’s not about fairness, it’s about being financially responsible and being a good steward)
4. Prosperity is a sign of God’s favor. (Wrong. I know rich people who are not spiritual and I know poor people who are).

It’s going to be a great series. Can’t wait to learn more!

stuck in an airport…

…in Newark, NJ.  What do you do when your terminal is on security lockdown and no one can come or go? Well, you burst out in song, of course!

Check out our friend Josh Wilson (who did a concert at NewPointe in the summer of 2008)…

Love that guy.

Did you know we sang a JW song at Christmastime @ NewPointe. Sing—you can find it on iTunes.

Also, just to get the rumor mill started, there’s a chance that we may see JW at NewPointe again in the very near future. Stay tuned.

anybody up for a giant game of monopoly?

And when I say giant, I mean giant.

The new message series: Monopolized begins this Sunday at all three NewPointe campuses.

christmas eve @ newpointe by the numbers

3 the number of NewPointe campuses hosting Christmas Eve services

 

7 total number of services held at all campuses combined

 

120 kids who lit candles

 

360 candles lit

 

6 unique video elements (the most ever)

 

296 people who attended NewPointe Christmas Eve services in Louisville

 

442 people who attended in Millersburg

 

5,118 total Christmas Eve attendance at all three campuses combined

 

4,240 Last year’s Christmas Eve attendance

 

878 the increase for 2009 over 2008 attendance.

 

here’s a pic I snapped with my phone in between first and second services:

the key to success in 2010

In the NewPointe all-staff meeting Monday morning, Dwight talked about the key to 2010 being a successful year for us as an organization and as a staff. Want to know what it is?

He said the key is not more money. It’s not having more time, more resources, more personnel, or more space.

The key to 2010 is each of our relationships with Jesus Christ.

Want to have a great 2010? It all starts with your walk with God.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33