top ten reasons to be @ NewPointe this Easter

10. This ain’t your momma’s Easter service. No choir, no cantata, no organ music (yawn). But it WILL be unforgettable, relevant, and helpful.

9. The opening song and video alone will be worth coming for. DO NOT be late or you’ll miss it!

8. You don't have to worry about buying fancy new clothes. At NewPointe we think the most important thing is just that you're there. There won't be a fashion show. Will there be new suits and fancy dresses? Probably. Will there be people wearing jeans and flip-flops? No doubt.

7. Kim Hill. She’s our guest artist at the Dover campus. She’s flying in from Nashville and will be singing in all four services.

6. Saturday Night service @ Dover (7 p.m.). You can sleep in Sunday (or go to your momma’s church with her—she’ll think you’re such a good boy). :-)

5. No one will be dressed up like the Easter Bunny who could scare your kids
(however I can’t guarantee that they won’t be scared when they see Dwight).

4. It’s the beginning of at brand new message series called "Collide." And trust me, you will not want to miss week one (or any week) of this unbelievable three-series about what happens when our lives collide with Jesus’.

3. The music set list: God Is Alive, Revelation Song, Beautiful Jesus, How He Loves, just to name a few.

2. People are going to be introduced to Jesus Christ. Invite your friends!

1. As always our worship and the entire experience will be centered around the person of Jesus Christ. And I can't think of a better way to celebrate the fact that Jesus is alive than at NewPointe with NewPointe people.

Click here for NewPointe Easter service times and locations.

sunday (march 28) highlights

Here are a few pics from last Sunday @ NewPointe. What a great series wrap up! Hope you got to be there. If not, you can watch online by clicking here.

Love this pic of Wes:

The closing song was written by our own Brandon Bunnelle especially for The Me I Want To Be series. Way to go Bran-dog!

The highlight of the day…baptisms (you can see them tell their stories again by clicking here):

I gave my final update (for the series). You can always ask me how I’m doing as I continue my fitness quest. Free updates anytime you want them.

A new series starts Sunday. Make sure you get here early! ;-)

sunday’s scuds (march 28, 2010)

Sunday @ NewPointe brought us the final message in The Me I Want To Be series. What an excellent series it has been. I have talked to so many people who say they’re growing by leaps and bounds in their journey toward Christ-likeness. It’s so much fun to hear people talk about what God is doing in their lives.

GREAT message by Dwight today. If you were there then you know how hard he brought it. No way you could be there and not get the message loud and clear.

His message was about sharing Christ with others. Here are some of the scuds he dropped on us:

• Not only is God more interested in you becoming His best version of you than you are—he’s committed to doing that for everyone.
• The Christian life demands an explanation.
• You and I need to be ready to give people an answer.
• God doesn’t call us to be weird—a little peculiar, yes—but not weird.
• Your mission as a Christ-follower: Invite people into God’s family.
• People don’t want to know about your religion. People want to know that there’s hope for their lives.
• If people aren’t asking you questions about why you’re different then something’s wrong with you.
• If you are a follower of Christ, then you have a story to share that’s worth hearing.
• What you have to say to people about what God has done in your life is indisputable.
• People do not find God through rules, regulations, and rituals—they may find religion—but not God.
• The #1 reason people fail to become “the me they want to be”: guilt and shame.
• I don’t know very many people who have real purpose in their lives.
• Apart from knowing and serving Christ, there is no real purpose to life—it’s just existing—waiting to die.
• Most people just HOPE they’re going to make it to heaven when they die. It doesn’t need to be that way.
• For something that’s this important—you want to be certain.
• People are hungry for the good news of Christ.
• If you’re not COMPELLED to share Christ with others then you probably ought to question if you really know him.
• We’re not here to pressure and manipulate you. We’re here to share truth.
• People don’t want to be lectured. They want to be loved.
• Unfortunately most churches do more lecturing than loving.
• Everybody spends forever somewhere.

collide

Super-excited about the series that begins on Easter at NewPointe. It’s called Collide. It's all about what happens when our lives crash into the reality of who Jesus is. In the Bible every time someone had an encounter with Jesus, that person was always changed in some way. That's because it's impossible to encounter the person Jesus Christ and not come away from it different than you were.

Everyone has their own ideas of who Jesus is. In this series, we’ll encounter the real Jesus. And when our perception of who He is collides with the reality of who His is—amazing things happen.

One of the things I’m especially excited about are the stories we’re going to tell on video each week—real people telling the story of their collision with Jesus and how they’ve been forever changed.

It all starts on Easter. This three-week series is an excellent opportunity for inviting friends and family. You get ‘em there, we’ll deliver the goods!

God’s chisel sketch

We’ve received tons of great feedback about the sketch JD Lowry and I did on Sunday at the Dover campus. It’s a sketch written and originally performed by the Skit Guys. If you didn’t get to see it, or you’d like to see it again, here it is. Also, just let me say that I thought JD knocked it out of the park! Do you know how hard it is to portray God on stage?!

sunday’s scuds (march 21, 2010)

Sunday @ NewPointe gave us part five of what’s turned out to be an incredible series, The Me I Want To Be. And if you were able to be there, you know that Dwight was held nothing back during his message. Bold and courageous are two words that come to mind when I reflect on what he shared. Here are a few of the scuds he fired off:

• Unless and until you embrace this tipping point (accountability), you will never become the me you want to be.
• We think our relationship with God should be private. That’s simply not true. While your relationship with God IS personal, it was never meant to be private.
• We all like the end product that accountability produces, we just don’t like the process of accountability.
• Through Christ, we all have access to everything necessary for us to truly change. Yet far too often we choose not to use them—and we remain the same.
• The urgency of life tends to create a gap between what we know and what we do.
• You will always battle defeat and discouragement if you’re unwilling to embrace the principle of accountability.
• When you say yes to Christ, you also say yes to accountable relationships with others.
• The reason some of you still battle sexual and purity issues is because you’ve never opened up to anyone about it.
• Accountability just makes good common sense.
• Whatever it is in your life that you’re afraid for someone to know about you—that’s the thing that you think you’re the only one who has that struggle.
• The stakes in your life are too high for you to ignore this principle.
• God is more interested in you becoming the me you want to be that even you are.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

sunday pics

Paul Rothel does an outstanding job taking pics at NewPointe. He was at the Dover campus Sunday. Here’s a look back at March 21, 2010 through Paul’s lens:

And let’s not forget about KidStuf:

It was a great day at all NewPointe campuses! Hope you got to get in on it!

owned

Saw this online today. Love it.

accountable

I started the wellness/fitness challenge about 4.5 weeks ago. The overall decision to “get in shape” actually took place back in November after a visit to my doctor. She basically told me that I was a mess and that if I didn’t make some serious lifestyle changes, she was going to put me on meds.

The doctor visit was basically confirmation of what I’d already heard God telling me: You need to do something about your physical condition. And it’s not just a physical issue, it’s a spiritual issue. How can you talk to people about being spiritually disciplined when you’re not even physically disciplined?

Ouch.

And so my journey toward wellness began. Since the first of the year, I’ve dropped nearly 25 lbs., my cholesterol is down over 50 pts., and my blood pressure is back to normal. I’ve also dropped a bunch of inches from various body parts, my body fat percentage is down over 5 percentage points, and I’m better conditioned and stronger everywhere. And it feels great.

The secret to my success? Dwight’s going to talk about it Sunday. It’s called accountability. I went public with my goals. I got people involved who care about me and know how to help me.

There’s no way I’d have made the progress I’ve made without people in my life encouraging me, spurring me on (more cowbell), praying for me, and coaching me.

I have a long way to go, but I’ve got momentum, friends and a promise from God that says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

So to everyone who’s prayed for me, encouraged me with Facebook messages, emails, notes, and conversations. Thanks. I couldn’t do it without you. Literally.

book ‘em danno

I’m a reader. Haven’t always been. Started about 10 years ago when I read a good book and thought, hey, that was kinda fun, what else could I read?

I’ve been reading ever since. I also encourage others to read. I meet with about six different guys on a regular basis. One of the things I tell them is, “If we’re going to grow together, lets get focused and read something together.”

So as a result, I currently have four book studies going right now. If you’re interested in knowing what books I’m studying with groups and individuals, here you go:

Primal by Mark Batterson. Have been through it once myself and now I’m studying it with a friend. Great, great read.

 

 

 

 

 

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Another one that I’ve read (many moons ago) but very appropriate for another guy I’m currently meeting with. A chapter a day, baby!

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily Discipler by Neil Anderson. Deep and thought-provoking. Learning about who I am in Christ with a group of other guys I meet with early on Wednesday mornings.

 

 

 

 

 

Axiom by Bill Hybels. Just started this one. I’ll give a full report later. Currently reading this with the NewPointe service programming team. We get together every other Monday morning to discuss.

 

 

 

 

What are you reading? Any good recommendations?

sunday’s scuds (march 14, 2010)

Sunday was part four of what’s been a fantastic series so far, The Me I Want To Be. Today Dave D’Angelo talked bout having no wax and more cowbell. Good stuff about how authentic community is critical to our spiritual growth. Here are some of the scuds he fired:

• The me I want to be is one that’s sincere.
• Everybody needs more cowbell.
• I want to be a guy who rings more cowbell for the people in my life—no matter how they perform.
• When we become sincere with others, we can be loved.
• We can only become loved to the extent that we are known.
• Who’s ringing a cowbell for you? Who are you ringing a cowbell for?
• We want to be known and loved but we are afraid to let people in.
• Sometimes we feel like it’d be better do life alone than to get burned one more time.
• The problem is: we can’t rely on our feelings. We need to rely on the truth of God’s Word.
• The more we cover up who we really are, the further we get from the me we want to be.
• The truth about you will eventually come out.
• There’s a big difference between transparency and vulnerability.
• Any step toward being known is one step closer to the me you really want to be.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47

momentum

How important is momentum? It’s HUGE! I’m learning more about it everyday. As I work toward becoming The Me I Want To Be physically, I’m learning principles that apply to my spiritual life. Here’s an example of what I mean:

Momentum is so interesting because it’s hard to get it. But once you do…watch out. When I realized I needed to do something about my physical condition, it was so tough to get the gumption to actually start. I dreaded the idea of going to the gym and working out regularly. I also dreaded the idea of having to change my eating habits.

But here’s the thing: I just went for it. It was hard to gain traction at first but now that I’m into it (and seeing results), I’ve got…MOMENTUM! Suddenly, it’s not as difficult to eat right…or to get motivated to work out. I know that there’s a payoff, AND I know I don’t want to blow the progress I’ve already made.

And so it is with our walk with Christ. Just start. Take that step you’ve been needing to take. And when you factor God into the equation, well, talk about momentum!

You can be the me you want to be. Believe it. And go for it!

stories

Over the past few days I’ve received three absolutely amazing, inspiring stories from people whose lives are being impacting in unbelievable ways because of what God is doing in and through the people of NewPointe Community Church.

I can’t even begin to describe how stoked I am about what I see God doing in people’s lives.

You’ll get to hear (and see) some of these stories during the next series (Collide—it starts on Easter).  Our creative team is working on cool, creative ways to share some of these stories via video.

In the meantime, if you’ve got a story that’s begging to be told. Shoot me an email, Facebook me, whatever. I’d love to hear how God’s working in your life.

Don’t forget to visit www.TheChangeInside.com to read the daily devo. Be sure to check out some of the comments folks are leaving there. It will inspire you!

sunday’s scuds (march 7, 2010)

Sunday Dwight delivered part three of The Me I Want To Be series. Here are some of the scuds from his message: Anyone Can Be Great…

• Only God knows your full potential.
• God’s more interested in you reaching your full potential than you are.
• You were created to serve.
• Serving is on of the tools God uses to shape you into the me you want to be.
• Every single one of us can be great.
• If you want to be great, serve!
• If you’re discontent, unsettled, unsatisfied…it’s because you don’t fully buy in to the principle of serving others.
• The reason you have gifts/talents is so you can use them to serve others—to administer God’s grace and goodness to the world.
• Servants are always looking for way to administer God’s grace to others.
• Great opportunities don’t last long.
• If you only serve when it’s convenient for you to serve then you’re  not a real servant.
• Most of us aren’t willing to allow God to mess up our plans.
• We’re more interested in having people think we’re a servant than actually BEING a servant.
• If you can’t forgive then you won’t serve. And you’ll miss out on greatness.
• The reason we’re not willing to accept others is because we can’t get past our own desires.
• When’s the last time you were willing to empty yourself for the sake of someone else?

"Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." -MLK

are you kidding me?

As most of you know, I’m in the middle of a huge effort to lose weight and get healthy. It’s meant a serious lifestyle change as well as grueling workouts with a personal trainer, an eating program, and, of course 3,000 of my closest friends holding me accountable (more on that in a future post).

As far as the eating goes, I’m doing really well right now—sticking to my diet. Eating a lot of veggies, fruit, wheat toast, etc.

Then I get THIS in my email today:

Yep, that’s right…as many fries and pancakes as I can possibly eat for one low price at Denny’s.

So I’m headed there right now…

NOT!

sunday’s scuds (february 28, 2010)

It’s taken me a few days to get Dwight’s scuds posted. I didn’t want to neglect them. The “Me I Want to Be” series has been so good and so helpful. I’m praying that God will shape me and grow me during this series.

Here are Sunday’s scuds:

• There’s a gap between where you are and the me you want to be.
• Merely TRYING to close that gap won’t get you anywhere. You have to begin training.
• People who are successful in life have established regular disciplines.
• Simply knowing what to do will not be enough to change you.
• Coming to church won’t change you. Entering a life of training will.
• Transformation doesn’t come from behavior modification—it comes from renewing your mind.
• You cannot act inconsistently with how you think.
• Theology will not change you. God’s truth is what changes you.
• If you’re not the me you want to be then it’s because you’re fearful.
• The reason you’re not the me you want to be is because you’ve believed Satan’s lies.
• Courage is not the absence of fear—it’s moving on in spite of the fear.
• The reason you don’t tithe is because you don’t believe God will be faithful to His Word.
• If you’re a Christ-follower then Satan has nothing on you. The only thing he can use against you are lies and fear.
• The goal of prayer is not about getting things from God—it’s about developing an intimate relationship with Him.
• The reason we battle discouragement and depression so much is because we’ve forgotten how good God is.
• Guilt and shame will keep you from becoming the me He wants you to be.

Hey, don’t forget to check out the daily blog that goes with this series: www.thechangeinside.me. There’s a lot of great stuff there to help you process this series.

becoming a better me

I’ve really been praying and asking God to use the current series to grow me. I want to become God’s best version of me. I really, really do. So I’ve been taking this very seriously over the past couple weeks, asking God to use this series to change me…asking him to show me what I ought to do, what I must do in order to become the man he had in mind when he created me.

Last week I came across this thought from Shane Hipps: one of the greatest things a preacher has to offer his audience is himself — body, presence, actions, being. One of the best ways to become a better preacher, he concluded, was to become a better being — to become more mature in the faith, more spiritually formed, more like Christ.

Now, on one level this is something I already know to be true. But on another level, I need reminded of this constantly. What I hear Shane saying is that if I want to be a better husband, if I want to be a better dad, if I want to be a better boss, employee, BETTER CHRIST FOLLOWER…maybe I shouldn’t focus so much on direct means of growth such as practice, tutorials, workshops, collaboration, and research. What I need to focus on, above all else, is being a better me!

I need to put my walk with Christ above personal development in other areas. In other words, not only do I need to develop my skills, but I need to deepen my soul.

Wanna become a better spouse? Become a better person! Focus on your relationship with your Heavenly Father.

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