usa today article on mega-church multi-sites

Came across this USA Today article on multi-site churches. Found it interesting and thought I’d pass it along. Here’s an excerpt:

It's not the traditional American mom-and-pop church, where the same pastor counsels parishioners, visits when they're ill or marries or buries them.

(There’s) a new model for worship spreading rapidly across the U.S. church landscape: multisite churches.

This form of high-efficiency evangelism allows thousands of worshipers to hear the same message from a lead pastor or a member of his team, in person or by video at three, five, even a dozen or more locations. Meanwhile, others take over the one-to-one side of ministry — counseling, ceremonies and small-group guidance.

Among U.S. Protestant megachurches, 37% reported having two or more locations under the same leadership in 2008, according to a study by the Leadership Network and Hartford Institute for Religion Research in Hartford, Conn.

Read the entire article here: Multi-site churches mean pastors reach thousands

sunday’s scuds (june 27, 2010)

Sunday we kicked off the “CHRISTIAN” series. It’s a five-week series all about what it really means to follow Christ. What does Jesus expect of us? If I say yes to Christ, what exactly does that mean?

Here’s the sermon bumper:

 

And here are Dave D’Angelo’s scuds from part one of the series:

• If you’ve said yes to Christ then things are supposed to be different in your life.
• If you’ve said yes to Christ then you’re an ambassador for Christ. You represent Him.
• The world is dying to catch a glimpse of who God really is.
• Too often we choose what’s convenient over what’s right.
• When we say yes to Christ, convenience is no longer an option.
• Jesus doesn’t just want to be your Savior. He wants to be your Lord.
• We treat God like he’s an app for our phone—something we download in order to be there in case we need it or to make our lives easier.
• Many of us have said yes to heaven but not yes to Christ.
• Yeses are inconvenient.
• Saying yes to Christ brings hope!
• Your faith is personal but it was never meant to be private.
• If you’ve said yes to Christ the you’re called to live as He lived.

And we can be sure that we we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. 1 John 2:3-6

sunday’s scuds (june 20, 2010)

Sunday we wrapped up the ONE series (one heart, one world, one church). Dwight talked about the local church being the hope of the world. Great series. Great message. Hope you got to hear it. Here are the scuds:

• The church should be contagious.
• I believe people should wake up on Sunday morning and not debate about whether or not they should go to church.
• We believe Sunday morning should be the best hour of your week.
• The local church is the hope of the world—living out and teaching the truth of Jesus Christ.
• The world at its worst needs a church at its best.
• We will never be our best until we see ourselves as one church.
• Truth is truth whether you believe it or not.
• The church speaks and acts on behalf of Christ.
• You build a church through converts. You change the world through discipleship.
• Are you a transformed person? Or are you merely a convert?
• You and I have a personal responsibility as Christ followers to share the truth of Jesus Christ.
• Big vision takes big dollars.

(Jesus:) I am the way the truth and life, no one comes to the Father but through me.  John 14:6

new series teaser video

We’ve had tons of great response to the new series teaser video from last Sunday. For those of you who’ve asked to see it again—and for those of you who missed it, here it is:

It’s based off a FedEx commercial from a few years ago. Thanks to North Point Community Church for the idea.

our night with team USA

Wednesday evening two other coaches and I took 12 12-year-old girls to Canton to watch the USA national softball team take on the USA Futures team. And we had an absolute blast! They played a double-header—which didn’t end untill 11:30 p.m. And that was followed by an autograph session on the field. We got home at 1 a.m. but the girls has so much fun. Here are some pics:

Naomi with Cat Osterman:

Natalie gets Natasha Watley’s autograph:

The girls with Arizona’s star freshman pitcher and College World Series sensation, Kenzie Fowler:

They also got to meet Monica Abbott (she’s 6’2”)…

And Jessica Mendoza:

And the biggest star of them all, Jennie Finch:

They were all super-nice and very willing to sign, pose for photos and even chit-chat a little (Jessica Mendoza even gave Naomi some slap-hitting advice).

I’m still tired from the trip but it was worth it! Go USA!

sunday’s scuds (june 13, 2010)

Blake Wood was in da hay-ouse this past Sunday for part two of the ONE series. It’s always good to have Blake back from the Middle East. If you missed his message, make sure to visit www.NewPointe.org and watch it in the media archives. In the meantime, please enjoy these scuds from Sunday’s message:

• YOU are a missionary.
• If you follow Christ, you are called to follow the example of Christ to be a missionary.
• The USA is the 4th largest mission field in the world.
• North America is the only continent on earth where Christianity is NOT growing.
• Canton = Samaria (not really).
• Lost people matter to God.
• “Going” doesn’t always mean getting on a plane . Sometimes it simply means crossing the room to someone who may be a little different than you.
• In life, in matters of faith, more is caught than taught.
• How many of your neighbors  really get to rub shoulders with true Jesus-followers?
• Showing Jesus to others with your life is more important (and more effective) than merely telling others about Jesus.
• The harvest may be right in your back yard.
• Where is your mission field?

confession: your ‘get out of jail free’ card

I’m working on an article for Light & Life magazine about confession. In researching some ideas, I came across this story about Frederick the Great, King of Prussia:

One day Frederick the Great conducted a tour of inspection of a prison in Berlin. While most prisoners approached the king, prostrating themselves and protesting their innocence, one man remained unusually silent. It was to this man that Frederick turned:

"You..."
"Yes?"
"Why are you here?"

"Armed robbery, Your Majesty."
"Are you guilty?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I deserve my punishment."

At this, Frederick summoned the warden. "Release this guilty wretch at once," he commanded. "I will not have him kept in this prison, where he will corrupt all of its innocent occupants."

I love the lesson in this (the irony of confession): The one who actually confesses gains his freedom. Those who wear masks and pretend, stay in prison.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9)

ever have a bad day?

Yeah, I know, dumb question. Who doesn’t have a bad day every now and then? And for some of us, those bad days seem to happen more often than good ones. So how do we deal with bad days?

Well, I think we look to Christ (duh). The day He was crucified qualifies as a bad day, don’t you think? I think it’s good to look at how he handled what was quite possibly the worst day ever and see what we can learn from Him on how to handle a bad day.

Check out what it says in Hebrews (The Message):

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. –Hebrews 12:2

I underlined a couple of things that stand out to me: 1. Study how he did it, and 2, Don’t lose sight of where you’re headed!

Stay focused on what’s most important.

I love the lyrics from Josh Wilson’s song, Before the Morning that say:

Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,
that you still have a reason to sing,
'cause the pain you've been feeling,
can't compare to the joy that's coming

so hold on, you got to wait for the light
press on, just fight the good fight
because the pain you've been feeling,
it's just the dark before the morning

Hold on! Press on! You still have a reason to sing.

sunday’s scuds (june 6, 2010)

Sunday we kicked off a new series: ONE. As in, one heart, one world, one church. Dwight’s message was about having an undivided heart. Here are some of the scuds he launched:

• With great opportunities comes great responsibility.
• David ran toward Goliath. Most of us run from our giants.
• Would Jesus say this of you: You honor me with your lips but your heart is far from me. ?
• The key to seizing great opportunities is to have an undivided heart.
• My greatest responsibility (and yours) is to have an undivided heart toward God.
• What does it mean to have an undivided heart? It means there’s consistency between what we say and what we do.
• When we honor God with our lips but our hearts are far from him, we are hypocrites.
• God doesn’t test you so He can find out about you. He tests you so you can know the truth about you.
• No matter who you are, God wants you to have a heart for people.
• Lost people matter to God therefore they should matter to us.
• You can fulfill the American dream and lose your soul.
• Everybody spends forever somewhere.
• You don’t want to go to your friend’s funeral thinking, “I wish I would have…” The time is now!
• How do you know if you have a heart for God? Look at your giving record.
• Are you going to serve stuff  and then ask God to help you get more stuff?
• We’d rather be known as a generous church than a big church.
• When was the last time you emptied yourself for someone else?
• People with divided hearts cannot expect to receive anything from God.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. –Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

autonomy, mastery, and purpose

My friend Marc Harvey sent me a link to this Dan Pink video. Wow. Powerful, thought-provoking stuff (not to mention really cool animation).

What would get you up in the morning, racing to get to work? How about the opportunity to change the world?

my first 5K

A couple of months ago an idea began brewing in the NPCC control room. A few of our volunteers decided that it would be fun to run a 5K together. They asked me if I would join them. I said, “Sure, why not!?”

It seemed like a good idea a the time. I had a couple months to prepare (and I was already making really good progress with my conditioning and strength training—this would be a piece of cake, right?)

The closer the date got, the less it seemed like a good idea.

Then the week of the race came. I thought, You know, I should probably start running a little more often. I’d been lifting, running on the elliptical, and playing basketball—and I felt like my cardio was solid, but running 3.1 miles is a horse of a different color.

So on the Monday prior to the Saturday race, I hit the track and ran two miles. Not fun…but not terrible either.

I had great intentions to run more that week but, you know, life gets in the way.

Saturday morning rolled around and I was NOT “feeling it.” BUT, I knew there would be some control room peeps expecting to see me there so I got up, got dressed, put on my runnin’ shoes and headed to Dover for the race.

Here’s what I learned that morning:

• Nerves are a factor. I get nervous before I preach. I spend significant time in the bathroom on preaching Sundays. Evidently, knowing I’m about to run a 5K has the same effect on my body.
• Accountability works. I told the others that THE ONLY reason I got by lazy booty out of bed that morning was because I knew they were expecting me to be there and that I didn’t want to let them down.
• Teamwork makes the dream work. From the beginning, the gang promised to stay together (start as a team, finish as a team)…and they kept their word. I’m sure some of them wanted to go faster than my pace would allow. But they were true to their word, we finished the race TOGETHER.
• Words matter. My friends encouraged me constantly with words like, “You’re doing great,” and, “You can make it!” It really helped.
• There’s more in me. Several times throughout the race I found myself thinking, This would be a good place to just walk for a bit. Afterall I had never run 3.1 miles non-stop before. But I was determined to do it. I knew I had more in me—I just needed to muster it up.
• It feels so good to set a goal and reach it. Hey, I finished a 5K! Ran the whole way. People asked me prior to the race what my goal was (time-wise). I said, “Hey, my goal is just to finish!” Mission accomplished.
• I’d do it again. After the race many people asked me if I’d run another one sometime. My response was, “Don’t ask me know, ask me in a few days.” Well, a few days later my answer is yes. I mentioned that there’s more in me…well…I think there’s a faster time in me. :)

Bottom line: I’m so glad I did it. Here’s a pic of the NPCC control room 5K team after the race: In case you’re wondering. I ran it in 31 minutes. 5K = 3. 1 miles so I ran exactly a 10-minute mile pace (and was able to maintain my pace for the entire race (even with an uphill finish).

Thanks goes out to Dave Cantwell, Kim Guerney, and Keith Stone for supporting me, encouraging me, and running with me. You guys are awesome!