sunday’s scuds (august 29, 2010)

Sunday brought us the continuation of the NewPointe series “Behind the Curtain.” During the series we’ve been looking at who we are as a church, our mission and vision, and why we do what we do.

Sunday Dwight talked about the “ing,” as in: our mission is to lead people into a growING relationship with Jesus Christ. Good stuff. Here are some of the scuds I heard:

• If your ultimate goal is to please God, you’ll never feel like you measure up.
• Your ultimate goal should not be to please God—it should be to TRUST God.
• Your motive determines your values.
• At the core of any strong relationship is not pleasing the other person—it’s trust.
• Some of us would rather please God than trust God because trusting would me giving up too much control.
• You can never do enough to please God.
• On the other hand, Christ has already done everything needed to please God on your behalf.
• If you’re living your life to please God, you’re on a treadmill.
• Knowledge by itself will make you proud.
• Obedience by itself will make you judgmental.
• Trust will make you dependent on God—and that’s where you want to be.
• My goal on Sunday mornings is not to impress you. My goal is to help you trust Christ.
• Coming to church is not good enough. Taking notes during the sermon is not good enough. What’s necessary is hearing the Word and applying it to your life.

newpointe steps

At NewPointe our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. How do we do that? By helping people take steps. Check it out:

a lasting impact

When we speak of wanting to change the world, we really, really mean it. It’s not just “big talk.” We literally want to change the world. One of our big initiatives in changing the world is Impact Middle East. Blake Wood has been on staff at NewPointe for about nine years, serving as our missionary/church planter in the Middle East. Blake trains and equips leaders in Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria so that we can lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ in that part of the world.

It was great having the Wood family with us for the Summer. Sunday, we had to say goodbye to Blake, Lori, and their five kids. They’re headed back to Egypt this week to pick up where they left off last spring.

I’m so proud of Blake and the work he’s doing. He’s making a difference. He’s helping NewPointe change the world. If you want to find out more about Blake’s ministry and how you can get involved, click here.

 Blake says goodbye at the Dover campus last Sunday.

worth sharing

Came across this video today. Had to post it here on my blog. Check it out:

Baptism - Gretchen Emch (8/15/10) from North Point Media on Vimeo.

So…is it time for you to be baptized? If you’d like to talk about it, shoot me an email.

sunday’s scuds (august 22, 2010)

Sunday was week three of the BEHIND THE CURTAIN series. During the month of August we’ve been taking a look at what goes on behind the curtain at NewPointe, why we do what we do, and your role in the plan.

Sunday Dwight talked about what makes us tick. Here are some of the scuds I jotted down:

• Engaging in a mission requires much more than belief. You have to really care.
• If somebody’s not doing something it’s not because they don’t know enough, it’s because they don’t care enough.
• The reason you don’t have passion for God is because you believe it in your head but you don’t believe it in your heart.
• If you honestly believe that everybody spends forever somewhere, it will change every relationship that you have.
• Everybody you lay eyes on is someone Christ died for.
• We have enough churches in Ohio to win Ohio for Christ. The problem is: we don’t have enough unselfish churches.
• God will not ask you to give away everything you have. He just asks you to be responsible with it.
• The reason you feel guilty about your stuff is because you think it’s your stuff.
• A good manager asks the owner: What would you like me to do with your stuff?
• God’s not impressed with your church attendance.
• Whatever it is, if it doesn’t move you to action, then you don’t really believe it.

bubba’s 4th of july speech

For those of you who’ve been asking for it, here’s some video from July 4, 2010 when Bubba interrupted Dave D’s message in order to make a point…

my summer vacation (part two)

After a week in the Smokies, it was time to head to the beach. We’re a beach family. Love the beach. Love building sandcastles. Love the waves. Love walks on the beach. Love the sun. So we were very excited to head south.

We vacationed in South Carolina for the first time ever (Kiawah Island). What a great place. Here are some of the highlights:

One of several castles we built (we tried out a new technique on this one).

Andrew practices to become the NFL’s first Guatemalan quarterback.

I guarantee that you’ve never met a worse hula-hooper than me.

Yes we saw dolphins! And yes, the were THIS CLOSE to us!

Oh…wait…they got even closer! (great pic by Natalie)

Another one of our family castle efforts (a BIG one).

A Kiawah Island sunrise.

One of our favorite island activities: biking (Kiawah has over 30 miles of bike trails like this one).

LOVE this shot of the girls.

my summer vacation (part one)

If you’ve been wondering why you haven’t seen a blog post from me for a couple weeks, here’s why: I’ve been on vacation! We got away for a while and I took a break from blogging. Now that I’m back, here’s an update on what we did:

Our trip was a two-phase vacation. Phase one was the mountains. Phase two, the beach.

It all started with a drive to the Smoky Mountains. We always enjoy the Smokies. And it’s been five years since our last visit. Here are a few of the highlights:

I think state law mandates that you have to get a family pic with the GSM sign.

We met up with the Colucys and spent an entire day tubing down mountains streams. Big fun.

We spent another day hiking to the amazing Rainbow Falls. 5.7 miles round-trip. It took us two hours to climb up the mountain to see it and only a little over 1 hour to come back down. Well worth it.

Playing in a mountain stream on a picnic day.

And of course, what would a visit to the Smokies be without partaking in the craziness that is known as Pigeon Forge.