untypical kids video

Brandon Bunnelle and Cindy Colucy (and others) did a fantastic job planning, shooting, and editing this video to help us kick off the UnTypical series. Check it out (by the way, these are all NewPointe kids):



Isn't it true...nobody ever aspires to be "typical" but somehow we tend to end up there. Look for more "untypical kids" in the coming weeks at NewPointe.

the untypical weekend design team

The weekend design team meets weekly to brainstorm creative ideas for Sundays at NewPointe. Sometimes we're brainstorming music. Sometimes it's video ideas, dramas, illustrations to help Dwight...and nothing is off limits or out of bounds. All ideas are welcome in every meeting. The crazy, unrealistic ideas are often the best fodder for ideas we actually do on stage on Sundays. And when I say nothing is off limits when it comes to ideas, I mean it (you'll see what I mean during the UnTypical series...expect to see stuff you thought could/would never happen in church).

The weekend design team consists of several staff members and several creative volunteers. We sit around and bark out ideas, watch videos, listen to music, surf the 'net, and pray for guidance. Our goal is to create an environment in the big room on Sundays that is going to connect with those who are there. Relevant, dynamic, inspiriting, life-changing. That's the goal.

Of course, when you get creative people together in the same room, crazy stuff is bound to happen. Recently we had a huge, friendly debate about as series title (actually it was for the What Lies Beneath series). We had a couple dozen title ideas on the board and everyone in the room took turns voting until we landed on one. Each person took a turn voting for the title they liked best. Lee Ann decided to go with the secret ballot. Here's a pic of her casting her vote on the conference room whiteboard.




Yep, we're a pretty untypical bunch.

untypical

I know it's going to be difficult to follow the What Lies Beneath series. We spent an awesome six weeks learning what it takes to be emotionally healthy so we can live spiritually healthy lives. What a great, much-needed series.

So what's next? On July 6 NewPointe begins a new summer series: UnTypical (I know that untypical is not really a word...but it works. It's, well, untypical).

I gotta tell ya. I'm pumped. It's going to be an incredible, challenging, thought-provoking series. It's designed to shake us all from living typical lives--into an adventurous, ambitious, dangerous, and Spirit-led UNtypical life.

NewPointe's weekend design team has been working on this one for weeks. And believe me, you will not want to miss a single one in the series (and I'm not just saying that).

Here's the lineup:

• July 6: an Untypical Encounter
• July 13: Untypical Faith
• July 20: Untypical Courage
• July 27: Untypical Ambition

Whatever you do...make sure you're not running late for any of these services. Amazing stuff is going to happen early...and I don't want you to miss what everyone's going to be talking about.

i love stuff like this...

check it out:

reflections from sunday

Wii had a great day at NewPointe Sunday. The theme: Wii Serve. Wii sent Lee Ann Miller with a camera crew to visit a bunch of NewPointe environments...LIVE! Wii also had a great time playing Wii on the gigantic center screen in the auditorium. How cool was that? Here's a pic of Danny and Brandon going at it during one of the services...

Yep, if you got there late, you probably missed that. If you got there late you also missed the NewPointe band opening the service with Loverboy's Workin' For the Weekend.

Here's a quick story to go with that: Monday in our weekend design team meeting, Dwight popped in to ask a question about something. I said, "Hey Dwight, you wanna know what song we're opening with Sunday?"

He said, "Yeah."

I clicked on my iTunes and cranked up the song.

Dwight listened for a few seconds and then said, "Loverboy...cool."

Okay, a couple of observations:

1. How many senior pastors anywhere could listen to 10 seconds of Workin' for the Weekend and instantly know that it's Loverboy?
2. How many senior pastors upon learning that the band intends to open a service with that song would say, "Cool."?

It's another reason why I love working at NewPointe.

newpointe writes

We've got some talented folks around NewPointe. Here are a few fun facts about NPCCers who write:

Within the next few months we'll be introducing NewPointe's own, brand-spankin' new Starting Pointe study material. We've had a team of writers and designers working on this project for over a year. And boy-o-boy is it sweet! Expect to be blown away when this thing gets rolled out.

Fellow NewPointe staffer Todd Colucy is now a published author! He recently wrote an article for the Your Money NOW website. Here's the link: Best Ways to Use Your "Debit" Card at Retailers.

Kevin and Jess do a phenomenal job writing the KidStuf scripts. Betcha didn't know that.

Did you know Danny B has mad song-writing skills? He's even had one of his songs hit #1 on the radio charts. Betcha didn't know that either.

easter @ newpointe--the visuals

Here's my absolute favorite (of course I'm biased, she's my kid)...

You just had to be there!

easter at newpointe (sneak preview)

The band and vocalists are rehearsing right now in the big room. It's going to be an incredible day. Here's a sneak peek of some of what you'll experience at NewPointe this Sunday:

That's all I can reveal for now. You'll have to come Sunday to see the rest.

wanted: your stories

We had a creative team meeting tonight. Ten people sitting around the conference room table tossing out crazy and creative ideas to help bring practicality and relevance to an upcoming series: The Reel NewPointe. Fun.

During the series, Dwight is going to hammer relational evangelism--one of our core values. We often refer to it as invest and invite.

Another Sunday will focus community (small groups).

Heard a great NewPointe story? Are you a great story? Did someone invest in you and invite you to NewPointe and as a result your life is different? Has being in a small group rocked your world? We'd love to share your stories of invest and invite and small group participation via video during the series. Email me at jbunn@newpointe.org and we'll get right on it!

another christmas eve youtube video

Had to post this one too. Outstanding vocal (Danny Bunnelle is my hero). Outstanding dance. Check it out:

christmas eve drummer boy on youtube

Because I know you'll want to enjoy it again and again...(although the live version was much better)...

sunday's worship

Strong. Dennielle started things off right with a kickin' version of Angels We Have Heard On High. The band followed it up with a great worship set (Is Rescue a great song, or what?). And don't you just love to watch Phebe play the drums. Dude is full of JOY! And then there's my buddy Harry on the bass guitar. That cat knows how to groove.

Carol Miller and Dennielle BROUGHT THE GOODS with that Open Up/Let Go drama/song. Wow. It was a great set-up to the message.

But how 'bout that closing song? Amazing. About a month ago, we sat in a creative meeting looking for just the right closing song to go with the message. I threw out a couple of suggestions and then Danny asked me what I thought about that song...in case you're wondering...it's by a duo called Connersvine. I said, "That's it. That's the song." And I immediately downloaded it to my i-Tunes.

Connersvine, by the way is from Indiana. And get this: one of the dudes in the group is the punter for the Indianapolis Colts: Hunter Smith. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, the song is called Live For You. Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

Yes I want to live for you
I want to die to me
I want to be emptied
I want to be freed
From all that holds me captive
All that brings me down
All that's tried to lose me
Now that I've been found

Great song. Great day. Hope you got to be there.

catalyst review::rick warren

I really like Rick Warren. I heard this particular talk a couple years ago at the Leadership Summit but it's worth hearing more than once. He talked about some of the biggest problems the world faces, specifically spiritual emptiness and corrupt leadership. Here are some of my notes:

• If you want God's blessing on your life then you have to get with God's agenda. Stop praying, "God bless me," and start praying, "God, help me to get on board with what you're already blessing."
• Where is the kingdom of God? Wherever Jesus is king. What is the kingdom of God? God's people fulfilling God's purpose on God's planet for God's glory.
• God's agenda is the church...it's not anything else...it's the church.
• Don't ever put down the church--it is the bride of Christ. God wants you to love the "real" church, not the "ideal" church. Then he wants you to serve in it.
• 500 years ago we had a reformation in the church. It's time for another one. The first reformation was about creeds. This one need to be about deeds.
• You were made to be loved by God...it's the reason you're here. God wanted you here. There is no such thing as illegitimate children...there are illegitimate parents but not illegitimate children.
• Stop trying to change culture...create culture. You are most like God when you are creating.
• God asked Moses: What's in your hand? (Whenever God asks a question it's never for his benefit...whenever God does a miracle it is not to show off--it's always to teach a truth.)
• Moses' staff represented three things: His identity, his income, and his influence.
• After Moses surrendered, it was never again referred to as his staff. It became the rod of God.
• What's in your hand? Talent. Background. Education. Personality. Wealth. Network.
• God's going to have two questions for us: What did you do with my Son Jesus Christ? And What did you do with what I gave you?
• Some people would rather be cool than effective. I dare you to pray the most dangerous prayer: Use me!

if people only knew...

...what goes on at our service programming meetings on Mondays. I guess it's just a by-product of having creative minds gathered in a room for a couple of hours...but the stuff that gets thrown onto the table for consideration ranges from the ridiculous to the absurd. And, every once in a while, we discover some great ideas that will help communicate a key point on Sundays.

Today's meeting was no different: People googling BNL, singing Marty Stuart songs, and watching Chocolate Rain on YouTube. Weird. But in the end, we landed on some pretty cool stuff. Bottom line, you're gonna love the next series at NewPointe (begins October 21).

Oh, one more thing...here's evidence that "creative" types are not in their right mind:

That's Danny...showing off the bling...stay tuned to see when and where it surfaces.

some creative stuff from other churches:

Check out what some of my online friends from other churches are doing. Cool stuff...

Granger Community Church is doing a series called The Office...and they created a website to go with it: My Office Secrets

The folks at Lifechurch.tv are doing a series right now called 30 Days to Live. Incredibly creative, incredibly compelling. Check it out here: 30 Days to Live. Make sure you check out the real-life stories. Amazing.

Oasis Church in Florida does church seven days a week at 7 p.m. each night. Each service features a different theme, approach, and leadership. Check out what they're doing at: Seven Nights of Worship

Vineyard of Greater Boston is doing a YouTube contest for it's fall kick-off. Attenders are invited to submit videos that promote the church. Cash prizes will be awarded. Very cool idea. Here's the link: Vineyard Video Contest

And finally, as I was bumping around the 'Net, I came across this Lifechurch.tv video (it's a year old but I thought it was worth sharing):

what am i doing in this grave?

You'll have to come to NewPointe this Sunday to find out.

DO NOT miss this Sunday. We'll be wrapping up the Miracles series. If you want a sneak preview, read John 11.

miracles

Unbelievable services today. We kicked off the MIRACLES series by talking about Jesus calming the storm.

I have heard tons...TONS of incredible feedback. One guy told me, in between services that this was "the best church service I've been in in 10 years." Can you believe that? I talked to two couples in between services who told me that the service impacted them so much that they were staying for the second service so they could experience it again. Man, I hope you didn't miss it. The best part: I know that God showed up in a big-time way and he's changing lives! Many people told after today's services that God used what happened in the big room today to help them-big time.

Here's a recap:

Incredible opening worship set including Let God Arise and Everlasting God.

Dave D. did an amazing job with the boxes. He summed it up like this: "Your impossibilities becoming possibilities is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Maybe it's about time you and I stop putting God in a box and allow him to push our horizons to the beyond." Powerful.


April and the band followed that up with Ayiesha Woods' Big Enough. Check out the lyrics from the chorus:

I don't wanna box you in
You've been doing big things since the world began
Sometimes I just don't understand that you're big enough
But you're big enough Jesus!

Danny and the band followed the message with an unbelievably powerful song by MercyMe: Bring the Rain.

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You Jesus,
bring the rain

What a God moment.

It's my distinct honor to serve at NewPointe. God is doing incredible things. For those of you I got to talk with and pray with today...I appreciate the opportunity. I love you. God loves you. And with his help, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT!

can't shut my brain off when i go to bed

It's 3:12 a.m. Can't sleep. I hate that. Happens to me at least a couple times a week. I'll feel tired and ready for bed but then when my head hit the pillow it's like the switch turns on. I just CANNOT shut my brain off! Here's the stuff racing through my mind at midnight:

• Married Life Live. I'm totally stoked for it. Worked on it pretty much all day yesterday. We've got some wonderful creative elements that I can't wait for everyone to experience. But lying in bed, my brain just keeps chewing on ideas for MLL. So I got up and started writing some down.
• First Wednesday. I'll blog more about the next FW soon...but it's going to be amazing. Dwight's going to speak at this one. I'll just say this: Don't miss it! I promised you will have never experienced anything like it.
• July sermon series. I'm speaking in July. And I'm trying to nail down some ideas. This is one of those things that's out there in the future a bit...and I know I should be working on it now but there are some other things that are pressing (Aqua, MLL, First Wednesday, May 6--I'm speaking on that day).
• Aqua. A new series begins May 8 and so my mind is blitzing through ideas for that one. We're going to call it It's All In Your Mind. We're going to talk about biblical truths on the battlefield of the mind, overcoming strongholds, defeating worry, and understanding the mind of Christ. Looking forward to that big-time.

But man, I wish I could just shut off my brain sometimes. And I absolutely do not want to take sleep-aids. Anyway, if you have any ideas that you think could help me, leave a comment. Thanks.

notes from NewSpring's Unleash conference...as promised

About a week ago I promisedt that I would blog some of my notes from the Unleash conference we attended at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC.

In the first session, senior pastor Perry Noble challenged us to "Go For It!" His text was Matthew 17 (the Transfiguration).

He kicked things off this this little nugget: "The problem with most churches is this. They say, 'If you don't know the rules, to hell with you.'"

Then he talked to us about the four things the church needs:

1. We need Creative Environments (vv. 1-3)

"Christianity is the most important, exciting thing to happen to the world...it took the church 2,000 years to make it boring."

"The sermon begins in the parking lot."

"Every week is somebody's first week at our church."

2. We need to look beyond ourselves. (v. 4) ...because we are selfish people.

"What type of people do we want in our church? We want people who need Jesus. Some people in our church will not be okay with the type people we want to reach and the methods we use to reach them."

3. We need to pay attention. (vv. 5-7)

"Get up (take some steps) and don't be afraid (you will make some people mad)."

"When you take steps to honor God, people will criticize you. When you begin to do what God wants you to do, you're going to piss some people off." (direct quote).

4. We need to focus on what matters (v. 8)

"People's behavior won't change until their perspective changes. Jesus changes perspectives."

"Focus on Jesus!" ("When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus" Mt: 17:8. )

"What we do matters for eternity."

I'll blog my notes from session two tomorrow.

how's this for an idea to get your town talking?

So I was bumping around the Internet yesterday and came across this little attention-getter that the good folks at LifeChurch.tv came up with: lifechurch.tv billboards. Read the blog I've linked and find out what the billboard companies in Las Vegas thought about the signs.

Think something like that would create a buzz in our community?

They built a website to go along with the campaign: www.satanhateslife.com.

Whether you like the idea or if you think it's too far out there, you gotta admit...people are going to be talking. And I think that's a good thing. And maybe they'll just be curious enough to visit their website and find out more.

I love to stir the pot. Guess Lifechurch.tv does too.