Lately we've been asking when should our Sunday morning service be. Should we keep it at 9:30 or should we move it later to 10:30. After taking a poll of the congregation the results came back almost exactly 50/50. With such a close outcome we decided to just leave things as they are and move on to other things.
Here is my thought about this whole process. I don't think it really matters when the service is. If we are not being the church all week how does it matter when the Sunday morning service is? Sunday is not the only time God speaks. It's not the only time people come to Christ. It's not the only time of worship. It's not the only time of repentance, forgiveness, and most importantly grace. The real question is not when should we have church but rather are we being the church all the time.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Come to Church
What is the most likely way someone will come into a church that they have never been to before? Unless the church has an amazing marketing department I'm guessing the answer is "with someone who already goes there". This is not based on any research or statistics. This is just my personal opinion. But if this is true then how important is it for us to build relationships with those God puts in front of us on a daily basis? Not that coming to church is the real, big deal in and of itself. Jesus is. However, this is a place where we look to experience Jesus together with each other. The power of togetherness is amazing.
Just some random Tuesday morning babbling.
Just some random Tuesday morning babbling.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Sunday night mind dump
Today we saw 6 people baptized during our morning worship service!!! Five of those were planned. The 6th one was a man who several had been praying for and during the praise set accepted Christ right then and there. WOW!!!!! God is very cool!!!
This week is quickly turning into a busy one. It will be cool to see what God does with this week.
Did anyone know that if you are sandy from the beach all you have to do is sprinkle baby powder on the sand and it will brush clean off? It's true. It really works.
Assuming is a dangerous sport that most everybody in the world participates in. It is so easy to think you know someone or something better than you do. I think that is one of the reasons why humility is so important and something that can only come from God.
Have you ever noticed that the term "young adult" is rarely if ever used anywhere other than church? Then each church has a different definition of what that means.
I wander if we have some ice cream in the freezer. Must go check now.
This week is quickly turning into a busy one. It will be cool to see what God does with this week.
Did anyone know that if you are sandy from the beach all you have to do is sprinkle baby powder on the sand and it will brush clean off? It's true. It really works.
Assuming is a dangerous sport that most everybody in the world participates in. It is so easy to think you know someone or something better than you do. I think that is one of the reasons why humility is so important and something that can only come from God.
Have you ever noticed that the term "young adult" is rarely if ever used anywhere other than church? Then each church has a different definition of what that means.
I wander if we have some ice cream in the freezer. Must go check now.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
5 gut check questions
Here are five questions that I found on perrynoble.com. I thought they were interesting questions for all believers but especially leaders. Here they are...with some of my own comments.
#1-Am I listening to the Voice of God? (Am I being still enough to hear?)
#2- Am I taking risks? (I might add...risks towards what God is doing.)
#3- Am I understanding how big God is? (Is that understanding always growing?)
#4- Am I surrounding myself with the right people? (right people=people with the same goals and vision)
#5- Am I giving my best? (people in the Bible always sacrificed their best to God...what's the difference today?)
#1-Am I listening to the Voice of God? (Am I being still enough to hear?)
#2- Am I taking risks? (I might add...risks towards what God is doing.)
#3- Am I understanding how big God is? (Is that understanding always growing?)
#4- Am I surrounding myself with the right people? (right people=people with the same goals and vision)
#5- Am I giving my best? (people in the Bible always sacrificed their best to God...what's the difference today?)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
51!!!
I just realized that last post was my 50th post. Yeah!!!!! What a milestone. Ok maybe I'm the only one celebrating but oh well. :-)
Hebrews
So I've been asked to write 3 devotions on Hebrews 11. As I've been reading this chapter one verse has jumped out at me. Verse 3 reads...
"By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible."
So basically faith tells us that something came from nothing. If something came from something then that something could be proven by physical evidence and faith would be unnecessary. After all man can make something from something else. Only God can trully create from nothingness.
This gives me not only faith but hope as well. When things are at their most stressful our creative God can always provide what is needed to accomplish His will. Even if the only option we see is "nothing".
The flesh tries to tell us that nothingness is equal to hopelessness but God says that nothingness is not an obstacle to Him. What a cool God!!!!
"By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible."
So basically faith tells us that something came from nothing. If something came from something then that something could be proven by physical evidence and faith would be unnecessary. After all man can make something from something else. Only God can trully create from nothingness.
This gives me not only faith but hope as well. When things are at their most stressful our creative God can always provide what is needed to accomplish His will. Even if the only option we see is "nothing".
The flesh tries to tell us that nothingness is equal to hopelessness but God says that nothingness is not an obstacle to Him. What a cool God!!!!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Scott D. into blog world
Scott Dombrosky is officially a blogger now. Check out his site. He's listed under my links.
8 random things
OK. So Allison tagged me for 8 random things. Here they are. At the end I realize that not everyone has a blog to do this but I had to come up with names so here they are.
The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (if you don't have a blog, email me)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read their blog.
My eight random facts - in no particular order of importance:
1. I believe Sunday afternoons were created for naps.
2. Some of my favorite authors include: Brennan Manning, John Ortberg, and Allison (if she will ever write a book:-)
3. Right now at the office sit the following CD's: Barry White, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Black Eyed Peas, Third Day, David Crowder Band, and my Motley Crue CD is somewhere...
4. I love to dance with God.
5. I have no one real favorite book of the Bible. They're all great!
6. Stupid drivers bug the mess out of me. (Jacksonville is a struggle.)
7. Customer service goes a looooooooooooooong way with me.
8. I am an official, self-proclaimed, unpaid restaurant critic.
My 8 people to tag are...Padre, Maw, Brock, Logan, Carole, Danny, Robert, and Heat.
Whew! That wore me out!
The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (if you don't have a blog, email me)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read their blog.
My eight random facts - in no particular order of importance:
1. I believe Sunday afternoons were created for naps.
2. Some of my favorite authors include: Brennan Manning, John Ortberg, and Allison (if she will ever write a book:-)
3. Right now at the office sit the following CD's: Barry White, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Black Eyed Peas, Third Day, David Crowder Band, and my Motley Crue CD is somewhere...
4. I love to dance with God.
5. I have no one real favorite book of the Bible. They're all great!
6. Stupid drivers bug the mess out of me. (Jacksonville is a struggle.)
7. Customer service goes a looooooooooooooong way with me.
8. I am an official, self-proclaimed, unpaid restaurant critic.
My 8 people to tag are...Padre, Maw, Brock, Logan, Carole, Danny, Robert, and Heat.
Whew! That wore me out!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
New blog items and Sunday thoughts
I hope everyone had a great weekend. I made some obvious changes to the blog site. I hope everyone enjoys them. Please feel free to answer the new poll question. I will try to keep fresh questions up there. If anyone has any ideas for poll questions on this site just let me know. I'm open for suggestions.
Today our service went well. We welcomed 3 families into the church! Next week we are having a baptism service! That is AWESOME! I'm not even sure how many we are baptizing but even if it were one that would be worth any and all effort.
Here is my random question for a Sunday night before I go to bed...Is there a difference between "praising" God and "worshiping" God? Any thoughts?
Today our service went well. We welcomed 3 families into the church! Next week we are having a baptism service! That is AWESOME! I'm not even sure how many we are baptizing but even if it were one that would be worth any and all effort.
Here is my random question for a Sunday night before I go to bed...Is there a difference between "praising" God and "worshiping" God? Any thoughts?
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
"Bash" remembered
The following is a short piece about the bash for the AC News. God is simply amazing!!!
WJACC held its 2nd annual “Back to School Bash” on August 4. This was a completely free outreach for the community. The following is a breakdown of some of the numbers from the “Bash”. We gave out…
680 back packs filled with school supplies.
Over 200 Bibles
700 hamburgers
800 hotdogs
500 bags of clothing
Those are just a few of the numbers. There were sno-cones, cotton candy, popcorn, a petting zoo, and our praise team played 4 sets of praise songs for the crowd. The only thing we asked was for everyone to have a good time and take what they need. As one of our elders told one person, “This is all free just like God’s love.”
We are still seeing many ways in which this event has made an impact on the community. God is amazing in how He can set something up.
WJACC held its 2nd annual “Back to School Bash” on August 4. This was a completely free outreach for the community. The following is a breakdown of some of the numbers from the “Bash”. We gave out…
680 back packs filled with school supplies.
Over 200 Bibles
700 hamburgers
800 hotdogs
500 bags of clothing
Those are just a few of the numbers. There were sno-cones, cotton candy, popcorn, a petting zoo, and our praise team played 4 sets of praise songs for the crowd. The only thing we asked was for everyone to have a good time and take what they need. As one of our elders told one person, “This is all free just like God’s love.”
We are still seeing many ways in which this event has made an impact on the community. God is amazing in how He can set something up.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Back to School Bash
Tomorrow is the "Back to School Bash" here at WJACC. Last year we saw around 1500 people come through the church grounds and this year we are expecting even more than that! This year we are also seeing several of the larger churches in Jax do their own bash celebrations on the same day. All of this is getting me pumped up!!! Here's a few reasons why...
1) This is a focused outreach into the community to let them know we are here, we care, and we want to serve them with no strings attached! We are not charging anything. Just come, have a good time, take some school supplies, and even take home a new outfit for school.
2) This is an opportunity to pray for members of our neighborhood. We are going to hand out Bibles and offer to pray for anything and anyone that walks through the door. We are even setting things up so that we can take prayer requests anonymously.
3) I am excited to think of other churches doing the same thing. The more people reaching out the more the message of hope in Christ is getting out into a hopeless world. THAT IS AWESOME!!!
If you are around this weekend and want to help come on out Saturday. We'll find you a spot to slip in. The bash starts at 10am and runs 'til 4pm. We'll need help with set up and clean up too. This is huge but God is even bigger. Praise God!!!
1) This is a focused outreach into the community to let them know we are here, we care, and we want to serve them with no strings attached! We are not charging anything. Just come, have a good time, take some school supplies, and even take home a new outfit for school.
2) This is an opportunity to pray for members of our neighborhood. We are going to hand out Bibles and offer to pray for anything and anyone that walks through the door. We are even setting things up so that we can take prayer requests anonymously.
3) I am excited to think of other churches doing the same thing. The more people reaching out the more the message of hope in Christ is getting out into a hopeless world. THAT IS AWESOME!!!
If you are around this weekend and want to help come on out Saturday. We'll find you a spot to slip in. The bash starts at 10am and runs 'til 4pm. We'll need help with set up and clean up too. This is huge but God is even bigger. Praise God!!!
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