Grace Gives Back (pt. 3)

A little more than a week removed from the beginning of our churchwide emphasis "Grace Gives Back", I want to try to explain how we went from conception to reality. 1st & foremost, my heart as a pastor was burdened to lead a church to be a driving force in meeting needs in our local community. We're to be Great Commission & Great Commandment people. Too many Christians live w/ blinders on & only focus on the needs of those immediately around us at home & in the church (& many times we miss those too).

I knew the "honeymoon" phase of being a new pastor would soon wear off as it always does. I felt we needed to do something meaningful & impactful soon to continue the momentum of the 1st few months. Spending much time in prayer, meetings, & brainstorming I felt this concept of giving back to our people so they could be empowered to be a blessing was what we needed to do.

Our staff discussed many things & this idea came up a time or two (aware it wasn't original w/ us). I then attended a one day event called "THR3E" @ Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. This event radically confirmed many things in my heart as well as opened my eyes to many things. When getting the rare privilege to talk directly with Pastor Steven Furtick for only a couple of minutes I shared my situation & we talked personally. Then before I walked away he encouraged me to "do something big, & do it now." I left that event & on the flight home that evening had a headache from information overload. After processing all I had experienced I shared w/ my staff about what I felt God taught me. Soon after we talked about doing something to kick off the Fall ministry of our church & I was told by a staff member Elevation had done this one Sunday (I wasn't aware they had done it, but maybe that was the "big" thing we needed to do). Long story short, God put all the pieces in place & used Pastor Steven to confirm this vision from God.

This decision wasn't made on a whim. It was a process we struggled through for awhile, but the end result has blown us away. We're beginning to see what a New Testament church is supposed to look like. God has overwhelmed us w/ His glory in numerous ways. There were times I questioned whether this was the right thing to do or not & if it would have the desired impact. All along the way God has given us confirmation. I plan to share stories of God's blessings every week for who knows how long. We'll eventually post them on here or our new website so others can be blessed through this project. God is changing lives right before our eyes & using us in the process...there's no greater privilege this side of heaven!

I end by giving an example of God's confirmation in a practical way. Since we gave away a week's worth of offerings & didn't receive any that Sunday, we gave up 2 weeks of offerings essentially. The Sunday BEFORE we did this (& only 6 or 7 people knew about it) our offering was a little more than double the weekly average. God blessed before as if to put His seal of approval on it. We expected God to bless & make up for it the following Sunday & boy did He ever. The Sunday AFTER we did this our offering was a little more than triple the weekly average.

YOU CAN'T OUT GIVE GOD! Let's continue to give in response to the great mercies God has given us. Be a blessing, whether you are a member of our church or not. I look forward to sharing God's stories as a result of this in the future.

Grace Gives Back (pt. 2)

God is truly revolutionizing the hearts of His people as a result of Sunday. I have received some incredibly encouraging phone calls & emails telling stories of what events have taken place in their lives & the ways God is leading them to be a blessing to others. As a pastor there are times when I cringe hearing the phone ring or seeing a list of emails, but lately I am eager everytime the phone rings or messages appear in my inbox due to the excitement of what God is doing.

Today I want to share a little bit more about why we gave cash $ away in church on Sunday & didn't accept anyone's financial gift. Above all we did this because God lead us to this decision & affirmed it in many ways. Let me share a couple ofthings this project is NOT:

• It was not a publicity stunt for media attention or to trick people into coming to church. (If the media wants to cover this story as a result of what God is doing, great, but in no way are we attempting to draw attention from them)
• It was not merely copying what other churches have done. (I am aware this idea is not original to me or our church. We seek not to copy other churches but we are willing to learn from them & use their ideas effectively in our context if God so leads)

Here are several core reasons we felt led to implement "Grace Gives Back":

• To empower our people in a practical way to be a blessing to those outside our normal circle of influence.
• To instill a greater sense of awareness in our hearts & minds of the people & needs around us we might easily ignore or fail to recognize.
• To let our congregation & the surrounding community we are serious about reaching out (into the community) rather than merely reaching in (to ourselves inside the church).
• To ultimately emphasize the condition of your heart is more important than your money.
• To show the community we love them & are willing to reach out to them & meet their needs with the love of Jesus Christ.
• To give a renewed sense of stewardship, not only financially, but in every area of our lives.

My prayer is this emphasis will revolutionize our hearts & instill within our souls the ability to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, & strength. And to love your neighbor as yourself."

Later I hope to share the process leading up to Sunday & how God orchestrated such a great opportunity in our church.

Grace Gives Back

Wow, what an incredible day we had yesterday in church. If you missed it, you truly missed a blessing. God challenged our entire church to go out & be a blessing to those outside our circle. A few months ago God laid on my heart an emphasis to empower our people to bless others. As a staff we decided to schedule a Sunday where, instead of receiving an offering as we do every week in our morning worship service, we would give what we normally receive away.

I went to our Finance Team & requested the money. We took the money(several thousand dollars) & divided it into increments from $5 to $500. I wrote a letter explaining the project & we inserted the money into envelopes w/ the letter. I preached a message from Matthew 25:14-30 on the Parable of the Talents. Then I explained, much to the shock of most, we wouldn't be taking the offering instead we would be giving it away. I told them it was the ONLY Sunday they were to take something out of the offering baskets rather than put something in.

I spent time explaining the purpose of why we were doing it & gave these rules:

• You must use this money to bless someone outside your circle (not your closest family, friends, or fellow church members)
• Tell us what you did with your money so we can use your story of generosity to bless others.

During the time of invitation the altar was flooded w/ individuals, couples, & families surrendering to God. God opened many eyes to the vast array of needs around us everyday that we miss or choose to ignore. This project will hopefully make us more aware of the hurting & needy around us & how easy it sometimes is to be a blessing in Jesus name. We're collecting the stories of how God is using this & we plan on sharing them over the next few months.

Throughout this week I hope to share more details of the process of making the decision to do this & the desired impact it can have on our community. We pray this is the beginning of a brand new chapter in the life of our church.

10 Month Pics

So we missed taking the 8 & 9 months pictures b/c we were moving, distracted, & just didn't get it done. Cade turned 10 months old on the 4th of July which is why he's sporting the "I Love the USA" gear. He's now over 11 months old so I'll get those pics posted soon hopefully. Poor lighting, sorry.
The mischievous grin while attempting to escape from the chair.

He cooperated well for these pics.

He's such a sweet, good boy.

Past the Provision

Eating lunch out the other day with my wife & son reminded me of something many of us selfishly do on a regular basis. In order to entertain our son while we eat we usually give him toys & snacks on the table in front of him. He kept reaching & stretching for the little tupperware bowl of snacks in the middle of the table. We had to sit him back in his high chair & show him the snack that had been placed right in front of him. Single snacks were being provided for him, yet he couldn't see it right in front of him b/c he was too busy looking for the bowl full of snacks.

Too often we want the whole bowl, or the bigger blessing (car, clothes, house, etc.), when God has given us what we need right in front of us. We miss the provision & blessings of God b/c we want what He doesn't allow us to have.

Open your eyes & see what God has provided right in front of you, be thankful for it, & accept it graciously rather than overlooking it by fixing your mind on something you don't really need.

A friend was leading in prayer to receive the offering not long ago & the opening line of his prayer pierced my heart: "Lord thank you for what you provide for us & for what you keep from us." Let that be your prayer today & everyday.

The Next Generation

When I came to Grace over 6 months ago I made it clear we were going to be a church committed to reaching the next generation for Jesus Christ. Our ministry to children, youth, & young adults is top priority. We love our older generation & much of what we do couldn't happen without them, but our primary purpose will be raising up a new generation of Christians. Though our vision is still being developed as we seek God, the excitement about what God is doing is growing.

2 weeks ago we baptized 6 teenagers in our AM Worship Service with one more scheduled to be baptized soon. We also have at least one child preparing for baptism as a result of VBS. After evaluating our current ministry system we're now beginning to make changes to further enhance our efforts in providing meaningful ministry to children & youth. It can't be summarized in a few words or maybe even an essay but let me share a few principles & concepts that are vital to our vision.

1. We won't water-down Biblical truth. People are starving for truth in today's society & there are lots of places people can go to receive "feel good" religion. We don't dumb down when preaching to students or teaching children. We wrestle with the hard questions & difficult issues facing this next generation. We do our best to make Biblical truth relevant & present it in a way it can be understood.

2. We make discipleship a priority. Too many people make decisions to follow Jesus & then are left to fend for themselves in figuring out how to take the next step in the Christian life. We are working to offer numerous discipleship opportunities for all ages so spiritual growth can take place. In fact, our entire Sunday evening emphasis is shifting to discipleship this upcoming Fall. The Great Commission calls us to disciple & multiply, therefore we intend on training this next generation to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ in hopes they can reach their generation & the ones to come for Jesus.

3. We focus less on rules & more on relationship. Obeying God's commands are important but we want to create an atmosphere of love & acceptance among those in our church & community. A loving, accepting fellowship is important to helping others know church is where they belong. Spending time building relationships is crucial to effectively reaching & maintaining the younger generation. We have great volunteers committed to loving & accepting all who walk through our doors.

4. We believe in missions. Our heart is to serve in our community & beyond with the message of the Gospel. God has planted us right here in Bastrop so that's where we will begin. We plan to serve & love the community around us through various projects & eventually extend beyond local missions & help reach the world for Jesus. Our students are planning service projects on their own initiative & our prayer is this will become contagious among the adults!

5. We pray. God will not bless what He does not initiate. Our vision must be God's vision. We place a great emphasis on prayer throughout all the ministries of our church. We pray for His initiative, His wisdom, & His strength to endure. The New Testament church was committed to prayer & if we want to be a truly Biblical church, we must be a church that places a high priority on prayer.

May God give us His wisdom & power to reach future generations for Jesus Christ.

Our 4th Anniversary

Last week we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. This was the 1st one as parents (though last year Erin was 7 months pregnant). I planned an overnight trip to Jackson, MS since neither of us had been there & it was only a couple of hours away. It was a surprise to Erin. I told her a couple of days before we were going somewhere alone overnight. I made arrangements for the baby & took care of all the plans. We had a blast & as much as we love our son it was refreshing to get away for a couple of days. We ate a LOT, went to a movie, & actually did as much or more shopping as we did eating.

The movie we saw was "The Proposal" & I must say it's a quality flick. We laughed out loud so many times throughout the movie & we were able to stay interested in the plot until the end & surprisingly it wasn't a cheesy, predictable chick flick. I look forward for the next opportunity to get away for a fun trip. I am truly blessed to have a wonderful Christian wife who is an incredible mother to our son & a source of strength for me in my ministry.

Lunch when we got there was good, it's a lot like McAllister's but with significantly more options on the menu. We really enjoyed it.

We had a nice dinner at this wonderful Italian place, the food was wonderful & made for a wonderful dining experience.

Erin's chicken dish.

My Chicken Parmesean (by the way the portions were huge though you might not can tell from the pictures)

I took her to one of her all-time favorite places for lunch the next day before heading home.