I know I have become lazy with my blogging lately but it's the holidays. Isn't that such a convenient, easy excuse for anything this time of year? So I am just going to put out some random thoughts so I can say that I have blogged.
I am always giving my friend Angie Bledsoe a hard time about not blogging everyday because I enjoy reading all of my friends' blogs and I can count on her for a daily posting. It's kinda of hypocritical of me wouldn't you say?
My wife just started a new blog "Frills & Funk" and I rolled my eyes at her this morning when she said she was going to blog again. She looked at me and said, "You haven't blogged in years!", I said, "I know.", and just smiled.
Christmas eve and day were crazy with all of people we had at our house and the garbage was just picked up today. I tell you that because that was a ton of garbage to be laying around here for a few days. It was kinda stinky!
My wife just turned on her favorite show, "The Price Is Right", she says she likes Drew Carey more than Bob Barker now.
I got my car washed yesterday and I think I'll get Andrea's washed today.
I still don't know how to put photos on my MAC. I can't even pull them off of images from the Internet. If anyone can help me let me know. This means I can't put pictures on my blog because I'm ignorant.
I have a lot to get done before next week so I must be disciplined with my time!
My mom comes home tomorrow. The end of an empty house for Andrea and I.
Oh yeah, C3 Church at the theaters is just around the corner! :-)
How is this blog for some randomness?
Good Bye!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Out With The Old, In With The New
It's ok to look back at times just as long as you keep looking forward in the process. Tomorrow is our last service at 9000 Lake Underhill Rd. The Lake Underhill address is just that, an address. Did God do some amazing things over the years at this address? Yes He did but it is just a building. The "church" is the people, not the building. God says that He dwells in temples not made with hands. The first century "church" met in homes. What does the building at Lake Underhill contain after tomorrow for the people at C3 Church? Nothing but memories because the "church" which is the people, will call another address home for a while. Then we will make new memories at the Theaters at Waterford Lakes until God moves us from there.
People change addresses all of the time. How many homes have you lived in, in your lifetime? This move is like that. You have memories of things that you lived through in certain places that you have called home but the family keeps on going even when "home" is someplace new.
We have had triumphs and successes at 9000 Lake Underhill Rd. and we most certainly have seen our share of tough times but you know what? The family survives and moves on. God has been with us through it all and will continue to never leave or forsake us.
So, thank You God for what you have brought us through and thank You God for what lies ahead. C3 Church it's time to move on and into the future. God has some great things ahead for us as we start to meet in the theaters. With so many in our congregation focused on others and reaching out to new people that will come to visit as we meet in the theaters we can not help but see God move. I am so proud of the 86 people alone that volunteered to be a part of the Connections Team and of all the countless people that signed up to be on the Set up/Tear down Crew and serve C3 Kids. I don't think that we have ever in the history of our church seen such a majority percentage of people that have plugged in to serve OTHERS. God's Church is on the move.
So thanks 9000 Lake Underhill for the memories and watch out Regal Cinemas Waterford Lakes because here comes C3 Church. Church in the marketplace. Church for others. Church that is relevant. Kinda sounds a little barbaric wouldn't you say? C3, let's be barbaric as we reach east Orlando with the message of Christ. Let's show some Barbaric Grace! Connecting the Community with Christ, C3 Church!
People change addresses all of the time. How many homes have you lived in, in your lifetime? This move is like that. You have memories of things that you lived through in certain places that you have called home but the family keeps on going even when "home" is someplace new.
We have had triumphs and successes at 9000 Lake Underhill Rd. and we most certainly have seen our share of tough times but you know what? The family survives and moves on. God has been with us through it all and will continue to never leave or forsake us.
So, thank You God for what you have brought us through and thank You God for what lies ahead. C3 Church it's time to move on and into the future. God has some great things ahead for us as we start to meet in the theaters. With so many in our congregation focused on others and reaching out to new people that will come to visit as we meet in the theaters we can not help but see God move. I am so proud of the 86 people alone that volunteered to be a part of the Connections Team and of all the countless people that signed up to be on the Set up/Tear down Crew and serve C3 Kids. I don't think that we have ever in the history of our church seen such a majority percentage of people that have plugged in to serve OTHERS. God's Church is on the move.
So thanks 9000 Lake Underhill for the memories and watch out Regal Cinemas Waterford Lakes because here comes C3 Church. Church in the marketplace. Church for others. Church that is relevant. Kinda sounds a little barbaric wouldn't you say? C3, let's be barbaric as we reach east Orlando with the message of Christ. Let's show some Barbaric Grace! Connecting the Community with Christ, C3 Church!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Post Number 100!
I guess this might be considered some sort of small achievement, I don't know to be honest with you, but I did want this post to be special. I thought about what I could blog about and what might be appropriate all week. So here I am on an early Saturday morning in front of my computer screen blogging. Is this post going to be negative, positive, inspirational or introspective? I just really wanted God to speak to my heart and then to be able to share something earth shattering or riveting.
That statement leads me to this. I do believe that God speaks to our hearts all of the time. Sometimes we choose to listen to that still small voice and sometimes we don't. But if you are truly seeking Him, He will answer every time. Over the past few days I have observed some things that really have troubled me inside. The things that I have observed I have laughed at before and made fun of because to be quite honest with you, in my opinion these things I am talking about are quite pathetic and sad and do deserved to be laughed at and made fun of. The things that I am talking about are church signs or marquis that churches use as "tools" to get people to visit their congregation.
Like I said I normally just get a kick out of their crazy little messages and laugh it off and go on my way but this time, over the past several days they just have been troubling me. Not because messages like, "Misfits Welcome Inside" or "Denominationally Wounded? Come Inside For First Aid" (or any other myriad of signs I have seen before) make me mad but because of their arrogant, cavalier attitude toward the very people that the signs are trying to reach.
The one sign that just cut me to the core was "Misfits Welcome Inside". I thought to myself that if I were a person that knew nothing about God or His church and I saw that sign, that I would be crazy mad. If you truly think about what this church was saying it would even make saved people mad. This church basically labeled everyone that passes their sign as misfits. Where is the love, compassion, concern for others even beyond being saved or not. How can a church be so blatantly arrogant in their self proclamation that they are better than everyone else? Then I wondered if this church actually thought that they were reaching out to the un-saved and if they actually thought this would be compelling for the person that does not know God to walk into their church? Then I realized that I was sad for this church that their perception on what they were doing to reach the lost was so skewed by traditionalism that they were no longer reaching out but only reaching in to proclaim how screwed up everyone in the world was and they were not.
All of that to say this. God, over the past few years has really changed my heart and my perspective on reaching people who do not know the Lord. What I say, they way I act, my body language, the clothes I wear and most of all, my attitude are tools in reaching out to people that might not know God. I know traditionalists harp on being set apart and being holy as a representation of being a Christian. Let me say this, I believe in being holy if that means that I must love others with care and concern for their everyday situation in addition to their spiritual condition. Holiness is a condition of the heart not a condition of appearance. It does not matter if I wear jeans with holes or if I am in a trendy shirt, clothes do not make a person holy. A love for our Jesus and reliance upon his free gift of grace is what makes a person holy. If set apart means to love others so that they can see Jesus in my life not just on my life then I am all for that. The life I live is a testimony to the un-saved. I don't need to look different and talk in big "churchy" words and act all arrogant and mad at the world for people to know I am a Christian. If that is what I am then I am no different than the Pharisees of Jesus' day who were described as "White Washed Tombs". Jesus was all God and all man, a common (a carpenter not a priest) man, who wore common (regular robes not priestly garments) clothes, who told common (parables not the "book of the law") stories, who spoke about how God lived inside (the heart not the man-made temple) a person and Jesus was different. How was He different? He was motivated by LOVE for lost and hurting people. Love for people not a love for self. Do I live my life out of love for others or just myself? It all comes down to one word, LOVE. They will know us by our LOVE. "Misfits Welcome Inside" come on people! Where is the love? They will know us by our LOVE. They will know us by our LOVE. They will know us by our LOVE. They will know us by our LOVE!
Love truly wins!
Happy 100th! :-)
That statement leads me to this. I do believe that God speaks to our hearts all of the time. Sometimes we choose to listen to that still small voice and sometimes we don't. But if you are truly seeking Him, He will answer every time. Over the past few days I have observed some things that really have troubled me inside. The things that I have observed I have laughed at before and made fun of because to be quite honest with you, in my opinion these things I am talking about are quite pathetic and sad and do deserved to be laughed at and made fun of. The things that I am talking about are church signs or marquis that churches use as "tools" to get people to visit their congregation.
Like I said I normally just get a kick out of their crazy little messages and laugh it off and go on my way but this time, over the past several days they just have been troubling me. Not because messages like, "Misfits Welcome Inside" or "Denominationally Wounded? Come Inside For First Aid" (or any other myriad of signs I have seen before) make me mad but because of their arrogant, cavalier attitude toward the very people that the signs are trying to reach.
The one sign that just cut me to the core was "Misfits Welcome Inside". I thought to myself that if I were a person that knew nothing about God or His church and I saw that sign, that I would be crazy mad. If you truly think about what this church was saying it would even make saved people mad. This church basically labeled everyone that passes their sign as misfits. Where is the love, compassion, concern for others even beyond being saved or not. How can a church be so blatantly arrogant in their self proclamation that they are better than everyone else? Then I wondered if this church actually thought that they were reaching out to the un-saved and if they actually thought this would be compelling for the person that does not know God to walk into their church? Then I realized that I was sad for this church that their perception on what they were doing to reach the lost was so skewed by traditionalism that they were no longer reaching out but only reaching in to proclaim how screwed up everyone in the world was and they were not.
All of that to say this. God, over the past few years has really changed my heart and my perspective on reaching people who do not know the Lord. What I say, they way I act, my body language, the clothes I wear and most of all, my attitude are tools in reaching out to people that might not know God. I know traditionalists harp on being set apart and being holy as a representation of being a Christian. Let me say this, I believe in being holy if that means that I must love others with care and concern for their everyday situation in addition to their spiritual condition. Holiness is a condition of the heart not a condition of appearance. It does not matter if I wear jeans with holes or if I am in a trendy shirt, clothes do not make a person holy. A love for our Jesus and reliance upon his free gift of grace is what makes a person holy. If set apart means to love others so that they can see Jesus in my life not just on my life then I am all for that. The life I live is a testimony to the un-saved. I don't need to look different and talk in big "churchy" words and act all arrogant and mad at the world for people to know I am a Christian. If that is what I am then I am no different than the Pharisees of Jesus' day who were described as "White Washed Tombs". Jesus was all God and all man, a common (a carpenter not a priest) man, who wore common (regular robes not priestly garments) clothes, who told common (parables not the "book of the law") stories, who spoke about how God lived inside (the heart not the man-made temple) a person and Jesus was different. How was He different? He was motivated by LOVE for lost and hurting people. Love for people not a love for self. Do I live my life out of love for others or just myself? It all comes down to one word, LOVE. They will know us by our LOVE. "Misfits Welcome Inside" come on people! Where is the love? They will know us by our LOVE. They will know us by our LOVE. They will know us by our LOVE. They will know us by our LOVE!
Love truly wins!
Happy 100th! :-)
Monday, December 10, 2007
Let's Connect
Yesterday we had a ton of people sign up to volunteer in the three main areas where people are needed as we transition to the theaters. People signed up for Connections Team, C3 Kids and The Crew. Since my area is Connections Team, I was pumped that the most volunteers signed up for the area I am responsible for. Connecting with people as we worship in the theaters will be so important. Smiling faces in the parking lot, the doors, the information center, hosts and hostesses and ushers are going to be vital when new people come to experience C3 Church. It is great to serve in a church where we practice Barbaric Grace and are caring more about others than ourselves. When we care about others, people will come to know Jesus and life change will happen. The Holy Spirit is doing something special here at C3 Church. Let's continue to pray that this movement will continue and that a city can be changed. Let's Connect!
Friday, December 7, 2007
Criticism, Who Cares?
I have heard that we (C3 Church) are being criticized for how we have chosen to reach out to the community with our Christmas project. Let the criticism fly because we have given to others as Christ has led us and we are being blessed for it. My friend and brother, Barry Leathers has the perfect blog response to the criticism.
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