Okay, you have to watch this powerful video on how to manage money God’s way…
Sunday Rewind
November 1, 2009- Today was a good, “solid” Sunday.
- The A/C was out, and it looks like we weren’t the only ones sweating today…
- Seriously, I’ve been in church 35+ years and have never seen a building that regularly loses A/C & power like ours. We’ve spent a lot of money on it and it’s still a mystery. Oh well.
- We’re going to take even more steps this week to ensure we don’t have to meet again without A/C or power.
- Everything’s already lined up for the repair man to fix it tomorrow. Next week should be extra-comfy in our auditorium
- I had several folks tell me the heat wasn’t so bad. I only know I was dying on the stage.
- The band did a short set, but I think it went well. I’m getting tired of drumming though.
- Today was another “in-your-face” sermon, but we had to do it. Lordship is never an easy subject, but a lot of us needed to hear it (including me).
- I also had a couple people tell me that today’s sermon really cleared up some major decisions for them and helped them make the tough choice. I LOVE to hear things like that!
- Thanks for those who switched to the 9am service – it was up more than 31% over last week (25 people) !
- Next Level 1 was after the 10:30 service, and it went well. Miranda & I had a fun time introducing around 10 people to RPC and answering their questions. I think this is going to be a great thing.
- BTW, Next Level 1 is all about next steps and we had folks coming out of there asking about baptism, family groups, and serving. Win-win!!
- We’re already gearing up for our Christmas series, and man let me tell you we’ve got some wild stuff in store.
- The next several weeks are going to be FULL of HUGE announcements. You might not want to miss
- Be praying this week for our staff & leadership as we begin to make some huge decisions concerning RPC’s future. We’ll share them with you in a few weeks…
Halloween Harvest
October 28, 2009RPC’ers, don’t forget the Halloween Harvest Festival this Thursday night in downtown Auburndale. We’ll have three booths set up for kids [and some adults] to play games and win candy. We’ll be set up in the parking lot of Pontotoc Plaza, down beside St. Alban’s Church. We’ll get started setting up around 4:00, and the event is set to run from 5:30 to 8:30. There’ll also be an opportunity afterwards for those who can help us clean up.
We normally sponsor a Fall Festival on our church campus, but this year we decided to go in a different direction. We want to get out in our community and minister to them where they are. We feel that we’ll reach more people if we go to where they’re already gathered instead of waiting for them to come to us. So c’mon out and help us help the community of Auburndale have a great night.
If you haven’t signed up yet but still want to come join the fun, call the church office (863.293.9020) or email Pam (pam@ridgepointchurch.org) for directions or more info.
Oh, and if you’re coming, bring a bag of candy with you. See you there!
The Evils of Cycling
October 27, 2009The year: 1896.
The people: the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church.
The problem: bicycles.
Yeah, bicycles were the problem. Or so the Presbyterians thought. It seems that folks loved to ride their bikes on Sundays, and the religious leaders of the day didn’t think that was a Godly practice. In fact, they passed a resolution condemning it (click the link & scroll to p.25 to see it).
Seems kind of ridiculous, doesn’t it? So do some of the things we argue about in church. And, just like we’re laughing at the bicycles 100 years later, you can bet 100 years from now some of our disagreements will seem silly too.
So, what’s your bicycle? What’s that topic that sends you into a tailspin but in the grand scheme of things probably doesn’t matter?
HT: Swerve
Next Level 1 Update
October 26, 2009Looks like I spoke too soon last night. It turns out there ARE a few spots still available for Next Level 1 this Sunday after the 10:30 service. As I mentioned, lunch and childcare will be provided, and it’s a great way to discover what the next steps are in your spiritual journey.
Email Chris Neff [chris@ridgepointchurch.org] to sign up…
Sunday Rewind
October 25, 2009- Denise and the band opened “Vintage” today with a hot vintage gospel song. It was cool to hear something from another era, updated for us to enjoy. And man, can she sing. Wow.
- We had a very diverse set list today, including a song I’ve never heard, one that came out over 10 years ago and one that’s been sung since waaay before I was born. Oh, and 3 different folks leading worship was cool.
- We baptized again today, which never gets old. I know it’s really encouraging to watch these baptisms happen, but I get a front row seat. Sometimes I think every Christ-follower should be able to baptize at least one person. It’ll change you forever.
- I was especially glad to have Jordan back this week. With Shanna being sick and Jordan having to work, I’ve been it in the drumming department. That’s scary in more ways than I can explain.
- We gave a hard-core, no holds barred presentation of what it means to become a Christ-follower. I really enjoyed discussing the “ministry of reconciliation”. Cool stuff.
- We also gave an invitation today, and no one responded. Which is a weird thing to say, but I bring it up because I want everyone to understand why we’re ok with that. We believe it’s our job to invite people and God’s job to draw them. Some weeks we see a lot (a few weeks ago 9 responded); others we see nothing. But that’s God’s business. And whether anyone responds or not, he’s still working on hearts.
- After church we had a Group Leader Huddle with our Family Group Leaders. What an awesome group of men and women. Every time we get together we’re all encouraged to hear the stories of how God is moving in all the different “pockets” of RPC. Every leader had a unique story to tell, and when added up there’s only one word to describe it: Life Change. Okay, technically that’s two words but whatever.
- For those of you who signed up, don’t forget Next Level 1 class is next week after the 10:30 service. My wife and I will teach this class to help you connect to God and RPC by explaining what your next steps are. Lunch and childcare will be provided, and we’ll get started around 11:45 or so. If you aren’t already signed up for this one (it’s full) be sure to sign up for the next one on December 6th using your Connection Card.
- We added over 20 new chairs this week, and they’re already full. That’s a great problem to have, but there’s no room for any more chairs. Let me say this again: we need several of you from the 10:30 service to switch to the 9:00 service to make room for those who are still far from God. That will buy us some time, but ultimately we need a better plan than that. Say a prayer this week as we begin the process of securing a more permanent facility solution.
Our Mission, Defined part 3
October 23, 2009Today is the final post in the series discussing our mission and how we’ve implemented it.
[Check out previous posts here and here for background.]
We want to build a church that unchurched people love to attend.
Notice, the church we’re building is for the unchurched. To us, unchurched people can be classified as those who have never regularly attended church OR haven’t attended in a long time. In other words, if you’re coming to church for the first time, or coming back to church for the first time in a long time, our Sunday morning services are designed with you in mind. A couple of observations about this…
- We believe, if you’re a Christ-follower, this should be your vision, too. The Great Commission isn’t just for pastors or “missionaries”. It’s for anyone who names the name of Christ.
- If you’re a “church-goer” (or, if you attended another church before coming to RPC), you’re not our target on Sundays. You’ll come to realize that over time, and it may require some adjustment, but we want to be up front about it. We exist to reach those who haven’t heard the message of hope and forgiveness that Christ is offering them, and we hope you’ll help us by serving and giving to support the mission.
- If your passion is to see your unchurched friends and family experience Christ’s hope & forgiveness, we want to partner with you in reaching them. In fact, there’s probably already someone in your life that you’ve been praying for and inviting to church. We want you to know we’re ready for them – this Sunday and every Sunday.
- If you think the church’s vision & passion should be something different than this, we respect that. And you won’t have trouble finding a church that agrees with you. In fact, there are literally hundreds of churches within a 15-minute drive of RPC, and many of them are doing church differently than we are. If this “isn’t your thing” we understand. We’ll do our best to respect your beliefs without trying to change them; we only ask in return that you respect our mission without trying to change it.
I hope this doesn’t come across as angry or arrogant, because we’re neither of those. We’ve never said this is the right way to do church; this is simply how we’re called to do it. Maybe you’re ok with that, maybe not. But I’ve always believed that if you give people the information they need, they’re smart enough to make the right decision.
I have some good friends who would never attend RPC because it’s not for them, and some who used to attend but left for the same reason. I’m fine with that, and don’t take it personally. We’re still brothers and sisters in Christ. And, to paraphrase something I heard years ago, ultimately we believe that when we get to heaven we’ll discover that God was right and the rest of us were just guessing.
Our Mission, Defined part 2
October 22, 2009Yesterday we started a discussion of the statement we feel best captures the essence of our mission. Today is part 2 in a series where we’ll look at the statement, and our mission, in depth…
We want to build a church that unchurched people love to attend.
Since day 1 of RPC we’ve existed to do just that. And while we’ve said it in a lot of different ways, the core value behind that statement has remained consistent.
The first thing to notice about this statement is what we’re building: a church. We’re not building a club or a benevolent non-profit. We’re building a place where sinners (that’s all of us) can intersect with a loving, holy God. And we believe that when that happens, no one walks away unchanged.
To be sure, the church is both an organization (which requires structure and leadership) and an organism (which is living and requires the breath of God to sustain it). Because we’re building a CHURCH, several things must be true:
- There are some things we’ll never compromise. The church was God’s idea – not ours – so its parameters and core vision must come from him. And once we discover, through scripture, what those core values are we can never let go of them. Above all we must look to God and his word for the direction and light to move forward.
- Being unoffensive is not our primary concern. We’ll discuss this more later, but we can’t try to deliver an unoffensive message because scripture tells us we can’t. People are going to stumble over Jesus, and like the rich young ruler many will walk away disappointed at the high price of following him.
- We must be decisive. When Christ taught he repeatedly gave clear and concise invitations for people to follow him. The only way people are going to commit their hearts & lives to Christ is if they are challenged to do so. We believe in giving people the space to explore and discover who God is, but at some point you just have to jump in with both feet. That’s why it’s called faith.
In our current series, Vintage, we’re discussing in greater detail some of the things we’ll never let go of, no matter what. Because for us, they’ll never go out of style.
The local church is the hope of the world. It’s the only organization that Jesus promised to build AND make successful. And as long as we’re following his lead and listening to his voice, we get the opportunity to change someone’s eternity.
Our Mission, Defined part 1
October 21, 2009I’ve known for several years now what we’ve been trying to accomplish as an organization. Lately I’ve tried to figure out a fresh, new way to say it, and I realized there aren’t any. There are thousands of churches across America built for the unchurched (with more opening each week), and they’re all basically trying to accomplish the same thing, which is noble. So instead of trying to be original, I thought I’d focus more on being accurate:
We want to build a church that unchurched people love to attend.
We believe very strongly that responses are God’s business. We can’t change anyone’s life. But we CAN build environments where all man-made obstacles have been removed and they’re free to respond as God leads them. And we CAN present God’s message in such a way that they clearly understand exactly what he’s offering and exactly what he’s asking. Ultimately, we believe that when those environments are built God will use them to draw people to himself.
Yeah, somebody else said it that way. And lots of other churches are doing it. But here’s the kicker: we believe that we’ve been called to fulfill this mission in a way that’s unique to the SW Winter Haven / Auburndale area.
I’ve been mulling this over for months now, and this statement grows on me every time I use it (which is A LOT lately). It captures the essence of what we’re trying to do in a way that’s memorable and portable.
Over the next few days we’ll look at this statement from several angles, dissecting what this has looked like for us in the past and what it’ll look like in the future.
For us, it’s a new statement but an old idea. Since the inception of RPC we’ve been aiming for this same goal. Now we have a statement to match…
Epic
October 20, 2009There are so many things happening right now at RPC that even I am having a hard time keeping up. Our growth has increased dramatically, both numerically and financially. Our staff has already begun to add more value than I realized was possible, and they’re just now starting to “gel”. We’re finally starting to see movement on some facility issues that we’ve been dealing with for over 2 years.
And perhaps biggest of all: we’re seeing real, genuine steps of faith being taken by those who are far from God. In fact, it seems the more we challenge them the more they want to grow.
And here’s the kicker: I really believe the big stuff hasn’t happened yet, but we’re just getting prepared for it. I’ve had a phrase going through my mind for the last week or so, and I’m gonna go ahead and put it out there:
I think the next six months are going to be epic in the life of RPC.
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