Self-Promotion

I’ve been missing in action when it comes to blogging…I’ve been silent since mid May. Not because I haven’t had time or anything to say…but because maybe I’ve said to much.

I’ve been re-examining “blogging”…at least how it pertains to churches. I’ve found that, when it comes to pastors, 9 out of 10 times it’s all about self promotion (9 out of 10 might be to high…maybe 90%). A lot of people in ministry who blog comes off as self promoting…myself included. So with that being said…I haven’t said anything lately.

I’ve got lots of great things to say: praise for who God is, what He’s done, thanks for allowing us to partner with Him, etc…just like all the other leaders who blog. I just felt in recent weeks that maybe it’s all been done the wrong way. Yes, we glorify God…but mostly we pat ourselves on the back. Maybe no other church leader sees this or feels this way…but for me it’s been pretty obvious in my own writings.

I apologize to anyone who reads my blog and has seen self-promotion. That will no longer be my intent (realized or not). With that being said…

I hope to see you Sunday.

Momma, Men & Meal…

Man, the last few weeks have just flown by and have been so busy.  Busy is always better than the alternative!  Lots of great things have been happening and are on the schedule. Last week for Mother’s Day my wife, Emily, spoke and she did a great job!  She taught on the reason we need to know God’s word…and tied together with the theme “momma said” (recalling all the things your mom told you that you can easily recall because of the amount of time you spent with her).  She was a little nervous and excited to speak…and when it was all said and done she hit a home run.

This Thursday through Saturday we’re taking a great bunch of men to the “Alpha Summit” conference at Gateway Church (www.thealphasummit.com).  I’m thrilled with the turn out and the fact that we’ve got men who are willing to invest in themselves (taking time off work, being away from their families, and paying for the conference).  I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in their lives!

I’m also looking forward to this Sunday, as we wrap up our current teaching series “Doors”, and have our 2nd annual chili cook off.  The chili cook off is gonna be a ton of fun.  Bring your best pot of chili OR a side dish, something to sit in, and some games.  Make plans to be in attendance for some great food, fun and fellowship!  It’ll be from noon-2:30…location ??? (you need to come to our Sunday morning worship experience to find out where we’re having the event…I wouldn’t want you skipping church and showing up at the event).  Get to Lifepoint this Sunday, bring a family and experience what God has in store for you!

Hope to see you Sunday.

Survey…

Every time we have guests at Lifepoint we send them an email which includes a short survey. There’s a portion of the survey that is blank for “additional comments.” This response came in this past week…

“At the church my family has been attending the Pastor has been preaching for a LONG time and sometimes I feel he is preaching over my head, but Pastor Rick made it so I could really connect and understand the message.”

I’m always thrilled and encouraged when we have guests who really enjoy their time with us at Lifepoint. I’m also extremely disappointed when I hear about pastors who preach to long (which eventually loses the attention of those in attendance) and teach in a way that isn’t easy to understand. When you lose peoples attention and you teach in a way that can’t be understood…guess what? You WASTE THEIR TIME!

Everything we do is done in a manner that can be easily understood, applied to everyday living, and lead to a transformed life. We feel that each and every Sunday is a gift that we’re giving to our regular attenders, members and guests…we don’t want to give them a gift that they wished they hadn’t received. There’s a lot of gifts you can give that come with a gift receipt…a Sunday morning service and a person’s time isn’t one of them. If you’re in leadership at a church…don’t waste people’s time! This Sunday at Lifepoint…won’t be a waste of time…do yourself and your family a favor…get to Lifepoint!

Hope to see you Sunday.

***Oh, and a side note: I’m not into swapping “sheep”…but if you’re a pastor and you aren’t taking care of your “sheep”…we will at Lifepoint.

Alpha Men’s Conference

The upcoming Alpha Men’s Conference is gonna be great!  I want to challenge each and every man at Lifepoint to make this conference a priority.  The conference is $95 and will require you to take time away from your family and work…but it will be worth it.  Before you make a decision, think about where you are spiritually and if you’re ok with where you are.  I know that I personally want to grow and experience all that God has for me every chance I get!

Take a minute and check out all the information on our website about this conference (click here: Alpha Conference)!

Strange & Refreshing

This past Sunday we had an amazing day at Lifepoint Church. We are in a current series called “Doors”…and we talked about the “door of debt” this past weekend. We targeted stupid spending, saving, enjoying what we have and everyone’s favorite church topic…tithing. The entire day was a HUGE success… We had a ton of visitors! Why do a bunch of visitors ALWAYS show up when money is the topic? Thinking I should talk about money every weekend…LOL!

There where many things that happened this Sunday that I personally needed to happen…God knows why. Some things happened that were just strange & refreshing. One thing I thought was odd, yet at the same time made sense was the number of first time salvations this past weekend…on a Sunday where giving was the topic. At the end of the “closing the door on debt” talk this past Sunday…we had twice as many salvations as we did the two previous weeks combined. Maybe it was because those needing Christ just happened to show up this weekend…maybe there was more to it. All I know is that you never know what’s going to happen when God shows up!

I can’t wait to gather again…each week is more exciting than the last, each week builds on the momentum that God is pouring out on us, and each week we gather is a success story!

Hope to see you Sunday.

God Wants It More…

Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C., recently say “God wants you to get where He wants you to go more than you want to get where you want to go - God will help you!” Wow! I thought this was extremely profound. I also thought this was a quote worth repeating for everyone at Lifepoint to see and for my fellow church planters and friends to read.

I fully believe that if God has placed in your heart: multiple campuses, huge missions efforts, a regional church, special programs, etc… OR on a personal level: children, to be debt free, education, etc… If He placed it in your heart, He wants it more than you do. I want to add something to this thought. I believe God wants it more than you want it…if and ONLY if you’re following God’s calling and direction on your life. I know of people in ministry & the marketplace who have their own agendas…which are good agendas…but aren’t necessarily what God has called them to do.

Make sure you’re following God ideas and dreams…not your ideas and dreams. There is and always will be a HUGE difference between God ideas and good ideas.

Hope to see you Sunday.

“…I Was Running…”

In the immortal words of everyone’s favorite Gump, Forrest, “…I was running…”

There’s no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream. The dreams God places in your heart are there for a reason. When you get tired…stop running and start jogging. If you can’t keep the pace while jogging…walk. But never stop moving forward towards the dreams that God has placed in your heart.

Hope to see you Sunday.

A Table, 3 Chairs & An “I-Chair”…

This past Sunday we started a brand new teaching series called “Doors.”  During our opening lesson together I explained what a healthy church looks like and what we at Lifepoint Church are striving towards and rapidly approaching.  I explained that the church is the “table.”  The table is where everyone comes to be fed.  I showed the 3 chairs at the table…each chair representing 1/3 of the total church attendance.  1/3 of the church should be mature Christians, 1/3 should be new believers, and 1/3 should be far from God (still checking out the whole church thing).  I believe with all of my heart this is a model of a truly healthy church…and Lifepoint is well on it’s way to representing this model.

In addition to the table and 3 chairs…we talked about the “I-chair”.  This isn’t a new Apple product…it’s the most challenging chair at the table…the high-chair.  A person in the high chair, much like an infant at your dinner table, makes a mess, causes problems, doesn’t contribute to the family, and thinks it’s all about them.  At Lifepoint Church, we’ve had our share of people pulling their personal high-chairs up to the table…and we’ve done our very best to rid ourselves of these people.  WHAT?!?!  A church ridding itself of people?!?!?  Yes!

At Lifepoint Church we refuse to allow “I-chair” or high-chair people to disrupt the unity and momentum that we have as a body of believers. We will do everything within our power and through the leading of God to protect HIS church.  We’ve asked some to leave and others have left on their own after realizing they weren’t going to have an impact.  Through it all God has always protected Lifepoint, it’s leadership and mission that we are on.  We are healthy, we’re going to stay healthy, and we’re going to help others get healthy!

I love what God has called us to do, how He’s taking care of us, and the direction that He’s leading us.  Big things, big things, big things are coming! Get on board, grab a seat and get ready for an amazing ride.

Hope to see you Sunday.

Is The Room Spinning…

After this past weekend I feel like the room is spinning. Such a whirlwind of excitement, planning, running, praying, and anticipation.  We had an epic day at Lifepoint Church this past weekend, Easter 2010.  The atmosphere was electric and the momentum we had going into Sunday was multiplied by days end.  If I had a nickel for every tear, goose-bump, and laugh that was experienced on Sunday…I’d be a rich man!  The entire service from beginning to end was absolutely insane!

One of the elements of the service that was so powerful, transparent, and unforgettable was our “cardboard testimonies.”  We had around 15 adults share extremely candid aspects of their lives.  Here are a few examples from this weekend: 1. Broken by loss / Changed by Christ.  2. Lost our first child / Comforted by Christ.  3. Financially stressed / God provided.  4. Broken by abuse / Healed by Christ’s love.  5. Fatherless for 40 years / Found my Father in Christ.  Wow!  To see the impact on so many lives…it was incredible.

One of our visiting guest posted this on her Facebook wall after service “Lifepoint Church was amazing it made me cry! Thanks Kristie for inviting us We will for sure be going every Sunday. Everyone who lives around here should go to Sunday Service 10am @ Savannah Elementary! The Pastor’s funny & inspiring & the music is awesome!”  I love hearing and reading such things!  Moreover, I love the fact the God shows up week in and week out and moves in an amazing way. We had so many wins this past weekend…the only fail was on my part.  We should have done multiple services.  I dropped the ball on that one.  I really wanted to launch our 2nd service this past weekend…it just didn’t happen.  We’ll move to two services after the summer…unless our space issues force us to do so sooner.

I do know this…our next teaching series and the elements planned for it…it’s gonna exceed Easter!  Our new set design team is thrilled with the vision I’ve set before them, our band is on fire, and I’m teaching like a madman (not crazy mad, but on fire)!  I can’t wait until this coming Sunday, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next…you get the idea.  In the immortal words of Cal Naughton Jr & Ricky Bobby - “shake and bake!  …What does that do? Does that blow your mind?  That just happened!”

Hope to see you Sunday.

Lifepoint = Huge Impact Around The US & World.

The other day I blogged about reflecting on who we are as a church, we’re we’ve come from, and how amazing God has moved. I thought today I’d share some more information… Again, during times of reflection this week…I’ve been thinking about the impact that Lifepoint has had. Not only has He called us to do great things for His glory, but the vision He’s given us has changed the world…literally.

Sure we’ve had a great impact here in our little corner of north Texas, and I believe the future of Lifepoint Church (locally) is just insane, but we’ve also had a huge impact with our missions endeavors. We’ve helped to build many water wells in Malawi, Africa (which ministries to the physical needs of people there…then we minister to their spiritual needs). We’ve got missionaries on the ground in China. And we’ve partnered with Convoy of Hope time and time again to help during times of crisis around the world.

One of my favorite things, seeing how we’re a church plant and that will ALWAYS be a part of our DNA, is that we’ve be able to be part of a great church planting movement and have financially helped to support nearly 100 new church plants start (latest number through Jan. 2010). Through our church planting network (Lifepoint Church + the 99 others) we’ve seen: over 1,000 people baptized, nearly 5,000 confessions of faith, and nearly $700,000 given to missions. To know that we’re part of something so much bigger than us is humbling and inspiring. We’re truly doing some ridiculous Kingdom work!

I’m thrilled and full of excitement for whats to come! Come along…it’s gonna be a wild journey.

Hope to see you Sunday.

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