A Giving Party

The month of October is our Stewardship Month.

Typically, this sounds like an endurance event or watching Curling during the Olympic Games.

What we are shooting for is making it do-able and enjoyable. A part of setting the culture is relax and create an atmosphere of enjoyment. This Sun AM Sept 30th we got rolling. The offering was introduced by the Black Eye Peas, 'Let's Get It Started' and clapping.

No doubt it took people by surprise. But AFBC has a great attitude and they began to smile and relax.

Our goal is to introduce people to stretching in their giving by giving extra (or start giving) in October. We have set a goal at $3,000.00 for Oct 28th. This is HUGE for us.

On Oct 28th we'll have a big Breakfast Giving Party. We'll be celebrating in advance for God working through His people to meet this Giving Goal.

For any AFBC remembers that read this remember....Baby Steps!

Mark Driscoll hits it out of the park!!

Comeback Churches #4

As I re-work through Comeback Churches by Ed Stetzer quote after quote leaps out worth reflecting upon.

Under the chapter 3 Faith Factors these quotes leaps off the page...

On the subject of evangelism:

"Most churches love their traditions more than they love the lost."

"Most Christians don't like people. We wish it were not so but it is."

On the subject of empowering the membership:

"I think we have to stand by people and give them the confidence to do things. We have to give them the power to do the work of the church, then we must stand back and cheer them on as they carry out their tasks."

On the issue of relevancy...

"Internationally known church consultant Lyle Schaller frequently asks the same question when beginning to consult with a church, 'What year is it?' Every church lives in some era. The issue is whether it aligns with the reality of the era where the Gospel needs proclaimed."

"We need to repent of any traditional idolatries."

The good thing concerning Stetzer is he is a successful church planter 3 times over. He knows what it's like to start a church, grow a church and pastor a church. So he is a practitioner not a theorist.

Acts 29 Day 2 and Wrap Up

The second day was by far the best of the two. Part of it may have something to do with not having broken the 24 hour mark without sleep. But the main thing was the sessions by Mark Driscoll out of Seattle (contrary to common rumor I do not have a man crush on him) and Ed Stetzer whose book Comeback Churches I have been blogging about.

Driscoll is extremely likable. He's smart, funny and loves UFC. He really challenged us to love our families and to especially listen to our wives.

He threatened to punch anyone in the throat that was mistreating their wife and/or kick them below the belt (he put it far more eloquently).

Stetzer dealt with making the God of Missions the Mission itself. Old preachers used to talk about wanting the gifts more than the Giver. Stetzer was addressing wanting the Mission more than the Sender.

Their Q & A at the end was worth the 9 hour drive alone. Rather than try to recall it here it should be online @ the Resurgence Website in the near future.

I'll add more as I reflect back on the 2 days in Raleigh.

Acts 29 Day 1

I made the 9 plus hour trip to Raleigh NC arriving @ 10:30 am.

The hotel was nice enough to get me into a room where I hit the shower and off to the Conference by 11:30 am.

The Vintage 21 church building is very cool. It is in the inner city and used to be a night club. It has a feel between a coffee shop and a modern art museum.

I've got to meet a few people. There is Dan and Jo-el for North Carolina. Dan looks like Trent. Jo-el Dan's Children's pastor looks like he belongs on Miami Ink. Both very nice guys. I also sat with their fellow North Carolinian, Ty. A nice middle class 30 something that is in a church plant a couple of towns over. Rounding out our table was John, John and Dustin. They showed up late so I didn't see where they were from.

I did meet a young man named Brian whose church just had their kick off in Middletown OH.

The sessions were on what to expect from the Acts 29 vision (which I had heard before on line),
as well as how to spiritually take care of yourself and the mission so you don't become a burn out stat. Chan Kilgore of Orlando knocked it out of the park.

Tomorrow we'll be hearing from Mark Driscoll and Ed Stetzer a couple of my fave on line preachers and authors as well as some break out sessions.

It's late and tomorrow comes early so...good night.

Comeback Churches #3

Don't mistake the lack of blogging over the last 3 days as a sudden lack of interest in the C.C. book.

It is great! It is a mixture of conviction and hope. Here are some of many fave quotes...

On change..."Most heart patients are told to make changes in their lifestyle or die. 90% choose death over change." If that is true in the ultimate sense is it any surprise that churches stay entrenched in old habits even if those habits are killing them?

On being relevant..."If you don't choose to minister to the time and place in which you live, what is your alternative?" We can't minister 2 years or 200 years ago. Seattle or San Diego may be hipper but that doesn't help anyone when the church exists in Northern Ky.

On motivation for change..."Change only happens when the pain of the present exceeds the pain of change."

Sometime the Truth isn't Pretty

This is post #2 on Ed Stetzer's book 'Comeback Churches'.

In chapter 1 the question is asked, 'How do churches get stuck?' In the various categories mentioned there are some descriptions that should step on the toes of our church.

*Stuck churches believe it's purpose is to retain as many people as possible.
*Stuck churches intend to do the right things but never actually execute them.
*Stuck churches get a 'we can't compete' attitude. So they in essence give up.
*Stuck church (members) view the church as their personal chaplaincy.
*Stuck churches want to play it safe. Their biggest goal is to protect what it has.

Should we not consider the overarching goal of the church is to be a missionary? Jesus was a missionary in his town, region and world.

A good explanation of what being missionary means can be seen in the Tim Keller clip on the blog.

Book Blogging

"85-90% of churches in America are plateaued or declining" so says Ed Stetzer. His book 'Comeback Churches' is a research project that studied 324 churches that escaped from being locked into that 85-90%

As the mood hits me I will be posting some quotes etc from the book.

"A missional church functions as a missionary in it's own community. It eats, breathes and lives within it's culture while sowing seeds of redemption and Good News."

"Being indigenous (native to the town/culture) is harder than it sounds because almost all declining churches already have a culture."

"It's ironic that most churches are filled with people that act like the world but look different from it. It should be the opposite. We should look similar to those within our community but act differently. "

These quotes are just 7 pages into the book. It looks like it will be a good read.

Watch it and weep...

The point behind this video in relation to our church can be found @ First Baptist's website.