Sailors, Saints, & Sinners

Our Unmet/Met Easter Goal

For the first time we set a numerical goal for our Easter services. We fell short of that goal by 46 people. We considered counting all the pregnant ladies as two (and in some cases three!) but decided against it  However, while we did not meet the numerical goal, we met our greater goals –

• We wanted to intentionally invite and bring lots of guests (especially, unchurched/disconnected) to church this weekend to hear about Jesus. We blew that goal out of the water! So many first time guests were at RBCC, and we met so many people who had not been active in church for a long time.
• Additionally, we prayed hard for God to show up and be present in our services. And as always, God proved faithful. At least fifteen people indicated a decision to begin a new life in Christ and many more prayer requests indicated that the God’s Spirit was actively stirring people’s hearts.
• Finally, our volunteers rocked! So many served at multiple services and all of you who served represented Jesus! Thank you! We could not have done TEN SERVICES in THREE COUNTIES over FOUR DAYS without you!!

So glory to God … but let’s not stop! Let’s encourage our guests to …
-a) Return this weekend for part 2 of IDENTITY THEFT
-b) Connect to a small group or ministry team
-c) Keep taking steps in Jesus’ direction … walking with Him is worth it!!

Praying for people to CONNECT to CHRIST and His CHURCH for His GLORY!!

Easter 5K

Less than 2 weeks until Easter and this is the first time we’ve ever set an attendance goal except for our initial launch goal of 200 people back in September 2002!

The goal: 5000 people across NW Georgia hearing about Jesus and connecting to life in Him.
Why? God’s renown (Isaiah 26:8)
How? God’s people praying persistently and inviting & bringing people to church

1. We have multiple services and multiple campuses for people to attend: 10 services in 3 counties!!
2. Let your guest/friend choose which service and attend that service with them.
3. Help free up seats by attending Rock Bridge PM (Dalton) or a Saturday night service (Dalton/Calhoun).
4. We will be starting a new series on Easter weekend called, Identity Theft.

Short of planting a new church, one of the best things we can do to help grow God’s church is to free up seats at optimal service times. This means we especially need seats available on the Sunday morning “popular” service times such as 9:30 and 11:00. Additionally, we’ll need young families to help free up space in Children’s Ministry by attending a non-traditional service time if at all possible.

However, if you bring a guest attend whichever service they want to attend — guests are the priority!! And let’s remember that the goal is for guests to do more than just attend — we want to help them connect to Christ and His church! So pray for people to encounter God’s presence and be drawn to Him!

Calhoun Service Times [Gordon Hills Shopping Center/old Piggly Wiggly (near Ford dealership, off Hwy 41)]
Saturday at 5:30 pm; Sunday at 8, 9:30, & 11:00

Chatsworth Service Times [Bagley Middle School]
Sunday at 10:30 am (we’ll be ready to use the bleacher seating if needed … let’s need it!)

Dalton Service Times [Downtown Dalton]
Rock Bridge PM/Thursday at 6:30 pm (Stage 123)
Saturday at 5:30 pm (Wink Theatre only)
Sunday at 8:00 am (Stage 123 only)
Sunday at 9:30 & 11:00 am (Wink & Stage 123)

Message Recap: Delayed-Part 2

This weekend’s question when we face a “delay”: What am I supposed to do in the meantime?”

Psalm 25:1-9

• We must decide who is going to be “God” over our delay.
  • The first issue we must resolve is who we are going to trust (Psalm 25:1-2)
  • God gives us 2 incentives to trust Him (Psalm 25:3-4)
    • A promise to claim that those who wait on Him will not be disgraced
    • A warning to heed that short cutting God will prove costly
  • Before we quit believing on God, we often quit waiting on God.
• Once we decide to trust God over our delay, we can seek to know Him better. Knowing Him is transforming.
  • God begins to work on our character, transforming us to Christ.
  • If all God wanted was a “happy ending”, we’d all be in heaven now.
  • The process of waiting is the point of waiting.
    • What do we become while we wait.
• Character transformation leads to course/path determination.
  • God speaks to us through our character that can recognize Him, His ways, and His will.
  • We can walk down a path with clarity, confidence, and courage.
• 4 Paths that we see through trusting God and letting Him transform our character in a delay:
  • When in the meantime, you need to grow. (2 Chronicles 34:1-4)
    • Josiah chose to grow into his position as King.
    • Growth means maturing, developing convictions, making pre-decisions, forming a theology, and going to deep with God.
  • When in the meantime, you need to stay. (Genesis 16:1-4)
    • Abram & Sarai should have “stayed” and not taken matters into their own hands.
    • Staying means enduring with patience, not quitting, not running, and not falling for the “grass is greener” syndrome.
  • When in the meantime, you need to go. (Joshua 10:7-10)
    • Joshua marched all night to receive the God-promised victory.
    • Go means we fight, we take responsibility, we march in God’s direction, we do all we can while trusting God to do what He can.
  • When you’ve messed up in the meantime, do the right thing right now. (John 19:38-40)
    • Nicodemus had been wrong all his life.
    • But after Jesus’ death, Nicodemus got it right while the disciples ran in fear. He did the right thing.
    • His act of courage gave us irrefutable evidence of the death and resurrection.

Ultimately, what we do as we wait in trust on God is we give evidence like Nicodemus that the God we follow is alive!

Take A Trip!!

Can YOU go on a mission trip?
SHOULD you go on a mission trip?

When most of us ask those two questions, we come up with at least one good reason why we can not or should not go on a mission trip. Trip costs, scheduling considerations, self-doubt, fears, the sheer inconvenience, and worry all come to mind rather quickly. And when we focus on these things, odds are we aren’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

But what do you do with the “itch” you have to go overseas, experience another culture, represent Christ, and demonstrate His love? What do you do with the God-give desire or “call” to go? What do you do with God’s commands to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth?

Should we not at least be open to the possibility that the God of the Universe can overcome all the reasons we come up with for why we can not or should not go?
Should we not at least consider this prayerfully, biblically, and with godly counsel?
Should we not at least be intrigued by what could happen if we step up and out in faith?

So Rock Bridge, we’ve got some amazing trip possibilities for 2012 (Bolivia and Ukraine trip have several open spots). Yes, they cost money. Yes, you might have to give up some vacation time at work. AND yes, they are worth it!
I think a lot of us know we should go, but are focused on why we can’t go. So what do we do with this tension?

#1: Everyone has a command to “go” (see Matthew 28:19-20). How we obey that command will differ for all of us but we can’t ignore it and must decide how we obey it.
#2: Be open and pray. Don’t disqualify yourself or let money, fear, worry, or inconveniences become louder than God’s Word.
#3: Ask for help. If you want to go, but find yourself getting stuck then ask for help. Talk to your small group, a staff member, your boss, and others. There is NOTHING God commands that He does not make possible for us to obey.
#4: Make a commitment. God honors godly commitments. Commit to being a Great Commission Christian. This does not mean you take a trip but it does mean you consider any and all opportunities to spread news about Jesus whether it is through invitations to church, investing in an unchurched friend, or taking a trip.

The Rundown (3.13.2012)

Big stuff on the horizon as we head into Easter season –

• Disciple Now: March 23-25
  • 6th-12th graders
  • More information including registration information here
• Easter 5K: 5000 in worship over Easter weekend. How?!?
  • Multiple services: Thursday night, Saturday night, & Sunday morning
  • Multiple locations: Chatsworth, Calhoun, & Dalton
  • INVITE! INVITE! INVITE!
  • PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!
• NEW SERIES: Delayed – what is happening when God makes us wait? Why does God allow things to go from bad to worse? How is God working when it feels (and looks) as if He is completely absent and inattentive?
  • Starts this weekend at ALL our campuses!

An on a lighter note, the Harlem Globetrotters are in town this coming Monday night at the NW GA Trade Center … and yours truly is the “guest referee” (I wonder what will happen to me?)!

Weekend Recap

This weekend we talked vision and strategy at all our campuses. Because of the importance of this topic, here’s a recap:

• We need to have the same definition of “church” as the Bible.
  • From Ephesians 1:20-3:10, we arrived at this definition: God’s display of transforming “dead me” into a “living we” for a “watching they”
• This definition forces us to think of church as a mission, not a meeting. The church is God’s demonstration community.
• When church is nothing more than a meeting of individuals, it is easy to excuse lack of participation and tolerance of sin.
• When church is a community on a mission with God, everyone is significant as a display of God’s grace to make known the “immeasurable/incalculable” riches of Christ.
• Four things the “watching they” needs to see from us:
• They do not need to see us disqualify ourselves.
  • Because of fear and insecurity some sit on the sidelines which betrays the power of God’s grace and resurrection in our lives.
  • Some fail to pursue holiness, and live in sin while claiming to be Christians. This mocks God’s grace and says God is less than satisfying and His grace is less than sufficient.
    • To clear: Christians are not perfect but are called to pursue holiness and fight sinfulness
    • For those living in blatant and obvious sin, there are 3 choices:
      • 1-Stop it.
      • 2-Seek help. Fighting sin is often a community affair through confession & accountability.
      • 3-Stop claiming to be a Christian and consider you may be “dead” as described in Eph. 2:1
• They need to see life.
  • The church proclaims life and displays life change through its members.
  • As a result, church should be exciting and full of passion.
  • We should expect to see people saved and baptized.
  • Worship should be an expression of passion and affection.
    • We should never appear to be “bored” with God’s grace when the Bible says we will enjoy it for eternity.
• They need to see a strategy.
  • Without a strategy to church drifts into “me” mode (selfish, independent) or “me & we” mode (country club, clique-ish)
  • Our strategy:
    • We pray.
    • We proclaim Jesus when we gather (in large & small groups) and when we scatter (to our locations and vocations).
      • We invite. We talk about Jesus relationally and casually but intentionally displaying His grace to us.
    • We repeat.
    • We multiply.
      • Disciples. Small groups. Services. Campuses. Churches = Kingdom impact
  • Rock Bridge Easter goal: 5000 in worship!
    • Bring an unchurched friend with you.
    • Have a strategy to be involved in making Easter invitational and evangelical, not just traditional and cultural.
    • We need some people not to come on Sunday during optimal times (9:30/11:00) so we have room for guests.
• They need to see sacrifice.
  • My greatest fear as a pastor is we lose our sacrificial mindset.
  • We must resist the urge to be comfortable and complacent.
  • Sacrifice is always a tension between what feels safe vs. what God asks … Go with God!
    • Take the mission trip. Make the ask. Serve with passion!

Bible Translation: Switching to HCSB

A few weeks ago I posted that we were prayerfully considering switching from using the NIV (1984) translation of the Bible. Our staff and Elders weighed in on using the English Standard Version (ESV) or the Holman Christian Standard Version (HCSB). We were basically split in our opinions and preferences; however, the decision was made to adopt the HCSB as the primary translation we will use for preaching and to offer this translation in our resource areas.

Why the switch from the NIV (1984)? With the release of the 2011 New International Version (NIV), the NIV-1984 will no longer be published. We felt a new and different translation was needed for 2 reasons:
#1–Since 1984 there have been improvements in scholarship and understanding of the ancient texts as well as changes in the English language. Therefore, an updated translation seems wise and timely.
#2–As a church, we are committed to the authority and inerrancy of the Scriptures.  We desire a translation to be accurate, understandable, and suitable for public reading.  We question some of the NIV-2011 accuracy related choices which then affects arriving at a correct understanding of the inspired writing of the biblical authors.

Why the HCSB?

1-The HCSB is primarily about accuracy and readability as their website states:
The HCSB, as a Bible translation project began for many reasons. One of the main reasons was accuracy. The HCSB translation team sought out from the beginning to render an accurate reading of the Bible from the Greek, Armaic, and Hebrew texts. Another reason was readability. Modern English continues to change with time, so the HCSB translation team set out to advance the Bible in up-to-date language that any reader can understand clearly.

2-The Name of God is given special significance in the HCSB to help us better understand how personal God is in His revelation of Himself to us as sinful creatures.

3-The HCSB is precise in its translation. From the HCSB website:
The word count of the original Hebrew and Greek texts in the standard critical editions is 545,202. The HCSB comes closer to this word count than other major translation … the HCSB is able to convey the original texts in a more precise fashion.

4-The HCSB is suitable for public reading and reads in a clear manner that audiences can follow. As a preacher, this was the single greatest advantage of the HCSB over the ESV and some other translations.

5-The HCSB has some unique features that aid in understanding the original and intended meaning of the Holy Spirit-inspired authors. For example, the “Bullet Notes” feature offers great explanations of frequently used biblical terms.

On a final note, no translation is perfect in its attempts to accurately communicate the original meaning of the inspired writers. Using a variety of translations aids in understanding and provides greater insights into the Scriptures. I still read the NIV, NLT, ESV, the Message, the Amplified, and the KJV/NKJV. We love the Bible and the God of the Bible. However, we believe it is wise to have a standard translation used in our services that is accurate, readable, and understandable; for us and for now that is the HCSB.

Multi-Site: What We Are Learning

The Problems We Pray For

2012 has started fast and furious (the way we like it!).  We’ve seen LOTS of guests coming and (just as important) coming back! Each weekend we are having multiple decisions for people to follow Christ and people are signing up to be baptized, to become members, to serve, to get in a small group, and in general, get connected to the Body of Christ at Rock Bridge.

When we experience rapid increases in attendance like the past 2 weeks, it can create problems … good problems — there are people everywhere! We pray for problems like this! We want MORE people in church because that means MORE potential for God to be worshipped, Christ to be followed, and people to be loved. However, we need your help to make sure we stay prepared for what God has planned. So here’s what I’m asking:

1) Pray. Pray that God’s presence is known through our services into people’s hearts.

2) Put guests first. In Chatsworth, one extended family could not sit together because there were not enough empty seats!! We’ve had to add extra seats to Stage 123 the past two Sundays!!
Rock Bridge, you are bringing people to church with you … AWESOME!!

• So be alert, be helpful to others, and be willing to …
  • Sit closer to the front to make it easier on guests who may arrive later because they are unfamiliar with parking, children check-in, campus layout, etc
  • Sit somewhere differently than your preferred seat
  • Attend another service time or venue that might be less crowded

3) Follow-up with guests. I received an email this week from a church member who mentioned 4 new families to Rock Bridge and wanted to make sure we were following-up with them! That is dedication to connection, and connection is our mission!!

If someone comes to church because you invite them then please encourage them, thank them, and as they are ready point them to next steps of salvation, small groups, serving, membership, First Wednesday, etc. etc.
Let’s all of us help connect people from all walks of life to life in Christ!!

4) Keep inviting. If someone you invited has not responded yet, don’t give up … keep inviting and keep praying. Ask God to give you boldness and opportunities to point people to Christ and bring people to church. God loves to answer that prayer!!

For the renown of Jesus Christ in NW GA!!

Confessing Praylessness

Today during our staff prayer time (what we are starting to call “Staff Chapel”), we read Jesus’ rebuke of His disciples for doing ministry without prayer (see Mark 9:14-29) –

“This kind can come out by nothing but prayer … “ [Mark 9:29, HCSB]

Then we all confessed why we fail to pray as Jesus taught: busyness, fear of disappointment, selfishness, dullness, lack of love, impure motives, uncertainty about God … it was convicting and powerful at the same time.
We even recounted God’s favor and blessings on our church and asked ourselves, “What if we prayed as Jesus taught?” WOW! The fact that God ordains prayer as a primary means of accomplishing His will is mind boggling and mysterious, yet exciting and joyous. The fact that we could be missing aspects of God because we fail to pray … it all drives us back to prayer.

So we resolved/repented together to “stop” praylessness and to pray like little children.

My sons ask relentlessly and boldly. They ask with expectation. They ask persistently. And even when we say “no” or “not now”, they accept my explanations, and then ask for something else. Their asking is a sign of their trusting; their asking is a sign of their relying; their asking is honoring to Beth & I as their parents.
No wonder God wants the faith of a child … and perhaps, the “prayerfulness” of a child too.

Ask. Listen. Seek. Hope. Expect. Ask again … and again.

“So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”
[Luke 11:13, NLT]