Sailors, Saints, & Sinners

Why We Cancelled Fall Festival 2010

Recently our leadership made a very tough decision to cancel our Fall Festival for 2010.  This has been a very popular event both within our church and in our communities and has blessed many people so this decision was not an easy one.  However, I am convinced that for this particular year it is the right decision (we may decide to do it again in 2011).

2010 is an unprecedented year for our church.  We have opened a third campus and started a Thursday night service at our Dalton campus.  We have added hundreds and hundreds of new people into our church.  We have increased our missions giving (locally & globally) by a substantial amount.  However, our resources are limited.  Our budget income has not increased from 2009 levels, our Next Step Campaign is 30% behind projections, and our local economy is still struggling.  Additionally, our staff is working harder than ever to lead, shepherd, and connect people to Christ at a time when we numerically need to add new staff.  Several key ministries are in need of more volunteers.

Given those realities the wise thing for us to do is to focus our limited resources (staff & money) for the greatest impact. We have always tried to be a simple and intentional church.  This means we deliberately choose to do only a few things and those few things must have an intentional or clearly defined purpose that aligns with our mission. The areas of greatest impact in this church are undoubtedly our regular large group and small group gatherings of adults, children, and teenagers.  Our call during this season is to focus relentlessly and almost exclusively on these environments and the people they are impacting for the glory of God.

A common question is doesn’t Fall Festival impact thousands of lives and bring new people into the church? The answer is yes and no.  Yes, on that one night thousands of people come out to the festival but we have never seen new growth in our church from Fall Festival.

Another question is what if someone donated the money for Fall Festival, could we have it then? If someone wanted to give the church money I would encourage them to give it where the church most needs it.  Our staff and elders believe that the best place for God’s money to be leveraged right now is funding our core ministries (worship, small groups, children, students, and missions), adding new staff in response to our rapid growth, and continuing to pay off the Next Step construction loan to reduce future debt load on the church.  We see this practice in the New Testament where people would give money to the church, and the church would distribute it where it was most needed (see Acts 4:34-35).

A similar question is since we have lots of people willing to volunteer at Fall Festival, can’t they carry the load? Fall Festival has typically had great volunteer support.  But again the question is one of priority.  Right now we need more volunteers in almost every area of our church, most especially small group facilitators/hosts and children’s ministry servants. Acts 6:1-7 shows an example of people being asked to serve where the church most needed it.  Fall Festival is simply not the area of greatest need right now in our church.

I continue to ask for your prayers because we need God’s wisdom to navigate these waters of uncertainty.  While we can never be 100% certain, we can be 100% clear.  Our clarity comes from our mission of connecting people to Christ, our values that include being intentional, and our strategy of large groups and small groups.

Prescription for Relationships & One Great Nation-1: Series Sources

Sources and resources used during the series, Prescription for Relationships:

• Chip Ingram and “Life on the Edge”
  • 5 Lies that Ruin Relationships
  • Hypocrisy
• Sticky Teams and The Unity Factor — books by Dr. Larry Osborne
• Andy Stanley’s series: “Staying in Love”
• Song of Solomon teachings and workbook by Tommy Nelson
• John Piper’s exegetical teaching of the Golden Rule (web site: www.desiringgod.com)
• ESV Study Bible
• Winning with People by John Maxwell

Resources and sources for Part 1 of One Great Nation:

• Ronald Reagan Presidential Library clip of June 6, 1984 D-Day Speech.
• Bob Russell’s sermon “Examining Our Heritage”
• The Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley

FAQ: Sermon Sources

QUESTION:  “Where do you get message ideas and content? How do you prepare a message?

ANSWER:  Creative material, ideas, concepts, and content for my messages and our services come from a variety of different sources.  Some of it is “home grown” so to speak, and is an insight, idea, or concept that either myself or our creative team has developed.  Some of what we use and what I preach comes from outside sources, including books, conferences, podcasts, commentaries, blogs, and messages from other pastor-teachers.

For example, during our JONAH series we used a graphic from LifeChurch.tv.  This church makes all of their resources available for free and asks for no credit, only that it be used for building God’s kingdom.

For FOOLPROOF-Part 3 I included several concepts in the explanation of I Samuel 24 that I derived from Andy Stanley’s teaching on that same passage.  Another similar example was during Part 5 of FOOLPROOF on responsibility, when I used an adapted version of an explanation I heard Andy Stanley give on that subject.  His church has an entire resource ministry called North Point Resources that makes many of their messages and songs available for purchase and use by other churches. They require permission only if more than 100 contiguous words are used. We at Rock Bridge are very grateful for churches like North Point and LifeChurch.tv.

When I begin to prepare a sermon, I am on a “truth quest” that ultimately starts with and comes from God’s Word.  After immersing myself in God’s Word, I frequently will read material and listen to other messages that pertain to the subject or the passage of Scripture I am using.  If I find something taught, explained, or worded in a way that I think would be helpful, I will adapt it into a message or series.  Many times what I read or hear helps me gain clarity about a subject so I can teach on it with greater understanding.  For any given message, I probably use between 4-8 different sources, plus what God reveals directly to me through prayer and my own study of the Scripture.  Our creative team goes through a similar process when preparing songs, videos, dramas, and graphics so that God’s truth is enhanced, amplified, and clarified.

I am going to begin including on my blog, listings of all the sources used in message preparation and in our different series, under the category, “Series Sources & Resources”.  Our worship staff already does this for the song sets on the Rock Bridge Worship Blog.  I am doing this for several reasons:

1. Some of you are curious.
2. Some of you would like to study more on your own.
3. I do not want to give the impression that everything I say or teach is “my” idea or take credit that is not mine to take.  My goal is to share God’s truth in a relevant, understandable, and clear way so God’s Spirit can work and God’s truth can set people free; my goal is not to be 100% original, but 100% clear with biblical truth.

Weekly Rundown (5.30.2010)

• Playing catch-up on the “Rundown” this week!!
• Baptism was amazing last weekend.  The stories and testimonies of life change and redemption were totally a “God thing” and very very powerful!
  • After hearing the stories and seeing the faces of the baptized (in love with Jesus!), I am more passionate than ever about the need to lift up Christ, be a healthy church, and pray like crazy for His purposes to be fulfilled!!
• Loved preaching ONE GREAT NATION-Part 1 on the need for godly courage!!
  • The full video of President Reagan’s 1984 D-Day anniversary speech can be viewed here.
• Next week we start a 3-week series called “Fanatic” — we’ll be talking about worship.  Preparing for this series has really challenged me, inspired me, and given me a greater understanding of God.  I pray it does the same for our church.
• All-staff meeting this week! Looking forward to vision-casting, celebrating, laughing, and praying with our full team.
• Great job to our worship teams for learning American Soldier for this weekend’s services … awesome!!
• We’re having some very healthy conversations right now about just being a healthy, unified, and well-led church!! I’ve noticed that these conversations have to take place regularly as the church grows and matures.
• Eyasu and Abreham went to the lake for the first time on Saturday!!  Eyasu loves the water and he even got to “tube” and ride the Sea Doo.
• Have a great Memorial Day and don’t forget the price of our freedom is not free!!

Monday is for Missions

We are excited to announce our Mission Trip dates and opportunities for our church!!  We’ve got 4 trips planned (so far) over the next 18 months.  You can sign-up by emailing missions@rockbridge.cc

• Living Water: Honduras
  • Well construction to provide clean drinking water
  • Relational opportunities to meet needs and share Christ
  • May 21-28 and November 6-13 (both in 2011)
  • Total cost: $2000
• Haiti Trip
  • Church construction
  • Food distribution at “tent city”
  • August 7 -14 and November 6-13 (both in 2010)
  • Total cost: $800

Each trip will involve about 5-12 people who sign-up, complete an application process, and go through some basic training.  Each individual will need to raise their support and our staff will assist you with this rewarding process (you will learn firsthand how God provides!!).

The following staff members are available to assist with questions, applications, raising support, etc.:

Alfred Turley, Operations Pastor (alfred@rockbridge.cc)

Carll Converse, Calhoun Campus Pastor (carll@rockbridge.cc)

Jeremy Owens, Worship Leader (jeremy@rockbridge.cc)

Weekly Rundown (5.16.2010)

• Mandy the “Mannequin”‘’s appearance in our services this weekend was real shocker.  I think “she” helped us illustrate the importance of transparency and authenticity in our relationships!
• Spring Baptism is NEXT weekend!!! Praying big … please join me in praying for a big, amazing celebration of new life in Christ!!
• Our search for the Children’s Minister position has now begun.  Click here for more details.
• The JOEL Team’s work continues to be very beneficial and fruitful for the long-range health of our church. I am a BIG believer in the power of this verse and this is an important principle for us to leverage as Rock Bridge moves into the future.
• Trying to get message series concepts laid out through the rest of the year … very exciting possibilities!
• Several membership classes/dinners/lunches in the next several weeks at all our campuses! I love this time of sharing about all things Rock Bridge!  Always great to meet new people and share God’s vision for Rock Bridge with them!!
• Some of Eyasu’s latests words and phrases:
  • It’s hot. It’s cold. (In the right context!)
  • Art. School.
  • Horse. Cow. Grass.
  • Bicycle.
  • Brother. Family.
  • What’s that?
• It’s late on Sunday … kids are asleep … Beth is on her way home from Senior Night 2010 at Church … God is good … I am blessed … have a great week!!

Job Opening: Rock Bridge Children’s Minister

Recently, our current Children’s Minister (Amanda Welch) at Rock Bridge Community Church announced her resignation effective on July 31st.  Her husband has received an amazing job opportunity so they will be leaving our area. Amanda’s service to children, our church, and God’s kingdom have been tremendous!

We are now ready to start looking for our next Children’s Minister.  This person would have direct responsibilities at our Dalton campus but leads and coordinates children’s ministry efforts (birth through 5th grade) at all our campuses (Dalton, Calhoun, and Chatsworth). Specifically, we are looking for someone who …

• Is passionate about Jesus Christ and children with a calling to serve in the local church.
• Can recruit, develop, and shepherd staff and volunteers in a growing church.
• Can build, develop, and work through teams of people to accomplish goals and pursue our Church’s vision and mission.
• Knows how to create intentional environments and experiences for children that help them fall in love with Jesus, the Bible, and the church.
• Can multi-task by leading people and managing various details so that Rock Bridge Children’s Ministry is aligned with the church’s vision, executed with excellence, and glorifies Christ.

If you or someone you know (or know of) is interested, email a cover letter and a resume with references to our Operations Pastor, Alfred Turley.

Weekly Rundown (5.9.2010)

• Several of our staff went to the Drive Conference in Atlanta this past week.  They came back pumped up!!  Love their inspiration.
• Great reports from our team that went to Haiti.  We’re very excited about the partnership developing in that country.  Check out the video here!
• Be in prayer for our Baptism Celebration that is on May 23rd!! Time to celebrate new life in Christ with public obedience to Christ who commanded and modeled baptism!!
• In the past 5 months we’ve added about 500 new people … WOW!!  This has brought lots of opportunities, excitement, and challenges as we seek to connect folks to Christ and lead our church at this new level … and to the next level that God has for us.
• After today’s message on “Word Power”, I’ve been trying to work on a few things myself:
  • I am better at assuming than communicating as a leader … when this happens and I get frustrated, I have no one to blame but myself!!
  • My tone of voice is not always full of “love and truth”.
• Can’t wait for Part 4 of Rx for Relationships … bring a guest!!
• This was Beth’s FIRST Mother’s Day … she is amazing

Obey God No Matter What

Obeying God no matter what is one of the principles that I would love to be the basis for my life and am seeking to model & teach to my boys.

As I seek to “obey God no matter what”, I’ve discovered that obedience is not limited to what we don’t do (the thou shalt not’s), nor is obeying God is not always black & white or as simple as the 10 Commandments and the Golden Rule.  There are perhaps four types of obedience we must be aware of to actually “obey God no matter what” –

OBVIOUS OBEDIENCE: this probably gets the bulk of our attention & most of us know if we are obeying or disobeying God in this category because it is obvious.  Either we feel good about ourselves (“I don’t drink or smoke or chew, or hang with guys who do!”) or we feel guilty because we don’t measure up.  Obvious obedience includes things like the Ten Commandments and treating people right.

OPPORTUNISTIC OBEDIENCE … this is when a door opens and we have an opportunity to live for God that we did not have before.  Things like inviting a friend to church, praying for someone in need, being generous (more than the tithe, the tithe is obvious) with extra money, and taking the initiative to do the right thing (see James 4:17).  This type of obedience requires being alert, being prepared, and being bold.

We must look for God to open doors (see Colossians 4:2-4), be ready to go through them (i.e. When God opens the door for a single to begin dating, is their character ready? When God opens the door for you to share Jesus with someone, do you have the knowledge to explain why your hope is in Christ?), and we must have courage because opportunistic obedience requires us to seize the moment for God.

LIGHT YOU HAVE OBEDIENCE– Often times we will never have all the facts, all the information, or the level of certainty we would like.  But God always gives us enough light to take the next step of obedience.  Sometimes God works like a flashlight does on a dark trail.  We have enough light to take two, maybe three steps but as we take those steps the light moves ahead of us and so we keep moving.  This means we don’t need to worry about all the things we don’t know, just respond to the light we have.  This keeps us moving and keeps us from regret.  The underlying principle here is that the amount of light we have at any given moment is not nearly as important as what we are doing with that light.  (Psalm 89:15)

ENDURING OBEDIENCE is being consistent in your walk.  We can’t be hot and then cold.  We can’t seize opportunities and walk in the light today and tomorrow be afraid to obey and drawn to darkness. We can’t love our neighbor (obvious obedience) on Monday and curse him on Tuesday (obvious disobedience).  Enduring obedience is obeying God in “all of the above” categories which ultimately leads us closer and closer to God, God’s best, and God’s blessings.

Monday is for Missions

In 2011 we will have the opportunity to go on short-term missions trips with Living Water International. We are excited about this partnership with an amazing Christian organization seeking to bring physical and spiritual water (see John 4:14) all over the world.

These trips will involve both physical work (building or repairing a water well in a community) and relational/spiritual connections with the people.  We will be getting more information out very soon about dates, costs, and how to sign-up.  Please begin praying now for this trips and our long-term partnership with Living Water.