I have spent the better part of this week reflecting on what happened at Skyline Church this past weekend. Just a few weeks earlier, I challenged the people of our church to make it happen in a BIG way for our Easter service and I cannot express how humbled I was to see that our people stepped up to the challenge.
The energy was high from the moment we opened the trailer door. The volunteers who arrived early, were primed and ready. When the crowd began to arrive, the ministries of the church served flawlessly. As newcomers pulled into the drive, they were greeted with happy hearts. As the children entered the ARC area, they were loved. As the band played the first note, Jesus was honored. As I say "Thank You", every person who experienced that moment says "Thank You". The people of Skyline, allowing God to move through them, made Jesus famous that day.
We saw our largest day ever in the history of our church. There were more people in total attendance, more people in the auditorium, and more children in our children's ministry than ever before. By the time the service was over 320 people were there to experience God's love (238 in the auditorium alone), 82 people in ARC (65 children), and most importantly 11 people gave their lives to Christ.
What a better way to kick off the next chapter in the Skyline Church story! Two weeks ago, I let the cat out of the bag...We are taking HUGE strides in acquiring land that will become Mission Central for the ministry of Skyline Church. This weekend we begin "The Mission Central Project" and it will be a journey that none of us will ever forget.
That is exactly what "The Mission Central Project" is...it is a journey of epic proportions as we not only continue to dream God-Sized dreams, but begin to see some of those dreams become reality. During this 4-week series, we are laying the ground work for our future. During this 4-week series we, as a church family, will be challenged like never before.
We will be hearing more about the vision of our church and the plans that will make that vision a reality. I do want to challenge you to keep one thing in the center of your minds and hearts as we begin this journey...OUR VISION IS NOT ABOUT LAND AND BUILDINGS. THE MISSION CENTRAL PROJECT IS NOT ABOUT LAND AND BUILDINGS. The journey we are taking together is all about LIFE CHANGE. The Mission Central Project is about a tool that will help us to make that happen in bigger ways than we ever thought possible.
This 4-week period is not an end...it is a beginning. It is a beginning of even greater things. Greater things are still to be done in this city and throughout the world as Skyline pursues the mission of life change.
As you read this, you are to be challenged to prepare yourself and your family. TOGETHER, we can make this happen. TOGETHER, with God's guidance and provision, we can make this happen. TOGETHER!
Be prepared for the challenge that awaits you as we begin "The Mission Central Project". Pray like you have never prayed before. Pray for our church as we all seek the sacrifices God is calling us to make. Pray for your leaders as we provide guidance through the process. Pray for our city that God opens doors for us to make a difference. Pray for our world as we are called to go forth and share the Good News.
This journey is about faith in God, who is our source of power and provision. This journey is about a vision that is bigger than our selves, carrying on a legacy to generations. This journey is about sacrifice of time, talents, and treasures. TOGETHER we are taking this journey! I can't wait to take this journey with each of you! Are you ready?
Thoughts on life, ministry, and non-sense on occasion.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Fixing My Fear
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to share a message that is near to my heart. It was all about the locked doors in our lives. After Jesus' death on the cross, the disciples were full of fear and confusion and uncertainty. What did they do? They did what every one of us have done at times...they locked themselves behind a closed door.
No doubt we have physically locked a few doors in our life to escape the pains of the world, but we have locked them metaphorically as well. I have done that more times than I can count. I hold a lot of fear in my life that I really shouldn't. Specifically, I struggle with the fear of inadequacy and I have tried my best to mask that fear often.
During the message I shared that I sometimes wish to retreat into my office (if you want to call my basement surrounded by concrete an office) and just lock the door. I do that sometimes just to escape, but I do it primarily so that I can seek God in order that He might "fix" me.
Earlier this week, I got an email from one of our Skyliners that shared an interesting thought...one that I truly took to heart.
WOW!!! No truer words have ever been spoken. While I do still see value in seeking God in a very private way, entering into a closet if you will, this thought stirred my heart. It made me think of two scary words...Accountability and Transparency.
I encourage everyone to seek accountability. Seek people with whom you can be COMPLETELY open and honest with. Seek people with whom you can share your struggles with, your failures with, and your fears with. I personally have three people in my life that fit the bill. My wife first and foremost, but I also have two trusted MALE friends who know everything about my life and keep me accountable putting my feet to the fire if necessary. They counsel with me, pray with me and for me, and are there when I am tempted to lock the door of my heart. Every single believer needs this kind of accountability in their life.
I also encourage transparency. Granted, there are some things you can't be specifically and detailingly (a word taken from Lance's unabridged dictionary) transparent about with every single person. However, I strongly believe that people should understand that we are no different than other people in that we all struggle with or have struggled with things like fear, doubt, guilt, and hurt. If you are a Christian, you are not Superman. You are a human being that deals with your humanity everyday.
Allow God to "fix" your brokenness. There is some privacy needed in pieces of that process, but if those around you can't witness what God is doing in your heart...what good is it for them. As they see God restore hope and purpose in you, they too can understand He can provide the same for them.
No doubt we have physically locked a few doors in our life to escape the pains of the world, but we have locked them metaphorically as well. I have done that more times than I can count. I hold a lot of fear in my life that I really shouldn't. Specifically, I struggle with the fear of inadequacy and I have tried my best to mask that fear often.
During the message I shared that I sometimes wish to retreat into my office (if you want to call my basement surrounded by concrete an office) and just lock the door. I do that sometimes just to escape, but I do it primarily so that I can seek God in order that He might "fix" me.
Earlier this week, I got an email from one of our Skyliners that shared an interesting thought...one that I truly took to heart.
"When you mentioned desiring to retreat to your office, it made me think that if even though I believe that the Lord is more than able and willing to fix anything that I bring Him, I too would rather He fix me in private. However, were the Lord to fix me where I was hiding, all the things that drove me into hiding would keep me from coming out of hiding and telling about it. I believe the Lord would rather fix me in the open so others can witness His loving redemption."
WOW!!! No truer words have ever been spoken. While I do still see value in seeking God in a very private way, entering into a closet if you will, this thought stirred my heart. It made me think of two scary words...Accountability and Transparency.
I encourage everyone to seek accountability. Seek people with whom you can be COMPLETELY open and honest with. Seek people with whom you can share your struggles with, your failures with, and your fears with. I personally have three people in my life that fit the bill. My wife first and foremost, but I also have two trusted MALE friends who know everything about my life and keep me accountable putting my feet to the fire if necessary. They counsel with me, pray with me and for me, and are there when I am tempted to lock the door of my heart. Every single believer needs this kind of accountability in their life.
I also encourage transparency. Granted, there are some things you can't be specifically and detailingly (a word taken from Lance's unabridged dictionary) transparent about with every single person. However, I strongly believe that people should understand that we are no different than other people in that we all struggle with or have struggled with things like fear, doubt, guilt, and hurt. If you are a Christian, you are not Superman. You are a human being that deals with your humanity everyday.
Allow God to "fix" your brokenness. There is some privacy needed in pieces of that process, but if those around you can't witness what God is doing in your heart...what good is it for them. As they see God restore hope and purpose in you, they too can understand He can provide the same for them.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Easter Challenge For Skyline Church
I don't know if you guys realize how incredible this year has been at Skyline and the first quarter isn't even finished. 2011 was amazing in and of itself, but 2012 is already shaping up to be the most epic year in the history of our church. We continue to see new faces. We continue to see people coming to Christ. There is excitement in the hearts of our church family and I am pumped to see the way all of you are stepping up to make a difference in ministry.
For the first time in our history, we are averaging over 200 in weekly attendance. In fact, there have only been 2 Sundays this year in which we have not had over 200 people at Skyline to worship the King of Kings. We have also seen the single largest "non-big-day" Sunday ever when we had 241 people attend on January 29th. Considering that we averaged 136 in January/February of 2011, that is some amazing growth.
I have said it before and I will say it again....THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!!! With that said, it takes every single one of us working together with God to see this momentum of life change continue.
Here's your Easter Challenge. Never has Skyline seen over 300 people on a single weekend. Our challenge is to make that happen this Easter. It's a challenge because we won't be doing it with mass marketing or billboards. We won't be doing it with TV commercials or radio. We will be doing it as a church family who are passionate about inviting our friends and neighbors who don't have a church home.
I would like to ask every person who calls Skyline Church home to invite like you've never invited before. In fact, I challenge you to invite a minimum of 10 people either in person or over the phone to come to our Easter Celebration service on April 8th. That doesn't mean you can't invite them to come before them (which I encourage you to do), but definitely get them there on Easter Sunday.
The question is "How?" I will suggest three ways (listed in order of priority).
1.) Face to Face: Grab some invitation cards from church and hand it to those you want to invite. Share with them all that God has done in your life and is doing in our church. Invite them to experience what you have experienced through Skyline Church.
2.) Over The Phone: Pull your cell out of your pocket and open up the contacts. There is a mission field right in your phone. Bring up there name, push the button and invite those people to Skyline Church. Again, share what God is doing and invite them to experience all that He is doing.
3.) Facebook Invitation: We have a special Facebook Event that you can use to invite the people on your friends list. Simply open the event and then click "invite". Then you can specifically select those you would like to come with you to church. Notice I did not include the Facebook Event when I challenged you to invite at least 10 people. I want to challenge you to invite even more on Facebook. Some of you could extend an invitation to 50 more people or even 100 more people using this tool.
The point is that Easter Weekend holds the potential for more life change than any other Sunday during a given year. People are more open to coming to church on Easter than any other Sunday. It is a weekend where we celebrate our reason for living the life we live and worship the true and living God. Don't you want the people in your life to experience the love of Christ? This is your time to really make a difference.
Two things I don't want them to miss out on. 1.) The saving message of the cross that can change their life for eternity. 2.) The exciting things that are just on the horizon at Skyline Church.
God is preparing to do some unbelievable things through us. We are seeing our God-sized dreams becoming reality, even more so in the coming weeks. Be excited about what He is doing! Be passionate about what He is doing! Share what He is doing! Let's do our part and watch how God moves!
For the first time in our history, we are averaging over 200 in weekly attendance. In fact, there have only been 2 Sundays this year in which we have not had over 200 people at Skyline to worship the King of Kings. We have also seen the single largest "non-big-day" Sunday ever when we had 241 people attend on January 29th. Considering that we averaged 136 in January/February of 2011, that is some amazing growth.
I have said it before and I will say it again....THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!!! With that said, it takes every single one of us working together with God to see this momentum of life change continue.
Here's your Easter Challenge. Never has Skyline seen over 300 people on a single weekend. Our challenge is to make that happen this Easter. It's a challenge because we won't be doing it with mass marketing or billboards. We won't be doing it with TV commercials or radio. We will be doing it as a church family who are passionate about inviting our friends and neighbors who don't have a church home.
I would like to ask every person who calls Skyline Church home to invite like you've never invited before. In fact, I challenge you to invite a minimum of 10 people either in person or over the phone to come to our Easter Celebration service on April 8th. That doesn't mean you can't invite them to come before them (which I encourage you to do), but definitely get them there on Easter Sunday.
The question is "How?" I will suggest three ways (listed in order of priority).
1.) Face to Face: Grab some invitation cards from church and hand it to those you want to invite. Share with them all that God has done in your life and is doing in our church. Invite them to experience what you have experienced through Skyline Church.
2.) Over The Phone: Pull your cell out of your pocket and open up the contacts. There is a mission field right in your phone. Bring up there name, push the button and invite those people to Skyline Church. Again, share what God is doing and invite them to experience all that He is doing.
3.) Facebook Invitation: We have a special Facebook Event that you can use to invite the people on your friends list. Simply open the event and then click "invite". Then you can specifically select those you would like to come with you to church. Notice I did not include the Facebook Event when I challenged you to invite at least 10 people. I want to challenge you to invite even more on Facebook. Some of you could extend an invitation to 50 more people or even 100 more people using this tool.
The point is that Easter Weekend holds the potential for more life change than any other Sunday during a given year. People are more open to coming to church on Easter than any other Sunday. It is a weekend where we celebrate our reason for living the life we live and worship the true and living God. Don't you want the people in your life to experience the love of Christ? This is your time to really make a difference.
Two things I don't want them to miss out on. 1.) The saving message of the cross that can change their life for eternity. 2.) The exciting things that are just on the horizon at Skyline Church.
God is preparing to do some unbelievable things through us. We are seeing our God-sized dreams becoming reality, even more so in the coming weeks. Be excited about what He is doing! Be passionate about what He is doing! Share what He is doing! Let's do our part and watch how God moves!
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