Coffeehouse Christianity

During the month of July, we shut down our K-5 programming here at Great Oaks.  We do this to give our volunteers some much-deserved rest and to encourage families to experience worship services together.

In an effort to make our services more kid-friendly, we are including some Nickelodeon-type elements.  This past Sunday, we had kids volunteer their Dads to come up on stage for a whip-cream pie-eating contest.  I was hosting this portion of the service, and, therefore, responsible for picking out which Dads would get the pleasure of joining us on stage.

During our first service, I noticed two young girls in the back of the auditorium enthusiastically waving their arms in an effort to volunteer their Dad.  I called out to him to join me on stage and then quickly chose two other Dads.  As the first gentleman & his daughters made their way onto the stage, I realized that I didn’t know who he was (1st clue).  No worries…we’re a growing church, and I don’t know everyone.

The Dads were soon wearing garbage bags to protect their clothes and burying their faces in a plate full of whip cream for 30 seconds or so.  After the service, I made it a point to track down the one guy I didn’t know and very quickly thanked him for being a good sport.  He smiled but didn’t say anything (2nd clue).

I found out Monday morning that it was his first time ever attending Great Oaks!  I wonder if he’ll be back this Sunday…

Welcome to Great Oaks where on your first visit we point you out in the service, have you stand on-stage in front of hundreds of people, and participate in potentially gross and embarrassing activities!!!

At Great Oaks, we are constantly asking people the question, “What’s your next step towards God?”

We want people to be constantly thinking about where they are in their relationship with God and where they are going.  The reality is that everyone has a next step…whether you’ve been walking with God for 80 seconds or 80 years.

In a conversation with our Lead Pastor this afternoon, we discussed what the next steps may look like for the church…not the people in the church but the church as an organization.  We feel like the last two years has been an intense time of laying the foundation for our internal processes.  Now that the foundation has been laid, it’s time to move forward with the next stage of our Vision.

It will be interesting to see where God is going to take us.  Wherever it is…and whenever it is…I know it will require a great deal of commitment, sacrifice, faith, and prayer from everyone in the church.  Together, we will help the church confidently take her next steps into the future.

We are beginning to put together our plans for the Fall Semester of small groups at Great Oaks.  I met with my Small Group Coaches recently to discuss any special foci for the semester as well as potential leaders for new groups.  We have begun making contacts with these individuals asking them to pray about the opportunity to lead a 12-week group.

We have some early commitments, several individuals who have committed to praying & considering the opportunity (we’re following up in 3 weeks), and a few immediate No’s.  Most people are simply caught off-guard that they already need to begin thinking about the Fall semester; it seems like the Summer Semester just started and already plans are underway for the Fall.

Believe it or not, we are only six weeks away from beginning our promotion for the Fall Semester!

We are experimenting this summer at Great Oaks.  Historically, 90% of our small groups cease meeting during the summer months.  They may occasionally get together for a cookout or game night, but the summer is definitely not an active time for our small groups.

The problem is that we continually have new people coming through the doors of the church.  Last summer I had new people inquire about small groups in June, and I had to tell them they would have to wait until September.  This left me frustrated…and motivated.

If small groups are truly our primary means of connecting people and helping them grow in their spiritual journey then we need to do something to connect people with the Word of God and with other people during the summer months.

Our solution?  Summer classes.  Four of them, specifically - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday evenings.  Meeting at the church where each class is not limited by the size of a living room.  Each class has a “master teacher” who presents the information and then guides the multiple tables through group discussions.

It’s all an experiment at this point, but after only two weeks of promotion, we have 39 people registered for the various classes.

Thirty-nine people who may not have done anything to pursue spiritual growth during the summer months.
Thirty-nine people who may not have connected -in a meaningful way - with other people in the church.
Thirty-nine people who may encounter God in a unique way this summer.
Thirty-nine people who may take their next step towards God this summer.

We’ve got three more weeks of promotion this month.  Pray that people will continue to register for our Summer Classes.  Pray for the teachers as they make final preparations.  Pray that Great Oaks continues to find new ways to help people take their next steps.

**Update: We now have 46 people registered for summer classes. (5-17-09)

Tags: Bible, small groups, summer

Have you ever started reading a book and know in the first few chapters that it will inspire you, challenge you, and require you to buy copies for your peers & the people you lead?  Sticky Church by Larry Osborne is that book for me.

I just picked it up today after having it recommended to me by some fellow Small Group Pastors.  I will probably read the whole book today…it’s that good.

To my Small Group Coaches…expect to see a copy in your mailbox soon!

Tags: books, small groups

As I read this morning - in the calm of the early morning before the kids woke up and the cartoons were turned on and the arguments over who gets to pet the cat began - I was reading Exodus in the Message paraphrase.

I was reading once again about God calling Moses to leave the wilderness and return to Egypt to lead out His people.  Moses is countering God with all of his human frailties and fears, and God is attempting to reassure Moses that all will happen according to His plan.

When Moses challenges God by saying that he cannot speak well, God replies, “And who do you think made the human mouth? And who makes some mute, some deaf, some sighted, some blind? Isn’t it I, God? So, get going. I’ll be right there with you—with your mouth! I’ll be right there to teach you what to say.” (Exodus 4:11-12)

How often in life do we not speak up for God because we feel like we don’t know what to say?  How often do we resist the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit to say words of encouragement or words of challenge to another individual?

We fear what the person will say or think in response to our words.  And yet…shouldn’t we be more concerned with what our Father thinks of us for not obeying Him and not depending on Him to be fully-present in the conversation-at-hand?

Just a few verses after Moses conversation with God, he and his brother, Aaron, are setting out for Egypt.  The Message tells us that as Moses walked along the path towards his destiny, he “had a firm grasp on the staff of God.” (Exodus 4:20)

The staff of God represented the presence and the power of God.  The staff of God represented the promises of God.  And Moses firm grasp represented his dependence on God.

Tags: Bible

Every Thursday night, we have a devoted group of people who spend about an hour in prayer for the church.  We pray for the Vision of the church, for the people, the events, the leaders, etc…whatever is going on in the life of the church and whatever the Holy Spirit lays on our hearts.

This past Thursday night the team met, and I had them pray specifically for our four pastors.  (Yes…it could be seen as selfish since I am one of the pastors, but the team knows my heart.)  Let me tell you from personal experience, that one of the most important things pastors need is a group of people who regularly pray for them.  To that end, I had the Prayer Team write out their prayers for the pastors on giant Post-It notes.  After the prayer time, we went to each pastor’s office and hung the prayers on their walls for them to discover when they came in Sunday morning.

It was extremely humbling to read the prayers that the team prayed/wrote for me and my family.  One of the individuals referenced Colossians 1:28-29 in her prayer.  It is a powerful, humbling, inspiring, challenging reminder of my calling in life…

“We proclaim [Christ], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.  To this end, I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.”

Tags: Bible, prayer

I was reading in Acts 3 last night in my on-going quest to read the entire Bible in 90 days.  (Only 13 more days!)  The chapter begins with the story of Peter & John healing the beggar sitting outside the Temple.  After he was healed, Scripture tells us that everyone “rushed out in amazement” to see the man.  I love what it says next…

“Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd…” (Acts 3:12 - NLT)

How often do we go through life without seeing the opportunities that God puts before us?  They could be opportunities to speak for Him, or they could be opportunities to act for Him.  Too often, we rush through life without seeing the world around us through His eyes.  We are so focused on our agenda that we forget that God has an agenda for our lives as well.

Pray that God would open your eyes today to the opportunities He sets before you.  Who knows what will happen?

Tags: Bible

I recall reading about an incident where Albert Einstein was invited to give a keynote message at a prestigious university.  The meal was planned.  The invitations were sent.  The house was packed with people eager to hear the great scientist speak.  When Einstein was introduced, he walked up to the podium and simply stated, “I find that I have nothing to say.”

It seems like I am going through a phase of limited writing.  The pages of my journal have been strangely blank, and I haven’t been in the habit of writing on the blog these past few months.  Strange considering I was wanting to begin writing a book in January…you’d think I would be in the writing mode.

But I don’t want to practice “forced writing” - where you write because you have to or because people are expecting you to write.  I want to practice “unforced writing” - where I write because I am compelled to write…because I have a message on my heart that needs to be written in the pages of my journal for my eyes only or written on the blog for all to read.

I suppose - in the words of Einstein - I find that I have nothing to say.

Tags: writing

I have some friends who are missionaries in a country that deeply opposes Christianity.  In a recent communication from them, they wrote these words which struck a chord in my heart…

“I deeply trust that [God] is writing the story of our lives…”

You see…my friends understand something significant and life-altering about their relationship with God.  Each person is given a choice.  Either they can write the story of their lives, or they can submit themselves to God and allow Him to write the story of their lives.

I will warn you, though, that the two stories will be vastly different.  One story will be safe & predictable.  The other story will be filled with risk & adventure.

Who’s writing your life story?  The choice is yours…

Tags: trusting God