Living Room Events

At Great Oaks, we've adopted the Foyer-Living Room-Kitchen strategy from Northpoint as a way of moving people from our weekend services to our small groups. As we've been talking lately, we realize that the Living Room component of our Vision is unfulfilled at this point.

Essentially, our Living Room events are "connection events" where people can begin to meet new people and form relationships. During each of these events, we will be encouraging people to get plugged into small groups as their next-step.

Our plan is to increase the frequency and variety of these events in the coming months and years. These events will each have a specific target audience (men, women, families, etc) and will be varied in style (workshops/seminars, family movie nights, coffeehouse events, sporting events, etc). Here's my question for you...

What kind of Living Room events would you love to see the church offer?

Remember that it has to be relationally-driven, have a specific target audience, and be something that has the potential to draw in a lot of people. (Sorry...but we won't be offering a Living Room event for men who love to re-enact the Civil War.)

Share your thoughts by clicking on "Comments" below...

Sex, Journaling & Questions

We are wrapping up our Sexual Revolution series this coming Sunday. Bill is going to be closing it out by talking about our next steps if we are the ones entrenched in sexual immorality or if we are the ones who have been the recipient of the sexual immorality (i.e. if we are the towel that has been blemished by the sins of others).

In two weeks we are starting our 21 Days with God teaching series with an emphasis on prayer, Bible study and journaling. We are giving out journals to every adult, teenager, and child in the church and asking them to read one chapter of John's Gospel each day for 21 days and to write down their observations, application, and prayers. The pastors are all going to be blogging their thoughts so you can get an inside look at their perspective as well. What's cool about this is that it ends the day before Easter, so the entire church will have just read all about Jesus' life & ministry leading into this awesome day of celebration!

On Easter we are launching a 6-week series called Questions. The first three weeks of the series, we are going to be answering some of the big questions people have about God..

• How good is good enough to get into heaven?
• Why is Jesus the only way?
• If God is so good, why does he allow evil & suffering?

...but the last three weeks of the series, we are going to be answering YOUR questions. Through the church website and on Sunday mornings, you'll be able to submit the big questions you've always wanted answered. We'll choose three of the more intriguing ones and do our best to answer them. Should be fun!

Pastorus Communitatus

Pastorus Communitatus - "Community of Pastors"

No...I don't know Latin, so I have no idea if that is accurate or not, but it works for me! At Great Oaks we have an amazing sense of community among the pastors. We are here to encourage each other, to challenge each other, to hold each other accountable, to learn from each other, to pray for each other, and to do life together.

Earlier today, one of the five pastors called a leadership huddle to talk through some things he's dealing with in his area of ministry. We spent almost an hour listening, talking, and praying with each other. In the end, we all walked away with a better understanding of his heart, his ministry, and a stronger pastorus communitatus.

Have I mentioned lately that I love this place?!?

Dirty Little Secret

This Sunday is going to be tough. It's going to be tough for me as the speaker, and it's going to be tough for you as the audience.

Pornography is a major addiction in our culture today - for men, women and teenagers. The reason it is allowed to have such a pervasive grip in our lives is because we keep it a secret from everyone around us. It's our dirty little secret. There is so much shame and guilt that comes with it that we don't think we could ever pull back the curtain and reveal our second-lives.

This Sunday at Great Oaks, we are pulling back the curtain. It needs to be addressed. It needs to be talked about. You need help in dealing with this issue. The stats are scary - 50% of Christian men and 20% of Christian women struggle with porn. Pastors aren't immune either - 37% of pastors say they struggle with porn. Marriages, families, and churches all suffer the consequences of pornography.

Don't be afraid to show up at church on Sunday. Don't come up with some lame excuse because you are afraid you will be "found out." You need to hear what we are talking about. You need to have the resources at your fingertips to recover from this secret sin. You need to step out of the darkness and into the light. You've been trying to "fix" yourself for far too long. You can't do it alone...you need help. And we want to help you.

Step up and be a man (or a woman or a teenager) and show up this Sunday. God is going to do some amazing things!

What I've Got So Far

On Tuesday afternoon, I wrote about having a job where I get to spend time daydreaming about the future of small groups at Great Oaks. (This is code for "developing the Vision for small groups.")

All day yesterday, I walked through Scripture (you always start here!) looking for instances of community, leadership/shepherding principles, etc. I'm nowhere near completing this walk-thru, but here are some things that jumped out to me as I went through some of the Old Testament...

• Genesis 28:3 - Isaac's blessing of Jacob - "May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples." The small groups at Great Oaks are to be a "community of peoples." This implies there is unity and shared vision & direction.
• Exodus 3:5 - Moses standing before the burning bush - The small groups at Great Oaks are to be places of "holy ground" where heaven meets earth...where God meets men & women where they are and propels them to His purposes for their lives.
• Exodus 18 - Jethro's advice for Moses to designate leaders of "thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens" - Some small group leaders at Great Oaks will be able to lead more people than others. It's only natural.
  
• Numbers 27:12-23 - Joshua to succeed Moses - Small group leaders need to identify apprentice leaders to prepare for the future.
• Deuteronomy 5:1 - Moses teaches the people the Law & commands of God - Small group leaders and small group members must know the Word of God! Throughout Scripture reformation/revival is always seen when people come back to the Word of God.
  
• This is also seen in Joshua 8:30-35 (Joshua reads the Law to the people) & 2 Chronicles 34:29-31 (Josiah's reforms) & Ezra 7:11 (description of Ezra as a "man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord.")
  
• Joshua 24:1-27 - Leaders remind people where they have been, paint a picture of their current reality, cast a compelling vision for the future, and lead by example.
• 1 Samuel 8:1-5 - Small group leaders must not sacrifice the leadership of their families while leading the church family.
• 1 Samuel 16:7 - When identifying small group leaders, I cannot rely on the outward appearance.
• 1 Kings 19:9-18 - Small group leaders must remember they are never alone in their leadership.
• 1 Chronicles 12:32 - Small group leaders should be people who "understand the times" (see also Esther 1:13)

All day today I spent time researching other churches and networking with Small Group Pastors from around the country. I've learned from and/or connected with churches in...

• Washington D.C.
• Williamsport, Pennsylvania
• Bloomington, Illinois
• South Barrington, Illinois
• Naperville, IL
• Cartersville, Georgia
• Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (this one might require a field trip to learn first-hand from them)
  
• Las Vegas, Nevada.

I've seen some things that might work for our context and some things that definitely won't work for our context. We've got to discover what God is calling our small groups to be... at Great Oaks. At the end of the day, no matter who we learn from and what we see, we've got to run it through the filter of who we are and what God is calling us to accomplish. We don't imitate... we adapt and personalize to fit our context.

This is an on-going process, so keep tuning in to see who/what is influencing the development of the Vision for small groups at Great Oaks!

Events Cancelled

In case you were planning on coming out to the church tonight for any of the following...

• Beth Moore Bible Study
• MS/HS Dodgeball Tournament
• Upstreet Worship Practice
• Youth Leaders' Meeting

...they are all canceled. Stay indoors and have a warm, relaxing night with your family!

Preferred Future

Does anyone else have a job where they get paid to daydream about the future?

I get to spend the next two days sitting in my kitchen and in local coffee shops dreaming about the future of small groups at Great Oaks. I've got my Bible to see how the early church did it, my computer and a stack of books to see how other churches do it, and my journal to record my thoughts about how we might do it. I've got the vision and strategy and demographics of Great Oaks, and I've got my imagination...

I love working with a blank canvas. It allows me to create rather than re-create. It allows me to experiment and to take risks. It allows me to succeed and grants me permission to fail.

I love my job!

Super Tuesday

Great Oaks is the polling place for three different precincts in the Peoria area. Beginning at 6:00am, we will have hundreds of people coming into our building to vote. For some of them, this will be their first time ever walking through the doors of a church. For others, it will be the first time since their childhood.

My hope and prayer is that the Holy Spirit will tug on their heart and draw them back this Sunday because of something they saw or heard while in our building. It could be the building itself or the drums & guitars on the stage or the Sexual Revolution postcards sitting out or the giant oak tree in the Children's wing or simply a conversation with someone who attends Great Oaks. Whatever it is, I pray that God speaks loudly and clearly to them today.

One Woman's Story

I connected with one of the two individuals who committed their lives to Christ yesterday. Here is her story...

Chris,

Absolutely you may share my story! I would love for people to know that there is something out there for them.

I am 25, divorced, and have two small wonderful children. My son is four and absolutely loves going to church, and my daughter Emily is two and a half. I grew up in the church, as did my mother, and her mother, etc. I went to a faith-based grade school for 13 years and just never really seemed like I could relate to it. When my children were born it was very important for me to get them involved in the church and bring them up with a good solid passion for their faith. After taking them to church several times, I just decided that it was not for us. We were constantly reminded of what God will hate us for instead of what God will praise us and love us for. I tried several other churches, and they were all similar. I just never seemed to "click" with them, not to mention the kids had absolutely NO interest in attending. It was beginning to seem more like a chore than something we looked forward to as a family.

So I was talking with a friend, and she was telling me about Great Oaks. I attended for the first time 2 weeks ago, and it was like something just clicked and everything that was said during the sermon related to me somehow. It was exactly how you had explained it... instead of thinking of what God will hate us for, we need to think about what God loves us for. My kids had a wonderful time and it brought tears to my eyes when I asked my son, "What's the point?" and he knew the answer!!!! This past Sunday I brought my mom, and she was extremely moved as well.

My ex-husband was not very supportive of us going to church or of my faith, and ever since my divorce I have strived to be involved, but like I said I just never felt like the churches I were going to were fitting for my needs. Again, like you said in the your sermon, I felt completely lost. In more ways than one. Sometimes you need more than just your family and friends to talk to and that is when I decided to start becoming more connected with God, and let me tell you, he definitely listens!

I can hardly wait for next Sunday to roll around. It's nice to be involved with a church that is so welcoming!

Turning to Jesus

In our staff meeting this morning, Lisa shared that we had two people commit their lives to Christ yesterday morning during our Sexual Revolution series! How cool is that? You talk about sex, and people turn to Jesus.

I can't wait to see what God does in people's lives through the rest of the series...

Weekend in Review :: 02-03-08

It was a great beginning to the Sexual Revolution series today! The worship rocked... Bill hit a home run with the message... and we had some unexpected elements for the people including a queen-sized bed on the stage, a Beatles song, and an awesome intro video.

There were a lot of positive conversations happening after the service; people were openly talking about the positive and negative impact of sex in their lives. I love it when the Holy Spirit works in people's lives!

WORSHIP
Nate was out sick this morning, so Dave Verdick stepped in at the last minute to lead worship. Dave leads once a month, but it is always with advance notice. He and the band did a great job with worship this morning. They rocked the house on I Am Free, Everybody Praise the Lord, and Revolution. Great worship, guys!

I Am Free - Jon Egan
Everybody Praise the Lord - Lincoln Brewster
Come Thou Fount
Revolution - The Beatles
Open the Eyes of My Heart - Paul Baloche

MESSAGE
Series: Sexual Revolution
Message: Stripped
Speaker: Bill White

Notable Quotes...

• "A revolution is a change that ushers in something better. Has our perspective on sex gotten better since the Sexual Revolution of the 60's?"
• "For too long, we've kicked the bed out of the church and the church out of the bed."
• "Sex is a God-given gift, but it is being used in God-forbidden ways. We have to take this God-given gift and make it God-driven."
• "God made us different from the animals. Animals view sex much differently than humans. We are not animals!" (This got some good snickers...)
  
• "God created us as sexual beings, and it was very good!"
• "When we look at other people as objects, we strip them of their humanity, and our humanity is ultimately stripped away at the same time."
• "Sex is all about oneness. When the husband and wife come together in bed, we reflect the intimacy of God."

Sexual Revolution - pics (not those kind!)

Here are the pictures I mentioned in my previous post. These were taken just after the Worship Team wrapped up rehearsal before our first service this morning...

[From the back of the room]

[Dave's going over the music one last time]

Sexual Revolution - begins today!

Our new teaching series called Sexual Revolution begins today! After Leadership Community was over yesterday, our lighting & tech guys set up a queen-sized bed on the stage and reset the lighting to fit the series. (I'll try to get a picture of the stage this morning...)

As we've been sharing with the church, God designed sex... our culture re-defined it... it's time we get back to God's original design. It's time for a Sexual Revolution!

Leadership Community Feedback

Here are some quotes from the feedback forms about this morning's Leadership Community...

What part of the gathering was most helpful to you?

• That we took time to discuss and learn together
• Meeting and worshiping with other leaders
  
• Large group - about all working together as one
• Enjoyed gathering group together and hearing stories of difference Little Oaks/Upstreet make in life of children
• Vision, Direction
• The direction/vision of the church. Very motivating morning!
• Visuals
• I enjoyed all of it. I really appreciated the time Bill & Chris spent talking about the vision.
• Hearing the leadership's vision. Spending time in the Word.
• The visual demonstrations were awesome!
• I was pleased overall, and look forward to the next time. Thank you!
• This is the first time I've been invited to a directional leadership meeting, and I'm 61. Thanks - very much appreciated.
• The time helped to get focused for starting a new group...challenged me personally.
• Understanding slow drift!
• Breakout sessions (several people listed this as the most helpful part)
  
• I think it was great. I love to hear stories; they help me to relate the point that is being taught to my own situation.
• I think the leadership training is great! I'm very much looking forward to the next session in May.

What would you improve/change for the next gathering?

• Chris has on a NY Giants t-shirt!
• Have Diet Mountain Dew
• Wear warmer socks (I'm pretty sure that wasn't directed towards me or any of the other presenters... how would they know if our feet were cold?!?)

First Leadership Community

We've got the first one under our belt! It was a great success with a lot of positive comments on the feedback forms. I'll share some of those later tonight. Right now, it's time for lunch and a little bit of rest...

A big thanks goes out to all of the pastors, staff members, and volunteers who went above and beyond to make this first gathering a home run!

Here We Go

It's 6:30am, and I am sitting in my office at the church. T-minus 60 minutes before Leadership Community begins. Right now, it is quiet and peaceful in the church.

The volunteers will start showing up soon to get breakfast ready, turn the lights on, crank the heat, and double-check that everything is in place.

The leaders will start showing up around 7:30am for breakfast. Music will be cranked. Videos will be played. Talks will be held. Fun will be had. Chaos may reign.

I'm ready...bring it on!

I Need a Nap

Tomorrow morning is our first Leadership Community gathering at Great Oaks. I am extremely jacked about the potential this gathering has for the church. There is so much momentum and energy lost when leaders are not on the same page and when they are not trained and encouraged. This quarterly gathering will play a major role in moving Great Oaks into the preferred future that God has painted for us.

It is a lot of work, though. My entire week has been focused on getting everything ready for tomorrow morning. I came into the office today (normally my day off) for about 9 hours of organizing, copying, assembling, writing, praying, etc. A number of other people - staff and volunteers - have also put in countless hours getting ready for tomorrow morning.

Right now, I'm at The Blend getting ready to go over my presentations one more time. I need a nap...do you think anyone would notice if I curled up in the fetal position on this bench?

Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, was in Peoria today. He spoke at Riverside Community Church which sponsors one-day events with a vision to "partner with area churches and pastors and grow in relationship together, as we all work to advance the cause of Christ in our communities."

I really enjoyed Mark's presentation on keeping Christ and the Cross at the center of our preaching and teaching. I felt like I was back in seminary, but I absolutely loved it. I'll post some thoughts from his presentation early next week. I've got to keep focused on Leadership Community for this weekend...

Tribe Management

I liked this post from Seth Godin about "tribal management." Here's some of what really jumped out to me in light of the church...

"[Tribal management] adds to...the fact that what people really want is the ability to connect to each other, not to companies. So the permission is used to build a tribe, to build people who want to hear from the company because it helps them connect, it helps them find each other, it gives them a story to tell and something to talk about... People form tribes with or without us. The challenge is to work for the tribe and make it something even better."

This is the essence of small groups at Great Oaks. People naturally want to connect with each other. We are simply providing a structure to make that happen as smoothly as possible. We partner with them by providing a common ground to stand upon. We give them talking points and service opportunities and personal & corporate challenges to take their next step towards God.

Through this structure, we hope to make their groups and lives even something better.

Leadership Community

This Saturday, we are launching a new quarterly gathering of our leaders and key-influencers called Leadership Community. It will be a time of worship, celebration, vision-casting, leadership teaching, team-building activities, and ministry-specific breakout sessions.

I am really looking forward to this quarterly gathering. It is going to keep our leaders aligned with our vision and informed about our future. We will be candid and transparent with them about what's working and what's not working.

This gathering has the potential to ensure that Great Oaks remains a movement rather than becoming an institution. An institution informs and educates people about a certain topic. A movement results in the mobilization of a people to impact their community and their world. Which would you rather be a part of?