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!

Weekend in Review :: 02-17-08

There is definitely something unique about Great Oaks! I've never been in a church where we spent an entire morning talking about the negative influence of pornography. I've never been in a church where the pastor was allowed (and encouraged) to be this transparent about who he was in the past and who he is today. I love this place...

WORSHIP
Let the Praises Ring - Lincoln Brewster
Everlasting God - Todd Fields
Offering - Unknown
Dirty Little Secrets - All American Rejects
I Am Free - Jon Egan

MESSAGE
Series: Sexual Revolution
Message: Leashed
Speaker: Chris Genders

Notable Quotes..

• "We are going to get real this morning. It is going to be uncomfortable for me as the speaker, and it's going to be uncomfortable for you as the audience."
• "When we chase sex outside of God's will, we find ourselves leashed to a life of sin."
• "Pornography is pervasive in our culture today. It affects individuals, marriages, families, and churches."
• "I came clean to Karen about ten years ago after three years of marriage. I had been living a second-life ever since I was a teenager. I looked good on the outside, but the inside was a mess."
• "God calls us to present his daughter back to him without stain, wrinkle or blemish." [Towel illustration]
  
• "Porn is oppressive. It takes away your energy, your passion, your time. You become moody, irritable, and defensive. You are always on edge because you are afraid you will be 'found out.' This is no way to live!"
• "Porn isolates you from other people. You try to fix yourself but it is impossible. You need to have someone in your life regularly asking you the tough questions."
• "You've got to recognize where you struggle and establish safeguards to prevent you from crossing the line when you are tempted."
• "It is not a sin to be tempted. It's how you respond to temptation that matters."
• "I know there are going to be some very uncomfortable conversations between spouses and between parents and their teenagers. And I don't care! These conversations need to take place."
• "Remember that we are people of grace, forgiveness, and second-chances. Be patient when your loved one comes clean. They will need your unconditional love and acceptance as they walk along the road of recovery."

Can't Wait for Sunday

I just put the finishing touches on my message for Sunday, and I cannot wait to deliver it!

I honestly believe that God is going to use this message to change a lot of people's lives (of course, I think that about every message otherwise I wouldn't do what I do).

But on this particular Sunday, people are going to be uncomfortable and encouraged and set free from the stronghold of pornography and other sexual temptations. They are going to hear personal stories and learn about resources to help them break free. They are going to hear that THEY ARE NOT ALONE in their struggle!

I am so thankful for a church like Great Oaks where we can tackle the tough subjects and be completely transparent with each other. I love a church where the pastors can be real from the stage.

Sunday's comin'... bring it on!

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!

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...

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!

Weekend in Review :: 01-27-08

This was the final week of our Foundations series. After spending three weeks talking about our end goal, our starting point, and our next steps...we concluded with an emphasis on the importance of reaching out to the unchurched.

WORSHIP
Everybody Praise the Lord - Lincoln Brewster
I Will Boast - Paul Baloche
I Give You My Heart - Delirious

Video: Evangelism Linebacker

MESSAGE
Series: Foundations
Message: Invest & Invite
Speaker: Chris Genders
Notable Quotes...
"There are a lot of people who want to connect with God but not the church."
"Scripture is replete with people gathering around Jesus...people who were unaccepted by the religious leaders of the day...people who weren't accepted in the church."
"We have to embrace people where they are and see their God-given potential."
"When something is lost, it becomes the focus of your attention. You pay little attention to that which is found."
"You are labeled 'lost' because you are valuable to God."
"How do you think God feels when he sees his children lost and all of the search & rescue people are just sitting around singing songs, reading their books, and roasting marshmallows?"
"It doesn't matter how many are already found. What matters is how many are still lost."
"Invest in the life of one person and look for opportunities to invite them to someplace where they will hear the Gospel or someplace where they will see the Body of Christ at work."
"We'll do what's difficult for you, and you do what's impossible for us. We'll answer their questions; you introduce them to us."

Weekend in Review :: 01-13-08

This was our second week of the Foundations series where we explain who we are and how we do church. Nate and the band hit a home run this morning with the worship. Inspiring. Authentic. Personal. Corporate. Amazing.

As I said last night, I was really looking forward to teaching this morning. I've received positive comments from a number of people. Most of all, I am pleased that it is sparking conversations among people as they talk about where they are in their spiritual growth.

WORSHIP
Because of Your Love - Paul Baloche
Everyday - Lincoln Brewster
Hungry - Kathryn Scott
Hosanna - Paul Baloche

MESSAGE
Series: Foundations
Message: Stages of Spiritual Growth
Speaker: Chris Genders
Notable Quotes...
"The church can only take you so far in your spiritual growth. At some point, you have to accept responsibility for your own spiritual growth."
"Spiritual growth is ultimately about loving God and loving people."
"The universal church has failed you...we have told you that you should be dependent upon us to feed you. If you are Close to Christ or Christ-Centered, you should be feeding yourself."
"No matter where you are in your spiritual journey, you have a next step to take to becoming more like Christ."

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• MarriedLife Live - Saturday, January 26th - tickets on sale beginning today
• Sexual Revolution - February teaching series - invite cards available now

Tomorrow Morning

I am teaching tomorrow morning on the Stages of Spiritual Growth. I am looking forward to this message because I get to challenge the church with this Big Idea...

The church can only take you so far in your spiritual growth. At some point, you have to accept responsibility for your own spiritual growth.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Weekend in Review :: 01-06-08

We launched a new series called Foundations this weekend. It is a four-week series covering the four primary strategic components of Great Oaks Community Church (i.e. who we are and how we do church). I wrote earlier about our new mission statement that Bill introduced. It has continued to take hold in the lives and language of our people.

WORSHIP
Salvation is Here - Hillsong
King of Majesty - Hillsong
Jesus Love of My Soul - Hillsong
Mighty to Save - Hillsong
The Solid Rock - Charlie Hall

MESSAGE
Series: Foundations
Message: Five Purposes
Speaker: Bill White

Notable Quotes...
"GOCC exists to help people take their next step towards God."
"Stress & worry are warning lights that you are disconnected from God."
"There is something more important than tolerance - Truth."
"What's your next step?"

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Class 101, 201, 301 next Sunday, January 13th. Contact the church office at 383-4330 to register.
• MarriedLife Live - Saturday, January 26th - tickets on sale beginning next Sunday
• Sexual Revolution - February teaching series - invite cards available next Sunday
  

Sexual Revolution

I just got done meeting with Bill this morning to plan the Big Ideas for each week of our February series on sex. I am really looking forward to this teaching series!

Churches have avoided this topic far too long. It has become almost taboo to talk about in church. As a result, people - even Christians - don't understand that God designed us as sexual beings and that there is so much more to sex than just a physical act; it is spiritual and emotional and physical all at the same time.

The culture has been the primary spokesperson about sex for too long now. Let's see what God has to say about it. It's time for a Sexual Revolution!

Weekend in Review :: 12-02-07

WORSHIP
I Am Free - Jon Egan
You Are My King - Passion Band
Holy Night - Default
No More Pretending - Scott Krippayne

MESSAGE
Series: Second Chance Christmas
Message: What's Your Secret?
Speaker: Bill White

Notable Quotes...
"Our secrets cause us to fear God and withdraw from Him. We do not need to fear God; He wants to extend mercy, grace, and forgiveness."

Weekend in Review :: 11-25-07

WORSHIP
Let the Praises Ring - Lincoln Brewster
Open the Eyes of My Heart - Paul Baloche
Arise - Paul Baloche
Like A Child - Jars of Clay
This Little Light of Mine - Luke MacDonald

MESSAGE
Series: n/a
Message: Grow Up and Act Like a Child
Speaker: Jason Rea, Pastor of Student Ministries

Notable Quotes...
"Spiritual maturity is believing that God's way is the right way."
"As a child of God, I can count on an available, patient, and passionate Father."
"God's patience is displayed in his continual forgiveness of our stupidity."

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• "Second Chance Christmas" - new teaching series begins next week. Be sure to invite your friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Invitation postcards are available at the Welcome Center.
• College & Young Adult Retreat at Miracle Camp - Dec 29-Jan 1
• MS Retreat at Miracle Camp in January - registration and deposit are due next Sunday
  

Weekend in Review :: 11-11-07

WORSHIP
Lord Reign in Me
No One Like You - David Crowder
Unchanging - Chris Tomlin
He Is Exalted - Shane and Shane
I Will Boast - Paul Baloche

MESSAGE
Series: What's In Your Wallet?
Message: Living Within Your Means - Part 2
Speaker: Chris Genders

Notable Quotes...
"We need to build financial margin in our lives so that we are prepared for emergencies and for when God calls us to action."
"How we handle our finances is a spiritual issue."
"If we mishandle our finances, we rob God of the worship He deserves, and we rob ourselves of the blessings we deserve."
"We are to give our first and best to God. To give anything less is to dishonor and devalue God in our lives."
"If we wait to save money until we have eliminated our debt, most of us will never save any money for the future."
"We are the managers of God's resources, and He cares deeply how we spend all of our money. His concern doesn't stop at Giving and Saving."

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Celebration Sunday - November 18th - to be baptized, contact the church office at 383-4330
• Christmas Series - Second Chance Christmas - invitation postcards available soon
• MarriedLife Live - January 26th

Weekend in Review :: 11-04-07

WORSHIP
Jesus Paid It All - Kristian Stanfall
We Fall Down - Chris Tomlin
I Give You My Heart - Delirious
You Are Holy (Prince of Peace) - Michael W. Smith

MESSAGE
Series: What's In Your Wallet?
Message: Living Within Your Means - Part 1 (Debt)
Speaker: Bill White

Notable Quotes...
"It's not about knowledge; it's about application of knowledge."
"Even if you pay off your credit card at the end of each month, you will still spend about 23% more than if you just used cash."
"God is more concerned with your character than your comfort."
"Debt is a cancer."

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Operation Christmas Child - shoe boxes due November 11th
• Celebration Sunday - November 18th - to be baptized, contact the church office at 383-4330
• Christmas Series - Second Chance Christmas - invitation postcards available soon
  

Weekend in Review :: 10-28-07

WORSHIP
Because of Your Love - Paul Baloche
You're Worthy of My Praise - Charlie Hall
You Are My King - Passion Band (Bethany rocked on this song!)
Everlasting God - Todd Fields

MESSAGE
Series: What's In Your Wallet?
Message: Are You Trustworthy?
Key Scripture: Luke 16:1-13 (Parable of the Shrewd Manager)
Speaker: Bill White

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Community Service Project - Raking leaves at Metamora Town Square. Date TBA...
  
• Operation Christmas Child - fill a shoe box with gifts for a needy child in another country. Boxes are due November 11th.
• Baptisms will be held on Sunday, November 18th - register for Baptism class by contacting Stacey Anderson at 383-4330 or stacey@greatoakscc.org

Weekend in Review :: 9-30-07

Charlie Dean, Pastor of Young Adults at Northwoods Community Church, was our guest speaker this weekend. Bill gave him free reign to teach on any subject, so he talked about anger and forgiveness. Charlie is high-energy and did great with the topic; I think people really connected with what he had to say.

We did communion after the message, and it worked great to transition into a time of personal reflection as we participated in a practice that Jesus himself established for the church. Following the teaching found in Matthew 5:23-24, we challenged people to let the trays pass if there was a relationship in their life that needed to be reconciled.

Nate was gone this week at Innovate 2007 at Granger Community Church (check out his blog for his thoughts on the conference), so he had a volunteer lead worship. Dave did a great job leading the church into the presence of God. During communion he did a song by American Idol contestant and worship minister, Chris Sligh. It was just him and his guitar while we took communion. I loved it! Here's the set list...

* King of Majesty - United Live - Hillsong
* You Are Good - Lincoln Brewster
* Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing) - Vineyard
* How Great is Our God - Chris Tomlin
* Communion Song - Chris Sligh (American Idol guy)
* Blessed Be Your Name - Matt Redman

We start a new six-week series this coming Sunday. The series is called "What's In Your Wallet?" and will be focusing on stewardship and generous giving. This weekend I will be setting the stage for the series and dealing with common misconceptions people have when it comes to the church and money. Can't wait!!!

Why I Blog

So here I am...sitting in my overstuffed chair with my feet up on the ottoman. Karen and the kids are all taking a nap, so the house is finally quiet for a few moments. I'm taking the opportunity to catch up on my blogs that I track. I love learning from other leaders and catching up on stories from friends. It got me thinking about why we blog. Here's what I came up with...

1. Connection - Inherent in all of mankind is the need to be connected with other individuals. Blogs and other social networking sites allow us to maintain some level of connection with people all over the world. No matter where our friends are or where other leaders live, we can feel like we are a part of their lives. Yes...I would love to sit down face-to-face with the authors of the blogs I track, but it probably won't happen any time soon. Until that day does occur, I will continue to connect from a distance.
   
   
2. Transparency - As a pastor, one of the core values I feel I need to bring to those I lead is transparency. They need to know who I am...especially since most people in the church probably won't have a chance to sit down for a cup of coffee with me. They need to know my likes and my dislikes, my joys and my struggles, my coherent thoughts and my random thoughts. They need to know that I am a real person who deals with the same issues they deal with whether they be parenting, marriage, finances, or spiritual struggles.
   
   
3. Discipleship - As the church grows larger, there is a greater need to disciple people. Blogging can provide pastors with an expansive network of discipleship partners. As we teach and lead through the blogosphere, people throughout the church and around the world can enter into conversation and debate. We can provide these "on-line disciples" with resources and additional insight into Scriptural interpretation and application. For teaching pastors, especially, we can take what we talked about on Sunday morning and explore it a little bit deeper on Monday morning. This way, the conversation can keep happening throughout the week as people ruminate upon the truths we presented during the weekend services.
   
   
4. Stewardship - Blogging is wise stewardship of time and energy. Imagine the time it would take to sit down with every person in the church over a cup of coffee so that they could get to know me on a more personal level. Imagine the time it would take to personally disciple every member of the church. Even if I did all of this in small groups of people, it would occupy entirely too much time. It would take me away from my other responsibilities in the church, and, more importantly, it would take me away from my family far too often. Yes...blogging takes time, but it is a much wiser use of my time than trying to be all things to all people.

So those are the reasons why I blog. How about you?

Growing Pains

Children and churches both experience natural and predictable growing pains.

For some reason, people expect growing pains in their children but not in their churches. As the church moves through the various stages of growth, numerous dynamics are experienced.

As the church grows and more people come through the doors, there is a sense of loss at the family feel the church possessed when it first started. One day, the core group looks around and says, "Who are all of these people?"

As the church grows and more people who were previously unchurched join the family, the teaching begins to be focused on helping them grow in their faith and their knowledge of Scripture. This can leave the mature Christians who started the church wondering where the "meat" is that they are wanting to eat.

As the church grows and more worship services are added, there can be an acute sense of disconnect from other people in the church. First service people don't know third service people, and the Saturday night crowd never sees the light of day on Sunday morning. The worship services themselves begin to take on a more "professional" feel.

As the church grows and more leaders emerge, there are greater expectations placed upon past leaders to become specialists. They are expected to change where they spend their time and with whom they spend their time.

As the church grows and more volunteers are needed, volunteers come face-to-face with job descriptions and higher levels of excellence being placed upon them. Musicians and vocalists must audition. Potential leaders must be interviewed. Some volunteer roles are reserved for a few highly gifted people.

All of these changes and more can create a sense of frustration and loss in people. Most church members will tell you they want the church to grow and reach more people for Christ. But here's the rub...they don't want the church to change how it does things.

Let me ask some simple questions...as a child grows, do parents change how they relate to that child? Do they change how they dress that child or feed that child or spend time with that child? Of course! And the same goes for the church.

Weekend in Review :: 09-23-07

We had a great morning as we wrapped up the 2-week mini-series on authentic community.

Bill talked for a few minutes on needing to have people in our lives who have "refrigerator rights". These are people who have earned the right to open up our lives (our refrigerators) and see what's inside. Sometimes they will even need to tell us that something stinks and needs to be taken care of. (We borrowed this metaphor from Craig Groeschel.) The church responded well to the metaphor. He emphasized that small groups are the optimal environment for accountability, care, and Biblical study.

Nate and the band did a great job leading us in worship. It was an amazing experience to stand in the front row and hear all of the people singing when the band stopped playing for a couple of minutes. I wish I could have seen the audience from the stage at that moment. Here's the set list...

* Let the Praises Ring :: Lincoln Brewster
* I Will Boast :: Paul Baloche
* Beautiful One :: Tim Hughes
* Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble :: Delirious

I concluded the service with a few minutes talking about the picture of the early church painted in Acts 2:42-47 with an emphasis on the fact that they met in both large and small group environments. I then invited three couples on stage for a 20-minute panel discussion on what actually happens in the life of a small group. The goal was to alleviate the fear of the unknown by "pulling back the curtain" on small groups (think Wizard of Oz).

I heard from several people that they really appreciated the format we used this morning with the panel discussion. In my opinion, it is good to hear things every now and again from the mouths of "non-professional Christians" (i.e. pastors)!

We had a number of new people sign up for small groups through the Kick-Off. I will post actual numbers in a week or so after I get the rosters back from small group leaders. Early indicators tell me the Small Group Kick-Off was a great success!