Archive for November, 2008

A Little Football Saturday

Posted: November 29, 2008 in Tribute
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I never do this, but I thought I would comment on ALL the games today; the normal rivals.  

  • Florida/Florida State- Love Bobby Bowden.  He needs the win so late in his career.  ”Them gators need to go down.”
  • Georgia/Georgia Tech- As always, pulling for Georgia.  I’m reminded of great memories and my football manager days at Georgia Tech when Pepper Rodgers was head coach and Steve Spurrier was the quarterbacks coach (1978)
  • Virginia/Virginia Tech- I like Virginia Tech.
  • Clemson/South Carolina- I’m for South Carolina.  It’s interesting, everybody in Georgia grew to hate the Gators when Steve Spurrier was head coach. However, now, I love Spurrier.  He’s the underdog these days and I’ve always liked to see a guy (a winner) bring a team to great tradition.
  • Ole Miss/Mississippi State- Yesterday; great to see the Rebels build a winning tradition.  Love Coach Houston Nutt. 

One of My Favorite Worship Songs Right Now

Posted: November 29, 2008 in Worship
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The Origin Game of Expressions

Posted: November 28, 2008 in Trivia
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Where did the phrase, “show your true colors” come from and what is it’s meaning?  No cheating online!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted: November 28, 2008 in Holidays
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An old gentlemen once sat around the long thanksgiving dinner table staring at his large family and said, “Look to your left and right because these are the people that will love you and be there for you, all your life, unconditionally.” Nothing more important than family!  We have one that we’re very proud of!  Hope you do!  If not, make yours that way, starting right now!  If you’re single, know that God has a big plan for you to experience this kind of love…you are not alone.  Use this time to get so happy with just you and Him.  If you’re married and just existing, God has ways…you hang in there!  Make a list today of every single thing you are thankful for.  You’ll have a different perspective on life starting tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Summary

Posted: November 26, 2008 in Thoughts
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As we roll into a Thanksgiving holiday once again, this year is different, simply because the journey over the last 15 months has been major preparation for launching a new church.  We have sooo much going on in a good way and it’s very hard to describe all of the blessings we are experiencing; I’ll try:

  • Relationships in our city are unbelievable!
  • New friendships on our mission field are growing everyday!
  • Our meeting location is so God-ordained!
  • Our staff leadership team is coming together; we may add #3 in a few weeks.  All are raising their own financial support- unbelievable! God has sent them in the most unique ways!  Praise is due His name!
  • The majority of our launch team are new relationships in our city- this team is out of this world!
  • Chattanooga-Ringgold is gearing up for the makeover of a lifetime with Volkswagen awarding them a new manufacturing plant that could bring 20,000 new jobs.  God put us here for such a time as this!
  • We’ve got a special surprise being mailed out for Christmas; miracle territory continues!
  • As we wind down the next 6 weeks of 2008, we will be ramping up our planning calendar for early next year. It will be busy and we must see God do some extraordinary things!
  • We are doing our best to just love people, listen to God’s leadership, and stay out of His way!
  • We are expecting God to raise $76,000 for the equipment it will take to launch 2 amazing children’s worship environments and 1 adult worship environment!
  • The authenticity and transparency part of our vision is catching on like crazy in our community!
  • We need an additional building for our children’s environment-  God is about to supply it, we believe!
  • We have been inspired as we have visited so many different churches over the last 15 months.  All are different and have their own personality.
  • We still need many more monthly supporters and partners!  
  • We are grateful to so many of you who are already partners!  Thank you!
  • We’re still praying about the church planting organization we are to partner with!
  • Logos and branding are complete!
  • Our prospectus is almost complete.
  • We are working feverishly trying to bring down the pike to finality, our Origin Playbook!  It will house our systems and strategies for moving forward in 2009!
  • We believe we have found some city and county partnerships that Origin Church can actively be a part of.  We are thrilled!
  • Our launch team is getting ready to serve our community once again at the annual Ringgold Christmas parade!
  • We really believe God is up to something bigger than HUGE; we’re not sure what but we are SURE!  It is going to begin right here, right now, and it will sweep this country, and our world!  Why not?  Why not from right here in Ringgold-Chattanooga?  You gotta come be a part of this!
  • We’ve got some great new church plants happening in the metro Chattanooga area!  Great leaders and great Christians…can’t wait to see God move in ALL of them.
  • We are thankful!
  • Proud of my kids!  They’re so outstanding!
  • I am loving ministry!
  • So humbled to have so many good friends!
  • Pray for us, move here to join us, join our launch team online, pray some more, give sacrificially to help us, and tell someone about Origin!

My Friend Dale

Posted: November 25, 2008 in Tribute
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Dale Griffith was 26 years my senior, but a dear friend of mine.  Dale and I had an immediate kinship and did ministry together for a lot of years, trying to help people see that Jesus Christ could change their lives. Dale consulted for us at Mount Rachel Baptist Church when I was pastor, in the area of personal evangelism, and was a personal adviser to me for many, many years.  I valued his input.  I have never met a man who cared so sincerely about EVERY person’s eternal destination as did Dale Griffith!  He cared all the way up to his first meeting with Jesus Christ, this past September.  Dale will be missed and his warrior-hood attitude and kind and gentle love for people will be missed!  Dale, enjoy heaven!  See you there!

The Fight of the Natural

Posted: November 25, 2008 in Church Planting
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Jerry Falwell always told his church planters to move to town and buy a cemetary plot…in other words, he believed in longevity!  He practiced that and his planters practiced that.  There’s something about crossing the Rubekon River and not looking back, that God blesses.  Additionally, we planters will always have to fight against the natural of what everyone else has done, what everyone else is doing, and that unknown elephant in the room of how many you had on “launch day.”  In fact, I don’t like the word, “launch.”  I think it can be poison.  Why not just “start,” or “begin,” or do “next steps?”  Beginning is different for every  planter and God will do His own thing, His own way, in His own time, with all of us.  Just go work hard…meet people…love the community…build relationships, and then look up one day and invite all those people together for worship.  You have a different personality and a different DNA than anyone else on this planet…let that translate in it’s own way into church planting and being a pastor.  Nobody can do, be, or become what  YOU can do, be, and become!  Rest in that!  There is a unique and intriguing new work for YOU, alone, to do!  Wow!

The Faithful Continue

Posted: November 24, 2008 in Giving
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During challenging economic times, studies show that God’s people don’t really flinch and continue to “give,” oftentimes more than they were giving.  I think people, in general, begin to realize how quickly “it” can come and go and the right thing to do is to make sure that percentage giving to God’s work is in place.  It’s really simple: God will really move on your behalf when He sees that you are a giver.

Historically, charitable giving overall has not declined much during hard economic times. That’s the finding from Giving USA Foundation, which in September released a report that looks at the trends over the past 40 years, including several periods of recession.

“While charitable giving is impacted by recessions and/or economic slowdowns, it’s not by … as much as one might expect,” said George Ruotolo Jr., chair of the Giving Institute, on releasing the study.  During recessions since 1967, total giving has dropped by an average rate of 1 percent, and individual giving declined by 1.5 percent, adjusted for inflation.

Stay the course, trust God, and make sure your generosity is a part of God’s movement.  Your eternal investment is the only thing that will outlive you and will live on.  Your return will always be great and you never suffer a loss.  Your stocks, bonds, securities, and 401(k)’s are for you and yours right now and they are volatile, however, they don’t decide your success in life.  At the end of this life, what really matters is not what you had, but what you gave away!  God’s dream for you is not determined by our national economic condition.  He works on a different agenda.  Be encouraged!

Dave Foster in Nashville

Posted: November 23, 2008 in Tribute
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Dave Foster pastors The Gathering in Franklin, TN.  While at Catalyst this year, Kim and I ran into he and his wife and had a conversation.  I have known him from the distance through the years.  It was my privilege to visit with Dave this week and, my, what a guy!  He’s brilliant, insightful, and exemplary!  I left our meeting filled to capacity with personal growth.  It’s great to begin a new friendship.  Enjoy this video of Dave on The Today Show a few months back:

Church of Irresistible Influence Day2

Posted: November 20, 2008 in Church Environments
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  •  6 out of 10 Americans believe the church is irrelevant.
  •  One out of three pastors believes the church is making a positive impact on the culture.
  •  Since the chasm between church and culture is so great, many pastors resort to “fallback methodologies:”
  1. Be Culturally Relevant- Contemporary repackaging.  Unfortunately, this often becomes relevance at the expense of substance.  Many believers no longer carry Bibles.  It’s an experience minus commitment. 
  2. Promise Heaven Now- Many say you can have health, wealth, and power if you just have enough faith.
  3. Just Preach the Word- Will not work alone;  Henry Blackaby says, “Our gospel is cancelled by the way we live.”  In other words, preaching the gospel by itself without living differently influences no one.
  4.  Stay the Course-  Many decide to stick with the same tried and true methods they’ve used for decades.  One pastor said, “If the 50′s ever come around again, my church will be ready.”  Sadly, these methodologies were originally created to work only in a certain time and context.  Many were even radical departures from the norm in their own day.  Yesterday’s freshness always fades.  We are failing to bridge the Great chasm between church and culture.
  • Jesus exhibited, through everyday humanity, his life and love to the world.  He expected the church to supernaturally attract all men to God.  Jesus imagined a connecting church- a bridge of influence.
  • The average evangelical church in North America exists for itself.
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