Archive for January, 2009

75 Days Away- Mark Your Calendars Today!

Posted: January 19, 2009 in Portability
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We are getting closer to the April 5, 2009 launch of The Origin Church!  We are in key strategic planning sessions today and tonight and would appreciate your prayers.  You can be a part!  Obviously, we have a $76,000 launch catalog need, but we also have a smaller needs list below, if you can help:

1.  Pipe and Drape

2.  Table Coverings for lobby

3.  Coffee Partnership (cups, sugar, warmer sleeves, stirrers, coffee, canisters)

4.  Mannequins for t-shirts

5.  2-way Radios for parking team

6.  Signage of all types

7.  Connection Power Church software program 

8.  Two small label printers for children’s I.D. badges

9.  Pro-presenter Worship Program

10.  Renovation/Construction Volunteers

11.  Volunteers- Join our launch team here!

12.  Offering Buckets

13.  Lanyards for all volunteers

14.  DISC Profiles 

 

Must Read

Posted: January 16, 2009 in Attitude
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The Power of Persistence

I came across a fascinating study this week. Can’t stop thinking about it. Priscilla Blinco did a study involving Japanese and Americanfirst graders. She gave them a very difficult puzzle to solve. The American children lasted, on average, 9.47 minutes. The Japanese children lasted 13.93 minutes or 40% longer.

Any one want to guess who has higher scores on standardized math tests?

Fascinating study with interesting implication. The argument is that we might give IQ more credit than it deserves. Persistence quotient might be a better predictor of success! How long are you willing to try something before giving up? Successful people, in every arena, aren’t just smarter. They try harder and try longer.  By the way, just got an email from an NCCer that has been trying to get a job with U.S. State Department for 12 years! Every application had been denied, that is, until a couple weeks ago. They were interviewing 1200 applicants for 24 positions. This NCCer was the second person selected.

Listen, that is good old-fashioned persistence. Don’t take no for an answer! Try, Try again. It’s not over till the fat lady sings. I don’t care what aphorism you quote. It’s all about persistence. Keep trying! Then try some more!  -Mark Batterson (copied)

Fabricated Followers of Christ

Posted: January 15, 2009 in Leadership
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Psychologically, did you know that most people have a belief system that someone else gave them?  In other words, they were programmed in such a way, good or bad, that as they grow, they just practice other peoples’ personal convictions (I could give you a list) out of habit and because of what others will think about them.  Most decisions people make are made based upon if someone you know “heard” or “found out.”  We need to drill down into what we believe, personally, and what God has already written to US, and ask ourselves WHY we believe and behave the way we do, and then go out and make decisions that track with His plan; no one else’s! It doesn’t matter what people (Only God) think!  They don’t think about you the way you perceive them to, anyway!  They’re living their lives. They haven’t thought of you in months.  Most of what you would call friends in the ministry, for example, are not friends……..they’re acquaintances, just like in the corporate world.  If you don’t think so, you are in gross denial. It’s just an invisible perception that they are peering over your shoulder all the time and that they really “care” about you.  They don’t!  The only forever-friends you and I have can be counted on half-a-hand.

I know pastors and believers that act, preach, and lead exactly like they were taught out of the textbook or the mentor classroom…….they don’t think for themselves, speak for who they are, or lead based on the innards of their being.  They’re not being TRUE to themselves.  I’ve been guilty of this myself.  This is where mentoring and teaching can hurt a person: They never filter what they learn down through the DNA matrix of who they are made to be-think-lead-create, thereby, resulting in an eventual crash of productivity.  On top of that, we become an expert in the “plastics” industry.

As an old, wise gentlemen once told me, your best and most productive work will happen between 40 and 60.  So, here’s my challenge: Why don’t you take some time to reinvent yourself, the real YOU, and come back to the calling of your life with more gusto than you’ve ever experienced in your life?  Think for yourself, dream for yourself, create for yourself, speak based on your own giftedness, reach out and into places God leads you regardless if it means walking in a liquor store to do servant evangelism…..stop the concern for what people will think about you.  

Last caveat-  there’s a lot of trust and responsibility that God requires of you, WHEN, He reveals these things to you.

We’re Aware @ Origin

Posted: January 14, 2009 in Church Planting
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Oftentimes church and church people are so judgmental.  I’m one of those that has been around church all my life, but have been rarely impressed.  I can even remember when I was younger and going, I was often bored to death.  I knew there had to be the real, authentic, and transparent Christ-followers and churches out there, but it was rarely found.  One place I did find it was Metro Bible Study at Mount Paran Church back through the 80′s.  It impacted my life.  It was alive with real people doing real life together, failures, victories, and all.  You know why it worked for so many: Transparency and authenticity, no haughtiness nor judgmentalism, but truth spoken in love, and acceptance of people right where they were in life.

If we’ve somewhere talked along the way or you are finding this blog because one of our team has shared Origin Church with you, you have finally discovered a group of people who love you just like you are and know this: We exist for far away from God, agnostic, atheistic, religious, good, unsure of a belief system people who just haven’t seemed to gel in a church of any kind.  You don’t have to change for us!  We understand you! This thing at Origin is all about one thing: Relationships! We believe God has this big and great plan for your life and we’d like to help you discover it. We get where you are because a lot of what you don’t like or are unsure about, most of us have been too at some time or another.  We don’t have all the answers!  You’ve got questions, so do we! We’re on a journey of discovery!  Listen, you could literally come, enjoy the vibe of the environment we have created, meet new friends, feel at home, and never, ever “get-it” about this thing of Jesus Christ, and we’d still love you, befriend you, want our families to be close, and never miss a beat in doing life together.  That, our friends, is the truth!!  We’ll prove it to you!

One of our greatest desires is to serve our city and add value to it, hoping that service will launch an initiative that explodes around the world for the care and concern for others.  Hey, we’re not yet in a position (financially speaking) to help others; we’re launching a new church.  But, we’re doing it anyway.  We’re a partner for another church launching like this in Las Vegas, giving away to our city at Christmas parades and Haunted houses, searching for ways we can give of ourselves to the school systems in a mentoring role to students without fathers, and it’s only just begun. The people that make up the launch team at Origin Church are giving, unselfish, servant-hearted people who join with me in desiring to be a part of love, “crazy-compassion,” and meeting real needs.  Jesus spent more time meeting physical needs than He did doing anything else; that’s us!

Borrow A Page

Posted: January 14, 2009 in Leadership
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That’s exactly what University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer said after the BCS championship; “We may borrow a page from Oklahoma’s offense.”  That’s exactly what we do in the ministry as leaders; I’ve done it all my life!  I’m still working hard putting all the ingredients together that will result in the best formula for my particular call and giftedness. Remember, Ecclesiastes says, “There’s nothing new under the sun.”  As a leader our job is to figure out God’s plan for OUR particular ministry.  You will have components from a lot of different ministries, but one YOU.  That means that we borrow a page here, borrow a page there and before you know it, we have a formula for what God has called US to do.  Be sure and not borrow the whole playbook from someone else.  You are uniquely “created in the image of God” and your personal influence is needed to affect change for a large percentage of people that no one else can influence in this world.

Update

Posted: January 13, 2009 in Launch
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We’ve been doing a ton of preparation since July to get ready for the launch of Origin Church in Ringgold, GA-Chattanooga, TN!  We’re getting there.  We should have some final timelines in the coming days to announce.  We’re doing three things right now:

  1. We are still building up our launch team (join here) 
  2. Hosting regular small group meetings
  3. Becoming a part of as many events as we can throughout our area to show our love for the city!

Waitin’ on you!

 

Launch Meeting Last Night

Posted: January 13, 2009 in Launch
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You guys that have yet to join our launch team are missing one great community of people!  It is a diverse group and an authentic group that God has and is putting together to launch Origin Church.  We still need you to join our team and be a part of this great movement and initiative that God plans for our area of the country.  If you are in the Chattanooga, TN/Ringgold, GA area or know someone, family or friends, send them our way to hear more about the launch of Origin Church.  We had another greatttttttttt meeting last night with vision, plans, calendars, and prayer.  “God, give us continued wisdom!”  If you are anywhere near us, you need this church!!!  We’re getting closer to launch!  We are going to announce our three month countdown calendar timeline very, very soon!  You can join our team right here!  Origin Church……..a church for people who don’t go, don’t like, have given up on, disillusioned by, or those who can’t stand to get near a church.  It is also a church for the lover of Christ and the person who has dreams of being a part of something so much greater than themselves!  Aren’t you tired of being tired of the same old stuff in your life?  Make the decision today!  You can be authentic, transparent, and find the plan God has for your life.

A Fabulous Beginning!

Posted: January 12, 2009 in Launch
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6a00e5512335c18834010536002ec8970c-150wiI want to send out a big “hats off” to Shaun King of The Courageous Church in downtown Atlanta for an “out of the box,” and stellar beginning. He had close to 700 people at his grand opening at Centerstage in Atlantic Station.  Appreciation, to you Shaun, for recognizing our presence.  Our guys loved you and appreciated your ability to speak, saying, “One of the best speakers I’ve heard.”  You have a great gift of communicating and God is on your life.  You, my friend, have an incredibly bright future!

Getting Ready

Posted: January 12, 2009 in Church Planting
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We have been working on the launch of a new church for 17 months.  Our team is projecting an April launch which would have been a total of 20 months of preparation.  God has been good!  We have a GREAT group of launch team coming together (love these people), a place to meet, a capable team of staff coming together, working hard on fundraising, putting together all our branding, beginning to put a creative team together, and the work continues.  It is, literally, endless.  It is tough and challenging, but a very rewarding call of God.

We have moved through some of these stages with more to go:

  1. Dream Phase
  2. Foundation Phase
  3. Core Development Phase
  4. Community Phase
  5. Preview Phase-  We’re almost to this phase!
  6. Launch Phase
  7. Small Church Phase
  8. Existing Church Phase

We sense the momentum, the excitement, the energy, the hope, and the determination for the launch of Origin Church.  If you’re near Chattanooga, TN, all we are missing is YOU!  If you are a college student, we have INTERNSHIPS available for you.  Email us!  We need friendly people, graphic artists, rappers, rockers, financial planners, dreamers, people that are good with children and teenagers, web designers, all types of musicians, office managers, cartoonists, lighting and sound technicians, film editors, humans, actors and actresses, dj’s, painters, singers and vocalists, sculptors, poets, writers, service planners, set designers, camera operators, licensed truck drivers, police officers and security workers, and more!  If you don’t fit any of these categories, we’ll create a category.  You’ve go to join our launch team today!

If you are willing to dream dreams so outrageously big that it would be unethical for us to take ANY credit when they come true, then we need each other!  We believe that a few faithful people can bring about real, earth-shattering change in the world!  We believe that thousands of people who are de-churched, mad at church, or don’t go to church will come to live adventurous Christian lives!  We believe that real diversity makes us stronger!  We believe that the bold, compassionate, revolutionary Jesus of the Gospel is more relevant today than ever before!  We believe that downtown Chattanooga, TN and downtown Ringgold, GA is going to birth a movement of unprecedented Christians that set a new standard for what it means to be a follower of Jesus!  It will be done with compassion, truth, and love for people!  It will be a unique combination for church-life, that might not have been seen in this life!!

Today, we need $70,000 to purchase all of our portable equipment………..if you can help, go to www.originchurchchristmas.com and do your best!  Here we go!!

History Of The “Come-Forward” Invitation

Posted: January 12, 2009 in Evangelism, Uncategorized
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We know that people didn’t walk the aisles of the churches in the first 300 years of the church because there were no church buildings – so there were no aisles.  There is debate over the exact origins of the practice, but most do agree that it came into prominence in the late 1830’s under the leadership and influence of Charles Finney.  He popularized this approach through what he called “the mourner’s bench.”  Now, prior to him, it was only used here and there—just occasionally.  

Others in history that followed: Billy Sunday, D.L. Moody, Billy Graham… contributed to the widespread acceptance of it.  And I think that most would say that, when it comes to the contemporary form of the altar call we see today, that Billy Graham would be the one who’s most related to how it’s been used today.  

Personally, all my life I’ve given a “come-forward” invitation. I’ve also not given “come-forward invitations” each week.  I’ve also given creative and varieties of styles of invitations.  I heard Manley Beasley in an old revival meeting one time say, “Now, if you would like to have Christ in your life, you go home tonight and think about it, and if you’re sincerely ready, you come back tomorrow night and we’ll see.”

Traditionally, churches ask people to make the most important decision of their life in front of a bunch of other people they’ve never met.  We forget how intimidating that can be.  So many of us have said, “Let’s make it easy to come to Christ, and then make it more difficult for them to join the church.” Now, I know what you’re thinking – “If they’re not coming forward, where is their public profession of faith?”  My answer to that is to look in the New Testament. Baptism is the public profession of faith in the New Testament. Here’s a thought:  I wonder if we’ve made “coming forward” a sacred cow in our churches and have fallen into the belief that it is the only way to proclaim a public commitment to Christ. 

Now, I’m not against a “come-forward” invitation at all.  There’s nothing wrong with them. I’ve had success with them for years, but I’ve also had success with a card being filled out after they pray in their seat to let us know.  I’ve also had success letting weeks go by and building up to a great harvest day with an intentional invitation.  So, I don’t think it’s an either-or but a both-and creativity for the greatest effectiveness.  Might it be that there are many people who would become a Christ follower sooner if we didn’t urge them walk down in front of a bunch of strangers.  Their public profession will come later during baptism.

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