Weekly Rundown (6.28.09)

• Today we celebrated "God & Country" ... I always love those type of services.  America has indeed been blessed by God!
  
  
  
  • These services mean a lot to me personally because of my own military service, my brother is currently in Afghanistan, and several of my family has served in the military.
  
  
  
  


• We are really hoping to have the location for Rock Bridge Chatsworth finalized in the next week or so. It looks like we will be leasing the former Harris-Sutton Chevy dealership. It is an AMAZING location and God really gave us His favor to be able to rent it.  Nothing is finalized yet but we're very close.


• We still do not know about when we will launch this third site but it could be as early as this Fall.


• Our new small groups/discipleship pastor, Jay Ashlock, starts this week!! Great to have Jay join our team!


• My prayer "retreat" was great.  Got a ton of ideas for future message series and it was just good to spend a prolonged period of time connecting with God.  There is just something about water, nature, walking ... it is like my "antenna" gets more receptive.


• We've got a busy July full of brainstorming and strategizing sessions.  Everything from our church's budget to small groups to missions to prayer to multi-site to preaching ... this stuff fires me up because it helps us keep Christ's "body" at Rock Bridge healthy and ... hopeful make her more "beautiful."


• I'm saddened by Michael Jackson's death ... I grew up with "Just Beat It" and "Thriller".


• Has it been hot or what? I actually like it and will often wait to run or exercise until it is really hot.


• God bless America!!

Discussing Adoption

Beth and I are thrilled and excited to be on the amazing journey of adoption.  It is a journey of love, obedience, and as we are learning, much patience.  Ever since we began dating we openly discussed the possibility of adoption.  This past Christmas we began talking more and more about it and praying about it. Literally, God gave us both this incredible desire to be parents.  So we started the process.

For a variety of reasons we felt drawn to international adoption and Africa which eventually led us to Ethiopia.  There are lots of secondary reasons such as wait time (the time to receive a referral), travel time (the time you have to stay in the country), costs, etc. but the primary reason for us was we prayed about it, sought out wisdom on it, and God gave us a ton of peace about it.  The need for adoption is great all over the world and that is certainly the case in Ethiopia where there are 4.5 million orphans in a country with 75-78 million people (in the U.S. there are 500,000 orphans with 300 million people).

We have asked to adopt a sibling group of brothers and perhaps brothers and sisters.  Apparently, finding "forever families" for older (toddler age & up) siblings, especially boys, is more difficult.

So right now we are just "waiting" for our agency to refer children to us.  This process is very detailed and involves lots of bureacratic, legal, and administrative processes in Ethiopia.  These processes can be slow and cumbersome but as we have learned they are in place to protect the children and families.

For Beth and I this process is teaching us so much about God's love for us.  The Bible speaks of God "adopting" us into His "forever" family!!  God had to go through legal and costly means to make it happen but He did it because of His great love for us (see Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5).  The verse below blows me away:

Ephesians 1:5 (NLT) --God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

We are also learning more of what it means to trust God.  I "believe in theory" that God takes full responsibility for the outcomes of our life when we are fully obedient to Him.  I have "tested that theory" several times in my life and it is true (starting Rock Bridge is one such example).  James 1:27 tells us to take care of orphans and widows.  While there are many different ways for us to obey this command, adopting is the way God has clearly revealed to us.  Then I read these two verses and WOW!!

Psalm 68:5-6

A father to the fatherless ... God sets the lonely in families.

Thanks for everyone's encouragement and we do REALLY appreciate your prayers!

Weekly Rundown (6.21.09)

• So we finished the series on the Holy Spirit today.  As I've said I believe this subject is severely undertaught in the church today and we pay a price for that because we walk without the power of God.  Hopefully we all have a better understanding of how to walk with God and how we must be completely dependent on Him for everything ... it is all by His grace!


• Lots of very healthy conversations last week regarding multi-site strategy and philosophy, strengthening our volunteers, turning up our church's prayer life a notch, revising our Bylaws to better reflect where we are as a church, etc. etc.


• Next Sunday we celebrate America ... God & country -- my two FAVORITE subjects!!


• I'm heading out of town today for a 2-day prayer & planning retreat.  It has been too long since I just got away to be with God.  No cell phone coverage, no Wal-Mart for 30+ miles, no restaurants for 15+ miles ... actually no signs of civilization ... I'm pumped and can't wait.  Please pray for me to be fully surrendered to God and to clearly hear His voice!


• Beth and our students are away on a mission trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  This is their first trip to a more rural setting where they will be helping with construction projects in needy neighborhoods and doing some sports camp/VBS-type stuff with children.


• So I shared some rather big personal news with our church today: Beth and I are adopting ... most likely two brothers (we don't exactly know yet) ... from Ethiopia.  I will post more on this later this week but we are so excited to FINALLY share this with our church family and to ask for your prayers!!


• We are very close to having a location for our Chatsworth campus.  Nothing is official ... yet.  Our Stewardship Team and Elders must still look at the "fine print" so to speak and approve everything ... but we are closer than ever.  This could (I stress could) mean that we will be in Murray County sooner than any of us thought :)


• One of the things that convinced me we should start looking to Chatsworth was a sense of urgency that I think I was lacking when it comes to sharing, teaching, preaching, and living out the Word of God when and where there is opportunity.  And (see above bullet point) ... God certainly seems to be fast-tracking our efforts to get into Murray County.  But it makes me wonder ... Shouldn't I/we always have a sense of urgency when it comes to sharing God's Word, God's love, and God's Son?? Apparently, when we do, God opens doors for us in BIG ways!!


• Football season is getting closer and closer :)


• I had P.F. Changs this week ... it had been a long, long time!


• This week was really, really hot.  I actually ran outside when it was 90+ degrees. Am I dumb or what? I think I lost 10 lbs in sweat in like 20 minutes.  Beth did not want to be near me ... wonder why??


• Hope everyone has a great week!!

Staffing News

A few updates on our church staff front.  Our goal is keep our staff to attendance ratio at about 1 staff person for every 100-125 in worship.  This keeps us "volunteer driven" but doesn't burn our staff out.

NEW Small Groups/Discipleship Pastor: Jay Ashlock

We've been praying and working to fill this position since last Fall.  Several dead ends led us to a place of really intense prayer.  The result was a VERY unified sense that we call one of our own members, Jay Ashlock, to become our Small Groups & Discipleship Pastor.  God's hand was all over this both in Jay's own life and in our church.  Jay is from the Dalton area, loves Rock Bridge, and is passionate about helping people connect.   He starts July 1st.

Chatsworth Campus Pastor: Gus Waters

Many people know but we're moving Gus out of Children's Ministry and into the Campus Pastor role for our Chatsworth Campus.  Gus lives in Murray County, is passionate about reaching lost/unchurched people, and has served on our staff already for 2+ years.  God's providence in Gus' life to bring him to this place of ministry is absolutely amazing.  There is NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!!

Children's Ministry Intern: Delancey Dantzler

So with Gus leaving Children's ministry we had a gap in our elementary school programming.  Delancey is coming on as an intern to work with children's large group programming (all campuses) and volunteers (Dalton campus) in our grade school areas.  Delancey is super creative and is excited to join the team.  We're excited to have her!

CAMPUS STAFF: CHATSWORTH & CALHOUN

We're still sorting through how we will staff our multi-sites but right now here's what we are praying toward and considering:

• Chatsworth Worship Leader; Children's Minister; Student Minister (all part time)


• Calhoun Student Minister (part-time)

Each of these areas is part of what we call the "core" ministries of our church and we believe each site should have these ministries running full throttle at launch whenever possible.

Weekly Rundown (6.14.09)

• Busy week (contrary to popular belief, pastor's do work more than 1 hour a week)!!


• The ball is rolling for Chatsworth ... faster than we expected.  Location, volunteer development, launch timeline ... it is all still up in the air but plans are in motion!


• Preaching this series on the Holy Spirit has been real challenging for me.  It is an "undertaught" part of church doctrine and I've really had to study, pray, and think how to teach this.  Part 4 is next week.


• I love summers for a lot of reasons -- warmer weather, chance to relax, get some extended time off, AND a chance to plan during a less busy season.
  
  
  
  • Next Monday-Tuesday I'm going to take a two day prayer & planning retreat.  I haven't done this in over a year but I'm really hoping to hear from God.  Please pray for me.
  
  
  
  


• Father's Day is this Sunday ... don't forget :)


• Star Trek is still my favorite movie of the summer season.


• The Ministry Center building is really coming along ... the brick looks amazing and the interior is going to be so functional and so incredible!  Lives will be changed there!!!


• We implemented some more changes to our "Connect" Dinner and I think this past time we finally felt good about the content, the flow, and the process for this environment.  This is the BEST way for people to learn about RBCC, to join the church, and to get involved.


• I didn't go to Riverbend this year but what a neat concept.  I read something like 650,000 attend it each year ... WOW!  Chattanooga is a great city.


• Have a great week!

Weekly Rundown (6.9.09)

• Great to be back in town! I love this community.


• The doors for Rock Bridge Chatsworth continue to open.  Please keep praying!!


• God is pressing me to spend more time in prayer.  Please pray that God enables me through His Holy Spirit and sufficient grace to do so.


• This morning at our monthly "all-staff" meeting we just shared stories.  I asked them to share stories that illustrate "why we do what we do" as a church.  Awesome stuff! Here's a few highlights:
  
  
  
  • That actual drug addicts are coming to our church (Jesus was called a "friend of sinners")!
  
  
  • That our volunteers are so faithful and so committed.
  
  
  • That our people LOVE each other through the trials of life.
  
  
  • That someone lost a bet and as a result had to come to church ... and they loved it! (God is even sovereign over gambling and can use it for His purposes ... WOW!!)
  
  
  
  


• HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!!!!!!

From My Study

In my time with God, I was reading I Timothy 6 and some "action" verbs (remember "action" verbs from grammer class?) popped out at me, challenging me to evaluate some "actions" in my life.  Perhaps they can help you too.

I Timothy 6:11-14

¹¹But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. ¹²Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

4 "ACTION" VERBS:

• FLEE -- means to run away; What do I need to flee in my life?
  
  
  
  • Negative emotions & thoughts?
  
  
  • Tempting situations?
  
  
  • The wrong crowd?
  
  
  • An enslaving or potentially enslaving habit?
  
  
  
  


• PURSUE -- as a Christ-follower, we ultimately pursue Christ.  Paul encourages Timothy to pursue the things of Christ.  What is God asking me to pursue?
  
  
  
  • More time with Him in prayer or Bible study?
  
  
  • More time with my family?
  
  
  • A relationship with a non-believer?
  
  
  • An opportunity to love more, serve more, give more?
  
  
  
  


• FIGHT -- the fight for our faith never goes away and often intensifies as we "flee" and "pursue".  Where do I need to fight?
  
  
  
  • For my kids? My marriage?
  
  
  • For my convictions?
  
  
  • By creating boundaries to protect the things I value?
  
  
  
  


• KEEP -- Paul ends his message to Timothy by encouraging him to keep or endure/persevere until Christ comes.  Our pursuit and fight requires patience and persistence and we must never quit because our future reward will far surpass our present struggles. 
  
  
  
  • Am I quitting or being tempted to quit in any area that is eternally worth "keeping"?
  
  
  • What areas of my life are not being "kept" but instead are being "neglected"?
  
  
  • How great is my hope for the 2nd Coming? for heaven? for eternity?
  
  
  
  

Pick the Message Topics!

 

Our August '09 message series is called, YOU ASKED FOR IT ... and that means YOU are picking the topics that will be taught during this 4-5 week series.  

Phase 1 voting occurred during May's First Wednesday services.

Phase 2 voting is happening NOW online.  Click the link below to vote:

YOU ASKED FOR IT survey