Weekly Rundown (9.20.09)

• For the first time in 7 years we could not do our baptism outdoors in the creek ... BUT we called an audible ... Dalton baptized Sunday night and Calhoun will baptize NEXT Sunday.
  
  
  
  • Baptism and stories of life change that only God could author ...  ALWAYS amazing and cause me to simply thank God.
  
  
  
  


• My brother just got home from Afghanistan ... plane landed a few hours ago!!!


• I had "sermon block" this week ... pray for clarity on this particular message.


• College football this year is CRAZY and it's only been 3 weeks!!


• When it rains (like today) the "AWESOMENESS" of our volunteers really shows!!


• I almost went up to preach today without my Bible ... how could I forget that?


• Great conversation this week with a missionary working in Africa.  We're prayerfully exploring ways to get involved with God's work around the globe.  We'd love to start sending teams on foreign mission trips and find other ways to spread the Gospel and share Christ's love.


• My dogs go crazy when it rains ... and it's raining right now ... have a great week!!

A GREAT WEEKEND TO BRING A GUEST!!

This is a GREAT weekend to bring a friend to church with you!!

In Dalton we will be talking about "gaps" or problems that exist in our relationships ... parents & children, husbands & wives, friends, family members, etc.  But more importantly, we'll discover biblical truths to close those "gaps" and experience relational healing and health.  We all know people with struggling marriages, difficulties with their kids, and emotional strain caused by problematic relationships -- INVITE THEM TO CHURCH WITH YOU!!!

In Calhoun we'll learn the critical question we need to be asking ourselves in all facets of our life.  This question gives clarity when there is confusion and gives us confidence to move forward into God's best for our life and His glory.  If you know anyone who wants to know about God's plans for them, this message will show them how to take the first step -- BRING THEM TO CHURCH and then take them to LUNCH :)

To all of us @ RBCC ... PRAY for God to give people the eyes to see, the ears to hear, and the desire to do His will!!

First Wednesdays and A House of Prayer

Over the past few weeks we've been talking about making a shift in our First Wednesday services to be more focused on prayer.  Previously, our First Wednesdays included a message, some worship, and the Lord's Supper.  In the future, we'll shift this time together to include a shorter message (with some "Family Talk" about issues in our church), more time in worship, more time in prayer, and the culminating act of the service will be the Lord's Supper.

I want to summarize why we are making this change.

1) We need it!! Jesus reminds us that much of the work He calls us to do for people requires prayer for it to be successful (Mark 9:29).  There are marriages that need restoring, lost & dead souls that need saving, bodies that need healing, and people in bondage that need freeing.  There is so much that can only be done and will only get done by us praying.

2) Corporate prayer is critical. The vast majority of us pray everyday. Personal time in prayer is important and biblical.  However, praying together as a church is also biblical and I would argue critical.  Nothing shows we are unified in our dependence on God like praying together.

As we looked at our church calendar, we asked ourselves, "When is there quality time given to church-wide prayer?" While we pray during our weekly worship services and our small groups spend a good amount of time in prayer, we sensed God leading us to take our prayer life as a church, as His body to a whole new level.

Jesus said, "My House shall be called a house of prayer." (Matthew 21:13)

Jesus said that praying together increases the potency of our prayers  (Matthew 18:20)

3) What makes a church a church is the ability to offer people grace & mercy.  Grace and mercy are obtained because of the death of Jesus and THROUGH PRAYER!!

Hebrews 4:14-16

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. ¹⁶Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Do We Need Revival?

Having grown up in the south I'm very familiar with the word "revival" and all its different meanings. Yet this morning while praying the thought came to me "Do we need revival?" Usually the good Christian answer is "YES!"  But before I go there, let's look at a couple of things.

First, what is revival?  It is something more than a series of meetings at a church.  It is something more than an event that lasts a few days.  It is something more than passionate worship and powerful preaching.  Revival is an awakening to the reality and presence of God.  It is dead people coming to life.  It is hard hearted individuals being broken by their sin and healed by God's grace.  It is when a group of people become God's people (Jeremiah 17:7) and are changed forever.

Second, what does it take for revival to occur?  I think more than a spot on the church calendar, revival requires a fresh move of God brought about by the cries of God's people, a strong conviction of sin, and mighty wave of repentance.  This means revival won't always be pleasant or comforting, but rather challening and purifying first, following by the joy of the Lord.

Based on all of this I think it is clear that we need revival but perhaps the better question is "Do we want revival?"

Psalm 85:6

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?

Weekly Rundown (9.13.09)

• CONGRATULATIONS TO ROCK BRIDGE CALHOUN:  2-year celebration today!!!


• Had a great time down at Sonoraville Friday night watching an incredible football game (Southeast -21, Sonoraville-26)
  
  
  
  • Great job to Rock Bridge Calhoun for the 5th quarter action after the game.  Heard young people talking about it before the game even started!!
  
  
  
  


• Thanks for all the feedback and input regarding our third service opportunity in Dalton.  Thursday night was the clear favorite and could open up doors to reach new people ... prayerfully expecting a kick-off in early 2010.


• We had a great lunch conversation with about 10 different community service agencies this past week.  Just looking to work together to help people and make a difference in NW Georgia.


• You can now give your tithes & offerings ONLINE!! Learn more here.


• I'm really worried about UGA this year.  Yes we won but lots of glaring weaknesses that will be exploited.


• Lot of ground work being done for our Chatsworth Campus.  We hope to nail down more on the location and possible launch dates soon!!  I am so excited for this campus to open!!


• What's coming up?
  
  
  
  • Dalton Fall Festival
  
  
  • Taste of Calhoun
  
  
  • Connect events
  
  
  • BAPTISM NEXT SUNDAY!!
  
  
  
  

Online Giving Now Available!!

For anyone and everyone who likes to bank online and rarely uses checks, we're rolling out online giving. You can now give to the church online to either your campus' operating & ministry account OR to the Next Step fund (Dalton campus building expansion).  Beth & I just enrolled and it is really simple.  Here's how it works:

1. Go to the Rock Bridge website and click on "Online Giving" (lower right hand corner of the home page).


2. You'll be prompted to set up an account by creating a user name and a password.  You can create multiple accounts.


3. Rock Bridge Community Church (Dalton, GA) will be listed as your "recipient organization"


4. You'll then enter your bank account information.  This works as a bank draft (credit or debit cards are not an option).  You'll need your bank's routing number and the account number that you give from (this information is found on checks ... the site will demonstrate how to locate this information).


5. You'll be asked to verify some things (site is very secure).


6. Then you can set up when to give, how much to give, what church accounts to give to, and how often to give (one-time, monthly, etc).  You can also track your giving history.

A Week in My Life

Sometimes I get asked what I do during a typical week.  While few weeks are ever "typical" here is the basic routine I try to maintain.

In general, I try to get up fairly early (between 5 and 6 depending on when I got to bed the night before) and workout, eat breakfast, and have some personal time with God.  I like to get to church between 7 and 7:30 am.  I also try to use lunch to meet with different people (staff, guests, church members, other pastors, etc.)

Monday

Monday is the day Beth & I have set aside for us.  I call it "date day".  We do something together as a couple.  If one of needs to do something else, we must get permission first :)

Tuesday

Tuesday is a day for meetings.  I meet with some men from our church to pray at 6:30 am and then I am in solid meetings (regular meetings with staff) usually through lunch.  On Tuesday afternoon I am around and available for either more project-specific meetings, counseling & pastoral care, chats with staff members, or basic administrative stuff like emails, phone calls, church-wide communications, etc.

Our regular Tuesday meetings include all-staff prayer & worship; a "tactical" meeting to review the weekend and discuss priorities, projects, and strategy; a worship planning meeting to discuss upcoming messages; a meeting with our small groups' staff to work through group questions.

Wednesday

I study and prepare for the message (I usually prepare 2 weeks ahead).  I pray.

Thursday

I spend the morning working on and finalizing the message I began preparing on Wednesday.

Thursday afternoons are for other meetings, touching base with staff, getting progress reports, counseling, etc.

Friday

Friday is miscellaneous day.  I start going over the message for Sunday, get the Scriptures and bullet points over to our Tech & Worship staff, and go over the service with our worship leaders.

Friday is also my day to visit the hospitals (Each staff pastor is assigned a day to make hospital visits).

I catch up on emails, phone calls, and other communications.  I also try to do some reading and praying.

Saturday

Beth & I usually do something together but we try to keep this day light.  We try to be settled in for the day around 5 or 6 pm.  I spend a few hours Saturday evening getting ready to preach on Sunday.

Sunday

I'm up pretty early and get to church to start praying and reviewing the message.  At 9 am we have a prayer team that assembles.  Then it's off to greet folks and preach!  Sunday afternoon I write blogs, email, reflect, and sometimes grab a nap.

Weekly Rundown (9.6.09)

• First to the subject of college football:
  
  
  
  • Navy took Ohio State to the brink but came up short.  Proud of the middies!!
  
  
  • The 'Dawgs have a lot to work on ... Spurrier's coming to town.
  
  
  • Already this season is showing great excitement and drama
  
  
  
  


• Just got back white water rafting down the Ocoee River with a bunch of 7th graders ... great time and AMAZING scenery with some AMAZING young people.
  
  
  
  • This trip was organized completely by the 7th grade VOLUNTEERS in our RB Student Ministry ... this is a BIG part of our vision on two fronts:
    
    
    
    • 1-that adults build relationships with students to serve as spiritual mentors, examples, and advisors
    
    
    • 2-that as church we practice Ephesians 4 ministry: the staff equips and empowers the "church members" to serve and further build up the church
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• Can't tell you how many conversations I'm hearing lately about how much kids are loving (and learning) in Children's Ministry!


• Still praying and seeking wisdom about our 3rd service possibility ... the results of our poll are interesting, encouraging, and exciting.  This data will help us make a better decision.


• I'm so excited about the amount of prayer taking place throughout our church right now ... KEEP IT UP ROCK BRIDGE -- PRAYER IS OUR POWER SOURCE!!


• Here's some things I would appreciate prayers for this week:
  
  
  
  • Wisdom: God's NOT mine or man's
  
  
  • Fresh inspiration from the Holy Spirit as we launch a new series this week called, GAP ... VERY practical.
  
  
  • For NEW guests to come to RBCC this coming weekend (after Labor Day schedules settle down and people are prone to be open to new routines = CHURCH!!!)
  
  
  • For everyone at RBCC this weekend to encounter God's presence, truth, & love!!
  
  
  • For our adoption: a referral to come soon and for Beth & I to have patience
  
  
  
  


• I"m beat ... 2 sermons and 1 wild river!!

Possible 3rd Worship Service!?!?

Over the past few weeks we've experienced an increase in our worship attendance at all our campuses and venues.  While growth is not our goal (glorifying Jesus is), we are excited because MORE people are hearing God's Word and MORE people are experiencing God's love for them.

However, this growth is not without its challenges (but they are the ones we like to have).  At our Dalton campus, we have very little room to add more people, especially at our 11:00 service time ... and this is the time a guest is most likely to show up!! There have been occasions where people have left because they could not find a seat!!  The challenge for us is "What do we do? How do we respond to the 'increase' God is giving us?"

In Calhoun the answer is keep inviting people!!  Keep loving those God sends! Fill up the Civic Auditorium and then add another service!!

In Dalton, the answer is less obvious.  However, we are considering adding a THIRD WORSHIP SERVICE!! Additional services help us free up seats and perhaps reach more people at more times.  The big question is "When?" We are looking at three options and want to survey our church about which option might be best.  Please be in prayer and ask God to give us His wisdom and direction.  Also please remember that at this time we are only considering this option, nothing has been decided.

As you read these options, ask yourself "Which option would have the most appeal to an unchurched person?" AND "Which option (if any) would I attend?

8:15 or 8:30 am SUNDAY MORNING: for early risers and those who like to get the day started quickly

12:30 or 1:00 pm SUNDAY AFTERNOON: for late risers

THURSDAY EVENING (between 6 and 6:30 pm): could be attractive to people who work on weekends (i.e. shift workers), weekend travelers, and college students

If you would be willing to regularly attend and support any of these services, please complete the survey by clicking the link below:

3rd Worship Service Survey