New!!

This Sunday we'll be opening a 2nd worship venue at our Dalton Campus.  We've leased the HorseFeathers building right across the street from our Children/Nursery areas.  This is a temporary solution until Stage 123 opens in the Fall. 

• Our 11:00 Dalton service is 80-90% full.  This is service when we have the most number of guests and decisions made for Christ.   That is why we call this the "optimal" service time ... most Americans when they do come to church will attend the service closest to the 11 o'clock hour.


• Adding this new venue gives us another 100-150 seats for worship ... thus enabling more people to experience Rock Bridge and hear about Jesus Christ.


• The worship will be LIVE & the message will be via LIVE video straight from the Wink.  Jeremy Owens will be leading worship and the message will be shown real time.
  
  
  
  • The environment will be smaller, easier to access, and closer to the children's areas on campus.
  
  
  • Yes, we'll still have coffee :)
  
  
  
  

If you are a regular attender of the 11:00 service, would you consider being one of 100 people we need to move into this new venue?  Even consider attending it twice a month ... anything will help.  Remember:

• Anytime we have intentionally made seats for people, God has brought people to fill those seats!  God wants churches to grow by reaching people far from Him and outside His family.

Pray for this new service and pray for the increased capacity this gives us to minister to more people!!

The Most Important Sunday Ever!!

(One quick correction:  Sunday during my message I used politics and voting as an illustration.  Apparently some people thought I said I was affiliated with a particular political party ... my reference was only a hypothetical example to illustrate how upbringing influences voting ... as well as our faith.)  Okay, now on to this blog's subject ...

In many ways Easter Sunday is like a wonderful moment in time ... both in history and present day.  In the present, the moment includes record church attendance, tons of guests, lots of decisions made for Christ, Easter dresses, great music, big family gatherings; however, typically after Easter everything returns to normal.  BUT there is a big difference between the Easter of history and the Easter of present day ...

The Easter of history ignited a MOVEMENT the likes of which the world has never seen ... thousands saved, a new religion launched, a new organization (the church) started that eventually overtook the most powerful empire the world had ever known.

Here's what I believe and am praying for this week:  for the moment to matter it has to become a movement!  The people who experienced the first Easter never got over it!! (I think this is why Jesus always asked people to "Follow Me", because follow means "move with".)  As a result, Christianity swept across the world as the Gospel of Jesus Christ captured life after life.

Now I believe that that the moment of Easter still matters.  The question for us today in 2008 is will it become a movement?  This weekend was amazing.  Sunday was amazing.  The fact of Easter is amazing.  God is amazing.  BUT ... will it become a movement of people finding new life in Christ?  Will we "get over it" and "go back to normal" OR ... will we refuse to "get over it"?  Will we refuse to be normal because it is not normal for someone to rise from the dead ... and that Someone is our Lord!!!!!!!!!

So I believe this week and this Sunday is REALLY important.  Seeds were planted Sunday.  Invitations were extended and big prayers were prayed. What happens next? The tomb is still empty, Jesus is still alive, and the promise of Easter is still available. 

So would you pray big for this Sunday?  Invite someone to church with you?  Worship with the same passion this week (because the tomb is still empty!)? Love people like Jesus does?  Live with undying hope in the God that death could not kill? Be a movement Christ-follower, & not a normal Christian?

Easter Rundown

What an amazing weekend for the kingdom of God.  Several churches around our area reporting via the blog world some awesome stuff that can only be described as a move of God!!  I'm so pumped to be part of a movement like the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Here's the rundown:

• So I lost my voice Thursday night, uttered hardly a word until Sunday morning, and sounded like Pee-Wee Hermon or like I was 14 and going through puberty.


• The "home rememedies" for voice loss were pretty amazing ... where did ya'll get some of that stuff?


• Preaching 3 services back-to-back-to-back was actually pretty cool and exciting ... sort of like runner's high ... but I'm crashing right now and tomorrow I'll be a zombie. 


• Props to our Dalton tech team for being ready to set-up a video message just in case my voice totally crashed after the 8:00 service.


• Talking to your wife using non-verbal methods is actually kind of fun :)


• The Egg Drop in Calhoun was insane ... we had over 6000 children register, probably close to 12k total in attendance!  People were there from 46 different towns and 5 different states!!  We had NO IDEA the turnout would be that huge.  Our volunteers rocked, we learned a lot, and I think Calhoun now has a great idea of how bad we want to make a difference for Christ in the community.


• Great crowd at the 8:00 am service ... I wonder if we could get that many to attend regularly at that time ... just thinking out loud :)


• Sunday morning ... wow!  I mean, WOW!!  From Dalton to Calhoun tons of guests and a good number of decisions made for Christ.  Don't have the final numbers yet but we did smash our previous record (which was set last week) -- I think the most important number will be what happens next week.


• Thanks to everyone who brought diapers today for the Family Crisis Center and the Woman's Enrichment Center (Dalton) and the Crisis Pregnancy Center (Calhoun).  You can still bring them next Sunday too!


• Prayers for this week:
  
  
  
  • TONS of follow-up to do from the Egg Drop, Easter, and decisions made for Christ ... I mean TONS.  Pray for all those who attended for the 1st-time and for those who made a spiritual decision!
  
  
  • My voice.
  
  
  • Our staff ... just thank God for them.  I can't thank and praise them enough!!
  
  
  • Could be a cool announcement coming in the next few days.
  
  
  • Next Sunday ... pray the move continues!!
  
  
  
  

OH MY GOODNESS!

Oh my goodness am I PUMPED UP about what God has in store for us this weekend!! I can't explain it, I can't tell you what it will be like BECAUSE it has everything to do with God showing up like only He can do.  I know it WILL be something like is described here.

I feel like we've been in the "squat rack" (need to read this post to understand completely) and now the muscles God has been developing in us get put to use.  I am believing God for BIG stuff.  I don't want people to walk away saying, "Good service."  "Good music."  "Good message."  -- I want people to walk away CHANGED by the RISEN Christ!!  Please pray this with me.  I am praying this Scripture for this entire PRIME TIME series ... please pray it with me and FOR our community.

As a reminder of what is going on this weekend:

EGG DROP IN CALHOUN at the Rec. Complex in Sonoraville starting at 10:00 am.  Check out www.easterincalhoun.com for more information.  Trust me you don't want to miss 30,000 eggs coming out of the helo (and no the eggs won't be dropped on people's heads and they won't break ... you just gotta come check it out)!!!!

4 SERVICES ON SUNDAY:  Calhoun at 10:30 am; Dalton at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 am.  FOR BOTH CAMPUSES ... BRING A GUEST WITH YOU!!!!

The Squat

I recently resumed doing the king of all weight lifting exercises -- the squat.  The squat is not for the faint of heart and is usually avoided in most gyms (I've been avoiding it since college).  The squat hurts while doing it and afterwards ... sometimes for days. The squat defines the phrase: "No pain, no gain." So today my legs hate me and I'm walking like a guy who spent too much time riding a horse. 

Yet here is the funny thing -- after completing my second squat workout this week, I'm already feeling better.  Sure it still hurts but my legs seem to be responding and in a sick sort of way, I'm looking forward to my next squat routine (tenatively scheduled for Friday).

I think there are lot of parallels between the squat and our spiritually workouts.  A lot of us avoid church, personal Bible study, prayer, inviting friends to church, and passionate worship because it seems a bit intimidating and often times makes us uncomfortable in areas we don't like to be uncomfortable.  Yet like the squat, spiritual "exercises" work and produce results; the second time around is usually better; and our character will respond ... our walk with Christ will grow stronger ... and suddenly we'll find ourselves looking forward to what we once avoided.Â

Bible Study: Acts

In preparation for Vision Sunday I read through the Book of Acts ... what a vision for the church!!!  I'm inspired every time I read it.  Here are some highlights:

• The church could not move forward without seeking and waiting on the power of God which came through the Holy Spirit.
  
  
  
  • There is no substitute for doing church by the power of the Holy Spirit ... we can be as creative and relevant and hospitable, etc. etc but without God's power nothing significant happens.
  
  
  • Prayer is a big part of bringing in the Holy Spirit's power: the 120 first church members prayed for 10 days and then look what happened; Paul prayed & fasted for 3 days and became one of the greatest evangelists and church planters ever.
  
  
  
  


• 3000 people were saved in ONE DAY!!


• The first church acted quickly and decisively to protect their unity and the purity of the Gospel.
  
  
  
  • A couple was struck dead in Acts 5 ... talk about nipping it in the bud!!
  
  
  • The church leaders quickly realized that Christ died for EVERYONE and that the Gospel was for EVERYONE so they quickly broadened the scope of their ministry to Gentiles.
  
  
  
  


• The first churches were culturally sensitive but they never compromised their message.


• In Pisidian Antioch, Paul & Barnabas spoke and the next week almost the whole city came to church!! (Acts 13:42-44).
  
  
  
  • I pray for that type of influence and impact in our communities!!
  
  
  
  


• Satan knows the names of those who are spreading the Gospel!!  (Acts 19:15)


• Count how many times it reads in the Scriptures that Paul and his team "encouraged the believers".  He appointed Elders and pastors in each church to care for and shepherd the people.
  
  
  
  • We must grow larger and yet smaller at the same time.  Our ability to care for people and nurture people in their faith is very important. 
  
  
  • I believe reaching people is a HUGE part of what we do and who the church is supposed to be, BUT the church must also help encourage people in their walk with Christ.
  
  
  • This is a MAJOR reason why we hired our Connections Pastor; this is the benefit to multi-site because the Campus Pastor gets to focus a lot of his energy on this; this is why we started the CONNECT ENVIRONMENT after each service so people can meet some staff members, get information, or receive prayer.  {Carll does a great job with this environment at our Calhoun Campus ... and great job to Alfred, Brenda, Kim, Gail, & Melisa for making it happen in Dalton}
  
  
  
  


• Final thought: the nature of the Gospel is to spread (Acts 13:47).

Vision Sunday Rundown

All I can say is I am thanking and praising God right now for a wonderful Vision Sunday!!  This church simply amazes me at your willingness to bring your friends to church with you and the kingdom is growing because of it.

I usually don't like to post numbers but today for the first time ever our attendance was >2000 between our Calhoun & Dalton campuses.  We had several cross the line of faith and TONS of first time guests ... and next Sunday is Easter!! Remember we've got 3 services next week: 8, 9:30 and 11:00 am ...plenty of room to bring a guest!!

I really believe that God is up to something BIG and I am excited that He lets me be part of it.  We, the church, are called to be on offense not on defense.  We are called to a be a "door" that connects our communities to Christ.  The church really is the hope of the world. 

PRAY BIG THIS WEEK ... and enjoy the Krispy Kremes :)

The Rundown

I took a blogging break for the past few days so I'll catch up with a mid-week rundown.

• Disciple Now was incredible!!  Speaker Tim Bach rocked and the Steve Fee Band was unbelievable!!  We had numerous students make decisions for Christ ... and the Saturday night service was one of the top worship experiences of my life!!  (By the way, Tim is planting a church in Bend, Oregon called Icon City.)


• Vision Sunday is this Sunday!!!  From what hear ya'll are inviting folks ... that's awesome ... keep inviting and praying for this season in our church!!  We want LOTS OF PEOPLE to connect to Christ and His community.


• Beth & I went snow skiing Sunday after church to Sugar Mountain, NC.  We normally crash after these big weekends so we decided to get out of town and re-charge ... it was awesome!  We were on the slopes over 9 hours on Monday!!


• God is really challenging me to pray hard for this series and season our church is in.  I feel like the persistent friend at midnight in Luke 11.  My prayers are real specific and real persistent right now.


• I can't wait to preach the "vision" message this Sunday!!


• Unleash Conference is tomorrow!!  >100 of us are headed up to NewSpring and we'll come back fired up for what God can do through the local church!!

Prime Time! Rundown.

PRIME TIME! is coming!!!  This is a prime season to invite a friend to church to hear about Christ.  Look at what's ahead:

DISCIPLE NOW is this weekend for students across NW Georgia!  Steve Fee Band is going to rock.  Parents, this weekend has the potential to change lives forever ... and if there is a conflict during part of the weekend they can still come and participate in as much as possible.  Find out more about sign-ups by going to www.rockbridge.cc and clicking on the Disciple Now: The Face of God logo.

VISION SUNDAY is March 16th.  We have been doing a "vision Sunday" since we were <1 year old.  We ask everyone to bring an unchurched friend with them to hear why Rock Bridge exists and what makes Rock Bridge Rock Bridge.  Each year our church has grown because of this ONE WEEKEND!!!  But more importantly, people have connected with Christ and His community.  We'll have a testimony, awesome music, and I'll share the vision God has given this church (I wrapped up most of the message this weekend and I can't wait!!).  So pray boldly and invite people to church.  Send them this link to learn more about RBCC:  www.rockbridgeprimetime.com

EGG DROP IN GORDON-CALHOUN!!  We'll be dropping 30,000 eggs from a helo at the Sonoraville Rec. Complex soccer fields on Saturday, March 22nd.  It starts at 10:00 am and is going to be a blast for children and their families.  Anyone is invited and it is all FREE!!  Check out www.easterincalhoun.com. 

EASTER SUNDAY is MARCH 23rd!!  In Dalton, we're doing 3 identical services at 8:00, 9:30, & 11:00 am.  In Calhoun, some improvements will be finished to the Civic Auditorium.  Again, it's prime time to invite someone to church with you!