- Before I forget, this week I posted a video of our Easter Sunday Experience. If you’ve ever wanted to see what we do at ExponentialChurch.tv, but haven’t been able to visit here’s your chance.
- This is also something you can share with your friends if they want to see what we’re about before actually showing up at the theater.
- Ok on to today…
- We continued the iLife series today by looking at how God wants us to have financial margin.
- The whole series has been about margin in various areas of life and today we had a great example of how it works in real life situations.
- What I mean is I wish we would have had some more time margin this morning in set-up.
- Andy was gone for his grandfather’s funeral and of course today just had to be the day that we had some equipment failure.
- This meant having to call him to figure out a go around.
- We got it all done, but that meant my emotional margin was about spent.
- This of course then affected the message.
- I think the point was still made but I know I could have done so much better.
- In any case we have a great team and everyone pitched in to help.
- Thanks especially to Mike and Cris for doing more than normal.
- My biggest disappointment was I missed out on Chelsea’s meeting she had for all the children’s workers and I missed our normal all-team meeting (thanks Chad for filling in).
- Congratulations to Dennis Kennel and Rhonda Arndt for winning the 5th and 6th iPads.
- Can’t believe I called the wrong name instead of Rhonda’s…incredibly she had 12 guests with her on the first week of the series.
- Technically her name wasn’t drawn but I wanted to make sure we rewarded her for doing such an awesome job of being a “World Class Inviter“.
- I talked today about online giving and our new initiative called “Automate the Important”. I’ll be sending out the link later today or tomorrow but if you already know you want to give, here’s the link to our secure giving.
- Thanks in advance for your financial support!
- Hope everyone has a great week…lot’s of cool stuff happening…keep being the church!
Inside Today’s Experience
- Guess we’ll have to call this the Monday edition.
- We didn’t get home until after 10pm last night from a wonderful day of Easter activities and by then my brain was too fried to do this post…so here it is a day late.
- Let me start by saying how proud I am of our team. This was probably the least stressful Easter I’ve had since being a pastor.
- Everyone knows their roles and does them very well…going the extra mile to make the ordinary, extraordinary.
- Being the nut for excellence that I am, doesn’t mean I still don’t check and sometimes double check, but 99% of the time things are exactly as they should be and the little extra things to make something even better have already been implemented or thought of.
- With all that said, we had a great Easter Experience!
- Had our 3rd largest crowd ever…which made the theater feel nice and full.
- Most importantly we had 7 people make decisions to become followers of Jesus!
- As for the day itself, set-up went very smooth with nothing out of the ordinary.
- Big thanks to Jeff and Alana Case for cutting their vacation a day short to come back to be with us so Jeff could do all his guitar magic.
- FYI…they also host our practice every Thursday night in Jeff’s basement studio…oh and Alana makes us all dinner as well…awesome couple…couldn’t do what we do without them.
- Also big thanks to Chuck and Tammy Frank. Chuck is the director of church planting for our region of the Churches of God General Conference.
- It was Chuck’s email in October of 2009, that God used to give me the vision for ExponentialChurch.tv.
- In any case, we had a lot of families out of town this weekend that normally serve and so Chuck and Tammy came to not only celebrate Easter with us but to also serve on our First Impressions Team. Thanks!
- We threw a lot of extra elements in the Experience itself but everything went off pretty well…for the things that didn’t we covered them in such a way that nobody even knew.
- No I’m not telling you!
- The band as always did a phenomenal job…I could tell they were really feeding off the energy of the crowd.
- As for my message, I talked about how many things in life “mark” us and how the marks Jesus took have changed history and has the power to change lives as well. You can listen to it here.
- Loved the song /music video the band did coming right out of my message called, “Beautiful Things”. It really brought home the point that God wants to take the old and turn us into something new.
- Afterward the buzz in the lobby was awesome…met so many new people who were really excited about what’s happening.
- Wish I could share all their comments but just a few were…”best church service I’ve ever been to”…”I didn’t want it to end”…”I haven’t been to church for years but I’ll be back”…”very moving”…”thank you, that’s exactly what I needed to hear”.
- Had a nice mix of guests come from personal invites, our Facebook posts and ads, our mailer and even one couple that came because they saw our signs out on Sunday morning and said, “Maybe we should go to a church this morning”. That’s awesome…huge thanks to Mike Sellers for faithfully coming in earlier than anyone else every Sunday and getting the signs out by the road and intersections.
- We video taped the entire Experience yesterday (with the exception of a couple minute period near the end when the camera shut off) to see what it looks/sounds like. Hopefully it came out well and I’ll be able to post it for you to watch online soon.
- Once we were done we went to MD to visit and have lunch with family and then from there went to WV to visit with friends and have dinner.
- Also found out I was quoted in yesterday’s Patriot News on my thoughts about using social media in the church.
- Excited about the kick-off next week to the iLife series.
- We’re giving away 4 FREE iPads to those in attendance (reminder you have to be present to win).
- Been hearing some cool stories of how people are getting the tickets out to their friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers.
- Remember the more people you invite, the greater your chances of winning so keep getting those tickets out…if you need more let me know we still have a few left.
- In the meantime, I’ve got a busy day ahead…I leave tomorrow for a conference in Florida…supposed to be in the low 90’s…oh yeah!
Inside Today’s Experience
- I like to think of myself as someone who depends on God’s Spirit, but today I didn’t have an option but.
- Last night just before midnight as I was looking over my notes for today’s message, I heard Lisa yell for me to come to the basement right away.
- Our bedroom is down there and unfortunately water was seeping up through the carpeting.
- We did what we could to make sure nothing was damaged and finally went to bed around 1am.
- The problem was it wasn’t to bed since our new house has two offices for us but no spare bed room.
- So I ended up on the sofa and she ended up on the love seat in my office.
- Of course I couldn’t’ sleep well for various reasons and only ended up with 2 hours sleep.
- How I ended up functioning properly is beyond me.
- How this turned out to be my favorite worship Experience since we launched 6 months ago has to do with the Holy Spirit and the awesome team that we’ve assembled.
- We were doing a lot things differently today so our warm-up time went super long, so big thanks to Chad for filling in at the last minute to lead the team meeting and prayer time. By the way their basement flooded last night as well…ughhh.
- The band as always did an awesome job leading worship.
- After the greeting time we took a brief moment to prayer for the Fox family.
- Their son JT passed away this past week at the age of 32. He was 1 of the 71 people who have made a profession of faith since we launched in October.
- Just goes to show we never know how much time we have on this earth and why evangelism is so important.
- Today was the wrap-up to our “Winning” series where we’ve been learning how to take filter pop culture through God’s Word so it helps us bridge the gap between God and the people in our culture.
- Here’s a video showing how some are applying last week’s message.
- After having looked at a popular movie and TV show the past two weeks, today we did a song that has been near the top of the rock charts for nearly 7 months now…”Waiting on the End” by Linkin Park.
- It was cool having our drummer Steve do some of the vocals…reminded me of how Phil Collins used to sing and play drums at the same time.
- I used this song as a jump off to the thing that is most valuable to God…people.
- The key thought was…”Everybody that I have ever laid my eyes on is somebody for whom Jesus died”.
- It of course helped to reinforce one of our core values at ExponentialChurch.tv….”Lost people matter to God and therefore they must matter to me”.
- I can’t describe it but I knew something special was happening even as I was sharing the message…you’ll just have to listen for yourself.
- The band came right out of my message with one of my favorite songs…”Tears of the Saints”.
- This went right into communion and then back into everyone singing along to the bridge and chorus of “Tears of the Saints”.
- I was a mess by this point and was somewhat relived when I got back on stage to see that most of the crowd was a mess as well.
- God showed up big time and spoke to our hearts about how important people are and the urgency for reaching as many people as possible as quickly as possible.
- To be honest I wasn’t sure how to transition at that point to offering so I just stood there like a deer in headlights for awhile and then had the people applaud for all that God has done and is yet to do.
- During the announcement time I then announced not only what we’re doing next week for Easter (a message called, “Marked”…which I think will be at least as powerful as today) but also our next series starting May 1st.
- It’s called iLife and as a part of the series we’re giving away 4 FREE iPads!
- We had 2500 invite cards/tickets made up that look like iPads and our people can give them away to as many people as they want.
- It was awesome seeing people walking out of the theater with huge stacks in their hands.
- After the awesome Experience today I dreaded coming home.
- Thanks to Larry and Melissa Evans for letting me borrow their shop vac.
- I vacuumed for 6 hours this afternoon…not fun but necessary.
- Hopefully now I can enjoy a relaxing evening and get some much needed sleep.
- This week I’ve got two funerals to attend (including an out of town one), I’ve got to wrap up last minute details for Easter and prepare for the following Sunday as well since I leave early next week for Florida.
- It sounds like an impossible week but as God proved today if I’ll rely on Him, He’ll give me all the strength I need.
Inside Today’s Experiences
- Just now getting home after a full day of church and family activities.
- Amazed by today’s Experiences…so awesome.
- Won’t have the final count until tomorrow but we know of at least 12 people who made decisions to follow Jesus today!
- Makes all the hard work and spiritual warfare I mentioned earlier this week worth it!
- Big props to the entire team for working nearly around the clock to make all the elements today so successful.
- Special thanks to Brian and Thom for the two huge 20 foot truss crosses.
- Leave it to United…if we’re going to have crosses they will be big and they will have all kinds of cool things they do.
- Basically loved everything about today…
- Brian had an idea to do a live countdown with video and light show and it definitely had the crowd pumped more so than the normal countdowns.
- Thought the roof was going to blow off the place during the first two songs at the 9:45 Experience. Man you guys were loud and rowdy…just the way we like it. 🙂
- Good laugh playing the Here Comes Peter Cottontail song during the fill out connection card time…hilarious.
- Loved the Desperate People song…it started the whole tear down the walls theme if you were listening to the lyrics carefully.
- The Slam Poet definitely kicked things into another gear. Jesse Fisher is the guy who did it and he is amazing. I included it on the beginning of the message recording if you’re interested in hearing him do his thing.
- About 6 weeks ago as the guys pitched me the idea of doing a series called Absolution, all I could think of was someone going into a confessional booth and the wall that separates them. This led to me having the idea to make Easter all about walls.
- A few weeks back as I was ready to write the message, the idea then came to put a wall on stage that I could put graffiti on represent my sin. Then last week I had the idea to tear down the wall and then Thursday night as we were practicing it, God spoke to me that we needed a cross to be the only thing left standing.
- Brian had the idea to do the song Tear Down the Walls a few weeks back and the rest as they say is history…from what I’ve heard it was one of the most memorable and touching moments we’ve ever created.
- I know it was for me. Seeing my sins written on that wall and then getting to tear it down was very emotional. At the first Experience I couldn’t help but break down and cry. At the 2nd Experience I got more physical with the wall and took out my frustration on the wall like it was Satan himself.
- Long story short…between both Experiences, kicking, punching and tearing down a wall, has left me hands and arms scraped and cut up.
- But I don’t regret a moment up it…in the moment I didn’t feel a thing.
- As I reflected on that this afternoon, it made me think of Jesus. It was because of His great love for us that He endured the pain of the cross.
- Certainly a few cuts on my arms pale in comparison to what He endured so I’m not going to complain.
- Ok funny story. Thursday night we did a full walk through of Sunday morning like we normally do. When it came time to tear down the wall, Andrea said, “This isn’t going to be dangerous is it”? I assured her no, but then as I began to destroy it, the prototype that had been built completely feel apart, framework and all. It went toppling towards Andrea…she dodged out of the way…and it barely missed crashing into the keyboard. The guys then set out to build the mother of all walls…which they did…that frame today wasn’t going anywhere!
- Also funny is that in the first Experience as I was tearing the wall apart, I wasn’t thinking about how forceful I throwing pieces of drywall. Imagine my surprise when I turn around and there are pieces lying at the feet of people in the front rows. Oops.
- So much to say about today and so many people to thank…what an incredible day.
- Overall we had 1211 people in attendance today at all services and Experiences…so awesome to see everyone invite like crazy to make sure as many people as possible could hear the good news about Jesus.
- Hopefully later this week I can post some other stuff about today, but for now I’m whupped and ready for some sleep. Thanks again for celebrating Easter with us…have a great week!
As Honest As I Can Be
Just a few more days until Easter. To be honest I’m an emotional mess for a number of reasons. I think the primary reason is I realize this is my last big event for United. For 3+ years we have worked together as a team to reach as many people for Jesus as possible. Over 300 people have made 1st time professions, which is awesome but the work is far from done and I realize my influence on this community is quickly coming to a conclusion. I want so bad for us to have one last big-time push to bring people to Jesus.
I’m also emotional because the team has been working nearly around the clock all this week to make sure the Easter Experiences this year are something memorable, impacting and life-changing. When I think about what could be this Sunday I well up with emotion realizing that we’re doing all we can and just praying that you’re doing your part inviting as many people as possible to hear the Good News of Jesus victory over death and sin.
Finally I’m emotional because the devil isn’t happy about this and all week long as been doing all kinds of things in my life to try to stop this Sunday from being all that it can be. Honestly constant spiritual warfare is draining, tiring and sometimes deflating. I’m talking so bad that this week he’s been constantly whispering to me how bad I am, how my life isn’t making a difference and how I should just quit and do something else with my life. Reading God’s word though reminds me that I am forgiven, more than a conqueror and a vital piece of the puzzle in seeing God’s kingdom come here in Chambersburg and beyond.
So with all that being said. If you are a part of the United Worship Experience and really want to do something to make a difference in people’s lives and want to do something nice for me as a kind of going away present, then do whatever it takes this week to make sure you have at least 1 guest with you. People’s eternal lives really do depend on what we together as a church accomplish. Don’t let this just be another week or weekend that goes by without inviting those you know and love to come check out what it is that we do and more importantly who it is that we worship. Jesus hanging on a cross was not comfortable, yet he did it anyway because He loves you. Won’t you show your love in return by getting out of your comfort zone and inviting multiple people to come with you this week?
I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is God’s powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven. –Romans 1:16
For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? -Romans 10:13-14