Sunday Wrap-up: The Big Announcement Edition

• Pictures of today will be uploaded tomorrow…some great pictures, especially from the Baptism at the Bay.
• We baptized around a dozen people.  It poured rain on the last four people.  They were baptized by immersion and sprinkling.  So, I guess they’re double covered.
• Chris and Ritz have made it back from the Beach and have their wrap-ups finished.
• I really enjoyed today.  Habakkuk was a great series.
• The three services have really started to feel normal and comfortable.
• I feel like I’m able to connect with more people as well.
• I also got to share our BIG NEWS three times.  What is it?
• We have a second location!
• On Thursday, we were given the keys to a church and a house on Plantation Key in Islamorada, the Village of Islands (mile marker 90.5)!…one of the most beautiful places on the planet as you can see by the pic I snapped off during dinner Friday night.
• It’s a really great place and property, with a ton of potential.
• We’ll shoot some pictures tomorrow and post them up.  In the meantime, there’s one picture of the south wing and main auditorium, which seats about 170-200 people.
• Our staff will be meeting there tomorrow and beginning the work of laying out a plan for that campus, including getting a campus pastor in place, renovations, and a launch time line.
• We have quite a few families that make the drive up from the Keys for church every Sunday.  This may be a natural fit for them.
• We also have a lot of families from the Keys that come to LPC semi-regularly.
• And, there are a ton of people in the Upper Keys that don’t know Jesus personally…they’re just waiting for a place like Life Pointe to make an introduction and be a community of faith that will help them pursue Jesus in a big way.
• God is ridiculously good. I can’t stop thinking about what might be coming.  I think none of us really have a clue.

HUGE NEWS- A Little Hint

Huge News! A little hint.

HUGE NEWS THIS SUNDAY

I want to tell it now…think it would be best to be with the whole church family when it’s announced.  It’s bigger than big.  It’s going to blow you away.

Why I Don’t Talk Politics at Church

Occassionaly, you may hear me crack a joke about politicians.  But, you’ll never hear me talk about who you should vote for at Life Pointe.

Do I vote?  Yep.

Do I think voting is important? Sure do.

Do I have a strong opinion?  Of course…you know I do.  I have an opinion about everything.

Do I talk politics in private? Yep, especially if I’m around my dad or brother.

So, why don’t those conversations bleed over into Sunday mornings?

• Because EVERYTHING we do has to pass muster with our mission: “loving God and man with reckless abandon.”
• Because advancing the life changing Gospel of Jesus is much more important than who is in the White House, Congress, or City Hall.
• Because people who have strong opinions that are very different than mine will be at Life Pointe on Sunday.  If my opinion gets in the way of them hearing about the goodness of Jesus, I would never forgive myself.
• Because the political structure past, present, or future is not the best answer to what ails us.
• I have leadership “chips.”  I’m going to spend those chips on what really counts.  Every time I press for a big decision in the life of the church, I have to spend leadership chips.  I don’t spend those chips on just anything.  I want to spend them for what really counts.

I’ll exercise my vote every opportunity I get.  If you want to hear my thoughts, ask.  If you don’t care about your vote, don’t vote.  If you don’t care, don’t vote.  If you do vote, know why you’re voting.  Know what you believe.

The End (of rant on politics).

Mario from Next Door Is in The Wall Street Journal

Chris posted a link to this Wall Street Journal article about Homestead, FL.  Great read.  The coolest thing about it?  Mario Leyva is in the article.  Mario is my neighbor.  I looked at him while I told a joke on Sunday while I was speaking in the 11 AM service.  I’ve seen the Dolphins get whooped while sitting on his couch eating some seriously good eats.

He’s famous.  I’m getting his autograph tomorrow.

“Spend Less Reach More” by David A. Jones

“Spend Less Reach More” by David A. Jones is a quick, no-nonsense guide for pastors and church leaders who are considering developing a church marketing budget.  It covers the basic definitions of marketing, advertising, and branding.  Then it launches into spending priorities.

Following are some of my takeaways:

1. Marketing speaks the language of the person to be reached, not the person speaking.
2. In referencing the non-producing tree that Jesus cursed in Mark 11:14, a look at a church that is no longer growing may show that it may be too concerned with leaves and not enough about fruit.
3. Whether people come to Jesus by a personal invitation or by a TV spot matters little.  What matters is that a person came to Jesus.
4. If you can make the same impression over 17 times to the same individual, that person is more likely to invest in your product, schedule time to attend your event, or buy your service.
5. Master the basics.  The team that masters the basics will end up with more wins than losses in their column.  Don’t focus on the big wins.  Focus on the little things.  Tweak them.  Improve them.  Create a great experience and you’ll get a win.
6. A Marketing Budget rule of thumb is 5-7% of your annual budget.
7. Your marketing plan must answer precise, God-centered, and goal driven questions (painfully specific: number of guests per week, commitments to Christ, etc…).
8. Branding is a container for an individual’s complete experience with an organization.
9. If you have staff not living the brand or vision, fire them.
10. Creating multiple and consistent impression is the key to any good marketing campaign.  It is better to target 1,000 people three times than it is to target 3,000 people one time.  When people start calling you and asking you to stop mailing them, you know you are on the verge of a successful campaign.

You can also check out what Church Marketing Sucks has to say about this quick read.

My Last 90 Days

In a talk Nelson had with my group in our last coaching session, he talked about maximizing the last 90 days of the year.  I zeroed in on his talk further in a training event I was at in West Virginia a couple weeks ago.  With a little bit of alone time, I spent some time re-evaluating who I am.

Among other things, I am a:

• Husband
• Father
• Son
• Pastor

In the last 90 days of 2008, here are the things I want to accomplish in these 4 life domains:

• As a husband, I want to create more sacred space for us- where nothing crowds in on our time.  In the next 90 days, Kelly and I are reading through the New Testament (4 chapters per day) and journaling our prayer needs and significant thoughts.  We put the kids to bed at 8 pm.  8 PM is our time without noise.
• As a Father, I’m riding bikes with my crew every day (except Tuesday and Sunday).  I have a trailer on my mountain bike for Kourtney and McKenna.  Kelly has a seat on her bike for Blake.  We ride between 2-8 miles right when I come home before dinner.  We see a lot on these rides and really enjoy each other.  Plus, I want to stay healthy for them so I don’t kick the bucket too early.
• As a son, I want to hang at my parent’s house on Sundays and watch football, eat food, and tell stories.
• As a pastor, I want to pour myself into preparation for teaching.  I want to read more. I want to be fully prepared, growing as a pastor/leader.  I want to see my church grow in spiritual maturity.  They won’t if I’m not.

There are some other “last 90 days” things on my list.  Some are personal.  Some are significant to me but, probably not to you.

• Who are you?
• What do you want to get done in your last 90 days?

Average Age of Our Sunday Guests Across Three Services

I’m looking forward to tracking the average age of our first time guests across the three services.  I thought for sure, the 8:30 service would have the oldest demographic.  But, the oldest demographic of our first time guests came to the 9:45 service.  Interesting.

Another interesting note is that 35% of our first time guests are older than me.  I love the fact that our church is multicultural/multiracial.  It is also multi-generational.

8:30 – avg. age of 27 years old

9:45 – avg. age of 34 years old

11:00 – avg. age of 23 years old

Sunday Wrap-up

• Slideshow from today is here.
• More wrap-ups? Kelly, Chris, Alex, Jesse, Phil, and Ritz.  If their wrap-ups aren’t there, they will be soon.  These guys/gals always have good run-downs.
• Habakkuk 2.  3 words to never forget, “But, the Lord…” No matter what God is on the throne.
• I want faith that has been tested.  I just don’t like the testing.
• High point of the day? People making decisions to commit their lives to Jesus, including 3 students at The Cure.
• Cool point of the day? Live video announcements by Jesse and Juanita in the dark with flashlights.  It had a very Blair Witch feel to it.  People were responding very wel l and didn’t realize it was live.  When they figured that out, they responded even better.
• I think today was my last Sunday as a 2-eyed pastor.  Next week, I’ll be rocking some specs.
• I looked for the kind with white tape on the bridge…couldn’t find ‘em.
• Yesterday, I was bemoaning that rite of passage into maturity.
• Today, I’m glad I won’t have to be straining to read next week.  Pride is for losers…and the young…losing a little more pride with each day. 
• The 8:30 was a little troubled with technical difficulties.  If a cat had been around, I would have kicked it.  No offense, Chris.
• We had a great tech meeting today and knocked out a lot of stuff.  We’re bringing the heat next week in every area.
• Still, we had good services, really good services.  God is at work in us.
• We moved the curtains back to provide a little more space and had a decent feel.
• We weren’t where we were last week, but we did have around 460 people.
• We had roughly 2 dozen families make their first appearances at Life Pointe, which is a really good thing- especially since a lot of those are your co-workers.  awesome.

Habakkuk-week-2-message-notes (audio and video here)

Things I Want to See Happen for Life Pointe

I want to see my church family at Life Pointe:

• fall in love with the Scriptures and read the Bible on a daily basis,
• live out what the Scriptures direct us to do (love God and love our neighbor),
• be generous people- honoring God with the tithe and by giving of themselves to the world around them,
• be people who are increasingly hospitable,
• be people of prayer…people who talk to God daily,
• be people who have a backbone, guts, grit…who are not easily shaken free by circumstance from their commitment to God and passion for Him,
• be people who love,
• and be people who embrace God in every area of their lives, allowing God to transform them and reshape them according to His purpose for them.
• be people who are thirsty to please God before anything else.

What are some of the things you would like to see for your life this year?

Q&A from Sunday’s Message on Habakkuk

Going to three services meant that we had to shorten our service by 10 minutes.  So, we decided not to do Q&A on week 1 of Habakkuk: When God Seems Unfair during the service.  We’ll be back this week.  In the meantime, here are some of the best questions from Sunday morning:

Q: “I believe God never puts you in a situation you can’t get out of.”

A: I’d say “yes” and “no.”  Eventually, we will find ourselves in a situation we can’t get out of…death and taxes come to mind.  Sometimes, things go bad to the point that wishing the situation away won’t do much of anything.  However, the Bible tells us that God will not allow us to be tempted to the point that we are unable to stand up against it.  Check out 1 Corinthians 10:12-14, especially verse 13:

12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin. 13 But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it. 14 So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols.

Q: I want to forgive God.  But, why does that phrase seem wrong to me?

A: For any number of reasons, we can feel wronged by God.  I must have had a half dozen people talk to me on Sunday about how they had been in “the dip” because of the premature loss of a spouse, child, or close friend.  I would say that in those times, it would be absolutely natural to question God.

Why does the phrase seem wrong?  Because He is God, our creator who is perfect and who never makes a mistake.  That doesn’t prohibit us from questioning.  But, that may be one of the reasons you feel odd.  You may have also been taught that it is never appropriate to question God or any authority figure.  Entire books on the Christian market are dedicated to tell you NOT to question authority.  I don’t see that modeled by Jesus, Thomas, Job, the Lamentations, a third of the Book of Psalms, and the Dsiciples.

Sometimes, they got in trouble for questioning with a wrong heart.  But, I simply don’t see a philosophy of blind followership in the Scriptures.

Message Series at Life Pointe

I’m tweaking up my 2008-2009 preaching calendar. There are a lot better resources out there on how to do that than me.  But, I do want to give you a glimpse into what is going through my mind as I plan for the upcoming year.  Here are some considerations I have:

• Spend around half of the year going through the Scriptures verse-by-verse.  Make it appealing.  But, lay a strong Scriptural foundation that will help people have a firm grip and a love for the Scriptures.
• Spend the other half of the year specifically addressing the felt needs of our community.
• Target seasons of growth (fall launch and spring/Easter) with felt needs message series.
• During the summer, help our people put down roots with a strong Book Study.
• Leverage cultural events wherever possible.
• Sometimes, be counter-cultural in our topics.
• Always be counter-cultural in the message.
• Spend one series per year on Christian Disciplines (prayer, giving, service, study)
• Use my head and heart to set the calendar.
• Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and be willing to divert from the preaching calendar.
• Make the message series as interactive as possible.  Help people become involved in the process.
• Alternate between short (3-4 week) and longer (5-12 week) message series.  Try not to stack longer message series back-to-back.

Sunday Wrap-up: 3 service launch edition

• Check out the slideshow of today’s pics.
• First of all, our volunteers are amazing.  I’m blown away by the high commitment level and the consistent service.  You guys are seriously incredible for arriving early, serving passionately, and staying late.
• Chris, Bill, Kelly, Alex, Ritz, Phil, and some of the other LPC bloggers listed on the left-hand side  have their own wrap-ups posted.  Check them out.
• We had a good response to the Haiti Hurricane Relief project.  The Cure is rockin’ the Blood Water Mission to provide 1,000 people in Africa clean drinking water for a year…great stuff….very proud of them.
• Leading up to any BIG DAY, I have angst…nervous angst.  I wonder, “Will anyone show up?” Weird.
• I had the same feeling leading up to our Easter Egg Hunt too. 6,500 more people than we were prepared for showed up.
• Well, the launch of our 3rd service went really well.  Attendance was distributed very evenly (8:30 am=173, 9:45 am=179, 11 am=174) for a total of 526.
• We’ll probably never see that even distribution again…but, I sure would like to.  To everyone that punched the easy button and made the 8:30 home, I have to say that you guys are half way decent in my eyes.
• If we can keep the same ratio, we will be good in the theater with up to around 770 people before having to make our next move (either a second location, new location, or a 4th service in another auditorium, which would begin to present issues with our children’s venues)
• We also closed out our 4-week life group registration today (we’ll still take stragglers) with 290 people in groups.
• This is an important number to us.  Butts in seats on Sunday means little if next steps aren’t being taken. Being a part of life group is a big next step in your growth process.  And, it is measurable.  We can measure the spiritual temperature to a degree by looking at this number.
• We tackled Habakkuk chapter 1 today and began the back and forth grip session Habakkuk had with God where Habakkuk asked God “why He was so unfair sometimes.”
• One person mentioned to me that they “had forgiven God earlier in the week” for something that had happened to them earlier in life.  I think that captures the heart of Habakkuk.
• Bottom line? Simultaneous Faith and Questions are appropriate parts of the life of a follower of Jesus.
• After service, I walked down to the Kids Life areas to show my cousin around.  She couldn’t believe all that goes on in our theater on Sundays.
• Sometimes you are so close to things that you don’t see them like other people do.  It really is quite amazing what the Kids Life team does each week.
• Well, after this morning, I am ready to retire.  I’m going home to see my honey and watch my fantasy football teams run up the score on this guy and this guy…even though Tom Brady broke a leg and had to be put down.

HABAKKUK WEEK 1: message notes – audio – video

From the “What’s Up With That?!?! Files”

Thanks to Scott for the link.

Help Haiti this Sunday

We have been incredibly fortunate to have the last several hurricanes (Ike, Gustav, Hannah, and Faye) largely miss us.  The people of Haiti have not been so fortunate.  The island has been absolutely hammered.  The situation is desperate.  They need our prayers and support.  You can help with both.

This Sunday, fill a couple plastic bags of canned goods from your pantry.  Bring those bags to Life Pointe for the 8:30, 9:45, or 11 am services this Sunday.

We already have a trailer full of supplies ready to go out.  Help us double our shipment, which is scheduled to ship to Haiti via Red Cross on Tuesday morning.

And, if you are inviting your friends for the kick off of our new message series, “Habakkuk: When God Seems Unfair,” ask them to bring some canned food too.  This situation is exactly the kind of thing Habakkuk would be complaining about.  This is a BIG opportunity for us hold our questions about this kind of thing in one hand and to extend grace to our neighbors with our other hand (just like God extended to us).

Stewardship Questions and Resources – Loaded Message Series

We closed out the “Loaded” message series this past Sunday.  I have some open loops to close before moving on…after this post, consider them closed. 

1. The best Sunday of the three-week series was the last Sunday.  You shouldn’t miss that message (video – audio – message notes).  We have 50 CDs of that service we will be giving away this Sunday at the info booth if you’d like to take it home or give it to a friend.
2. Three of our life groups will be going using the book, “Financial Peace Revisited” by Dave Ramsey.  If you haven’t signed up and were considering one of these groups, check out my bulleted notes from the book and pull the trigger on your decision.  Great stuff.
3. There were a couple questions texted in on Sunday that I didn’t get a chance to address and am doing so now.  The Q&A is below:

DOES LIFE POINTE CHURCH TITHE?

The Scripture is clear that followers of Jesus are to tithe and give to the local church.  There is no such teaching that instructs the local church to systematically tithe.  However, as a ministry practice we give cooperatively 15% of all tithes to our larger church fellowship.  1/3 of that funds Missionary projects.

Additionally, we regularly support several church plants over and above that and a couple missions projects overseas monthly.  December is the month where we focus our giving on several projects.

This Christmas, we are starting what I believe will be a significant project called, “Anthems for a Broken World,” where we will ultimately raise $500,000 for glocal mission (global and local mission).  Want to know more about that?  Keep your ears open.

SHOULD WE TITHE ON RESIDUAL INCOME, GIFTS, STOCKS, RENTAL INCOME, AND DIVIDENDS?

We tithe on our increase.  Remember, there are two kinds of money you can make: money made by people (work) and money made by money (investments).  Both kinds of money represents increase given to us by God. We should bring to God the first tenth from all of our increase.

Where’s the Love for the 8:30 service?

We’ve got some love for the 8:30 service.  A lot of people already committed to attending the 8:30 and opening up space in the 9:45 and 11 AM services.  Our first-timers usually come to the later services.  You guys are awesome for hitting the easy button for other people.

THE 8:30 HAS SOME LOVE FOR YOU

If you make the 8:30 your service, we’ll be serving you cafe cubano y pastellitos to get you jump started in the morning!  If you’ve got kids, they get Ice Cream Sundaes this week!  It’s a “thank you” from me to you and your crew for going out of the way to serve others.

Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey

Here are my Top Takeaways from Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey:

• John Wesley, “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.”
• Giving helps us keep proper priorities in our lives.
• Give God your first 10%.
• In most industries, you can outwork 80% of your cohorts and outsmart the other 15%, which puts you in the top 5%- which pays very well.
• THE EXCELLENCE CYCLE: Doing something you like makes you more intense, which leads to greater creativity.  Consequently, you get paid more, which means you will get better at it.  If you get caught in this cycle, you will find that a low income is no longer the cause of your financial problems.
• THE DEBT SNOWBALL: Pay off all your debts by tackling the smallest debt first.  Then, apply freed-up monthly income on the next smallest debt until your available income for debt elimination overwhelms your indebtedness.
• In order to get out of debt, quit borrowing money.
• The trick for those who have seen the bottom is not to stay there.
• Napolean, “Victory belongs to the most persevering.”
• Saving Priorities: 1) Emergency Fund, 2) Purchases (to avoid debt), 3) Wealth.
• No investing of any kind should be done until you have 3-6 months of expenses saved for an emergency fund.
• You should never invest in anything you do not thoroughly understand.
• 2 KINDS OF RISK: 1) Risk of loss of principal and 2) Risk that inflation will beat you to the bank and take your money.
• You should always invest long-term and with pre-tax dollars.
• THE “LUCKY 7″ BASIC PRINCIPLES OF NEGOTIATIONS: 1) always tell the truth, 2) Use the power of cash, 3) understand and use “walk away power,” 4) Shut up, 5) “That is not good enough,” 6) Good guy. Bad guy, 7) “If I…” Give but take.
• Teach your kids about money beginning at age 3.
• FINANCIAL PLAN BABY STEPS: 1) save your 1st $1,000 toward your emergency fund, 2) snowball your debt, 3) finsih your emergency fund (3-6 months expenses), 4) Fully fund 401k, 403b, and Roth IRAs, 5) Start college funds, 6) Payoff your house, 7) Take all free capital and negotiate great investments.
• HARD LESSONS LEARNED IF YOU’VE HAD IT FINANCIALLY ROUGH: No matter what you gain or lose in material goods, you can never have talent and hope taken away from you.

How to Invite People to Church

We have one person that has been at Life Pointe for about 8 weeks.  Every week, they’ve brought at least one new friend.  That’s amazing.

What’s the best way to invite people to church?

Pray for your friends.  Have guts.  Expect them to say “yes.”  ASK. A lot of your friends are just waiting for you to ask.

Reaching Our Neighbors This Week

This Sunday, we launch a 3 service schedule (8:30, 9:45, and 11 AM). We’re also launching a new series going through the Book of Habakkuk where we’ll be talking about “when God seems unfair.” We’re making some phone calls and sending out some postcards to support you as you reach your neighbors.

I have a plan to reach my neighbors. I hope you do too. Here’s what Kelly and I are doing to invite our friends for this Sunday:

• text messaging everyone of our cell phone contacts that live in Homestead/Miami with an invite,
• sending bulletins, inboxes, and posting messages on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. In total, Kelly and I have well over 1,500 contacts on our social networking sites.
• hand written invitations and invite cards placed on the doors of all 80 of my neighbors doors. I’m including my address, cell number, and an invite to give me a shout anytime.
• inviting people I do business with and people who work in stores I frequent this week.
• going out of my way to invite my close friends and family to be here this weekend.

WHAT IF ONLY 100 OF US DID THAT?!?!

• We could text message well over 10,000 people.
• We could MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter over 50,000 people.
• We could handwrite and hand deliver invitations to 8,000 people.
• We could casually invite 500 people we do business with.
• We could each bring one family member or friend on Sunday!

Guys, we’re a sleeping giant. Let’s go for it. Let’s reach our neighbors, friends, and the good people of our community and have a blast in doing it!

Sunday Wrap-up

• We closed out Loaded today.  I felt like this message (audio) really brought all the pieces together.
• I’m making this CD available for free.  There will be a pile of them at the Info Booth on Sunday.
• It was practical, Biblical, aggressive, and laid out what our responsibilities are financially.
• Sad truth? If everyone in our church tithed like they were living at the poverty level, our budget would double.
• There has been a lot of growth in this area.  God is growing in us.  But, it’s time to step up and give God our first 10%.
• The truth is in your hands about our personal finances, living within our means, being generous, and giving and tithing faithfully.  So, go for it.
• Get your financial house in order.  Start now.  The conditions will never be perfect.  Now is always the right time to make godly changes.
• Years from now, I am going to be giving more aggressively, reaching out into my world more generously.  I hope you will be too.
• I loved the band today.  They rocked it.
• We’re gearing up for those three services (8:30, 9:45, and 11 AM).
• I always get butterflies going into this stuff.  I’ll work hard getting the word out to my neighbors.  I’ll share more about how I’m going to do that later.
• In the meantime, I’m working like its all up to me and praying like it is up to God.  You in too?
• If you pressed the easy button, don’t forget to be here at 8:30 with a few friends in tow.
• We’re kicking off a 3-week series in Habakkuk.
• I’m praying for big results.  Pray with me.  Work with me.  Let’s hit it.

MESSAGE NOTES: Loaded (week-3) “Eternity Starts Here”

Travis Johnson’s Survival Guide to Hurricane Ike

What am I going to do about Hurricane Ike?

• I’ve gassed up the cars, have plenty of water, batteries, and cans of Spaghetti-O’s (being responsible).
• Tonight, I’ll party at Fogo de Chao with friends and pretend like I have no cares in the world.
• I’ll keep watching the projected path. We’re in the cone (again). But, the computer models are confused. It looks to me like there is a statistical herd of elephants running between the Keys and Cuba. In this case, I’m betting you should follow the herd.
• If Saturday’s 2 PM NOAA update leaves me with a queezy feeling, I’m hanging shutters. I’ve got a group of 6 guys or so who will be trading work on one another’s homes. You should consider doing the same. You’ll work faster and more efficiently. And, you’ll be serving others.
• On Sunday, I’m going to church and we’re going to have an awesome day.
• As of this moment, we are planning on launching a 3rd service on September 14th. This is a BIG DAY for us…ready to kick a cat over the timing of this (sorry Chris). Based on what the forecast is, we’ll make an announcement on that.
• I’ll make a decision on Monday morning about whether or not Kelly and I are leaving town. Again, I like what the track is doing. But, if Hurricane Ike is a CAT 3 (or a strong CAT 2) and it looks like it is going to hit us, I’m out of here.
• If it hits? I’ll be cooking Spaghetti-O’s on a grill and spending some quality time with my neighbors and the dozen or so Life Pointe families that live in my neighborhood waiting for power to come back while dealing with clean-up.

I’m rooting for that herd of elephants…thinking and praying that this has the looks of a close call…planing as if it is going to be a direct hit.

Hanging with Sharks

I’m sitting Laguardia Airport in NYC on my way back from the first session of my coaching network here in Manhattan at the Journey Church.  There are some phenomenal guys in there, some of whom have been friends for some time.  I looked around and saw some guys that God is using. Those are the kind of people I want to be around.

I felt like I was among sharks.  Somebody told me today that they liked hanging around sharks because there is always some good meat to be found when they’re around.  I agree.

• Who are the big sharks in your life?
• Or, are you hanging with turkeys?

Life Pointe Church Easy Button

We try to steer clear of easy.  We don’t like difficult for the sake of difficulty.  But, the call to follow Christ is a call to deny yourselves of comfort for the sake of others.

This Sunday, you can choose to inconvenience yourself so that life can be “easier” for someone who may be checking out the claims of Christ in a Life Pointe service for the first time.

1st timers tend to attend the latest services on Sundays.  We can make room for them by attending the 8:30 service.

So, use the easy button…for someone else and make a 3-week commitment to come to Life Pointe a little earlier.  To do so, check the box on your connection card this Sunday and give us a heads up.

Fall Launch: New Message Series

We’re spending about three weeks in an often ignored book, Habakkuk.  He’s one of the minor prophets in the Old Testament.  He’s got some gripes about his town that might parallel some of the things we see, experience, and contribute to.  Good stuff.

We’re sending out some postcards to your neighbors.  And, we’re handing you six-packs of invite cards (one for each day of the week).  Between these and other projects coming together at the same time, I think you have as good of a chance as any during the whole year to get your friends, family, and neighbors in church.  If you ask, they’ll answer.  About half of them will say “yes.”

We’re going to 3 services on Sept. 14 (8:30, 9:45, and 11). So, you’ve got some good options for your crew to dive into.

LPC Job Opening: Financial Assistant

We are beginning a search for a part-time financial assistant that calls Life Pointe Church home.  If you are experienced with numbers, finances, organization, and have a “can do” attitude this might be the gig for you.  Below is a job description:

Title: Financial Assistant

8-10 hrs/week – This position may transition into a full-time position.

Responsibilities:

Manage The Giving Database
- Balance LPC accounts weekly
- Make weekly deposits
- Send out quarterly giving statements

Manage the monthly budget database
- pay bills due weekly
- track individual ministry budgets
- track all purchase orders and check requests
- manage bi-monthly payroll

Experience:
We’re looking for a creative, sharp person with business, financial, and organizational experience that has a “can do” attitude. Experience in accounting is a must.

Qualifications:

• Christ-follower (if married, same applies for spouse)
• Active attender at LPC (if married, same applies for spouse)
• Member of LPC (if married, same applies for spouse)
• Actively serving in ministry of LPC (if married, same applies for spouse)
• Tither (if married, same applies for spouse)

We are now accepting resumes.  If you are interested in working as a part of our team, send your resume to Anne Johnson.