NewThing Network…Reproducing Churches and Picking Brackets

 

Don’t look now, but there are 140 church planting bloggers competing with our brackets…and only 4 people tied for the lead after day 2 of the NCAA’s.

So I look down the list and joining me in the top 4 are Jon Ferguson and Dave Ferguson, giving us in the New Thing network 3 of the top 4 spots.  I’d like to offer an offical invitation to Jeremy Myers to join the NewThing Network of reproducing churches so we can run the table at the top…

Bracketology

 

For all the teams not to pick, you can download my bracket by clicking here:  gregs-bracket.pdf

I challenged husbands Sunday to cherish their bride more than they cherish their bracket this week.

So I didn’t fill mine out until yesterday.  I’m definitely a one-bracket guy. 

I’m in a few of pools…a staff one at the church, one with friends on facebook, one with friends from the church planting world, and one with my family.  No big prizes…just pride.  I like to win.

“Ask Greg Lee Night”

 

“Ask Greg Lee Night” — Though that’s what they called it, I can’t imagine a better prescription for low attendance at your community group (even if everyone did come last night). 

One of our community groups invited me to hang out with them and talk Bible/Theology.  They had generated some challenging questions about faith, the Bible, and Christianity.  We covered lots of issues:  how trustworthy the Bible is, the tension between God being in control and humanity having freedom, baptism, creation, homosexuality, the eternity of people who follow other religions or have never heard of Jesus.

I loved the candor…the give and take…the laughter…and more than anything the genuine desire to seek truth. 

Most people have real questions about their faith.  What do you do with yours?  Ignore them…and hope they will go away?  Suppress them…keep yourself busy enough so you don’t think about it?  Or explore them?

These 6 young couples are choosing to explore them…and I hope you will too.  That’s how you make your faith your own. 

Maybe I’ll post sometime how doubts in my faith over the last 7 years have produced something that seems counter-intuitive…I’m less certain of my faith than I was 10-15 years ago, but I have greater conviction about my faith in Jesus than ever.   And in my mind…certainty is (1) an indicator of arrogance, (2) a recipe for blind spots, (3) over-rated.  I’d pick conviction over certainty any day of the week.

Why I teach adults…

Monday is my day off and so I accepted an invitation for today to talk to Jack’s pre-school class about my job as a pastor.

I could see the pride in Jack’s whole demeanor of having his dad there.  That was cool.  I was prepared…I had object lessons to show what I use in my job, had the chance to talk about this week with Good Friday and Easter…but 5 minutes into my allotted 15 minutes I had totally lost them never to re-gain them…but we had a lot of fun!  

You have to love 4 year olds.  I went with the interactive approach and cracked up when I when I asked them who you pray too.  One kid said “God.”  The next said “Jesus”.  Of course, I’m trying to affirm every answer.  then a kid said, “Santa.”  Uh…not exactly. 

Then, for some reason I actually thought there could be some give and take in the Q&A.  So, I see sweet little Chloe raise her hand first and I was sure she would be curious about my job.  Actually, she just wanted the class to know that her cat scratched her hand the other day.  Pretty much every “question” followed in the same vein.

So, as I tell Jack, Daddy’s job is to teach the “grown-ups” and I’m sticking with that.

Side note:  you’ll see from the picture that I was in charge of getting Jack ready this morning…nothing like a bright yellow sweatshirt on St. Patrick’s day!

Suncrest Note - Last week

 

Heads up…if you are reading this after clicking on the Suncrest “note from Greg”, just scroll down one article and you’ll see the update from the trip.

 First, 2 things for the Ladies:   

1.        Have you used that phrase on your husband yet?  I was thinking about you today and the things I respect about you…and I just wanted you to know I love you.  If not, make sure you do in the next 12 hours.

2.       Help!  I have received a lot of feedback to prep for this Sunday’s message “All the things on her mind”, but I am totally open to more.  If there is anything you think I NEED to know before I teach on this Sunday, please email it to me – greg.lee@suncrest.org – I might not be able to reply to all of them, but I promise I will read all of them.

OK, men, you can read again now…I had some great discussions after Sunday’s message and thought it generated some things I should reflect on publicly.  Because the Bible teaches it AND because of the change I’ve seen it prompt in marriages, I so strongly believe that marriage is often about going the extra mile and giving of yourself even when the other doesn’t.  I think that is the essence of what the Bible teaches.

Having said that, a conversation on Sunday had me thinking that at least one person came away wondering if she should endure an abusive situation on this basis.  The clear answer is “no”.   Concern for physical safety is an indicator to get out of that immediate situation and seek help.  Rebuilding a relationship will not occur as long as abuse exists.  I wish this weren’t a real factor today, but I know it is and I just prayed for anyone who finds their marriage at this stage.

Be here this Sunday as we wrap up iMarriage with a challenge to the guys:  All the things on Her Mind. 

 Other Good Stuff 

-We’ll start registration this week for the 2 hour session “Fresh Perspectives in Marriage” that Counselor Steve Hoekstra will do on Sunday, April 6 (4-6pm).  We just confirmed that childcare will be available!  This experience isn’t really designed for the marriage in crisis (though it could be a first step in the right direction), but is really for any of us who have sensed our marriages could be better and that achieving that is worth some investment.  Cost is $15 per couple and you can sign up at the registration table.

 -It was great to have a full house to see the comedian Friday night!  It was even better that I met so many people you invited who don’t have a church home.  One guy was introduced to me after the show and he said, “I laughed my ____ off!”  Another lady was here with friends and when I invited her to come back to church, she said she would come on a Sunday, but was afraid the walls would fall in because God would be shocked she was here…but then said she would come  I love those stories because they reassure me that our church can be a place that normal, unchurched people can find an authentic place to explore faith. 

-We are double-dipping on comedian John Branyan and he is also going to be at our Community Group Leader Training this Saturday.  See you there, group leaders…we have great stuff on the horizon we need you to be in the loop on!

-I was in Boston Sunday night/Monday for a few meetings that just reminded me of how God has been at work.  I was on cloud nine coming home Monday night.   See below for my recap of “When Dreams Come True”.

I love you, Suncrest.

When dreams become reality…

 

It doesn’t get much better than this.

Despite some travel challenges, I’ve had a wild 24 hours of recognizing how God has used a church like Suncrest.  I’m in New England for meetings and here is what I’ve realized about Suncrest’s role in church planting out here.  Think about this…

Rockingham Christian Church in Salem, New Hampshire was the first church plant Suncrest was a major partner in.  If anyone doubted whether church planting would be in Suncrest’s DNA, they saw it when we helped put together the launch of this church while Suncrest was only 2 years old itself with a $35,000 commitment!  That background work took a while and it was 1999 when this church actually launched.  In addition to $$$, we had a staff member (Chris Snyder) that had moved to New England and he and his wife would become integral to the launch. 

I served on the leadership team of the church for some time before handing that responsibility to Dan Smith (one of our elders at the time and missions team leader).  Last year, we sent a team that included Mary Beth Stockdale, Pam Patterson Smith and Annette Hose to help them pull off “Camp Create” — an incredible outreach to children in their community.  In February, Dan worshipped with Rockingham as they transitioned from this “outside” leadership team to a leadership team now fully made up of RCC attenders.  The church has 3 Sunday morning services and is seeing people baptized all the time!

EastPointe Christian Church in Portland, Maine was another church plant that became a major commitment for us.  I think we gave over $40,000 total to help it launch.  I was on the leadership team at the beginning and I remember they needed some manpower help with their first rented facility in 2004.  We sent a work crew out there that ended up saving them thousands of dollars each month on heating costs.  I can’t remember everyone that went, but I seem to think it included Randy Parish, Jim McAgy, and James Williamson, Randy Wierzbicki and Mike Fortner.  I can’t remember for sure.

It wasn’t long before I handed off my leadership team spot to Denise Tribble (a volunteer from our missions team, now on staff in that area).  She did a fantastic Job!!!  She resourced them with our experience in transitioning to having internal leaders and connected them with one of our elders (John Stas) to do some training out there.  Earlier this month John was out there for Service where we handed off leadership to their new elders.  I had coffee with their youth minister today and he told me this young church had 425 people there on Sunday.  This church planting thing actually works!!

Reunion Christian Church in Boston is our newest church plant in New England.  They launched just over a year ago.  Our commitments keep growing as we are putting over $50,000 into this one.  I’m on their leadership team (not sure when I’m handing this one off yet) and met with their lead pastor today.  Not only are they reaching people in an urban area (incredibly difficult!) but doing it at an incredible pace.  They had 278 people on their first anniversary service last month! 

Again, Suncrest people have gone out to help with some construction (Bert Regnier, Don Miller, Ken and Carroll Hickok), we have a Suncrest college student (Pete Koopmans) who plays the drums for them.  I just love it how God works.

A new church in Providence, Rhode Island is the our next step in New England.  It’s in the planning stages and we will have Doug Gamble and a missions team member serve on that leadership team.  Our partner in all of this has been Restoration House Ministries.  Dan Clymer and the team out there are transforming the spiritual landscape of New England and we are fortunate to have such a strategic and faith-filled partner. 

 Though we are still a young church with a long, long way to go, God is kind enough to let us begin seeing our dreams become a reality.  God is good.

This used to be cool…

 

I remember the first few times I got asked to fly somewhere for a meeting.  I couldn’t believe someone thought it was worth paying for a plane ticket to have me sit in a meeting!  (I still question people’s wisdom on that at times.) 

Maybe it is because we always drove everywhere when I was growing up, but I remember those first flights I had where I was amazed I could start the day in one part of the country and a few hours later I was in a totally different region.

Those days are gone.  Now I’m sitting in the airport on a Monday night trying to get back to Chicago.  Flight delayed…so I’ll get to my house about 1:00am instead of midnight.  Yesterday was…up early with time change…preach three times…visit a dear lady in our church (Linda Barnett, it was the 3rd anniversary of her husband Eddie’s death)…rush to the airport…fly to New Hampshire…connect with my friend and former intern/staff member Chris Snyder. 

Today was a drive into Boston a couple of good meetings a drive back to New Hampshire…after a couple phone meetings I’m just waiting for the plane.  Just looked at my schedule and I’ve got 6 more flights like this already scheduled between now and November…3 more in the next 7 weeks.

OK.  I’m done whining now.

Suncrest Note

 

We are shaping up to have a nice crowd on Friday night (7:00pm) for the stand-up comedian.  Tickets will be available at the door for $5 or you can come by the church during the week (especially if you are inviting friends and want to buy their tickets for them in advance!)  This routine about men, women, and relationships is hilarious. 

I think we had a great beginning to the iMarriage series.  And remember, the Biblical principles here are worth capturing even if you aren’t married right now.  I loved the wedding cake and the bride and groom…our creative teams are the best!  Thanks to Nick and Jamie Fanelli for getting all dressed up and to Dunhill Tuxedo’s for providing the tux for free. 

We had our 3^rd multi-site info meeting last night and I haven’t heard the latest stats, but going into it we had 103 suncrest people already committed to launching our east campus.  That number is especially cool because over 40 of that 103 are children and teens!!!  I love it that our children’s ministry will launch with such strength.  It also causes us to increase our total goal from 100 to probably 130+ because we need plenty of adults to go and serve as we launch this!  Here’s 2 things everyone can do:             

               -Visit www.suncresteast.org and stay in the loop with developments. 

                -Join “The 300”.  This is our team that is committed to praying for this launch weekly.  You’ll get an email every week with direction.  We are getting close to the 300 person goal for this team, so sign up today by emailing doug.gamble@suncrest.org and help push us over the top! 

We’ll announce our services for Easter week on Sunday.  We will once again have Passion Services “in the round” on Thursday and Friday.  And, we are adding a Saturday evening service for Easter. 

Make sure you are here this Sunday as we continue the iMarriage series with “The One Thing on His Mind.”  We’ll focus on the guys this week and the ladies next week.  God didn’t create us the same…and if we understand that, the joy and appreciation in a  relationship can sky-rocket. 

See you Friday night for the Comedian. 

Suncrest Note

Hey Suncrest,  

We have a huge weekend in front of us…iMarriage begins and we’ve focused a lot of outreach resources leading through this month.  I hope you have given away your invite kits from Sunday.  It is just one way to “Care about people far from God”!  

Something was kind of painful to me on Sunday.   It was watching the really large number of people file in and find their seats after the sermon had begun.  Of course, we had switched the normal service order and the message began less than 10 minutes into the service.  I have to tell you…the last thing in the world I want to do is harp on people about getting here on time (especially since harping is both annoying and ineffective.)  But here is what I do want you to consider:  There is a spiritual experience that we are working with God to create from the first drumbeat of the service to the final song.  We take an informal approach instead of being stiff, but what happens in that room for that 70 or so minutes is sacred. 

·    We hear from God through his Word. 

·   We trust God and his promises through our offering. 

·   We express ourselves to God through singing. 

·   We encounter the crucified Jesus through communion.    

I learned today that we have 45 people going through Financial Peace University beginning this week.  WOW.  I love it that generosity is only one part of our church’s conversation about money.  I know FPU will transform people’s lives as it brings health to their financial situations.  Special thanks to those who stepped up to lead the sessions on Sunday mornings, Tuesday nights and Thursday nights!  

Maybe my expectations were too low.  We originally had a goal of sending 100 people to launch the east campus this fall, but the buzz around this announcement has been encouraging  to me…and the actual response even better!  Get this:  We have had ONE of THREE info meetings and already have…very latest stats here…75 people signed on to go.  On top of that, the luncheon for this Sunday is also full.  There is still room at the 7:00 info dessert on Tuesday night…email East Campus Pastor Doug Gamble < doug.gamble@suncrest.org > to reserve your spot there. I’ll see you Sunday (on time, right?)  

P.S.  Our Comedy Night is this coming Friday, March 7 (7:00pm).  Tickets are just $5 and it is the perfect occasion to invite new friends to Suncrest.  John Branyan is making his third trip back to Suncrest because he is HILARIOUS.  Get your tickets on Sunday at the reception center.