Our new series at Catalyst launches in just 12 days...
Watch the new preview below, then help us get the word out...
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Our new series at Catalyst launches in just 12 days...
Watch the new preview below, then help us get the word out...
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Yes, Tom Cruise & Jack Nicholson do have a few things to share about tithing and giving in this video from Sunday at Catalyst.
Yes, this is what happens when you combine massive doses of caffeine with iMovie HD.
Yes, the video is only available on Facebook (Catalyst's YouTube keeps pulling it down).
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 07:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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I'm excited.
Uncle Sam is sending our Economic Stimulus Tax-Refund Check in the next week or so.
And I'm excited. Why?
Because it's not mine. It's all God's.
I'm excited to give some of it back to Him through my local church.
Yes, excited.
Because I have a choice of Kingdoms to advance: the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Self.
Jesus talked extensively about the Kingdom of Self in Matthew 6.19-34.
Earth-bound treasures.
Anxiety-bound needs.
Every time I read His words, I get hit by the Holy 2x4. Challenging. Convicting. Dang.
Investing in the Kingdom of God, on the other hand,
reaps benefits not bound by time.
Which excites me. And glorifies Him. So I will give Him back a portion of what He is giving me. Through His church. Stimulating a Kingdom not of this world...
Monday, April 28, 2008 at 07:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Often unseen but always mission critical, the CATALYST Tech Crew is vital to our Sunday morning worship environment. Seriously, without our hard-working volunteers, it would just be me doing shadow puppets as message illustrations (although I do a really mean shadow-duck!).
We ask a LOT of our volunteers each and every week. The quality shows. Undistracting excellence is our goal.
For what it's worth, here's today's Tech Cue Sheet as an example of the detailed expertise our volunteers pour out each Sunday. We want to remove any barrier between someone far from God and the message of Jesus.
That said, I gotta say that today's worship experience was tremendous. A number of first-time guests came up to me in the lobby afterward gushing about their experience being ushered into God's presence. Thank you tech, band, set up, & tear down volunteers. You all rock!
Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Awhile back I mentioned being interviewed for Church Solutions Magazine about CATALYST's Web 2.0 ministry strategy. The May issue is available now:
“I’m 30 years old, and my wife and I are the oldest couples there,” Herron says of his congregation, which is nestled in Portage County, a place where 85 percent of the people are unchurched. That’s why the Acts 29 network planted Catalyst in its collegiate habitat – a place where, if nothing else, a group of diverse students has a common interest: Facebook...
“Using Web 2.0 is so crucial to the 20- or 30-somethings’ popular culture,” Herron says. “The church has always contextualized the message to serve the culture, from pews to printed Bibles to organ music. The Internet is just the next step in doing that.” ...more
FYI - Our new website will be debuting in a few short weeks - I can't wait!
Friday, April 25, 2008 at 05:23 PM in Church Start-Up | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Pardon me for a moment while I make a pointed observation:
I have never met an over-encouraged pastor.
It's almost an oxymoron. Almost all are walking-wounded. Bitten by their own sheep.
It has always boggled my mind when someone who has never undertook the tremendous physical, mental & spiritual challenge of planting a church criticizes a church planter. That takes a lot of gumption, y'know?
Likewise, it has always astounded me when someone who has never pastored a church criticizes their pastor. I think Paul said something about this in 1 Timothy 1.6-7.
It would be like me trying to tell my primary physician he's doing everything wrong while he's trying to treat me. Ludicrous & judgmental, right?
Further, it has also always struck me as audacious when seminary students criticize pastors. This is like a first-year med student walking up to a tenured brain surgeon with years of mettle and experience and saying, "Hey Doc, I'll take the scalpel here. I obviously have a steadier arm having been watching from the sidelines. You can scrub out."
My point? Your pastor doesn't need your criticisms & judgments, trust me. He needs your prayers and loud encouragements.
Allow me to go a step further with this observation: If you have a long critical email/blog post/phone call that you can't wait to use to get your pastor's attention, read Hebrews 13.17-18 first. And then if you're still feeling moved to speak, watch Session 2 from Unleash (unpacks Heb 13.17 perfectly).
Bottom-line: It's hard to create something beautiful with a sledgehammer. Criticize by creating. Trust that the true Senior Pastor (1 Peter 5) is consuming
& guiding your local pastor's heart - the workman already approved.
Friday, April 25, 2008 at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
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Everyday my 1-yr-old amazes me.
And terrifies me.
Yesterday I had just brought the Little Man home with me. He's running around the living room like a hamster discovering a wheel for the first time. So I decide to take our pug out back for a quick tinkle.
I close the glass door behind me. And then hear a click. I whip-around to discover Josiah at the door, pleased with himself for having discovered how to lock Daddy out! Terrifying.
Unless you're Josiah. To him, adversity is an adventure.
Our church plant was birthed the same week in 2006 as Josiah. Developmentally, we are just like Josiah - learning how to walk on our own, talk, but still making messes everywhere.
Here's what God has been revealing to me over the last few weeks:
In our zest to move from "church plant stage" to "church-hood," we've created systems that lock people out.
Which is terrifying because it means that people far from God have hurdles to jump through on Sunday mornings. This is counter to our vision.
So we're overhauling EVERYTHING in the coming weeks. Holding up all our systems, approaches, ideas to the prism of our vision.
If it matches, cool. If not, we chuck it. All of this is culminating in our new series beginning May 11th: re:think church.
We want to re:turn to the movement of the early church.
Singularly focused on Jesus the Crucified.
Reaching people far from God.
Because when we honestly identify our self-made adversity, we can re:think and move forward into adventure.
Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 10:26 AM in Church Start-Up | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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Maybe you saw Kent, Ohio in the news this past weekend. The Chipotle that is literally down the street from where CATALYST gathers was the scene of an epidemic. Over 400 people at last count got food poisoning.
(As a side-note, I make it a general rule to avoid Mexican food. Seriously, whenever burritos are ingested, like clock-work, 3 hours later my body will declare a forced evacuation through all available emergency exits!)
Which is what happened to over 400 people over the weekend. An epidemic.
Jason, Chaz, & I are reading through Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point together. It unpacks what causes social epidemics in society: "How little things can make a big difference."
We want to understand epidemics better. Because we want to be part of one. An epidemic centered on Jesus the Crucified. An epidemic of radically-changed lives. An epidemic called the Church.
We're rethinking a lot of what we "do" at CATALYST - are we being effective at reaching more people who are far from God? What structural changes need to occur in order to advance the Kingdom? How can we be part of a catalytic epidemic?
As a church plant, we've always said that everything is an experiment. This May, we're gearing up for some new experiments...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 09:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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More on Facebook...
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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So yesterday while speaking at CATALYST, I mentioned how I've cut back on buying Starbucks coffee so that I can give that money to CATALYST instead.
Lo and behold, super-couple Brandon & Lindsay Spring just showed up at my front door with 2 lbs of caffeinated bliss:
Monday, April 21, 2008 at 06:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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