Stop & Start 2012: Jeff Henderson

This blog is from Tony Morgan who is interviewing leaders and asking the question what are they planning on stopping and starting in 2012.  I thought this was a great insight and principle we all need to take and apply.

Jeff Henderson As part of my series on things leaders should stop and start doing, I connected with Jeff Henderson,  the Lead Pastor ofGwinnett Church which is a campus of North Point Ministries. What are some of the shifts leaders need to make going forward? Here are Jeff’s thoughts: Stop comparing. There’s far too much time and energy wasted on studying the competition. We will never find our true potential by comparing ourselves to others. Only by comparing ourselves and our organizations to our own potential will we find unchartered territories and possibilities. The people and organizations you respect the most do just that. You can too. Stop comparing yourself to others. Start comparing yourself to your own God-given potential. This is where true uniqueness and creativity is found. Start thinking more. Leaders do. That’s what we do. But the pace of doing can prevent the necessity of thinking. This year, carve out more “think time” in advance. Examples: 10 minutes a day. One hour a week. One day per quarter. If you commit to this, you’ll discover a powerful principle: Great thinking leads to better doing. You can follow more of Jeff’s thoughts on the Gwinnett Church blog.

Connect

Many of us believe that church is something we “oughta do”. Some of us believe it’s something that we should do “every so often”. As a result, church has/can become something that we just “show up to occasionally”. However, as we look at scripture (Acts 2) we quickly see that God designed the Church to play an entirely different role in our lives. Church is not intended to be a place we go, but rather a movement we join. We must decide what we believe to be true about church. Are we going to be content to sit in a row, or are we going to choose to sit in a circle ?

I’m curious about your experience in church.  Would you be willing to respond to these questions below?  Your insights would be really helpful to us at NVC to create steps for people to move from rows to circles.

1. How has your “church” background shaped your current perspective/view of what church is?
2. Do “circles” or “rows” best describe your background with church?
3. Why do you think people have difficulty choosing to participate in community?
4. Read Acts 2:42-47. What do you believe God’s purpose was in establishing the church?
5. What do you observe about the relationships of these Christians?
6. Are their areas of your life that are prohibiting you from becoming a “lifer”" in community groups?
7. How has your life/relationship with God changed/grown from choosing to be in a community group?

It is crucial that we believe that community (based on what we see in Acts) is God’s best plan for us to courageously apply what we already know about following Him. We must believe that this is our best chance at living the life God has for us! Thus, it is equally as important that we determine to be a “lifer” in regards to participating in community groups. We must adjust and prepare our life for the opportunity for community. Therefore, there may be things in our lives that we need to “stop doing” to ensure we have this capacity.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42

TOP 11 THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN 2011

1. We moved our church back to a facility that we own and renovated the entire campus with more than 100 volunteers!
2. We relaunched KidStuf, a way to partner with parents, in December with a bang and look forward to making that a once-a-month event in the Fall of 2012.
3. We blessed several families and individuals with our #nvcwish Christmas campaign from gifts, to beds, to hear-aids and more.
4. We had over 1,173 people came to three Christmas Eve services to end the year.
5. Volunteers gave more than 72,800 collective hours of service in our church and in our community.
6. Lori Connor came to New Vintage for the first time after sitting in the parking lot for two weeks. In her words, “It was either walk in those doors or drive off a cliff.”  She is not a Christian and was baptized. Hundreds of other people visited New Vintage Church for the first time.
7. When we held an emergency budget meeting, the people of New Vintage stepped up and raised $30,000 to keep the mission moving forward in Sonoma County.
8. We held our first ever, GroupLink event, where we launched three new community groups and began a season of offering Men’s and Women’s groups.
9. Twenty-five people went public with their faith through water baptism at three different Night of Worship events and at least 8 more are ready.
10. Seven people signed up and raised funds for a Philippines mission trip this February.
11. You were a part of all this because you made a financial contribution.

Next Step?

Starting Point orientations are this weekend after each of the services in the Warehouse.  At the orientation, you will hear all about Starting Point, be able to ask questions, and find out how your story fits into God’s story.  There is no commitment when you come to the orientation; just show up to find out more! Orientations typically last about 20 minutes, and your children may attend orientation with you.

 

 

 

Stop & Start 2012: Perry Noble

Perry Noble What should leaders and/or organizations consider stop and start doing in 2012? Here are some thoughts from Perry Noble, Senior Pastor at NewSpring Church: We should stop our self-identification through our “buzz words” (i.e. missional, attractional…) and start desiring to be identified by the work we are doing. We should stop trying to figure out how to compete with each other and start trying to figure out how we, as the church, can actually complete one another. We should stop trying to figure out how to drive people towards a goal and start learning how to actually lead them there. We should stop trying to figure out why people aren’t coming to church and start just asking them…and then NOT getting angry and defensive when they respond honestly. We should stop assuming that everyone in our church knows everything about our church and start stating the vision more often and more clearly. We should stop our scientific approach to leading people and start approaching leadership as an art form, understanding what the Bible says about people being unique is true. We should stop trying to compare ourselves to other churches/ministries and start actually doing what God has called us to do, knowing that He will hold us (as leaders) accountable to what He has called us to…not what He’s called everyone else to do.

Christmas Offering–How did we do?

The one thing I love about New Vintage Church is how generous you are.

On Christmas Eve we took a special Christmas offering to cover the expenses for that weekend and New Years’ weekend (we canceled church to rest and spend time with our families).  I asked you to give above and beyond so that we could do some extras to launch the church into the new year.

Do you know what you did?  You gave $65,000 toward Christmas offering!!!  This amount covered our expenses for the two Sunday weekends AND provided $33,000 extra for other ministries.

What does this mean? We will be able to do the upgrades in Waumba Land, UpStreet, and the Warehouse.  It means we can continue to be generous to those in need in our community.  We will be able to fix a leaky roof.  Yea!!

I love the fact that you have a heart to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by creating environments that unchurched people love to attend.  I love that about you NVC!!!

Thank you so much for helping others through church.    It’s such an awesome privilege to be part of such a generous community.

Andy

 

Our Priorities Shape What we Do

These are the words of Mark Pett who was suffering from terminal cancer.  Author Ken Boa interviewed him before he died and was struck by the wisdom and clarity one can have when faced with terminal cancer.  Here is what Mark said as he reflected on life.

“We have a clear sense of birth, but a theoretical sense of death.  Understand that you have a certain number of days.  There is no good time to die.  You don’t retire from life and get ready for death.  When you leave this planet you will never again have the privilege of sharing the Gospel, serving the lost, feeding the poor.  This is not a guilt trip but a reminder to enjoy the opportunity and privilege of representing Christ to the world.  This proceeds out of love.  The love you give back to him drives the opportunities you have.  We must not just wait to get to heaven but relish the only opportunities we will have.”

I love how Mark kept expressing the “privilege” of doing and serving to make a difference in the world around him.  What we do with our lives reveals our priorities.  Serving determines who we are living for.

“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people….Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity….Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men and women but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”  Col. 4:5, Eph. 5:15-16

4 Things — Serve

We believe that being a part of New Vintage Church is about more than just showing up. We believe that the local church is the hope of the world and that if you would really engage with God’s design for the church that everything would be different; in your own life, at home, at work, and in our community.

Starting this week, we are discussing the 4 simple ways that you can partner with New Vintage to change our community.  The first of the 4 Things is serving.

Serving has become Trendy in the last few years. It seems like everyone is doing it including famous musicians, athletes and actors. Serving others has become “cool”. I imagine that God is profoundly pleased with this, seeing as “Loving Others” was His idea. However, God wants this idea to be more than a trend or the cool thing to do. God doesn’t want us to simply participate in random acts of kindness or causes, but rather to participate in strategic acts of service that are also aligned with His purpose and heart for the world. What do you think God could do through you if you determined to serve Him Strategically?

Here are some questions to consider about serving.

Describe a time when you volunteered for something. What type of service did you do and for how long?  As you look back, has serving been a natural part of your life, or rather a strategic choice you have made?  What are some of the roadblocks that keep you from strategically serving?  What area of  New Vintage Church are you already strategically serving in? OR What area of New Vintage Church would you most be interested in serving in? (Waumba Land, Upstreet, Inside Out, Host Team). Where can your time, skills, and passions best intersect with what God is already doing in and through Athens Church?

As we continue to determine what it looks like to be fully engaged with the heart of God, it is vital that we determine to love others in the way that He does. There is such great potential is focusing on and being faithful in our service. What would happen in Sonoma County if we all determined to be strategic about our investments of time? What would happen in your own heart if you committed to serve strategically each week at New Vintage Church? Great change would occur in both arenas!

As you consider this, how might you choose to strategically serve?

“The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent.” 2 Peter 3:9

10 Stops

Every weekend we gather together at church.  That is great, but we can easily forget why we go to church and what the church is trying to accomplish.  Churches can easily lose sight of their vision and purpose of engaging people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This last weekend we were reminded of our calling to gather as the people of God so that we can experience new life through Jesus Christ.  But what about the church itself?  What is it trying to accomplish?  Read again this week Matthew 28:19-20.  We are reminded that the church is designed to “make disciples.”   Disciples or followers of Jesus are “made” which means there is intentionality and it does not happen by chance.  There is a process that we go through and steps to be taken as we grow in our relationship with Jesus.

George Barna in the book “Maximum Faith” describes 10 Stops Christians experience on their journey to spiritual maturity.  When we go on the ultimate adventure of growing up in Christ and experiencing the fullness that God has planned for us, we discover that there are stops on the journey to wholeness.  When we are aware of these stops and recognize them as a part of the process toward maturity, the stops don’t paralyze us but we see them as a normal part of the process of growth.  Look them over and take a self assessment of where you are.  Pray and ask God to help you break through this next year to continue to grow in your faith.

10 Stops

1. Ignorance of the concept or existence of God
2. Aware of and indifferent to sin
3. Concerned about the implications of personal sin
4. Confess sins and ask Jesus Christ to be their Savior
5. Commitment to faith activities
6. Experience a prolonged period of spiritual discontent
7. Experiencing personal brokenness
8. Choosing to surrender and submit fully to God: Radical Dependence
9. Enjoying a profound intimacy with and love for God
10. Experiencing a profound compassion and love for humanity

10 Reasons I Should Not Be Dating Him/Her

Hey all singles from New Vintage Church. Here is a great aritcle by Perry Noble, pastor of New Spring Church. This is a helpful “guide” for dating this next year.

The Top 10 Reason not to date him/her are:

#1 – They are not willing to fight FOR purity. (Trust me…if they won’t fight for purity with you before you are married, then there is a greater chance they won’t fight for purity after you are married.)

#2 – If they are trying to get me to compromise with what God’s Word says so clearly. (If they lead you away from God’s Word before marriage, they will do so even more after marriage…the way they have lived in their past and the way they are living now are indicators of how they are going to live when they marry you. You cannot change them…you are NOT the Holy Spirit!)

#3 – If you are always defending him/her to the people who know me, love me and love Jesus. (Love is blind…and many times you cannot see the blind spots that others can see so clearly.)

#4 – If you find yourself not wanting to talk about him/her in front of the people in your life that you know may disapprove of the relationship for some reason. (Because…when this happens you are choosing to ignore what the Lord could be trying to make obvious through others because you are too involved emotionally to make a rational decision.)

#5 – If you know the relationship isn’t really going anywhere…but you don’t want to “break up” because doing so would cause you to be insecure, because you have allowed yourself to be identified by who you are dating rather than who you are in Christ.

#6 – You find out that they are lying to you. If they lie to you before you are married, then they will lie to you in marriage.

#7 – If you cannot confront them about issues without them losing their temper.

#8 – If you discover that they are unfaithful to you.

#9 – If something about them absolutely drives you insane…but you convince yourself that after you get married “that problem” will go away. (Actually…it won’t, it will get larger!)

#10 – If the Lord has specifically spoken to you and instructed you to end the relationship but you can’t/won’t because you either “don’t want to hurt them” or you fear that if you end this relationship then you won’t have another chance at one.