Is it just me?

I know it can't be just me.  Surely you've had the same thing happen to you time and again.  You know, that forwarded email that finds its way to your inbox?  Most of the time, it's the email that has a story about a God encounter that never really happened.  The story is clearly made up to draw upon the sympathy of the reader. This isn't really the problem I have with these emails.  Who doesn't like a good story, even if it's made up?  

The problem I have with these forwarded emails is that when the story is done, you're required to do something...FORWARD IT YET AGAIN!!!  I cannot put into words how much I dislike these emails.  They're annoying.  And, if you didn't know it, you're loyalty, devotion and love for Jesus is directly related to you forwarding it to at least 10 people within a specified time frame.  So am I to believe that if I DON'T forward the email, I don't love Jesus?  If I don't forward the email ***cough spam*** that I won't receive God's blessing in my life?  If I don't forward the email that I'm not a true follower?  

Since when does my loyalty, devotion and love for Christ depend upon whether or not I forward an email?  

Now, I have to say, I love the friends that forward these to me, but I don't love the emails.  When I get one, I can't hit delete fast enough.  

Here is the ending to an email I received recently: "Send this to 10 people in 2 minutes and you will feel the Holy Spirit brightening your life in just an hour."

What if I sent it to only 8 people?  What if I get side-tracked and it takes me 3 minutes to send it?  Why am I required to send it in 2 minutes, but it takes the Holy Spirit a full hour to brighten my life?  These are serious questions!

I don't wish to offend anyone, but these emails are ridiculous!  Is it just me??

Proud Parent

Gracie won 1st place at the Science Fair! I'm very proud of her. She worked hard to on this project and it paid off. While I'm "getting my brag on", I may as well point out that Gracie also received an Achievement Award for "A" Honor Roll, Highest Average in Reading, Highest Average in English, Highest Average in Science, Highest Average in Social Studies and the Principal Outstanding Behavior Award. She received the highest average in every subject except math and she only missed that by 1 point. Chase is in 2nd Grade and he also is on the "A" Honor Roll! I'm very proud of my kids' Academic accomplishments. They're just like their daddy...err, I mean Mom.

Church Marketing and more

One of my goals this week was to get or info in the local newspaper.  Up to this point, we have done virtually ZeRo advertising for Bayou Community Church.  That's about to change.  I'm going to look into billboard advertising next week as well.  I read something Mark Batterson wrote some time ago and I'm paraphrasing here, "The church has the greatest story ever told and the greatest story deserves the greatest marketing".  

My hesitation up to this point has been the idea of pulling people away from their current churches to "try" ours.  I'm not at all interested in this type of church growth.  I am believing God to open doors to share the gospel with non church attenders.  Those are the people I want at BCC...not the church shopper. 

I think we can effectively market our church to that demographic or try real hard to do so anyway.  

I talked with the owner of the newspaper today and something cool happened.  He asked if I would be interested in writing an editorial each week for the paper.  He said, "We live in a world that needs encouragement so desperately and I'm looking for pastors to write weekly articles to help encourage our community".  

I accepted the invitation without hesitation.  Just a few hours prior, I was on the phone with my brother, and was telling him how much I'd like to write an article for the paper each week. The problem was, I didn't think I could afford the cost right now.  As God would have it, the paper is offering this as a free service to the community.  To write weekly articles isn't going to cost us anything!  I was sToK3d! 

Questions: 

1.  How do you view church marketing?  Should churches market themselves?

2.  Is marketing the church further playing into an already consumer saturated "church" experience?

Bus Driving has its Privileges

I had the opportunity to drive the Varsity Boys Golf team to a 2 day tournament Monday and Tuesday of this week to Augusta Pines Golf Course.  The weather wasn't ideal but the course was beautiful and I even bought a new "golf" hat. :)

I snapped a couple of 

pictures with my phone so the quality isn't so great. :)

Club House

Course

I hope to go back to this course and play it for myself, soon!

One BIG Experiment

Have you ever felt as if life is that way, just one big experiment? Just over six months now into our new pastorate I'm feeling this way. So we're approaching 2008 as if everything is an experiment. The thing with experiments however, is you have to be willing to fail. Yep...willing to fail. I'm reminded though of Thomas Edison's words after having tried 200 different elements before he found the right element to make the incandescent light bulb.

He said, "Don't call it a failure, call it an education. I now know 200 ways that don't work".

So, we're going to brave the chilly waters of experimentation. If experimentation leads to discovery, we will soon discover what the heart of our community is, and then be fully prepared to reach in and touch it. 

Coca-Cola, in it's first year of business only sold 400 bottles of Coke.

Dr. Seuss's first book, "And to think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street", was rejected by 28 publishers. The 29th publisher Dr. Seuss approached sold six million copies of the book.

Chicken Soup for the Soul was turned down by 33 publishers. The 34th publisher sold over seven million copies in 20 languages.

There is not to be found a successful businessman, inventor, writer or even pastor who hasn't had to fail before they discovered the dream they believed so much in. I believe Bayou Community Church can and will become the church God has destined her to be. The question that remains is, "Are we willing to overcome all obstacles, discouragements, frustrations and fears to discover it?"

2008 is the year of Experiment! God will lead us to discovery. I've heard it said, "the greatest risk is to take no risk", this is my personal motto for 2008!

January 2008 Newsletter

Have you ever...

...Done something that you never thought you would? I'm doing it right now! I'm driving a school bus. Yes, I'm driving a school bus. I had thought about this on different occasions in the past and well this summer I decided it would serve beneficial in our adaptation to this new area we're now in. It allows me to meet many new people while also helping to make ends meet financially. Being a Contractor for all my adult life I know I could go out and build a business in this area as construction is everywhere but we didn't move here to build a business, we came here to build a church.

Another benefit to driving a school bus is the route I'm on. Others in the transportation department would argue with me but I think God has uniquely placed me where I am on my route. I transport the JJAEP Students. JJAEP stands for, Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program. Yes, I transport the "bad" kids. But you know what? Over the last month since school started here I believe God has really let me see these kids in a way other than the way many see them..."convicts". When others are referring to the students I transport, they say things like "You got those convict kids on your bus, you better watch them". I don't see "convicts", I see lives. Lives that are full of potential and lives that God loves and Christ died for. I refuse to label these kids as "convicts".

Last week I loaded an ice chest up with ice and filled it up with bottled water. When my students boarded the bus, they were amazed that I had thought of them in this way to bring them cold water. The first student on the bus asked me, "Is this on you man?" I said, yes it's on me...enjoy. He replied, "Man, not everyone would do that, thanks!". He made certain that everyone who boarded the bus thanked me for bringing cold water for them to drink.

My prayer is that this bus route would be more than a job but an avenue to do ministry even if those receiving it aren't aware it's "ministry". The vast majority of these kids are from single parent homes and are struggling at best to understand life and the hand that has been dealt them. I hope that over the course of my time as their bus driver I'll be able to have a positive influence in their lives.

Our new church work is going well and I'll be writing more about what's taking place soon! Stay tuned!

Gearing up!

I've been relatively quiet on matters concerning our new ministry here in Dickinson, Texas. The reason for this silence is that there was a transition in place and I didn't feel like it would be appropriate to divulge too much information. That has now changed. As of last Sunday, September 02, Tiff and I are formally the Lead Pastors of Bayou Community Church. Along with this comes the liberty to share more of where the ministry is and where we hope it will go. We're approaching "church" from a little different perspective in comparison to our last church which we pastored for the last 9.5 years; Living Springs in Bandera, Texas. We still very much love Living Springs and the wonderful people there but our hearts were beginning to be removed from the ministry there and God has now placed us here. Living Springs, having been our first pastorate had to put up with a great deal of inexperience with us. We think that this new work will benefit in that we have grown and matured a great deal since 1998. :)

We enter into this new work considering what it means to be the "church" in a more holistic manner. I pray that will translate into many coming to know Jesus as Savior.

This Thursday is our first midweek meeting in which we will have an open dialog about what it means to be the church and how the church should influence and impact our community. It's an ITF (Invent The Future) brainstorming session where we'll talk over many ideas that we can create into ministry. Another approach to ministry that we're going to consider as a young church plant is what I'm going to call Community3 or C3 which simply means community to the 3rd power. I'll be sharing more on this as it develops.

Needless to say, we're very excited about what God is preparing to do through BCC! Already we're seeing new faces come in and expressing a willingness to become part of this work! I think God is up to good things!

More to come :)