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Reaching vs. Keeping

July 7, 2010 in Access Church, Church Planting, Leadership with 0 Comments

As a pastor, you have to make one very clear, important decision. Are you going to focus on who you’re trying to keep, or who you’re trying to reach? 

We definitely went with the latter.

This is such a painful decision. When you choose to focus on actually reaching people who are far from God, you lose people. You lose the consumer-minded Christians who are more concerned with the church meeting their needs than realizing that we are the church, here to meet the needs of the world. 

Losing people hurts – it always hurts. I’ve taken bullets and we’ve lost people in our church over that one simple decision. This fall, we’re going to continue to risk, and try things that will probably cost us people. It means we will get some phone calls from angry Christians, and blasting emails from those who won’t ever understand. It also means that we’ll see many people make a decision to serve Christ.

The truth is, I’ll take more bullets, listen to more heated conversations, and allow those who I love so much to walk away because I believe in reaching people who are far from God.

I love people. I want to see them connect with the God who loves them so much.

Sunday Rewind // 7.4.10 – Access Staycation

July 4, 2010 in Access Church, Sunday Rewind with 0 Comments

Happy July 4th to everyone. If you missed Access today, you really missed out. Man, it was SUCH A GREAT DAY!!! Here are a few highlights of an amazing day!

  • Cal Purcell - 2010 Hot Dog Eating Champ!

    First off, props to our team. We were supposed to have our service outdoors today. It was supposed to be an overcast day, but it started pouring rain about 30 minutes before the start of our service. No problem for our team. I’m proud of them.

  • We had such a fun service – and WAY more people showed up than we expected. We keep seeing so many new people.
  • If our growth trend continues, this fall is going to be INSANE!
  • I know many churches will use today as a reason to promote American pride (and I LOVE our country!), but anytime I get the opportunity to preach, I want to preach God’s Word. I’ll blog about that tomorrow.
  • I spoke from Jeremiah 18, one chapter I’m really wrestling with. I love the illustration of the Potter and his clay. Here are some thoughts I blogged on it recently.
  • The rain didn’t stop our fun after the service. The kids and teenagers LOVED it.
  • Our first Annual Staycation Hot Dog eating contest was a hit. Congrats to Cal Purcell on his big win. He did 11.5 hot dogs in 5 minutes.

I love this church. I love the people I serve with. I love the difference we’re making.

Be sure to join us next Sunday for the start of a new series, Sacred. This one is going to be intense.

Next Level Leadership

July 1, 2010 in Access Church, Church Planting, Leadership with 0 Comments

I’m a dreamer. Insatiable dreamer.

Some spend their lives dreaming, never doing.

Others spend so much time doing that they never step back to evaluate, re-imagine, and dream.

I am so thankful for what God has done in our church so far. I’m thankful for the stories of life change (see this & this).

I have this sense that the next season at Access is going to be unbelievable. I believe that we’ll see hundreds of people make a decision to serve Christ. I believe the stories we’ll hear will be overwhelming.

To get there, we’ve got to dream big, work hard, and rely heavily on God. I’m ready to pray, sacrifice, give, work, serve, hope, expect, and dream.

What are you willing to do to go to the next level? Are you willing to slow your pace to spend time with God? Are you willing to change your routine to spend time listening to Him?

Limiting the Voices

June 22, 2010 in Access Church, Message Series with 2 Comments


Last summer, I did a series at Access called Voices (Part 1, 2, & 3). I spoke on the fact that we all have SO many voices competing for our time. So many voices that speak into our lives that can build us up or destroy us.

Some people allow what was said to them on the playground in 6th Grade determine their self worth. Some carry the voices of pain from sexual abuse. Others allow their lives to be so dictated by what other people think that they never fully live.

Whose voices are you listening to?

Have you allowed yourself to fully understand that you are a child of God. And when criticized, hurt, and abused, He is there to run to. He is there to speak life into you.

Silence others. Listen to God’s. Find yours.

Sunday Rewind // 6.20.10

June 20, 2010 in Access Church, Sunday Rewind with 0 Comments

It was a GREAT Father’s Day at Access Church. Here are a few highlights from an AMAZING day!

  • It was good having Mike lead worship today. He and the team always do such a great job. 
  • Personal highlight: hearing my wife sing! She’s got skills.
  • We had SO many of our staff – seriously SO many – away for the weekend. Our volunteer team stepped up in a HUGE way. I’m so proud to serve alongside them. 
  • I had two first-time guests tell me how welcoming everyone was. That never gets old.
  • So happy to welcome Terry Virts to our team as our new Preschool Director. She’s already tearing it up with our preschoolers. I’ve already had several of our volunteers pull me aside to tell me how much they love her!
  • Jay’s message, “Unstoppable Idiots” was so so good today! If you missed it, definitely get the podcast this week! I love this thought from his message, “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.”
  • Today’s message goes along so well with this blog post, “Two.” The mission to lead others into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ is for ALL OF US!
  • I’m so ready to speak next Sunday. Seriously already stoked about next week’s message. Don’t miss it!

I love pastoring the kind of church that I actually love to attend. We work really hard to clear away any barriers that keep people from church.

Two.

June 18, 2010 in Access Church, Church Planting, Leadership with 1 Comment

Do you even really know someone who doesn’t know Christ?

According to American Church in Crisis, 2% of people in American churches have actually led someone into a relationship Jesus Christ.

 

Let that sink in – 2%.

 

Two. Percent.

Do you think you are where you are in life by accident? That your job, your neighbors, your spheres of influence are merely happenstance? God has uniquely positioned you where you are for a purpose.

Professionally Fun

June 16, 2010 in Access Church, Leadership with 0 Comments

Google Offices, ZurichThe best companies know how to laugh together, have fun together, and get the job done well together.

That’s why I love our Access team. Seriously, that’s what I love working with them. It’s fun. These are the people I want to hang out with on the weekends. These are the people I want to call with good news – I just love them.

In an “Apple vs. Google” world, I’m definitely an Apple guy. But, I love the corporate office strategy of Google. They value their employees. They work hard to have fun. That fun fosters creativity.

What would it look like if we found a way to tap into our creativity, to raise our productivity? How could our churches be different?

What kind of church do you want?

June 14, 2010 in Access Church, Church Planting, Leadership with 0 Comments

“This is the kind of church and kingdom I want to be a part of – a band of people who are messy, have addictions and shortcomings, make mistakes, get rejected, and are screwed up, but are so fully aware of the Master’s grace and love for them in spite of who they are or will be someday; people who embrace discomfort knowing there is so much to be gained for all of us and for all of our churches.”

- Dave Gibbons

The Monkey and the Fish

Sunday Rewind // 6.13.10

June 14, 2010 in Access Church, Sunday Rewind with 0 Comments

Another GREAT day at Access Church today. I love our church. Here’s a brief recap:

  • We continue to hear stories of lives being changed. That’s what it’s about!
  • Last summer, we doubled in attendance. We’re on track to do that again. That never happens in churches during the summer. God is definitely up to something! 
  • I poked my head into our AccessKids and Access Babies & Tots today. The kids LOVE it. My son Joey loves going to church. That’s a HUGE win. I’m proud of our leaders and volunteers who make Access such a great place for kids!
  • I’m loving the “One Prayer” series. 
  • We showed a video message from Scott Hodge today. I love his heart and approach. GREAT message.
  • Last week, the focus was us searching for Lost Sheep, Lost Coins, and Lost sons (Luke 15). 
  • This week’s message paired so well with it. Scott’s message was on the church actually being what she was created to be – a collection of broken people who God uses to fulfill His mission. 
  • If we actually lived that out, how powerful would we be?

Don’t forget about Second Saturday, this week! It’s going to be GREAT!

The power of touch

June 10, 2010 in Access Church, Leadership with 1 Comment

Apple announced the new iPhone 4 this week. I’ll be honest – I love it.
 
They also announced a new feature – FaceTime. This new technology will allow iPhone 4 users to video chat with each other. AT&T predicted these new ideas 17 years ago, but I’m sure we all thought those commercials were crazy then.
 
I love video chatting. It’s helped my parents and in-laws get to know their two amazing grandsons while living in a different city. It’s helped my wife and me stay connected when one of us are traveling. It’s just great. 
 
However, it begs a question. As the world becomes increasingly connected through technology and social media, are we sacrificing true connection? Have we lost the beauty of touch? 
 
As the church continues to leverage the power of technology, we’ve GOT to find a way to continue to invest in real, authentic relationships.
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