The Download – 9.27.10

I love Sundays at The Point.  I seldom miss.  Actually there are 2 reasons I will miss a Sunday: (1) Vacation or (2) Opportunity.  I will typically miss 3 Sundays a year for vacation and a few more for opportunities to share in other churches.  I love our church.  I love our people.

We are gearing up for 10.10.10.  Yesterday we ran through a pilot set-up and we succeeded.  We were ready to go!  Needed a few more moments for hospitality, but not too far behind.

Worship was amazing.  Pastor Micki & the team did a superb job.  No attitudes on this team!!!

The message was awesome.  Pastor Nick brought a great teaching.  Love that I don’t have to preach to love my church!!!

A lot of guests.  Great attendance.  Poor offering <— true.

13 days.  I can’t wait to download the results of 10.10.10.

10.10.10 – “Serve & Sit”

I can’t believe we are only 2 weeks away from 10.10.10.  The hype is building.  I am not sure if everyone knows what is taking place, but it is going to be amazing!  We are kicking off our “Relational Rehab” series that Sunday – after all, everyone needs a little rehab!  It is going to be a fun series – great opportunity to invite family and friends to experience The Point!

We need some help.  We are asking our volunteers to “serve” in one service and “sit” in the other on 10.10.10.  What does that mean?  If you serve at the 9:15 am – we would like you to sit in the 10:30 am or if you serve in the 10:30 am come and sit in the 9:15 am.  We are pushing this very hard.  A mass mailing to 2 mile radius of our theater.  Newspaper ads.  Personal invites.  This will allow BOTH services to feel FULL … making our guests feel VERY comfortable and the energy to be cranking.

This is an opportunity for our church and not an obligation.  You are not just volunteers – you are an expression of God’s love to everyone that walks in the theater doors!!!  Let’s break the 200 barrier on 10.10.10.

Yard Signs

The Point is pulling out all stops for 10.10.10.  We are trying to use every visible form of promotion that we possibly can to make it a HUGE Sunday.

Well, it’s the political season so we figure we should do our own yard signs and plaster them all over Westbury.

Here’s a sample …

10.10.10 is going to be HUGE!!!!

The Point Partners with Park Avenue

The Point church converged on Park Avenue School this morning to give out 400+ backpacks to the 1st grade & Special Ed.  Wow.  We saw so many smiles from the students and received too many “thank yous” from students & faculty.  What a morning to continue our Servolution series.

Here’s a few pics from the day …

Point Church – WE did it!  Thanks for your time, donations and prayers!

Last Day

Can’t believe that it is September.  Unbelievable!  Today was our last day handing out breakfast bars for the summer.  Not gonna lie – I am a little disappointed!  Love meeting new people and demonstrating the love of Christ.

Today was so cool for the following reasons:

• A gentleman said to me, “You are my favorite person.”  Serving makes a huge difference.  It is simply about making someone feel valued.
• One of the cabbies told us, “Thanks for spending your mornings with us,” as we were walking away.  We gave them bfast every Thursday for the last 5 weeks!
• Seeing people smile.  I love that feeling that you helped someone start the day off right!
• Repeat Outreach.  People know us now.  Very cool.  Love the vibe that they give when they show appreciation for being served – with NO strings attached.
• It starts my day off on a buzz.  I am always flying after we do an outreach.  No matter what it is!  I am flying high today.
• We are following the Great Commission of GOING … not waiting for people to come to us.  That’s how Jesus did it.

Already thinking about some upgrades for next year!

What will The Point do next???  Hhhmmm … got some ideas!!!!

Saturated

The word saturate has many different definitions – to soak, impregnate, to destroy (with bombs), or to target an area.  I love this one –  ”to cause (a substance) to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance, through solution, chemical combination, or the like.”  That’s what we believe God has called us to do at The Point – “to unite our community with the greatest amount of Christ possible.”  That is why we do mass saturation.

It is our mission as a church to saturate our city with God!  It’s that simple.  Repeated acts of service, marketing and other things can make our church recognizable in our city!

People remember good things.  As The Point continues to serve out city we will saturate it with the story of Christ’s love.

Are you saturating your friends, family & co-workers with the story of God?  Live a saturating life!

Ask God today to flood your life and heart with the passion to saturate your circle of influence.

Even more lessons from the Jonas Brothers

The phenom has caught on. I can’t believe that the posts I have written about JB has drawn more readers than any post over the last 2 years.  Unbelievable.  Who would have thought that comparing the Jonas Brothers to Church would be so catchy.  Anyway … let’s continue.

Here are my final lessons …

1.  Never settle.
I love that JB was willing to take a risk.  They stepped out of the comfort of Wyckoff, NJ and landed a huge following across the nation.  Church – don’t settle.  Step up and do something HUGE for God.  Let’s fill some stadiums of worshippers of God.

2.  Honor your fans/members.
I have watched musicians for a lot of years.  Most that succeed will always honor their fans.  They will say things like, “We love you NY.”  That don’t mention anyone by name but identifying with their location goes a long way.  Honor the people in your church – staff, volunteers, members and attenders.

3.  Provide reminders of the experience.
I can them tokens.  They are “altars” that are built to remind people of the experience.  The altar was never about the location it was always about what God did!  JB gives out t-shirts, glow sticks, posters, pictures, calendars, bags and more.  Churches must place things in the hands of their people that remind them of their mission!

4.  Longevity matters.
I am not sure how long the average teen band lasts, but JB has been around for 5 years.  That seems long for a teen sensation.  But they are always writing music, performing & acting.  They are looking to last.  Pastor – bloom where you are planted.  Don’t wish or hope for something “greener” – outlast and watch how God causes the growth!

5.  Mission mobilizes.
JB gives to some amazing initiatives.  One of them is Convoy of Hope.  When things went down in Haiti Joe Jonas sent $30,000.  It also inspires others to give.  Nick Jonas has diabetes and helps raise awareness and funds.  When the church gives to missions it inspires the people to grow larger and make a more significant impact locally and globally.

6. Multiple Streams of Impact
Churches are typically one-dimensional – meaning that we typically focus on Sundays alone, but we must impact our communities 365.  Acts teaches us that every day the “Lord added to the church” – it grew every day.  God, give me that kind of church.  JB has music, tv shows, movies and more giving them a larger platform.  We must be creative and launch multiple streams of Kingdom Impact.

Okay. I promise. That’s the last “Lessons from Jonas” posts.  I guess you can officially call me a JOBRO.

Church Lessons from the Jonas Brothers

Last night Mary and I took Malachi to his first concert – The Jonas Brothers – he absolutely loved it!  It was pouring the entire night, but Malachi stood for the whole concert in utter shock – he was so blown away by the whole thing.  I admit it – I enjoyed it to!  JB are great musicians and entertainers!

Here’s some thoughts I pulled away …

1.  Church must have a “wow” factor.
I was blown away by the lights, pyrotechnics and visuals – not to mention the music.  I asked myself, “When was the last time I was blown away by a church service?”  I have led a few and attended them – but they are not often enough!  Church should be entertaining – not entertainment.  Don’t confuse the two.

2.  Church should be done with excellence.
Everything we do should scream that we serve a God of excellence.  Too often we throw services and sermons together and never plan ahead.  Planning ahead allows us to do things better.

3. Fans are more committed than members.
8000 fans stood in the pouring rain for a 3 hour concert.  But all too often members show up infrequently and late for their church experience.  Enough said.  Our church members must be FANS of our church, not just attenders!

4.  Church services must be more of an experience.
Church has to be less of a spectator sport.  We watch from the stands.  Watching 8000 fans screaming, cheering and holding up signs for music made me think, “What if the church was like that?”  Thousands of people screaming their love for Christ and applauding him over and over again.  This past Sunday at The Point people applauded after every single song – I love seeing that excitement-passion for God!

5.  Church should leave people wanting more.
I don’t think people should ever be thrilled that a church service is over – I think we should leave people begging for more.  I have sat in 3 hour church services begging for the end.  Length of service/sermon does not indicate the Strength of a service/sermon.

God help us build attractive churches – not because we are shallow – but because we bleed the love and excellence of Jesus Christ in every detail of our life and ministry!!!

FREE to Serve

Galatians 5:13:  “For you have been called to live in freedom–not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love” (NLT).

Service all starts with love … a love for Christ, a love for the Church, a love for our Community and a love for others!  I believe our willingness to serve is directly connected to LOVE!

When we fail to do all that God has wired us for we will feel empty inside … and we can try and fill that emptiness with relationships, money, alcohol, sex or anything else … but at the end of the day we still feel empty because we are not doing what God made us to do!

Here’s a thought I read recently:  “Most people wish to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity only.”

Check this verse out … Deuteronomy 10:12:  “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (NIV).

REAL SERVICE comes from 2 places:

• Heart … the place where ‘belief’ happens
• Soul … the place where ‘behavior’ happens

Let me give you a spiritual equation:  Belief + Behavior = Full Life Service (Ministry)

No where in this passage do we read about OUTCOME … we read about investments in simple SERVICE to God with every thing that we have.

That’s why we must SERVE.  We believe Jesus served but we must behave like Jesus too!  It’s not either-or, it is both-and.  Find someone and serve them with love!

“A servant enjoys being a ladder-holder, not having to be a ladder-climber” (Dino Rizzo)

Devin Webb @ The Point

I am pretty excited about having my friend, Devin Webb, leading worship this Sunday @ The Point.  He is an incredible musician and worship leader.  He definitely has some BIG pipes – translation = “he can flat out sing.”  Bring a family member or friend.

Our Worship Arts Team is serving at the Organic Church in Bronxville, NY as part of their SERVOLUTION.  Organic Church is pastored by Rich Hoffman & his amazing wife, Vicki.  They are bringing a new church with a great passion for their city to Bronxville.  We are excited to serve along Pastor Rich.