Vertigo Live, January 23rd!!!

The plane is in the air! November 25th marked the final Gathering service. Click here to check out our brand new young adults ministry that will take this community into the future, and figure out how to get involved and stay connected while we take a break through December.

Our future really is bright! We've got some awesome things in store.

God bless you guys!!!

In Him,
-Tim

Give up your seat

You're sitting on an airplane and suddenly you hear the "ding." It's a different ding than normal because you know what's coming. You look down the plane and see all the people trying cram into such a small tube, and the flight attendant comes on the speakers and says, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a full flight today. If any of you are willing to give up your seat we will put you on the next flight out and give you a voucher to fly for free to anywhere in the continental United States."

You think to yourself..."Should I give up my seat? I've worked hard for this seat. I paid a lot of money for this seat. I've got places to go and people to see. I just crammed through all the people, endured the airport, got seated in my seat and just now got comfortable and got to know the people sitting next to me, and you're asking me to give up my seat?"

I know that some of you are ready for change. You are really excited about the fresh new future I've been talking about for our community. But others of you might be uncertain about how you feel about the transition.

The bottom line is, if I wasn't excited about this transition, and if I didn't think it was going to be awesome, bless you, glorify God, and propel our community into the future, then I WOULDN'T DO IT!!!! And I certainly wouldn't ask you to be a part of it.

But I do believe it is going to be awesome. I think you are going to love it and be blessed by it, and I believe it is going to glorify God. But to get there, it is going to take humility. It is going to require us to "give up our seats" so to speak. It is going to require us to say, "Okay Lord, I'm ready for you to do a new thing. I trust you, and so I give my life to you, I give these feelings to you, I give this church to you, and I give our future as a community to you."

And when we do that, Jesus says, "Okay, now we're talking! Now I can use you. Now i can bless you. Now I can make you a blessing to others. Things might not look like you expect them to, or turn out how you planned, but trust me! I have a plan. I have good things for you, but you've got to be willing to let go, and trust me. And I know that's hard, but it's time to put your faith to the test and see what I can do if you let me."

Next week is our "Take off" date. The plane is departing and it's time to get on board. January 23rd we will be landing. So be sure to come next Sunday because we will give you some "in flight" goodies, and show you how you can keep in touch with each other while we are on break. We will also talk about what we are going to be doing as a community during the break that you can be a part of to keep you plugged in until we land on January 23rd.

It was great to worship with you all!

I look forward to hanging out next Sunday night at the Gathering!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

In Him,
-Tim

The Big News!!!

So, Sunday night you all got hear directly from Bobby and me about the future of our ministry together as a community. We've been discussing change for quite some time now, but yeah! Clarity!!!

Did you miss the Gathering on Sunday night? Well, be sure to show up to the Gathering this Sunday night because I will recap what we talked about, give a little more information, and take some more questions.

Our future is bright! We get to be a part of this new thing together, and we are going to make a difference in peoples lives and in the world. You are not going to want to miss out on this awesome new thing!

Please feel free to send me questions or comments. I love and appreciate all of you, and am so excited to move into this future together.

Much grace and peace,
-Tim

Word-up Wednesday (on Thursday)

Sermon for Sunday November 18th
How to Miss Your Flight:
Part 6: Give up your seat

The passage I'm working from is Luke 14:1-11, and here's the premise:

Sometimes on a plane the flight attendant will announce that if you are willing to give up your seat you will be put on the next flight out and given a voucher to fly for free anywhere in the country. The act of giving up your seat reaps blessings and rewards in the long run. Sometimes it can be difficult to think about giving up your seat. You may feel entitled to that seat, you worked hard for it, you paid a lot of money for it, but if you can let it go you will still catch a flight to the same destination, and, you will receive a free ticket for another flight.

Jesus turns a lot of things upside-down in the Kingdom of God. The last will be first, blessed are the poor, and Jesus says in Luke 14 that when you are invited to a feast, don't sit in the place of honor. Instead, sit down at the lowest place.

A lot of times we feel entitled to having things a certain way. Change can be difficult, giving up feelings of entitlement can be difficult, but if we can give up our seat, be humble and willing to let God come in and do what he wants, we will be blessed by what God pours out in our lives. Change is always inevitable. If we don't embrace it, we will be crushed by it. So if we can give up our seat, let go of feeling that things absolutely have to be a certain way in our lives or in our church and we are somehow entitled to having those things, then God will come in and bless us beyond what we could ever have received by not being humble, staying in our seats and trying to retain control.

You can miss your flight by giving up your seat, but this is a good thing because you're really not missing your flight, you will reach your destination with more blessings!

Does that make sense? I'd love your thoughts so be sure to leave a comment!

Much grace and peace,
-Tim

How to Miss Your Flight: Part 4 - Carry on too much liquid

As we mature in our faith the Bible talks about moving from spiritual milk to solid food, just as a newborn baby thrives on milk and then moves to solid food. Right now we have the opportunity to try some solid food.

When Jesus called Peter to step out of the boat and walk on water, Peter couldn't worry about how big the sail was, what color the boat was painted, what the boat was named, how long they'd been sailing, how many people were in the boat, or even the storm going on around him. When Jesus called Peter, Peter had to step out in faith and keep his eyes firmly fixed on Jesus.

I don't know if you understand this or not, but you are all leaders. You are followers of Christ, and leaders of others to Christ. And if we are people who are ready for solid food, then we will step up to the plate and accept this challenge to be leaders together in this new thing that God has for our community, where we are united, encouraging, kind, and focused on our walk with God so that we can lead each other in theirs.

We are getting ready to move into God's future for us. The plane is about to take off. It is an awesome, healthy, vibrant and exciting future ahead of us. I believe it is going to be something you are going to want to be a part of, but it is going to take maturity to get there.

So here's my challenge to you. Next week Bobby and I are going to be revealing a little more of the specifics of where we are going as a community and what our future is going to look like together. There are two ways to respond; a worldly way, and a spiritual way. The worldly way is to let deceit and jealousy and quarreling and division rule. The spiritual way is to crave pure spiritual milk, seek God, and then begin to operate in kindness, in maturity, and step up as a leader and say, "How can God use me in this?"

We are moving into a brand new, fresh, exciting, vibrant, amazing future where we will grow stronger together, stronger with God, and reach out into the world to be agents of change for God's kingdom.

I am excited to do ministry with you all in this new season!
See you next week!

Much grace and peace,
-Tim

Word-up Wednesday

Ahh yeah!

Well, I'm not writing a sermon for November 11th. Why? Because I don't feel like it.

Just kidding.

Actually, I will be talking on November 11th, and so will Bobby (he spoke a couple weeks ago about dealing with criticism. If you missed it be sure to pick up the CD during service because it was awesome). So Bobby is the one actually preparing a message. I just get to join in on the fun without having to do all the work. So give your brains a rest this Wednesday. Besides, it's Halloween! And, I'll see you this weekend, and on the 11th when you can come and hear what Bobby and I have brewing up for you all (no pun intended...if you catch the pun).

Much grace and peace y'all!

-Tim

Too Much Luggage

We all know what it's like to haul too much luggage through the airport. We hope and pray that we won't get charged for a suitcase that weighs too much. Sometimes luggage can be such a hassle and almost get in the way of making a flight.

The same is true for our lives personally and as a community. We all have luggage that we haul around with us, whether good or bad. Sometimes people carry negative luggage of past hurts or sins. Sometimes people carry positive luggage of past successes. Sometimes churches can carry negative luggage from the past, and sometimes churches carry positive luggage from successes.

We know that negative luggage can hold us down and keep us from experiencing God's best for our future. Jesus died to set us free from that luggage. But often as churches grow older, the luggage of their past successes can hold them down too. We want to cling to the great things of the past, and find it more and more difficult to trust God for the future.

When Jesus sent out his followers two-by-two, he told them to leave their luggage behind. No money, no extra clothes, and no shoes. They had to leave what was comfortable and familiar behind, and trust God to fill them with new blessings and provision for the future.

I believe that God is sending us out into a new future together, and it is going to require us to pack light and pack smart. I believe that God wants to pour out new and fresh blessings on our community for a new day, but that is going to require us to let go of what we are comfortable with, let go of what we are familiar with, and then let God pour out new gifts for a new day, and create a new history and new memories together.

Be sure to come and stay connected over the next several weeks as we continue to reveal what our future together will look like.

I am so excited about what lies in store! I look forward to changing lives with you all!

Much grace and peace,
-Tim