Saturday of Service

This Saturday is the Saturday of Service at New Season Church. In this season of sacrifice and preparation known as Lent we are preparing for new life in Christ through prayer, fasting, worship and SERVICE at New Season Church. While we strive to demonstrate a lifestyle of service we will be having a time of focused service this Saturday, March 20th. There are a variety of projects to get involved in. If you haven't signed up yet, then go here and do so.

The projects include:

• Helping to plant a summer garden at the Thurman Brisbane Homeless Shelter.
• Assisting Eastland UMC with their Angel Food Ministry.
• SPCA Un Birthday Party (Youth and Children's project).
• Volunteer at the New Season Thrift Store
  

Wild Goose Wrap- Up

A couple of Sundays ago we finished the Wild Goose Chase Series here at New Season Church. Here is the audio for most of the messages. Remember you can always access the audio and text of messages from the "Message" page of our website and you can subscribe to receive the audio via Apple ITunes here.

Cage of Responsibility

Cage of Failure

Cage of Assumptions

Craig Groeschel- Suggestions for my United Methodist Friends

Craig Groeschel, a former United Methodist pastor, and lead pastor at Life Church in Oklahoma was recently asked by a United Methodist leader to give some suggestions for the United Methodist Church. He has done so on his blog. You can find links to the posts below.

In addition to being a dynamic, effective, and thriving church, Life Church, is in my opinion one of the most generous churches in Christendom. Here are Craig's suggestions:

Part 1 On Rethink Church
Part 2 On the Itinerant System
Part 3 On Young Leaders and the Ordination Process
Part 4 On Apportionments
Part 5 On Merging Churches
Part 6 On Parting Ways

You can agree or disagree with Craig's suggestions but they are food for thought! Enjoy!

Sinner Friendly Churches

I am re-reading Sally Morgenthaler's book "Worship Evangelism." I read it pretty early on as we started New Season Church and it helped to form the vision and direction for worship for us. Sally will be coming to Virginia to speak in a couple of weeks and thus why I wanted to brush up on what she wrote.

She talks in one part of her book about "sinner friendly churches." She asks, "How has the church typically responded to people's mistakes, hurt, and pain? Judgment. Guilt. Yet I do not know anyone who wants or needs more of either."

She then goes on I believe right on target to say, "...what most of us desire is truth in the context of God's unconditional love in Christ." She cites the woman caught in adultery in John 8 where Jesus famously told the women he did not condemn her (THE GOSPEL) but go and sin no more (THE LAW). To use Morgenthaler's phrase this was "God's standard in the package of grace."

And that to me is a sinner friendly church- God's standard in the package of grace. It is a place where I and all of my sinner friends can go that is not overly permissive, overly condemning, but instead offers the Gospel (forgiveness, Christ's love) along with God's standard (a call to repentance and holy living). It reminds me of the idea that God accepts us where we are but never leaves us where we are or Martin Luther's rubric for preaching to balance "law and Gospel."

I'LL FIGHT

Here are some words from William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, and former Methodist. I have used these words as part of my devotional life. Maybe you will find them helpful as well. It helps to shake your fist at the devil as you say them, give the devil the middle finger (the Christian kind of course- the raised index finger!), or imagine you are kicking him in the teeth. :)

WHILE WOMEN WEEP, AS THEY DO NOW, I'LL FIGHT;
WHILE LITTLE CHILDREN GO HUNGRY, AS THEY DO NOW, I'LL FIGHT;
WHILE MEN GO TO PRISON, IN AND OUT, IN AND OUT, AS THEY DO NOW, I'LL FIGHT;
WHILE THERE IS A DRUNKARD LEFT, WHILE THERE IS A POOR LOST GIRL ON THE STREETS,
WHILE THERE REMAINS ONE DARK SOUL WITHOUT THE LIGHT OF GOD,
I'LL FIGHT- I'LL FIGHT TO THE EVERY END!
---General William Booth

Wild Goose Chase this Sunday

This Sunday 10:30AM at New Season Church we will be starting a new message series called Wild Goose Chase. You seriously won't want to miss this series if you are interested in becoming all God has wired you to be.




Invite someone to come here.
Watch the series trailer here.
Directions to New Season here.

Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something…

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.

—Introduction to Wild Goose Chase. Mark Batterson

Haiti- How You Can Help

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Dear New Season Friends,

All of us have witnessed the television images of the destruction in Haiti after the devastating earthquake this week. In these times it is necessary for the church to be the church and step up to be Christ’s hands and feet to a suffering people. Many have asked, “How can I help?” At New Season Church we will be responding to what has happened in Haiti in the following ways:
• Through prayer.
• Through giving.
• Through collecting items for and assembling health kits.
• Through soliciting volunteers to be on work teams that will go to Haiti when it is safe and needed.

You can find information on each of these actions below.

1. Prayer. Please be in prayer for the people of Haiti. Pray for those who have survived, those who mourn, for rescue workers and all affected in any way by this earthquake.

2. Give. Obviously the rescue, clean up and rebuilding will be huge and take human and monetary resources. We will have special offering envelopes in the worship program for Sunday January 17th and January 24th. You may make checks out to the church and put in the envelope so they can be properly designated. You can also give online directly to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) by going to www.umcorhaiti.org. 100% of your giving will go directly to relief efforts- none toward administrative costs.

3. Health Kits. The United Methodist Committee on Relief’s two relief supply warehouses are asking persons to make health kits that will be sent to Haiti. We will begin collecting kits immediately and will coordinate getting them to where they need to go. Simply bring them to church with you. Here is what goes in a Health Kit and how to put one together. It is best is you can put the whole kit together but we will also receive just the items if you are unable to do that. Alternatively, you can also write a check for $12 which is the approximate cost of one health kit.

Place these items inside a sealed one-gallon plastic bag.
1 hand towel (15" x 25" up to 17" x 27", No kitchen towels)
1 washcloth
1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, No child-size brushes)
6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages

Important Kit Assembly Information
All items included in kits must be NEW items.
All emergency kits are carefully planned to make them usable in the greatest number of situations. Since strict rules often govern product entry into international countries, it is important that kits contain only the requested items-nothing more.
Do NOT include any personal notes, money or additional materials in the kits. These things must be painstakingly removed and will delay the shipment.

4. Volunteer in Mission Teams. After the initial rescue efforts have been completed and the long process of clean up and rebuilding happens volunteer teams will be needed to go to Haiti. Persons from New Season interested in serving in this capacity in the future will be connected with teams from other churches and from the region. Please let Pastor Robb know if you are interested in serving in this capacity.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Here are the first two messages of the Crazy Little Thing Called Love series that we have been doing at New Season Church.

Crazy Cycle

Crazy Respect

You can watch the message trailer below.

Fearless

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They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare ups in the Middle East, downturns in the housing market and on and on and on. All these things bring fear to the surface and it can take up a long term lease in our lives. Fear, though, can herd us into prisons and binds us from being who God designed us to be and doing what God calls us to do. Wouldn't it be great to break the chains of fear in our lives?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by unhealthy angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day where you could trust more and fear less.

Can you imagine a life without fear that binds?

I will be leading one of the Men's Journey Group this semester at New Season Church and we will be studying "Fearless" by Max Lucado. 7 weeks, every other Thursday night at 7PM. If you are ready to replace crippling fear with life giving faith through Jesus Christ then you will want to be here. All men welcome. Sign up here.

Know Your Rhythm

I have been sharing some ways to be good stewards of time in 2010 that I have learned along the way and am working to put into practice.

I have the worst rhythm in the world. I can't clap to a song to save my life. Well, I can if I watch somebody else clap, but then don't ask me to clap and sing at the same time. You get the picture.

But all of us have natural body rhythms that affect how we use our time. For example, some people are morning people (larks), others are evening people (owls). Larks do their best work and are most creative in the morning. Owls do their best work in the evening.

I am a lark. I like to get up early and get the day going before anybody else is up and spend time with God. But when 2PM or 3PM rolls around I am largely useless. I am dragging. This is my body rhythm. In light of this I made a change. Like many, I used to work out in the morning then go to the office. Inevitably, every afternoon I would hit the wall and be less effective. Noticing this I switched my routine and most times go to physically exercise in the afternoon. This allows me to use my best time in the morning and early afternoon before I hit the wall so that I can be most effective and creative.

Don't let your body rhythms control you. You exploit the rhythm.

Delegate

I have been sharing some ways to save time and to be good stewards of our time this new year that I have learned along the way. Like everybody else, I have not arrived but am working to not only to know such principles but put them into practice!

One way to be good stewards of our time is to delegate. This is a huge one and the hardest one for many of us (especially type A personalities). But delegation is a spiritual issue in many ways- remember Moses and his Father in Law Jethro who taught Moses how to delegate lest he burn himself out. Theologically, when we delegate we are admitting we cannot do it all and we are not God! The question when it comes to delegating is "can someone or should someone be doing what I am doing?"

Many of us don't want to let things go because we are afraid it won't get done up to our standard. But, if someone can do it 70% as good as you let it go. When we delegate and give away authority with such delegation we actually free people to use their God given gifts and talents.

I believe leaders always need to be ready to do anything they ask anybody else to do. However, I am learning more and more that the best leadership isn't the leadership that does everything but is leadership that creates opportunities for others to serve so you can focus on your strengths.

The "Not" To Do List

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Yesterday I began sharing some things I have picked up along the way as time savers and ways to be a good steward over the time God gives and to be organized. I am no expert and have a long way to go but have picked up some of these things a long the way.

Yesterday I shared about the importance of the "to do" list. Some would argue that just as or more important is the "not" to do list. Just like its name suggests these are the things we need to stop doing. These are the things we need to delegate (more on delegating in a later post). These are the things that are time wasters. They might be simple things we are doing at our jobs that somebody else can do or they might be something more serious such as an addiction that needs to be broken.

I find it helpful to keep a running list of "not" to dos that I am actually doing so I can look for ways to stop doing those things. This serves as a reminder. Then from time to time I pray about those things that God would help me to stop or bring someone alongside me who can do what I need to stop better for example.

New Year Time Savers and Strategies

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In the new year many of us will focus on ways to save time and make better use of our time. How we manage our time is actually an issue of stewardship and is so very important in our fast paced world. Mr. Wesley certainly had some things to say about time management for the people called Methodists and especially for clergy. What I offer is nothing new, nothing earth shattering, just some things I have picked up on along the way that have helped me.

One strategy to make better use of our time is to use the "to do" list. This is a simple list of tasks that need to be done that day, that week, that month. I actually keep two "to do" lists- one long term and one that is daily.

The thing about "to do" lists is if you are not careful they can become overwhelming. You look at all you have to do and say "ugh!" and become paralyzed into inaction. I have found it most helpful to prioritize the "to do" list into the things that absolutely must get done, those things I would like to get done, and those things that I will do if I have extra time. Inevitable, there will be divine interruptions but one way to honor God and make use of the precious time he gives to us is to be organized about our time. One way to do that is through the "to do" list. After all, God is a God of order, not chaos.

Advent Prayer and Fasting Challenge

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During the season of Advent New Season Church will be having a season of corporate prayer and fasting. We are challenging regular attendees at New Season to fast once a week and pray every day during Advent. This is obviously all voluntary but we hope you will participate if you are able.

The idea behind fasting is to simply take our focus off of our physical wants, needs, and desires in order to better focus on our spiritual wants, needs, and desires. It is an intentional way for us to worship God and proclaim our need for Him. Though there are several relevant variations of fasting practiced in our current culture, we are inviting you to participate in a fast where we abstain from food in order to have heightened awareness of our craving for God.
(But please note, if you have any type of eating disorder, do not attempt to fast. If you have any kind of medical condition, please talk to your doctor before participating in this fast.)

Why are we doing this?
Scripture regards several instances where God calls his people to cooperate in a fast. As God prompted then, we believe we are responding to the Holy Spirit’s prompting now. We know God desires our church to move deeper in our intimacy and in our relationship with Him. This fast is our obedient response.

Second, we want to seek and ask God to continue to move each of us to the place where the love of God is the consistent foundation for everything we do. As quickly as each of us can move back to a place of dependency on so many other things, this fast is a statement of our desire to be dependent solely on the love of God.

Check out the whole Advent Prayer and Fasting Challenge here.

Service Precedes Proclamation

In a very real sense service must precede proclamation.

Here is what I mean. Sometimes, in order to gain an audience with someone or some persons, in order to gain street cred, in order for someone to giving a flyin' flip what you have to say about Jesus, your faith, or his power to change lives, you first must serve.

Serving someone or some people has the power to unfold arms, to smash stereotypes like here comes those whacked out religious zealots, and to gain a hearing. Whether an act of service is big or small it can help make a way in the desert for proclamation to be effective. And while Christ certainly does not need our preparatory handiwork in order for him to work, he calls us to serve. It is in our serving we move people closer to him because when we serve we are like him. Think of the many times Jesus served before saying anything.

Follow the Light

You hear many people who have near death experiences talk about being drawn to a light. During this season of waiting and anticipation in the church called Advent we are drawn to the light of the world, made known to us in Jesus Christ.

It is so very easy for that light to be diminished for us in all the busyness leading up to Christmas. I used a resource last year and am using a resource this year to help me to focus on the "Light of the World." It is called Following the Star and is a short devotional for each day of Advent. I use it to start my day. Maybe it could be helpful to you as you remember the "reason for the season" and you follow the light. Wisemen and wise women still seek him.

You can find the devotional here.

Zip It- Thoughts on Complaining

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Do you ever get sick and tired of complaining? You go to work and people are complaining. You turn on the news and someone is complaining. You open up Facebook and people are complaining. Complaining is all around us. And, just as the Apostle Paul and I are chief among the sinners, I am chief among the complainers. I will admit it. If you want to hear a bunch of complaining go to lunch with two or three pastors. Good grief!

I was recently reading this post by Steven Furtick that helped me put my complaining in perspective. In the post Furtick writes:

"Make sure you measure your circumstances from the baseline
of what you really deserve.

The reality of grace invalidates any claim to complaint you may stake.

The basis of all complaining is one of the following two erroneous beliefs:

1. I deserve something good I didn’t get.
2. I don’t deserve something bad I did get."

End quote.

If you are a follower of Jesus you have received salvation and a relationship with God through Jesus Christ for this world and the world to come. If you and I receive nothing else in this world we have nothing to complain about. After we have received salvation we have already received more than anything we deserve and we just need to zip it. Grace says we deserve none of it yet God in his infinite love gives it.

I find that helpful when I want to complain (which is often). But I would not stop there because that is approaches the issue of complaining from the negative. I don't deserve any good thing apart from what God in his goodness and love gives me. Yet, how much God has blessed me. When I count my blessings, especially all the things I take for granted, I stand amazed in the presence of a God whose love I cannot even begin to comprehend. No, I don't deserve anything, but look how good God is that he would become like me and take on flesh, that through his life, death, resurrection and return so that a sinful complaining person like me could have life.

So, when I want to complain, I just need to zip it!

I will stop complaining about people who complain now and be thankful to God even for people who complain and especially for a God who loves and blesses me and those I love even though we do not deserve it. That is grace.

Financial Peace Friday- The Emergency Fund

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I hereby declare today Financial Peace Friday.

As we as a church have been learning to better handle God's resources he lends to us through following the Bible based principles and teaching of Dave Ramsey I have come to appreciate the importance of the Emergency Fund.

The first step in any Total Money Makeover if to set aside $1,000 for emergencies. How do you get this $1,000? Have a yard sale, spend less than you make for a few months and save the difference, sell something. It doesn't matter, just find a way to put the money aside. Do this before moving on to Baby Step 2- paying off debt. The Emergency Fund of course comes into pay when you have an emergency (this is deep stuff!). The next time the furnace breaks, there is an unexpected car expense, you have to fly across the country for a funeral or whatever, you do not have to use a credit card or skip your car payment to pay for the emergency.

A few other things about the Emergency Fund. Just put it in a savings account, money market or under your mattress. This is not investing money. Put it in a place where you can get to it easily. If you do a great job and get your Emergency Fund and then have to use it then replenish it. Build it back up. Once you complete this step and once you move to paying off all your debt, you can then build a 3-6 month fully funded emergency fund. This fund will cover your expenses for 3-6 months if you lose your job, get sick or have some other calamity that affects your ability to work and earn money.

Let's face it. There will always be emergencies in life. The one thing we can bank on is that emergencies happen! Shouldn't we prepared?

Supernatural Recap

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We have completed the Supernatural message series at New Season. If you missed any of the messages you can find them below. You can always find the text and most of the time the audio at our website's Message page.




Spiritual Warfare

The Holy Spirit

Angels and Saints

Satan and His Demons

Don't Go To Church- Be The Church

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One thing we at New Season have learned being portable and meeting in schools and various venues is that the church is not a building, but a people. I think there is an old hymn about that. I think that is an important concept. One of the ways we seek to live out this conviction at New Season (in addition to slapping anybody who asks "When will we be a real church?" ((i.e. when will we have a building)) is to hold our annual Faith in Action Day.

Faith in Action Day is a day when we cancel morning worship and worship by serving in our community. We clean up yards, do minor repairs and paint indoors, go to serve at the nursing home, deliver goodies to emergency personnel, and more. In the evening we come back and eat together and worship. Part of why we do Faith in Action is to send the message that serving is not a once a year activity but a way of life and part of how we worship God. Faith in Action also teaches that the church is not a place where we go, it is not a destination, rather the church is a people and a movement.

Why not join us for Faith in Action this Sunday? You can sign up here.