Posts Tagged ‘church’

Francis Chan asked, “If I only had this as my guide … if all I had was the Bible … and I was to read this book and then start a church, what would it look like? Would it look like the thing that we’ve built here and all refer to as church? Or would it look radically different?”

That seems like a great question to me … so I decided to talk about it. If you’ve missed the BASIC series, here are all seven sessions:

Part 1: Fear God

Part 2: Follow Jesus

Part 3: The Holy Spirit

Part 4: Fellowship

Part 5: Teaching

Part 6: Prayer

Part 7: Communion

 

Want to join the conversation? Meet me at Niceville Assembly on Wednesday nights at 6.30 PM.

Click here for more information on the BASIC film series by Francis Chan.

The F*Bomb

Posted: July 26, 2011 in church, community, culture
Tags: , ,

The F*Bomb has been repeatedly dropped on me.

You know what I’m talking about.

“F*mily”

And not ordinary f*mily, either — out-of-town f*mily – the kind that’s on vacation while you toil away in the daily grind known as your life.

The first wave hit about 6 weeks ago (it was great seeing you Karen, Jack, Kyle & Chris!); the second hit two weeks after that (we loved having you Andrea, Maddie & Megan!); and the third f*bomb hit the ground eleven days later (and is still here — we love you Chrissy!).

Each bombardment lasts about a week and is a focal point of corporate energy — leaving a giant crater where discretionary time used to be.

These visits reminded me about the importance of f*mily, and a few things that make f*mily relationships different from other relationships:

1. You make time for f*mily. It doesn’t matter how full your schedule is; everyone is busy — get over it. When f*mily is around you adjust your priorities and you spend time together. That means you stop doing some things you normally do and you make time for f*mily.

2. You love f*mily unconditionally. There’s a love for f*mily members that exists independent of external factors. You don’t need a personality profile to tell you whether or not you’re compatible. No matter what happens, good or bad, you love f*mily unconditionally and you want to see them succeed.

3. You are there for f*mily. The little idiosyncrasies that get on your nerves are irrelevant when a f*mily member is going through a crisis. You are there for them — not because they deserve it & not because you expect something in return. You are there for them because they are f*mily and they need you. Period.

With these things in mind, I’ve been thinking about how flippantly people drop the f*bomb in churches. In fact, people are constantly dropping the f*bomb in my church — it’s even part of our mission statement: “We are a f*mily-oriented community of faith…”

“We’re all f*amily here.”

“You’re like f*mily to me.”

It’s always: ”F* this,” and “F* that.”

Really?

Is that true??

If so, what you mean is: “I’ll make time for you…I’ll love you unconditionally…and I’ll be there for you when you need me.”

Of course, then you have to actually do it.

Otherwise you’re a hypocrite.

And a liar.

And I’m pretty sure that doesn’t honor Christ.

So…

Maybe you ought to pause and think about what you’re about to say, before you drop your next f*bomb.

Here’s a clip from my Memorial Day sermon. In this intro video you’ll learn the value of memories (for nations, marriages, families, friendships, and in life) – especially during difficult times.  Additional segments are available on YouTube (or will be available on YouTube as I find time to upload them).

What’s one of your favorite memories?

 

A friend sent me a link to this video & I thought I’d post it here for your consideration. If you’ve been attending church for a while it’s easy to forget what it’s like to be a first-time visitor. While I hope your church isn’t really like the video you see here, I think you can appreciate the message and, hopefully, keep your eyes peeled for visitors this Sunday! ~Kraig