Hope Fellowship Community Church

Below is the complete training video from our introduction meeting.  I have broken it up into sections to make it easier to view or review as needed.

Part 1 - The Foundation:
 

Worship/Tech Arts Intro (part 1 of 5) from gohfcc on Vimeo.

Part 2 - Available Positions:

Worship/Tech Arts Intro (part 2 of 5) from gohfcc on Vimeo.

Part 3 - 5 Commitments:

Worship/Tech Arts Intro part 3 of 5 from gohfcc on Vimeo.

Part 4 - 7 Habits:

Worship/Tech Arts Intro part 4 of 5 from gohfcc on Vimeo.

Part 5 - Training:

Worship/Tech Arts Intro part 5 of 5 from gohfcc on Vimeo.

Reading is very dangerous for me. The last few books I have read have really challenged me in how I view life and our culture.
My family recently drove 1200 miles to Indiana and then back to Florida. Crazy, right?! One of the things I did to stay awake was to listen to the book, Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. Another was to have Bev read to me. We started reading The Hole In Our Gospel and you want to talk about eye opening.

I am discovering just how unimportant "things" are in my life and how really important people should be. Bev and I have really been challenged in the way we think, the way we talk, the way we act, and the way we spend our money. We have committed to making some major changes in our lives to be able to do what it is that we feel Jesus is calling us to do.

What did Jesus say about how we should live our lives? Love God, Love people, right? He constantly modeled his love for people by doing, helping, and getting involved in peoples' lives. He was all about the business of God. He was so consumed that he couldn't help but follow through with God's purposes.

What consumes you? TV, Facebook, Work, Alcohol, Sex, Money, Knowledge, Being Good, living a good life?

We need to be consumed by nothing but God. It is a daily thing. Saying everyday, every minute, God I am yours…and then allowing him to lead us. Always looking for someway to show his love, to help someone, to share what he has given to us with someone else.

Here is a story about a man named Jimmy who was sponsored as a child. Jimmy starts sharing at 3:45.
http://vimeo.com/7072300

How many lives can you change? How many lives could you save? How much are they worth to you? How much are they worth to God? I read recently that people wonder where God is in all the sickness and disease going on, but do you ever think that God wonders where we are?

We are supposed to be his hands and feet in spreading his love and his truth.

Our church is doing something called Advent Conspiracy again this year. Putting Christ back into Christmas and really going against the mindset of consumerism and the "iNeed" mentality. Find out more about it at www.adventconspiracy.org.

Seeking God is not only about knowledge. It is not only about what we believe. It’s what we do with it once we know it. It is about the saving love of Jesus Christ.

What are you doing with what you have heard once you hear it? Once you believe it?

Wow! It has been a while since I have written something. I've been busy reading and thinking...a dangerous combination. I have been reading Good to Great by Jim Collins and The Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger.

Here are some of my latest thoughts...

So over the last few decades, the Christian churches have embraced something called "Seeker-Sensitive" or "Seeker-Focused" services. While I believe that we should be taking the Good News of Jesus Christ to people who do not know him(Seekers), I am not so sure that our churches should be full of people who don't know Christ. Put down the stones, I am going to try to explain myself here.

Some people will say that to have a seeker service, we need to have good music and a relevant message. Good music and a relevant message does not make something "seeker-friendly."  Music should be done well and the message should be applicable regardless of our style of service.

I think that the Church is here to disciple or teach people how to go deeper with Christ and then send them out into the world to lead other people to Jesus. I believe the Seeker Movement has made Christians lazy and indifferent about taking the Message of Jesus into the world and doing ministry. We rely on the Church to talk about Jesus. We rely on the Church to do the ministry. We need to quit expecting the Church to start a ministry before we can do the ministry. The Church should spend a lot of time training and empowering so that the people can do the work away from the church building. The Church cannot manage or fund every evangelistic program that people want to start. The Church needs to be the Church outside of the church.

Throughout the New Testament, we can see that disciples were sent out to make more disciples. Jesus in his Great Commission in Matthew 28 says that we are to make disciples by going, baptizing, and teaching.

Acts 2:42(NIV)
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

These people were devoted to a process of making disciples and they did not sway from it. 

I am not trying to encourage an exclusive, members only social club that turns away anyone that doesn't think, act, or talk like me. I think it is alright to have people in church that don't have a relationship with Christ. I also think the Church should be doing something to help people who need help. I just think that we need to remember to train and equip the people we have to carry the Message OUTSIDE of the church walls.

Instead of being seeker-focused, we should try and be more intentional about being God-focused.

I was reading today and found an awesome passage. Proverbs 4:23-27

I think of the old song we sang in Sunday School so many years ago.

Oh be careful little eyes what you see...
Oh be careful little ears what you hear...
Oh be careful little tongue what you say...
Oh be careful little hands what you do...
Oh be careful little feet where you go...
Oh be careful little heart whom you trust...
Oh be careful little mind what you think...

That pretty much covers all the bases but isn't it just a kids song with no real application to our adult lives?

Check out this video from Casting Crowns: Slow Fade

When we make choices that compromise our integrity, that go against what we know is right, a part of our heart is hardened. Whether it is getting too much change back at the grocery store or telling that lie so that we don't stain our reputation, our heart feels those kinds of things and reacts or is desensitized to those acts. We slowly begin to accept those things as okay because we don't feel as guilty when we do them again.

"I am not as bad as __________."
"I am not hurting anyone."
"It's just a few dollars."

God does not "grade on the curve." If you will allow me to use that expression. God is concerned with our heart, our character, and our integrity. He is not concerned how it compares to the integrity of our neighbor or our pastor or our parents. He is looking at how you express your love to him and how you interact with and love his people.
Love God, love all. Comparing is a dangerous game because if I compare myself to the serial killer sitting on death row, I look pretty good. 

Guard your heart. Keep your focus on Jesus and don't be distracted by all the junk that is around us. Most of the time, we have the choice of what we put into our minds, where we go, and what we do. We make the choice to walk down the ice cream aisle. We make the choice to turn on that TV show. We make the choice to say those things about our neighbor. Our hearts are affected by each thing that we do.

How is your heart? Is it fading, crumbling? Are you making the choices that honor God? Are you making choices that build other people up? How can I live my life in a way that reflects the love that has been shown to me? How can I be all that God wants me to be?
Remember that "the Father up above is looking down in love..." He does not want to be the old man with the lightning bolt. He wants to be the loving Father that is proud of what his children do. He wants to be the one who says "well done." 

Wow!!!! I just attended a conference that was life-changing. Exponential Conference... http://www.exponentialconference.org/

I don't even know where to begin and I don't know that I have enough time or space to put everything that I learned from there so I will put down the biggest thing I received from the conference.

If we don't have God in our church, we might as well pack it up. If we are not Spirit-filled and Spirit-led, we are worshipping nothing. God should be the center and only focus of what we do. Also, if we only express our faith in the context of the church, we are limiting Christianity. If we do not show Jesus to people everyday, in everything we do, we are hindering his work. When we are Spirit-filled we show the fruits of the Spirit- LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL.
Are there one or two or three of these that you struggle with? Are you accurately representing Jesus in your words and your actions? Do you lose your temper easily? Are you rude to people? Are you kind and gentle to other people?
If we are filled with the Spirit and are led by the Spirit, these fruits should be evident in our lives. If not, we need to evaluate where we are, get off the couch and into the game. Pray, read the bible and seek God all the time. Allow God to fill you so that you can spill his love to other people.

It is all about God. Get it right with him and then work out the other stuff.

If you're anything like me you love to learn via podcasts.  I think I like podcasts so much because I feel I can acomplish two things at once.  You see, with reading it's tough to do something else at the same time (like driving, eh?).

 Well just the other day I found this great audio & lighting podcast.  It is produced and hosted by West Coast Sound & Lighting along with Church Production Magazine. Topics focus on audio & lighting issues that are relevant to church venues.

AudPod website

Subscribe to AudPod via iTunes

My wife, Beverly, and some of her friends were in the news this week. Check it out here. Be sure and watch the video too.

The story is such a great reminder of how much stuff we have here in America. My mother-in-law, Sandy, wrote an email to us about a conversation she had with a man from another country. He was surprised at how much we love things. He said that he doesn't love things. "I love my son and I love you." He was intrigued that we work so hard for our things but we do not always work to help people. 

I am guilty of loving things and that is something I really need to work on. I see how it affects the relationships in my life and I don’t like it.
Unfortunately things are much easier to love because they can’t hurt you.
However they also can’t tell you that they love you back; they can’t hug you and squeeze you and give you a kiss. They can’t hold you tight when something hurts and they can’t tell you how great you look or give you that smile that says I love you.

Love is a choice and where we direct that love, whether it is to people or things, is one of the most important decisions we have to make. 

From Shure's Notes for Houses of Worship Issue #32:
Let's start with the most famous question that sound people are asked. "Do you really know what all those knobs do?"

If you can answer that question, you may also know every frequency and its equivalent musical notes. Maybe you know the exact crossover point of every driver in your system, and you might even have calculated the RT60 of the main sanctuary, youth room and gymnasium.

Or maybe not. Whether you're the person who actually DOES know what every knob on the soundboard does, or you are just starting out, the real question is: "How does it sound?"

 Read more...http://www.shurenotes.com/how32/article.htm

Our church recently put in a new patio area for people to sit and eat and talk. It came as such a blessing because a crew of guys came down and did all the work for FREE! I just wanted to give a special thanks out to Ed, Homer, Gene, Phil, Ken, and Bryan for all the work that they put into planning and construction of this new patio. This is a great group of guys that are doing great things for people. They are doing things in the way the God has called us to help each other.

I have put in some before and after pictures of the patio area. Click on the images to see a bigger picture. While the area is still recognizable, it is definitely a new and improved look.

Just like when God starts working on us. I may still look a little like the old me. I may even sound a little like the old me. But things have changed, inside and out. God has challenged me and molded me in such a way that I am a new person. I no longer want to look and act like the old me but I want only to seek God and please Him as best I can. I may have to sweep off the stones everyday and make sure that I keep the area clean but if I do not have Him there, I am just like the Pharisees and teachers of the Law in Matthew 23:25-28; nice and clean on the outside but dead on the inside.

God has called us to a higher commitment level. He is not calling us to just get by and do the minimum.

I read an article by Francis Chan entitled "Gathering Force." I would recommend the read to anyone who wants to take a look at how the Church should be. There is just so much that I think that we could improve on. In the article, he quotes Acts 2:42-47. I look at this and wonder how easy and basic that this is. It is about the Truth of God's Word and the sharing of community. Love God...love all. Sound familiar? Family. Relationships. Loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and in that love, loving our neighbor as ourselves.

How can we change our attitudes and our schedules to fit into what God wants his Church to look like? When do we have time for other people? I am guilty of this myself. I get busy doing stuff and I neglect relationships with others.

I challenge you to take a look at this article and take a look at the passage. Read the passage everyday and see how God speaks to you about His Church.