Money

Money. Money? Money! No matter what the punctuation is following the word, it is still money. Money is more talked about in the Bible than salvation, heaven, or hell. Crazy huh? Maybe that's because God knew that money [even back in the day] was a dynamic thing. It turns people off, and it turns people on. It completes projects, and the lack of it can stop an army. Money makes people feel happy and secure, and the lack of it make people question the existence of God. Don't believe that last one? Well, maybe existence is a bit to strong. However, when we lack money [as followers of Christ] to fill basic needs we begin questioning. We question if we have heard form God, we question if we have some hidden sin. We look back over our tithing record to see if we missed any payments [as if paying tithe was a 'payment']. Sometimes we even question God's voice, and sometimes God's existence.

I have always heard people say, "God is never late, he's never early, he's just right on time." Well…..Many times if God was early with money solutions we would spend it before we ever needed it. We would think, WOW! Extra cash! How can I spend this? And then two days later our transmissions clunks on the ground and we wish we could take back that new 52" HDTV.

To be honest though I can remember one time where God was early. Really early. I received 600 bucks out of the blue one day. Totally extra cash. So I'm chomping at the bit to get to Best Buy to remove from my presence the filthy lucre that that Bible says is the root of all evil! [of course I know I miss quoted that but it makes the story funnier]. The best way to remove your unhealthy partnership with money is to go to a local electronics store and trade it for something.

Anyway, I can never get the time with work and family. One week later the washer and dryer both died! I quickly thanked God for the supply before the need. Go God!

My point you ask?

I'm not really sure. It's just that seeing as how money seems to be in short supply right now, I've been thinking a lot about it. And this I know for sure:

"Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ…"

2 Corinthians 2:14

"Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself in Him and He will give you the desires of your heart……"

Psalm 37

Even when money is short, God is not. What it really boils down to is the fact that many times our lack of money helps us draw a distinct line between those two massive words:

WANT & NEED.

Many things are wanted and desired, but very few things in life are actually needed.

Life is exciting! Can I say that?! I mean God is so awesome that it blows my ever-lov'n-mind! I thought we were moving to a place that was full of people. Ya know, I mean 11 new families to the county a day is pretty amazing. however, to top that; yesterday, they announced that here in our lovely county they approved a 12 billion dollar project. Wanna know what it is? Okay I'll tell..... MGM Studios is Constructing an amuzement park/housing development right here! It will be a 15 year project. That is amazing! I know that will upset many a people here in this small area, but imagine how many people will come here, and we get the opportunity to touch their lives. Imagine the workers, contractors, masons, landscapers, and general workers! Truly the harvest field is ripe, and on top of that its coming here! Yea God!

That Prayer Thing Works!

Okay, in the whole church plant proces I have talked to a gaggle of church plant pastors and they all talk about how hard it is to find a place to do church. So we got here and I told my launch team and prayer team that we were going for three places and our prayer was that all three would say "yes". Then we would be able to decide which is the best. So instead of taking the leftovers or the crumbs, I wanted an incredible buffet of choices. And today we got it!

The first place we visited was Desoto County Civic Center, which sits right on the interstate, but is slightly out of town. The Malco Cinema (movie theatre) is located in the middle of town with a Starbucks in its parking lot (I think God is smiling upon this place). The third place was Southaven High School which is in the process of constructing a new building, which includes a performing arts theatre. So now everyone has the skinny on our places and you can support us in prayer as we try to make wise decisions to make sure that SouthPoint is not just another blip on the map, but a life-giving, community-altering, influential presence in the greater Memphis area.

P.S. Noah went all day today with no potty accidents.

SouthPoint prayer..........and continued thoughts

Okay, today was our first prayer time together and it was good. I could think really hard and come up with some profound unmerited hyperbole, but I'm not really sure what hyperbole means so let's move on……

I talked with the lady on the phone this week about using the movie theater for church and she was all for it. She is willing to lease it to us to start SouthPoint. Yip-eee!!!! I am meeting with her this week to go over details but I'm still not saying yes yet. I asked God that the first three places we went would all say yes. That way we could then wisely choose the best place to have church. So far God is 2 for 2. The first place we went said yup, and now the second place said, "yup." So Wednesday we go for number three. Keep throwing up prayers for us b/c God is doing some awesome things and I know this is gonna rock!

New statistic: Did you know that 11 new families move to DeSoto County EVERY DAY!

Okay so let us continue our discussion on the unchurched. So, Characteristic #3 of churches that are reaching the unchurched.

3.) Give evangelism priority and passion.

A program won't cut it. Someone else's idea won't grow the church, but a true passion for evangelism will. Now I'm not talking about the old "stand on a corner and hand out tracks", evangelism. That was horrible! [If your church still does this, sorry, it's still horrible] Evangelism is, and should be all about relationships. Building relationships not just to convert someone [we call that manipulation], but building a relationship with someone because you have a passion for them. Because you care about them, because they have intrinsic human value. AND then once befriended, they will WANT to be like you b/c you are LIKE Jesus! Evangelism is not a program, evangelism is a way of life. It’s a lifestyle. It is not something you do on a missions trip, it's something you do every time you take a breathe. Ah yes. Show me a church where the attendees have a passion for evangelism like this, and I will show you a huge freaking church that is making an impact in their community.

4.) Teach the Bible

Duh

5.) Develop a small group ministry.

I would discuss this in profound detail and truly amaze you with my stunning vernacular, but I'm tired of writing, and to be honest, you stopped reading back when I said it was horrible to hand out tracks.

And their off……..

Dates to Remember

8-19-06 This Saturday is our first prayer time here at SouthPoint. It begins at 10:30AM, and will last for one hour. If you would like directions simply email me us at info@southpoint.tv.

9-3-06 [Saturday] First official SouthPoint launch meeting. This will be a great time for you to come and invite the world! It will be strictly casual with lots of food and great conversations. This will be a meet & greet time. No flow charts, no diagrams, and not too many rules. If you need directions email us at info@southpoint.tv.

9-9-06 [Sunday] Craig & Patti [I’m the first part] will be having a neighborhood party where we will be inviting our entire neighborhood over for a cookout. Make plans to attend this event and meet some people.

9-10-06 Sunday] This is the Sunday night that we will begin our Sunday night launch services. These will be ideal times for you to invite people to give them a taste of what SouthPoint will be like. During these times we will be having music, food, and speaking. It will begin at 6PM every Sunday night. Location is TBA depending on size of crowd.

Thus begins the basic schedule. Every Saturday at 10AM we will have prayer for an hour. Every Sunday night following 9-10-06 we will be having our launch services at 6PM. Mid-week bible study and meet & greet time will be announced shortly. If you need more info or directions to any of these gatherings email us at info@southpoint.tv.

Zacchaeus was a wee little man...

I was reading a book today and the writer referenced the story of Zacchaeus. He said that it was the “affection of Christ, not the brutality of a town that healed Zacchaeus”. I had never really thought about it, I guess, although with the good “preachers” I’ve been around in my day, one of them probably preached this and I just don’t remember.

Anyway, I realized that Zacchaeus lived in Jericho. Now Christians had been living in Jericho since, I don’t know….Joshua’s time. And there must have been one or two there, since the CROWD wanting to see Jesus was Zacchaeus’ problem to begin with…well, actually, his problem was being short, but I don’t want to offend the Lolly Pop Guild, so we won’t go there.

Anyway, anyway…so Zacchaeus lived in a town full of Christians. Yet, he had never heard the gospel nor felt the love of Christ in a way that compelled him to want to change his lifestyle. But when Jesus came to town and reached out to the outcast, he felt the love and invited Jesus to his home for dinner. Now, it takes some guts to invite someone to your house for dinner – or does it? Doesn’t it just take knowing someone who eats food and doesn’t have plans. That’s kinda what I’m getting at. Let’s get out there and show our new neighborhoods the love of Christ….the real love of Christ….not what they’ve been used to seeing passed of as “love”. Let’s use the “affection of Christ” to combat the “brutality of a town” to heal the Zacchaeus that might live two doors down.

SouthPoint is.......

Lately I've been sharing the vision of SouthPoint. What does that mean? Well, it simply means I have talked to a lot of people about a dream. More than a dream though, because dreamers dream of how it could be; visionaries envision themselves doing it. I can see it.

I can see a church where people gather with a purpose. More than gathering with a purpose on Sundays; waking up on Mondays with a purpose. Actually desiring to reach, touch, and impact the unchurched and the de-churched [these are the people who grew up in the church but have left and not been back]. Many churches across the board have become internally focused. Sermons, events, programs, and teachings are basically all focused on the believer. Not training the believer or equipping them, but merely satisfying them. Of course my goal is not to slam any ministry or church because there is enough of that garbage going on. My goal is to embrace the body of Christ and make SouthPoint a unique entity that is not in competition with other churches [God forbid!], but to be different. To reach the unchurched. Our tag line is true and real. It says, "A new way to do Church." It really is a new way. Its different. Its focus is the outside not the inside. Its programs are limited, because its focus is narrow. We will not meet everybody’s needs. That's just impossible. But we will offer a safe environment where people can come and connect with God. Where, in that connection, they can download goodness from the father. Removing the 'cringe' factor from church and making it enjoyable and user-friendly.

Okay so how do you reach the unchurched? Over the next few blog entries I am going to show you a few ways. So let's look at the first one or two (depends if I get bored typing or not).

1. Major on Majors
There is an old saying that we learned from Dino Rizzo. "We don't do tacos" Let me explain.
Burger King does burgers, not tacos.
McDonalds does burgers, not tacos.
Hardees does burgers, not tacos.
Get it?
"I think our church needs another program to minister to our toddlers. I think if we should combine our homeless outreach program with the toddlers. Coupling these two ministries will give the toddlers more adult interaction and will give the homeless people wonderfully child interaction with new found hope." ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!? First that would be insane, second we don’t do tacos! The only way we can stand up and say we don’t do tacos is if we know beyond a shadow of a doubt what we do do! To reach the unchurched we MUST major on the majors and that means having a clear concise vision that says what you do.

2. Be Biblical and Convictional

Churches that are reaching the unchurched are across the board Biblical, and have strong convictions. You might say the strong convictions go back to the whole, “we don’t do tacos.”

Okay I’m bored with typing. More to come……………..

Our First Baby is Born!

Olivia Ann Kness was born today. She was our very first baby born here at SouthPoint. We are so excited for Sonja and Cory and their new bundle of life. All is well. Mom & Dad are doing great. If you want to see more pictures of Olivia simply click the picture bar to the right.

What are you praying for?

I was reading the Bible today and Matthew 9:37 made me stop and think. I'm sure you know the verse [and yes I do read the Bible]. It's the verse that is quoted so often it starts to sound like Charlie Brown's teacher. Try to stay focused:

"The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

So what are we praying for?
I believe that very few churches are actually praying for laborers, or workers. Churches pray for revival, money, help, direction, vision, mission, opportunities, open doors, publicity, less publicity, more people, and better buildings. But when do we actually pray for more workers? I know in the years growing up in the church we didn't really pray for workers because every time they came they were never ready by our standards to actually work....they needed more prep time. Or we didn't ask for workers because if we really got them what would we do with them? I mean we already had all the teachers, singers, and preachers we needed. What's left?
So my thoughts wandered to the fact that the reason Jesus even said this was because he was moved with compassion. As believers and followers of Christ we should be moved with compassion for the lost. We should have a feeling in the pit of our stomach that says, "There are hurting people out there, and I can make a difference." See we are not planting SouthPoint Church to have a few thousand people go through some biblical exercises to make them smarter and to feel better. My goal is that we will have a few thousand poeple that want to make a difference not only in this city, but in our nation. Advancing the Kingdom of God past our little pew filled walls and out into the streets. What does that look like?
Good question.
What would it look like if more followers of Jesus got involved in AIDS relief? What would it look like if more followers of Christ took an active interest in polution? What would it look like if more followers of Christ would take a hard look at abandoned children? Or maybe genecide in Rwanda; or how about ecology? See the list is endles and followers of Christ are called and chosen to be activists not antagonists or reactionists.
Why should we pray for more laborers?
If you don't need them we'll take'm.
And b/c Jesus said so.
Pray for laborers.

Church Planting is Good

Well, Patti and I just got back from Atlanta where we were "Assessed" as Church Planters. Whoopie! We passed! Of course if we would have failed we would still be doing what we are doing, but all of that is a mute point since we passed with flying colors. The really kool thing about the couple of days in Atlanta was that we got to hang out with 6 other couples planting churches. It was awesome, and I realized a couple of things.

#1) Church Planting is not the safest profession to aspire to.

#2) There are harder things we could be doing, like becoming a nuclear physicist,

Seriously I did realize that here at SouthPoint we have an incredible team. I am so in awe at the quality of people that have joined the team. I cannot think of a single person that is not a "top-Shelf" servant. [Of course "top shelf" is an old bar term. If that offends you……..stop reading]

The team that is already here in Memphis is excited and chomping at the bit to get started. We are getting together this Sunday night to eat, hangout, and enjoy life.

Ted Haggard once said that you don't need to hire staff at your church, just gather your friends, have fun, and do ministry. I feel like that is what we are doing. Gathering friends with a common passion to win the lost and impact an area, and we are gonna have fun doing it. I am ready.

I finished painting the last room of the house this morning, unpacked most of the boxes and now I am hanging out my shingle that says, "Now Open." It is a good feeling.

All can pray. Pray that over the next few weeks we will meet some awesome people here in town, and that we find favor in finding a place to gather. Not only for church but for our meetings too b/c I know that my house will only work for a little while b/c we will soon be too big for my home. Yip-EEEE!!!!!!