WOW! Peeps!

Okay this last Wednesday Iwas blown away. Patti and I have felt a certain afinity towards three girls here at Mosaic. Their names are Shana, Liz, and Cindy. Any way these girls/ladies/women came up to me and Patti after our gathering and said, "Hey pray with us, because we are seriously thinking about moving with you guys to Memphis." My jaw hit the floor. it was awesome. So we told them that we would pray that God would keep them up all night until they finally agreed to come no matter what! And then we told them that they HAVE to talk to Naeem first. So they did and they have one more talk with him, but they are seriously considering coming. Kool huh? Also I just got a number from another guy who lives here in Charlotte. His name is Chris, Anyway, he has a friend who lives in Memphis and is a muscician and is interested in talking with me about our new churhc. Who knows, but it is all about relationships. So I want to challenge you guys in your walking around daily lives. Whereever you are. Charlotte, Nap[les, Birmingham, whereever. Begin asking your friends and everybody, "Hey do you know ANYBODY in Memnphis?" Cause if they do get their number and call them. It is really easier than you think. And imagine-we have all played the 7 steps to Kevin Bacon right? (if you haven't then I would say you have NEVER been on a long boring car ride, nor stranded in any airport for very long) So if we can get to Kevin B. in under seven steps than we can get to somebody in Memphis. So lets do it. Its time to cast of any restraint and lets rock this place. We are already putting everything on the line so lets keep it up!

FYI-Cory, Sonja, Ed, & Robin are moving to Southaven in the next couple of weeks so lets keep them in our prayers. safety, easy of travel, blessings, open doors, and divine opportunites.

more logo ideas

more logo ideas for you to paruse.

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!!

Just in case you didn't hear the shouts of joy and the dancing all the way from NC, let me tell you that WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!!...wait, that sounds kinda final, doesn't it!?!?! Well, I guess it's official. We have to move now, so it might as well be to Olive Branch - anybody wanna go?

Really, we are excited that God has moved on our behalf. How do we know that? Because, if I am not mistaken, this will be the first closing that our real estate agents have had since September of 2005. That sounds like God was on our side, huh? That's good news to all of you guys too. Everyone who has a house on the market - you have an opportunity for God to work a miracle in your midst....very soon, I pray.

Anyway, so it looks like we'll be coming to Naples the last week in June. We'd like to have a get-together with everyone, so I'm recruiting a volunteer to put that event together. It doesn't have to be at your home, just let me know what you want to do and we'll work it out....

We love you guys and can't wait to see you all very soon....

Listen and Learn

Here is a link for the audio from the ARC conference. If you were unable to atend you can still catch the fever! If you did go then you know you wanna listen again! I will add this page to the side link bar but for now here it is. THE LINK!

Travel'n Time

Memphis Mississippi, sounds like an oxymoron yet the place is real, of course we have all come to know it as Southaven or Olive Branch. Anyway, Patti and I went to the "place" this past week looking for stuff. We were looking for a place to do church and a place to live and we were also looking to meet some people. People we found. We met a great couple named Melanie and Larry. They are a delightful couple that seems to be very interested in joining our little adventure. They also know a few other couples that may be interested so we will see how all of that plays out over the next few months.
Patti and i also bid on a house in Southaven/Olive Branch. It is right on the line between the two towns. It is just north of Goodman road. It's just off of Pleasent Hill Road. Anyway, we put a bid in on it with 4 million contigencies(sp?). That was yesterday. Today they sent it back to us with the counter. So we will see how it all plays out. If this house doesn't work out then something else will. But for now we will work on this one. If you are interested in a picture of the house (Sonja K. calls it a castle) then I believe it is in the picture side bar to the left.

We looked for a place to do church and found more options than we had before. Of course we have not ruled any out all we have done is add more options to the list. I wanted to have a few more returned phone calls but that did not happen. So maybe that will come with time as well. We head back to Charlotte tomorrow morning. Of course we are gonna stop in Atlanta and Corey Civetta's and have some pictures taken for the website and brochures. All in all, things are going well. Love you all!

Logo ideas- thoughts? comments?

Big Dog in Da House

I'm sitting here with Andrew, Da' Big Dog! It's good to have him in Charlotte with us. We are gonna hang out today and tomorrow and then he is gonna visit Mosaic with us. Kool huh? I'm looking forward to it. It is always good to have friends and family come and visit.

Hey while I have your attention for a short span, why the HECK have none of you responded to the last entry? I was asking for input on the newsletter. This is your opportunity for your moment of fame! Come on, dig deep! Talk to me goose!

Question

I am getting ready to do a newsletter for everyone that supports us and others. Is there anyting that you would like to see in this newsletter that you think would be good for people to know? PLEASE click the commetn button and give me some input. In fact if one of you would like to write a short 150-200 word articel for it that would rock. Simply post it here.

The big 2

I never thought Noah would make it to two. I mean the kid jumps off of high things, plays with sharp objects and think that bugs are kool. When my girls would see a bug they run and scream. Noah...well, he sees a bug and he picks it up to taste. Every time he sees the girls running run way, he runs to it. It's like, "AH TERRORIST, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Noah: "Hmmm, I wonder what a terrorost tastes like?"

But He made it. Noah is now officially two years old. We were gonna do a huge party and invite everyone, but then we realized it might be long commute for you guys so we just did with us here at home. We had a godd time and missed you all! In fact I still miss you guys tons! Cant wait to begin serving with you guys, it is SO gonna rock!

The Lesbian Story

The Lesbian Story

Craig wanted me to tell this story to those of you who were not at the conference meeting that we had, so here goes. I was at the mall the other day, actually we were all there. We go to the mall alot, since we don't really know what else to do to get out of THIS APARTMENT!!!! So I was shopping in a new store for me. I was trying to purchase couple of pieces of clothing and the transaction was taking a while. Craig was out in the hall waiting on me with the younguns....
Anyway, I started talking to the young lady who was waiting on me (she happened to be the manager of the store - don't remember her name). She asked me why we were here - the subject came up that we had just moved here. I told her the basics and she said she had heard of Mosaic since it's the church that meets in the movie theatre at the mall where I was shopping. She asked what "kind" of church it was. I gave her the good 'ole "it's just a normal church that talks about Jesus and no "denomination" or specific "theology". She said she'd like to find a church she could go to, but every one she had tried didn't work for her. See, she's a lesbian (thus the name of the story), and whenever she goes to church, all she gets is condemnation and judgement. She wanted to know if she would be comfortable at Mosaic. I told her that I had only been here a month, but that I thought Mosaic was probably the least judgemental church I knew of around here.
She wanted to know if the pastor preached against homosexuality. I said, "not since I've been here." She wanted to know what he thought about it. I told her that I didn't really know his exact stance because it had not come up. I told her that I didn't think he would openly discuss his stance from the pulpit - that he would let God deal with those issues. I realized that by getting her to that "safe place", she just MIGHT hear the gospel and just MIGHT figure out the sin issues all on her own. What a novel idea?!?!?! She talked about how she couldn't help it if she was born this way (I didn't get into that with her, obviously).
Another girl that worked there was standing there and asked if we had any other gay couples at our church. I told her I didn't know if we did or not, because it's not ever been discussed or an issue, so I wouldn't really know if we did or not.
It was refreshing to be able to say "you will be comfortable" i.e., it's a safe place. And she said she might check us out. I asked her if she ever worked on Sunday and she said "yes." So I told her she might as well come to church, since she had to be at the mall anyway. And she could come to church before having to be at work. I hope she'll come.
But it got me thinking. One of her issues was that her homosexual sin was discussed in every church she had tried to attend. But what about our sin of judgement or our sin of gossip (about homosexuals coming to our church) or the sin of being two-faced - wanting anyone and everyone to come to our church, but then not really making it a safe place for them to hear the gospel.
The pastor of the church where we just went to this ARC conference has several homosexual couples in his church. He doesn't put them in leadership in any way, but he makes a safe place where they can come and hear the truth and decide for themselves. And guess what - it doesn't always happen their first Sunday either. He has homosexual couples that have been in his church for a while. They just haven't made that decision yet, but they keep coming because they know there's something to this "God" thing that gets them through the week. Yet again, what a novel idea.
Speaking of novels, I think I'll stop typing now.

Ask, Ask, Ask, Ask, Ask, and then Ask again.

Today is our day off. So we stay at home or do something with the kids. Well, getting back from the conference I really wasn't in the mood to do anything but be a slug. However, my children were very excited to have us home so they wanted to do something together. Sierra began asking me at 8am if I would play Go Fish with her and Phoebe. Of course I said no. In fact not only did I say no I emphatically told her that I would not play it all day! Not in the mood. She said, "okay." Of course then she very sweetly asked me the same question at 8:10, 8:15, 8:22, 8:30, and again at 8:40am. After a while a kid can wear you down. Yes I did play go fish.

That got me thinking about Luke 11:8-12 where Jesus tells the parable about the dude who needs bread but his friend is in bed and doesn’t want to get up. But since the dude is so persistent then he finally gets up and gives it to him. The Jesus goes on to say this, "Ask and you will receive, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you. Everyone who asks will receive."
HOLY COW! So okay I'm really praying for my house to sell, and everyone else’s on the launch team, and I believe it will sell! I mean I might have to yank on God's train, and I might have to knock on the gate a few more times, but I really believe that it will happen and it will be in time! So be encouraged it will work, it will happen, because remember God really does have our best interest in mind, and after all you really are His favorite!

ARC conference

We went to ARC and had an awesome time. I hope Sonja will send me some pictures of it soon so I can post them (hint). We had a great time. I was sad to hear that Marc, Nina, Kelly, Mike, Judy, Jason, and Christina couldn't make it but all in do time. The conference really was invigorating. One of the things that was talked about was how people at a church -and especially on a launch team- should not just support the vision or even buy into the vision, but they need to OWN the vision. Because if everybody owns the vision then there is never an "us" and "Them" it's always just "us" It's your vision! It is ridiculous to think that someone would undermine their own vision. Then everybody is working for exactly the same thing. Kool huh?
I learned a new term at the conference that I just ate up. It is the "de-churched" That is those people that grew up in church and know the bible. They went to church with their parents through school and then when they got on their own they stop going because they found church to be boring and irrelevant. These people NEED OUR KINDA CHURCH! A place that is never boring and is based on relationship not rules and regulations. Are ya pumped yet?
One item of business before I close out this session. After talking intently with Naeem and Andrew we feel that it is prudent to change the name of the church plant to SouthPoint. The tag line would be "A new way to do Church." We are changing it to SouthPoint b/c it is more practical for the area we are going PLUS there are four million "life" in the name churches in that area. I shared are new name with many of the guys at the ARC conference and they all agreed hands down that SouthPoint is the way to go. So.....taking the advice of those that have gone before us the new name of the church is SouthPoint. Now I ma REWORKING the graphics and logo stuff. It is costing more money but the real question is if I don't change it now how much will it cost me to NOT change it later? I chose the now.

ALSO: Congrats to Mike and Judy- they are grandparents again!

How Safe is God's Will?

The other day I was doing my devotions and I was amazed to hear God talking. Funny how that works huh? Actually I’m not sure if he did a lot of talking or just really got me thinking. Thinking about His will. I realized I was raised with faulty theology. To top it off I realized I had taught faulty theology. I had taught that if everything went well and doors opened and all was well then you were in God’s will. If things went wrong then you were not in God’s will. And if we were unsure then we broke it down to the big three. Remember – “The good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.” So if it kinda messed up then we must be in the Good will of God but not the perfect will of God. Now I would love to follow this whole line of thinking for you but you can do it yourself. Because after all if we work our way from good to perfect then that makes our belief structure performance based instead of faith based. But let’s get back to the God’s will thing before you get tired of reading this blog.

If we say that we can know God’s will based upon our safety, provision, and ease then we are not reading the same Bible. Let’s do an old school recap of our favorite bible characters. John the Baptist; was he in God’s will? Jesus said he was the greatest man to ever walk the earth – oops imprisoned and decapitated. John the disciple; beloved of Christ – mocked, eyes gouged out, outcast, and martyred. Paul the apostle; writer of 1/3 of the N.T. – whipped, stoned, shipwrecked, etc. This is but a small sampling to show that being in God’s will has really nothing to do with our present circumstances. I think sometimes we say well, it’s not God’s will because this didn’t happen or I’m uncomfortable. So what is God’s will? “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.” Anything we do to advance the kingdom of heaven, IS his will. Many times that is the most dangerous-tricky-scary-place to be, but its still his will.

I am SO excited to be teaming up with you guys to help fulfill God’s dream for South Memphis. You guys are awesome and we are gonna rock. I know that for some of us everything is not going exactly as we had imagined. And that is okay. Because what we are embarking on is an adventure not a tourist train ride through Graceland. Its an adventure. Our ending is not guaranteed, our ease of life is not promised and our safety is not a promise. But in all of that is an outrageous chance to make a difference in this life. TO impact not just a few people for the cause of Christ, but a chance to impact an area, a city. To step out of the stands and step onto the battlefield. To drag off the wounded and to enlist the healthy. To shoot the enemy and protect the innocent. You guys can not only do it! We will do it!

Thoughts to Ponder

Ah, lessons learned. A couple of things I've learned since I've been here that I think you guys will be interested in.
1.) Systems MUST be liquid.
Last week Naeem (The Pastor) changed his entire flow chart in about 10 minutes. He said the old one worked for the launch but now three months into it, it needs to be this new way. The type of system is important but a little lengthy for the Blog. What I wanted to point out is that from the start we have to be liquid. WE must be willing to adopt change and not get bent out of shape. The minute we build a monument is the moment we get left behind. Our systems must be fluid, our relationships must be fluid, and our concepts of ministry and even our theology must be fluid. Now you might freak out about me saying that our Theology must be liquid as well. Well freak not! Think about it; Do you believe everything exactly as you did when you first got saved? Of course not! You have spiritually evolved(don't be scared of the 'evolve' word). Ed Young says it this way, he says that the church evolves, God is. How true. So we have to be willing to change.
2.) Give direction, authority, and responsibility away.
Direction-authority-responsibility. These three things are linked at the core of their being. Many times we have seen leaders give direction but then don't pass on the authority to carry it out, or they give someone responsibility but no direction. Of these three things you can't be successful unless you have all three operating side by side in unison. They don't just compliment each other they are vital to the existence of the other. In order for our new church to work we have to all be willing to take up responsibilities, listen to direction, and properly use our authority. And then just as quick we have to be willing to give it away. Raise up others to do what we do. How vital is that? (My Space also Updated)

OUCH!

Noah fell and busted his head on the cofee table. We opted for the no-stitches route bt found the largest butterfly bandage we could find. The bunny and the raggedy-Anne dolls are his two sisters attempt at comforting him. I think somewhere in the process they might feel a little guilty for something.

I'm gonna puke - wait, I just did!

Last Saturday Patti started puking. She was sick for a day in a half-then Wednesday, Phoebe got sick. She was puking all night long. Of course she is not quite old enough to understand the whole vomit in a toilet thing so DAD got to wipe it up all night. Then Friday night Sierra felt left out so she got sick, and then I joined her in the puking extravaganza! It was horrible. Today however, I almost feel like myself again. Man you just don't appreciate keeping food down until you go a day and NOT keep it down.

I stoked that all of you guys got together at Pizza Hut the other night, that is awesome! I wish I could have been there but I was busy up-chucking. Okay I guess I didn't actually upchuck until after we talked.

I sat around this Sunday at Mosaic and watched everybody’s roles and the people doing their jobs and I was thankful. I watched a guy named Dave on the sound board and I thought, "Yea Mike not only can do, He will do great at it." I saw the lady in charge of prayer praying for Naeem and I thought, "Yea Robin will rock at that." And the list goes on. Our team is not yet complete, we have just begun to assemble the dream team, but I have no doubt that God is placing the right people in the right place for the right job. I can't wait to work with you guys in this fun, and powerful adventure.

One of the ladies at Mosaic just move here form Memphis. She is really nice and she told some of her friends in Memphis about us and our arrival in Memphis. They are so excited about us coming and think they want to be a part so they are driving over to Charlotte to meet us. I told Kelly (the lady) that we would go there to meet them but she said they were so excited about a new church plant in Memphis that they would come here to meet us! WOW! No guarantees, but I love how God works things out and moves peoples paths so that they will cross.

Speaking of which, Hey Jason, I'm still waiting for your friends to email me. :)

Practice makes perfect

I know many of you wonder if I've always been fat. Well actually know, I used to be really skinny. So skinny in fact, that I didn't weigh enough to play little league football. You had to weigh at least 55 pounds and I weighed in at a whopping 50. Until one year my dad had the idea to fill my pockets with fishing weights and a hunk of solid brass. I could barely keep my pants up, but when I stepped on the scale it leveled out at exactly 55 pounds. The lady nurse said, "Wow, you barely made it!” I didn’t care if I barely made it or blew the doors of trying, the point was I made it!

I left that room and went directly outside for my very first practice. I was ecstatic! I didn't think about the fat that everybody there out weighed me by 1200 pounds, or for the fact that they all had two years of experience, all I knew was that I was finally going to get to play ball!
I John 3:7 says, "He that practices righteousness, is righteous just as Christ.” See we don't have to be perfect. In fact it doesn't even matter when you screw up. Really I'm serious. Think about it for a second, how many people while practicing for anything, get in trouble when they screw up? None. When i tripped on a hurdle in track practice my coach never yelled at me. I wasn't kicked off the team. My coach would just say, "Come on Wendel, you can do it! Get the knees up and go for it!"
Self-criticism and self-condemnation is SO debilitating. It's time to stop looking at what you think is wrong with you and what you think is lacking in your life and realize that you are only practicing. So screw up! Make mistakes! Do it wrong! But do it nonetheless. See God is way more gracious on those who get off the bench and do it wrong or right; as opposed to those who only sit on the bench. This is your day! Don't focus on you faults or on how many times you’ve screwed up. Focus on the goodness of God and the calling that is on your life. Focus on how many hurting people there are around you and what you can do about helping them.
We will never be perfect on this earth. But one thing is for sure, we will become more perfect the more we practice.

We Made it!

We made it to NC! It was a pretty good trip. Kinda boring since Patti and I were in seperate vehicles but overall good and uneventful. Now we are unloading boxes and getting ready for church tonight. Naeem called last night while we were unloading and said, "Hey can I come over and say hi?" I was like duh, of course you can. So Patti and I worked deligently for about 30 minutes clear the living room of boxes and packing paper so we could have a place to sit. Anyway, Naeem and Dave (a guy from the sound crew) came over and we chatted for quite sometime. Super nice guys. He informed us of church tonight which is only for the staff not the people goers. They meet once a week to stay connected and do church. I'm looking forward to it tonight to get to know some of the other 60 staff that they have.

This last Sunday was a great Send off from the Tree. We had just under $3,000 in one time gifts and over $700 in monthly commitments! PRAISE GOD! We are so excited that not only do we have awesome friends and family supporting us inprayers, but we also have a support some dough-cash-moola!

Well, here is how the team is shaping up so far:
Committed to going to Memphis:
Cory & Sonja Kness (Sshhh they are a secret)
Mike & Judy Thompson
Jason & Christina
Tony & Shirleen Lombard
Ed & Robin Webster
People seriously praying about it:
Lily Prado
Dawn Wittington
Marc & Nina Carter

Okay, now you know who to pray for and what to do. Oh yea and if you are hunting something to pray for, pray that I SELL MY HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mike and Judy need to sell their house as well. Come on let's hit Heaven's Gates with some prayers!

The Team Gathers

It is a humbling experience knowing that people will actually follow you. John Maxwell always says, "If you want to know if your a leader simply look behind you." Great advice! In these past few weeks I have looked behind me. I have seen the numbers of people gorw and my heart swells. I know all of my faults and weaknesses, yet people still follow. That is awesome. I know that in reality they are not folowing me, but they are following a dream and a vision. The dream is simple. Grow a huge freak'n church that has the influence ina city to alter change for the good of the Kingdom of God. Just imagine for one quick second to power of the local church.......okay seconds up. Is that awesome or what? The vision? Well that's easy too; Real people, serving a Relevant God in a Revolutionary way. Revolutionaries take chances. They step out against all odds and fight the masses. We are not in this thing to fight the natural, but we are in it to fight for the lost and win souls for the kingdom.

I have always pondered the question: How will you know if you are successful? I think one of the values is beyond a shadow of a doubt, are people being saved and transformed, if so, then yup that's success!

To all of you who are praying about joining this launch team I am gratefully and overwhelmingly honored. I can't promise you a bed of roses or even .......well I can't promise you anything except for the fact that we will be sucessful. How do I know that? Easy, God said it. He told uys in 2 Corinthians 2:14 "Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ." Yup, triumph, the winners circle baby! As long as we keep Christ first. And He is my friend Christ IS #1 in this endeavor.