Monday musings 1.7.08

 Church at the Grove  No Responses »
Jan 082008
 

The first Sunday of the year was a great day yesterday for CATGrove! 

  • We had a great group of first-time guest and their responses were so encouraging. 
  • It was great to see some people that I had not seen in a while.
  • We had some of our most faithful people out yesterday.  I missed you!  We all missed you!
  • We began our new series “Imagine” and we “Imagined a church that made it simple for people to connect with God”.
  • I have offended a lot of people before when I preached, I have bored people to tears and sleep, that happens weekly.  Until yesterday, my preaching had never sent someone to the hospital, but it happened.  A great man, who remains nameless due to his patient rights, was taken out with some heavy breathing and some pain.  They check in overnight and he was fine.  He went home today.  I asked if I could tell people that I simply slayed him in the spirit.  He didn’t know what I was talking about.
  • Yesterday was a great day with worship.  Chris Orr and the band did a great job.  His bass player and guitar player were boys in my youth ministry at NorthStar Church.  I was so proud of them. 
  • I had a call from a girl named Kirsten and she was telling me that she and her husband are going out of town but wanted to know we record the sermons so they would not have to miss it.  Isn’t that awesome!
  • If you click onto our website www.churchatthegrove.com  You simply look up on the left side under the logo where it says “Listen Online”, click on the Listen Online menu and it will give you a player and more choices for listening, downloading, or subscribing.                           
  • I am watching the LSU/Ohio St. game right now.  Is it me or is LSU so far ahead in talent it just doesn’t make sense.  What would completely make sense would to have UGA playing in this game.  Based on how Ohio State is playing, I think UGA has what it takes.

God Bless and Have a Great Week!

Russ

 Posted by at 12:41 am

A Great Day to Invite Someone to Church

 Church, Church at the Grove, Missional  2 Responses »
Jan 052008
 

The first Saturday of the New Year is a perfect time to offer that personal invitation for someone to go to church with you.  The holidays are over and things have slowed a bit.  People are open to trying something new to add value to their life.

Pray, make the call, Walk across the street, send the email!  Invite someone to join you tomorrow.

 Posted by at 10:08 am

Crazy happenings

 Community, Culture, Random Thoughts  No Responses »
Jan 052008
 

This is crazy

One of our neighbor’s sister traveled from California to Atlanta for Christmas a couple of weeks ago.  She had all of her bags packed for her and her two children and the car loaded.  She started the car and simply went back into the house to get the kids to load up and leave for the airport and she came back outside and the car was GONE!  Someone had stolen her car in a manner of seconds!  She had to get her husband to call the police, grab a few items of clothing and get to the airport.  She missed her scheduled flight and when she arrived here in Atlanta they had to go shopping for clothes for their extended stay.  What a Merry Christmas!

The last week of school here in Walton County before the Christmas break was a little interesting.  I was sitting in my office at the intersection of Hwy. 81 and Hwy. 138 and I heard a siren from an approaching police car.  Being the concerned (nosy) citizen that I am, I prayerfully stood up to look out the window and saw a State Patrol car approach the intersection, stop traffic and allow several other State Patrol cars to scream through the intersection at a high rate of speed. 

I wondered, “what in the world was going on?”.  I received a couple of phone calls alerting me to the possibility that there was a shooter on the campus of Monroe High School and they were shutting down some of the schools in Monroe.

When the dust settled, we found out that 2 students had gone hunting early in the morning before going to school at Monroe High and they hid their guns in the woods behind the school in the woods before going to class.  Someone in the neighborhood saw the kids with the guns and called the police.

“Only in Walton County!”

 Posted by at 10:03 am

New Year’s Resolutions for CATGrove Part 1

 Church, Church at the Grove, Community, Leadership  No Responses »
Jan 042008
 

I am not big on New Year’s resolutions because most of the time it is a self-imposed goal that sets us up for failure rather than surrendering daily to following Jesus and relying on God’s Spirit living in us.  However, I do believe there is value in evaluating our lives at the end of the year and utilizing a new year for a fresh perspective on some areas of needed attention. 

Therefore, I want to write some posts regarding some dreams I have for Church at the Grove and give some attention to some specific areas of our church.  I will categorized some of these dreams (resolutions) according to our 3 channels, our Gatherings, Community Groups and Conversations in the Community.

DREAM (Resolution) Part 1:

I dream of an environment that creates a WOW experience for the first time guest!  I am not saying that we are out to entertain or impress people coming for the first time, but understanding that a first time visit anywhere can create a bit of anxiety, fear and the thought, “Will anybody talk to me?”  I would love for every person that drives on the property wherever we gather to be immediately overwhelmed with hospitality, friendliness and a personal touch.  I do not mean that we should STALK people when they come to our gathering, but simply show them intentional love, acceptance, and a warm reception. 

Some people are concerned they are not going to know where to go, where to take their children, or even something as simple as finding a restroom.  I have the dream of having a community of hosts that are constantly aware of the first-time guests and are ready, willing, and prepared to offer direction at all times.

What will it take to create a WOW experience?

  • Understand that the most important sermon people will hear on a Sunday morning is the sermon they receive from the parking lot to the chair!  Regardless of how incredible the sermon is (no jokes please), if they have not sensed and felt acceptance, belonging and offered practical direction when on the property, they may not experience God’s presence and hear God’s voice when they take a seat.
  • A person every Sunday that would be willing to stand and greet people as they drive into the parking lot with a smile and a friendly wave of direction.  Hint Hint:  Volunteers needed to step up!
  • A WAVE of people that show up EARLY to our gatherings (what an incredible thought!) for the sole purpose of engaging people and making them feel welcomed. 
  • A group of people committed to stand at our doors and make sure that no one enters the building having to open the door for themselves.  These people will offer a smile, a handshake or high-five, and a “We’re glad you’re here!” greeting.  Our greeters will offer friendly direction to our auditorium, children’s registration and will personally escort guests rather than stand and point!  This will mean so much!
  • At least 2-4 individuals that will stand in the auditorium and hand out our worship programs with a smile and offer to help find seats as it gets crowded. 
  • People that are part of our community of faith that generally understand that our gatherings are not necessarily ABOUT or FOR them!  There is a constant awareness of guests and others in such a way that offers a spirit of hospitality that creates a WOW experience.  It is this experience that creates a receptive heart to the work that God wants to do in the life of every person.  This person will want to return regardless of how poor the sermon is and regardless of whether or not the music is their personal preference.

1 Thessalonians 2:8 (NIV)
8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

 Posted by at 10:53 am
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