It comes with both pro’s and con’s. Let’s look at them…
Pro’s…
1. It helps us stay focused on “being the church”. Relationships are stronger and our sense of mission is strong. Our view of
what church is, is “people”, not “buildings”.
2. There is a natural anti-polarizing effect when meeting in a school, or a theater, or any public place. It’s neutral ground. It
challenges the view of what church is to the unchurched. Church buildings sometimes polarize “the Church” from “the
World” and the two don’t naturally collide with each other.
3. It forces us to be resourceful and creative. How do you create atmosphere in a high school cafeteria. It takes work to
eliminate distractions and create an environment where people can come and meet God. It’s amazing what curtains can
do!
4. It raises the bar of commitment in the people who are serving. It takes a lot of commited people that are willing to show
up several hours before the service to set everything up and then tear everything down, for a service that lasts 1 hour and
15 minutes. The volunteers understand that without their hard work and commitment, we wouldn’t be able to pull off
what we pull off.
5. It keeps us from being too comfortable. The more comfortable we are, the more complacent we become. It keeps us on
our toes, knowing that at any moment we might have to find a new meeting place.
Con’s…
1. It costs a lot of money to rent a school for a 1 hour and 15 minute meeting each week.
2. It costs even more money to have an office space or a place for ministry to happen during the week.
3. Unfortunately, sometimes your reputation as a viable church is measured by…if you have a building or not.
There are probably more pro’s & con’s, but these are the main ones for me.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Foods to include in your diet during the Daniel Fast
All fruits. These can be fresh, frozen, dried, juiced or canned. Fruits include but are not limited to apples, apricots, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, cantaloupe, cherries, cranberries, figs, grapefruit, grapes, guava, honeydew melon, kiwi, lemons, limes, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, papayas, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums, prunes, raisins, raspberries, strawberries, tangelos, tangerines, watermelon
All vegetables. These can be fresh, frozen, dried, juiced or canned. Vegetables include but are not limited to artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chili peppers, collard greens, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, ginger root, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, parsley, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, scallions, spinach, sprouts, squashes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, watercress, yams, zucchini, veggie burgers are an option if you are not allergic to soy.
All whole grains, including but not limited to whole wheat, brown rice, millet, quinoa, oats, barley, grits, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat tortillas, rice cakes and popcorn.
All nuts and seeds, including but not limited to sunflower seeds, cashews, peanuts, sesame. Also nut butters including peanut butter.
All legumes. These can be canned or dried. Legumes include but are not limited to dried beans, pinto beans, split peas, lentils, black eyed peas, kidney beans, black beans, cannellini beans, white beans.
All quality oils including but not limited to olive, canola, grape seed, peanut, and sesame.
Beverages: spring water, distilled water or other pure waters.
Other: tofu, soy products, vinegar, seasonings, salt, herbs and spices.
Foods to avoid on the Daniel Fast
All meat and animal products including but not limited to beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and fish.
All dairy products including but not limited to milk, cheese, cream, butter, and eggs.
All sweeteners including but not limited to sugar, raw sugar, honey, syrups, molasses, and cane juice.
All leavened bread including Ezekiel Bread (it contains yeast and honey) and baked goods.
All refined and processed food products including but not limited to artificial flavorings, food additives, chemicals, white rice, white flour, and foods that contain artificial preservatives.
All deep fried foods including but not limited to potato chips, French fries, corn chips.
All solid fats including shortening, margarine, lard and foods high in fat.
Beverages including but not limited to coffee, tea, herbal teas, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and alcohol.
All vegetables. These can be fresh, frozen, dried, juiced or canned. Vegetables include but are not limited to artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chili peppers, collard greens, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, ginger root, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, parsley, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, scallions, spinach, sprouts, squashes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, watercress, yams, zucchini, veggie burgers are an option if you are not allergic to soy.
All whole grains, including but not limited to whole wheat, brown rice, millet, quinoa, oats, barley, grits, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat tortillas, rice cakes and popcorn.
All nuts and seeds, including but not limited to sunflower seeds, cashews, peanuts, sesame. Also nut butters including peanut butter.
All legumes. These can be canned or dried. Legumes include but are not limited to dried beans, pinto beans, split peas, lentils, black eyed peas, kidney beans, black beans, cannellini beans, white beans.
All quality oils including but not limited to olive, canola, grape seed, peanut, and sesame.
Beverages: spring water, distilled water or other pure waters.
Other: tofu, soy products, vinegar, seasonings, salt, herbs and spices.
Foods to avoid on the Daniel Fast
All meat and animal products including but not limited to beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and fish.
All dairy products including but not limited to milk, cheese, cream, butter, and eggs.
All sweeteners including but not limited to sugar, raw sugar, honey, syrups, molasses, and cane juice.
All leavened bread including Ezekiel Bread (it contains yeast and honey) and baked goods.
All refined and processed food products including but not limited to artificial flavorings, food additives, chemicals, white rice, white flour, and foods that contain artificial preservatives.
All deep fried foods including but not limited to potato chips, French fries, corn chips.
All solid fats including shortening, margarine, lard and foods high in fat.
Beverages including but not limited to coffee, tea, herbal teas, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and alcohol.
Daniel Fast
Step 1: Be Specific Daniel was not vague in his objection to the Babylonian diet. He defined the problem immediately.
1. The king's food was against dietary laws.
2. Daniel and his friends had vowed against wine.
3. The king's food had been offered up to idols/demons.
Step 2: Fast as a Spiritual Commitment The Daniel Fast involves a spiritual commitment to God. "Daniel proposed in his heart that he would not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8).
Step 3: Reflect Inner Desire by Outer Discipline Many people have an inner desire for better health, but they can't discipline themselves to avoid junk food, and other foods that are not good for their health. The physical health you seek from God may be more than an answer to prayer. Your physical health can be linked to any of the following factors:
1. Your food choices.
2. The level of your spiritual commitment as reflected in constant prayer during the fast.
3. Your time commitment. If you determine to fast for a certain time, keep it. For example, if you determine to fast 10 days, don't stop on Day 9.
4. Your testimony commitment. Your fast is a statement of faith to God that you want Him to heal your body, and faith is foundational to the Daniel Fast.
Step 4: Pray to Perceive Sin's Role in Poor Health Notice James 5:13-16:
• Sin is something related to the cause of sickness.
• Lack of health/healing may be the result of spiritual rebellion.
• Lack of health/healing may be due to sin of wrong intake, i.e. drugs, pornography.
• Repentance is linked to health according to James.
• Elders have a role in healing both spiritual and physical health.
• Sick people must desire to be well
• The anointing oil could mean
1. Medicine for healing,
2. Symbolic of the Holy Spirit, or
3. It could be baptism
• Prayer alone may not gain healing, faith is the major factor.
• In Greek there are several words for "sick". James uses "Kanino", which not only includes disease, but also means weak or weary.
• Attitude is important. James said, "are there any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms."
Step 5: Fast as a Statement of Faith to Others Daniel was making a statement of faith when he asked for only vegetables to eat and water to drink, then dared the overseer to compare the appearance of the four sons of Israel with the young men who ate the king's food.
Step 6: Learn the Effects of the Food You Eat Why are some foods good for us, and other foods not? What does certain food do to your body? If we really knew, there would likely be some things we would never eat again.
Step 7: Yield All Results to God Daniel said, "as you see fit, deal with your servants" (Dan. 1:13).
1. The king's food was against dietary laws.
2. Daniel and his friends had vowed against wine.
3. The king's food had been offered up to idols/demons.
Step 2: Fast as a Spiritual Commitment The Daniel Fast involves a spiritual commitment to God. "Daniel proposed in his heart that he would not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8).
Step 3: Reflect Inner Desire by Outer Discipline Many people have an inner desire for better health, but they can't discipline themselves to avoid junk food, and other foods that are not good for their health. The physical health you seek from God may be more than an answer to prayer. Your physical health can be linked to any of the following factors:
1. Your food choices.
2. The level of your spiritual commitment as reflected in constant prayer during the fast.
3. Your time commitment. If you determine to fast for a certain time, keep it. For example, if you determine to fast 10 days, don't stop on Day 9.
4. Your testimony commitment. Your fast is a statement of faith to God that you want Him to heal your body, and faith is foundational to the Daniel Fast.
Step 4: Pray to Perceive Sin's Role in Poor Health Notice James 5:13-16:
• Sin is something related to the cause of sickness.
• Lack of health/healing may be the result of spiritual rebellion.
• Lack of health/healing may be due to sin of wrong intake, i.e. drugs, pornography.
• Repentance is linked to health according to James.
• Elders have a role in healing both spiritual and physical health.
• Sick people must desire to be well
• The anointing oil could mean
1. Medicine for healing,
2. Symbolic of the Holy Spirit, or
3. It could be baptism
• Prayer alone may not gain healing, faith is the major factor.
• In Greek there are several words for "sick". James uses "Kanino", which not only includes disease, but also means weak or weary.
• Attitude is important. James said, "are there any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms."
Step 5: Fast as a Statement of Faith to Others Daniel was making a statement of faith when he asked for only vegetables to eat and water to drink, then dared the overseer to compare the appearance of the four sons of Israel with the young men who ate the king's food.
Step 6: Learn the Effects of the Food You Eat Why are some foods good for us, and other foods not? What does certain food do to your body? If we really knew, there would likely be some things we would never eat again.
Step 7: Yield All Results to God Daniel said, "as you see fit, deal with your servants" (Dan. 1:13).
Saturday, January 30, 2010
We Are Excited!
Church at the Park is a brand new church location right here in the RTP
Area! On February 7, 2010 we will be kicking off our new launch series
entitled "Dream Again." We are so excited about the impact it will have
on your life and the RTP community!
Area! On February 7, 2010 we will be kicking off our new launch series
entitled "Dream Again." We are so excited about the impact it will have
on your life and the RTP community!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Church At The Park
Thank you for visiting our Church Launch in advance! The purpose
of this invite is to connect you with "Church At The Park" which will
be launching from "Frankie's Fun Park" in Raleigh, NC.
http://www.frankiesfunpark.com/
Church at the Park is a brand new church location right here in the RTP
Area! On January 31st we will be kicking off our new launch series
entitled "Dream Again." We are so excited about the impact it will have
on your life and the RTP community!
Church At the Park will be giving away Frankie's Fun Park gift cards to
families who desire to find out what their next step can be towards
embracing Church at the Park's vision and making meaningful connections!
Yes, you can join our "Dream Team"!
We are looking forward to seeing you and you taking your next step
towards dreaming again!
Church At The Park
11190 Fun Park Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27617
Sunday, January 31, 2010
10:00 AM
of this invite is to connect you with "Church At The Park" which will
be launching from "Frankie's Fun Park" in Raleigh, NC.
http://www.frankiesfunpark.com/
Church at the Park is a brand new church location right here in the RTP
Area! On January 31st we will be kicking off our new launch series
entitled "Dream Again." We are so excited about the impact it will have
on your life and the RTP community!
Church At the Park will be giving away Frankie's Fun Park gift cards to
families who desire to find out what their next step can be towards
embracing Church at the Park's vision and making meaningful connections!
Yes, you can join our "Dream Team"!
We are looking forward to seeing you and you taking your next step
towards dreaming again!
Church At The Park
11190 Fun Park Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27617
Sunday, January 31, 2010
10:00 AM
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Continuing in the Word of His Grace
And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith…And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace. (Acts 14:21-22; 20:32)
The Lord desires for us to continue in a growing relationship with Him, continuing to draw more and more upon His grace: "continue with the Lord…continue in the grace of God" (Acts 11:23; 13:43). One vital aspect of this process is to be continuing in the word of His grace.
As Paul and his missionary team passed through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (in Pisidia), they urged the disciples there to "continue in the faith." "The faith" is often used in the Scriptures to refer to the revealed truth of God (in which we are to place our faith). Jude wrote in this manner. "I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude v. 3). Thus, the word of God is "the faith." Consequently, the call to "continue in the faith" was an exhortation to live by abiding in the word of God.
Later, when Paul was visiting the church leaders from Ephesus for the last time, he entrusted them unto the care of the Lord and His word. In doing this, he referred to the Scriptures as "the word of His grace." Grace characterizes the word of God. Grace permeates the word of God. Grace flows from the word of God. It is in the Scriptures that we learn of God's grace. There we learn of what it is (the Lord's undeserved riches, poured out freely for our justification, sanctification, and glorification). There we learn of our great need for grace (a desperate, comprehensive, continual need). Also, in the word we learn of how we can access it (through humble dependence upon the Lord).
If we are going to continue in grace as the Lord desires, we must continue in the word of His grace. We will want to read it prayerfully day by day. We will want to study it regularly for increased understanding. We will want to meditate upon it often for implications and applications. Above all, we will want to be in the word consistently that we might get to know the Christ of the word. In knowing Him more, His mighty grace will properly impact our lives.
The Lord desires for us to continue in a growing relationship with Him, continuing to draw more and more upon His grace: "continue with the Lord…continue in the grace of God" (Acts 11:23; 13:43). One vital aspect of this process is to be continuing in the word of His grace.
As Paul and his missionary team passed through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (in Pisidia), they urged the disciples there to "continue in the faith." "The faith" is often used in the Scriptures to refer to the revealed truth of God (in which we are to place our faith). Jude wrote in this manner. "I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude v. 3). Thus, the word of God is "the faith." Consequently, the call to "continue in the faith" was an exhortation to live by abiding in the word of God.
Later, when Paul was visiting the church leaders from Ephesus for the last time, he entrusted them unto the care of the Lord and His word. In doing this, he referred to the Scriptures as "the word of His grace." Grace characterizes the word of God. Grace permeates the word of God. Grace flows from the word of God. It is in the Scriptures that we learn of God's grace. There we learn of what it is (the Lord's undeserved riches, poured out freely for our justification, sanctification, and glorification). There we learn of our great need for grace (a desperate, comprehensive, continual need). Also, in the word we learn of how we can access it (through humble dependence upon the Lord).
If we are going to continue in grace as the Lord desires, we must continue in the word of His grace. We will want to read it prayerfully day by day. We will want to study it regularly for increased understanding. We will want to meditate upon it often for implications and applications. Above all, we will want to be in the word consistently that we might get to know the Christ of the word. In knowing Him more, His mighty grace will properly impact our lives.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
10 Mistakes I’ve Made (so far) as a Church Planter
Every day I get people to ask me for secrets and tips and pointers for things that I’ve done well as a church planter and pastor of Courageous Church. My wife and I giggle because so many people treat us like we’re experts, but we usually feel like bumbling, idiotic amateurs most of the time! Don’t get me wrong, we’ve done some things well and the grace of God has really been on us during these first three months, but I’ve made a ton of mistakes! A TON!
If you are as bull-headed as I am, you church planting types will probably makes these exact same mistakes in spite of my warnings because church planters are notorious for having to learn from mistakes they were warned against (and for reinventing the wheel), but you won’t be able to say that I didn’t try to help save your sorry butt some heartache :-)
10. I completely, totally, absolutely (did I say completely) overestimated how much money we would be raising from week to week. 50% of the people that are a part of our church are unemployed. A huge percentage of the employed adults that attend are either in a financial crisis or are a bit skeptical about giving to churches. We’re working on solutions for all of these things, but I made many decisions based on these estimates and soon found myself in a bit of a leadership crisis without the financial resources to support the decisions I made.
9. While I would give our team a big ‘ol A+ for creating buzz and momentum leading up to our Grand Opening on January 11th, I channeled nearly 100% our early attention to creating this buzz and gave almost no attention to putting in place the programs, systems and structures that would keep our momentum going. While I am glad that we had a huge grand opening, I regret not putting in place simple things like information cards, follow up emails, a clearly defined system for baptism or membership/partnership, etc.
8. I was told by a few gazillion people that launching and pastoring this church would be like working two full-time jobs. I thought that was stupid. Turns out I was a bit stupid! I did not properly plan for just how much time and effort it would take to plant and lead this awesome community.
7. I made a few really bad hires and put some people into leadership positions that I would not wish on my worst enemies. Because we are a brand new community, we just didn’t have time to get to know some people that we put a lot of trust into. This is very, very tricky. From this point forward, I will make sure that we are very, very picky and much more intrusive before we make any hires.
6. I underestimated the need for office space. I have heard a lot of different opinions on this and regularly read that it is not advisable to jump right into having an office, but we need it. With a family of 6 in a small urban townhouse, my home is a terrible makeshift office space. We will still make use of public space, our house, other homes, etc., but a dedicated office space is pretty essential in my opinion.
5. I really regret not having a very clear, well conceived definition of what it means to be a member/partner of our church. Some of this really stems from my own personal hangups on the idea of membership. However, I am thinking that I through out the baby with the bathwater on this and we are now working hard to define what this means in our context.
4. We spent way too much money on our first Sunday morning facility. Nobody in the world could have convinced me of this. Nobody. Even though we have some very legitimate reasons for creating poor projections for our income, I still think that our first facility simply cost too much money. If we were raising more money maybe I would be thinking differently, but I doubt it. With all of this said, it was really the only choice that opened up for us in January and we had to do what we had to do.
3. We didn’t launch with a functional assimilation system that would really channel excited attenders into committed volunteers. We are just now starting to get this together, but I think we burned out a few volunteers in the process.
2. We weren’t courageous enough and being courageous is essential to who we are as a community. Atlanta really doesn’t need another church doing the same old stuff that reach old people. When we started to have some stress and systems challenges after our launch, I started to fall back on default church mode and lost touch a bit with the unique call that God has for us. I feel strongly that SERVOLUTION helped us get our mojo back!
1. I wasted way too much time either thinking about & engaging my critics. This not only got me distracted from the work of God, but really put me in an unhealthy place emotionally. I think I was surprised that the public criticisms started so soon and regret even caring in the first place.
by Shaun on April 22, 2009
If you are as bull-headed as I am, you church planting types will probably makes these exact same mistakes in spite of my warnings because church planters are notorious for having to learn from mistakes they were warned against (and for reinventing the wheel), but you won’t be able to say that I didn’t try to help save your sorry butt some heartache :-)
10. I completely, totally, absolutely (did I say completely) overestimated how much money we would be raising from week to week. 50% of the people that are a part of our church are unemployed. A huge percentage of the employed adults that attend are either in a financial crisis or are a bit skeptical about giving to churches. We’re working on solutions for all of these things, but I made many decisions based on these estimates and soon found myself in a bit of a leadership crisis without the financial resources to support the decisions I made.
9. While I would give our team a big ‘ol A+ for creating buzz and momentum leading up to our Grand Opening on January 11th, I channeled nearly 100% our early attention to creating this buzz and gave almost no attention to putting in place the programs, systems and structures that would keep our momentum going. While I am glad that we had a huge grand opening, I regret not putting in place simple things like information cards, follow up emails, a clearly defined system for baptism or membership/partnership, etc.
8. I was told by a few gazillion people that launching and pastoring this church would be like working two full-time jobs. I thought that was stupid. Turns out I was a bit stupid! I did not properly plan for just how much time and effort it would take to plant and lead this awesome community.
7. I made a few really bad hires and put some people into leadership positions that I would not wish on my worst enemies. Because we are a brand new community, we just didn’t have time to get to know some people that we put a lot of trust into. This is very, very tricky. From this point forward, I will make sure that we are very, very picky and much more intrusive before we make any hires.
6. I underestimated the need for office space. I have heard a lot of different opinions on this and regularly read that it is not advisable to jump right into having an office, but we need it. With a family of 6 in a small urban townhouse, my home is a terrible makeshift office space. We will still make use of public space, our house, other homes, etc., but a dedicated office space is pretty essential in my opinion.
5. I really regret not having a very clear, well conceived definition of what it means to be a member/partner of our church. Some of this really stems from my own personal hangups on the idea of membership. However, I am thinking that I through out the baby with the bathwater on this and we are now working hard to define what this means in our context.
4. We spent way too much money on our first Sunday morning facility. Nobody in the world could have convinced me of this. Nobody. Even though we have some very legitimate reasons for creating poor projections for our income, I still think that our first facility simply cost too much money. If we were raising more money maybe I would be thinking differently, but I doubt it. With all of this said, it was really the only choice that opened up for us in January and we had to do what we had to do.
3. We didn’t launch with a functional assimilation system that would really channel excited attenders into committed volunteers. We are just now starting to get this together, but I think we burned out a few volunteers in the process.
2. We weren’t courageous enough and being courageous is essential to who we are as a community. Atlanta really doesn’t need another church doing the same old stuff that reach old people. When we started to have some stress and systems challenges after our launch, I started to fall back on default church mode and lost touch a bit with the unique call that God has for us. I feel strongly that SERVOLUTION helped us get our mojo back!
1. I wasted way too much time either thinking about & engaging my critics. This not only got me distracted from the work of God, but really put me in an unhealthy place emotionally. I think I was surprised that the public criticisms started so soon and regret even caring in the first place.
by Shaun on April 22, 2009
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