churches on the ball.

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Matt Keller on Rhythm

Posted by on 07 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: churches on the ball., thoughts on life.

Last night I took a hard run with Isaac. As we started, my legs were not feeling very good. It took several miles, but somewhere around mile 3 or 4, i realized I was running at a nice pace and had established a good rhythm–I no longer strained at every step.

This got me thinking about Matt Keller’s recent blogs about rhythm. I encourage you to read through these recent blog entries, and be sure you leave comments for Matt as well!

Perry Noble on Hell

Posted by on 02 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: churches on the ball.

Earlier this week, I noted a seeker church was teaching doctrine on hell. This is contrary to the belief the vast majority of non-seeker-church-attending Christians hold very tightly to.

Most (I think that is not an understatement–do you?) non-seeker-church-attending Christians believe seeker churches teach a watered down gospel, not teaching doctrinal truth. Unfortunately, these non-seeker-church-attending Christians are driving a wedge, and have become so close-minded they refuse to believe anything good can come out of a seeker church.

Today Perry himself addresses Hell, and how he will talk about it this weekend. Not exactly your seeker-typical message. Interesting brief read.

Question for Thought: Have you become close-minded to seeker churches?
Question Two for Thought: Have you become close-minded to traditional churches?

I suggest both are equally horrifying. Both serve a purpose, and both can effectively reach people, and likewise, both can become wacko and off-balance.
But what do we do with the off-balance? apply it to all, or look past it to the truth?

Perry Noble on Why People Criticize

Posted by on 01 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: churches on the ball., my life.

Today my favorite blogger Perry Noble had a great post on being a coward on the Internet, basically. It’s a good read.

Applying his post to my blog, I wanted to go public and state, for the record, that I’m not hiding, and if you don’t agree with something I blog about, please ask me about it. If you’re in Northeast Indiana, we could sit down and talk over a nice cup of java.

If you have questions about New Hope, why we’re doing something, please don’t spread rumors. Sit down with someone who actually knows the truth and talk about it. So many rumors…
Even rumors which we thought we ended come back (even some crazy, stupid ones!)

Bottom line–If you’re a rumor spreader, please, please, E-mail me and I’d love to sit down with you and talk about your concerns. Honestly–I would love it! So much better to be honest than to ignore, cover up, or spread the unconfirmed rumors!

What? A seeker church teaches on Hell?

Posted by on 31 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: churches on the ball., thoughts on god.

Contrary to popular belief in some Christian circles, seeker churches actually can teach doctrine.

NewSpring in Anderson, South Carolina (home of my favorite blogger Perry Noble) will teach on Hell this weekend.

That’s not a very seeker message, eh?
If only Christians could get along and actually try to learn from each other?

DISCLAIMER: There ARE seeker churches who are wacked off doctrinally–just like there are wacko Pentecostals and wacko methodists and wacko baptists and wacko whatevers. I am not implying that all seeker churches are doctrinally sound. what i am implying is that just because a church is seeker, it does not mean they are doctrinally weak.

Are you a Fat or Fit Christian?

Posted by on 30 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: churches on the ball.

Just read a great blog entry by Anna Meadows over at the Swerve blog. I wanted to pass it along for you to think about.

Vision Leaks.

Posted by on 26 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: churches on the ball., Communications

Vision leaks.
– Andy Stanley

Just because someone bought into a vision at one time, it does not mean they will always remain in tune with that vision, because vision leaks. The excitement slows down, and eventually become frustration.

It is impossible to present the vision too frequently. Vision large and visions for smaller segments of the whole as well.

You can’t share the vision enough. Try it.

Throwing out a link to Matt Keller.

Posted by on 18 Jun 2007 | Tagged as: churches on the ball., my life.

Matt Keller has taught me a lot in the past 15 years. He was two years older than me in high school, and was a great example. He founded the DeKalb Bible Club, and I got to watch his leadership develop. He’s always been a natural leader and just naturally, people seem to follow him.
He has a growing, rocking church in Fort Meyers, Fla., (Next Level Church) and just this weekend NLC announced their new Executive Pastor, Scott Drummond, who is also very cool. I haven’t known Scott for nearly as long, but do know he is a very cool and talented guy as well!

Matt started a blog about a month ago. I encourage you to stop by and check out his bloggish thoughts.

if i see it, does it exist?

Posted by on 29 May 2007 | Tagged as: churches on the ball., thoughts on life.

Follow-up to this post.

So, i just watched a video which showed a church do so-and-so. Now, because this church does so-and-so, does that mean every church does so-and-so, or does it tell us nothing about other churches?

Is one church doing so-and-so necessary and sufficient to conclude that all churches do it?
Is one church not doing so-and-so necessary and sufficient to conclude that no church can do it?

Are are these two (1. one church doing it (or not) and 2. all churches are the same) related?

If i don’t see it, can it exist?

Posted by on 26 May 2007 | Tagged as: churches on the ball., thoughts on life.

Here is a thought i’ve seen repeated by churched people over and over again:

Because i haven’t seen other churches do so-and-so, it does not exist.

Is there anything fundamentally incorrect with that statement? if so, what?
If there is not anything wrong, how do you support that statement?

Keep Guests Away from Your Church

Posted by on 14 May 2007 | Tagged as: churches on the ball., Communications

Church SignOne Step Jackpot: Adopt a Slogan like “Give ‘Til Feels Good”
Once you’ve done that, people will do the rest for you. You’ll likely never reach anyone who isn’t already a Christian, because you’ve just reinforced one of the chiefest complaints of those who aren’t following Christ–the Church is only after my money.

Balance: Yes, there is truth to that statement, and it’s certainly true for the core people of your church. And while there is truth, there is a benefit to understanding the mindset of those who aren’t attending a church. You can’t treat them just like you want to be treated! They are spiritually immature, and can’t grasp a concept like “Give ‘Til Feels Good” (They hear “We Want All Your Money!”)

Insanity.

Posted by on 01 May 2007 | Tagged as: churches on the ball.

Craig Groeschel recently made an interesting post about changing things.

One thing he said was:

Some define insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” Some churches are insane.

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