Posts Tagged “Be Bold”
THIS SUNDAY @ Compass ROCKED – just great to be in the house today!!
- OK…got to admit I was a little nervous but “JESUS FREAK” was AWESOME…both Marcus/Georgie & Matt/Felicity and bands tore it up.
- Seriously, I DON’T CARE if people call me a JESUS FREAK and, if more Christians were like that, Heaven would be bigger and hell smaller.
- BTW – I’m not talking about the idiot that stands on the street corner with their megaphone and screams, “You Are Going To Hell” but would never really take the time to get to know the people they are screaming at.
- I am talking about the kind of Christ Follower who is SO BLOWN AWAY by Jesus forgiving them of their own sin, that falling flat on their face in worship & thankfulness leading to Bold Expressions of their faith to others is NOT OPTIONAL.
- Yes, we are OBLIGATED to this culture and this generation (Romans 1:14-16) to be FISHERS of MEN and NOT KEEPERS of the AQUARIUM (shout out to my former pastor Ed Young for the inspiring thought)
- Several of the many Highlights today -
- Hearing people Raise their hand and OUT LOUD invite Jesus into their life today at the OC – NEVER Gets Old!!
- Seeing our entire church come to the front and exchange the names of people they are going to invite to church over the next three weeks for a Be Bold Bracelet – WOW!
- Hearing our church Boldly Sing “My God is Mighty To Save” over all those names – still on a high.
- Singing the words “So take me as you find me, ALL my fears and failures, Fill My Life Again” is my story – I’m not deserving of God’s Grace, there’s nothing I could do to gain His favor, and everything I have is all because of Jesus - BAM!!!
- Boldly putting the words on my lips “I give my life to follow EVERYTHING I believe in, Now I SURRENDER” is the cry of my heart and I pray will always be the cry of our church – begging God for more and surrendering all we have to God!!
- I am looking forward to praying ALL WEEK for the names you wrote down today and seeing God Rock their Worlds as you Boldly Invite them to “COME and SEE!” (go for it – you can do this!!
- Let’s be that church that BOLDY INVITES people to “Come & See,” changes the stats, and does not worship Jesus alone in heaven!!
- Met some AWESOME new people at PARTNERSHIP CLASS today – told them they were Special Ops for showing up in spite of the rain.
- AMAZED and BLOWN AWAY at the incredible talent and heart of the people God is bringing our way to make Jesus famous in NE Georgia.
- The father of a college student texted me just to tell me his son said today was GREAT! That meant a lot to know we are connecting and God is stirring up greatness in the hearts of the next generation
- Reminded once again today we have the most AMAZING VOLUNTEERS on the planet – THANK YOU for your servant’s heart and your willingness to step up to the plate and do things you’ve never done before to connect this community to Jesus!!
- Had the most POWERFUL Prayer Time EVER on Saturday with our Prayer Partners – they asked if they could anoint me with oil and then pray over me on behalf of my family and our entire church – never been so humbled and grateful and Blown Away all at the same time!!!
- Sheryl was on vacation all last week and we missed her BIG TIME, really glad she’s back tomorrow…Lynn did an amazing job filling in for her as a volunteer!!
- HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL is full of PASSION – no glory, no big pay checks, not super large crowds, just two teams with passion for their school going at it – Love It!!
- Really pulling for the BRAVES to make the playoffs!!
- DAWGS OPEN UP THIS SATURDAY – Can’t Wait – Watching with my In Laws at their house – Can’t Wait!!
- 2 out of 3 Carpenter Kids have the flu – PLEASE PRAY I don’t catch it – I’m really a BIG BABY & that’s not good for a marriage!
- I CAN’T WAIT to Break The FAST with all of you this coming Sunday as we take communion together…YOU CAN Do This…Finish Strong!!
- THE GOSPEL is going to be the most life changing 3 weeks Compass Church as ever experienced together…get your READY SHOES on, the Best is yet to come!!!!!
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My phone was blowing up with texts when I came off the stage at the OC Sunday to tell me my close friend Joey was baptized on Sunday in the 11:00 AC service (Oh, Yea, who says VIDEO doesn’t work. I wasn’t even there, God spoke boldly through the video, Joey manned up and responded, and I didn’t even get to baptize him!!!!)
I sent a picture of us (posted in yesterday’s blog) we took at lunch that day out to at least 20 of our friends SHOUTING OUT about what God did – many were like “Well, if I would have known, I would have come!“
I have another friend in FLORIDA who reads our blogs and leads a Men’s Small Group on Monday Nights. He challenged his guys as a result of reading about what God did this past Sunday at Compass to pray for, invest in, invite and not stop until they had a brought a friend to Jesus.
Then it hit me – that’s our church growth strategy – set our people up to BE BOLD INVITING MACHINES by Giving Them Something To Talk About – JESUS CHANGING LIVES!!
#1 – Now That You Know about it…..what are you going to do about it??!!
“For I have a great sense of obligation to people in our culture and to people in other cultures….to PREACH the GOOD NEWS. For I am NOT ASHAMED of the GOSPEL about Christ. It is the POWER of God at work, SAVING EVERYONE who believes.” (Romans 1:14-16) Those Verses STILL Messing Me Up!!!
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BOO YAH!!!!!! Thank you JESUS!! TODAY was the most ABSOLUTELY AMAZING DAY EVER @ Compass.
•We BAPTIZED 39 people today – that’s only half the story….
•…They literally had NO IDEA when they got up this morning they were getting baptized today.
•That’s Right – THEY might not have been PREPARED but GOD WAS PREPARED FOR THEM and our incredible Volunteers were too!!
•Today, I challenged people who had never placed their faith in Christ or had but had never been Biblically Baptized to BE BOLD, go for it, and be baptized on the spot – not next week, or next month, not go home and think about it, not raise a hand, flip a switch or walk an aisle, but to accept God’s original invitation and BE BAPTIZED TODAY to tell the world that you belong to Jesus.
•Talk about a RUSH – God showed UP and showed OFF in an AMAZING display of what He will do when we take risks for Him!
•Was it Risky? Boldest Risk we’ve ever taken as a church (trust me, we had our doubters – including me).
•Was it Worth It? So much we are going to do it again next Sunday. There’s already a BUZZ among our staff and church about what God MIGHT DO this coming Sunday!! I CAN’T WAIT and I sure won’t get much sleep this week!!!!
•NONE of us have ever experienced a day like this before in church…did I mention 39 people got baptized who had no idea their day would include being baptized for Jesus!!
•It wasn’t NORMAL…it was RADICAL, it was BOLD, it was GOD Showing Up and Showing Off, it was THAT DAY (Acts 2:41) coming to life in our generation.
•You had to have been there…if not, I imagine it’s hard to understand. It wasn’t about us, or people joining a church – this was about people of ALL AGES (middle school and up) RADICALLY and BOLDLY declaring for all the world to know through Biblical Baptism “I BELONG TO JESUS!!!”
Several key moments I’ll always remember…
-MEN who came forward holding their wives hands with tears in their eyes to be baptized as couples…
-DADS laying a spiritual foundation for their families by boldly stepping out (I’m telling ya, women love dudes who take bold spiritual steps with their lives!!)…
-STUDENTS declaring in front of their friends and family “I am Not Ashamed of Jesus”…
-A COACH baptizing two of his players he had invited to come with him to church that day…
-A LADY shouting back at me in response to the question “Is it your testimony that Jesus lives in your heart and life?” “YES, JIM IT IS!!!” – scared me but I loved it!!
-MY PHONE being blown up with texts that one of my close personal friends got baptized in the 11:00 AC Video service – I was BLOWN AWAY! Living Proof that God can use technology and a video service to POWERFULLY speak and change lives!!
-39 BOLD PEOPLE who put their fear aside, knees shaking and all, stepped out and stepped up, went public with their faith, and became catalysts for what I believe will be the Boldest Move Of God our city has ever known.
-MY FATHER-IN-LAW who has NEVER touched a computer before and couldn’t be there today, wanting to learn how to TWITTER he was so excited when I told him what God did!!!!
-MATT AMMONS, our worship pastor, who told me he was stripping and jumping in if nobody responded saving his job and NOT having to do that!!
•COMPASS VOLUNTEERS – ELECTRIC!!!! You were LEVEL 10 at your FINEST today – your Passion, Preparation, Organization, and Execution of the DETAILS in each of your areas was stinkin off the chain!! Thank you for doing WHATEVER it takes to connect people to God. I felt your passion, energy, and excitement to be part of a BOLD MOVE of God every step of the way today.
•COMPASS PRAY-ERS – THANK YOU!! For weeks, our staff, leadership, and prayer teams have been BEGGING God to do something BOLD like never before in our city, church, lives, marriages, homes, and school campuses – Guess What? TODAY HE started to answer those prayers!!!
•I can’t believe how many people are FASTING & Praying to beg God to do something BIG through BE BOLD!!
•Yes, it will take you a couple of days to get on track, work it out, get over the caffeine head aches, stop being hungry (ok, that will NEVER happen)…BUT PUSH THROUGH IT!! You CAN do it!! Here’s the BE BOLD FAST link on our website. I encourage you to download the message from our Dangerous Fast series and listen to asap – we’ll post a new one each week. Keep checking for updates as we’ll also be posting more specific food options for those doing the Daniel Fast and opening a discussion board to encourage each other and share all that God is doing.
•LEADERSHIP COMMUNITY ROCKED!! I was dog tired last night, BUT Worshipping with all of you COMPASS-ERS, Celebrating the Day, Hearing the new Volunteer Systems & Connection Group Structure the staff is rolling out this fall (Wesley is one funny dude!!), Taking Communion together, Kicking off the Fast, Seeing some of you eat EDAMAME for the first time and LOVING it, and ANTICIPATING what God is going to do through this church this fall PUMPED ME UP!! I’ll have to simply pass out….no way I’ll go to sleep after that!!
•DANG IT – the Braves just lost…still believe they are going to make the playoffs!!
•I’m Ready for Football Between the Hedges!!
•Get your READY SHOES ON!!! THAT DAY (Acts 2:41) is going to become THIS DAY in our city in people’s lives!!!!!
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Be forewarned – today’s post is like drinking from a Fire Hydrant. BUT, it’s SO STRATEGIC for what God is preparing us for in this fall season of ministry, which officially kicks off THIS SUNDAY, I had to give you the 4-1-1……
#1 – SERVICE TIMES CHANGE THIS SUNDAY.
AC 9:30, no excuses to being there ON TIME now.
AC & OC 11:00 – you can only hit the Sunday morning snooze ONCE. Matt is freakin out and having nightmares that the AC & OC 11:00 will show up at 11:15 and totally miss his intro to BE BOLD…I have full confidence you’ll NOT let him down!!
#2 – I’m MESSED UP – Paul’s words to kick off his ministry in Rome have MESSED ME UP – FOREVER!!! “For I have a great sense of obligation to people in our culture and to people in other cultures….to PREACH the GOOD NEWS. For I am NOT ASHAMED of the GOSPEL about Christ. It is the POWER of God at work, SAVING EVERYONE who believes.” (Romans 1:14-16)
•I cannot stop thinking about these words. They are the fire driving my passion.
•I cannot read those words as someone who’s given my life to Jesus and be normal, do church as usual, or settle for average!
•I’m more convinced than ever as a church, we must do WHATEVER it takes to connect, invite, pray for, serve, offer ourselves, and sacrifice to see THIS GENERATION in OUR CITY not just know ABOUT Jesus but have a personal relationship WITH Jesus!! The Gospel must be presented BOLDLY at all costs!
#3 – IN LESS THAN 48 HOURS, we will begin our newest series, BE BOLD.
•I’ve NEVER seen our staff work so hard on a series.
•I believe that many of our friends, family, neighbors, roommates, and classmates are HUNGRY SPIRITUALLY and what they HUNGER FOR is a RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS but they try to fill that hunger with anything else they can find.
•And, what they NEED are friends and family who love them enough to BOLDLY INVITE them to a place where they can meet Jesus and satisfy their chronic spiritual hunger!!
•BE BOLD is designed as a season for you to PRAY BOLD PRAYERS and to step up and out and make the BOLDEST INVITATIONS you have ever made.
•As you do, this preacher man will be challenging people to step out and take the BOLDEST STEPS of faith toward God they have ever taken in their life. Seriously, you don’t want to miss this Sunday. (Ephesians 3:14-21)
•After 3 weeks off, I’m nervous, excited, confident, can’t sleep with a sense of urgency for what God is preparing this church for, CAN’T WAIT to preach, and CAN’T BELIEVE we are really going to do what is being planned for this Sunday.
•It will be the BOLDEST SERVICE and presentation of the GOSPEL we’ve ever made at Compass.
•We are out there with this and if God does not show up, we are DOA. But WHEN He Does, it will be something Unexplainable yet Undeniable.
PS – Good thing this whole deal is God’s idea!!!!
PSS – you’ll be kicking yourself if you know someone who needs Jesus and don’t bring them with you!!
#4 – WEDNESDAY’s 706 WAS OFF THE CHAIN – 11 Students gave their lives to Christ at 706 Wednesday night. THAT’s not NORMAL . THAT Blows me Away!!
•WHY is this happening? Because we are seeing a generation of students whose #1 Goal in life is to KNOW JESUS and connect their friends to Him.
•They are worshiping God with SO MUCH PASSION right now on Wednesdays, I’ve asked them to start worshiping this way on Sunday Mornings – Get Your READY SHOES on Compass!!!!
•They’ve led people to Christ on Facebook, started prayer times on their high school campuses and ran out of seats this week – more than I can blog about here – YOU’VE GOT TO READ WESLEY’s BLOG.
#5 – BE BOLD FAST – Our church staff, prayer partners and many of our ministry leaders and volunteers will be participating in a 21 Day Corporate Fast during this season of BEING BOLD.
•The purpose is to deny ourselves from something in the physical realm to prepare our hearts for the Spiritual Work God wants to do in people’s lives in this city, on our school campuses, and in our church.
•Some of you remember the Unexplainable yet Undeniable way God moved as a result of our 2008 Fast. Some of you, are like….say what!!! You got to be crazy bro if you think I’m going without food for 21 days. Chill, Chill – yes, you’ll hate it AND you’ll love it, BUT God will do something crazy in your life.
•Don’t be a hater on this until you get all the info. Besides, Solomon said “Intelligent people are always open to new ideas. In fact, they look for them.” (Proverbs 18:15) and I know y’all are intelligent!
•I’ll explain more details on Sunday and we’ll distribute the 21 Day Be Bold Fast Journals with all the details. We will begin this Sunday night and continue through Sunday, September 6th. Be Bold & Get Ready for God to do something BIG!!!!
#6 – THIS SUNDAY NIGHT, August 16, 5:30-7:30pm – FALL VOLUNTEER GATHERING (Leadership Community). This event is our Fall Volunteer Kick Off and is for ALL current Ministry Leaders & Volunteers and for those of you who call Compass home but have never volunteered and are ready to jump in.
•Let me clarify, if you are breathing, love Jesus & Compass & this community, BRING IT ON!!! We want you to come even if you have never served before and only attended one Sunday but want to be part of something bigger than yourself.
•This is your shot to do something BOLD!! You are WAY TO VALUABLE to sit in the stands and do nothing.
•Reserve your spot here. I can’t wait to hang out with THE BEST VOLUNTEERS ON THE PLANET!!!! We will be introducing you to several new strategic initiatives that will better enable us to IMPACT our community and this generation like never before and kick off the school year with a time of Worship, Prayer & Communion together – it’s going to ROCK!!!!
#7 – THURSDAY WAS AMAZING
•5 of us attended ONE, A One Day Conversation For Senior Pastors With Their Children and Student Ministry Leaders.
•It was hosted by Perry Noble at New Spring and I was honored to hang out, take tons of notes, and learn all day with 4 crazy passionate, sold out, fired up student/children leaders - Wesley, Chase, Andy our student intern, and Mary Ann our OC Volunteer Children’s Coordinator.
•Challenged us to the Core. Much to share with you (next week though).
•Came back to a date night with the hottest wife and mom on the planet. An Amazing Thursday!!
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