Time to Press

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Weekending

What a sweet weekend!!! The boys are in a winter football league and we started off the weekend early Saturday morning with a great game. I love watching how they improve as the season goes on. Caleb had some great passes and is really becoming quite the QB and Luke is becoming Mr. Defense and had stopped several runs behind the line of scrimmage. After football we got to hang with the Bledsoe’s for a little bit and then we headed off to one of the theme parks with the Jacobson’s. It was one of those days that when it’s over you’re just totally exhausted but you loved every minute of it.

Then Sunday was totally sweet. We had two great Discovering C3 classes with 41 people joining C3 and 15 wanting to be baptized. I love when God blows my mind. :) Sunday night we had an awesome Crave-Out at Boardwalk Bowl. It jacked me up to watch our students invite their friends and just jell so well together. I love Crave, you guys rock!!! Of course now its Monday and after a weekend like that, I’m just trying to figure out how to see straight. :)

DC3

I’m jacked, this Sunday is Discovering C3 and we have 44 folks signed up. Sweet!!! If you’ve never been to a Discovering C3 experience, you gotta come check it out. For those that are new to C3 or for those who have started to get plugged in, Discovering C3 is a great way to take a behind the seines look at what makes C3, C3 and why we do what we do. We dive into the vision and direction of the church and it also gives everyone the opportunity to join the C3 family. If I still don't have you interested, well the best part of DC3 is that you get to hang-out with me and Darrell for 60 minutes. :)

UFC

Dude, I am so loving this new series that we started at C3 called UFC – Ultimate Family Challenge. It is a totally different look at the family. This past Sunday I shared about the relationship between me and my brother. It was absolutely amazing to me at how many folks come up to me afterwards or have emailed me during the week to let me know they are going through something similar. The truth is we all have those whacked-out family relationships, but what do you do with them. This past Sunday and throughout this series we are taking a very real and practical look at God’s Word to hopefully help with those crazy relationships. If you missed Sunday you can catch up with the audio archive on w.c3orlando.com. Then we’ll see ya Sunday for the next round of UFC.

Happy Birthday Sandi!!!

Go Break Something

So, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the phrase, “if it’s not broke, break it” and since I’m falling behind in the bloging world again, I figured I better get some thoughts down. I heard the phrase, “if it’s not broke, break it” over and over again in the business school at UCF. They hammered in us the idea that if businesses are to survive they must be innovative and adaptable to the cultural changes around them. As we listened to companies talk about how they used innovation and creativity to stay on top, that phrase seems to make a lot of since. We heard from companies like McDonalds, who added a whole new product line because people became more health conscious, and AT&T, who puts a ton of time and money into developing new technology. It just makes sense. The funny thing is that when I got out of UCF and hit the business world, I quickly found out that not all business like the idea of change. In fact, I had many managers who felt very threatened by new ideas and innovative thinking. Their overlying thought was; this is what has worked for us in the past, we aren’t going to try to start changing things now. What I find very interesting is that 2 companies that I worked for, who definitely did not embrace change, went out of business. Now these weren’t small companies. Both were nationwide firms whose sales were in the multi-millions. However, with both firms you could see the market shifting and the climate changing, but the company did not. Consequently, sales started dropping and in the end both firms went under. What’s strange is that companies know that if they do not adapt they will go down the road of the companies I worked for. Yes, there are exceptions, but usually those exceptions experience no real new growth.

I say all that because the more I read and the more I look at statistics, I think the majority of our churches here in America are going down the same path as those companies I worked for. Churches seem to be just set in their ways and instead of engaging culture to reach people, they run from it and call it evil. I think for far too long our churches have embraced their traditions and haven’t truly loved their neighbors. For far too long churches have worried about how everyone else in the church community views them, instead of wondering why 80% of our city doesn’t go to church. That’s why I love what’s happening at C3. At C3 we have made “change” part of our culture. While our message of Christ’s love hasn’t changed, the way we deliver that message has. We’ve engaged culture instead of running away from it and use creativity to communicate God’s love. And as we head into our 6th week here in the theaters, what I’ve personally seen and heard is that we are beginning to impact that 80%. I’m so thankful for a church and a staff that’s willing to break a few things so that people can meet a loving God.

Week # 3

Dude, I love the C3 Community!!! To me it’s a little glimpse into what the early church in Acts 2 experienced. We’re becoming a community where people honestly in their hearts say; if I have a truck or a home or a talent or time that can be used, then please use it. There’s just this overall sense of excitement about what God is doing. It was our 3rd Sunday in the theaters and it seems like folks are just happy to serve and be a part of everything that’s going on. Even the awesome folks on The Crew are always positive and pumped after getting up before dawn and working their tails off setting up and tearing down everything in the theaters each Sunday. It may be a ton of work, but I think we’re all just having a blast doing what we can to serve God. It’s funny after the day is over and I’m totally exhausted, as I’m getting ready for bed I start to think; dude I can’t wait until next Sunday. What’s really cool is that excitement and passion is effecting the unchurched. We had some friends come this weekend who are completely unchurched and they loved it. They loved the up beat worship, the genuine excitement they felt from everyone and a pastor who was real and connected with them. Well all this rambling to say I love what God is doing through C3. Thank you for being a part of it and being such a blessing to me. If you haven’t checked out C3 yet, check us out on the web and why not just give us a shot this weekend. I promise it will be a sweet experience.

Sunday

Oh my gosh, what can I say about yesterday; it was awesome!!! Our first Sunday doing church in the theaters was so much more than I could ever imagine. God was all over the place and brought so many of the small details together and the atmosphere was absolutely contagious. It really did feel like this is where our church belongs, it’s where we fit. Josh and the band rocked it out and Pastor Byron really connected with everyone and challenged us to really take the responsibility of our spiritual future. I can’t wait for next Sunday.

I also want to say a huge thank you for all our volunteers who are giving of their time and talents Sunday after Sunday to make C3 a reality. You guys are awesome!!!

Theaters

Dude, I’m getting so jacked about moving church into the theaters!!! Yesterday morning we were in the theaters taking care of some little details and we were standing at the front of where our main services will be and man, the atmosphere is just going to be through the roof. Regal Cinema is going to supply an outrageously sweet environment for doing church the way we do it. Even with all the craziness of this last week, trying to get everything together and moved out of the old buildings, I fell like my kids do looking forward to Christmas. I just can’t wait for the 6th!!!

Sunday after Sunday

Man, I love Sundays!!! It is always awesome to come worship God together and there is always something exciting going on at church. But I got to tell you the last 2 Sundays have been off the chain. 2 Sundays ago we rolled out our C3 Christmas Project. We gave everyone at church cash to go use to help folks in their communities this holiday season. Since then folks have been telling me about what their doing or plan on doing with the cash. The one I really love was I had one of our Crave students call me on the Monday after she had received the cash and was all excited. She told me that she knew a family that was really having a hard time financially so, she and a couple of the other youth put the money they received from the church together and went and bought this family clothes, blankets and some other things. That just awesome!!!

Then yesterday was just one of those Sundays where you stand back and say; dude, God is so awesome. We baptized 21 folks during the service yesterday. I had never seen anything like it. What made it really cool for me is that I got to talk with each individual during the weeks before they were baptized. I got to know them and their stories about coming to Christ. It is so cool, we have so many folks here at C3 who don’t have much of a church background but have now come to Christ and are just so passionate about serving Him. You guys are awesome!!! Congratulations on your decision to follow Christ.

Then that brings us to next Sunday, Dec. 2nd. I don’t want to sound like a broken record or anything but it is going to be another Sunday you don’t want to miss!!! Next Sunday is going to be one of those critical Sundays as we lay out the keys to our future success here at C3. See you then!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Man I love Thanksgiving, all that food and football!!! I hope everyone has an awesome Thanksgiving. Let me also say a big thanks to all our volunteers at C3. You guys truly make C3, C3!!! Have a great weekend and I'll see ya on Sunday - You're not gona want to miss it.

Sunday

On a little more of an upbeat note from yesterday’s blog, what an awesome day we had on Sunday!!! I started the day with Discovering C3. I love these classes, I get to meet so many people who are jacked about what God is doing here at C3 and just want to be a part of it. Then we had the 2nd part of our Great Adventures. This is a class for children who have prayed to receive Christ and want to be baptized. I’m so proud of these kids, they have done a great job learning more about what it means to be a Christ follower and what it means to be baptized. We now have 6 kids scheduled to be baptized on Sunday Dec. 2nd. Then to top all of it off, Pastor Byron started a brand new series called “Barbaric Grace.” This is going to be an awesome series as we take a deeper look at why we do what we do here at C3. I’ve heard some great comments about the message and this past Sunday was just the beginning. There are going to be so many awesome stories and truths to this series and some serious surprises, you won’t want to miss a single Sunday.

Get Real

Ya know I’ve had this stewing in me for a little bit and I really just wanted to get it out. I was thinking about my last blog and the brilliant dude that met me at MGM. The scary part is that I’m not the only one this has happened to. I’ve had 3 good friends tell me about similar experiences that happened to them. Where they were just going about their daily routines (one was at work) when they basically had someone either snub them or vomit their negativity on them, just because they attend C3. What gets me the most is that some of these people who have said things to my friends have been Pastors (or their wives) from different churches here in town. This just boggles my mind. I mean really, what’s the problem dudes? I heard one pastor say; “well that’s just not the way church should be done.” Really, what is it that you don’t like? Do you not like people coming to Christ? – Because that’s happening here. Do you not like those who had completely given up on God and church coming and checking out church again? – Because that’s happening here. Do you not like people who were wrapped up in drugs, alcohol and just the crap of life getting freed from that bondage? – Because that’s happening here. Do you not like that kids and students are actually excited to go to church? – Because that’s happening here. Let’s get real here guys, if God is working and moving then maybe C3 is not what’s wrong here. Instead maybe you should read Luke 11:39-43 and take a good look at you.

Time To Let It Go

Some people can never let go. Today my family decided to go to MGM studios. While we were still in the parking lot a guy, who looks familiar, walks up to our car to tell me that he doesn’t like how I parked (I guess he has something against parking straight between the white lines) and says, “Aren’t you from Parkway?” After all the crap that we have walked through during our transition as a church I’m never sure how conversations that start that way are going to go. Anyway, I said, “Yes, I’m from C3.” Well, evidently this dude had some pent up anger toward our church and from the school closing. Somehow we get out of the parking lot without too much of an incident. But then this dude, with his kids in tow, maneuvers his way through the crowd to get to me again after we got off the tram. He just had to start pestering me again. He starts telling me how much he gave to the church and to the school; right there I knew this was going to get ugly. To make a long (really long) story short, I ended up telling the guy to take a hike (maybe not that nicely) and to just leave us alone. Ya know, God is awesome and I love what He is doing here at C3. But I know the reality is that there are a lot of people who can’t stand when God works in different or unique ways. I also know that there are a ton of people out there who absolutely hate that we transitioned our church. But seriously, I think it’s time to put on your big boy pants and get over it!!! The church has transitioned, we ain’t goin’ back, and surprise, surprise, surprise the lost are being found. Instead of being mad about how you just didn’t get your way, how about just thanking God that He’s moving and working. Seriously, I don’t like ties and organ music and all that stuff, but I don’t go around picking fights with people, especially when their trying to have a family day at a theme park. Dude, I think it’s time to let it go. Of course who I really feel bad for is the Disney workers, they had to put up with this guy all day.

Make'n C3, C3

Dude, I’m so jacked about what God’s doing here at C3!!! With all the stuff that’s been happening this past month I’ve been in a lot of different church’s and I got to say; man, I love what we do here! I love thinking how a couple years ago God began to put this vision of C3 into the hearts of our management team and there has been no turning back ever since. The guys I serve with are awesome. Each one brings amazing skills and talents to the table, but what gets me pumped is that in each one there is a relentless desire to do whatever it takes to see the unchurched connected with Christ. What I also love is these guys are so real. I’ve seen so many pastors who put on a suit Sunday after Sunday and put on this religious front. There’s no pretending or puffed up egos here, we all know we’re not perfect but we take what God has given us and we do our absolute best with it. I think Josh, our newest addition to the team, put it best when he said; “I’ve never been a part of a church where I could just be myself.” It’s hard to explain but there is a freedom in being able to be yourself here at church and it’s one of the things that makes C3, C3.

Stuff

Man it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the blog world, but there has just been a ton of stuff going on. Some stuff has been really good, like Power House. Over the last couple of weeks Don and his crew have been transforming Power House into the deep dark jungles for our new 8 week series on “Treasure Quest.” If you have kids that are elementary age they will not want to miss the next 8 weeks!!! Then Crave for our middle and high school students has been running at full steam. Our students have really gotten into investing and inviting. Over the last several weeks we have had a ton of guests come check Crave out simply because their friends invited them. Great job dudes!!! Then this coming weekend Crave is heading to Boardwalk Bowl for a little fun and of course to discover the awesome sport of “Cravebowl.” Parents, students will need to be dropped off at Boardwalk Bowl at 5:30pm and then plan on picking them up by 8pm.
Other stuff this week, however, has not been so good. Over the weekend Sandi’s dad took a turn for the worse. Her dad has pulmonary fibrosis from a job where he use to work with chemicals. Basically, what that means is that he is losing the function of his lungs and his body is unable to get enough oxygen. Over the weekend it got extremely hard for him to breath and he was hospitalized. As of right now the doctors are unsure of what is going to happen; if his lungs will begin to function enough to go home or if they will just stop functioning all together. If you think about it, please pray for him and Sandi this week.

New Christ Follower

Everything we do at C3 works toward the goal of connecting people to Christ. Last night God brought that home for our family as my youngest son Luke prayed to receive Christ. It was just an awesome, tinder time. Sandi and I have talked with him a ton about Christ and what it means to become a Christ follower, but we’ve never pushed him to make the decision to accept Christ. We wanted to make sure he fully understood the decision he made. Last night Luke told me; "dad I really want to accept Christ" so I talked with Luke and asked him question after question. He really impressed me with his understanding of; what sin is, how sin separates us from God and that our punishment for our sins is hell. He understood that Christ came and died on the cross so that we can be forgiven for our sins and to take our punishment away and by accepting Him, Christ comes to live in our lives and secures us a home in heaven someday. Jesus’ words in Matthew when he said that we must have faith like a little child became alive to me during this time. I saw in a 6 year old boy an extremely deep faith and passion to know God. After we had talked for a good 45 minutes I lead Luke in a prayer and through his tears he started a personal relationship with our living God. As a dad I could never be more proud of him than I am today. For both my boys I know the promise of Romans 10:9 is true in their lives and they are safe and secure in God’s hands. Let me also just say a huge thank you to everyone who invests in the lives of children and youth here at C3. You may wonder some times if you are really making a difference, but trust me when I say you are making an eternal difference.

Good'er and good'er

What a great weekend! On Saturday we had some friends get us tickets to the UCF - Texas game. It was an awesome game, UCF hung right in there with #6 and the atmosphere was outrageous. During the middle of the 3rd quarter when we were standing and cheering in the poring rain, Caleb turned to me and said; “Dad, this is the best game ever!” That really made my day. Then yesterday… the only way I can describe it was just a day from God. Church was through the roof!!! We had 16 people get baptized that morning, the new Play House ministry for the First Look kids kicked off and I continue to hear one great comment after another about the music and message on Sunday morning. Then that evening we had one seriously sweet fish fry with our Home Team Leaders. I got to tell you, I love our Home Team Leaders! Last night there just seemed to be an overwhelmingly positive atmosphere as everyone seemed excited to get home teams started again. To top everything off we had Crave right after the home team meeting and man did God show up in a powerful way. We are continuing on through our “Life’s Toughest Questions” series and last night we dealt with; how do I handle the three big Ds; Difficult people, Difficult situations, and Depression. Everything started with Barry O. sharing some seriously personal experiences that he has had with the three big Ds. God used his story in amazing ways as student after student began to bring up and confront the big Ds in their lives. What a weekend! I love what God is doing here at C3 or as Pastor Byron would say, it just gets gooder and gooder.

Another Thought

I was thinking about yesterday’s blog and I started to think about how thankful I am for those that came along with us on the “search party.” In fact, this Sunday night we have a Home Team Leaders meeting that will be full of folks like that. They saw the vision of C3 church and have been faithful in living that vision out every step of the way. Guys; thank you for allowing God to use you to make C3 such a success!!! And, I got to tell ya, I am so jacked about what God has planned for C3. We have some jammed packed exciting days ahead of us as where we will be able to impact the community of East Orange County like it has never been before. Or as Darrell put it “hold on to your seats” because the ride is about to kick into overdrive.

Just a Thought

So I was thinking about this church that I heard about here locally that is starting to become much more progressive in reaching the unchurched. They have started to go through some of the same transitions that we have gone through here at C3. They are becoming more creative and innovative. Instead of running away from the culture they are using it to tell people about Christ. Well evidently, just like what we experienced here at C3, some of the current membership is all up in arms and very upset about this transition. They’ve started blogs calling the pastor names and saying how ungodly their church is now. Ya know, I just don’t understand that. It seems the folks that do this stuff only care about being heard and being “right” and in the process they tear down and destroy what God is doing at that church. Why? Because they believe church should be done a certain way? It almost seems like they think that because they disagree with the church style then God has somehow appointed them to absolutely make life miserable for anyone who sees things differently. I’m sick of it and these people need to grow up. I think the real problem is they don’t fully understand God’s heart. They don’t seem to understand that God wants us to engage and be relevant in society; why do you think the Bible says over and over again that Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors. It’s why Paul said, “I become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” God never said to go out and create little convents where traditions rule and people like you can go. Instead, He said to head out into the highways and hedges; in other words, get out to where the people are. They seem to miss that absolute desire to do whatever it takes to “save some.” Or maybe it’s just that these folks feel jealous. Maybe they feel like, “my pastor and my church no longer revolve around me so I no longer feel like a big fish in the sea.” You remember the story in Luke 15 when Jesus tells the parable of the sheep? In this story Jesus shows us how serious He is about going out and finding the lost. He tells the parable of leaving 99 safe sheep to find one that was lost. Now some of the 99 might get excited when they see their shepherd heading out to find the 1, but I wonder how many others probably felt like they got left in the dust. So instead of heading out to become part of the search party, I think sometimes the 99 can feel jealous or left out. Then, because they have nothing better to do, they set out to make the pastors’ lives miserable. I wish these folks would be honest and say that the 1 doesn’t really matter all that much to them. What truly matters to them is what environment the 99 are meeting in. Well anyway, just a thought. If by some chance you are reading this and you are a pastor who is starting to make this transition, man I know things are probably getting rough right now. However, let me just encourage you and say, “Stay true to the vision that God gave you.” I can honestly say I am more excited about ministry today more than I have ever been.

Fun on the Weekends

Man, it has been one jam packed weekend. Starting Friday morning Sandi and I were out test driving cars. We haven’t bought a new car in forever. However, this time around we decided to do the 21st century thing and hit the internet. It’s absolutely amazing. We were able to do a ton of research, figure out financing, get quotes from all the local dealers and then even haggle the price right on line. Anyway, by Friday we had narrowed it down to two main vehicles and to a couple of dealers who still had '07s on the lot. By that evening we had our new car. Oh, the internet also helped find a dealership with a minimum trade-in allowance, which really came in handy with our old beat up trade-in. This morning we were back out running around as the boys had a British soccer clinic. The guys sure didn’t look like they were from Britain, but I’m not saying anything. Tomorrow, we start the day off with Discovering C3, which is an awesome way to start a Sunday. This is a class where I get to meet with new families to C3 who are looking to join the church. I love this time to spend with these folks, usually everyone is so excited and really interested in what we are doing at C3. Then tomorrow night we start our normal fall schedule for our student ministry; Crave. I’m so jacked to get things rolling with Crave again and starting tomorrow night we begin a brand new hang-out time called Club Crave at 5:30. Needless to say this weekend is moving, but as always, I’m loving it! Don’t forget to check out C3 Sunday as we continue to make some Waves.