Short Stuff

Just wanted to let everyone know that we will be meeting again on November 29th at the Bentley's house in 40509. Let us know if you need the address or directions; email Wes at wgcoop10@yahoo.com. 


We will just be hanging out and eating some delicious food this week - like we'll need to eat more after Thanksgiving - but we're taking a meeting off from discussing the book. 


We hope to see everyone there. I can't remember the last time we were all able to make it to the same week! 


We will be getting with you about bringing a side dish on Tuesday - the Bentley's will provide the main course/meat. 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone if we don't see you! Keep everyone in your prayers as we're all traveling and probably visiting with family we might not see often or always get along with as well as we would hope. 

¹³ Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. ¹⁴ Do everything in love.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Important

Important Dates:

1. We will have a spaghetti dinner on Sunday for thanksgiving - if you can make a dessert, let Linda Emmanuel know. 
2. Offices will be closed next week on Thursday and Friday .
3. We will have a service on Christmas Eve @ 430  (Nursery/Toddler provided as of right now).
4. No Christmas Day services .
5. The office is closed from December 26th- Jan 1st.
6. There will be another informational meeting for those interested in leading a small group on December 6th. I'm not sure of the time, but Pastor Alex is heading that up.
7. NextSteps 201 is this Sunday from 3-5pm, and the following Sunday is the 301 class from 3-5pm. 
8. To work in the children's department, I think maybe nursery/toddler is under this umbrella, there will be an informational meeting for anyone who wants to participate in any way on December 6th in the sanctuary. 

Important Information:

Over the coming weeks, transformation will continue on the facilities and our congregation. 

The launch team/leadership is currently working to find people to partner with on some of the new teams and positions that will be put in place for the launch. There is a First Impressions team that heads up the Cafe and Ushers and Welcome Center - see Jerry Cooper if you're interested in this. To work in the children's department, I think maybe nursery/toddler is under this umbrella, there will be an informational meeting for anyone who wants to participate in any way on December 6th in the sanctuary. Kim Mauney is heading all of that up; I think they're going to even watch some videos of the curriculum and hear some songs, so that's the fun place to be! 

My favorite thing about our new direction is all of the structure and processes that will be in place. Those who will be counting the offerings will have training, one way to do things and there will always be two people involved (not spouses together) and accountability measures set up. The drop off for kids will REALLY be awesome: background checks for workers, name tags for kids (on their back of course because what kid wouldn't play with that...) and some better/safer equipment and toys for the kiddos. 

A huge part of the current goals is increased/improved communication which will help us all in the long run to be more equipped to serve/lead/jump in!

The NextSteps program will be the way to get involved as well - membership, serving and small groups - all will be run through the NextSteps classes. And truly, until you're plugged into a small group, it will sort of be like you're just an attender. A change to small groups will be that they will run on a semester schedule. SO, as I wished for previously, there will be start and stop times. You will be able to check out other small groups if you want. This will allow people to find a group that will work with their life stage, schedule or location. Additionally, this will prevent anyone from feeling like they're stuck or like they can't join because they're too far behind - eventually, the can start fresh!

I hope my excitement is coming through in this informational post. Wes and I are excited about church, about serving and about seeing new people coming to know the Lord. What God did and does for us IS exciting and hopefully we'll be able to SHOW people that moving forward. Outwardly, the auditorium will see more transformation - the lighting will be installed and ready to go I think by the second week in December. We will move our current screen into the children's area and 3 screens will be installed. Some other items will move/leave/be installed - I don't know what exactly. But from what we've seen, it'll be awesome! Gene Moberly literally worked like 17 hours in one day building and installing items. Others volunteered their time/days off to stay into the wee hours of the night/morning on more than one occasion. People have been at church for various meetings/training several nights a week. Josh and Alex have been scruffier than normal as well. 

All this to say that the excitement is catching and people are diving in to push things along and get us ready. We're preparing for the 1000 people that will come. We're going digital on things that should be been digital a long time ago. We're improving, tweaking, re-evaluating, learning, and most of all praying as we move towards the launch in February. I'm sorry, did I mention that I'm excited? 

If you were at church last Sunday, you might have gotten the taste of it that we did. It's coming. He was there. The Holy Spirit we keep talking about, that's a person, (A He, not an It, we learned) was there. Where will you be? What will you do? How will you participate? 

If you have any questions about anything at all, just ask. Facebook us, send an email, give us a call - we'll try to help. As things are moving at such a rapid pace and the excitement increases, sometimes we get ahead of ourselves. I HATE not knowing stuff or being out of the loop. I think that will be less of a problem going forward. But let us know.

Amen. 

Just Do It

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people
Ephesians 6:7


Looking for other words related to or meaning to serve, Thesaurus.com offered up the word act/do something. Perfect. Exactly what I was thinking!


As our small group grows closer and hopefully larger, we need to turn towards an outward focus. This time of year is a great time to get inspired to do that; we just have to maintain the focus into 2012. 


In 2012, our church will be launching as TurningPoint Church. Already we've seen aspects of our facility transforming - we've also discovered the handy-ness of some members of our church: building the stage, sound booth and welcome center! Our mission has become "God cares about lost people, so we have to care about lost people" - a good thing because we were once lost too. With this as our mission, things we are doing around the facility are only outward expressions of our inward passions - to see more come to know God. 


As structure and positions change, and members are being placed in positions to serve, it's time for us to fish or cut bait. Well, it was for me at least. The Holy Spirit really clarified my priorities and scheduling practices in the past week or two. I complained that things weren't possible for me to participate in because I have a kid, because I work, because Wes has school. How could they expect me to be able to do anything!? In conversations with Wes and in prayer, it suddenly became clear (and when things "dawn on me" it's the Holy Spirit): I needed to rearrange things to serve the Lord, NOT expect opportunities to be catered to my schedule. What this means for me is less "free time" to sit around and be lazy, to commit to not working at home on Monday's unless absolutely necessary in order to set aside some time I can give to serving at church or other people.


In the book we're reading, Forgotten God by Francis Chan, he offered 2 challenges to why you don't feel your relationship is strong with the Holy Spirit: because your life is too comfortable or because it's too loud. Both were applicable for me. What am I doing that's inconvenient or uncomfortable for God? And the TV is the loudness for me. 


With that in mind, I'm finding ways to give more time or resources or knowledge to step out and do things that maybe I'm uncertain about because I need to rely on God, not myself. In taking the spiritual gifts/personality survey for church, the warning for someone with my personality type was to lighten up, be more enthusiastic and positive. This is accurate advice for me. I'm critical in nature and not pessimistic, but just not enthusiastic really. That's where my focus is: how can I serve and do it joyfully? Because look at what God did for me and I can't ______ [insert duty/service]? Sure I can, because I need to let him know I'm grateful for Him and Him saving me.


If you plan to check out TurningPoint, we have some informational meetings to help you learn about our beliefs/values, to learn what to do next as a Christian,and to find your gifts and how to serve. I encourage everyone in our small group and anyone else attending to check them out. 


NextSteps 101: Beliefs, values and what it means to be a member
NextSteps 201: Spiritual Growth - tools for growth
NextSteps 301: Spiritual gifts (EVERYONE has them) and where you fit 


Eventually there will be a 401 class for training for where you will serve, but not for about a year. There will only be one more 201 and 301 this year, then they'll all start over in rotation in March 2012. SO - jump into the 201 and 301 classes so you don't have to wait. You don't have to go to all at once or one before the other.


"Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Up To Date

These notes take you up to where we are for tonight - we're meeting at our house (Cooper's) - let us know if you need the address or directions. We're having Italian vegetable soup for dinner, see you at 6:30pm!

Ch.4-Forgotten God

11/1/11

Why do you want the Spirit?  To answer this question we have to be honest with ourselves and willing to look past the outer appearances we have put up and find the true motive behind our desire of the Spirit.

Is it for personal gain?  For recognition?  For our own betterment or purpose?  Or is it because you love the church and want to experience God’s purpose and power in your life.

1)      How much do you love the church? 

-Philippians 1:23-25-Paul LOVED the church.  Can we honestly say this about ourselves?

-1 Cor. 13:1-3-Without love, all we do is worth nothing.

2)      Are you making it about you?

-Matthew 5:16

-Francis states: “A sure sign of the Holy spirit’s working is that Christ is magnified, not people.”

-Are you in it to see Him magnified or yourself?

3)      Are you missing the Spirit because you are looking for a miracle?

-We all know God has and will continue to work miracles.  But is this all we are about?   Are we desiring the spirit in our regular, daily schedule?  In other words, are we looking for the wrong thing?

4)      Do you really want to be led?

-Being submitted to the Spirit means allowing God to lead you in each and every area of your life.  Have you made this decision?

IMPORTANT: Before we move forward in anything else we look at regarding the Spirit, it is imperative that we understand that He is here for HIS purposes, not ours.

Or me either...

Chapter 3 - Better late than never

Forgotten God-   Ch.3   -10/18/11

First off, know that we aren’t going to be able to sit down and explain the Holy Spirit.  The point is not to understand all of who He is; there are some things that are just outside of our realm of comprehension.  But that is what makes the Holy Spirit so awe-inspiring-we will never be able to fully understand every aspect of Him (Ex. The universe, how machines work, etc.).  If I know everything there was to know about the Holy Spirit, he would be devalued in my mind .  So instead of trying to comprehend everything that the Holy Spirit is, let’s allow the fact that the Spirit is so great and so beyond the full grasp of our understanding to lead us to worship Him even more.

So what is “The Spirit?”  What is He made of?  Where does He come from?  Is He God?  Where does He reside?  What does He do?  These are just a few questions we have about the Holy Spirit we hear about in the Word, and in discussion among the church.  Tonight, we address 7 basic theological truths about the Spirit.

1)      The Holy Spirit is a person.  He is not a force that we can control, but rather a person who has a relationship with us as believers, as well as the Father and the Son.  (John 14:17).

2)      The Holy Spirit is God.  Just as Jesus was fully God, so is the Holy Spirit.  In Acts 5:3-4, Peter refers to the Spirit as God.  This is something we as a church have undervalued: the Holy Spirit is God, and He lives in us.  It’s an awesome thought.

3)      The Holy Spirit is eternal and holy.  He is not a person that comes and goes, only staying for short visits.  He is eternally with us (John 14:16), and is holy just as God is holy (Romans 5:5).

4)      The Spirit has His own mind and He prays for us.  Another awesome thought we sometimes forget.  He is not a spirit who sits and waits for us to call to Him, but is instead actively working in our lives and interceding with the Father in heaven on our behalf (Romans 8:27).  So he prays for what we need, even when we ourselves do not know what it is that we need.

5)      The Spirit has emotions.  The Bible says it is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit, so logically it follows that the Spirit feels.  As Francis says, God created feelings, so why can’t He have them?

6)      The Holy Spirit has His own desires and will.  See 1 Cor. 12:11.  The spirit is in control; He wills His gifts to us.   He has a plan for us and desires to see it through.

7)      The Holy Spirit is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.  All-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present.  Yet another testament to how we will never fully comprehend who He is.

2 Challenges this week:

1) As you allow these truths to sink in, recall your own personal beliefs and understanding about who the Holy Spirit is.  How do they compare?  Are there discrepancies?  I challenge you to surrender those erroneous beliefs to God.  Allow Him to transform your thinking, to re-establish the foundation in your mind regarding the basic truths about the Holy Spirit, so that going forward He can build on a foundation that is grounded in His word and not preconceived notions or myths that have been passed down through time.

2) At the end of the chapter, Francis gives a list of things that should be a part of your life if the Holy Spirit dwells in you.  Carefully go over that list and honestly evaluate which items are a part of your life and which ones are not.  Pray that the Spirit would continue to be even more evident in your life in the ways that He already is, but also pray about those areas where you don’t see Him.  Don’t be discouraged by the fact that they are not there, but instead go before the Lord in confidence knowing that these are promises He wills for your life and therefore ask for them knowing that He will act.