FEARLESS (preview)

Here's a sneak peak at the new series we're about to dive into THIS SUNDAY. Don't be AFRAID to drop by!

Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear. They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison and slams the doors. Wouldn't it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life wholly untouched by anxiety. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your head and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, and doubt, what would remain? Envision the day when you can trust more and fear less. Can you imagine your life without fear?

Miss Church

I read a great blog post this morning by Mark Batterson (he's the guy in the photo and the pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC). I want to re-post part of it here:

"I've always wanted to pastor a church that people love so much that when they miss church they actually miss church. I don't want people to feel bad about missing church because they didn't do their "religious duty." I want them to feel bad because they actually missed out on what God is doing and saying. I want them to feel bad because there is no place they'd rather be and nothing they'd rather do more than go to church. I know I'm stretching the meaning of the word "church." The church is not a building. In fact, you can't go to church because you are the church. But I mean "church" in the sense of corporate gatherings of Christ followers. I think it ought to be the most exciting, most enjoyable, most challenging, most convicting, and most affirming hour of the week."

I (Mike) couldn't agree more!

Spiritual Maturity Test

I believe the Scriptures show that God measures our spiritual maturity in part by how much we love other people.

Check out these verses and let it remind you how important it is that our faith in God results in love for people.

• John 13:34, love each other
• John 15:12, love each other in the same way I have loved you
• John 15:17, this is my command - love each other
• Romans 12:10, love each other, take delight in honoring each other
• 1 Thessalonians 3:12, may your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow
• 1 Thessalonians 4:9, love each other
• Hebrews 13:1, keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters
• 1 Peter 1:22, show sincere love to each other...love each other deeply with all your heart
• 1 Peter 4:8, most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other
• 1 John 3:18, lets not merely say we love each other, let us show it by our actions
• 1 John 4:11, since God loved us so much, we surely ought to love each other
• 1 John 4:12, no one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us (people get a glimpse of God and what he is like through our loving actions)
• 2 John 5, we should love one another

Why not make it your goal today to let your love for God be demonstrated through your loving actions towards others?

Biblical Giving

At New Day we believe biblical giving is systematic, proportional and sacrificial. We talk about money at New Day because stewardship is part of discipleship. And our mission involves making disciples. Check out the explanations given by Aubrey Malphurs and Steve Stroope in their book "Money Matters for Church".

Systematic

It's systematic in that we want our people to decide how often they're going to give and then to give, without the church always having to plead for it. In the same way that they pay their mortgage, rent and car loan on a regular basis, they should give faithfully and regularly to the church. In other words, biblical giving is consistent giving. If people are paid once a month, we suggest that they give once a month; if they are paid weekly, they could give weekly, as the Lord blesses them. The important point isn't so much when to give but that giving should be a regular habit. That way, we don't have to waste precious time in a worship service pleading for funds that our people should be giving on a regular basis without being asked.

Proportional

Proportional giving teaches that if God has blessed you with much financially, then you should give much financially. If he's just blessed you a little financially, then you should just give a little. And if God has not blessed you financially at all, then you're of the hook!

Sacrificial

Biblical giving is sacrificial. It should change your lifestyle. If we give a convenient gift that can be given without much thought - without any prayer - if we can reach into our wallet or purse or write a check and it doesn't really change anything in terms of our values or our lifestyle, then it doesn't meet the criteria of being sacrificial.

Debating Theological Issues

Is it pre-tribulation or post-tribulation? Are the gifts of the spirit for today? Is it once saved always saved? So many people today are arguing over these things AT THE NEGLECT OF HELPING PEOPLE GET SAVED. I have no interest in wasting my time debating these kinds of things (that doesn't mean I don't know what I believe and why I believe it - I just don't want to argue with people about it).

I love what Mark Batterson wrote recently:

I think the second kind of distractions we have to avoid in church circles are theological distractions. We need to study to show ourselves approved. We need to know what we believe and why we believe what we believe. But we can get so busy arguing about theological nuances that we lose sight of the Great Commandment and Great Commission. Sometimes, when a person is endlessly arguing theological nuances, I want to blurt out: people are going to hell. Let's get our theology straight. And we need to call blasphemy and heresy on the carpet. But let's get some perspective. In the words of Titus 3:9: "But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless." True theology doesn't just lead to endless arguments. True theology leads to action. Let's follow Jesus' example: "I must be about my Father's business."

I also like what Steven Furtick wrote:

I was at a gas station the other day and there were too many options. Do you want a car wash? Is this credit or debit? Enter your zip code. Enter your PIN. Do you want to donate money to a charitable organization? What kind of gas do you want? Do you want a receipt? I was so confused. All of this wasn’t what I came to do. After about six or seven options, I said, “I just want gas.” We sometimes do the same thing to people in the church. Are you a Calvinist or an Arminian? Baptism by immersion or sprinkling? Have you kissed dating goodbye? Or on the mouth? Do you believe in all the gifts of the Spirit or only 73% of them? And then we wonder why they’re confused. It’s probably because they’re thinking, “this isn’t what I came here for. I don’t know all that. I just want Jesus.” Right here is where we usually write them off by saying they don’t care about the Bible or theology. Possibly. But maybe they just don’t care about debating and taking stances on secondary issues at the expense of their primary desire: Jesus. This isn’t to say that these things don’t matter or that their inherent beliefs aren’t worth considering. There’s a place for them. Behind the bold, clear proclamation of Christ. If you’re going to err, err on the side of simply giving people Jesus. Because that’s simply what most people want.

I COULDN'T AGREE MORE!

Hunting for New Meeting Space

It's Friday night September 11th at 6:50pm. I'm at TGIF's in Enfield eating the $5 special with my family and Dan & Danielle Ramirez, and I get a call. The short version is that the new owners of the food services at the Crowne Plaza (now a Holiday Inn) want us to start paying over triple what we currently pay for rent each week effective immediately. The day before we got this call our staff met for our monthly strategic meeting to discuss (among other things) other possible meeting locations, because we're very close to having grown out of our current meeting space. So, having needed to move out, and facing a huge increase in what we pay, New Day is on the hunt for a new location.

Yesterday I set up an appointment with Eric (a realestate agent Lester Jarvis found), to look at a huge commercial space for lease behind the Gold's Gym on Route 5 in Enfield, only a couple miles from where we're at now. I meet with him on Wednesday at 9:30am.

I also stopped by Asnuntuck College and inquired about meeting there. Someone is looking into whether they would even consider it, and they are going to get back to me soon.

Rachel Axtmann hooked me up with her parents realestate agent and he collected all our info and is looking for spaces that fit the criteria.

Everyone in the church is praying. When I first sent out an email about all this, I received 53 emails back from people saying "We're praying." What a comfort to know this whole process is covered in prayer!

My brother is a realestate agent too and he's going to be helping me today to find space that would meet our needs. We're looking for 1) a good location, 2) an affordable location, 3) Sunday morning availability, 4) ample parking.

I crunch the numbers yesterday to determine what we could afford (I'm not going to post them here. Sorry!). We now know exactly what we can and cannot afford. I'm very encouraged by the story of my friend Scott Axtmann, a fellow church planter, who recently got a lease space for his portable church for only $3,000 (when they were asking $11,000). That's what God can do!

My favorite option of all the options we looked into was the Enfield High School. The location isn't far from where we're at now, it has enough seats and space so we could grow there for a while, there's plenty of kids classrooms, we'd never get bumped like we do now in the Crowne Plaza because nothing happens at the school on Sundays, there's tons of parking, it's affordable, etc. And whoever comes to our church now would only have to drive minutes farther to get there.

We also looked at the old Kia dealership on Route 5 in Enfield (very close to where we meet now). It's like 56,000 sq feet though! And we only need anywhere from 7,200 sq ft (double what we have now) to 10,800 sq ft (triple what we have now). We currently use 2,400 sq ft for our adults (that's 200 chairs max) and 1,200 sq ft for our three kids class rooms for a total of 3,600 sq ft.

Jon and Sarah Watson came with Kristin, me and kids yesterday since they were off work and helped us look around and investigate our options. It's so great not to be doing this by myself. I totally feel the support of everyone from our church. And it inspires me to continue working hard and to continue to trust God in this situation.

Remember, our theme is TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITY! Historically, the church has GROWN through adversity. And we know that God works for the good in all situations for those who love him (Romans 8:28).

That's yesterday's progress. I thought since everyone's praying I keep you updated with a progress report! I've got to get going now. Lot's to do today! Lot's of new locations to consider! Please say a prayer for me!

My Week September 7 - 13

If you fail to plan you plan to fail! And if YOU don't schedule your week, SOMEONE ELSE will! Planning an effective week begins with asking the right questions...

Scheduling Questions:

1. When is date night?

2. When is my day off (family day)?

3. When will I work on my sermon this week?

4. When will I "work ON" the church by completing assignments in my senior pastor coaching network?

5. When will I work on developing growth groups this week?

6. When do I have meetings this week?

7. Who do I need to connect with this week?

Monday: off for Labor Day (picnic at Stanley Park)

Tuesday: date night, sectional meeting (9am-12:30pm), work on coaching network assignments: listen to The Stewardship Seminar (1-4:45pm)

Wenesday: sermon prep, finance meeting with Peter (12pm)

Thursday: develop growth groups: prepare for leaders training this Sunday, monthly strategic meeting (7-10pm)

Friday: day off (family day)

Saturday: 1/2 day of doing whatever is left to do, Fall Quest at Six Flags (going to Planet Shakers concert and getting back stage to meet them too!!!)

Sunday: Church in Bellagio Ballroom, kick off of Kids Church (ages 6-11), growth group leaders training (1pm-4pm), follow up with guests from service (1st & 2nd time guests, 1st time givers, people who requested info and/or prayer, etc.)

Big Rocks Go In First

Let me share a great story with you that I keep in mind when scheduling my week.

An expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz" and he pulled out a one-gallon, mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.

When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class yelled, "Yes."

The time management expert replied, "Really?"

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered.

"Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"

"No," the speaker replied, that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all.

What are the 'big rocks' in your life -- time with your loved ones, your faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all." So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first. "

Fusion Chapters 7-9

Fusion is a book on turning first time guests into members at your church. Here are a couple of things that stood out to me:

Chapter 7: Sticky Situations

• If newcomers don't connect with someone soon, they'll be gone in four to six months.
• Too many churches fail to recognize the importance of plugging in second-time guests and new attenders.
• The more friends a person has in a congregation, the less likely that person is to become inactive or leave the church. Our need for human connection is undeniable.
• You can't just hope people will make friends in the church. You must encourage it, plan for it, structure for it, and facilitate it.
• If you want your second-timers to stick, you must understand that relationships are the glue.
• Three sticky situations: growth groups, fun events and service teams
• Research shows that new people must make friends within four to six months, or they will not stick.
• Fun activities give people the chance to get to know each other in a more social environment, which leads to deeper connections and relationships.
• Service teams provide an ideal opportunity for your second-time guests to form relationships with other people in the church.
• People's most basic need in life is relationship.
• People connect to a church when they develop meaningful friendships and are trusted with ministry responsibility. Newcomers need something to do and someone to know.

Chapter 8: Taking Ownership

• Responsibility and ownership go hand in hand.
• Responsibility precedes ownership, and ownership precedes membership.
• If your newcomers do not find relationships and take responsibility within the church, they will not stay long.
• The goal we have for each new person at New Day is threefold: 1) We want them to return, 2) We want them to build relationships, 3) We want to give them responsibility
• As your volunteers serve you and the church, you are serving them by providing them with an outlet to take on responsibility and become more deeply connected.
• Allow people to belong before they believe.

Chapter 9: Full Circle

• Membership class is the commencement ceremony for your assimilation system.
• Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. ~Seneca

Conclusion

• The Principle of Spiritual Readiness: God will never give you more than you are prepared to receive.
• God works in conjunction with our level of readiness.
• You are speaking something to your first-time guests already. What are they hearing?
• The Kingdom only grows by one person at a time. So focus on the one, and the one will turn into many.

Fusion Chapters 4-6

Fusion is a book on turning first time guests into members at your church. Here are a couple of things that stood out to me:

Chapter 4: Making Contact

• If you want to have any hope of assimilating your guests, you cannot let them leave without knowing how to connect with them.
• Well-organized use of Connection Cards will allow you to gather the pertinent information on roughly 80 percent of your first-time guests.
• First-time guests want to remain anonymous. That's why EVERYONE EVERY WEEK needs to fill out a Connection Card. Regular attenders only need to fill out their name and most current email address. The regulars fill it out each week FOR THE SAKE OF THE FIRST TIMER.
• The Connection Card is important because of the need to follow up with people in a way that will make them want to keep connecting with the church, for their own spiritual development.

Chapter 5: Creating Fans Through Follow-Up

• Not following up...is the same as filling up your bathtub without first putting the stopper in the drain.
• People think the Church is "on the take". Giving a free book at the end of service and mailing them a $5 gift card shows them that the Church is "on the give." Also, growing churches usually spend $400 to $500 dollars on evngelism for each person who walks through teh door as a first-time guest. Talk about an investment! Isn't it worth $5 for the free book and another $5 for the gift card to follow up with your guest in a way that will make him or her much more likely to come again?
• In golf, as in life, it's the follow-through that counts. Same is true in retaining your guests. You've gotten them this far. You've built momentum. Don't stop mid-swing!

Chapter 6: They're Back

• When your guest returns for a secon dlook, you've won 80 percent of teh battle of gaining new regular attenders and have drastically increased the chances that they will begin a journey with Christ.
• With second-time guests you're looking for anything that will get them to take a step toward involvement. Getting your second-time guests involved in situations where they can connect with others is the key to making them stick.
• At this crucial point, it is more than worth your while to meet and exceed your second-time guests' expectations (with another small gift) so that they'll continue the process toward becoming regular attenders.

Fusion Chapters 1-3

Fusion is a book on turning first time guests into members at your church. Here are a couple of things that stood out to me:

Introduction

• God is consistently blessing His church with regular guests. Are we doing all we can to accept and honor His blessing?
• If we have only 2 first time guests a week, that's still 104 FIRST TIME GUESTS EACH WEEK!
• What are you doing with the gifts (the first time guests) God sends your way each week?
• If you're not keeping your first time guests, you must change something! Insanity is doing the same thing the same way and expecting different results.

Chapter 1: The Power of Assimilation

• A gift always demands some form of reciprocity and that my response, or lack thereof, speaks volumes to the giver.
• How you respond when you've been given a gift - and what you do with the gift itself - proves just how much you really appreciate it.
• First time guests are gifts from God.
• Encouraging people to stick around our churches ins not about making our auditoriums look full and our numbers impressive; it's about leading them to faith in Jesus.
• Assimilation moves people from the "crowd" to the "congregation" (see diagram below)

• Before the bridge can be crossed, it has to be built.
• The average church is experiencing about a 1/20 assimilation rate (New Day is currently experiencing a 1/6 assimilation rate - praise the Lord!)
• Just because you have a strong rate doesn't mean you are doing all you can do. Your rate can always get better.

Chapter 2: Biblical Hospitality

• The church is a family expecting guests.
• Assimilation is simply well-planned biblical hospitality through service.
• We ought to serve our guests better than a business would serve its guests. They are in it for dollars, we are in it for destinies!
• The more prepared a church is to receive guests, the more guests it receives. Why would God send new people to a church that is not ready to welcome and nurture them? He will never give us more than we are prepared to handle.

Chapter 3: Seven Minutes and Counting

• Impressions are based upon instrinct and emotion, not on rational thought or in-depth investigation.
• Seven minutes is all you get to make a positive first impression. In the first seven minutes of contact with your church, your first-time guests will know whether or not they are coming back. That's before a single worship song is sung and before a single word of the message is uttered.
• Every first time guest needs to be greeted, directed (told where things are), treated (given refreshments) and seated (led to open seats).
• Greeters should practically radiate the underlying message you want to send to your guests: "We are nice people, and we are glad you are here!"
• A smile can be picked up at 30 meters away. But a smile that doesn't engage the eyes is automatically interpreted as false.
• When a guest asks for directions, your staff person or greeter should not just point out the way. Instead, they should provide a personal escort.
• Food is our common ground, a universal experience (that's why we provide some for our guests). It also provides a welcome, comforting treat in any situation.

Roots and Foundations

As a tree gets bigger above ground, it's roots must go deeper underground. I'm no expert on trees but it makes sense to me that the roots must first go deeper underground before the tree can grow bigger above ground. The roots going deeper underground is preparation for the growth about to take place above ground.

In the same way, before the building is built above ground, the foundation must first be laid below ground. The foundation below ground is preparation for the growth about to take place above ground .

As it relates to New Day, we have been working really hard to develop deep roots underground in preparation for the above ground growth. We've been working on structuring each department (children's department, worship arts department, growth group department, etc). We've been getting organized and structured. And I've watched with my own two eyes that as we've developed deep organizational roots underground our church has been able to support more growth above ground. And if we're going to continue to grow, we've got to continue to deepen our roots and our foundation.

As it turns out: The only way to go up is to go down!