Category: faith

Cool momento


National Community Church recently held a “Baptism by the Bay” in which a number of NCCers were baptized in the bay in Washington D.C.
They shot some great video which in turn, was made into a DVD for those being baptized.

Along with the DVD, the church gave towels to those being baptized as a memento to keep of the momentous occasion.

I may be mistaken but as I understand it, we have six baptisms coming up in the next few weeks at encounter.
We don’t have a bay nearby but instead we use a horse trough that’s set up in the middle of the room for baptisms.
I think we’re also going to try having several people being baptized give a brief testimony live before their baptism.
What different things does your church do when people make public commitments to Christ through baptism?

See more photos from NCC and their video (click Baptism by the Bay).

Youth dies at Christian music festival

CNN has the story on 16 year-old Elizabeth K. Mohl, of Neenah, WI who died Saturday after a ride she was on at Lifest failed.

Winnebago County Deputy Coroner Chuck Hable said Sunday that a crane hoists a person or people in a sling, and that at the top someone inside pulls a ripcord. That drops the person or people, and they swing back and forth.
Witness Brian Childers of Kenosha, Wisconsin, said that two people went up in the ride, and that when the release was pulled he heard a snapping sound. One person fell, and the other remained swinging, he told the Oshkosh Northwestern.

Mohl died in surgery several hours later.
One of the biggest reminders of God’s sovereignty comes from a girl attending the festival, “You never know when God’s going to take someone.”
Remeber the Mohl family in your prayers today.

GodTube?

Quick… YouTube’s full of sinners! What do you do?
Avoid YouTube completely and only post and surf videos at GodTube.com

GodTube utilizes Web based technology to connect Christians for the purpose of encouraging and advancing the Gospel worldwide.

Hmmm… we’re going to advance the Gospel to other Christians? Maybe we should advance the Gospel in those places the lost world is actually visiting.
But maybe I’m just missing the point.

Right now the top videos on GodTube is:
Baalam Donkey: Just read it
a round, square triangle…
Banned by PBS: Muslims Against Jihad – Part 4
Pais Project
Krystal Meyers – The Beauty of Grace
Transformed by Christ Jesus
Deliver Me – Passion of the Christ
You’ll find Jesus in there

Our church is dangerous – you can’t market the Gospel

Some people aren’t too happy with our idea of “church for a new generation.”
I think they’re missing the point.
They seem to think we are only look at market strategies and feelings rather than looking at scripture to base our church around.
Watch the video
Ok. Maybe this guy’s not talking specifically about our church, encounter, but he is painting a broad brush about the emergent/ emerging church.
He’s not real happy with the approach.
Apparently we/they all downplay theology. “We’re a mile wide and an inch deep.”

Community is a web…

Thomas has some good thoughts on community and specifically online community.
Thomas says that we build community on the web and with new tools like the iPhone, or Myspace or Facebook and it may not be as bad as some might think.

Community is about connection… no longer solely physical connection… Its rubbish to say the world is going to end (OK… I paraphrase) because of tools such as the iPhone that can help us connect further with our community.
Maybe the very people the iPhone user is chattering idly with is his / her community? I have 54 friends on Facebook… (again I am not boasting here but stating a fact) I consider them just as important a part of my social fabric than my next door neighbour… who, btw, is new to the street and I haven’t had a chance to speak to him yet (Olly has though).

More from Batterson

I had to head out for awhile today to help one of our road crews but I’m getting a chance to finish listening to Mark Batterson’s opening message to the 2007 Buzz Conference. More good stuff. Listen for yourself especially if you’re in a leadership role in ministry.

More quotes:

“Pacing yourself is one of the great challenges we face as leaders.”

“(God) said, ‘Mark, I want you to know it’s not what you can do for me but what I have done for you.'”

“My greatest fear is that my kids would grow up and regret being a pastor’s kid. If I knew they would regret being a pastor’s kid I would quit today – or maybe after the Buzz conference. I’m not going to sacrifice my family on the alter of ministry.”

“Are you living your life in a way that’s sustainable over the long term?”

3 Resolutions Batterson made this year:

  • Don’t check work related e-mail on my day off “The second I look down at my Palm I’m not 100% with my kids anymore.”
  • Use all of my vacation days this year “My kids deserve all of my vacation days”
  • I’m not going to be away from my family more than 30 nights

“My most important ministry this year by far was coaching my son’s basketball team”

“We as leaders are not real good at keeping a Sabbath. It is one of the 10 Commandments… God instituted the Sabbath for one simple reason, to remind us that we do not keep the planets in orbit.”

“Good routine can become bad routines if we don’t change the routine.”

“After singing a song 30 times you stop thinking about the lyrics. Maybe the role of a worship leader is to keep the worship from becoming this empty routine. Maybe the role of a teaching pastor is to keep the Bible from becoming routine. Maybe the role of a discipleship pastor is to keep the spiritual adventure an adventure and mix it up… good leaders confuse people.”

“Everything is an experiment.”