Archive for month: March, 2013
A Letter to RLC>>>
Hello RLC! What an amazing weekend! You guys are simply awesome. I’m continually humbled and blessed to see so many of you each weekend connecting with Christ and each other. It’s truly a blessing. This is a special week at RLC. As it kicks off, here are a few things to celebrate and prepare for:
#1- Notifications for this week:
Wednesday
- Men’s Life Group (Meeting at Jamey’s Pad at 6:30pm) email here for directions
- Women’s Life Group (Meeting at the church for stuff Easter Eggs at 6:30pm)
- AWANA for all kids
Friday
- Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt (Beginning at 6:30pm at Preston Miller Park)
Sunday
- Easter Celebration 2013
#2- 3 people committing their lives to Christ this Sunday is always worth a celebration!!! RLC has recently partnered with godlife.com to bring to every new believer a guide to help them get a great start on their new life of faith. Click here to visit this resource. Also, let’s remember to pray for these new believers every day this week.
#3- I Decided to Stay. This past week’s message is by far my favorite of this series. This lesson is something that has been a huge catalyst in my life and continues to be something I learn fresh all the time. There are definitely times to leave but there are also times to STAY. We talked about asking God if there is an area in your life where you need to stay rather than go. Maybe it’s a dream you think is too hard, a relationship that’s in a difficult place, or maybe a job that seems to be going nowhere. The easy thing is to go, quit, or say goodbye. Is God speaking to you to Stay?
Here were the tweet-able moments:
- “Sometimes the greatest act of faith is faithfulness.”
- “Of course it’s hard. Welcome to the world of doing something awesome.”
- “If you knew it the hard part were almost over, would you stay.”
- “What story does God want you to tell? Where is He speaking to you to STAY?”
#4- Passion Week. This past Sunday was the kick-off of Passion Week. It’s called this because this was the last week Jesus spent before being crucified. There are many great devotions and Bible reading plans on YouVersion or other various places. I would encourage you to do a special devotion focusing on this special week. This is also a great week to take time out every day simply to say thank You to Jesus Christ for the cross, for forgiveness, and His acceptance in our lives.
#5- Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt Friday night beginning at 6:30pm. In the words of Toby Mac, “Ain’t no need to say what’s already been said.” This is going to be awesome. Check the RLC website for details.
#6- Easter Celebration 2013. At RLC, every weekend is a celebration of what Christ has done for us. This particular weekend though we want to take it to a whole new level. We want to celebrate the fact that Jesus isn’t in the grave, He truly is Alive. Be sure to arrive early to get a good seat and celebrate the Risen Savior at RLC March 31st at 9:30am and 11am.
This week is going to be awesome. We’re also in the middle of planning an exciting Summer as well. Great things are happening at RLC and the best is still yet to come. I look forward to seeing everyone at LifeGroup, AWANA, Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt, or Easter Celebration Sunday morning!
Blessings.
Book Review: Good to Great
Book 17 of 5o in my quest to read 50 books in 52 weeks. (2013)
Good to Great (by: Jim Collins)
This book is a huge eye opener. So many times we wonder why we hit this glass ceiling. So many leadership books talk about not hitting the ceiling. About pressing boundaries and never accepting the status quo. There’s only one problem. Most of them do not tell you how to overcome being really good.
Jim Collins says, “Good is the enemy of great. Too many companies and organizations aren’t great because they are really good.” This has been the story of so many things I’ve been a part of. We were never truly great simply because we were really good…. and satisfied.
This book is for everyone who is not satisfied with being good. It might hurt but it’s worth the stretch.
Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Book Review: Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Book 18 of 5o in my quest to read 50 books in 52 weeks. (2013)
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (by: Stephen Covey)
This is just one of those books. You read it and immediately begin re-reading it. So much good, applicable information. I love Stephen’s honesty as well as his process in teaching hisreaders to become the best they can be.
I love how it’s also not a quick fix. It’s a lifestyle of habits which have to be learned. The best things in life may be free but they’re not always easy.
Every leader should read this at least seven times.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
Will it be Worth it?
One day, when you “go the way of the DoDo” what story will you leave behind? Will it matter that you had so much money, invested so wisely, or worked so much? Or, will it matter that you loved so deeply, you shined so brightly, and impacted so many? This statement (the last part not the ‘dodo’ part) is something I felt God speak into my life a long time ago. The idea is no matter what you choose to do with your life you only have a short time to do it. The truth is all of us want to be successful in our respective fields of study.
We all want the house on the hill, nice cars, trophy spouses, genius kids, and retire when we’re 50. However, you’re life will not be measured in dollars and cents. It won’t be measured in how many hours you worked or the gold rolex you get for 25 years of service. Think about the great people of the past. We don’t remember how much money they made or even how much education they had. We remember what they did. We remember how they changed the lives of others.
We remember Abraham Lincoln for setting the slaves free.
We remember Martin Luther King for giving his life to make everyone equal.
We remember George Washington for giving the best years of his life to fight for our legacy of freedom.
Do you know how much any of these guys were worth numerically? Can any of us put a price how much they were worth historically? So instead of living your life to make a momentary difference, why not live your life to make a lasting difference?
“You can have anything you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” -Zig Ziglar
A Letter to RLC>>>
Hello RLC!!!
It was another amazing weekend and it’s only getting better! It was also a joy to see everyone connecting with each other. It’s a special thing for a pastor to hear people making dinner plans together after church. It means we’re coming together. I was listening to a pastor one time who said his church was put into a study and out of everyone they were deemed to be most likely to invite a first time guest out to eat after church. What a great sign as to the connectivity and friendliness of their church community. Let the same be said of us. During church we experience the life-giving power of God. Before and after church we experience the life-giving power of community.
The next couple of weeks for Real Life Church is going to be very eventful. Therefore here are a few things to tell you about…
#1- I Decided to STOP. This week’s message was the lastest installment in our series “MY STORY”. We talked about how stopping something we already know is unhealthy for us seems so much easier than it is. The truth is if we could stop everything we started there would be virtually no broken hearts, hard times, or devastation. Stopping something can be a life long pursuit. However, when we make Christ the Author and Perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) we can tell the story God wants us to tell.
Below is the video we used to have fun with the idea of just “stopping it”.
#2- Palm Sunday is this Sunday. If you are a new Christian you may be wondering what this is. Below is a great video explaining the origins. Palm Sunday is a kick off time to Passion week. Passion week is a term for the last week Jesus spent before being crucified for us. Join me in making this year count for Christ. Let’s step out of our comfort zones and invite someone to church, to life group, and to simply join in with our lives as we pursue God together.
#3- The Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt. One of the most talked about events of last year is almost here again.
Out of everything we did in 2012 almost nothing compares to the very first RLC: Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt.
It was so much fun. We are going for it again. This event is open for the entire community so be sure and bring your friends and neighbors. Here are the details.
WHERE: Preston Miller Park
WHEN: March 29th
TIME: Games begin at 6:30pm | Egg Hunt begins at Dusk
If you would like to serve with us for this great event, email us here.
#4- Easter Celebration. Easter is always a huge time for RLC because we love celebrating our Risen Savior. It’s also a great time because we consider ourselves to be a church on a mission. Our mission is to fulfill the Great Commission which is to see our friends experience the love of God in their lives the way we have.
Easter is one of those times when people who usually would not attend church are more interested. So take the chance. Invite someone to join our Easter Celebration.
Here’s a fun example of how NOT to invite your friends to church.
That does it for this week. Can’t wait to see everyone this week at an RLC LifeGroup or this weekend.
Letter to RLC>>>
Hello RLC! What an amazing start to a beautiful week. There are 4 things I want to share with you today:
1. HUGE shout out to all the amazing RLC Dream Team for living the dream with us this weekend! It’s such an honor to be a part of a church where we can love one another and growth together. You guys are the best!
2. Big Shout Out to everyone for helping us move the sound equipment to the other side of the room last week. You guys are all awesome. Extra shout out to Bill Jarobe! You’re the man!
3. What an amazing time we had learning about having a “STORY WORTH TELLING”. The first part of our new series was entitled “I Decided to Start”. What’s the one thing you can start in order to move toward the Story you want to tell?
At the end of the worship experience I showed you a video of CARDBOARD TESTIMONIES. Below is the video again.
So, what is it? What’s the one thing you can do to really live the best Story possible?
How are you doing so far? I’m so excited to be moving forward together.
4. Don’t forget about the Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt coming March 29th, 6:30pm at Preston Miller Park. It’s going to be huge! Make plans to attend now. If you would like to be part of the volunteer team making this annual event happen, email the coordinator here.
That’s it for now.
Can’t wait to see you this week at a life group or AWANA. Let’s live our story well this week!
A Letter to RLC>>>
Howdy everyone at RLC! What a great weekend we had together. There are three things I would like to share with you today:
#1- What an amazing series we just ended entitled “SOUL DETOX”. It has been such an amazing blessing hearing from so many how this series has changed your life. Thank You Jesus. The next one is going to be even better! I look forward to beginning “MY STORY” with you this coming Sunday. What will be said of you when your life comes to an end? Will you be heralded as someone who lived up to their fullest potential, lived in the moment, was a great spouse, parent, sibling, child, and friend?
Let’s take steps now to write a legacy which will leave a mark long after our time is done.
From the words of Maximus in the movie The Gladiator, “What we do in life echoes in eternity.” Let’s learn together how we can make our life count for something each and every day.
#2- We celebrate the one person who made a commitment for Christ. That never gets old. We are also excited about the new re-vamped idea called RLC: VISION. This happens on the first Sunday of the month where I share the vision, mission, and purpose of RLC with all interested. It was great and I can’t wait to do it again next month.
#3- DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME IS THIS WEEKEND! Don’t forget or you’ll be really late for church and, trust me, you don’t want to miss this weekend.
Thank you for being a part of RLC. It’s such a joy to do life with amazing people committed to reaching others for Christ together. I look forward to seeing many of you this week at AWANA or at life group.
