Creating the Future

OK, it is finally time for me to share with everyone the direction the Journey is heading in our immediate future. Most of you should receive a newsletter containing this information, but I we can not communicate this often enough. Many of you are aware that we are one church that is about to be meeting in multiple locations. The game plan organized by myself, the elder team, and other key ministry leaders is this:

* We are moving to 2 services beginning May 18th! The service times will be 9am and 11am. We will have full children's ministry at both hours. We believe this will allow us to expand the options and opportunities to reach more people. We ask that staff and all Journey regulars to adopt a "attend one - serve one" mentality. More details are to come in the days ahead, but this will give us the entire summer to continue building a stable base.

* We will not be having preview services throughout the summer, and instead will launch the Providence and Hartsville Campuses in the fall. We will use the summer to build networks and relationships in those areas and find opportunities to be on mission there. We will launch these campuses simultaneously in the fall as all the pieces line up concerning meeting locations and leaders.

* We will be anointing campus pastors as the shepherds over each campus. The purpose of the campus pastor will be to give ministry care to church attendees, develop leaders, and ensure the vision of the Journey is infused at their campus.

* Each campus will meet on Sunday mornings to ensure the optimal opportunity to reach the unchurched and lost of the community. I will still be the primary communicator for The Journey and each campus will be on the same teaching series. We will video my sermon and each campus will receive the message via video. I will rotate to the different campuses to offer face to face time; however, each campus will operate full functioning worship, ministries, and everything as normal - the teaching will be the only thing via video. Campus pastors will be speak at their campuses 10-12 times per year, the remaining 40 Sundays I will speak.

This is the skeleton plan of the direction; there are still many details to hash out, but we are confident that we are moving in the direction God has ordained. There will be much more communication and details as we keep moving forward; however, the big announcement for now is: MAY 18th - 2 Service times: 9am & 11am! Mark your calendars, find a place to plug in and serve, and let your friends and family know that there are two opportunities to come and worship with us.

Big Announcement Tomorrow

I sent out a newsletter today to the entire church concerning some big announcements about our direction and future plans at The Journey. You should receive those in the mail tomorrow. I will also post on here in the morning the details of those plans. There are exciting days ahead of us!

Interesting Story

An article today on the home page of AOL news, is entitled: US Among Most Bible-Literate Nations. In the article is shares that US and Spain are the two most Bible-literate nations in the world -- meaning we know more about what it says than many other nations. My question is this: are we among the most Bible-obeying nations in the world? Are we the most obedient to what God says to us in the Scriptures? There is a big difference between knowing something and doing something. What blew me away about the poll and how they came to these results are found in this part of the story,

"Asked if they had read a phrase from the Bible in the past 12 months, 75 percents of American respondents said yes, while between 20 percent and 38 percent of respondents in the other eight countries said yes."

The reason Americans are considered some of the most Bible-literate in the world is because 75% have read a passage in the past 12 months. This is the very reason a radical movement of God needs to sweep across this nation and world. Our world and nation is hungry for hope (they'll run to it even if its a presidential candidate claiming it) and they need to know that there is. Hope is not found in Obama, I'm sure he is a good man, but hope is found in Jesus Christ. Let's pray for our world today and that God would "wake the nations".

Positive response to Sunday message

I have heard a lot of feedback yesterday and today concerning things God is putting on the hearts of people in the Journey about using their gifts. First off, I'm thrilled to hear that most of you did not forget 95% of what I said. Secondly, I meant every bit of my sermon and my belief that the body of Christ will only reach its destiny as each member finds its gifting and mobilizes it. I've heard many people mention getting in a small group or having coffee house conversation with another person or two for opportunities for spiritual growth. I have received responses from people who are wanting to start ministries or get involved with other ones. Many others have mentioned ideas that the sermon sparked in them.

This gives me encouragement that God is at work in the midst of these teachings. If I was completely transparent with you all, I have struggled to get really excited about this teaching series, not because I don't believe in it, but because it is not as "sexy", for lack of better words, as other potential teaching series. This series is not the most thought provoking, insightful, or inspiring series in the world, but I TRULY BELIEVE it is what God has wanted me to teach for this season at The Journey. I say all that to say, thank you for confirming in me, by your responses, that God is definitely the orchestrator of this.

Added note: thank you all for your prayers for Kaleb; he is recovering well from his tonsils and adenoids removal - he can't wait to get back to the Journey to see his friends and play the "air" drums.

Something Funny!

I'm going to post another post later in the day today, but I wanted to share something I thought was funny. Since my comment in service yesterday about the statistic that says people forget 95% of what they hear in a sermon in less than 72 hours after hearing it, I have had more people reference me saying that in conversations I'm having. I hope that is not the 5% of what people remembered, but it is already looking like it is :-)

Btw, that statistic was not completely quoted correctly - it is actually: people who don't write down what they hear will forget 95% of that within 72 hours. The lesson here is write down things you think were from God to you. We are actually exploring with the idea of providing an outline on Sundays to help with that -- we'll see?

Also, don't forget to email (erik@thejourneytn.org) or make a comment on the BLOG here about your topics, questions, or ideas on the series I want to do in the future: If You Want It...You Got It! Send me topics you would like hear me preach on and we'll collect the most common theme or the one's I believe God confirms need to be spoken. I'll post some other thoughts I'm having right now later on today.

Sunday Reflections

I'm so lucky I get to be the lead pastor of The Journey. I get more excited each passing week about what God is doing, the people he is leading to our church, and the direction that we are heading. I want to reiterate to everyone who was at The Journey today, find a way to mobilize your gifts in the church. Find out which environment is the one in which your gifts can best be unleashed (public worship gathering, intimate spaces, or the mission field) and many will discover that your gifts can be deployed in all three if you look closely enough. This message has to be grasped and lived out if we are to be the church God desires for us to be.

I'm sending out a newsletter to all in the church tomorrow to inform you of some very big decisions that were made by the elders and specific ministry leaders concerning the direction of The Journey this evening. I will BLOG more in depth on this on Tuesday, but it is exciting! The days ahead will cause each of us to dig deeper, pray harder, and dream bigger than we ever have before, but that is exactly the place that God desires for us to be. I thoroughly enjoy being on the journey with you all; we are only scratching the surface of all that is to come - let's ignite a Jesus movement!

This Weekend @ The Journey

I look forward to yet another opportunity for God to work in our midst this Sunday at The Journey. God is stirring something up that I don't even believe we have scratched the surface of yet. We are in the second week of the three week series: You Got Skillz. If you missed week one, you can watch it by going to the Journey's website and clicking on Video Messages. The topic for this week will be: Mobilize. It is one thing to discover your gifts and that God has given you something greater than yourself to live for, but eventually you have to mobilize those gifts for the cause. I'm excited about sharing the message and reuniting with everyone on Sunday. Don't forget that there is a Journey 101 class immediately after church in the gym. It is a quick, informal time to meet me and other staff, get some information, and ask any questions you may have about the Journey. If you have never been to this, I would encourage you to check it out. Be in prayer for Sunday, that God would encounter each of us, that the lost would found, the hurt would be healed, and the weary would find rest.

Surgery Successful

Today was a big day for Kaleb! He finally had his catheter's removed after two years of having them - yeah!! Everything went well for his surgery. He had the tonsils and adenoids removed, plus the tubes placed in the ears. All of those went well! We are staying overnight only for observation to ensure his breathes well while sleeping and we should come home tomorrow. At four years old, Kaleb will have his first official bathtub bath! It is the first time in his life that he hasn't had some type of tubes or catheters preventing him from doing so. We are so excited!

Big Day!

We are about to leave for the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital this morning for Kaleb's surgery. Please keep in your prayers as he has his procedures done. Thanks to all of you - it is great being in community with people that you can truly share life with.

Night On the Town

Tonight was "boys night out" for me and Kaleb. Katrina was at her women's small group tonight, so me and Kaleb made a night out of it. We went and played outside for a while, then proceeded the Chick-fil-a for dinner and playground fun. We topped off the night by visiting both of our's favorite store: Books-A-Million. I read books, he plays with Thomas the Train. It is fun hanging out with Kaleb, you would be amazed at the things that come out of his 4 year old mind and mouth.

Btw, we seen an older teenage girl/young twenty-something with a t-shirt on that said: "If you don't have Jesus, it's hell!" I then proceeded to watch her let a boyfriend or some dude grab her "bum" while they walked down the sidewalk - Jesus, save us from your followers!

I also just spoke with John Griffin who is in Orlando, FL for the Exponential Conference. He just had a chance to listen to Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life and Pastor of Saddleback Community Church in CA, in a setting with only about 100 people there. Afterwards, he had a chance to speak with him and Rick laid hands on John and prayed for him. That is pretty cool! John said he was going to blog about the experience - John Griffin's BLOG

Top Off the Jeep Kind of Day

It has to be the most beautiful day of the year so far today in the greater Nashville area. I rode around to different appointments and errands with my top off the Jeep and just soaked in the beauty. Oh course, now my face, head, and arms are "fried" - but it was worth it. When is the last time you experienced God just by being in his creation? That time of driving around was the equivalent to a couple hours of prayer or studying the Scriptures for me -- it was that good!

Please remember my son Kaleb tomorrow in your prayers. He is having the full tune-up of surgeries: tonsils, adenoids, tubes in ears, and having catheters removed that are no longer needed. His surgery will be late morning or noonish. We are excited to have all this behind us. He will be able to sleep better, be less congested, and be able to swim in his swimming pool!

What Would You Be Willing To Give Up?

This past Sunday we discussed discovering our gifts and abilities that God wants to use to further His Kingdom. We highlighted and talked about Peter being challenged to leave his nets and follow Jesus - Luke 5:1-11. Peter had to leave his fishing business and trust that what he was about to give his life to was worth doing. I imagine there was a level of fear and a big healthy dose of the unknown; however, he chose to give up fishing for perch to fish for men.

Question: What would you be willing to give up to follow Jesus and become everything he wants you to be? What would you lay down in order to see your life maximized to its full potential? What would you sacrifice to help others find the hope that you have discovered?

Perhaps another way to view it...

Question: What are you not willing to give up to allow your life to be used by God to the fullest? What things would you rather hang on to instead of leave behind to follow Jesus? Is there anything that comes between you and God that needs to be done away with?

I want my life to be completely defined by the fact that I say yes to Jesus daily, and leave behind anything not needed for the journey or would keep from making the journey - how about you?

Ignite a Movement Jesus!

Today I wanted to give some props to other bloggers in our Journey community and highlight how God has been working in their lives. The first is the Perry Family; you can hear how their journey led them to be a part of The Journey by visiting their blog: Perry Family BLOG.

The second is Kristi Bode; Kristi and her family are a story of the kind of people we so desperately want at The Journey. Kristi came into relationship with Jesus since being a part of The Journey and her husband Jeff is just at the edge, if not stepping over the line of faith. You can hear their story at Kristi's BLOG.

In addition, other people are telling expressing how God is using The Journey to awaken them to a new life and fresh perspective of Jesus. God is very good. The Journey is about igniting a movement of Jesus. I believe God is raising up a generation, not defined by age, race, or gender, but defined by attitude and heart; they are going be the ones spearheading that movement. May the Journey lead the way!

Weekend Reflections

This week has been a wild and crazy week. I spent Monday through Wednesday in Seattle for a conference on multi-site churches -- I learned a great deal about that subject while there. Saturday I gave two talks at The Ignite Conference, which went really well. Today, we had another great day at The Journey. I'm talking with people every Sunday who are new or only been recently coming, who are expressing just how much God is lighting a fire in them since being a part of The Journey. I do believe God is doing a great work right now in the life of the church and is preparing us for even more than we can imagine.

A lady told me today, "I've never been the type to enjoy going to church, much less on Sunday night and Wednesday night, since attending The Journey, I find myself wishing you guys had Sunday night and Wednesday night, because I'm so hungry for Jesus." Only God!

There are days ahead of us that will require tremendous faith. There will be times when we have to be willing to take big risks. Ultimately, it is all about people finding Jesus and we as a church going to any and every extent outside of sinning to do so. Pray for courageous hearts and that God would continue to send workers for the harvest.

Quote for pondering

I heard a pastor from the state of Washington say this quote this week, "everyone is someone who will spend eternity somewhere."

Just something to think about as you spend time with family and friends this weekend.

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the Ignite Conference tomorrow! Come and be empowered and encouraged to share your faith with the world.

Oh No...They've Put Me on the Radio!

This morning I'm going to be on 94.1 FM The Fish with Robbie Cheuvront, our worship leader @ The Journey and co-founder with me with Ignite Humanity, as the The Journey is the church of the week. We will be on there with their morning DJ's and during the morning drive time audience. We will have a chance to talk about The Journey and what we are about and all that God is doing. We are also going to be able to share about The Ignite Conference that is tomorrow at New Hope Baptist Church from 9am - 4pm. This is just another great opportunity to discuss all that God is doing in the life of our church and the lives that are being changed. Pray we don't make too big a fool of ourselves.

Back in the Swing of things

Today has been kind of a "groggy" head-spinning day. I finally slept good for the first time all week, which actually caused me to wake up dazed and confused. I took off for a meeting with the Tennessee Baptist Convention guys and Clyde Rountree (our Community Outreach Pastor and fellow co-founder of The Journey). We discussed our plans and strategies for having Journey churches all over Middle Tennessee, I think they are excited about partnering with us. Clyde and I returned to my house where we sat and talked about what kind of journey it has been the last several years and how good God has been.

Kaleb and I are about to head to the go-kart/putt-putt/driving range center and have some father/son time together. I've got to work the rust off my back swing and give the "wild man" a ride around the go-kart track. God is good!

Going to Bed - Central Time

We made it home safe late this afternoon and I've enjoyed spending the night with my family watching American Idol. I ate a great home-cooked dinner for the fist time all week tonight - my wife impressed me tonight with that meal! I have got some serious information, brain switching overload going on right now! This conference gave so much insight into multiple site churches and we had opportunities to speak directly to pastors who are doing it first hand and are having tremendous success. I will share over the course of time a lot of the things we learned. For now, I'm about to pull a Rumpelstiltskin and get my sleep on. I will post tomorrow, for tonight - I sleep!

Starbucks, Muslims, and Coming Home

Most of you are aware that I've been in Seattle since Monday for a conference to learn more about multiple-site churches. Outside of the valuable information and tools learned as a result of the conference, there are a couple of other things I learned I believe are worth mentioning.

#1 Starbucks (my second home) was founded in Seattle -- but did you know yours truly actually taught a couple of Starbucks workers about the "Red Eye"? The "Red Eye" is a cup of coffee with a shot of espresso. There is also the "Black Eye" - two shots, and the the "Jet Eye" - three shots of espresso in the coffee (only get one of these if you plan on staying up for 48 hours straight). These are not very known in the public and not found on the menu, but the true "Starbuckers" know about these. Apparently, a few of Starbucks very own, in Seattle, did not - and I taught them.

#2 Would you believe me if I told you that their are Muslims who know more about Christianity than Christians? They do...at least the taxi driver who drove us to our hotel yesterday evening did. He was a Muslim man from Egypt - extremely nice and conversational. He asked about why we had been at the church and then asked if we were Christians. We told him yes and then he asked us a couple of questions (I was thinking uh-oh!). Each of his questions were asked to see if we knew the answers, not because he was seeking answers to things he had been pondering.
His first question was: where was Jesus raised as a toddler? The answer is Egypt, which is why we found out he was from there. This led to some dialogue with him about his home town and history of Egypt. He then asked, why was Jesus in Egypt for? The answer I told him was because of the news the prophets in Judea were sharing, that a King of the Jews had been born. This prompted the leading officials to start killing off thousands of babies in an effort to kill the supposed newly born king. Joseph and Mary then fled to Egypt with Jesus for refuge - this is all from Matthew 2. The Muslim man then asked his third and final question: was it the Romans who were responsible for trying to kill Jesus? The answer is no, it was Herod, the Jewish ruling king, under the authority of the Roman Empire who wanted the babies killed. Another supposed Jewish king was a threat to his kingship and power - another reference to Matthew 2. The Egyptian Muslim man expressed how impressed he was at my knowledge of the Scriptures and history, because he said, "most Christians don't know very much about their Christianity" -- ouch! Unfortunately, I couldn't disagree with him. I enjoyed my conversation with this man and pray a Muslim loving Christian somewhere in Seattle will invest in a relationship with this guy and be used by God to bring this man into relationship with Jesus, not just a knowledge of him.

I'm leaving for the airport right now - it is 4:30am Seattle time, 6:30am Nashville time and I'll be arriving back home this afternoon. Be praying for me and Kim, that our flight would be smooth, and we return home safely. I can't wait to see Katrina and Kaleb.

10 Questions I'm Asking Myself

After an incredible two days at this conference in Seattle, which is a continuation of the regeneration Jesus has already began in me lately, there are many questions that I'm wrestling with -- questions I believe should be at the heart of all followers of Jesus.

#1 What is the church? Is my church everything Jesus gave his life for?

#2 Will I operate my life around fear or faith? (this is in all areas of my life)

#3 Is my heart breaking more and more for the things that break God's?

#4 Am I willing to risk everything for the sake of Christ?

#5 Am I willing to look foolish for the sake of Christ?

#6 Is my church safe enough for lost people to come, but dangerous enough to change their lives?

#7 Am I willing and is my church willing to be all things, to all people, so that BY ALL MEANS POSSIBLE I/We might save some? (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

#8 Am I willing to stop being a people pleaser and become a people lover, so that I may become a GOD PLEASER?

#9 Am I willing to lose control and let the church get messy if means people discover Jesus?

#10 Am I obsessed with reaching lost people? Am I willing to go to any extent outside of sin to reach them?

We should ask ourselves these questions with earnest desire to hear Jesus speak his heart to us.

Ignite Conference on Saturday

Just a quick note of reminder: the Ignite Conference 2008 is this Saturday at New Hope Baptist Church in Hermitage, TN. This is going to be an inspiring event and well worth giving your day to. There will be a lot of worship, a lot of practical tools for sharing your faith, and a lot of encouragement to go out and live on mission with God. Please register at Ignite Humanity's website if you have not signed up yet for the conference. Prices are $29 per individual and $19 per groups of five.

I'm off to another day at the conference, pray it will be just as insightful as yesterday. I'll post more tonight.

Drinking from a Fire Hose

It is the end of an extremely long day. I woke up at 3:30am to catch a 6am flight to Seattle for the Multi-site Conference that Kim Working and I are attending. We have learned an immense amount already today from these churches and pastors who are on the front lines of the multi-site movement. There are many new ideas we are learning and many confirmations to things we are already doing and planning. The content is so rich and so plentiful that it is like drinking from a fire hose -- you can't possibly take in all the great content being dispensed. Our prayer has been that we would hear the things that God is showing us for our context. Tomorrow we finish the conference at 4pm and we are thinking of taking in a Seattle Mariners game to top the trip off. We return Wednesday afternoon back to Nashville and will hit the ground running again in regards to activating The Journey's multi-site mission. I will post tomorrow about the different things we are hearing discussed at the conference and from its attendees. God is doing great things all over the country and we are all a part of that as part of the local church. I'm going to bed! Talk to you all later.

Sunday Evening Reflections

Once again, another great day at the Journey. Today in our worship gathering we had several movements going on in the lives of people, including people surrendering their lives to Christ. Today was also Compassion Sunday. We had over 15 children sponsored by The Journey - that puts us over 30 as a church, unbelievable! Jesus has been lifted up and glorified and the Spirit has been moving people closer to God as a result. Our God is Mighty to Save, and many are experiencing that first hand in a powerful way. Man it is exciting!

I went and watched Alex Perry's (a member of The Journey) hockey game tonight at Centennial Sportsplex and now I want to play hockey...how would I look preaching with a missing tooth? We'll see how that develops...

I'm leaving for Seattle in the morning - 6am flight...ouch! I'm heading up there to attend a conference on multi-site churches with an elder from The Journey. We are hoping to learn a lot of good things to help the Journey avoid pitfalls and mistakes on our journey to become one church that meets in multiple locations. Be praying for us - we return Wednesday evening.

Next time you read a BLOG from me, it will be from Seattle, WA. Talk to you then. Journey Church...it is a pleasure being on the journey with you - you rock!

Sleep in Day

Every now and again, I'll get an opportunity to sleep in - today was one of those days. Kaleb spent the night at his Gi-Gi's house last night, so Katrina and I were able to sleep in and not get up to give him medications. I don't get to sleep in often, but when I do, I feel guilty. I feel like there are things I should be doing. Does anyone else ever feel this way? I'm realizing that there will always be something to do, but if you don't find time to rest it will catch up with you eventually. I feel very rested today...I haven't even had my first cup of coffee yet!

I look forward to tomorrow at The Journey. If you are a Journey person, say a prayer for tomorrow's service and ask God to touch people's lives. I may read a book today or go do the unthinkable...workout at the gym. See you all tomorrow.

This Weekend @ The Journey

This weekend at The Journey we are concluding our three week series we've been doing entitled: Mission Possible. We've been discussing how we are to accomplish this task God has given us to share hope and the gospel of Jesus to the world. We wrap up this week with the topic: Our Role as Individuals. The previous two weeks we explored God's Heart for the World and The Church's Mission to the World. Each of those weeks have been very powerful Sunday's in the life of The Journey. Many people are experiencing change in their lives and receiving the love and hope that only Jesus Christ can offer. Others are taking notice of their role and responsibility in embracing the task of sharing that hope with others. This week, I hope the challenge will thrust us out to become the people that we must become to reach the world around us.

I hope to see you all at 10am! Come a little early for some coffee and early worship.
Also, check out today's leadership study @ Jesus on Leadership.