Dead in the Water

A friend of mine wrote this entry this morning. http://networkedblogs.com/p12975236 -- worth a look

I noticed that all of my other friends are linked here... so I need to step up my writing to be included.

Every once and a while I have one of those conversations with someone that is worth repeating. Last night I had one of those conversations with my dad. He is a slow deep thinker who talks in reverse circles and somehow ends up with me either thinking "I've heard this before" or just "hmmm."

Last night was a little of both so hang with me.

So my dad visited a church and made this observation; "I can guarantee you that the church we went to is at no risk of becoming a dead church."

So in my best Florida regressive language from my upbringing I responded "howya figure?"

My dad's response was quite profound. "Because it is already dead."

For me this is of great interest because I have observed things my dad considered to have "life" in the church world. I made this judgment because he failed to see the cannula and oxygen and heart monitors positioned all over some churches in his experience.

How do we miss all the obvious signs of sickness in the church leading to a certain death? If enough nurses gather around a patient it is difficult to see the signs of distress. Same goes for churches. If there is enough activity around the facility, there is an assumption of life. I too am guilty of this same assumptive logic. On the way home yesterday I noticed a brand new church sign. I immediately wondered what good things they must be doing.

So the conversation continued...

There weren't more than 2 people in the entire facility between the ages of 18 and 50. To be fair I would never presume that a church is dead just because the average membership is old, but he went on to tell me about the elementary school around the corner and how many children were picked up for school, yet none of them were in attendance at this church they all pass on their way to school.

So

I'll buy in to the argument that the church is dead. If any church, your church included, is having no impact on the lives of the people in the area it would be reasonable to assume that Jesus has left the building and the operation is now in human hands. Might be time to look for a renter since you no longer provide a product (Jesus) and the money you are spending is therefore wasted.

As the conversation continued my dad asked about our church in reference to life. Yesterday we had the most visitors since opening and the best offering by miles. Is this an indication of "life" within the church?

Almost everyone is under 50... is this an indication of life or is it a reflection of an intentional target audience?

Believe it or not the conversation had a conclusion. You will need to assume a few additional pieces of conversation prior to this question.

"How does a person come to Christ?"

Well it is not;

through a friend

with current music

with eloquent speech

with proper attire .....

It is only through recognizing;

that all of our our efforts to save ourself have failed and will fail

that we bring nothing of value to the spiritual table

that the sacrifice of Jesus is completely sufficient for our salvation

Otherwise we are we are spiritually lifeless regardless of the activity, church included, that surrounds our lives.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My

This is Lisa and I hijacked the blog to give a plug for our current series going on in KidVenture. It's called . . .

and it is one of the best I've seen. The kids love it! We "fly like eagles, stand like flamingoes, wrestle crocodiles, and charge like rhinos"! And we are learning about our world, how to take care of it, and most importantly, how God takes care of us.

Parents, we also have a worship time and an offering if you would like to talk to your child about participating in the offering. I know it has opened up some great dialogue with my 7 year old. . .

We would love to have MORE children go on an animal adventure with us! If you are thinking about checking us out, we are ready and excited to meet you and your kids!

Speaking of hijacking, (hows THAT for a segue?) Ryan has a neat video to show you and a great teaching time lined up for Sunday. What if we got hijacked?

Come Sunday to find out.

10:07 am. See you then :)

What if you got Hi-jacked

I just entered the realm of the secret service.

Sunday is gonna be good. Can't wait to preach this sermon. My only prayer for this week is that you will get the Bible Hero treatment and get Hi-jacked.

Or you could give in voluntarily.

Sunday Upd8

Don't be hating on the Fury!

Good day Sunday for us despite 12 potential "regulars" on the lam. The 8 first time folks were a very welcome sight. Probably the best attendance since our second preview day. I say probably because we don't really count who is in attendance. We typically count visitors and those not in attendance. Sorry to those of you who jumped when I turned on the saw. I am periodically laughing when I recall the faces of a few that didn't see that noise coming.

Also great response to the concept of POWER... Power that only comes when we exchange our best effort for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

MyGroups got off to a good start Sunday night and will be a regular fixture until the Christmas season. Interested in joining a MYGroup/spiritual discovery group, be sure to sign up this Sunday.

Hendricks Elementary Movie Night

We have an awesome opportunity to serve the families of Hendricks Elementary School at 5:30 this coming Friday.

We are partnering with Hub City Church and Kaleidoscope to provide sound, screen and projector for the family fun night. We will be showing Wall-E, handing out frisbees, and just getting to know the families while getting the word out about Threshold.

Remember, reply to your e-mail about the t-shirts so that you can have one of our new shirts to wear on Friday.

See you there!

Heckled From The Cheap Seats!

heckle |ˈhekəl|verb [ trans. ]1 (often be heckled) interrupt (a public speaker) with derisive or aggressive comments or abuse.
We could call this "the death of announcements" or the "birth of good announcements".
In my attempt to give details (announcements) of the upcoming opportunities, I found myself heckled by the musicians behind me. I have previously threatened to never again make announcements but had rescinded that position due to the existence of visitors and the fact that some still either do not have an email address or never check the one they have. Someone else will be making announcements from now on so that I can avoid the abuse!
Sunday was a good day despite the musicians. Actually they were on the top of their musical game and the sound was great! We had several new faces and great feedback from those in attendance. Sunday we looked at the "Kingdom of God" and our place within the kingdom. We are to embrace the kingdom and proclaim the kingdom so that the world around us will know of the love of God.

Coming This Week

This Sunday we will be looking at the concept of Communion and the relationship to Passover. I am often amazed by what we blindly do in the name of religion. The goal of this week is to put the history of this Christian ordinance in perspective while celebrating the fulfillment of the original Passover Covenant. If that statement means nothing to you then be sure to be at Threshold Sunday. Hopefully at the end of the day we will no longer participate in communion because the preacher said to....instead I trust that we will be forever grateful for the sacrifice of of the Lamb and the provision of our Creator who loves me and you more than we could ever fathom.