Unwrapped Series Video Trailer

Check out the trailer for our upcoming message series beginning this Sunday called UNWRAPPED.

Our goal in the series is to study the Psalms and songs written in Scripture and learn from the authors how to open our hearts to God. We will be focusing on learning how to get honest with ourselves and with God by unwrapping our hearts to him and experiencing his grace.

We've created a website to help facilitate this expression of our hearts to God. Visit unwrapped07.com and join the conversation by posting a thought, prayer, poem, or any other expression of your heart to God.

This series will be a great opportunity to invite a friend to church. All first time guests will receive a free $5.00 coffee card.

Vision

A clear and compelling vision keeps us focused on our ultimate mission. In today's culture there is such a tendency for us to allow distractions to keep us from pursuing God's heart and the mission he has given us. Scripture teaches us that "where there is no vision, the people perish." Therefore one of my greatest responsibilities as a leader is to seek the heart of God and cast a Christ-centered, God-honoring vision.

Our vision at ACC is:

To lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by helping them to Experience Christ, Excel in spiritual growth, and Express his love to the world.

God has called the church to "make disciples of all people." Each one of us has a part to play and a place to contribute. To borrow from the Apostle Paul's analogy, the church is the body of Christ. What a beautiful thing it is when each one of us with our unique giftings function together in unity and love working together for the sake of the gospel in our community. Each one of us, working in unison contributes to the overall mission that God has given us. He has commissioned us as "ministers of reconciliation" leading a broken and lost humanity back into a saving relationship with its creator.

Family Rocks!

I just came across this picture of my awesome family.
Looking forward to time with more family this week. We have the joy of spending a van ride together from Pittsburgh to Kansas City. Should be fun :). We going there to spend Thanksgiving with my Dad's side of the family. I'm really excited. It's always a great time with our family in Kansas City!

Ministry Strategy Part 3: Express

The third and final stage in our discipleship process after Experience and Excel, is EXPRESS. This step is all about giving what we have been given. It is about expressing God's love to the world. It comes third because we cannot express his love to the world until we have experienced his love personally.

Expressing God's love is the natural result of experiencing him and growing or excelling in our relationship with him. As we grow in him, we realize more and more the importance of sharing his love with others.

After the disciples had experienced Christ and had begun to grow by listening to his teaching, they were sent out into ministry (Luke 9:1-2; 10:1-3). Ministry is the inevitable result of experiencing God and growing in him.

The entire book of Acts also testifies to this fact. After their powerful encounter with God in the upper room and their committment to meet corporately and from house to house, they proceeded to turn the world upside down for God!

At ACC, the primary ways of expressing God's love to the world is by joining a ministry team and helping with the various outreach events that we do. There are opportunities to lead a Life Group, become a Youth or Children’s ministry leader, become a Nursery worker, help with the coffee and hospitality ministry, become an usher or greeter, become an altar worker, help with the building and grounds crew, join the worship team, help with sound, lighting, and video production, etc.

It is so important that we not just grow in God, but give what we have been given. It is extremely unhealthy to only consume and never give out. The converse is true also that we cannot properly give if we are not receiving from God and growing in him. Both are necessary.

The natural result of experiencing God and growing spiritually is expressing his love to the world. Indeed we should not be able to hold it in!

Current Podcasts

Some people may think I'm a dork, but I love listening to sermons and preachers. These are some of the sermon podcasts I'm currently listening to.

James River Assembly- Pastor John Lindell. John is one of my favorite expository preachers. I attended his church for a long time while I was in college.

Desiring God- Pastor John Piper. Piper is also one of my favorite expository preachers. He has a contagious passion for the glory of God and his Word.

Mars Hill Church- Pastor Mark Driscoll. Mark is a very candid and thought provoking speaker. He relates well to emerging and post-modern culture and has a sharp, conversational style.

Mosaic- Erwin McManus. Erwin pastors a progressive and multi-ethnic/cultural church in LA. He is a very passionate communicator.

Lifechurch.tv- Pastor Craig Groeschel. Craig is a very good preacher who is very practical and engaging.

Self Leadership

Thought I'd pass along a great post I came across about the importance of self-leadership and discipline. Enjoy.

Ministry Strategy Part 2: Excel

After EXPERIENCE, the next step in our spiritual growth process is EXCEL. While we are not talking about the Microsoft Office spreadsheet application, we are talking about growing in our relationship with God. This second step in our process is all about spiritual growth.

At ACC, our primary avenue for spiritual growth is Life Groups. Though this is certainly not the only place where spiritual growth happens, we feel that it happens best in the context of authentic relationships. Life Groups provide a more intimate setting which encourages thoughtful interaction and dialogue which is not always possible in a large gathering. A small group environment allows a group of people meet together for the purpose of growing in God's Word, praying together, and sharing life together.

Our Life Groups strategy is patterned after Jesus' ministry and the model of the early church.

In Luke 6:12-16, after Peter, James, and John had a powerful experience with Christ in ch. 5, they became a part of Jesus' small group of disciples. The 12 disciples at this point are following Jesus and are growing spiritually by observing his life and listening to his teachings.

In Acts 2:42-47 we see that the believers “…devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers…And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.”

Also in Acts 5:42 we read: “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”

Christianity is not meant to be lived in isolation. We need to be connected with one another. By developing meaningful relationships with other believers in small groups, we are able to effectively help one another grow in our relationship with God, community with believers, and influence with our world.

Good Thoughts On Leadership

Check out my friend Nick's post for some helpful tips on being a decisive leader.

Ministry Strategy Part 1: Experience

In a series of posts I'd like to describe our ministry strategy here at ACC. Since Christ has called the church to his mission, it is important that we be intentional about making disciples. If we are going to be intentional about anything we must be purposeful about making disciples.

Strategies and methods are not sacred. The Great Commission is. Strategies are merely the practical process by which we seek to fulfill the Great Commission. Strategies may need to change from time to time, but the mission and message never changes.

The first step in our ministry/discipleship process is EXPERIENCE.

Before someone can begin their spiritual journey they must have a personal experience with God in which he changes their heart and comes to live within them. We call this experience of God salvation. It takes place when we repent of our sins and submit our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The spiritual journey of the disciples began with a personal encounter with Jesus (Luke 5:1-11). Along the same lines, the explosive ministry of the Apostles in the book of Acts took place after their incredible encounter with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).

The primary (though not only) avenue for this step in our process is our Sunday Morning Gathering. It is during this gathering that we seek to experience God's presence together in corporate worship and the preaching of the Word of God. We expect that as we are together in God's presence that God will draw people unto himself and they will cross the line of faith and begin their spiritual journey. We also expect that believers will also be filled with God's power in order to be effective witnesses for Christ in our homes, workplaces, and communities every day.

Dropping Off Depression

Thought I'd post some action points from today's message called "Dropping Off Depression" the first message in our Baggage series. These are from 2 Corinthians 4:13-18.

1. Speak the truth of God’s Word- v.13-15
“Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.”

2. Be spiritually renewed daily- v.16
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day."

3. Focus on eternal realities- v.17-18
“For this slight and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Devotional Literature

One thing that has really helped me in my spiritual formation has been the reading of devotional books. I've recently decided to become more intentional about reading devotional classics.

One thing about devotional classics is that they must be read with both an open heart and caution. An open heart because it is good for us to fill our minds with writings that direct our thoughts to God. Caution because not everything that any particular writer says is always 100% biblical all the time. It basically comes down to eating up the good and throwing out the weird.

That being said, I feel like reading devotional books along with daily Bible reading can be a tremendous benefit for our spiritual growth. I'm currently reading through The Imitation Of Christ by the 16th century monk Thomas a Kempis. It's split up into nice little 1-2 page chapters that makes for good succinct daily reading. A couple other devotional books I'd recommend are:

The Way Of The Heart- Henri Nouwen
The Pursuit Of God- A.W. Tozer
In The Name Of Jesus- Henri Nouwen
The Divine Conspiracy- Dallas Willard
Celebration Of Discipline- Richard Foster
Power Through Prayer- E.M. Bounds
Secrets Of The Secret Place- Bob Sorge
The Practice Of The Presence Of God- Brother Lawrence
My Utmost For His Highest- Oswald Chambers
A Hunger For God- John Piper

I'll stop there for the sake of time. I've deliberately kept this list to the kinds of books that are easier to read. There are many, many other good devotional books out there. Are there any others that you have found helpful in your life? Feel free to share your thoughts in a comment.

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Baggage

This Sunday we're beginning a new series of messages called Baggage. We're going to be looking at gaining freedom from depression, addiction, emotional pain, and failure.

Many of us have baggage because of how we were raised and the different experiences we've been through in life. God desires us to live in his freedom. In fact, he has called us to be free and has provided everything we need to experience liberty in Christ.

I'm excited about this series. This would be a great opportunity to invite a friend to come and experience Christ's transforming power.

Finding Hope In Difficult Times

Had a great service this morning. My message was called "Finding Hope In Difficult times" from Jeremiah 29:4-14. In my message I shared 3 actions to take in times of difficulty and 3 promises that God gives us in difficult times. Thought I'd just post them here:

3 actions to take in difficult times

1. Pursue life according to God’s plan- v. 4-6
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there and do not decrease.”

2. Seek to be a blessing right where you are- v. 7
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

3. Refuse to listen to lies that will come against you- v. 8-9
“For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.”

3 Promises from God in difficult times

1. God promises to honor his promises- v. 10
"For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place."

2. God promises wholeness and not evil, a future and a hope- v. 11
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

3. God promises to reveal himself powerfully to us when we seek him- v. 12-14a
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart I will be found by you, declares the Lord…”