Christmas Eve

Just finished an awesome Christmas Eve service! God is awesome! We had 3 people make decisions for Christ.

Blogging may be sporadic over the next few days due to the holidays. Have a merry Christmas!

Unwrapped Continues This Weekend

This Sunday we will be continuing our Unwrapped series. We'll be looking at Unwrapping Fear and Intimidation. If you haven't visited unwrapped07.com, take a moment to go over there and see it. You'll be able to see the thoughts of others and also post your own.

The Power Of Our Words

Recently I've been reflecting on the power of our words. The words we use in communicating with people carry tremendous power. Proverbs 18:21 says,

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue."

Our words carry the ability to build others up and also tear others down. They have the power to bring both death and life into those who hear them.

For that reason it is so important that we be people who use our words to build up others and encourage them. We all experience enough negativity by just living in this fallen world. What we need is to speak life and blessing into one another's lives.

Who is there in your life that could use a fresh, life-giving word of encouragement today?

Be encouraged to go and make that person's day.

Upcoming Spiritual Renewal Month

I just want to put a few upcoming things on the radar for next year. Our focus as a church for January is Spiritual Renewal.

We will be having our annual week of prayer and fasting Jan. 13-19. We encourage everybody to participate in whatever way they feel that God is leading them. Some may fast for a day or two. Some may fast a meal a day or from entertainment. I will personally be doing a "nothing but liquid" fast during that time. Our goal during this week is to set aside some of the normal comforts of this life in order to focus more intensely on seeking God and drawing closer to him.

We will also be having our annual Spiritual Renewal Services Jan. 23-25 (W-F) at 7pm. These services will be devoted to pursuing God and will typically have a time of extended worship, a sermon, and a time of prayer and seeking God. Our guest speaker this year is Bobby Hawk. Bobby is a gifted preacher, pastor, and church planter from Pontiac, MI.

There's no better way to bring in the new year than to pursue God with all of our hearts!

Christmas Eve Service

Our Christmas Eve Service will be at 7:00pm on Monday, Dec. 24. I'm looking forward to this service for two reasons: I love Jesus and I love Christmas!

It's going to be a great time as we gather to celebrate our Lord's birth together!

Unwrapping The Pain Of Ongoing Trials

Had a great service this morning. My wife Jessica shared the 3rd message in our Unwrapped series on "The Pain of Ongoing Trials." Here's a short video clip testimony that we used as an illustration.

Bring Somebody With You

Perhaps more than any other time of the year, this is the time when most people are likely to go to church. For that reason, I'd like to encourage everybody to invite a friend to church during this holiday season.

Researchers have indicated that many non-churchgoers would be willing to attend a church if they were simply invited. One of our goals at ACC is to be a church where people feel comfortable, excited, and proactive about inviting their unchurched friends to attend.

Our current message series Unwrapped, also makes for a good invitation opportunity during this season. We're studying how to get honest with ourselves and God as we experience the difficulties, pains, and failures in life. You can also refer people to unwrapped07.com where they can register to receive a free $5.00 coffee card on their first visit.

Tips For Devotions

Check out a great post by Jeff Leake with some good practical tips for devotions.

Pastor's Meeting

This morning I met with a group of pastors from our MCM-Pittsburgh network. We try and get together weekly to encourage one another and share ideas. I really look forward to these gatherings. It's great to be able to meet with other pastors who can invest in my life and sharpen me like iron sharpening iron.

It's so true that "he who walks with the wise grows wise". It's so important for us to surround ourselves with people who build us up and encourage us in our walk of faith. I'll never forget what one of the pastors I served under used to say:

"Show me your friends and I'll show you your future"

There's definitely enough things in life that tend to pull us down and drain us. I'm thankful for this gathering of pastors that I can hang out with and be strengthened by.

What are some things you do to surround yourself with people who build you up?

Coming Out As Gold

Apologies for my recent lack of blogging regularity. Life's been pretty intense for us recently, but I hope to get back into a swing of sorts.

In my Scripture reading today I came across Job 23:10. The power of this verse is seen in light of its context. Job was a man who experienced extreme physical and emotional adversity in his life. His possessions were taken and his children were all killed. After that he experienced intense physical afflictions as he was covered with sores from head to foot.

In the midst of this unexplained and perplexing situation he writes of God in 23:10

"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold."

Job didn't allow the pressure and tragedy of his situation to make him bitter against God. In the midst of it, he found a way to humble himself before God and trust that whatever God's purpose, he would come through it as gold on the other side.

When we face difficulty in life we should ask ourselves what God is teaching us through it. He is shaping our character through the various trials that we face. Truly he works all things for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.

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.