The worship team at Fellowship has been hard at work on their newest album, Closer to the Start. You need to check out their journey:
You can also find more behind the scenes info on Pace’s blog. I can’t wait for this thing to come out!
Posts Tagged 'Fellowship Church'
closer to the start
Published August 25, 2008 Church , Worship 0 CommentsTags: Church, Fellowship Church, Worship
power in numbers
Published June 17, 2008 Church , Community 2 CommentsTags: Community, Fellowship Church, One Prayer
Reflections on the One Prayer Fast
Last week we did a communal fast at Fellowship Church. It was a week full of listening to God and caffeine headaches.
Honestly, Friday was my most difficult day. Friday’s are my day off and I spend most of the day at home, disconnected from the folks I normally do life with. One of the biggest things I learned through the week was the power of strong Christian community.
Isolation primes us for attack. In my case, the cravings were stronger and the reasons to quit were more clear than ever - I lacked focus because I lacked friendship.
Fortunately my awesome wife was there to help - coming up with creative dinner ideas and helping us make it through the home stretch.
Lesson of the week: Community is the context for growth.
mentors and models
Published June 16, 2008 Life 0 CommentsTags: Leadership, Life, Fellowship Church, Christianity, Mars Hill, 268 Generation, Life Church
One of the keys to living life successfully is having a mentor to help you grow, and a strong base of models to challenge your thinking.
There is a difference between the two.
A mentor is a close friend, someone who has gone before you, who is strategically pouring into your life as you forge your journey. For me, I have had a couple different kinds of mentors.
- My dad - the first, and most significant spiritual mentor on my life. My dad taught me what it means to be a Christian. He challenged me to memorize verses that were key to our faith, trained me to live as a Christian and helped me tame a wild tongue.
- Scott - my first professional mentor, Scott was a former Dallas cop and a seasoned Paramedic, he taught me to be an aggressive paramedic - “There’s nothing you can do to someone you can’t undo with what’s in this box (ambulance), get to work and don’t second guess your training.” His carefully training made me a stronger paramedic than I ever could have been on my own.
Mentors are close, personal and (most of the time) in your grill whether you asked them to get there or not.
Models are a little different.
Because we live in a culture where we have access to people and information more than ever, we have the opportunity of sitting under some of the greatest teachers and leaders of all time. Models give us the opportunity, outside of relationship, to have our lives challenged and stretched by someone else. Many of my models are pastors who have shaped how I live as a Christian or how I pursue ministry.
- Ed Young - Be yourself. Live creative. (Without Ed’s example I would probably have never considered full time ministry.)
- Louie Giglio - Passion is the lost value of our culture. Light yourself on fire.
- Craig Groeschel - Have a laser-sharp vision that God has placed on your life and pursue it with reckless abandon.
- Rob Bell - Church can be revolutionary without a revolt. Don’t waste time consumed with what’s wrong with church, just go do it right.
It is essential our lives are filled with both mentors and models. For me following the right people is the difference between mediocrity and full on, passionate living.
fast - what has God shown you?
Published June 13, 2008 Church , Community 2 CommentsTags: Community, Fellowship Church, One Prayer
(One Prayer Fast Day 5)
I would love to hear some of the things God has shown you over the fast. Post your journey!
fast food
Published June 12, 2008 Community 2 CommentsTags: Community, Fellowship Church, Christianity, One Prayer
(One Prayer Fast Day 4)
There are so many people doing this fast - it’s been incredible to be a small part in something so big. The first time our church fasted like this, I was a little taken back by some of the things people ate or didn’t eat on the fast.
Things that, by my interpretation of the guidelines, had no place in the fast were common place with a couple of people and families. On the other hand, things I felt were 100% okay, others abstained from.
This time is no different. A friend of mine walked into a meeting the other day with an Izze. For Emily and I, we drink these all the time and we’re not doing carbonated beverages during the fast - so an Izze would be off the list (and highly tempting). But for my friend, an Izze is a huge sacrifice from the normal cuisine.
Ultimately I’ve come to realize that fasting is about sacrifice. And everyone is sacrificing right now.
What we’re doing has so little to do with what you eat and what you do not eat - it has everything to do with the focus you hold, the sacrifice you make and the discipline you build.
The community is fasting. But that means different things for different people, because we are all at different places in our walk with God (not to mention our diet!). The important thing is that we build each other up, help one another and don’t get caught up in legalistic judging.
When the community fasts, it is just as much about community as it is about fasting.
communal fasting
Published June 10, 2008 Community 10 CommentsTags: Community, Fellowship Church, Christianity, One Prayer
(One Prayer Fast Day 2)
There are big differences between communal and personal fasting. With One Prayer, our community at Fellowship Church has united together in a communal fast. Below are some of my personal thoughts on communal fasting and my experiences thus far (as well as in the past).
- When we fast together we find the strength, accountability, encouragement and power that God has built in to our Christian community. This requires a certain level of openness, but without a doubt, the people who journey through the fast with us are people who are surrounded by the support of the community God has placed them in.
- Leaders need to share openly about their struggles in a communal fast. The first time Fellowship Church fasted, I will never forget watching a video blog Ed did. He shared his struggles and I thought - he’s struggling too? There was vulnerability for him to share this and it encouraged me that I wasn’t’ the only one stretched by fasting.
- When we fast together, and allow certain foods and disallow other foods, it builds discipline. The Bible teaches us there are essentially two options in life, good and evil. These two options are not all that far apart and it takes spiritual discipline on the part of the Christian to live in a dark world, but not of it. Fasting from certain foods builds discipline. It focuses the mind, trains the heart and helps us grow spiritually to prepare for the battles ahead.
slide back
Published June 9, 2008 Vodcast 6 CommentsTags: Fellowship Church, Christianity, One Prayer
Fasting helps me discover where I’m getting slide back in my life. (Thoughts at the beginning of One Prayer day 1.)
captured
Published June 5, 2008 Church , Kids 2 CommentsTags: Church, Fellowship Church, Children, Christianity
A few months ago a friend at work asked me what our goal was when we teach preschoolers. I thought for a second and said, “to capture their imagination.”
When you capture a child’s imagination you do two massive things. First, you win their attention. This allows the message you have to reach them. Second, you mark them for life with your message. I can think back to my childhood and remember a few things that sparked my imagination. I want church to be one of those things for the kids at Fellowship Church and the churches around the world that use our curriculum.
Ultimately it boils down to this:
If you can capture a child’s eyes and ears, you have have the two pathways the Holy Spirit uses to capture their heart.
Below is the theme song from our first series in Elevate Jr., it shows clips from all eight weeks of our first series, Spy Chase Jr. Elevate Jr. is targeted at 3-5 year olds and this 8-week series teaches the character trait of friendship.
We are already well into post production on our second series, which will teach the stories of Jesus. To find out more, visit ElevateKids.com.
what God is showing me
Published May 15, 2008 Church , Life , Vodcast 4 CommentsTags: Leadership, Life, Fellowship Church, Elevate, Elevate Jr, Marriage
Here is a quick update on everything in my world (for the moment):
Update: Well, it’s the end of the day, I shot this video nearly 12 hours ago… first video blog was incredibly difficult to get on the web - but it’s up! Enjoy.
exponential
Published May 12, 2008 Church , Leadership 0 CommentsTags: Leadership, Fellowship Church, Walt Disney, Creativity
I had all the intentions in the world of posting last week - and this weekend - but it’s been a wild ride of a week. To see what I’ve been up to you can check out my pics.
In a few minutes I’m headed out to meet with our volunteer build team. They are the men and women who create the FC Kids environment each year. We are blessed to have the team we have and it has been one of those experiences where you see that excellence breeds excellence.
Walt Disney caught on to this a while back and realized if he kept his parks clean (don’t sell gum anywhere on property, don’t allow smoking, keep the trash picked up) then his guests would help keep the park clean.
In my case, when a group of talented people come together for a project, the talent of the team is attractive to people who are more talented. They join the team and the next project is even greater.
This requires creating an environment where people have room to grow, experiment, fail and move forward together. If the culutre is rigid, the same people will end up doing the same things and get the same results. Creativity, flexibility and grace lead to growth, experimentation and forward motion.
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