more is less

I have been very aware lately of the many choices that are available to me each and every day. For instance, there are 198 channels on my Sirius satellite radio and I usually only listen to nine. Comcast offers me 448 channels of viewing pleasure. Have you looked at Ruby Tuesday’s menu? There are 18 varieties of Handcrafted Burgers from The Classic to The Bacon Avocado Turkey Burger. And the last time I tried to upgrade my wireless plan, I was so overwhelmed with choices, I just said never mind, I’ll keep the one I have.

There is a story about a lady who sold preserves at a Farmer's market. She had five flavors and sold more than she thought in just an hour. Wow, she thought. If I offer fifteen kinds of preserves, I'll clean up. So, she came back with fifteen flavors. It took her longer to sell less product. The Farmer's market customers, it seems, were just confused by all the choices and moved on to the bread table instead.

Too many choices leave people dissatisfied and frustrated...resulting in them choosing nothing at all! Studies show that when people are faced with fewer decisions, they feel more confident to make a decision. Could this be why people move away from the church...because they want simplicity instead of complication? Being all things to all people, with programs and ministries that have drifted away from the original vision will create a church of chaos. That is why TrueNorth Church is exploring the concept of simplicity in the current series, 'Simplify'. Come check it out as we encounter simplicity together and seek God's will for our lives and our church.

what's up dawg?

Kacie shared this with me, compliments of The Office. How many times have you tried to pull off this joke?

night at the museum

We took our kids to see ‘Night at the Museum’ last week. It is a silly movie. And we loved it! I went to the theater without any expectations because I had not even heard of the movie. And I was pleasantly surprised at the entertainment value. Even if you don’t have kids, it is worth seeing. The language is clean except for one word and there is some adult humor that goes over the kids’ heads. There are a couple of loose ends that didn’t get tied up, but I’ll get over it!

the year of the boys

I will always remember 2006 as the 'year of the boys'.

Our church and town experienced two back-to-back tragedies this time last year. In one situation, a father who was bitter over his wife seeking a separation tried to get revenge on her by killing himself and their two young sons. Exactly one week later, a teenage boy who played guitar in our youth band, was killed in a car accident with another boy from our town.

TrueNorth Church was rocked by these tragedies due to the families involved and our pastor conducting funerals for four boys in less than two weeks.

Those were dark days. And trying to see some light in all that darkness was not easy. The song “Marvelous Light” took on a whole new meaning for me. And I get a big lump in my throat every time the band plays it at church. I can see those boys running toward the marvelous light, lifting their hands and spinning around.

I once was fatherless

A stranger with no hope
Your kindness wakened me
Awakened me, from my sleep.

Your love it beckons deeply
A call to come and die.
By grace now I will come
And take this life, take your life.

Sin has lost it's power
death has lost it's sting.
From the grave you've risen
VICTORIOUSLY!

Into marvelous light I'm running
Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth
You are the life, you are the way

My dead heart now is beating
My deepest stains now clean.
Your breath fills up my lungs.
Now I'm free. Now I'm free!

Lift my hands and spin around
See the light that I have found.
Oh the marvelous light
Marvelous light

indescribable new years eve

TrueNorth Church held a communion service at the Imperial Theatre in Augusta on New Years Eve 2006. I am proud to be part of a church that would put itself in a downtown area, right in the middle of the party on the party-enest night of the year...with doors wide open.

church growth

I read this here, and that blogger read it here. Interesting stuff from Hartford about growing churches across America:

Congregations that change worship format and style are more likely to grow. More than half the congregations that use contemporary styles of worship have experienced substantial growth since 2000. Frequency is important as well: The more worship services a congregation holds, the more likely it is to have grown.

Congregations located in new suburbs are more likely to experience growth. But surprisingly the second best area for growth is the downtown of metropolitan areas.

Congregations that have experienced major conflict are quite likely to have declined in attendance. The strongest correlate of growth is the absence of serious conflict.

Congregations that have started or maintained a website in the past year are most likely to grow. The effort to have a website indicates that the congregation is outward looking and willing to change by non-traditional means.

While most congregations in America are composed of a single racial/ethnic group, those that are multi-racial are most likely to have experienced strong growth in worship attendance.

More important than theological orientation is the religious character of the congregation and clarity of mission and purpose. Growing churches are clear about why they exist and about what they are to be doing – “purpose-driven growth.”

Congregations that involve children in worship are more likely to experience significant growth. Also, important to growth is the ability of congregations to attract young adults and children.

Almost all congregations say they want to grow, but it takes intentionality and action for growth to occur. Congregations that developed a plan to recruit members in the last year were more likely to grow than congregations that had not. Particularly helpful in achieving growth are sponsorship of a program or event to attract non-members or the existence of support groups.

my resolutions for 2007

Some call them resolutions, some call them goals.
Whatever they are, this is them:

10. To organize/delete the 757 emails in my inbox.

9. To locate and return the DVD I checked out from the library.

8. Get more consistent exercise. Running on the elliptical machine once every four months is not enough.

7. Try to stop crunching ice.

6. To finish the song McKenna and I have been writing. We've been working on it for a couple of years and it’s about 20 minutes long now.

5. Learn to play the accordion.

4. Purchase a Wii.

3. Just once…to go through the drive-thru and say, “This is to go!”

2. To NOT get so nervous after I press “publish”.

and, seriously...

1. To put God first in all things.