The Blessed Life...It Works

As many of you know, we kicked off 2013 with a series entitled "The Blessed Life". We talked about tithing, generosity, and faithfulness. Going into the new year, I knew many people had struggles with finances, debt, and had probably never been taught such values in church. For the life of me I will not be able to understand why more churches do not teach on these principals. Maybe many of us have been caught up in the "American" way. You know, go into debt, live off of borrowed money, spend more than you make to get all you can get. Only to see people lose homes, jobs, live week to week, and our government encourages us to keep spending more money than we make. A trend they know all about.

But as a church, we have seen God do amazing things in people's lives in a very short time. We taught people through this series that we didn't want generosity FROM them, but FOR them. We wanted to educate and help people in this area. We offered a budget class and also extended a challenge to the church. For those who have never tried tithing (giving 10% of their income back to God as the Bible instructs), we issued a 90 Tithe Challenge. For 90 Days, give faithfully ( and leave within your means) and see if God blesses you. If at the end of the 90 Days, you don't believe the Bible and what it says about tithing, giving, and blessing then we'll give you your money back. But if the Word is true...look out! So many people signed up for both the budget class and for the challenge. I wanted to share this email from a family in our church who took the challenge. I left out names as to not embarrass them. Their story is like many more, but I wanted to share to celebrate:

Our 90 days are not up but I just wanted to take a second to share what this challenge is already doing for us.

 

I was never taught anything about tithing growing up. I've always just given what I thought I "could give" that week.  (husband) and I have always struggled financially. Last year was the hardest on us and we are still trying to catch up from it. Right now, (husband's) job is in their slow time and we never know if he'll be working 3 days or 5 or none at all. So with all of that, I was terrified going into this challenge, but I also wanted to do it with all my heart.

 

Most weeks have been easier than I imagined. On the 3rd, however, as I wrote out my check, I knew that it was definitely going to be up to God to make it all work out. There was no way I could give 10% and have enough leftover for the bills I had to pay much less to have any left for gas and groceries! But I did it anyway even knowing I needed an extra $350 by that Friday to make it balance out. God did much better than that. By Thursday morning, our tax refund that the IRS had told me would be here Feb 28th was already in our bank account AND (husband's) job told him they needed him to work that Friday after all and to expect a 40 hour week this week :o) 40 hours at this time of year is a miracle in itself LOL

 

And can I just tell you, how great it felt to write that larger check this past Sunday for our 10% on that tax refund?!?! My problem wasn't that I doubted God could... I doubted that He would for me. I hate that I doubted Him but I am so thankful He proved me wrong. :o)

That is amazing! The Word of God is true, just test it! Not only that, as a church we saw giving nearly TRIPLE, yes triple, in one month's time!!! I even challenged non-believers. They may not believe the Bible, but try His principals when it comes to finances. No one has ever went poor being generous. NO ONE. You can NOT out give God, you just can't. My family and I live off the 10-10-80 principal. We tithe 10%, save 10%, and live off of 80%. God has been so faithful that we are now able to give above and beyond the 10%! The more generous we have been, the more God has poured out. 

Besides, if the way you're living now is leading to the stressed life: debt, week to week living, no savings, then what do you have to lose by trying God for the Blessed Life? 

Do YOU have a story? Email us at mystory@generationchurch.me. We would love to hear it and share with others!

Facebook, not "DE-FACE"book

Something God has put on my heart lately that I feel a lot of people struggle with. But I want all of us as a church to recognize this problem and distance ourselves from it as much as possible. As human beings, we all have disagreements. We all have times where we become mad, displeased, or even hurt. But a growing problem in our social media driven world is people lashing out or responding negatively or hurtfully on the internet. The Bible is very clear when it comes to correction, people who have wronged you, or even confrontation. Jesus says this in Matthew 18:15-20:

15Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

16But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

17And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

18Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

19Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall 

ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

I know it's hard to see people post things about you and not want to retaliate or comment. It's tough when you see people being rude, or even posting things that you disagree with and not want to share your opinion. But take in consideration what Jesus did when people were lying AT HIS TRIAL about things He had done that weren't true in Matthew 27:12-14:

12And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

13Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

14And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

Sometimes, the best response is none at all. People who don't know Christ respond with venom and gossip. It's expected. But if we are to be like Christ, we must respond with wisdom and love. 

Here's why people post on the internet but never confront face to face or have a real conversation:

1. They Want Everyone on Their Side

When it comes to confrontation, people who post on social media don't care about the actual person or problem. They just want to be right and want attention. So if people see "their" side, then they win. If all you care about is winning an argument, you may lose more than you gain.

2. They Are Cowards

People are real bold and powerful sitting behind a computer or a phone. But as I just stated, the goal is not to make things right, it's to make THEM right. Confrontation should always be about making a situation right and the end result being love and a peaceful relationship. Cowards care for neither. Most bullies are cowards. Bullies go away when you stop giving them power...or attention in this situation.

3. They Have Unresolved Issues

Hurt people hurt people. It's that simple. 9 times out of 10 people who spew venom, snide comments, or make jabs on the internet have deep unresolved bitterness in their hearts. Jesus tells us that "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks". (Matthew 12:34) Bitterness destroys people. And it destroys the people around them. 

So the next time you want to comment or tweet something about someone, or at someone because it's "easier" than doing it in person; please don't. Pause, pray, and respond as Jesus did. If it's something that is eating at you, talk to the person. And remember the end goal: Love and a peaceful relationship/resolution. Practice giving people hope, not hell. Encouraging words and a peaceful spirit will develop wisdom and compassion. Otherwise, you end up bitter and always mad. That's how the Pharisees lived. Jesus wants so much more for us.

Always speak words of life...not death.

PULSE-Can't Stop, Won't Stop!

Tonight, I want to encourage all of those who work with our students at PULSE. Jesus is using Pastor Steven and the crew to do amazing things each Sunday night. If you have a teenager, or even know parents who do, I challenge you to get them there each Sunday at 6:00pm. Pastor Steven just finished a series entitled "Take the Land". Tonight, 8 students gave their lives to Christ!!! It was amazing! But he laid out a challenge to the students...get 200 students to PULSE by this Summer. Many students raised their hands, accepting the challenge to be "warriors" for Christ and to be unashamed to invite their friends. In a church culture where the average youth group is 12-15 students, in 10 months time we are seeing over 80 students on average attend PULSE. We have seen over 150 at several different times. Our leaders at PULSE are truly making a difference! 

Look around on Sunday mornings and you'll see students serving in VIP, GKids, Guest Services, and even on stage with the worship band! Generation Church is made up of passionate people who love Jesus and that includes our students.

Here's my challenge to the church:

1. Encourage Your Students to Attend

Pastor Steven and the PULSE leaders work hard every week to put together a service that is high energy, full of passion, fun, and yet challenging to the core. Not only should students be attending, but get involved. We just finished our first training day for students, get your teen signed up for the next one. You won't regret it!

2. Encourage Your Students to Apply the Message

Do you ask your teens what the sermon was about? Do you walk them through how to apply it to their lives? Pastor Steven has laid down a huge challenge, how will you keep them accountable and encourage them to be a part? At the end of the night, regardless if you like the music, videos, or not; the message is what matters. And our student pastor does a phenomenal job bringing the word!

3. Get Involved Yourself

Many adults come and "hang out" but few jump in and serve our students. PULSE needs security, ushers, production, and just adults to encourage these students. If you have a teen, the best way to ensure they attend is bring them and serve with them. Make it something you do as a family. It's not about your preference, it's about seeing these students become passionate about their faith.

4. Pray for Our Students and Their Leaders

Be intentional about praying for our student ministry. Encourage our student leaders, let them know they are making a difference. As a former student pastor, the best part was hearing encouragement from the parents of teens who were impacted from our ministry. I always say; gratitude is never silent.

And as a church, we have exciting things coming up for our students. Starting next week, we are taking applications for our first ever student internship. This will take place in June and July. It's a 2 month internship that will give them hands on training, ministry experience, resources, leadership training, and even spiritual guidance. They will go to camp, do missions, work with our full time staff each day, and be worked with one on one in ministry training and just overall life coaching. This is for students that are ages 16-21. If you are interested, just email Pastor Steven at steven.newhouser@generationchurch.me. This will be a GREAT experience for your teen. It's worth it!

We also have the Prodigy Camp. This is our brand new church camp taking place June 3-7 in Panama City Beach!! What student doesn't want to go to Florida for a week?! I will be preaching, Danya Band leading worship, and hip hop artist Kryst Lyke will be there all week! The most high energy, powerful, and yes FUN camp they will ever attend! They need to sign up today, because spots will fill up fast! We already have another student ministry going with us. That week will be life changing for sure! Maybe you would like to volunteer to go and serve that week at camp. Sign up!

If you want more info on our student ministry and how you be praying or get involved, just hit Pastor Steven up at the above email mentioned. 

So remember to pray for our student ministry this week, encourage it's leaders. And remember what the PULSE motto always says: If you have a pulse, you have a purpose!

Lead with Excitement

Has anyone ever told you; "you talk too much about your church!"? Or "you shouldn't always be bragging about your church"? Maybe people have said "There's no way you can be that excited every single week". 
Maybe they are right, I mean why should we always be excited about a God who raised from the dead, who has the ability to change lives, who has the power to pierce through every kind of darkness, can end addiction, heal the sick, restore the broken, and forgive us of our sins?
People always ask why I'm so passionate ALL the time. Others have even said that church shouldn't be fun. (maybe that's why no one attends theirs)
Jesus was, is, and always will be THE most exciting thing that can ever happen in someone's life! The story of redemption and love that He offers should be the driving force in all that we do as a church.

If you're a leader in this church, YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BE EXCITED! You should believe that every week God is going to do something greater than the week prior. You should believe that the best is yet to come. You should do cartwheels when people give their life to Christ (ok, so that one may be impossible for some...but you should be fired up!)
We should lose our minds when people get baptized. We should celebrate when people have taken next steps and started serving as an Owner of Generation Church!

Did you know that the original definition for the word; "enthusiasm" means to be possessed by the Holy Spirit???!! En-Theos...In God!
God IS enthusiasm!!!! God BREATHED creation into existence, that doesn't sound like a boring God to me!!! 

Leaders, you are the examples. If you want people to be excited, then stop acting like you are auditioning for a terrible country song (pretty much every country song)! Live your life with purpose, passion and COMpassion. If the Holy Spirit dwells inside of you, there is something exciting happening. He is molding  you into someone new. He's creating in you an excitement that no one can take away. Why do you think the Apostle Paul was able to write this in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28:

23Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. 24Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. 27I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

28Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.

2 Corinthians 12:9b-10

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Even after all that Paul had been through, he was still passionate about his faith. Remember that our boasting is ALWAYS in the Lord! We are not capable of manufacturing a move of God like the one we are privileged to be a part of. It's only by His grace and our obedience that we are blessed to see such life change. God is the miracle worker, not us. I don't know about all of you, but I want to be a part of something that is exciting. When I read about the New Testament church, I read about a passion and a zeal that not even death could crush. May we be known for our passion for Jesus...and our passion for people. I love my church! And yes...the best is YET to come :)

Time to Step Up Team!

As you all know, we have HUGE goals for 2013. We are believing God for the best year yet! We are quickly approaching our 1 year anniversary...can you believe it? It's almost been 1 year since launching a church that has seen hundreds of lives changed. And the best is yet to come! We are seeing lots of momentum carrying over from Christmas to the new year and with it brings growth. And that is exciting! We are already averaging close to 600 people. Remember, we are believing to build the foundation to see 1,000 on average. Our Dream Team is also growing quickly which is amazing!!! The magic number that we said would sustain such growth would be 250 regular Dream Team servers. At this rate, we will be there by Easter if not sooner!! That is our ultimate win, church!

Here's what I'm asking our team to do: we need as many of our Dream Team Owners to try to attend the 1st service to worship. So if you're not scheduled to serve, we need you to move to the 1st service to create room. If you do serve, we need more to switch to serving 2nd service and attending the 1st service. At the rate we are growing, we are looking at adding a 3rd service by March 10th (our 1 year anniversary service). But if we don't move some people to that 1st service, we may have to add the service quicker. We really want to be prepared to add a 3rd service, so help us by making room in our 2nd service. 

Our new service times that we are looking at would be Sundays; 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30am. It's time for all of us to step our game up and do what it takes to continue to reach our community. Let's do this team! I absolutely LOVE our church and I love each of you!

Living Open Handed

We are on the closing stretch of our "Blessed Life" series and all I can say is WOW at the first two weekends of 2013! I honestly hope that you have opened your heart to the messages in this series. We are seeing an average of nearly 600 people to kick off the year! So many people taking their next steps...that's our ultimate win as a church! A few notes as we close out the Blessed Life series:
I believe in the power of generosity....God can not pour into a closed fist. But an open hand that gives generously is also ready to receive blessings. When we started this church, so many other churches taught me what it meant to live open handed. Churches with next to nothing in their budgets wrote us checks for hundreds and some even thousands of dollars. Why? Because it was for the Kingdom. Because they knew you could never, and I mean never, out give God. I've seen great pastor friends of mine give away thousands, and God turn right around and bless them with TENS of thousands. An open hand is ready to give and also ready to receive blessings. 

I want all of you to read Luke 9:12-17 this week in preparation for the last message on Sunday. I want you to see what God can do with a young boy who was willing to share all that he had only to see Jesus multiply to minister to thousands! The young boy probably had no idea that his willingness to give it away was all Jesus needed to pour out a blessing. So much so, that there was food left over! That's exactly what God promises in 
Malachi 3:8-12-

“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!

“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’

“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me.10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 11Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease.Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12“Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies

Remember these 3 things to live the Blessed Life:

1. The Power of First
Put God first in everything. Give Him the best off the top of what you make. It belongs to Him. He gave His life for us, 10% is not too much to ask from us. He could ask for 100% if He wanted to...and He would deserve it.

2. Can You Be Trusted?
Don't live above your means. Make a budget, handle your blessings wisely. Live generously but not foolishly. God has entrusted you with resources, money, and time. Spend them each wisely.

3. The Power of Multiplication
Come next Sunday to hear this message but one thing to remember...little placed in the hands of a big God is always better than in our closed fist.

Remember, I want generosity FOR you. I want generosity for myself. I want to be blessed so that I can be a blessing. I want to be able to give outrageous gifts to the church and to people in need. I want to see Jesus take my little and make it much for the building of HIs Kingdom. I never want to see our children's ministry and student ministry have to do fundraisers to accomplish big things. I want to see our church fund the two most important ministries at GC. 

We have a big dream. Big dreams take big faith. Big faith requires HUGE obedience. Living open handed has never caused anyone to go poor. The people that God has blessed most are the people who give away the most. Let this series change your life...forever.

Sweat the Small Stuff

Do details or small things really matter? Ask the person that has ever been to a public restroom and discovered one of these issues: no toilet paper (AFTER you finish), no soap, no paper towels. Details matter.

Have you ever posted something on social media but failed to do a quick check before sending? You know, when auto correct decides to ruin your day? We quickly type and hit "send" and before you know it, you've posted something to this nature: "so excited for Stephanie to be porning this Sunday!" when you meant to send: "so excited for Stephanie to be opening this Sunday!" Yea, it happened to me...details matter.

Have you ever stopped at one of your favorite fast food places for a quick bite to eat? While you are there you notice the tables haven't been cleaned in a while, the floor seems to stick to your feet with every step, and your sandwich seems to have been sitting under a heat lamp for the past 2 days. Details matter.

My point is that in most aspects of our lives, we all demand some sort of attention to details or excellence. But why? Because when we see excellence it says 3 things:

-You care about what you're doing
-You want people to take notice of what you do
-Its important

We can all pretty much agree with all of those statements. We enjoy eating at places that are clean, have nice employees, and go the extra mile with customer service. I believe Chick-fil-a is successful not only because of their Christian standards but because of their excellence in customer service. 

My fear is that when it comes to doing church sometimes, the small stuff doesn't matter to people. Or at least it doesn't matter to the ones that have been there for a while. Here are 3 reasons why I believe excellence is overlooked in the church:

I Don't Get Paid For This
Many people approach serving like a job instead of a privilege. We often put more excellence into something that we know we are going to get paid for than something that we volunteer for. Ask a kid to clean his or her room and they'll complain. Tell them that they are getting an allowance and they'll clean it with a toothbrush. When the church looks at serving as an honor and a valuable way to give back to the body of Christ, excellence will be evident. When we hire staff, we don't hire people with the mentality of "I would do more if you paid me". We hire people that we can't do without because their value is in their hard work, attitude, and excellence. What we have to remember is that we DO get a reward. (Read Matthew 24:45-46 NLT)

Leaders Don't Empower
When leaders refuse to let go of ministry, excellence suffers. Why? Because it all rises and falls on that one person's ability, availability, and knowledge. One or two people can't see all of the holes, short comings, or issues in a ministry. They spend so much time doing the big stuff, that they miss the small stuff. I have even seen ministry leaders "hope" that the ministry suffers if they are absent. That way they will be more appreciated. That leader cares more about themselves than about the church or the people its reaching. (Or not reaching for that matter). If you want to see your church become stagnant and frustrated, simply keep all the ministry to yourself. Pretty soon the details become huge eye sores.

It's Really Not For Jesus
The most frustrating reason why people show up late, bail on serving without so much as a phone call, half prepare for a kids lesson, choose the song list five minutes before service, refuse to tithe, prepare for a sermon late Saturday night, refuse to smile in the parking lot, or even talk to people they don't know is because it's really all about their comfort level and not about giving Jesus our best. Colossians 3:23 tells us: 
"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people."

Working for the Lord, rather than people. 

Believe me, God is all about details. Look at the human body or our planet. God was so detailed that He formed a plan to save us BEFORE we even sinned! Have you ever read the detailed plans to build the first temple in 1 Chronicles 28? Wow, I would not have wanted to be on that building committee! 

I just want to encourage all believers, and especially all of our GC peeps today. Do everything with the best effort and attention to details as possible. Yes, excellence is measured differently to many people. But when people come in to our church, we want them to know that we care about what we do, and we do it as if it was for Jesus Himself.