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Simplifying Discipleship

This past Sunday, we had a great conversation in the “vision” class for the new church plant about discipleship.  In light of our conversation, I thought I would share a link to a great blog post on the subject.  I would love to hear your thoughts! Click Here to read! “A VISION FOR BEING THE CHURCH” UPDATE Here is a summary of what we have shared so far in the class “A Vision For Being The Church.”  You are welcome to join us any Sunday you can at 10:45 in room 13 below the sanctuary at First Alliance Church, Lexington (www.faclex.com). Key Value 1 –Community: The church is the community of believers who are “called out” to be the physical representation of Christ to the world.  It’s not a building or a service. Key Value… Read More »Simplifying Discipleship

Promo Video

Click “Promo Video” above to check out this short little video we put together highlighting the rational for the new “church plant” we are involved in!

Do We Need More Churches In Central Kentucky?

I just came across some interesting statistics produced by the Glenmary Report in 2000 concerning church and religious involvement in Kentucky and Fayette County. * 10% of people in Fayette County attend church on any given Sunday * 47.3% of people in Fayette County “adhere to a religion.” * 27.4% of people in Fayette County are “members of a religious group.” As you might expect, these numbers are slightly lower than the state average (12.8%, 58%, and 33% respectively).  Click here to see the report and the results for all counties in Kentucky.  So what do you think?  Do we need more churches?  Yes…that is a trick question.  Think it through before you respond below! 🙂

Church Planting Movements In North America?

I was recently re-reading this paper that I wrote in 2004.  I would highly encourage you to read Church Planting Movements by David Garrison.  However, if you can not find the time, I encourage you to give the arguments laid out in my review some consideration.  It is amazing to me how much God used this class, and specifically this assignment that I worked on six years ago, to shape the vision He has placed in my heart for this new work here in Lexington. I have resisted the temptation to make some minor changes and have left this as it was written in 2004.  I would love to hear your comments below. UPDATE:  A great summary of Garrison’s book is available for free HERE. CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENTS IN NORTH AMERICA? ________________________ A Paper Presented… Read More »Church Planting Movements In North America?

"if you ever find yourself walking along a path like this...watch your step!"

The Calf Path.

One day, through the primeval wood, A calf walked home, as good calves should; But made a trail all bent askew, A crooked trail as all calves do. Since then three hundred years have fled, And, I infer, the calf is dead. But still he left behind his trail, And thereby hangs my moral tale… (Click Title to Continue Reading)

“Have you heard about what is going on with Francis Chan?”

What’s Next for Francis Chan? A Conversation with Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris.  (click to watch video) This past Sunday I had a conversation with a lady who, after hearing about the vision for the new work God has placed in me, asked me if I “had heard about what was going on with Francis Chan?”  I once listened to a message that Francis Chan preached and I am familiar with his “Just Stop and Think” video but I have not read his book “Crazy Love” or any other book of his for that matter.  I was intrigued by the question, however, because I did recently read Neil Cole’s “Church 3.0” and Francis Chan wrote the forward to it.  I found it interesting that a mega church pastor would be encouraging others to consider Neil’s… Read More »“Have you heard about what is going on with Francis Chan?”

Update

Hello!  It’s been a while since I last logged in here.  I’ve finished up my stint with FCA and I’m currently on vacation.  I wanted to just shoot you a couple of “updates” that may be of interest to you: “New Church” Orientation / September 26 – October 31 / 10:45PM Lower Auditorium / First Alliance Church Starting on September 26, we will begin walking through the “DNA” of the new work that we are going to be a apart of.  This will orientation will run for six weeks with each week covering a different aspect of of the new work.  We look forward to finally getting to lay out what we sense God is up to in our community!  If you have any interest at all in the “church plant” then we’d encourage you… Read More »Update

A “new” kind of church…

I love satire.  I think think satire has a way of making you laugh and think at the same time.  “Why is this so funny?” is usually what videos like this end up making you ask yourself.  So… why is this so funny? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlyvLzIcTBc]

A Country Ham and A Skateboard (Message)

You can download my sermon entitled “A Country Ham and A Skateboard” from First Alliance last Sunday.  This sermon addresses some key principles for all believers and especially those of us who will will take part in the “new church.” Update:  This message gets into the story of how skate church began in Lexington, Kentucky and how some of the reasoning behind it.  

Discipleship Happens In Small Community

Discipleship Happens in Small Community. This is another “starting point” for me.  For the longest time, I thought that to “go and make disciples” necessitated entering into a teacher/student relationship in which I was primarily educating my  pupil (or being educated) about what it means to follow Jesus via a Bible study or a discipleship curriculum.  While this is a way of fulfilling the Great Commission, I have recently realized that it’s not the only way that God makes us into His disciples.   In fact, I have concluded that small community has been the driving force of discipleship in my life.  How about for you? Look no further than Jesus’ example to see this principle in action.  Jesus had a relatively small group of followers, 12 disciples and 3 with whom He spent greater… Read More »Discipleship Happens In Small Community