Questions?????

Here lately, as we move into the future with the Warren Campus, there have been many great questions come up from people in the church and out. So, periodically I will write something in response to some of the questions we have heard. I know that if one person has voiced the question then there are probably others that have the same question.

Recently someone asked how small groups will work with both campuses? I believe the answer to this will be an answer that will be given to many questions to come…”We are ONE church, in MULTIPLE locations”. In others words, it will still be North Point Christian Church in both locations. You may have people in one small group going to two different campuses. Michele Phillips will still oversee the entire program at both campuses.

We want to be unified in all areas of the church life as possible. We serve under ONE Lord through Jesus Christ as head of the church. So, at NPC there will be ONE congregation, ONE Leadership Team, ONE Budget, ONE staff member for oversight of each of the 5 Focus Points (Weekend Services, Dennis/Tim-Student Community, Matt McClane-Children’s Department, Ramona Rendall-Small Groups, Michele Phillips-Lifeguard, Dennis/Tim)…yet meeting in different locations.

A Great Day Fishing

Holding one that didn't get away...about to be processed.

Gary with a couple early morning perch.

Me as captain while Gary did some of the rigging...scary!
By the way that is a Git-R Done hat...

Gary with the typical deep lake fishing boat over his shoulder.

Gary's prized toy...it is a very nice boat.

I had a great day yesterday fishing on Lake Michigan. Gary Christianson graciously took me fishing on Lake Michigan yesterday and it was a blast. I have lived next to the Lake for going on 6 years now, and that that was the first time fishing on the big lake since we moved here. What a great experience and Gary was such a good host and guide. We caught perch in the morning and salmon in the afternoon. It was pretty eventful since we were in a relatively small boat for Lake Michigan ( a 16 foot Ranger…unsinkable they tell me…course that is what they said about the Titanic) fishing in 150-160 feet of water in some pretty rough water with whitecaps and good sized rollers…boys will be boys.

The salmon fishing was really cool. We landed 3 and had three other hook-ups. One that we lost was a 6-8 pound rainbow trout that we lost right at the boat…the one that got away. He fought like crazy and was jumping clear out of the water an unbelievable amount of fight in that fish…then the line broke right at the boat…fun none the less. I can’t wait to go back.

Great Day!

Today was a great day. I had an opportunity to worship together with several church leaders from across Lake County at a Catalyst meeting. After the meeting, Mike, Dennis and I gave Jim Tomberlin a ride to the O’Hare airport. On the way we were able to pick Jim’s mind about church planting. Jim has been a church planter now for many years and has worked with many successful plants. God has utilized Jim in a variety of ministries from pastoring a church in Germany, to growing a mega-church in Colorado Springs, to pioneering the multi-site strategy at Willow Creek.

It was good to pick up some golden bits of information to use for the new Warren Campus, and I thank him very much for his words of wisdom and insight. Even his affirmation that we are on the right track with much of what we are doing was a great source of encouragement.

As we begin this move to multi-site it is amazing to see God at work in the hearts of so many people in the church. I pray that this “stirring” will remain in action as the Spirit moves in the hearts of people.

Tater is here!

Never worry, never fear…Todd Tate has been here…since last Saturday night anyway. Todd is our missionary in Mexico and works with Rio Bravo Christian Ministries. It has been good to spend time with him and hear how the ministry is doing in Mexico. He will have to take a week’s vacation when he gets back to his home since he has been so busy running from event to event and home to home, as people have graciously opened their homes to him.

Issue Revisited...DNA #10

Again this is a follow up to a blog post, THE 13 NPC DNA COMMANDMENTS, I did on the DNA of NPC. I had someone ask about DNA #’s 9, “Thou shall endeavor for “Seeker Friendly Services”—Designing services that Celebrate Christ and Connect with the people. Planning services that reach those who are unconnected to the church (may not necessarily be what the churched people would want). In other words, identifying and connecting to the best of our ability the gospel message of Jesus Christ with the unconnected “Everyman” of the area we serve”. and 11, “Thou shall be Staff-led.”

I tackled # 9 in the previous post, now I will endeavor to explain #11 and what it means to be “staff-led”.

I have to admit that staff-led can be very mis-leading when you just read those words alone, but placed in the context of “leadership structure” it may become more clear as to its meaning.

First of all, it must be said that the church and its leadership must be Spirit-led in all aspects of the leading of the church…again this is an absolute must. Reliance on the Holy Spirit for wisdom, knowledge and discernment are critical in understanding and following the will of God for the direction of the church.

The other term that goes along side of “staff-led” is “elder-led”…again very misleading without context. Basically, when you look at these two terms in the context of church leadership it comes down to, who takes care of the day-to-day or the timely matters of the church. Another word might be, who takes care of the micro-management of the church.

Let me share with you our (NPC) philosophy of staff-led. Our leaders/elders of the church are the shepherds of the timeless principles of God that we see in scripture. They make sure that the church is in line with the Biblical based core values of Christ's church. They are also the ones who make sure that the church adheres to the core values (DNA) of the philosophy and vision of the church. Their position is oversight of the timeless core value principles of the church.

The staff then, carries these core value principles of the church out in a timely manner. The staff is given the freedom to move forward with these principles in a way that connects with the context of the current culture and society. They are trusted and given the freedom to make day-to-day decisions within the context of the core value principles (Biblical and visional).

Example…the decision to do backyard VBS (Blastzones) was a decision made by the staff and then ran by the leadership. The leadership said yes this is exactly what we need to be doing. From there the staff ran with the ideas and the structure and the advertisement and the volunteers and engaging with the small group leaders and make sure that all the day-to-day activities were meeting the needs the families within the church and local communities.

I hope this answers the question…and I also pray that we will be a church that is obedient to the call and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the life of the church.

Issue Revisited...DNA #9

I had been asked in a previous post, THE 13 NPC DNA COMMANDMENTS, to explain a couple of points to the NPC DNA, so I will attempt to explain this to the best of my ability.

First would be #9, “Thou shall endeavor for “Seeker Friendly Services”—Designing services that Celebrate Christ and Connect with the people. Planning services that reach those who are unconnected to the church (may not necessarily be what the churched people would want). In other words, identifying and connecting to the best of our ability the gospel message of Jesus Christ with the unconnected “Everyman” of the area we serve.”

NPC has always been a church that has been concerned about people who were/are disconnected from the church or from a relationship with Jesus Christ. Our first concern has always been to teach the hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that connects with the ‘everyman’ of our area. Side note, ‘everyman’ simply means, “an ordinary person; the typical or average person.” So our target audience is the simple everyday people you meet on the street everyday.

In meeting these people where they are at and taking them where they need to go, we want to make a concerted effort to bring the gospel alive to individuals using creativity in our worship services. This by no means insinuates that we “water down” the gospel message, but sharing it in a way that connects with people. The life changing message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is something that can be difficult to live out in our daily lives, so we want people to be able to receive it in a way that is meaningful and practical.

Some would say that non-believers cannot fully participate in worshiping God with believers. Where I understand this thought and believe there are some truths to that…I also believe that we need to give opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work on the hearts of the non-believer, this can take place in the worship services of the church. This leads me to my next thought…

Why do I say that some “churched people” may not want this or desire this. Simply…we (I label myself as a churched person here) bring much tradition (not always bad tradition…but traditions non the less) and sometimes even “baggage” as to what we think are essential for church. When you begin to strip some of these things (traditions and baggage) away and get to the core of the gospel message and preach that in a creative way it may not look like what some people are used to in the church. Not that one way of “doing” church is better or even more holy than another…but different.

I pray that NPC can continue to be a church that reaches out to an unconnected group of people and draw them into a new relationship with God. I pray that NPC will continue to meet the felt needs of others, to make it simple for them to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, and be wise in how we meet people where they are and take them to where they need to be.

Issue #11 next...

Mexico here we come

I am writing this from the hospital bed due to my back being totally destroyed during the making of this video. Oh by the way my partner in this video is the new intern at NPC working with our mission’s team and our coming Warren Campus...Welcome Donna Taylor.