Renting Vs. Owning

This morning I met with a friend of mine (Brad Cowger) at my favorite local coffee shop called The Looney Bean. In the middle of the time together, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. After washing my hands, I used the paper towels to dry my hands off but something happened. A small piece of paper tore off and fell to the floor. Yes ..... the bathrooms at this place are always clean but .... it fell to the floor with all those icky germs and whatever else! It was a bathroom floor!!!

Now, get the context here. I love The Looney Bean!! The owner is great, the employees are great, and the environment is great. And not to mention, the coffee is great too! It's one of my favorite places away from home!

When I saw the piece of paper fall to the floor, I picked it up and threw it away. Something immediately within me said, "If that had been McDonald's, you may not have picked it up because that would be really nasty." But here's the difference: Because I love The Looney Bean, I take care of it. I also care about keeping it up and not leaving a mess.

It's the difference between RENTING a home and OWNING a home. No matter what you say, you tend to take care of something more when it's YOURS! When you are renting, you have an obligation to take care of things, but there's always something inside you that says, "Don't worry about it. The landlord will take care of that."

Now, here's the point. When it comes to your church, are you merely RENTING or are you OWNING it? In other words, do you take responsibility for getting things done or do you sit there and do nothing expecting someone else to do the job? Do you assume that the pastor is going to clean up that mess in the hallway or will you just own it? Do you assume that the worship pastor will clean up all the chords on stage or will you own it? All that junk on the table in the classroom .... do you assume the small groups leader will clean it up or will you own it? When it comes to inviting people to come, do you expect someone else to invite them, or will you own the situation and invite them yourself?

Bill Hybels has been quoted as saying that "The CHURCH is the hope of the world. When it comes to reaching the world, the CHURCH is God's plan A and God doesn't have a plan B." I love the CHURCH and God loves it even more. Let's love it for who God created it to be and what it represents: Our God's love for us.

A Great C180 Night

CHURCH180 Worship Team rehearsing before the service began. Great job!

I'm grateful for what God is doing in CHURCH180! Last night was our January preview service and it was a great night in the life of our church. Here's why:

1. People got to hear the Gospel again (Luke 15:11-32).
2. We had a tie for an all-time attendance of 47 people.
3. We had at least four new households that came for the first time.
4. We added two new people to the worship team.
5. The worship team did an awesome job with the music and the tech team did an great job doing the behind the scenes work.
6. The KIDZ180 team did a great job teaching our 0-4 year olds about the Father's love.
7. We had an all-time high offering last night. This will greatly help us continue ministry here in Montrose.
8. Our Launch Team did an incredible job of setting things up and they did it with a servant heart.
9. People were excited to be there.
10. At least one family seemed interested in joining the Launch Team.

For all of this and so much more, we are grateful and proud of what God is doing through our team! He is at work and we look forward to seeing more and more fruit in the days ahead. 

If you would like to be added to our prayer & update list, click HERE and let us know. 

C180 December Service Highlights

Hey Friends!

Just a few highlights of the CHURCH180 service we had just last night ....

1. Realizing more and more that we have an incredible group of people on our Launch Team. They really pulled together to make everything happen really smoothly! They did it with amazing attitudes!
2. We may be one of the smallest churches in town (at least for now) but we're doing ministry in some ways that some of the largest churches in the world aren't doing. I'm so proud of our team!
3. We've had some great musicians to play in our services and they've made a huge difference in the atmosphere of worship! 
4. Lesson learned: If at all possible, don't play a video live from the internet! We rehearsed it several times without a hitch but when we did it live in the service, the main illustration video was preceded by a beer commercial! Ha! Only at CHURCH180 huh?
5. We're grateful that we're providing an "outside the box" church for people that haven't found a church elsewhere or can't go elsewhere (due to the times they meet).
6. Christmas is more than just Jesus being born. It's about God born as a baby and born to die. It's about a God coming to be our perfect and complete sacrifice.
7. Figuring out that when people have a sense of ownership, they are more passionate. 
8. Lesson #2 Learned: Inviting someone to church begins first with establishing a trustworthy relationship outside of church first. People don't care if you invite them to church. They DO care if YOU care about them and meet them right where they are.
9. Just when you think that you're not ready for a particular task God has given you, pray. Then watch God fill in all the gaps. (I felt this way about the message I preached Sunday night.)
10. God is at work and we are fortunate enough to see some of what He's doing. 

The Refreshing Sound Of Profanity

I realize you're already not fond of this title but stay with me.

Nearly all of my life, I've lived in a "bubble." I grew up in the "Bible Belt", in a Christian home, went to church, went to a Christian college, went to a Christian grad school, and have spent nearly all of my adult life working in a church or other Christian environment. For Pete's sake, I bet our dog is even a Christian! Ha! You see, I've been in my "safe" little Christian bubble. Chances are that maybe your life isn't too much different huh?

Recently, I've been very intentional about trying to break out of the "bubble" and really spend time with people that aren't like me. I've taken a risk at leaving my comfort zone. I've stepped off the ledge. Some of you may think I did that a long time ago! Ha!!

In a recent 5 month vacation from my bubble, I've been in small group settings and even in one-on-one conversations with individuals that used just about every four-letter word there is. Profanity like I've never heard it before. And you know what? It was just about the most refreshing thing I've heard in a long time!! You know why? Because it meant that I was intentionally placing myself around others who aren't in "the bubble." And you know what else? I think Jesus spent a good bit of time out of His "bubble." As a matter of fact, He left heaven to come to earth. If that isn't leaving your "bubble", then I don't know what is!!!

Hear me out. I don't say this to be judgmental about those who use foul language. I say all of this as an indictment upon myself for being too satisfied to live in a bubble for so long. I say this as an indictment on anyone who's unwilling to leave their bubble for the sake of leading someone to Jesus. He's the One who left His bubble to save and forgive you and me (lot's of bubbles here).

So .... besides watching a sketchy movie or overhearing someone else's conversation, have you heard the refreshing sound of profanity lately? Have you been refreshingly uncomfortable in your surroundings? Have you left your bubble?


If not, find a needle, pop that bubble, and get going!!!

A Sneak Peak

This coming Sunday will be our second CHURCH180 worship experience and we're getting more and more excited about seeing who God will bring and what God is going to do!!

I've started a message series entitled, LIFE180. The idea here is that Jesus is able to take our difficult situations in life (even the ugly ones we get ourselves into) and can turn them around for our good but most of all for His glory.

To continue with this series, I'll be sharing this Sunday night a two-part message (don't worry, they'll both be short). In the first part, we'll be looking at our responsibility to trust and expect great things from Jesus. As a matter of fact, our faith is somewhat of an "activator" that is a channel for Jesus to work. We have a responsibility not only to have faith but to do something about our faith.

In the second part of the message, I want to share about what Jesus does when we have faith in Him and when we bring people to Jesus. Physically impossible things become possible. Spiritual despair is turned into hope and as a result, Jesus is seen as He is and not as how we make him out to be.

If you live in the Montrose area, we'd love for you to come and be a part!! Bring people with you! If you don't live in the area or you can't make it, we invite you to pray for the service. Please pray that God would have His perfect way in our lives and in what happens Sunday night.

We'll gather at 6pm at the Montrose Aquatic Center (25 Colorado Ave., Montrose). For more info, you can call the church office at (970) 249-0000.

Our First CHURCH180 Service

To begin with, I am completely humbled that God would call us to do this whole CHURCH180 thing. What an amazing ride so far. God began working in our hearts (Rachel and I) almost three years ago now and God was stirring us, preparing us, and molding us ever since.  To those of you who have sacrificed, prayed, given financially, and played a part already in CHURCH180, we say THANK YOU!!!

Tonight was our first official CHURCH180 worship service and it was absolutely great - certainly not because of any single individual but because of what Jesus did through each of us on the team. Our "Launch Team" members are completely amazing! Each of them served with the heart of a true servant - no complaining and no bad attitudes.

Our Guest Services team consisted of about 5 people. They welcomed guests in the parking lot, at the entry way of the building, and in the meeting room. They set up banners, gave out connection cards and $4 coffee gift cards (for The Looney Bean), plus a whole lot more!!! Great job team!

Our KIDZ180 team consisted of about 4 people. They checked in the kiddos into a safe and fun environment, taught a lesson about Nicodemus along with my message, loved on kids, plus a whole lot more. There were about 7 kids 4 years and down tonight. Great job team!

Last but not least, our Worship & Tech Team consisted of 6 people. They practiced their music on their own before tonight, set up sound equipment, played with passion and skill, ran sound and video like champs, and really put it together. Great job team!

We had somewhere around 47 in attendance tonight which we were all very pleased with. Each guest was a special part of a brand new and fresh move of God. Everyone on our Launch Team really made everyone feel welcome and a part of the CHURCH180 family. To those we talked with, everyone had a really positive experience.

Before the next service, we'll have a "comeback event" for anyone and everyone for the sole purpose of just getting to know each other and hanging out. This month, we're having one comeback event for the guys and one for the ladies. The guys are going to be hanging out at my man Damian's house to watch UFC 137 on October 29th (Twisted huh? I love being a church planter. We get to do crazy things like watch UFC with the guys!!) and the ladies are going to do some cool pottery projects at the Amazing Glaze Shop on the 27th. (Not as twisted but equally as fun for the gals).

A week from tonight we'll have our first official "Launch Team" gathering (formerly the "Start Up Team"). This team will pray, hang out, evaluate, plan the next month's worship service, and help build a team to prepare us for a weekly schedule in the spring. These people are awesome! Go team!

If you'd like to be a part of the CHURCH180 Launch Team, you can email me here and I'll give you all the info you need to know.

I'm so grateful, excited, and humbled to be a part of God's work. Thank you Jesus.

LIFE180 @ CHURCH180

I honestly can't believe it, but it's happening this Sunday!!!! What God has been doing in our hearts for almost a year and a half is finally coming to reality!

On Sunday night, October 9th (6pm @ the Montrose Aquatic Center), we will have our first ever CHURCH180 worship experience!!! Our church is all about people experiencing life change through Jesus, and we're kicking everything off by starting the "LIFE180" message series. We'll learn about how Jesus can bring lasting and eternal life change to all of us - no matter where we are in life.

Now . . . what should we expect? Here are 10 things I can think of (not limited to these though):

1. We expect great things from God!
2. We expect lives to be impacted by the message and life of Jesus
3. A high energy worship band and great times of worship
4. Not just a church but a community of friends
5. An environment that welcomes hurting people 
6. A group of people who see each other as equally important in the eyes of God
7. A laid-back atmosphere where you can be comfortable being yourself without a religious mask
8. Expect to be greeted as an honored guest and leave as a friend
9. A safe and fun learning environment for your kids (a.k.a. KIDZ180) 
10. It is highly probable that you'll have some fun!!!

Finally, we've had an incredible group of friends that have helped prepare and make it possible! From those who have supported us with prayer, finances, and with volunteering, we have an incredible team and we're all pumped about Sunday!!! Thanks so much to everyone for serving and bringing the life-changing hope of Jesus to Montrose, Colorado, and the world! You guys are great!