The Bible says in Philippians 4:6-7 not to worry, but instead to give our requests to Him. This process, done with a thankful heart will lead to a peace beyond understanding.
So what should these requests be? Sometimes we underestimate what God can do. Ephesians 3:20 tells us that He can do more than we can ask or imagine! With that in mind I will share with you some BHAP’s – Big Hairy Audacious Prayers for Rock Bridge Chatsworth. Prayers that are laid on the foundation of seeking HIS will:
• The right location!
• The right Student minister
• The right Worship minister
• The right Children's minister
• 25 Small-group leaders trained and ready to start new groups when we launch
• 500 people at our launch services – 250 from OUTSIDE the church [it’s not about being a ‘big’ church – it’s about reaching people for HIM]
• That people will accept His offer of salvation
Please join me in praying for this list of BHAP’s!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Rock Bridge Chatsworth - Our Next Meeting
Our next Rock Bridge Chatsworth meeting is coming up - here are some details:
• Wednesday July 29th
• First National Bank of Chatsworth Community Center [South of Chatsworth]
• 6:00pm - 8:pm
• Dinner will be served [Zaxby's]
• Childcare available
We’ll cover lots of exciting stuff; hope you can be there!
• Wednesday July 29th
• First National Bank of Chatsworth Community Center [South of Chatsworth]
• 6:00pm - 8:pm
• Dinner will be served [Zaxby's]
• Childcare available
We’ll cover lots of exciting stuff; hope you can be there!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The song of the sea
I love the beach. I first remember loving the beach when I was a kid living in Southern California but it probably started before that, living in Maine, or Boston, or San Francisco. It continued through my years in New York where I had access to one of the most beautiful beaches in the nation. [Seriously, Jones Beach State Park - amazing]
Anyway, Gail and I are at the beach right now, spending hours on the sand, listening to the song of the sea, swimming, playing in the water with my grandkids and reading; lots of glorious reading. My skin is beginning to tan, my eyes are perpetually bloodshot from the salt water, I swam with a stingray and I’m smiling most of the time.
All that to say that as I sit here in perpetual joy, getting marvelously refreshed I am ever more excited about what God is doing in Chatsworth. While we continue to seek His guidance for a building and some staffing I feel that same peace, knowing that He has it all figured out. He knows we are not about buildings; we’re about love, acceptance, teaching of God’s Word, and a desire to connect disconnected people to Jesus – something we’ll do even if we have NO building!
I thank God that He brought me to this church, His work in Chatsworth and for the amazing people He has already called to Rock Bridge Chatsworth - can't wait to get back home.
Off to read!
Anyway, Gail and I are at the beach right now, spending hours on the sand, listening to the song of the sea, swimming, playing in the water with my grandkids and reading; lots of glorious reading. My skin is beginning to tan, my eyes are perpetually bloodshot from the salt water, I swam with a stingray and I’m smiling most of the time.
All that to say that as I sit here in perpetual joy, getting marvelously refreshed I am ever more excited about what God is doing in Chatsworth. While we continue to seek His guidance for a building and some staffing I feel that same peace, knowing that He has it all figured out. He knows we are not about buildings; we’re about love, acceptance, teaching of God’s Word, and a desire to connect disconnected people to Jesus – something we’ll do even if we have NO building!
I thank God that He brought me to this church, His work in Chatsworth and for the amazing people He has already called to Rock Bridge Chatsworth - can't wait to get back home.
Off to read!
Friday, July 17, 2009
"Everything is fine... don't panic"
Hi everyone,
Some of you know that I moved here from suburban New York almost 18 years ago. On occasion my mom will call and her first words are "don't panic - everything's fine" which of course means everything is NOT fine but she doesn't want me to worry.
But... "Everything is fine... don't panic" which in this case is means everything really is fine and we have no reason to worry - in fact Phil. 4:6-7 clearly instructs against it! Here is some news:
1. As you know we have been investigating using the old Harris-Sutton Chevy building. As of now however, we cannot get Godly peace on the details of the lease as they are now and are back to seeking where it is God will place Rock Bridge Chatsworth.
2. We have absolutely no ill feelings toward Appalachian Community Bank and are thankful to them for how hard they worked to help get us in the building.
3. Our informational meeting scheduled for July 29th will now be held at the First National Bank of Chatsworth Community Center – the site of our first informational meeting
4. We did do a clean-up day at the Harris-Sutton building we feel honored to have served our community by helping this local bank – it was a wonderful day and well worth our time
5. As always, our launch date remains awaiting God’s leading
I am TOTALLY at peace about all this and know that God is NOT wringing His hands wondering what to do now – so neither am I. "Don't panic... Everything is fine"
Love you all, see you on the 29th!
Gus
Some of you know that I moved here from suburban New York almost 18 years ago. On occasion my mom will call and her first words are "don't panic - everything's fine" which of course means everything is NOT fine but she doesn't want me to worry.
But... "Everything is fine... don't panic" which in this case is means everything really is fine and we have no reason to worry - in fact Phil. 4:6-7 clearly instructs against it! Here is some news:
1. As you know we have been investigating using the old Harris-Sutton Chevy building. As of now however, we cannot get Godly peace on the details of the lease as they are now and are back to seeking where it is God will place Rock Bridge Chatsworth.
2. We have absolutely no ill feelings toward Appalachian Community Bank and are thankful to them for how hard they worked to help get us in the building.
3. Our informational meeting scheduled for July 29th will now be held at the First National Bank of Chatsworth Community Center – the site of our first informational meeting
4. We did do a clean-up day at the Harris-Sutton building we feel honored to have served our community by helping this local bank – it was a wonderful day and well worth our time
5. As always, our launch date remains awaiting God’s leading
I am TOTALLY at peace about all this and know that God is NOT wringing His hands wondering what to do now – so neither am I. "Don't panic... Everything is fine"
Love you all, see you on the 29th!
Gus
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Just to clarify about Rock Bridge Chatsworth
As I have mentioned before, God is doing amazing things as we work toward launching Rock Bridge Chatsworth. We have been working with the owners of the former Harris-Sutton Chevrolet building to enter into a LEASE agreement with them.
I do want to state however that we DO NOT have a signed lease just yet. The owners have been great to work with us through this process and we feel confident that God will continue to lead us and we will soon have the final details ironed out. So much so that we have already started working to prepare the site for our impending launch and if by chance God chooses to change our direction we can feel honored to serve the current owners of the property.
I'll update as soon as the lease is signed!
I do want to state however that we DO NOT have a signed lease just yet. The owners have been great to work with us through this process and we feel confident that God will continue to lead us and we will soon have the final details ironed out. So much so that we have already started working to prepare the site for our impending launch and if by chance God chooses to change our direction we can feel honored to serve the current owners of the property.
I'll update as soon as the lease is signed!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Clean-up Day!
Today was our first clean-up day at the former Harris-Sutton building - and it was AMAZING! I am so impressed with the people that God has already put together to begin forming what is already proving to be an incredible church.
The schedule was to meet at 8:00am with the intent to get as much done as possible before our planned quitting time at 2:00pm. With a LOT of work to be done, our focus was to clean the front [Sanctuary/auditorium], then the middle [Kids area] , then the back [future auditorium] if by some miracle, time permitted.
Well, as so often happens I am in awe of what God did through His people. [more on 'awe of God' soon] We had roughly thirty people come at various points, we attacked the building and by 11:00am - YES, ELEVEN AM... we were DONE! And when I say done, I mean done! The front, the middle, the back and even the three storage areas we didn't even consider doing were all cleaned up and ready for our next meeting on July 29th.
"But wait - there's more!"
A few tech-geniuses were able to figure out some very cool stuff AND a couple people stayed around a few hours identifying and marking circuit breakers for much of the building. WOW.
Thank you rock Bridge Chatsworth for serving Him this way on what I know to be a precious Saturday morning. You amaze me every time we are together and I thank God that I get to serve alongside you as we move along this road. While we continue to work out the details of the lease, our united front today serves to further His kingdom in Murray County.
The schedule was to meet at 8:00am with the intent to get as much done as possible before our planned quitting time at 2:00pm. With a LOT of work to be done, our focus was to clean the front [Sanctuary/auditorium], then the middle [Kids area] , then the back [future auditorium] if by some miracle, time permitted.
Well, as so often happens I am in awe of what God did through His people. [more on 'awe of God' soon] We had roughly thirty people come at various points, we attacked the building and by 11:00am - YES, ELEVEN AM... we were DONE! And when I say done, I mean done! The front, the middle, the back and even the three storage areas we didn't even consider doing were all cleaned up and ready for our next meeting on July 29th.
"But wait - there's more!"
A few tech-geniuses were able to figure out some very cool stuff AND a couple people stayed around a few hours identifying and marking circuit breakers for much of the building. WOW.
Thank you rock Bridge Chatsworth for serving Him this way on what I know to be a precious Saturday morning. You amaze me every time we are together and I thank God that I get to serve alongside you as we move along this road. While we continue to work out the details of the lease, our united front today serves to further His kingdom in Murray County.
Monday, July 6, 2009
First Work Day!
It's time to get to work at Rock Bridge Chatsworth!
Saturday July 11th, 8:00am - 2:00pm is our first [of many] official work day! If possible, please notify me by email at gus[at]rockbridge[dot]cc that you will be available for this so I can have appropriate supplies on hand.
We have lots to do to prepare our new site for launch; here are a few projects:
Saturday July 11th, 8:00am - 2:00pm is our first [of many] official work day! If possible, please notify me by email at gus[at]rockbridge[dot]cc that you will be available for this so I can have appropriate supplies on hand.
We have lots to do to prepare our new site for launch; here are a few projects:
- General trash removal. There is a meaningful amount of 'muck' that needs to be trashed. There is a dumpster on site. Most anyone can help with this - it is not heavy work - just lots of it.
- General clean-up. The building has been empty for awhile - it needs to be SCRUBBED!
- Carpet removal. [Glued down]
- There's lots more - this is a good start!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Rock Bridge... Chevrolet!?
It's not quite official until we sign the dotted line but unless something CRAZY happens; as of August 1st we will move into Rock Bridge Chatsworth located at: 2402 Highway 76, Chatsworth GA 30705 - "The old Harris-Sutton Chevy building"
So how did we get here? Here's a little history:
1. In Autumn of 2008 the church was already thinking about Rock Bridge Chatsworth.
2. In the midst of that, Gail and I drove by the building and she said "hey look, that would be a great place for Rock Bridge Chatsworth. We started praying!
3. Fast-forward to Spring 2009. Rock Bridge leadership affirmed unanimously that God was calling us to Chatsworth and I was affirmed to become the campus pastor.
4. While we are people centered, not building centered, the 'Chevy' building remained our first choice for location. After fasting, prayer and some visits to the site we made contact with Appalachian Bank to see if there was a way Rock Bridge could lease the space.
5. After much prayer and meeting time, we agreed on a lease that was meaningful to both the church and the bank!
6. I cannot say enough how thankful I am to Gary and the folks at Appalachian Bank. They have gone WAY above and beyond the call to make this possible for us, proving their commitment to our community. Please join me in praying that God will bless these folks as they have blessed us!
So there it is! I'll post info about 'work days' VERY soon!
So how did we get here? Here's a little history:
1. In Autumn of 2008 the church was already thinking about Rock Bridge Chatsworth.
2. In the midst of that, Gail and I drove by the building and she said "hey look, that would be a great place for Rock Bridge Chatsworth. We started praying!
3. Fast-forward to Spring 2009. Rock Bridge leadership affirmed unanimously that God was calling us to Chatsworth and I was affirmed to become the campus pastor.
4. While we are people centered, not building centered, the 'Chevy' building remained our first choice for location. After fasting, prayer and some visits to the site we made contact with Appalachian Bank to see if there was a way Rock Bridge could lease the space.
5. After much prayer and meeting time, we agreed on a lease that was meaningful to both the church and the bank!
6. I cannot say enough how thankful I am to Gary and the folks at Appalachian Bank. They have gone WAY above and beyond the call to make this possible for us, proving their commitment to our community. Please join me in praying that God will bless these folks as they have blessed us!
So there it is! I'll post info about 'work days' VERY soon!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Mistake-Makers Welcome!
Like everyone, I have made mistakes and like many, I have been plagued by feelings of guilt and condemnation from those mistakes. Some argue that 'condemnation' emotions prevent us from making mistakes, but they don’t. The Bible says condemnation does NOT come from Jesus, so the question to be asked and answered is... what will help keep mistakes away?
The answer is Jesus.
I have been studying John 4, the woman at the well. This woman is a mess. An adulterous slut times six. It is probable that she is not well liked so when she meets Jesus it is an amazing encounter. He doesn't judge her, but he doesn't ignore her sin either and in the end instead of tossing her away due to her sinfulness, He helps her change and grow and she gets to work for Him.
In spite of her reputation, in spite of the at least six men that hide when she is in sight, in spite of the fact that most everyone knows what she has done… She goes and tells the people of her town about Jesus – and 'many believe because of her testimony and many more believe because they see for themselves'. [vs 39;42]
I have no idea what you go through, but you may come under attack for your mistakes. In Ephesians 6 we see the shield of faith – it is not used to stop the enemy from firing his flaming arrows at us, it is used to keep them from hitting us and it works when we use it.
At Rock Bridge we know everyone makes mistakes and we openly welcome all the mistake-makers that come our way. Like Jesus, we don't ignore the sin and we want to help people change and grow in Him and become part of HIM changing lives. So hold firm and high the shield of faith, relentlessly pursue Jesus and ‘many will believe because of your testimony and many more will believe because they see for themselves' because you invite them to come and see Jesus.
The answer is Jesus.
I have been studying John 4, the woman at the well. This woman is a mess. An adulterous slut times six. It is probable that she is not well liked so when she meets Jesus it is an amazing encounter. He doesn't judge her, but he doesn't ignore her sin either and in the end instead of tossing her away due to her sinfulness, He helps her change and grow and she gets to work for Him.
In spite of her reputation, in spite of the at least six men that hide when she is in sight, in spite of the fact that most everyone knows what she has done… She goes and tells the people of her town about Jesus – and 'many believe because of her testimony and many more believe because they see for themselves'. [vs 39;42]
I have no idea what you go through, but you may come under attack for your mistakes. In Ephesians 6 we see the shield of faith – it is not used to stop the enemy from firing his flaming arrows at us, it is used to keep them from hitting us and it works when we use it.
At Rock Bridge we know everyone makes mistakes and we openly welcome all the mistake-makers that come our way. Like Jesus, we don't ignore the sin and we want to help people change and grow in Him and become part of HIM changing lives. So hold firm and high the shield of faith, relentlessly pursue Jesus and ‘many will believe because of your testimony and many more will believe because they see for themselves' because you invite them to come and see Jesus.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)