See ya Sunday, 10:30am :-)
This Is Our God (Promo) from Church of the Suncoast on Vimeo.
This Is Our God (New Series)
How we perceive someone impacts the way we relate to them. If we think someone is angry or out to get us then we will never trust them. If we see someone as loving and caring then we will naturally be drawn to them. So how do you view God? What are your perceptions of Him? Could you have some misconceptions about who God really is? Discover again, or for the first time, who God is Sundays in December at the Suncoast. Bring someone who is kicking the tires on faith for this series as we lead up to Christmas Eve guys!
See ya Sunday, 10:30am :-)
See ya Sunday, 10:30am :-)
Praying for those that came forward...
On Sunday at the Suncoast we had an old fashioned invitation where I invited people who were ready to stop running / resisting God to come forward and pray at the front of the stage. It was incredible to see the people respond and take such a step of vulnerability and humility. To step out and say, "God I am not going to run anymore, I surrender."
For all of you who obeyed like Jonah did I have been praying for you this week that God would make himself real to you in tangible ways. That He would make His presence felt and His love known. I was proud of you on Sunday and you gained the respect of your friends and family and your pastor!
God is smiling :-) See you Sunday as we wrap up the story of Jonah and the "White Flag" series.
For all of you who obeyed like Jonah did I have been praying for you this week that God would make himself real to you in tangible ways. That He would make His presence felt and His love known. I was proud of you on Sunday and you gained the respect of your friends and family and your pastor!
God is smiling :-) See you Sunday as we wrap up the story of Jonah and the "White Flag" series.
Perspective in Leading
Our staff at the Suncoast is reading the book "Leading on Empty" by Wayne Cordeiro right now. At our last staff meeting I shared a quote that jumped out at me,
"The way we view our problem oftentimes is our problem"
You could apply that to almost anything in life and leadership but here was my realization for our staff. I am by nature a negative person. I have the painful gift of being able to walk into a room and tell you everything that is wrong in a matter of seconds. I see the problems. AND, many times at our staff meetings and conversations I spend all my time talking about the problems and not enough time talking about all the amazing things God is doing in the life of our church. Instead of celebrating with them I drag up any and every problem and talk about what we are going to do about it.
Here is what I realized. Obviously, the staff at the Suncoast thinks for themselves, but as the leader I have to walk that line in how I present things. Yes, I want to be real and when something bad happens it hurts, and I get frustrated, and it is OK for people to see that and for us to walk through the bad things together. We are all in this as a team. Stuff is not always going to go right at the church and that needs to be addressed. But, on the flip side if I don't do a better job at showing off the positive then I run the risk of ruining the perspective of the people around me. Because it is so easy for me to point out all the problems I have to be intentional about this!
So, that is where I am at right now. Trying to do a better job at walking that line. I would be curious to know your perspective and what you have learned as a church planter / leader / pastor on walking the line between dealing with the problems but not letting that ruin your perspective on the church...
"The way we view our problem oftentimes is our problem"
You could apply that to almost anything in life and leadership but here was my realization for our staff. I am by nature a negative person. I have the painful gift of being able to walk into a room and tell you everything that is wrong in a matter of seconds. I see the problems. AND, many times at our staff meetings and conversations I spend all my time talking about the problems and not enough time talking about all the amazing things God is doing in the life of our church. Instead of celebrating with them I drag up any and every problem and talk about what we are going to do about it.
Here is what I realized. Obviously, the staff at the Suncoast thinks for themselves, but as the leader I have to walk that line in how I present things. Yes, I want to be real and when something bad happens it hurts, and I get frustrated, and it is OK for people to see that and for us to walk through the bad things together. We are all in this as a team. Stuff is not always going to go right at the church and that needs to be addressed. But, on the flip side if I don't do a better job at showing off the positive then I run the risk of ruining the perspective of the people around me. Because it is so easy for me to point out all the problems I have to be intentional about this!
So, that is where I am at right now. Trying to do a better job at walking that line. I would be curious to know your perspective and what you have learned as a church planter / leader / pastor on walking the line between dealing with the problems but not letting that ruin your perspective on the church...
White Flag Starts Sunday!
This is the perfect series to bring someone to!!! Check out the promo:
Did you ever run away from home as a kid? It all seems silly now, but at the time you had plans. But your plans always fell apart, didn't they? You were so focused on what you were running from, not what you were running to, that you found yourself faced with the question, "Now what?" You had to raise the white flag and give up. In this three-part series, we'll explore the lessons we can all learn when the only option left is to surrender.
Join us at Rushe Middle from 10:15-10:30 at the NEW Coastal Cafe for breakfast under a $1.
"I Love My Church" Wrap Up
From October 17th - 31st the Suncoast embarked on what we hope and pray is the beginning of a movement where God takes us from where we are to where He wants us to be. We talked about having a church that we love for 3 weeks and how to do that. We also took things to a level of commitment we have never gone to in our 4 year history by doing the Daniel Fast for two weeks, asking everyone to tithe on the 31st, and signing our first church covenant. The reason we did all this was because we wanted to put our faith where our mouth is. Faith is action. So, we trusted God enough to stop eating the things we wanted to, focused our time on Him, took a step of faith financially, and put our names and honor on the line saying we will do the following:
“Because God so loved me and gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross for me, I love my church; His church! I will not shy away or let other things keep me from investing my life into the people around me; I will invite them to church to hear about Jesus. I will use my time and talents to make a lasting investment into my church because my church will outlast me. I will be generous with my church because I know I can’t out-give God. I will take ownership of my spiritual growth and next steps so that my church can be built up. I will not put up, shut up, or give up until my church, this movement of God, dominates this community. I will give my church the passion it deserves. I love my church!”
This past Sunday we celebrated all of this by breaking the fast, doing baptism & child dedication, and we brought the tithe, signed the covenant, and took communion. It was an awesome day of looking back, taking note of where we had just been and looking forward to all that God has in store for us personally and as a church. I was so proud to be your pastor on Sunday!!!
As we head into this weekend we will be starting a new series called "White Flag" and I am asking everyone who signed the covenant to get out there and invite, and ask, and bring whoever you can. I don't know what God has in store for us. The goal of all this was not to force God's hand. It was more about showing God we are serious and we are available to whatever He wants to do in and through our church.
I can't wait! I love my church!
Send your "I love my church" stories to stories@canthisbechurch.com
“Because God so loved me and gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross for me, I love my church; His church! I will not shy away or let other things keep me from investing my life into the people around me; I will invite them to church to hear about Jesus. I will use my time and talents to make a lasting investment into my church because my church will outlast me. I will be generous with my church because I know I can’t out-give God. I will take ownership of my spiritual growth and next steps so that my church can be built up. I will not put up, shut up, or give up until my church, this movement of God, dominates this community. I will give my church the passion it deserves. I love my church!”
This past Sunday we celebrated all of this by breaking the fast, doing baptism & child dedication, and we brought the tithe, signed the covenant, and took communion. It was an awesome day of looking back, taking note of where we had just been and looking forward to all that God has in store for us personally and as a church. I was so proud to be your pastor on Sunday!!!
As we head into this weekend we will be starting a new series called "White Flag" and I am asking everyone who signed the covenant to get out there and invite, and ask, and bring whoever you can. I don't know what God has in store for us. The goal of all this was not to force God's hand. It was more about showing God we are serious and we are available to whatever He wants to do in and through our church.
I can't wait! I love my church!
Send your "I love my church" stories to stories@canthisbechurch.com
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