It's That Simple

It can be this simple...

There's a rookie on the St. Louis Cardinals. Jaime Garcia is his name, and he's been a dynamic young starter for the Cards so far this season. I've followed Jaime (pronounced HI-MA) since he was drafted. I followed his box scores when he was in low A ball. I watched him in AA while in Tulsa. I never expected him to perform the way he has so far.

I haven't had a chance to watch him extensively this season. I've had other things to do during each of his starts so far. Tonight I hoped to change that. I fully planned to sit on the couch with my glass of cherry coke and watch all 9 innings of what I hoped would be another dominant performance by the young lefty hurler and a Cardinals win.

Through three innings everything was going as planned. Dinner was cooked, served, and cleaned up. Kids were entertained. Jessica was settled in. Baseball game was on. Garcia was dealing. All was well with the world.

In between innings I replaced my cherry coke a time or two and started noticing that a lot of my neighbors were outside tonight (it was a beautiful evening). The internal debate began. Should I stick to my guns and watch Garcia? That was the plan. Or, should I break from it and go outside to do some yard work and maybe have an opportunity to connect with some of my neighbors (all of which are on my 5 for 5 list)?

I've learned over the past 2 years that when you get one of those "thoughts" you should probably act on it. It might just be God stirring something up in you. Begrudgingly, I give in.

I leave Garcia and my cherry coke behind, grab my rake and hoe, and head out to the front yard to pick up rocks. See, our new house in Cape was built on an old silica mine. Well, that's what one of my neighbors told us at least; I don't know if it's true or not. I do know that there are an amazing amount of rocks in our young yard and they need to be cleared for the grass to come in better.

Now, I know what you're expecting. You've heard the stories before. I'm going to tell you that God brought one of my neighbors over to my yard, I said one word, and they immediately fell to their knees to give their lives to Christ. Maybe that happens for other pastors, but not for me. No, my story is much simpler. I raked some rocks. I chatted briefly with one of the neighbors on my list who was also out in his yard doing some dirt work. I had a good laugh with another couple who were out for a walk and empathized with the enormity of my rock picking requirements.

That's it. That's all that happened. It was nothing earth shattering. I just made myself available to make connections with my neighbors. I was putting myself in position for God to start something.

I'll keep praying. I'll keep fasting. I'll keep picking up rocks in my yard -- a project that will probably take the full 5 weeks of the 5 for 5 campaign. I'll keep connecting with the people on my list. We'll see what God does! That's up to Him. It really can be that simple...

5 for 5

Let me briefly explain what this is again and then I want to get into some details about it.

1. Name 5 unchurched connections that you have.
2. Pray for them 5 minutes a day.
3. Fast one meal a week.
4. Connect with the people on list once a week
5. Continue that for 5 weeks.

We're starting it this week. Have you prayed about your 5 connections? I hope so.

There's a lot of good things that will come out of this. Prayer and fasting, connecting with the unchurched, committing to do it for an extended period of time... those are all healthy, great things for a church committed to Christ to do.

The key, though, is not in our actions (as important as they are). The key is that GOD WANTS THIS MORE THAN WE DO! Remember, God so loved the world that he gave his son so that any who believes in him will have eternal life. You know that verse. You've seen it in Sunday School since you were a kid. You see it on billboards on the interstate. You see it written on Tim Tebow's eye black.

God wants to reach people more than we do. What we're doing is getting ourselves in position so that he can do that through us! We're showing our faith. We're showing our willingness to sacrifice. We're showing our concern for the lost.

We're getting God good and excited.

The one promise I can make through this campaign is that God himself will show us what he can do! He'll show us how he can create divine encounters. He'll show us how he can move to change people's hearts and minds. He'll show us that he can show up and still do the miraculous!

A friend at Cape Naz told me that the church had never done anything like this before. Oh boy! Look out then! God's ready to go; he's ready to bring his love to Cape Girardeau. Are you ready to go with Him? I hope so!

Connection Church: Who Are We Trying to Reach?

We're starting a new series this week entitled "Connection Church". It's one I've been looking forward to since I first put it together back in October. We're going to answer critical questions like, what is the church? What is our future at Cape Naz? What role can I play in that future?

This discussion will be somewhat two-sided. We're going to make it highly personal. It will be up to you to respond to the discussion as you see fit. At the same time, it's intensely communal -- those collective "responses" will form the identity of our church going foward.

It should be a lot of fun! I'm hoping to see a lot of buzz, a lot of excitement, and most importantly, a vision develop for the type of people and the type of church that we're going to become.

To start the discussion, I want to point you to an article that came out today from our freinds at Barna, a Christian research organization. They do studies on Christianity in culture and help inform the church about current trends -- so we can reach the lost (or the unchurched) more effectively than ever before!

Take a few moments to read this article. It's short. It's to the point. It SHOULD change the way that you think about the unchurched in America. It certainly changed my view...

Follow this link:
http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/362-millions-of-unchurched-adults-are-christians-hurt-by-churches-but-can-be-healed-of-the-pain

Article Header:
Millions of Unchurched Adults Are Christians Hurt by Churches But Can Be Healed of the Pain

Your church may be among the many who actively seek to grow by attracting unchurched people. However, our latest study shows that most unchurched adults are Christians, a significant share of whom have been hurt by the local church in the past and have not discovered ways of effectively addressing their pain and being restored to a healthy relationship with a local church. Find out more about what our research and resources have discovered regarding this critical subject.

Miracle?

Do you believe in miracles?

Are you surprised to learn that MOST people DO believe in them? Belief in the supernatural, according to one poll, is more common than the belief in God. (I'm not exactly sure how that all works out, but ok...)

This week at Cape Naz we're talking about miracles. Specifically, we're going to look at why Jesus performed so many miracles in his ministry. We're also going to ask the question "why don't we see more miracles today"? Is it because they've stopped? Is it because we're not looking in the right place? Is it because we simply don't expect them? Is it because (as the smaller half of the poll I mentioned above would claim) that they never happened in the first place?

Check out this video, which we'll be showing this weekend, and think about it. Do you believe in miracles?