Sunday Reflections and Much More!
08/06/07 01:31 PM
Wow! Yesterday was awesome! We had to bring out
chairs to make room for everyone! People come out
of the woodwork (whatever that means) for children.
Yesterday was our VBS Closing program and the kids
sang some of their songs on stage and we watched a
video of the week. Parents eat that stuff up. I do
too. Other highlights of the day included
Jeremiah's communion illustration of washing feet
where he washed his wife Cyndi's feet on stage. My
message was on parenting. It really hit home with a
lot of people. I will definitely be working on a
Parenting series later this year. Scott Wagner, a
juvenille probation officer at our church told me
that messages like that would put him out of a job
- which is a good thing. A few comments however
that might have raised a few eyebrows were me
saying I want to take a few parents out to the
"wood shed." Addressing any future suitors of my
daughter I said, "I am the Protector. I am willing
to go to prison for my daughter. If Michael Vick
can do it for his dogs, I'll do it for my
daughter." And speaking of my wife Janet, "I want
my kids to know that their daddy thinks their mommy
is the hottest woman in the world." Actually the
message was about the different stages of
parenting. But the biggest piece of advice I can
pass on to parents is to live their faith before
their kids. We don't need child centered homes or
even marriage centered homes. We need Christ
centered homes. Last night we took down all of the
decorations from VBS. Jeremiah had a ton of kids
and the D.O.G.S. kids (2nd-5th Grade) met last
night as well. It was a great day!
One of the things that has been filling my mind
lately is the next step for our church. Actually
that always fills my mind. We have to begin
structuring our church now for the next phase of
growth and beyond - before it occurs. The reality
is, it's beginning to happen now and I fear we're
not quite ready. We need to be putting the systems
in place now to be a church of 200+. We're working
on it. We're making plans now for two services.
We're preparing and making plans in Children's
Ministry. We're even taking several strategic
steps. Beginning September 9 (the Sunday after
Labor Day) we will no longer be offering Sunday
School at 9:30. Our Children's Ministry will be
taking place completely during the worship hour. We
hope to be ready very soon after that to offer two
services - probably a 9:30 service & an 11:15
service. This will enable us to reach more people,
more kids. And Coastal, that is our mission - to
share and experience LIFE! And when we add a second
service, we'll be planning a third. When we add a
third we'll be making plans for Saturday services.
And sometime soon we'll be talking about a new
building. The truth is, and this might sound crazy,
but we need to be putting the systems in place now
to be a church of 500 and beyond. Jesus came to
seek and save the lost. That's why we're here. The
moment we start focusing on "taking care of our
own," is the moment this army is defeated and we
will become like the church before us. The moment
you start believing the lie of the devil that
"we've got to look out for the ones who are here
first," or "it's not all about the new people," or
"it's the old people who pay the bills," is the
moment we need to get the phone book out, tell you
to keep your money and help you find you another
church to blackmail.
Another important step is hiring an additional staff person. We hope to hire an Administrative Assistant sometime in the next two months. This person will answer directly to me and will work closely with me in improving systems at our church. This will start as a part time position (10-15 hours a week) and hopefully move quickly to a full time position at which point we'll move to hire more of a receptionist, office person. However this person might also be able to help manage a volunteer office staff. This position is not a church secretary (no offense intended to church secretaries). We are looking to build a team. I guess you could say that it's a secretary on steroids. However, there ARE many office tasks that need to be done or managed, that Jeremiah and I currently do and most people take for granted. This person will also help Mary, our Treasurer, with several financial responsibilities and will need to be proficient with several computer programs or the ability to be quickly trained (Quicken, Adobe InDesign). This person will help with overseeing and managing volunteers, schedules, and church calendar. I'm looking for someone who is... A member at Coastal (at least that's where we're starting). Completely sold out to the Coastal mission and vision and loves Jesus. A leader. Great with details. Relationally savvy. Experienced with project management. In other words, I'm not going to be constantly holding this person's hand. Committed to delivering projects with excellence. A multi-tasker. If you are from within you must be already honoring God by tithing. If you are going to get paid from the giving of our people, you need to be leading by example in this area. You must be a team builder and a team player. You must be organized. You must have a huge vision! You must be able to work in a pretty insane office environment! I’m sure I’ll think of more things, but that should get you started. So if you feel led to be part of a great team that is looking to impact this community and change lives, let us know!
Another important step is hiring an additional staff person. We hope to hire an Administrative Assistant sometime in the next two months. This person will answer directly to me and will work closely with me in improving systems at our church. This will start as a part time position (10-15 hours a week) and hopefully move quickly to a full time position at which point we'll move to hire more of a receptionist, office person. However this person might also be able to help manage a volunteer office staff. This position is not a church secretary (no offense intended to church secretaries). We are looking to build a team. I guess you could say that it's a secretary on steroids. However, there ARE many office tasks that need to be done or managed, that Jeremiah and I currently do and most people take for granted. This person will also help Mary, our Treasurer, with several financial responsibilities and will need to be proficient with several computer programs or the ability to be quickly trained (Quicken, Adobe InDesign). This person will help with overseeing and managing volunteers, schedules, and church calendar. I'm looking for someone who is... A member at Coastal (at least that's where we're starting). Completely sold out to the Coastal mission and vision and loves Jesus. A leader. Great with details. Relationally savvy. Experienced with project management. In other words, I'm not going to be constantly holding this person's hand. Committed to delivering projects with excellence. A multi-tasker. If you are from within you must be already honoring God by tithing. If you are going to get paid from the giving of our people, you need to be leading by example in this area. You must be a team builder and a team player. You must be organized. You must have a huge vision! You must be able to work in a pretty insane office environment! I’m sure I’ll think of more things, but that should get you started. So if you feel led to be part of a great team that is looking to impact this community and change lives, let us know!
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