3 Books that have shaped the way I lead

The Purpose Driven Church - The classic work by Rick Warren (www.saddleback.com) still as fresh today as it was when it was written 13 years ago. I first read this book as a sophomore in college. Two years later I was helping a friend implement it's principles in a church of 17 that we saw grow to over 120 two Easters later. I still love the picture of "riding the wave that God gives you".

7 Practices of Effective Ministry - The most recent book on my list. Andy Stanley (www.northpoint.org) and Reggie Joiner's book gives clear handles on essential principles for effective ministry. Just for fun I'll include them here:

• Clarify the Win (Define what is important at every level)
• Think Steps, Not Programs (Don't start anything you don't need)
• Narrow the Focus (Do fewer things for a greater impact
• Teach Less for More (Say only what you need to say)
• Listen to Outsiders (Focus on who you're trying to reach)
• Replace Yourself (Learn to hand off what you do)
• Work on It (Take time to evaluate your work)

Leading Beyond the Walls - Probably the least well known book on the list. This book has shaped my leadership more than any book, save for the two listed above. Written by Adam Hamilton of Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City (www.cor.org), this book gives practical leadership wisdom in essential areas such as:

• Pastoral Care
• Follow-Up
• Marketing
• Excellence
• Worship
• Preaching
• Weddings & Funerals
• Dealing with Opposition
• Casting Vision
• Staffing
• Avoiding Burnout

3 Events that have shaped the way I lead

Focus Seminars - I attended this as a sophomore at Mid-America Nazarene University. It was a weekend long high impact group counseling seminar designed to help you overcome negative thinking and behavior patterns. As a result of this weekend I began to really believe that God wanted to do something significant through my life.

A2 Conference @ Willow Creek - It was while I was at A2 that God began to enlarge my vision of what God wanted to do through BridgeWay. I began to hear God calling us to truly transform the spiritual landscape of Tazewell county, and not just be another contemporary church for Christians.

Being Called Out by my Father - January of 1995 I was far from God and making a mess of my life. I prayed to a God I hadn't talked to in over 2 years and asked him to give me a wake up call...that is if he was even real. 2 hours later my very non-confrontational father has a very frank conversation with me about my spiritual state and the direction of my life...I'd call that a wake up call...6 months later I was enrolled in college in Kansas preparing for the ministry. Thanks Dad!

3 Leaders + 1 who have changed the way I lead

Bill Hybels - While I've never met him in person, his passion for reaching those outside of the church with the message of Jesus Christ has ruined me. I could never do church just to do church. The church must always be a church on a mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Craig Groeschel - This guy I have met...this past February I had a chance encounter with him at an airport in Atlanta. He has challenged me to be innovative, relevant, and creative...and to raise the evangelistic intensity of our weekend experiences. Since making some minor changes in the way we present the gospel at BridgeWay we've went from seeing about 3 people a month accept Christ to nearly 12!

John Maxwell - The godfather of modern church leadership writings. His most famous line is, "It all rises and falls on leadership"...it certainly does...thanks for the reminder John.

Steven Furtick - The newest leader on my list (thus the plus 1). He pastors a 3 year old church plant that has grown from 16 to over 4,000. He has taught me to focus on people, to always act boldly, and to allow God to accomplish more than I had ever dreamed possible.

Harry Caray Goes to Confession

Sunday Night Reflections

• Man was I ever ready to preach today! I'm not sure I could ever go 5 weeks without preaching again.
• 5 weeks without preaching and I still only preached 30 minutes....not bad.
• I'm really enjoying working with Matt to refine our messages...I think it's helping to tighten up the messages and make them clearer.
• I had a lot of fun helping people memorize Proverbs 4:23 today...it would have been hard for anyone to leave and not know what the message was about.
• My whole family is sick from spending the last two weeks sleeping in a humid cornfield at Family & Teen Camp...happens every year.
• My voice was shot today after preaching twice and then speaking at the Connect Class for another hour.
• Great Connect Class today...it was great to get to meet and have lunch with several new people at BridgeWay.
• Picked up Helena from ISU Volleyball camp today...seems like she had a fun time and learned a lot.
• Cleaning house right now to get ready for Steph's sister Buffie to come into town for a few days this week.
• Getting ready to head out and watch a movie with some guys from church.
• Got some big meeting this week that could lead to some pretty big things...be praying with me.
• I'm still amazed at the number of new people at BridgeWay every week and at the great summer attendance...it's the middle of July and we still had over 250 people in worship...can't wait to see what God does this fall.

Sunday Night Reflections

• Fantastic day at BridgeWay today.
• Great spirit during worship...I wasn't sure how people would respond to the acoustic worship set, but man they were really into it...we'll have to do it again sometime!
• I love the song "Inside Out" by Hillsong United...we did it today, and I'd expect to hear it in heavy rotation over the next few months.
• I also really like the song "Son of God" by Starfield...I suspect that it might turn up again soon as well.
• Jake Smith did an awesome job playing percussion for us today...great to have you home for the summer!
• Matt preached a great message today...the image of holding onto God's instruction was a powerful one.
• I can't wait to preach next week!
• Teen camp is tomorrow...we're sending 10 teens and 7 adult volunteers...I've pastored pretty big youth groups before, but I've never had a church so filled with adults who love teens and are willing to take time off of work to invest in their lives!
• If you haven't heard...our dog Star was hit by a car on Thursday night or Friday morning while we were out of town...we are all pretty shaken up and will miss her badly...please pray for our family (especially the girls) as we process this sudden loss.
• Can't wait to be with you all again next week!
• Remember we're back on track next week with 2 services (9:30 and 11:00)
• A big apology to the two families who came out at 11 to worship at BridgeWay and discovered that we were only had the 9:30 this week...I am truly sorry and hopefully next year we will have the volunteer staff we need to pull off two services on a holiday weekend like the 4th.

Sunday, July 6th

Only one worship service

at BridgeWay!

9:30 a.m.

Be sure to show up at our one and ONLY worship service next Sunday...and be first in line to get tickets to Splashdown for your friends and family on July 23rd!

* We will return to normal services times the following Sunday (9:30 & 11).

Sunday Night Reflections

• Just woke up from about a much needed 2 hour nap....I love naps!
• Great morning at BridgeWay today! Last Sunday of ONE PRAYER series. Got to cast the vision for us being an extremely generous church. Receive a large offering for starting churches in Asia and feeding families in Africa.
• There should be no question in people's minds that BridgeWay is about giving to others, not about keeping for ourselves.
• Raise $2,431.33 for ONE PRAYER Offering! If every church in ONE PRAYER raise at least that we'd plant 700+ churches and feed about 600,000 people!
• We're one of the small ONE PRAYER churches...so look out...I think God just did something huge!
• Loved the feedback people gave on the ONE PRAYER evaluation survey...not one negative comment about video teaching, and everyone thought they'd like to do a similar series again! It's likely that this was just the beginning of some kind of annual coming together of churches across denominational lines! Very cool to be on the leading edge of this!
• Excited about our next series "Get Smart" that starts next week...it's all about discovering basic biblical principles for guiding our daily living...should be very good!
• I'll be leading worship next week...it's kind of become a July 4th weekend tradition and should be a lot of fun.
• Getting ready to leave for Family Camp at Manville Campground tomorrow...this is busy season for Steph's job so be praying that she has strength and energy she needs for the next few weeks!
• Just got done showing Helena and a few of her friends up on Guitar Hero 3! I love laying the smackdown on a few teenagers...I think it's the former youth pastor in me.
• A ton of our worship guys will be at Cornerstone Festival this next week and weekend...have fun guys...you'll be missed!
• Tear down was really tough this week...we had a lot of people gone...if you're interested in helping tear down or able to on a weekly basis...would you consider joining the team!
• Getting ready to watch a little Lost and help Steph pack for everything she has to do this week!

Sunday Afternoon Reflections

• Awesome day today! Had a blast with the band and set up crew this morning before the service...it's weird not having to preach for three weeks...man I'm ready to get back in the saddle and preach...look out July!
• Two great services at BridgeWay this morning! Perry Noble from New Spring is a great speaker and did a great job with his One Prayer message.
• I'm still amazed at how well people respond to the video messages!
• Really different attendance pattern today. Usually we'll have 110-120 in 9:30 and 120-140 in our 11:00...today was totally flipped: 150+ at 9:30 and 120 at 11:00...people must have had places to go today after church.
• Lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings with a bunch of the set up team after church! I love BWW!
• Watched Kung Fu Panda with Mia and Brenna this afternoon...very funny...really well done film! Yes that means I broke my media fast...2 weeks isn't bad...right?
• Looking forward to several things this week:
• Six Flags with 20+ students tomorrow! Pray that it doesn't rain too much...just enough to keep about 5,000 other people home so we have the park to ourselves!
• Exciting meeting with some city leaders either Wednesday or Thursday about some big happenings Labor Day weekend...exciting stuff! Pray for a positive response!
• Friday & Saturday I'll be with our staff and leadership team on our annual Leadership Retreat. We will be creating an action plan for the 08-09 year! Be praying for God's direction to be very clear to us!
• Hearing from Dino Rizzo from Healing Place Church...this guy and his church are amazing! Be sure to check out his blog and their website to see just how awesome this church is...they are really making a difference in Baton Rouge, LA!
• Tons of other awesome stuff happening at BridgeWay...I wish I could tell you everything...but you'll just have to keep reading...exciting days ahead...Hold on to your fork BridgeWay, God's got something better in the kitchen!

Environment dictates expectations

What has the greatest effect on the expectations people have when they walk into your church, student ministry, or whatever? I'd say that it is the environment.

• More than marketing
• More than word of mouth
• More than preconception

Think about it.

• Walk into an environment that's alive with chatter and laughter...get ready for some fun.
• Walk into an environment that's cold and sterile...get ready for something uncomfortable.
• Walk into an environment that's subdued and calm...get ready to relax.

So what do your environments lead people to expect about your church, student ministry or whatever?

Sunday Reflections

Happy Father's Day!

Here are my Father's Day thoughts:

• First of all...huge Father's Day shout out to my dad Larry Schaeffer. No one has been a greater influence on my faith than him. I've seen my dad go through both good and bad times and display a powerful faith in God through both of them. I learned the importance of being a man of the Word and a man of his word from my dad....I wish he and my mom lived closer, but that's just one of the challenges of following God's call on your life. Happy Father's Day dad!

• My girls (all three of the little ones and the taller good looking one I'm married to) bought me a GPS for Father's Day/Steph and my anniversary! I've been wanting one for a while, and can't wait until our vacation in August to really put it to the test!




• Hung out this afternoon with my girls and played Scrabble (one of my favorite games)! Mia won last time, Steph won today, but I seriously think she cheated...doesn't she know it's Father's Day?




• Went to dinner tonight at Alexander's in Peoria with Steph for our anniversary! I love that place! Had a fantastic Rib Eye and sauteed mushrooms...butta' baby just like butta'...




• A funny thing happened when we got home from church today. Steph and I decided to rest for a little bit and let the girls go out and play for few minutes before their nap. About 2 minutes after going outside, the girls all come running back in the house screaming. What were they screaming about? "Daddy, there's a dead chipmunk in the pool!" That's right...Alvin drown in our kiddie pool while we were gone at church...funny and sad all at once.

RIP Alvin...RIP

• Week 2 of ONE PRAYER was great today! Craig's message "Lord make us ONE" was great and people seemed to really connect with the message even though it was on video.
• Sorry about the brief video skipage in the 9:30 service...the disc had a very small scratch on it that we hadn't noticed...we played the back up disc in the 11:00 and it went off without a hitch.
• It was cool to hear people laughing at all the right places and even responding to the speaker verbally even though it was on video...as strange as it seems at first to watch a message on video, it still amazes me how easily we adapt to it.
• Well, we did it...the Schaeffer family made it through one whole week with NO TV, NO MOVIES, AND NO RECREATIONAL INTERNET USAGE! It was great for us! We played more together than we do most weeks and laughed together more than we had in months...I think we'll be doing it every Tuesday at least through the summer!
• My kids are really getting excited about the ONE PRAYER offering coming up on June 29th! They've got their piggy banks almost filled and are constantly asking for money to put in the banks so they can help start new churches and feed kids in need! I love teaching my kids about stewardship and giving to others! I want to raise generous children, who become generous adults!
• Mad props to the 13 people who volunteered as a part of BridgeWay impact! this past Saturday! One lady, Pat even came out to BridgeWay for the 9:30 service to say thank you to the church and the team that helped her on Saturday!
• Getting ready to break our media fast by watching Evan Almighty with the family!

Have a great week BridgeWay!

Sunday Night Reflections

Now that's what I call an action packed day! Here's how my day went today:

5:00 a.m. ~ Get up with the family and get ready for church
6:30 a.m. ~ Pick up Helena's friend Ashley from her house to go to church
7:00 a.m. ~ Arrive at BridgeWay for Set-Up
8:00 a.m. ~ Finish last touches on a wedding ceremony for this afternoon
9:30 a.m. ~ 1st Worship Service
11:00 a.m. ~ 2nd Worship Service
12:30 p.m. ~ Run home to change for wedding
2:00 p.m. ~ Wedding in Pekin
3:00 p.m. ~ Chiefs game in Peoria
6:00 p.m. ~ Pick up altar for prayer room
6:30 p.m. ~ Get keys to office from Tremont
7:00 p.m. ~ Post Sunday Reflections
9:00 p.m. ~ Go to Bed (seriously...I've got to be in the office at 6am tomorrow)

That's one packed out day!

Here's some thoughts on the day:

• Great start to ONE PRAYER!
• Loved preaching the message Lord Make Us COURAGEOUS!
• Both services were really great!
• 7 people accepted Christ in the 11:00 service!
• I still forgot to have them pick up the "Next Steps" packets (I'm an idiot)
• I am starting to really feel like I preach better at 11 than I do at 9:30.
• Great crowd today...11 was especially full...Right at 280 in worship! Last year we were only 160 on the same weekend...God is definitely on the move!
• Had a blast conduction a wedding ceremony for our good friends and former neighbors, Kent and Kate! Congratulations guys!
• Had a great time at the Peoria Chiefs game with my buddy Jeff Dill...really fun game...really hot sun!
• That's it...can't wait to see what God does through ONE PRAYER and through our church!

BridgeWay...Get Ready!

Get ready to make history, BridgeWay! The revolutionary, groundbreaking experiment ONE PRAYER launches this Sunday. Over 1,325 churches representing 779,111 people are participating. I believe it’s the beginning of a unity in the body of Christ unlike anything we’ve seen before.

If you’re not familiar with the series, you can catch up here.

This week I’ll kick things off with a foundational sermon. For the three weeks that follow, we’ll hear messages from some of the greatest communicators of our generation. Please invite someone to be a part of this with you. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m so glad we’re in at the ground level!

Say What?

Here's a quick example of why it's important to communicate clearly!

Look out Central Illinois...you're about to get rocked!

impact! is coming Saturday, June 14th

That's right...dozens of individual BridgeWay participants getting together to act as one to make an impact in our community. We will be assisting several disabled and needy families and individuals with home repairs they would not be able to do on their own...be sure to sign up Sunday or contact the church office to get involved!

UNiTE Tomorrow Morning

Saturday, May 31st

10am-noon

Oakwood Park in Morton

I love our volunteers at BridgeWay! We couldn't even begin to do what we do at BridgeWay without all of our amazing volunteers. Tomorrow we'll be celebrating how God has used them to reach over 120 new people in the last 6 months! We'll also be giving them a sneak peek into the next 3 months at BridgeWay...competing in a wicked photo scavenger hunt....and eating Brats and Dogs in the Park!

Oh yeah, even if you didn't RSVP be sure to come out...we've got 20 sweet BridgeWay UNiTE t-shirts on the line!

Sunday Reflections

Days like today are why we started BridgeWay!

• I love doing this Q and A series. Great questions. Lots of fun...and some serious life change happening in our congregation.
• I had a lot of fun team teaching with Matt today. We'll be doing that every week of the Q and A series...should be a good time.
• If we don't answer your question during Q & A, there's a good chance that we answered it in last year's series. Be sure to request a CD of last year's Q&A series if you're looking for the answer to questions like: How do I Discipline my child? What does the Bible say about divorce? What about dancing? Tattoos & Piercings? Why bad things happen to good people? And many others.
• The band took it to a whole notha' level today during the 11am worship experience! Seriously, great job leading us into God's presence.
• God was really working on people today. He was speaking through both the music and the message. Really strong sense of God moving throughout both services.
• We had 8 people pray to receive Christ today! That's what we're all about BridgeWay!
• It was exciting to see how many people raised their hands to begin volunteering at BridgeWay! I think we gave away between 10 and 15 SHAPE assessments between the two services and the Connect Class today.
• Speaking of the Connect Class, enjoyed getting to know a couple of new families at BridgeWay after church today!
• Lots of Graduation parties today, man graduation season kills our attendance...we had 211 people in worship, which was up over the last year...but we must have had 70+ regular attenders out today.
• One of the families that was out was Dennis & Lynn Franks...they are currently in Russia finalizing the adoption of their new son! Be praying for the adoption, their travels and their three kids back home.

Worship Set:

"Everybody Praise the Lord" - Lincoln Brewster

"Here is Our King" - David Crowder Band

"Victorious" - Steve Fee

"Shout Unto God" - Hillsong United

"I Wait for the Lord" - Jeremy Camp

Q & A Questions:

1. Can someone who's never heard of Jesus go to heaven?

2. What do I do when I believe it, but don't feel it?

3. What talents can God use?

4. What are my talents?

5. Can I lose my salvation?

6. How do I know God?

Why we didn't have a live goat on stage last weekend

So as you've heard if you attend BridgeWay, I thought about getting a live goat for my message a couple weeks ago. Here's a quick example of why we didn't go through with that thought. (note...be sure you are not eating or drinking while watching this clip)

Check it out HERE!

Sunday Night Reflections (abreviated)

Here's some of what I'm thinking tonight:
• Happy Mother's Day Steph! You’re a great mother to our 3 girls!
• I loved preaching our recent series "The Real Jesus".
• I really enjoyed preaching about God's Authority in our lives today. Very few things get me as excited as helping people to understand the importance of living their lives under God’s authority.
• Several people encouraged me to never dance again...pretty sure I'll be taking their advice.
• I'm really excited about kicking off our "Q & A" Series next week.
• I'm also excited that Matt will be sharing some of the teaching with me.
• Also, really getting pumped for the next series called "One Prayer". We will be partnering with over 1,000 churches from around the world. Praying the same prayer for the church and sharing the same messages with our congregations…can’t wait to tell you more about this.
• Man am I embarrassed! I did it again today. In the 11am service I threw out a statistic that I had read in my preparation, but failed to give it correctly and looked completely stupid. Anyway the correct statistic is that people, on average, make over 80 decisions ever minute (not 800 as I said in the service)…maybe someday I’ll learn to actually write down stuff I think I might use.
• I’ll post Sunday’s info tomorrow sometime.
• Right now I’m going to kiss my girl’s mother goodnight and hit the hay.

Q and A Series Bumper

Here's a sneek peek at the bumper for our upcoming Q and A series!

Sunday Night Reflections

Wow, what a crazy day at BridgeWay. My head is still reeling from everything that has taken place today.

• Woke up at 5:00 a.m. with no alarm, and I was wide awake (this is not normal for me on a Sunday...I'm usually struggling to get out of bed by 5:30 and get the theater by 6:30).
• The service today was powerful. Sorry 9:30, but I really struggled to preach such a difficult and "deep" message...but God really helped me in the 11:00 and some awesome things have taken place as a result.
• Got a stinkin' sweet message from a guy at our church who said, "this was the first time that I really felt just how much I needed Christ"...what an awesome thing to experience!
• It was great having Strangeland lead worship and having them share their song "The Enemy" that Kevin Grose wrote a few years ago about Revelation 19 (which I just happen to be preaching out of in our current series).
• This was one of the toughest messages I've ever taught...so much information, really tried to keep it from getting to heavy, but lots of positive feedback....sometimes, you've got to go deep.
• Great crowd in both services...9:30 had about 170 and 11:00 had around 160. I'm expecting next weekend to be really full as well with it being Mother's Day and all.
• Be sure to read the Peoria Journal Star next Saturday! They are running a feature on BridgeWay and Rock Church over in Peoria...it's all about churches that meet in non-traditional places.
• We should get the invite cards for the Q&A series this week...be sure to pick up a few and share them with your friends and family!
• Also, I've decided to keep praying for the prayer requests from last week for the next week, so if you've got a prayer request let me know and I'll be praying for you this week!

SUNDAY BOX SCORE

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Message Series: The Real Jesus

MessageTitle: Sacrificial Savior

Message Texts: Revelation 19:11-16, Leviticus 16 (seriously)

Sunday's Set List:

"All Because of Jesus" - Steve Fee

"The Enemy" - Strangeland

"Nothing But the Blood" - Matt Redman

"Beautiful the Blood" - Steve Fee

"I Am Free" - our version

Attendance:

9:30 Worship - 168

11:00 Worship - 157

Total Attendance - 325

Q and A Series Art

One of my favorite series of the year is our Q & A series. Check out the invite card first draft.

Prayer Requests

Isaiah 42: 16b
"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them..."

This morning I asked people to share their prayer requests about the "unfamiliar paths" they were preparing to walk down. Here are those requests...let me know you're praying with me by leaving a comment below!

Prayer Requests:

• Guidance in finances and house repairs.
• Communication in our family.
• Guidance in raising our teenage daughter.
• Guidance and wise decisions for my daughter's family and her.
• Relief from severe headaches and dizziness, which has affected my ability to complete my school work.
• Strength to handle physical changes due to health.
• Recovering from surgery and ability to parent while recovering.
• Weight loss - food addiction.
• Parenting two children, and maintaining life balance.
• That God would never let me go.
• 2 daughters of close friends recently expelled from school, one with 4 week old baby...pray for direction and motivation to finish education.
• Finding the right job after losing a great job of 27 years.
• Guidance in my relationship.
• God's direction in communicating with my grandson and granddaughter's mother.
• Dave Harms, waiting on a liver transplant.
• Carol, dealing with Lou Gehrig disease.
• Scott, many interviews this week.
• Aaron, health and job future.
• Aaron's mother and father, sister and niece as they navigate very difficult times.
• My family.
• Friday, I will have an operation to remove part of my cervix, because of pre-cancer...I'm young and this is a very hard thing and time.
• Dealing with feelings of rejection.
• Seeking to pay for our daughter's college education with as little debt as possible.
• Custody litigation, pray for strength and God's direction.
• Loss of a long-term relationship.
• Loneliness.
• Healing of emotional hurts.
• Job direction.

Thanks for praying church!

Sunday Reflections & Box Score

Sunday Reflections:
Real quick one tonight...

• I'm really fired up about preaching this series. If you missed this morning's message, be sure to check it out online at www.bridgewaycc.net.
• I preached my heart out in both services this morning. I knew I was excited to preach this message, but something happened when I got up to preach in both services that was beyond me. It was as if I could actually feel the weight of the burdens that so many of the people who were in the services were carrying...powerful stuff.
• I'm overwhelmed by the prayer requests that people shared...If you missed the service, I felt impressed last night to ask people to share their prayer requests and to commit to pray for them every day this week for at least 30 minutes...I'd encourage you to join me! I'll post them later tonight.
• I didn't have much of a voice after the second service...I don't know how preachers that do this 3-5 times a weekend do it!
• I also don't know how Chuck does it...my voice would be shot after singing out like he did today.
• We definitely rocked a little harder than normal today...it was intentional, and a bit disturbing...but sometimes we need God to disturb us.
• Let me know that you are praying with me this week by leaving a comment on the prayer request blog post!

Sunday's Box Score:
Sunday, June 27th 2008
Message Series: The Real JesusMessage
Title: Passionate Leader
Message Texts: Revelation 19:11-16, Isaiah 42:13-16

Sunday's Set List:
"Love Found Me" - Decemberadio
"Revolution" - Starfield
"Can't Leave It Alone" - Hyperstatic Union
"Dangerous" - Decemberadio
"You Never Let Go" - Matt Redman

Sunday's Attendance:
9:30 Worship - 137
11:00 Worship - 121
Total Attendance - 258

Sunday Reflections & Box Score

Sunday's Box Score
Sunday, June 20th 2008

Message Series: The Real Jesus
Message Title: Conquering Warrior
Message Texts: Revelation 19:11-16, Colossians 2:13-15

Sunday's Set List:
"God Will Lift Up Your Head" - Jars of Clay
"Fade Away" - Jeremy Camp
"Mighty to Save" - Hillsong
"Shout Unto God" - Hillsong United
"I am Free" - Jon Egan

Sunday's Attendance:
9:30 Worship - 138
11:00 Worship - 124
Total Attendance - 262

BridgeWay Wins the Battle on Broadway Round 1

Okay, so BridgeWay isn't exactly on Broadway, but it's pretty close. Last night we played our first softball game, and kicked off the season by playing Pekin First Church of the Nazarene. For those of you who don't know, Pekin First was the sponsoring church that planted BridgeWay and where I served as Youth Pastor for 3 years.

Last year we got killed by Pekin First, but this year we're a year older, and a whole lot better!

For those of you who are curious here's the box score:

Sunday Box Score

I've had a few people who have started calling or e-mailing asking for our set lists and attendance numbers from each week. So I thought I'd post them here so you can follow along at home.

Sunday, April 13th 2008 (Box Score)
Message Series: Breakaway
Message Title: Breakaway Identity
Message Text: John 15:5, 16:33, 15:7 (and several others)

Sunday's Set List:
"Everybody Praise the Lord" Lincoln Brewster
"Famous One" Chris Tomlin
"We are Hungry" Steve Fee
"Burn for You" Steve Fee
"Sweetly Broken" Jeremy Riddle

Sunday's Attendance:
9:30 Worship - 124
11:00 Worship - 183

Sunday Night Reflections

I told Steph after we left church this morning that this was the best exhausted feeling that I've had in a long time. Making the shift to preaching twice on Sundays has been a great thing for the church and has really helped me in developing as a preacher, but it also makes for a really tired Dale on Sunday afternoons. Here are some of my thoughts on this weekend at BridgeWay:

• "You've got to be kidding me!" That's what I was thinking after the band got done with their opening song in both services. That could have been the best I've ever heard the band play on one single song...the rest of the morning was awesome as well. After hearing them open with "Everybody Praise the Lord" (Lincoln Brewster style)...I knew that it was going to be a great day at BridgeWay!
• It was great to have Sean playing today...good to hear you playing again!
• It was great to have Steve Haynes playing bass today...I loved watching that guy play...real great spirit and love for God and the music he's playing.
• The band did a song from Steve Fee called "Burn for You"...the lyrics are powerful...check some of them out:

“There’s a stirring in my heart; unexplainable

There’s a calling on my days; undeniable

And there’s a fire in my bones; uncontainable…

And it’s causing me to burn for You.”

I'd go anywhere

I'd do anything

At any cost

For you, my King.

• If you do not own Steve Fee's most recent album "Burn for You"...stop reading this and go here and buy it right now!
• I loved having the opportunity to dedicate Chris and Connie Borth's youngest son Isaac in the 11:00 worship experience today. God was all over that moment...holy ground...powerful presence of God in that act of worship.
• I preached my heart out in both services today. I had planned on preaching on vocation earlier in the week, but Wednesday night/Thursday morning God woke me up at about 2 a.m. with a message that spoke to the issue of identity and where we find our identity...I'm so glad I got up and took the time to write it down. I love it when God calls an audible!
• It was great to see so many new people at BridgeWay this morning. We had 120+ people in the 9:30 worship experience (the most we've had yet)...and another 183 or so in the 11:00 experience...after taking out the handful of us that do double duty...we had between 280 -290 people in worship at BridgeWay today! Hold on church...God is on the move...be sure to get your friends and family here to see what happens next!
• Speaking of what's coming next: Two big things happening this week.
• 1) I'll be going on a prayer and sermon planning retreat Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. To get ready I'll be fasting from noon Monday to noon on Tuesday...I'd love for you to join me in seeking God's direction for our church and the upcoming year of messages that God has for us.
• 2) Next Sunday we'll be kicking off a new series called "The Real Jesus" and I can't wait to see what God does through it. So many people I meet see Jesus as a really nice guy, who taught some nice stuff that will make our life better. Our goal in this series is to introduce people to four pictures of Jesus that most people have never considered before. Our text for the series is Revelation 19:11-16. Yup that's right I'll be preaching from Revelation for the first time in my life...should be some great stuff!
• Okay, I'm really tired now...going to bed! Have a great one!

The Real Jesus Series Bumper

Check out the bumper for our next sermon series at BridgeWay.

What Greatly Distresses You?

I've been reading through Acts.
I love what Luke says about Paul in Acts 17:16.

"Paul was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols."

What is it that greatly distresses you when you look at the world around you?

God's Goals for the Resources He's Given You...

Take a look at part of the message from this Sunday...

Sunday Reflections

What a great day today! I really enjoy teaching on the topic of finances and I usually get a lot of great feedback from people who heard God speaking to them through the message. Today was no different. Here's some thoughts on Sunday (and a few on Saturday):

• This series has been a great series for our church. So many people are in a position where they feel stuck in either their relationships, finances, or vocations and it's great to help people discover they can breakaway without running away.
• I had a great time earlier this week, filming the teaching video that we showed in worship this morning. I was really happy with way it came out considering that we are working with pretty low end equipment. I had several people tell me that it really helped to drive home the teaching for the day.
• The band really was firing on all cylinders this morning. I love it when Rhonda sings "Sing to the King".
• Not only was the worship set awesome, but "Gimme Shelter" was seriously one of the best songs I've ever heard them do...it was great both services.
• Had a great time with about 30 new people from BridgeWay at the Connect Class. It was great to get to talk with several of you and to hear your stories as well as share about the mission and vision of BridgeWay. I get excited every time I get a chance to lead this class...so cool to meet new people, to see our regular attenders serving and to see so many people who are connecting with God through our church is quite humbling.
• One last comment on Sunday...I'm really enjoying the change from one to two worship experiences. While it means getting up a little earlier, it has really helped us to open up some new seats for new people. We'd pretty much stalled at about 200 people after hitting about 230-240 a few times. We knew we needed to free up some seats and that the way to do that was to add a new worship time. Today we had right at 260 unique people in worship...I'm encouraged to know that we now have the opportunity to reach another 150-200 people...thanks to everyone who's helped to make this transition happen!
• As great as Sunday was, I also had a fantastic Saturday!
• Went to a Prayer Gathering in Peoria with about 40 other pastors and church leaders.
• Spent time with Steph and my 3 girls; shopping for yard stuff, chasing balloons, doing yard work, cleaning house, making homemade pizza, and playing Guitar Hero.
• Watched about half of the UNC-Kansas Final Four game...at half-time I decided I had better things to do with my time than watch a lame game, so I went and spent about a half an hour praying for Sunday's services and Connect Class...way better use of my time!
• One last item...had a great time at softball practice this afternoon. It's great to have a bunch of new guys playing this year. Man can Jesse ever crush the ball!
• Planning on taking the day off tomorrow...watch some baseball...do some housework...read a little bit...watch the NCAA Championship game...should be a good day.

Going for a walk...talk to ya'll later!

3 - 0 Baby!

That's right the Kansas City Royals kicked their season off with a 3-0 start and against the Detroit Tigers no less...most people picked KC to finish in dead last in the AL Central or at best to finish in 4th place.

If they can produce pitching performances that can come even close to the first three games of the season this is easily an 85-90 win team! And that's good enough to be in the mix in any division...can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds!

Sunday Night Reflections

Really exciting day at BridgeWay today...we added a new service today, continued our Breakaway series, and had a ton of people return from our Easter services last weekend! Here's some of what I'm thinking tonight:

• I was really encouraged to see all the new faces today in worship! I talked to a lot of people who said they were here last week, and couldn't wait to get back this morning!
• So many people were impacted by last week's message...I think a lot of people really resonated with today's message as well...I've already received several e-mails from people who were responding to today's services!
• I got a lot of great feedback about the appraisal illustration and the phone call illustration...listen to the audio on our website to hear what I mean.
• Kevin Grose is an amazing guitarist...seriously...that guys fingers move faster than a White Castle Slider.
• If you're new to BridgeWay, be sure to plan on coming to the BridgeWay Connect Class next Sunday after the 11am service.
• Baseball starts tomorrow...tonight's game and the two in Japan don't count...I'll be at BWW in East Peoria tomorrow from 1:00 - 4:00 watching baseball and hanging out with some friends...feel free to stop in if you're not busy!
• Glad to see Kansas make the Final 4...sad to see Davidson out...man they played tough!
• I'm going to bed...goodnight all!

I Could Take 30 Five Year Olds in a Fight!

30
Ever wonder how many little kids it would take to take you down?

Wonder no more!

A Church for People Who Don't Go to Church

Three years ago, when we launched BridgeWay, it was our desire to create a church who's driving focus would be to serve people who don't go to church. I can't tell you how many times over the last three years I've told people that was our focus and had people look at me like..."why would you want to do that"...or..."that's got to be the craziest/stupidest thing I've ever heard". Well after this past Sunday, I'd say we are achieving our goal!

I spent today with a handful of other people from BridgeWay writing thank you cards to everyone who checked BridgeWay out for the first time this past Sunday. In the process of that we had a chance to go over the two big questions we asked people on our registration & communication cards:

1. Which worship experience are you attending next week?
2. Do you attend church somewhere 2 or more times per month.

The answer to #1 was a pretty even 55% to 45% split between our 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. worship experiences.

The answer to #2 was eye opening to say the least! Going into Easter, we felt that if 50% or more of our first time guests didn't regularly go to any church, that we would have been successful in reaching our goal of drawing primarily people who don't currently go to church. But the numbers were quite honestly, astounding!

After removing regular attenders and out of town guests we were able to determine that out of 197 first time guests 167 of them were not currently attending any church in our area! That's 85% of our Easter guests who do not regularly attend church...that's why we exist...that's what we're about...that's something to celebrate!

Just one more reason I love our church!