June 2012
12 posts
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Why Keep Church "Simple"? →
When starting a church from scratch, you get to choose what is most important to the life of your community. Here are some great reasons to keep the programming of the church limited to what is most important.
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WatchOne of the partners in the plant of The Crossing South Tulsa is Stadia.
As we have been raising support, most people we have talked to are unfamiliar with the work of Stadia. I hope this explains more of what they do. The purpose of Stadia is to use its networks, planters and donors to help start new churches. They make sure churches are started correctly. They assess, coach and care for church...
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What I Learned This Week...
Your past matters. Your past shapes the expectations of your future.
Panera Rewards. This card seems like a great idea. Free pastries coming my way.
A change in scenery can be helpful. Leaving what you’re used to can help creativity grow.
No matter what you do, you’ll have critics. A clear example.
Preparing to move is hard. We have spent our summer doing a lot of things we...
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People Want To Give →
I briefly mentioned before that support raising is more about what you have done in the past than it is what you are doing right now. I saw a great example of that today when I read this article about Seth Godin’s Kickstarter campaign.
(BTW, I mentioned a Godin video last week)
Godin raised $90,000 in 6 hours ($50,000 over his goal, which he met within the first 3 hours). People did not...
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What I Learned This Week...
The state of Oklahoma loves its NBA team. #ThunderUp
I own too much stuff. We are sorting out what we will move and what we will get rid of. Feels nice to minimize our possessions.
Going home to preach is weird. This Sunday I’ll be preaching at Lane Christian Church, the church where I was raised. I haven’t done so since college. It’s odd to think about preaching to the very...
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Prayer Update
No big updates this week, just a reminder to continue praying for these areas…
Kate’s job hunt. We are continuing the process of finding a teaching position for Kate in the Tulsa area. Opportunities continuing to open up, but pray that God provides the right teaching environment for her.
To sell our home. The process has been slow up to this point, but we just need the one right...
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Tulsa Facts
The city of Tulsa began as an oil-boom town.
Tulsa Population: 391,906
Tulsa Metro Population: 937,478
In 2000 the population of Bixby (where the The Crossing is located) was 13,336, but in 2010 it was 20,844 and is one of the fastest growing communities in Oklahoma.
The average household income of Tulsa is $59,776.
Tulsa has 140 parks stretching over 6,000 acres.
Bixby is the...
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Clarity
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
-Leonardo DaVinci
“When the solution is simple, God is answering.”
-Albert Einstein
“Less is more.”
-Ludwig Miles van der Rohe
Read more about the need for vision and simplicity within the life of the church.
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What I Learned This Week...
On Monday I posted these church planting stats.
Support raising is not as much about what you are doing right now as it is what you have done over the past 26 years (or enter your age here ____ ). We are receiving support because people have helped raise us, see the ministry we do and believe in us.
The Kingdom is much bigger than the local church and that is a beautiful thing.
Social media is...
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Prayer Update
These are the areas that we need prayer for right now…
Kate to find a job. The school that had contacted Kate about an interview has filled its positions. Continue to pray that God would create the perfect teaching opportunity for Kate. There a lots of opportunities open in Tulsa!
To sell our home. It would be a big stress relief to have our house sold by the time we leave on August 1st....
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Why Plant Churches?
Between 50 and 75 U.S. churches close their doors every week. (Barna Research)
More than 80% of the churches in the U.S. have plateaued or are declining. (Barna Research)
In the United States alone, there are over 200 million unchurched people, making the U.S. the third largest mission field in the world. (Barna Research)
Since 1991, the number of adults in the U.S. who do not attend...
