Author: nick

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It’s Time for an Upgrade

 

I owned one of the first Samsung Galaxy S Android smartphones that came out.

I got robbed in Costa Rica last Summer and my Galaxy S was among the booty that the thieves acquired so I was able to upgrade to a HTC 4G Sensation. I love it! I can use it as a wireless hotspot and as we discovered during a Saturday set-up at New Passion, the 4G has enough power to stream live college football games through my laptop and onto a projection screen. Oh the beauties of technology. At times, it’s worth the upgrade.

One of the guys at work just bought the new Samsung Galaxy S III. Like my HTC it’s 4G and carries some of the same specs on the camera, etc., but it has some awesome additional features like motion sensors, no more need to swipe, just motion; tap to share and other great features. Holding it just makes you want to upgrade to it.

There are times where it’s beneficial to upgrade things. If the mobile phone you use is still in a bag, it might be time for an upgrade…just sayin! There are times where you need to upgrade your vehicle, your house or your technology. And, when we feel that we can justify that upgrade, we don’t hold back. It’s what we want…It’s what we need!

Now I’m talking to my New Passion family! It’s time to upgrade our church! It’s not time to upgrade so we can say we have a cool new auditorium or that we are using some great technology for our services. It’s not time to upgrade for any reason outside of the expansion of the Kingdom of God. The technology, the auditorium and the larger children’s worship environments are all a bonus and they will help us as we draw more people, but they are not the end goal for our upcoming move.

Upgrades are investments. You are investing in a tool and a resource that will benefit you in a variety of ways. Likewise, this upgrade or expansion of New Passion is no less of an investment, in fact, it is a greater investment than any technology we can buy. The Grovetown High School is a tool and a resource that God is providing for us to serve as a platform for the preaching of the gospel and as a launching pad for us to live that gospel message out in our community. This is an investment for your neighbors’, your friends’, your family’s and your children’s eternity! If you are a regular at New Passion, you know that the gym is not the ideal location for a worship service, it works and we make it work, but as we continue to grow the gym will become increasingly difficult to use and will require a lot more work on our team to make Sundays happen. In addition we are almost out of space for our PassionKidz worship environments and with just a little more growth this will be come a major problem. We’re a very fertile people…what can we say? The bottom line for us is this, the upgrade to Grovetown High School is a necessary and beneficial move for our future.

Friends, if you know me, you know that I am going to shoot straight with you and it will be no different here. We need to raise $10,000 in less than two weeks. Praise God, we have already received approximately $4,000 of that goal and are only $6,000 away. I believe God can provide our needs and I believe he will use HIS people to do it. Will you consider how God would have you invest in the short-term with this expansion opportunity he has brought our way?

In the long-term, we have to increase our regular giving by at least 30%. I am challenging all of New Passion to consider how God would have you to do that. The bottom line is this, a large portion of our people allow a smaller portion to carry the financial load of the church. God has not blessed us with jobs and finances so we can invest more in our technology upgrades than we do in our Kingdom upgrades. The Lord uses the faithful, worshipful giving of his people to meet the needs of his local church. For some, it may be that you are not giving anything at all, or you are just giving what is convenient and reachable in your pocket. Pray and ask God what he desires from you on a regular basis. This is the church where God has assembled us all together at and we are a family. Let’s reach this goal together! Let’s not hold back!

For us to understand the gospel we must understand that generosity is not an option it is a lifestyle.

Give a donation towards New Passion’s Expansion:


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Big News!!! New Passion Church is Moving!!!

That’s right! On Sunday, September 9, 2012 as we celebrate our 3rd Birthday as a church, New Passion will begin hosting our Sunday worship services at Grovetown High School.

A couple of weeks ago a pastor from Stevens Creek Church contacted our mission’s director, Billy Wilson, and notified him that they would no longer be offering a Grovetown church campus; instead they would put all of their energy and resources into their main campus in Augusta to continue the ministry God has given them there. He asked us if we would be interested in taking their place at the school and after several discussions and a meeting with the school, our leadership team has unanimously decided to make the move to the high school.

It has been great to serve the city and community of Grovetown with Stevens Creek Church as our neighbors. In a culture where churches mark their boundaries and fall into the temptation of competition it is refreshing to see their pastors reflect an Acts 4:4-5 spirit. We appreciate your friendship.

Download the letter we provided to the church this morning with all of the specific details.

Here are some benefits of the move and how you can get involved right away:

  • 400 seat auditorium with stadium style seating (Provides room to grow & a better environment for a church service)!
  • Service time will change from 10 am to 10:30 am (You can sleep later)!
  • State of the art technology with lighting, sound and video all available for the church to use. This will help with less set-up/breakdown for the band and more time for pre-service rehearsal.
  • Large cafeteria for the Ridge. We’ve almost outgrown the room at Patriot’s Park. The cafeteria is equipped with 2 video projectors & space to split age groups up!
  • Many increased mission’s opportunities through the school. Providing avenues to connect with parents, teachers and students for the sake of the gospel.
  • GHS is located in the middle of several growing, new neighborhoods. This will place us in the heart of where God has called us to minister to as a church.

How you can be involved right away:

  1. Pray that everything will be accomplished in the short time period that we have to work with. Pray for our leaders as we make necessary adjustments.
  2. Spread the word that we are moving.
  3. Invest Financially – Our goal is to raise $10,000 in three weeks. An anonymous gift of $3,000 has already been given before the announcement, leaving us with a total of $7,000 to raise! God is good. In addition, the school rent will be approximately 30% higher than our current rent at Patriot’s Park; prayerfully consider how God would have you participate in helping in these areas.
  4. Invite others to join you for worship any Sunday, but especially as we launch in the new location on September 9, 2012 celebrating our 3rd Birthday. Together we can fill the auditorium up for God’s glory.

Why September 9? Why so Soon?

God’s timing. It’s ideal to launch in the new location on our birthday as we invite new friends to celebrate with us, but what many people didn’t know is our leadership team has had several discussions before the opportunity to move into the school was presented to us concerning September 16 & 23. Patriot’s Park informed us that we could not meet at their facility due to their stripping the floors and the chemical smell that would remain following the work. As we were discussing an outdoor service or a lake service this opportunity came to us, so we are going to work hard to do what we have to do to be in the new location for our birthday.

Was that it? Is that ALL of the BIG News?

No! New Passion will also be adding another elementary school to our Mission Zero support. Last year through your generosity, we supported an entire elementary school in Grovetown and provided 2,511 meals to students who’s families were dealing with financial difficulties. This year we will continue to support the students at Cedar Ridge Elementary School and in addition we will also be supporting students from Baker Place Elementary School.

Let us continue to trust God as we follow his leading at New Passion Church. Our location may change, but our vision will always be the same…

…to be a community of believers dedicated to the glory of God by extending radical grace for the broken, sharing revolutionary compassion for the hurting and leading people to a passionate relationship with Jesus through the gospel.

 

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Brother

I was recently introduced to the music of the Rhett Walker Band. Their music is awesome. I don’t care if you like the “style” of music, it is obvious that the lyrics have been birthed out of a life transformed by the radical grace of God.

I had the privilege of personally meeting the members of the Rhett Walker Band as well. These men are down-to-earth and represent Christ well.

I love their entire CD, Come to the River. It is available on iTunes for $7.99 – That is a steal! Buy it. I keep listening to it over and over again. <—- That’s my review. No need for a lot of words and no need to compare them to Third Day or any other group. They are the Rhett Walker Band and I am excited about the music they are creating now and will create in the future. It’s unique and powerful.

When they played in concert in Evans, one song in particular caught my ear, Brother. The message perfectly describes life in general, but also our vision for New Passion and our mission at the Salvation Army, where I work. Here are the lyrics and then you can listen to the song below:

You’re a king and a prisoner
One for each eye
Starting to believe your own lies
You hold every moment
Tight at the throat
But nothing’s ever out of control
You act like you know every answer
Making your world work just right
Never a question, never a doubt in sight

Brother don’t you know
No one’s too high to fall
No one’s strong enough to make their own way
Brother don’t you know
We’re all just beggars and thieves
In need of the very same grace
The very same grace

A days always coming
When our kingdom breaks down
Our plans are like glass on the ground
You act like you know every answer
But missing what matters most
Confessing our weakness
Cause that’s when God moves in close
Come down off of that mountain
Let go of everything
Come join us who are broken
That mercy is healing

What a great message. The whole point of the gospel: “Brother don’t you know, we’re all just beggars and thieves, in need of the very same grace…” “Come join us who are broken, that mercy is healing”

Listen to Brother below, it cannot be downloaded…


Rhett Walker Band on Facebook ::: Rhett Walker Band on Twitter ::: Rhett Walker Band on iTunes

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It’s More than Just a Sermon

At New Passion we have been in our Source Code: A Journey through Acts series for a little over a year now. We took a couple of short breaks and picked back up where we left off a couple of months ago.

Today, I preached out of Acts 16, there are several important things that take place in this Chapter, but the best thing about this post is what happened today AFTER I preached this chapter, so keep reading:

  1. Acts 16:6-10 – The Holy Spirit does not permit Paul and Silas to go where THEY want to go. He prevents them from going to the province of Asia and into the north region of what we now know is Turkey. Instead Paul receives a vision from Macedonia and there God would start the church of Philippi through his efforts.
  2. Acts 16:11-35 – God starts to build the church of Philippi with a business woman, Lydia; a (formerly) demon-possessed girl; and a prison guard.
  3. How did God do this? Well, first with Lydia it began by God not giving Paul his way. He closed doors and took away what some would say were opportunities to share the gospel. Paul instead followed the leading of the Spirit, took the time to invest in Lydia, share the gospel and then she believed; Secondly, with the demon-possessed girl, God allowed Paul to be annoyed and frustrated by the demon constantly proclaiming that they were there to preach the message of salvation, through his frustration, Paul casts the demon out of the girl; finally, with the prison guard, God allowed Paul to be arrested for doing God’s work. Through Paul’s example of true, selfless Christianity, the guard believes and is saved. Paul could have looked out for his own neck, but instead he stayed in prison so the guard did not have to lose his.

Here was my point to our people this morning and where my story comes in this afternoon. Who is it that God wants you to stop, take time with and share Jesus with them? That’s your Lydia. Who is it that God is allowing to annoy you? You know that pesky neighbor or co-worker or the aunt you can’t escape from. Maybe he is frustrating you so you’ll share the love of Jesus with them so they might believe. That’s your demon-possessed girl. Finally, and this is where my story comes in today. What situation do you find yourself in where you feel like you are in prison or like your world is falling a part? Who has God surrounded you with in this moment of your life that you can display true Christianity to, so that they might believe and be saved? That’s your prison guard.

Today, I received a tweet from a young man that I have only met once, but got to be with during a week long camp in Jackson, SC, last Summer. I wrote about my experience at the camp in an earlier post, it was amazing! Here’s what his tweet said:

That made my day! I had the privilege of preaching in the service where Noah placed his faith in Jesus for salvation. That in-and-of-itself is awesome, but what makes this story even greater is the fact that I was going through my own “prison experience,” although it was without the orange jump suit and the jail cell.

I was fired (“laid off”) from my job a week before having the opportunity to go speak at this camp. Needless to say, I had a lot on my heart and mind at the time, tons to worry about with a wife, three kids and bills. I didn’t get my way, God closed a door and allowed me to be placed in a very difficult position, but God placed me in that position at that time for his glory and for the salvation of Noah and anyone else who placed their faith in Jesus for salvation during that week of camp.

Sometimes I wonder if Christians think sermons are just a bunch of fancy talk, but can’t really be applied in their own life and in their specific situations. I think some people get excited to hear a different take on Scripture to bring out a point that they’ve never seen, but by the end of the service, the whole point of the message is lost. Today’s sermon was more than “just a sermon” for me, it was real life, it was my life just a year ago. I am privileged to have had the opportunity to lose my job which freed me up to prepare for a camp where a young man, plus others were saved. Noah, is my modern day prison guard. God used my difficult situation to share Jesus with him. Life is not about me, my job or my comfort; it’s about people seeking and feeling their way towards God to find him (Acts 17:26-27). I want to be a part of helping them find him. Thank you, Shane Padgett for allowing me to be used in the middle of a difficult season and thank you for having such a huge vision for students through PHAT Camp.

What situation do you find yourself in right now? Does it feel like Prison, maybe even Hell? Look around you, those are the people watching you to see how you will respond and how you will act. In the middle of living your faith out, you will have the opportunity to share the answer for your hope. Will you take that opportunity? It’s more than just a sermon….

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The Power of Being Present

It has been rare in my life, especially growing up in the church, that I have met genuine Christ-Followers who I know I can trust and who I know are not a bunch of talk; people who genuinely love Jesus and love people. I count it a privilege every time I get to hangout with my brothers from other mothers, Shane and Drew. I got to do that last night.

Last week, Shane spoke at the Bible study for the substance abuse program I manage. Shane was raw and genuine with the men and he connected with a lot of them on a personal level. Shane had the opportunity to talk with some of the guys after the meeting one-on-one as well. As early as the next day some of the men were asking when Shane was going to return to speak for them again. This group is made up of non-believers, Christians and followers of other faiths (i.e. Islam). These men are not worried about style or appearance or professionalism; things that a lot of us get caught up with in the modern, American church; these men care about being cared about and about others being real with them. Shane made an eternal impact for some of these men because he chose to be present and he preached Jesus.

Last night, Shane and Drew took some time out of their day to play flag football with these same men. We all had a blast, especially since our team destroyed our opponents. Shane tweeted this following the game, “Felt more like a Christ follower tonight playing flag-football than in a long time. #Jesusandfishermen” We didn’t sit down with the men and have a Bible study and we didn’t preach them a message, we simply chose to be present. It is my hope that through our presence these men know that they are loved and cared for, that they are no less of a person than the guy who seemingly has it all together. We laughed with them, we high-fived them, we cheered for them and bragged on them. We communicated through our actions that no matter what they have done, they were still important enough to play football with. Isn’t that how God responds to us? No matter what we we have done, God stepped into our field and put us on his team through his Son, Jesus.

Shane has already shared that message and I can’t wait until Drew gets to share that same message with these men as well. Some would criticize us for not sharing the gospel on the spot, but that’s okay, because we lived it and we have an open door to keep living it and in those moments we speak it, these men will be hungry to listen because they know we love them and our words are supported with loving actions. Drew’s testimony is awesome and I know he is going to reveal Jesus in a powerful way. Drew has already opened the door for these men to hear him out because he made a choice to be present. That’s just one of the reasons I am thankful for my buddies, Shane and Drew, because I can trust them (except for Drew, I don’t trust him around my family and that’s why he has never met them) and they genuinely love Jesus and other people.

Join the Conversation…How can you impact people’s lives eternally by choosing to be present? When is the last time you chose to be present in someone’s life and it led to a great eternal impact as a result of your influence?