Live... Without a Net!!!

Happy Memorial Day!

Good evenin', ya'll!

It's been a great weekend to spend with friends and family, and IT'S NOT OVER YET!

So... I won't be resuming the blog schedule 'til Tuesday AM. Enjoy your Memorial Day! Be thankful for those who've sacrificed their all. And in the words of Winston Churchill, remember that "never... has so much been owed by so many to so few."

Have a great holiday! See you Tuesday!!!

New Summer Series - HEIR!!!

Some people seem destined for success. They are well-connected; they've attended the best schools; they have the best mentors; they have all the potential in the world. They couldn't possibly fail, could they?

The sad truth is that many of them DO fail. Potential isn't strong enough to override deep character flaws, and unfortunately the world is littered with the failures of those who 'coulda,' 'shoulda', and 'woulda.'

That's what makes the life of a man named Elisha so amazing. He was an 'heir' who lived up to (and even exceeded) his promise. So join us at G8way this June as we unpack this intriguing story and identify those parts of his character that propelled him to success.

See you Sundays in June at 9:30 or 11 AM! 

 

Huge!

HUGE!!!

That's what First Sunday in June @ G8way will be... Baptism, Child Dedication, and Graduate Recognition! See you here at 6 PM on Sunday, June 6!

Some Things You May Not Know About G8way... (Part 2)

Our church's check-in systems for preschoolers, children, and students are designed and maintained by Fellowship Technologies. Their online resources seamlessly coordinates the info we gather through those check-in systems to our church management systems. It's a pretty amazing system.

All of our volunteers working with preschool, children, and students go through a screening process that includes criminal background checks. We will not apologize for being very careful with YOUR children and who we allow to work with YOUR children.

Our church is built around a small group discipleship model. We call our small groups "Life Groups." Many among us believe that Life Groups are hands-down the best part of G8way!

Our worship team practices at least twice each week... once on a weeknight and again on Sunday mornings. If you arrive early on a Sunday morning and find the tensa-barriers in front of the doors, it's because they're putting the final touches on that morning's service.

Speaking of worship, many of you ask who our biggest influences in our song selections... By far, it would have to be the Hillsong Church. If you wanna have an idea of what our team will sing this Sunday, pick up (or download) a Hillsong United CD. Chances are you'll hear some of those songs on Sunday. Other artists/worship leaders we really like include Fee, Chris Tomlin, Phil Wickham, Jesus Culture, and Carlos Whittaker.

Why Pikeville, NC? Glad you asked! First, we love Pikeville (remember, we actually began here nearly 4 years ago, and God has given us a passion for people in Wayne County, especially this community). Second, Pikeville puts us in close proximity to two growing elementary schools (Northeast and Northwest) a rapidly growing middle school (Norwayne), and one of the largest high schools in Wayne County (C.B. Aycock). Third, our proximity to I-795 gives us a natural corridor for continued growth from both Goldsboro and Wilson. Yep, we love the Kingdom Potential our position in Pikeville brings!

Some Things You May Not Know About G8way... (Part 1)

G8way's vision is to always be a place where real people through real church find real hope in Jesus Christ!

Our church has five core values:

1. Jesus Christ: For this and every generation
2. Life Change: Broken lives made new
3. Maturity: Continued growth through discipleship and service
4. Relevance: Reaching our generation through any necessary means
5. Excellence: Our God deserves nothing less

We began at the Pikeville Community Center in August '06.

The Goldsboro Family YMCA was our home for ten weeks in the fall of 2006.

If you ever hear anyone who's been at G8way for a while refer to "BOB" or the "BOB," they're probably not talking about a person. They're most likely talking about the building at 118 S. Berkeley Boulevard in Goldsboro where we met for a little more than two years. "BOB" stands for "Building on Berkeley."

We're not ashamed to be identified as Baptist (Southern Baptist to be more precise), but we'd rather people identify us as Christ Followers first. Being Baptist never got anyone into heaven; a life surrendered to follow Jesus - that is the only way anyone gets to heaven.

We are governed by a Body of Elders called the ELT (Executive Leadership Team). They make all decisions pertaining to the 'business' of G8way Community Church!

You can pick up a copy of our latest monthly financial figures each week at the Guest Services Counter.

We channel support to ministries on several different levels: local, regional, national, and international. The ministries we support in any given month appear on the monthly financial report that you can pick up at the Guest Services Counter.

Four things are required for membership at G8way... Attendance at one of our membership classes, a personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ, believer's baptism,  and your commitment to actively support Kingdom work through G8way!

Tuesday Thoughts!

Whew!!! I'm watching Amy do her Jillian Michaels' DVD (that's right watching), and I'm getting more and more tired by the second! Not really... It's not that I mind working out (we'll go for a walk here in a few minutes). I'm just so uncoordinated that Amy can't pay attention if I do one of these videos with her. She laughs too much!

So in the few minutes I have before we go for a walk, I thought I'd let you know some things that are on my mind...

1. I have always been TERRIBLE at video games, but I've dropped to new lows. I am without a doubt the world's worst "Super Mario Brothers" player... Just ask my girls!
2. Our three oldest daughters start End of Grade Testing today. I think they're ready. They've all had good years in school. I know some don't like EOGs because it puts a lot of pressure on kids. I understand that to a degree, but I also know that life is about performing when it counts. Knock those things out, girls!
3. I'm a firm believer that churches, like people, publicize what they prioritize. I know that some churches spend enormous amounts of energy building up things like homecoming, garage sales, spaghetti suppers, and other things. There's nothing wrong with those things per se, but when you are more excited about someone coming to your fellowship hall at 6:30 on Saturday morning to look over stuff that you no longer want than about life change, ministry, baptisms, and the gospel, you have a serious problem! That's why I can't wait to blow open the doors at First Sunday, June 6 @ 6 PM! It's gonna be an awesome evening!
4. Sweet summertime... it's will be especially sweet @ G8way... Heir, BigStuf, Adventure Week, Camp G8way, Cruise, Fab 5... love it all!
5. We took the girls out for ice cream to wish them well for their tests this week. While we were at Coldstone, we heard Coldplay's Viva la Vida. Since the 7th grade band played that at Norwayne a few weeks ago, I'll forever more associate Coldplay with middle school concert bands! Sorry, Chris Martin...
6. "IT" concludes this Sunday morning @ G8way with 'How Can IT Change the World?'  Can't wait!

Be good!

Thayer

HACKED... Why I LOVE Gossip!

Well, I left my computer on overnight, and woke up to find this anonymous post... I've often said there's a devil in my computer, but I would have never dreamed this!

It was pretty interesting, however, so I thought I'd go ahead and post it... Take it for what it's worth!

-----------------------------------------------

Why I Love Gossip...

Sometimes I'm asked, "Of all the tools in your temptation arsenal, which do you like best?" Well, asking the devil to choose his favorite vice is a lot like asking parents to choose their favorite child. I love them all, and, when used wisely and effectively, they all work very well. But that doesn't really satisfy folks' curiosity, does it?

You know all sin enslaves, destroys relationships, and seeks to undermine God's purposes, but if you pressed me today, I would have to say gossip... Here's why:

Gossip becomes an enslaving habit - Think about it... Have you ever known anyone who only gossipped ONCE in their lives? It takes longer to read this sentence than to answer that question! And you know that old saying, "Whoever gossips to you will one day gossip about you?" It's absolutely true! The power of the tongue is amazing... the power of the tongue to do evil is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! The power of the tongue to do evil over and over again... well, you should have the picture by now!

Gossip destroys relationships - In case you didn't know, I hate relationships (your capacity for a relationship with God, your relationships with others, it doesn't matter), and that's why I love gossip! It has tremendous power to turn friends into enemies, family into foes. After all, I helped plunge the world into the destructive power of sin with a simple, "Has God really said..."! Relationships that take decades to build can be utterly destroyed by a five second rumor. What I really like is when it turns "Christians" against each other! "Sticks and stones," they say... Whatever!!!

Gossip undermines the church - You know, Jesus said this about His church, "The gates of hell will not prevail against it." And like it or not, I've never been able to inflict as much damage on the church in my external attacks. Persecution is scary to a lot of Christians, but it has its limits... It doesn't really get Jesus' true followers, just the superficial ones. So, we have become much more adept in attacking the church from WITHIN. All we have to do is manufacture or exploit a real or fictional "incident." Then we get one loose-lipped half-ignorant church person talking about it. Whenever they hear something petty or salacious or scandalous, they are MUCH MORE LIKELY to "go to the phone before they go to God's throne!" Pretty soon, collective and vocal ignorance will engulf the entire church. The half-truths and lies will embolden some to go on frenzied witch hunts for "truth" (most often, just new sensationalized rumors), will disillusion many so that they never return, and will effectively keep away those the church is trying to reach. On a related note, the most effecitve rumor-mongering begins as "prayer requests!" We take particular delight in this brand of "sanctified" gossip!

-----------------------------------------------

Somethng to think about it, huh?

 

Weekend Impressions

Long day, very good day at G8way!

God is still God, and He has some great people! We began the day with some pretty big technical challenges (our checkin stations were down, along with ALL of our other church management computers). Thanks to some quick work by techs in Dallas, they were back up and running in plenty of time for us to operate efficiently for both services. Mornings like this make me glad to be a part of the Fellowship One family!

As part of our conversation yesterday, my good friend Dave Morrow and I were talking about hospitality in church. There's no substitute for it. Either you have the heart to take care of your guests, or you don't. We both agreed that having having a guest services coordinator with a HUGE heart for guests isn't optional, and that we're glad to have Jenn Hatfield (and her heart!) to oversee this part of our ministry!

Look for our new family room to open next Sunday morning!

Baptism, Baby Dedication, Graduate Recognition... Sunday night, June 6 (6 PM) will be a very big night!

We must agree that our worship teams at G8way are supremely gifted, but you have to know that there's more at work in them than talent alone. They see themselves as God's (and your) servants. Most importantly they understand their role. As much as they rehearse together (and they do) or practice individually (and they do lots of that, too), they know that they are channels for God to magnify Himself. They approach the wonder of worship with passion AND humility. That people, is an all-too-rare combination.

Quick.... what's the best way, church, to worship Jesus everyday? HONOR HIM THROUGH YOUR OBEDIENCE AND IMITATION!

Your obedience (or lack thereof) in your relationships absolutely affects your worship... Husbands, you especially! But not just you... everyone else, as well.

If you're so financially leveraged that you cannot worship God with your possessions (INCLUDING tithes and offerings), you're engaging in idolatry. Jesus' words... not mine.

If your body is the Holy Spirit's temple, what kind of treasures are you filling it with? What kind of junk must you clean out of it? How are you going to take care of it and maintain it today?

In what part of your life today will people see a little less of you and a lot more of Jesus?

Can I go ahead and say that I'm already looking forward to next Sunday at G8way? I guess I can, it is my blog!

Have a great Monday, people!

Thayer

Nashville Flood Update

This statement's been stuck in my head lately... "Churches who give away the most, worry the least." That thought is no longer renting space in my brain... it's taken up permanent residence!!!

A couple of weeks ago, G8way had the pleasure of helping out with flood relief efforts in Tennessee through Nashville's Cross Point Church. Earlier this week, Pastor Pete Wilson, gave an update on the ongoing work and offered his thanks to churches all over the country who partnered with Cross Point to reach out to this community in need.

You can check out the update here!

God bless, and we'll see you in the morning, G8way!!!

Thayer

Pardon Our Progress!

Pardon our Progress!!!

At G8way, we're always looking for ways to better serve our guests and attendees. Our latest venture is a new family room at the back of the auditorium for parents and their small children! 

The new "Family Room" accomplishes several HUGE things for us at G8way... 

First, it gives our first-timers with small children a place to get used to G8way before going off to our kid's area, because we all know that coming to a new place can be a little overwhelming at first. The room is a great "transition" space, where adults can see (through the glass window) and hear (through the speakers) what's happening in the auditorium. The room won't be able to offer the full-on G8way experience, but hey, as long as it helps our new-comers get their feet under them at G8way, it will be doing exactly what it's intended to do!

Second, the family room helps us minimize distractions in the auditorium. It's sound-dampening walls help keep little noises (and bigger noises) contained. We're all about people meeting Jesus at G8way. But we also know that we have a supernatural enemy who loves to distract people from the gospel. He'll use anything he can (even the slightest noises and movements) to take people's thoughts away from Jesus. We want to do all we can to keep people's hearts focused on Christ, and in an indirect way, the family room helps us do that very thing!

Look for the construction in the back of the auditorium this Sunday, May 23, and for the Family Room to open next Sunday, May 30!

Later, ya'll!!

Thayer