Live... Without a Net!!!

Weekend Impressions

First, I wanna celebrate what God celebrates - 8 people celebrated their surrender to Christ last night through baptism... There are more to come!!!

7 child dedications, 7 graduates we recognized... I'd say it was a pretty good day!

With Everything... My new favorite song we sing at Gateway.

God help me if I don't leave everything onstage every time I preach... Biblical principles should ALWAYS be the foundation of all things in a Christ-Follower's life, but if we can't convey those principles with passion, let's not waste anyone's time. Remember, nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished without passion!

Preparing the messages for "Heir" has been pretty rewarding for me. Elisha lived an amazingly successful life... something each of us really desire no matter when and where we live!

The family room is pretty sweet, people!

Ya'll be good!!

5 Things...

1. Dance Recital was very good last night. Love these people!
2. Last week, my youngest daughter finished her preschool career twenty years to the day after my  high school graduation. Perspective, huh?
3. The next door neighbors on both sides of our house are moving...at the same time! Gonna miss both families! That's life in a military town!
4. Wow, a Detroit Tigers pitcher lost a perfect game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning on a blown call by the umpire... That's gonna hurt for a while!
5. Thursdays are message prep days for the weeks ahead. Summer Sundays @ G8way are gonna be a blast!

Later!

3 Reasons Every Church Should Change Its Stage Design... Often!!

It generates interest - There's this memorable scene from the movie European Vacation where the Griswold kids, Russ and Audrey, are trying to watch TV in London. They are completely disgusted to find that every channel is showing the exact same documentary on how to make cheese... The sad thing is that some churches have been "making cheese" for years... limburger cheese at that! But face it, the staff and members are tired of looking at the same old out-dated paint and paneling. Those that aren't tired of it don't ever really notice it. What they would notice is a fresh coat of paint, new drapes, something that highlights the message, or anything that breaks the week after week visual monotony. Long-term uniformity stifles growth and fosters apathy. "Stifling" and "apathetic" should NEVER be words to describe the church.

It gives creative people an outlet for their gifts - You've probably got several people who've been gifted with a talent for graphic, artistic, and interior design. Let them know what you're going after in your messages, encourage them, fund them, and let them go to work! You may have to provide some direction for some people (i.e.- remember the environment complements the message... it doesn't drown it), but in the end it's well worth it! One more word... pastor, unless you have a degree in art, DON'T MICROMANAGE YOUR ARTISTS. Let them pick the paint!

It helps keep pastors from becoming slack! - Face it... It's far too easy for pastors to become lazy. After you've spoken to the same group of people for a little while, you have a tendency to lose a little of your edge. You don't push yourself as hard to prepare. Your messages are tired and you become jaded. You fall into the "catch phrase" trap where you learn to string a few words together in order to evoke an "amen" or two. But... there's really nothing fresh to your messages, because you don't challenge yourself anymore. Now, changing your stage design won't do anything if laziness is a natural part of your character (If it is, you need to get out of ministry now!). But for the pastor who's willing to push himself, a group of creative minds who work along with him to alter the worship environment is a gift. You knows these people are working hard to complement the message God has given to you. You know you have to step up your efforts in preparation and execution, because you're no longer a "one-man show" when it comes to proclaiming the gospel on Sunday mornings. You've got an entire team that have designed, built, painted, and assembled (for God's glory) a fresh environment for the gospel to be proclaimed. You'd better be on top of your game. You'd better have prayed like a Calvinist, and prepared like an Arminian. Your role as a leader in preaching the Word absolutely demands it! That whole Iron sharpening iron thing...? It really comes to life in an arena that's constantly being updated to drive home the gospel.

Weekend Impressions

Happy Tuesday everybody!

I hope you all all had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend and that you're looking forward to a great summer.

I knew when I heard the band warming up at G8way on Sunday morning that we were in for a special day... Yep, God moves during rehearsal, too.

I really was truthful when I said that when we moved into the building in Pikeville the floor was covered in orange shag carpet and the stage wall was purple... If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'!!!

It's true that churches publicize what they prioritize... If your church is more prone to make a big deal out of things that don't really bring people closer to Jesus or take Jesus closer to people, watch out! You're in the danger zone.

I really wanna give a shout to our awesome G8way volunteers, especially in our preschool and children's areas... Many of you worked double shifts on Sunday to cover for the holiday weekend! You guys are doing an amazing job! I(your God and those kids) appreciate you much more than you know.

God is really moving in our congregation financially... You guys are bringing it obediently and proving again that our God is faithful to reward your faithfulness as you bring it back to Him. For the fifth consecutive month, our church will bring in more income than we budgeted for. And we will do that this month even after cheerfully giving away everything that we took in on Mother's Day for flood relief in Nashville, TN. On top of that, yesterday we received a special gift that will cover all of our van rental fees for our students' trip to Bigstuf in July!

Francis Chan's Forgotten God is a must-read.

Amy's mom and dad (my in-laws) are ABSOLUTELY AWESOME... It was great spending time with them this weekend!

You know sometimes I just have this premonition that God's up to doing something real big real soon at G8way Community Church. I don't know exactly what it's gonna look like, but I think it's gonna be huge, and I think a lot of it's gonna be the result of what happens this coming Sunday night!

A life without passion is no life at all. Live passionately for Jesus today!

God Bless!

Thayer