Gathering Sundays at 10AM

I want to take a moment to brag on Grace Point Church in Odessa, Texas! I'll be honest, I'm partial to them as I have the extreme privilege of serving as the lead minister for this group, but they are a awesome bunch! The past twelve months have been huge for Grace Point and I want the world to know what God has done in our midst as we've made ourselves available to him.

We also stepped out on a limb this year by trying a Saturday night worship gathering. With help from guest worship leaders like Skip Birtman, Bill Yuhasz, and Andre Furtado, these were great experiences. Though the gathering time seemed like a good idea to many of us to start with, we discovered in the process that Saturday nights work for some congregations, but it just wasn’t the right time for us. So in September, we returned to gathering on Sundays!

Another bold step we took was to partner with Faith Temple Fellowship and their efforts to assist men transitioning out of homelessness through the Jesus House and Soup Kitchen. Beginning in May, a team of GPersspent one Sunday a month preparing meals for the Jesus House Soup Kitchen. More than 30 people participated in this throughout the year, including some 10 kids. This effort to care for others is a great example of how we live a missionary life in our own community.

Speaking of missionaries, we had seven people affiliated with GPattend a mission trip this year. Mother and daughter duo, Channon andElizabeth Gregg went to Haiti in April. The Greggs served alongside others from Texas in helping in some of the rebuilding following the earthquake of 2010. Christy Tyree joined Project Partner for Christ to teach English for two weeks in China. In late September, I joined Matthew Gregg and Dale Arnold and her son Bryce Harper on a trip to Berlin to witness the efforts of XZBerlin.

If you add the numbers, that means nearly 40 people from Grace Point experienced some level of missionary service in 2011! That’s pretty awesome for a church that averages 55 in attendance.

I’ve not mentioned our efforts for the Spring Fest where more than 200 people showed up for our egg race or the 300 backpacks we gave away to students at Jordan Elementary. We did all this and more through your partnership and an income stream of less than $65,000. What a mighty God we serve!

What is baptism?

Baptism is a practice of the church that is an act of obedience to Jesus in a believer’s testimony and journey of faith.  It is part announcement and part symbolic.

What does it announce?

Baptism is an announcement to family and friends declaring your decision to follow the teachings of Jesus in your daily life.  Read Matthew 28:19.

What does it symbolize?

Baptism symbolizes a “burial” and “death” to your way of life and the sin you’ve done, and a “resurrection” into the life possible through Christ Jesus. Read Romans 6:1-11.

Who should be baptized?

Everyone who is choosing to follow the teachings of Christ and wanting to be his disciple. Read Acts 2:38.

Is their an age limit?

There is no official age limit. It comes out of a desire to follow Christ.  Children should talk about it with their parents before hand.

Should I be “rebaptized”?

It is not uncommon for a person to be baptized as an infant or a young child/adult and realize that this act was not of their own decision to follow Christ.  It is also possible to sense you’ve gone your own way even after being baptized.  Both are reasonable grounds to be re-baptized.

I'm a pastor, church planter, and a voice in the lives of others seeking to follow Christ. I'm also a guy who wrestles with what it means to be a disciple of Christ and how to help others in their path of discipleship.

In my last post, I shared about my faith journey to this point. If you've not read it, please take a moment to do so, because it sets the stage for this post.

I've been following Christ for 18 years now and I think I'm just starting to get a picture of what discipleship looks like, and it's not sexy!

I think the biggest obstacle to discipleship (whether it's being one, or making them) is the fact that it takes TIME. Our culture is constantly running and we have this distorted understanding of time. We want everything to happen immediately. I remember my first computer and modem back in the around 1991-92. It was a 1200bps modem! I thought this was so fast. I was able to access my message boards at blazing speed. I think the computer had something like 8mb of ram. Today, my iPhone 3G (no, I've not upgraded yet) blows the doors of that. Technology is the easiest area in our lives to see our perception of time. We have this crazy notion that faster is sexier!

Yet, the Kingdom of God doesn't seem to be concerned with speed. Consider this, the Bible covers some 5,000 years of history (give or take a millennium). In those stories, there is not a rush on God's part to fix everything right away. Sure, he wipes out humanity with Noah, which is only 4 chapters after Adam & Eve mess it all up, but it was more than a 1,000 years between the stories (if you trust the Bible's record of ages). Then we find the Hebrews live in Egypt for 400 years, plus 40 years of roaming around in the wilderness before experiencing the promised land. From then it moves through hundreds of years of the chosen people messing it up, followed by 70 years in captivity, and another couple hundred in a mixed up time of "free" and "occupied". Then Jesus comes onto the scene to fix everything, nearly 1,000 years after the righteous King David. Since Jesus, we've had nearly 2,000 years of life and we still don't have it right. Clearly, the Kingdom of God does not seem to be concerned about speed or efficiency (major values in the US).

As a matter of fact, much of creation (nature) seems to fly in the face of speed & efficiency.

For the past four years or more, Christy and I have planted tomato plants in the backyard, hoping for some fresh grown tomatoes for salsa, sandwiches, salads, and more. Each year, we seem to be pretty focused on caring for them for the first two weeks to a month. Then our attention begins to wane as we have a hard time holding out for the time when the plant is mature enough to produce fruit. By the time our plants produce fruit, we've failed to nurture them properly, and so the fruit that is produced is small and sporadic. But we love when someone else brings homegrown tomatoes by! We see a healthy vine of tomatoes and begin to fantasize about what it would be like to have our own full bush. So we go home and try again, but we don't stick with it, because it doesn't happen fast enough. You see we want the sexiness of homegrown tomatoes but we don't want to put in the work required because that takes time.

Discipleship is the same way. It takes time! Disciple formation sounds sexy when someone else is doing it. We long for the same things in our lives, but we won't invest the time.

Best-selling author and columnist Malcolm Gladwell (he's got a great first name and some awesome hair), identifies a powerful rule of development in his book Outliers. In looking at the Beatles, hockey players, computer programers, and more, he uncovers what is known as the 10,000 hour rule. Simply put, this rule states that it takes 10,000 hours devoted to working in a field in order to become an expert. If you've not read the book, go, do so immediately!

Gladwell's premise of 10,000 hours got me thinking about my vocation (preaching/public speaking). A few years ago, a fellow pastor and friend and I wondered when preachers reach their prime? NFL Quarterbacks seem to reach their prime around 30. So what was the range for pastors. We figured 45. Do the math and add up how many hours a preacher would have preached by 45 if he preached "every" week beginning around 27.

Since then, I've wondered how long until we reach "expert" as a follow of Christ? I use the term "expert" loosely. But how long does it take for a person to be, in the words of many church mission statements, a fully-devoted follower of Christ? If Gladwell is right and it's 10,000 hours, how long is that?

Is it possible in one year's time? 168x52= 8,732 Close but not quite. This also requires us to be devoted to the formation 24hours a day, seven days a week, without sleep.

So let's remove the time we sleep... 5,824 hours in a year. So it would take just short of two years, if we did nothing else.

Let's say we took one day a week (16 hours, if you take out 8 hours to sleep), how long would that take? 12 years

Let's propose we spend an average of 3 hours a week completely focused on our faith. At that rate, if my math is correct (3x52= 156 then 10,000/156) it would take 64 years!
64 years to be a fully devoted follower? I guess so, I mean if you made a decision to follow Christ in your early teens, as most do, and you gave yourself 3 hours a week to follow Christ, and you did so for 64 years, you would have spent your whole life following Christ, right? Is that what we mean by fully-devoted followers of Christ?

Certainly there's a better way! Isn't there something sexier and more efficient?

Using Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule as a metric for discipleship formation I believe there is a path we can develop, but it won't be sexy, nor will it be fast.

In my next post, I'll share my thoughts on a formation track and how church, devotional time, and even Christian Colleges and seminaries can play a role.

What stands out to you? How long has it taken you to develop? What are the obstacles to developing faith in your own life or in the lives of your disciples have you noticed?

Last winter, the leadership of Grace Point began to ask again a question we had pondered in the summer of 2010 - what if we had church on Saturday night?  This time we took it a bit more seriously and elected to bite the bullet and make a go at it.  That's right, we took our main worship gathering time and switched from Sundays at 10AM to Saturdays at 5PM.

As we prepared for the switch, the anticipation was high.  We believed it would be more convenient for people to participate in our gatherings if we eliminated the "it's my only day off" or "it's my only morning to sleep in" excuse.  We also thought it would be great to really help us experience a true day off on Sunday.  What we found was different than we expected.

After making the switch to Saturdays following Easter Sunday, we had a great turn out.  The truth is we saw our highest attendances for the year during the first month of Saturdays.  Surely this was a sign!  Then June, July, and August came.  As vacations, getaways, camps, reunions, and the like filled family calendars attendance quickly plummeted.  By the time the summer was over we averaged 30% less in attendance than we did on Sundays before the switch.

Here's what we found: church on Saturday night sounds great, on Sunday morning!

The shift to Saturdays was exciting at first because it was new, but as life continued, the newness wore off.  Changing one's rhythm is very difficult and we found our new Sundays were enjoyable, but Saturdays weren't working.  Our families hadn't abandoned the gatherings, but they were unable to participate as they once had.

Some might ask, "why cut it before the fall?  Surely, more people would be able to participate in the fall, wouldn't they?"  Maybe. But our experience has taught us that Saturday night church is a great OPTION but it's not a person's first choice.  There is a historical value to Sunday morning church.  Regardless of the validity of gathering for worship on Sundays versus any other day, Sunday has the first place in our historical memories.  Additionally, unchurched people aren't any more excited about going to church on Saturday as they are on Sunday.

Ultimately, it comes down to this: if we are trying to make church attendance/participation convenient, we've already lost!  

Being a part of Christ's body, the church, is not convenient.  It should cost us something!  And I mean more than just our time and money.  Being the part of the church should cost us our comforts, attitudes, and predispositions.  We've fallen into the trap of believing this following Christ-stuff is easy, and it's not!  As my college professor Cliff Sanders reminded me over and over again: "It's impossible to follow Christ! By our own efforts." The cost of discipleship is great and it doesn't matter how we try, it is never convenient to follow Christ or to be a part of his body.

So, here we go, back to Sunday mornings because it's our story! Grace made it's grand entrance into the lives of humanity on a Sunday morning as Jesus conquered death and made life available to you and me.  We are returning to Sunday gatherings because it's not convenient to set aside the beginning of a day or week to gather with others for worship.  We are returning to Sunday mornings because our neighbors expect to see us leaving our homes and assembling during this time.  We are returning to Sundays because it seems old fashioned and maybe that's what is missing in our culture.

We are returning to Sundays, but that doesn't mean we won't try out of the box ideas to reach our neighbors with the kingdom of God.  Who knows, some of efforts may crash and burn, but some may be glorious!

Sunday, September 11th will serve as the beginning of our new message series RE.

• REturn to Sunday worship gatherings
• REmember God's faithfulness
• REpent of sin
• REnew our commitments to Christ
• REstore our families by the Spirit's power
• REmain true to the calling of God on our lives

Don't miss out on the REturn to Sunday worship gatherings beginning September 11. Invite your friends and family to be a part of what God is doing through Grace Point.   

Recently, Bob Pearson of Horizon International was our guest and challenged us to share in the care of AIDS orphans.  Bob's message was truly challenging and 80% of those in attendance responded by choosing to sponsor an orphan for $35 a month.   
 
After sharing at Grace Point, Bob shared the same challenge with two other congregations in the area (Ira Church of God and Odessa First Church) with similar results.  After the weekend, Bob was thrilled to have so many new child sponsorships.  The need for sponsorship is still immense.  Will you help by sponsoring at least one of the remaining orphans at the Ibonde Children's Home (look for the children with "Uganda-Ibonde" listed below their picture) in Fort Portal, Uganda?  
 
Our hope is to see each family at Grace Point sponsor at least one child.   
 
Since many of us are now sponsoring one of the orphans at Ibonde, we hope to take a trip there in the next three years to meet our children.

Grace Point continues asking how can we expand our reach in the community to encourage others in their faith journey?  As a part of that we’ve questioned whether Sundays at 10am is the best time to reach our neighbors, friends, and coworkers.  Overwhelmingly, we’re seeing more and more individuals and families facing issues related to work and activity schedules that rule Sunday mornings out as the time to gather with the church.  Sundays are no longer viewed as set a part for church.

When we extend invitations we hear comments like “I’ve got to work on Sundays” or “Sundays are the only time I get to spend resting” even “My kids play soccer on Sundays.”  We also have had a number of our members get “called out” for work on a Sunday morning.  Increasingly, Sundays are filled with competing activities.  We can always question the “validity” of such activities, but rather than fight this trend and limit the number of people we are hoping to encourage, we’re making an adjustment in our approach.  

In surveying the community, outside of Catholic Mass, it appears Sunday mornings are the only option for families in Odessa to gather for worship with the church.  Certainly there are a few churches that offer Sunday and Wednesday evening gatherings, but these are not seen as “main” worship gathering times.  

We understand the historical nature of gathering as the church on Sunday mornings.  We have valued this through our own heritage and history, but rather than focus on what we “like” or are used to, we’re committed to reaching those who are disconnected from Christ and his church.  Rather than continue to lament about how “no one makes church a priority” we are making people a priority by offering a legitimate option for gathering for worship with the church.

We believe there are plenty of great churches in Odessa gathering for worship on Sunday mornings and there are thousands of people unable to participate in Sunday worship for a number of reasons.  We are not satisfied with this, so we’re providing an option on Saturdays!

Some may ask, why not do both Saturday and Sunday? Logistically, we cannot.  Our current size limits us into choosing.  We do not have the budget nor the facility to meet on both days, today.  So we’ve drawn a line in the sand and we’re taking a stand to reach those who are disconnected from Christ and his church, who need to be encouraged in their journey of faith.

We believe individuals and families across Odessa are looking for a church that gathers with it’s neighbors, friends, and families in mind.  We’re striving to be that kind of church.

Take a step of faith and be a part of the gatherings on Saturday nights at 5:05PM at Jordan Elementary School, 9400 Rainbow Dr.  

Remember, if you need something to change in your life, chances are you need to make a change.