Hey pastors and friends, I am guessing you probably saw this awhile ago. However, if by some chance you haven’t, you’re welcome. We showed this at Mosaic a couple months ago and it was received very well. There are so many ways to tie this into your worship gathering. Sometimes very beautiful things come in very small packages. I submit to you ‘exhibit A’.
Last week we headed down to Orlando to catch the Exponential Conference with some friends and fellow church planters from the EFCA Midwest district. In addition to taking in the conference (which was fantastic, by the way) and some national EFCA planting meetings, we made sure to carve out some time for some fun too.
I think the moral of the story here is you don’t want to challenge Mosaic Lincoln or Finding Life in mini golf. : )
Here is a fun little video of how we kicked off Easter 2012 at Mosaic. If nothing else, I hope it gives you a laugh or brings a smile to your face. However, I thought it might also be helpful to share a a few words on why we do things like 80′s covers on Sunday morning. Continue Reading…
You ever step into a moment that was so much greater, so much bigger than you ,and thought to yourself, What on earth am I doing here? Over the past year, I’ve found myself thinking that often. Continue Reading…
Confession: I love Tim Keller. (Ok, “man-crush” might be more accurate.) Tim Keller pastors Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, a traditional church in many ways, but one that under Keller’s leadership has planted hundreds of churches all over the world. As a gifted thinker, scholar, pastor and writer, Tim Keller is in a very real sense, a pastor to many pastors (myself included).
Below is a short video that I think you will will find typologically beautiful and personally challenging. Many of us who have spent any significant amount of time in the American Church have been taught to understand the gospel in a way that is all about us and our personal salvation. While that is important, we often miss God’s larger vision for the Kingdom and the part we are to play in ushering it in. This hugely influences the way we read the scriptures. If we’re not careful, we can begin to buy into the idea that somehow the bible is really about “me” and “you.” But as this video beautifully illustrates, the scriptures point the way to something far more beautiful than what we see in the mirror. Enjoy. Continue Reading…
Hey friends, I want to share a video with you about something that has deeply impacted my life and leadership. I have posted about Rhythm before, but this video shares more about the vision behind it and its impact on me and a few others. The video is kind of long, but if you have the time, you’ll get to hear from some very good friends of mine. (For those interested, I share about some of my own journey at about 5:25). Enjoy.
Father’s Day is this Sunday, so while I promise to wrap up our conversation around kicking porn, I wanted to take a minute a few days out to honor the fathers. For those looking for fresh material, ideas, or just a good story, here are some videos in honor of all the dads out there.
I also love this version of the “Team Hoyt” story, set to Sigur Ros. One idea for pastors would be to show this version and introduce or unpack the story themselves, allowing them to better connect it to what they are talking about. Continue Reading…
A couple days ago we had the great opportunity of having our first ever baptism service at Mosaic! On Sunday morning, seven men and women stepped up to publicly proclaim their faith in Jesus Christ. It was awesome. Nevermind that one of our amps caught on fire last week, or that we inadvertantly flooded the back of the Bourbon Theater on Friday when we broke a water pipe retrieving Rivertree's baptismal from the rafters. (Ah, the joys of church planting.)
On Sunday, none of that mattered. Having the opportunity to baptize each person and then to hear our community cheer wildly as they emerged from the water a new creation in Christ, was one of the neatest things I have ever had the privilege of being a part of.
And when the baptisms were over and we entered into a time of worship together, the community of Mosaic worshiped like I have never seen or heard them worship before. Eyes closed, hands in the air, voices shouting praises to God, it…was…incredible. It impressed upon me once more the unequaled power of story. There is perhaps no greater testimony of God's presence and power and grace than a life changed by the gospel. In the end, what else can do we do but praise God?
Above, Erik and I hug after he comes up out of the water. You can hear his story below.
