We're All in This Together - Defining Us

We’re All in This Together is more than a statement of fact. Its cold reminder, a re-reading, if you will, from God’s dictionary:

The Church: (Greek kyriakon, "thing belonging to the Lord"; also ekklesia (Latinized as ecclesia), "assembly"): 1 - The instrument designed by the will of heaven to tell humanity that God wants them to know, “We’re all in this together.” 2 – The hands of Jesus, the feet of Jesus, the Heart of Jesus, et al.

God never ceases to amaze me. Convincing the church to be the church is the single most important task of our generation. Everything hinges on it. Yet, the clearest attempt to do just that, at least that I’ve seen in years, comes in the form of a feature length doc based on the collected musing of an un-kept, English slurring, guitar-slinging Ausie-band that was edited at pee-your-pants-speeds, and sent out via satellite to grace the popcorn halls of North America for one night only. Genius. What good can come out of Nazareth? Ask the boys in Sydney. They have an answer for you. You may want to take notes. Here’s a few scribblings from my mental trapper-keeper.

1. There is no poverty that Jesus cannot prosper. There is no sickness that Jesus cannot heal. There is no cycle that Jesus cannot break. There is no way that he cannot win.

2. Justice is worship. Worship is justice.

3. I don’t have to get it, to do it.

4. I have to do it if it is going to get done.

5. Rock’n’roll is God’s idea.

How do I turn inspiration into inspired action? I’m not exactly sure, yet. But one of us will have the revelation. That’s why we’re all in this together.

What did the film prompt you to write in your mental trapper-keeper (you know, the one with the A-team montage on the front…)?

What’s a practical way that WAPT can go beyond its own walls to effect and affect lives in our community?

Vision Night: Change & Influence

The first Wednesday of each month the entire WAPT team comes together to talk about where we are going and what God is doing in our group. It's always AWESOME! If you're a member of the team we highly recommend that you make every effort to be there each month.

Wasn't it so great to have Pastor Dennis with us at Vision Night this week? What a blessing he is to the house.

It was encouraging to hear again about why we do what we do every week. It keeps things in perspective. We embrace change in our lives, not because we're so different from 68% of Americans who don't particularly care for it, but because we see the greater purpose. We welcome change because we welcome those who are seeking God and His life-changing love. After all, remember the all-encompassing and wonderful change that God has brought in your life...

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. - Rom. 12: 1-2 (msg)

When people start seeking God, they encounter us... we have influence... like it or not. Christians can either be a reason that people run to God and equally the reason that they run ... often times screaming...away. Do you take that into account when you speak, when you act, when you go about your everyday, ordinary life? You are an influencer and you play a key part of building a culture. A culture that welcomes, loves and is passionately sold out for God.

Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it. 2 Cor. 3:2

That's a pretty cool thought... no?

What do you think it means to be an influence? Does it mean just when you're on stage or does it apply on Saturday night too? What role does change play in becoming a great influence?

Join the discussion... we want to hear your thoughts

Why We Do What We Do

CCC Vision:
Leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

Worship & Production Team Vision:
To create an irresistible atmosphere that inspires worship.

IR-RE-SIST-IBLE (adj.) so attractive, so powerful, so convincing that it can not be resisted.


Why do we do what we do?

'I'm sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I'm sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me." Acts 26:17-18

We need to understand the powerful impact we are having. Who you are and what you do on the team makes a difference. What we are doing is an all out assault on the kingdom of darkness. Never cease to be amazed at the privilege of what we get to do. In light of the big picture other things pale in comparison.


What can we do to create a more irresistible atmosphere?

Here are some of the things we talked about last night:

• A team determined to give God their BEST

• A team rebelling against mediocre worship & predictable moments

• A team that recognizes it is leading, both on and off the platform

• A team that wants to change the way the world sees God

• A team that shouts " We're not here to just do it, we are here to do it with whatever it takes!"

Can you add to the list? We want to hear your thoughts!

VISION NIGHT: Be a Team Player, Not a Team Playa'

Ah, Vision Night. So much better than "Blindness Night," don't you think?

I'm learning to love the idea of team, and last night re-enforced my growing awareness of just how powerful the concept truly is. As Harry Truman said, "It's amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." In my life, I want to accomplish something - something for my Father's kingdom. So, I fully devote myself to Christ and his team. I'm lucky that my little part of that team includes working with you guys.

As the title of this post points out, it's vital to be a player, not a playa'. The difference is in our motivation. A player is out for accomplishment, not credit. A playa', well... you get the idea. Teams can be just another way to highlight self. In fact, without allowing the finished work of the cross to have its way in our lives, that's the most likely result. I love what our fearless leaders shared last night, because they each gave sage advice on how to avoid doing just that. And of course, the clearest path to being a player, not a playa', is given to us by Jesus himself: Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24)."

What have you been reading recently that speaks to being a team-player, not a playa'? How do people in your work place or social life respond when they see a real player or playa'?

- Caleb

Vision Night: Directionally Challenged

Wasn't it great to have Gail join us last night? If you weren't able to make it, here's a brief recap.

She discussed various work styles and divided them into four groups; North, South, East, and West.

North-- These are the people that like to "get 'er done". They tend to be decisive, active and assertive. They also don't need a lot of direction in order to do something. They're already on there way to finishing the job before you are done with the instructions. When working with a North:Don't micro-manage and be sure to stick to the timeline!

South-- These people are characterized as very caring and people-oriented. They place incredible value on every person's opinion and desire input from each member of the team. Their main concern is assuring that everyone feels supported and valued. When working with a South: Give them time for expression, be attentive to the relational aspect and listen!

East -- These are the "big picture" people. They have great ideas and love to think outside of the box. They tend to be very creative and make decisions based on the long term. They have to catch the vision before they can move forward on anything. When working with an East: Give them time to think through the process out loud. Their initial reaction may not be their final answer!

West --These are the "nuts, bolts and details" people. They need to have all of the information before making a decision. They tend to be very cautious. They like to follow procedures and are sticklers for the rules. When working with a West: Give them plenty of time for decision making and provide them with all the data. Don't be sensitive when they say no and don't be emotional!

Gail challenged us to look at the strengths of those with different work styles. She also discussed the importance of having all of these styles present within a team. I was so encouraged to see the variety of styles within our team. I'm so thankful to work with you all. It definitely is a learning experience. :-)

So what work style are you? What are the strengths of your style? challenges of working with your style?

Vision Night Recap!

It's so great to have Eileen (& baby Harry) with us again!

Excellence

Excellence: the quality of being excellent
Excellent: very good of its kind : eminently good

Eileen shared some great things about walking in excellence. We must stand against mediocrity, and can do so in many ways, including not bringing a mediocre or complacent offering of our time, service, gift or ability. We can also stand against complacency by bringing an excellent attitude in all that we do!

Challenges for excellence:
- Coming up higher
- Increasing our preparedness
- Bringing solutions and to be the answer
- Be engaged

Thoughts for discussion: (post a comment!)
- What is your definition of excellence?
- Can you increase your capacity to come higher?
- What does doing more or coming up higher look to you?

Take another look at the video that was shared:

Mr. Big Shot

We talked about one of the ways that the devil can trip us up as worshippers during the last vision night. We all come from a variety of different backgrounds and experiences. You are an incredibly gifted group of people. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking " I'm kinda a big deal around here".

Dan Gustafson once used the picture of road signs to depict the anointing of God in our lives. Each of you are incredibly anointed in your gift. However your gift, like a road sign serves a purpose. The purpose? To point to Jesus. A sign pointing at itself is not fulfilling it’s purpose.

So how do we avoid this pit fall? It's not something that happens instantly. These kinds of feelings can creep in over time. How do we ensure that our sign is pointing in the right direction?

VISION NIGHT-- It's Working!

It was awesome having Pastor Dennis join us last week for Vision Night and share more about the vision of the church. I always welcome the reminder of why it is that we do what we do. It gives each practice, song, and service added meaning. We want to see people become fully devoted followers of Christ.

So how do we go about doing that? Pastor shared how their heart is to partner with us to create an atmosphere of openness where seekers will be welcomed and will have a one on one encounter with the transforming power of our God. How AWESOME is that! I just get excited thinking about what God can do! What an amazing privilege it is to be a part of that.

We have been hearing numerous testimonies of people who have come to CCC and experienced the heart of God. That is what it is all about.

Let's keep the vision always before us. The Bible says that without a vision the people perish. Let it not be said of us that we just go through the motions. When we keep our eyes on who God is and what He is doing a new passion will be kindled in our hearts.