Christmas Hope

I got this today from a friend at New City...

Hope you are feeling the real spirit of Christmas but hey, you aren't alone if you aren't. It was good to hear your struggle with it Sunday. I have lost a lot of loved ones around this time of year so it kind of dies with them in a way. But I find that music has helped me. So I thought I would share a song that has helped me. "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is poignant for sure. Especially this section:
And in despair I bowed my head;
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said;
'For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

’Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead; nor doth He sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’

It has inspired me more than any other song this Christmas.

Thanks to you, for sharing your struggle and your hope.

Stop Going to Church

In the deep south going to church is a way of life. It is almost impossible to find someone from the deep south who doesn't have some kind of church background. There are those who attend church every time the doors are opened, those who attend the main weekly gathering, those who come to funerals - weddings - Christmas and Easter, and those who grew up going to grandma's church.
I grew up going to church. At different stages in the life of our family we went between weekly and every time the doors were opened. One thing that I never really grasped going to church as a kid is that Jesus doesn't want us to go to church. What He desires is that we BE the church. There is an enormous difference between the two.
Going to church is an activity - perhaps a frequent an important activity, but an activity none the less.
Being the church invades every area of our life - it is who we are, not what we do.
Going to church always keeps a line between us and them. It is easy when we go to church to say things like, the church (they) should do this, or that. The church should help with this or that, or, be more active in missions...
Being the church erases all lines. It isn't us and them - it is US - WE are the church. So instead of saying that the church should do this or that, it is WE should do this or that.
Going to church tends to separate our lives into parts - the secular, where we live, and play, and work, and the sacred - where we go on Sunday to do religious things.
Being the church takes away the false dichotomy of secular and sacred. Our life is lived as the sacred body of Christ as we go about life - living, playing, and working.
Going to church promotes for weekly surface relationships and shallow conversations.
Being the church means that we take risks as we enter into gospel centered relationships that are deep and personal. It means that we move beyond the facade of a Sunday morning community meeting and dive into 'doing life together.'
Going to church makes it easy to hop, skip, and jump around from one church place to another in search of the place that offers the right mix of what suits you.
Going to church makes it easy to stay unplugged, never serving, never using the spiritual gifts God has given.
Being the church means that the body of believers is not complete unless I am plugged in and serving in my God given, God gifted area. It means that I understand that this is not only a matter of what i receive from others in the family, but what I give to them - I am being built up and I am building others up - I am being served and I am serving. Without that balance I am missing out and others are as well.
I think these are some of the reasons why Jesus doesn't want us to Go to church.
This January we start a new teaching series entitled Stop Going to Church start being the church. It will be a call to all of us to re-think Church and ourselves. I hope that at New City Church we will never be comfortable GOING to church.

Here They Come - It is Official

The temporary board for Macon's City Watch program agreed that J.D. Thorne was the man for the coordinator position!

J.D. came to town yesterday afternoon to look for a place for he and Corrie to live. I went with J.D. to see several cool lofts downtown - then we had dinner with Brad Evans at White Lightening BBQ - hung out for some Poetic Peace at the 567 then headed to our house for the night. J.D. looked at some other downtown properties, met with the City Watch Board and headed back to Dothan after lunch at Michael's on Mulberry.

In about 2 weeks we'll see J.D. and Corrie again - this time as they move into their new downtown space! God has done an amazing thing. It almost doesn't feel real - on top of a growing church and some really great guys, God would add Tyler and Sarah (and the wee V), Patrick and Jennifer (+ 7), and J.D. and Corrie as well - I don't know what else to say.

Some of The Men of New City Celebrate Christmas

That's Clint, Paul, Heath, and Greg
Studs at New City - and yes, Heath is Single!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

City Watch Support

I have had the opportunity to be a part of a small group of downtowners concerned with crime and the appearance of crime downtown. The group has been working on some solutions. After a couple of meetings it was recommended that we establish a "Neighborhood Watch" in the city-center called City Watch.
City Watch will have a coordinator who acts as the community 'minister' (their suggestion, not mine). He would coordinate monthly meetings to include residents, business owners, city officials, and service providers. He will spend a great deal of time on the streets and in businesses - getting to know everyone in the 15 block radius. And there's a lot more...
The really cool part is that the position will have a $1,200 p/month budget that includes $ for a loft apartment in the area. The current candidate for the position is JD Thorne. JD and his wife Corrie took a leap of faith, believing that God wanted them working with us in Macon, they quit their jobs and put their house on the market. Just this week Corrie was offered a teaching job in Macon AND as of yesterday New Town Macon will offer initial support for the City Watch - MEANING, JD and Corrie will likely have a place to live - a 2 bedroom downtown loft - and financial support that will bring them to Macon right after Christmas!
It also means (if JD becomes the coordinator) that we will have a staff member of New City Church in every downtown business - being the community "minister." I could write pages on how amazing all of this is, but hopefully you get the idea!

UPDATE - I had the task of presenting plans to a packed board room at New Town yesterday. The room was filled with some very powerful people - including the Mayor. After I presented our info there was a unanimous vote to approve our request for start-up funds.
I just received an e-mail saying that at the conclusion of the night, one of the individuals on the board stepped up and and agreed that HE would pay the full $4,800, so New Town is out $0 and the entire program is privately funded!

Vote For Pedro - I mean the 567

Hey the 567 was nominanted for Best New Business of the Year in the 11th Hour's Reader's Choice Awards! That's pretty cool. So - if you think the 567 IS the Best New Business, vote for it.
Visit the 11th Hour - HERE - and Vote Today!

That is dangeously close to begging for votes isn't it?!?!

Engaging thePoor - Q & A Sunday

This Sunday will be a first for us - a Question and Answer based teaching time. To finish out what has been a really good sermon series (I can say that since Cameron did most of the teaching;) this Sunday Cameron and I will answer questions about the topic.
We hae been taking questions throughout the series and have some really good ones. If there is time, we will field some questions that may come up on Sunday.
Should be a lot of fun.

The Adventure!

Sunday I posted about a strange/cool/crazy visitor to New City - David Wray. He got out before I really got to talk to him - I wrote Sunday, I didn't get nearly enough time to talk to David - maybe I'll find him downtown tomorrow.
Well, I didn't see David Monday.
Then, between a couple of meetings on Tuesday I got a call from David.
Long story short - After finishing things up downtown I picked David up in Forsyth - he spent a good bit of the evening hanging out with the fam. We ate, talked, and hung out for hours. David has decided he might like to hang around Macon for the winter - he likes what we are trying to do downtown. Though he isn't a Christian, he wants to help out. (Reminds me of another recent conversation)
So - I have spent a lot of time listening and talking with David - sharing a Christian world view with a truly post modern spiritual seeker - fun.

Newnan, GA Church Plant - in a BAR

I met Alex Early months ago - while he was still in school in London. In September he moved back to Newnan, Georgia. Alex had been working with a team of guys on the ground in Newnan and when his plane landed - things got crazy! God seems to have some great plans for Newnan and Alex and crew are getting to enjoy His work! Listen to this:

Months ago Alex had hoped to that they could find a place to meet on the Square in Newnan - not many options. One option was a bar - The Alamo. That door seemed to close

Alex and crew began working on building their core before 'officially launching' the church. 13 people met in his home.

within a few weeks that # trippled and they were running out of space.

One of the visitors was the owner of The Alamo - who quickly offered their bar, RENT FREE.

Only 2 months in they are running 80+!!! (And still haven't "Officially Launched."

Alex and the church will hear this week about his A-29 application and assessment results. Pray for Alex, his leadership, and this new church.

Below are some pics of the church in a bar - and their 1st baptism!

You Never Know Who Might Show Up

I didn't get nearly enough time to talk to David - maybe I'll find him downtown tomorrow.
David heard about us through the "Come to the Fountain" crew.
Here's what David wrote on his 'Info Card' at New City:
I would like to be loved without judgment
Other - just passing through. Thanks for the warmth & vibes

by Eva Dameron
Daily Lobo

David Wray is riding his BMX bike across the United States and writing a book about it.

"I've got the introduction written," Wray said. "It's kind of hard to be experiencing everything and still find the time and focus to take notes. I'm definitely going to tie in a lot of other angles, like spirituality, politics, art, freedom."

Wray left Monterey, Calif., in June and arrived in Albuquerque mid-September with a 130-pound trailer strapped to his bike. He's staying at the Albuquerque Bicycle Park BMX track, where he bathes in the janitor's closet and helps maintain the track and supervise bike races.

Before he started the trip, he was a calibration technician, using skills he learned in the Navy, working in California and living in Portland, Ore. He said the job was trying his integrity.Then he lost his job, his house and his fiancée - all in one fell swoop. Facing credit problems, he took his car to the Monterey, Calif., coast on June 6, and he tried to blow out the engine.

That didn't work, so he left the car there with a note on the steering wheel that read, "This car belongs to the Navy Deferral Credit Union." Then he got on his bike and left town."I've just had it," he said. "I've had it. I've had enough of expectations. I've had enough of manipulations, whatever angle that comes from - whether it be family or relationships or job or just everything that had weighted me down and kept me from doing things that I really wanted to do. I'm going to live this adventure and see what happens."

Wray began BMX racing at 12 and got well-known after winning some big races, he said.

He rode through Death Valley for three days in 120-degree weather, he said. He can't go faster than eight miles per hour, because it's a single-speed bike hauling a 130-pound trailer. He went through Las Vegas and Colorado and ended up in Albuquerque via Taos and Santa Fe. Wray said he has been resting in Albuquerque while his broken shoulder heals, but he's fine with that because he's not racing against a deadline.

"I am planning on ending up in Maine," Wray said. "That's the one state that I've never been to. From here, I'm going to keep heading south. I've never been to Roswell.

From there, go through Dallas, Austin, Houston and then New Orleans. And from there, I'm going to go through Mississippi.

"In Mississippi, he said he wants to see the crossroads from the legendary story of Robert Johnson, the grandfather of delta blues. "I've recently learned it's actually a railroad crossing, but in the legend it's told as a dirt road crossing," he said. "He's there at midnight, and he's got a guitar on his back. And he's not sure what he's going to do with his life.

"Then, Robert Johnson meets the devil. "And the devil's like, 'If you make this deal with me, I'll give you this guitar sound and that'll be your signature on history,'"

Wray said. "So I want to go to that spot and then, from there, see what happens. Maybe I'm due for a deal - and I'll make one."