Holidays, Life, Death, My City, and a Discovery

A mixed up title, for a mixed up day.
Friday is supposed to be Family Day. Time spent with family - some of which is to be spent discovering my city - Macon.
Monday was a holiday - which I spent doing NO work - which put me a day behind.
Add to the holiday and being behind right from the start a couple of weekday meetings - make that four - and suddenly life as a pastor and planter is full! Did I mention the last ballgame and Robby's party? Just more of life.
And of course life is not complete without death. One of our families suffered a loss this week - Russell Boyd's dad. The funeral was today at 2. Pray for Russell, his mom, and their family.

So with a holiday, busy life, and church family death - I hope you will once more forgive my weak installment of My City. Here's the best I could do...
Lunch today at Spaghetti Alley - it is in the alley right behind the 567. The food was GREAT. I had a H U G E plate of Lasagna - better than Carrabbas. Its a local spot and a dang good one. If you haven't eaten there - its high time you do! You can check their menu and prices out at their website. One of the really cool things about being downtown is that most of the restaurants are locals, not franchises - there's usually not another one like it! I also really dig that I walked to lunch with 2 guys from the church, met other downtowners, and then after lunch walked to the funeral home. I love downtown - I love my city.

I also have a new love - I am PUMPED about it. My new discovery - Pandora Radio. I rarely listen to the radio because they don't play much of what I like. I listen to cds or other stuff on my computer (which rocks because it plugs into the 567 sound system - thanks Chuck).
So today I wanted to listen to some Jack Johnson. Googled Jack Johnson - came across Pandora. Typed in Jack Johnson and Pandora started its thing! What thing, you ask?
O let me tell you!
Pandora has every artist categorized by genre, mood, and other stuff. Jack Johnson brings up a gazillion different artists who play similar genres and styles. And all day, Pandora has given me sweet music! So now, as I have certain artists I like to hear depending on my mood or activity, Pandora can feed me music - for free! Check it out - I think that you too will have a new love!

Now - to finish a sermon!

This Ain't Your Mama's 'Small Group'

Some random thoughts on where we're headed...
Life Groups - NCCd's Missional Communities - this ain't your mama's 'small group!'
A Church of House Churches gathering on Sundays. That's how we see our Life Groups.

The 1st Century Church did what Jesus and the disciples had done for 3 years. That is, they did life together! They ate together, they went to parties together, they ministered together, they met one another's needs together, they worshipped together... in fact, they did all of the Bible's 'one anothers' together. THAT is the aim of our Life Groups - to do life together within a gospel community.

The mission of these Gospel Driven Communities - to see the gospel transform everything within our reach - ourselves, our church, our city, and the world.

As House Churches, each Life Group will be a church, of sorts.
If the church is the people and not the building or institution (and it is), then each of our Life Groups will take on the characteristics of the church. That is, we will Worship - together in Community; we will Serve one another, our families, our city, and our world, proclaiming and showing the gospel as we do so; we will learn and grow as we walk together with Jesus. In other words, each Life Group will become a worshipping community of missional theologians.
Everything that the church is to be - the Life Group will be. Everything that should happen within the church, happens within the Life Group.

Geographically Driven
Many 'small groups', 'cell groups', 'home groups' are put together based on age or stage of life. I'm pretty sure we won't find that in Scripture! Doing so, separates the body and leads to division. It also hinders the natural rhythms of life teaching - older women teaching younger women and older men teaching younger men. Therefore, we see Life Groups as primarily driven by geography and inclusive of a variety of ages and life stages.

Open and Missional
Small Groups often become CLOSED Groups. They tend to turn inward and to be satisfied and comfortable with themselves. A closed group CANNOT be a missional group. Our Life Groups will be OPEN groups and our people will be encouraged to invite their friends and family members to come and see what life in a gospel community is like. They will be welcomed and our groups will provide them with a sense of BELONGING, even if they don't yet believe. Our hope is that each of our communities grows and multiplies - starting other new Life Groups!
Our groups will also be missional in the city - each group forming a missional partnership within the city (with, for example, the Macon Rescue Mission, Sav a Life, Salvation Army...).

Leadership Incubators
We see a church whose primary leadership comes from and is developed within the church as opposed to being brought in from the outside. Our Life Group leaders will always be on the lookout for the emerging leaders. Emerging leaders are leaders in the making. Life Group leaders will spend time helping that emerging leader to develop within the community.

Future Churches ?
New City Church will eventually be a church with numerous campuses. Each of our Life Groups could potentially become our next New City Campus. As the group multiples and becomes multiple groups in a geographical region (Warner Robins, Forsyth, Gordon...), the hope is that this region would be fertile ground for a new campus and new churches.

Jeff Vanderstelt of Soma Church has some great teaching on how they view Missional Communities - worth the listen! (HERE)

Macon and music... take TWO

Thanks Lisa Love for the blog visit! Lisa is the Executive Director of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame (which we will include in a future My City post). Lisa commented:

If you are interested in Otis Redding, visit the GA Music Hall of Fame. There is a special exhibit through September and a singer/songwriter camp in June. (INFO)

If you haven't visited the Hall - here's your invitation!

Visit the Hall of Fame online HERE.

Macon and music...

So - the plan was - a family outing downtown to kickoff the "My City" blogs. Didn't happen! But don't give up on it. We did go see Prince Caspian as a fam - good time.

So here's an installment of "My City" with more to come...

Did you know that Otis Redding was from Macon, and got his start right here in my city?
Probably most known for Sitting on the Dock of the Bay - here's Otis Redding:


Some History from History of Rock.com

Generally regarded as the single most influential male soul artist of the '60s, Otis Redding was one of the first artists to broaden his appeal to white audiences with a raw, spontaneous style that bore a stark contrast to the smooth, sophisticated music of Motown.
Otis Redding was born September 9, 1941 in Dawson, Georgia. When Otis was five the family moved to the Tindal Heights Housing Project in Macon, Georgia. Otis Sr. worked at the Robins Air Force Base, one of the local places of employment for blacks, and preached on the weekends. Redding began singing in choir of the Vineville Baptist Church. For much of his childhood his father was sick. Living for awhile in a shotgun house in west Macon known as Bellevue the family was forced to move back into the project after it burnt down.
Dropping out of Ballad Hudson High School in the tenth grade, and went on to work with Little Richard's former band, the Upsetters. and he send home $25 a week. Gladys Williams, a prominent local musician ran Sunday night talent shows that Otis began to compete in. After winning 15 times straight, he was no longer allowed to compete.
In 1959, Otis sang at the Grand Duke Club. In 1960 Redding began touring the South with Johnny Jenkins and The Pinetoppers. With this group he made his first recording in 1960 as Otis and The Shooters.
In 1962, Redding recorded a song he had written,"These Arms of Mine" at a Johnny Jenkins session at Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee. The song became a major R&B hit and a minor pop hit in early 1961 on the newly form Volt subsidiary of Stax, to which he was quickly signed. Now recording in Memphis with the Stax house band Booker T. and The MGs, Redding had a number of crossover hits for Volt that included "That's What My Heart Needs," "Pain In My Heart," and "Chained and Bound." His first moderate hit was "Mr. Pitiful" in early 1965. Redding toured regularly through 1967, accompanied by Booker T. and The MGs or The Bar-Kays, developing a greater initial following in Europe than in the U.S.
In the spring of 1965, Redding broke into the pop market with "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)," co-written with Jerry Butler, and his "Respect." His Otis Blue album included two hits, Sam Cooke's "Shake" and "A Change is Gonna Come" and The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" which became a crossover hit. Redding's "I Can't Turn You Lose/"Just One More Day" became a Top 10 two-sided R&B hit at the end of 1965. His Dictionary of Soul album yielded crossover hits "My Lover's Prayer," Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)," and "Try a Little Tenderness."
In 1967 Arthur Conley had a Top 10 hit with the Conley-Redding "Sweet Soul Music" and Aretha Franklin had a Top 10 Pop and R&B hit with Redding's "Respect."
Redding recorded King and Queen with Carla Thomas and the album yielded R&B
and Pop hits "Tramp" and "Knock On Wood."
Appearing as the only soul act at The Monterey International Pop Festival gained Redding widespread recognition and began establishing him with pop audiences. However, while touring, Redding's airplane crashed into Lake Monon near Madison,
Wisconsin on December 10, 1967 killing him and four members of the Bar-Kays.
In early 1968, Redding's recording of "(Sittin' On ) The Dock of the Bay," co-written with Steve Cropper, became a top pop and R&B hit. Posthumously crossover hits continued in to 1969 with "The Happy Song (Dum Dum)," "Amen," "I've Got Dreams to Remember," "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," and "Love Man."

Otis Redding was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

Looking Forward to Sunday

We are currently in a series that is unpacking a summary statement that is part of our vision and mission - NCCd will be a Worshipping community of missional theologians. We have talked about:
worship - Jesus is the center of our worship and the foundation upon which HE is building His church,
community - as God exists in a perfect trinitarian community - Father/Son/Spirit - we are created for community. Community with the Godhead, and with one another. We will strive to live in those communal relationships, and we will strive to live that way IN our city and our world,
missional -
theologians - Theology is the study of God. Knowledge about God is not the end - it is a means to the end, and the end is God. We desire to know Him deeply, intimately, and personally - and the way to do that is to study Him - which is Theology!

Yep - I skipped missional - and this week that's where we pick up! And I am excited about this Sunday's possibilities. Being missional is more than an activity (doing missions), it is the very nature of the church to be missional. It is tied to a sending God - a God who sent prophets, priests, and kings - who sent THE prophet/priest/king in Jesus! It is about A Savior on mission who sent the disciples, and who sent Holy Spirit to empower and enable the church. Now, the post ascension King is sending us to carry out the Kingdom mission. Dang that's exciting!

Pool Party @ the Thompson's - You're Invited

At Last...

Finally - most of my books are here and on the shelves, only a few boxes of pictures and stuff remain. I only have about 350 books and I am looking forward to adding to the library (the last few years as an associate pastor of a lot of activities didn't help much in the library area) - that's a hint to anyone who ever wants to get me something - an Amazon or CBD gift card would be great.
The shelves are in three sections -
The right and left sides are 8 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 1 foot deep.
The center section has 2 shelves and a top and is 3 feet wide.
The desk in the center is 3 feet wide and 21 inches deep.
The most challenging part of the project - in a 100+ year old building NOTHING is level, straight, or square!!!!

Random Friday Stuff...

Middle Ga Tornadoes: Last Count - 15
I am thankful to say that I received only 1 damage report this week from NCCd family and close friends. David Smith, FCA Motocross Georgia lead had 2,000,000,000 trees down. On the car, the house - EVERYWHERE! Thankfully David and family were safe!

As a result of the storms there have been an increased needs placed on the Macon rescue Mission and they are asking for help. We will begin collecting non-perishable goods THIS SUNDAY. So, bring the goods and we'll get them to the Rescue Mission.

Missing My Books:
I stopped a lot of stuff today - went by Lowes - spent $150. I then spent a good bit of the day building book shelves - a new home for all my books (or most of them I hope). Here's the plan -
2 shelves 8' high x 4' wide x 1' deep (finished them today - MASSIVE)
2 shelves connecting the big boys at the top
Between the 2 big boys I am building a hinged desk top that will fold up and out of the way when not in use.
I enjoy the power tools and the creative side of building things!

Overwhelmed With Work:
The needs and list of things to do hasn't changed - hasn't gone down much either. But I am at peace for now. Maybe, thanks to power tools and building stuff. Nah, I know that this is Jesus' church - and while I feel the press to get ready for the Fall, it is still His church - and He will build it!

My City:
I hope next week to start a Friday post about our city. My family will tour some of the old buildings and share that with you as well as other great sites and Macon history!

Children of the Covenant

NCCd doesn't hold "Baby Dedication" services, instead, we participate in a Family Covenant - a covenant made by parents (or parental figures) and the church family. Sunday was our first Family Covenant service. We had four New City families, five new city kids, and one on the way. Three Pillars on which we challenged parents, and by which we shape our children's ministry:
1) Jesus is central in ALL things,
Therefore, we are committed to making Jesus the goal and the main character of our teaching.
2) Children must learn to love and fear (awe, reverence) Jesus,
Therefore, we are committed to not only teaching the biblical truths of Jesus, but we are committed to do everything that we can do to reach the very hearts of our children with the Gospel of Jesus.
3) The responsibility for teaching children about Jesus belongs to parents,
Therefore, we are committed to equipping parents, helping them in their God given role and responsibility.
Here is the actual covenant:

This covenant we make – we make together by God’s great grace, and should we be able to keep it – we recognize that this too we do by His great Grace and Mercy.

God's Word tells us in Psalm 127:3,
Children are a gift of the Lord;the fruit of the womb is his reward.(Psalm 127:3)
Parents,
1. Do you today recognize these children as gifts of God and give thanks to God for his blessing?
DO YOU? (We Do)

2. Parents, Do you recognize today that Jesus is Central in all things pertaining to life and godliness and do you pledge (by God’s Grace) today to make Him the center of what you teach your children?
DO YOU? (We Do)

3. Do you recognize today that more than morality your child must be taught to love and honor Jesus?
Do You? (We Do)

4. Do you pledge, therefore, to teach more than morality or lists of do’s and don’ts to your child – instead – do you pledge to seek to turn the heart of your child to love and honor Jesus? DO YOU? (We Do)

5. Parents, Do you promise, God helping you, to make it your regular prayer that, by God's grace, your children will come to trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins and for the fulfillment of all his promises to them, even eternal life; and in this faith follow Jesus as Lord and obey his teachings?
Do You? (We Do)

Parents, this is a great covenant that you are entering into today before God and your church community, BUT you do not enter alone. You have been saved to a COMMUNITY – to a larger family. And it is this community – the community of the local body – that God designed as an aid to you. In Titus we see that older women are to be involved in the lives of younger women – teaching them how to love their children. Likewise older men should instruct younger men. We – the local church should be your encouragement, your support, your accountability, your instructors, your partners in the great task of rearing children. So, these last questions are for the entire New City family.
(Everyone committed to this church – if you would, please stand)

1) Church, do you commit today (by God’s Grace) to live as a community of believers, followers of Jesus Christ?
Do You? (We Do)

2) As a community of believers, before God and these families, do you commit to:
making Jesus Central in All things, and do you also commit to strive to turn the hearts of our New City Children to love and honor Jesus?
Do You? (We Do)

3) Do you covenant today with these parents, and all of our parents to be an encouragement, a support, an instructor, and a partner in the great task of rearing Jesus loving Children?
Do You? (We Do)

WORDS OF DEDICATION
"Ethan, Harrison, Caleb, Elijah and Asa, together with your parents, who love you dearly, and this people who care about the outcome of your faith, I dedicate you to God, surrendering together with them all worldly claims upon your life, in the hope that you will belong wholly to God for ever."

Response to the service has been incredible. I pray for our NCCd parents and kids. I pray that we would see a generation of children come up with hearts in love with Jesus!
* We gave our covenant parents, and any other parent who wanted one a great tool to help them teach their children about Jesus - The Jesus Storybook Bible. It is the only children's Bible Storybook that I have ever seen that views all of Scripture through Jesus. NCCd parents, if you didn't get a copy Sunday, please pick one up this week.

Not Rain, Not Sleet...

At 5:45am we were awakened to the warning sirens - there was a tornado warning for our county. We watched the tv screen all morning to see where the storms would strike. At 7 something we lost power.
Do we have church or not? I had no idea what was going on in the world as we had lost power. I packed a bag and headed to the theater. The roads were clear - NO traffic - traffic lights were out all the way into the city. The theater and downtown had power. I walked in and Russell was setting up for the band. I opened the lap top to check out the world - a few church closings, but no mention of major damage - in walked some of the band crew - church was on. Our crowd was smaller but still in the mid 80s, not bad I thought, for the storms that rolled through. We had our service, had a great covenant time with 4 families (our version of a Baby Dedication - on steroids). I heard just before our service started that the Bibb County Sheriffs Dept was urging residence to stay home. I had no idea why.
After church we drove to Amy's parent's house - I was shocked! Twice we were detoured for downed trees and power lines. Macon College's campus looked like a war zone - hundreds and hundreds of trees snapped off, Trees in the roads, trees on homes - no doubt a tornado's damage. I had no idea the amount of destruction. It is hard to believe that there weren't more injuries and deaths. We are thankful for God's protection and provision.

How About That!?!? New City Church DENVER?

That's right! New City Church Denver! A couple of months back I began having some conversations with a fellow A-29 planter in Denver - Aaron Carlson - Providence Church. Providence is re-launching this summer - changing locations, restructuring - all of it. As part of the re-launch the Providence team looked at a ton of name change possibilities. In the end, they felt that New City Church Denver reflected the mission and vision of their church.
Aaron - we are praying for you guys! (if you missed the link above - here it is again!

Thanks, From Russ

We recently were able to send some $ to a church planter in OR - Russ Johnston - to help with sound equipment. I am excited that we were able to help! So - Russ has ordered what he needed and here's a note of thanks:

Hey Keith,
Just wanted to let you know we got to order our speakers and they are arriving this Thursday. I can't tell you how thankful I am for your church's gift. I never expected that. Our church has grown this month in some more young familes and our tithe has increased some I'm so thankful for new speakers I think this Sunday we are really going to need them. The Lord's timing is perfect. Dude I can't believe I am a pastor and in His will and that this church is really growing and people are talking about Jesus. It's causing my passion for study and prayer to increase. A great book I am reading is "God, Marriage, and Family" rebuilding the Biblical Foundation by Andreas Kostenberger. It is a really solid book that answers the why questions more than the how's. Anyways I appreciate you and want to be a giving church as well. We have given 10% of our churches tithe to local ministries since we started. Have
a great day Keith.
Russ Johnston

Dwelt Part 2

There is WAY too much to unpack in a blog - or even to try and unpack! The conference was great of course.
Dwell:
An Urban church planting conference
Took place in Manhattan this past Tuesday and Wednesday
Included some of the best urban/missional speakers in the world
3 Church Planting Networks participated (Redeemer - Tim Keller, Sovereign Grace - CJ Mahaney, Acts 29 - Mark Driscoll - Darrin Patrick - Eric Mason)

Session 1 - CJ Mahaney - Watching Your Life and Ministry
CJ spoke from I Timothy 4:16 on the Pastoral Priority of watching your Life and Doctrine
For me, the most convicting session as he talked about the need to have others help in watching your life. We all have blind spots and things that are sometimes obvious to others but not to us.

Session 2 - Ed Stetzer - Dwelling in the Kingdom Mission
A call to community and a call to participate in the kingdom with others.
Be - Do - Tell the Gospel

Session 3 - Eric Mason - Dwelling Incarnationally
As Servants, As Preachers, As Community, As Worshippers, As Teachers

Session 4 - Mark Driscoll - Dwelling in the Text
I have listened to so much Driscoll that while I enjoyed it, I felt like I had already heard it! Don't misunderstand me - good stuff!

Session 5 - Darrin Patrick - Dwelling With Non Christians
Intentional Incarnation - Contextual Communication - Sacrificial Investment - Gospel Astonishment
People need to see that we are like them, but also that we are NOT like them.

Session 6 - Tim Keller - Dwelling in the Gospel
One Gospel, but many different forms. The one gospel is summarized as Manger (incarnation) / Cross (substitution) / Crown (restoration)
The differing forms: There are 4 Gospels in the Bible - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Each tell THE Gospel, each do so with a slightly different form. Paul speaks of a Gospel to the Jew and a Gospel to the Gentile - again, one Gospel but in a slightly different form.
Part 2 from Keller - Communicating the Gospel
Packed! Upside down kingdom, inside out kingdom, forward back kingdom...

Session 7 - Mark Driscoll - Dwelling Through the Text
Mark pulled some good stuff from their series in Nehemiah. You can find the series on the Mars Hill site.

Session 8 - Tim Keller - Persuasion
Communicating the Gospel to our culture: Listening, Entering the Framework (their beliefs), Challenging the Framework, Completing the Framework

On Tuesday Greg Wood and I attended the New York Experience - Why Art? The Role of Artists in Society & Faith Communities
Awesome stuff. Great encouragement for us and what we see happening at the 567.

I don't think that there was anything earth shatteringly NEW that I learned this week. It was a great week of affirmation, however. The affirmation came as Greg and I listened and talked about nccd - where we are, what we see, and where we are heading. It looks like we are right on track to be the kind of church that these guys are talking about - by God's great grace!

Who Did You Meet @ the 567?

Last night was First Friday at the 567. Anny Stanley played some great tunes and was followed by Jim Cable. They were both great. As expected our crowd this month was very different - and great. Our first First Friday was a night of mostly our people, not so last night. We had a great mix of our own people as well as our city's people. There was a pretty steady flow of stop and listeners out on the sidewalk and a pretty good flow of folks in and out.

The post title question - "Who Did You Meet @ the 567?" is asked because one of our hopes is that the 567 become a great place for NCCders to meet people that they otherwise would likely never meet. Last night was a great night for me! Who did I meet?
I met local artist Lynne Barta who will display in the 567. Beautiful work.
I met Emily who was excited to see the new life downtown, but sad that she is graduating soon and moving to France in October.
I met Meagan, Emily's friend who recognized one of our artist's work. Meagan is graduating and heading to Mississippi to teach school.
I met Ashley and her boyfriend (never got his name) who volunteered to help with the 567 stuff and he will likely show up for band practice this week - a musician interested in possibly playing at New City.
I met a children's minister from a local church - sorry I forgot her name - she lives downtown and asked if we would consider doing a night service downtown. (We do have a good place for one)
I met Robert Reichert and Mrs Reichert - maybe I should say THE HONORABLE - he is Macon's mayor.
I met - or re-met - Walter Moody, his wife and twin boys. I knew Walter from FPD many moons ago. Turns out they don't really have a church home and they may visit us some Sunday.

I met others - like Bill standing outside the cafe - and still others as I served them coffee. A great night at the 567 and a glimpse of our vision for the 567 starting to happen.

I have DWELT

Back from a whirlwind trip to the really, Really, REALLY gigantic city of NY. It was great. It will take some days and reviews of my notes to unpack everything - I'll give you a rundown soon. Here are some NON learning highlights...
* Rode the PACKED subway several times - amazing
* Ate at ESPN Zone - Times Square
* Walked through part of Central Park
* Saw the NBC studio building, Trump Towers, Letterman's Studio building...
* Took a bus through Harlem and a corner of Queens
* Walked down Broadway and 5th Ave
Also
* Had dinner and stuff with some A-29 guys whom I really appreciate and respect (including Matt Chandler). Just missed a little A-29 hang out time with Driscoll - he and the Mrs. walked into the pub as Greg and I were walking out.
* Stood next to Tim Keller - he's taller than I thought