7 in 6

This morning in our all-staff meeting... we prayed specifically for our big 7 in 6 projects. These are seven initiatives that we are launching in the next six months at NewPointe. If you haven't heard about them yet... here they are:

1. The GO '08 food drive (July). Our goal is to fill 1,500 boxes of food for our local food pantries. Last year our goal was 1000 and we filled 1300! This year we are expecting even bigger things!

2. Service Sunday (August 3). We'll shut down "church" and go out into our communities to BE the church by serving people. Is that cool... or what?!?!

3. Sports Ministry. Looking to launch this new foyer environment this Fall.

4. Small Groups push. We're doing a special "groups-geared" series in September. Our goal... everybody at NewPointe in a small group for the duration of the six-week series.

5. Stewardship Campaign...we're already thinking about expansion and future ministry opportunities. Stewardship campaign begins in November.

6. Satellite Churches. We're exploring the possibilities of launching two satellite churches (Sugarcreek and Canton?) within the next six months.

7. Mission trips. Next month we're sending another team to Egypt. Our work overseas will continue throughout the year (and coming years).

Man, is it ever exciting to be a part of a great church with a HUGE vision! The next 6 months at NewPointe are going to be one wild ride! Hang on to your hats! Another exciting project taking place right now is our BIG GIVE Challenge. Our people are impacting our community is some pretty incredible ways... and the stories are already coming in! Our small group has started on our BIG GIVE project... and I will definitely be posting about our progress throughout the month of July.

NewPointe Services Canceled

What a crazy crazy morning! A "humongo" storm come through our area yesterday afternoon that uprooted a few trees and knocked the power out for about 16,000 AEP customers... including our church. We were expecting our guest band, Worth Dying For to arrive (From the CREATION Festival in PA) sometime around midnight last night. When they got here... the power was still out. Dave Mast had secured a generator for the stage so that the band could (at least) set up their gear with lights. So the plan was to set up... and then get sound checks the next morning... when the power was back on... right?

Wrong... I was on my way to the church this morning when I received a call from John Bunn informing me that our services had been canceled! Can you believe it? The power was still out... and wasn't expected to be back on before 10:00 tonight! I was sooooo bummed. I cannot tell you how disappointed I was. I was so excited about the opportunity to host Worth Dying For at NewPointe. It was going to be an amazing morning!

Well... when I arrived at the church this morning... this was the scene (photo to the left). Pretty sad... huh? And these guys were soooo ready to rock NewPointe! We are definitely going to reschedule Worth Dying For. They were so gracious and understanding with the whole situation.

After they finished packing up their gear... we headed out to Lee Ann's for breakfast... and a little hang time with the band.



It was an absolutely beautiful morning! And there is no better place to enjoy a beautiful morning... than at LeeAnn and Darrell Miller's place out in the middle of Amish country. Still... as nice as it was out there... it was just a little strange being there and not at the church. It didn't seem right.







LeeAnn put out a spread like you would not even believe. She had everything from pastries and fruit (which their guitarist, Sean is terrified of... too funny.) to cheeseburgers, chicken and chocolate chip cookies! It was amazing! Everybody just "chilled" and had a great time eating and talking and eating and...

playing Guitar Hero! Yeah... it was pretty hilarious watching these guys go at it. Here are a few shots of the challenge that ensued:

























When it was all said and done... it turned out to be a pretty great morning... and an opportunity for these guys to take some time to relax and recharge before heading off to New York City.

Before they left... we "circled up" and prayed for them... for their families back home... and for their ministry. They in turn prayed for our church.

Then... Sean strapped on a guitar that belonged to LeeAnn's son... (small scale... which actually looked pretty funny on a guy who is about 6' 5" tall) and Worth Dying For sang a couple of their songs for us. It was awesome! I will post a video of one of the songs on a future blog.

Even though things didn't turn out exactly like we had planned for this morning... it was still a pretty awesome day. And we made some amazing new friends who will definitely be back to bless NewPointe with their music.

Who Knew?

I was "blog hopping" the other day and came across this photo. Too funny! The cool thing is... Trevecca Nazarene University is my alma mater. Is that crazy... or what!?!?

(If you've never watched The Office... you won't have a clue who Dwight Schrute is.)

This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set List

Whatever you do... don't miss the services at NewPointe this weekend. Integrity Music recording artists, Worth Dying For will be our special guest worship band... and they are going to be amazing! They are coming to us from the ALIVE Festival where they rocked the main stage on two different nights last week. After ALIVE they played at CREATION in Pennsylvania. Now... they are looking forward to leading worship at NewPointe Community Church. How cool is that?!?! So... invite your friends... your neighbors... everyone you know... and get ready for some amazing worship this weekend!

See you there!

Thursday Morning "Regulars"

Yes... it's true. If you opened up your copy of this weekend's Bargain Hunter... to the article about the Wall House Coffee Company... you probably spotted a couple of guys that look an awful lot like John Bunn and... yours truly.

It's true... John and I are Wall House "regulars". Every Thursday morning you'll find us seated at our regular booth for a weekly creative brainstorming meeting.


On this particular morning, a photographer for the Bargain Hunter was looking for a couple of willing subjects to pose for a press photo... and I guess we just happened to be in the right place at the (right?) time. Well... we are such big Wall House fans... that we couldn't say no.

Pictured with us are Taryn, Ashadee, and Amy... three of the regular Thursday morning Wall House staff.

BTW: The whole "thumbs up" thing... was the photographers idea.

A New Restaurant in Town!

I've said it before... and I'll say it again... there are not very many options when it comes to good places to eat around this area... unless you are into Amish food (which I'm not). That's why I get so excited when I find something new. Well... today (along with John & Jenny Bunn and family) we tried a brand new restaurant in NewPhilly. It is called Hot Rod City. This place has only been open for about 10 days now. It used to be a classic car museum.

As we drove up... I could not believe my eyes. It looks like a restaurant that you would find in a Disney park. They spared no expense on "theming this place out". Inside... there are real vintage hot rods, old gas pumps, automotive memorabilia and neon lights galore! WOW! It is very impressive to say the least.


You've got to check this place out! They are located just off I-77 exit 81, then south on Old Rt. 21 (Stonecreek Rd.) about 1/4 mile. Directly behind the Department of Job and Family Services.

The food was great... the Velvet ice cream was off the hook... and the atmosphere was amazing. We are definitely going to be "regulars" at Hot Rod City. Here are a few photos from our experience this afternoon.

NewPointe Softball: Game Five

We had a late game last night... which meant that we got to play under the lights for the first time. It was pretty cool. I wish I could say the same about the score. We got crushed again. Well... not as bad as a couple of weeks ago... but it was still pretty painful.




Final Score: NewPointe (9) - Bars Mill (19)

April took this photo of one of my three (yes... count 'em) 3 very hard hit... OUTS! Yup... that's right... it was an 0 for 3 night for me. Man, is that ever frustrating. Oh well... there's always next week.

Check out the yellow ball connecting with my bat in this shot. Pretty cool photo, April!



Here's big Dan Liebman at the plate. He had a great night. I love watching that guy play.

Until next week...

Made Me Laugh

I was talking with Dave D'Angelo the other day about music stuf. Yes... Dave actually asks me questions about music... and the cool thing is... that he is genuinely interested in my answers (which is very cool... and very rare for a non-musician). I love it! So I was explaining to Dave just how limited I am on the guitar... because I didn't study the instrument... I studied piano instead. I told him that I can still get around pretty well in about 4 or 5 keys and then I have to "cheat". Well... Dave had been observing my use of the CAPO on stage... and asked me if I "cheated" by moving that "chip clip" up and down the neck. I had to laugh!

So... here is a photo of my newest CAPO. A little something that I like to call...

The "Chip Clip".

(BTW: Nico and Gino don't stand a chance folks!)

This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set list

Here is a list of the tunes for this weekend at NewPointe:

"Now Is The Time" - Delirious

"No One Like You" - David Crowder* Band

"King of Majesty" - Lincoln Brewster

"To The Ends of The Earth" - Hillsong United

"Believe" - The Bravery

"We Shine" - Steve Fee

It's gonna be a strong weekend with Dwight bringing a powerful vision casting message! Don't miss it! See you there!

Dangerous

We experienced another power outage last week at the church. You know... you realize just how dependent you are on technology... when the power goes out. We were all trying to figure out ways to stay productive... without power. I was just getting ready to clean my office (which it desperately needs) when Mike Conn came by and suggested that I find something for the interns to do. Well... all I could think of was grabbing a couple of acoustic guitars and heading over to the practice room (where a piano is)... and start writing a song with them.

It ended up being a pretty cool experience. The five of us spent about an hour brainstorming the subject of our song... before the lights came back on. We talked about how God did not call us to an uneventful... mundane... boring... predictable existence. But he called us to a life of adventure... a life of meaning and purpose... a life filled with risk and danger. One of the scriptures that we explored was 2 Timothy 1:7. It says that "God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity... but of power, love and self-discipline." We talked about what it means to live an UnTypical life (our next series at NewPointe).



I read the following statement from Irwin McManus' book Standing Against the Wind:

“Living is no low-risk proposition. If life is an ADVENTURE, then danger is adherent to the journey. How often have we surrendered our freedoms under the weight of our fears. This is one of the main reasons we abdicate living… for existing. As mundane as it is, existing provides a level of predictability and safety. Freedom is WILD and WIDE-OPEN, filled with UNCHARTED TERRITORY”.

Is that awesome... or what? WILD, WIDE-OPEN, UNCHARTED TERRITORY. Those words get me fired up! Sign me up! I could go for a life like that! But too often... "fear" keeps us from experiencing that adventure. Fear is also what keeps us (as artists) from experiencing freedom in creativity. We allow others to control our actions... because we are afraid of what they might think of us.

We spent a little time talking about the the word UNINHIBITED. What does it really mean to do something in "lost abandon"? What does it mean to just "go for it"... no matter what anybody else does? I shared with the guys how that is an area that I tend to struggle with. I am (too often) controlled by what others thinks of me. I look at someone like Dan Liebman (one of our interns) and wish that I could be as uninhibited as he is. I see him up on that KidStuf stage "gettin' jiggy-wit-it" and I wish that I could be that free. I tend to hold back because I am afraid of what people may think of me. In my mind... I can move like Michael Jackson... but in reality... I am afraid of looking foolish trying. (OK... so maybe the world is a much safer place with that whole scenario staying right where it is... in my mind.)

A friend sent me a copy of a commencement speech given by J.K. Rowling, authoress of the Harry Potter novels. In her speech... she talked about "failure". There were a couple of statements that really jumped out at me. She said:

“I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of me.”

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

“Choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.”

I read something like that... and think... I do not want to live like that. I want to take more risks... be more spontaneous... unique... unashamed to proclaim the name of Jesus...
People all around us are dying... trapped in a miserable existence... and we cannot afford to stand by and watch that happen any longer. As Christ followers... we were called to get out of our comfort zones. We are called to be...

Dangerous.
(OK... so that last photo doesn't look all that dangerous... huh?)

A Great Father's Day

What an incredible day! I got to spend the entire day with my family (a rarity). It started off with two amazing services at NewPointe. WOW! We opened with the Evanescence tune, "Bring Me To Life". Dennielle did an amazing job with the lead vocal. Her husband, Phebe was back on drums after a long hiatus (because of his job schedule). Hopefully... before the end of the summer, Phebe will be back on a regular basis. It was great having him back up there though. The worship was powerful. People were really engaged this morning. Then Dave D'angelo brought a powerful message to close out the "What Lies Beneath" series.

After church... I went home... ate lunch with my family... celebrated Father's Day... and then fell asleep on the back porch. Man, it doesn't get any better than that (Unless of course all of this took place at the beach). It was so nice out this afternoon... and so quiet on my back porch.

Then we all made a trip up to Canton to have dinner at Quaker Steak and Lube with some old friends, Tim and Joanne Pitzer. Tim is a fellow Nashvillian who is in the process of relocating to North Eastern Ohio. Tim and I grew up together in Nashville and basically went to school and played music together for most of our middle / high school years. Tim has been a music director for the past 20+ years as well... and is now going to be on staff at Malone College as their Director of Constituent Programming. It was great to catch up with Tim and Joanne.

Then... we stopped to get ice cream for the trip home at Cold Stone Creamery. We cranked up the stereo and sang a few oldies (to the top of our lungs) all the way home. The kids looked at us a little funny... but after a couple of tunes... they were singing and dancing along with us. Here were some of our random iPOD choices for the trip home:

Renegade by Styx (Hadn't heard that one in forever!)
September, Got To Get You Into My Life and Fantasy by Earth Wind and Fire (Some of the best "groove" tunes ever)
Never gonna Let You Go by Sergio Mendes (That is "our" song... OK... so the kids checked out on that one.)
She's Always A Woman by Billy Joel
We Are the Champions by Queen

as well as various Jonny Lang tunes.

Now... I am getting ready to call my Dad (another "greatest ever") to wish him a very happy Father's day. I sure wish that I could have been with him today. I hope his Father's Day was as good as mine.

WOW! What a day! I love my family. I am so blessed.

NewPointe Softball: Game Four

We won our game tonight! We played a pretty solid game from beginning to end. At one point NewPointe was leading 9 - 0... but they finally scored a couple of runs in the bottom of the 4th inning. After the 5th... we were ahead by 10 runs so they called the game (10-run rule after 5 innings). So after 4 games our team is at .500. And after last week's 1 for 3 "slump"... I went 3 for 3 again tonight and raised my batting average to .833. Not too bad for a 45 year old hacker... huh? What a great game! We are having way too much fun out there! It is great to win a few games along the way... but I am just having a blast playing with a bunch of really great guys!

Final score NewPointe (12) - St. Johns UCC (2)

Go NewPointe!!!

This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set List

This is the last week for the "What Lies Beneath" series... and yes... we are going to finish with some great tunes:

"Bring Me To Life" - Evanescence

"Make A Joyful Noise" - David Crowder* Band

"How Great is Our God / How Great Thou Art" - Chris Tomlin

"Sober Me" - Ronnie Freeman

"Back On My Feet Again" - Jonny Lang

WOW! Talk about variety... from Evanescence to Jonny Lang. What a weekend! See you there!

More Exciting News!!!

Another brand new Christian band will be making a guest appearance at NewPointe this summer! They are a worship band from Modesto, California called Worth Dying For... and they will be leading worship on Sunday morning, June the 29th. You will not want to miss this incredible morning. If you have never heard their music... they are sort of like...

Hillsong United meets Skillet meets FireFlight meets PlanetShakers.

There... now that you have an idea of what they might sound like... go check 'em out for yourself at www.myspace.com/worthdyingformusic. They flat out rock! And they are going to be leading worship at NewPointe! How cool is that?

So remember:

Worth Dying For - Sunday morning, June the 29th in both 9:00 and 11:00 services

and

Josh Wilson - Sunday morning, July the 20th in both the 9:00 and 11:00 services
as well as a concert later that evening.

It's going to be an exciting summer at NewPointe! See you there!

First Wednesday: Set List

We had an amazing service Wednesday night. John shared an incredible message that tied in to the "What Lies beneath" series and absolutely rocked everybody's world. We also experienced a great time of worship. Jeff (acoustic), Aaron (acoustic) and Brandon (djembe) helped me (grand piano) out with an unplugged worship set... and it was an awesome time! All three of these guys are interning with us at NewPointe for the summer. Thanks guys! We had lots of folks asking about the music from First Wednesday. So... here is a list of the songs from that evening:

"Everlasting God" Chris Tomlin

"Your Grace Is Enough" - Chris Tomlin

"Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" - Chris Tomlin

"Beautiful The Blood" - Steve Fee

"Come And Listen" - David Crowder* Band

"Give Us Clean Hands" - Charlie Hall

"Surrender" - Lincoln Brewster

"Lord, I Give You My Heart" - Hillsongs

An Exceptional Guy

If you haven't already read about it on John Bunn's blog... or in the Times Reporter this morning... one of NewPointe's very own, Ryan Kirkbride is on his way to Mesquite, Nevada for the Exceptional Driver Championship. You can check out the story here. The winner will take home the top prize of $100,000. Pretty exciting stuf... huh?

Ryan and Brandi are in our small group... and I had the opportunity to go out to the driving range with him tonight and watch him practice. WOW... can he ever hit the ball! The wind was blowing like crazy in our faces (it actually took my hat off once)... and Ryan was still hitting the ball 360 yards! And that was with his "back-up" drivers. He has already shipped his competition clubs to Nevada for the event. Imagine what he will be able do out there with little or no wind... dry air... and his competition drivers. It should be fun to watch.

Check out this swing:

It's no wonder the ball just explodes off of the club head! Now that's real power!








Ryan has been praying about how he might be able to use golf as a platform to share his faith. Well... it looks as though God is answering that prayer and expanding Ryan's territory... and it is awesome to watch.

The Exceptional Driver Championship will be aired Thursday, August the 28th on The Golf Channel. I will definitely be posting the results of the competition next week... and an exact time that we can watch Ryan crush a golf ball on National television. Until then... keep him in your prayers.

This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set List

The "What Lies Beneath" series continues this weekend with even more great music. Check it out:

"Can't Hide" Decemberadio

"The Noise We Make" - Chris Tomlin

"My Glorious" - NewSong

"Blessed Be Your Name" Matt Redman

"No One Else Knows" - Building 429

Get there early to hear the Decemberadio tune! You will not want to miss it. "Can't Hide" is an amazing song. We are definitely going to rock the Pointe with this one! Be there!

NewPointe Softball: Game Three

Well... we played a close one tonight. We were ahead by one run going into the bottom of the seventh and all we had to do was hold them... right? Unfortunately... they scored early and still had a man on second with two outs. Then their team captain, Denny Trimmer (Our very own Dennielle Stull's big brother) hit one in the gap to deep left center... and drove in the winning run. Even though it was a loss on our books... it really was a great game. Our guys played hard... and we had a great time out there tonight.

Final score: NewPointe (12) - First Christian (13)

Until next week...