Merry Christmas

From My House to Yours!

From Hali & David Bagwell

10 Budgeting Tips

A Friend sent this to me....tell me what you think!

10 Budgeting Tips...
We are in full blown budget mode at Calvary Fellowship. I've seen more calculators in the last week than I have in the last 2 months around the office :)

Here's a few thoughts I'd share to church leaders about budgeting for 2008:

1. Remember that God's vision is bigger than yours (Eph. 3:20)

2. Remember the widow's mite (Mark 12)

3. Money spend on evangelism is not an expense, it's an investment (Matt. 28:19-20)

4. Ask, "Is this a want or a need?" (Phil. 4:19)

5. Am I being generous to missionaries and other organizations doing important kingdom work? (2 Cor. 8:7)

6. Is the staff being compensated fairly? (1 Tim. 5:18-19)

7. Am I maxing myself out in my new budget and limiting what God can do through me? (Prov. 24:3-4)

8. Is our vision seen in what we are investing in? (Hab. 2:2)

9. Are the poor factored into the budget? (Lev. 25:35)

10. A budget is only a plan and God can change that any time He wants (Prov. 19:21)

BEST POLITICAL COMMERCIAL EVER!

Angel's Touch

Angels Touch

Although I cannot see you,
I feel your presence here
The comforting feeling that surrounds me,
assures me you are near

You’ve come to take my hand,
and release me from this pain
My body is giving up,
no longer able to take the strain
For years I fought with dignity,
I swore I’d prove them wrong
It was only your love and strength,
which kept me going strong
Your no longer by my side,
it was me, who begged you not to stay
I knew you could not handle this,
this day when I went away

I’ll take with me the memories,
and the love that we two shared
I’ll forever remember you smiling face,
and your blue eyes which showed you cared
I’ll remember your ever gentle touch,
and the sweet smell of your perfume
I’ll take every memory made with you,
as I leave this earthbound tomb

I’ll take my place among the stars,
and join the countless others
Those of us who are looking down,
watching over our sisters and brothers
So please don’t shed a tear,
when you find out that I’ve passed
I’m just another angel, in the army that Gods amassed

I know you want to be here,
standing right by my side
But I don’t want your last memories of me,
to be of the day I died
Don’t you worry baby, thru your memories,
I’ll forever roam
For God has sent and Angel, to bring another warrior home

Written by Jan Bagwell
More poems can be seen at www.janbagwell.blogspot.com

The Promised Land: Giving Campaign

November 17.2007
Bethel Church

Introduction

God has blessed us with a great opportunity to not be land locked any longer. Can you imagine what God can do with 33 acres? We are the threshold of the Promised Land, how will respond? Will we rise to the occasion and be a part of the miracle that God is doing in this place? How will we respond?

Our situation reminds me of another group of believers where land became available.

You see the Hebrews had been wandering in the wilderness for many years and they came to the threshold of the Promised Land, the land that God has promised them. How did they respond? Did they rise to the occasion and become a part of the miracle that God was doing in their midst?

Lesson: Open your Bible to Numbers 13:1-3, 17-20, 25-32

God many years ago had promised the land to the Hebrews, it was there’s for the taking. So as they arrive at the threshold of the Promised Land, God tells Moses to send out 12 spies, one spy for each tribe of Israel to spy over the Promised Land.

There were 12 spies sent into the promised land and it was there job to check out the cities, towns, and the villages in the promised land. When they returned, 10 of the spies responded by saying

We cant go there!
We cant do it!
Its not possible!
There’s Giants in the land!

Lets talk for a moment that the majority of the spies came back with a negative attitude. Instead of a positive attitude, they looked at the situation and said we cant do it! We cant go! My friends what they didn’t recognized is that years ago that God had already given them the land, he already gave it to them, it wasn’t can they do it…it was already theirs! And yes were their people in the land yes…but listen if God says you are to possess it, that you will have it, than my friends we are not to doubt it, we are not to shrug off and say I don’t know if we can do it! That is not the attitude we are to have! I believe the Hebrews needed to be proactive like the other two spies, and say you know what God calls us and say they we are to take the land, than we will take the land. And because we serve living God, the Holy God we take the land.

The eight spies also said there were giants in the land. They were talking about the different tribes that were already in the land. Yes, there were giants in the land.

But I want you to know years later a young little boy who had to face one of those giants, and that giant was goliath and do you know what David said as the rest of the Israelite soldiers quaked in their shoes because they were afraid…he said how dare that giant…how dare that man defy the living God…Ill go up, Ill stand up, Ill rise to the occasion, and do this because when God is for us who can be against us. And David went up and defeated that giant!

The 10 spies said that there were giants in the land, and they were afraid! They knew if they tried to posses the land that they might die, that there would be sacrifices to be made!

We are about to claim the promised land, by want you to know for us to possess the promised land we have to make sacrifices. The Israelites when they finally go to go in and claim the Promised Land, they had to made sacrifices. Some lost their lives, some lost their children, and some lost all that they had in taking the promised land. They had to sacrifice. When you sacrifice you have to sweat for it, you have to bleed for it, you have to work for it. If it is easy, it is not a sacrifice.

To Claim the Promise Land will be hard work!

It is going to be hard work to claim the promised land, this land that God has made available to us here at Bethel. As we try to claim this land, as we go through this giving campaign, we are going to face giants.

Theres going to be people who say we cant do it.
We cant raise enough money!
Oh were a small church. We cant do it.

Two types of people: Vision Stealers and the Vision Believers

You see there are two types of people. There are the vision stealers and there are the vision believers. You see the 10 spies who said we cant do it, its not possible. They were the vision stealers. Why? Because God had already given them the land, but they didn’t want to do anything on their part. Just because God gave them the land does not mean that they wont have to work for it. They didn’t want to have to work to get the land. They didn’t want to make sacrifices. The vision came from God but the 10 spies stole the vision and said its not possible.

You see there are two types of people. There is the vision stealers and there are the vision believers. The vision believers were the two spies who said lets go…lets do it. Lets the claim the vision that God has given us. The believed that if God called them to claim the land than God will provide.

What about me? What am I? Am I going to be a Vision Stealer or Vision Believer?

I believe with all of my heart that God opened this door for this land. It is a one time opportunity. I cant even begin to fathom the impact on how God is going to use the land. I am vision believer and so when December 23rd arrives and it is the day that we give our one time cash gift and pledge…I am ready to give. I am ready to be a part of the miracle that God is doing here at Bethel.

What about you? Are you a Vision Stealer or Vision Believer. Are you going to be like the 10 spies and say we cant do this, were a small church…or are you going to be say hey I want to be a part of the miracle that God is doing here at Bethel.

I am not going to beg you for money and no one else either. This is a giving campaign not a fundraiser. This is about giving from your heart and giving for the future of the church.

Some of you are going to give no matter what and it is because you spiritually mature and believe in the church. Some people are not going to give and don’t plan on giving and they will complain. We are doing this campaign for either of those people. There are those that will give when they catch the vision. This campaign is for them.

The Bible says that where there is no vision the people perish. Bethel has a vision! We are reaching out to the lost in our community, discipling them, and sending them back out as missionaries in to this community and into this world.

We WILL Reach Our Goal!

I believe we can raise the rest of the money that we need. I believe this church can and will rise to the occasion. I believe that not only are we going raise enough money but we are going to raise more than we need. Our one time cash goal is going to be $30,000 and our pledges goal is going to be $100,000. We can do this. If we all equally sacrifice, not equally give than we can easily reach our goal.

We are all at different incomes and what one person can give is different than someone else. It is not about equally giving, it is about equal sacrifice. When you give something it should be a sacrifice and a sacrifice should hurt, if it doesn’t hurt its not a sacrifice. For some of you it may be $20 one time gift and $100 pledge over 12 months…and that’s a real sacrifice! Others of you can give thousands of dollars one time gift and thousands of dollars for 12 month pledge…and to you that will be a real sacrifice.

Everyone in here can make a sacrifice. Remember the widow and the widow’s mite. It wasn’t much but it was all she had…she made a sacrifice. It is not about how much you give, but whether it is true sacrifice or not. Many of the kids and youth in here can give a $1 for one time cash gift and $12 over 12 month. This campaign will involve the smallest child to the oldest adult. Rise to the occasion and be a part of the miracle that God is doing in this place.

God has blessed us with a great opportunity to not be land locked any longer. Can you imagine what God can do with 33 acres? We are on the threshold of the Promised Land, how will we respond? Will we rise to the occasion and be a part of the miracle that God is doing in this place? How will we respond?

I believe our first response should be prayer.

Invitation

Let us pray…with Holy Spirit moving. God you have brought this far and I know that you have great plans for us…and now it is our time to respond.

If you are in this place and say Pastor David I want to be praying with you that this giving campaign will be successful and that this will help our church become a better and stronger church because of this purchase. With no one looking…will you lift your hands up…saying David I join you in prayer!

God you see the hands and the hearts in this place…I pray that God that you will begin with me and that I will do exactly what you want my family to do in terms giving to the future of this church. I pray that God that you will begin to work in the families and individuals of this church and that they begin to pray about what they should give for the future of this church. In your name I pray. Amen.

Lost!

Have you ever gotten lost before? Well, I have! I have been lost for over a month now. Bethel has been doing so well that it has consumed all my energy and time. We have gone to two services and it has been a great success! But...the pressures and stress leading up to it has been killer! I apologize for taking a long break from my blogging, but my life has been a whirlwind!

Many of you know of my beloved pet "Gracie" she is our child. The night before going to two services, which I had been in planning and working on for over a year, Gracie past away. It has been a tremendous blow to our lives and very bad timing. Satan wanted to be clear that he did not want us to be focused and ready for the two services!

Well...God has had bigger plans and our church has responded great to the new early service, which is a Southern Gospel/Bluegrass style of worship. I do ask all you to pray for Hali and I we are have a DIFFICULT time overcoming the loss of our dog.

Hope to be writing again SOON!

Prayer - First Step

How do you pray?

Most prayers are like mine....help me, bless me, keep me, lead me, strengthen me, oh yeah take care of my family, but mostly me..me...me. What if we went our whole adult life and missed the point of prayer?

In Matthew 6, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray! These men were good Jewish boys they had been praying all their life...why did they need to be taught? Because maybe they had done wrong. Could be they had went their whole life and missed the point of prayer?

What is the point of prayer? What if prayer was not about my needs and wishes? What if we prayed all our life and missed...Him.

In Matthew 6, Jesus said the FIRST step in learning to pray...is to go in your room and close the door. Location is important. Jesus said if you want to take the next step in prayer, and really learn what prayer is all about than go in your room and close the door. We also learned this passage that Prayer is not about HOW you say it, or HOW WELL you said it...prayers are not about being eloquent. It also does not matter how long you pray. And here is the major issue...this is key...Jesus said that he already knows what we need before we ask.

So if I go in my room and close the door and He already knows what I need, than what am I supposed to say in there? If you are thinking that, than you are ready to truly understand what prayer is all about.

REMEMBER THIS WEEK

• Go in your room and close the door.
• Don't worry about how eloquent your words are.
• It does not matter how long or how short your prayer are.
• Don't worry about telling God what you need, He already knows.

Next time....will talk about how to pray! What do you say behind close doors to God?

I Long for Jesus...

I look out the blinds, waiting...
I find myself rolling down the window, looking out...
I find myself as I walk looking up, wondering when...
I long for Jesus.

I look to others and see, busyness....
I look at people in their cars as they travel, careless...
I look at people as they move about, with their heads down...
Where is their longing for Jesus...

Where is the anticipation...
Where is the longing...
Why are people not getting ready, prepared...
Have we forgotten that He's coming again...

A Better Day is Coming...
A Happier Day is Coming...
A Day of Healing is Coming..
What a Day it will be!

I look to the sky...and I long for Him!

What is it going to take?

What will it take for Christians to realize that if we are not reaching our communities for Jesus Christ that we will cease to exist, not to mention the important factor that we are ignoring the very mission we were given by Christ. (Matt. 28:18-20)

As Southern Baptists we have been trained to believe that the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board do "missions" for the local church. So we sit back and give to the Cooperative Program and expect them to do the work of missions.

What will it take to change that perception? Christians need to realize that we are missionaries called to reach the community around us.

We need to become:

• incarnational missionaries in our communities,
• learn the language and culture around us,
• engage the culture with the transforming message of the Gospel, &
• actively participate in contextualizing the methods that we use to reach people.

This is what missionaries have been doing in Africa, in South America, and all over the world for years, and we need to teach our people that every Christian is a missionary called to reach the people around them. Every Christan has a circle of influence at work, in their neighborhood, and in their home, and they need to begin to look at their co-workers and their neighbors as the mission field.

What is it going to take? We still have time to reach people, but it is going to take every Christian fulfilling the role of a missionary and for some that will be a radical life change, to realize that you are NOT just at that job to make money or to provide for your family, but that you are there placed by a Holy God in order to reach those co-workers. It is a drastic change of thinking, but it has to be done in order to reach people with life changing message of Jesus Christ.

What is it going to take?

First Year as Pastor

Here are some random thoughts and lessons I've learned my first year. These are not original thoughts but thoughts that I had to originally learn on my own!

• Let God lead and guide me, not any committee or any person.
• Do whatever you can to get momentum and then fight, kick, and scream NOT to lose it.
• It is easy to get comfortable. Don’t let that happen.
• You quickly learn the darkside of leadership in yourself and those who are in leadership around you- wow can it change people!
• Developing leaders around you is easier said than done
• Keep it fresh or you will leave.
• Take Sundays off. It is good to reengerize your batteries and I am not doing well at this. Learning that church will be fine and not exploding when your gone is a hard lesson to learn.
• Take off during the week.
• Stay flexible.
• Creativity and innovation is key to survival in church
• Making time to love God is essential to daily living
• Learning to not be scared to preach on giving or to preach the difficult issues even when it steps on peoples toes.
• It is about Jesus and people. Nothing else.
• Don't take advice from someone who hasn't been where you are wanting to go!
• If you lose your church, God might give you another one. You lose your family, you’re done.
• Push your people to live lives that reflect the Bible.
• Go after the unwanted people. You CAN build a church with those no one else wants.
• Other Churches in our area are NOT our competition.
• When it quits being fun, step back and figure out why.
• Lead as God tells you, not as others think you ought too.
• There are times you have to do what others think is crazy and do it standing alone. That is called being a leader.
• Loving people even the ones that you drive you nuts.
• You need friends in the ministry. They have been there, done that, got the T-Shirt to prove it.
• If you can do anything else and be happy then do it. I can’t. I love this thing.
• Don’t be afraid of shaking it up.
• Seeking to save the world one life at a time is essential for the church or it dies.
• Hire ahead of your growth.
• If you wait until you can afford to hire, you will never do it.
• Know the vision God has given you and let nothing or no one change it.
• I am never 100% about any decision I make. If I can get to about 85%, I’m good.
• Small groups that work are an amazing and powerful thing.
• Find one or two mentors then shut up and learn from them.
• Enjoy the ride. Far too many guys miss out the awesomeness of the ride.
• There is nothing sweeter then a changed life.
• I’m as excited and sold out to this thing as I was the day when I preached my first sermon
• I am the MOST blessed person in the world to pastor this church.

Great Love!

Is it not GREAT that we have love!

This gift was made possible by God giving us freedom. The freedom of choice, to choose what is good or choose what is evil. He could have made us into robots without freedom, and made us to do whatever he pleased, but he didn't. God wanted us to love him freely, and forced love is never love!

Is it not GREAT that we have love!

U.S. Senate to open prayer with a Hindu Prayer

What is our nation coming too? Will God look upon our nation and bless it? This is the first time in history that the U.S. Senate has invited a Hindu to serve as a guest chaplain. This reminds me of Israel in the Old Testament when they chose to worship other gods. I am not saying that I believe that America is the new Israel, but our actions do have consequences.

When God looks upon our nation and watches the actions of our leaders, what is He thinking? What disciplinary action will He decide?

There once was two roads; a wide road and a narrow road. Which road will we as a nation take? As for me and my family we choose to take the road less traveled by, the narrow road. And it has made all the difference!

ipod...blended

WOW....have you seen this? Check this out!

Team Effort 2007

I was gone last week on a mission trip with my youth group. Our youth pastor, Shane Clardy, carried us to Team Effort, an organization set up to help student ministries with mission experiences. It was GREAT to get away and focus on Christ and focus on the youth. The youth did a wonderful job of working together and growing closer to the youth.

We had a lot of fun in our free time! We went whitewater rafting down the Occoee River and wow could I share some stories! We also swung on 100ft high swing, and participated in a high ropes course. We laughed a lot, shared a lot, and loved Christ through it all.

Can't wait till next year!!

.....key an eye out on some photos of the trip!

Children Ministry

I am in the midst of Vacation Bible School and for some of you who are unfamiliar of this program. It is a week of kids ministry that is centered around a theme and biblical scripture. It is a great outreach arm for the church!

What is great about VBS?

• provides worship designed for children
• everything is centered around a theme
• creates an environment for learning and for excitement

Here is the dilemma: why cant we provide a VBS environment every week for our children? Well we can and churches that are growing are already doing so. Ed Young's church has curriculum that is out of this world and it provides worship designed for children, 8 weeks of material centered around a theme, and creates an environment for learning and excitement. There are a lot of different materials out there that provide great resources, the problem is we don't motivate our churches to provide it on a weekly basis and not just one week of the year.

VBS is great! More kids are reached through VBS than any other event or activity! If VBS is the largest event where the most kids are reached for Jesus Christ, than can you imagine the children that would be saved if more churches provided this on a weekly basis? Wow! We might just start a revolution!

PROBLEM! Help if you can!

I used a video for a sermon illustration this past Sunday. The format was only available for QuickTime, which my worshipmedia does not recognize. I did show the video on QuickTime, but it caused a lot of trouble and the sound was poor.

Does anyone know how to convert the media file for QuickTime to a different format that would be recognized by worshipmedia?

Apple iphone

Egadget wrote a very long review of the iphone. Check out the review they wrote, but I have one complaint about the iphone!

When I first heard the rumors that Apple was coming out with a cell phone I was thrilled. I own an ipod and love it! Now that the iphone has came out, I am still left wondering why in the world are they using only one cell phone provider, AT&T. I am with Verizon and I would jump at the opportunity to buy an iphone, but I am not willing to switch providers.

I have a friend who has purchased an iphone and he loves it. I wonder if in the future they will offer the phone up to other providers?

Have any of you bought an iphone? What do you think, do you like it?

....very addicting from jpowell.blogs.com

Try this game out....its very addicting! Its Bloxorz. Tell me what you think. I got it from jpowell.blogs.com

New!

I will be writing about a wide variety of issues from current trends in society, new technology, technology that helps the church, to church life, and general issues.

I encourage you to comment and ask questions.

If you want me to answer a question, feel free to ask.

Look forward to the journey!

"True" Church Discipleship

Most Christians are only going to give three hours a week to the church! How are churches maximizing those three house to make disciples? What should they be doing?

Here is my idea.

If a person will only give 3 hours than those 3 hours should be as the following:

Give

• 1 hour to actively participate in worship
• 1 hour to actively participate in a small group Bible study fellowship
• 1 hour a week actively participating in missions

There needs to be a process in place that progresses people in their spiritual walk. Thom Rainer in his book Simple Church he nails the problem! Churches have become too complex and many have no process in which to disciple people.

At Bethel we use the idea in Simple Church, which is "Loving God, Loving People, & Saving the World!", Loving God is worship, Loving people is a small group Bible Study Fellowship, and Saving the World! is the mission program.

Simple. If people are only going to give me 3 hours a week than I believe this where I want them spending their time.

Simple. It has progression. It makes disciples!

What is your idea? Share with my your opinion and ideas on how to better facilitate discipleship and growth in our churches.