Quite possibly the most memorable closing to a service we’ve EVER done today. SO PROUD to be a part of Element Church and a GREAT group of people seeking God and wanting to BE the church. Here are my thoughts on the day. This may get long, just to warn ya.
— Over 200 kids again in e:kidz. That area is getting SLAMMED.
— 2nd service was absolutely PACKED. If we don’t get some Elementers to move services, we’re going to be done growing.
— 2nd service is PRIME TIME. If you are an Element regular attender and can switch to first (preferably) or third service…PLEASE DO!
— Had one family come in a little late 2nd service and we didn’t have enough seats together to sit them together. Had to split them up. We don’t want that to happen. By the way, this is a GREAT problem to have.
— Had one of our Elementers share a story with me today. I LOVED it so have to share. He told me “Someone asked me this last week why I like Element Church so much? I told them, growing up, the only people that were ever convicted in church were people who WEREN’T Christians. At Element Church, the Christians are convicted too.” HA! And he was PROUD of that. Love it. Love we can preach a message that draws people TO the Gospel and compels those who already KNOW the Gospel to LIVE it.
— So, we continued our series BE today as we’re talking about what it means to BE the Church. I preached form Luke 10 and the story of the Good Samaritan. Here are some excerpts:
— I often wonder if we’re not acting more like the gates hell have already won instead of advancing against them with light Jesus Christ.
— God cares FAR MORE about the church than we could ever dream of caring. Why? IT’S HIS!
— (Speaking to the issue of needs around us) We don’t need wider programs, we need more willing people.
— The church is becoming known, more and more, for what we are AGAINST instead of what we are FOR.
— We’re becoming more famous for what we OPPOSE rather than for who we ARE and that scares me. The church is FOR life. If we’d spend more energy being FOR life and OFFERING life we might actually rid the world of the things which we are against.
— It is not policies, politics, protests or programs that will rid the world of what we oppose, it is the LIFE of JESUS!
— The Gospel is self-less but for the most part we are selfish. The Gospel is redemptive but for the most part we’re retentive, being concerned more about losing what we have instead of giving to those who have not.
— We’re all living the parable of the Good Samaritan and are 1 of 3 people. The hurting, the helper or the hell giver. Which one will you be?
— Jesus didn’t say “Now go back to your Bible Study and talk about this.” “Develop a church program to address this.” or “Add this to your prayer list.” He said “Now GO and DO the same.”
— We took Jesus up on that today. I shared about a sister church of ours in New Mexico. Pastor Marvin and Kirtland Hope Church are ministering to native Americans and the Indian reservation down there. One of the biggest needs for them is shoes. Some kids and families are not able to afford shoes on their feet. At the end of the message I challenged people to NOT just pray about what they could do. NOT to commit to give something later, but to give, on the SPOT, the shoes off their feet for the ministry in New Mexico.
— One of the easiest ways for Kirtland Hope Church to show the love of Jesus is to put shoes on peoples feet. What happened next, BLEW ME AWAY!
— Our altar began to be FILLED with shoes. Every service people came forward, MANY of them with tears streaming down their face, piling shoes on top of one another to give to someone who is in need.
— People went home and got shoes and brought them back. One young girl brought a whole BOX of shoes back. Saw one mom who had been “tipped off” before she came to church unloading a bag FULL of kids shoes on the altar. We literally have HUNDREDS of pairs of shoes and MANY more who wrote on their card that they were going to buy some this week.
— Some people after first or second service STILL had to serve. It was AWESOME to see people holding the front doors open, singing in the band, working the info table and serving in e:kidz WITHOUT SHOES!
— The biggest need for shoes is among children but Pastor Marvin said “We’ll take anything you can give us.” We will be accepting shoes ALL WEEK at the office. If you can bring more in, ESPECIALLY kids sizes, please do. Many people have already went out and bought shoes. Pastor Grant and his wife Terri will be taking all the shoes down to Pastor Marvin and his church on Sept. 21. (How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News)
— Pastor Derek will be helping the older kids organize and sanitize all the shoes for the kids outreach project during Be The Church day.
— One lady in our church asked to talk with me after 3rd service. She was crying pretty heavily and holding her shoes which she placed on the altar. She said “Jeff, I didn’t know why God told me this until today, but this past week I thought God was telling me to polish my shoes. I didn’t do it. Today, when you challenged us to give our shoes I began weeping because then I knew why. These shoes aren’t mine anymore, but can I take them home, polish them and bring them back? I want to offer my BEST!” THAT was awesome.
— I JUST got a phone call from an Elementer who gave their brand new running shoes today at church. Following service they went to a shoe store here in town to buy a new pair. They walked in, WITHOUT SHOES, to make a selection. The young lady working asked what his story was. He told the gal what had happened at church today and that he gave his shoes. He proceeded to select a new pair of running shoes and also another pair he had been needing for work. When he went to check out, the young lady pulled out her credit card and PAID FOR BOTH HIS SHOES! She told him “If I would have went to church like I was supposed to today, I would have given my shoes too. This is my way to give.” CRAZY! How amazing is that?
— Someone else just told me they went to Kohls and found kids shoes that were on sale. When the manager found out what we were doing he gave them an ADDITIONAL 10% off. LOL
— Here are some pictures of the shoes that have come in so far, and the pictures of them on the altar. The response of the people was UNREAL. Some NICE shoes were placed on that altar too. Not just leftovers.
— The band played “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath today, and HOLY COW they absolutely nailed it. Almost liked their version better.
— They also did the new Desperation song “Light Up The World”. That song SCREAMS “Be the church”
— Wish we had a picture of the set design. The creative team outdid themselves this time. GREAT job! I’ll have to get a pic of it. Amazing!
— Well, I can’t think of anything else. Gonna have some testimonies to share through the week. LOVE what God is doing in peoples lives.
— Element Church, as I said in service today, I am SO PROUD to be a part of a church that will take the shoes off their feet to give to those who are in need. Humbled to be considered a leader among you.
Following Christ,
Jeff
