Owner or Member?

On Sunday, we mentioned that our focus is for everyone in our church to see themselves as owners not members.

Here are some of the differences that were mentioned:

• Owners take responsibility but members claim their "rights."
• Owners say "we will do whatever it takes" but members just want the t-shirt.
• Owners focus on service (Mark 10:45), but members say "serve us."
• Owners show up to church with a fork ready to devour the Word.  Members show up with a bib screaming "feed us."
• Owners find solutions where as members find problems.
• Owners are contributors where as members are consumers.

At the end of the day, owners say we are a place for everyone because Christ came for everyone, and we will do whatever it takes to reach everyone with the Gospel.

Are you an owner or a member?  

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from Sunday at Elevate:

• It was the last week of our Crank It Up series and we did a message called WE is louder than me.
• Christ came for everyone! (John 3:16)  It really is amazing when you think about it.  He came for you, people like you, and people nothing like you.  
• We had someone receive Christ during the service!  That is awesome.
• People are not an object to be used but someone to be loved.
• No one is so bad they can't have the Savior nor so good they don't need a Savior.
• We all are in desperate need of grace from a Savior who loves us and gave His life for us. (Romans 5:8)
• Everyone can meet the requirement: faith in Jesus.  (Acts 15:9-11)
• Therefore, we should be a church for everyone who needs Christ.
• Let's do everything we can to not make it difficult for those who are turning to God! (Acts 15:19)
• Our focus must be outsiders not insiders. (Colossians 4:5)  
• We are a place for everyone because Christ came for everyone and we will do whatever it takes to reach everyone with the Gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:22-23)
• Yes, In-n-Out has a secret menu. 
• We will be moving some stuff this week in to the storage room they're are providing for us at Torrey Pines.
• This coming Sunday (September 5th) will be our first Sunday at Torrey Pines High School!
• We are also starting a two week series called The Viral Effect.  Don't miss it!

Random Friday

Here are some random Friday thoughts:

• We finish out our Crank It Up series this Sunday and it will be our last Sunday at the Coast Volleyball Facility.  Join us as we celebrate what God has done there and what He is about to do next as we move to Torrey Pines High School.
• Our first Sunday at Torrey Pines High School will be Sunday, September 5th.  Mark it down and join us as we move into this next step in the life of our church!
• We were able to purchase several Portable Church cases this week that will eventually save our volunteers a lot of time and make set up easier.  
• Hebrews 11:6 keeps coming to my mind: "Without faith it is impossible to please God."  We can not play it safe and expect to please God!  We are taking some pretty big risks this Fall and praying God does some huge things.  
• I feel like I blinked and it went from Monday to Friday.  The past few weeks have been some of the busiest we've had since starting Elevate.  We have a lot things happening in preparation of this Fall.
• Our kids start school on Monday.  I think they are ready.  I know Susan is ready.  :-)
• Just one of the many reasons I love living in San Diego is watching this happen.
• I can't wait for College Football to start Labor Day weekend!
• We got a team that has been in Nicaragua all week.  They get back on Saturday.  Can't wait to hear about their trip!
• On September 5th, we start a two week series called Viral Effect.  One of the greatest viral effects happened in the Book of Acts AND it was without YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc.  Imagine what can happen now when a group of people get sold out to share Christ with those around them!

Random Friday

Here are some random Friday thoughts:

• It is week four of our Crank It Up series this Sunday.  The message is called Max Out The Volume! Get ready to amplify your faith.
• If you missed last week's message, you really need to listen to it when you get a chance.  It really expresses what we are all about this Fall: Whatever It Takes!
• We prayed over and mailed the check to cover our first month (September) at Torrey Pines High School.  It is really awesome how God is working it all out.  Keep praying!
• 1 Corinthians 9:22: "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."
• We are going all out this Fall to tell people about Jesus!  We make no apologies for asking people to give to help make this happen.  If you want to give toward our outreach this Fall, you can go here to give online.  Whatever It Takes!  It's going to take everyone.
• I took Naomi on a date last night.  We went to a Daddy/Daughter date night at Chickfila and we walked around the UTC mall together.  Here is a picture before we went out.  
• I say this a good bit but it is so true: God's provision for the vision is amazing.  Also, there is no doubt that where God guides He provides! 
• I am tempted to show you a picture of our new website we are developing but I can't.  You will have to wait a few more weeks.  I am excited about a much needed change to our website we are making.
• We have some friends watching our kids tonight so Susan and I can go out on a date.  I love spending time with my amazing wife!
• We have a mission team heading to Nicaragua in the morning.  I can't wait to see what God does through this trip!

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from Sunday:

• It was week three in our Crank It Up series and we talked about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
• A disciple of Jesus is willing to say anytime, go anywhere, do anything, and at any cost.
• The bottom line is do you have a whatever it takes attitude.
• God's optimal desire for us not insulation in a spiritual bubble where we risk nothing, sacrifice nothing, and lose nothing.
• Read Luke 9:23-26.  
• "People really good at making excuses are rarely good at anything else." - B. Franklin
• "Some day" is a disease that will take your life from you.  You must be ready and willing for God to use you on His time table not your time table.  
• Are you willing to go anywhere? May we never have the audacity to say we will go the nations but never share with our neighbors.  
• The Great Commission is not the great suggestion.  It is also not either/or.  It is both/and.  It has got to be the nations AND your neighbors!
• We commissioned a team going to Nicaragua this Friday.  It is the first team we have sent out of this country in the short history of our church.  Pray for this team and their work in Nicaragua through Living Water International!
• Many times we want to run to certainty.  To follow Jesus means you are willing to embrace uncertainty!  Read Matthew 8:20.  Translation: Follow Christ and you will never know where you will end up.  
• The disciples followed Jesus into uncertainty and he turned them into world travelers and history makers!
• There must be a willingness to anything short of sin to reach those far from God (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).  
• There is a fine line between courage and stupidity but those who do great things for God flirt with that line.  (i.e. Benaiah in a pit with a lion, David vs. Goliath, Peter walking on water).
• We announced that we are moving to Torrey Pines High School.  Lord willing our first Sunday will be on Sunday, September 5th.  We are pumped about the opportunities that this gives us!
• I shared more about it during the message.  I will also share more in the weeks to come too!
• The bottom line to all of this: Whatever it takes!

3 Reasons To Be At Elevate on Sunday!

1) We are commissioning our first mission team to go on a mission trip out of this country!  We are sending a team to Nicaragua to take part in a Living Water Project.  Learn more about the trip on Sunday and join us as we send them out!

2) We have a HUGE announcement to share that will give our church an opportunity for greater impact this Fall!  Don't miss all the details this Sunday.

3) Crank It Up series continues on Sunday!  We've had two great weeks in this series and week three we are taking it to a "whole nutha level."

There are some more reasons to be there but we can't give everything away!


See You Sunday!

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from Sunday and the past few weeks:

• This week we continued our series called Crank It Up: The time is now!
• Don't put off until tomorrow what you know you should do today (James 4:17)
• Conditions weren't perfect for Bartimaeus and they won't ever be for you either (Mark 10:46-52).  You still must seize your moment!
• Let God define you not your current circumstances.
• You must get serious about removing anything between you and Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3).  
• Remember that an opposition is just another opportunity for God to demonstrate how big He is!
• Focus on what matters most: Love God.  Love people.  
• Satan doesn't care about turning you into a demon possessed person.  He is just fine with keeping you distracted from what matters most.  Keep your eyes on Jesus!
• A lot of "good" things may be keeping you from the best things you could do with your life.  What is keeping you from reaching your full potential through Christ?
• Stop being consumed with making a living and focus on making a life.
• We had someone receive Christ on Sunday!  That is awesome!
• We got some great things to share over the next few weeks!  I'm pumped about where God is leading us as a church.  
• The past few weeks I have been running wide open which you may have noticed from the lack of blog posts.  We have been working on a lot of different areas, systems, etc in preparation of the Fall.  We are taking it to a whole nutha level!
• The Lebron James Camp at UCSD was a lot of fun.  I was glad to be able to work it with my dad too!
• We are in the middle of our Mega Sports Camp at Elevate this week.  We are having a lot of fun and have double the amount of kids from last year. 
• We got a lot of great things coming up at Elevate.  I wish I could say more but right now just know the best is yet to come church!