intervention

February 16th, 2009 by Nate

For me one of the most inspiring things about Restore Community Church is one of our mission statements:

“Mobilizing Christ Followers to Change the World”

This might seem over optimistic or even naive. I mean seriously… change the world? But I think at our core we all want to make a difference. Some of us convince ourselves that the difference is by making a name for ourselves and others of us give up on the idea that we can make a difference all together. But the overly optimistic rhetoric of changing the world resonates with me and it seems to resonate with a lot of people who now call Restore their home. On our communication card that is attached to the program that is handed out every week, we even have a “change the world” box to check.

All of this must have something to do with us actually becoming a community that is a catalyst for change. Granted it starts small with over 40 service projects last year. But those projects awakened this inner desire to make a difference in me and others. The next step was giving to build a facility in Haiti that would house and educate orphans… and it’s a church too.  But is hasnt stopped or plateaued. It seems to be snowballing in so many different ways.

What has been very exciting, is to have people join us who are already changing the world. People like Mike and Beth Fox of C3 Missions. They were changing the world one orphan at a time long before we came along. But their hearts resonated with the people and mission of restore so much that it seems that C3 and Restore will forever be linked. They make changing the world accesible, literally. For $40 a month you can meet the needs of an orphan. Watch their story… just try to not be inspired to make a difference.

Mike & Beth’s C3 Story from Restore Community Church on Vimeo.

February 1st, 2009 by Nate

Chasing the Almighty Bumper from Restore Community Church on Vimeo.
Today at Restore we kicked off a new series called chasing the almighty. This is a timely and timeless series all at once. We tackle finances and how we deal with them in our lives. Today was all about what we are consumed with. I have to say there was a lot of things that really stuck out for me. The biggest realization for me was this: The economy may falter, it fluctuates and chaos ensues… but God never changes. His character remains intact. His love for you and I never changes. Im not sure why, but this really stood out to me. I guess it was what I needed to hear.

January 10th, 2009 by Nate

Why am I rolling around in the leaves with a McGriddle? Well you have to come to Restore tomorrow to find out. We are talking about what Celebrate 2.0 looks like, not this has anything to do with that.

January 5th, 2009 by Nate

You 2.0 Bumper Draft3 from Restore Community Church on Vimeo.

Today we started our first series of the year called You 2.0. I love this series. The goal is to move you and I from focusing on doing to focusing on being. We do that through re-examining what the church really is all about. Over the next few weeks we will be covering the the values of Restore: Celebrate, Connect, & Contribute. But today we look at the church and the idea of that we don’t do church… we are church.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea of being the church and it’s ramifications. What Jesus said has always stood out to me. He is in this conversation with his disciples about who people say that he is. His disciples are sharing what others say and then this happens:

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

There is so much that this text stirs up in me. Jesus declares that he will build his church not at a certain location, but in a person… and a very flawed person at that. This church was not some sort of social club or institution, but a fierce force that Hell itself could never stop. All of this built on people… you and I. As I try to reorient my life constantly towards being the church, I have seen the church in all shapes and sizes. I have experienced church in so many forms… and I’m convinced that there is no one right way to do church. If there was, then how boring would that be? But churches are as different as  the people that we have met through our lives. If the church isn’t something that you do, but rather something that you are; then it is more organism then organization. Its fitting that it is flawed. Yet at moments I have had experiences where it is unstopable. It’s fostered unstopable love and unstoppable transformation. That is the church that I want to be. So as we strive to move from doing to being the church, what kind of unstopable force do you want to be?

December 28th, 2008 by Nate

Today, we finished the year at Restore looking back and looking ahead. In preparation for today I prepared a montage of some of the videos that we used on Sundays over the last 9 months. It was a lot of fun looking back, reliving all of the shoots and the countless hours in post production. These videos seem to have found a place in the culture of Restore. It’s my hope that they helped communicate the big idea of God’s truth each week. It’s more fun to look ahead and dream what might be in 2009! Greater things are yet to come…

2008 Recap of Restore Community Church from Restore Community Church on Vimeo.

December 14th, 2008 by Nate

If you’re like me, its about time to begin Christmas shopping. This is last week that you can shop online and get your great deals by Christmas. There is a great website to find deals on all things techinical. It’s called techbargains.com. I have been using this site for years. I have a lot of friends in the church world ask me where to get a good deal on ram or on a hard drive. This is where I go to find the best deals. But this isnt just public service message with a helpful suggestion. You see If I blog about them, I could win a PS3. Merry Christmas to me!

November 19th, 2008 by Nate

Earlier this year I had the privilege to be apart of the the 5 year anniversary celebration of Fusion Church. Jill and I helped launch Fusion back in 2003. The experience had much to do with who we are and where we are today. As part of the celebration, we got together one saturday night and a dinning establishment we frequented back in the day. Eric Lerew, the lead pastor, encouraged every one to tell the stories of Fusion Church. He said that our stories were one of the most important parts of this young community of Faith. For literally hours we laughed, cried, and shook our heads at what God had done over the last 5 years. It was a night that I will never forget. To be honest it what pushed me over the edge to quit the job that I had and pick up my family (again) and move to KC. Because I knew the best stories were yet to come.

Here we are 8 months after the launch of Restore Community Church and it has been incredible. But the reality is that many who are a part of the Restore Community today, don’t know the whole story. There are those who have never been to Restore, but have supported it in countless ways, who don’t know the whole story. So 8 months into the life of Restore… we told the story. As I put this video together I shook my head again and had to push away from the computer a few times to just thank God for how he has orchestrated something very special. But, I also had a sense, again, that the best stories are yet to come.

The Story of Restore from Restore Community Church on Vimeo.

November 17th, 2008 by Nate

Last night we played indiana jones at the Williams house. Ethan was indiana jones, I was the giant boulder that was chasing him, and Abbey was bat in the cave. (this was his idea) We took a picture after I was out of breath. Yes…the fireman’s hat is supposed to be a fedora, in the never ending imagination of my son.

November 13th, 2008 by Nate

This week I have been reading about the church in the bible. It is part of the restore reading plan for the series, the story of everything. I am reminded of why I do what I do. I love the church and truly believe it is the hope of the world. We (the community of Christ followers around the world) are God’s plan A to restore hope to the world through Jesus Christ. God doesn’t have a plan B that I can find anywhere, because he believes in you and maybe he even believes in me. All that to say that we have another opportunity to be the church this Saturday. Restore has it’s monthly reachout even called Servefest. It is an opportunity to come together and be the church through various opportunities to serve.

Every time I go, I get this inescapable sense that this is what church is. It connects people in community. It meets needs in our area. It shows our neighbors that we believe in what we say so much, that we do more then talk about it. You can get more info at servelovechange.org See you there!

November 9th, 2008 by Nate

Last week I heard an NFL analyst refer to Brett Farve as the quarterback in the NFL with the shortest memory. While I have never really been a Farve fan and certainly not a packers fan, it got me thinking. Farve is one of the best that have ever played the game. The soap opera that surrounding his retirement last summer might have tainted his legacy, but his statistics speak for themselves. Farve holds just about every record in the league for quarterbacks. Not only does he hold the record most passing touchdowns and passing yards, he also holds the record for the most interceptions. He rockets the ball into some tight places where most NFL quarterbacks are much to sensible to take those kinds of chances with there quarterback ratings. Not Farve… And it costs him… big. So, big that he has thrown more interceptions then anyone else is in the history of the NFL. But that isn’t the end of the story is it? Because when he gets his chance he straps it on and makes the same impossible throws, but this time he completes the pass, (holds the all time passing record)
he throws the touchdown, (holds the record for most passing touchdowns)
he throws three touchdowns, (holds the record for most games with 3 touchdowns)
and he wins the game.

How is that possible what is the difference? Well, the analyst I was listening to, seemed to think it was… his ablilty… to forget. That last awful pass that he threw to the wrong team, he doesn’t remember it. That incredible touchdown pass that ended in a lambeu leap, not even a recollection. He simple has no memory of his failures and successes on the field. There is plenty of time to analyze and learn from them later. But for now… forget it.

Why am I talking about this? Are you still reading? You are? Good. As a leader, father, communicator, and someone who is following Christ; this idea of forgetting is becoming an important practice for me. Here is the reality… I focus way to much on my successes and I definitely focus to much on my failures. What if I could learn those lessons and discard them from memory? What would change? Well, I wouldn’t rest on my past successes and get too comfortable, for one. I certainly wouldn’t be paralyzed by fear of failing again either. Forgetting would free me to strap it on and take the next step in my journey. Listen, I know… this is a recipe for disaster. I will throw more then a few picks. There will be moments of complete frustration. But I will also see my share of wins. Ultimately, I will advance in my journey rather then sit idle, over analyzing… well… everything.

I will advance in my relatioship with my kids, because how I screwed up yesterday or how I did a great job last week will be out of mind.
I will advance in my relationship with my wife, because my list is gone and I will be in the present moment.
I will try harder the on my next sermon, because my attention won’t be on what was said about the last one. (good or bad)
I will be ready to take the next step in my journey of following Christ because I not focused on the steps or mis-steps that have already been taken.
While I’m on it, I will be ready hear from God today because I wont be beating myself up or patting myself on the back for my failure or success of doing it yesterday.

Life becomes very much alive as a gunslinger, forgetting what is behind and moving towards what is ahead. I think Paul said that somewhere. I think he knew what he was talking about. He knew that advancing meant forgetting. There is no way that it can ever, ever be dull to forget. In fact it takes courage to forget. What about you?
Do you need to forget?
What do you need to forget?
Are you ready for the ride?