Good News Huntersville

Have you ever WONDERED...
If God is always 'WITH' us, then why is He so hard to find?

If the Lord says His sheep know His VOICE, why doesn't He talk to you?

If God is as RELATIONAL as the Bible says He is, where's the intimacy?

If the universe is THAT big (and assuming there is a God) what am I to Him?

You want to believe that having a 'personal relationship with God' is more than just words. You long to really know Him. But you don't have a relationship with someone who doesn't show up. Where is God?

He's CLOSER than you THINK. He's more EAGER to connect with you than you can imagine. But amid the relentless crush of daily living, discerning God can be a lot like spotting Waldo in the popular kids books. He's in every picture, but you've got to train yourself to recognize him amid the clutter and noise.

There is a fundamental/basic desire (embedding in every human who's ever lived) for connection and fulfillment in a relationship with the living God. He gives each of us an invitation to "taste and see that the Lord is GOOD" and is ENOUGH to satisfy you.

This Sunday, @ Radiant Life Fellowship, we will explore how to find God where you least expect Him. We'll talk about how you can make your mind God's dwelling place. We'll get a sense for how to draw closer to God when He seems absent.

The most frequent promise in the Bible is "I will be with you". God IS with you (Closer then you think) and within easy reaching distance. He is closer--much closer--than you think.

See you @ Blythe Elementary this Sunday @ 10am.

Looking forward to the Weekend

Make plans this weekend to CONNECT with other Radiant Lifers.

This Saturday, September 26, 7-9 PM we've discovered some FREE and FUN entertainment! Come hang out with us while listening to Blues Express, a blues/rock 'n roll band performing as part of Birkdale Village's Mingling on the Green Concert Series.

If you feel like learning some new dance moves, you can join the Havana Social Club Dancers for free dance lessons during their "Dancing Under the Stars" event in the fountain area. Blues and dance moves right here in Huntersville---we hope you'll come with friends.

Please also bring a blanket or chair to sit on. Neil and Brooke will arrive early to stake out a space near the front so we can all find each other. See either of them with questions (765.244.0294).

Spread the word. See you there.
Chris

Sunday Night Mind Dump

I'm adding a new feature to the blog. It's my initial thoughts, ideas, wishes, high fives that come on Sunday some time after church. It's kind of like my own debrief...added to this blog. So I'm debriefing with you. Ideally, I'd like your feedback too.

So here it goes in bullet-point form.

• A lot of hours went into this weekend. I want us to work smarter, not harder. My hope and goal for this week will be to streamline and refine our set-up and take-down process. This is a marathon, not a sprint. I hope to have at least 2 point leaders for this area by this Sunday. Set up and Take down is work, no doubt. But I believe we can do it much easier and faster and simpler.
  
• I like seeing lots of people come to Radiant Life today that I did not know. I think that ought to be our expectation. That every week we add new faces to the new faces we meet the week before. That will only happen if you get as passionate about inviting people as I am.
  
• I think we forgot to give people a planned chance to greet each other during worship. I also think I forgot to prompt people to watch the communion video before they took communion. That was my fault.
  
• I should have given the kids more time to get into the auditorium before communion. The more kids we have (Jenny counted 30-something altogether) the longer it takes to get them from point A to point B.
• I called, and talked with, every person who filled out a connection card today. Great conversations. Everyone really enjoyed the service and felt welcome. We will be sending them a follow up email tomorrow.
  
• The Grove had lots of kids today. They had a blast. I'm sure their leaders are processing how to make it even better next week. This is such a critical area of our church. I am their biggest fan and willing to do whatever it takes to help our leaders succeed and feel valued.
  
• The Connection Cards, Life Group brochures and About RLF brochures all were well done. Thank you Mike and Katy.
  
• Josh was a beast this weekend. Tons of hours. Assembled a band. Trouble shot lots of sticky scenarios and did it with grace and leadership.
  
• I got LOTS of VERY positive feedback from the video clips that Jacob created. Well done.
  
• You techie guys (Brian, Tom, Gary) were spot on today. I lot could have gone flippin wrong (and might have behind the scenes) but you all pulled it off. We'll work on a solution to our electrical issues this week. I also hope to get the projector mounted (per Josh' suggestion) this week.
  
• It was great to have my brothers (Andy and Mark) and their families...my parents and Jenny's parents here today. Of course they wanted to be a part of significant events in our lives. My guess is that this coming Sunday, we'll begin to see who our most potential RLF-ers will be.
• I'm getting used to the stage. It's a different environment than the clubhouse or the house, that's for sure. I hope I didn't come off to stiff or nervous. I don't want to be a distraction from the message. I do have real insecurities (believe it or not) and I pray real hard that God would use my in spite of my insecurities and imperfections. I pray that God would allow me to be at peace and speak with confidence the message He wants us to hear.
  
• I'm meeting with Mike, Josh and Jacob tomorrow @ 8am (Dunkin Donuts) to debrief and plan for next Sunday. Pray for us.
  
• I am open to your thoughts and ideas. I'm a life-long learner.
• I do appreciate and continue to need your prayers for me...for my family...for this Church. My hope is that God would show us His favor and entrust us with His God-Sized vision for our community and our world.
  

I will have more thoughts and ideas this week.

I'm very pumped about THIS coming Sunday's message: "God Saves the Day"

We'll explore these questions:
"What if Jesus was living in Huntersville today?"
"Who would He hang out with?"
"What would He do?"
"What would He say...And to whom would He say it?"
"How would you respond to Jesus living in Huntersville today?"

Love God. Love People. Love Wins. Prove it.
Chris

Whatever it takes

The Grand Opening Season of Radiant Life Fellowship starts THIS Sunday, September 20th (10AM) @ Blythe Elementary School.

Do WHATEVER you need to do to make sure you and OTHERS get to Radiant Life Fellowship this Sunday @ 10am. {video clip}

40 Days of Prayer (day 37)

The Grand Opening Season of Radiant Life Fellowship starts THIS Sunday, September 20th (10AM) @ Blythe Elementary School.

Who is going to be at Radiant Life Fellowship this Sunday?

I'm sure there will be extended family members (I think even my parents, my brothers and their families and Jenny's parents and her sister are coming).

I'm sure there will be people from other churches coming to check us out.

I'm certain there will be people who have been hurt by the church (at some point in their life) and they will be there with critical eyes looking for love.

People who have given up on church...but not given up on God.

I'm pretty sure there will be some who come that were compelled (forced) by their spouse. So they are reluctant.

There will be some skeptics.

And any 1st Timers (We call them VIP) WILL be given the VIP treatment.

How are all these people hearing about Radiant Life? From YOU!!!

Be sure and pick up a green Radiant Life coffee mug. Use it in the Cafe (which is located in the auditorium-can't miss it).

Please pray for all these people God will send to us over the next 6 weeks.

I'm stoked.

40 Days of Prayer (day 34)

The Grand Opening Season of Radiant Life Fellowship starts THIS Sunday, September 20th (10AM) @ Blythe Elementary School.

10 Ways God has Saved the Day for Radiant Life Fellowship
1) The custodian @ Blythe (Freddy Rauda) is a Jesus follower
2) The principal at Blythe (Patty Johanson) is a Jesus follower
3) We are able to set up for Sunday services on either Friday afternoon or Saturday
4) We are able to store all our sound system/cafe/pipe and drape/lighting/etc @ Blythe
5) A local church allows us to park our trailer in their parking lot for free
6) Connection Church provided us with all their equipment @ a good cost
7) We have a few people who have trucks that can pull a 24' trailer
8) We have an incredibly motivated staff
9) We had a great "practice run" last weekend
10) God has bless us with money to afford to start a church in Huntersville

This is my short list from the past couple weeks.

How has God saved the day for you, recently?

40 Days of Prayer (day 33)

Here's an opportunity for you. Fill a row of seats at the Grand Opening season of Radiant Life Fellowship starting THIS Sunday @ 10am. BIG opening you won't want to miss. Your kids are going to love it.

YOU are going to love it.

The people you are inviting this week ARE going to love it.

THIS SUNDAY.
Blythe Elementary School (corner of Hambright and Old Statesville)
10-11:15AM

Thank you for praying. God is good.

40 Days of Prayer (day 32)

I’m looking for God to do great things in our day...and I really, really, want to be a part of it. I'll take a job sweeping the floors among a people who are also looking for God to do great things in our day.

God usually does his great work through people who are totally yielded to Him. This is a daily deal for me.

So what about you? Are you and your tribe looking for God to do great things in our day? Would you consider your life totally yielded to Him?

How about checking out the Radiant Life tribe of people I hang out with? This is the kind of life we are striving to live...and there's room for you.

The Grand Opening Season of Radiant Life Fellowship starts Sunday, September 20th (10AM) @ Blythe Elementary School.

40 Days of Prayer (day 24)

The Grand Opening Season of Radiant Life Fellowship starts Sunday, September 20th (10AM) @ Blythe Elementary School.

Why does Huntersville need a new church?

NEW CHURCHES REACH NEW PEOPLE

Why do new churches reach new people? I don’t have a clue, but they do. When we launch Radiant Life Fellowship in a few weeks there will be people in North Charlotte, Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson and even Mooresville who will try church for the first time ever, or the first time in a long time. Why? Because there aren’t already good churches in the area? NOPE. There are some great ones. It’s just that new churches reach new people.

Would you join me in praying for all the Jesus following churches in the area?

IT’S A FRACTION OF THE COST

A few weeks ago a church moved into their $25+ million dollar facility. Is there anything wrong with spending 25 million on a building? Nope. Could we raise $25 million for a building? Not sure. I have all the faith in the world if that’s what God called us to do that we could raise that kind of money. The problem is we don’t feel God’s called us to do that.

We’re committed to keeping our facility costs to a minimum so we can maximize our resources for ministry in the community.

AN INCREASED OPPORTUNITY FOR LEADERSHIP AND MINISTRY

On a human level, we believe our number one resource is people.

Starting our first campus @ Blythe Elementary School requires a new group of people to step up and trust God like never before. It requires a group of people to step up and lead. It requires a group of people to partner together with their different gifts and abilities to form the body of Christ.

These are exciting days for Radiant Life Fellowship. I’m so proud to be a part of a church community that’s willing to take some risk to help people discover an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.

40 Days of Prayer (day 23)

For the last week or so, our family has had lots of fun playing the game "telephone" around the dinner table.

Noah will start by whispering a phrase, a word or a sentence into Sara's ear. She will then whisper what she heard into Jake's ear (who always says 'I forgot what she said' and then Sara has to tell him again). Then Jake whispers what he heard into my ear (along with crumbs from his dinner) and I then whisper what I heard into Jenny's ear and she then into Cole's ear who announces to us all what the final phrase was.

That's the "telephone game" in our family.

It's interesting how upset Sara gets when her brothers try to purposefully twist the message before it gets to the end. She puts her hands on her hips. Wrinkles her eye brows and squints her eyes and says "Hey. That's not what I said."

We have laughed and laughed playing that game.

Over the next month or so we will get the opportunity, as a church, to do something similar to the "Telephone Game" in our community. We get to take the idea of Radiant Life Fellowship and invite others to come check us out during our Grand Opening Season.

The Grand Opening Season of Radiant Life Fellowship starts Sunday, September 20th @ Blythe Elementary School.

It's a BIG risk, of sorts, on my part. I worked with a church planter friend of mine (Jonathan) to create a really nice postcard (front / back) that points to our new website and invites them to our Grand Opening Season. Now I'm trusting that our Core Team passes the cards out with personal invitations to come check us out.

Will they do it?

Will their invitation be genuine and clear?

Will people in Huntersville get the message we intended or will they be like Jake and say: "What? I didn't get it."

I know it's a risk. But I also know that part of being a disciple of Jesus includes taking risks. My friend, Jonathan, says (as Jesus followers) we ought to be taking 'repeated risks in the right direction'.

Would you join me in praying that God would prompt you and I to take repeated risks in the right direction this week? And the next week?...

PS -- thanks to those of you all who are passing out the postcards and inviting people to our Grand Opening Season.

40 Days of Prayer (day 23)

There is a lot of NEED around the Huntersville, Cornelius, North Charlotte area. After spending 13 plus years here in Huntersville, I've noticed that the NEEDS have a way of staying hidden...if you are not looking for them.

One need, everyone has, is for food.

Here's a question for you.

Are there people in Huntersville who are hungry day after day and can't afford to eat properly?

Sandy Tilly believed that there was a real need to feed people for free in Huntersville. So about a year ago she opened Angels and Sparrows Soup Kitchen. They serve a delicious (free) meal to about 100 residents of Huntersville Monday through Friday.

At least once a month, volunteers from Radiant Life Fellowship go and help Sandy prepare and serve the meal to the people who come...in NEED.

My hope is that the people of Radiant Life Fellowship will search out the needy amongst us and take initiative to help alleviate those burdens.

Needs in our area include (but are not limited to): food, water, friendship, yard work, house work, mentors for high risk kids, school supplies, healing from addictions, encouragement, broken families, abuse, furniture, a job, a place for families to connect, JESUS.

Would you join me in praying that God would choose to use you and me to notice NEEDS in our community...and BE the answer to those NEEDS.

So what kind of NEEDS did you notice around you today?