Couldn’t have said it better September 24, 2009

Over the last 3 weeks, Scott McAlister has been teaching us at SpringWell how to be Fully Engaged.  The areas where he challenged us to be fully engaged were:  with God, with our Church, with our Friends, and this coming Sunday – with our City.  (By the way-if you missed any messages you can listen to them here.)

From each week’s message God showed me some area (and areas!) where I need to change.  He’s also confirmed areas where he’s proud of me.  And the one area where I know he has blessed me incredibly is in the area of finances.  Scott talked about money as being an area where we can fully engage with God because where our money is, that’s where our heart is. 

About 4 years ago God worked on me and my husband for quite a while before we were finally able to commit to tithing.  Even when we committed to doing it we didn’t know HOW we would ever be able to.  But God worked it out.  We prayed for his help, he saw our hearts and our desire to give out of love, and he worked it out!  And he can do that for you too…

I read a post recently by Kem Meyer on this topic of tithing/giving and I really couldn’t have said it better than her.  I hope you’ll take a second to read it.  And if you’re not fully engaged with God, ask him how you can become more fully engaged.  If he shows you it’s in the area of finances, ask him to work it out so you can give as he wants you to.  He’ll help you out!

Sunday’s Celebration September 2, 2009

This past Sunday was awesome!  I love witnessing folks take the ACTION step of worship & faith through Baptism.  I love hearing their life change stories…what their life was like before Christ, how & where they met Jesus (which isn’t always AT church), and how their lives are changed after meeting him.  I’m thankful God TOLD us to continue Baptizing people. It solidifies in the new Believer’s mind they are NEW in Christ and it’s a great reminder for Christ followers (including ME!) of how He changes lives (and how He changed & continues to change mine!).  

I’m grateful to the people who participated in Baptism Sunday and communicated to all of us God’s work in their lives.  It’s an awe inspiring act of worship!  They are communicating to everyone through their actions exactly what God tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 .  I will be praying for these folks.  Will you join me?   They are NEW in Christ and I pray for His power in their lives!

If you want to take this ultimate ACTION step of worship and communicate to everyone YOUR new life, SpringWell‘s next Baptism is scheduled for NOVEMBER 29.   It’s never too early to make the commitment for Him and sign-up!

“Actions Speak Louder…” August 18, 2009

If you were at SpringWell on Sunday you got to hear all about the vision and future plans for the Family Ministry at SpringWell.  It was great to hear from Chip Joiner, our family pastor!  He did a excellent job explaining what going “ORANGE” is all about! (If you missed it you can listen here.  It’s not at all about Clemson .)  Anyway – Chip talked about how the church and families are ALL going to be able to partner together to raise our children spiritually and that when we synchronize our efforts, we’ll have a much bigger influence on our children and the next generation!  In that partnership – there will have to be action from both parties (the church and the family).  The church will provide direction for parents and resources and we’ll be asking parents to engage with thier kids but also consider SERVING at the church.  SpringWell needs your help just as much as you need the SpringWell’s.

What got me thinking about all this besides the fact that it was a great message was a hilarious video one of our praise team leaders, Kevin Henson, made to enter a contest to try and win tickets for his daughter.  This is DEFINITELY a guy whose actions speak louder than words!  He is already an “organge” kind of thinker when it comes to his family!  He is willing to do just about anything for his daughter!  Take a Look at this video! 

Isn’t that hilarious!?  BY THE WAY – Kevin created that video to try and win tickets to a Taylor Swift concert for his daughter.  How cool!  You can vote here for Kevin Henson!

So – I’m wondering how cRAzY people at SpringWell will get to truly partner with the church to reach our kids for God (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. – not JUST parents)…

• What new actions will you take? 
• Will your actions speak loud enough so your children know you want to partner with the church too?  
• Do your actions speak loud enough so that your kids know your priorities? 
• Will you pray, serve, and continue giving financially? 

Let’s think ORANGE and partner together to raise our children spiritually!  We need each other! 

Don’t forget to vote for Kevin!  You can vote multiple times until Friday.

Know your audience August 10, 2009

I happened to watch the Rachel Ray show one morning a while back (on my “day off”) at the gym.  On that episode she had a special guest who was helping people “makeover” their internet dating sites.  Apparently a lot of people were not attracting those people they had hoped to through their sites and one reason the guest suggested could have been because they weren’t effectively communicating with “the person” they were hoping to find.  They didn’t evaluate who their intended audience was before creating their sites and therefore their “about me” sites were ineffective.  I found this to be very interesting especially in light of the current sermon series Bill Simmons was guiding SpringWell Church through.  (I also found the statistics they presented about internet dating sites very interesting.  They said that more people meet online now than anywhere else!  But that’s a topic for another post.)

So this show got me thinking about the different ways I communicate depending on my “audience”.   When I’m speaking to my 4 year old I use a different language than with my 7 year old (not much but slightly).  Of course I communicate differently with my husband, Russ, than with my kids.  I know there are obvious differences in those relationships and I know who I am approaching when I communicate with them.  I hope & pray in my job at SpringWell that I can help our church communicate effectively with those far from God and encourage them toward a relationship with Him.

So as I mentioned above the show tied right into the sermon series in that in the first part of the series I was reminded that Jesus taught me how to communicate with God (that’s Prayer) by FIRST evaluating and recognizing WHO I’m approaching (Matthew 6:8-9) – know my “audience”.  Bill gave a great outline of the series which included some names of God which help me remember WHO I’m approaching when I’m praying.  Just knowing WHO my audience is will determine how I communicate with them. 

Because I know God is all that I need – I can be honest and approach him with thanksgiving, praise and requests for help & wisdom in ALL areas of my life.  How refreshing!  I don’t have to “create” myself before Him like the folks creating their internet dating sites do for their intended “audience”.  He is already all I need and I just need to communicate more with Him!

Info. is under safe keeping! August 4, 2009

It’s a shame that our society has become so afraid to give out the most basic personal information.  Yes, it’s true…We all get so much junk in our email Inboxes and mailboxes these days that we don’t want to give our address to anyone that might send one more piece of junk!  It sometimes seems impossible to get someone’s name, phone number, mailing address, and email address.  I understand it though…with the threat of identity theft coupled with all the junk mail…I get it.

However, God created us to NEED one another.   In John 13:34 Jesus TOLD us to be there for one another.  Did you know there are over 100 “one anothers” in the Bible!?   At SpringWell we so desperately want to connect with people and encourage the development of relationships.  But to be honest, it’s hard to do when people are so afraid to give us their information. 

SO, if you’re reading this as SpringWell attender don’t be afraid!  We keep your information under lock & key!  We will do our best NOT to send you junk.  We just want to find a way to connect with you.  If you’re not sure if we have your information, you can go here to login to our database and confirm that we have all your basic information.  If you aren’t in the database - send a note to elaine.smith@springwell.org with your contact information and let her know you attend and would like to receive our weekly eNews.   If you’re not receiving eNews, send elaine.smith@springwell.org a note that says “SUBSCRIBE”. 

We just want to connect with you; Not send you junk!