Steven Gibbs

Hype

I won’t insult your intelligence with more Easter hype. You know it’s a big day! You already know the best place to park, the best hour to attend, and the best place to volunteer.

You also know who you should invite. We’ve already had some great Starbucks invite stories. If you haven’t invited someone, you’ve still got a chance. Just hang out in the yard on the beautiful day tomorrow. You’ll find plenty of people to invite. Also, try the parents on your kids baseball team…

As usual, we’ve gone over the top with the planning – however there won’t be any grinders and 50 gallon drums…

Looking forward to seeing you on Easter.

Assumption

One of my kids mentioned that he was seeing a black spot. One thing lead to another, one specialist lead to another, and he was diagnosed with a hole in his retina. Yeah, I know…

Anyway, it made me think about our sight. It is valuable, and we often take it for granted. We assume that we see everything there is to see, until someone points out what we can’t see. This is called assumption.

This is true when it comes to our dealing with people. We assume we see their motivation and their reasoning for making decisions. But we have a big hole in our sight. We can’t see what happened to them yesterday, or last week, or last year. We don’t know the stress and pressure they are living under. They just lost their job. They were just diagnosed with cancer. They were abused as a kid. We just don’t know. If we did know, we would handle it differently.

So, the next time someone criticizes you or does something else you think is stupid, just remember that you have a hole in your sight. And in that hole is where they need God’s grace. Possibly you can give it to them.

Highland Day Camp

We are excited to welcome Camp Highland Summer Day Camp as an integrated extension of our summer program to children ages 5-10, and their parents.

Highland Day Camp is one of Camp Highland’s many adventure camps and experiences for children, teenagers and families. Its overnight camps and other adventure programs are offered at its new 220-acre retreat in Ellijay. Camp Highland exists to lead others into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ through high adventure.

As Ken Murphy has noted, "Our family ministry was considering ways to extend our children’s programming beyond Sunday mornings, particularly during the summer months. An essential part of the core experiences we design for children, students and adults at Stonecreek involves camp and retreat environments. Highland Day Camp’s values and programming were so consistent with our ministry objectives that we knew it was a perfect fit. We are eager to welcome the families of North Atlanta to day camp at Stonecreek through Camp Highland this summer.

For more information on Stonecreek and links to Camp Highland Day Camp registration, visit www.stonecreekchurch.org.

Sunday is Easy

I must say, when contemplating the idea of not having church on Sunday, I realized that in general, Sunday is the easy part of my work week.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of work – I am toast when the day is done. I get up extra early and go through my pre-game ritual: up at 4:30 to pray and rehearse final game plan, quick jog, breakfast, shower, Starbucks, sound check, etc. (Oh yeah, speak). But Sunday is fun. We get to gather together, worship God with incredible music, encourage each other, hear stories, give, laugh, serve, listen to God’s Word preached, respond, etc. Stonecreek is a very meaningful place to be on Sunday. (I’d love to know your favorite part of Sunday. Leave me a comment.)

But during the week it can be hard. It’s a heavy weight to think that your team carries the responsibility for a ton of people’s spiritual well-being. Even more than that, the responsibility of doing what God wants and being accountable to Him, well you get the picture. There are decisions to be made as to what is best. There are the great stories of people who have had their lives impacted. There are also those people who you have poured into who decide to move down the street to have their itch scratched. There are tragedies and junk to help people work through. Life is tough, and we hold the answer with the responsibility to tell people.

With all that said, I’m not sure I can do anything else. I’m compelled. Even when the weeks are tough, and the emotional drain is like a poke in the eye, Sundays are fantastic. Stonecreek, thanks for making it that way. And don’t forget, there are a lot more people who need to experience that.

Exciting News!

New Year Welcomes New Staffing Assignments in Splash!, Kidzu

Stonecreek is pleased to announce Christy Brogden as Director of Children’s Ministries. In her new ministry assignment, Christy will provide visionary and directional leadership to Stonecreek’s ministry to elementary children, grades 1 through 5. Christy has served churches in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Henderson, Nevada, and joined the Stonecreek team as Director of Preschool Ministries in February 2004. Christy and her husband, Matthew (Creative & Technical Director), make their home in Canton with their two sons, Cole (9) and Blake (7).

Cindy Tuttle is no stranger to Kidzu, Stonecreek’s Sunday morning environment for grades 1 through 5. Cindy has been promoted to Director of Kidzu Creative Arts. In her new role, Cindy will provide leadership to the creative expressions of Kidzu through adult and children volunteers. Cindy has served faithfully as a volunteer in Kidzu since its beginning, and as a staff Ministry Assistant to Kidzu. Cindy and her husband, Kevin, make their home in Canton with their two daughters, Rachel (10) and Kristen (12).

Stonecreek is also pleased to announce the addition of Jennifer Elwood as Director of Preschool Ministries to its staff team. Jennifer has served in Splash! as a volunteer assistant to former director, Christy Brogden, and takes her post January 1, 2008, to provide directional leadership for Stonecreek’s preschool ministry (3s, 4s, 5s, & K). Jennifer’s background is in public education, where she served as an educator and training specialist, with an emphasis in special education. Jennifer and her husband, Lonnie, make their home in Cumming, with their children Tyler (1) and Emileigh (3).

2|46

We read some pretty incredible things about the early church in the book of Acts. Acts 2:46 says, "Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart..."


With that spirit in mind, don’t miss this Thursday night at 7 p.m. for 2|46.

Some things I'm looking forward to experiencing with you at 2|46:
- worshiping together, lead by Mark Brown and the Stonecreek Worship Band
- commissioning our new volunteer Care Ministers who have invested some serious hours of training through Stephen Ministries, under Jason Howard's leadership
- sharing with you our new strategy for missions, community service and advocacy
- celebrating communion with you as we remember Christ's sacrifice and consider the significance of the Resurrection
- sharing our vision for Stonecreek, and the impact we can have in our neighborhoodsand communities this Christmas Eve.

This will be a different feel from our Sunday morning experience starting with minute 1. You do not want to miss this gathering. Get your group together for dinner and come to 2|46. Bring your family.

Financial Forecast

Two Sunday's ago I talked about our financial forecast for the upcoming year. I promised to post the statement, as well as the story. Sorry I got off track this week (smile). So, you can read it here. Remember, what you're reading are my speaking notes.

There are a few other things you should know about giving at Stonecreek:

It's the financial generosity of everyday people in our church that fuels the incredible life change that we experience around here.

We believe that giving is a part of learning to be generous, and God calls all of us to be generous givers. In fact, one of the major spiritual roadblocks for our culture is money.

We believe that money given to Stonecreek exists to be spent on tangible, life-changing things. We will always spend money aggressively in areas where we see God moving. This may call us to risks to follow where God is leading us, whether in our city or on the other side of the globe.

We recognize that one of the biggest hang-ups people have about churches is what happens to money that is given. That can be totally fair. We maintain an open book policy when it comes to our finances and have an annual external audit by an independent CPA firm.

Hope this helps. Don’t forget to read the story at the end of the attachment. It’s why we do what we do!

Playing Offense

One thing I’ve noticed about myself these last months since John’s accident is my tendency to play defensively. Because of fear and uncertainty, instead of attacking a problem, I sit back and let the game come to me. The idea is not to lose the positive progress you have made. That is not always bad, but if we are defensive on a consistent basis, other people and our circumstances control our future.

I’ve noticed this in sports teams. A team can get a big lead in the first half, and then, instead of playing offensively, they try to protect the lead. They do the least amount possible to get by, and hope the clock runs out while they’re still in the lead. They don’t want to make a mistake. They play based on fear instead of faith. They play “not to lose” instead of playing to win. This almost never works.

The question becomes “what bad can happen next” instead of “how sweet can the victory be?” It’s a focus on the negative instead of the positive. It’s all about maintaining ground, instead of taking new ground.

Over the last 3 years, our church has been through a lot of transition. During transition, it's possible to focus on survival and not on taking new ground. If we’re not careful, this can cause us to play defensively.

On Tuesday, I shared with the staff, that we are not going to play defensively. It’s time to play offense, to throw the deep ball, to run trick plays. We’ll run it when we need to, and punt if necessary. It doesn’t mean careless, but it does mean reckless abandon. The mission of the church has never been to hold your ground. The mission is to advance the kingdom of God.

As any pastor should, I think we have the greatest people at Stonecreek Church. We have the best staff and the best volunteers. We have a great culture. Even our building is awesome.

So, we have to put that to work. In Proverbs 21:31, God says to be prepared. Here’s what we need to do:

Pray offensively. You need to pray for the lost, and you need to pray for laborers. See Matthew 9:35-38. You should have been praying for your “One Life” since August 5. Keep praying. We are the church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail.

Plan offensively. You need to plan how you’re going to be involved. With our recent growth, we need people to volunteer in many areas. Plan to do that.

If you are a volunteer, you need to play offensively. Don't be on time. Be EARLY. Be ready for that first time guest who is scared to death to come to church. They are always early. Be ready for that new parent who has NEVER left their child in a classroom. They need to hear about Jesus. Their life needs to be changed. You are key.

Plan to give offensively this Sunday. Our Raise Your Game projects are underway – Splash, parking, student theater, compassion ministries, missions, etc. However, our ministry operations are the foundation of our mission. Don't neglect giving to the daily mission of Stonecreek as you give to the special Raise Your Game offering. If you’ve been gone this summer, you can give here. Remember, you are giving to see marriages restored, addictions healed, loneliness removed, sight restored to the blind, and the proclaiming of life through Jesus Christ. What's that worth to you? What's that worth to people who are hurting? What’s that worth to God?

If you’re a regular attender, plan to PARK far away from the building so that our guests can park closer. Plan to speak to someone for the first time. Plan to come and worship. Plan to sit close to the front – guests like the back!

Plan on bringing your "One Life."

Oh yeah, forward this blog post to as many people as you know.

Look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

The Message Matters

Check out this link by Seth Godin. Really makes me think how responsible we are for the message of Christ. For those of us who are following Christ, we have been given a HUGE responsibility to spread this message.

It matters to God, because it is His mission, not ours. It matters to others, because God makes His appeal to them through us. We have to take responsibility for those around us who have not heard.

As a Dad, I have to take responsibility for showing Christ to my kids. I stink at that sometimes, but it is MY responsibility.

Happy Father's Day.

Random Thoughts

I am still seized by Acts 2, specifically verses 42 thru 47. It's crazy to me the impact of the believers having "one mind." Notice that their "one mind" drew people to follow Christ. I don't notice anything about their global warming policy, or stance on divorce, or how many parking spots they had - even though I'm sure they had thoughts on all of these issues. They just realized their priorities. "One mind," literally they were racing along in unison.

I can't believe that being in unison meant that they agreed on everything - liked the same food, or music, or preaching, or coffee, or college football teams, or had the same sleeping patterns. Their "one mind" had to do with a single-minded devotion to Christ and seeing that message catch FIRE. Stonecreek, this fall we're going to work on our "one mind." I've learned some things over the last few months, and I can't wait to see how we can put them into practice. We'll have impact in Milton, Georgia, the United States and around the world. Start praying for "one mind" and what your part will be!

Why So Different?

I am working out of one of our temporary office locations at Starbucks on Windward Parkway. I’ve been to a lot of Starbucks, and the experience is generally consistent – good coffee, friendly “partners,” and consistent atmosphere. This one was a little different, as in better, so I took a few minutes to contemplate why.

The “partners” are glad to be here. They may be faking it, but it is clear they are glad they are here, and want me to be glad I came by today. Their energy in serving, while a bit cheesy (“what’s up buttercup” greeting), was fun and energetic. There was a ton of messages on their message boards (“Can I recommend a Quad Venti Hazelnut Sugar-Free Nonfat Extra Foam Latte”). They wanted me to buy some water so they could help provide drinking water around the world. The “partners” clearly had one mind as I’ve talked about before. This experience definitely brightened my day from the normal.

That’s the way church should be. We should make people glad to be there because we are jacked up about being there. Jesus gave us life, nothing is more important. As we move towards the Fall, we are going to increase our intentionality for the Sunday morning experience, so that we can have greater impact for Christ. We'll be unrolling a 4 pronged strategy for having impact in our community and around the world. Our mission is to connect with people and lead them into an authentic and growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Watch for details coming on August 5!

2:4:6

I am captured by Acts 2:46 - the believers had "one mind." I've talked about this before, and I CANNOT get it out of my head. How does this look in 2007 Suburbia?

This week is a major planning week for the year, and we are gearing our strategy around this passage. The believers had one mind, and they reached so many for Christ. Can you imagine our church as we march with one mind? I cannot wait.

We have had the best 3 days of planning that I can remember. Our series' are strategically aligned through the next 12 months. Our ministry calendar is taking shape to reflect this strategic planning. It rocks. We'll be able to put more creative energy around our message. The message we have is so important, and our goal is to make every Sunday a God-experience that you do not want to miss.

This week our middle/high school students are in camp. Please pray for them and that they will meet God in a unique way. Ken and I are on the way to be with them for their first session, and I'm praying that God raises up some students with a passion to see their friends follow Christ.

Rush Along Now

I have been reading and re-reading the book of Acts lately. One thing that has really grabbed my attention is Acts 2:46 where Luke states that the believers were of “one mind.”

This has begun to emphasize something in me for Stonecreek. According to one Bible dictionary, this word “is a compound of two words meaning to "rush along" and "in unison". The image is almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonize in pitch and tone.”

How does that happen in a church? Clearly, no church in history agreed on everything. There were conflicts, both large and small. However, the big part of it would be single minded about following Christ around a common vision for spreading the message of life.

As our leadership team plans through the summer, we’ll be praying and planning around mobilizing our congregation to “rush along in unison!” There should be a sense of urgency and excellence in everything we do. And we should all be on the same page moving in the right direction.

I like the end of Acts 2 as well: “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Sunday Night Ramblings

Didn’t Ken do a great job leading the message today? His story had such great impact, as we all have walked through dark times in life. If we haven’t, we will. Remember, God is with us in the deep. The clips from Facing the Giants really hit the mark. And the ending – way to go Thomas, Matt, and band. The music conveyed the message, and the video behind the lyrics was off the chain. I can’t wait to hear the stories at staff meeting tomorrow. You really stepped up!

As I said in today’s services, at Stonecreek we get jacked up about baptisms because it is the most tangible way we express our mission – seeing people follow Christ. Today was exceptional, as we baptized in both of our services. We saw adults, students, ENTIRE families get baptized. One of my kids got baptized as well. Proves that anyone can overcome a bad environment (smile). Thank goodness his mother is an angel.

I can’t say enough about Stonecreeker’s participation in baptism. Whether you volunteer, financially contribute, invite, pray, or some other form of contribution, YOU make the difference. You are the reason people have a place to listen. I know that it is God’s work, but your participation is what God uses and will use as we reach our community. That is why we are seeing people who are far from God begin to follow Him. Imagine a year when we see 1,000 people get baptized! Keep it up.

Easter is a prime opportunity for us to reach out to those around us. We’ll launch our new series “Life in Suburbia,” and an evite will be available this week. Invite your friends. Invite your enemies. Invite strangers. Invite your waiter. They’re all coming to church anyway, it might as well be Stonecreek!

Don’t forget – attend the 9:00 or 12:00 service, and let’s save the 10:30 service for guests. If you can, park at Publix, ride the shuttle, volunteer for the 9:00 AND 10:30, and attend the 12:00 service. See details in my previous post.

My blood pressure is up just thinking about it, and I need to get to sleep. We got work to do…

Sunday Night Ramblings

March Madness is killing me this year. I’ve had some wins, but suffered some really bad losses today. I find myself rooting for teams that I have not picked! Usually it’s because they are underdogs. I’m a softie at heart.

I’m extremely jacked up about this Sunday. We’ve got a boat-load of people to be baptized, which always highlights our mission. It’s not too late for you to be baptized, just call the Stonecreek office and we can hook you up.

Also, Ken will be speaking this week. He always has great spiritual insight, and I know he will bring needed truth into your life. He’s a man who walks with God, and has a passion to see people find their mission in life. You do not want to miss this.

By the way, can we please get some warm weather???

Easter's Coming

I’m headed out to Las Vegas this week to visit a church in Hendersonville. Ken’s brother is on staff, so we’re going to check out all their cool creative gear. I enjoy getting new ideas for our ministries that will connect with people in unique ways. And that is one word to describe Vegas, unique!

I’m pumped about our next series, Stonecreek at the Movies. We’ll take a look at National Treasure, Ray, and a couple of others and explore what scripture would say to some of these scenes.

Then Easter is right around the corner. We’ll be having 3 services, as we launch our new series, Life In Suburbia. We want to make room for as many guests as possible, so plan on attending the 1st or 3rd service. We’ll definitely make it worth your while.

I’ll try to post while in Vegas. Maybe I’ll even have a few interesting pictures…

Sunday Night Reflections

Great morning today! It was great to announce our date-in-a-can winners. A couple that re-created their first date, except with a little sumpin sumpin extra! The stories coming out of this event were great, and our prayer is that it re-kindled something in your marriage.

We had a great response to our Raise Your Game challenge as well. There are still some commitment cards outstanding, and we’ll get those numbers posted sometime next week. I have been encouraged by all of the stories coming so far. Please comment on this post with any story that you have. We’ve had people commit, not knowing how God was going to come through, and God has already come through for them!

We spent the afternoon cleaning out my boy’s clothes. It caused me to remember the clothes I wore as a kid. I had 2 pair of toughskins from Sears. Remember those, different colors, red and green. Mine always had patches on the knees, because I was wearing them out. My, how things have changed. I am so blessed.

This week we’ll launch Stonecreek at the Movies. This series will be great, as we dial in to some of our favorite movies, and use them to interact with scripture. You want to be sure to invite your friends, and your enemies.

And finally, I’ll just say it loud and proud – I was a cheerleader in college, and even though many tried this morning – I am not ashamed!

I Missed The Shirt!

Someone told me you could get a free Starbucks shirt that had your order on it. I went to the website, www.mystarbuckstshirt.com. It was pretty cool. I created my drink and saved it as my background. But the shirt offer is over! I’m bummed. Anyway, check out this picture of my favorite drink.

Moving on – This weekend we’ll conclude our Raise Your Game (check out the video) message series, and commit towards our 15 month/$1,000,000 challenge. We’ll commit to bring our gifts over and above what we currently give, in order to expand our ministries and our mission. You can check out details on our website. Also, I shared last week my family’s commitment to this challenge. You can listen to this from our website as well.

We have heard a ton of great stories already, as God has provided when people have committed. If you have a story you would like to share, please comment on this post.

Pray for Ken in Ethiopia on mission. We’ll hear from him when he gets back.

Another big event will be the announcement of our Date In A Can winners. You do not want to miss this. Next Sunday, we’ll launch our new series, Stonecreek At The Movies. We’ve got some special “surprises”, so you do not want to miss this. We’ll take a look at a few movies, and the truth that scripture teaches surrounding the flicks. I may need to pick some manly movies, since I caught so much grief for watching “The Queen.” Hey, at least it won an Oscar.

Sunday Night Reflections

I hope you guys heard the story this morning about Quentin Lockwood – if you didn’t you have got to check out the message on our website – www.stonecreekchurch.org. The story at the end is incredible. I’ll try to upload the pictures later this week and discuss in more detail.

I spent this afternoon in 2 Connection Group meetings, casting the vision for Raise Your Game with some of our groups. I love meeting with groups from Stonecreek, people who care about the mission and are serious about seeing life change. I’ve met with close to 200 people in groups and individual meetings. Stonecreek people are some of the most optimistic people I have been around.

I read an interesting statistic tonight - Out of the kids who are brought up in church – only 1 out of 8 are still there when they reach the age of 22. Guys, we have created a place where kids love to attend and hear about Christ. We are committed to Raising Our Game to develop a spiritual growth strategy for nursery through high school. When our students graduate from high school, we want to be sure they know who they follow and how to live life for God. We are well on our way, and Raise Your Game is a challenge we can all embrace for the future of families in our community, nation, and around the world.

I want to challenge you for next Sunday. Pray through the prayer guide in the Raise Your Game brochure. If you cannot locate (read lost) yours, download it from the website. We can do this, should do this, and will do this. I cannot wait for Sunday, as we take our next step in raising our game.

Sunday Night Reflection 2.11.2007

Alright, I’m checking out the Grammy’s – I need one of those cameras that Justin Timberlake was using. Can someone hook me up?

I had a blast today. First, this morning. What a great experience! The video knocked it out of the park, and truly captured what we’re about. We’ll have that on the web site this week. And what about the guys in the lobby! They had such a great time with the kids – not a set-up you see in a church lobby very often.

Then this afternoon – had 2 meetings with 65-70 leaders to talk about the Raise Your Game challenge. We have such great leaders, which is what makes Stonecreek what it is, and what it will be. Thank you guys for coming. To raise our game, the challenge is $1M over the next 15 months. I’m looking forward to what God will do in our lives as we journey together. We have a unique opportunity to leverage our location and our culture for the message of Christ.

I must say I am sad that tonight was my last leader meeting for this challenge. I enjoy those just as much as Sunday morning. If you weren’t able to make it, contact Jason Howard. We’ll be having some other group meetings, and you can hook up for one of those. I am looking forward to those as well, as we spread this challenge throughout our church and watch God work.