Wednesday Recap (On Thursday)

I'm traveling with Jennifer (and Kaden) this week while Jennifer is at a conference for her week, so I'm a little out of my routine. Anyway... here's the recap from this past Sunday night.

Not that it's all about numbers, but Sunday night was our highest number in total attendance and adult attendance, 23 and 21. I'm really pumped about the group God has brought together and continues to bring together.

The night began by casting the plan for The Overflow from now until the launch of our Sunday morning worship experiences on January 16th. There's so much to do, but I'm definitely glad we are taking time to develop our core, train our leaders, and launch our small groups before the beginning our weekly worship experiences. In the long run this will definitely pay off, and it's currently helping us to do church without the typical Sunday morning setup, which isn't a bad thing. You can see the full plans by clicking HERE.

We discussed our projects for the OnePrayer Series, and you can see those by clicking HERE.

Also, I introduced the community partnerships we have formed. We'll be working hands-on, which means intentionally, strategically, physically, prayerfully, and financially, with each of these groups.

1. Knox Area Rescue Ministries
2. East Tennessee Children's Hospital
3. South-Doyle Middle School

Yes, we are partnering with 2 groups that are not primarily Christian! The Overflow is focused on allowing God's love to overflow from our lives, and we are excited about supporting and serving alongside these organizations!

It was also part 2 of how to be an UNSTOPPABLE church. Once our faith in Jesus becomes our motivation (last week's study), we must undergo a character transformation. Romans 12:1-2

Transformation is taking place when the inward working of God is actively preparing you to become outwardly productive.

Having our character transformed into the image of Christ is not always an easy thing for us to embrace. We identified these reasons why some people are hesitant to have their character transformed.

1. Past: We say...I've made way too many mistakes. God says...I'm more concerned with your future potential than your past failures!
2. Personality: We say... I'm not comfortable knocking on strangers' doors or shouting on the street corners about God. God says...I made you the person you are with the personality you have to reach specific people who are similar to you.
3. Passion: We say...If I truly start to follow God, I'll have to stop doing everything I enjoy. God says...If you enjoy getting drunk and having affairs, then yes, those will have to stop. Otherwise, I want to show you how to use your passions to reach people for my Kingdom.

Keys to experiencing character transformation...

• We have to surrender to God's supremacy. We have no idea just how great God truly is. Transformation requires us to trust in His ability more than our understanding! Romans 11:33-36, Job chapter 38
• The checklist gave way to the checkup long before we were born. Having a relationship with God isn't about a checklist of do's and don'ts. It's much more about having someone guide you towards you true potential. The "church" has done a poor job over the years of helping people understand the difference.
• Bad connections provide insufficient power. Many of us feel like God is not working in our lives. Truthfully, we usually feel like this because we connect ourselves to everything other than Him. If we change our connection to God, transformation will take place!

Next Sunday, Justin will challenge us to see how the church will be UNSTOPPABLE when we are truly connected through community.