Wednesday Recap (on Thursday)

Yesterday was a crazy busy day, so I didn't get the recap posted, but here it is...

Sunday night marked the end of the format we've been using for the last few months. Transition is coming on the 22nd, and we are really excited about the change. We'll have a worship experience from 6:30-7:30 each Sunday night with the hopes of sharing God's love with the students on campus and connecting more people to our launch team. Then, beginning September 19th, we'll start training our launch team from 5:00-6:00 each Sunday night as we prepare for the launch.

We concluded our Outflow study this past Sunday night, and as many people mentioned after everything concluded, it was a great night and very moving. We took time to reflect as a launch team about what it means to live as The Overflow. We shared stories, feedback, summaries, and insights. I left really excited after hearing some of the things God is doing within our group, but at the same time, I know we are just starting to scratch the surface!

I asked a huge question that we all need to answer... "Do you simply like the concept of The Overflow or are you willing to live the vision?" I don't think I need to really elaborate on this question, so all I'll say is that we don't need people who simply think the idea of starting a new church is cool. This launch team needs people who are willing to live the vision wherever they are! I hope you can pick up on the difference!

I asked our group to consider the following statement... "The Overflow will never be The Overflow unless God's love is overflowing into and out of each person on our launch team." I broke this statement down into 3 parts.

1- Each Person.
Not just the pastor, not just the leaders, but each person must do their part. Unfortunately, in so many churches nearly all of the work is done by the pastor and/or staff. Some churches are just lazy and want this approach, while in other churches the pastors think it's their calling to do everything. Neither approach is healthy or biblical, so we'd rather see everyone connect to Jesus and do what He wants. The key for us to continually see growth within The Overflow is our willingness to pass along to other people what God is doing in our lives. Then, as each person allows God's love to overflow to someone else, that new contact will hopefully embrace the concept of overflow and allow God's love to overflow to someone they know. This is empowerment of the church. Each person has a vital part to play!

2-Has God's love overflowed into you?
His love can't overflow if it isn't first flowing into you.

3-Has God's love overflowed out of you?
We've talked enough lately about overflowing God's love, so I'm just going to ask, "Is it overflowing?" Seriously, are your friends, family, co-workers, and people you come in contact with experiencing God's love because of you?

The other thing we discussed was the "Greeting Culture" we will create within The Overflow. Whether someone is on the "Greeting Team" or not, we all must realize that Sundays are not about us. Sundays are about Jesus and because they're about Jesus that means they're about PEOPLE who need Jesus. We can't be focused on ourselves as a launch team. This means we must do everything possible to ensure each person is greeted with the love of God that's OVERFLOWING from our lives. The relevancy of the worship music and/or the content of the message won't matter if people have already tuned God out because we failed to allow God's love to OVERFLOW towards them as they arrived!