Hillcrest Q&A- The questions I didn't answer

Took some time off from the blog mostly because there wasn't much to say and partly because "it's a busy time" (also explains several 'resigned' Words with Friends games!).  Anyway, this past Sunday at Hillcrest we had a Q&A time where myself and three others answered questions that folks- both within and outside of Hillcrest- had submitted throughout September.  I'll post the ones I answered in a couple days, but I wanted to start with the ones I didn't get to answer first.

Note: You can hear the panel answer these questions as well as see the other questions we didn't get to by clicking here.

Question: Have you ever considered preaching from scripture in the Bible instead of from a pre-made series that has little scripture reference?

Note #2: We actually got to this one in the 10:30 service but not the 9:00 service . . . 

Answer:

·         Not sure if this question is from a recent visitor who found this current series to be a little on the lighter side or someone who’s been here for awhile and is generally dissatisfied with the teaching here.
·         Our church is consists of folks with a wide array of spiritual backgrounds.  This current series is aimed for people who are newer to church or newer to following Jesus.  We recognize people who are newer to church/faith often come to Hillcrest and so we design series and messages to best fit where these folks are at in their faith walk.  We knew when doing this series more mature believers wouldn’t necessarily get a lot out of it.  We know that.  When we do topical series like this, we expect our more mature believers or folks who been coming to church for a long period of time to put their need for deeper teaching aside for a period of time so that we can reach people where they are.  We hope everyone gains something out of this series but we are also confident that when we do this- we have provided other opportunities such as bible studies, small groups, and the Soul Provider- our weekly devotional tool- to help folks get more meat in the event they didn’t get enough on Sunday.
·         But we don’t stop there.  We just came off of doing the Story for the first 8 months of 2013 and next month we’re doing a series that looks at familiar hymns and the stories and scriptures behind them.  These series are designed with more of our longer attenders and mature believers in mind.
·         The goal with teaching is for people to follow Jesus.  Look at Paul’s example.  You look at Paul in Acts 13 and he’s referencing the Old Testament (more of a meatier approach) throughout his sermon, but later in Acts 17 when Paul is Athens, he spots an unknown god the Athenian people are worshipping and engages in a philosophical discussion with the local people and rarely mentions the Old Testament.  Is he watering it down here?  Is his Acts 13 message a meaty one and his Acts 17 message a cotton candy one?  Or does he vary his approach based on his audience?

Tomorrow- 'signs' from God

Good Words from Brene Brown

I had the privilege to attend Willow Creek's Leadership Summit a couple weeks ago and am just now beginning to download the thoughts and takeaways from those two days.  One of the more riveting speakers was Brene Brown, who you can get a taste of with her TED talk here.

Some of her best thoughts from her Willow talk were:

• In the absence of love and belonging there is always suffering
• Leaders can't give others what they don't have 
• When you judge your self for asking for help you are automatically judging others when they ask for help (this one hurt a little- a bit close to home!)
• You can choose courage or you can choose comfort but you cannot choose both; they are mutually exclusive

I Am A Church Member

Interesting blog here on church attendance and membership.  While some of the premise could be correct, I think if you include activities such as attending a small group/bible study or serving somewhere, the statistics (while almost impossible to track) would be better.

Also, I read Rainer's book on church membership (mentioned in the blog post) and it's worthwhile reading.

12 Simple Rules for Greeting

Some really good (and comical) stuff here

July's Top Posts

The top posts from July:

• Seth Godin on Money
• Garbage Wars
• My One Social Media Rule

Troubled Minds

I recently read this book off the recommendation of a Facebook friend who also works within a church.  While I don't have any nuggets or takeaways to post here, it was an informative book and one that leaves you with more questions than answers.  This isn't a book that tells you how to begin a mental health ministry.  It's more the author's personal story of mental illness within her family, what type of support they received (and often times, did not receive) from the church, and areas where the church can do better (or in some areas, just do something) in this area.  

In Case You Missed It

In preparation for teaching this Sunday, I am reminded of this blog from a couple months ago.