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Archive for October, 2008|Monthly archive page

Winning Monopoly Pieces @ McDonalds.

In New Hope Stuff; Teaching Series on October 25, 2008 at 2:24 pm

Nope…I don’t eat at McDonald’s much. As a kid though, when I saw the golden arches my parents said I went psychotic.

Today, I am an Egg McMuffin fan and a sweet tea addict not to mention the southern style chicken sandwich and hot fudge sundaes. Enough already.

Tired of those Monopoly pieces stacking up? Here is the complete list of the actual winning pieces needed for the 2008 edition. And yes, McDonald’s is the only fast food burger joint we have out here in the STICKS.

Speaking of winning…this weekends installment of FIXmySPOUSE is going to be intense. I will be talking about the most IMPORTANT thing that will sustain and save your marriage that you need to engage in TOGETHER with your spouse. And it’s not sex…that was last week.

See you this weekend. I promise that this weekends gathering will be very different. Trust me. And if you peel a Boardwalk game piece off a Big Mac…please help pay off the building fund.

I still struggle with this…how about you?

In Christ and Culture on October 24, 2008 at 12:58 pm

Somehow OUR (you are a part of this) blog was selected with other large bloggers (?–huh) to be a part of a blog tour for THE FINE LINE, a book that is a must read for anyone who walks THE FINE LINE of Christ and Culture.

I will be doing a podcast with the author, Kary Oberbrunner on December 2nd, a few days before the book launches. Can’t wait to dig deeper and mess with Kary a bit. Trust me, no one gets off easy on a podcast with me. Don’t miss it!

So…Why am I excited about this book? Because I grew up in a church environment that withdrew fully from culture to the extreme (not Amish extreme, but extreme). Even STEVE GREEN and the group ACCAPELLA was a “sin.” No, seriously… and yes…the group Accapella was 100% accapella music. I wouldn’t lie to you.

I then found churches of GRACE that seemed to go the other way with culture. Amazing grace took on a new STRUGGLE for me. I was greatly confused and still have issues when I walk THE FINE LINE of “being in the world, but not of it!” How about you?

Kary does an amazing job of summarizing this issue that is so FUZZY to many in this day and age of confusion. So…you can pre-order and check out the book HERE (sample chapter included).

Check out the trailer at the end…amazing video work, and then take a moment to listen to Kary’s heart on this issue. Great stuff!

The Fine Line of Christ and Culture (HD) from josh franer on Vimeo.

Kary Oberbrunner Speaks Out from josh franer on Vimeo.

how can YOU help?

In Uncategorized on October 23, 2008 at 12:38 pm

So…after yesterday’s post about a tired economy and how that is effecting not just our church, but churches everywhere…I have a question for you all.

What are some suggestions for helping the church weather this economic storm?

And here are the ground rules:

1. Don’t be mean. Don’t say stuff like: Fire the Pastor. You might want to, but refrain =)

2. Don’t cut into the vision. ie: Stop making our services cutting edge and just burn 1 candle and go acoustic. Or sell our video equipment on E-bay, or stop advertising (we rarely do anymore). Make sense?

3. Let’s stick with stuff that you have authority and insight on that we aren’t thinking about: Ideas: Turn off the lights during the day, cut the thermostat, teach more on giving, have a prayer meeting about this, etc.

4. I can assure you that for 5 out of 6 years we have been the leanest, meanest, get it done for little money staff and budget out there. Our staff has worked with authority in their field and have only spent on necessary items. Sure there were a few excesses and shots we took, but for the most part, we were lean. Our budget (almost 3 years ago now) was not much below where we are today. We have had 3 years of lean increases in the budget by God’s grace!

Thanks for ANY and ALL help as you are led by the LORD! He WILL prevail. He is in charge!

Ready, set, GO!

What and Why?

In leadership in a small to medium sized town on October 22, 2008 at 6:00 pm

Yes…I get that a lot. Especially when people ask about our ministry in a small town. IT CAN BE DONE! IT can be TRANSFORMING to an entire community! It can also be very tough.

We just launched another multi-site in ASHLAND, OH 4 weeks ago. 1 mailer, 1 news article, 2 billboard and a few ads. We are averaging 220 people in 4 weeks and many have come to Christ! The stories from our other campuses through this marriage and relationships series are blowing me away…wait until I post a few.

All of this during the worst economic crisis in our lives. God is not moved during down times. Did you realize that? Keep pressing on! He is in control! He knows our every move. Is it tough? Heck yes! Does He care? Of course He does.

My personal budget is messed up right now with increasing costs. Not to mention we have HUGE medical bills…sound familiar? Just being real with you.

Our church is pressed on all sides as well and are having to cut some hours and pay. We might even have to cut a full time person or 2…all this when we are already very SHORT-STAFFED! We need to add 4-5 more staff so we don’t die by the age of 40, not take away. And it has little to do with our multi-sites (this had ALWAYS been an issue). Each campus is supposed to be self-budgeted and funded, though we are 1 large budget.

God knows. He doesn’t just know, He HURTS. He hurts for you, and for me. Why?

God taught us to SAVE and not use BAD credit. Big difference. He asked us to be wise and not frivolous. Now we as a country are paying the price.

And we as a church are as well. Just when we think we get ahead…boom, something happens! (At New Hope we have had our best year EVER in our GENERAL FUND [thank you] but our BUILDING FUND is -$33,000 [let's do something about that]…hard to save when that happens!). Ouch. So for those of you in other churches…we feel your pain too!

2 years ago we didn’t raise our budget, last year we raised it minimally. We saw this coming. We desired to put money into savings for 2 months operational expenses…but have been forced to limp on. And if we don’t have a massive turn-around in the next 2 weeks, we will have to make some really tough decisions, despite barely raising our budget in what will now be the last 3 years! Guess what…GOD KNOWS! He CARES, He is LISTENING! And I choose to let HIM be in control.

Does it make me really nervous? To be honest, it used too…

But seriously…I actually started believing that HE is in control, He is on the throne, He is really the one who said, “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH AND THE GATES OF HELL WILL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT!” And it is NOT UP TO ME TO SOLVE IT.

In my HOME and my CHURCH, I will be obedient. I will give my time, talent and treasure. I will TRUST in Him. I will wait for HIS provision and HIS promise. How about you? He is listening. Go to Him. Right now. Whatever your pain…go to HIM. Let it go, give it away, make the dump, puke it out, see ya vile spirit…giving it over to the Lord…right now, right here, right away, with no delay. Bye.

“Cast your (worries, anxieties, fears and cares) on HIM…for HE cares about YOU!” (-God through Peter in 1st Peter 5.7) And I choose to believe and claim this.

sexxx, questions and text.

In New Hope News on October 21, 2008 at 11:39 pm

Wow is all I can say. Just put the word “sex” in the blog post and people flock to it. If you didn’t catch the message on how to have hot sex (yes, that’s what GOD invented and intended INSIDE the bounds of marriage) then check out the message HERE (Title: FIX my SEX).

Just called an audible: We will be adding a Q and A for all marriage questions in 2 weekends. No topic is off limits and after last weekend, I am a bit squeamish, but I will survive. We will be doing it LIVE via text messaging in all the services. Can’t wait…especially for the rowdies we deal with every week.

Speaking of text messaging…send me one RIGHT NOW…check out the new widget on the right…sweet stuff huh?

i need your sex…answers that is.

In New Hope News on October 15, 2008 at 10:34 pm

FIXmySPOUSE is kicking it big time as we venture into the taboo topic of sex this weekend. Not sure why it is taboo, since the BIBLE tells us all about it straight from the inventor. Anyway… And I need your help! Seriously…HELP ME!!! Help me—help you. Come on.

There are 5 questions in polls set up to the RIGHT on the blog (RSS peeps go HERE) it will take seconds to finish. One is a for women, one is for men, first one is for ALL. Some you can have more than 1 answer if you want, some not. Please only take the poll if you are married or were married with the exception of the “when did you lose your virginity” question which is open to all.

They are all ANONYMOUS and can’t be tracked…so there ya go. Help me with the teaching this weekend. And then please ask your spouse to do the same. I really need to track some real time data.

10.22.08 update: BLOG POLL IS CLOSED AND REMOVED. WILL GET THE STATS POSTED HERE SOON. Thanks to all for helping me out!

blessings, peace, love, and happy sex if you are married!

back when i had hair.

In Devotional on October 15, 2008 at 12:45 pm

This was too much…threw on the computer cam to capture my daughter Joi asking about “who is this man in this picture.” She didn’t remember me like the picture showed. I HAD HAIR. Watch this 1 minute clip…too funny.

Aren’t you glad that there are some people who “don’t remember you like that”…and I am not talking about your looks! Aren’t you glad that God never remembers our sins when we boldly confess them to Him?

I got a “correction” letter from someone in the congregation who didn’t like that I “shared my personal life with the people in the sermon this past weekend.” I did not share that I didn’t have hair, but that I was a dirty, rotten, sinner in need of God’s saving grace.

“Are you promoting this type of behavior?” They asked. Ummmm…yes. The behavior that: AMAZING GRACE HOW SWEET THE SOUND, THAT SAVED A WRETCH LIKE ME! I will promote that and speak about my wins and my losses and be real with the struggles I have had and currently have.

They said “I should just stick to the gospel.” I did…I think The gospel was all about failure and RESTORATION…from prostitutes to tax collectors to everyday fishermen! I pray this person (their name given at the end was Thank You) will be willing to open up to their failures and the forgiveness of His radical grace, and journey with people who are the same.

Sometimes though, I need to remember them. So glad for those who have forgiven me over the years for all I have done “big and small.” And that God has forgotten and forgiven my sin completely as he “removes my sin as far as the east is from the west.” (Psalm 103:12)

blessings, peace, grace, forgiveness, and always keep it real.

small town comments.

In Big Church-Small Town Church Leadership on October 14, 2008 at 12:36 pm

Trent Kirkland recently commented to a blog post that I wrote with this:

“We are ministering in a town of 5000, but try not to act like it!”

Couldn’t have said it better myself. If God can do big things in big places, why can’t He do big things in small places??? May this ENCOURAGE those of you called to do BIG things in small places!

blessings and peace.

can you believe this?

In evangelism, wake up on October 11, 2008 at 3:44 pm

I can. I don’t normally get into the news, but this STORY (6 State Trooper Chaplains forced to resign because they aren’t allowed to pray “In Jesus Name”) about how we are slipping further and further in our Christian values and rights in America. I am all for inclusion (especially what I believe :) , but EXCLUSION of Christianity has to go. READ IT HERE.

Other stories catching my attention are (to generalize some more popular ones right now) about gay rights or other inclusive groups that seek to destroy the Christian values and heritage we share in America (like at CHRISTmas time) or evolution versus intelligent design. I am not opposed to teaching gay rights or other views in schools. They are public schools after all. But what about TRADITIONAL rights of the Husband/Wife Judaeo-Christian mongomous role in the home?

If we teach about secular humanism (we do this by excluding any reference to a supreme diety) then what is so harmful about teaching other points of view? Teach evolution, which is a THEORY, but why are you so afraid to reference the THEORY of intelligent design? Or some other THEORY that has gained prominence.

Would I teach about gay right, abortion, etc. if it were MY school? I would inform (you know…educate, hense the reason we are to learn) but I would not do it at the sake of the values our country was founded upon. In other words, I would teach them ALL because that is what America was built upon. (And I know we were founded on freedom of religion, not as a per se– Christian nation as some like to rant about). Should a teacher or government agency like the Viriginia State Highway Patrol express for the masses their opinion…NO!!!!!
What are they afraid of whether in the schools or in the government? If someone wants to pray in Jesus name…then let them! If someone desires to chaplain for a different cause, then let them. This is what made our country great. When you take that AWAY, you take AWAY our same RIGHTS afforded by the constitution, and you become a DICTATOR. And the part I don’t like is the same thing that atheists don’t like…that they don’t agree with a particular stance, so let’s get rid of the whole conversation.

Fine…I don’t agree with your views either, but you have the right to express them. That is our FREEDOM under the CONSTITUTION.

And while I am ranting…WHY DO I NOT GET INVOLVED IN POLITICS? Because they DIVIDE and they are NOT a part of the GREAT COMMISSION anywhere. I thank God for Christian politicians…by the way if you are one or aspire to be one. But I am a Pastor, not a politician. I believe change happens in the HEART as scripture says, not in a law. So, no I will not be publically endorsing anybody. You can privately ask and I will explain my OPINION to you.

I normally don’t do posts such as these, but I am getting more weary and weary hearing all this non-sense. I pray that we will figure this out before it is too late.

By the way on a happier note…this weekend is going to melt some faces off as we continue our series, FIXmySPOUSE. I am bringing a very special guest to help with the teachings this weekend that will rock your world. I promise you don’t want to miss this one. Bring some peeps with ya.

How does our teaching team speak at 4 places each weekend?

In multi-sites on October 9, 2008 at 12:09 pm

As I continue to unpack how we do our multi-site at New Hope, a question I get a lot is how I (or one of our teaching team) can teach in 4 places at one time? Easy…we don’t, well not really.

Saturday Night I teach live at our Loudonville Campus. We run video streams of 2 shots. An IMAG and a static center stage shot that is always live and I am 6-1/2 foot tall or so…my dream fulfilled! We also make 2 copies and sync them in case one dies, we can go to the other on a dime. We have only had 1 case of a DVD going bad, but back-up is a must! I am willing to expand to 3-5 Saturday night services as our campuses grow. I am willing to teach live 2-3 times max as my body allows. Right now, one of our campuses might be there by Christmas.

Sunday Morning is the fun part. I start at our Loudonville Campus @ 9 live. (We usually use this video as it is my second shot at the message, it is usully much more consice and always shorter).

I then have a driver take me to our Wooster Campus where I teach live the majority of the time…their service starts @ 10:14 am.

I then have driver take me to either Loudonville’s or Ashland’s 11:22 am service. Whichever one I am not at gets the video teaching driven and delivered to them usually of the 9 am service as I mentioned. We alternate where I am live between the campuses. As Ashlnd just launched 2 weeks ago, I started live there for 2 weeks to get a pulse of the campus. This weekend I am back at Loudonville and will return to Ashland on a rotation.

Future expansion of multiple services at one of our campuses might be 2 months at best away, at which point, we will alternate live and video at both our 9 am and 11:22 am services at Loudonville. Eventually we will be able to produce or LIVE STREAM from ANY CAMPUS to another campus so we will mix up what will be a possibility of 9 weekend services each weekend and that is with only 3 local campuses. Currently we have 5 weekend services, soon to be 6.

The goal is to teach live at at least 1 service at each campus per weekend, and since Loudonville has 3 services, I will usually always be live 2 out of 3 services. Why? If someone really can’t get over the video, they have a live option, but the GREATEST REASON is that I want to stay connected with the campuses in my spirit and flesh.

Our Ashland campus is currently the only campus equipped with true technology the way we desire it, and Loudonville is next in line since I am live the majority of the time in Wooster, but they will also get the technology this year Lord-willing.

Of course in China, we don’t make the trip every week. We send DVD’s over and they are around 1-2 weeks behind our series. (They just had to move to a bigger CONDO to accomodate the people coming! God is so good!)

There is a HUGE difference between video on 2 side screens versus the 20 foot drop down middle screen with the 2 outside IMAG shots. It is night and day to the other version.

Does it work? People who have been at our video venues LOVE IT. Is it as good as live? I guess if you are about the MISSION, then it doesn’t matter if it is LIVE or VIDEO. Lives are being changed. In the New Testament, there was no video. It was a stand up READER who read the letters.

God is using this in a huge way. Lives are being changed. People’s eternities are being changed forever. Is this hard? Heck yeah!

I teach 3-4 weekends on and have to take 2 weekends off or I will literally kill myself and my doctor’s can attest to that! And not seeing the family most of those weekends will take a toll on them as well. Family first.

But 2 weeks ago New Hope grew by almost 300 people, and when I look at all these people each week at every campus, it truly motivates me to keep pushing on. I love this place! WE WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO FULFILL THE GREAT COMMISSION!

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