We Are United

I want you to check out a song and video that our Vintage Creative Arts Team has put together. I think that Travis and Jake are two of the most talented guys that I know. Jake's song and Travis' video share the heartbeat of God's vision for our city through art. Thanks guys for this gift!

We Are United from Vintage Church on Vimeo.

As we have journeyed through 1 Corinthians, God has really been challenging our church family in the area of unity. I believe that this message from Pastor Paul is not only a plea for unity "within the church" but also "among the churches". As the Word has challenged us, God called us to promote unity among the churches in New Orleans. By no means do we believe that this first step is the answer to division. In order for unity and togetherness to happen we are going to have to pursue Gospel partnership daily. However, we are really excited about this first step and will be praying for many other churches in our city to link arms in proclaiming the Gospel.

Over the next three weeks I have invited some of my pastor friends to preach to our Vintage family. I am so thankful for each of these pastors, their family, and their church family. Each of these men inspire me to keep fighting the good fight. I feel blessed to serve alongside them in our city. Please pray with us over the next three weeks as we "punch Satan in the throat" by throwing away territorialism and embracing unity.

Week 1:
James Welch
Harbor Community Church (harbornola.com)
Uptown Campus (4523 Mag St.)
Feb 12 @ 6pm
Feb 13 @ 10:30am

Matt Tipton
Hope Church (hopenola.com)
Metairie Campus (3927 Rayne St.)
Feb 13 @ 9am

Week 2:
Richard Johnson
Desire Fellowship (desirefellowship.org)
Uptown Campus (4523 Mag St.)
Feb 19 @ 6pm
Feb 20 @ 10:30am

Mike Miller
FBC Kenner (fbckenner.org)
Metairie Campus (3927 Rayne St.)
Feb 20 @ 9am

Week 3:
Michael Carney
Calvary Baptist Church (calvarynewolreans.com)
Uptown Campus (4523 Mag St.)
Feb 26 @ 6pm
Feb 27 @ 10:30am

Ty Waivers
Grace Faith Family Fellowship (gracefaith.org)
Metairie Campus (3927 Rayne St.)
Feb 27 @ 9am

Justified by Burnout???

Burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term physical and emotional exhaustion.

My family and I are going to take a little break in the month of February. I'm gonna go to a couple of conferences and retreat to the mountains for a couple of weeks. Why? Because I refuse to burnout. I'm not even close right now and I honestly don't ever want to experience it.

Over the past three years as we have planted Vintage Church in New Orleans, I have heard so many in the church planting world share about how in the first 5 years of their church plant they worked themselves to a place of full exhaustion. Some couldn't get out of bed for weeks, some got really sick and almost died, some ended up cheating on their wives or vice versa, and unfortunately some killed themselves.

I am a little concerned by the discussion that I find in most church planter circles. It seems like a lot of church planters are in pursuit of burning out because somehow that will justify their ministry. Who are they trying to impress? Are they cooler because they got unhealthy? Will this help them sell more books in the future (as if that is the ultimate goal of ministry). Burnout is not the key to a successful church plant and it isn't the way by which we are justified before God.

Now, please know that I'm not saying that we shouldn't work hard as ministers of the Gospel. Please also know that I'm not saying that we should spend the majority of our ministry on vacation. What I am saying is that we are called to be faithful to God first, our family second, and then our church. How useful can you be as a church planter paralyzed by exhaustion, in the hospital, in divorce court, or in the grave?

Take a break and get some rest. If you are afraid that your church will fall apart when you leave then you might need to reconsider whose kingdom you are really trying to build?

Inspired

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZLvSnr6s50

Happy MLK Day!

2011 Prayer: Give Me Faith

Right now I am at Ma’agan on the Sea of Galilee and God has really presented an incredible challenge in my life. I believe that He is loving me by calling me out on my lack of faith and compelling me to place more faith in Him.

This is my 4th trip to Israel and I have prayed specifically in two ways. Lord, give me a refreshing love and passion for Your Word and challenge me toward Your Vision for the future. Dr. Warren is walking us through the book of Acts this week and he presented some great truth from Acts 1 tonight. He explained how he didn’t necessarily like the fact that the disciples were casting lots for the 12th disciple replacement for Judas. However, he also explained that their method isn’t the most important thing in this text. In the previous verses after Christ ascended into Heaven, the disciples gathered to pray and prepare for this great mission. Dr. Warren went on to say that our methods are useless unless our lives are prepared to respond to God and His work.

With this being said, we drove from Mt. Carmel (where Elijah and the prophets of Baal battled it out) and I listened to one of my favorite new songs (Give Me Faith - Elevation Worship). Here is a video of this song led by my buddy Chris Brown.



This wasn’t by chance, this was orchestrated by God. I was anticipating for God to speak to me clearly and He chose to bring this up on my new ipod shuffle. For those who don’t have one of these, you basically can put up to 250 songs on it and then it just randomly shuffles songs when you hit play. I couldn’t have chosen it myself.

Here I am sitting on the Sea of Galilee and God asks me to “Give Him Faith”. I mean how stinkin awesome is this! There are too many to cover on this blog, but consider the encounters people had with Jesus about their faith in the book of Mark.

To the paralytic who was carried through a roof by four friends near Capernaum:
Mark 2:5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

To the disciples on the Sea of Galilee:
Mark 4:40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

To the woman who touched Jesus’ garment by the Sea of Galilee:
Mark 5:34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

2010 was an amazing year. There were definitely some major ups and major downs. In regards to family, we went through quite a roller coaster ride with the pregnancy but by God’s grace we welcomed Mack and Birk into our lives in July. Annabeth and I are so thankful for them and our Bolt. In regards to school, I am almost done. I never thought that would happen. This has been a slow process but I am thankful to learn and grow. In regards to ministry, I am amazed by the evidences of God’s grace with Vintage and MissionLab despite my failures and inabilities. I am so thankful that Jesus has set me free from the burden of trying to do anything, He has simply called me to surrender to Him and follow Him. I wish everything was great this year but I also went through some intensely difficult times. I am hoping to one day share these journeys as God has shaped and molded me through pain. I’ll be completing my 6th year leading MLab and have been thankful for every minute of this growing ministry. Vintage is at an incredible place where truth, love, and community is being multiplied through individuals, community groups, and gatherings.

With all that said, God is challenging me on my level of faith. He is reminded me through His Word that He has even greater things in store. Things that I can’t even imagine. No matter what I face in 2011, I am praying that God would give me a faith that anticipates His glory continuing to shine in my personal life, my family life, and my ministry life. Thank you Jesus for loving me by the Sea of Galilee.

Please Lord, Give Me Faith.

Fall 2010 Reflections: First Chapter Down!

This past fall we started a journey in I Corinthians called "In the City. For the City." We took a few breaks but we spent 13 weeks walking through the first chapter of this great book. You can go to www.vintagenola.org/inthecity/ to catch up with our journey. I've joked around with our Vintage family by stating that we might be hanging in this book for the next 40 years...that might be true.

Here are some reflections from our journey so far:

> THE GOSPEL - A lot of people dive into this book because of the craziness of Corinth or the controversial issues that Paul addresses. Above all things presented in the book, the Gospel is major anthem that is proclaimed. Paul's desperate plea with this young church plant was our memory verse for the first chapter which is an incredible proclamation of the Gospel:
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 1 Cor 1:30-31

> THE CITY - The more I study, the more similarities I find between the city of Corinth and the city of New Orleans. The other day at one of our Community Group Leader meetings, a CG Leader stated that he was amazed at how similar his group is to the struggles found in Corinth. This book is a timely book for our church family. Paul loved this crazy city and he believed in the great potential impact in the world if Corinth was reached by the Gospel. I believe that God is going to teach us so much about how to be in New Orleans for New Orleans and the glory of God.

> CELEBRATING STORIES - Some of my favorite moments this fall have been hearing and witnessing the many different stories of our Vintage family being the church in our city. I could fill a book with all the incredible stories. You can watch some of the stories at www.vimeo.com/vintage. Thank you Jesus for moving through us in our city!

> LIFECHANGE - The Gospel is transforming people in the city of New Orleans. I am blown away by His grace. We have had so much fun witnessing people being saved and baptized. Join us in praying that God would save every soul in our city for His glory. Here some pics from our baptism gathering in September.





> UNITY - Most of the first chapter is Paul's plea in the Gospel against the division that was leaking into this young church plant. God really humbled me throughout this first chapter and helped me get past sin in order to remain focused on the main thing. I have loved witnessing our church family grow stronger over the fall. We are currently gathering around 200 people on the weekend but our unity isn't found when we gather, our unity is found as we scatter. We have around 250+ gathering in homes all over our city. These community groups are living out "truth, love, and community" and I am crazy in love with them.

Vintage Family, let's stay humble and focused upon the Gospel. I can't wait to launch back into I Corinthians in the Spring.

In the City. For the City.

This past Sunday we launched our new journey through I Corinthians. We have called our series "In the City. For the City." I want to invite you to take a ride with us over the next 2-3 years. We probably won't even get out of the 1st chapter this fall. You can find all the available resources (intro booklet, podcast, sermon notes, & discussion guide) at www.vintagenola.org/inthecity

Our prayer is three-fold as we journey through this book. We are praying that our Vintage Family would "live the Gospel, love the city, and be the church". You probably recognize this. This is our mission statement. I am so amazed by all that God has done in and through our church over the past 2 years, but I really believe that the best is yet to come.

I love New Orleans! There are times when I don't necessary like it, but I do love it. I feel crazy blessed to serve Jesus, raise my family, and pastor a church in my favorite city in the world. Although NOLA has survived and thrived through Katrina and is on the rise, there is a ton of work to do. Many of the traditions that are so unique about this city have remained but there is also a new wave of talent flowing into my city. I am so excited about this "New" New Orleanian because of the potential for our future. There are so many new creatives and professionals. We, as Vintage Church, can't afford to remain stagnant. In order to keep up with our culture, we are going to have to push the limits of creativity as we proclaim the greatest message in the world.

As we journey through this series, I pray that we would recognize that as the church God has a bigger plan for our city. He has called us to be "in the city, for the city". I am praying for a movement of God to hit our city in such a way that only He would get the glory. What will this look like?

The church (people who are saved by the Gospel) will start to truly love the city instead of despising it, fearing it, ignoring it, using it, & indulging it. Click here to listen to our week 1 message as I walked through these different types of people. Families will commit to raise their families in the city teaching the next generation to love the city. I have begun to pray that God would save every person in our city. I might be crazy, but I believe that nothing is impossible with Christ.

As I watched all of the attention New Orleans got as we remembered 5 years since Katrina, I believe that God placed an incredible vision upon my heart. I am not sure when this will happen but I believe that I will witness it. I am not sure what role Vintage Church will have in it, but I know that we will be a part of it. On a future Katrina-Anniversary (next year, 10yrs, 25yrs, 50yrs) I saw all the media outlets of the world focused on our city. During this anniversary there was one major difference. As the world looked at New Orleans, they didn't only see the social justice organizations, they didn't only see the new homes and neighborhoods, they didn't only see the new leaders and businesses, they didn't only see the 15 Vince Lombardi trophies in the dome, they saw the Gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed through every street of our city. They saw the church living in the city and for the city and as a result the Gospel was glorified in all nations.

Believe with me in this very simple prayer,

"God, move in such a way in New Orleans that YOU ALONE receive all the glory."

2010 Where Ya @?

We are celebrating a 2-year journey as Vintage Church. Thank you Jesus for leading us on this amazing ride. THE BEST IS YET TO COME! Enjoy our highlight video and podcast from our Where Ya @? Celebration:



For the video go to http://vimeo.com/14375945

For the podcast go to http://vintagenola.org/podcast/2010/8/22/where-ya-082210-judges-6-7.html