Victory May Only Be A Moment Away!

It's no secret that I'm a die hard Philadelphia Phillies fan. Have been ever since I was a kid. So, you can imagine how much fun the past few years have been for me. (I don't think my wife would share my sentiment, because I have repeatedly awaken her with a loud cheer during many of their late night, post-season games.)

Needless to say, I think everyone would agree that being a part of a winning team, whether it's on the field or in the stands, is extremely fun. In fact, there's not a whole lot of feelings that are better...except for...well never mind.

It took a good part of two and a half decades for the fightin Phils to play like a championship team. Those were frustrating years, to say the least. We all know what it's like to go through times where you feel like you push and push and don't get anywhere, but when you stick to it, continue to be vigilant through the down times, a winning year(s) does eventually come (that is, of course, unless you're a Cubs fan).

I believe this to be true for anything in life. Winning comes at a price...the price of pushing through the dip, the price of striving over and over even when it seems like all that lies around the corner is another loss. However, if a person keeps pushing through, sooner or later, they will experience the win they've been longing for.

What is the win you've been longing for? Whatever it is, don't give up, keep pushing ahead, because victory may only be a moment away!

YouVersion Live Comming to Connection Church

This week at ConnectionChurch.me, we will be using youversion live for the first time in conjunction with our service.

What is youversion live? It's a way that anyone with an iPhone, Blackberry or any mobile devise that has a browser can interact through with the message/conversation.

Follow the links below to make sure you youversion iPhone and blackberry app is up to date.

iPhone update: http://www.youversion.com/mobile/iphone
Blackberry update http://www.youversion.com/mobile/blackberry

Link for any browser http://www.youversion.com/groups/connectionchurch

Can't wait to see you Sunday!

800 lb. Gorilla in the Room - Starts this Sunday

New Series Starting This Sunday At ConnectionChurch.me

So let's just come out and say it. You know what we're talking about — that super sensitive, oh-so-controversial issue that no one will touch with a ten-foot pole. It's as if there's an 800 lb Gorilla In The Room that everyone's ignoring yet desperately longing to expose. In this new series we'll be tackling these daunting gray areas of life that everyone loves to avoid, especially the church.

So here's a quick run down of what we'll be talking about over the next 6 weeks.

Hell...Does it exist? Does God send people there? Am I going?

Bringing Sexy Back...We'll be spending two weeks talking about...that's right...SEX!

Church, Politics and Culture? Do they mix, should Christian's get involved?

Drink, Drank, Drunk - What the church should believe about drinking and other vices.

Q & A - We'll wrap the series up with a day of live Q & A. All though out the series, you'll have a chance to text, email and ask any questions that we'll answer live.

What's happening at Connection Church.me

I haven't been keeping up on my blog recently, so here are somethings that have been going on at Connection Church in the past month.

1. We have reached the 80+ mark in worship for over 4 weeks in a row. That's over 90% growth in the past 3 months alone! I'm humbled and thankful for God's grace in the growth that He is giving us.
2. Our staff set a goal to break the hundred mark in the next 6 weeks. I was a little hesitant in sharing this with our congregation because it attaches a tangible number that isn't always the best measurement in what God is doing, but I felt like this is so doable and it gives us a goal, that in the words of my father-in-law, is a S.A.M. goal (Simple, Attainable, and Measurable). It's going to be fun to watch and experience, so Connectors, let me encourage you to keep investing, keep inviting, and keep the dream alive in your hearts.
   
3. We just finished our series called Re-Sync, in which we talked about four areas that our lives need to be continually synced to: Eternity, Repentance, Grace and Generosity. You can listen to any of them here.
   
4. In today's service we challenged our people with the generosity challenge. Basically it challenged those who aren't giving to start, those who are giving to move closer to the 10% mark and those who are at the 10% mark to move above and beyond. I was so encouraged by the amount of people who took the challenge. God will show himself faithful to you.
5. Next week we start our new series, "800 lb. Gorilla in the Room." We will be having a conversation about some very hot topics that everyone knows is there, but no one is talking about. It's going to be a series that may ruffle a few feathers, be a little uncomfortable at times, but most importantly give some Biblical perspective to the world around us. You don't want to miss it.