• What’s a pastor to do when he can’t find his bible and sermon notes right before the service? Thank you Bryce for finding it in the nick of time! Thought I was gonna have to wing it!
• We continued talking about getting our game on by getting involved in small groups.
• Small groups are to the church as special teams are to football. Some of the biggest plays of the game are made in small groups. In fact, the game is often won or lost depending on whether special teams get in the game or not.
• Small groups are where we get to run up the score on our opponent.
• We had a meeting with potential small group leaders after the service. We’re going to start a “Turbo Group” with those interested as a way to train them up in a short period of time. Then we’re going to release them to lead their own groups starting the week of January 24th.
• I can’t wait for RCC to get our game on!

• Sorry for the late update. I left on a hunting trip right after church on Sunday and didn’t get back until Wed eve. If you’re an animal lover, don’t worry. The elk are safe and sound with me in the woods.
• I believe that RCC is at a pivotal moment right now. Over the last year, we have worked hard at building RCC, based on relationships. Relationship with God, relationship with others.
• Although some spiritual growth has come out of the relationships that have been built, I am realizing that if we are not intentional about spiritual growth, then it won’t happen for everyone.
• The primary purpose of the church, and of RCC is to make disciples who are making disciples. In other words, we exist to help people grow spiritually to the point where they can help people grow spiritually.
• So, we are purposing to become more intentional about spiritual growth through small groups.
• We’ve even changed our Mission Statement. The new part is underlined and italicized: Doing whatever it takes to reach people who are far from God, and helping them become genuine followers of Jesus Christ.
• Contrary to what has been ingrained in most of us, a genuine follower of Jesus Christ is not someone who faithfully attends Sunday services. Although that is a part of spiritual growth, and it is important, it is only the tip of the iceberg so to speak.
• A genuine follower of Jesus Christ, according to Jesus in Matthew 4:19, is someone who lays down their life to follow Him, is continuously being transformed by His resurrection power, and who is doing their best to help others along in the same journey. If you’re wondering how I got all that out of this one verse, then listen to the sermon below. It will all make sense.
• Really, we’re not changing direction or redefining who we are at all. We are just taking spiritual growth to the next level for RCC.
• If RCC fails to make true followers of Jesus Christ, then we will have failed in our mission altogether.
• Let’s do this…together.

Turns out, discipleship doesn’t happen by accident. You may think that is obvious, but I was under the illusion for some time that if we created a relational environment, discipleship would happen. Well, some discipleship happens that way, because a relational environment is one key ingredient to discipleship. However, there are 2 other ingredients that must be present for discipleship to occur: 1) intentional leaders, and 2) a reproducible process. Turns out we have some work to do in these other 2 areas.

THE PRIMARY MISSION of the church is to produce disciples who in turn produce disciples. In order for RCC to accomplish its mission, we must have all 3 of the above ingredients. The good news is that we’ve done a great job at creating a relational environment. Now, we just need to add the other 2 ingredients, stir gently, and see what happens when we unleash a church of disciple makers into Missoula.

God’s stirring things up at RCC. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Stay tuned for more breaking news…

• Had a bit of a rough week. Just felt dry spiritually. Had trouble preparing the sermon. Just wouldn’t come together. Don’t know why.
• However, I have a great wife who prayed for me last night. Woke up this morning feeling refreshed and filled up. Full of faith.
• Sometimes I hate my feelings. Feelings are a total ripoff. We need someone to speak truth into our lives when we’re feeling down for no particular reason.
• Now, onto our service! We finished the Born Identity series by talking about our Rights and Responsibilities as a Christian. What are we to do with all of the blessings that God has given each of us?
• Spiritual embezzlement is when we misuse/misappropriate the blessings that God has entrusted to us. They’re not all for us! Share the love!
• God blesses us so that we can bless others.
• American consumerism has infiltrated the church to the point that God has become a consumable commodity.
• Example: “Like, I just don’t get anything out of the sermons” (in a Valley Girl kind of voice).  Well, has anyone told you that church isn’t about what you get out of the sermon? Whatever happened to the church being the Body of Christ, and everyone doing their part to make disciples of all the nations?
• We’ve gotten so wrapped up in “what can I get out of this” consumerism that we fail to see that God has made us stewards, not owners of His blessings.
• We’ve been educated way beyond our obedience.
• We as the church need a heart change if we want to change the world. We’ve got to get out of ourselves, and put on Jesus so that we can see the world through His eyes.
• What has God told you to do with the gifts, talents, and blessings that he has given you stewardship over?

(This particular post was not triggered by any one conversation I’ve had with a person, but rather was a culmination of multiple conversations over many years. In fact, I’ve had a draft of this saved for sometime and was just waiting for the right time to post it. All names have been reduced to encrypted initials so that there is NO way you would know who I am referring to. Well, other than Jesus. I guess you could say I outed him.)

My wife and a friend (we’ll call her JB) were having a conversation today about what it means to be a non-traditional church. I think that most people define non-traditional as casual dress, lattes before the service, upbeat music, and witty sermons that use a lot of video clips. We espouse to be a non-traditional church according to the above definition. But in fact we start our Sunday services with “coffee”, then a “welcome”, followed by “worship”, followed by a “sermon”, followed by an “offering” followed by a “you’re dismissed”. Umm, sounds pretty traditional to me.

But here’s what JB went on to say (my paraphrase): “We’re non-traditional because we’re about accountability through relationships. It’s not just about Sunday mornings, it’s about relationships throughout the week.” WOW!!! WOW on so many levels. First level is this: I’m always saying this, but to have one of our church members say it means it must be getting through, and we are really living it out! That’s the greatest thing I’ve heard in a long time. That one will make me smile for a whole week, at least. Thanks JB. Btw, I already knew that you got it.

Second level is this, does this mean that most churches aren’t about relationships? Ouch! Say it ain’t so. But let’s face it, most people “go” to “church” on Sunday because they’re looking to get something out of it. They go because they like the music, they go because they like the sermons, they go because they like the children’s ministry. When was the last time someone told you they went to church so that they could contribute something? I rarely hear anyone say that. Most church hoppers will go on and on about how they just can’t find a church where they are getting fed. Well, that’s the problem. You aren’t supposed to go to church to be fed. You’re supposed to go to church to help feed others. In the natural, only babies need to be fed. When you grow up, you start feeding yourself. It works the same in your faith journey. The problem with the “I want to be fed” mindset is that people leave as soon as the sermons aren’t tickling their ears, or the children’s ministry changes leaders and they switch things up, or the music is too fast or too slow. People, what happens on Sunday mornings doesn’t define “church”. Oh sure, Sunday mornings are an important part of what we do as a church, but maybe only 0.6-3.6% important (0.6% for those who spend 1 hr on Sunday with the Church, and 3.6% for pastors and staff who spend 6 hrs on Sunday with the Church). The “Church” is not necessarily a specific time and place within 4 walls, but rather is defined as God’s people gathered together.  I saw the Church at an Osprey game last night. I saw the Church on Tuesday setting up elk camp. I saw the Church at the Ironhorse last week. In fact, the Church was and is gathered all around Missoula, at all times, in houses, pubs, parks, clubs, etc. Jesus said “where 2 or 3 are gathered together in my name, there am I”. We are the body of Christ (the Church) wherever there is more than 1 of us.

There are many passages in the New Testament that give us a glimpse as to what the church is and how it is to function. Read the Book of Acts, and all of Paul’s epistles for more info. What is clear is that the church is an organism rather than an organization or even a meeting. And an organism needs all of it’s body parts working together to function properly (i.e. relationships). Oh sure, a lion could probably survive without one of its feet, but it would probably be a weak and mangy lion. An eagle could probably live with only one eye, but it would be such an an ineffective organism, not living up to its God-given potential.

I know this is a little out there for some of you reading this, because you’ve been trained all your life to believe that church is what happens on Sunday mornings. But I’m here to tell you that Church is much, much more than that. Church is, first and foremost, about relationships. Relationship with God, and relationship with other believers, wherever we might be. The church is also about the other 167 hrs a week (the other 99.4% of your time) that we’re not meeting in the City Life Center. If that makes us non-traditional, then so be it! Because it makes us Biblical.

Just wanted to encourage you all to keep praying for the people on your Invite Initiative cards. We played a short video last week on the power of an invitation. You can click here to view it. It’s powerful stuff. Don’t underestimate the power of prayer. God will provide opportunities to share your faith and invite your friends to church if you are diligent in praying. Even if you don’t really know how to pray, just turn your Invite Initiative card over and pray the prayer on the back.

Here are a few ideas on inviting your friends and family to RCC:

1. Pray!
2. Personally invite them to join you on a Sunday. Tell them you’ll pick them up and even take them out to lunch afterwards.
3. Give them an invite card. It is good for a free latte or mocha (we’ll be handing these out this Sunday)
4. Personally invite them to come to our Birthday Bash on Sep 13th. We’ll have bouncy houses and fun activities for the kids, and we’ll be talking about all that God has done and what the future holds for RCC. We’ll finish with a BBQ afterwards. This will be a fun Sunday.
5. Send them an evite from the RCC Homepage. This is a very simple way to invite someone. Don’t rely only on this method though. It is too impersonal. Use this tool as a way to remind someone whom you’ve already invited. Or use it to prime someone before you personally invite them.
6. Personally invite them again.
7. Personally invite them again (this is not a typo).
8. Give them another invite card.
9. Repeat steps 1-8.

The bottom line is that you can’t invite someone too many times. It often takes a few times before someone comes, not because they don’t want to, but just because their lives may not be scheduled around coming to church on Sunday mornings.
Again, watch this video to see how important the invite is. You may be thinking “I don’t want to bug anyone”. But this could be the most important decision they ever make. God wants us to be a part of that. Never be ashamed of bugging someone into the Kingdom of God.

Well this is the 4th and final week of our One Prayer series. We’ve had some great video teaching the last few weeks and we have one last video this week that is going to be phenomenal.

As I’ve mentioned a number of times over the last month or so, part of the One Prayer initiative is to plant as many churches and transform as many communities as possible in Sudan, China, India, and Cambodia. This last year 660 churches were planted and they aren’t finished yet. This was all accomplished through the giving of churches participating in One Prayer.

How often do we get to be a vital part of changing lives all around the world? This is a chance to impact lives for eternity.

We’re going to take up 2 offerings this Sunday. First we’ll take up our usual offering. Then, we’ll take up an offering above and beyond our normal giving and we’ll plan on sending that in to One Prayer. Andrea and I have made a decision to make a substantial contribution to this effort, and I would like to challenge all of you to pray about also giving generously to this great cause.

Please take a moment to visit the One Prayer website and see everything that has been accomplished, and everything that is planned for the coming year. I think you’ll agree it’s money well spent!

In John 17 Jesus prayed this prayer, “that they all (the church) may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

Unity among God’s people is the key to reaching the world for Jesus.

In June 2008, over 1800 churches from 28 different countries came together to pray together, fast together,  and see God’s Kingdom expanded by planting churches together. As a result, nearly 700 churches were planted in Sudan, Cambodia, China, and India in the last year!

We are joining One Prayer this year for the month of June and are believing that God is going to do even greater things. Before we even planted River City Church, I felt that God wanted us to plant a church within the first year of our existence. I knew this was a word from God, because it didn’t make any sense in my mind. I knew it would be difficult to find the resources to plant a church before we were even fully off the ground ourselves. I even felt foolish telling people we were going to plant a church, because it seemed ridiculous. However,  I decided to trust in God and I spoke this to the church in January at our Vision 2009 service. I said that we would plant a church, God willing, before the year was over.

Well, on June 28th we will be taking up an offering to contribute to the One Prayer movement. Our offering is going to help plant not one church, but more than 500 churches around the world. Here’s the best part: River City Church held it’s first ever service in Missoula on June 28th last year. We will be taking up an offering to help plant 500 churches exactly one year to the day!

Isaiah 55:10-11 says “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,    11  So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

God always does what he says he’s going to do. If he said he’s going to use RCC to plant a church within 1 year, then that is what he’s going to do. Period.

I have to admit this is not the way I thought it was going to happen when God told us to plant a church within our first year. However, as usual, God has even greater plans. Why wouldn’t we want to leverage our resources with other churches to bring God’s Kingdom here on earth? We can do so much more by partnering with other churches than we could ever do on our own!

We at RCC have set a goal  of raising $1000 above and beyond our regular giving during the month of June to contribute to the One Prayer church planting initiative. Please pray about giving to this important initiative. Don’t ask God whether you should give, ask him how much you should give. Andrea and I are committing $200 above and beyond our usual giving. The only reason I’m telling you this is because I want to challenge you to give sacrificially to this cause. It’s worth it. It’s one of the reasons you’ve been placed on this earth, one of the reasons you’ve been blessed, so that you can bless others.

One Prayer 2009

I’m a huge advocate for keeping the faith by keeping it simple. I think we complicate things way too much by requiring way too many meetings, making way too many rules, and creating way too much red tape. So here’s my attempt to outline 3 things that I would like to see RCC people do well. If you do these 3 things, you’re walking out the vision of RCC. If you’re not doing these 3 things, I challenge you to get engaged:

1. Engaged Collectively. We want people to be an active part of Sunday morning worship. This means more than just showing up at 11am and warming a seat. This means engaging.  Find a way to serve. Find a way to be a part. Get involved. It could be as simple as setting up chairs.
2. Engaged Relationally. We want you to be engaged in other people’s lives. The easiest way to do this is through our small groups we call LifeGroups. Find one that works for you. Start one yourself. Let’s face it, you can’t be engaged relationally with others if you don’t spend time with them!
3. Engaged Missionally. We want you to be actively reaching out to our community and the world for Jesus. This is called being missional and it’s engaging in Jesus’ mission for his church. There are numerous ways to do this. Get involved in our Helicopter Egg Drop. Volunteer your time with a nonprofit. Spend time with people who haven’t yet made a decision to follow Jesus. Keep it simple. Don’t complicate this.

Whether you’re a business leader, civic leader, or church leader, this book is for you. This has got to be one of the best books that has come out in some time. If you’re a leader of any type, you need to download this book. It’s free.

What someone has done is taken the best blogs of 2008, from some of the best church leaders in North America, and compiled them into a book format, arranged by author.

You can read one entry a day and it will last you the entire year. Or you can do as I do, and just keep reading until your eyes turn bloodshot because the entries are all so good!

Happy reading!