What if our perspective toward the Gospel is incomplete?

What if the Gospel is more than just that thing that gets us into heaven after we die?

The Gospel is what ignites the Christian life. It is the fuel that keeps us going and growing as Christians. The Gospel is Jesus doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Sharing the Gospel is not something we have to do…it is something we get to do. And when you experience the Gospel, sharing it is something you want to do! The Gospel liberates us, transforms us, and defines us as Christ-followers. It is the source of our joy!

Pastor and author Tullian Tchividian rediscovered the Gospel for himself after going through a very difficult season in his pastoral ministry. He writes in his book, Jesus Plus Nothing Equals Everything: “The Gospel enables me to see…

• because Jesus was strong for me, I was free to be weak;
• because Jesus won for me, I was free to lose;
• because Jesus was Someone, I was free to be no one;
• because Jesus was extraordinary, I was free to be ordinary;
• because Jesus succeeded for me, I was free to fail.”

Notice the freedom we have because of the Gospel. Notice the freedom we have because of Jesus. The starting point for living on mission is correctly understanding the Gospel. And once we understand it, we are free to live it and empowered to share it.

What is God teaching you about the Gospel?

The issue of tithing is always faith. And if there is lack of faith, it actually hinders God from working in the church. Jesus tried to minister in his hometown of Nazareth, but was hindered by the lack of faith of the people. “And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.” Matthew 13:58(NLT).

Obviously, no one wants to hinder God’s work in the church, but that is ALWAYS the fruit of unbelief. The more faith we have as a church in our church, the more miracles God can do through our church!  Tithing is one huge way we demonstrate faith in God and faith in His working through the church. The less faith you have in the church, the less God can work. Unbelief ties God’s hands. And a refusal to tithe is a tangible demonstration of a lack of faith.

So, what do you do, if you find yourself struggling with a lack of trust in the leadership of your church?

1. Take time to reflect on what the issue is. Ask yourself, what is the root of my mistrust?

2. Realize no one is perfect. No church is perfect and there are no perfect pastors, church staff, elders or church members.

3. Ask yourself, should love cover it? If it was an issue from a past church, most of the time, you just have to move and stop dwelling on the past. If it is an issue with a current church, then move on to #4.

4. Deal with the issue. Go to your church’s Board of Elders and/or pastoral staff and talk about the issue. Remember, the beginning of healing is revealing your feelings.  If not dealt with, offenses have a way corroding your attitude and outlook toward everything.

What can we do to develop an even greater faith in God’s work in and through the church?

#1- I was pumped about Vision Sunday, especially the feedback that many of you gave me after the service! As I mentioned, the theme for our church in 2012 is “Tell the Story.” We are going to focus on telling the Story both locally and globally. We are going to tell the Story both with words and deeds. So many of you came up to me afterward and said, “Let’s do this.” I want to challenge you to be thinking about your story of how you came to Christ and the life lessons God has been teaching you. And be praying for the person you would like to share your story with this year.

#2- Remember, we are called to come to Him, but we are also called to go for Him. Telling your story is a big part of your purpose in life!

#3- We need your prayers as we continue to search for a Student Pastor. We have many applicants, but we need God’s clear direction. God will give it…as an answer to your prayers! We will update you as the search unfolds.

#4- Did you know the roof is on our new student ministries wing? It is looking great! I shared with you on Sunday, this expansion is going to allow us to “Tell the Story” to even more students this year and beyond. Thank you for your sacrificial giving in making this vision become a reality.

#5- Go ahead and mark your calendar for Step Out Saturday, March 10th. We are going to mobilize the ENTIRE church to go into the community to assist the poor, care for the sick, transform communities and to show God’s love in a practical way. The projects will be planned in advance, so all you need to do is be prayed up as you show up. God is going to do great things as we seek to be a blessing to the community.

#6- Remember, we are not only called to get the community into the church, but the church into the community. Read Acts 2:42-47.

#7- If you have not heard already, we raised $27,030 for our Clean Water for Haiti initiative on Christmas Eve! God is simply amazing!

#8- By the way, on Christmas Eve, we had four people receive Christ! I am excited out of my mind! As one pastor says, “This never gets old.”

#9- If you have children in the Discover Ministry(nursery and preschool), you need to know in the next two weeks, there will be some changes in order  to accomodate losing the current nursery space because of construction on the student ministry wing. We will not have access to the current nursery for about 4 weeks. We will have temporary new locations for the Discover Ministries. We ask for your patience as we navigate the construction process.

#10- Stones U. Sunday is coming on Sunday, January 29 following the 11am service. McAlister’s Deli will be on site for a budget friendly lunch. We will be offering two classes: First Step: Membership as well as Next Step: Building Spiritual Maturity.  These are both great opportunities for you to take your next step toward Christ! Register here.

I wanted to give you an update on the latest happenings for Stones Crossing Church. I talked with our Construction Manager, Gene King, this week about when construction will begin on our Student Ministry/Administration Wing.  Obviously, we missed our June target for actual groundbreaking for reasons beyond our control. He is hopeful by mid August, you will see dirt moving.  I think God is trying to grow our patience!

I also wanted to you let you know some sad news. Sabrina Gossett, our Excite Coordinator, will be stepping down from her position at the end of this month. She will be greatly missed!  Here is part of the parent letter she gave to the parents of our elementary students last weekend: 

Dear Excite Parents,

This letter is to express my gratitude for all the benefits Stones Crossing Church has brought to my life. I have gained meaningful experience      in the ministry, made many friends and have some wonderful memories. After much consideration and prayer, we have decided that our family needs to worship where we live. We came to Stones Crossing with an open mind and heart that if God wanted us to move we would. That door has not opened. We would like our children to worship in the same community they attend school and have friends. In addition, God has also been opening new doors for my business to introduce a values-based program in our schools. This is truly a Kingdom win!

Many Blessings,

Sabrina Gossett

We are kicking off a new series this weekend. It is weird. Really weird. In fact, we are calling it “Weird.” Why? you ask. Well, because normal is just not working. Normal is not working in our marriages. It is not working in our finances. It is not working in our relationships. It is not working in how we live our daily priorities. In this series, we want to challenge you not to coast the wide open road of the world by doing what everyone else is doing.  We want to challenge you to blaze a narrow trail with Jesus Christ as your Guide.

Then, you will never settle for normal again.

I am very excited to share with you the news that Adam Trotter will be coming on the Stones Crossing Church staff in June as Pastor of Worship Arts! Adam and his wife, Jessica, are from St. Charles, MO. which is just outside of St. Louis. Adam’s responsibilities include leading worship for our Sunday worship experiences, overseeing the Experience Band and vocal teams, as well as equipping the worship bands for Motion(high school), Flow(middle school) and Merge(5th &6th grades). Not only is he a gifted musician and leader, but he has a passion to see people take their next step in worshiping God.

Adam took some time to answer a few questions so that you could get to know him better.

Tell us about your spiritual journey.

I was baptized when I was eleven years old and church was a big part of my life and shaped who I was. When I was in high school, I was leading student worship and helping lead Sunday worship for adults at my church. While I was doing that though, I started living for myself and feeding the desires of my flesh. Trying to live a double life for three years started eating away at me and ultimately left me feeling empty inside. I tried to fill that void with temporary joy in things such as alcohol and girls. I wasn’t sure how to leave the selfish lifestyle I was living because of the fear of  losing  friendships and having to overcome my pride. Thankfully, God provided an opportunity to turn my life back around and gave me the strength to help me through. It was a challenging time in which I lost friends and got ridiculed, but God brought me through and gave me new and meaningful relationships, thus giving me a new perspective on life and how and who I should be living for!

Describe your style of worship leading.

I am a very energetic and passionate worship leader. I cannot stand still in worship! And I like to have congregation interaction as much as possible. Worship is not a performance, but an offering of ourselves to God.

Tell us about your musical background, style and musical influences.

My musical style is modern and contemporary. My musical influences are Hillsong, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Gateway Worship, New Life Worship, Charlie Hall, David Crowder, Kristan Standfill. I have been playing guitar for fifteen years and singing for nine years. I traveled the nation and recorded three albums with a Christian band(One Way Caravan) for three years part-time and three years full-time. We had the the opportunity to share the stage with TobyMac, Superchick, Hawk Nelson. I also loved being able to write all our music and lyrics for the band.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love hanging out with my wife Jessica and my friends. I am also a big baseball and college basketball fan. My teams are the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas Jayhawks. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

I challenged the church this past Sunday to be bold in your invitations. Think of someone in your sphere of influence(neighborhood, work, school, etc.) that needs a church home and simply extend an invitation to one of our Easter celebrations this weekend. The theme this year  is “Empty.”  We are going to talk about how the world’s promises are full of emptiness, but Easter offers emptiness full of promise.  So, let’s be bold in our prayers, asking and trusting God to do amazing things this Easter!

For the past several months, we have been looking to fill some key positions on our staff team. I have great news!

• Katie Greve, a Stones Crossing member, will be coming on staff as Preschool Ministry Assistant.  Katie will be giving leadership to our preschool ministry for our Sunday worship experiences as well as coordinating children’s ministry for our Stones U. classes and special events.  Katie brings a servant’s heart and a passion for seeing children grow in Christ-likeness to our staff team!
• Tricia Garrett, also a Stones Crossing member, has been hired as Preschool Coordinator. Tricia brings a wealth of leadership and children’s ministry experience to our staff team. Tricia will be coordinating the entire preschool ministry, ages birth through kindergarten.

We are thrilled to have both Katie and Tricia as a part of our Family Ministry Team!

• On Sunday, April 10th, following the 11am service, we will be breaking ground on our building expansion. If you are new to Stones Crossing, we are adding about 5,000 square feet of student ministry space and offices for staff. We are calling this initiative The House Campaign. Our target date for completion of the project is this December. On April 10th, I will be sharing more information on how you can be involved. Needless to say, I am very excited!
• Many of you know that Greg Colman, Donna Steenbarger, Tim Sutton and I took a Vision Trip to Haiti two weeks ago, representing the Missions Team of Stones Crossing. The purpose of the trip was to look at three impoverished communities that our church could partner with in missions. We had a great trip! God led us to a specific community in Haiti that we believe He wants our church to invest in spiritually, relationally and financially. I will be sharing more with you on this blog and in an upcoming message series. I believe God is going to do some amazing things through our church!
• We are still involved in a staff search for Pre-School Ministry Director and a Worship Pastor/Leader. The processes require a lot of time and effort. I am so thankful for Tricia Garrett, Amanda Ennis, Laura Williams and Dustin Stamper for their leadership during this transition period. The Elder Team could really use your prayers as we seek God’s provision for these two positions.
• I also want to thank you all for your prayers for my mom. I believe spiritually she is doing well as her battle with cancer is coming to an end. I am thankful for God’s living grace and for His dying grace.

• We baptized 15 people today!  9 of those were unplanned, responding to today’s message to go public with their faith through baptism.
• I absolutely loved Daniel’s testimony video today.  His story of life change was incredible.
• During the 11am service, I had the privilege of leading Ray to Christ!  Pray for him as he begins his new found relationship with God.
• We also announced today that we will be breaking ground on our House campaign for facility expansion in early Spring!  We are so excited to finally get started.

Next week, we will be continuing the Game Changer series and I am going to be asking, who is it that really knows you?  Whatever you do, do not miss church next Sunday.