GAME CHANGER #3 : Authenticity
Why do we wear masks? Why do we walk through life spending the huge amounts of energy pretending to be something that we are not?
Let’s be honest we all do it, at work, at home and with our friends. We want people to think of us better than we really are. One word tells our story FEAR. We are scared – scared to be exposed – to tell the truth – for people to see what’s really going on inside of us…
This weekend at THRIVE we are going to talk about how we can Live ONE LIFE – with no pretending….When we do that it’s called authenticity! Can’t wait to see how God is going to speak to us this weekend! It’s going to be a GAME CHANGER
I will praying, as I know many of ya are planning on bringing a friend with you to church this weekend. It’s going to be a great weekend to do it. The music will be incredible, as always we will have great programs for your kids and again the message has the potential to be life-changing for all of us! Look forward to seeing you Sat 6pm / Sun 10 and 11:26 am
PS – This Sat Night is “DATE NIGHT” at TCC. That means after the Sat night service we watch your kids for 2 hours for FREE! Hope you take advantage of it. See you this weekend….
“ALL VOLUNTEER” SUMMIT IS COMING….
OK – If you haven’t heard, this weekend is our FIRST ANNUAL VOLUNTEER SUMMIT. It’s a gathering of all our volunteers at TCC after the 11:26 service in the auditorium. After we have a great lunch together, we are going to be unveiling some exciting NEW CHANGES as well as casting Vision for our NEW DIRECTION we are going in 2012. This is must attend lunch for everyone that loves and cares about our church. I’ve soon powerful things happen to a team that gets energized and reconnected to God’s mission and strategy. It’s good stuff, trust me.
I don’t’ know about you but I think it’s exciting to think about what we have accomplished so far. The truth is…we have only scratched the surface when to comes to reaching people with God’s love. I know if we could pull the curtains back in heaven , God has more for planned us than we can ever imagine. It’s exciting!
I’m thrilled about each of you being apart of TCC, your journey with Christ, your team experience and what we are going to accomplish together.
See you this Sunday! I might be a guy with a sun burn….
Tom
MAKING ROOM
When we started Thrive almost 3 years ago our dream was to create a place where you could come as you are, no judgment, no hassles. We saw it as a place full of people with hurts, habits and hang up’s all pursuing a real connection to CHRIST. Over the last couple years we have seen that dream become a reality .
Each week I have the privilege of meeting people that are experiencing that are experiencing Jesus Christ is a Life-Changing way. They are learning to trust God and inviting Him to be the leader and Lord of their life. It’s amazing…Our tension as a church right now is we DON’T WANT THAT TO STOP.
Over the last 5 weeks our current parking has been over 90% FULL every Sunday. Experts tell you that anything over 80% is full. (Side not when have you ever wanted to sit through a movie in a room that’s 80% full ) I know it’s a GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE, but honestly, there are weeks that we have to consider parking people illegally in the fire lanes just to make room for them. Pray with us we wrestle this problem down. Easter is fast approaching and we want to make sure that have room for EVERYONE that God brings to TCC.
I’m so glad I’m on the journey with each of you. You guys are an amazing Church and I’m beyond confident that we will figure it out and keep moving forward.
PS – Our guest speaker Cal Rychener shared a great quote with me that I thought I would pass on…”Never Let the Shoe decide the size of the foot” – that was a GAME CHANGER quote if I ever heard one…
Tom
HIGHLIGHTS FROM A GAME CHANGER WEEKEND…
Wow – what a powerful weekend for our church! We experienced some amazing things, I thought I would take a minute and share with you some of the wins and challenges we are facing…Before I jump into it, I have to say “hats off” to our amazing volunteer teams. I had the chance to walk around since I was not preaching and I have to say they are creating some irresistible environments for people connect with Christ. Really proud to be serving God with such an amazing force.
* Our guest speaker Cal Rychener /Lead Pastor of Northwoods Community Church in Peoria IL, NAILED it as we talked about GAME CHANGER : Forgiveness – powerful illustration of how our refusal to forgive keeps us tied up, I saw hundreds of cards being dropped on a bench with peoples names that that they were going to forgive. LOVE IT
* Our band sounded better than ever – when they kicked off Black Eyed Peas “Let’s get it started” – I knew we were in for a great day and our closing song “Healing has begun” by Matthew West – off the chain…
* Standing in the middle of dozens and dozens of 3-5 year olds singing in worship to God, our kids team is one of the best in Houston!
* Walking through our parking lot during the 11:26 service and realizing “we have to make more space for guests”. We were again over 80% full in our main parking lot! It’s a challenge – but we are going to solve it!
* Watching the FAMILY BINGO Night happen after our Sat. night service– it was amazing to see Bingo rocking in our church
* Hearing from our card counters that people gave their LIFE to CHRIST in the services this weekend – that’s what matters most! Go GOD!
* Meeting first and second time guests and seeing their faces after the service, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that God is moving in people’s hearts through our church.
It’s getting fun! more soon….
Tom
Five Things that I’m excited about….
FIVE (random) Things I am excited about
1. Having the privilege of marrying off Dan and Kathy Hertwick last night – so excited for what God is doing in their lives. Truly an honor to officiate that ceremony – plus the food was awesome!
2. Thinking about the new guests that will be joining us for our new “GAME CHANGER” Series that we are kicking off tonight! We started the church 2 1/2 years ago for people that were far from God…still get pumped when people show up, find out and put their hope in Him! I want to challenge you to bring a friend – don’t come to church alone – to much is at stake…
3. Our creative team worked hard on our new stage that you will see this weekend. They amaze me every time, excited to see what they have up their sleeves!
4. Still Lifting Tina Martin up as she is still recovering from her surgery last Thursday. As many of you know this is her second battle with Brain Cancer. Word is, she did well and is talking and eating. Let’s keep praying for her FULL Recovery! If your interested in helping her and Aaron with meals click here to get on meal list
5. My wife’s birthday this week – This Tuesday…she thought she had to remind me….I played it off…she was right and for that..every-birthday from now on is 29!!
Thanks for reading – more soon
Tom
GAME CHANGER : SUPER BOWL WEEKEND at TCC
Dear Friends,
In the middle of all the Super Bowl excitement , I’m amped to share the message about “Game Changer RELATIONSHIPS”. We are all looking for the kind of relationships that go deep, connect with our hearts and speak truth for our benifit. When we find those, I think you would agree it changes everything. This weekend we will find out how we can have those.
By the way if you have been coming to church for a while and your looking to find a relationships like I mentioned I recommend jumping into one of our dozens of Growth Groups. Registration is now open and groups start on Feb 13th. Some groups are closing up fast. I wouldn’t wait to long. Here’s the link to choose your group! Last thought about this weekend, I would make sure to get there on time. Our band is kicking off with a song every football fan won’t want to miss!
Excited
saturdays are the new sundays….
I got caught by surprise….It’s happened as the result of our church starting a New Sat night service. Over the last two weeks people have been coming up to me and “THANKING US” for starting a Sat night service option. Didn’t expect that one…..
When we realized that our parking lost was getting too small and our crowd too big – we knew we needed to do something…..after a season of prayer and discussion with our staff. We pulled the trigger on Sat nights. We realized there were some unique benefits to that placing a service on that day and time… Here is what we came up with with….
1. People love having a full day with their families – Unfortunately Sat with our economy being what it is, employers are asking more from their staff and that includes working half days on Saturday….that means Sunday is the only full day people get with each other…
2. Sat Service reach a different crowd! What’s been surprising is the clear difference between our Sunday 9:30 and 11:00 services…same programing – different feel. We had a hunch that Sat night would have a different feel and pull a different crowd as well – we were right. I Love the different types of people that are showing up – it makes our church FUN.
3. We have an option to eat together! Being in a semi-portable facility forces us to tear-down after our 11:00 Sunday service. That keeps us from hanging out and spending time with thriver’s. Once we added the Sat service – problem solved. Each week we announce a HOT SPOT restaurant and we all show up and eat after service…last week I met the coolest couple and had the opportunity to hear their story….they are awesome. This made me love Saturdays even more….
4. We give more OPPORTUNITY for people to SERVE! yup – by creating a separate service, we also created a strategic hole for our church to fill…and they did. I love seeing the SNT team. They are excited and pumped up. So much so, they end up inspiring me!
So – show up to saturday night, leave your kids in our FREE AFTER SERVICE CHILDCARE and hang out with our staff….gonna be fun! Saturdays are the NEW Sundays…
Tom
4.
thought about another Sunday service (and we still may launch that down the road) and parking on the
signs of burnout or meltdown…
Posted by tomelmore in Leadership, Next Right Step on September 22, 2011
(Hello ….Today is a re-post guys…..a pastor in Anderson, SC named is Perry Noble. Great leader and pastor that has seen his church explode and has personally felt the effects of it. I’ve seen to many of my friends in ministry crash and burn – because they couldn’t or wouldn’t see the signs….this is a must read and pass on…. -Tom )
My counselor shared a statistic with me two years ago that floored me…90% of the people entering ministry DO NOT RETIRE from ministry, they either quit or have some sort of moral/ethical failure that disqualifies them.
I’m not a rocket scientist…but I honestly do not believe that is what Jesus called us to OR what He wants for our lives.
AND yet so many of us (church leaders) struggle/wrestle with this (usually inwardly because if we said out loud that we are dying inside we fear that people may perceive us as weak!)
Here are ten signs that you are near a burnout and/or meltdown…
#1 – You are beginning to despise people and your compassion for them is continually decreasing rather than increasing.
#2 – You OFTEN think about doing something other than ministry…and your biggest desire isn’t to honor God and reach people but to simply find relief from the pressure that seems to be building daily inside of you.
#3 – You cannot remember the last time you simply had fun with family and friends…and joy is something you talk about but are not experiencing for yourself.
#4 – You are disconnected at home…when you get there you do not want to engage with your spouse or your children, you cannot enjoy being around them…you spend more time online than you do with your family…and you find yourself wanting to sleep all of the time.
#5 – You continually tell yourself and those you love that “this is just a really busy season and that you will slow down soon.” (However, the truth is that you have been most likely “singing that same song” for years!)
#6 – You are continually becoming obsessed with what others say about you…and one negative comment from someone who does not like you can put you in an incredibly deep valley and cause you to feel hopeless.
#7 – You begin to make easy decisions rather than the right ones…because the right ones take too much work.
#8 – There is no hope in you…and, you actually despair life. You have actually thought of death…and some have even entertained suicidal thoughts.
#9 – You are experiencing unexplained depression and/or anxiety. You are even having panic attacks and you can’t explain it!
#10 – You are increasingly becoming withdrawn from family and friends.
“How did you come up with this list,” you ask…it’s quite simple, I went back to December 2007 until January of this past year and listed out the qualities that were the most prominent in my own life. That’s right…my life! I went through a trial of intense depression and anxiety during that time period and, the best way I can describe my life would be “dark!”
However, through me swallowing my pride and asking for help, the support of an incredible wife, the support of great friends and seeking out an incredible counselor…and the unbelievable mercy of God I broke free from my darkness this past January. Oh sure, I still struggle with it more often than I wish I would…but I cannot tell you the incredible feelings of freedom and joy I’ve had since January that I haven’t had in YEARS!
God called us to do a lot of things for Him…but He did not call us to flame out or drop out. I want what Paul said in II Timothy 4:7 to be true of all of us! I want us to finish well!
A letter to thrive church…
Posted by tomelmore in General, Leadership, Thrive on September 21, 2011
Hello TC
Here’s 4 things on my heart for YOU, US and our FUTURE
1. We had nearly 600 people show up last weekend and plus….people gave their life to Christ! I love what God is doing in families at TC. It’s mind-blowing – we still a new church and God is working through us!!!! I love it. We can’t forget that the church exists to help people FIND and FOLLOW Christ…and when it happens – it’s worth celebrating!
2. Last Weekend was one of the most FUN and EYEOPENING services yet! As we jumped into week two of our “Perfect Family” series we talked about the end game with our kids…..it’s not getting them to leave the house or go to college…it’s having a life-long FRIENDSHIP with them. In order to get one we have to engage in a healthy behaviors during the earlier 3 phases – NURSE, KING / QUEEN and COACH. You can’t jump phases and you have to ask God for help – especially if you came from rough home life yourself. God has great plans for your family – believe it.
3. This weekends message is titled…”Survival Guide to a Blended Home”. Coming from a blended home myself, I understand how over 50% of our population feels. Can God heal, change and help homes that are blended? Does God meet single parents with an additional grace for their situation…YES! Can’t wait to share what God has helped me live through and put in my heart for this huge topic!
4. People have coming up to me every week and introducing them self to me. One Question I have begun to ask every time is “have you signed up for a Growth Group”? Groups are more than a program or a calender filler – they are the life blood of what our church is about. Church doesn’t begin when you walk in the doors- rather when you walk out….that means we should be more about relationships than facilities and programs. That’s where Groups step in -they are the best place to grow your faith, make friendships and get encouraged and supported…all the things a church should do… I am beyond pumped for this seasons groups…..Zumba, study groups, basketball, cooking….I think we have it all….except you – click www.thrivechurch.cc for a group list / sign up. Groups start the week of Oct 3
That’s it – loving you, our church and our future….bring a friend to church this weekend….seriously!
Tom
Is there an app for everything…really?
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I am learning to love app’s for my I-phone. The reason I say “learning” is because naturally I am not a techie kind of guy. I am still “in process” on how to create “folders” on my I-phone and I think that says it all…
My point is there seems like an app for everything. I wonder if anyone thought about creating one for the Perfect Family? How amazing would it be to hit a button and presto your fight with your spouse is over, your 2 year old stopped crying and your teenager suddenly has a respectful tone in his/her voice….think of the possibilities. How much would you pay for it? I’d empty my bank account right now…
Wouldn’t that be amazing! Ok – Reality would tell us there is no magic button that can do all that, but wouldn’t it be a hit!
In our new series “Perfect Family, is there app for that” we gleaning advice and insight from scripture to improve our families. To help us get along better, love more, to strengthen our commitment to each other and learn how to enjoy our lives the way God intended.
Is it as simple as hitting a button – nope! It takes work, effort and serious communication,but I honestly believe when we understand God’s vision for our families…we have the potential to change – to grow and ultimately become a better version of what we already are!
I’m beyond excited for this weekend’s services -Sat 6pm / Sun 9:30 and 11:00 – Oh yeah, if your needing a date night out..try our new Sat night service, we are offering free baby-sitting from 7-9:30pm. Take advantage of it!
PS – this is a great weekend to bring that friend or neighbor that you have been thinking about!
See you soon -Tom
