How Do we BREAK free from the Mundane?
Posted by tomelmore in Next Right Step on April 16, 2010
Last Sunday at Thrive Church we talked about how we can live with true FREEDOM, the kind that starts on the inside and is not dependent on our work, home or any other environments. It’s easy to think our surroundings are the key to satisfaction. I love what the apostle Paul writes in II Corinthians about where real FREEDOM COMES FROM.
I challenge you to read though these and ask yourself the question, in light of this passage, “Am I really free”? If you’re not, read through the steps and put them into action – You were meant to live and your freedom is worth fighting for…
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (The Message)
“Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it!
All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”
How do we BREAK FREE?
- Go FACE to FACE with God – Let it get Personal….
- Recognize the areas you NEED FREEDOM IN – Don’t take it personal….
- Take your NEXT RIGHT STEP toward GOD – Realize all Change that God brings – has to be personal….
Tom
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What I loved about last Sunday!
Every so often in ministry you have Sundays that stops you in your tracks and confirms you are going in the right direction.
I call these “God Sightings”…last Sunday was one for me…here’s why:
* God’s spirit drew people to HIM – 10 people committed their lives to Christ, LOVE IT!!!
* I saw people laughing and enjoying church as our guest -Real life Strong Man -Dennis Rogers broke, bent and mangled things that no regular human should be able to do. If you haven’t heard of him, check him out at Dennis Rogers.net. He’s the real deal – he loves Christ and he’s really freakishly strong. It was a joy to have him at THRIVE.
* Our band dialed up the energy and threw in into high gear for two services – love our musicians and worship leader Jimmy Savage…we are going places!
* Putting every chair we had in our building for our second service…we were standing room only…I guess it’s time to buy more chairs..People keep inviting friends, that’s a good thing; no it’s a GOD thing.
*Looking at the sign up sheets and seeing all the people that are signing up for Dodgeball: The tournament on April 24th -playing together is where we find community – I have my team…beware!
* My friend Anacarren Molina came out and took some pictures of our service, she is simply gifted.
* Talking with some of the new couples at Thrive 101 and realizing that God is sovereign and he can bring people to church in ways you can’t even fathom.
* Jackie and I leaving the kids at the sitter and going to the movies with Mike Nooney and Crystal Campise on Sunday night – so fun just hearing what God is doing in their lives.
Can’t wait for this Sunday as we continue in our series: THE OFFICE: thank God for work….it’s going to be good!
Go to our Flickr photostream to see some pics from Sunday!
Invite a friend to church – Be the difference
Tom
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Why do we do THRIVE 101?
Posted by tomelmore in Next Right Step, Thrive on April 8, 2010
People have been asking me “what is THRIVE 101” and do I really need to sign up for this Sunday’s session.
Let me be clear…YES IT’S IMPORTANT and YES YOU SHOULD BE THERE!
To show you this is more than just “my opinion” Here’s why….
* If you’re going to be a part of a local church…it’s important to know if you actually agree with its’ values, beliefs, systems and strategy, right? If you’re not sure of the answer …it’s YES!
* At Thrive 101 you will meet people that are all asking the same questions…that gives you something in common and could be the beginning of a significant relationship within our church.
* You will find out why 17 months ago my wife and I “pushed in much of our life savings” as we pursued God’s call to start a LIFE-GIVING Church.
* It’s a chance to find out where we believe God is taking THRIVE and how each of us play an important role in it.
* Discover your next right step on how to move beyond being an “attendee” and into a “Partnership”. It’s a significant difference….come find out why….
* You’ll laugh, eat and have more fun that you would imagine.
If you haven’t signed up yet and want to…no worries! Click here- info@thrivechurch.cc and let us know how many are coming. Child care and desert bar is provided and the cost is free. The next Thrive 101 session will be in June. Try your best to make this one. The times are 2-4:30 this Sunday. Sign ups are filling fast….get on it.
See you there – Tom
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My A/C is Broke!
Today part of my job is to make sure that we figure out a plan to get the A/C back on in our home. One of the necessities in TX is not a snow shovel or snow plow (like it was in MI and IL) it’s cool air. I know the smoking hot TX days are just around the corner and I believe an air conditioned family is a happy family.
Now I realize that over 70% of the world does not even HAVE A/C so I’m not whining here (ok a little) but in TX it’s kind of a big deal – and getting bigger with each warmer day. So….seeing if I can get the A/C guy out here today and perhaps crawl around with him in my attic. If I’m lucky the bill will be low and the cool air will arrive soon.
Times like this are just “life happens” moments ….the Bible even speaks to those as well…..here’s a great verse
“We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are GOOD for us – they help us learn to endure. And endurance builds strength of character” -Romans 5:3-4
This is only a TEST!
Tom
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Quick Thoughts from Easter Weekend…..
#1 THANK YOU to every person that cleaned, set up, invited and prayed for our church last weekend. You were relentless, loving and unified. I believe every visitor saw a church that was LIFE-GIVING because of you. Heaven is more crowded because of YOU!
#2 We had over 700 people come to church! WOW! Let me give you some perspective….13 months ago we had 70 people attending a preview service….What I love is that new families and individuals are engaging with GOD and are about to SEE HOW REAL HE IS!
#3 Let’s keep doing what it takes to get people to church. Don’t give up on someone because they were not able to come or didn’t receive Christ. Every week we are going to do everything we can to make sure the Gospel is clear…it’s not just an Easter thing for our Church. We still live in a community where 70% of our population don’t attend church. Let’s be the difference and let’s LIVE REAL, AUTHENTIC LOVE in front of them.
#4 Our THRIVE KIDZ team blew it UP! They ministered to hundreds of children and made the GREAT EGG CHASE look easy! I Love that our kids heard the real story about Easter -Jesus on the cross because of love. (At the bottom are the two lucky winners that took home new bikes from the Egg Chase – the bikes are pretty cool – no Huffy’s here. And the winner of a Nintendo DS!)
#5 Loved kicking off our new series : “the office -thank God for work” – We came face to face with the reality that at the end of the day everything we achieve that we can categorize as “stuff” goes back into the box…..what really makes us RICH is our relationships with God and with others……
Thrive, I love being your pastor, I love your passion for people and I if this is year 1 – can’t wait to see what year 2,3,4…20 looks like
Tom
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5 Reasons the Devil Hates Easter
Posted by tomelmore in General, Next Right Step, Thrive on April 3, 2010
1. People “Go To Church” that normally never do…..the result? People think about God’s love, the gift of forgiveness and rediscover how church can be relevant and helpful to their life.
2. It confuses small children that think Easter is all about colored eggs and a fluffy Bunny. Kids actually hear about Jesus….not as a cute story or fable – but as truth that can change their life!
3. Churches around the Country are Praying HARDER THAN EVER! Prayer moves the hands of the one that holds the world. God sees His church actually “GO FOR IT” and ask Him for BIG THINGS!
4. Families Spend Time Together! They spend time growing closer to God and eating together…..two things that actually HELP families get STRONGER.
5. People give their LIFE to Christ! People all across the country come face to face with the truth that GOD has something GREAT for their LIFE. They realize that it’s not about religion but about a RELATIONSHIP with the God of the Universe…and it’s more about LOVE than Judgment!
Remember – INVITE and PRAY…it’s going to be AWESOME
Tom
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WE ARE FAMILY!!
One of the Things we say around THRIVE is …the church is not “like a family” – it IS A FAMILY. One of the things I wholeheartedly believe is God never intended for us move toward him by ourself. We grow and discover God’s heart in direct connection to others. At Thrive I have seen it happen tons of different ways, in Growth Groups, couples having dinner together, signing up for thrive sports (Our Dodgeball tournament is on April 24th baby….mark your calendars and checkout THRIVE SPORTS) or doing life on one of our Dream Teams…… These are places that make our Family STRONGER!
Last Sunday was the One year mark or Thrive Church. I’m still amazed that how in just a few short months God has helped us look , act and even smell like a family (don’t ask what that means). One thing I have learned about GOOD FAMILIES is….when you see one, you want to be a part of it. That’s one of the reasons we have seen people being drawn to THRIVE. The result is jobs, families and neighborhoods are beginning to look different. When I meet with people and hear their stories, I get excited. Our family is growing closer to God and learning how to reflect Light in dark places.
Here is a video of our Kids on stage last Sunday at our One Year Birthday party……it was 100% us….
Praying for all the people you are inviting to church on EASTER Sunday
Tom
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Expecting BIG things this Easter Sunday
As I mentioned last Sunday THRIVE Church is going to be extremely focused this week by…
#1 – Doing all that we can to invite people to church this weekend.
#2 – BEGGING God to do something amazing this weekend.
He has a great track record of doing some pretty incredible things on Easter…dating back about 2,000 years! :-)
This Saturday we are getting together at the church for a Easter Prep time. We will be setting up / cleaning / practicing / and doing everything humanly possible to make this Sunday a phenomenal experience for every guest that walks through our door. If you want to be apart of it, come on! All you have to do is just show up. Everyone will have something to do and everyone can help make this Sunday HUGE.
One thing I am Pumped about is our 5-6pm TIME OF PRAYER. We will be worshiping together and praying through by name every guest that we know will be coming to THRIVE on Easter. We are going to close out the time with Communion.
Also…I have asked our entire Dream Team to fast this week. If you are serious about seeing God change lives this Sunday – join us!
* You can fast for a day or two…or all week, whatever the Lord puts on your heart.
* You can fast for a specific time period (like from 5:00 pm one day until 5:00 pm the next day.)
* You can fast from a particular meal.
* You can fast from a particular type of food.
* You can fast from something other than food (like maybe Facebook or Twitter…that’s right that just happened!)
BUT whatever we fast from it should remind us of our desperation for God…that HE is enough…that without HIM moving this weekend NOTHING significant will happen!
My prayer is that we continue not to play it safe and just “have Easter services”…that people will show up this weekend and not be able to deny that Jesus is real!!! I can’t WAIT to see what happens!
Let’s INVITE…PRAY…and then show up anticipating great things!!!
tom
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The Office -Thank God it’s Monday
Thriver’s, take a second to read this…pray through it…and then take action.
April 4th at our Easter services here at Thrive Church…we are launching a brand new series entitled, “The Office -thank God it’s Monday” and I am praying for God to save over 125 people during this five week examination of how our work life and spiritual life are CONNECTED!
Read the above paragraph again…and if it doesn’t move you then read it again!!!
For some you may can read that and be indifferent…
But for others THIS could be…
* Your mom or dad
* Your child
* Your friend at work
* The person at the grocery store you always see
* Your spouse
I am SO PUMPED about what I believe the Lord wants to do in our church over this time period. AND…I am asking you to step up and BRING as many people to church with you as possible.
Eternity is real…heaven is real…hell is real…and people do spend an eternity without CHRIST!!!! THAT CAN’T BE FORGOTTEN!!
We promise that we are going to do all we can on Easter weekend (and the following weekends as well) to present the Gospel in the most clear and concise way possible…but this only works if you will partner with us like you have so many times before and BRING PEOPLE WITH YOU!
Let me say this…every time I have made this plea as the pastor of this church you guys have STEPPED UP BIG TIME…but I believe that THIS SERIES is going to be the most fruitful and impactful we’ve EVER experienced in our church.
Seriously, let’s do all we can to get people here. Use your “LIVE INVITE tool box” to help you overcome your fear and pump up your faith…and lets all PRAY like crazy that God will do something undeniable in our church that weekend! Every time we’ve gone all out on something like this God has honored it in an incredible way…
WOO HOO…can’t wait!
See you at Church tomorrow – it’s our ONE year Birthday!
tom
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5 REASONS WHY I AM EXCITED ABOUT OUR CHURCH’S 1st BIRTHDAY!
This Sunday will be the ONE YEAR mark for THRIVE. Here’s why I am so excited!
1. It shows what God can do with a LITTLE FAITH…
We started the church with just 35 brave people that said they would go “all in”. They served, gave and invited people to a church that was little more than a dream. One year later hundreds of people call Thrive “home”. The one thing that we had going for us was our faith. The Bible says that we can do nothing without it. I think God has shown us he can do EVERYTHING with it.
2. It reminds me of all the people that are CONNECTED TO GOD because we launched…
Tom and Stacie Langland, Mark and Deena Bridges, Rodrigo and Sara Vargas….the list could go on and on! God is in the process of changing lives and connecting people to Himself -and he’s using our church to do it. As Bill Hybels would say – the local church is the hope of the world. It’s also the vehicle that God uses to show himself to mankind. My prayer is that in 2010 we show hundreds (if not thousands) more.
3. We are going to TELL SOME STORIES again…
I love it when we tell “life change” stories. It reminds me how BIG God really is. Some of the 2009 favorites will be shown again. Bring the tissues – someone is going to cry.
4. IT’S going be STINKIN’ FUN!
One thing you can count on is that we are going to PARTY!!!!! I hope you leave with a big smile on your face and pumped up to see God change lives on EASTER SUNDAY!
5. The same things I get excited about EVERY WEEK!
Our band, our Kids Ministry, our ushers, Greeters, cafe team, production team and etc always knock it out of the park and it’s pretty inspiring to see it happen every Sunday. If you’re not a part of it – what are you waiting for?
The best is yet to come!
tom
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