Tonight was our first VIP Event at the school and it was amazing. I had the privilege to greet many of them at the door. What a personal thrill for me to get to say thank you. We were able to see you walk on the red carpet and be honored.

Here are a couple of the highlights from the evening:

1. Our staff did a great job of having everything pimped out.
2. Loved the elevate mugs filled with candy.
3. The mix and mingle in the cafeteria was a great chance for those of you who are busy serving on Sunday, to connect with others
4. The band was just crazy sick awesome. Hope they bring it that way tomorrow.
5. It was awesome to recognize our 4 remaining founding elders! That was the longest standing ovation I have ever heard at Fellowship.
6. Our sister church, Elk Creek Church, handling our child care for the evening so that all our volunteers could be honored. Thanks to my good friend and colleague Pastor Mike Silliman
7. The news I shared about the school sent a real God vibe through the room.
8. Is there any body better at crafting a video than Ben Jones? Great job bro.

Thanks to all who came. You are the backbone of Fellowship Church.

Just is a dangerous word. It is a word that can minimize and marginalize. In a conversation last week at the Orange Conference with Kristi McInnes, our Children’s Director, she related to me how she hates to hear that word “just” in the context of kids. When Kristi and Dan are vision casting or trying to pull out all the stops, they will occasionally hear “they’re just kids” from a well-meaning volunteer. YIKES! They are not nor will they ever be “just” kids.

They are our kids! They are our future. They are kids that Jesus died for. They are kids that the enemy is chasing hard. They aren’t just the future of the church…they ARE the church.

They deserve our best. They deserve our resources. Our kids ministry should be second to none (including our own ministries). Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Today, I want to thank you to Kristi, Dan, and Ryan, and the many of you who dedicate your time, treasure, and talent to build bridges to kids that Jesus loves!

One of the core values of Fellowship Church is relevance. I love what I heard Mark Batterson say, “To be irrelevant is to be irreverent!” The reality is that religion has become irrelevant to people’s everyday lives. I’m not going to get into the “why” behind this dynamic because that isn’t the point of this post. I had breakfast this morning with a new friend, Bob, who asked some great questions about the strategies behind what we do. He asked I received much push-back from using secular music in our service. The answer, I’m glad to say, is NO. Used to, but not anymore. It is who we are today Bob. Plain and Simple. Thank God.

The raw truth is that we will do anything short of sin to try to influence and reach people with the love of Jesus Christ. Staying “relevant” and “plugged in” with where people live today is one of our strategies. Jesus was continually building bridges to people where none existed. Pop culture is a great “bridge” to people. I just received a copy of a new book called “Pop Goes The Church” that I would like to recommend you read. The author, Tim Stevens, deals with the issue of the church engaging in pop culture far better than I ever could. Tim is one of the pastors at Granger Community Church and has been on the cutting edge of reaching people for Jesus for sometime. I don’t know him, but I love this guy. These are the guys that help shake people out of their traditional slumbers and give permission to start coloring out of the lines.

Order a copy. Become an apologists for the vision of reaching people for Jesus no matter what.