mike adkins | grace•ology

Thanks you guys

I want to say thanks to all of you who have sent great e-mails and phone messages and had side conversations in the halls about how much you enjoyed this series and how much it has meant to you. It's great to pastor such an encouraging, positive and smart group of people. I really do love being your pastor. We are so blessed to be where we are right now.

Let me remind you. Don't forget, we have some HUGE announcements this weekend with a party atmosphere. It's going to be fun as we celebrate God's faithfulness for five years.

Mike

Five Years

Can you believe it has been five years since God started Grace Fellowship? In some ways it seems like it has always been part of my life. In other ways it seems like just yesterday.

Each year we have had an anniversary celebration on the first Sunday of February and this year we are doing it again, but just a little differently this time. We will still have a great time, and you will hear some exciting things about where God is taking us in 2008, but our main focus will be on gratitude and worship for what God has done and what He will do.  I can't wait to tell you some of the stuff that's coming down the pike. It's amazing!

So whatever you do, do not miss Sunday February 3rd. You will want to be a part of this historic day in the life of our church!

Sunday Morning Recap

We learned that the key to perserverance is not viewing our relationship with God in light of our circumstances. The story of Joseph serves well as a guidepost to remind us that our circumstances are not always the best indicators of how God feels about us. So this week, if you run up against some challenging moments, remember that God is still writing the story and you are a big part of it. Just because you can't always see the outcome, doesn't mean He's not still working the circumstances for your good. Be patient. Trust in Him. You'll be fine.

service time change

We announced this week that we are moving our service times to 9am and 10:45am as of February 3rd.

When we made the decision, we wanted to let the people who will have to come in a half hour earlier to serve know first. So Beth, Chad and Jason sent out the information to their teams and I followed up with a letter explaining our thoughts and planning behind the decision. I wanted to share some of the unsolicited responses we got back with you.

Wanted you to know "we're all in"!!  Remember we can sleep when we're dead!!
We're all so very excited about everything that's happening at Grace and in our lives, and the lives of others!!

just wanted you to know that, 30 minutes ealier doesn't matter to us... we're just waiting for the third service... and fourth and fifth... whatever we need to do, we're there to serve!

Thanks for keeping me posted. This seems like a well thought out move. I value the time and consideration you take in making decisions that involve all of us.

I love it that you guys are so intentional!  That is what drew me to be a part of this fellowship.  Keep up the good work, and I see that God is blessing Grace because of your faithfulness and intentionality.

I think the uniqueness of Grace is that it is not just a church for the current members- That Grace can be flexible to change to meet the needs of the community- Praise God I found a place that is not afraid or resistant to change, growth, and ministry opportunities. I know that whatever decision that your team made has been prayed over and will be pleasing to the Lord.

With attitudes like that, my job is easy, and God's job is too.  He  will use your surrender to do great things for His kingdom.

Some lessons on friendship

I have some good friends in my life.
Here are a couple of ways to know if you have a good friend:

1) Good friends allow you to share your heart and mind with them.
2) Good friends will tell you the truth—a good friend will always be straightforward with you.
3) Good friends stick with you through the hard times and celebrate the good times.
4) Good friends are fun to be around.
5) Good friends sacrifice for one another.
6) Good friends share a common vision.
7) Good friends always have your back.
8) Good friends don’t suck the life out of you.
9) Good friends add value to your life.
10) Good friends challenge you to be the person God wants you to be.

How do your friends measure up? A better question? How do you measure up?

I learned something about our church

Had lunch with a person that attends our church the other day. One of the things he said was that Grace was one of the most unique churches he's ever been a part of. In fairness of full disclosure, when someone says something like that there is a part of me inside that cringes. I don't know what's going to come next. It could be good or bad. If it's bad that's never any fun. If it's good, it's not really about me anyway. God get's that glory. You just never know. I've heard the same thing from other pastors. Vocational hazard, I guess. So you brace yourself.

But I learned something. His point was that in order to be a part of Grace you really have to be a learner. Not a student. A learner. I thought that was interesting. If I could boil down his point, I think it would be that to be a part of Grace you have to want to grow. It's practical. It makes sense. It's challenging. You're not going to just sit in a sermon and walk out and think, "that was nice." If you do, you're probably already dead.

We're going to challenge you to change. We really do want you to take your next step. So if you want a church where it's boring and safe, you've probably stumbled into the wrong place. We're going places because God is leading us. Following God is never safe. But I'd rather be alive and following God than I would be safe and bored.

How Do You Know If The Changes You Want To Make In Your Life Are The Changes That God Cares About?

It's a new year. With the new year comes the opportunity for a new you--a perfect time to start over. You don't have to hate your life to start over. If fact, you can start over in specific ways while recognizing that in some other ways you really have it together. Good for you. But if we're honest, all of us have places we think could use some shoring up. Maybe some rehab? Remodeling? Or, perhaps they need a complete demolition? Wherever you are in your life, now is the time to make a change. No better time than now.

Challenge: This weekend I want you to begin to see whether the changes you've made are the one's that God cares about. Have you had trouble sustaining them? If so, maybe they're changes that God doesn't give a rip about? When your desires and God's will come together real change explodes onto the scene.

That's the kind of change I want for your 2008

Funny and True And Really Sweet

Last night I was tucking Connor (my 4 year old) into bed. We have a nightly ritual where I sing to him, Jesus Loves Me. He can't go to sleep without it. A few minutes later, I heard a little voice say, "Daddy." I went into his room and he told me that he was lonely. I gave him the obligatory, "Jesus is with you buddy." To which he responds by saying, "I know, but I'm lonely for someone I can see."

Priceless.

New Series Begins This Week

I am pumped about our new series this weekend. Do me a favor: Invite everyone you know who needs a new start. It's going to be a great series and an awesome weekend. What could be better?

This week we are talking about taking a personal inventory and asking the question, am I the person I want to be? We'll be looking at some practical ways to for us to grow and change in the new year.

Jan 13th How to be courageous about change. (Don't be a chicken. Come check this out!)

Jan 20th How can I be proactive about change?

Jan 27th How to sustain change

This year is going to be our best year ever! We are excited and are looking forward to many changes and opportunities that God is opening for us even now for this year. Stay tuned.

See you this weekend!

Happy New Year

Hope you had a great new year's celebration. We did. Which means we snuggled with our new-born daughter in bed (the boys had long since given up the ghost) and watched the ball fall in Times Square.

Is anyone else with me that Dick Clark should be allowed to retire with some dignity? Every time they went to him it was too sad to watch. His stroke has left him almost unable to speak.  700 years was a good run. Time to pass the torch. GEEEZ.