One Church, Multiple Locations

For the last two weekends, I had the privilege of visiting the campuses of Louisville (greater Canton) and Millersburg. It was very exciting and encouraging. We met at the Dover campus and traveled together via bus.

We were able to experience the inner workings of each campus. I am so proud. Things are done with excellence, lives are being changed, and people are experiencing environments that encourage them to pursue intimacy with God, involvement in community, and influence in the world.

NewPointe is truly one church in multiple locations. Beyond Dover, Louisville and Millersburg we reach all the way to Egypt, Iraq and Jordan. It is our vision to have campuses in communities of 12 to 15 thousand people or more, as well as along the Nile River in Egypt where there are over 12,000 villages that have no church.

If you haven’t been to all of our campuses, it would be an exciting trip for this summer. Sunday morning service times at Millersburg and Louisville are 10:30 a.m. Identical services at Dover on Sunday are at 9 and 11 a.m.

New Series

This Sunday is the kickoff of a new series called CHRISTIAN. You don’t want to miss this. It is absolutely important that you fully understand what it means to say yes to Christ.

Read this -

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws’” (Matthew 7:21-23). 

There are many things that you can recover from in life; this is not one of them. If you get this one wrong, you won’t be able to plead ignorance. The stakes are too high to take a flier on this one. Don’t miss a Sunday.

Father’s Day

I had a great Father’s Day. I received a hammock, had my favorite cake, which is carrot cake, and had a cookout with my family; it was a great day. I also celebrated with my father. He is the greatest man I know. He disciplined us, and yet he was full of love. My father really set an example for me.

You know the saying that blood is thicker than water. Well my father had another one: Truth is thicker than anything. He always wanted truth to win out, even if it was against his own kids. When we were kids, he told that if we were wrong he would always love us and help us make the wrong right, but he would not choose us over truth. I don’t see that very much today. I see fathers and parents who choose their family over truth. This is what I hear when talking to officials in the public schools. I want to thank my father for loving me enough to always side with the truth, even when I wasn’t always on its side.

Let me encourage you today, to celebrate your relationship with your heavenly Father. He is the only One who is perfect and knows how to relate to each of us just as we need and desire.

GREAT READ

Looking for a great read for the summer? How about the book of Ecclesiastes? It is written by Solomon, who is considered to be the wisest and wealthiest man who ever lived. Read it in The Message paraphrase; it is really powerful.

Here is a basic outline. Read it slowly; allow it to raise questions; ponder it. It just may end up being a great summer of learning.

• The search for meaning - Ecclesiastes 1:1-11; 6:10-12

• The importance of finding meaning - Ecclesiastes 3:18-22; 2:12-16; 9:1-12; 8:16-17

• Meaninglessness of human pursuits - Ecclesiastes 1:12-18; 2:1-11; 2:17-26; 4:1-16; 5:1-20; 6:1-9; 7:13-14; 8:2-15; 9:13-18

• The value of wisdom - Ecclesiastes 12:9-10; 7:7-12; 7:19-26; 10:1-11:6; 12:11-12; 7:1-6; 7:15-18; 7:27-29; 8:1

• Life's true meaning - Ecclesiastes 3:1-17; 11:7-12:8; 12:13-14

THE CYCLE

Two prominent sports stars are doing what they never thought they would do. We’ve all heard about Tiger Woods. His former high school sweetheart knew him when he was growing up and the most vulnerable, before he earned his fame and fortune. She has shared some interesting facts about their relationship saying that Tiger would call her up crying over his dad’s infidelities. He would say, “My dad is with another woman,” and that would be all he said.

Tiki Barber married his college sweetheart. They had been married for 11 years before he callously opted to trade her in for the young blonde, Johnson, a former NBC intern. Here is what makes it even more radical – they have two sons, ages 6 & 7, plus two newborns. Tiki grew up in a divorced home. His father left him and his brother when they were 4, and they never really saw their father. His mother worked a number of jobs to help the family survive.

Here are some quotes that Barber may now be regretting:

• "I don't give a [bleep] that [my parents'] relationship didn't work... Not only did [my father] abandon her, I felt like he abandoned us for a lot of our lives. I have a hard time forgiving that." (2004, New York Post)
• "What did I feel for my father? Not love or hate. Those emotions are too strong. It was something worse. Indifference. But in another sense, I realize that I still have hang-ups about not growing up with a dad. Maybe my life has been like that of other abandoned sons: a long search for a father figure." (2007, Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond)
• "[My greatest child-raising influence is] my mother. She was a single mother with no support from my father and sacrificed a lot of her life for my brother and me. She always found a way to provide and never left us wanting for anything." (2010, NY Metro Parents)
• "As men, we want to have pride, we want to stand up and beat our chest and say, 'We did this. We took care of our family.' When you don't have that, you want to hide a little bit, you want to run away... [The divorce rate is so high among high-income blacks because of] the core relationship. I mean, are you getting into a relationship because you really love and care and want to be with this woman, or just because you saw her at a club, and she looked hot – ‘Oh man, I got to get on that!'?" (2009, "A Father's Promise," MSNBC)
• "I want to be an honorable man, because that's what I want them both to be... My family is everything to me." (2007, Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond, via NY Post)

The Bible mentions “generational curses” in several places (Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9). It is so important that we understand and realize the power of things that are passed on through our family. We must ask questions with a desire to know the truth. What are the sins that are prevalent in my family background? They may be sexual sins, divorce, poverty, bankruptcy, victim mentality, poor relationships, rebellion against authority – the list could go on and on. The Bible specifically tells us that God does not hold children accountable for the sins of their parents (Deuteronomy 24:16). But they have a tremendous affect and influence on us.

The cure for generational curses is simple and clear. It is salvation through Jesus Christ. When we become Christians, we are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). A child of God is no longer condemned (Romans 8:1). The cure for a “generational curse” is faith in Christ and a life consecrated to Him (Romans 12:1-2).

Break the cycle. Say it will stop with you, and do not allow it to continue to the next generation.

One HEART ~ One WORLD ~ One CHURCH

People all over the world are looking for hope. We experienced a terrorist attacked in New York City which failed; we are still experiencing challenges with the economy from which some say we will never fully recover; we are in the midst of a great oil spill in the Louisiana area; we are trying to solve a health care dilemma; and we have the on-going Middle East conflict. I believe that the local church, living and teaching the truth of Jesus Christ, is the Hope of the World.

All “institutions” are able to accomplish some good in the world, but all come up short of being the solution to what ails humanity. They don’t offer the possibility of a change in the hearts of men and women, which is what we all really need. That is where the church comes in. We have been entrusted by God to take His message of hope of Jesus Christ into the world, accompanied by acts of compassion and service.

This weekend we kick off a new series called ONE. One church in three locations. That 5-word sentence summarizes NewPointe’s collective efforts. It sounds simple, but it’s far from it. Those 5 words speak about our goal of maintaining unity in purpose at all of our campuses, including those in the Middle East. Those 5 words express a necessary ethic of sacrifice that must guide all of our efforts. Those 5 words speak of preparation for a future filled with even more missional ambition.

Our mission at NewPointe is to LEAD PEOPLE INTO A GROWING RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST, by developing and creating relevant and effective environments where we encourage and equip people to develop an intimate relationship with God, cultivate community with others, and to influence the World. This is the mission at each of our campuses.

The greatest power in bringing about change in the world is through Jesus Christ, lived out and taught through the local church. This change happens when the church becomes ONE in our serving, giving, and sharing the good news of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. One HEART ~ One WORLD ~ One CHURCH.

Our greatest opportunity to bring about change in the world occurs when we (the church) work together collectively to share the good news and engage in doing good works for the glory of God. Without the church becoming ONE our efforts, our impact is diminished.

Come and learn how to be part of leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the only hope for a hurting, broken, confused, and scared world.

Dwight's Monthly Letter, June 2010

It’s summertime. Hard to believe, but we are already at the halfway point of 2010! Time just flies, don’t you agree? No doubt we’ve attended a graduation ceremony or party in the last few weeks. And we wonder where all the time has gone.

Our oldest son, Caleb, graduated from Garaway High School last weekend; it is so hard to believe. I remember the day we brought him home from the hospital. It was exciting and thrilling. Like most Dads, I remember thinking it would be great when he could crawl, then walk, stop wearing diapers, talk, and on and on and on.

Now you are sitting at their graduation, where they get a reward for the work they’ve done these last 12 years. The amazing thing is that it is set, and they can’t go back and make things different. Distractions in high school are huge and they are everywhere. Those who stay focused and work hard reap the rewards of scholarships and getting into the school of their choice. While watching them receive their diplomas to the famous tune “Pomp and Circumstance,” I was thinking about another kind of graduation – from school days to summer.

Summer marks the beginning of off-season workout sessions for many high school athletes. There is a saying that players are made in the off-season, and revealed in the season. Again, there will be plenty of distractions. Whether the academic world or the sports world, the big question is, “Do I want to pay now and play later, or play now and pay later”? Those are the only two choices, and so it is in life.

In The Law of Rewards, Randy Alcorn writes, “While our faith determines our eternal destination, our behavior determines our eternal rewards.” The Bible clearly teaches that we are saved by God’s grace, through personal faith in Christ, apart from any works whatever (Eph 2:8-9). But it also teaches, with equal clarity, that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that we may be recompensed for what we have done in the body, whether good or bad (2 Cor 5:10). This judgment, which is only for believers, is not to determine whether or not we are saved. Its purpose is to evaluate our works and determine whether we shall receive, or lose, eternal rewards (1 Cor 3:10-15).

Alcorn writes, “Our works are what we have done with our resources—time, energy, talents, money, possessions.” The apostle Paul describes our works as a building project. At the judgment seat of Christ the quality of our work will be tested with fire. If we have used quality building materials (gold, silver, precious stones) then our work will endure, and we will be rewarded by the Lord. If we have used poor building materials (in this case, wood, hay, or straw) then our work will be consumed, and we will suffer the loss of rewards (1 Cor. 3:10-15).

So, there are important questions that need to be asked:

• What are we doing with the resources that God has entrusted to us?
• Are we seeking to build God’s kingdom, in God’s way, empowered by God’s Spirit?
• Are we merely engaged in empire-building for our own glory?
• Are we investing our resources in reaching the world for Christ, making disciples, and helping the poor and needy?
• Are we only concerned with satisfying our own immediate wants and desires?

Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first"

(Mark 10:29-31).

So in the school of life, which one day we will all graduate from, Jesus teaches us that there are two keys that determine everything about our eternity. The first key is your belief or your faith. It unlocks the door to reward and determines where you will spend eternity. The second key is your behavior or your works. It unlocks the door to reward and determines how you will spend eternity.

When we understand this, we begin to live with an unshakable certainty that everything we do today matters forever. So we each have 3 choices when it comes to our summer – waste it, spend it, or invest it. Have a great summer.