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August 2007 Newsletter

After a summer full of travel, I'm ready for a change! I was itching to get back in the groove of weekend teaching and catch up with my team as we embark on a phenomenal Fall season. I'm in the middle of a two-week vision casting series, The House , where I'm talking about the privilege and responsibility of membership in the local church. In today's commitment-phobic, entertainment-driven culture, church attendance can be treated as just one more stop in the weekend tour of duty: get the house clean, race to the soccer game, stop at the superstore, and then go to church — if there's time. But our job as church leaders is to shift this perspective from consumerism to participation, from watching a performance to worshipping a living God. I'll be discussing what it means to join a church; that it's not a legalistic requirement, but a heart commitment. It's about turning God's house into our spiritual home.

“As we re-ignite our passion for the mission of the local church, we'll be encouraging our people to reach out and invite individuals to our next series, ineed2change.com.”

We're timing this series strategically for back-to-school, when families are returning to regular schedules and ramping up responsibility. As we re-ignite our passion for the mission of the local church, we'll be encouraging our people to reach out and invite individuals to our next series, ineed2change.com . We all have things about ourselves we want to change. Some people dread, even avoid change, while others seek it out like the next big thing, latest fad or adrenaline rush. In this fall kickoff series, we're going to challenge people to take a long, hard look at their lives and target areas ripe for change. Stay tuned over the next few weeks to see how we develop these ideas!

In the meantime, check out what we're doing to spread the change:

• We launched a website where people can post their thoughts and read what others have submitted. We've experienced an incredible response so far and when I see all the changes people want in their lives, it's getting me even more pumped about these messages! In fact, we're going to take the top four topics submitted and focus on those during the series.
• The site also features a "Spread the Change" page which equips users with action items, downloadable flyers, banners and badges for websites and emails, desktop wallpapers, and a Twitter feed to follow the changes as they are submitted.
• We're creating a series of short films that will be shown in the weekend services and on the ineed2change.com website.
• We're handing out promotional packets during the weekend service containing flyers to copy and post, tips for supporting the series, and iron-ons to apply to an article of clothing and wear around town.
• We've chosen a handful of traffic-dense areas around the Dallas/Ft. Worth and Miami areas for a collection of provocative billboards.
• An intriguing direct mail piece will be landing in nearby homes this week.
• Both the ineed2change.com and FC websites feature e-invites and share-with-a-friend emails.

And even though we're using marketplace techniques to draw people to the doors of our church, once they step inside, everything is geared toward pointing them to the One who holds the answers they need in their lives. Because that's really what it's all about, isn't it?

This is an exciting time in the life of the local church! Join us as we pray for a season of change in our communities, and be sure to share your stories with us.