Let's Change the World

Are you ready STORYCHURCH? Today we kicked off our CHANGE THE WORLD campaign by launching a new page on our website. Through it, you can see each of our three major initiatives, videos, and more. While most of us probably won't be giving until Sunday, you can begin giving TODAY online if that's how you decide to give.

For this Sunday, I pray that you come prepared to give generously and sacrificially to help us CHANGE THE WORLD. Here's how this will work: If you are a regular giver to STORYCHURCH, we encourage you to continue to give your REGULAR OFFERINGS in the normal way - through our giving box or online.

WE WILL BE DOING A SEPARATE OFFERING DURING THE SERVICE FOR OUR CHANGE THE WORLD OFFERING.

There are 3 WAYS TO GIVE this Sunday:

1. GIVE CASH in the envelope we provide.
2. GIVE BY CHECK made out to STORYCHURCH with CHANGE THE WORLD on the memo line.
3. GIVE ELECTRONICALLY with your debit or credit card* on a new ipad giving station we will have set up.

I cannot wait to see what God does this weekend! Don't miss it. And while you are at it, invite someone to join you - the Christmas season is one of the most likely times of the year that people will attend church with you. Don't miss the opportunity to invite!

See you Sunday - let's CHANGE THE WORLD!!!!


(*Disclaimer: Please don't go into debt to give. In other words, if you carry a balance on your credit card month to month you are incurring DEBT. If you couldn't pay for it TODAY, then please don't give it.)

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How STORYCHURCH changed the world

I love my church. Seriously.

We've been working our way through the Advent season, speaking of hope, of peace, of joy, and of love. All throughout we've looked inward and forward. Inward to acknowledge the ways we've grown cold throughout the year, and forward with hope and anticipation that Christmas can still change the world.

And throughout this season the anticipation has built. The light has grown stronger.

Sunday was one of the most incredible mornings we have ever had as a church. I don't know that I have ever been more proud to be a pastor. All month long we have been talking about the Advent Conspiracy and challenging our people to give more, and spend less. Give more of themselves, spend less money on meaningless stuff. And instead to take that extra money and turn it into something that would change the world. So this Sunday we took up a "Change the World" offering.

We had two goals: Be able to fund a well in a third world country that would literally change that community for generations to come - $5,000. And secondly, to replace a trailer we've outgrown and to then be able to give our trailer away to another church plant - $3,000.

And STORYCHURCH responded big time. All together we have so far raised just under $10,000!! This means we will definitely be able to reach both of our goals.

But we aren't done yet! There's still more we can do. There are more places that need water, more church plants that need funding, more single moms that need help. Though we've already met our goals, let's do even more than we could have ever imagined! If you'd still like to participate you can give here and under "gift options" simply write "Change the World", or place your gift in our offering box on Christmas Eve and mark it "Change the World."

Thank you STORYCHURCH for being an amazing, life giving, generous community of Jesus followers!

Don't forget our Christmas Eve service this Friday at 6pm. Invite your friends and family - the celebration just got a little bit bigger!!

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Living Water International

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At Christmas last year, Story Church participated in the Advent Conspiracy. Many of us decided to spend less at Christmas on stuff we didn't need, and instead to give toward clean water wells for people that really needed it most. This week I was notified by Living Water International that the well we helped to build has been built. The well is in Bozoubolo in the Central African Republic (see the map above of the exact location of the well). It serves more than 600 people. I can't tell you how excited that makes me! The fact that as a church, before we even officially launched, we had helped to build a well that provides clean water for 600 people is amazing to me. And I think this news came at a great time. For me, its a reminder that what happened at Christmas matters most because of what happened at Easter. The baby who was proclaimed by angels at Christmas was good news to the world because he would one die and free us from sin and death and usher in a new kingdom. It's a kingdom of life and love and grace and hope. It's why Jesus not only proclaimed truth, but he demonstrated the fruit of the present kingdom through miracles of healing. For us as a church, we celebrate the baby Jesus as well as the risen Lord, and we embrace the role we play in the resurrection story. My desire for us is that while we proclaim good news to the world, we are also demonstrating it through acts of justice and mercy. And today, 600 people are experiencing life giving water as a result.

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Christmas

Yesterday was one of the greatest Christmas celebrations I've ever had. Our church participated this year in the Advent Conspiracy - a movement to try and reclaim Christmas from the busyness and commercialization that it has become. So my wife and I set $50 limits on what we would spend on each other. With a little bit of money and a lot of creativity, we decided to make gifts for each other. She ended up making me an "inspiration board" with several of my favorite quotations from some of my favorite books. It is awesome. I purchased a nice frame, and then drew some pictures and gave it to her. It made her cry, so I guess I win. Haha.

Our church raised over $1600 for the Advent Conspiracy - more than three times bigger than any offering we have ever taken. According to the AC website, it costs $10 to provide clean drinking water for one child - for life. So Story Church gave 160 kids life this year. That's what I'm talking about!!! And the coolest thing for me as a dad - my six year old daughter has been saving change all year. She was able to give more than $30 toward our offering. My six year old gave three kids water for life. HOW COOL IS THAT??

Anyway, Christmas yesterday was really a great time. We opened presents in the morning (even with cutting way back, there was still plenty to go around), then I got to work cooking a big breakfast. My wife's family came over around 11am and we ate like crazy. We played a fun gift exchange game, laughed more than I've laughed probably all year, and played some games. Then everyone left for a couple of hours and we rested and got ready for round two. Dinner was at Kimi's sister's house where we had lasagna and fondue, followed up by more games.

I think the AC movement really enabled me to just enjoy my family and friends this year and to really rest in the idea of Emmanuel - "God with us."

I've already got my idea ready for next year's Christmas. It's gonna make her cry again. Yes!

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Spend Less. Give More.

As a church we are celebrating advent by participating in the Advent Conspiracy. It's a movement of Christians that have decided that the consumerism that comes with Christmas isn't the best way to celebrate the birth of Christ. But it's more of a movement for something, rather than a movement against something. It's not a movement that is worried about whether you say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays". It's not a movement about Jesus vs. Santa. It's a movement that is encouraging people to give more of themselves at Christmas. The idea is to give more relational gifts, that maybe cost less in dollars, but more in time. It's about spending time together, creating memories and traditions. Many of us are making homemade gifts this year. Some are simply choosing to spend less on things we don't really need and instead to do something together as a family. In the end, we will be giving the money that we would normally spend on needless gifts to people who truly have needs. Locally, we'll be coming alongside a school and providing for families that really have needs. We are volunteering our time to help in classrooms. And globally, we'll be helping to build clean water wells that will literally save lives and rescue people from disease.

To learn more about the movement check out www.adventconspiracy.org.

For creative gift ideas this Christmas check out www.rethinkingchristmas.com.

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Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas today. It was our first here in Durham, the first Christmas on the east coast - though you couldn't tell it by the weather. It was a beautiful day today, reminded me a lot of a southern California Christmas. A beautiful 65 degrees. We are starting a few new traditions now that Kimi's whole family is here together. We did Christmas breakfast together (really an early lunch), cooking pancakes, eggs, biscuits and gravy, potatoes, and cinnamon rolls. We spent the rest of the day together opening gifts, playing games, jumping on the trampoline, and doing more eating. It was very nice, very relaxing. That's what we did. My friend Dan and his family thought it would be fun to spend most of the night in the ER. How about you? What did you do?

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A busy week

It's been a great week so far. Monday night I got to do a ride-along with the Durham PD. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least. We responded to calls about shots fired, hit and run, and a home invasion robbery. The officer was very helpful to me as he took me on a tour of some of the worst areas of Durham. He introduced me to some people who are seeking to make a difference there as well, and I look forward to how that relationship might grow. I had a lot of fun though, and I hope to do it again sometime.

On Tuesday I had lunch with a pastor in Cary who is leading a really cool church over there. We had a lot in common, and it was an encouraging time for me.

Then Wednesday I had coffee at a cool little place in Raleigh with Bill Cummings of Lemonade International. I encourage you to follow the link to his organization and read about what they are doing in Guatemala. We had a really great conversation and I hope to have many more with him. I'm looking forward to how Story Church might play a role in what is happening among the poor of Guatemala.

Today we'll head over to Duke Chapel and take part in a candle light celebration of Christmas.

Then on Saturday, we're having a Christmas party at our house and inviting a ton of people. So I'm looking forward to that!

I've been using Twitter for a while now as sort of a test to see if it's worth using and I've really enjoyed it. It's been another tool that allows me to get to know people and to stay connected with others. If you have any desire to know more about what I'm doing on a day to day basis, you can follow me by clicking on the Twitter link on the right.

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Christmas

Today is Christmas Eve. It's been a great Christmas season so far. It's the only year I can remember teaching a series leading into Christmas, and because of that I've been thinking about Christmas a lot this year. One thing that has struck me the most in the Christmas story is the way in which it all happened. Let me explain.

You know how every mom loves to talk about how beautiful the package, the wrapping paper, or the bag is that holds the present? They are so careful when they open the package so as to not disturb the beautiful paper. I always wonder about that. I mean, sure it looks nice, but are you really going to reuse it or something? After all, it's not the paper that has value - it's the present inside. But I've been thinking about this concept in terms of the Christmas story. I mean, you can tell when someone has really taken their time to wrap a present. The way it is wrapped becomes part of what makes it so special - it displays the care and love that this person has that wrapped the present. So aside from the amazing fact that God became flesh and dwelt among us, and then eventually died and rose again (I realize that's a HUGE thing to set aside), I have been thinking a lot this year about the package. That is, the way in which this amazing gift was delivered. In one respect, God seems to have taken great care to communicate a certain message to us through the package - the part that many times we skip over - the way the gift was given. In another sense though, it's almost like God took this incredible gift and wrapped it up in toilet paper or newspaper or something. I mean if I was writing this story, I think I would have had a lot more bells and whistles surrounding the birth of the God-man Jesus. But instead, we have a story about a teenage pregnant girl, who when discovered to be pregnant is almost divorced and a family torn apart before it even gets a chance to start. Then, that same woman is forced to ride on a donkey miles and miles while almost ready to deliver. Eventually, when they get there she is forced to sleep with animals in a stable and to give birth to the King of Kings surrounded by animal poop, hay, and who knows what else. What an incredibly humbling, and maybe even lonely experience. So why is this the kind of wrapping paper that this amazing gift comes in?

I think it's because God is speaking to us in that wrap job. I think he's telling about the accessibility of this Savior to all people. He is telling of good news for the poor (Jesus' own message later on in life), and for the oppressed, the lonely, the helpless. This isn't just good news for the elite, the rich, the powerful - in fact this good news is for all. God is on the side of the poor. He always is. It's the reason that this good news was announced to shepherds, one of the lowliest jobs one could have. The fact that in many households there is a nativity set up with animals, hay, etc. is a constant reminder to us that God is not far - he isn't out of reach. He has come in the most accessible, most humble manner anyone could think of. And that fact makes the actual message and ministry of Jesus that much more powerful.

So anyway, don't be so quick to discard the paper for what's inside of this gift. Because I think that in this case anyway, the message that the wrapping gives us is just as important as the message that's inside. But when it comes to Christmas morning - go ahead and rip and tear.

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