Birthday Celebration

On Sunday, April 19th, Rock Point had it's first birthday celebration! "What is a birthday celebration?", you might ask...well, it's a special service we have to baptize the kids at Rock Point who have trusted Jesus with their lives and asked Him to be their Savior. This was a very special one for me as I had the privilege of baptizing our little girl Kailey. I was a blubbering mess, but I got through it...

During the service we baptized 6 kids, and really celebrated their new life in Christ! 2 of our UpStreet worship leaders, Matt & Stephanie Rector, led us in worship...we had a prayer time with the kids...and when everything was over we had an awesome "birthday party" celebrating their "new birth". It was a blast. Great job Jared & the chilren's staff in planning this event for everyone.

It was such a pleasure to be a part of a cool service like that with our kids and their friends and families. I can't wait 'till the next one!

Heath

P.S. Check back later as we'll post some picture and video of the event!

Post-Easter notes

INCREDIBLE Day at Rock Point on Easter Sunday!! I have to tell you that I am amazed at our teams and the environments they help create every week. This Sunday they absolutely went over the top to create excellent environments for our guests that were irresistible and...well...just cool! So thank you to all of our staff and volunteers who helped create such a wonderful place on Sunday. After the dust settled we realized that almost 500 people attended Rock Point this past week! God is doing an amazing thing at Rock Point and I am so grateful to be play a small part on this journey!

Here is an email I received Sunday afternoon from someone who invited guests with them to Rock Point this past Sunday. This got me pretty excited:

A family I have been investing in for a few months came to church today. It was he and his wife and 3 children. They were blown away by RPCC and the excellence they experienced...they have been searching for a church home and decided to come today...From Waumba Land to Upstreet to the music to the message they were BLOWN away...I love that I can invest and invite and have confidence in what a great experience those visitors will have.

So, thank you to all of the volunteers to help create environments where this can happen...thank you to the staff for your countless hours and your leadership...and thank you God for giving us this incredible opportunity of leading people in Chattanooga into a growing relationship with You.

Heath

Easter at Rock Point

Easter Sunday is one of the saddest, but happiest Holidays. The day is so bitter-sweet. Every year I go through a bevy of emotions. The sadness comes from the simple fact that someone so innocent had to die for someone so guilty. I deserved to die...not Jesus. But the joy comes from knowing that my eternity is settled because of this payment...this gift. So do I mourn or celebrate on this day?

I have chosen to celebrate. The reason why is because Jesus did not stay in the grave...He did not turn to dust and whither away. 3 days later, he stepped out of the tomb that he was put in. No, he didn't just fall asleep for a couple of days. He died...and came back from the dead. And today He lives!! Seriously!! Why would he do this? The innocent died so those who were dead might have life. (FYI - that's us).

So how about you? Won't you celebrate with me? No...I mean REALLY celebrate?

Come join us at Rock Point for our Easter Celebration. I know I can't wait.
check out our website at www.rockpointcc.org for times and directions.

See you there.

Heath

My Peruvian Experience - Part 2

Well, it's been almost 3 weeks since I have been back from my trip to Peru and although some of the emotion has worn off, (pretty typical I hear), I still can't get some of the little faces I saw out of my head. There is something about children that naturally touches your heart and these children grabbed mine and haven't let go. As I have been reflecting on the trip, I thought I might put down some of the thoughts I had after returning. Not sure where all of this fits, but sometimes clarity comes out of randomness...

* First of all, we were treated like Rock Stars! I'm not sure if it was because we were visitors from America or they saw us as representing all who assist them with their daily necessities. It was absolutely amazing the treatment we received from the children as well as those who worked with the church. I was humbled by this. Pretty big responsibility.

* Gifts in this life are not always tangible. I witnessed a mother play peekaboo with her child (an act she apparently did not know how to do with her previous children), and the joy on her face and her child's spoke volumes. She merely enjoyed the presence of this gift (her child) and the child enjoyed the discovery of his mother. I learned from this lady that day.

* I need to stop using the word "need" so much...Most often I interchange "want" with "need". Not that wants are all bad either...I just need to be more honest with myself about it. I have witnessed true need and it's not how I use it.

Also, I have finally finished a highlight video of the trip. These are the faces I can't get out of my head...and I hope I never do.

Heath

My Peruvian Experience - Part 1

Last week I was blessed with the incredible opportunity of going with Compassion International to Lima, Peru. I have been out of the country and have been on Mission Trips before but this trip affected me like no other trip I have ever been on. The poverty that these children and families are in is mind boggling. Dirt floor homes (or shacks), walls made of cardboard, no running water...the list could go on and on. The looks on their faces when they were given pencils or stickers or bubbles brought tears to my eyes. You would have thought they had received a million dollars. On this trip I cried...I laughed...I felt sorrow and my heart rejoiced. I realized that God is not a God of America. Many in our country have categorized Him as being formed in the buckle of the Bible Belt. A child's song came to mind as I walked through the trash filled streets of Lima..."He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." God is doing a great thing in Peru and around the world. I was grateful to have experienced just a small part of that. Thank you to those who prayed for us while we were on this trip.

I realize that pictures speak a thousand words, so here are a few pictures and clips from the trip.

This is outside of the window of the first church we visited. The homes on the hillside tell the story. Check out the boy at the end of it being brought to church by the other kids...physically!

On day 2 we were greeted by over 200 children at Compassion Project 444. I have no idea what they were singing, but it was wonderful!!

I also was blessed to have the opportunity of meeting a little girl whom my family will be sponsoring in the future. Later that day I had the privilege of visiting her at her home!

Well, there really was too much to try and post right now, so I'll be posting more on this trip later. Thanks for reading.

Heath

Starbucks & the Church

I am sitting in Starbucks right now thinking to myself, "Wow, the church could learn a lot from Starbucks!" Now I'm not talking in just serving better coffee...I mean churches today even market, "Now serving Starbucks coffee!" I'm more thinking about the quality of the environment...the welcoming of people from all demographics and socio-econonomic status...the vibe that you get where you feel like you could stay here all day! It's just a cool place. (I'm still hoping that the one I'm sitting in won't one that is shut down.)

So, we have the most important message to be presented to this world but often the church "experience" is either non-inviting...non-welcoming...or non-relevant. When was the last time that your average church goer was sad that the church service ended?! Why do we tend to settle for mediocrity in our presentation of the most important message ever?

I'm thinking right now about how this applies to Rock Point. Do we settle for mediocrity? Are our environments as engaging and welcoming as they can and should be? If someone had the option to spend their morning at Starbucks or Rock Point where would they choose?

Hmmm...I'll get back with you on that one.

Heath

Judgment Call

OK, so when a pastor is convicted from the sermon from Sunday it usually means one of 2 things:
1. He didn't preach the sermon.
2. He found himself struggling with the subject matter.

Well, as it so happens, this week I'm batting .1000. Andy Stanley's sermon on judging others and how we need to approach this so important topic really nailed me to the wall. I don't like to judge others, but I find myself doing this often. But I also find myself on the other side of the debate often and I sometimes ignore areas in others lives that I need to confront. It's an area that is harming them or others and they are headed down a slippery slope. For some reason I then go into overdrive with the "don't judge lest you will be judged" excuse. Not that Andy is reading this blog, but thanks Andy for digging deep to help us begin to understand how to make the "judgment call".

Here is part one of Judgment Call in case you missed it. Join us next week at Rock Point for part 2!

Heath