An Open Letter to PCC

Dear PCC Friends,

Right now, PCC is coming out of 'summer' mode and into the high-speed, fast paced, quickly changing environment of the fall. This, of course, leads directly into the crazy chaos of January, when we normally see the already growing numbers of Christmas explode into something between overwhelming and awesome, all at the same time.

Add to that 'normal' cycle the gutsy move we've made to launch Project Freedom, the ever-controversial 'Christmas falls on a Sunday this year', and a couple of exciting staff changes (all good), and we have the makings of a whirlwind. Or maybe it will feel more like a mighty rushing wind, as the Holy Spirit blows with a force powerful enough to change lives on a huge scale right in front of our eyes and through our church.

I believe that's what He has been preparing for us. And I think we'll see that in the next few months.

If you are a part of PCC, I want you to see it, too. This coming Sunday, September 25, at 6pm at the Powhatan Campus, we'll have a CORE event. In 90 minutes together, we'll have some worship, share some information, and we'll enjoy some Q&A, as always. Refreshments will be there, too. (your kids are welcome to come, but we won't have any childcare).

I hope you can and will make it as we only do this 3 times a year and The CORE is a part of our strategy to keep you up to date. If you can't come in person, we'll live stream it at www.pccwiredlive.net. You can even ask your questions there in real time.

See you Sunday,

Brian

The Big Lie: Your Part

Yesterday, we started the Big Lie series at PCC. I want to clarify a little and then offer some additional steps you might take.

First, the Big Lie is this: If you eat right and exercise and read your Bible, you'll be healthy. But that's just not true. Those things ARE required, of course, but they are not the ONLY ingredients in being a healthy person.

Don't you know people who go to the gym 3 times a week, eat pretty healthy food, and read the Bible but who are clearly NOT healthy? There's a reason: a healthy life requires more than those things. Each aspect of healthy living is not stand-alone. They all go together. So, yesterday, we looked at one aspect of truly healthy living - your relationship with the church.

Your Part. Beth Stoddard did a cool post on her blog about some folks who were finding their part and the part they played in our 9/11 service. You might take a look at that by clicking here.

We looked yesterday at the marriage of John 17 and 1 Cor 12. It resulted in the notion of unity among members of the body in which every member is doing it's part. If you weren't at PCC yesterday, this may not make sense to you. (The message is in 2 parts on Ustream. Click here for part 1 and go to 41 mins & 28 seconds into it. When it ends, go here for the rest of it.)

Unity. It's important that we define this correctly. Unity is not built around personal preference, but around common purpose.

Conclusion: If you are a Christ follower, you cannot be healthy apart from being your part of the body that is moving in unity.

Next Steps: Find your part. If you are at another church, talk to someone in leadership and plant your feet, get involved, do your part. If you are not a part of a church somewhere, you need to find one. You can't be healthy until you do.

At PCC, you can talk to a ministry team leader if you know your part. Or, you can take our SHAPE class if you aren't sure. (SHAPE will be offered on 10/2 &10/9 from 5-7pm at the Powhatan campus. Email shape@pccwired.net to sign up for this 2 part class.)

Further Study:

• Read Romans 12:3-8. What does it mean to 'belong' to the other members of the body?
• John 17 and circle the word "one" every time Jesus uses it. What does it mean to you for Jesus' followers to be "one" in the same way that Jesus and the Father are "one"?
• Read 1 Cor 12. There are many questions that come out of this text that are worth considering. But Paul goes out of his way to talk about 'parts' that want to be different parts and parts that are less visible and seemingly less important. The 'many parts of one body' image really does work for us in an understandable way. What is YOUR part? Do you know? Some of us are this part for a season and another part for another season. How do you reconcile that with 1 Cor 12? (I think you can and that this is both appropriate and necessary, by the way, but it's worth thinking about how such thinking fits with the Bible's teachings.)

I Woke Up In Chicago, but I'm not exactly sure how I got here...

I woke up a little before 6 am today in a hotel in Chicago...but how I got here is somewhat of a blur.

A few months ago, we booked a trip to attend a creative arts conference here called story. You can see more at storychicago.com.

First, let me tell you why we decided to come to this. Creative energy is just like any other kind of limited resource. If you do physical labor as your skill or gift (think: electrician, framer, welder, landscaper, etc.), you go through a regular cycle of work - rest. Your physical rest refreshes you physically for more physical work. Well, creative work is much the same, except the way we 'rest' or get 'refilled' is not physical, it's creative. What I've found is that people who are responsible for envisioning, planning and executing highly potent, highly creative events (services) have a steady drain in their creative tank. It must be replenished regularly (just like you would physically rest for replishment) or the ideas get tired, old, and stale.

So, that's why we're here with Beth Stoddard, Jackie Heberle, Lindsay Harris, Susan Hughes, Elijah Schiarelli, Sarah Brawley, Katie Rusch and John Ivins. These are some of the folks directly responsible for keeping PCC's services exciting, fresh and alive with promise. Creativity is one of our primary, God-given tools.

BUT, the summer was hard at PCC, financially. We just didn't have the money to fly. Driving was our only option. So, we left Powhatan at 9:15 and arrived in Chicago 15 hours later. It's a new record for me for the longest road trip of my life. Most of it was fun. Being in the car for that long is hard, though, especially the last third or so. After a while, it all starts to blur together, the next road, the next state, the next rest area/bathroom break, the voice on the GPS, the songs on the iPad. And you are so tired, you are in and out of coherent conversation. I'm not exactly sure how I got in my room. I don't remember much of the last couple of hours of the trip!

We'll come home Friday, after the conference ends at 5:30 (chicago time). Not sure if we'll drive all night or find a hotel along the way. Either way, it'll be a long day. But I really believe that God is going to do great things in us and that it will be worth it!

Thanks for praying for us - that today and tomorrow would be refreshing and a time of renewal of our creative juices. And thanks for praying for our trip home, too.

PCC'ers: 5 Quick Things You Need to Know

There is a growing list of things to tell you. Here are a few of them:

1) Baptism. We have a baptism on Sunday, September 18, at 4pm at the James River at Cartersville. There is still time to be a part of it. If you have been thinking about this step in your spiritual journey, email or FB me or call our office at 804.598.1174. For the rest of us, come out and support this important milestone in the lives of folks around us!

2) No More Online Ads! Our Online Campus has been struggling with 'ads' since we started. These ads would come in the beginning (when you logged in) and 2 or 3 times during the streaming. At first, they were ok - just a nuisance, but tolerable. Then we started to get ads that were a little...inappropriate. I got one report that a family was online one Sunday during their vacation - WITH their kids - when an ad came on for a website where you could learn how to french kiss! That was pretty much it for us! So, we are paying a fee now to buy out of them. Some folks stepped away from our Online campus because of the ads. Spread the word - they are no more!

3) The CORE. Leaders, Members, Volunteers, PCC'ers and the just plain curious - we bring together our church 3 or 4 times a year for a gathering called The CORE. Here we talk about what's happening at PCC, do some worship together, and have an informal Q & A. There are many exciting things coming up, so come out and enjoy some time together on September 25, 6pm, at the Powhatan Campus.

4) Project Freedom. You may have been hearing some buzz about this. Information is coming out in the next week to the entire church - and it is very exciting. Keep your ears open. You'll hear about it from the stage and through our various communications forums.

5) Small Groups. Small group sign up's begin in the next two weeks. LOTS of people have been asking me about fall small groups. They're coming. Stay tuned.

God is going to do GOD-SIZED things at PCC this fall! Thanks for being a part of it!

Discipline: You may not have it, but you know you need it. Hebrews 12

I grew up in a different generation than folks who are, say, 20 years old today (or younger). Discipline for me translated into 'spankings'. I put that in quotes because we actually called them beatings. Mom would say, "you are going to get a beating" or a "whippin". Now let's be clear about this: I know some folks are highly offended by this and consider any kind of corporal punishment to be abuse. I respect that. But I also respectfully submit that I was not abused. I joke about it, but the beatings were tempered and rare. And they were well deserved, I might add.

Most of all, they were memorable. That was the point. The discipline etched deeply into my psyche and it altered my future behavior. Isn't that the point of being disciplined? Ultimately, the best discipline changes poor, wrong or bad behavioral patterns such that they become productive, right and good.

The Writer of Hebrews spends a lot of time in chapter 12 talking about discipline. It makes me uncomfortable, if you want to know the truth. I steer away from modern talk of God's 'punishment' or 'judgment' because I think so many people have abused the idea. Who could forget the irresponsible way that some church leaders equated the 9/11 attacks to God's judgment on America for her immorality. That just isn't consistent with the God I know.

But one cannot ignore Hebrews 12. What should we do with these words about discipline? If you thought discipline from God was just an Old Testament principle, think again.

I confess that I'm still wrestling with this. There is a certain tension in the Bible over it. I think that The Writer makes a compelling argument here, and this is, after all, the Bible. I say I believe its teachings. I have to deal with this, too.

As I work to grasp it, I can see how God has disciplined me personally in a way that is like any loving parent. I'm sure it hurt Him more than it hurt me - really. But I'm still not able to reconcile a 'national' judgment with Heb 12.

Would love to know your thoughts, too.

Faith that changes history - Hebrews 11

In my mind, September 1 and Hebrews 11 have something in common. That may seem a little grandiose in a minute, but I don't mean it to be any kind of ego statement at all. I just think Hebrews 11 relates a lot to September 1.

First, the chapter. Hebrews 11 is one of the most well known chapters in the Bible. It contains what is commonly known as the 'hall of faith'. It's a list of people who The Writer tells us acted in faith, which he also tells us, is an essential ingredient to pleasing God. In fact, The Writer even defines what faith is in v.1, "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see".

His list includes the who's who of ancient Biblical stardom - like Abraham, Noah and Moses, and some lesser known people like Barak, Jephthah and Rahab.

None of the people in The Writer's list were perfect. All were flawed and sinned. But they were, nevertheless, people of great faith. The moved boldly at critical moments in response to what God was doing. Apparently, this pleases God.

9 years ago yesterday - on September 1, 2002 - a group of people moved boldly at a critical moment in response to what God was doing, and that day we held our first PCC service. (Now before you get all fired up, I'm not putting us in the same category as Abraham or Moses, I'm just seeing the truth of the text through time and into this moment.) We took almost no time to plan (2 weeks), we had no money and almost no people. We really had no idea how many would show up. I remember Susan telling me that 50 would be good. She was concerned I was going to be disappointed.

That first day, 9 years ago, 148 people came. I have no idea how most of them found out about it. The only advertisement we had was word of mouth, and there was little time to spread the word. On that first Sunday, we had our first baptism - 1 person. She was a teenager then. We still see her (with her family now) at PCC today.

From that first act of faith, God blessed our church and has taken us to places we never dreamed of on that first day. I wonder about the places we aren't dreaming of today that we will find ourselves standing in 9 years from now.

We are people of faith. We move on faith. We act on faith. We believe on faith. We live on faith. And when we do, God takes us to incredible places through an incredible journey.

Now that I think more about it, I'm sure that Hebrews 11 and September 1 have a lot in common.

Not Religious?

Yesterday I made a statement that always raises a few eyebrows. I said, "I am not religious. I don't really care for religious people and, to be honest, I don't think Jesus really liked religious people, either." (if you missed it, click here to see the service. My message begins 33minutes into the service)

When I read the Scriptures, I see Jesus being patient and compassionate with people who had spiritual questions. I see him inviting people who were of questionable character to be with him. I see Jesus teaching and mentoring and enjoying the company of anyone and everyone, except those who were pious, righteous and religious. Even Nicodemus, who comes to see Jesus in the shadows of darkness was questioning his religiosity. Jesus would invest in someone like that. But Jesus railed against those who were more interested in rules than people; more passionate about regulation and reputation than they were caring for people and meeting real needs.

Those who are indignantly religious may think they are God's agent. In fact, though, they are hurting our cause.

Why? Because it's easy to see that people focused on religion are uninterested in them.

This is not a case against ritual. Don't confuse the two. Ritual is an important part of our lives, especially when it comes to matters of faith.

Religion, though, in it's adulterated form, is an abuse of what God had in mind. God is real. He's alive. He's not a statue or a crucifix or a cup and saucer. He's not a book or a checklist. He's not a clothing style or a language. He is personal. He is loving. He is near. And He cares. The question is: Do we?

The kind of faith that Jesus had in mind brings heaven to earth - not out in the future, but in this moment right now. That kind of faith speaks into people's lives in a relevant, personal, caring way that is both tangible and spiritual. That's why I'm not a religious person. But I am passionate about Jesus.