Christ centered Christmas

If anyone reading this is a Facebook friend of mine, (or Annamarie) you have noticed a few posts about a little movement called Advent Conspiracy. Now I'm not a bandwagon jumper, choosing to latch onto the the latest craze in Jesus-based programs, or the newest charity organization. In fact, I have a hard time getting involved with anything because I never know if its a legitimate program, or just another "here today-gone tomorrow" type deal. Thats exactly why Advent Conspiracy has so intrigued me.

Advent Conspiracy is a movement, a mind-set, a complete rethinking of Christmas. They don't want our money, they want us to recognize the incredible possibilities of restoring the focus of Christmas back to Jesus. What a radical concept huh? Focus our attention on Jesus around Jesus' birthday??

Actually, I think most Christians love and believe the catch-phrase of "Jesus is the reason for the season". Unfortunately, I think they just don't really know what to do with it. I admit that despite wanting to show my children that Christmas isn't about them, I struggle with the thought that I might not shower them with gifts and toys and thereby disappointing them and letting them down as a parent. Then I read about how many children die every minute because they dont have clean water (4 in case your wondering) and I think to myself....what am I REALLY doing to them as a parent? What gift am I giving them that is actually lasting and meaningful? Do they need plastic playthings or a spirit of compassion? Do they need more "stuff" or more time with me?

Do they need gifts on Jesus' birthday, or do we give Jesus the gifts on Jesus birthday?

Obviously all of those questions should be rhetorical, and they are, but are they gonna spark change? I can say it's changing me. In fact, several events and experiences over the past few months have had strong impacts on my life and placed a spotlight on how blessed we really are. It all came together when we discovered AC almost by accident, or by divine interaction, but thats another story. As a result, I feel a very strong pull to make Advent Conspiracy a big part of UpStreet throughout Christmas. So you're gonna see the posters, videos, etc. in and around UpStreet this season. I truly hope it sparks the kind of rethinking in our church that has happened in others around the world. Lets make Christmas a world changing event, again.

Pilgrimage to Mecca....

I think everyone knows by now that the whole staff of mountain Grove just returned from Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It was beyond awesome, so thats all I'm gonna say about that. But, immediately following Catalyst, a group of UpStreet workers had the opportunity to visit North Point Community Church in Alpheretta; ground zero for UpStreet, and where we stole the whole idea.

Now, NPCC is not Heaven (though some may disagree). It's not perfect, it's not ideal, and it's certainly no more important than any other church on earth. Amazing, yes. Growing, yes. Mecca, yes, er, I mean, NO, it's not Mecca. BUT, they're doing something right and there's NO reason not to steal and rob as many ideas as possible from them. So thats what we did.

It is impossible to describe what we saw and experienced as team. It's unlike anything most of us have ever seen. Their operation is like a combination of Disney World, rock concert and Christian Conference all rolled into one. Oh, and they're saving souls and changing their community. NPCC has recognized the importance of "service" over "serve me", and as a result they are exploding. See the website for more info, but just take our word for it, they are on the right track. But I didn't write this post to hype North Point, I just wanted to share some of the resources we can use to further our mission and change kids lives. So here we go...

1) North Point Kids This is a blog by Kendra Fleming, director of children's ministry at NPCC.

2) Family Ministry Operation Family Blueprint gives families something to do as, well, a family. What a concept??

3) Resources Here's is spot for obtaining all things resource/material wise to feed the craving for knowledge and wisdom.

4) All Things NPCC This site is a springboard for most everything related to NPCC and it's ministries.

5) Production One of my favorites. This is Buckhead's production website, and it is seriously cool.

If you're part of UpStreet, at Mountain Grove, I hope you to spend some time in these sites and help us discover ways to get better and better at engaging and reaching our children.

Thanks guys, love ya'll!

Some images from Sundays@NorthPoint

more pics

Individuality on film

Okay, here the cold hard truth.....Sunday mornings are tough. They are busy, tension-filled and stressful. The responsibilities we carry are enormous, the time we have is short, and the expectations can often exceed our own capabilities. Take away half the staff for a trip to Georgia for the weekend and all of this is multiplied by a factor of, oh, about 10. Therefore......

This Sunday we'll be watching a movie. Yeah, I know, its the standard default for shorthanded days, and sounds like were just finding a babysitting service to fill in on those days. But we're not. Okay maybe a little. But THIS movie was almost made for the month of October, because our virtue is Individuality. Of course I am talking about Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium! If you've seen the movie you know what I am talking about. Mr. Magorium is the definition of Individual. And like always, Hollywood seems to do a better job of producing attention-grabbing stories than we do, so its kind of a win-win. Kids enjoy a great film, and we still stay on track with our virtues.

Graciously, Missy Lubinsky, Carolyn Dale and Tammy Burkhimer have offered to run things Sunday so the remaining workers can take a day off. Thank them when you see them! Contact me directly if there are any questions or concerns.

-Josh

Special Forces...

I have, and always will be, a major fan of all things military. If it flies fast, blows up, shoots a long way or can see in the dark....I love it. The thought of flying a fighter jet at mach 2, or decimating an enemy compound with the 12omm cannon of an Abrahms tank just gets me excited. (Im sure I am not alone.)

But I am just as amazed, maybe even more so, by the things our military does that we will never see or hear about. The operations that happen before a war starts, or the missions that get carried out that were never officially carried out. Or the ones that were successful, but credit was given to whole other country.....to build rapport. These are the tasks that are assigned to the Special Forces of our military.....the elite 1% of our military that, until recently, were hardly ever seen. So when a program about these guys comes on TV.... I'm watching; and I just saw an awesome national Geographic special about the Army's Green Berets.

Now this wasn't a "kid-safe" program, due to the video footage and some language, but it was an exceptionally educating program for more than just the military aspect. The interviews and points of view expressed by these soldiers and their leaders was quite fascinating, and I took a few points away that want to share. I couldn't help but draw a few comparisons to church's....so bear with me.

1) Small groups; Green Berets operate in 12 man units. Each man has a specialized field of training that, when combined with the other 11 specialized members, creates a complete military unit. Now since they are so highly trained and highly successful, it begs the question, "Why aren't all soldiers trained to be as skilled as the Special Forces?" And in fact, a ranking General was posed this very question. His answer? "It is almost impossible to instruct, train and educate large groups of soldiers with regard to specific, complex scenarios in the field."

Wait, what? I think I've heard something similar from Andy Stanley..."Its impossible to convey complex information to large groups of people." This is never more evident in church's than when votes take place.

2)Mission first mentality; The end result of their operation is the absolute focus of their efforts. Everything they do during a campaign is centered around completing the mission as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible.

3)Relationship first..force second; This my have been the most intriguing aspect of all. During their time in Afghanistan and Iraq, US Special Forces have spent more time getting to know, gaining the trust, and understanding the culture, issues and concerns of the native people, than planning and executing actual combat missions. This isn't downtime activity, its actually part of a strategic plan. In other words, they made conscious effort to relate to, and be liked by the people. Shockingly, there were no reports of our soldiers becoming Muslim, al Qaeda, or Afghan, and they never forgot what they were doing. Hope someone gets my sarcasm.

My point is this......the most skilled, highly trained, and reliable unit of the US Army already incorporates concepts and processes that are still somewhat "controversial" in church society today. I wonder why we're losing our own war???