Thursday, March 26, 2009

WWW.ELEMENTWEB.NET

Alright we have launched the new website. However check back periodically. We had to launch pre-mature due to our billboards and mailers being up. There are some graphical things still to update and our media center should go up today! Check it out, we are very excited, let us know what you think!!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Sunday AfterThoughts!

Sunday was awesome! There is nothing like a facility that is jammed packed with people. Shoulder to shoulder, can't even move, bringing in more seating, and creating overflow in a lobby. LOL. That explains what happened sunday!

Then 9 people get saved! COME ON CHURCH! I love it. Jeff had them be bold and stand up and the church erupted in tears and praise. It was really powerful!!

This was an awesome opening of our new series Sunday School. In this series Jeff is unpacking some of the major bible stories in a whole new way! Week one was awesome and I am looking forward to the rest. ESPECIALLY EASTER! You dont want to miss what we have planned for easter!

Dont forget that we are moving to 3 services this sunday. The new times are 8:30, 10:00, & 11:30am!

Alright and I promise that there will be a website this week! We have been working hard, hit a few snags, and had a bit bigger project than expected in some areas. But it looks amazing and its coming!! Ill announce that today or tommorow!!

OH YEAH & my creative team knocked it out of the park with our set design this series. Simply brilliant. Great job, very creative. You guys rock.

Alrighty I am off to the gym!

Sunday Set List,
Beautiful One - Tim Hughes
My Glorious - Delerious
Reign in us - Starfield
Hosanna - Hillsong United
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Adam

Monday, March 16, 2009

I HATE YOUR NOISY WORSHIP

Here is a post I did last week as a guest blogger on Jeff's blog. I wanted to add a few more thoughts God has awakened me to, but for those to make since I thought I would first re-post that blog. More to come!!

Over the last few months God has been forming something deep inside of me in regards to worship. For years I have been a Christian, worshipped at churches, camps, conferences, etc. But lately something changed. There is something beyond a band, beyond lights, beyond a stage, beyond hymns, it’s more than a traditional service and it’s bigger than a modern service.

In Amos 5: 21-24 it reads: I hate all your show and pretense – the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living!

You must define what worship is. I see it this way. THE GOAL OF WORSHIP IS FOR MY HEART TO CONNECT WITH GOD’S HEART. That’s it! Its not about singing 1 song or 5 songs. 15 minutes of worship or 50 minutes of worship. The GOAL is that our hearts would connect with God’s heart. Alright so, if that’s the goal then what happens next is God begins to give us His heart. My heart should be changed in worship and I begin to get His heart. So the question is, WHAT IS GOD’S HEART? WHAT DOES HE CARE ABOUT MOST! I think its evident that he was passionate about lost people, hurting people, the poor, the lonely, the outcast and the broken. That is who he was around, that is who His heart breaks for. So in worship, if my heart is connecting with His heart, and I begin to have heart change and get more of his heart, and I begin to feel and care about what He cares about. Then I have to ask the question, WHAT AM I DOING ABOUT IT.

See this is where I think Amos 5 is key. WITHOUT ACTION OUR WORSHIP IS NOTHING BUT “NOISY HYMNS OF PRAISE”, or as the message puts it “I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.”

My goal for worship at Element Church is to facilitate and environment where your heart will connect with the heart of God. I want them to get fired up about what God cares about and leave to change the world. See most of us leave our worship times at church and do nothing, absolutely STINKING nothing. And then God shows us Amos 5. Too many of us in communities across America do nothing. We want the world to come to us and we never become the hands and feet of Jesus. BECAUSE OF WORSHIP the poor should be fed, the needy taken care of, cities given what they need most. But its not just pastors, its YOU connecting with the heart of God and partnering with a passion bigger than you. I love how the message says it:
“Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it.”

This is also why EXCELLENCE is key. Without excellence you become a distraction. Distractions hinder heart-connection. When things are done well, with preparation it actually creates an environment of freedom and flexibility. Lights, Stages, Rock N Roll, music, instruments, hymns, cathedrals, and sprung buildings are all tools to help CONNECT OUR HEARTS WITH THE HEART OF GOD AND CHANGE THE WORLD!

Adam

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Sunday AfterThoughts!

Today I wore flip flops!!

This is my favorite season. I love flip flops. And it was a busting 60 degrees today, so I started early.

We had some hickups this week with the worship team. But they did awesome. Adjusted well. And God was worship. I really felt like today everyone was connecting. I love seeing physical demonstration of what God is doing in peoples hearts during worship.

Jeff closed the Wild Goose Chase series today with a passionate, fire-up, finale. I love being behind a man with so much vision and executing passion for a church and its impact in a city. COME ON CHURCH! Its game time!

We have SO many things happening here at element, there is buzz in the air.
1) We are launching 3 services in 2 weeks
2) We are launching our new series Sunday School
3) We are launching our brand new website by the end of this week
4) We are dropping 40,000 easter eggs from a helicopter April 4th
5) We are doing an easter service in a way I am sure will surprise you all!!

I love this church!

Set List for 3-15-09
Everyone (praises) - Desperation Band
Blessed be your name - Matt Redman
Beautiful Jesus - Kristian Stanfill
Mighty to Save - Hillsong United
It is well


Buzzing
adam

Friday, March 13, 2009

men's advance

Tonight we headed up somewhere between Cheyenne and Laramie to a great retreat center for the first ever Element Church men's advance. This is a very cool location, and a beautiful setting. Tonight an associate pastor from Calvary Chapel shared on the big picture of life. He did a great job. And we just ended the night with the one and only BRAVEHEART. That movie never gets old. We are called to be on the OFFENSE not the DEFENSE. The kingdom of God is ADVANCING. Love it that we titled it the Men's Advance. Grant, Bob, and Ryan did a great job getting this thing set up. I walk in and there is table of automatic 10lb weight gain. lol. They brought so much food. Good thing I worked out everyday this week.

I am very excited about what God is going to stir in our hearts as men this weekend. Its a great time to get to know each other also.

Looking forward to sunday to worship with you all and close our Wild Goose Series.

Advancing,
Adam

Monday, March 9, 2009

new post already

its been a while. Life has seemed to be majorly busy lately. I feel like i barely have time to read let alone write.

My latest blog was actually as a guest blog on Jeff's. You can read it here.

Sunday was tough. My mind was heavy and I felt like i was under some sort of attack. Worship went solid, but we had to push thru.

Something exciting on the tech end of things, is that we will be launching our new element church website next week. It has been a long time coming but very much worth the wait. The look and feel will be similar with a much upgraded build and flow. Look for that in the middle of next week. Some cool new aspects of the site will be a detachable video player on the home page of each weeks sermon. In the coming months we will be posting our entire service, worship and all. We are also adding our forms and blogs accessible directly at the site. Ways to join life groups and to volunteer here at element. So, look for that announcement on my blog in the coming months.

Adam