Month: December 2007

  • Our Christmas wish list for the church

    Romeo Church Wish List

    At Romeo, we dream big. We believe God is using us to reach into our community to make a difference in people’s lives. (Not that other churches are not!)

    At Romeo, we have crazy faith. I think the two are kind of linked… but I digress.

    This year we’ve put together a wish list of things that we can’t afford to purchase but would utilize and amplify what we do if we had them. In other words, these are things we wish we had the budget for but don’t.

    If you feel so inclined I invite you to buy one of these items as a gift to our church. As with any time I ask people to give… please don’t give us anything if you aren’t:

    • Giving biblically to your local church
    • In debt to the point where a gift like this would hurt your plan to get out of debt

    You may look at some of these items and think… why do they need a new camera? Why do they want a slush machine? Why buy that item when I can find something like it for cheaper? If that’s you, I invite you to leave a comment or shoot me an email.

  • Looking for a Wii for Christmas?

    Jason, the Fun Monkey himself, has the ultimate Christmas present for sale on Craigslist. It’s got a brand new Wii, Guitar Hero III and about 20 games.

    Here’s the link.

  • Light Force Christmas Party

    Yep, it’s finally here. One of the highlights of our calendar.

  • Stress of coming home for the holiday’s

    College AngstWe don’t have a lot of students away from home for college. But for those who go away, I recognize this as a tough time for young adults. (and parents)

    The students perspective: You live on your own.  You eat your meals with friends when you want. You take care of your stuff on your own. You clean your room when you and your roommate decide to. Essentially, you make your own rules on things like coming home and going here or there. You are coming home for a vacation of doing nothing… a reward for a hard semester. For most college students they feel like they’ve learned to manage this pretty well. Even if they aren’t good at it they are used to the freedom. It’s all about independence.

    The parents perspective: You may be a young adult but you are still my child. You aren’t renting the room, you are a member of a family.  You’ll abide by our rules. You’ll tell us when and where you are going. (Just like high school.) You’ll keep your room clean. You’ll eat with the family. You are expected to be productive when you are home. It’s all about being a part of the family.

    This is a recipe for stress.  The college students want to express new found freedom and parents want things to be like they were before.

    So, how do you manage this stress? What are some suggestions I could give to students home for the holiday? What is some advice you’d give to parents stressed out by their children being home? 

  • 7 days til Christmas

    Christmas PresentWith less than a week until the big day, there’s much still to do. We have the staff Christmas party tonight, the Light Force party tomorrow night, a small group party Friday night, a killer service on Sunday, and MainStreet on Monday. (We’re actually still trying to squeeze a family party in there somewhere with Kristen’s folks.) In other words, Christmas is just kicking into high gear for me.

    This year I’ve actually been into Christmas. “Into” for me means that I don’t complain about it. We’ve had our tree up for a while, we’ve gotten most of the shopping done, and Kristen has done a great job of keeping the Christmas drama away from me. (Selfishness about presents… our kids get 3 small presents from us and they think its normal and fair!)

    santaOf course, since I’m labeled the Christmas hater… I can’t be seen enjoying it too much.  Paul is a hard core Santa-hater. There was a Santa at Buffalo Wild Wings on Sunday (I thought maybe he was too drunk to drive home Saturday night, odd place for a Santa) I asked Paul if he’d be willing to have his picture taken with St. Nick. Paul told me, “I would punch him in the face and put him in the garbage!” Ah, a disciple.

    Merry Christmas! 

  • Attend Romeo? Take our survey!

    One of my side project is something we’re calling “The Invite Project.” (In other words, it doesn’t have a fancy name.) Basically, the church leadership is trying to learn how the people who attend our church feel our outreach efforts are going. Are we doing too much? Are we not doing enough? Are we trying to hard in one area and missing something obvious? Are people inviting people to church? Why do some invites work and others don’t?

    I don’t think Romeo is alone in our desire to grow and reach people. Simply put, bringing new people into the kingdom of God is one of the two primary things a church should be doing. (Equip the saints, reach the lost. Both are related.) As I taught over the summer… for the people who attend the church our primary life’s mission is to reach the community we live in with the life-saving message of a relationship with Jesus. The Romeo community, our neighbors, are the mission field of our lives.

    What I think makes Romeo semi-unique is that we’re trying our hardest to use innovative ways to reach people since the “old ways” a lot of us grew up on just don’t work. I’ve been around enough churches to know that “freedom to innovate” and “church staff” are usually oxymorons. (It’s easier to copy than to innovate.) What we need to know now is which of these methods work, which don’t, which need more training, which need improvements, and which should we kill. The thing about innovating new ways to do things is that there is always a failure rate. You go into an innovation mode needing to know if an experiment works or if it fails. When you are inventing a better light bulb, failure is obvious. But when you are trying to invent a system to invite people to church… you need feedback!

    So, without further delay. If you currently attend Romeo… please take this survey. The target for this step is at least 75 attenders. As of this moment, 12 have taken it. (Pretty good for the first 24 hours!)

  • Whopper Freakout: Freakish Solid Marketing

    I don’t like Burger King and I can’t stand the Whopper. But this video is flat out good marketing.
    What do you think? What is it about this video that you like? Dislike?

  • Yes, we are having church on Sunday

    Unless something dramatically changes, (such as there is a state of emergency) we are having church tomorrow. And not to sound trite, but unless you have a very good reason, we expect to see everyone.

    For those Michiganers who let a little snow scare you into the house instead of gathering for church… why not see just how easy you have it right now and spend some time at Voice of the Martyrs?

    Here’s a story from Iraq that should put the shovel in your hand:

    Living in the atmosphere of Iraq, those who are controlled by the spirit of fear forced many churches to close their doors and told their members, ‘We will call you when the circumstances get better.’ When churches started to close their doors, people immigrated to Northern Iraq and some to Syria and Jordan. Many Christians did not find an open church to go to.

    This isn’t meant as a guilt trip. This is a friendly reminder that thousands of men and women have given their lives for our freedom to meet and worship. Snow schmow. In the words of Todd Porter, suck it up cream puff.

    By the way, we’ve got a great service planned.

  • Phew! Romeo Printing Company Saves the Day

    Last night about midnight I shot out of bed. I realized that I forgot to pick up the bulletins for Sunday services. It was one of those days where I had about 25 things to do and the email Jason sent me never made it onto my scribbled “to do” list. Ugh, we kind of need that for services on Sunday.

    I stumbled through the darkness and turned on the computer to try to find the Romeo Printing Company website. They don’t have one. Then I finally found a listing for them on Google with their phone number.

    Wouldn’t you know my luck? They aren’t open on Saturday’s. I went back to bed making a mental list of what I would have to do to fix this problem:

    1. I’d go over to the church.
    2. Print a new batch.
    3. Bring home the cutter.
    4. Cut and fold them myself.
    5. Tell Jason on Monday morning.

    Before our traditional pancake breakfast I ventured over to the church. On the way, I saw a light on in the back of the print shop. (small town!) I thought, “what are the chances that someone is working this morning? Pretty good!” So I go to the front door and bang. Nothing. A few more minutes of banging louder. Nothing. Crap! There is a light on but I don’t see anyone way back in the shop. My last chance is to call the office one more time. (Having flashbacks to working solo on Saturday’s at BlueCross.) On about the 4th ring I see someone going for the phone. Saved! I run to the back door and he gives me the bulletins.

    It may seem like a pretty small thing to be excited about. But it just worked out better that the original set was available. What a relief.

  • Saturday Tunes

    saturday tunesIt’s a quiet day around the house. Most of the Christmas shopping is done. Right now the kids are quietly playing… which means they are likely opening presents.

    So while they are quietly enjoying Saturday here are the the next tunes flying out of iTunes. As always, no cheating and ratings included.

    1.  Renaissance by Mat Kearney *****
    2. There’s Only One by Caedmon’s Call ****
    3. Sultanas de Merkaillo by Sanctus Real ****
    4. Let it Snow… by Jimmy Savage Band **** (ha! an elf!)
    5. Where We Belong by Sanctus Real ****
    6. Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven by David Crowder Band ****
    7. Be by Kmax/DC Talk **** (old school baby)
    8. Good Riddance by Green Day *****
    9. Give Me Jesus by Jeremy Camp ****
    10. Waters Gone By by Shawn Lewis ****