Thoughts from a Mac Store

Hey there I just wanted to give a shout out to everyone from one of my favorite stores. So greetings from the Apple store in the Lenox Mall in Atlanta, GA. I love coming to the Apple Store. It is a symbol of excellence, innovation, stability, and infectious marketing. Apple throughout the years has chosen to do a few things well and it is paying off.

Everyone who reads my blog knows I'm a church planter (that means I am starting a new church). For those of you who have heard me share our vision, you know I am not about busying people with church programming. I think throughout the years the church has tried to do everything and in doing so has accomplished little. It is so important to know what God is calling you to do and then do that well.

I want to help those who find church irrelevant begin to grow in relationship with others and become devoted followers of Christ. For many people the operating system they are use to makes sense (i.e. PC). Within this system the idea of switching to a different platform (OSX) is perceived as confusing & cumbersome. In life we are all running our lives on some platform. For many Christian principles and the Church appear to be cumbersome at best, confusing at worst. We need to present to people that Christianity isn't about this meeting, teaching seminar,men's breakfast, and fund raisers. If we are not careful we will clutter our life's desktops with the good and miss out on the best. Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus and with other's as you grow together as followers of Christ. That's it! Yes we need to become more like Christ, yes we need to understand the principles of the Bible, yes we need to be concerned about our world, but many of the things we do in church are counter-productive. It is time to simplify.

I think Apple reveals to us the principle to do less for greater results. Jesus taught principles, he ate dinner with people, he showed expressions of love to children. I guess what I am trying to say is I want to be more like Christ. Embassy Metro Church will not have a handle on every niche of Christian ministry. We will create environments that relate to the unchurched introducing them to Christ and principles for life. We will reach our children and youth because they are our next generation. We will grow together in small groups because it's healthy and Jesus spent time with 12 other guys too. We will do less for more. We will be a group of people who focus on a few things and through the help of God's Holy Spirit we will become a place of excellence, innovation, stability, and infectious marketing. We hope in the years to come many will make the jump to a new operating system (JC...ok that was corny) for their lives because we chose to be intentional & focused.