Vision

The vision God has set for our church is so far beyond me. In fact it scares me a little. For the past two months I have been praying and seeking Him, asking Him to make His vision so clear.

It's no wonder we have come up with a vision statement that is so far beyond us. It really is a God thing when you think about it. I believe that is what a true vision from God is. It is something that we can't do. It is a vision that can only be accomplished with a team in total surrender and trust in God.

That is why when I keep going back to this vision statement it kind of scares me. This is way bigger than me. There is no way "I" can do it. There is no way "I" can remain the same and it be accomplished. It is going to take so much more.

Here is our vision: To DOMINATE the Coastal Bend area with the life of Christ.

Dominate - to predominate, permeate, or characterize; to exert a supreme, guiding influence on or over; to enjoy a commanding, controlling position in

Acts 6:7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

John 10:10 I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

We want that real and eternal life that Christ came to give us to dominate, or permeate not just Corpus Christi but this whole region of the Coastal Bend...it will be an area which is characterized by disciples, people who adhere to following Christ and becoming more like Him, increasing rapidly.

Like I said...way beyond me...way out of my comfort zone.

We are not here to create a church so that I can live in a lap of luxury...driving BMW's or living in a $500,000 home. We are not here to create a country club where people will come just to hear some fancy motivational message. We are not here to create just another church filled with people who didn't like the last church they were in.

Corpus doesn't need another church. It's got plenty of them. It has far too many Churches that are set up just to keep the status quo of the Christians that sit in its pews.

We are here to create a movement. We are here to create Kingdom impact. We are here to bring radical change to this area. We are here to create a new culture with a God mindset. We are here to DOMINATE the Coastal Bend area with the life of Christ.

ARE YOU READY TO GET ON BOARD WITH US?

The Church Plant Update

Wow...what a culmination of a last month. Really...about a two or three month culmination has led to this months results of: the formation of the vision of our church, deciding on the name of our church, and the rewriting of the values.

I tend to work things out through my blog which is much like my journal. Only thing is you get to see how that all plays out. So if you have been paying attention you will notice the changes. Over the next 7 days I'll be listing all of this out.

Those three things are important to me as our church is established...you have to have a great name, vision is vital, and values are our core DNA.

Launch Team Gatherings

Coming up in January of 2008 (Jan. 6th), we are going to begin weekly launch team gatherings. These meetings will be held Sunday evenings at 6:00 pm. The purpose of these meetings is twofold: 1) Build up a core of leaders 2) Disseminate the vision of our church

I am still working on a structure for our meetings which I'm sure will evolve over the first month or two. These meetings will be highly different from what we will be doing on Sunday morning when our church is fully launched.

With that in mind, for the first meeting of 2008 we will be having the following elements: welcome, worship, vision, team teaching, and offering.

As we go along I can also see some team breakdowns happening as well as some team leader thoughts. I will be evaluating the format during the first month.

I have decided that we will be studying through the book Visioneering: God's Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Vision by Andy Stanley. Visioneering is the engineering of a vision. It's the process one follows to develop and maintain vision. The book follows through Nehemiah journey in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

If you are in the Corpus area and would love to be a part of a team that is going to DOMINATE the Coastal Bend area with the life of Christ...send me an email or a message and let's connect.

I'm Back

We are back from Christmas trip...I've not felt like blogging just yet. I have been doing a lot of twittering though. Last night was spent watching two movies, Deck The Halls with the family and then The Bourne Ultimatum by myself.

This week I have plans to finish up all the little stuff for our new myspace and wordpress sites that I have been building for our church. Mummms been the word on our new name....and I want to release them all at once.

January 6th is the next launch gathering...we are moving to Sunday evenings as Fridays and Saturdays are a tough time. Is there really a great day??? Not sure but we have to choose one that will allow for the maximum access for people as we begin to build what God wants. If you are in the Corpus Area and want to be a part of a church that is going to DOMINATE the area with the life of Christ then join us from 6 to 8 that evening.

Busy At Work

I have been furiously at work making graphics, myspace sites, and on wordpress. hmmm...wonder if it has anything to do with this >>>Click Here<<<

Can't wait to pull the wrapping off on January 3rd.

Merry Christmas Part 2

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone. I know this week will be quiet in the blogosphere. To those that read and to those that call me friend, let your Christmas be filled with many blessings, let joy fill your home and let peace reign in your homes.

Journey Through Acts (Acts 21)

Read - Acts 20

My Key Verse - Acts 21:11-13 He went right up to Paul, took Paul’s belt, and, in a dramatic gesture, tied himself up, hands and feet. He said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: The Jews in Jerusalem are going to tie up the man who owns this belt just like this and hand him over to godless unbelievers.” 12 When we heard that, we and everyone there that day begged Paul not to be stubborn and persist in going to Jerusalem. 13 But Paul wouldn’t budge: “Why all this hysteria? Why do you insist on making a scene and making it even harder for me? You’re looking at this backwards. The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience. Can’t you see that?”

My Reflection - This may be a little out there but it is what went through my mind when I read this.

Most of us would probably agree. If we got a prophecy from God like this, we wouldn't go. Right??? Isn't this what we pray for? God protect us and don't let any harm come to us.

Not Paul, he gets a prophecy and says what's the bid deal. In fact he really has a flip side that I'm not sure any of us realize. He says, "the issue...is...what the Master Jesus does through my obedience", and then asks the question, "Can't you see that?"

Here is where my brain went on this. God is in eternity...there is no time frame with him. In fact, time is something that is irrelevant to Him. He sees the beginning from the end all at one time. Does God actually manipulate our future? He obviously already sees what is going to happen, that's what prophecy is right?

So then this prophecy to Paul actually leads him to go to Jerusalem, it wasn't a warning to go away from it. I don't know if I can get all the words or the picture my brain saw when I read this. I may have to meditate on it a little more.

My Prayer - Lord, help me to learn a little more about you through this event in Paul's life. Help me to understand how it is you work through prophecy and to look at it objectively as Paul did.

Pictures From 2007

My wife and daughters always grab the camera when we go to my parents house. These are some of the pictures they have snapped. I really like the one with the rubber boots.

Our Church

Major announcement about the church we are launching coming in the new year. I know you all hate that. Why even tell us? It's like pouring salt on a wound.

Well, I did it anyway, so be prepared as we are going to flip this thing in 2008. God is going to DOMINATE in 2008.

Church Choir (Clash of the Choirs)

If we could have a choir that jammed like this....then we would do a choir. This has forever ruined me from liking any church choirs....THESE GUYS ROCKED. You have to at least watch the "Flight of the Bumble Bee" one....amazing!!!!!!

Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten


The Pretenders - I'll Stand By You


Flight of The Bumble Bee


This took the whole week to grow on me. Give it up for all the amateurs who looked like pros that performed on Clash of the Choirs.

Reaping

Reaping is the reward for the planter. If you want to reap, you must do the work of planting.

Journey Through Acts (Acts 20)

Read - Acts 20

My Key Verse - Acts 20:28 “Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes—both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people—God’s people they are—to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for.

My Reflection - What a great challenge to me as a pastor. I can really feel God saying to me in this new season, STEP UP. It's now up to me.

God is challenging me to new levels. That is why I have been journaling. Trust me it's not easy. It takes discipline and intentionality. But the reason is that I need to be on my toes. There is one thing I know about myself - I'm not perfect. I got a long way to go.

I don't want to take this calling lightly. The Holy Spirit will draw people to our church and when he does I must realize that He has put me in charge to guard and protect them.

WOW....that's a lot of responsibility.

My Prayer - Lord, I think this might be more than I can handle. That is why I'm trusting you, relying on you to help me get this done. I'm going to do better than my best. I ask that you meet me there.

Hand Bell Hero

I know I'm a little off on my posting...I get a little a.d.d. sometimes.

With this post yesterday and then, thanks to Bill, I found Hand Bell Hero....I'm now a little off pace.

Hand Bell Hero....it's Guitar Hero on Christmas...go check it out. It's harder than it looks.

Journey Through Acts (Acts 19)

Read - Acts 19

My Key Verse - Acts 19:2 The first thing he said was, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Did you take God into your mind only, or did you also embrace him with your heart? Did he get inside you?” “We’ve never even heard of that—a Holy Spirit? God within us?”

My Reflection - Sometimes I feel we live in a culture that has embraced God with their minds but not in their hearts. Many people acknowledge there is a God and a Jesus, but those same people haven't embraced following Him wholeheartedly.

Paul talking to the church at Ephesus here asks them if God got inside them. That really freaks a lot of people out. Many have never been challenged in the manner Paul challenges this church here. I think it is a great question to ask ourselves, "Are we following God with our head or our heart?"

My Prayer - Lord, tonight I embrace you with my heart. Live fully within me. Reign over me. Be my Lord.

Twitter Update

I am really digging Twitter and see a whole lot of possibilities for it. I've been following a guy, Jeremiah Owyang, on Twitter who is really maximizing it. He has almost 3,000 followers and is following about 2,500 people himself.

I could see some things that churches and youth ministries could do if they really brainstormed about it, everything from Prayer Chains to Weekly Announcements to Scripture discussion. I really even haven't put a whole lot of thought into it yet.

What exactly is Twitter? It is a microblog in a nutshell. You can put small blurbs, 140 characters only, of what you are doing or reading and others can read them. It is sort of like text messaging and blogging combined. You can read more about it here.

I have it integrated into my facebook and google talk so I can update really easy without having to go to another web site and log in. Then I have an RSS feed to my Google Reader of everyone I'm following.

It really is a neat little tool with the promise of great potential. You can check me out on twitter @ www.twitter.com/jasoncurlee