Super Cool Volunteer of the Week: Mark Gordon

Mark is someone who you don’t often see on Sunday morning, but without him we wouldn’t see anything. He’s busy behind the scenes heading up Lighting Tech for the Experience Design Team. An interesting fact you may not know is that Mark hails from Streetly, England and came to the states in 1994.

If you think Lighting Tech involves just setting up and tearing down lights, how wrong you would be. Every single light has to be strategically placed and adjusted by hand each Sunday. And those lights are HOT, literally! So hot you need to wear gloves when working with them.

Mark brings passion, commitment and creativity every weekend. His attention to detail is inspiring. He designs color changes to create mood and effect. He is always thinking up new ways to use lighting to transform the space. Last week, you may have noticed the MIRACLES logo across stage for the new series. That was Mark’s lighting genius to enhance our worship experience.

For someone who’s always shining lights, Mark reflects Christlike servanthood and humility in everything he does. Thank you Mark for your role in God’s story! Thank you for living out the words of Jesus; “A lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:15-16

Chapter #4, Influence: Breathe In, Breathe Out

“This is the essence of influence, to win the heart and soul of another person through the strength of your own character and personhood. This is why influence is always more powerful than authority. Authority can shape what a person does, but influence shapes who a person is.” p. 109

Greatest Band Ever?

Last night Kathy and I enjoyed a great evening out with our neighbors at The Police concert. It took me back to being in middle school (tinted glasses, long hair, and not a clue what I was doing) hanging out in the basement singing “Message in the Bottle.”

I know this is dating me, but I had no idea how I remembered all the lyrics to “Wrapped Around Your Finger.” I haven’t heard that song in at least 10 years. I always wondered who Mephistopheles was, but thanks to Sting I knew how to pronounce his name. So who would rank on the top of your list as greatest band ever?

Chapter #3 Uncertainty: Know You Don’t Know

Jonathan was certain about somethings, and at the same time he was able and willing to operate in the realm of uncertainty. He called out to his armor-bearer and said “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf.” (1 Samuel 14:6) You gotta love that. This is what he was saying in plain English, “Let’s go and pick a fight. Maybe God will help.” p. 68

Often when God calls me on a journey, I find myself wanting…

• certainty instead of risk
• knowledge of all the details
• guarantees of the outcome
• personal success
• an easy road

Jonathan gave not just his life to God, but he gave God the moment right in front of him. In the middle of uncertainty, he trusted the only One who is certain. It was two against thousands. Even if the outcome didn’t work in his favor, He was going to put his confidence in God. Live or die, Jonathan was going to give this moment for God’s purposes. If this was to be his last moment, it would be his greatest moment. We often want God to do the miraculous in our life, but we are unwilling to move into situations and moments where we have to put our complete trust and confidence in Him.

Following Christ means following Him into uncertainty. May we live with a “perhaps the Lord will act” faith. In reality, is there any other kind of faith?

New Series @ Epic: MIRACLES

He turned water to wine, calmed a storm, made a blind man see, a crippled man walk again. So why do we sometimes lack the faith to believe that God can calm the storms in our own lives? What would it take for you to believe that the impossible is possible? A miracle? Join us as we learn about five different ones and what they mean to us today.

July 15 Calming the Storm
July 22 Poolside Miracle
July 29 Raising a Dead Man
Aug. 5 Water into Wine
Aug. 12 Opening Blind Eyes

Super Cool Person of the Week: Dave Boer

One of the greatest things about Epic is the volunteers. Let me brag a little, they are the greatest volunteers in the world. Their passion for Christ is contagious. Their willingness to sacrifice is incredible. Their desire to go above and beyond the call of duty is inspiring. Their joy is off the hook. Their willingness to be crazy for Christ is awesome. They are the best people in the world.

We celebrated all that they do on Monday at our “Heroes: Volunteer Celebration.” The host of the night was “Mr. Hollywood” AKA Dave Boer. It was Jim Carry meets Jerry Lewis. From the clothes to the jokes, it was hilariously funny!

Dave heads up a TeamVelocity to provide support to the volunteers at Epic. The Team creates an environment of appreciation to enable each volunteer to find their unique role and freely use their gifts to maximum potential for the Glory of God. At the Heroes Celebration, each volunteer received an appreciation bag filled with his or her favorite things (candy, pop, sports team memorabilia, etc). Everyone’s bag was different and personalized to the uniqueness of the person. I know it was a lot of work, but everyone felt valued and appreciated.

And the Oscar goes to “Mr. Hollywood.” Thank you Dave for using your unique gifts in God’s story at Epic. We had a blast!

Chapter #2: Initiative, Just Do Something

“We have put so much emphasis on avoiding evil that we have become virtually blind to the endless opportunities for doing good. We have defined holiness through what we separate ourselves from rather than what we give ourselves to. I am convinced the great tragedy is not the sins that we commit, but the life we fail to live.” p. 34, Chasing Daylight

Christianity so often gets the message of Jesus all messed up. Growing up in the church, it was all about “right and wrong,” “knowing God” and “living a holy life.” For me, it was about rules, instead of relationship. It was all about intellectual knowledge of God, instead of action. The goal was to stop doing sinful things and start doing holy things like reading your bible and going to church a lot. The holy life was defined by an unspoken list of petty things to believe and do. As long as you did those things right, you could stay in “the club.” Maybe that’s a little oversimplified, but that’s they way it was.

One year all that changed for me. Enter Critical Event #4: Tim Meets a Girl.

4th of July Ducks

The 4th of July always brings up great memories for me. I grew up in the small town of Clawson which always threw a great party on the 4th…a small town parade, festival food (who doesn’t love an elephant ear?), a community fair with rides and games, a Fireman Dept. water battle (you always got wet) and best of all fireworks at night. As kids, we would hang out at the park all day, or at least until our money ran out.

One of the best memories was when my Aunt wanted to win my brother a prize, but she kept losing at every carnival game. When she arrived at the Ducky Game, she knew this was her moment to finally win the long awaited prize. So when the carny called off the winning number and his back turned to us, she lifted up all the ducks in front of her until she found the winning number. With sweet revenge to all the games where she lost money, she exclaimed “I’m a Winner.”

It guess it wasn’t right, but my brother went home that day with a great stuffed animal and we when home with a moment that would live on as legendary. On every July 4th, we would recall with a smile, “Remember the time when Aunt Janet…” Now that’s the stuff of childhood.

Whatever you’re doing this 4th with your family or friends, make a memory. Take a chance. Do something different. Really live. And may the legendary memory you make, be one that you will recall with fondness for years to come.