Grace Community Church 2007 August

Archive for August, 2007

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LifeChurch.tv Timeline

August 31st, 2007 by Dave Hensleigh
LifeChurch.tv began about 2 years before Grace Community began to emerge from the primordial soup of campus ministry. They first came onto our radar in March ‘06 when Bill Glick noticed them in a podcast. Bill mentioned this innovative outfit to me (Dave) in August last year and I didn’t pay much attention. I do remember Bill saying they had a heart to collaborate- a core value of mine and something Grace Community has pursued locally.
So in Jan ‘07, Bill nudged me again and said I had to check out this innovative outfit in OKC and so I went to their site and took a look. I saw right away that this was a group that had some ministry DNA like Grace and we made contact.
In late March several of us had a conference call with a staffer there named Brian Ahern whose job it is to serve churches who are interested in linking with LifeChurch in some way. We decided to attend an event there in Late April called “Together We Can…Explore, Interact, and Discover”. So for two days we did just that…no one was trying to teach or convince or sell. It was just an intro and discussion about how churches can work together with them to better accomplish our mission.
So in early May I began to urge people at Grace to look at the “Vision 2007″ message from LC and some did. Then I visited one of their sites in Ft Worth while I was in Dallas for another meeting. Later, I dropped in at OKC on my way home from vacation and visited several of their sites as well.
Lately I returned there for two days and interacted with their “Directional Leadership Team”, went to several of their staff meetings and gatherings, and interacted with some leads from H2O church in Ada, OK- a network church.
We began to use LifeChurch material some in our services during the summer and the response around Grace has been almost completely very very positive.
So after much question asking, discussion and prayer, the Grace Leadership Community (board, staff, ministry directors) agreed that we should become a part of the LifeChurch.tv network and begin to use their materials on a regular basis.
This has been a journey of over a year.

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What does it NOT mean for us to be “a part of the LifeChurch.tv Network”

August 28th, 2007 by Dave Hensleigh

For Grace Community to be “a part of the LifeChurch.tv network” does not mean:

1.It does not mean we will be a legal part of LifeChurch. We are still Grace Community and they are LifeChurch.tv.

2. It does not mean that we pay them a fee or send any funds their direction at all. LifeChurch is making this material available to all at no cost and they have hired staff to help expedite our use of it.

3. It does not mean that Dave will never speak at Grace. We have the freedom for that to happen at any time and there are actually several breaks in the year when it is planned for local pastors to speak.

4. It does not mean that Dave will be less connected to Grace…quite to the contrary. Being in this partnership gives me the opportunity to lead and serve in ways that the week by week crunch has made difficult in the past.

Perhaps you have other questions about this cool new connection with LifeChurch.tv. Simply comment here or email dave@findinggrace.com or call 369.9897.

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What does it mean for us to be a “a part of the LifeChurch.tv Network”

August 25th, 2007 by Dave Hensleigh
Recently Grace has made the move of becoming “a part of the LifeChurch.tv network”. So what does this mean?
Basically it means we agree to use their materials (the excellent messages on Sunday, graphics, videos, small group guides, etc) in a way that they want. And it means we intend to use them on a fairly regular basis. There is no fee and we do not become a part of LifeChurch. We are still Grace Community.
It also means that we are a part of a loose association of churches who are also using these materials.
More discussions of what this means and does not mean for Grace Community will follow in the next few days on this blog.
I invite your questions here or feel free to give me a call at 217.369.9897

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Fall wisdom from the “Appel Core”

August 23rd, 2007 by Dave Hensleigh
Today Gene Appel at Willow communicated some core truth about the way summer can erode our souls and how critical it is for us to reconnect with church in the fall. Let this soak in:

“There’s a lot at stake this weekend for our own spiritual journeys. I’m not trying to be overly dramatic. I’m just a realist. After 25 years in ministry I know the drill and am all too familiar with the spiritual drift that can occur over the summer months. The flipside of vacations and summer getaways that restore our bodies and renew our relationships is that we can get out of the spiritual practices and routines that breathe challenge and growth into our souls. The launch of a new ministry season is an opportunity for us to drive a stake in the ground and say I am going to put myself every week in the kinds of environments that will spiritually infuse my soul and stretch my mind and challenge my will, including re-engaging in the weekend gathering of the community of faith to which God has called me to be a part of. Again, you may think I’m overstating the issue, but I’ve seen this pattern too many times and I know there’s more at stake personally for us than we might ever imagine.”

Grace Community, be there this weekend and grow. Bring someone and help them connect with God. A huge move is happening now at Grace and God is at work as never before. Be there.

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Read to Stretch

August 22nd, 2007 by Dave Hensleigh
B10.jpgHow many of us had our lives changed when a Mom or dad or gmaw or teacher read us a quality book when we were in those formative years? Our lives are changed and determined by the people we meet and the books we read.
So…what are you reading? Sadly for many of us we are reading very little and what we do read does not stretch or challenge us to new levels of purpose and passion.
Q: How many of the books you read this past 3 months were from the New York Times bestseller list? http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/bestseller/index.html
Q:How many of the books you have read this past year have nudged you worldview, confused or challenged you, resulted in deep conversation with someone, or opened a whole new door in your life? (One that did this for me was “A Thousand Splendid Suns” http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Splendid-Suns-Khaled-Hosseini/dp/1594489505/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3_s9_rk/104-3322845-3523952?ie=UTF8&s=books&s9r=8a02b54114211f2501142c33dce201f4&itemPosition=3&qid=1187797344&sr=1-3

(more…)

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LifeChurch.tv Vision Video

August 19th, 2007 by Dave Hensleigh

Check out this video from LifeChurch.tv from the beginning of this year. It’s a great introduction to their mission and purpose:

Vision 2007 Video

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Every Man’s Battle

August 18th, 2007 by Dave Hensleigh

I met with a group of guys early this am who are going to begin working through this great resource and face head on the issue of sexual issues. More power to you guys!!!

This is easily the greatest issue men face and so many guys are being defeated by it daily. It does not have to be this way. There is help.

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What Cleveland beauty salons teach us about change

August 16th, 2007 by Dave Hensleigh

Recently I learned about a frustrated public health official in the Clevland area. Sounds like a wierd movie plot I know….but stick with me. He was tasked with communicating to African-American women about the importance of proper diet in combatting the devastating killers- heart disease and stroke. So he did the traditional, affordable, by the book deal of buying TV time and putting some ads on the air.

It didn’t work. People weren’t getting the message.

So he thought about how real communication happens among his target and he changed.

He began to go out and educate/motivate hair salon owners on this vital health topic and he encouraged them to reach out to their clients. People started to get the message and lives were saved.

Simple lessons abound from this true story not the least of which is that we must change anything and everything to be sure that the vital truth of the gospel actually gets to those who need it.

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I am dearly loved

August 10th, 2007 by Dave Hensleigh

The battle for my mind is the battle for my life. So I must think true and God-sized thoughts. The most essential is “I am dearly loved”. I cannot change or diminish that awesome reality. God loves me unconditionally, extravagantly, and personally. When I believe and live this thought, it changes my feelings, my actions and the results. Its a battle of the mind and it is worth it.

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30 Days to Live

August 9th, 2007 by Dave Hensleigh

Learn about 30 days to live...

What if you learned you had just 30 days to live? How would your life be different? Is it possible to make the most of every day, right now? Would you live in the moment?Would you leave a legacy?

What would you do if you had just 30 days left?

Join Grace Community for “30 Days to Live,” as we meet several brave people facing life-threatening illnesses. Once you hear their stories, and experience God’s truth, you’ll never look at life the same. Series begins this Sunday, August 12, 2007.

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