North of Normal

It was awesome to be back at C3 today. I enjoyed the time off last week with family, but I always miss C3 so much when I’m gone. This morning was incredible. The atmosphere was electric and our numbers were up even though it is a holiday weekend and typically a down weekend.

We decided to do something Barbaric today. Have you ever thought about how blessed we are? At C3, we are blessed! We’ve decided to be a blessing. We’ve sold 60,000+ square feet to reach 160,000 people within 5 miles of Waterford Town Center. How… How will we have an impact? As we move to Regal Cinemas in January, what can we do to grab the attention of the 86% of Floridians who NEVER attend church?

It’s simple… love them. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was he said, “love God with everything you have… and love others.” What does love look like? How did Jesus love people? I believe it’s having a profound concern for the well being of others that motivates you to act to meet a need - putting someone else’s needs, wants, desires, circumstances above your own. What if the church really loved the community. This morning we checked out a number of passages - here’s one:

Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (MSG)

For the Christ-follower this is not optional. As Americans we are unbelievably blessed - Rob Bell breaks this down in his video “Rich“ (which we used this morning). We must “do good” and “be rich in helping others” and “be extravagantly generous.” So, today at C3 we did the unthinkable, nontraditional, illogical… but supernaturally barbaric…

We gave away $10,500!!! Each person took an envelope with a $20, $50, or $100 in it and will use it to meet a need in someones life. It’s the C3 Christmas project. The requirements - 1) you can’t spend it on yourself, 2) you can’t give it to the church, 3) tell us how you use the money to care for someone else.

I can’t wait to hear the stories of how God uses this in lives. What if a church really, really… really cared? C3 does! Instead of reliving a predictable, stagnant past what if we determined to create a future? What if we began to view life differently, people differently? It’s not about giving money. It’s about intentionally being aware and asking God to use us to impact the lives of those he strategically places in our paths… our neighbors.

Invest and Invite - you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Next week we continue “Barbaric Grace.”

…56 days!