Archive for the 'City of Weston Florida' Category

The autopsy of a church planter

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 30 April 2009
in Church Planting, Church of God, City of Weston Florida, Health, InDependence Church, My Life, My Wife, Parenting, Random Ramblings and The Word
. 7 Comments

Somebody asked me yesterday what it was like to not have to prepare for Sunday. Well I wrote this blog a while back titled 6 days till Sunday which has been the story of my life for the past 16 months straight. Even though I recently have switched over to Facebook to spout off random thoughts, this blog still remains the behind the scenes look at the life of a husband, father, and church planter. I just have been busy with the stuff below and haven’t had time to blog much. (And outsourcing my blog didn’t work)

 

So I wanted to journal my thoughts as I close the chapter of my life at InDependence Church. As many of you know this past Sunday was my last official Sunday at InDependence. Over the next week or so I will be working on transferring over all of the other “stuff” that goes along with this job like, banking, taxes, facilities, marketing, leadership, staff info, etc. etc. etc.

 

Many of my pastoral friends have called to check up on me to see how I am doing. My wife asked me yesterday if it feels to me like we are offering our kid up for adoption after you have brought it into this world and raised it for two years… In a sense yes but God has given me incredible peace and confidence that I am doing what is best for me, my family and InDependence.

 

To not so quickly recap:

Continue reading ‘The autopsy of a church planter’

Quitting Church

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 2 April 2009
in Church Planting, City of Weston Florida, InDependence Church and Random Ramblings
. 1 Comment

I am half way through a book titled “Quitting Church” by Julia Duin and it has made me sad. I can recognize so many of the things that she describes the church to be and not be. She talks about the types of people that once experienced Jesus but were driven away by the “church”. This is not a book about people who wer never reached by “church” but were reached and rejected or reached and turned off by what it has become. Check out this blog article with some Q&A with the author.

I am encouraged to think that InDependence Church is doing something with its’ Jeopardy Series to combat her concern of the “church” being disconnected with the questions and needs of its’ community. So far our church has reached more disgruntled than lost. In the past I have found that discouraging but today I have a little different perspective. Whether it was the world or the church that turned people away from God is irrelevant. We were still called to reach so “God give us the wisdom and the knowledge to reach those that once knew you but were driven away by the methods man used to represent you.”

New Jeopardy Series at InDependence

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 25 March 2009
in Church Planting, City of Weston Florida and InDependence Church
. 3 Comments
What's the one question you would ask in church?

What is the one question you would ask in church?

Text your questions to 954.707.2493

Text your questions to 954.707.2493

New Series at InDependence

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 10 February 2009
in City of Weston Florida
. 2 Comments

New series starts this week at InDependence…

Practice What You Preach (The Art of Spiritual Discipline)

Practice What You Preach (The Art of Spiritual Discipline)

Bi-Vo

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 3 February 2009
in Church Planting, City of Weston Florida, InDependence Church, My Life, My Wife and Random Ramblings
. 0 Comments

No this isn’t some new term to describe someone’s sexual persuasion, but is short for Bi-Vocational. In my case, and in the case of the writer of this great blog entry, this refers to Bi-Vocational Pastor. I have been doing this for a little over a year now and have encountered a majority of the things listed. So I thought I would share it for my pastor friends out there or for those who are considering planting a church.

 

Reagarding the gaining weight issue… I would suggest an extended fast because that is why many people think you do them anyway.

The Souperbowl (sp?)

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 30 January 2009
in City of Weston Florida and InDependence Church
. 0 Comments
 

Don’t forget that this Sunday we will be participating in The Souperbowl of Caring. So don’t just sit on your “can” (if you weren’t in service the last couple of weeks you may not get that). Bring some cans (or other non-perishables) and/or some cash so that we can reach out and support The Sheridan House.  

 

 

Happy Birthday InDependence

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 20 January 2009
in Church Planting, City of Weston Florida and InDependence Church
. 0 Comments

For many January 20, 2009 will be a significant day in history for a multitude of different reasons. Due to the events transpiring in Washington D.C. today many will view this day as a turning point in American history. As the first African American President is sworn in many people will lock their location in their mind and will remember it along with the Challenger or 9-11.

 

Even though this day will be remembered by me for some of those reasons, this day will also have significance for another reason. Today, InDependence Church officially celebrates its 1 year birthday. There are many different percentages that describe the survivability of church plants through the first year. Regardless of what any of that says by the grace of God we have made it!

 

Not only have we made it, but we have made it and maintained the passion to have a closer relationship with Jesus. We have made it, and maintained the passion to reach the community of Weston and the surrounding areas with the gospel. We have made it, and maintained the passion to develop relationships with each other. We have made it, and maintained passionate about trying new creative ways of doing ministry. We have made it, and are continuing to develop new passions in people. We have made it, and maintained the passion and desire to see God do even bigger things in year two.

 

So I want to thank all of you that have said a prayer, lent a hand or given a dollar. I want to thank all of you who continue to support this ministry in one way or another. I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes… “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

Highlights from 2008

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 5 January 2009
in Church Planting, City of Weston Florida and InDependence Church
. 5 Comments

In just 15 days InDependence will be 1 year old. In reading this post I was inspired to layout some of the highlights from this past year. These are in no particular order, accept for number 1.

 

  1. We have led people to Christ.
  2. We have survived 1 year as a church plant.
  3. We have hired an amazing Worship Leader and God threw in an awesome band as a bonus.
  4. We have some incredibly dedicated people and I believe it is becoming contagious.
  5. We had somebody threaten to call the cops on us while we were giving away FREE food.
  6. I had the cops called on me for being too nice.
  7. Every week there are people serving at our church that I honestly believe wouldn’t even be in church if it wasn’t for InDependence.
  8. We are seeing the benefits of 40 days of corporate prayer and fasting.
  9. We have created an environment that has birthed some wonderful relationships.
  10. Finally a great thing that happened in 2008 is that it ended. The reason I am so excited about this is because I (and quite a few other people) believe that 2009 is going to be an amazing year for InDependence. I am already beginning to see new people, new ministries and even some new ministers. I can’t wait to see how God gets some glory out of us reaching out to Weston and the surrounding areas.

How to lose 30+lbs in 40 Days

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 24 December 2008
in Church Planting, City of Weston Florida, Health, InDependence Church and My Life
. 18 Comments

This is my personal daily log of my 40 day fasting experience. I tried to keep them brief because I really want you to read through the progression. I didn’t go into the really spiritual side because I have some personal stuff there that I just didn’t feel led to share. So I focused mainly on the physical because I want you to know that it is physically possible. This is something that you can do WHEN GOD LEADS YOU TO. (Emphasis added again and again and again).

Not everybody is called to a 40 day fast but we are all called to fast. It is good for the spirit, the mind and the body. If I didn’t think it would be creepy I had considered doing a photo journal as well but with a thin 5′-8″ frame to start, it is easy to imagine the progression. So enjoy reading about the last 40 Days of my life as I have set out to give Jesus the gift of me for His birthday.

(As a continuation to the follow-up I have posted comments for a couple of days to give you the aftermath)

Day 1 - 157.0 lbs- Headache from 2:00 throught the remainder of the day. Probably due to the types of food I have been eating and the amount of caffeine I have been drinking. In hindsight I should have cut out caffeine and sugar a while ago and making a chocolate chip cookie the last thing I ate… not brilliant.

Day 2 - 155.2 lbs - Beginning of mental attack. Why am I doing this? What is the purpose? Will it really change anything?

Day 3 - 152.7 lbs - Slight stiffness and soreness throughout my body. Some is usual given the set-up and tear down at church but a lot more than usual today. Lusted over my sons breakfast today. Remembering from my previous 30 day fast getting past the first 3-4 days is the biggest challenge so I am gutting it out.

Day 4 - 150.8 lbs - Today I am feeling my first real hunger pains. I also am having a little bit of “laziness” in my muscles, specifically my legs. I feel like God dropped another purpose to fast in my spirit. I was taking part in the 40 days with our church but this season may take a more personal direction.

Day 5 - 149.2 lbs. - Really sluggish start to the day but the brisk motorcycle ride in today really got the blood flowing. Yesterday was a company lunch which is always really good. I don’t feel the physical need to eat as strong as the mental need to eat. Sounds strange but frankly I like to eat more than I need to eat.

Day 6 - 148.8lbs - I am glad the weight loss slowed down a little today. Today I feel the best that I have felt so far. Company birthday breakfasts two days in a row… you have got to be kidding me! Struggling a little to force myself to drink enough water to stay hydrated. Simply tired of the taste and going pee all the time. I know that it will make the difference between my success and failure so I had better get used to it.

Day 7 - 147.2lbs - Today has been the best morning yet. Very little uncomfortableness or sluggishness. I feel like my mind is clear and can really focus on the purpose of this fast. If I remember from my 30 day there is potentially another rough patch at +/-20 days but we’ll see. For now I am excited to be on this spiritual journey as God strengthens me in this process of beating this earthly flesh into submission.

As a side note: Sneezing with an empty stomach is pretty painful.

Day 8 - 146.4lbs - This fast is forcing me to get some more rest which is good.

Day 9 - 145.8lbs - Found myself easily winded at set-up today. Operated for most of the day on pure adrenalin. With that said I believe it was one of the best Sunday’s we have had in a while. I confirmed it with my wife because I couldn’t believe how focused I was during message delivery. By evening I was cooked but my favorite TV show helped me wind down: 24 Redemption. In reality I didn’t need any help winding down, I was pooped.

Day 10 - 143.6lbs - This is the second biggest weight loss day right behind last Sunday. This has me a little concerned because we are headed into the holidays and some of our college student help will be leaving which almost guarantees me a spot on the set-up team. I had anticipated losing 20-25lbs and I am already at 13 lbs just one quarter of the way through. Continue reading ‘How to lose 30+lbs in 40 Days’

WACKY WEEKEND

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 16 December 2008
in City of Weston Florida, InDependence Church and My Life
. 1 Comment

We had just a crazy weekend around InDependence and really had to persevere through some challenges but God did some great stuff this weekend. I don’t usually blog about Sundays because even though they are a big part of what we do I am just not disciplined enough to do it every week so I don’t want to set expectations for it.

 

But this past Sunday was just a perfect storm of issues and I want to note it because I feel like it has the makings of a turning point.

 

Started off the day with our worship leader’s son being rushed to ER via ambulance after having a seizure. We obviously stopped set-up to pray which put us behind in that. Ultimately he stabilized and our worship leader came to church which was huge. For the record I told him to stay with his son but his wife had different thoughts.

 

That was big as you will read further. Our drummer was a last minute cancellation and so we tried to get the symbols and snare there in time for our bass player to hop on the kit. For a “non-drummer” he did a pretty good job the last time he had to fill in. I don’t know if they actually did that or not because I missed the first three songs running home to get the Advent reading for the day.

 

With the Christmas party the night before (which was awesome) I had forgotten to print it out and didn’t remember until the couple who was reading it sad they didn’t have one. So all of that combined with one other huge piece to my current spiritual and physical place which I pray I can share in 7 days, led to an all out argument with Satan in my car on the way back to church.

 

I got some head turns I am sure but I was just angry and frankly wanted to let him know that this day wasn’t going to break me. When I got back to church my wife ran to the car to tell me about the 4 new families that were visiting today. She didn’t know what I was going through at that moment but couldn’t understand why I wasn’t a little more excited.

 

I would like to say that everything went smooth after that but I had missed our lead guitars amp malfunction and when I unpacked my notes I couldn’t find the first page and so on and so forth. But… God showed up in a pretty cool way and through this video testimony and the message you can find here I believe that some hearts were changed.

 

As a bonus to our podcast I left in a little unplugged worship at the end. Because this is live and we don’t have great acoustics nor great recording equipment you’ll just have to imagine how really talented our group is or you can come check them out for yourself this Sunday at 10:29am.

 

As one final follow-up our worship leader had his van stolen from the hospital that his son was in… I can’t wait to see what amazing stuff God has in store for InDependence Church.