Archive for June, 2007

It’s a New Dawn…A New Day

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 30 June 2007
in InDependence Church
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Since going live with TheInChurch.org earlier this month we have had 90 unique visitors to our web site. Since that time we have worked pretty hard to get everything wrapped up before the mass marketing of it began. Even though the site still has a few “Coming Soon” buttons the time had come.

This morning the motorists of Weston will find this sign at every entrance into Weston. It takes 10 signs to do so and I was up at 5:30 this morning making what turned out to be a 44 mile loop around Weston putting up signs. This is a fairly inexpensive form of advertising. For 100 signs the cost was only $250 at Dirt Cheap Signs. I know they are not flashy but flashy is expensive and these signs will not last. They will be removed, thrown away, run over, rained on or countless other forms of destruction. I am saving flashy for our mailers which we will be sending our first one to print in the next couple of weeks to advertise the parenting conference.

After a late night at the Ale House having some great conversation, with one too many jalapeño peppers from the nachos, and getting up at the crack of dawn I am wiped out. I think it would be a good idea to start a pot of coffee and breakfast because our energizer bunny will be up soon!

Have a great day… FYI the sun rise was beautiful!

Busy Day

Published
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Nathan Griffis
on 29 June 2007
in InDependence Church and My Life
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I have been on the go most of the day. I did my normal workout at the YMCA. (I know you want to sing the song!) I then helped Harmony get Owen ready for the follow-up doctor visit with Dr. Steven Singer. We didn’t expect for him to find anything but after a year and a half of turmoil we thought what is one more doctor appointment. As expected all is well and Owen was able to deliver his “Thank-You” caterpillar that he made the doctor. When we left we asked Owen if he was glad that it was the last time he would have to go to a doctor about his nose. His response was “yes, we should go celebrate again at Chuck-E-Cheese”. (Where we celebrated his healing) My son is a real opportunist.

Then we went to Wal-Mart to buy a new train. Some of you may be asking how Owen the boy with a thousand trains persuaded us to get him another one. The long story is because he put himself to bed and stayed in his room the entire night. The short story is that his mom is a pushover. We were a little tired of the hour long process of getting him to sleep in his bed. The 25 minutes of reading was our choice but the laying with him until he fell asleep was getting old. Then he gets up at about 2:00 am and crawls into bed with us. He was smart; he would get in on his mother’s side of the bed. She would complain the next morning because he was kicking her or pushing her out of bed all night and that she didn’t get good nights sleep. Apparently it didn’t bother her too much because she would always let him in. So I decided to reward him for putting himself to sleep and staying in his room. My reward was a 5 stick pack of gum ($.35) which he liked very much. He had control when he wanted to chew it, just as long as it stayed in his mouth. Harmony’s reward idea for night two in his bed was Murdock the Train. ($8.48)
Murdoch the Train
I told you she was a sucker. Tomorrow her surprise will cost us at least $12.00 because as I said earlier my son is an opportunist.

Then we were off for a meeting with ASA Promotions to discuss some promotion products that we want to order. We are looking to do some shirts for us to wear to local events, pens to give away at our conference and eventually at our services. We were also looking for something to give to businesses as I work my way around town to get our name out there. We discussed all kinds of things from note cubes to flash drives. At the end of the day we have opted for food. I am going to order some custom printed donut boxes and deliver donuts to the local businesses. My plan is to order 500 boxes. That is about 14 weeks of delivering 7 dozen donuts a day. That is pretty aggressive, because I will need to get them there before 10:00am, but some companies are going to require more than one dozen. I am trying to work a deal with a local donut store but I have found the boxes for $2.15/box and I think I can get that down to $2.00. This goes against Mission Slimpossible but I think it will be a very effective promotion.

I am now going to eat some dinner and head out for a “beer” at the Ale House.

I almost forgot…Tomorrow morning we put up our road signs advertising our web site. I can’t wait! Pray that God will stir interest in people’s hearts.

Invitation to Hang Out

Published
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Nathan Griffis
on 28 June 2007
in My Life
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Yesterday I had one of the most encouraging events as a new full time pastor. This event for many of you that is not a big deal, for others of you will ridicule me for my future actions.

I know that many people feel that we have to be really aggressive with our faith. There are times when I am really aggressive but other times I feel the need to be more passive. What most people forget when talking to a pastor is that long before they were pastors they are guys and girls. They are just normal everyday people that God has called to have a different job description. During a Roundtable Mentoring Session at Celebration of Praise with Pastor Rod Trusty he gave me some important words to pastor by, “If people will let you be their friend they are more apt to let you be their pastor”.

So with that precursor in place on to the event…
A few mornings ago I met a nice guy at the YMCA. For the last few days we had some great conversation on the treadmill. It never came up that I was a pastor or even why we had moved here. If somebody asks I am always very quick to tell them but the conversation never got to that topic. So on the way out yesterday I was headed for the locker room and he said hold on a minute so I can give you my phone number and we can get together sometime. I said that would be great and that I could go into the locker room and get a business card. As I was getting ready to go get the card he says it (the event happens) “Maybe we can go grab a beer”. Inside of me I did a little cart wheel, I jumped up and down and did the happy dance. I grabbed my card and brought it back and he was handwriting his information. I handed him the card and he scanned it and I know that “lead pastor” title had to jump off the page. Then an even better thing happened, he said that it was usually him and a few other guys that meet at Ale House. I had not only passed the personal invite criteria (pastor and all) but I had been elevated to the group invite.

Now before all of the Pharisees and Sadducees crucify me let me tell you why I was excited and why I am going. First I am excited because I don’t ever want to be stereotyped as a pastor. What I mean by that is I want to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ without having to fight through any of the past scares that they carry because somebody in the church or a pastor has hurt them. Secondly, I want to be approachable by all people. I want to be able to establish relationships with people so that I can share and show the love of Jesus. I blogged a few days ago about the church mob mentality and just want desperately to be a voice. To be a voice that is respected not just because of a title but because of who I am as a person.

The reason I am going is because that is what Jesus did. Ultimately he was crucified for it but I assure you that there were some changed lives because Jesus hung out in the Ale Houses of His day.

I know the big question everyone wants to ask is “Will I order a beer”? The answer is no I won’t but I will order a Coke in a dirty glass! The other thing I won’t do is condemn the men that invited me to hang out. Shouts of condemnation do not bring around change. Read the story below of Jesus at the local watering hole (John4:4-26) and how his response invoked change…

“To get there, he had to pass through Samaria. He came into Sychar, a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon. A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.) The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.) Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.” The woman said, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?” Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.” The woman said, “Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!” He said, “Go call your husband and then come back.” “I have no husband,” she said. “That’s nicely put: ‘I have no husband.’ You’ve had five husbands, and the man you’re living with now isn’t even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough.” “Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?” “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.” The woman said, “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.” “I am he,” said Jesus. “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.”

Positive Parenting Seminar

Published
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Nathan Griffis
on 28 June 2007
in InDependence Church and Parenting
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I didn’t get the opportunity to blog yesterday because my wife and I were diligently working on the details for the parenting seminar we want to host in September. When we were planning some ideas to reach the community and get our name out there I initially had some very different ideas. I had considered putting together an event open to the community at some park with inflatable toys, games, food, etc. I soon realized that we do not have the budget to put together the type of event to grab people’s attention here in Weston. At some point in the future I would like to do this but I am now thinking it would be great to collaborate with the other churches in the city to do it. Maybe collaborate to have it as a Faith and Family event. Who knows maybe we could team up and do something once or twice a year?

So with some clear signs that we were going in the wrong direction we felt God leading us to host this Parenting Seminar. We are working on the details but our goal is to have 200 people in attendance. I am meeting with a representative from the Hyatt in Weston to hopefully finalize some arrangements on Monday to utilize their facilities and services. We believe that this will make for a wonderful environment to host the seminar. More important than the facility they offer some great food!

We completed a mock-up of the mailer that we will be sending out and I am getting some feedback before we send it off to final design. Then we will add a registration page to our website. By that time all of the bugs should be worked out in our online giving program so people will be able to register and pay on-line. We have the topics laid out that we want to cover and a basic outline for each topic.

I believing God will bless us with a great turnout and would love it if he blows our goal out the window. We have a lot of work to do in the next month or so but I believe that this will be a very successful event. Stay tuned for more information…

Understanding the Message

Published
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Nathan Griffis
on 26 June 2007
in The Word
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In my morning devotions I have been reading the book of Acts. This is one of my favorite books of the Bible because it is such a typical mans view. There are not a whole lot of details, little discussion on feelings, and a whole lot of action, even a little bit of sarcasm. I really appreciate good sarcasm. Like in Acts 26:28-29 “Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.” The message translation says “except, of course, for this prison jewelry!”

In the later chapters of Acts (which I was reading this morning) we find Paul in the midst of some heated debates. By heated I mean people want to kill him. As I was reading I found some pretty interesting similarities in a few of these situations and was also a part of a sermon I heard this weekend.

In Thessalonica Paul delivers the message of a risen Jesus and with a spark of jealousy a mob is formed and a riot is started. Stay tuned for the characteristics of a mob. Acts 17:3-5 “He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women. But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd”

In Ephesus Paul was delivering the same message and the business men who were making money from the sale of models of the goddess Artemis did not take to kindly to their prophets being cut into. There concern was not based on Paul preaching against Artemis, but that he was preaching for Jesus. People were awakening to a new understanding and so they would no longer need 100 models of Artemis around the house. So one of the business men named Demetrius does what any ethical, rational business man does (sarcasm)… forms a mob and instigates a riot. I want you to look at some of the characteristics. Acts 19:29 “Soon the whole city was filled with confusion.” Acts: 19:32 “Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there.” Acts 19:40 “I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.”

You will notice that the characteristics of a mob are mainly confusion and shouting. Before we get discuss the mob mentality I think that many arguments that we have with other individuals involve a lot of confusion and shouting. If we feel a conversation rapidly heading into an argument I challenge you to ask for a few moments to collect your thoughts. This time will allow you to clarify your position and release some tension that may be getting in the way of communication. In addition you can clarify the real issue(s) and what needs changing. The hard part is to also evaluate what part of the issue is your responsibility. By taking this time you will be able to discuss challenging issues with less emotion and better understanding. It doesn’t hurt to pray for the other party also.

Now on to the mob mentality…Often times when we have a dispute it is easy to form an angry mob and start a riot. Even though I am in complete agreement for standing up for what you believe but forming an angry mob is not the answer. I heard a Pastor (Bill Lenz, Christ the Rock Community Church) tell a story this weekend about a church he served at that was located across the street from an abortion clinic. One Saturday the church was holding a Pro Life rally and the whole thing turned into media circus. It was very hot that day and the Pro Life supporters began to distribute cold water to the “crowd” which had gathered in front of the abortion clinic. While delivering the water Pastor Lenz started a conversation with a gentleman. Come to find out this man was a homosexual. The Pastor was intrigued by the fact that there was a gay gentlemen protesting against a Pro Life rally. He tried to discover why the gentlemen was there due to the fact that this debate was in no way going to effect his lifestyle choice. Eventually, with some joking conversation, the man stated that he was there because he didn’t like the church.

Even though the angry mob in that story was represented by someone other then the church, how often are we guilty of the same thing? We are quick to jump on a band wagon to boycott a group’s products or services based on some mass e-mail we received from a fellow believer. I can’t tell you how many of these e-mails I have received over the years that with a few minutes of research I found to be inaccurate. Had I blindly joined the mob I may have found myself shouting, but not really knowing why I was there. There are countless other examples of “Christian” mobs that operate everyday.

I can only assume that the homosexual man in the story was angry at the church because of a mob mentality. As Christians, we can get too caught up talking about all of the problems in the world and not spend time spreading the answer to the problems. This was Paul’s example and think we can agree that Paul was pretty successful at spreading the gospel.

As I was challenged this weekend, I challenge you to “Stop shouting and be a voice”.

A Day at the Museum

Published
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Nathan Griffis
on 26 June 2007
in My Life
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I just thought I would post a couple of pictures from the Gold Coast Railroad Museum. We were there for the entire 5 hours that they were open. 2 hours of that time spent playing on the 4 Thomas train tables they had.

train-museum-008c.jpg

The rest of the time we spent touring the train yard with engines and passenger cars. We took a 25 minute train ride which parallels the minimum security prison where Manuel Noriega is being held. I understand that he will be released soon but to hear the conductor tell it, his private apartment might be worth staying in.

All Aboard!

I found it pretty neat how the history overlapped with us visiting a railroad museum that was once the Naval Air Station Richmond. Since being a Naval Station it has been used by the University of Miami, U.S. Weather Service, U.S. Coast Guard, Miami-Dade County’s “Metro Zoo” and the U.S. Department of Justice. They also have an exhibit at the train museum for the WWII Airships which were once repaired on the base in a 40,467,000 cu.ft. hanger. Yeh that’s big!

For $19.00 we had a great day. The best part was when my wife got home my son told his mother where I had taken him. It wasn’t what he said that was funny but the way he said it. The inflection in his voice said that she should be jealous that she didn’t get to go! She was…I know it.

She Speaks Conference (Part 2)

Published
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Nathan Griffis
on 24 June 2007
in My Wife
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This is the last day of the conference and I will get my wife back and Owen his mommy. She called last night about 11:15 to give me an update on how things went with her second presentation. She told me that it went far better than the first. When she was complete she was grabbing her notes and she realized that she hadn’t even used them. She doesn’t get her critique comments till this morning but the reviewer talked with her some after the presentation. Other than a reprimand for not starting a career as a public speaker previously the remaining comments were VERY complimentary.

For the first time Harmony is starting to get a picture of the impact she can have and the calling God has placed on her life. I have been approached by women that have been in some of her classes and they tell me of the affect that her instruction has on their lives. That message being transmitted through me does not have the same impact as coming from well known authors and speakers.

I said in my opening statement that I was getting my wife back. I think this was just a preparation weekend because Owen and I are going to have to share Harmony with a lot more people. To be honest, I have known since the day that I met her that she was special. I have done a pretty good job of keeping her to myself for 10 years. I guess I can let the world see the wonderful women of God that He has blessed me with. I may have to learn how to use that thing in the kitchen with the “eyes”. Just kidding there is always Papa Johns.

She Speaks Conference

Published
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Nathan Griffis
on 22 June 2007
in My Wife
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I just got off the phone with my wife and got the update on how the conference is going. She gave the first of two presentations which was her testimony in 3 minutes. She got compliments on the amount of content she was able to give in 3:04. I know her testimony and what she covered in those three minutes was just the highlights. God and I both are challenging her to share the whole story. Owen and I may have to sacrifice a little so she has time to write it.

The negative critique that she got was that she relied on her notes too much. She has me to blame for that because I started her using that crutch to slow her down and help her to avoid missing key points in her presentations. I like to monolog a speech or sermon. It keeps me from too many wild goose chases but you have to use it like a map when you are driving down the road. You can’t stare at a map too long because you lose contact with the road. With notes, if you stare at them too long you lose contact with the audience.

She told me that she was the only one too get a standing ovation. I knew she would rock the house! I am crazy in love with that women and I am so proud that she is stretching herself this weekend. I can’t wait to see what God does with the new found confidence she is going to walk away with.

By the way Owen and I had a great dinner. We didn’t make it out for propane so we had biscuits, eggs and fruit. I’m not sure if we have anything left for breakfast tomorrow…there’s a Cracker Barrel on the way to the Train Museum!

Being a Single Parent (for the weekend)

Published
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Nathan Griffis
on 22 June 2007
in My Life
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This morning at 5:30 Owen and I dropped Harmony off at the airport. She is headed to Charlotte, NC to the She Speaks Conference. Harmony will be speaking to 300-400 women in one of the sessions and will be critiqued by a panel of professional women speakers. I know she is a nervous wreck about it but I know that she will be great. To brag on my wife a little…she is an excellent teacher/speaker. Due to her nerves she speaks quickly but once her confidence increases, look out Joyce Meyer.
So Owen and I are left to fend for ourselves. The scary thought is that these three days will be the longest I have ever been alone with my son. Tomorrow we are going to go to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami. Trust me, taking him there will temporarily eliminate mommy from his thoughts.

Owen has just requested goldfish crackers and ice cream for dinner. He clearly thinks that I am the pushover parent. I think I can do better than that for dinner but first I need to get some propane for the grill because I am not sure how to use the thing in the kitchen with four “eyes”!

Mission Slimpossible

Published
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Nathan Griffis
on 21 June 2007
in Health
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I have been in the process of giving my body its 30 year tune-up. I have never been what you would call a skinny guy but there have been times in my life that I have been in pretty good shape. Dieting has only been a part of my vocabulary twice in my life and that was mainly to support other individuals as they dieted. Not that I couldn’t afford to lose a few pounds along the way myself. I have always loved exercise especially weight training. The only problem has been that I have been very sporadic in the weight room.

Throughout high school I was dedicated and worked out once and sometimes twice a day 6 days a week. I had goals to compensate for my height, 5′-9″, at the strong safety position. By the time I graduated I weighed 185 lbs and was in pretty good shape. A dirt biking accident took me out of the gym for two years. Being that I was still young the “Seefood” diet was still working for me and I stayed in decent shape. For the next ten years I would train for a year and then get busy doing other things for a year but because I was active my weight stayed pretty consistent.

Then this weird thing happened…I turned 30! I was busy with life, preparing for this transition, figuring out how to raise a little boy, etc. I didn’t have a consistent work out partner and so I had no consistency either. My weight stayed around 165-175lbs. but other things were no longer staying in their same place.

So I made up my mind that with this transition in careers I needed to make some transitions in health. I had to discipline myself to exercise not only my body, but my mind and spirit man as well. So once we moved I began running in my neighborhood every morning. I would run 2 miles and then spend 30-45 minutes studying my Bible at our community pool. This combined with some minor eating adjustments (really due to the diet my son was on) has brought my weight down to 156 lbs. I recently gave up running in my neighborhood and joined the local YMCA. I am now able to run, weight train, and yes still read my Bible. When people see me reading my Bible in the lobby sometimes they look at me funny, but I accomplished something if they just look at me. I want to be a Godly representative in my community.

There were two things that triggered these thoughts today. A while back I was reading Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer and he quoted a conversation with Leonard Sweet. Leonard explained to Ed that recent studies show that nine of ten people who are told by doctors to “change or die” cannot do so. In other words, they are told by doctors to stop smoking, lose weight, or quit drinking in order to survive, and nine of ten die rather than change. That statement really bothered me. The other factor for these thoughts today are based on a show I got sucked into on TLC last night called “Honey We’re Killing the Kids “. Last nights episode was about the following family: With a combined weight of 540 pounds, the Hildebrand parents struggle with their own health. Although their kids already suffer from their lifestyle choices, mom and dad don’t know how to prevent the boys from heading down the same dangerous path.

It was amazing! They motivated the parents by computer generating pictures of their two boys, based on their current lifestyle, aging until the age of 40. Talk about a crushing blow especially when the dietician asked if they wanted to see their boys at 50 years of age and the dietician said she couldn’t because she doesn’t project them living past 45. The parents desperately struggled to make changes but at times the knowledge that they were killing their children was not motivation enough. Ultimately the family made some new habits including a better diet, less television, more physical activity, more family time and more parents alone time. At the end of the show they fast forward a month after the three week challenge and you get to hear the testimony of what the changes accomplished for their family.

So this family is on the right track which means that there are 36 people, according to the statistics above that will not be able to make the change. Prior to these two influences I was motivated in large part for myself. (That whole looking good with my shirt off thing) In the back of my mind I put forth some effort because I want to enjoy my grandchildren. This show has given me a new perspective on health. I want to be healthy for me but I now see that being healthy is more about my legacy.

It goes without saying that we should model ethics, morals, treating others with respect, loving our neighbors, reading the Bible, etc. We link the success of our legacy on those factors, but today I want to challenge you to make good health a more important part.

“Didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please; squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 The Message)