Resonate Community Church Blog

I remember a distinct sermon from Tim Bourne, pastor at Genesis Metro. He spoke this the weekend after the men’s retreat. He said that God spits out luke warm milk. He wants hot milk, but would even rather have cold milk than luke warm. I talked to my wife that weekend and we both knew that we were both just luke warm. Not in our marriage. Our marriage is awesome and having a baby girl is a total blessing. But, outside of that everything was just luke warm. There simply was no passion in what we were doing. When we spoke about the Church and prayed about it, a sense of passion began to stir in each of us. Once we committed to going, without knowing how all the things were going to work out, the passion was starting to burn.

So, how were we going to get to Hutto? One critical area that had to be figured out was my job situation. I had posted my resume to a few companies and then my boss got promoted. I knew that with her promotion that there would be several other changes in the functions that were going to report into her. I knew that I was looking for a way down to Hutto (Austin area) and felt that I owed it to her to let her know what I was doing. I didn’t want her to make a bunch of job changes assuming that I would be part of the team when I realized that I would be quitting in a few months. I really didn’t want to tell her because I didn’t know when I would leave. I mean, would you go tell your boss that you’re going to quit, but just don’t exactly know when? Seems kind-of stupid doesn’t it? But, I knew it was the right thing to do. So, I set up a meeting with Darla. I told her the story of the Church and that we were going to be leaving. I told her that before I left TI (Texas Instruments) that I wanted to close every possible door because it is such a great company. I knew two things. 1) I was going to be moving and 2) it was going to be pretty soon. The rest…well, the rest was just somehow going to work out.

Darla’s response was amazing. She told me that they wanted to keep me. That I could keep doing my same job remote. I would need to travel back to Dallas (3 hour drive) one day every other week, but the rest of the time I could work from an office at home. Now, it helps to know that my job is very conducive to working remote and I do it a couple of days a week right now…but to agree to let me do it full-time was far beyond anything that I could have expected. So, one of the monster items that had to be worked out was now worked out! I would not have to change jobs to help start this Church. And, working from home would give me even additional flexibility to have a greater impact for the Church. This is crazy! And, you know what. Not only did TI retain an employee by allowing me to work remote, they will also get an employee who is going to work harder for them. I mean, how can I not? What they are doing for me is amazing and I hope that the results that I can deliver for them are equally as amazing.

Who knows if this will really work out? Maybe I’ll get down there and six months later I’ll be leaving for another company. Maybe TI will want me to go? But, this company is giving me a great opportunity to follow my heart and God’s leading to start a Church, while continuing in my current job. How cool is that!

I’ve never blogged before and don’t really know where to start. In fact, I just deleted a couple of rough drafts and am starting over. Covering history just seems impossible, so let me start more recently.

My wife (Cindy) and I have decided to move to Hutto, Texas with our daughter Peyton. We’re moving for one reason and one reason only. We’re looking to live a life of passion. We believe that we have found that passion by sharing a vision with Kyle and Erika Sears (and their daughter Kylie) on what Church should really be about. It’s about community. It’s about connecting. It’s about going through life together. And Cindy and I have decided to take the biggest steps of faith (outside of accepting Christ and what He did) that either of us have ever taken.

Hutto is about 3 to 3.5 hours away from where we currently live. For us, that means two main things. 1) I have to find a new job and 2) we have to buy a new home and sell our current home. But, before I jump into those I want to cover how we came to this decision in the first place. The next couple of entries will cover the job and house…maybe the next several entries!

Crap, I just re-read what I’ve written. I just don’t know how to do this. I guess some are natural bloggers…I guess I’m not one of the “some.” I had written about how I came to Christ, how Kyle and I started talking about starting a Church…and it just didn’t feel right so I deleted it. Now I’m reading this and that delete button is blinking in red! But, you know what, the whole goal of what we’re targeting with Resonate Community is to be honest and real. If I keep deleting what I’m writing and editing, will that be real? I think not! So, here goes nothing!

I’m not a great Christian. I believe in Christ. No questions about that. I give financially to the Church, but not as much as I know I need to. I serve by setting up Church on weekends, but I miss a lot of the weekends I’m supposed to be there. I’ve worked in the nursery, but no one counts on me in that area. I’ve led Bible studies, and some of those have been unsuccessful. And, I’m about to help start a Church. Are you kidding? It’s me, my wife and baby and one other couple. I’m half of this Church and it’s supposed to succeed? How in the heck is this going to happen?

You know, when Kyle spoke to me about starting a Church I knew almost immediately I HAD to go with him. I didn’t want to admit it, but there was something in me that knew. But, I prayed. I told my wife and she prayed. And, you know what…the more we prayed, the more we knew. I can’t say that I have a freakin clue why God put me on the Earth or why he would save me. But, I do KNOW that He did. And, I also KNOW that he wants me to go start this Church. How do I know? I don’t know how to really explain it. It’s like there is a this bridge. Below it is all this water and rocks. But, I know the bridge will hold me. And, I know I have to cross it. And, that is what we’re going to do. We’re crossing it. I know the bridge will hold me, but I still have to take that first step onto the bridge trusting it’s the right thing to do. We’re going to do whatever it takes to build this church because I believe it is what we are supposed to do. I believe that this is exactly what, at this time and moment, what God wants me to do. It doesn’t mean we’ll be successful. It doesn’t mean we won’t have struggles. But, I am totally convinced that he wants me to take this step of faith at this moment. Be willing to leave my job. Sell my home and buy a new one. Move to a new community. For once to live for Him instead of for me. I just know it…I may not be a “Super Christian”, but I am a willing and available Christian. And you know what, just maybe God wants someone who is just willing and available. In fact, that’s what he usually does isn’t it? But me? Yikes!

A few years ago I reviewed Spiderman 2, and quoted a Newsweek article:

Much has been made of the fact that “Spider-Man” was the first post-9/11 blockbuster, and the conventional wisdom is that the film was a phenomenon because America needed heroes again. But maybe it’s something more. To the rest of the world, the superhero symbol of the United States is Superman—broad shouldered, unconflicted, virtually indestructible. For decades, we’ve preferred to see ourselves that way, too. Spider-Man is none of those things. He’s burdened by self-doubt. He wants to do the right thing, but isn’t always sure what that is. He’s constantly forced to choose between helping others and helping himself. He looks tough, but he’s easily injured. In America after September 11, Superman was who we wanted to be. Spider-Man was who we were.

I wrote that Spiderman is a better superhero, the best actually, because he embodies a little bit of all of us. It’s the story of the frail finding strength, the weak becoming powerful. Superman was a has-been of the early 20th century, irrelevant to the reality of our times.

But I was wrong. Bryan Singer has managed to create a movie that restores the glory of Superman, giving him a unique and necessary voice within the superhero genre (and our lives too). The story picks up after Superman returns after years years of soul-searching among the stars, and the wreckage of Krypton. The world has moved on, especially Lois Lane, who has won a Pulitzer prize the her story “Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman.” (It’s apparent that Superman was gone on 9/11, causing much of the disdain for his disappearance.)

Superman returns to show that the world, does indeed, need a savior. They are striving after one, crying out everyday for rescue. Marlon Brando reprises his role as Jor-El, and has this to say: “Even though you’ve been raised as a human being you’re not one of them. They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you… my only son.” For all the melancholy, troubled superheroes we worship, Superman shows us that we still fall short. We need a savior, someone stronger, faster, more powerful than we can ever dream. We need a light to show the way. The Christ imagery throughout the film develops the concept of why Superman truly resonates with us as humans. We have a distinct need for someone greater than we are. And when we find someone who is our Savior, our lives are changed. Even when Superman is unable to save the day, we still want him back, to try again. Deep down, I think that, even when we feel that God has let us down, we desperately want him to try again.

Just hearing the Superman Theme (now my ringtone), it gives you this sense of wonder, of freedom, knowing that there is something still inherently good in this world. We just need to look up in the sky.

So last time I mentioned that I would explain what I mean by “living inside-out”. It’s the criteria we judge our success on, so it’s important to get a decent understanding of what this kind of living looks like. Put simply, living inside-out means authentic transformation.

But let’s start at the beginning, shall we? I think that within us there is this longing for significance that is imprinted in every human being. Whether you want to call that a soul, a spirit, chi, whatever, it’s there. The Bible says that God has written eternity in our hearts, and I think that we all (to some degree) know it to be true. It’s a knowing that goes beyond the rational mind, but undeniable nonetheless. When that part of us is awakened by the light of Christ in our life, he begins to pull the very image of God from within our hearts and give it hands and feet. We suddenly find that, starting at the very basic level of thought, priorities, and desires, we are changing for the better. Our lives truly have significance and meaning. And as we find our heart and mind being renewed and opened to Christ, we start living differently. Inside-out.

Authenticity is key in this process. Before we can begin to overcome our struggles, we need to admit they’re there. I think a lot of churches want to you live a good life, then come to church. But if we can’t find a place where we can be honest with each other that we do, in fact, struggle in this life, then we’re probably not going to find much hope for changing. Transformation without authenticity is often short-lived and short-sighted. It’s based purely on emotions (most often guilt). Now, some people are content to be authentic, but never experience transformation along the way. Authenticity without transformation is stagnant and mundane. It’s lazy and a cop-out.

At Resonate Community, we want to live inside-out, constantly seeking to live a life that reaches the full potential that God has in store. We know that we’re not perfect, and we need all the help we can get. That’s what church should be all about. People helping each other find the heartbeat of God for their life. He is desperately seeking after us, calling us with the hope that this life can mean something more. If we can open our hearts to it, we’ll find our souls awakened by the author of eternity.

How do you go about creating community? Just because you live in a community doesn’t necessarily mean you live in community. I’ve found that one of the greatest needs of my generation is the need for community. We grew up in disconnected homes, and that lack of being connected has made us value a rich, community-driven lifestyle. Sites like Digg and MySpace are all about groups of people interacting together. Massively-multiplayer online games (MMOs) like World of Warcraft seek to establish a connection. But very few of us actually have a true sense of community, of reliance and appreciation for each other in a tangible sort of way. Most of the time, we encounter communities where we don’t belong, or where cliques squelch any individuality that we have.

Unfortunately, this happens at church, too. Many churches are glorified high school cafeterias, where “outsiders” aren’t truly welcomed (at least not before they join). We say we’re a community of believers, but often that means we’re a community of people gathered around an event or a program. Jesus made it clear that true community forms around a cause (Matthew 4:19). At Resonate Community, we want to show people how to live inside-out, or lives of authentic transformation (I’ll post more on what this means later). This lifestyle is available to anyone and everyone, even if you’ve never been to church before. I think that, as we help others find this kind of life, they’ll want to join us in our cause. And as we bond together, community forms. Suddenly, it’s not about what we wear or what kind of car we drive or how busy we are, but it’s about helping others find the heartbeat of God.

As Resonate Community gets started, we want that passion to sustain us. Not everyone is going to “get it.” Some people will always think that church means wasting your time for an hour or two on Sunday morning. We think there’s more to it than that. Church can be a place where people find who they really are, and are happy with what they see.

I’ve spent the past four years of my life invested in a church called Genesis Metro. I’ve made lifelong friends and have grown more in my faith than I thought I could (or needed to at times). And now I’m preparing to leave all of that behind for a new beginning. I must be crazy. Planting another church seems to be quite reckless of me, especially since I’m risk-averse. But there’s a call that can’t be denied screaming in my head that this is the right thing to do.

Others are joining me on this journey in hearing God’s call. They’re taking big steps of faith. You’ll probably be reading some posts of theirs soon. For now, we’re calling ourselves Resonate Community Church, because that’s really what we want to do. We resonate community. You know when you listen to some really big speakers how it seems that your heart is keeping rhythm with the music? That’s our desire. We’re making God’s heartbeat our heartbeat. And he has a heart for people, even those that can’t hear him yet.