JOHNNYROBERTS.TV

Gone fishing

Well sortof.... the river ran too hard the whole time.  We never wet a hook.  But on the bright side we had an incredible time to relax, refresh and EAT!!!!!  Man did we eat.  Dad has the whole dutch oven cooking thing down to an art.  If you've never sat around the campfire eating cherry cobbler from a dutch oven, you haven't lived.  Here's a shot of the gang minus Will and Zach... both had to run before we remembered to take a group shot... I think the squirrel did a pretty good job taking the shot.  What do you think?

 

You guys tell me I need to relax and smile more on Sunday morning.... This is me relaxed and smiling on a Sunday morning......

Finally........ Here is my attempt at carving on the sitting logs around the campfire.  ROBERTS MEN WEEKEND AT THE RIVER 2008 is officially in the history books.

Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

Don't miss the dinner Saturday night at 5:30.  It will be fun!

LifeChurch.tv Network takes many shapes

I simply had to share this report and prayer request of another Network church. Be inspired BODers to step outside the lines and change the world... the cost .... "one sold out Christ follower". God will take care of the rest.  Ed writes:

This is a prison venue we started 8 weeks ago with the His Name series. We started with a handful of guys and are now up to 70. I was wondering how the Blessed to be a Blessing message would resonate with guys in prison. It was great. Many positive comments. One guy that has been in for 17 years told me he has never been challenged to give and didn’t feel like he had anything to give. Now he knows better. Top Ramen is a big commodity in prison. So, I explained to the guys if you get 10 ramen give two away - one as a tithe - one as an offering. Since this is my first report of what God is doing through the LifeChurch.tv resources, I have to tell you we have had 20 guys make decisions for Christ in the last 8 weeks.

Prayer Requests: I met with a theater owner last Thursday who was very excited to GIVE us space to start a Friday Late Night venue (it will start at 11pm). I'm praying about timing but may start as soon as June. I have the equipment we will need. I'm just praying for some marketing funds. The biggest thing for The Pen and Late Night is that God will move on people’s hearts and draw them in close enough that my net will reach them. And pray for me... I'm just amazed at what God is doing with one sold out Christ follower, a Sony projector, and some LifeChurch.tv DVDs. All three are needed. Thank you for your part.

Life is messy

Life is messy.  True of all life, it is simply the nature of being…  Messy…. been around any two year-olds lately?   How about teenagers?  TheBOD is no exception.  We’ve experienced what I would describe as normal growing pains associated with any living organism.  Sometimes frustrations flare-up as we find our way through the early stages of being a new church.  Typically the frustrations are simply symptoms of something else. My background leads me to look through symptoms for an underlying cause.  Everybody can see a problem… few provide meaningful solutions.  Most want to treat the headache. I want to know what caused the headache and eliminate the cause for the future.  Not just take Tylenol to get rid of it.  Sorry for the medical analogy… that’s just how my brain works. 

What has caught me a little off guard is the idea that seeing people come to Christ, marriages healed, lives changed, people growing in their faith, addictions gone, real discipleship taking place, etc, etc, etc…. all of which we are experiencing, doesn’t seem to be enough to keep frustrations at bay.  It’s like we think those are good things but…. I’m not sure we truly appreciate that this type of life-change IS THE THING.  This type of life-change indicates that people are on the path to becoming fully devoted followers of Christ.  What this lack of understanding tells me is that I have not done enough in defining the win.  I think we have done a decent job in defining what the church is, but maybe not what a disciple looks like and how it all works together. 

So it’s probably time to help connect the dots a little better.  My plan is to keep things simple, but be more intentional in teaching how LOVE GOD, LOVE OTHERS, AND SERVE THE WORLD applies to the life of a disciple.  In a nutshell, Love God and Love Others is the story.  It’s Great Commission living and serving spills out from these two things. I want to ask you to, at every opportunity, help me through prayer, study and communication to others what loving God and loving others looks like in the life of a Christ follower.  I’m asking us to work to remind ourselves and others that it has nothing to do with buildings, numbers, personal benefits or agendas, accomplishing goals and growing a church.  That the things we do, or plan, are simply tools to enable us to better Love God and Love Others.  This is the difference between DOING church and BEING the church.  Everything we undertake needs to be covered in love and grace.  It’s about people…. lives…. eternity… God’s glory…. and delighting in Him.  Anything, including our version of doing church, we try to substitute for the real thing is a ridiculously poor imitation for the true life of a disciple of Christ and will leave us disappointed.

I’m committing to do everything I can to lead in this effort of spiritual growth.  I’m asking you to join me.  As leaders you need to understand that we will grow weary of hearing and talking about these ideas long before most people are beginning to get it.  We need to understand that as God brings new people to our gathering we will need to continue to help them understand and embrace the life of following Christ, being fully devoted.  We need to understand that it is a process, not something we can do for a couple of months and then put in the closet.  It is who we are and will need to be continually nurtured.  Diligent, intentional creation of a culture built on Biblical principles is hard work.  That is the call.  That is the challenge.  That is the church.  Messy, messy, messy….  Embrace the mess, because it indicates life.

Johnny  

Chelsey

My "Little Angel" is growing up.  She turned EIGHTEEN this month and will graduate in May.  We took a few "senior pictures" Sunday afternoon.  This young lady has a heart for God and I can't wait to see what He has in store for her... Love ya Chels....

What a difference a day makes

Turning 44 recently was quite humbling.... FORTY-FOUR!  are you kidding me?????

This is what TURNING 44 is like.........

This is what BEING 44 is like.............

TheBOD.tv Extreme Makeover 2008

Extreme Makeover 2008, BOD style has begun.  What incredible timing.  The storm blasted our project house, breaking windows, damaging the roof, knocking out the storm door and stripping the already failing paint.  BODers you are going to have HUGE impact as you reach out and serve.  I cannot believe I get to be a part of this.  WOW!

 

The Void

Tony Morgan is right on with this post.  He writes:

The Void

Without vision, people will define their own vision and the loudest voice will prevail.

Without strategy, people will do what they're most passionate about whether or not it helps the organization fulfill its mission.

Without clear communications, people will assume for themselves what's most important.

Without encouragement, people will gravitate to the first person who gives them attention when they need it.

Without leadership, people will follow the leader they choose or assume they're the leader.

When there's a void, it always gets filled.

Without vision, people will define their own vision and the loudest voice will prevail.

Without strategy, people will do what they're most passionate about whether or not it helps the organization fulfill its mission.

Without clear communications, people will assume for themselves what's most important.

Without encouragement, people will gravitate to the first person who gives them attention when they need it.

Without leadership, people will follow the leader they choose or assume they're the leader.

When there's a void, it always gets filled.

Welcome Cassi Brower

Well guys, I have a big announcement and introduction to make.  As many of you know I have a passion for worship and a desire that our Experiences at TheBOD are off the charts each and every week.  We like to refer to every Sunday morning as THE SUPER BOWL.  Excellence for the entire Experience is at the forefront of everything we do.

With that background I am so excited to introduce Cassi Brower.  Cassi will be taking on the role of Experience Programming Director (EPD).  What’s an EPD you may be asking? To keep it simple she will lead all programming and scheduling that revolves around the Sunday Morning Worship Experience.  From tryouts and rehearsals to training and implementation, Cassi will be working hard to take our Sunday Experiences to a whole new level. 

Cassi, her husband Lawrence and daughter Victoria recently moved to our area from New Mexico.   She brings a lot of experience and talent to this new role.  Throughout her teens and early twenties she was involved in a variety of bands ranging from first chair violinist; first chair saxophone (jazz)) to lead vocals for multiple genres of music.  In 1997, Cassi gave her life to Jesus… “changing my tune to Christian music – realizing those musical abilities had a higher calling”.  Prior to moving to Fort Smith , she was leading the worship team at Vista Pointe in Hobbs, NM, a church of about 500 people.

She and Lawrence have a real passion for planting churches and have been praying and preparing to be involved in a church plant for over three years.  Cassi is also passionate about worship.  Cassi says, “I’m passionate about finding the heart of God in worship, living life to its fullest, and sharing a real faith with real people.”  She also loves lattes, chocolate, watching movies and playing guitar.

God has truly blessed us by bringing this family to TheBOD… reach out and love them.  Oh and…. you better buckle up…she’s a fireball…. this is going to be a fun ride!  DON’T BLINK!     

On the front edge of the knife

I love being on the cutting edge.  Sometimes doubts arise because many... most...don't understand why... many even doubt that what you are doing is legitimate.... I've come to accept my role and I'm learning more and more to trust in God.  Christi Donaldson shares a few thoughts on this subject.  Being the wife of the Internet Campus at LifeChurch.tv she's running on the cutting edge and loving life... and Brandon... She writes:

I don't take criticism well. I try to mask the hurt, but later go home to cry by myself or vent to Brandon. I especially don't take criticism well when it concerns my husband or my kids. Even when people talk about things dear to my heart, I can easily get defensive.

When we first started the internet campus, criticism was overflowing. People said it wasn't REAL church. That it was a trend or a phase. That we were a cult. That there was no community online. That you have to have physical face to face meeting times or it wasn't true fellowship.

I admit, I did not fair well with any of it. In fact, I got out my mama bear growl and began to defend the Internet campus, my husband, and my church. I would comment on blogs (or in my mind at least!), I would talk about it with whomever wanted to. Even people from our church were critical. They didn't mean to be- they just didn't understand it.

I came to the conclusion that I don't need to defend it. God called us to it, we should let Him handle it. It is not our job to convince people that we are legit, that God is legit. It is so freeing to not worry about what people think! God is a big God. I love that he meets people right where they are!

People in this world will not understand- but God does. He sees the big picture. He doesn't need me defending him. He desires me to serve Him and love Him. Pretty sure I can do that:)