Here’s where you can download yesterday’s message .mp3 or subscribe to our messages through iTunes: http://www.ironcitychurch.com/downloads.html.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of returning to the stage at ICC and wrapping up our “Together” series.  We have gone through what we are about as a church: Charged, Challenging, Life-Changing.  Yesterday’s message was called “Together we’re Life-Changing,” and I talked about how we often live vs. how we should live in light of the new life we have in Christ.

Jesus’ life was the ultimate example of revolutionary love.  He gave healing without adding ultimatums and qualifiers (”I’ll heal your leprosy if you commit to give to my ministry every month”).  He saved lives without first chastising people’s lifestyles (”I’ll keep these pharisees from killing you, but you really need to know that I don’t approve of your adulterous lifestyle”).  And ultimately, he gave his life for us without the promise of anything in return.

In light of this fact and the truth that many of us have had our lives changed by Jesus and gone back to our old ways of life, we launched a new campaign yesterday called “Revolutionary Love.”  Our goal in this campaign is to share the revolutionary love of Jesus with as many people as possible throughout the Pittsburgh metro area (and beyond).  For more info, check out: http://www.revolutionarylove.org.  

Yesterday was a great one at ICC.  Setup was a little hectic, but we finally made some upgrades we’ve been wanting to make for months now.  I was out of town for a couple of days this week and Jeff went into turbo mode getting things done (maybe I should leave town more often).  One of our partner churches loaned us a sound system, which was right on time, and we upgraded some things in the Iron City Kids area.  We had another solid crowd (45) and about 6 first time guests.

I’m loving this series we’re in right now.  It’s called “Together” and we’re looking at what our church is called to be and to do together.  At ICC, we say we’re “Charged, Challenging, and Life-Changing.”  We looked yesterday at “Together We’re CHARGED,” and discussed why we do what we do on Sunday mornings.  I thought it was well received and hopefully will help people get involved in reaching out and inviting people to church.

The band was rocking and finished out the day with a hair raising version of “Born to be Wild.”  I really enjoyed the message yesterday because it is something I feel extremely passionate about — making sure our weekend services serve as an opportunity for corporate worship, a challenge to apply the Bible, and especially as an open door to people who are far from God.  I really feel like we’re poised to see some even more amazing things in the coming weeks and months at ICC.

Here’s the link for the message downloads: http://www.ironcitychurch.com/downloads.html

I’m currently breaking one of my personal rules: I’m still wrestling with the finishing touches on Sunday’s message.  Normally I like to have it all ready to go by the end of the workday on Thursday, but the short week has me kind of bunched up.  I can’t wait ’til Sunday though – we’re starting our first series of 2008, “TOGETHER”.

This Sunday, instead of talking about my “New Year’s Resolutions” (I don’t really do the resolution thing), I’m going to kick off the new year talking about the Vision of Iron City Church with a message called “The New Year’s ReVolution.”

I am stoked about 2008 and what it’s going to look like for ICC.  If you’re in the Pittsburgh area and interested in hearing what we’re about and where we’re heading as a church, this would be a great series for you to drop by.  We’ll have the coffee ready by 9:45 AM Sunday — DON’T MISS IT!

Before I forget to post it, last Sunday was a really good one at Iron City.  Our attendance numbers were back up in spite of a lot of people still out for the holidays.  The band was really kicking too — they did a version of Auld Lang Syne that just about tore the house down. 

I had the week off from preaching, so my Catalytic Pastor took the helm and shared a message called, “I Wish You An Unhappy New Year.”  The idea is that we at Iron City hope your new year is marked with dissatisfaction in every area that doesn’t match up with God’s plan for your life. 

I have a theory that Satan is often more subtle than we give him credit for — in my life he spends a lot more time trying to convince me that things are “good enough” than he does trying to coax me to do things that are outright wrong.  God’s plan is not just “not bad” or “good,” but the “best.”  You can download the message here: http://www.ironcitychurch.com/downloads.html.  He did well as always.

Another treat was that my sister, Cheri, and her kids were here (my brother in law Eric couldn’t make it this trip).  Cheri finished out Dad’s message with a song and did an amazing job.  That’s on the recording too if you get the chance.

I am so ecstatic about this new year and what it holds for Iron City Church.  This week we start a new series called “Together,” where I’ll lay out some of the things that we’re going to be working on as a church.  I can’t wait to be back in the saddle — this week I’m sharing a message called “The New Year’s ReVolution!” 

If you’re in the Pittsburgh area and wondering what ICC is about, this would be a good week for you to come check us out….

I thought Sunday was an amazing day at Iron City Church.  Here are some thoughts from the day:

• Our setup team is un-flipping-believable.  I really think they get smoother and quicker every week.  I also think one of the reasons for that is that I am doing less and less during the setup time, so they can save the time from having to go behind me and fix stuff.
• Amber and TJ (and Dena) got in a car accident this morning about 30 minutes before the service was going to start (see previous post).  It was a rainy day in Pittsburgh and our car’s right rear quarterpanel now has the scars to prove it.  Thankfully, no one was hurt.
• We had a full band on stage this morning.  They really rocked the house with some updated Christmas faves.  I will be stoked when we can gain a little more consistency in this area.  If you play the drums or bass and live in the Pittsburgh area, shoot me an email, let’s talk….
• Jeff and I both announced this morning that the “little box” we put out for the last couple of weeks was filled by our peeps with over $350 worth of gift cards and mass quantities of food that we gave to be distributed through North Hills Community Outreach.  ICC peeps – now that I know what we’re capable of, just wait ’til ‘08!
• Once I got over the shake-up of the car wreck and walking back in just in time for the service, I thought the message went well.  I felt very comfortable and really had a great time sharing this morning.  I wrapped up our Conspiracy series (from Isaiah 9:6-7), talking about Jesus’ role as our Prince of Peace.  Good times.
• For those of you ICCers who have been out of town, be sure to check out the Iron City Church website to download the message MP3’s or you can subscribe to the ICC Message Podcast through iTunes.  Here’s the link: http://www.ironcitychurch.com/downloads.html
• The crowd was low again (weather, illness, and holiday travel largely to blame), but I felt like the mood in the room was great.  The church “conspired” to give a poinsettia to each family in attendance as a gift back for Christmas. 
• I love Christmas, and the “holiday season” in general, but I’m just about ready for our people to get back in town.  Next week is going to be another awesome Sunday with our Catalytic Pastor preaching a message called, “I Wish You An Unhappy New Year.”  Don’t miss it!
• And don’t even get me started on what’s in store for 2008!  The ‘Burgh had better hold on tight . . .
• Merry Christmas!

God is all about putting things in perspective and teaching me on this church planting journey.  Actually, just on the journey of following Christ He’s constantly teaching me things . . . if I’m listening and looking out for the lessons.

Today I had one of those lessons that I didn’t have to look very hard to find.  I was milling around before church this morning, getting some things in order and – heads up for some pastoral honesty – worrying about HOW SMALL our crowd would be on a rainy, day before Christmas Eve Sunday morning in a 4 month old church.  That was the extent of my worries – how many and which people would be there for the service – until Jeff caught me in the lobby and said “I thought you were already on your way!  Here’s the diaper bag and my keys, take my truck, Amber’s been in an accident!”

Talk about a total shift in focus.

After a few seconds of Jeff briefing me about where they were and what they needed, I jumped in his truck and headed for the scene of the wreck.  No longer were my prayers wrapped around who God would send to ICC for the morning service or how the music would sound or if I’d done enough sermon prep this week.  My wife and son (and another good friend of ours) had been in an accident and that was my total focus.

About halfway to the scene I collected wildly running mind enough to spend a few moments in prayer before I pulled up.  Thankfully, everyone was fine and the car now has a slight “badge of honor,”  but it was a lesson in priorities.  And it was a lesson in something else. 

I was sharing a message this morning about how Jesus serves as our “Prince Of Peace,” and He spent the morning reminding me of how often I fail to allow His peace to reign in my life.  As backwards as it sounds, I really think there are times when I would rather wallow in a pity party or let myself be worked into a frenzy than to live the victorious life I have available in Jesus – a life complete with a peace that “transcends all understanding.”

God help me to make a concerted effort to hand over my troubles and worries to you and let the Prince of Peace reign in every area of my life

Since my Catalytic Pastor (aka: Dad) was preaching Sunday and we were originally scheduled to be out of town for the day, I got to come as just a “regular” ICC attendee.  I showed up about 30-45 minutes before the service started and everything was already set to go.  I got to serve as a greeter for a little while before things got cranking and then sat and experienced what everyone else was experiencing.

It’s always nice to get a different perspective on things once in a while.  I missed preaching, but I definitely need a break from time to time to stay fresh.  The old man knocked it out of the park!  He wrapped up our “Game On” series with a message called “Breaking the Huddle,” and rocked the house. 

We had a lot of our regulars out of town, but with about 7 first time guests, we were still right up in the ballpark of where we’ve been, attendance-wise (47).  It was a great day!

We started our new series – Game On: Takin’ it to the Streets – yesterday.  The core idea is that the Church is God’s team to continue Jesus’ mission on earth.  Our goal is to share the value of getting off the bench and into the game.  One of our values as a church is that “ministry is everyone’s job.”

Yesterday I shared a message called “Picking the Team.”  The scripture we focused on was Luke 14:15-24 (the parable of the great banquet).  I spoke to the idea that, as Jesus’ servants, we’re called to be recruiters for this great banquet known as the Kingdom of God.  I rambled a good bit but I felt like the concept connected pretty well.  We had another decent crowd (45 total) and something awesome happened after the service - more on that later. 

Here’s the link for the message .mp3.

I am enjoying this series already.  We had a bench on the stage with water coolers and a bunch of sports stuff.  I even sported my new preaching hoodie yesterday.  It was a great day.  Praise God for what He’s doing in and through Iron City Church!

What a weird & nerve-wracking inspiring & awesome day we had yesterday at Iron City Church.  Some of the odd high points:

• In spite of setting our clocks BACK an hour, I was the first one on the scene for setup (hasn’t happened in a while)
• About 10-15 minutes after arriving I got a call that our worship leader was unreachable and he had missed his ride to church – no one had heard from him all morning…
• After much prayer and some brainstorming, by about 9:15 we had selected some songs on CD and I was warming up my voice (haha) to lead us in worship
• Thankfully (for everyone), our worship leader called about 9:25 and said he was on his way
• He showed at about 5 minutes ’til 10 (when we start), plugged in and started the service
• After a huge, thankful prayer that I didn’t have to lead singing, I walked up and realized that we had a solid crowd (still haven’t gotten the final count, but we were somewhere between 45 and 50)
• We had our highest number of children (12) ever in ICK - Iron City Kids
• God was definitely at work at ICC during the service.  I wrapped up the final message in our “Building Blocks” series, called “Sharing the Love,” from 2 Peter 1:7. 
• It was one of those days when I felt like I was kind of all over the place until right at the end when I let the Holy Spirit just take over and He landed the message in a big way.  Thank you God that I am not a “public speaker,” but just a vessel for you to speak through
• Our ICC folks are amazing.  We’ve got two couples that are the most dependable, hard working, and humble people I’ve ever had the pleasure of serving with.  Big huge thanks go out to Bob & Dena and James & Samara.  Without you guys this church wouldn’t be the same.
• So, all in all, after some crazy (scary) things looked like they may be happening, the day went great, God was honored, people were fired up, and we had six (6) more first time guests at our Sunday service

Thank you God for the revolution that You are bringing about in the hearts of people through Iron City Church!