Dave Bowman

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

So here's a really big question I have for you. It's a question that I want you to think about between now and this coming Sunday. It's a question that we all have to figure out how to answer sooner or later.

What do you do when God messes up your plans?

This coming weekend we officially kick off the Christmas season at New Horizon. Christmas is a great time of the year. It's a season that is filled with things like music, lights, parties, gifts, family gatherings, counseling appointments (just kidding on that last one).

AND...all of those things mean lots and lots of planning...sometimes elaborate plans...plans that don't always turn out the way we thought they would.

This week at New Horizon we begin our new Christmas series, A Nightmare Before Christmas, and we're starting with the idea that sometimes God breaks into our well-laid plans and just messes them up. What do you do then? Good question. Sunday we'll explore the answers and hopefully we'll unpack some things that will help restore some of the wonder and awe to Christmas that God planned in that first Christmas 2000 years ago.

So, invite your friends and get here this weekend!

Watch The Money

This isn't the first and it probably won't be the last time that I quote something from Seth Godin's blog, and it's so good I'm just going to do a cut and paste:

"How much life insurance do you have?"

Zig Ziglar liked to say that with that one question, you could tell if someone was a successful life insurance agent. If they're not willing to buy it with their own money, how can they honestly persuade someone else to do so?

If you're in the music business but you never buy tickets or downloads, can you really empathize with the people you're selling to?

My favorite: if you work for a non-profit and you don't give money to charity, what exactly are you doing in this job? I've met some incredibly generous people in the charitable world, but I can also report that a huge number of people—even on the fundraising side—would happily cross the street and risk a beating in order to avoid giving $100 to a cause that's not their own. And the shame of it is that this inaction on their part keeps them from experiencing the very emotion that they try so hard to sell.

Money is more than a transfer of value. It's a statement of belief. An ad agency that won't buy ads, a consultant who won't buy consulting, and a waiter who doesn't tip big—it's a sign, and not a good one.

Jesus said it another way: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." John 6:21

"How much life insurance do you have?"

Zig Ziglar liked to say that with that one question, you could tell if someone was a successful life insurance agent. If they're not willing to buy it with their own money, how can they honestly persuade someone else to do so?

If you're in the music business but you never buy tickets or downloads, can you really empathize with the people you're selling to?

My favorite: if you work for a non-profit and you don't give money to charity, what exactly are you doing in this job? I've met some incredibly generous people in the charitable world, but I can also report that a huge number of people—even on the fundraising side—would happily cross the street and risk a beating in order to avoid giving $100 to a cause that's not their own. And the shame of it is that this inaction on their part keeps them from experiencing the very emotion that they try so hard to sell.

Money is more than a transfer of value. It's a statement of belief. An ad agency that won't buy ads, a consultant who won't buy consulting, and a waiter who doesn't tip big—it's a sign, and not a good one.

Jesus said it another way: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." John 6:21

Playing Catch-Up

I'm finally getting around to posting this evening after a 2-day blog hiatus. Frankly, I was so wrung out from this past weekend that I just needed a couple of days to recover. This weekend was a big weekend as we wrapped up the Unstoppable series and then made our commitments. So here are some final thoughts...

• I really enjoyed teaching this series, but I'm definitely ready to move on to other things now. I've been working on some things for the first of the year that I'm really excited about teaching.

• The Amazing Grace video was amazing and powerful. We talk so much about how lives are being changed at NHC, but when you see the actual faces of real people whose lives have been drastically changed and healed by the gospel it brings it all home. Good stuff!

• I loved seeing the response as NHC'ers came forward and laid their commitments on the altar. I could tell there had been some real prayer that had gone into many of those commitments.

• And if you weren't there Sunday and haven't made your commitment yet you can do it this week or next. We'll give you plenty of opportunities.

• This coming weekend is a yearly tradition for us (one of the few things around NHC that we could actually call a tradition!). Every Thanksgiving weekend we turn our thoughts to giving thanks, worship and communion together. So, if you're around for the weekend be sure to get here.

• Can't wait for our next series, A Nightmare Before Christmas starting December 6th.

• Looking forward to some serious, power-eating tomorrow! I'll have to hit the gym hard on Friday, but it's worth it. Thanksgiving only comes around once a year.

• Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend celebration with your friends and family!

Are U Ready?

This Sunday the smack talk ends...it's time for a throwdown! This Sunday we come face to face with the vision God has given us for being an Unstoppable church. And that vision is a BIG one!

• Increasing our ministry capacity to help us reach more of the 110,000 unchurched people within 15 minutes of our front doors which includes our family members, our friends, the people we work with and the people we go to school with.

• Going all out for our own children and teenagers by creating first class ministry space for them including a 10,000 sq. ft. children's addition and recreational space such as soccer fields and basketball courts.

* Increasing our missions outreach in our own community and around the world, starting with a special Christmas missions project to provide a new winter coat and new shoes for every under-resourced child at C.C. Spaulding Elementary School.

So on Sunday it's throwdown time. It's time to do what God tells you to do. The only way we can achieve this REALLY BIG VISION is through REALLY RADICAL OBEDIENCE in regards to what God wants us to give above and beyond our regular tithes and offerings.

I can't wait! I'm praying with you and for you over the next few days. Get here early with your commitment card in hand. (If you didn't get one last Sunday you can download a copy here, or just pick one up Sunday morning.) And then come ready to celebrate what God is about to do!

Heaven On My Mind

"He's so heavenly minded he's no earthly good!"

Ever heard that one? Is it really possible to be too heavenly minded? One of the things I talked about this past Sunday is how losing someone can change your perspective on this world that we live in for the time being.

When you've lost someone, especially a child, it changes how you view most everything in life. Next week Susan, Arianna, Jayden and I will again face the anniversary of Heather's departure for heaven. This will be our 4th year without her and even though you might think the pain would subside, I can tell you that it does not. Grief turns into mourning and mourning is with you for a lifetime. I've often described Heather's absence as a hole in my life. That hole is still there and I'm sure it will remain for the rest of my days.

Even though the pain is intense, God has brought good out of this ordeal. One of the things that has changed for me is my view of what's important. I find I'm much more heavenly minded than I've ever been. In other words, I look forward to heaven more than ever. Ecclesiastes 3:11  says, He has also set eternity in the hearts of men. I believe that means that God has created us to long for heaven.

I do that. I think about it a lot. I think about what it will be like to go there myself. I think about what it will be like to see Jesus. I think about what it will be like to see my little girl again and be with her forever. God has used this loss in my life to make me more heavenly minded.

But I'm more heavenly minded in another way. I want to take as many people there with me as I possibly can. In fact, it has become a driving passion in my life. I've never considered myself an evangelist. I have friends who have the spiritual gift of evangelism and I've always been in awe of how they can seemingly turn any conversation into an evangelistic opportunity. But not me. It has always been an effort for me and I've never considered myself very good at it.

That all changed 4 years ago. No, I'm still not a Billy Graham, but you'd better believe that every Sunday I'm going to call people to Jesus. Why? Because I want everyone to go to heaven. I guess I'm just too heavenly minded!

Here's what I believe: Heaven is a real place that Jesus has prepared for those who are prepared. Are you prepared? If you want to go to heaven you have to make the decision to go there. You don't go there by default. You don't go there because you're such a good person (you and I both know that one's not true!). The only way you can get there is by receiving the forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ. Putting your faith in Jesus and only in Jesus is what will get you there.

Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

The one thing that God doesn't want is for you to spend eternity separated from him. That is why he sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die in your place. Put your faith in him today. Do it now and you can know for sure that you have the guarantee of heaven in your future.

Life Change Story

This past weekend we shared Natasha's life change story. For those of you who missed it, check it out here...

Natasha Howard Testimony from New Horizon Church on Vimeo.

Weekend Rewind

Sorry for the late Weekend Rewind! Yesterday was not a good day. Wasn't feeling well, so I just kind of stayed away from doing much of anything. But, I'm feeling better today so here goes...

• This week we answered the 4 biggest questions about Unstoppable:

- Why are we doing this? Because God has called us to be light to a dark world

- Why should I get involved? Because everything I have is a gift from God

- Why is this hard to do? Because my heart isn't fully surrendered

- Why does this matter? Because what we're doing will glorify God

• The tension in the room at a couple of key moments was palpable. I love it when there's tension because it means the Holy Spirit is doing some heavy duty work.

• Having everyone progressively stand at the end of the services was a real visual illustration of where we've come from as a church. At each step of the way as we've grown as a church there has been someone who has said, "You can't do that, that's crazy!" But WE DIDN'T LISTEN! Not to them, anyway. We listened to God instead. We've always just tried to do one thing - just do what God tells us to do. I think that has worked out pretty well!

• I stood in the back for the final moment of the service when we lit up the room with glo sticks. WOW!! What an awesome sight! That's what we're going to do next weekend. We're going to light up our world with the gospel of Jesus Christ!

• Now let me challenge you to do something this week - PRAY!!!

- Pray for our services this coming Sunday

- Pray that everyone would just step up and do what God tells them to do

- Pray for our staff and leadership - the spiritual warfare is coming hot and heavy right now!

- Pray that God would be glorified!

Next weekend the smack talk ends. It's time for a throwdown. I'm praying for you all!!

Serving Tours This Weekend

Today I got the chance to see an advance screening of a life-change video we'll be showing in the service this weekend. Let me tell you right now, you don't want to miss it. It's an incredible story of how God has changed a young college student's life through the ministry of New Horizon.

But here's one of the most incredible parts of the story - this young lady started coming to New Horizon as part of a serving team. And because of her service she was exposed to the gospel in a way that she could relate to. Long story short - she committed her life to Christ, got baptized, started tithing and is now a regular attender at New Horizon. LIFE CHANGE!!

This just fleshes out how important serving on a ministry team is for us. It's a point of connection, not only with the church and a team, but with God. Serving leads to spiritual growth.

So, you haven't joined a serving team yet? Why not?

- I don't have time

Do you have time to come to church? Most of our ministry teams function on the weekends during church.

- I don't have anything to offer

NOT TRUE! The Bible says that God has given us all the ability to do something well (a spiritual gift) so we can contribute to the ministry of his church.

- New Horizon seems to have everything under control. You probably don't need me.

NOT TRUE AGAIN!! There isn't a single ministry team at NHC that has all the help it needs. We need you!!

- I don't know where or how to get started

Good news! We're hosting serving tours during BOTH Sunday services this weekend. When you take a serving tour you get to see all the behind-the-scenes stuff in every nook and cranny of the building. You get to see most of our ministries in action and you get to talk to team representatives. By the end of the morning you'll know where and how to get started.

So what are you waiting for? Join a team and just see how God changes YOUR life through serving! (To join a serving tour just check in at Next Steps when you arrive. They'll hook you up.)

And don't forget we're in Part 5 of Unstoppable this weekend. I'll be answering the 4 biggest questions about Unstoppable...the band is going to rock...we've got something planned for the end of the service that is going to be awesome...in other words, YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS IT.

See ya Sunday!

Weekend Rewind

This weekend was week 4 of Unstoppable. I know you ADD folks are wondering when we're going to move on to another series, but what we're talking about is REALLY IMPORTANT! It's about our future as a church...it's about the future of our kids...it's about reaching more people for Jesus. Those are things that are important enough for us to spend a few weeks on. So, hang in there, we've got two more weeks to go! Now for some random thoughts on the weekend...

• We baptized 31 yesterday! That's something that never gets old.

• If you've been around for an NHC baptism before you may be wondering why we didn't do the spontaneous baptism thing we usually do. We decided to do things a little different this time because we weren't teaching specifically on baptism, which we usually do. So we only took pre-registrations. Next baptism we'll be back to our normal approach.

• We talked this week about how to hear from God. Probably one of the biggest questions we get when we do a ministry initiative like this is, "How do I know what God wants me to give?" Good question. God is clear on the tithe  - it's a tenth. That one is clearly spelled out for us and it's the same for everyone. But when we venture beyond the tithe in our giving it becomes an issue of listening to what God wants you to do, and that's a very personal thing. If I were to tell you what God is telling me to do it might not be the right thing for you to do. That's why it's so important to get quiet...hang out with others who are listening to God...spend time in God's word...and let God lead you based on your relationship with him.

• If you have questions about Unstoppable you can email them to info@newhorizonchurch.tv

• Here's the most awesome thing that happened yesterday - 36 KIDS PRAYED TO RECEIVE CHRIST AS THEIR LORD AND SAVIOR IN NHC KIDS YESTERDAY!!!! Can you say WOW?!!

• NHC, it's time for us to step up and make sure the next generation is a priority in our church. WE MUST MAKE SURE WE ARE PROVIDING ADEQUATE STAFFING, BUDGETS AND SPACE FOR OUR KIDS AND TEENAGERS!!! LET'S PRAY AND OBEY!!!

• November 22 is Commitment Sunday. That will be THE day when we make our 3-year giving pledges to Unstoppable. I'm praying for God to do great things in our lives on that day.

• Next week we'll be answering 4 of the biggest questions about Unstoppable. And you don't want to miss how we'll be wrapping up the service. Gonna be awesome!! Hope you all have a great week!!

What Does God Want Me To Do?

This week in Part 4 of Unstoppable we're tackling an issue that has implications for every one of us personally and for New Horizon Church - how do I know what God wants me to do?

We all face times and situations where we just need to hear from God. We need to know which direction to go...what the right thing is...how to step out to do something bigger than ourselves...how to follow God's plan for our lives.

So this weekend I'll be doing a message entitled, How To Hear From God. It will be simple and practical but I believe it's going to challenge us all.

And don't forget - THIS IS BAPTISM WEEK AT NHC. We're doing baptisms early in the service so GET HERE EARLY AND BE READY TO PARTY!!