Dave Bowman

Jon & Kate Reality?

CAUTION: The rant filter has been turned off.

Does anybody have a problem with Jon and Kate besides me?

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know this couple. I don’t know what they’re really like off camera. I don’t know what their real motives are. I don’t know what kind of parents they really are. I don’t know what their marriage is really like.

BUT…I have an 11 year old who LOVES this show. Last night they aired their marriage problems in front of 10 million viewers as part of the kick off for the new season of their show. Can anyone say r-a-t-i-n-g-s? Can anyone say m-o-n-e-y?

Seriously, someone should have stepped up and stopped this train wreck. Can you imagine what these kids are going to have to live with? Every school they go to and every person they meet for the rest of their lives will know the dirty laundry of their family. Those kids are going to get hosed.

Not to mention what I as a parent have to sit down and explain to my own kid. Thank you “Learning” Channel! This reality show crap has finally gone off the chain.

OK, the rant filter is back on again…sorry.

Weekend Rewind

• Happy Memorial Day!! Today is the day we pause to reflect on those who gave their lives for our freedoms and our country. To the countless members of our armed forces – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and National Guard – we give our thanks and our respect.

• Solid weekend at NHC this weekend. Of course attendance usually takes a hit on Memorial Day weekend, but it was still strong.

• One thing I can say about our volunteer teams and staff – even on holiday weekends they give it their best shot. There’s no holiday mentality that leads to slacking off on what we do week in and week out.

• And it pays off – people settled their eternal destiny this weekend! Awesome!

• One more weekend to go in the So You’re Dead…Now What series. We’re wrapping up with Heaven, so get your friends here next weekend!

• BAPTISM!!! It’s coming up on the first weekend of June. If you haven’t been baptized since putting your faith in Jesus, YOU NEED TO BE BAPTIZED! Stop by Next Steps next weekend and pick up a Baptism Info packet, or just go ahead and register.

• Plans are underway for our first Block Party in June. Community Group leaders are taking over the planning and execution of our Block Parties, so there should be a totally new look and feel to the whole thing this year. Personally, I love Block Parties and I can’t wait for the first one.

• Last week was dance recital week in our house, so I spent most of the week alone while Arianna and Susan were at rehearsals and performances. I went to the Friday night performance, and I have to say, it was quite a show.

• Having the house to myself all week gave me a chance to catch up on a couple of movies that I’ve wanted to see this week – Appaloosa and Quantum of Solace. I’ve never really been into the James Bond thing, but Daniel Craig has definitely taken the James Bond franchise to a whole new level. Great car chase at the beginning of the movie!

• We’re planning a new sermon series in July called “FAQ's.” This series will be voted on by YOU! During the month of June you’ll be voting on topics and we’ll trim it down to the top 4 topics and hit them all in the month of July. So, be thinking ahead about what you’d like to see us cover!

• Have a great week! 

Hell

Yeah, that's what we're talking about Sunday at New Horizon. Sound depressing? Sound like it might be a hellfire and brimstone kind of weekend? Turn or burn?

Nah! But we are going to talk honestly about what the Bible says about it. Why? Because what we believe about death, hell and heaven has a direct impact on how we live our lives right now.

So, get your friends here this weekend. I know it's Memorial Day Weekend, so invite them over for some hot dogs and burgers, but bring them to New Horizon FIRST!

Weekend Rewind

• Great weekend at NHC as we kicked off our new series, So You’re Dead…Now What? We switched to our summer schedule this weekend, which means we cut back to 2 services rather than 3. It felt weird not having church on Saturday night, but it was great to have everyone together for 2 services today.

• Today is the first day I’ve ever preached with a casket on stage (except for a funeral). I love doing things that nobody expects us to do at church! I have to say, I think we took a very serious subject – death – and put it into terms that anyone can understand, and we did it in a way that drew people to Christ. 32 people raised their hands to commit their lives to Christ today! Woo-hoo!

• Loved the music today. Call me a “church guy” but I love Amazing Grace. Every time I hear it, it just draws me in. And the Nickleback song was a perfect kick off for the day as well as the series.

• God is so obviously up to something right now. I’ve heard reports from other churches around the country since Easter of incredible numbers of people getting saved and baptized. We’re seeing the same thing at NHC. I’m not sure what the current numbers are, but I know we have to be close to 200 people saved since Easter. What an awesome privilege to be a part of what God is doing right now!

• Baptism is coming up the first weekend of June. If you’ve committed your life to Christ recently, baptism is your next step in following Jesus. Be sure to stop by Next Steps and pick up a Baptism Info pack to get the scoop. Then put it on your calendar and get dunked for Jesus!

• Susan, Arianna and I skipped Membership Class tonight for our Community Group. We had our last meeting before breaking for the summer tonight and it was a great time hanging out together. We love our group and we can say this on a personal level – if you’re not in a group you’re missing it! GET IN A GROUP!!

• It has been a REALLY long week. Been to Atlanta, Dallas and back. Sat through 2 leadership conferences. Spent the last 3 days trying to get ready for Sunday. Bottom line – I’m beat! So, I’m out. Have a great week!!

Uncomfortable!

That's how we feel when we talk about death! Most of us would prefer not to even think about it, let alone talk about it, but starting this week we're going to talk about it at newhorizonchurch.tv! We're going to talk about what the Bible has to say about death, hell and heaven and here's the big reason why - BECAUSE WHAT YOU BELIEVE ABOUT DEATH DETERMINES HOW YOU LIVE TODAY.

Needless to say, I'm pumped about this series because it has the potential to be a life-changing series. So GET EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO NEW HORIZON THIS WEEKEND! And don't be late. You don't want to miss the opening song Jon and the band have planned for us.

Weekend Rewind...Finally

• I know…I’m late! But I’ve been busy the last couple of days. Sunday afternoon was a whirlwind of trying to grill steaks for Mother’s Day, plus getting ready for a late afternoon drive to Atlanta for the Sticky Church Conference on Monday. So, no time to blog on Sunday.

• Then yesterday Adam, Jamie and I spent the day at the Sticky Church Conference at Mountain Lake Church in Atlanta. Great conference and some great info. Larry Osborne, Shawn Lovejoy and Greg Surratt are 3 of the smartest guys on the planet. And, we were pleasantly surprised to bump into Bob Robbins at the conference. Bob is a former staff member of NHC and he’s doing an absolutely great job planting a new church in the St. Louis area.

• At the end of the day Monday, Jamie and I flew out of Atlanta for the Big D – Dallas, where we’re picking up another 2-day conference at Lakepointe Church.

So, now that I’m caught up with my travel itinerary, here’s the Weekend Rewind…

• Quite a weekend! Mother’s Day, Graduation Weekend at all the local universities and a major power outage at NHC on Saturday night. Literally! Just as we kicked off the final Saturday night service before our summer schedule kicks in next week, the wind blew in and the power went off. But, as the old saying goes, the show must go on. So the band and singers pulled out an acoustic guitar and led the worship, I preached without lights or sound, and WE HAD CHURCH!

• Sunday was a different story. With full power WE HAD CHURCH. Link and the band kicked off with Fight Like This and rocked the house. Then our awesome team led some really great worship and we wrapped up the Ultimate Fighter series with The Other Thing Men Think About – money.

• I haven’t heard the numbers yet, but it looked like we had a LOT of guys who stepped up this week to take the 90 day challenge of handling money God’s way. WAY TO GO GUYS! I have to say this again: whenever we talk about money I know there are mixed feelings in the room. There are people who don’t trust us and people who think we’re just after more money, but that’s not the bottom line. Bottom line this weekend – be a man of God…step up and lead your family…lead financially!

• Aren’t you glad Jesus didn’t wimp out when it came to paying the price for our sin? He didn’t look at it and say, “That’s too much…the cost is too high…” Jesus gave what his Father asked him to give.

• Can’t wait to kick off the new series next week – So You’re Dead…Now What? We’ll be starting it off NHC style with something you wouldn’t expect to see in church, so don’t miss it. And don’t miss a great inviting opportunity!!

• Baptism is coming up the first weekend of June. If you’ve received Christ lately at NHC, this is YOUR NEXT STEP according to the Bible. Stop by Next Steps this weekend and pick up a Baptism Info packet and get signed up!

That’s it for now. Headed out for another day of learning!

Wrapping Up Ultimate Fighter

This weekend we're wrapping up Ultimate Fighter with The Other Thing Men Think About. Link Butler and the band will be kicking off the service with a rockin' Decyfer Down song that you don't want to miss, so get here early, get in your seat and let's rock out the last week of UF!

And don't forget, this Saturday will be our LAST SATURDAY NIGHT SERVICE as we kick into the summer schedule. See ya' this weekend!!

Ten Commandments

Sorry I've been absent from blog world this week, but I'VE BEEN BUSY!!

Meanwhile, I've gotten a TON of comments on this past weekend's message about sexual temptation. Seems like we struck a nerve!

One of the things I talked about was establishing boundaries to keep you from being tempted. This is one of the simplest and most effective steps I know of that will keep you out of trouble. Every guy I've known who has fallen to temptation has violated the idea of boundaries and it bit them - HARD!!

So, to expand on this idea a little more, here's a copy of Rick Warren's Ten Commandments Of Sexual Purity. I've not only lived by this list myself, but I've imposed it on our staff for years.

“Don’t be so naïve and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; its useless. Cultivate God-confidence.”  1 Cor 10:12 (Message)

1. Thou shalt not go to lunch alone with the opposite sex

2. Thou shalt not have the opposite sex pick you up or drive you places when it is just the two of you

3. Thou shalt not kiss anyone of the opposite sex or show affection that could be questioned

4. Thou shalt not visit the opposite sex alone at home

5. Thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex alone, and thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex more than once without that person’s spouse. Refer them!

6. Thou shalt not discuss detailed sexual problems with the opposite sex. Refer them!

7. Thou shalt not discuss marriage problems with the opposite sex. Refer them or refer yourself!

8. Thou shalt be careful in answering emails or letters from the opposite sex

9. Thou shalt run immediately for help if experiencing marriage problems or temptation

10. Thou shalt pray for the integrity of other leaders

Weekend Rewind

• Today was INTENSE! The entire Ultimate Fighter series has been like that, but today was probably one of the most intense of the series. I said at the beginning of the message that we weren’t going to pull any punches and we didn’t. I said some things today that needed to be said in a way that it was very clear. It was probably uncomfortable for some. But here’s what I believe – there’s a lot of people who just want to hear the truth. And way too many of our churches fail to tell the unvarnished truth. We’re so obsessed with “going deep” that we fail to talk about the issues where we live our lives everyday. The stuff we talked about today is reality and one thing I will never back away from is talking about the everyday battles we fight.

• Nervous applause at the end of the feature song! Lips Of An Angel…in church? You better believe it! I don’t know of a better song to illustrate what we were talking about today. One thing I love about our church – we have a team that’s not afraid to push the envelope to get the message across.

• Guys, let me say it again: if you’re struggling with sexual temptation and/or sexual sin, this one will destroy you. It will destroy EVERYTHING – your relationship with God, your relationship with your wife and family, your reputation, your career. This is one where Satan definitely “steals, kills and destroys.”

• If you need help, WE’RE HERE! Celebrate Recovery meets every Tuesday night at 7:00 at NHC, and it’s not just for addicts. It’s for anyone with hurts, habits or hang-ups. Email us at info@newhorizonchurch.tv and we’ll get you hooked up.

• Guys, the single most important thing you can do is develop your personal walk with God. Get intentional about time with God everyday! It’ll change your life more than anything I know of.

• Interesting note: I got more positive response from women about how women dress than I expected. Seems that lots of women are just as uncomfortable with how some women dress as I am!

• Just so you know – I did say “cleavage” in all three services.

• Bottom line for everyone – fall more in love with Jesus and develop your personal walk with him!!