Dave Bowman

Weekend Rewind

I'm posting this late Monday evening because I'm running behind. The last few days have been eventful, to say the least. For those of you who may not know, Susan's dad passed away the end of last week. She flew out for Minnesota to be with her family and we decided it was best if I stayed behind with Arianna. So, needless to say, taking on my wife's duties for the last few days has been hard. But I'll give Arianna credit. She has pitched in and we've gotten things done.

So, having said all that, here's my mind dump from the weekend...

• This week we continued the Relationship Rehab series as we focused on communication in our relationships. God is really working through this series in a big way. (If you missed this weekend, you can check it out here.)

• Another 21 people indicated decisions for Christ this weekend and the Next Steps crew was busy, busy, busy! I love the fact that we have a great team trained to talk and pray with people who make decisions for Christ or need some other type of personal ministry. Way to go Next Steps team!

• In part two of our RR series we focused on the fact that any marriage can succeed if you'll just work on communicating. Why is it such a big deal? Because every major marriage issue revolves around it. Conflict resolution, parenting, financial issues, sex - whatever the marriage issue is, YOU HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT.

* I really do believe that if you'll talk about the big three we talked about - money, time and sex - it will cure 80-90% of the marriage issues that plague most couples.

• And the best expert in the world about what your spouse needs is - YOUR SPOUSE! Not Oprah or Men's Health. You've got to talk to each other and be honest with each other. ("Listen to your Lady!")

• Guys, I mentioned Andy Stanley's book, Choosing To Cheat. Here's the link if you want to order it from Amazon.

• When you communicate with each other you've got a choice to make - words that rot and corrupt or build up and benefit. Words that spoil or energize your spouse. What do you need to do this week to change your focus to the positive in your relationship so that you communicate what benefits and builds up?

• Next week - Kid Detox. Should be fun!

Welcome Gavin!

Weekend Rewind

This weekend we kicked off the Relationship Rehab series with a BANG! Felt great to be back after a 2-week study break (yes, I was WORKING!!). Every time I get away from New Horizon for a break, coming back just reminds me how blessed I am as a pastor. I know I say this a lot but, God is doing something amazing things in and through us and it's a privilege to get to see it. This weekend was no exception.

• Attendance continues to climb every weekend. I haven't seen all the numbers yet, but this weekend might have been one of our best since Easter.

• The 11:00 service is getting FULL! Time for some of you regulars to make a "missionary move" to the first service. If you'll move to the first service you'll be serving our unchurched guests, who typically come for the second service. How about it? Will you move so an unchurched person can have your seat?

• The band rocked the house in spite of Jon's last minute absence. In case  you missed it, Jon's wife Melinda decided to have a baby on Sunday! Gavin Keaton is now a future NHC band member!

• Jessie rocked our version of Battlefield. Great song to kick off the day.

• We started the series by focusing on the person in our relationships that usually needs rehab the most...Y-O-U! Most of us need to quit pointing the finger at the other person and start working on what we need to do to make the marriage a success. It's about YOU - You making the changes you need to make...You adjusting your expectations...You asking what you can do to take the relationship up a couple of notches.

• So, how is YOUR rehab going? If you want a marriage that works YOU have to work at it.

• AND...(it never gets old saying this)...24 PEOPLE PRAYED TO RECEIVE CHRIST YESTERDAY!!!

• Did you check out The Great Date Night on Friday night? The NHC Kids team took over Cameron Park's gymnasium and took care of kids for FREE as a service to families in the community. It was awesome to see several of those families show up for the first time on Sunday to check out NHC! Way to go Kid's team!

• And props to Spiked students!! Love having you guys help lead worship down in front. Keep worshiping Jesus!!!

• On a personal note, please pray for my wife and her family. Susan flew out early Monday morning to be with her family as her father is very close to going home to be with Jesus. The doctors have told us it's just a matter of time, so we're praying for his comfort and for his transition to heaven.

Thanks.

Relationship Rehab Starts Sunday

Who have you invited?

Who are you bringing with you?

Who do you know that NEEDS to be here?

Who have you invited and invited but they haven't come yet?

What are you waiting for? CALL THEM NOW!!

Why?

Because the band is going to rock this Sunday! (Don't miss the first song!)

Because NHC Kids are going to be bigger, louder, messier!

Because God's Word will be taught!

Because LIFE CHANGE will happen!

Because eternal destinies will be radically re-routed!

Because Jesus can save ANYONE!

SEE 'YA SUNDAY!!!

90 Day Tithe Challenge

One of the things I enjoy most in ministry is helping people take their next step on their spiritual journey and then watching God show up big in their lives. One of the biggest next steps that most of us will ever take in following God is in the area of our money and putting him first with a tithe.

I make no bones about this one - I believe in tithing - bringing the first 10% of our income back to God through our church as a worship offering to him. (If you don't know what I'm talking about check out the earlier posts on tithing here and here.)

And if you need to take the next step of tithing we provide an easy way to get started called the 90 Day Tithe Challenge. Here's how it works...

1) Commit to giving a full tithe for the next 90 days

Just click here to let us know that you're taking the challenge. Then bring your tithe in a way that it can be tracked in our database for the 90 day period (a check, online giving, or cash in a giving envelope with your name on it).

2) We'll send you some encouraging emails along the way

Our staff will be praying that you'll see God show up like he promises to in Malachi 3:10. God doesn't exactly promise that you'll win the lotto or anything like that, but he does promise to bless you in ways you won't even believe.

3) At the end of the 90 days, if can honestly say that God hasn't blessed you, just email or call us and we will refund your 90 days of giving.

Yes, I'm serious! We won't question or harass you or try to talk you out of it. No questions asked. Why can we so confidently make this promise? Because we believe in God's promise...

"Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." Malachi 3:10

So, come on. God challenges us to put him to the test on this one. Try it and see what God does!

To help you understand more about this, here's a recent Sunday message on putting God first. Enjoy!

When Green Has You Seeing Red from New Horizon Church on Vimeo.

What's Giving Really About Pt. 2

If you missed part one of this post, check it out here.

Some people try to argue that when Jesus showed up on the scene tithing stopped. But the reality is that Jesus didn't abolish the tithe, he AFFIRMED IT. Not only that, but he raised the bar on giving. He said that the heart behind our giving is more important than how much we give.

Luke 11:42 (NLT) “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

Jesus doesn't do away with the tithe here, he just elevates the reason for doing it. He says, "You Pharisees are giving but you're not doing it for the right reason - because you love God and people."

So the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, clearly teaches the principle of tithing. Ten percent of our income is to be brought to his house (the church we attend) and given to him because we love God and we want to see more people come to him.

The second expression of our giving is called an OFFERING. With the tithe we have a clear cut amount that God wants us to give - 10%. But when it comes to the offering it's a different story. Many folks refer to them as "freewill offerings" because it's a matter of our free will. We give offerings above and beyond the tithe, but it's out of the overflow of our hearts. They're given out of the level of spiritual maturity we have, and out of the level of God's provision in our lives.

Offerings are also different from our tithes in another way. The tithe is specifically to be used to fund the ministry of the local church but the offering can be used in many ways - to build new facilities, to fund ministry outreaches or for benevolence needs, just to name a few.

Believe it or not there are lots of folks at New Horizon who give their tithe, plus above and beyond offerings. It was above and beyond offerings that we used to fund the M25 Food Drop, the Hope Pack outreach and the purchase of a motorcycle for a church planting pastor in Bolivia this year.

So, to those of you who give so generously here at New Horizon, both in tithes and offerings, I just want to say a big "Thanks!" God is using  you powerfully to help more and more people experience the life change that only Jesus can bring.

And for those of you who might be new to this whole idea of giving to God, check out tomorrow's post for an idea many around here have used to get started with giving to God for the right reasons.

What's Giving Really All About?

Everyone who has had any contact with churches and church world at all knows about giving. We sometimes make jokes about it and sometimes we get cynical about it. Sometimes folks just get so ticked off about it that they refuse to do it.

So, why do we give money to the church anyway? Simple answer - because of what God wants to do IN us and THROUGH us when we give.

It's not about giving because we are obligated to. We shouldn't give because of some guilt trip. We really don't even give because there's some ministry need. We give because we expect God to use our resources to help produce LIFE CHANGE! We give because we have a vision for what God is going to do.

From a Biblical perspective there are two expressions of this kind of giving - the TITHE and the OFFERING - and the Bible encourages BOTH in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Let's start with the tithe. Contrary to what some may think, tithing is not something that was dreamed up by TV preachers to get more money to pay for their McMansions. TITHE is a Hebrew word that simply means "a tenth." And one of the most famous commands and promises about giving in the Bible revolves around tithing...

Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

God says very clearly WHAT his expectations are (bring the whole tithe into the storehouse...the church), and WHY he wants us to do this (so there will be food in my house). God's intention is that the tithe be used to provide ministry in his "house."

But tithing is also referred to as the standard for giving in the New Testament! More on that tomorrow...

Have We Forgotten?

Are we afraid to talk about it? Or are we just trying to block it out so we won't have to think about it? Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on...(shameless Beatles plug!)

Here's what's bothering me this morning: I just did a search through all my bookmarked blogs. These are the guys/gals that I read on a regular basis. Some of them are "high profile" spiritual leaders, others are more like me - just an average guy who happens to lead a church.

But here's what they all had in common - none of them blogged a word about the anniversary of 9/11. Why not?

Maybe (I'm hoping, at least) they're like me. I spent some time yesterday watching video of that day of infamy. I spent some time remembering how I felt when I walked into the house and saw the Twin Towers collapse. I remembered the feelings of helplessness as I watched thousands of people die right in front of my eyes.

I spent some time remembering how eerily quiet everything seemed that night as I lay in bed wondering what would happen on 9/12. I spent some time thinking about how parents, husbands, wives, children and friends felt that day, knowing their loved one wasn't coming home again.

I remember feeling such a sense of grief and loss, even though I didn't personally lose anyone on that day. Thousands of fellow Americans lost their lives that day just because they got up and went to work.

I remember putting an American flag on my car.

I remember thinking, "This changes everything." There was a sense of comradery. There was a sense of resolve that as Americans we must confront this evil and make sure it never happens again. But it seems today that we have forgotten much, if not all, of that resolve.

REMEMBER...that should be the operative word on 9/11.

Remember the families who lost loved ones and pray for them. Remember those who willingly stepped up and gave their lives that day to help rescue the perishing. Remember the first Americans who struck back at the evil on Flight 93 by taking out the terrorists and preventing them for completing their "mission." Remember those who have served our country by taking the fight to our enemy's backyard.

We owe it to the almost 3000 who died that day and the thousands of service personnel who have died since while engaged in this fight to keep this day alive in our hearts and minds. Let us not forget!

Relationship Rehab

STARTING SEPTEMBER 20TH!!!
This Sunday we wrap up the Rhythm series and then we're ready to go with our new series, Relationship Rehab. In this series we're going to dive into the Bible's prescriptions for some of the most common ailments we have in our marriages and families. Make plans now to BE HERE! Get started INVITING YOUR FRIENDS NOW!!!

Weekend Rewind

How do I do Weekend Rewind when I wasn't even there? Here's how...

• No, I wasn't "on" this weekend and that was a good thing for a couple of reasons. Reason #1 - I was sick Sunday. No, Adam didn't sub for me because I was sick. He had been scheduled to speak on that weekend for a couple of months. It just so happened that my body chose not to cooperate with my mind on the same weekend.

• Reason #2 - It was also a good thing because it just proves once again that this thing isn't about me, or you, or any other person. It's about God showing up - and according to what I've heard, he did! My wife, who was not sick, told me that Adam and the rest of the team knocked it out of the park. AND...people got saved this weekend! Way to go TEAM!!

• This week I'm away from home and the office and all the distractions so I can spend some focused time praying and studying and planning our next two fall series.

• September 20th we start a new series on marriage and relationships called Relationship Rehab. I know this is something we talk about on a REGULAR basis and you may wonder why we focus on it so much, so here's why - I'm SOOO tired of seeing marriages and families fall apart because we're not willing to do whatever it takes to rehab our relationships. Many of the people who walk through our doors for the first time come because they're hurting, and most of them are hurting in their marriage and family. So, yes, we talk about it - a lot.

• And singles, don't worry. As usual, there'll be plenty of stuff rolled in for you too!

• Then in October we'll be kicking into one of the most important series we'll do this year. Unstoppable will be a 6-week series focusing on how we can move forward with God's plan for our lives as individuals and as a church.

• So, pray for me this week! Pray for God's leading as I cram and get ready for these two really important series.