It’s been a while since I’ve given a mass update on Renovate Church. This one is going to be a long one, but please bear with me. It’s worth it!

Since we moved to Winchester and started Renovate Church, we’ve had some big wins. We’ve seen families restored to ministry, we’ve raised supplies for the homeless, and been able to re-present Jesus in a new light to people who have been hurt by the church.  There are more stories, but let’s allow this to suffice.

Aside from special events, we have been meeting weekly for Launch Team Meetings, where we were doing Bible study and leadership development with our team. We have taken what is called an “organic” approach to church planting. In essence, we haven’t had a lot of money and resources to do marketing and do a “launch large” strategy. I’ve been very pleased with our stewardship of resources. Every dollar given to Renovate has been spent helping people. We saved money by meeting in homes and restaurants. We’ve worked hard to find less expensive ways to do ministry. We haven’t rented a storefront or done any of that stuff. My wife and I work jobs and do not take a salary from Renovate.

Our challenge is that many people have had difficulty connecting with this organic approach to church. In Winchester, most people have at least some concept of church, and since our very different approach didn’t connect as well, we stalled out on growth. At our most, we’ve had about 20 people connected to Renovate. While I have been pleased with the amount of people connecting, personal circumstances have caused some of our people to disconnect from Renovate. Not all of these were negative circumstances, but they have affected us nonetheless.

Now, rewind several months prior to now….

Destiny Church in Leesburg, Virginia decides to plant a satellite church in Winchester. They selected their Worship Leader, Lathan Hickey to be the Winchester Campus Pastor. With his deep roots in the Winchester area and the resources of an existing church, I knew immediately that Destiny Winchester would do well here.

I have known Lathan since our teenage years. He’s the kind of guy that you just want to hug the first time you meet him. He has a magnetic personality and is a great leader. He also sounds like John Mayer when he sings, so who can’t love that!!!

Lathan and I had been trying to connect with each other for several months now and just update each other on our lives and ministry. About two weeks ago, we were finally able to get together and share. What we found was that we were both trying to fulfill the same vision for a new church in Winchester! It totally blew my mind at how closely the two of us are on the same page. We have similar church and ministry histories, both have roots in Winchester,  we hold to the same Christian doctrines, both spent time in Florida, and both came back to Winchester to reach people for Jesus who wouldn’t walk in to a traditional church.

God does things in crazy ways some times. It’s in ways we can’t plan or can’t expect. The gifts I found in Lathan were exactly what was missing from Renovate Church. What Lathan found in me was what he needed for Destiny Church Winchester. Our gifts complement each other in a great way, and our perspectives, vision, and church culture line up perfectly. So after much prayer, thought, and advice, we have decided to completely merge our church planting efforts. Winchester is an area of less than 200,000 people, and there simply is no reason that two guys trying to do the same thing, with the same vision, and the same circle of connections should work against each other by doing it separately. I truly feel that God has opened the door for us to be more effective and put a dent in the devil here in Winchester.

For us, this is very exciting. While we’re not doing this under the name “Renovate Church”, I still believe that God has allowed this door to open for us and see a dream come true. By joining forces, we’ll be able to be more effective, build a stronger team, and set an example for other churches in the area by showing what can happen when Christians start working together and stop fighting each other.

If you want to know how God works, here goes… I had been praying about contacting Lathan about this for about 3 months. Lathan had been praying about contacting us about doing some type of ministry together for the same time. God had begun to prepare things in the spiritual realm before we were able to make it happen in the human realm. When God connects the dots for us, He does it perfectly!

My role in this will be in the areas of administration, team building, leadership development, and discipleship. My working title is “Director of Administration and Development”, although Lathan mentioned tweeking that. Basically, Lathan is really great at recruiting people, and he’ll be sending them to me to get them plugged in and ready for ministry. It’s truly a beautiful thing. We both get to do what we’re good at.

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I’m sure many of you have a lot of questions. I’ll answer a few below, but first, I want to give you a few important dates.

Sunday, August 29 – 6:00-7:15 pm – Preview Service at Daniel Morgan Middle School – The Leesburg team will be travelling to Winchester to put on a church service for us. If you are interested in seeing what a typical Destiny service is going to be like, then you want to be here.

Sunday September 26 – 10:00-11:15 am – Pre-Launch Service at Alama Drafthouse Cinema – Destiny Winchester will be holding services regularly at the Alamo. The Pre-Launch Services will be practice runs for the Winchester team to get everything right. People are welcome to come and check things out. If you think you’re interesting in being part of the Winchester team, then you need to contact me ASAP. We will have something for you to get involved in without being over-worked.

Sunday October 3 – 10:00-11:15 am – 2^nd Pre-Launch Service at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

Sunday 10-10-10 – 10:00-11:15 am – Grand Opening Day of Destiny Church Winchester at the Alamo. This is when we begin regular weekly services!

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Ok, here’s some questions I’ve been asked a few times that I’d like to answer for everyone:

1. Brandon, are you really ok with giving up Renovate and coming under the Destiny Church umbrella?  – Yes. When I was in Tampa FL, I went to monthly meetings for local church planters. In one of those meetings, a leader said to us “What if God is asking you to do something, but He wants you to do it under someone else’s ministry? What if your name isn’t attached and you don’t get the credit? Will you still do it?” It was at that moment that I decided that I will commit to church planting in Winchester, and that obeying the leading of the Lord will be my primary goal. Planting a church here was never about my ego. It’s about the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. It’s about introducing people to Jesus.  Thank you Hal Mayer for the gut check before I ever moved here.
2. Will you ever try church planting on your own again? – Who knows? As for now, I’m committed to Winchester. I’m committed to being here and reaching people. We’re putting roots down.
3. What do the Renovate people think of this? – So far, the response has been very good. People can easily see that God is in this.
4. Why did you have fund raising problems? – The big one is the economy. Our fund raising began at the height of the recession. We had a lot of churches and people who wanted to help, but simply couldn’t. People have been tapped out. We decided to obey God and move here anyways, knowing that He had a plan.
5. How can I get involved? – Contact me. If you’re not sure what to get involved with, we can help you discover your gifts. If you know your passion, we’ll get you plugged in. God will use you to change lives through the ministry of Destiny Church Winchester! A lot of people that I connected with through Renovate were waiting on us to be able to have church services before getting too involved. Now is your chance!
6. What will a service be like at Destiny – The music is current and rocking. It’s not a Metallica concert, but it’s not acoustic night at the coffee shop either. It’s a good balance, and I’m confident you’ll like it. The teaching is Biblical and applicable to real life. You can wear whatever you’re comfortable wearing, and there won’t be anything weird. You can expect to be accepted just as you are, and to make some great friends. We aren’t too flashy, but we not dull either. It’s not suits and ties, and it’s not a night club either.
7. Why are you having church in a movie theater, let alone one that serves beer?  – Because that’s what Jesus would do. Jesus frequented the cultural hubs of his time, and the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has easily become the new cultural centerpiece of Winchester. Jesus would go to where the people are, and not worry about what the religious establishment thought about it. The Alamo also accommodates our needs for hosting adults, children, and nursery in 3 theaters, and we’re getting it for a good price. Talking about a God-thing.. When we first moved to Winchester, we had identified the Alamo as the place we would have held services for Renovate. Now, God is fulfilling that.
8. I’ve given money or gifts to Renovate. What will happen to it? – I will be keeping the legal entity Renovate Church, INC open through the end of the year in order to ensure proper credit for tax deductions. Your money and/or gifts will continue to be used towards church planting, in the manner originally intended. For all intents and purposes, we’re just under a new name. If you plan to continue giving, feel free continue doing so.

If you have any other questions, then please feel free to ask. I still hold to our values of Authenticity and Transparency. If you have a concern, then I’m happy to address it.

I ask that you all continue to pray for what God is doing in our lives, and for what He’s doing here in Winchester. This whole process has been completely revolutionary, and I’m excited to see what else God has in store for Destiny Church, for the Bowers family, and for Winchester. While a new website is in development, you can get more info about Destiny Church at www.destinychurch.info

Thank you all for reading this and for investing in our lives. We count you as friends and partners in ministry.

Brandon Bowers

We are doing a supply drive for CCAP. If you are unaware of CCAP, they are the Congregational Community Action Project. You can view their website at www.ccapwinc.org

The event will be on Sunday June 13 from 11 am to 2 pm, at the Jaycee I Shelter in the Jim Barnett Park. The shelter is the small one, just beside the War Memorial Building.

CCAP is in need of non-perishable food, clothing, personal hygiene items, and school supplies.

Our event will be a drop off point for the community, and a chance for the community to find out more about Renovate. We’ll be grilling hot dogs and hanging out. We really look forward to meeting everyone and getting a chance to know you better.

If you live in Winchester and would like to assist us with working the event, then please let me know. If you’d like to give the above listed supplies, then I hope to see you there!

Thank you for your support, and God bless!

Brandon Bowers
www.renovate540.com

Vintage Faith and Contemporary Spirituality

Week 2

Worship

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Questions to consider for this series:

When you think of today’s spiritual atmosphere, what comes to mind?

How does that differ from hundred and even thousands of years ago?

Who got it right? Who got it wrong? Is there a right and wrong way to have Christian spirituality?

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Key words:

Worship – Human response to the perceived presence of the divine, a presence which transcends normal human activity and is holy

Christology – an interpretation of the nature, person, and deeds of Christ.

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Matthew 21

Jesus’ Triumphant Entry

¹ As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. ² “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,

⁵ “Tell the people of Israel,^[a]
‘Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.’”^[b]

⁶ The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.^[c]

⁸ Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,

“Praise God^[d] for the Son of David!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Praise God in highest heaven!”^[e]

¹⁰ The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.

¹¹ And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

When the Jews saw Jesus coming into town on a donkey, they worshipped Him. Somehow, they knew he was God. They responded to His presence in a few different ways.

1. Spread out their garments on the ground
2. Laid out palm branches on the ground
3. Verbally praised Him and acknowledged his divinity

What are some other ways we know that people in the Bible responded to God in worship?

Within the next week after this event, Jesus would be crucified and resurrected. What happened within a week that would turn people from worshipping Jesus to killing him??

Part of it is that the Jesus they worshipped was not the Jesus they got. While being divine, they were expecting Jesus to be an earthly king that would overthrow the Roman government. Jesus came to bring forth a new spiritual kingdom. Out of their own misinterpretation of Jesus’ purpose, they turned on him.

In similar fashion today, people have all kinds of ideas about who Jesus is, and what he’s about. We spoke a few weeks ago about the idea of a “Sissy Jesus” that is often depicted in pictures and movies.

This weekend, I posted some pretty funny and some pretty tasteless pictures of Jesus on my Facebook. Some of them were pure silliness, while others were flat out offensive. What ensued was my own family insulting me and being offended. That wasn’t the purpose of posting them. Honestly, I wanted people to get a good laugh, and in the process think about what kind of Jesus we actually worship. I wanted people to rethink their idea of Jesus, and think about how we come to our pop culture ideas of who Jesus is.

If we are to worship Jesus in good fashion, we must first have a solid Christology. While we will never understand everything about Him, we at least need to have a fair interpretation of Him. In today’s culture, we have a warped Christology. We view Jesus as wimpy, Republican, Caucasian, war-mongering, and racist – all while carrying around a little lamb, healing the sick, and sharing wise sayings. It’s no wonder we have so many responses to Jesus these days.

What are some of the responses to Jesus we’ve seen from non-Christians?

What are some of the ways Christians worship God?

1. Singing  (Vocal)
2. Instruments (Musical)
3. Raising Hands (Physical)
4. Money (Giving)
5. Helping others (Serving)
6. Candles and Architecture (Sensual)
7. Speaking in tongues (Charismatic Spiritual Gifts)
8. Confession of Sins
9. Community

Worshipping God is a lifestyle. It goes beyond the mere “doing” of things. It goes beyond singing songs, raising our hands, lighting a candle, or speaking in tongues. We can worship God in a ton of ways. We can respond to God in any way that honors Him. Any response to who He is, that honors His holiness, his deity, Christ’s humanness, the totality of God can be appropriate.

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

¹ For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven

When I think of this verse of scripture, I think about balance. There is a time for everything, and everything must be in moderation.  In our imperfect human state, we have taken worship to extremes. While all forms of worship are good and valid, there is an appropriate time and place for them all. Would you light a candle at work, or would helping others be more appropriate? Sometimes, it may be more appropriate to confess your sins to a friend in confidence, and not in community. Charismatic expressions of worship are most easily taken to the extreme, due to their supernatural nature. It’s hard for humans to find balance when we express worship in supernatural ways.

Conclusion

Understand Jesus and why we worship Him. Try worshipping Him in different ways that you are comfortable with.

Stolen/borrowed from http://troyhamby.com/2010/03/20/im-tired-of-the-show/

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If you ever want to experience the greatest stress imaginable, plant a church! We are only in the very beginning phases of our 1st meetings, planning, etc but it is literally the ONLY thing that I can think about. The mental and spiritual stress that we have experienced has put a strain on my marriage, my family, my spiritual life and my sanity. The other day I was thinking about this and giving myself the “pep talk” in my head that I have fine tuned (Troy, you’re called, God will provide, people will come, it’s in God’s hands) and I stopped in mid thought and asked myself “WHY?” Why am I doing this to myself? Why do I feel so much pressure? If I truly believed that this is in God’s hands, then why am I so worried all the time? And after a few minutes, it finally dawned on me: I’m trying to plant someone elses church!

I have made the mistake of reading tons of blogs of these dudes that started last year with 6 people in thier living rooms and now they have 2,000 people in a state of the art building with the coolest lights, rocking worhsip team and fog machines that envelop it all! They preach relevant messages and hundreds of people are “coming to Jesus” each week. Their small groups are multiplying and some of them are even having to go multi site already!

Now, all of this is fine and dandy…if people are “coming to Jesus”, then I celebrate with them. What stressed me out the most was what it took to get these church plants up and running. From the many different sources I’ve read/talked to/been coached by, to plant a church that “launches large” and has a good crowd the 1st Sunday, you need to raise at least $75,000 -$100,000 before you even start! That pays for the sounds equipment, the video projectors, lighting, chairs, childrens ministry material, insurance, salaries and a big freaking trailer to haul it all around in.

So, after 2 years of reading this and hearing this and believing that this was the only way to do it, I finally woke up one day and asked REALLY? SERIOUSLY? You need $100,000 to plant a church? And what does that $100,000 get you? At best, it will get you a high impact Sunday morning service where people can bring their friends and experience moving worship music, quality childrens ministry and relevant preaching. At worst, it will buy you a cooler version of the already existing church down the street…a place where people come to hear the good music, have their kids taught and get their ‘word’ for the week. In other words, you (as a church planter) kill yourself to gather a group of people, inspire them, pour thousands of hours into advertising, rehearsing and planning and spend $100,000 so you can get people to come to a building on a Sunday morning in the hopes that some of them may possibly find community and a relationship with Christ. WHEW!

After reading all that, the only thing I can think is that THERE MUST BE AN EASIER AND MORE EFFECTIVE WAY THAN THIS! Especially when you consider the fact that 8 out of 10 church plant fail within the first year, this all just seems unnecessary and almost irresponsible. The more that I think about, the more I am realizing that $100,000 gets you a good Sunday morning show and I am sick and tired of the show…and I know that I’m not the only one. Over the past 2 years, we have visited many, many churches in hopes of connecting and finding true Biblical community but in most cases, all we experienced was the show. These well meaning Pastors did enough to get you in, make you feel some goose bumps and keep you coming back. And as we drove home, the same sad scene repeated itself over and over and over again. We would look at each other and say “so, what did you think?” We would try to put a good spin on what we just experienced but eventually, the truth would come out and we end up with the same conclusion: WHAT’S THE POINT? Is this seriously what church is all about? Did we push this same poop on people all those years and called it “community” and “church”. We did! In hindsight, our motives sucked! We would never admit it but we were obsessed not with people but with the ABC’s. Attendance, Buildings, Cash. In our eyes, if you came to church consistently, gave in tithes and attended a small group, then you were cool in our book and hopefully in God’s also. What a crock! I see it now and I have repented of my crappy motives every day since then.

I don’t want the show any longer! I will finally admit that you can have the most mind blowing Sunday morning service and 1 million people can come and jump up and down and fall down in the aisles and speak in tonuges but 999,998 of those same people will leave unchanged and model an uncaring, unloving and irelevant Jesus to everyone around them. I refuse to perpetuate that garbage any longer…I refuse to allow my family to suffer so I can get that…I refuse to subject 1 person to the false idea that coming to a building and singing a song and hearing a sermon makes you a follower of Christ. I SO long for something simpler, more pure, more Biblical. I crave community…not small groups or cell groups or community groups. Just to grow with a group of people that I would give my life for and vice versa…to embody the love of Christ to everyone we come into contact with…to laugh together, cry together, eat together, pray together and follow Jesus together. Simple! It doesn’t take $100,000 to do that…

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3/21/10

Vintage Faith and Contemporary Spirituality

Week 1

The Gospel and Redemption

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Questions to consider for this series:

When you think of today’s spiritual atmosphere, what comes to mind?

How does that differ from hundred and even thousands of years ago?

Who got it right? Who got it wrong? Is there a right and wrong way to have Christian spirituality?

________________

Key words:

Gospel – the “good news”

Redemption – recovery by payment; rescue

Reconciliation –establishment of friendly relations between parties who are at variance with each other

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Since creation, God has been drawing people to Him. He didn’t need to create, but he did because of His nature. It is his nature to create, to love, and to desire relationships. The idea that God wants a relationship with us is the foundation of Vintage Faith and Contemporary Spirituality. Without relationship with God, we have no faith, no spirituality, and no reason to start churches or even bother with religion.

The idea of relationship is also what separates Christianity from most other religions. Most other religions have aspects of morality, but lack relationship with the one who calls us to that morality. Other religions require that you sacrifice your life for God, and Christianity is one where Jesus sacrificed Himself so that we could have relationship with our creator.

God’s relationship is mankind began in the Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve. Genesis chapters 2 and 3 describe how God made Adam and Eve, and walked and talked with them in the Garden.

But Adam and Eve fell. They sinned. But God did not forsake them. He continued to call them back to Him. This theme reoccurs all throughout the Old Testament. We see this in the Exodus from Egypt, the Babylonian exile, and the stories of the Minor Prophets. God has drawn us back to Him every time we have sinned and turned away from Him. This is reconciliation.

Then came Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice. Why sacrifice? Why death? Because the penalty for disobeying God was death. But God allowed people to sacrifice animals to redeem the price for their sin. But over time, they abused that deal, and it still caused no real change in people. So God sent His son Jesus, the only worthy, sinless, perfect sacrifice, to end all sacrifices for all time. His death was the final redemption, or payment for sin, for all people, for all time. All we have to do is believe that He did it.

Romans 3:23 states “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

John 3:16-18 states in The Message version “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.”

The idea of the gospel is that we share this “good news”. Without Jesus, there is no good news to share, and. There is no gospel without Jesus, and there is no gospel if we do not share it.

Therefore, any idea of Contemporary Spirituality MUST be grounded in the foundation of the gospel.

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Key points to consider:

1. Everyone messes up. Everyone sins. God will continue to draw us back to Him.
2. Being a Christian is pretty simple. It starts with believing.
3. Inherent in the definition of the gospel as “good news” is the idea that we will share the news with people. Go tell someone!
4. We cannot move forward in our idea of Christian spirituality if we do not firmly understand the importance of the Gospel. Everything else we do always points back to these foundational points. This is what makes the idea of the Gospel the single most essential point to Christian faith.  Without it, we have nothing. No faith, no hope, no reason to live.

I was on the phone with one of our guys at Renovate today on the way home from work. We were discussing ways to have spiritual conversations with our non-Christian friends. We both agree that it’s hard to get around to talking about God with people who don’t believe or aren’t interested in church.

These days, people believe a multitude of things, and many have huge issues with the church and church people. We’ve done a terrible job over the years at presenting Jesus. As Christians, we reflect Jesus every day. Because we’ve not done a good job at showing people what Jesus is really about, it makes it difficult for people to listen to us when we talk about God.

We’ve tried to shove Jesus down people’s throats. We’ve made people feel guilty. We’ve de-personalized Jesus by handing out trite or offensive Bible tracts and comics (and then running away from the conversation). The proof is there that people need a “re-presentation” of Jesus, and that’s where we get our church mission statement from.

Anyways, I’m circling a bit and I’m going to land on my point. We need to have spiritual conversations with people. While it can be scary and intimidating, we need to look beyond our own fear of rejection. Otherwise, we reject Jesus, we reject our friends, and we reject the possibilities of Jesus transforming the lives of our friends, families, and neighbors.

So how do we go about having these spiritual conversations?? Great question! Bottom line is that there is no formula. I’m a huge advocate of friendship/relational evangelism. This means that we try to be friends with people, without a “Jesus agenda” and pray for God to give us an opening to have spiritual conversations.

When God opens the door to have those conversations, here’s a few pointers..

1. (From my college personal evangelism professor Dr. Effler) – While having horizontal conversations with people, be aware of the vertical conversation with God, and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through you… Sounds great, I know.. More churchy terms. There are some nuances about spirituality that are better experienced than explained, and allowing God to use you is one of those.. Just be willing and open to Him.

2. Try to stay away from straw man arguments and deep nuances of theology. It doesn’t matter whether or not Adam and Eve had belly buttons. Nor does it matter how the end of the world is coming, or whether or not you believe in predestination, evolution, or speaking in tongues. These are things that matter down the road. At this point, you need to take baby steps with people. Focus on Jesus and introduce them to who Jesus is.

3. Share your story. While we talk about focusing on Jesus and not ourselves, this is still important. People can deny the Bible. They can deny points of theology. But they cannot deny the transformation in your life caused by a closer relationship with your creator. So keep a few high points of life change at the forefront of your mind. People will ask “What has Jesus done to change your life?” Now, you know how to answer.

4. Don’t try to answer every question. We shouldn’t be able to answer every question about God. There should be unexplainable, supernatural, mystifying things about God. Don’t be intimidated by the questions. Don’t be afraid to answer “I don’t know.”

5. Remember that faith is a journey, not a destination. We are all on different parts of that journey, and that’s ok. Invite people to join you on the journey, and watch it turn into an adventure.

6. Remember that you’re not selling anything to anyone. Jesus uses us to reach people, but He doesn’t need to. You don’t have to clinch the sale, or even force someone to make a decision. God is gentle, not forceful (at least that’s what my Mom always said!!!) Allow people time to to think about it. Allow God time to do the real work of life change.

7. Have fun! Just because you’re a Christian, it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun anymore. You can still go to fun places with fun people and do fun things. What should change in your life is that you should be unwilling to put yourself in a place of temptation to sin. Don’t expose yourself to your sin areas or areas of weaknesses.. But Jesus hung out with people at parties and did fun things. We can do that as well. You can’t wait for God to open a door if you’re not willing to walk outside of your own door.

If you’d like, feel free to add some comments in the section below. Add your own suggestions, best practices, thoughts, etc.

On page 15, there is an article regarding a pastor who decided to “live like Jesus” for 1 year. I encourage you all to check it out.

The last section of the article asks him “Are there aspects of our piety that can keep us from following Jesus?”

Ed Dobson states:

“The whole evangelical subculture – having our own colleges, conferences, publishing companies – everything mitigates against our being out in the real world. So you have to deliberately make the effort to build relationships with those who are outside the faith. I tried to find ways to associate with sinners, like Jesus did, during my year of living Jesus-ly. I found that people everywhere are really interested in Jesus – specifically in your personal journey with Jesus.

We should be encouraging people to build relationships where they live and work. Maybe not going to the bar, like I did. But we can’t be so concerned about appearances that we fail to take the gospel to the lost. When Jesus spoke with the Samarian woman at the well, he was breaking all sorts of cultural norms. But he wasn’t sinning. The key is to avoid sin, not to avoid the appearance of sin.”

This resonates with me a lot. We are beginning Launch Team meetings in a local pub next week. I’ve had a few questions about it, but no one has chastised me…. yet.. But the people we’re trying to reach are really excited about it. We’re getting a good response so far. I’m excited about getting out the house and getting into the community.

Since we moved here, I’ve not regularly attended Sunday morning church services. I visited around before we began our own weekly small group meetings, but I tried to change my point of view and step out of my pastor shoes.

I agree with this guy.. Our Christian subculture works against our ultimate goal of gospel advancement. We do more to separate ourselves from the people we’re supposed to be reaching, instead of going out there and introducing them to Jesus.

All of our Christian programs have some good aspects to them. I know we’re trying to train up our families in the ways of the Lord.. But in that, are we preventing them from sharing Jesus? I think many of our churches are doing just that. We have so much stuff that keeps our church people busy doing church stuff that they never get out of the church to make new friends who aren’t Christians.

My challenge to us all is to stop worrying about what church people think, and passionately pursue non-Christians.

For those of you waiting for the meeting dates and times for our Launch Team meetings, your wait is over!!

First, let me apologize. I was hoping to have this posted a week ago, but it took a little longer than I expected to get a confirmation back for our first meeting place. Also, I got my dates for the Superbowl messed up. I first thought it would be the last Sunday in January, so I set a preliminary first Launch Team date of Sunday Feb 7. Come to find out, that’s when the Superbowl is, and the following Sunday is Valentine’s Day!

So, we’re gonna learn early how to be flexible!

For the first 2 weeks, we’ll be meeting on Monday night, instead of Sunday night. From there on out, we’ll be shooting for Sunday nights. So, here’s the schedule for February.

Monday, February 8, at 6:30 pm – The 3rd floor @ Union Jack Restaurant Pub – Old Towne Winchester Walking Mall
www.theunionjackpub.com
101 North Loudoun Street
Winchester, VA 22601-4717

Why are we having a church meeting at a pub?? Because it’s a great atmosphere, good food, and we can relax. Besides, Jesus said a lot of stuff about meeting people where they are, and going out into the highways and bi-ways.

Agenda for the night: Make friends, short Bible devotion, share the vision and values of Renovate Church, discuss how you can help, and where we’ll have our next Launch Team meeting. Pretty simple.

If you want to eat, you are welcomed and encouraged to eat with us. You can feel free to eat before you come if you’d like to save a few bucks too. The church will provide appetizers; drinks and food will be on our own tabs.

Monday, February 15 @ 6:30 pm – meeting place to be announced

Sunday, February 21 @ 5:30 pm - TBA – this will be our regular meeting time

Sunday, February 28 @ 5:30 pm – TBA

Some answers to some Frequently Asked Questions:

Why are you starting a new church? Because there are people far from God who need Him, and we’re here to introduce them to their creator. We’re not better than any other church. We’re just different. Come to a launch team meeting to find out more.

What is a Launch Team Meeting? It is a meeting of anyone who wants to help us start this church, whether in a leadership or supportive role. It’s not a church service, although we’ll do a short devotion, as well as work through the nuances of our vision and mission, and work to plan a life-giving, transformational, community impacting church.

Why don’t you have Sunday morning services? We plan to, eventually, once we can do them well. Right now, a Sunday service would include me playing the guitar, my wife singing, and me teaching. Trust me, I’m simply not that good all by myself. The people of Winchester deserve quality, and we’ll do our best with the resources we have.

Why do you have meetings in restaurants and bars? Because we don’t really care about what other churches think about us. Also, if you want to reach people far from God, you need to be where they are. You can’t do that very well if you stay inside a church building or a house all the time.  Being in public also makes us more visible to the community, and we just don’t have an advertising budget yet.

Aren’t there enough churches already in Winchester? No. If every church was filled to capacity, there wouldn’t be enough churches to hold the rest of the community. We welcome other church planters and new churches to Winchester, and hope to do some collaborative ministry with them.

What do you believe? Are you part of a denomination? What can you tell me about your church? First, I encourage you to check out this blog, as well as our website. There is a wealth of information that would introduce you to Renovate. We encourage you to come to a Launch Team meeting to find out more.

Finally, if you have any further questions, please email Brandon at b3.bowers@gmail.com or Facebook me at www.facebook.com/theb3 or follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/theb3

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Renovate NewsletterNov09

Hello Friends!

I wanted to take a minute to update you on our lives in Winchester and the progress we’ve made with Renovate Church since moving to Winchester VA in June 2009.

First, Shelley and I are both doing well in our jobs. We’re both working at colleges, and we enjoy what we’re doing. Being bi-vocational, commuting church planters is very challenging, but we are beginning to build some relational inroads. Chloe is doing well in school. She’s learning to read, can already count to 100, can write well, and she’s only 4 years old! She continues to amaze us every day. We have also recently found out that baby #2 is on the way!

We’ve been living in the community of Stephens City, which is a neighboring community to Winchester. There are a lot of housing developments here, and we’ve begun to connect with our neighbors.

So far, we’ve held several relationship-building, community outreach, meet-and-greet type events, like an end of summer party, a Halloween block party, info sessions, as well as taking advantage of similar opportunities that friends have hosted. We’ve found that this area has a huge commuter culture. Many people, including ourselves drive more than 45 minutes, or even an hour and a half (one way) to work, and making new friends is challenging. People here want to connect with others, but are slow to trust newcomers. Although I grew up here, I’ve been gone for 10 years. Reconnecting has been a top priority, and our biggest challenge.

We’ve begun a small, home based Bible study, which meets on Monday nights. Conversations have been messy, to say the least. Our people have been out of church for years, have tons of hurts and church junk, and we’ve been sorting through the incongruencies between who Jesus is and how Christian often behave. We’ve been studying the Gospel of John, which is a great “Intro to Jesus” book. We’re truly learning how to live out our mission statement, which is to “Engage the emerging culture in ways that re-present Jesus Christ.”

I have been able to complete the legal and administrative requirements for starting a church early. We are totally legal, have our own tax ID, website, and all that good stuff! Donations directly to Renovate Church are tax deductible!

I want you to know that although it’s difficult to stay connected with all of you, we value your prayers, your influence, and your impact on our lives. You have impacted us so much already, and you’ll never know how much!

This coming holiday season present some interesting opportunities for us, and for Renovate Church. Here’s how you can help:

1. Pray
   1. We need leaders in our church. As part of our commitment to reaching people who don’t go to church already, I have not recruited Christians from other churches to join us. This presents leadership challenges, as well as relational challenges. Shelley and I can only do so much ourselves, and we are limited in our circle of relationships. We need God to supernaturally send us leaders, as well as those who are far from God. This is all about people, and we need to connect with people and build deep friendships.
   2. I am still compiling our Board of Overseers. This is a group of leaders who I trust, who I count as mentors, and who are willing to hold me accountable. I’m looking for 3 more people, from ministry, non-profit, and business worlds, who are willing to invest in my life as a pastor and leader. They also make up the initial board of the church, for legal purposes.
   3. Spiritual and mind battles. Every day seems like a spiritual and emotional roller coaster. When we don’t see the results (in man’s eyes) that others have, or there just isn’t enough time in the day, it wears on us. This is challenging in ways that can’t be put into words. I even cut a toe off in a lawn mower this summer! Luckily, they sewed it back on! That too was an unexpected challenge!
   4. Supernatural guidance. There is a fine line between human effort and divine intervention. Every day, every event, every plan made is a balance between doing what we’re called to do, and allowing God to be God. We are doing the things we know to do, but there comes a point where it’s no longer up to us, and it’s up to God to do the work.
2. Give
   1. Ministry costs money. We all know that. Right now, Renovate is supported by generous givers like you and your church, as well as my family’s income. There are several ways to give:                                       i.       Commit to a monthly gift personally, or as a church                                                                       ii.      Quarterly special offerings from your church                                                                                 iii.      A missions-designated special offering for Christmas. I’ve seen churches raise thousands of
      dollars for missions and church planting. ‘Tis the season to be giving!                                               iv.      Tax returns. This is usually a big sacrifice. Most of us look forward to this each year. Your                            sacrificial gift could result in a transformed life                                                                             v.      Your gift will allow us to continue to hold more relationship building events, do more
      community outreach, marketing/promotion, and simply bless people!

   3. Go

   2. Maybe you or someone you know is interested in church planting. We need people who will commit to be leaders in the Winchester community and surrounding area. We are purposefully bi-vocational. It may be slower growth, but it allows us to be in the community, shoulder to shoulder with the people we are reaching. Our prayer is for leaders from within and from outside of the area to step up with us and transform our community for Jesus.
   3. Send a mission team from your church! We can canvas the area with fliers, do service projects, and bless this community in ways that will change your life just as much as it will transform the lives of those here in Winchester.
   4. Let me come to your church! I am booking Sundays after the holidays. Think of this as a Missionary on furlough type event. By inviting me to your church, it allows me to update your congregation on our progress, and give them an opportunity to sow seeds into our ministry.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope it’s not been too long! Below is all the info you’ll need to contact us, or to give. Thank you in advance for your prayers, your gift, your invitation, and your time!

Brandon Bowers,

Lead Pastor of Renovate Church

Checks can be written out to “Renovate Church.” Our church and personal mailing address is 106 Ian Court Stephens City VA 22655. My cell is now 304-671-4472. My email is b3.bowers@gmail.com and our website is www.renovate540.com

I’ve been listening to the song, “Should I Tell Them?” by a Christian music artist by the name of Shaun Groves today. I’m posting the lyrics below so you can read them, then I’ll do some follow-up commentary.

Walking with you is not without hazards
Trippings this traveler’s curse
Price paid for falling is more than my stumble
In a world that is watching and waiting for words

But I listened when You said to go
And I set out in spite of my fears
About truth mixed with my imperfection
And the question of what to say when I got here

And now that I’m here
Should I tell them that
You are the one who has made me
And saved me and set up a home there inside
Should I tell them that I am a perfect example
Of all You can do with a life.
What should I say to them?
What if I’m failing them?
What should i tell the tonight?

Now don’t get me wrong
I’m thankful to be here
With this song to sing and a spotlight on me,
But lately I’m wondering if you are mistaken,
If you’re seeing all of me there is to see.

Cause on every face I detect
The same questions I’ve posed to you
Like do you speak through the imperfect
Are we too dirty for your light to get through?
I want your light to get through.

What should I tell them when
They’re thirsty Lord
My cup is empty Lord
Come and lead me here in this place
Cuz I’m honest, yeah, but I’m unprepared
And I’m just plain afraid

I find these lyrics to be very powerful, especially as a church planter. (I usually am not a fan of a lot of Christian music. Much of it is cheesy, insincere, or manufactured to sell CD’s. Groves, and a few other artists are pretty authentic in their lyrics, and I really like that..) Anyways, sometimes, I feel so many feelings of inadequacy, but in the end, I know God called me to do this, therefore I must.

I moved back to my hometown ,where my family and my friends are. So if this thing crashes and burns, there’s no saving face. I try to keep my ego out of this, try to stay humble, try to keep focused on God and what he’s calling me to do. But like the song says, I’m imperfect, unprepared, and just plain afraid.

So I want to be straight up in saying that I’m not the super pastor who seems to have it all together. I need help. I need God’s help. I need the help of my family, friends, and those who may become part of Renovate. In the end, it’s not about me, it about the simple gospel, and Shaun Groves states it pretty clearly – Jesus is the one who made me, and saved me, and set up a home there inside.

I’d also like to encourage not just other pastors, but other believers here. Don’t feel like you need to keep up some facade of perfection. Everyone knows that if you come off looking perfect, you’re either really fake, or just a great liar. Let down your guard and let people see the real you. They can relate to that, and in that, you make a friend, who you can then tell them about Jesus.

Also, don’t worry about your feelings of inadequacy. My favorite Christian cliche is “God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called.” What he’s asked us to do comes down to some simple concepts – be friends with people who are far from God, and tell them about Jesus. So how many non-Christian friends do you have? I mean people you hang out with, not just random people at work or school. If you’re having a hard time answering that, then I beg you to get out of your Christian bubble and meet some new people. I’ve heard a few atheists say that the reason they don’t believe in Jesus was because if what the Bible says is true, then it would be the best news on Earth. And if that were the case, then they didn’t understand why more Christians weren’t sharing the news.. Wow. Very powerful.. It’s our responsibility to do this simple stuff, and from my experience, non-Christians are pretty fun people!

If your cup is empty, allow Jesus to fill it. If you’re unprepared, Jesus isn’t.

Just be willing.