Friday, September 19, 2008

It's Fall in Florida?

I heard on the radio that Monday was the official start of autumn. Statements like that always make me smile. The word autumn brings images of chilly air, beautiful colored leaves and new sweaters to wear. HA! Not really our reality here in Florida.

It's hard to believe that the end of 2008 will soon be here. Seems like New Year's Day was just celebrated. It was just a few short months ago that Jesse and I had our first conversation about what God was doing in his life and the vision of church planting was strong in his mind. I remember thinking, "Wow, good for you Jess. I'll be praying for ya." Never in a million years did I think my family and I would be part of this amazing ride. Now that we've been here a few months, the reality of our "fall" into this season is upon me.

My initial idea of how things would play out is not at all what's unfolding and you know what, that OK. I was pretty sure we (the church plant) would be in full swing by now with me working pretty much in the same capacity as I did in South Florida. That is NOT what I'm doing! : ) And, it's a good thing right now. Jesse has really challenged us to a new way of thinking; one that resonates with me on multiple levels and one that God has been preparing in my heart for some time. It's always sweet to look backward and see the steps God has orchestrated in my life to bring me to new revelation and greater appreciation for his sovereignty and plans for me and my family and for those around me.

It's hard to accurately articulate everything that's been discussed, prayed about and worked out in the life of the church formally known as "Church of the Highlands, Four Corners" (more about that later), but in a large nutshell, here's the plan as I understand it...

We, the launch team (Launch Team = good - Not CORE TEAM = BAD - that's kind of an inside joke) I DIGRESS...

We the launch team, have been challenged to not just do church, but be the church, (I know that's a very over-used phrase) by being incarnational in our ministry. Basically we need to be building relationships with others in our community and circles of influence not as a "to do," but in order to make our Christianity a 24/7 deal and learn to truly love others and serve them and naturally share the gospel with them. We don't want our future church services to be the end all for when folks hear the gospel or make that our only vehicle for life change. We do believe that the approach of incarnational ministry and attractional ministry together is a formula that works well, but it's the percentage of each that we're dealing with right now. Jesse said, right now, we should be 90% incarnational and 10% attractional. So... our services, which are on Saturday night right now are more of a teaching time for how we can be equipped to do that. We've been spending the last several weeks talking about our plans. It's so much info, but here's some bullet points...

  • Small Groups Starting in October
  • Triads Starting in October (this is an intensive discipleship model)
  • Community Outreach events (like Trunk or Treat - see end of post)
  • Preview Service Christmas Eve
  • Recruiting launch team members to total 100 adults by Launch Date
  • Launch Date - Easter 2009
  • Re-naming of the church (which we've already done) - We're now known as "The Roots Community" - We've got to change all our documentation, etc. so that's in the works.

Anyway, if you need clarification on any of that, call Jesse! : )

On a personal note, tomorrow the kids and I leave for Lake Worth/Boynton Beach to see our pals "down south." I'm looking forward to Genie's CD release and seeing my South Palm family. Big surprise, I'm going to run media on Sunday! Thanks Drew and Genie! I can't wait to see my sister and Daddy and all my other dear ones.

I'm still working the Target gig part-time. CRAZY! And... I've started working full time for my friend, Matt Burks (my other Matt B.) at Northwestern Mutual in Winter Haven. It's a haul from my house every day, but I'm starting to enjoy it. At first I was completely out of my element, but every day gets a bit better. I still have my church duties, so my plates pretty full.

OK - so about the Trunk or Treat thing - Here's our idea (leave it to Jesse to come up with this!) We want to have "Florida's Largest Trunk or Treat!" Don't know what that is? GOOGLE it! Basically since we're kind of in a rural area, we want to have a HUGE trunk or treat event and we need HELP! So, we've been challenged with getting 10 friends to commit to helping us and so, wanna help? I can give you details, so send me an e- mail - KBrooks777@gmail or phone me (561) 283-9293 or Home (863) 424-8396 - AKA -Toe I Bite 96 - GROSS

Warren and the kids are doin great, keeping busy, etc. All in all, we're finally feelin less homesick and more connected, but some days, I still shed a tear for "home." WHAT A BABY! Huh?

Well, if you've made it to the end of this novel, congrats. I'm not really sure what the rules of blogging are, but I think I break them.

Enjoying the chill! HA,
KB

P.S. To all my financial/prayer supporters. A million thanks for your constant blessings. I can't tell you what it means to my family and I. Praying for you all too! Also, big news, if you want to donate on line now, just click below.