wow. i'm still in shock about church on sunday. i may be a little biased, but i think it was incredible! here are some things we learned:
after english and spanish, korean is the third most common language spoken in louisville
louisville has started to receive hundreds of iraqi refugees over the past few months
there are thousands of evangelical hispanics around our new home on bardstown road
the lost boys of sudan are in our city!
we also had what i think was a powerful time of intercession for the nations and for our city. i think it's incredibly important that we collectively repent for the sins of our city. and that's just what we did. we repented for the sins of racism and inequality. we repented for the sins of injustice against the marginalized and forgotten in our city. and it was moving. very, very moving.
so moving that 15 people, including a muslim woman, came forward and gave their hearts to Jesus. go ahead and take a praise break about now.
there is so much work to be done! now that you see it, are you ready?
Sunday, October 05, 2008
don't forget
it's hard to believe that this happened one year ago.
Monday, September 29, 2008
red dots on aisle four
so hopefully you know that louisville is incredibly diverse for a city of our size. i mean, 91 countries in louisville and 80 different languages, that sounds pretty multi-cultural to me. so why aren't some of those 91 countries and 80 languages more represented in churches in general? and more specifically, why aren't they more represented in nvmc.tv?
i've managed to pick up a few tips over the years about interaction with people of other faiths and thought i'd share some of them with you. why? so when you see that muslim man at work or the hindu woman at the grocery store, maybe you'll take advantage of the opportunity to communicate with them. here are three things i hope you'll find practical.
be respectful of their beliefs. saying, "hey, where can i get a red dot for my forehead" to a hindu lady isn't a good way to show Jesus to somebody. don't be afraid of asking what the red dot represents, but do it respectfully. you'll be amazed how far a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t will take you.
don't be afraid of their beliefs. if you see a copy of the qur'an sitting on a muslim man's desk, don't think that by looking at it that you're damned to hell. it's just not true. i have a copy of the qur'an next to my Bible at this very moment. is it going to send me to hell? no. will it educate me about the beliefs of muslims? yes. will that enable me to build relationships with my muslim friends? yes. and relationship is what it's all about.
speaking of relationships, build them! this is key to interaction with people of other faiths. it's been my experience that people of other faiths often feel ostracized by the "christians". heck, sometimes i've even felt ostracized by the "christians". don't think that you'll offend them by asking questions about their faith. more than likely, they'll be more than happy to explain their faith with you. lots of times that will also open the door for them to ask you questions about your faith as well. i've been able to lead people of other faiths to Christ simply because they were my friends and they saw the life that i lived.
so what do all three of these tips have in common? < insert jeopardy music here. >
they all speak of being fearful or being afraid. what have we at nvmc.tv learned over the past 4 weeks? 2 timothy 1:7. if you don't know it by now, go get a Bible and look it up.
it's all about our mentality.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
just a reminder
louisville is 1 of only 20 cities in the united states where refugees are placed
91 countries are represented in louisville
80 languages are spoken in louisville
the largest people groups around nvmc's new home on bardstown road are cubans and bosnians
the majority of the cubans in buechel are evangelicals
approximately 7,000 bosnians in buechel are muslim
louisville is about to receive a large iraqi refugee population
nvmc, we have A LOT of work to do.
can you see it?
i can. i do.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
sunday recap
ok, it's been a while since i did a sunday recap so i thought it was time. _____
today was danny gaddie's first sunday running media shout by himself and he did a GREAT job! it's always nice to see someone take off running and not look back. _____
second service was different. a good different, not a bad different. the guest evangelist had the altar call before he preached and it was fantastic. a bunch of people went forward to accept Christ into their lives for the first time. this is what it's all about!
at one point, the evangelist asked all the single mothers to stand. then he asked for anyone sitting around them to bless them with a monetary gift right then and there. a little odd i thought, but i obeyed and i'm glad i did. the look on the lady's face when i tapped her arm and put cash in her hand was priceless. i think of myself as a pretty liberal giver, but usually my giving is always to an institution: church, world missions, charitable organizations, etc. but this morning it was really refreshing to be able to give to someone - and someone that is not only in need but someone in my church that is in need. i told her that i was going to be checking in with her over the next 70 days. she just looked at me with this giant smile and said "ridiculous miracles, ridiculous miracles." _____
strawberry deco sushi for lunch. a little wasabi, a little soy, and a little edamame. real good stuff. _____
the USA won the ryder cup that was hosted here in louisville. perhaps it had to do with the fact that two kentucky boys were on team USA? perhaps.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
celebrate nvmc.tv pastoral staff day
since today is celebrate nvmc.tv pastoral staff blog day, other nvmc.tv'ers are also honoring nvmc.tv staff. check them all out...
inkelshead - honoring pastors curtis and charmaine bridgeman as well as pastors steven and aundria
krystel - honoring pastors david and christel boggs
angie girl - honoring pastors demetric and jen norwood
gabe oxford - honoring pastors don and denise cato
today i'm so glad i have the opportunity to honor one of our pastoral couples at nvmc.tv, pastors harry and joann rowan.
to be honest, some of you may not know who they are. they are low-key and stay behind the scenes for the most part. but they play such an integral part to the story that is nvmc.tv.
they came to be on staff a year and a half ago and their timing couldn't have been more perfect. they came at a time when pastor harry's financial and business skills were needed more than ever. the church was looking to re-locate and we needed the donald-trump-like talents that pastor harry possesses. if you were at church on wednesday night (and you weren't, please come this wednesday!), you heard pastor harry speak about the happenings of the business side of the church. he's more encouraged, more excited about nvmc.tv impacing the heart of the city than ever before. we're almost there and he can almost taste it.
pastor joann is a great woman of God and the lives she impacts every day on her "secular" job are innumerable. we're so glad that she brings her skills and talents to the nvmc.tv table and offers them willingly and without reservation. oh, and by the way, she is quick to educate you that jersey city pizza is better than brooklyn style pizza. ha!
so, pastors harry and joann, we honor you today. thank you for being part of the nvmc.tv family and for helping us reach our mission: to impact the heart of the city.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
remembering again
seven years ago this morning, my aunt and uncle dropped me off at work. i went inside and chatted with my boss before she went to class. i checked my email and tried to organize my day when i heard dr. wickam say that a plane had crashed into the world trade center.
little did i know that ana soria and her twelve year old son, luis eduardo, would never be the same.
luis alfonso chimbo, loving husband to ana soria and wonderful father to luis eduardo, graduated from college in his homeland of ecuador with a degree in microbiology. after unsuccessfully trying to find employment, he decided to move to america. he was a receiving attendant at windows on the world. september 11, 2001 was his first day back at work after being off for a month to take care of his wife, who was expecting a child. she miscarried for the fifth time.
a few months after luis alfonso didn't come home from work, luis eduardo attended a camp where he was going to play the violin in honor of his dad. he couldn't play. silently he cried. and honored his father.
luis alfonso chimbo, 39, confirmed dead.
Monday, September 08, 2008
calling all nvmc bloggers
if you attend nvmc.tv and you're a blogger, will you please do me a favor? email me your name, blog address and email address. you can email me by clicking on the "contact" button at the top of this page.
thanks. and you'll find out why i'm asking for this information shortly... :)
Sunday, September 07, 2008
reason #58 why i love my church
because we love, accept and forgive. and this morning's service was a perfect example of just that.
steve and jackie have been coming to nvmc.tv for some time. nobody beat them over the head either because they weren't married but were living together. we let the Holy Spirit do His job and guess what? they decided to get married THIS MORNING DURING CHURCH! how awesome is that?!?
Monday, August 25, 2008
ami james here i come
so i'm very seriously considering getting tattooed this weekend while i'm at the beach. i all ready know what i want and where i want it. advice or suggestions from those of you who have been inked all ready?
after this, i want my nose ring again. i had it pierced during college but it came out one night while i was sleeping. when i woke up the next morning it had grown back together. i tried to re-pierce it myself, but OUCH!
