Big Hair Preacher

Christmas Eve... can't wait!

2009-12-22T11:43:25-05:00

So we're holding our first-ever Christmas Eve services at Liquid this Thursday, December 24th... and I can't wait! I'll be speaking LIVE at each campus and the hour-long experience features Christmas carols, a Kids Choir, and Candle Lighting.

Morristown services are at 4:00pm and 5:30pm.

New Brunswick's Christmas Eve service is 7:00pm.

I've been told the 4pm service in Motown is already SOLD-OUT so be sure to bring your tickets with you! Get your Free Tickets here.

Help.

2009-12-05T01:35:37-05:00

This Christmas is extra special at Liquid-- here's why.

Christmas Offering - Jobless from Liquid Church on Vimeo.

108 Jaw-Droppers!

2009-11-22T20:48:25-05:00

Ok, so I tend to open my mouth...

A lot.

But this Sunday was truly jaw-dropping!

All told, we baptized 108 PEOPLE at Liquid this weekend--

talk about Holy Ghost power!

The stories of life change were incredible. From broken childhoods, to absent parents, abuse, divorce, alcohol... every broken piece of our broken lives is picked up by Christ, washed clean, and then used for His Glory.

Here's a slice of Marlene's story (I love her son Randy):

And here's the look on her face yesterday.

The power of Christ to change lives...

Priceless!

Just looking at these faces makes my jaw drop all over again.

To check out the Baptism Pix from Morristown, click here.

To view the Baptism Pix from New Brunswick, click here.

To watch the Church Online Baptisms from Australia, click here.

2010 Sermon Series... your ideas?

2009-11-11T16:36:07-05:00

So we're currently planning our 2010 Preaching Calendar at Liquid, and I'm pretty pumped about some of the ideas we're chewing on... Prophecy, Prayer, tongue-piercing (don't ask!), and Catholicism to name just a few.

The current trailer for 2012 has me thinking about kicking off 2010 with a series on Biblical prophecy:

End Times = Good Times.

I'm curious:

What topics would you like to learn about?
What would help you to grow spiritually?

BTW: A lot of people assume preachers just pick what they feel like talking about from week to week.

At Liquid, it's just the opposite. We plan almost a year in advance so we have time to pray it through, see where God's leading our community, study Scripture & read broadly, and have adequate time to plan creative elements.

While some may think this inhibits spontaneity, we've discovered the Holy Spirit shows up just as powerfully 12 months out as He does the night before ;-)

Interested in your thoughts!

Forgotten God

2009-11-05T16:20:31-05:00

Whenever I preach a new series, I always try to read broadly and be in dialogue with other authors & thinkers to enlarge my perspective. During our current series on the Holy Spirit, I'm enjoying "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan.

Chan is the real-deal. Pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, he is a passionate follower of Christ, both convicting and hilarious.

He and I come from a similar background (conservative evangelical churches), and he does a wonderful job exposing our tragic neglect of the Holy Spirit (the subtitle of his book).

Here's a quote I shared last week that's stretching me in all the right ways. Noting that contemporary churches tend to rely more on natural abilities than supernatural power, Chan confesses:

"Let's be honest: If you combine a charismatic speaker, a talented worship band, and some hip, creative events, people will attend your church. Yet this does not mean that the Holy Spirit of God is actively working and moving in the lives of the people who are coming. It simply means that you have created a space that is appealing enough to draw people in for an hour or two on Sunday."

Ouch! I mean: We all know that ultimately God is behind the life & growth of any church.

But I wonder: How much of what happens at Liquid is "explainable" in human terms? Like the world looks at us and thinks: "Wow, 1,200 people. Well, that makes sense. They’ve got a great band. Tim's a funny guy. They did a series on Movies or Rock songs-- people like that. I get why people go to that church."

Again, this is the SUPER-FICIAL side of Spirituality-- we gauge "spiritual success" by the SIZE of a crowd. What's happening "above the line." What people can see.

But God's not interested in numbers. As Chan notes, when it comes to His Bride-- Christ cares most about her faithfulness, not her size.

He cares about whether people are PASSIONATE LOVERS of HIM... truly desperate for His power in their life. I don't want people to look at Liquid a year or 2 from now and say "Wow, 2,000 or 3000 people—good marketing, guys!”

That's SUPERFICIAL stuff! I want there to be SUPERNATURAL evidence that the Spirit of God is IN us-- lives being changed, marriages saved, people falling crazy in love with Jesus.

And NONE of IT can happen… except by the Power of God.

The Fire has to Fall.

Do you feel that desperation?

I'm learning that EVEN THE DESIRE for more of God's Spirit is a gift.

If you wanna stoke your desire for more of God's Spirit, check out Chan & enjoy the sparks.

We did the Mash!

2009-10-24T13:34:52-04:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

The Mummy Returns!

2009-10-17T17:16:29-04:00

All you need is a roll of Masking Tape and a little imagination! ;-)

Wild Goose Chase

2009-10-09T01:31:58-04:00

In a couple weeks, I'll be teaching a new series on the Holy Spirit at LiquidChurch.com. It's called "Wild Goose Chase!"

Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit-- An Geadh-Glas-- or "the Wild Goose."
In life, most of us chase after things that bring us security, comfort, & predictability.
But when we chase the Wild Goose -- or follow the Holy Spirit -- we experience the wildness & power of God in a whole new way!

18 Inches

2009-09-29T15:21:00-04:00

So it's Tuesday, and here's what's got me celebrating today: This weekend, eight people at Liquid Church travelled the longest distance known to man-- 18 inches!

If you didn't know-- that's the distance between your Head and your Heart! For so many people, religion can be a sterile, lifeless, academic exercise. Faith is a code of ethics, morals, and rules to live by-- but nothing personal.

Thank God, Jesus invites us into a personal-- sometimes messy-- relationship where we can "let our hair down" before God & give Him access to every inch of us.

This past Sunday, those eight people-- including two who attended Church Online-- prayed for Jesus to come into their heart for the first time!

How cool is that!?

What helped me bridge that 18 inches in my own life? The story of how Christ came for my wife Colleen's heart is the thing that pierces my own.

To hear the full story, watch here.

Get Dirty @ Innovate

2009-09-22T18:06:17-04:00

Team Liquid and I are headed out to the Innovate Conference this Thursday & Friday-- 11 hours from NJ to Granger... that's a whole lotta Denny's Grand Slams!

The theme is "Exposed: Churches Caught in the Act" and we were invited to share a little bit about what God's been up to at Liquid recently.

We're kicking-off Day 2 of the conference with an Arts Mash-Up about our favorite cause... Clean Water!

Innovate also marks the debut of LiquidWater.com-- our brand-spankin'-new non-profit committed to bringing clean water to the world's poorest. Join the Cause & get dirty with us!

Run, Forrest, Run...

2009-09-15T12:10:06-04:00

What happens when 2,000 feet take to the streets?

Rock and Run Celebration Video from Liquid Church on Vimeo.

Thanks to each of you who helped bring Clean Water to Africa... and a smile to God's face!

Church in the Streets!

2009-09-07T11:04:23-04:00

Who said church isn't FUN?!?

So God showed-up BIG-TIME at our Rock-&-Run for Africa this past Sunday!

All told, over 1,040 people ran, walked, or rolled to bring Clean Water to Africa. Many thanks to all you guys who made an eternal difference in the lives of our brothers & sisters on the other side of the world!

One of Liquid's Core Values-- Church is Fun!-- came through for a great Cause!

Read the entire news article here.

Donate here to help bring Clean Water to Africa!

The Flock that Rocks?

2009-09-03T08:17:20-04:00

Read the rest of The Daily Record article here.

See you in the streets this Sunday!

Wear Sneakers this Sunday!

2009-09-03T07:55:57-04:00

Why Do You Run? from Liquid Church on Vimeo.

Can't wait to see you all in the streets this Sunday 9/6 (11am-2pm)-- running Liquid's 5K to bring clean water to Africa's poorest!

Even If Not

2009-08-11T09:45:35-04:00

Even if not from Liquid Church on Vimeo.

This is the song Dave Pettigrew and I wrote to cap-off our recent Habakkuk series. "Even If Not"-- the inspiration comes from Daniel 3:17-18, where three gutsy kids demonstrate an incredibly DEFIANT faith.

Faced with a painful choice to give up their faith or face the fire, they pledged their belief that God could spare them. But "even if not," they said, they'll worship him anyway.

In my Dad's ongoing battle with cancer, my family has learned a secret:

Painful situations have the capacity to either shatter one's faith completely... or jack it to a whole new level of trust in God's goodness (despite the circumstances).

When the heat's turned up in your life, do you have an "Even If Not" kinda faith?

Rock & Run for Africa!

2009-07-14T15:14:21-04:00

So our Rock & Run for Africa is 8 weeks away... just enough time to get in shape for a 5K!

Here's a little video to send to Friends & Family-- invite them to run with us!

Run for the Rig from Liquid Church on Vimeo.

The Fringe Benefits of Failure

2009-07-07T03:53:00-04:00

This Sunday 7/12 I'll be speaking LIVE in Morristown about "The Fringe Benefits of Failure." That title is taken from the Commencement Address J.K. Rowling gave at Harvard University. Check it out here:

It's a fascinating speech in which Rowling-- the multi-millionaire author of the wildly-popular Harry Potter series-- says that the only reason she became a success... was that she was an utter failure first.

And it ain't some "fairy tale" story made for the popular press. Rowling said:

"Seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew."

Is it possible that our biggest failure can become-- through God's power-- our biggest benefit?

Come to Liquid this Sunday 7/12 and find out!

Rock & Run for Clean Water!

2009-07-04T15:37:00-04:00

Liquid is hosting its first-ever 5K "Rock & Run" this September to benefit Clean Water Projects in Africa!

Wanna run with me? (I'm getting new sneakers ;-)

At the Movies - premieres June 21!

2009-06-11T13:32:21-04:00

Our blockbuster summer message series kicks-off on June 21st!

Liquid Church | At The Movies from Liquid Church on Vimeo.

John Boss

2009-06-04T09:19:04-04:00

I am incredibly proud of our peeps who pour into the lives of our Kids & Teens every week at Liquid. Their work is literally life-changing-- changing the lives of people like John.

Wanna make a world of difference pouring into the next generation?

Talk to Pastor Bill.