thinking outside the bunn

when an idea strikes

2009-07-04T10:33:00.001-04:00

There’s no way to know when an idea is going to hit you. Sometimes an idea for a creative element or a song for a future service at NewPointe will strike me and then I find myself scrambling write it down. Sometimes, the only thing available to write it down on is…say…a napkin from a restaurant. This picture is of a napkin from a restaurant when I was inspired by an idea that spurred several ideas. Sometimes people ask me, “How do you guys come up with that stuff we see on Sunday mornings?” Well…sometimes it just hits me—and gets written on a napkin.

The napkin above is a list of ideas for the recent series on parenting. Obviously not every idea gets used but often times the crazy, ridiculous ideas spawn good ideas that we actually use.

Next post: brainstorming

you can’t really change who you are

2009-07-02T08:56:00.001-04:00

Last week we started a new series at NewPointe: God Can Not Be Trusted (and three other lies of Satan). Dwight kicked it off with a message that addressed the first lie: God Can Not Be Trusted.

This week, I’ll be tackling another thing that Satan wants us to believe: that people can’t really change. We’re going to look at five big things that keep people from believing they could ever really change—five things that keep people from taking the steps necessary to change.

Here’s a sneak preview:

One thing that keeps people from changing is P-R-I-D-E. A lot of us are just too proud to admit we need to change—too proud to admit we need help.

I found this quote from Beth Moore:

My name is Pride and I am a cheater. I cheat you out of your God-given destiny because you demand your own way. I cheat you out of contentment because you “deserve better than this.” I cheat you out of knowledge because you’re too full of me to forgive. I cheat you out of holiness because you refuse to admit it when you’re wrong. I cheat you out of vision because you’d rather look in the mirror then out the window. I cheat you of genuine friendship because nobody’s ever going to know the real you. I cheat you out of love because real romance demands sacrifice. I cheat you out of greatness in heaven because you refuse to wash another’s feet on earth. I cheat you out of God’s glory because I convince you to seek your own. My name is Pride and I am a cheater. You like me because you think I’m always looking out for you. Untrue. I’m always looking to make a fool out of you. God has so much for you, I admit, but don’t worry, if you stick with me, you’ll never know.

You can get the other four things that keep us from changing this Sunday…and then we’ll examine if people really can change…and how that might happen.

Bring a friend. It’s going to be a good one!

See you Sunday.

my motorcycle babe

2009-07-01T10:51:00.001-04:00

Jenny and I are kid-less this week. The kids are staying with their grandparents in Cincinnati. It’s weird. Jenny and I have never lived near family so we don’t know what it’s like to just drop the kids off at the grandparents’ and head out to dinner and a movie. We’ve never had that convenience. So…our kids are with us A LOT! But not this week. Just Jenny and me. It’s nice…but strange, too.

Anyway, no kids means date-night every night this week. And one of my favorite things to do is to take my babe on a bike ride to dinner. What’s better than having your wife’s arms around you while you’re maneuvering the countryside on your bike?

Fun times. (She looks good in Harley gear, doesn’t she?) :)

spotted in a newpointe men’s room this week

2009-06-26T18:19:00.001-04:00

A circus ringmaster? What could that possibly be about? Guess you’ll have to come to NewPointe on Sunday to find out.

an old father’s day card

2009-06-25T17:51:00.001-04:00

I was looking through some of my files and found an old Father’s day card given to me by Natalie when she was about 6 or 7 years old.

I don’t save ALL my Father’s day cards but this one was definitely worth saving. It is one of the those priceless homemade cards with multiple pages. Here’s the front of the card:

Why I Love My Daddy, by Natalie Bunn.

On the inside she devotes one page each to the top five reasons she loves her daddy…

1. You love the Buckeyes and so do I.

2. You are the best daddy in the whole world.

3. You are very funny.

4. You work hard to take care of our family.

5. You love Jesus and so do I.

and then my favorite part at the end…

That’s right, Go Bucks, Go Jesus! :)

another bubba video

2009-06-24T09:29:00.001-04:00

This one is from April 5, 2009. I’ve had many requests to get this one online. If you were in KidStuf for this one, you’ll remember it as Kevin the bride. I’ve said it before but it’s worth saying again. Kevin is the best straight-man ever. Bubba would not be nearly as funny as he is without the comedic genius of K-West.

NewPointe Kidstuf April 5, 2009 from NewPointe Community Church on Vimeo.

sunday's scuds (june 21, 2009)

2009-06-21T11:39:00.004-04:00

What a great day at NewPointe Sunday! First of all, Worth Dying For led worship and they flat-out delivered the goods. Stong. Powerful. Wow.

Dwight finished up the two-part series called "Dare You To Move." Strong. Powerful. Wow. Here are the scuds:

I want to change the world...I want to be a part of a group of people that want to change the world.
Our vision is to lead people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
I believe that EVERY person is looking for Jesus...they just don't know it yet.
Most people come to Christ in order to avoid going to hell. If that's you, you only know Christ as a rescuer--and he's that, but he's so much more.
Jesus wants to be your best friend so you'll never be alone again.
When we view Christ as a rescuer only, we end up being "religious."
Because I'm in love with Christ, it's my desire to share Him with as many people as possible.
I'm challenging you to go where you've never gone before and do what you've never done before.
Jesus always dared people to move. Today he's going to dare you to move.
Jesus dared the rich young ruler to move. He didn't. We never hear another thing about him.
We're daring 300 of you to move to Millersburg and 300 of you to move to Louisville and help us launch new campuses.
When we embrace God's dares, we end up making a difference.
The local church is the hope of the world.
The answer to the world's problems is Jesus Christ.
I dare you to move from fear to faith.
Fear will rob you of all your ambition and all your dreams.
What are you doing by faith? What are you doing that you don't have all the answers for--you're completely trusting God?
I dare you to move from being served to serving.
There comes a time when you need to say, "You know what, I've been served at this church for long enough, it's time for me to serve."
It's possible to "serve" a church for a lifetime but never be a servant.
A servant shows up and says, "How can I help? What can I do?"
We all want to be considered a servant but none of us want to be treated as a servant.
I dare you to move from being a follower to being a leader.
A follower participates. A leader takes responsibility.
I dare you to move from being self-focused to being others-focused.
God's not asking you to think less of yourself, he's asking you to think of yourself less.
I dare you to move from an earthly view to an eternal view.
What are you sacrificing for the Kingdom?

ice cream and tomatoes

2009-06-19T19:55:00.001-04:00

Made at stop at Walnut Creek Cheese with DD a few days ago. Snapped this picture while in the check-out line:

Let’s see…ice cream cone, tomatoes, cheese, and more ice cream. Interesting.

dwight and bubba joe

2009-06-17T17:28:00.001-04:00

This clip is from the KidStuf season finale (May 31, 2009). Dwight made a special appearance. Bubba had his freak on. If you didn’t get to see it live, here it is…

NewPointe Kidstuf May 31, 2009 from NewPointe Community Church on Vimeo.

That’s funny right there.

“i don’t want to be a closet christian…”

2009-06-16T16:27:00.001-04:00

I love baptism Sundays at NewPointe. Love to hear stories of life-change. Sometimes people ask, “Why do you do it that way? Do I have to do a video to be baptized? Can’t I just get baptized somewhere quietly?”

Here’s what I’d say to that: Sure there are other ways to be baptized. You don’t HAVE to be baptized on the stage at NewPointe in front of hundreds of people. You don’t HAVE to do a video that gets shown in the big room on Sunday morning. BUT…if you want to get baptized at NewPointe you do.

It’s just the way we do it. We strongly believe in going public with your faith. We want to give you an opportunity to share your story with others. In fact, I’ve said this many times, the whole rest of your life, you may never have a better opportunity to share your story and impacts more lives than you do when you get baptized at NewPointe.

Your story is probably more powerful and compelling than a thousand sermons. There’s just something about having a person on the screens who says basically, “This is me, my face, my words, my story…and I’m not ashamed of it.”

Do you have any idea how powerful that is? Do you know what that does for you? It helps you break through a barrier that maybe you’ve resisted and it frees you up to live and love boldy and passionately for Christ.

You don’t HAVE to do it that way. But we sure think it’s a good idea.

Take a look at this baptism video from my friend Jimmy Miller. Love his story. And I know it’s real because I know Jimmy and I’ve seen Christ transform his life:

Baptism 2009 James Miller from NewPointe Community Church on Vimeo.

I love when he says, “I don’t want to be a closet Christian.” That’s really what baptism is all about.

If you’d like to watch more NewPointe baptism videos, follow this link: NPCC Baptisms.

sunday’s scuds (june 14, 2009)

2009-06-16T13:48:00.001-04:00

Sunday Dwight kicked off a two part series called “Dare You To Move.” The main idea behind the series is that in September we’re launching two new NewPointe campuses (Millersburg and Louisville)…and we’re daring people to move—get on board, adjust your sails to God’s wind. Exciting times. Here are the scuds:

The reason we haven’t had your funeral yet is because God still has a plan and a purpose for your life.
There are two things you can do here on earth that you can’t do in heaven: 1. sin; 2. share the good news about Jesus Christ with others.
NewPointe’s passion is leading people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
There’s a difference between good ideas and God ideas: A good idea is when you have all the answers, a God idea means, “God, we’re waiting for you to move.”
When you get a God idea, God first speaks to your heart and then he waits for a yes or a no. When he gets a yes, then he will speak to your mind.
Most of us settle for good ideas rather than God ideas.
How do you get a vision? Become concerned with the things that concern God.
Your best plans are basically a shot in the dark. That’s why you have to have a vision from God.
How flexible are you with God? If you’re not very flexible, then you limit what God can do through you.
The Great Commission MUST be a part of my dreams. I am not my own. I’ve been bought with a price.
If you would say, “God I need you to do something in my life that you’ve never done before,” God says, “then I want you to do something you’ve never done before.”

Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish… Proverbs 29:18

louisville and millersburg

2009-06-11T23:22:00.001-04:00

So here’s the scoop: This fall we’re launching two new NewPointe campuses—at the same time! Crazy? Maybe. But we’re dreaming big dreams. In fact, I don’t know of any other churches that have ever launched their FIRST TWO multi-site campuses simultaneously. It’s a huge challenge but we really feel like it’s what God would have us do. We’re absolutely driven to reach people for Jesus Christ.

We’re launching the two new campuses in Louisville and Millersburg. And I gotta tell you, we’re stoked! It is so much fun to be a part of an amazingly big move of God.

You may be asking, why Louisville and Millersburg? I would answer that question a couple ways; first, why not Louisville and Millersburg? Secondly, we’re convinced that those two locations are primed for the “NewPointe experience.”

I talked with several people Sunday who told me they were so excited about having NewPointe open campuses in their areas. They told me that the people they live near and/or work with would benefit so much by attending NewPointe. And they told me that they’ve invited folks to come with them but the standard response is, “I’d like to, but it’s just too far.” And we understand that. It’s really hard to invest in your neighbors, friends, and coworkers, and then invite them to a church that you drive 40 minutes to get to. So…we’re bringing NewPointe to them.

Over the next two weeks, Dwight’s going to share the details. Why we’re launching the campuses, how we’re going to go about it, and how you can get involved. In the meantime, just for my blog readers, here are some of the details:

The Louisville campus will meet at the Louisville Middle School. The Millersburg campus will meet at West Holmes High School.
It looks like both campuses’ services will start at 10:30 a.m. each Sunday.
The music will be live. The experience will be very much like the Dover experience, the main difference will be that the message will be delivered via video on a huge screen.
Launch date for both campuses is September 13.
A bi-weekly Bible study has been meeting on Sunday evenings in Louisville for several months with about 70 people attending. A weekly Bible study will begin in Millersburg on June 21.
There are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved with the new campuses. You’ll get more details each of the next two Sundays.

I can’t wait to rock Louisville and Millersburg with the love of Jesus Christ and the NewPointe experience. It’s gonna be an amazing ride. Hope you’re planning on joining us.

danny bunnelle, newpointe’s version of dick clark

2009-06-11T08:48:00.001-04:00

An interesting photo of Danny surfaced at the NewPointe offices recently. Here it it is:

Yep. That’s him. Nice.

Someone commented that he kinda looked like Dick Clark (or at least some kind of game show host). So, there’s no way I could leave that one alone.

So…enjoy… Danny Bunnelle, the Dick Clark of NewPointe…

sunday reflections

2009-06-08T14:53:00.001-04:00

Sunday was a great day at NewPointe. I absolutely love it when God shows up.
This morning in staff meeting we got to share stories of people’s lives being changed at NewPointe. Thrilling.
A little while ago Chad and I chatted about the response cards we got Sunday. We’re going to be sending out a bunch of letters to new believers this week. Love it.
I thought Dwight did a fantastic job “acting” in the video that preceded the message.
Speaking of the video. Great job of shooting and editing by Dan Knight and Keith Joki. How great was the musical score on that bad boy?
The opening song flat-out rocked! (Did you know that Davey W. was going to sing it but came down with a case of laryngitis on Saturday? Danny had to learn the song on Saturday night. Wow.)
April NAILED the closing song. What a moment. Powerful.
Sunday absolutely wiped me out. Went straight from preaching in two services to watch Natalie play in a fastpitch double-header. (She got called up to majors yesterday—jumped up from the 14 and under league to the 21 and under league—and she played well!)
Went to a pool party after the double-header.
Went to bed early. Couldn’t sleep because the dog decided last night would be a GREAT night to bark (all night long). She never does that. Why last night?
How ‘bout Tiger coming back to win the Memorial? Amazing. Jenny and I got to go to the Memorial last Friday (Tiger was tied for 26th after Friday’s round). Big-time fun.
I’m VERY excited about the next two Sundays at NewPointe. Dare You To Move!
Got to pray with and encourage a bunch of people after each service on Sunday. I love doing that.
I’m starting to hear a buzz from NewPointers about the two new satellite locations. People are excited about the possibility of being able to invite friends to a NewPointe location that’s not so far away (Millersburg and Canton).
My favorite day of the week, without a doubt, is Sunday (though Friday is a not-so-distant second).

someone like nancy

2009-06-04T09:07:00.001-04:00

The video team (Brad Yoder, Cindy Colucy, Dan Knight, Jeff Conn) did a fantastic job with last Sunday’s video about a small group leader named Nancy. Dwight used this video in his message to illustrate the importance of kids having an adult in their lives who says the same thing their parents are saying.

Here’s another look at it. I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

Someone Like Nancy from NewPointe Community Church on Vimeo.

I’m so thankful for a church like NewPointe that is so intentional about group life and creating opportunities for our kids to be a part of great groups with great leaders who care about their lives.

a classic kidstuf moment

2009-05-31T21:03:00.001-04:00

Well…at least I think it is…

Anybody wanna add a caption?

sunday’s scuds (may 31, 2009)

2009-05-31T11:58:00.001-04:00

Sunday Dwight concluded the LIVIN’ IN THE HOOD series with a powerful message on relationships. Here’s some of what he had to share:

Three questions we need to ask ourselves as parents:

What am I doing to enhance my relationship with my children?
What am I doing to advance their relationship with God?
What am I doing to influence my children’s relationships outside of the family?

The scuds:

Friends determine the direction and the quality of your life.
Your life’s greatest regret probably came about due to a “friend’s” influence.
Your friends often have more influence than your personal convictions do.
Your friends often have more influence than your parents do.
We believe this so much that beginning in Kindergarten, we encourage all NewPointe kids to be in a small group.
Your kids need an adult in their lives other than you that offer the perspective of both a parent and a friend.

He who walks with the wise will grow wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. Proverbs 13:20

The “wise” are those who know right and then choose to do what is right.
The “fool” is the one who knows what is right but chooses to do wrong anyway.
If your kids hang out with fools, they won’t necessarily become fools—it’s worse than that—they will suffer harm.
Your children really don’t pick their friends. Instead, they tend to gravitate toward those who accept them.
As parents, we must be aware of and intentional about the fact that those who are closest to us influence us the most.

celebrating spiritual birthdays

2009-05-30T00:14:00.001-04:00

This month we’re celebrating two of our kids’ spiritual birthdays.

When our kids made a decision to follow Christ, we mark the date and then celebrate it each year.

The way we figure it, if our natural birthdays are worth celebrating, our spiritual birthdays ought to be. So every year when their spiritual birthdays roll around, our kids get gifts and sometimes a special night out to dinner to commemorate the most important decision they’ll ever make.

We don’t ever want our kids to forget the day they surrendered their lives completely to God. We want them to hold on to that special day and keep it sacred for the rest of their lives. I think it’s huge that they each have a specific day that they can point to and say, “That’s the day that Jesus came into my life.”

“i like the rollercoaster. you get more out of it.”

2009-05-27T21:51:00.001-04:00

Love this clip from the movie Parenthood:

Grandma is so right. I mean, this thing called parenthood is so frustrating, taxing, wearisome, thrilling, fulfilling, and worthwhile…all at the same time.

I experienced it today. Kids making poor choices, seeming ungrateful, crazy morning…I could go on…let’s just say, we’ve had better mornings.

Life just keeps comin’ at ya, doesn’t it? It’s ball season. Love it. Hate it. Three kids playing ball. One kid taking dance classes (recital this weekend), one kid working at the ice cream shop, one Dad coaching two teams, on top of it all, school’s not even out yet. Crazy right now.

Our oldest has a tough choice to make about this weekend. We’re leaving the decision with her. We told her she’s old enough to make the right choice. We encouraged her to pray about it and run it through this filter: “In light of my past experiences, my present circumstances, and my future hopes and dreams, what is the wise choice?” Love that question. We trust her to make a wise decision.

Another one just needed a Daddy-talk. So we went for a walk this evening. I told her that there’s nothing she could ever do to make me stop loving her…nothing. I also told her that there are some things she does that disappoint us. And tonight, we need to talk about one of those things. So we walked…and talked. Such a good time. Such an important time together.

We ended our time sitting on the front steps talking about life. I told her that God has, for reasons we may never fully understand, chosen to bless her with an abundance of talent. I told her that the only reason God has given her those gifts is so that she can honor him and bring glory to him through those gifts. I also told her that God gives her the choice of what to do with those gifts…and that my prayer, and God’s desire, is that she would leverage her talent for the sake of God’s kingdom. I told her the parable of the talents. I told her she’s a ten-talent kid and she has unbelievable opportunity to please God with those talents. She could leverage them, like we talked about, or she could squander them through poor choices.

My hope for all my kids is that they would be able to carry the ball further down the field than I can. MAN I want to see them do great things for God! MAN I love my kids.

Parenthood is such a rollercoaster. Up…down…up…down…thrilling…sickening…

Today the ride ended with our youngest, when I was tucking him in, asking me, “Daddy, can we pray right now for Jesus to come into my heart?”

What a ride!

sunday’s scuds (may 24, 2009)

2009-05-24T12:16:00.001-04:00

Sunday Dwight continued the series, LIVIN’ IN THE HOOD with part 3, THE BIG “I”. The “I” stands for influence. Here are the scuds:

You may not always understand your kids but you can always engage them.
Nobody is an expert in parenting.
Nobody should try to be a perfect parent.
If you try to be a perfect parent, you’ll destroy your relationship with your kids.
As a parent, you have more potential than anyone else to influence your kids for God.
The Bible doesn’t have much to say about the church influencing your kids.
You (not the church) need to be the spiritual leader to your kids.
Seventh-graders are mean.
We don’t give you a history lesson on Sunday mornings. We believe the Bible teaches us how to live.
Relationships determine level of influence.
Your kids don’t care how much you know till they know how much you care.
Your relationship with your son or daughter sets them up for all their other relationships.
The most important thing you can give your kids is a healthy relationship.
Two keys to all healthy relationships: acceptance and time together.
The way you get back into a relationship that’s been damaged: serve them.

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and humankind. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:1-6

kevin west

2009-05-22T22:00:00.001-04:00

Not sure how he got his face to do that. Really cool…really weird. I do know this much: Bubba Joe was standing right next to Kevin with an air horn in his hand when this photo was taken. That may have had something to do with this look.

Gotta love Kevin!

think kris allen was surprised?

2009-05-21T11:01:00.001-04:00

A couple of observations from last night’s AI finale:

The kids in my house erupted with screams of joy when Seacrest announced Kris Allen had won.
The weren’t anti-Adam, they just thought he was a little freaky.
They voted 10 times for Kris on Tuesday.
I thought Adam was gracious in defeat.
Overall, I thought the finale was entertaining and fun (with a couple of exceptions).
Adam singing with KISS, loved it.
All the guys singing, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”—weird.
I agree with Danny, Allison will have the best recording career of any of them.
I’m taking Dan Liebman (KidStuf) to audition this summer for Idol season 9. :)
Idol is THE ONLY show our family watches with any kind of regularity.
Too bad Bubba Joe is too old to audition. If Norman Gentle can make it Hollywood…

transparency and vulnerability

2009-05-19T21:24:00.001-04:00

There are about seven of on on staff at NewPointe who’ve been involved in a book study on Craig Groeschel’s book, It.

The chapter we discussed on Monday spawned a great discussion about “getting real” with one another—moving to a deeper level of authenticity as a team.

Dwight shared some great thoughts about accountability and what happens when we truly make ourselves vulnerable to a mature and trusted friend.

I wrote this down: Do you know the difference between transparency and vulnerability? It’s important to distinguish between the two because it’s possible to be transparent without being vulnerable.

Transparency would be this: “Here’s some stuff I’m willing to let you know about be.” But really, it usually takes a tone of, “this is who I am, get used to it.”

Vulnerability, on the other hand: “You have permission to ask me anything. I truly want to change and I’m asking you to help me do it.”

Transparency is fairly easy. Vulnerability takes courage—and faith.

video shoot

2009-05-17T19:50:00.001-04:00

Saturday was shoot day for an upcoming NewPointe video. I’m not going to tell you a lot about the video, but I’m giving you these exclusive from the shoot:

Dave Hartman studies his script

Cindy Colucy (video coordinator) applies makeup to Ryon Philbrick (oh yes, you’re gonna wanna see this video)

Dan Knight (tech director @ NewPointe) works with Dave on his delivery.

Dave gets jiggy wit it during the shoot (notice who’s scratching in the background)

Some of the fabulous cast

You can see the video next Sunday at NewPointe. Don’t be late for church! :)

sunday’s scuds (may 17, 2009)

2009-05-17T17:27:00.001-04:00

Sunday Dwight continued the LIVIN’ IN THE HOOD series (part 2, Three Critical Questions). Here are some of the scuds:

Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs that anyone could sign up for….it’s also one of the most rewarding.
Your goal is not to become a perfect parent. God does not expect you to be a perfect parent.
If you try to be a perfect parent, you’ll kill everyone around you.
We are the sum total of our experiences, relationships, and choices.
Your kids, 15 years from now, will be wherever they are because of their experiences, relationships, and choices.
The key in all those are the relationships.
Our culture influences us to have our kids be experience rich and relationally poor.
If your kids are going to make it in this world, they’re going to have to be relationally healthy.
What would happen if your son or daughter would surrender every area of their life to God?
I believe that God’s will for my kids is exactly what they would do if they knew all the facts. The problem is, they don’t know all the facts. So my responsibility is to nurture a relationship with them that helps them understand that they can trust God.
You can’t do that simply by “saying grace” before meals.
If you’re not intentional about this, they’ll pick up the wrong things.
Kids need to see Mom and Dad trusting God, even when it doesn’t make sense.
We, as parents, need to be intentional about helping our kids develop healthy relationships outside of the home.
Your kids’ friends will determine the direction and quality of their lives.
Y’all okay?
What you don’t want is your kids growing up and saying, “I wish my parents would have been more intentional about helping me develop a relationship with my Heavenly Father.”
If your kids cannot develop and maintain healthy relationships, they will not enjoy life.