Our new Worship Experience Times start this Sunday, June 3rd. The new times will be 10:00am, 11:30am and 1:00pm.

Last week I had a guy say “Pastor that is really cool! I get it! We are moving the times later so we can be lazy and sleep in a little more!”

WRONG-O.

We are shifting our times so that we can continue to reach people who are far from God. One of our core values at Revolution is that we dress for the future. In other words, we like to structure for where we are trying to go.

The fall is always a huge growth time at Revolution Church. In anticipation of that growth we are shifting services so that, if needed, we can easily add an 8:30am service.

So there ya have it, another decision to help us start spiritual revolutions in one life at a time. I love you Revolution! Its an HONOR to be a part of a church that is changing lives with each of you. And one more time…say them out loud with me…our new worship experience times are:

10:00am, 11:30am and 1:00pm.

See ya Sunday!

All I have to show you is the video we made. You can watch it below. After the video, Rick Walker spoke and we did the song “Fight to Win” by the Goodie Mob. Tommy Hill did the rappin and Pastor Micah did the singing.

After every service, I spoke with tons of people that were brought to tears through the whole thing. I was in tears too.

The most powerful moment though for me came during our 2-Minute Drill before the 3rd service when a young marine read the names of about 15 Marne friends of his that all had died in Iraq.

To the fallen, we will never forget your sacrifice. To those who continue to serve our country, we HONOR you.

If you can’t see the video below, click here.

Shirts will be $10 each and Wrist Bands $2. Check them out below (we will also have a few “surprise” VNECK variations) and I’ll see you Sunday!

FIRST: I believe in the mission of our church. I’m proud to be a part of a church that cares about starting spiritual revolutions in the lives of people who are far from God. I’m proud to be a part of a place where the mission is to love God and love people…and then help people follow Christ one day at a time. Every time I hear a story about a family put back together or a teenager who decides to follow Christ or a husband who finally gets back in church, I know that my contributions play a part in each story. Jesus said that where our treasure is, our heart will also be…so because my heart is with this church, we financially support it.

SECOND: I want to be an example to my children. I’m so tired of hearing people complain about the younger generation when all they are doing is following our example! I don’t want selfish children, caring only about their iPods, clothes, cars, and friends. I want my kids to care about other people. That’s not gonna happen by accident…I have to be intentional about modeling generosity. I cannot tell them to care about others and then spend 100% of my paycheck on needs and wants for my family only. Parents, we’ve got to be responsible for teaching our kids to be generous, and we can’t do that if we are not generous ourselves.

THIRD: I give because God commands me to give. In the Old Testament, God commanded his people to tithe. In the New Testament, Jesus talks a lot about giving and money. Paul writes “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Every month, we automatically give to our church because that honors God. We want to honor God, even when it’s difficult, even when things are tight. There have been times that we’ve gone without something, but in ten years of marriage we have never once cancelled our contribution to our church.

I’ll rob the mortgage company before I rob God, every time!

Our family has chosen to give online through automative recurring giving. Its just so easy and it takes most of the feelings that get in the way of honoring God with our giving out of the equation.

It’s convenient, and it keeps me from forgetting to do what’s really important to me.

I want to encourage you to give and to make it automatic by setting up your online giving profile today. To do that, just click here. Its simple!

For the time we were there, it was very difficult to do a true concert feel church service because of the environment. Then I found this company called Intellistage. Their stage product changed our church in so many ways and raised the level of quality of our worship services. It literally made us feel like a “real church” in a portable environment.

Now we have our own space and need to sell it. Let me give a few highlights and then if you have specific questions you can ask away…

• you can set this up in many different configurations and sizes.
• we have 12 of the 4 foot by 4 foot sections
• we have 4 of the triangle sections
• we have all of the “feet” for them in the 16 inch size. These things are awesome.
• we have the nice, rolling flight cases
• we have extra hardware pieces
• it took a team of 2 guys an average of 20 minutes to set this up each week
• it took a team of 2 guys an average of 10 minute to tear it down
• it is extremely durable and lightweight…very well made.
• you can easily order more platforms, risers, etc if you need a bigger stage or want to make a slightly different shape
• it can fit in a trunk of a card if you need it to
• works perfect for portable church or even a church with a building that needs a stage they can set up in different places
• also works great for fashion shows, bands, schools, hotels and outside environments.
• see some shots of our actual stage at the very bottom of this post

Check out info on the stage here  (remember, its the 4X4 product). They also have a little “how it works” page here.

Watch the video below…this video is not a gimmick. It really is that easy. I personally set this thing up myself almost every week for a year.

We paid $6,o00 for our entire kit and used it for just nine months (then moved to our own location) so its in pristine condition. We are willing to sell it for $4,500 plus shipping. If you want to do local pickup, we are in the San Antonio Texas area.

This is a great chance to snag the best and most easy to use portable staging equipment there is for cheap. If you are interested, or have questions call 210-880-5883. If we don’t answer, leave a message and someone will get back to you quickly.

Here are some shots of our stage and the configuration we most often used:

Have you ever wondered to yourself “why do some people seem to have all the luck?” Do you ever get fed up with people who just seem to live a specially charmed life?

I used to wonder if God was just playing favorites or if some people were just lucky. Then I realized that there was a lot more going on than I thought. It all started when I met our Creative Pastor, Micah Fisher, and he would say “its THE FOG baby!” every time a barista gave me my latte for free at Starbucks.

You may have heard the phrase “The Favor of God” before – but what does the favor of God look like? Is it having good luck? Is it being blessed with wealth and influence? How do you get favor? Can you lose it?

Starting this Sunday, we will answer these questions and more as we dive into what it means to walk in The FOG! I hope you will join us as we explore what’s happening when things go our way—and when they don’t.

Before you read this, please understand something. This blog isn’t about me personally. Yes, I am a pastor. But I am writing this to help anyone who wants to genuinely bless their pastor. I am not writing to complain about my own experience. That said…

We are having a baby girl in about two months. I am blown away at how generous the people are at Revolution Church. They have already brought us gifts and are making plans to bring us meals after the baby arrives. All of this is what got me (and Amber) thinking and ultimately led me to blog this.

How can you best bless your pastor?

Can I speak from my heart as a pastor? This is 100% honest…

If you really want to bless your pastor and his family, if you really want to encourage him and lift his spirits…just do the basics.

Meals, dinners, gifts, books, and nice gestures are great…but in all honesty, the best way you can bless me is to just live out the basics, consistently. I am not complaining about the gifts we receive (though I will say, as a pastor you get some WEIRD STUFF handed to you…)

What are the basics? Four things in my opinion:

Live HONOR.

Live GENEROSITY.

Live WASHING FEET.

Live as a BRANGER.

When you honor up, honor down, honor all around; When you give regularly; When you serve in a ministry; When you invite people…you BLESS your pastor.

Trust me…it means more to him that you live out the basics of a relationship with Jesus than ANYTHING. More than gifts. More than meals. ANYTHING. And in the long run, it will mean more in your life too.

If you want to read some more specifics, trust me, this post from Lysa Terkeurst is right on.

NASA rents out the room to train astronauts. Whirlpool has used it to test washing machines. The Harley Davidson Company used it to make their motorcycles more quiet.

Steven Orfield, the President of the Company that created the sound proof lab, said that when he goes inside, he can hear the artificial valve in his heart tick.

They say that the silence becomes unnerving for most people and that the record for the longest stay in the room is just 45 minutes.

Sunday at Revolution Church we are talking about silence. Well, not really talking.

I will be preaching the entire message without saying a single word. It probably won’t be as quiet as the sound proof lab in Minneapolis, but we are going to focus on God in a powerful way.

Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God.”

I hope that you will join us as we get serious and isolate ourselves from the noise of life for one Sunday in order to give God the space to speak.

Our Worship Experiences are at 9:30am, 11:00am and 1:00pm. see you there!

Dear Ladies,

I hope that you will join us for our first ever DAZZLE this Friday from 6:15-8:00pm. You can register now by going here. All women from age 13 to age 130 are invited!!!

Every day you give of yourselves to others, and meet needs until your head hits the pillow at night. Dazzle is how we cheer each other on and encourage each other. We need other women to help refresh us, challenge us, and love on us. That is exactly why DAZZLE exists. I pray that DAZZLE will be the beginning of a spiritual revolution in your life.

See ya Friday!

Starting a Revolution,

Amber White

The Guardians of the Children call him the CandyMan. Tyler Sparks is a 17 year old young man that is serious about generosity. We had him on stage sharing about how he recently raised $15,000 for the Judson High School Special Olympics team so that they could go to state. I won’t tell the whole story…just watch the Fox News video below and my interview with Tyler. The story speaks for itself.

The best part is that he isn’t stopping with this…listen to his plans for the future. Greater things!

I think Tyler is a great role model to us all. Imagine a world where the church is as generous as this young man. Tyler, I am extremely proud of you and so is Revolution Church!

Just in case you are on an RSS reader or the videos don’t show below, click here for the Fox News story and here for the Revolution Church interview.

Tomorrow evening (May 2nd) we will be having our monthly Night of Worship along with Parent Child Dedication.

I am FIRED UP about this. Its going to be a great time of worship as well as a special time of Parent and Child Dedication. Sign up here if you’ve got a baby or young kiddo that you want to dedicate to raising in God’s House! Its not too late.

We will also have Communion together. Don’t miss it. It all gets started at 6:30pm. See you there Revolution!

Some people claim that the Bible talks directly about gambling when we see the casting of lots. For example, whenever Judas took his own life, the disciples cast lots to see who would be the next disciple. That sounds more like a form of decision making to me, not gambling.

Other people will say that in Matthew 25, where Jesus told the parable of the talents, that the guys in the story gambled what the master gave them. I believe that is a misrepresentation of the text. The story is talking about good stewardship – about investing wisely the gifts and talents and resources that God has given us. Its not really speaking about gambling.

The Bible does not specifically condemn gambling, betting, or the lottery. I would say that because the Bible does not specifically condemn gambling, there are times when a little bet may not really be a sin.

Maybe you are playing cards with friends or you get in on a March Madness pool at the office. Maybe you are playing golf with a friend and you say “Five bucks says I can make this putt.” I am talking about those times when at worst you may be wasting money and at best you are having some light-hearted, friendly entertainment…those times its probably not a sin.

At the same time, much like alcohol, this can very quickly and often does become sinful and dangerous. If gambling is an issue for you, I would challenge you to ask yourself three questions; when, where and why.

WHEN? When do you gamble? If it’s once or twice a year, or if you play a little bingo or hit up the casino a few times on your cruise vacation, it’s probably entertainment and not a sin. If it becomes a monthly or weekly thing, be very careful. Gambling could be an issue for you. If anyone has called you “Clark Griswold” lately, go get help.

WHERE? Where do you gamble? If you go to a buddies house and you play some cards, its probably no big deal. But if you go to a place where the women are half naked, everybody is drunk, and then some big guy named Guido shows up at the house ready to take you out, you could have crossed the line into a sinful environment.

WHY? Why do you gamble? Is it just a little fun and you can afford it? Or is your reason “if I don’t go win some money I can’t pay my mortgage!”

The sin of greed is very dangerous and your answers to these questions tell a lot about whether or not you have crossed the line.

1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Gambling is often about more than gambling…many times it is attached to other sins. I can’t tell you the number of times when I’ve seen people take what seems like innocent fun and quickly pierce themselves with many griefs. I’ve seen gambling wreck marriages, homes, families, college degrees and peoples’ future. Not much good ever comes from it.

If more than one person has told you that you have a problem, you probably should get help. That is my take on gambling.