Adrian Cole

A Different Kind of Breakfast

The first seven or eight years of my tenure at New Covenant I met with a group of people every Thursday morning at 7:00 a.m. at Jimmy's Egg on Broadway. The group had only one purpose – to help me guide this church forward without veering off into a "pot hole." Every Thursday I met with this "same" group of individuals. During the year or so before our move to 2700 S. Boulevard we stopped meeting. During the move I started meeting with other groups and the Thursday morning group seemed to be redundant. This group had no bearing on my tenure at New Covenant or my remuneration. They were an "advisory" group.

The week before this past Thanksgiving I started meeting again on Thursday morning but this time with a twist. My plan is to meeting with a group of New Covenant people every Thursday morning but not with the "same" group of people. My plan is to meet with a different group each Thursday morning. We have the next few Thursday's scheduled but, if you would like to join one of those morning breakfast meetings, call Jana Janzen at 562-3213 or email her at jjanzen@ncovenant.org. She will schedule you to be a part of one of those morning meetings.

The Men’s Breakfast

Gentlemen, The Breakfast on Nov. 16^th was a great success. Thank you for being a part of this inspiring morning. Luke Corbett shared with us from his heart. Thank you Luke. Thanks to all the guys who help cook, clean-up and host the morning event. We had 120 men at the breakfast. Great stuff! The next Men's Breakfast will be January 18^th in the gym. Same time and basically the same menu. Our speaker for the 18^th will be John Vance of John Vance Automotive. John is a successful Auto Dealer in the OKC area and the State. The past few of years John has been on an International Advisory Board for Ford Motor Company. John has a heart for God. John and his wife Vicky are members of New Covenant. Stay informed about the Breakfast by going to the New Covenant website at www.ncovenant.org. See you on the 18^th.

5 Kinds of Christians

Here is that article that I talked about in my sermon today. I think it is an important and vital article for all of us to read.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/004/1.19.html

Let me know what you think of it. AC

Men's Breakfast

This is Wednesday and so far we have 80 men registered for the Men's Breakfast this Friday starting at 6:45. There is still room for you. Call the Church office and reserve your place at the men's breakfast.

Who Is the Light of Your Life?

Tomorrow's sermon is based in John 8:12-20. As preparation also read Isaiah 9. See you tomorrow!

Fail Safe or Safe to Fail

When a ministry idea is put forth, how do you know if it's God's will or not? In the book The Purpose Drive Church by Rich Warren he uses a surfing image to talk about God's will. He says a surfer stands on the beach or in the water watching the waves. He is deciding which wave to catch and ride. He doesn't create the wave. He only decides which one to ride. It may be the right one or it may "play out" before it carries him to shore.

Like waves in the ocean, the Holy Spirit is always moving and flowing in the culture and in the church. If you choose a wave and people are drawn closer to Christ and closer to each other, you have chosen the right wave. If the wave plays out all that is necessary is to wait for the next wave of God's spirit.

In the church it is important that we create an environment where it is "safe to fail"… safe to try and catch a wave of God's spirit. When people know that they can try things by catching a wave of the spirit or test the wave to see if it is God's spirit, we are creating a "safe to fail" environment. Not all ideas or waves are going to be God's will. Not all will work. That is why it is important to be watching the horizon and praying about whether or not the next wave is one that we should try and ride. The body of Christ, the church, is part of that discernment process. The church should ask, "Does the idea, the wave, line up with the church's mission." Not all ideas do.

When the church tries to create an environment that is "fail safe", we try to create an environment where no mistakes are made. In a "fail safe" environment we would only catch the right waves. The problem is we don't know if a wave is the right one until we decide to try and ride it… until we test the idea. With a "fail safe" approach we can become hesitant to try new things. We can become afraid to try. Sometimes the fear of criticism can cause one to be afraid to test the water of the spirit.

I am always inspired by people who feel God's call to ride the waves of the spirit. I am thankful to Pam Morton for starting "His Hands" prayer ministry. I am thankful for Deb Corbet for trying new things likes "Dine and Dance" and "Pet Blessing" and for creating her team. I am thankful for Janet Battles for letting God lead her to do a concert with Natalie Grant for our 30^th anniversary celebration with the Nurture Team. I am thankful for Mike O'Keefe and Mark Welch for calling men together to connect in discipleship, for the Smith's passion for prayer ministry, for the mission team's vision for great involvement in missions, for the Outreach Team's vision for reaching people by trying new things, for Debbie Moore for starting a new small group, and on and on it goes.

Let me encourage you catch a wave of God's spirit. If you choose to do that… God bless you! If you choose not to, don't criticize those that try. Ask, "Is this about the mission of the church?" If it is, support it. If you don't feel it is, tell me or our leadership like Kay Johnson and Terry Hague, the Ad Council chairs. God is calling us to reach people. Let's do it.

Lessons from the “Black Sheets”

One of the greatest gifts you can give is the gift of connection. We are all aware (or at least most) that connecting with others in our facility is a huge challenge. Maybe you knew that. Maybe you have become aware of that because of the "sheets." It is such a large facility and it is very spread out. On Sundays you really don't have to connect with very many people at all. We can "come and go" at ease without connecting. We can come into worship and spread out leaving large voids in the worship center that cast a perception to the unaware that this place is empty and going nowhere. The truth is that we have come a long way in our journey as a church. There are a lot of positive things happening in hearts and lives. And, we have a long way yet to go!

As a church we are on a mission… a mission to connect people to God and each other. We are called by Jesus to make disciples… devoted followers of Christ. In order to do that it takes commitment. Commitment is not always convenient. At times it cause's discomfort, but that is true with discipleship. When I go to the gym I listen to books and sermons. Recently I was listening to a sermon by Andy Stanley at North Point Community Church in Atlanta (iTunes, North Point Community Church. Sermon Series: Take It to the Limit, part 1: Less is More). He was talking about how we connect with God in the margins of our lives and when we fill our lives up so full the margins get filled. When the margins get filled, there is no room for God to work. It is inconvenient to make room for God. We are busy. There are demands. We have responsibilities. But it is inconvenient to create space when the margins are full. It's inconvenient to make room in our lives for others. But that is exactly what God is asking us to do… make room for Him and for those He brings to us as a church.

I am sorry if those "sheets" caused you discomfort. I apologize if you were displaced or offended. That was not the intent or goal to offend anybody. We knew that covering those back sections certainly could be disruptive. Our goal was and is to make changes to our Sunday morning experience that helps us be more effective in reaching people for Christ. Worship is the first place that most people encounter this family called New Covenant. We have had 173 people come to New Covenant looking for a place to call home since July. I was told by Outreach through Marvin Nelson that some of our visitors saw the empty spaces in our worship center and concluded this church is not going anywhere. Hospitality is what will help them determine whether or not this could be home. I am sure that some of you are thinking that if hospitality is one of the keys then those sheets certainly didn't or don't convey a very appealing atmosphere or hospitality. If you thought that, you are right. What we are dealing with most of the time is a set of negatives. Which is the most negative… having voided spaces in the worship center that conveys the place is empty? Or all sitting together as a congregation, conveying energy and connection? I know we all have an answer to that question. But is our answer from a point of view of the mission of the church or our convenience?

The black sheets are off. Last Sunday I challenged you as a church to move forward… fill the front. We will use the "ropes" in those back sections to help guide people forward as we have done in the first service since we started that service. When we need those sections we will use them. We will take the ropes down. If you, because of particular situations in your life, need to sit back there – do it. But for us as a church – let's commit to making this a collective effort to connect with God and others. Humbly yours, AC

(PS – Tomorrow I will write a blog called "Safe to Fail or Fail Safe")

Men of New Covenant

We are having a Men's Breakfast on Friday, November 16, 2007. We will start serving breakfast at 6:45. Luke Corbett, former CEO of Kerr McKee, will be our speaker and Luke will start at 7:15. We will conclude the breakfast meeting at 7:45. Mike O'Keefe will emcee our men's breakfast. We will have biscuits and gravy, eggs and home fries, sausage, juice and coffee. It will be a great time so plan now on being here. We need to know if you will be there so we can have enough food for everyone. Please call the church office and let us know. The number is 562-3200 or call Jana at 562-3213. See you on the 16^th!

An Important Sunday!

This Sunday is one of the most important Sundays of the year. This Sunday is when we will make our commitments of Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service and Witness for the coming year of 2008! You remember that when you joined New Covenant these five words were used in your member covenant… the pledge you made to Christ's Church called New Covenant UMC.

You have already received your pledge card for 2008. When we mailed you that card we included a guide called a "a Five Step Discernment Process" to help guide you in your decision for 2008. Use those guidelines. Pray about it. Talk it over as a family. Come to church on Sunday ready to make your commitment to the ministry of your church for 2008!

Oh yes, one more thing. Don't forget that the time changes this Sunday. Be sure and turn your clocks back one hour Saturday night so that you don't miss our great time of worship.

A Huge Success!

Sunday night’s “Trunk or Treat” was a huge success. I think the last two years we have had about a 1,000 people attend. About 5 or 6 years ago the “Trunk or Treat” event was basically for New Covenant kids. Some time ago our children’s ministry team made the decision to open up the event for the community. They expanded their understanding of the experience and began to see it as an outreach event. They let the Holy Spirit lead them. I want to thank Jami Majors, the children’s ministry team, the outreach team, Mark Welch in communications and all of your who volunteered. You made the difference and you made this a great event for our church and the Edmond community. Thank you!