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Kicked off a short series today called The Dip. Everybody hits the dip. When we receive Jesus everything is new and everything is great, but it doesn’t take long for things to begin sliding downhill. God has a purpose for the dip, regardless of how it happens.

• Songs were: All Creation Sings (Todd Fields), Your Grace is Enough (Chris Tomlin), From the Inside Out (Hillsong United), and Rescue (by lots of people).
• I love sharing the stories of what God is doing at Arrowhead because it reflects God’s heart for people. Getting to do that every week is a privilege.
• We have setup and teardown down to an art. Too bad we’re moving!
• I’m still amazed at the flood of first-time guests every week. So proud to be the pastor of a church where people love inviting their friends and family.
• Stay tuned for a moving date!

There is no one alive who is unimportant or insignificant. God sent Jesus to bring back people from every race, tribe, social status, financial status, and background. People matter to God. He knows and loves us all.

At Arrowhead we do what we do because we love God but also because God loves people. We try hard to do Sunday’s programming from music, video, and the sermon in a way that is excellent and well-done. But, if in the process we can’t do church without significant time to interact with people, it’s a failure.

If you live your life working hard, studying hard, trying to make ends meet, but there is no time for people, it’s a failure. It doesn’t matter whether it’s family, friends, classmates, co-workers, or the guy at the cash register - people matter.

I pray God makes Arrowhead a place where people from all walks of life recognize that God cares about them and we do too.

If you don’t know Traci Bishop, you need to! She’s our new ArrowheadKids Director and she’s awesome. Greg & Traci and their 3 boys attended Arrowhead’s launch Sunday, got in the car and said “we’ve found our church,” immediately began volunteering, and haven’t looked back. Traci has been a faithful teacher in our Elementary class since the beginning. She’s a hard worker and she has experience on a children’s ministry staff at a huge church in Houston. I can’t wait to see how the Lord uses her in leading our children’s ministry!

Wrapped our look at 1 Corinthians 15 today in a series called Up.

• Studying through this chapter will make you deal with some things that otherwise are hard to believe. Today’s message was that different is better, and if you find yourself where everybody else is then chances are you got there the same way. If you want out, try something different. Although Christianity is hard to believe it’s worth the effort.
• Songs were Sing Sing Sing (Chris Tomlin), Everlasting God (Chris Tomlin), Til I See You (Hillsong), and Fire Fall Down (Hillsong).
• Introduced Traci Bishop as our new Kids’ Director. So pumped that God has opened the door for Traci to be on our staff. She loves kids and is a great leader.
• Matty Finlay told a story that I can’t do justice by typing. All I can say is that if you can listen to this story and write it off as coincidence you have more faith that it takes to believe in a God who directs our steps!
• We are absolutely nailing set-up and tear-down right now. So fast. Just in time for the big move when we don’t have to do it anymore!
• I wish I could share every story I get to hear on Sundays from people finding their way back to God and the church.

Have a great week!

Our next Partnership Event is Saturday April 24 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the church office. We’d love for you to make it! Partnership is our term for membership, and there are lots of reasons you should unite with a church family. You can find out more info about partnership here and you can register by sending us an email at info@arrowheadchurch.com, giving us a call at the office, or on your communication card on a Sunday.

The Sunday after Easter you really have no idea what to expect. After record attendances and high energy, the next week is a mystery. But of course, people came back and we had a great day. In fact, we had every chair in Rose Center out for the 11:00, and the room was at 110% capacity (hope the fire marshall doesn’t read the blog!).

• Continued through 1 Corinthians 15 in our Up series. If the resurrection isn’t true we should live by whatever philosophy we want. If it is true, we should live with the return of Jesus in mind. If it’s not true, we should pursue every earthly pleasure. We just have to quit “sort of believing” it’s true.
• Songs were All Creation Sings (Todd Fields), You Never Let Go (Matt Redman), and Reign In Us (Starfield).
• Tried to get everybody signed up for our text update in the first service but I stink at this whole process and I think we messed it up again. Ugh!
• Still blown away by the number of first time guests. Talked to a family yesterday whose son absolutely loved ArrowheadKids. So proud of our volunteers!
• Things are really tight and really hectic at Rose Center right now. If you’re volunteering to help move people around you have a tough job, so thanks! Only a few more weeks until we get some space!

Have a great week!

It was so great to have many people visit Arrowhead for the first time on Easter! If you’re one of those, we are truly honored that you chose to worship with us on the biggest Sunday of the year. In case you’re stopping by the blog for the first time, I just wanted to let you in on a little bit about who we are.

Our mission at Arrowhead is to help people take their next step with Jesus Christ. We try to keep our focus there. Walking with Jesus can be an overwhelming idea, but it doesn’t have to be. We believe God isn’t calling you to instantly know everything about the Bible. He’s not telling you that you have to become a perfect husband or wife or mom or dad overnight. He’s simply calling you to do what’s next.

For many of us, that’s to get involved in a church family to explore who He is. For others it’s to cross the line of faith and believe that Jesus is who He says He is. Sometimes it’s to get baptized as an outward demonstration of what has happened to you on the inside. For others it’s to learn to pray or learn to study the Bible for yourself.

I could make lists all day long, but the question for all of us is: What is God leading you to believe or do? We want Arrowhead to be a place all of us can explore that together.

What a day! There is no better exhausted than knowing Jesus is alive and people have worshiped and served Him. There was a buzz in the room from the minute each service started.

• Kicked off a new series about the resurrection from 1 Corinthians 15 called Up. The first 11 verses are as clear of a presentation of the gospel as you can find anywhere in Scripture, and people met Jesus for the first time!
• Worship set was incredible - O Happy Day (Tim Hughes), Let God Arise (Chris Tomlin), Hosanna (Hillsong United), Lead Me to the Cross (Hillsong United), and I Will Rise (Chris Tomlin). It’s incredible what happens when Jesus sees people focused on proclaiming His resurrection!
• Largest crowd we’ve ever had by far (which is to be expected and the case not just at Arrowhead but all over the world). The great thing was seeing so many kids. Several new young families. So proud to pastor people who continue to invite friends and neighbors. When people ask what the secret to our growth is, other than God moving, it has to be people inviting others personally. We did no promotion or advertising whatsoever for Easter and had over 100 people more than last Sunday.
• Got to share some of the stories of what God has done in our first 14 months. I am continually amazed at how He is using our church to help people take their next step with Jesus!

Have a great week! The resurrection is still true today even though Easter is past!

We make a big deal out of Easter, and we should. It’s more than pastel clothes, eggs (no comment if you know our past…!), and a bunny. Jesus Christ lived a real life, died a real death, and came back to life (for real), and that’s reason to celebrate.

We also make a big deal about Easter because in our culture it’s a Sunday where many people are open to go to church when otherwise they may not. Take some time to invite someone that God puts on your heart. It’s not a trick or a gimmick - it’s an opportunity to see God move in their lives.

This week we begin a look at 1 Corinthians 15, the most clear passage in the Bible about what the resurrection is all about and what it means to us.

After a few weeks off from recaps, I feel better and am ready to go keeping you posted again. =)

We wrapped up a series on repentance called Spring Cleaning this week. It’s been really personally challenging for me, and I hope it has been for the church. We never move on past repentance. Repentance is what the Christian life is all about. We turn away from our sin and turn toward Jesus every day. Sometimes we feel dirty and have no reason to. We are forgiven and should move on, but this week’s message was on what to do when you feel dirty and you really are dirty. From Psalm 51, David tells us how to deal with our sin:

1. Go to God.
2. Appeal for mercy.
3. Recognize that your sin is against God, not just yourself.
4. Deal with your heart, not just your actions.
5. Pray for a new start.

We also celebrated the Lord’s Supper today. It’s the best visual image of why repentance is possible. I love what the Lord does when we celebrate Communion.

Songs were: Sing Sing Sing (Chris Tomlin), Inside Out (Hillsong United), Lead Me to the Cross (Hillsong Untied), and Hank sang a song called I Repent (by Derek Webb) that kicks my butt. If you’ve never heard it, check it out here. Ouch.

We’re praying for the Lord to do incredible things over the next few weeks with all that is going on (more details to come here on the blog), but it won’t happen if we as His church aren’t aware of our need for repentance. I’ve said every week that God will not pour out His Spirit on people who refuse to change.