Friday, January 30, 2009

What Is Reveal?

Good question. Glad you asked. As we get ready to kick things off in a few weeks, I thought it would be good to let this first post answer that question.

Purpose: Reveal exists to be a place where the glory of the Lord can be revealed to a world desperately in need of the presence of God. Our focus verse is Isaiah 40:5.

How: Reveal will be a worship gathering of First Baptist Church, Rock Hill that will officially launch to the public on January 25, 2009. The worship gathering will involve very contemporary, band-led music along with multimedia and interactive elements.

Music: The music will include remixed hymns, contemporary worship (i.e. David Crowder Band, Shane and Shane, Matt Redman, Third Day, etc.) and some secular music.

Where: Reveal will meet in the Apex in the Rock student center at 481 Hood Center Dr.

When: Reveal will start at 11:55am on Sundays. The public launch will be January 25, 2009. However, the launch team began meeting in September. Our first worship gathering as a team was September 14.

Who: Everyone is invited to be a part of Reveal. There is no age-limit, no dress code, no previous experience required. We desire for Reveal to be a place where God can reveal Himself to you regardless of who you are, where you come from, what you've experienced in the past, or what you're experiencing right now.

Hopefully this answers a few of the pressing questions that you or someone you know may have about Reveal. However, if you need to ask something that's not answered here, you can post a question in the comments or email me at jamieb@fbcrockhill.org.

-- Peace, Jamie

This Sunday

We will be wrapping up our Red Letters series on Sunday. You don't want to miss it. Steve will be focusing on John 14 again this week. There will also be a video inspired by one of these classic SNL skits that hopefully will make you laugh.

I will miss Reveal this week. I will be heading to Converge Collegiate Weekend with a busload of college students, Clayton King and Rush of Fools. If for some reason you can't be at Reveal on Sunday, you should be able to check out the video next week at the website.

-- Peace, Jamie

Thursday, January 29, 2009

List-mania

Those who followed previous incarnations of this blog know that I am susceptible to making and reviewing lists. As one of my favorite TV personalities would say, "It's a blessing, and a curse." About a year ago, Stephen King listed the top 10 most played songs on his itunes list. I thought I'd share that all important information about my itunes and invite you to share your top 10 in the comments.

  1. So Close - Jon McLaughlin (435 plays) - From "Enchanted" a movie that I adore and probably way overrate.
  2. Hallelujah - Paramore (401) - The one band that I really want to see in concert that I haven't seen.
  3. Go the Distance - Roger Bart (381) - Bought this one just before our college mission trip to New Orleans last summer and listened to it all the way there and back.
  4. Awakening - Switchfoot (375) - My favorite band of the new century. I've been lucky enough to see these guys twice in concert.
  5. Check Yes Juliet - We the Kings (366) - An itunes freebie!
  6. Marvelous Light - Charlie Hall (294) - This one is for Will because I know he hasn't heard it enough.
  7. What About Now (Idol Gives Back Performance) - Daughtry (293) - Hopefully, we'll all be a little more familiar with this one in the future.
  8. Mirrors and Smoke - Jars of Clay (293) - This is what I know about Jars, when they are rocking, they are VERY, VERY good. When they're not, the are VERY, VERY average. This song includes Leigh Nash and has a southern rock feel and a hook that gets me every time.
  9. Your Grace Is Enough - Chris Tomlin (291) - I have 70 Tomlin songs in my iTunes and could handle 70 more with ease.
  10. Mercy - Duffy (286) - Another itunes freebie!
One thing you should know about my itunes - it plays non-stop everyday that I'm at work. When I'm at home, my ipod is usually playing in the kitchen on my ihome. Another thing that sometimes drives my daughters crazy is that once a song starts to play, it HAS to play to the end so that it can get counted. No skipping to the next song when the one playing starts to fade out. Yes, I know, "It's a blessing, and a curse."

Now it's your turn. I'd love to hear what your top 10 itunes (by play count) songs are.

-- Peace, Jamie

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Set List 01.25.09

Here is the music that we used on 01.25.09 - Red Letters (Week 1):

Are You Ready? (Creed)
Song of Hope (Robbie Seay Band)
Forever (Chris Tomlin)
How Deep The Father's Love For Us (Stuart Townend)
God of This City (Bluetree)

Well, the public kick-off has happened. And man was it sweet to get going "officially". I know that planning has been going for about two years, the band has been going since June, services have been happening since September, and most people have only been attending for a few weeks - But now it's real!

To steal a line from Barney on "How I Met Your Mother" - Reveal this week was Legen... wait for it... dary. And man I am pumped for all that is going to come. I fully believe that God is going to EXPLODE on the scene in Rock Hill.

There were 85 people in Reveal this week. And many of those were new faces. What that means is that Jamie and I cannot talk to or meet everyone on Sunday. So please introduce yourself to people that you don't know. Make them feel welcome.

Looking forward - You don't want to miss this weekend. Several of us got together to film something for this week last night and we laughed a lot. So don't miss it.

And Band, you will be happy to know that I am retiring "Are You Ready?" - well, at least for the foreseeable future anyway - I mean you just never know.

Dream Big - Pray Bigger

--Will

Be Creative!

We need your help! We are looking for people who can contribute ideas and talents through our creative team. If you would like to help us evaluate the videos, graphics, and presentations of our Reveal worship gatherings, we need you. If you would like to contribute ideas, we need you. We are looking for people who can contribute for a couple of weeks at a time. We meet on Wednesday nights and have some email interactions as well. Let me know if you're interested (jamieb@fbcrockhill.org).

-- Peace, Jamie

Monday, January 26, 2009

Begin the Week

Think about this as you kick off the week.

When we turn Christianity into a noun, it becomes a turnoff. Christianity was always intended to be a verb. And, more specifically, an action verb. Some of us live as if we expect to hear God say, "Well thought, good and faithful servant!" or "Well said, good and faithful servant!" God isn't going to say either of those things. There is only one commendation: "Well done, good and faithful servant."

-Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church, from his upcoming book Wild Goose Chase

-- Peace, Jamie

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Launch Sunday

What can I say? This morning was awesome. It's great to see the months of work pay off with a fantastic worship service and great participation. It was awesome to see people walking into the Apex for the first time, to hear stories of invitations from friends to come to Reveal, to hear of people seeing a commercial or receiving a card in the mail and deciding to come.

Thanks again to Will and the Reveal band. I know you're all probably sick of "Are You Ready?" but it kicked Reveal off in great style this morning.

Since I was in the gym hanging out for childcare, I didn't get to hear Steve's Red Letters message. I'm glad he was feeling well enough to preach this morning.

I will be in Myrtle Beach next weekend for Converge. Week 2 of Red Letters is next week. It's a great chance to bring a friend.

-- Peace, Jamie

Friday, January 23, 2009

Reveal at BCM

A quick post to say thanks to the Reveal band for taking some time to lead worship at BCM last night. The place was rocking. I loved the impromptu Long Train Running that got things kicked off.

-- Peace, Jamie

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Sunday's Thoughts

Yes, I know it's Thursday and I'm just now getting around to talking about Sunday gathering. Blogging will hopefully catch up once we get things going and a normal schedule kicks back in.

Anyway, here are my thoughts and reflections on Sunday.

  • As Will said, we had about 75 people here on Sunday. That's exciting. Hopefully, as we launch, word-of-mouth will generate new people coming to Reveal. More importantly, the relationships we build with others will bring people to Reveal and most importantly, to Christ.
  • I had fun making the iPray videos with Hunter and Marc. Those guys have a good sense of humor and made those videos funny.
  • The huge iPray standup that was on the stage is in my office. Eventually it will go up on the wall. Thanks to Megan Owings for making the 'classic' iPray standup and the two 'nano' iPray standups.
  • Steve wrapped up the iPray series with a message about praying for our spiritual health. A couple of thoughts that he said stuck with me. First, Jesus sees our potential. Remember in the text (John 17) Jesus was praying for the disciples who by the way would desert him in a few short hours. Yet, He prayed for them as they would be sent into the world. Second, God WANTS the world to know Him. Too many times, I treat the gospel likes it's some secret that only the 'right' people can understand. Dude, if God WANTS the whole world to hear the gospel, then ANYONE can understand it.
Tonight the Reveal band will be leading worship at Winthrop's BCM. Feel free to join us. We will get started about 8:00pm.

I will try to do better with the blogging to keep everyone updated about Reveal and FBC.

-- Peace, Jamie

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Set List 01.18.09

Here is the music that we used on 01.18.09 - iPray (Week 3):

Beautiful One (Tim Hughes)
Everlasting God (Brenton Brown)
O Praise Him (David Crowder)
All Who Are Thirsty (Brenton Brown as performed by Kutless)
Glorious One (Steve Fee)

Yet another great weekend here at First Baptist Church. We introduced the team of people who are leading the work for our "God's Purpose...Right Now" campaign. They have been doing a great job and I am excited about how God is going to use all of that effort.

We also had about 75 people in REVEAL this week!!!

Next week is the public launch, so continue to be in prayer. The yard signs are in. If you want one for your yard, get in touch with Jamie and he'll get you one.

Dream Big - Pray Bigger

--Will

Saturday, January 17, 2009

iPray week 3

Just a reminder that we wrap up our iPray series tomorrow. Steve will be bringing a message from John 17 that focuses on praying for the power of God to move in our lives. Will and the Reveal band will be kicking the worship off with "Beautiful One." Also during the gathering, we will be introducing the leaders for our "God's Purpose, Right Now" campaign. While you'll be hearing more about GPRN in the next few weeks, let me share a few highlights. GPRN will help FBC reach out to the people of Rock Hill by creating ministry spots on campus and off campus. Stay tuned for you chance to get involved in "God's Purpose, Right Now" at FBC.

A couple of other highlights this week:

* A commercial for Reveal began airing on different cable channels in Rock Hill. I caught the spot on ESPN last night. Thanks to Hunter for creating the spots and

* A mass mailing for Reveal went out to over 5000 homes in Rock Hill and Fort Mill this week. Pray that those who received the mailing to be at Reveal tomorrow.

I will see you at Reveal tomorrow!

Peace,
Jamie

Monday, January 12, 2009

Set List 01.11.09

Here is the music that we used on 01.11.09 - iPray (Week 2):

Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing) (Brenton Brown)
I Am Free (Jon Egan)
Abba Father (Shaun Groves)
Cannot Say Enough (MercyMe)
I Stand Amazed (Charles H. Gabriel as performed by Candi Pearson Shelton)
We Fall Down (Chris Tomlin as performed by Kutless)

Well, this week marked the church-wide kick-off of REVEAL and WOW!!! It was so good to get going. We have been actively planning for this day since June. We had 11 Launch-Team services in the Fall. And of course last week (01.04.09) we played for the 10:30 service.

About 60 people showed up for the service which I thought was a great number. Pastor Steve Hogg brought a great message on prayer. It was based out of Jesus' prayer in the Garden before the arrest and crucifixion. Steve then led us into a time of celebrating Communion. I thought the service went very well. And I am getting more and more excited for the public kick-off on the 25th.

The mail-outs will be out this week and the commercial should begin airing. Remember to keep the public launch in your prayers over the next two weeks. God is going to do a great work through this service.

Dream Big and Pray Bigger.

---Will

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Set List 01.04.09

Here is the music that we used for 01.04.09 (iPray - Week 1):

Are You Ready? (Creed)
My Glorious (Martin Smith)
You're Worthy Of My Praise (David Ruis as performed by Jeremy Camp)
All We Need (Charlie Hall)
Call My Name (Third Day)
Your Love Is Extravagant (Darrell Evans)


REVEAL played in "Big Church" this week for the 10:30 service. It went great!! Thanks for all the prayers. I'll be honest with you I was really nervous before the service, because I was not sure how that first song was going to be received. But once we got going, I calmed down. I have heard nothing but good comments about the band, the sound, and the worship. God really showed up this week. And I heard that they even had to add chairs there were so many people.

We are back on regular schedule this week so we will be in "The Apex" at 11:55. I am really looking forward to what God is going to do through this service. Keep dreaming big and praying bigger!!

--Will

Friday, January 2, 2009

Another Year In The Books

Well gang, 2008 is in the books and after a very short break REVEAL is back in full swing starting this weekend (01.04.09). We will be in "Big Church" this week and, oh yeah, we are gonna rock the 10:30 service.

As I am sitting here at my desk on Friday afternoon, listening to the music set for Sunday, I was struck by some of the lyrics. "Are you ready for what's to come?" I am not sure what my answer to that question is right now. My plans for 2007 came to an abrupt halt on Jan 6 of that year. My plans for 2008 came to an abrupt halt even earlier - on Nov 4 of 2007. But God had so much more in store for me.

There is a framed print of a poem in my office that my mom gave to me sometime during college. It has a line that says the following:

"Faith is...recognizing that God is the Lord of Time when my idea of timing doesn't agree with His."

MAN HOW TRUE THAT IS!!!!!!

At the start of 2008 I had no idea that I would be where I am today. God really rocked my world and in the process, blessed my socks off. Don't get me wrong - I still have some goals in mind for 2009 and some other things that I would love to see happen. (God is teaching me to dream big and pray bigger.) But at the same time, I am trying to stay open to what He wants.

So, REVEAL, I ask you, "Are you ready for what's to come?" I hope so. God has some big, big things planned for REVEAL and for FBC as a whole. I think that 12 months from now, we will be looking back at 2009 going, "I can't believe that God did that!" And for someone, 2009 won't be remembered for Obama taking office, or some school winning a National Championship, or some other thing. For them, 2009 will be remembered as the year that their name was added to the Book of Life. And it will be because we as REVEAL took time to pray, to get to know them, and to trust that God is a big God. Bigger than we can even imagine.

--Will