When all else fails, do what Oprah does… right? Ok, maybe not. But this year for Christmas we wanting to empower generosity at Restore without pointing people in a specific direction. The people of Restore have proven that they know how to be generous and we knew it was time to dream up ways to give BIG this Christmas.
Here’s what we did: Troy McMahon was giving his normal warm wishes from the stage, updating people on some of the upcoming things at Restore when he stepped off the stage, onto a subwoofer, and then on to the floor, face to face with the people. He asked everyone to pull out there wallet. (That’s never a good thing when a church asked you directly to get your wallet out). He said “Take out your largest bill”…people did, hesitantly. He walked over to a man with a $10 bill, and handed him an additional $10 bill. Then to a woman with a $20 bill, then a $50, even on to a man with an $100 bill.
“What the heck are we supposed to do with this $?” was written all over their faces. “Watch this”, we told them.
Starting this Sunday, John, Paul, George, & Ringo will be taking us on a Christmas journey. Here’s the rundown:
December 6th – “Revolution”
Big Idea: Christmas was not meant to be just another holiday. It was meant to be a revolution.
December 13th – “Yesterday”
Big Idea: Christmas is not about the past, but the future and as Christ-followers we are meant to be on the offensive in this world.
December 20th – “All The Lonely People”
Big Idea: Reaching out to people who are lonely is not just nice, its at the very heart of being a Christ-follower.
December 27th – “Across The Universe”
Big Idea: The world wants to conform us, but God wants to transform us.
At Restore we love to redeem all things in the world, including the British Invasion, and use it for the glory of God. Come check out the Christmas story through the eyes of The Beatles.
At Restore, we try to tell people’s stories as often as possible. I believe it’s become the most effective thing we do within our 60 minute Celebration Service (no disrespect to the band and teaching pastors). Here’s why:
Telling people’s story is a way to tell God’s story – God’s story is at work as people are saying YES to Jesus and having their lives changed forever. Tell those stories.
People relate to real stories from real people – When it’s the person they park next to, the person that sits next to them in church, or the person that is in their small group, the story is more accessible.
Experience can be trusted – When you tell people, it’s one thing, when you show proof from people’s actual experiences, it’s another thing.
You can’t make this stuff up – Only God can, and He does… so don’t tell it LIKE it is, tell it HOW it is.
Last week was a great example. We showed Episode 2 of our summer series called Testament. We brought the story of Sarah in Genesis to life through our friend Kathleen. After the 11am service, Kathleen was approached by multiple women who are sharing the experience that she has. It was exactly what we could have hoped for: to see God’s story written on someone’s life and changing the lives of those who see and hear.
