Andy Postell’s Blog

I was reading this afternoon in the book of 1 Timothy. In the final chapter, Paul gives a final challenge (you know how I love the word challenge) to Timothy for him to always pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Paul goes on to challenge Timothy to fight the good fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6: 11-12)

Planting a new church can be one of the most difficult callings in ministry. I am not trying to diminish any other calling as I am sure that we all have days where we feel like our call is possibly the most challenging. There are days that I would read this passage and feel like I dont even have the energy to fight the good fight. Today is not one of those days.

I read a little further and the passage says that God gives life to everything. (vs 13) That phrase is what caught my attention as I read the scripture today. I received more emails today than I have ever received about a message. Apparently, God really moved in our church yesterday as we talked about God’s grace being sufficient for all things. One person wrote that the message really challenged them to examine how they looked at the difficulties that they were facing. Another person wrote that they could affirm everything that I preached as God have given them strength to walk through a struggle that would seem impossible to many of us. Another person wrote that they were simply thankful that we could be a place that was not afraid to talk about the difficult sides of life and they felt more accepted as a result of the message. I could literally go on and on.

So, my energy is not the typical Monday energy level. No, today – I am extremely thankful. I am thankful that I get to be a part of such an incredible group of people who are striving to come to understand what they believe. I am thankful that I am part of a group of people who are learning to not be afraid of talking about difficulties and also willing to share their joys. I am thankful that I serve alongside people who are willing to sacrifice in order to build the Kingdom of God. I am thankful that I am witnesses God giving life to The Well.

Should church be something that we WANT to attend? I had someone come up to me after my message and introduce themselves. They told me that they were at church for the very first time. They told me that they came because someone who visited for the very first time last week had called them and told them that they had to come with them this Sunday. The guy went on to tell me that his greatest observation was that it was amazing that people seemed excited to be at church. He said that he had never seen that. He plans to come back because he said he was leaving WANTING to return and that was an unexpected experience.

Should church be a place where people feel like their voices are heard? I had another person come to me after the message that has been coming to The Well since we started. They told me that they had been at another church prior to The Well and that my message really spoke to them. They said that they had approached their previous church with the same things that I preached about and no one would listen. Now, I have no idea how the conversations took place but this person’s perception was that they were not being heard. Perception is often reality to most people. This person was so excited because they felt like even though the people in the church had not heard them – God had and that The Well was an answer to their prayer years ago.

 Should church be a place where we are not afraid to look at other religions? We gathered last night to look at the Hindu faith and what are some of there main beliefs. We compared their beliefs to the basic beliefs of Christianity. Our reasoning was simple – if God calls us to reach out to everyone – shouldn’t we know what they believe. After the study, I had someone mention that they really enjoyed the study because we were not afraid to examine other faith traditions. They said they felt more prepared to engage someone of the Hindu faith – maybe not in a purely theological discussion – but they would not be afraid to talk about what they believe as a Christian.

When I have a birthday, I dont think that a year is that big of a deal. In fact, I often downplay the need of any mention or festivity.  However, my little girl is the exact opposite. She gets excited and anticipates it months in advance. She tells everybody she knows that her birthday is approaching. Of course, she is fishing for more gifts but the excitement is real.

The truth is that she is right. A year is a big deal. We should celebrate. If we believe that life is a gift from God, we should be joyful that we have another day to serve Him. We have another year to reach out and help people see the love that God has for them. It is truly a blessed opportunity. Our church is turning one year old this Sunday. As I think back to the past year, I am overwhelmed with emotions because I see the possibilities that exist within the life of our church.

Every person that has come into our church in the past twelve months represents a life that God is working on. I am a realistic person and I realize that not everyone has stayed at The Well. Some drifted in for a few weeks and some were quick to decide that we were not the church for them. But, many have stayed. Many have began to get plugged in. Many are beginning to understand the vision we have for reaching people in Bartow County as well as the vision to be focused on mission. Many have professed their faith in Jesus Christ. Many have traveled to another country to shine the light. Many have served. Many have worked together on community causes and acts of kindness. Many have invited friends. Many have grown in their understanding of God. Many have grown in their understanding of their neighbor. We should celebrate. Yes, the truth is that God has even greater things yet to come; however, we should not diminish the great things He has done in our midst already.

Sunday is going to be a great day. It will be a great day because we get to worship the Lord Almighty. It will be a great day because we will see friends and family. It will be a great day because we will get to sing out and praise Jesus. It will be a great day as we look forward to the coming year. As I think back to what a year it has been in our church, I am even more hopeful for what God is going to do in the coming year. 

My prayer is that we are just simply faithful. Sunday is going to be amazing – for no other reason than the fact that we will experience God’s love, mercy, and grace.

Sunday was unbelievable. First, Kyle was great and the service ended with such enthusiasm. You never know when you end a service with such a upbeat song like Broadcast by Steve Fee but it worked. I think everybody was rocking out and you could see that people were excited about worshiping God. Hands were up in the air and clapping and people were singing. It was great to see people not worried about what others think and just focused on praising God.

For me personally, Sunday was also a great reminder of God’s ability to provide strength in the midst of weakness. Just before the service – I was notified that my uncle had passed away. Focused on my aunt and mother, I was somewhat distracted. However, God poured out his Spirit and gave me the ability to focus on Him and his message when I needed to.

It was also great to see so many people stepping out on faith to share the message with the world. We had domestic, international and local mission opportunities for people to get involved. I think it was thirty minutes after the service and there was still people looking over the different ministries and getting involved. It is so cool to see people getting excited about serving God and leaving their comfortable surroundings in order to reach new people for Jesus. It was a great way to end the first full year of weekly services. I cannot wait to start another year of ministry at The Well.

What can i say? If you missed this morning at The Well, it was incredible. Jacob Burson gave the message as part of a series that we are doing on what it means to be a disciple. As we look at the task of a disciple to assist in spreading the message, Jacob called us all to examine our commitment to Jesus.  Anything less than 100% should not be acceptable. His message was tough at times as I am sure that many of us were somewhat uncomfortable but his message was also truthful.

At the end of the message, Jacob gave a passionate plea to commit to reaching out to those who dont go to church. He reminded us that our task is not to simply increase numerical numbers but he reminded us that we are called to assist in building the Kingdom. The amazing thing was to watch people respond to God’s promptings. I, along with Jacob, can’t wait to see where God is taking us as a church.

We also began to promote our next Random Act of Kindness. By nature, a Random Act of Kindness is random so people have to sign up before they even know what they are doing. I realize that can be a scary process but you can’t believe how many people signed up. The coolest thing about an Act of Kindness is that is so much fun. We don’t realize that evangelism can be fun and exciting but it can. So, I am looking forward to what God is going to do when we show up in Euharlee and ………(can’t tell you yet)

Finally, the band was great. You may not have known that Kyle wasn’t feeling well but God was able to show that He is able to provide strength when we are weak. Erica was a great addition and I loved having a female voice in the mix. For me, the final song, I Will Rise, was just incredible. I realize that I am an emotional person but the tears were flowing as Kyle sang those words – “I Will Rise when He calls my name” – May we all be able to shout that truth.

We had a great Sunday at The Well. Kyle started us out with a new song, ‘Sing,Sing, Sing’, and it just set the tone for a great day of worship. Even with the threat of weather and a school holiday weekend, we had a good crowd and some new faces. We even had a ’skit’ where Jacob interrupted the service in order to talk about our upcoming SuperBowl party. Our hope is that we all understand the importance of this fellowship opportunity. First, it is a great chance to invite friends. People often will come to an event like this long before they will ever come to church. This is going to be a real family event as we are going to have moonwalks and sports game for all ages, free hamburgers and hot dogs, live music, and ‘The Well Bowl’. While all of that is great, the most exciting part of the event is that we are going to be making a  ’big announcement’ at the SuperBowl party. This announcement will help set our course as a church in 2009 and is something that I would love for everyone to come and hear. As we get closer to the party, I am sure I will have more to say and I also expect that we will see more of Jacob in the future. Until then, start talking it up. SuperBowl party – Excel Christian Academy – Sunday February 1st @ 6:00 p.m.    

Sunday was just awesome. We ended the service with what is becoming one of my favorite songs – God of this City. I don’t know about you but I can sometimes get caught up in the negative. This song reminds me of the great things that God has planned for us. It reminds me of the great things that God wants to bring about. It encourages me and inspires me to live life confident of God’s promises. I think of how far God has brought us in one year and can’t wait to see where God will take us in 2009. I also loved to see the new faces. The first week of the year can be a time where some people make a decision to start attending church and I think the message hit home with alot of us. We all have areas in our lives that we know are not quite in line with the way God desires for us to live – our challenge is to name it. Commit to living differently in 2009. Remember, God has great things in store for us.

Have you seen the movie – ‘Talladega Nights’? There is a scene where Ricky Bobby is saying grace before the meal and he prays to baby Jesus. His wife yells at him that Jesus grew up but Ricky Bobby tells her that he prefers to think of Jesus as a baby.

I think we do that sometimes as well. We celebrate Christmas and we like the image of Christ as a baby. Sweet, pure, and innocent. It makes us feel good and comfortable. Yet, Jesus grew up. Jesus experienced some tremendous temptations. Jesus suffered. Jesus sacrificed alot for me and you. As I prepare for this Sunday, I am reminded what an incredible HERO Jesus is.  I am looking forward to this coming month at The Well as we look at HEROES and how we can grow in our influence within our family and friends.

Here is a simple thought – God is amazing. I have been thinking this past week about how God truly changes us. I wish that I could explain it but it is something that you experience. This past Sunday, our new church had the privilege of watching a family give their hearts to God. A mother and her two daughters were forever changed. It was a powerful moment and a wonderful reminder of God’s ability to change us.

Over the past week, I have had time each day to reflect on the change that God has brought about in me. (Believe me, it is certainly God bringing about the change.) I know that I have a long way to go in my relationship with God but watching a baptism inspires me to think about how God has worked in my life. I think about some of the relationships that have been restored. I think about some of the greed that has been taken away. I think about some of the bad habits that God has broken and some of the positive habits that God has poured into me. I am not the same person that I was many years ago. I am sure that those of you who knew me in high school and college are probably thankful for that. But, the scripture in 2 Corinthians that talks about that in Christ, we are new creations is certainly true. The scripture goes on to say that the old has gone and the new has come.

When I think of that scripture, I immediately think of these three brave women who have entered into a life in Christ. The scripture focuses my attention on the future. What does God have in store for these women. What will He use them to do? I think of all the people that guided me on my path and wonder – ‘who will they guide?’ Who will come to know Jesus through something they do or say. Who will be forever changed becuase of some random act of kindness that they show? We may never know the answer to these questions (in this life) but I know that God is alive and working in our midst. He is bringing about change that truly matters. I think it is going to be fun to watch.

Here is a simple thought – time flies when you are having fun. I know this is a cliche but it is so true. It seems like just yesterday when I moved to Cartersville to start The Well. The launch of the church seemed so far away. Fast forward to today and October 5th is going to be here before I know it. I watch the countdown on the website and get more and more excited about where God is leading us.

We had our August preview service this past Sunday and we had some incredible time of worship. Kyle O’Neal, our worship leader, did an awesome job at leading us to a place where we could experience the presence of Christ. The message was based on Jesus’ teaching in Matthew where he tells us all to hunger and thirst for righteousness. We mess this up so much because we look to fill the void that we have in our lives with so many things. Culture tells us that we can fill it with money, sex, drugs, work or a variety of other things. It doesn’t work. God tells us to focus on Him. We may know that these other things won’t really satisfy us but we listen to culture anyway. (If you want to see a video that we put together that visually expresses this tension between culture and God’s direction, Road Trip Video #3.) I have to tell you. It was amazing to preach and look out at the congregation and see what God has done in such a short period of time. People are excited about coming to church. They are signing up to get involved in small groups. They are serving at different events in the community. They are doing all of this and we haven’t even offically had our first launch service. Isn’t God amazing? It is so fun to sit and watch God work and it is exciting to think about where He is going to take us. I will tell you what I am sure of – I can’t wait (not that I have to because time is flying by).