Sunday on Monday – For 4.15.2012

Quest Church …. some thoughts from yesterday and other things I want to share with you today….

  • First – just want to say THANK YOU for the thoughtfulness and generosity you showed me in celebration of my 40th Birthday.  Guess I can’t say I’m 39 any longer!  But THANKS QUEST.  I serve an incredible church community.
  • Continued in our series called “UP / the power of the resurrected life” yesterday.  Really good series and hearing alot of buzz and talk about it.  Talking about the Holy Spirit’s PRESENCE in our lives is so important.  The rest of this series is going to be powerful.  Don’t miss it!  If you did miss it, you can check it out here.
  • A few folks have asked me about the book I referenced in my message yesterday.  It’s called “FORGOTTEN GOD” by Francis Chan.  Talks about the Church’s neglect of the Holy Spirit.
  • So cool to see so many kids and youth involved at Quest.  They are not simply the church of tomorrow; they are the church today.  One of our greatest tasks as a church is to pass on the legacy of faith to the next generation.  So when I walked outside in the late afternoon and say dozens of kids and youth hanging out and being a part of our Quest kids and youth ministries, I simply thank God.  I am also so THANKFUL for our amazing leaders.  Please thank a kids/youth volunteer next time you see one.  They are investing so much of themselves in something so important.  We need to celebrate and encourage even more of that!
  • We announced the summer series at Quest yesterday —- called ” i QUESTION “.  This is your opportunity to ask any questions about God, faith, life, relationships, etc.  Simply respond to this post or facebook or email me with your questions.  You can also write them down in worship.  We’ll group the questions together and I’ll be preaching on those topics for 9 weeks starting in June.  GET YOUR QUESTIONS IN EARLY!

Two other things I wanted to share with you all to ask for prayers and to keep you informed ….

1 – Quest has continued to experience not only spiritual, but numerical growth.  We started a third worship service to allow for more growth several months ago.  While this has helped us grow by about 25 % , our middle service (10 am) is back to being over 80% full practically every week.  We need to do something in order to continue to offer opportunities for more people to experience God, relationships, and change.  Through prayer and initial discussions, it is my belief that we should begin another worship experience on our current campus.  This is a wise use of resources and helps us to be the best stewards of what God has blessed us with (facilities, people, finances, etc).  My thought is to begin a fourth worship service in “The Gathering Place” facility at the 10 am hour – to run concurrently with the service in the main worship space.  The service would include full hospitality, a live worship band, message via video (most weeks), communion, baptisms, etc.  While there are difficulties with making all this happen, we must keep our attention on what God is doing and how He is moving at Quest.  More people are connecting.  We must look for ways to help them connect and welcome them in.  Please pray for this…. and watch for a survey concerning it coming soon …. By the way – planning a Fall 2012 Launch for this new worship service.

2 – As you are probably aware, Quest is in process of purchasing 10 acres of land through the Imagine Initiative at the Grovetown/Gateway area.  This is where we will eventually locate our main/permanent campus.  There is a rare and exciting opportunity for Quest to potentially start worshipping in Grovetown with a “Satellite” location in 2013 (likely in the Fall).  This would enable us to send a “launch team” to Grovetown to start this campus with the intent of the rest of the church moving over once a facility is built. Long story short – we’re in discussions with The Family Y about this (they will have a location right next to our property – beginning next year).  They are interested in partnering with Quest to enable all of this to happen.  There is much more to be shared about this, as well as a lot of planning to go into effect.  This is all pretty new news, and we haven’t developed many plans yet.  But it’s an exciting possibility.  Just so you know – we would stay where we currently are and most of the present church community would worship in our current location … while a few dozen would likely go to get this new campus started that one day will become our more permanent home.  Quest Satellites have been a long-term part of our Vision and are not a new concept.  They enable us to grow spiritually and numerically in more than one location and to be the church all of the CSRA.  It is part of our future.  As your pastor, I ask you to pray about this, get as involved as you can in serving in any of our future locations, and to be financially invested in this Vision.  Your sacrificial service and giving is what will make this Vision reality.  Think about the many people who will become a part of what God is doing through Quest.  We don’t know their names yet and we haven’t seen their faces, but we will, God willing.

THANK YOU, Quest.  I LOVE being your pastor.  I am humbled and blessed to be a part of such an amazing church community!

John

Sunday on Monday – 3.18.2012

Wow.  The weekend (and today) has been fantastic.  Here are some highlights:

  • Incredible Men’s Weekend up at the lake.  About 35 guys, beautiful weather, crazy good food, and great worship and speaking.  A big THANKS to all the guys that put this together ( and some of the women who sent up some food! )
  • Second highest attendance ever at Quest yesterday (for a non-holiday type day — Easter/Christmas/etc).  That’s exciting!
  • The Guest Services tent has been amazing.  Giving away 10-15 loaves of fresh baked bread to that many visitors every week.  We keep running out.  Somebody said we need to start a bread factory :)
  • Highlight of the day had to be baptizing a father and his son as his wife and other son looked on, and then the whole family joining Quest!
  • Had some folks from the Biker Community show up for late service yesterday.  Loved hearing those motorcycles pull up for worship!
  • 18 people for “Starting Point” yesterday – where visitors to Quest learn more about our Vision and discover ways to get more connected.
  • Had a great Worship Design Team meeting yesterday.  Can’t wait to get into some of our upcoming series at Quest!
  • Final Belize Training yesterday for the April 2012 trip.  Commissioning the team this Sunday!
  • Financial Peace University kicked off yesterday – over 25 people learning better stewardship!
  • Kids and youth everywhere last night.  Love our kids and youth workers – you all are AMAZING.  Hug a kids or youth worker when you see them and thank them for pouring themselves into the lives of our kids and youth at Quest.
  • District Meeting today to get final approval to purchase the land in Grovetown for Quest.  UNANIMOUS APPROVAL!  Don’t forget the Quest Church Conference this coming Sunday, March 25, 1 pm in the main facility.  This is where the Church gives final approval – and then from there we simply go through the “due diligence” period and then close on the land.  We’re purchasing the land with cash – no debt!  (Thanks to you, Quest Church —- and your incredible sacrificial giving to our Imagine Campaign!)

Looking forward to another great week and a great weekend!

Sunday on Monday – 3. 4. 2012

Some thoughts from yesterday ….

 

  • Incredible Sunday.  Highlight of the day had to be baptisms at the 8:30 service for a baby and then at the 10 am service for an entire family!  It doesn’t get any better than that!!!
  • Loving the series we’re in called “Suffer Well.”  Yesterday’s message touched on UNNECESSARY SUFFERING.  If you missed it, you can watch it here:  http://www.thequestonline.com/messages/suffer-well-week-2/
  • A big thanks to the Community Group that has partnered with our Hospitality Ministry to start the Guest Services tent/table on Sunday mornings.  The purpose of this is to greet visitors on the way OUT of worship and hand them a GIFT and thank them for visiting.  This Community Group had the vision and passion to get it going, and it’s going great!  Hospitality is at the heart of God, and needs to be the center of what we do as well!
  • After worship got to celebrate my dad’s birthday (which is later this week).  Dude’s getting old  :)
  • Had an awesome meeting to discuss how we can address the growth of Quest and find ways to include more people – especially in worship at the 10 am hour.  There are a fair number of seats and 8:30 and 11:30 am (hint, hint!).  But we’re looking at ways to include more people at the 10 am hour as well.  Watch for details coming in the not to distant future ….
  • Had a great “kids and youth leadership training night” at Quest last night.  Kids are so important to our church community and that was evident when nearly 70 adult volunteers showed up for leadership training.  LOVE OUR KIDS AND YOUTH WORKERS!  Make sure you thank one when you see them this week.  They are amazing servants to the next generation!!

 

Looking forward to the future at Quest.  Keep your church in prayer this week!

 

JOHN

SUFFER WELL series – Questions from 2.26.12 Worship

 

During the current series at Quest, you are invited to text in questions/comments during worship or even during the week that I’ll address in my blog.  Text the keyword SUFFER + your question/comment to 22333.

If you missed the first week of the series, check it out online here:

http://www.thequestonline.com/messages/suffer-well-week-1/

 

Here are some of the questions and comments from the first week of our series.

 

> I think we need to stop using the phrase “God won’t give you more than you can handle” … no truth in that!

This is a great insight/comment from whoever sent it in.  I would dare say that many of us have grown up hearing this statement.  But the reality is it is simply not in the Bible.  Most people quote the following scripture to support the phrase “God won’t give you more than you can handle” —– it comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 and reads “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” But if you’ll notice – this verse is addressing TEMPTATION, not suffering and trials.  God certainly doesn’t tempt us, but we cannot escape the reality that He allows us to suffer and be tested in order to purify our faith and make us more complete.   One of my favorite scriptures is Paul speaking in Romans 8:35-39 where he states:  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Sounds like we can “handle” quite a bit from the way Paul speaks, doesn’t it?  He talks about handling things up until the point of death even.    And here’s a big reality, in my opinion — if the Spirit of God is within me, I can “handle” everything that comes my way – everything.  Even death.  Now I get it — easy to say, hard to do.  But this is the Biblical Truth.

 

> I understand God’s test for Job, but what about the lives of his children who died?  They are discarded like livestock and property in this story.

The book of Job in the Bible is a Wisdom Book.  Wisdom is learning to live the way God intends us to live.  Job teaches us great truths about how to wisely live in the face of intense suffering.  One of the things about Job I appreciate the most – is that it teaches that even the righteous can and will suffer.  The first chapter of Job clearly explains that Job was righteous and without fault in the eyes of God.  But then Satan comes to ask God’s permission to test Job.  Satan tells God that Job will curse God once he loses everything.  Job does lose everything, because God allows Satan to test him, and in the end Job questions – but never curses God.  In fact, he is closer to God through his suffering by the end of the book than before the suffering began.  This is background — and now on to the question/comment……   Two things I would say – first of all – yes, Job’s children die.  This is made clear in the book.  And it is clear that God allows it to happen.  Clearly he doesn’t cause it, Satan does.  But He allows it.  But secondly – the statement that “they are discarded like livestock and property in this story” is a subjective “opinion” on the story.  What I mean by that is that this is our opinion.  We can’t say that from God’s perspective this is true.  In fact, from Scripture we can see that God is a loving and good God.   Thus the tension we feel — How can He be both loving and good yet at the same time allow this kind of suffering?  This is a deep and mysterious question.  One that takes a lot of prayer and pondering.  As I ponder it, I find myself asking if I could respond like Job.  With such intense suffering, could I still love and worship God?    It makes me deeply respect people who face this kind of suffering and continue loving and worshiping God.   They have lived the life of Job and have wisely chosen to continue worshiping their Creator.  Wow.

 

> Happiness is an emotion (comes and goes) AND Joy is a state of mind (constant)

This statement likely came from my reference to “consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds” from James 1:2-4 yesterday.  I talked about the difference between happiness and joy.  This comment seems to be further reflection on what I said in worship about happiness being something we manufacture and is based on external circumstances AND joy being supernaturally given by God ( we cannot manufacture) and is never based on external circumstances but instead is an inward posture of our heart/soul before God.  The only thing I would address about this comment is that scripturally Joy is more than a state of mind.  It is a “fruit” given to us by God’s Spirit (Galatians 5) and impacts the whole of our being – mind, body, spirit.

 

> Is it fair to say that “joy in suffering” can be a result of Hope? (especially in light of Hebrews 11 and 12)

I think so.  Hope is a grand thing, really.  Huge.  It causes me to take another step, to live another day, to believe that what I’m going through now is not all there is —- there is a “light at the end of the tunnel.”   Because of this, hope seems like it would certainly lead quite naturally (or supernaturally!) to joy in the life of the follower of Jesus.  I have to imagine that the reason Jesus had so much joy in the face of suffering and the cross is that he knew the hope of the open grave and new life lay beyond the suffering/cross.

 

> My favorite saying is “God will not protect us from what will perfect us.”

Not sure where that saying came from, but I must say that I like it.  It demonstrates the reality that while we tend to focus what we’re going through and what’s happening TO US,  God focuses on what He’s trying to do IN US.  He is at work to mature us, grow us, perfect us.

 

> Can you truly be a follower of Jesus without suffering?  And how is suffering connected to the “fear of God” ?

I’m not sure first century followers of Jesus would have ever considered you could follow Jesus without suffering.  For them it often cost relationships, caused financial hardships, and even cost many of them their very lives. In 21st century America, however, we want to believe that suffering can be separated from discipleship.  But we must consider the teachings AND the life of Jesus.  Jesus taught that we’d be persecuted, would have to carry our crosses daily, etc.  Then His life demonstrated this very same reality.

“The Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1).  Wisdom teaches us to suffer for Christ by giving our lives away in sacrificial love to the world around us.  This is the connection I see between the fear of God and suffering.

 

*** A few more questions and comments are coming in and I’ll try to address them this week.  Keep the conversation going by responding and discussing the questions and comments in this blog…..

Peace-

John Kenney

 

Sunday on Monday – for 1.29.12

Some thoughts from yesterday ….

  • Announced the unanimous decision to purse a land purchase for Quest in Grovetown/Gateway area.  So thankful for a church with Vision to see beyond ourselves to an entire community of people who are longing for what we know they are wired for — God, relationships, and opportunities to change/make a difference!
  • Wrapped up our ALMOST CHRISTIAN series with a message challenging we as a church to corporately be ALL IN with God and His Vision for our church.  Praying that we’ll all consider what this means for us and commit/covenant together to follow God’s Agenda for our church, and not our own…
  • Bringing back THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM series this Sunday, Feb. 5 at all three services.  Come and let’s talk about things that are often difficult to talk about in the Church!
  • 7 people joined Quest yesterday.  Very powerful time has people covenanted with God and the church community to live out the life of a follower through our local church.  So awesome to see our community grow!  This is something to celebrate!
  • Prayed for our youth yesterday — 61 of them (along with some adults)  — are headed out on a ski retreat this coming weekend.  Going to be an awesome time together of growth with God and each other.  Can’t wait to hear about the experience!  (my oldest daughter is going on her first youth trip —- pray for her dad! Ha!)
  • Our band is so incredible.  Loved listening to them yesterday and letting them lead us in worship.  If you get the chance, please tell them how much you appreciate their sacrificial service to God and our church community!
  • After worship – headed to Thomson to teach a seminar on “Reaching Younger Generations” …. had the pleasure of team teaching with Mike Freace from Quest, very gifted speaker/teacher.  Got to hang out with Wes Roberts and Forrest Page as well.  Was fun.  Not sure when I’m going to learn how speaking 4 times in one Sunday takes it out of you — fell asleep at 8 pm last night!!!
  • Was awesome to pull into the parking lot last night after being in Thomson and see so many kids and youth in community at KidVenture Nights and also at Youth.  There is so much LIFE happening in our kids and youth ministries—- and we need to CELEBRATE that every chance we get!

 

I can’t tell you how much I LOVE serving The Quest Church as your pastor.  It is such an amazing experience that I thank God for every day.  Look so forward to what the future holds!

ALMOST CHRISTIAN – one of the most important series we’ve ever done at Quest

We’re starting 2012 with a series at The Quest Church called “Almost Christian.”  As I’ve pondered and prepared for this series, I can honestly say that this is definitely one of the most important series we’ve done to date.  The reason is this — we’re going to be exploring how we so often get comfortable in our Christianity and “think” we’re being Christian, when in biblical reality we may be further from it than we realize.

You need to be with us for this series.  Whether you are already a Christian, or considering Christianity – this is a series that everyone needs to hear and let sink in.  It’s one of those series that will challenge us deeply and call us to levels of commitment to God and following Him that we probably haven’t considered enough.

As we begin a New Year, let me ask — was last year ALMOST what you wanted it to be, but not quite?  Did you ALMOST live the life you are called to?  As a follower?  As a husband/wife?  As a mother/father?  As a friend?  In your work/business?  With your friends?  ——– Are you tired of the ALMOST life?  Isn’t it time to follow through and get serious about God and your faith?  If it is — get ready for a life-changing series at Quest.

Christmas begins with darkness

Yesterday in worship, I preached from Isaiah 9 – where there is a powerful prophecy about the coming Messiah who would bring Light to a Dark world.

Isaiah says that “The people who walk in darkness…” (v. 2) —- owning the fact that as people, we certainly are surrounded by spiritual darkness because of our sin and rebellion against God.

I realized something last week as I prepared and prayed over that message – and what I realized is that Christmas is only Christmas (you know the part about Light and Hope) because IT BEGINS IN DARKNESS.  I cannot fully realize and appreciate Light and Hope (Jesus) until I own my darkness.  This explains why so often for so many of us – Christmas is only a “story” that never quite connects to our own “story.”  We’ve become so good at avoiding and hiding our spiritual darkness, that we don’t recognize that the Light has come to dispel and truly annihilate our darkness.

This Christmas Season – celebrate Light and Hope.  But get estatic about the fact that the reason we can celebrate Light and Hope is that we live in a spiritual state of darkness and NEED LIGHT AND HOPE.  Get real – don’t hide your darkness.  Don’t avoid it.  Owning it is the only way Christmas will every truly make sense and change you.

 

A Challenge — mentoring younger generations

In yesterday’s message, I challenged older generations (basically busters, boomers, and some gen x’ers) to INTENTIONALLY mentor/disciple younger generations.  A Biblical picture of this can be found in the relationship of Paul and Timothy in the New Testament.

I’m convinced that one of the greatest failings of my generation (gen x) and those before mine is to take this seriously and commit to it.  Like a baton pass in a track relay race, older generations are in danger of dropping the baton of faith for the next generation.  What we do over the next couple of decades will make all the difference if we are serious about leaving a Godly legacy for emerging generations.

If you are a gen x’er, boomer, or buster – who are you mentoring?  Who are you intentionally discipling?  Passing the baton from your generation to the next?

If you are a millenial or net gen’er, or even some gen x’ers -  who is mentoring you?  Are you seeking out discipleship and spiritual direction from older generations?

In the Church we like to create programs and ministries.  But no program or ministry can replace the power of one-on-one relational discipleship from one generation to the next.   Imagine what would happen if we began to take this seriously…..

 

The Elephant in the Room SERIES

 

Let’s face it – there are ALWAYS things we need to talk about that we don’t talk about.  You could call these things “the elephant in the room.”  Happens in our families, friendships, workplaces, and even the Church.

In the Church there are certain subject/topics we tend to avoid.  We avoid them because they stir up emotions and people have various opinions on them, etc.  But this shouldn’t cause us to ignore these important topics of discussion.  We think about them, so why not talk about them?  And why not look into the Bible to explore what God might have to say about them?

That is the intent of a new “series” coming up at The Quest Church.  Well – it’s not really a series in the way we typically do a series — several weeks on one topic.  Every few months we are just going to throw in a one week discussion on an “elephant in the room” topic.  You won’t know what the topic is until that day.  Just know that it will be something that isn’t typically discussed in the Church, or is avoided, etc.

So I hope to see you this Sunday, Oct. 23,  at 8:30, 10, or 11:30 am for our first “elephant in the room” discussion!

If you miss it, be sure to go online to www.theQUESTonline.com/media to check it out.

Is God who I THINK he is?

How do you SEE or VIEW God in your mind?  In other words, how do you IMAGINE him?

The reality is that we imagine God in many many different ways.  But check this out and let it really sink in — The way I VIEW GOD may not be WHO GOD IS.   That may not seem like such a big deal until we consider that we live life every single day based on our view of God.  Seriously – the things I think about, the way I love my spouse, how I relate to my kids, the way I see my job/career, the way I drive (ouch), the way I save for retirement, and the list goes on and on….  My view of God AFFECTS my life in ways that I often don’t even realize.

I’ve been RE-IMAGINING God lately because of this reality.  I want to be sure that the way I live my life everyday lines up with the way I SEE GOD.  And if it doesn’t, then I need to make some serious adjustments.  But more than that – I want to be sure that the way I view God is the way HE ACTUALLY IS.  I don’t want to base my view of God on only what I’ve experienced and been taught in the past.  I want to discover God for who he actually is.

This Sunday, at The Quest Church, we begin a new series called RE-IMAGINE.  We’ll be exploring all that I’ve just talked about.  I hope you will join us.  It may change the way you SEE THINGS.