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Big Time

Yesterday was a Big Time day in the history of Journey Church as we had our "Sneak Peak" over at the East Campus. The day was designed for our regular attenders to attend to check things out and for us to have a week to work out the kinks. Over 200 people attended the East Campus! That is Big Time! Jay Stokes, and team, are the best! They have done an exceptional job renovating the campus.

I shared with you yesterday that we are going to be doing something "Big Time" this coming weekend as we kick off "The Blessed Life". All I can say is that I am more jazzed about the coming 90 days in our church than any other season before! I don't care what you have going on, you will not want to miss this weekend or any of the next 90 days!

After we wrap "The Blessed Life" I will be doing a series simply called "Honor". The Lord has really dealt with my heart big time on this issue lately and how honor is a missing ingredient in the church today.

After "Honor" we'll be doing a series called "One Prayer". This is BIG TIME! We will be joining hundreds of other churches across our nation to do the same series at the same time! What is even better is that I will teach 1 out of 4 weeks and you will get to meet some of my ministry friends from around the nation. God is doing something BIG TIME and it is an honor to get to be part of it. Check out more info about "One Prayer" here.

Don't forget to pray this week for your friends that you are going to bring next Sunday!

Pumped!

Besides being pumped about my afternoon Sonic run I am about to make, I am pumped beyond belief about the coming 2 weeks! This weekend we get to see how it feels to be one church with multiple locations! I dropped by the East Campus earlier today and I have to tell you, there is a lot that needs to happen in 3 days! But our team will pull it off in a big way!

This Sunday is going to be great, but a week from Sunday is going to be in another orbit! We are doing something so HUGE that it will affect thousands of lives within our community! If God does what I think He will through this process we will have stories to tell forever. You better get ready! God will change your life!

We as a staff are kicking off a season of prayer and fasting Sunday that will last for one week. As we enter into this new season of ministry we want to make sure our hearts are focused on Him! We would love for you to join us, if you would like. We'll have prayer guides available this weekend!

I'm off to Sonic.

Vision

Can you believe OKC is becoming an NBA city? I've got to tell you, I am really pumped about this whole thing for several reasons. First, I loved going to the Hornets games. They were a blast! My highlight (one of my lifetime highlights) was when a family in the church gave me courtside seats. Now I am not talking about 6 rows up on the courtside, I'm talking about my feet being on the actual court! It was really, really cool! The problem is now when I go and sit 15 - 20 rows up I think I'm in the nose bleed section - you can get spoiled really quick.

Another reason I am pumped is that we live in a metro area where people have vision! I remember as a senior in high school going downtown to eat at Spaghetti Warehouse. It was the only thing in an old abandoned area of town, but somebody had vision!

A friend of mine owns the building with Mickey Mantle's Steakhouse. I remember him telling me that he bought the building shortly after Spaghetti Warehouse opened because he knew the vision would catch on. I bet today the building is worth 10 times what he paid for it. He had vision! He used to own "alley front" property and now he owns "river front" property! Let me say it again, he has vision!

While I will celebrate like most others about getting an NBA team, I will also learn the lesson that having a big vision ultimately pays off! That things might take longer than you would like, but if you stay the course, make the most of opportunities in front of you, and keep dreaming big, things will happen!

Vision is a wonderful thing!

Maturity

Mark Beeson is the Sr. Pastor at Granger Community Church in Indiana. He founded the church 25 years ago and has become one of the most influencial pastors in our nation. He is Godly and he is good!

Someone recently asked him about maturity in the church, here is his response:

Three days ago Rick Warren proffered this question for me to mull over. What is the mature church?

I knew immediately how I would respond: "The 'mature church' is the church filled with immaturity."

Anywhere in the world, whether plant or animal, the clear delineation of maturity is the ability to reproduce. Immature animals can't reproduce. Immature plants can't replicate themselves. The definition of maturity is being fully ripe, fully aged, so the connotation of maturity is obvious. Where you see maturity you'll observe new life, babies and immaturity all over the place.

Maturity desires reproduction. Maturity tolerates juvenile behavior (from juveniles) while training its progeny for success in life. Maturity means little [babies] running all over the place.

If you attend a mature church, be prepared for immaturity. Where you find mature Christians you'll find little babes in Christ running all over the place. In fact, if you have been looking for a church where everyone tithes and everyone serves--you're not looking for a mature church, you are looking for a dying church - aged, impotent and bereft of spiritual newborns because everyone is mature.

Few things are more disturbing than a flock of adult believers standing around complaining that no one has come to Christ while refusing to do something that might result in new life. So when you bump into someone who acts immature at one of our services, don't complain, and don't be surprised. Instead, thank God the mature in Christ are busy delivering newborn babies to the family of God.

Weekend Recap

Man, what an amazing time we had this weekend! God showed up in a huge way! I loved every aspect of the experience this weekend, there was no way you could attend and leave the same.

First of all, my congrats to the hospitality team for out doing themselves! What they did in the lobby was perfect! The whole experience was done with excellence, which honors God in such a huge way!

Michelle, Kyle, and Rose absolutely tore it up on "Are you ready for a Miracle?" I'll try to get it posted on the internet for those who missed it. Words can not even begin to describe what it felt like in the auditorium during that song. We might need to have a little more "soul" more often.

The media team hit a 10 out of 10 with all the videos they prepared. Video can either really add to worship experience or really be a distraction. Everything they put together added!! The "Sonic" video for the Grand Opening of the East Campus was really funny.

I had a blast teaching on the miraculous! I loved what God did all weekend in the lives of people! We need the miraculous in our lives!

It was good to see the OU women pull out a win over the weekend and it was bummer to see the guys get stomped! But for all you people who want to talk about how bad the guys are remember this - at the beginning of the season everyone said they had no chance of even making it to the tournament and guess what - they made it!

It was interesting to watch some of the games and see how the best teams never lost their poise even when they were being challenged the most. I'm sure there is a lesson in that we can learn.

This is it

This is it! Easter is here! Many of you are skidding back into your driveways from SB, (That's short for Spring Break for those of you who aren't awake yet) you have the racoon face from wearing you glasses on the slopes, and it just hit you Easter is tomorrow. Guess what? You're right!

Here is the run down of Worship Experience times: Saturday (that's today) - 5:30 & 7; Sunday - 8:30, 9:45, 11:30 & 5:30

Helpful hints: If you don't like massive crowds attend on Saturday. If you usually run late pretend the experiences begin 30 minutes before posted time above. GET HERE EARLY!!!

It is going to be a great experience!

Easter Weekend

Well, I am back from my apple dumpling filled time away at Lake Tenkiller. I am about 5 Lbs. heavier than when I left, so it's time to begin trimming back. The lake trip at spring break marks a significant point in the year for the Mitchell family - it means that the next family trip to the lake is 60 days away and includes alot of skiing, tubing, and swimming. When we get within the 30 day count I'll get antsy and start just staring at the boat, then in late April I insist on going to the lake, putting the boat in, slipping the summer boat CD in, and having dinner out on the water. Yes, I love the lake that much!

One of the things I love more than the lake is being here at Journey with you! I can't wait for this weekend! Our team has been planning for weeks to make sure Christ is celebrated in a huge way! You can choose from one of six options this weekend - Saturday: 5:30 & 7; Sunday: 8:30; 9:45; 11:30; 5:30

Bring a friend and we'll see you this weekend.

Happy

Well, I just completed day 4 at Lake Tenkiller and I have to say that I am loving life! It has been a blast to take some down time to spend with my family and to gear up for the next few weeks. I think in six years of ministry at Journey that this trip has been the easiest for me to disconnect and relax. Why? God is good! God has been so faithful to bring such an amazing team around me that can keep things moving forward while I am taking some time off!

I heard this weekend was incredible! We are so blessed to have guys like JT and Todd, who have shared the last 2 weeks! Both guys are in tune with God and love to share what He is doing in their lives. I do look forward to getting back to the office in the next day or two to get ready for this weekend!

Today, Robin and I took the 2 younger kids for a 2 hour hike. They loved it! Caitlyn is so different than her mother, if you take you eyes off of her for one moment she is scaling the biggest rock possible. Caleb is brave enough to go anywhere! At one point, he was about to accidently jump off about a 20 ft. cliff into the water.

We took Christopher to the airport in Tulsa yesterday for his mission trip. He was pumped about sharing Christ with people in another country. We need to remember to pray for all the mission teams that are out this week!

Well, I just wanted to take a moment to touch base. Now it is time to return to the final day of doing nothing. I take that back, I have eaten plenty! So far I have had 3 apple dumplings at the Princess. (A famous Lake Tenkiller burger place) Tomorrow I will begin looking for locations for "Journey Church - Tenkiller Campus". I love the lake!

I love what God is doing in Norman even more though! I look forward to getting back and seeing all that God will do in the coming weeks! Have I mentioned we open our second campus in 3 weeks? WOW!

A Little Sporadic

Spring Break is finally here and I'm going to hang with the family a little bit. With Easter being the 2nd Sunday of Spring Break I'm going to spend the first half of the week having a little fun. Todd will be speaking this weekend on Palm Sunday. If you have never heard Todd, you need to! He is an exceptional teacher that knows how to bring the Word alive in a very unique way.

I'm pumped about the next weeks and months at Journey: this weekend, Palm Sunday; then Easter; March 30 we'll be having a sneak peak at the East Campus; and then the Grand Opening on April 6th. On April 6th were going to do something really, really incredible that could change thousands of lives in Norman and Moore. I know people hate when I say that I'm pumped or excited, but I can't help it. God is doing some huge things! Don't miss out!

I'll check in within a few days! 'Til then - be blessed!

I'm alive!

Well, the good news is that I have lived through the past day or so and am still alive. There were points where I was wondering if I would make it. I don't like pain! One of my friends told me that the best way to deal with Kidney Stones was to drink a beer or two and man it out! No thank you! While I believe that God is my ultimate healer, I also believe he has created some pretty good meds for times like this.

I just cruised over to the East Campus to check out progress. The children's areas have a fresh coat of paint and all the new carpet is almost down. The auditorium is making headway and things look good for the Grand Opening on Sunday, April 6th.

This weekend we have several teams leaving for mission trips around the world. I will bring you up to speed in the next day or two, but we need to be committed to praying for these guys while they are gone. Robin and I are sending Christopher to Nicaragua. I am really pumped about him getting this opportunity to see the world and minister the grace of Christ to people in a different country.

Start inviting your friends to Easter weekend! God is going to do some huge things!