Back in 1996 my girlfriend asked me if I wanted to go to a college conference with her campus ministry. It was over in Austin, TX and was called Passion. Some guy named Louie Giglio had put it together and Dave Busby was going to be speaking. So was John Piper. I had no idea who these guys were. But I did see that a band named Caedmon’s Call was going to be playing. So I said, “Sure, why not.” and signed up.

Those four days really shaped my life. I was just starting my first full time ministry job in January of 1997 and this trip was January 1-4. And I’ve been a huge respecter of Louie Giglio and his ministries ever since. Beverly and I went to the first three Passion conferences (97, 98, 99) and to OneDay 2000. While in Clinton I carried a group to Nashville for Passion 2006 and tomorrow we leave with a group of college students headed to Atlanta for Passion 2011.

If you’re not that familiar with Passion or Louie Giglio, then you should be. Louie is one of my favorite communicators of God’s truths. He does it in a casual way, but will sometimes punch you right in the gut (or face) with exactly what you needed to hear. His heart beats most for college aged people to see how much they mean to God and the ways He can move through them to make a difference in the world.

I plan to tweet and blog a little while in Atlanta about Passion and our time there. We’ll get to listen to Louie Giglio, Francis Chan, Beth Moore, John Piper, Davie Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, Matt Redmon, Charlie Hall, Christie Nockles, and more. But I hope that our group really catches fire for seeing God’s glory made known back here in Oxford and beyond. Pray for us while we’re away.

Anyone else going to be at Passion?

But this summer our numbers didn’t drop significantly because many of our college students stuck around Oxford taking summer school or getting jobs. So summer was a nice time to get to know them better, and we also saw a few new families start to attend during the summer. Plus often times we had many counselors from Camp Lake Stephens attend too.

But when fall gets near we know to expect an uptick in attendance. But no way to really gage it though. We averaged about 115 from the Sunday after Ole Miss’ exams were done through the last weekend before classes started. I preached on August 15th to about 135 people. The next weekend, the 22nd was “Move In” weekend. Classes for Ole Miss started the next day.

On that morning we saw familiar faces showing up. Then some we’d not seen in a few months. And then new faces. And more new faces. And more and more! We started finding folding chairs in the storage room. We took all the chairs out of the Kids’ Ministry rooms. And we ran out of chairs! We had people sitting on the floor, standing in corners, out in the hallways… There were over 250 people there! I was quite surprised. We practically doubled from the week before.

I joked with myself that my awesome message the week before brought everyone in. But really, I don’t know what the catalyst was. And we start wondering how to prepare for the next week.  Pat is preaching a series on Biblical Friendship and I think it hit home with many people. But so many of the new faces were college students.

This morning I woke up to get ready for church. It was grey and raining outside. I thought, “hmm.” I figured the rain would keep people in bed or just in their homes. So we wouldn’t have to move as many chairs around.

We still set up a few chairs in the overflow room, but didn’t know what to expect. Church starts at 10:30. It stops raining about 10ish. There are a few people there. But then it happens again. A steady trickle becomes a stream. And soon we’re scrambling for chairs again. Taking the chairs from the kids again. And having people sit/stand everywhere. It didn’t seem quite as crazy this time, but there were actually more people there today than last week. The parking lot was an insurance adjuster’s nightmare with all those cars parked so tightly and all those college girls trying to maneuver around!

Now people are suggesting knocking out walls and other major remodeling projects. I’m interested to see how many people coming on Sunday mornings shift to the evening service that will begin on September 12th. But running out of space is a good problem to (temporarily) have.

It’s been an exciting two weekends. Seeing your church attendance double. But we’ve got to continue to seek God in how to connect everyone that’s coming to God and to each other. Provide community both big and small for them. And to create space, whether that means extra services or expanded rooms. So if you’ve read this far (and I’ll admit that I left out a lot of details I wanted to put in. I’m trying to get better at that) I ask that you pray that we, The Orchard, seek God and His wisdom for what our next steps should be.

Next weekend is a holiday weekend. No one has school on Monday and many people are off of work. Will people be traveling? BUT…it’s Ole Miss’ first home game of the season! Will more people be in town and come to church? We’ll see.

We went back downtown today for lunch today to meet with an Orchard student that goes to Furman. Ate at Sticky Fingers. That is an aptly named restaurant. But then we went to the Discover Class. It is structured for people wanting more info on Grace Church. It was a two hour meeting. But was interesting.During this meeting there was the Saturday night service going on in the next building.

Afterward we got to go to the “debrief” meeting with the pastors after their service. Then a trip to supper with the teaching pastor and worship pastor. Both were really down to earth. Easy to talk with. Funny. But pretty straight on as far as talking Biblical stuff too.

Tomorrow will be a full day. Probably three or four church services. Might even squeeze in a service with Newspring Church too that recently opened up a Greenville campus.

The downtown area of Greenville is interesting. It was revitalized a few years ago, but is full of shops, restaurants, parks, plazas, and landscaping. Lots of unique lighting at night too. There is even a “Mice on Main” scavenger hunt.

Man, I guess they’re to be expected. And especially about “higher profile” churches. But rumors can be damaging. The sad thing is when rumors are spread not as rumors (like where Pat Patterson will sign to play college football) but told as truth and matter of fact. Like the email I got yesterday.

But first a little background. The church where I serve/attend is a plant of a church in Tupelo. We are still deeply connected to them and are thankful for that. The church in Tupelo just celebrated their ten year birthday. They’ve done tons of good in the community and reached many people. But I can’t think of anyone on the staff who would say that they are perfect or there is not still room to mature and grow in effectiveness as the Body of Christ.

But I got an email yesterday from a friend asking me if something was true of our church in Oxford like it is our sister church in Tupelo. “Is is true that, in order to become a member of The Orchard – Oxford, one must present copies of one’s W-2 for tithing purposes?  Someone told me that it is a requirement for membership at the Tupelo Orchard and asked if y’all have the same requirement.” Seriously? I mean….seriously?

Truth is, this “fact” had been spoken about as just a matter of fact for years I’m told. Now I don’t think my friend was making that accusation. But seems to have taken the statement about the Tupelo church as at least possible fact. I simply responded by asking that they find that “someone” and ask them to stop by The Orchard in Tupelo to appologize for spreading lies about them. Or to at least check facts before regurgitating them.

I mean, how damaging can that be to a church’s reputation? How hurtful could it be to ministries and ministers? How lame of a rumor is that in the first place? And to think that it was even heard more than once in a different church’s office? That’s super-extra-lame.

So…if you hear something negative about a church that surprises you, make sure you know your facts before trying to surprise someone else.

I remembered being at Innovate08 back in September. They had a film festival where churches brought some of their best videos and showed them. I was pretty surprised. Some were sermon illustrations, some were promos for upcoming events, some were just highlights and innovative announcements. But lots were really good. I’ll try to find a few and put up here soon.

But the video I saw yesterday was a promo video for a Young Life camp out in Arizona. Camp videos can be fun. I remember helping some with the video we showed each session the summer I worked at Camp Ozark (like 12 years ago. wow). They could be intense the last night of editing, and it wasn’t even my job to do it! And BreakThru made a video each year that literally finished rendering minutes before it was shown on the last night. And I made a few highlight videos here and there back in the deck to deck days.

So I know the thrill of seeing lots of different things happening and then having it all come together for something that makes a grand impression. Well, this video below blew me away. Like I said, it’s of Young Life camp. But the guy who made it and the equipment used was exceptional. But to be able to make a video like this would be a dream of mine. Enjoy.

Young Life Lost Canyon from W. Ashley Maddox on Vimeo.

She kept telling me she was “helping me” when really she was nudging me to help myself. But I appreciate her a ton for it. It turned out to be fun and makes me ready to do the next one…what ever it happens to be. But with a few interview appointments spread out over a few days and some friends in town over the weekend too, I pushed back the editing of the video til last night. Like really got started at about 11:30pm. And then the re-edits and tweaks that no one else would probably notice kept me going back over it. So I finished around 3am [aided by the fact this was my first time to use iMovie08] so we could show it in church today. But I’m all good.

Anyhow, here it is. It’s not perfect. But it was fun and a learning experience. I hope for more to come soon. Tell me what you think in the comment.

Small Groups (@ The Orchard) Promo from Blake Thompson on Vimeo.

Yes, even Oxford felt right. Not the red and blue aspects of it. But what I would be doing and who I would be doing it with. And at the time I didn’t realize that I’d be living in my dad’s basement for five months or that gas prices would get so crazy. Nor did I anticipate the chore of finding a house in Oxford. But after looking back on that first day here in Oxford lots has happened. 

As I said in the last post, I’m going to put together a few ”

I think I’ve learned quite a bit the last 12 months. But I realize how much more I need to learn, study, and apply myself. I see where God has worked, but I see lots of opportunities to partner even more deeply with God in serving Oxford and Lafayette County.

Last night was Art With Santa for our church. It’s our 2nd annual event that happens right before the Oxford Christmas parade. Kids come in and make Christmas art projects and get to sit on Santa’s lap if they’d like to. I don’t know exactly how many showed up. But it was pretty full in The Powerhouse for about two hours. And Pat said it was at least three or four times as many people who came last year. [a few pice below].

Then afterward we walked the parade route handing out signs for kids to hold up that said “SANTA, I’VE BEEN GOOD THIS YEAR!!!” The cool thing was that on the back side was our church name and info. So hopefully we’ll have a few more people hearing of us and maybe coming by.

We’re about to eat a little supper, and then decorate the tree. We were afraid it might not fit in our house because the house in Clinton had higher ceilings. The tree is a 9 footer. But it made it barely.

Now for some ART WITH SANTA PICS:

The Advent Conspiracy Promo Video from theadvance on Vimeo.

[ht to Josh Griffin]

And Pat brought it. He’s been going through a series called Enough. This past weekend’s sermon was on Beauty. It’s probably the “toughest” sermon he’s preached in a long while ever. So if you have a spare 37 minutes during a commute or waiting in the car line or while you take your morning 4 mile jog…give it a listen. You can find it here or on iTunes here.

But his First Word column in the magazine is usually a well thought out perspective on some important issues. The column in the Sept/Oct issue is a real thought provoker I believe. You can read the entire article here, but I’ll include a few quotes below as well. Let me know what you think.

I’m someone who tries to think independently and objectively, rather than simply follow what the pundits tell me to think. Because of that, I’ve realized I cannot fully embrace either political party. Both sides of the aisle have some great ideas and goals. But both also have areas where they simply get it wrong…

<snip>

The problem is, many Christians vote these convictions, but that’s largely where their personal involvement in the issues stops. Are the government leaders we vote for meant to do our job for us?

<snip>

I’ve heard that only 5 percent of people who attend church regularly actually serve in any way. I’ve read that if every Christian in America actually tithed 10 percent of their income, we would have enough financial resources to wipe out global poverty.

There’s more power lying dormant in pews around the nation than any government could hope to provide, and that’s where our focus should be.

<snip>

If you have a passion for an issue, rather than judging someone who doesn’t share that passion or viewpoint, just go do something about it. Give your life to it. Be the change you want to see.

It’s not up to Washington, it’s up to us—and I say it’s time we step up and lead the charge. But that means with our lives, our finances and our actions every day. Not just Nov. 4.

Last night The Orchard was a host for a screening of the new Invisible Children Video, GO. You probably remember me talking a bit about it last week.

Suffice to say it was pretty amazing. The turnout was less than we expected and hoped for, but the event itself was a blast. The roadies from the IC were great. Very helpful, knowledgeable, and genuine. The movie was inspiring. It told the stories of three out of 15 high school students who were allowed to go to Africa and see the effects of the money they raised. 

In turn it inspired some of them to make an even deeper commitment to helping the cause of children in northern Uganda.

And The Lyric Theater….it’s freaking amazing [or freakhog amazing]. It’s a great venue for a movie for sure. And I look forward to seeing some bands in there soon. But even the Roadies said that normally while the movie is showing they hang out at the merch table because they’ve seen/heard it so many times. But they said that The Lyric Theater in Oxford was by far the best venue they’ve been to in terms of video quality and sound quality. They said it was like watching the movie almost for the first time again.

All in all it was great night. Hope to have a better attended event next time. I think we learned a few things about getting the word out too.

Lastly, here is an older video from Invisible Children. It shows a bit about their Displace Me Campaign from a couple of years back. The more I see from these guys, the more I’m amazed with their video production skills. Plus, this video has one of my favorite songs in it too.

Invisible Children has made and is making a big difference in the lives of those children. And this weekend The Orchard in Oxford is partnering with them to bring their latest movie, GO, to The Lyric Theater on The Square in Oxford.

We set up a website for it today: InvisibleChildrenOxford.com.
Go visit it. Find out more. And attend the screening.
October 12. The Lyric. 6pm.
Two videos below you should watch…

The trailer for the movie GO:

Part of what led to the movie:

But I’ve realized I need to guard against something.

From my many years as a student minister I have taken kids on lots of different trips. Weekend trips, mission trips, beach camps, fall retreats, ski trips, etc., etc. And in doing so, I usually see kids end the week with a “camp high”. You know, where by the end of the event Jesus is their best friend for life! And how they’re going to go back home and be working to change their town, their school, their church, their WORLD! They are fired up! They sing the lyrics to praise songs all the time, and they’re just waiting to hear someone say, “I love Jesus! Yes I do! I love Jesus! How ’bout you?!?” so they can scream back their own affirmation of love for their new best friend and Savior.

But in most cases, it takes roughly two weeks before that students are “back to normal“. Back to how things were before they left for camp. The passion dries up. The enthusiasm wanes. And their purpose in life shifts back to being popular or making good grades or not getting in trouble.

And I can see how the same can be said for adults. I mean, people left Innovate 08 with a drive and a passion for God’s Kingdom. Just like they’ll leave Catalyst next month and any and all other church leadership events you can think of. And they’ll be chock full of ideas and purpose and passion and motivation. I’m right there with them. But I don’t’ want to see any of us come back to “normal” like it was before the event.

I want to soak in what God taught me at Innovate. And to let Him show me what it all means for me and my calling specifically. Not to copy a program or idea or manner of any other church/ministry. But to see what God is calling US to do specifically. And to apply it humbly and faithfully.

So thank you to Granger Community Church. Thanks to Mark, and Tim, and Rob, and Kem, and Mark. Thanks to Shawn and Steven and the Lifechurch.tv guys. Thanks to Kathy and Jeff.

After I got in there, looked at his name again, it dawned on me: I know this guy! I mean, not personally, but I heard him teach at a youth weekend after my sophomore year in high school down in Mississippi. Small world, huh? I liked him then and I liked him now.

He taught on The Radical Jesus. And about how Jesus had radical grace. And He always chose grace over law. Here are a few points that were really good:

• You love God exactly as much as you love the person you love the least. Meaning, who ever you love the least…that amount of love is how much you truly love God.
• Jesus always chose people over policies.
• We all exist in The Impossibility of Performance. Meaning we can never follow the rules well enough to always get it right. That’s why we need grace.
• “Beware the anger of a patient man”
• The Pharisees allowed the law to become their God.
• Why is it easier to live by the law instead of by grace? Because it’s the safer choice. You don’t have to think. And it gives you a type of power (because you can look down on people who don’t follow the law well)
• Gal 3:10 - “All who RELY on observing the law are under a curse.”

Without any wheels yet, I walked to the church. It is only a half mile. I kept looking for a BIG church building I’d see from a distance. But I didn’t. Which was cool. But the parking lot was filling and people were all filing in towards the front door. As I got there, immediately on my right was Connection Cafe, a little coffee bar and then some seating on the right as well. A nice lady w/ a nametag was saying to everyone at once, “I know it doesn’t look normal, but adults are taking the kids to their rooms!” I don’t think I looked lost, but anyway.

There were lots of people w/o being crowded.

I went to Bob Laurent‘s class he was teaching. It was on The Radical Jesus [I'll post the notes in the next entry]. At first I didn’t clue into who Bob Laurent is. But he spoke at a youth weekend I was a part of back in 1990. I liked him a lot back then, and 18 years later I still liked his teaching. He’s pretty passionate. And there were LOTS of people there. Bob said 900. And I think with a big shift in what Granger’s mid week events used to be, that’s a pretty significant number.

But first impressions of Granger Community Church was A+. Now I can’t wait for Innovate tomorrow. I’m back in the hotel after stopping by Target for some toiletries and by Moe’s for some supper! Now I’m full and typing while watching John and Kate plus 8.

Granger Community Church is just about a half mile down the road, so I could walk down there and check it out. There are actually some Journey Bible Classes going on tonight. I might give one of those a go to check out some of the changes that GCC is undergoing. Or I might go to bed early since I probably got 3 hours of sleep and have been on planes or rushing to them all day.

I got up at 4. Showered. Ate a muffin. Left for Tupelo. Flew to Memphis for a 37 minute layover. That means I rushed around to my next gate. Then I flew to Detroit. There I had another 37 minute layover. Interesting. But then I flew to South Bend and got a taxi to this hotel. So I could use some time on a bed infront of ESPN or something like that. And you can’t beat this wifi either.

But I know I won’t do that. I’m travelling, baby! Can’t be still for too long.

OH, and if things look different now and then, it’s because I’m trying out some new themes around the ole blog.

Edit: A 3:45 I got into my room

Next week I’m heading out to Indiana. I’ll fly into South Bend and then hitch a ride over to Granger, IN. I’ll be attending the Innovate 08 conference at Granger Community Church.

I had a friend that went last year and raved about it. And I read a few blogs of folks who had attended, and they said it was exceptional. My friend actually said, “It’s better than anything I’ve been to at Northpoint…” Those were some big words there.

So what am I looking forward to?

• I’m looking forward to hearing Mark Beeson teach. He’s a gifted communicator and has pushed his church in so many creative ways. [I still find it interesting that he's in a very "innovative" church, yet still preaches with a coat and tie each week. But hey, seems to be working for him!]
• I’m looking forward to hearing Shawn Wood talk of their creative process of finding the sweet spot of who God created his church to be and who they are not. That way they are not trying to be a huge buffet of ministries, but being dang good at what they’re created to do.
• Getting to hear Tim Stevens speak about recognizing and using culture to communicate the life changing truths of Jesus.
• Maybe meeting Kem Meyer and Tim Stevens both.
• Attending the Granger Film Festival where churches bring their best vids from the last year or so for a competition.
• Hearing Rob Wegner speak his heart about missions and how to impact the local community for The Kingdom.
• To be able to hear Kathy Guy speak on the small group strategies of GCC and how it makes a difference in their people. Might even get to grab lunch w/ her at some point.
• Steven Furtick will tell the stories of how his church has had a wild growth as it’s barely 2 years old. And the struggles and processes they’ve gone trough. And I want to see his weird hair in person.
• Plus, I hope to be able to walk around the campus of Notre Dame while I’m there too.
• And there will be some good companions from The Orchard in Tupelo to be with.

I will have frequent updates and maybe some pics/video of stuff while I’m there. I’ll “take you along” so to speak.

Services start at 10:30 on Sunday mornings. And at about 10:20ish, it looked to be a normal Sunday morning. Summers have been a little slow for us in a few ways, while at the same time adding quite a few new couples and families. And even when Pat finally shooed everyone into the worship room at 10:33 it still seemed like a regular Sunday. But there was a little more energy to the room. But as Matthew began to welcome people and started the first song, people kept coming into the room. And then more. And more and more.

We were having to continually take chairs off the racks and set them up in the back. And then we ran out of room in the back and had to set them up along the side. It was packed. Part of it was that school started for Ole Miss today, so there were a lot of college students back in town who had been Orchard attenders. And part of it was new college students checking us out for the first time.

There also were a few friends from my old youth group who drove up from Mississippi State to spend the morning with us too. And…I was the one preaching that morning. It was more teaching about why we value Small Groups at The Orchard, and why we see Biblical precedents for them too. We launch SGroups next week and wanted to hit them good. But I was pretty confident about the morning.

So all in all, it was a great morning. And lunch afterward was good to catch up with some old friends.  The video above is dark. I know. But I tried to use my Macbook to capture some quick video. It was still plugged into a few cords and cables. So it’s shakey too.

But we fell that big things are on the way for The Orchard. Be in prayer for us.

How was your Sunday?