So The Heat Won The Title...

I'm still not for sure who I was pulling for in the NBA finals. I'm not really a fan of either team, but I do like and appreciate the abilities of certain players from each team. I guess the naturally-acceptable thing to do is to hate the Heat, but why all the hate? I know it's mostly because three big-time players decided to join together to pursue the title, but did we hate on previous trios such as Bird, McHale, and Parish (Celtics), Magic, Worthy, and Kareem (Lakers), or Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman (Bulls)?

So the Heat won, and here's why I'm blogging about this...

Miami (specifically Lebron) had everyone hating on them, and perhaps rightly so because of the arrogance they displayed when they decided to join forces. Nevertheless, they demonstrated what each of us has the potential to do toward our critics... Show them we can't be stopped! Show them we will overcome, and we will be victorious!

Today, maybe the devil (our biggest critic and enemy) is seeking to ruin your life. He's wants to beat you down, distract you, and leave you feeling miserable. He's calling you a failure and wanting you to believe you won't make it. He says your family isn't worth fighting for. He leads you to think your kids don't really want your attention.

Now, it's time to claim victory and rise to the occasion, but you can't do this in your own strength. It must come from your relationship with Jesus. He is your source of victory, so follow His lead, trust in His power, and claim the victory that He's made available to you because of His love, power, and grace!

Giving Birth

by Josh Duncan

Giving birth is a topic that's obviously been on my mind lately. On June 8, we were blessed with the birth of our second child, Kolton Josiah. These past few days have been full of excitement, lots of food (thanks to our amazing family and friends), and less sleep. Nevertheless, these past few days have made me once again fully aware of the process of giving birth... the anticipation, pain, adjustments, and excitement.

Anticipation comes from waiting on the baby to arrive, making plans, picking out a name (and for us that means not telling anyone and watching them suffer, ha ha), and looking forward to how your current kid will interact with the new one.

Pain comes from the pregnancy and process of giving birth. I won't even start to act like I've experienced pain through this process, but I know Jennifer has. Pregnancy and labor are both extremely painful, tiresome, and seemingly endless at times.

Adjustments are the needed changes to your life and routines you must make once the baby is born. Immediately things must and will change. They're no longer as they once were, yet they quickly feel as if they've always been this way. You have to establish new routines and let go of certain comforts you once had.

Excitement arrives as you begin to see the baby progress. You watch has he begins to open his eyes no longer being blinded by the light. Those first smiles, even though you know they aren't "real" smiles, only leaving you wanting more. You dream about their future and their potential. You're excited because you'd never go back to how it was before!

Why all this talk on giving birth?... Giving birth is also something that's been on my mind in regards to our church as well. As we've been sharing for the past couple months, our commitment moving forward is to make disciples, and because of this, the day is coming (I believe within the next year) where we will give birth as a community of believers. We're praying for and anticipating the opportunity to multiply our efforts and start a new Overflow Community.

For us, church is not about building buildings or gathering 1,000s of attendees at a weekly worship service. We want to give birth to new communities that are committed to making disciples who overflow their faith throughout the rhythms of life. When this time comes, I imagine there will be much anticipation, pain, adjustments, and excitement, but it will all be for the glory of Jesus and the advancement of His Kingdom!

Something Different Happened

by Josh Duncan

Something different happened yesterday at our Sunday gathering. We...

• Started being the church, and we stopped merely attending church. 
• Spent more time in conversations and interactions than we did singing songs or listening to a message (even though we still did both of those).
• Prioritized sitting in circles more than sitting in rows. 
• Had so many people participating in the Overflow Connections that we're already planning to add more!

One of the things I enjoyed seeing the most were the instant connections we were able to make with first-time guests. We weren't waiting on them to fill out a card or come to a table. Connections were naturally made with  first-time guests!

All of this was great, and as we move forward, I'm sure it'll only continue to get better as people come each week anticipating the opportunity to truly connect with others. However, we can't afford to miss the central focus of everything that happened yesterday... Jesus expects us to do greater works than He did (John 14:12), so what works will you accomplish this week? 

As followers of Jesus, we're expected to overflow our faith throughout the rhythms of life. This isn't up for negotiation. We must be actively listening to the Holy Spirit and responding to Him throughout our day. As someone said yesterday in the Overflow Connection I was in... Understanding what Jesus expects of us means that we no longer merely see "a person with a face" as we interact with people throughout our week; instead, we must now see "a person with present potential and an eternal future!"

God wants to accomplish a great work in and through you this week. He's equipped you with the Holy Spirit to help make this happen. Now, just listen, obey, and let's connect together again this coming Sunday to share what God's doing in our lives!

Can You Imagine What Sundays Would Be Like If...

by Josh Duncan


we spent less time looking at the back of people's heads and more time having face-to-face conversations?

we spent more time getting to know each other and praying with each other?

the pastor's message or the style of music was no longer the centerpiece of Sunday morning?

being a part of a church wasn't about attendance but about living authentically as a group of imperfect people who are being transformed by a perfect God?

everything we did reflected our desire to join Jesus in His mission to see people become followers of Him?

we measured "success" by what happens 7 days a week instead of just on Sundays?

As a church, we're trying to imagine these things. We've been casting vision for a new perspective on church, and this Sunday, we're continuing the process of making these practical changes by creating a new atmosphere and experience on Sunday mornings. For us, Sundays are no longer only about sitting in rows listening to music and preaching, but it's about doing life together as a community of people. Start the journey with us this Sunday. Connect with our community. We're praying God will multiply our efforts throughout the city so that dozens if not hundreds of authentic communities of Jesus followers will join Him in His mission rather than merely be content with attending a service on Sunday!