I am in mourning at Starbucks right now.

For the last year, I have used this quaint neighborhood coffee shop (let me pretend) as my unofficial office in Cypress while launching our second campus on Fry Road. From meeting with core team leaders, to crafting congregational communications, to dreaming of seeing Christ impact thousands, most of my time has been spent in one particular chair: Ratty Orange Chair. Let me tell you about Roc.

Roc was missing one armrest, kind of dirty looking, and would not make it past the threshold of our front door, but we spent many hours together. Roc gracefully enveloped the contours of my butt and never complained about when I had eaten at Alicias the night before (although one time the manager had to say something to me… how am I supposed to know it was that loud? My headphones were in…). Roc got me in trouble with one crazy lady who didn’t think my feet should be on the coffee table, and Roc and I would pretend to be doing other things while really eavesdropping on other people. We easily logged over 150 hours together… good times.

Today Roc is gone.

In his place is some sassy little new orange chair… Lets call her Not Roc. And she has both armrests, is free of communicable diseases, and no mites or bugs are evident. And my butt hurts. She is all – “look how firm my cushion is” and “you need to sit up straighter when you type.” Plain and simple, things are different.

Its not really the chair though, its the change.

Change stinks, but when we are pursing God, change is exactly what moves us closer to who He is calling us to be. The last 7 days have been all about change for me…change in my health. change in my diet. change in my parenting. change in my husbandry. change in my friends. change in our staff. You name it, and just about any area of life in which I have been controlling, or comfortable, or disobedient is experiencing change.

So when change happens, I guess we can do a couple of things…

Most often we resist change. When Will The Barista told me that Roc was out by the dumpster, I dropped my backpack and went outside to go put him in my truck. Alas – to my dismay, and Kelly’s relief- He was gone. What I actually would have done with that chair, who knows really. Nothing good would have come from getting that chair back… I just wanted things to be how they were, and was grasping at whatever I could get that would take me there.

That feels like a pretty dangerous attitude to take when things are not how they were and are not feeling how they should, but its what we do. People and organizations tend to grasp at the past when the present isn’t what it should be. Most often though, God knows that what got us to where we are, will not take us to where we need to be, and reaching back keeps us from moving forward.

Proverbs 3:5-6 has been rattling in my head for the last week or so… I even taught from it last Sunday…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight (NIV)

What we really need to do is trust. If we know we are pursuing Christ, then change can be embraced and managed. It will not feel right, might even be painful, but God promises to show us the way, right? What He has ahead for us is far greater than we could ever imagine- not to mention so much more than what was.

So as I twist and wiggle and search for the comfort that I once knew in ratty orange chair, I know that this discomfort is actually exactly what will make this chair eventually feel right. Farewell old friend, and hello pretty orange chair… I look forward to the things we will dream of, lives that will be changed, and Cole’s Crossing gossip that we will overhear.

 Like I said, an older post, but still relevant today. Have a great week!

Pastor Bryan

This is a letter from one of the participants at our Adventure Children's Camp held earlier this summer as a thank you to "Nice Donner" (Nice Donor) for providing scholarship money helping the author (name withheld) go to Children's camp.

This is a great example (from the Donor's perspective) of someone responding to a prompting of the Holy Spirit to give above and beyond their tithe for the benefit of others.

Who do you think was more blessed? The giver or receiver?

"And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: `It is more blessed to give than to receive." ~ Acts 20:35

I can't imagine anyone who would not want to be known as being generous. Whether through our time, financial resources, or anything else we steward, don't we all strive to live a life of generosity?

As the saying goes, to know how to get where you're going, you have to know where you are!

The Love CheckUp:

    Who are you not patient with?
    Who are you not kind towards?
    Who are you envious of?
    Who do you have to be better than?
    Who do you lower your standards for?
    Who can you not support?
    Who sets you off quickly?
    Who do you keep score with?
    Who do you think everyone should “know about”?

The Love Challenge:

    Will you support them?
    Will you trust them?
    Will you hope with them?
    Will you hang with them?

Do you have a son or daughter at Adventure Children's Camp? Check out updates and photos of the camp!

My prayer for this summer season is that God will continue to breathe new life into my soul and yours, refresh my weariness and do a work in me to prepare me for a new school year and a fresh start in the fall.  Will you allow God to work in you this summer?

Karley

2.    It is focused on Christ.
It is in imitation of Christ (Mark 1:9) – He modeled it for us.
It is an instruction by Christ (Matthew 28:19-20) – its just part of what we do.
It is an invitation to Christ  - others get to see life change and be challenged.

3.    It is a Spiritual Marker.
In Acts 8, the experience of the eunuch, shows us that there is never a better time than “right now” to celebrate and demonstrate the life change found in Christ.

4.    It is Uncomfortable.
Its not something you just do… getting dunked under water comes with a lot of questions and fears. Plus everyone is watching you- that is not something to be taken lightly or without the merit of salvation.

5.    It is Counter-cultural.
This is a cousin to the uncomfortable thing… It sets Christ followers apart and is not something you see every day or do over and over again…  there isn’t much of that left in our world.

6.    It is beautiful.
There is always a story… God never moves without making some waves, and we get to see the results and celebrate together. The inspiration of one person's obedience impacts those in the faith and those struggling or searching as well.

7.    It is a blast!
Especially when done in unique ways, like in someone’s backyard pool, in a Colorado glacial lake, or within a group celebration. As we inflate a swimming pool at Fry Road this Sunday, I think its gonna be great!

If you have a specific story about one of these areas please post a reply to this blog to share your story, or email it to us at stories@themetonline.org. We'll select a few stories to highlight at both the Jones and Fry Road campuses during the Father's Day services on June 14th, but all stories will be available to read and share right here.

On behalf of Pastor Sal, please welcome Zach King to The MET staff as our new Student Pastor. Zach has been in student ministry for the past eight years most recently serving at LifeChurch.tv in Oklahoma City. Zach initially oversaw the Student Ministry for the Phoenix, AZ campus until moving to the LifeChurch Central Staff. As Central Staff Team Leader for Youth Ministry for the past two years Zach provided senior leadership to the Student Ministry at LifeChurch's 12 Campuses across six states encompassing over 2,000 students each week. Prior to LifeChurch, Zach served as Student Pastor at Westside Church in Omaha, NE. Zach is a relational leader and skilled communicator. He and his wife Ashley have two boys, Caleb (3) and Austin (1). Please pray for the Kings as they transition to Houston and their ministry here at The MET!

As a notice to our church, we would like to ensure our members, regular attenders, and guests stay informed about how The MET is responding to the heightened concerns. The following information is a memo delivered to The MET's preschool, children, student, and facilities staff and outlines procedures we take to ensure the safety of all those present at The MET's campuses.

Group Leaders and Volunteers:
Re: Recent News reports about Swine Flu

• Our Cleaning staff has been given strict instructions to take extra care in cleaning tables and counter tops, and having extra cleaning supplies on hand.
• Trash is taken out after each event. 
• Your classrooms will have boxes of tissue, disinfectant wipes, and hand sanitizers and for those leaders that use plastic gloves, these will also be available. Please check your cabinets or resource rooms for extra supplies.

Small things you can do in the classroom that make a BIG difference:

1. Please make sure to remind children about thorough and frequent hand washing and covering all coughs and sneezes.
2. Use gloves when wiping a child’s nose with a tissue. Wash your hands immediately after you have thrown away the gloves and tissue. Use a different tissue and set of gloves for each child.
3. For Preschool area; be watchful of children sharing toys they placed in their mouth. Also use provided disinfectant to wipe down all surfaces and toys thoroughly after each class.   

For more information visit Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Among the challenges this week were to find and implement regular times of solitude in the quest to slow down and eliminate hurry in our day.  I don’t know about you, but pretty much from start to finish many of my days are spent with the mindset of “Rush, rush, rush!”  So, for the past couple of days, I have made the conscious effort to slow down and accept that I just might not be able to get everything done that I want to, and that’s okay.  I am truly enjoying changing the paradigm in my head so that I am not consumed with “hurry”.  The root of the issue is to learn what is a true priority in the day.  What matters will get done and what isn’t so important may have to wait.  One thing suggested in learning the practice of slowing down was to purposefully put yourself in positions that require you to wait, such as getting in the long line at the super market or getting behind a slow car on the road.  While neither one of those thrills me, there is definitely more peace and a greater ability to drink in God’s joy when taking it easy.  Our study goes on to correlate the ability to embrace joy when we have those times of solitude and live at a slower pace instead of a hurried panic.  Wow, to think that all this time I have been robbing myself AND the others around me of the joy that Christ put deep within me!  Talk about something to drink deeply of and dwell on.  We must endure as Philippians 3:14 says, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  It’s not always easy or fun, but oh so worth it!  So, I challenge you to try it out today, slow down, find some time for solitude and enjoy every moment of the life Christ has given you.

Slowing Down for the Kingdom,
Karley

We are people made for relationships!  God created us to long for intimate relationships with others.  Ecclesiastes 4 says:
“9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

I don’t know about you, but as a person with strong sanguine characteristics, I love a good gathering!  One of the best ways to foster great friendships is by growing in community with other believers through Life Groups.  While Life Groups are held every Sunday at the Jones campus, Fry Road recently launched Life Groups meeting in the homes of church members.  My husband and I attended our Life Group for the first time this week and we were encouraged and excited about the great community that will be fostered within the walls of the home where we are meeting.  So, if you are looking for a place to belong, check out all of the incredible Life Groups going on at The MET and get connected.   

Karley

When have you worked enough? When have you loved enough? Can you ever really do enough to be right with God? This Easter we invite you to join us at The MET to discover that the resurrection is more than enough.

Come check out our Easter Services at The MET!

Share evites, grab code to blog and more for Jones Campus and Fry Campus.

I looked directly into the eyes of my young friend. ‘You and I get to invite these people to be used by God in ways they never imagined.  We have the opportunity to empower them to develop gifts they didn’t know they had.  We can cheer them on as they courageously assume new levels of Kingdom responsibility that fill their hearts to overflowing.  And we get to see the look on their faces when they realize God has used them to touch another human being.’

‘No,’ I said, ‘I never really feel guilty inviting people to become volunteers in our church.  Never.”

I am reminded of Ephesians 2:10,  “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Praise be to God for designing us to long for joining Him on a mission!  Have you found your place to serve?

Karley

Well, it’s that time of year again.  For those of you who don’t know, I am still finishing my Master’s Degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  So, here we are the week before Spring Break, loaded down with last minute reading assignments & Mid-Terms, ugh!  I’m sure many of you parents know what I am talking about as well.  It also seems as though we are at a time at Fry road where we have been setting up and tearing down for almost 9 weeks and we are getting a little tired & sluggish.  So, I wanted to share with you all a word of encouragement that the LORD gave to me this week.  If you are fighting through the pain of the loss of a friend this week, as many at The MET are, if you are discouraged at life’s circumstances, if you are unemployed and beginning to feel hopeless, this is for you.

Psalm 54

1 O God, save me by your name,
   and vindicate me by your might.
2 O God, hear my prayer;
   give ear to the words of my mouth.

 3 For strangers have risen against me;
   ruthless men seek my life;
   they do not set God before themselves.
                         Selah

 4 Behold, God is my helper;
   the Lord is the upholder of my life.
5 He will return the evil to my enemies;
   in your faithfulness put an end to them.

 6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
   I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good.
7 For he has delivered me from every trouble,
   and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

I pray that this week you would know God as your help & your sustainer, the one who upholds your life.  I pray that even if you don’t get to take a “Spring Break” anymore, that you would find time this week to rest in God’s promises.

Karley

-Karley

We've been building out content on a soon to be released Member's only section of The MET's website that will provide Member Specific info like Parent's Night Out Registration, rosters of our leadership teams and deacons, church financial information and a section on the Governance Review Process.

In order to gain access you will need to request a web account that will be manually validated withing 24 hours of the next regular working day (Monday through Friday). Your web account will be matched with your record in our membership database. If, according to our membership database, we don't have record of your membership with The MET, you'll have the option of contacting the church offices (if you feel this to be in error) or given the opportunity to register for our next Discovery Class at The MET Jones Road Campus or Discovery Class at The MET Fry Road Campus, which is a requirement for membership.

Personally speaking, I'm very proud of our lay leaders who have spent so much time, prayer, and dialogue on developing the 2009 Proposed Bylaws. While these documents are never perfect, The MET will see that everyone involved in the process stands behind the proposed Bylaws and is proud to present them to the rest of the church.

Crull Chambless
Lead Pastor of Communications

This week in the office, the Fry Team and I have been thinking about how to keep our incredibly dedicated and hard working volunteers motivated & encouraged.  I though I would take the time to present the question here in hopes that some of you will give great feedback & creative ideas.  So, what keeps you going in tough times?  What makes you feel appreciated?  How do you receive encouragement?  How can an organization help prevent burn out?  I can’t wait to hear what you have to say, leave a comment!

As a Fry Road staff we are reading a leadership book entitled, “Leadership & Self Deception: Getting out of the Box” published by The Arbinger Institute.  I have to admit, at first I was really discouraged by the thought of being required to pick up another book, on top of the six that I am already reading in order to finish my Master’s Degree, ugh.  I am kind of getting to the point where every book on leadership starts to sound repetitive and there doesn’t seem to be any fresh ideas.  I am in NO way saying that I have mastered how to lead well, as a matter of fact I have felt quite compelled to take a long hard look at myself recently and truly see the way that I lead because I know I have plenty of room for improvement.  Anyhow, I have spent some time this week reading at home in the evenings and I have come to enjoy this book.  “Leadership & Self Deception” (L&SD for short) is written as an allegory, it is not a “How To” book on becoming a better leader.  I have not finished the book yet but I am already compelled to look at myself as being the problem more often than looking at others.  It has reminded me very much of Luke 6: 42 “How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”  So, not just in regards to leadership, when relationships become difficult or frustrating, I encourage you to think about how you may have a distorted image of yourself and may therefore, be living in the box of self-deception.  If you are interested and have a chance, pick up the book, I think you will be quite surprised at how the story unfolds.

We have also been working really hard this week on our upcoming exciting Adventure Outpost events that include:
Father/ Daughter Sock Hop- May 8th
Finish With The Family Fun Run- May 23rd
Adventure Children’s Camp- June 24-27
Vacation Bible School- July 13-17

Karley Guadalupe

 
-Karley Guadalupe

Upcoming Exploration Island Events:

Upcoming Adventure Outpost Events:

We’re trying our best make sure everyone who visits the site has the best experience. IE6 is close to seven years old (an eternity in technology time lines) and doesn’t full support a number of standards established as far back as 1996 for web development. We want to push the boundaries of how we can serve you on the web and be able to quickly implement and release excellent changes both big and small. Supporting IE6 doesn’t enable us to do that.

We are working hard on a relaunch of TheMETonline.org targeted to launch in the next 2 weeks. Some of the features may not work as clean as they're designed if you're using IE6.

We highly encourage you to download a modern browser. We recommend Firefox 2 (or later), or Safari 2 (or later), or Internet Explorer 7 .

Thanks!

What an incredible time as Sal challenged us from Joshua 4 where God tells the Israelites to build an altar out of 12 stones from the bed of the Jordan river to commemorate God's deliverance and entry to the promised land. After a time of prayer we built our own stone altar at the base of one of our signs at Fry to commemorate the land to God's use and us to His purpose in 2009. Wow.

2009 will be a great year for The MET as we seek more and more to connect people each day to the real Jesus in a real way.

-Devouring a Novel (usually John Grisham) - usually finished within 24 hours, this for me dates back to stress-filled days in Architecture school and is my standard decompression when I hit my parents house. I just finished this years and after this post will acknowledge my family again.

-New York strip steaks - we have a family dinner with my parents and my brother and his family before opening our gifts to each other.. I have been grillmaster the last few years, and I never can understand why my family eats their steaks ruined... Well Done steaks are burnt steaks- every year I serve them perfectly Medium steaks and every year they gag in their mouths. When will they learn?

-Naked Guy Statue - its from Greece (supposedly) and resides on the top shelf in my mom's library... I like to put it right in front of my brothers plate at said steak dinner... This also incites some gagging from him- never gets old.

-Gift Opening - youngest to oldest every year. Same joke from my dad about my mom going last. Every year.  This year we did a $40 gift swap.. my brother rounded up gift cards from various fast food chains and boxed them up. Only the total came to $35 so he threw in a few one dollar bills.

-Christmas Eve Services - this is the first year in a long time that I will be in the church I grew up in for the Christmas Eve Vesper Services (whisper services)- all the kids go down front for the Christmas story as read by the pastor from a rocking chair on stage... I have been telling Macy all day that the kid who sits on the pastors lap gets a big present... Of course I have never seen a kid sit on his lap so this should be interesting.

-Driving All Over Creation - Tomorrow we go to Birmingham to celebrate with Kelly's extended family, then to Anniston that night for her immediate family Christmas... Then to Marrietta Georgia for my extended family the next day. After our trek through the night yesterday.

At any rate- just felt like sharing and seeing if anyne had any favorite traditions that were different, or off the wall.

I will miss being with our Houston family for services tonight, hanging with the Fry Launch Team, and taking some special goodies to Firefighters and Police working tonight.

Merry Christmas!

Meet you on Fry Road.

 B

Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

So, I am sharing not just what I am thankful for, but the obedience that accompanies this confession...

 11 Things I am Thankful For This Thanksgiving:

11 Ways to give thanks in obedience:

Meet You on Fry Road.

1. Respect Mommy and Daddy
2. Be nice to sisters
3. Food in kitchen only
4. Put clothes away in drawers

I’ve discovered that there are two ways that I can look at rules.  One, I can live a rules-centered life. In a rules-centered life, I find myself following certain rules and certain guidelines of right and wrong, so that I can try to please God, or somehow prove that I’m a “good enough” Christian. The truth is…that is not the Christian life God has called me to. The second option I have, is to live a God-centered life.  In this mindset, I’m spending time reading the Bible and praying and setting in my mind and my heart upon God each day. Therefore I want to do the right things for the right reasons.

How can you measure someone’s spiritual growth? As you may know, almost 1000 members and attenders of The MET took a spiritual survey called REVEAL earlier this year. For the last few weeks, in fact months, you’ve heard us discussing the results of that survey. We discovered that there are four different categories that we all tend to fall into.

1. Exploring Christianity

2. Growing in Christ

3. Close to Christ

4. Christ Centered

Obviously, the goal for all of us is to become Christ-centered, where Christ is the center of our lives and the source of our lives. After the REVEAL survey was completed by the first couple of hundred churches, Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson wrote a book entitled, REVEAL and the subtitle is compelling. It simply says, “Where Are You?”

I think we all need to ask that question on a regular basis: Where am I?  Where am I in my walk with Christ?  What steps do I need to take to grow in my faith?  Until we ask the question “Where am I?” we’ll never grow into our full potential in Christ. 

How about it?  Where are you?

Once you've answered that question, find your next step through our Discovery Class, Catalyst classes on Wednesday evenings, or our Sunday morning Life Groups. 

Once you know where you are, it's time to discover where you're going!