Brad Wilkerson // COC Metro

Destroying the Big "MO"

The last three months at COC Metro have been absolutely incredible.  We have seen over 45 decisions for Christ, baptizing over 20 and seeing our weekly attendance rise above 500 on Sunday.  The summer of 2011 created a WAVE of MOMENTUM that is giving us the RIDE of our lives into the fall season.  However....WE WILL NOT COAST. WE WILL NOT STOP.....Hell is still too hot and too real.  

As we ride this incredible wave of momentum we must not only ride the wave but look for the next one that is coming.  As we search for the next wave we must be careful to not let the current pull us under.  "The Current" while it is very important to the creation of the wave can also be a dangerous thing.  You must stay on top of the wave and above the current to keep from finding yourself at the bottom of the ocean (life's) floor.  

A church we must not only ride the wave but protect "it" from the sucking under currents.  The following is a list from Perry Noble, Pastor of Newspring Church in Anderson, SC, of Big MO killers.  I find it very true and right on:

#1 – Pray really small prayers…seriously, don’t ask God for ANYTHING big.  He DID put an interstate highway through a sea, demolished the walls of Jericho and brought the dead back to life…but I’m sure He doesn’t do things like that anymore!

#2 – Celebrate the past WAY more than you anticipate the future, thus becoming a museum and not a movement!

#3 – Allow those who have never actually done anything for Jesus dictate to you what they believe you can and can’t do for Him!

#4 – Listen and repond to every critic.

#5 – Wait until everything makes perfect sense before you make a decision.

#6 – Spend more time on blogs than you do in your Bible.

#7 – Become more agenda driven than GOSPEL driven!

#8 – Actually believe that EVERYONE must be 100% happy with every detail.

#9 – Vote!

#10 – Become angry/jealous over what God is doing at other places and become hyper focused on all of their problems, thus overlooking your own!

To keep the WAVES of Momentum coming we have tried our best as a church to guard against such things.  It is not always possible to defeat all 10 but it's worth our best effort.  

MOMENTUM...there's nothing like it!

G2 LIFE

So what is G2 Life?

G2 groups consist of people who meet regularly to talk, support, study and pray for each other….and hey, maybe make some NEW friends!

How does G2 Life work?

At the start of each school semester we will have an open enrollment period for G2 groups.  ANYONE who would like to sign up — CAN! G2 groups will meet on either a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Question: What if you miss out at the start of the year — NO WORRIES! 

Even though new G2 classes start up only in January & September we offer G2 groups that you can join at any time during the semesters. 

What will we do at G2 Life?

You will go on the

R.

I.

D.

E.

of your life! 

 You will do at G2 Life just what they did in the first church in Acts 2:46

“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their HOMES and ATE together with glad and sincere hearts.”

1.Relationships...“Everyday they continued to meet together…..”

This one is so SIMPLE even a CAVEMAN gets it!

You and I need / we were created for relationships….

Right relationships with God & others who would hold us accountable in our walk with HIM.

Remember you are what you READ and who you RUN around with!

2.  Inspiration….The continued to meet…..

 One of the greatest complements I get as the Pastor of COC is that people are inspired by what they get here (worship / WORD) they can’t wait to get back the next SUNDAY.

That’s INSPIRATION…..Continuing to meet or even want to meet.

INSPIRATION also challenges us to, Finish what we start...

I’m glad the early church members / attendees were committed to finish what they started.

We have the message of Jesus because they were INSPIRED to keep on keeping on….No matter what distraction was thrown their way.

Let’s get INSPIRED…lets let INSPIRATION drive us for GOD!

3.  Doctrine….. “Broke bread & had sincere hearts…..”

They just didn’t eat BREAD (food)….they broke the BREAD of LIFE….They were also sincere with no hidden agendas!

We need spiritual food…..DOCTRINE.

DOCTRINE….it’s what makes us what / who we are.

Yes….Yes….Yes….Yes….IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS….but there’s some crazy teaching going on out there….we need DOCTRINE!

COC must have the correct study and feeding on the bread of life to stand against the enemy….CAUSE he’s coming….don’t kid yourself.

1 Timothy 4:16

 “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

 2 Timothy 4:3

 "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

4. Experiences…. “They ate together…..”

The absolute best experiences I’ve had in life have been with family / friends and they have all included EATING.

G2 Life includes FOOD…..Now that’s something all church people can get into….Especially if you were raised BAPTIST.

John 13….The hour of Christ's arrest / crucifixion is at hand…..Jesus has a meal with his Disciples

John 21….Jesus in His resurrected body…Ate with his Disciples on the sea shore.

JESUS liked to eat…And some of His greatest experiences and teaching moments with HIS 12 Disciples happened while a meal or food was being shared.

R…Relationships

I…Inspiration

D…Doctrine

E…Experiences

This fall we have the most incredible line up of classes and leaders we have ever had in the history of this church.

I am so excited and encouraged at what God is doing and going to do through G2 LIFE this fall semester.

Fall 2011 G2 Life Leadership & Classes

Crazy Love ~  Keith & Shanna Mika

Defenders of the Faith ~ Jon & Amy Abbott

Elevation Next Steps ~  Jeff & Kim Camino (Sunday Mornings)

End Times Prophecy ~ Jeff Camino

Life Apps ~ Aaron & Ashley Allen

Man vs. Wife ~ Brian & Amy Holt

Revolutionary Parenting ~ Jason & Ashley Boyd

Up Yours ~ Dane Blankenship / David & Tamara Seivert

His Needs…Her Needs ~ Jerry & Rhonda Brawner / Peter & Tasha Chave

The Me I Want To Be ~ James & Carla Dalrymple / Kurt & Jennifer Moore

Iron Men Ministries ~ Brad Wilkerson

It’s a Girl Thing Ladies’ Ministries ~ Sarah Wilkerson

For more information on how to get plugged into G2 LIFE visit the G2 LIFE link at cocmetro.com

 

This is Why I Love My Church!

Please take time to read the following email I received this week from one of our dear church members:  Danielle Edmonds.  Her words express why I love my church!

 

I want to thank you for an amazing service this past week. My daughter, Brooklynn, and I were both baptized this past Sunday. Both of us had been baptized previously at separate times. However with all the ups and downs and hard times in the past few years we have both lost our way, more so mom than daughter. This Sunday, when I asked her if she wanted to get baptized again with me now or wait for family to be there her immediate response was NOW! I couldn't stop crying Sunday to know that my daughter had not been lost but only misdirected.
 
Last week's service was 100% a God thing and not only moved me but changed me on how to view life and my life with Christ. To know that it is possible to be restored not in the ways that we want but in the ways that God wants. The old adage, "thank God for unanswered prayers". 
 
Since May I have struggled with the ending of a highly volatile and "toxic" relationship. In June I started attending COC in hopes of finding "the old me" again. Instead I found a better one. I have struggled along the way with the loss of a home, moving my daughter into a new neighborhood, finding a new financial ground, and even a birthday next Saturday with a new way of life. I have learned who my true friends are vs. the people who were out for themselves. Nothing will truly test relationships like hard times. 
 
Through all this, I've maintained a reasonably positive outlook on where things are going. I'm still scared but I'm not shaken like I once was. Being raised in a Catholic vs. Methodist home, I have never doubted the "facts" of Christ. I have always believed that Christ is the son of God, died on a cross and rose again 3 days later. However it was how this applied to me that was lost. I was taught that once you knew that Christ was the son of God, you were to act like Christ and be the "good little boy or girl" as so perfectly put by Kelso. When I fell so far from this description, I thought all hope was lost. That where I knew Jesus as a fact of history, I did not know that I could still make mistakes and still be forgiven again. 
 
God was the person I turned to in times of need, the person I said "Well God has a plan" or even more so, the one we blamed for things we did not know or understand. The last few weeks have not only been moving, but they have been life changing. Where I know I'll still fall along the way, I no longer feel lost along the way. 
 
The words "I love my church" barely scrape the surface on what you are doing each Sunday and truly every day between. Please know that if nothing else matters, you have changed the life of one person. I could not be more grateful to have found COC, the staff, the support and above all else the truth that I am not forgotten and God is bigger than my anxiety, fears and doubt. But above all else, I can be restored. 
 
So please continue to "preach the paint of the walls", have the welcome mat there and black chairs ready. Thank you again, it truly makes the world of a difference. 

 

Now that's what it's all about folks.

Students Took Over

One word....IMPRESSED.

I was completely blown away by the incredible job / ministry that was done by our Fusion & Transformed Student Ministries this past Sunday.

The worship was so awesome...including the BEACH BALLS!!!!

The videos were so well done and KELSO...you brought the GOSPEL bro.  

When it was all said and done....over 15 people stood and said they gave their lives to Christ!

I set in my chair completely blessed & overwhelmed.  The students of COC Metro have taken over and I LOVE IT.

The future of COC Metro is so bright....I've gotta wear shades.

I love my church because it puts a premium on the kids / teens of our communities.  

When I hear about people talk about what is wrong with the kids in our culture my answer is simply, "Not the kids of COC Metro."  They are legit / epic / off the chain / clean / tight and all the other lingo they use in their vocabulary.

Blessed to be a part of such a great team of leaders in this area of ministry.  

Please continue to pray for our kids / teens & their leaders.