TimHowey.Com

Looking Back on Easter@Grace

Last week (post-Easter) was so packed (short week + 2 funerals + 2 other crises) that I couldn't post a update on what happened at Grace Easter weekend. But here are a few comments. Enjoy:

• "The most emotional, moving, inspirational...I have ever been to. Thank you."
• "Dear Grace Church...tonight was AWESOME! I believed when I walked in, but now my belief is even stronger! Can't wait for those people who dont know Christ to...walk away with something special..."
• "I have to explain this picture. During the opening of the service the band introduced a song called Manifesto, during the song a painter came out and painted a somewhat random painting on 6 stacked cardboard boxes. None of us understood the meaning. Then later in the service, after the pastor walked us through the pain and suffering of the crucifiction, they played a song and the painter came back out, he deconstructed the stacked boxes, stabbed wooden paint stirrers into 2 of the boxes, then restacked the boxes in a different order...creating the picture you see above.., after he restacked them he added the whites of the eyes, splattered red paint, then squirted the line of red paint across the top of the 2 top boxes, it was extremely moving to see the end result...the picture of Christ after he was crucified. Again, an amazing service this morning - the team at Grace church...AMAZING...best Easter service yet."
• "My 7-year-old doesn't receive a weekly allowance or much money of her own yet, so we haven't expected much of her in the way of tithes and offerings yet. She apparently paid attention to the recent lessons on finance, though, because this morning as she was collecting her Easter candy she asked me if she could give back some of the candy in the offering! I told her I thought that would be a great idea -- as long as the candy stayed wrapped :)"
• "I wanted to send a note to say how blessed I am to work & be part of such an UH-MAZING group of people. You all humble me. Seriously!!  Thank you for what you do!  Thank you for stepping up to print, fold, cut worship guides on the fly. Thanks for answering the call in a mighty way & preaching, teaching, serving, loving!!!  You all ROCK!!!"
• "A lot of times people over promise but not the case at Grace: Easter Service was AMAZING!!"

God is good.

Why Teens Leave the Faith...

Check out this article on Why Teens Leave the Faith and What We Can Do About It. Studies like this one were the motivating factor for us to move our Middle School ministries to Sunday night and challenge families to worship and serve together on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings.

"Yes, this decision makes life more inconvenient for me as a dad. It's more inconvenient for us as a family. But parenting is never about our own convenience. It's about raising children with a sustainable faith." (Me, 2012)

A 2-Min Crash Course on Easter

Take 2 minutes right now to check out a video I shot on Easter weekend at Grace.  It is going to be Uh-May-Zing!  We've got an artist who'll be producing a work of art LIVE during each service. And it is CENTRAL to leading up to the moment when I invite your friends/family/classmates/coworkers to receive Jesus Christ themselves.

Register NOW for your free tickets to 1 or more of our 7 Easter services! Also register HERE to volunteer at 1 or more of our Easter services. (It's an all-hands-on-deck weekend to see thousands of lives changed!)

Easter 2012 Invitation from Grace Church on Vimeo.

  

 

 

To the Anonymous Person...

Dear "Anonymous-Person-Who-Wants-Me-To-Do-Matthew-18-For-You,"

I got your note. I hear your heart. I can relate to your apprehension.

Unfortunately, I cannot do Matthew 18:15-18 for you. To do so would be an act of two unhealthy things:

• Depriving you of the chance to grow
• Disobeying God myself

If you need help preparing for such a meeting, that's what the church is for -- to equip you! If it goes south during the process, that's what the church is for -- to support you!

With Love,

Tim

Drained to the Last Drop (& Co-Dependency)

This week was one of the most intense & emotionally-draining of my life. (I crashed every night this week in a hotel room around 9pm, drained of every ounce of physical, emotional, & spiritual strength.)

This week also may well be the beginning of answers to a boatload of situations I've been bringing up to God. (It certainly kick-started the process in supernatural ways -- making progress in ways I never could myself.)

For reasons of confidentiality (not mine, but another's), there are certain things I can share, & certain things I can't.  Here are things I've taught before, I saw this week, & I was reminded of again in a big way:

• Sin destroys lives & relationships
• Fear destroys lives & relationships
• When you stuff, or swallow, or ignore your feelings, you hurt yourself & those you love
• True growth requires a continuous series of courageous acts (#1 being recognizing your own fears as valid, and being willing to share them)
• If you want power over something, you must bring it into the light (& if you want it to keep controlling you, keep it hidden)
• The very act of revealing something to another person causes it to lose some control over you
• You can't want someone else to grow more than they want to grow themselves (it'll destroy both you and them)
• The only thing that you can focus on is growing yourself (and there's always more work to do there)
• Cowardice limits growth
• Communication requires a set of skills that can be learned -- but it requires intentional development & constant attention
• Sometimes, when people think they're helping, they're not! -- they're actually enabling further dysfunction
• "Helpers" are often blind to the fact that their "help" is actually hurting the very person they want to help!
• The most important relationship work may drain you of every ounce of strength -- but it's all so very worth it
• There's always hope

I was also reminded this week of the story "The Prodigal Son" (Luke 15). It reminded me so much of how someone breaks the cycle of Dependency & Co-Dependency in a healthy way. If you haven't heard those terms before:

• "Dependency" is basically when a substance and/or behavior exercises destructive control over you. Dependency is often connected with distorted thinking, deception, & denial.
• "Co-Dependency" is basically the compulsion to help a person who is "dependent." Co-dependent people often start with best heart & best intentions. However their "help" ends up hurting the very person they are trying to help! In other words:
  
  • Co-Dependent people are sincere
  • Co-Dependent people care
  • Co-Dependent people are just "trying to help"
  • Co-Dependent people see someone make bad decisions
  • Co-Dependent people start to fear the consequences of the other person's actions
  • Co-Dependent people try to shield them from the consequences of their own behaviors
  • Co-Dependent people start doing things for others that the others should be doing for themselves
  • Co-Dependent people begin to wear themselves out because they are trying to run their own life and the other person's life
  • Co-Dependent people eventually grow frustrated with the person they're trying to help
  • Co-Dependent people see the person they're trying to help get frustrated with them
  • Co-Dependent people end up helping the other person get worse (which is the opposite of what they want!)
    
  • Co-Dependent people are often totally blind to this ("But I'm only trying to help/protect them!")
  • Co-Dependent people often have no idea that they are helping it get worse

But the story of "The Prodigal Son" (Luke 15) is awesome! Here's a parent who decided that, although he loved his son so much, he could not make his son's decisions for his son. (After all, his son was an adult!) So he did the only thing he could do. He let his son make his own choices, suffer his own consequences, and get to the point that his son wanted the help. Now to do this, the parent had to deal with his own fears of the relationship being severed & his son really, really hurting himself. But when his son was ready for a change, the parent went running to him to help him make his own, new, right decisions.

That's wholeness.

That's Christ-likeness.

That's Biblical.

That's freedom.

Register 1 of 7 Easter Services!

We are adding 2 services for Easter weekend, our biggest weekend of the year -- 1 on Saturday afternoon, and 1 on Sunday morning (a all-family sunrise service).

• Sat 4/7 -- 3:30p, 5p, 6:30p
• Sun 4/8 -- 6:30a (Sunrise), 8a, 9:30a, 11a

Invite your friends and family! There are people in your world who definitely WOULD come if you'd just invite them. It's Easter!

Also register for you FREE EASTER TICKETS here to make sure we have spots for everyone! (Your guests don't need tickets. We're saving spots for them!)

It's going to be an incredible service. We will see you then!

Lose the Monkey Fist!!

If you missed this weekend's message because of a spring break trip or sleeping in, YOU MISSED OUT!!! :-) I did impressions of:

• A slick TV preacher
• A chanting monk
• A greedy baboon

In fact, check out the baboon example I referenced by clicking here.

The message was FILLED with VITAL stuff that YOU NEED.  If you missed it, that's ok.  You can catch up here:

Watch live streaming video from gracevideo at livestream.com

Jacob's Trombone Solo Contest

I'm a proud dad...and trombone teacher for my son...  (It's pretty good for 7th grade if you ask me!)

 

OWNit365 Behind the Scenes

We are in the middle of producing 66 short intro videos for the 66 books of the Bible on our OWNit365.com website (and YouTube!).  Check out this Behind-the-Scenes look at how we produce them!

 

New Kids in the Kingdom

We had TWO families have children accepted Christ in/after our services last weekend!  Check out this story:

• "_____ is my 7 year old son and he sat with me in 'adult church' today. On the way out I asked if his name was in the book of life and he said he didn't know. I asked if he would like to know how to get his name there and I told him about the prayer that Pastor Tim said at the end of the service. While driving home, he said he prayed that prayer with Pastor Tim. _____ asked if it was the same to say the prayer without talking as it was to say it out loud. I explained that it was because...and _____ finished my thought...God heard him. I said that Jesus likes when we say it out loud so that everyone knows... I admit to still just scratching the surface of understanding the application of faith to my own life but I will never forget this day and I would love to support my son in any way possible..."

And check out this tweet!!

• @bgann6 @TimHowey @ownit365 @graceks [My son] got saved 2night, message at church really had impact on him #jesuscancomenow

Wow. That's what it's all about...