Cumberland Church Blog

Forget church... I'm going to the game!

Yep, you heard it right.  Your pastor is skipping church services on Sunday and is going to an NFL game.  No church for me Sunday.  I'm headed out to watch the Titans play the Colts here in Indianapolis.

But why am I missing church?  Why am I not in Nashville?  Great question!  So here's the answer...

I have 3 GREAT excuses for why I'm missing.  You wanna hear 'em?  (I'm trying to ease my conscience here so please play along with me, okay?  The "recovering Baptist" in me is trying to justify this so hang with me.  They're really good excuses though, I promise :>)

My first excuse for missing church is...hey, enough people have missed our church services to go to a Titans game that it only seems right that I FINALLY have my chance to do it as well. Turnabout is fair play, right?  Okay, not a good excuse...I know.  So here's a better one... the reason I'm missing church is that we don't have services this Sunday at Cumberland.  That's right, no church this Sunday at Cumberland.  As is the tradition at all North Point campuses and partnership churches, we do not have services the last Sunday of the year.  It is one way we say a big "Thank You!" to our awesome volunteers.  This is my one Sunday off for the year and I'm looking forward to enjoying it!

My second excuse is that this isn't just ANY game I'm going to.  This is a game between the defending Super Bowl champions and our beloved Tennessee Titans who are fighting for their very own playoff lives on prime-time TV!  This is THE game.  The game is of such national interest that it was moved to Sunday night to be shown as the NBC game of the week.  Does it get any better than that!?  Wow.  What is also cool about the game is that it is a historic game in that it is the last regular season game ever at the RCA Dome for the Colts.  Next season they move into their new building.  Ironically, I was at the RCA Dome for the 1st-ever Indianapolis Colts game with my dad when I was a kid (they played the NY Jets) and now I get the chance to see the last one with my wife. That's pretty cool! I'm privileged and excited to be a part of history again.   

Which brings me to the third and final reason I'm skipping out on church this Sunday and... the REAL reason I'm out of town and choosing to be in Indianapolis for the weekend.  This weekend is my wife Karen and I's Christmas present to one another.  We both decided that the past year-and-a-half of moving to Tennessee to start Cumberland has been a fun but taxing ride so we decided to do something different and special for one another for Christmas this year.  Something for just the two of us.  So we talked and decided to find a way that we could get out of town for a few days and just have fun.   When I looked at the Titans schedule I noticed this date on the calendar and realized that we were already going to be in Indiana for the holidays...and there were NO church services. ;>)  You see the connection now, right!?  It was perfect timing.  Some would even say...divine in its timing.  Okay, maybe that's just a little strong but you get the point. 

So I pitched Karen the idea and she loved it! (Thank God! I would have hated to take someone else in her place  :>)  And through a good friend of ours, I was able to get some tickets to the game and the plan came together.  I booked a room for us at a very cool hotel in downtown Indy (it's still a surprise to Karen so I can't tell you yet but it's AWESOME) and the weekend was set!  And... we both can't wait!  This is a a special treat we've been looking forward to for a LONG time. 

Can I say...how fortunate am I to have a wife who thinks going to a Titans game is romantic?  How cool is that!?!  We're planning to have a lot of fun.  Sorry I won't be at church with you Sunday.  Please give the preacher at the church you're visiting my regards. But if I could ask one thing from you for conscience sake...please just don't tell him where I'm at, okay? Just in case I'm wrong about that whole "divine timing" thing.  I promise, I'll be back next week.  Lord willing. ;>)

Happy New Year everyone! 

Go Titans!

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T'was the night before Christmas...

T'was the night before Christmas
And no one was there,
Not a person was in the place
T'was totally bare.

Because on Christmas Eve
All the church was snug at home,
Making fires all over town
Like Nero did in Rome.

So why do I write, then
This little poem for all to see,
Because a lot is going down
On December 23!

We're closing out the series
Titled Christmas with Grace,
And we're passing out the presents
To ALL in the place. (No we're not, but it rhymed.)

The carols will be sung,
By the Cumberland Church band,
Led by Clark and Salina Beasley
With their instruments in hand.

So come and check us out
On this day before the Eve,
And I'll bet you'll think of this
Once you rise and turn to leave...

That the message you just saw
Hit you square upon the face,
And you're likely better off
Having had this Christmas...with Grace.

See ya'll Sunday!

A self-described "b@%#$!" church

Read this article today about a "church" describing itself and mission in their Sunday church bulletin.

Maybe I'm getting old and becoming too much of a "traditionalist" but... somebody PLEASE tell me this isn't relevant and appropriate for a church, even if they are focused on "reaching the lost".  Geesh. Come on!  Where's the elders, here!?  Also, what's the deal with "this is a hill we die on baby"? What's that all about?  Someone please explain to me how someone feels these choice of words are strategic and within the boundaries of scripture for a church to use to describe themselves and their ministry environments.

All I can say is...wow!  Certainly some interesting things we are seeing in the "church world" today.

What do you think?  Would you want your church described in these terms?  Do you think this method is even effective?

Let's talk.

H/T: Todd Rhoades

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Christmas at Cumberland

Join us this weekend for part 2 of the 4-part Christmas with Grace series. If you missed the first, let me recap: It was awesome.  And now for a preview of part 2: It's going to be awesome. If you're investing in and inviting others to come with you this season, I guess you'll need a little more than that, huh?  As Andy explains, Christmas is about God giving us what we deserved the least, but needed the most - grace. Jesus extends grace to all who seek Him, and we need to learn to do the same with those around us. Nothing shapes the human heart like grace.

Music:

It's what you've been waiting for all year:  Christmas music! Michael Spooner and the Cumberland Church band will be leading us in some of your favorite Christmas songs:

Do You Hear What I Hear?
Angels We Have Heard on High
O Come all Ye Faithful
The First Noel

So come on out and enjoy yourselves, will ya?  We've got the message, the music and all the Christmas munchkins you could want! Okay, the munchkins aren't necessarily Christmas munchkins...but at the end of the day, they still taste the same.   Hope to see you on Sunday!

BIlly