Cumberland Church Blog

Come on in! The water's fine!

Wow, lots o' stuff going on at Cumberland Church in February! This week we're into part 5 of Andy's series The Best Question Ever. The title of this Sunday's message is: A Little Help from our Friends. Wisdom isn't necessarily knowledge; it's recognizing your limitations. You will never reach your full potential without the counsel of wise people. The Best Question Ever wraps up on 2/10 with The Best Decision Ever and a worship set led by Michael Olson. And on the 17th, we begin the iMarriage series. If you're married, or ever have been or ever want to be - this is the series for you! A can't miss!  Stay tuned this Sunday for a preview of iMarriage: Transforming Your Expectations.

Baptism:

And we're super excited to have 4 baptisms this month! In both of our first two February Sundays, we'll witness individuals taking an important step of obedience for every person who has accepted Jesus Christ as his/her Savior. These will be special Sundays for us and we'd love to have you celebrate them with us!

Worship:

Kevin Lawson and the Cumberland Church band will be leading worship for us this weekend and our set will include - but not be limited to :

You Are
Glorious One
How Great Thou Art
(And we'll give you a little Help! if you need it.)

Hope to see you Sunday...go Pats!

I'm FINALLY an official Tennessean!

After 18 nail-biting, frustrating, confusing, tiresome, aggravating, expensive, grueling and God-seeking months....it's finally here.  Yes, I'm FINALLY an official Tennessee resident!!!  Thank you God!!

In July of 2006, I stepped down as Lead Pastor of Watermarke Church to come back "home" to Nashville to start a strategic partnership church with North Point.  While it was hard to leave the baby church you helped birth and a lot of confusing emotions with that... I still was so excited, convicted and at peace with the decision to leave Canton, Georgia and put my stakes down with my family one last time.  Since we left Nashville in 2001, we KNEW God would someday, somehow bring us back home.  We were convinced Nashville needed a church like North Point.

So, we put our home on the market and I started making the weekly trip back and forth ...and back and forth (you get the picture, right! ;>)  each week, praying our home will sell fast.  We'll it didn't.  When Christmas of 2006 came around, we decided that enough was enough.  We packed up the family and moved into a corporate apartment in Cool Springs thinking the spring would bring us more buyers and better luck.  No go!  So, in August of 2007 we decided to get into a good school district for my autistic son Keegan and rent a condo or house, no matter what.  That was a GREAT decision.  We have loved living in Franklin and being part of the community. However, it's still been unsettling and tiresome driving back and forth ever so often to clean and take care of things back in Canton. (not to mention expensive!)  Felt like we were living in two worlds.

Well, I'm proud to say that yesterday we closed on our house!!!!!  Woo Hoo!!!  I can't tell you HOW exciting and enjoyable today has been to know that I'm "homeless".  Never thought I would enjoy renting and being without a home...but all things considered, I'm loving life today.

Thanks to ALL of you for all of your prayers, words of encouragement, invites for dinner and everything else you've done for us these past 18 months.  We've learned that God is faithful and that we've been blessed with some of the best friends and network of churches with North Point in the whole world.  We're blessed to have you in our lives.

Your new Nashville neighbors,

Eddie, Karen, Keegan and Kaylee

(pictures above: move out day 1-19-08)

Yep, that's right....it's coming down.

It's official.  It's over.  There's no turning back.  There will be no second chances.

Based on a leadership decision I made here today at Cumberland Church, I no longer will ever be able to return to my Baptist heritage in a ministerial position.   My sin is so grievous that I also will no longer be able to serve in any mainline denominational church again as well.  I have committed the "unforgivable sin" of church ministry in the South.

I confess my sin to you. 

Next up, paint the building.

7 Reasons Why Sunday @ Cumberland Rocked!

This past Sunday at Cumberland Church has to be my favorite yet.  I can't stop thinking about what God has done and is doing here at Cumberland.  There is a GREAT story developing here in Franklin, Tennessee.  Hope you're tracking along with us.  It's exciting stuff. 

Here's 7 reasons why this past Sunday was so awesome for me. 

1. I'm called to be a pastor, not a prophet -   I was in Georgia for Friday and Saturday, moving my last remaining things from our house in Canton,  (our house closes this week!! Yeah!!) Well, we headed back to Franklin late Saturday, just beating the storm.   If I can be transparent and honest with you....I really thought that between the COLD weather here in Nashville and the MLK holiday break here in Williamson County for the students, that we would struggle to find a crowd and some energy this weekend.  Boy, was I wrong!  Sunday turned out to be one of most fun and energy-filled days yet. 
   
2. Baby Dedication -  We had an awesome short ceremony at the beginning of the service, recognizing five children of some amazing parents here at Cumberland.  Nothing cooler than seeing parents wanting to dedicate themselves to what God has in store for them and their children. 
3. The Crowd -  The place was packed!!  Especially at 9:30.  It was our largest attended day ever.  All in all, we had over 400 people in the place. 
4. The Music -  Ryan Stuart from North Point is THE best worship leader around that most people have not heard of yet.  The guy is money and the set he lead this weekend rocked.  Great job Ryan!  Bro, you need to move to Nashville! ;>)
5. Andy's Message - Andy knocked it out of the park with a thought-provoking and deeply challenging message about making the wise choice in regards to our morality in our current series, The Best Question Ever.  It's a powerful series and Sunday's message was about as hard hitting as I have heard Andy.  GREAT message!  We can't keep enough CD's in stock these days.
6. Groups Sign-Up  -  had another 6 couples and a few singles sign-up to join a starter small group this Sunday.  We're hoping to start another 4 to 5 small groups here in February.  One more week to sign-up!
7. Baptism Testimonies - After the service, we had lunch brought in and we shot our first video testimonies for our upcoming baptisms.  I can't wait for everyone to hear, and then watch, the four stories of life-change that will be told here at Cumberland in February.  We were getting choked up as we watched them and were celebrating what God has done with some people we know and care  about deeply.  For us it was the perfect ending to a near perfect day.  After all is said and done, the reason we go through ALL the trouble in creating and leading these environments, is to hear stories of how God used these environments and the partnership of all of our volunteers to lead these environments in the lives of people.  That's the "win"!  That's why we are here. 

Great Sunday!  Can't wait for the next one!!

Beware the Time Bandits: This week at Cumberland

As If last week's message wasn't thought provoking enough, you've got to come back for Time Bandits - the fourth message in Andy Stanley's The Best Question Ever series! Who do we trust with our time? Our time equals our lives, and we can never make up for lost time. So if you've got an hour to spare this Sunday, you'll  not regret spending it in our auditorium. Make time for Time Bandits. You'll be glad you did.

Chrystina Fincher will be leading worship this weekend along with the Cumberland Church band. Always a great Sunday when Chrystina's with us.  Chrystina's originally from California but currently resides with her beautiful family in Atlanta. She's a staple (Is that okay to say? Normally I hear  "staple" used when you're talking about canned goods or food grown in a particular region....whatever...she worships a lot at North Point. How's that?) at North Point and its partnerships and campuses and we're blessed to have her up here when she's available. If you'd like to hear more of Chrystina's music, we have her latest album, Brighter, available for purchase in the lobby. Just ask a Host Team member about it and they'll hook you up. This Sunday's set will actually feature one of the songs off that album: You Are God. Great worship song, great worship record.

"Music is incredible - it's what I do, but not what I am. First and foremost, I am the child of the King of Kings. This new record is an expression of gratitude for His grace, mercy and unchanging  love."
                                                                                                              Chrystina Lloree Fincher

Set:

You are God
Everlasting God
How Great is our God

Looking forward to this weekend with you! Hope this message finds you well!

Billy

Living on the Edge

Join us this Sunday for part 3 of Andy Stanley's The Best Question Ever. This week's message is titled Living on the Edge:  Every wrong decision you make is morally is preceded by a series of small, unwise choices. Sexual sins have the greatest consequences because we harm not only ourselves but those around us. Audio copies of this and the previous 2 BQE messages will be available for purchase in the lobby before and after each service...while supplies last, of course. They go fast!

Good friend Ryan Stuart will be leading worship this Sunday along with the Cumberland Church band. It's a little known fact that Ryan spends his spare time practicing taxidermy. I gave him one of my cats and he did a real nice job. Can't hardly see the tire tracks. (Thanks Ryan.)  Super excited to worship with Ryan this weekend. Our set for the weekend includes:

Not to Us / Here is Our King
Marvelous Light
I Stand Amazed

So we'll see you here on Sunday, right? The New Year's hubbub is over and the early game this Sunday's at 2:00. Personally, I'm pulling for the Pack, and would love to see a Patriots / Packers Super Bowl! Anybody with me? Hope to see you this Sunday!

Billy

Friday Five

Here's 5 thoughts rambling in my head this Friday afternoon...

1. Randy Elrod -  One of my good friends and mentors is leading worship this Sunday at Cumberland.  Can't wait for him to take the stage!!  And I can't wait for his annual cre:ate worship conference (pronounced Re-Create) coming in February here in Franklin.  We just nailed down the details today and the closing night of the conference is going to be here at Cumberland Church.  Wow!  What an evening of worship and storytelling that is going to be!  If you don't know about cre:ate, you should check it out.

2. Indianapolis - I grew up just north of Indy but returning there for the holidays is always weird for me...especially this year.  I was at the Colts-Titans game and I was soooo confused.  I grew up as a Colts fan and went to the RCA Dome a ton when I was a kid.  But since the Titans moved to Nashville (and the Music City Miracle in 2000)...I've been a Titans fan ever since.  So here's my dilemma...since I now consider Franklin, TN my home and I'm a die-hard Titans fan...am I now officially a Southerner...or just a confused Midwesterner?  Who am I?  I think I need counseling.

3.  Momentum -  Big "mo" is a HARD thing to find and define in church-planting but it sure seems like God is bringing us some really cool people with some great stories these days.  I've never had more spiritual conversations with "seeking" people the past few weeks than all my time back in Nashville so far.  I love it!  I live for that!! Nothing like seeing "mo" and God working in and on people around you!  Sidebar...I can't imagine EVER being comfortable with being a part of a dead or stagnant church.  Count me out of that.  I'll deliver pizzas for a living before I would ever do that.  How do you pastors of these churches do that!?  Really?  I don't get it.  As the great theologian, Morgan Freeman, says in Shawshank Redemption..."Get busy living, or get busy dying!".  Amen to that!

4. Student Guy - we have a GREAT candidate coming in to visit us this weekend at Cumberland.  We've been looking and praying for this position so long that I was beginning to wonder if we were raising the bar too high.  But I don't think you can ever take this position in your church serious enough.  It's huge!  I'm praying this guy is THE guy...but if he's not, then he's definitely the kind of guy we're looking for.  My belief is that you CAN'T have a dynamic and family-impacting church without an awesome student's guy.  Pray about this for us will ya.  This is HUGE for Cumberland Church and our future here.  We certainly need wisdom and discernment beyond our years here on this hire.

5. Browns Bridge Community Church - this is North Point's campus church in Cumming, GA.  They've been going at it for just a little over a year now.  A staff person just told us the other day that they are out of room already and are looking at how to grow from here.  There is talk they may even be building again.  Are you kidding me!?!  That's insane.  Wow!  Just goes to show...people are HUNGRY to connect with God...if we would as Christians would just create the right kind of relationships and the right kind of environments for them to come to.  Way to go Browns Bridge!  Who says "Video Church" can't work!? ;>)   

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Musical Chairs @ Cumberland this weekend

That's right, we'll be playing Musical Chairs this weekend. Not the game, mind you, but Andy's 2nd message in The Best Question Ever series. Experience, as we well know, is the harshest of teachers. And we have all made bad decisions in the past for one of three reasons, likely: We were naive (we lacked experience and judgment); we were fools (we knew what was right but chose to do wrong); or we were mockers (we made fun of people who did right). Which chair might you be sitting in now?

Music:

We very excited to have Randy Elrod leading worship with us this weekend! Randy has enjoyed a lifetime of leading worship. He leads an international arts thinktank called cre:ate and is currently developing Kalein, a 124-acre artist retreat center, and also enjoys the life of an entrepreneur, watercolor artist and speaker. He writes a daily blog called Ethos about the arts and culture at randyelrodblog.com. Randy and his wife Chris have attended Cumberland Church since the Marriott Days.

This week's set:

Strong Tower
You Are
Amazing Grace (My chains are broken)

Hope everyone's doing well and we look forward to seeing you Sunday!

New teaching series by Andy Stanley starts this week...

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