http://www.walktheavenue.com/index.php/component/jb2/rss description http://www.walktheavenue.com/index.php/component/jb2/post/83 Summer Fun A few ideas for making this season fantastic! Happy Summer Break to all of the kids and teachers at The Avenue! We're excited for you all to enjoy some time away from school and soak in the sun during the summer! As families look for ways to spend time together, we wanted to highlight a few ideas if you're hanging around town and looking for something to do! Around The Town There are plenty of fun things in Kansas City. Here are a few we recommend! Look around Visit KC's website They've got some great lists of fun things to do around KC: ww.VisitKC.org Also, visit a few of our Avenuers at work! Crown Center's Friday Night Flicks (Amy Berridge) Kansas City Zoo (Lindsay Class) KC Royals (Jordan Hurst & Rachel Wise) Worlds of Fun (Alex Phillips) Also, check out a few of the community pools. Who knows what missional opportunities will spring up! Summit Waves Water Park Blue Springs Centennial Pool Super Splash USA Bible Camps We also wanted to promote a few of our sending church's camps and invite all interested Avenue families to attend and/or volunteer! Because we are a small church in the midst of big change right now, we're unable to host these events ourselves; but are excited to promote LSCC's events they've planned for summer 2010. Vacation Bible School June 14-17, 9am-12:15pm For children entering grades one through six Register your child here! Register to volunteer here! (Childcare for infants and toddlers, and a mini-VBS for 3-5 year old's, is offered to children of volunteers.) For more information, click here. Children's Camp July 12-16 For children entering grades four through six (at Windermere) For more information, click here. Student Camp July 12-16 For students entering grades seven through twelve (at Windermere) For more information, click here. http://www.walktheavenue.com/index.php/component/jb2/post/82 by Danielle I'll never forget the way that I learned of the crisis in Haiti a few months ago. I was checking Facebook and trying to understand why so many of my friends were praying for Haiti that day. It only took me one click to CNN.com to learn of the news. But the Haiti crisis isn't alone. I've also learned that MU beat KU, how awesome the movie Avatar is, or that it's Free Pastry day at Starbucks all through Facebook. Websites like Facebook (or Twitter, and even The City) offer a unique privilege to those of us living in the days of social media. We receive not only instant news, but instant opinions. In a matter of seconds we can communicate a thought that would have taken us five minutes to say person-to-person. It's quick, easy, and connects us in a way never seen before. As I've experienced the Facebook phenomenon, I've seen many advantages and disadvantages come from this website. I feel it's awesome to see people encouraging one another, celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, or even "liking" that someone just bought pretty new pink socks. But I've also been discouraged as I've seen status updates cut down others, our leaders, and become a unique form of passive aggressiveness. As one of my friend's clever statuses put it, "If you don't have anything nice to say, say it on Facebook." I encourage us all to see our Facebook status updates as anything else in our life, and especially as missional opportunities. The filter that we use when speaking face-to-face needs to stay on as we type over email and Facebook. The temptation to make a negative comment directed at someone else is overwhelming sometimes - I've been there myself. But we must remember that we have hundreds of other friends reading the same message - and many that don't know Jesus. Regardless of what we think about KU losing or the health care bill, our first responsibility is to share the Gospel and be ambassadors of Christ. And as Christians using social media, we've got an awesome opportunity to be missional with our Facebook, Twitter and other status updates. Just think what a cool story it would be if someone came to know Jesus as a result of a conversation started by your Facebook status. Now, that's a story that blows learning of the Haiti crisis or any other news through Facebook out of the water. http://www.walktheavenue.com/index.php/component/jb2/post/81 by Nick Kendall Today, PGA champion golfer Tiger Woods gave a statement to the media, after months of speculation, in response to the crisis he and his family has been enduring due to personal decisions he called today, “selfish and irresponsible behavior.” In our culture today, with the instant access to news and events, people’s indiscretions are made available quickly and all too thoroughly. Not everyone’s flaws are posted on the world’s bulletin board like Tiger’s, but nonetheless, none of us are immune from faltering due to bad decisions. What really amazes me is how we are tempted to celebrate others faults and personal setbacks. Rick Pitino, head coach of the University of Louisville men’s basketball team, too, has had his moral setbacks made public over the past year. Coach Pitino told police this past August that he had consensual sex with and paid for an abortion for the woman who has been charged with trying to extort him for millions of dollars. The woman began to pursue charges against Pitino for sexual assault, and Coach Pitino went public with the affair so he could tell his side of the story. Fast forward to last week when Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals visited conference rival West Virginia where thousands of fans mocked Pitino by chanting the name of the woman he had been in an adulterous relationship with. Fans chose to use the unfortunate circumstances of two marriages and families in turmoil to get an upper hand in a “basketball game”, what a sad statement on our culture on so many fronts. This is at the core of each of our hearts. We relish others flaws and setbacks because it makes us feel better about our own failures, especially if it can level the playing field between the rich and popular with the average Joe. This morning I enjoyed breakfast with my son before taking him to school and we talked about the story of Zacchaeus and Jesus in the book of Luke in the Bible (Luke 19:1-9). A large crowd accompanied the presence of Jesus when he came to the town of Jericho, and Zacchaeus climbed a tree in order to get a good view of Jesus above the masses. Jesus called on Zacchaeus to come down and join him. This led the crowd to discredit Zacchaeus, a cheating tax collector who had stolen from many, and question Jesus’ motive to associate with a known scoundrel. My son and I discussed today how we all are not immune to making bad decisions, and because of this our need to be careful to not judge others when they unfortunately do the same. We have no right to condemn others for their sins, and even celebrate them, when ours are just as guilty and destructive. The refreshing turn in the story with Jesus and Zacchaeus is him recognizing how he wronged others as a tax collector and repaid those he stole from and even gave more back in return. He more than likely wouldn’t have done this if Jesus hadn’t taken a “social chance” by associating with a known scam artist. Life is much more than pointing out wrongs, that’s to easy to do in this world which is full of six billion people who do bad things every day, but instead is about how people can find redemption in spite of their faults. I will strive to extend grace to others when they are experiencing personal setbacks, because I pray God and others will offer me that same grace when I most assuredly experience my improprieties. I, too, hope we can see men like Tiger Woods and Rick Pitino experience redemption and transformation in their lives and marriages in spite of the daunting circumstances before them today. Don’t we all hope this for our own lives? I most assuredly hope so! http://www.walktheavenue.com/index.php/component/jb2/post/80 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Plant Churches!? by Orion Berridge For some, church planting sounds exciting and enticing! It feels like it’s the entrance into a plan that is bigger and grander than us – and all to advance the gospel. But for others, it sounds scary and uncertain. It’s what we think older churches do after they’ve perfected their ministries and become great at everything. Those feelings are natural. It’s actually how our church plant team felt when we began to meet about planting The Avenue. As we prayed about what type of mission God had for us, it was clear that God was calling us to be a church planting church. I remember the room being filled with uncertain excitement. Church planting is more than a fad. It is well documented that new churches are more effective in reaching un-churched people groups than older established churches. Our hope is to never grow “old” as a church but to remain a church planting movement that is never content with 100 or 1000 members. We will continuously seek to join God on his mission to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10), and we feel that to do this in our culture means to church plant. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says to Peter, “...I will build my church.” Reading this passage I realize that the fears and excitement that we all feel about church planting are valid. But those words “I,” “Will,” “Build,” “My,” “Church,” are all of God’s own words. He’s used them to tell us that He’s got it all under control. Our role in planting is to join him in that building. We’re not on His mission to create physical buildings, organizations, or even to grow the fame of The Avenue. But instead, our calling means that we’re to love people around us, and He wants us to connect with them through starting new churches. We have recently announced that we are excited to begin the process of joining the Acts 29 Network. In November, Nick and I traveled to Louisville and met with Acts 29 leaders and partner churches. We came away refreshed and excited about the awesome possibilities of this relationship. This will not change anything with our sending church, LSCC, that we love and we will continue to partner with in ministry. This also goes for Great Commission Heartland, which is the regional network of Great Commission Churches - the association of churches that LSCC and The Avenue are part of. It is our hope that God would work through these networks and relationships to create in us a strong dynamic of missional church planting DNA. We are joining Jesus in “Growing followers of Christ to plant missional churches” in obedience to Him and taking serious his words in Matthew 16:18 “I will build my church!”   http://www.walktheavenue.com/index.php/component/jb2/post/79 #73: Break free from cabin fever! Feeling trapped at home these days? Call a friend and have them meet you at the mall to walk around or grab coffee. http://www.walktheavenue.com/index.php/component/jb2/post/78 #71: Watch parties! Several new TV shows are coming on this winter that provide great opportunities to get friends together and build relationships! http://www.walktheavenue.com/index.php/component/jb2/post/77 #70:  Make a resolution to be more missional. A great way to learn more about a missional lifestyle is through Ed Stetzer’s book “Compelled by Love.” Check it out today! http://www.walktheavenue.com/index.php/component/jb2/post/76 #69: Think local! Know a business owner in town? Hire them next time you need their services (if you know they do good work!) Build up your relationship by investing in their business! http://www.walktheavenue.com/index.php/component/jb2/post/75 #68: Show kindness to those around you as you stand in line to check out your Christmas gifts! A friendly face in a crowded holiday line can go a long way in improving someone’s day! http://www.walktheavenue.com/index.php/component/jb2/post/74 #67: Are you particularly thankful for a certain friend or family member this year? Let them know! Be bold in specifi cally telling them how they’ve blessed your life and strengthened your faith!