December Newsletter 2010

It's the holiday season and we are all so very busy. Oasis is just finishing our "OC Christmas" Series. We've been taking a look at Mary's call to birth the savior of the world. We've learned about the fears she may have faced and how she responded to the call on her life. It's been a really powerful series. In January we will be in our "New Years Revolution" series. We'll be looking at how God has the power to move in our lives in revolutionary ways. As we progress into this new year I look forward to all that God has in store for us. I've been spending time in prayer and I am really excited to put some challenges in front of our church. In my heart right now there is nervousness and excitement for the next year. Please continue to pray for us as we try to spread the hope of the Gospel. Thanks to each of you for your support!

Discussion time

Today at Oasis we really put a lot of answers and questions out there. This blog is just in case anyone wanted to open a public dialogue about any issues. So here is your chance!

This past series was really awesome! It was titled Heterosexual Homophobe and I can honestly say that this has been the most exciting series that we have done since launching over a year ago. We handled many topics such as discrimination, Racism, Homosexuality, Hate and so much more. I want to encourage anyone to listen to the past podcasts. Thank you so much to my staff for the ideas and encouragement. I have an amazing staff! The next series coming up is "You Asked for it" Wow, it's going to be intense. We received questions that will blow you away. Click HERE if you want to listen to the past podcasts.

Sunday Sum-up.

Today was pretty awesome!... other than my daughter throwing up on the way to church. Needless to say, Morgan and Campbell had to stay home today. She seems to be feeling better, but she has been sleeping most of the day. The message was straight up honest today. If you have any questions about the Holy Ghost and how He works in our lives, then you need to check out today's podcast and the rest of this 4 week series. Here are a few highlights from today.

-The Holy Spirit is mentioned over 800 times in scripture.
-The second verse of the Bible talks about the Spirit of God.
-There are churches that would refer to themselves as "Spirit Filled" that really weird many Christians out.
-There are also churches who are the exact opposite and would never dare even mention that the Holy Spirit has any authority.
-I believe the more biblical stance is somewhere more in the middle.
-The Holy Spirit is our Counselor, Comforter and so much more!
-Many believers aren't living a spirit filled life because they either aren't aware of the Holy Spirit or simply resist the Holy Spirit.
-You cannot continuously resist the Holy Spirit because eventually you will grieve Him and He may stop pursuing you.
-There are 3 different ways that the Holy Spirit ministers to us.
1. He comforts us.
2. He counsels us.
3. He convicts us.
Do not resist His conviction!

P.S. Next week is going to rock! don't miss it! We also have a series coming up next that is going to be very interesting. It's going to be called "Heterosexual Homophobe" Before you start calling me a heretic, you may need to hear the podcasts. And yes, it will blow church people up!

The Past Few Weeks... and next week.

Wow! The past few weeks have been awesome! Since I last blogged we have finished the Are you man enough series and we just wrapped up the are you woman enough series. This past series was so powerful for anyone to listen to, especially for the females. I encourage any female to download all three podcasts and listen to them. I actually only spoke for one week of this past series. The first week we had Carrie Booth come and speak. As a teenager, Carrie dealt with Anorexia and literally almost died. Her testimony is amazing! The Second week I spoke about self confidence and much more. To be honest, I was really worried that I was going to stink it up when I spoke, but God had some amazing truths for our ladies that week. Yesterday, we had Emily Jennings speak. Emily and her husband serve on the campus of NGU and she is very passionate about building real relationships in hope of promoting Christ in the lives of others. I must say that what she had to say will resonate with any female. To get our podcasts, you can just go to www.ocgreenwood.com and click on the podcast tab, or you can go to iTunes and type in the keyword "ocgreenwood." Check it out!

P.S. Please give us some feedback if our podcasts are making an impact on your life. We love to know when God is using us to impact your lives. Also, the next series coming up is called "The Ghost". We will be talking about the Holy Ghost, how He works in our lives, and what this means for us as believers.

Sunday Sum-up.

This past Sunday we started our new series called "Are You Man Enough?" and it was awesome! But first here are a couple of announcements.

-We will be doing three movies in the park this coming fall. One per month beginning in August. They will be a blast!
-We will be helping with the Homemade Genius festival in Ninety six on September 11th. We will have the opportunity to connect with a lot of people. We will be there from 6-9 that Saturday night. We will set up a lounge for all those who are at the festival and will be hanging out and giving away free stuff. It will rock!
-I definitely want to tell you about Communiversity on the campus of Lander. It's an awesome opportunity to let the Lander Students know who we are. We actually picked up Evan last year at this event. He began attending the church after we gave him some toilet paper. He is now our worship leader!
-We need volunteers for each of these events, so if you would like to help, either email the church office or sign up at the guest services table on Sunday. Our ladies at guest services will have more details for you, so don't hesitate to take some questions to them.

-Now for today. I don't know if I can really recap without making you think that I am crazy. so if you read this and you wonder if I'm insane... then please listen to the podcast.

-Today we talked about how we as men are called to love. Yet somehow, we have this idea that real men are incapable of loving.
-I said that there are two things that men need to know about love.
1. It takes a pair... No, not like two people... A pair... you know....
-Seriously, love is risky... It's actually more than risky. When you choose to love you WILL certainly be hurt and it takes some stuff to put yourself out there in love and open yourself up to be injured emotionally.
-The fact is, God was the first one to put Himself out there and love, and he was also the first one to experience a broken heart. He created humanity and all creation and immediately, man sinned against him. After this sin, God had to reconcile the relationship. and this leads us to the next reason that it takes a pair to love with all that you are.
-Love takes sacrifice... Sacrifice is required in love. When Adam and Even sinned against God, they realized their nakedness, they realized their sin. In turn God had to make the first sacrifice of all time. He had to kill animals in order to cloth their nakedness. God shed the first blood of all creation. He had to make the first sacrifice.
2. It takes a man to love!
-In 1 Corinthians Paul talks about love in chapter 13. As a matter of fact, we call this chapter the love chapter. It is a scripture that is frequently read in wedding ceremonies. What I find very interesting is that in this same chapter, Paul talks about putting childish ways behind you and being a man. Guys, it takes a man to love!

There was so very much more that I shared today, if you get a chance, please listen to the podcast... It very well could change your life. The word of God is powerful!

Sunday Sum-up.

This past week we had the opportunity to help Lake Russell Baptist Church with their new church facilities. I want to say a special thanks to Brandi, our do all, amazing staffer... Also known as our administrative assistant. She was there almost every day keeping things straight. she was a huge blessing to me because I wasn't able to be there nearly as much as I needed to be. Thank you so much Brandi. Also, a huge huge thanks to my wife for still loving me after this crazy week. I had a ton of stuff going on with my business, we have a home study for our adoption process that we have been trying to get ready for, and we had the mission week with Lake Russell. Not to mention that all of this took place on the week of her birthday and I didn't get home on her birthday until 10pm. She is amazing! And also, thanks to all of you who helped this past week. Lake Russell was so appreciative for all that you guys invested in their church and the kingdom.

Here are a few highlights from today's message:

Often times, we worship the sabbath instead of worshiping Jesus.

3 things we need to know about the Sabbath.

#1. -We are no more holy or right whether we observe the sabbath on Saturday, Sunday, or any other day.
Romans 14:5-6a

#2. -We value the object lesson over the lesson.

Colossians 2:16-17

The fact is, God has given us the example of the Sabbath to teach us about heaven, and we completely miss the point. We end up being more excited about keeping our day than we are about celebrating Heaven as the true sabbath rest.

#3. -It's a shortcut to righteousness.
-Observing the Sabbath makes us feel good about ourselves.

Colossians 2:20-23

-Going to church on Sundays can often times be nothing more than something to make you feel good. As if you have done better than those who didn't go to church.... because it's the right thing to do.
-It doesn't matter if you observe the sabbath for yourself... for your own ego... If that's why you go to church, then you would have been better off to just stay at home.

Does your faith go beyond Sunday?

-John 4:21&23

What do you do when you are not at church... and why do you do those things? Is it to honor God or to puff up your ego?

P.S. Hey... Perfect religious people... get over yourselves... you're not that great!

Sunday Sum-up.

I have literally not had time to write a blog this past week until tonight. Sorry for the late post. I HAD to post about this past Sunday even though I'm late.

First, a couple of important things
1. We will be having no service on July 4th. The 4th is on a Sunday this year, and we want all of our volunteers and attenders to be free to spend time with their families.
2. Our mission week is next week. If you want to sign up for a time to help build Lake Russell Baptist Churches new church building, please let us know. You can email the church to tell us when you can be there. Our email is Web@ocgreenwood.com

Okay, so this Sunday was amazing. I really felt like the Lord worked in the hearts of everyone in attendance. The greatest thing was that we had a guy give his life to Jesus!... That's what it is all about! YEA!

Here's a few highlights.
-We read from John Chapter 4
-Read it and listen to the podcast. God's word is POWERFUL!
-Jesus HAD to go through Samaria.
-Jesus went to the most sacred places of the most lost people, and yet that is exactly what the church tends to teach it's members not to do.
-Jesus went to Jacob's well in order to abolish every ounce of hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans.
-The culture of lost people is our current day Samaria and the church is doing no better than the Jews did reaching the Samaritans.
-Churches are fighting over paint and carpet, meanwhile people are dying and going to Hell because we don't have time to share the gospel because our petty arguments are taking up all of our time.
-One of our greatest challenges is that we tend to worship our sacred places more than we worship the Savior.
-Our love for our sacred places are keeping people from the Gospel!

-Are you worshiping the church, Sunday, the church building , or just the idea of church, instead of worshiping Jesus?

-Let's choose to be part of a new church. A church that is filled with "True worshipers" who worship in spirit and in truth.

-A guy met Jesus this past Sunday! Heaven is one more person crowded! That's why we do what we do. We are so blessed to be part of God's gospel of salvation!

Sunday Sum-up.

Important Announcement: Summer mission.
We will be helping Lake Russell Baptist Church with building their new church. This will happen only two weeks from now. So you don't have much time to sign up. The dates are June 21-26th. For those who would like to participate, please let us know when you can help. You can basically help at any time during those days, even if it's a day after work. I'm so excited that we get the chance to help a church that has been so supportive of us from day one. Lake Russell has supported us financially, in prayer and through the encouragement of their pastor. Oasis, Let's blow Lake Russell away with how much we help them. If you don't know how to use a hammer or a paint brush, don't worry, their is something for everyone. You can sign up several ways. Sign up by emailing the church at web@ocgreenwood.com, going by the guest services table over the next two Sundays, or just by telling one of the staff. Bring some friends if you want... that would rock! This is an amazing opportunity to help the kingdom advance. Let's do this full on!

Sunday Sum-up

This past Sunday I just talked to Oasis as a family about what I so desperately want our family to be like.

-First off, I promised Oasis that we would never play it safe. Our church will always be a go hard or go home church. The problem with so many American churches is that we just want to be comfortable. The only problem with this mindset is Jesus... and the Bible!

-I shared three family rules that we will constantly break at Oasis.

-1. The Perfect family rule.
Oasis will never be a family of perfection. We will always be a church full of screwed up people. Because if we weren't screwed up then what would be the purpose of Jesus hanging on the cross? Besides, who gets the glory when God does amazing things through messed up people?... He does! So if you think you are too messed up to go to church, then Oasis is just the place for you.

-2. The Predictable family rule.
Oasis will never be a church that tries to control you and turn you into some sort of Christian robot. Church people can be so stupid when it comes to telling christians what they can and can't do. I had a guy tell me that I needed to burn my Guns and roses CDs years back... man that would have been a huge mistake! "Every Rose has it's thorn...".... Guitar solo..... YEA! The most powerful thing I can do for you as your pastor is to teach you about the freedom that comes with Christ and then Unleash you to do crazy things for Jesus!

-3. The Passive family rule.
Christians are so good at coming up with spiritual reasons that they don't have to do anything... "But God says get along with everyone." Yea, but read that whole verse and read it in context. Do you really think that Jesus was aiming to get along with everyone when he consistently called the pharisee snakes and a brood of vipers.... Um.. NO! The spiritual cop out is a skill that is well acquired by many church people. It's like this... If your grandmother is lost and laying on her death bed. DON'T call me to come and pray for her... that is a cop out so that you don't have to talk to her. Get on your knees beside her bed, pray for her and share the gospel with her. Just because I'm the pastor, that doesn't mean I have a red phone on my desk with a direct line to God. However, I do have Him on speed dial... but so should you if you are a believer.

Commit today to serve Jesus boldly and faithfully.

Sunday sum-up

A couple of things before we get into the Sunday sum-up.
1. This coming week is going to be awesome! I'm really looking forward to sharing what I feel God has to say to Oasis.
2. Our next series "Partial Truths" is going to rock your face off!!
3. I'm hoping to share very soon about one of the opportunities that we have this summer as a church. Be there this Sunday to find out about it.

This past Sunday we talked about real relationships and how Oasis is dependent on it's members to have real relationships with real people. Here are a few highlight thoughts.

-You can not establish and maintain a real relationship without serious effort.

-Most Christians are entirely too passive when it comes to their relationships, faith and most everything else in life. We are often times willing to pray about anything... or at least say we will... but we are very hesitant to actually do anything.

-You have got to be confident in yourself and in your God if you are ever going to maintain a healthy relationship.

-Needy friends are annoying friends. Suck up your whinny attitude and realize that the world doesn't revolve around you nor should it.... If it did, we'd all be in real deep poo!

-Forgiveness should be consistent in our relationships as believers. However, it seems to be what we lack more than anything else.

-If you want to see a bitter human being just go into most any church in America and hang around for a business meeting. You'll likely hear about how Joe is still mad at Betty because her dad painted the walls the wrong color in 1978... Man, Church people are so good at holding grudges.

-The God that we claim to follow is a God of Love, Grace, and forgiveness. Yet it seems as if our relationships are lacking those three things more than anything... Why?

-Commit today
-to put effort into your relationships
-to find your self worth in Jesus
-to forgive

Sunday Sum-up.

Today was our second week in or Flashback series. Last week we talked about what it means to forget your first love. This week, we talked about broken hearts. Here are some highlight thoughts.

-The fact is, most of us respond inappropriately to pain when it occurs in our lives.

-We talked about 4 main questions to face when dealing with pain.

1. Do I even need to respond to the pain?
-Some pain, and some people who inflict pain in your life are just not worth responding to.
-When it comes to people, the best way to know if you should even respond to what they have to say about your life is to determine if they love you, or if they are just being selfish.

2. Is relieving the pain a sufficient response?
-Some pain in life will go away with time.
-Sometimes you just need to cope with the pain until it goes away.
-Many times though, even with this pain, there is something to learn.
-Learn what you can when you are afforded the opportunity. Even if... Especially if those lessons come with pain.

3. Do I need to respond to the source of my pain?
-Many of us go through life just trying to cope with pain as if it will eventually go away. but the fact is, much of our pain stems from something in our past that has got to be dealt with head on.
-Maybe today is the day that you need to determine to get help with the pain that you are carrying around.
-Maybe start by talking with a friend
-Maybe just admit that you need to see a counselor.

4. Will this pain make me better or bitter?
-Pain is a necessity in life.
-God uses pain to draw us closer to Him.
-Unfortunately, pain is a result of sin.
-Is the pain in your life a direct result of your own sin?... Maybe you just need to confess your sin to God, repent, and draw near to Him.
-Is the pain a result of someone else's sin?... Maybe you need to deal with the affects of what their sin is doing in yours and other peoples lives... maybe you need to confront them...

Always remember...
-Pain is necessary-Somehow it fits perfectly into His perfect plan
-Pain is beneficial-You have a choice... Will it make you better or bitter?
-Pain is temporary-one day, He will wipe away all of your tears and sorrows.

My hope for you is that God would disturb your heart in a tremendous way!

I'm tired... Good night!

Just back away from the door.

It has been forever since I blogged. Typing this at 11:30 pm reminds me why I quit blogging. I have something that I felt like God was saying to me so clearly today and I just wanted to share it. I have three kids, and on occasion one, two or all three will tag along behind me every step that I take. My little girl is the most proficient at this. Often times I'll be outside and she stands at the door and cries to come out with me, so I open the door and let her out. Then, naturally at times I will be inside and she wants to come in with me, so I let her in. Now when I let her come out with me I have no problem opening the door because I just pull it open and she comes out. however, our screen door on the back porch opens out, so when she wants to come inside with me, I have to get her to back away from the door before I can open it. Otherwise, if I open the door I'll knock her down the steps onto a hard patio. We run into this problem every time that she wants to come in. She stands right outside the door with tears running down her face begging me to open the door, and I bend down and talk to her through the screen and explain that she has to move away from the door before I can open it. It's really quite a heartbreaking scene. Her tears break my heart, but I can't do anything to help her until she backs away from the door. She does everything that she can to try to get in. She hopelessly stands on her tip toes and tries to open the door, she knocks on the window, she cries, and she begs her daddy to let her in. But not until when she finally listens to me and backs away from the door can I open it, and I don't hesitate to open it. Then she comes in, I give her a hug and kiss, I comfort her and we move on... until we find ourselves in the same position in a couple more hours.

As we experienced this same drama a few times today, I felt like God was saying something so profound to me. I felt like He was saying "See Curt, that's exactly what you are doing to me. I want so badly to open some doors for you and Oasis, but you are doing everything that you can to open those same doors. You are reaching for the door knob, but it's not yours to turn. I just need you to stop trying to open those doors. Just back away, wait on me, and I won't hesitate to open them for you. You are just so impatient. You are my child, don't you think that it would delight me to have you in my presence? Just back away and let me open the door." I don't fully know what this means yet, but over the past few months I feel like I've been in the process of understanding it. We'll see where it takes us.

Oasis, I love all of you guys. There is no doubt in my mind that God wants to do amazing things in our church. You are so dedicated. You just get it. You get that Oasis exists so that lives can be changed, so that Jesus' name can be made famous, and that rocks my face off! Let's just step back and see what kind of doors He will open for us. It's His presence that makes the difference. We can't force anything amazing to happen. Let's just follow Him and see what doors He opens. Keep in mind though, that we have to work hard to follow him. I'm not saying I want us to be idle. Let's do our best to stay right on His heels as He works. Beg Him to open some doors. Pray that I will have the wisdom as your pastor to know which doors to back away from and wait on Him to open. Thank you for charging the gates of Hell with me. I love you guys!

Sunday Sum-up

Today was amazing! Have you ever had those weeks when everything seems to be falling apart? Well, there were a few occasions when this past week felt like one of those weeks. for some reason though, even with all the stuff that came my way, I felt like God was saying to me "I'm in control". So I didn't worry, but I did wonder how this Sunday was going to go. We knew coming into this week that we were going to be short on volunteers and then I found out that we would be short 4 more volunteers. We knew this morning where everyone was and the fact is it's just life. None of them were just skipping out, they just had life things to do. So we set up this morning with a MAJOR skeleton crew, and after cutting a few corners, it went really well. Then came the thing of "what if it's just us few volunteers?" Well, it wasn't. We had a great crowd and even picked up three brand new volunteers officially. We talked about the purpose statement of Oasis, which is "Love God, Love Others, Serve the World, and Make Disciples." I also talked a little about my journey and how Oasis Came to be. If you would like to know a little of what Oasis is about, and why we are planting this church, then listen to the podcast. You can search for it on I-tunes with the key word "ocgreenwood" It will pop right up. You can also go to our podcast tab on our web site. Today was awesome... and yes, we really do shoot sacred cows in the forehead, throw them in a ditch, and spit on them as we walk away. :)
BIG REMINDER:
On March 7th we will be at the Homemade genius building for our worship service instead of at the YMCA and we will be starting 15 minutes earlier at 10:30 instead of 10:45.

Baptism

Today we had our first baptism since we launched in August. Baptism is always very exciting to me because it is such a beautiful picture of Christ, His sacrifice on the cross, and new life in Him. If you've ever wondered why Christians baptize, I encourage you to check out the podcast.
Next week we begin a seven week series about the very simple, but difficult issues that new believers always face called Discipleship 101. Other members of the staff will get an opportunity to teach during this series and I'm very excited that they are willing to share their hearts. You will be floored by the passion in these guys. I encourage you to be there for this next series if you've ever had any questions about everyday life as a believer.
Just a reminder to Oasis. Unleash is coming up on March 4th and we need to know by this coming Sunday if you would like to go. I encourage anyone who can possibly go to please make it a priority. I promise you that you will be amazed at the inspiration and passion that flows out of New Spring church. I'm so excited to get to share a little next week about how Unleash conference helped to inspire the existence of Oasis Church.
Oasis, also don't forget that we have Movies in the park coming up and we also have our public launch coming this September!