Not really sure who got all of this started but I really appreciate it. And thank you for your vote this November. (I always new this blog would pay off!)

http://www.thelopezfamilyonline.com/play.php?first=Pastor&last=Jimmy%20B...

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Yesterday (Sunday) I mentioned that I love the fall of the year because of football and BBQ. Literally, I think God gave us the fall for hog killing (to make BBQ) and football (made of pigskin) because He loves us. Anyway, a good friend sent me this video which I just love. These guys are right about BBQ!!!! :) This is really funny. Enjoy! Thanks Jennifer...

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I just wanted to say that today was an awesome day at Rocky River! It truly was. The Spirit was all over things today. I'm really proud of all of our teams - especially our setup team. They had a full group and we needed every person and every second of the day. Way to go. I am so proud of our church. Can you feel the energy?!?!?!?! God is SO up to something BIG. I just feel it.

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I got an email last night from a kid who is attending Rocky River with his mom (maybe his dad too). Anyway, he wants to know if he will go to hell for listening to rock music. That's what the Christians at his school are telling him because that is what their parents and church have told them. So this guy is worried that he's going to hell because he likes his rock with some metal. MAN, I was born to be this kid's pastor! (I ain't even kidding!)

I grew up in a Christian school that was "Church of God" (that's the denomination). They tormented me over my music. They treated me like a devil worshipper because I listened to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Motley Crue, Rush, and of course, KISS, etc. And the way they handled me caused me to be rebellious toward them. If I could have gotten away with it I would have worn dragon boots to school and spit fire at the principal. :)

Anyway, let me share some of my thoughts here.

People don't go to hell because of what they listen to. A person goes to hell if he or she doesn't accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Now, I do think there are things that build us up or break us down in our relationship with Jesus. Like, I don't think its healthy for a Christian to listen to Slip Knot, Black Sabbath and Ozzy and the like. And don't tell me that I just don't understand what those guys are about - I used to say that too. I do know... Especially Sabbath and the Oz man. I know... I was banging my head to Paranoid, War Pigs, and Sweet Leaf before most of the people reading this blog were born. I do know...

My mom was the one who centered me when it came to music. There may have been times when she wanted to freak out over some of the stuff I was listening to but she never did. There were two songs she took away from me growing up - "Cocaine" by Clapton and "Don't Try Suicide" by Queen. I remember one time we were in a beachwear store at Myrtle Beach buying t-shirts (remember the iron-ons?). I wanted the new AC-DC shirt - the one with Angus Young wearing devil horns. She let me get it but first she made the t-shirt guy cut of the album title at the bottom which was "Highway to Hell." Here's the thing. My mom new that I had a good heart and that if she didn't take the music thing too seriously that I wouldn't either.

We have a family in our community - who used to be a part of our church - and the dad is taring his family apart over music. That's what it really boils down to. And rather than being patient with his kids - and Rocky River Community Church - he's making the mistakes I saw "Church of God" (legalistic, well-meaning, but misinformed) parents make all my life. He's creating and nurturing rebellion in them. He thinks he's helping them but he's causing a rift that might last for years and years beyond their teen years.

So what do I listen to today? I don't really like to promote music but lets just say that I still like music with a metal edge. I don't really listen to KISS anymore because of the sexual content. That's just not good for my mind - although "Rock N Roll All Night" will always be the national anthem of rock music. I don't listen to music that promotes satanic values (of course) - that's why I don't go for anything like Black Sabbath anymore. Those are two parameters I put around music. I also tend to listen to music that mirrors culture and is asking spiritual questions. One of those bands from my generation was Guns N Roses.

Anyway, that's just a little about what I think about music. I'm really not interested in having a debate about music. I did that for the first 18 years of my life. I know what I think and respect what you think about it. Let's just leave it at that.

BUT, if you are 12 years old and need someone to help you think through music I'm glad to do that. My final word is just not to let anything - music included - stand between you and a relationship with Jesus Christ. Put your faith in Him and walk with Him and He will help you get rid of the junk in your life.

One more thing. My mom made the biggest difference in my life in a lot of ways but especially in music as I've already mentioned. But there was someone else who did too. I used to go to church on Wednesday nights to First Pentecostal Church in Charlotte. I went with some kids I grew up with. I went because of a cute little blonde named Cam. I already knew what the people there thought of the music I listened to. So I would wear the worst pair of jeans, my chain belt (I was a poser hood), chain wallet and some kind of rock tour shirt. The youth pastor was the pastor's wife. Here name was Tana. I was for sure I could shock here right out of her beehive hair-do. But when she saw me, instead of pushing me away and turning up her nose, from day one she put her arms around me and loved me and accepted me unconditionally. She didn't pre-judge me. She just loved me. All of a sudden it wasn't any fun to be rebellious. Do you see how that works?

Sorry for the long post. I'm out...

J

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I haven't dumped my mind in a while. It's 6:30 AM and I'm listening to a little Shooter Jennings and Foghat (Slow Ride) and that combination makes me want to dump my mind. :) Not really sure why but hear goes...

- A leader cannot take people where he has not gone. What is different about your church?

- Excitement is contagious.

- If you're a church leader out there - especially a church planter - there are some people around you right now telling you they love you and they will be with you until they die. In reality the first time you don't do what they want you to do they will hit the road. I ran into one of those families from my past yesterday in Harrisburg. They told me they would go through the fire with me at Rocky River when we were getting started. But when the first ripple came along - a financial one, and we really needed them - they walked. Beware of people like that. Now that we have about 700 people and not 7 on our mailing list let me tell you to beware of those people. In fact, you ought to test them now. Push them on something to see if you can trust them when the crap hits the fan. And don't be afraid to let people walk. In fact, don't be afraid to tell people to walk. If that doesn't sit right with you then spend some more time reading the Bible.

- Building a church is not about building a "building." I have a good friend - Garret - and he's a brick layer. Well, he's a business man but he lays brick. And he's kind of famous for it. When he lays block he doesn't really set out to build a wall. He sets a course. He sets one course of block on top of the other until the wall is built. And he does that until the building is finished. Leaders set one course at a time. At Rocky River we are laying courses; the building will come.

- You have to be confident in your own giftedness as a leader. If you're not, you cannot face the Pharaohs, the grumbling Children of Israel, and Goliath(s) in your life. And, if you are not confident in what God has called you to do, people will not be confident in you. And if you are not confident you need to know why. It may be that you called yourself and that is a dangerous place to be. Did God call you to start that new church or did your senior pastor piss you off? Or maybe a deacon board? You better decide that NOW.

- Changing your church, home, organization or whatever, begins with you - the leader. Leaders don't whine, they change things. If there needs to be change in your church stop crying about it and start making changes. If everything was going good in the church God wouldn't need you.

- Don't be afraid to lead. While God does bring people and leaders around you to help you, God does not give vision to committees or teams. He first gives it to a leader.

- Don't criticize other people, especially leaders who are leading at a higher level than you are right now. Who do you think you are?

- Have you ever thought that maybe your church is empty because you are?

- Don't let the bad press and the backbiting of others keep you from doing what God has called you to do. God told Moses to "go on before the people." That means to move out beyond them so you can't hear their grumbling.

*Note: Don't get caught up in your good press either. Other people's flattery can be a curse!

- If Bill Hybels (one of my favorite leaders) has taught us anything it is that we have to help people become self feeders. You have to get them feeding themselves and not draining you of your nutrients. If you don't wean people off of you they will suck the life out of you. In other words, people can't keep coming to you for everything. They can when there are only 10 people in the church but not when there are 400. Just like children (and our congregation is our spiritual children) you have to teach them to dress themselves, feed themselves, and wipe there own bottoms :). And that is a good thing. And if it is not a good thing for you then you are a narrow leader. You are narrow because you "need" them to come to you for everything because that (and not God's call on your life) validates you as a leader. And honestly, if you lead like that you'll never have 400 people in your church. You'll only have a few. Why? Because God won't give you more people than you can handle.

Gotta go...

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I have never had more reasons to be more excited about what's going on at Rocky River Community Church than right now - at this very moment! Mo (momentum) is in the house! There is a lot of excitement around the office, and not just with our staff but with all of our leaders. I think all of us feel like God is about to do something we can't even believe. Here's a couple of things that really have me cranked up:

- We are finally getting electricity on the land - which will be a HUGE deal with our pumpkin patch, movie nights on the land, haunted hay-rides and Christmas trees.

- I'm looking forward to October 19th! We're celebrating our 9th birthday with one big service on the land. We're renting a 40' x 100' tent and we're just going to blow it out that day!!! We're inviting the whole dang community in for that. It'll be a lot of fun! Put it on your calendar.

- I'm excited about this weekend. We're kicking off a brand new LifeTalk series called "Back to School Challenges." This weekend I'm talking from the Bible about how to put first things first to kick the new school year off right. It's some of the best content I've ever had in a message. This is a "got to be at Rocky River" Sunday!

I'm out...
J

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Hey Rocky River Community Church!

I wanted to let you know that we have decided to cancel this week's back to school Luau scheduled for Saturday night. Several months ago when we scheduled this event it seemed like a good idea. And for sure a Luau would be a lot of fun. What we did not consider is how busy this week is for the family's in our church and community. It became "just one more thing to do" for our folks and it was really stretching our volunteers thin. That adds up to a bad deal.

I take full responsibility for the planning and canceling of the Luau. My promise to you is that in the future we will do a better job planning events so that we avoid situations like this one.

On another note, I am so excited about the weekend at Rocky River Community Church. We are kicking off a new message series called "Back to School Challenges." This week we will focus on setting the right priorities to get the new school year started off right. And if you don't have school age kids, no worries! This series has something to offer everyone.

Thanks for your continued support of Rocky River Community Church and its ministries. See you Sunday!

Sincerely,
Jimmy Britt, Lead Pastor
Rocky River Community Church

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Are you wondering where I've been? Did you even know I was missing? :)

Nah... just kidding. I've been doing some serious remodeling to the house. It is almost finished - at least the big stuff. We have painted, put in new floors, and cleaned out all of our closets and garage. Of course you wouldn't know the garage has been cleaned out because of all the garage sale stuff in it. We literally filled up a 6'x12' trailer with 7 years of junk and hauled it to the dump. Anyway, it feels really good to have all that behind us. I'm looking forward to getting back in the "game" on Monday.

Hey, if you know of anyone looking for a piano - a Baldwin upright - let me know. We have an awesome one for sale. It is in perfect shape!

Anyway, I'll see you on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it!!!

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I have been so excited the last few weeks at Rocky River. Our services have been more exciting than ever - and I mean EVER. Here are some quick hits from today's services...
-We recognized 17 whom we baptized two weeks ago. GO GOD!

-Music was as kicking as ever! Brandon did a great job leading. I loves it when he talks to the congregation and teaches as he leads.

-We had 22 people attend membership/partnership class today. VERY COOL!

-There were a number of first time visitors today.

-A lady emailed me this morning at 8AM asking about the church. Good thing I have an iPhone now because I was able to email-answer her questions. She showed up at the 11AM service. Thanks Apple! BTW, if you work for Apple I want you to know that we are using your technology to reach people who are far from God with the Gospel of Christ. I know that ticks you off. Too bad!

-Our offerings are really holding up well. KEEP IT UP ROCKY RIVER!!!

There's a lot of excitement right now at Rocky River. Mo (momentum) is in the house! It's going to be an exciting Fall/Christmas season at The Rock!

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Yesterday and today our pastoral staff attended the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. I have a notebook full of notes. I'll get them up over the next couple of days. It was awesome! The Leadership Summit never lets me down - NEVER. It was great.

I would really appreciate it if everyone out there who reads my blog would pray for my uncle Larry (Simpson). He is my moms oldest brother and he has a growth on his neck that is basically choking him. The doctors have said they've done everything they can do (surgery is not an option because of the location) but I've learned over the last few years that doctors don't have the final say in things like this. He also has prostate cancer. Larry has three living sons (and one in Heaven) and some beautiful grandchildren, not to mention Mellie, his wife (a wonderful person). He loves them very much, and of course, they love him too.

Larry wasn't able to attend our Simpson family reunion last Saturday down at Lake Wylie which I know was very hard on him. WE ALL MISSED HIM LIKE CRAZY. Our family only gets together once a year - which is more than most - but we pick right up where we left off from the year before. Our family is not a bunch of estranged people who only know each other through dusty old photographs and faint memories. We're still making memories and living out a rich heritage of family we call Simpsons. My uncle Larry is an important part of that heritage. In our family, "unlcle" means something special and important. Larry means something special to me and all of my cousins and his brothers and sisters and family. I guess I just want you to know that he's not just an old guy who I barely know. He's someone I love and it hurts me that he's sick. So, I appreciate you praying for him.

Jimmy

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I got a call this morning about 2:30AM from Allen and Amber Lykins that some good friends of theirs (the Thacker family) had been in a serious car accident and their son Jonathan had been killed. In April I married Amber and Allen. Jonathan's mom - Sonja - was the wedding director. She (and her husband Todd and their two sons Joseph and Jonathan) are just awesome people. Jonathan's death is so tragic. He was only ten years old. Here's a picture of him volunteering at an annual Thanksgiving dinner at his church.

BTW, Sonja, Todd and Joseph Thacker were treated and released. One can only imagine how hard things are for them right now. Please pray for them and their family, friends and church family - Memorial Baptist Church.

For the whole news story and video of go to http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-080608-krg-boydead.1cc4...

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"The average millionaire in America reads one non-fiction book a month."
– Dave Ramsey, Fox News this morning.

So... what are you reading? Dave Ramsey's book "Total Money Makeover" would be a great place to start.

"The enemy of the church planter is distraction”
– Nelson Searcy, www.nelsonsearcy.com

The greatest distraction for as a church planter/pastor/leader has always been the temptation to do too much. Less is more. What do you need to stop doing today? What do you need to hand off? What needs to be trashed? You are doing too much!

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...but just in case you haven't...

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I have tickets available for this Sunday's preseason game with the Colts. My PSL's are very good seats, upper level. They are $45 each. If you would like them email me at jimmy@rockyriverchurch.com. The first to ask for them can get them...

I also have the tickets for the Redskins preseason game available too.

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Today was a learning field trip to the Panther's training camp. We've been trying to do some things lately around the office to spike our creativity and get the leadership juices flowing.

Anyway, here are three lessons I picked up today at training camp.

Observation #1: The fact that they have a training camp at all - and even the Pro Bowl players are expected to be there. Think about it. Delhomme knows how to throw a ball. Steve Smith can catch a ball. Peppers can tackle. But the Panthers (and all NFL teams of course) have a pre-season training camp. They don't just gather up their players the week before the season starts and put together some plays. They practice. They drill. They sweat. They go over the basics. And they do it as a team.

Application: Churches need a training camp. Just like the NFL has a season, churches need to recognize they have certain seasons when they have the greatest opportunity for growth. There should be a "ramping up" to that season with a kind of "pre-season" training for volunteers, staff, etc. - even the pro-bowlers. Everyone should be involved. Everyone has to sweat.

Observation #2: There were many coaches on the field. I was surprised to see how active and vocal the other team coaches are on the field. I guess I expected one coach to be running the whole show - and in a sense Fox is responsible for the whole thing - but there must have been 20 coaches, assistants and trainers who were doing their part in making things happen. And they knew their role and they did it man. It was really amazing to watch. In a way, it was like there were maybe 6 or 8 head coaches on the field.

Application: A growing, "taking it to the next level" church, cannot be a one man show. Sure, there has to be a lead pastor who is responsible for the whole thing, but having a good staff and volunteer leaders is crucial. And not only is having good leaders crucial but they have to have the freedom to do their job - to lead. That is key. The pastor (head coach) can't be the only one with leadership empowerment because he will bottleneck the organization. Man this really opened my eyes.

Observation #3: There is a lot of vision around that place. You know, when you think about it, someone had the vision/dream to build that organization. And I know there are some folks reading this right now who don't like the Panthers (that's you're problem) but like them or not, there is a visionary leader heading up that organization (Jerry Richardson). And is wasn't as though Mr. Richardson was out there screaming out to the team and fans, "I have a vision." It was just obvious. And what made it obvious is that there is a plan. And not only is there a plan but there are leaders working that plan.

Application: A church has to have a plan. If there is no plan then there probably is no vision. If there is a vision, but no plan then you don't have the right people/leaders around you.

The Bible says that "where there is no vision the people perish" (KJV). I really do think that means something like this: Where there is no plan, the people live in chaos. There has to be a vision/dream and a plan to make it happen. If not, there is only chaos, wasted energy, and unfulfilled people.

I have some other thoughts I may lay out later. But I hope maybe these help you in your church or where ever you lead.

J

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I took a field trip this morning to the Carolina Panthers training camp. I took the kids with me and Brandon and his brother Andrew went as well. IT WAS AWESOME! I'm so stoked about football season kicking off this weekend. And we just had a great experience. It's a long story so I'll save it for a sermon :). But we had an awesome time.

Annie and James took their Jake Delhomme jerseys. They not only got his autograph (and he was SO awesome), but they Peppers, Hoover, Chris Gamble, Matt Moore and several others. This is a picture of Annie getting her #17 jersey signed.

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I'm really excited about a meeting on August 12th. I'm excited about it because I am meeting with about 20 of our church's leaders (Staff Team, Ministry Team Leaders and Trustees, etc.) to give them my vision for the rest of 2008 and 2009. This summer I've had a lot of time to unplug from the regular day to day stuff and listen to God and seek His direction for the next 12 to 18 months. I'm really excited about this because God has renewed my call to ministry and my vision for Rocky River Church. I can't wait to share this stuff and get everyone working on it. And I can't wait to share everything with the congregation sometime soon.
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Thursday and Friday of this week (Lord willing and I can find $1,000) our staff is going to the Willow Creek Leadership Summit (http://willowcreek.com/events/leadership/2008/). I can hardly wait! I haven't missed this conference in eight years and it is my favorite (although Unleash is right there). It is an opportunity for our staff to be immersed in leadership and new ideas and just a culture of leadership. It is invaluable to our staff's leadership development, which of course pays off big-time in the work/vision/leadership of our church. I just wish it didn't come in August because the summer is a hard time for us to come up with that kind of cash.
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We started a new message series today called Mind Storm. But of course we're looking down the road to our next couple of series. Beginning August 24 we're kicking off a three part series called "BACK TO SCHOOL CHALLENGES." We're going to talk about the three big challenges parents and students face at the beginning of a new school year - stress, difficult people (usually each other), and sexual purity.
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In October we have a ton of stuff we're planning on the land. Of course we have the Pumpkin Patch and all that good stuff. But we're going to have some cool activities all month long in October. Among other things we're planning a BBQ.

I'm also looking forward to the teaching series in October. We're calling it "SUPERNATURAL." Sounds spooky, huh? It will be. We're going to unpack some of the supernatural happenings in the Bible. Things like God making the sun and moon stand still, demon possession and healings. It's going to be a lot of fun - and very interesting!!!!

Anyway, I just wanted to give you some things to look forward to and let you know our staff is working and planning. We have some exciting times coming up gang. GET READY!

ROCKY RIVER CHURCH, I LOVE BEING YOUR PASTOR!

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