What’s going to happen? Well, here’s what I don’t know:

• How many people will come?
• How many people will be glad they came?
• How many people will come again after tomorrow?
• How many people will learn or experience something that will transform their lives in some way?
• Will we have enough parking?
• Did we rent too many chairs?
• Is our advertising effective?
• Is my sermon any good?

Actually, I could keep going. And going. And just thinking about it gives me heart palpitations.

But here’s what I do know:

On Sunday, February 27th, from 10 to 11 a.m., our little community will worship the Lord. With few or many people around us, we will turn to Jesus Christ as God, as a Human, as our savior, and He will be present. I have no doubt. I also know that whatever happens, He has already foreseen it, and has made plans and provisions so that good will come out of it.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)

Lord, I pray that you will strengthen me and calm me and hold me up and lead me forward. Let me be your servant. Please make me whatever you need me to be so that people can see you in a new way. I’m a broken, flawed, limited person, but I know you can use that. Help me help others. And if at all possible, make it fun, too.

We’ve been meeting quietly for half a year, and now it’s time to switch from quiet to loud. And it’s weird. Why? Because we are heading into unexplored territory and have no idea what will happen next. Will we get so many people showing up that there isn’t parking and seating for everyone? Will we get no one? Will the people who come check us out find value in what we offer? Or will our non-traditional take on Christianity make us a target of hatred?

Or will the Lord bless us with exactly what we need to learn and grow?

Why do roller coaster riders throw their hands in the air?

1. Bookmark our website: NewWayAustin.org.
2. Subscribe to our website’s feed: feeds.feedburner.com/NewWayChurch.
3. “Like” our facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/Austin-TX/New-Way-Church/134013309972335.
4. Follow our twitter account: twitter.com/NewWayAustin.
5. Subscribe to our youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewWayChurchAustin.

All four are in the early development stage–especially the website. But in the coming little while, you should see them all bloom into great sources of information and inspiration!

We sold our home when I was ordained, because we knew we would be moving to Pittsburgh. We rented in Pittsburgh (Edgewood, actually) because I knew we’d be there only one to three years, and that’s too short of a timeframe to be buying and selling real estate. Then, when I was called back to Bryn Athyn, we rented again, this time in Huntingdon Valley. Again, no purchase, because I was certain that I’d need to move out to plant a church within one or two years.

The houses in Edgewood and in Huntingdon Valley each had their good points, but they were each somebody else’s. Now, sitting here in my study in our one-story house in the Highland Hills part of the city of Austin, I’m a homeowner again. Now, for the first time in a long time, I truly feel home.

Tomorrow is Sunday. Our plan is to use many Sundays in the coming seven months (except those on which we are doing a monthly worship gathering with New Way Church, of course!) as chances to visit neighboring churches of all types and sizes, and worship with our neighbors, and with strangers. Many of these Sundays we’ll worship as a family at home, too. Tomorrow is something special, though. Tomorrow we are dedicating our home to the Lord.

As part of the dedication, we will read together four readings from the Word. Here they are.

Divine Providence 338:4:

Everyone after death comes into a society of his own people, that is, of those who are in a similar love, and he recognizes them as relatives and friends, and what is wonderful, when he meets them and sees them it is as if he had known them from infancy. This is the result of spiritual relationship and friendship; and what is more, no one in a society can live in any other house than his own, each one in a society having his own house, which he finds ready for him as soon as he enters the society. He may take part with others in meetings outside his own house, but still he cannot dwell anywhere else.

Genesis 12:1-9:

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

Luke 10:1-9:

After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”

Deuteronomy 6:4-7:

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

This is my home. Thank you, Lord, for leading us to it, and help us to put it to use in service to you.

[This is from the Launch Plan for New Way Church in Austin, TX. Yesterday: Launch Team / Core Group. Next time: the Calendar.]

Family members of Leadership Team.

Local New Church recruits: Roughly 50 to draw from, most of whom are in their 20’s and 30’s, but other generations are also represented. Many talents (music, advertising, technology, education, business, et al.) to draw from within this pool.

Locals that made contact with the General Church, via NewChurch.org and other gateways.

A number of possible New Church young adults may be going to U. T. Austin and other area schools around launch time.

Additional launchers will be recruited from among newcomers at each preview service.

“Ninjas” imported from other congregations, possibly just for the summer or for a semester/year at a time: Bryn Athyn College of the New Church, Laurel (and other) campers, via New Church Young Adults / Pulse, Nexus, congregations friendly to or connected with launch team members (e.g., Bryn Athyn, Boulder, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Chapel Hill), maybe mission teams from Charity in Action via Anders Hyatt, etc.

Biggest needs: music, greeters, ushers, AV, children/nursery, setup, breakdown.

[This closes out the People section of the Launch Plan for New Way Church in Austin, TX. Yesterday: Adopted Parent Congregation(s). Next: Major Objectives.]

[This is from the Launch Plan for New Way Church in Austin, TX. Yesterday: Peer Network. Tomorrow: Launch Team / Core Group.]

[This is from the Launch Plan for New Way Church in Austin, TX. Yesterday: Advisory Board. Tomorrow: Adopted Parent Congregation(s).]

Rev. David Lindrooth – General Church Outreach Director

Rev. David Roth – Pastor and past church-planter, Boulder New Church

Dr. Chuck Ebert –General Church Outreach Committee

Dain Kistner – General Church Budget and Audit Committee

Amy Bruno – South east Austin.

Cedric Williams – North east Austin (Georgetown).

Martha Brown – South Austin.

Jeff Jackson – North west Austin. Likely treasurer, once board of directors is formed.

[This is from the Launch Plan for New Way Church in Austin, TX. Last week we looked at the Initial Leadership Team. Tomorrow: the Peer Network.]

• Congregational leadership.
• Preaching.
• Teaching.
• Executive management of staff.
• Board chair.
• Volunteer recruiting and management.
• Program development.
• Outreach and marketing.

Worship/Music Leader:

Ethan Daum – talented musician and dedicated church member, currently working in Stuart Hall. Current studies show that successful church plants are started by two full-time staff, assisted by one or two volunteers in leadership positions. The failure rate of church planters is significantly reduced when they have a full time partner to rely on. In addition, the culture of Austin is deeply rooted in music—the city’s claim of being “Live Music Capital of the World” is not hard to justify. One of the early challenges for New Way Church will be to build and maintain excellence in its worship services as quickly as possible. In this town, sub-par music is unacceptable.

Ethan is not only a talented musician and budding composer with a successful history of collaborating on worship services with Mac Frazier (e.g. the 2009 Academy Charter Day Sunday service at the Asplundh Field House), but he has a proven track reccord of successfully recruiting and leading a wide variety of young adult musicians in worship settings.

Duties will include:

• Leading worship music.
• Leading and managing musicians.
• Directing technical aspects of worship gatherings.
• Co-developing worship programs with founding pastor.
• Writing original worship music.
• Recruiting volunteers.
• Outreach.
• Assisting founding pastor as appropriate.

Teen Program Leader: Ethan Daum (see above). Ethan will be doing double-duty as both Worship & Music Leader and Teen Leader. Ethan is a half generation younger than Mac, and so extends the demographic outreach of the leadership team. He has worked with teens at both the ANC Secondary School and at the Laurel church camps.

Duties as Teen Program Leader include:

• Developing teen programs.
• Directing the overall teen ministry.
• Recruiting volunteers.
• Co-developing and sometimes leading service projects.
• Outreach.
• Advising the founding pastor.

Volunteer Children’s Program Leader: Heather McQueen Jackson, experienced educator, life-time New Church member, and Austin resident. Duties:

• Develop children’s programs, including Sunday morning.
• Liason with General Church Office of Education.
• Recruit and manage volunteers.
• Advise founding pastor.

Volunteer Community Leader: Still under consideration.Duties:

• Direct worship service environment systems (signage, greeters, welcome table, communication cards, etc.).
• Direct assimilation and followup systems (followup emails, newcomer gifts).
• Co-manage small group programs with founding pastor.
• Recruit and manage volunteers.
• Outreach.
• Advise founding pastor.

Part-time paid administrative assistant: Duties:

• Office management tasks.
• Administrative assistance to founding pastor.
• Support for Worship/Teen/Children/Community program leaders.
• Miscellaneous outreach and marketing tasks.

[This is from the Launch Plan for New Way Church in Austin, TX. Yesterday: Target Demographics. Next: Advisory Board.]