Mark Riggins

New Blog Location

I am now blogging over at www.marksremarks.org. Please stopy by!

 

Sunday's Coming

Love this video created by our partner church (North Point Community Church in Atlanta)!

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

It's not about San Angelo Church - pt 2

We believe "it's not about San Angelo Church. It's about San Angelo." We want to continue investing in other local churches because we know we are better together. We recently had the privilege of having Ryan & Michele Dalgliesh at one of our large group gatherings. Ryan recently began the process of starting a new church here in San Angelo called The 456. 

I love Ryan's passion and believe God has and will continue to use him. So we wanted to partner with him in a tangible way. We had the chance to hear from Ryan, pray for him, and then invest $500 into their ministry.

This isn't the first time we've gotten to invest into a local ministry (click here to read about that) and it won't be the last. 

Pretty exciting to be part of a new generation of people who have a HUGE heart for our reaching our city!

Want to know the latest news about San Angelo Church?

Want to keep up with San Angelo Church? Here are some ways to do that: 

1) Make a friendship with one of our current participants and regularly ask them for the latest news.

2) Constantly drive by our new location hoping to find us there. 

3) Join our Facebook page. This is probably the easiest option. :)

It's not about San Angelo Church

It's not about San Angelo Church - it's about San Angelo. That's been our mantra from day 1. We recognize that the majority of people in San Angelo (at least 70K weekly) have decided that church isn't helpful or relevant so they don't bother attending. 

That is why we are focused on creating a church that unchurched people love to attend. 

I have a friend who recently started a church in San Angelo. He pastors Celebration Church and they began in September, 2009. He and I are both focused on creating relevant churches that share helpful Scripture. As our friendship has grown, I have been reminded again that it's not about San Angelo Church - it's about San Angelo. 

This past Sunday I asked Brandon to come and share his vision at our church service. As a church we prayed for Brandon and Celebration Church. Then our church gave a financial gift of $500 to Celebration Church to invest in their ministry. We are so honored to be a part of "the church in the theater" led by my friend Brandon. 

Aunt Nancy

This past Monday, I had the honor of speaking at my Aunt Nancy's funeral service. My Dad's youngest sister left us too soon at the young age of 59. 

Here are some of the thoughts I shared on Monday:

When I hear the two words "Aunt Nancy" several images pop into my mind. All of the images focus on 3 themes: love, laughter, and simplicity. Those words best describe MY Aunt Nancy.

Aunt Nancy loved. She loved her friends and family deeply. She chose to invest in fewer people so she could love them more deeply. Those of us fortunate enough to have been family or close friends appreciate this about her. Aunt Nancy loved deeply and . . . 

Aunt Nancy laughed easily. Her laugh came easily and, as a result, those around her laughed more easily. She loved to laugh about something silly she had done or said. She was NEVER guilty of taking herself too seriously. Yet, she was able to balance humor without being too silly. She had the unique gift of being able to laugh with you and still talk about your dreams or any other serious issue. You always walked away encouraged from talking with Aunt Nancy. She loved deeply, laughed easily, and . . . 

Aunt Nancy lived simply. She did not every pretend to be something she wasn't. She didn't feel the pressure many people feel to try and impress others by trying to hard. She didn't lay awake at night wondering if "so and so" was impressed with her dress, car or house. She didn't feel the need to travel to far away places. She'd rather stay home and simply laugh with and love those whom God had place around her.

Aunt Nancy loved deeply, laughed easily, and lived simply.

I'm sure when the angels welcomed Aunt Nancy to Heaven on Thursday by asking her "which mansion do you want?" Aunt Nancy surely said, "Oh Lord, it doesn't matter to me."

Aunt Nancy seemed to appreciate that life is too short to worry about temporary things.

James 4:14 "...what is your life? You are a mist (vapor) that appears for a little while and then vanishes". Life is too fast to pursue the temporary.

Here's a truth that struck me this weekend: Since the only thing eternal is people, our greatest investment is people.

I'm sure that somewhere there is a man who will pursue a strong education, acquire an impressive job, will work hard for decade to achieve financial success, will climb the corporate ladder, one day buy a nice piece of property on which to build his dream home, will travel on impressive vacations, and eventually save enough to enjoy a great retirement. But, eventually, he dies. And, if he's lucky, he'll spend forever living next door to Aunt Nancy in Heaven where his mansion will have the same property value as hers. Whatever they use to travel, his and hers will have the same blue book value. Whatever they wear, his and hers will have the same cost.

Who invested their life most effectively?

Once you realize that the only thing eternal is people, than our greatest investment is people.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father but by me."

Ultimate eternal success begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the one sure thing. And nothing can interrupt that relationship . . . not even death.

Romans 8:35-39 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerers through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Ultimate eternal success begins with a relationship with Jesus and ends with us investing into people.

I may not remember Aunt Nancy's car or house but I will always hear her laugh. I can hear it in Lisa (her daughter). I can hear it in Angie (her 2nd daughter). The only thing eternal is people. Aunt Nancy knew that with the way she lived her life. What a wise woman! Thank God we were the lucky ones that she loved deeply.

Encouraging/Challenging

As I read through John 4 this morning I once again read the familiar story of Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan "woman at the well". 

As their conversation progressed, she is quickly made aware that Jesus knew the very details of her past (how many husbands she had in her past, her current relationship, etc.). Yet, Jesus was most interested in the Samaritan woman's future by focusing on her current and future needs (thirst). 

I've been thinking about this simple truth all day:

Jesus is aware of my past but is interested in my future. Strangely, this truth encourages me and challenges me.

It encourages me for obvious reasons: Jesus forgives and, unlike me, doesn't continually "revisit" my past failures. 

However, this truth also challenges me. After all, I've enjoyed some minor successes in my past (relational, career, influence, etc.). Yet, Jesus is more interested in my future. After all, he's given me a limited amount of time. 

Encouraging/Challenging. 

KISS + Pink Floyd = God being honored!

Yesterday we said goodbye to a special friend that I've mentioned on this blog several times in the past.

So proud of our church that showed up strong to support Johnny's family at his memorial service. Thought I'd share an email I sent our church after Johnny died:

Johnny came to know Christ last year. On Thursday, he met Him face to face.

It's been an interesting journey with Johnny. Like all of us, clearly Johnny was in need of a Savior. Yet he lived a life that didn't fit church. So he did what most people do, he didn't go and the two worlds never met.

If you are able to attend the service on Sunday you will experience two worlds meeting. Johnny's family had gotten him a KISS CD for Christmas this year and have requested to play those songs during Sunday's service. I enjoy the traditional songs that are typical sung/played at funerals ("In the Garden", "The Old Rugged Cross", "Sweet By and By", etc.). But this service will reflect the recent conversion of a man who had little exposure to God during his lifetime. Tough I'm not a big fan of KISS, when I hear it on Sunday it will remind me that God was honored because we all left our comfortable pews and entered Johnny's world. 

As it turned out, KISS and Pink Floyd provided all of the music for the service. Turned out to be a pretty amazing service!

Memories

As a parent, I believe one of my responsibilities is to place my kids in a position to discover and pursue God's purposes for their lives. I really want to get this right. 

As a parent, one of the fun opportunities is creating memories with my family. This weekend that is exactly what we did! 

Here are some of the things we took in over our 3-day weekend in Austin:

- We took a tour through the Central Market and enjoyed a lot of free samples (free fun is often the best fun)

- We enjoyed a meal at Freddies while the kids played in the outdoor park

- Stayed 2 nights at this Hilton (thank you Hotwire)!

- Ate the best donuts EVER at Round Rock Donuts (as seen on Diners, Drive-in, & Dives)

- Spent Saturday morning shopping at the outlet mall and Ikea. Window shopping can be almost as fun during the shopping experience and a lot more fun days after the shopping experience. :)

- Grabbed lunch here while the kids got to play at the outdoor park. 

- Made the trip to the Erwin Center to watch the Texas Longhorns Men's basketball team win over Texas A&M - Corpus Christi (Grateful for the $3 special tickets . . . although Reagen did literally have a nose bleed . . . Hook 'em Horns!)

- We drove around the UT Campus, the Capitol, 6th Street, downtown Austin, etc.

- Saturday night we ate at the BEST bar-b-que place I've ever experienced: the original Salt-Lick Bar-B-Que. In one word: Wow!

- Sunday morning we got a chance to visit Gateway Community Church. Always enjoy a church that is laser focused on creating a place that unchurched people will visit more than once. Plus, my kids had a blast!

- Finally, we stopped by the Texas Memorial Museum. Our kids were pumped! (Did I mention that free fun is often the best fun?!) 

Lots of fun, budget friendly, and most of all . . . GREAT MEMORIES! I love being a parent. 

4 Distinctives of San Angelo Church (part 4 of 4) - Outsider-Focused Services

This is the last part of the 4-part series entitled "4 Distinctives of San Angelo Church". You can catch up and check out distinctive 1, 2, or 3. 

EVERYTHING we do on Sunday is with the unchurched person in mind. We want our Sunday service to be a safe place for people to hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. 

For us that means constantly working to remove religious barriers in the environments that we create, in the way we communicate, and the assumptions that we make about our guests. 

Jesus said the cross is offensive but He was intentional to remove every other religious barrier. (Hanging out with outsiders, breaking the rules of the law, focusing on grace, using parables to make theology more "approachable", etc.).

So at each service we want to partner with other believers in reaching their unchurched friends and family. One of the best way we partner with believers is creating an outsider-focused service every Sunday.