Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

The Church at Its Best

Take a minute and read this post from my friend, Joel.  I'm seriously humbled and seriously encouraged by his words.

There are a TON of Christians who could take a lesson from him.  If we prayed for each other more and attacked each other less, we would see the church explode in an unprecedented way.

Joel's desire to see the Kingdom of God advance, whether it's in his church or in another church, really represents the church at its very best.

ACCers, let's return the favor.  Take some time and pray for God to do HUGE things at Horizon Christian Church, where Joel is the lead pastor.  HCC's potential is limitless.  Join me in praying for God to do amazing things in them and through them!

And one more thing…if you still think something huge isn't coming this weekend at our church…we have people who don't even attend our church that are praying for God to blow us away this weekend!

Can't wait for Sunday!!!

Simple Church starts this Sunday!

We're on the brink of a brand new series at ACC.  Big deal, right?  We do 15-20 message series every year.  What's so special about this one?

Everything.

This is the biggest series I've ever preached at ACC.  We are launching a brand new vision from God that is going to radically impact our church for years to come.

And it's so simple.  We have intentionally crafted a simple vision because we want everyone to be able to remember it.  Andy Stanley said, "Paragraphs and complex sentences don’t communicate vision.  Vision must be simple, portable, and repeatable."

Simply put, if you can't remember your vision, you'll never accomplish your vision.

Our vision is incredibly simple.  In fact, it's only three words long.  But don't mistake the word "simple" for the word "small." This vision is simple, but it's not small.  It's HUGE!

It all starts this Sunday. Don't miss a single second of the next three weeks at ACC.

Greater Things

We are launching the biggest series in years at ACC this Sunday.  Over the next three weeks, we'll be exploring an incredible new vision that the Lord has given our church.

Don't miss a single week. Seriously.  Do whatever you've got to do, but get yourself to ACC for each week of this series.

The theme song for this series is God of This City.  We'll be celebrating our vision with this song each week.  If you don't know it, watch this video a few times.  Get to know the song so you can belt it out with us in celebration!

Greater things have yet to come.  Greater things are still to be done in our church and in our city.

Greater things begin this Sunday.

World Changing Opportunities

We talked Sunday about how God gives us opportunities to change the world everyday.  I just experienced a day where that message came to life.

I had an appointment at the eye doctor.  What could be more mundane and ordinary than that? As I was talking to the nurse who was doing all kinds of tests on my eyes, she shared some of the struggles that she has experienced in her family.  Big time stuff.

I saw the opportunity opening up right in front of me, so I casually mentioned that I'm a pastor, I had talked with a lot of people in her situation, and that we would pray that God would move in her life. She thanked me and left the room.

A few minutes later, she poked her head in the room again and said, "What church do you pastor?"

"Amelia Church of Christ."

"Where is that?"

I explained to her where our building is located.

Then she said, "Are you the church that just did something with the Beatles?" (She had seen our church sign.)

"Yep, that's us."

"That's awesome! I love the Beatles!  I need a church like that."

"Be sure to check out our website."

"I definitely will." And she wrote down our web address.

There you have it…a world changing opportunity at the eye doctor.

Will she ever come to our church?  I don't know.  But here's what I do know.  God gave me a chance to encourage someone who is struggling and I had an opportunity to offer an invitation.

Watch for opportunities, ACC.  They're everywhere!  Don't miss them!

Nightline Video

Couldn't stay up for Nightline last night?  Forgot to record it?

Fear not, my friends. Here's a link with the video from Mark Driscoll's Nightline interview last night.

Mark Driscoll on Nightline

I am blown away that the truth would be given such a prominent position on a mainstream news program.  Praise God!

Make The Time

This is the busiest season of ministry I've ever experienced.  We are launching a huge new vision at ACC this weekend (I'll post more about that later this week).  It's crazy. And it's not just me.  Everyone on our staff is slammed. These are incredibly exciting times…and super busy times…all at the same time.

But I'm not about to lose my priorities in the midst of the madness.  Fall is my family's favorite time of year, and our list of festive, fun fall stuff is long.  We're getting started this weekend by hitting HallZOOween at the zoo.  Ryan already has his zookeeper costume.  Brock will be sporting an Elmo costume.  And I wouldn't miss it for anything.

Do I have time for this?  No.

I'm making time for this.

My family deserves it.  Yours does too.

Make the time this week.

Driscoll on Nightline

Wanted to give everyone a heads up. Watch Nightline on ABC tonight. One of my favorite pastors, Mark Driscoll, is going to be on the show discussing idolatry.  Sounds like a Driscoll topic.

I have no doubt that he'll knock it out of the park. Nightline tonight.  Be there.

Here's a little preview for you before the show.

Celebrity Culture and Worshipping False Idols – ABC

Change the World

We put the wrap on our Come Together series yesterday.  Our theme was Revolution.

We all want to change the world. But as the church, it goes even deeper than that.  We are called to change the world.  We are expected to change the world. As God's church, we can't settle for anything less.

So have you done any world changing yet today?

Remember, you are perfectly positioned and empowered by God to change the world.  You've just got to keep your eyes open for opportunities (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Be the revolutionary that God has called you to be this week.  Change the world.

Hal McCoy

Time for a jaunt off the normal blogging path.  I want to give some much deserved props to my favorite baseball writer, who officially covered his last Reds game today.

His name is Hal McCoy.  Hal covered the Reds as a beat writer for the Dayton Daily News for nearly 4 decades.  Here are a few reasons why I'm a Hal McCoy fan.

• Hal is honest. Not mean.  Not vindictive. Just honest. If you play great, Hal will let everybody know.  If you stink, Hal will let everybody know that, too.  He never kissed up to the big name players, but he didn't run them down needlessly, either.
• Hal is legally blind. My sister is legally blind, so I have a special appreciation for this kind of physical challenge.  Just like my sister, you would never know Hal had a disability.  I'm inspired by people who overcome this kind of adversity and make it look easy.
• Hal is a phenomenal writer. As a preacher, I write the equivalent of a 20 page term paper every single week.  Writing is a huge part of my job.  It is a huge part of who I am. So reading great writers is something special for me.  Hal is a witty, eloquent writer.
• Hal is a blogger…but he didn't start blogging until a few years ago.  It was the quintessential "old dog, new tricks" kind of deal.  But Hal took to blogging like a natural.  He's much better at it than me.  I admire seniors who aren't afraid of s0mething just because it's new or different. Instead of viewing blogging as a threat, Hal saw it as a powerful tool. As an avid blogger myself, I admire that.  You can check out his blog here.
• Hal is fiercely committed to his wife, Nadine. He's not afraid to write about his marriage, his love for his wife, etc.  That's a rare and special treat in a world where, according to some statistics, 60% of marriages end in divorce.

I know everybody in Cincinnati is fully engrossed in the NFL season.  After all, the Reds just put a wrap on their ninth straight losing season.  But I wanted to take a minute to give props to a great guy who had a great career.

Thanks Hal.  You're going out at the very top of your game.

Simple Church

Mark your calendars, ACC.  Next Sunday, October 11, marks the beginning of the biggest series we're doing all year at ACC.  In fact, it's not a stretch to say it's the biggest series for our church in the last decade or even beyond.

The new series is called Simple Church.  In this series, we are rolling out a new vision that God has given us.  It is so simple. But don't mistake the word "simple" for the word "small." This vision isn't small.  It's huge!  It is thoroughly Biblical.  And we couldn't be more excited about it!

You can't miss a single Sunday during this three week series!