church planting

One thing you all should know about servers at restaurants is this……it’s going to sting…..are you ready?

If you’re not a regular (someone who comes in the same time ever week and sits in the same section and orders the same thing)……if you’re not a regular, your server doesn’t care about you.  It’s nothing personal, actually that’s sort of the gist of it.  Guests are merely dollar signs to servers.  Sure they’ll treat you like kings and queens but as soon as that credit card receipt is signed you’re simply taking up precious space until the next party of four dollars sits down.  Is this taught by the companies/restaurants in training?  No.  This is an unspoken norm that I see played out every day.  I’m ashamed to say that I get caught up in it.

One night, a week or so ago I had two people sit in my section.  It was close to closing time, I was tired, I wanted to go home and be with my wife….needless to say, I didn’t care about these people.  I walked up to greet them, put on my fake server smile and asked if I could get them something to drink.  The guy informed me that he was an employee of Chilis.  That changed everything.  Employees get 50% off their bill and usually tip really good so my demeanor shifted a little.  I was refilling drinks, chips and working my tail off for that one table because the little dollars just turned into bigger dollars.

Later in the meal I stopped by to see if they needed anything.  The girl had gone to the restroom and the guy looks up at me and says, “Hey man, sorry I’ve had such a bad attitude this entire meal.  I got some really bad news today.”  Oh no.  This isn’t good.  My dollars were turning back into people.  People with real problems, real families and real souls.  I had a choice.  I could blow it off and say, “sorry bro, more sweet tea?” or I could truly serve “the least of these.”

I said, “I’m so sorry man, what happened?”  He said that he just found out that he got rejected by the law school he’s been dreaming of going to since he was a little boy.  I replied, “Wow.  That’s awful man.  Well, I know some people with connections to some great schools in Georgia.  I’m a pastor, here’s my card.  Call me and we’ll grab coffee or something and talk about what’s next for you.”  He looks up at me, “You’re a pastor?  Me and my girlfriend have been looking for a church to go to around here.”  From there on I told him about Crosspointe and where we meet.

I’m not sure if that guy will come to church, or even call to talk about what’s next in life for him.  I’m not sure if that was even the reason for the lesson I learned that evening.  I am convinced of one thing though, we all get caught up in whatever it is that we do and devalue people.  Pastors devalue people to numbers.  Serves devalue people to dollars.  Politicians devalue people to votes.  So how do we change that?  How do we see the value in people?

We serve them.  Whether it be with time, money, work or refills of sweet tea, we serve them.

35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:35-40

Love,

Josiah and Jordan

In Exodus 17:8-13 there’s a story of perseverance in which the armies of Amalek and Israel fought with one another.  Moses instructed Joshua to choose men personally to go and fight with  him.  The deal was that Moses had to lift his hands (in which he held his staff) above his head, raised and the Israelites would win.  If he lowered them, the Israelites would lose.  Short version of the story-Moses raised hands, he grew weary, Aaron and Hur each held one arm up, Joshua cleaned house with his sword and God facilitated the win.

Last week I was working a shift at Chili’s and the night came to a close.  If you’ve never worked at a restaurant, here’s a look into what happens at the end of the night.  It’s insane.  The servers are taking care of their last tables while doing sidework (i.e. cleaning drink stations, salsa cooler, chip machine, trays, trivets, soup station, dessert station) and trying to clean their tables, all so they can roll two buckets of silverware before they can go home to their families or cats.  All the while, the bartender is cleaning the bar, the bussers are taking out the trash, cleaning the bathrooms and bussing tables, and the kitchen is cleaning all the grills, fryers, bowls, utensils and well……it’s chaos.

I walked back to my manager’s office to cash out for the night and we begin talking about Jesus, life, Christianity, and the church.  This is all fairly normal as the relationship I’ve developed with my boss has basically become a really great Q&A concerning the Gospel.  My boss begins to tell me about his life and the things he’s going through with his family and work and basically let’s me know he’s broken.  I assured him that we’re all broken and in need of Christ.  I explained God’s sovereignty and how He’s way ahead of us and is already putting into place things in our lives to draw us closer to him.  I shared 1 Peter 5:5 with him and explained the difficult process of how getting walked on glorifies God.

After talking I asked if I could pray with him.  He said yes.  So amidst the chaos of the restaurant closing, I laid hands on my boss and prayed for him.

God is moving in Orlando to redeem this city.  God is using Crosspointe Church to reorient people to the gospel, and God is using simple servers at Chili’s to pray over their bosses  prayers of healing and grace.  This is all being facilitated by and through your prayers and your giving.  Thank you for trusting God and supporting us.

Love,

The Potters

This past weekend Jordan and I went to Waterford Lakes to celebrate Kelly Allen’s birthday, Jocelyn Davis’ baby shower and hopefully lease a house in Waterford.

This is Crosspointe’s Lake Nona Campus where we worshipped and heard the Gospel from Pastor Chan Kilgore.

Here’s Sydney the proud big sister of Brody.  They’re Rob and Kellie’s children.

Who would’ve thought I’d reconnect with my dear friend JT Dellis in Orlando!?  God is moving and shaping JT in amazing ways!!!!

Here’s Jo at Disney.  She loves Disney!

Here’s the Allen/Potter/Davis clan at Disney.  We’re excited about sharing the Gospel with these people!

Our Saturday was filled with appointment after appointment on every half hour with realtors and home owners that Jordan skillfully planned down to the minute from 9am-4pm.  After hours of searching and taking photos and reviewing and praying we finally decided upon a house!!!  Here it is!

Above is the neighborhood we’ll be living in.  From what the neighbors tell us it’s filled with young families, UCF graduates and students!

Above is the front of our house.  We are thankful that it will have enough space to host Bible Studies/Small Groups and it fit our housing budget perfectly!

Above is a lake near our house.

These are the roads that weave in and out of Waterford lakes.  There are lots of little playgrounds like this in the area.  The one below happens to be immediately off of our cauldesac.

We are so thankful for God’s providence in bringing us to Waterford Lakes.  It’s been an exteremely difficult six months and not how we would’ve pictured our first six months of marriage but God has proved over and over again that He is faithful and continues to guide us as we seek Him in everything we do!

Our next step is Jordan graduating from Palm Beach Atlantic University on December 19th!  After that we will drive up and begin our lives in Waterford Lakes, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone.

We are currently 30% supported and are praying for God to provide 75% support by Christmas!  The more we are supported the more we are freed up to minister to Waterford Lakes so if you have a moment today, pray about partnering with us in ministry and God’s redemption of Orlando.

We love you all!

Josiah & Jordan

We know online giving is a new thing in the church realm and we had a lot of questions ourselves about what happens and how to do it.

Here is a step by step instruction guide to giving to the Potters through Crosspointe church online.

FAQ’s

*When do you get the online support? Once payment is received, the accounting office at Crosspointe cuts and mails us a check.

*Is it tax deductible? Yes.  When you login you will see your contribution schedule and a year to date contribution history and total for your records.

Step 1: Go to the Crosspointe Church Website and click on ‘Give’ in the upper right hand corner

Step 2: Click on the ‘click here’ button to give online or simply mail your contribution to the address provided

Step 3: If you are a new user, click on the ‘create account’ button

Step 4: Fill out the information sheet (this is all strictly confidential)

Step 5: This is where you can either give a one time gift or schedule a monthly contribution.  Click ‘Individual Support’ next to ‘Fund’ and then click ‘Josiah Potter’ next to ‘Sub Fund.’ After that you can choose what day you would like to give and then fill out your Billing Info.  Below you will be able to keep track of your schedule and history with a year to date total at the very bottom.

Thank you all so much for your support!  Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

Our immediate requests are

*Sell our home in Boynton Beach Florida

*Find a house to rent in Waterford Lakes that is big enough to have meetings/small groups in

*That God will provide 100% support by November

Blessings,

The Potters

This is my little buddy Elisha.  His mommy and daddy Amy and Roger are long time friends.

Elisha loves Jesus and he loves worship!

This dude is the latest and the greatest in my mind.  Carlos referenced him on Ragamuffinsoul so you KNOW he’s cool!  His blog is legit and his thoughts will challenge you.  Just another example of how cool God is to create a human with the capacity to use their giftedness to seek Him even more and share it with others.  Thank you Bill!

http://www.billwhitt.com/blog/

Bio

Word up.  That’s right, I said it.  I’m bringin’ it back!  Word up!  Anyway, I’m an author, speaker, worship leader and all around decent guy, I guess.  I currently work as the Creative Arts & Media Director for the Wade Center.

I’ve been married to the best interior designer in the world for a year and a half.  Although we have no children, we do have a golden retriever, so that’s got to count for something!  I play tennis whenever I can, and I own a video production company that will hopefully be expanding to include a recording studio called “b.dub records” this year too! 

Oh yeah, and for anyone who cares, I have two bachelor’s degrees from West Virginia University and a master’s from Liberty University, maintaining a 4.0 GPA while at both schools.  I’m a professional member of the Gospel Music Association and a member of the United State Tennis Association too.  And if you think you know me from somewhere, it’s probably because I was on local TV almost a decade ago.  My feature reporting back then was even nominated for an Emmy in the mid-Atlantic region!  Oh, the good ol’ days!

Sometimes people find themselves under the umbrella of the fact that they might be cooler than “normal” people.  It happens a lot to successful people.  It happens a lot to beautiful people.  It happens a lot to kids who find out that they can wear skinny jeans and still listen to hip hop.  But most importantly it happens to worship leaders.  It’s true, we’re human and we all get to a point where the lights are addicting and our boot cut jeans falling perfectly over our 100$  Buckle boots make us feel cooler than we really are.

1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

I was humbled Sunday morning in a serious way.

Can you tell the difference between these two medications?

Because I couldn’t at 6am until I had ingested the nighttime cold medicine that I thought was daytime.

I shared it with both services and needless to say they howled with laughter and groans of empathy.  It turned out to be fine and the coffee offset the drowsy effect the medication had that morning, but something else was there.  All of a sudden it was no longer about the rad Obey t shirt I was rocking.  It was no longer about the stud Martin I was strumming.  It wasn’t even about the drops and comebacks we did with the new song.  It was about being focused.  I don’t think I’ve ever been that focused on leading worship until that morning.  I wasn’t thinking about opening or closing my eyes.  I wasn’t worried about engaging or connecting (which is a good thing to worry about) My only concern was leading these worshippers into the throne room.

Thank You Lord for humbling me.

How have you been humbled this week?

This picture would have been inspiring a year ago but it no longer is.  This picture would have captured my idea of “worship” six months ago but it no longer does.  This picture would have been used as a promo shot for a worship night with the time and location on it a month ago, but it will no longer even be considered.

This is a dangerous area to enter so I am going to explore it cautiously.  I know there are some of you waiting to bite at the throat the moment you finish reading this and I ask you to keep one thing in mind before you comment….have you ever led worship?  

If the answer is no, please be gracious in trying to communicate your thoughts because they may fall to a deaf ear.  I am coming to realize through this whole blog thing that everyone has an opinion on everything and half the time they don’t have the vaguest idea of what they’re talking about.  Some people like to say things just to say things.  So, with that in mind, before you comment, think….”If my mechanic was telling me something he found out about working on cars, would I attack his opinion even though I don’t know how to change my oil?”  Just a thought…on to the writing.

I’ve been reading “The Dangerous Act of Worship” by Mark Labberton and following up his commentary by exploring the scriptures to test the waters he’s been testing for years.  Along with quotes from his book, I’ll provide commentary on what I’m feeling and exploring this new year in regards to worship, biblical worship.

“Christian worship is only possible as our response to the glory, power and love of God as revealed most clearly in and through Jesus Christ.  The gift of God’s revelation enables humanity to worship.”

I am convicted in the knowledge that my response to the glory of God is continually sinful and selfish.  This goes way beyond Sunday morning.  We’re all good to go on Sunday morning.  Worship goes beyond Sunday morning.  Your opinion of worship in the context of instruments and click tracks and hands raised is elementary and short sighted.  Worship goes beyond our preferences.  Worship should not include our preferences in the fashion we’ve sutured them to our ideology of how things should operate within the confines of the “church.”  There wouldn’t even be a “church” if Christ hadn’t died for us and somehow we lose sight of the only reason we are able to gather as one body.

“What is ironic and especially pertinent is that many debates about worship are just indirect ways of talking about ourselves, not God.  Our debates can readily devolve into little more than preference lists for how we like our worship served up each week.  It’s worship as consumption rather than offering; it’s an expression of human taste-not a longing to reflect God’s glory.”

Every week I receive a request to do “Revelation Song” by Kari Jobe.  No name, no email, no contact info, no identity.  Just an anonymous request every week from the same person.  I don’t know who this is and I’m not trying to embarrass anyone but this is precisely what Mark is talking about.  This person continues to submit this anonymous request with one thing in mind; “I want this song played.”  It’s tough receiving this request week after week because I have no way of contacting this person to tell them that I have listened to the song and ran it by my teams and we decided that we cannot do the song.  It’s a beautiful song, but it’s one of those songs that you need an entire symphony and four part harmony on to even attempt and just thinking about needing that much production on one song makes me think, “is it really worth it when we have to dress it up so?”

We are consumers.  We live in a nation that glorifies over-consumption.  Sex, media, music, cars, fashion, fame, consume consume and consume some more.  Why wouldn’t our natural upbringing of consumption be reflected on Sunday mornings as well?  This is the Goliath we are trying to attack on Sunday mornings as a worship team at The Journey.  We truly believe, that personal worship is important, but that’s another blog and exactly what it sounds like, personal.  How you choose to personally worship God throughout the week is between you and the Lord.  That’s not what we’re exploring.  We’re exploring worship as a body, a gathering to glorify God as a community, as a family.

Exodus 7:16 

In the first chapter of Acts Jesus says something interesting to His disciples when they ask Him when He will restore the kingdom to Israel.  (Silly disciples, always looking for a physical & political kingdom.  Wrote about our modern day obsession with that here)

He says, “…you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

I find it interesting because He didn’t say that we will be His witnesses in all the third world countries once a year after we’ve written support letters to our family and had an amazing bake sale to raise money for the missions trip!  Let me interject immediately for those of you fuming.  My Dad runs a mission organization called B.O.T.A. and I’ve been going on short term missions trips for the past decade.  Short term missions are amazing, life changing experiences and I am going on one this year.  That’s not my point.  My point is that a lot of American churches have their vision blurred when the word “serve” comes to mind.

It’s interesting to me that Jesus used three geographical locations that were in the vicinity of where they were living, working, sharing community with people.  It’s after those three locations do we find “and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

I’m 25 so I’m in that age group that wants to change the world but I think Jesus wanted the disciples to see what was right in front of them before they went traveling by sea to the other side of the world.  What impact have we truly made if we spend one week in Mexico changing the lives of the people but come back and spend fifty one weeks doing nothing in the community where we live.  Believe it or not, there are people who don’t know Jesus that live down the street from you!

At the Journey Church we believe that loving and serving God are our greatest responsibilities as a church so we got out and did something.  This year we continued a Bartlett Love Tradition that involves us going around the roughest parts of our community and handing out Turkey dinners but we don’t just give food.  This is our pitch, “Hello, we’re from a local church (thank you Tim and Jamie for instilling that it’s not about growing the name of an individual church but the Church as one body!) and we’re giving away thanksgiving dinners.  Would you like one?”

After that they say yes or no and after that yes or no comes, “Ok, is there anything you would like us to pray for?”

What happens next can only be described in photographs by Robert Madrid.

How do you serve your community?  Leave a comment and let me know!