by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 2, 2008 | Preaching, Religion, Worship
I have three children (13, 11, & 6) and all of them ask me "why?" about everything. Why is the sky blue? Why are there clouds? Why can’t I go outside? Why do I have to take a shower? Why can’t I stay up past 10PM? Truthfully, it’s frustrating. If you’re a parent, you know what I mean. Why are we frustrated?
We’re frustrated for two reasons. Often we don’t know the real answers to the innocent questions they ask, but even when we do, our answers don’t slow the pace of their relentless questions. That’s because we’ve misunderstood their language and think that when they ask "why?" they mean the same thing we mean when we ask why. Our cause-and-effect answers miss the mark, and so they fail to satisfy.
When it comes to understanding God, we’re just like children and ask "why?"
Ever wondered why you don’t feel the presence of God when other people claim they do? Ever had an unanswered prayer? Wondered why God would love you? Or why He would let bad things happen to good people? If you’ve ever wondered why…this may be just what you are looking for.
I’m planning something totally different this series…Imagine if we were able to get together and have a "Digital Conversation" regarding my series "Why." I’ll provide a link to the questions and we’ll use the comment section to share our thoughts and grow together. What do you think? Please share how we can make this experience better for all.
by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 24, 2008 | Christianity, Preaching, Religion, Worship
All I can say about this weekend is "OH MY GOD." This weekend we made history @ Mars Hill by offering a Saturday worship option and two Sunday options @ 8AM & 10AM. Seeing over 3,000 people at church this weekend pumped me up as well…who would
have thought that something like this could ever happen in Austin on the Westside of Chicago…OTHER THAN GOD! 🙂 In addition to thousands in attendance, I’m told our overflows were filled to capacity as well (God, we really need a larger space).
The Worship & Fine Arts Ministry BLEW my mind…
First, the children’s choir stole the show and ministered during our 10AM service. Thanks 1st Lady, Ella, & Philip for preparing our children to minister in excellence! Next, the choir/praise team/praise ensemble performed ”Before The Throne” which rocked the congregation by incorporating praise dancers, video, and still photos which told the resurrection story. I must say it was pure poetry in motion. Honestly, I believe God took the ministry to the next level musically, spiritually, and artistically. Yea God!!! I tip my hat to our staff, Michelle, Mark, Chuck, Carlos, Angelique, Tiaka, Chandra, The disciples, A/V, and my man Cody for the "Jesus" video remix. I’m still feeling that beat…
Regarding the message "Three Nails," it was a narrative sermon that included scenes from the Last Supper and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. I must say the men really played their part and took the audience there. Thanks Ruby & Bert for making this dramatic presentation a reality. If you would like to order a CD or DVD of this service, PLEASE CLICK HERE!
As I told the story, the crowd was truly engaged in message. I shared with the congregation, in addition to the three "physical" nails that held Jesus to the cross, there were three "theoretical" nails that held Jesus to the cross. If you want to know what they were, PLEASE CLICK HERE!
Personally, I’m excited about what God’s doing @ Mars Hill. As we continue to seek God’s guidance, we’re trusting that He’ll continue to "make our paths straight."
by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 2, 2008 | Music, Preaching, Religion, Worship
I am almost positive that I do not have the words to describe what has
taken place this year at Mars Hill. God has BLOWN ME AWAY…there is no way that
any one person OR group of people can take credit for what we’ve
seen…only Jesus could have done this.
Here are some of the highlights
from today…
1. We honored both our "Founding" Members & "Pioneer" Members today with an "All-Access" VIP Pass to our 45th Anniversary Celebration Events. We shot a commemorative DVD which chronicled the history of our church’s three locations: 3311 W. Roosevelt Rd, 2809 W. Harrison St, and 5916 W. Lake Street. People laughed and wept as they saw how our church struggled during our early years.
2. Personally, I thought the music today was INCREDIBLE! The choir was outstanding and allowed God to use them to minister. The band was OFF DA CHAIN – I believe we have the BEST BAND in the world. If you don’t believe me, just come and experience it for yourself.
3. I kicked-off a new series called "Gametime." A series is designed to help those interested in discovering God’s personal will for their lives. Today, I taught how God’s will involves three spheres:
GOD’S PROVIDENTIAL WILL (things He’s going to do regardless)
GOD’S MORAL WILL (the do’s & dont’s clearly outlined in Scripture)
GOD’S PERSONAL WILL (what He wants to do through us specifically)
God wants a yes first!
by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 20, 2008 | Book Reviews, Communication, Preaching
In case you haven’t noticed, I have the book, Made to Stick, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath on my "Books I’m Currently Reading" list. I’ve started and stopped, started and stopped and started and stopped. Hate that!
But now, I’ve started AGAIN and have not stopped. (And don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t stopping because the book was bad or boring. Actually, quite the opposite. I wanted to devote some solid time to reading through the entire book instead of trying to fit it in little by little.)
So with that said, let me say LOUD and CLEAR that this is a book that EVERY preacher/communicator/pastor/teacher/leader/CEO/marketer/and anyone else who has a message that they believe needs to STICK with people, should read!
The book examines why some ideas seem to STICK and SURVIVE and others don’t. The authors expound on these six principles of sticky ideas throughout the book:
Simplicity – Creating ideas that are both simple and profound.
Unexpectedness – We need to violate people’s expectations. For our idea to endure, we must generate interest and curiosity.
Concreteness – Ideas must be explained in terms of human actions and sensory information. We tend to gravitate towards ambiguous to the point of being meaningless. People remember concrete ideas and data. Abstraction makes it harder to understand an idea and to remember it.
Credibility – Sticky ideas have to carry their own credentials. We need to find ways to help people test our ideas for themselves.
Emotions – People will care about our ideas when we help them feel something.
Stories – Hearing stories help motivate people to act on our ideas.
