Halloween Cookout & Week 02: "Wholeness"

This Friday (Halloween), we are having a cookout in the front yard of Jason and Angie Kimbrell (107 Montreal. Click here for a map). We will start grilling at around sunset (approximately 6pm). Come hang out and greet trick-or-treater families and help us get to know the neighbors. Everyone is welcome.

This past Sunday at the Gathering, we continued in our series on "What We Believe" with the second of our core values: Wholeness: We believe that Jesus wants to save every part of us and to restore us from the inside out. We will always seek to be put back together in a holistic way.

If you want to read more on this value or to understand why we have listed this as one of our non-negotiable top six, here are some books to check out:

1) The Ragamuffin Gospel
(Brennan Manning)

2) Abba's Child

(Brennan Manning)

3)  The Emotionally Healthy Church
(Peter Scazzero)

4) Let Your Life Speak
(Parker Palmer)

5) The Inner Voice of Love
(Henri Nouwen)

This weekend, the core value that we will be discussing is Community.

Don't forget that our weekly gathering happens at 5:30pm at the home of Jason and Angie Kimbrell. See you there!

-Rob

Week 01: "The Grand Narrative"

Our first Sunday Gathering was this past weekend. We began a six-part series called "What We Believe." This series will be focused on looking at our six core values and how they will shape the DNA of our church as we move forward. 

The first core is The Grand Narrative: We believe in and affirm everything that the Bible affirms. We believe that the Bible is inspired and that it is instructive for those who seek to live out the way of Jesus.

We discussed the idea that we are living in the midst of a story that God is telling and that we are invited to play a part. If you are interested in reading more about this concept and why we have named it as our first core value, here are some great resources:

1) How Can the Bible Be Authoritative? (article by N.T. Wright)
This article is perhaps the single best treatment on the exploration of Scripture that I have ever read. This is where the analogy of the Five-Act Play was first introduced (at least to me). If you are at all interested in Narrative Theology, you simply must read this article.

2) The Last Word 

(N.T. Wright)

3) The Drama of Scripture 

(Bartholomew & Goheen)

4) Engaging God's World
(Cornelius Plantinga)

5) Truth Is Stranger Than It Used To Be
(Middleton & Walsh)

This weekend, we'll be talking through the second core value: Wholeness.

Don't forget, we meet at 5:30pm at the home of Jason and Angie Kimbrell. See you there!

Rob

First Gathering This Sunday!

Our very first public gathering (a.k.a. "service") will be this Sunday night at 5:30pm at the home of Jason and Angie Kimbrell (107 Montreal in Hurst. See link to the right for a map). Childcare will be provided (it's free, of course). You're invited.

Yes, you.

See you there!

-Rob

10 Days to Go!

Hey everybody! Here's what's going on with Echo...

1) We have our final planning meeting TONIGHT at Caroline's and my apartment at 6:30pm. If you are planning on attending and have not yet told me, please email me as soon as possible. We want to be sure to get enough food.

2) Our Home Groups, which were originally scheduled to be started by the first week of November, will now begin in January. We want to give everyone a chance to get prepared and make it through the holiday season. So, if you or someone that you know is interested in joining a Home Group, let me know and plan for January!

3) We now have a mailing address. If you want to send mail to Echo Bible Church, you may send it to PO Box 54713, Hurst, TX 76054. However, if you send a check, please make it out to Fellowship of the Parks and write in the memo line: "Echo Bible Church".

4) Our first weekend Gathering (aka, "service") is NEXT WEEK (October 19, 5:30pm). I can't believe that it's already so close, but it is. There are so many things that are coming together in anticipation for this event, and it is very exciting. The music will be done by the great Robbie Buie, and our childcare will be provided by First Baptist Church of Hurst. Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us for the Gathering. Click on the picture below for a map to the Gathering space (the home of Jason and Angie Kimbrell, 107 Montreal, Hurst, TX).



Thanks for checking in. Have a great week!

-Rob

ZeroChurch and the Sunday Night Shuffle

This Saturday night (5pm) is the second ZeroChurch preview service. ZeroChurch is one of our main sponsor churches. If you can make it to the preview service, it would be great for all of us to be there in support of what they are doing. The meeting place is Bear Valley Community Church (7900 Precinct Line Road). I hope to see you there!

Also, after a lot of prayer and discussion, we have decided that our weekend gatherings (which begin on October 19) will take place on Sunday nights (time TBA). Our goal in making this change is that we would shift the perception of church from being something that people feel that they have to get up and get ready for in the morning (like work or school). Instead, we want to create an atmosphere of relaxed intimacy. So, we're going to give Sunday night a try.

Finally, there is a planning meeting next Wednesday (October 8) at Caroline's and my apartment. If you would like to come, please email for directions to our home (echobiblechurch@gmail.com). If you already know how to get here, email me anyway so we'll know how much food we need to have.

I hope everyone is having a great week. I hope to see you Saturday!

-Rob