Week 05: "Celebration"

Here are some important events to be watching for:

1) Echo Bible Church Business Meeting (December 14)
Immediately following the Sunday evening Gathering on December 14, we will be holding our first ever church-wide business meeting. While this may not sound very exciting, this is an incredibly important step toward establishing ourselves as a church and shaping the future of Echo.

2) Home Groups Begin in January
As we talked about two weeks ago at the Sunday Gathering, we are
committed to being a people who are deeply connected to one another
and involved in each other's lives. Because of this, we are planning
to launch our home groups this January. This not simply a program of
various small groups for various types of people. We want these groups
to be mini-churches in which people discover deep and meaningful
community. If you are interested in being a part of this, please email
me and let me know (echobiblechurch@gmail.com).


This past weekend at the Gathering, we explored the fifth of our core values, Celebration:We were meant to celebrate the divine in the daily and to be a voice of hope in our world.

If you are interested in reading more about this, here are some great books:

1) For All God's Worth
(N.T. Wright)

2) Chasing Daylight
(Erwin McManus)

3) Through Painted Deserts
(Donald Miller)

4) Heaven Is A Place On Earth
(Michael Witmer)

As always, thanks for checking in, and don't forget that the weekend Gathering happens at 5:30pm at the home of Jason and Angie Kimbrell every Sunday. See you there!

-Rob

Week 04: "Serving"

At the Sunday Gathering, we are continuing in our series "What We Believe." Through this six-part series, we are exploring the six core values that define us as a church. This past Sunday, we discussed our fourth core value: Serving: We were meant to offer ourselves in service to God and to others. We are never more like Jesus than when we are serving for the benefit of other people.

We talked about the idea that we have been saved, not simply to congratulate ourselves for being saved, but so that we could be empowered to do good in the world and thereby showing the world what God is truly like.

If you are interested in studying more about this, here are some good books:

1) Good News About Injustice
(Gary Haugen)

2) The Irresistible Revolution
(Shane Claiborne)

3) The Shaping Of Things To Come
(Frost and Hirsch)

4) Rich Christians In An Age Of Hunger
(Ronald Sider)

5) The Revolution
(ed. Heather Zydek)

This weekend, we will be continuing in this series with our fifth core value: Celebration.

As always, we meet at the home of Jason and Angie Kimbrell at 107 Montreal in Hurst (see link to the right for a map). The Gathering begins at 5:30pm, and childcare is provided.

Have a great week!

-Rob

Christmas Boxes and Week 03: "Community"

We are participating with several churches in a mission project. There are hundreds of children living in rural Mexico who are in desperate situations. The holiday season can be especially difficult for a child who feels that he or she has been forgotten. We want to join with others who are providing Christmas gifts for children who would otherwise receive nothing. If you are interested in helping us with this, please email me (echobiblechurch@gmail.com). If you like, you can specify the gender and age range of the child who will receive your gift. Just let me know what you would like. Dennis Swanzy is distributing the empty boxes to be filled with gifts. If you will notify me of your desire to participate, I will send your information to Dennis, and he will bring a box for you to the gathering this Sunday.

This past Sunday, we continued our current teaching series, "What We Believe" with the third of our core values: Community:We believe that we were meant to live a life that is deeply connected with others. We will always seek to be a church that honors community.

If you are interested in reading more about this, here are some books...

1) Life Together
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

2) Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them
(John Ortberg)

3) Waking the Dead
(John Eldredge)

Does reading this blog feel a little like watching Reading Rainbow?

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great week. See you Sunday!

-Rob