Richard Sims

What a Week!

What a week it's been!

Here's a brief summary of the last several days...

On Halloween, Andy was a great Luigi!  He had a blast getting the candy that night, and I've had a blast eating it.

Saturday brought soccer games for the girls, and then Andy and I went with the Crane's to the Hawks home opener! Philips Arena was rockin', and though we were down by 21 at one point, we took our first lead with 2 minutes to go and never looked back. Awesome time!

On Sunday we heard part 2 of Andy's series Judgment Call. There have been so many times in my 18 years in the ministry when someone had to be lovingly confronted, only to have others rise up in protest saying, "You're not to judge!" We learned Sunday that churches have this completely backwards! We think we should judge people outside the church and give everyone inside a free pass. That's just the opposite of what the Bible teaches!

We also had Moxie and the guys leading worship - great job!!

Sunday night meant InsideOut for grades 6-12. Jason Sartain led us in a beautiful all-acoustic worship set, and Josh continued the series Rhythm. Great time!

Then sometime on Sunday night, I came down with a cruddy sinus infection and I'm just now returning to normal.

So that's my summary of the last few days.

What have you been up to?

Family Matters

This Sunday at Tapestry I'll be talking about "Family Matters," because, well, family matters at TC.

I think that when it comes to ministry to children and teenagers, we have a philosophy that's different from most other churches. We do not offer a babysitting service. This generation of children and teenagers matters to us way too much for that to happen.

But we can't do it alone.

So if you're a parent, join us this Sunday morning for "Family Matters." And if you're not a parent, here's a chance to learn even more about the vision of Tapestry Church.

Here's What's Happening...

Two days this week with the kids out of school, and I'm way behind on blog posts. But we had an absolute blast during our Fall Break.

Sunday we closed out the LO$T series with a most practical message. If you weren't at Tap last Sunday and would like the fill-in-the-blank points, just shoot me an e-mail. And if I say that Danny Dukes led worship, do I even need to tell you that worship was incredible? I will anyway...it was incredible!

On Monday the fam drove to north Georgia for some apples, a petting zoo, our Halloween 2008 pumpkin, and a picnic at Amicalola Falls. Like I said, we had a blast!

Yesterday, well, I now have two lawnmowers that aren't working. Not much else I can say about that.

And here's a heads-up for this Sunday...I'll be sharing Tapestry's philosophy about our ministry to children and teenagers, which I believe is different from most churches around. More on that later in the week...

I/O 10/5

This Sunday, October 5, 6pm
Grades 6-12
It's gonna rock!!!

Sunday Recap

Thank you so much to everyone who filled out an "Involved" form and turned it in! You accepted the challenge of taking what you have, giving it to Jesus and letting him do what only he can do, and watching what awesome things he can do through you.  Once again you proved that Tapestry Church is a great group of people.

Moxie and the guys were on fire yesterday. Great way to close out the service with "Burn for You."

InsideOut was truly a blessing last night. We had a great crowd, so thanks for inviting so many people. Josh did a terrific job talking about Rhythm. Moxie and the guys did it again last night!

Wow - what a day at Tapestry!

Sunday Morning Set List:
Everlasting God
Beautiful One
From the Inside Out
Burn for You (closer)

InsideOut @ Tapestry

InsideOut comes to Tapestry this Sunday at 6pm, and as a pastor, I'm really excited! As the father of a 7th grader and a 9th grader, I'm really, really excited!  Josh has done a great job pulling this together. You can read more about the details here. There will be games, food, great teaching, and Moxie and the guys will be leading worship. Invite every middle and high school student you know. Call your friends who have children that age and make sure they know about it. It's gonna be great!

Fight Club and Parents

We're just two days away from Fight Club at Tapestry! This entire 4-week video series is about family relationships, which sometimes can be tough but are always worth fighting for. This Sunday Holly Delich tells the story of her relationship with her dad and about her battle for that relationship. I am pumped! You can go here to send an e-vite out to your friends.

Speaking of families, Josh has started a brand new site, and if you're a parent go check it out right now. Seriously, stop reading this blog and click here now!  At Tapestry, we want to partner with parents, and as part of that we want you to always know what your child is being taught in Waumba Land, UpStreet and InsideOut. This site is part of that, as are handouts your child is given when they leave church on Sundays. Check out the link, and then tell us what you think. Hey, that even rhymes!

Things are Cranking Up

Summer vacation is slowly winding down, and that means things at Tapestry are gearing up. UpStreet returns on August 10, along with a great video series called Fight Club, a 4-week series with 3 different speakers discussing the importance of family. Invite everyone you know to this series! Plus, we're working hard to get our Community Groups going this fall.

I had a great meeting with this guy the other day, and I am so pumped about what we're going to be doing in family ministry. Waumba Land is going strong, UpStreet is coming back, and you'll also be hearing more about our ministry to students in grades 6-12.

This Sunday, we close out Mythbusters with the messiest myth of all.  Great things are on the way!  I am pumped!

Sunday Recap

Yesterday was very special in so many ways...

Moxie and the guys really opened up the house to the presence of God. Moxie, the way you were real and honest allowed us to be open and honest with God and allowed Him to move in an incredible way. It was one of those moments you can't plan for, you can only rejoice when it happens.

We continued the On Location series with a look at a time when Jesus told us our purpose: "You are the light of the world."  Our purpose is to live in such a way that people see our good deeds and then see the God we serve. Here's the question for you to ask: Did you let your light shine today?

And what a great time we had at the student cookout! We had a great group of kids, great parents there to help, and a really cool time to get to know one another. Thanks for all who helped, thanks Kim for coming up with this idea and getting it organized.  And rumor has it that the parents nailed a few kids with water balloons!

Set list:
Happy Day
Salvation is Here
You Never Let Go
How Great is Our God

Calling All 6th-12th Graders!

If you're in grades 6-12, I hope to see you this Sunday afternoon, May 4 at Tapestry!  We're going to grill some hot dogs and hamburgers, play some games, and just have a chance to hang out. Parents, you're invited too!

We'll be there 4-7pm. See the table in the lobby this Sunday morning for more info and to sign up if you'd like to bring something (or just e-mail me and I'll tell you what we still need).

It's gonna be a blast! See you there!