Thursday, December 18, 2008

WHATCHA DOIN' CHRISTMAS EVE?

We've got Christmas spirit, yes we do!
We've got Christmas spirit, How 'bout you?

Feeling festive?

Maybe not... Or, maybe you've got that holiday thing oozing out every pore.

(YUCK!!!!   Image-Be-Gone!)

Regardless of where you are on this continuum, New Life Christmas Eve is the place for you.

At 6:00 p.m., Wednesday December 23 (duh... Christmas Eve)

It's late enough not to interrupt your last-minute shopping, and early enough to have a great rest-of-the-evening doing whatever you want!

That's right.  We're gonna be outta there by 7:00 p.m.

There'll be some singing off-key stuff, a funny video, little kids doing little kid stuff (no diaper humor here, please), some cookies and such, and a short encouraging word or two, plus one special feature...

NO SOCK MONKEYS!!!

Guaranteed fun--and you get to wear jeans!!!

IF THE QUEEN MOTHER WERE SUDDENLY STANDING ON YOUR DOORSTEP. . .

You might be just a bit frantic!

I mean come on...
       ...WHAT WOULD YOU WEAR?
       ...IS SHE HUNGRY?  
       ...WHAT DOES SHE EAT?
       ...HOW DO I ADDRESS HER?
       ...WHAT IF SHE SEES THAT TURKEY CARCASS STILL SITTING IN THE FRIG?
       ...DOES SHE HAVE A BIG CHECK IN HER HAND FROM  PUBLISHER'S CLEARINGHOUSE?

Now, some of you wouldn't care at all.  You're not gonna get lathered up by anyone from a family whose men and women look the same.  Ok, good point.

For some of you, however, even the thought of drop-in by the queen--or anyone else who just pops in out of nowhere--gets your heart racing.

So, relax.  Take some cleansing breaths.  This isn't really happening.

OR IS IT?

Only way you'll know for sure is to be at New Life this Sunday for another installment of our "Dangerous Baby" series.

Be there!!   (And if you want, wear jeans... our preacher does!!)

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

FREE BABYSITTING - Parent's "Holiday Kid-Free Shopping Spree"

Dear Santa,
 
I've been a pretty good girl this year!  I hear Mommy saying that a Wii was cheaper than the current price of coal Oh yeah, world peace and an end to hunger would be sweet too!
 
ATTENTION PARENTS!!!

Let us help you, help Santa by offering you 3 hours of shopping time while we love and entertain your kids with cookie decorating, ornament crafts, music, movies and tons of great holiday fun in the spirit of the season! 

Our church is located just 10 minutes from Tysons and each parent will get a coupon folder JAM PACKED with great deals at Tyson's stores!

SATURDAY DECEMBER 13th from 9am-12:30pm 
 
All ages WELCOME!
 
RSVP to newlifewestmoreland@gmail.com to secure your spot!

Registration for the event ENDS DECEMBER 10th so don't miss out!
 
Then, be sure to join us again this Holiday Season and on Christmas Eve with your entire family to experience the REAL Reason for the Season!

YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION?????

Maybe the Beatles coined the song...


...But they weren't the first to talk about revolution

          Before the French Revolution...
          Before the American Revolution...
          Before the Russian Revolution...
          Before cloth diapers gave way to Pampers...

(screeching of brakes)

Hey, speaking of babies, maybe you don't see the tie between revolution and babies.

But it's there...  Jesus... a baby! 

But this cuddly little dude packs a wallop in revolutionary ideas!

(Did we just say wallop?  Can we really use that in a blog?)

While we check with the judges on that, you check out the Dangerous Baby series!

Sunday, 11:00 a.m.

Tim Jones, New Life funny guy, kicks the series off, and he may just mess with your gray matter... at least enough to challenge your assumptions of who Baby Jesus is and what He is up to.

New Signs!


Keep driving by and thinking... I thought this was the right place, but wait there is no sign that says New Life?

That is all changed now!

Last week, New Life's Westmoreland campus got its new signs, letting the community know who we are.

So next time you drive by, you will know it is us... why not stop in?

See you Sunday!


Saturday, November 29, 2008

Hang 'Em High

Ok, it's not a spaghetti Western, but it's got 
  • HEART-STOPPING
  • CLIFF-HANGING
  • DEATH-DEFYING
  • NON-STOP ACTION
That'll keep you glued to the edge of your seats until the 

ENDING THAT NO ONE COULD POSSIBLY SEE COMING!!!

(Unless you've already read all the Bible, of course)

That's right!!  It's the Riveting Conclusion That's Got Everyone Planning to TIVO the Redskins Game.

ESTHER 3 - This Time It's Personal!!!!!

Exclusively Playing at New Life Christian Church @ Westmoreland at 11:00 a.m. Sunday

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Stand-up Comedy in Church?

Ever wonder what kids in Pittsburgh and Indianapolis have in common?

All we're gonna tell you is that it involves dried corn and Halloween--two topics that don't normally go together.  

But that's ok, because the preacher man this Sunday at Westmoreland is the not-so-normal Tim Jones, New Life's stand-up comedian.

Somehow, it'll all make sense, and he'll even relate it to something from the Bible in the uproarious Part Deux of our series on the book of Esther.

Come early, you won't want to miss the opening monologue (or a cup of Joe!).

New Life Westmoreland in the News!

The following article was taken from the McLean Connection Newspaper:

Bringing New Life to an Old Church

In order to survive, aging McLean congregation merges with youthful New Life Church.
By Mike DiCicco
Tuesday, July 08, 2008

When Bill Daniel joined the Westmoreland Church in 1965, it was a Baptist church with about 80 members. By 2006, Sunday morning turnouts at the McLean church were around one-tenth of that number.

"We were down to a membership of roughly 16, with attendance of maybe 10 on a good day," said Daniel, who is the church’s head trustee and accountant. None of those 10 were children, and three of the five couples on the membership roster were more than 80 years old. "We could see that the handwriting was on the wall," Daniel said. 

His wife, Betty, said the little church at the corner of Kirby Road and Westmoreland Street was not alone, noting that her friends attending other small churches in the area were also facing dwindling membership. "A lot of churches are not doing so well, I’m afraid," she said. 

FOR 25 YEARS, Westmoreland had been without a pastor and had relied upon a series of military chaplains to deliver services. The last chaplain, upon leaving in 2006, could not find a replacement and referred the church to the Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship, which recommended that Westmoreland merge with another church. 

Westmoreland had long ago cut its ties to the Baptist Church and become the ecumenical Westmoreland Community Church, and one of the churches the fellowship recommended for a merger was the nondenominational, multi-campus New Life Christian Church. New Life, which has campuses in Centreville and Haymarket and recently spun off a church in Ashburn, courts younger congregants with an emphasis on informality, humor and relevance to everyday life. 

A year and a half after New Life Pastor Ron Furgerson took over as the church’s pastor, Sunday morning turnouts now average between 40 and 50, with about six of the church’s new couples coming from other New Life campuses. 

The two churches courted each other for months and, following a vote, began taking steps toward a merger late last year. Furgerson said the combined church will step up outreach and re-launch as the Westmoreland campus of New Life this fall. 

Bill Daniel said the church now has a band and places an emphasis on contemporary music, and he said the young New Life pastors who rotate through the church "take a more youthful sort of approach to the scriptures." "While I miss some of the old hymns, I find some of the new ones to be very pleasing," he said. 

"I love it. It’s a new beginning," said Betty Daniel. "It’s like making the Bible come to life in today’s world." By trying to bring clarity to the scriptures while steering clear of dogma, she said, "they make it much more interesting, and you feel like you’ve gained something when you go to church. You feel like you’ve gained some insight." 

LAST SUNDAY MORNING, Pastor Dwaine Darrah was trying to convince the congregation to prepare for the afterlife, while viewing this life as temporary housing. Dressed in a gray polo shirt and black khakis, he told the congregants to imagine sinking time and money into completely renovating a rented condo. "That wouldn’t make any sense," said Darrah. "We do that all the time. We live like this is it." 

He said the Bible’s attempt to describe heaven was like trying to describe life in McLean to an impoverished South American — most easily accomplished by listing the things familiar to South Americans that they would not find here, such as poverty and lawlessness. 

A slide on the screen behind him read "Describing the indescribable." 

Darrah asked the congregants to imagine a world where there were no more suicide bombers, divorce papers, prescription drugs, empty tissue boxes, small caskets or "anxious moments in hospital waiting rooms." 

"Let’s watch this video clip," he said, and a slide quoting the Book of John was replaced by a short video of two children wandering a graveyard, contemplating death and debating the existence of God. 

Most of the older members of Darrah’s audience wore ties and dresses, but some younger attendees were dressed in jeans or shorts. Behind them, a table was laid out with coffee, cookies and candy. The candy, at least, was traditional — Bazooka bubblegum and Dum Dum lollipops. Some in the audience were drinking coffee. 

Before communion, Furgerson reminded the congregation that Darrah’s sermon would be available on CD next week. 

"It’s very different," said longtime Westmoreland member Kay Bernell. "I think most of our older members felt this was kind of a shock to have such a change," she said. "It took a little adjustment. I grew up in a formal church setting. But I like it now. I’m comfortable with it now." The few who could not make the adjustment had left, she said, but the majority had stayed on. Bernell said she thought the church had been revitalized but was only in the early stages of its rebirth. 

Cecilia Brammer was familiar with the problem of diminishing church attendance. She had come to Westmoreland in 2002 after her congregation at Chesterbrook Presbyterian Church had dissolved due to lack of membership. She said she liked the intimacy of a small church but recognized the need to attract younger members. 

"It’s changed considerably," said Brammer. "In fact, when I walked in this morning, I thought, ‘You know, the church is rockin’,’ and that’s a strange word for me to use." She said she liked her new congregants and had come to enjoy the different style of worship. "The music is definitely different. Actually, a lot of the service is different than what I’m used to," she said. "But it’s inspiring. I’m not put down by it." 

WESTMORELAND will be Terry Finks’ third New Life congregation in the last 10 years. When the Ashburn campus started, she had left the Centreville campus to help start up the new group. "I kind of like to help get things started, to get them rolling," said Finks, who had traveled to Sunday’s service from Leesburg. She added that the original Westmoreland group was "a wonderful group of people who are willing to do whatever needs to be done." 

She said she, too, had grown up attending traditional churches, but she preferred New Life’s style. "It’s nice when you can sit with a cup of coffee and hear the gospel in a way that you can apply to your life," she said. "It’s not just tradition and rhetoric." 

Finks, who has taught for about 15 years at private, Christian elementary schools, will head up the church’s new preschool, which is expected to be in session this September. The church also now offers Sunday school — one session for adults and another for children — as well as a women’s study group and a Recovery Connection Support Group for anyone with "a hurt, habit or hang-up," as it is described on the New Life Web site. Planned are a divorce support group, a marriage support group, a money management class and a parenting class. 

A questionnaire will be circulated asking what other services might be needed. 

"That’s what our church does, try to meet the needs of communities," said Finks. 

McLean resident Frank Arter attended church at New Life’s Centreville campus from early 1997 until about half a year ago. "It’s nice for us because we live just two, three miles from here," he said of the Westmoreland site. Arter said he had been raised in the United Pentecostal Church, where services were "the same every week. I got a little tired of preachers yelling at me and using PAs to do it." 

He said Westmoreland was in a "hybrid" stage, where some of the old music had been retained, as not all of the church’s original members had appreciated the rock-style New Life music. Others, he said, had been uncomfortable with the slides and preferred a book in their hands, although he said they now seemed to have come to terms with the technological shift. 

"Both sides are kind of coming together into one group," said Arter. "It’s really kind of neat to watch."

Did you know that...

...Westmoreland Community Church is now New Life Christian Church.
We hold these truths to be self evident that "Church" and "Fun" are words that go together

...We put out all the Politicians Gone Wild signs and the goofy videos?

...If you hate church, you'll fit right in!!
We've changed the music, are changing the environment, AND you can drink coffee and eat donut hole while we kick around God stuff.

...We have a new pastor?
Most other church dudes don't have CIA and FBI training.

...We are the fastest growing church in America?
Ok, we've grown from 8 to 40, so we're still small, but we're happening!!

...We are a multigenerational church.
We've got folks from singles to hip octogenerians!

...We have a preschool up and running on site?
The website being developed now.

...We are facilitating Dave Ramsey's course on finances?
See Dave on Fox Business Cable Channel or on his website

...We host exercise and art classes?
Plus, we will soon have marriage and parenting classes

Still not sure, you skeptic?  

Check us out at 11:00 a.m. Sunday mornings and be a part of something sweeping your community or contact me at dwained@newlife4me.com703-532-0161 or 571-294-8306.

I am the pastor, and I approved this message.

Dwaine Darrah

Friday, November 14, 2008

Ever feel that life is a little out of control?

That things are happening to you and going on around you that mess with your life?  

Get the sense that there should be an order to things but just not sure how to wrangle them to the ground?  

Sounds like someone else's story!

Who?  Esther!  Esther who?  Esther from the bible!

Out of control would describe her world, and it's pretty amazing how similar ours is today.  

Plus, gals, it's a great opportunity to teach your man how to learn something from a woman!!  Now that's a personal application worth the price of admission.  

Speaking of that, we've dropped the cover charge for the 11:00 service, and parking is free.  Come a few minutes early and grab coffee, tea, and something to munch.