Fasting Guidelines January 16, 2007

Ed began our current series, Larger than Life, with a message on the spiritual discipline of fasting, during which he challenged Fellowship Church to join him in a 21-Day fast. For three weeks we’re  eating pure fruits, vegetables and grains while we participate in a Daniel Fast. We're about halfway through and it's already been an incredible faith adventure! If you would like to participate in a fast like we’ve done at Fellowship, we’re made our fasting guidelines available here.

Watch Ed's Video Journal January 10, 2007

To kick off 2007, we've just begun a new series at Fellowship Church, Larger than Life. Over the course of three weeks we'll be looking at the spiritual disciplines of fasting, prayer and giving. Last weekend's message explored the biblical practice of fasting, during which Ed challenged us to join in a church-wide fast. For 21 days, we will participate in a Daniel Fast, the details of which are explained here. Ed will be tracking his progress and offering perspective during the next few weeks in an online video journal, just launched today. We're excited to see what God will do through this time as we turn our hunger towards him.

Hulk Hogan and Ed Young? January 03, 2007

Don't miss the hilarious video on our Fellowship Church site featuring Ed Young and Hulk Hogan. They are promoting our new series, Larger than Life, which will look at what we can do to live life on the next level. This will be one you won't want to miss, so be sure to follow along for the next three weeks!

An especially easy way to make sure you don't miss any of Ed's messages is to sign up for one of our sermon subscriptions. Now's the perfect time, because this month they are 10% off!

Listen to Christmas 2006 Message! December 22, 2006

Ed delivered the first of many Christmas services last night and wants to share it with you. The Divine MP3 is available here, or you can check out an early release of the podcast here. We were blessed with a very full house last night and can't wait to see what God will continue to do at Fellowship Church throughout these services and at your churches as well!

Updated Christmas Message Available December 21, 2006

As Ed continues to revise and polish this year's Christmas message, The Divine, he's making the most recent version available to you:

You can feel the excitement, can't you? It's Christmas week. Our first service is Thursday evening and we've been busy with preparations, as I know you have too. Earlier this week I made available two drafts of my Christmas message. And as my team and I continue to fine tune it, I wanted to add the most recent draft into the mix. All three versions will be included in the same download package. You know that a great message isn't just what you say but also what you don't say, so we've taken a lot of stuff out and added some new twists. I'll be tweaking it all the up until our final service on Christmas Eve, but I hope this helps generate some ideas for you. (For those of you who have already purchased the previous drafts, you'll find an updated version in your downloads.)

And, by the way, don't forget to give yourself some distance between prep time and delivery time. I always try to take at least a day off from looking at the sermon. That way, when I come back to it on the big day, I can view it with fresh eyes. My family and I wish you the best this week. Keep your eyes on Christ, The Divine.

God's Best,

Ed

Sneak preview of Fellowship Church 2006 Christmas Message December 18, 2006

You can get a sneak peek at the message Ed will be delivering this Christmas at Fellowship Church. It's called The Divine and the early relase draft manuscript with notes is available here. In case you missed the newsletter that went out today, here's a quick note from Ed about it:

I don’t know about you, but I always have mixed emotions at this point in December. Christmas is an incredibly exciting time of year. It’s a time when many people, who don’t darken the door of the church all year long, will give God a chance—just this once. It’s as if thousands of people are following the star to the manger, and we have this God-given appointment to move them from seekers of the Christ child to worshipers of The Christ. The manger is like a magnet. There’s something mysterious about it that draws a curious crowd. Who is this baby? Why did He come? What does He mean to me?

On the other hand, I’m filled with apprehension and, yes, a little bit of fear when this season comes around. As we anticipate record crowds, I wonder how I’m going to bring something new to the Christmas message table after doing this for sixteen years. Well, needless to say, our creative team has been meeting about this message and I’ve gone through quite a few drafts of the sermon. And if you’re interested in joining in the creative process, I’ve made my most recent drafts available on CreativePastors. There are two different versions: one for the Boomer crowd with some nice alliteration and one for the Emergent group that has a more non-linear feel. Let me know what you think!

I pray for all of you this Christmas that the Holy Spirit will guide you as you communicate the truth of this holy season once again. The mystery of the Divine draws a crowd but, through Christ, the mystery has been revealed.

"O Christmas T" Outreach December 11, 2006

In Ed's Creative Leader newsletter for November (missed it? sign up here for free!), he discussed some of the things we're doing to get ready for this year's Christmas services at Fellowship Church. One of the ideas we're implementing is something we've never tried before - a project we've dubbed "O Christmas T." We printed vibrant t-shirts featuring our Christmas service information and gave them away to our entire church to wear throughout their Christmas shopping, with an emphasis on one specific shopping day. Seeing 20,000 Fellowship Church t-shirts throughout the Dallas/Ft. Worth area should be a great way to start a conversation and invite someone to our Christmas services! 

Our incredible volunteers came out in full force to help fill bags with a t-shirt, small promotional poster, and invite cards in a business card size and in postcard format. The bags were handed out during the weekend services at several stations throughout our campuses. Even the children who attended FCKids services were given a t-shirt to wear to school!

Ed reminded us that almost anyone will give God a chance and try church during Christmas, so equipping our members with these materials gives them the tools to reach out to those around them. 

The Early Days November 01, 2006

This past weekend at Fellowship Church, Preston Mitchell delivered an evangelism-focused message entitled Feet First. A great example of vision casting, it includes accounts from the early days of Fellowship Church which not only give us an appreciation for its history, but also pull us into the continuing story of the amazing things God wants to do through the local church.

Sexual Revolution Series Banner September 26, 2006

Because our church is located in a high-traffic area, signage is one of our most effective ways to build awareness about what is happening at Fellowship Church. As we have with key series in the past, we posted a large banner on the side of the building to promote the launch of our current Sexual Revolution series. Though connecting church and sex seems controversial to some, this series reminds us that sex is God's idea and that the church is the second-best place (after the home) to learn about it. If you haven't caught these messages yet, don't miss out!

Revolutionary September 22, 2006

You say you want a revolution?

Those familiar words from the Beatles set the tone for the first message of our Sexual Revolution series last weekend at Fellowship Church. Because, as Ed explained, a revolution is a sudden change - and we're seeking a change for the better. Between the series banner on the side of our Worship Center building, a bed prominently placed in the middle of the stage, a widely distributed direct mail piece and Ed's candid Stripped sermon, this series has been generating plenty of feedback at Fellowship Church. Check it out in this week's podcast, and be sure to subscribe (for free!) so you can catch the series as it unfolds each week.