The Next Big Culture

Posted on 05/17/2012 by Thad

Alexis Madrigal onstage at the 99% Conference. Photo: Julian Mackler / MACKME.COM

In an article on the99percent.com recapping their conference this year I was excited to see a quote from Alexis Madrigal, “Don’t found “the next big thing,” found “the next big culture.” It encouraged me because it was like a pat on the back that we at Open Life deserve by accident!

When we set out to launch Open Life we began in our home, then set our sites on launching a service in the Regal Theater in Bonney Lake on Jan. 10, 2010. One of the things we wanted to do was not launch a service but launch a movement, not a church but a “culture.” (Much harder said than done!) Continue reading →

Leading by love vs. legislation

Posted on 05/09/2012 by Thad

Before reading, choose not to be offended…just process this, get your brain thinking!

Obama made a big step today by sharing his “personal opinion”. It just so happens that his personal feelings actually do affect more than just him, but that is beside the point. His statement in support of same sex marriage was in response to a ruling yesterday in North Carolina defining marriage as between a man and a woman and upholding a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

As a bible believing Christian I am completely familiar with this subject, especially when pastoring a church called Open Life! I believe every word written in the bible and it leads me to understand Continue reading →

The Power Of A Seed

Posted on 04/30/2012 by Thad

“Don’t count the seeds in the Apple, count the Apples in the seed”

I am continually being reminded by God lately to take into consideration His perspective. Jesus said, “Every good tree bears good fruit.” But within our fast pace “results now” world we are not patient enough to raise up an orchard and believe in the process Continue reading →

Record day, amazing stories

Posted on 04/09/2012 by Thad

Sunday was surely one for the memory book. Open Life had our largest Sunday to date with 139 people present for our Easter Experience, “One Day to Change The World.” So many guests made their way to Easter with family, neighbors, and friends. Honored to have them with us and hoping to see them again in the coming weeks.

We promised to give $5 to Charity Water for every person in attendance Continue reading →

This was a first!

Posted on 04/05/2012 by Thad

This week I did something I have never done before, and it is for the benefit of soo many! I preached my Easter message to our pastoral staff at Open Life.

What would make me do something like this? Simple: I want to reach the broadest audience with a very clear, memorable and creative talk that adequately brings people from all backgrounds to a place of comprehending what Jesus did through the cross and resurrection. Continue reading →

My “One Day”

Posted on 03/20/2012 by Thad

It’s amazing how one day can change the pages of history in our lives. We wake up one day the same as the last, but in any given moment our trajectory can be drastically impacted by something as simple as a flat tire, car accident, health concern, food poisoning, winning the lottery, or choosing to follow Jesus.

The Bible is full of “one days” Continue reading →

Open Life Easter Experience

Posted on 03/16/2012 by Thad

We are just 22 days 19 hours 13 minutes and 10 seconds from the Open Life Easter Experience, “One Day to Change the World.” Here is the opportunity before each one of us, Easter is the one time a year people are most open to considering what Jesus was all about. Continue reading →

How big is your dream?

Posted on 03/13/2012 by Thad

This Sunday I am starting a new series at Open Life called The Circle Maker, based on Mark Batterson’s newest book. It is one of the more challenging books I have read recently on the power of prayer. The topic I am hitting on this Sunday is Dreaming BIG.

One of the quotes that is resonating and challenging me is, “The death of a dream is often a subtle form of idolatry. We lose faith in the God who gave us the big dream and settle for a small dream that we can accomplish without His help. We go after dreams that don’t require divine intervention.”

When we felt prompted to start a church in Bonney Lake Continue reading →

Don’t rush through life

Posted on 03/08/2012 by Thad

Disneyland really got me thinking: My heart is exploding with inspiration lately. Truly can’t explain the passion that is welling up within me at every turn and it is not coming from the expected sources.

You would think the word, prayer and church would be the source of inspiration and transformation, but how about Disneyland, Movements like Kony2012, CharityWater.org and just taking note as we go through life.

The latest thing that has me thinking was our recent trip to Disneyland. Continue reading →

Documentary

Posted on 02/23/2012 by Thad

To wrap up our series at Open Life on living with “Margin” we created and showed a documentary about the financial beginnings of the church two years ago. It’s the story of how we chose the approach of strategic generosity and how it has made an impact within the community. After watching this you can see why it is one of our key cultures at Open Life and how it is making such a huge impact within the city and even setting an example for other cities as they take note of our story. Here it is:

As the video wrapped up we concluded verbally with two things in our live service: Continue reading →

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