Tory Farina

I’m taking a sabbatical...

It’s been 6 years since High Point Church began in our home. Emotionally, spiritually, and physically we have held nothing back. As we were talking with our overseers recently, about our plans and where God is taking us as a church, they stopped us and asked if we had been on a Sabbatical yet.

We said no, but after this last year and with what we have planned for High Points future, it sounds like we could use it. They agreed.

The word sabbatical comes from the word Sabbath: observance of a day or time of rest. The Hebrew word shabbath means “rest.”

Genesis 2: 2–3 “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating He had done.”

Elizabeth and I will be spending the month of November on sabbatical. 

I plan on doing 3 things while I am away with my family. I believe my focus on these 3 areas will increase my effectiveness and longevity as a father, husband, and pastor.

1.) Rest — We will not be working. This will be an emotional break from weekly deadlines, carrying others’ burdens and from the weight of leading.

2.) Spiritual Renewal — There is a weight we carry for this city. Leaving for a short season is like taking a step off the front line of war. As a pastor my focus in life is on the caring and feeding of others. I am convinced that not having to carry the burden of spiritual care for hundreds of people will bring personal spiritual renewal to our lives.

3.) Personal Growth — The Lord is leading me to structure the last half of my life on prioritizing my roles. Often I find my role as pastor taking priority over my other responsibilities as a disciple (follower), husband, father, and mentor.

It is going to be a great time of renewal. Please pray for us as while we are gone. Pray for refreshment. Pray for God to speak new words of encouragement.

 

Weekly Recap...

I love when Our band reinterprets a song and makes it contemporary and exciting. This Sunday during the offering time The Band played... "The Touch The Feel of Cotton" Song.I asked the 1st service to text in what they thought it was but no one got it.

I am enjoying this series. It is a challenge for me. I feel like each week I am boiling a box of spaghetti as I prepare. I am realizing how much content their is to cover and how little time I have on a Sunday to get it covered. We will defiantly be revisiting these subjects in the new year.

Monday night was fun to be apart of but not so fun to watch. Favre was consistent and Rogers was not. It might have had something to do with his O-line but It just wasn't a great game for my packers. I look forward to next month in Lambeau. 

Elizabeth Update... She is doing a little better with the fluids they have been giving her by IV. This afternoon we are going in to get a picc line put in so that she doesn't have to get an IV every few days. She has small veins and it takes a half a dozen tries sometimes. She also found out yesterday that she needs a root canal... YEAH! She hates dentists, (she had a bad experience as a kid, but haven't we all?) So We keep saying "Put it on my tab" and laughing because that is about all we can do. Keep praying for her she is going through a lot to get this baby here.

I am being challenged lately about how we are training and developing you as the church to "Live Your Potential" lots of thoughts and planning. I am going to be challenging you in the next few months to do somethings you have never been challenged to do! Maybe I have been watching too much "Biggest Loser" but I want to get you into shape spiritually, physically and mentally and help you experience a new level that God has for you! Stay tuned in... And start praying about if you are where God wants you to be? What your next step may be?

We have our 3rd Leadership Lunch this Sunday. I love this time with our Ministry Team Leaders. They do a great Job and deserve to be thanked and developed. I look forward to who God is developing to be our next leaders.

Phil Wickham is coming out with a new album soon http://philwickham.com/.I was sent his 1st album this week. He put it together in High School. It got me excited to find a Youth specialist to help us find and cultivate the next Great Worshiper, Leader, Politician, Teacher, Salesman, Missionary. If we can show our kids their potential at a Young age they will thrive in this life. Scripture calls it shooting arrows! I want to shoot O and the next little one we have as far as I can to make a difference in this world!

Take a minute and listen to this song as you Thank God today for His grace and mercy and Love. Take a minute to allow his presence to wash over you. Take a minute and Thank God for His Grace!

Double Shot Starts Next Sunday...

We had an awesome prequel to our fall series. If you missed the "AROMA"  Check it out here. The basic premise, for those who were not available this last Sunday, was that God designed us to the be the aroma to the world of His presence. I compared it to the aroma of coffee in the morning. God is seeking out somebody to use to reach out to the world that they have influence in like the smell of coffee spreads through the house so should your aroma as a Christ fallow spread through all you do. God is seeking you and me to reach into the lives of people we love and care about and be the Aroma of Jesus in their lives. 

This next week we start two services. 9 and 10:30. This is a great opportunity to pass out the fall "Caffeinate your Life"  invitation and share a story of how God has touched your life. This also gives you a great opportunity to Volunteer in an area and affords you the joy of attending a service and serving in a service. 

Which service do you think people will take advantage of the most? I am thinking 10:30 but 9 is great for people with Kids. What are you most excited about as we move to 2 services?

Create...

I love reading and hearing about people who create great things out of nothing. Ben Arment is a good example of this type of person, read blog post here... not because he fasted football, but because he is doing what it takes to accomplish something. I love talking with guys like Paul Stewart, Matthew Keller, Rob Ketterling, and other church planters. I can’t get enough of magazines like Fast Company and am being so inspired by the biography of Walt Disney I am reading currently. These people are radicals and rebels, and they don’t take no for an answer.

It juices me up to read Genesis 1 and see that in the beginning there was nothing that we see today, but God spoke something into existence out of that nothing. I could read the creation story again and again, because it is a part of me. I love to see creation happen. Give me a show on public television about how to make glass, and I am hooked.

I believe that God desires that we follow his lead and invent, create, and dream about what isn’t and what could be or should be. So many people I meet get stuck in what is and what has to be, yet neglect the inner calling to create or be apart of something that is being built. They fear the unknown. They don't know where to start or who to connect with that has a big enough vision that aligns with their own. Part of my calling is to help people discover their God-given potential and to either be a part of their creation or to create what God has uniquely called them to create! I love talk about making it happen, and I love to see it happen. I want to do everything I can to empower people to speak into the abyss of nothing and call forth what they see!

What has God placed in your heart? What great thing is not because you haven’t created it yet? Art, writing, children, churches, and businesses all are wonderful things to create. What will it take to see it happen? What do you need to sacrifice in order to make it so?

GO! CREATE!

High Point Church in 140 Characters...

I asked a while back if you would describe what High Point Church means to you in 140 characters or less. Why 140 characters? Because it is the size twitter asks for and keeps things short enough to spread but long enough to get the point.  I figured this would be a cool way to hear from you in bite sized segments how you have been changed Jesus and encouraged by the community of High Point. One lucky person will get a book from my library. Here is what was sent... 

• HP is like a nightlight, it lights the way when things in your life get a little too dark. HP is like water, it quenches your thirst. HP is like a map, guiding you along the winding paths of every obstacle in your life. - Melissa
• HPC offers community security & individual development, & effectively strives to show Christ's love as accessible yet profound. -@josephsunde
• A place of hope, restoration, dreams, life, winners, impact, landmark to the city, and love. @terryboynten
• High Point is like being at home with all your family having a celebration and hearing some great life changing stories.- Tammi 'Schuck' Strong
• High Point a community using Love and the Word, promotes bringing out your true spirit and one big step closer to God!- Karen Reynolds Knoll
• To me, High Point is one of the best places I have ever been. I feel absolutely at home there. I feel more at home there than anywhere else- even my own home. The people are so nice and friendly. They care about everyone no matter who they are. I got hooked going and can't stop. I love it!!!!- Kelly

Before I close this down and pick a winner. Does anyone have 140 characters that they would like to offer?

a_cross //the_EARTH

The people at Hillsong Church (Founded by Brian and Bobbie Houston) are an inspiration to every church planter I know. From nothing came a church that has almost singlehandedly changed the way we worship in progressive churches around the world. In a country where their is no line between Secular and Christian music in their music industry they push the envelope constantly and I am never disappointed. Enjoy the new album and look for some of the songs at High Point these next few months.

a_cross//the_EARTH

They are more than just a worshiping church... they have campuses around the world and are the leaders in their denomination in Australia. They have schools and leadership training centers. They are an amazing Life Giving Church. Like High Point they started mobile with just a few people. I love to hear Brian share his stories from early on in their ministry. It fires me up for what we can do with  Gods Spirit, Time and a Big Vision. We can change the world!

Check this out!!!!

Hillsong Church Vision 2009 from Hillsong Church on Vimeo.

Like the Coast Guard...

When E and I started High Point it was a long process involving many different stages and culminating in a Grand Opening to the public. We set a date. We prepared like crazy. We made a week by week month by month plan of how we were going to be ready to open the doors with success on January 29th 2006. We accomplished that vision.

As I was preparing for the church plant I was praying about my uncertainties involved in the plant... will I be able to pastor these people, will anyone show up, Am I spiritual enough, am I practical enough, will the theatre work, will there be enough money to personally make it, will there be enough money to professionally make it, can I preach that many times in a row?… I was praying and thinking and reading the word and I came across… Isaiah 54 there is so much to this chapter for me. It felt like God was saying… “I know you have never done this before but I will make you a success.” -cool!

This is the passage that I really got excited about.
    2 "Enlarge the place of your tent,
               stretch your tent curtains wide,
              do not hold back;
               lengthen your cords,
               strengthen your stakes.

     3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
               your descendants will dispossess nations
               and settle in their desolate cities.
Come On! Lets think big…

 I got excited because I knew that the local church is the hope of the world. That if we are growing and doing church in a way that truly helped people... FIND THEIR FAITH- DISCOVER THEIR FAITH- LIVE THEIR POTENTIAL… then we would be building strong believers in Christ. We would be going into this world and reaching those who do not know him. We would be seeing addicts set free, marriages restored, parents empowered, people given purpose. Sounds good doesn't it?

The vision I have in my head of high point is a massive one. Church plants, multiple campuses, multiple services, hundreds of connections groups throughout the twin cities and beyond, theaters filled, missionaries sent out, lives changed on a grand scale. Can I tell you something a little embarrassing? I thought that God would have already given me that vision. I know it is silly now but for a while I found myself ultimately dissatisfied by how “slow” our growth was. REALITY CHECK! We are not growing slow! We are growing steady and consistent. I had to come to a realization. That is my META God vision. It is my life long goal. Looking through the pages of scripture you see lots of people having META vision and few realizing them ultimately. Often they lay the ground work for the next person to come along and build on the foundation.

The moment I figured this out the moment I could grab the  binoculars and ask God what he had for me and High Point in the not so distant future. The MICRO vision. That gets pretty exciting. This vision is attainable! It is not that far away. It is what you and I and High Point will be around the corner.

The MICRO vision for High Point is about creating pathways to God in a more systematic way. It is about Organizing to make what we do simpler, more effective, and scalable. It is as if we spent the last 2.5 years putting in the footings that now we are going to build the pretty arches on so that some day down the line this bridge to my META vision can be built. The pastoral team and the leaders of the church are beginning to regroup, unite, and push forward with renewed focus and clarity as to where we are going.

Let me be clear about this next few stages. God has entrusted us with talents that are powerful and wonderful and he expects us to multiply them. So we at High Point are going to empower people. We are going to reach into this city and pull people aboard the boat and do what it takes organizationally to help them not jump back in the water. We are like the Coast guard… In order to be more effective at rescuing people we are going to have to train harder and get better at how and what we do. We are in the life saving business and the more resource we have the better tools We can get to reach people. The bigger boat we have the more workers are available to reach over the side and pull the drowning in.

My vision is sharp and I can see us being a powerful force in this community and making a big impact in the short term. Pray for this as we go into this world to seek and save that which is lost.

Pour Your heart into it!

Just picked up my copy of Pour Your heart into it...

I love the Prologue...

• Care more than others think wise.
• Risk more than others think safe.
• Dream more than others think practical.
• Expect more than others think possible.

My prayer- Lord you have given me a dream to fulfill your great commission in the twin cities. May you guide me and the team of High Point to reach our potential. Give us a clear next step as we plot our course for the future of High Point. May we see and judge with clarity. May we find that your Holy Spirit has been preparing the way. Help us reach more people who do not know you with your message and may we truly help people
FIND THEIR PLACE- DEVELOP THEIR FAITH- LIVE THEIR POTENTIAL! 

This is going to be a great year! Get ready!

The Half Mile Hill...

I was running today and on the 3.5 mile route I choose I had to make a decision. Do I run down the half mile hill? Which as you know is a lot easier and more fun. Or do I run up it at the end of my run?

I choose to run up it at the end but half way through I realized that that was not a fun idea. To make matters worse they had just put road gravel down so it was like running on the beach. I felt like David Hasselhoff. I wanted to quite. But turning around only meant I would have to go up the hill again when I was less tired. Stopping would have only given me a break for the moment and walking meant that I would be giving in to the pressure. I ran the whole way up. Slowly, but it was still defined as a run… I looked it up.

I think life is like this. We have half mile hills that we face all the time. If we are pursuing Gods will we will face Half mile hills all the time. I am talking about Noah this week. 120 years he spent building the ARK. That was a long time filled with a lot of stopping or quitting moments. He kept going. Why.

It says in the passage regarding Noah that he walked with God. When I am running with James “the machine” Zwiefel, he tells me that I am not tired yet. I argue with him between gasps of air but he usually wins and I keep running. By coach knows that I can do a lot more than I feel I am able.

The first time we ran 3 miles I was tricked into it. It was actually 3.8 and when we finished I realized that 3 was no big deal. So what in your life looks like a half mile hill? What feels as impossible as 3 miles did? God your coach wants to walk you through it. He wants to see you victorious on the other side.

One final thought: For every up hill there is always a down hill!

Maybe it is time...

I love the way Erwin McManus says it in his book Unstoppable Force: “The center of God’s will is not a safe place but the most dangerous place in the world.” Then he makes a great distinction: “To live outside of God’s will puts us in danger; to live in his will makes us dangerous.”

Maybe it is time… to do something that scares you to death but if you don't do no one else will.

I am tossing around starting a web page that would be a dialog of the future of the AG. Who will lead and who will step up to vote and make a difference? If we as a young generation showed and voted we could have fresh leadership overnight. What Power we have as young leaders. But will we show? (I say that and feel guilty because i am about to have a baby then and my wife is needing me to stay home and take care of her.) But others will be there and could if they wanted to make a difference. So pray with me about this.

If nothing else at least it would be a place to rally who knows what could come out of it? The ideas exchanged the people reached and encouraged because we collaborated. I am working on the details so any help you can give let me know.