tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-101928038092567382011-11-11T23:54:56.891-05:00LOVE because it is why we exist... RISK because true faith requires it... HOPE because God is for usdavid hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.comBlogger621100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-15235619765717607752011-06-11T06:56:00.000-05:002011-06-11T06:56:39.044-05:00

Last Summer we did two things that very few churches actually do; 1) we met our monthly budget and 2) we grew significantly over the Summer months. The first one was because we all gave generously and made sure that we gave online even if we were out of town on vacation. It was truly amazing to know that this is possible when we all pull together and do our part. I ask you to please stay

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-28187813386239993212011-06-10T00:27:00.002-05:002011-06-10T00:27:23.830-05:00

One of the greatest things God is forging in our church right now is a deep passion to love our local community in a revolutionary way. When we began our LOVE Revolution Project one year ago, I had no idea that God had all of these local impact movements in mind. In fact last year at this point I asked you all to give me your ideas of where we could make a difference locally in ten different

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-32280331579196823402011-03-24T21:58:00.000-05:002011-03-24T21:58:41.194-05:00

Let the rEVOLution begin! One year ago we began to make plans for the future as a church at UCity, a future that expanded our ability and capacity to express love to our local community. We didn’t just want to love… we wanted to LOVE in a revolutionary way that made people stop and say, “WOW… that is amazing!” We began by raising money so that we would be financially prepared to take action.

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-25061501543027218312011-02-02T23:56:00.000-05:002011-02-02T23:56:08.443-05:00

I wrote the following blog THREE YEARS ago. Many of you did not know me then and what God did in our lives during this time is was so life-changing for us that I felt compelled to share it again - in praise to God for His amazing goodness. Please read what I wrote in January 2008... Four years ago in 2003 we were celebrating the birth of our fourth child Lindsay. The day after Lindsay was

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-74365742813048806372010-12-18T09:11:00.000-05:002010-12-18T09:11:54.328-05:00

Unfortunately, I believe most Christ-followers in America have quit hoping. Our rationalistic society has has invaded our ability to hope and to expect amazing things to happen. And yet hope is the natural response to a life with God. Our current series “Expectancy” is one that is obviously tied to the Christmas celebration, but I also want to use this time to lay out some beginning steps

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-72578891503226602612010-07-29T05:07:00.002-05:002010-07-29T05:07:56.014-05:00

Day – whatever… I lost track! One of the best parts of this adoption journey so far is watching Tia and Garrett enjoy some of everyday pleasures of life that we so often take for granted. Things like being able to tie your own shoes (because they have never had shoes), going out to eat and ordering what you want (because they have never had a opportunity to choose what they wanted to eat) and

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-89685943548767908472010-07-27T15:00:00.002-05:002010-07-27T15:00:51.103-05:00

Today was the day the Hendersons have been waiting a long time for. This morning we went to the airport and met Brandon McSwain and Karey Digh. A few hours later we went and picked up Tim and Robin Rhodes and their family. It is just great to see people you have missed so much for five weeks and to watch their faces full of excitement for what lies ahead. I can’t wait for the other team from

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-43609353250720858712010-07-23T07:24:00.000-05:002010-07-23T07:24:26.003-05:00

I had a couple of days to really think about UCity and what an amazing opportunity we have to continue to pursue God and become a church that imitates his character through – generosity, humility, servanthood, compassion, and comfort. I am so enamored by these specific characteristics of God that were so completely displayed in Jesus. I am afraid that our American independent mindset has

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-91239996009675643162010-07-22T09:33:00.000-05:002010-07-22T09:33:08.108-05:00

At this point in our adoption journey we are really getting to experience what being a family of 8 is really like. There are tons of the “real – unreal” moments when I realize that I am experiencing everything I had prayed for and hoped for. For 18 months, the journey to bring these two amazing kids into our family seemed like it might never end. You settle into the reality that you have to keep

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-41139064406462357642010-07-20T17:46:00.002-05:002010-07-20T17:46:39.981-05:00

For those of you who may not know, the two newest members of the Henderson Tribe (Tia and Garrett) were born on Zadechu Island and spent the first four years of their lives there. This island is in the middle of Lake Zway, about three hours south of Addis Ababa. Through doing a little research, I discovered that there are five islands in Lake Zway, three of which are inhabited. The people that

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-81938328512074435372010-07-10T07:04:00.000-05:002010-07-10T07:04:13.634-05:00

It has just been way too hectic to keep up a journal of the daily activities. Besides, when I start to run through the day it seems to just come out as facts and not as thoughts. SO here are some new thoughts. This adoption journey has been a wild ride for the last few days in a couple of ways. First the chaos. We took the kids to the Sheraton hotel on Saturday (July 3) to hang out on the

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-7429808341186123272010-07-01T08:06:00.000-05:002010-07-01T08:06:25.076-05:00

Hello from Ethiopia. I hope everyone has had the opportunity to keep up with our journey over here through daily devotionals, blogs, facebook, emails and videos. Blogs: www.loveloud.blogspot.com (David) www.HendersonPartyofEight.blogspot.com (Mendy) We should be wrapping up adoption details by early next week and then the waiting begins for our Embassy date. In the meantime, we have

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-12443937517107452302010-07-01T07:05:00.000-05:002010-07-01T07:05:07.846-05:00

I woke up this morning at 4 AM, which is really crazy. Usually I don’t have this much trouble adjusting to the sleep schedule, but I’m usually not trying to juggle so much. Having the whole family over here is great, but it definitely requires more of my attention. Journaling and reading time are scarce trying to keep four kids comfortable in a foreign country. I am proud of each of our kids

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-61487150903433348762010-06-30T13:44:00.000-05:002010-06-30T13:44:20.639-05:00

Today we just hung out at the guesthouse all morning and early afternoon. I hope this becomes the norm because our whole family just needs time to hang out together – playing some games and getting to know each other. This is a little hard for us at the guesthouse setting. All the living areas are common areas – and they are nice, but we still feel like we have to monitor the kids rather than

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-36396328568321023092010-06-30T13:39:00.000-05:002010-06-30T13:39:59.153-05:00

No matter what I write today, it is going to be so painfully inadequate. The emotions of the day are overwhelming that I am just stunned. Both Mendy and I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night. Trying to wrap our minds around the impact of what today would hold was challenging. On the one hand, I had a lot of trust that we were doing everything we could do and confident that God would do

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-4480040243915318262010-06-27T08:14:00.001-05:002010-06-27T08:17:52.953-05:00

Day 3 – Rescue - June 26th, 2010 We had a great day today. Yesterday’s visit to see Tizita and Geremo seemed hurried and rushed and we didn’t bring any games to play together as a family. Today was completely different. Weeks ago Mendy had packed both Tizita and Geremo backpacks full of games and activities to interact with them. We rolled into the orphanage and Tizita and Geremo were

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-52541896423159867472010-06-27T08:12:00.004-05:002010-06-27T08:18:07.612-05:00

Day 2 - Rescue - June 25, 2010 We arrived in Addis Ababa today after a very long flight. Nothing terrible went wrong, but with all of our kids flying with us, neither Mendy nor I got to sleep very much. So needless to say, we are exhausted. We picked up our twelve bags and were greeted at the gate by Trent, Carmen, KiKi and Gavin Post, and Nicco! Man it was great to have people who know you

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-26956411836606101472010-06-07T23:05:00.001-05:002010-06-07T23:11:19.190-05:00

My grandma Jesse died tonight. She was 96 years old and really the events surrounding her death were pretty good. She began to really struggle health wise a few months ago but recovered. This gave us all a warning sign that maybe she wouldn’t be with us much longer. Our family took the hint and we drove down to south Georgia to see her two weeks ago. We had a great visit. When we got

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-59381833339569200222010-06-07T05:27:00.000-05:002010-06-07T05:27:18.858-05:00

I'm grateful today to God for allowing me and others to see His activity so evidently in the lives of people around me. Yesterday was an incredible day at UCity Fellowship. Celebrating the journeys of four very dear friends (Lonnie and Angela Clouse and Trent and Carmen Post) is an honor. I will miss them all tremendously, but I am so excited to be a part of the next thing that God has for them

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-71063211349280462312010-05-18T12:58:00.000-05:002010-05-18T12:58:44.320-05:00

There is a lot of talk that always happens in churches about being a “mature Christian.” And honestly a lot of it is a bunch of crap! The things that people usually point to as marks of “maturity” quite often have nothing to do with spiritual formation. They usually include some knowledge of the Bible with the ability to quote portions of it, and being able to have a conversation about

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-78458828989157389402010-05-15T00:11:00.001-05:002010-05-15T09:26:55.867-05:00

Many times when I am sharing the idea of the gospel with those who have not believed or received it, I use the idea of adoption. It's imagery is so perfect... (maybe that is why it's in the Bible!) But one of the facts of adoption is so profound yet rarely shared in the gospel conversation. It makes sense when we are talking about physical adoption, but we don't want to admit it when it comes

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-72314401657806402232010-05-14T13:50:00.000-05:002010-05-14T13:50:52.678-05:00

The more you think through the reality of adoption, the more you come face to face with the spiritual realities of God as my adoptive Father and me as the former orphan who is now fully his child. The more we engage in fighting for the sake of the orphan, the more we get a picture of how God fights for us. When I read this part of the book Adopted For Life I was struck with this reality. "

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-40824916704993387142010-05-14T00:17:00.000-05:002010-05-14T00:17:44.310-05:00

God is using UCity to lead a movement of compassion for the orphan. There are ten families in our church who have either adopted or are in the process of adopting... and many more to come hopefully. This Summer UCity will send out two of our own families to lead orphan care initiatives in Mexico and Ethiopia. And God has given me a vision of ensuring that every adoptable child in the NC foster

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-5333207456797425792010-04-29T14:54:00.000-05:002010-04-29T14:54:47.363-05:00

What does it take to transform a city in a way that those who are being transformed AND those who don't want to be transformed (or feel that they don't need transformation) all agree that the transformation is a good thing? Many churches aren't attempting city transformation at all. In fact, their transformation strategy is simply "for everyone to come to our church and agree with our leader,

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-18542071518992064942010-04-09T23:11:00.002-05:002010-05-18T10:43:59.970-05:00

Three Things to Know 1) UCity's Love Revolution Project is moving forward. We will be announcing the total giving pledges in a few weeks. So if the Lord has led you to make a commitment to this project for the next 24 months and you have not filled out a pledge card, you can pick one up on the program table on Sunday morning. Here is a story that I heard today from one couple in our church.

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-26947398722864444362010-01-30T12:15:00.002-05:002010-01-30T12:15:53.363-05:00

We received bad news yesterday from Ethiopia concerning our mission to adopt twin 6 year olds. It was yet another setback in our journey of hope. And while disappointment sets in each time we face a setback, don’t feel sorry for us… we are learning and growing. As painful and as unwelcome as these experiences are, they give us the opportunity to ruthlessly trust God. He is definitely refining

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-11282910733268777982010-01-26T11:53:00.000-05:002010-01-26T11:53:25.476-05:00

My heart is so HOPEFUL. Mostly because I am an eternal optimist and believe the best is going to happen. I spoke with Nicco (our contact in Ethiopia) today. He said he has good news. They have finally received a document that could be the a key step in the process of completing our adoption. Now this may work and it may not work. But it is something they are trying and they are making

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-24297751278689689892010-01-15T11:18:00.001-05:002010-01-15T11:20:59.182-05:00

Today we did not get good news from Ethiopia in our pursuit of adopting twin 6 year olds. It is not the end of the journey, just a point where it requires new seeking, new discernment, new wisdom, new faith, and new action. We are deeply committed to caring for these two kids. The circumstances surrounding us being connected to them we believe were directed by the Lord. Our struggle is that

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-42114442146259189332010-01-12T02:58:00.002-05:002010-01-12T10:36:27.180-05:00

Below is an email that was sent to me on January 5th. It is a picture of how God is using a place like UCFellowship to bring intense change in the life of an entire family. I absolutely love seeing this entire family. Their faces radiate the change that God has brought... signs of God's activity. I love seeing this and I can't help but share it, for God's glory. As you read, please know it

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-22305559505848806872010-01-09T01:29:00.003-05:002010-01-09T11:06:53.845-05:00

I recently overheard four people talk about two messages they had heard from two different speakers. The speakers were John Piper and Andy Stanley. The conversation was largely about how deep and complex and awe-inspiring the Piper talk was and how simple and practical the Stanley message was. Then a comment was made along the lines of, "well you know the audience that Stanley speaks to

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-24989095421412601472009-12-24T02:23:00.002-05:002009-12-24T02:24:47.973-05:00

Tonight (Dec 24th) from 5-6 PM there will be a celebration of Christmas at Robinson High School for the entire community. Please make your last minute invites to your friends, neighbors and co-workers. It will be an amazing time together. Cafe opens at 4:30.I love the way many of you serve. More and more the majority of churches are made up of huge percentages of people who don't serve at all

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-59000373198915348242009-12-23T08:32:00.002-05:002009-12-23T08:39:15.712-05:00

Christmas Eve is going to be an incredible time for you and your family to join 100's of other families in our comunity to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It's Christmas UCF style. The community is going to be incredible, the music will be rocking and the worship will be intense, so join us at Robinson High School fro. 5-6 pm tomorrow night. UCFellowship.org.

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-74601659190961280272009-10-29T09:25:00.002-05:002009-10-29T09:27:55.488-05:00

I love to take every opportunity to let you guys know how God is using a place like UC Fellowship in ways that you may not be aware of. This week a two year old church in the Charlotte area emailed to me to say:During the retreat of our church’s elders last Saturday we all agreed that we need to sit down with you and have you walk us through your vision for UCF and how this is being implemented

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-31985869289291550762009-10-22T15:49:00.002-05:002009-10-22T15:51:32.886-05:00

A note to the movement known as UC Fellowship... a missional community that some call "church."Thanks for BEING UCFellowship. Notice I didn't say "being a part of" UCFellowship but truly BEING UCFellowship. You are the church. What you do defines who we are and so when you serve, we are a serving church; when you give we are a generous church. When you love we are a loving church. I want to

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-79275582931750047972009-09-12T22:30:00.002-05:002009-09-12T23:20:50.529-05:00

The series that we ended last week, Jon and Kate PLUS, is one that has obviously had a powerful impact on people in and around UCF. This whole topic of marriage and parenting is so close to my heart because I know it is so close to God's heart. It was God that create this whole idea of marriage, 1000's of years ago, so it kind of stands to reason that everyone ought to at least consider his

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-49127039640267390502009-04-30T23:26:00.001-05:002009-04-30T23:28:29.683-05:00

This post is in response to a group learning activity that we had during out Neighborhood Gathering on April 26. I said I would post responses to the penetrating questions we used here so you could know what I think. There are five questions and I will create a new post for each question.4. I came here because I heard your church was a friendly place, but other than someone saying “Hi” to me at

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-13911117328413368382009-04-29T23:40:00.001-05:002009-04-29T23:40:58.995-05:00

3. Speaking of money, why do you keep pushing us to give more when our country’s in the middle of a financial crisis?Your only protection against a recession is to follow God. Your only protection when we are not in a recession is to follow God. I am challenging you to be truly generous people, holding on to everything loosely. Our economic outlook has no influence on what I am going to

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-62188871415776671672009-04-28T10:43:00.000-05:002009-04-28T10:44:36.518-05:00

Why are we always serving the poor? People with money have problems, too, you know.As I said in the response to yesterday’s question, I don’t think we get to choose who we will serve. We are humanity’s slave. That applies to where people live and it applies to their economic standing. We are called to serve the poor, serve the rich and everyone in between. A few thoughts to consider:-

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-47158897719924158612009-04-27T05:01:00.002-05:002009-04-27T05:11:10.505-05:00

This post is in response to a group learning activity that we had during out Neighborhood Gathering on April 26. I said I would post responses to the penetrating questions we used here so you could know what I think. There are five questions and I will create a new post for each question. Why are we so concerned about people in Ethiopia and Mexico when there are lots of people with needs right

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-66661751164182611982009-03-26T08:00:00.000-05:002009-03-26T08:02:10.252-05:00

Several things are beating around in my head this morning.One – We have an amazing collection of people that serve as the lead team of UCF. This morning we just had an incredible conversation about trust, accountability and mission. I love how God has molded this group into a subtly powerful force for the kingdom. Not in the normal sense that you might think of from other church leadership

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-67849282986366131242009-03-24T21:19:00.000-05:002009-03-24T21:20:38.805-05:00

For several years Mendy and I have talked about (and around) the idea of adopting a child. But most of these conversations had the tone of “one day” or “some day” or “we’ll see what happens.” This tone began to change two years ago when I spent the night on the streets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with a few orphaned street kids. When one of these boys told me that his mom died when he was five

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-24130674058242043072008-07-10T23:14:00.003-05:002008-07-10T23:24:36.812-05:00

Okay guys, I am sorry for the slow update on the Nance Bay Buffalo Nickel Auction which ended on Monday. For those new to this topic you need to read the previous post. The numbers that I am going to report are only significant as they relate to the story of God’s work in the life UCF and the people who are moved by God to accomplish his work. I could write for a long time of the endless

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-78352659254059981842008-06-20T11:16:00.006-05:002008-06-20T12:26:31.254-05:00

First I want to introduce you to someone who has been to UCF twice. His name is Nans Bay. In the picture, Nans (on right) is standing with Joe Pelham, a regular at UCF. Joe met Nans in uptown Charlotte on a Sunday afternoon several months ago. Nans is one of our friends who doesn’t have a home and lives on the street. Joe picked him up for church back in May for his first visit and this

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-47740738674062715822008-05-21T22:27:00.001-05:002008-05-21T22:28:24.429-05:00

I think this past Sunday was an incredible wrap up to our UCF Backstage Series. I am in awe at God's providence and plan. I was excited going into the service because I knew the parts of the service that were going to be incredibly powerful - worship, parent-child dedication, the talk and the baptism video. Having a baptism video (that was shot at the baptism celebration on May 4th) at the end

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-84782114764446379842008-05-10T08:48:00.001-05:002008-05-10T08:50:40.783-05:00

Last Friday night's Movies in the Park (see www.MoviesInTheParkHarrisburg.com) was incredible. We simply created a perfect night for families in Harrisburg (1500-2000 people) to enjoy some great time together. Family after family thanked me for putting on an incredible event. The most impressive part to everyone by far was simply the friendliness of the volunteers. I also spoke with a couple

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-75471121762903559262008-05-03T00:29:00.001-05:002008-05-03T00:30:37.108-05:00

Amazing!!! What an incredible night tonight was. Our first Movies in the Park event could not have been better. After 1900 hits on our MoviesInTheParkHarrisburg.com website yesterday, I was a little concerned that we would be completely overwhelmed with 12,000 people. However, this time we were ready. At 8:15 the Cabarrus County Sheriffs Dept. called the park “full” and a few thousand people

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-32357190076692350052008-05-02T07:27:00.002-05:002008-05-02T07:32:43.160-05:00

This weekend is UCF all out! -Friday - Movies in the Park @ Harrisburg Park @ 8 -Saturday - AIDS Walk @ Uptown Charlotte @ 9 -Sunday - Baptism Celebration right after the Neighborhood Gathering.This Sunday is going to be incredible. I am anticipating an amazing day as we celebrate those who have trusted Christ over the last few months and are following him in baptism. I love the journeys that

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-44361452167050616872008-04-07T00:47:00.002-05:002008-04-07T00:51:14.963-05:00

This Sunday was one of those days that we had a great plan and everything worked. I know that God is always present (when people say “God showed up” it is always odd to me) but there are sometimes when we are more aware or in tune with his presence than others. Today was one of those days for me. I knew that God wanted me to turn the focus of The Compassion Ripple on the ripple that is closest

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-62333384190233363382008-03-20T09:45:00.007-05:002008-05-02T07:36:21.926-05:00

We had a great idea to throw a party for Harrisburg AND 8000+ PEOPLE SHOWED UP! We approached the town of Harrisburg a few months with the idea of doing The Great Harrisburg Egg Drop. The idea came from hearing about it at a few different churches around the country. But our real motivation behind the event was the question, “what does our community really need?” We feel like the Harrisburg

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-71764275650330846092008-01-03T14:27:00.000-05:002008-01-14T22:47:44.216-05:00

Four years ago we were celebrating the birth of our fourth child Lindsay. The day after Lindsay was born during a routine check of Mendy’s vital signs, the doctors became concerned about an irregularity in Mendy’s heartbeat. After a few tests, the doctor’s scheduled an immediate appointment with a heart specialists. After several heart tests including an echocardiogram, Mendy was diagnosed

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-40361481974425743332007-10-29T22:33:00.000-05:002007-10-29T22:35:08.772-05:00

Today when I got to my desk I had a small package sitting on it. I opened it to find a DVD from Scott Hofert and Matt O’Neil at Watershed Church in uptown Charlotte. The video came as a thank you from them to University City Fellowship on their two year anniversary. It doesn’t seem like that long ago when we helped them launch. And I am filled with joy that we had an opportunity to play a

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-53243901915198803682007-09-27T09:54:00.000-05:002007-09-28T08:34:38.129-05:00

Every once in a while when speaking on Sunday mornings (more often for me than others) things get a little twisted and some clarification is necessary. So periodically I will post some things I should have said on Sunday. My wife Mendy, thinks I ought to start a post titled “things I shouldn’t have said on Sunday” as well. In order for this to make sense, you need to listen to the talk from

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-25665800052620397162007-09-10T13:31:00.000-05:002007-09-10T14:07:41.201-05:00

Yesterday was huge!!! I am pumped about our new series and our Kidstuf kickoff. The ingenuity that went into transforming the auditorium from our main neighborhood gathering into the most incredible kid's environment in the area is amazing! Several years ago when I first heard about Kidstuf, I imagined a day like yesterday happening at a church that I was a part of. I simply loved the idea of

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-31891329674991757202007-08-31T20:58:00.000-05:002007-08-31T21:28:59.700-05:00

I remember a conversation I had with someone who had been to UCF a few months and wanted to know a little more. At the end of our conversation he called us a "dangerous church." Dangerous in the sense that our desire to follow Christ takes on a barbaric, unconventional, sometimes inappropriate expression - but it IS unmistakably following Christ. Dangerous in that we are not bound by the usual

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-32760095215632856332007-08-31T20:21:00.000-05:002007-08-31T22:03:11.040-05:00

This past Sunday's baptism was one of the highlights of the six years that UCF has existed. It is hard for me to put my finger on why, other than the obvious (people expressing faith in Jesus Christ, people's lives changing, celebrating God and those relationships that He has used in the process of salvation). But there was something else about this baptism... there was freedom... joy... life.

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-8751850346251409812007-08-23T10:47:00.001-05:002008-04-07T00:57:41.230-05:00

ethiopia journal - feb 19 part 6"stone cold" At first we all sat with our backs against the wall. Soon the boy who wasn’t feeling so well curled up on the ground. Ephraim covered him up with a light blanket that he had. The taller boy curled up next to him and the other boy stayed against the wall. Within five minutes of us sitting down all three boys were sound asleep. The boy against the

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-86692495758692688332007-08-02T09:56:00.000-05:002007-09-01T08:21:58.691-05:00

A church, a building, a family and lake langanoOften times I am asked, "why doesn't UCF have a building yet?" We are a church that is 6 years old and most new churches our age have already bought land (or maybe I should say are making payments on land) and are trying to rally their people to build a building. I sometimes get a little defensive when I am asked this question, but the ultimate

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-83828472151531583012007-06-10T23:55:00.002-05:002008-04-07T00:57:18.959-05:00

ethiopia journal – feb 19 part 5“meskel square”After what seemed to be about an hour we left Ephraim’s house and walked up the stone pathway toward the street. Two of the boys stopped to pee. This happened several more times. Ephraim said that all the street kids have very small stomachs and bladders because they simply don’t get that much to eat. Each of them stopped to pee two or three

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-73897607671691035672007-06-08T12:08:00.001-05:002008-04-07T00:56:55.773-05:00

"epraim's house ... and hope" ethiopia journal - feb 19 part 4As we left the first group, one of the guys who was following us earlier got up and followed us again but he soon gave up interest. However, we did attract the attention of another man who happily followed us. After walking a couple of miles through the streets, we arrived at Ephraim’s living place. (I call it a living place because

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-13747589743309554942007-06-02T23:30:00.001-05:002008-04-07T00:56:30.019-05:00

"No place to lay my head" ethiopia journal, feb 19 part 3As Andrew and I began to sit down, a boy who was probably 14 or 15 jumped up and gave me a piece of the cardboard he was sitting on, so that I didn’t have to sit on the dirt. He gave the other piece he had to Andrew, which left him with nothing left to sit on. It left me in awe! This little gesture was so amazing to me. The thought

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-26149292054104951472007-05-31T15:13:00.002-05:002008-04-07T00:56:03.588-05:00

"three boys" ethiopia journal – feb 19 part 2We met at 11:00 and started walking. It didn’t take us long to start really talking about what we were going to do. Andrew (my fellow UCF adventurer) said something that I had thought a lot about. He said he was glad we were doing this but he realized that we would never really be able to identify with the street kids because we had showers,

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10192803809256738.post-27462556104421863712007-05-30T08:30:00.002-05:002008-04-07T00:55:23.026-05:00

"What does God want from me?"ethiopia journal – feb 19, 2007Last night was one of the most real/unreal experiences I have ever had in my ministry or really in my life. It started with an idea I had the day after we played soccer with a few street kids. The thought was, “I wonder what their lives are really like.” I mean nothing in me can fathom kids really existing on the streets in ANY place

david hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07403191800049599136noreply@blogger.com0