"Real. Different. Church." Has been our clarion call nearly since the inception of The Well. Our hope first and foremost was to have a Real, life giving, life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Not as a function of religion, but out of a Real relationship. To be Different. It is easy to say you love people and value community, every church says that. It’s requires something Different to do all the hard work of it. The Church is called to be Christ in the world, not to invite the world to church. We live to make a difference in the lives of those around us through authentic relationships with Jesus and each other. We love people into deeper levels of relationship with Jesus Christ.

"Real. Different. Church." Has been our clarion call nearly since the inception of The Well. Our hope first and foremost was to have a Real, life giving, life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Not as a function of religion, but out of a Real relationship. To be Different. It is easy to say you love people and value community, every church says that. It’s requires something Different to do all the hard work of it. The Church is called to be Christ in the world, not to invite the world to church. We live to make a difference in the lives of those around us through authentic relationships with Jesus and each other. We love people into deeper levels of relationship with Jesus Christ.

Every year at Christmas kids are warned with stern tones, “You better watch out! You better not cry! Santa is coming to town!” The not-so-subtle implication is that if you are bad, you will get NO PRESENTS. As children, some of us test the limits of this lyric, only to find that Santa's benevolence seemed to have no bounds. This makes sense being that he is fashioned after the character of Christ, whose birth we celebrate on Christmas. What a beautiful picture then for us to celebrate - a Savior who comes to us regardless of our behavior or worth and pours out his love lavishly. And His Love Never Fails.

The holidays are a natural time of hope and joy for many, but for others they are times of deep pain and remorse. Cultural wisdom says mitigate your enthusiasm, manage your expectations, and don’t get your hopes up. Jesus seemed to teach the opposite. That doesn’t mean you won’t be let down or disappointed, but rather the greatest weapon we have against living in a state of pain is a state of Hope. So this holiday season, let’s Get our hopes up and then live at the place of our highest hope.

Paul said, “Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.” Even in the midst of their pain and suffering they were looking to make a difference in the lives of others, through Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul saw his suffering as a gift, first to Jesus and then to those he was suffering for and with. This year we are taking the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others through sacrificially giving of our lives, our faith and our finances.

Stories are the universal language. Stories captivate our hearts and even bring clarity to our hopes and aspirations. Every year we like to look at our cultural stories, our modern day parables (movies) to find those redemptive streams that work their way into our collective hope. This year we will be looking at stories that remind us to not give up on people, be careful about snap judgments, and never try to do this life on our own.

Stories are the universal language. Stories captivate our hearts and even bring clarity to our hopes and aspirations. Every year we like to look at our cultural stories, our modern day parables (movies) to find those redemptive streams that work their way into our collective hope. This year we will be looking at stories that remind us to not give up on people, be careful about snap judgments, and never try to do this life on our own.

Stories are the universal language. Stories captivate our hearts and even bring clarity to our hopes and aspirations. Every year we like to look at our cultural stories, our modern day parables (movies) to find those redemptive streams that work their way into our collective hope. This year we will be looking at stories that remind us to not give up on people, be careful about snap judgments, and never try to do this life on our own.

Stories are the universal language. Stories captivate our hearts and even bring clarity to our hopes and aspirations. Every year we like to look at our cultural stories, our modern day parables (movies) to find those redemptive streams that work their way into our collective hope. This year we will be looking at stories that remind us to not give up on people, be careful about snap judgments, and never try to do this life on our own.

Solomon said the God set Eternity in the human heart. Meaning all of us know somewhere deep in our soul that life is more than the sum of the minutes we live. But too often life has the feel of diminishing returns. In other words, instead of feeling like more than the sum of it’s parts, it feels like less. It doesn’t have to be that way. We can live our lives in such a way where our lives outlive us. That’s the power of Legacy!