Looking Forward!!!

A Note for Parents

2011-02-23T20:03:00.002-05:00

This week, I have been home recovering from having my tonsils removed, nose fixed and several other small things that have left me pretty much in a daze since Friday. I'm weaning off the pain meds for now, although I'm told I will start to feel better soon, but then will feel much worse again in a few days, so I'm looking forward to that.

Anyway, tonight I was perusing iTunes, looking for some new music to listen to. I saw a few groups on the Grammy's a couple weeks ago for the first time, so I was just looking to see what the top songs are now.

I hear some of the kids singing some of the songs around church sometimes that are top 40, and Kidz Bop will be releasing a new album soon that my children will likely hear, so I just took a look. My mind was actually overwhelmed and shocked with what I saw.

I've never been one to shout and scream against secular music or avoiding Top 40 radio stations, but you need to pay attention to what is hitting the airwaves right now. Go to your iTunes, take a look at the top singles right now-expand the list. This is the stuff (some of it is edited on the radio) that our kids are hearing and singing and the messages they are absorbing. It seriously blows my mind what has come out over the last 2 years since "I kissed a girl" that is now normal and acceptable. Be aware of what your kids are listening to and taking in! Be proactive!

There are 2 mainline morning radio stations here in the ATL that fully embrace and promote the homosexual lifestyle. The Bert show on Q100 and Elvis Durand on 105.7. If your kids listen to these stations, know what agendas are being pushed and are being "normalized" on these stations, even beyond their morning shows.

I'm not looking to argue or debate with people. I'm just a parent/youth pastor that is blown away by what our kids are hearing! As Christian parents, we need to be aware of what is coming into the minds of our children and students on the computers, iPods & radios we are buying for them.

Again, just go take a look at the expanded top songs list on iTunes. That is what is being played on the main stations that your kids-and even myself until now, are listening to. (Star 94, Q100, All the Hits 105.7). I have never believed in being separatists or being in a Christian bubble, but we are at a whole new level of secular assault on us and our kids that I don't know we have faced in the past.

I don't have all the answers, but I do know there are some artists that I will be deleting from my iTunes. If you are a parent or are a member of FBCM, as one of your pastors, let me advise you not to take this post lightly. Check out what radio stations your kids are listening to, along with the music that is on their phones, mp3 players, etc...

Now, I'm off to take some more pain medicine...

Tough Week in Ministry-Emotionally

2011-02-03T15:45:00.003-05:00

I love that God has called me into ministry. There are many aspects to vocational ministry, especially when you get to fill multiple roles! It definitely keeps you on your toes! It can be an emotional roller coaster at times. Sometimes you're celebrating the work of God in the ministry, planning and dreaming into the future and/or seeing your dreams come into fruition. Occasionally, there are challenges that you have to deal with-good and bad. Other times, you share the tough experiences of life with the people you serve within your congregation or in your community.

This has been a roller coaster week. Sunday was uplifting and exciting as we finished out an amazing month in the church, celebrating the increases we are seeing recently in the life of the church. Then, switch gears as Monday involved me officiating a funeral for one of the parents of one of my students. I've honestly done quite a few funerals, but this one was different due to the nature of the unexpected death and the dynamic of the family involved.

Today took the cake.

It is my oldest daughters birthday. She is 8. Tonight, my family will celebrate her special day, but this morning, I went to the hospital and stood with a father as he held his stillborn baby while his wife is fighting for her life in an ICU unit.

I know several people that have experienced this type of tragedy. My own family experienced this when I was growing up. My little sister Melea would have been 28 two weeks from today, but the Lord had different plans. I remember one time in high school talking to my mom about Melea, over 1o years after her still birth, and the emotions that still rose to the surface.

Then I felt bad for my mom. I knew it had to be painful. Today, this all means something more. It has been several hours since I watched the father hold his little, perfect looking, lifeless daughter, and my heart is heavy for him. Now, as a father myself, and as a husband, I can't imagine the hurt he is feeling. However, I know that God is in control. That little girl is now in the presence of Jesus, just as when King David mourned over the loss of his infant son, this father, a Christian, will one day be able to go to his daughter and spend eternity with her, worshipping our Savior.

This family needs your prayers. Again, this wife and mother is hanging on to life on this side of eternity. Pray for the strength, direction and peace of the Lord.

Tonight, time will continue to move forward. Life will move on for all-for some of us, here on earth; for others, it will be in eternity. Irregardless, it will keep on moving. Life brings happiness as well as sorrow, God brings peace and hope. There is a time to be born, a time to die, and a time for everything in between. Christ is present and aware for all of these times.

Missions Opportunities & Looking Forward to Labor Day Weekend!

2010-09-02T23:31:00.002-04:00

I had the chance today to go to a luncheon hosted by my friend Leo Seminov, with www.tear.org, where he, along with Allan Taylor from FBC Woodstock, shared about a new work they are doing to equip church leaders in Slavic speaking countries in small group strategy and implementation, as well as coaching in the areas of service structure and planning, hospitality ministry, age-group and family ministries, etc... I'm excited about the possibility of us partnering with him in the future to go train leaders, as well as partnering with a local church to work with them in supporting their ministry!

We are in the midst of exciting, incredible days at FBCM! The changes that Mike has made regarding the platform set-up and appearance are awesome! As a member of the band, I am loving standing with the choir, as I feel more of a part of the worship instead of off to the side just "playing". On a related note, I was able to get a new bass this week, which has much stronger pick-ups than my old one, so we spent a little time this morning moving the subs off the wall a little as it was rattling pretty good at some lower frequencies!

I also planned "Redneck" weekend for our students this week, and made some reservations for our Senior Adult fall apple trip this week. More information will be posted on the church website once we get everything approved through the calendar.

We also were able to get some new speakers for our youth room, they sound great-especially now that we have a full band! Be praying for our students. They have tons of potential. My prayer and goal is to help them see their potential in Christ begin to be realized! You can follow our student ministry more closely on Facebook. Search for "First Baptist Mableton Student Ministry".

We will be starting children's church for our 1-3 graders next weekend (after Labor Day). I'm looking forward to that! I think it will be a great thing for our families as more and more young families are visiting and joining!

Pray for our staff and lay leaders as we are preparing and planning for all that is going on! God is blessing! Our Sunday Morning Bible Study attendance is increasing, along with our Sunday Worship attendance!

I'm excited about Labor Day! It'll be nice to have a few days off hanging out with the family! We're all back to the grind next week!

Be in worship this Sunday morning! God is moving! Watch the videos online! We are in exciting days!

Busy Weekend is Underway!

2010-08-12T18:05:00.002-04:00

I just finished my last assignment for a seminary class I have been taking over the summer. I'm looking forward to my planned graduation date in May! I have had enough of school for a while!

Now it's time to focus on prep for the Global Focus Seminar this weekend, along with prepping to speak at FBC Acworth Saturday evening!

Tomorrow evening I'm driving FBC Woodstock seniors to a ball game, then EARLY Sunday morning, I'm driving Newsong to the airport on their bus, getting back to the church in time to teach a church-wide SAMBS class, followed by a full rest of the day! I'll be glad to breathe on Monday. For now, it's time to go get tables set up, music prepared and notes studied...and I'm sleepy!

Time for my 17 month Update!

2010-08-11T16:02:00.003-04:00

It's time for an update. Much has happened since March of '09. Lisa and I have another child. I'm serving on staff at FBC Mableton. It's been awesome. We're seeing life change, and growth within the church! The new website is coming online within the next few days, you will be able to see it at www.fbcmableton.com. Enjoy!

Amazing Song of Prayer For Us At This Time

2009-03-25T22:30:00.003-04:00

Lisa and I are in a transitionary stage of life. I had this plan a year ago of what we would be doing now. God has laughed at that plan.

As I ended the mentor program, Lisa and I made another plan to prepare for our next steps of serving Christ. They were plans that made sense to me, and they weren't bad, but they weren't necessarily what God has planned, at least for how it looks right now.

I thought we were immune to the economy. I am working for Alex at Chick Fil A, and business is up from last year. Lisa is teaching. You've got to have teachers. Evidently, you don't need as many teachers as I thought.

Cherokee County has decided that they aren't going to renew contracts for every teacher that was part time this year. That has made things a little stressful. This really throws a kink in my plans! However, it doesn't throw one in God's plans! Due to the worsening economy, other counties aren't hiring like they were in the past.

So here we are, at a point of dependance on God, praying for what's next, but truly ready to say "yes and amen", whether that means serving God in this area, another area, another state or country.

We truly need direction! There are options, but I don't want to follow options, I want to follow God's desire for us as we serve Him.

It's My Pleasure...

2009-01-19T10:01:00.002-05:00

The mentorship has come and gone. 2008 screamed by! We're now waiting to see what's next.

Maybe we're their now, I don't know.

For the time being, I'm working at a Chick Fil A in buckhead off of Peachtree Rd across from Piedmont Hospital as a manager. It's a cool opportunity. I'm trying to learn all I can about business, organization and managing people.

Chick Fil A is a class act. Everything must be done with excellence. They are all about "second mile service". Wonder where they got that ;)

It's been pretty cool. A Lambo came through the drive thru the other day, along with a convertible Bentley. We also provided all the food for Georgia Tech for the Peach Bowl-hope it wasn't our fault they got throttled! (CFA also provided the food for LSU).

Dr. Price told me one time to be successful in ministry, I should have the Chick Fil A mentality. Whenever you thank a CFA employee, their response is to be "It's my pleasure". He was teaching me that when responding to people, even the ones that we don't like that much, our attitude is to be "It's my pleasure to serve you". I figured I should go learn this first hand!

If you're in the area of P'tree and Collier, and you have a craving to "Eat More Chicken", or you need an amazing milk shake, stop by!

Baby Aiden

2008-12-01T12:12:00.003-05:00

Aiden came a couple of weeks early! Check out a video I made for him on Lisa's Blog!

It was a great thanksgiving-and we didn't have to cook a thing-except the "bun in the oven"!

Full Circle

2008-11-19T17:17:00.005-05:00

It's been nearly a year now since God rocked me out of my "safe zone" and led me to Woodstock to be mentored by pastor. The crazy thing is that I'm back where I was a year ago as far as the thought process of "where do I go from here".

Initially I thought that I would sacrifice financially for 1 year for this amazing opportunity, but then God would put me back into a position of service making a more comfortable income to support the family. Now God has fixed my thinking. What if the step of faith to come to this point was just the first in a full flight of "faith step stairs"?

Dr. Price gave me some great insight recently when I was asking for his input in my life. He suggested that whatever excites me on the inside is where I should look to serve God. That is in the context of missions. Whether as a career missionary, a pastor leading a missional church, or as a missions pastor in a large church, I'm not sure. I may even be a church planter one day, but the context of missions is what excites me. I used to resent when people tried to pidgeon hole me as a "missions only" guy, partially because it was actually used against me in a court of "local church law", but also because there are many different areas of ministry that I enjoy, and I felt that people were saying I maybe I was inadequate to serve in other areas. Here's what I've learned. I'm overly paranoid sometimes, and in some other cases, I just need to get over things and move on. But I've also been reminded of an important principle. Other people will often discern your gifts or passions through observing you in action. People observed my love for missions in my life, even though I served in many areas of ministry.

Towards the end of my time at Acworth, I was able, with the help of some awesome givers and workers, to equip a pretty amazing block party trailer. We were able to do some parties in neighborhoods, as well as do some community events that impacted lives. They were even able to get into schools with the equipment after I left. I felt more fulfilled doing those activities than in most of the other things we did for the 3.5 years prior. I was able to lead groups from the church on international mission trips. They were awesome! I loved serving others and impacting lives. I also loved seeing others become passionate about serving God. Short term mission events are a great catalyst for encouraging people in their walk with God. I became passionate about serving God because of a summer spent in China during the beginning of my college career (remember, it was 11+ years from start to finish...too bad there's no retirement in that!).

I say all of that to get to this. I got to go with Pastor Johnny to Southeastern Seminary a couple of times this year. The first trip, I learned of the 2+2 program, where you go to school on campus for 2 years, then overseas doing church planting stuff for 2 years. At the end of the program, you have your M.Div. I like that program because I love doing missions. I also like the church planting side of it. I want to think like a missionary. I truly believe that pastors of the future that are going to reach their full potential for the Kingdom are going to have to think more like missionaries and less like traditionalists. The United States now has the 3rd highest non-Christian population in the world. We need pastors and church planters (many which already are) that are missional in their thinking.

Anyway, we went back recently, and I came under conviction that I need to do that program. That is fine with me. I really want to do it, but the issue is the timing. Is God wanting us to go now, or in the fall, or in the fall of '10, when we can have all student loans gone-which needs to be done before we can do anything with the IMB anyway. Questions Questions Questions. To go now, it would take an absolute miracle of God-but He does like to show off, and He has done so in an amazing way this year.

I say all of this to introduce this-it is a lesson I got to teach in a church in Russia back in January-just 2 weeks into the mentorship, when I didn't know if we would make it or not. My words have come back to "haunt" me, but they remind me of the faithfulness of God! Maybe they can encourage you.

Are we going to Wake Forest in 6 weeks? Probably not. Will we ever go? I don't know. I know that I desire to do something amazing and significant with my life, no matter in what area of ministry or the globe it is in. I remember a night of prayer when I told God I would leave Acworth, but please give me a direction to go. I need that direction again!

Introduction to Faith

Definitions of Faith

Biblical Definition:

Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the confidence that what we actually hope for will happen. It gives us assurance of what we cannot see.”

Dictionary Definition

Faith: belief and trust in and loyalty to God; complete trust; something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs

James 2:14 “Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone”

The faith that is being described here is “dead” faith, or useless faith. Some people might argue that Ephesians 2:8 tells us that we are saved by grace through faith, not works. That’s true, but he’s going deeper here. James is telling us that if we are true Followers of Jesus Christ, then our faith, though not purchased by our actions, will be proven by our actions. He is very bold here. He is saying if you are not living for, following or serving God, or loving and helping others, then you’re not a true follower of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 5:44 tells us to love our enemies. Matthew 22: 36-40: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’* This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
The Bible teaches that our actions are just as important as our faith. True faith has actions that accompany it. The faith the Bible is speaking of is a faith that changes your life! It changes the way that you think, which changes the way you live.
Faith is so much bigger than we can imagine. So many people think that the only purpose of faith in Jesus is so that you can go to heaven. That is selfish. It is true that if you believe Jesus died and rose again and if you ask Him to forgive you for your sins, but that is not to be the extent of your faith-just belief.
The faith of the Bible and true faith in Jesus results in following Jesus. It is active. Following Jesus means that you love God with every part of who you are-your emotions, your soul and your mind, and when you love God this way, it impacts the way that you live. When you love God this way, it changes the way you feel about others. Jesus says love God, and then love others-even our enemies!
That’s hard for me. If someone does wrong to me, I don’t love them, I resent them. Jesus says, “Love your enemies”. He says, “Love our neighbors as we love ourselves”.
This is important because Jesus loves people, and when you have true faith in Jesus, you love what Jesus loves. Everything Jesus did was because he loves people. Jesus is the ultimate example of unselfishness.
Faith that does not result in actions-in changing your desires and life-is not the kind of faith that allows us to go to heaven, because it is not true faith. True faith changes us.
Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven”

True, authentic faith in Jesus Christ is not just an emotional experience or a simple prayer. It is a commitment to follow Jesus Christ with our lives, seeking to do His Will.

What is the Will of God? To love Him enough to follow Him with our lives, to love Him enough to do whatever He tells us to do, even if it doesn’t make sense! Faith in Christ is not about saying a prayer and then living life how we want to, just passively experiencing life. Faith in Christ is a decision that says “Get up and go!”

In His Book, Chasing Daylight , Erwin McManus states, “You cannot follow God in neutral.” “We react when we are forced out of neutrality. We act when we refuse to stay there.” “If there is one secret to seizing divine moments, it is that you must take the initiative.”

Faith in Christ is about acting upon what God leads us to do. We react to the call of God when we become a Christ follower. At that point, we act upon that decision actively following God. We must refuse to stay still when following God! Faith calls us to be active in pursuing God! What are your gifts and abilities? What are you good at? How can you use that to follow God? How can you use your gifts and abilities to help your church? How can you use your gifts and abilities to help others here in your city to come and know God?

The decision to become a Christian is just the beginning of faith. James 2:19 says that the Demons believe in Jesus and tremble. Faith is not just belief. Faith is a lifestyle of following Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 12:1-4 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.* He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven. 3 Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don’t become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.[2]

There are moments when God is going to test your faith. It’s easy to say, “Yes, I believe in Jesus so I can go to heaven.” It’s another situation to say, “Yes God, I’ll do whatever you want me to do, whenever and however you want me to do it.”

Faith won’t always make sense. It doesn’t make sense in the eyes of those who don’t know Jesus to share Jesus with others. It won’t always make financial sense. It won’t always make social sense. But, if you will follow God, have the faith that He desires for you to have, He will do amazing things in your life that you would never have imagined you could be a part of!

Philippians 3:12, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.”

Don’t miss the defining moments of your faith-when Jesus tests you to see how serious you are about following Him. Keep working your faith-keep following Jesus, so that one day you can be the follower of Christ that He desires for you to be.

Are you ready to really live the amazing life of faith that God desires for you to live? The life you live will depend on the decisions you make when God challenges and tests your faith, to see how serious you are about following Him. Faith will change your life!

Winding Down...

2008-11-09T23:11:00.002-05:00

This past year has been incredible. The reality of the end being near is setting in. We've had one last rush of travel over the past couple of weeks, and this is the last week of travel for the year. This past weekend was the last bus trip. We went to eastern Kentucky. Tomorrow we fly to NC and FL, then to MS on Tuesday, then drive up to Wilmington at the end of the week. Then, it's just hanging around FBC Woodstock until the end of the year.

Here's a recap of 2008.

God has amazing things in my personal life.

He did great things in my relationship with my family!

He provided in amazing ways financially.

I finished college, met some great people, learned some incredible leadership lessons from Pastor Johnny and hit medallion status with Delta in June (now I can take 3 bags on a flight)!

I went to 2 foreign countries, 11 states (most multiple times- North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri & Indiana) and saw many parts of Georgia for the first time.

I got to attend some amazing conferences and schools (Stephen Olford school was great!).

I got to build a pretty awesome library (I just finished off my years budget with the latest Logos software, with some extras).

I enrolled in seminary. I'll begin in January.

I learned from Pastor Johnny what it means to make family time a priority.

I got to ride around in a couple of sweet private jets and Newsong's buses are awesome!

I should have bought stock in Cracker Barrell...

These are a few things that stick out from the year. So many great things happened. I look forward to the future, and what God does with Lisa and I.

One of the things I (probably mistakenly) thought for most of the year (and still to some extent) was that the financial sacrifices we made this year would be just for the year, then God would put my back somewhere making money again in January. God called us to take a huge step of faith a year ago, but I'm realizing that God doesn't call us to have faith for just a year. He calls us to rely on Him for a lifetime. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

As this year winds down, I could have never imagined what God would do in just 12 months. This year has truly been a "second chance" for time that I wasted in the past. I told Pastor Johnny this week that I will show him my appreciation with what I do in the future with what I've learned!

Now, I need to go to bed because I have a flight in the morning!

Catalyst-mic

2008-10-11T22:52:00.002-04:00

Catalyst was incredible! I got to connect with tons of people I hadn't seen in a while, which was cool, but the best part was that Lisa got to go with me. I'm glad that she has gotten to share lots of cool experiences with me this year. It allows our vision and dreams to align. She understands better where I'm coming from, and were able to dream and plan and pray together more in sync.

The worship rocked, and the preaching was great. I was totally impressed with Dave Ramsey's teaching on Leadership.

The gurus were great this year. They're doing Catalyst in Orange County next year. I'm trying to figure out how to get to that one!

Oh yeah...I'm a Liberty Grad

2008-10-11T22:45:00.002-04:00

I finally finished college this week. I know that lots of you have already accomplished this, but I finally did it, while working full time, part time and while neglecting my family. Did you do it that way? That's what I thought...I actually did 16 classes in 2.5 semesters (6 of those were the cleps I did this summer-while taking 4 classes, and making Dean's list in those. Oh yeah, I'm bragging...

Seriously, I'm finally done. I start grad work in January, but for now, I'm enjoying the breather!

It's really cool that we're leaving tomorrow for Liberty. Pastor is preaching at Thomas Road on Sunday night and at Liberty Convo on Monday morning. It's been 8 years since I've been on campus at Liberty, so I'm glad to be going back to my "Alma Mater". What a feeling of relief. It's also my first trip on a private jet. Hope this one is better than Travis Barkers...

This week would have been my 5 year anniversary at Acworth. I do strangely miss it there, but I'm glad where God brought me now. I can't believe how far I've grown in just 10 months. It's amazing what God has done in not just my life, but in my family life (and families life).

We're praying for the future. The mentorship is over in basically 10 weeks or so. I need to find a job!

A Little R&R

2008-09-17T21:48:00.002-04:00

The family and I are enjoying our first ever vacation that doesn't involve extended family. I absolutely (most of the time) love hanging out with both mine and Lisa's extended family, but it's nice to have some time by ourselves here at the beach. It's awesome. Pastor Johnny and Miss Janet are incredibly generous in letting us stay at their place this week. There is no other way we could have done something like this otherwise!

I've learned a lot from Pastor this year. His generosity is an example to emulate. I look forward to being able to invest in others one day the way he has invested into my life and in my family's life. A common key I've seen in great Christian leaders I've been around is a giving spirit. Pastor Johnny has it like it's a disease! Dr. Price is extremely generous and encouraging as well.

Jesus is generous too!

I'm reading a new book right now, Mark Batterson's "Wild Goose Chase". So far, so good. His book, "In a Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day" was a catalyst (following that particular conference) that God used in my life to shake me out of my comfort zone and take this incredible journey this year.

The count down is on!!!!

I have 3 weeks and 2 days, and I'll be finished with college! I passed all 6 CLEP tests this summer, and began work on my last 2 classes in August. PRAISE GOD!!! In just 2.5 semesters, I knocked out 16 classes (as long as I complete the work on these last 2 alright!). It'll be nice to have a breather for the last couple of months of the year.

We're praying over where to go in January. Some things are in the works, but nothing yet concrete. Hopefully we'll know something soon. However, knowing what God has been doing in our lives, as long as I have my act together, I know it'll be incredible!

Free Logos Book

2008-08-27T18:07:00.002-04:00

Hey, if you are not familiar with Logos software, it's incredible Bible Study software that gives you a full library on your computer. I have a copy that Brett gave me. I'm not familiar with how to use it to it's fullest potential yet, but I love it. They're giving away a new commentary for free here.

Huge Opportunity

2008-08-25T13:51:00.003-04:00

Last night I had the amazing opportunity to preach at FBC Woodstock. You can see a video of the service here. It amazes me how the camera adds 50 lbs...

God has absolutely been awesome in my life this year. It was great getting to see some old friends from Acworth. It was fun!

Today I'm moving boxes...back to reality.

Last night really encouraged me about the future!

It also encouraged me to go on a diet. Slim Fast for lunch.

Can you do this?

2008-08-19T21:08:00.000-04:00

This is crazy! I don't care who you are!

It's all a blur & Sermon Stealers

2008-08-15T23:03:00.007-04:00

Today we took the kids out on the lake. I took off on the waverunner, turned my head to make sure that noone was too close to me so that I could make a quick turn, and my glasses flew off and sunk (sank?). Now everything is blurry. I have a set of contacts that are a year old. I need them to last 4 days. Monday I'm heading out of town back to Knoxville. I'll be back late Tuesday. Hopefully I can get to the eye doctor Wednesday.

I completed another CLEP this week. Oh yeah. I'm down to 3 classes left for college. I will hopefully be knocking one of those out with a CLEP in a couple of weeks.

From looking at the syllabi's for my 2 classes that start Monday, it looks as though I'm about to be really busy for the next few weeks, in addition to all of the other stuff in "life" that's going on. There's lots of travel coming up. September is going to be busy!

I'm sick of people stealing sermons. I know guys that are church planters doing it. I know guys who are "established" pastors that are doing it.

I don't care what style you are. I don't care how much you do in your community or how good your heart or intentions are. If you take someone elses material and present it as your own, you are being dishonest and God doesn't honor a lack of integrity. Our ministries will always be limited if we lack integrity, not just morally, but in our teaching and preaching as well.

I've seen a lot of stuff this year as I've been with Pastor Johnny. I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. I'll be a better man and minister if I remember these lessons, mistakes and errors of others and avoid them!

I'm getting ready to preach next Sunday night at Woodstock for the 6:00 service. I have my text picked out finally, so it's time to put the message together (my own message).

Losers in the News

2008-08-08T18:22:00.002-04:00

What a jerk

What a freak

On a different note...

Clep #4 is done and now, barring any unforseen circumstances, I'm done with College in December! Rock on!

By the way, I'm praying for direction on what to preach at FBCW on the 24th. If God has suggestions through you for me, I'd be glad to hear them!

This year is rocking!

This Weekend

2008-07-23T21:59:00.002-04:00

Looking forward to hanging out with my friend Patrick and preaching at his church Sunday night and doing a little "Elvis" action for his seniors on Monday!

Also looking forward to Pastor Johnny being back! His sabbatical has been very boring for those of us left behind. Road trip next weekend! Hallelujah!

"Clep"tomaniac

2008-07-23T21:56:00.002-04:00

One of my major goals for this year is to come out of the mentorship finished with college. I need to pass at least 4 Clep tests this summer to do so. Today I knocked out #3!!! Business Management, C-ya! If I get all 6, then this fall will be much easier, which will be nice, b/c my brain is frying and I'm having difficulty with reading comprehension!!!

3.5 weeks until this semester wraps up!!!

Hobby

2008-07-22T01:13:00.004-04:00

I have a "plethora" of hobbies that many men don't, and that doesn't mean I'm wierd. It means I'm very secure in my manhood and I'll do what I enjoy doing.
With that disclaimer...
I love to decorate the birthday cakes for my kids birthdays. Below are some I made for AJ's 1st B-day.

I need to find the pics of Maegan's Dora Map cake with marshmellow mountains from a couple years ago. It was very impressive. Enjoy...

Unfortunately the train didn't survive the "boiling water" sterilization process, it no longer rolls...
A.J.'s personal cake to destroy. At that point, the Braves weren't as embarrassing as they are now.
We had a joint family party for AJ and my nephew Dom b/c they are only 1 day apart. A little soccer action!

Need for speed...It runs in the family!

2008-07-22T01:08:00.002-04:00

FASTER!

2008-07-02T16:38:00.002-04:00

Recently, I took my daughters out on the waverunner. My oldest (my crazy Mustang driving 5 yr. old) turned to me and shouted, "Take this thing as fast as it will go!!!" My wife isn't that brave (at least with me driving). She did get a little "out of breath" as we hit 55. She's also the one that would throw her hands up in the air and scream when I would fish tail (small drift) my Mustang (no worries, it wasn't at high speed). My kids are great!

Quote of the Day

2008-07-02T16:35:00.001-04:00

Annie, my 3.5 yr old, told Lisa today, "Mommy, sometimes cheese freaks me out".

On My Next Russia Trip

2008-06-19T18:32:00.004-04:00

I'm definately going here. Almost as funny as the 50 yr. old woman(who is on the TV news)that is suing Victoria Secret b/c her thong blew up and a piece of metal hit her in the eye (the injury is not the funny part) when she was trying to squeeze into it...Some events, even traumatic ones of this nature, are better left in the bedroom...

Definately My Daughter

2008-06-18T17:05:00.002-04:00

We just bought a Powerwheels "Mustang" for my daughters (and son one day). My oldest has already figured out how to put it in reverse, then throw it into drive to spin the tires. I'm such a proud dad. The other day, she was trying to race me while I pushed my son in the stroller. She realized she couldn't go faster than me, so she tried to sideswipe me. Thanks to my "lightning quick reflexed and great jumping ability, she missed. However, not all would have been as fortunate as me...She has her mom's mean streak, and my sense of driving like a moron. I rue those on the road the day she gets her license!

My New World In Academia

2008-06-18T16:56:00.002-04:00

Well, I just got back from taking a CLEP test. I passed it. Thank you Matt Goodwin for reminding me of the wonderful world of Clep! Only 5 more to go!

I also just got an email from Liberty that I made the Dean's List this past semester. That makes me laugh! Pretty cool. My current classes are about to wrap up and my new ones begin next week, so if everything continues to work out, then I will be DONE WITH SCHOOL in Deciembre!!!! Then comes Grad school. Anyway...

The month of Deciembre is a big one. I'll be losing my job (the internship ends), we'll (mainly Lisa) will be having a new baby, and I'll be finishing college.

It's amazing how fast this year has gone by. It's half way done. Pastor will be on Sabbatical in July, then the road will be getting hot in the fall!

Joel asked me last week if I sit and laugh at where God has placed me, and I thought about it, and laughed, and then answered yes. Pastor is now Prez of the SBC, and if anyone can do something about the current dismal state of it's existence, he can! What a year! It is absolutely amazing what God is doing in our lives!

Interesting Quote

2008-06-05T09:09:00.005-04:00

In the recent days, I have heard of several pastors and/or evangelists falling morally. As a person who served in a church where one of the previous pastors had a moral failure (and multiple ministers and leaders in that church had experienced them in the past-some not too distant!), I have a tendency to resent someone for having a moral failure b/c I've experienced the damage and after effects first hand. It doesn't just wreck that persons family-or ministry, it wrecks churches and staff members, as well as their families lives as well, and brings shame to the name of Jesus. Recently I was getting on a flight in Atlanta, and I was cutting up with the ticket agent, and when I told her I was a minister (and we had been having a pretty light, funny conversation-I had her laughing pretty good), she laughed and said we were all going to get it from God because ministers were phony. I couldn't really argue with her, since so many are. I told her I wasn't like them, but at that point it didn't matter what I said, because peoples perception is their reality, and frankly she was right about many of them. So, I was really nice, got her laughing again and hopefully left a good impression of not only ministers, but Christ, with her.

On the other hand, my heart does break for that person b/c they have hurt their families. The look of defeat on a pastors wife I saw recently who had a moral failure broke my heart.

Also, it reminds me to make sure I remain pure and close to God so that I don't go down that same path and put my family & a church through what I've been through, as well as those close to me.

One of the biggest impacts Pastor Johnny has had on my life this year has been seeing how he makes his family a priority, and how he treats Miss Janet. If I had kept going in the direction I was even 8 months ago, I would probably destroyed my family in the near future, not through a moral failure (at this point), but through neglect and emotional isolation. It breaks my heart reflecting on the way that I didn't prioritize my wife's emotional health while I was serving as a "minister", while I did my part in trying to "tend the flock"-(sacrastic tone here). I couldn't even
"tend to my family".

A common thread that I've seen among many of these men who have failed morally has been wrecked, neglected marriages. Once a pastor (or pretty much any man-especially one who is under the stress that pastors and ministers are continually under) isolates himself from his family, and especially his wife, it's just a matter of time before someone meets the emotional, and eventually physical needs he has.

One of the "little things" I did this year was re-work one of Pastors Men's Conference Powerpoints that he's doing in some churches that we travel to. One section dealt with "preventing affairs". He noted the increase in women having affairs, not just men.

One of the safeguards he mentioned is "Treat your wife in such a way that she would be a fool to go be with another man." I'm not necessarily trying to "keep my wife from having an affair" at this point-and she better not be thinking about it!!!, but I definately want her to know that she is important to me and my desire is to focus so much on her and our relationship to the point that she knows she wouldn't get the same attention from someone else and she would never even consider-or need to have even an emotional relationship, much less a physical one with someone else, because I meet her emotional-and physical (baby 4 is on the way-they're a great bi-product) needs. This not only protects her, but it protects me as well because if I'm focused on my wife the way that I should be, then I don't have the time, energy, or money to focus on anyone (or anything) else! I knew a lady that told me one time she was jealous of her husbands car b/c he put more money, effort and energy into that than he did in her! I'm not perfect in this area, but I'm definately making improvements, and I'm seeing it not only in my marriage, but in my relationship with my kids-especially with my daughters-who need a daddy to protect and show love to them. My girls won't lack a loving father figure in their lives!

With all that said, I'm working through a "Christian Ministries" class right now from Liberty. One of the books we're using is John MacArthur's "Fool's Gold". He makes the following quote on page 38 in his chapter on expository preaching when he is talking about the cool "side effect" of his preaching is that it immerses him in the Word of God and keeps him close to God, because

"the enemy of our souls is after preachers in particular,

and the sactifying grace of the Word of God is critical to our protection."

I can't emphasize it enough, the attacks are real! Guard yourself, and guard your marriage and family!

Crazy Couple of Weeks

2008-05-27T14:10:00.003-04:00

I just got back this past Tuesday (1 week ago) from Israel. It was an awesome trip. I don't know if it was what I expected, but it was definately incredible! The Sea of Galilee was amazing, and likely the hillsides look much like they did in the day of Christ, so I figure the same sunrises I saw coming up over the mountains next to the sea look the same as they did in Jesus time.

I got baptized in the Jordan by pastor Johnny, which had no necessarily spiritual context, other than a repeat of the public display of my commitment to Christ, but was really cool! You can see a video clip of it here. I'll see if I can upload some video clips, either here or to youtube. Newsong singing "Arise my Love" at the tomb was awesome!

Memorial Day weekend was fun. We had some friends over and cooked out, then while the women and children went to the pool, the guys hit the lake on my Waverunner. It was fun! We did a little tubing, skiing and wakeboard attempting (except for Kris, who actually can wakeboard). Tons of fun!

We are getting my oldest daughter registered for Kindergarten. She did well on her assesment today, so hopefully she will do well around the other kids-she has her moms mean, mischevous streak! (or mine, I'm not sure which).

I'm getting ready to go to Indianapolis to the SBC Convention. Pastor Johnny is going to be nominated for president. It's funny seeing the fight errupting around his nomination. The Calvinists are attacking him-which is wierd, because he's either predestined to be the president or he isn't. Also, the die hard "cooperative program" people are attacking him because he doesn't throw away millions of dollars for the convention paper pushers to waste, though he still gives tons to them. I believe the SBC is in a critical time right now. Most of the guys I know that are church planters, pastors, etc..., could really take or leave the SBC. Let the politicians fight for it while we go do something significant for the Kingdom! Scott White brought up a good point today in staff meeting. If the SBC expects us to tithe to the convention (which isn't Biblical in the context of a church tithing to a denomination), who do they tithe to? Good question, Scott! I haven't found anywhere in the Bible where we are commanded to give money for others to carry out the great commission. I know that many great missionaries are supported through the CP, but I know that in the context of church planting, from multiple church planting friends, that the North American Mission Board and Georgia Baptist convention do very little to help church planters, and expect a lot more back than what's given initially. I would like to see the numbers of how much money is kept in house for office and personnel (including associational missionaries) vs. how much is out in the field to the vocational missionaries. I would also like to know the ratio of office workers/directors/etc...to field missionaries in the SBC and NAMB and state convention offices.

Southern Baptists are becoming ineffective in this country and people are going to hell while we argue that people don't give enough money to a financial institution that is nearing the end of it's usefullness if the right leadership isn't put into place.

Bunch of controversial stuff to think about!

Joe Gibbs Racing is Cheap!!!

2008-05-03T23:36:00.002-04:00

If you saw the Richmond race a few minutes ago, the commentators didn't mention this, but here's the reason that Denny Hamlin stayed out and intentionally (I believe) caused a caution.

His tire was going down, but his team mate, Kyle (cheap shot) Bush was in contention to win, but Dale Jr. was pulling away from him and they needed a caution to bring them back together, so I'm pretty sure that Hamlin was instructed to stay out so that he could be the sacrifice (since he couldn't win) that would allow Busch to get back into contention to win. Nascar should check out the radio communication (or text messages) between the pit and Hamlin. I bet that's what really happened. At least if I was the crew chief, that's what I would have done!

Elvis in Myrtle Beach

2008-04-29T22:10:00.001-04:00

Just finished doing Elvis in Myrtle Beach. The response was awesome. There were about 2,000 people there. It was great. If you were here tonight, thank you so much for your great response!

Awesome Time

2008-04-24T20:12:00.003-04:00

Branson was great. The response to "Elvis" was great. Hopefully I'll have a video of it up soon on my new site. Russ Taff, a legendary Gospel singer, was there, and was very complimentary of the show, which was great, since he used to be with the Imperials, (the "first generation" Imperials were Elvis' back-up singers). It was a lot of fun. It was cool singing to such a huge crowd. I'll be singing at Jubilee next week in Myrtle Beach.

We got back from Branson around 4 am this morning. I got to sleep around 4:30 or 5 this morning, then back up at 9 to go do "Elvis" at FBC Rockmart. There was a lady there that saw me perform in Branson yesterday. She got back around 2. That was pretty cool.

I mentioned several months ago I have 3 big prayer requests I'm praying to God for. As of today, the first 2 have been answered. My "Elvis" equipment is getting old, and if I'm going to keep doing it, I'm about to have to spend some money on new equipment. I've pretty much quit performing in restaurants and corporate events and do it primarily as a ministry for churches and assisted living homes, mission trips, etc... I enjoy doing it for these causes, but I charge a lot less for them. I used my sound system a lot during my time at FBC Acworth, and started having problems with it a while back-nothing major, but I noticed it was having issues. Recently, my sound died temporarily at a show, but came back. Today, it wouldn't work at all. Thankfully, the church had a decent system in their fellowship hall. Anyway, I told them I had been praying for the funds for a new system, and I was working on a project for Jerry Vines that was going to pay enough money for it, so very soon I would have a new sound system. Anyway, this lady came up to me after the show and asked how much a new system would cost. I told her around $800, so she pulled out her checkbook and gave me a check for $800! I couldn't believe it! It was awesome. As soon as the check clears, I'll have a new system, ready to continue doing ministry. I'm looking at a little different system that will allow me to do more outdoor, community type events that will better handle a live band. I'm looking forward to more ministry! That frees up other money for a much needed jumpsuit!

Jubileeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

2008-04-22T16:45:00.003-04:00

I'm in Branson this week. These couple of weeks will be crazy. I'm trying to use this afternoon to get all my work done for this week. My Liberty classes are winding down soon. Only 12 left after this semester! That's exciting. Had lunch today with an Evangelist named Bill Stafford. He's probably one of the nicest guys I've ever met. It was fun. We went to Dick Clark's restaurant last night. Was hoping to see one of the guys from the Righteous Bros., but he wasn't singing last night. That would have been cool.

I'll be doing Elvis in the morning here for 2500+ people. That'll be fun. It should go well. Hopefully I'll be able to do it next week in Myrtle Beach too. Thursday I'll be at FBC in Rockmart. I'll have to mapquest that place, I have no idea where it is (except somewhere between Cartersville & Alabama).
I'm looking forward to hanging out with Patrick Lathem after the show. He pastors Second Baptist in Cedartown. The church is exploding. They're in an exciting time in the life of their church.

Well, it's time to do school work. We have a 12 hour drive home tomorrow. Then off to Augusta Friday-Saturday, Myrtle Beach Sun-Wed (or Thur) and to South Ga. on Fri-Sat. Israel is coming in a few weeks!

Truth in Advertising

2008-04-17T13:45:00.002-04:00

I found this pic on my computer. I love it. I took it in Big Lot's in Acworth a long time ago. "Honesty in Advertising"

I'm Sick of Hearing About...

2008-04-17T09:13:00.005-04:00

Pastors and church leaders falling morally. Come on guys! Get an accountability partner, have some integrity, take care of your marriage and keep your stupid pants on!

I'm hearing now of 1 to 2 guys per week having moral issues regarding sex, drugs, finances, or a mix of these issues! If we're called by God, let's be commited to Him! I'm not perfect, but this is getting ridiculous. The more I'm hearing of this crap, the more it's getting my attention that we all need to be on guard!

We're called by God. Let's do better.

Quote of the Day

2008-04-09T20:11:00.001-04:00

This is from the Chuck Norris Facts website.

"Chuck Norris and Mr. T walked into a bar. The bar was instantly destroyed, as that level of awesome cannot be contained in one building."

That is power!

Simple Church

2008-04-05T23:16:00.003-04:00

This past week we went to Ashville for a Simple Church conference with Eric Geiger and Pastor Johnny. It was awesome. Eric shared the mechanics of the simple church process. Pastor Johnny input his wisdom into the process. It was probably my favorite event so far.

My new website should be up soon.

Today Lisa and the family all went to Florida for a week at the beach. I'm here in the rain. I hate being in this empty house. Lisa informed me I'm not allowed to buy anything this week, so that takes all the fun out of everything. I did buy a new wireless router today so we'll be wireless again. She'll appreciate that.

School work is pretty wild. It's actually keeping me busy. I'll be able to get some work done this week!

I had some incredible wings tonight at Bogey's in Towne Lake (BBQ and Hot Sauce on them) while North Carolina got pounded! How embarassing!

Well, I have a Psyc summary to get to so I can post it in tonight b/c I work tomorrow.

It's an awesome time. I got to see some cool people from FBC Acworth today at a family anniversary party at Woodstock today. It's always fun seeing Acworth people. As crazy as some of the stuff was there, I loved that church and the community. I miss it. I miss my friends, but I'm enjoying the present and looking forward to the future!

Israel is Coming

2008-03-28T10:15:00.002-04:00

Hey everybody, I'm posting the text from a letter about an upcoming trip to Israel I am going on. If you are able to help out, you can send a check payable to FBCW, leave the memo line blank (for tax purposes), to me here at the church (Put my name on the envelope). The address is 11905 Hwy 92, Woodstock, Ga. 30188. Anyone who can help, it's greatly appreciated!

Dear Friends and Family,

God has been doing some amazing things in the life of my family and me as we prepare for our future serving God in ministry. After 4+ years serving at FBC Acworth, God has led us to a new place in life as we begin training for our next phase of ministry.

Through a series of crazy, unforeseen, “God-sized” circumstances, I am being mentored this year by my pastor, Johnny Hunt. This is an opportunity that not many people will get during their life times, and I am excited about what I believe God is going to do in our future. Over the next year, I will be traveling with Pastor Johnny, observing him “in action”, attending different training schools and conferences, sitting in on and observing staff & deacon meetings, extensively building my Theological Library, etc…This year is going to be an invaluable opportunity to prepare for ministry!

God has been faithful to us during this time. When we made the decision to follow God in this direction, it was a complete move of faith, primarily because of the salary difference. However, due to God’s blessings, both from friends and family & from Pastor and FBC Woodstock, and due to Dave Ramsey’s FPU and our getting out of credit card debt, and trusting God to provide where He leads, we have followed God’s leading in our lives to take this step!

One huge opportunity that has come available for me is to travel with Pastor Johnny to Israel in May! Some highlighted places we will be visiting include Golgotha (where Christ was crucified), the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, along with many other sites in Israel and Jerusalem! The cost of this trip is $2995. I look forward to the places I have read about in the Bible coming to life! As many of you know, I have been on many international trips. In fact, I just returned from my fifth trip to Russia January 15th after doing “Elvis” and ministering in many orphanages. For the past several years, God has blessed us and I have been able to pay for the majority of my travels out of pocket and have only raised minimal support. However, in order to attend this trip, and in order not to deplete a good portion of my travel & book budget, I need your financial support.

If you can help in this area, it would be a great blessing! Gifts are tax deductible.

Please pray for Lisa and I and the kids during this upcoming year! Maegan is 5, Annalyn is 3 and A.J. is 7 months old! My goal is to teach my children what it means to trust Jesus with our lives, to be willing to follow God in whatever direction He leads, and to show them that God is faithful and He does provide where He leads! I covet your prayers and support!

Sincerely,

Aaron Brookshire
aaronbrookshire@gmail.com
404-345-7008

Psychology Assignment

2008-03-26T19:11:00.003-04:00

Right now I'm taking a Psych class and an Inductive Bible Study Class through Liberty. One cool thing about many of my classes is that we study and then compare to a Christ focused world view. Following is a post from my homework assignment. They are a response to Alfred Adler's "Safeguarding Tendencies" that insecure people use to "protect" themselves. It's not too deep because it couldn't be over 250 words. Enjoy.

Adler’s “safe guarding tendencies” are a persons attempt to make themselves look good while making others look bad. In Matthew 22:39b, we are told, “love your neighbor as yourself” (NLT), which is as important as loving God. The “safe guarding tendencies” represent behaviors that many exhibit, but are biblically wrong.

“Excuses” are listed as the most common, widely used safe guarding tendency. In Genesis 3, the Bible gives an account of Adam blaming his sin on Eve, who blamed her sin on a serpent. Both Adam and Eve knew right from wrong, but chose to do wrong, and were quick to excuse their sin on someone else! That is an example of the selfishness exhibited in the common tendency of excuse making.

The second tendency mentioned is “aggression”. These tendencies directly contradict John 13:35, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” In no way are these aggression tendencies a luxury for Christian behavior, because they treat others poorly and/or excuse us treating others poorly.

Withdrawal is the third listed behavior. Withdrawal is wrong because it often manipulates others while it inflates us. Sin can be a withdrawal method (consciously or unconsciously) used so people can be complacent as Christians and not follow God, i.e. “I’m not worthy of doing … because my relationship with God isn’t right”. Jonah used withdrawal tendencies against God.

These tendencies are obvious in the lives of many people, including mine. They don’t represent the character of Christ.

WaveRunner Anyone?

2008-03-25T21:50:00.006-04:00

This is it. A 2007 Yamaha FX HO. 160 HP, is a beast out of the hole. We've wakeboarded, tubed and skied with it. It will do 60 mph with 2 adults on it. It's a 3 seater. It only has 17 hours, and the first 10 were the break-in period. I bought it on July 31st. It has a full 4 year warranty-after the 1 yr factory warranty, so it's covered until 2012 by Yamaha. It got the first service already ($100). I have 2 black Yamaha lifejackets & Yamaha bumper guard. Includes the trailer. 4-cycle gets great mileage. I can go from Canton to Acworth and back on around a half tank of gas. Handles unbelievably. Key fob alarm system. This thing was just under $12,000 out the door, not including accessories. I want $10,000 for it. I'm willing to pay a nice referral fee to someone who gets me a buyer!!! God wants me to sell it, and He probably wants you to buy it (without going into debt!)

Great Family Fun, etc... etc... etc...

Baptism This Past Saturday Night

2008-03-25T21:23:00.004-04:00

I had a dream come true this past Saturday at the (pre) Easter service at FBC Woodstock when I got to baptize my oldest daughter. She did great, especially considering that I was cued out at the wrong time so we got to hang out in the water through an entire song (in front of 2500 people). The really sad thing is that it isn't the first time I've been left hanging in the baptistry. The funny thing, besides the situation itself, is that no matter how big the church or how well you plan, mistakes can happen to anyone! It was a great service. Newsong sang, the music was pretty hot and Pastor Johnny was awesome. It was cool seeing the friends from Acworth that came to show their support. I'm grateful for the childrens workers there. They did a lot to influence my kids in a positive way with the Gospel.

We went to Freedom Church Sunday morning. It was awesome! JR is a great communicator and the music absolutely jammed. I do have to say even though they had more subwoofers than we did at FBC Acworth, our band was totally as good as theirs. The subwoofers were very nice though. We couldn't put anymore in at Acworth due to concerns about the stained glass windows breaking-seriously. I think great things will happen there. It's going to be fun to watch-even from the sidelines. For people looking for a strong, modern style church, you should definately check it out!

The kids stayed with Lisa's parents last night, so it was a great night to have an "at-home" date. That may sound goofy, but I can flat out cook-which contributes to my wonderful physic. I made some killer food and Latte's (check out http://www.landofathousandhillscoffee.com/) I get the dark roast. It's amazing coffee and the money helps widows and victims from the genocides in Rwanda. AAlso, FYI, the new "Bourne" movie was good.

Waverunner weather is almost here, and the lake levels are looking good!

OUCH!!!

2008-03-20T16:56:00.002-04:00

Pastor Johnny is out of town this week, so he gave me a few days off so that I could catch up on stuff around the house and also to spend a little time with my dad who got home from Iraq Tuesday.

This shouldn't happen, but our house, which is brand new that we moved into in January, was showing some signs of erosion on the edge of the small incline it's on. I figured, either spend a couple of hundred now and fix it properly or wait and have to bring in some professionals later. While I'm all about helping out the economy, I'm not ready to commit at that level. Anyway, yesterday I put out 100 decorative landscape blocks (the big, heavy ones), 40 of the smaller ones and a bunch of patio stones in the back. Today, I can't move. My entire body hurts. I would laugh at myself, but that hurts too. However, the front yard looks really good!

Also, I got to do a little "pastoral care" today. We (Jeremy and I) are helping the pastoral care department a little bit with some of the hospital visits. We attempted (some weren't in the rooms) 17 visits today in 3 hospitals. It took a little time, let me tell you. It was fun doing a little "pastoral" stuff again.

Sad News...A couple in our Sunday school class gave early birth to twins this past week. They didn't make it. The funeral is Saturday. I can't imagine the pain they're feeling right now. My heart hurts with and for them.

I love my kids.

I'm looking forward to the friends that are coming Saturday night for Maegan's baptism.

If everything continues to go well, I will be graduating from Liberty next May!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baptism Coming

2008-03-16T22:07:00.002-04:00

I get to baptize Maegan this coming Saturday night (3/22) at the 6:00 service at FBC Woodstock. Should be a great service. Newsong will be singing. It's going to have the band and singers from the contemporary service. It should be a fun night. It'll be in the new sanctuary.

Answer to Prayer

2008-03-14T22:25:00.002-04:00

Before my oldest daughter was born, Lisa and I prayed that she would come to an early understanding of Christ, that His Spirit would draw her to Him and that she would come to Him at an early age. Last night, that prayer was answered. I was able to talk with my daughter and guide her to Jesus and she gave her life to Him! It's awesome that as a 5 year old she has a better understanding of what it means to be a Christ follower than many adults I've talked to. Thank you Jesus. 1 committed. 2 to go! I hopefully get to baptize her soon.

Joel, This Blogs For You

2008-03-12T12:20:00.002-04:00

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I have 3 big things I am praying for in my life. The first was a huge, God sized thing that needed to be answered quickly. God has answered that prayer. Go God!

It is so crazy how we can trust God to the point that we take huge steps of faith in our life, see His hand of provision carrying us through this particular journey, but still have fear and trepidation during this time that God is taking us through. It's like a big irony.

School update: Finished my first class, got an "A". Finishing up my second class this week. This is a class I am retaking from before, but this time I have a "B". GPA repair is underway! It looks like I will possibly graduating next spring!!! Heck yeah!

I went to Ashville last night to a church for a Global Focus training session. It was a cool church. It was planted in 2004. It is at a point of plateua, and they are looking for what will be their next step to go forward. They are interested in the Global Focus model to get moving forward. I hope they do it. It would be a great move for them to make.

Went to Nashville last weekend on a $600,000 motorhome. It was stinking amazing. I'm definately spoiled now in travel. It's definately the right way to travel! We're taking another motor home to Chipley this weekend for a mens conference. I hope it's a nice one!

Joel, hope is suffices your needs for a new blog post!!!

PS, I still need to sell the waverunner!

"Food" for Thought

2008-03-03T13:15:00.002-05:00

Wal-mart gets it. Check this story out. They realize they've almost reached their full saturation in the U.S., so now they're taking time to get to know their communities and connect with them as they haven't before so that the socialogical impact of Wal-mart increases. Interesting...maybe churches should take notice. Kind of like "Breaking the Missional Code" for retail! Good principle.

Daddy D Was Calling Me

2008-02-25T16:40:00.003-05:00

If you haven't ever been to "Daddy D's" BBQ Joint off of Memorial Drive in DownTown ATL, you need to get there. It's the best I've ever had in my life. It's not too far from Turner Field, so it's great if going to a Braves game to go a little early, get some amazing Ribs or Pork or Beef, or whatever else they have-'cause it's all good, then go to the game.

Speaking of the Braves, the home opener is March 31. I hope they do better this year then last year. That game was awful and the weather was freezing.

Today I got to take Dr. Vines to the airport, which was cool, b/c he's an awesome guy that has been used in a huge way by God, so having him captive in my car for an hour or so is a great opportunity. By the way Joel, my driving didn't scare him (it's not b/c he has nerves of steel, I can actually drive good enough to not freak people out. Of course, my Impala isn't quite as strong as the Mustang-or even the Tahoe, was.) Anyway, on the way back, I got to hook up some Daddy D's. Man, it was great!

I'm thankful to God for modern day heroes of the faith that He has allowed me to have access to. It's awesome when men like Nelson Price or Jerry Vines or Johnny Hunt genuinely care enough about you to take the time to learn about what your passions are in your service to God, and invest their resources and/or wisdom into you to assist and propel you in service to God and His Kingdom.

One great thing about this year is the time to work on school work and time and resource to order books and resources to prepare for the future.

For anyone who may be intersted, I just finished reading several books I'd recommend to you, some in the past couple of months, some in the past week or two. I may not agree with all that these authors may believe, but there is good stuff to learn from each of these authors. As Pastor Johnny says, learn to eat fish, which means to chew the meat and spit out the bones.

"Starving Jesus" by J.R. Mahon and some other guy.
"Planting Missional Churches" by Ed Stetzer.
"Developing the Leader Within You" by John Maxwell
"Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell
"Blue Like Jazz" by Don Miller
"In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day" by Mark Batterson
"UnChristian" by Gabe Lyons

There are a couple others I've read recently, but can't remember right now.

Books I'm Reading Right Now

"Leadership Promises for Every Day"-Devotional by John Maxwell
"Vintage Jesus" by Mark Driscoll
"They Like Jesus But Not The Church" by Dan Kimball
"Choosing to Cheat" by Andy Stanley

My current Bible Study time, I'm studying Proverbs each day and various Pauline Epistles.

I have several huge needs that I'm praying for right now. I won't share those, I want to see God answer these prayers without my influencing the outcome. It's awesome to see God work in His power. Pray for Lisa and I as we walk through this journey this year. We are loving this mentorship, but also looking at what we'll be doing now in 9-10 months. We have our dream, we need to make the decisions on the path towards that dream.

I'm listening to a Humanities lecture right now as I type (I'm multi-tasking!) Anyway, I'm moving into the section from Roman Art into early Christian art. The professor qualifies this section as telling us we are about to take a nose dive into the quality of the art, but all arts are equal in sophistication b/c of the meaning of it. I have an opinion on that. It seems like the quality of many things done in the name of Christ have been poorly done since the first century AD. Meaning is important. However, imagine if all things done in the name of Christ were done well, with quality, in art, ministry, etc..., so that people didn't use the lame excuse of "The Holy Spirit will bless it b/c it's done in the name of Jesus." I think that the Holy Spirit likes to bless things done well with quality in the name of Jesus, and I know that our culture would appreciate it.

A small church littered our neighborhood yesterday with black and white photocopies of some special events coming up at their church, inviting everyone to join them. This church meets in an old dilapidated house with a gravel parking lot in front of it close to our subdivision. The people in our neighborhood aren't likely to attend this church, unless driven their by the Holy Spirit, because it looks like the building is about to collapse. I'm sure they mean well, but they probably annoyed everyone in the neighborhood with their attempt to reach them. Let's start putting some thought and quality into what we do. Sometimes doing nothing is definately better than doing something, no matter what our intention or reasoning.

Bad Diapers Are Coming

2008-02-22T20:56:00.004-05:00

My son will be 8 months old on Sunday. This week he started scrawling (it's a mix between a scoot and a crawl). Anyway, tonight we had my sister and her family over, and we were eating chili (with the infamous crumbles-and it was awesome!!!). He was looking at my plate, so I decided to give him some of my chili beans, along with some sour cream. He loved the beans and cream and ate a bunch. I think there are some gnarly diapers on the way...

Tonight we pulled my oldest daughters second tooth! Hopefully it will be the last for a while. All of the kids are growing too quickly, which means I'm growing older quickly too...

It Doesn't Make Sense

2008-02-22T20:47:00.002-05:00

Today I went shopping at Wal-Mart. I was looking for the Morning Star Crumbles (Ground Beef style tofu crumbles). My friend Jeff got me started on some great meat substitutes that are high in protein and healthy for me and my family. Speaking of that, thanks JR for trying to exploit me for money today in your diet money scheme. He wants me to enter because he knows it's easy money from me b/c of being on the road so much and not being able to exercise very much, etc... and he knows I won't be losing much weight-although I'm losing a little bit, so ha!!! Anyway, back to the Crumbles. I go through the healthy frozen stuff, the veggies, the entrees' and meals, etc.... and can't find the crumbles anywhere. As a last resort, I go down the frozen dessert and ice cream isle, where I finally find the meat substitutes and other healthy stuff-in between the cool whip and frozen pies. Totally makes sense...

Proverbs 21:25

2008-02-21T09:49:00.002-05:00

A cool verse, "Despite their desires, the lazy will come to ruin, for their hands refuse to work" (NLT)

God places dreams and desires in the hearts of his active followers. It's great to have dreams and desires and passions-and for the person following Christ, they are often times given by Him as He prepares to do in us more than we can ever imagine. However, it's easy to keep dreaming while staying in our current situation or circumstance, dreaming and praying, but not actually doing anything to prepare and begin to equip ourselves and prepare to act upon that desire.

I don't want to be one of those people. I have a passion given by God. I have a dream. I don't want it just to be a dream. I want my passions and dreams to be my reality, and with God's blessing and guidance, it'll happen-if I do something about that passion!

Desires remain desires if we don't act on them, but when we do, our desires can become our reality!

Cool thought.

Evolve-ing Amazing

2008-02-19T21:18:00.004-05:00

Evolve has come and gone. What an amazing 2 days! Mark Batterson spoke today, along with Darin Patrick and Bil Cornelius. Yesterday, Shawn Lovejoy and Steven Furtick spoke. The teaching was top notch. It was cool that they gave God the glory for what had happened in their churches. Most of them shared some of their failures as well, from family relationships to failed church plants. I got to speak briefly with Mark Batterson about his book, "In a Pit With A Lion on a Snowy Day", and tell him the impact it had on my life. He told me to keep him updated in the future b/c he wanted to see what God does in our life. He said as he wrote the book, he had a team praying for the readers and that it would have significant impact on lives. I'm thankful to Brett for recommending it. After reading it, God gripped my heart and that was the point that I realized I had to leave Acworth. That was the turning point that God put on my heart that it was time to either fully follow Him or just settle for a position and a paycheck. I decided I don't want to settle. It was definately hard to leave Brett and Joel, b/c people rarely get to work with the friends that we share life with, but it was something I had to do, and even though it was difficult, I am glad I did and it's amazing seeing God honor our obedience!

One of the coolest features of the Evolve Conference was that our wives got to come for free. It is awesome seeing the vision that God has placed on my wife's heart for ministry. I'm thankful that she got to attend this conference with me. Not only did God speak to her heart and confirm His calling for our service to Him, but we got to have 2 dinner dates since the kids were at her parents house until this evening! It was great to get to date my wife again. My friend, Mark Ayers, said he could see a huge difference in the burden lifted off of her since this past summer when his wife and he hooked up with us and Brett at PC Beach for dinner during Summer Xtreme. I'm thankful to Pastor Johnny not only for his investment into my life and ministry and future, but I'm also thankful for my wife to have the opportunity to be ministered to in the church!

By the way, after all the trash talking on his blog re: the Guitar Hero contest, Gary Lamb got embarrassed. He's definately a great leader and church planter, which is probably why he wasn't that good at guitar hero. Too busy doing ministry...

Lisa was reading Proverbs 19 today. We have a vision now of what we desire to do in the future in what we believe God is leading us to do, but we are praying for wisdom in the journey to get to that place. A couple of verses she underlined today.

Prov. 19:1 Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and a fool. (be honest in all that we do, in our success, failures, self-evaluation, relationship with God and others, etc...)
Prov. 19:2 Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes. (Don't rush into where God is calling us without being properly prepared!!!)
Prov. 19:20 Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life. (we're totally in an amazing place to get advice and instruction during this year!!!)
Prov. 19:21 You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail. (We must be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we properly prepare and equip ourselves to follow God's purpose for our lives!)

We had lunch with a new friend that is a church planter in Vegas. It is amazing what God is up to there. We are praying about an opportunity there, but we're unsure of the timing. However, if we are obedient to God and use the wisdom He provides, everything will work out in a way that is honoring to Him.

Speaking of preparation, I need to finish (and start) preparing for a Bible Study I am teaching tomorrow at Woodstock, then get ready for a test. I'm drinking a Latte' I made-I definately kick Starbucks butt with my Latte's and home made frappachinos.

Looking forward to hooking up with one of my old roomates from Liberty, Trey, tomorrow evening. He is a student at SouthEastern Theological Seminary now. I haven't seen him in years, so I'm looking forward to it!

Oh yeah, started back on the exercise and "watching" what I eat (watching every single bite!!!) routine. Working on some new veggie dishes (like Tofu Pot Pie-which sounds horrible, but tastes amazing with bacon grease added (kidding about the grease-but it probably would be good)) and the self-discipline factor in my life. Fun stuff!!!

Evolve is Awesome

2008-02-18T16:11:00.003-05:00

I'm waiting on the last main session of Evolve to start. So far, so awesome. My wife's sense of sarcasm is improving greatly. We just left Breakout Session 1. It was about churches planting churches. Honestly, it wasn't what I was expecting. There was one guy who wanted to stick out and talk about what he was doing. He was obnoxious. My wife had a couple of funny things to say about him (during the session) and then a couple of things about the session in general. Funny stuff. I won't give details b/c you had to be there to understand, but just know that I'm very proud of her.

Main Session 1 was awesome. Shawn Lovejoy, the pastor and host of the conference, talked about personal discipline. It was great. It was convicting. It dealt with several key areas that I have been addressing recently in my own life.

Well, the music is about to rock. Can't wait for more!!!

Real Evangelism

2008-02-17T15:27:00.003-05:00

Is over....Thursday night with Pastor Johnny and Jerry Vines was awesome.

I'm really looking forward to the Evolve conference this week. I'm meeting a church planter from Vegas there. I don't know where we'll end up, or when, but my wife and I have a heart for the work going on in Vegas. On Valentines day, we spent some time at Starbucks together, and she shared with me her passion for our future serving God. It's awesome what God is doing in her heart. God puts stuff on her heart often times before it's on mine. God is aligning our passion in serving Him. It's awesome how He calls us to stuff together. That is such a key to successful ministry. I'm moving forward well on my school work, and I definately want to have my bachelors done and prefer to have at least an MAR (thinking from Liberty in Christian Leadership) before I plant as a lead pastor. Until then, it would be awesome to work with a plant there. I don't want to attempt to plant a church before I'm ready. People are too special to God for me not to be ready to do things right. No-one deserves to be a "guinei pig" in church work. There is a church planting school in Vegas that I've been told about that sound interesting. Vegas (I'm pretty sure) is the fastest (at least one of) growing city in the US, and is severely underchurched.

I'm reading Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer right now. So far, it's awesome! It's exciting looking to the future!

Life Milestones

2008-02-14T10:47:00.003-05:00

There are certain milestones we pass in life, and more specifically, family life. My wife and I have 3 awesome kids. Last night we pulled our oldest daughter's (who just turned 5) first tooth last night, and another is almost ready to come out. Also, our infant son is on the verge of crawling. He's sitting up by himself & pushing himself up. I just turned 30. Lisa will be 30 next month (she's getting old, but still looks 18 (I have to stay legal you know)). She'll appreciate the "old" comment. Anyway, life is passing by. I'm realizing that I don't want to waste mine. I'm thankful to God for what He's doing this year in the mentorship program, in my schooling, (I just received a full tuition scholarship to complete my school with Tennessee Temple (I'm checking on how everything will transfer over) and in my family .

Life moves quick. One major thing pastor is challenging me on is being fully prepared in my education. That was what Dr. Price challenged me on as well. It seems in ministry that if you're not rocking by the end of your 30's or at least by early 40's, the opportunities for dynamic ministry aren't as available (I saw this first hand at Acworth in the search for a pastor before Brett came). I want my life and ministry to count for something great for the Kingdom of God!

Life moves quick and is short. I'm learning that I'd better take advantage of the opportunities God gives me for my future in serving Him, because life doesn't come around a second time!

Enjoy the time here and now. Don't miss out on the blessings of life. Don't miss out on the future. Don't be short-sighted. Use the time now to prepare for the future, so that the future is always brighter than the present.

I'm Officially Old Now

2008-02-07T15:38:00.001-05:00

Today is it. It's all downhill from here! 30 smacked me upside the head today. I can't believe it's actually here. I also can't believe how I look in my new Drivers License picture today. Ouch. I guess pictures are reality. I really need to do a crash diet or something.

God back from the Jax Pastors Conference last night. There was some great preaching. One of my favorites was a guy that Brett spoke very highly of, Don Wilton. He was a highlight. Pastor Johnny rocked as usual. I got to sit at a table with Pastor Johnny and Erwin Lutzer and learn some stuff-mainly, learn who you're at a table with and observe and say little.

I also got to hang out with my friend Darryl, a pastor from N.C. He was in town to bring his brother in-law Greg down to get acclimated with the city since he's going to be in Jax for 2 months undergoing cancer treatment. Pray for Greg. This doesn't look good. He needs encouragement and the hand of God.

Also, Darryl found out this weekend that his student pastor's wife had a little innapropriate "fling" going on with their daughters 18 yr. old boyfriend (who was leading worship in the youth group). Pray for that family. They need it. Pray for Darryl and his church. They are at the crossroads of exciting days. They have recently gone multi-campus and are in the beginning of an awesome building campaign.

One night Jeremy and I were out to eat and we asked the waiter if we could pray for him. He is a newly-wed Christian. He was a cool guy. He said he had been working at Chili's for over a year, and we were only the second people to ever ask if we could pray for him. He also said he hates waiting tables on Christians b/c they complain too much, are too high maintenance and tip too little. As a former waiter myself, I agree.

My oldest daughter must have grown 3 more inches while I was gone. She's definately going to be tall. I love my kids-and my wife- all whom (except for the oldest) have been sick here while I was away (and sick) in Jax. Fun stuff!

My Kids Are Getting Old and I'm Getting Sick...

2008-02-01T14:52:00.000-05:00

My oldest daugher will be 5 this Sunday. Unfortunately, I'll be in Jacksonville, but I did get to take her out last night on a Daddy Date! It was fun. Chuck-e-Cheese's is not overcrowded on rainy, Thursday nights, so if you need to go there, go then! It's amazing watching her grow up. She was around 2 months old when we left Woodstock to serve at Acworth, but she's doing great with the transition. Indoor playgrounds help with that a lot! She wore a new B-Day dress that was cute. I'm glad I didn't have to dress up like a Prince. We talked on the way about her understanding of God. It amazes me that from the time she was around 3, she has had a relatively good understanding of God. She told me last night when talking to her that Jesus already lives in her heart because she loves Him and believes in Him. What a foundation! However, I will be ticked if someone besides myself leads her through a true confession of sin and a making a true commitment to Christ-so Pre-School workers, BACK OFF! Consider yourself warned.

I think I'm getting the flu. I feel great!

Mike Huckabee will be coming to church Sunday. He's supposed to share his testimony in 5 minutes. Let's see if a politician/preacher can do that!

I'm going to get some OJ since the machine at church wouldn't take my money. I have to get a better laser printer. Anyway, dinner is at 4:30, after which I'll be joining around 8,000 of my closest friends for the men's conference here at Woodstock. Joel, you loser. You should have come...

Wisdom and Insights For Pastors

2008-01-30T14:18:00.000-05:00

One thing I am able to focus on this year in preparation for the future is completing my college degree. I am one test and a couple of hours from completing my first class this spring. I completed this 8-week course in 2.5. That's pretty sweet. Anyway, the next to last assignment for the class was to interview someone in the career I am considering. My interview-ee was Dr. Nelson Price, Pastor Emeritus of Roswell Street Baptist Church, which was a 10,000 member church at the time of his retirement. It is pretty cool the men God has allowed to mentor and influence my life. Enjoy the insights and wisdom from a man who was (and still is) used greatly by God to influence thousands of people around the world.

1) Why did you choose this particular profession?
My spiritual orientation persuades me that rather than choosing the profession I was chosen for it. Insights shared with me only after I made the commitment public confirm this. My parents dedicated themselves to rearing me for the Lord to use as He desired. They never hinted of this until after the decision was made. Before my birth my grandmother said of me that the baby to be born would be a redheaded preacher.
2) What are the educational requirements for this profession?
Among SBC churches there are no educational requirement. However, it is expedient for a person to obtain the fullest possible formal education. It is necessary to make a lifetime of study in order to stay current and be able to contribute.
3) What did you major in during college?
In college I had a double major of biology and horticulture.
4) If the training is specialized or an advanced degree is needed, what GPA is needed? When I was in school no GPAs were considered.
5) Are there ample opportunities for advancement?
The “sky” is the limit.
6) What kind of income can I expect to have if I choose this profession?
On average it is considerably below other professions in which comparable formal training is require.
7) What does a typical day look like?
Enjoyable. My typical day began at 4:30 in the study where I said until around 7:00 AM.. Every day necessitated a flexible schedule and involved such things as administrative oversight, counseling, hospital visitation, coordinating staff, sharing in social and civic events, conducting weddings and funeral, speaking to special groups, and participating in denomination events.
8) What are the most rewarding areas of this profession and what are the greatest challenges?
The most rewarding aspect is seeing lives changed. This often resulted in homes being stabilized, lives being transformed, persons experiencing a personal relationship with Christ, and individuals finding their course in life.
The greatest challenges are dealing with individuals and committees. Maintaining harmony within the body is an ongoing necessity. Being a servant/leader is a role often misunderstood. A minister must exercise authority and give guidance with the heart of a servant, that is, being attentive to the needs of the constituency and guiding them to accept what is best.

A little insight from a great servant of God, and a reminder of why to stay focused on the call God has placed on each of our lives.

What a Week!

2008-01-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

It's been busy. I'm excited about the opportunity to observe Pastor Johnny during this year. Tuesday we went to Blacksheer Place Baptist in Gainsville. It was a cool church. Wednesday we went to Decatur, Alabama to another cool church. We got back at 3:00 am. I realized that late night meals at Cracker Barrel are going to kill any hopes of getting back into some sort of "not-fat-slob" status. Thursday we went to Trinity Chapel, a large Church of God church. Pastor was awesome. He's been teaching a lot on leadership. The worship at Trinity was incredible. Today, services at FBC Woodstock were great too. It was great getting to see Eddie Middleton sing, and the number of people making decisions!

Prayer Request: Pray for my friend Kris and his mom. She was faced with several hard decisions this weekend regarding her cancer and some other health issues. She has made a decision that was very hard, but probably the right decision, so she has probably 5-7 days left. Pray for her to be in comfort and peace. Pray for Kris, his sister & son (who is very close to his grandma and had to say his final good-bye tonight) and other family members during this time. God's grace is absolutely amazing, and it is needed in a huge way in the lives of their family members.

Congratulations Freedom Church!

Lessons in Marriage (Post 2-edit)

2008-01-20T17:05:00.000-05:00

I decided to update this. A little advice from Kenny... "Know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, know when to shut up." Lots of wisdom there...

Early Church Closings

2008-01-20T17:02:00.000-05:00

It was funny Saturday at noon seeing all the churches that had already cancelled all of their services for the whole day for Sunday. Not funny "ha-ha", but funny "hmmm". Funny, maybe you can tell the churches that even the staff members don't like to attend...

Lessons in Marriage

2008-01-18T09:22:00.000-05:00

I learned something very valuable this morning when talking to my wife in regards to communication in marriage. When she asks what's going on in my life, what I'm doing, etc..., the proper response is not "Read My Blog".

I also learned that she does actually read it, so take my number of readers list to 5! Actually, since she reads it, I kind of wandered why she wanted to know what's going on in my life, since she should already know...

Women...

Affirmation & God's Blessings!

2008-01-17T17:07:00.001-05:00

God is totally blessing my family and myself. When we took this mentorship, the numbers our family needed each month for our budget and the numbers that we would be receiving were significantly different. I told the people of FBC Acworth that if God leads us to follow Him, then He will provide for us. God honors obedience! He has shown Himself faithful over and over again-just in the past month! God has done so again today in a huge way! I don't want to give details or numbers, but God has His hand on us and I'm grateful for His blessings! It looks like we will are on the verge now of knowing our monthly needs will be met instead of running a huge deficit each month!

God didn't show us the whole picture when we made the decision to take the biggest step of faith up to this point in our lives, stepping out of our financial security and comfort zone, but we had to trust that He would provide since He was leading. He is totally doing so in a huge way!

Please know from God's Word and my testimony, that if God is leading you to do something for Him, it is likely that it won't make sense, but God honors obedience. If God is leading you to do something great for Him, it may take sacrifice and huge faith, but He honors obedience!

I don't know where I heard this, it may have been from Brett, or another pastor. Anyway, the question/statement was this: "We are willing to trust God in our death, but are we willing to trust Him with our life?"

Please pray for us as we continue preparing for the future, getting ready for the amazing things God has planned for us! Pray that we don't forget the lessons God is teaching us as He is preparing us for the future! As we grow in our relationship with the Lord, the tests and faith challenges will grow. Pray that my wife and I never get to the point that we aren't willing to trust God wherever, whenever He leads.

As I got to preach in Russia this past Sunday, God has amazing things He desires to do in and through us, but in order for Him to do those things, we must have the level of faith that changes our lives and enables us to follow Him, even when we don't know how everything will take care of itself! Matthew 6:33, the lazy, I don't feel like looking it up right now for the exact words, translation (and really close to the New Living Translation) "Seek God first and everything else will take care of itself".

No matter where you are in life, seek God! He honors obedience! Follow Him! It's a crazy, wild scary ride, but it's definately worth the thrills!

God Bless!

School is back in session

2008-01-16T22:36:00.000-05:00

Well, I got back from Russia in time to see this weeks American Idol. With Joel's help, I identified a homeschooler or two (not all homeschoolers are weird and my wife is going to homeschool our kids, so back off!!!). Thanks dude. Oh yeah, good thing we came back yesterday. My first school assignment was due tonight-which I got done this afternoon! That's right. I'm back-school is back in session, and I'm going to rock out some education. Oh yeah!!!

It's amazing to see God provide in our lives. I'm totally excited about this upcoming year. God has been so faithful in His provision. My family has received 2 totally unexpected checks to help out with our bills, which is great, since my wife and I haven't gotten a paycheck since the week before Christmas (although we have gotten bills!). God is proving that where He leads He provides. JR had some great insight in this area. If we wait on God to put all the pieces together so that we will be comfortable in stepping out to serve Him, then we'll be waiting forever.

I can't encourage you enough to follow God in whatever area He is directing you go in! Prepare yourself so that when God moves in your heart, you can follow Him. It's a scary, amazing journey. However, as some mystery man wrote in Heb. 12:3-4, we haven't given nearly what Jesus has given when He served us by dying for our sin on the cross.

Liberty DLP Tuition: $250 per credit hour
School Books: $50 ea. avg.
Seeing God provide as He prepares you for His service: Priceless

For education, there's Liberty. For everything else, there's God. Follow God.

Just Got Back From Russia

2008-01-16T10:53:00.000-05:00

Below is a journal entry from this past week in Russia (it's actually my only journal entry).

Russia Journal 1

It is freezing. The temps on the internet said it would be in the teens. I think the web was wrong. I thought you could believe everything that you read online. Anyway…

What a great couple of days! We arrived in our city late on Monday evening. Tuesday we went to Ivan’s house and got gifts ready to give the kids at the Orphanages. Here is what they are getting for Christmas-and they’re pumped to get it: 2 items of one of the following: a pair of socks, toboggan or scarf, a bottle of shampoo, tube of toothpaste, 2 apples, 3 oranges, a pencil and pen & for the smaller kids, a “vending machine” type toy, a candy bar and some got a tube of chap stick. I think the plastic bag the gifts were in was as valuable to the kids as the gifts themselves. It was a neat gift for the kids, but a little perspective here lets you realize that these are mostly necessities that we take for granted that these kids wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. These trips are always great to keep my perspective in check.

Russians drive like crazy people-many in really tiny cars-see above pic. Joel, who I can make scream like a girl when getting on entrance ramps on the interstate, wouldn’t make it here. Anyway, they’re even crazier on ice. We were involved in the first auto “incident” I’ve ever been party to here (and no, I wasn’t driving) in 5 years, which is pretty amazing in itself, but it was bound to happen. Our van and a new BMW x-5 got a little too close on a railroad crossing at the bottom of a huge hill and the mirrors “kissed”. Ivan could have picked a cheaper vehicle to smack. I don’t know who’s fault it was. I know who’ll end up paying for it though.

The Elvis shows were good. The students from the church here put on a really good Christmas show, and then I do “Elvis”. It’s an amazing thing, the relationship that the church has with so many of the orphanages. The government and the Orthodox church (which does not teach scripture, but saints, relics, made up stories about the saints, tradition, etc…) are putting pressure on the orphanage directors (like threatening jobs) to not allow them to do the work they are doing. Pray for Ivan and the church.

I fell on the ice tonight. It hurt. “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” “We’re sending help immediately, Mrs. Fletcher.” It was pretty funny.

We had a great night of prayer tonight, praying together for the ministry here around the table after dinner. I wonder if this is a little taste of what the New Testament church meetings were like.

After lunch this morning, Ivan and some others shared what it was like growing up in communism. They spoke of family members being arrested (and of a grandfather being executed) for faith in Christ. Ivan spoke of the harassment from teachers as a child to having an officer in the army waving a gun in his face, telling him he could kill him and no one would even bother him for doing so because he wouldn’t join the communist party. I wish you could have seen the look on his face as he shared. It was painful. It was the same look he had when sharing about the pressure now placed on them by the government as they continue their work in the orphanages here.

We’ll see what happens tomorrow!

Time to Start Packing

2008-01-05T12:32:00.000-05:00

I'm taking off in 28 hours for Russia. It's getting close to time to pack. Went with Pastor Johnny to a COGBE (Conf. of Ga. Bapt. Evang.) He was aweseome. He taught from 2 Tim. 1, teaching on what pastors & evangelists need based off of Paul's Encouragement to Timothy. 1. Affection 2. Petition (Praying for him) 3. Devotion (true devotion to someone means that you truly know them) 4. Passion (stirring up your desire to serve Christ). Also, we all need respect.

Pretty cool evening. Russ Lee did a concert too. He rocks. Great voice. He got back last year from a 6-month mission trip with his family. They cleared their calendar, totally stepped out on faith re: the finances and went to all the continents (except Antartica. He said penguins dress up but you can't get them to come to church) and did free concerts and saw like 6,000 people come to Christ. Now he's a worship pastor at his local church. His wife, Mary, is in the last part of an aggressive cancer treatment that is for now gone. Pray for her.

What was funny was seeing the politicians from NAMB and some of the "Christian-Eze", gushy, touchy guys that can make a good "concerned" look with their face that you want to slap. There were definately some interesting people there.

Got the Elvis suit fixed yesterday, so it's ready for the trip. I'll be doing Elvis shows in a bunch of orphanages in Russia and sharing Christ and our team will be working to provide Christmas gifts for over 1,ooo kids. Pray for us & for those kids. I'm already getting a cold. The "good" thing is that it's not going to be as cold as I originally thought. It will be in the teens every day. I thought it would be below 0. While I'm in Russia, Pastor and Jeremy & their families will be on a Bahamas cruise that I could have been on. Maybe it will rain on all of them the whole time...I'm not bitter...

Kidding. Pray for me. Russia is going to ROCK!!!

Verse & Thought of the Day

2008-01-03T10:59:00.000-05:00

As talked about in other posts, I've been doing a lot of reading lately. Right now I am reading the book, "The End of Religion" by Bruxy Cavey. I'm enjoying it. I recommend it (so far, I'm about 3/4 through it). It really gets you to thinking. Anyway, here is a verse that has just jumped out at me that is at the end of one of the chapters in the book.

Hosea 6:6 " I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings."

Quotes:

These are from the Chapter on John 1:1-4 John 1
Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word

"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone."

"Christ followers are not actually people of the Book, but people of the Person" p 182

"Bible knowledge is just a first step toward the goal of following Jesus" p 182

"If following Jesus is our goal, it will readically change how we read, interpret and apply the Bible" p 184

First Days

2008-01-03T10:15:00.000-05:00

I've settled in okay to the office beginning my new internship with Pastor Johnny. The other intern is Jeremy. He's praying over starting a church, possibly in Ft. Lauderdale. We moved him into his apartment yesterday. I leave for Russia Sunday. Pastor and a bunch of people from here (including Jeremy-and would have included me and our families) are heading out Monday to go on a 6 day Bahama's cruise. The preaching on that cruise will be great.

This article is pretty funny.

Let the year begin!

A New Year Is Here!

2008-01-01T00:43:00.000-05:00

Welcome 2008! It's going to be an amazing year! Just got back a little while ago from Xtreme. The last session is in the morning. Tomlin and Newsong were great tonight. Tony Nolan rocked the house. Over 300 kids responded to the message, and over 190 of them were salvation decisions. That's pretty stinkin' sweet! Everything wraps up in the morning. We'll head home and then help the other Mentee, Jeremy move into his place Wednesday, then the first kind of official day at FBC Woodstock will be on Thursday. I leave for Russia Sunday. Got to get a few last minute things together for that. It's about to get hectic, but I think now the hectic-ness won't be for naught!

Xtremely Cool

2007-12-29T22:38:00.002-05:00

The first session of xtreme ended yesterday and the new one began last night. The sessions for the most part repeat themselves, but the artists and speakers are so good that you can keep enjoying the shows and learning from the messages. I got to meet Ergun Caner yesterday. He's a pretty cool, crazy nut. I also got to see some old friends from Liberty (Now at Tennessee Temple). I spent yesterday afternoon on the phone with Liberty trying to get some things straightened out on my transcript. I need all the credit hours I can get. I'm halfway through my Jr. year. I spoke with Eddie Rhodes, campus pastor at TTU, it looks like I might possibly get some good credit hours for my undergrad if I transfer to TTU. However, if that doesn't work out, Dr. Caner will take care of me with some wicked cool Seminary credit. Either way, I'm totally pumped about this year! 3 more days in Gatlinburg, then I get settled in at Woodstock, then I'm leaving next Sunday for Russia! I'm bummed out that I'm missing a Carribean Cruise with Pastor Johnny, but I'm looking forward to the ministry in Russia. I've learned of some of the events and schools I'll be attending during the upcoming year. It's pretty sweet!