Birkdale Baptist Church

Life, Heart and Hope in Jesus

Here are a few thoughts before I drag myself to bed!  :-)

• Amazing day at NewSpring Church…we were SLAMMED in nearly every service!
• Greenville pretty much shattered their attendance record today…starting a third service there on January 18th!
• We’re bringing back the 4:15 service in Anderson on January 18th as well…we’ve got to…we’re out of room.
• Today was a day that I really felt the Lord tell me to preach strong vision…to tell the history of the church and seriously lay out some challenges!
• For the record, I did say the phrase, “get the hell out of this church!”  You’ll need to listen to the podcast to catch it in context…and, just in case you are wondering…I meant exactly what I said!
• I really do believe that 2009 is going to be our most fruitful year of ministry EVER.
• Yes, we really are going to do the song, “Highway to Hell” this year.
• Yes, I really do feel that denominations are pretty much dead…they’re so political that they’ve missed Jesus!
• Yes, I really do believe that the church ought to be the most crowded place on the planet EVERY single Sunday!
• Yes, I really do believe that the church should be a place where people are invited to take steps that get them close to Jesus…NOT a country club where we all pretend that our lives are perfect.
• God OFTEN takes the most imperfect people on the planet and uses them for His glory…the disciples were NOT perfect people, just guys who responded to Jesus’ call to follow Him.
• If a churches goal is to keep the Christians happy…then God probably isn’t happy!
• Yes, I did say today that we should “practice safe text!”  (Once again, you’ll have to listen!)
• Yes, I did scream a lot today…I can’t help it…I am so freakin’ fired up right now…SERIOUSLY!
• My passion is to see people meet Jesus and have their lives changed.  God wants this!!!  If a church is going to be successful then what matters to God HAS to matter to the church!
• If you have a really fast car and would love someone to drive it for you…I will gladly make myself available!  :-)  (Another sermon reference!)
• I DID enjoy going off on racist people today!  Probably a sermon coming this year on the subject!!!
• DON’T MISS NEXT SUNDAY!!!  We’re going to pick up where we left off this week…looking at Matthew 5:3-8.
• Going to run tomorrow…haven’t decided 6 or 8 miles yet!

One more thing…

NewSpring Church, like I said at the end of every service today…I love you!  I am not perfect, I screw things up…but the desire of my heart is to one day stand in front of God will a clear conscience, knowing that I did exactly what He wanted me to do!

I love this church!  I will shepherd this church!  I will fight for this church!  I will do all that I can to make sure we do exactly what God wants us to do.  It may not always be the church you want it to be…but by God’s grace we will always be the church HE wants us to be.

I would definitely appreciate your prayers this next year.  I am in a place where I’ve never been…I’m over my head, I have been since we started this thing…and I am desperate for God’s continual wisdom and direction.

Thanks for allowing me to serve as your pastor…we’re going to STOMP IT THIS YEAR!!!  God’s got so much more in store!  Anderson, Greenville, Florence, Columbia, the internet…and who knows what’s next…

The answer is “yes” Lord!!!  Now what is the command?

This Sunday (January 4th) we are beginning a new series entitled, “No Perfect People Allowed!”

For far too long church has been a place for “perfect people.”  AND…if you weren’t perfect you either didn’t go…or pretended you were perfect while you were there!

BUT…as I read through Scripture I find VERY FEW…oh wait…actually, I don’t find ANY PLACE where Christ said that only perfect people could follow Him!

Seriously, have you read through the Gospels and seen how imperfect His disciples were…and yet these were the very men He used to change and shape the world!

SO…this Sunday we will begin our five month journey through the Sermon on the Mount by looking at what type of church God really wants us to be…and how He wants to use imperfect people to do amazing things.

Can’t wait!

I once heard someone say, “If you want to make God laugh…tell Him YOUR plans!”

2008 was an unbelievable year…God continues to overwhelm me with His grace, kindness and unbelievable blessings that He continues to pour out on my family and the church that I serve.

At the beginning of this year I would have never thought that…

• I would have learned so much about HIS love for me through raising Charisse.
• My marriage could get any better…but it has!
• That we would see over 1,600 people make decisions for Christ at NewSpring Church.
• That we would baptize over 900 people!
• That Unleash would sell out…and that we would have to have it in two locations in 2009.  (You can register here!)
• That I would get to speak at Hillsong Church.  (Here is the video of when I saw Darlene Zschech if you didn’t see it yet!)
• That our Greenville campus would have over 1,700 people show up on opening Sunday.
• That we would announce our launching of a Columbia campus.
• That I would be THIS EXCITED about the opening of our youth and children’s facility this spring in Anderson.
• That I would be doing a coaching network full of incredible leaders who actually think I know what in the heck I’m talking about.
• That I would Twitter!
• That I would announce that I am going to attempt another marathon!
• That I would be invited to speak at Catalyst West Coast in 2009…seriously, I am SO blown away!
• That I would sign with an agent and begin working on a book.  (The title will raise an eyebrow or two!)
• That I would be using a mac!

I could go on and on…but the bottom line is this, I Corinthians 2:9 says that we literally have NO IDEA what God has prepared for those who love Him!

I do know this…I REALLY do believe with all my heart that 2009 is going to be the most fruitful year of ministry we’ve ever had in the history of NewSpring Church!

HOLD ON TO YOUR FORK!

So here’s the post that received the most attention this past year…

#10 - A Valentines Day Rant - I am not sure what happened to me here…but I felt the need to speak about passive men, desperate women and a few other things!

#9 - Eight Years (and some advice for single guys & girls) - here is where I tell the story about how I pursued Lucretia…in a non-stalker type way…and how she FINALLY agreed to go out with me!  (THANK YOU JESUS!)

#8 - When I Saw The Blood I Freaked Out - God is teaching me SO MUCH about HIS love through Charisse…and this lesson rocked my world!

#7 - How To Pursue A Young Lady, Four Things You Should Know - for some reason when I write about relationships it seems to hit a nerve…especially when I challenge the men.

#6 - 15 Signs That You Or Your Church Lacks Vision - I think the church should have BIG VISION; after all, we have a HUGE God!

#5 - A Huge Announcement - Several hundred churches participated in ONE PRAYER last year…and this post announcing our participation received a LOT of attention.

#4 - Four Types Of Staff Member - what type are you?

#3 - Top Seven Stupid Financial Mistakes I’ve Made Part One and Part Two - I used to be the KING of stupid financial mistakes…and this blog post was a confession & also written with the hope that other people would read and NOT do the dumb things I did!

#2 - Five Things You Should Never Hear From A Staff Member - Another post on staffing that got a LOT of attention!

#1 - Attention Pastors:  Keep Your Penis In Your Pants - This was the top post by far, I received LOTS of emails on this one, MOSTLY positive…I just thought it was time to take the gloves off and say what very people people are willing to say!

Some of the ones that were in the top 20 that I thought were worth also mentioning were…

• Wrestling with weight issues part one and part two.
• An Incredibly generous teenager - a note from a teenager in the offering BLEW ME AWAY!
• What They REALLY Mean - When people say certain things to a pastor they REALLY mean…

It’s been a great year…looking forward to what happens around here in 2009!

You read them in all of the tabloids every single year…people make predictions for the upcoming year.  Well…a wave of inspiration has hit me…and so when the following things happen, don’t say I didn’t tell you they would!

#1 - Jeff Foxworthy will begin to attend Gary Lamb’s church in order to get more material for his next tour!

#2 - The Charlotte Carolina Panthers will contact Pastor Steven at Elevation Church to arrange their home schedule around their worship services!

#3 - Scott Hodge will discover a way to have coffee fed to him through an IV when he preaches, resulting in a new wave of church growth as people flock to hear twice as much information in half the time.

#4 - Mark Batterson will continue to chase lions, geese, aardvarks and other random animals…open 32 new campuses in the northeast…teach Starbucks how to create a cool environment in a coffee shop and be DOMINATED by me in a game of Corn Hole!!!

#5 - Bob Franquiz will be injured when a pile of books he has been reading for the past few months falls on him!  (But seriously, I’ve NEVER regretted reading a book he has recommended!)

#6 - Los will convince Andy Stanley to get a tattoo!  (OK, this one’s a stretch!!!)

#7 - Jeff Kapusta will be voted “Most metro-sexual” pastor in the US…and will celebrate by beginning a brand new line of scarfs!

#8 - Chris Elrod will fire his worship leader and begin to both preach and lead worship…but the worship will consist of rewrites of hair band songs and 80’s power ballads!

#9 - Tony Morgan will take over the internet…AND will lead the NewSpring dance team in an incredible performance at UNLEASH!!!

#10 - Cracker Barrell will once again be well loved by me because they will BRING THEIR BAKED APPLE DUMPLIN’ BACK!!!  PLEASE!!!

Here are a few closing thoughts for the day…

• If you would have told me in January all that God was going to do in 2008 here at NewSpring Church…I am not sure I would have believed you!
• His plans are so much better than ours (Isaiah 55:8) and He is able to do so much more than we think He can (Ephesians 3:20!)
• I am asking God to help me dream bigger dreams…I seriously think it is a sin for a church to have small vision when we have such a HUGE God who REIGNS over the universe and said HE will build HIS church!
• It is so hard to believe that this time next year we will actually be preparing to celebrate our 10 year anniversary!
• “Savior King” is one of the best worship songs ever written…and the way we ended our services today was simply amazing!
• The way a church impacts and changes a community is ONE LIFE AT A TIME.  We saw evidence of that today in the stories of lifechange!  Seeing that NEVER gets old!
• Oh yeah…our service today was pretty much all video teaching as we reflected on all Jesus has done at our church this year…and at the end of every service people received Christ!  Yep, video teaching works!  :-)
• Greenville campus had their 4th or 5th highest attendance of the year…on the Sunday AFTER Christmas…that’s crazy!!!
• Anderson campus was packed out all three services as well!
• There is a buzz in our church right now that is awesome!
• As I stood in the lobby today & spoke with people I kept hearing stories about how someone invited them to NewSpring, they met Jesus and their life has been changed…THAT NEVER GETS OLD!
• We begin our new series next Sunday (January 4th) called, “No Perfect People Allowed!”  Can’t wait!
• Our last coaching network meeting is on January 8th…can’t wait!  I think it might be our best one yet!!!  (Not sure if I am going to do it again…praying through it & will know within the next week.)
• Thinking about taking some staff members through some pretty intense leadership training next year…God is really rocking my world right now with some cool stuff & I want to pour into them as much as I can!
• Praying through some changes I need to make in the way I lead and the way I handle my day to day schedule so that I can be more effective in every area of my life…would appreciate your prayers as well.
• Thinking about buying a Garmin 305!  Marathon training is about to kick in FULL BLAST!
• Lucretia and I have a vacation coming up soon…we’re thinking about going to Disney World…without Charisse!  Seriously!  If anyone knows anyone down there who can help me set something up…let me know.  I haven’t been there in over 20 years!
• 44-6?  Seriously Dallas?  I give you support and cheer you on and you get blown out like that?  DANG!
• Hey NewSpring…one more thing…I was SERIOUS when I said that I believe 2009 will be our best year of ministry ever!  Hold on to your fork…

Okay…you might find this absolutely impossible to believe…but…

I AM PUMPED ABOUT THIS COMING SUNDAY!  

One of the most dangerous things for an individual/church is to forget God’s faithfulness…because when we forget what He has done for us in the past…we tend to freak out about the future.

SO…this Sunday we will be celebrating all that God has done here at NewSpring Church in 2008…we will have video of putting the shoes on the kids at schools as well as some INCREDIBLE music.  (The end of the service will be AWESOME!!!)

We’re going to celebrate like crazy and reflect so that we can celebrate and anticipate all He is going to do in 2009…and beyond!

Once again, I seriously can’t wait…definitely a “should not miss” Sunday!  (Actually…I think every Sunday is one that should not be missed!)  :-)

Merry Christmas…and see you on Sunday!

We wish you a Merry Christmas…

You should hear her Christmas rap!

“I’m the cutest little girl ever…my daddy has a Bible and it is leather…”

Cutest smile EVER!!!  “Cheese!!!”

Rockin the hat!!!

Wearing Mama’s shoes–and definitely making a fashion statement!

People have asked me in the past why I do what I do…it’s simple…

#1 - I’ve never gotten over meeting Jesus…He literally changed my life on May 27,1990…and I want EVERYONE on the planet to meet Him as well!

#2 - I believe in the local church.  I’m obsessed with it…and I think when it is working properly there is NOTHING like it on the planet.

#3 - I believe that God has created each and every person on the planet with a unique purpose in mind…and I desperately want each of them to discover it and pursue it because, in doing so, God will continue to be glorified.

#4 - I believe that God is so much larger than I could ever think or imagine He is…and I want to see Him become more and more important in our lives.

#5 - I believe that only what is done for Christ will last for eternity.

#6 - I believe that the greatest move of God to ever hit the planet is STILL YET TO COME…and I desperately want to be a part of it.

#7 - I believe the most innovative ways of doing church haven’t even been thought of yet…quite possibly because those who God is going to use to develop them aren’t even in the Kingdom yet!

#8 - I believe the GREATEST missions opportunity the church has is its willingness to invest in youth and children’s ministry!

#9 - I believe that planning and preparation in regards to church services honors God.

#10 - I believe it is the primary job of the church to preach the Gospel…to lift up Jesus…to challenge people to go and invite people to church where they hear about JESUS…and HE changes their lives!

Those are just a few reasons of why I do what I do!

The other morning I was spending some time with Charisse and we were walking around the Christmas tree looking at ornaments.

When all of a sudden I reached out and picked her up…not for any reason in particular…just because I wanted to.  I walked with her around the house and even said something to her like, “Hey girl…there are just times that your daddy wants to carry you!”

Later on that night I felt the Lord tell me, “It’s the same with me & you…there are just times that I want to carry you.  You didn’t ask me to.  You weren’t aware that I wanted to.  But I did…and your life was better for it.”

I am blown away by how good God has been to me all throughout my life.  As I look back over my brief time on this planet…He’s carried me so many times.  AND…at times I could not tell He was there…but now I can see He was (and is) more faithful than I could have ever imagined.

He carried me!  AND my life is so much better for it!

This post was inspired by Craig Groeschels post about lukewarm pastors several weeks ago…followed by Los’s post about signs of a lukewarm worship leader. 

#1 - A lukewarm blogger has ZERO original thoughts.  They simply spend their time searching the internet for blogs they disagree with and then attack them.

#2 - A lukewarm blogger hijacks the blogs of other people and uses them as a battleground to attack people and ministries that they do not like.

(It’s crazy…but the nut jobs out there that do this literally have no life.  If you will follow a comment thread it is always two or three people who have a majority of the negative stuff out there…and they reply almost immediately to anyone who comments to them…it’s as if their life revolves around this stuff!  Sad!  I’m afraid most of them may simply need a prescription for Viagra so that something exciting could happen in their life!!!)

#3 - In relation to the last one…a lukewarm blogger will spend hours every week listening to messages online of pastors they do not like or agree with & disect the sermons like crazy.  They will then take one or two minute sections of a sermon and make judgement calls on the pastor and the church based on the sections of the sermons they do not like.

#4 - A lukewarm blogger is always in attack mode.  They claim that they are doing what they are doing out of love for God…but there is no genuine love for others in their tone.  They are always attacking and tearing down people…their criticism is never rooted out of genuine love and concern…but rather hatred and bitterness.

#5 - A lukewarm blogger often disguises himself via random names on comment sections of blogs, ambigious internet sites and anonamyous emails.  They are cowards and would never say to anyone’s face what they type on a keyboard.

#6 - A lukewarm blogger seldom, if every, prays for the people they feel “led” to attack.

#7 - A lukewarm blogger will spend time trying to get others to attack the Christians they disagree with rather than reaching out to those who don’t know Christ.

#8 - A lukewarm blogger is insecure and is always searching the internet for his or her name and to see what others are saying about what they write.

WOW!  I am sitting here with one of the worse “preaching headaches” ever (get them every Sunday)…and yet I am COMPLETELY overjoyed at all God allowed me to be a part of this weekend…I STILL can’t believe He saved me and allows me to do what I do!  Saying all of that…here are some thoughts on the weekend…

• We saw 220 people stand to their feet and pray out loud to receive Christ…that NEVER gets old!  WOW!
• I wish you could have seen the people who were with the men & women who stood to receive Christ…the joy and excitement on their faces was uncontainable!
• We had over 14,000 people attend our services this weekend…definitely shattered a record.
• We had 272 people show up in Florence…they watched the 4:00 message from Saturday in Anderson via DVD…and four people received Christ.  Uh…yeah…video teaching works!!!
• Greenville definitely shattered their attendance record today with nearly 2,800 people total.  They had their first 6:00 service tonight with over 800 in attendance…gotta feeling that may soon be an every week thing!
• Our campuses went nuts when we announced that we are launching a campus in Columbia next year…and we had LOTS of people from Columbia today in our services!  Pray hard…it looks like it is going to happen sooner rather than later!!!
• For those who were not there…it wasn’t a “typical Christmas message!”  I pretty much preached on the fact that God has a breaking point where His kindness and mercy are no longer extended & He will allow us to step into eternity without Him.
• Why preach that on Christmas?  Uh…that’s when people need to hear the Gospel the most.  I don’t want to EVER be so into Christmas programming that we miss the opportunity to share the Gospel!!!
• “It Is Well” ALWAYS moves me…but this weekend is moved me all five times I heard it.  Amazing!
• For the record…I thought our production team did an incredible job of using the gifts God gave them to make sure the name of Jesus was heard and seen loud and clear.
• As I said today…it is a dangerous thing for people who are immersed in religion…because it is possible to go to church, know the Bible and still MISS JESUS!

A few other things before I head to bed…

• Next weeks service (the 28th) is literally going to be so much fun…AND I think unforgettable.  We are going to celebrate all that God has done for our church this past year…and thank Jesus for allowing us to be a part of it!
• Yes, we will be showing video of when we went into the schools and gave shoes away to 1,665 children!!!
• Thank you NewSpring for your incredible generosity…because you give we are able to do things like that.
• No, I was not joking about the chocolate chip cookie dough covered in white chocolate…those things were amazing and I NEED MORE OF THEM!
• I also wasn’t joking about the chicken flying out of my nose…it happened…and it was quite painful!
• To all of our volunteers who served today in Greenville, Anderson and Florence…THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!  EVERYTHING you did this weekend MADE A DIFFERENCE!!!  Our church is being used to advance HIS KINGDOM because of YOU allowing God to use YOU!!!
• Blogging may be a bit more sporadic this week (and next) as I will be trying to catch my breath and spend some time with my family!  (But…I have written posts for tomorrow and Tuesday already.)
• Marathon training begins this week…going to be a little tough as I “tweaked” my hamstring on Friday doing some speed work.
• Going to get a new pair of running shoes tomorrow!

I hope you have an awesome week…Merry Christmas!!!

This won’t be my usual Sunday night wrap up…that will come tomorrow evening…but…

I just wanted to say that tonight were two of the most anointed services I believe we’ve ever had in our church.

Our creative team did an incredible job!

Our band was off the hook!

BUT…most of all…the presence of God was POWERFUL…and He drew 30 people to Himself who stood up and prayed out loud to receive Christ!!!

AMAZING!

Seriously, hearing people pray to receive Christ NEVER gets old!

For those coming tomorrow…at any campus…get here EARLY, the place will be packed!!!

Hoping/praying I actually sleep tonight!!!

Hey NewSpringers…just wanted to say that whatever service you are planning on attending this weekend…at whatever campus…

PLEASE GET HERE EARLY!!!  

Several reasons for this…

• We are expecting record crowds!!!
• The first five minutes of the service are going to be amazing, high energy and unforgettable!!!
• I will be doing interpretive movement wearing my red & green Christmas tights!
• The above sentence is not true…and I apologize for any harm it may have caused!

I am hoping that all of us…

• Bring people with us
• Get here early
• Beg God to do something amazing.
• Get here early
• Ask Jesus to make Himself more real to us that He’s ever been!
• Ask God to save people
• Get here early!

I seriously didn’t sleep last night–WAY EXCITED!!!
WOO HOO!!!

See you here…EARLY!!!

Just in case you haven’t been able to tell this about me before…I am OBSESSED with church.  WHICH…is REALLY funny considering at one time in my life I hated it and swore I would never go back.

But now…I can’t quit thinking about it.  If someone wants to talk church…I’m in!  AND SO…it bothers me when I hear someone say that they don’t think that church is really that important.

REALLY?  Church isn’t important?  DANG…if that’s the case I have a few questions…

#1 - If church isn’t that important - then why does Matthew 16:18 say that Jesus built it?  Would the Son of God actually spend time building something that was worthless?

#2 - If church isn’t that important - then why does Scripture say in Acts 20:28 say that Jesus shed His blood for it?  Would the Son of God have been willing to endure the suffering He went through for a meaningless organization?

#3 - If church isn’t that important - then why does Ephesians 1:22 & Colossians 1:18 say that Jesus is the Head of it?  Would Jesus REALLY be the Head of something insignificant and trivial?

#4 - If church isn’t that important, if church isn’t “needed” to learn about God…then why does Ephesians 3:10 say that it was through the church that the wisdom of God should be made known?

Just a few questions to ponder for a Friday.  :-)

Pastors, church leaders…please understand that the work that the church does is the most important work in the world.  The church has been around for 2,000 years…and it will be around for the next 2,000 if Jesus chooses not to come back during that time!

What you do is important…whether you have 50 coming this weekend or 50,000.  What you are going to do matters!!!  God called you and equipped you to do this work…and for those who are feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated…God knows exactly where you are…and He didn’t bring you to this point to watch you fail.

Go for it!!!

As many of you know…I recently hired a personal trainer to help me take it to the next level in my workouts.

This past Monday was, by far, one of the toughest workouts I’ve ever been put through; in fact, I nearly projectile vomitted all over the place (BUT…I didn’t tell him, didn’t want him to let up!)

In between the box squats and the rowing machine from the pit of hell I had the following two thoughts in regards to personal training and leadership…and what they have in common.

#1 - It Costs Something To Go To The Next Level.  

I’ve had people make the comment to me when hearing that I made the investment in personal training that they would “never” waste money on something like that…and it showed!

Sure, you can “train” on your own…and you can see some improvements in doing that; however, if you want to see what you’ve really got…it often takes someone pushing you past the limits you thought had always existed.

That is true in training…and it’s true in leadership.  There are things we can do as leaders to grow and stretch ourselves…but if we REALLY want to excel in leading we need to be willing to pay the price…

IN THE TIME category…it takes time to develop our leadership abilities…PLANNED out time.  I have discovered that if I do not set aside time for sharpening my leadership…then it will not happen.

IN THE MONEY category…it costs money to grow.  We have to be willing to invest in books.  We need to be willing to travel to conferences.  We need to be willing to pay whatever the price to sharpen ourselves as leaders.

#2 - You Can’t Cheat If You Want To Go To The Next Level. 

As I was doing my next to last set of lunges my trainer asked me if I was okay.  (I think I might have been turning green by this point!)

NOW…I could have lied and told him that I simply could not do anymore.  AND…that would have been the easy way out.  When it came right down to it…I am the only one who really knew the truth.

BUT…the thought hit my mind, “Why in the heck would I want to lie.  I am only going to get out of this what I put into it,” and then I BLASTED through several more reps (and then crawled to my car!)

As a leader…I am the one who has to be willing to admit when something is or is not right with me personally.  I can read books and go to conferences…but if I do not take the time afterwards to process through the information…all I become is a consumer and not actually a learner.

Those are just two thoughts I had…don’t know if they make a lot of sense…but they took my mind off the pain for a while!  :-)

Here are a few random thoughts and links…

• THANK YOU Shane Duffey for your incredibly kind words in this post.  It is an honor to serve with guys like you!!!  I seriously have the most amazing team on the planet!
• We have distributed over 17,500 Christmas tickets…this weekend is going to be amazing.  (One last time, here is the link if you don’t have them yet!)
• Thank you to everyone who has brought something by the office for me to eat…I love sweets!  HOWEVER, I have been sharing it all…because if I ate it all I would have gained 224 pounds just last week!
• BUT…to the lady who brought the chocolate chip cookie dough balls covered in white chocolate…PLEASE FEEL FREE to make them as often as you would like and bring them to the church!  Eating them is a spiritual gift of mine!!!
• Brad Cooper absolutely tripped me out with his “get off the nipple” post!
• I will not be doing a coaching network in the spring…but we are doing Unleash…and may have a few other surprises.
• I am REALLY excited about taking the first five months of next year and preaching through the Sermon on the Mount…but I have been “shocked” at how Jesus didn’t really go through the OT line by line, instead he focused on “felt needs” such as money, marriage, eternity, forgiveness, divorce and a few other things.  :-)
• I need a new pair of running shoes!
• Lucretia and I have four episodes of “Heroes” to catch up on…but do not fear, I downloaded them from itunes!  We love that show…and LOST!  Can’t wait until it comes back on!

That’s about it…totally random stuff I know!!!

Today was an amazing day…

Our church has always been passionate about local missions…and today we were able to go into four local elementary schools (three in Anderson, one in Greenville) and give nearly every student a brand new pair of shoes for Christmas!!!

In addition to the shoes some kids received a jacket…and others received bookbags full of school supplies.

I literally fought back the tears and I witnessed staff and volunteers putting shoes on the kids feet…and kids grinning from ear to ear with excitement.

I told a staff member as we were leaving one of the schools, “This is how you change the world…you reach people at this level.  These kids will never forget that a church in their own community loved them enough to come in and give them shoes and a jacket.”

NewSpring Church…you can rejoice that today, through your generous giving, we were able to place shoes on the feet of over 1,500 children…many of whom were wearing shoes that were at least two or three sizes too small!

Yes, we ARE going to go overseas and do mission work…and I am pumped about it; however, we will NEVER become the church that is willing to send checks overseas but ignore the need in their own community.

God has called us to shine a light…and I believe we should shine the brightest in the community in which we exist.

I believe seeds of salvation were planted today!  No, we didn’t witness to the kids…we didn’t make them take an oath to come to our church…we simply put shoes on their feet.  BUT…by doing so I am POSITIVE that lives will be changed…and God will get the glory for it all!

Thanks again NewSpring for your incredible generosity…it made a difference today!!!

I am VERY cautious in regards to how I use the phrase, “God told me,” because, well, I’ve seen people use and abuse it.

However, about two months ago I began journaling again on my journey through Scripture…and I feel like I have felt God speak to me very clearly & tell me three things…

#1 - “You Are A Servant Of The Most High God.”  

Three things stick out to me here…

The first is that God has been continually reminding me that HE is the MOST HIGH…that HE is SOVEREIGN, and NO ONE or NOTHING in the universe compares to Him.

The second is that a servant can do exactly what his master commissions him to do because…well…the servant is not acting on his own authority but rather the authority of his master.  If I am continually seeking His voice and doing as He says…I have nothing to fear.

The third is I am HIS SERVANT, not vice versa.  I was created for the purpose of bringing glory to God…He does not exist to bring glory to me.  He keeps reminding me that my FREEDOM in life comes through my obedience in serving Him!

John said it best in John 3:30…