Halloween

My goal tonight as I drive home is to avoid running over the 3-4 ft. tall penguins, elves, skeletons, and other little critters who are out as candy scavengers. Halloween is a funny night for me. Here is why...
1. I get to see adults dressed all stupid and that makes me laugh.
2. I get to see husbands and wives and/or girlfriends and boyfriends with matching and/or coordinating (Ketchup and Mustard, etc.) costumes and that makes me laugh even more (and slightly nauseated).
3. Scaring the little kids that come to my door makes me happy (sick I know)
4. Listening to "Super Christians" (aka - Pharisees) preach against Halloween causes much laughter and sadness all at the same time.
5. "Testing" Lexi and London's candy to make sure that it is not poisonous or filled with razorblades prove how wonderful of a father that I really am.

Halloween is here my friends. Enjoy it and don't be one of those freaks that gives our that gross stuff in the black and orange wrappers. Nothing is worse than generic brand candy. Buy the real stuff or be made fun of by everyone in your neighborhood for an entire year.

I can't take it anymore!

I am tired of the Miami Hurricanes, Kyle Wright, and most of all, Larry Coker. I can't deal with being a mediocre team like we have had to deal with for the past three years. Miami is too good to be lumped into the same pile with those teams who will occasionally win conference titles but never a national championship. That's not who we are and that is not who we are going to become. It has been 5 years since winning a national championship which I really can't complain about; however, it has been 3 since we have even been in contention. It's time for a change UM. Let's do it now!

Lexi's team (the frogs) won her game yesterday. I know, no one is supposed to keep score, but I definately do. They actually won 7-2 which I am pretty excited about. They had a blast but I am ready to move on to a different sport.

New life

Today is a major test for the Univ. of Miami. We are terrible this year; however, if we can somehow upset GT we are back in the drivers seat for the "who really cares" ACC title. If we can pull this off on our worst year in recent memory - I might be able to be excited about this college football season again. Go Canes!

Have I mentioned how excited I am about what God is doing at H2O? Come check it out! Students are asking to bring their parents, their neighbors, and pretty much everyone they come in contact with. The next several weeks are going to be amazing!

Lexi has her last soccer game of the season today. There is nothing like watching 4 yr. olds play soccer when you are the most competitive person on the planet. I am learning patience in a major way and even having some fun in the process. Truth be told - I still want my 4 yr. old to kick some 4 yr. old butt ever time she steps on the field. Go Lexi and Go Frogs (her team name which makes me laugh).

Couple random things

Last night was incredible. The band, Jeff, Josh, Justin, Brent, David, and Scott (Carmen was out of town in Seattle) did a fantastic job leading us as we encountered God. All of the students and adults who make Wednesday night happen (too many to list) are remarkable. The message went very well and we had a great response. A couple of students gave their lives to Christ and we had around 200 names written on cards so that they can be prayed for over the next couple of weeks by name. The names on the cards were names of friends, parents, relatives, and even teachers. It was a great atmosphere and there is an incredibe attitude of expectancy.

That is the way that it should be all the time at every church. Church shouldn't be something that people hate going to but let's be real and admit that many times church is the most unengaging place on the planet. We refuse to allow that to happen at H2O. We will be a place that is engaging and we will be very intentional about reaching people. Our vision will not be hijacked and God will be glorified. To everyone at H2O - the best is yet to come!

H2O is bueno!

Gotta love the new changes we have made to H2O. Can't wait for tonight and the next 3 weeks for that matter. We have the best couple hundred high school students on the planet every week and I am pumped about the direction we are going... The past week or so I have had random adults ask if they could come on Wednesday nights, not necessarily to help, but just to be a part of what God is doing each week. I assure you that doesn't happen very often. Most adults in churches RUN from the student ministry (and they have in the past here as well - trust me). I am looking forward to how this thing is going to play out. Here's the set list for tonight...

No One Like You
Tell The World
Marvelous Light
Shout Unto God
How Great is our God/How great Thou art (yeah we are doing a hymn...gasp!)
Jesus' Blood

Message: Ezekiel 33

It will be an incredible night!

To Blog or Not to Blog

Lately, I have learned a lot about this whole blogging phenomenon. Here are a couple of thoughts...

1. More people will read it than you think.
In the past couple of days I have been at totally random places and introduced myself and had people say that they already knew me because they read my blog. I love that! It's kinda wierd but it's cool because that is definately the point of doing this in the first place. So to the coolest Verizon lady on the planet (Tracey) this blogs' for you! (By the way - Tracey could have been way cooler but she didn't hook me up with the phone that I REALLY wanted). Josh (another Verizon guy and a rockin guitar player in our band)- You are my hero and I will see you in the next 14 days at some point I am sure.

2. As a church staff member - blogging can be difficult.
The reason that it can be hard sometimes is because unless you are the Sr. Pastor, Lead Pastor, etc., or whatever else it is you want to be called it is not always smart to express all of your opinions to the rest of the world. This can be a pain for a person who always has an opinion but - it is all good. Part of being a good leader is learning how to be a good follower. I am learning.

3. People really do get pretty bitter at you if you don't add something new EVERY day
I am working on this and I will get better. Changes coming soon.

Perry Noble, Delta, and a race against time

The day finally arrived that Todd and I were going to meet with Perry from Newspring Church. The meeting was supposed to be at 11:30 which wouldn't have been a problem; however, our first flight (6 AM) was cancelled and our 7:30 flight was an hour late. This put us into Atlanta at around 10:30. By the time we found a car to drive it was almost 11 and we still had to drive about 2 hours to get to Anderson at a decent time. Perry's office graciously bumped the meeting back to around 12:30 and we made the 2 hour trip in right at an hour and a half. Not getting a speeding ticket was a miracle - for which I am very grateful.

The meeting with Perry and Shane was incredible. First off, we went to Fatz which made me very happy, even though I just realized that they never did bring us those little doughnut type roll things that they have. This is probably a good thing as I am not allowed to eat them anyway. We talked about a ton of stuff at that meeting - too much to write here in one post. Several people have called to ask, "what was the most important thing that you talked about" at that meeting? Here it is...

1. Don't let anyone hijack your vision. Know the vision that God has given you and do not allow anyone to distract you from accomplishing it. This was big! Perry had a guy (who gave 65% of his total church budget) stop coming to his church in the early days because the guy wanted Newspring to go in a different direction and Perry wasn't willing to budge. As a result, God has blessed tremendously. It is easy to spot the person who has a completely different vision than you; however, spotting those who have subtle differences are key. Keep the vision clear! Don't apologize for it and don't try to be all things to all people. Realize who you are as a ministry and don't back down. Most churches suffer from an identity crisis. Don't be or become one of those churches or ministries.

Great day yesterday.

Please don't lose my bag!

I am pumped! I love Wednesday's and I am excited about what God has in store for H2O tonight. We had an incredible creative team meeting last night and we are all excited about what is in store for this and the next several weeks at H2O. It will be unreal!

Tomorrow Todd and I are flying to Atlanta for a meeting with Perry Noble in Anderson, SC. I can't wait! This is a guy that is being used of God in an incredible way at Newspring Church and I have at least 350 questions to ask him tomorrow afternoon. It will be much fun (at least for me).

It is about time!

I know that what I am about to write will not be very popular, but here goes anyway. For the past three years I have watched the Miami Hurricanes lose their swagger and become an average team that doesn't look like they care whether they win or lose. Tonight, we may have taken a turn for the better. A huge brawl broke out - I am not talking about a little fight or a couple of people simply running their mouth. The real deal - a 5 minute all out "us vs. them" bond creating fight. I know that sounds crazy and it is not the best way to gain momentum; however, at this point - I will take it. Look for a rejuvenated Miami team that will play with passion (barring half our players aren't kicked out for the next few games). The ACC is down this year - as a result - we still have a chance. Let's see how you handle this swing of momentum Larry Coker. You have a few games left to earn back your job.

By the way - Rumor had it that Mark Richt could be a target of the Miami faithful. I say leave him in the great state of Georgia. Any time you can lose to Vanderbilt at home after giving up half a hundred on the same field - is VERY bad.

The trip has ended

722 was incredible! NorthPoint just hired a guy named Jarrett Stevens to lead 722 and the college and singles ministry. It was cool to be able to hear him for the first time. It is evident that God will use him in an incredible way in the life of that ministry. As far as the music -it couldn't have been better. Steve Fee, Kristian Stanfill, and Todd Fields shared the duties of leading in worship. Any time you can have one of those guys leading on your stage - it will be a great night - we had the privelege of experiencing all three.

The trip home was much more uneventful than the trip there. We didn't run over anything and hit absolutely zero traffic. It was my great day for sure. It was an incredible 4 days spent with some of the best teenagers on the planet. I wish we could do it again tomorrow.

Trip Update

It was unanimous - we all thought Newspring was incredible on Sunday! The atmosphere was great, the people were friendly without being fake, the music was incredible (although I wish they would have sung more than 3 songs), and the message was engaging. The excitement is in the air at this church and the people who attend are pumped about being there. God is moving in Anderson, SC!

Yesterday, we all went downtown to Hard Rock Cafe and then to Netherworld Haunted House in Norcross. It wasn't bad and we had a blast watching Kelsianne scream her head off from the moment we stepped into the parking lot.

Tonight is 722 at Northpoint. It is going to be amazing.

Crazy Day 1

Several strange things happened on our very interesting trip to Atlanta yesterday. First, when I got to the church I realized that there was a very interesting looking individual sleeping in the van. It kind of freaked me out - but since it was in the other van and not the one I was driving we were definately able to avoid a wierd confrontation. Come to find out - this guy had been sent into WalMart to get some things the night before and his friends left him there with nowhere to go. Sad and funny all at the same time. Next, as we were driving down 385 a pretty good size pit bull looking dog decided that he wanted to play on the highway. To make a long story short - I took care of that problem when I rocked his world going 65 miles an hour. Not a pretty sight, but swerving in a big van full of people would not have been a good idea. Then, we got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for what seemed like forever. It was so bad that two of us had to jump out of the van and run into the woods to use the bathroom. Then we had to walk down the highway until we could catch back up with the van in front of a couple thousand very angry and curious onlookers. After it was all said and done - we arrived in Atlanta safe and sound, hung out at my parents house, and are getting ready to go to Newspring in about an hour. Can't wait!

Weekend is Approaching

I can't wait for this weekend to get here!

First, Devin and I will celebrate our anniversary (6 years). That seems so crazy to me. I can't believe that we have been married for 6 years, had two incredibly different and wonderful girls, lived in two states, served at two churches, and had so much fun along the way. God has definately blessed me with an incredible wife (or curserd her with a very wierd husband).

Second, Devin and I are taking some of our student interns to Atlanta this weekend. While we are there we will drive to SC to let them check out Perry Noble and Newspring Church. 214 people saved and 413 people baptized in the past two weeks = not bad (maybe the understatement of the century). Then we will hang out in Woodstock for a few days and head out to 722 on Tuesday night. It will be incredible! I love these students and hanging out with them challenges me and makes me laugh hysterically. I can't wait!

Relevance does not always equal compromise

Erwin McManus has some great thoughts contained within the book The Church in Emerging Culture. When writing about the need for relevance he gives this illustration...

Have you ever stood on a rock in the middle of a river, hearing, seeing, and feeling the power of water rushing all around you? Imagine deciding to take a bucket and dip it quickly into the river to fill it not with water but with the rapid itself. You would have an endless stream of rushing water from which to draw. Yet every time you would attempt to capture this amazing dynamic, no matter how quickly you dipped or how determined you were, when you looked inside your container, all you would find is still water.

He then goes on to say that the church has a very hard time distinguishing between the water in the bucket and the rapids, and as a result - we are inept at impacting the culture we seek to engage. The purpose of the church is not to be a bucket saving the water from the rapids. Neither is the church intended to be the water that is in the bucket. The church should be an intricate part of the river.

Change occurs whether we like it or not. We must be willing to do some things differently in order to effectively reach an ever-changing culture. If not - we become "stuck" and we confuse the past for the present, and the present for the future.