living in the moment

I'm Back!!!

2011-12-19T01:40:00.000-05:00

A lot has changed for me and my family since my last post. For instance ,we no longer live and pastor in Georgia. This past summer we moved to Jacksonville Florida to pastor our new church Faith Temple Assembly of God. Our transition to FL has been amazing! Although we terribly miss our friends and family in Georgia we are loving our new city and our new church!!! So now that we have settled into our new life in Florida I was thinking it was time to start blogging again.

Just so you know what to expect on my blog. I'll be writing about all kinds of stuff like...family, being a husband, a daddy, and a Pastor, ministry, movies, sports, leadership, church, Jacksonville, my dreams and goals, hobbies, the beach, books, food, and every once in a while I'll repost others leadership articles or blog posts.

So hope you enjoy my random rants and thoughts as I live in the moment here in Jax FL!

New Sermon Series Starts This Sunday

2011-03-10T00:04:00.000-05:00

“Does the brand of faith you live by produce the kinds of results in your life that you read about in the biblical stories of men and women of faith? Chances are, not even close.” But it doesn’t have to stay that way. My goal throughout this new sermon series is to challenge you to believe that the audacious faith that we see in the Bible, the faith that caused a man to pray and see the sun stand still in the sky, is the same faith we can claim for ourselves today.

In week one we're going to discovered how Joshua prepared for the longest day of his life. So I hope you don't miss this brand new message series as we dare to begin to ask God for the impossible!

Final Week of Sermon Series

2011-02-25T19:39:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to invite you to Dahlonega Assembly for the final week of "the litmus test of love". I promise you will walk away from DAG feeling inspired and challenged! Hope to see you this Sunday morning at 10:30AM!

running thoughts: press through the crap

2011-02-22T17:22:00.000-05:00

FRIENDLY NOTICE if the word "crap" offends you, you probably don't want to read this. Sure I could use different words to describe "crap" like "poop" or "mess" or "stinky stuff" and well I won't type it but I'm sure you know what I mean...the bad word version. But I think once you read this you will understand why the word "crap" is most appropriate for this post.

Anyway...I started running again today. Actually I don't even know why I stopped because I really do like to run. I'm pretty sure it's because I'm not looking forward to the aches and pains during the first couple of weeks. Never the less I got my out of shape self out of bed, got my running gear on, stretched, walked out the door and ran/walked for about 2 miles.

At first it felt awkward. It's been a while since I had been on a good long run. It took a moment or two for my body to understand that this was going to happen whether it liked it or not. After the first mile and a half and getting into my stride I was running up a hill when the strong smell of cow manure filled the air. Then I looked down on the road and realized there was dry manure scattered all over road. Right then a strong gust of wind came out of nowhere and suddenly I find myself running into the wind, running on top of dry cow crap, while the smell of cow crap attacked my sense of smell.

My first thought was to run faster and get past this crappy situation. Right then the Holy Spirit thought it would be a great teaching moment for me. The Holy Spirit reminded me that throughout life we will be faced with "crappy" situations. The reality is that there will be times in our lives that we won't be able to out run them or avoid them. So what do we do when we are facing one of these moments...you press through them.

The problem is many of us won't press through because the price is too high, it's too messy, it takes too much time, the pain will be too much, and the list can go on and on.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13-14 "Brothers I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and STRAINING FORWARD to what lies ahead, I PRESS ON toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

It doesn't say SKIP...it doesn't say HOP...it says STRAINING FORWARD! In other words you have to put some effort into moving forward. You see if I stopped running at that moment I would have never gotten past the crappy situation. Sure I was tired and my muscles were sore but I knew I didn't want to stay there so the only option I had was to strain forward.

The moment we apply some effort and press on toward the goal we will get past our crappy situations. At the end of my run I was so thankful for the smelly reminder that crappy situations don' last forever! Looking forward to my next run! Hope you were encouraged with this running thought.

Sunday Rewind

2011-02-21T20:38:00.006-05:00

Sunday was AMAZING!
In fact every Sunday since January 2 has been AMAZING!!!
I mean it's been good in the past but God is definitely up to something at Dahlonega Assembly right now!
Every Sunday our worship team is taking up another level.
Thanks KT, Brent, and Laura couldn't do it without you guys.
One of the things that I'm lovin' right now is the caliber of people visiting DAG.
The folks visiting are not just satisified with sitting on the pews.
They want to get involved and change the world!
LOVE IT!
I love to preach but lately I've been having so much fun sharing God word!!!
It never gets old to see how God's Word inspires and changes lives.
Mark your Calendars because April 23rd is the day of North Georgia's Biggest Easter Egg Hunt!
We had our first community Easter Egg Hunt meeting after service.
This year we're doing 30,000 eggs!
THAT'S RIGHT 30,000 EGGS!
It was a great brainstorming/planning session.
I'm meeting up with some folks this week that are going to help us take our event up a notch.
This year's event is going to be BIGGER and BETTER!
Get ready North Georgia you are about to experience AGAPE LOVE at a whole nutha level!
Another great thing happening at DAG is KAIO Youth Ministry!
Our Youth Pastor Darryl Prince has been doing a fantastic job.
It's never gets old see teenagers fall in love Jesus.
Like I said God is definitely up to something in the mountains of North Georgia!
Just putting this out there if there is anyone out there that has a portable basketball hoop that you don't need or want our Youth Ministry would love to take that off your hands:) Just let me know. THANKS!

New Series starts Sunday!

2011-02-18T10:12:00.001-05:00

Want to invite everyone to church this Sunday the 20th as I start a brand new sermon series. Before we can ever share or show love we need to understand what really is love. Hope to see you there! Come early and enjoy some donut and a cup of joe in our missions cafe!

NO SERVICE ON WED NIGHT

2011-01-12T19:18:00.002-05:00

Hey DAGer's just wanted to let everyone know that we are cancelling all activities on Wednesday January 12th. I know that y'all are probably having a serious case of cabin fever and would LOVE to come to church but the road conditions are still dangerous. So although I would love to see y'all your safety is more important to us. Don't worry we'll see each other on Sunday! Until then enjoy this time with your love ones and if you have to go out PLEASE be safe. See y'all Sunday at 10:30am!!!

AWAKENING 2011

2011-01-01T13:47:00.001-05:00

Don't miss this Sunday as we begin the New Year with a brand new series called AWAKENING!!! I be sharing why it so important we start this new year with a season of fasting and praying. Hope to see you there!

God At The Movies Wk 2

2010-10-25T22:00:00.000-04:00

Join us this Sunday at 10:30am during week 2 of God At The Movies as guest speaker Marty Dunkerly shares a powerful illustrated message. Hope to see you there!

Living in the Sweet Spot wk 3

2010-10-01T22:11:00.004-04:00

From the very first week this series has been challenging me like crazy! It's funny how Pastors get excited about messages thinking that it's going to minister to those in our church and all of a suddenly we're the ones on the floor crying with snot all over our faces. God truly has a great sense of humor.

I hope to see you this Sunday at Dahlonega Assembly at 10:30am as we continue on this journey to living in the sweet spot!

The Highs & Lows

2010-10-01T01:11:00.004-04:00

Just read this great post by Hebert Cooper of People's Church in Oklahoma regarding the highs and the lows of ministry. If you're in ministry print this out and put it on your desk and read it after every worship service.

Living in the Sweet Spot wk2

2010-09-25T17:00:00.002-04:00

Don't miss week 2 of Living in the Sweet Spot! Come early grab a doughnut and a cup of coffee and enjoy some great fellowship with the amazing folks at Dahlonega Assembly.

Last Week of ONEPRAYER series

2010-06-26T20:16:00.005-04:00

Well tomorrow is the last message to this year's One Prayer series. I pray and hope that you have been encouraged and inspired by this years messages. Tomorrow I'm ending the series with a message entitled Unstoppable Grace. Hope to see you there at 10:30am!

If you've missed any of the messages in this series you can find them at our website www.dahlonegaag.com.

NEW MESSAGE SERIES STARTS TOMORROW!

2010-03-06T21:17:00.003-05:00

Don't miss this new message series starting on Sunday March 7th at 10:30am. Also be sure to get to church early and enjoy a cup of joe, a donut and for you healthier folks some fruit. Hope to see you there!

NEW MESSAGE SERIES

2010-02-07T01:25:00.003-05:00

NEW SERIES STARTS THIS SUNDAY! COME DISCOVER WHAT REAL COMMITTMENT IS ALL ABOUT. HOPE TO SEE YOU AT 10:30AM!!!

Sunday Rewind: Monday Edition

2010-01-25T16:30:00.009-05:00

We had an awesome worship experience yesterday!
From the moment I drove on the campus I knew it was going to be an amazing day.
On top of a our regular service we had a wedding with a reception afterwards, and then I had a finance meeting.
It was a very busy but extremely productive day.
I wanted to give a special shout out to my beautiful bride Tami, Mary M, and Linda A. for all of their hard work this passed week.
You ladies inspired me this weekend with your drive to get the job done.
Our 21 day fast ended on Saturday so I know that people were ready to eat "regular" food.
This is our second year doing a church wide fast.
I love starting the new year off with our church wide fast.
A couple of the benefits I've discovered regarding a fast is that not only does it clean out our physical systems but also our spiritual systems.
I know that sounds simple but there are some really cool thoughts about this fact.
First, the health benefits of fasting are incredible. It sucks in the beginning...but after a few days you begin to see the and affects and benefits.
Fasting helps you begin to understand what your body really needs to operate at maximum levels.
I've discovered as a leader it has the same affects and benefits on my spiritual life.
Now a 21 day fast is nothing more than a glorified diet if you don't spend time focusing on your relationship with Jesus.
The spiritual benefits that I have experienced during these last 21 days have been incredible.
It re-ignited a passion in me to honor God with every area in my life.
I remember one Sunday morning where it literally felt like the cotton was taken out of my ears and I could hear God more clearly.
There were moments during this fast that I had to make some tough decisions for our church and without hesitation I was able to step up and make them.
I totally attribute this decisive action to fasting.
These last 21 days were a stretching, pulling, growing, re-prioritizing season but it was totally worth it!
DAGer's I am so proud of all of you that took the fasting and praying challenge. I know it wasn't easy but I'm sure you would tell me that it was what you needed.
We can't not stop here we need to keep seeking Jesus with all of our hearts, minds, and strength.
I believe that 2010 is going to be an unforgettable years for me, my family, and our church.
I think what one of the first time guest said yesterday says it all, "there's alot of potential in this place."
We're taking it to a whole nutha level at DAG and the Trevino household.

WEEK 3 - God is Big Enough!

2010-01-23T21:49:00.002-05:00

Pastor Gabe is continuing his teaching series "God is Big Enough" this Sunday. How many times in our lives have we looked at our past and present and said to ourselves "how could God love a person like me?" I think we're all guilty of saying this. This Sunday Pastor Gabe is going to reminded us that God is big enough to love us. We hope you join us at our 10:30am Worship Experience to be inspired by this life changing message.

WEEK 2 - God is BIG Enough

2010-01-15T15:52:00.005-05:00

DON'T MISS WEEK 2 OF THIS LIFE INSPIRING SERIES. THE PARTY STARTS AT 10:30AM. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!

NEW BOOK!!!

2010-01-01T23:04:00.005-05:00

Just got Bob Franquiz's book Zero to sixty this past week. I was looking for a book that would give me straight to the point information. After reading several reviews of this book I had to get it.

So far I'm really impressed with the book. When I'm finished I'll share my thoughts a little more.

New Message Series starts this Sunday

2009-12-30T20:41:00.018-05:00

I wonder what the church would look like if we adopted this statement "GOD IS BIG ENOUGH" as our new mantra in 2010. I wonder how we would live our lives if we actually believe the statement "GOD IS BIG ENOUGH".

This Sunday we'll begin to look at the lives of people in the bible that lived this statement out. Ordinary, everyday, average people that not only said GOD IS BIG ENOUGH but acted like GOD WAS BIG ENOUGH.

We dare you to show up on Sunday @ 10:30am and shout with us that GOD IS BIG ENOUGH FOR 2010!

first and last time you will ever see this!

2009-12-24T19:57:00.008-05:00

So at work we had a secret Santa giveaway and look what Santa brought me...yellow toilet paper with a big G on it. My buddy at work knew I'm a die hard VIKINGS fan so he thought it would be funny to get me this cap. I felt so dirty posing for these pictures...so enjoy it. This is the first and last time you will ever see these pics.

Sunday Rewind

2009-12-20T21:24:00.005-05:00

I don't even know where to start about today's worship experience...
It was freakin' awesome!
I knew all week that God was going to show up in a BIG way!
To be honest it's been a little tough this pass week. My wife was sick, some issues were popping up at the church, I've been having issues at work.
I'm not sharing this with you so that you feel sorry for me, my wife, or our church but to tell you that I was not going to give the enemy a foothold in any of these situations.
The more determined I was to focus on Jesus during the last couple of weeks the tougher these situations got but at the end Jesus won and satan is still a big loser!
I think that we give up to quickly when the crap hits the fan.
For some reason we think that our situation is too huge for God and there's no way that He can intervene.
I know Pastors right now (me on Saturday night) that think their church issues are too huge, too complicated, too personal, for God and there's no way He can fix it.
What I was reminded of today was that one worship experience in His presence can do more than I can in my life time.
After today I truly believe that we are on the threshold of a major breakthrough...
I know that there are those out there that think that our best days are behind us not according to Jesus!
If today was an indication of what's to come I can't wait for it!
DAGer's get ready our best is yet to come!!!

Final Week - The Greatest Gift of All

2009-12-19T23:31:00.004-05:00

Don't miss the final week of this series as Pastor Gabe brings it to a close. Worship Experience starts at 10:30am hope to see you there!

WEEK 2 - The Greatest Gift of All

2009-12-12T20:34:00.002-05:00

Don't miss week 2 of the greatest gift of all. Worship Experience starts at 10:30am see you there!!!

Sunday Rewind

2009-12-06T18:13:00.009-05:00

TODAY WAS STINKIN' AWESOME!!!
We had a lot of first time guest.
From the moment I drove into the parking lot I knew it was going to be a great day!
I'm so proud of our servant leaders they brought their A game to church today.
The moment people showed up they were greeted and encouraged to enjoy our cafe area.
If you haven't experienced our cafe on Sunday mornings your miss out in a euphoric opportunity.
Our cafe servant leaders took it to a whole nothing level today.
If you leave our church hungry on Sunday mornings you must not like to eat.
I want to thank the Cowan family for coming out and helping me and my family decorate the church for the Christmas season it looks amazing.
I love everything about Christmas! I love the decorations...the smell of pine trees... Christmas lights...Christmas music...Christmas movies...Christmas food...I even like the crazy last minute Christmas shoppers...that would be me:). Of course I love Christmas because I love Jesus.
I think it's awesome that no matter what you think about Jesus...whether you believe in Him or not the whole world take time to celebrate His birth in the month of December.
I think it's freakin' awesome that Jesus still makes the front cover on magazines during this season you can't buy that kind of marketing.
No matter how hard this world tries to separate Jesus for Christmas it's not gonna happen.
Because Christmas is all about Jesus!!!
That's why I'm so excited about this year's Christmas series "The Greatest Gift of All".
We can't forget that in the midst of all the amazing Christmas traditions and stuff that JESUS IS THE GREATEST GIFT.
There's nothing like seeing people discover Jesus for the first time...I hope I never get use to that experience.
Finally to top off this amazing day we had ONE person receive Jesus as their King and Savior!!!
One more thing...I'm not gonna go into it too much right now because I want to write more about this in a later blog but at the end of my message today we celebrated communion and I want to thank Ms. Linda and Ms. Gail for take our communion experience to a whole nothing level. WOW!!! You ladies were amazing!!! Thank you so much.
That's all for now.

New Series this Sunday!

2009-12-05T09:17:00.003-05:00

I know this is going to sound a little selfish but one of the things that I LOVE about Christmas are the PRESENTS! Come on now, I know you love getting presents to...But as we get closer and closer to Christmas I hope that we can remember that the REAL PRESENT of the season is Jesus. Don't miss this weekend's worship experience as we start a brand new series called
"The Greatest Gift of All."

Sunday December 6th

Sunday December 13th

Sunday December 20th

7 things that I'm JACKED UP about!!!

2009-10-29T11:44:00.015-04:00

It been awhile since I lasted posted anything on my blog. I guess it was a unintended fast from blogging...but now I'm back! Just wanted to share about some things that I'm really JACKED UP about...

I'm JACKED UP about the future of our church! For the last several weeks I have been sensing that God has been preparing us for something HUGE. I know every Pastor says stuff like that all the time but I don't know how else to say it...what about this He's about to JACK our world up...is that better:) Pretty sure that's what this HOLY DISCONTENT I'm feeling in my spirit is all about. Can't help but think that we are on the theshold of something unbelievable!

I'm JACKED UP about the amazing people at DAG! Every week I'm amazing how our folks step up to the plate and serve their hearts out! DAGer's thank you so much for everything you do. It's an honor being your Pastor!

I'm still JACKED UP about the great report I got about last Sunday's worship experience. Last Sunday I was out of town and apparently we had many first time guest. Maybe I should go out of town more often:) I heard the entire worship experience was fantastic and our peps did a great job serving and leading. I feels so great to know that we have leaders that can make Sundays happen even when I'm not around.

I'm JACKED UP about our FALL CARNIVAL this Saturday! You don't want to miss this year's Fall Carnival. FREE funnel cakes, FREE drinks, FREE cotton candy, FREE popcorn, over 1000 FREE prizes, FREE games, and of course a ton of FREE candy! THE PARTY STARTS AT 6PM AND ENDS AT 9PM...HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

I'm JACKED UP about this Sunday! I'm started this new series called ONE. I promise you don't want to miss this message!

I'm JACKED UP about UNLEASH at NewSpring Church! This year I got my $39 tickets!!! Just so you know the $39 ticket deadline ends tomorrow...it's totally worth it! Stop procrastinating and go buy your tickets here!!!

Finally, I'm JACKED UP about a great opportunity I have that starts in January! I'm praying with all of my heart that I will be able to participate in Perry Noble's coaching network. I still can't believe that I got invited, I definitely will be feeling like the country mule at the Kentucky derby:)! Just one obstacle...you got it $$$$. The total cost for this coaching experience is $1,500 which is due in December. I know some of you may be saying that's crazy and stupid who would spend $1,500 to hang out with a bunch of Pastors. Well I guess I would! If I want our church to become everything God wants it to be there's at least two thing I need to do. One, I need to continue to seek God's heart for our community and two I need to continue to surround myself with people who dream BIG and really believe that nothing is impossible for God. Pastor Perry and the staff at NewSpring have been a wonderful example of what can happen when you apply these two steps. So I'm believe and praying that the funds will be available by December so I can be apart of this great opportunity. So if anyone has an extra $1,500 that they don't know what to do with just let me know!

Sunday Rewind

2009-09-20T22:00:00.002-04:00

HOMECOMING 09 WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!!!
Today our church celebrated 33 years of ministry in Dahlonega Georgia.
I am so grateful to all the people that came before us.
THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU for being faithful to the call that God placed in your hearts 33 years ago.
Got to be honest at first the term "Homecoming" threw me off a bit. These days we use the term "Anniversary" to describe the service we celebrate the church's birthday. But the more I thought about it and especially after today I really think the term Homecoming is appropriate. Not only were our regular attenders there today but some of their family members joined them. We also had many returning guests along with some first time guests. On top of all that we even had some formers members return for this special worship experience. It really felt like a Homecoming! Don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight!!!
Our guest speaker, Tom Lawerence, did a great job bring the Word. If you missed the message check out our website the message is already uploaded.
I didn't know it was possible but by the end of the service today I was more JACKED UP about the future of Dahlonega Assembly!
DAGer's get ready our BEST IS YET TO COME!!!
I got to say it the people at Dahlonega Assembly can cook some serious food!
Right after the service we had a family style potluck luck and it was AMAZING!!!
I'm still burping up some lunch:)
The food was great but oh LORD the desserts were fantastic!
I had a dessert called tres leches...can't even describe how amazing it was trust me it was good.
And you can never go wrong with a oldie but a goody dessert like banana pudding. I helped myself to two...okay three helpings to the banana pudding. What can I say it was awesome!
I want to thank all of the folks that made today a huge success.
Without yall today would have never happened.
I also want to take a moment and thank my amazing wife, Tami for all of her hard work this weekend. She truly is a super woman! She took care of our sick little boy, worked all week, helped organize this weekend, and still took care of me...honey thank you for putting up with me this week and still getting everything done...I LOVE YOU!

Church in the Park - Pics

2009-09-06T18:10:00.005-04:00

Church in the Park - Baptism Pics

2009-09-06T17:51:00.009-04:00

CHURCH IN THE PARK

2009-09-05T16:43:00.004-04:00

Hey DAGer's just wanted to remind you of Church in the Park this Sunday! So if you show up at the church building tomorrow morning you'll be all alone:) the rest of us will be at Yahoola Creek Park having a great time! Remember to bring your lawn chairs or blankets, coolers and of course picnic baskets filled with food!!!

We will also be baptizing some folks in the creek near by so if you are interested in getting baptized tomorrow bring a change of clothes you don't mind getting wet and get ready to be dunked.

We'll be providing some games but the park is filled with all kinds of things to do. Everything starts at 10:30am at the park. In the case of rain we will be meeting at the church.

Lion Chasers Manifesto

2009-07-02T14:35:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I was sharing with someone that I wanted to frame the Lion Chasers manifesto and hang it in my office. Sad to say they didn't know what I was talking about so I started to explain the book and the idea behind the Lion Chasers Manifesto. I didn't do it justice and I'm pretty sure I hacked it up so here's how author/Pastor Mark Batterson wrote it.

Just a little side note if you read this and feel nothing...somethings wrong with you! I hope and pray that as you read this that something in you will reignite. Get off your blessed assurance, stop delaying what God wants to do in your life...run hard...dream out loud...and live life to the fullest.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.

ONEPRAYER - Week 4

2009-06-27T15:14:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to reminder all you DAGer's that tomorrow is week 4 of ONEPRAYER. Tomorrow our guest speaker, Kelly Wallace, will be sharing about her experience in Kenya. Kelly will also be our summer intern for the next six weeks. I promise you this will be a day that you don't want to miss. It sadden me that I won't be there tomorrow but I know that God is going to do some amazing thing tomorrow morning.

Sunday Rewind

2009-06-21T22:02:00.005-04:00

Had a great father's day worship experience today.
OMG it was burning up outside at 10:30am!
Thank God for A/C!!!
My wife and son brought my Father's Day cards to church...with my gift!
Think I'm going to frame them and hang them in my office:)
Worship was great as always.
Had some returning guests and some first time guests.
Even though our attendance was low there was this overwhelming sense of God presence.
Got some ideas for next year's father's day...
We going to try to change the stat in Lumpkin County that men don't go to church on Father's Day.
Sunday was a loud reminded that we need men in God's house.
If we can reach the heart of the man in the household, we can reach the heart of the family!
Continued our Oneprayer series...
After church we had root beer floats.
I don't know what it is about a root beer float but OMG I love them!
Some folks didn't like root beer so they had a coke float...God save them:)
Some of the men of the church started some much needed projects around the church.
Just wanted to give a shout out to these amazing men of God. Thank you guys so much ya'll are my hero's!
The rest of the day was fantastic! Just me, my wife, and our big boy...perfect!!!
What a great Father's Day!

ROOTBEER FLOAT SUNDAY!!!

2009-06-20T18:05:00.004-04:00

If you have been in Georgia for the last couple of days you know it's been hotter than hades. So in honor of Father's Day and since it's going to be hot tomorrow right after church we will be enjoying rootbeer floats!!! There's something about enjoying a nice and cold rootbeer floats on a hot and steaming day that makes the day perfect! See you tomorrow!

ONEPRAYER - Week 3

2009-06-20T17:31:00.004-04:00

For the last couple of Sundays we have had a great time hearing from other Pastors for around the country but tomorrow I"M BACK:). Tomorrow is week 3 of ONEPRAYER and I can't wait to share what's on my heart.

Just a thought, Father's Day is the lowest attended day for men in church. One of my desires is that we will turn this sad statics around. So let's start tomorrow. Bring your dads, grandfathers, and every other man that is important to you to church tomorrow. I promise I will be my best to share God word in a MANLY WAY! :)

You got to read this...

2009-06-16T23:59:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share some post that I have been gleaning from the last couple of days. I hope you enjoy them like I have.

Jeff Leake hits a topic that every pastor deal with...attire! Great thoughts.
Perry Noble knocked it out of the park with this post. All I got to say it that I'M NOT GIVING UP!
Shawn Lovejoy gives out some great and practical advise that will help Pastors from compromising.
Michael Lukaszewski shares a practical and personal plan that helps keep things in prespective.
Herbert Cooper shares a bulletin point list of what a LEADER IS...

SUNDAY REWIND

2009-06-14T19:05:00.019-04:00

What a fantastic day!!!
From the moment I woke up this morning I knew that we were going to have great day!
Been praying that God would give us favor with our community...\
This morning we had several first-time guest!
HE is so faithful!!!
Last couple of weeks I have been singing with the worship team.
I love singing, it's been a lot of fun but eventually I want to get out of the worship teams way but until we rebuild our team I am more than willing to help.
Jonnie and Laura have been doing a great job leading us into God's presence.
THANKS LADIES! Ya'll are amazing!!!
We have been praying for God to show up in supernatural ways...and it's happening.
A couple of men that we have been praying for are literally being physically restore...PTL!!!
I love to watch peoples faces when Jesus is all over them...
They look like children on Christmas morning filled with excitement to learn what's in the perfectly wrapped present.
This week we had Pastor Steven Furtick speak at DAG via DVD:)
OMG!!! what a message!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously if you haven't heard his OnePrayer message go now and listen to it.
Our church was totally into it...laughing, Amening, shaking their heads, it really spoke to our hearts.
Totally agree that we must remind ourselves that the God that we serve...the creator of the universe is GOOD & GREAT!
SO STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW AND THANK GOD FOR BEING GOOD AND GREAT...
Several folks decided to begin to look at their circumstances and situations the way God see them...LIKE A BUG:)
DAGer's can you image what will happen WHEN you and I begin to live this way everyday...
We haven't seen anything yet.
DAGer's ya'll better get ready because God is about to send the rain!!!
Had some friends show up after service.
Hung out with them for the afternoon and showed off D-town to them.
A hand full of us got together for prayer this afternoon.
I love praying with our folks!
All in all it was a great day at DAG!
I really love pastoring in Dahlonega.
DAGer's our best is in front of us not in back...get ready!!!

SUNDAY REWIND

2009-06-09T17:35:00.020-04:00

First I want to say Sunday was amazing! God is definitely preparing us for something HUGE!
With that being said the last couple of Sundays have been really humbling and interesting.
Let me rewind back two weeks ago.
It was personally one of the most tough Sundays that I have experienced in ministry.
I struggled and wrestled with my message the night before.
I had a message prepared but felt it was totally not for the morning...so I had no idea what to share.
I was still dealing in my head and heart with the loss of a family...
On top of all that we probably had our lowest attendance since we became the Senior Pastors of DAG.
Remember this is way before we even started our Sunday AM Worship Experience.
Anyway as usual we began with music but somewhere in the middle of the second song something happened...the Holy Spirit showed up!
During the second song I felt inspired by the Holy Spirit to read Acts 2...the story of Pentecost.
For the last couple of weeks I have been studying about the Holy Holidays in scripture.
Being Pentecost Sunday I was inspired to read the account of when the Holy Spirit invaded the lives of 120 people.
As I stood there reading this amazing story the Holy Spirit reminded me that when I don't know what to do or say just wait on Him and He will lead me.
Suddenly our worship experience went from singing to praying!
I realize that this is NOT very seeker friendly but honestly I don't care!!!
I am tired of trying to keep up with the latest terms, ideas, and methods...all I know is that I LOVE JESUS and I WANT MORE OF HIM AND LESS OF ME!!!
It was obvious that we needed an authentic move of His Holy Spirit and that's exactly what we got.
As I read Acts 2 to our church that morning I felt like the Apostle Peter speaking to the crowd.
There was this boldness and authoritative tone in my voice but at the same time with an encouraging overtone.
I wanted our church to understand that God wasn't done with Dahlonega Assembly of God!!!
I spoke about how the 120 people in the upper room must of felt at that moment...alone, discouraged, scared, weak, and abandoned.
But the moment that the Holy Spirit showed up and infused them with POWER suddenly they felt like CHAMPIONS!
Those 120 people were ready to take on the world and attack the gates of Hell with water guns.
By the way remember what happened to the folks outside...
When 120 people decided to move and operate in the power of the Holy Spirit 3000 people were added to the Kingdom of God that day.
If you want people to be attracted to your church...I dare you to move in the power of the Holy Spirit.
People are desperately looking for an authentic and intimate move of God.
I believe that our worship experiences need to have a sense of order but please leave room for the HOLY SPIRIT to move. (I'm going to write more about this in a later post)
Two weeks ago the Holy Spirit reminded me when we move and operate in His POWER nothing is impossible for God.
It was a powerful morning as we prayed and encouraged each other...I believe that we will see salvation's and spiritual and physical healings from that worship experience.
Right before we ended I mentioned that throughout the month of June I was going to be fasting and praying and consecrating the month June for the Lord.
I also mentioned that starting next Sunday night from 4pm to 6pm we were going to start having a night of prayer.
Let's fast forward to this past Sunday...
It was a great service!
Like many churches across the country we were starting the ONEPRAYER series.
I was pretty excited that I wasn't speaking and was going to be able to be fed instead of feeding:)
There were a couple of things that popped up that could have got me off track but I wasn't going to let it ruin the morning or our worship experience.
I got to say that I am so proud of our worship leader Jonnie!!! She and her husband have been amazing friends and ministry partners.
They are a huge blessing and encouragement to my wife and I...YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!
After a fantastic time in worship we had a stinkin' awesome time in prayer!
I don't know if it was because of the new series we were starting or the amazing service last Sunday but all I know is God is preparing us for something HUGE!
After spending some time in prayer it was around 11:45am when we showed the ONEPRAYER message from Craig Groeschel.
It was a powerful and timely message.
As we continued to experience God in a intimate and powerful way we needed to be reminded that God IS LOVE...it's not what He does it's WHO HE IS!
THAT'S POWERFUL!!!
I highly recommend Craig's message.
After our worship experience I had lunch with some of our leaders and talked about the past, present, and future of DAG.
It was so exciting to hear how they wanted to see God do great things with our church!
Afterwards we headed back to the church for our first SEEK HIM night.
It was a powerful time of prayer and intercession.
I read 2 Chronicles 7:14 and shared a little on this passage and then we dove right into it.
If the last two weeks is a hint of what the future holds I can't wait.
Let me encourage those of you who haven't been to church lately...it's time to get your butt back into church!
Your best days aren't behind you (no pun intended) but in front of you.
It would be our honor to help point you toward your DESTINY!!!
WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT SUNDAY!

SEEK HIM

2009-06-06T19:15:00.002-04:00

2 Chronicles 7:14 says "if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

That's exactly what we are going to do this Sunday night from 4pm - 6pm. Tami and I want to invite all DAGer's and anyone else to join us as we SEEK HIM tomorrow night. For the last several weeks I have been sensing that God has been preparing us for "something" amazing! Last Sunday, I said that I believe that as we come to together in unity through prayer and fasting that this would be the launch pad for the Holy Spirit to move in our lives and church.

DAG it's time to SEEK HIM with everything we got! This ain't going to be some wimpy prayer meeting. If you want God to move in your life and enable you to run towards your destiny you need to show up tomorrow night. If you want God to completely heal your body from the top of your head to the sole of your feet you need to show up tomorrow night. IF YOU WANT TO KICK SATAN IN THE TEETH AND TELL HIM TO GET OUT OF YOUR LIFE AND GO TO HELL...you definitely need to show up tomorrow night.

Tami and I are definitely showing up with a holy anticipation and believing God to do great and amazing things all day tomorrow. Get ready it's time to go a whole nutha level!!!

ONEPRAYER starts tomorrow!

2009-06-06T17:12:00.005-04:00

Hey DAGer's just wanted to remind you that ONEPRAYER starts tomorrow morning! Can you believe it more than 1,600 churches around the global are taking part in this series! I can only imagine the impact this is going to have on the world and the kingdom of heaven and how ticked off hell is goin' be!!!

Tomorrow we'll be kicking off this series by hearing from Pastor Craig Groeschel. He is the Senior Pastor of LifeChurch.tv and the visionary behind the ONEPRAYER movement. Pastor Craig and LifeChurch.tv are literally changing the world for Jesus in so many ways. I can honestly say that I am totally jacked up about tomorrow's message. I hope and pray that ya'll come to church with a holy anticipation. Remember this is a great opportunity to invite people that you know that normally wouldn't go to church. See ya'll at 10:30am!

Beautiful - Week 2

2009-05-09T22:16:00.004-04:00

Hey DAGer's you don't want to miss Mother's Day Sunday! My amazing wife will be sharing a life changing message. So get your mama to church and we'll see you at 10:30am!

Jacking me up!

2009-05-01T10:52:00.002-04:00

Just read a post on Perry Nobles blog and he asked a question that has jacked me up good...here it is...

“What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you could not fail?”

DAGer's meditate on that and let me know what ya'll think!

don't forget about tomorrow!

2009-04-18T20:36:00.002-04:00

Hey DAGer's just wanted to remind you that tomorrow former Minnesota Viking Joe Jackson will be with us at our 10:30am worship experience. This would be a GREAT opportunity to invite your friends and family who normally don't go to church. Everybody loves to see and meet a pro athlete. If the men's breakfast is any indicator of how Sunday will be then I promise you they won't be disappointed. So get you game face on and we will see you in the morning for a fantastic day!!!

EASTER EGG HUNT 09' WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!

2009-04-18T13:00:00.001-04:00

Sorry about the late update these last three weeks have been a little crazy. Anyway our first annual Community Wide Easter Egg Hunt was a huge success! I knew that it was going to be good but WOW it was amazing! 650 people showed up at Yahoola Creek Park on Saturday morning. Actually, people started to show up at 9:30am and by 10:15am we already had 350. By the time we started the egg hunt at 11am 350 more people showed up. At 11:02am every one of the 14,000 eggs was picked up...crazy!!!

Got to admit I was a little freaked out on Friday because of all of the rain...especially when I heard the field that we were going to use was flooded. But let me tell ya'll why I am so proud to serve our church...the people! Our folks didn't see a set back they saw an opportunity! Even though we couldn't use any of the fields at the park they immediately jumped into action and came up with plan B. I was so proud of our folks that morning.

DAGer's thank you for all of your hard work, thank you for stuffing 14,000 eggs ,thank you for loving our community, thank you for loving people on Saturday, thank you for dreaming big with me, and thank you for loving Jesus!

I got to give a special shout out to our Children's Pastor. Pastor Erica thank you for all of your hard work. Because of your servants heart families got to spend a stress free morning together. Because of your servant's heart we got to pray with many guests. Because of your servant's heart kid's lives were changed forever. Tami and I appreciate you so much...we are very proud of you.

One of the really cool things that happened before this event was the connection we made with several businesses and individuals. I want to thank all of the businesses and individuals that gave to this event. Your generously truly touched our community.

DAGer's I can't wait til next year's Easter Egg hunt. I'm thinking 20,000 eggs...more activities...and alot more people! Lumpkin County you haven't seen nothing yet...THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!!

Men's Breakfast

2009-04-17T23:38:00.004-04:00

Attention DAG Men

on Saturday April 18th at 9am

head over to Ryan's in

Dawsonville Georgia for a time of

good food and great fellowship.

Former Minneasota Viking Joe Jackson

will be joining us and sharing a devotion.

Hope to see you there!

EASTER EGG HUNT UPDATE

2009-04-11T00:00:00.001-04:00

THE EASTER EGG HUNT IS STILL ON...

Just wanted to give a quick update regarding EASTER EGG HUNT at Yahoola Creek Park in Dahlonega Georgia on Saturday April 11th. Because of the rain we had on Friday we rearranged some things at the park however the hunt is still ON. Below are a few update points about this weekend!

First of all we hit our goal of 10,000 eggs!
Actually I believe we are close to 11,000 eggs...DAGer's ya'll are amazing!
Instead of selling hot dogs, corn dogs, chips, and drinks we decided to give it all away.
That's right this is a TOTALLY FREE event to the community.
The toddler moonwalk and inflatable obstacle course are FREE.
The face painting is FREE.
The Easter Egg Hunt is FREE.
FREE...FREE...FREE...
We'll have 5 areas for 5 different age groups 1) birth-3 yrs 2) pre-K-Kinder
3)1st grade - 2nd grade 4) 3rd grade - 4th grade 5) 5th grade - 6th grade
Registration begins at 10am. When you registration you will be enter into a drawing
We will be drawing a names at 10:45am, 11:45am, & 12:45am...you MUST be present to claim the prize.

Don't forget the HUNT takes place on Saturday April 11th at 10am at Yahoola Creek Park in Dahlonega GA.

Finally, I want to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to all the amazing people at Dahlonega Assembly. I am so grateful and humble to be apart of a church that dreams BIG. All the dreaming, all the praying, all the stuffing, all your hard work will pay on Saturday morning at Yahoola Creek Park! The big reward will happen on Sunday when people say yes to Jesus! DAGer's ya'll are amazing! Thank you for showing LOVE 4 LUMPKIN!

EASTER SERIES

2009-04-09T14:00:00.005-04:00

I can't believe Easter is just a few days away. How time has flown by this year. On top of celebrating Easter on Sunday it will officially be one year since Tami & I became the Senior Pastors of DAG! Please believe me when I say this that we are humbled and honored that ya'll have allowed us to Pastor you and your families. Later I'll be blogging about all the amazing things that God has done at Dahlonega Assembly one year later.

What I really want to do is encourage you to get you and your friends to church on Sunday!!! Let me say it again, the greatest marketing strategy we have is YOU! Easter Sunday is one of those Sunday that people who normally don't go to church will go IF THEY ARE INVITED.So start calling, emailing, twittering, blogging, texting, and of course talking to those around you about Easter Sunday at Dahlonega Assembly.

We starting a new message series called "REBEL WITH A CAUSE." I know some folks like to think that Jesus was this long hair, blue eye, sandal wearing, lamb carrying girly man. The fact of the matter is Jesus was a REBEL in His time. The life He lived was the life of a REBEL and was contrary to what the politically and religiously correct of the day expected. On Easter Sunday we are going to learn why Jesus holds the title of the greatest REBEL of all time. I'm so jacked up about Easter I promise that you and your friends won't be disappointed.

Can't wait to see ya'll with your friends on Easter Sunday at 10:30am!!!

sick

2009-03-31T17:31:00.002-04:00

omg...i feel like i got ran over by a truck. started feeling a little sick yesterday woke up with a sore throat but felt okay. when i got home i started to feel sore and nasty. every joint in my is in pain. today i came home early got into bed and just woke up. please pray for me and my family. i have alot to do tomorrow. Also my son has been feeling a little sick so please if you could lift us up in prayer. thanks for all the prayers

EASTER EGG STUFFING PARTY!

2009-03-27T23:21:00.003-04:00

DAGer's just a quick update on Saturday from 1pm -6pm we are going to have an Easter Egg Stuffing Party! We have nearly 10,000 eggs and we need your help to fill them up. So if you have any time on Saturday come on over to the church and help us get ready to serve our community on April 11th.

1,290

2009-03-26T19:29:00.003-04:00

Hey DAGer's 1,290 eggs is the amount we need to reach our goal of 10,000 Easter eggs! You guys are crazy! I am so honored to be apart of a church that DREAMS OUT LOUD! I can't wait to see 10,000 eggs all over Yahoola Creek Park on April 11th. I know we can reach our goal this Sunday so hit the stores and load up on eggs and PLEASE LOAD UP ON CANDY. We need a ton of candy to fill all these eggs so please let's make it happen this Sunday morning!

By the way we'll be having an EASTER EGG STUFFING PARTYING very soon! Stay tune for details. It might even start this weekend...so be prepared.

THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU...for making this community outreach happen ya'll are amazing!!!

7,710

2009-03-26T10:57:00.004-04:00

7,710...that's how many eggs we have right now! On my way home last night I made a quick stop at Walmart to see if I could find a good deal. I found a great deal and walked out with 4500 eggs. So we are almost to our goal of 10,000 eggs so DAGer's it time to take it to a whole nutha level!

Let's see if we can close the egg gap this Sunday more importantly we need a ton of candy to fill the eggs. So load up before this weekend and bring it to church this Sunday Morning.

I am so proud and honored that ya'll would locking arms with me and Tami as we show Lumpkin County how much we love them. April 11th is going to be a turning point for DAG and the people of Lumpkin County. This is only the beginning...THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BAGGAGE WEEK 4 - FINAL WEEK

2009-03-25T16:09:00.006-04:00

Hey DAGer's this Sunday we're finishing up our BAGGAGE series! This has been an amazing message series. It's been insightful, thought provoking, challeneging, and inspiring. You don't want to miss the final message in this series. Bring everyone you know...I mean everyone! I promise you that God's Word is goin' start a revolution in your life...it's going to be freakin' awesome!!! See ya'll on Sunday at 10:30am. If you've missed any of the messages in this life changing series visit our website here.

Great Post Spotlight

2009-03-24T08:08:00.003-04:00

Just read the new post by Perry Noble and all I got to say is that it jacked up my morning. Here's a little peek at the post...

"MAYBE that’s one of the problems in church world today—there aren’t enough leaders who will FIGHT for what they believe in. The early church leaders were willing to sacrifice their lives…unfortunately many leaders today won’t even sacrifice a paper cut!" - Perry Noble

To read the rest of the post go here and tell me what ya'll think.

Sunday Mind Dump

2009-03-22T21:01:00.007-04:00

What a fantastic day!
Great drive up to Dahlonega this morning!
When we first became the Pastors of our church I wasn't crazy about the 30 minute drive up to the church but now I treasure it!!!
that 30 minute drive becomes my prayer closet...just me and Jesus
best part is for most of the drive up my phone doesn't get a signal...NICE:)
I was the first one at the church today...
Gave me an opportunity to walk around and pray and dream out loud!
From the moment that I woke up this morning I had this HOLY ANTICIPATION something was going to happen.
Prayed with the worship team before their run through. I love praying with these guys!
They sounded great during their run through and did an awesome job during worship!
This was week 3 in our Baggage series.
Talked about the emotional baggage we all carry in our life.
This was probably one of my most personal messages I have ever shared.
By the end of the message you can see the FREEDOM in people's eyes!!!
Lovin' this series!!!
Don't miss the end of this series next week...it's going to be awesome!
Looking forward to Palm Sunday and our Easter message!
Interviewed a young man interested in our student ministry position...
don't know if it's a right fit...I have literally spoken to or interviewed at least 20 individual about our student position.
Although I have had some great interviews I can't rush this decision...
DAGer's please pray for me as I continue the search for a new Student Ministry Pastor.
Had lunch with one of our new families...the food was stinkin' amazing!!!
Thanks Martinez family for the invite we had an awesome time hanging out with ya'll.
Had a couple of teenagers at our Student worship experience tonight!
I really hate rebuilding seasons...they can mentally kick the snot out of you.
But I am so proud of our boys that showed up...remember guys someone has to take the FIRST STEPS. Thanks for taking them with me.
LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!
All in all what a great day!!!
Except for the messed up comment I got on my blog...more about this later.
As far as pastoring DAG I'm lovin' it!
DAGer's thanks for letting us lead ya'll it truly is an honor and privilege for Tami and I to be apart of your lives.
Let's keep DREAMING OUT LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BAGGAGE WEEK 3

2009-03-20T23:30:00.003-04:00

DAGer's just wanted to remind you not to miss week 3 of Baggage this Sunday. I promise that you'll walk out changed and challenged. I can't wait to see ya'll!!!

THE STICKS CONFERENCE

2009-03-20T11:37:00.004-04:00

I just register for the Southeast Sticks Conference in Canton Georgia. Gary Lamb and Revolution Church is hosting this very unique conference. I love the concept this conference has...to help Pastors in small or medium towns have a big impact. I am so jacked up about this conference! Have you seen the line up yet? If not you have got to check it out here. If you're on the fence about going to the conference and you live in the Atlanta area let me encourage you to attend...especially with the Lambinator discount for the next two days. If you're coming in May lets meet up and network it would be great to meet new friends in the trenches. See ya'll in May!!!!

DON'T VISIT MY CHURCH...

2009-03-17T07:31:00.003-04:00

I am HUGE on first impressions. If you ask any of our people at DAG they will tell you that I talk alot about how important first impressions are to me. I just read a series of posts from Herbert Cooper. He's the Senior Pastor of People's Church in Oklahoma City. He took a look at first impressions from a different perspective. I'm sure after reading this...you'll want to make some changes this week:)

Every Sunday, many churches have guests visit their church. Either we are ready for the guest when they arrive, or we are not. We never get a second chance to make a first impression. I want to share some ways to ensure guests have a horrible experience at our churches.

Don't have anyone in the parking lot to greet them or to assist them.
Have greeters at the front door who never smile and never brush their teeth. Be sure they give guests the impression that they wish they would have never shown up.
Don't have large, easy-to-read and understandable signs in high traffic areas of your building.
Make sure your bathrooms stink, the trash cans are full and you are out of soap and paper towels. It's very important that you don't tidy up the restrooms in between services.
Make sure your ushers sit all of the first time guests in the front row of the church. Every guest loves to parade down the aisle in front of the entire church.
Be sure to start the services late. Who really cares that the service was supposed to start at 10AM but begins at 10:17AM? Guests really do love to sit in an auditorium wondering what's going on and when is it going to start.
Make the guests stand up and introduce themselves during the service. When I visit a church, that's my favorite thing to do. :)
Make sure you don't have any children's ministry. After all, a five-year-old kid enjoys listening to a sermon on "Reasons Why Jesus Will Return By 2010 Because These Are The Last Days And The Mark Of The Beast Is On It's Way And Somebody Just Spotted The Anti-Christ."
Let praise and worship go for an hour and a half and then be sure to preach for two hours.
It's very important that you spend 45 minutes taking up the offering. Be sure to use gimmicks and manipulate people into giving.
Take time to announce everything going on in your church from birth to seniors. If you really want to make an impression, have four or five people pass the microphone to make all of the announcements.
Start studying for Sunday's sermon on Saturday night at 10PM.
Be sure the sermon does not apply to anybody's daily life. The sermon should be full of revelation but have no application.
Don't have worship practice. Just have the worship team show up 5 minutes before service starts and let the Spirit take over.
Let people in the audience play their own musical instruments and then sit all of your guests right next to them.
It's very important that you do not do any follow-up with your guests. Keep everybody so busy that nobody takes time to send a letter, email or make a phone call to all of the guests.

UNLEASH Recap

2009-03-13T18:42:00.009-04:00

I have no freakin' idea where to start...WOW!!!
This was our first UNLEASH and it was awesome!
First of all I was so jacked up that a group from our church made the time to go UNLEASH.
They literally took time off of work to go to with me and my wife to NEWSPRING...
It was an honor hanging out with them. Memories were definitely made:)
The #1 thing that blew me away was the PASSION of the volunteers at NEWSPRING.
The moment that we drove on the property we were greeted by happy and smiling faces.
As we got closer to the front doors the excitement increased...honestly you didn't know what to expect.
People were clapping, cheering, and I think that there was a lady with a bull horn announcing where people were from...CRAZY!!!
Everyone was so helpful and nice...imagine that people being nice at church:)
My wife (hey baby) was so overwhelmed that she started to cry and that's before we even got into the building.
Newspring volunteers thank you for making us feel welcomed...you guys are amazing!
I love that our folks got to see the passion that the greeters had at Newspring. I know that it inspired them to create that same kind of environment at our church.
Our group learned a valuable lesson in the parking lot...FIRST IMPRESSIONS REALLY DO MATTER!
I was so impressed with the campus at Anderson.
I love the main building...it had a lot of room...signs everywhere...and once again amazing volunteers everywhere. Oh yeah the coffee was amazing!
Sense I procrastinated on getting my tickets most of our group enjoyed the main sessions from the New Student building.
At first I thought I was going to miss out because we were in the student building and not in the main sanctuary but I think it was actually better.
We had more room to move around, the worship was great, and even though Perry wasn't in the building it felt like he was.
After yesterday I have come to the conclusion that Perry Noble is the most honest and effective communicator in the church today.
I realize that some folks had a problem with some of the things that Perry shared during the sessions but I have learned that when a Pastor who is obviously successful in reaching people says something that rubs me the wrong way I shouldn't ignore it just because it made me feel uncomfortable.
Here's a thought maybe that uncomfortable feeling you have just might be the Holy Spirit speaking to you...but what do I know I am just a first time Senior Pastor:)
During the first session Perry spoke about the "major break down between Jesus and the the church"
I'll blog about the detail of this session in a later post. I want to spend some time with all the info I took in during this session.
I really enjoyed the Q & A session with Perry. To me Q&A sessions are raw and real. They are opportunities to really see what's in a persons heart.
Got to give a shout out to Gary Lamb. I got to connect with him at UNLEASH. Hey Gary I'll be calling next week to schedule lunch at CHILI'S!!!
One of the highlights of the day was having lunch with Perry and several other Pastors.
I honestly don't know how we got invited to attend this lunch but it was a huge honor for me and my wife to hang out with Perry and a bunch of amazing Pastors.
I also got to share a few moments with Perry...the dude really is tall:)
Perry thanks for listening and praying for me it meant a ton to me that you would actually take a moment to personally invest into me.
After lunch my wife and I walked around the campus drooling and dreaming.
DAGer's it time to start a REVOLUTION in Lumpkin County!!!
I finally had a chance to check out Fellowship One. We're currently looking for a church software system that will help us keep our info in order. If you use Fellowship one or any other kind of system let me know what you think.
Session 2 was amazing! Perry shared some stuff that most Pastors have a hard time saying to their leadership.
It is such an amazing feeling to know that the folks that were there with us have our back.
UNLEASH 09' was awesome I can't wait til next year!!!

let's try this again...NEW SERIES THIS SUNDAY!

2009-03-07T00:07:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday we were suppose to start our new series BAGGAGE but since I was laid up in the hospital that didn't happen. I hope ya'll are ready for this Sunday because I am ready to teach. I really want to encourage you NOT to miss this Sunday especially the first five minutes of the message. Here's a hint of to expect the next five weeks.

Baggage...when we hear this word we usually think of airport security lines, traveling, and of course packing. But if we were really honest with ourselves the word BAGGAGE reminds us of past pain and hurts. Those things that have kept you from living life and dreaming big. My goal and hope is that through this series you will learn how you can pack up the pain and hurt, find release from addiction and torment, and break free from the battles that keep you – and your baggage – grounded. Here is a preview of what to expect in the next few weeks ahead.

March 8th - Baggage Check: Discovering What's Inside
March 15th - Overcoming Addictions: Send Bad Habits Packing
March 22th - Emotional Baggage: Taking Out Laundry In Our Lives
March 29nd - Released From Depression: Joy Is Here To Stay

DON'T FORGET!

2009-03-06T19:59:00.005-05:00

Hey DAGer's I just wanted to let you know that you don't want to miss the first 5 minutes of Sunday's message...it's going to be AWESOME! So don't forget to set you clocks ONE HOUR AHEAD on Saturday night. Can't wait to see ya'll!!!

What People Are Saying...

2009-03-02T19:00:00.004-05:00

Hey DAGer's have ya'll ever wonder why we fill out those connection cards every Sunday? It's all about FIRST IMPRESSIONS. It's important that we stay sensitive and open to what our guests are thinking and saying. The information on these connection cards helps us continue to build and create an environment where people can Connect to God so that they can Become like Jesus so they could Influence the world. So here are a few comments that our guests have shared with us regarding their first visit to DAG. I hope this inspires and reminds you why we work so hard to try to make the greatest first impression.

1. When you arrived today, what made you feel welcome?

friendly staff & members
the people
everyone
friendly people
the friendliness of the people
door greeter & the Pastor
all the smiling faces

2. Did you feel the message was relevant and did it help meet a need in your life?

very much
yes
awesome job!
it was for me!

3. Did our facilities meet your needs?

yes - very much
yes

4. What inspired you the most?

good people
the message Pastor Gabe preached
kindness of everyone
presence of God
the Pastor talked about the growth of the church
the worship was awesome and the truth of the message

5. What was your overall impression?

Good
the church is a Godly body of believers that love one another
We loved it!
Great

6. Any other comments?

we will be back!

WOW...I hope that this jacks you up! Thank you for making every single person that walks through the doors special and accepted. Let's continue to show compassion, grace, and mercy as we move forward and into our destiny!

Sunday Night Mind Dump

2009-03-01T19:25:00.003-05:00

What a crazy weekend!
I'm finally home!
For those of you who don't know I spent the whole weekend in the hospital.
Friday night I started to have sharp chest pain but I thought it was something I ate so I ignored it.
On Saturday morning I still had the pain and then I felt my left hand go numb. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that this FREAKED MY WORLD OUT!
I told my wife how I was feeling and she told me to get my butt to the doctors.
I went to Urgent Care but they told me to immediately go to the ER.
So that's where I spent my entire weekend.
Thankfully I didn't have any heart damage.
In fact my heart looks great, blood pressure is great, but my cholesterol level is too high!
So it's time to change some things in my life.
It's time to replace bad habits with good habits.
I see my future filled with a ton of grilled chicken and veggies:)
and of course a lot of exercise.
Tami and I want to say thank you to all of you for your prayers and concern.
WE REALIZED THIS WEEKEND HOW BLESS WE ARE TO BE SURROUNDED WITH PEOPLE LIKE YA'LL.
We love all of you.
Also I want to thank all of you who stepped up today for church.
It was so good to know that I don't have to be there for the church to move forward.
DAGer's ya'll are amazing!!!
I want to give a special shout out to Pastor Dustin Hall.
Dustin thanks for filling in for me. I heard you brought the WORD this morning!
Thanks again for all the prayers and we will see all of you on Wednesday night.

NEED YOUR HELP...

2009-02-27T10:48:00.004-05:00

Hey DAGer's with Easter right around the corner it's time to get ready to BE THE CHURCH in our community. On Saturday, April 11, 2009 at Yahoola Park in Dahlonega Georgia we will be hosting a Community Wide Easter Egg Hunt. We're currently working on the details for this amazing event but what we need from you RIGHT NOW are plastic eggs and candy. WE NEED A TON OF PLASTIC EGGS & CANDY. My goal is that we have over 10,000 eggs on Saturday April 11th. Let's make this happen for the kids in our community. I promise this will be the greatest Easter Egg Hunt that Lumpkin County has ever seen. So please start bringing your eggs & candy this Sunday. Thank you for dreaming with Tami & I as we INFLUENCE OUR COMMUNITY.

NEW SERIES!

2009-02-26T23:34:00.006-05:00

Baggage...when we hear this word we usually think of airport security lines, traveling, and of course packing. But if we were really honest with ourselves the word BAGGAGE reminds us of past pain and hurts. Those things that have kept you from living life and dreaming big. My goal and hope is that through this series you will learn how you can pack up the pain and hurt, find release from addiction and torment, and break free from the battles that keep you – and your baggage – grounded. Here is a sneak preview of what to expect in the next few weeks ahead.

March 1st - Baggage: It's Time To Let Go
March 8th - Baggage Check: Discovering What's Inside
March 15th - Overcoming Addictions: Send Bad Habits Packing
March 22nd - Emotional Baggage: Taking Out Laundry In Our Lives
March 29th - Released From Depression: Joy Is Here To Stay

I hope to see you this Sunday as we start this new and life revolutionary series!

THANK YOU!

2009-02-23T16:56:00.011-05:00

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all of you who have made Faith Promises to our Missions program this year. Words can't express how grateful Tami and I feel. I realize that times are financially tough right now but thank you for DREAMING OUT LOUD with us!

Here is a quick look at how your FAITH PROMISE will impact the world forever.

Because of your faithful giving churches will have a MAPS team come and help team rebuild and finish long waited projects. Because of you faithful giving lives in Europe will hear the gospel and experience the compassion Christ. Because of your faithful giving middle and high school student will experience a 7 Project at there schools. Because of your faithful giving lives in Latin America will be changed. Because of your faithful giving college students in Columbus Georgia will grow in their faith. Because of your faithful giving children in Cambodia will hear the gospel for the first time. Because of your faithful giving children in India will find HOPE. Because of your faithful giving the LA Dream Center will be able to complete their building project so they could house 1600 more people. Because of your faithful giving Missionaries will be able to purchase the resources & vehicles they need to share the gospel around the world. Because of your faithful giving lives will be changed for all of eternity.

DAGer's thank you so much for investing into something that really matters...PEOPLE! I am so honored to Pastor a church that understands that since PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD THEY NEED TO MATTER TO US.

Now let me challenge us first, if you have not made a Faith Promise for 2009 jump on board this Wednesday or Sunday and make a commitment to missions. Second if you have made a commitment...KEEP IT. Every penny counts! Once again THANK YOU & LET'S KEEP DREAMING OUT LOUD TOGETHER!

Sunday Night Mind Dump

2009-02-22T23:53:00.003-05:00

TODAY ROCKED!!!
from my understanding there were 9 first-time guest this morning!!!
it was so exciting seeing so many new faces!
someone told me that they had a hard time during our meet & greet time trying to meet all the guests.
what a great problem to have!
another great problem that I think we are going to have to deal with is our parking space.
our current parking lot is small and from what I heard it was pretty close to capacity.WOW!!!
So DAGer's I need your help. Can you please park in the spaces furthest from the main doors.
Let's give our guest the "red carpet" treatment when they visit us for the first time. THANKS!
If this great problem continues I'm going to need ya'll to park on the grass and along side of the building...I can't wait to see this happen:)
Who knows maybe by summer we'll have to update our current lot and add more spaces...JUST DREAMING OUT LOUD:)
Once again our worship team did an amazing job!!!
It seems like every week it gets better and better and better!
This morning when I got to the church someone shared with me that they had a dream that the stage had a ton of people in our worship team and that the sanctuary was packed!!!
I LOVE HEARING ABOUT THOSE KIND OF DREAMS!
DAGer's it's just a matter of time...
Did I mention that we had 9 first time guest;)
I finished our God's Game Plan series today. I had a lot of fun teaching this series. It seemed like many people were challenged throughout the entire series.
Remeber DAGer's I would love to hear about your stories of faith as you begin to step out to make the "game winning touchdowns".
Finally, tonight we relaunched our Student Ministry.
So with a handful of teenagers we ate pizza talked about the future and started to dream about how God could use us to start a REVOLUTION in Lumpkin County.
I hope that Lumpkin County is really for a REVOLUTION because Revolution Student Ministries is going to turning our community upside down!!!
I can't wait until Wednesday and Sunday!!! I love Pastoring DAG!!!

Sunday Mind Dump

2009-02-15T23:30:00.005-05:00

What a fantastic day!

We had several new faces in the crowd today.

It was great getting to meet our first time guest.

My wife and I did notice something today. We got a little taste of what will happen when we have several first time guest at one time.

More kids in kids church more babies in the nursery caught us off guard today.

DAGer's it's time to step it up and become Partners in Ministry in these areas.

If today was an indication of what the next couple of months/future is going to look like it's time to bring our "A game" every Sunday.

Our kids deserve our best!

Our worship team did an absolutely tremendous job today!

I personally want to say thank you to everyone on the worship team. You guys are amazing thank you for using your talents and leading our church into God's presence.

At our PM worship experience our worship team came together and sang and play a song that they literally learned this afternoon...AND IT WAS AWESOME!

YOU GUYS ARE FREAKIN' AMAZING!!!

I want to give a special shout out to Laura for stepping up and jumping on the keyboard! Seriously I almost cried as she played in the background while I was praying:)

One of the things that I love about this church is its heart for missions.

So today was all about Foreign & Home Missions.

During our Morning Worship Experience Mike Holt was our guest speaker.

He is a missionary to our public/private school systems throughout Georgia.

It was so great to hear how God was moving throughout Georgia schools.

During our PM Worship Experience Ben & Kami Heilman were our guest speakers.

They are newly appointed Missionaries to the country of Cambodia.

I am so excited for Ben & Kami their passion for the Cambodian people is so infection.

I can't wait to see how God uses this amazing couple to change the country of Cambodia.

If you want to invest into people who are making a difference for the Kingdom check out this website.

Mike, Ben & Kami thank you for being so passionate about Jesus and for answering the calls on your lives.

DAGer's I personally want to thank all of you who made Faith Promises today. I realize this isn't the greatest time to make financial commitments to anything but I am so honored and proud that you are willing to DREAM OUT LOUD with me as we send out missionaries all around this world.
If you haven't made a Faith Promise yet I want to triple dog dare you to DREAM OUT LOUD with me as we INFLUECE THE WORLD through giving to missions.
My hope and goal is that we will be able to continue to support ALL our current missionaries, fulfill our $10,000 commitment to the LA Dream Center and add two more missionary families to our list.
Let me make this very clear NO AMOUNT IS TO SMALL!
In fact one of our high school students has committed to give $2 a month to missions for the entire year. THAT'S HUGE!!!
When you think you can't give...that is the moment to give!
YOU CAN'T OUT GIVE GOD!
In a couple of weeks after everyone has had an opportunity to make a Faith Promise I will be sharing with ya'll our monthly Faith Promise amount!
I LOVE PASTORING THIS CHURCH!!!

DOLC CELEBRATION MOMENT!

2009-02-10T23:34:00.005-05:00

Hey guys this is a DOLC (dream out loud challenge) celebration moment. I was sharing with someone last night about our DREAM OUT LOUD CHALLENGE. I told them that we had already raised $500 for the LA Dream Center. They were so excited about what God was doing in our church. I also shared with them all the projects we still had going on in our church. I was telling them how proud I was of Pastor Erica and her team for working so hard in our new kids area. Suddenly they asked me how much the carpet was going to be for the new kids church I told them $1,000 and without hesitation they told me that they would pay for it. WOW! We serve a GREAT GOD...a FAITHFUL GOD...a LOVING GOD! Let me just remind you that it was just this past Sunday when ya'll gave $500 and God has already doubled it! Let's continue to be lavish planter. DAGer's we are going to turn Dahlonega, Lumpkin County, and all of North Georgia upside down!!!!!

THE DREAM OUT LOUD CHALLENGE

2009-02-09T16:37:00.012-05:00

CAUTION: After reading this post you may have a sudden urge to become a "LAVISH PLANTER" with Dahlonega Assembly of God which will result in ticking off Satan.

Yesterday I shared with our church the DREAM OUT LOUD CHALLENGE. As some of you may know I was in Phoenix Arizona attending Pastor Tommy Barnett's Pastor's School at Phoenix First Assembly of God. What an overwhelming, amazing, crazy experience. If you have ever gone to Pastor's School you know what I'm talking about. If you have never gone let me give you a quick snap shot of Pastor's School. Before I go on just know that this is going to be a long post...sorry but I got to get it out of my system:)

First of all, Pastor's School starts off on Monday night with some amazing time in worship followed by the parade of ministries. Phoenix First has over two hundred ministries going on at any given time. So for about an hour and a half you see hundreds of people walk across the stage with banners, motorcycles, signs, trains, and anything else you can imagine excited about their ministries. After the parade Pastor Tommy interviewed several people from various ministries. Finally the night ends with more incredible worship.

Tuesday morning starts off with worship followed by a speaker and then a work shop. After lunch there are a couple of more work shops. After dinner we head back to the church for the evening service. It's starts off with worship, usually this is the night Pastor Tommy does an illustrated sermon. This year it was a musical comedy. Personally I not into musicals but it was alright. Also the church buses in people from the community for the evening service. After the sermon there is a massive altar call and hundreds of people get save. VERY COOL!

Finally, Wednesday is pretty much like Tuesday except they have the PRAISE PARTY during the evening service. It's a night filled with worship...it was a great way to close out the conference. Afterwards, Pastor Barnett asked everyone to met him at the prayer chapel and prayer mountain for a time of prayer. I will never forget seeing hundreds of people in the chapel and on the mountain prayer and seeking the Lord...WOW! I still get goose bumps just thinking about it.

So that's pretty much what Pastor's School looks like. But let me finally share with you what the DREAM OUT LOUD CHALLENGE is all about. During Pastor's School Pastor Tommy share the story about the LA Dream Center. I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about but if you don't know about the LA Dream Center go here to get more information. Anyway, I knew that Pastor Barnett was going to ask us to give towards the Dream Center honestly I was really to give a good offering but than something happened.

Even before they passed out the commitment envelopes I began to have this little discussion with the Lord. I told the Lord that I thought $1000 was a good offering and we would be able to give that amount to the Dream Center. Suddenly the Lord began to tell me that He knew that we were able to do $1000, He also knew that we could do $5000 both amounts good offerings but (why is there always a but) what amount could HE do that we could not do by ourselves. I knew exactly what amount He was talking about. As I opened the envelope I saw the amount of $10,000. The Lord told me that if I would DREAM OUT LOUD with Him, He would do what I couldn't do. I don't know about you but $10,000 is a chunk load of cash for me and my church. At first I was a little intimated by the amount especially since we average 40 -50 people on a Sunday morning at this point but then I remembered 2 Corinthians 9:6

(English Standard Version)The Cheerful Giver
6The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

I love how the Message version states it:

(The Message)
6-7Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.

You see as I listened to the testimonies and saw the videos, I couldn't help but hear and see Dahlonega's story. Countless lives stuck in the ruts of drug abuse, alcoholism, emotional & physical abuse, poverty, hopelessness, financially crippled, and etc. I believe with all of my heart that if I want to see Dahlonega Assembly of God's dreams come true we must be willing to invest into the dreams of others first. I'll be honest with ya'll, can DAG use $10,000 to finish projects and reach lives in our community...HECK YEA! But I am not going to miss this GREAT OPPORTUNITY to become a LAVISH PLANTER.

So yesterday I asked our church to DREAM OUT LOUD with me, to lock arms with me as we raise $10,000 for the LA DREAM CENTER. I 'm so jacked up about this that I think my head is going to explode!

DAGer's thank you so much for not looking at me like a crazy man but for DREAM OUT LOUD with me. I realize that $10,000 is HUGE but as we give sacrificially God will see our faith. I'm telling you when we begin to move in this kind of faith that's when the PARTY GETS STARTED! Oh by the way, DAGer's this past Sunday ya'll gave $500 to the Dream Center! THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU...we only have $9,500 to go.

If you are not a member or a regular attender of DAG but you feel like you want to join us on THE DREAM OUT LOUD CHALLENGE please comment me or email me. We have a huge amount to raise but I believe the Bible when it say that "nothing is impossible for God".

THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

Sunday Mind Dump

2009-02-08T23:45:00.004-05:00

WHAT A DAY!
It was great seeing several new faces in the crowd.
On top of that it felt like our regular people were so jacked up about being at church.
The worship team did a fantastic job!
Even though we still lack some worship team members, every week our guys sing and play their hearts out. Thanks worship team ya'll are amazing!
For the last several Sundays we have been late starting our 10:30am worship experience on time. But thanks to David we did a lot better today.
Thanks David I really appreciate your help with keeping things moving forward.
All the walls are finally painted in our Kid's church. It looks so stinkin' cool! PE you rock! Thank you so much for everything you and your team have done.
We still have a lot more to get done and honestly it's an overwhelming task. We need more help, time, and money but we want to create an environment where our kids can become life long followers of Christ. So no short cuts only the best for our kids and teenagers.
I continued our February series called God's Game Plan.
Even though it had a football theme/feel to it, today was a pre-service for Missions Worship Experience next Sunday.
I guess the best part of today was when I shared the DREAM OUT LOUD CHALLENGE! I'll share more on this in a later post. Let me just say I believe this verse with all of my heart.
I finally started the process of looking for a new Associate Pastor that will pastor our teenagers. Please pray for me I don't want to rush into this just because I need the help. I need a person or couple that is passionate about student ministry.
After our 10:30am worship experience we had a Council of Achievement Ceremony for our boys who participate in our Royal Rangers ministry.
As always the food was great and the fellowship was wonderful.
I was so proud of our boys as each of them went up to the front to receive their awards.
I just want to give a quick shout out to Mike Cowan and the Ranger leaders for doing a great job today and for serving with all of your hearts. Thank you for giving our boys your best.
Finally, I had a blast hanging out with some of our students tonight. We went to WinterJam 09' at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. It was freakin' awesome!
All I got to say is Toby Mac is still the man!!!
It felt great hanging out with teenagers again but the problem is that I ate like I was a youth pastor...not good:( that's all I'm going to say about that!!!
I loved all the smoke, lights and screens. I was imagining how our sanctuary would look if we did a little makeover:)
I am so pumped about next Sunday. We're taking the entire day to focus on missions.
I have two incredible speakers coming to share what God is doing in their life regarding missions.
DAGer's it's going to be an incredible worship experience! I promise you won't be disappointed.
Lastly, I want to give a shout out to my good friends Chris and Jessica Lewis. They are church planters with the ARC. They had their very first service today in Conyers Georgia. I'm so proud of you guys I can't wait to hear about your first service. I know ya'll are going to turn Conyers upside down!
If you live in or near Conyers Georgia I totally recommend their church Life Church

WinterJam 09'

2009-02-08T14:35:00.003-05:00

Had an amazing morning worship experience. I love our church so much. I'll share more about this later. This afternoon I taking some of our teenager down to the Arena at Gwinnett Center. I'm looking forward to hanging out with some of our teens tonight at WinterJam 09. I'll share with ya'll later about how the evening went.

ONE GOOD IDEA!

2009-02-07T18:39:00.004-05:00

Just read this post from Mark Batterson and wow it is so timely. I really believe with all my heart that tomorrow I am going to share a HUGE God idea. Got to admit, when I first started to contemplate what I was going to share tomorrow at church I thought it was my emotions from this week's conference in Phoenix. But as I spent time with the Lord and specifically asked Him to help me get through all the conference hype so I could hear His heart beat that's when He dropped and confirmed the "DREAM OUT LOUD CHALLENGE". Mark Batterson wrote, "when God conceives something in your spirit, a God idea, you need to take it captive. You need to pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you until the dream becomes reality!"

To read the entire post go here and read the post entitled "ONE GOOD IDEA". DAGer's I highly recommend that ya'll read this post before Sunday.

HUGE DAY TOMORROW!

2009-02-07T10:58:00.005-05:00

I can't wait til tomorrow. I've been gone all week in Phoenix waiting for Sunday. Tomorrow is all about DREAMING OUT LOUD. I going to be sharing how we can INFLUENCE THE WORLD.

DAGer's I hope you come ready to DREAM OUT LOUD with me tomorrow.

HEADED BACK TO CHILLANTA...

2009-02-05T10:49:00.004-05:00

WOW what an amazing week. Sorry I couldn't give ya'll a day to day update. I had limited access to the Internet. When I get home and am able to download everything I took in I will let ya'll know. Until then here are some teasers...

I really felt bad for my peps in GA this week. Yesterday I woke up and heard that the temp in Atlanta was 16...I prayed for ya'll while I suffered for Jesus in this 80 degree weather in AZ:)
I was so impress with this whole conference. Everything was first-class. I hope that next we can bring EVERY partner in ministry to this conference.
I climbed a mountain...seriously I really climbed prayer mountain. I show ya'll pics later.
It was awesome seeing thousands of people worshipping all together.
Did I mention the weather was amazing!
I had my first In & Out burger a double double with cheese...not very impressed.
I got to meet Pastor Tommy and Matthew Barnett.
I also meet several other former pro athletes and artist...I got pictures!!!
If you ever come to Phoenix you got to try Chuy's. I had my very first fish tacos and they were amazing...guess what I got pics of that to:)
Finally one of the greatest things I am taking away from this trip is NEVER STOP DREAMING OUT LOUD.

I got to finish packing our flight leaves at 1:05pm AZ time. Please pray for traveling mercies also DAGer's get ready because it's time for us to start DREAMING OUT LOUD. I can't wait until Sunday!!!!

I'm headed to Phoenix Arizona!!!

2009-02-02T02:56:00.005-05:00

At 10:00am my friend Chris Lewis and I are flying out to Phoenix Arizona to attend Tommy Barnett's 32 Pastors School. Honestly I am writing this post at 2:57am I am so jacked up about this conference that I can't sleep. I have always wanted to go to this conference and now I am finally going.

I got to saying thank you to my friends Pastor Chris Lewis and Pastor Troy Shaw of Osasis Church in Loganville Georgia. Because of these guys I got a ticket to attend the conference. But I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to my amazing...gorgeous...and thoughtful wife. She gave me this trip for my 31st birthday. I love you so much honey. Thank you for helping me become a better Husband, Father, and Pastor. You rock my world!!!

DAGer's please pray for traveling mercies as we fly out later this morning. Also get ready because I'm coming back with a LIMP IN MY WALK. If you weren't at church yesterday ask somebody who was they will explain the LIMPING thing to you. I know this statement is over used but THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!!

Sunday Night Mind Dump

2009-02-01T23:58:00.004-05:00

What a fantastic day!
The worship team did a GREAT JOB again!!!
I know it seems like I say the same thing about our worship team all the time but our worship team is really amazing.
Thank you worship team for leading us into God's presence this morning.
I am so proud of ya'll.
I love pastoring Dahlonega Assembly!
All of our Partners in Ministry are awesome!
Every Sunday I see people rising up and serving with all their heart.
I honest can't wait to for Wednesdays and Sundays.
Every Sunday I get a glimpse of our future.
How DAG is going to turn Lumpkin County and Dahlonega Georgia upside down!
I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If this morning was a preview of the future it's going to get crazy...in a good way.
We had several new and returning faces this morning.
I had a blast preaching this morning. I LOVE talking about Jesus.
I never get tried of watching people respond to God's word.
It's kind of like when a deer looks into a cars head light...their stunned for a moment and then it smacks them in the face.
Our Kids Pastor and her team have been working really hard on our kids church.
It's looking freaken AWESOME and it's not even half way done!
Pastor Erica thank you for serving with ALL YOUR HEART!
I can't wait til tomorrow...I'm flying out to Phoenix AZ for Pastor's School at Phoenix First.
Tommy Barnett has been mentoring and teaching Pastors for over 30 years. I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight.
I got to give a shout out to my friend Chris Lewis for getting a ticket to the conference.
I also got to give a shout to Troy Shaw at Osasis Church in Loganville Georgia for inviting Chris who then invited me. Thanks Pastor Troy...I'm looking forward to meeting you and your team.
Oh DAGer's just because I won't be here for Wednesday night doesn't mean we're not going to have church.
My father in law will be sharing with the Adult class on Wednesday night and I promise you don't want to miss it.
So don't skip church on Wednesday!!!
Seriously I got to try to go to sleep now I have a long day a head of me.
Love ya'll and don't I tell you already that I love pastoring DAG!!!

New Message Series starts tomorrow!!!

2009-01-31T23:32:00.004-05:00

I am so excited about tomorrow's new message series. For the next several weeks we are going to be answering the question "Whose team are you on?". DAGer's you don't want to miss this series. Hope to see you there.

Turning 31 on the 31st!!!

2009-01-31T06:59:00.005-05:00

Today is my 31st birthday...and I got to say I feel great! I don't mind getting older in fact I welcome it. In my opinion way too many people look at getting older as a bad thing instead of a gift from God. I know some of you are probably saying "this kid doesn't know what he is talking about" and to some extent your right...I don't know what I 'm talking about because I haven't experience all what life has to offer YET!

Growing older to me is an honor and a privilege. It allows me to become a better student of life, it allows me to learn how to love my wife more, it allows me to create memories with our son and future kids, it allows me more time to impact this world for Jesus, and finally it allows me to see the goodness and faithfulness of God.

As I take time to reflect on all the amazing things God has done in the first 31 years of my life I challenge you to step back for a moment and take a life experience inventory. As you think about all the memories and experiences in your life I encourage you to begin to live in such a way that tells everyone around you that the BEST IS YET TO COME!

I am very grateful for the first 31 years of my life but the next 31 years are going to be amazing...you haven't seen nothing yet!!!

Sunday Mind Dump

2009-01-25T22:00:00.001-05:00

What a fantastic day!
The Sunday before we had to cancel services because of the weather so I was ready to preach!
The worship team did an amazing job!
Even though we are still missing a guitar player, bass player, and a few other spots our current worship team is still able to do a great job in leading us in worship. YOU GUYS ROCK!
I finished up our fasting series today. This is our final week of our fast and I can't wait to see how lives are changed!
Our Kid's Pastor Erica and her team started to paint our kids church area.
Pator Erica and team thanks for all your hard word this past week. It's looking freakin awesome!
I am so excited about our kids ministry! I can't wait to see our kids church packed! We're going to do whatever it takes to reach kids in Dahlonega Georgia.
DAGer's thanks for having a heart for kids and understanding that we MUST reach the Kids in our community.
We have many small projects going on in the church. We're trying to make the greatest first impression we can for our guests.
I got to give a shout out to one of our amazing families that has been helping me with this process Mike & Densie Cowan. Thanks Mike and Denise for serving with all of your hearts. The things that ya'll are doing now are helping us become the church that God wants us to be.
I spoke with a woman today who has been coming since Fall Carnvinal. She shared with me how her life has been less stressful and how more joyful since she started to attend DAG. She also told me she has been telling all her friends at work that they need to come to church. WOW!!! Thank you Jesus!
DAGer's this is what it is all about!
When one person begins to experience Jesus it become infectious!!!
I can't wait to hear more stories like this in 2009!
DAGer's don't forget JUST ONE MORE WEEK keep KNOCKING and don't stop until the door is open.
I love pastoring this church!!!

Sunday...Sunday...Sunday!!!

2009-01-23T09:35:00.000-05:00

All week I have been thinking about and preparing for this Sunday! I have been so jacked up about this Sunday. You know how people get excited about Superbowl Sunday well every Sunday is Superbowl Sunday for me minus the beer commericals. I'm telling you there's nothing like getting together with a bunch of people who love Jesus and doing life together.

Last Sunday's Worship Experience was cancelled because of the weather maybe that's why I can't wait til Sunday. Whatever the reason DAGer's ya'll better be really because I'm going to BRING IT THIS SUNDAY!!!

Sunday Mind Dump

2009-01-04T15:03:00.005-05:00

Today was so stinkin' awesome!
We had some major changes in the worship team this weekend.
But like always the team stepped up and it was amazing!
I was so excited to see several guests today!
This morning as I was driving up to the church I asked the Lord to send people that have never been to DAG before and my Jesus came through.
DAGer's we can't afford to dream small. We haven't seen nothing yet! I'm telling you the BEST IS YET TO COME!!!
Talked about FASTING today. Next Monday our church begins our 21 day Daniel Fast.
I am so jacked up about this fast. I'm expecting HUGE things to happen in my family, in my life, in our church, and in Dahlonega. I'm talking about HUGE THINGS HAPPENING!
Everytime I start thinking about what God is going to do at DAG I'm telling you it's hard to sleep.
I can't wait until next Sunday. We have our annual business meeting after our Sunday morning worship experience.
I have decided to rename this meeting to out annual VISION meeting.
I know several guys who hate church business meeting because of potential issues popping up.
But you have nothing to hide then you got nothing to worry about.
Sure you have to give an update of the church but what a great opportunity to cast VISION to the next year. I can't wait until Sunday!!!!
DAGer's you guys are amazing!
I LOVE PASTORING THIS CHURCH!!!

Breakfast and Fireworks tonight @ DAG

2008-12-31T12:24:00.017-05:00

Just wanted to remind all you DAGer's out there to come and join us at the church at 9pm as we countdown to 2009! There will be amazing worship, an inspiring message, breakfast, a family movie and of course prayer & communion at midnight followed by fireworks! For those of you reading this that are not a part of DAG we invite you to come and enjoy the evening with us.

I know it's not the Peach Drop in Atlanta, but it's going to be awesome hanging out with family. If you are coming just bring some kind of breakfast item to share with everyone. Tami, myself, and Josiah hope to see ya'll tonight.

Sunday Mind Dump

2008-12-29T12:28:00.004-05:00

Sunday was an AMAZING DAY!
Our worship team did a great job once again. You guys are awesome!!!!
Every now and again I jump into the middle of worship and share some thoughts with the folks and yesterday was one of those moments.
Yesterday was a wreakless moment in worship and I felt like folks were missing a great opportunity to connect with God.
So I reminded them how King David was wreckless in his worship as the ark (God's presence) came back home.
It's time to get on worship on!!!
Sunday was also our Youth Pastors last Sunday with us:( He and his wife have decided it was time for them to leave.
They have been apart of our church for 10 years and have served as the youth pastors for 4 1/2 years.
We are going to miss them a ton...
Pastor Blake and Kristie thank you for serving faithfully all these years. It was an honor serveing with you. I pray that God directs you and your family during this new season of your ministry.
I started a message series called "NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED".
I have decided that this is going to be more than a collection of messages, NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED is going to be our new church mantra.
I want everyone in Dahlonega and Luumpkin county to know that DAG is a place for everyone no matter where they are on life's journey.
As we get closer to the new year I have been talking about our 1st 21 day Daniel Fast.
We have so much to do that it is essential to spend a part of January seeking the Lord through praying and fasting.
So please pray for our church from January 12th through February 1st as we seek God through praying and fasting.
DAGer's I am so proud of all of you! 2008 was a wonderful year but I can't wait to see what God does in 2009!!!
I love pastoring DAG!

I REFUSE TO STAND IN POOP!!!

2008-12-15T18:36:00.032-05:00

This morning while I was playing with my son I noticed a very strong smell hovering around him. No matter where he went in the house the fowl smell followed him. Having an 18 month old I knew exactly what it was...you guessed it, it was a dirty, stinky, poopy diaper. At this point I had two options, option one allow my son to continue to stand around in his poopy diaper or option two pick him up and change him. Option one produces a very irritable and unhappy baby while option two produces a very content and happy baby. It amazes me how my 18 month old son understands that a poopy diaper is a bad thing and it makes life miserable.

Only God can use a moment like this to teach me a major life lesson. The reality is life is filled with poopy moments. I realize that many Pastors that blog like to keep things positive which for the most past I agree. The problem with taking this stance all the time is that when the crap hits the fan every body acts like nothing is wrong (either because we don't want to face the crap or because we don't want to offend anyone) while standing in waist high poop! Whether the "mess" is in our lives or churches it doesn't help our families or churches to totally ignore the "mess" all around us. The sad part is that many of us have gotten use to living and even worshipping in waist high poop and find nothing wrong with it.

Let me take this a step further...what is poop? (sorry about the poopy talk but you got to admit it's a great analogy:) It's left over waste that our bodies don't need. Because God is such an amazing Creator He created our bodies with the ability to distinguish the difference between substance (the good stuff) and waste (the bad stuff). Substance keeps us going strong and healthy and waste is the toxic material that can do some serious damage to our bodies if we don't get rid of it.

So how does this "weird/funny" analogy apply to our lives and churches? We can't be okay with wallowing in waist high poop. A mediocre mindset is poop, unforgiveness is poop, resentment is poop, bitterness is poop, a religious attitude is poop, legalism is poop, SIN is poop, you get the idea.

Keeping things positive is a wonderful idea especially since we live in a very negative and sarcastic world, but as leaders and Pastors we can't be afraid to help people get out of their "mess." I've met too many Pastors who love using the "keeping everything positive" statement just because they don't want to get dirty. Let's be honest MINSITRY IS MESSY! We're fooling ourselves if we think throwing a lifeline from the pulpit will help people become the men and women God created them to be.

So if you're a Pastor stop thinking that if you ignore the "mess" all around you that somehow it will all disappear. As leaders and Pastors we should strive to keep things positive but we must be ready and willing to roll up your sleeves and clean up. A lifeline is okay but what people really need is someone to be a life guard willing to jump in and help them out of the crappy situations of life. My point is that when we REFUSE TO STAND IN POOP WE ARE MOVING FORWARD!

My name is Gabe Trevino and I REFUSE TO STAND IN POOP!!!

I'm Back!

2008-12-13T00:30:00.008-05:00

It's been over a month since my last post. Several people have asked me why I haven't updated my blog latey. At first, I didn't know what to say over a month ago I wrote my last post and than I just stopped. But as people continue to ask me, I started to ask myself why I haven't written lately the reality is...it wasn't a top priority.

Lately life has been crazy in the Trevino household and although I enjoy blogging my family is my top priority. Jesus, my wife and son deserve my time more than blogging does. Like I said even though I enjoy blogging sometimes it's just one "MORE" thing that I feel like I have to do.

Interestingly, I have been reading about many other Pastors and church planters echoing the same thoughts. They're reevaluating "WHY" they blog. Even though blogging has become a great way for Pastors and church planters to communicate with each other and minister to others it has become a time consumer. At it's worst it becomes a "let's see who can have the most interesting and read post." I guess what I'm trying to say is if I choose to blog I have to understand why I'm blogging and I have to learn how to priorities it among the many other more important things in my life.

From this point forward I got blogging...blogging doesn't have me. So that being said I am back!

Mind Dump: Monday Edition

2008-11-03T11:53:00.002-05:00

This past week was crazy!
I worked some weird hours at my other job which drove me a little wacky this past week.
Preparing for our Fall Carnival took a lot of work.
Learn some valuable lessons.
We had a great turn out...I'm thanking God for what He did last Friday Night.
We had around 250 people showed up for Fall Carnival.
It was great having all those folks on our campus.
The greatest part of the night was watching the faces of our folks. PRICELESS!
I am so proud of our church!
DAGer's you guys were amazing.
Thank you for serving with all your hearts.
On Saturday I had to be at work at 5:45am. That was rough!!!
I can't wait till I'm at the church full-time.
So if any one has some extra funds on hand that they don't know what to do with may I suggest my salary fund:)
Sunday was off the hook...that means amazing.
Seriously, the worship time did a great job!
I think my new favorite song is Jesus Messiah!
Our attendance was really off on Sunday.
We had one family show up from Friday's event.
I think our church was a little disappointed especially since we just had 250 people on Friday night.
Honestly I was a little disappointed but then I realized if we did our Fall Carnival for just that one family it was totally worth it!!!
It was so good preaching again.
It had been two weeks since I had preached so I was SO ready to share God's Word.
I think I went over board...I preached for over an hour.
I honestly didn't mean to but I really felt like the message I was sharing needed to be heard.
After the message we had communion.
I love having communion with our church it makes me feel closer to everyone and it reminds me how amazing Jesus is.
Over all it was an fantastic weekend.

Meeting Stephen Baldwin @ Krogers

2008-10-27T23:30:00.007-04:00

Tonight I had a really cool experience. I was on my way home from my night job and I was debating on whether to get dog food tonight or tomorrow. I decided to get it now so I pulled into the grocery store near my house to get my pooches some grub. As I was walking toward the dog food aisle I saw this guy standing there and instantly knew who the guy was but I convinced myself that it couldn't be him. So I called my wife and told her that I thought I just saw Stephen Baldwin at Kroger's. At that moment Stephen stepped into the main aisle and it was obvious that it was him.

At that moment I hung up the phone walked up to Stephen and introduce myself. I think I freaked him out alittle. The reality was that I was a little nervous as I was introducing myself. Don't act like you wouldn't have been nervous meeting Stephen Baldwin. Seriously it was a really cool moment, how many times do you meet a person who is influential in the Hollywood and Christian world at the grocery store?

Anyway, I then began to share with him that I pastor a church in Dahlonega Georgia and that we have a large group of skaters in Dahlonega and I was praying how we could impact this ignored and displaced group of students. He then gave me his ministry card and told me to email one of the organizer of the Assalt Tour. The ASSALT TOUR is a completely FREE event that offers the youth a drug free and positive environment to come and see some of today's hottest bands, professional freestyle moto-x, bmx, and skateboarders. The tour also offers amateur skaters the chance to show off their skills to the pros and win cash & prizes!

Can you image if this ministry came to Dahlonega. Countless lives would be changed forever. I'm seriously going to try to make this happen. I have no idea how to make this happen but my bible tells me that nothing is impossible for my God. So DAGer's and Dahlonega get ready because God willing the Assalt Tour is coming. If you want more information about the Assalt Tour check out it here.

Just in case you are reading this post thanks Stephen for listening and introducing me to the Assalt Tour. It would be great to have you and the Assalt Tour in Dahlonega.

Sunday Night Mind Dump

2008-10-26T23:28:00.004-04:00

WOW what an incredible day!
I am totally exhausted but it was totally worth it.
I am so proud of our worship team! Every week it gets better and better.
We had several guest.
Life has been a little crazy and stressful for many of our folks.
I really felt today that alot of people had their JOY restored.
Our guest speaker, Noel Rosa, hit it out of the park this morning and tonight!
He has this unique way of connecting with every generation.
He really stressed how important it is for the older generation to pour into the younger generation.
If you want someone that knows how to jam on the guitar and tell you how it is you have got to invite Noel to you church, school, or events. I promise you won't be disappointed.
Let me know if you want his info.
Had lunch at the Smith House in Dahlonega it was amazing!
It's a little pricey but totally worth it...it's the best country food in north Georgia.
I was so jacked up about our fall carnival this Friday. It's going to be blast.
I am so tried...
Still working on several projects at the church.
I just ordered our new church sign.
Our current one was made in the 70's...seriously. It looks pretty bad right now but hopefully we will have our new sign in 5 weeks.
Pretty excited about our new cafe area. we're currently looking at furniture to complete it.
I'm think about getting a tap for a rootbeer keg to make rootbeer floats:)
Just thinking about it:)
The last couple of weeks I haven't preached so I can't wait to preach next Sunday!!!
The Sunday before Election Day...it's gonna be interesting.
Good night!

THIS SUNDAY!!!

2008-10-24T00:05:00.006-04:00

Hey just wanted ya'll to know and remind all you DAGer's out there about this Sunday. A couple of days ago I got a call from Noel Rosa. Noel is a award winning singer/song writer/speaker. He is also the designer of a new guitar line series that is storming the music industry. On top of all that he is a passionate follower of Christ. He has travel all over the country performing in front of small and large crowds with a message that communicates to every generation. Long story short he will be at our church this Sunday October 26th at 10:30am service and at our 5:00pm Student Ministry service. Below is a short bio of Noel, I hope to see you on Sunday morning.

With his unique percussive-style of guitar playing Noel Rosa has been amazing audiences around the country. He has won over the hearts of thousands of fans with powerful heartfelt songs, an approachable personality and an exciting stage presence. People of all ages are raving about this incredible performer.

Noel has shared the stage and worked with national and world wide ministries over a 15 year career on both the speaking and music circuit. Noel has opened for such national music names as Audio Adrenaline, Rich Mullins, Pierce Pettis, and many more. He has also worked with Billy Graham’s organization, Benny Hinn, Louise Pallau, Dave Reover and many more.

His strength is approaching the gospel on a parable form, using word pictures to make his messages easily understood for all ages and emphasizing mentorship of the young.

If you love your Senior Pastor...

2008-10-21T12:55:00.006-04:00

If you love your Senior Pastor you have got to read this post. Pastor Perry just wrote a great post that I totally agree with and hope everyone at DAG reads it. It's entitled, Seven Things Senior Pastors Want Their Staff To Know–Part One check it out here.

Thoughts about GOLD RUSH

2008-10-20T16:52:00.003-04:00

Wow what a crazy weekend. This past weekend Dahlonega hosted their most popular festival of the year Gold Rush Days. What's Gold Rush Days you ask...basically it's a two day festival celebrating the 1828 discovery of gold in Dahlonega Georgia. Historical Dahlonega is the official first site of the US gold rush. Just like any small town festival there are arts and crafts, kiddie rides, and of course a ton of food. Since 1979 Dahlonega Assembly has been selling our world famous funnel cakes at Gold Rush. Okay, maybe they're not world famous...yet but they are Gold Rush famous. Seriously we had people looking for us at Gold Rush because they had to have our funnel cakes. That's crazy!

This year was my first Gold Rush experience and I got to admit I am exhausted! My feet are killing me, my back is hurting, and I'm just physically tried but I had a blast!!! It was so much fun hanging out with our church family for two days. It was amazing seeing how our people rally together to make Gold Rush successful. I had a lot of people telling me it was going to be a lot of hard work and they weren't joking it was hard work but it was totally worth it. In the past the money raised at Gold Rush all went to foreign missions but this year along with global missions we are going to invest into our community (local outreaches and mission projects).

I am so proud of our folks at Dahlonega Assembly of God! DAGer's because of your faithfulness lives will be changed in our community and the world. I am so honored that I get to pastor such an amazing church. Thank you for serving with all of your heart ya'll are amazing!!! I can't wait until next year's Gold Rush!

I did something crazy...

2008-10-20T00:13:00.008-04:00

I did something that most pastors would never do...I cancelled a Sunday morning service! I know that's crazy, who in their right mind would give up a perfectly good Sunday service...I would!

A couple of weeks ago I decided to cancel yesterday's morning service. You see this past weekend our community was hosting it's biggest festival of the year Gold Rush Days. In years passed this event would bring in 100,000 people in a community of 17,000 people. Wow...who in their right mind would miss an opportunity to reach 100,000 people in a weekend? Sure most of these folks are just visiting Dahlonega but that shouldn't stop us from trying to connect people to Jesus. My prayer was that in our serving and interacting with people this past weekend that they would see something different in us.

Now before some of you jump on your high horse and tell me that I took away an opportunity from someone to know Jesus by not having a service "at church" let me remind you that most of Jesus' ministry recorded in the Bible happened in the streets, shorelines, fields, hills, marketplaces, in people's homes, oh yea on the cross. Jesus seized every opportunity no matter where He was , even when he was hanging on the cross, to share and show the message of the gospel.

One of the things that really tick me off are Pastors who think the ONLY PLACE that we can teach people about Jesus is in a church building. Just for the record, I believe in establishing a place (church building) for Christ Followers to come together regularly to encourage each other, to worship together, and to grow in the Word. That's why we are investing a lot of resources in updating our facilities right now, but it's stupid for us to think that it's the ONLY place that a person's life can be changed. When that foolishness comes out of our mouth what we are communicating to Christ Followers and disconnected people is that their relationship with Jesus is based on a particular environment and not a 24/7 no matter where you're at growing relationship with Jesus.

Serving people at our funnel cake booth gave us an amazing opportunity to speak into and interact with countless lives. I know there are some of you out there asking if it was worth cancelling a Sunday morning service...my answer is YES! Let me remind you that I am willing to do everything up to sin to reach ONE person for Jesus. I promise you this will not be the last time we cancel a Sunday morning service.

Finally, I am so stinkin' proud of our church! The folks at Dahlonega Assembly did a great job representing Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven. My wife and I are so blessed to be apart of a church who is willing to take some risk for the sake of reaching just ONE person. DAGer's ya'll are so awesome! Thanks for doing whatever it takes to reach people with the life giving message of Jesus Christ. Love ya'll!!!

Sunday Night Mind Dump

2008-10-12T22:51:00.006-04:00

Wow Sunday was amazing!
I want to give a quick shout out to everyone on the worship team. You guys did awesome job on Sunday. Thank you for serving with all your heart!
Our attendance has been weird lately. A little frustrating but God is still in control.
I was so ready to preach I couldn't wait to get up there and share what the Lord had laid on my heart.
I'm loving the series that we are on right now it's called Fear Factor.
We're taking a look at how FEAR keeps us from our full potential as people and especially as Christians.
check out Sunday's message at our NEW website. Let me know what you think:)
At the end of my message I asked folks if they had any fears that were keeping them from their maxium potential and if they were ready to face it and take it out to raise their hand...it was so awesome to see people step up and take the challenge and begin to move forward! God is so good.
I GOT TO BRAG on God for a second. Right now we are in the middle of a lot of projects at our church right now. I mean BIG projects like we just put on a new roof, we just repainted our building, we're doing a ton of painting inside, we just installed a new water filter system, we are about to order a new street sign, we are getting ready to create a new kids church area, we're thinking about doing some work on our parking lot, and the list can go on and on my whole point is that God has been extremely faithful throughout this entire time.
I am discovering when you are doing exactly what God wants you to do and has called you to do even when it doesn't make sense to you EVERYTHING falls into place.
Thank you God for being BIGGER than our circumstances and thank you DAGer's for being faithful during this season of transitions. I can't wait to see what God does in the next couple of months.

I ALMOST MISSED IT!

2008-10-10T16:31:00.006-04:00

Got to be honest...I've been a little disappointed that I wasn't able to go to the Catalyst Conference this year. Three years ago I went to my first Catalyst Conference and it rocked my world. Since than I haven't been able to attend but this year I was determined to make it and at the last minute my schedule changed. So I was being a little whiny yesterday. The problem is that I almost missed an amazing opportunity yesterday.

I got to hang out with my son all day long! You see my evening work schedule and everything that has been going on at the church has been crazy lately and I haven't been able to hang out with him as much as I would like to. But yesterday during the day it was all about "daddy and the Josiah". After my wife got home from work we got ready and went to Chili's for dinner. On our way to Chili's we drove by the Cumming Fair and my wife mentioned she would love to go and take our son to his first Fair. Honestly...I wasn't in the mood to go to the Fair and walk around and buy over priced funnel cakes and corn dogs so we continued to Chili's.

After dinner we did a little shopping and on our way home I drove by the Fair again and saw my son's and wife's face and I couldn't take it any more so I parked and we went to the Fair. Once again I ALMOST MISSED an opportunity to create a memory with my family. We had a blast at the Fair! It was our son's first fair and it was so funny seeing his face as he took everything in. My wife (the prepared one) had the camera locked and loaded to take pictures and yes we did buy the over priced corn dogs, lemonade, and funnel cakes and they were amazing delicious!!! I also bought my son an overpriced light up toy that he already broke today but it was totally worth seeing his face.

I can't believe it I ALMOST MISSED IT! I almost missed creating this unforgettable memory with my family. I would have love to had been at the Catalyst Conference this year and hopefully I can make it to next years conference but I learned the most important life lesson yesterday...FAMILY FIRST before ministry.

The greatest impact I can make for Jesus on this earth is investing TIME...not just time but "QUALITY TIME" into my family. I realize this statement sounds simplistic and obvious but the problem is that many Pastors MISS THESE KINDS OF MEMORIES because we put "others & church stuff" in front of our families.

Listen I'm all about conferences and leadership training. We have got to invest into ourselves to become better leaders but not at the expense of our families.

Whether you're a pastor or not STOP MISSING OPPORTUNITIES WITH YOUR FAMILY. The greatest leadership lesson I learned this year wasn't at Catalyst while being surrounded by some of the most amazing and creative leaders in America but at the Cumming Country Fair surrounded by my family. Don't miss your opportunity!

thanks for the prayers

2008-09-18T11:46:00.006-04:00

I just wanted to thank you for the prayers and calls regarding Josiah. He is doing so much better. DAG you guys are amazing! Believe me when I say that you prayers helped our son and us. This was our first time taking him to the hospital since his birth. So as you can image we were a little overwhelmed. Below is a post that I wrote during the time Josiah was really sick but never had a chance to post it.

The last couple of days have been crazy. A couple of nights ago we had to take our son to the ER at the Children's Hospital in Atlanta. His temp was at 104 and was not coming down at all even after we gave him medicine. They checked out his ears and throat, they found a little redness in his throat but they couldn't determined why he had a high fever. At the end they basically told us that it was a viral infection. We were a little frustrated with the hospital. We felt like we didn't get the attention our son needed. In fact we were discharged and on our way out the room when the nurse came back because they "forgot" to take my son's vitals. We basically paid the hospital to tell us to keep doing what we were already doing. I guess what I am saying is it would have been nice for the folks at the Children's Hospital to show a little more love, patience, and compassion.

Anyway after our long and frustrating night at the ER we finally got home around 1AM. After some medicine and some tossing and turning our little boy finally fell asleep. As you can imagine it was a long night with him. Around 9:30am his doctor called to check on him. We shared with them our experience we had at the ER we shared felt that they did really pin point the issue so they told us to come in so they could check him out. So here we go to the doctors again.

Just so ya'll know Josiah freaks out with anyone wearing a lab coat or scrubs. If your a parent you know the "freak out" cry...they mouth is wide out, nothings coming out, their face is turning red, and they stop breathing. It's kind of funny but it still breaks your heart to see your kid "freak out" like this.

Anyway the nurse comes in the room checks his ears and throat...she notices some redness in his throat and runs a quick test for strep. What do you know...Josiah has strep. So his doctor gave us a prescription for an antibiotic and we pray within the next couple of days he will feel a lot better.

Please keep our little boy in your thoughts and prayers.

Once again thank you for praying for Josiah. It's great to know that we have an amazing support system in place.

please pray

2008-09-16T20:56:00.003-04:00

My wife just called me and told me that our son just woke up and burning up with a 104 temp. Apparently he had a really hard day at daycare today. just a little frustrated it seems every time we take him to daycare his gets really sick. I think we are done with daycare this year! Thankfully my in-laws have offered to watch him when we are at work. Thank God for grandparents!!! Seriously please pray for our son Josiah...it's going to be a long night.

Sunday Night Reflections

2008-09-14T22:33:00.003-04:00

We had a great service today!
Pastor Blake and the worship team did a great job.
One of my favorite thing about being a Pastor is helping folks discover their potential and watching them use it.
I am so proud of our girls ministry leaders and girls they had a yard sale yesterday and did a great job.
Thanks ladies for working hard this weekend. I promise those girls will never forget your commitment.
Today I preached on one of my favorite topic...dreams!
I preached about how Caleb never forgot the dream that God gave him.
At the age of 85 Caleb made it very clear to Joshua that regardless of his age and the obstacles he was ready and willing to walk into his God given dream.
Too often WE give up on our dreams because of time, inexperience, obstacles, people, or lack of faith.
The greatest lesson we learn from the life of Caleb is that he believed with all of his heart that if God said it was possible that nothing would stop him from walking into the dream.
I am looking forward to the next two weeks. I will be taking a much needed speaking sabbatical.
Next Sunday one of my great friends, Chris Lewis, will be speaking. He and his wife are getting ready to plant a church in Conyers Georgia. Check out his blog here.
In two weeks we are going to be celebrating our 32 anniversary at DAG. I'm really excited about this weekend.
It's great to remember the past but it's much more exciting to dream of the future!
Finally we went to a birthday party this afternoon. I love sharing these life moments with people. It is such an honor for me and my family to share these special moments with our church families. I love pastoring DAG!!!

Great Quote!

2008-09-12T18:01:00.000-04:00

“The devil doesn’t care how big your church is - he cares how influential it is.”
- Brian Houston, Pastor, Hillsong Church, Sydney, Australia

I GOT ISSUES

2008-09-09T14:56:00.005-04:00

It's been a little hard to blog lately. Life has been interesting in the Trevino household. Even as I write this post I have a ton of things running through my mind. Everything from family issues, work issues, church issues, personal issues, I think ya'll get the idea. I GOT ISSUES!

Honestly...my first reaction to my "issues" is to separate myself from everyone and everything (including blogging) and to find a dark room to hide in. I call this the Elijah syndrome:). The reality is that I will always have "issues" so i can't hide in some dark room. Eventually my "issues" will invade my dark room so the question is how do I deal with my issues...I face them and walk right through them! I know what a simple concept but it's easier said then done.

This past Sunday as I was teaching I asked the question "is God in the desert?". People's responses were all over the board. I quickly realizes that my peps had some issues and they needed some direction. We looked at the Exodus story. I pointed out that every time the people would start to crying about their desert experience God would always remind them that He was with them. When they were hungry He feed them, when they were thirsty He gave them something to drink, when they were being attack, He protected them. When the Israelites faced their issues and walked through them (even when they whined about it) they learned about the faithfulness of God. I am so thankful that God thought this was an important event that He inspired man to write it down so that one day people with issues (like me) can read, examine, and take a closer look and learn how I can face my issues and walk through them.

Today I am reminded that blogging helps me face my issues. I guess it's therapeutic for me. As I blog about my issues I'm able to analyze them. I think far to often we miss out when ever we go through "stuff" and rush right through it so we can move on with life. Which is totally understandable but when we do this we miss critical life lessons that God wants us to face them so we can learn to walk through them with Him. I got issues and I'm okay with it!!!