sick

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!

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

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

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

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

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

• 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

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

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...

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.

1. Don't have anyone in the parking lot to greet them or to assist them.
2. 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.
3. Don't have large, easy-to-read and understandable signs in high traffic areas of your building.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Make the guests stand up and introduce themselves during the service. When I visit a church, that's my favorite thing to do. :)
8. 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."
9. Let praise and worship go for an hour and a half and then be sure to preach for two hours.
10. It's very important that you spend 45 minutes taking up the offering. Be sure to use gimmicks and manipulate people into giving.
11. 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.
12. Start studying for Sunday's sermon on Saturday night at 10PM.
13. Be sure the sermon does not apply to anybody's daily life. The sermon should be full of revelation but have no application.
14. Don't have worship practice. Just have the worship team show up 5 minutes before service starts and let the Spirit take over.
15. Let people in the audience play their own musical instruments and then sit all of your guests right next to them.
16. 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

• 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!

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!

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...

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

• 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.