running thoughts: press through the crap

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.

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

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...

1. 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!


2. 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!


3. 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.


4. 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!


5. 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!


6. 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!!!


7. 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!

You got to read this...

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.

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

HEADED BACK TO CHILLANTA...

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 am so HUNGRY

For the last several weeks the Lord has been speaking to me about seeking Him with ALL my heart. It sounds pretty simple but have you ever try to seek Jesus with ALL your heart. As a Pastor you would think that I am constantly seeking Him but the reality is that there are so many things fighting for my time, mind, and heart. My heart's desire is to have less of me and more of Jesus. Psalm 63:1-4 totally describes exactly how I feel.

1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

I am so hungry to see God move in my world. I started to read about the men and women in the Bible that were so desperate to see God move in their world. I realize that they all had ONE thing in common...PRAYER and/or FASTING. Every time God moved in a supernatural way it was because people hungered and thirst after Him. In other words they would relentlessly pursue Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Well tonight myself and the amazing people at Dahlonega Assembly of God are going to relentlessly pursue God. In a couple of hours we are going to surrender our most valuable commodity, our TIME, and literally seek God ALL NIGHT. God has given us a huge vision for Dahlonega Georgia that before we can begin to move in His vision WE GOT TO SPEND TIME SEEKING HIM. So from 9pm Friday night to 7am Saturday morning we will be at our church praying for our church, families, community, schools and college, missionaries, nation, healings, marriages, and the list goes on. I believe that we are to see God move in our families, church, and community like never before.

Please join for us and with us as we Hunger and Thirst after God tonight.

WE WILL NOT BE A STATISTIC!!!

I am still lit up from Sunday's sermon. Pastor Steven preached an amazing message. It had our church listening intently from the beginning and laughing at various times. Especially the story of the crack smoking lesbian. I think some of our folks were caught off guard with the bleach blond hair but whatever it takes. :) Even the title of his message, "Lord, make us Audacious" grabbed our attention. I have watched Pastor Steven's message four times and each time I want to kick satan in the teeth and run though out the streets in Dahlonega telling and showing people the love of Jesus.

Pastor Steven if your reading this post, I personally want to say THANK YOU! Not only did your message inspired me but from the sounds of it, it reignited my church. Because of your message I have determined in my heart, mind, and spirit that WE WILL NOT BE A STATISTIC!!! For a long time people in our community either didn't know that we existed or have under estimated the potential of our church. In fact I believe a lot of our own folks have under estimated our potential. I realize that hundreds of church die every month but WE WON'T BE ONE OF THEM! We WILL make it through the thorny and slippery valley. Sunday's message reminded me to stay focus. I love what the Apostle Paul says in Galatians 1:10;

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."

I think one of the main reasons churches become a statistic is because Pastors allow people to high jack the vision that God has given them. In our attempt to fulfill the vision many of us become people pleasers instead of a servants of Christ. The Apostle Paul makes it very clear that if we are people pleasers we are not servants of Christ.

A servant of Christ refuses to be a statistic! A servant of Christ refuses to be a people pleaser. A servant of Christ refuses to allow anyone high jack the vision God has given him. A servant of Christ refuses to allow the thorns and slippery valleys stop him from dominating their community.

As a servant of Christ I refuse to become a statistic on some form. As a servant of Christ I am determined to do whatever it takes to draw people to Jesus...even if it makes me feel uncomfortable. As a servant of Christ I will do whatever it takes to draw others out from underneath pomegranate trees and join the fight. I don't know if this is the definition of audacity but it sure sounds like it to me. Oh God make Dahlonega Assembly of God AUDACIOUS!

Once again, Pastor Steven thank you for listening to the Holy Spirit and sharing the Word that God put in you.

I can't wait until tomorrow...

Tomorrow ONE PRAYER continues at Dahlonega Assembly of God! We will be watching Pastor Benny Perez from The Church of South Las Vegas. Last December I had the opportunity to visit The Church of South Las Vegas and attend an A.R.M. conference (A.R.M. stands for Association of Related Ministries.) The church, the conference, the people, the staff, and of course Pastor Benny rocked my world. Pastor Benny was gracious to schedule me in for a lunch appointment. It was such an honor sitting across this man as he shared with me with God was doing in Vegas through his church and through A.R.M. In fact I was so moved by what God was doing through Pastor Benny and A.R.M. that our church has become partners with Pastor Benny through A.R.M. If you want more information on A.R.M. check out this link.

Anyway like I was saying I can't wait until tomorrow. Pastor Benny's prayer for the church is Lord, make us Servants. DAGer's get ready for the WORD!

thank you catalyst!

I just got done listening to the Catalyst podcast interview with Craig Groeschel, Perry Noble, Mark Batterson, and Steven Furtick. What a great interview! I have always wondered what it would be like talking to one of these men of God on the phone and getting excited about ministry. It was inspiring hearing how ONE PRAYER is changing these guys and their churches.

The part of the interview that really encouraged me was the transparency of each of the guys. For instance, Perry shared how he struggles with connecting with other Pastors in Anderson. How could this encourage me...it reminded me that BIGGER is not always BETTER. Big churches have the same struggles as small churches but just on a bigger scale. Also his transparency allows me to know how to pray for him and NewSpring.

Perry I pray that God gives you favor and wisdom to find ways to connect with every Pastor in Anderson so that thousands more could be added to God's Kingdom.

I could blog about this interview forever but according to Mark's blog tip #3 I'm going to keep it short and sweet. Thank you Catalyst and Craig, Mark, Perry, and Steven for getting a peak into the hearts and minds behind ONE PRAYER and for investing into me and countless others.

If you would like to listen to the interview here's the link.

i LOVE my new Bible

I have been thinking about getting a new teaching Bible for a while. I actually have many different version of the Bible in my personal library for study purposes. I currently use a thin line personal NIV Bible for teaching on Sundays. Although it's been a great version I have been looking for a version that is a word for word translation. But like ya'll know other than the KJV there aren't many out there until now! Thanks to Jonathan Herron I discovered the English Standard Version Bible.

Oh my gosh...I love this Bible version! There's finally a Bible that is word for word that you can understand when you read it. So after checking out the website and researching this version I bought my ESV Bible this afternoon. I can't wait to devour it and mark it up. The pic of the ESV Bible on the side is actually the style I bought today. I'm also thinking about buying a box of ESV pew Bibles for our church. Here are some of the folks that are endorsing ESV Bible, Dr. R. C. Sproul, John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, James MacDonald, Max Lucado, Dr. Ravi Zacharias, Dr. Robert S. Ricker, John Lindell, Mark Driscoll, and of course Jonathan Herron. Having a list of endorsements like this you got to at less check out the ESV website. I promise you that you will fall in love with this version! Let me know what you think about the ESV Bible.

9 Amazing Years!

Today my wife & I celebrated 9 years of marriage! It was an amazing day! We spent the day together with our son. That may not sound like anniversary present but the way our life as been non-stop lately it was so nice to spend time with my wife and son. We had lunch at Red Robin for the first time it was freak'n amazing! Our boy was terrified of the big red robin statue. It was hilarious! After lunch we drove around, went to the mall, and spent the rest of the afternoon and night together. It was a priceless day!!!

Tami I love you so much. Thank you for making the last 9 years of my life incredible. I thank God every single day for bring us together. I can't wait to see how the next 90 years turn out.

Happy 9th Anniversary!!!

100 posts and a HUGE THANK YOU!

Wow...got to be honest I never thought I would become a die hard blogger. 1oo posts that crazy! On this special 100th post I want to stop for a moment and say thank you to our American Heroes. Your service, dedication, and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Just thinking...

It's almost midnight I'm really tried I want to go to sleep but I can't. I have been thinking a lot about the future. Before we became Senior Pastors at Dahlonega Assembly of God my prayers mainly consisted about finding the direction the Lord wanted us to go in. Now as Pastors my prayers are asking God to help me find and maintain balance in the direction He's put us in. There's a lot at stake here; learning how to maintain a healthy marriage and family life while developing a healthy church family as we go in a new direction at the same time is freakin' hard and at times overwhelming.

As a husband I need to maintain a level of HOT passion in my marriage. Listen if I can get passionate about church I better get and stay passionate about my wife! Even before we got married I committed to my wife that I would never sacrifice her or our kids on the altar of ministry. So as we start this new adventure at Dahlonega Assembly of God I am trying to keep that commitment. The reality is that there is so much to get done that if I allow the "stuff of ministry" to overwhelm me I know that my family would be a causality of "church life".

And then there is our new church family. I am so honored to be their Pastor. There is not one single person that I can honestly say that I can't stand. I know...a Pastor shouldn't say that but let's be real there are some crazy church folks out there. As far as I can tell Dahlonega Assembly doesn't have any crazy church folks...yet.

But here's what's keeping me up right now. Our current worship leader is an amazing man of God and has been doing a great job but because of his job he will be moving in the next couple of months. When he told me he was moving I freaked out a little bit...okay I freaked out a lot! WHY...because WORSHIP IS HUGE in a church. If your a Pastor you know how important it is to get the right person for a position like this. So as I think about the future of our church and the growing list of topic and situations to address worship is on the top of that list. I am praying that God will send us a person that loves to move people into God's holy presence. I'm not looking or wanting a "worship leader" I'm praying hard for a Worship Pastor. A person who has a heart to come along side of me and Pastor our church in worship. I'm looking and praying for a person who knows that worship isn't about them but it's all about connecting church and unchurched people to God. I'm looking and praying for a person whose willing to come to Dahlongea Assembly of God and serve with a humble heart.

So as you can tell I have a lot on my mind. I know a "Pastor" shouldn't talk or think like this, that I should be this "super spiritual" person with no stress or worries but the reality is that I'm a normal person. Being a Pastor doesn't disqualify me from the crazy moments of church life or home life. But in those crazy moments I got to remember what Jesus said in Luke 12:31. If my goal continues to be to enlarge the Kingdom of Heaven then all of these things that I'm thinking or worrying about will be taken care of in God's time. Anyway it's time to hit the bed so I'm going to take Jesus' advice in Luke 12:25 and go to sleep so with that I say good night and I'll blog to you in the morning.

Why We're Not In.

Ever since Craig Groeschel announce the "ONE PRAYER" series he and many other leaders are doing in June I have been praying and seeking the Lord whether we (Dahlonega Assembly of God) should participate in this unprecedented event.

At first I wanted to be a part of this event because everyone was "doing it" Even though I've been preparing a sermon series for men in the month of June. It's been crazy seeing all the hype this event has been getting honestly I felt like I was in Jr. High again. It seem like all the cool kids had the newest, coolest, baddest, pair of shoes and I wanted to get a pair because the "cool kids" had them. You see a lot of men and churches I respect and admire are participating in this amazing event and because of that I wanted to have our church participate. Realizing this was my only reason I wanted our church to participate I seriously had to repent.

Why? It's not like teaching on PRAYER is a bad thing or uniting churches around the topic of prayer is a bad thing...my gosh I think that we need to teach more about the power of prayer in the life of the Church but, I discovered that I was putting my need to feel accepted or apart of the group over the needs of my church. Networking is one thing...being needy is another. So after much prayer I have decided that "WE'RE NOT IN" this year. Let me explain before ya'll start cussing me out and telling me that I don't want unity in the church. Actually it's because of UNITY that we're not participating this year.

First I want to say I LOVE THIS IDEA! WHAT A VISION!!! If ya'll knew me you would know that I'm all about networking. I love when we (Pastors and Churches) can come together and get beyond our denominational walls and theological views and just preach Jesus! An event like this screams JESUS to the disconnected and connected! Even though this event has the potential to literally change the direction of our churches and culture, is this the right time for OUR church to get involved in a event like this?

On Easter 2008 we took the Senior Pastor position of a 31 year old church. Before ya'll start knockin' on old churches, let me tell you that we are so honored that God gave us this opportunity to pastor the people in our church and in Dahlonega Georgia. God totally knows what kind of opportunities turn my crank. I love taking something old and making it new again. I love taking something that has lost its identity and helping it find its identity again. That's why my wife and I don't see taking a 31 year church as a challenge but an opportunity. We see it as an opportunity to experience the rebirth of a 31 year old dream.

After saying all of that it comes down to this;

My desire is to see Dahlonega Assembly of God reach people with the message of Jesus all over the world by using every method available to us. I love the old saying, "Don't change the message just the methods." We must find new and effective ways to share the gospel. The problem is that when the coolest trends come out we, at times, try to force it to fit our churches. I'm not intersted in trends, I'm interested in seeing lives transformed. It's very important that we (Pastors) use wisdom, discernment, and pray for God's timing when we venture into unknown waters. I AM CURRENTLY NECK DEEP IN UNKNOWN WATERS! Even though I personally want to jump into the ONE PRAYER series head first I MUST ask myself; "is our 31 year old church ready for this kind of experience." I'm sure some of you might be thinking to yourselves, "I wonder who's pulling his strings...maybe the board, maybe the biggest tither" just to let ya'll know absolutely no one is pulling my strings! I don't want to jump ahead of myself as our church builds onto the legacy that already has been laid. Even though the use of technology is going to be a huge part of our churches DNA. I've decided that I'm not interested in having the most trendy and popular church but the most healthiest church.

The way I see it is if we jumped into the ONE PRAYER series with everyone else (because of my need to feel accepted) it would be like putting a baby in the driver's seat and screaming...DRIVE! I'm not calling the people in my church a bunch of babies but my wife and I just birthed new VISION, MISSION, and PURPOSE into our 31 year old church. So it's important that they have an understanding where we are going. I'm beginning to learn the way to have long lasting healthy thriving growth is by having patience. PATIENCE sucks! Yeh I wrote that...but it's true. In my opinion patience is the most difficult characteristic to develop but it's essential. A life without patience is a life in a constant state of setbacks. I don't know about you but I'm tried of seeing the church and my life in a constant state of setbacks.

Second, we (I) need to be okay with taking baby steps towards our new identity and purpose. So many times in the past I have been so jacked up about the future that I didn't communicate clearly where God was taking us which birthed frustrated, confused, burned out, bitter, people. I refuse to let this happen again. Once again I'm not interested in trends but transformation!

So after reading this LONG blog I pray that my heart is transparent about the ONE PRAYER series. Although, technically we're not in we will be praying with all of you and your churches for God to move through and in our churches like never before!

Again, I want to make it very clear that I'm NOT saying that the ONE PRAYER is a trend but, I believe getting our church united around the new vision, mission, and purpose that the Lord has given us needs to be my first priority. Once we know who we are and why we exist then this will help us unite and be more effective with others in the future.

I really want to...

I just read this great blog from Steven Furtick about "bringing our best every time." I can honesty say that this has been hard for me in the last couple of weeks. Just so you know the next couple of sentences are going to sound very whining...so either deal with it, go read another blog, or help a brother out with some helpful & useful advice.

Like I was saying, it's not that I don't want to bring my best...it's that I'm feeling overwhelmed with all the current things pulling for my attention and all the new opportunities in my life right now. For instances:

• Maintaining a healthy and thriving marriage through all of these changes.



• Becoming a dad for the first time.



• Becoming a Senior Pastor for the first time.



• Currently working a night job.

This may not seem like a long and overwhelming list but each of these main points have a ton of sub points. Which is probably why I sound whinny right now. Now if you're from my church don't get nervous I'm not going anywhere. I know that I'm suppose to be at Dahlonega Assembly of God! I know that God is going to use US (YOU & ME) to change lives in Dahlonega and all of North Georgia. There is no doubt in my mind that this is going to happen, it's just a matter of time. But I believe that it's important for you to know that I'm human. It's important for you to know that I got issues just like you. It's important for you to know that there are moments that I would like cheese with my whine.:)

But as I look towards the future I am overwhelmed that God has decided to use our church for such a time as this. I have a saying "if you dreams don't scare you you're not dreaming big enough yet." Let me tell you, my DREAMS are FREAKIN' ME OUT. Since I'm having these audacious dreams I REALLY WANT TO bring my best EVERY TIME! I really want to bring my best in my marriage, in my family, at my night job, at church, in Dahlonega, in every area of my life.

I'm learning that in order for me to bring my best every time, I'm realizing that more of me needs to get out of the way. When my life become less about me and more about Jesus that's when I will know I have given it my BEST. I'm learning life is a journey not a sprint.

ONE!

I was going to put this in my Monday Mind Dump but this deserves its own post. Yesterday we had an amazing service! We had a bunch of teenagers there which lite me up. Along with our regular attenders we also had some second time guests which was exciting. Also throughout the week several people let us know that they weren't going to be able to make it Sunday. Every one of them really disappointed because they're realizing how important Sunday's are in their lives now. It's exciting to see people get excited about Jesus! Even though we still have a lot to work to do you can feel the momentum building up in the atmosphere.

It was the second week of my 4 week series "Building onto the Legacy". I spoke about "Following the Blueprints." In Matthew 22:34-40 Jesus gave us a simple blueprint to follow...Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself. Simple. Since I am using construction terms I illustrated this point by taking two 4x4 pressure treated timbers and spray painted "Love the Lord" on one and "Love your neighbor" on the other. I explained that as we BUILD ONTO OUR LEGACY at our church and in our lives and as we FOLLOW THE BLUEPRINTS (Matthew 22:34-40), we are establishing God's Word as support beams in our Legacies. Just like 4x4 timbers were created to hold under pressure, survivor climate changes, and provide faithful support that's what's going to happen when we begin to FOLLOW THE BLUEPRINTS that Jesus gave us in Matthew 22:34-40...Love the Lord and Love your Neighbor. It was an amazing service! I love teaching God's Word but the best part of the whole service was at the end.

Right before we ended the service, I gave everyone an opportunity to start a relationship with Jesus. Let's be honest, if your a Pastor I'm sure that you will agree with me, this is probably the most uneasy moment throughout the entire service. Not because we want people to respond to our "excellent communication skills" but because we know there are individuals who need to respond and might not. But on Sunday morning April 13th we had ONE person responded and entered into a relationship with Jesus!!!!!!! Not 1000, not 100, not even 10.....ONE! I am so JACKED UP about this ONE person! The Bible tells me that when ONE person enters into a relationship with Jesus ALL of heaven brakes out in a party!!! So if heaven brakes out in a party for just ONE person then we better party like crazy here on Earth!

This Sunday was just a snap shot of what's to come. DAGer's I am so excited about our future! If WE team up and wrap our arms around the Mission and Vision I believe that God has given our church it will blow our minds what God could do with our "temporary" small church in the mountains of Dahlonega Georgia.

REMEMBER...do the 21/21 challenge! It will change your LIFE!!!

just a little nervous

I really want to go to sleep but I'm a little nervous about tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be "officially" installed as the Senior Pastors of Dahlonega Assembly of God. The head of the Assemblies of God in Georgia will be conducting tomorrow's service. He's an amazing man of God but I just want to make a great impression. I know it shouldn't matter but it's like inviting your boss to your home you want to make a first great impression. Anyway we are also dedicating our son tomorrow. I'm a little nervous that I'm going to cry like a baby. We love being parents! Our son is seriously a miracle so tomorrow when we dedicate him it will be a very intimate and emotional moment between us and God. On top of all that our church is so excited about tomorrow's service. I got to brag on my church...several DAGer's worked hard today preparing our church of tomorrow's service I am SO PROUD OF THEM! Thank you DAGer's for everything ya'll did today. Even though I am a little nervous I can't wait til 10:30am.

What a day...

My day started at 6:45am. I got up took a shower got ready and drove up to Dawsonville to met with some men from my church. Every first Saturday of the month our Men Ministry meets at Ryan's in Dawsonville to have breakfast, hang out, and of course to get a little Word. 11 guys showed up which from the sound of things is GREAT. James our Men's Ministry leader did an awesome job teaching a devotional this morning. It was really great getting to know some of the guys away from the church. After breakfast I went back home met up with the family and went to Crackle Barrel in Alpharetta to meet up with my father in-law and Uncle and Aunt. My father in-law picked up my wife's Uncle and Aunt from the airport. They flew down to from Illinois to celebrate our installation into our new church and the dedication of our son. Along with my wife's Uncle and Aunt, my brother in-law and his family are also here for tomorrow. So we have a full house and I love it.

After Crackle Barrel we went to North Point Mall for a little shopping. I also picked up an award for the Interim Pastor that maintained the church until we got there. He and his wife are an amazing couple I share more about them later. After a couple of hours we finally started to drive home when I got a call from my friend Ross Wiseman the lead pastor at Embassy Metro Church in Woodstock Georgia. God is rocking out Embassy check out Ross's blog for more info. We also made plans to meet up later this month for breakfast or lunch in Dahlonega. Ross I hope you're ready for the Dahlonega Experience it's going to change your world!!!! After our little networking moment I finally got home and hung out with the family for the rest of the day. What a day...

Friday's 7 - Who's preaching on my iPOD?

Here's this weeks top seven preachers that are speaking into my life.

1. Pastor Richie Miller from Avalon Church
2. Pastor Matt Fry from C3
3. Pastor Bob Coy from Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale
4. Pastor Vince Antonucci from Forefront Church
5. Pastor Dino Rizzo from Healing Place Church
6. Pastor Craig Groeschel from Lifechurch.tv
7. Pastor Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church

Again if you have a favorite preacher that is speaking into your life let me know. As you can tell I love listening to all kind of communicators.

Friday's 7 - Who's preaching on my iPOD.

Ever since I got my iPOD I have been engulfed in preaching. So I thought I would share with you on Friday the top 7 preachers I'm listening to on my iPOD.

1. Pastor Steven Furtick from Elevation Church
2. Pastor JR Lee from Freedom Church
3. Pastor Judah Smith from Generation Church
4. Pastor Jentezen Franklin from Free Chapel
5. Pastor Perry Noble from Newspring Church
6. Pastor Gary Lamb from Revolution Church
7. Pastor Blaine Bartel from Northstar Church

I'm always looking for some good preaching if you have any preachers you love to listen to please let me know.

WHO WE ARE NOT...

Earlier this afternoon I had lunch with my mentor and former Senior Pastor. We ate at this amazing BBQ joint called Dreamland BBQ. If you are ever in Atlanta you got to check it out! I had this amazing salad. It was a salad covered in chopped pork and saturated in ranch dressing and BBQ sauce...this is how salads should be eaten. Anyway it was great seeing my former Senior Pastor. I got to brag on him for a minute. Several years ago this guy took a huge risk when he asked me to be his Youth Pastor. I had very little ministry experience, in fact I was doing children's ministry at the time when he asked me to work with him. But according to him the Holy Spirit told him to ask me to work with him and the rest is history.

I have many friends in ministry whose first experience in ministry was a horrible one due to the Senior Pastor they worked with but I was truly blessed that God paired me with a man that loved Jesus and saw my potential when I couldn't see it. Sure we had some crazy and difficult moments but we supported each other in public and private. We made it through each crazy moment because we were a TEAM. So it was so great to sit down and talk about the past and dream about the future.

One thing that my Pastor/Mentor said ,regarding vision, that I thought was profound was that as Pastors we are great at writing down who we are and what we are about but we are horrible at writing down WHO WE ARE NOT and WHAT WE ARE NOT ABOUT. He encouraged me to write down these two important statements and put them in a place that will be constantly visible. He told me that there will be moments where people and stuff will try to re-direct the vision of the church which in turn will distract me from my mission and purpose. But if I have written down who we are & what we are about and who we are not & what we are not about I will be able to compare those distracting moments to the vision and stay focused. It's important to know who we are but it also important to know who we are not so we don't waste time, resources, and frustrate our people.

As I start this new journey as a Senior Pastor I thank God for my Pastor/Mentor. Honestly I didn't know what to expect from this lunch meeting today other than having a good meal and a great time but as I was thinking about it last night I read this post that Perry Noble wrote about how to be ready to meet with a mentor that helped me get the best out of my lunch meeting today. Thanks Perry for the post it was a huge help. I also want to thank my Pastor/Mentor Sam for meeting me for lunch and for continually investing into my life. Pastor Sam I am becoming a better Pastor because of your influence. Thanks for everything!