We are continuing our work on a new space for our students at the Anderson Mall. It has been filled with a lot of scraping, sanding, carpet pulling, getting tile up, knocking down some walls, and a whole lot of clean up. Carpet is going down today, paint is on the walls, ceiling tiles are being installed as well. Now all we need is the furniture, gaming stuff, and some little extras.
Also we are in he process of changing the structure of how we organize Ignite and the staff responsibilities. It is quite exciting as you see vision start to unfold and take place.
I am in the middle of a 2 week speaking break at IGNITE. John Flowers and David Hall have been taking the reigns and running with it. John did a very good job this past week and David is ready to go this week. Should be a good time! This time has been invaluable to be to watch from a different perspective, to get some things done that need to handled, and to see some areas that need work!
That is about it for now...by the way College Football starts tonight! USC Gamecocks take on Mississippi State Bulldogs at 8PM! Go Gamecocks!
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
M.I.A.....
Well for the past couple of days, I have been M.I.A on my blog. Last week I spent from Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and yesterday (I will be there today) at the FUSEBOX. We are in the middle of some major renovations of the place. We have knocked down a wall, built back another, built a new check-in counter in the back, rewired the lights and sound along with moving the sound board and light board.
We also just took over the lease for a new place in the mall are in the middle of trying to outfit that section as well. Today we have to try to finish up as much as possible as carpet and ceiling tiles will be arriving on Thursday. SO much to do and so little time!! If you have some time to spare head out to the FUSEBOX, we can put you to work!
By the way, HUGE / BIG Shout out to Dale Sellers and Jeff Scott. Dale is taking care of the demo and reconstruction of all that we are doing and Jeff is our electrical GENIUS. These guys have put in a lot of time and energy in to helping us outfit both places. Both are doing a GREAT job! Thanks guys for your willingness to serve and for all you are doing for the kingdom, so students can hear the love of Jesus! YOU ROCK!
See you at the FUSEBOX!!
We also just took over the lease for a new place in the mall are in the middle of trying to outfit that section as well. Today we have to try to finish up as much as possible as carpet and ceiling tiles will be arriving on Thursday. SO much to do and so little time!! If you have some time to spare head out to the FUSEBOX, we can put you to work!
By the way, HUGE / BIG Shout out to Dale Sellers and Jeff Scott. Dale is taking care of the demo and reconstruction of all that we are doing and Jeff is our electrical GENIUS. These guys have put in a lot of time and energy in to helping us outfit both places. Both are doing a GREAT job! Thanks guys for your willingness to serve and for all you are doing for the kingdom, so students can hear the love of Jesus! YOU ROCK!
See you at the FUSEBOX!!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Congratulations!!!!!
A BIG shout out to Jonathan and Amber Herron as they are expecting!! Check out Jon's Blog for all the details. Jon and Amber, we are so excited for the both of you! You both will be excellent parents. God Bless in this wonderful adventure!
Monday, August 14, 2006
Sometimes you just need to DUCK....
It seems that I am always posting after IGNITE. I hate that I do this, but I found myself evaluating on Monday and being excited about all that happened at IGNITE and then I hit it hard for the rest of the week to make it happen again! I need to be a little more faithful in posting, although there are probably not that many faithful readers, but to the FEW and FAITHFUL: THANK YOU!
Needless to say, last night was really good! First of all it was exciting that last week was not just a jump in numbers. We had 178 students attend last night. We also had 6 students accept Christ as Lord and Savior. In the past three weeks there have been 37 salvations (average of 12 a week)! That is only from God!!
We continued our series called BASIC and discuss our Freedom in Christ. IGNITE is continuing to go great, but the problem we are running into is that our SMALL groups are not as small as they could be. Please pray with me that God would continue to raise up leaders to join us in the ministry to the Middle School Students in the Anderson area.
Oh here is a pic of the set design after our first week. (This picture was taken as a reference for us to remember were things went, so it was not taken with much detail in mind!) It has changed for the better with more sandbags (instead of two rows, we now have 4 rows), etc.
By the way, we "got" the students last night. As a part of the introduction to the lesson, I was reviewing some of the things we had talked about and I said, "Also sometimes you just need to learn how to duck..." At that point David and Andrew jumped up from behind some sandbags that we were using as stage design and SOAKED the students with water guns! The faces we priceless! It was chaos! After we got calmed down again, I said, "Not only do you need to duck, but you need to watch your back..." Then John came out from behind the students and got them from behind! It was GREAT! Nothing to do with the message, but something a little fun to do!!
Peace out for now!
Needless to say, last night was really good! First of all it was exciting that last week was not just a jump in numbers. We had 178 students attend last night. We also had 6 students accept Christ as Lord and Savior. In the past three weeks there have been 37 salvations (average of 12 a week)! That is only from God!!
We continued our series called BASIC and discuss our Freedom in Christ. IGNITE is continuing to go great, but the problem we are running into is that our SMALL groups are not as small as they could be. Please pray with me that God would continue to raise up leaders to join us in the ministry to the Middle School Students in the Anderson area.
Oh here is a pic of the set design after our first week. (This picture was taken as a reference for us to remember were things went, so it was not taken with much detail in mind!) It has changed for the better with more sandbags (instead of two rows, we now have 4 rows), etc.
By the way, we "got" the students last night. As a part of the introduction to the lesson, I was reviewing some of the things we had talked about and I said, "Also sometimes you just need to learn how to duck..." At that point David and Andrew jumped up from behind some sandbags that we were using as stage design and SOAKED the students with water guns! The faces we priceless! It was chaos! After we got calmed down again, I said, "Not only do you need to duck, but you need to watch your back..." Then John came out from behind the students and got them from behind! It was GREAT! Nothing to do with the message, but something a little fun to do!!
Peace out for now!
Monday, August 07, 2006
Losing My Hair....
Last night, we had 179 students attend IGNITE last night! Wow! We also had 21 students accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. It was an awesome night! To top it off David, John, and lost all of our hair! Here are some pics from the event:
I am smiling, but I was thinking, "What in the world have I gotten myself into!!!"
I think Andrew is enjoying this a little too much!
There you go! All the hair is gone! (By the way, we made a deal with the students, if they would bring 160 students we would shave our heads. NOTE: When we made the deal about 3 weeks ago, we were running about 90 students!) Well, it was worth it to see 179 students hear the name of Jesus and 21 accept Him as Lord!
I am smiling, but I was thinking, "What in the world have I gotten myself into!!!"
I think Andrew is enjoying this a little too much!
There you go! All the hair is gone! (By the way, we made a deal with the students, if they would bring 160 students we would shave our heads. NOTE: When we made the deal about 3 weeks ago, we were running about 90 students!) Well, it was worth it to see 179 students hear the name of Jesus and 21 accept Him as Lord!
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Yes....
There were three heads that got shaved tonight at IGNITE! Pics and details about the night will come tomorrow.
Ready for tonight.....
I am sitting hear finishing up the lesson for tonight with our series, "BASIC" on the topic of GRACE. I am excited about it and I pray that God will move in the life of our students tonight. Anyways, the BIG question at hand is: Will the Middle School Staff be "BALD" after tonight? Not sure, I guess we will see. If we are, then I will post a picture of it later! PEACE!
Saturday, August 05, 2006
What's the address?!?!?
If you ever decide to go out and TP a house, you might want to make sure you have the right house! Check out this article and home video of what the police say, "This is the largest (toilet papering) case we've had in recent memory..." WOW! (Link via YSMarko)
Be careful all you youth pastors out there planning to take the kids!
Be careful all you youth pastors out there planning to take the kids!
Friday, August 04, 2006
Passion
The other day, I had the privilege to be in an interview for a position at our church. Of course, I was told to ask any questions that came to my mind. So…I did. There was one question impaticular that I was glad I asked. Not only to hear the person’s answer, but to ask myself this question.
The question was, “In ministry, there is always something else to do, always something coming around the corner, always another phone call or letter, or email to write. Your time will always be filled with something to do. What is it that you enjoy doing that is a “release” for you?”
We get tired, which can lead to burnout if we are not careful. Don’t always go and go and go and go that you end up neglecting everything else in your life. This is something that I MUST be careful of in my life!
Although, every night when I am going to bed and I am tired from a good day’s work, I am still thinking about ministry. I am still thinking about my students.
Recently, I started running (supposedly to train for a half-marathon) which has become a release for me. Needless to say, that when I run, I am thinking about ministry. Last week I was running on Wednesday and I remember finishing up my sermon for Sunday while I was running. I am constantly thinking, dreaming, planning for ministry. I can’t stop thinking about it! Some would call me possessed, some may call me stupid, but I pray that it is seen as PASSION; passion for Jesus, for the lost, for middle school students, for the church, and so much more.
At the end of the day, I am glad that I spent my energy and gave it my all, but I am so glad that I don’t get “weary, sick, tired” OF ministry! Sometimes, it is so easy to get sick OF ministry. I pray that when I get physically tired that I rest, but I also pray that I NEVER get sick OF ministry. May God continue to swell up a passion in me that continues to grow and burn! Thank you Jesus for allowing us to be a part of your Kingdom work!
The question was, “In ministry, there is always something else to do, always something coming around the corner, always another phone call or letter, or email to write. Your time will always be filled with something to do. What is it that you enjoy doing that is a “release” for you?”
We get tired, which can lead to burnout if we are not careful. Don’t always go and go and go and go that you end up neglecting everything else in your life. This is something that I MUST be careful of in my life!
Although, every night when I am going to bed and I am tired from a good day’s work, I am still thinking about ministry. I am still thinking about my students.
Recently, I started running (supposedly to train for a half-marathon) which has become a release for me. Needless to say, that when I run, I am thinking about ministry. Last week I was running on Wednesday and I remember finishing up my sermon for Sunday while I was running. I am constantly thinking, dreaming, planning for ministry. I can’t stop thinking about it! Some would call me possessed, some may call me stupid, but I pray that it is seen as PASSION; passion for Jesus, for the lost, for middle school students, for the church, and so much more.
At the end of the day, I am glad that I spent my energy and gave it my all, but I am so glad that I don’t get “weary, sick, tired” OF ministry! Sometimes, it is so easy to get sick OF ministry. I pray that when I get physically tired that I rest, but I also pray that I NEVER get sick OF ministry. May God continue to swell up a passion in me that continues to grow and burn! Thank you Jesus for allowing us to be a part of your Kingdom work!
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
NewSpring Middle School Staff
I had the awesome privilege to meet with the greatest Middle School Ministry Staff in the world! Andrew, David, and John do a great job at serving our students! So many awesome things are coming our way. I have been doing a lot of brainstorming about our ministry and how we function. In the future there will be changes to our volunteer leader structure, follow-up procedures, service evaluation, volunteer leader evaluation and interviews, and much more! That is a whole lot of stuff. The great thing about it is that God is totally in control of everything.
Andrew is the quiet, humble leader. He does an awesome job of leading the band and our students in worship each week. He takes time to prayerfully choose each song, work with me on set list, and spend as much time with students as possible!
David is all over the place. He is primary responsible for our follow up procedure. Each week he makes sure that all of our new students get a letter, phone call, handwritten letter, etc.! He also shares most of the responsibility for the care of our volunteers and campus group planning with John!
John is MR. CAPS LOCK! JOHN ALWAYS WRITES IN CAPS LOCK. IT QUITE A THING TO READ. JOHN IS OUR NEWEST ADDITION TO THE STAFF. JOHN SPENDS A LOT OF HIS TIME WRITING SKETCHES FOR VIDEOS, BRIANSTORMING ANY WILD IDEA THAT I COME UP WITH AND MUCH MORE. He also shares most of the responsibility for the care of our volunteers and campus group planning with David!
Both David and John are also preparing to speak at IGNITE in the very near future! John will be speaking on August 27th and David on September 3rd. They are going to do a great job!
All these guys are great! Thank you so much for your dedication and loyalty to Jesus Christ, NewSpring Church, the Middle School Students, and to me.
I look forward to see where God takes us in the future and I thankful to know that I have the right pieces in the right place and the right time for God to take us there! Keep up the GREAT work!
Andrew is the quiet, humble leader. He does an awesome job of leading the band and our students in worship each week. He takes time to prayerfully choose each song, work with me on set list, and spend as much time with students as possible!
David is all over the place. He is primary responsible for our follow up procedure. Each week he makes sure that all of our new students get a letter, phone call, handwritten letter, etc.! He also shares most of the responsibility for the care of our volunteers and campus group planning with John!
John is MR. CAPS LOCK! JOHN ALWAYS WRITES IN CAPS LOCK. IT QUITE A THING TO READ. JOHN IS OUR NEWEST ADDITION TO THE STAFF. JOHN SPENDS A LOT OF HIS TIME WRITING SKETCHES FOR VIDEOS, BRIANSTORMING ANY WILD IDEA THAT I COME UP WITH AND MUCH MORE. He also shares most of the responsibility for the care of our volunteers and campus group planning with David!
Both David and John are also preparing to speak at IGNITE in the very near future! John will be speaking on August 27th and David on September 3rd. They are going to do a great job!
All these guys are great! Thank you so much for your dedication and loyalty to Jesus Christ, NewSpring Church, the Middle School Students, and to me.
I look forward to see where God takes us in the future and I thankful to know that I have the right pieces in the right place and the right time for God to take us there! Keep up the GREAT work!
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