Echoing Angels

On the 16th of November we had our second of three PreLaunch Worship Experiences. We were so very fortunate to have Echoing Angels come and lead our worship. It's kind of crazy how it all happened to work out for them to be there. We never had any real plans to bring someone like them in, but it just so happen we met one of the band members who shared the heart they have for the local church and their desire to serve and lead people in worship. They came and ROCKED the freakin' house!! But it wasn't there music that blew me away as much as it was their pure desire to serve. These guys are the real deal. I've had the opportunity to be around a whole lot of bands that play "Christian" music, but these guys by far are the most real, sincere, and servant minded guys I've ever been around....and they are filled with freakin' talent!!! I am a fan of these guys and I hope to make them a regular occurrence at Reveal Church!!

Saturday According To Mark

• Good banana waffles courtesy of Santa Clause...aka Jay (my step dad)
• Play time with the most beautiful little girl in the world, Hannah
• A liitle less stress thanks to Bulldog by week
• Fun time with my favorite little boy...Noah Mark
• B-Day celebration for my pops
• Starbucks @ some point I'm sure
• Lunch with me madre
• Twitters off
• Decision of where to experience church

Friday Confession

Confession: I love ice cream. I once heard John Maxwell say, "I love sex and ice cream. And pretty much in that order." I couldn't agree more, but i'd rather over indulge in the former rather than the latter. If you come to my house and are looking for some food you probably won't find much variety. In the pantry you'll discover mostly crackers, cherios, and fruit snacks...all for the little ones. However, one thing you are guaranteed to find at any given time in my freezer is ice cream. This past year I lost over 40 pounds. I did it by being careful what i ate and by the dreaded exercise. But one thing I didn't give up is ice cream. How? One word: moderation. However, if I'm not careful I can easily over do it on the ice cream. Not sure what it is but you can take away any dessert in my life and I'll be ok so long as it's not ice cream. I have a long way yet to go on my weight loss journey, therefore, I must be cautious and disciplined...especially in my love for ice cream.

Steve Flockhart

Today I had a meeting with Steve Flockhart. Steve is the pastor of New Season Church in Dallas/Hiram GA area. New Season is a "restart" church. The church was once called Paulding Baptist Church and was on the brink of dissolving. God led Steve there last December. When he arrived there were about 30 or so people. They shut down the church and did some remodeling and vision casting. They relaunched in February of this year and are now averaging over 400+ on Sunday mornings! What's more than that, they've seen over 180 people begin a new relationship with Jesus!! It's amazing what God is doing at New Season Church through the incredible leadership of Steve Flockhart. I am thankful for Steve taking the time to pour into my life. He offered me wisdom, advice, and encouragement in the journey....and a free lunch at Shogun's....Thanks Steve!!!

Meetings and Hanging Out

Today was a day of meetings and hanging out. This morning I attended a church planter "round table" of sorts held by our sponsoring church FBCW. I am so thankful to have FBCW as our sponsoring church. They are the epitome of a missional church. After that I had a meeting with Pastor Steve Flockhart from New Season Church. I left that meeting very encouraged and with some things to process. The rest of the day I hung out with JR at Freedom Church. We talked a lot and I tagged along to some meetings. I am so excited about what God is doing at Freedom and I know that its just the beginning of an unbelievable movement of God in Acworth GA! Now its time for hanging out with my family...great day!!

MY Weekend

• Watched the Bulldogs under perform....AGAIN
• Had some of our good friends over for dinner, Drew and Alicia ...love them!
• Had our 2nd of three PreLaunch Worship Experiences in the life of Reveal Church!!
• Put out lots of signs all over Flowery Branch
• Tried to get the insurance company of the people who hit my car to start the process of fixing it
• Had to go to the GA State Patrol office...they were watching ESPN...WOW!
• My wife demonstrated once again how amazing of a cook she is
• Took down lots of signs from all over Flowery Branch
• Prayed
• Dreamed
• Watched some House....never really liked this show until recently, now I can't get enough
• Thanks to USA its on all the freaking time

Saturday LIVE

This Saturday will be one of....

• Georgia Bulldog Football as they take on the underachieving Auburn Tigers...hoping we can make a much needed statement, pretty sure we'll end up being in a crappy bowl game anyways
• Early rising as the serving of coffee awaits me...unfortunately
• Mentally, physically, and emotionally preparing for a long, yet exhilarating, day in the life of Reveal Church...pray for us
• Finalizing my message
• Praying a whole freaking lot
• Hoping for some major upsets for the sake of rescuing an overestimated season
• Believing that Jesus is stirring a revolution in Hall County
• Loving my beautiful family that makes my life so unbelievably awesome!!

Friday Confession

I Confess: I like to please others. I'm not talking about being a nice guy and serving others. What I'm talking about is sometimes when faced with a major decision I will let the possible feelings, reactions or thoughts of others be my guide rather than what is really best. This IS dangerous. I don't want to piss people off, or let anyone down on purpose. Further, I love people and want them to love me. However, I can't let the opinions of others override what the Spirit of God is leading me to do. This doesn't mean I rule out wise counsel. It doesn't mean I ignore the advice of others. It doesn't mean seeking others opinions goes left undone. It does mean, however, that if God is leading me to do something that will carry the consequence of negative reactions of others, I must never compromise for the sake of others approval. The consequences of doing so will be catastrophic. However, it is true that I struggle with this one....am I alone?

Smashed

I was in a minor car accident yesterday. Fortunately, no one was hurt and it was not my fault. Stuff happens...won't see my car for a while...here are some pics from the scene:

So FUNNY!!

Go watch this....love it!!

Call

So often along this journey of starting Reveal Church I hear other church planters and leaders utter the phrase, "don't plant a church unless God calls you to plant a church." I've nodded my head in affirmation and echoed their sentiments over and over again. What I have not realized is that these church planters and leaders are not merely blaring out "preacher talk", nor are they speaking to hear themselves speak. Rather, they are speaking from their hearts out of a reality that at several times along the journey they have found themselves in circumstances and situations where the only thing they can lay claim to is the clear call of God. They have found themselves in moments where the only thing they DO know is that God called them. Further, it's been the call alone that has allowed them to keep their sanity and purge forward (arguably, church planting and sanity may in no way be connected).

As I progress in the journey I am learning, not solely from the utterances of other church planters and leaders, but from the realities of my own journey that if God doesn't call you to plant a church, DO NOT plant a church. Because there are days coming when the only thing you can cling to and the only thing that is clear is the call of God.

MY Weekend

-Glad to see that my Bulldogs pulled off another W...unfortunately it was ugly
-The Dawgs need to make some statements...not sure they can with a D that gives up 40 pts
-Had Door Hanger Mania for our next PreLaunch Worship Experience coming up on November 16...that's this Sunday!!
-Spent some good time with the most incredible people in my life...Heather, Noah, and Hannah Ayers
-Speaking of my family...my little Hannah has some kind of Bronchial thing...not good
-She has to do breathing treatments...not good...she hates it
-Took me a Sabbath again this weekend...kind of...is it possible to do nothing...that's a tough one!
-Proud of the way the Atlanta Falcons are doing this year...I knew they were going to get it together...didn't think it would be this soon...hope they keep it up
-Since in I live in Flowery Branch where the Falcons training camp is...think I'll go over and see them this week!
-Actually, I am going there, but its because Drew is coming up tomorrow to meet with a friend of his that works there and he invited me along:-)
-People are already mad at us for our door hanger...got an email that wasn't very nice
-Guess I don't understand why people can be so offended and yet be so hateful themselves...oh well

Friday Confession

I Confess: I hate to wait. Whether its in a line at Starbucks or getting something I'm expecting in the mail, I hate to wait. Whether its a line at the mall or sitting in unexpected traffic, I hate to wait. I must admit though, if the aforementioned where the extent of my waiting issues then it would not seem half bad. I get into trouble, however, when it is waiting on things that bear great consequences. For instance, I often hate waiting on the results that I perceive to be the best. I hate waiting on the proverbial "God's Perfect Timing." I want things to happen the way I think they should happen and I want them to happen fast. Also, there is almost always additional exterior pressure that makes the waiting all the more difficult. This presents a great tension in my life that produces a struggle with the process. Getting to the so called "there" requires a process that begins with "here". What's in between is the process. The process involves lots of work, which I'm not scared of. I like to work. As a matter of fact that's probably another confession in and of it self. In addition to work, the process also involves waiting. The thing which I confess today that I hate. Am I alone in this?

The 19th

On October 19 Reveal Church had its very first of three PreLaunch Worship Experiences. The three worship experiences are a part of our strategy to effectively gather and build a team of people that will enable us to launch Reveal Church. Here are some of the details of the the 19th:

Series: Jump: Experiencing the Life of Your Dreams

Production Coordinator: Bryan Noel (da freakin' man)

Worship Leader: Stevie Flockhart

Set List:

All Because of Jesus (Steve Fee)
My Glorious (Chris Tomlin)
Mighty to Save (Hillsong United)
Time of My Life (David Cook)

Message: Jump Off: Matthew 14:22-31

We'll do it all again on November 16th....BE THERE!!

The Day After

I will pray diligently for our president elect Barack Obama. You have to be grateful for the process our country has established in order to pick our leaders. I would try to write something about my thoughts post-election, but Chris Elrod says it better than I could even try, so enjoy...

I Voted!

This morning my family and I made our way over to our designated polling place to cast our vote for...well I'm not telling you that. As we did, we were uncertain what to expect. With all the recent hype and the dramatic stories of people waiting hours just to cast their much anticipated ballots we were uncertain what it might be like. When we arrived we were pleased to discover that the line was not backed out the door. As a matter of fact, there was no line at all. My wife and I voted and it took us less than 15 minutes. The only reason it took that long is because we had to take turns so that one of us could stay in the car and watch the babies. I am sure that others were not so fortunate, and I am certain there will be many waiting in those exasperating lines tonight as those yet to vote do so after work. However, I think the biggest wait will be the tallying of all the votes. I believe this could be longer than the Bush/Gore fiasco of 2000. Hopefully not, but more than likely it is going to be a while before we know who will be presiding over our country in the oval office.

Election Day Thoughts

I am a dual citizen. I am an American by birth, and I am dedicated to the great nation that God has allowed me to live in and grow a family in. First and foremost, however, I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God. It is a Kingdom in which the economy does not crash, that can never fall from power, and whose King is and will always be victorious. No matter what happens the King is not shaken, nor caught by surprise. He rules, not by the power of the people, but powerfully over all people. His plans cannot be thwarted, His term never expires, and He conquers all His enemies. It is a Kingdom not merely limited by the borders of the United States of America, but rather expands globally to emcompass people from every tongue and every tribe.

As a dual citizen my responsibility is great. My citizenship as an American takes 2nd place to my citizenship in God's Kingdom. Further, my citizenship in God's Kingdom greatly effects my citizenship as an American citizen. As an American citizen I have been given the responsibility to vote for my leaders. As a Citizen in God's Kingdom I have been given the responsibility to vote according the values which God has set forth in His written Word. Therefore, I must approach the voting booth with a mindset that the leaders I choose to give my voice to must align mostly with the values that my King holds dear. This does not mean what the Candidate says he/she holds dear, but rather the values he/she displays and demonstrates.

Today I vote. I have a duty, and I have a responsibility. As a citizen in God's Kingdom, choosing not to vote is a dangerous choice because I am well aware that the America before me is the one I have the responsibility to choose. The America that my children will inhabit longer than I is the America in which I presently have an active voice. Choosing not to vote is not only a bad choice, but an irresponsible one. It is not merely irresponsible as an American citizen, but as a citizen in God's Kingdom.

MY WeekEND

Had a GREAT weekend...here are some things I did, or didn't do...

• Halloween night we gave out tons of candy, the kids brought even more home
• We also gave out hot apple cider, coffee, and dessert for the parents (people loved us for that...just trying to meet our neighbors)
• Remembered the Sabbath and tried to keep it holy
• The Bulldog game made it hard for it to stay holy :-)
• Why is it that we lose at least 2 games every year and why can't we beat UT and UF in the same season...frustrating
• Spent some time with my awesome family
• I love my family, I am richly blessed!!
• Read a book about Starbucks
• Went to church and worshipped Jesus
• Also heard an incredible message on politics from PK @ 12 Stone...you should download it