Over and out

We leave tomorrow for a family vacation at Hilton Head. I am looking forward to some non-church time with the family. I'll be leaving the computer at home (and probably go through a few DT's). Have a great week. I'll catch you on the flip side.

Epiphany

Today I went to this 'thing' for church planters at SC Baptist Convention. It was good seeing some church planting buddies, but the best part of the day was an epiphany I had. I can't share all of it now, but will in two weeks. I can share part... I've always felt that talking about "reaching" people was a bit awkward. I don't know why, but it's just a weird term that is a tad bit offensive. But today I heard something that just clicked. I'm about relating to people. I think that relating includes reaching but it is so much more comprehensive, or at least it is to me. I want to be a part of relating the gospel to 20 and 30 somethings.

Many more exciting things happened today. Frankie and I went to check out Spartan 16 and meet with the manager. It went great. I can't wait to sign the contract. I'm as pumped and excited today as I was a few weeks ago getting ready for Movies in the Park. I can't wait for what's next for Hub City Church.

Great quote

Becoming a missional follower of Jesus involves helping those who are searching to navigate the terrain as they move toward the belief that Jesus is indeed the only way. Being a missional follower of Jesus is about gettng outside ourselves and into their world, their lives, their minds, and their search. Breaking the Discipleship Code pg 63.

Relationship vs. Religion

I'm reading this book right now. So far so good. I came across a quote today that I wanted to share: This is the difference between having a relationship with Jesus and practicing a religion. If you are interested in religion, you need all the answers. If you are interested in following Jesus, you don't have to have all the answers because you can trust Him.

I love this. My life's passion is to help people trust Jesus more and more. Too often our uncertainty and inability to figure stuff out gets in the way of trusting Jesus. But Christianity is completely based on trust in a person (Jesus). Following Jesus requires that we trust him. So, do you trust Jesus? Do you trust him more today than last month? You can trust him. How cool is that?

Stop the fear...

Yesterday I read this book. Beside the fact that it has a horrible title I highly recommend it... and it's short so you can read it fast! So often fear keeps us from what God has for us. This fear too often influences what we do with the money we've been given.

Here's why I think you should read this book. Imagine for a minute what the world would be like if the Christians in America began handling their money God's way. Imagine if just this one area (finances) came under the Lordship of Christ. I believe that if American Christians moved from a mindset of selfish fear to a lifestyle of generous giving that in one year the world would be evangelized, poverty would be wiped out and no one would be hungry. Just a thought.

I think that money is one of the "Big Three" things in our culture that Christians should manage differently to be set apart as disciples of Jesus. Any thoughts?

Live from Whiteboard

No, it's not me, but by buddy, my first staff guy, my compadre, the man himself, Frankie Creel is there and he's blogging about the event. Sounds like it's some good stuff. What Vince said is incredible. Frankie's going to lunch with Vince. I'm jealous. He'd better ask good questions and take good notes or I'm taking his "whoopee" back!

Birthday Pics

Indiana Jones Legos! Nice.
A new bike!
More Legos!
On my new bike.

B-day dinner at Fuddruckers with mom and fam.

5 years old

Today was a big day in the Everette home. Matthew turned 5 today. It was an exciting day for all of us. I am so proud of Matthew and can't wait to see how he continues to grow and develop this year.

Two of his presents were lego sets and, being the little engineer that he is, Matthew spent over 5 hours building. He's pretty talented... especially since the ages are 7+ (which he is quick to point out!). I'll try and remember to post some pics tomorrow for our family.

I just looked at the clock and it was exactly 5 years and one minute ago that Matthew came out screaming.

The "Whoopee Awards"

Last night at Launch Team Meeting we had our initial "Whoopee Awards" to celebrate Movies in the Park (and yes, we did give out whoopee cushions as the coveted prize). We wanted to say "whoopee" to our awesome team for all they did to make MIP a success. I need to make special note of two of the funniest "Whoopie Awards." First, Josh received "The most inappropriate comment of the night whoopee." I won't comment on his comment, but it sure was funny. Second, I've got to mention Chris' "Everything bagel plus cheese whoopee" because he did everything.

It was great celebrating a win with our team. They worked so hard and I am so thankful to have them along on this adventure!

Wow!

All I can say about our first Movies in the Park is WOW! Last night was just plain amazing. Can you believe we had somewhere around 2000 people show up? The weather was awesome (thank God for that). People had great attitudes (even those who had to wait a few minutes for popcorn). The sound was great. We had a ton of conversations about Hub City Church (especially Chris... he was the conversation king). And our team and volunteers were incredible. They worked so hard. It is a privilege to be planting this church with each of you.

On top of all of that, we made the paper again! This morning we were the lead story on www.goupstate.com and the front page of the upstate section of the Herald Journal. You can read the article here (also there's a picture of my father-in-law serving watermelon in the paper).

Now we get to do it again on June 21! But first, I need some rest.

My first time ever

I know I'm a little slow, but today, for the first time ever, I downloaded songs from iTunes to my iPod. And I have to say, it felt good! I was putting together a set list for Movies in the Park. Liz really wants me to download I'm still a guy by Brad Paisley, but I don't know if I can handle a country song on my iPod.

But here's my thought, if any of my readers want to help us out with Movies in the Park you can shoot me an iTunes gift card. :) Just a suggestion. :)

27,510

I know you're not going to believe this because I'm having trouble believing it too. But our web site, which went live 14 days ago, has had 27,510 hits so far. Who out there is yanking my chain? This is crazy.

They must all want info abut Movies in the Park which starts tomorrow. It's going to be a fun night.

Big graduation celebration

Tonight was Matthew's graduation from 4K preschool. It's the end of an era. Afterward we went to celebrate at Brusters. I'm so proud of Matthew. He's a great little boy... and next Wednesday is his birthday!

Big Week

This is a big week for the Everette family and for Hub City Church.

• On Tuesday night we've got Matthew's graduation from 4K. He gets to wear a cap and gown and look official.
• Thursday is the last Soccer practice.
  
• On Friday, Prince Caspian opens and we can't wait. Actually, Matthew and I have been counting down to the movie's release for a few weeks. The Chronicle's of Narnia are some of my favorite stories.
• On Saturday we've got this little thing called Movies in the Park happening. I can't wait.

It's an exciting week.

Unbelievable

Somebody must be playing games with me because since our web site went live one week ago we've had over 13,600 hits. We've had over 7,000 hits since yesterday. I need to give credit to God. May he be glorified, made famous, and shown clearly through Hub City Church. May he draw thousands to himself and may we make disciples (people who hear from God and do what he says).

Pray for good weather for May 17!

Front Page Article!!!

This morning started off extremely emotional for me. I went out to get the paper this morning and on the front page was this article. Did I say front page? Yes, and not only that, it is the top article on the front page! And on top of that, it is a GREAT article!

Liz made a great comment this morning. She said that it's as if God decided He wanted to get the word out about Movies in the Park, so He did it. We're giving Him all the credit. We serve a great God who is working all around us and inviting us to join Him in what He's doing to advance the Kingdom. What a privilege to be a part.

But emotions are like a pendulum. At breakfast Levi decided to throw his bowl of cereal off of his high chair and onto the floor. Honey nut cheerios went everywhere and one of our new glass bowls shattered all over the floor. Nothing like reality! :)

Good news

I need to share with you some amazing things that happened today.

- Coca-cola is going to provide 800 drinks per night of Movies in the Park. They’ve given us their logo and want us to put it on everything we print from now on.

- A reporter from the Herald-Journal called to interview me about MIP and Hub City Church. The article should be in the paper tomorrow.

- Our banner will probably go up at Barnet Park tomorrow. Michelle, Michele and Rosie put up 180 signs in businesses around town today. And the postcards came in today and some will start making their way to schools tomorrow.

- Our web site, which just went live on Friday, had 4,000 hits in its first four days of being live. That’s amazing!

- Christian Supply is going to give 4 $25 gift cards as well as include MIP info in their mailer that goes to 15,000 homes (can you believe that?)

I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of something with such momentum and God-stuff happening. Thank to our Launch Team for being a part of this amazing adventure. We couldn’t do this without them and all their work. And we definitely could not have any of this happening without God showing up.

PRAY FOR GOOD WEATHER!

Thanks Coca-Cola of Spartanburg

We want to give a HUGE thanks to Coca-Cola of Spartanburg for donating drinks for Movies in the Park. This is awesome! They share Hub City's DNA of wanting to make Spartanburg a better place to live.

Born to ride

Last week riding a bike really clicked with Nathan. He now wants to be a BMX freestyler! (I'm so proud). But in light of his new-found skill scored him a new shirt from his grandparents. Here's the picture of the shirt.
I almost took pictures from his big crash. It was pretty nasty, but after a short meltdown he went back out to ride again. You just can't argue with freedom.

"Sleep with stuffed animals night"

Who knew that last night was "sleep with stuffed animals" night? Leave it up to my kids to come up with a new holiday for Hallmark to exploit.

Mickey Mouse, MIP and 2500 postcards

This has been a fun weekend so far. We rented a Mickey Mouse suit (we were going to go with an elephant suit, but Mickey's famous, so we had to go with the famous guy) and headed out to Spring Fling to hand out postcards and advertise for Movies in the Park (MIP). It was a blast. Mickey really is famous. One of our guys, Chris, was in the Mickey suit for over 2 hours. I don't know how he did it. I would have passed out. (And Frankie, you were a great Mickey too :))

I am so proud of our team for working hard to get the word out about MIP. We got to tell all kinds of people about the fun that's going to be coming to Spartanburg this summer.

Now I'm tired. It's off to give the boys a bath and put them to bed.

Money, money, money

Don't you just love talking about money? I thought I'd give a little update on some money stuff for Hub City Church (did you check out our new site yet?).

We're looking for more people to be a part of The 300. The 300 is our plan to raise $30,000 to launch Hub City Church in September. It will go towards equipment and marketing. What we're looking for is 300 people who will give $100 a piece. I think YOU need to be a part of The 300.

On a smaller note, I'm also working to raise around $500,000 to fund Hub City Church for 3 years. That only means we need 5,000 people to give $100 a piece. :) Seriously, please pray for us as we embark on this adventure. The guys at churchplanters.com say that "financing the vision" is one of the Best Practices of church planters. And since two guys I know just had to shut down their churches in the past 2 months because of finances... let's just say this is a priority. So if you, or your church, or both wants to partner... give me a buzz... I'll probably be calling you anyway.

Now off to pick up an elephant costume... if you're at Spring Fling keep your eyes open for us.

Live

Our website is live. Check out www.hubcitychurch.com. Shoot me a line and let me know what you think.

Runnin' like a headless chicken

The book Deadly Viper Character Assassins talks about the assassin of busyness. I feel like that assassin might be gaining more influence in my life than it needs to have. There's always more to do, somebody else to call, something to read, somebody to meet with, an e-mail to send..., you get the picture. I'm working on boundaries.

Not that I'm complaining. I love all that's happening and all that we have going on. The people on our Launch Team are working so hard. Lots and lots of cool things are happening. But the thing to remember is that we're all in this for the long run and to start off in a sprint like you're running the 100 meter dash is not the way to run a marathon.

I'm in this for the long run. I want to finish well. Now it's off to begin the jog.