Cool Weekend

This was a pretty sweet weekend for Hub City Church. On Saturday we got to partner with some guys from the Rotary Club to paint a house for a double amputee (legs). It was a blast to be out making a difference. I'm so proud of how our team stepped up to serve. We painted the whole house in one day, even with a two hour rain delay! There are a few pictures on this blog. If you want to see more you can go to Hub City's facebook page.

Then on Sunday we had a great Vision Casting Night. We had 3 new families, 3 new college students and a couple of new singles come find out about Hub City Church. We also had a bazzilion kids! Pray that God will speak to those who were there and tell them if this is something that they need to be a part of.

Post of the week and something else...

What Tony posted here is a good reminder for me.

And here's the something else: This is a busy weekend for us at Hub City Church. Tomorrow we'll be joining with other groups from around Spartanburg to participate in Christmas in Action. We're going to be painting a house. Wooo-hoooo!!! I hope the rain stays away. Then on Sunday we're having another Vision Casting Night to share what we're doing and what's involved for those who might want to be a part. If my count is right then we're going to have 25+ adults and 15+ kids. That's a lot of people! I'm pumped.

On top of that, tomorrow is Matthew and Nathan's first soccer game. I'll be leaving painting to watch Matthew and then coach Nathan. It should be fun. You gotta love kid's soccer.

It's a go!

That's right. We are going to be doing Movies in the Park this summer. This is a great opportunity for us to serve families in Spartanburg. Now we need mission teams to come help! This is really exciting for Hub City Church. Stay tuned for more details as the time approacheth. Also, if you, or anyone you know wants to help please send me a comment or e-mail. We need help the day/night of Movies in the Park, but we really need help the Saturday's before MIP to put postcards in neighborhoods all over Spartanburg. So consider yourself asked. Don't make me beg.

Watch the video then read below...

I had this thought as I was watching "Idol Gives Back" last night. It was during the clip of Alisha Keys' trip to Africa. She made a statement along the line of "our generation needs to stand against injustice...." It was if God were saying, "I have heard the cries of my people, and since the church isn't going to do anything to help them then I'll have to use others to meet those needs."

Shame on us! We're so busy in the American church being concerned about secondary matters and fighting over stupid stuff that God is using things like American Idol Gives Back to do work that the church could and should be doing.

I know that people say that "the church is the hope of the world." I don't really agree with that. I think that Jesus is the hope of the world and that his first choice is to use the church, but as we saw last night, God can and will use whatever he wants, and it doesn't have to be the church (think Balaam's donkey or of the Babylonians that God used to punish his people).

My passion for Hub City Church is that we be a church that doesn't miss out on all that God is wanting to do in the world. We want to stand for justice in Spartanburg and around the world. I think that is when people are going to see Jesus through us. I think that is what gives our message about Jesus credibility.

I think that the Idol's singing of "Shout to the Lord" is a modern day "rocks crying out," and it happened on live TV in front of millions of adoring idol fans. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Busy

I'm not a fan of being busy, but the past two weeks I have been "good" busy. So much is happening right now with Hub City Church. God has sent momentum our way and I'm just trying to keep up. You can pray for us. Pray that I'll have wisdom and discernment. Pray that with all that's going on I'll focus on the most important things.

I can't say enough awesome stuff about our Launch Team. They are helping carry this load in an amazing way. I am so thankful to be on this journey with them. You guys are AWESOME!!! We couldn't do this without you and ALL that you are doing.

Speaking of the Launch Team, we are having a Vision Casting deal this Sunday night. We're looking for more missionaries to join with us in creating a relevant church that 20 and 30 somethings want to be a part of. I'll post details soon.

It's a miracle!!!

This tooth has been loose for over 4 months and Nathan accidentally knocked it out this morning. It's a miracle!

Post of the week

Craig posted on "Ten Questions Every Leader Should Ask" here, but I think these are 10 questions all followers of Jesus should ask.

I heard this story from my friend Frankie and then read it here. Pretty amazing.

Also, this post and this post from Vince is a great reminder that I needed to read.

This effort makes me wish we were already launched. It is pathetic, sad, disturbing and sinful how churches compete against each other... especially since the task is so large and the stakes are so high. Check out this link to see what a group of churches is doing to bring the Church together. The mission is so much more important than our petty differences and preferences. May the Church be one.

Happy Birthday

Today is my beautiful wife and her twin brother, Matt's, birthday. Like I posted earlier, cash and gift cards are greatly appreciated. :)

For my brother-in-law and sister-in-law

Random thoughts

• My lawn mower caught on fire this morning as I was cutting the grass. That was pretty exciting. I think it's time to get a new lawn mower.
• On another lawn note, I really need someone to aerate my yard. If you could hook me up...
  
• Saw I Am Legend last night. It was a great movie that scared me to death. If anyone knows someone who installs sliding steel window covers then have them call me.
• I've got good news and bad news concerning what I was so excited about this past week. I'll share more when I can put it into words.
• Coached my first practice for Nathan's soccer team this past Thursday. It's going to be a fun season. I still need an assistant coach, though.
• Monday is Liz's Birthday. We're about to go buy a present for my amazing wife. In case you're wondering, she loves gift cards and cash.
  

I know how the Pointer Sisters must have felt

Today was an incredible day! Actually, that is an understatement. I can't share everything now, but God orchestrated something incredible today. I hope to be able to share more tomorrow, but please be praying.

Idol thoughts

I know, I've lost credibility with some of you because I watch American Idol, but David Cook totally rocked tonight. If he doesn't win then the show's rigged.

Vision

I'm not big on devotional booklets. Too many people substitute reading Scripture with some cheesy devotional thought (I hope I didn't offend anyone with that, but be honest, too many "devotions" are just touchy feely cheese.). But we have this one little devotion sitting by the potty that I read every so often and one I read the other day is worth passing on.

"Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled." Habakkuk 2:3 TLB
In the early stages of pregnancy a baby is easier to lose. The same applies to your God-given vision; you need to protect it. The enemy tried to destroy Moses and Jesus before they reached their secon birthday. Why? He feared their future -- and he fears yours too! Furthermore, when a prospective mother is not "showing," she has to go on the word of her physician. Getting the idea? There are certain things you need to do in order to "deliver" what God has promised. When your doctor says, "No smoking, drinking or eating certain foods, etc," he's thinking about your future. "But others can do these things," you say. Yes, but they're not carrying within them what you are. The call to give birth to a vision means daring to be different, even radical: It means disconnecting from relationships that can hurt you, staying out of certain places, and reordering your priorities according to your God-given destiny, not popular consent. If you think fulfilling a vision is easy, check the price tag! Like childbirth, it's hard, it's lonely, it's sleepless, it's appetite-changing, it's schedule-altering. It involves pain and leaves stretch marks. So before you give lip service to, or play around with God's purpose for your life, ask yourself, "Am I ready to carry this thing to full term?" Visions aren't for the immature, the impatient or the faint of heart. And you can't downsize them when things get tough.
Esther's vision meant putting her life on the line and saying, "If I perish, I perish" (Est. 4:16). Did she perish? No, but she had to be willing to. Are you? -The Word for You today March 25.

Plans, plans and more plans

I am pumped about our LTM tonight. We're going to start putting plans on paper for our upcoming Movies in the Park and other events. I've been doing some research on what it's going to take for us to pull off Movies in the Park and it is going to take a lot of hard work, but I think this is one of the most exciting things that we could do in Spartanburg. If you've got a few minutes, pray for us as we plan. Pray that God would grant us favor.

I'm with famous

My friend Pat linked me in his blog and put me and another famous guy in the same sentence. Funny. You can read it here.

Post of the week

This was supposed to go out on Friday, but for some reason it didn't work. But it's here now and worth the read. These are some great posts about marketing. We have so much to learn. Check out Vince's post here and what the top experts say here.

LTM Recap

I want to thank everyone for a great LTM last night. I know we covered a lot of content, but you hung in there and had some great ideas. I’m excited about us working together to make a difference in Spartanburg.

Here’s a quick recap of what we discussed:

• Relational networks: College campuses, non-profits (service organizations), sports/rec teams, city groups, civic groups, schools, neighborhoods, work place, YMCA.
• Direct touches: Block parties, sports camps, movies is the park w/in neighborhoods, neighborhood festival (Halloween), provide food for teacher appreciation, volunteering with Habitat for humanity or the Children’s home, giveaways.
• Marketing: Web site, blog, billboards, signs, mailers, door hangers, t-shirts, Frisbees, movie trailer.
• Front door: A worship gathering

For us to be missionaries to Spartanburg we need to spend the majority of our time and resources in relational networks and direct touches.

The direct touches that we decided to focus on are movies in the part (3-4), movies on campus (2-3), volunteering with habitat, Christmas in action and the children’s shelter (possibly renovating an entire home). Thanks for telling me what you want to be involved with. I’ll be contacting you within the week to make a time for teams to meet and begin planning.

More than a relationship

I read something today that shook me up. It comes from Vince Antonucci's (my favorite blogger) new book I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt. He says that being a Christian is more than just having a relationship with Jesus. It's about abiding in him, getting lost in him, becoming one with him. I think his best description of what it means to abide is to think about a baby in a mother's womb. Does the baby have a relationship with it's mom? Yes, but it's so much more than that. The baby lives inside its mother. It can't live without its mother. It is totally dependent on its mother.

When I think about my relationship with Jesus I have to ask myself: Do I abide in Jesus as a baby abides in its mother's womb, or do I just have a relationship with Jesus like I have a relationship with my college roommates (who are great guys, whom I have a great relationship with, but who I only talk with once or twice a month... you get the picture... Joe, Joey and John, I love you guys)?

To be honest, "abiding" sound so much fuller and richer than a having a relationship. Go get the book to read more. It's worth it.

Easter fun

I know this is a bit sacrilegious, but my father-in-law e-mailed it to me and I had to pass it on.

Intense

I've been at Intensive Church Planter Training from yesterday till tomorrow and it is definitely intense. I loved our discussion about the Kingdom yesterday. What an honor that God allows us to partner with him to build his kingdom. I've got some great quotes that I hope to post later, but this is worth sharing: Attractive churches aren't going to be the catalyst for a movement of God in the US, but attractive followers of Jesus will. So I'm asking this question: How can we create/develop attractive Christians? I want to be a part of a movement that changes lives, changes Spartanburg, changes the world.

The coolest part to doing ICPT this time is having our team with us. These amazing people took off time from work to learn and get prepared for planting Hub City Church. Another cool thing is that I met some planters from Canada and we're considering taking a trip to Calgary to help them out. We'll see what comes of that, but a "world" partnership is a mission piece that we need to help Hub City be a globally focused church.

VCGTS

That's right. VCGTS. That stands for Vision Casting Gathering This Sunday. For those of you who want to find out more about Hub City Church, this Sunday is the time to find out. We'll meet from 5:30-7 here. We'll have supper. If you need child care we'll have that, but you need to contact me because it'll be at a different place that the VCG.

Post of the week

I know, I missed a post of the week last week. Having the flu really threw me off, but today's post is worth it. I totally agree with Seth on this post. We even talked about this at our LTM on Tuesday. Resistance will come. I love the encouragement: Persist.

Another post worth reading is Shawn's on being a healthy leader. You can read it here.

LTM Report 3/4/08

Man, last night's LTM was exciting!!! We had some great discussion. Here's a recap that I posted over at Hub City's blog:

Last night we spent time discussing this question: How can we be a missionary church that develops missionaries? Everyone had something great to add to our discussion. Here’s an overview:

- Hub City Church is going to be a missional church. That means that everything we do, the money we spend, the groups we partner with, the music we use, the programs we do, and the topics we tackle will all be run through the missional filter: Is this connecting with people, specifically 20-30 somethings, who are not yet Christian?

- We don’t want Hub City Church to be a church that has a “club member” mentality where it’s all about us and where everything we do is about meeting the needs of club members. We are going to do whatever we can to guard against that.

- Just like missionaries in foreign countries contextualize the gospel and the methods to the culture they are trying to reach, so we will contextualize what we do to connect with 20 and 30 somethings in such a way that they want to be a part. This includes using secular songs, media, speaking to real needs, having music that sounds like what people are listening to, hanging out where not yet Christians hang out (as opposed to always wanting them to come to us).

- We talked about a scorecard so that we can measure whether or not we are actually developing missionaries and being missional. Instead of how many people attend or how much money are people giving we want to measure things like: Number of conversations with people who aren’t yet Christians, are our people actively inviting their not yet Christian friends, and the number of people who are participating in local and foreign mission projects.

- Action Steps: One thing we’ll be doing each week is coming up with an action step for people to do in response to what we’ve talked about. This week people signed up to help out with Shamrock’s on the Square on March 15. This is Spartanburg’s annual St. Patrick’s day celebration. We get to volunteer and be missionaries in our community. Don’t you want to be a part? Contact me and I’ll get you signed up to help.

One REALLY cool thing is that we had almost everyone sign up to help with Shamrock's on the Square. I'm really proud of our Launch Team. They stepped up to be missionaries. I can't wait to see how God is going to use us! I heard of definition of serving that I really like: Leveraging your abilities for the good of someone else. That's what we get to do on March 15th. Anybody else out there want to help us out?

Creative invitation

This Sunday we're having another Vision Casting Gathering. It's an opportunity for people to find out about Hub City Church and how they can be a part. It's also a chance for me to try and scare people away from being on the launch team. :)

Our team's been working to invite people who they think might be a good fit on our team. One of our team, Melanie Creel, has that crafty creative bug (that I don't have). She made invitations for people to use. Check it out. Pretty sweet, huh?

Serving Back funny 2

Serving Back funny

The favor of God

I love the definition that Mark Batterson gives for the favor of God: The favor of God is God doing something in and through you that only God can do. It is something that you could never do on your own.

That is what I want more than anything. It's what I want in my marriage, my parenting, our church plant and my life in general. I desperately want the favor of God to be upon me. This has become a regular prayer of mine.

Mark also said something else that's worth repeating. He shared that his theological starting point is from Isaiah 55:8-9. God's ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. I need to remember that.

LTM tonight

I'm pretty pumped about our Launch Team Meeting (LTM) tonight. We're meeting in a new place (Arcadia first), at a new time (6 PM). FYI: We'll be meeting in the Fellowship Hall which is around the back of the church. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and preparing to launch Hub City Church.

For Frankie and Brian

See, I'm not the only one who thinks Lost is the best show on TV. Check this out.

The Flu

I've got it. Enough said. Back to bed.

Posts of the week

I've got a few places you should check out this week. As I mentioned, I went to churchplanters.com conference. A few of the sessions were great and I wanted to pass on some links. Shawn Lovejoy talked about being a healthy leader. Being a healthy leader requires discipline. He posted some great personal diagnostic questions here. Mark Batterson is someone I have an enormous amount of respect for. He posted notes from his talk on being a Secure Leader here. Though it wasn't my favorite talk, Bill Cornelius' talk is online for free here. It's worth listening to. I also want to give a shout out to my friend Pat who became a first time dad on Tuesday. You can read all about it here. Congrats Pat!

Dear Anonymous

So that you won't waste your precious time I want you to know (whoever you are) that anonymous comments will be immediately rejected... even if they are positive (but most of them aren't). So, whoever keeps commenting under the name "anonymous" can grow up and stop hiding behind web technology. I'm sorry if you don't always agree with my posts. I don't always agree with myself either. If you would like to add to the conversation then I'm all for that, but not if you're hiding behind the curtain of anonymity.

For those of you awesome readers (all 2 of you) who are wondering, "Where is this coming from?" Let me tell you. I get critical, mean comments all the time from someone named anonymous and I thought I needed to let them know that they are wasting their time. The next post will be more positive!

New time. New Location.

Our launch team will be meeting at a new time and in a new location beginning next week. First Baptist Arcadia has graciously allowed us to use their building (for free!!!). We'll be meeting on Tuesday nights from 6:00-7:30. Click here for directions.

Oops

It's good to be back

I had a great time with Chris and Frankie the past two days at the churchplanters.com conference. I must say that I think I need counseling after spending two days with them. I'll post some links on Friday of things that need to be shared.

It's great to go to conferences and learn and be inspired. Learning is such a high value for me. I love other people's stories. I love reading books and blogs. I really loved being able to share my conference learnings with Chris and Frankie.

On a funny note, if you know them, ask them if they slept well. Even though we had a great time I really love coming back home. Nathan and Matthew wanted me to wake them up when I got home. I tried and tried but they would not budge. It was funny (for me). I can't wait for supper and an evening at home tonight!

Off again

After a great weekend in GA with Liz, speaking at Summit Church yesterday morning and having an exciting Launch Team Meeting last night (where everyone who came to our Vision Casting Gathering came back!) I am off again. It's back to Cumming, GA for the churchplanters.com conference. I'm pumped to have Frankie and Chris going with me. I can't wait to learn!

That's right, it's back: Knight Rider

Can't you hear the music? I just heard I could win Kitt. That would totally rock! I feel like I'm back in middle school.

Post of the week

This week I want to send you to two places. First, you need to check out Jay's post here. I think it is extremely pertinent considering how we are trying to put together a launch team of missional people.

Second, you've got to check out this article from Fox News. Sounds like a sermon that you (or I) might want to do. :)

For Valentine's Day

I haven't posted much this week and I know that all three of you who read this blog are going through withdrawal right now. So to rescue you from DT's I'm posting a Happy Valentine's day post.
In a few minutes I get to go to Nathan's school to help out with his Valentine's party. That should be fun. Matthew and Nathan both made cards for Liz and I, well, Matthew made about 7 cards for Liz and none for me. We all know he loves mom more! Nathan made one for each of us. Liz and I are celebrating this weekend. I get to preach at my friend's church in Cumming, GA. (I'm really excited about the topic. It's something I've never talked on before: Why do bad things happen to good people.) And they are putting me in a hotel. Liz is going to go with me and we get to have some fun, kid-free time. I'm really excited!

I experienced one of the funniest things in a while last night (at least it was funny to me). I went to CVS to get a box of candy for Matthew and Nathan... just one of those small heart shaped boxes of chocolate. The parking lot was packed. All spaced were taken and the store was filled with people... well, not the whole store... just the aisles with the Valentine's day stuff. I almost didn't make it back in time to watch American Idol. I just loved seeing all the procrastinators together in one place.

That's all for now... and it's off to a first grade Valentine party!

The Grammy's

Did anybody else out there watch the Grammy's last night? For the most part, I thought the performances were lousy, but I have to make an exception for Kanye West. I have no idea what Kanye was rapping about, but the visual effects of his show were amazing (except for the part about his mom, which was just sad, and shows he should rap and not sing). I sat mesmerized by all that was happening on the stage and his costume. I went to bed before the show was over so I missed Carie Underwood (which I heard was really good, even though she's country) and some of the other late performances. It seemed like they were trying to hard to make the performances special by putting various artists together. Did anybody see the exploding VW bug? That was really cool. I'd like to see that again. Although I was disappointed, the Grammy's is the only awards show I like because of the music. Now if we could just get some more elevator musical performances....

Update

Last night we had our first Vision Casting Gathering for Hub City Church. It went great. We had 8 new people who were wanting to find out more about what we're doing. After I shared who we're going to be and what we're going to do I left them with a challenge: I want them to hear from God about it and then do what he says. I can't talk people into being on our launch team. Actually, I tried to scare them away. I want God to speak to people and let them know if this is something that he's calling them to do.

I am so proud of our team and the work they did inviting folks and making people feel welcomed. We're going to do it again in a month, unless there's enough interest, and then we'll do it again sooner. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us.

Post of the week

Before I get to this week's Post of the Week (which I know you've been dying for me to send out) I have to say how excited I am about Hub City Church's vision casting gathering on Sunday night. I am pumped about getting to share with people about what God has called us here to do. Maybe you live in the area and are feeling a nudge right now. Come on Sunday and find out more. Click here for information.

Now, without further adieu... I loved Mark's post about what Rick Warren said about commitment. I also think you should check out Craig's posts on Signs of Immaturity here, here, here and here. They are so relevant to guys who are just starting out.

Rehab

I know that you've noticed the mass of celebrities entering rehab lately. Brittany Spears has been in and out for months. So has Lindsey Lohan. Now we've got Delta Burke and Spidey's girl MJ checking themselves in to get some help. Honestly, it seems like every day there are new celebrities checking into rehab.

This really saddens me. I think it should sadden all Christ followers. There's such a lack of hope in each of these stories and I am sure it breaks the heart of the Father.

Aren't Christians supposed to be a voice of hope? I think we should exude such hope that celebrities, neighbors, school-mates, friends, whoever come running to us when they need hope. If people you know need hope, do they know to chase you down?

I know it's a bit cliche but these celebrities need Jesus. Can you imagine what might happen if celebrities started to become followers of Jesus? Can you imagine the impact that could have in the entertainment industry, in the sports world, and all over this playground we call earth?

I don't think any famous, or someday-I'm-gonna-be-famous actors or singers regularly read my blog, but if you do then I just want to say, you have an amazing opportunity to bring the hope of Jesus into the hopeless lives of many of your peers. Don't miss out on that opportunity. Let God use you to be salt and light so that we'll be reading stories about celebs going on mission trips instead of rehab trips.

For the love of Country Music

This is hilarious.

A one sentence disciple

I know that I've blogged a bit about my journey to define what a disciple of Jesus is. This is important because I believe that ultimately God has called us to plant Hub City Church to make disciples. Isn't that the big commission he's given to all of us? But here's my problem. Most people's definitions of what a disciple is are so complex or long or confusing that they aren't helpful. Other people's definitions don't seem to encompass what I observe as I read the Gospels. So I've come up with a simple, one sentence definition of a disciple: Someone who hears from God and then does what he says.

Simple? Yes. Easy? No. This definition is helpful no matter where you are in your relationship with Christ. Jesus said that His sheep will hear his voice. He also said that if we love Him we will do what he says. So there's my two sense. Our discipleship process is going to be teaching people to hear from God and then do what he says.

I'm still thinking through how this works out. Anybody out there have any thoughts they want to add to the discussion? How do you define a disciple?

When to fight

I had lunch today with Kent Smith. Kent is the pastor of River Hills Baptist Church and is one great guy (he even picked up the tab for lunch... all you can eat wings!). He's got a kingdom mindset and a bunch of leadership wisdom that he's willing to pass down... which is good for me because I need as much help as I can get!

He gave an analogy that's worth blogging about (partly for my own processing and partly because it might be helpful to some of my church planting friends). We were talking about vision and being the leader and what issues/decisions are worth fighting about. He said that any decision or idea or opportunity that could change the direction of the ship is worth fighting over. Decisions about how the ship is run or about how to do something on the ship that will still keep it going in the right direction aren't worth fighting over.

As the church planter, I am responsible for the direction of the ship. It's my job to guard and protect the vision. That doesn't mean that I come up with a direction and then take off after it. It does mean that I believe God has revealed a vision about who and what he wants us to be as a church and I am a steward of that vision. Anything that gets us off course, then, is a life or death issue (because obedience is a life or death issue), thus my job is to keep us on course.

So, fight when the direction (vision/revelation) is at stake. But remember, not all battles are direction changing. If you fight over those you become a dictator. It's not your or my job to be a dictator. Leave that to Hugo Chavez. Our job is to protect the vision.

I just had a thought... If we plant a church and it grows big and is the envy of every church planter around, but it's not what God had in mind then I have not been successful. The same could be said of whatever you do with your life. I want to be successful because I was obedient to what God has called me to do. Just a thought.

Anybody out there want to add their thoughts to this discussion? I'd love to hear from you.

Find our more about Hub City Church

Now is the time to find out about Hub City Church. This Sunday, February 10th @ 5:30, we’re going to have an Vision Casting gathering. You can find out about our vision, values, plans, what kind of people we need on our launch team, our favorite colors and all kinds of other really cool stuff.

If you ever wanted to find out about planting a church, what it takes to be on a launch team, or how you can be a part of what God is doing in Spartanburg, then you need to be at this gathering. We’ll have food and child care. We’ll be meeting at 124 Sorrento Dr. in Moore. Click here for directions.

For more information call Jonathan at 313-8173 or e-mail him at hubcitychurch@gmail.com. Please let me know if you’re going to need childcare. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Post of the week

Simplicity. What do you think of when you hear that word? Scott has a great post here on why they value simplicity at his church. I want what we do at Hub City Church to be simple. A couple of great books on this are Simple Church and 7 Practices of Effective Ministry.

7 hours and counting

Why you're needed

Did you know that you really can make a difference? Check out this link. I found out about this from Cliff's blog and it got me thinking about church planting and specifically our church plant. We need to create the kind of environments that result in raving returners. To do that we need people who will take ownership of whatever job they have (in and out of the church) and do their job in such a way as to make people go "Wow!" I think we're going to have to use this video in our core team training.

Ode to Toby

Today is a sad day around the Everette home. We had to put our dog of 11 years to sleep today. Toby had been having some health problems and his kidneys just shut down. Toby will be missed. That's all I feel like writing right now.

Post of the week

While I do encourage you to continue to read Vince's posts on "Waaaaaaa, I'm not getting fed," this week's honor goes to Ben. You can read the post here.

The reason this resonates with me is that in a church plant there is all kinds of stuff that needs to be done and you don't have to be an expert to do it, you just need to step in and be available and just do it. Sometimes the mission is more important that our own personal comfort, wishes or desires.

Great quote

I want to have a church full of two types of people: The lost, and missionaries to the lost. - Vince Antonoucci.

Me too.

A new first

Unless you've been living in la-la land you know it's election season. Since the Republican primary was last Saturday we no longer have to suffer through McCain, Huckabee, Ron Paul or Fred. Now we just have to suffer through the Hillary/Obama/Edwards pleas for a few more days. Well, today there was a message on my home phone from some anti-Hillary folks. It was brutal. It lasted almost four minutes and just berated Hillary over and over and over again. I received phone calls last week asking me to vote for Huckabee and McCain, but they were pretty civil. They didn't bash each other. But today's message was one of the most degrading things I've ever heard. The guy on the message did all but call Hillary every cuss word in the book. In the words of the troubled Rodney King, "Why can't we all just get along?" Why do people have to be such jerks?

The problem is that we as Christians do the same thing towards each other. What happened to "they will know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another?" It's no wonder people don't want to become Christians. Add to that the fact that all of the candidates say they are Christians. We've got to do a better job at representing Jesus.

Discipling your kids

Whenever the topic of discipling your own children comes up people seem to always have some kind of extreme reaction. Some people break out in hives because they are scared to death. Some people could care less so they don't do anything. Some people plan out an entire detailed worship service (and their kids are scared to death).

A passion of mine is my kids becoming disciples of Jesus. Beyond being commanded to do this in Scripture, for me, it's personal. I want my children to be life long Jesus followers. So for some reason I feel the need to share some thoughts about the subject and some of what Liz and I do.

First, discipleship is more caught than taught. I do believe that we need to be intentional about discipling our kids, but if we, as parents, are growing as followers of Jesus then three hours of family devotion on Saturday are going to have much effect.

Second, I don't think things have to be elaborate. I think discipleship flows out of us knowing and doing God's word. We need to know what Scripture says and then we need to do it. It's both/and not either/or. There doesn't have to be a craft involved, unless you like crafts and are artistically gifted (that's just not me). It doesn't have to take an hour (we usually spend 5-10 minutes a night doing what we do).

With that in mind here's what we're doing this year. We got our kids Bibles for Christmas. It's not like they didn't have a kids Bible. I'm a pastor for crying out loud. I've got more Bibles than half of the Chinese Christian population. But even though my kids have Bibles and devotion books galore we know that there's something special about getting something new. So we got them new Bibles. We got Nathan The One Year Children's Bible. It has a reading for each day of the year and over the course of the year Nathan will get an overview of all of Scripture. That's pretty cool. He's a great reader so it's right on his level. He enjoys reading each day's section and he feels like he's fitting in with mom and dad who are reading through the Chronological Bible this year.

The reason this is so important to us is that we believe that the best habit our kids can develop is the daily habit of spending time with God.

For Matthew we got My First Message. It has 50 stories from Scripture. It is well illustrated. The cool thing is that it is interactive. There are questions, prayers, projects to do and a little grasshopper-type guy that you can search for in the pictures (aka: where's waldo). He's loving it. He asks for it most nights. Actually, he's adamant that we read most nights, even when his parents are tired and just want to put the boys to bed!

This is what we're doing now. We're not experts. I don't think I could write a book on the subject, but we're trying to grow a love for and knowledge of Scripture in our kids. And I only share this to encourage other parents to "man up" and help their kids develop the habit of spending time with God and a love of his Word.

Anybody out there have any other ideas they want to contribute to the discussion?

No more gym for me

After reading this article I think I'm going to cancel my YMCA membership and use that money for other things. That's about as manly as not eating red meat!

Posts of the week

Once again this week's honor of "posts of the week" go to Vince. He began a series of posts this week entitled "Waaaaaa, I'm not getting fed." You can find the posts here. They are worth your time.

I've been saying for a long time that it's not the church's responsibility to keep feeding people. Of course we need to feed baby Christians, but we need to also teach them to feed themselves. That's the only way they'll grow up. Maturing Christians need to be feeding themselves and others, but as Vince says, we're lazy. We'd rather have some pastor's chewed up, half digested burger than dig into Scripture ourselves and let God speak directly to us. Too often we're "sermon connoisseurs," instead of Scripture connoisseurs.

I'm always thinking about what a disciple of Jesus looks like in today's world. This week I've keep coming back to the fact that it's someone who spends time in God's word and then aligns their life according to it.

Snow Day!

Let the fast begin!

OK, maybe that title is a bit too excited sounding. To be honest, I have trouble with fasting. I'm all spiritual and gung ho in the days leading up to the fast, but then on the day when it's supposed to begin I start coming up with excuses about why I should bail. Why do I tell you this? Well, our launch team is going to be fasting from food and media from 6 PM today (Wednesday, January 16) to 6 PM tomorrow. I know that in all probability, they are also a bit apprehensive. But we're going to do it anyway. Why? Because we know that planting Hub City Church is something that is bigger than us. It's a God-sized endeavor and we want to be in tune with what God is doing. We also have some real needs that we are asking God to provide. Does God have to provide? No, but in Hebrews 11:6 says that "God rewards those who honestly seek him." We are seeking God. Jesus says "You don't have because you don't ask," so we're asking. Feel free to join us. Also, feel free to leave comments about what God is saying to you. But don't comment on this blog. Comment here. I'd love for this blog to be a conversation. Right now it's a monologue. Leave a comment to let others know how things are going.

The 300

Last night at our launch team gathering I shared what we're calling The 300. No, it's not based on the movie (I didn't like the movie... sorry Brian). It's based on a need. We're going to be launching Hub City Church sometime in September. In order to launch right we need to raise about $30,000 in start up funds. When I look at that number I am totally overwhelmed. That's where The 300 comes in.

The 300 is really 300 opportunities to give $100 a piece. That means we need 300 people to give us $100 a piece, or 30 people to give $1000 a piece, or one person to give $30,000, or some other combination. You get the picture. Well, I shared The 300 with a group of pastors today at lunch. Someone pulled out their checkbook and wrote a check for $100 and gave it to me before I even finished my little spiel. Someone else committed $200 for the next couple of months. I couldn't believe it. God is already providing.

Would you pray for us as we seek to raise $30,000? Will you consider contributing to The 300? I'll keep you updated on this blog about our progress. One down, 299 to go!

Fun with my boys

Yesterday was pajama day for Matthew at preschool. Here's a pick of him in his Awesome Spiderman PJs. I gave him two rules for school: No shooting webs at people and no climbing on the ceiling.

Tonight I'm taking Nathan and Matthew the David Crowder band concert. It should be a lot of fun rockin' and jammin' together. Maybe some good father/son bonding time.

And last, but definitely not least, today was the BIG day. The day that Liz has been putting off for a while. What day was it? The day of Levi's first haircut! Here's a pic of him in the chair. He was unsure of what was going on, but once he got a sucker in his mouth he was A OK.

Going all the way

Maybe I'm just dysfunctional, but I'm not the biggest fan of relationship books. Most have great information but are too long or hard to read to be of much practical use for busy people. That is by no way the case with Craig Groeschel's book Going All The Way.

The book is funny, practical, dead on Scriptural and easy to read. I am going to make it a must read for any couples who want me to preform their wedding ceremony. It's also a must read for anyone who is dating, wants to be dating, wants to be married or is married but knows that things aren't all that they need to be. I promise, it will not be a waste of your time. If you're a parent then I'd recommend this book to help you help your kids through the minefield of dating and finding a spouse.

I kept thinking to myself while reading that Craig is saying everything that I want to say about dating, preparing for marriage and marriage all in one place... and it's easy to read... and it's funny. So go pick up the book, read it and then come back to comment and let me know what you think.

Wasted

One of my greatest fears is that I'll get to the end of my life and realize that I've wasted my time on this playground we call earth. I guess one of the reasons I have this fear is that I see so many people wasting their space.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Two great questions that can help move us from a wasted life to a life of meaning are: What am I giving my life to? And, what is the one great something I am living my life for?

To follow up on that, most of you know I'm planting a church. I can't think of any better endeavor that giving your life to helping plant a church. I know I'm a bit biased, but being a part of a church planting team is one of the best ways to invest your life in something that's bigger than you. We're looking for some of you to join our team.

Quote

I read this quote from Ben this AM (in between cleaning up vomit from Matthew) and thought it fit perfectly with what we talked about first last night: I have to say that our church is not right for every believer. We're a church on a mission. If your first questions are about attendance figures, how much money the church takes-in, and what my theological pedigree looks like... we're almost certainly not the church for you.

Must read

I currently subscribe to 22 blogs via bloglines. Of all the blogs I subscribe to my favorite would have to be Vince Antonucci's blog. He's creative, he's funny and he's planted a church that is actually reaching people who are far away from God (something that is a big desire of mine for Hub City Church). Last week he did a series of posts regarding launch teams for church plants. If you are a church planters or you're on my team (or any plant team) then you need to read these posts. You can get to all five posts here. It's definitely worth your time.

Full speed ahead

We had a great launch team meeting last night. I am so excited about the direction we're headed and the possibilities. I am excited about the team that God has given us. I can't wait to see what doors God is going to open this week. God has done an amazing work to restore my passion to plant a church in Spartanburg.

Which gets me thinking... there are some of you who read this blog who need to get on board with what we're doing. There are three ways you can get involved. First, you can join our prayer team. We are attempting something that's so big that if God doesn't show up there's no way it will happen. E-mail me with your e-mail address and I'll add you to the list. Second, some of you need to become a financial partner of Hub City Church. We need kingdom minded individuals who will commit to financially fund this mission. Third, some of you locals need to join our launch team. Is God calling you to be on our team? E-mail me. We'll meet for coffee and talk.

On another note, Matthew is blowing chunks today. I hate vomit, but I feel so bad for the little guy. Please pray for him and pray that none of the rest of us will get the bug.

Super size

I'm not one to super-size my orders at fast food places. I really don't need a cazillion more grams of fat added to my already billion fat gram order. But as I've been putting plans on paper for the launch of Hub City Church I find myself praying super-sized prayers. I think that church planting is a God-sized task that requires God-sized prayers. Prayers that might seem outlandish and ridiculous have become common place.

Long time no see

It sure has been a while since I posted anything. I know that each of you out there has been depressed and waiting for me to write something. I'm depressed. After Clemson's pathetic showing at the Chick-fil-a bowl. How can we be so unprepared? How can we make so little use of all of our talent? Oh well, enough of that.

It's good to be back in the saddle again working at full speed towards the launch of Hub City Church. Today is a planning day. I'm putting thoughts to paper. I'm excited about what God is going to do this year. I could definitely use some prayers for wisdom. There are way to many decisions to be made and I need wisdom now more than ever.

The Advent Conspiracy

Today our church plant partnered with my in-laws Sunday school class to bring Christmas to a single mom with 5 kids. I didn't know what to expect as far as gifts are concerned. Well, we had so many gifts that there wasn't any room left on the floor in this family's living room. There were so many gifts that I think the family went into shock. We had one of those "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" moments.
Here's a picture of all of us and the family.

Thanks

I survived my first funeral. Thanks to everyone who prayed. It was an honor to be invited into a family's life to speak words of comfort.

2007 was a banner year... my first wedding and my first funeral. I guess I'm an officially well rounded minister :)

New experience

I'm going to be doing my first funeral tomorrow. I'm about to leave to meet the family. Could use your prayers.

On Your terms

Have you ever thought about how many times you come to God on your own terms? Think about it: Do you come to God with your agenda? Do your dreams and wishes get priority in your prayer time?

But if God is God (and I think He is) then isn't that kind of arrogant? Shouldn't we come to Him on His terms? Shouldn't we ask for things on His terms (the whole Your will be done thing)?

That's my focus this week: To come to God on His terms. So what does that look like in your life? I'd love some tips.

If I were God

As you're reading Scripture do you ever have the thought, If I were God I'd...? I was reading this today and thought, If I were God I'd have struck that leader dead on the spot. How could he be such a jerk?

But then I was reminded (maybe by the Holy Spirit) that if God struck that guy dead he should probably have struck me dead, many times over. That makes me thankful for grace. I don't deserve it, but I get it anyway.

Now, if only I could develop into the kind of grace giver that God is....

Yesterday

Yesterday was a big (and busy) day. First it was Nathan's birthday. He turned 7. I can remember scraping over an inch of ice off my car window to drive the 40 minutes to the hospital (the drive actually took 2 hours) on the day he was born. I'm so proud of him. Happy Birthday Nathan. I know it's a day late to post happy birthday, but he's really having 4 days of celebration. It began with dinner at P.F. Changs on Wednesday, then we had the real birthday with family gifts, today we're having 4 other little boys spend the night (pray for us!) and tomorrow we're having an extended family party. Life's tough for a new 7 year old.

The rest of what made yesterday busy was that I was in meetings all day. I am so appreciative of Kermit Morris (don't you just love the name Kermit?) who gave me some great ideas, advice and challenges concerning what we're doing. I was then able to meet with some other church planters who are interested in having a Power Plant team this summer. After that I met with the man, the myth, the legend... Dino Senesi to talk about our new church, what I've learned and get some input.

I really appreciate guys that give me practical advice and honest input about what we're doing. Now I need to get back to working on the stuff that was shared with me yesterday.

Oh, I almost forgot. Nathan had his first basketball practice last night. I love watching kids play. It's going to be a fun season.

Great question

Read this question in an article from Tim Stevens: Have you ever had the feeling that you were meant for something extraordinary?

I think that is a great evangelism question. We've been invited to be a part of what God is doing in the world. We were meant for something extraordinary. Not that we're intrinsically extraordinary. We're definitely not (see yesterday's post). But what God is doing in the world is extraordinary, and we were created to be a part of that. We each have a role to play in God's grand story or redemption. What's your part?

Funny

Unchristian

I finished reading Unchristian today and all I can say is wow. I can attest to the findings in this book. I've seen the unchristian perspectives lived out to the detriment of the kingdom more times than I wish to count.

I think that the first place for us to begin in changing people's perspectives is for us to say we're sorry. I would love to do a series titled: We've been unchristian and we're sorry (feel free to steal that one from me).

What I love about the book, however, is not that it gives a clear picture of people's perspectives of us, but that it gives practical ways for us to move from being unchristian to being Christian. I would share details, but you need to read the book.

A reminder

I was moved by this post from Devin the other day and have been mulling over it ever since. Maybe it’s just me, but does anyone else out there feel the need to be reminded daily that they need the Gospel? I need to be reminded of the essence of the Gospel and that I need it just as much as someone who is far away from God.

What is the Gospel anyway? I sometimes forget that, simply put, it is the good news that Jesus took my place, paid my debt, set me free and gave his life for me when I was of no use to him (Read here). I know that it is foolish to forget this central truth to my faith, but it’s so easy to slip back into the self-sufficient thinking that keeps us from God’s grace.

Why do I need the Gospel? Duh! Do I really have to answer that question? Anyone that knows me at all knows that I need the Gospel (I’d say the same thing about you). I mess up, fall short, get angry, am inadequate, sin, ignore God’s voice, disobey… the list could go on, but I’m feeling guilty and need to stop. But that’s why I need the Gospel. I could never save myself. I need someone to rescue me from myself. I need rescue from my selfish way of living. I need rescue from my temper. I need rescue from my “thoughts of grandeur” that elevate my ideas and my way over the ideas and ways of my creator.

Not only do I need the Gospel, but the Gospel is what people need. The problem is that most of them just don’t know they need it yet. Maybe one of the reasons why they don’t think they need it is because those of us who’ve experienced it don’t act like we need it either. I don’t want to live that way… I can’t live that way.

This post isn’t some lame attempt beat myself up and say “Woe is me.” What it is, however, is a reminder to me, and to whoever else out there is reading this thing, that we need the Gospel. Of all the times of the year to be reminded of this, (other than Easter) Christmas is the time. Jesus came to rescue us, because we needed to be rescued. We didn’t deserve rescue, but He came anyway.

This is really the reason why we moved to Spartanburg to plant a church. I want to be a part of a church that shares, lives out and needs the Gospel. Imagine being a part of a community like that! I just needed a reminder. Maybe you did too.

Let's get this party started

I'm pretty pumped because this Sunday we’re having a Christmas Party. Everybody is invited. If we’ve never met you before, you’re invited. If you’re my neighbor, you’re invited. If you’re someone else’s neighbor, you’re invited. So where are you going to be on Sunday night at 5:30? You are going to be at Jonathan’s house. E-mail us at hubcitychurch@gmail.com for directions. We’ll have lots of food. See you Sunday!

Still laughing

This is the funniest thing I've seen in a while. Enjoy.

A little braggin'

No, I'm not going to brag about how Clemson beat USC on a last second field goal or how Clemson's going to the Chick-fil-a Bowl and USC will be at home opening up their presents of sweaters and socks... even though I could.

What I want to brag about is not a what but a who. I want to brag on Chris and Frankie. Last night these two great (yet at times a bit crazy) guys went to the mall to do some surveying. We're in an info gathering and relationship building mode, so these guys spent three hours at the mall talking with people about their beliefs, God, Church and what we're doing. They had a ton of awesome conversations with people who wanted to share opinions.

I think things went so well for two reasons. First, I think Chris and Frankie are easy and fun to talk with. You feel at ease around them. They are gifted. My wife, Liz, also has this gift...the gift of woo: winning others over. Second, they approached people with questions, not scripts or an outline or ________________ (you fill in the blank). They just started to ask peoples opinions about stuff, and people love sharing their opinions.

As a result they not only got some great information, but had a bunch of significant conversations with people who were everything from unchurched to Jewish to Muslim to looking for a church. Who knows what God is going to do because of those conversations.

So I've got to brag on and give a big shout out to Chris and Frankie. You guys are awesome. Thanks for using your gifts to contribute towards creating a church that young adults want to be a part of. Thanks for using your gifts for the Kingdom. I'm so thankful to have you on our team.

Speaking

In five minutes I'm leaving for Columbia to speak at Columbia Metro, a worship gathering for young professionals. I'm excited about the opportunity. If you read this please say a prayer that God would use me tonight.

First things first

I was reading this passage this morning about Jesus sending out the 72 disciples (yes, these 72 were other followers in addition to his 12, although the 12 could have been a part of this group). Go read it now. Did you read it? Now, what was the first thing Jesus commanded them to do?

Make sure you've read it.

Jesus sends out the 72 and his first command is for them to pray for more workers. It's like Jesus is saying that 72 is not enough. The task is too big. We need more people. Pray for more people.

This is huge for us. Right now we have an awesome team of 7 adults and 6 kids, but the task of creating a church that young adults want to be a part of is so much bigger than the 13 of us. We need more workers. Will you join me in praying for more workers?

I need to brag on those 7 adults. I think they are awesome. Their commitment, creativity and passion to create a church that young adults want to be a part of is such an encouragement to me. I can't wait to see what God is going to do with us.

Now we're praying for more workers to join the awesome ones that are already on the team. This may be you. If so check out our new blog to find out how you can be a part.