What I'm learning about being a disciple.

Our small group/Hub Group is spending this coming year studying the life of Jesus. Actually, all of our Hub Groups are studying the same thing. What we're doing is going through Jesus' life, looking at stories and learning how to be a disciple and how to disciple. Today I spent some time reflecting on our first two weeks and what God is teaching me about being a disciple.

We first looked at this story and then at this story. So far, here's what I'm learning about being a disciple. It boils down to three things:

1. Hearing Jesus' voice.
2. Trusting he knows better than me.
3. Doing what he says/obedience.

This leads me to ask two types of questions.

1. Am I hearing from Jesus, trusting him and doing what he says?
2. Am I helping others to hear from Jesus, trust him and do what he says?

That's just a bit of what I'm learning about being a disciple. I'm sure there will be more to come.

Meeting a need

So, last week, we began this project where we are adopting this local family who needs some help. The husband has cancer, the wife is due any day now with their second child, and both are out of work. What we're doing is collecting diapers, wipes and giftcards to give to them to help them out. I was blown away to see so many people bring diapers and wipes this past Sunday. I had a girl ask if she could run to Walmart right after the gathering and buy a gift card for the family. I can't wait to see what folks are going to do this week.

Here's the coolest part of what we're doing. Next Sunday we are going to give our ENTIRE offering to this family to help with medical bills and other expenses. ALL of it. If we take in $70, we'll give that. If we take in $70,000, we'll give that. I can't wait to see what people are going to do. And all of this in just our third week of having a Sunday gathering.

Thanks to everyone who has helped and who is going to help. There's still time to contribute.

Just gotta laugh

If you ever fly or travel in any way then you know of certain frustrations that you face at airports and hotels. This post by Seth just made me laugh. I love his questions.

On a completely different note, our second Sunday was pretty incredible. Not that it matters, but we had a 22% increase in attendance between our first and second Sundays. We had 22 new people. God has given us a bit of momentum. Our team is working extremely hard. They are great. We've got new people who want to know how they can get involved in serving and in Hub Groups. That's really exciting.

Next week we're going to give our entire offering away to a local family that needs some help. That should be exciting. We're also collecting diapers and wipes for this family. It was pretty cool seeing people bring diapers and wipes with them. I love being a church that's here to make Spartanburg a better place to live!

Bootleg news story

Melanie took things into her own hands to get our news story online (since Fox didn't post it). For those of you who were dying to see the story, which I know is all of you, here it is!

Book Giveaway Contest

So, do you want a free book? I've got two copies of the hot-off-the-press For Young Men Only: A guys guide to the alien gender, to give away here on my blog. We're going to have a little contest to see who deserves a copy. Here it is: Whoever has the most embarrassing teenage moment with a member of the opposite sex wins the book. Email your story here. Make sure you include your address. The funniest two stories (which will be judged by an expert panel of embarrassing-moment judges) will win the books. Also, I'll probably post the funniest stories on my blog, so please keep them PG. And you know you want to win, so don't be afraid to share that embarassing moment.

Jeff Foxworthy, the renowned, wise-redneck, says this about FYMO: Guys, in your hands you hold a treasure. Within this book young women honestly tell you what they want, need and desire. After nearly fifty years of trying to figure women out, even I learned a lot. For more info you can go to www.foryoungmenonly.com.

One liners

I was talking with someone on the phone yesterday, telling them about Hub City Church and realized that we have a lot of one liners that we use to describe us. I'm a K.I.S.S. person (Keep It Simple Stupid) because I think simple is memorable. So I've worked pretty hard to come up with some one-liners that describe us, speak about our values and create a common language and rallying cry for who we are and what we're about. Now I know you're dying to know what those one-liners are! Here you go:

• It's more than Sunday.
  
• Making disciples who make disciples.
• Creating a church that 20 and 30 somethings want to be a part of.
• No perfect people allowed.
• No one stands alone.
• We're passionate about Jesus, relationships and making Spartanburg a better place to live.

Now I know what some of you are thinking: I've heard some of these before. Duh. One-liners don't have to be original. They just need to be authentic and genuine to who you are and what you're about. These pretty accurately describe who we are and what we're about. I'd love to hear some one liners that describe your community, church or job. I might want to steal them!

Sermon intro

This is a hilarious sermon intro that Frankie made... and I know you're wondering if those tatoos are for real.

The Launch

Boy is my brain fried, but in a good way. Let's just say that right before we were supposed to start the sound was worse than bad. My mic wouldn't work right. It wasn't good. I was nervous. But then everything started to work, and everything worked fine. That's just one piece of good news.

We had 22 people fill out first time connection cards. That's flippin' AWESOME! There was an incredible buzz from people. We had a ton of kids. Loved meeting new families.

But here's the craziest thing of the morning. Two TV crews showed up. Fox Carolina and WSPA CBS showed up to interview me and some other folks as well as film the gathering. Whoa! I had no idea they were coming. We should be on the news 3 times tonight! I'll post links to the stories when they go live.

A big thanks to everyone who has prayed so hard for today. Please continue to pray. God is up to something and this was just the beginning. We want to give him the credit.

Article

We opened up the paper this AM and there I was, on a front page teaser. It's a little weird seeing your picture on the front page. The article's pretty good. You can check it out here. If you have a blog or facebook then post the article. It will make it more prominent on their website.

Amazed

I must say I've been amazed at people coming out of the woodwork wanting to help us out with getting a band and sound system for Sunday. Nothing's concrete yet, but it will be by the end of today. I love Kingdom mindedness. That's how I want to be. That's how I want to be with Hub City's stuff and people.

Now I've got to go buy some temporary tatoos. Why? Come on Sunday to find out.

Prayer for Spartanburg

Bob Roberts had this prayer on his blog. I've been praying it for Spartanburg: Father I pray for my city. I love my city. You love my city more. Guide my city. Pour your Spirit out over my city. Help us to love your city and serve your city like you want. I lift up all the mayors, the pastors, the businessmen, the teachers, the medical personnel, the artists, government leaders, the institutions, but more than all of those domains - I lift up the people to you. May they see Jesus in our lives as we serve them in the name of Jesus and share the Good news not as a sermon, but as a transforming story that is alive, ongoing, and inclusive.

New look

Our website got a new look in the wee hours of the morning. I think Frankie did a stand up, phenomenal job. You can check it out here.

Still waiting to find out about a band. We do have a worship leader... that's an improvement.

Struggling

Here's the deal. We launch our weekly worship gatherings this Sunday. Here's the problem: We don't have a band or sound system. We thought we did, but Murphy's Law and Satan's attacks have gotten in the way. I could really use your prayers. I need wisdom. We need a band with a sound system.

I can also tell that our team is under attack. Pray for God to protect us from distraction, discouragement and disunity. I appreciate it.

Clemson Pics

Levi went with us to the Clemson/NC State game. He pulled hard for the Tigers and we won... and a win is a win. Here are some cute pics Liz took:

Must read post

Do you ever find yourself complaining (don't lie)? If so, you've got to read this post from Ben. Point: Stop complaining and start leading.

Convicting

Read this quote on the Glocalnet Blog. It's pretty convicting: I am convinced if we prayed and worshipped daily encountering the living Jesus - just half as much as we read books, attend conferences, and study other churches - we would see a movement of God such as we have never seen and the church would be awakened once again. Everything that I’ve ever been apart of that was significant and really mattered was born out of prayer and worship and revelation that God gave in reflection and mediation.

Today we're headed out to the first Clemson home game. I love going to the game. However, after last week's embarrassment I'm missing some excitement. Hopefully we'll run up 70 points. We should. If you're at the game, say hi. I'll be wearing orange.

Hook us up

I know this is lame, but there's got to be someone out there who can hook Frankie and I up with tickets to Catalyst. Our shrinking budget couldn't afford the hit, but I know there's somebody out there who could hook us up. Shameless plug is done.

Hey, I know that voice

Today I get to go record a radio ad. Not gonna tell you which radio station. Just listen and see if you can hear me.

We're giving away another iPod today, too. It's church fair day at Converse. We get to promote Hub City Church. It should be fun.

Yesterday I emailed about a bazillion people in the upstate media to let them know about our launch. Pray that God will grant us favor and give us some free press. I already have an interview with the Herald-Journal lined up.

Zoo

We made the most of Labor Day yesterday by going to the Zoo. It's always fun to see the animals. I'm a bit disappointed that my boys love the "reptile house" the most. Frankie and Melanie and Alyx went with us. Here are a few pics for the relatives out there.

Polaroid Vision

I heard Rick Warren say one time that vision is like a Polaroid picture... it gets clearer over time. That was a profound thing for me to hear. It also seems pretty Biblical since as we look at the whole of Scripture we get a clearer picture of God, his heart and his mission... and there was a process to God revealing himself to humanity.

We have had many things come more clearly into focus at Hub City Church over the past few weeks. We are pretty passionate about making disciples. That whole process has gotten much clearer. In a sentence our mission is to make Biblical Disciples in a Relational Context... with a disciple being someone who hears from God and does what he says (more specifically: one who has made Jesus Lord of their life, one who is in a discipling relationship with other maturing Christians, one who is becoming Christlike, and one who is committed to the mission of Jesus) and the relational context being our Hub Groups (not just Bible studies, but relational evironments where people can be known, cared for assessed as to where they are, and challenged to move to the next level).

We've made the intentional decision to be a church of small groups as opposed to a church with small groups. That means that groups are at the core of who we are and what we do as a church. That means that we are all about small groups... and we do Sundays on the side.

I can honestly say I am more excited about what we're doing, and my part in it, than I have ever been. I had a minor epiphany the other day that I'll share later on. Until then, let's go eat a hot dog.

Read this

Maybe you've finished laughing from the previous video to get serious for a minute. You need to click here and read this post from Bob. It reminded me of an exert I read from this book that I really want but can't buy at this time. So what are your thoughts about Mazhar's comments?

Intervention

We showed this at our first preview. It's hilarious. I'm so embarrassed.

Win an iPod

Sorry, you're too late, but a student at Spartanburg Methodist College won an iPod Shuffle today. We were invited to participate at SMC's "church fair day." It was worth the $50 investment to meet some new college students and get 150 names and emails. We invited all of them to our launch on September 21. I think we may do it at Converse College on September 4. Anybody want to buy the next iPod for us to giveaway?

First day of school

Matthew's first day of Kindergarten.

Nathan's first day of 2nd grade.

Wild Goose Chase

There are a number of reasons why I have loved Mark Batterson's new book, Wild Goose Chase. I think the first reason is because of the title itself. Pursuing God is like a wild goose chase, but in a good way. Like Mr. Tumnus tells Lucy in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, "Tame? No he is not a tame lion, but he is good." Following God has become so tame, so adventureless, so predictable. But that's not what we see throughout Scripture. We act like we've got God and following God all figured out and we have all kinds of predictable formulas. Following God is safer that way. But following God isn't safe. It's an adventure... a crazy, fun, dangerous, exciting adventure.

Second, I love the caged imagery that flows throughout the book. So many great Christians I know are caged by so many things. Mark identifies six. I'd tell them to you, but you need to read the book.

Now I'd like to figure out how to do a series on this. I believe it could be very powerful. You can find the book here, or check out Mark's blog here. You can also find out more by going to www.chasethegoose.com.

Great quote

So I'm almost done with Mark Batterson's new book, Wild Goose Chase. I highly recommend it. It's easy to read and will challenge you to step out of your cage... but more on that tomorrow. I read this on pages 86-87 and thought it worth passing on:

When I fail to give, the best I can do is the best I can do. I am keeping God out of the equation of my finances. But when I tithe I am standing on the promises of God. And in my experience, God can do more with 90 percent than I can do with 100 percent. In addition, tithing is not just good stewardship; it turns money management into a financial adventure.
Don't allow financial greed or fear to keep you in the cage. Living generously is way too fun and way too exciting. Too many of us allow a scarcity mentality to keep us in the cage. We assume that the more we give, the less we'll have. That is an unbiblical assumption.
Tithing is trusting. And when you put God first financially, you live with sanctified expectations. You can't wait to see the wild ways in which the Wild Goods is going to provide.

Amazing day

First I'll say something about Last night. We had our last Movies in the Park last night. I honestly didn't think anyone would show up. That was a constant fear throughout all of our movies this summer. Once again my fear proved to be a dumb fear. We had a great crowd. Probably around 2000 people. Movies in the Park has been an enormous success, lots of fun and lots of hard work. I can't wait to do it again next summer. Big thanks to Ryan Bishop for bringing the sound system and for his awesome screen and projector that we used last night.

OK, let me talk about today. We had our second preview today. First good news: We didn't blow power in the theater. Second, we had a bunch of new people. I think our attendance was 67. Most of those were new guests. We had 17 kids (that was really cool). Third, the video that Frankie created was so funny that I cried. I'm going to try and post it next week when he gets back from vacation.

I can't say thank you enough to our awesome team. They worked so hard this weekend and did a great job. I'm so proud of them. Honestly, I don't know why you wouldn't want to be a part of Hub City Church. God is doing some incredible things. I can't wait for our September 21 launch.

Stop praying and act

OK, so I know this is going to upset someone, but I got this new book from Mark Batterson, Wild Goose Chase. I'll be doing a review on Tuesday, but I read something today that I really wanted to post about. We pray too much sometimes. I'm not saying we shouldn't pray, but so often prayer becomes an excuse for action. We know God wants us to do something or we see a need that we could meet or we see some God-thing that we could be involved with and instead of being the answer to the prayer (because somebody else is praying) we pray as an excuse to not get involved (ie. We meet all kinds of people who are "praying" about whether or not to be involved in our church plant, when they have so many gifts and abilities that they could contribute to a church plant that I feel like God is screaming for them to get their minds off of themselves and do something outlandish, crazy and helpful by joining a new church's team). So what do you need to stop praying about? Stop praying and get to work. Wouldn't it suck to get to the end of your life and realized you missed out on all kinds of divine opportunities because you were praying when you should have been acting?

Miracle

I just witnessed a miracle. Liz said, "You know what, I just don't like country music anymore." I couldn't believe my ears.

Sunday

This Sunday is preview #2. The gathering begins at 10 AM @ Spartan 16 movie theater. Bring your whole neighborhood.

Saturday

Our last Movies in the Park is this Saturday. We’ll be showing Alvin and the Chipmunks, giving out free popcorn, sodas and gift certificates. The movie will begin around 8:45, but come early to get a good seat. Invite all your friends.

Meet the teacher night

Tonight's a big night. Nathan and Matthew get to meet their new teachers. Matthew's starting kindergarden and Nathan starts 2nd grade. The BIG first day is next Tuesday. I love the start of school.

Phenomenal

I have to say that my and Frankie's time at Real Life ministries has been phenomenal. I've always had a frustration with church that only recently have I been able to put to words. That frustration was and is that churches don't do the number one thing that they are commanded to do: Make Disciples. I'm not saying that to make anyone mad, but to just state a fact. We haven't been doing that good of a job making disciples. We make converts, but not disciples. We can't even come up with a common definition for a disciple. And then, how can you make something that you can't define.

Our time here in northern Idaho has been more than eye opening because Real Life is a church that is actually making disciples. They not only have a process, but they have an assessment and plan to figure out where people are and then turn them into disciples who make disciples.

I'd love to share more, but I'm sworn to secrecy... just kidding. Seriously, I'm so tired I'm having trouble typing. I can't wait to share this with our launch team. Now it's off to bed. It's almost 1 AM my time and we have to get up early to fly back home. I can't wait. I miss my family.

Travel here, travel there

I have been all over the place for the past two weeks. First, Frankie and I went to VA Beach. Then I was home for a day then I took Nathan to camp (it was a blast). We got home from camp and immediately flew to Chicago for 4 days to explore the city and hang out with Liz's sister and brother-in-law. We got home last night and then this morning Frankie and I left at 4:45 AM to fly to Idaho. I'm wore out.

I'll post some pictures when I get back home (which will be Saturday night), but I'm really looking forward to the next few days as we learn about making disciples who make disciples. Maybe I'll make it home with my suitcase (it didn't make our flight from Seattle to Post Falls). Now it's off to bed.

VA Beach trip

So Frankie and I headed up to Virginia Beach to hang out with Vince and the staff at Forefront. Sorry to Pat and Chris for me not bringing you along. We learned a bunch. Vince invited us over to his house and talked with us for a couple of hours. One of the biggest things I got was a question he asked me, "After experiencing one of our services, what needs improvement?" It takes a lot of guts to ask that question (and really want an answer), but it's a great way to get fresh insight into your Sunday gatherings.

I was impressed by a number of things. First, the staff was incredible. They went out of their way to talk with us, answer our questions, make us feel welcome... they were great. Second, the people of Forefront were great. One of the guys drove us to Starbucks when we got there (because after an hour of driving we couldn't find any breakfast... VA Beach is a confusing place). People hung around after the service and talked and talked and talked. Third, Forefront makes great use of humor. They know their crowd and what kind of humor works for them and they use it all the time. It's a great way to get people to unfold the arms (more on that later). Fourth, we got to sit in on their creative planning meeting on Monday. I learned some great stuff about creative planning. Actually, they have a system to their planning and I love systems.

That's all I have time to write right now. I'm so thankful that Vince and his staff took time to let us learn from them. And next time I'll invite other to go too.

Off to visit Vince

I'm pretty pumped. Frankie and I leave this AM to travel up to Virginia Beach to check out Forefront and hang with Vince. I'm looking forward to two things: Hanging with Frankie and learning from Vince and Forefront. They are doing an awesome job at reaching unchurched people, which is a passion of mine, so off we go to learn. I'll post some thoughts about our trip later.

Need a band?

I want to give a shout out to the band that helped us out at our preview this past Sunday. My Calvary did a great job. I'm pumped to be able to have them back in August. So if you need a band, give them a call.

To answer Melanie's question

I'm pretty sure it was Melanie that pointed out to me in a cleverly disguised comment that the links on yesterday's post all went to this magazine, so what articles am I recommending? Here you go: Can a Muslim be a follower of Christ, A Movement to Jesus withing Islam, and Muslim's who believe the Bible.

Must Read

I happened across this magazine last night and was blown away by these articles. You can read them here, here and here. I believe that these articles have so much to say to Christians in America, especially those of us who are planting churches.

Here's my challenge to our Launch Team: Read the articles. Figure out how they apply to us. Post a comment about your thoughts. Pray like crazy for God to use whatever mean necessary to reveal himself to people and that he will lead them to us to find out more.

A thought on God leading them to us... we need to be a community that God trusts enough to send people to. Does that make sense? One of the guys in on of the stories knew what to do when the man came to him. If God sends people our way do we know what to do with them?

Here's another thought... how can we get unchurched people reading the Bible? I'd love to hear your thoughts on that. I firmly believe that the Bible is the primary way that God speaks to people, so we've got to get people reading the Bible.

Preview report

Hub City Church had it's first preview yesterday. I would have posted about it yesterday, but I was too tired. All in all it was a great day, but not in the way you might think. The band, My Calvary, was great. Our problems began in the middle of their first song when we blew the power in the theater we were in! We lost lights, sound, video. I decided to go ahead and do the sermon first, without sound, and then we would do music at the end, if we could get power back. We were finally able to get power to the sound, but were still without lights and video. What we learned was that the outlets in the theater are all on one breaker. This was a good lesson to learn.

Something that was funny was that they were showing Batman (which is a great movie) in the theater next to us, so I had a soundtrack that was playing behind my sermon. It was a bit distracting, but more than that, it was just funny. it fit with the comedy of the morning.

Since they were showing movies during our worship there were all kinds of people at Spartan 16. I loved having our gathering in a place that was also being used for something other than church. People were very inquisitive about church in a movie theater.

The theater management was awesome! I can't say enough good stuff about Perry and the staff. They went above and beyond for us and were so gracious the entire time. They told us that we needed to keep our signs up during the whole gathering so that the people coming to the movies would know about us. That was pretty sweet. Also, theater employees kept coming into our gathering to check us out.

Our kids areas were off the hook. Our team did such an incredible job. When parents find out about what we're doing I think they'll come to Hub City Church just for the kids' stuff.

I hesitate to post this, but some of you are dying to know how many people were there. We had around 60 people (including our team and volunteers) who were there. That's more than I thought would show up to a preview. I am extremely thankful for the team from Revolution Church in Florence for coming to help. You all are amazing servants.

I must say I love the whole preview idea. It gives us a chance to learn before we officially go public. I think of it as a preseason game. We do it again on August 17. Maybe we'll have power for the whole gathering next time!

Lights, ________, Action

I've got to give a shout out to Sammy Clary for letting us borrow lighting for Sunday's preview. It was looking like we might have to purchase lights with money that we don't have, but that's not the case. Thanks for the lights.

Pray for our preview. I can't wait!

Obsessed part 1 - Our FIRST preview!

This Sunday we’ll begin “Obsessed,” a two part series for both of our previews (July 20 and August 17). Love the graphic that Frankie created. It’ll be worth coming just to see the video promoting our launch series, “No Perfect People Allowed.” Funny!

The gathering begins at 10 AM at Spartan 16 movie theater. Click here for directions. Bring your whole neighborhood! For more info visit our website: www.hubcitychurch.com.

Movies in the Park #3

This Saturday Hub City Church will be hosting our third Movies in the Park @ Barnet Park. We'll be showing Shrek the Third, giving out free popcorn and sodas, and giving away hundreds of dollars worth of gift certificates to local businesses. I can't wait. It should be a blast. So excited to have Chris Reeder's group coming to help out.

They'll also be helping out with our FIRST preview on Sunday: 10 AM @ Spartan 16. Not sure what to expect. We've done our part. Can't wait to see how God shows up.

Please pray for both Movies in the Park and our preview.

Confession

I have a confession to make: I'm a slack blogger. But you knew that already.

Two BIG, ENORMOUS, HUGE things this weekend: Movies in the Park on Saturday, and our first preview on Sunday. I'll write more later.

Power Plant

Today's the first day of Power Plant. I am the project coordinator for the Greenville/Spartanburg Project. I met the summer staff on Thursday and think they are great. We had them over for dinner. My boys REALLY enjoyed spending time with them. I've never seen such sword fighting. We had a war of foam swords that lasted an hour. The groups are set to arrive around 2 today. Now I've got to go pack!

Needs

Our first preview gathering is in 18 days. We're in need of a few more things to be ready to go. I thought I'd float our list out there for you to pray over our need and with the hope that there's somebody reading this who could hook us up. Here they are:

Baby wipes
Lysol
Bibles to give away
handtrucks
sheets for a pack and play
beach balls
foam/puzzle flooring for preschool rooms
DVD player
Kidmo Curriculum
Age appropriate children’s Bibles (birth – 2 and 3 & 4 yrs.)
gates/fencing for 3 & 4 year old room
2 projectors (4500 lumen min.)
sound equipment
lighting equipment
signs
a band
money

Kidmo

Any of my church planting buds use Kidmo? I'm looking to borrow or purchase for a discounted price. Can ya help a brotha out?

Retreat report

First off I have to say that I was very disappointed in the lodging at Ridgecrest. I don't see us going back there for a retreat.

Laying the lodging aside, we had a great retreat. I loved how everyone worked together to help create systems. I am so proud of our team. I loved having everyone's input in creating processes.

Yes, we worked hard, but we also had a bunch of fun. You can check out a mildly embarrassing video here to see some of the fun. I got to play "rock band" for the first time. LOVED IT!!! Now I want a wii and Guitar Hero or Rock Band. My birthday is in 10 days if you want to contribute!

Prayer

We could use your prayers this weekend. Our Launch Team is heading to Ridgcrest for a 3P retreat (Planning, Praying and Playing). We leave Saturday at 1 and come back on Sunday at 2. It should be fun.

Also, pray for Josh and Kenzie Rogers. Kenzie just gave birth to Josiah James. He was 7lb. 7oz. We're celebrating with them over their healthy baby boy.

Posts of the week

Here are some posts that are worth reading.

• I love this idea. I'm planning on doing it with my boys. Now I need to start saving $$$.
• Ben's posts here and here on cultivating the soil for church planting are must reads. I think that's what Movie's in the Park and three years in Spartanburg has done for us.
• Seth's post on how to organize a room is great.
• I don't know how we got connected to this blog, but this was a moving post that I totally agree with.

On another note, Nathan's trying out for the swim team. I think he could make the Olympics one day.

I can't see

Really, I'm pretty blind without my contacts in or glasses on, but right now I really can't see. Even the words I'm typing are blurry. After 4 years I decided it was time to go to the eye doctor. I was officially told that I was growing old. But the reason for my current blurriness is that they dialated my eyes. It's horrible. I'm wearing those stylish fake sunglasses that they give you and I look good.

On another note, we are in need of a 15 passenger van this weekend. Our launch team is headed to Ridgecrest for a planning, praying, playing retreat. I'd love for us to be able to ride together. If there's anybody out there who could hook me up please give me a call.

Now I'm off to find something else to do that doesn't require sight.

Adoption

Last night Liz and I went to this adoption orientation meeting. We're not adopting a kid right now, but we want to be open to that possibility. The best thing I got out of the meeting was a couple of stats.

• Currently there are 5000 kids in South Carolina's foster care system.
• 1600 of them are available for adoption.

That's a lot of kids, don't you think? But, also, it's a manageable number. The book of James talks about how true religion is taking care of the orphan and widow. What if 5000 Christian families in SC decided to take that seriously? Talk about making a tangible difference in this state.

Meet Henry

Tonight we've added another member to our family. Yes, we know, you don't have to tell us... we're crazy. We got a puppy tonight. Now I need to say, this wasn't a rash decision. We've been thinking about this for a while. Liz has done all kinds of research. So, we decided to take the plunge. Henry's a "goldendoodle." I didn't even know the breed existed (it's a mix between a golden retriever and a poodle).

Whoa!

I've got to say, I'm shocked and amazed. It rained yesterday all around Spartanburg, but the rain bypassed Barnet Park (except for a few drops). I figured the surrounding showers and chances of rain would have kept people away. I was wrong.

Somewhere between 2500 and 3000 people showed up to watch Evan Almighty. It was incredible. God continues to blow me away with all he is doing on our behalf. Besides a small riot that almost broke out over some gift certificates and the sound going out for about 30 seconds of the movie, it was a great event.

I want to give credit where credit is due. If it weren't for our awesome team and the volunteers that came to help out there is no way that we could have pulled off Movies in the Park. Honestly, I believe this is one of the reasons that God is blessing us. Big, enormous, gigantic kudos to our AWESOME launch team. I love you guys. Your hard work and go-the-extra-mile attitude is incredible.

Here's a crazy idea for someone out there... I think it's pretty big to get 3000 people to come out to see a movie and would love for MIP to get more press. Somebody needs to contact the TV studios and let them know that MIP is worth their time (they could have gotten video of an "almost" riot). The paper needs to report of this event. Like I said, it's just an idea, but if you wanted to run with it....

Next MIP: July 19 - Shrek the Third. You can click onto Frankie and Melanie's blogs to see a couple of pictures.

Can't wait

I love this story. I can't wait to start hearing stories like this at Hub City Church.

I also can't wait for our second Movies in the Park tomorrow night. Pray that people will come. Pray for good weather.

Movies in the Park #2

This Saturday, @ Barnet Park, starting around 9 PM, we’ll be showing Evan Almighty for our second Movies in the Park. Enjoy free popcorn, sodas and hundreds of dollars worth of gift certificates that we’ll be giving away. Bring a friend or two or three. Coolers are welcome. See you Saturday!

Great quote

Seth had a great quote on this post: The object isn’t to be perfect. The goal isn’t to hold back until you’ve created something beyond reproach. I believe the opposite is true. Our birthright is to fail and to fail often, but to fail in search of something bigger than we can imagine. To do anything else is to waste it all.

Date Night

I told Liz that all I wanted for Father's Day was to be able to go on a date with her, so on Saturday night she recruited my parents to come watch the boys and we got to go out. It was great. First we went to Renato's, a local Italian place. The food was excellent. The atmosphere was perfect. Then we went to see The Happening, which was a great movie, freaky, but great.

On the way from Renato's to the movie theater we drove by the Olive Garden. There was a line a mile long of people wanting to eat there. Here's my question: Not that I have anything against the Olive Garden, but why would you go stand in line for an hour for some not-so-good Italian when you could eat some authentic Italian in a much better atmosphere and support a local business. I'd choose Renato's over the Olive Garden any day. I'd make the same recommendation for you too!

It's not that the Olive Garden is that bad (it's not that good either) it's just that it seems to be our tendency to choose the familiar chain restaurants over potentially better but unfamiliar local places. Take a risk. Try something new. Buy local. It helps make Spartanburg a better place to live. Now if we could just get Renato's to donate a gift certificate to Movies in the Park!

What if...?

In light of the chapter our Launch Team read out of this book, Tony's post here and here are very relevant.

Perry had a great list of "What Ifs...?" It got me thinking, so I came up with my own:

• What if all the Christians in America started handling their finances like it was God's money and not theirs?
• What if we leveraged our power and influence for the good of others instead of ourselves?
• What if we started doing sex, relationships and parenting the way God says to do each of those?
• What if every Christian family in the US would adopt one orphan?
• What if each of us were so in tuned with what God was saying and doing in the world, and what if we lived in obedience response to that?
• And on a totally non-spiritual note: What if God were to zap all the Japanese Beatles that are in my yard at this moment eating my once beautiful Japanese Maple trees?
  

BIG NEWS!!!

Ok, now I can share our big news. I've been trying to figure out how to capitalize on the momentum from Movies in the Park. We've had a lot of people show interest in Hub City Church, but their only options for being a part are to join the launch team (which isn't a bad option) or wait until September 21 when we launch to check us out. So, I've been wondering what kind of step could we create that would move people from the crowd into our discipleship process? Well, two weeks ago on I-26 I had an epiphany (maybe it's not a real epiphany, but I did get some direction from God about what to do).

We are going to be having two preview worship experiences. We'll have one in July and one in August. They will happen the Sunday immediately following Movies in the Park (July 20 and August 17). This is an easy, obvious and strategic way to move people from MIP to our community. Second, we are going to be starting small groups in mid July. These are going to be designed for people who wouldn't consider themselves Christians, but who might consider exploring what this Jesus stuff is all about.

I am pumped about this next step in our development. I'm pumped about our Launch Team's work and enthusiasm. I'm amazed at how God has and is orchestrating things and people for all of this to happen.

So, if you don't go to church somewhere, why not consider checking out one of our previews? What do you have to lose? We'd love to get your feedback about your experience. Or maybe you want to parter with us as a volunteer. We could use your help. See you on the 20th at Spartan 16.

Back in the saddle

Vacation was nice... very nice. I wish I could stay for two weeks. Maybe next year. At the same time it's good to be back working. These are exciting times for Hub City Church. I'm going to be posting some big things later on this week. I can't wait to share them with the launch team tomorrow night.

On another note, this post from Seth is extremely relevant, especially in light of our September launch. You can check it out here.

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.

Back in the saddle

Yes, we're back, and we hit the ground running. Here's what's on my mind.

• I think that Exponential was one of the best conferences, if not the best conference that I've ever attended. I love how the focus was more on reproducing churches and being a part of a movement more than on building your own little church. I learned so much good stuff, took some great notes, and had THE BEST time with Liz. I am so glad she was able to go with me.
  
• Movies in the Park is in three weeks. Can you believe it? I can't. There's so much to do. I'm still looking for some more mission teams to come help us.
• I am so impressed with our launch team. We have some incredible people who are working their tails off.

That's all for now. I've got to go order some signs for Movies in the Park.

Off

Liz and I are off to Orlando for the Exponential Conference and we'll also have some fun here. Don't be too jealous.

Argh!!!

Soccer games are canceled again today! How frustrating. I was all ready to go watch mass chaos.

Posts of the week

I read some sweet stuff this week. Enjoy.

First, all my church planting buds and launch team members should read this article. Relevant and good.

Second, I love this book and Tony's synopsis is a good reminder of its treasure. You need to read the book.

Third, Jay is right on with this warning.

Finally, you may not agree with this article, but it will get you thinking... and maybe change the way you think.

The best album nobody's ever heard of...

While working out at the "Y" this AM I had Waterdeep's album, Everyone's Beautiful, going on the iPod. I must say like I said in the title, this is the best album that nobody's ever heard of. I first learned of this group about 9 years ago and this is one of those albums that gets richer and deeper every time you hear it. So why am I posting on this? Take a risk and go out and buy it.

Overwhelmed

To say I'm a bit overwhelmed would be an understatement. I'm so thankful for this passage. It's a big encouragement and motivation for me.