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.

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.