Sacred Echo, You've got to read it!

I recently read Margret Fienberg’s new book “Sacred Echo”, WOW! That girl can write. I was third in line when the book arrived because Tara and Caleb beat me to it. Margret has a way to communicate God’s truth in an easily understood way that attracts and draws folks into a deeper understanding of a relationship with our great God.
The book is about prayer, but it is more than prayer. Several times I had tears roll down my checks as Margret reminded me of God’s promises. What she has done through “Sacred Echo” is to infuse my heart with hope. You must read this book!
They say that Margret is a writer for the younger generation. She is young but she hits us all with her compelling style. God is using her to tell His story. Pick up a copy, read, and listen for the “Sacred Echo”.

Yesterday

We had a great yesterday at Fellowship of the Hills in spite of 22 inches of rain! Several churches cancelled yesterday because of the wide spread flooding but not us. Why? Here are a few thoughts…
• What we do is too important. Every week eternity is shaped by a gathering of folks hearing from God
• We are too young to call things off. I am excited if anyone shows up so to take a Sunday off is unthinkable
• People need a weekly connection to “spur one another on to love and good deeds”
• It will take more than a little rain to shut things down. We will not give in to some lame tropical storm that doesn’t know any better to make four land falls in the state
• We are Baptist in our roots so water doesn’t scare us!!!
That’s enough! Things are rolling at Fellowship of the Hills. You don’t want to miss a thing!

Mark Batterson's New Book

Today Mark Batterson’s new book “Wild Goose Chase” hits the bookstores. Mark is a wonderful leader, pastor, and man of risk. His last Book “In a Pit with a Lion on Snowy Day” rocked my world and was used by God to push me out on this new adventure of starting a church in Tallahassee. “Wild Goose Chase” is the natural next for Mark. You will find his style insightful and compelling. Mark helps us understand the pursuit of God in a powerful way. Pick up a copy and let the Lord once again use Mark’s gift to build your life.

WOW!

We had a great day at Fellowship of the Hills yesterday! The crowd is growing now that school is back and I think we are in for a great fall! My talk stirred some folks. I asked people to take their stuff to the cross, literally write it down and pin it to the cross, and I was overwhelmed with what I read. Jesus is changing lives and setting people free. I am so excited that God is helping people find forgiveness and life though what He is doing in, for, and through us! I can sense a movement of God that will leave us forever changed. Don’t miss this week-end as I talk about living a Christ centered life. Make the “ask” and bring a friend. God is showing up at Swift Creek Middle School!

Tara's got a club

We just returned from Tara’s post-op visit to her doctor. She doing great and expects to recover fully. She now has a cast on her hand which can become a club. I am more aware of my behavior than ever before.
This experience has a few thoughts stirring …
• It takes time to heal and often we need outside help
• When we don’t use our muscles they grow useless, the same could be said of giftedness, prayer life, well you get the point.
• Life is hard, so what, Jesus is Lord!
• I can do more to love my wife than I have been doing. This revelation was a hard one because I am selfish. The cat is out of the bag now that she knows I can do house work, cook, do wash, and make the bed! O well.
• Doctors are cool and they are no better than the folks around them, good folks on your team make a big difference.
That’s enough for now. It is raining big time in Tallahassee. I might start building an ark. FOTH turns one on the 7th of September and I am so excited about where God is taking us. We have added some great folks to our team and they are so bright and gifted. If you are a FOTHian get ready for a great fall.

Kulabyte

It is amazing where relationships will take you. I met up with an old friend today who is a part of an upstart business producing HD streaming video through the internet. Jason Cronkhite was a part of my small group in Victoria and now is a part of this exciting new venture. The company is called Kulabyte and the web site is www.kulabyte.com. The possibilities of this new technology are amazing. For churches that plan on multi site or who want to be a part of developing leaders abroad then this is the solution. I am excited about my reconnection with Jason and the opportunity of using this new tool for the gospel. God is moving in wonderful ways to make His name famous. Check this site out!

On the Road

This has been an amazing week of reconnecting with kinfolks. Tara and I needed to take this trip for a long time. It has been marked with emotion and adventure. Here are some highlights …
• Day one we drove to Mississippi to see my brother Stan. Stan is a wonderful pastor of a great church in a small town. He is my hero. Stan has done more to lead me into Christlikeness than anyone. I respect him at every level.
• We drove to Meridian, Mississippi to see my dad’s brother Murray. His wife Francis is the sweetest lady alive and a great cook. I cried when I saw them. I didn’t realize how much I need those connections.
• There is Mexican food, Chinese food, and Southern food. We enjoyed Southern food from the hand of a master. Aunt Francis can cook. Her chocolate pie will be served in heaven.
• We had the opportunity to reconnect with my cousin Gary. He is a great guy and reminded me that God grows the church and builds people. I am just someone God uses.
• We drove south and visited with Uncle Robert and Aunt Betty. I love them so much. We share a comfort level and depth of love that time cannot erase. She cooked southern food as well and it was off the hook! She made a blackberry cobbler that will be served in heaven.
• We drove to Texas and had a flat on the Katy freeway. All four tires were dry rotted so I had to buy four new tires! Ouch! I am beginning to think that God has sent me to the desert. I am confessing every sin I can think of and even making up some. I want this season of trials to be over!
• We arrived at Calah’s after 11 pm. Tara was exhausted. I finally found an internet connection and caught up with the outside world. Mississippi does not have the internet! (lol)
So far this has been a good trip. Tomorrow we move Calah and head to Victoria for a quick visit. I am nervous about going back but I am looking forward to seeing folks that I love! Tara is holding up ok. She has surgery Monday. Keep praying for us! I can’t wait to get back to Tallahassee and to the folks at FOTH. I really love this new church!

Calah

Next week Tara and I will make a trip across country to move Calah into another apartment in Austin. I wish I was moving her to Florida but o well. This will be a fun trip filled with reconnecting. Tara will struggle because of her broken hand but she has me. I am learning to be her other hand!
From time to time I post poems that I have written here is another one, enjoy.

Calah

Sparkling eyes that dance and gaze
Sparkling eyes that hold me captive and amazed
Little hands that hold my finger and grasp my heart
Little hands that reach for me reach to me, reach me

Smile my little one for your daddy loves you
Sleep my precious one for your daddy is always near
Grow my little one to be Godly, to be holy, to be you
Thrive my precious one for you are planted in the soil of love

Become and in your becoming be bold
Stretch out and in your stretching reach further that expected or thought
Love and in your loving be unabashed unfettered and unchained
Dare and in your daring dare to be like Jesus

Sparkling eyes that dance and gaze
Sparkling eyes that have held me and hold me still
Sparkling eyes that thrill me inspire me own me
Sparkling eyes that see me and seeing me sees her daddy

Dog Island

Tara and I had a great adventure this week-end. We went to Dog Island with some friends. Dog Island is located off the coast and is only accessible by boat. I had heard about this island for years but had never adventured there. It was amazing! We had a blast!
The best part was getting to spent time with Carlos and Georgie. We knew these two when we lived in Tallahassee 25 years ago and now we have reconnected through the church. They are great folks.
The amazing part about Dog Island was the unspoiled nature. We saw all kinds of sea life, shells, and birds. The water was “bath tub” clear and the sand white as snow. Our agenda was to be lazy and enjoy the beauty. (I am really good at this)
Tara and I had a great adventure this week-end and God used it. Yea God for Dog Island!

27 Years! WOW

The greatest thing that has happened in my life other than Jesus and His grace is Tara. We will celebrate 27 years together tomorrow, July 11. I met her at church. I met her at the church that is the key sponsor to Fellowship of the Hills. Now I wasn’t going to church that night to get a word from God I was going to met a girl. I ditched the girl and started a two year quest for Tara’s love and affection. I am a blessed man.
Tara is not perfect. There are times when she drives me crazy. She is honest, open, and childlike in her purity. She supports me and will follow me as I follow Jesus. God has entrusted her to me and my aim is to love her like Christ loved the church. Through these years of loving each other we have endured hardships of sickness, money woes, burying parents, grieving over wayward children, and mean spirited church folks. We have also celebrated thriving ministries, changed lives, children growing in Christ, and so much more. We have fought and loved and will keep loving each other.
A few years ago I did a wedding for my niece Pam. During the vows I asked if they promised to love each other until one of them lays the other in the arms of Jesus. My dad was at the wedding. He was touched by those words. He said to me the only way to really love a woman was to love her that way and that long. Well, I will love Tara until one of us lays the other in the arms of Jesus and even after that my love will go on. I am a blessed man.

Fitness

I have been thrown into a new world, the world of fitness. Yes I said fitness. I didn’t want to go into this world, but when your wife is opening a gym well…
I have made some new friends and new discoveries in this world. These fitness people are really disciplined. They go to bed early and get up early to “get in” their workout. They eat salad. They eat lots of salad. They rarely eat meat on their salad. I don’t understand. They read food labels and understand them. They are spiritual. Really! They understand the connection with the body and the soul. When they discovered that I was a pastor it led to many thought provoking talks.
I am excited about my new world knowing that God will use all of these new connections to draw more people to Himself. God is busy putting me in the place He wants me for His glory even in the world of fitness! I think I will have a salad. (extra meat)

Connection

I am amazed at how connected we are today. We have text, e-mail, twitter, blogs, phones, smoke signals and so forth. But what really amazes me is that in all our connections there is so little authenticity, accountability, or availability. Maybe we need to step back from all the chatter and relearn how to listen, speak, and connect. I have discovered that people can know all about me but not know me. Just a thought on a Wednesday.

Going Public

Ok one more for today. I have been in a spiritual funk so I know God is brewing something. I am going public with what I am thinking about Fellowship of the Hills. I will cover this more in my talk this week but here is what I am sensing God doing in, for, and through me … us in the days ahead!
• This is what I see ….
– I see a church that touches the heart of Tallahassee
– I see a church that cares about people being connected to God
– I see a church that grows into service to each other and to the world
– I see a church that is passionate about sharing the Good News that God is for you!
– All of this flowing out of a heart of worship
– I see the FOTH campus as a destination for life change
– I see a major university (FSU) that becomes more know for the pastors it produces than football or partying
– I see pastors and leaders coming for all over the nation and the world to be trained, loved, and encouraged
– I see heaven crowed
– I see and I am amazed!
Ok, there it is. I know I just opened the door to criticism. So what, it is time to see what should be and make it be for the GLORY of GOD! Join me as I join God.

Chasing the Bull

We just filmed our first Small group video series for Fellowship of the Hills. I am so “stoked”. The series is called Rodeo: Lassoing Life. The small group series will be tied into the talks I give every week for six weeks. We will cover topics such as false beliefs, heaven, turning trials into treasure, repentance and forgiveness, become people of rescue, and living a selfless life. I think this series will really help people live a God centered life.

We filmed this series on a ranch east of Tallahassee owned by the Gladden’s. They raise Texas Longhorn cattle. I found it amazing that I found Texas Longhorns in Florida. They made a great backdrop to the whole experience. I even was chased by the bull! Watching me scramble away from him was, well, pitiful! Two bad knees, a bad back, and being the same size as the bull make for a less than nimble preacher! Yea, they got it on film, among other exciting out takes.

We will launch this series the Sunday after Easter. I hope you will plug into a small group or step up and lead one. If you don’t live in Tallahassee and want a copy of the DVD, let us know. God is up to big things in Tallahassee and I am so glad to be a part.

Remember to change your clocks this week!

Reflections

We had a great week-end at Fellowship of the Hills. I am in a season where I can’t wait for Sunday. God is doing some amazing things and the “I can’t wait to see what happens” feeling is so exciting. Let me give you some details.

Yesterday I spoke on facing your giants and put out some rocks for people to gather to symbolize the giants they would kill in their lives. When I placed those rocks out I thought maybe 2 or 3 people would come get one and that would be it. What I saw was around 90% of the folks there go get a rock. Several people got a handful of rocks. It was so cool. There will be dead giants everywhere!

Last night we took a road trip to Pine Grove Baptist Church in Trenton Florida. They asked us to come and do our style of church with them. This church is over 120 years old and very traditional. She is lead by a pastor who loves God and wants to see lives changed. The church was great. They embraced us and we loved the whole experience. My prayer is that we form a partnership with them to reach people.

What I am discovering is that God uses all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people. To ask a 120 year old church to transition into a contemporary model would be disastrous, but to ask them to partner with us is God honoring. God loves unity in the body as well as diversity.

One more thing, I believe that God is pushing us toward forming a network for training, encouragement, support, and leadership development. I am not sure how or what but God is pushing. Keep praying for us!

Help

Ok, assuming anyone reads this ... I need your help. I am currently writing a small group study that will go with our new sermon series Rodeo: Lassoing Life. I want to do a talk and a session on false beliefs. I think so many folks would pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ but they have a bunch of junk running around in their heads. Stuff like … God loves people but He is ticked off at me, I have to get my act together before I can come to church, All religions basically teach the same things, and so much more. I want to do a good job with this so I need your help. Send me some of your beliefs that you might think are skewed. I promise to be loving and safe. This is your opportunity to ask some stuff that might go unasked. I can’t wait to see…..

Oh yeah, we are going to end this new series with a big Texas BBQ. You don’t want to miss it. You know what they say about BBQ … eat all you can and rub the rest on you!