2008 was a year filled with some crazy awesome things. Here is a list of things, in chronological order, that I was able to be a part of while serving at NewSpring Church:
- C3 – February 21-23, 2008: It was great to travel to Fellowship Church in Texas to be able to watch Perry teach at C3. He freaking rocked the house…he had the place rolling and then would throw in a HUGE nugget of truth that was out of this world!
- Unleash – March 12, 2008: This was a whole lot of fun! I got to co-teach the Student Ministry session with BCoop. Little did I know that I would be transitioning out of Student Ministry within the next month!
- Transition to Care Pastor – April 7, 2008: Began to serve with Jake Beaty, Pastor of Care and Outreach. I learned a whole lot about taking care of people. This was a huge jump for me and I learned so much. It was great working with the Care Staff and having the opportunity to lead and learn. This was a great time of stretching in ministry and I believed prepared me for future ministry roles, especially one I would take on in October.
- Gauntlet – July 13-18, 2008 & July 20-25, 2008: I am not sure words can describe how I feel about our summer trip. I pulled double duty for a little while when I moved to Care ministry. I still was able to help to plan and execute the Gauntlet. This year was HUGE…we took the middle school and high school on separate weeks because we had so many students. This was my third and final year to be a part of the Gauntlet and I loved it!!
- Baptism – October 4, 2008: We baptized over 450 people and it was crazy. We had 3 pools and 6 pastors baptizing and the parking lots full of cars and a whole lot of tailgating happening! It was a beast to organize…my wife and I along with Jake and Suzanne Beaty and Jaime Salmon camped out that night at the church…but it was so rewarding and a HUGE blessing to be a part of!!
- Catalyst – October 9-10, 2008: Got to attend with Jake Beaty and this conference did not disappoint…I wrote about it here. Some words to describe: Matt Chandler, Andy Stanley, Steven Furtick, Dave Ramsey, Fogo de Chao, Craig Groeschel, Jim Collins…what else needs to be said…Seriously it was probably the best conference that I have been to!!
- Transition to Greenville Associate Campus Pastor – October 27, 2008: This came out of left field for me. Prior to this, I was going over to Greenville Campus once a week to help out with counseling sessions and meeting with people. I got asked if this was something that I would be willing to do and of course I said yes. This has been a awesome to get to gel with the Greenville Staff and to serve under Howard Frist. This guy loves Jesus, loves NewSpring, and loves Greenville…he is all about seeing people have life change occur!!
- Columbia Announcement – December 11, 2008: Perry announced that we going to launch this campus in 2009! I was so pumped!! I love that our church is not willing to sit on the sidelines and be okay with people dying and going to hell. We will do something about it! I can’t wait to see what happens in Columbia…there is going to be a lot of life change happening in that place.
- Show Giveaway – December 17, 2008: I got to organize the giveaway for Grove Elementary in Greenville. Simply put, it was freaking amazing. We used 2 charter buses to transport 73 volunteers to minster to 70+ teachers and 620+ students. It was so much fun watching our volunteers love on those students!! We are still receiving thank you notes in the mail!!!
2008 is has been awesome…2009 – “The best has yet to come!”
For all you NewSpringers out there….What was your favorite moment of 2008??
As 2008 comes to a close, I wanted to take the time to celebrate some of the awesome things that happened during the year. I am going to have a set of 2 lists. One will be some awesome stuff that happened for Deanna & I in our personal life and the other list is a of stuff that happened in ministry that I was able to be a part of/help plan….I will be the first to say that is almost impossible to separate the two. (If you feel that you can…get out of ministry!)
Anyway here are some of the things that were awesome for us during 2008 in chronological order:
- Hawaii – May 10-17, 2008: This was the trip Deanna and I were planning for a LONG time. This trip was AMAZING and we got to experience so many awesome things! I wrote about my “Best of Hawaii” here on my blog. Also here are some pics, some more pics, and some more pics.
- 5 Year Anniversary – June 14, 2008: Anniversaries are always special, but when you hit a milestone it just always seems a little sweeter.
- Weekend at Palmetto Bluff – June 20-22, 2008: We went to Bluffton, SC for me to officiate a wedding for a phenomenal couple. This weekend was out of this world, the accommodations were eloquent, the resort was designed to create calmness and provide for your needs. If you ever have a couple hundred dollars lying around…go here, stay there, be relaxed, and rejuvanted!! You will be grateful!! Go check out the virutal tour of the room. Here are the pictures from the wedding of Tim and Heather…it was absolutely beautiful!!
- Pregnancy – October 6, 2008: I will never forget the suspense that morning. I was so anxious…Deanna and I had been planning that this would be the year that we would get pregnant, but sometimes plans don’t go as planned, but this one worked out! We decided to keep it a secret from everyone except from our families until we went to the doctor…it was so difficult not telling people, but it was well worth it at the same time!!
- Ultrasound – November 24, 2008: Here is the video of the ultrasound. My little baby was an active little thing, but I about went through the roof when I saw him/her on the screen. This was a GREAT day for Deanna and I!! I still thinking we are floating around after this wonderful experience!!
- First Heartbeat – December 29, 2008: This was CRAZY!!! I wrote about it here. There is nothing like hearing your first child’s heartbeat for the first time! WOW!! I am still in amazement and I am looking forward to being able see my baby in June of 2009!!
Well, that is some of the things that we have been able to enjoy and experience during 2008!! How about you?
Deanna and I had another appointment for the doctors to check on the progress of the pregnancy and the baby. I got to meet Deanna’s favorite doctor, Dr. Laura Lebel. She was very down to earth and I am looking forward to her taking care of Deanna and our baby.
As a part of the appointment, Dr. Lebel used a fetal monitor to allow us to hear our baby’s heartbeat. There was so much anticipation…she told us it would take a second to find the heartbeat, but that second felt like an hour! After she found it, I was so excited. I am continually amazed at the feelings that I have when it comes to our baby.
I was thankful to learn that our baby has a very strong and healthy heartbeat! I am looking forward to this baby arriving in this world! WOW! I am still riding high from hearing that and looking forward to all that we are going to experience with the arrival of our little baby!! Man, this is the only the beginning…
It is 3:38 AM and I cannot sleep. I am so pumped about today’s worship services. They are going to be unreal. Make sure that you are there…here is a list of the services that we will have today:
- Greenville Campus: 9:15 AM & 11:15 AM
- Anderson Campus: 9:15 AM & 11:15 AM & 6:00 PM
This service is unique because we are going to take a look back to be able to CELEBRATE and so that we can take a look forward to ANTICIPATE all that God is going to do through NewSpring Church in 2009! Seriously, you have to do whatever you can to be there! If you miss it, you will regret it and want to slap yourself in the face!
See you there!!
Lately, I have been making some changes and upgrades in how I view and interact with the Internet community. Here are a couple of the changes that I ahev made:
- NEW Blog Theme: Thought it was time for a NEW look to the blog. Sean Gaffney has been the man about getting me setup and running. I got as a free theme! I like it’s simplicity and the ease of use.
- WordPress: I also got upgraded to the latest WordPress Interface…WOW!! What a difference…love it and it is much easier to use and customize to your needs!
- Google Reader: Decided to stop fighting EVERYTHING google. Google manages my work and personal email, my work documents, my calendar, my tasks, provides me with chat, and also just gave me the option for video chat, so no need to fight it…I decided to switch from Bloglines to Google Reader. Love it!!
Anyway, I figured it was time to change it up a little bit and I am enjoying the change…interesting!!!!
It is interesting how you can enjoy change and have it enhance your life, if you aren’t afrraid of it and would be willing to try it!!! What do you need to change? Are you afraid? If so, stop being a pansy and try it…it just may change your life for the GOOD!!
Isaiah 9:6-7, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will REIGN on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”
As I was reading the previous verses as a part of my quiet time this morning…quite appropriate for a Christmas morning…I was not only renewed in my thankfulness for the birth of my Savior Jesus Christ, but I was also filled with assurance during this time of unrest in our country.
So many people are freaking out about the transition we are getting ready to go through with President Obama taking office, so many people are freaking out with the economic times, so many are freaking out about the job outlook, etc. So many people are upset about the government’s involvement in the economy and so many other things, but I am reassured this morning.
I am reassured that my God is in control. The verses above reassure me that my Lord and Savior is not suprised. The government is not doing anything that surprises him, the election of President Obama did not surprise him, nothing happens without him knowing about it.
He REIGNS! He REIGNS victorously and triumphantly! This Christmas season be reassured of the love your Father in Heaven has for you and the fact that He is in CONTROL! Do yourself a favor and read the verses from Isaiah again!!!
Merry Christmas!!
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