Deanna and I are super excited to say that we are having a baby! We feel so blessed that the Lord has blessed in this amazing way. We went to the doctor today and got the estimated due date, which is June 8, 2009!!!
Please pray for our little baby and Deanna! I am looking forward to seeing my wife’s belly grow in the coming months!!
Please send any information that you find helpful if you have ever been pregnant!!!
There is so much going on in my head right now! Of course, I am a little tired after a LATE night game in Columbia yesterday. Here are some of the random thoughts going through my head:
Well, now that I have written about that…all I can think about is lunch!! Peace!
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Let me say, I am not a Clemson Football fan, I cheer every Saturday for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. There is a LONG history of hate and disdain to each other’s respective programs. I will say that in my time in the upstate, I have come to respect the program that Clemson is building through the type of athletes they recruit and are recruiting.
With that said, here are some of my thoughts on the current situation…
There are so many people that are VERY happen about the changes that are happening around Clemson University Football. Tommy Bowden resigned as the coach yesterday. Coach Bowden felt it was in the BEST interest of the program that he step aside. First of all, do you know how much courage and character that takes? I am assuming most of you do not because of the horrible comments you are making about this man.
Has Tommy Bowden made mistakes? YES! Has he done some things that he wish he could change? I am SURE of that! BUT here is the thing that you need to understand…YOU have done the same!
Take a moment to SHUT your mouth and respect the man that did bring in some amazing talent, took you to many bowls, and brought the program a lot of national attention.
Also, on a FINAL note: Let Coach Dabo Swinney coach! The players respect him and are behind him! He is the INTERIM, he has not signed a freaking 10 year contract, he is coming in a bad situation to work his butt off to bring the season to a close on a high note. So sit back, cheer loud and enjoy the ride. If you support the guy, you may just be surprised!!
For the past six months I have been serving as the Care Pastor for NewSpring Church. I dove right in and started immersing myself in all that we do for care at NewSpring Church. I have learned so much about myself and also for caring for people. We have made some subtle changes that I believe will really enhance how we are able to care for people that attend our church.
Six months ago, I also wrote a post titled, “Change is Good!!”. In that post I stated, “One of the things that I love about NewSpring Church is that we are not afraid to change to meet the growing needs that our church has.” If you are unwilling to change, you will die! If you are unwilling to see the growing needs of your church and change to meet them, then you will fail. God is about change. He desires to change our lives from death to life. He desires for us to change as people…to be people of growth in wisdom, knowledge, etc.
In the previous post mentioned, I also stated, “The characteristic of our leadership team that is so prevalent is that they SOAK every decision in prayer. If they are going to change, they make sure it is what God is calling them to do. Now, understand that our leadership team is tasked with leading our church, which sometimes requires change without getting approval from everyone and their momma. They do not have time to get everyone’s approval because we are in desperate times…people are dying and going to Hell. My trust is in the Lord God Almighty and if God told them that we need to do something or change something, then lets strap on the boots and get to work! The church has the solution, and I am so thankful that our leadership team will not sit on the sidelines and watch people die and go to Hell! Because it is GAMETIME!!!”
With that said, I am making another transition at NewSpring Church. I am transitioning to our Greenville Campus, to serve as the Associate Campus Pastor. I will be serving directly under Howard Frist, Greenville Campus Pastor. Some of the tasks that I have been asked to tackle and lead are:
I am looking forward to this new opportunity as I believe that it is the BEST move for NewSpring Church and myself. I really think that it will challenge and stretch my leadership. I am looking forward to the development that I will have over the next couple of years as I serve at our Greenville Campus. Multi-site ministry is something that has ALWAYS fascinated me and I look forward to learning more about it and helping Howard Frist lead the Greenville Campus.
Catalyst this year was probably the BEST conference that I have attended. They had a GREAT line-up of speakers: Steven Furtick, Craig Groschel, Andy Stanley, Seth Godin, Jim Collins, and Matt Chandler. There was so much information that was presented that I will be processing for a LONG time. I am looking forward to being able to process the information, but also talk with some of the other NewSpring peeps that were there and get their perspective as well!!
Highlights of the Conference:
Catalyst, GREAT job with the conference! Looking forward to next year.
Today, Jake Beaty, Jaime Salmon, and myself took the time to come to Atlanta a little early for the Catalyst Conference. The main reason for us to head down this way, was to meet with some folks from NorthPoint Community Church’s Care Department. We had the priviledge to ask them questions, pick their brain, and see some of the struggles they faced as they began to minister at many different locations. Of course, this is something that we at NewSpring Church are continuing to work through with our Greenville site up and running and with the outlook of Florence and many other campuses to come.
It was a great meeting and I still need to process some of the things that were said, so hopefully in the next couple of days I will be able to write about some of those things amidst all the information that I am going to receive in the next two days while being at the conference. I have been looking forward to meeting with them and learning and also learning from the many different speakers at the conference.
I am filled with so much anticipation…right now I am sitting on my couch with the Presidential Debate on in the background, my wife is asleep on our oversized chair. This weekend was HUGE with over 600 people proclaiming Jesus as Lord. There has been so much going on in my life in the last 48 hours. So many things that I can’t really reveal yet, but some will be revealed soon. Each one of those things make me very EXCITED!!!
Tomorrow, I am leaving to attend Catalyst. I am going to be attending with many of my NewSpring teammates, but I am going to be spending an extensive amount of time with Jake Beaty. He has been my boss for the past 6 months, but friend for over 7-8 years. I am looking forward to the many challenging conversations that we will be having over the next 3 days.
I am also looking forward to the many speakers that we will hear at Catalyst. Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Seth Godin, Steven Furtick, Jim Collins, Matt Chandler, Dave Ramsey, and many others. It is my prayer that I will be able to listen without any distractions so that I may be strectched, challenged, and encouraged!!
So I sit hear a little giddy, waiting for this conference to begin and get going!!!!