what a sweet picture...

The power of the mac, that is where that pic came from...yea, this is my little brother Adam and I from Atalanta this past weekend. we had the chance to go to the Sundays at North Point conference, a 2 day experience where we got to see the environments at NPCC and got to meet with staff and talk about the ministry flow at the church. Great weekend, great experience to see the church up close. North Point has been so influential in my life, and seeing it up close did not disappoint. Adam and I both learned so much but what I took away from the weekend was seeing how far God has allowed GCC to come with family ministry in Clarksville. We have been putting new methods of family ministry into action in Clarksville for the past 2 years and so much we discovered though the team at NPCC. Really I am just proud of our volunteers, our staff, and the GCC church family for all the work over the past 2 years. As i watched the North Point team go for it Sunday I was thrilled to think that back in Clarksville our team was going for it with the same passion. I am thrilled with the difference God has allowed us to make so far and I am so excited to see what is next for our team. Lets dream big, trust God, and go for it!

Last week, Chelsea and I painted and finished Kelyn's BIG GIRL BED. yes both my girls are now sleeping in their own bed and it is so cool. yea, I know we are moving out of baby stage, but man we are thrilled. we have loved our girls as baby BUT man it is sweet to see them both grow and play together also. Both beds were beds that my brothers and I had when we were kids. Love my girls and so glad we could pass the beds down to them.

This is a big week at GCC, Daniel Doss released his CD today, yea it was on Itunes and in stores! Daniel is a great friend and he leads us each week at GCC. I am so thrilled that God has given him this chance to lead others in worship of Jesus Christ. Go out and get that CD!

wow, our team is amazing!

Well, it is Sunday and I have been here in Atlanta all day checking out North Point Community church. (http://www.northpoint.org/) Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, Steve Fee, the North Point team have been such an influence in my life and ministry and it has been good to finally see their environments up close and it has been well worth the time. All this time and this is the first Sunday I have ever been to the church.

Will say more about the experience later but I had to just get on here and type out my thanks to our team back and GCC, wow...gone all day and we had an incredible night at REMIX. It is so great to have an amazing team that will work to hit a home run every week. It was also amazing to be able to leave for a Sunday and have my pastor invest in the teens at our environment. Thanks to all who made it happen this week. Can not wait to see everyone next week for the DDB cd release concert!

More coming from last week with some new pics of the girls. Kelyn got her BIG girl bed!

I broke it...

You see that board...yea...I broke it on Sunday night at REMIX. (www.relevantstudents.com) we launched into a new series call THE GOOD FIGHT that is trying to help teens fight for a relationship with their parents. To help set the series up Taylor Hughes a friend I know who is a black belt came up and brought me a karate suit, and taught me how to break a board and in front of a ton of people broke that thing. I had to post it and I am keeping it in my office. You do need to come by and check that out. It was so much fun.

Today is Valentine’s Day and man I am blessed with an incredible wife. We are going on a date on Friday and I am ready for the time with her. God so blessed me with such a beautiful woman with such a love for life. She is an incredible mom and wife and I love her so much. Chelsea you are the best! Oh yea...we had a sweet party for my little girls also. They know their dad loves them.

This is a week that I have needed to step back and get better perspective on life and ministry. It has been challenging but God has brought me through to see things a little clearer. For me when things are going well I still go through times of self introspection and find myself evaluating the ministry going on around me. There is a balance to find in evaluating, creating, improving, and stepping back and RESTING in the God that this is all for. My life is for His Glory. There are times to step back and embrace that truth. I am His and I live for be fully pleased in God. This is the day to step back and REST and TRUST. Thanks God for all you do.

good stuff...

Yea, Grace Community church got a visit by the Catalyst Road Trip (http://catalystroadtrip.wordpress.com/) Yep, those good looking guys are Ben Chad and Bayne with LV and Mack from the Road Trip. You can go to the blog and check out what these guys are up to. You have to go see this van they are rolling around America in. It was great to share with the guys what God is doing at GCC. God is on the move in Clarksville and it is so great to be a small part of what is going on. Moments when we get to talk about GCC to other people are times when we realize that God is allowing us to create a culture of worshippers who are different. We are not a copy of any other church...yes we have learned from others but we are striving to allow God to give us our own unique environment. Great to have a visit from the Road Trip crew. If you have never been to the Catalyst Conference you have to make plans now!

This weekend is going to be wild. I get to speak to fathers and daughters at a Clarksville event called the Purity Ball put on by the Hope Pregnancy Center. It is so cool because yep, I have daughters and it is one of those dress up nights. After this I am speaking in Cross Street Sunday morning then Remix Sunday night - 4 talks in one weekend. Need God's strength for sure!

Good news, I have heard the new Daniel doss band Cd and I have to say - it is amazing. All of you who have been led by D over the years at church, camps and retreats are in for a sweet surprise. This is an amazing CD. Get ready to get it...the CD release party is Sunday night March 2 at Rossview High with DDB in concert.

conclave 2008 in Chattanooga

Been here in Chattanooga at Conclave 2008...(http://www.southeastconclave.0rg/) thinking and dreaming about student ministry. In my new role at GCC I work with our team to minister to kids from preschool to High School, wow...it has been good to narrow the focus and just dream about student ministry. Conclave moves to Atlanta next year for 2009, great conference and one I will bring some of our team back to next year. With that said the picture here is Charlie Hall leading us in the session tonight. I want to say thanks to the people at Grace Community for allowing us to create an environment in Clarksville that moves beyond "contemporary" (what is that anyway) TO an atmosphere of creativity that allows people to get beyond distraction and focus on the love of Jesus Christ for humanity. I used to go to conference and wonder why I had to go back to worship gatherings that made were founded in traditions of years past. Why could the gathering not be today? Why could it not make sense? Thanks Grace for allowing us to create a place like this. All of you would have felt right at home here at the conference. Hope Charlie gets to lead us in song at GCC sometime. Thanks Daniel D and Michael H for leading us each week. I appreciate it and how you strive to lead us to see Jesus clearly in the songs we sing.

Tonight Erwin McManus said this about the church today...
"We have loved traditions more than our children...we have been willing to lose a generation of our children to protect our traditions inside the church" WOW...chew on that a little. Thank God teens and college students are finding community each week in our Sunday morning gatherings at Grace. When our gatherings become foreign to teens and college kids we might need to evaluate our traditions. It is amazing to create student environments not to supplement the CHURCH or create a separate teen church but rather to simply help teens become fully devoted followers of Christ (this gathering is what we call ReMIX at GCC). That is what I do now because on Sunday mornings our services are making sense to today’s generation. Our traditions are not sacred. Methods are not holy. Our Savior Jesus Christ is sacred and this is all for Him.