Relative Truths

1. Rebekah.  I am so blessed to have a wife that does a great job of pushing me to be better while letting me know that she is proud of me.  She makes me want to be better and supports me in all I do.  I love her so much and I could never express how thankful I am for her.

2. My family.  I have one brother who is a pastor and church planter.  What a great person to turn to when I get frustrated.  I have another brother who is an attorney.  He has always been there for me and I know he always will.  I have parents who have always supported my call to ministry.  I have two sister-in-laws that are amazing.  I have great in-laws and brother-sister-in-law from my wife.  My nieces and nephew remind me that life is good.

3. Great friends.  I am blessed to have the most amazing friends.  And, most of them like Starbucks which is even better.

4. Connection Church.  I love the opportunity to start this church and the people that I am meeting and that are on board.  God is so going to do something amazing.

5. Wifi.  I am sitting in a McDonald’s doing this.  Later, I’ll go work at Starbucks.  How awesome is that?

6. Ace and Maverick.  Hey, they annoy me, but they love me too.  No matter how bad my day is, they still express their love and that makes me smile.

7. Churches that are willing to help out new churches.  I can’t name them all, but when a church realizes that it is about the kingdom, I get excited.

8. Mochas with caramel, vanilla, and toffee.  Thanks Gregg, I needed that in my life.

9. Leo and Buck’s Pizza.

10. UGA.  I loved that place and hopefully they will go 14-0!

Ok, that’s it.  What are you thankful for?

Third, I realized how much I love that community.  To have that many people come out was amazing.  To see all the families, all the diversity, and all the excitement over a community event was awesome.  Three years ago, when I began to have the desire to plant a church in Suwanee, it was because of the community feel.  Well, that community feel was affirmed.  Now, I am just excited about what will happen when Connection Church is able to be a place that affirms the importance of a community centered around Christ! 

So, there you have it.  Those are my three reflections on Suwanee Day.  It was great.  Thanks again for all who helped either with service or prayers.  Can’t wait until next year!

The second thing that I realized was how great the volunteers were that helped out.  I have been a part of several things that needed volunteers (4th of July, 5K, etc).  This event was no different.  However, for this event, I didn’t have an established church body to pull from.  I was relying on friends, family, and people that are interested and/or committed to the new church.  Yet, God reminded me once again, through people who were willing to give up part of their Saturdays, that He is behind the new church.

We had a tent full of volunteers all day.  Some of the folks will be coming to Connection.  Some are just family and friends helping out.  What struck me was that no matter what the relation was to the new church, everyone was talking about with passion and belief.  These people where helping because they believe enough in God’s vision for the new church that they came and shared that belief in it with Suwanee!  Without those great volunteers, the event would not have been the success I feel that it was (quick side note, I went to The Vine today and spoke with a women who said, “Oh yea, your church did the spin art.  We remember coming by.”  If nothing else, we were noticed and remembered). 

So, the truth is, I can’t say thank you enough to my volunteers.  You made the event what it was, and you reaffirmed to me that God is in the middle of this new mission.  Thank you again for your time, energy, and passion.  For those of you that couldn’t make it, bet you can’t wait to come out next year! 

There are two things that excite me.  One, we get to introduce ourselves to the community.  They estimate 30,000 people will come to Suwanee Day.  Man, is there a better event to tell people who we are?  Two, people will get to come and do something for the church.  Some of the people helping out are friends who are doing what they can to help make the church successful.  Some of the people helping out are folks that are interested in being a part of the mission.  Either way, it excites me for the kingdom that people are willing to give up part of a Saturday for Kingdom work.  The truth is, for anything to be successful God needs to be at the center, and the people of God need to be willing to serve.  I know that Connection has both, and God is going to do great things through it.  

I realized that I am thankful that God didn’t try to patch the broken relationship that we have with Him.  In one decisive act in Jesus Christ, the brokenness between God and humanity was healed.  Because of that act upon the cross, and the victory of the empty tomb, the brokenness can be made whole.  Now, it takes a life-time of walking with God to move to where He desires is to be, but I am so thankful that my life that is full of holes, can be made whole in Christ.  The truth is, God doesn’t do things halfway.  We are completely forgiven and free.  

So, that’s enough.  What holes do you need God to repair?  Aren’t you glad Jesus took care of things so that we can be made whole?

Well two things happened that made me realize my attitude was awful.  One, I got to connect in a real way with my group.  I knew some of the people pretty well before the group (you’re my boy Geoff) from previous experiences and seminary.  Some of the people I had never met before our first covenant group meeting.  Now, even though we have been in a group for over two years, and have shared about our ministry experience, I still didn’t know most of them personally.  When you are on an 8+ hour ride with people, and spend close to 24/7 with them, you learn.  The truth is, there are some great people in my group.  I now thank God that I was able to learn about my brothers and sisters in ministry.  

The second experience was working on Ms. Beatrice’s wall.  I don’t want to be too long winded, so I will post that later.  Hope all is well with you.  Go out and connect with someone new.  Have a real conversation with someone you see everyday, but don’t really know.  It is a great gift.  

I went to North Carolina on a mission trip with my covenant group last week.  Part of our third year curriculum is to gain an understanding of missions, thus the trip.  I spent the majority of the week repairing a women’s wall.  I will post more about this and a revelation I had tomorrow (don’t you love suspense).  However, the truth I learned is that when you do something out of compassion for people, it is worth it.  While I hated being away from Rebekah, and I certainly had enough to do at home with the new church, I am glad to know that everytime Ms. Beatrice walks down that hall she will remember that God loves her and cares for her.  That makes me happy.

I heard from several families last week that are interested in the new church.  I could never express the giddiness (yes, I just used that word) I get when people express an interest in the church.  We haven’t had a service yet, and I can already see people getting into the vision and idea of what is going to happen through Connection Church.  The truth is, I felt called to do this so that people could connect to God in a real and meaningful way.  I am pumped about what will happen in Suwanee!

We have our first church function Saturday (more on this Friday).  We will have a booth at Suwanee Day.  If you are in the Suwanee area Saturday, come by Town Center and check us out, we’re booth #174.  We will have activities for kids and give-aways.  The truth is we get to introduce ourselves to Suwanee, and I can’t wait!

That’s enough for now.  For those of you that have thought about taking me off your blogroles or subscriptions, be patient.  The truth is, I will do better!

I had two meetings at Simpsonwood last week.  One was a Covenant Group organization meeting.  The second was a workshop getting us ready to go before the board.  Before the workshop, I was really nervous about going before the board.  After all, if they say no, then what?  After the workshop, I feel much better.  The truth is God has called me into ministry.  I am confident in that and know that if I give my best to Him, He will honor it.

I saw UGA Saturday.  They looked good.  They could have looked better.  Stafford and Moreno could have put 60 on GSU.  However, Coach wanted to get more PT for other people.  As a result, they dropped from #1 to #2.  The truth is sometimes you take short-term losses (like a ranking) for a potential long-term gain (experienced players adding depth for a tough season).  Kind of reminds me of this Jesus guy talking about how to gain a life we have to lose a life…

For those of you that are offended that I compared UGA football to Jesus and the gospels, the truth is you are over-reacting.  Just a fun parallel.  I think Mark Richt is the savior to UGA football, nothing more.

Finally, we are getting really close to Suwanee Day.  I am so jacked that we will get to expose Connection Church to the community.  We have some great activities planned for kids and some give-aways for adults.  It should be a lot of fun.  The truth is, I can’t wait for people to hear the name of the church and remember how much fun their kids had at Suwanee Day and how much they enjoy the staff we gave-away.

I guess that is enough.  Hope everyone had a great Labor Day!