Relative Truths

Ok, so I just returned from running a few errands in Suwanee about the new church.  I had a meeting with a woman about using a community center.  I like the center, and I think I can handle the price.  Plus, there are a few perks about the facility that I will go into detail on if we decide to use it.  Please be praying that God would give me the clearest direction on this.  I know how important your meeting space is, especially your first meeting space.  After that, I went to the Post Office and obtained a P.O. Box for the church.  Connection Church now has an address!  We don’t have a facility or dates set in stone yet, but we have an address. 

 

I mention all of that to say the truth is that it is exciting to have progress.  These may seem like baby steps, but I can take a post-it of my board, and that makes me happy.   Ok, I am going to go do yard work now.  It looks like it will rain, so I am going to try and get the grass cut so the rain will absorb better.  Hope you are having a good Friday!

Ok, so once again I have gone too many days without posting.  Sorry.  However, I drank a Monster energy drink earlier today so I am trying to be productive at 12:30, so I thought I would post.  The truth is things are just crazy now.  It hit me Tuesday that I basically have two and half weeks left at FUMC.  See, move day is June 26^th which was 4 and half weeks from Monday.  I will be out of town June 9-12^th and Annual Conference is June 17-20^th.  So, at this point, I have next week, Monday the 16^th, and three days the next week.  I will be at church this Sunday, next Sunday, miss the next week (I get to baptize Alex and Erin ’s little girl Faith), and then it is my last Sunday.  On top of that, I have a lot of things for the new church I am trying to do.  So, today I just want to do a quick update on a few things and then be done. 

 

I have started packing my office up at church.  It is a little sad (ok a lot sad) to take three years worth of work and memories and try to condense to a few boxes.  Plus, I don’t really have anywhere at home to put all my books, but that is another concern.  The truth is that I have loved my experience.  Sure, there have been rough days.  To say that it was perfect would be a lie.  However, I have never regretted decided to come to Lawrenceville.  I am thankful to have served with this staff and done ministry with these people.  I will miss it (well, if some of you want to come to the new church, I won’t miss it as much ;). 

 

I have a meeting tomorrow (well, it is after midnight so I guess today) with a woman about a potential meeting space.  She is open to a church meeting there, it just depends on how much they will charge.  If you are reading this before 10, pray that God will work on her heart.  If it goes well, then I can give the update on our location soon.  The truth is knowing where we will worship will make me feel a lot better!

 

That’s it.  I will have more this weekend.  By the way, Andrew and Kristen will be flying back Sunday night.  Keep them in your prayers.  God bless.

Ok, so it has been over a week since I blogged.  For those of you that subscribe to this or check it everyday, I am sorry.  In my defense, I took this week off (well sort of, I still went to the calendar meeting Tuesday morning at church and needed to go to a meeting at Simpsonwood Wednesday morning).  I took the week off because of two reasons: one, I have three weeks vacation left before Annual conference, and two, I wanted to be available for Andrew and Kristen if they needed anything.  

For those of you who were confused by that last sentence, allow me to explain.  Andrew is one of my best friends in this world.  He also works at the church with our youth.  He has been dating Kristen for 6 years (they started dating junior year of high school), and on Saturday, they were married.

It was an awesome day.  This was one of the most anticipated weddings in my life.  We had a great celebration because they are great people.  They are both an example of Christ to everyone.  Andrew is one of the best people I know.  He is selfless and caring.  The whole “lay down your life for your brother” thing, Andrew has that down in spades.  Kristen is just as awesome.  She embraces that Andrew is in ministry and is a great partner to him.  She displays discernment and wisdom and is just cool.  

The truth is that they honored Christ in their relationship.  They honored Him in how they dated and how they behaved (they pray together every night before bed).  Because of that commitment, it was an amazing wedding and I know they will have an amazing life together.  I didn’t really have much else to say, but I wanted to give them a big shout out.  I doubt they are reading this in Aruba, but hey, a boy can hope.  

Ok, so here it is Sunday night.  There isn’t a whole on TV.  Well, Forrest Gump is on, but Rebekah doesn’t want to watch it.  So, we are watching disk 3 of season 4 of Friends on DVD.  Rebekah is working on the computer, so I just thought I would do a quick blog to tell you about my day.

 

I preached today at FUMC.  It was a little sobering because it will be the last time I preach a monologue sermon at the church.  My last Sunday is June 22^nd.  That day, Davis and I will do a dialogue sermon.  I was a little sad about that.  The truth is that I love to preach, and I have loved preaching at Lawrenceville.  I love the reaction from the people and the encouragement I get from them. 

 

We had an information meeting about the new church after service today.  There were some people that I knew about coming, and some I didn’t.  One of the things we covered were ways in which people can help.  Helping with the new church doesn’t just mean leaving FUMC.  There are other ways to help out.  The truth is the new church will have several needs.  If you are interested in helping any way, but don’t know what to do, let me know. 

 

I went to two Baccalaureates today.  One for Central (we were hosting it at church) and one for Monroe High School (Rebekah’s step-sister’s son is graduating).  I realized it has been 9 years since my baccalaureate.  The truth is, I am getting old!

 

The youth did a celebration for Andrew and Kristen tonight.  I was able to be a part of it and spend some time with the youth.  It was a lot of fun.  I am so excited about this wedding (Saturday).  The truth is they are a great couple, exemplify Christ, and will be great together.

 

Well, that’s enough.  I’m a little tired.  Going to bed soon.  Hope you all have a great start to your week.

Ok, so Brayden (my brother and sister-in-law's) son wanted to remind you about the information meeting for Connection Church .  This Sunday after church, anyone interested in knowing about the church is invited to come by room 138.  Remember, this doesn't obligate you to anything.  If you are interested in knowing about this mission, you know someone in Suwanee that is looking for a church, or you are thinking of being a part of it in some capacity, please come by.  If you have any questions in advance, either publish a comment here or shoot me an email (stephen@fumclv.org).  

Ok, so here it is Thursday.  Man, this week has seemed to fly by.  I just wanted to give a few quick updates on my week before the blogging world things I have given up.  By the way, I mentioned Andrew Erwin ’s bachelor weekend last time.  I plan on a post about he and Kristen’s wedding next week, so stay tuned.  Anyway, here is my week:

We had a staff wedding shower for Andrew and Kristen Tuesday.  I will be talking about them next week, but I wanted to mention this because of the experience.  That was one of the last times I will be with the entire staff at church.  Now, I plan to maintain contact with them (as well as come and raid the office occasionally), but it won’t be the same.  The truth is there are some great people that work at FUMC.  I will miss them and the team we have.  So, when you have people you enjoy working with, enjoy it. 

 

I had lunch today with a good friend of mine.  I don’t see him nearly enough.  Yes, he lives an hour away, but that really isn’t that big of a gap when you think about it.  I enjoyed getting to talk with him.  We said that we need to get together more.  The truth is, when you have friends that are important to you (this guy was my best friend in high school, with me through heartbreaks, and helped and encouraged me when I was called into ministry) drive an hour.  It is worth it. 

 

Ok, that’s enough.  Hope all has been well in your week.  Enjoy this rain and have a great weekend! 

Ok, so today was Mother’s Day.  While we should probably set aside more than one day to honor our mothers and what they do for us, at least there is today.  We had a cool experience at church this morning.  We asked all the mothers to stand up.  Then we had the grandmothers to remain standing.  Then the great-grandmothers.  Then the great-great-grandmothers.  There was actually a great-great-grandmother!  Man, my grandmothers have both passes away, so to see a great-great-grandmother was amazing!  To think that someone is blessed enough to get to see their children’s children’s children’s children is pretty neat.

 

Anyway, I had a fun weekend that I will post about later, but I just wanted to do a post today thanking all mothers for what you do.  I am blessed to have a great mom who sacrificed a ton for me growing up.  She made sure I went to church every Sunday, even when I didn’t want to, and that laid the foundation for my relationship with Christ.  Thank you mom.  I also have a great mother-in-law who has always treated me like a loved part of the family.  For some reason she thought I was good enough for her daughter (I’m really not by the way).  I am glad she did. 

 

The truth is that mothers have a big impact.  I also want to throw in that you don’t have to have a biological child to be a mother to someone.  I have known several amazing women who didn’t have any kids, but influenced a lot of people with their love and compassion.  I count that as being a mother.  If you disagree, oh well, this is my blog.  So, mothers, I hope you had a great day.  If not, tell your husbands or children or whatever to do it over. 

Ok, so I haven’t posted this week.  My bad.  I would like to say I have had a busy week, and that is my excuse, but really, who doesn’t have a busy week?  Anyway, I have been trying to juggle some personal stuff, keeping up with work at the church, and trying to take care of some details for the new church.  I had two experiences today that reminded me of the joy that can come out of situations in which we don’t always expect to find joy. 

 

We had accountability this morning.  It is the first Wednesday of the month, so we played basketball.  Well sort of.  We only had three guys to play this week, so we played 21.  I hate 21.  I have never had a one-on-one game (actually, I don’t know if I have ever had any game…).  However, I had fun.  I love my group and it is worth getting beat down in 21 to hang out with them.  I really appreciate those guys and how they support me.  The truth is, sometimes you have to do something not so much fun to enjoy something worth it. 

 

I needed to take a DVD to Simpsonwood today.  So, since I had to go over there, Andrew, Allen, and I went to Dreamland.  Man I love those ribs.  At first I was irritated about driving over there.  I mean, that is like 80 minutes out of my day.  However, I got Dreamland.  So, something that looked like it would just be an irritating situation turned out to be awesome and well worth it.  See, sometimes we find joy when we least expect it.

 

I guess that is enough.  Have you found unexpected joy lately? 

Ok, so a lot has gone on since I posted last week.  I just want to give a quick rundown of a few things to catch you up on stuff, along with a few reflections, so you can see how my world is right now. 

 

I had my last covenant group meeting of the year last week.  It was a little bittersweet.  It will be nice to not have to drive to Simpsonwood once a month and to prepare for the meetings.  However, I really like my group.  We have a cool mix of views and opinions, but we are super supportive of each other.  I will miss seeing them until Annual Conference.  When I started this process I was unsure how I would like covenant group.  The truth is, it has been enriching.  Has something ever turned out great when you thought it would be bad?  Don’t prejudge things.  Maybe the experience will exceed the expectation.    

 

Andrew, Allen, David and myself played in a golf tournament Friday.  We shot a 66.  I was happy with that, even though we missed about 4 birdie putts.  The only thing to say about that is the playing golf is fun.  The truth is a day on the golf course is better than a day in the office. 

 

A couple of updates on Connection Church .  I feel like we are getting close to a space.  I hope to have a space decided upon by the information meeting at church on May 18^th (after the 11 am service).  Remember, coming to the meeting is just to gain information.  We also feel good about a Christmas Eve plan.  I hope to have that squared away this week soon as well.  Finally, I think I am getting close to a worship leader.  I once heard is said that when you have a worship leader and a launch date, then you have a new church.  I am working on it. 

 

All for now.  Hope you had a great weekend.  That is my world at the moment.  What is going on in yours?