• Matthew 28:18-20
• Mark 16:15
• Luke 19:10
• Luke 24:48
• John 20:21
• Acts 1:8
• Romans 1:16
• Romans 2:4
• II Corinthians 5:16-21
• Galatians 1:10
• Ephesians 2:8-10
• Philippians 4:13
• Colossians 3:1-2
• I Timothy 2:3-7
• Philemon 1:6
• James 5:19-20
• I Peter 2:9-12
• II Peter 3:9

Found people find people!

So…who came to mind as you read through this?  Who are you bringing with you to church on Sunday?

• We saw SO MANY people make decisions to confess Christ as Lord and turn their lives over to Him…THAT NEVER GETS OLD!
• Florence campus had its biggest crowd of the year today–WOW!!!
• No matter how much I read Scripture I always come back to II Corinthians 5:17…THAT truth gets me EVERY TIME, especially the word “anyone!”
• The video stories of changed lives were amazing…and consistent, people were far from Christ, someone invited them to church, they listened to and responded to the message, received Christ and HE changed their lives!
• I LOVE the fact that in one of the stories someone said, “I didn’t want my sister to stop inviting me.”  So many times people think they are annoying people when they invite people to church…but doing so actually communicates to people that we care about them.  (See Romans 10:14 and Romans 10:17)
• So many people who are not in church think that they need to clean up their lives so that they can go to church…which is why is SO IMPORTANT for us to communicate to people that they can some as they are (and we can trust JESUS to take them where they need to be!)
• I read a statistic once that said around 25% of all unchurched people said they would come to church if someone would just invite them to come!
• It IS a tad uncomfortable to invite people to church…but the goal of Christianity is NOT comfort but rather conformity to Christ, who COMPLETELY embraced a VERY uncomfortable cross in order that we may cross over from death to life!!!
• Personally…I am SO glad that I had a friend that NEVER gave up on me.  (See Galatians 6:9)
• Easter is in TWO WEEKS…lets do all we can to make sure that those who need to be in “the chair” are here…and then lets BEG GOD to do something amazing!
• Can’t wait to preach next week and close out this series…having two weeks off was refreshing but now I feel like Jeremiah 20:9 is coming true in my life…HE is setting me ON FIRE!
• We are launching a brand new 30 day devotional series online today–we talk to SO many people who say they would read their Bible if they just knew where to begin, trust me, THIS LINK will help you get started AND/OR maybe refresh your current quiet time, check it out!
• Hey parents…you should REALLY sign your teenager up for The Gauntlet ASAP…this is one of my FAVORITE weeks of the entire year and there is NO WAY to describe what God does during that week.  It is SERIOUSLY one of THE BEST investments you can make in life of your teenager!
• Lots of excitement about our leadership conference in September…hope you get signed up…I LOVE the speaker line-up, I think we will all be challenged in EVERY session!
• REALLY excited about being at the Ignite Conference this week in Chandler, Arizona this week…looking forward to meeting LOTS of new people!
• I did P90X this morning–chest and back–I’m still shaking all over!!
• Did the plyometrics workout on Saturday morning…really walking funny today…seriously, that DVD series is LEGIT!
• I think I am going to do a DVD video series entitled, “PastorP90X!”  I think it would sell!!!!  :-)

That’s about it for the day…have an amazing week!

About a minute later Charisse came into the room with a pair of my underwear over her head.

NOW…let’s stop here for just a second and all admit–underwear, no matter how they are designed, are GROSS!!!  There is just no way around it…your butt stinks and underwear and your butt hang out all day long!!!  (That is all I am going to say about the grossness of underwear…I think you get the point!)

So…I told her, “Charisse, can you please take daddy’s underwear off of your head and go put them in the dirty clothes?”

She left the kitchen…but about a minute later walked back in with my undies STILL ON HER HEAD!  (And I think she was singing!)

This caused me to act with a little more urgency…I know she thought what she was doing was cute…but it had already caused me to throw up in my mouth just a little…and I wanted her to STOP IT…

SO…I once again expressed my desire for her to “repent” of “underwear head” and do what I had told her…to which she, once again, walked out of the room as if she intended on doing what I had commanded.

BUT…instead of obeying me she walked into the living room and began to dance…WITH MY UNDERWEAR STILL ON HER HEAD!

I began walking towards her…and my voice became just a touch more elevated (I really do mean a touch…we don’t yell in the Noble house!)  She finally got the point and took my drawers off of her noggin.  I told her to put them away…and though she wasn’t fond of the idea…she obeyed!

I’ve thought about this episode a lot this week and have concluded the following..

#1 – Many times what we see as “fun” and “harmless” our heavenly Father sees as something far worse!

#2 – Just like I didn’t want Charisse to stay in a really nasty situation…our heavenly Father wants for us to repent of sin because He knows the destruction it will eventually bring.

#3 – Just like Charisse, many times we delay obedience because of our perceived enjoyment and our misguided thoughts that God is actually out to ruin our lives.

#4 – The sooner we obey God the sooner we are able to escape what has us blinded!

#5 – The voice of the Father and not our own voice, is the one we should be obsessed with!

#6 – His kindness and love, not His anger and hatred, is the reason He wants the junk out of our lives!

Just some thoughts that God is using my daughter to teach me!

I thought he was kidding…but when I found out he was serious…I accepted…and now it will be here in two weeks. WOW!

I know this…when Catalyst puts on an event…they go all out…and this one will be no exception. The music is going to be incredible…and I know that Jesus will use the speakers to challenge, inspire and frustrate all of us!

Don’t know if you are going to be there or not…but I can promise it is going to be a couple of amazing days of Christ honored leadership teaching…something we all could use a little more of!

I’m especially excited because Lucretia is going to be making this trip with me! Woo Hoo! :-)

Hope to see you there!

And for those on the West Coast that may not understand the redneck language…I think the Catalyst Team may get an interpreter for my session!

• Yesterday and today absolutely MOVED me like never before.  I saw living conditions that are unimaginable in our country.
• THANK YOU to everyone who has been praying for us…God’s voice has been so clear!  WOW!
• Today we worshiped with a group of ladies underneath a tree in their village and it was awesome…they kept singing, “Jesus does miracles!!!”  AND…THEY HAVE NOTHING (according to American standards!)  It was MOVING!
• One of them gave Sherry a necklace…GAVE IT!  It was one of the most moving things I’ve ever seen…it made II Corinthians 8 come to life in a way.
• Sherry cried…a lot!  (I did too!)
• NewSpring…God has definitely called us to make a difference here…and I believe that God is going to blow our minds with what He is about to do!
• We can’t do something everywhere…but we MUST do something somewhere…and this place is the somewhere He wants us to focus on!
• Tonight we are staying in tents in the middle of a wildlife park!
• I walked outside of my tent a few minutes ago and there was a giraffe about 30 yards from it.  It was SO COOL!!!
• I can’t wait to get home…Cracker Barrel is on the agenda for dinner!!!

And now about Sunday…

• I CAN’T WAIT TO BE BACK AT NEWSPRING!
• The married people are going to be challenged this Sunday (I have been while studying)!!!
• Singles…trust me…you need to be at this one!  :-)
• I will talk about Kenya for a few minutes…but not for the entire service.
• We WILL do a service in which we share the vision of where God has called us to be in Kenya and the details of when we are going soon!
• The best is yet to come!!!

• I MISS MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER!!! 
• I miss my friends at church! 

Now that I have that out of the way…this trip has been amazing.  God has used it to stretch me WAY beyond anything I have ever experienced!  I am WAY out of my comfort zone…and that is a good thing. 

The past several days have opened up my eyes to a world that I never imagined existed.  Sure, I’ve heard the stories and seen the pictures…but being here and seeing what I’ve seen, hearing what I’ve heard and smelling what I have smelled has forever marked me! 

I take so much for granted.  I walk into the kitchen and turn a faucet on and…BAM…water.  Yesterday I visited an area where women go and get water four and five times a day…and words can’t even describe the hill they have to climb just to get water! 

We’ve visted several schools and spent some time with a lot of kids…and I don’t think I’ve cried this much in a long time.  They have joy like I’ve never seen!  They dance…they sing…they laugh…it’s amazing.  When we walk into a community they walk up to us and hold our hands and won’t let go until we leave. 

Yesterday I saw a pile of bottle caps outside of a home and realized that they were the only toys the kids in that house had to play with…it broke my heart. 

Today I visited a church…and as soon as they found out I was a preacher they asked me to preach!  It was…uh…interesting…and fun!  The pastor interpreted for me…and I spoke on Ephesians 3:20.  I loved it…seriously…I was way out of my comfort zone…but that is exactly where God wanted me to be!

Their offering time…UNBELIEVABLE.  These people have nothing (according to American standards) and yet they give…and give generously.  Many of them do not know where their next meal is coming from…yet they give from what they have and trust God to provide! 

OK…it is about time for dinner.  (I haven’t had dessert since I’ve been here except for a chocolate bar today!  In fact, if it were not for Cliff Energy Bars I might not be alive…I have eaten them nearly every day for breakfast and lunch!) 

NewSpring…I miss you!  AND I am so excited because I know that God wants us to POUR into a community over here and make a difference.  Please continue to pray for the team and I as we have a few more things to do.  We are excited about a safari that we get to go on Tuesday morning.  I hope I get to see a lion! 

We are so blessed!  My prayer for all of us who read this blog is that at some point today we would take the time to thank Jesus for the things we take for granted. 

One more thing…this is one of the most BEAUTIFUL places on the planet! 

OK…gotta eat!!! 

I found a place where I could log on the internet…wanted to give everyone an update. 

Here’s the scoop so far…

• The trip over here took 25 hours total!  BUT…we made it…and so did our luggage! 
• Landed last night and went straight to the hotel…where I managed to get a whopping two hours of sleep before our trip today. 
• It took us three hours to travel around 60 miles this morning!  (We are eight hours ahead!)  VERY bumpy roads…horrible when you really need to take a pee!
• We did see a monkey, a giraffe and some zebras today!
• We went to a community called “Q” today…and the Lord broke my heart.  I saw things I’ve never seen and smelled things I’ve never smelled. 
• YET…in spite of what we in America would call EXTREME poverty…I saw hope and joy in the eyes of these people…especially the children. 
• They fixed lunch for us…not REALLY sure what I ate…but I am sure it did go straight through me!!!  (Just being honest!) 
• God is really showing the team and I that He is going to use our church to make a difference over here! 
• I REALLY MISS ‘CRETIA and CHARISSE!  (’Cretia…hey!  :-)  I would email you but I can’t log in for some reason…will try and call soon!)  

Thanks to everyone for your prayers…please continue to lift us up.  We are doing a LOT of traveling over the next several days.  I would alos LOVE to get some sleep!!!  (Added it up…MAYBE have gotten 15 hours since Saturday night…my butt is dragging!) 

Seriously…I can’t wait to get back and share first hand what we have learned and experienced….and this was just the first day…God has amazing things in store. 

Leadership CAN be intoxicating…especially when things are moving up and to the right.  The overwhelming temptation is to begin to take personal credit for all that is going on.

NOTHING could be more dangerous for the church than this!

It’s easy to be “all about Jesus” when we begin ministry, heck, we don’t have anything!  However, when crowds begin to gather, buildings are built and staff are employeed a huge transition is tempted with is, “I can handle this!”

And we can’t!

When we begin to fall into the “all about me” trap there is always a pressure to perform.  The next series HAS to be better than the last one.  You can’t rest on Sunday night because you are thinking about how next weeks message can be better.  Your next blog post has to have more hits than ever before…

The focus is shifted from the power of God to our ability to perform…and eventually that will kill the drive of every leader out there every time.

Hold on!  It’s not wrong to desire to preach great messages and have captivating series that people can invite others to…but when THOSE things become the proverbial tail that wags the dog–SERIOUS problems emerge.

Our goal, as leaders, should be to make the name of Jesus famous–period.

I’ve been praying about the direction of the talks ever since the last Unleash ended and I really feel that God is going to, once again, do something pretty awesome this year.

And…we lowered the price!  Yep…that’s right–lowered it!!!  Why?  Because we want pastors and leaders to bring as many volunteers with them as possible.

And…this year we are going to try a few different things…such as…

We will be doing our normal Unleash conference at our Anderson campus…but we will also have Unleash sessions going at our Greenville campus as well!!!  The music in Greenville will be live…and the messages will be streamed in live just like we do for a Sunday service.

I will be hosting the event in Anderson…and we will be doing breakouts and such…and Tony will be in Greenville where the focus will be more directed at how we are currently doing multi site…and all of the good, the bad and the ugly associated with that kind of stuff.

One conference, two locations…and thousands of people!!!

Mark the date down, Thursday, March 12th…and plan to bring as many people as possible with you!  (AND…register early–we sold out last year and are expecting to do the same this year.)  We will be opening registration next month!!!

One more thing…if you want to view the sessions from the two previous years (for free) you can go here!  Seriously, I can’t WAIT for this…it’s gonna be so much fun!

• CHALLENGING week…six separate flights (no lost luggage), hotel beds, rental cars and totally out of my workout and sleeping routine.
• I REALLY missed ‘Cretia and Charisse–REALLY!
• Today was incredible…I do love conferences…but I love them just as much for the connections that I make as well as the lessons that I learn.
• I had a great lunch today with Scott Hodge!

Uh…that’s it…except…

NewSpring…wow…I just wanted to communicate that I LOVE THIS CHURCH!  I seriously could not live this life…the one of planes and hotels.  I know these weeks will come up in my future from time to time…but at the end of the day all I want to do is love Jesus, love ‘Cretia, love Charisse and love this church.

God has set me on fire…my mind is racing…I believe there are areas of potential that we haven’t tapped into yet…and I can’t wait to get my thoughts OUT on paper and then share them as they become more and more clear.

Jesus is up to something HUGE…and we get to be a part of it!  Now…gotta go catch a flight!!!