Catalyst West Coast April 7, 2009

Last June I received an email from my buddy Ben asking me would I consider being a part of an event he and the Catalyst team were putting together called “Catalyst West Coast.”

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!

Kenya Update & Sunday’s Coming… February 10, 2009

We’re headed home tomorrow…woo hoo…around 20-25 hours on an airplane and in airports and we will be home!!!  Here are a few thoughts…

• 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!!!

Sunday Night Reflections From Kenya February 8, 2009

Hey!!!  Found another place with internet and just wanted to report on a few things…

• 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!!! 

Kenya Update February 4, 2009

Hey!

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. 

Unleash! July 23, 2008

Gotta be honest here…I’m already getting excited about Unleash 2009!!! 

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!