That was a bad idea!

What a bad idea! I thought having our weekly staff meeting at Buffalo Wild Wings was a great idea. I was terribly wrong. Anytime you have four guys surrounded by twenty televisions that are all tuned into sports, concentration will be at a minimum. We were at the table and someone would make a “ooohhh” comment that had nothing to do with what we were tallking about. They were watching football highlights. Also, eye contact was over everyone’s head because that’s where the televisions were located.

I know how Stephanie feels now. Every time we go to a restaurant that has a television, she tries to sit facing the tv so I can’t see it. I have a tendency to be distracted when a game is on. I think it’s a MAN THING! However, I have been enlightened. Our next staff meeting will have to be somewhere that is boring and less distracting. Don’t get me wrong. Buffalo Wild Wings is a great place to eat. It’s just not the best place to have a staff meeting.

Sunday Rewind

• Perhaps, one of the best services we have ever had at Summit.
• The band was great. I thought Phillip’s song selection was right on.
• For the second time in August, our attendance was over 150.
• We had a lot of first time visitors.
• The set up and tear down team was nothing short of amazing. Because we had Elevate at the downtown Conference Center we had to take our lights, sound system and part of the stage out of the theater and pack it into Gavin’s trailer.
• Gavin Broussard is one of the hardest working men I have ever seen.
• Elevate went extremely well. The band was loud and good. Jimmy had a very convicting message on Passion. We had over 35 students in attendance. September’s Elevate will be even better!

ELEVATE

Elevate, our monthly student worship service, will be this Sunday night at 6:00 pm at the downtown convention center in Douglasville. This will be a student service so you can expect it to be loud. Phillip and the band are going to be wide open. The whole service is going to center around Passion. Passion is good but it must be directed in paths that honor God. Students remember to invite your friends.

Sunday Rewind

• Good crowd. We have a lot of people that come at 10:00.
• Our volunteers did a fantastic job.
• Next Sunday evening, we have our first Elevation service for our students. It’s gonna be great!
• The band brought a lot of energy today.
• We have some good opportunities that are coming our way. I’m excited.
• Everyone was challenged to invite a friend to our service next week. I think our attendance is about to boom.
• I have my last meeting with the city council tonight. I don’t see any problem in getting our special land use permit. Everyone at the city council and zoning committee has been very nice and easy to work with.

what did i just watch

My wife, Stephanie, grew up an Elvis fan. I never had that much interest in Elvis. Elvis died when I was around 10 years old. He was already a “has been.” Also, we didn’t listen to a lot of music growing up. My parents did have the standard Carpenters and Engelbert Humperdinck records, but our record player didn’t work right. I even lived in Memphis, Tennessee for three years and I never went to Graceland.

My wife is a different story. She gets it honets. Her dad does alcohol and drug programs in schools and part of his program involves a pretty convincing Elvis impersonation.  So, I shouldn’t have been  surprised the other night when I came home that she was watching a documentary on Elvis. In this documentary, they showed behind the scenes footage. Elvis had a problem remembering the words to his songs. On one song he had to take a few seconds to look at a little piece of paper before he started back singing. Also, I never knew the man had that much energy. He looked like he was having controlled convulsions. The women at the concert acted crazy and the men would applaud politely and smoke cigarettes.

I know August is a big month for Elvis fans. Remember, I used to live in Memphis. I can remember seeing a picture in the paper of two guys who got in a wreck standing by their cars. They both were dressed up like Elvis. It made a great picture for Elvis Week in Memphis. However, it is sad watching footage about Elvis. He had all this charisma and energy, yet his life spiraled out of control. Fame and fortune did not bring happiness. He was relatively young when he died. People still can’t get over his death. Elvis sightings are like Big Foot sightings. Some believe he’s out there somewhere. We just have to find him.

Why do people want to hold onto Elvis? I don’t know. What I do know is that no matter how much fame or fortune someone may acquire in this life it does not protect him or her from death. The great and the small die. The rich and the poor die. People who can sing and people who are tone deaf all die. That’s why we should live this life in anticipation of the life to come. This life is temporary, but the life to come as described in the Bible is forever. Lets make sure that we maintain an eternal perspective as we go through our daily lives. That way when death does come we will be ready!

great way to celebrate 1 year

Sunday was such a wonderful day. We made it through our first year as a church. God has blessed us so much.

• We had over 150 people on Sunday morning
• People seemed to be very excited about the new direction for our chidren and student ministries.
• Approximately 160 showed up at Hunter Park last night for our baptismal service and fellowship.
• We had 5 who were baptized. The baptisms drew the attention of several spectators at the park.
• The ice cream and cake were incredible. I felt the need to play ultimate frisbee after I ate a slab of chocolate cake and several different kinds of ice cream.
• Our volunteers were amazing. Everything went off without a hitch.
• One of the best days of my life!

Getting Ready for Sunday

Sunday is going to be great! We have a wonderful service planned. What a great opportunity we have to look back on all that God has done this past year and to anticipate all that He is going to do in the future.

We are going to unveil several changes in our children’s and student ministry. Also, I am excited to share several new sermon series that we are going to have in the fall. You will not want to miss this Sunday.

Sunday Rewind

Wow! What an awesomeday. We approved our first budget. Who would have thought a year ago that we would enter into our second year with a budget just over $300,000? When we set out to start Summit one year ago, the vision was to have a church with a simple structure that challenged its members to spiritual growth and ministry. One year later, the vision remains intact.

It is so encouraging when I hear of how people’s lives are being changed. I feel so privileged to be a part of something so wonderful that God is doing. It’s not about a program. It’s not about a commitee. It’s not about personalities. It’s about God changing lives, and we get to be a part of it. Wow! What a great life.