The First One!

I absolutely can’t wait!

Join us for the very first monthly worship gathering where The Grove goes live! We want you to be a part of it!

We’ll be starting a brand new series called, “I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.”

Many people find themselves asking, “Is this it?”
Sometimes we meet Christians and we’re disappointed to discover a “boring, stale religion.”
Faith feels disconnected, sucked up by Sunday pep rallies and chintzy spiritual souvenirs. Think you might be bored with religion? Check all that apply:

___I am disappointed with my spiritual life.
___I yearn to follow Jesus and live like him.
___I experience church as a monotonous religious routine.
___I long for real, authentic community.
___I seek spiritual adventure and fulfillment.
___I need my faith to make a difference.

Identify? Through provocative storytelling and gut-level honesty, we’ll unearth the life Jesus lived and wants us to experience, challenging us to move past spiritual boredom into a faith that’s exciting, beautiful, and powerful.

Come on out and bring a friend, but remember no perfect people are allowed! You don’t want to miss this!

Have to Say!

How thankful I am for the team that God is building around me as we get closer to our first preview service for The Grove. I’ll keep this short, but thank you to all of you for the part you play and the role you fill in helping the people of Henry County take their next steps towards Jesus.

We’ve only just begun and I am absolutely thrilled and honored to get to do this with you! Your hard work, commitment and sacrifice – both physically and financially is AMAZING!

I love you all!

Let’s do this!

You’ve got a misshaped head…

This morning I have been working at a frantic pace on my Mac at my local Hardees restaurant. Since Wifi is such a premium (or just really hard to find) in our area, I gotta do what I can. The funny thing is, is that I am the youngest guy in the building by at least 30 years and most of the “regulars” have been giving me that look. You know the one, the one people give when someone passes gas and no one will fess up?

Exactly.

I appreciate my local Hardess for their chicken biscuits (better than Chic-Fil-A in my kinda humble opinion, no cursing at me) and for the Wifi. It’s good stuff. But I got to thinking about The Grove and how uncomfortable it would feel for people we met to feel like we (I) were looking at them like they passed gas.

That would stink. (Almost literally.)

So we are creating a culture where its understood that no perfect people are allowed. I think this is huge!

Since I’m not perfect and you’re not perfect, we’ll just accept it and try to become more like Jesus who was. That seems simple enough.

I hope it is.

I don’t know how it happened so fast….

It was just last week I promise. That’s when it happened and I wasn’t prepared for it.

It’s been less than a year since I first met her, well at least that’s what it feels like. OK, Maybe not.

She started kindergarten. My Hayden. I can’t believe it. She’s so sweet and beautiful and I am so thankful for her.   Although it feels like just a few months ago I held her for the first time. She’s growing up and I am not sure what to  do. I am amazed and encouraged by this little girl. It was actually last week, but I still can’t believe it.

She jumps out of bed everyday and gets ready, she loves her school and is so excited to be there!

Hayden, I love you and I am so proud of you! Watching you grow up has brought me so much joy! I can’t wait to watch you grow over the next 12 years through your school journey! You are amazing! I hope that you will always be a light to others and a blessing to everyone who meets you. Your world has endless possibilities. I can’t wait to see which paths you choose and I know that God is with you!

Love,

Daddy

Ten for ten…

One of the biggest challenges I have had over the last 16 months since we decided to begin this journey in to starting a new church is finding consistency. Not so much in regard to accomplishing goals for The Grove but in regard to life in general. I have always been one who was somewhat cool with the general mystery and unsteadiness that life can throw your way, especially when I’m in control .

The last year for us, my family that is, has been really hard though. I would simply say that in starting a new church and living in a world that I have no control over has been tough. Several ways this has affected us are:

• financially.
• relationally.
• our time.
• our kids.
• and the list could go on.

In actuality, I would tell you that specifically for Susan and I we have been tested more in the last few months than ever before in our relationship. I know for a fact that there have been days when my lovely and quite loving wife was ready to see me “move on down the road.” I share this to say we aren’t perfect and we have struggles and just because we do church work doesn’t mean that we haven’t had pretty tough moments together. It’s been really hard.

Someone recently told me that starting a new church would be the most difficult on our family over anything else. And this is true….and now find myself telling other people the same thing who are considering starting a new church.

The end of this week, the 24th to be exact marks the official ten year anniversary for my marriage to this beautiful woman that graces my life. Years ago, I anticipated taking some money from a certain account that is now non-existent (eating was more important) and purchasing my beautiful young bride a nice diamond anniversary ring. I was so excited about this.

Instead, my wife got a hair dryer that she wanted. I got a good deal, I bought it on ebay. But buying that hair dryer was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. Not because I didn’t want to buy one, I mean I would’ve rather bought a diamond, but because this was never part of my plan.  Quite possibly that hair dryer will even make things a little bit tighter around our house this month. But, it’s worth it. You can’t put a price tag on our relationship. Period.

Now, don’t hear what I am not saying, I’m not poormouthing. The road of sacrifice is the one we chose.

I am saying that I love my wife and I know that said hair dryer will be perfectly acceptable to her because she knows my heart. My heart was for the nicest diamond I could give her, the gift was a hair dryer. There is so much more I could say about this but these things would belabor the point…

What matters is this. Ten years ago the most amazingly beautiful woman I have ever known gave me a shot. For the last ten years she has continued to say yes to me again and again. She has been the most consistent thing in my life and in the life of our kids and I can’t believe the blessing she has been to me. I am so honored to have married this kind, sweet, caring and loving little lady. There is no doubt in my mind that without her, I would have never become the man I have and I also wouldn’t know the two best and most beautiful little girls in the world! I am so thankful!

Susan- thank you so much for saying I do, year after year. I know that it hasn’t been the easiest journey you’ve been on, but I can’t imagine what my life would be like without my best friend. You are amazing and each day of the week you surprise me, challenge me and encourage me to risk it all for something so much bigger than ourselves and I am so thankful.

I love you and I owe you a diamond

The hardest thing…

There are a few things I really like to do:

1. Play with my family! I love hanging with my girls, they are amazing! I can’t even begin to explain what a blessing my little girls are to me. I can’t start to help you know what an amazing woman my wife is! I love them so much!
2. Working in the yard! Even though my yard looks kinda average, I like working in it. It is relaxing work to me.
3. Spending time challenging people to take their next steps in faith. I love seeing the light go on in people’s lives when they realize that following Jesus is a better way. It encourages me in the BIGGEST way!
4. I like working. Yeah, I said that, don’t get torqued at me if you don’t. I like what i get to do and count it an honor every single day. So much so that it can get me in trouble in other ways. Sometimes I even use working as an excuse as to why I can’t spend time with my family or why I can’t do something else.

I have a really hard time dealing with this sometimes. And while I know there are seasons in life where you may spend more time doing this thing or that thing, I feel like work is an intense yet never ending season, and it doesn’t bother me, until I realize that my family has to take center stage in my life.

Fact is, I have to remember that my girls will only be my little girls for a little while longer and I only get to watch them grow up once. Plus, only during this time in my life and theirs has God called me to be their Daddy in specific ways with no make-up games left to play after its all said and done. I want to make the most of these times….

What about you? How do you deal with this? What things do you love to do that sometimes get in the way of what matters most in life. In a few days I’ll come back and share with you what I do to make this happen, in the meantime, what do you think?

HUGE CHANGES!

OK, so the new website is almost done for The Grove. Just wanted you to know.

Just kidding, there’s more…

With the new website I have finally convinced myself that my role in blogging has to change.

Yes I know that frequency is an issuse for you/me/us whatever.

So, here’s what I’m thinking of doing – converting this blog – converting it to be used more specifically for stuff about The Grove. I know I kind of already do that but what that means is that all of the old stuff will be gone. When, you ask, oh about five minutes. Anyway, big changes, maybe some other stuff, maybe a redesign (anyone want that little project?) – I’ll let you know.

So for, now enjoy your day, more to come SOON!