Sunday thoughts

Another stellar day at Foothills

** Talked about hypocrisy, and why it's so dangerous.

** Everyone struggles with hypocrisy (saying one thing and doing another)

** The best actors are not in Hollywood, they're in churches.

** Hypocrisy is one of the top reasons people don't go to church---too many hypocrites.

** People are not looking for perfection in a church, they're just looking for authenticity.

** Yes, it is true, I did have the leading role in The Gingerbread Man in kindergarten.

** The worship today was exceptional in both services.

** David Odom slam-dunked that Gavin Degraw song!

** Great energy in both services.

** Late Clemson home games affect church attendance! (congrats though to Clemson-- nice win!)

** Already excited about next Sunday's message.

** It was cool having my wife on stage with me today!

** Don't forget about the Family Carnival this Saturday at Foothills.

** Got to bow hunt this afternoon. only saw 1 small buck. Let him walk. Having a good year with my bow, 3 deer so far.

** Planning on waking up early tomorrow to play basketball.

wednesday updates

We had a great conversation in our Senior Management Team meeting this morning. The reason I love this type of conversation was because it was all about our vision at Foothills Community Church.

Here are some bullet points about what was discussed:

** Sunday mornings are a huge front door to the church.

** Our services need to be engaging and creative.

** The D.N.A. of Foothills Community Church is a church that is a lot of fun. A place where the unexpected is expected, and where lives are changing.

** We must always see our services through the eyes of the first-time guest.

** It is possible for services to become too slick.

** Humor is a good thing.

** People generally view the church from the vantage point of what they experienced the first time they attended.

** People are seeking a connection with God at some level every Sunday. They are wanting to be more than entertained; they want to be engaged!

** Are we taking enough risk?

** When people are excited about the church, the overflow is inviting their friends.

** How important are lost people? Really?

** Are we willing to tick off the religious for the sake of those that don't know Christ?

** Our best days are still ahead of us!

** The people that attend Foothills are the most amazing people on the planet.

** We need to spend money on things that will help us reach people!

In case you can't tell, I am fired-up about what's coming up at Foothills!

Sunday thoughts

A little different twist on my thoughts for Sunday, because I wasn't at Foothills this morning! I now it went great though.

Every once in a while, I will take a Sunday off from delivering the message and go and visit a church somewhere else. It's pretty cool, because I can be totally anonymous, and just worship.

This morning I drove to Lawrenceville, Ga. and visited 12 Stone Church. They are one of the fastest growing churches in America, and it's easy to see why. They had an incredible service. Great music, wonderful message, and some creative elelments that were awesome (No doubt, I came back with some great ideas for some future series!)

I have not been there in a couple of years, and this was the first time that I had been in their new facility---very cool!

I went to their 9:00am service, and I was surprised because it was packed--at 9:00am! Their auditorium seats around 2,500 people. They still had 2 more services after the one I went to.

The parking lot attendants did a good job of helping everyone get out pretty quickly, which was pretty amazing because it was full.

Every time I am away from Foothills visiting another church in another town, I always feel so humbled to be able to lead such a great church. I also come back with a new excitement.

Most of all, when I come back to Foothills, I realize how blessed we are. God is doing something very special right here in Seneca,SC and Tooca,GA!!

I love this!

Nothing more fun than a game of bowling. Nothing more funny than to listen to Jim Gaffigan talk about bowling!

monday thoughts

Lots of things happening at Foothills.

** This past Friday night we had Resonate, a benefit concert that was to raise money for some area ministries. It was INCREDIBLE! We raised over $6,000 and donated almost 3,000 diapers and I don't know how much peanut butter.
There is absolutely no doubt that God has blessed us with phenomenal talent. We have 3 outstanding worship leaders and multitudes of awesome singers, musicians, and technical people. They put in so much time to make Resonate the very best it could be. Thank you guys and gals.

** Sunday we started a new message series called, Zeros and Heroes. My message was on decision that we make. I talked about Adam and Eve and some of the poor decisions they made. We are the sum total of all of our decisions. let's make wise decisions today!

** This Saturday we are doing the Trunk or treat at Walmart. We have around 100 cars lined up to participate. Here's one thing we do need though, CANDY! Walmart will be donating much of the candy, but we need more. last year 8,000 people showed up---that's a lot of candy.

** On November the 14th we will be having the Foothills Family Carnival. This is going to be a blast. This is a great event to invite your friends to.

** We will be having our last baptisms of the year on December 6th during both services at the Seneca campus.

** Our Toccoa campus is working hard to complete the renovation of their new building. If you have experience with plumbing, electrical, painting, or are a good laborer, they could use your help. Call the church office and we'll give you more info.

Start inviting people to church this Sunday NOW!

Start inviting your friends to church this Sunday, right Now! We are kicking off a brand new message series called, Zeros and Heroes, and it's going to be awesome.

This week's message is, "How to Really Mess Up Your Life". You read it right, I'm going to give you 3 sure-fire ways to mess up your life.

The good news is that after this weekend's message, you will have tools to help you make great decisions in your life.

Here's what I'm asking you all to do: Invite your friends! If Foothills is the best hour of your week, then let others know.

Use your Facebook and Twitter and blogs and get the word out. Trust me, this series is going to be phenomenal!

If I could do it over again

I have a lot of church planters ask me, If you could start over again, what would you do differently?

Well, here are a couple of things that I would do differently:


1. I would begin with a larger core group.

We started with 17 people meeting in my living room, but if I were doing it again I would try to build a core of around 50 people or more.

Statistics show that churches that begin with a core of less than 50, rarely ever get beyond 200 in attendance. I suppose we were very fortunate that the 17 people that helped start Foothills Community Church were unbelievably committed to reaching this community, so we defied the odds.


2. I would put more emphasis on music.

In our early days we underestimated the importance of quality music. We did the best we could, but overall it wasn't too good.

If you are a church planter, don't skimp when it comes to the music. It is basically half of your service, so do what you can to find the best worship leader possible.


3. I would be slower about selecting leaders.

In the early days of a church plant there is such a huge need for leaders, that sometimes we can move too quickly and fast-track people to leadership positions that can burn you later. I can tell you from first-hand experience, you do not need people in your leadership who don't truly buy into the vision (even though they say they do)


4. I would trust God more.

This sounds like a no-brainer, but sometimes as a church planter you live with this continual pressure to grow the church. Almost every church planter that I know struggles with the emotional roller coaster of attendance. When the attendance is good--- you like life. But when you have a low attendance week--- you think the sky is falling. It's not!
Over the years I have come to understand better, that it's not MY church, it's HIS! He is perfectly capable of building His church. My job is to just be faithful.

5. I would enjoy the journey more.

Visionary leaders generally struggle with enjoying the moment, because they are always thinking about the future. When you're a portable church, you are always thinking of how nice it will be to have your own facility. When you have no staff, you you're always thinking about the day you have a full staff. I can tell you, that some of the most incredible days of a church are those early days, when you are totally dependent on God. In the early days, it's such an adventure, heck, you're not even sure anyone will even show up from one week to the next. Enjoy the moment!

6. Money is overrated.

Too many church planters are convincing themselves that the reason they're not growing is because they don't have money (or buildings, or all the bells and whistles)

Go back and read the first couple of chapter of Acts. Read Peter's sermon. No building, no lights or sound no fog machines, no big budgets, or guitar solos. There was nothing slick about it, but three thousand people were saved. Why? Because of the Holy Spirit working through a servant that was sold-out to Jesus.

That's it for now. I may think of a few more to share another time.

By the way, if you are a church planter or Pastor of a church with less than 500 people, why not consider being part of The Strategic Pastor coaching network.