Wednesday, February 28, 2007

If at first you don't succeed


Last week a friend gave me 2 tickets to last Wednesday's Clemson Baseball game. I was pumped! My beautiful wife Liz and I were going to be able to spend a couple of hours together at the old ball park. It doesn't get much better than that. Unfortunately the weather turned bad. We waited for an hour or so for the rain delay, but it didn't look like it was going to let up, so we left. (They actually played the game after a 3 hour rain delay) Needless to say I was disappointed.
Well, this afternoon we are going to get a second chance. That same friend blessed us with 2 more tickets. It's supposed to be 65 degrees and sunny. We're going to give it another shot.
Life is like that many times. Our plans and dreams sometimes don't work out like we thought they would. It's pretty discouraging. It's at these times that we have to choose whether or not we will risk it again. Some people never do. How sad.
By the way, why is it that everything is so expensive at sporting events? I'm all for people making a little profit, but come on. I bought a bag of sunflower seeds. In a convenience store they cost about 50 cents ---at a Clemson game they charge 2 bucks!
One more random thought about sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds are good, but you have to be careful where you spit the shells. Just ask the guy that was sitting in front of me during the rain delay!

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Here's what I've learned---so far

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that one of the goals I have set for 2007 is to talk to more leaders that are ahead of us developmentally as a church.
I began to email Pastors of churches that i am hearing great things about. I contacted 12 so far, and have heard back from 8. That's not a bad ratio!
Today I thought that I would give the list of the 8, and then in seperate postings, share my findings.
1. Flamingo Road Church -- South Florida -- Pastor Troy Gramling
2. Westside family Church -- Kansas City --- Pastor Dave Cox
3. Radiant Church -- Arizona -- Pastor Lee Mcfarland
4. New Life Church -- Arkansas -- Pastor Rick Bezet
5. River Pointe Church -- Texas -- Pastor Patrick Kelly
6. Cornerstone Chandler -- Arizona -- Pastor Linn Winters
7. Friendswood Church-- Texas -- Pastor Rick Baldwin
8. Northway Fellowship -- New York -- Pastor Buddy Creamens

My heartfelt thanks to all of these men for taking time out of their busy schedules to speak to me.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Southern Blasphemy

Last Sunday was the closest I have ever come to getting tarred and feathered at church for something I said. What was the shocking statement that I made? Was it some blasphemous comment about the deity of Christ? Was it a sacreligious theological statement? Did I say something about someone's Momma?
No it was worse! I said that Nascar was a dumb sport!!! (In retrospect it's not the kind of statement you want to make in the South, to win friends and influence people)
When I got home from Church on Sunday, I figured I would tune into the Daytona 500 to see what the big deal was. All I can say is, I have seen the error of my ways. I actually started to get into it. I ended up watching the first half of the race. If I hadn't had to go back to church that evening for our fourth service, I might have watched the whole thing! To all my Nascar good old boy buddies, I sincerely apologize. I have seen the light! Be sure to be at church on Sunday for my Nascar coming out party.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Pass it on

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I have had meetings with several Pastors in the last few days. One thing that I'm always reminded of, is that I usually get more out of those meetings than anyone else.
First, I get the benefit of seeing things from someone else's perspective. This always keeps me from getting too myopic.
Second, I get the benefit of sharing our story and vision. Every time I tell our story, it has a way of keeping things fresh.
Third, I get the benefit of meeting new people; and not just any people, but people who have laid it all down for the sake of a call. These men are pioneers---they are visionaries---they are men of great dreams and great faith. That inspires me!
Fourth, I get the benefit of learning. I always walk away from those meetings with more knowledge and greater understanding.
Before becoming a Pastor, I was in business. In business, there is a tendency to view everyone as a competitor. People in business are very careful NOT to tell others much information so as not to give them a a competetive edge. What I love about church is that we are all on the same team. If anything we have done, can benefit others---that's great!
I realize that God has blessed Foothills Community Church, and me as a leader. It is my responsibility to share what He has taught me with others.
If you are a church planter or pastor, and we can be of assistance, let me know. You can shoot me an email at greg@foothillscc.org

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Talking Shop

For a church planter, there is nothing quite as fun as talking church. Over the last few days I have met with a few pastors and it has been great.
Yesterday evening I had a chance to talk to Gary Lamb. He stopped by for a couple of hours on his whirlwind tour of the I-85 corridor. I had met Gary briefly a couple of months ago, but this was the first time we actually got to sit down and talk church. Gary is one of those guys that takes some flak because he's not afraid to speak his mind, but he's got a genuine passion to reach the lost with the Good News. I really like Gary. He is a thinker, and he's not afraid to ask questions.
Gary and his church, Ridgestone Church, are way ahead of where we were at two years old. They are blowing the doors off of his part of the world.They are not only growing larger, but they are seeing lives changed by the hundreds!
It sounds like Canton Ga. is alot like Seneca, SC in many ways.
I have no doubt that Ridgestone will continue to grow, and reach people for Christ! Keep it up Gary.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Another record

For two weeks in a row we have set attendance records. Yesterday we had 1,400 people! The place was packed for both the 9:45am and 11:15am services. If you attend Foothills at either of these services, you may want to consider moving to the 8:30am or 6:00pm service.
I know it would be a sacrifice, but for the next 10 months or so until our new facility is built, it would free up some seats for our guests at those two prime times.
There is nothing quite as exciting as seeing God move. There is so much energy in our services it is nearly tangible. Keep inviting your friends!

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Change

One of the things that I have noticed is that great churches are not afraid of change---in fact in a lot of ways they thrive on it. You can bet though that even within those churches that embrace change there are those people who oppose it. The leaders responsibility is to lead the people to change, and then through the change and finally not to get too comfortable because there is going to be more change!
I actually enjoy change. At Foothills we change a lot of things. We are in the process of changing things from a physical appearance standpoint. our lobby is being reconfigured for more room. We have changed the entrance areas to our Chidren's area (they now have a seperate entrance to expedite the check-in process). We are about to tweak that again. We create different stage designs on a regular basis, etc.
I have found that if change does not become part of the culture from the get-go, chances are that when you finally do want to change things, there will be resistance. We have all heard the horror stories about the Pastor that was fired because he moved the pulpit----how ridiculous!
It is easy to become too predictable. If people become conditioned to the point that they already know what you're going to do before you do it----it's time for change.
We are going to be messing with the order of service. We have become WAY too predictable. We want people to expect the unexpected.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Another big day

Big Mo is really rolling. Yesterday was incredible. We had another record attendance for a non-holiday Sunday. We also introduced our new worship leader, Eric Peter's. He did a great job in spite of nearly having laryngitis.
Our 11:15am service was packed to the gills. We ran out of chairs and had to bring out the uncomfortable metal chairs. If you are a Foothills person and you would like a little more elbow room, consider the 8:30am or 6:00pm services! By doing this you will also free up some seats for 1st time guests.
Our series: "You To be" has been phenomemal. Yesterday we talked about the fruit of Patience. I really hate those messages that smack me right between the eyes. I definitely need to work on that one!