been a long time

My last blog post was a week ago. At first blush it may seem like I was just slacking, but I had a good excuse. This past week my wife and I celebrated our 25th anniversary by taking a cruise to Cozumel, and Belize. It was awesome!
The weather probably averaged about 80 degrees and it was sunny almost all the time. I came home with a tan and a bunch of great memories. I may post a couple of pictures this week.
Unfortunately the weather forecast for us here in SC is possible snow some time after noon tomorrow---are you kiddding me?
Now let me say this; we will be having church tomorrow. (I didn't leave 80 degree sunshine to sit at home!) It is supposed to rain in the morning and then possibly turning to snow in the afternoon, so unless something drastic happens between now and tomorrow morning, we're going to have services. Don't stay home and miss what God wants to do in your life.
I will be starting a new message series tomorrow called, EKG. It is going to be awesome.

Moving Forward

With the current economic fiasco going on in our country there is a tendency for churches to pretty much put things on hold until this thing blows over. Basically play it safe.
Now, there is no doubt we should use wisdom in our decisions, especially right now, but the church MUST keep moving forward. In fact I would argue that it is during the difficult times in a nation that people tend to look to God for answers. (Think about the Nation of Israel in the Old Testament, and for a more modern example think about how people began to look to God on September 11, 2001)

People are looking for answers, and the church has THE answer. So rather than hunker down--- we've decided to advance.

We have 2 major initiatives right now that we are working on. First, we will be adding a new worship venue on-site at our Seneca campus (for more info click here). Second we are actively looking for a more visible location for our Toccoa, Ga campus (which will help us reach more people).

Both of these initiatives will cost money. Exactly how much, we will know very soon. But here is the bottom line. The Bible is clear that we need to "seize opportunities", and that's what we're going to do.

If you believe in the vision of Foothills Community Church I want you to begin to think and pray about how you can help. We're here to reach people who don't know Jesus Christ; people who are hurting, oppressed and depressed.

I believe that we are going to see a movement of God unlike we have ever seen before! Are you with me?

We are Blessed

We are blessed to live in the USA. God has surely shed His grace on thee.
Not all countries experience our quality of life.

You NEED to read this post by my daughter (who spent a year in South Africa with Youth With A Mission).

Playing like a team

Got a chance to go watch the Clemson/Maryland basketball game with Josh last night. Clemson played an incredible game, and won it by 29 points!
What made it really amazing was the way the team played together. Ten different players scored points (6 different players hit 3-pointers), and six players ended up in double figures--- that's the power of a team.

The church, when it's functioning properly has that same potential. When every person steps up and contributes something there is tremendous power. Conversely when a church has people who either are focused on themselves or refuse to contribute, things unravel quickly.

One of the things that I love about Foothills, is that there is this tremendous sense that we are on a mission together. People are recognizing that they bring something valuable to the table. We have more people actively involved than at any other time in our history.

If you haven't yet discovered where you fit into the team, why don't you stop by the welcome center this Sunday and we'll see if we can't point you in the right direction.

Sunday recap

Great day yesterday at Foothills

**Attendance pretty good even with a 4 day school vacation

**Made a smoothie on stage. Tasted the smoothie I made after the 2nd service. It looked better than it tasted--trust me!

**Would have much rather eaten the DQ Blizzard, but someone beat me to it (pretty sure it was Eric Peters)

**Speaking about blended families resonated with a lot of people. I wouldn't be surprised if over half of our congregation is in a blended family. (I think it's very cool that Foothills is a safe place for people to come)

**Had some great conversations in the concourse. People absolutely love Foothills Community Church. Their lives are changing, and they love it.

**I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Foothills Community Church has a Facebook group. If you have not joined why not do it today?

Just a reminder

You do not want to miss church this Sunday. I will be talking about a topic that almost never gets talked about at church (although it directly affects half of the people, and indirectly affects everyone)

Not only that but I will also be attempting something that I have never done before. (things could get messy!)

I have begun working on a message series we will begin on March 1st, called EKG. It is going to be awesome!

Had a really cool phone conversation with a Pastor from rural Wisconsin, whose church has 10% of the city's population at church on Sundays!

We are developing a new website. We were hoping it would be ready next week, but now it looks like it will be some time in Early March

A blast from the past

This week I was contacted by 2 friends that I haven't seen since High School (which in case you're wondering, was a long time ago!).

It is always cool to catch up with people you haven't seen in a while. To hear a little about what life has been like for them since the last time you saw them.

As I let my mind wander down memory lane, it struck me, that if someone would have told me back in those days that I would be doing what I am now (a Pastor), I would have laughed---a lot! In fact, if someone would have told me that I would even be a Christ-follower today, I would have laughed.

So here's my take-away; Never underestimate the power of God to touch people's lives. Maybe you have a friend or relative that is a million miles from God right now----don't give up believing that He can reach them. I'm living proof of that.

New things in the works

At Foothills, change is part of our culture. In our history we have gone from meeting in a high school cafeteria with one service, then to two services. Then we moved to our first permanent building and went from two services to three services to four services. Then we built again (our current home), which gave us a lot more space, so we went back to two services. Then we started a new campus in Toccoa,Ga.... Which leads us to the present.

I am excited about another new experience at Foothills. beginning Easter Sunday, April 12th, we will be adding a new service in what will be called "the Venue"

Let me explain how this will work (hopefully). At our Seneca campus we will have our normal schedule in our main auditorium (9:30am and 11:15am). Most of you know that we have two worship leaders at our Seneca campus, Eric Peters, who leads worship for our 9:30am service, and David Odom who leads the 11:15am service. Beginning Easter Sunday we will have two 11:15am services. After Eric and his team lead worship in the 9:30am service he and his team will head over to our Student auditorium ("the Venue") and do the same worship set in there. The message will have a live feed from the main auditorium, and shown on a huge screen.

The new Venue will be smaller for those of you who may like a little more intimacy. It will be more casual---yes, you will be able to bring your coffee and donuts in with you. It will have less of a "concert" feel. (a little less volume and less moving lights) It will still be 100% Foothills, but it will be more like it was when we used to worship in our former auditorium.

The good news is, that we will have more seats available during our 11:15am service time (in case you haven't noticed it's been filling up pretty steadily)

I'll be explaining this more in the days ahead, but I've got to tell you, I'm extremely pumped about this!

parenting message

I spoke about parenting today at Foothills. The response was wild.

I can't tell you how many parents with grown kids came up and said, "I wish I would have heard that message _____ years ago."

I think the parents with young kids are in denial because they don't think it gets any harder than the terrible twos. Trust me, it gets harder!

I got a huge applause when I said that "one of the problems in our country today is that we quit spanking our kids." (yes, I know.... I'm not politically correct)

Parenting is the hardest job in the world.

Most Biblical families were a little dysfunctional. (If you don't believe me just read the Old Testament)

If you're bringing your young kids in the main service, you are doing them a disservice. Discovery Kids and Planet Kidz are incredible worship experience environments that are age-appropriate for them. PLEASE let them worship there.

It was awesome praying for all the parents today.


You do not want to miss next week. I will be talking about a topic that is almost never discussed in church----and NO it is not sex!

Thursday stuff

* The stomach flu has been traveling through our house this week. So far, I've missed it.

* Went to the Clemson/Duke game last night with Josh. It was incredible! Coach K looked like he was confused. Oliver Purnell outcoached him. The Clemson players outplayed them. Total domination.

* Going to try to drive over to Toccoa today-- really praying for a new location for our Toccoa campus that has some visibility

* You do not want to miss the services at Foothills this weekend --continuing the Revolution series. It's going to be phenomenal!

* Got to talk with my friend, Jim Carpenter who Pastors Compass Church in Athens,Ga. God is doing something big over there.

* Hoping to have our new website up at Foothills in a couple of weeks.

* I've got some BIG news to share concerning something that we are starting at Foothills on Easter Sunday---you're not going to believe it! Stay tuned for details.

* I love doing what I am doing!

Little things mean a lot

I have always said that the difference between a good church service and a great service is the details.
I am fortunate to work around people who spend time on the details.
I was speaking with Eric Peters, our worship leader for our 9:30am service (we have 2 worship leaders at our Seneca campus--Eric Peters and David Odom, who leads during the 11:15am service), anyway Eric was telling me that the vocalists practiced for over 6 hours on just one song for last week's service. It was the Beatles song, Love Is All you Need (I'm not a musician, but apparently that song is pretty tricky). Think about that. 6 hours on a song that lasted about 3 minutes. Some people may think that that is a waste, but not me. I believe that excellence matters, and that God deserves our best--period!

Now while it is true that a Beatles song may not have huge spiritual implications, it is also true that a person who is unchurched coming in and hearing a familiar tune played with excellence is more likely to listen to the rest of the service.

What little things could you do to improve your services?

Sunday recap

We kicked off our Revolution series yesterday, and I can already tell that it is going to be one of the best, and most helpful series we have ever done.

Yesterday I spoke about marriage. This is a message that I have wanted to do for about 3 years, but I felt that this was the right time to do it.

I tackled the very controversial marriage mandate found in Ephesians 5 where we are clearly give the roles and responsibilities of the husbands and the wives.
It's controversial mainly because it's misunderstood and misinterpreted.
The wife's responsibility is to submit to her husband, and the husband's responsibility is to love his wife.

There was a Gallup poll that said, "A wife should graciously submit to the servant-leadership of her husband-- 69% disagreed!

Submission is an unpopular concept and yet, in the context marriage it is meant to positive. The word submission comes from the words "sub" and "mission" (sub means to put under, and mission means the business with which such a group is charged.)
In a Christ-centered marriage the mission is to honor, glorify and obey the Lord---so essentially the wife is to voluntarily put herself under that mission. Submission does not mean that women are less important or inferior in any way.

Now, from the man's perspective, his responsibility is really even more difficult because we are charged to love our wives the way that Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. Which means that you are to treat your wife with love and kindness and gentleness and patience. No man has the right to disrespect his wife or put her down or abuse her--she is to be cherished, and honored. And husbands we will be accountable to God as the spiritual leaders of the family.

The message should be up on our website within a couple of days, so you might want to check it out.