sunday night review

What a day at Foothills today. long day, but very rewarding. Here are some of the highlights for me:

** Talked about money today. It's a topic that you can't ignore when talking about marriage. The statistics about money and marital problems are shocking.

** When I talk about money people get the deer in the headlights look!

** From the bottom of my heart I wish people would learn to apply Biblical principles to their money management.

** Most people want a silver bullet, instant fix to their money problems. There is none. It takes hard work, discipline and following God.

** Had a blast watching Brian Rhodes, Tim Wadsworth and Eric Peters do the tithe rap. If you missed it, you missed one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

** I've had a lot of people share with me how much they have enjoyed the marriage series.

** Next week we'll wrap it up. I can't wait, because my wife will be joining me on stage. bring your friends!

** Attendance was solid today in Seneca and Toccoa.

** We had a communion service this evening at our Seneca campus. Awesome time of worship and celebration. A very different feel, with a totally acoustic worship set.

** Toccoa campus had a Grouplink tonight. I hope lots of people will get connected.

** My wife and I will begin a Campus Life group on Marriage on march 10th. we would love to have you. Here's more info.

** Looking forward to a great week. my friend, Dean Herman who is the Pastor of 5 Points Fellowship in Easley will be leading our staff meeting tomorrow.

Marriage Life group

I am excited to announce that my wife, Liz and I will be starting a 6 week Life group for couples interested in taking their marriages to another level beginning March 10th.

** Each session will run from 6:30pm until 8:15pm on Wednesdays.

** The cost for the study is $10 per couple.

** Childcare will be available for a small fee (A flat rate of $5 per evening no matter how many kids you have).

** If you can't afford childcare, that's ok, come anyway. We'll cover it.

** We will be doing the IMarriage study from Northpoint Church---good stuff!

** We will have some built-in discussion time each week.

** No one will be put on the spot, or forced to do anything, so relax!

** This study is for all couples--- dating, engaged, married and struggling, married and doing great already,... whatever.

** This is a great way to get to know other people at Foothills.

** We will meet in the Planet Kidz auditorium.

** We are really excited about this, so sign-up this Sunday, or email us at office@foothills.cc to let us know you will be attending.

sunday night review

What a fun day at Foothills Community Church today. I did a message called, How To Enhance Romance. Talked about Sex and Romance. Here a couple of highlights from the day:

** Using humor definitely takes the tension out of uncomfortable topics. This is especially true with the topic of sex. Today was a lot of fun.

** When I gave the disclaimer about parents taking the kids to Kidzone because of the topic, it was like a stampede!

** Love to brag about our Toccoa campus, but after they gave me the GA Bulldog shirt, I'm rethinking that!

** The weather was amazing today.

** Our worship teams knocked it out of the park today. Eric Peters did a totally acoustic set. David Odom busted out a little Keith Urban on us.

** "Sex is AMAZING" Tim Wadsworth's text to David Odom on his honeymoon. (you had to be there)

Here are a couple of quotes from today's message:

"The best sex you will ever have is when you have sex with your best friend----provided that your best friend is your spouse!"

"Appearance is important for romance. You may not look like Brad Pitt or some cover girl, but do the best you can with what you've got"

"Your wife finds you irresistible when you're vacuuming the floor"

"Here's your homework assignment, go home and do a load of laundry, but make sure you first go out in the yard and find a big stick, because you're going to need it to keep your wife away from you. You give her assistance around the house and she'll be on you like a hobo on a ham sandwich"

"Sex is not just a body on body experience, it's a soul on soul experience"

"Single people need to hold out until God brings you a spouse"

"Be creative and spontaneous in your romantic life".

First Comes Love

This weekend at Foothills Community Church we will be continuing the First Comes Love series. Generally when we do a message series on marriage, the most requested message topic is romance/sex. Well, this weekend we will be looking at the Song of Solomon, and discuss how to enhance romance.

** This weekends message will be as practical messages you will ever hear about this topic.

** This would be a good weekend to NOT bring your children with you into the auditorium. (Actually EVERY weekend would be a good time not to bring your kids with you in the main auditorium----the reason is because we offer the most incredible Children's Ministry program anywhere. It's church on THEIR level. They will be glad, you will be glad, and those people sitting near you will be glad! So check them into KIDZONE, then come and enjoy the services in the main auditorium)

** We've got a few fun elements planned for this weekend too!

** If you have not sent in your questions for the message I will be doing with my wife in a couple of weeks, why not do it today? Basically, the angle we will be talking about are the differences between men and women.

** We are also busy planning our next series called, "Revealed"

** I am so looking forward to Spring. It's hard to believe that Easter is only about 6 weeks away.

** Speaking of Easter, we are making huge plans, so stay tuned for details and ticket information.

** Glad to find out that my ankle is not broken. Unfortunately, no basketball for at least 2 weeks though.

** Cool things are always going on around the offices of FCC during the week. This morning, Pastor Joel led 2 people to Christ!

sunday night review

Had a great Sunday. It was very different, but it was a lot of fun.

** I drove to our Toccoa campus and hung out with those guys. Man, they are rowdy. So much fun!

** It was the 1st time I got a chance to see the video teaching. other than it being a little tough to watch yourself, it works really good. We need a few tweaks still to optimize the quality.

** The new building they have is incredible. Large enough to grow, small enough to not get swallowed up in it. Tons of energy.

** JB (Jonathan Bryant) and his team rocked the worship time.

** Brian Marshall is doing a nice job of handling the Campus Pastor role.

** It was good to see Shannon Chiles on the keyboard!

** I showed up about 10 minutes before the service began to get the vibe of what guests feel when they come.

** Very impressed by their volunteers. Parking lot attendants were awesome, Kidzone check-in was cool, the Welcome desk, auditorium hosts and the Stoop resource center was well manned.

** If you know anyone in that area, tell them to check it out.

** I heard the the Seneca campus was great as well.

** I'm thankful for Brian Rhodes handling the preaching duties to allow me to catch my breath.

** Is it wierd that we talked about marital conflict resolution on Valentine's Day?

** On another note, during our basketball game this afternoon, I had someone roll my ankle. So it's going to be slow going for a little bit. Hoping there's no major damage.

** Got a chance to be in Tampa last week for a meeting with the guys from the Sticks conference. We were going to host a Sticks conference in November, but there was a concern that we are located a little too far from a major airport, so most likely it will moved to somewhere around Nashville, TN.

** I love what i get to do, and I love the people I get to serve with!

Last Sunday's message

This is the message and special features from last Sunday that I posted about on Sunday evening. I hope it inspires you to become a marathon marriage:

sunday night review

Wow, what a day at Foothills today!

**There are certain Sundays where everything just clicks---today was one of them.

**Attendace was great at both campuses today. It's surprising what nice weather can do for attendance

**The last part of the services with the couples dancing was incredible.

**We talked about marathon marriages. I love learning from couples that have been married for decades.

**After the first service I had a couple come up to me in the concourse who told me they have been married for 42 years. He told me that he would show me the secret to their success---then he and his wife began kissing! Awesome, 42 years and the fire is still burning!

**Saddest part of the message was the Gallup poll that said that 73% of Americans under 45 years old believe that a life spent with the same person was both unusual and unnecessary.

**Couples who have been married for 50+ years are true American heroes!

**Spoke to another couple in the concourse that have been married for 63 years.

**Next Sunday we will be discussing resolving conflict in marriage (I know, it's not real romantic for a Valentines Day message, but it's going to be highly practical.)

**The music today was great today too. The feature song, You Are So Beautiful, with the saxaphone was sweet.

Foothills, God is doing some incredible things!!

From Last Sunday

Despite the terrible weather last Sunday, we had some amazing services.
This was the second message in the "First Comes Love" series. It was geared towards married couples who are struggling a bit, and are looking for improvement.

Ministry in a small town

I am blessed to Pastor a church in a small town. I love small towns. Foothills Community Church has 2 campuses right now, and both are strategically planted in small towns. Our main campus is in Seneca, SC which is a town with a population of about 8,000, and our second campus is located in Toccoa GA, a town of around 9,000 which is located approximately 45 minutes from Seneca, just across the state line.. We are praying about location #3, which we plan to begin in 2010. It will also be planted in another small town.

I often get contacted by Pastors in small towns across America, that have heard of what God is doing at Foothills Community Church. I do my best to describe it, but words really don't do justice. One of the things that I try to communicate is, that what is happening here can happen anywhere.

I want to carefully write this blog post so that I don't come across as being the mastermind behind what is going on here. It is God at work. I can take no credit for that. God has however given me some insight about ministry in a small town.
I thought I would jot down a few quick thoughts.

** Small towns are under served----not because they lack CHURCHES, but because they lack CHOICES!

** To reach your small town, you must love them. Ask God to break your heart for your town.

** It's all about contextualization. You can learn a lot from other churches, but your church is unique. Small towns are unique.

** Just because you're in a small town (or in a small church), it does not excuse a lack of excellence.

** Lack of resources should not hold you back from doing things with excellence.

** Quit telling God why He can't build an effective church in a small town.

** Don't be numbers obsessed. If you live by the numbers, you will die by the numbers! Think in terms of percentages rather than gross numbers. In many ways churches in small towns are actually making more of an impact than large churches in large towns.

** Comparison is a killer.

** Small town ministry is not a lesser calling.

** Network with other churches to learn and grow.

** Don't let discouragement get the best of you. It's hard work, and sometimes it can be very discouraging.

If you want to know more, why not consider coming to the Sticks conference that we will be hosting on November 9-10 2010