I wanted to post a few observations as to what is going on at Foothills Community Church recently.
I can't help but feel truly blessed to be a part of a church that is as incredible at FCC. We are in a time of great blessing from God. There is a wave of anticipation, expectation and hunger for the Lord on Sundays that is actually building every week.
I believe that part of this is stemming from our new series from the gospel of John. People seem genuinely fired-up about taking their spiritual lives to a deeper level. We have done series through other books of the Bible in the past, but never one that will allow us to spend as much time as necessary to truly dig in. I just have to say, I am loving it personally!
I also sense that as a body, our church doesn't want to just soak up scripture, but wants to take what we learn and live it out 24/7. Our Project Reach initiative giving and participation is going really well. Our Haiti mission trip in March is almost filled up!
Our Find and Follow groups are doing awesome. We have so many people getting connected through the groups.
We have definitely started 2013 off with a bang, but let's do whatever it takes to stay fired-up, and motivated. Let's also continue to invite our friends to church. This is a fantastic series to invite them to.
This Sunday's message is going to clarify for all of us what our mission is, as Christ-followers. I cannot wait.
I could go on and on, but the point is, these are some incredible days in the life of our church.
One last thing. If you missed the first 2 messages in the According to John series, here's the link to watch them.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
According To John
This past Sunday we kicked off what I believe is going to be the best series we've ever done at Foothills Community Church called According To John. We are going to spend several months in this series, and it is going to be awesome!
Here's what you can expect:
* Spiritual growth. Yes, if you show up and apply what you hear, you WILL grow spiritually.
* A deeper love and appreciation for the Savior. When John wrote His gospel, he wrote it to show us who Jesus is, not just what He did.
* High take-home value. There will be next-step application every week that you can use in your life. This series is about more than just learning facts, figures and history, it's about life change.
I wanted to let you know that Brian Rhodes is putting together a very useful tool for you to use to keep up with the series. In fact, if you scan this image with your smartphone you will have access to last Sunday's notes and message:
I want to encourage you to invite your friends. This is the perfect series for bringing guests.
* Also wanted to share that we had 118 people attend our Get In The Game (new member's class) last Sunday!! God is moving!
Here's what you can expect:
* Spiritual growth. Yes, if you show up and apply what you hear, you WILL grow spiritually.
* A deeper love and appreciation for the Savior. When John wrote His gospel, he wrote it to show us who Jesus is, not just what He did.
* High take-home value. There will be next-step application every week that you can use in your life. This series is about more than just learning facts, figures and history, it's about life change.
I wanted to let you know that Brian Rhodes is putting together a very useful tool for you to use to keep up with the series. In fact, if you scan this image with your smartphone you will have access to last Sunday's notes and message:
I want to encourage you to invite your friends. This is the perfect series for bringing guests.
* Also wanted to share that we had 118 people attend our Get In The Game (new member's class) last Sunday!! God is moving!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Going to the next level in 2013
I am very excited about the possibilities that lie ahead in 2013. From a church standpoint, I believe that Foothills Community Church will see the the most increase that we've ever seen. Now when I say increase I'm not just talking about numerical increase. I do think we will see a huge numerical increase, but what I'm even more excited about is the spiritual increase we will see.
I mentioned in my message yesterday the conversation that I had with a man that told me that he had heard that Foothills was a great church to go to to be saved, but if you wanted to grow that you would need to find another church. Wow, that hurt. It broke my heart, because it simply is not true. By far Foothills puts more time, energy and money into growing believers than we do to reach unbelievers.
While it is true that Foothills does see many people saved each year, and it's no secret that I have a huge heart for the unchurched, it still doesn't change the fact that we are just as committed to the second half of our mission statement as we are to the first half. (Our mission statement is to Help People Find and Follow Jesus)
That said, let's talk about 2013. I have challenged every person that attends Foothills to take another step spiritually. No matter if you have been a believer for a day or several decades, take another step. So often believers stop growing and become content with a flat line spiritual life.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that we have a responsibility to grow spiritually: Hebrews 5:12-14 NLT: 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.[a] You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
Here is our commitment. From the stage on Sunday mornings, I will do everything within my power to help you grow. We will offer you opportunities to serve and attend a Find and Follow Group, but every single person must be willing to take full responsibility for their own spiritual growth. Every believer needs personal Bible study, a regular prayer time, should be connecting with a church, should be giving of their finances to support the Lord's mission, healthy relationships, and be living out God's mission for your life.
I have to tell you, that I have been so encouraged by the excitement level of our people to take these steps.
Here are a couple of things of note:
* We will be starting a brand new message series through the gospel of John. This is going to be great. We are going to take our time and really drill down into scripture. At this point I am estimating that we will be in John for at least 6-8 months.
* Don't forget our first Get In The Game of 2013. It will be held at each of our campuses. If you have not signed-up, do it today. In 2012 almost 400 people went through the class. We are praying that over 500 people will go through the class and become members in 2013.
* We are praying about our 4th campus. I met with a group of people last week that want to be a part of that. This could be huge. Stay tuned for more details.
* Our Toccoa campus set an all-time high attendance record yesterday!!
* Our Find and Follow groups kicked-off last night. We have lots of people involved in groups this semester.
* I am so thankful for all of our volunteers at Foothills. Last year over 700 people served in one of our ministries. Let's see about adding a couple hundred more. If you haven't served, and would like to, let us know.
* If you have missed the messages from the last two Sundays I would encourage you to watch them. You will understand who we are and where we believe the Lord is leading us in 2013.
I mentioned in my message yesterday the conversation that I had with a man that told me that he had heard that Foothills was a great church to go to to be saved, but if you wanted to grow that you would need to find another church. Wow, that hurt. It broke my heart, because it simply is not true. By far Foothills puts more time, energy and money into growing believers than we do to reach unbelievers.
While it is true that Foothills does see many people saved each year, and it's no secret that I have a huge heart for the unchurched, it still doesn't change the fact that we are just as committed to the second half of our mission statement as we are to the first half. (Our mission statement is to Help People Find and Follow Jesus)
That said, let's talk about 2013. I have challenged every person that attends Foothills to take another step spiritually. No matter if you have been a believer for a day or several decades, take another step. So often believers stop growing and become content with a flat line spiritual life.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that we have a responsibility to grow spiritually: Hebrews 5:12-14 NLT: 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.[a] You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
Here is our commitment. From the stage on Sunday mornings, I will do everything within my power to help you grow. We will offer you opportunities to serve and attend a Find and Follow Group, but every single person must be willing to take full responsibility for their own spiritual growth. Every believer needs personal Bible study, a regular prayer time, should be connecting with a church, should be giving of their finances to support the Lord's mission, healthy relationships, and be living out God's mission for your life.
I have to tell you, that I have been so encouraged by the excitement level of our people to take these steps.
Here are a couple of things of note:
* We will be starting a brand new message series through the gospel of John. This is going to be great. We are going to take our time and really drill down into scripture. At this point I am estimating that we will be in John for at least 6-8 months.
* Don't forget our first Get In The Game of 2013. It will be held at each of our campuses. If you have not signed-up, do it today. In 2012 almost 400 people went through the class. We are praying that over 500 people will go through the class and become members in 2013.
* We are praying about our 4th campus. I met with a group of people last week that want to be a part of that. This could be huge. Stay tuned for more details.
* Our Toccoa campus set an all-time high attendance record yesterday!!
* Our Find and Follow groups kicked-off last night. We have lots of people involved in groups this semester.
* I am so thankful for all of our volunteers at Foothills. Last year over 700 people served in one of our ministries. Let's see about adding a couple hundred more. If you haven't served, and would like to, let us know.
* If you have missed the messages from the last two Sundays I would encourage you to watch them. You will understand who we are and where we believe the Lord is leading us in 2013.
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
New Year's and your Health goals
I know that as we enter a New Year a lot of people make resolutions. Statistics show that most New Year's resolutions have to do with health, weight, or fitness. Unfortunately most of the time we fail to keep these resolutions for more than a month.
Of all the blog posts I have done, the ones that I discuss my fitness journey are by far the most popular. (Here are links to a couple of past posts. Let's Talk About Health. Let's Get In Shape) I'm pretty sure that's because deep down all of us want to be more healthy.
When it comes to my health I am constantly trying to improve and learn more. This is one of the reasons that I am constantly changing my workout routines.
A couple of months ago I had a routine blood test which came back showing elevated liver functions. Upon my Dr.'s advice I stopped taking my statin medicine, and also many of the supplements I was taking. I was re-tested a month later and my liver functions were back within the normal range. But to my amazement (and discouragement), my overall cholesterol was 200. On the statin drugs my cholesterol had dropped to 128.
What does all that mean? Well, it means even though for the past 20 months I had exercised religiously 6 days a week, and had eaten exactly what the Dr. had told me and yet, literally nothing had changed as far as my overall cholesterol.
This led me to more research about alternative ways of eating that could actually work for me. For the last several weeks I have been eating a cross between The Paleo diet and the Primal Diet. The common thread between these two diets is that they are extremely "clean" ways of eating and encourage the eating of meats, fruits, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables, and discourage the eating of sugar (and sugar substitutes), dairy, processed foods, legumes, and grains.
In addition to those changes I have also changed up my workout routines a bit. I won't list my routines in detail but they consist of 2 times a week doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). The best part of my HIIT routine is that it takes 22 minutes to complete (half of that time is resting) yet it is amazingly effective. The other 4 days are a combination of some P90X routines and more conventional weight training, and a day of rest.
Since making these changes I actually feel like I am taking my fitness to a new level. I have more energy, and I have more options on the menu to choose from.
I talk to people all the time that say to me, "I could never do what you do. I don't have the self-discipline." While it's true that it takes self-discipline, I believe the most important thing is motivation. When you get motivated enough, you will make changes. For me, it was the diagnosis 21 months ago that I had blockages in my heart. That got my attention, and motivated me to get serious about my health.
Let's resolve to stick to our fitness goals in 2013!
Of all the blog posts I have done, the ones that I discuss my fitness journey are by far the most popular. (Here are links to a couple of past posts. Let's Talk About Health. Let's Get In Shape) I'm pretty sure that's because deep down all of us want to be more healthy.
When it comes to my health I am constantly trying to improve and learn more. This is one of the reasons that I am constantly changing my workout routines.
A couple of months ago I had a routine blood test which came back showing elevated liver functions. Upon my Dr.'s advice I stopped taking my statin medicine, and also many of the supplements I was taking. I was re-tested a month later and my liver functions were back within the normal range. But to my amazement (and discouragement), my overall cholesterol was 200. On the statin drugs my cholesterol had dropped to 128.
What does all that mean? Well, it means even though for the past 20 months I had exercised religiously 6 days a week, and had eaten exactly what the Dr. had told me and yet, literally nothing had changed as far as my overall cholesterol.
This led me to more research about alternative ways of eating that could actually work for me. For the last several weeks I have been eating a cross between The Paleo diet and the Primal Diet. The common thread between these two diets is that they are extremely "clean" ways of eating and encourage the eating of meats, fruits, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables, and discourage the eating of sugar (and sugar substitutes), dairy, processed foods, legumes, and grains.
In addition to those changes I have also changed up my workout routines a bit. I won't list my routines in detail but they consist of 2 times a week doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). The best part of my HIIT routine is that it takes 22 minutes to complete (half of that time is resting) yet it is amazingly effective. The other 4 days are a combination of some P90X routines and more conventional weight training, and a day of rest.
Since making these changes I actually feel like I am taking my fitness to a new level. I have more energy, and I have more options on the menu to choose from.
I talk to people all the time that say to me, "I could never do what you do. I don't have the self-discipline." While it's true that it takes self-discipline, I believe the most important thing is motivation. When you get motivated enough, you will make changes. For me, it was the diagnosis 21 months ago that I had blockages in my heart. That got my attention, and motivated me to get serious about my health.
Let's resolve to stick to our fitness goals in 2013!
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Catching up
I haven't blogged in a few weeks, so I wanted to check in and catch you up to speed.
I'll be brief and try to give you the cliff notes.
* Our Christmas services at Foothills Community Church were unbelievable. The attendance was strong, and we had lots of first-time guests. Best of all we had 8 people that gave their lives to Christ and 66 people that made recommitments of their faith.
* Right after the service my family headed down to Florida to spend Christmas with my parents. If memory serves me, I believe that this was the first Christmas that we have been back down to Florida. It's always a blast to hang out with my family, and it's always great to have 80 degree weather on Christmas!
* This past Sunday, it was great to be back at Foothills and to start the New year out talking about what the Lord did in 2012 and where He is leading us in 2013. I am absolutely pumped about what's in store for us this year!
* Here are some of the things that the Lord did in 2012:
295 people gave their lives to Jesus
367 people made recommitments of their faith
141 people were baptized
392 people went through Get In The Game (membership class)
743 people served in one of our ministries
Our church gave nearly $250,000 above our normal giving, toward Project Reach, which helps the needy, and hurting.
There is so much more that I couldn't even begin to describe..... but the best is yet to come! Put on your seat belts in 2013!
* We also had our annual membership renewal. If you haven't renewed your membership yet, you can do it here.
* If you have not gone through the Get In The Game class, which is required for membership you can sign-up for our next class on January 20th here.
I have included the message from this past Sunday. If you've ever wondered what Foothills Community Church is all about, here you go:
I'll be brief and try to give you the cliff notes.
* Our Christmas services at Foothills Community Church were unbelievable. The attendance was strong, and we had lots of first-time guests. Best of all we had 8 people that gave their lives to Christ and 66 people that made recommitments of their faith.
* Right after the service my family headed down to Florida to spend Christmas with my parents. If memory serves me, I believe that this was the first Christmas that we have been back down to Florida. It's always a blast to hang out with my family, and it's always great to have 80 degree weather on Christmas!
* This past Sunday, it was great to be back at Foothills and to start the New year out talking about what the Lord did in 2012 and where He is leading us in 2013. I am absolutely pumped about what's in store for us this year!
* Here are some of the things that the Lord did in 2012:
295 people gave their lives to Jesus
367 people made recommitments of their faith
141 people were baptized
392 people went through Get In The Game (membership class)
743 people served in one of our ministries
Our church gave nearly $250,000 above our normal giving, toward Project Reach, which helps the needy, and hurting.
There is so much more that I couldn't even begin to describe..... but the best is yet to come! Put on your seat belts in 2013!
* We also had our annual membership renewal. If you haven't renewed your membership yet, you can do it here.
* If you have not gone through the Get In The Game class, which is required for membership you can sign-up for our next class on January 20th here.
I have included the message from this past Sunday. If you've ever wondered what Foothills Community Church is all about, here you go:
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