Post Sticks review

I just got back from 2 amazing days at the Sticks conference hosted by my friend, Artie Davis and his church, Cornerstone Community Church. I was invited to be one of the speakers for one of the main sessions as well as being a part of a couple of breakout sessions. I wanted to share some observations.

* There are a ton of unsung heroes in ministry, especially those who are called to do ministry in "the sticks". I met so many people that are passionate about impacting small towns and hard-to-reach places.

* Cornerstone Community Church has some incredible volunteers. They made everyone feel right at home.

* Orangeburg, SC is a cool town. First time I had ever been there.

* All of the speakers did a phenomenal job. I left feeling very encouraged, and extremely challenged.

* A few quotes from some of the sessions that stuck with me were:
** "Moses didn't speak directly to the problem, he spoke to God."
** "If you feel you have to defend it, it's probably not from God"
** "Pray as if it depends on God, act as though it depends on you"
** "Find a place where relevance meets revival and you will dominate your city"
** "Are we following mere natural instincts, or the Spirit?"
** "Jesus ministry lasted 3 years, He didn't get voted out, He got murdered!"
** "God has more planned for you than you know"
** "Your destiny will be discovered by meeting someone else's need"
** "If you believe your impact is dictated by the size of your city or church, you will become bitter"
** "You need a vision of your Promised Land"
** "Even though Moses knew that he would never make it to the Promised Land he continued to lead, love and serve the people"
** The Promised Land isn't the point, the people are"
** Every person in scripture that was called, faced trials, adversity, and crisis
** Satan uses ideas and images to tempt us"
** "There is a God, and it's NOT me!"
** God says "I am with you. Will you choose to be with me?"

Sunday review

I am in the middle of a very busy week, but I wanted to just highlight a few things that God is up to.

** Great services at FCC yesterday. The praise choir was on stage and every time they show up, the energy level is through the roof. (that's saying a lot because our worship team brings the heat every Sunday)

** Attendance continues to climb. Tons of new people getting pumped about Foothills!

** This could be the best series we have ever done! The parables of Jesus were given to simplify the complex. Let me tell you, if you want to go deep----read and obey the parables. Some of Jesus most difficult teachings.

** Our Toccoa campus is poised to go to the next level. They are making a huge impact in Stephens County.

** Speaking of campuses, I will be sharing some really cool news about future campuses soon. By the way, if any of you is interested in possibly becoming a campus Pastor, or would like to get involved in spreading the gospel to other communities, send me an email at office@foothills.cc

** I will be speaking at the Sticks conference tomorrow and Wednesday in Orangeburg, SC. I covet your prayers. This is a conference that is designed to help churches and leaders in smaller communities and hard-to-reach places.

A few thoughts on Monday

I am so excited about all of the things that God is doing right now. It was a busy week last week, and the next couple look even busier.

** Got a chance to go to Dallas TX and hang out with some incredible Pastor friends as a part of Leadership Network's Senior pastor 2 group. These guys are the real deal. They are godly men who are filled with wisdom.

** We had a solid day at Foothills Community church yesterday. This sermon series has been soooo convicting.

** The worship team brought the heat again! So proud of Kylie Ayers for leading one of the songs!

** I'm already looking forward to this Sunday!

** The Trunk or treat was a huge success. In Seneca we teamed with Walmart. Thousands of kids came through. At our Toccoa campus, they took it to another level. They had B-Shoc in concert, then gave out 400 hot dog lunches, and then did a big trunk or treat!

** Looking forward to a lunch with a friend/mentor later this week.

** Another thing that I am stoked about is The Sticks Conference next week. I have the privilege of being one of the speakers. I love to share the Foothills story!

Sunday review

Loved the services yesterday at Foothills Community Church! We continued the That's What he Said series yesterday with a parable that Jesus shared about forgiving other from Luke 18:21-35

** Any time you deal with issues of forgiveness/ unforgiveness, the message seems to hit a nerve with many people.

Here are a few key thoughts:

** Unforgiveness and bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

** The only person that is hurt by unforgiveness is the person that is unwilling to forgive!

** Forgiveness means to "release" someone for an offense.

** The more severe the offense, the less likely we are to forgive.

** Forgiven people need to forgive people.

** If God is willing to forgive us from the tremendous debt of our sins than we should be willing to forgive others.

** Loved the song that the band did, I'll Pray For You. Funny song that made a great springboard into my message.

** We are doing some serious Christmas planning at Foothills. This years series will be called, "Gifted"

** Our Christmas Eve services are going to be UNBELIEVABLE!

Facebook observations

Facebook is a phenomenal social networking site, BUT there are some things that I wonder about:

** Where do people find time to play Mafia Wars and Farmville, and whatever other stupid games there are? Maybe a better question is WHY?


** Why do some people feel the need to quote lines of songs all the time for their statuses?


** I have a theory that there are people on Facebook for the sole purpose of being melodramatic about how bad things are going in their lives, so that other people will reply to encourage them. Really? Do you need encouragement that badly! Doesn't anything good ever happen in your life?

Example:

Joe Smith: "My life stinks. My roof is leaking, I'm broke, my car won't start and my dog has hemorrhoids"

Bill Jones: I'm here for you, bro!
Susan Brown: I know it will get better, you're such a wonderful person.
Doris White: I love you Joe. I'm praying for you.
Ed Black: If you need anything. let me know. You're an awesome person.



** Some people share WAY too many personal details on a public forum. For the record, if you're mad at your husband, let HIM know, not 500 of your closest internet friends.



Here's a crazy thought. How about using Facebook to express positive things? Just a thought. Thanks, I feel better now!
Oh, and in case you're wondering, these are general observations, so I'm not picking on anyone :-)

Sunday review

Intense. That's the way I would describe yesterday at Foothills Community Church.
We are in a series where we are examining the parables of Jesus. Yesterday was the parable about counting the cost found in Luke 14.

** When Jesus called people to discipleship it was a call to die to themselves and follow Him. Anything short of 100% dedication was not enough. He challenged people to count the cost BEFORE they followed. It almost seemed that Jesus was trying to talk people out of following Him!

** This was one of the most difficult messages that I've ever preached. It was a message that convicted me, and judging from the feedback, also many others.

** Could it be that we have made it too easy to follow Jesus? Just say a prayer, and presto, you're now a disciple. That is NOT what Jesus said. Salvation is a free gift, BUT true discipleship costs us everything.

** Our worship team did another phenomenal job.

** Yes, we have brought back the donuts!

** Our Toccoa campus had their Friend 10-10, and I heard it was fantastic. many new families and tons of energy. Thankful for our Seneca praise choir making the road trip to Toccoa to help out!

** If you have not signed-up to help at Trunk or Treat on October 31st, call the church office and do it today. In Seneca it will be at Walmart. This is a huge event. I was told that over 8,000 people came to it last year! In Toccoa we will do it at our Toccoa campus. They will not only be giving out candy, but hot dogs as well. They will also have a concert with B-Shoc, who attends the Toccoa campus.

How's your foundation?

We kicked off our new series, "That's What HE Said" this past Sunday at Foothills Community Church. The topic was Foundations

Build Your Life on the Right Foundation from Foothills Community Church on Vimeo.

sunday review

Today was one of those days that everything just clicks. It was absolutely a blast worshiping at Foothills Community Church this morning.

** Tons of guests with us on Friend 10-10. I believe we had the most 1st-time guest children check-in to Kidzone this year!

** Worship was incredible. It is always fun to have Joy Honeycutt in the house. The choir was adding the energy and the entire band was rocking.

** Lots of people responded to the invitation to make Jesus the cornerstone of their lives. I believe around 30 people made that decision!

** The new series, "That's What He Said", is going to be a great, but challenging series.

** Lots of people were doing their 1st Serve this morning They were checking out areas of interest for them to serve.

** Toccoa campus also had a phenomenal day with a great attendance and a lot of people signing up to serve during their ServeLink!

** Another person was saved at the Toccoa campus today too!

** The Krispy Kremes were a big hit today!

** We're praying that the gusts who came today will be back next Sunday. Thanks to all of you that invited your friends!

Friend 10-10

I am so excited about our Friend 10-10 celebration this Sunday at our Seneca campus and next Sunday at our Toccoa campus.

Our people have been inviting their friends for the last couple of weeks, there is an excitement in the air, and this could be the greatest day in our history!

Here are a couple of reasons you NEED to be there and bring some people with you:

* We are kicking off a brand new message series called, "That's What He Said". We will be looking at several of the parables of Jesus, and I am telling you, this is going to be life-changing! (By the way, we have sent out a huge mailer to 26,000 homes to advertise for this new series)

* The music is going to be UNBELIEVABLE! We will have our praise choir up there this week, and we will also have a very special guest, Joy Honeycutt. (You may remember Joy, she has sung at Foothills a few times. She was featured on the show, Intervention) If you haven't heard her, the girl can flat out sing!

* The band will be doing a feature song, that I absolutely can't wait to hear!

* Krispy Kreme Donuts. (I don't think I need to elaborate on this!)

* People will have an opportunity to meet Jesus. We are praying that hundreds will give their lives to Christ!

Sunday highlights

After 6 months of planning, we completed our mini-series called Dream Team, yesterday.

It all began on Thursday evening with our Dream Team Celebration. This was a party we threw in honor of the 600 people that currently serve at Foothills Community Church. Not everyone could attend, but it was one of the best things we've ever done. It was a time of fun, eating desserts, karaoke, music, testimonies and inspiration.

On Sunday we held a ServeLink in the concourse. The goal was for people to take what they had just learned over the last 2 Sundays and put it into practice. We had tables set up representing different volunteer opportunities. To say it was a smashing success would be an understatement, as 150 new people signed-up to serve on the Dream Team! If you do the math, that means that we increased our volunteer base by 25%!

In addition to that, many people who are already serving will be increasing their amount of time given to serving!

There were some that are still praying which area they will be serving in, so we will have more filter in over the next couple of weeks.

Here is the new culture we are trying to build at Foothills. Up until this point, the question to people was, "Are you serving?" The new question will be, "WHERE are you serving?" The goal is 100% of the people at Foothills to have a place within the church to serve AND to look for additional serving opportunities outside of the Church!

I believe this will help us build the infrastructure to get to the next level.
If you were not at church yesterday, you can still be a part of the Dream Team. Simply fill out our information card on Sunday and check off the box about serving, or do it right now by clicking here.

I just want to thank all of the wonderful people at Foothills that are giving their lives to serving God and others!

exciting news from the Sticks!

A lot of very cool things have been happening lately with the Sticks conference. Here is the latest news that is mind-blowing. A church has just donated 200 registrations for THE STICKS...100% free! That is a value of $20,000. So you need to act NOW. The first 200 people to enter the code, "ok", score these free registrations.

All you have to do is go to www.thesticks.tv and register with the code "OK"

If you have been considering coming to the conference, now you have no excuse!

Sunday highlights

Sunday was a great day at Foothills in spite of the rain. (We sure needed the rain though)

** Our umbrella team was all set to make sure our guests stayed dry while walking up to the church, but right around 9:15 the rain stopped. (I think they were disappointed!)

** We started our new mini-series called, Dream Team. It is a challenge for everyone that is part of Foothills to use their God-given gifts and abilities to serve God and others.

** We have over 600 people that serve at Foothills, but we could use hundreds more.

** Serving is one of the best ways to get connected at a church.

** Serving makes your church experience complete.

** Serving is NOT optional for the believer!

** A non-serving Christian is an oxymoron.

** Serving is a step towards spiritual growth.

** Serving makes me more like Jesus.

** This Thursday we are having a Dream team volunteer appreciation party. I can't wait.

** This Sunday we will be having a SERVELINK. In our concourse there will be tables representing the ministry opportunities at Foothills. You can pick up information, ask questions, and sign-up to serve.

** In other news, we are preparing for our Friend 10-10 services. All I can tell you is that you NEED to invite your friends. I believe that this will be the best service that we've ever had at Foothills! I'll be sharing more details in another post.

Sunday highlights

Yesterday was one of my favorite services at Foothills ever!

** Talked about how to make an impact with our lives. One of the greatest ways to do that is by investing our lives to reach others for Christ

** It's so easy to find ourselves in our little Christian bubbles, totally insulated and isolated from lost people. We must live our lives on mission.

** Jesus spent the majority of His time hanging out with lost, helpless, hurting, lonely, marginalized people. The lost people loved Him, the religious people hated Him!

** I'm excited about Friend 10-10 coming up on October 10th in Seneca, and October 17th in Toccoa. This is a chance to invite friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and everyone else to come to church with you.

** WE WILL HAVE DONUTS!!!!

** The closest we have come to having a revival was when I mentioned the possibility of bringing the donuts back. Hmmmm.

** We gave out 4 invite cards to everyone and challenged them to pass them out between now and October 10th.

** One person wanted an extra 50 to hand out!! That's what I'm talking about!

** On Friend 10-10 we will begin a new message series called, That's What HE Said!. Totally can't wait for that one.

** The worship team an praise choir knocked it out of the park. I could have literally walked up and said "amen" and dismissed everyone after that!

** 10 more people gave their lives to Jesus yesterday!!

** This Sunday we will begin a new mini-series called, Dream Team.

I love our church!

The Sticks

There are a lot of church conferences out there, but there are not many designed especially for churches in small to mid-sized communities. That's what The Sticks conference is all about-- helping churches in the sticks have maximum impact.
I am honored to be one of the speakers at the conference, along with a phenomenal line-up of great speakers in both the main sessions as well as the break-out sessions. These guys understand the nuances of doing ministry in hard to reach places.
The event will take place November 9-10 in the booming metropolis of Orangeburg, South Carolina.
If you are in a church in a small to mid-sized community, you owe it to yourself to come and connect with others that are in the trenches with you.
They are also giving away a new iPad, so check that out too.

busy week

It has been a crazy week for me. Lots of cool things going on right now at Foothills Community Church!

Here are a few things that have me extremely excited:

** Tons of new people signed up for a LIFE group this semester!

** This Sunday at Foothills is going to be amazing--Do Not Miss It!

** We have people coming to Christ every single week!

** Archery season opens tomorrow. Unfortunately I can't go until Friday.

** I will be leading the Get In The Game class tomorrow night (which is why I will not be bow hunting!) This is kind of a membership class that is jam packed with information about Foothills, as well as steps to take for spiritual growth. It begins at 6:15pm. You can still sign-up here.

** The Dream Team (volunteer appreciation) Party is coming up on September 30th. Hundreds of people have RSVP'ed. It's going to be outrageous!

** We have a couple of new series that are coming up that are going to be some of the best we have ever done.

** Friend 10-10 is coming on October 10th in Seneca, and October 17th in Toccoa. You will be hearing a LOT more about this.

** Got a chance to talk to a few Pastor friends. I love hearing how God is at work in Churches across America!

you've got what it takes

A Recent Gallup Poll revealed that only 10% of American church members were active in any type of personal ministry ---- 50 % had no interest--- 40% were interested but had never been asked or didn’t know how.

I want to address this blog post to the 40% that had never been asked or didn't know how.

You've got what it takes!
That's right. God has given you gifts and talents and abilities, that He can leverage to bring glory to himself and benefit others.

It can be a little intimidating to sign-up to serve for the first time.

Here's a good rule of thumb: Start somewhere!
I have told the story many times of my first experience of serving. I signed up to help with recreation at a church picnic. I had no prior church experience up to that point, but I had a desire to serve, I just didn't know what I could contribute. So on that Sunday afternoon I organized a few games for the kids. It wasn't much, but it was something. And you know what---- It felt great! I felt like I was a part of something bigger than myself.

Some time later, I tried serving in areas that didn't work for me (ie.. Children's ministry) and I tried some areas that did work.

Here's what I discovered. The more I served, the more connected I became to my church, and the more connected I felt to God.

We have over 600 people that serve at Foothills Community Church, which is great, but there are so many people that are just waiting for someone to ask them. So let me ask you, "would you be willing to serve?"

We'll help you figure out where you will fit best. We'll help you develop your gifts and abilities. We want you to thrive in your relationship with Christ, and I believe one of the most rewarding experiences of your life will be when you are serving Christ on a regular basis.

On October 3rd we will be having a ServeLink, where you will be able to see all of the opportunities and ask questions.

Sunday review

What a phenomenal Labor Day weekend. I love what God is doing at Foothills right now. There is a real sense of anticipation. Week after week people are making decisions to follow Jesus---that's what it's all about!

** I didn't preach Sunday, so I got to see things from a different perspective. That's a great thing to do now and then. By the way, my goal is to preach around 40 Sundays a year, that way I can stay creative, and work ahead, and it also allows the congregation to hear from other communicators---that's healthy!

** Brian Rhodes delivered the message this past Sunday and did an excellent job! We had a power surge which knocked the power out for a second, which means the microphone, lights, and screens went out, then had to reset. It happened just as Brian stepped on the platform at the 9:30am service. He handled himself like a pro, and kept on trucking! Nice job Brian.

** Eric Peters and team led worship. It was awesome! It sounded like people were really singing loud.

** The Questions Uncensored series is almost done. I wll be answering questions about gambling, birth control, and cremation this Sunday. You do not want to miss it.

** Don't forget to sign-up for a LIFE group! You will be glad that you did.

** We had a big baptism party on Sunday afternoon. It was so much fun to meet so many people. I can't believe how smooth things ran. Thanks to all of our staff and volunteers that made the day a huge success. We WILL do that again

** By the way, the best part about the party was that 31 more people were baptized in Lake Keowee! We have baptized over 130 people so far this year. Our next baptism is scheduled for December 5th!

** I love that College football is here again!

** Got a chance to go dove hunting on Saturday. That was a blast. I even managed to shoot a few!

** If you have volunteered at Foothills during the last year, please make sure to attend our Dream Team Celebration coming up on September 30th. This is a chance for our staff to serve YOU, and to thank you for making Foothills such a wonderful place. Why don't you sign-up now?

Get connected

One of the things that we have noted and verified is that people who never get connected beyond Sunday morning rarely stick around for very long.

Re-read that again. It doesn't matter how great the Sunday services are, if people do not get connected beyond Sunday, they don't stick.

Here's how you can avoid becoming a statistic:

First, attend the Get In The Game class. This is huge. This class answers a lot of the questions about Foothills Community Church; questions related to our vision, and strategy, our structure, our beliefs and values. This class is offered monthly. The next class is scheduled for Wednesday evening at 6:15pm. Here is the part I'm really excited about--- I will be leading the class personally! You can sign-up online, or by filling your info card this Sunday, or by calling our office.

Second, attend a LIFE group. LIFE groups are smaller groups of people who meet on a regular basis to grow spiritually and build relationships outside of the Sunday morning experience. The next semester of LIFE groups begins September 12th. For the next 2 Sundays we will have more information and opportunities to sign-up or you can learn more about LIFE groups here.

Thirdly, become part of our DREAM TEAM of volunteers who serve God and others at Foothills Community Church. Our church could not do what we do without the hundreds of people who give of their time to serve-- they are our Dream Team! You will be hearing a LOT more about this over the next month. But you can sign-up to serve online today

The bottom line is that you need to be connected! So jump in, the water's fine!

Sunday review

I LOVED the services yesterday at Foothills Community Church!

** Solid attendance

** 6 more people gave their lives to Jesus!

** The praise choir brought some serious heat for sure. I love it when they sing, because they bring so much energy.

** David Odom led worship yesterday and did awesome as usual.

** Eric Peters led worship at our Toccoa campus, and I heard that he nailed it!

** Yesterday's message was all about why it's so hard to live the Christian life. No doubt, it's the hardest thing anyone can do. The key is TRUSTING more, not TRYING harder!

** I met a bunch of first-time guests yesterday that were stoked about Foothills Community Church and plan to keep coming

** We are gearing up for one of the biggest parties in the history of Oconee County South Carolina. It's our big Baptism Party Sunday September 5th at 4:30pm at Biggerstaff Retreat center. Plan to be there AND bring a friend with you!

** I called an audible for a series we're going to start on October 10th, so now everyone is having to scramble a bit. Fortunately we work ahead!

** Speaking of October 10th---That is our Friend 10-10 celebration. You will be hearing a lot more about that day.

** My youngest child turned 18 on Sunday. Hard to believe that all my kids are now adults!

Questions Uncensored 2

Here is last Sunday's message from our Questions Uncensored series.
We covered questions on Tattoos, piercings, and cosmetic surgery

Tattoos, Piercings, Cosmetic Surgery, and Medication from Foothills Community Church on Vimeo.

A Little Reminder

I was just thinking about all that God is doing at Foothills Community Church and I couldn't help but think about what makes us tick as a church. This is our vision message from back in January! This is why we do what we do.

Vision 2010 from Foothills Community Church on Vimeo.

sunday review

What an awesome day it was at Foothills Community Church!

** We started the new series, Questions Uncensored 2. We answered some pretty interesting questions (What does the Bible say about tattos, cosmetic surgery, and taking medication?). I love that the Bible is so complete when it comes to answering the questions of life that we all have! if you missed it, it will be available online on Wednesday.

** The worship team did an incredible job leading us this morning as usual!

** It looked like the attendance jumped up with school being back in session. I hear that our Kidzone attendance was WAY up today.

** I love the concourse conversations and meeting new people.

** I was reminded today that I am so glad we live under grace instead of the law. We have such freedom in Christ!

** For those of you who were at the 9:30am service, and wanted to see the tattoo fail pictures, we got them up for the 11:15 am service, so you can watch the service online here. The video will be up on Wednesday.

** Don't forget to mark your calendars for September 5th for the Baptism Party

** Our Toccoa campus had a very interesting Sunday. 5 minutes before the service started the transformer outside of their building blew----NO POWER! They changed things up on the fly and I hear that they had an incredible service. They did an acoustic worship set, and Pastor Brian brought a message. Way to go Toccoa!

** Great things are happening at Foothills. I can't wait to see what God is going to do this Fall!

Mark your calendars!

You need to mark your calendars for this party on September 5th!
A few years ago we used to have our baptisms in Lake Keowee. As our church grew it became increasingly difficult to find a place large enough to host us. We outgrew South Cove County Park, and High Falls, so we moved to Biggerstaff retreat center, but we soon outgrew it, but it was mostly a parking issue.
So you might be asking, "Well how are we going to have enough parking for everyone now?" Great question. This time we will not only use the parking lot at Biggerstaff, but we are also renting some property close by to park and we are renting 2 shuttle vans to move people.
It is going to be unbelievable! You will be hearing more about this on Sundays, but whatever you do, don't miss this epic party!
Bring enough food for your family plus one, FCC will provide plates, utensils, and drinks.
If you would like to be baptized, it's not too late, just check off the box on your flier this Sunday.

Sunday review

Yesterday was fun. I got to speak on money, which for a Pastor can be a little awkward, but we approached the topic a little differently than I ever have before. In essence the message was more about faith than it was finances.

** We wrapped up the One Hit Wonders series with a message from Mark 12 about the poor widow who gave all that she had..... which was only 2 small coins.

** The 2 spiritual principles were, a little becomes a lot when we give it to God, and giving is really not a financial thing, it's a faith thing.

** The biggest mistake people make in relation to giving is when we reduce a spiritual act of worship (which is what giving is), down to a mathematical equation.

** Giving NEVER works out on paper.

** I loved walking down memory lane and sharing stories of the miracles of God at Foothills Community Church in relation to finances. Wow, God has been so faithful!

** A.W. Tozer once said, "Anything God has ever done, He can do now. Anything God has ever done anywhere, He can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone, He can do for You!" Remember that the next time something seems impossible!

** So many great things coming up at Foothills in the next 2 months I can hardly stand it! (Baptism Party on September 5th, LIFE group semester begins in mid September, We will be having a huge volunteer appreciation dessert and party on September 30th, and then on October 3rd we'll have a ServeLink to help people find a place to serve, and then on October 10th we will have a Friend Day (not really sure what else to call it) where everyone will be encouraged to invite their friends)

** Hard to believe that school started today.

** This Sunday we will begin the new series called, Questions Uncensored 2. Looking forward to that.

Why I'm excited about FCC

I love Foothills Community Church! I have worshiped at many churches, but there is something very special about this place.

** People are being saved and lives are changing. I just left a memorial service for a man who gave his life to Christ at FCC 2 years ago. The common theme was about how his life had changed since that time!

** So far in 2010 we have had over 350 people give their lives to Christ at FCC! Read that again.... 350 people saved! God is at work.

** We have 2 campuses. one in Seneca, SC and another in Toccoa, GA. Both of our campuses are filled with awesome people!

** The people are genuine. I find it very refreshing when people can just be themselves. FCC is a place where you can take the mask off. We're all broken, messed-up people in need of God's grace.

** The worship is amazing. Every time I am at a service I can feel the Holy Spirit in a very real way.

** The Bible is proclaimed without compromise. As the Lead Pastor, I make no apologies for this. We believe that God's Word changes lives, so we stand on it's authority.

** There are so many unselfish people who serve God with their gifts, abilities and talents. Hundreds of people serve every week. We could not do what needs to be done without our Dream Team of volunteers! (If you are not serving, you are missing out)

** People are growing spiritually and connecting with one another. We have dozens of LIFE groups that meet in homes, on campus and on the ball fields and all sorts of other places. (If you have not connected through LIFE groups, sign-up will be in a couple of weeks for the Fall semester)

** We have the most phenomenal, hard-working, committed staff anywhere. These guys and gals are dedicated to Jesus and to the Church.

** We have an outward focus. We believe that God wants everyone to be saved, and it is our responsibility to share Christ with our friends.

** Our Children's ministry flat out rocks. Hundreds of kids every week are having fun and learning about Christ's love for them.

** Our Student Ministry is doing an incredible job of reaching teens for Christ. In the last year attendance has skyrocketed!

** Hundreds of people annually are being baptized! In fact on Sunday September the 5th at 4:30pm we will be having our next baptism. We are going old school--- it will be held at Biggerstaff Retreat center, and we'll also have a huge covered dish dinner and games and other stuff!

** We have an awesome Care team that helps families with benevolence, during times of bereavement, and during crisis. We have prayer teams and meal teams that deliver meals to people, we have people who help those with marital and family difficulties, and teams that are serving the needs of our community.

I could go on and on, but if you attend Foothills you already know all of this--- but if you don't, why don't you give it a shot. We would love to have you!

Who are you learning from?

This is my friend Michael Fletcher being interviewed by Wayne Smith from Leadership Network. I am part of the group that Michael talks about. There is just something really wonderful about meeting with a group of your peers and learning from them and being challenged and encouraged by them. It is absolutely priceless.

If you are a Lead Pastor in your 40's (or early 50's)of a large church, and you've been there over 10 years, you should contact Leadership network and sign-up for the Sr. Pastor 2 group TODAY!

sunday review

I had a great day today. It was a bit different, but a lot of fun.

** Me and my good friend Eddie Cox swapped churches. He preached at Foothills, and I preached at Marathon Church.

** The people at Marathon were extremely friendly and very gracious hosts.

** It's funny how similar our churches are.

** Their band did a super job leading worship.

** They flopped the order of service around for their current series, so I did the message first, and THEN the band came out and did the music.

** I heard that Eddie knocked it out of the park at Foothills. I'm not surprised. He is a gifted communicator.

** I also heard that our Toccoa campus had another person give their life to Jesus today!!

** I am just about to head over to Foothills as we will be observing the Lord's Supper tonight. We have a couple of other things planned, so it should be exciting.

** I will be wrapping up our One Hit Wonders series next weekend. then on August 22nd we will start our Questions Uncensored 2 series.

Don't forget

Don't forget that this Sunday evening at 6:00pm we will be celebrating the Lord's Supper at Foothills Community Church.
This may be the best one yet. We've got a very powerful evening planned.
This is an incredible time of worship and celebration that you do not want to miss!

Also, our LIFE groups are ready to crank up in September, so if you want to meet others and grow in your faith, these are your opportunity.

At Foothills we have 3 LIFE group environments that you can find out more about here.
You can also sign up for our flag football league online as well.

Sunday highlights

What a great Sunday it was at Foothills Community Church.

* The praise choir was back on stage-- what extra energy they bring to the services.

* Spoke on the nature of God. Used the story of Elisha and the chariots of fire. That scripture always encourages me! (God is omni-present, omniscient, and omnipotent)

* Attendance was up yesterday. I can tell summer is coming to an end.

* Shane Smith created a killer graphic presentation for the song My Glorious.

* The presence of the Holy Spirit was so evident yesterday. Many people commented that yesterday was one of the most inspiring services ever at Foothills.

* Lots of things coming up in the next couple of months that you need to know about.

1) next Sunday at 6:00pm we will be celebrating the Lord's Supper together at our Seneca campus.

2) Our Flag football league will be kicking off in early September. You can sign-up this Sunday. This is a great chance to meet other folks and get some exercise!

3) speaking of groups, our Fall semester of LIFE groups will be coming up in mid September. If you aren't a part of a group yet, we will be giving you more information in the next couple of weeks. LIFE groups are a great way to get connected.

4) On Sunday September 5th we will be having a huge baptism/party at Biggerstaff retreat center beginning at 3:00pm Stay tuned for more details.

By he way, you do not want to miss this Sunday at Foothills!

Sunday review

It was an incredible day at Foothills Community Church yesterday. It was great to be back.

** The worship team is absolutely on fire. It is easy to take for granted the quality of our worship because we see them every week, but I can tell you that what we experience Sunday after Sunday at Foothills is among the best teams in the Country!

** We continued our One Hit Wonders series. I spoke about Caleb. Every time I read about Caleb, I get inspired. He was a guy that lived on the edge for God throughout his entire lifetime. He was full of passion and focus, and he wholeheartedly followed God.

** Do we "really" follow God wholeheartedly? Remember, the word "wholeheartedly", means complete, in every area. It's so much easier to be half-hearted in my devotion to the Lord, but we need to continually relinquish control of our lives to Him

** Next Sunday, the message will be on a more obscure Biblical character. You don't want to miss it. I will also be sharing a story about me and my wife and some alligators!

** I am working on the Questions Uncensored series. It's hard to narrow down the questions.

** We will be celebrating the Lord's Supper on August 8th at 6:00pm at our Seneca campus. Those are such powerful times together.

** We are planning our next Baptism at Foothills. It is going to be unbelievable. I can't give you any more details yet, because we are ironing out some details. All I can say is, it will be a huge party!

vision test

Tomorrow morning I am scheduled to go for my annual eye exam. I know what to expect, I've done it before. They'll do a series of tests (including the dreaded puff of air in your eyeball!), and then he'll suggest any improvements that can be made.

For the first 40 or so years of my life, my eyes were stellar, no problems reading at any distance or any font size. These days, not so much so. I have to wear glasses to read my Bible or the newspaper.

Here's what most eye doctors will tell you: the older you are, the more your vision tends to get out of focus.

The same is true for churches. The longer a church has been in existence, the more the vision tends to get out of focus. Foothills Community Church began 12 1/2 years ago. In the early days when we were meeting in my living room, or in the high school, everyone seemed to know the vision. It was crystal clear. The numbers of people attending were smaller, and it was just a given that Foothills was all about helping people find and follow Jesus.

12 years later, as we have grown, a large amount of my energy as a leader is poured into helping people stay clear on that vision-- helping people find and follow Jesus. And if you think about it, is there anything else that even comes close to that in its importance to our church.... or our lives?

For 12 years we have held to that vision and we will continue to do so. We have been mandated by Jesus Himself in the great commission to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to teach these disciples to obey everything he has has commanded.

You may ask, "is it paying off?" My answer is ABSOLUTELY. We have seen hundreds of people saved, baptized , transformed and connected into the life of the church. That's the power of vision!

sunday review

We are wrapping up our vacation soon and it has been SO relaxing. I planned it so that I would be gone for 3 Sundays. I miss preaching, but it was essential for me to take the break and recalibrate a bit. I have had a phenomenal time with my family and I can hardly wait to be back at Foothills Community Church.

We worshipped again at Christ Fellowship's Stuart Campus. It was a great service. God really spoke to me through the teaching of His Word, and through the music.

I love to let some other guys speak for me while I'm away. The first 2 Sundays, Brian Rhodes preached and today Tim Wadsworth preached. I watched Brian's sermon online, and he did an awesome job. Obviously I have not had a chance to hear Tim's message, but I heard it was fantastic (at least that's what Tim told me :-)

If you have teenagers, you realized how blessed we are to have both Brian and Tim leading our Student Ministry!

I am personally thankful to have such an incredible staff, that I can go on a vacation and not have to worry. That is a blessing. I am also thankful for all of the people who give of their time, talent and treasure to make Foothills the amazing church that it is!

You do not want to miss this Sunday as I will be continuing the One Hit Wonders message series.

vacation fun

Here are a few pictures of some fish we've caught so far on our vacation. Picture quality is poor because they were taken with a cell phone. My wife as usual is outfishing me.



here's one I caught



here's my wife



here's my son and nephew with a bunch of croakers



here's Liz again

sunday highlights

Well, this Sunday was a little different because we are on vacation down in FL.
I did hear that things at Foothills Community Church were outstanding today.

** Big shout out to Brian Rhodes for doing the message. Heard it was great.

** I also heard that the music was excellent. We are blessed with the most talented worship team anywhere.

** Our Toccoa campus baptized 3 more people. That's why we started the Toccoa campus!!

** We worshipped this morning at Christ Fellowship Church in Stuart FL, and it was awesome.

** They did a very patriotic service. I was reminded again that we are blessed to live in this great country.

** It has been cloudy and a bit rainy, so we haven't fished much, although I did manage to catch a 4 lb bass. My wife showed me up again with a 5 lber!

** The airlines lost my suitcase on the way down here. Apparently it never made it on the airplane. They said they found it, but will have to send it to me. Hope it shows up soon.

** Hoping the weather clears up so we can hit the beach tomorrow.

Happy 4th of July weekend

The 4th of July weekend begins today. It's a great time to spend on the lake, or barbecuing in the back yard or just being with friends and family, but why not take a few minutes to thank God you live in this wonderful country.
In spite of our nation's flaws we are still the greatest nation on earth!
Have a safe, wonderful weekend!

Sunday highlights

Very powerful day at Foothills Community Church yesterday.

** We baptized 35 more people! (Toccoa campus will be doing baptisms THIS Sunday!)

** Had another 12 salvations! God is up to something huge.

** The band brought the heat. It was good to have David Odom back in town.

** Kylie Ayres knocked the feature song out of the park. (Where has that girl been hiding!)

** I couldn't help but notice the wide variety of ages of the people being baptized---very cool!

** We have a steady stream of children being baptized. That is a sign of an effective children's ministry!

** Tons of youth being baptized too. Another sign of an effective youth ministry!

** The tech team was scrambling yesterday morning before the services trying to reprogram things that were affected by a thunderstorm on Saturday. Props to them.

** There will be a Get In The Game class this Sunday at the Seneca campus at 9:30am. If you would like to know more about Foothills, or are considering joining, this is your next step.

** I'm so thankful for all of our volunteers at Foothills. We could not do it without you! Thank you for doing what you do.

This Sunday--Baptisms!

This Sunday is Baptism day at Foothills Community Church Seneca campus (July 4th at our Toccoa campus). I never get tired of these days. You may wonder why?, Here are a few reasons:


1) Baptisms are to a church, what a goal is to a soccer team (unfortunately goals are rare in soccer :-)) It is a very big deal, and we celebrate baptisms.

2) It is an outward expression of an inward decision (like wearing a wedding ring)

3) It unifies the church. It keeps the main thing, the main thing.

4) It is a symbol of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord.

5) It is a symbol that someone who was lost is now found. That someone who was dead is now alive!

6) It is an indicator that the church is doing what they have been called to do.

7) It is a chance to party with all of heaven. Lk 15:8-10

Here's the deal---If you have given your life to Jesus Christ and have not been baptized, then plan on coming to Foothills this Sunday at 9:30am or 11:15am and be prepared to take the plunge!!

Sunday review

Had a lot of fun celebrating Father's Day at Foothills Community Church yesterday.

** The band kicked things off with Simple Man. Yes, in the 11:15am service I saw some lighters held up after they finished!

** Had a little friendly competition with some men in each service. We did a push-up contest. They were competing for Home Depot gift cards.

** Since school let out the attendance in the 9:30am service is larger than the 11:15am service.

** Mother's Day is always a high attendance for us, but Father's day is a low attendance. What's up with that Dads?

** At the end of the service we asked all Dads that wanted to commit to becoming Real Men of God to stand up for prayer. It was a very powerful time.

** Most men want to lead their families well and finish strong, unfortunately many won't because they get detoured.

** Yes, It is true that I had a stand-off with a skunk.

** No, I will not do my Rocky Balboa impression again. Nor will I do my Adrienne impression either, so don't ask :-)

** In the 11:15am service I totally forgot the punchline to the Chuck Norris joke. For all that were wondering.... Chuck Norris doesn't lick his postage stamps, he just looks at them and they wet themselves!

** We had 15 more people give their lives to Jesus yesterday!! God is doing some ridiculous things at Foothills!

** Our giving is down for the summer, because people are taking their vacations, and attendance is sporadic. If you have not signed up for online giving, why not consider it? It will help you to give more consistently.

** Next Sunday we will be celebrating baptism. If you are a Christ-follower and have not been baptized, what are you waiting for?

** I have heard that our students are having a great time at Bigstuf camp in Pananma City, and best of all----no tar!

** In other news.... our middle school Pastor, Tim Wadsworth's picture was in the paper this weekend with a fish that he had caught. The caption mentioned that it was an 8lb. striper. Tim has the makings of a great fisherman, he already has the exaggeration part down pat. I was with him when he caught it. It was maybe 4lbs. on a good day. In fact I took a video of it. you can watch it here.

Saturday thoughts

Had a busy week, but I'm looking forward to this Sunday----Father's day!

** Did a memorial service for a 21 year old young man this week. It is always difficult to see young people pass away at such an early age. Fortunately he was a Christ-follower, so it was a great opportunity to share the gospel.

** Got a chance to shoot my bow a little bit this morning. just 3 months until archery season. I'm totally pumped about that!

** Had fun yesterday evening, with my wife and 4 year old grand daughter catching fireflies. There were tons of them out last night. The only problem is that she won't let them go, so we still have them.

** My son Cole headed out this morning with a bunch of other teenagers from Foothills to head to Bigstuf camp in Panama City, FL. This will be his last year going because he graduated high school. I believe he has gone every year since middle school. I'm praying that Jesus would do amazing things in all of the kids lives.

** Looking forward to Father's Day at Foothills Community Church. We've got some fun stuff planned, and will be giving something to each dad that comes. Trust me, it's something that every dad will enjoy!

Questions Uncensored 2

You may remember back in May of 2009 we did a series called Questions Uncensored, and it was the most popular series we have probably ever done.

Well, I am excited to announce that in August we will be doing a series called, Questions Uncensored 2, and I need your help. I need you to go to this website and submit your questions that you have about God, the Bible, Church, life----whatever. These are the type of questions that you've had for a long time, but didn't know who to ask.

This is a video from last year's # 1 question that was sent in, Can A Christian Drink Alcohol?

sunday review

Another great day at Foothills Community Church!

** God continues to blow me away. We had people saved again at both campuses!

** Week #2 of combined worship teams for both services= AWESOME!

** SonSports starts tomorrow. If you have a child, get them there. They will love it.

** I talked about "godliness" today, from 1 Timothy 4. Godliness is a very misunderstood thing, but we are told to live godly lives, which means we're to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ.

** Got a chance to do some fishing Friday. It felt good to be on the water, and it was a bonus to catch some fish!

** Father's day is next Sunday. Make sure to bring your Dad to church with you. We're going to have some fun!

It's officially summer

I love summer. I love the warm weather and the relaxed attitude of summer.
I am a firm believer that everyone should take time off and relax, but one of the things that I see as a Pastor is that there is a tendency for people to take the summer off, when it comes to things like serving and giving.

Churches are able to function because of people who volunteer their time and give of their finances. So here are a couple of suggestions:

1) When you are not out of town, make sure to not only attend church, but to serve on a ministry team. There are hundreds of people that serve at Foothills Community Church on a weekly basis---BUT there is always a need for more people to get involved.

2) Just like in your personal budget, the church has financial needs 12 months a year, so if you are going to be out of town on a weekend, please remain faithful in your giving. A lot of people are discovering the convenience of online giving. Here is a link to make it easy for you.

3) Keep inviting your friends. Historically we add a lot of new people during the summer. One thing I can promise you is that our Sunday morning services will be approached with the same level of enthusiasm and creativity as any other time of the year, so don't worry about that!

I am praying for all of you to have a safe and wonderful summer. Thank you to all of you that are part of Foothills. We could not do what we do without you!

What a weekend!

This was one of the busiest, but most enjoyable weekends for me in a long time. I got to see my son, Cole graduate from High School. I also got to spend time with my parents and in-laws, and my softball team won the tournament and kept our undefeated record intact.

On top of all of that, our services at Foothills Community Church were probably in the top 10 services of all time. Here are few things that stood out for me:

** We had 33 people give their lives to Jesus at our Seneca campus!

** The message was called "One Way". We talked about the way to get to Heaven-- Jesus.

** God's not trying to keep you out of Heaven, He's trying to get you in!

** I am thankful that God took the guesswork and confusion out of how you get to Heaven by giving us one way. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me".

** The energy was unbelievable. People were singing louder than I've ever heard them sing.

** We combined worship teams, and both David Odom and Eric Peters led worship. We also had a mini-choir which really enhanced things. Plus we had more instruments than usual. I think everyone really loved that as well.

** Attendance was way off (I think everyone took a vacation as soon as the kids got out of school for the summer!), but it didn't stop the excitement.

** This was the first time we did our announcements via video in the 5 minute countdown. I had people coming up to me asking why we didn't have announcements. I told them you need to be in your seats a little earlier from now on!

** We also moved the offering up in the service (which was mentioned in the pre-service announcement video that everyone missed), so many people didn't have their offerings ready. (Don't worry, if you missed the buckets being passed, we will still accept your offerings this Sunday :-)

** I am really loving the series on the book of 1 Timothy. Very practical stuff.

** I am already looking forward to this Sunday!

busy weekend

What an exciting weekend I've got planned.
Both my parents and my in-laws will be staying with us to celebrate my son, Cole's graduation from High School.
I have a softball tournament and then on Sunday we have some incredible services planned at Foothills Community Church!

You do not want to miss Sunday at FCC. The band has got some cool things planned. The praise choir will be up on stage too. The message is going to be a clear presentation of the gospel, so bring your friends that do not know Jesus with you!

Sunday review

We had a great day at Foothills this past Sunday.
I was there, but didn't preach, so that was different.

Brian Rhodes, one of our High school Pastor filled in and did a great job. He is really developing as a speaker. I have never used many speakers from outside of our church, because I think it is very healthy for a church to hear from some of the other Pastors once in a while. I also believe that another benefit is that it gives some experience to some of the younger people.

I take very seriously the honor of preaching and I convey to anyone who steps on the stage to bring the message, that they need to do the same.

Right now I am working with our middle school Pastor, Tim Wadsworth for a message he will be doing this summer. He speaks to our students, but has never had the opportunity to speak in front of the entire congregation. If you were to ask him, he would tell you that there are a million hoops that I have him jumping through right now in preparation for that Sunday. I want to set him up for success, so I am challenging him on many levels.

My goal is to speak around 40 Sundays per year. Taking a Sunday off now and then or a couple of Sundays in a row helps keep me sane and creative. It also allows me to work farther ahead, and as I mentioned before, it is good for our congregation to hear from other people.

My goal is for the congregation to not be dependent on me. I have seen many churches built around the personality of the Pastor. I pray that would never be the case at Foothills Community Church.

By the way, I will be continuing the Walk This Way series this Sunday. If you know someone that is not a Christ-follower, get them here this Sunday!!

The good news about a bad past

Lots of people struggle getting past their pasts. The memories of past mistakes haunt them. The good news is, that no matter what you've done, God still has a plan for your life. This is from last Sunday at Foothills Community Church:

Love your enemies

I got this video sent to me, and I wanted to share it. Simple, but powerful message.

Get In The Game

I wanted to take a minute to invite you to the Next Get In The Game series that will be coming up on Wednesday June 9th at 6:15pm in the Planet Kidz auditorium.
Normally we offer the Get In The Game every 1st and 2nd Sunday morning at 9:30am---- BUT in June it will be ONLY on Wednesday.

Here's the deal--- I am totally excited about this because I get to personally lead it! In the early days of Foothills Community Church, I used to lead all of the classes (many of them at my house), however since we began doing them on Sunday mornings, obviously I'm unable to do them anymore.

The reason I'm so excited about it is because I ABSOLUTELY LOVE leading this! WE cover the vision, values, strategy and structure of FCC.

So here's what you can do, next Sunday, sign-up to attend on your info card. There will be child care available, but we need to know in advance how many kids you will be bringing.

The session will run from 6:15pm (sharp!) until 8:15pm

You may be wondering, what is Get In The Game?----well here is a link (just remember, the date is June 9th at 6:15pm)

See you there!!

Feeling a little stuck?

This is from last Sunday at Foothills Community Church. It is the last message from our Fix You series, called, "Stuck"

Sunday review

Another solid day at Foothills yesterday. Here are few highlights:

* We finished the Fix You series. We had more salvations during that series than any other we've ever done!

* I spoke about how to get unstuck in life. Talked about how Nehemiah got the people re-focused on rebuilding the wall after getting stuck half way through the project.

* It is interesting how a few negative people were able to put a halt to an entire construction project by being critical.

* There are two types of people, Critical people and Catalytic people. Choose to listen to the catalytic voices. The critical people want to bring you down, the catalytic people will build you up!

* Stuck is defined as the inability to move. Lots of people are stuck in their finances, marriages, careers, parenting, spiritual lives. Through Christ we have the ability to move forward.

* Eric Peters and the band did an incredible job singing a country song called, Stuck. It was phenomenal.

* We did our Seneca Shine 2010 projects Saturday. Lots of people served. I don't know how many yet, but a bunch. Toccoa campus will do their Shine 2010 projects this Saturday.

* We start a brand new message series this Sunday, called "Walk This Way". It is a 5 week series from the book of I Timothy.

* I know most of you already know this, but we are blessed at Foothills with an incredible staff. One of the ways you could bless them is by just thanking them for what they do (another good way would be by serving on one of their teams!)

some random things

I've got a bunch of random things rattling around in my mind right now.

* I am fired-up about some of the message series that are coming up through the end of the year!

* This Sunday, I will be doing a message called, "Stuck". I shared this message with my staff a couple of months ago in a staff meeting. If you've ever been stuck before (in your finances, job, marriage, spiritual life, school---whatever), you need to be at Foothills this Sunday.

* Can't wait for Saturday. FCC will be doing Shine 2010 projects. Hundreds of people signed up to perform 3 hours of community service this Saturday.

* We have some cool things planned from our worship teams for the next series. I can't wait! Rumor has it that the praise choir may be back up soon. (If you like to sing, this is a great opportunity to serve)

* I am hearing so many great stories of how our Care team has been helping people going through all kinds of stuff. You may not realize this, but FCC has an entire team of staff and volunteers that help people.

* If you attend FCC, but have never served before, you're really missing out! Sign-up for the next Get In The Game series which is scheduled for the first Sunday of each month at 9:30am in our small auditorium (you'll be out in time for the 11:15am service)

* I love hearing stories of life change that's happening at FCC. One of the places that really is making an impact is in our Kidzone. Parents, if you are bringing your kids in the main auditorium with you, you are making a huge mistake! Recently the kids were asked what they liked about Planet Kidz? The number one thing was that they really understood the messages.

Sunday review

We had a great day at Foothills yesterday. It was nice being back at FCC yesterday. I love our church!

* We celebrated Mother's Day, but not with the usual Mother's day service. Our focus was on Shine 2010.

* I don't know how many people signed up for the community service projects, but there was a bunch. Thanks to all of you, who will be serving our community this Saturday from 9:00am until noon in SC, and the following Saturday in GA.

* When we serve people, we are doing what should come naturally for a Christ-follower.

* In James 2:14-17, James actually questions if we even have faith if we are unwilling to serve others----wow!

* We did parent/child dedications yesterday----lots of them. I believe there were 30 in Seneca, and 5 in Toccoa. tons of small children in our church. Love that!

* About to head into our staff meeting. We are going to be talking about some very cool things.

Thursday thoughts

We're preparing for a huge Sunday this week at Foothills Community Church. Here are just a few things we're preparing for:

* This Sunday is Mother's Day, so don't forget to bring your Mom to church with you (and don't forget to get her something nice too!)

* We will be doing Parent/Child dedications at both of our campuses. We have a ton of people who will be participating. That will be fun.

* We will be collecting canned goods, diapers and gently used women's clothing for a few area ministries this Sunday in Seneca, and the following Sunday in Toccoa.

* This Sunday we will have tables set up for people to pick up their Shine 2010 projects

* God is doing spectacular things at Foothills. We had 255 people saved in April! Are you kidding me? God is up to something big!

* Today is the National Day of Prayer. Be sure to pray for our Nation and our leaders.

* Got a chance to watch the message that Brian Rhodes preached last week. he did an awesome job.

* Why not invite someone to attend church with you this Sunday?

Fellowship Church

Last week while I was in Dallas, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with Tracey Barnes and Chris Prater from Fellowship Church in Grapevine TX. Tracy and Chris are both Campus Pastors, and long-time staff members of Fellowship.

Fellowship Church, whose Lead Pastor is Ed Young Jr. is one of the most influential churches in America. They have approximately 20,000 people in attendance on a typical weekend.

It was very cool hearing about the ministry of Fellowship Church, and also getting the opportunity to go behind the scenes, and comparing notes with Tracey and Chris. What's pretty encouraging is realizing that even though Fellowship Church is on a different scale than Foothills Community Church, we have a lot in common.

I not only came away inspired, but also encouraged about what God is doing right here in SC and GA through Foothills Community Church!

sunday review

I had a different sort of Sunday today. I got a chance to fill the pulpit for my friend Dean Herman, who pastors a church in Easley, SC called 5 Point Fellowship. Dean and his wife were out of town celebrating their 30th anniversary.

* I rarely speak at other churches, but I had a lot of fun. I'm not sure they knew what to think of me though! (In case you're wondering, yes Foothills I missed you all!)

* I heard that the services at both of our campuses were fantastic today.

* At our Seneca campus, Brian Rhodes spoke on forgiveness. I hear that he did a great job. He is an excellent communicator!

* I also hear that the feature song was very cool with the acoustic feel to it.

* In Toccoa they had another solid attendance and from what I understand they did acoustic worship and had a prayer time at the end of the service that was powerful.

* This past week I got a chance to spend a couple of days in Dallas with 10 other pastors from around the country. One thing is for sure, God is at work in America!

* It is cool hanging out with guys who are going through similar things and understand you. Over the next 2 years we will be getting together several times.

* Looking forward to tomorrow's staff meeting, because my friend Perry Duggar from Brookwood Church in Simpsonville will be coming to lead it.

Who are you learning from?

Most of the people that know me, know that I strive to learn something new every day. I never want to become the leader who thinks he already knows everything.

There are many ways to learn. Some of my favorite ways are from books, magazines, the internet, blogs, etc. But my favorite way to learn is from personal interaction with other people.

Sometimes it might be through a one on one meeting with another leader, or it may be in the context of a round table discussion group. Sometimes it may be via a telephone call. It has been my experience that there is almost no one you can't speak to if you are professional and persistent.

For instance, a couple of years ago, we were growing very rapidly as a church and I wanted to get insight from other Pastors whose churches were a few steps ahead of us, so I made a list of some churches that I thought could help us and I called them. Surprisingly I was able to speak to about 90% of those Pastors. Keep in mind, I had never met these men in my life.

Here are a couple of rules to follow if you attempt this. First, understand that you will begin the discussion with an assistant whose job is to protect that Pastor, so you need to be professional. These are busy men, so don't think its going to be a leisurely chat. You need to do your homework. You need to make a list of questions to forward to the assistant. You also need to ask for a specific amount of time. I believe I asked for 15 minutes.

When you make the call, let them know you appreciate their time and then get down to business. Ask your questions and write things down. When your time is up, thank them and let them get back to other things

Another thing you should do is to send a thank you card letting them know you appreciate their time.

The bottom line is this. If you go about it the right way, most people are more than happy to help another person. At Foothills Community Church, I have told my staff that when another church needs anything, make it a high priority to help. Literally ever week we have churches that contact us about something. It is a joy for us to try to help another church. God has blessed us with so much, and we feel it is only natural that we would be available to help others.

Who are you learning from?

sunday review

Another stellar day at FCC!

* I need to brag on our Toccoa campus for a minute. They had another record attendance today, but even better than that, they baptized 11 people!! The cool part is, the best is yet to come.

* Seneca campus was incredible too. I would define today's service as a day of healing for many people.

* The message was titled, "God never Wastes A Hurt". We talked about how God can use the pain in our lives to bring glory to Himself, and bring growth in our lives.

* The music in both services was awesome.

* In the 11:15 service David Odom sang a song that he wrote called "Save Me O God", and told people if they felt moved to stand during the song, to do so. So many people stood as a declaration to the Lord. It was a very powerful moment.

* We have seen more life-change during the month of April than any other month. Over 250 salvations, and 65 baptisms----AWESOME!

* Really praying that we would see greater things in May.

Thursday thoughts

It's been a busy week so far, but some great things going on.

* Still in awe of what God did Sunday at our baptism service!

* I'm totally fired-up about baptisms at our Toccoa campus this Sunday. I have no idea how many people will take the plunge, but I know it's going to be great.

* This Sunday at our Seneca campus, I will be doing another message about pain, but this time I'll be talking about how God has a way of using pain for productive purposes.

* We'll be showing a video story of one of our church members who went through a personal tragedy, but has seen God show up in the midst of it.

* Got a chance to hang out with Ritchie Miller this week. He pastors Avalon Church in McDonough, Ga. He is a great leader, and it was a lot of fun to talk.

* We wrapped up our Campus Life Group last night. My wife and I really enjoyed leading it. We got a chance to meet some really cool people. Thanks all of you that participated.

* Looking forward to participating in a Pastor's leadership group next week in Dallas.

* We will be beginning our promotion of Shine 2010. Stay tuned for more details. It's going to be huge. You need to participate!

* I am finalizing the rest of 2010's preaching calendar. We are going to do some incredible message series. Right after we finish the Fix You series, we will begin a new one called, Walk This Way, which will be a series on the book of 1 Timothy.

* Our next baptism for our Seneca campus will be June 27th. We will probably change things up a lot.

* Can't believe my youngest child will be graduating from High School in a month and a half.

Don't Blink

Here's the message from last Sunday at Foothills Community Church:

Sunday review

Wow, what an awesome day yesterday at Foothills Community Church!
Here are some key things that happened:

* 30 people raised their hands to become Christ-followers

* It was Baptism day, which are always my favorite days.

* 54 people publicly identifying their allegiance to Christ through baptism does something to me!

* One lady that was baptized had not been to church in 24 years until she began attending FCC. One man had not attended church in 68 years before FCC!

* Strong attendance yesterday. Lots of first-time guests

* The energy level was through the roof. It makes my job so much easier when people come in with such great anticipation.

* Our volunteers knocked it out of the park, as usual. Thanks to all of you who serve the Lord through the ministry of FCC!

* I did a message yesterday that compared the rich young ruler and Zacchaeus. One missed an opportunity, one seized it.

* The band did the song, Don't Blink. Love that song!

* Incredible staff meeting this morning celebrating what God is doing!

* I'm really not bitter at Hank Aaron for not wanting to sign his autograph----really! (you'll have to listen to the message to understand this)

Baptism Sunday

This Sunday at our Seneca Campus (April 25th at our Toccoa campus), we will be celebrating baptism!

Some people wonder why we make such a big deal about baptism at Foothills Community Church, so I thought I would address that question;

1) Because the Bible makes a big deal about baptism.

2) It is a huge step of obedience for the Christ-follower

3) It motivates the church (there's just something about watching a new believer being baptized that just jump-starts my faith!)

4) For a brief second, you actually get to see inside the heart of a person (baptism is an outward expression of an inward faith)

5) It is a symbol that someone who was lost is now found. That someone who was dead is now alive!

6) It is an indicator that the church is doing what they have been called to do.

7) It is a chance to party with all of heaven. Lk 15:8-10

Here's the deal---If you have given your life to Jesus Christ and have not been baptized, then plan on coming to Foothills this Sunday at 9:30am or 11:15am and be prepared to take the plunge!!

Sunday review

Great day at FCC yesterday. I talked about dealing with pain, and used Job's life as an example. Clearly, no one that I know has ever dealt with so much pain in such a short amount of time as Job did.

* The Fix You series, is a series of messages that we are admitting that we are broken people in need of fixing, and the only One capable of fixing us is Jesus---period!

* Whenever we talk about something like pain, it connects with so many people. I had some incredible conversations and prayers with people in the concourse that were going through some difficult times. I mean really, really difficult times.

* I love hearing from old friends from my B.C (before Christ) days on Facebook that watch our messages and contact me to let me know that the message impacted them!

* Our Toccoa campus tied their non-Easter attendance record yesterday. They had 2 more people saved there! Our campus Pastor, Brian Marshall preached live. Heard it was great.

* Don't forget that THIS SUNDAY at our Seneca campus and the following Sunday at our Toccoa campus we will be celebrating baptisms!! We did things a little differently this time, so we don't know how many are going to be baptized. This should be a lot of fun!

* There is such an excitement right now at Foothills, it's awesome.

* We had a phenomenal staff meeting this morning, where we began discussion about some huge shifts we will be making in the Fall about serving opportunities. This is going to be radical!

* Looking forward to some coaching meetings that I have this week, and also looking forward to a leadership meeting in Dallas later this month with some other Pastors.

* After 8 weeks of ankle pain from a basketball injury, I am finally feeling good. Played softball on Saturday, and was back at our 6:00am basketball game this morning!!

* I've been thinking about a quote from the Experiencing God study lately. "See where God is at work and join Him". Most of the time we kind of get this backwards. We are praying the wrong prayer. we pray, "God bless what I'm doing". We need to pray, "God, help me to do what you're blessing".

* The local paper interviewed me last week about a story they will be publishing this week about the changes in worship in the Bible Belt. This should be interesting. For the record, although our style is more contemporary/modern/progressive (or whatever you want to call it), I do not feel for a moment that the way we do services is THE way. There are some dynamic churches that have a more traditional style, that's cool too. It's not an "us" against them". We're all on the same team. I liken it to a net. Different styles create a bigger net, and consequently more fish are caught. That's a good thing!

Easter message

God used this message to reach lots of people during the Easter services at Foothills. If you know anyone who has doubts about God's love for them pass it along.

Does God Really Love Me? from Foothills Community Church on Vimeo.

I want

I was cleaning off some stuff on my desk, and I came across this. I'm not sure if I've ever posted this before, but here we go:


I want Christ to build HIS Church

I want services that are Spirit-driven and Spirit-filled, not displays of human talent and effort.

I want Acts 2 miracles and community

I want messages that come from the overflow of the Holy Spirit working in my life, not some human presentation of facts.

I want the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to permeate every person that drives onto this campus, and to direct every person as they drive off of it.

I want to die to the selfish, self-promoting desires of my sinful nature. I don't want to care about the number of twitter followers or blog readers or how many facebook friends I have.

I want to celebrate the movement of God in other churches as much as I celebrate it in my own.

I want to be transformed more into the image of my wonderful Lord, who gave Himself for me.

I want live my life for the applause of God, not the applause of men.

I want to speak with the power and authority of Jesus Christ, not oratory brilliance or great eloquence.

I want to become more of a servant and less of a sergeant in my leadership.

I want my heart to break for lost people.

Easter Sunday highlights

I don't even know where to start, but basically today was probably the greatest day we have ever had at Foothills Community Church.

* I don't have all the numbers, but our attendance was around 2,900 people between our 2 campuses. (570 of them were in Kidzone)

* Our Toccoa GA campus set another record attendance today with 271 people!

* We had 203 people saved in Seneca, and 100 people made recommitments! We had 9 first-time salvations and 6 recommitments in Toccoa! Pause and think about that right now---212 people saved today. That is incredible! That is why we do what we do!

* Our volunteers stepped it up big-time today. Hundreds of people serving. Some of them were there by 6:00am. Thank you all for your commitment to do whatever-it-takes to reach people!

* Our worship team took it to a new level today. They blew me away.

* The love medley was unbelievable!

* We started the Fix You series today. It is going to be a fantastic series, so make sure you come next Sunday for Part 2

* Today my messsage was all about the extent of God's love for us. When you stop to consider the love He has for us it is hard to comprehend.

* I was so proud of our people. They went out and invited their friends. That was cool.

* In case you are wondering, yes, I really did pull the gorilla prank on my wife---it was awesome!

* Don't forget, when you look into the mirror tomorrow morning, say, "wow, I'm a Masterpiece!"

* I got a chance to hang out a lot in the concourse. I love to meet new people.

* I sense a wave of new excitement at Foothills and I can't wait to see where God leads us!

* We celebrated our 12th anniversary as a church today too. We've come a long way since that first service with 70 people in attendance back in 1998!

Lessons about leadership at the 12 year mark (part 3)

Here are a few more lessons:

** Number are important---but if you live by the numbers, you will die by the numbers!
I am a numbers guy. I have on file, the attendance from every service we have ever done. We count people, we count salvations, we count baptisms, we count offerings, we count membership numbers. We count everything that can be counted. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact if you don't keep track of things, you are making a huge mistake. BUT, you have to be careful to track patterns as opposed to individual Sundays. For most church planters (myself included), our self-worth is tied to our weekly attendance. If we have a Sunday with a record attendance, we feel great, but if the attendance is low, we go into a funk (this is so unhealthy, and will drive you to an early grave). Look at a quarter rather than a week. Look at things annually rather than monthly. try to look for trends or patterns, you will enjoy the journey a whole lot more.

** Comparison is a killer.
One of the most unhealthy things you can do is to compare your church's progress with someone else. If you compare with a smaller church, it can lead to pride. If you compare to a larger church it will lead to envy and discontentment. You are YOU. You are not someone else. God is fully aware of that! Your church should be unique. If God wanted cookie cutter churches, we would all be the same. God will never judge you based on comparison with another church or Pastor, he will only judge you based on whether you have been faithful in what He has given you.

** Don't limit God
I have found that the only limits I have are self-imposed limits. We say, "we are going to reach our community for Christ", do we really believe that's possible? Our lack of faith restricts the activity of God in our churches and in our lives. God is omnipotent, and sovereign. He is limitless. We need to pray bold prayers. Dream big dreams, and take huge risks to be the leaders that God has called us to be.