A couple of quick thoughts

This past Sunday was historic for Foothills Community Church. It was our first Sunday as one church in three locations!

* Our new Hartwell campus met together for their soft opening. Basically the soft opening is designed to work out the kinks before the Grand Opening.

* They had 84 people show up, which is fantastic. In fact that's more than FCC Seneca Campus Grand Opening back in 1998! That's with no advertising, or hoopla. There's no telling how many people are going to show up for the Grand Opening.

* Hartwell's Grand Opening is scheduled for October 14th at 10:30am. Their address is 1541 Anderson Hwy. Suite D Hartwell, GA. It is located in the former Walmart building next to the Tractor Supply.

* October 14th is also an all-campus huge day because we will be kicking off a new series that is going to be incredible. It will be called, My Secret Life. We are asking all of our people to invite, invite, invite for that day!

* This Sunday at our Seneca campus we will be having Party In The Pasture. This is a party for the whole community so invite your friends. There will be all kinds of stuff to do, but the highlight will be baptisms.

* Our Toccoa campus continues to rock and roll. They have some serious "mo" happening right now.

a few quick thoughts

It's been a busy week so I'm just getting around to blogging. This past Sunday a good friend of mine, Bill Giovanetti from the Neighborhood Church in Redding, California spoke at Foothills Community Church. I have heard a lot of positive comments about Bill's message, and I agree (I watched it online), it was great.

While Bill was preaching here, I got a chance to preach at another good friend, Doug Walker's  church in Dallas, Texas. I had a great time. It was pretty much non-stop. I preached 1 time on Saturday evening and 4 times on Sunday. Sunday evening we did a interview-type event where I answered questions from the audience. All in all I had a wonderful time.

This weekend will be a historic one at Foothills Community Church because we will have our first-ever service at our new Hartwell, Georgia campus. This will be a soft-opening, so it will be kind of a dry run for the big Grand Opening on October 14th. But nonetheless we are now officially 1 church in 3 locations!.

A few other things:

* We are gearing up for our Party In The Pasture which is set for September 30th. This is a huge community-wide party with games and inflatables for the kids, live music, food, a car show, and most importantly, Baptism! You Don't want to miss this. Don't forget to bring some friends.

* Our Toccoa campus continues to have record or near record crowds every weekend!

* I am very excited to share this week's message called, Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing.

* I am going bow hunting tomorrow. Love this time of year! Hoping for some fresh venison.

* I apparently have a case of tendonitis in my left arm. I've had it for a couple of months, but in the last couple of weeks it has been acting up. I continue to do my P90X, but back and bicep days are being replaced with other exercises.

sunday review

We had a very solid day at Foothills this past Sunday. I am loving the Be The Church series. It is so cool to see people "get it" when it comes to their responsibility to not just go to church, but to be the church.

* We focused on Acts 2:41-47 for the second week in a row. The thing that you see in the church back then is that everyone did whatever it took to meet the needs of one another. There were no spectators. Everyone was involved.

* It was sort of preaching to the choir, because we have such a high percentage of our congregation that are serving in some area of ministry. I know there were a many that had not served before that took a step to sign-up to begin serving!!

* Every time I share the story of the little kid that threw up in the salad bar, people want to know which restaurant it was. Trust me, you don't want to know.

* Our Toccoa campus was right at another record attendance. Love it!

* On Saturday we had 34 people show up at our new Hartwell, GA campus to paint the facility! What was really cool was that there were people from Seneca, Toccoa, and Hartwell serving side by side. They got completely through painting the lobby and worship center, and got quite a bit done on the kids area. So proud of all of you that sacrificed your Saturday to help.

* We will be working there Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday this week, so if you are available, call the church office for times and directions. (864)888-8008

*On Sunday evening we held our first-ever Get In The Game class at our Hartwell campus. It was a blast  to meet all the new people. They are super-excited and raring to go.

* This Sunday evening we will be doing training at the Hartwell campus for all areas of ministry in preparation for the first service there on September 23rd. Their official Grand Opening is set for October 14th.

* Our Toccoa campus baptized 6 more people Sunday!!!

* Our next baptism opportunity at Seneca will be on September 30th at Party in the Pasture. Be sure to sign-up ASAP, it's going to be awesome.

New campus coming soon

Right now there are so many things God is doing at Foothills Community Church it's hard to keep up.
During Sunday's service I mentioned a few of these things. But there is so much more.

* One of the things I'm very excited about is our new campus in Hartwell, Georgia.

* We are shooting for an official Grand Opening on October 14th. Between now and then there will be a lot of things that need to get done. One of the big things is getting the facility ready for services. As I mentioned, we are renting a portion of the former Walmart located at 1541 Anderson Hwy. Ste D in Hartwell.  I really want to thank all of the folks from our Seneca and Toccoa campuses that have volunteered to help over there. You will be contacted this week with the schedule of work days.

* We have a group of people in Hartwell that are very excited about Foothills coming to their town. If you live in Hartwell or know someone that does, let them know about Foothills Hartwell.

* Our Toccoa campus is exploding right now. It looks like another service will be coming soon to accommodate the growth.

* We are talking to people about adding a Foothills campus in a couple of other towns. That's pretty exciting!

* We believe that God has given us a unique vision to add campuses in small towns.  In case you missed it, here is our campus expansion strategy.

* On another note, this past weekend services were fantastic. Yes it was Labor Day, and yes, there were a bunch of people out of town, but wow, it was a good day!

* I am loving our new series, Be The Church. We talked about the need to get connected with a small group. I know a lot of people signed up for our Find and Follow small groups. I love it.

* Looking forward to catching up with some Pastor friends later this week.

* Our Toccoa campus will be celebrating baptism THIS Sunday!

* Our next Seneca baptisms will be on September 30th. It's not too late to sign-up.

sunday review

I can't get over what a fantastic day we had at Foothills Community Church yesterday. Now that school is back in session, our attendance continues to grow.

* The worship team did an amazing job leading us. It was powerful and inspiring worship!

* I especially loved the scripture reading between songs. It fit well, and added so much.

* We started the new series, Be The Church. The first message in a series tends to be a little longer because you have to spend time setting up the series. This particular series is on the book of Acts, so a little background of the book really helps people understand.

* Yesterday we covered Acts 1 and some of Acts 2. We talked about the Holy Spirit. I really hope that the message cleared up any confusion people may have had regarding the Holy Spirit.

* It is astounding that every single believer has the same power inside of them that raised Christ from the dead. Why do we try to live our lives in our own strength when we have His power available?

* Our Toccoa campus had their highest non-Easter attendance EVER yesterday! They were setting up chairs to keep up! It looks like they will be needing to go to two services very soon!

* After church at both campus locations we had our Get In The Game (membership) class. It was the second largest class of the year with 75 new people attending. There will be one more class in 2012, in November. We are on pace to have more people go through Get In The Game this year than any year of our existence!

* The momentum we have right now is unbelievable.

* We are getting ready to launch our Fall Find and Follow Groups. If you are not a part of a group already, be sure to sign-up this weekend. We have several new groups that are forming, so there is room for you.

* We are praying about a couple of huge opportunities for additional campuses. More info to come shortly.

* Now that Fall is here, I want to challenge everyone to make sure to keep inviting those friends of yours that have no church home. We do many forms of advertising, but without a doubt, by far most people come to Foothills because someone invited them.

* If you are a teenager or know a teenager, make sure you let them know about ICE. It's happening this Wednesday evening. This thing is going to be huge.

sunday review

It was so much fun being back at Foothills Community Church this past Sunday. I had not spoken in 4 Sundays, so to say I was raring to go would be an understatement.

* I keep hearing wonderful feedback on the messages that were done in my absence. Thanks to Michael Robison, Brian Rhodes and Justin Terry.

* This Sunday I spoke from Psalm 1, which is one of my favorite Psalms, on The Secret To Success. I have learned that everyone wants to be successful, but few know the real meaning of success. You can watch it here.

* I love my church and all that God is doing here. I am looking forward to our next message series which begins this Sunday, called "Be The Church". It is going to be a series on the book of Acts. There is so much we can learn about what it means to be the church from the 1st church. It is going to be great. Make sure to come and bring a bunch of people with you. I have found that once school gets back in and people start to get to a more regular schedule they are very open to attending church.... so INVITE!

* I am very excited about our new Campus Expansion Plan. If you have not heard, we are currently seeking God's direction for possible new campus sites throughout SC, GA, and NC. Check out this video for more details:

Foothills Community Church Campus Expansion Video from Foothills Community Church on Vimeo.


* I am also excited about some new technology that we are planning to implement that will improve our multi-site strategy. I won't go into detail, but it will significantly enhance our campus experience!

*  I got a chance to hang around some great Pastor friends today from Marathon Community Church. I have known some of these guys for almost 15 years, and they have always been huge supporters of Foothills Community Church.

* It is less than one month until archery season. That makes me happy!

* I am praying for all the faculty and students as they begin a new school year today.

* In case you have not heard, FCC is about to begin a new small group for young adults 18-25yrs. old Tons of response already. For more info stop by the link at the back of the Concourse on Sunday.

* If you have not gone through our Get In The Game Class, you can do it THIS Sunday at both campuses. If you like what you see at FCC and want to take your next step, this is it.

Let's get in shape

** Click here to go to my new fitness website, Pastorfit.com


 Back in April I did a post on fitness/nutrition that created a lot of discussions with people. I would advise you to read it first so that this post will make sense.

Now to today's topic. Once again I want to talk about fitness/nutrition. I know I might sound like a broken record but if it helps someone, then it's worth it.

A couple of weeks ago while on vacation in Florida I posted a few pictures to my Twitter account. One of those pictures was me on the beach holding my cast net without my shirt. What I didn't know at the time was that posting that picture would generate so many questions about what I was doing to get in shape. I have lost count of the people that have asked me about this.

15 months ago, I THOUGHT I was in pretty good shape. I ate relatively well, and exercised moderately a few days a week. As I look back at pictures from 15 months ago I realize that although I wasn't "fat", I had gotten really "soft". I guess compared to other 51 year old guys I was in OK shape, but in reality I had a long way to go.

I refuse to settle for OK anymore when it comes to my health. I am committed to do everything I can do from a human standpoint to not have health problems. That's why I work so hard everyday to get in the best shape possible.

Over the last 15 months I have lost around 12-14 pounds and added lean muscle. My body fat is now around 6%. I work out intensely 6 days a week, and eat clean. It is ridiculously hard! But at the age of 52 I am in the best shape of my life. I am passionate about this. I don't dread waking up at 5:45am to work out. I look forward to it! My motivation is not the mirror, it's my health.

So why am I sharing this with all of you? Because I care. Because I want to encourage you. Because I'm sick of hearing people making excuses for their poor health. I want you to say, "if he can do it at the age of 52, than I can do it too!"

By the way, my wife is just as passionate about working out as I am. She looks awesome!

I am going to list and link all of the tools that I am using for my health in this post. Some will be redundant if you read the post from April I referred to earlier.


My workout= P90X (I love it!)
Note: I am going to be starting a new program called Body Beast in the next couple of months.

My supplements: Multi -vitamin once a day, fish oil pills twice a day, Vitamin B-100 pill once a day, Suma Root pill twice a day.
Pre-workout: 1 scoop Body Octane, 1 scoop Hemavol, Con-Cret Creatine powder, 1 serving Crystal light Energy (all of the above mixed with 20 oz water 20 minutes prior to work out) and 1 handful of raisins.
Intra-workout: 1 Scoop Xtend powder with 12 oz water.
Post workout: 1 scoop of Dymatize Iso-100 Whey protein mixed with 8 oz skin milk (sometimes add a second protein supplement in the P.M.)

I order all of my supplements from All-Star Health. Best prices I have found



Workout schedule: (This varies quite a bit, but for right now it might look like this)

Monday, Wednesday (sometimes Friday) CARDIO--6:00am-7:00am basketball
Abs (either ab-ripper X or Body Beast abs) Monday, Wednesday and Friday (usually p.m.)

Tuesday: P90X Back/Bicep routine (6:00-7:00am)
Thursday P90X Chest/Shoulders/triceps routine (6:00am-7:00am)
Friday (If not playing basketball) P90X Legs/Back routine
Saturday P90X Shoulders/Arms routine
*As you can see if you're familiar with P90X, I have customized it for myself


Nutrition: (By the way, It is true, Abs are made in the kitchen. In order to get 6-pack abs, you need to lower body fat below 10%)

* I hate the word, "diet". A diet is something temporary. This is about lifestyle changes.

I track all my eating with MyFitness Pal.
In order for me to maintain my weight (based on my size) I need 2,170 calories per day. I track all my macro's, especially my fat intake. Per my cardiologists orders, I am allowed no more than 30 fat grams per day. I eat roughly 300 grams of carbs and 150 grams of proteins a day.

I won't list all of what I do and don't eat. You can read it here.

Just to be clear. There are NO Short-cuts. Sorry, that's just the way it is. It is hard work and a lot of discipline. But I also want to say this. I know I tend to be a little extreme with all this. You may have read some of this and thought, that's way too much work. Please don't let that stop you. Something is better than nothing. For you, a big step might be to walk around the block. Fine. Do it. It beats sitting on the couch. Or maybe instead of always frying the chicken you might start grilling it. Just start somewhere.... Please!

At the risk of embarassing myself, I will post kind of a before and after picture. The first picture is from April 2011 (1 month before having my 2 stents installed)(Not really fat, but soft)
The second is from August 2012 (this month)

Lastly. If I can help in any way, let me know! I don't have it all figured out. I'm learning every day.

*** Update: Here is a link of an update on my health/ fitness as of August 2013***

Before (April 2011)

After (August 2012)

Sunday review

This was not what I would call a normal Sunday by any stretch of the imagination. As I mentioned in my last post, my father-in-law passed away in Virginia so I left on Friday to spend time with the family.
It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, as I got to Virginia on Friday afternoon and got home last night at about 1:00am. In case you're keeping score at home the trip is about 9 hours each way. So needless to say, we're a bit exhausted today.
The memorial service for my father-in-law was a beautiful time of remembrance of this great man. I was honored to be asked to give the eulogy. It is so hard to encapsulate someone's life down to around 15 minutes. I pray that my words honored him, and brought comfort to the family.
I was so proud of my wife and oldest son. They shared (along with other family members) how he had impacted them. It was a phenomenal service.

Between my vacation and the funeral, I have been away from preaching at Foothills Community Church for 4 Sundays in a row. That is the most Sundays consecutively I have ever been away. I am so proud of our staff and volunteers. They not only held ground, but took new ground in my absence!!

This Sunday I am preaching on one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. The message is called, The Secret of Success. You do not want to miss it. I am about to burst because I have been gone for so long. I promise not to preach for more than an hour :-)  (In case you're wondering, that last sentence was a joke..... kind of!)

The following Sunday we will begin a new series called, Be The Church. This series is going to be life changing, trust me.

One last thing. If you have never attended our Get in The Game Class, your next opportunity will be August 26th at both campuses. The class will tell you about Foothills' history, vision, values, and strategy. I will personally be leading the Seneca class and Pastor Brian Marshall will lead the Toccoa class. Free childcare and lunch will be served. You can sign-up today here.

I'm back

I haven't blogged much lately because I have been on vacation. I am home and am ready to get back to work.
Our usual summer vacation is a trip to Florida to stay with my parents. I also tow my boat down with us. We fished quite a bit (and caught quite a bit). The highlight was watching my son Cole catch his first sailfish. He did an awesome job handling the fish, and the sailfish put on quite a show.
My daughter Kristen wasn't quite as enthusiastic about fishing offshore. She found out after catching a bonito that it's a workout to reel them in.
My wife and I caught a bunch of dolphin (mahi-mahi) one morning about 12-15 miles offshore. That was a blast.
We also fished from the beach several times. The schools of bait stretched for miles along the beach, which meant there was some pretty good action. We caught a lot of fish, and did hook-up with a 50+ lb tarpon that got off, but not before going airborne several times.
I also got a chance to spend a lot of time with my parents. They are such wonderful people and great hosts!
Unfortunately just before we were scheduled to leave, we got a call from my wife's mother in Virginia letting us know that her Dad was in the hospital and fighting for his life. She booked the next flight out and got to Virginia to spend a little time with here Dad before he passed away. I will be leaving to go to be with them later this week.
It is humbling to have such wonderful friends. So many people calling or sending notes of encouragement. Thank you all so much. To top it all off, when I got home yesterday evening after driving for 11 hours, David and Jerod Ayers were at my house cutting my grass! I said, 'what are you doing?', he said, "I didn't want you to have to worry about cutting grass with all that is going on right now" Wow!
My father-in-law was a great man, and I will surely miss him.

Also, I am blessed to be able to get away and not worry while I'm gone. The staff at Foothills Community Church are the best in the world. Thanks guys!

Here are a few pics of my time away:

The drift

I am in Florida right now on vacation. I grew up in South Florida and have spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours on these beautiful beaches over the years. One thing many tourists are not aware of is that there is a subtle current that is not visible to the eye . Many people come to the beach and lay their towels, sunscreen, coolers and other beach gear on the sand and then go in for a dip in the ocean. They swim for several minutes and get out of the water and cannot find their belongings. They assume someone must have come and stolen their things while they were swimming, but what happened was that they drifted down the beach without realizing it.
As I have read the headlines over the last couple of weeks, I am reminded of a subtle current that has swept our Nation from its foundation. We have lost our moral and Biblical bearings. We have been swept downstream by the current of evil. The worst part is that we don't even realize it.

Take for instance the media firestorm over Dan Cathay, Chick-Fil-A's CEO, comments about his personal beliefs about the definition of marriage. What was it that he said that has caused this national outrage? He simply stated his position that he believed in the Biblical definition of marriage, which is one man and one woman. Yes, that's right. He had the gall to say that he believed in the sanctity of marriage.

Please bear in mind that Chick-Fil-A corporate does not discriminate in its hiring process based on sexual preference. This not about "anti" anything. This is about the support of marriage. Whether we realize it or not, we're drifting. 20 years ago, Dan Cathay would be applauded. Today he is being assaulted. America has lost its way.

The prophet Isaiah put it this way.  Isa. 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 

Now, more than ever, mainstream America has got to stand up for what is right. This isn't a political statement (I steer clear of that) This is not a Republican/Democrat issue. This is a moral compass issue.

Hate groups are calling for a boycot of Chick-Fil-A. Mayors from some cities are making it clear that Chick-Fil-A will not be welcomed in their towns. How sad.

What can you do?  Many people are planning to do show their support, on Wednesday, August 1st by participating in  "Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day.”   This is just a way to affirm a business that operates on Christian principles.

I am thankful that I live in the greratest country in the World. I think it is our responsibility to stand for what is right, in a respectful, Christ-honoring way.

sunday review

Awesome is the only way to describe the services at Foothills Community Church yesterday. We wrapped up what could have been the best series we have ever done. It was called Spiritual Warfare. In the series we took a close look at the tactics that Satan uses to try to destroy our lives. Yesterday we talked about how to win over temptation.

* David Odom and the worship team did such a phenomenal job of leading the congregation into the presence of God.

* Speaking of David Odom, he and Amanda are celebrating their 7th anniversary today!

* During my message I talked about fighting the temptation of the soft-serve ice cream machine on my cruise (by the way, I lost that battle, and gave into the temptation :-) ), but it was pretty ironic that we gave away free ice cream after the service! I'm pretty sure that some people thought it was a set-up, but it wasn't. It just worked out that way

* Attendance continues to increase during the summer. That is always nice.

* Our Toccoa campus had a high attendance yesterday as well!

* Looks like FCC is going to be involved in some unbelievable community service projects this fall. I'll fill you in on the details soon. But let's just say that this is HUGE!

* I am praying overtime for our Campus expansion plans. If you know of a town in GA, SC or NC that would love to have a Foothills Community Church campus, let us know. We are creating a web page that will have a lot more detail available. It should be up pretty soon.

* I'm also really pumped about a series that we will be doing this fall on the book of Acts, called "Be The Church"

* Lots of people have been handing out our new invite cards. They are great conversation starters.

* Excited for my friend Dean Herman and the church that he Pastors. They will be moving into their new building this Sunday!

* You don't want to miss FCC this weekend!

sunday review

I love the energy level at Foothills Community Church right now. Even though we are in the middle of summer, we are not experiencing the dreaded "summer slump". In fact, if anything, we are seeing summer momentum. We estimate that on any given Sunday approx. 15% of our regular attenders are on vacation, but there are a bunch of new people that are showing up and checking things out. That is awesome.

* Yesterday we continued the Spiritual Warfare series. The focus of the message was understanding the tactics that Satan uses against us. If you missed it, I shared that the tactics he uses are the exact same tactics he has always used: DISTORTION, DOUBT, DISTANCE and DECEPTION. Once we're aware of the tactics we can better defend against them.

* We will wrap up the series this Sunday with a message called, How to win over temptation. this will be the most application oriented message of the series, and you do not want to miss it!

* We had the choir back on stage. I always love that!

* I will be doing a video tomorrow where I will share a little more in-depth about our new campus expansion plan. This is going to be huge!

* I hear that the Toccoa campus is very fired-up about the possibility of having additional FCC campuses in Northeast Georgia!

* I am looking forward to the series coming up this Fall on the book of Acts called, Be The Church. I have been studying the book of Acts lately and it is packed with powerful, practical truths for the church in the 21st century.

* Mark your calendars for August 26th. I will be leading our next Get In The Game class in Seneca (Pastor Brian will be leading the class in Toccoa) If you are new to FCC, or have never gotten plugged in, this is your next step. You will learn all about Foothills vision, strategy, history and future and how you can join us on our mission. In Seneca, the class will be at 12:30pm with free lunch and childcare. Sign-up at the Link on Sunday or by checking off the box on your info card or do it online.

Exciting News

If you were not at Foothills Community Church you missed one of the biggest announcements we have ever made. We unveiled our new campus expansion plan. Let me share a little more detail.
As most of you know FCC currently has 2 locations (Seneca, SC and Toccoa, GA). Over the last couple of years we have been praying for clarity on where we would add our next campus. Through that time of prayer I sensed that the Lord was leading us to do something very innovative when it comes to adding campuses.
First off, one of the things we feel strongly about is adding campuses in smaller towns. Both of our current locations are in small towns. I have always said that small towns don't lack churches, they lack choices. Although most small towns have churches that are reaching people for Christ, most don't have churches like Foothills. Please understand our goal is not to reach people who are already happily attending a church, it's to try to reach people who are un-churched or de-churched.
Our plan will be to begin a Bible study group in a living room, and grow it to the point that they would eventually hold services in a larger location (Pretty much the way that Foothills Community Church got started-- in my living room).  In order for this to be successful, we need leaders who have a passion to reach their communities for Christ, and will do whatever-it-takes. As I read the book of Acts it is apparent to me that a Holy Spirit directed grass roots approach is what the early church was all about. That's exactly the model we will be using.
We know that in many of these towns we will never grow a mega-church. That is not our goal. Our goal is to be effective. To help people find and follow Jesus.

Here's some things you need to know. We are actively seeking potential leaders that could possibly become campus Pastors as well as people who would like to be a part of this movement of God. We are targeting the following locations in Georgia: Hart County, Habersham County, Rabun County, Elbert County, Franklin County, White County, Jackson County. In North Carolina: Transylvania County, Macon County, Jackson County. Of course we are also considering other areas of South Carolina as well.
Here's what I need you to do:
1. Pray. This is a God-sized vision. We cannot do it on our own. (In fact, we will only move forward as God leads. We will not "force" this to happen. If God doesn't guide, we will wait for His timing. Please pray for clarity, wisdom, the right people, for favor in these areas, and for campus pastors in these locations.
2. Get the word out. If you know people in these areas that you think would be a good fit, let us know. Maybe the Lord would call you to go to one of these areas!
3. Give. This is going to cost a lot to do right. We are committed to keeping the costs low so that we can start multiple locations, but there will be costs involved

You are probably wondering when all this will happen. It will happen in phases. A lot of things have to come together first, but I am hoping that we will be starting our next campus in late 2012 or early 2013.

mid week review

It has been pretty much non-stop around Foothills Community Church. Instead of summer slowing things down, I think things have actually sped up.

* Our church is spread out all over the map this week. We have a group of teenagers at camp in Tenn. We have a group of 3rd-6th graders at a camp in Alabama, and we have a team doing ministry in Haiti. (We have another team leaving this weekend for Harlan County KY as well!)

* This past Sunday was an awesome day at FCC. Worship was led by Pastor Bill Swindle and our talented team of singers and musicians. They did an incredible job in Pastor David Odom's absence. David and Amanda just had a new baby last week, so they were a bit preoccupied.

* I wrapped up the Urban Legend series with a message called, Saying a Prayer makes You a Christian. Of course, this is an urban legend. I am attaching the video in case you missed it.

* I had planned to do the Urban Legend series for 1 more week, but the more I prepared, the more I sensed God's leading to go in a different direction. This puts a lot of stress on our team, but they do whatever it takes to make it happen. I like that!

* The new series is simply called, Spiritual Warfare. Believe it or not, we are in a war, spiritually speaking. It is the war between good and evil. There are way too many casualties in this war, so this series will help you understand the battle, the enemy, his tactics and how to overcome him. YOU DON"T WANT TO MISS!

* On Monday my friend Pastor Shannon O'dell from Brand New Church in Harrison Arkansas came by and spoke to our staff and Sr. management team. God really used him to speak into my life. Pastor Shannon has a heart for doing ministry in small towns, and has written a book to help other churches. I highly recommend it.

* I know I have mentioned this before, but if you have not used our online giving, you might want to consider it. You can use it one time, or every week. This is especially helpful during the summer months when people are in and out of church on vacations. Why not sign-up now?

* One last thing I want to leave you with. This Sunday I have a very important announcement that I'll be sharing. God is at work and we have a very exciting opportunity that will extend our reach like never before. Can't wait to share it with you!

Is Church for perfect people?

This is from last Sunday at Foothills Community Church. We deal with the myth that church is for "perfect people"

Awesome Father's Day

It was an awesome Father's Day at both campuses of Foothills Community Church.

* In Seneca we had a lot of Dads in the house, and we had a lot of fun with them. If you missed it, we gave away several very nice gifts. But before you could claim a prize you had to win a little friendly competition. Whoever could eat a hotdog the fastest, would win.

* I was actually surprised  how long it took for them to eat the hotdog. I was getting a bit nervous watching them and actually was thinking we might have to use the Heimlich technique on one of the contestants!! Fortunately everyone survived.

* We had some great worship, and then continued the Urban Legends series. The Urban Legend we debunked was, "The Church is For Perfect People" The bottom line is there is no such thing as perfect person.

* I'm not sure, but I think that could be the most feed back I have received about a message in quite a while.

* After the service was over we had free ice cream, which went over big!

* All in all, a terrific day.

* Over at our Toccoa campus they had a great day as well. They ha a few fun things planned and gave away a newgrill to one of the Dad'.

* Later that day they had a huge party and the best part was that they baptized 11 more people!! God is at work at both of our campuses!

* You don't want to miss this Sunday. The Urban Legend we will tackle is, Saying A Prayer Makes Me A Christian. Prepare to be challenged. This is going to rock some people's world. Don't miss it.

sunday review

It's been a busy time around Foothills Community Church. Here a few highlights:

* Last week we held our annual SonSports kids event. It was a huge success. Over 200 kids participated and 100 adults volunteered.

* 15 of those kids indicated that they were ready to begin a relationship with Jesus!

* Yesterday, was a fun day at FCC. Our attendance were definitely affected by the weather, but the services were great. It has always been a mystery to me how a little rain can deter some people from coming to church. To me, Church is the best hour of the week. No way am I missing it!

* We tackled the urban legend, Faith Fixes Everything. Faith is extremely important, but it doesn't fix everything. To watch the message you can check it out here. (It will be online by Wednesday)

* The weather also caused a little change in plans for our baptism party. With the forecast of 100% chance of rain, we decided to move it indoors to our concourse.

* I must say, I think having it inside worked awesome. Lots of people showed up, and it seemed like everybody had a good time.

* The best part by far, was that 21 people were baptized! It was so moving. I can't think of anything I enjoy more than baptism services. Congrats to all of  those who stepped out in faith.

* I am really pumped about this Sunday--Father's Day. We are giving away some sweet prizes. Every man 18 or over will be eligible. In case you're wondering why? It's because unlike Mother's day, Father's Day is one of the least attended Sundays of the year, so we are giving Dad's a reason to get their families to church this Sunday. Let's face it, Dad's are instrumental in the spiritual direction of their families, and unfortunately many dad's have relegated their responsibility to their wives.

* This week's urban legend, The Church is For Perfect People. We are going to seriously debunk this myth.

* Make sure to be there Sunday, and bring a friend.

summer time

Can't believe it's summer. But at Foothills Community Church things are in full swing. One thing for sure, things never get boring around here.

* This past Sunday was incredible. From the time you entered until the time you left, the experience was phenomenal.

* Having Brian Rhodes in the kiddie pool as you entered the concourse got some strange looks (and a whole lot of smiles) He was promoting our Baptism party. If you haven't been dunked", this is your opportunity!

* Some of the guest services team put 150lbs. of ice into the pool between services (which would explain Brian's grimace :-) )

* I LOVED the music. Having the choir up there always adds so much.

* The Rascall Flatts tune to kick things off was awesome!

* The Urban Legends series continued wit the legend, God's Will Is The Safest Place To Be. Sounds true enough, but what the Bible teaches is that the will of God is not the safest place to be, but it's the BEST place to be.

* This week the Urban Legend is Faith Fixes Everything. You definitely do not want to miss!

* SonSports began yesterday afternoon. We have been doing SonSports for several years, but I think this year is going to be the best ever. Thanks to the 100 volunteers that are serving this week, and a special thank you to my amazing wife, Liz, who has spent probably hundreds of hours organizing it.

* I'm praying that many of the kids will begin a relationship with Jesus!

* By the way, it's not too late to have your kids participate. Just get them here this afternoon!

* As I mentioned earlier, this Sunday at 4:30pm at Biggerstaff Retreat Center on Lake Keowee, we will have our next baptism party. It is going to be a blast. Bring enough food for your family + 1, your friends and a lawn chair. Come and support those who will be stepping up and proclaiming their faith in Christ through baptism!

* If you would like to be baptized, show up ready to get dunked!

* On Father's day (June 17th) we are going to be giving way some fantastic prizes. Both campuses will be doing the give-aways. To qualify for the prizes you must be a guy (18 years or older). These are some serious big-time prizes, so bring your Dad's. Who knows he may walk away with a killer prize.

* We are exploring a couple of extremely exciting opportunities. I can't go into much detail just yet, but I can tell you this much, if the Lord opens the door, it will be the most amazing thing FCC has ever done!!

random thoughts

Since it's already Wednesday, I thought I would just share some random thoughts, so bear with me because they're extremely random.

* This past Sunday at Foothills Community Church was awesome. I pretty much did nothing. Brian Rhodes preached for me and did an amazing job!

* Worship was led by Kevin Robison who is our Toccoa campus worship Pastor. David Odom was out of town spending time with family, but we never missed a beat. Kevin did incredible job.

* What a blessing it is that God has provided so many gifted people at FCC. And I'm not just talking about our staff. We have so many incredibly gifted volunteers as well!

* I got so sunburned last weekend. I'm starting to peel. I hate peeling.

* Don't forget that June 10th will be our next baptism party at Lake Keowee. There are no parties like FCC parties! If you would like to be baptized sign-up today!

* Speaking of baptism, I loved having Justin Terry, our youth Pastor, out front in the dunk tank. So thankful for his willingness to take one for the team.

* You won't believe what we've got planned out for our Father's Day on June 17th. Trust me, if you are a guy, you NEED to be at FCC. We are going to be giving away some UNBELIEVABLE prizes! You will hear more about this on Sunday.

* I went for my one year check-up since having my stents put in. My cardiologist said I am doing fantastic! You can read more about that here.

* I just heard that Foothills Community Church had the 3rd most baptisms of all Southern Baptist churches in the State of South Carolina for 2011! (There are around 2,000 SBC churches in SC) That is a result of the folks at FCC that continue to help others Find and Follow Jesus!

* Son Sports begins next Monday afternoon. This is going to be HUGE! Invite every kid you see. They will have the time of their life!

* Went to watch my middle grand daughter's awards/graduation from kindergarten. I can't believe how time flies.

* Summer is here. Have you considered using our online giving option? This will help you to stay consistent in your giving throughout the summer.

* I officially got ripped-off by someone on Craig's List. Not happy about that.

sunday review

It was another great day at Foothills Community Church yesterday. I really love the people that I get do life and ministry with.

* I thought David Odom and the band knocked it out of the park yesterday. I know I've said it 1,000 times, but wow, we are blessed to have the worship team that we do at FCC!

* We kicked off the Urban Legends message series, with the #1 church urban legend out there, "God helps those who help themselves."

* Although there is a measure of truth to that statement, overall the Bible teaches just the opposite. God helps those who CAN'T help themselves.

* This series has a similar feel to the Questions Uncensored series (which I love).

* Memorial Day weekend is coming up. It's hard to believe that summer is here.

* We are really gearing up for SonSports. Make sure you bring your kids/grandkids. There are some huge things planned. Parents, don't miss this opportunity for your kids to encounter Christ through sports, art and crafts, music and skits.

* Our next Baptism Party is coming on June 10th at Biggerstaff Retreat Center. You will be hearing a lot more details about it starting next Sunday.

* I usually avoid going to Walmart, but my wife asked me to stop by yesterday afternoon for a couple of grocery items, so I did. I must have seen 50 people that I knew in 20 minutes. It was like a Foothills Community Church reunion!

* My softball team won the FCC softball league. Not bragging, just stating the facts :-)

* I am really excited about this. Supposed to be out in July.

* Was really hoping to begin a hybrid program of P90X and Insanity, but it's currently on hold because I ordered the Insanity DVD's from Craig's List, and it appears that I have been ripped-off. So until my dispute is settled I will stick exclusively with my P90X.

* I loved this message by James McDonald about consumerism in the church.