A Week Off

I am currently sitting by a pool in Rockledge, FL. If you do not know where that is, think Cocoa Beach then go inland about 10 minutes. The weather is amazing, perfect temp with a great wind, I am all alone, Brenda and the kids are sleeping, I have the new Jon Foreman laying on my ipod and I am about to start reading another book. I am looking forward to taking a week to just rest and not think about the church. Amidst the screams I can hear some of you saying, “Did the pastor just say he was not going to think about the church?” Well that might be stretching it, but what I mean is that I am not going to be planning, researching, writing sermons, or do any of the other things that encompass my day. There is no way I could not think about the church some, but I will not let it dominate my thoughts. SO what will I do for the week?

* Spend crazy time with my wife and kids. Already today we have spent a couple of hours in the pool. That is why they are crashed now.

* Read for enjoyment.

* Spend time with my dad, his wife, and sisters followed by a couple of days with my mother in law (yes I actually enjoy that, husband your life will be better of you would get along with them.) and my mentor (otherwise known as my father in law).

* Listen to music.

* Write a little.

* Eat a ton of this fresh, east coast seafood.

* Recuperate from the past 6months and get ready for the next six.

 

Yes I do miss Tally a little, it is home. I will be back within a week, and am looking forward to getting back at it. There is so much that is going to happen in the upcoming months, and I am ready to go. I love you all and will see you soon.

Springtime Tallahassee Event

So I experienced my first Springtime Tallahassee event. I am still not sure what in the world I saw! I could not figure out what the parade was about and the different themes were very confusing. But I spent the entire day with my family and some of the leaders from ECC. The best part of the day? CARNIVAL FOOD!!!! I eat pretty healthy most of the time, but when it comes to carnival or fair food, forget it. I eat sausage and peppers, fried fish, funnel cakes, and anything else fried in an open cast iron skillet. It was amazing, but boy did I pay for it later. When you put healthy food in your stomach most of the time, and then overload it with fried stuff, your stomach does not respond well.

 

I am an observer of people, and this event was tailor made for someone like me in that regard. I noticed again that Tallahassee has a pretty diverse group of people. I know that the majority of people seem to have a country influence, but there is also a wide range of other groups of people as well. God is creative in His design, and it was apparent to me again.

 

Will I return to Springtime Tallahassee next year? As long as the food is there, and I get to be with my family and friends I will…regardless of the weird floats and reckless design.

Easter Rewound

            What a weekend! After numerous planning meetings, staff meetings, and a ton of volunteer team meeting the day of each of the events, it is all over and was worth every minute of planning. It really was a long weekend and I will recap all of it at once so here we go…

·      There was a team of great volunteers that showed up at 8:00AM on Saturday to set up the Easter Fun Day. From an outdoor sound system, cooking station, setting up inflatables, egg hunt preparation (which was filling 700 eggs with candy), getting all the food ready, blocking off the back parking lot for people, and all the other things that had to get done, everything was done by a team of fantastic volunteers. Without you it would have never happened, and I appreciate you more than you know.

·      When it all started I believed that we could get over a hundred people there, but boy was I wrong. With well over 200 people there, and 62 kids registered for the easter egg hunt, it was well beyond my expectations.

·      With all the people showing up, there were of course some wrinkles, but many people stepped up and did whatever it took to make it happen.

·      I played three on three basketball with some young guys and it was great. And yes I still have it for a white guy! I hit all my shots and they were calling me Steve Nash! Who wants some?!?!

·      Sunday was also a big day for ECC. We had a high attendance, and a lot of visitors. The ushers and first impression team were given their new responsibilities and they did great.

·      The new look of the sanctuary is wonderful. It has really changed since I got here and feels more like the church we are.

·      We are going to have to order more chairs! We had to bring out more for Sunday’s experience.

·      The music this week was intense and well planned. Arron again is amazing at how much he does for being so young, but when God has his hand on someone it really should not surprise me. The sky is the limit for this guy. I just hope I can hire him before someone else does.

·      When doing a children’s sermon during the main experience, get ready for anything to happen. It always will!

·      The media and lights were great. The media team came through with a very tough assignment of keeping up with all the media that was used during the experience.

·      So what was the result of this long, tiring weekend? 6 people gave their lives to Christ during the Sunday experience. Someone asked me if it was worth it, and my response was if only one person gave their life to Christ, then it was well worth it.

Stay tuned to this blog because in just a few weeks there will be a huge announcement concerning the direction of our church…God is directing us down an amazing path that will test our faith, but in the end, doing His will always does!

My Anniversary Date

Yesterday was a big day for me. It was my 8 year anniversary of being married to my best friend. Brenda and I have been together for 10 years, and married for 8. She is an amazing person who has out up with a lot being married to me. (Although her dad told me I am the one putting up with a lot!) So if you have not heard Brenda and I are on the Dave Ramsey plan for a total money makeover so doing a big date night was not in the budget, so I created one.

I took her to the greatest restaurant in Tallahassee called Cadenzie’s. The night started with me going to Carrabba’s and picked up an appetizer, two meals, and dessert. (I had that much in the budget.) I convinced my two daughters to be the waitresses, hostesses, food runners, and bus boys. I had my wife go to the bedroom for a few minutes. I plated all the food on plates, bowls, etc. I had a brief training session with the wait staff and hostesses, and off we went. I “picked her up” at the bedroom door, and walked her to the door of the restaurant. (So it was actually our living room with a booth created out of the coffee table and couch. It was decorated with a lit candle on the table and jazz music in the background.) The hostesses greeted up with a “Welcome to Cadnezie’s!” (if you do not know, my daughters names are CADENence and mackeNZIE, thus the restaurant name.) They took us to our table and then served our entire meal. Appetizer first, then salads, the main course, and finally dessert! They were great waitresses, and we even tipped them! So I had to do the dishes, but it was well worth it.

So when it was all over, Brenda was smiling, and she would not had had it any other way. It wasn’t the dream date, but for a night we celebrated the greatest part of 8 years…our family.

Sunday Rewound

So a second Sunday in the new sanctuary and the excitement continued this week. It is the topic of conversation as this week we changed the lighting. For those who have not been to ECC, we have large institutional fluorescent lights on our ceiling. It would not be as bad except they are ran from front to back meaning I cannot adequately control which ones are on and off. So this week we had all of them off and utilized stage lights, uplights, and a little indirect sunlight to light the worship experience. It was well received by most people, and the predominant thought was that it was more “intimate.” When you have an old building design, it can work if you are creative, willing to take a risk, and have a great group of people willing to make the change with you. Here are a few more highlights…
• Lighting made the music more intense. As Arron stood in a flood of light leading us in worship, it was amazing. The band did an unbelievable job, and when they did “Majesty,” tears again came down my eyes. I know I am a cry baby, but grace moves me…
• Having the coffee in the café area makes the foyer much more open, and this is a great first impression. Next week the new machines and coffee will be in. Hopefully by this Friday!
• I love seeing young and old intermingling.
• Had about 7 new people join us. I love visitors! Hope they stay.
• Brenda and Michelle made a garden for me on the stage to help me illustrate my teaching, and it looked great. From the abstract look of the garden to the lighting to the candles strategically placed it was a great look!
• I know I teared up again during the teaching, cut me some slack, grace moves me.
• I love pastoring this church and these people…get ready…things are about to change…

Sunday Rewound

Sunday was a great day for ECC. The renovation is finally done and the chairs are in. We sold all of our pews and installed new chairs and built divider walls. We made a café area and a resource area and it looks great. Many of the people thought the new look was wonderful, even the old timers. Here’s a recap of the rest of the day…

·        Many people were mingling together before service in the café area, and it was great to see that. Six months ago I walked into a church where people were not talking and leaving as soon as church was over. Now I see people coming early, getting coffee, and building relationships.

·        Music was great. Arron was stretched this week as we rearranged the stage and changed his microphone. He did a fabulous job, and the people responded well.

·        Started a new series “Impact.” We have decided that this year Easter will mean something more than eggs and pastel shirts. We are building towards a great Easter that will have an “Impact” on us.

·        Started our “My Circle,” program designed to help people bring new people to our church. Stats show that everyone knows 7 others that are not attending church. We want to help them bring their “circle” to our place where God can reach them.

·        Also on Sunday we had our first “Vintage Experience.” This was on Sunday night and we celebrated the heritage of the church. Attendance was great! Music was traditional (in lyrics only, Arron played them in a modern style), we had testimonies of how God was working in people’s lives, and then Dr. E Bob Kuschel brought a challenging message. The night was great, and of course was topped off with a dinner served “on the grouds.”

·        The dinner also was a party for my birthday. (I had nothing to do with that!!) It was complete with a Darth Vader impersonator and a great cake. Thanks to my ECC family for making my day great.

·        Long day but I am looking forward to what God has next for us!