The Sky Is Falling!

What a Sunday. It started during service today. Flint, our drummer’s car broke down on the way to practice this morning. This caused the band to be a little frazzled, but after a time of prayer they settled down a little, got into their groove, and led an amazing time of worship.

Then we moved into the teaching part of the experience. In an effort to transpose the DNA of Genesis into the west campus, we have decided to show the series “Gameday.” This is a series that teaches the 3C Spiritual Formation process of GCTV. Right from the beginning of the video, I heard a low buzz. As a sound perfectionist, it drove me nuts. I took it as long as I could until I finally went to the sound booth to try to remedy the problem. I immediately found that the wrong cord was being used, and on top of that it had a short in it! Is was bad, real bad. I was breaking out in hives. The crazy thing was that we previewed it and it sounded fine, the kids were watching a movie on Saturday and it was fine, it was fine during the countdown video, but during the teaching it went crazy.

After an experience like that I was ready to go home and just relax. It probably did not bother others as much as me, but by the time I got home, I was exhausted. After lunch I decided to take a tap before mowing the lawn and cleaning the house. About 30 minutes into my siesta (on the couch wife my wife no less) I heard a loud crash. Coming out of my slumber, I noticed a hole in my ceiling. Seriously, a hole. The ceiling had collapsed and water was pouring into the living room floor. A drain pan in the AC which is in the attic had backed up and leaked onto the ceiling, until it eventually fell through. It would have hurt someone had they been standing there. A living room full of wet insulation, sheet rock, and other parts made my day just great. I called a great friend of mine who helped me get it under control while my family packed up and went to the friends’ house. We are now in a hotel for the next couple of days while I figure what to do next. I cant go back until the hole is fixed and it is safe.

What have a learned from today? When you follow God’s will and He is about to do something great through you, obstacles are imminent. Spiritual warfare happens, and sometimes it comes in different forms. The day has been bad, but could have been worse. The day has been long, but it could have been worse. The day has been frustrating, but it could have been worse. I still have my family, my friends, and my calling. If the size of the obstacles are proportional to the size of God’s plan, we are about to do something amazing…even if the sky is falling.  

What a week…

I know that I have not written in over a week, but you will have to forgive me. This past week has been insane but I have learned a few things. So now, another set of random thoughts from a crazy week:

·        Gracen got his first black eye! It was awesome. Why is it that when my girls got hurt I was embarrassed, but when Gracen gets a black eye I think it is cool?

·        I hate painting. Seriously, I hate it. I with the help of some amazing volunteers repainted a lot of our family center. I hate it, but I know that it has to get done. I will be posting some before and after pictures when it gets completed.

·        Church growth is an amazing journey, but it has its rough moments. We took a major blow this week with our plans for financing this journey. It was no surprise to God and he will provide what we need. I am having to live that now more than ever.

·        At Genesischurch.tv we use a program called basecamp which is a project management software. It is unbelievable how much more productive you can be when everyone and everything is centralized.

·        Momo’s pizza is still the best around.

·        Arron was gone all week to lead worship at a youth camp, and Brenda and my kids went to Gainesville for three days. I was lonely! I worked from about 7 AM to 10 PM each day so I would not have to go home to an empty house. I love my family and friends.

 

That’s about it or my week. Lots of painting and manual labor. The hard work that has to get done, but it will be worth it come September…Genesischurch.tv West.

 

A New Lesson

So each day I try to learn something new. Something that will make me a better dad, husband, leader, or just a better person in general. Some days I learn things that do not make any difference to the world, it is just random trivia. Yesterday I learned something that is crazy! I had called Chris Altman to come and fix the air conditioning on the student center at the church. It takes four units to properly air the entire building and two were not working properly. When I got to the campus, I went around back of the building because one of the units that had been working wasn’t coming on now either. When I got to the back I noticed that two of the units were gone. Yes, gone. Like not there. Like only a pile of metal and a couple of sets of wires. Imagine a tornado hitting two units. I thought to myself, “WOW! Chris is really going to town on these units to fix them, but why leave such a mess?” I called him and one of the first things he said was that he was sorry he hadn’t been there yet. HUH?!? I casually asked him, “DO people steal air conditioning units?” He said yeah all the time. Really? People take the whole unit? He informed me that they steal them for the copper wire. He immediately came over to assess what was going on.

Needless to say we called the police, they took a report, but what are the odds? I have heard of people staeling things before, but AC units? I wish I had a picture, but they took the whole thing. Cut the pipes and all.

So I learned something new today. AC units are more valuable than I thought. Now the next few problems arise. Those units keep our kids programs cooled on Sunday. We will have to move them somewhere else. And now I get to deal with the insurance company. Fortunately, Wilma Miller is our insurance specialist and I am hoping she can help me in this matter.

 

Again I ask…really? People steal ac units? Seriously? Evidently so…

 

Dream Geography

“Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4)

Famous story of Jesus telling Peter to go fishing again after Peter had been out all night, yet catching nothing. We marvel at the miracle that Jesus provided so many fish that the net almost broke. But what if that was not the real miracle? What if the real miracle was the fact that Christ wanted Peter, and us, to go “deep water dreaming?”

Recently I saw on an episode of “Deadliest Catch” a fisherman pull up a load of crab and say that this was the thing he had been dreaming of. His greatest dream was found in the deepest of waters. What if all our dreams are in the deep water, and Jesus is not providing the fruit of the dream, but rather revealing to us the means to achieve the great dream of our hearts? (Which by the way He put in your heart!)

Maybe churches would grow quicker and with more life if leaders and members were willing to go into the deep water. Deep water is dangerous because you can’t see what’s down there, the waves and storms are bigger, and there just might be something big that will bite you! But if you can have the courage and fortitude to navigate those challenges, your dream of truly influencing your city, state, country, and planet can become a God ordained reality.

This is true of all our dreams. What is your dream? What is the one thing that excites you so much you can’t stop thinking about it? If you are ready for it, go fishing…in the deep water.

 

My Son Is In Man Training

So I come home today from work and say hello to all my kids as usual except today Gracen was in in his room watching TV. What was he watching you ask? Barney? Hip Hop Harry? Cartoons? Nope. Sportscenter! Thats right my one year old was getting his fill of the daily sports world. How great is that! What was he wearing? Cute outfit? Jammies? Nope. Just a diaper! What a man! Sitting in his underwear watching sports. I am one proud dad!!!

Th only problem was that he was watching the commercials. He still has some learning to do in regards to proper remote control management…

A Thought Nugget

 

Ronald Reagan said:
“A leader, once convinced that a particular course of action is the right one, must be undaunted when the going gets tough.”

Life is tough. Seek God to help you make the decisions you need for today, but when He leads you must follow…regardless of where he takes you.