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Awesome day today. Totally can’t believe how we’re growing numerically. This is fun. It’s not everything, but it’s fun!

• Lori Ward shared her story with us today about going through 2 rounds of ovarian cancer. It was really powerful for different reasons than the stories that get highlighted so often. She is learning to walk with Jesus, trusting Him daily. No major dramatic circumstances other than beating unbeatable odds 2 times through chemotherapy. Lori had lots to teach us.
• Band played Healer, which is one powerful song.
• Got to ask the church to pray for Jimmy & Jessica Holt as they head to Southeastern Seminary. I’m so proud of their step of faith.
• We went so high-tech today at kids’ checkin…until it broke down. Ugh. Helps things go much smoother if we can keep it working.
• Setup & teardown have been difficult lately. Not really sure why, but we’re working on it.
• Small groups begin in 2 weeks! Register here.
• Headed out to a student cookout tonight. Looking forward to hanging out with some of our teenagers.
• Next week in the series: I’d invest in the next generation. Gonna be a good one.

Have a great week!

Right now as a church staff we are reading a book on non-profit management called Mastering the Management Buckets by John Pearson. A great book for anyone who leads anything. In it, he talks about the difference between outside results and inside results. The outside results are the things you are in business for, and you can apply this to your personal life as well. The inside results are the things that must be done so you can produce results in the areas that matter. For me, I’m currently applying budget codes to our purchases so that our accountant can accurately report what we’ve done in our books. That’s an INSIDE result! When I’m done, I’ll be enabled to focus on things that matter for me in my job - communicating with people, preparing to teach God’s word, organizing small groups, etc.

If you’re not careful, your professional life and your personal life can become filled up with inside results. There are enough of them to fill up the calendar every single day if you let them. It’s a discipline for me to schedule time to focus on the things that matter in my job. And, even though it’s not fun to refer to scheduling family time and time with the Lord, I also have to schedule time to focus on the things that really matter in life.

Sunday night I was watching the Little League World Series and 12 kids have got on base in a row. The defense changed pitchers and still no luck. Same kid hit 2 homers in 1 inning. It was brutal. Somebody just has to get the last out! The losing team was willing to just concede but the rules of the game don’t allow it. They knew the game was over but just had to wrap it up so they could move on to the next round in the losers’ bracket.

There’s a lesson to be learned here I think. Sometimes you just have to stick it out. There are times when we don’t want to finish what we start but you can’t live life that way. Don’t try to do something else until you’ve finished what you’ve started. The discipline of perseverance to finish something you’re not so pumped up about prepares you to work hard when you need it. Get the last out when you have to and then get on with something new.

Standing on the front row today worshiping God just spoke clearly to me and said “you’ve got the best job in the world.” I agree. It still blows me away that people wake up every Sunday and come to church at 7am to create environments to make it simple for people to take their next step with Jesus Christ. And, people stick around for an hour afterward, sweating like they’ve just run 5 miles, to pack a trailer. If you are a volunteer, you blow me away.

• Seeing the room full 2 times when we wondered if we’d ever see it full once is so surreal. Tons of first time guests today, and it was great to have the CNC students back in full effect.
• Taught on humility from Philippians 2 today. Talking about humility may be the easiest to preach and hardest subject to live in all of Scripture. It’s easy because our culture tells us to make a name for ourselves and Paul tells us to follow the example of Christ in considering others better than ourselves. The message will make it up on podcast but it may take a few days.
• Setup was very smooth today but it was after the worst mess we’ve ever had to clean up at Rose Center. Every Saturday night = par-tay at RC right now. So interesting the things you can get away with in public here in Mo-town =)
• Our music is so good right now (I can say so since I have nothing to do with it…humility). TR has added a lot and TP can shred that electric. So grateful for the whole band playing their hearts out with all their energy to lead us in both services. I’m really going to have to watch my voice over the next few weeks. Still feeling the effects of today right now on Sunday night.
• Had over 200 people write notes to teachers at East High School today letting them know we appreciate them and are praying for their new year. I’ll be delivering them and 12 dozen Dunkin Donuts tomorrow. Only the healthiest of foods for our Hamblen County educators!
• Spending a couple hours at Carson Newman tomorrow and Tuesday. If you’re down that way come see us in the SAC.
• Meeting tonight at the office for small group leaders. Excited about this year of small groups. You can find out more here and register here.
• Only 1 more Sunday stands between us and college football season. Bring it on!

Have a great week!

Biographies and some fiction. I’ve read some great books on leadership and the church lately and I need some time for some of it to sink in so I don’t want to just move on to the next one. Somebody tell me a great biography to read. And, I think I want to read some fiction, but here’s how that breaks down: no vampires, no Harry Potter, and nothing written before about 1990. I’m just not smart enough to enjoy historical fiction anymore =). Any suggestions? Leave me a comment.

Great day today. I’m learning after 2 weeks I thought the first service would be much easier to pull off but that it’s a lot easier to preach a sermon after you’ve already done it once!

• Lots of first-time guests today! Loved seeing all the new faces and meeting lots of new folks.
• Week 2 of 30 Days to Live. Talked about giving away your faith. Faith is too personal to be kept private when we are fully aware of how short life is, so why don’t we speak up now?
• Asked everyone to go to arrowhead30days.com and think through their testimony there. Share with us: who you were before you met Christ, what your salvation experience was like, and who you’ve become since then. Every one of us has a powerful story.
• The day started when we realized that somehow our snake had been stolen out of the trailer on Saturday night. If you don’t know what that is, neither did I until we started the church! It’s the box and cables that EVERY instrument, mic, etc. plugs into so that the sound system can function. Not good! Great people at First Baptist Church let us borrow one on the fly. So thankful for their willingness to help. Otherwise, yesterday could’ve been ugly.
• Kids volunteers who have worked back-to-back weeks are doing an awesome job.
• Great worship set today. The band is bringing all their energy to both services and I appreciate it a ton.
• Got to spend time with a mentor and friend at lunch who went out of his way to be at church. Very refreshing. After that we had to go to Eli’s Mother’s Day Out open house. Can’t believe he’s going to school…sort of.
• Crashed hard after that and I think I had a dream that Tiger Woods choked and let a no name beat him at the PGA. No way that could’ve really happened.

Have a great week!

Last week I had the privilege to spend some time in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a great experience, but it is an extremely difficult place to do ministry, as you can well imagine. The LDS church is the center of community life, and it’s impossible to miss its influence on nearly every aspect of the culture there. Whereas I would tend to complain and question, I met some great church leaders that loved their churches, ministries, and lives in the heart of Mormon country. I heard many times: “The great thing about doing ministry here is that people either love the LDS church or they don’t want anything to do with it. And if they don’t want anything to do with it, it’s a great opportunity to reach them with the gospel.”

What a great perspective. I pray Southern, apathetic, religious culture doesn’t keep the lines blurred between authentic faith and a religious facade.

We’re no longer a church with just one service. What a crazy day.

• Several new volunteers stepped up big time today. I love the fact that our kids now have consistent teachers who will be there next week when they come back! I also love that many of the same faces will welcome people every Sunday. So many people have a lot of time invested in Arrowhead and I’m so grateful for you.
• Kicked off 30 Days to Live today. I’m already ready for next Sunday I’m so excited about this series.
• Life is all about Jesus. 30 days or 30 years won’t matter if He’s not the center. Philippians 1:21 was our focus today.
• Asked everybody to text their vacation spot if you’ve only got 30 days. Responses were interesting: Sydney, Australia. Lots of cruises. Italy x 3. Ogle’s Water Park. If only Ogle’s was still open!! My childhood was spent there.
• Lots of energy in the first service! Little lower energy in the second. That’s okay. Carson Newman students will be back in 2 weeks. If you’re coming to the 11, don’t wait on them though!
• Great to have Rodney Arnold and several people from the launch team of One Life Church today. Pray for them. God has great things planned for them. Can’t wait to see it.

Trying to stay awake this afternoon so I can go to bed about 8pm tonight. I need some rest after spending 3 days in Utah this week. More to come about that later in the week. Have a great one!

Today was our last week with 1 service. Whoa. Hard to believe. Great day today.

• Tyler Rhoton’s first time leading worship with us went well. Great to see people engaging. He and Tyler Patterson were on stage today with a great band. So proud of what God is doing in our worship.
• Shared the stage with the set for James and the Giant Peach at the Rose Center. Very interesting having a 6-foot peach behind you all morning. Made setup and teardown really difficult but it was a great reminder that church isn’t a building! I love having church at a place our community spends time.
• Talked through our core values today. I love talking about our mission and vision.
• People came forward today to write down names on Post-its that they are praying to meet Christ or get involved in church. It was a great moment.
• We’re going to pray over those names on Wednesday morning at 7am at the church office if you are interested.
• Take a look at arrowhead30days.com and begin praying for what God wants to do in you beginning next week in our brand new series.
• Next week feels like a new start again! Can’t wait. Have a great week.