Weekly Rundown
- I’m loving preaching through Jonah!! What a story … it gets even more intense the next 2 weeks!!
- I saw a few “communication cards” from today … SALVATIONS!! … people deciding to let God love them and then love Him back!!!
- Next weekend is Disciple Now for our students. I made some very important decisions at events like these when I was a teenager. I’m praying for God to really speak and manifest Himself to young people. Can’t wait to worship with them! Click here for more information.
- March 18 & 21 is VISION WEEK at RBCC. Great time to invite a guest as we reaffirm God’s vision for our church … absolutely LOVE preaching this particular message!!
- Had a great lunch with some church planters from around our area (Hixon, Ringgold, LFO, Elijah, and beyond). Blessing for me to be around these guys. New churches are the one of the most effective ways to reach new people for Christ … we need new churches to be planted!!
- The “vibe” in the Thursday night service rocks!
- Finally getting some practical, nuts & bolts clarity about global missions.
- Our first “advance” team goes to Haiti next month!!
- Hope to take a trip with Living Water International in 2011 to help provide clean water for a community.
- Could be working with an orphanage in Zimbabwe (Africa) to sponsor children and help upgrade their facility.
- I’m a new dad
- We are officially ONE church in THREE (or in MULTIPLE) locations: Dalton, Calhoun, and now Chatsworth! We had over 300 people in attendance which is huge!!
- I use Rick Warren’s theory that if you get over 200 people to a new service or effort you have staying power. Typically, new starts (services, plants, campuses) have a surge and then attendance dips. Clearing 200 gives critical mass and momentum moving forward.
- I am so proud of BOTH our Campus Pastors, Gus & Carll. They have done an amazing job instilling vision and executing our mission at their respective campuses.
- Great start to our JONAH series this week.
- I think our worship leaders are taking things to a whole ‘nutha level!!
- Our foreign missions strategy and approach continues to develop. I had an amazing conversation this week with Living Water International. We have helped build or repair 2 water wells with them in Haiti and may have an opportunity to travel with them in 2011. Still praying but looks promising.
- The work of Living Water is fantastic. It is amazing what clean water does in a community and the opportunity it gives for people to hear about Jesus.
- Adoption update … we need PRAYER TODAY …
- Our court date is Monday, March 1st. Last week we missed court apparently because of some incomplete paperwork. We are praying everything is in order and for God’s favor in the court and upon our boys!!
- We got a crib for the baby … I just hope he likes to sleep as much as we do
- More prayer needs — I’m speaking at an evangelism conference Tuesday afternoon in Warner Robbins … would appreciate the prayers and that God’s Word comes out of my mouth and nothing more, nothing less.
- So much snow … in Georgia!!
- Headed up to WV for the Student Ski Trip later this week. Always a blast to hang out with the teenagers and enjoy some mountaintop worship and a good word from THE Word
- I still can’t believe Rock Bridge Chatsworth is down to ONE more rehearsal/practice service before the launch on Feb. 28th. Praying …
- Had some God directed and appointed conversations this week … praying that I am more alert for those opportunities — I know they are all around me.
- Did an altar prayer time during our services this weekend … we felt it was needed … I know I needed it.
- I really enjoyed this Fool Proof series … can’t wait for Jonah to kick-off. Amazing story!!
- Some of our staff are taking some well deserved time off. Because ministry is so personal and so intense, it can be hard to get away. However, you always come back better and more able to serve.
- I love the vibe of the Olympics!! Vancouver sure looks like a beautiful place.
- I met someone running for Congress this week. I asked him how I could pray for him and then I prayed with him … pretty cool.
- Our new court date is February 22nd. We’re cautiously optimistic. If we pass we could travel sometime in March!! The house is almost ready … got some reorganizing and “childproofing” left to do.
- SEC Spring football practice starts in early March
- Have a great week!!
- Our weekly devotional, Rock Bridge Fuel is now online … and compatible with mobile browsers. Check it out here.
- The countdown to launch Rock Bridge Chatsworth is ON … February 28th is the big day!!
- Rock Bridge PM (Thursday nights) continues to have great attendance and energy. Every week I meet someone who works on the weekend and is now able to GO TO CHURCH!!
- We’ve got tons of people wanting to get into a small group right now. This is so exciting because we believe a BIG part of our walk with God is walking consistently & intentionally together with other Christ-followers.
- I’m loving teaching our current series, Fool Proof. The finale is this weekend … GREAT time to bring a guest because of what we’ll be discussing.
- Our next series will be called Jonah. We’ll be going through that amazing book … and it is much more than a story of a guy who got eaten by a really big fish
- Beth & I are cautiously, nervously exciting about our court date in Ethiopian court this Thursday. We don’t have to be present and it may take a few days to find out the results. Lots of variables at work — weather, road conditions, power outages, lot of paperwork, etc. etc. The big thing is not passing court but court delays. We are praying everything goes smoothly and this first date is the last date for us.
- Have a great week!!
- Rock Bridge PM … once again we had to “move the curtain” to open more seats … I’m blown away!!
- The downside of “Rock Bridge PM” … I can’t figure out if it is morning or evening:
- On Thursday night I was telling people, “Good morning“!!
- This morning, I said, “Tonight!”
- Hopefully, I’ll get it figured out
- The offering for Haiti Relief is approaching $20,000!!! The “quick” generosity is awesome!!
- Rock Bridge Chatsworth officially starting practicing their set-up operation today!!! Get ready Murray County, here we come!!
- We’ve had some positive feedback on our “FUEL” devotional that is inserted into the weekly bulletin. We hope this helps get people into the Bible on a regular basis. Email jay@rockbridge.cc with feedback.
- Beth & I are cleaning out our house to get ready for our future children!! We have emptied 2 rooms and set-up a baby bed … I can’t believe I just typed that — there is going to be a BABY in my house FULL TIME … and he will be MY SON … WOW!!!!!!!!
- Have a great week!!
- What an incredible week … I stand amazed at God, at our volunteers, at our staff, and at our church.
- We launched Rock Bridge PM on Thursday night … had 297 seats in the Wink Theatre … wasn’t enough!!
- We had numerous guests who work on the weekends saying, “Thank you … I can come to church now!”
- People received Christ as their Lord & Savior
- We thought Sunday attendance might be down as a a result of Thursday night … wrong!! It was up!!
- Gus Waters, our Chatsworth Campus Pastor, informed me that today might be his last day … in Dalton!! He’s hoping to start practicing set-up in Chatsworth as early as NEXT Sunday!!! Things are happening!!
- We don’t have all the Haiti relief counted yet … but as of now over $6000 in cash (this does not include checks)!! Blown away … we are being the church!!
- We are going to send relief money down 3 avenues:
- Water: people cannot live without water for long. Safe, clean water is big need right now. We will be helping fund efforts to build or rebuild 500 wells that can service 250,000.
- Overall relief: medical, physical & spiritual — we plan to support Samaritan’s Purse’s efforts. They are not only meeting physical and medical needs but they also have chaplains on the ground. In one area they helped 21 people cross the line of faith and become Christians!!
- Long-term missionary work: we are partnering with a missionary on the ground. We will be traveling to work alongside him in a long-term partnership.
- Had a great meeting this week about forming a church planting alliance for the Atlanta-North Georgia area … this could be something really amazing for the kingdom and planting healthy churches.
- Beth & I really appreciate all the prayers and support and congratulations regarding our adoption. Having names and pictures and a story is incredible. Please keep praying because nothing is final or for certain yet.
- Pray for a quick court date and pray that the legal process goes smoothly!
- We’ve started cleaning up and clearing out their future bedroom and playroom
- Great to teach again today after 2 Sundays off. I LOVE to preach but I needed the break.
- Services at both campuses were off the chart–
- Great crowds … great excitement!
- Baptism celebration in Calhoun.
- New Ministry Center opened in Dalton.
- Message was on focus & clarity in 2010.
- Check out the new Rock Bridge logo on our web site.
- Clarified our mission and core values today
- Rock Bridge exists to connect people from all walks of life to life in Christ.
- 5 CORE VALUES:
- Reaching People
- Christ-like acceptance
- Intentional environments
- Active participation
- Radical dependence
- “I love coming to church” — from a child as his parents checked him into RB Children’s Ministry.
- Rock Bridge PM starts THIS week!!
- Our path to launch Rock Bridge Chatsworth is getting increasingly clearer. We’re hoping to be doing preview/practice services in a few weeks and are aiming for a late February launch!!
- I am so pumped and so excited about 2010 …
- Our church has great opportunities and God-given clarity.
- God is REALLY teaching me what this means right now.
- We are done with buildings (for now) and ready to focus 100% on ministry!
- Beth & I should have our children home from Ethiopia this year!!
- I was asked what I thought about the movie Avatar so here’s my take on the Christmas movies I watched:
- Avatar: amazing special effects; some good action; the “mother earth” stuff got a little weird fast for me.
- Sherlock Holmes: my favorite holiday flick: action; funny; engaging
- Invictus: great story; lots of leadership lessons; solid acting but I don’t know much about Rugby.
- BCS National Championship … God allowed Colt McCoy to get hurt early in the game so that he could say this. God is sovereign and EVERYTHING can be used for His glory!!
- What God is teaching me and reminding me of this Christmas:
- He is completely SOVEREIGN — God took 1000s of years to bring His Son into humanity and into history; He used a pagan ruler, a full inn, an manger, and a virgin. Nothing falls outside of God’s sovereignty and nothing trumps His ultimate plan.
- I am resting in His sovereignty in our adoption process and for RBCC in 2010.
- Waiting on God is hard but definitely worth it — The Jews went 400 years without any prophetic word from God (the time from Malachi to Matthew in our Bibles). Then John the Baptist and Jesus burst onto the scene. The Scriptures report that Jesus came when the “time had fully come.”
- I struggle with patience … patience with myself, with others, and with executing plans. Adoption has revealed this struggle in a big way and yet, I sense God smoothing those rough edges of my character to be a bit more conformed to His Son. AND at the end of the day, I know from the Bible and from personal experience that waiting on God is worth it!!
- Passion for Christ can sometimes wane and must be rekindled — life, sin, temptation, struggle, criticism all zap our passions.
- Recently, I’ve felt mine wane. Then we had our last staff meeting of the year this week and we all confessed our weakened passion. Then a team member said, “The stuff we do is life or death.” Think about that … Jesus did NOT come to create Santa Claus or so we could have an excuse to overeat. Jesus came to die for us so that we do not have to experience spiritual death, so that we could be made right with God. The message of Jesus is of ultimate importance. This conviction sustains and strengthens my passion!
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- I wrote down 3 things that I want to fuel my passion for exalting Christ in 2010:
- The Gospel is the power of salvation for ALL who believe … we must share it boldly!!
- God’s love is unfailing … we must live it out sacrificially!
- The hope of God does not disappoint … we must offer it consistently!!
- God’s wisdom is the only true way to navigate life … we must teach it unapologetically!!
- Onto a few other things –
- My 2 favorite meals of the year are literally 12 hours apart: Christmas Eve dinner with Beth’s family and Christmas breakfast with mine
- Beth & I will be taking some time off this season and I don’t think I’ve ever needed it more. God is stirring my heart with so many things that I need some time just to be still and focus.
- We are still waiting word on our adoption. We were told we would wait 1-10 months before receiving a referral. We have been waiting 7 1/2.
- May everyone have a Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!
- Preaching about the Cross can never get old because understanding & applying the Cross is as essential as breathing!!
- Great to celebrate baptism today.
- Spent some time planning our missions giving for 2010. I am pumped about all the ways we as a church will be able to support God’s causes –
- Lots of various efforts in NW Georgia:
- Crisis pregnancy; food & clothing assistance; benevolences; homelessness
- A medical missionary to Kenya.
- Missionary in the Middle East.
- Efforts to relieve world hunger.
- Church plants in 3 different states (Georgia, Tennesse, and Florida).
- God blew me away on Friday with an amazing conversation about His radical, unfailing love and then a big, breakthrough about getting our 3rd site up and rolling in Chatsworth … stuff I’ve been praying over for months, starting to materialize as God’s faithfulness and perfect timing bears fruit for His glory!!
- Great meeting with new Calhoun Elders … great to be able to expand the local leadership efforts at that Campus.
- Beginning some cool discussions about how to better mobilize our church to serve.
- Prayer requests:
- Direction and guidance about foreign missions. The opportunities are endless and all very good … seeking THE opportunity God prepared long ago for us to walk in — Ephesians 2:10.
- 2010 opportunities in NW Georgia: 3rd site in Chatsworth, 3rd service (Thursday night), and “building favor” in Calhoun.
- Sermon and worship planning for 2010.
- HAVE A GREAT WEEK
- Crazy, amazing weekend @ Rock Bridge … Snacks with Santa in Calhoun and rockin’ Christmas musical in Dalton. We love to serve and bless our community … for free … that’s the pattern of Jesus, our Pastor!
- Thanks to all the incredible people who served and gave of their time and efforts … you rock!
- Praying that is attitude is prevalent in our church: I Chronicles 29:14.
- For our Dalton campus … Step Together Offering is Sunday! We have a great opportunity to continue generously funding God’s work in His church … let’s do it together for greater impact, more momentum, and stronger unity!!
- We’re collecting toys for children this Christmas season: bring NEW, UNWRAPPED gifts to church on Sunday or during the week to the offices.
- Really excited that our students are learning about global missions. Together they are sponsoring a child in Swaziland through World Vision . Praying we all catch God’s vision for the world!
- The ‘Dawgs are heading to the Independence Bowl –13th straight year in a bowl game –
- Coach Richt made a VERY tough leadership decision in releasing 3 staff members. Paul had to release John Mark for a season. Leaders have to put the overall mission ahead of personal relationships … always tough, but necessary.
- Army-Navy showdown is this weekend … GO NAVY, BEAT ARMY!!