July 4th Freedom Fest

Yesterday at 5 Point Fellowship, we celebrated the 4th of July by having sort of a community party/festival that we give to the community for free. There were inflatable rides, bungee slingshots, a rock wall, music, popcorn, cotton candy, sno cones, face painting, hotdogs and most of all, lots of smiles for free! I, along with many other volunteers, was able to share the love of Jesus Christ with people in word, but also through what we were doing. I was really proud off all the people from the church that started setting up about 1:00 and didn't leave until the parking lot and church were cleaned up at almost 11:00 at night! It was great to have so many hands pitching in, and when asked to do anything, no one said, "That's not my job." Every single volunteer pitched in where they saw a need! I love working with this bunch! For those who may read this who have never even heard of 5 Point Fellowship or even Easley, SC...Sorry the blog is a little off my normal fare...I just had to brag on my people!

A HUGE God!

Our God is so BIG! This is really a random thoughts type blog post today, but I have a lot of thoughts about all that God is doing in this world that I know about...He is doing so very much that I have no clue about! (That is your cue to post comments about things you see God doing!) Many times, he works through people! Yesterday in church, Pastor Dean asked the church to step up and buy 200 chairs for a growing church in Africa. The chairs are simple plastic $10 chairs. It was great to see the congregation give above and beyond what they were asked for with a cheerful heart! Now the church in Africa will not only be able to have chairs under their tarp, but they will be able to buy a piece of land they were looking at and will be able to build a church! God is incredible!
I blogged last time about going to my Aunt's house to help her out with some house projects. It was not only great to work with my dad again, but seeing the joy that doing that list of simple projects brought to my Aunt was wonderful! God knew that she needed help, and through an odd series of events, brought my dad and mom to this part of the country at this time. I couldn't have done the projects myself, but with Dad's help, they went smoothly, and we had a good time working together.
Seeing new believer's growing in the Lord never gets old! God is doing some incredible work in the lives of many new believers in our church!
There is a camp in Honea Path, SC that has been having a great affect on kids and teen's lives over the years. This year, a group of retired people got together to go work on the camp before it opened. This year was also the first year that the camp director was able to feel like things were ready when the first day of camp came around! (Note to retirees, you have worked hard and can spend your retirement years as you wish..but I want to put a bug in your ear to investigate one of the many groups that volunteer to work and help out volunteer organizations. Most denominations have a ministry that helps match up retirees with jobs around the country. It is a great way to travel, meet new people and also lend a much needed hand at the same time.)
God is using youth to reach out to the community as well. In our own area of the upstate of South Carolina, Youth are helping out with groups like Meals on Wheels, Miracle Hill(children's home), Soup kitchens and many more...
I am amazed at the things God is doing through people and I am praying for magnificent supernatural things to happen that can only be explained by giving credit to God! Have an awesome day! We serve a HUGE God!

Godly Parents

It is a week before Father's Day, but it got me thinking about my parents. No parents are perfect, but I got really lucky! Both of my parents are serving the Lord and have been great examples for me since I was little. I heard many horror stories from other kids as I was growing up about how their perfect deacon dad wasn't so perfect Monday-Saturday, but while their parents may have been coming home drunk and beating them, my parents were daily having family devotions with my brother and I. They couldn't force us to become Christians, but they certainly gave us every opportunity. The biggest thing is that they weren't fake. Kids know! They had flaws, and I saw them, but they loved Jesus and shared Him openly with everyone they came in contact with. They weren't pastors, just people who loved the Lord with all their hearts! Now, they travel the country in their RV serving with a group called MAPS/RV. They build churches, children's homes, Teen Challenge Centers (Drug rehab), Church camps...Needless to say, I am very proud to call them my parents. Burl and Karen Lee Walker, if you are reading this, Thanks for being great parents!

Out Reach stuff

A guy I talked with last night just made my week! Maybe my month! April 4th, our church put on "Easley Egg Drop 2009". The concept was simple. Drop a bunch (about 180,000 or so) plastic eggs from a hot air balloon. We gave away prizes, cotton candy, snowcones, popcorn, drinks...everything was free and open to the community. About 200 volunteers from our church helped put on the event. From a numbers perspective, it was a success, somewhere around 10,000 people or more came and participated. Kids had fun, lots of smiling faces etc. Now, back to the guy I talked to last night. He was sharing his testimony with me in a parking lot. He and his wife both got saved after coming to the Egg Drop! They couldn't believe that everything really was free! They interacted with people from our church and found them to be friendly and helpful. So they decided to check out our church. A couple weeks later, the wife asked Jesus into her heart! Then a week after that, this man had asked Jesus into his heart! God is now working in both of their lives! So what does dropping a plastic egg with a tootsie roll in it have to do with bringing people to know Jesus Christ in a very personal and wonderful way...absolutly nothing...unless it is accompanied by people who are sharing the love of Jesus Christ with others while not expecting anything in return. That selfless love is what brought this man and his wife to the Lord!
PS. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped out! This family's salvation is in a large part due to your actions!

Easter was an Awesome Sunday!

So, like most churches across the world, Yesterday was a larger than normal service for us at 5 Point Fellowship! Like I mentioned in my previous blog, we had added a Saturday evening service to take care of some of the extra seating. We still had more on Sunday morning even with the 250 people who gave up their Sunday morning seats to come on Saturday night! The greatest number isn't the number of bodies who showed up, but the 20 people who gave their hearts to Jesus! Integrating new believers into the body of Christ is messy work! It just so happens that I love it! Surprisingly, I don't much care for real babies and changing diapers and all that, but I love baby Christians! They are so full of energy and haven't gotten their theology all screwed up yet! They just believe what the Bible tells them. And those who get saved often begin pouring over the Bible like a college student cramming for final exams! I love that! There are a million questions. Sometimes you laugh at the questions, but many times, those questions will really make you think! This blog is just to praise the Lord and say thank you to Him for all the baby Christians that were born in churches across the world yesterday! And a shout out to New Spring Church in Anderson, SC!(Where my brother in law attends.) Somewhere around 350 people gave their hearts to Jesus there! Praise the Lord! I would love to hear comments from readers on the great things God is doing in your church!

Easter Egg Drop

As April 4th comes closer and closer, it is amazing to me to see how many people are stepping up to volunteer time, money and possessions to help make the event happen! One of the things that really is amazing is that people who just got saved and/or just started attending our church are jumping in with two feet and signing up to help out! This morning, I got an e-mail from a man who saw the ad in the paper and wanted more information. He is new to the area and is just looking for something for his 5 year old daughter. I look forward to meeting him. And even if I don't get to, it is great to know that he will get to meet many of the wonderful people from our church and I pray that he will feel the love of the Lord as he has a great free day with his daughter. For all of you who are volunteering, I can't thank you enough!

Reflections on Sunday

This last week we had over 600 again! It is great being a part of a church that is growing by leaps and bounds! People are giving of their time and money which is allowing this church to do some crazy things for God! As we gear up for the Egg Drop on April 4th, it is great to see how the church pulls together for an event. Everything from stuffing eggs with candy to picking up supplies to doing advertising campaigns. At last count, we have between 150 and 200 volunteers signed up to help with the event!If you think of an old saying that 20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the work, it is great to see about 40 percent doing the work. (If you remember that 200 of the 600 people in our church are in our children's ministry.)Wherever you are reading this from, if you aren't involved in your local church ministry, I encourage you to do so! It is amazing, even in a small church how much it will encourage your pastor to find he has someone volunteering to help out before he even has to ask!

Back from Honduras!

I am back from Honduras! It was a wonderful trip. God is awesome! While there, I and a group from North Greenville University ended up running a youth camp for a region where most of the people are Lenka Indians. Three youth accepted Christ as their savior and some more were baptized. It was truly a blessed week!

Mission Trip

I want to thank you if you check my blog every day! Thanks for being faithful. I hope I don't lose to many readers, but I am heading out in about 8 hours for Honduras and am not sure how often I will be near a computer between now and next Saturday. Pray for me as I, and a bunch of students from North Greenville University are working with a bunch of kids at a kids camp representing 15 churches in the region.

Thank You

I just finished reading something by Andy Stanley. It mentioned the importance of remembering to say Thank You to those in our organizations. When people don't feel appreciated, they quickly become disgruntled. Whether you are a Pastor leading a church or a CEO or any other kind of leader, you have people who do stuff in your organization. A simple recognition of what they have done is a great free way to encourage them and others around them. Rather than reinvent the wheel, here is what Andy said:
Two Simple Words
The appropriate response to that kind of generosity is to say thank you. You can't possibly pay for the hundreds of hours volunteers give you, and you can't give the hours back. So as simple and trite as it may seem, it really is the only fitting response.

Four Ways For Sure
Obviously there's more to expressing gratitude than a quick thanks. People have a sincerity meter that registers empty thanks a mile away. Here are four things to keep in mind when communicating the appreciation you really feel.

Be specific. When you say thank you, include details. There is a huge difference between saying thanks and saying thanks followed by a detailed description of what you caught, saw, or are aware the other person was doing.

Be public. Over the years we have learned the value of story telling--the value of spending a few minutes in front of your leaders telling success stories that communicate vision, but more importantly, express gratitude. Public gratitude expresses a high level of value and can result in an even higher level of loyalty.

Be aware. You have to develop a mindset that looks for behavior to reward. Listen for stories two or three levels away in your organization and call or write to say thank you. Even though you didn't observe the act, you communicate, "I didn't see it, but somebody else saw it and they are talking about it. What you did is significant."

Be honest. Don't say you liked something you didn't. Remember, what gets rewarded gets repeated. Also, don't attribute something to someone that she didn't really do. Rather than being encouraging and motivating, you're communicating that you really weren't paying attention. So when you say thank you, be honest and don't overdo it.

To read the whole original post, click here.

Feeling very blessed!

Do you ever feel sorry for yourself. You start thinking, if I didn't work for a church or not-for-profit I could earn a descent salary and buy a big house, new car, cool shiny stuff? OK, maybe you don't, but I admit that I occasionally have those thoughts. This morning, I was reading a magazine article about a guy who pastors a homeless church. I don't mean that his church has a ministry to the homeless, or that they run a soup kitchen. His entire church is homeless people. Then the next article I read was about a guy ministering to AIDS patients in Uganda. Suddenly, I felt very convicted for ever having the aforementioned thoughts. God is so very good to me! Just the fact that I haven't had to miss a meal for financial reasons and that I have a roof over my head and a car that runs make me part of the richest group of people in the world. Sure, I am not rich by American standards, but compared to the whole planet, I am filthy rich! I pray that God will help me to be more generous with what He has blessed me with. Have a great day!

Connections!

This is an incredibly busy week! And that is AWESOME! The part of my job that I absolutely love is helping people connect to God and to each other. The busy part of this week is that tonight, the men of the church are getting together to meet with a missionary and investigate helping out with his mission next summer. So Connection will happen there! Then tomorrow night is a Home TEAM meeting which is temporarily at my house. Connections again! Thursday night is nothing, and my wife works, so the dog and I can just veg out! Friday night is the start of a brand new Home TEAM for young couples! Connections will be started there! Saturday night is date night with my wife! Definite connection possibility there! Sunday night, I am teaching the New Believer's class. Connections again! Monday night, we are having a leadership/vision casting meeting with the church staff and some of the lay leaders in the church. Connections will be made there! As you can see, it is a busy week, but I am jacked up! People will be connecting with God and with each other at each of these events! God is awesome! When we seek Him, He gives us the desires of our hearts! As I see people draw closer to God and grow in their relationship with Him, the desire of my heart is fulfilled! When I see people loving each other in community and not just "doing church", it thrills me! In your church, are you helping people to connect to God and to each other?

End of the Year...

This Sunday five people gave their heart to the Lord! That jacks me up! After last week when 10 people accepted Jesus into their hearts, it is a great way to end the year! Like most, as the new year looms in the near future, I make new years resolutions. This year, my goals aren't really personal, they are things that affect many people. My number one goal is that we can start a new Home TEAM/small group each month in 2009. As our church grows this is becoming a crucial need to help people connect to each other and to God. Another goal is to spend more time on my "part time" job.
The second part of the end of the year thoughts are on how God blesses us in so many wonderful ways! I look around my house and see that I have a place to call home! God has given me a wonderful wife! In today's economy, it is a wonderful blessing to have a job and be able to pay the bills. God has given me two jobs in which I can serve Him! Just today I received an e-mail from a graduate of the school where I teach. He is serving the Lord in the middle east and just managed to buy a "sewage front" building in which to put a clinic. I am inspired by the stories that come back from the kids who graduate and now are out in the world making a difference. I am equally inspired by the lives changed in my local community through the second job of working at my church. I get to see people every week who used to be drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes...who are now living clean productive lives for the Lord! Have a great New Year!

Why does God choose us?

I live a wonderfully blessed life! I don't mean that I am rich financially, but I do mean that I am very blessed by God! In today's rough economic times, I still have, not just one but, two jobs that I absolutely love! I have a wonderful wife who loves me! We both have a vehicle that runs! We haven't had to miss any meals due to financial hardship! God has blessed me with wonderful friends! I could go on and on, but this morning I was wondering why me? Not the Why Me! that we scream at God when life is not going as we think it should. I am talking about the quiet "why me?" that we ask in wonder as to why God would choose a sorry sinner like myself to work for Him. He, the Almighty, All Powerful, All Knowing, Everlasting, Ruler and Master of the Universe reached down and saved my soul! Then, he chose to give me so very much to be thankful for! I pray that one day if I, like Job, am asked to suffer for the Lord in a very real way that I too will stand true to my faith in Jesus Christ. I just praise God that He has given me another day alive to serve Him, and I pray that I won't waste it!

Thanking God!

I talked to my brother this morning to wish him Happy Thanksgiving, after family stuff, we began talking about all the great things God is doing in our churches! It was wonderful to hear how God is working not only here in Easley, SC but halfway across the country in Neosho, MO. He shared how the church has been growing to the point where the pews are all full and they have chairs out in the isles. He has lost track of how many men have gotten saved in the last month! God has healed the sick and even a sick dog. I had to laugh at the dog story, but it just goes to show how God cares about our needs even when they might not seem all that important to the rest of the world. There were many stories of healings, but the cool one for me was a lady who hasn't been able to tie her own shoes due to a hip problem. Her teenage daughter has helped her get dressed every morning tying her shoes, putting on her socks etc. because she couldn't bend down. After God's healing, she is able to dress herself completely! I am sure that for a mom, that must be a great thing! Hearing about kids who have come to the Lord through the children's ministry and now their Dads are getting saved! It was a wonderful uplifting conversation! Thank you Lord for all that you are and all that you do in our lives! Today is truly an awesome day of Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving week!

Like most people, heading into Thanksgiving week makes me extra aware of all the things I am thankful for. I am most thankful that our Almighty God chose to save a sorry sinner like myself and give me a chance to work for Him! He blessed me with a wonderful wife who loves me in spite of my faults. He has seen fit to give me not just one, but two absolutly wonderful jobs that I absolutly love! For those of you who dread getting up in the morning to go to work, you can surely see why I am so thankful for that part of my life! I have my dream car. Before you get visions of a Lambourguini, my dream car is a 1995 Mustang. It has over 200,000 miles on it, but I still love driving it. God lets me take people on Mission trips to places like Mexico and Honduras! My life is so blessed that just one day of thanksgiving isn't enough time for me to tell of all the ways God has blessed me!
Recently, my wife and I were discussing the idea of children. We have been married for about 19 months now, so I guess this is a natural topic of conversation for people at our stage in the marital life. She gave as a reason for wanting kids that she wanted to leave a legacy like my parents had left. Not her own parents, she was talking about mine! That would be her mother and father in law...the people that american society is sure she is supposed to not get along with. Anyway, she talked about how my parents had raised two boys, my brother and I, in a Christian home where we both grew up to love and serve our Lord Jesus. That is the legacy she wants to leave on this planet. I couldn't be happier! God is awesome!

Happy Birthday!

This morning came, and I turned 36. It is looking to be the best year of my life! God is doing amazing things here in Pickens County, SC! The church I attend is having wonderful growing pains! The college where I teach is still growing amidst the national trend of downsizing. Life is good!
I come to goals each year at my birthday. Last year, one of my goals was to read through the Bible once, and the New Testament twice. It was the first year for that goal, and God used it to teach me many things! This blog has been something new from this last year. The surprising thing to me still is that some people actually read it! I have really enjoyed the feedback from y'all, and enjoyed that it isn't just people from my own church! Another goal, which those of you trying to lose weight will want to kill me for,was to get back up to 180Lbs. About three weeks ago, I got there! It is the first time since my sophomore year of college that I have weighed this much. (It is a good thing, If you don't know me, I am a tall skinny guy who could use a few more pounds.) This year, God allowed me to pray with someone to lead them to Him! That was an incredible experience!
My goals for next year are to read through the Bible twice and pray that God will let me lead someone to the Lord. My work goals are to present at at least one conference - University job. And at the church, I want to help take the Home TEAM ministry of 5 Point Fellowship to the point where at least 50% of the church are actively involved! Have an awesome day, and thanks for helping me celebrate my birthday by reading my blog...and maybe leaving a comment!

This Morning...

Last night, I started reading a great book by Robert Morris entitled, The Blessed Life. This morning, I woke up at a little before five. For some, that may be normal, but I don't usually drag myself out of bed until about six. I went ahead and got up to spend some extra time in prayer and reading God's word. So why share? It was incredible! The getting up earlier isn't spiritual at all, but the uninterrupted time with God was AWESOME! Honestly, I never before understood people who said things like, "I got up at 4:30 this morning and spent time with God." I always figured they were just bragging or wanted me to feel sorry for them for getting up so early! Now I understand! Sorry to all those who I had bad feelings toward in the past!
Back to the book, when I finished praying and reading the Bible, I still had a little extra time before having to leave for work, so I picked the book back up and read a couple more chapters. It is challenging me in some incredible new ways! I don't know Robert Morris, and have never heard him speak, but he has written a wonderful, yet easy to read book! I highly recommend it, not just to pastors but to all Christians!

Part Time Pastors

This blog is for all of you out there who are "Part Time" pastors. As we all soon learn, there is no such thing as "part time" when one is in any area of ministry. My "full time" job is as a Spanish instructor, however, I often find myself working on ministry stuff during office hours, or even getting a great idea in the middle of class that is for the "part time" job, not the full time one. I am sure if you are in this situation that you completely understand.
The thought that goes through my mind is that there is no such thing as a "Part Time" Christian, so why should any of us be "Part Time" pastors. In truth, we aren't! OK, so our salary from the congregation wouldn't keep a dog in dog food, so we work another job to be able to afford our ministry habit. You are a full time Christian even when you work in a "secular" job. Isn't that what we teach our congregation? So you are a full time pastor even when you work that secular job too! Paul made tents so he could preach the gospel. Have fun and enjoy the ministry God has given you! Remember that he counted it all JOY to be able to suffer for Christ. Chances are that if you are a pastor reading this in the United States, you aren't truly suffering. Police aren't hauling us out in the streets and beating us for being a Christian as they are in some countries. Have fun this Sunday with your congregation! As your church grows, you never know. You might end up "Full Time"!

A day in the life...

Today was my first day back to work at North Greenville University after a nice summer vacation. It was great to see everyone, and it is great to have a job that I absolutely love! God is AWESOME! He not only provides for all of our needs, but sometimes, He gives us abundantly more than we could ever ask for or imagine! Some of you are thinking that I mean monetarily. I assure you that while I haven’t starved, people who teach in private Baptist colleges aren’t rich. What I mean is that this summer, I had the time to be able to work at my church as a volunteer much more than anyone who is working a full time job would be able to do. God has allowed me to be a part of the birthing of two new ministries and be a part of two others! That is the blessing I am referring to. Being able to work closely with some great staff members and share in the vision of what is happening was something I wish every Christian could experience. Being able to rejoice when people gave their hearts to the Lord, and be sad when people got mad and left the church was something that can’t be experienced when one only comes on Sunday morning. I thank God for giving me the time to be a part of all of that.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I haven’t figured out what to do with the title of this blog. Next Monday, I start my first day on staff at my church as a part time connections pastor…which means, I am not a “lay person” anymore. So, this blog may change names and formats slightly. Even though it has only been up a couple months, I hoped it inspired someone out there.