broken

yesterday was quite the experience for me. i attended a church in Durham called The Summit Church. this was the second time i've attended here, but it was the first time at their new location. for some reason, i was broken from the first song and throughout the whole day. when i say broken, i mean humbled, open, stripped of pride and a mediocre life. i don't know if God has ever done something like that to you, but its a wild experience (kind of like snake handling...j/k). if it sounds like a bad experience, its not. its a great thing b/c you know God is working in your heart and mind. it was actually a refreshment and rekindling of the fire. i can't say what caused it other than God's planning. it wasn't a certain song or electric guitar solo that sparked the move of God in me, but was rather just God dealing w/my life and calling me to something great with Him. you should check out the summit at http://www.summitchurch.cc

confession

yesterday, i called one of my best friends and said i have an enemy of the gospel that i need to talk about. this enemy was a personal sin of mine that was an idol that i've began to worship. if you think i'm crazy, you worship idols too. i'm just admitting it.

this wasn't fun at all, but rather, it was really hard to get the gut to admit my sin. after a few minutes of contemplating the problem, we spent some meaningful time encouraging one another.

why confess?? well, God has established the church to be a community that experiences life together, in the good times and bad, in struggles and harmony. when we isolate ourselves w/out meaningful relationships, we set ourselves up for disaster. confession & repentance are absolute necessities for the Christian life.

what idols do u have?? maybe you should call someone about that...

its been too long...

for the hundreds of you who daily check my blog, i appologize for my 2 week sabatical from the blog world:). really, i've been traveling for several days in North and South Carolina, but i'm back at my temp home here in charlotte. by the way, charlotte is a great place.

i got to spend almost a week w/my fam in myrtle and we had a glorious time together fishing, surfing, talking, going to church together, eating together, and other stuff. i love family. i hate to think what life would be like w/out my family. i love them. they love me. the other night, i sat down w/my parents at their dining room table, and for a couple hours we discussed God's leading in my life. it was so great. i don't have secrets w/them. i don't think i'm smarter than them, but we have a great relationship where they give me great advice and counsel on things in my life. it was great.

i spent this past weekend in columbia, sc, w/a great friend named Paul Ditoma. we got to spend 4 days of felowship and community and encouragement together, it was great. i also visited CIU (Columbia International University) Seminary on Monday and Tuesday. this is one of the schools i've applied to and may possibly attend in the future. its a great place w/a great mission, "To know Him and to make Him known." wow!! thats so awesome. there all about Jesus and making Him known across the globe. freakin sweet!!

welcome back. its good to be back:). tomorrow's post i kinda crazy!!

grace & peace

on the inlet today...

well, today i'm in lovely myrtle beach, chillin w/some of my distant family and friends...who happen to be staying in a beach house at the point of Garden City Beach. honestly, its been a heavenly day. this morning i woke up and went surfing even though the surf was flat. then i headed for the beach house and took a dip in the pool. after the dip, i took a walk on the beach where i saw 2 sharks that were about 6 feet long (yikes...same water i was surfing in this morning). now, i'm chillin on the patio waiting of the Frogmore Stew to get done. what a day...wish i could share it with you! peace

what a line-up! ...& a new Guinness World Record

so, day 1 at Catalyst was pretty sweet!! Steve Fee is definitely one of my favorite worship leaders!

here's the line-up of speakers we heard today:

• Andy Stanley
• Patrick Lencioni
• Francis Chan
• Rick Warren

i was seriously inspired and challenged...wish we had time to chat.

also, i was part of setting 3 new Guinness Book World Records today which include:

1. the most amount of soap bubbles blown at once

2. the most amount of frisbees thrown at once

3. the most amount of soap bubbles popped by frisbees at once

needless to say, it was a crazy day. more tomorrow!

catalyst 07

tonight i'm sitting in my atlanta hotel room with my dad and my friend (shane browder), and we're eagerly anticipating tomorrow morning, the beginning of Catalyst 07. Catalyst is a conference that is put on once a year for next generations leaders...primarily focussed on church leaders who will take the gospel of Jesus to the world. so, we're pretty stoked b/c its an amazing conference that includes incredible speakers, lots of people (11,000), and tons of fun stuff like setting new guinness book world records...crazy stuff. i'm sure there will be some sweet stuff to blog about. check back in the next few days!!

27 Points from Acts 29 (15-21)

(continuation from earlier post)

15. A good understing of the gospel requires a good understanding of the character of God and the character of man.

16. Counterfiet Gospels: Formalism, Legalism, Mysticism, Activism, Biblicism, Socialism.

17. Four interwining factors forming the Practice of Ministry:
a) Theological Reflection
b) Cultural Analysis
c) Historical Perspective
d) Strategy Formation

18. Develop weekly routines in your schedule for your wife, family, & study such as Date Night, Sabbath, Pajama Day w/Kids, Movie Night w/family, Breakfast w/Daddy, Family Worship Time, etc...

19. Your wife is the most powerful person in your life.

20. Roles of the Pastor: 1st-Christian, 2nd-Husband, 3rd-Father, 4th-Pastor

21. Don't touch the secretary or the money