I’m about 15% complete of a first draft of a book I am writing. You are probably thinking, “Travis isn’t that smart about anything, what could he possible write about?” And you are absolutely right. And those are exactly the excuses I have been using for the last year while this idea has been on my heart. So I am not writing a book because I am qualified to do so, but I am writing this book because this book is not out there and it is needed desperately. So I’m writing it out of the need, not because of my qualifications.

The book is called Freshman 15. It is a book written for college students/graduating high-school seniors. The concept is this: in the Bible, when someone gave glory to something, it was said that they were giving weight to it. Something they valued greatly was a “heavyweight” in their lives. Something that they did feel as significant would be considered a “lightweight.” So the title is Freshman 15 and the tag line will be something like: “how to put it on in all the right places.”

In college, my theory is that everyone will spiritually put on weight, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It can be the greatest thing ever. In the book, I am going to talk about the fifteen things that I have experienced or witnessed to be the things that make or break someone in college. One chapter will be on purity. One will be on the closest friends you have. One will be on the question if it is OK to socially drink or not? But each chapter will stand alone but are one of the fifteen most common things that I have seen either grow a person closer to Christ or completely lure them away from following Jesus.

The statistic that only 20% of church kids continue going to church once they go to college scares me to death, and I benefited in college finally realizing what God said about a lot of the issues I was struggling with. Unfortunately, most college students will receive “God’s Little Devotional Book for Graduates,” or “Chicken Soup for the College Soul,” or something else that is pretty fluffy if you ask my honest opinion. I haven’t seen a resource that deals with the real issues and allows someone to interact with the Scripture concerning the major issues. That’s what I hope Freshman 15 can be.

After each chapter, I am going to include some discussion questions so that groups could do a small group Bible study around the topics. My prayer is that this book could truly save someone from making some really bad decisions in their college tenure. I am shooting to have this book done for Submerge (Greenwood’s spring break week). That goal is going to be really hard, but I keep wondering if this resource could help one high school senior going into college, then it would be worth staying up a little longer for the next few months.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Pray. I would love to ask you to pray for this project. I am not doing this to have somehting to do, I’m doing this to hopefully keep some college students following Christ. So I would ask that you pray that the words that I choose to use will be able to reason with students to make Christ first. Pray that I use my time wisely to get this done expediently.
2. Comment. What do you think about this idea? I would love to hear your feedback. I would also love to hear what you think needs to be included in the book. So comment away.

Thanks for reading this post. I really do thank you for your support and prayers! I’ll periodically post some excerpts or progress reports on here. So I would appreciate you coming back to the blog and praying for this project.

Yesterday, a group from our staff went to Phil McMinn’s funeral.  I posted about the tragedy associated with Phil’s death earlier this week.  We went over to South Main and we had to go over to the overflow room because the sanctuary was so full.  The overflow room was full as well.  The pre-service worship started and through the video feed (good job Wes and Cory for crawling through South Main’s attic all Monday – it was well worth it) we got to engage in worship with the rest assembled there.  To say that the next two and a half hours were overwhelmingly emotional for me would be an understatement.  It rocked me deep down to the core.  I just want to give you some of the impacting moments for me:

1.  Micah.  Micah.  Micah.  How I love you, my lil’ brother.  Why wouldn’t you be leading in worship at your dad’s funeral?  You love your God and you trust him.  Watching you lead with the band was inspiring and heart-wrenching.  You don’t know how much that image will be etched into the minds of people for a long time.  Thank you for giving an example of praising God even when you might not “feel” like it.
2. A Family in Worship.  When Phil’s family walked in behind the casket and began to sing and lift their hands in worship that their “chains were gone” and they had “been set free,” I could barely sing myself watching you.  There are few things that inspire me more when I see people worship through pain. There’s such beauty in the brokenness. Mrs. McMinn, you not only inspired people, you set a precedence for how to trust our Savior.
3. Mark’s Letter.  Mark, Phil’s eldest son, read a letter he wrote to his dad.  As he listed all the little and all the big things that his father did for him during his life, it made me realize all that children pick up from their parents.  The time, attention, and devotion that you could tell Phil showed his children was amazing.  It actually concerned me as I thought about if I became a tenth of the father that Phil was to his children, my kid will be blessed.  When Mark began to speak of fighting for his dad’s wife and his dad’s God, I can not thank Phil McMinn enough for instilling in his children the value of treasuring his wife and his God.  Phil made men all around that room have to step it up in their churches and their homes on Tuesday.  Thank you Mark for calling us to a higher standard by your dad’s example.
4. The Closing Prayer Time.  I don’t know how Phyllis got up there to pray for all of us at the end of the service.  As I saw her family surround her, I wanted a large family for one thing, but I also wanted to instill in my little one on the way the fact that Jesus is all.  As I saw that family unit there that will forever have the imprint of a surrendered, godly life on them, it made me want to be the kind of husband, father, and friend that leaves a positive mark on people.  Phil’s dad started it with him.  Phil enstilled it into his children that are reaching people for Christ (even someone was saved the night before the funeral due to Micah’s influence), and Phil’s ministry will carry on.

It wasn’t about him.  He wasn’t concerned with building his own kingdom, but God’s.  The McMinn family, I am still praying for you, and know that you guys have left an image in my mind that I want to model after you.  You guys amaze me.

Dave Corbitt and the South Main staff, God has so much in store for you!  You were blessed to hear Phil’s heart, passion, and vision for that church before he died, carry the torch.  Lead and equip.  Take that church to reach Greenwood and this whole world.  You have an excellent team and some great leaders in your church, and we believe in you!  At North Side, we count it an honor to be able to partner with you in taking the gospel to the world.

South Main, you have been led by some of the greatest leaders I have ever known.  In the history I know about, you have had the privilege to be led by the likes of the innovative Mac Brunson, the shepherd Ryan Ekland, and the passionate Phil McMinn (just to name a few).  You have a great staff that leads you know.  I am praying that you guys see such a great amount of unity and drive to take this church further than it’s ever been before.

There’s no really way to get to all I need to say on this post – I love our staff!  I don’t think that anyone really knows how much each of them does and how critical their role and their servant’s hearts are to our church.  These guys and gals are passionate, efficient, and humble.  I am honored to work with what I think is the best team ever assembled.

If you come on a Sunday morning, you might not see all that has to take place and so it’s hard to appreciate all that has to be done.  You might not see Wes running around back behind stage making sure everything is running right (by the way, the fact that we could show the baptism Sunday is attributed to his brain).  You might not see Rick or Dennis or Robert holding doors or making sure the building is in tip-top shape.  You might not see all the hard work that Ricky and Gay put into making the building ready for Sunday.  You might not see Cory printing off thousands of sheets during the week so that everything is ready on Sunday.

Bron is taking care of the financial tasks.  Heather is making sure everyone’s baby is safe and secure.  Cynthia is making sure everyone can get connected into a community environment.  Ken is greeting and preaching over at Sonshine.  Adam is casting the vision from the parking lot to the stage.  Fred is leading a group of youth to serve in our Sonshine ministry.

Polly is working hard to lead a team to help 1-5 graders love church.  Norma Jean is directing everyone at the information desk so that everyone has adaquate information about the next step here at the church.  John is leading his heart out on Sunday mornings and writing the devotional guide for every church member to read every day.  Jennifer is keeping everything organized and getting people to serve on Sunday mornings.  Janet is making sure we are secure in all our financial transactions.  Jamie might be playing the drums are reaching out to people.  Steve is up in the prayer room or checking up on someone in need.  Hannah and Rick are always plugging people into getting involved in the mission here at our church.

Oh yeah, and Jeff is preaching too.

And those are just the responsibilites that they are a part of on Sunday!  These guys and gals are so fantastic and they don’t work to be noticed, but they are noticed.  They are noticed for decreasing so that Christ can increase, and I just think that is pretty fantastic.

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”  – Gal. 6:9

You may have already heard by now, but a brother in Christ has gone to be with the Lord today. His name is Dr. Phillip Keith McMinn, and he is the pastor of South Main Street Baptist Church here in Greenwood, SC. Details are still coming in, but I do know that he was involved in a single-car accident commuting to ministry retreat at White Oak for some leaders for South Main. Phil has been the pastor at South Main for approximately a year, and he is leaving behind a wife, four children, and a great church family.

The news was real heavy to me today. I was at a friend’s wedding reception when I got the news. I had never gotten the privilege to meet Phil, but I know his son Micah who is a senior at GCS. Micah has so much potential in the Lord. He is so mature and gifted and such an early age, I have prayed for him since I met him that he do incredible things for the Lord.
So this is what I know about Phil:
1) He raised some great children. Amidst what’s transpiring in my life, I think a lot about raising children. Phil is a hero and a mentor to me for having raised a senior guy in this culture that is passionate for Jesus.
2) I have prayed for him a bunch. I love the people at South Main so much. I remember praying for him the day he did his trial sermon. I prayed that God would bring South Main the man that could lead that church with passion and conviction. I prayed for his ministry there often. Moving to a new town with a family and trying to lead a church that you are just getting to know is very difficult. So when I drove by there, I would often pray for him that South Main under his leadership would do incredible things for the Kingdom here in Greenwood. I’ve heard in some communities where churches and ministers are cold to one another and ministry becomes competition. I am so grateful to be a part of a fellowship of ministers who see each other on the same team (there is no competition among family). We, by the blood of Christ, are all on the same mission striving together for the faith of the gospel (Phil. 1:27).
3) He lived the gospel. I remember Jeff telling me that he had heard an outstanding message from him. Phil understood the urgency of proclaiming the gospel. Phil understood the need for unity in the church. Phil understood a surrendered life.
4) God will be able to use Phil even in this tragic time. I stopped asking questions like “why” a long time ago. Not because I just take things blindly. I just realized that it’s smarter just to be patient. Because when I stress with why something happened without allowing time for God to come in and do something miraculous through tragedy, I am limiting him. He will make beauty out of this tragedy (Rom. 8:28).

Jesus, nearing his death, once stated this: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” The physics behind a grain of wheat is that for it to produce anything good – it must die. When it dies, more fruit will be produced. If it remains as a single seed, it can accomplish something somewhat significant, but God is the only one able to use something as tragic as death and do more through one’s death than even through their lives.
That is what I am praying for a legacy for Dr. McMinn. That’s my heart for my brothers and sisters that gather together over at South Main. I want Phil’s legacy to inspire, motivate, and mobilize South Main Street Baptist Church to do more for the Kingdom than ever before. I pray that even through this terrible, tragic time when it is hard for this church to even know what is next to do, that they will live for Jesus. Live for him like Phil did. I pray that Greenwood will be impacted through his ministry more than ever before due to his flock rising up during this tragedy and keep on keeping on.

Dear Jesus,
I don’t know why. All I know is that there are many people hurting right now. Family, friends, a church, and his spiritual family are hurting right now. We selfishly miss him. We wish he was still here. We have confidence that he is in a better place and so we are happy for him yet still sad for ourselves.
But Jesus, you are our light. You are our salvation. You don’t give us help, you are our help. And we need you right now. We need your wisdom and strength cause we don’t have any left. Please come in a way that changes us.
I pray that tomorrow morning at South Main, my loved brothers and sisters will still be able to worship you in spirit in truth through the tears. I pray that while they live in a world that is unstable, they can praise a God who never changes. I pray for whomever leads the service that they will find hope in the resurrection. I pray that tomorrow is an amazing experience as they call on you.
I pray for the staff. I pray that Richard, David, Russ, Joyce, Denise, Lynda, and Lisa will grow together and grow closer to you during this time. They are going to need you to lead this church.
I pray for that precious family. May they draw closer to you. More than they ever have before. They need you. Send your children to love on them the way that helps them to healing.
But above all else, advance your Kingdom. Allow this tragedy, the coming funeral, and the witness of your church advance the Kingdom which would be the greatest tribute to a man who followed you faithfully and ran the race and was blessed to finish strong. Do more now through Phil than ever before. Only you can, Jesus.
We love you and we need you.
Amen.

You are not reading incorrectly.  2008 is all wrapped up.

The picture above is of the whiteboard in my office.  On this whiteboard is 52 weeks of big ideas for teaching at North Side designed for 2008.  We spent a long time praying, studying, thinking, and talking about where North Side is spiritually and what the Bible says about those areas.

I am so excited about next year!  We have on tap a marriage series focusing on biblical couples, a book study of Ecclesiastes, a series on money, a series on the sins nobody wants to talk about, the most neglected command in the Bible, and a whole bunch of other great biblical teaching material.  I am so excited about it.  I think about a week submerged in God’s Word and praying about how to teach it has gotten me so much in love with his Word and his instruction for our lives.  I am already praying for 2008 and all that God is going to do at North Side, in Greenwood, and to the ends of the earth.