Travis Agnew

Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.

Protecting Your Home

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What are you willing to do to protect the people in your home? If you lived in a dangerous neighborhood, more than likely you would make sure you made every effort to lock up the home before you went to sleep that evening.  Having children in the home makes most parents even more likely to take precautionary measures.  Whether it

The Purpose of Worship: The Glory of God

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The following is an excerpt from a document North Side’s elders gave out to our church body on April 17th.  As we have prayed concerning the direction of the church and studied Scripture together, we are under conviction that we must be a church according to scriptural mandates.  Our church currently uses different styles of worship to relate to different groups of people.  Our time in the Word has changed our heads and our hearts.  The following is a brief excerpt, you can get the rest of the document here.

A passion for the glory of God is the hallmark of the redeemed. Because it is God’s passion, it must be our passion. To live passionately for the glory of God means that our greatest delight is found in delighting Him and our greatest fear is found in displeasing Him. When we fall short of living for His glory, (Romans 3:23) we fall into a life lived for the glory of self. Living life for our glory is sin. When we lose the great, high, noble calling of living life for His glory, the results are disastrous for the church. Worship is reduced to a consumer-driven personal experience, discipleship is reduced to a self-help program, and evangelism is reduced to a goal-driven sales pitch. Living as a church for the glory of God will redefine our purpose and redefine the methods we use in pursuing that purpose. Corporate worship, or worship as a church family, becomes a priority.

Psalm 133:1 reads, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”

Most of us have been conditioned to think of salvation in terms of the individual. The truth is, however, that God has saved a people unto Himself.

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Parents, God is Not the On*Star Button

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It is impossible for you to try to raise your children in a godly manner.

You can’t do it, but Christ in you – the hope of glory – can (Col. 1:27). Too often, parents attempt to raise their children with godly intentions minus the godly interventions. Instead of relying on our own strengths, we need to learn to abide in Christ.

Presently, many cars come with On-Star capabilities. When in trouble, the driver can push a button, and help comes to him. Once the crisis is averted, the driver dismisses the On-Star helpers and goes about on his own for the rest of the journey.

Many parents approach life the same way. When crisis hits, they hit their knees and beg for divine intervention. Once God helps them out of the situation, they see little use for him anymore. This approach is worse than shameful, it is ignorant. If we think we can make it one step without God, we really don’t comprehend who we are dealing with here.

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Derailed by Disbelief

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What an incredible Easter Sunday!  3 services full of the truth, the Holy Spirit, and serious worshipers!  Today was such a special day as we were among many who gave their life to Christ for the first time.  Jeff’s gospel presentation was so spot on.  It is always so humbling to be in the room when people pass from death to life.  Unforgettable!

We concluded our 1 Corinthians study, “Derailed,” today as we focused on 1 Corinthians 15.  Paul told the Corinthian church that the resurrection was the greatest hope for believers.  On Easter, we remember that Jesus lived, died, and was raised back to life.  This truth changes everything.

We also got to Skype with our buddy Rachel, a college student who is spending her semester as a missionary in an undisclosed location.  Being able to hear how God was using her, how she spent Easter, being able to pray for her, and have her pray for us was a true gift!  It reminded us all of how the Church (big “C”) is celebrating our Risen Savior all around the world.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Good Friday Service Recap

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I really don’t have too many words to describe North Side’s Good Friday service.  I have never heard our people sing out so much, and I have never seen such expressive worshipers.  We remembered the cross, and we could barely contain ourselves!

We celebrated communion, baptism, read Scripture, and worshiped.  I loved that one of our elders, Jerry Rentz, led the communion.  Most visitors would have imagined he was a staff member by how great of a job he did!  After the service, John Kennerly did a coffeeshop performance for us that was pure delightful.  Great day.

I kinda imagine that may be the 1st Good Friday service in a line of many more.  Just a hunch.

We worshiped to:

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College Students – Dates to Remember

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We had our last college Bible study of the semester last night.  What a great year we have had.  It’s been amazing to see these students grow in their love for the Word and the world.  I shared some dates last night that I wanted to make sure everyone knew about (actually, all of these apply to you whether you

Update on Courageous

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I’ve had some people ask as of late concerning progress for Courageous. On one end, the movie has been edited and being screened around the country.  If you have seen the Soul Surfer movie, you can check out the exciting trailer for Courageous. On my end, I have been asked to write a few more articles of helps for the

Unpacking the U-Haul (The Problem with Emotional Hoarders)

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With the A&E TV show, “Hoarders,” America has become exposed to people who are unable to part with their belongings.  These hoarders hold onto absolutely everything in which they become unaware of how their stuff is suffocating their lives.  When a hoarder decides to move homes, he or she finally can comprehend how much baggage they have weighing them down.

We do the same things emotionally.  We try to move along in our lives, but we have stuff in the back of the U-Haul slowing down the process.  Just like hoarders, you have some baggage that you have collected and you have some baggage that you have received.  In order to go the next step in your life, you need to address both.

Joseph lived with all types of baggage.  As the favored son of Jacob, his prideful stories told to his brothers kept him out of favor with everyone in his family except for his father.  His brothers beat him and sold him into slavery.  While taking a stance for purity, he was wrongfully accused of rape.  After helping others out in jail, he was left and forgotten about to rot in prison.

Joseph had baggage.  Some he collected, some he received, but he had to deal with both.

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Derailed by Idolatry

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What a pivotal day for North Side.  It was one of those days where God was so clear to me in so many different areas, that it was hard to shake.  Continuing on through Derailed, here is where we landed today:

Derailed by Idolatry (1 Corinthians 10-11).  The Corinthian church had gotten into the habit of gathering together in the name of the Lord but making it all about themselves.  They had become their own idols.  In this message, we hear how this warning still applies to us today and what it means for the future of North Side.

The picture above shows holding a document entitled “The Glory of God.”  As North Side has sought God’s leading on our future, we believe he has spoken to us concerning the future of worship styles at the church.

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Most of My Creative Ideas are Stolen

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I’ve heard so many encouraging words concerning Sunday’s bilingual worship service.  When my worship leading buddy came out and started leading in Spanish after our prayer for the Spanish speaking people in this city, it was an incredibly powerful moment.

I have a confession: I stole the idea.

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