As we continued in the “You Asked for It” series today, we addressed this question from the blog: “Can I Get a Divorce?” This post was one of the most repeated on the blog. Homosexuality last week, divorce and remarriage this week, wow, I’m glad we are addressing the easy ones… Jeff did an unbelievably good job at addressing the …
In Gary Chapman’s helpful book, The Five Love Languages, he holds that every person has a specific love language that speaks to them most. Do you know yours? Words of Affirmation – You feel especially loved when people express how grateful they are for you, and for the simple, everyday things you do. Quality Time – You feel especially loved …
I have heard more questions about the song “Beautiful” the last two weeks at North Side than any other song in a long time. Just so you know, I post the songs and artists each week on my blog so that you know how to get a song you like. Phil Wickham wrote the song “Beautiful.” I had heard him …
In the third post of this series on what to do when your mentor falls, I want to leave you with an encouraging though: When Your Mentor Falls (Part 3): Don’t Confuse the Fallen for the Savior Don’t Discount Their Impact Don’t Overlook Your Frailty Don’t Confuse the Fallen for the Savior Remember that we are called to follow Jesus …
This is a picture of my desktop: You may think, “That’s a lot of stuff.” In reality, it’s not enough. I have a LifeWay writing deadline today and I got to pick up the pace. I am writing curriculum for their “I (Still) Do” series to come out in May 2010. The learner guide deadline is today. The leader guide …
We started the “You Asked for It” series today at North Side. As people have posted questions on this blog, we have prayed and discussed what questions to use. For the first week, we addressed the question, “Is Homosexuality a Choice?” I’m glad we decided to start on a non-controversial subject… Jeff showed such a great balance of speaking the …
When Your Mentor Falls (Part 2): Don’t Overlook Your Frailty Don’t Discount Their Impact Don’t Overlook Your Frailty Don’t Confuse the Fallen for the Savior In this second post of the series, I want to encourage you to watch out for something when your mentor falls. When someone you look up to stops following Christ, don’t overlook your frailty. It …
I was working on my blog post for today, and I got a blog post from my seminary presdient, Dr. Al Mohler, on the state of Gov. Sanford. Too good and too true not to share: A Governor, a King, and the Tragedy of Adultery The sad spectacle of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford continues to dominate the headlines as …
I’m following up on an earlier post and want to talk about what to do when your mentor falls. I will talk about a point on each post, but here are my main thoughts: Don’t Discount Their Impact Don’t Overlook Your Frailty Don’t Confuse the Fallen for the Savior When Your Mentor Falls (Part 1): Don’t Discount Their Impact If …
This week’s bad church sign of the week states: “CHANGING CHURCHES? – DOES IT MATTER WHICH ONE YOU STAY HOME FROM?” I wonder if someone is a little bitter about attendance numbers. While I am not a big fan of transfer growth (the type where people hop from church to church), it does happen. Legitimate transfer growth is when …
I wanted to take a minute to tell you about our worship services. Often I’m asked, what’s the worship like at North Side? When someone asks that question, they mean are we traditional, contemporary, or blended? Are we seeker sensitive or are we more driven by the desires of our members? But worship has a lot more to do than …
Today was another great day at North Side. We concluded the All-In series today with a topic “All There Relationally.” Jeff did a great job reminding us all our need for each other. I need you and you need me. I often tell Jesus that I would follow Him all by myself if I had to, but I’m so grateful …
Have you ever had someone that you look up to fall morally? Have you witnessed up close the hurt associated with affairs? In the recent days, our nation has been reminded in many cases the fallout associated with marital unfaithfulness. From celebrities to politicians to pastors, it seems like no one is exempt from the possibility. If you are like …
Its true, beloved. Beth Moore is gracing Greenwood. If you are a woman at North Side, you need to plan to come. If you are a woman at another church, you need to bring your women’s ministry and partner with your sister church. If you are a woman but don’t go to church anywhere, you need to come – Beth …
This week’s bad church sign of the week states: “GET OUT OF FACEBOOK AND GET INTO MYBOOK…GOD” I have a Facebook, and I have a Bible. I like Facebook. I love the Bible. Maybe we shouldn’t be so concerned about getting out of Facebook, but getting the Bible into Facebook. A standard answer for many Christians is to withdraw from …
You Asked For It. This Summer at North Side, we are doing a series entitled “You Asked For It” starting July 5th. This series will be completely driven by the comments on the You Asked for It blog. What is that topic you always wanted a preacher to address? What is that issue that you have always wanted to know …
It was great to be back at North Side this week. Even with a congested voice, I was honored that you guys sang out and took the lead yourselves! Songs: Awesome is the Lord – Chris Tomlin However Whenever Wherever – Travis Agnew Beautiful the Blood – Steve Fee Jesus Paid It All – Kristain Stanfill As we continued in …
So, I need your help all you Submergers out there. I can keep posting my favorite thoughts about camp, but I want to hear from you. Comment below on what Submerge meant to you in 3 sentences or less. Go.
As I am still processing all the wonderful stuff at Submerge, I thought I would send out one of my posts to the incredible Submerge staff. Band (Matt, Evan, Cory, Robert, Steven, and Elliot) – This group, comprised of members of different churches, united to lead in worship. Incredible hearts with incredible talents make a wonderful worship team, and we …
This picture reveals part of our crew trying to catch a runaway bird before closing started this morning at Submerge. It was a great week, I will have a lot to post about later, but now I just want to veg. Thank you, Jesus for allowing me to be a part of what you did this week!
Day 2 was another fantastic experience at Submerge 09. Early Show – A whole lot of fun getting going for the day. Small Groups – Our leaders are really pouring into the students. Free Time – I had five students and OG try to dunk me for 90 minutes straight. My back is sore. Worship – Jesus is beautiful! Late …
Submerge started last night with a bang! Opening went great, the band and our staff went over and beyond to make the first night somet
We have been talking about making our website at North Side more user friendly lately. I decided to design a sketch on my anointed whiteboard and see what came up for a constantly updated homepage. Here goes: Here’s the concept: Main Image – one image that is the ongoing series or big announcement – the image could be clicked and …
Sunday night was a pretty big night for me. It was the culmination of my 15-week project that I implemented at North Side that corresponded with my seminary research. If you want to know what has happened in the last fifteen weeks corresponding with my project: Crossroads Series GRACE Series Legacy Series Focus Group Church Survey Making Faith Stick (2 …
This week’s bad church sign states: “THE WORD ‘CHRISTIAN’ IS A NOUN.” Uh…OK…yes it is…but I don’t really understand the point. Is this a grammatical lesson or is this a deeper message that my finite brain cannot handle? Any takers on the meaning of this sign? Comment below and give your best shot.
Any leader needs to be intentional about developing the leaders around them. Due to fear and apprehension concerning delegation, some leaders fail to prepare clear guidelines for projects that they could accomplish. I have lost time and wasted opportunities due to my unwillingness to delegate in the past. In the last few weeks, I have spent the majority of Mondays …
Today, we started a new series entitled “All In.” Focusing on discipleship, we are going to spend the month of June asking the question, “Are we really all in when it comes to Jesus?” Jeff’s message was troubling. He made me think through my own life and think am I truly committed to Jesus? Will I follow Him wherever He …
Submerge 09 starts next week on Friday; our staff leaves on Thursday to set up. Here are 10 reasons I’m excited about Submerge 09: It will be warm enough to go to the beach this year (versus last year’s Spring Break feeling like Winter Break). Due to the summer time, we have a great representation from churches with different Spring …
On Tuesday, I went to a gathering for worship leaders across the state. While I learned some good stuff, the highlight of the gathering was meeting Keith Watson of FBC Columbia who is now a YouTube legend. Here’s the description of the following video: This was the opening video for our Student Fall Retreat called “You’ve Got Talent.” Everyone is …
A few Sundays ago, I shared a message called “Generational Hand-Me Downs.” In it, I talked about God’s call to be fruitful and multiply. I knew this would raise a couple of eyebrows. I did get one email question concerning that comment. I thought I would share with you my response. As far as the message goes, I was worried …
This week’s bad church sign is actually a sign war between a Catholic Church and a Presbyterian Church. Supposedly, these churches are across the street from each other and decided to engage in this battle over the souls of dogs, but it most likely someone doing this on the computer to make a funny. It worked.
Many people talk today about the end of the world. Due to global occurrences, wars, financial trauma, elected leaders, and many other phenomenon, many people think the end is near. Well one thing is certain: the end is closer than it was yesterday. The band REM came out with a song in the 1980s that was called, “It’s the End of …
Today, we concluded the worship portion of the “Legacy” series. Wow, God has done so much among us during this month of May. I have heard so much positive words about what is going on in homes as a result of this series – praise God! I think my favorite portion of each week was going into the homes and …
Thanks for all of you who bought Freshman 15 – I don’t know who all of you are, but thanks! I pray God uses it in your life! I had some questions about ordering the book from Create Space. If you order it, it says that you might not get the book until a few weeks. The reason why is …
I am currently working on another degree through Southern Seminary. Southern’s president is Dr. Al Mohler who you may have seen debating it up on the Larry King Live show or other talk shows. He is a brillant man and also has a blog that he updates everyday. In our Making Faith Stick class, we have talked about teaching the Bible …
How are your minutes used? I learned from Maxwell the need for self-discipline in his book Developing the Leader Within You. He wrote: Every person on the planet is given the same allotment of minutes in a day. But each person’s level of self-discipline dictates how effectively those minutes are used. Since I have been personally working on this issue …
After Sunday’s message, I have heard a lot of encouraging words. That message was difficult to preach. Eph 6:1-4 is an in-your-face-passage. It’s encouraging, but it is honest with how the home should be run. After a message like that, it is easy for fathers to walk away with motivation devoid of application. You might be a dad who wants …
After a lot of time hyping this thing, it is finally here! Order Freshman 15 here. Freshman 15 is my first book. Written as a guide for college students and graduating high schools seniors, this book encourages Christians to give weight to Christ in fifteen crucial areas during this pivotal time. Even if you aren’t a college student, buy some …
I have a rule about spending: unless it is a house, car, or education, I don’t borrow money. I do not have a credit card. Once I got a job, I decided to save money for any spending that I needed to do, but I never borrowed money. I definitely never borrowed money from family because that leads to scrutiny …
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