Happy Thanksgiving

by

In the last week, the Agnews have been busy.  It’s actually been a busy couple of months for us really.  We rounded up last weekend with a wedding I officiated with some dear friends.  The picture above is Eli and Obadiah getting dressed up in the photo booth at the wedding reception.

From there we were able to have our album release worship service, get a lot of stuff done in the office, work on a bunch of home projects over the week.

These boys, and their lil’ sister on the way, bring so much joy to my life.  With busy weeks and exciting stuff happening, they are always there to remind me of the important things in life.  Very thankful today.

When asked this morning what they were thankful for, they said:

READ MORE

Songs of Our Faith [Recap]

by

I was absolutely blown away last night during our night of worship.  So much work went into pulling yesterday off.  From Anthony Gravley working hard in the studio, to Evan Boney working tirelessly on loops and programming, to the band working tirelessly on these ambitious arrangements, to the singers singing their faces off, to Jessica, Jamie, Cory, and the rest of the North Side staff working so hard on details, to the wonderful tech and host teams who had everything so well thought out, to the Watkins who went over and beyond in preparation, to the guest choirs that joined us (North Side was joined by New Life Baptist McCormick and Erskine Gospel Choir), it was a family effort through and through!

We were able to help raise support for Meals on Wheels.  We had a great time of just being family during and after.  Wonderful time of communion.  Songs of Our Faith album finally released.

And we worshiped with everything we had.  I have never heard that room so full of not a mixed band or group, but the volume was coming from the worshipers.  It was incredible.  So much I want to share, and I will in the coming days, but today, I am just grateful that this wonderful team allows me to lead worship alongside them and this wonderful church allows me to be a part of the ride.  Grateful.

Here are some more photos from the night:

READ MORE

Songs of Our Faith

by

Few songs endure for generations. A rare few endure for centuries. Many songs that we sing today will not be sung in five years. So if a song has served as a voice for many generations as God’s people have proclaimed worship to Him, that’s something special. Now, when it comes to arranging and recording hymns, there is hesitancy involved. …

READ MORE

He MUST Increase

by

What a great morning at North Side!  Walking through the Gospel of John, Jeff decided to take an extra stop a long the way to talk about the joy that John the Baptist had in decreasing.  While I hadn’t planned the service around that passage, it was wonderful watching the Holy Spirit unite elements to make a powerful service.

We were blessed to have some missionaries from North Africa talk with us about how to truly partner with missionaries on the field.  Awesome insights and wonderful to pray with them.

Today, we worshiped to:

READ MORE

The Frustration with National Adoption Day

by

I was appreciative of a text message this morning from a dear friend telling me they were inspired by an article in this morning’s Index Journal.  I still have only read the short version on the website and not read the entire article, but I was interviewed earlier this week concerning adoption.

Honestly, it took me a moment to realize why I was being interviewed for two reasons: 1) There are plenty of other families that do more than us for the cause of adoption, and 2) I forget that Eli is adopted.  In fact, I don’t like talking about it when one child is distinguished as the biological child and one as the adoptive child.  God brought both of our children into our family.  Different ways, but they are both our sons.

I went along with the interview because today is National Adoption Day, and I figured, if our family could inspire others to adopt, that’s a good thing.  That’s worth it.

We had a wonderful day as a family today playing in our home and helping with some friends’ wedding, but it ended on a very bitter note.  Right before family worship tonight, I read a tweet from a dear friend that read:

READ MORE

Songs of Our Faith – This Sunday Night!

by

Last night we had a fantastic practice/worship time as we prepared for this Sunday’s night of worship.  I say it was practice, but it was really worship.  When you get to work with the people I get to, practice turns into worship.

I’ll say this: this entire project (recording, planning, arranging, practicing) has been a more daunting attempt than anything else we have ever done.  The arrangements are very complex.  The instrumentation shifts from song to song.  Players and vocalists are being pushed to the max.

And, I’ve never been more proud of this group!

READ MORE

When the Church Vote Doesn’t Go Your Way

by

I posted yesterday concerning the approval at the South Carolina Baptist Convention of the Great Commission Resurgence.  This approval met with a very significant majority vote (which shocked me personally).  While there are many different changes, the one that keeps me focused is that it changes the budget for more emphasis on sending more missionaries to the field.  It takes away some money from our institutions but also gives them allowance to raise money in other avenues.

The vote was a significant majority, but everyone involved are not raving fans (I know you’ve never heard of a situation like that in a church setting ;)).  I’m sympathetic to both sides.  I have dear brothers who were a part of leading the change and I have dear brothers who tried to stop it.  I see both sides, but the reality is, the change has happened now.

So, what do you do when the church vote doesn’t go your way?

READ MORE

The Great Commission Resurgence (And South Carolina Baptists)

by

North Side is a part of the Southern Baptist Convention, and within that denomination, we are specifically aligned with the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Yesterday, we took a group of the staff to be a part of the yearly Convention meeting.

Recently, there has been dialogue concerning the allocation of Southern Baptist funds. When the recession hit, the Convention as a whole had to figure out how and where to cut back. From that event, the Great Commission Resurgence was a movement within the Convention to review how we spend money and where we send our resources. Yesterday, part of our leadership were in attendance to decide how South Carolina should go forward with their funds.

When North Side takes up an offering each week, 10% of that automatically goes to the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention. When all of our Baptist churches put their funds together, we “cooperate” and send more missionaries than individual churches could on their own. So, even if you haven’t heard about this discussion, the decision yesterday effected where some of your tithe and offering money goes to.

We thought it would be great for you to hear how a large group of very different people united together around the gospel yesterday. Of course there are concerns about the strategy, and some people are not raving fans, but what I thought was amazing yesterday was very opinionated people got together and shared together in a Christian, civil way.

The following is an article provided by the Baptist Courier:

READ MORE

The Wrath of God

by

 

Continuing in our study through the Book of John, “Knowing Jesus,” we talked today about the wrath of God and reality of hell.

Throughout the whole service, we dealt with the topic head on.  Jeff’s sermon was right on.  True and compassionate.

Rick also shared some details concerning our Project Love Christmas bash.  Here’s how you can get involved.

Today, we worshiped to:

READ MORE

Preparing Families for Worship

by

As mentioned earlier, the role of ministers are to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph 4:12). We do expect our parents to lead their families in worship, but we partner with them by providing family worship guides to equip the parents for this endeavor. Many approaches exist for how to equip families for time spent at the family altar. Like many other churches, we provide parents with information concerning what their children have learned in church programming they have attended. In addition, we provide weekly family worship guides that correspond with what we are focusing on together as a church body.

On Thursdays, I post a family worship guide that any family, regardless of size or context, can utilize before Sunday morning’s services in order to worship together. Some families do it on Saturday nights. Some families gather around the breakfast table on Sunday morning. Others go out to the park on an afternoon. It is a simple guide that is adaptable to different family situations.

READ MORE

There Is Something Worse Than Being Single

by

We had a great time at North Greenville this past week.  The students were such a blessing to the whole Agnew clan and the boys already miss all of our friends!

Coming home Wednesday after 4 chapels and many side conversations, I thought of a few things I wish I would have said.  Dealing with issues of dating and marriage, I talked with the students concerning how to find that person and what you do once you found them.

Many students would comment that they just can’t find someone to even start the possible partnership with.  That reminded me of something I forgot to share with the students and might be a good reminder to you today.

There is something worse than being single.

READ MORE

Night of Worship: Songs of Our Faith

by

On November 20th at 6pm we will have a worship service here at North Side. We will be releasing the new North Side Worship album, Songs of Our Faith, after the service. This is the followup to last year’s Overcome service. Groups, ministry teams, other churches, families are all invited. We are partnering with other churches who will be helping …

READ MORE

NGU Men and Women’s Conference

by

  I would appreciate your prayers for our family this week. Amanda and I are speaking and leading worship at North Greenville University in 4 chapels Monday-Wednesday. This week is called the Men and Women’s Conference. Dealing with sensitive issues such as forgiveness, purity, dating, and marriage is a big challenge. Please pray God uses us in a mighty way …

READ MORE

You Must Be Born Again

by

Powerful day of worship today!  Jeff’s message was spot on.  John 3 – you must be born again.  Incredible to watch people give their lives to Jesus!  Wonderful time of baptism and more children being baptized by their fathers – love it! Today, we worshiped to: Jesus Loves Me – North Side Worship All My Fountains – Chris Tomlin I …

READ MORE

Bloodlines

by

Pastor John Piper’s newest book, Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian, is now available. Earlier this year Crossway traveled with Pastor John to his hometown of Greenville, SC to revisit the world in which he grew up. This 18-minute documentary takes us through his experience of racism in the 1960’s American South. Watch the video above!  Incredible, honest, convicting.

Don’t Drop Your Kids Off at Church – Now Available!

by

My new book is available today!  Order Don’t Drop Your Kids Off at Church here.

Synopsis: Parents have often developed misplaced priorities when it comes to their children.  Many children in America are so busy with numerous activities that their spiritual lives are unfortunately neglected.  Our approach is to drop our children off at the best church in town which we qualify by which one has the hippest youth minister, most attended programs, and nicest facilities.  For all our efforts, children are still walking away from church once they leave the nest.  There is another way.  Don’t drop your kids off at church — bring them home to it.

READ MORE

Lil’ Agnew #3 is a…

by

The ultrasound was this morning.  The boys have something to share. Lil’ Agnew #3 is a… GIRL! Gloria Beth Agnew is on her way, and her big brothers are ecstatic.  God is faithful.  All for His glory!  

When Church Segregates Families

by

As a church leader, God has really been challenging me lately.  I feel like it is our responsibility to unite the family at church rather than segregate them. The last verse in the Old Testament prophesies concerning the coming of the LORD. “And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and their hearts of children to …

READ MORE

Cleaning Out the Temple

by


 
What a great day at North Side!  The big idea focused on Jesus’ cleaning the temple.  Whether you realized it or not, we attempted for every element to focus on this passage.  From song selections focusing on the sanctuaries of God, to praying for God’s work with other churches, to the message, we all tried to get this point across.

So appreciative for David Little, Director of Missions of the Lakelands Baptist Association, joining us today to remind of God’s work among our other churches.  It was wonderful to pray for other churches in our city.

Today, we worshiped to:

READ MORE

Fighting for Your Family

by

When Nehemiah led a group of exiled Israelites to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, he probably never anticipated the level of resistance that he would face.  Opposition came at them from every side.  As enemies conspired against the progress (Neh 4:7-8), Nehemiah had to protect God’s people without an army.

Nehemiah was forced to rely on men with varying levels of military prowess.  In a stunning move, Nehemiah places every able man in the exposed places of the wall and tells them to fight.

In order to obtain the ferociousness needed to win the battle, Nehemiah placed every man near his clan as the last line of defense before the enemy could reach that man’s family (Neh 4:13).  Before the battle began, Nehemiah reminded the people, “Do not be afraid of them.  Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes” (Neh 4:14).

In this holy moment, God’s people obtained victory through the hands of some fathers who held the line and refused to let any threat past them and endanger their families.

READ MORE

Do Children Make Good Converts?

by

How many mission trips have you been a part of in which the evangelistic focus was centered around children?  In my mission and ministry experience, the most common demographic for evangelistic efforts are children.  Energetic teams hop off a bus armed with balloons, refreshments, and gospel presentations ready to win the next generation to Christ.

Going through different ministry trainings, I heard numerous times that the chance of someone becoming a Christian dramatically decreases once that person reaches the age of 18.  In my experience, I would agree with that assessment.  Due to that belief, great focus is reasonably put on reaching younger people with the gospel.

But is it the best approach?  Imagine that one day, on your drive home from work, you notice a lot of activity in the park near your neighborhood.  As you drive by this festival-type atmosphere, you realize that your 7 year-old daughter is sitting down with a bunch of other children listening to some type of story time.  You recognize many of the children, but the storyteller is unknown to you.  After parking your car, you see your daughter raising her hand.  One of the adults begins to talk with her and it looks as if they are praying together.

Curiosity turns into concern, and you start to pick up your pace a bit only to realize that a group of Bahá’í missionaries have just converted your daughter to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh without your permission or approval.  Outrage is an understatement.  You are considering calling authorities to address this unthinkable situation.

I paint that picture because our method of carrying out the Great Commission must be addressed.

READ MORE

Water You Turned Into Wine

by

What a great to day to be a part of North Side!  Grateful for all the wonderful things going on!  Remember: 1. The Fall Festival this Saturday from 3-5.  Thanks Georges for reminding us!  2. Africa interest meeting tonight at 6 pm in the chapel.  3. Families are growing stronger since this move to united worship.  It was awesome hearing those stories today!

Jeff’s message was the BEST message I ever heard on John 2 when Jesus turned water into wine.  It was the ONLY sermon I’ve ever heard on that passage, but even if I had heard tons, that dog would hunt (that’s country slang meaning it was great!).  I never knew all the implications of what happened.  Huge message!  Check out this Baptist preacher talk about alcohol in a completely different light!

We had a great family worship last night where we talked about this passage.  Getting ready for services this morning, I asked the boys, “What did Jesus turn water into?”  Since wine isn’t a word we use around the house often, they were trying their hardest to come up with it.  I helped them out by starting with the “w” sound.

Obadiah said, “Waffles?  Jesus turned water into waffles.”

Almost.  Well, he could have if he wanted to!

Today, we worshiped to:

READ MORE

Worshipers on Boycott

by

It’s intriguing to see how encouragement and ministry happens over the Internet.  When I started sharing North Side’s journey of uniting our church concerning worship styles, services, and preferences, I mainly was attempting to share our thought process with the people of North Side.  Along the way, I began to receive correspondence from other pastors desiring to unite their churches but were afraid of the fallout.

We are still in awe of how God is doing more than we could possibly imagine during this time of transition in our church (Eph. 3:20).  Sunday was our 7th united worship service schedule, and attendance is up.  Involvement is up.  Excitement is up.  Of course, there are people who are not raving fans of the changes, but it is very minimal.  God is challenging all of us to strive for a united church.  It’s been a great thing.

I was asked last week by a minister in another church: “What do you do with disgruntled worshipers?  They are boycotting the music.  We have members waiting outside until the music is over to come in.  Some cover their ears.  Some refuse to sing certain types of songs.  Some won’t even stand up and sit there with their arms crossed.  It’s offensive to me.  What should I do?”

My first word of advice: “Stop being offended because those people’s actions are not against you.  They are against someone else.”

READ MORE

The Hippest Church in Town is Not What Your Child Needs

by

Something exists in the heart of children to watch their parents do what they cannot do yet.  They stand in awe at early ages of what their parents can do.  I desperately want my children to stand in awe of the way I live for God.  I don’t care if they are impressed by the house in which we live, …

READ MORE

God Did NOT Tell You to Do THAT

by

Recently, I was made aware of a situation involving fellow ministers of the gospel.  Someone told me a piece of a conversation, and before I jumped to any conclusions, I decided to go to the source directly.  Sure there had to be a reasonable explanation or a miscommunication, I assumed all would be cleared up with one simple phone call.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t cleared up.  Justifying his thought process, he explained to me what went down between them.  I thought that a brother confronting him would be enough to show some type of remorse, but that’s not what happened.

Actually, he informed me that God told him to do what he did.

READ MORE

The Call

by

What a great day at North Side!  As we focused on Jesus’s saving nature and the fact that he still calls out disciples for his work, we got a chance to Skype in with one of our own serving on the mission field, Kim Tomlinson.  Serving in the American Samoa, Kim is reaching many families for Christ.  By her saying yes, she was not only obedient to Jesus’ call, but she served as such an inspiration to our church.  Kim’s Facebook status: definitely worth it to stay up from 130am-430am here in Samoa to be able to skype with my church family in Greenwood 🙂 🙂 So thankful to have an amazing church family that supports me 🙂  

This is a picture of the baptism service she talked about yesterday – I hope her description impacted your worship yesterday like it did mine!

Today, we worshiped to:

READ MORE

“Why Isn’t Your Name on the Cover?”

by

As Courageous has been making headlines around the country for the success in the box office, I have been rejoicing at all that God is doing through it.  I’ve kinda been surprised that my small role in the ministry aspect of it has caused me to be interviewed by a few different sources.  The Bible Study book that I worked on is available now, but the whole kit with the DVD and extras won’t be available until Feb. 2012.

In a phone interview last week, someone had already picked up the book and asked me this question: “Why isn’t your name on the cover?”

As you can see by the picture, the  leaders for Sherwood Baptist Church and Sherwood Pictures names are on the cover, and this inquiring mind on the other side of the phone wanted to know where mine was.

Well…

READ MORE

Preachers’ Kids

by

Our culture has a stereotype of pastor’s children that is the complete opposite of this biblical expectation.  When people mention a “preacher kid,” they are normally referencing some rebellious hellion bent on tarnishing his father’s reputation in the community.  This stereotype reveals more than an unfortunate circumstance, it shows unbiblical perspectives and qualifications present in the church today.

Repeatedly, many preacher kids reveal a father who took care of the needs of everyone else except for those living in his own house.  In attempts to appease this member or that family, he neglected his own wife and children.  As the years went by, not only does the minister’s family resent the man of the house, but they also resent the church and many never return once they leave home.

Your pastors need to care for their own children more than they care for your children.

READ MORE

Songs of Our Faith – Track Listing

by

We are so excited as recording is picking up pace around here.  North Side Worship is in the recording studio again working on our next worship project entitled: “Songs of Our Faith.”  This collection of worship hymns is full of wonderful lyrics pointing the church to Jesus!

The concept art is coming together.  The band is putting together some unbelievable music.  The vocalists are pushing themselves more and more each week.  The arrangements are more complex than anything we have ever tried to pull off.

We are planning on releasing the CD on Sunday, November 20th at 6pm.  We are in the initial plans of this worship event, and we hope you can come out.  We have some really special stuff planned.

So do you want to know what hymns made the cut?

READ MORE

Prepare the Way for the Lord

by

I was so thankful that my buddy, JW, got to lead us in worship today at North Side!  We did a highlight for our Sonshine ministry at North Side, and Greg Thompson and JW helped us be mindful of how God is using all of North Side.  After the video, they both shared, JW prayed and then led in worship to “I’ll Fly Away.”  Awesome time!

Today, we worshiped to:

READ MORE

Why Many Student Ministries Are Failing

by

Since the inception of student ministry (not that many years ago), the growing belief is that parents should aid and assist the student pastor to evangelize and disciple the students.  By serving in either assistant teaching roles or crowd control, parents are expected to help the student pastor in his ministerial work focused on their children.  I cannot begin to tell you how many parents describe that situation and say that the student pastor spiritually “raised my child.”

If we were to follow the biblical example, we would reverse the trend.  Parents should not aid and assist the student pastor.  The student pastor should aid and assist the parent to evangelize and disciple one’s own child.

READ MORE

Family Worship Guides

by

I mentioned last week that I was making a big announcement during my message on Sunday, Sept. 25th.  I told the church that God had blessed me by leading worship and preaching at North Side, but I felt God was leading me to do something else.

I felt like God was leading me to lead worship in the homes of our church.  As we focused on family discipleship the last few weeks, my big application was for the leader of the home to begin leading the family in worship before they came to the church house each Sunday.  My commitment in the deal is that I will provide a worship guide each week by Thursday on the City so that they can lead their family in worship sometime before Sunday morning.

Last week was the first week I provided a worship guide.  The picture above is us taking our boys through the guide in our own home.  Since we were studying John 1 the next day in church, we spent some time focusing on that Jesus is the light of the world.  As we took our boys through some dark rooms in our house guided by a flashlight, we talked about how Jesus shone his light into this dark world.

I made the worship guide, but I also had to adapt some things to make it work in my home.

READ MORE

Honor Begins at Home

by

Honor Begins at Home: The Courageous Bible Study Member Book guides the participant through this compelling Bible study based on the movie Courageous. This 8-session study will take individuals and small groups deeper into biblical truths for a godly family, exploring topics such as redeeming your history, walking with integrity, winning and blessing the hearts of your children, and more. Every …

READ MORE

Honor Begins at Home

by

 

What an incredible weekend!  With a limited number of theaters showing the film Courageous, it was the top 5 movie in the box office this weekend!  That is unheard of!

If you got to see it, you know the range of emotions you experience during this roller coaster ride.  It is absolutely powerful.  We watched it with a Friday night showing at 7:00 that North Side rented out.  It was great to watch it and experience it with my church family.

Many of asked about the Bible study I worked on.  You can purchase “Honor Begins at Home” with LifeWay stores now.  It is an 8-session study that highlights principles in the book.  You can actually download a copy of one week’s lesson for free here.

But there is a slight catch.

READ MORE

In the Beginning Was the Word

by

 

Wow, what a stellar day to be a part of North Side!

We kicked off a new series today studying the Book of John entitled, “Knowing Jesus.”  To start things off, we celebrated some baptisms.  We sang “Come and Listen” as our candidates told why they were being baptized.  My favorite part of the day was watching fathers baptize their children!  Doesn’t get better than that for me.  Coming off the “Courageous” series, movie release this weekend, and our 1st family worship guide, it was incredible to watch!

Today, we worshiped to:

READ MORE

Go See Courageous This Weekend

by

I’ve shared a lot about my involvement with the Courageous resource, Honor Begins at Home, which will be available next week.  I can’t urge you enough: go see this film this weekend.  It is a powerful movie that could change your home, church, and community if the principles are applied. I am posting a clip below from the film.  This …

READ MORE

Moving

by

Our family has been in the process of moving homes this week, thus the blogosphere will be missing me most likely. While we are excited about God’s timing and provision, we are reminded yet again: a house is only a house.  It’s temporary.  The people in it matter more than the decorated walls.  The true beauty is the internal quality …

READ MORE

The Family Altar

by

It was an emotionally charged Sunday at North Side.  In our 2nd week of Courageous, we discussed “The Family Altar.” I had a pregnant lady in our church say that she was emotionally exhausted from the service and she needed to lay down.  I felt the same way, and I had no baby weighing me down!  It was an intense …

READ MORE

+ MORE POSTS