Zuckerberg, Lucas, and You

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Something is wrong with the world as we know it.

Facebook has changed yet again, and the Facebook community is in a tizzy.  Disgust and outrage fill status feeds, news reports, and paper headlines.  How dare Mark Zuckerberg keep changing a good thing?

Within days of the Facebook mutiny, global Star Wars fans are distraught that George Lucas has changed scenes yet again in his recent Blu-Ray versions of the Star Wars saga.  Tinkering with some effects is one thing, but when he started changing details in the story lines reopened the scab for those still upset that Han Solo was “provoked” by Greedo.

So, let me get this straight.  Most of the world is hooked on Facebook.  Created by brilliant college student, Facebook is the way people attempt to share life these days and is the most visited website in the world.  It has literally changed how people function in our society.  And we are mad at the guy who made it because he changed it?

George Lucas, who single handedly changed the movie industry, wrote a script that millions of fans have memorized.  When he decides to enhance a story that he wrote, we get mad at him for changing what we like as if he has no rights to the story.

The outrage this week reminded me how we think we are the center of the universe.

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Help the Vias Get Their Daughter Home!

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In college, I was blessed to find many friends that became family.  Two of those were Josh and Tasha Via.  The Vias have led worship at North Side before, so that’s where some of you might remember them from.  They are wonderful worship leaders on and off the stage.  They have 3 wonderful children, 1 bun in the oven, and …

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Redeeming Your History

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What a great day at North Side as we kicked off our 2 week Courageous series.  In addition to a great prayer time for our Africa team, we had a wonderful worship time together.  Taylor did a great time of focusing our prayers for that team and the unreached people group.  The worship team did great today!  So much energy, passion, and skill.  They led me to the throne – it was fantastic!

Today, we worshiped to:

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“You’re a REALLY Big Bear!”

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Psalm 107:33 He turns rivers into desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 and fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into a pool of water,
dry land into springs of water.
36 He causes the hungry to settle there,
and they establish a city where they can live.
37 They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.

38 He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
He does not let their livestock decrease.

43 Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things
and consider the Lord’s acts of faithful love.

After reading a book about a family of bears one day, my firstborn came up to me and said, “Daddy, I’m a little bear, Mommy is a big bear, and Daddy, you’re a really big bear!”

In addition to his comments causing me to diet the next week, I also realized the power that perception has in the eyes of a child.  I’m a tall dad.  My toddlers think I am ginormous.  When a balloon escapes their grasp and heads towards the ceiling, they came looking for me.  When they want to soar above the crowd, they come begging to sit upon my shoulders.  Contrastingly, when they are in trouble, I can tell that our height difference also causes them to sit up a little straighter when I walk in the room.

Don’t read anything more into that comment.  The fact is they are small, I am big, and that causes them sometimes to have a reality check.  I believe that’s one of the reasons God makes babies so small (in addition to wanting women to survive labor).  He wants children to have a healthy fear of their parents.  The problem only comes when they think they are my size.

Our problems come when we think God is our size. 

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Don’t Drop Your Kids Off at Church

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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 the nicest …

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New Book on the Way…

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Only a couple people have known that I have been working on a new book, and I am happy to tell you that it is almost complete.  The next book is entitled: Don’t Drop Your Kids Off at Church: Bring Them Home to It.

Many of you know that I graduated with a doctorate from Southern Seminary in December 2009.  My work centered around parents being the primary evangelists in their children’s lives.  After completing that mammoth project, I was encouraged by my supervisor, Chuck Lawless, to make the material palatable for people other than my doctoral defense team.

Due to this emphasis, God has used the work to impact North Side but was one of the main reasons I was asked to complete LifeWay’s Courageous Bible study “Honor Begins at Home.”  Here’s the premise of the book:

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What They Don’t Teach You in Seminary

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I haven’t been a very consistent blogger this week.  I apologize.  It’s been a crazy week of ministry thus far.  On weeks like this, you realize all the things they don’t train you for in seminary.

Here’s some of the things I have dealt with this week:

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What Do You Wish 2012’s President Would Bring to the White House?

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We’re still a long way off from the election, but the news coverage is already constant.  With the Republican debates going on, President Obama making attempts to salvage the economy, and everyone having an opinion about both, a lot is being promised. At the end of last night’s debate, Wolf Blitzer asked a unique questions: “If you were elected as …

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The Keys to the Kingdom

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We had a great day as we wrapped up our “Intentional Discipleship” series.  It’s been amazing to hear the stories of people who are taking the job of disciple-maker very seriously.  I love hearing about all the different ways people are investing in others!  We’ve also been amazed at how well family worship has been and how much our children have been getting out of the new schedule.

Jeff’s message was so great.  I loved the emphasis he put on keeping the Sabbath and maintaining rest.  It is definitely something we have to be on the regular to watch out for.  Phil Zigos did a wonderful job leading a prayer time for America on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  We also were able to ordain Dan Flint into the ministry and pray for our mission team leaving next week (Jeff Lethco, Jukie Leary, and Martin Ridgeway).  Love the prayer focus today!

Today, we worshiped to:

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“So, How Did the Change REALLY Go?”

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In the recent weeks, I have learned that there have been 3 people very interested in the changes going on at North Side.

  1. North Siders – This group has been interested in how all of it would look when the dust settled and the new day was here.  What would worship be like?  Where would their families go?
  2. Other Greenwood Churches – We also have heard that it’s been quite the conversation among other churches, and even in some churches, people have attempted to lure people to their congregation because their worship style was something they would enjoy better (that’s on both the contemporary and the traditional side).  I guarantee if someone leaves one church because of music and find refuge in another, those are the type of members who leave the 2nd church one day as well.  It’s like young ladies who feel like they have to advertise to get a man.  Whatever it takes to get him will be what takes him one day.  The same is true with churches.
  3. Other Church Leaders – Along the way, I’ve been contacted through this blog, Facebook, or email with questions how we are going about these changes.  It seems there are a lot of churches who desire unity as well.  Many congregations are tired of the church buffet lines, but we served as the “guinea pig” to many of them.  If it works here, maybe it could work there too was the thought process.

So, I posted on Sunday that Sunday was a great day, and it was.  I believed it was going to be a great day, but I didn’t think it could have gone that smooth.  But many people emailed me on Monday morning and said, “OK, you can tell me, how did the change REALLY go?”  As if Sunday everyone would be all smiles, but then Monday morning, our inboxes would be overflowing with hate mail.

So, how did the change REALLY go?

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Courageous Opening Weekend Showtimes

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I was thrilled to find out the other week that the movie Courageous will be showing on opening weekend in Greenwood!  For those of you who follow my blog, you are aware that I have been blessed to be a part of writing a Bible study to accompany the movie entitled “Honor Begins at Home.” Since so much of the study has critical clips to the movie, it won’t be released until after opening weekend.  You can see an early sample of the curriculum here.

We just got information concerning how churches, ministries, or groups can get bulk tickets at a great rate.  You can purchase Courageous tickets for opening weekend now.  If you buy 20 or more, you can get them at the very low price of $6.50 a ticket.  You can then turn and give them away or sell that at your church or ministry.

Showtimes:

  • Friday, Sept. 30th – 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00
  • Saturday, Oct. 1st – 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00
  • Sunday, Oct. 2nd – 1:00, 4:00, 10:00 (7:00 is already sold out)

We have some tickets at North Side for the Friday night showing at 7:00.  You can pick them up while they last at the bookstore for $6.50 a ticket.  If you are another church leader, find a time that works for your crew, and go pick up some tickets for that time slot.

Here’s the synopsis of the movie:

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College Discipleship Groups

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  What a wonderful weekend with the North Side family!  We were blessed to have a bunch of college students worship with us yesterday from Lander, Erskine, Piedmont Tech, Presbyterian College, and much more.  It was a blessing to connect with so many of them at our lunch yesterday and our dodegeball tournament last night. We want to make all …

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Cherish Your Marriage Vows

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On July 12, 2004, I spoke some serious wedding vows to my bride.  Unfortunately, those vows are often forgotten once the marriage ceremony is over for many couples. This summer, we have been married 7 years.  For Amanda’s birthday, I decided to get our vows framed, something she always said she would love to have.  I did some research and …

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Following Jesus

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The day so many of us have been praying for and planning for finally came.  We did something that most church growth experts and consultants say should never be done.  With what we did today, we should have had a church split or people walking out in disapproval.

Instead, we worshiped as one family.

Today, North Side united 3 services into 2.  We got rid of 2 styles and united under the heading of “worship.”  We united families instead of segregating them.  And while I believe that God has been honored with our church before, I think this was another level of obedience and worship that we engaged into today.  I’ve heard plenty of encouraging words from this morning, but even if those weren’t there, God was honored and our church worshiped today in spirit and in truth.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Reminders for Sunday’s New Schedule

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Just a reminder about Sunday’s new schedule at North Side.  We have worship and discipleship groups for all ages at both 9:30 & 11:00.  Get there early to make sure you and your family are in the right spot at the right time.

Here’ some additional notes for you to remember:

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“We Said We Would Never Visit North Side…”

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Yesterday, I talked about how North Side is experiencing incredible growth even during a time of transition.  Normally, you are supposed to lose people when you make changes to your church, and in reality, we are gaining people.  Lives are being transformed by the gospel.  People are being baptized.  All ages are signing up for discipleship groups and service groups.  It’s been amazing to watch!

I wanted to tell you one story that we have heard through this time of change.  A couple recently moved to Greenwood who had been church leaders in another state.  As they began their time of searching for the right church, someone invited them to come to North Side.  They checked out the website, asked some questions about the church, and told this person they wouldn’t come.  They had doctrinal stances they had to ensure which our church met with no problem.  But they had one other criteria as far as looking for a church that was a non-negotiable for them.

Do you know what the one criteria they had that was hindering them from coming to North Side?

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Aren’t Churches Supposed to Lose People When They Change?

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When I was in seminary, I was taught that before you ever make a change in your church, you need to calculate how many people you would lose if you changed.  An honest look at how those departures would affect attendance, volunteers, and especially budget should give you an indication of whether or not you should change.

North Side is in the middle of a change (if you haven’t heard ;)).  We are going from 3 worship services to 2.  2 worship styles to 1.  We are having a simple flip-flop schedule with worship and discipleship groups for all ages at both 9:30 & 11:00.

We decided to change for 2 basic reasons:

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Values of a Disciple-Maker

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Cannot begin to put into words what is happening at North Side in these days.  This morning, I was reminded of how focused, committed, determined, passionate, and sacrificial our church is becoming.  God is on the move, and it is amazing to watch!

We continued in our “Intentional Discipleship” series today as we talked about the values of a disciple-maker.  My notes have that someone who is serious about making disciples is someone who commits to authority (God’s Word), intentionality, maturity, and accountability.  People are stepping up to make disciples – not more programs, but to get into the lives of people and see multiplication rather than just addition.

It was great to surprise Stan Ligon today.  As Jamie Parler and Stan shared a testimony about the power of small groups, we wanted to thank this disciple-maker by allowing some of his guys to say thanks over a secret video.  It was pretty awesome to watch Stan talk about how much he needed these guys then followed by the guys saying how much they appreciated and needed him.  Kingdom living!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bad Church Sign: No Way Out

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This week’s bad church sign (thanks Easler for sending this one to me) states: “HELL ONE WAY IN  NO WAY OUT WELCOME” How would you improve this sign’s message?

Sunday Best (Does God Care What I Wear to Church?)

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Everybody knows that when you go to church on Sunday you are supposed to wear your “Sunday best.”  Right?  I always heard that you dress up in your nice clothes on Sunday morning because God deserves our best.  So find the most expensive, formal attire and wear that on Sundays because it honors God. Does it?  Have you ever wondered …

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Consistently Inconsistent

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Psalm 92:10 You have lifted up my horn

like that of a wild ox;

I have been anointed with oil.

11 My eyes look down on my enemies;

my ears hear evildoers when they attack me.

12 The righteous thrive like a palm tree

and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon.

13 Planted in the house of the Lord,

they thrive in the courts of our God.

14 They will still bear fruit in old age,

healthy and green,

15 to declare: “The Lord is just;

He is my rock,

and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

Consistently Inconsistent

I am one of the most inconsistent people you will ever meet.  I will bowl great for three frames, and then I will reside in the gutter the rest of the game.  That’s not entirely true.  I will reside in the gutter of the lane next to me for the rest of the game.  At New Years, I will begin a steady diet and exercise routine that lasts until someone brings out the meatballs.  I will start a span of regularly responding to emails, and then I will have a setback and not reply to anyone for six weeks.  I crave consistency.

In my spiritual life, I am even worse.  On a mission trip, I will turn into super-evangelistic boy on the field only to revert to an unashamed coward when I return home.  My devotional life will get intense after a convicting sermon only to last until the guilt finally wears off.  An answered prayer turns me into an intercessory advocate until I stop seeing immediate results to my prayers.  I want to do better.  I honestly do crave consistency.

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Praise Break (Snoopy Style?)

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A friend shared this video with me the other day, and I thought you would enjoy it.  I’m pretty sure I’ve been to this church…

Stages of Discipleship

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What an incredible day at North Side!  We jumped into week 2 of “Intentional Discipleship” as we studied the stages of discipleship.  It was one of the most incredible days I can ever remember at our church!

I was shocked at the growth in our services.  God keeps bringing such a diversity of people to be a part of our church and watching God unite this congregation is amazing!  Jeff’s message on the different stages of discipleship was so powerful.  It made me evaluate where I was on that circle, and I’ve got a long way to go!

Nancy West shared her testimony, and God used her so much!  She was so passionate, articulate, and authentic.  Knowing Nancy even makes it even more powerful.  Her testimony was powerful, her life is even more powerful!  I have loved watching her stay faithful to God during these years.  If you ladies want to sign up for the Beth Moore event, you can do so here.

Today, we worshiped to:

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My Boys Have Something to Share…

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My sons have a message they want to share on their t-shirts – they are going to be big brothers!

Amanda and I are thrilled to death that God would allow another Agnew to come our way.  We are a little over 7 weeks along putting Lil’ Agnew #3 arriving approximately April 2, 2012.  With technology improving every year, we just left the doctor’s office and got to hear the lil’ bambino’s heart pumping away.  Everything looks great, and we are simply beside ourselves with joy!

We bought these t-shirts a few weeks ago to let our parents know we were pregnant.  Unfortunately, it didn’t work the way we hoped with all the family members.  As we pointed out their shirts, the comments were, “Yes, you are a big brother.”

“No, Eli is a big brother too.”

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Why I’m Not a Fan of Blended Worship

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You may or may not have heard that North Side is going through some changes now.  Many have asked me, “Are you guys getting rid of the traditional service?”  The short answer is yes.  The other part of the answer is: we are also getting rid of our contemporary services.

We are uniting our church from 3 services into 2.  There are many theological and logistical reasons of which this one post cannot address.  Succinctly, we believe that God is more honored when we unite in worship regardless of our preferences (theological), and we have accommodated preferences to a point where our schedule is actually a hindrance for many families in our attempt to please everyone (logistical).

So, no traditional.  No contemporary.  So everyone assumes that we are doing blended worship.  The only problem with that is North Side’s worship pastor (me) is absolutely disgusted by that format.  Let me explain why:

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How to Fix Lethargic Worship

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(Whenever I am trying to remember how big God is and if he can handle my current problems, I look at this picture and remember: God is good.)

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim
that He has redeemed them from the hand of the foe

3 and has gathered them from the lands-
from the east and the west,
from the north and the south.  – Psalm 107:1-3

How to Fix Lethargic Worship

The cure for lethargic worship is a good memory.

In Psalm 107, the psalmist expresses praise to God based upon his faithfulness in the past. He reminds the worshipers that God is always good and deserves our gratitude.  He had rescued them from the hands of their enemies.  He had rescued them from their circumstances and gathered them back together again.

Have you ever felt in worship that you were just going through the motions?  You stood up and sat down when you were instructed.  You mouthed the words to some songs on a screen or in a hymnal.  You left the same way in which you entered.  The best way to describe your worship was lethargic.

The cure for lethargic worship is a good memory.  God has shown up all throughout your life. When you have called on God, every time he delivers.  The only proper response is worship.  Each new day is a reminder of God’s faithfulness to us.

When we were in the middle of our adoption process, I was forced to remember this fact often.

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Discipleship 101

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What a great way to start out the new school year today at North Side!  We had packed worship services with passionate worshipers – what else can you ask for?  We started a new series entitled “Intentional Discipleship” geared towards people who are ready to stop being stagnant and start growing in Christ!

Some service highlights were having Ben Ridgeway, one of our high schoolers, pray for all students, teachers, and faculty members going into their mission field tomorrow.  It was great having a video testimony of my buddy, Brian Rackley, who was a self-proclaimed “back row Baptist” until God called him into ministry.  This morning he wasn’t with our church anymore because he has accepted a call to preach at Bethany Baptist.  The whole service was geared around following Christ with no turning back.

Today, we worshiped to:

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My Birthday Present Arrived in the Mail!

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Many of my family members pitched in some money for an instrument savings I had been working on to purchase a birthday gift.  Yesterday, it finally arrived in the mail.  I am the proud owner of a hammered dulcimer.

Since I opened it yesterday, I haven’t had too much time to play it because two little eager boys see this as the perfect instrument to use since it is melodic and they have “drum sticks” with it.  Hopefully, when they go to bed, I will be able to figure this instrument out!

I have always loved Rich Mullins music which was the first thing that got me interested in this mountain instrument.  When I was a teenager, I spent some time in a music store in Tennessee that confirmed my love for it as I tried to figure out how to play it.  After many years, I can finally start hammering away at this beauty.

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Planning for Impossible Worship Services

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Sunday evening, I felt led to share how God has challenging me concerning North Side’s upcoming worship change.  It was undeniable that the Holy Spirit was leading me to share, and I pray it was a blessing.  I’ll try to summarize my thoughts from that evening.

North Side has decided to unite their worship services.  We have done traditional and contemporary well, but we desire unity more giving people options.  We are not going to a blended service (I’ll post on that later concerning why I hate the terminology and approach).  It will be united.  Here’s been our steps as of late:

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1 Week Offline (And the Return Back…)

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We had a family vacation at the end of July.  It was great.  I decided to turn my email off and really, really be on vacation (which by the way, is a great recommendation for all).  I replied to all emails Sunday night around midnight before vacation officially started.  I went on vacation on Monday.  On Friday night, I decided to turn my email back on, and it kept rising.  Below is the number of emails that I received that week:

743.  Within 5 days, I collected 743 emails.  When I started going through those emails, I was overwhelmed and excited all at the same time.  And here what was in those emails:

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Revival Through Worship

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Tonight, we brought our Revival summer services to a close.  These services have been a wonderful chance for our church body to unite together in worship and study the psalms.  We finished up with a hoedown.  Great times!  Jeff’s message on Psalm 150 is one I wish every believer could hear on what biblical worship is supposed to be.  Incredible!

Tonight, we worshiped to:

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Major in the Minors: Malachi

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What a wonderful day of worship!  We finished Major in the Minors today with the study of Malachi.  So good!

The worshipers were ready today!  I was overwhelmed with the volume and the passion of our worshipers today.  We had a scaled down acoustic set, but it was way heavy on the worshiper side.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Courageous is Coming to Greenwood

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I was thrilled to find out the other week that the movie Courageous will be showing on opening weekend in Greenwood!  We were able to get a private screening for leaders in Greenwood, and the response was incredible.  Church, ministry, and business leaders got behind this and we made a plea to get it here, and God obviously wants this movie on fatherhood to impact this community.

We are working out the details for advanced tickets, and I should be able to give you some info on that soon.  I am indebted to Alan Quigley and others for doing so much to help get the movie here.  This movie will impact homes, and churches need to be ready for what the next step is if you can get the people to the movie.  It’s a great, emotional experience, but don’t leave it there!

For those of you who follow my blog, you are aware that I have been blessed to be a part of writing a Bible study to accompany the movie entitled “Honor Begins at Home.” Since so much of the study has critical clips to the movie, it won’t be released until after opening weekend.  I am planning on leading the study at some time in some place, but just waiting on some few details.  So any fathers, aspiring fathers, mothers, empty-nesters, etc. who want to hear more of what God expects in the home, I would love to have you join me in this 8-week curriculum.  You can see an early sample of the curriculum here.

Here’s the synopsis of the movie:

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Why Your Church Needs More Percy Sledges

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It’s one of my most anticipated and most dreaded times of the week all at the same time.

It’s Sunday mornings.  I walk across the stage, tune my guitar, turn on my microphone, and attempt to lead people in worship.  What’s so conflicting about my job is that so many people are continuing the song they have been singing all week long, and others are eagerly waiting the opportunity to sit back down.  I love it and dread it all in the same moment.

No matter what service you frequent, when someone asks you to stand and sing, I think you need to open your mouth and give it everything you got.  And here’s why:

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Revival Through Intimacy

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Had another great worship experience last night at North Side!  It was wonderful to watch our team lead without me there!  They are so talented and have such wonderful hearts, they didn’t miss a beat!  Loved it! Jeff’s message walking through Psalm 139 was fantastic!  Listen to it online if you didn’t get to hear it!  So good!  My time …

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Major in the Minors: Zechariah

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Had such an interesting experience at the church house today – I worshiped from the other side of the stage.  After a week of vacation, I got in the van with my family, took my boys to the nursery, and worshiped with the congregation next to my wife.  It was great!

I loved watching our wonderful workers in the nursery love my boys and teach them how to pray for others.  I loved being made to feel at home by our wonderful host team.  The tech team was so seamless with their tasks, I didn’t even notice they were there!  The Shake-n-Shine band did a wonderful job leading worship (wish I was as talented and mature as those students)!  Jeff’s message was powerful.

I might take vacation more often 😉

Today, we worshiped to:

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Happy Birthday, Dear Daddy!

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  Happy birthday to me!  I’m getting pretty old, maybe I can receive some wisdom now to go along with my senility.  30 Reasons I’m Blessed Today: 1. Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. 2. I love my bride more today than ever. 3. I am the adoring father of two fantastic boys. 4. …

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