O Holy Night [Recap]

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What a powerful night.

I wanted to say huge thank you to all those who helped out last night for O Holy Night: A Night of Worship.  Out of all the encouraging comments that I received from that night, I think the most reoccurring and resounding comment was: “Last night was a picture of our church.  It was us.  We simply focused on worshiping Jesus.”  I cannot say thank you enough to:

  • From those preparing the communion for 1000 people
  • From those welcoming people at the front doors
  • From those who practiced very challenging music and led in worship (15 songs – that’s a bunch to work on!)
  • From those who worked behind the stage to make everything look and sound beautiful
  • From those elders serving communion
  • From staff that had to do so much to prepare for that night
  • To each of you who came and worshiped our Savior with us – thank you!

What a wonderful night to worship Jesus together!  May we never take the opportunity for granted that we get to “approach the throne of grace with confidence” (Heb 4:16) in worship with our church family!

Can’t wait to do it again this Sunday @ 11:00.  Hope to see you there!

Last night, we worshiped to:

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Do You Want to Be Made Well?

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Whoa.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

This morning at North Side was ridiculous.  Jeff’s message from John 5 was one of the most powerful messages I have heard.  The thought that there are many people complaining about their situations but really don’t want to get well resonated so much today.  Still processing all of that goodness.  If you didn’t get to hear it, check it out here on Monday morning.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Husbands, God Won’t Answer Your Prayers

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Men are called to love and to lead their wives.  You might desire to do this but unsure of how to go about doing it. Maybe you’ve never seen what it looks like for a godly man to love his wife. Maybe you have tried but feel like you keep finding resistance from your wife. No matter how your wife …

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Courageous Resolutions

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I’m in need to rally some prayer partners together again.  I’ve been so humbled to be a part of this Courageous movement by helping develop the Honor Begins at Home curriculum that is available in January.  And, for whatever reason, it appears God doesn’t have me done with this work of ministering to fathers just yet. In addition to the …

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Show Yourself a Man (So That Boys Will Know the Way)

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David is known for many things in the Bible.

He was anointed as king at an early age. He killed Goliath as a young man when all the bravest soldiers in Israel were hiding. He made worship a big deal with God’s people.

He was a man after God’s own heart.

While he sinned greatly during his life, he knew the power of honest repentance and would find his way back to God. After a long life filled with ups and downs, David attempted to summarize his desire for his son, Solomon in some of his last words on earth.

Do you know what this man desired most for his son?

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Unless You See Signs

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What a great day of worship at North Side!  I enjoyed borrowing my buddy’s mandoguitar to play on Sunday morning.  I had many questions about this little beauty.  It’s not a mandolin.  You play it like a 12-string guitar.  Besides trying to get my fingers to stay within the frets, I had a good time playing this little chimy instrument.

Jeff’s message was incredible!  The thought that many people would believe in the miracles of Jesus yet not have their lives changed was so applicable for today.  So, so good.

It was one of those worship services that I had all types of undercurrent themes riding throughout.  It was a different service intentionally, but had some fun turns along the way (at least, I think ;)).   Here’s what I mean.

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Make Up Your Mind

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Joshua was used by God to bring God’s people out of the wilderness into their own land. Once the Israelites had procured the Promised Land, Joshua delivers a final word of instruction. In light of all that Israel has experienced, Joshua challenged Israel to determine if they would follow Yahweh exclusively (Josh 24:14-15).

At this pivotal moment in their history, Joshua decided to lead the nation no longer as a fearless commander facing Israel’s international problems but as a bold preacher combating Israel’s spiritual problems. Before he presented the ultimatum, Joshua appealed to God’s work in the past among the Israelites. As Joshua relived Israel’s history (Josh 24:3-13), he quoted Yahweh’s voice and reminded the people that every victorious battle was due to Yahweh’s intervention and not the Israelites’ strength.

In Joshua 24:14-28, we see one of the greatest moments of drawing the line in the sand and demanding people to choose a side..

Just like the Israelites, it is time for us to make up our minds. Will we serve God, or will we serve some other god that has secured our attention?

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Sowing Seeds

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Today, I was blessed to be able and preach at my college roommate’s church.  I spoke on adoption (our adoption into God’s family and the need for children to be adopted into our families).  Praying that many families will either adopt or sign up for foster care. While I loved being there, I hated missing out on North Side.  With …

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It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

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The Christmas season has officially kicked off once the Agnews has gone to the Connie Maxwell Christmas, put on some Elmer Fudd hats, drank some “warm” chocolate, and seen some Christmas lights. Hope you are ready for a great month!

Hymns for the Next Generation

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I’m still giddy over last week’s worship service.  We released our new hymns album and sang through the entire ambitious project.  A night full of hymns with some pretty special arrangements.

When we started the project, a friend asked me, “Are you worried that if you change up the hymns too much, that some people won’t like them?”  Whenever you are dealing with people’s tastes, you will never please everyone, but my goal was not to please everyone but to unite everyone.

In the culture we are living in, there is a new worship song that bands want to do every week.  The danger is that the next generation will miss some of these wonderful worship songs.  I was worried when we put together an entire night of hymn worship that I was going to lose the younger generation’s attention span.  That’s why the arrangements were so eclectic, it was an attempt to gather all people together.

I didn’t know if it worked until I got home that night and had a Facebook message waiting for me with a teenager who is a worship industry “expert.”  He knows all the latest and greatest out there.  I was shocked by what he said:

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Don’t Misrepresent Christ

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As you can tell from the picture, the Agnews have been hard at work.  Recently moving into another house, we are getting things ready for Baby Gloria’s arrival.  The boys have been a huge help with their tool belts on removing floorings, sanding, and cleaning up.  For some reason, Eli likes to take his shirt off when he really starts working.  Love this kid.

From the entire process of selling our house, buying another one, and working with everyone from bankers, insurance agents, construction geniuses, and servicemen, I have learned a bunch this time around.

While I am learning a bunch about fixing up a house, I am learning more about the witness that I am in Christ.

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It Really Wasn’t Eve’s Fault

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Men must resolve to take responsibility for their families. Passivity is not an option. Whenever a man fails to accept his God-given responsibility, his family is in serious danger.

The first family in the Bible provides an example of what happens when a man fails to lead. Take some time to read Genesis 3:1-13. As you read, make note of key phrases that characterize Adam’s passivity.

Sin was ushered into the world in this tragic account of the Fall. In Genesis 2, God gave Adam the command not to eat from the tree. Eve was not around to hear this original message. If she were to receive that piece of instruction, she probably received it from her husband, Adam. What’s shocking about Genesis 3 is that the reader isn’t even aware that Adam is in the scene until verse 6. The Bible describes a conversation with Eve and the Devil and there is no sign of Adam.

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Worship Preferences

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The process of picking a place to worship has kind of become like picking a place to eat. We all have individual preferences, but when did worship ever become about what we got out of it?

Worship in Spirit and in Truth

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Our worship team is the best.  You can see from the picture above the sacrifices that each of them (and their families) make week after week.  This was taken during soundcheck early this morning where Cory’s son, Nate, asked if he could bring his pillow and keep sleeping.  The ability to sleep beside Cory’s amp is a very impressive feat.  So appreciative of all our volunteers on this Thanksgiving week that work tirelessly to lead in worship!

We focused on Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well.  Jeff’s message was incredibly powerful!  Never heard so much insight into this passage.  We also watched our Worship Preferences video this morning that we made with some talented folks (more on this later this week).

Today, we worshiped to:

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Happy Thanksgiving

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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:

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Songs of Our Faith [Recap]

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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:

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Songs of Our Faith

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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. …

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He MUST Increase

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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:

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The Frustration with National Adoption Day

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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:

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Songs of Our Faith – This Sunday Night!

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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!

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When the Church Vote Doesn’t Go Your Way

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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?

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The Great Commission Resurgence (And South Carolina Baptists)

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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:

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The Wrath of God

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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:

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Preparing Families for Worship

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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.

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There Is Something Worse Than Being Single

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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.

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Night of Worship: Songs of Our Faith

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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 …

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NGU Men and Women’s Conference

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  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 …

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You Must Be Born Again

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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 …

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Bloodlines

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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!

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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.

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Lil’ Agnew #3 is a…

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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

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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 …

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Cleaning Out the Temple

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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:

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Fighting for Your Family

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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.

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Do Children Make Good Converts?

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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.

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Water You Turned Into Wine

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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:

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Worshipers on Boycott

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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.”

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