Making Disciple Makers...

The "win" for us ultimately at Vinings Lake is to make "disciple-makers".

Today is a special day to celebrate the reality of this happening. There is a gentleman in our church that was coming with his family for a while to VL and earlier this year, he trusted Jesus Christ to be his personal Savior and was baptized this past Easter. Recently, he has been bringing a co-worker to church with him and being an incredible influence in his life.

Today, that co-worker prayed to recieve the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ for himself!

This is a celebration because of one that has been forgiven, clean, and given a new life in Jesus Christ. It is also a celebration because of the influence that a new believer (and yes, I DID say NEW believer!) has been having on his friend and co-worker - and the result of him just MERGING his life with someone. And it is a celebration because above all, there REALLY is a God in heaven - who will move heaven and earth - and surround you with people that will share with you and show you - the message of life, hope, and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ!

By the way, this is not a new concept - Jesus said long ago to "make disciples" - our mission is simply to follow His mission and lead people to be "disciple-makers"!

The Church - TOGETHER

Last night and tonight, Hollie and I are hosting all of the volunteer leaders of various ministries for a Christmas party at our home.

One of the greatest joys of being in ministry is seeing others involved and serving in ministry. These volunteers are our partners and I don't believe we can ever thank, encourage, or add value to their lives enough!

Ephesians 4:11-13 is a clear description of my calling as a pastor and the partnership that I am blessed to have with these incredible people that I love. This IS The Church - TOGETHER!

Celebrate the victories

One of our core values at VL is celebration. Many times we ask God for things, plan for things, pray for things - and too often we miss the opportunity to celebrate the victories that God allows us to be a part of!

The last few weeks at VL have been awesome - not just in our worship services, but what is going on in the lives of the people (which again - the church is PEOPLE, not a building, structure, program, or a Sunday service).

A few victories to celebrate:

• High School student was led to Christ by his Community Group Leader over lunch one day recently. This took place through conversations and investments from his mother, Group Leader - and others I am sure God has used. I am very excited for this student - but even as much for his Community Group Leader!
• Man in our church has been coming with his wife and came to faith in Christ in his Community Group - again, so excited for him and for his Group to be a part of this!
• Last Sunday, December 2, we had our first VL 101 - which is our Process of helping people understand who we are, our mission, to get involved, and to become a member of VL if they decide to. This was a GREAT start and I believe this is going to be a vital part of our mission and process for people to Come, Connect, and Commit. Through this, we had about 15 new people join our church!
• Yesterday was our Breakfast with Santa. MANY families came to be a part of it - and it was full of people, pictures, food, fun, and the famous St. Nick himself - and even Mrs. Clause came along! Another element to celebrate was all of our WONDERFUL people that served under the leadership of our preschool director Melissa - and her team - it was a great success!
• I must celebrate our amazing staff at Vinings Lake! I am honestly blessed to have so many great people around me who serve, are loyal, see the vision and understand our mission - that is priceless. Brian, David, Matt, Derek, Melissa, Rhonda, Dana, Hannah - you are the best!!!
• I want to celebrate the victory of my constant challenge to pause, take time with my family - and enjoy each moment, each day. God willing, I will forever be Hollie's only husband and Hope and Addie's only daddy - may I not take that lightly!
• Today, I started our Christmas series, "The List" and I talked about the HOPE of Christmas that we have in Jesus because He did walk and talk and live on this earth and as Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us - can sympathize with us in our temptation and we can celebrate that He was without sin - He can and did bring us HOPE!

Great blog to read

Steven Furtick is the Lead Pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC and his blog has some good things to say. A guy in our church, Chuck Newton, turned Brian on to this specific post of Steven's and Brian shared it with me. Thought I would pass this great word along. Click here to read it.

Basics.........

Sometimes when we seem to see our joy slipping away - the reason may not necessarily be something crazy or outstanding - it may be a few basics that get out of line - and make a big difference. For me, I can get so focused on ministry and going and growing and doing - that I forget 2 very big essentials - loving God and loving people.........and oh, by the way, when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was - He actually combined the two of those together and said - #1 Love God and #2 Love People.

Interesting - these 2 basics are THE foundation of everything we are and anything we do!

Costa Rica for Thanksgiving

Last week, my father-in-law took his whole family - including my parents for a few days - to Costa Rica for Thanksgiving. It was an incredible time! I can't put it into words, but you need to check out my wife's blog by clicking here to see some great pictures! If you go to my sister-in-law's blog, you will see some other great pictures - click here!

First GA Bulldogs game

Tomorrow, I will be attending my very first Georgia Bulldogs game. I am pretty excited - I might even wear a collar around my neck............ok, maybe not - but it should be a lot of fun either way!

Great Movie

Great movie to recommend...........Tuesday night, Hollie and I put the kids to bed early and watched a movie called "RV" with Robin Williams - it was awesome! Very funny!

By the way, click here and check out Hollie's blog - she has been keeping up with great pictures of stuff going on at the Hixson Home - pics from some fun stuff during Halloween last week, etc.

My blog has been a bit boring lately!

Starbucks with Addie

Today, I picked up Addie from her preschool. I told her that I was going to take her to Starbucks with me and she said, "I want a fraffaccino" - I didn't even know that the little monkey knew what that was!!! (she is 3 going on 13)

When we were there, I was reading and she was hanging out trying to act like an adult (like normal). Hollie called me a few times while we were there and the second time Hollie called, Addie said, "why do you keep calling?". This kid is hilarious!

I LOVE my "hottie" and our 2 girls! There is never a dull moment in our household!

Grateful and Never Satisfied

In the context of Vinings Lake, there is a "balance" that I try to continually walk - between being grateful and yet never being satisfied. I want to be grateful in where God has brought us so far and even in a short amount of time - lives have been and are in the process of being changed (me included, thank God for His process of growth), we have seen many people come, connect, and commit to grow in a relationship with God.

Yet, it almost "haunts" me to never be satisfied - to realize our potential.........NO, God's potential - and the stewardship that has been given to us in our community of Atlanta, where in a 5 mile radius there are about 158,955 people and in a 10 mile radius there are around 600,000 people! We shouldn't be foolish and we shouldn't be lazy, we must be faithful and we must be effective.

It is God's power and His calling - and at the same time, in John 17 Jesus tells us that He has given His disciples the same glory that the Father gave Him; in Philippians 2:15 Paul writes to this church to be stars that shine in the universe, in Matthew 5:16 Jesus tells us to not hide but let our light shine so that others will see our good works and be drawn to God, in John 15 Jesus tells us that He is the vine and we are the branch, and in Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus tells us that all authority has been given to Him and He commissions us (and reminds us that He will be with us always) - so God's power and calling - is the same power and calling we can go forward with.

With that in mind, I must be Grateful for where He has brought me - and just abide in Him - and I must be grateful for where He has brought our new church - yet in light of our opportunity, potential, responsibility, and Commissioner - IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO EVER BE SATISFIED!

I Want to be a Rock Star

Yesterday at VL, we wrapped up a 2 week mini-series called "I Want to be a Star". Last week I told everyone that my "dream" is to be a Rock Star - and so the band worked up a little diddy and my friend Joe wrote a little something and yesterday at Vinings Lake, all my dreams came true!!! Click here to watch it.

Theo's

Today, I am very excited because I get to go to one of my favorite places with Hollie. When I can, I love to go to Theo's - it is a great lunch place that is adjoined to Aspen's (another great place to eat) in the West Cobb Avenue's. On Friday's, they have the best soup ever - it is a very thick and rich cheese soup - in the words of Nacho Libre, "it is the best!"

Fried

My brain feels like it is fried. I am thankful that it is GOOD things that makes it feel this way and not bad things - but either way, it is fried.

So much to think about, prepare for, and do - but even in the midst of it - I have joy - joy in the fact that God is doing and is about to do a great thing. The truth is, He is always doing great things - in and through people - we just fail to realize it.

Here I go again - meaning to just put a "pointless" blog out there and turning it into a "reflection" - not bad, but sometimes I think I wear myself out!

Great word

Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC has caught some attention and the little that I have observed seems to be a great place where they are reaching people and doing some incredible stuff "behind the scenes" as well.

I just jumped on their website to see what is going on and through browsing around read an incredible blog by the pastor, Steven Furtick. He titled it "Don't put Jesus first" - click here and take a look - GREAT stuff!!!

A little humor

Click here for a little weekend humor - the National Anthem in way you need to experience it! Make sure you listen/watch all the way through - this guy is a good sport!

Mr. Mom

Hollie is out of town for a few days and I am trying to juggle being Mr. Mom and keep up with other stuff as well. 2 nights ago, I was in bed by about 10:30 - and last night I was in bed before 10:00pm!!!! - that is very unusual for me!

It is amazing to me everytime I step into this "role" - I am reminded that this is a TRUE calling and responsibility for women to be stay-at-home moms (and I will take anyone out if you disagree!....ok, that may be a little harsh....no, it's not - it's true!!!)!

It seems like as soon as I get one thing done for one of my little monkeys another thing is just about to happen - dressing, bathing, feeding, taking to school and preschool, picking up from school and preschool - on and on.......say what you want, but there is no hiding the truth that this is a FULL TIME responsibility - and truly a calling! At least for me and those that have other kinds of "jobs" - when we are "off" work - we are off - for moms, until the kido's go to bed - their "work" follows them everywhere!

I love my wife - I miss my wife - babe, if you are reading this, you are my hero!!!!

Shane

There are certain people in your life that are so authentic, encouraging, fun, and just REAL. Shane is one of those individuals in my life. Shane and his fiance Natalie go to VL and Shane plays in our band - he is a constant encouragement to me. When he plays, he worships God. When we walk around and greet people - he practically drags his cord around to go and shake someone's hand. I truly love this guy - he is awesome!

Today at VL - Missions and Community Group

Today at Vinings Lake was a privilege for me to have my friend Alex Himaya speak to our church. I worked for Alex at First Baptist Springdale in Springdale, AR several years ago and now he is the pastor of The Church at Battle Creek in Tulsa, OK. Alex spoke to us about the "Why" of Missions? Why would we go to the world and spend time, money, efforts, and energy in another country? Alex taught us through Titus 2:11-13 that we must do this because of the Grace of God - and b/c of His grace, it is a gift, it changes our lives, and it gives us heaven - eternal life. It was again - a memorable day at VL.

Tonight, we hosted our Community Group at our house - great discussion and community tonight (Brian, once again - the discussion curriculum was great). One thing dawned on me that is awesome. Earlier, Hope asked if we had "small group" tonight - and then I thought about the fact that our kids see us doing this - and I am reminded that this is an example to them and will hopefully lead them to make this a commitment and practice of their lives. And that gets me excited b/c it is all about teaching through example.

Catalyst Day 2

Catalyst continued with an incredible day - and succeeded the greatest of expectations.

Craig Groeschel, who is the pastor of LifeChurch.tv brought a message that spoke deep to the heart - he talked about saying we believe in God, but living like we are an atheist. Do we REALLY believe?

Dave Ramsey kicked my tail with truth from God's Word about being good managers of our money - and how VITAL it is to get this straight - before we can even think about being tithers and generous givers - and we know that tithing is not an option, so we better get our stuff together!

There were some other great moments - including the most amazing worship experience I have ever had when all the worship leaders and musicians took the stage (including 2 drummers).

Andy Stanley closed the conference with a GREAT talk on the fact that "systems create behavior" - this was very good for me as a pastor - and helps in the operations of church ministry.

Again - it was great to see some friends from the ministry and.............I can't forget to include the cave man that was there

- J.R. Lee - that is for you my friend!

Catalyst Day 1

I am just going to throw some bullets down from today - what an amazing day it has been:

* My wife went with me and she loved it - I love her so much!

* Steve Fee led most of the worship - WOW!

* Andy Stanley kicked things off this morning and talked about the power of our influence as leaders. The main point was "What do you do when it dawns on you that you are the most powerful person in the room?" He read from John 13 where Jesus washed His disciples feet - and that was the answer - "to leverage the power of our influence for the sake of others in the room" - it is serving others - that is what Jesus did!

* Lunch was fun with tons of ministry friends - we piled 9 people (grown adults!) in our Yukon on the way to Chili's for lunch!

* Hollie and I saw about everyone we know.

* Francis Chan had a WORD from God - at least for me personally - it challenged and reminded me of God's PERSONAL call, power, and purpose in my life - it gives me boldness to say what He wants and confidence that I am called by Him. He said that we can grow and build a church and not even be in love with Jesus - I needed this - I allow myself to get so caught up and busy that I forget the most important things - ONE - Him!

* Rick Warren ended the day with a great message from his life and what to do with our influence and affluence. He used Moses' staff as an illustration - that it is all about surrender - whatever we give to God, He will take and use it - and give it life (like He did the staff when Moses threw it down) - and whatever I keep for myself will end up dead again (like what happened to the staff when Moses picked it back up).

What a day! Can't wait for tomorrow - Erwin McManus, John Maxwell, Craig Groeschel, Andy Stanley again - and more! And my wife is coming back again!!!!

Catalyst Conference

I am pumped about the Catalyst Conference starting tomorrow morning. I am very jazzed that my wife is going with me!!! It should be a pretty sweet day - and I look forward to seeing several people that we know as well.

Burn for You

Yesterday our band did a song called Burn for You by Steve Fee. It was the song they played while the people came up front to place their My Life cards at the front. It was a very powerful moment. These lyrics are amazing!

You can go here and click on "media" and listen to Burn for You and all of his songs from this album.

*Most likely we will do this song again this week!

Memorable day at Vinings Lake

Today at VL, we concluded our series My Life. We spent our time in I Timothy 6:17-19 and looked at My Wealth, My Trust, and My Generosity. We focused in on the last part of the passage that says, "that they may take hold of the life that is truly life".

A few things stood out that were awesome:

1. The band did a superb job in ALL of the songs & it was fun!
2. We weaved the message and music together throughout the service - it was a great change up and very impactful - that was commented on in our Community Group tonight.
3. During one of the worship songs, "All We Need" - we had everyone just stay seated which gave us a fresh visit to the words we were singing.
4. We used a clip from Rob Bell's Nooma video called Rich - where he teaches on I Timothy 6:17-19. Out of the 4 minute clip we showed, it seemed to be one of the most impacting parts of the day. This was also a topic of discussion at our Community Group tonight - b/c it was very easy to recall the statistics and statements that were made in the video.
5. At the end of the service, everyone had a My Life card to write something on it that they were giving to God (the main point of the series was "The way to Live My Life is to Give My Life"). People wrote on their cards and brought them and placed them across the front of the stage. Brian came up with this great idea a few weeks ago - I thought this was a very powerful moment in the life of VL - great idea Brian! This week, a lady in our church is going to place all on our backdrop for everyone to view them next week (no names were on the cards).

It was a great and memorable day at VL!

Hollie

My wife is truly a GIFT from God to me. I know that God gave her to me as a gift because a gift is something that brings us joy, lifts us when we are down, or is just the right thing - at just the right time.

Hollie is full of joy - she is so positive and has helped me to stop and enjoy the people, places, and moments of time that God has given us. I can be so focused or driven and let many things pass me by - but she is the gift that God has given and continues to give to me - and I think God says to me through her - "Hey dude, you need to just relax a little and enjoy what I have given you."

Tomorrow at Vinings Lake, we are concluding our series "My Life" - and we are going to be in I Timothy 6. In verse 18, there is a challenge to "do good, be rich in good deeds, be generous, and be willing to share" - My Wife is an example of all of these - and that is why she is God's gift to me - she is good to me, she is rich in good deeds, she is generous, and she shares her joy and spirit and God-given personality with me and with everyone who she comes in contact with.

I love her - she is the best!

**Here is a little taste of her "random" craziness while we were in NYC last Christmas! - click here to see her on YouTube!

**Also, check out her blog - she has a great post about a date night we had with a couple in our church this past Thursday - and some awesome photos from our visits (yes, as in plural) to the Fair this past week!

VL Salsa Party

Last night, we had an adult Salsa Party for VL. We did it in a neighborhood clubhouse near our church - it was a great night! We had mexican food catered from La Parilla and a little entertainment from Dickie Bickford's (one of VL's favorite people!) long lost cousin from Mexico, Rickie Bickford. It was crazy fun! My wife did a super job putting it together - she is the party queen!

There was another special guest that actually made it to YouTube - but I am not brave enough to give you the link on my blog...............all I am going to say is - WOW!

Car battery...if only I listened to my wife!

For the last few weeks I have been complaining that my car has been "sluggish" in starting and I have been warned by my wonderful wife to get a new battery. Yesterday, when I went to start my car, it was dead - so I jumped it off of her vehicle.

This morning, we had our Men's Fraternity at Vinings Lake which started at 6am - do you think I got a new battery yesterday? No way, last night I literally pulled my car right up next to hers in the garage, popped both hoods loose, and had the jumper cables ready to go - b/c I was leaving around 5:20-5:30am this morning and so I jumped it again and off I went.

It took my car completley going out at an intersection at lunch time and the help from an incredible man in our church - to finally get my rear end (that phrase is so weird to type - "rear end"!) to Wal-Mart to get a new battery.........if only I listened to my wife!!! (that's for you sweetheart!)

"4:8 Principle".....simple and impacting

Yesterday at VL, we continued our "My Life" series with a guest speaker, Tommy Newberry. Tommy just released a new book called the 4:8 Principle. This comes from Philippians 4:8 where the apostle Paul challenges us to be disciplined in our thinking - and the principle that Tommy taught really brought out the importance of our thinking - because it affects our living.

This is such a simple, yet incredibly impacting principle that really shapes our life while we are here on this earth. God is no doubt the creator and sustainer of our lives, but He does give us the great privilege of being stewards and managers of this life - and our thinking is so VITAL to this - however it is so often overlooked.

speeding ticket

Last night, Brian, Jen, Hollie and I, Addie and her baby sitter were on our way to this conference in Orlando and I got pulled over for doing 84 in a 65!!! He had NO mercy on me and wrote me up for the full amount.....it is NOT going to be pretty! I even asked him to take a picture with me - I was going to put it on my blog - but he wouldn't do it!

best steak house!

I am at a conference in Orlando, FL and tonight I ate at the best steak house I have ever been to. It is called Charley's and it is actually rated #1 in the US. I knew it was going to be a good night when I fell in love with the blue cheese crumbles on top - then the bread, steak, mushrooms - and desert and coffee to top it off!

3rd Tooth!

Good-ness! Hope lost another tooth today! It is on the bottom and was quite a bit easier than the last one I pulled out. It has been loose and today was the day - she was pretty pumped up!

Rock n' Roll

Last night was completely incredible! I went to a show where my buddy Thad Cockrell opened up for Drivin n' Cryin. I would say it was my first "true" rock n' roll show and I thought it was great. I loved the music and the atmosphere was quite a treat.

Thad did a fantastic job - he is the man....and Drivin n' Cryin was off the hook!

Serving the community

Today I sat in a "Partners in Education" meeting at Griffin Middle School in Smyrna. I heard some of the faculty sharing about the needs and circumstances and statistics of some of their students. They also presented a "wish list" which consisted of things from money to take tests, to luncheons for parents and teachers and also mentors for the students.

I am challenged and convinced more and more - especially as I am reading through the book of Matthew right now and seeing how Jesus lived His life, that we MUST serve our community - simple, just that - serve.

I think it is more than just "growing our church" but it is about serving - in order to expose people to the love of God. Jesus met the needs of those that He passed by and came in contact with - He "had compassion" on them. Are we not to do the same?

Serve our community - and let's not do it just so they will come to our "church" - but so that they will be introduced to and shown the love of a God who cares for them and us very personally.

Proud moment as a father and a pastor

This morning following our 2nd worship service at Vinings Lake, Addie's (my 3 year old) teacher came up to me and told me something that every father and pastor wants to hear.

She said that they were singing songs and were taking requests from the kids. When they asked Addie, she said she wanted to sing................."I'm Bringing Sexy Back"
When they said they wanted to do more Bible songs, she then asked if they could sing "I like to move it, move it"

I think they decided to move on and take requests from another kid.

Good-ness! Pray for me!

This is amazing!

Dear gravy - check out what happened at Newspring Church this weekend!
One of the churches I follow and appreciate their courage and purpose to reach the unchurched baptized 562 people Saturday night!
http://www.tonymorganlive.com/tony_morgan_one_of_the_si/2007/09/559-people-bapt.html

Each Day, God's Faithfulness

Each day is new, different, good and challenging. Simple statement, but I am thankful for each new day. Yesterday for me - seemed to be a great challenge emotionally and mentally. Today is a new day. The best part of today, whether I 'feel' it or not - is that God is faithful.

Lamentations 3:22-23, "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

God and children

Hollie and I and the kids are staying in a beach house outside of Jacksonville, FL. Last night, I had to really talk to Hope about obedience and that she really needed to change. Without me saying anything spiritual (I am pretty sure there was nothing "spiritual" about how I was feeling at the moment!) - when asked how she was going to change - she mentioned both "God" and "heart". This was very encouraging to me - to see that God is working in her life.

This morning I was talking with her some more about asking God to help her and something that puzzles me a little was her response when I told her that she needed to ask God to help her - she said she was afraid.

We haven't gotten much further yet, but today I was swimming in the ocean with her and I was telling her about how God made the ocean and the sky, clouds, etc. I am trying to tell her how much God loves her - and that she doesn't have to be afraid. She may not understand what she is saying about being "afraid" - but I still want to help her not be afraid.

Later today, I was thinking about it and realized that I sometimes view God this way - rather than a loving heavenly Father who loves me so much and goes to great lengths for me to know this (if I will only pay attention!).

Having children helps me relate to how God may feel at times with me. I want Hope (and Addie) to see God for who He really is - and God probably wants to give me ths same message!

Fantasy Football

I have never done fantasy football before. Tonight, I joined some other guys from VL for our draft pick. We went to Buffalo's off Cumberland. Great night - I picked a guy that is hurt (Donald Driver) - not cool - and they had NO mercy on me.

My team is:

• Carson Palmer - QB
• Ben Rothlesberger - QB
• Willis McGahee - RB
• Ahman Green - RB
• Maurice Jones-Drew - RB
• Carnell Williams - RB
• Donald Driver - WR
• Plaxico Burress - WR
• Laveaunues Coles - WR
• Mark Clayton - WR
• Greg Jennings - WR
• Chris Cooley - TE
• Ben Watson - TE
• David Akers - Kicker
• Patriots - Defense/ST
• Jaguars - Defense/ST

Leverage Your Culture

In listening to a podcast with Erwin McManus and Rick Warren, a good point is brought out - that we need to understand the culture we live in in order to effectively make an impact.

We don't live in L.A. or New York or Alabama - we live in Atlanta, GA - and I think it is even important to note what part of Atlanta we live in - and the people in our communities.

We can learn incredible principles from EVERYONE - but success in one community may not be in another - because of our culture.

Another good point along these lines is to "leverage" our culture (in general). At a conference that Granger Community Church led, they said you can either ignore, condemn, join, or leverage our "pop" culture. Of course Leveraging our culture is the answer - use it - maximize it - to reach the people in it.

Churches I like

I love learning about other people, ministries, church leaders, and leadership in general.

In recent months, I have been exposed to some churches that I like. I like their overall message, creativity, clarity, focus, and their simplicity.

I really like their courage - to hold true to the message of Jesus and engage people that are unchurched and disconnected from God.

Here are the names and links to their websites:

New Spring Church - Anderson, SC
http://www.newspring.cc/

Elevation Church - Charlotte, NC
http://www.elevationchurch.org/

Mars Hill Church - Seattle, WA
http://www.marshillchurch.org/

Granger Community Church - Granger, IN
http://www.gccwired.com/

Mountain Lake Church - Cumming, GA
http://mountainlakechurch.org/

Lifechurch.tv - multiple locations across the US
http://www.lifechurch.tv/

Work with your friends

Some people debate the issue of whether or not you should work with your friends. I guess that there is a fear of friendship being ruined if things go "bad".

I would simply say - why would I want to spend SO much of my time each day and each week and hopefully year after year - with people that are not some of my best friends?

Brian Bennett is one of my best friends and he is also the associate and groups pastor at Vinings Lake. Today, Brian and I had a meeting, drove around our area - looking, talking, dreaming, walking, planning, thinking, laughing, and hanging out. Last week, it was Brian's birthday and after a lunch with our staff we went to a movie together - in the middle of the afternoon.

It takes honesty, loyalty, respect, and plenty of open communication (on both sides), but I work with one of my best friends - and I want the future guys that join the VL team to also be some of my best friends.

**I also must give my wife the props for her strong encouragement to call Brian to VL - how is it that our wives are so right - so often?

Date with my wife

My wife is the best! Wednesday night, Hollie and I went out on a date. We went for sushi and then this picture is at Starbucks after dinner - I can't help it, I love this place!!!

We try to do this once a week, it is just the 2 of us, and it is so needed in our relationship. Like everyone, we are busy in life and even when we are at home, we are busy with the kids or other things, but our dates keep us refreshed and renewed.

It doesn't have to be anything fancy or expensive - but for the love of PETE, date your spouse!!!!!

Creators of a Video Game

Monday, I had the opportunity to go out to Alpharetta and have lunch with a guy in our church - his name is Jeff. Jeff works for a company that makes video games. His official title is "Lead Environment Artist".

He gave me a tour of their facility and offices and departments - and introduced me to his co-workers - great people! I was out of my mind amazed at what they all did. I had NO idea what went into creating a video game. From the story, vision, to the graphic design, to the implementation, to the actual creating process - of drawing, developing, testing, running, research - and EVERYTHING else they do - it was more than I ever could "imagine". Maybe the most incredible part is that ALL those people are working on 1 - that's right, ONE game! What FOCUS, SYNERGY, TEAMWORK, and VISION these guys are displaying - awesome!

As he was sharing with me the PROCESS and development and VISION that goes into it all, it reminded me of what I do - the story is written, the vision is there and the process to implement it and make it happen is constantly being re-vamped, changed, communicated, taught, trained, encouraged - so that people will get it and LIVE it, and so that the end goal will happen.

**My "assignment" as a pastor may be to help lead and design a process to implement what Jesus gave us to do, but every follower of Jesus has the opportunity to get involved.

I am not saying life is like a video game - that's a little impersonal. I also realize that I am not a creator, BUT the process that these guys create for a video game simply challenges me. Jesus gave us our instructions in Matthew 28:16-20 - now we must take and implement them into 2007 - right in the middle of our lives, homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, communities, countries, and the world.

*Our greatest asset that we have - is simply LOVE. Why? Because God loved the world and God is love. How? Anyway we can. More blogging on that later.

"No Strings Attached" - Pt. 2

As I was thinking about this blog tonight - I realized another area of my life that I constantly need to improve on.

When I do nice or good or "servant" things for my wife - I have a very bad habit of bringing it back up at certain times - in order to "remind" her of what I did for her. For example, giving the kids a bath or coming home early to pick Hope up from school or anything "out of the ordinary".

I need to work on being kind and doing these things - with "No Strings Attached".

***And in case you are wondering......she did NOT make me write this - she hasn't even seen it yet - ok, so I just wrote this so I can "remind" her of that as well......just kidding....aren't we humans so self-centered!!!!!!

"No Strings Attached"

As I was preparing for this week's message, I found a random blog that talked about The difference between a “transactional relationship” (social connection) vs. a “trust relationship”.

It was referring to our need for REAL relationships that are beyond business relationships - where we want to connect - in order to sell, network, etc. (which is nothing wrong - that's how business is done). But it said, “We don’t look as individual agents that are going to realize connections with others to obtain tactical operational benefit…we don’t use our relationships… we are our relationships!”

Through this, a guy at VL - Joe Wright mentioned to me last night that as Christians, we can appear that way sometimes - which is a subject that has been brought up to me recently.

As Christians, we struggle with having relationships - REAL relationships - with those that are "unbelievers" or "unchurched". It can feel awkward for both parties - feeling like we just need to get them converted and for others to feel like that's all we want out of the relationship - like a "transactional" relationship.

I believe we need to be intentional to live - with our lives and lips - WHO Jesus is and our relationship with Him. But what happens when they still choose not to believe? Do we move on? Or do we show them that no matter what, we love them? That may seperate the "transactional" relationship from the "trust" relationship.

I do not know exactly what the BEST answer is - other than it is a "both/and" not an "either/or", but I do think about Jesus - that He performed miracles and healed people and had compassion on them - whether they followed Him or not. Maybe we should read more about Him and how He treated people - ALL people - no matter where they were in life or what they did or did not believe.

I want people to know God b/c God loves people - way more than I could on my own. But people may not realize this - until we love people - genuinely, "No Strings Attached".

I just pulled my daughter's 2nd tooth!

About 10 minutes ago, I just pulled my daughter's tooth out. It was her 2nd one to come out and I must say I was a little nervous b/c it took a few pulls to get it out. Her first one I pulled was very easy - just slipped right out, but this one took a a little more.

She is such a champ - and so cute. She didn't even cry - she is a tough little dude!

***By the way, while I was doing this, my wife shut herself in the pantry - I guess it freaked her out!

Need for Relationships

We are relational people. Everyone - whether we recognize or not - are created this way. Of course, some are more outgoing than others, but we are not meant to live life alone. When we are alone, all kinds of wierd things happen - in our minds, emotions, and then in and through our lives.

Tomorrow, I am going to be speaking on this subject and will be highlighting a story in scripture where during a very difficult time, 1 person deicides to make a commitment to another - to walk with them through this time. It is from the book of Ruth, chapter 1, in the Old Testament.

We will learn that "community" is:
A commitment to give and take through seasons of life - together.

It's not necesarrily b/c we have everything in common with others (although we have more in common than we think b/c we all live on this planet and are human), but it's about making a commitment - to give and take (both) - through seasons of life (that will change) - together.

A Conversation with Jesus

Yesterday, we finished our "Magnify...because God is bigger" series at Vinings Lake. I walked through John 4 where Jesus has a conversation with a woman at the well (or in today's world could have been a woman at Starbucks or Waffle House or something like that....

In this conversation He reveals some things to this woman - some spoken and probably some just by being there as a Jew having a conversation with a Samaritan!

It is very interesting to me what sometimes we want to create Jesus to look like, act like, be like - as if He just sat in a holy corner all day long (kind of like a monk) and didn't interact with people. I can sometimes view Him this way - yet the Scriptures tell us that He lived among people, walked, talked, ate, hung out with people - for gravy sake, He was a man! I love this about Jesus - He was real and while He not only told the truth - He was the truth - and yet He cared for people - ALL people!

And yet, at the end of His conversation with the woman, He finally revealed that....He was God! (WOW! It never gets old hearing the miraculous truth - that God became a man - for the purpose of bringing us back to Himself).

What is interesting and humorous in this occasion is the next conversation that Jesus has with his followers/disciples.

After they return from the town/community - Jesus basically tells them to OPEN YOUR EYES! The woman just left to go tell her community everything that just happened and yet His own followers seemed to not "get it". Who knows, they might have been thinking about why Jesus was talking to a Samaritan and they definitely were a little confused about the food Jesus talked about. I am sure guilty of "missing it" - and being side-tracked with other things in this going on in my life, when all along Jesus is saying "OPEN YOUR EYES!"

I have been told that in our community around Vinings Lake, there are 158,955 people in a 5 mile radius and about 600,000 in a 10 mile radius - I need to, we need to - OPEN OUR EYES!

Jesus is not here in physical appearance any longer, but we are - His followers - and He gave us "all authority" to do what He did - walk, talk, eat, and have conversations - and simply INFLUENCE people around us - to follow Jesus.

Evan Almighty

I took my family out the other night for a little Varsity and a movie and we saw Evan Almighty and I must say my kids and my wife and I all enjoyed it. It had some good lines in there and great thoughts from the perspective of understanding God and us - and it was pretty funny too.

The Rev. Al Sharpton

Ok, just by reading this heading I would love to see your face - but Hollie and I were in the hotel lobby at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead for our anniversary last Thursday and there he was - the Rev. Al Sharpton! So I went up and asked for a picture with him. Now, I didn't do this b/c he is my hero - only b/c he is famous. Hello - he was in the movie "Mr. Deeds" - I mean come on!!!haha.....It was pretty crazy - and very funny!

Hollie blogged about it and you can go here to see the picture http://hhhixson.blogspot.com/2007/08/anniversary-rev-al-sharpton-and.html - it came out a little fuzzy, but not too bad. Me and Al Sharpton - oh yeah!

God's "Uncreated-ness"

It was another good day today at Vinings Lake as we continued our series called "Magnify...because God is bigger". Here is a link that gives a little more detail about the series - http://www.viningslake.org/sundays.htm

We specifically magnified God's "Uncreated-ness" - and we saw how we were created to worship God and rule His creation, but we actually worship His creation and are ruled by it!

Practically speaking, it seems a little difficult to point out "what" to do as a result of the message/series, but the reality is that as we magnify God - it will lead us to worship Him, and that's pretty practical because worship is the state of our action, not just our belief.

More than we can see

I am beginning to realize that God is doing more in people's lives than what we can see. As I write this I feel kind of stupid saying this because He is God and I am man - pretty profound if you think about it for a while.

I just recieved and email from Paul, a guy that comes to Vinings Lake and is growing and is a great encouragement to me and it made me realize that God is working in people's lives in ways that are drawing them to Himself - when we can't even see it, and it helps me to rest in Him - His work - and it is His desire in me and not mine without Him anyway.

I am not encouraging no follow up or follow through in "church life", but sometimes I think we get caught up in a lot of paper work and plans and strategies to get people where we think they need to be next, when God is moving and we need to simply trust Him and continue producing enviroments that will give people an opportunity to move to the next step in their faith. The truth is, no matter what we "talk" people into, it must be genuine faith between them and God anyway.

Believe me, I am all about a vision and a process. At VL, our end goal is to make disciple makers of Jesus - and our "Process" for that to become a reality is for people to Come, Connect, and Commit. So I completely believe in and I am committed to having a vision and a process to make it happen, I am just learning to focus on what I can do - to help Bring people into the truth, awareness, and reality of what only God can do!

And that actually gives me a greater deal of responsibility than not - because I MUST be diligent and intentional to do what I can and have been commissioned to do by Jesus - found in Matthew 28:16-20!

My wife is the Best!

This coming Thursday, August 2, Hollie and I will officially celebrate our 10 year anniversary! My incredible and very cool wife is so creative and thoughtful. Tonight, I was out playing tennis and when I pulled in my garage, up against the wall was a brand new ping-pong table!

When we were in Los Cabos for our anniversary trip, I played ping-pong several times and I have always enjoyed the game - and I can't believe she thought to get me a table! I am so excited - ping-pong tournament at the Hixson's!

I love my wife - she is truly the best - and she is very hot too! Seriously!

Taco Bell

I absolutely love Taco Bell! I actually was thinking about blogging this last night and then I talked to Brian today and he said he had Taco Bell for lunch and how good and cheap it is so I made a very important decision in my life today - to blog about Taco Bell!

About 9 out of 10 times I will order 2 Big Beef Mexi-Melts and 1 order of Nachos Bell Grande and a Large unsweet tea (I know what you are thinking, yes, the unsweat because the rest of the meal is so healthy too!)

Anyway, long live Taco Bell!

Be Confident with Who You Are

I am learning (key word!) to be who I am and to take it another step and be confident in it.

There is a lot of temptation in any circle to be what others want you to be or to be almost ashamed of who you are.

I have gotten better about being who I am - but sometimes in certain circles - in order to please people (or so I think), I will almost be ashamed of this person God made me to be - and the truth is, it is pride - because I want to impress that person or that group - and it is living to be accepted and even praised and approved by others.

When I do this, not only am I being prideful, but I am living in fear and I will never move forward or reach the full potential God has for me if I give in to fear. When I confidently (different from pride) move forward and enjoy and even "flex" the person God made me to be - not only am I full of joy, but I am being the Pete Hixson God inteded me to be - and that is far better than anything I produce myself!

Just a little life lesson I am learning.

Gas Station

Today at Vinings Lake, we cancelled our "regular" services in order to serve our community. As you can read on my previous blog, teams went to serve in a nursing home, Silver Comet Trail, parking lots to minister to people, a widow's home, homeless in Atlanta, Starbucks to give free gift cards away, a local apartment complex to play games, etc.

Today, the team I went with payed down the gas pump .25 per gallon for about 1 1/2 hours at a local Racetrack Gas Station.......it was absolutely amazing!!! When the signs went out saying "Cheap Gas" - the cars started to flood in - they were lined up at each pump. There were about 20 separate pumps and there was someone from VL at each pump basically welcoming each car and telling them who we were and that we cancelled church today - to "Be The Church" and serve our community.

There were great responses and people were impressed - not just with what we were doing - but with the fact that we did it on a Sunday morning. One of the ladies on our team said she told people that we were "practicing what we preach" - great words!

We will definitely do this again.

I think a few weeks out of the entire year - it's ok not to hear another sermon - and actually provide opportunities for people to do something with what we have already heard.

Be The Church Sunday

This coming Sunday at Vinings Lake, we are having "Be The Church Sunday" - we are basically cancelling our regular services in order to serve our community in various ways.

We are only meeting at 9:30 for a quick song and devotion and the goal is to have everyone out the door by 10:00am. We have several team leaders that are ready to head a team of people to their areas of service. Everyone that comes will have a chance to sign up to be a part of the different projects going on. We know that the "church" is people - not a building, structure, or a weekly service, so our agenda is simply to serve people and hand them a card that Derek designed (he is the man by the way!!!) that basically says "Today, our chairs are empty and our church is here..." - and we want to tell them that we are not attending church today but we want to "Be the Church" in our community.

Some of our projects include pulling weeds door to door in a neighborhood behind VL, paying down the price of gas at a gas station - while we fill their tank and wash their windows, going to the Silver Comet Trail and handing out bottles of water, going to a widow's house to minister to her and do a few things around her house, we are hoping to go to a local Starbucks and offer to buy an additional pastry to go with their coffee, going with a local ministry to give food to the homeless, and a few other opportunities as well.

I am looking forward with GREAT anticipation to this weekend and I think the people of VL are excited as well. The good news is that the we can do this all the time - BE THE CHURCH!

Xtreme Student Camp

I am in Panama City, FL this week at Xtreme Summer Camp. It is a camp that I have had the privilege to be a part of for the last few years. We started things off tonight with Will Goodwin's band leading worship and Pastor Johnny Hunt (the camp pastor) speaking the message. It was a great start.

We also have a few students and adults here from Vinings Lake so it will be a great week to hang around them as well.

Mighty to Save

I probably listen to Mighty to Save by Hillsong on an average of about once per day (give or take!).

This song gives us the confidence in God - that He is Mighty to Save - it reminds me that there is NO ONE that is out of His reach. We are frail and weak in our faith naturally, but supernaturally, our faith is strong - because the object of our faith is God Himself - and His word clearly tells us in II Peter 3:9b that "He (God) is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

I remember this song being such a celebration of worship a few months ago when a guy at Vinings Lake who had been coming and searching for months finally accepted Christ! I believe this is a great example of a worship song that brings glory to God - and we can sing from our heart in true worship to Him!

God is Mighty to Save!!! Who are the people in our lives that need a Relationship with God - it is not by our strength that it will happen, that pressure is gone because it is not possible - but note in the song the part that says to "Shine a light" - according to Matthew 5:16 - we are to be that light that Jesus shines - through our lives and our lips.

Never stop believing His promise in II Peter 3:9 and that He is Mighty to Save!!!

Below are the lyrics to Mighty to Save and here is the website to Hillsong (great worship!)
http://www.hillsong.com/united/

"Mighty to Save":
When everyone needs compassion,
And love that never fails, Let mercy fall on me
When everyone needs forgiveness, Kindness of the Saviour
The Hope of the nation

(Chorus:)Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My god is mighty to save, He is mighty to save
Forever author of salvation, He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find me, All my fears and failures
Fill my life again, I give my life to follow
Everything that I believe in
Now i surrender

(Chorusx2)

Shine a light in and let the whole world see
Singing, for the glory of the risen king
Jesus, Shine a light and let the whole world see
Singing for the glory of the risen king

(Chorus)

Common Vision (same God)

I had coffee today with a guy who is with Campus Outreach in Brazil. His name is Russell Long and as we shared with each other, it became evident once again - that God is laying the same heart and vision - not only in the hearts of Christian leaders here in the United States, but the same vision in the hearts of these leaders around the world.

A few Sundays ago, I shared at VL that God is doing something common in the lives of Christian leaders in our country and "probably around the world" - but I didn't know first hand until today how true that is.

As we talked, he shared about his ministry to basically engage these university students. He said that it is really going in there and building relationships (which is SO important) with these students and inviting them to "consider Christ". I love the way he put this and then he shared the story from John 1 where Andrew and Peter were brought into contact with Jesus - and then Andrew went to Phillip and told him to "come and see". This reminded me once again that we cannot change someone's life - but we can, and as Russell talked about, we are called to share with people and invite people to "consider Christ".

We both shared some stories of individuals that we have personally built relationships with and talked about processes and challenges for "the Church" to accomplish what Jesus has called us to. It greatly encouraged me because although we are MANY miles apart, God is desiring to do the same thing here as He is there - and there as He is here.

A Common Vision - because it is the same God that has the world on His heart - and the world meaning the PEOPLE of the world!

Please pray for Russell and his family and their team in Brazil. Also pray and consider partnering with them financially as their support has dropped drastically. His email address is rlong@campusoutreach.org

Redeeming Love

My wife and mother-in-law convinced me to read what I previously called a "girly book". It is called Redeeming Love. I remember several years ago when it was somewhat popular and now I guess it is back.

I bought this book before I left for Los Cabos with Hollie. I was falsely told that the cover had been changed to make it a little more masculine - but as you will see from going to the website below - it is about as "girly" as it gets. I told Hollie that I needed some duck tape to put over to cover so no one would see what I was reading.

I was shocked, surprised, moved, and truly ministered to by reading this book. Shocked because I actually read the entire book (almost 500 pages), surprised because of how good and real it is, moved and ministered to because God speaks through this story.

I don't care if you are a man, woman, child, teenager, non-human...you MUST read this book. Here is the website:
http://www.redeeminglovenovel.com/home.aspx

Wimbledon, Tennis, SERVE

I am being somewhat "reunited" with tennis. I played one year in high school and have picked it up now and again since then. I have played quite a bit recently and I am enjoying the excercise and of course - the competition once again.

I have watched a little bit of Wimbledon and I am amazed at how these men and women play the game. While playing tennis and watching it, I am aware at one part of the game that is VERY important - the SERVE.

In tennis, the SERVE is one of the most difficult yet most important components of the game - so is with the Life of a Christ Follower - and to follow Christ is to SERVE.

This Sunday, I am planning to bring a one week message on the subject, SERVE. God's Word clearly challenges us with not just listening and absorbing God's word, but living it out with our lives - and a great way to do that is to SERVE.

Renewed - Important lessons learned in Los Cabos!

Hollie and I returned this past Saturday night from Los Cobos, Mexico where we celebrated our 10 year anniversary together. I will say - it was the best week of my life.

We had each other to our full attention for the entire time and we never got tired of each other for one moment. Hollie wrote me such an awesome note when we returned basically saying that it was great to get to know each other on that level all over again. That is such a great way to put it - although we love each other and live together and enjoy each other - there are so many "other" things and people that pull our attention away - that we fail to just enjoy each other - for who we are individually and then together.

I personally learned so much and I was renewed in my relationship with God and with my wife. I believe that there is a very clear and strong tie - in our relationship with God and our spouse - because in Ephesians 5:22-33 we find that marriage between a husband and a wife is how God describes the relationship between Jesus and His Church (PEOPLE!).

I learned that even though it is good to want to DO and BE everything that God wants - He really wants me - my heart. I also am learning what Hollie has wanted me to "get" for a while now - exactly the same - yes, she wants me to be a good husband, father, help around the house, do the right things - but what she really wants is just me - my heart.

And when God and Hollie have me and my heart - the other things come right along with it.

Los Cabos here we come!!!

This is going to be me and Hollie in just about 48 hours!!!

My unbelievable, incredible, super woman wife and I are leaving Friday morning to celebrate our 10 year anniversary in Los Cabos!!!

We are going to be away - "just the 2 of us" (are you singing that song right now - cause I am) - anyway, we are going to be together (and away from our little monkeys) for 9 nights!!

Hollie is the most incredible person and I can't wait to just hang out with her! We are celebrating a little early - our actual anniversary is not until August 2.

As they say in Mexico - ok, I don't know what they say in Mexico and I definitely can't spell it, but......see ya.

10 Characteristics of a Transformer

Yesterday at VL, we concluded our Transformers series. The main point of the 3 week series was this: "I am a Transformer when my LIFE is being changed by God and witnessed by others." The point is this - it's not just our belief, but our behavior - it's not just our doctrine, but our duty - it's not just what we learn, but how we live - being a Christ follower is truly a "BOTH/AND" - not an "EITHER/OR" life.

We spent the first 2 weeks on Romans 12:1-2 - dealing with the "being changed by God" part - learning that I must #1 Offer myself to be changed and #2 Allow myself to be changed.

The last message was all about the "witnessed by others" part - if I say I am being changed by God, then it must show also in my Relationships with others. Paul goes into a series of EVERY DAY circumstances - where this Christian life is actually LIVED OUT.

You know, I am reminded that the reality of "every day" life is where the battle is won.

According to Romans 12:9-21, here are 10 Characteristics of a Transformer:

1. Authentic Love - Romans 12:9a
2. Understand Good and Evil - Romans 12:9b
3. Puts others first - Romans 12:10
4. Passion for God - Romans 12:11
5. Trust is in God - Romans 12:12
6. Welcoming - Romans 12:13
7. Forgiveness - Romans 12:14
8. Selfless - Romans 12:15
9. Common - Romans 12:16
10. Peaceful - Romans 12:17-21

*God is proven through every day tests and tasks.

VBS

Oh my! What a week it has been! We had Vacation Bible School this week at Vinings Lake and it has been amazing. We have had the opportunity to touch MANY children and their families.

It looks like we registered around 160 children this week, there were tons of volunteers who did an awesome job - and MAJOR PROPS go out to our VL Preschool Director Melissa Riddle for leading the charge! She had a lot of help with her team and Stephanie Newton assisted her in a HUGE way - thanks to ALL of our incredible volunteers - also among them were a team that came from First Baptist Woodstock to serve every day - thanks SOOOO much!!!!

One of the victories was our Wednesday night event. We had a BIG carnival Wednesday night for the kids to come and bring their families. Our VL band played, the kids sang, there were snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy, blow up games, yard games, and best of all - catered by The Varsity! (in the words of Kip from Napolean Dynamite - "that's what I'm talkin about!"). There were probably around 375 people in our parking lot - and SO many of the kids from the community came out and brought their families - it was great!

Another victory that is definitely the most important were the children who responded to the good news that was presented to them about God's love and gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Several kids responded to talk more about that and prayed to recieve the forgiveness of Jesus in their lives!!!

This Sunday morning, we will be taking some time in our service to celebrate all that happened, watch a presentation of pictures from the week, hear the kids sing what they learned, and just celebrate the opportunity we had to touch so many lives this week!

What a week! What an opportunity! What a great God - who loves EVERYONE - and gives us the chance to join Him!

***Be checking our website - we will probably be posting some pictures in the near future.

Simpatico - try it! Date your wife - try it!

I had a "hot" date Friday night with my wife of almost 10 years (wow!) and we went to a place on the Marietta square called Simpatico. It was phenomenal! Hollie had an Asian dish and I had one of the specials - a horseradish crusted Grouper with rice and some type of spicy souce and vegetables. While you are waiting for your food, they bring bread and some type of vinaigrette and oil to dip it in. It was great - and not too expensive either.

In our house, it has become a joke between Hollie and I when we are trying to carry on a conversation and the kids are screaming (literally) - we just say, "I'll tell you when they go to college".

I enjoy taking moments to spend with my wife - alone without the kids - and it is needed in our relationship between her and I. It is not easy to make this a priority - but again - what we say we value - we must give time to and prioritize!

Here is the link to restaurants on the Marietta square - and Simpatico:
http://www.mariettasquare.com/dining.html

VL Podcast!

Our Vinings Lake Podcast is here! If you are interested in downloading it into your iTunes/iPod, you can click on the link over to the right that says "subscribe on iTunes".

Props to Derek who got it up and running for us. Derek is doing an internship with us this summer - he also created our website and is an incredible addition to VL!

A Generation - from Belief to Action

One of the things that has seemed heavy on my heart has been the issue of believers (I like what Joseph Stowell says about calling ourselves "followers" instead - because of this very thing) - but the issue is for us to move from what we believe - and even being proud of what we stand for - into what we do - and how we live!

**This has seemed to be a very big emphasis at VL as we spent 6 weeks in our "THE VIEW" series - dealing with what we believe - and ending with THE VIEW of the Church - and how it calls us out - The Church (PEOPLE!) - to now DO something with what we "say" we believe!

It's interesting that this issue - like others over the last several months of my life - that have been heavy on my heart - are on the hearts and lips of others as well. This tells me that it is truly God doing something - and it seems to be very apparent in this generation of church leaders.

One proof of that is something I just listened to over the last 2 days in my car on my iPod. It was a Catalyst interview (I HIGHLY recommend listening to the entire interview by going to the Catalyst Podcast and this one was in October of 2006) where Rick Warren said he was praying for a 2nd Reformation of the Church. He said, "the first one was was about creeds, the second one needs to be about deeds - the first was about what we believe, the 2nd one needs to be about how we behave"

In this interview Rick also challenged me GREATLY by talking about the issue of AIDS - and correlated it to back in the day when Christians seemed to be silent about keeping our African American brothers in slavery - and now we seem to be ignoring this terrible epidemic.

Along the same lines - I am sensing a great challenge for the "Church" to stop thinking that our "worship" is attending a church service each week - or really even being a greeter or parking lot attendant or preschool volunteer - but that God is more concerned about our lives outside of those walls.

I believe that through God's prompting, our generation is tired (and should be) of attending church - and we are being (and should be) challenged to BE the CHURCH!