As I stated earlier, DeAnna and I for the first time in 10 years did not go to church on a Sunday morning. We got up and went to eat breakfast and did a few errands and along the way God really pointed out some things to me.

1. RSC goes on without me - I’ll be honest, from a human perspective that is somewhat hard. Everyone wants to feel needed. However, the truth is it is AWESOME! RSC is NOT about me or my “style.” It is about God and what He is doing in the lives of our people. They don’t come because of the music, the teaching, etc. They come because God rocks and is doing some awesome things in their lives.
2. RSC has the greatest staff in the world - I have not talked to one of our staff since we left on Tuesday in regards to “church” stuff. There again that has been VERY hard for me. I kept waiting all day yesterday for a phone call with some emergency that only I could fix. The call never came because we have a awesome team that knows what they are doing, is just as sold out as I am, buys into the vision, and doesn’t need me around to make it happen. That is awesome. It is good to know that if I was killed in a car wreck (not that I’m looking to die) that RSC would continue on. One of the big criticisms I get from other pastors is that RSC is built on me. People who say that don’t know how awesome our team is.
3. The large majority of people DO NOT go to church - Every pastor who has ever said we don’t need more churches or that their church is reaching the community just fine is simply an idiot. I got the family up this morning and took the family to eat breakfast and run some errands and every place we went to was SLAMMED. Driving through the neighborhood I saw the large majority of my neighbors home. The church parking lots were empty as well. As pastors we are in church on Sunday mornings and as a result we don’t see the facts about our community. The large % of people are not in church and see no point in it. The church better wake up and accept this fact and they better do it soon.
4. Men don’t go to church - Yep, this is my hobby horse and I make no apologies about it at all. I would say there were 3 men out for every one woman we saw. I heard three different men at three different times at three different places make some type of comment about the wife and kids being at church. The church has become to feminine in it’s methods and practices that men look at it as something women do and the kids should do. This is a hill I am willing to die on and as such RSC will always focus on reaching men because if you reach the man, you reach the family.
5. People are craving community and they will find it SOMEWHERE - We went to the Waffle House this morning and there was more community happening there then 99% of the churches I have ever been. It was actually sad. People are desperate for relationships and friendships that a place like the Waffle House becomes that fix for them. I watched the “regulars” come in and everyone knew everyone. They asked about each others weeks, talked about Thanksgiving and as crazy as it sounds, they were doing life together. For many of those people, it truly was the highlight of their week. Again the funny thing was the large majority were men. Men needed community as much as women they just won’t admit it. It really stressed to me the importance of Malcolm’s job here as our Connection Pastor.
6. A lot of people work on Sunday mornings - It never occurred to me how many people work on Sunday morning or have worked all night on Saturday night. It is a very large number. I think Perry is on to something huge with doing Sunday night services that are identical to Sunday morning. I even think Bob is doing this now. Everyone jumped on the Saturday night thing but people are busy on Saturday night. It has me wondering where we could start a Sunday night service to reach all those who simply won’t or can’t come on Sunday mornings.
7. The NFL has a Pre-Game show - I just saw the ad for it and it comes on in an hour. I had heard rumors of such a thing but never really believed it existed as I had never seen it. I’m excited.
8. I need church - Honestly I have enjoyed the morning off but I think I am good for another 10 years. To me there is not greater place to be on Sunday mornings then at the Riverstone Cinemas worshiping the living God with all the people who make up The Stone.
9. I’m ready to preach - Seriously I am in countdown mode to next Sunday. I haven’t taught in two Sundays in a row and I am chomping at the bit to be on stage and share God’s word with the people who make up The Stone. Next week we start a new series and I am so looking forward to being back in church and back teaching!!!!!

It is 10:30 a.m. and I just walked in the door and I am sitting on the couch. It is an odd feeling. I have been married for 9 1/2 years and I have been in full-time ministry for 8 years. In that time I have NEVER not been to church on a Sunday. If I wasn’t at the church I worked for then I was at another church. Even on vacations, we have always went to church.

This morning I wasn’t teaching and for only the second time since The Stone started, I wasn’t there. What makes it odder is I didn’t go anywhere else. We got up this morning went to breakfast and shopping and I enjoyed being with my family.

I love RSC and there is no place in the world I would rather be then there but this Sunday off was much needed. I started getting nervous about 8:30 knowing the team was doing the run through, then again at 10 when I knew the band was starting, and now I know Preston is on stage doing a great job.

The thing is they won’t miss a beat this morning because the team that makes RSC happen every week is the best around and our staff and volunteers make it happen.

I’ll be posting my thoughts on some lessons I learned by NOT going to church this morning later.

Left Canton about 9 this morning with one of our guys and headed to Athens for the Georgia game. I don’t know what Georgia has done but the traffic flow in there is as good as I have ever seen it. I went to a few games this year and we were in and out every time. Today we got there about 11 and had 4 hours to kill. We walked around and had a good time checking out all the people tailgating. Tailgating is an amazing thing. The work and loyalty that goes into it is amazing. We saw a lot of strange things but by far the strangest was the old man walking around with a billy goat dressed in a Georgia jersey.

Athens was as rocking as I have ever seen it. Seriously Athens is one of the greatest college towns I have ever been in. Besides pastoring, all I have ever done is work with college ministry and DeAnna spent 4 years living in a college town and nothing compares to Athens on game day.

Sanford Stadium was slammed. I have never seen it so crowded. The energy was crazy and the place was rocking.

Oh yeah, Georgia won. But I’m not sure that was ever in question. Hey Tech fans I know you have grown tired of hearing this but THERE IS ALWAYS NEXT YEAR!
One more thing: Clemson lost as well so my bet with Perry ended in a tie. I’ll take it.

Just read a blog post by Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church and it was like someone hit me in the gut with a metal pipe. I am so guilty of doing what he posted about and forgetting we are on the same team.

What was it he talked about? You can check it out here.

We have a lot of Ned Flanders here in the south and I need to do a better job of realizing we are on the same team.

Conviction…I hate it when that happens.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Now that I got that out of the way, this is not how I intended to start my Thanksgiving. I log onto Greg Rohlinger’s blog and he has called out the East Coast bloggers. I knew it was only time before it happened. I mean the west coast has always hated on the east coast. How many of you remember the rap wars of the 90’s?

It appears that Greg is carrying that over to the blogging world. He even tried to claim Ed Young Jr. as a West Coaster. Greg, Texas is in the middle so no one should be able to claim him. But wait…he has a Miami campus so guess what? He is east coast too.
Greg, I love ya but this is a war you can’t win so let it drop. BTW, another reason west coast bloggers stink is seen in the fact that I can’t get a permalink from Greg’s blog. Don’t step to the East Coast with that weak junk.

Since his permalink doesn’t work, you will just have to click on this this link to see what he has to say.

I already told you that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. So to say I am pumped about tomorrow would an understatement. However this year the fun doesn’t stop on Thursday. Had a cool couple at church give me Georgia/Georgia Tech tickets, so I get to go the game Saturday!!! It is amazing how after losing to Vandy and Kentucky and what was turning into a awful year suddenly looks up after beating Auburn and Tech this weekend. I am pumped up about going to the game and I can’t wait to see Athens rocking on Saturday.

Not only will it be awesome to beat Tech but if we win and Clemson loses, then Perry and I tie in our bet. After this year, I will take a tie. Georgia was expected to do nothing. Clemson had big dreams and yet we could end up with the same record. I’ll take it.

The AJC has a cool article coming out tomorrow about portable churches in Cherokee County. It features us and a few other churches that meet in “strange” locations. Other then getting when we started the church wrong, it was a cool article and it is cool to see God doing some awesome things through other churches in town.

You can read the article here.

Tadd was in town yesterday! Many of you have asked how he is doing and let me say that God is really opening some HUGE doors and the devil truly is throwing some HUGE curveballs. It was cool to go to lunch with him and I am glad that we get to partner with him in planting Pine Ridge Church in North Carolina.

At one time I thought I had another church plant in me. Watching Tadd reminds me that I don’t.

Without a doubt, Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year. I love it. I love the weather, I love the football, I love the family junk, and I LOVE the food. As most, Thanksgiving is very much a time of reflection for me. God has blessed my life more then I could have ever imagined. I truly don’t deserve the way God has rocked my world but I am loving every minute of it!

The office is closed the rest of the week and in my mind that means Thanksgiving has started. I’m sure every blogging world will start their “lists” of things they are thankful for so here are the things I am thankful for.

1. Jesus Christ - About 12 years ago, God rocked my world! I had grown up in church, did the church thing, but for the first time in my life, I entered into a true relationship with Jesus Christ. I have never gotten over it and I never will! I ran HARD for the devil and I do and will continue to run harder for Jesus. I get a kick out of lukewarm Christians. I don’t understand how you can be lukewarm about Jesus. To think that Jesus Christ would use a dope smoking, unmotivated, live to party person like me just blows my mind.
2. My family - I truly have the greatest wife in the world. I know everyone says it but it is the truth. I have been married to DeAnna almost 10 years and I am more in love with her today then the day we got married. She has supported me in every move we have ever made, she is the best pastor’s wife in the world, she makes my life where I can follow my dreams, she is the best mother in the world, and she is smoking hot to me. I also have two children who are the loves of my life. Ashlyn is hog wild like me and I love it. Avery is like DeAnna and I love it. I couldn’t imagine my life without them.
3. Ridge Stone Church - Seriously I thank God EVERY day that I get to pastor The Stone. I think it is the greatest church in the world. I have never been around a group of people so united in vision and who actually get IT when it comes to the purpose of the church. The highlight of my week is Sunday and getting to be with our people. I have the greatest staff in the world. They are not only my staff, they are my best friends. I wouldn’t do it without them.
4. Friends - God has blessed my life by the friends I have. God has put men who are pastors in my life that have become friends that I am so thankful for. It is so awesome to have people who have been there, done that when it comes to what I face in life. I couldn’t do what I get to do without the friends I have.
5. Contentment - For the first time in my life I am content. I know that sounds weird but I am happy. My wife is happy. My kids are happy. I wouldn’t trade my life with anyone in the world. This is the life God has for me and I think it rocks!

I could list a thousand other things but those are the 5 things in my life that I have been dwelling on this week.

If you don’t check in between know and Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who is crazy enough to read the junk I write here!

Busy day today! I got to the theater about 8 this morning only to have the manager approach me and let me know that the movie in our theater started at noon today and we had to be tore down and out by 11:30. Anyone that knows our tear-down knows that ain’t happening. After cutting a song and telling Preston he had to bring a 25 minute message we pulled of a good service. It is always weired to see someone else on stage teaching. I needed the break but after getting there I wanted to teach. Preston did a good job. He has come a long way since the first time he taught and to be honest he is one of the few people I trust on stage.

I then went out to eat with a few people from church and half the place was Ridge Stone people. I felt like I was running for public office going around shaking hands and kissing babies. I love our people and it was fun to hang out with so many of them today.

After lunch I came to the office to unwind and get started on next week (Yes I come into the office on Sundays) and the place was slammed!!!!!

Tim was having a meeting with all the set-up crew, media guys, sounds guys, etc. getting ready to brain storm for two services and it was cool ease-dropping and hearing them excited and full of cool ideas.

Then I walked out into the warehouse and there were about 20 people packing baskets to feed families Thanksgiving dinner. I was proud of our people and excited to see them excited about impacting others during the holiday season.

Soon the youth will be arriving for a crazy night of activities and I will be heading home.

Sundays are crazy but they are without a doubt my favorite day of the week!