It was very cool to see our people show up tonight, sing a couple of songs, and take 250 dozen (okay I am lying.  The staff ate a dozen so it was only 249 dozen) doughnuts and head out all over Cherokee and Pickens County to pass out doughnuts.  No rocking band, no awesome lights, no big production (all of which I love), just a group of people who wanted to show Revolutionary Love to our community.  It was just cool.

I’m out in our warehouse and there are 250 dozen doughnuts making the place smell AWESOME!!!  Instead of a Christmas Eve service this year, we are ending our RevolutionaryLove.tv series by passing out 250 dozen doughnuts to all the people who have to work on Christmas Eve.

We are hitting the hospitals, police stations, fire houses, the 10,000 Waffle Houses we have in town, and any other place our people think of.  It should be fun.

More thoughts running through my head:

• Did I mention we raised $71,000 today!!!!
• I was rocking the sports coat today
• Swift tore it up on When Love Comes To Town
• I wish I only had one name like Swift.  How about just Lamb?  Doesn’t have the same ring.
• I got to figure out how to get our dog to quit chewing everything in the house
• Just saw a glimpse of the new Batman.  Yeah baby!!!
• DeAnna is starting to cook all the once a year goodies she makes every year.  I’m pretty excited.  The next two days I will simply eat, eat, and eat some more.
• One more week until the Sugar Bowl.  I ain’t going to lie, the Warriors worry me
• Got someone who just emailed and wants to deliver doughnuts to those working at the liquor store tomorrow night.  That’s awesome!!!!
• Had a few “old” faces back at church today.  I was glad they were back.
• I have had Zaxby’s 4 nights in a row.  Not good.
• Okay, no more thoughts for the night….

• What a DAY!!!!!
• Second service was SLAMMED!!! Highest attendance since around Easter!!!
• Hands down, one of the worst services ever during 9:00 a.m. service. We were not in the grove. #1 priority for the new year is get our mojo back at 9.
• Hands down, one of the BEST services we have ever had during our 10:30 service. The place was slammed, we made some huge adjustments from the first service, and we hit a grand slam.
• About 6 months ago, Stonecreek Church gave us a TON of stuff including some VERY nice signs. We use them every week and they are awesome. Today, we had awful weather and about 10 minutes of crazy, crazy wind and it blew the front of the sign off at the entrance. So the sign said Stonecreek Church instead of Revolution. This has never happened before.  The funny thing was Steven Gibbs, the pastor of Stonecreek was in our service this morning. The funnier thing was our people ready to go lynch someone at Stonecreek because they thought they put it in front of our theater.
• Glo-sticks. Nuff said
• The energy in the second service today was insane.
• Love doing communion.
• All is right with the world. After a week of waiting, Kathy Knight’s cookie platter showed up this morning. I have been waiting since last Christmas for that!!!  I kid you not, they cookies are all already gone.
• We are all working today at the office, getting ready for January 6th so we can be off until January 2nd.
• NO Church next Sunday!!! Enjoy the Sunday off.
• We took up our Next Step Offering today. I didn’t know what to expect with the economy like it is.
• Honestly, I had no idea and for the first time ever, I didn’t know if we would raise what was needed to purchase the needed equipment to allow us to go multi-site.
• Did I mention that I didn’t know what to expect?
• This morning, the people of Revolution Church gave
  
• $71,092.82!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME????????????? That is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!
• We are now going to be able to pay CASH for everything needed to capture videos for us to launch multiple campuses. That includes cameras, computers, and a TON of stuff I don’t even understant. We are also going to be able to make MASSIVE improvements to our Canton campus. I am literally shocked and overwhelmed by the people of Revolution. You guys blow me away!!!!!
• I am actually looking forward to hanging out with our students at the ski trip this week!!!!!
• Christmas Eve tomorrow at the office at 4:00 p.m. We got 250 dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts to pass out to those working on Christmas Eve.
• We had our staff Christmas party tonight.  VERY low key affair, but it was nice to just hang out with people who make Revolution happen.
• Ch-ch-ch-Changes at Revolution in 2008.  We got some new blood coming on staff and that is always exciting.
• I still don’t feel like it is Christmas
• SO many new people lately that it is crazy.
• I can always tell when people start buying into the vision of Revolution because they change from saying it is my church to saying it is their church.  They go from saying me to saying we.  I love that.
• I got a Stryper pillow today.  Awesome!!!
• We have some hurting people and that hurts me.  I hate to see our people going through hard times.
• Looks like I am going to win the loser bracket of our fantasy football league.  I am the king of the losers.
• God is stirring me on some big time things about how we are going to help other churches this next year.
• Taylor is filling in some huge areas right now and I am super proud of her!!!
• As people were coming down to take communion today, I just sat back and watched person after person who has have had their live changed while attending Revolution.  I’m far from perfect and we have done a lot wrong at Revolution but seeing the lives that have been impacted make it ALL worth it.
• I am worn out and I am going home and going to bed.
• See everyone at the warehouse tomorrow night!!!

I am sitting here looking over my sermon for tomorrow and I can’t wait for church to start.  We are wrapping up our RevolutionaryLove.tv series by talking about THE Revolutionary Love of Jesus Christ.

I truly believe with everything that is in my heart that people are going to meet Jesus Christ for the first time tomorrow and THAT is why we do church.

We are also taking up our Next Step Offering which is going to allow us to launch multiple campuses in North Georgia and reach even more people with Revolutionary Love!!!!!!!!

It just doesn’t feel like Christmas to me yet.  It has been hot, we have been busy at the office, dealing with changes, and getting ready for the new year so I feel like Christmas has snuck up on me.

We head to my mom and dads tomorrow for brunch and to hang out with my family and do Christmas so hopefully that will put me in the holiday spirit.

If that doesn’t work, Sunday will do it.  I can’t wait for church.  We have some VERY cool things planned this Sunday and I am excited about them.

• You are watching Clash of the Choir on NBC
• Your worship pastor won’t let you sing in your own choir
• You can’t figure out how to get the light fixture off to replace the light on the front porch
• You got excited because you get an extra chicken nugget in your 8 pack at Chick-fil-a
• You almost knock over the Christmas tree putting water in it
• You eat probably over 100 cookies since Monday
• It’s days until Christmas and you just realize you haven’t bought your wife any gifts

All of those things have happened to me today

“Stupid Dog” seems to be my new favorite line.  Dogs are a lot of stinking work!!!  The other night Koy was up all night puking.  Not cool.  Now it is raining and I had to take him outside to do his business in the rain.  Instead he wanted to run around the wet yard.

It also occured to me today that we have to find a place for him to stay while we are skiing.  The person we consider our dog expert stopped by today and I found out they have NEVER left their dogs!!!!  In 11 years they have never been away together.  They will get a sermon coming to them. :)  So while she makes rocking ginger snaps, she was no help in suggesting a place for the dog to shack up.  We did find a place but I have to admit it is freaking me out to leave the big guy for a couple of days.  I guess I am a big softie.

Stupid Dog

I’m about the leave the office to go see my little girl’s dance thingy.  I don’t really know what it is and I don’t really care what it is, I am just excited to go.  I have always loved having my kids, but this last year I have learned to treasure it more than ever.  They are growing up so stinking fast!!!!  Now that I have children, I see how awesome my parents were about being at things we did.  They were always there.  I thought that was what parents did, but sadly it isn’t.  I want to be there for those things like my parents were there for me when I was growing up.

I love my kids because no matter how bad my day has been, no matter how much stress I have, no matter who I am ready to kill, no matter how bad I have blown it, they are there when I get home and just want to be loved and given some attention.  The love no matter what.  I dig that.

It is funny when I go to these things with my kids becaues I don’t really fit in with the typical parent you would find in Canton.  They all seem so stressed, so busy, and so mature. :)  I am a sloppy, flip-flop wearing, energy drink chugging redneck.

BTW, just had pumpkin bread and ginger snaps dropped off at the office.  I love Christmas.

The ChurchPlanters.com conference is almost here!!!!  I thought this along with Unleash was the best conferences I attended last year.  Shawn and the crew at Mountain Lake do a GREAT job with this conference.  It is so much more than a conference for church planters.  If you are a church leader, this is a must attend conference.  I put their breakouts up against anyone.

This year they are bringing in some great speakers including Steven Furtick and Mark Batterson. I have gotten to know Steven pretty well over the last year and I think he is one of the premier speakers around now.  I have never heard him a conference setting, but I can only imagine what he will say.  Should be fun and that alone should be worth the low price they charge for the conference.

I have been invited back to do a breakout session this year and I am pumped about the topic.  I will be talking about doing church in a portable setting and I can’t wait!!!  I’m one of the few church planters that I know that actually loves being portable and I think we do it pretty well.  I have had the honor of being mentored by 4 churches that run over 2,000 while still being portable and actually served on staff at one of those.  I have seen the best and the worst when it comes to portable church.  I am bringing in a bunch of our staff for this session and we are going to do it as a panel discussion.  Should be fun!!!!!!

If you haven’t signed up get over to the website and do it now….