God wins.

Let’s just say the Revolution is about to begin in North Georgia.

More to come in two weeks at our 3 year anniversary.

You ever wrestle with God over direction?  I am there right now.  We are about to turn 3 years old and God has done AWESOME things, but we I think it is nothing compared to what God is stirring in me lately.

God has been putting the organizational pieces, the staffing pieces, the mentoring pieces, and the growing of me piece in place the last few months and there is a sense of expectancy in the office like I have never seen before.  Trust me, the fall is going to be the biggest and largest time in the history of our church.  We are going to do what we should have been doing all along!

I feel God is telling me it is time that the time of refining is complete and that the reinvention of The Stone is almost finished.  I feel a strong stirring that I am praying through, that I am seeking advice on, and that will let the world know what we are all about with one simple word.

Pray for me as I seek God and stay tuned as I continue this wrestling match….

Here is a  simple job description  for our Tiny Town Director (nursery and preschool).

Preschool Director

Purpose: To oversee the preschool ministry of Ridge Stone Church

Principal Function: Serve as the Preschool Director.  This incumbent is expected to adhere to and encompass the qualities and characteristics required of Ridge Stone Church employees, as defined by the Policies and Procedures manual.

Reports to: Executive Pastor
Status: Part Time
Date Prepared / Revised: July 2007

List of Responsibilities:

- Understand the overall vision for the preschool area as given by the Lead Pastor and design a ministry area that reflects that vision

-  10-12 hours a week; including one day a week in the office, preschool Sunday setup/tear down, and overseeing preschool Sunday services

- Schedule preschool volunteers weekly

- Oversee recruitment and development of  preschool volunteers

- Plan curriculum

-  Maintain equipment and supplies (Curriculum, Printables, Toys, Batteries, Snacks,… etc.)

-  Make sure Tiny Town rooms are set-up and volunteers are staffing rooms every Sunday

-  Work with Executive Pastor to consistently improve systems

Personal Responsibilities:
1.)    Maintain God ordained priorities: Jesus Christ first, Spouse second, Children third, and Ministry fourth

2.)    Always maintain loyalty to the staff and vision of Ridge Stone Church

3.)    Maintain a vital and personal walk with Christ including prayer, Bible study and meditation

4.)    Financially support the ministries of Ridge Stone Church by giving at least 10% of your gross incomeIf you’re interested in working at this crazy place we call The Stone shoot your resume to Malcolm Young at malcolm@ridgestonechurch.com

We are hiring two part-time positions: Planet Shakers Director (elem. kids)  and Tiny Town Director (Nursery and Preschool).  Don’t worry, Preston isn’t going anywhere, but we are in the process of moving him to a new position as our Connections Pastor.  He feels God is moving him and he is PERFECT for this role!  If we find the right people to plug into the these roles, we will start the transition around October.

We are about 75% sure we have already found the Children’s Director, but we will be accepting resumes for the Tiny Town position.  Both jobs will be about 10 hours a week.  Basically one day a week in the office and Sunday mornings.  I will post a job description by the end of the week but here are some musts:

• You must be sold out to the vision of The Stone!
• You must be sold out to making an impact in the lives of children!
• If you are from within you must already be serving.  If you are an outside hire, you must be serving in the church you currently attend.
• If you are from within you must be already honoring God by tithing.  If you are a outside hire, you must be tithing at your current church.  If you are going to get paid from the giving of our people, you need to be leading by example in this area.
• You must be a team builder
• You must be organized
• You must have a huge vision!
• You must be able to work in a pretty insane office environment!
• You must be a team player!

I’m sure I’ll think of more things as I think about it, but that should get you started.  We ALWAYS look within our own church first, so if you are a Stoner and feel led to be part of a great team that is looking to impact this community and change lives, then let us know!

If you don’t attend The Stone, we are taking resumes from outside our chuch as well, but know we will look at within first.

Email your resumes to Malcolm at malcolm@ridgestonechurch.com

I’ll keep you posted on the children’s gig if the person we are talking too at this time decides it isn’t a good fit.

Every Saturday night about 6 p.m. my whole vibe sort of changes.  It sounds odd but I start focusing on the fact that Sunday is coming in a few hours and I get to stand on a stage and present the truths of God’s word.  DeAnna settles the house down, I turn the phone off, and I just began to get in the zone (for lack of a better word).  I don’t really want to talk or be talked too. I can’t explain it, but we are very protective of Saturday nights because of this.  I can begin to the feel the warfare that goes into a message during this time pretty intense.  I want to focus and nothing else.

Tonight at dinner DeAnna made the comment that it was only Thursday and she could already see I was checking out and starting to get to that place.  I think she might be right.  I am excited about the opportunity that is before me this Sunday and I am excited about sharing something that God shared with me about 2 1/2 years ago.  I shared these things with our staff a few weeks ago for the first time, and I am looking forward to sharing them again this Sunday.  In many ways these are my core values and the things that drive me and drive our church.

Only preachers will understand this but it is only Thursday night and I am already in the zone. 

Sunday can’t get here fast enough.

As you know we are launching our second campus in Jasper in January!!!! We are pumped up and the buzz is already going strong. Here is what I need from all of you who call RSC home: I need you pray about a possible meeting location. We have two different places we have been looking at but a church meeting in either one of these locations is so new to a small town like Jasper that we have some questions to answer and some convincing to do. I know it will work out, but be praying because we want to nail that down asap!

BTW, here is my favorite line of the day when Malcolm talked to one of the people about using their space: “Well if we let you in, we have to let everyone in including the Ball Ground devil worshippers.” Uh…okay. Did any of you know there was a group called the “Ball Ground Devil Worshippers.” Not just any devil worshippers, but the Ball Ground Devil Worshippers. BTW, Ball Ground is a city here next to Canton. I’ve laughed over that all day long.

Just wanted to give a shout out to our volunteers for how awesome they are every week!  As awesome as they normally are, they were MORE awesome this week.  I called an audible last Saturday and then went on vacation and they pulled it off perfectly, literally without a hitch.

They also got the entire theater tore down in time for Harry Potter to begin which is no easy feat.

You guys are awesome and you make RSC what it is!!!!

Van is packed and I’m gone camping.  I’m pretty freaked out right now that it is really happening!

PRAY FOR ME!!!!

I’m out of the blog world for the rest of the week, but if you are a Stoner then be at church Sunday!  It is going to be an awesome day!

We never announce who is teaching at The Stone but since it is 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night I doubt very few of you are going to see this before tomorrow. :)  But, Preston is teaching tomorrow and he is going to do a bang up job!  I love that dude!

I told you a couple of weeks ago that I was taking some Sunday off in July and tomorrow is one of them.  I am actually heading down to Newnan, Georgia to preach for my great friend, Scott Whitaker.  Scott pastors Stone Point Church and is doing a solid job.  He is busting it out at reaching unchurched people and I am looking forward to hanging out with him in the morning.

If you think about it in the morning, throw up a prayer for me!

At midnight as I sit here playing The Godfather, my weapon of choice is the Shotgun.  One shot and they are dead.  This game is like sin.  I hate it with everything that is in me, but I love it and it keeps drawing me back in.

I have played it every night this week until about 2 in the morning.

Have I mentioned I need DeAnna to come home?