What is a win?

How does a church measure success?  Is it how many people show up on Sunday morning or the amount of the offering?  Some seem to think so… but its not.  For Lifesong we “score” when we see life change in an individual.  A marriage put back together… an addict freed from addiction… a lonely hurting individual finding hope and relationships… someone taking a step towards God and using their abilities to serve others… a person receiving Christ as their personal Saviour.  Those are “wins.”

Its kind of like a football game.  Offensive yards are important, so are 1st downs… but, in the end, the only thing that counts are points on the board.  You must have the other things to score, but scoring is the goal. 

Lifesong is committed to reaching this generation with the Message of Christ.  We will see crowds… we will use creative means to deliver the Message… we will encourage people to give $$…those things are important but they are not the goal. May we SCORE alot for the Kingdom and never forget why we are here!

Sunday Night Thoughts…

• The NASCAR race hit us hard today… I don’t understand the fascination with watching cars go a round in circles… yes, I know they drive fast… no, it still doesn’t impress me.
• We had a HUGE win today… one person indicated their desire to become a Christ follower and two others to join the church!  That is what is about… seeing LIVES changed NEVER gets old!
• We where short several volunteers today but set up/tear down went really well!
• I am more convinced than ever that Lifesong is here to make an impact in peoples lives and turn this community upside down with the love of Christ!
• I really enjoyed preaching today… the crowd seemed to be in to it… very cool!
• I bet I am the only pastor in town today that sent a church member to get him beer… listen to the podcast to find out why.
• I cant wait till next Sunday… really looking forward to the next message.
• Someone accepted Christ today… AWESOME!!!
• I wonder if the theater will allow us to put an inflatable pool in the lobby?  Just a thought.
• The best is yet to come!

Pictures…

Pictures from our carshow and launch service here.

Podcast up & running…

We have the podcast of the message from this past Sunday on the website.  Much props go out to our tech team for getting it all pulled together!  If you missed this Sunday check it out.

Sunday Night Thoughts…

• Launch Sunday was awesome… I would have liked to have seen more people there, but it was a great day!
• Todays message really hit home with people, I asked everyone to confront their baggage today and write it down on “baggage tags” and place them in a suitcase… I have read and prayed over those this afternoon, some people are really hurting.
• I am excited about the people that make up Lifesong church, they understand the vision and will do what ever it takes to see it become a reality!
• We have had tons of traffic on the website and the blog over the last few days… this is a good thing!  If you are checking us out, we are much more impressive in person!
• The podcast of todays message will be on the website tomorrow… very cool!  We have had several people ask for copies of todays message.
• We had tons of kids today… that is cool!  Our Childrens ministry makes ME want to be a kid again!
• It is awesome to have partner churches and friends… my phone had been crazy all day with people checking up on us and letting us know they are praying for us!
• The Worship Theater looked really good today… great job guy’s!
• I watched some of the tape of the service today with my wife (who is over the kids ministry), her only comment was… “Did you have to use the word crap?”  It was funny to me…
• We had the chance to partner with Truetts Grill over the weekend for a car show, it was alot of fun.  I look forward to working with them in the future.
• We get to do this again in SIX days!!!

Baggage…

I am really excited about the message for this Sunday… you DO NOT want to miss this service!  I really believe that God is going to change peoples lives through this series.  All of us have baggage, those things we carry around from our past that weigh us down… it cripples our relationships and causes us to stumble through life.  This Sunday we are going to learn to let it go and give it to God…

See you Sunday at the Griffin Stadium Cinema.  Lifesong church is almost here and it is going to ROCK!

Hawaiian Shirts, The Bible and Prayer…

What a great weekend.  Saturday night we had a luau here at our home… nothing screams Hawaiian Luau like really bad flower print shirts, a bounce house and Georgia weather in October.  It was a blast!  You can check out the pictures here(I am thinking of changing my wardrobe… I looked pimp).  We had thirty eight people here for the get together… I am humbled at how God has brought together such an awesome group of people together to bring Lifesong to life.

We are seven days away from the launch of Lifesong church… time has really flown by.  I asked everyone to really focus this coming week and remember that all our planing and preparation will come to nothing if we don’t put God first.  I asked everyone to commit to pray at either  6:33am or 6:33pm for the next week as a reminder of Matthew 6;33.  Would you join us in this commitment… if so contact us so we can thank you.  We are asking you to pray for three things:

1.  For God’s will to be done through Lifesong church.  For God to use this church to make an impact in peoples lives for the Kingdom

2.  For all those who will be coming this Sunday.  For the 10,000 post cards going out, the road signs being put up and for the personal invitations that are being made.

3.  For God to do more than we can explain… pray an Ephesians 3:20 prayer!

God is up to something HUGE… See you this coming Sunday for the beginning of the revolution.

Good Stuff…

One of the things that really bothers me as a pastor is the lack of cooperation among many churches… some (not all) seem to view other churches (especially new ones) as competition.  In some cases there is even open hostility!  One of Lifesong’s core values is that we value Kingdom growth… that we will do whatever we can to grow, not just Lifesong, but the Kingdom.  This post by Greg Groeschel is a great reminder… may I never forget it.

Thanks…

We had a great day today… the Lifesong band lead worship at Life Church, they did an awesome job!  Man… our band ROCKS… I was really proud of them. 

Life is one of our partner churches and it is great to be able to help them after they have given so much to us.  Kevin Garrison is their pastor and has become a really good friend over the last couple of years, I really appreciate his friendship and counsel.

After the service they gave us a “baby shower” for Lifesong… they came through in a big way and provided alot of much needed supplies for our childrens area.  Life is also sending a team over to help with our launch service and where the first church to commit to providing monthly support.  It is great to be involved with other churches that have a Kingdom mindset and are willing to do whatever it takes to see this generation reached for Christ!  Thanks guys… you are playing a part in the Song! 

2nd Preview…

Our second preview service was this past Sunday… everything went really well…

Set up/Tear down went even better than the first service.  Set up took just over an hour and tear down about 45 min.  The Lifesong team ROCKS!

Hospitality did a great job making everyone feel welcome and at ease, the front of the house looked awesome…

Children’s areas looked amazing again… not as many kids as the first service, but they had a great time.

The band sounded the great!  The tech team did great with all of the new equipment(sound & lighting was really good)… great job guys (and girl)!

I can’t believe that we launch in just three weeks!  Lifesong is going to turn this area upside down and make an eternal impact in peoples lives!  Look out Griffin “IT” is almost here!