Important Message Regarding Sunday

Good morning everyone,

I just wanted to let everyone know that this coming Sunday, February 28th, we will only have ONE service at 11 a.m.  Please make arrangements to be here.  Craig will be addressing everyone and is requesting that everyone (members and regular attenders alike) be here for this important message.

See y’all Sunday.   

Ephesians 4:29 (The Message)

One day in ancient Greece, an acquaintance met the great philosopher Socrates and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple Filter Test?" asked the man.

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

"No, on the contrary..." he said.

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really," the man said.

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true, nor good, nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

Ephesians 4:29 (The Message)
29 Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

25 Years and Counting Pt. 6

If you didn't realize it, today is Valentine's Day and although I think it is a day primarily promoted by greeting card companies I believe it is a great time to show your spouse, girlfriend and even family how much you love them.

Tonight I want to do a special post about one of the lessons I have learned during my 25 year marriage to Tina.

Lesson - Love

I met Tina at her father's church in 1984.  Being two years out of high school and living the good/wild life I invited her on a date that day.  I even told a famly member that I would marry her one day.  We dated for a while and I considered moving on (she knows what I am talking about).  But the one thing I could not get around in how much I loved her.

In late 1984 while picking up a Sunday night meal for the family Tina and I were hit by a car while stopped at a red-light.  Neither of us were injured and I knew then I wanted to marry her.  On Feb. 23, 1985 we were married and it is a day I will never forget.

Today:  I would like to say I have been the great husband and godly leader of my home all these years, however I would not be telling the truth.  Tina has shown me love when I was not lovable, she has cared for me when I couldn't care for myself, she endured many long hours, hurts and pains.  I have learned love from her.  In all this time my love for Tina has grown.  It's not that I didn't love her, it's just that I love myself more than her.  Through all we have experienced I have learned to love her first and me second.  I have learned that the closer I get to Jesus the closer I get to her.  Last week while away at a conference in California I couldn't wait to get home.  I longed to be with her and to see her.

In learning this lesson I am so thankful that Tina's love for me and grateful for her beingg patient, kind, forgiving and loving.

The Lesson of Love takes many years, a lot of hard work and most of all an understanding that it is through God's love that I can fully love her.

Amazing Day

It started as a normal Sunday morning.  The 9:15 servie went well and then something changed.  I recieved a message that one of our members had accidentally OD'd and was in the hospital.  The service began and it seemed as if the Spirit of God was present and worship was amazing. 

As I sat waiting for my time to talk, I felt the Spirit impress on me that He was working today in a special way.  I have experienced this before and knew that I would be using I Thes. 5, one part talks about not hindering the Spirit.  I challenged the church that we should be the church and stop talking about the church.  It was on!

Mickey and the praise team joined me and sang, How He Loves Us.  I presented the gospel and invited people to respond.  Several people came to pray and one of our members asked to stand in the gap for the young man who had OD'd.  I invited people to come pray and almost everyone came forward.  Then it hit.  When all was said and done we had three confirmed decesions to follow Christ, one rededication and a lot of people touched in ways they never expected.

All I can say is WOW.


Here are two of the stories from today:  When I moved to north Georgia I met a young man who ran a pet shop.  Immediately God placed a burden on my life to pray for him.  On many occassions I would encounter he or his wife and I would pray for them.  Three weeks ago he started attending Fellowship and today he came during the pray, sobbing he asked Jesus into his life.  AWESOME!


Following worship I noticed a young lady I have been praying for talking to her parents at the back.  I could she was dealing with God as she was very broken.  I stopped to talk and she shared her story.  I then asked her about trusting Jesus and she prayed to trust Him.  Immediately we went to the Harvest Wall and she and her family X'd out her name.  Then her mother said this, "This is the greatest Valentines gift ever!"  I agree.


If you missed this mornings 11:00 am service then you missed an amazing time of the presence of God.  I pray we experience this every week.  


See you Sunday!

My Time at Hollywood and Vine

Today following our conference we visited Hollywood, California.  It was not what I expected!

On TV you see the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and not the reality of it's culture.  As we drove and walked down Sunset Strip and Hollywood Blvd. it became apparent that there were a lot of hurting people in the shadow of the entertainment industry.

We also traveled up into Beverly Hills where the homes are built along the mountain ridge overlooking Hollywood.  As we drove we noticed that there was mud in the streets and it became clear that due to how the homes were built the mountain was literally falling down onto the homes and destroying lives.  Amazingly the people who lived in these homes have learned to adapt and accept the consequences of their choices.

We also saw the same destruction of the mountain homes in the streets of the city made famous by the entertainment industry.  As we walked the noise of emergency vehicles began to sound.  For the next several minutes police car after police car and all kinds of rescue equipment passed.  As we walked closer to the scene we were informed that a man had jumped from the Kodak Theater's top floor to his death on the sidewalk of Hollywood Blvd.  The consequence of his choice cost him his life.  Tragically the show must go on and the crowd gathered to view his draped body lying on the cold pavement surrounded by sadness and hopelessness.

It was interesting to visit Hollywood, but the thing I will most remember is how in this place where happiness is made in the form of movies, at least one individual felt compelled to walk into eternity obviously unhappy.

25 Years and Counting Pt. 6

I have been in Southern California for the last four days and although I have learned many great things and been encouraged greatly, I can't wait to get home to see my bride.  In these 25 years I have learned that being away emphasis' my great love for her and even causes me to value these lessons I have learned all the more.

Lesson - Leave sometime

As I have said before, in all marriages there are times when you will fight about things.  Statistics tell us there are three primary reasons for divorce; money, sex and children.  If you are breathing you know that conflict is a part of life.  Unfortunately most of us do not know how to resolve conflict, therefore it is very complicated to do life togehter.

I have learned that sometimes you have to leave.  I know that some of you will have trouble with this lesson, however there have been those times when our disagreements escalated to the point that the only way to resolve them was for one of us to walk away.  For me, leaving was the best thing I could have done.  At this point some of you are misunderstanding what I am saying, I am not saying to leave for hours or days, but leave by driving around the block or walking down the street to cool off and to consider my actions.  It was in these times that I realized that in most of the struggles I was at fault and many times wrong.

Marriage is about mutual submission.  For a marriage to survive a couple must learn when to surrender their wills and emotions, deciding at some point their spouse is more important over self.  Selfishness is at the core of most marriage failures.  Learning to leave may cause you to realize your selfishness.

The Leave sometimes lesson leads me to the next lesson I have learned:

Lesson - Learn to admit when you are wrong

Have you ever been wrong?

Although it is hard to admit for most men, being wrong is not only possible, it is a regular occurrence.  In contrast to popular opinion men do make mistakes and do things that are not right.  Often times we will sacrifice relationships just to be right.

When we realize that we are all fallible and capable of doing wrong, it will allow us to resolve most relationship issues.  It will set us up to ask the difficult questions about our relationships and then take the time to make things right.

Learning to say you were wrong is one of the most important lessons you can learn to be a spouse in a growing marriage that will stand the test of time.

Haiti Update