So high and so low so soon :(

What a great weekend at the church, but on the personal side some of you know my truck has been down for two weeks. Well my mechanic just gave me word that it will be nearly $2000.00 to fix. Basically the motor that the last mechanic I used put in had issues and the issues finally caught up. This will bring my total in repairs on this vehicle to $4900.00 in the past 14 months. SOOOOOO LOOOOOOWWWW........ I only gave 4,000.00 for it to start with. Well anyhoo the work has to be done or it gets hauled to a junkyard.

Needless to say I am going to have to get the guys in the church that have trucks to go on a rotation for pulling the church trailer because when this bad boy get's to running I am getting rid of it ASAP. The thing I hate about that is by that time I have pretty much replaced everything under the hood and then some. Radiator, water pump, engine, altenator, starter, battery, distributor, distributor cap, the pump inside the gas tank, plugs and wires (man making that list makes me think I should keep it) Well if anyone is good at vehicles has a suggestion whether I should keep it or not let me know)

It's been a vehicular money pit and I'm tired of it. To be honest financially this year God has blown us away by His provisions.....it's just for some reason I have no "anointing" for vehicles... Ha! Ha! What did I do wrong to a car in the past that has given me this bad....CARMA? Well that's the low end of a very high end week and five years from now all I'll remember is how awesome our first Christmas season went at the Embassy!

Record Sunday at the Embassy

This past weekend was incredible! we had a woman come to Christ! we baptized a 21 year old guy in the lake behind my house after the morning service...Oh, and we had nearly 150 in attendance!!!! I think if it would have just been the number it wouldn't have meant so much, but another person putting their faith in Christ and the baptism was the icing!

I loved how pumped the team was because everyone could tell that their efforts since we launched in January are really making a difference. I can't wait to see all that will take place in 2007!

Special Christmas Presentation at the Embassy

This Sunday at the embassy we will have a special showing of the newly released full length feature film "Nativity" at 10:02am. Come early and enjoy bagels and hot chocolate in the cafe'.

Random Thoughts.....

The past two Sundays were rough on set up. Two weeks ago the theater didn't get unlocked for us and we started set up 40 minutes late. The crew that was on for that week rocked and we only started 8 minutes late. Great effort team emc! This week the crew that was on was only about half the guys (holidays and all...things happen) and then we had tech difficulties. We started at least 15 minutes late. we haven't done that in a long time. Even with the difficulties both weeks of our series Christmas at the Movies went great!

Last week we used clips from Christmas Vacation and The Christmas Story and we reminded ourselves that often we experience unmet expectations because we look more at what isn't than what is. We also looked at a few ways we handle unmet expectations. This week we used clips from the Grinch as we examined what in life causes us to have "Missing Peace". we saw that Jesus came looking for us telling us that His peace he offers to us. Christmas is the celebration that Jesus came looking for us. He is Immanuel...."God with us" He is the missing peace and we need to remind ourselves that He is Immanuel which directly tranlated is Immanent within you....God" No matter what is lacking in your life remember immanent within you is God. He is the "Missing Peace".

The past two weeks we have had church planters checking out what we are doing. When you are on the inside of something you are always critiquing, evaluating, and trying to improve what you are doing. This is necessary, but at times it makes you miss what you have already. Having these guys in really made me realize what an amazing place the embassy has become in just a year. Every one at emc you should be proud of yourselves. Your hard work, dedication, and finances have provided and environment where many are finally connecting with their creator! We had people come to Christ in both the last two Sundays!

Ear report: Still can't hear speech, but percussive sounds are registering. I believe the Tsunami in my inner ear is subsiding. Thanks for your prayers and patience (I know you all are hating me saying "say that again")

More random thoughts: It was great having my mom and dad in for a brief visit and some of you may have noticed I was wearing a tie sunday (that was for momma) ha! she isn't to sure about this whole blue jean wearing theater church thing so I thought I would throw a tie on to make her happy.

Holiday Parade

We had a great time getting our float together for this year's parade. . We had around thirty people at our house on Wednesday putting the final touches on everything. We built a giant popcorn box and admit one tickets to draw attention to where we meet at on Sundays. During the parade Saturday we handed out over 1000 packets of Microwave popcorn with an invitation to our December events. Thanks to everyone who helped build everything and to those who walked in the parade!

EMC Baptism 11-19-06

Embassy Metro Church in the AJC

Take a look at this link to see an article that emc was a part of concerning churches that meet in Non-conventional space.

Georgia Outdoors

Wednesday afternoon I got a call from Jeff Nobles. He and his wife Mary have been incredible additions to our worship band at the church and to the Embassy. I knew Jeff was a hunter and that his family has leased property in Waynesboro (Eastern Central Georgia). Well he asked if I wanted to go hunting for a couple of days at the 10 points hunting cabin. We had an incredible time. The property is 600 acres of pristine hunting grounds. The members have done a great job of managing the land to produce incredible environment for deer hunting.

I have always hunted with a shotgun or a compound bow, but for this hunt Jeff provided me with a rifle (30-30). In Ohio we can't hunt with rifles for what ever reason I'm not sure. I always thought it was because there is so much flat land in Ohio and a rifle round carries so much further than a deer slug out of a shotgun, but where we were hunting was as flat as Northwest Ohio. Also when hunting in Ohio I have mostly still hunted (walking on the ground) or hunted from small climbing stands (12-15 feet up). This hunt was amazing as we hunted from 20 foot high blinds that 3 people could fit in easily. We were meat hunting so we let all the bucks with antlers pass and we took 2 deer each the biggest being one of Jeff's does (130 lbs.)

My deer would have got me laughed at in Ohio where we grow monster deer, but they will be great eats and the lady at the butcher's acted like they were fine deer. I would say one was 80 lbs the other about 100lbs. So if you read this Eric, Mike, or George don't laugh at me for taking these little yearlings. I know we won't be laughing when we have a mean bowl of deer chili or fried tenderloins. BTW all my Ohio friends can you believe this one license and tag ($19) gets you two antlered deer and 10 antlerless) that's right 12 deer if you want em' If they did that in Ohio maybe we would have a lot less car-deer collisions.

We had a great time and now I am looking forward to Turkey season. Thanks Jeff & Alex for a great hunt.

K2 Series Comes to A Close

This past Sunday was wild. It started off with Jared's voice nearly gone and my sinuses a mess (I still can't hear after 16 days)
Then the bulletins didn't get brought and the boxes that contain our kid's check in system were left as well. Both of these items were realized at 20 minutes til the hour. So Fred ran to the two different houses to get the stuff and got back just in time for service to start. While he was gone I was trying to talk to Todd our head of guest services and Pastor Robby. With my ear the way it has been and the left side of my face numb from the medicine I have been on (not sure why the side affect) I am talking like a drunk man. I couldn't articulate or keep a train of thought to save my life. The guys were gracious and didn't laugh at me.....thanks. Robby asks if I am ok. I'm like no pray for me and they did.

I went into the service in a fog. This is not how I wanted the K2 series to end because it has been so great. Well God definitely got involved and we had an amazing day. We shared how at the end of an expedition or a day of hiking you get back to the campsite and that at the campsite stories are shared. Gathered around a campfire with friends you begin to share your victories, explain your discoveries, and voice your questions and concerns about life. To me that sounds like the environment that a church should be . So to close out our K2 Series we worshipped together and we opened the floor up to hear what God is doing in people's lives. This is always risky, but it was well worth it. Often things at church are just too sanitized so Sunday we gathered around the campfire and told our stories. The set was great as we sat in camp chairs in front of a tent and fire pit.

It was awesome hearing your stories of finding healing, acceptance, and miraculous provisions while on your expedition of life. The take away for the day came out of Peter and John's story where they were charged to not use Christ's name anymore, but they said "how can we keep quiet about what we have seen and heard" Acts 4:20. In other words they had seen too much on their journey with Christ to keep quiet about it. I challenged us to live our lives in pursuit of God and what God had created us to do and be. Living a life like that will always give you a story to tell because God will meet you on the trail of life and He will change you forever. My take away was this: Live your life in such away that you will have a story to tell.

When church was over we went to Faith Family Church on Bells Ferry Rd. where we baptized 5 people!!! We then had a great dinner together to celebrate the past 6 week adventure we experienced during the K2 series. Later that night I got a call from a couple on our worship team. Their daughter made the decision to follow Christ and that evening mom and dad prayed with her as she asked Jesus to come into her life!!!! Man what a day...it sure did start out rough, but God really had his hand on the whole day. It's so good to know that it's not up to us to make everything come together, but truly He is strongest when we are at our weakest. Thanks God for all you are doing with my friends at the embassy.

OSU Michigan Game did not Disappoint

What a great game with two amazing teams. Truly the best teams in the nation. I think Bo and Woody would have approved. Go Bucks....one more game will say it all!!!!

Today's the Big Game!

The day has finally arrived. My boy and I will put on our beloved scarlet and grey and we will watch in anticipation as undefeated Ohio State takes on undefeated Michigan at the Shoe. This will truly be another great showdown on the Scioto (pronounced sigh-OH-tuh just like O-hi-uh) 3:30 seems like days away, but I am sure the day will warrant the anticipation and excitment.
O-H, I-O / O-H, I-O / O-H, I-O Go Bucks!

It's Not an Ear Stroke!

The past 11 days have been awkward not being able to hear. I tried several other voodoo related treatments to no avail so I finally broke down and went to the doctor. Doc says everything looks fine no sign of an ear stroke! Also the eardrum is in tack, more good news. Bad news for fluid to clear up in the inner ear it can sometimes be a real process. Doc put me on steroids, so in a few days my ears should be really ripped. Yeah that's me....the guy with ears that look like Arnold Swartzenager. "I am the earinator.....I cun ear you fram acrossed da thee-a-tah. ya dats good nahw. I feel much betta. Thank God it wasn't a toomah"

I Am Seriously Off My Game

Last Friday night as we went from P.F. Chang's into the cold air and then into the warmth at a Barnes & Noble my left ear decided to just close up. No pain, no pressure, just all Helen Keller like. In the morning I was fine I went outside and back inside and boom plugged again. Sunday more of the same. At least it cleared up during church so I was able to function pretty normal (that's a matter of opinion I know). Well by afternoon It closed up for the final time and I still can't hear anything three days later. I finally broke down and got some antibiotics so I should be fine by Sunday.I should have just got with doc and got my pills on Monday, but I didn't feel sick one bit.

My folks are crazy with all the homeopathic stuff so mom's like burn a candle and dad's Appalachian roots come out as he tells me get some sweet oil to put in it. I'm thinking sugar oil in my head and saying prayers using candles isn't going to do a thing, but make me worse. Mom explained these candles aren't for praying, but for burning and about this time I'm thinking my mom believes I have a demon.

Well I found out these candles you put in your ear, and yes.....I can't believe I am going to say this.....you light it on fire while it's in your freakin' ear. Did I say this funnel shaped cone of wax is on fire in MY EAR! What was I thinking listening to my mother. well as I lay in the middle of the floor with fire supposedly drawing ought my disease Adalee my oldest says, "hey we should roast marshmallows" Ha that's funny and we had a good laugh.....then Amie passes out forks and marshmallows. My family is roasting marshmallows on the side of my head. Ha that's hilarious, for everybody BUT ME!

Anyhoo when we were done in went the sweet oil as Amie waved a chicken foot over my head counter clock-wise and said neleh rellek three times. Needless to say that didn't help and today the other ear began to plug up too so I gave in and called the Doc (Thanks Doc A. you're still the best)

It's wild how much one ear being plugged can throw you off. I haven't been myself for days. The Bible speaks about how when one part of the body isn't functioning right or hurting it affects the whole body. Boy ain't that right. The church is no different we are the Body of Christ and when something is wrong it throws us off. Listen, if you're hurting get help quick. If you feel pressure there is relief, If you are having a hard time hearing from God, don't go it alone. We have all been their physically and spiritually. Look to others in the body that can help you. If you want call me and I'll hold the candle for you..... hey kids bring the marshmallows. No really let's always be a place where we help each other out when we are off our games.

Annual Thematic Series Schedule

In my previous post I said that I would present the info that we fleshed out during our staff retreat morning work session. Maslow's Hierarchy gave us fuel to power our minds as we explored theme's and possible sub categories for future series. God really used it as a tool to empower our brainstorming session. Below is the info we came up with. I didn't include a copy of the calendar only the thematic blocks and some sub-categories if any body has anything to add feel free:

Thematic Annual Series Schedule
Based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Discipleship:
-Personal Growth & Fulfillment
-Worship
-Stewardship
-Fasting
-Prayer
-World View
-Living your Faith
-Holiness
-Self-Discipline
-Evangelism




Esteem:
-Acceptance Issues: labels, insecurities, I’m a star, Image driven society
-Psychological Issues: Hurt, Depression
-Identity & Self Worth
-Who you are in Christ
-Confidence
-Humility
-Pride
-Reputation
-Purity
-What would Jesus do?
-Authenticity
-Creativity


Relationships:
-God’s view of sex
-Dealing with difficult people
-How we relate with/to others
-How we relate to others to bring value to their lives
-Contentment in relationships
-Church family
-Family relations
-Victims
-Relating to the World: evangelism vs fortress mentality
-Dating



Life Security:
-Finances
-Fear
-Worry
-Faith
-Stability
-Emotional Security: peace, contentment
-Trust in Christ/God’s faithfulness
-Insecurity
-Rest
-Boundaries
-Security in the Home
-Abuse: Spiritual, Physical (a response to molestation), Neglect
-Authority: God’s Commands, God’s Order
-Failure


Team Theme:
-Mission, Vision, Values of EMC


Elements that can be used with any Thematic Need

Hooks:
-January, Easter and weeks following, August

Bible Book Studies:

Character Studies:

God at the Movies:

God on the Billboards:

I Love my Staff!

This past weekend we had our very first staff retreat. It was great spending time with my team and with their spouses. Friday we got lost getting to P.F. Chang's that was Jared's fault and for some reason that felt really good. I guess because it's usually me getting us lost. I should have asked Robby how to get there seeing how he has lived in Atlanta forever, but I was trying to keep it a surprise. The food was great and our waiter Michael was amazing. we then went to Barnes & Noble's and each team pastor and spouse got to buy something that would help them grow, or relax. Everything from MUTEMATH's newest cd to Andy Standley's new book Communicating for a Change was purchased.

After that we got back home and crashed. We woke everyone up in the morning with the smell of bacon and french toast ala me' (unless ""ala" means "all over me", not "by me", because that would be gross and reason enough to continue sleeping.) Anyhoo we had a nice breakfast and then began one of several work sessions throughout the day.

The session I will make mention of that I thought was just great was the one when we were brainstorming an annual thematic preaching schedule. OK so what does that mean? We desire to be very purposeful in how we are helping people grow in their faith, self-development, and relationships. To do this well we need to be sure that we are teaching to meet the needs of the total person and their roles in life. I believe a random approach to weekly teachings will fail to connect a person to the vast flow of transformational power and information found in God's Word. Preachers (my self included) have a tendency to find a niche and work that niche to the expense of not delving into other areas that help us become balanced in our faith and how that affects our lives, relationships, etc....

This past year we have been purposeful in our monthly series, but maybe not as purposeful in our major thematic blocks. Ok ,again Ross what are you talking about? I want to be sure that we hit themes that are actual needs that people face in life. On the other hand I want to be sure that year to year we have a tool that will help us when designing specific series to be sure to hit on a variety of themes so as to be speaking towards people's spiritual, physical, emotional, and social concerns.

I have been trying to think of a way to help jog our thoughts during this brainstorming session and what came to me a few days prior was to use Malsow's hierarchy of human need. This worked amazing as we began to identify and define for ourselves the needs of people that we need to speak to on an annual basis. After coming up with 6 or so major themes we then began to look at each month in the year to see when that theme would best fit. Finally when we were finished we had a thematic calendar that year to year we can design and plug series into making sure we do not lean to heavy on one side of personal development at the neglect of other needs.

Sometime soon I'll blog our discoveries and lay out our proposed thematic calendar. For now I'll just tell you a few of the thematic categories; relationships, life security, team theme (vision/purpose of emc), discipleship, etc..........

I am looking forward to using this calendar as a guide as God helps us to design teachings that will meet needs, challenge hearts, and give direction for the entire man while on their journey with God, purpose, and friends.

I'm loving this Series!

The K2 series has been great. People are discovering what they have been created for and are finding themselves beginning their own personal ascent into the life God purposes for them. Each week in the series we have added a call to action and a have designed the journey groups to further place the truth of the week deep into our lives.

The first week was "Kreated 2 Connect" and we designed the service so that we ended with a group connect. The second week was "Kreated 2 Serve" and we presented 2 opporunities to serve others in the community. This past week was an amazing Sunday as we explored "Kreated 2 Worship" What a great day of mixing worship, teaching and communion into a cohesive expression of our response to all that God is. We have two more K2's and then on Nov. 19th we will celebrate all that God has done in our lives through worship and our personal stories. Following the 19th's emc experience we will be borrowing a local church's baptismal and rec space for a baptism and party.

I can't wait to hear what God is doing in the lives our emc-ers. One thing that I am seeing is how many new people are connecting in Journey Groups and serving God through the ministries at the embassy. Both community events that we served at; Woodstock Family Fall Fest & Woodstock Kid's Fest were being accomplished by many who had never done anything like that before. Thanks for stepping out and making a difference.

I'm lovin' this series, and I'm lovin' what God is doing at the embassy!

Great Time Had By All

Well the family reunion was really nice. Amie saw people she had only seen once in her life and our kids met cousins they never knew they had. Amie's Grandma Vonnie is from the Lewis family of Calhoun, GA. Amie's second cousin lives on 500 acres of land that was absolutely beautiful. It was great to see livestock...don't see much of that around Metro Atlanta.

I can't remember all the names of the people we met, but her cousin Donna was such a sweetie and we look forward to knowing them better. She invited us up anytime and I do believe we'll take her up on that invitation. Amie's other cousin Marie and her husband Chuck were great too as they showed us around their place a few miles from Donna's.

We found out that Amie has a cousin named John that lives in the North West Cherokee County. He serves as an officer in the Canton Police force. We can't wait to get him down for dinner. What a great guy.

Another thing to note about the day is that Amie comes from a long line of beautiful women. I've always known her grandmother and mom were fine looking women and to be at the reunion we saw that was a trait that runs clean through all branches of the Lewis tree. Now if you're one of the men in the family I am sorry to say........ya'll ugly. Just kiddin' What a fine family you all are, and thanks for making us feel right at home.

They're Here

The in laws have arrived. Amie's mom, dad, g-ma, and bro have all come for the weekend. Who knew her grandmother's people are from Calhoun, GA so on Saturday we have a Family reunion. I told the girls if there are any cute boys to remember they are your cousins and this is Georgia not Alabama. Ha! No thank God my girls are years away from dating, but I couldn't resist a family reunion joke. Well anyhoo we're lookin' forward to meeting family we never knew we had. Especially that they are so close seeing that we moved 650 miles from home.

K2 Group Connect Big Success!

Two weeks ago we launched our K2 series. This past week we looked at how God has "Kreated us 2 Connect". We examined the subject of relationships and encouraged each other to evaluate which relationships in our lives need nurtured, restored, severed, and initiated. We took a bit of a risk, but I think it paid off. Instead of having worship we began the service with a greeting, went right into a video roll-in for the teaching, and then I spoke. we have done this before and flipped worship to the end of the experience. This time we dismissed everyone to the foyer to connect with the the Journey Group of their choice. For many this will be the first time they have initiated this type of relationship.

The past couple of weeks we promo-ed the event, but didn't tell people it would actually be a part of the service. By the looks of everything we had a great day and a definite win as many of our new emc-ers began to connect with others in this setting. We tried this approach because we wanted to communicate how important we feel it is to journey through life with others.

New Series

This Sunday we will introduce our new series. Then the next 5 weeks we will look at 5 trail markers that will help guide you in your ascent to gain a better view of what the purpose of life is all about. One thing that excites me about this series is, it's tie into the Journey Groups. For the five weeks of this series all the Journey Groups will be discussing the same topics weekly further instilling the trail marker of the week.
Come be a part of the expedition and begin your ascent this week.