Happy Birthday CRYSTAL!!!

Today is the birthday of my amazing wife, Crystal. 25 years ago today she came into this world and the earth became more beautiful than it had ever been before. 

We had a little party last night before her birthday. It was a surpirse. Today was a crazy fun day all for her. 

I love my wife... she's the BEST! Happy Birthday, Crystal!

"If I were president" = what would YOU do?

Rusty finds all the cool stuff on the internet. Especially videos... every day he's got something cool to show me. This is his latest find. There are tons of these "If I were president" videos at the website he showed me. A lot of pretty funny stuff.

This one was my favorite though = all of you won't like all the ideas, but it will make you laugh & smile. Might even make your day!

So, that was Mos Def & what he would do if he were president. He's a really good actor. Will possibly be a great actor one day. He's awesome in what I've seen him in. Would he be a good president? who knows... but you saw what he would do if he were.

(maybe I'll write what I would do soon... or make my own video.)

Now it's YOUR TURN. 

What would YOU do if YOU were president???

halloween in Upstreet

Sunday was Halloween in Upstreet. Below is a pic of Jack Sparrow, Joe Dirt, and Duct Tape Man all on stage during the production... what an unlikely (but amazing) cast! ["Zac Efron" also made a guest appearance...]

did I mention I love my job? All the kids were decked out in their full Halloween gear... pretty awesome day as we closed out a full month on Determination. So proud to be work with the amazing Upstreet team to create some irresistible environments, vital relationships & unforgettable moments in children's lives!

FEAR

FEAR. Everyone has experienced it at some point. Everyone has certain fears. There is A LOT of fear right now in our country because of the economy for sure! People are freaking out because of their jobs, 401Ks & investments! People are driven by fear. People make decisions based on fear.

FEAR is the hot topic at Ridge the next 2 weeks. this series is gonna be off the hizzie!!! You cannot miss it. If you live in the Charlotte area you need to be at the Levine Center in Matthews the next 2 Sundays at 11AM. You won't regret it. or are you afraid???

family birthday celebration interviews (i love my job!)

A lot of people at work sit in a cubicle and crunch numbers, or serve food, or deliver babies like my wife. My job is the coolest of any job on earth!

You can catch up on what we did for our Family Birthday Celebration HERE and HERE. It was an amazing night and we got to throw a party and celebrate the spiritual birthdays of kids who we baptized that night! 

But for a week or 2 before our Family Birthday Celebration... I was in the office shooting these videos! You will have to laugh at this!

I love the kids that God allows us to influence at Ridge Church and I love being able to see God do amazing things in their lives. we obviously have A LOT of fun too. hope you enjoyed the video.

tired...

Have you ever worked so hard that you were just completely spent and exhausted? You know what I'm talking about right? TIRED (kind of a weird word if you think about it...)

Well, I am currently too tired to write a blog tonight! I have SO MUCH to write about but literally don't have the physical or mental energy to publish it here. I need a sabbath!

so, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow to read something soul-stirring & brain wave-instigating. I'll be recharged soon & all this stuff built up inside of me is gonna flow...

furtick's talk @ catalyst 08 (catalyst part 3)

[FSU just won again... I think we're on the rise finally. next year we'll definitely be back!]

[catch up on what I'm writing about HERE]

really the 2nd talk was jim collins, but it was probably the "pimpest" (yes it's a word... adjective in fact) of the whole conference & may take 2 blog posts, so I need more time to unpack it.

Pretty cool to have Steven Furtick on the main stage @ Catalyst... lead pastor of Elevation Church & representin' Charlotte, NC at THE premiere leadership conference! You can read my thoughts on Elevation HERE.

Steven REALLY brought it... he seriously brought the house down. tons of passion, a little yelling, and definitely lots of laughs. The guy is just an excellent communicator. At one point he used the phrase "Andy-freaking-Stanley" = everybody laughed.

His talk was meant to be extremely encouraging to everyone & he called it "From the Promise to the Payoff". 

-  he said "The space between the Promise and the Payoff is the [often painful] PROCESS."

some other good quotes from the talk:

-  "we must keep our VISION in sight when there's nothing to see."

-  "God is preparing you for what He's preparing for you." [you follow that?]

-  "We all know there's got to be more to life than 401Ks and buying a boat one day." 

= yeah, you're dang skippy, Steven. There's way more to life than that stuff! how in the WORLD did pastors & leaders ever start getting bogged down with that crap!?!? that pursuit of stuff is killing the mission while we're still in the process... before we get to the payoff.

*So, most of us are still in that PAINFUL PROCESS between the PROMISE [what God promised He would do] and the PAYOFF [the culmination of that promise]. So we've GOTTA stick with it. stay on mission. don't give up. 

Because it's so worth it in the end... 

beats a boat & a 401K any day... guaranteed.

andy's 1st talk @ catalyst

that's right, andy is the only guy who gets 2 talks at Catalyst! he's that big of a pimp. you can read more of my thoughts on him HERE. [if you're wondering what Catalyst is and why I'm writing about it read HERE.]

*also, this talk is adapted from the 2nd talk in the series we are doing currently at Ridge = Letters to the Next President. You can listen to the 1st 2 talks HERE. Also, come check out part 3 this Sunday @ Ridge in the Levine Center at 11AM.

OK, now for my takeaways. [remember, these are my unfiltered takeaways and thoughts on what he said.]

-  "Moral Authority is what we gain as a leader. It's when people see alignment between our creed and deeds... between what we say and do."

-  This enables the people to be able to say "I don't necessarily believe what you say but I believe you really believe it."

-  good reminder = "Everybody at the end of the day is really a volunteer." - because employees can quit.

*** If my words and actions don't align I CANNOT lead people!

3 specific areas in which we as leaders MUST have moral authority:

1 - Forgiveness = this is definitely the 1 area where we as the church should nail it! we MUST have moral authority here! [we of all people should "get" this & live it! Forgiveness IS our messsage.]

2 - Family = don't lose moral authority here! DON'T ever let my wife feel like the Church is my mistress! If she "feels" neglected then I'm part of the problem! Then I have no moral authority in that area anymore.

-  ***This was a crazy awesome quote that Andy said that is SUCH a great word for all of us to remember! = *** "1 day there will be another pastor of NPCC. I'm the only dad my kids will ever get."

3 - Finances = if you work in ministry "every dollar you ever get in your paycheck is what somebody GAVE." ***So, I can't fundraise with any moral authority unless I've got my financial junk in order.

People's question will always be = "Does he really believe/do what he's asking me to do?" If we have moral authority in that area then their answer will be yes.

*Honestly if I had to sum it up in one simple CLICHE it would be to "practice what you preach!" because who really wants to listen to us as leaders if they don't believe we REALLY believe it. Moral authority is something we must EARN... and like Andy said, we cannot lead with out it!

impromptu GOD meeting at the office

we, at Ridge Church, are all about God's fame exploding in this city and we get pretty ticked at the thought of anything standing in our way.

Today Chris (our lead pastor) walked into the office while we were all working away at our desks... it was like any other normal day. Chris said we needed to pray for God to move & do something in our Church & our city that only God can do. so we did...

...and God showed up. It was intense. it was powerful. there were tears. we were on our faces. We BEGGED God to do WHATEVER it takes to get glory from us & to use us to make HIS NAME famous in this city.

We were broken for the faces, the individuals, the souls in this city who have no satisfaction because they don't know God. Our hearts LONG for them to experience what we've experienced. We begged God to move in a way only He can move and to capture their hearts and capture their worship. They are missing out. We asked Him to continue to break our hearts for each individual person we see... we want our hearts to stay broken until this entire city is a worshipping frenzy of people whose lives have been radically changed by a Savior, a King who loves them with a radical love & WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO SEE HIS GLORY TAKE OVER THIS CITY!!!

We begged God to use us to do that. We begged God to ignite our passion even more & we are determined to let nothing stop us in our pursuit of His mission. not a suffering economy, not fear, not the enemy... nothing.

Today was an amazing day. 4 guys in an office begging, hoping, and believing God to do something through us that is extraordinary for His name's sake! so stoked to be part of seeing that happen!!!

what is CATALYST anyway?

Ok, I'm back to blogging now... the Ridge team was at Catalyst last week and I had no time to write. Now that I'm back at it there has been a LOT of catching up to do as all of you know when returning from a trip!

Many of you I saw at Catalyst and gave you a big hug. We even broke some world records together! Many of you are jealous that you missed out on an amazing week. But there are still some of you who have no idea what Catalyst is. This is for you...

Catalyst is THE Premiere leadership conference in the country... hands down (whatever "hands down" means). It is about 10 years old and is touted as the conference for "NEXT GENERATION LEADERS". So, it started with mainly pastors in their 20s and 30s, but now has morphed into a huge gathering of ministry AND business leaders in their 20s AS WELL AS their 50s.

Last year was my 1st year and it blew me away. By far the best thing you could go to [besides probably a Passion gathering, but they're totally different things, so can't really be compared...] This year did not disappoint. every bit as great!

***I was overwhelmed and challenged and stretched and renewed during my time at Catalyst! I have SO many takeaways. Stuff I am still thinking through! So, I figured why not think through it and flesh it out right here with you guys at renown? Any good reasons why I shouldn't? no?well OK then... that's what I'll do. 

Be looking out over the next days and probably even weeks [like I said a TON of takeaways] as I will be writing and thinking out loud about the hundreds of takeaways I was challenged with at the Catalyst Conference = T08GETHER [took me like a day to figure that out... I also had way too much info flowing through my ADD-riddled brain.]

Now, I'm just going to give you a sneak peak of what you'll be reading in the coming week or so... An introduction of the lineup if you will. Who were the great minds who shaped my thinking last week? Drumroll please...

Andy Stanley - lead pastor, North Point Community Church. Pretty much the resident pimp of Catalyst. He leads off with a talk and ends Catalyst with a talk. The only guy who gets 2 talks. He seems to be the "Dad" figure a little bit. [Catalyst actually began on the campus of NPCC] [Andy also happens to be one of our teaching pastors at Ridge Church & the guy who's the pastor of the church we were planted by & are in strategic partnership with]

William Paul Young - author of the #1 best-selling book for 24 weeks in a row, The Shack.

Jim Collins - author of the great bestseller Good to Great and Built to Last. He is basically THE business GURU. The research King. This was the 1st time he had ever spoken to a Christian audience... His was probably my favorite talk of the week! Can't wait to unpack that one with you!

Steven Furtick - lead pastor, Elevation Church = right here in Charlotte, NC. actually it is the 2nd fastest growing church in the country! We have a great relationship with these guys, pray for them, and cheer for them. Steven is a very gifted communicator and tore it up with his 20 minute talk. Even got a standing O.

Brenda Salter McNeil - author, and leader for racial and ethnic reconciliation.

Seth Godin - Marketing Expert/Guru/King & best-selling author of Purple Cow & The Dip & 9 other best-sellers. He was also the VP of marketing at Yahoo! I'm pretty sure he has THE most popular marketing/business blog. To sum it up in 1 word, the guy is a GENIUS! Can't wait to unpack his talk.

Craig Groeschel - Lead Pastor, LifeChurch.tv & Author of one of my all time fav books Chazown. 

Tim Sanders - Former CSO of Yahoo! & best-selling author of a whole ton of books. really smart guy, but unfortunately we decided to sleep in the morning of his talk... so nothing to share with you from Tim. just go check out his website though.

Dave Ramsey - Our HERO! best-selling author & Host of the #2 radio show in the nation! + Host of The Dave Ramsey Show on the Fox Business Channel. The Total Money Makeover has totally reshaped our financial lives in the last year!!! We LOVE this guy!

Franklin Graham - Billy's son, President & CEO, Samaritan's Purse. Speaking & accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award for Billy Graham who was to sick to be with us. That would have been crazy cool.

Andy Crouch - Director of the Christian Vision Project (of Christianity Today) and author of Culture Making. Great stuff on culture!

Matt Chandler - lead pastor, The Village Church in Dallas. Also 1 of the fastest growing churches in America & part of the Acts 29 network.

The peeps leading us in worship were basically the North Point band & worship leaders = Steve Fee, Kristian Stanfill, Chrystina Fincher, Candi Pearson Shelton, and Eddie Kirkland.

Jon Foreman (the lead singer of SWITCHFOOT) also stopped by for a couple mini concerts.

The incredibly funny Lanny Donoho & his "sidekick" Reggie Joiner were again our hosts along with an appearance from Jeff Foxworthy.

OK, so I'm going to try to post some takeaways EVERY DAY for the next several days... until I'm done posting them. But remember, I have severe ADD, so I may start writing about other stuff and then come back...

catalyst was pimp...

back on the road, headed home from catalyst. It was amazing, as expected. No time to post though, i just stopped for gas. But i have so so SO many takeaways that i will be posting here in the coming days and weeks. 

Be on the lookout for some KILLER good takeaways from some amazing talks. like i said... it was pimp.

at catalyst...

we're at catalyst finally...

you'll be hearing A LOT more about it. no doubt.

Crystal wins her 1st 5K!!!

My bad, I meant Crystal RAN her 1st 5K!

That's pretty huge though and I'm really excited and proud of my awesome wife!

She ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure which is a 5K that this organization takes across the country to high profile cities like NYC, etc... It's an organization that is fully committed to curing breast cancer.

Crystal was really excited about this because her grandmother ("Nana") has been free of breast cancer for the last couple years after her surgery. She's all about supporting breast cancer research, especially if she can do it in honor of her Nana.

So, that's exactly what she did. You could run "in celebration" of someone which I thought was pretty cool. They put that person's name you're running for right on the placard on your shirt as you run. I also saw some men who were running "in Memory my wife Julia" or something like that. That was pretty sad to see, but cool that they were out trying to raise money so that other families don't have to experience the same tragedy they did.

Now she wants to run another charity 5K this month! It's not really my favorite thing to do early on a Saturday morning - get up at 7AM and take my wife to a race and then wait for her to finish. BUT, I am SO proud of her for deciding to do something and then having the determination to train for it and finish it! + for a great cause. Awesome job, Crystal!

Determination in Upstreet

This is the video for all you amazing Upstreet volunteers at Ridge Church. You guys rock. Below is the video for you to check out to give you the info on what's goin' down in Upstreet this month. It's all about Determination. It's gonna be awesome - all because of you guys!

Thanks for your investment in the lives of these awesome kids! I can't wait to see what God does through you all this month.

1 more funny quote (a political conversation)

I've got add this as a followup to my "Quotes of the Week" that I posted on Tuesday. I just thought this one deserved its very own post!

Ok, this should make you laugh. It made me laugh and made me feel better about my political ignorance... One of my best friends Ethan was here in Charlotte last weekend & we hung out & grabbed some lunch at The Fox and the Hound. We were watching some football & eating some wings & philly cheese steak when a commercial for either Obama or McCain (can't remember which) came on the massive screens...

Me:   "So, Ethan, who you gonna vote for? Or are you gonna vote?"

Ethan: "I'm not sure yet. I still want to find out what all the other candidates say about the issues."

Me: "What other candidates?"

Ethan: "You know, all the other guys besides the main 2, Obama & McCain. I want to learn what they're about before I vote."

Me: "Dude, there's only 2."

Ethan: "I know there's only 2 big name guys, but I want to give all those other guys who are running for president a fair shake."

Me: "There are no other guys. They're the only 2!"

Ethan: "So you're telling me that when I go to the polls to vote in November that there will only be 2 guys to vote for?"

Me: "YES."

Now I don't feel so bad about my lack of political knowledge.

haha... reason #5 driscoll loves piper (a funny video)

So, today is the 1st day of October... my wife's favorite month (because it's her birthday on the 30th... 1 day before halloween... 1 day from a witch. haha.)

you can read the previous post about this Driscoll loving Piper HERE.

if you know Piper you need to check this out... it will make you chuckle. Enjoy...

quotes of the week #4

These are my top quotes of the week. Read what "Quotes of the Week" are HERE. enjoy...

“Love without courage and wisdom is sentimentality, as with the ordinary church member. Courage without love and wisdom is foolhardiness, as with the ordinary soldier. Wisdom without love and courage is cowardice, as with the ordinary intellectual. But the one who has love, courage, and wisdom MOVES THE WORLD.” – Ammon Hennacy [Catholic activist, 1893 – 1970]

"The Gospel is seeing that I am more flawed and sinful than I ever dared believe, but that I am even more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope." | Dr. Timothy J. Keller [pastor of Reedemer Pres. in NYC]

“Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose.” – Andy Stanley [lead pastor of our planting/partner church NPCC. From his book - Visioneering]

The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.” – Herbert Spencer

“God Himself, sir, does not propose to judge man until the end of his days.” Why should you and I?" - Samuel Johnson [This is such an awesome quote & one that we all (especially Christians) need to remember!!!]

“Truth and meaning for Christianity lie with the narrative before it is expressed in the doctrinal form. Christian theology, then, should not be primarily rational-propositional in form, even though it usually is, especially among evangelicals. Its primary task ought to be to explore and proclaim the Christian story, which is what gives meaning to doctrines in the first place. Theology exists to serve the story and not the other way around.” – Clark Pinnock [The old Theologian who is always a pioneer into what's "next" in Theology... he said this back in 1990 & it's SO TRUE!!! I wish all the younger leading theologians who are writing the "Systematic Theologies" would take a hint from this "old guy".]

“I asked myself ‘Who is more likely to screw up my 1 and only life – me, or God?’” – Bill Hybels [what he asked himself when reluctant to leave a successful business career to start Willow Creek. WOW... I listened to him say this in a sermon recently on my iPod while mowing my yard. I actually stopped the lawnmower & texted that to myself. That's good stuff. Thanks for letting choosing wisely, Bill.]

“I left the think tank, as it were, to form a do tank.” – Douglas Johnston

“He who thinks he leads and has no one following is only taking a walk.” – John Maxwell [pretty much THE leadership Guru...]

“They [certain postmodern unbelievers] had no interest in what my beliefs did for me after I died, they wanted to know what my beliefs did for others while I was here.” – Shane Hipps [author of a VERY VERY intriguing book I'm reading right now titled The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture.]

[My favorite Coach ever of my favorite college football team ever has 3 leadership principles he tries to instill in every player] – “Integrity, passion, and courage of conviction.” – Bobby Bowden

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” - MLK

“When Donald Trump becomes the poster boy for second chances and the church is viewed as a place of judgment… we have serious problems.” – Mike Foster [pimp & creator of XXXChurch, Ethur, Deadly Viper, etc...]

"May we find the Way, the Truth, and the Life

in a world of shortcuts, deception, and death." - Shane Claiborne [this guy is awesome & I enjoy reading his stuff & especially hearing him speak - he's the only hippie from East Tennessee I've ever heard and he talks like a crazy hick but is crazy smart...]

WHICH is your favorite quote? Which quote do you HATE? what do these make you think?

life...

life is short. is that a cliche? not sure how else to say it? life, for some peeps, don't last as long as we expect. we take it for granted.

life IS short.

death makes me sick on my stomach. it hurts. I don't think we can really comprehend it. our human perspectives are too small. but to put it "humanly", death sucks.

i love life. I want to live it to the fullest. I was reminded of that today. I want to do a whole lot MORE to bring fame to Jesus. but if somehow I can make Jesus more famous in death... then bring it on. that's all life's about anyway.

but as long as I've got life... I'm livin' it all out.

death hurts me. it hurts that a person can stop existing on earth. i can't understand it. i don't think any of us really can.

but i know there's a girl who acted a lot like Jesus would act & we won't ever talk to her again in life. that's hard to understand. i hope her death makes Jesus famous. we miss her though. & it hurts. because life is short.

driscoll on piper

I read a blog this week I thought some of you might wanna read. It's a little bit similar to an article I wrote earlier in the year about Piper HERE.

One of my fav pastors & speakers is Mark Driscoll & he's all about Piper. They're homeboys too. He wrote a blog called "Why I Love John Piper." Pretty good read. I like it. Especially reason #4 = "By not trying to be cool... he's cool." I DEFINITELY resonate with Driscoll betting that Piper's only got 1 jacket. It's this ugly tweed blue one he wears all the time... every time he was at Passion for the last 10 years anyway.

Read Driscoll's blog HERE. 

And make sure you watch the video interview with Piper. it's pretty cool. Piper mentions the college his dad went to! I almost choked on my orange juice! really good interview though... I love watching these 2 guys talk.

"are you guys in a rock band?"

That's a pretty familiar question for us these days = "Are you guys in a rock band?"

I've never been hanging with the church staff before & people ask us if we're "on tour" or if we're a band. Pretty crazy. Not usually what a bunch of "pastors" get asked. But, happens to us fairly regularly.

Coming back from ATL the last time the 4 of us guys - me, Chris, Adam, & Rusty - stopped at a Starbucks (of course). We were getting our drinks when the guy behind the counter asked "are you guys in a rock band or somethin'?"

We all looked at each other... laughed... & then were like "uh... no, we're pastors at a church." haha, fun times.

Most recently we were on a tour of Bobcats/Time Warner Cable Arena and the guy in the suit at the VIP entrance asked us "are you guys a band?" By now I was ready... "Yeah", I said "& we're playing here tonight." Without missing a beat he said "cool, what's the name of the band?" Haha... I hadn't thought this far ahead & then the other guys 'fessed up real fast & killed the whole thing before it really even got started good. Oh well, I guess that's what you'd expect from a bunch of pastors.

So, what is it about us? Melissa snapped these pics of us one day at the office to try to capture it. Of course we weren't prepared & def. didn't plan to almost all wear the same shirt so no comments about that. But, I wonder why people think this about us. What makes people look like they're in a band? Why do people always double take when we tell them we're pastors? 

What is a pastor supposed to look like? What is someone in a band supposed to look like?

***WHAT SHOULD BE THE NAME OF OUR BAND & 1ST ALBUM???***

*Oh, and the "You got no business being here" album title/tag line at the bottom of the "CD cover" at the top is what Melissa suggested for a title. Actually a pretty funny story behind this that Adam will never live down. In one of the early days of Ridge Church I had invited several peeps to come check it out & like their 1st or 2nd time they started serving! But in one of Adam's meetings in the middle of Setup... and I'm pretty sure this comment was directed toward Travis Hoeben... Adam said "And there are these guys who have no business being here!" haha... we all laughed. I knew what he meant, but I'm pretty sure everyone else was thinking he just kicked them out of church.

I started ANOTHER new book (what's a "pot book"?)

It's not secret that my ADD really kicks in when it comes to reading. I'm never reading only 1 book at a time. I'm always adding new books to read. Just look to the right in the "books i am currently reading" section (which needs to be updated, btw). Also read HERE about one of my ADD reading rampages.Anyway, really my only addiction is reading & what really gets me are new books that come out. I feel like I HAVE to read it right away. This happened recently when I was browsing through Border's and saw that Bill Hybels had written a new book. I have several other books by Hybels, but my favs are Holy Discontent & Courageous Leadership. I know he's one of the greatest leaders of our time so I got really excited about this new book!

It's titled Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs & it looked AWESOME! So I bought it. Basically it contains 76 leadership proverbs, principles... AXIOMS - straight from Hybels' experience. Each axiom is only 3-4 pages. I thought to myself "this is the PERFECT pot book!" And no, a pot book is not something I read while smoking pot. You figure it out. Needless to say, I find every opportunity I can to use my time wisely to read books. I've read several Piper books that were "pot books". It's a great practice that you should try sometime. You just read 1 section per day from your "pot book" & then before you know it you've read the whole book. You may as well start with Axiom & you can buy it HERE.

So, I should be done with Axiom in 76 days (well 72 days now since I've read the first 4 axioms over the last 4 days) & also a much better & wiser leader.

OK, next post I haven't decided if I'm gonna tell you about our "rock band" or post "quotes of the week" - we'll see how I feel.

a video that will make your day! (i promise)

This video has provided us with lots of laughter in the office over the past 3-4 weeks so I thought I would share it with all of you. I don't even know what else to say other than that you will laugh your head off at this. ENJOY!

(If you didn't make it to the "ZAP" then you didn't watch long enough!)

the homeless in charlotte & the kingdom of God... where do i fit in?

I went downtown again yesterday. My friend Todd goes every week and feeds as many homeless people as he can. He buys them all pizza from Fuel & then blesses them any other way he can, shows them love any & every way he can, we all pray for them, etc... I wrote about it another time HERE.

**It's probably one of the most raw & greatest expressions of the Kingdom of God! It's an unbelievable thing to experience. I love it! There were almost 100 homeless men & women there yesterday at College & 6th. Me & Todd had tears in our eyes. God was there... His presence filled that pizza joint crammed with "street people". Jesus was on mission at Fuel pizza. Jesus loves the homeless, He loves the poor, He loves the outcast... A lot of these homeless people are "weird" in our culture. They're definitely outcasts. His kingdom comes to Fuel every week when Todd decides to put these peoples' needs above his own comfort.

It jacks me up every time I go. I don't fork over any $. I don't even put myself out in any way. I hold the door, put the biggest smile on my face that I can (most of them have beaming smiles back at me), I give out some hugs & hand shakes & kind words, I pray for people who ask me to... but I don't really sacrifice anything - except maybe an hour of my day.

Then they all leave. it's a pretty moving sight to see almost 100 homeless people walking right past you and dispersing out into the streets of Charlotte. I stood talking to a few of them and watching the rest of them going their own ways. I started looking at each individual... wondering where she would find a spot to sleep that night... wondering if he would find something to eat the next day... wondering if ANYONE else shows love to these people... wondering if I would if I met them on the street one night and found them hungry... found Jesus hungry.

It breaks my heart. My heart literally hurts for them. I want Jesus' kingdom to come to downtown. He loves them intensely & I want to do the same. I want to do more. What can I do? What should I do?

Today I go back to my normal, comfortable, American way of life. I go to pray with some guys 1st thing in the morning. I go to the office to work. I go to lunch and get full. I go back to work the rest of the afternoon. I come home to my amazingly beautiful wife. She gives me a big hug and a kiss. We go downtown... (only blocks from where the homeless gather on Wedensdays for a free meal & hopefully a taste of the kingdom) & meet friends for Oktoberfest at my favorite restaurant, Rock Bottom Brewery. I get full again. We walk to the epicenter for Live After 5. We just chill in the beautiful weather & amazing view of the city. God did this & made all this. I'm thankful.

The sky is beautiful. HE is Glorious & I thank Him for that glory under my breath. We listen to a pretty decent band cover some 80s & 90s hits. then some Bob Marley. We walk 8 or 10 blocks back to our cars. I hold my beautiful wife's hand as we walk in the night air. She's awesome & I'm so thankful for her. We all drive back to our house we've been blessed with. It's way bigger & nicer than we need and full of free furniture. The girls do some girly stuff upstairs while us guys go down to the basement & watch the football game & shoot some pool. Me & Myrick talk a little about some books, Sproul, Driscoll, & McLaren... Then we start the all night poker game. We talk about life. Kooter Browns in FL - the best wings ever. The best movies ever. I lost $5. Shouldn't have happened... I folded my flush on a big hand... got bluffed. My wife and I are about to fall asleep in our awesomely comfortable bed...

I wonder where that guy is right now that had on the Yankees 

hat yesterday? That woman, Marie, that I prayed for yesterday... I wonder if she has found a safe place to sleep? What can I do about it all? How can I live the way of Jesus? How can I more fully bring the kingdom of God to the people of Charlotte? Shouldn't I be doing more for the poor and outcasts that Jesus loves so much?

Or was the raw community I experienced today with my friends also an expression of the kingdom of God - during the poker game, and over dinner at Oktoberfest, & listening to the guy with the bad haircut cover Everyday People. + my short experiences of awe & thankfulness for God's creation & blessings. I'm guessing those things are the way of Jesus too...

I don't know. These are just random thoughts. I'm just writing them on here like they are bouncing around in my brain. I'm just being raw & not putting up any facades. Should I feel this guilty about sitting on my leather couch while the very people I hung out with yesterday are going to sleep hungry on the steps of the library downtown? Would Jesus live with these comforts if He were here? I don't know. I'm trying to figure that out. I DO know I want to live the way of Jesus. I want to see His kingdom more fully here on earth. I want to do whatever it takes.

24 & africa... my 2 passions collide (+ a little ADD)

so, i only watch 2 shows - 24 & Prison Break. & maybe that will

turn into 3 as the jury is still out on Fringe the brand new show that totally grabbed my attention. I'm a sucker for & totally intrigued by that "fringe science" stuff & the supernatural which is possibly why i "rethinked" my views on miraculous spiritual gifts a while back. & yes "rethinked" is a word... it's the past tense of rethink - also the name of one of my fav orgs. what? did you think the past tense would be "rethought"?? - WHOA! my ADD is in high gear today. this is just a TINY, tip of the iceberg sneak peak into what my brain constantly looks like... total ADD - just be thankful i usually edit it for you here in these blogs.> so, where were we?...

OH yes, I don't watch much TV. really only 2 shows & now a possible 3rd. But I am completely enthralled by those 2. they are like the best 2 ever.

I believe that 24 is the greatest TV show EVER MADE!!! (Of course, all due respect to Friends which is also the greatest tv show ever made - & no that's not contradictory, they're just so different that you can't really compare them. they're both the greatest.) Yeah, my blood pressure rises to an unhealthy level when I watch 24. It really bugs my wife, I think. she's also an avid 24 addict but she doesn't let it jack her up like it does me. she says, "Patrick, it's just a TV show. Chill out." But, it's just SO intense! it's CRAZY intense like you wouldn't believe. surely you watch it... right? we have the seasons on DVD if you want to borrow them. i dare you to start... you won't be able to stop! guaranteed.

*I have only ever wanted to "BE" 3 people ever in my whole life. You know, like your hero, your idol. The person you wished you could BE as a kid. 

Well, my 1st started when I was maybe 7-8 until about 12. ***I wanted to be John McClane. (Not Bruce Willis mind you, but John McClane.) 7 or 8 is when I saw the 1st Die Hard with my Dad & I became a man. You know, it's like a rite of passage or something in American culture. John McClane was a freaking pimp & no one could stop him & he was always bloody & said stuff like "Yipee Ki Yay" & stuff. So, in my childhood I wanted to "BE" John McClane.

Then when I was a teenager I wanted to be Chandler Bing! He was the funniest guy in the world. I think that's maybe where I developed my sarcasm... from junior high sarcasm 101 with Chandler Bing. He had the life too - just chillin' in that recliner all day with Joey watching TV. I never missed an episode from 7th - 12th grade.

Now, in my 20s... I want to be JACK BAUER!!! THAT guy is a PIMP! he's like John McClane for the new millennium or something. Don't mess with Jack. I've seen every episode of 24... probably twice. greatest show ever made. We named our dog "Jack Bauer". I'm a 24 addict.

Needless to say I've been having withdrawals since 24 took a year off due to the writer's strike. I had to go back and watch some of the old DVDs to get my "Jack fix". Obviously I'm stoked about the NEW season that starts in January & YEAH I'm stoked about the 2 hour "prequel" in November. And yeah, I was freaking out when I saw the trailer like 6 months ago that showed who the bad guy was gonna be! = Tony freaking Almeida!!! are you kidding me!?!? Jack's best friend that got blown up with his wife the 1st episode of season 5 & then died in Jack's arms later that season. 

Now for the whole point of this ADD riddled blog = WHOAAA!!! did you see the sneak peak/preview for this season (7) after the premier encore of Fringe Sunday night? well, if you missed it, check it out below.

oh WOW! my heart was pounding & I'm still all jacked up. 24 has combined my 2 loves & 

passions = 24/Jack Bauer AND Africa/Justice for 

African kids!!! I don't know that I'll be able to contain myself. 

I LOVED Tears of the Sun & Hotel Rwanda - 2 of my fav movies on my shelf. I can't watch them much though bkuz it makes me wanna move to Africa TODAY & do whatever I can. It makes me angry to see the injustice. & now "jack" is going to stop the injustice... I guess he's gonna fight GENOCIDE & against kids being taken to be brainwashed as soldiers in the awful wars of genocide. they even say Jack is gonna be a "missionary" in Cape Town.

Crystal wasn't so sure they should be combining something as "real" as genocide & injustice in Africa with the fictional Jack Bauer... & maybe she's right. I just really hope the writers did a great job & it opens peoples' eyes to the realities of what is happening in our world. & then i hope people DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! 

who knows... maybe by the end of the season I'll have got so jacked up I'll move there & rescue some orphans myself. it's gonna happen one day & I'd prefer it to be sooner rather than later... we'll see what God decides.

haha... who knew Jack Bauer & the passion God put in me could intersect?

happy 1 year anniversary Ridge Church!

Happy Anniversary to us! WHOOOO! wow, it's so crazy to think that we've been going at this "officially" for a year! & now that I think about it - it's crazy that I've been married 3 times as long as Ridge Church has existed & I'm still a newlywed.

Here's a short video that Brian shot & Rusty made recapping our 1st ever Sunday morning worship experience + a few highlights from our 1st year. It's pretty awesome... definitely check it out!

SO SO stoked about what God is doing at Ridge. I'm pumped! stories are rolling in constantly of life change & God is getting all the props for that! That's why we started this thing. For God to use us to see lives change & spread His fame through that. I'm all about it. We'll stop at nothing to see it happen. There are so many peeps in Charlotte who are not even close to satisfied. they don't have a clue what they're missing... we're hoping to let that secret out the bag.

If you haven't been to hang out with us on a Sunday morning yet... what are you waiting for? No more excuses really, no more crazy schedules, no more senior citizen dances getting in the way... we're there EVERY sunday morning. Just another addition to the platform to help us lift up Jesus' name in this city.

louie's new church

Most people know by now that Louie Giglio is starting a church in Atlanta. I just want to say that I think that's really cool.

Our lead pastor told us that he was starting one back in like May/June. I was about to blog about it then, but Louie hadn't even made it public yet & I have GREAT respect for that man, so I figured he should at least have the privilege of making the announcement.

Well, word leaked out anyway - but he did officially announce it to the world wide web via his blog right at the end of July. Tomlin, Redman, & the Nockels are going with him to start it. That's gonna be some phat Sunday morning worship times.

I really think that God will use this church to house possibly one of the greatest movements for His fame in history. That's pretty amazing! God has definitely used Louie's ministry to influence me more than any other person! But enough from me - Go read it straight from Louie's keyboard = HERE. just go to the July 30th post.

I'm SO SO stoked to be a small part of what God is doing @ Ridge Church... but if Louie had announced this about 15 months ago when I was searching for something great to be a part of... before I knew about Ridge... well, let's just say we might be moving to Atlanta.

Pray for these guys. I really do think God is going to do something HUGE through this!

9/11 - where were YOU?

so, 7 years ago today was THE original 9/11. It was a big moment in history. I remember hearing everyone say that THIS would be one of those moments where EVERYONE would be able to tell you WHERE they were & WHAT they were doing when they heard that the planes had crashed into the twin towers. Kind of like people remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard JFK got shot or we landed on the moon, etc...

Well, I can vividly remember everything about the moment I heard about the 9/11 attacks. It was like my 3rd day of college! I had just moved away from home to start school & in a new place, etc... I had been in speech 101 when it happened so I still hadn't heard about it when I sat down in chapel at about 10AM that morning. I could still take you to the exact seat I was sitting in. I knew something was up when the V.P. walked up to the stage & I thought "this is weird... something is definitely going down." He told us about the attacks and everyone was in shock. Every TV on campus was showing videos of the planes & the towers falling. 

So, yeah, I still remember where I was and what I was doing. What about YOU?

Where were YOU & what were you doing on 9/11/2001?