• We concluded our series The Vow (LifeChurch) with The Vow of Purity:
  • We hide the things we are ashamed of.
  • The only way to deal with darkness is to bring it into the light.
  • Where secrets live, intimacy dies.
  • Where intimacy lives, secrets die.
• The new building is working out great!
• Still have a few things to do, but we are fully functional.
• Excited about starting “The Story” this Sunday. Click here to send an e-vite.
• All the messages are online from this series and you can watch them here.

Here are some thoughts from Sunday’s service at Revolution Church:

• Continued our series The Vow (from LifeChurch) dealing with relationships.
  • Dealt with the Vow of Partnership: I promise our marriage will be about “WE” and not “ME”.
  • Marriage is a covenant, not a contract.
  • Contracts are based on mutual distrust.
  • Covenants are based on mutual commitment.
  • We have to take leaving off the table.
  • Covenant partnership includes godly leadership and mutual submission.
• We held our first morning service and our first service in our new facility. I will post some pictures soon.
• The service had a completely different feel – in a good way!
• It was awesome to be able to hang out and engage in conversations without worrying about the set up and equipment.
• There were approximately 25 different people who spent roughly 300-350 man hours to make the facility ready for Sunday.
• We have our services online now. You can view them at www.revolutiononline.cc.
• The final week of the series is this Sunday! You don’t want to miss it as we make The Vow of Purity together.

Great time at Revolution last night. Here are some thoughts:

• Week 2 of The Vow series (from LifeChurch) as we looked at the Vow of Pursuit.
• We tend to pursue things we don’t have.
• It’s slightly uncomfortable talking about sex with your 13 year old daughter listening.
• I’d rather be a little uncomfortable and have her appreciate a healthy respect and proper view of sex within marriage than fail to man up and ignore the tough talk.
• If you don’t like what you are getting from a relationship, look at what you’re giving!
• More often than not, we’re the ones that need to change something rather than focusing on what our spouse needs to change.

This was our last week at the Hilton. We have our own space at 220 Howe St and we are moving our services to Sunday mornings at 10:30!

I am SO EXCITED about this move! I am planning on another post with the details on the new space if time allows this week. We will be working on getting the new space ready every night this week, so if you’re not already signed up to volunteer, come join us!

We started a new series (from LifeChurch) Sunday called “The Vow” focusing on relationships. I am deeply burdened for marriages, both present and future, in this day that we’re living where 1/2 will end in divorce.

Here are some thoughts:

• God is my #1 priority and my spouse is #2.
• Divorce is not God’s plan, but it is not the end of the world either. God is a God of Grace and he can redeem relationships a give new starts.
• Most men are willing to die for their wives, but they are reluctant to do a load of laundry or wash a dish!
• Your spouse comes before your children.
• Your spouse comes before your job.
• Your spouse comes before your ministry.
• Our schedules are the greatest reflection of our priorities.

This is a great series to invite new people to ‘come and see‘. Visit www.revolutiononline.cc to send an e-vite.

It’s been a while since I posted an update (that whole bi-vocational thing and all)! Here’s some exciting stuff from Revolution Church.

• We finished our “Concealed Weapons” series last week and there are two things going on as a result of that:
  • I challenged everyone who was willing to join in a 21 day partial fast to seek God’s direction on a more permanent location and for a partner in ministry. This is known as the Daniel Fast and you can get more info on it here.
  • Last week I also challenged everyone who was willing to join in reading through the Bible in 90 days! It’s a huge challenge and difficult at best. The reading takes approximately 30-40 minutes each day. Here is a great resource for this challenge.
• Last night, I spent some time casting vision!
• Revolution Church is taking any necessary measures to lead disconnected people to abundant life in Christ!
• I also shared some BIG NEWS last night! Beginning November 29, we will be meeting in our own space!
  • We will still be renting, but this will be our space full time which will eliminate the early load in and late load out required as a portable church.
  • The location is GREAT! We will be situated downtown not far from The Drive’s ballpark and near the Greenville County offices.
  • This will also provide office space and a location for our band to practice on a regular schedule.
• I will share more details on this in the coming days.

I believe the best days for The Church at large and for Revolution Church are just ahead. Greater thing are yet to come in this city! We give God all the credit and glory for everything that He is doing!

Don’t miss it! Copy this link: http://wp.me/p5XPo-g2 to forward to your friends.

Last night was a pretty cool evening (no pun intended). We decided to hold a service at the park before it got too cold (might have been a little late on that)!  I am really excited about starting our new “Concealed Weapons” series this week at Revolution.

It was a great evening and it allowed our people to really connect and share each other’s stories…which was good since that was the topic of our discussion.

We all have a story to tell. Some are writing great stories and others bad ones. The truth is though, most of us are just writing stories of mediocrity. God’s not absent from our lives, but there are no grand strokes either.  We are perceptionally challenged.  We view these stories as OUR stories, when they are only a small piece of a much grander mosaic God is constructing.  It’s really HIS story…and we have been invited to be a part!

What’s your story?

Some thoughts from Sunday night:

• Finished Junk in the Trunk and we shared the gospel.
• The biggest thing that holds people back is we are trying to fix our problems without Jesus!
• Forgiving people, dealing with sin, overcoming our past – these are all useless without the main thing: Jesus!
• Some highlights from the message: (Matt 13 & 7)
  • You can’t tell a believer from an unbeliever by looking at the outside.
  • Good deeds without Jesus are worthless in Eternity. There are no browny points in Hell.
  • At judgment, some people will be surprised. There will be people who think they are going to Heaven but don’t know Jesus.
  • Knowing who Jesus is does not equate to knowing HIM!
  • Only people who are 100% righteous get into Heaven…Jesus is the only way to be 100% righteous.
  • The good news is…He has already done the work!
  • You should be able to remember the time you met Jesus.
• Tonight was the first time I was able to step out of worship. Chad Smith is doing an incredible job leading worship! So pumped about the band!!!
• Shared a video from Zach and Noelle Slagel who left Saturday from a 2 1/2 week Vision Trip to several stops in Asia as they seek clarity on where God is sending them. Will say more about that this week.
• May have a surprise for next week’s service when we kick off our new series: “Concealed Weapons” dealing with Spiritual Warfare. More to come!
• Bring somebody next week!

That’s all for now.

Here are some thoughts from Sunday’s service at Revolution Church:

• Continued Junk In The Trunk series and we dealt with “My Past“
• I shared some personal details about my own struggle with my past.
• Some points from the message:
  • Satan loves to use our past because there’s nothing we can do about it…it’s in the past.
  • When we say “I know God can forgive me, but I can’t forgive myself” we make our standard higher than God’s!
  • You can’t fully embrace the forgiveness of God until you forgive yourself.
  • God used a jack-ass when He needed to get the job done, so He will most certainly use you if it suits His purpose!
  • You say “I’ve let God down”. God says “You were never holding Me up“!
• Presenting the gospel next week and we really want a full house. Offered a prize (80G iPod) to the person who brings the most people. Minimum of 5 people required.
• Had lots of time to spare today after load in. Thinking about moving the drop time for the trailer forward 30 minutes.
• My brother was at Revolution Sunday. I am so glad he’s home. I think God has something big planned for him. Praying he embraces it!
• Excited about Catalyst this week!!! I have never been to this conference before. Thanks to the generosity of a friend, I am getting to go!  AWESOME!
• I am still feeling pretty rough with this flu stuff.

I’m tired. Going to grab a little couch time with Tab before bedtime. Night!

Some thoughts from Sunday:

• Continued our Junk in the Trunk series and looked at “Secret Sins” this week.
• Thought from the message:
  • Our sin is a big deal to God
  • We can’t make the argument that no one else gets hurt.
  • You can reach a point in life through disobedience that God will pass you by. Moses missed the Promised Land, David missed the Temple, and Judas missed the Church.
• Really anticipating next week as we cover “My Past” and the issues that weigh us down.
• I am going to share some intensely personal stuff from my past and my journey with God.
• Our set up crew rocked it last night!!! First time ever we did sound check in 90 minutes from the trailer doors opening.
• I love Revolution Church with all my heart and am so humbled that God picked me to be a part of this!
• As I said during the message, I believe God is forming a core that will be willing to storm the gates of Hell wearing nothing but our underwear and armed with tiny water pistols!

That’s all for now…

Great night at Revoution! Here are some thoughts before bed:

• Kicked off our “Junk in the Trunk” series. This series is dealing with the “junk” in our lives that keeps us from experiencing the abundant life Jesus offers.
• Tonight we talked about forgiveness.
• Joseph was a dude that went through some JUNK! His life and pattern of forgiveness is an amazing example.
• Some thoughts from the message:
  • The hardest part of forgiveness is forgiving when you did nothing wrong.
  • Forgiveness is an action that occurs in the heart regardless of the repentance of the other person.
  • Forgiveness doesn’t mean you condone the actions of the other person.
  • How can we embrace the forgiveness of Christ and fail to forgive others?
• We concluded the service with communion.  It was pretty awesome to serve communion to my parents.
• I can’t wait for next week. It should be REALLY tense!  We are talking about “Secret Sins“.
• I asked everyone in the service to invite 5 people next week. Really burdened for the city and this series. I believe the Kingdom could advance in a HUGE way if the Church could simply shed some of the baggage that weighs us down!

OK…now to try and wind down from the evening. 5:40 comes early!  Night.

Great night at Revolution Sunday! Here are some thoughts from the day:

• Completely honored by the guests we had!
• 2 pastors came to show their support and brought people. Awesome to see unity in the Body of Christ!
• Generosity is one of the toughest areas to preach on because people think you only want their money.
• Still, I would rather have a core group of people who are sold out to the vision of the church with not just their lips but their hearts too – and our hearts follow our money!
• That’s the kind of people you want to wage war with!!!
• So FIRED UP about our next series “Junk In The Trunk”! We are going to deal with several things that hold us back from experiencing the abundant life Jesus offers.
• Next week we are going to deal with the issue of unforgiveness and the spiritual train wreck that flows from it.
• Visited our friend at Radiant Church for their launch Sunday morning.

This is going to be a series you don’t want to miss…get people there. So many people fail to experience the abundant life Jesus offers because of the junk we carry around in our lives. Come and hear how to be set free!

Here’s a late recap of my thoughts from yesterday’s service:

• Had several new faces that had never attended before!
• Our set-up and tear down times are getting better. That’s good news with weekly services starting in 3 weeks.  Josh Wyatt (and that crew) is THE MAN (or the men)!
• The Hilton has confirmed our rate through November!!
• Yes, I said the closest thing to “foot washing” in our culture is “wiping hinnies”. You have to get that image to understand the humility Jesus demonstrated.
• Announced our new service time for 6pm on Sundays beginning Sep 13!
• We kick off our next series “Junk in the Trunk” on September 20th.  It’s going to be awesome!

Can’t wait to go weekly!!!  Really focusing on getting people with junk in their lives and their past to this next series.  There are so many people who are held back from the abundant life Jesus offers.  Get people to this series!!!

Here are some reflections about last night:

• Had a good bounce in attendance from Aug 2
• We really tested our spontaneous flexibility: (different room, different configuration, dance floor in the room)
• Our volunteers are awesome!
• Josh Wyatt is a machine! He does the work of 10 men!
• Worship was incredible! Tyler Beemer and the boys rocked the house last night!
• Talked about authenticity. The world would pay attention if we lived like we believe.
• Yes, Kenny Rogers was my real childhood music hero.
• Next service is August 23 and we are looking at honor.
• I am SO GLAD we are doing these preview services. If you haven’t been, I hope you can plan on being at our Aug 23 or Sept 13 date. We start weekly services September 20.

Here are some highlights from last nights service:

• We started our Core Values series and looked at audacity.
• Jesus lived life with audacity – with complete boldness and a disregard for personal safety or conventional thought!
• We had some new faces!
• A couple showed up who heard about us on the radio! I was not aware we were on the radio!
• Lots of people on vacation, but our Revolutionary Volunteers stepped up big in every area. God has melted my heart to these awesome individuals already! So thankful for the people I serve with.
• I preached and led worship last night…started losing my voice about 2/3 through the message! Praying that God delivers the worship leader(s) He’s calling to Revolution soon!
• Can’t thank the Hilton enough. They are great to work with and have been very willing to negotiate with us!
• We have a “wish list” for the children’s area posted on the web site that links to our registry at Target.
• We have two specific needs we are trying to raise funds for immediately:
  • Enclosed 6X10 trailer – $500
  • Upgrades to sound equipment – $7500
• Can’t wait until our next service on August 2! We are going to be talking about authenticity.

Our 1st Preview Service is in the bag and I am jacked about our results!

• We had pretty strong attendance for our first service.
• My best guess is somewhere between 25-30% of the attendees were a direct result of social media (Facebook and Twitter)
• Our volunteer force was amazing! Somewhere around 45-50 volunteers!
• Radiant Church sent 10 of their people to serve. They are a new church plant in Greenville too. This is the Body of Christ in action! I love to see churches working to expand The Church!!!
• Our #1 goal for this event was to expand our core team. God blew our minds and almost tripled the size of our core group. AMAZING!
• I shared the vision of Revolution Church last night: Taking any necessary measures to lead disconnected people to abundant life in Christ!
• Already getting pumped about our next Preview Service on July 12! Can’t wait for that!
• I am going to share our core values on July 12: Audacity, Authenticity, Honor, and Generosity.
• Spread the word!

Thanks for the prayers and support!