Mega Map

The NY Times recently published a map of "mega-churches" across the United States.

Anyone up for South Dakota or Wyoming?

Keepin' It Shut

Here's some great advice from Steven Furtick: keep your mouth shut. Sometimes I don't handle this as well as I should, but Steven shared a great story and then had some incredible words of advice:

Ever since I gave my life to Christ as a 16 year old, I tried to remain devoutly committed to the sacred practice of keeping my mouth shut when presented with the opportunity to say something negative about someone God is using.
Even when the criticism is valid (because even the most anointed people stumble and fall), I see no value in spreading the criticism like gangrene.
Now, if I have a relationship of influence with the person, I do my best to talk with the person about the issue in a spirit of love and encouragement.
I’m not talking about sweeping stuff under the rug.

AND HERE'S THE KICKER...

But if I can’t talk to the person, I’d rather pray for them than talk about them.

Have you talked "behind the scenes" lately?

Merry Thanksgiving!!

I'm not sure why I've been calling it this...but a change of pace I suppose.

Today is Thanksgiving and we are at home watching the parade. My youngest, Emilee, has been captivated by this parade for the first time and she is actually watching most of it. Growing up, my mother and I always watched this parade every year - a great family tradition we are carrying on!

My wife, Melissa, and I took Emilee to the movie last night and afterwards we talked about Thanksgiving. I asked her what she was thankful for and her reply really blessed my heart. She first said she was thankful for her family and then for Santa (we've been asking her what she wants Santa to bring her) and then she paused, looked up at us and said, "And I'm also thankful for God." What a moment!

I hope this day finds you and your family well and as the title says, have a "Merry Thanksgiving!!"

Tuesday Tech News

The two most talked about items in the tech world the past few days:

(1) The Kindle - a book "reader" where you can download books on the fly - all through a wireless network that doesn't require an internet connection! Check out this review and this interview.

(2) The "is" - for anyone who has ever used Facebook for more than a day, you know exactly what I'm talking about. According to this article, the "is" may soon disappear (reports have said that it did indeed actually disappear for a few hours today, but I just checked and "it" is still there!) which would delight every Facebook user on the planet!

Let the CELEBRATION Begin!

After more than two weeks I find myself writing a blog post once again. I have much to say and as our motto around the church has been the past few weeks:

"We've got a long way to go...and a short time to get there!"

We had an absolutely phenomenal Imagine Campaign, and for those of you who have been following along, you can read some thoughts about the culminating Celebration event here, here, and some photos here.

Here's to many future posts!

Boo!

A little late in posting, but here are some pics from our Family Fun Night and of course, Halloween. Enjoy!