She's doing it Daddy!

Our daughter Hailey will be one year old on Monday. She shares her birthday with my favorite (and only) sister Erica. For the past couple weeks Hailey has been learning how to walk and her older sister Andrea has been a great supporter. Andrea loves to encourage and cheer Hailey on. Whenever Hailey puts several steps together and makes forward progress Andrea will shout out, "She's doing it! Mommy, Daddy look at Hailey!" These are some fun and exciting days at the Jones house.

At church this Sunday we are launching our new three service format. I have been attending Fairwood since 1991, on staff for six years, and I couldn't be more excited about what's happening. I feel a sense of pride knowing that we are taking steps to reach more people in Fairwood and the surrounding area for Christ.

I realize that God will build His church and that He is the one who saves people and changes lives. I'm just so thrilled that I get to be on the work crew. After making calls to add some greeters for our 3 Sunday services I realized that I'm not the only person who feels this way. Volunteers are chomping at the bit to be involved. Gone are the days of begging people to be on board or to help serve in a given area. Truth be told, I think the new day is going to be making sure that there is enough work for all those who want to serve.

I'm so proud of Fairwood, so happy to be a part of it all. I honestly feel like shouting to God and saying, "Look! Hey, over here... see, we're doing it!"

Last night at Live...

I'm happy to report we had another great service at Live last night. We continued our series, "Unbound" and God really got our young people's attention. From a technical standpoint the service was a little off. We were working with a new sound board and so buttons were in different places than our crew was used to. Some of our transitions were rough, but you know, I've found that God has this strange habit of working, moving, and speaking to us despite the distractions. Don't get me wrong, I want a technically sound service as much as anyone (and we'll always strive for it) but God did great work despite our foul-ups.

We focused in and talked about Faith overcoming our worries. We talked about walking in and living out the Faith that we always love to talk about. We talked about the story in 1 Samuel 14 where Jonathan and his Armor Bearer go to attack the Philistines at their base camp. Despite being severely out numbered Jonathan's attitude is something like, "“Perhaps the Lord will help us..." I don't know about you, but if I'm trying a surprise attack on an enemy who vastly outnumbers me on his home turf I'd want to have a few more assurances than, "Perhaps." I love Jonathan's Faith.

I also love the Faith shown by the Armor Bearer. After Jonathan explains his master plan the Armor Bearer says, "Do what you think is best, I’m with you completely, whatever you decide.” WOW. Seriously? If it were me I'd be wondering if Jonathan had a death wish or something. I'd say, "You want 'em? You got 'em. You're on your own buddy! Peace!" However, the Armor Bearer doesn't do that. Instead, he shows great Faith in Jonathan and says I'm with you, COMPLETELY.

We talked last night about becoming a youth church comprised of both attitudes. Jonathan's: The Faith to go attack the enemy at his base camp and to have the audacity to believe that God will be with you. The Armor Bearer's: The ability to trust in leadership and give 100% commitment; to be completely on board.

Students came up front and we prayed that the same heart Jonathan and his Armor Bearer had would be in each of them. God met them at the altar and we had a great time of worship and prayer as service drew to a close.

The cool thing is the story doesn't end there. Our students are living out their Faith. They are fasting, praying, and believing for spiritual breakthrough in their lives and in the lives of others. As we make the switch to three services this Sunday they are ready to serve like never before. Our students inspire and remind me that, "God, who began the good work within us, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." Philippians 1:6.

Better and brighter days ahead.

Breakfast Cereal Challenge

I love the NCAA Basketball tournament as much as the next guy, but lately I've realized something... It's just not for everyone. Sure, everyone has their reasons for not filling out brackets: they don't know the teams, don't care about basketball/sports, or they actually have real lives to live. Here's the deal though; I think that everyone has some competitiveness in them somewhere. So, I have decided that for the next couple weeks I'm going to try and find it!

I am proposing that we (me and anyone who happens across this blog) conduct a "Breakfast Cereal Challenge." It will work just like the NCAA Tournament, we will pit YOUR favorite breakfast cereals against one another to determine the best of the best! My family actually did this at our Christmas party a few years ago and it was a lot of fun.

Here's how it will work:

1. Please submit to me via email or the comments section YOUR 3 favorite breakfast cereals. (doesn't matter if they're healthy or sweet; just YOUR top 3 cereals)
2. The selection committee (me) will break the submitted cereals into 4 divisions containing 8 cereals each. Obviously the goal is to get 32 entries. The 4 divisions are: General Mills, Kelloggs, Post, & Quaker (We don't need even amounts from each maker)
3. Once seeded, you, your friends & family will vote in individual match ups to determine the winner (ex: Lucky Charms vs. Frosted Flakes) the winner will advance & the loser goes back in the cupboard.
4. We will vote it down all the way to the final four (just like the real tournament). Then take it all the way to the championship match.
5. We will vote to determine the 2009 Silver Spoon Award Winner! The person who submits the winning cereal name first, will receive a box of that cereal from me!

This will only work if we get good participation, so help me out. Don't be shy, or just lurk! Let your voice be heard and email or comment with your 3 favorite cereals. This will be lots of fun once we get it rolling! Who knows, if we get enough participation we might come up with 64 cereals just like the number of teams in the NCAA tourney.

My goal is to have the brackets up by Wednesday night, so don't waste anytime and email or comment now. Oh and one more thing... may the best cereal win!

The Green Room

This past Friday night our church hosted the worship band Planetshakers, from Melbourne, Australia. The church was buzzing with anticipation as we waited for the worship service to begin. At about 6:40, a friend of mine walked into the church and asked where another member of our staff was, so I walked them to the, "Green Room." The room where the band and some of our church staff were waiting for the service to begin.

I got the two connected and just as I was about to head back out one of the Planetshakers musicians called those assembled in the Green Room to order. He said it's about 15 minutes until we start, so let's pray. I have been in enough church situations to understand how prayer time works. A few people lead out for the service, the technical cues, then someone wraps up and you're done. However, this pre-service prayer time was much different.

Before they even started to pray, the Pastor from Planetshakers mentioned his gratitude for the way they had been treated by Fairwood and how he can always tell a good church by how they care for and honor their guests. He went on to emphasize that this was no concert or show; he described how they wanted to serve our church however they could. Then the prayers started. Not one prayer was a self-centered prayer (Lord help us play/perform well), every prayer was for God to do His work. They prayed for our church and us before they went out to lead worship.

I was completely moved by the true humility and sincerity that this group showed in those few moments before they went on stage. As the night unfolded, it was evident that their prayers were more than lip service. They led worship and people responded, it was a great night. God honored the prayers that were offered up in the Green Room. Many young people raised their hands to accept Christ and/or rededicate their lives to him and God was the real star of the show.

Needless to say, my experience in the Green Room was unexpected. Sometimes we think that a group as talented and popular as Planetshakers is goes around the world to put on shows, gain popularity, and make some extra money. That was not the case here. I'm so happy I had the chance to rub elbows with a group of people that travel the world with the purpose of ministering and serving wherever they go.

Last night at Live

Last night at Live was a lot of fun. We've been talking over the past few weeks about the freedom that can only be found and experienced in Jesus Christ, a series we're calling Unbound. I've been impressed with how the students have responded to the series so far.

Last night we talked about living lives of Faith rather than fear. We challenged students to four weeks of prayer and fasting for breakthrough in their lives and in the lives' of others. What's really cool is that this coincides with a fast our entire church is doing over the same time period. It's funny, I thought I got out of Lent when my family left the Catholic Church, however, it seems it has found me once again.

Sitting and reading through the response cards makes me proud and chuckle at the same time. Here are just a few of the items students and leaders at Live are fasting for the next four weeks:

• Sugar, Sweets & Candy
  
• TV & Computer for recreational purposes (what category does my blog fall under?)
  
• Facebook, MySpace, & Twitter
• Rap
• Body Odor & Bad Breath (this should be a permanent fast!)
• Secular Music
• Fried Food
• Nail biting
  
• Coffee
• Homework (Not sure if that one will fly)
• Fear & Excuses
• Swearing
  
• Straight Hair
• Procrastination (ironically this one was turned in late)
  
• Video Games
• Being Lazy

And my favorite from the response cards...

• "Blowing stuff up... explosives"
  

As you can imagine we have a fun four weeks ahead for our students, youth ministry, and church. I love that our students and leaders understand that fasting is more than a quick way to shed a few pounds or break bad habits, but it's about focusing on God and believing for breakthrough. I can't wait to hear the great stories that are taking shape as I write this post, and I look forward to sharing them with you.

Budget Committee Meeting

My wife Stacey and I sat down last night for a, "Budget Committee Meeting." Together, we are taking a class taught by financial expert Dave Ramsey (via video) that's designed to help people improve the way they handle their personal finances. Sitting down to plan your monthly budget is referred to as a, "Budget Committee Meeting."

I must confess, our budget meeting was less than cordial, there were moments of high stress and a few backhanded, non-edifying remarks (sorry Stacey). The goal of the budget committee meeting is to plan out where every penny of your monthly income will end up. Money can be saved, spent, given, or invested, as long as it's accounted for. The point is that you must know where your money ends up. Believe it or not, Stacey and I had different ideas on where our money should go, thus, stress and disagreements ensued.

As we planned (and did our best to be kind to one another) we were repeatedly challenged with the same dilemma. The question was: Are we going to live by fear or Faith? Simply looking at our income and expenses side by side may have led us to an unfortunate answer. But before long we started to remind one another that we serve a God who always provides for us. We consistently chose to act in Faith as opposed to shrinking back in fear.

Soon tensions relaxed and after apologies were made (again, sorry Stacey) we were able to get some perspective and realize how blessed we are. We have a wonderful house, two healthy, happy girls, and I have a great job that allows Stacey to stay home. God's hand of provision and favor rests on us; because of that, we choose to live by Faith, not by fear.

March Madness

Well it has finally arrived... the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is upon us. This tournament is affectionately nicknamed, "March Madness" because of the flurry of games and the amazing buzzer beating shots made to win/advance in it's loser-out, high pressure format.

I must admit, this is one of my favorite times of the sporting year. As March turns to April we get to watch the culmination of College Hoops, the beginning of a new MLB season, and Tiger Woods dominate the field at Augusta in The Master's.

Just as the sports season feels full this time of year so does the church calendar. At Fairwood Church, we have the world class worship band Planetshakers in this Friday for a night of worship. We're prepping for Easter by preparing a soft launch of our new three service format. Beginning March 29th people will get to choose when to attend (8:30, 10:00, & 11:30). We are also in the midst of what we're calling a, "Volunteer Revolution" which is encouraging church attenders to move beyond being simply spectators and become participators.

It's my hope that the young people of Fairwood will choose to be a part of ALL THREE services! That's right I said it... some have called me crazy, others have said, "your nuts!" However, the truth is I believe that this March is a great time for us to become mad for serving. I want our students to attend a service, volunteer for a service, and if they're really off their rocker attend The Way, our youth discipleship class.

Honestly, I can't imagine what other thing on the planet is worth going absolutely off the deep end for. We are placed on the earth for such a short time and God has entrusted us to help shape people's (friends, classmates, family members, co-workers) eternities. I say let's be a little loopy together; let's passionately serve God, and invite others join our cause.

Who knows? Maybe we'll find out God's even crazier for people than we think and He might just save a few...