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Sunday Reflex 10-3-10

We shook things up a bit yesterday when the spouses of some of our Pastors joined us on stage to answer your parenting questions.  Our panel consisted of myself and my better half @tricialovejoy; John and Joy Shepherd, and Eric & Nicole Echols. Here are a few reflex from the day:

• Half of our worship set yesterday consisted of songs by @toddcnichols. I am SO LOVING your songs, man!
• SO thankful for the talented volunteers God has brought our area in the Worship/Creative Arts areas!
• @mountainlakechurch is truly worshiping on a level I don't think we've been to before. I know God is drawn toward the praises of Hi people! 
• During this series we have taught the Gospel as the power to be the parents God wants us to be! I love that this series has still be all about our relationship with God and our consistent walk with Him! 
• I have heard so much feedback about specific steps people have taken in response to this series! People are putting their faith in action! Love it!
• Panel discussions are risky; but I thought we really helped people yesterday. I love the fact that Scripture was a part of so many of our answers. 
• I'm honored to have Pastors and wives who actually seek to live what we teach, but also wiling to admit we're not perfect and don;t have it all together.
• If you missed yesterday, you an check out our panel discussion HERE.
• Announced our upcoming series beginning next week: "New and Improved." More on that later!
• Another great day @mountainlakechurch!

Building the Church vs. BEING the church.

I wasn't teaching yesterday, so it was another one of those Sundays where I got to sit back a bit and just observe our Weekend Worship experiences through a different lens.

Here are just a few things I observed yesterday:

• I saw people serving EVERYWHERE. By the time I got to church, the parking lot was full of volunteers! 
• I watched a married couple sit and have coffee together in our lobby over an hour before the services.
• I witnessed as one woman comforted and cried with another woman who just found out she had cancer.
• I watched musicians and artists use their talents for the Lord.
• I watched as two worship services full of people engaged in worship on a very meaningful level.Our worship services have changed so much in the past year...for the better!
• I was approached by two young women with checkered pasts who have had their lives turned upside down for Jesus since attending MLC!
• I was introduced by a woman who invited her entire family to church yesterday and they showed up...and loved it!
• I was approached by a man after his first time visit to a church in 35 years, who told me we had sure changed the way he thought about church. He said he'd be back!
• I witnessed a church be encouraged and challenged by a life changing message by someone OTHER THAN the Sr. Pastor. Home Run, Blake!

I LOVED being at our church yesterday. I LOVED worshiping at our church yesterday. I LOVED seeing the church BE the church yesterday. I sure loved building this church the first ten years under the Lords' leadership. These days, however, I think I love helping the church BE the church MORE. That's what fires me up. What about you?

Our breakthrough moment...

"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty." Daniel 3:17 (NLT)

So many times, unknowingly, we limit what God wants to do in and through our lives; not because He can't but simply because we really don't believe he CAN. I know, I know. You believe. So do I. But do we really?

If we really believed God could do anything, how would that belief change:

• The way we pray?
• How often we pray?
• Our anxiety levels?
• The way we deal with relationships?
• The way we deal with old habits?
• The risks we're willing to take?

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego believed their God could do anything.

Our breakthrough moment will come when we REALLY believe that, too.

Sunday Reflex 9-19-10...

This weekend was simply yet another weekend in which I sensed God working powerfully in and through @mtnlakechurch. Here are a few reflex from this weekend that made it special.

• Good $ense Workshop this weekend. Eric, John, and I all taught sessions at this one. We helped people!  Loved it! 
• Kicked off our Marriage Mentoring Ministry with Marriage Mentor Training. Can't wait to see what God does through this ministry!
• Great to have Micah Massey leading for us once again. Micah, you are VERY GIFTED Worship Leader! 
• We baptized again. The life change stories were evident and powerful. We are reaching so men and women right now who have away from God and He has used our church to reclaim them! Praise God! 
• Continued our "Parental Advisory" Series. I believe this series has so much wisdom from God's perspective  on how we should parent our children!
• "Discipline is simply correction driven by love."
• Correction requires Clear lines. Clear lines of blessing. Clear lines of consequences.  (see Deut. 30:15-19).
• I gave very practical examples of how the Lovejoy family seeks to work all this out. Had tons of people tell me they were going to "steal" some of our ideas! Go right ahead!
• "I know too many parents who evidently don't know how to count to three."
• "Make no mistake: Every time we threaten our kids, they're asking one question: 'Will they really follow through on that?'"
• "Our kids don;t need another buddy. They need shepherds who will love them enough to lead them and correct them when they wander off the path!"
• "Anger should never be the emotion that drives us to discipline. Love should be."
• I loved being able to talk about Grace and the Gospel in a message on PARENTING. Jesus is relevant to EVERYTHING. That's why its GOOD NEWS!
• I felt God especially speaking to me and giving me wisdom with Sunday's message. I feel like He spoke to me and through me! 
• Another awesome day @mtnlakechurch.

Sunday Reflex 9-12-10

Wow. What an incredible weekend. There's almost no way I can share all that happened this weekend and all that pumps me up about it, but I'll try!

• One of the best Children's Ministry Training events I've ever seen on Saturday. Way to go, Mitch, Jenny, Doug, and the entire Children's ministry team!  
• Trained a whole new group of  new Life_Groups who will start new groups this week!
• We now have almost 400 new adults signed up for Group Launch this Wed night! WOW!
• Todd Nichols has now introduced yet a another great song he's written, entitled: "Send Revival, Lord" to the MLC crowd. GREAT STUFF AGAIN, bro!
• Kicked off our new series: "Parental Advisory."
• We rocked the house with "Life is a Highway" and THEN...
• I drove a black Mustang GT on to the stage!

• "This symbolizes one of the greatest fears we have as parents: The day we turn over the keys to the car to our kids."
• "Whether we realize it or not, we're all getting ready to turn over the keys, and I don't mean the keys to the car but the keys to this highway called life!"
• "I don't care what kind of training we're doing with our kids, it requires repetition. Training requires consistency."
• "Even when our kids are inconsistent, we've got to be consistent in our reactions."
• "Our kids are going to veer off the road. We just can't go with them!"
• "We've also got to be consistent on our example. If we want our kids to be sexually pure, then we've gt to be sexually pure. If we want them to have a great marriage, we've got to start building a great one!"
• "Consistency builds credibility and reliability."
• "God is our Heavenly Father, and not only has He set the example to us. He had offered Himself to us! He wants to live in and through us and help build consistency in our lives as parents."
• Newcomer's Lunch after the services: with over 100 people there! 
• EVOLVE Middle & High School last night at MLC. GREAT NIGHT! Pics below say it all!

 

• Last but surely not least, we launched a NEW CHURCH yesterday in Hall County called Revolution Church! Congrats to Shad Treadaway and all the Revolution Team on a successful launch! 
• God is rocking our church and is  using our church to rock our community, nation, and world! To HIM be the glory!

Making better decisions...

Decisions. They define us. Our life is largely determined by the decisions we make. How do we become a person that makes good decisions on a normal basis?

The answer is actually pretty simple:

1. Seek out relationships with people who make good decisions.

If you want to become a wiser person, seek our relationships and/or mentoring relationships with people you look up to that seem to have made great decisions in their life consistently. Someone who has become successful in the area you want to be successful in; someone who;s kids turned out right; or someone who had a great marriage!  Take them to a cup of coffee and ask them: Could I hang out with you from time to time just to learn from you? Scripture tells us that we become more like the people we hang out with!

"He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." Prov. 13:20

2. Ask for advice from the right people.

I almost NEVER make a decision without talking it through with at least two people. This is perhaps THE reason our church has not had a train wreck! However, advice is like bacteria. You can find it anywhere. Bacteria can also be medicine or breed sickness! We need to be careful to take the right kind! To become a better decision maker, we've got to take advice from the right people! People who: love God; who have a track record in area of expertise we need; people we can trust; people who will tell us the truth even if we don't like it.  Often times, I will seek 4-5 different opinions on a particular decision before I pull the trigger. I can not tell you how many times this has saved my butt. Literally. It's scriptural, by the way:

"For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure." Prov. 11:14

Coaching, mentoring, counseling, friendships, small groups, bosses, teachers, and pastors are all resources to help us make better decisions. God has given us the gift of people to build wisdom into our lives, We just have to DECIDE to take advantage of it.

Parental Advisory Series starts this week!

Can't wait to kick this one off this Sunday! Are you coming?

WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

I'm telling you, they'll come to this one

if you'll make the ask and let God do the rest!

Parental Advisory Series Promo

Fruit from this past Sunday!

This past Sunday HUNDRED of people at MLC made decisions this to  move forward in faith by taking specific action of obedience in an area where we had been previously disobedient to God in our lives (cross their Jordan River). HUNDREDS of decisions were made! This is unbelievable! Names are deleted to protect the innocent; but below just some examples of what GOD is doing in our church! These are direct quotes!

• Jordan: Tension in my marriage Decision: Start communicating w/my wife, support her, honesty
• Jordan: Tithe -  Decision: Pay it!
• Jordan: Better health - Decision: workout
• Jordan: invite others to MLC or encourage them to attend somewhere. -  Decision: My 3 kids are all playing sports this fall. I have 30 families that I can ask!
• Jordan: Loving all Decision: this week I am going to apologize to my neighbor and coworkers for being negative to them.
• Jordan: end a roller coaster relationship - Decision: initiate the end
• Jordan: Giving  Decision: Start giving every week!
• Jordan: Alcohol Decision: to stop drinking
• Jordan: to be more public with my faith. -  Decision: I'm going to share with new girl at school.
• Jordan: my relationship with my father Decision: Invite him to church
• Jordan: My creditors -  Decision: face them and deal with issue
• Jordan: Forgiveness Decision: Speak to my sister
• Jordan: Community outreach Decision: Contact Hands on Forsyth & get plugged in somewhere. 
• Jordan: to volunteer Decision: I volunteered to serve in Guest services today
• Jordan: Change jobs Decision: Start research today!
• Jordan: Connecting with people in the church Decision: I signed up for Group Launch today!
• Jordan Reading the Bible Decision: Starting a new plan tomorrow!
• Jordan: Going to Uganda to serve children and show God's love -  Decision: Fully believe that God will provide the expenses.
• Jordan: Accepting God's forgiveness Decision: Follow Jesus!

WOW!!!!!

Sunday Reflex 8-29-10...

This truly has been one of the best message series we've ever done @mtnlakechurch. We have been able to point people to God's Grace;  God's justice; God's sovereignty; God's power; and give people hope! Wow! Here are a few reflex from yesterday's services:

• Worship team did an awesome job again YESTERDAY!
• Todd introduced another one of his new songs yesterday: "Send Revival." He has such an amazing gift of songwriting; and the songs are all so sing-able!  Thx, man! 
• Week 4 of Fractured Fairy Tales. Taught one of my favorite Scripture passages, Joshua 1-3. Here are a few snippets:
• • "Our obstacles and problems are often not the fractures to our fairy tales. How we respond to them is."
  • "We often fracture our fairy tales due to a lack of faith."
  • "Our faith grows as our obedience grows."
• If you missed the message, you can catch it HERE online!
• We baptized again. Mitch Corn's first time to baptize people at our church. Honored to serve with you, Mitch! 
• I LOVE seeing the simplicity of the Gospel communicated by children! Love it!
• I LOVE cheering wildly when someone comes up out of the Baptistry!
• We introduced our upcoming series in two weeks: Parental Advisory, Gonna be big!
• I attended EVOLVE High, last night, where we held a special worship, prayer and offering last night for Josh Haddock, the North Forsyth Football player who was injured last week, HUGE turnout! Great job, Blake! 
• Another great day @mtnlakechurch!