Christmas Eve is Going To Be Amazing

So the "Smitty" thing worked out pretty good.
Actually I managed to speak with him about some cool stuff. I asked him to give me some words of worship wisdom. You know.. something deep I could take back to our crowd at Barefoot. He chuckled and said "Seriously... I've been doing this a long time and I have come to realize true worship is so much more than singing a few songs together on Sunday morning." He said "Steve, we can sing until we're all blue in the face but if we don't leave the church and feed the hungry and take care of the orphans and widows, then all we're doing is showing God that we don't believe what we're singing about." It was so simple and yet profound. So obviously true and exactly what I needed to hear coming into the most exciting series Barefoot has ever seen.
The Gift revolution launched Dec 1st with crazy energy and has exploded not just locally, but around the world. Again simple.. Give a gift, give a card then share your story at www.thegiftrevolution.com Check it out!
See for yourself how small gifts and random acts of kindness can touch people in a way that goes straight to the heart.
We're anticipating a great crowd of people on Christmas Eve this year. We believe the Revolution has rocked North Myrtle Beach and that people are acknowledging it's not about the gift giving so much as it's about making people feel special and significant. We're all suffering in some way and that puts us all in the same place.
Why not join us Christmas Eve for a celebration of the birth of the one who promises all of we are indeed significant.

A SEASON OF CHANGE

   Welcome! This is a new endeavor for me. I have battled the idea of this blog long enough. Today marks a season of change. I have decided to Blog. My hope is that it will help me grow. I'm hoping for a new level of spiritual accountability. I'm on a quest to discover if others in my field of ministry deal with the same struggles and victories I experience. I shall strive to be as open as I can be about daily life inside and outside the church walls from the my perspective. 

   There's another, perhaps more important reason for this blog, (this is where you come in) to develop relationships, to gain new perspectives, and to share creative ideas. Your response is encouraged and greatly

 appreciated. I see it this way, God has given me a great opportunity and responsibility to to lead people through a very personal and hopefully life changing experience... everyday. It's huge. It's a little beyond my scope of understanding. So I hope we can do it together.

   

   OK time to get real...      Today I'm feeling confident about our weekend. We are blessed with a gifted and creative team here. We're beginning a new series this week which requires a change of stage set and a fresh perspective of worship style as well as physical placement of the band and any use of visual props. I'm happy to say most of that has been completed an should come together nicely. 

Generally I work with vocalists on Thursday nights. Tonight is a little different. I have been invited to a meet and greet with Michael W. Smith this evening before his show in Myrtle Beach. I am honored. "Smitty" played a significant role in the early days of my spiritual walk. It's a great opportunity to meet him and pray with some other pastors before the show. Trouble is I have been working too many evenings and I feel like I am not spending much time with My wife and kids this week. So I plan to stay in touch with them throughout the day and make a decision on the "Smitty" thing a little later this afternoon. Today I will spend a significant amount of time on the following areas of my ministry. I have a meeting this morning to discuss goals for our worship ministry for the next 6 months in preparation for our fast approaching budget meetings. (I don't like meetings much.. I'm just saying) I will spend a good couple hours reviewing charts and music for this weekend's services. I will be confirming a set list for next weekend's worship experience. I'll be ordering a new Mac. (That's what I'm talking about!) If there is any time left I will be looking for some new Christmas material. We're doing something very different this year which is going to require a lot of creative thinking. I love creative thinking. More on that later. 

   Come back soon for an update. I'll let you know what's happens with the "Smitty" thing.