#2 – Jesus said that HIS Word would not fail to produce a harvest. If we continue to be  faithful in declaring HIS Word, something GREAT  will take place!  (See Isaiah 55:8-13)

#3 – We have seen 60 people SURRENDER their lives to Jesus and 13 people be baptized! God is working in and through the lives of the people who are Meadowland Church, and I believe there is more to come!

#4 – I am so thankful for our LEADERS and VOLUNTEERS!  God is raising up leader, ones that comprehend the meaning of Ephesians 4:11-16.  I am PUMPED to be a part of a Church where more people are IN THE GAME than there are sitting on the sidelines!!

#5 – God started  Meadowland Church, Jesus is our Senior Pastor and HE’S NOT FINISHED WITH US YET!  (Philippians 1:6)

#6 – The church is STILL God’s PLAN A to bring the Gospel to the WORLD.  He has NOT changed His mind, there is NO PLAN B.  Jesus said not even the gates of hell could overcome the Church (Matthew 16:18).

#7 – God has provided for Meadowland Church in AMAZING ways this year.  I believe HE has PROVIDED for Us because he wants US to do MORE ministry and Reach MORE  PEOPLE!!  (Luke 12:48)

#8-  God has blessed Meadowland with an incredible Staff.  I am so thankful for the team of people I get to serve with!

#9-  I believe the things that have happened this year is just the beginning of what God wants to do in and through Meadowland Church. There are More people to be Reached, More opportunities to Serve, and I BELIEVE God has GREATER things in store for us both as individuals and as the Church!   (John 1:50)

#10 – I am PUMPED for the new Series we are beginning on Sunday called “Game On”.  If you have ever wondered what the VISION of Meadowland Church is, or where we are going as a Church, you will not want to miss the next four weeks at Meadowland.  (BTW as we kick off the series this Sunday (9.5.10) we are encouraging everyone to wear their favorite sports team apparel, and show their favorite team some love!!)

- Singing the song, “I Surrender All” on Sunday got me!  I daily want to be able to say with 100% integrity, “Jesus, everything I have, all of me, I surrender to you”.

- Every single one of us has rough spots, things we are working on, baggage from our past, and things we need to overcome- The Good News is, Jesus never said you needed to be PERFECT!

- Yes, than means the church is full of messed up, imperfect people, who fail, mess up, and do not have it all figured out…..and there is always room for one more!

- At Meadowland Church,We are more interested in WHO you are than WHAT  you wear,  we care more about your HEART than we do your tattoos and piercings, WE care more about your FUTURE than we do your PAST, and if you have ever been told you are not good enough or need to make some changes before attending a different Church, WELCOME HOME – you are among friends!!

- Jesus is always after our hearts! He cares more about your heart than how you appear to others, or how righteous we appear on the outside!  (Matthew 23:25-28)

-Because we are concerned about image, we are hesitant and even fearful to open up to people about the Garbage we are dealing with in our lives, because we are more concerned with the SUPERFICIAL APPEARANCE OF HOLINESS than we are CHRIST CENTRERED WORSHIP AND REPENTANCE!!

- The consequences of CONCEALING our sin and struggles will DESTROY US!  CONFESSION and REPENTANCE lead us to healing and forgiveness!! (James 5:16).

- God Loves Us, Pursues Us, and Desires all of our Hearts!

- One of the ways God PURSUES US, is by CALLING OUT the IDOLS in our life (Ezekial 14:1-5)!   As your Pastor, I am not smart enough and clever enough to consistently teach messages where you think “He is talking to me this morning”.  THAT IS JESUS!!

- I think we as Christ Followers live with these tension of DAILY ASKING ,”Will I SURRENDER MY ALL OF MY LIFE TO JESUS TODAY!”  I think we have fully submitted TO JESUS, when we HEAR WHAT HE SAYS, and theN DO WHAT HE SAYS!! When what HE SAYS IS DIFFICULT, we NEED to be HONEST about it, WRESTLE with it, and TAKE  the next steps through obedience!!

-Sunday Evening we had the Baptism Service and Church Picnic.  We had the opportunity to see six people take the next step on their Spiritual Journey through Baptism.  IT WAS AMAZING!!

- The Church Picnic was a blast.  There were a TON of people I had never met before at the picnic.  It was a blast to connect and hear peoples’s stories and make new friends on Sunday Evening!!

- A HUGE THANK YOU, to everyone who helped out!  The Baptism Service/Picnic was AWESOME, we could not have done it without you!!

Meadowland Church, I LOVE YOU and I am PUMPED about what God is up to in the hearts and lives of HIS CHURCH.  I believe God is about to do something BIG!  Continue to follow Jesus, Daily SURRENDER your lives, and when God speaks to you,  DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS (Hebrews 3:7-8).

If you have not signed up yet, we are still looking for some people to help with the WATER BOTTLE HAND OUT, THIS Saturday, August 28th from Noon to 2:00 pm. Instead of asking our community FOR SOMETHING, we would like to GIVE SOMETHING to the people in our community for FREE!

We believe that “Small Things Done with Great Love Can Change the World”. We are going to go out and bless our community by reaching out and giving away free stuff while planting seeds of hope, acceptance, and true freedom.

If you are available from Noon to 2:00 pm on Saturday, August 28th and would like to be a part of the team handing out water bottles, please contact the church office, or fill out this REGISTRATION FORM.

Instead of asking our community FOR SOMETHING, we would like to GIVE SOMETHING to the people in our community for FREE!

On Saturday, August 28th from Noon to 2:00 pm we will be handing out free water bottles!  Yep, it is that simple!

We believe that “Small Things Done with Great Love Can Change the World”. We are going to go out and bless our community by reaching out and giving away free stuff while planting seeds of hope, acceptance, and true freedom.

If you are available from Noon to 2:00 pm on Saturday, August 28th and would like to be a part of the team handing out water bottles, please contact the church office, or fill out this REGISTRATION FORM.

- In September we are starting a new series called “Radical”.  I have been looking forward to this series for the last few weeks.  Seriously, if you want to know the vision of Meadowland Church and what God has laid on our heart for the future, you DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!!

- As we talked about Parenting, I shared  4 things I believe about your Children:

1. I believe that our children were masterfully and wonderfully created by God.
2. I believe our children were created for a Purpose.
3. I believe our children have the potential to change the world
4. I believe God will use the next generation to take the Church to places it has never been before!!

- Seriously, when I look at the generations to come, I cannot help but to be PUMPED about what God is currently doing in them and the potential they have!!

- I believe as parents we are called primarily to Disciple our Children and bring all areas of their lives to maturity in Christ (Duet 6: 4:9).

- Parenting is HARD, but you do not have to go at it alone!  Our desire as a Church is to walk alongside you.  We want to encourage you, support you and help you in anyway we can!!

- The only perfect parent is the person who HAS NOT had any kids yet. As parents, we are not called to be PERFECT, we are called to set the examples, and raise our children in a way that they can grow up to know who Jesus is and Worship HIM!

- Mom and Dad, you are to be the biggest INFLUENCE in your children’s life!   Don’t loose your voice and input in your Children’s life – BE INTENTIONAL!!

- I believe every Parent should read Ephesian 4:25-32 and memorize it!

- Men – you are the spiritual leader of your home!  Step up and LEAD!!

- On Sunday I told the story about Shane taking his first Train Ride at the fair and he had to go all by himself.  Yes, I did yell at the top of my lungs in encouragement and praise the entire time.  Yes, people did think I was a FREAK, but Shane KNEW how much I LOVE D HIM and How PROUD I was of him!  I will look like a fool any day if it means encouraging and supporting my children!!

Here is a picture of Shane on his first train ride.  Love his nervous, yet excited smile!!

Meadowland Church, I love you and am excited about what God is doing in and through the people that make up Meadowland Church.  Let’s be intentional about how we raise up our kids and lets partner together to raise up a generation of kids who know who God is and worship Him with all of their hearts, minds, and strength!

- The weather was dark and grey on Sunday, but the atmosphere inside was ELECTRIC on Sunday.  I heard from multiple people on Sunday that they experienced God working in their lives in very personal, very real ways!!

- I say this every week, but SERIOUSLY our worship team always does an amazing job of leading us into the presence of Jesus and focusing our hearts and minds on HIM.

- I had the opportunity to get to meet a whole bunch of people for the first time on Sunday.  I love getting to know people and making new friends!

- This week we studying the book of Job as we answered the question: “Why do bad things happen to good people”?

- Yes, the story about the lady in Wisconsin passing me on the left while I was making a left hand turn is true.  After she passed me, she was pulled over and given a ticket by a Wisconsin State Trooper – IT WAS AWESOME! because I was right and she was wrong.  A few months ago, I got pulled over and it was NOT awesome, because I was in the wrong.   The problem with the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”, is we will ALWAYS put OURSELVES in the position of GOOD!!

- Job’s question in Job 2:10 ROCKED my World!  Are willing to accept everything that God has in store for us or are we only willing to accept what WE think is good?  Ponder that one for a while.

- One of the biggest comforts I find in the book of Job is that God is Sovereign!  God is ALL POWERFUL, in CONTROL, has all WISDOM, is fully AWARE and actively WORKING in our moments of pain and suffering!!  While that does not necessarily take away the pain, it DOES give us HOPE!

- As a Christ Follower, you have the HOPE AND ASSURANCE that no matter what you are going through in your life, if God LEAD You to it, He will walk you THROUGH it, DELIVER you from it, or TAKE you instantly into His arms in heaven!!

- We we begin to understand the Sovereignty of God, we can begin to live out 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 in our lives!!

- We had a “Meet Meadowland Lunch” after the Second Service on Sunday and it was AWESOME.  We had around 25 people so up for lunch, we got to know one another and talking about what Jesus is doing in and through Meadowland Church. If you were unable to attend this one, we have another “Meet Meadowland scheduled for October 10th!!

-Don’t forget the Baptism Service/ Church Picnic is on August 22nd.  If you are interested in taking the next step on your journey through baptism – SIGN  UP HERE.  If you are interested in singing up for the Picnic- SIGN UP HERE.

I LOVE Meadowland Church and am so PUMPED about what God is doing IN and THROUGH the people who are Meadowland Church!

If you were here on Sunday, you heard that we have an OPPORTUNITY to BE THE CHURCH and meet the needs of some families in our community that are in need of School Supplies for their children by partnering with one of our local food pantry partners.

All you need to do is pick up some of the following items and drop them off at the Church.  Let’s BE THE CHURCH, and make this happen!  Scripture tells us in James 2:14-17 that we are called to not only identify needs, but to also take ACTION by PROVIDING for them.

This is not an ask for you to empty your back account, or sell your house and live in a foreign country for the next 5-10 years (although that may happen), this is simple ask to take a trip to the grocery store (let’s be honest, you will go there in the next two weeks anyway), buy some of the items on the list below and bring them to Church with you.

Over the next two weeks, I am asking everyone who is a part of Meadowland Church to do ALL that you can to help us serve our community by playing your part in this effort.  I BELIEVE that as we step up to BE the Church, the needs of these Children and Families will begin to be met and through our generosity, people will meet Jesus and our community will experience lives BEING changed (2 Corinthians 9:6-15).

We will be collecting the following items until August 15th:

• Crayons
• Glue Sticks
• Folders
• Pencils
• Pens
• Backpacks
• Elmer’s Glue
• Pencil Boxes
• Tissue
• Index Cards
• Notebooks

I LOVE Meadowland Church.  Let’s BE THE CHURCH!  Can’t wait to see what happens!!

- This Sunday we saw several people SURRENDER their LIVES to Jesus

- Today we answered the following questions in the “You Asked For It Series”:

1.  What is the difference between worshiping God out of obedience and worshiping God our of obligation?

2.  What should I do when I no longer feel like worshiping, serving, and doing?

- In my opinion, Worship has been reduced by some to mean weekly or occasional participation in a worship service, combined with some occasional volunteerism in a ministry, and some sort of Bible knowledge.  While these things are a part of our Worship – there is MORE to our worship then weekly participation in a service!

- Paul tells us in Romans 11:36 – Romans 12:1 that we are to present our bodies (meaning all of our person) to God as a living sacrifice.  When our minds, our bodies, our souls, and strengths align- and we worship God with all we do , Paul says this is our spiritual act of worship!

- Worship is something we do continuously.  In fact 1 Corinthians 10:31 says no matter what we are doing, eating or drinking, whatever we do, we should do it to the Glory of God.

- Many of us live with tension in our lives in regards to worship because we live by “Diet Coke Theology”.  We have all experienced Diet Coke Theology in one way or another.  Sometimes we go BIG with a meal, order a Double Quarter Pounder, go large with the Fries, and order a Diet Coke thinking the zero calorie Diet Coke will somehow cancel out the 1,200 calorie meal we just put down.

- Radical Disobedience in one area of our lives is not canceled out by Radical Obedience in another area of our lives!

- Jesus reminds us all throughout the New Testament that our LOVE for Him, will lead us to OBEDIENCE!

- We also looked at 2 Timothy 1:3-7 yesterday in response to the question, “What do I do when I no longer feel like worshiping, serving, or doing?”

- There will be times in our lives when the situations we are in, the demands on our lives, and the emotional drain of life will kick in – in these times we need to “fan the flame”.  When our fire is dying within we need to feed it, fan it, and keep the fires burning hot and bright!

- Meadowland Church:  Seriously, I love you and am PUMPED about what GOD is doing IN you and THROUGH You.  My desire for all of us is that we would LOVE GOD WITH ALL THAT WE ARE (Mark 12:20), that we would SERVE HIM ALONE AS MASTER (Matthew 6:24), and we would WORSHIP JESUS as we HEAR WHAT HE SAYS and then DO WHAT HE SAYS!!

- Don’t forget the Baptism Service/ Church Picnic is on August 22nd.  If you are interested in taking the next step on your journey through baptism – SIGN  UP HERE.  If you are interested in singing up for the Picnic- SIGN UP HERE.

Here are some recommended resources to help you FAN THE FLAME:

-Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

- The Christian Atheist

- Celebration of Discipline

-Sacred Pathways

- Seriously, I have been having a blast answering the questions that were asked for our current series, “You  Asked For It”.

- In Genesis 1:3-26, when God SPOKE he created, gave life, and brought the world into existence.  God’s WORD is so POWERFUL!  When HE speaks into our lives and brings light and life into our world.  The questions that were asked today were answered thousands of  years ago by God!

-Personally, I am still encouraged and charged up by the hope of Heaven.  As many of you know our dear friend Jack passed away this week after being in the hospital for about a month.  We know that even though Jack is no longer with us, he is with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:6-10) in heaven and one day we will be reunited with Him in heaven!

- I know I say this every week, but the worship was OFF THE CHAIN this Sunday!  We tried something a little different this week in our service flow and I thought it was awesome. I am so BLESSED to work with a great TEAM who love Jesus, His BRIDE the Church, and PUMPED about Reaching Up, Reaching Out, and Reaching In!

- Yes, it is true that I said if someone ever comes knocking on your door and asks the question “If you were to die right now, would you go to heaven or hell?”, you should punch them in the throat.  If you come to my house and ask me that question, I am assuming you are about to attempt to kill me!

- Made a lot of new friends this Sunday.  I always love meeting people and hearing their stories!  Life is a Journey and no one should have to walk alone!

- I want to thank to 40 some volunteers who showed up on Sunday Morning to SERVE PEOPLE and make ministry at Meadowland Church possible!  You are all AMAZING and Jesus is using you in HUGE WAYS!!

- Don’t forget that we have the Picnic and Baptism Service coming up on August 22nd.  If you are ready to be baptized you can REGISTER HERE!!

I have been wanting to get the new iPhone 4 for awhile now, but have been hesitant because there just seems to be too many problems and kinks that have not been worked out yet.

This year I had the opportunity to be apart of Perry Noble’s coaching network at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC .  I loved my time there, and felt like I grew a lot by being part of the network.  Perry posted the following article HIS BLOG today and I had to share!  There is a lesson for all of us in the I Phone 4 Cover Up!!

What We Can Learn From The iPhone 4 “Situation”

I really need to put a disclaimer out before writing this post – I LOVE APPLE PRODUCTS!  I have an ipad AND a MAC (and would have an iphone…but I blogged about as to why I do not here and compared it to lessons we should learn in the church.)

Saying that…the recent problems with the iphone 4 have been interesting to watch.

Basically…there was/is a design flaw.  (I can see/hear the Apple evangelists screaming “you don’t understand” as I type this!)  The antenna was placed into the phone in such a way that it is concealed; however, the design of this phone also lends to the antenna being covered up and calls being lost/dropped.

SO…Apple called a HUGE conference last Friday and announced their solution – they are going to provide free cases to cover up the phone (that will force the user to hold the phone differently, thus “fixing” the problem.)

As I watched this scenario develop I sighed (NOT because of the phone deal, I have a Blackberry…it works really great.)  The reason I think this was a really bad idea is that it didn’t address the problem…it just covered it up!  At the end of the day the product is still flawed, no matter how “pretty” the cover that the iphone users get!

We do the same thing SO many times as followers of Christ…we try to cover up the problem instead of dealing with it.  (Isaiah 29:13" href="http://biblegateway.com/bible?version=31&passage=Isaiah+29%3A13" target="_new">Isaiah 29:13)

We cover up the fact that we are addicted to porn by refusing to repent…instead we go to church and sing as loud as we can, thinking we can “cover up our problem” rather than dealing with it.

We cover up the fact that we are dating someone that we know God doesn’t want us to be with…instead we justify what we are doing by at least getting them to come to church with us.  We won’t “deal” with our disobedience…rather we try to cover it up with our made up morality.

We cover up the fact that we are living in disobedience by surrounding ourselves with people who will affirm our dysfunction rather that lovingly call us out.  (See Hebrews 10:24-25" href="http://biblegateway.com/bible?version=31&passage=Hebrews+10%3A24-25" target="_new">Hebrews 10:24-25)

We tell Jesus that we will follow Him…that we will do “whatever” He asks–but then He hits on “THAT” issue, you know, the one we’ve always struggled with…and instead of dealing with it, repenting, asking for help–we begin to cover up our sin with religious phrases and copying and pasting Scripture.

I really could go on and on here…but the question is this (for all of us) – is there anything that you are trying to cover up that God is specifically trying to deal with?  Because…the thing I’ve learned about God is that HE is relentless, He is AFTER our hearts…and our rituals and religion is worthless in His sight if we are refusing to submit and obey to what HE is saying.  (See Ezekiel 14:1-6" href="http://biblegateway.com/bible?version=31&passage=Ezekiel+14%3A1-6" target="_new">Ezekiel 14:1-6)

I know its hard when God comes after our hearts…and PRIDE is a reason many people choose to cover up their sin rather than confess it.  People FEAR the consequences of confession; however, the consequences of concealing our sin are SO MUCH GREATER than the consequences of confession.

God didn’t send Jesus to die on a cross so we can cover things up but rather so that we could confess, repent and THEN live in freedom!  (Romans 8:1" href="http://biblegateway.com/bible?version=31&passage=Romans+8%3A1" target="_new">Romans 8:1)

BTW…Jon’s post on “Maggots” goes along tremendously with what I just wrote about…you should read it–CLICK HERE!

- On Sunday I felt like we were cracking open a fire hydrant and trying to take a drink.  We talked about a lot of information and went through a lot of scriptures, but my intent was not to overwhelm us, rather it was to crack the hydrant and enjoy the outpouring and be refreshed by the waters as we discovered who the Holy Spirit is.

- I promised on Sunday that I would make my powerpoint available for all you note takes out there.  Here is the HOLY SPIRIT POWERPOINT in pdf format.

- The worship on Sunday was off the chain.  I seriously love worshiping our Great God with my friends and family at Meadowland Church!!

- On August 22nd, we will be having out Church Picnic and Baptism Service. If you have recently made a decision to follow Jesus or have never been baptized, I invite you to take the next step and get baptized on August 22nd. If you are interested in being baptized, you can SIGN UP HERE.

- One of the verses I keep going back to recently is Acts:1-8.   God has HUGE plans for us, and provides us with the POWER we need to accomplish it!!

- I am so thankful to be a part of Meadowland Church. I love you all and look forward to what God is going to continue to do in and through the people who are Meadowland Church!!