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• Possible ticket from speeding to DFW airport to catch the early flight = $100
• Bad airport sandwich and coke for lunch = $11.23
• Home 6 hours early for family movie night = Priceless :)

Chris Sligh's New Single

My friend and our former worship leader at Seacoast Greenville, Chris Sligh, has just released his first single, "Empty Me", from his upcoming album, "Running Back To You". It is really, really, really good, and you can download it from iTunes here. It was also released to Christian radio this past week.

Chris has been in Nashville for the past 6 months working with famed CCM producer, Brown Bannister, on his debut release with Brash Records. I think people are going to be blown away when they hear the final product on May 6th. On top of being an amazing singer, Chris is a fantastic writer and musician.

Chris is also writing reviews of this year's American Idol at www.ew.com. As you know, Chris does not hold anything back!

Like Me Some Foo

I just caught the Foo Fighters on Letterman tonight. For my money, Dave Grohl is the coolest dude on the planet. NO ONE rocks harder than the Foo.

Numbers

15 - that is how many people we baptized this morning at Seacoast Greenville.
2 - that's how many people were signed up to be baptized.

I really don't have any words for what we experienced this morning. After a great message on why you should be baptized, we opened it up during our response time for anyone who wanted to take that extra step of faith.
We did not have any idea of what to expect.
We thought we were ready with plenty of clothes and towels...we were not.
The last few people had to wear recycled shorts and use already wet towels.
We were still baptizing people after the second service was over.
The sight and sound of people worshiping and cheering at the same time was overwhelming.
I cried - a lot.

Sunday Thoughts

• Not that I ever considered it, but...really glad that we did not cancel church today. We filled up 2 services with people that didn't seem to mind the cold!
• I don't think I saw single piece of ice on the road this morning.
• We kicked off our winter small groups this morning. 19 groups! Every group made cookies to entice/bribe people into their group. Hey, whatever it takes!
• The band was laying down some serious rock today! I had someone ask me after church if the guys in the band came out of our church. Yes, they did. I love that the people on the stage believe in the mission of the church. And they seriously rock my face off every Sunday!
• I'm rooting hard for the Packs to make the Superbowl. That would at least make it an interesting game.
• Jenny's birthday is Tuesday, and she has asked me and the girls to make her cake. I told her that it will not probably be edible, but we'll give it a shot!
  

Church Tomorrow

In case anyone is wondering, we are having church tomorrow. The snow is over and everything should be clear by tomorrow morning. We will have our normal services at 9:30 & 11:15. We are also kicking off our new series "Behind The Man - The Early Years", as well as our winter small groups tomorrow!!!

My First Series

I get a pretty good amount of phone calls and emails from pastor's who would like to know what our experience has been like as a multi-site church plant. What has worked? What would you never do again? What are the differences from a normal church plant? I thought that it might be fun (and potentially time saving) to do a series of posts on this subject. I love blog series now because I have the attention span of a gnat.

So gather up the kids and neighbors for some serious blog fun!

Snow Day!

We woke up this morning to find this white stuff all over our yard. I am not sure what it is, but apparently it is quite dangerous. All of the schools are closed and no one is going anywhere!

Growing Up In The Digital Age

My 4 year old daughter interrupted the bedtime story reading tonight with, "Daddy, can you put it on pause please?"

YouVersion

I posted awhile back about how my daily Bible reading has transitioned to the computer. I hardly ever, except for Sundays, pick up an actual Bible. I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing until the guys at LifeChurch.tv came out with YouVersion.com. This is a great, great tool for online Bible study.

I have never actually read through the Bible in a year. I have started a couple of times and lost it somewhere on the path. This year I am doing it through YouVersion's yearly plan. It also allows you to journal your thoughts as you are reading. That was the one thing that I felt like I was missing with electronic reading. You can also upload videos, pictures, mp3's...all to enhance the passage you just read. That's pretty sweet.

You can start your yearly plan by clicking here.

David Crowder Band

I just got back from my first David Crowder Band concert. A few observations of the show:

• I haven't sat on a pew in church in a LONG time. Luckily, we stood most of the time. :)
• The opening band was not very good. I guess that can be a good thing?
• We are getting old. Jenny and I used to be cool (at least we thought so).
• David Crowder was great! Anyone that can play a lime green keytar and a Guitar Hero guitar in one set, is my hero.
• The lighting was fantastic. They used the moving lights to enhance the worship, not distract from it.
• Video consisted of one screen with white letters over a black background. Surprisingly minimalist compared to the lighting. The projector didn't even fill the whole screen.
• The guy is a great performer, as well as a worshiper. He proves that you can do both in the right setting.
• We snuck out during the youth pastor's talk for some "Shrimp On The Barbie" at Outback. Totally worth it. :)
  

Christian Radio

One thing that I will never get is: churches that advertise on Christian radio. Who are you going after?!? I have yet to meet a seeker who's first step was to turn on some Christian rock. Just a thought...

On a positive note, Greenville has a great new Christian radio station at 96.7. I think it was formerly The Buzzard? I am not a huge Christian radio fan, but these guys are playing some good music (Switchfoot, Lifehouse, Reliant K...). Check 'em out if you're in your car today.

Thoughts

• The energy in the room today was amazing at both services. It feels great to back to the normal schedule!
• Our special guest this weekend was Jim Caviezel, the guy who was Jesus in The Passion Of The Christ. This guy is the real deal. He doesn't hide from his convictions and faith.
• It takes a big man to take a part that will absolutely kill your career in Hollywood, and count it as gain for the cause of Christ. Wow.
• Great, great crowd today, and most of the college students come back next Sunday!
• We are going to spend the next year in the book of Luke. I love that we are going to dig in like that.
• We got a Wii for Christmas. My 4 year old slaughters me in bowling. She now wants to be a professional bowler when she grows up. I think that she has a real chance.
• I can't stop playing the Wii.
• No seriously, I am playing tennis with one hand while typing with the other.
• We're going to lay out the vision for Seacoast this Sunday. My favorite Sunday of the year.
• Jim Caviezel is tall. Or maybe my brother Greg is really short...
• Love the holidays, but I am glad they are over. Christmas tree is still up though. My daughter thinks that we should leave it up and just change the decorations for the different holidays...hearts for Valentine's day, flags on July 4th, overdue books for National Library Week...I like it.
• I have a need, a need for more Wii.
  

Proud Daddy

My 9 year old daughter, Brianna, decided (on her own) to ask for money instead of gifts for her birthday this year, so she could buy essential baby items for single moms at the Piedmont Women's Center.

Last week, we took her to Target so she could could spend her $85 on items for a boy and girl baby. The lady who was checking us out, asked us if we were buying all of that for a baby shower. When Jenny told her what Brianna was doing, she started to tear up and told Brianna that people like her make a big difference. She then revealed that she is a single mom with another one on the way. She had no idea that the Piedmont Women's Center helped out single moms.

Yeah...I'm a proud daddy. :)

Sunday Download

• About all I can say about this morning is, "WOW!"
• Unbelievable worship and energy in both services
• We set a new attendance record - ok...we shattered our attendance record today!
• Thank you for everyone that came to the 9:30 this morning. The 11:00 was actually full again, but I don't know what we would have done if some people had not switched to the early service.
• It was really cool having Chris back on the mic. It's still a little weird though to watch your worship leader sign autographs after the services. Where's the love for the pastor, people?!?
• Next week the 11:00 service moves to 11:15. And the parking guys rejoiced!
• I made a pretty big announcement this morning: We have secured a lease on some additional 24/7 space! We now have offices and a 2200 sf. venue. It was built out as a Christian coffeehouse/performance room, but never opened. We now have a really cool room for youth, college, Alpha, and anything else we can think of - a 1/2 mile from the church! I will try to post pictures later.
• I just downloaded the latest albums from the Foo Fighters and Rascal Flatts. How's that for musical diversity!
• Our small group last week had 20 adults and 10 kids. That's almost insane.
• I can't wait for Catalyst this week. I REALLY do no have the time to go, but I know that I will be glad that I did.
  
• I am depressed that the Cubs are in playoffs, but giddy about the Mets historically choking it up end the end! :)