A lot has changed

Wow! It has been over a year since my last post here...and it may be another year before the next one. Probably not. But maybe.

Life has changed significantly since that last post. You can keep up with our most significant change here if you would like. We'll try to keep everyone up to date with pics and stories about our new son when he gets here.

Maybe I'll post about some of the other highlights that I've experienced in the past year. Then again, I might not. I reserve the right to take as much time as needed :)

Thanks to those of you who have kept checking in periodically to see if the blog has come to life. Take care.

How do you measure Spiritual Health?

We're rolling this out this weekend at Seacoast but you can tell your friends and family that you saw it here first. For the past year a team of very talented and dedicated Seacoasters have been working on a massive online project to help people grow spiritually. This weekend we're unveiling a piece of that project called the Spiritual Health Assessment. They have developed a 56 question diagnosis tool to help you see where you are in your growth based on the five values Seacoast is built on: worship, connect, serve, share and grow. After you take the assessment you are give a customized list of resources to help you grow in each area. The list of resources will be continually updated, so this is a living tool that will just continue to improve over time.

If you'd like to take it for a test drive you can click here/

Forever I am Changed by Your Love

"Majesty, majesty, forever I am changed by Your Love"

This chorus is stuck in my head after one of the most powerful 1st Wednesday services I have ever been a part of. I have been forever changed by God's love. I was thinking about the power of God's love while I was serving communion tonight.

I had the privilege of serving communion to a guy who I first met about a year and a half ago. I had heard about a police officer who was involved in an accident on his motorcycle. Lisa was in school at MUSC, and we decided to go by and visit him. He was heavily sedated, in a full body cast, and his wife didn't want anything to do with us. He was barely even awake enough to know that we were there. It was a little bit uncomfortable, but we just let them know that we were there and available to help in any way possible. Then we stepped out of the room and prayed outside of his door with his parents.

A few months later I saw him at church, and gradually he has gotten connected and committed his life to Christ. I talked to him tonight and asked him a little bit about his journey. I told him that I was excited to see him getting involved at Seacoast, and his reply was pretty cool. "After my wreck, you guys showed up...so when I got better, I decided to check out Seacoast. I knew where the church was because I had directed traffic for you guys a few times. God used that lowest point in my life as a wake up call, and my life has been drastically changed since then."

We didn't say anything profound. We didn't even bring anything with us. It was a bit awkward, and I honestly wondered if it was even the right thing to do. All we did was show up and show that we cared. That's it.

I spend a lot of time doing a lot of things - some of them important - but I was reminded tonight, as I served him communion, that nothing is more important than showing God's love to people who have need. That guys life has "forever been changed by His love"

A couple of questions

I know that there aren't a ton of you who read this, but I'll take a chance anyways. I am doing a talk this weekend and I have a couple of questions for you.

What is your general feeling about the New Year?

What kinds of things are you hoping to change in your life next year?

What was the most memorable thing about 2005 for you?

THX!

Josh

Good News

Some good friends of ours have some good news! If you haven't heard of Mosaic Church, you will soon. These guys are pregnant in more ways than one! They are getting ready to give birth to a church in January that is going to change eternity for lots of people in Charlotte. Congratulations Naeem, Ashley, and Asher.

A Donkey, A Trash Can, and A Baby Jesus

Wow! What an incredible day! We just finished up with our Christmas Eve Services and it was quite an adventure. I haven't heard from any of the other campuses yet, but at Longpoint we did 5 services and had roughly 6,000 people celebrate the birth of Jesus.

It didn't come without some adventure though. We thought that having a live nativity scene out front would be the primary source of excitement for the night, but we had a little bit more. During the 4:00 service I heard a loud bang come from the back of the auditorium so I went to check it out. Although I didn't see anything at the time, I found out later that a teenage girl passed out and hit her head on one of the trash cans. Then at the 6:00 service, during the message, a ten year-old who had obviously had too many cookies and hot chocolate, threw up all over himself and the floor. I was very impressed with our facilities team as they hopped right in and got it cleaned up without making too much of a stir. All in all, it was a great Christmas Eve.

I just got done wrapping my last presents. Better get to bed soon, I think I hear Santa coming! Merry Christmas

Writer's Block

As evidenced on my blog over the past several months, I have had some trouble with writing here lately. I've come up with some excuses though.

1. Not enough time...although I have spent many hours reading others' blogs and occasionally commenting.
2. Lack of inspiration...I don't really think that is true either
3. I've been too busy shopping for Christmas presents...if you know me you know that's not true
4. When I was in school, I always wrote my term papers on the night before they were due...and some things just don't change.
5. I'm afraid I might write something offensive because I am still bitter about Randal's behavior on the Apprentice finale.

I am hoping to turn over a new leaf though. Someone gave me Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, which is a guide to writing more effectively. I guess you will know whether it helps much or not as we head into the new year.

Merry Christmas!

How to Handle the Critics

With all of the talk of the "controversy" of churches not having services on Christmas Day, I have found a great post over at Monday Morning Insight about handling critics. For the most part I think this is an excellent guide.

Let's stop fighting and continue on with the mission that God has given us!