Sunday Mind Dump - Feb 13, 2011

• Great day. Church was good. Singing was good. Giving was good. Worship was God-honoring.
  
  
• The music today got me in the zone to preach the gospel.
  
  
• I never cease to be amazed that we serve a God who forgives.
  
  
• Every Sunday people are trusting God for answered prayers and trusting Christ for eternal life. This never gets old!
  
  
• I am pumped about PCC!
  
  
• Attendance was slightly down by 25-30 people or so. At least half of those were related to family sickness, flu, etc. That stuff is still going around. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
  
  
• If you are sick, feverish, or contagious, please stay home. We’re okay with that.
  
  
• Really excited to see the new people God is sending to PCC.
  
  
• I was very glad to see a new guitarist on stage today filling the acoustic position. His name is Gary M. He is a Lt. Colonel in the Coast Guard and is an instructor at Whiting Field. He did a good job for us, and it was an enormous help to me personally.
  
  
  
• The weather was fabulous today. It was picture perfect during church and was even nicer this afternoon. The days are getting longer and it almost felt like springtime.
  
  
• A group of teens went to a concert in Mobile this evening, Winter Jam, (see the picture above). It was quite a large group. I really appreciate the adult leadership and chaperons in the middle school and high school groups right now. These people are taking it to a whole…nutha…level.
  
  
• I am really, really, really looking forward to the next message series. It’s based upon the life of Joseph. I’m entitling it, “Overcoming Hardships through Faithfulness.” This series is going to deal with some real-life, gut-wrenching issues that everybody can identify with.
  
  
• The current series has been a big hit with too. It’s been hard-hitting, edifying, and eye-opening. A lot of people have been telling me each week how much the message (or series) has meant to them.
  
  
• The sermon today was a little longer than usual, only because we looked at an entire chapter for the text. It would have probably been better to have prepared two message from this chapter, but it seemed to work anyway.
  
  
• I really like going verse-by-verse through a text like that. It’s my favorite way of teaching God’s Word. I will be using this method in the Joseph series.
  
  
• Some exceptional things are happening at PCC right now. It’s going to be a very good year for us.
  
  
• I got stranded on the river today. A phone call to Robert H. saved the day for me. Thank God for cell phones, and thank God for friends who know what is going on when I don’t. One phone call to the right person got me out of a serious jam that enabled me to still look like the “big man on campus” in front of my wife and son.
  
  
• We are deliberately and intentionally working our way through some in-house matters that need fixing and improvement. Next on the list, after the age-level ministries, is our small group ministry. We are going to undergo a complete paradigm shift in this area. It will not be the same as it was in the past. The emphasis is going to be upon “connection” by offering multiple options instead of putting all our eggs in one basket. I’ll be writing about this soon, extensively, so if you are interested in this area of our church be sure to stay tuned in to my blog.
  
  
• I am really, really impressed with the leaders in our church. I am also very impressed with some of our newest and emerging leaders. Right now our church is in the best place it has ever been (in regards to leaders) in our thirteen year history. These people have full buy-in to our vision and mission, are supportive, loyal, and posses the necessary skills. Because of the exceptional people God has sent to us, we are now positioned to go to a WHOLE… NUTHA… LEVEL!
  
  
• Sometimes I’m standing off to the side watching these people lead and all I can think is, “Thank God, here is somebody who ‘gets it’ and knows who to deliver.”
  
  
• We are planning to CHANGE our SERVICE TIMES. The change will occur after daylight savings times, but before Easter. Both services will be moved up 30 minutes earlier. We have our reasons for this and I hope you trust our judgment, even if you don’t understand why. FYI, we would not even consider doing this if it were not for significant reasons. I will write about this soon to offer you a little insight.
  
  
• I’m still sticking to disciplined eating habits and intense exercise.
  
  
• I heard on the news this morning that there is some kind of contagious disease infecting scores of people at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion. Surprise! After all the activity that has taken place over the years at that party location you could probably contract an infectious, incurable, disease by simply inhaling the air.
  
  
• It means something to belong to the family of God and to be covered by the blood; the death angel “passes over” you.
  
  
• My mind has now been dumped, so I’m calling it a night.