Pray

I cannot even get into what God is saying to me about prayer right now.....I just know this - the key to the "unleashing" of what God has in store for us at NStar is tied into "prayer". What is it going to take......what is God wanting from us......Will we become all He wants us to be???

I do not know the answers to these questions - I just know that God is speaking loud & clear and He has my attention!

I will keep you posted on this journey!

My girls

Casey & I are living quiet lives the next two days.....Our girls (Anne & Mary-Michal) are on the Vaughan Elementary 5th grade field trip - she called a few minutes ago and said they are freezing up there in Blue Ridge!

We got our hair cuts this afternoon - grabbed some Mexican - got home studied a little for one of his test and we are about to head out to baseball practice (indoors thankfully)!! Our goal is to stay busy and stay out of the house as much as possible so we don't get lonely!!

All that to say - I love my boy and I miss my girls!!

Great post!

Here is a great post from Daniel, our worship pastor at NStar! I think he is right on the money!!

Special Needs Dance

Yesterday I had the privilege of going to the special needs dance at Kennesaw Mountain High School. Holy cow....what a morning! This school models the very best about kids and what can happen when a culture of excellence is created!

Hundreds of middle school & high school special needs students are bused in from all over the county and the students at KMHS put on a dance that you would not believe! They have a red carpet from the buses to the gym where their cheer as these students come by and then there is another group of students in the gym who dance with them and have a super time!! What I love the most is that the students from KMHS want to be there and they pour their hearts & souls into this time! For many of these kids that come in - it is the only "prom" they may ever attend and they love it!! They are treated like royalty and the day is unforgettable!! The gym is decorated top to bottom and so many of the kids dress up for the day!! Ike Reighard leaned over to me during the dance and said, "I bet this is what heaven will look like"!! No doubt about it!!

NorthStar works with Kennesaw Mountain to pull off the day and it is one of the highlights of our year!! A huge shout out to Billy Richardson and his students and to Marlon, Kelley & NorthStar volunteers who made the day happen! To read what some others have said about the day - check this out

Sunday Stuff

• Whew.....what a morning!!
• Daniel, Josh & our bands nailed "Broken" by Lifehouse...the words to that song are over the top!
• Mike McClung was on the money with his testimony today - what a picture of what God can do when people are willing to share their lives with others!
• Met a great guy from Australia who was visiting today, he is a pastor and is in town for a conference! What a super guy!!
• I was blown away at the great crowds even though we still had 100+ away on the couples retreat....
• There is a feeling that is present on Sunday mornings that I have never experienced before....God is stirring hearts in a crazy way...some wild stories are going on that have God's handwriting all over them!
• I am going to kill Daniel for the "birthday" stuff from today.....I am getting to the age (39) that birthdays are cool to just skip
• Our baseball games were rained out today (the fields were still too wet from the rain the other day)...we were so bummed! Had a great workout with the guys but we are READY to play!
• Saw one of our Titan baseball players play in his championship basketball game (they won) - way to go Rizzer!!
• Tonight we went out as a family for my birthday dinner (Sapporo's Japanese Steakhouse)....Filet Mignon & Shrimp ------can't beat it!
• My girl Annie & the kids got me a set of Brave tickets for the spring (4 game pack) - How cool is that!!! It rocks to have a wife who is not only drop-dead gorgeous but she loves sports - does it get any better?
• Have management team meeting tomorrow at 6:30am! I can't wait to meet with our leadership and thank God with them for how we are being blessed!
• Going to special needs dance at Kennesaw Mountain High tomorrow AM - one of the greatest events of the year that I attend! To see 500+ KMHS kids host special needs kids and teach them to dance and be so sweet - it is an amazing spectacle!!
• So much today but SO much coming this week!!!! Can't wait!!!!
  

Solid!

I returned today from the Couples Retreat at Brasstown Valley.....here are some thoughts from the weekend:

• Steve Roach did an awesome putting together the weekend - way to go Roachie!
• Greg & Amanda were amazing as ever with worship!
• David Hodge from Winning with Encouragement was right on the money as he talked to couples about how they encourage each other in their journey in marriage! Good stuff - exactly what I needed!
• Met some incredible couples that I did not know.....so crazy that people are at NStar every weekend and I have never personally met them - loved meeting so many new people!
• Had a blast riding up & back with Daniel & Bonnie....truly some of the greatest people I have ever met!! As good of worship leaders as I have ever met but even better people!
• Saw Vantage Point on Friday afternoon before heading up.....good movie - action packed!
• Putting finishing touches on "Pieces" for tomorrow....I am praying for a huge day!
• Start our "regular" season for baseball tomorrow - can't wait (3&5) DH in Acworth - if you are bored come to the park near downtown and see us!! (Kennesaw Titans)
• Here are some great quotes from the weekend:

I don't know if there is anything that we need more in this world than encouragement - David Hodge

Best way to find encouragement is to be encouragement. DH

Love is an act of the will and not an exercise of the emotions - Unknown

A good marriage is the union of two forgivers - Ruth Bell Graham

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and to realize that the prisoner was you - Lewis Smedes

Get away!

Today, Anne & I are heading up to Brasstown Valley for the NorthStar Couples Marriage Retreat! We will join almost 60 other NStar couples tonight and we are pumped for a little time to chill and just enjoy! Steve Roach & his team have done a super job putting the weekend together and a great speaker, David Hodge, will be leading the weekend!

We will be riding up with Daniel & Bonnie and catching a movie & a great dinner on the way there! Though we will head back tomorrow afternoon - a night away will be nice!!!

I use a phrase a lot when we do marriage series and it is, "When a couple works at their relationship as they go - they do not have to work "on it" later".....Marriage is never easy but it can be great if work at it as you go!! I am proud of the NStar couples that will be there this weekend working "at" making their marriage all it can be!!!

Survivor

My family & I have been watching Survivor for a ton of years now. The phrase that starts the show "Outwit, Outplay & Outlast" is not a bad motto for life in the church world! I met this AM with one of my heroes in life & ministry, Ike Reighard, and he made a comment that was so true...."If you will just remain faithful and keep your walk right you will come out ahead because so many won't make it".....How true - but how sad!

A lot of people come & go but if you can stick it out and stick with the plan - you can do some great things over time!!

Outwit - be creative, stay on the edge, read - learn - grow, be around people smarter than you
Outplay - work hard, don't go until a lull or hit a rut for sustained periods, we call it staying in a full court press, keep your eyes on what others are learning & doing
Outlast - stick with long term - don't quit in tough times - keep yourself clean daily and you will watch weeks turn into months, months turn in to years and all of a sudden you come out ahead!

Process

Today was process day for our team.......we are working on refining our process of moving people through our system! This week has been the week of making sure we are doing what we do and doing it with excellence! It is so easy to just keep up week to week and not stay on the edge of making sure everything we do is clear to everyone!! It has been a fun week!

On the baseball front....the Titans started the year off with a 3-2 victory over the West Cobb Longhorns in a scrimmage game! What a great way to end the day!!

Team

We had an awesome time today in our creative team meeting! I love sitting with people who are sharper than me and that challenge me to do things smarter & better! Good is not good enough and that is just the way we work.....things are bigger and better than EVER but we know to get where we need to go we have to perfect the process!!

In our series Braveheart - people are moving a big way toward God and what He has for their lives, we want to make sure that we are providing the right opportunities for people to make the next step!!

This is fun!!

Crazy Day

• Great morning at NStar!!
• Crowds were a little down at our 9:30am service with the long weekend for Cobb County Students...the 11:00am was strong!!
• Tons of first time guests!!!
  
• We had between 15-20 first time people accept Christ this AM....it was solid!!
• Daniel wrapped the Compass Centre and Amanda the True North venue with "Amazing Grace my chains are gone"......WOW!!
• I cannot even begin to describe the mood in the room - it was thick and God is up to some cool stuff in people's lives!
• Our scrimmage game this afternoon got rained out...bummer - Casey shot by another park and watched some other teams play!! Always fun hanging out with my boy spitting seeds and watching baseball!
• Tonight we sat and balled our eyes out at Extreme Home Makeover (Hughes Family) in Louisville.....if I could be 1/2 of that dad - what a great man!!
• It has been a kicking Sunday and tomorrow I have taken the day off for some projects around the house!!
• Monday night - I am helping my buddy CA with his 7 & 8 year old team...this will be a blast!!!
  

Something Big!

I can't describe it......I can't explain it.......

but God is up to something big!!

I am praying that I don't get in the way of what He wants to do!!!

Quench

Why are our thirsts in life so hard to satisfy? Why do we constantly look in the wrong places to find what will really "quench" the thirst that we have?

I think I have a good idea just out of my own life! I really do not know what makes me thirsty...in fact, I would even say that I do not slow down long enough to even look inside and see. I bet most people find themselves in the same boat!

When we do find the "right" thing to satisfy us - it is a big deal! Life begins to make more sense and we do not waste so much time chasing after the wrong things.

Tomorrow at NStar we will continue our Braveheart and we will talk about the warrior David and how he found out what he was really thirsty for!! I can't wait - I feel like tomorrow is going to be big!

Sappy!

I have had the privilege of being around this community for a long time and with the size of NStar, I know a ton of people! In fact, it is really hard to go out & eat around Kennesaw or Acworth without seeing a ton of people that know me.....something that I absolutely do NOT mind at all!! But, what most of these people do not know is that the person who makes my life complete and gives me the support to do what I do is Anne....she is nothing short of amazing as a wife, mom & friend.....she is more than I could have ever asked or imagined in a wife & best friend!! She is incredible and though she may not be recognized by everyone that knows me....there would be no me without her!! Happy Valentines day to the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me!!!

Mid-week

Tomorrow I am gathering with a couple of team-mates to discuss a new "NorthStar" venture that I am totally pumped about.......Merge.....

I have a passion in 08 to reach two sets of leaders (one is business leaders in our community) many of our people lead their companies and have huge influence over others and also (coaches & principals)....these folks touch lives in ways that are really hard to measure! I will be starting a new coaches study in the fall!

Merge is about "merging" our faith into our week daily....it will be a 7:30-8:30am event in the True North building on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. We will have a breakfast you can pick up there and then some worship and then I will lead a teaching time on leadership and what God has to say about it!

I have mentioned this to about 10 business leaders and the response has been HUGE!!! We will kick off March 19th!!! I almost feel like we are starting a new church...a few jitters but a ton of excitement about all that is ahead!!

Way to go NorthStar PC!

Yesterday (one of our partner churches), NorthStar Church in Panama City, FL moved into their first building!! Marty and his team there have been knocking it out while meeting in a school.....there is no doubt that with their new location they have some HUGE days ahead! I have visited a couple of times while down on vacation and it is so cool to go to "another" NorthStar but feel so "at home" while being there!!! I am so proud of you Marty!!

Lessons learned - random thoughts

• Our community has no idea how much they need "the church"
  
• The "church" has no idea how much they need the community
• I believe that when the church starts doing it's part - communities can be changed for the better!
• I don't believe for a second that we can do it on our own!
• I pray God sends more great churches our way that we can partner with to get the job done!
• The people that we serve are ALWAYS more important the programs we deliver!
• I am no stronger than the team that I serve with - better stay strong as a team to keep moving ahead!
• The church always operates best when we take the least credit for what is happening!

I have loved living in Kennesaw/Acworth area for the past 17 years. What God has done during that time is nothing short of amazing! When I moved here there wasn't much going on - now - there are great churches all over the place (Burnt Hickory, North Metro, West Ridge, Riverstone, Cobb Vineyard, Freedom , West Cobb among a ton of others) There are a lot I am sure that are not great but there a ton that are really good and these guys keep us sharp and on the edge! I wonder in 17 more years what will happen all around us - can't wait to see!!!

Thrive thoughts

Here is a post on a facebook page of a NorthStar young lady who attended Thrive.....incredible - great insight for an adult but for a student.....WOW!

This weekend has made me think. Its one thing to accept God into your life and believe what the Son of God has done for us and our sins, but apart of it is to LIVE everyday and put him first. And ya know what? We usually don't. Humans are selfish people. Its a fact. We tend to think of ourselves first. But as we got through the day and complete our "To-do lists" filled with homework, ball practice, club meetings, boyfriends/girlfriends, jobs, friends ect., how do we NOT put Jesus first? How do we NOT put the Son of God on our top of our lists to listen to, worship and read His word? Its crazy. Our world is a crazy world. And Jesus knows this. But He has given us EVERYTHING in this crazy world. Salvation, love, forgiveness, care, protection, and most of all.... life. Everyday I do what I need to do, get what I need to get done, and then at the very end of the day, right before I go to sleep I read my Bible and pray. Why put Him last? He put His Son first. Jesus was put on the cross to die for everyone in the world. For their sins, sufferings, pain. Jesus paid it all. We should wake up each day and say "Wow. Thank You Lord. Another day here in the world, with You. Thank You." We should put him first on our "To-do lists". He put us on His. Its time to say Yes to what the Lord wants us to do. He has plans for us. People, lets ALL wake up together and show this world how much His people love Him. Lets show the world exactly why we put Jesus first everyday. Lets show this crazy world the peace we could have if everyone shines from God's glory. Lets make it happen. Lets make Jesus on the top of our lists. I love all of you so much, and I want to thank Brad, Nick and Mike expecially for making me wake up and say "Yes!" Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. Isaiah 26:8 Lets make Him the desire of our hearts. Spread the Word. Love Him, Live Him Praise Him.

Thank you Sara for blessing me with your post!

Weekend recap!

What a weekend it was......here are some highlights:

• Largest "Thrive" weekend we have ever had....great job to our student ministry team (Nick, Brad, Sharon, Greg & Amanda)......SOLID!!
• I spoke 3 times to the students and loved getting to know them......we have some STUD students who God is doing amazing things through!!
• Last night at our closing session, Chris Orr & his band absolutely blew the lid off in worship and Chris had the students read Is. 53 and look at what Christ did on their behalf and he talked about that is WHO we worship....and sang a song "Worthy is the Lamb"...never heard it but it was strong! I spoke for 5-10 minutes and challenged students from Is. 26:8 "Yes Lord" and we talked about saying yes to God
• 20 students gave their lives to Christ last night
• 100+ made the commitment to "say yes" in living for Him and making His name famous on their campuses.......WOW....blown away....humbled!!
• We then went to Ultimate Dodgeball where our staff team was smoked by some high school guys......I still hate losing!!! Totally fun however!!
• Today - we cranked up the Braveheart series with STRONG....how do we keep our hearts strong in tough times....It was a "thick" day and you could feel God's hand heavy on our people
• Lisa Jones came up after the message and belted "Anyway" by Martina McBride.....over the top - out of the park - Incredible!!!
  
• What a day!! I met so many that are facing the "stuff" of life and today was perfect!!
• I don't normally encourage you to download a message but this is one you want - the content from Ps.27 is right on the money for where we live!! www.northstarchurch.org
• Baptized 10+ after the service - that is always a blast....love seeing adults & kids following thru on what God has done in their lives!
• Great day of baseball today - NOW I am going to chill for the evening!!!
• What a weekend - what a day - what a God!!!
  

Thrive Weekend!

Here is the fact....I am a "student pastor" by heart who happens to be a senior pastor for my day job!! There is NO ONE on any team that I respect more than guys that give their lives to students!! After serving in student ministry for 5+ years - I never lost my love for students and my love for seeing what God can do through some one (6th-12th grade) that is sold out for him!!

This weekend, our student ministry team is hosting "Thrive weekend"....Disciple Now as we used to call it and almost 25o students are packed in houses (brave host) all over West Cobb! They kicked off tonight and the Chris Orr band is blowing it out in worship and Brad & Nick were brave enough to ask me to speak for the weekend!! Tonight was an incredible start to the weekend as we talked about "His name & renown being the desire of our hearts". If 250 students could live that - it could change every campus they walk on next week!!

Pray with me that God will show up this weekend and do some incredible stuff that only He can do!! I will speak again in the AM and then again tomorrow night.......I am praying that the words on those pages in scripture will jump off and crawl up into their lives and they will never be the same!! 7 of the 12 players on my 14u travel team are part of Thrive as well - how unreal would it be to see God stir their hearts and do something much bigger than baseball!!!!

Incredible Staff Meeting

Yesterday we had an incredible staff training time for our NStar team! Once a month, we have in a great leader to challenge and sharpen our team! We have had great Pastors such as: Brian Bloye, Shawn Lovejoy, Ike Reighard, Ken Williams and Andy Stanley. We have also had great business leaders: Ira Blumenthal (Branding Expert), Chuck Bengochea (CEO of Honeybaked Hams), Dr. Jeff Terrell (President of PSI) and yesterday famed sports psychologist Dr. Jack Llewellyn. Dr. Jack worked most notably with John Smoltz and spent many years in the Braves dugout working with the players on the mental side of the game!! He has worked with corporations and now works with many of the NASCAR drivers.

We learned a ton but I guess the biggest take-away of the day for me was that we play best when we don't relax but when we play on an emotional edge, passionately doing what we love to do!! It is amazing how much our attitude plays into what we do!! I am in the middle of his book right now and it is right on the money!! Great stuff - thanks Dr. Jack for challenging our team!!

This is too good.......

I have had the opportunity to meet Rick Warren a couple of times through the years. NorthStar won the Church Health Award two years ago and we went and spent some time at Saddleback, it was amazing! I have also been to a couple of small setting lunches with Rick and I always leave so blessed and so blown away at Rick's kindness and humility.

Today, Mark Batterson posted about a lunch he just had with Rick. His blog was so strong, I wanted to post it for you! Thank Mark for passing on your notes so we can be challenged!

Integrity. Humility. Generosity.

By Mark Batterson

"I'd rather die than embarrass Jesus Christ."

Of all the things Rick Warren said, I feel like that statement was the most powerful. Really appreciate Rick's humility and transparency. He talked about the three temptations leaders face. They are the same temptations Jesus faced in the desert.

The first temptation is lust of the flesh. Satan says to Jesus, "Turn these stones into bread." He was tempting Jesus to use his gifts for self-gratification. And the antidote is integrity.

The second temptation is lust of the eyes. Satan shows him the kingdoms of the earth and says all this can be yours. Rick said the temptation is taking shortcuts to accumulate things. And the antidote is generosity. By the way, Rick reverse tithes. In other words, he gives 90% and lives off 10%. Awfully inspiring!

The third temptation is the pride of life. At some point you can stop building altars to God and start building monuments to self. The antidote is humility. And I love Rick's definition. Humility is not denying our strengths. It is admitting our weaknesses.

Good stuff. I think he'd dead on. Integrity, humility and generosity are the greatest safeguards against the temptations leaders face.

Tuesday

I couldn't think of anything creative to call tomorrow.....so, Tuesday will work!

Tomorrow AM, I will continue our series through Andy Stanley's book "Visioneering" about the life of Nehemiah. It is so cool to work through with these executives and see where we each are in our own personal journey's. In Chapter 3 we are going to talk about what God does in our lives when we are waiting on Him to answer and to move. The key to remember, God is at work all the time whether I am see Him working or not! Boy, if I could master that it would be super!!

We will gather in our Creative team meeting at 9am and we will talk thru the last Sunday of "Take-Out" and talk through Brave-heart! Can't wait to meet with these guys!!

I will then hit the road to the southside of Atlanta for a funeral service of my neighbor while growing up. He & his wife have lived beside my parents since 1973.....it will be a sad day I know for his family.

Tuesday's are always big days in getting the week cranking - love meeting with the executives, love meeting with creative team.......these guys all challenge me and I love that feeling!!!!

Rearview Mirror

• We wrapped up our Take-out series with "How may I serve you?".....this series is WHO we are at NStar and it was FUN to share our passion!!
  
• Rolled out our new community web-site www.northstarinthecommunity.com
  
• I am excited that people will have a way to keep up with everything going on and find a spot to help us do "take-out"!
• The crowds were slammed again...our parking is getting tapped out!!!
• Worship was as usual ON!!! Stephanie & Josh were amazing in the Compass Centre and Daniel knocked it out in True North!!
• I hear awesome stuff about the TN service.....things are really starting to click and get into a groove!!
• Next week we begin Brave-heart...this series is about the wounds of warrior - King David. He is known for his battle wounds -but he had some tremendous personal wounds that we all face. This series is going to be incredible and I pray that NStar folks invite their friends to come with them - I think it is going to touch some nerves!!
• My friends, Dave & Angela, flew back to Phoenix yesterday - sad to see them go and praying that God opens the doors for them to move here! Dave is a math teacher & baseball coach - he is the kind of guy we WANT with our kids at school!!
  
• Yesterday, our team shocked me with a part of the service thanking me for the 11 years I have been at NStar......I was blown away - they had some pics from the early days....I have gotten old!!! I was 28 when we started NStar.....crazy!!! What they did meant the world to me and it is also makes me wonder - what else have they worked on that I had no idea of!! (HA!)
• Spent the afternoon on the diamond with my ball team - we crank it up in a few weeks!! Can't wait - love to have you come out & see us!!
• Last night we crashed, ate Pizza (broke my carb diet for the night) and watched the Giants shock the world!!!! Eli's play at the end of the game, getting out of the sack and the catch that the receiver made was one of the greatest plays I have ever seen in sports!!! Loved it!!!
• Today - Braveheart work and getting ready to speak at Thrive!!!
  

Take-out Week 3

Big weekend ahead.....we finish up our Take-out series on Sunday! This weekend we will be talking about "How may I serve you?"

I am avid "church" watcher and I love to follow what others are doing.....They are some great churches out there that are flat-out getting it done! I think there a couple of common denominators that all of these have: strong leadership, great communicators, compelling vision, great children & student ministries, kicking worship, etc......

All of those are great things and there are some churches that are knocking it out in each of those areas. I believe the one area that very few churches are getting it done is in the area of "influencing" their communities and serving them until they ask why!

I pray that NorthStar will be a church that so impacts our community that when you think of Acworth, Kennesaw & NW Cobb that NorthStar is mentioned in the same sentence!

Next year we are shooting to do a "Take-out" conference at NStar and share some of the lessons that we have learned the past 11 years! If every church became the bridge builder for the community and took on their communities as their challenge - we could see a change that would be unbelievable!! Can't wait!!! Check out our new website for community...www.northstarinthecommunity.com