I received an email today from the team that runs the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, GA. They are a leading voice on what's happening in the world of leadership and their podcast is an awesome resource for young leaders. They had heard about our story of planting Hope Church in Charlotte and one of their team members nominated Dara and I for a scholarship to attend the conference this year. Dara and I have wanted to attend this conference for years.I was so humbled and blown away that someone had even thought of us. Not sure what comes out of this, but I am so grateful that we are even...

Luke 18:17 - I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.I was on the stage Sunday morning during the final part of Mike's message. As I looked out at the crowd, I saw something that gripped my attention and impacted me so deeply. Upon completing his message, Mike asked if there were people who were in need of healing in their lives.Sitting in the second row was an elementary aged boy with his father. He has been battling a sickness for several years. His lifted hands were formed in the shape of a cup as he reached to heaven. Tears...

There is no greater honor in my life on this side of heaven than to be called husband and daddy. My wife and kids honored me in such an amazing way on Sunday. The kids came running down the stairs so excited to give me my Father's Day present they had worked so hard on all week.Each of them answered questions asked by Dara and she put their response into a scrapbook with pictures. They drew me original Docusen Kid artwork. Each of them told stories (even Jack, our two year old) and Dara wrote them out word for word. The last page of the scrapbook was a collection of pictures from the last 5...

Random thought of the day: I feel so blessed to be able to do ministry with the people I love and respect. I love the fact that I get to do a job that makes my dreams come true while making the dreams of others come true at the same time.God has blessed Dara and I so much to be able to do what we love!

I took Max to work with me for the first time yesterday. It was so much fun! I used to dream of the day that my kids were old enough (and calm enough) to spend days with me at work.We spent the morning setting up our kids church equipment, toys, curtains and gates at Mallard Creek Elementary in preparation for our first service there on Sunday. Max was SUCH a big helper! After we finished I let Max decide where he wanted to eat lunch. Of course, McDonald's was the choice of the day. We had such a great time together. He's a great, great kid. Love him so much.On a side note, I don't know when...

I have found that getting into the flow of a consistent routine in my time with God is what brings life, energy, love, creativity, peace and so much more in my life. For the past couple of years, I have been pretty adamant about fighting for a specific routine in my personal time with God. I would read from the beginning of one book of the Bible, take my time (sometimes up to a couple of months in one book of the Bible) and journal.Recently, I have found a new rhythm of routine in my devotions. It has been a great change of pace in my personal time with God. I found a devotional book that...

I believe that yesterday may have been the most significant Sunday in the brief history of Hope Church. We had our final service at the Starlight Theater. It was great, but that in itself was not what I found to be so telling of where we are at as a church and how far we have come in eight months.We asked our people to stick around and help pack everything up and make the move to Mallard Creek Elementary school. We had well over 50 people stay to help load the U-Haul. Another 35-40 people actually made the drive to the school to help us unload.We came to Charlotte with no official core group...

Saturday was quite a day. Let me explain...1. Performed the wedding ceremony for Jeff and Jess Senechal. Went amazing (see pics in previous post).2. Left immediately after the wedding ceremony because I had to catch a flight out of Buffalo, NY. Drove through the back country of Canada. Got lost. Then found my way (thanks to the handy Google maps application on my phone).3. Finally arrived at the Canadian border at Niagara Falls. Had to return my rental car on the Canadian side of the Falls because you can't return a Canadian-rented car in America without astronomical charges.4. Found out...

Here's some pics from Jeff and Jess Senechal's wedding. The property is Jess' aunt's. Such a beautiful day!

I have spent the morning going over the wedding ceremony for Jeff and Jess. This is one of my favorite things to do in ministry. I love weddings. I love playing a small part in such an amazing day that two people have looked forward to for the entire lives.I find myself quite emotional when doing ceremonies for those that I have close relationships. I try to spend the morning of wedding days letting those emotions run through so that I can make it through the ceremony without being the emotional one. Today is all about Jeff and Jess, so I spend quite a bit of time looking over my notes and...