I just spent the past 45 minutes of my evening on the Elevation Church website. This church has gone from 20 people to 5,000+ in just over two years. It is led by Steven Furtick who is only 28 years old. He had a dream and he chased it down. Now he's chasing bigger dreams.I am challenged to dream. Challenged to not be afraid. Challenged to go after what God has placed in my heart. This is what happens when I challenge myself. Listening to guys like Steven Furtick, Mark Batterson, The Catalyst Podcast, Erwin McManus, Mark Driscoll and others like them help challenge my status quo and get me...

I have had several conversations this week with people that I view as phenomenal leaders. You may not know them (yet), but they are going to do amazing things for the kingdom. I love sharing vision and seeing young adults take bold risks to chase their dreams.I am so encouraged by the people God has placed in my life. Seeing the faith of so many lion chasers makes me want to chase my dreams even harder. May I never become complacent. May I never believe that any dream is too big. May my trust be fully in God.Nothing is impossible.

God has opened an incredible door for me during my job hunt. I wanted to stay in the community doing something that I enjoy and was still able to interact with people. God answered this prayer last week at Caribou Coffee.For the past year the Caribou Coffee in North Charlotte has been our "office". We do our staff meetings here every Tuesday and other random meetings. The manager came to me last week and told me that she was looking to fill a position. We got to talking and before I knew it I was showing up in my black polo shirt and putting on a Caribou smock.I truly believe that God has...

I was duped as a child. We all were. Let me explain.Our most amazing form of discipline in the Docusen home is a pen these days. Every time my kids get out of line, Dara takes a pen and threatens to "scratch off one of their Christmas presents". They freak out, straighten up and beg for mercy. It's wonderfully effective. The only problem with this is that it's a total sham.Dara and I absolutely LOVE buying the kids the presents. Maybe even as much as they love getting them. To prove this point further, the presents that they "scratch off the list" are already under the tree. Dara and I wait...

This has been the best Thanksgiving weekend I have ever had.There is much to be said about absence making the heart grow fonder. My family is in Orlando and we are in Charlotte. We are all incredibly close, so having my mom, sister and nephews here for the weekend made for some very special memories. I wish the rest of my family could have been here, but I'll take what I can get these days.We spent all day Thursday eating, talking, eating, talking, etc. It was so great to simply be together. We split up the guys and girls on Friday. The girls went Christmas shopping and I took the boys to...

I am spending all day today with my son, Max (4) and my two nephews that are 11 and 8 years old. We're going to have a blast! This weekend has been so much fun having my mom, sister and nephews in town. Now it's time to brave black Friday with the boys (while the girls spend the money).

I laid down with Mary tonight as she was going to sleep. As I was laying next to her, I looked into her big brown eyes and said, "You're my beautiful girl." She looked back at me and said in her raspy tone, "You're my cool dad."My little princess. She melts me.

1 Peter 1:13-14 - So think clearly and exercise self control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. The phrase "look forward" reached out and grabbed me tonight as I was reading. I asked myself the question: "What's so important about looking forward?"Looking forward for Christ followers brings a sense of being centered. When I think ahead to the things that are to come I find a counter-balance to the reality of every day life. All of a sudden the trials and challenges of my days pale in comparison to what is to come:...

John Krall came in town from Orlando to hang with the Docusen fam this weekend. We've had so much fun doing a whole lot of nothing. Just hanging out, catching up, watching sports and talking. It's been so encouraging to have him around. John is a great friend and one of the most naturally gifted leaders and ministers that I know. I love being challenged by him and sharing my thoughts with him. He sharpens me. We headed out tonight to Uptown Charlotte. I don't quite know when downtown wasn't cool enough and the new, hip places changed to uptown. Whatever. I still call it Downtown Charlotte....

We are actively praying about what Hope is going to do about issues of social injustice in 2009. This has to be a part of our DNA from the very beginning. I am currently researching the ONE campaign and I love what I'm finding. This is the same organization that has led the charge for the RED campaign that includes GAP, iPod, Converse, American Express, Hallmark, etc.I am a big believer that there is no need to re-invent the wheel. If there is already a great organization doing big things, why fly solo? This organization is reaching out to all people as a matter of humanity, not just...