What are these numbers? The low temperatures in Charlotte for the next 3 days.That might as well be negative 40 considering I just moved to Charlotte after living in Orlando for 20 years. Lord, help me to adjust to the plummeting temperatures in this beautiful state. It's only October...It was always so warm in Florida.

Today was a great day.We started off with a great, great service today at Hope. From the get go this morning we had a great combination of our setup, practice, service, ministry and tear down. Great morning all around. Today was probably the most smooth, well organized service that we have had at Hope. And Mike's message was powerful and spot on for what we all needed to hear. Awesome close to our series, Believe.Top it off with an afternoon chocked full of football, some friends over for dinner, barbeque chicken on the grill and you've got yourself a great day! Now I'm watching the Bucs...

A thought came to me the other day while I was praying for our fundraising:I am trusting God for more than money. I am trusting him for his provision. Money is fleeting. Provision is lasting. Thank you, Lord, for your provision.

At our team meeting the other day, Mike challenged us with a thought about our outreach philosophy. He framed the idea like this:Do we reach out to the community for them to give something in return (come to Hope), or do we reach out to the community simply to bless them, expecting nothing in return?What a shift in thinking. I can honestly say that almost every outreach I have ever done always had at least a bit of "come to _______" (whatever church I was working with). For our Thanksgiving outreach this year, we have decided to put the blessings in the hands of our people.We will be giving...

In one of my favorite pieces of imagery in the Bible, Luke 15 says that all the angels celebrate when one person gives their heart to Christ. What an amazing mental picture!Monday night there was a party in heaven! During our small group, a new friend of ours, Charlie, gave his heart to Christ. Praise God!Welcome to the family, Charlie!

Here is a look at the new 6x9 inch communication card we just designed for our upcoming series "Provision".We print out our communication cards by series. We order enough to cover the length of the series and change the look and feel of each series. It's another way that we "brand" things at Hope. We are not just branding the church as a whole, we are actually "micro-branding" each series to give continuity of design and thought. The bottom portion of this card will be perforated to easily tear off and give to us each week.The idea is to keep this card simple and encourage people to head to...

I just had my first brat tonight.I know, I know...all my friends from Wisconsin seem to think this is some sort of sin, but I have never had a brat before tonight. One word: DELICIOUS.I am already looking forward to having another...

I love the fact that I am not a robot. God created me with the ability to reason. He gave me the ability to feel. He gave me the power of choice. He could have programmed me to love him, but that was not the type of love he wanted. He wanted my choice. It is that choice that makes me love him all the more.He doesn't force me to read my Bible. He doesn't force me to talk to him. I choose to read my Bible. I choose to pray. I choose to love him. I can also choose to ignore him or walk away. I decide how close I want to be in this relationship with God. He's always there, but my choice brings...

I am becoming more and more observant of the things that come out of my mouth as a father that would make no sense - or just be downright creepy - in any other context.Like today when Jack was running around the house and I looked over at him and said, "Jack! Get Wall-E's head out of your mouth!"It was a normal statement at the time...hindsight makes it quite a bit funnier.

Dara's aunt came over today with a special delivery for me. 10 pairs of jeans and 2 pairs of khakis. It's so funny how God is providing for us during this season of fund raising. It's like he is sending little reminders that he is there and providing. I had just been thinking about the fact that I was down to my last two pairs of jeans that were at least presentable.My mom made a funny observation when I told her. She said that if this were back in the "old days" that God would have provided me with a dozen new suits. Nowadays, God provides jeans for pastors.Thanks for the chuckle, Mom.