You Down with GOC?

Last night, we had our Global Outreach Celebration (GOC) at Immanuel. It was pretty amazing to worship with dozens of missionaries from all around the world. Ken Whitten from Idlewild in Tampa, FL preached and did an awesome job. All in all, it was a great night. I am still getting calls this afternoon from people who were impacted by different parts of the worship. Mike's tribal drum solo in the beginning was pretty amazing, too. I almost broke into a native African dance, and probably would have...if only I had known one.

Update

I had told you a while back about Larry Merideth's race car accident. At the time, he was in a coma and had 3rd degree burns on his legs, pneumonia, and a blood infection. Well, God has chosen to answer our prayers and Larry was released from the hospital today. He is home now, and is planning on being at church this Sunday. Thanks for your prayers!

Not Needed, Your Honor

Well. It was a no-go on my first jury selection. I was finally called into the jury box to be questioned, but was quickly released. There's something about saying you're a minister that makes a defense attorney not want you on the panel. Oh well. I probably can make a better use of my time somewhere else. Maybe I didn't want to be on your silly little jury anyway. So there!

New People

I am pumped about having the opportunity last week to share Christ with a new family to Immanuel. They welcomed me into their home last Tuesday to visit with them, and I had the privilege of telling them how to know Christ. They were asking the questions, but in the end said they were not ready yet. So, I invited them back to church this past Sunday. One of our Bible Fellowship classes showed them Jesus by giving them a grocery card and a gas card. They were tripped out and couldn't believe people actually cared about their family. I don't think it will be long before they are saved. They seem very intrigued by the "Jesus" that they keep hearing about and want to know more about His word. So cool!

Worship Conference

I had the privilege of leading a session on Planning and Leading Worship at the Church Music Conference in Riverside, CA yesterday. I loved hanging out with tons of worship leaders, worship team members, and Pastors. It was awesome getting to know many of you and your teams. I will be leading another session at MUSICalifornia in Pasadena the week of March 24th, so make sure you come hang out with me.

I love talking about, teaching on, and hearing about WORSHIP. It is my favorite subject on the planet. So, it's really cool when I get to do conferences. I feel like I come away having learned more than I taught. And, to my guys from the Riverside Worship Conference...I'll see you in Pasadena!

Jury Duty

So, I went to report for Jury Duty today. It was my first time to ever be summoned. I sat for most of the morning before being called up to the court room. My fellow juror prospects and I were seated, sworn in, and then told we would need to come back on Monday for jury selection. Why? Well, it seems the prosecutor has laryngitis. So, I'm back to the court room on Monday.

I would actually enjoy serving on a jury. I don't dread it at all. I am very busy right now at Immanuel. But then again, when would be a good time? It is all pretty interesting to see how the court system works from the perspective of a juror. Well, that's all I can tell you about it. I've been sworn to silence about everything having to do with the case. So, we'll just leave it at that.

Global Outreach

We're having our Global Outreach Celebration (GOC) beginning Feb. 27th at Immanuel. This is a time where we minister to our missionaries from around the world, as well as educate our people on the impact that Immanuel is having through our giving to and participation in missions. Check out this video that we created to promote the week.

Long Weekend

We had a great weekend with the kids out of school. We were invited by friends to come to their home in the mountains. So, we loaded the family up and went and played in the snow for the day. We had a blast. Our friends, Bill and Kathy, had plenty of snow toys for them to play on.

Our full Monday off was spent mostly in the yard. We cut plants back. We raked leaves. We pulled weeds. And we had a blast doing it. The kids were a huge help. In the end, I took Caleb and Abby out to ride bikes.

Because Caleb had so many surgeries on his legs as a child...and considering the severity of each of them, he was not able to ride bikes as early as most kids. With reconstructive work on both feet, and repositioning of his lower leg bones and tendons, he is just learning to ride. So, he and Abby were out on training wheels and had a great time. I could tell that he was struggling with the uphill climb, but it should be good for his underdeveloped calf muscles. So, we're planning on getting each of them new bikes soon so that they have even more of a reason to get out on the road!

All in all, it was a great weekend. I love this dad gig I've got going.

Happy Valentine's Day

My Valentine has told me that I'm not allowed to plan anything for tonight. She is taking care of a Valentine's Day Dinner Surprise...whatever that means. Whatever she has planned, I'm sure it will be nice. She also told me not to buy her anything. She said that it would be better for us to save the money and just have dinner together tonight. I think this is a trick. I know better than to show up for dinner on Valentine's Day without a gift.

So, who made up a day like this anyway? Shouldn't we love and appreciate our "Valentines" everyday of the year? Who needs a crazy "day of love"? I think it is something dreamed up by marketing gurus who invented a day in which they could jack-up all of their prices on candy, flowers, and everthing else and we would have no choice but to buy it. Pretty good idea...but it puts every man in the free world in a bind.

But, let me be the first to say to the guys out there: "Don't show up tonight without a gift. If you do, we'll be reading about a modern day Valentine's Day Massacre with you as the headline."

Happy Valentine's Day. Eric...be careful.

Choir Feature

Every now and then I like to feature choir members who have greatly impacted the ministry in some way. Today, I want to feature Larry Meredith. Larry is a guy who is loved by everyone he comes into contact with. He also likes to race cars on the side. On February 2nd, Larry was involved in a crash during a race. He was knocked unconscious and the car caught on fire. Unfortunately, Larry sustained burns, most of which were on his legs. I had the opportunity to visit him and his wife in Phoenix yesterday. He is still in a drug-induced coma. I hated to see him in that condition, but we are believing God for a complete healing. We've already seen the testimony that he and Kathy have had for the Lord with other patients and hospital staff. We know God is bigger than their circumstances.

Please pray for Larry and for Kathy. He is very missed by the Immanuel Choir and we can't wait to have him back. To God be the Glory for what He's going to do!

Long Time No See

I know...I know....It has been forever since I've blogged. I was sick with strep throat last week, and then was out of town all week this week. I went to my MetroOne Conference in Atlanta, and it was unbelievable. I had the opportunity to sit around the table with the leading worship leaders in all of the country and hear what God is doing in their ministries. It helped to hear successes and failures, and I was encouraged that we are going in the right direction at Immanuel.

One of the highlights of the week was dinner on Thursday night. We were told to wear a suit and tie, but the location of our dinner was kept a secret. When we arrived, I was shocked to see that we were at the Governor's Mansion in Georgia. The amazement really kicked in when I realized we were having dinner with the Governor, Sonny Perdue, and his wife. A once in a lifetime opportunity.

One of my favorite vocalists in the world is Russ Lee . He was actually at the conference and I had the opportunity to spend a good bit of time with him. He sang the song "Georgia on my Mind" at the mansion, and it was amazing. What a night!

Speaking of Russ, please be in prayer for his wife, and their entire family. She has been battling cancer. However, their testimony of what God is doing in their lives is amazing.

It's good to be back. I can't wait to share some other things with you over the next few days. Be sure to check back!