The latest Article

Check out the link here for the latest article about SouthPoint that was in this Saturdays paper.

http://www.desototimes.com/articles/2007/01/29/news/news05.txt

Have You Thought About it?

Working with people is the most invigorating thing I have ever done. It is so cool to watch people step into different roles and stretch their abilities and talents to serve the Kingdom of God. It is truly one of the things in life that puts a smile on my face. Of course the counter to that is seeing people at the wall. That wall of, "If I go forward I will have to change. I will have to face difficult things, and I will have to change some of my thinking. Or, if I am not willing to change, then I must stay where I am: Socially, Emotionally, Economically, and Spiritually."

We are all given a choice. A choice to move on or stay the same. See I have this firm belief that leaders are not born, but are raised up. God makes leaders, it's just up to each individual to overcome certain "walls" in their lives and grow into that leadership role. Yes, for some it may be harder than for others, but never impossible. Each person is loaded with potential. Loaded with gifts, talents, and skills that God wants to use in the Kingdom of God, we just have to make the choice.

"That's Easy! Of course I wanna move forward and upward." Did I mention that to do that we many times have to let go of old mindsets? Let go of old thinking? The problem with old mindsets is that we don't realize that they are old mindsets, they're just our thoughts. That's why the bible says we need a vision. It says in Proverbs that without a vision the people perish. We have to get a vision for the things on the OTHERSIDE of the wall. It doesn't come by guessing, it comes by tapping into God and allowing him to open our minds and hearts enough to dream......Dream into a vision......Vision into a climbing expedition to get over that wall.

You can do it.
Lay down the extra heavy thoughts.
Open up your mind.
Get a dream.
Get a vision.
Let's climb.
I believe that God has some awesome things on the other side of the wall for all of us.

Day in the Life.

Well, our first official service seems like a distant memory. I can barely remember.....NOT! This week has been filled with awesome phone calls and meetings with awesome people. Everyone I talk to seem so excited about this new style of church. The adjective I've heard the most is. "Fresh." Now I know we get in trouble if we just start believing our own press, but it is reassuring to know that people do think our services are fresh. I mean after all that is one thing we strove to accomplish, a fresh [new] way to do church.

I read in a book the other day [I'm a book junkie] that even the deepest rooted traditions in the church started out as a revolutionary idea. That made me think. Thinking is good. That means if we are not careful the very things we find being cutting edge-revolutionary today, holds the potential to be a deep rooted sacred cow in 20 years. Yuck! Could you imagine our kids telling their kids, "No we do it that way b/c that's how it has always been done! You have to put the words on the screen, we cannot read them out of a book!" Funny huh?

I think one of the challenges is continuing to keep services fresh and in tune with what God is doing today. Not yesterday, and not even tomorrow. We can also be in danger of trying to be the 'future' church. well, the problem with that is that we would be so future that we wouldn't be relevant to today. Yea, I think God is really in to relating today.

It Worked!

Tons of planning.....hours of prayer......lots of people joining with us and supporting us.....and it worked! Today we launched SouthPoint! It was an incredible experience. Our team preformed flawlessly. Things were set up without a hitch, they were broken down and loaded up in time, and on top of all that, we still had time to pull off one incredible service. I can't just tell you how awesome it was, you would almost have to experience it. Everyone that came was so friendly and nice it was great! Ya know it's awesome that SouthPoint has so many people in our corner. My phone started ringing at 6AM this morning with people calling to tell me they were praying for us and thinking of us. Three churches interrupted their services to pray for us! Tree of Life in Naples, FL., Mosaic, in Charlotte, NC., and The Life Church in Atlanta, GA. How awesome is it that other churches are supporting us, and then on top of that we have the support of ARC! [if you don't know ARC then go to our website and find out.]

I'm looking forward to this coming Sunday to just see what God is gonna do. He definitely rocked the house today!

Our Band:
Patti - Lead vocals
Marco - Lead guitar/vocals
Sara - Vocals
Tyson - Bass guitar
Matt - Drums
Camaron - Keyboard
Allister - Electric guitar

Attendance: 173
Re-committed their lives to Christ: 6

HERE WE GO!

We've been building a team to launch a church.....now:
3
2
1
HERE WE GO!

The stuff is in place. The relationships have been formed, and the equipment has been purchased. We've put out signs, bought ads, talked until we are talked out. Now, all that work will reap dividends! I am so excited to be serving with all of you. You are the greatest team on planet earth and I know that God has Great and awesome things in store for SouthPoint! This Sunday is gonna rock our worlds, and it's going to rock the enemies world as well, but in a totally different way!

Whatever you do, make sure that this Sunday you have fun! Enjoy every moment. Enjoy every smile, frown, giggle, and chuckle. Our first Sunday only happens once. Many times we are so excited to look forward to the next new thing that we often miss the moment. The moment that we worked for. The moment. Just the moment. So this Sunday, enjoy. Enjoy the new friends you will meet. Enjoy the people. Enjoy the smells, the sights, and the touches. It will only happen once. It can't be repeated, or duplicated. It is a one time event that will change our lives forever.

I look forward to living it with each and everyone of you!

Phenomenal Give Back!

Phenomenal is the right word for our gas give away! It was simply spectacular. The workers at the gas station were wonderful and friendly and the people from the community were blown away. They couldn't believe that a church would simply give gas away! No strings, no catches, no surveys to fill out, no sinners prayer being said. Simply a church giving back to the community. The smiles on peoples faces, and the excitement in their voices was so much fun. I mean seriously, let's be honest, it was only ten bucks a car. In the scheme of life that is but a small drop in the bucket. But I think it was just the fact that we were giving something free. No strings. No catches.

One guy that pulled up asked, What's the catch?" I replied, "No catch, just free gas." He said, "Oh come on nothings free!" I said, "Well, normally that's true, but today, gas is free." He smiled really big and said, "Wow, now that's' cool."

Isn't it just flat out fun to make people smile? To share the love of Christ with them in a practical way is just easy and fun! Wow! I know everyone that volunteered to stand out in the rain and hold signs, and to pump gas will honestly say it was worth it. Daniel [team member] said that it was the best time he had in a long time. Dawn [team member] said that she had a blast! Trevor, Wendy, and Ida were the bombs standing out on the road with a sign in one hand and an umbrella in the other.....YOU GO TEAM!

In case you were un aware, SouthPoint has the GREATEST TEAM EVER! You guys ROCK my face off!

Team Members Present:

Cory
Lee
Craig
Daniel
Mike
Jenna
Ida
Trevor
Robin
Wendy
Dawn

GO TEAM!

I Got Gas

With our first practice service behind us [barely], we look forward to this coming weekend. It's not just another practice service on Sunday, oh no it is that plus more!

We have partnered with Schnuks gas station and are giving away free gas! Are we crazy or what? Yea I know, we are. But absurdity aside, this Saturday is gonna be off the charts fun! How many churches do you know of that just allow people to pull up and get $10 free gas? no surveys, no questionnaires, no 10 steps to salvation, not even a prayer! Just a simple, "Hey Thanks for being a part of our community!"

So this Saturday in Southaven on Goodman road, we will be giving away GAS! It all begins at 10PM unless you are a member of the SouthPoint team and then you need to be there at 9AM so we can get organized.

First Practice Service

Simply astounding! When you bring a team of 40 people together to unload a trailer they have never seen, unpack equipment they have never seen, and to set up in a theatre that few had seen.....you expect certain moments of utter diaster however, we had none! Everything went excellent! I have decided that SouthPoint has a team of the most gifted leaders ever. Now if you're on the team and you say, "I'm not a leader just a worker." WRONG! Everybody on the SouthPoint team is an increbily creative leader. I am humbled by the fact that everyone is following this idea.....this growing passion. A passion to make a difference. A concept of being part of a community that strives to be activly involved in their surroundings. Not running from darkness, but facing it as a soldier.

Let me simply throw out a million kudos to the SouthPoint team! I am stoked to serve side by side with you guys.

Click on the Flickr side bar to view more pictures of our first Sunday in the Malco.

It fit!

Yesterday we pulled out all the stuff we bought for the church. It was a ton! The whole time I kept thinking, "it ain't gonna fit! It ain't gonna fit!" Some ladies organized all the bins. Labeled everything, and got it all divided up into the children's bins. [Hey did I mention we have a thump'n sound system?] Anyway, we worked all day and finally got everything organized and crammed into our 32' trailer.
When we bought the trailer i thought, "Wow that's huge!" Then we accumulated all of our gear and I thought, "Wow, I hope this trailer is big enough." But it all fit and all is good. Today we get to hook up the sound system and plug our rock'n band into it for the first time. YEA BABY!
We also got our mailer in. Question.......have you ever seen 43,000 pieces of mail? I haven't. It filled the back of my pickup, and was stacked up to the top of the cab. That my friend is ALOT of mail!
Also today we start our fast. [did i mention there is alot going on right now?]
We are fasting for the next 14 days. We need God. Like it says in Proverbs 21, do everything you can, prepare for every bad thing, and then you still have to step back and trust God to bring the victory. With out The presence of God everything is just......well.....its just stuff. It takes God to change lives, and that is what we're after; Changed lives.
So whether you are a part of the Southpoint team or not, join us in prayer for this exciting launch of a brand new church in Desoto county! It's now only days away!
January 21! Wow, that's close.

Fasting tips and helps

Since we are beginning our fast this Saturday I thought it would be good to post some tips and helps on fasting. These are copied directly from billbright.com/ and are very good. You can also go to his websight and gleen other useful information there if your would like. But I thought this would give us all something to chew on for a while.....yes pun intended.

How you begin and conduct your fast will largely determine your success. By following these seven basic steps to fasting, you will make your time with the Lord more meaningful and spiritually rewarding.

STEP 1: Set Your Objective

Why are you fasting? Is it for spiritual renewal, for guidance, for healing, for the resolution of problems, for special grace to handle a difficult situation? Ask the Holy Spirit to clarify His leading and objectives for your prayer fast. This will enable you to pray more specifically and strategically.

Through fasting and prayer we humble ourselves before God so the Holy Spirit will stir our souls, awaken our churches, and heal our land according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. Make this a priority in your fasting.

STEP 2: Make Your Commitment

Pray about the kind of fast you should undertake. Jesus implied that all of His followers should fast (Matthew 6:16-18; 9:14,15) For Him it was a matter of when believers would fast, not if they would do it. Before you fast, decide the following up front:

How long you will fast - one meal, one day, a week, several weeks, forty days (Beginners should start slowly, building up to longer fasts.)
The type of fast God wants you to undertake (such as water only, or water and juices; what kinds of juices you will drink and how often)
What physical or social activities you will restrict
How much time each day you will devote to prayer and God's Word
Making these commitments ahead of time will help you sustain your fast when physical temptations and life's pressures tempt you to abandon it.

STEP 3: Prepare Yourself Spiritually

The very foundation of fasting and prayer is repentance. Unconfessed sin will hinder your prayers. Here are several things you can do to prepare your heart:

Ask God to help you make a comprehensive list of your sins.
Confess every sin that the Holy Spirit calls to your remembrance and accept God's forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
Seek forgiveness from all whom you have offended, and forgive all who have hurt you (Mark 11:25; Luke 11:4; 17:3,4).
Make restitution as the Holy Spirit leads you.
Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit according to His command in Ephesians 5:18 and His promise in 1 John 5:14,15.
Surrender your life fully to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Master; refuse to obey your worldly nature (Romans 12:1,2).
Meditate on the attributes of God, His love, sovereignty, power, wisdom, faithfulness, grace, compassion, and others (Psalm 48:9,10; 103:1-8, 11-13).
Begin your time of fasting and prayer with an expectant heart (Hebrews 11:6).
Do not underestimate spiritual opposition. Satan sometimes intensifies the natural battle between body and spirit (Galatians 5:16,17).

STEP 4: Prepare Yourself Physically

Fasting requires reasonable precautions. Consult your physician first, especially if you take prescription medication or have a chronic ailment. Some persons should never fast without professional supervision.

Physical preparation makes the drastic change in your eating routine a little easier so that you can turn your full attention to the Lord in prayer.

Do not rush into your fast.
Prepare your body. Eat smaller meals before starting a fast. Avoid high-fat and sugary foods.
Eat raw fruit and vegetables for two days before starting a fast.
Your time of fasting and prayer has come. You are abstaining from all solid foods and have begun to seek the Lord. Here are some helpful suggestions to consider:



Avoid drugs, even natural herbal drugs and homeopathic remedies. Medication should be withdrawn only with your physician's supervision.
Limit your activity.
Exercise only moderately. Walk one to three miles each day if convenient and comfortable.
Rest as much as your schedule will permit.
Prepare yourself for temporary mental discomforts, such as impatience, crankiness, and anxiety.
Expect some physical discomforts, especially on the second day. You may have fleeting hunger pains, dizziness, or the "blahs." Withdrawal from caffeine and sugar may cause headaches. Physical annoyances may also include weakness, tiredness, or sleeplessness.
The first two or three days are usually the hardest. As you continue to fast, you will likely experience a sense of well-being both physically and spiritually. However, should you feel hunger pains, increase your liquid intake.

STEP 5: Put Yourself on a Schedule

For maximum spiritual benefit, set aside ample time to be alone with the Lord. Listen for His leading. The more time you spend with Him, the more meaningful your fast will be.

Morning

Begin your day in praise and worship.
Read and meditate on God's Word, preferably on your knees.
Invite the Holy Spirit to work in you to will and to do His good pleasure according to Philippians 2:13.
Invite God to use you. Ask Him to show you how to influence your world, your family, your church, your community, your country, and beyond.
Pray for His vision for your life and empowerment to do His will.
Noon

Return to prayer and God's Word.
Take a short prayer walk.
Spend time in intercessory prayer for your community's and nation's leaders, for the world's unreached millions, for your family or special needs.
Evening

Get alone for an unhurried time of "seeking His face."
If others are fasting with you, meet together for prayer.
Avoid television or any other distraction that may dampen your spiritual focus.
When possible, begin and end each day on your knees with your spouse for a brief time of praise and thanksgiving to God. Longer periods of time with our Lord in prayer and study of His Word are often better spent alone.