Wet & Holy

I am so stoked! July 8th we are doing our very first water baptism at SouthPoint! It is going to be at Kevin McCandless' house at 6PM. We are going to do the whole finger food, hangout thing. And then BAPTIZE!!!! Yea! This is going to be an awesome event that will be a major line of demarcation in so many peoples lives. If you want to be baptized you can email me for more specifics, or you can sign up in the lobby Sunday at the welcome table. of course if you're reading this blog from a different state or city, well then, never mind. But I'm still stoked about Baptizing!!!! YEA!!!!

Why Am I Here Again?

‘Why am I here’ is a very popular question. So many people ask it and even more people think it. It’s like we get our life somewhat on track and then we get hit with the mother of all questions, ‘why am I here?’ I can answer that question in six hundred words or less!
To answer it we have to answer an even bigger question that will in turn answer our question. Confused yet? Probably not, you appear to be highly intelligent. The bigger question is why did God make man? Why did this omnipotent God choose to create man? In fact, why did He even take the time to create the Earth, and the garden of Eden so that man would have a place to live? Why?
When you look at the creation account you see that God not only created everything, by calling it into existence, He did it so that man would have a place not to just exist, but to live and flourish. God’s creation was established for man, so that man could thrive. Of course that still doesn’t answer the why question. Remember I said in six hundred words or less.
So God spoke all this good stuff into existence, then God changes His tactics and bends down and creates man. The book of Genesis says that God breathed life into Adam’s still form. Imagine, God did not just say, “Let there be man.” But He took His time to create, make, and mold, man; and then breath the very creative breathe into man. This is the same creative breath that went forth to create the land, the sun, the animals, and the leaves. This breath is what invaded Adam’s body and brought him to life.
The bible goes on to tell us that God created man on the sixth day. So what did God do on the seventh day? I’m sure you already know the answer since you probably went to Sunday School, I mean why else would you be reading this article? Yes! God rested. Man’s very first full day on planet earth was spent resting, hanging out with God, the creator. You might not realize it, but I am really close to answering your big question, and I have over a hundred words left!
God created man not to perform by jumping through hoops. He did not create man to have some sort of voodoo doll where he could inflict pain at will. No! God created man so that He could fellowship with him. God created the Earth so that He, God, could have an environment in which to walk and talk with man. Our existence is summed up in a relationship with God.
Why are we here you ask? It’s actually an easy answer. We are here to have a relationship with God. God desires it. It is why we were originally formed from the dust of the ground. Why the Triune God-head knelt down and formed the first mud pie was so that we could partake of the first human – divine relationship. Of course we struggle with this assessment some what because we all know that relationships are messy. They never go exactly like you planned, some times they are uncomfortable, and some times they are a blast. When you put the two extremes together, and all the stuff in between, you have the ingredients for a relationship. And that is exactly what God is looking for. Not perfection. Just simply a relationship and that is why you are here; In less than six hundred words.

Clean or Funky?

In Acts 10:15 we find this neat little phrase,
But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”

It comes from the vision that Peter received while on the roof on Acts. If you want the whole story then crack your bible and read it. I read it this morning and I thought to myself, wow. I wonder how many things in my own life am i calling unclean when God is calling clean? How many things am I saying is unclean just because I was taught it was unclean? And vise versa. How many things am I saying is clean when it is really unclean?

It is so important in life to hear from God not tradition. It is so vital to continually have an open and contrite heart, that allows God to speak into our lives in a powerful way. Of course just like Peter on the roof, God may speak, but we are so deeply rooted in our traditions that we think God is crazy because surely he wouldn't be telling us to do that! But like God said in Isaiah, "I am doing a new thing."

Last time I checked a new thing means......NEW! No previous track record! No pre-established form! Simply NEW!

Yea I like new. I enjoy new, don't you? That shinny sparkly thing that makes everyone oooo and aaaaahhhhh!

So today I'm gonna try and figure out the things in my life that I am holding on to just because I always have. I think it's time to not only hear from God, but apply what we hear.

Man Notes - (not flatulence)

I realized just the other day that boys are different than girls. Have you ever noticed that, or am I the first person to receive this revelation? I’m sure everyone has noticed a minor difference or two if you’ve ever raised children, or if you have children, especially one of each variety, then you have undoubtedly noticed the differences as well. My girls like shiny things and my boy likes dirty things. My girls smell sweet and my son has a fragrance all his own. The most noticeable difference is that my girls are fearful to do daring things, yet my son, will jump before you even notice. He’s a maniac, all afterburner, and no rudder. Of course, those boys then grow up and become men who have children all their own.
All throughout the Bible we see example after example of powerful men leading others. Sometimes they lead them into battle, other times a revolution, but always into precarious situations. Men were created to be pioneers, Warriors, Volatile pieces of humanity. Let’s face it; boys are just different than girls.
With the subduing of the modern world, we also find the organized church trying to subdue the revolutionary spirit that is in a man. We expect men to come into our differing religious camps, get transformed, and then don the sweater vest and loafers and be nice! Above all, just be nice. After all isn’t that what Jesus would do? Actually no. Jesus was all man, and He was all God. Complete divinity in complete human form, and yet we see Him as a complete non-conformist. He didn’t do it Buddha’s way, nor did He do it Confucius’ way, He did it the Creator’s way. Through that window of time we can see not only how Jesus lived, but as men we can see how we should live.
Living life to the hilt is not just an expression; it really is a way of life. Jesus has shown men the way to live. It is not through conforming, but leading. Not jumping on the same well-worn paths of history, but forging into new areas, new ideas, and new adventures. Pushing the limits in areas that have been stagnant for decades. The primal initiative of man is to lead.
In the book of Mark, chapter 9, we find Jesus’ disciples arguing about who is going to be first. Your typical guy conversation, a little old school trash talk. You would think that Jesus would bring the heat and put them all in their place. But He doesn’t. Instead He tells them how to be first. He said, "If anyone wants to be first, He shall be last of all and servant of all."
As men we have an innate desire to be first, to be the leader, and to take other people on an incredible journey with us. We do that not by bullying our way over others, but through serving them. We lead our families by serving them not manipulating and controlling them. We serve our community not by complaining and yelling but by serving and becoming the catalyst for change.

What an Incredible Time!

Today I went and watched two of our SouthPointers in action. We went to John Wade Karate and Day camp to teach a little Bible and have fun with the kids. It was such a great time. Crystal Thompson taught the kids, and Matt Souders played some mean electric guitar for them. It was great. The kids seemed to have a great time, and I know Crystal and Matt did as well. What an incredible opportunity to share the power of God with the next generation.

If you want to get involved in this we do it every Tuesday at 10:30, so just email me or give me a call and we will put you in the rotation. Let's role up our sleeves and get involved in our awesome community.

wanna see

If you wanna see the bassinet video just click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCN36mU5Zig

I was thinking.....

I was thinking that summer was when things slowed down. I thought when school got out you spent more time with the kids. Mowing the lawn, maybe even reading a nameless magazine that has no content to speak of.....yea like TIME.

Well summer is here but I' hav'nt slowed down one bit. In fact time seems a little bit crazy. Thus the reason for no blog entries in what, like a year? I'm hoping to get my feet under me again this week and be a little more proactive instead of feeling like i'm playing catchup all the time. Sunday afternoon I realized I might need to do something since I double booked 4 appointments! ouch! I think my brain is in slight overload.

But incredible things are happening. Sunday we did another newcomers reception and had over 20 new people join the ranks of SouthPoint! YEA! What an incredible group of people. More than just their talents and gifts (which are crazy out of this world) their hearts are golden. Precious people. I look forward to getting to know them better.

If you're interested my birthday party was awesome! We had almost 100 people over to our house and it was great! We rented the big boxing ring and the 22-foot slide.....Oh what fun it was to slide on hot rubberized plastic!

farewell to Dawn - Dawn Whittington has been a part of SouthPoint since we began. She moved here from Naples, FL to help us plant this vibrant church and she has done an awesome job! She has served in any and every capacity she was ever asked with a joyful heart. WOW what a servant. Lately she has been serving in a dual capacity : Nursery and Cafe'. She rocks! Unfortunately all good things eventually come to a close. Dawn is now moving back to Florida to finish up her degree. She is leaving this week to get settled and get everything situated before classes start. in the fall. Dawn we are gonna miss you :( thank you for everything you have done, are doing and will do for the Kingdom of God. You're an awesome lady!

No Peace? Just Move.

Many times in life we look at peace as merely the absence of conflict, but in reality it is much more than just that. It’s possible to live in peace when your family is in upheaval. It’s even possible to live in peace while your spouse is generating conflict. It is possible.
Peace is not some separate entity that is out there in ‘wish land.’ Peace is an attribute or characteristic of God. In fact, one of the titles given to Jesus was, “Prince of Peace.” His very title is what we need and want in our lives. As followers of Christ, that peace is an innate characteristic that now resides in us, since Christ resides in us. It’s amazing! The peace everyone wants and needs is actually resident in me, and in you.
Of course, recognizing that peace and coming to grips with it are two different things altogether. We might say that peace is in us, but how do we leverage that and use it in our lives?
The first thing is to not think of it as a tool to be leveraged, but a state to live in. Peace is not something you take off the shelf when you need a peace fix, but it is the zip code of an easier life. There are so many trying things that happen in our lives. So many things that stress us out and overwhelm us that peace is not just a nice option, but a necessity for a sane life.
Think of peace as a place. Not a place you visit, but a place you go and live. Imagine if you moved here to Desoto County from a place like Michigan. You live here now, but your accent is still northern. It’s a different culture altogether. The food is different, the ice tea is different, and the people are different. You live in the south now. It might feel uncomfortable and even weird at first, but over time you will adjust, and realize that living in the south is good.
When you start living in the land of peace, it might feel a wee bit weird at first. You will have a sense that you should be more concerned or worried, but deep down you realize you don’t have to, because someone much higher has it all under control. It’s a weird feeling, but oh how refreshing.
The second thing we need to do is focus our attention on where we are - not where we’ve been. I cannot tell you how many people I talk to that want only to tell me where they have been. Okay that’s great and meaningful, but where are you going? Follow the analogy of the transient from Michigan. How fun would it be to have a neighbor who was constantly complaining about where they live and how wonderful it was where they came from?
If we are going to grab a hold of peace then we have to let go of our past. There’s an old church saying that says, “Let go, and let God.” Oh so true! Our past is our past and all it will do is form regrets and hardships for today.
To walk in the peace of God, we need to file for an address change. Sometimes it takes a few days for our mail to catch up to us, but it’s worth it. Let’s start living in a new place. A new zip code. Let’s all move from the land of worry and regret, to a land of peace.

Pain Heals Pain

Physical Therapy sounds so drole doesn’t it? Even borderline nice. Of course anyone who has ever undergone physical therapy knows that that is merely a sham. Physical therapy is always a painful experience that we wish we could bypass.
Several years ago I under went some pretty extensive surgeries due to an accident. After all said and done I was condemned to two months of physical therapy. At first I thought that it would be easy, a cakewalk even. I mean how can any place with hot tubs and “massage Therapists” be bad? This would be awesome! And to think insurance would pay for it. I could not have been more wrong. Never in my entire life had I experienced such excruciating pain. To top it off it was so called medical experts that order this barrage of torture! Thankfully within two months I was healthy again.
Over the past 18 years of ministry I have seen people come into the church, beat up, hurt, and wounded. They don’t really want to serve, well actually they don’t feel that it’s healthy for them to serve right now, because they need a time of ‘healing’. They need to just be ‘fed’ for a while. Then they sit, and sit, and sit. And wait, and wait, and wait. What are they waiting for, you ask. I guess they are just waiting to die.
Church and the Kingdom of God have never been set up as a hospice, yet that is what it has seemingly become. We enter the walls of a church when we are hurt, beaten, and bruised, and that is incredible because God cares for the hurting and battered, but he doesn’t re-establish our lives to merely see us sit and die. Nor does he want us to sit and wait on healing so we can then accomplish something. Church is much closer to physical therapy than a hospice.
P.T. is where the hurt, broken, and bruised are exercised, and pushed to their limits in order to rebuild broken and torn members of their body. To be honest with you, the times ive seen people heal the best is not when they are sitting in a pew, but when they choose to channel their hurt and pain towards helping others. More times than not, we find our own personal healing, not as a miraculous moment in time, but rather as a series of propping up other wounded individuals with the very crutches that we have been standing on. Somehow, in God’s miraculous way, He uses our pain and injury to heal others, and then in the process we find ourselves restored.
Think back through your past. How many times have you been helped or urged on by someone in the same situation as you? Someone who may still be in dire straights, or has just stepped out of their own personal hell to help you?
Just imagine what life would be like if we viewed the church as a P.T. office instead of a hospice. Imagine what it would be like if every Sunday we gathered together not to merely survive, but stretch. To be invigorated by our own troubles to go and help someone else who is hurting, bruised or broken. I believe that was the idea when Jesus told us to go out and bring them in. I think that was the reason he told everyone to go into all the world. Not when they were healed and healthy, but just go. Too many times we wait patiently in our stiff upright pews for our emotional and spiritual healing, when in all actuality our the mending of our hearts and spirits is waiting on us to move.
So how about today we all find somebody who could use a little love. Find a neighbor who could use a helping hand. Find your favorite enemy and encourage them. Who ever or whatever crosses your path, take a chance, bless them, and together we can see the kingdom of God take a step forward.

Bassinet give-a-way-praise

Hey, Another Co-worker who came Saturday could not express how thankful she was for the basinet for herself and got one for her friend. They are both struggling financially and this was such a blessing in their lives right now. She wanted me to be sure to let everyone know how much she really appreciated it. She also said she couldn’t believe how friendly and nice everyone was.

SouthPoint is such an awesome church and I’m so glad to be a part of it.

Praise God!!!!

Hey, I had lunch with the other co-worker who picked up a basinet and she said that everyone was so friendly and she was so impressed with the kids that were helping. She really enjoyed meeting everyone and is thinking about coming to visit.

SouthPoint Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marco's Pearls of Wisdom

I had coffee this morning with Marco, who is one of our cool band guys. We were sitting there talking about the finer things in life, and he said, "Ya know what I like about SouthPoint?" I of course told him that I have not perfected the art of reading minds yet and to please expound. he said, "my favorite thing about SouthPoint is that it's a part of life. you don't have to stop 'life' to do church. I like it."

Thanks Marco. I agree.

Spit or Endure

Noah – my 2 year old – was eating a popsicle just now. He took a huge bite and then got a mouth freeze. He started screaming in pain. He had this look on his face of utter shock. Like how could something so sweet and yummy revolt within my mouth and become something so painful? He was standing close to the trash can so I said, “Dude come here and spit it out.” He looked at the trash can, and then looked at me like, “What? Have you lost your mind!? Spit out this precious morsel of ecstasy? I’m not bleeding it’s just pain.” He held the popsicle in his mouth and endured the pain. He endured the pain, of course after which there was no more popsicle.

Have you ever had a hold of something….or someone, that just feels right and makes life sweet, but just as quickly turns pleasure to pain? Makes sweet moments painful moments? Yet we still hold on tight. In spite of the pain we just don’t seem to want to let go of the habit. We hold it close, keep it where we can enjoy it, tolerate it. Of course all we would ever have to do is listen to our dad…..our heavenly father, and spit it out in the trash. Remove it, or them, from our lives and let the healing process begin. Most of the time if we choose to endure the pain, there’s nothing left in the end anyway.

The Hands of Success

A desire to be successful is something that is born inside everyone. We come out of the womb not just survivors, but unwritten success stories. Sometimes individuals choose the wrong path and end up far from success, but they began with that desire. It’s why we work. It’s why we dream. It’s at the very core of all our aspirations, and God is the one who intrinsically wove it into our DNA.
With that addition to our internal helix, God also gave us some great instructions to bring it to fruition. He told us in Galatians chapter 6 to make a careful exploration of who we are, and the work we have been given, and then sink ourselves into it. He wants us to live life the most creative way possible. Now I don’t know about you, but that sounds like some good advice to me. So we dive in. We jump off the ledge of mediocrity and land in the pool of reality. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes there’s not near as much water of acceptance in that pool as we thought.
But we’re fighters. We are not quitters. So we roll up our sleeves and work hard - really hard - at becoming that great success story. We try to make a reality that success God quilted in to our makeup. Sometimes we get frustrated, because things don’t move as quickly as we would like. But God understands our frustration. After all, He is the one who put it in us.
In the Old Testament we get a great snapshot of what God has for us and how long it takes to achieve. When Moses went up on mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, he was gone for a long time. Forty days, to be exact. Think about how long that is. Imagine if your boss didn’t come to work for forty days. You would get frustrated because there are deadlines to be met and meetings to be attended. So frustrated were the children of Israel in the wilderness for forty days with no leader. No direction, and no work. Basically no gauge for their own success. Enter, the “Golden Calf.”
While Moses was on the mountain the people created a Golden Calf to worship. The Bible tells us in the seventh chapter of Acts that “They rejoiced in the works of their hands.” Ironically, while they were forming things with their hands, God was forming the Ten commandments with His. Interesting don’t you think?
Many times we are so impatient that we bully our way through life to achieve a pseudo success, instead of leaning on God and trusting Him for true success. We take the quick road, or the fast track to achieve what we think will work out well for us and our families, only to find that what we once rejoiced in, now has become our Achilles heel. We need to be patient, and trust in God. We need to work hard, but not force the hand of God. There is always a season to wait on the Lord, and there is always a season to run through troops, and jump over walls. It is our job to discern which is which. By knowing the season of life that we are in, we can work with the hand of God to bring success in our lives. Otherwise, we merely rejoice over something we have made. We will quickly learn that when we work with the Creator, we are able to find true success.

VT Tragedy

As we watched the events of this week unfold, we're devastated and shocked. There are no light hearted words or quick prayers that can take the pain and agony away from the hearts of the family members of those individuals that were murdered. The loss of life is the most heart wrenching thing that can happen to anyone. Our human nature wants swift justice. We think that if we can pass the blame to someone, it will ease our pain. release our dam of agony and allow closure to come.

This situation is different, the gunman, after mercilessly murdering over 30 people turned the gun on himself. The guilty party, is no longer alive. So we hunt someone else to blame. Someone that we can bring the hammer down on to release our own hurt and pain. We have an innate desire to make things right.

The school and its security force not locking down the facility is obviously a dellima. We ask ourselves, 'how many lives might have been saved if the school had been in lock down.' We'll never know. We can't go back. As painful as it is, we can't turn back time, we can only alter the future, and impact the present. A witch hunt is not what our country truly needs at this point. Don't get me wrong, if things adminstrativly and logistically were done incorrectly or poorly, then yes, that needs to be corrected, and must be corrected to keep other students and people alive and safe. However, a witch hunt is never healthy.

A hunt for 'evil' parties only takes the focus off of the pain that is alive and breeding in our own hearts. Then, once the party is found and executed, it is over. The situation is over and has been dispelled. Our country safe once again. But that never truly heals the pain that still is eating away at hundreds of families. That doesn't explain the big questions like, "Why would God allow this?" or "Why did I allow my child to go to that school?" or "Why can't I stop crying?" The questions go on and on. The emptiness is a bottomless pit that seems to swallow ever since or hint of joy.

No, executing a guilty party doesn't really help. It's necessary many times, but it doesn't really help. God is our help and our rescue. he is the one that carries us and nurtures us. He is not the one that caused it to happen, but weeps with us for the tragedy that has been committed. He is not the one to cast stones at but the one to be embraced and held on to in times like these. He is the one that we truly draw our strength from to get up every morning and face the next day of life.

So what's the best thing we can do for the situation? Pray. Pray for the families. Pray for the community. Pray for the emotional healing of the other students that were not murdered but are scared and wounded. Pray that God brings justice where justice needs to be brought, and healing where healing is needed. Feel free to click the comment button and add your own prayer to mine, and let's pray for hurting people that we cannot touch with our hands, but we can hold in our prayers.

Heavenly Father we turn to you once again in our time of need. In our time of pain. Father we sense and feel the pain or our neighbors. Their loss in immeasurable, and their pain is deep. God we ask right now that you touch them in a deep way. Lord reach deep into their harts and lay your scared hands on their scarred hearts and bring healing. We know the memories of their children will always be a permanent fixture in their lives, but Lord we ask that the glorious memories surface and wash away the gory painful details of this week. Let redemption come to their lives. keep them in your hands and send peace to their homes. You told us that we could have peace that passes all understanding, so Lord we ask that you grant peace these precious families, and to this strong town as a whole. Bless them Lord and we lay our trust in you. Amen.

Color Conundrum

A few weeks ago a man asked if he could attend SouthPoint, the church I’m the pastor of. He didn’t ask me, he asked one of our members. He asked if it would be a place where he would be allowed to attend and worship. Now that might not seem the least bit odd to you, but it made me mad. It angered me on many levels.
Why would you have to ask if you were allowed to go to church? We live in the United States, the greatest country on the globe. Freedom rings! Each man is free to live within his constitutional rights. Right? Go to whatever church he chooses. Shop at whatever store he so desires. What could possible make a grown man in the Untied States ask the ridiculous question, “Can I go to your church?”
Did I mention I’m white? Did I mention that the man in my story is black? On top of that He’s married to a woman who is not the same color. She’s white. Can you believe it? I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself, ‘big deal. Racism is dead,’ but what resides deeper in your heart? For most people, on the surface, we tout ‘all men are created equal’, but under the thin veneer of humanity we find the residual affects of decades of mistrust, and fear that still lurk in the recesses of our hearts and souls.
This man and his wife visited a ‘white’ church (does that title make you cringe? It should). They were told after the service that there was another church in town where they would feel more comfortable because this church was not for them. They visited the other church. It was a ‘black’ church (does that title make you cringe? It should). After service they were told by one of the elders that this was not the right church for them, and perhaps they should try somewhere else.
The Apostle Paul, in Romans 10, tells us that race is no longer a dividing factor. In the Gospels Jesus modeled it. He preached to, and healed the Jews and the Samaritans. So call me crazy but if the Son of God does not divide based on color then why should we? We don’t struggle with race. That is, we don’t struggle with race until it comes to our house. Until we are confronted with it face to face. Many times, once we are confronted with it, we slip into our true default mode; racism. It doesn’t matter your color, racism is still a problem. Desoto County, for years has been bi-culture. Now with a greater influx of Latinos, are we going to draw more lines, or begin to wash away the partitions that have separated the great people of this area for centuries?
I’m hoping, praying, and believing that we will all take a cue from our master and savior and begin viewing the different cultures for their sameness instead of their differences. Realizing that no matter the hue of the epidermis, Desoto County is chocked full of incredibly gifted and talented people. The color of skin does not affect or have a weigh on the attitude of one’s heart.
I grew up in church singing a little kids song. The lyrics were: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” As a child, I never realized how profoundly world changing those little words really were.
As we begin to address the issues in our own hearts, we will in turn make our county a brighter, happier place. A place that our children can call home with their heads held high. Where the color of ones skin becomes convoluted in light of their gifts, talents, and character. I know that’s what I want for my children, and I know that’s what you want for yours.

Really Good Email

Here's an email I got from one of our members at SouthPoint today. I asked if I could post it and she said, "sure". I thought you would like it.

Today I am going to give my neighbor a dollar. It is not much but it is a huge step for me. Somewhere between college and moving to Mississippi I lost myself. I allowed fears and anxiety to control my life. Then I saw a sign, a very beautiful sign that read "SouthPoint".
Through God and the people of this great church I began to rediscover who I am in Christ and all the fears that plagued me are going away. So today I am going to give my neighbor (an actual real live person that I have to talk to) a dollar. We are having a neighborhood yard sale and the dollar is my contribution to the newspaper advertisement, and participating in the yard sale is my way of helping my neighborhood, and changing the lives of people is SouthPoint's contribution to this community.

Thank You,
Shauntele (Vina)

Easter Fun!

What an incredible day Easter was! It was incredible to see so many people flowing into our theatre.....It was neat to see people looking for a seat.......yea I like it! The whole day was full of energy, from the foyer (nice display of Peeps), the kids rooms (it was for sure party time), to the experience of #9. We even got to hear a blue grass song. Come on, how often, does that happen? It was awesome! The whole day was full of life!

One gentelmen, as he was leaving, said, "I feel so much better now than when I came, thank you for this!" Yea baby! We do life. We try not to suck it out of you. Another family came from Arkansas and said they loved it so much that they are willing to make the drive every week, and they would see us next week! Yea! Then there was the man who came that was 100% unchurched. Totally. For real. No I'm not kidding. After church he was so moved and touched he had to spend some time with one of our team members to bring it all in to focus.

By the way, if you were unaware, let me fill you in, GOD ROCKS! Church is fun, and I love it. Thank you to the volunteer team that made it all possible. Imagine, you set up tables, toys, and sound, and you get the soul saving jewel in your crown. It's not always easy work, but remember, we are storing up treasures in heaven. That is not an ancient concept, it is a Biblical Principle. Keep investing......it works.

Easter - Coming Soon To a Theatre Near you

Easter is the big show. The main event! Now some churches do huge spectacular plays or cantatas, and that is great. At SouthPoint we are doing a mammoth play. We will have live camels, donkeys and monkeys. Angels will fly in on Hollywood style rigging and a six foot tall bunny will deliver the easter message....wait.....I'm not sure that the Malco will allow us to have live donkeys, or monkeys. Okay, I guess we'll just stick to that same old life altering message that has impacted generations of people. Altered our world, and has outlasted Hitler, Musalini, and Stalin.
Every Sunday is a big event. It's one hour to change peoples lives. To introduce them to the creator of their very lives. To somehow, in our limited humanity, connect flesh to the supernatural. To connect this dichotomy in an eternal union that will change the very shape of our community. Wow! Now that's a tall order. Yet that is exactly what we do every Sunday. This Sunday is no exception. We are gonna have a rock'n time.

So shove a hundred Peeps in your mouth. Get a great sugar buzz, and then bring your peeps to SouthPoint this Sunday!

Lessons From Nacho

Recently a couple of my good friends John & Crystal borrowed my Nacho Libre' movie. Since I own it I guess you can tell that I really like it. I mean there are just some great one-liners that make me laugh.
We need to laugh more.
So they returned my movie with a bonus. They actually took time to write out a Top 10 list for Nacho Libre'. man I love these people. Here it goes:

10. Nacho is a "meaty" man.
9. Ramses has nothing on Apollo Creed. (this is a very true statement)
8. Corn-eating, chip-stealing, orphan hating, screams like a girl, scrawny guys make pretty good friends.
7. We are ALL scared of "stretchy pants."
6. Not for the lactose intolerant - too cheesy (Okay I liked it)
5. Refreshment ideas - toast & eagle egg juice. (mmmm. Yum!)
4. men's white boots go with anything.
3. We learned why we aren't Catholic and play with matches - candles are not our friends.
2. Bus ministry ideas for SouthPoint.
1. Is Vanilla Thunder really your wrestling name? (Actually it is.)

We live in the most beautiful county in the world! Okay, maybe that is a slight overstatement. But you have to admit, Desoto County is gorgeous! Trees in bloom, lovely sunshine, and refreshing rain. We have new people moving here daily to add to the glorious potpourri of culture that helps shape us into a gleaming example of the great American melting pot. Basically, I love this place. Can you tell?
So what could possibly make this chunk of American pie even more tasty? What could possibly add even more value to this great place we call home? We can find a great hint in an ancient document written by Matthew, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. In the 21st chapter we get a literary glimpse of Jesus’ grand entrance into Jerusalem. He rides into town on an unbroken donkey. The people cheer and shout and lay palm branches down on the ground to show honor to the person they hoped would be their new king. Jerusalem has never been the same.
Palm Sunday is one of those days that reminds us that when Jesus comes in, things change. Nothing is left the same. Tables of rebellion are overturned, improper ideologies are withered, and the destitute are given another shot. And it all starts with an unbroken colt.
Do you ever feel like an unbroken colt? So many times we are unbroken. Disruptive. Unruly. Yet, when we allow Christ to sit in the saddle of our soul, we can be transformed into a catalyst for change in our community. We can make Desoto County a better place merely by allowing Christ to use us to bring change.
Imagine going to work knowing that you were bringing in the very presence of Christ; that you were solely responsible for the spiritual climate of your office. I know it sounds crazy. I also know that you’re reading this thinking, “No way. Not me. I’m not good enough. I have too many things to get in order first.” I wonder if the donkey was perfect. I wonder if the donkey smelled fresh and clean, or if it had ticks and fleas. What makes it so great is that the donkey was just that - a donkey. Nothing glamorous - nothing perfect.
If you had it all together, you wouldn’t need a Savior in the saddle, now would you? The very fact that you don’t have it all together, yet you can still usher in spiritual change, merely gives God that much more praise. It gives our Creator that much more glory, and that makes our county that much more beautiful. We are normal people, allowing Jesus Christ to use us as vehicles for His presence.