Wedding

I'm officiating the Amy Tolley/ Blake Mellinger wedding tomorrow. I feel connected to this young couple although I haven't known them long. She was a swimmer/diver for Clemson (My wife is a grad, we grew up in the shadow of death valley). Blake's dad was my gym teacher at E.B. Stanley Elementary. Small world. Tonight at the rehearsal dinner, her dad Butch told the story of how hard it was dropping her off at Clemson. He was so unsure and worried about her a lot. On a trip to clemson to watch her dive, he checked her oil and when he looked at the odometer, he saw Phil. 4.13. He said he stopped worrying about her after that. Cool story. My Kate is 3.

small group, not so small

We had a great time at small group last night. We meet every Tuesday night 6:30pm at the church office in Johnson City. We'd love to see you this coming Tuesday. We had camp food last night complete with hot dogs and smores and talked about servant leadership. What's so amazing is that this group is experiencing explosive growth. At the rate we're growing we won't be able to stay in the office long! If you are not in a small group, get in one. Period. It is worth the effort and investment of time. "Where two or three are gathered..."

Bear Grills

You're probably not familiar with that name. It is unusual. I should say he is unusual. Bear is a former SAS member and is the host of Man vs. Wild. It's the only show on t.v. I watch on a regular basis now. This guy parachuts into the most remote places with a knife, flint, and a cup and finds his way out. Cool. Bear stopped me in my tracks tonight. He was in the rainforest in Ecuador or someplace like that, and was discouraged because he couldn't get fire going and it was raining. The next morning he talked about how hope was so important when trying to survive and sometimes the smallest things can give you the most hope. He looked up and saw a lone, purple, beautiful flower up in the trees. He said basically that that was an example of God's extravagance. God had no need to put that flower in that forest. No one would ever see that. Except Bear. That flower placed in that forest to give him hope to carry on. Dang.

Exciting Times Ahead

I'm coming to Abingdon! How exciting to be a part of a dynamic church that is moving, changing, adapting, and growing! As LifeGroups Pastor I'm going to be working with volunteers and staff to bring small groups and ministries under one umbrella. It's a challenge and I love challenges.