Janet and Lydia left the boys at home tonight so they could enjoy a girls night out at the Charleston Fashion Week downtown at Marion Square. I’m not even sure what that is, but they seemed pretty excited – and dressed up!

Earlier this week I actually paid money to buy a copy of “The Secret” at Barnes & Nobles. I wanted to have a better understanding of all the nonsense before we started our sermon series, “The Secret Revealed” – a message series through the book of Philippians. On the way home from the bookstore I called Janet and told her that there’s just something about buying a book that’s been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show that just feels like they’re taking away your “Man Card.”

So with the girls gone tonight, Christopher called me at the office today and asked if we could grill some “Man Meat” for dinner. At our house, “Man Meat” refers to steaks – thick, juicy, rare to medium rare t-bones. We’ll probably watch some basketball, play some Guitar Hero, scratch, and make grunting noises. Crisis averted. Man Card restored. We’re so weak.

Easter was an awesome day at Coastal! First of all, I want to thank all of our Volunteers. We gave them a pack of Life Savers on Sunday (I’m sure we missed some people). The point of the small gift was not to make up for the Easter Bunny, but to remind them that the purpose of Coastal is to share and experience LIFE and that every little thing done is important and it all fits together to share the LIFE of Christ. They truly are “LIFE Savers!” Here a few LIFE Savers that stood out:

-Two men, Les Bowick and Bill Brown volunteered in Nursery. They’re not normally a part of Noah’s Park, but knew that extra people were needed and volunteered. Lindsey Pawlak also went back to the Nursery and offered to help.

-Our two Coastal Kidz teachers, Ashley Miller and Jennifer Buenting, volunteered, without being asked, to serve more often until other teachers could be found.

-Eddie Evans did an awesome job with our Bridge.

-Kathy Bench taught in Splash Zone even though she normally serves in Noah’s park.

-Cindy Tighe worked very hard in putting together the whole Bridge theme on the stage.

-Our entire 1st Impressions Team is really beginning to get in a groove and serve like a team.

-The Praise and Worship Team learned a new song on Saturday night and did it on Sunday.

-Melanie Bowick is knocking it out of the park recruiting new volunteers.

-Nancy Rankin and Linda Evans did an awesome job with the Treasure Quest backdrop in Coastal Kidz. Make sure you check it out.

-I just found out this week that Rebecca O’Grady takes the trash to the street every week without being asked – she’s my “Trash Angel.”

There are so many others, like Rebecca, that simply serve and never get noticed, but they do what they do just so that someone might come to know Jesus. Mindy brought flowers. Susan stays late to make the deposit. Mary comes back to pay the bills. Christopher walks around and fixes the DVD and takes care of the sound. Teresa vacuums the floor. Jake lights the lamps. Christy does whatever needs to be done. Bill, Bruce, Ric, and Dan made sure that everyone’s walk across the Bridge was a safe one.

Like I said, we have awesome Volunteers!

The obvious highlight of the service was the close of my message (no not because I was finally done). My message was about Jesus being the Bridge between God and man. While we sang “You Are My King” I challenged everyone to come and walk across the Bridge. It served as a symbol of several things: giving our life to Christ for the first time, the resurrection power we have to bridge chasms in our own lives, the hope of heaven, and that we are all called to be Bridge Builders. In both services, everyone came forward and walked across the Bridge. It was very moving and powerful.

We had a lot of first time guests and several return guests. It was simply a great day! I made a joke in the first service about everyone eating ham for lunch, but how I wanted steak. Geri Lee asked me if I was serious about wanting steak (I’m always serious about wanting steak) and invited our family over for a Prime Rib Roast after church! Next week I might make a joke about Baby Back Ribs.

I love you Coastal. Keep praying and inviting. People are crossing over from death to LIFE and you are a part of it! Here a couple of pictures from Sunday:

People walking the Bridge.

Coastal Kidz’ new series design – “Treasure Quest.”

Your life, your relationships, your marriage, your family, your finances, your job, your ministry – they all might feel like . . . like a Friday, almost 2000 years ago. Dark, painful, difficult, hard, sad. Don’t lose hope.

Ephesians 1:19-20, “I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.”

This passage says that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available for the day-to-day challenges of people who trust in that power. The very same power that burst through the tomb, that raised Jesus from the dead, that upset all of history. . . the same power that brought Jesus back from the dead is available to anyone humble enough to ask for that power to come into their lives and who by faith take a step and open themselves up to that power of God. Resurrection power is available to you.

It may be Friday. . . but Sunday’s comin’!

It’s getting closer to becoming a reality!

Well, after Clemson’s weekend I thought the basketball ref picture was appropriate for my Sunday Reflections post. No, we didn’t beat North Carolina, but we did beat Duke and we did make it to the Championship Game for only the second time in school history (1st time was 1962). And now we’re a 5 seed in the Big Dance facing Villanova. Go Tigers!

On Sunday we kicked off a short series entitled, “Bridges.” Cindy did a great job with the backdrop and Eddie did a great job with the actual bridge on stage. We talked about our mission of building bridges to the world around us. Really, my message was all about our vision of sharing and experiencing LIFE. By the way, I know that when I talk about our vision of reaching lost people and growing to be a church of over 2000 at our current campus that I can get pretty passionate and I say some strong things. One such thing is that if you’re not on board with reaching lost people, constantly building bridges, and changing, you are in the wrong church. To some, that might come across as too strong or pushing people out. However, I stand by those statements. If it was good enough for Jesus – it’s good enough for me. The stakes are too high and the time is too short to play games and simply “go to church.” Remember Coastal, we are the church and we are on a mission.

On Easter Sunday we will continue the “Bridge” theme and talk about how Jesus is the bridge between God and man. It’s going to be an awesome Easter! Invite and bring your friends and pray for people to get saved.

Two other quick highlights from Sunday – first of all, our Students. We had 18 Students in WAVES Sunday night. They are the best! They are so much fun. They are also unbelievable volunteers and servants. Many of them serve in various ministries on Sunday morning.

One last highlight, one you wouldn’t have seen. I got a call during Student Ministry on Sunday night that I didn’t recognize. On the way home I called the number back. It was from a young couple that came to Coastal for just the second time that morning. During my message I talked about reading your Bible. They called me from Barnes & Nobles that night wondering which Bible translation to get. And on top of that, I think they’ll be in my Small Group on Wednesday. How awesome is that? See you Sunday – the real “Big Dance!”

I took the van back to the rental place today. As I approached the counter, it was obvious the woman checking the van back in was having a bad day. First of all, she was the only one there. Then she explained that their computers were down. She made a joke about praying over the computer. I asked her what church she went to. She explained that she didn’t have a church home and that it had been a while since she had been in church. Her husband was sick and in need of a liver transplant and getting out was difficult. I invited her to Coastal.

She paused, looked up and said that in 3 1/2 years of renting vans and vehicles to churches and church groups (probably hundreds of times), I was the first person to ever invite her to church. Now, I don’t know if she’ll ever visit our church and I don’t say any of that to make myself look good. I share that story to say that there are opportunities all around us. People are waiting to be invited to church. They are waiting for someone to reach out to them. Pray that God would give you His eyes and His heart. I think God is waiting too.

Just walked in the door a few minutes ago from our trip to the Unleash Conference. There were 8 of us from Coastal and we had a blast! Last year was unbelievable and this year was even better. We laughed, cried, learned, and worshipped! We were stretched to say the least. Perry’s last session was geared toward Senior Pastors and was very emotional for me. It was just what I needed. You can read some notes here. We purchased the CD of the two main sessions. I’d love to share them with you.

Next year, March 12, 2009 (mark it down now on your calendar), we are taking at least 25 people with us! The best part for me personally about this year’s conference is that my whole family got to go. Originally, just Janet and I were going and my kids were going to stay home. We had several people not able to go and I didn’t want the tickets to go to waste, so Lydia and Christopher went as well. Next year I will plan for them to go from the beginning. They loved it. And I loved being there with them. The trip there and back was fun as well (Bill is hilarious). I’ll probably post more about the conference later – right now I’m physically and emotionally drained and ready for bed. By the way, our church paid for the whole trip – the tickets, the van, the gas, and dinner on the ride home. It was our way to bless our volunteers and leaders!

Yes, the time stamp is correct! I didn’t get to bed as early as I wanted, but I’m pumped and ready to go! Eight of us are heading to Anderson, SC this morning for the Unleash Conference. Pray for our safe travel. It’s going to be a day of inspiration and instruction (and fun!). I pray that we are stretched and challenged and come home ready for new heights at Coastal! Next year I hope that we take 20 from Coastal! If my brain is not too fried when we get home tonight I’ll try to give you a recap! I love you Coastal. Who are you inviting to church for Easter?

I would call this post, “Sunday Reflections,” but I’m too embarrassed since it’s now Tuesday. But Sunday really was a great day! The thing that stood out to me was all of our Volunteers wearing their blue, “Making a Splash” t-shirts. It was very awesome. The old adage, “20% of the people do 80% of the work” does not apply to Coastal. We have so many Volunteers who do so much. I thought the first service would be empty with the time change, but it wasn’t. They’re still pretty evenly split. We had several first time guests Sunday, with several return guests. One couple wanted to learn more about Coastal and one first time guest wanted to talk to someone about being a Christ-follower. That’s what it’s all about Coastal! Keep praying, building relationships, and inviting.

My message on Sunday was on forgiveness – “to err is human, to forgive divine.” Forgiveness is an issue that all of us deal with and affects all relationships. Although the statement is not found in scripture, it does contain truth. We are human and we do blow it or “err.” God’s nature is one of forgiveness. And we are most like God when we offer grace and clothe ourselves with forgiveness.

I have to admit that I’ve not yet adjusted to the whole “’spring forward” one hour thing. I was tired on Sunday and still haven’t yet caught up.

We had a lot of fun Sunday night at WAVES. We have great students. Ricky, C.W., Matt, Janet, and I led the evening. Like I said – we have awesome volunteers! I’ve already conducted two interviews for our Youth Pastor position and have two more this week. Keep this whole process in your prayers.

I’m very excited about our 2 week series starting this Sunday entitled, “Bridges.” I love the stage backdrop! Cindy Tighe is awesome! Sunday’s message is going to be about the church being a bridge to the community. Easter is going to be all about Jesus being the bridge between man and God. Get your seeking friends to church on Easter!

We leave from the church at 5AM on Thursday to head to the Unleash Conference at the NewSpring Church in Anderson. I can’t wait. It couldn’t come at a better time!

It’s late (an hour later in fact than it seems). I’m exhausted. So I’ll keep this short. If I may say so myself, our first ever Volunteer Banquet rocked! We laughed, cried, and ate until we couldn’t eat anymore. And I got a chance to personally thank each and every volunteer. There were many who couldn’t make it, but those that were there I think were blessed. And that’s what Janet and I wanted – to bless our volunteers. And then they all pitched in and cleaned, put away, and put everything back together in record time for tomorrow. We’ve made a lot of changes this year. In some ways, this has been a difficult year. Tonight came at just the right time. I’m already thinking about ideas for next year’s banquet! I can’t wait to wear my t-shirt tomorrow! “Making a Splash” with you is an honor!