We had a great Small Group last night. We’ve been studying the book of James. Last week we finished up James 1 and talked about hearing and doing and how “pure and undefiled religion” is serving those in need. So we decided to “do” something, to serve someone in need in our community. Janine McDonald, a woman in our church, had major back surgery 3 weeks ago. Things didn’t go as planned and her recovery has been very slow and painful. She was going to come home from the hospital in another week (yesterday). She is a wife and a mother of 3. We decided that the following week we would all bring some food that would be easily frozen or refrigerated and load up in our vans and take a field trip to their home and bless them.

Well that’s what we did last night. I was so proud of our group. We loaded the McDonald’s down with tons of food and groceries! They were very grateful. But as always, we were the ones who were blessed! We didn’t stay too long. It was a long day for Janine. We prayed with them and then went back to our home, ate, laughed, and prayed. If you’re not in a Small Group, you’re missing out.

James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

I’ve been very slack updating my messages online. It’s just one of those weekly tasks that got neglected – for over 2 months! Well, today I sat down at the computer and got er’ done. The motivation? Yesterday, somebody asked when Sunday’s sermon would be online. That was the kick in the pants I needed. You can go here and it will give you all the information to either subscribe to our podcast through iTunes or you can listen directly on our website. Enjoy!

You asked for it. Here are the pictures of my “Joe the Plumber” costume for the Halloween Party on Saturday night. By the way, I had a great time! Got to connect with an old friend from High School. The costume was simple: old white t-shirt, iron on transfer for my computer, tool belt & wrench from Ricky Spell, plunger, McCain/Palin button, and yes butt crack from Hokus Pokus. By the way, never do a google search for butt crack!

While at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta I got to visit with Jon Acuff, the writer of one of my favorite blogs – Stuff Christians Like. As you can see from the picture I got a “side hug.” He also loaded me up with sarcasm and skittles. He is so funny! By the way, he is talking to my daughter Lydia on the phone! She was so excited. Thanks again Jon! Yes, compared to me, he looks 12.

You read it right – that’s what I’ll be doing this week. Let me explain. There are several friends in my life that I’ve been building relationships with over the years who either wouldn’t consider themselves Christ followers or aren’t actively involved in a church. They’re not “projects” of mine. They’re my friends. I try to live the life of Christ in front of them, listen to their story, occasionally invite them to our church, and just be a regular guy and a reliable friend. Several of them have either had bad experiences with church or have very negative perceptions of Christians.

As many of you know, I perform a lot of weddings. Years ago I met a photographer who asked me if I would be interested in doing some weddings for her. She also coordinates weddings. I said, “Yes” and thus began our relationship. It’s not like we’re “best friends” or anything, but I see her quite regularly, especially during the “wedding season” here in Charleston. She tells me that I am her favorite Minister to work with – that I don’t come across as fake or phony. She is a phenomenal photographer. She also grew up on James Island. She’s a wife and a mom. Over the years we’ve talked about everything from parenting to the economy to religion. She and her family don’t attend a church. I’ve invited her to our church. She hasn’t come – yet.

Well the other day, before a wedding, she was telling me all about the preparations she and her family were making for a huge annual Halloween party they were getting ready for. And then she stopped dead in her tracks, turned and looked at me and said, “Chris, you’re not one of THOSE Christians are you – who think I’m evil for participating in Halloween?” I assured her I wasn’t and gave her my two cents worth about Halloween.

On a side note, let me say I’ve never really been “into” Halloween. As a child, we always dressed up and “trick or treated.” As an adult, believe it or not, our kids dressed up and we took them “trick or treating” in our neighborhood. We pass out candy to kids in our neighborhood. Now, I realize for many I’ve just opened up a huge can and there are some who not only now doubt my calling into ministry, but my salvation. Let me say I believe in Satan and evil. But I also think that when we minimalize Satan and evil to a day of the year, it’s not God who wins a victory. I also see no difference in Christians who take a strong stance against Halloween dressing up and going to their church’s “Halle-boo-jah” or “Fall Festival” where they are passing out candy and my family walking around my community with friends and neighbors passing out candy. Actually, I see it as hypocritical. “But we’re dressed up like Angels and Bible characters!” Oh please.

I understand that we as parents must make personal decisions for our own family. I just think this is one of those areas where we can agree to disagree and have different opinions. But just be careful not to vilify the very people we are called to reach, the object of God’s love. Colossians 2:16-23, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.” Now obviously Paul wasn’t talking about Halloween. The context is Jewish legalism. But the principle is there just the same. Christians get wrapped up in self imposed outward rules and regulations. Vs. 23 in the NLT says this, “These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires.” My point exactly.

Back to my story. My friend then said, “Chris, you HAVE to come to our Halloween Party!” She told me that it’s a costume party (prizes for best costumes), no children allowed, and that there will be drinking. I told her, “Count me in. I’d love to come!” The party is this Saturday night. So after our Island Day Adventure, I’ll be dressing up and heading out to the party. I’ve been thinking about what to wear. I want something cheap and funny. I decided to go as “Joe the Plumber” of the election fame. I borrow a tool belt, some plumbing tools, but what do I do about the “plumber’s crack”? The thought of wearing my pants low and showing my crack all night is not very appealing (although that would be pretty scary). But guess what? Party City and Hokus Pokus sell an attached butt crack for just such an occasion!

My son Christopher has been ragging me out about the party, telling me not to drink and drive. He’s soooo funny. I assured him I won’t. But I also told him that I was pretty sure that this party is exactly where Jesus would be. Hey – here’s a thought! WWJW – what would Jesus wear? I’m not sure, but later today your Pastor will be buying some butt crack.

It’s a miracle! Sunday Reflections on Sunday! I have really loved preaching through Jonah the last three weeks and today was no exception. Today we talked about second chances. God keeps coming to us again and again. However, in a way, His grace is a limited time offer. It’s limited in the sense that we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. We have a choice, but choose now, before it’s too late. That was Jonah’s message to the people of Ninevah. It’s an amazing story of repentance and redemption. Sometimes the people who appear to be the farthest away from God are really the closest.

I also announced today that we as a church are going to be encouraging each other to fast and pray during the first three weeks (21 days) of November. We’re going to do a Daniel fast. This week I’ll be sending you some more information about the fast, but simply put the purpose of the fast is to deny ourselves and focus on hearing from God. It’s a physical reminder of our need for God. We are going to focus our prayers on our country, our church, and our friends who are far from God. The Daniel Fast is a partial fast, which means that we will eliminate some common things from our daily diet, but will have generous options available. We will focus on eating fruits and vegetables that are pure and simple. Like I said, I will send you some more information about the fast this week. I really believe that this is going to be a powerful time in the life of our church. I also can’t think of a better way to prepare ourselves spiritually for what tends to be for many a very self-focused time of the year – the holidays (Thanksgiving to New Years). For more general information about a Daniel fast you can visit these sites: www.danielfast.wordpress.com, www.christ-web.com/missions/farho/daniel-fast.

It was great to have Devon playing on the guitar today. He did a great job and will continue to get better and better. He has a cool Jonah story of his own. I know a lot of people who have prayed many prayers on his behalf. I’m grateful to be at church that never writes people off.

Love having Bri (Wes’ wife) handle the closing announcements. She has a very pleasant and professional way about her.

Had an awesome Newcomers Lunch immediately after the second service. Lots of newcomers. Also had great food. Ladles Soups donated some awesome soup! I love telling the Coastal story, our vision, our purpose, and letting people know some possible next steps. It never gets old!

On Saturday, we had an all day Creative Team planning meeting. I still need to massage the schedule a bit and put some meat on the skeleton, but we have our message series planned out for the next year! I am jacked about the new year! Great, great ideas. God is going to continue to move in great ways through Coastal. We have some important and exciting announcements and changes coming down the road. But it all helps us focus on what is important here at Coastal – sharing LIFE with people who are far from God. Programs and methods come and go, in fact, they need to – so we can continually focus on the message of Christ!

This coming Friday we’ll be feeding and serving the Teachers, Faculty, and Staff of Oakland Elementary School (see previous post). If you or your student (no school on Friday) would like to serve, send me a note. The more the merrier! And then on Saturday we have our Island Adventure Day on Cole Island off of Folly Beach. We’re going to have a blast! I walked the West Ashley Greenway three days this past week – baby steps. But at least they’re headed in the right direction.

As most of the Coastal folks and readers of my blog know, I am pretty involved at Oakland Elementary School, the school directly across the street from our church. I am on the PTA Board, the School Improvement Council, and I have a weekly, before school Prayer Group. After each Prayer Group I pass out coffee and Krispy Kreme doughnuts to all the teachers. Over the past four years of us being at our present location, our church has served and volunteered in countless ways. We simply see it as an obvious opportunity to serve our community and be Jesus to our neighbors.

Well, next Friday, October 24th, we have another opportunity to “be Jesus” and serve Oakland. Next Friday is a Teacher Workday in Charleston County and we are going to provide a luncheon for the teachers, faculty and staff at Oakland, about 50 people. At 11:30AM they will walk over to our church and we are going to roll out the red carpet, provide a wonderful meal, a few extra treats, a relaxing atmosphere, and a nice break during their workday. We know this small gesture won’t improve the state of education in our community, but it will definitely let a group of people know that they are appreciated and that we care – which is always a huge win for the church and the Kingdom. If you would like to help with the food, set-up/clean-up, or serving/hosting – leave a comment, shoot me an email, or sign up at church on Sunday. Remember, there’s more to LIFE! And our purpose at Coastal is to share and experience the LIFE of Christ with the world around us.

I wanted to thank those of you who have been praying for me and my healthier lifestyle and give you an update. Overall, I’ve done pretty well. For about a month now, I’ve eaten much healthier. I typically eat a small healthy breakfast and bring my lunch to work. Lots of fruits and vegetables. Probably my biggest difficulty is still portion control and not snacking when I get home. But I’m working on both of these. I’ve also had nothing to drink except water for one month.

The other thing that I’m working on is exercise. I make way too many excuses and need to “just do it” and be more consistent. I did do something this week that seemed to help. I brought a change of clothes and went walking on the West Ashley Greenway right next to our church for about an hour. I took off in one direction for 30 minutes and then turned around and came back. I actually met someone who lost 70 pounds this past year doing the same thing. A little inspiration never hurts.

For those of you who might be wondering, I’m not sure how much weight I’ve lost. I haven’t really been weighing. In years past, when I was a on a diet, I’d get a little obsessive about weighing. I’d weigh every day, sometimes several times a day. Right now all I can tell you is that I’ve gone from my extremely fat jeans to my pretty fat jeans.

A healthy lifestyle is just like most disciplines in life – it takes time, effort, and energy. It takes thinking and being intentional about what to buy, pre-planning meals, bringing lunch, fitting in exercise, etc. But it is worth the effort.

Reading your Bible, having a quiet time, the discipline of giving, are all the same. They take time, effort, and energy, but they are worth the effort. In fact, they are of greater value. 1Timothy 4:7-8, “Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next.”

I’m actually getting ready to change and walk the Greenway. If you happen to see me crossing the street, honk, but don’t run me over. Thanks for all the encouragement. Keep me in your prayers. Baby steps.

I bet I got 10 phone calls yesterday asking me if I heard the news and what I thought about Tommy Bowden getting fired. Truthfully, I am a Clemson fan win or lose, up or down. I’m not a bandwagon jumper. I like to believe that one of my few positive character traits is loyalty. I’ve been a loyal Clemson fan for as long as I can remember. Like most folks “from around here,” you just have to pick sides. Growing up I had several family members and friends who went to Clemson. In fact, my Great Uncle went to Clemson and I have his 1930 class ring when Clemson was called, “Clemson A & M College.”

I can remember Coach “Red” Parker (losing record), Charlie Pell (ACC Championships – “dirty” program), Danny Ford (National Championship – “dirty” program), Ken Hatfield (ran “flex bone” offense, last to win an ACC Championship, cleaned up the program, but not a good old boy Danny Ford), Tommy West (could have been a Danny Ford offspring, but in way over his head), and now Tommy Bowden.

Personally, I like Tommy Bowden. I believe he loves the Lord, loves his family, and loves students (He got in trouble once for taking the whole football team to Newspring Church). He ran a clean program, raised graduation rates, and had an overall winning percentage. He was also 7-2 against South Carolina. But the reality of the big time business of College Football, that’s simply not enough. Was he a great game day coach? No. Would I have liked to see Clemson win the ACC championship and maybe more during his tenure? Absolutely.

But truthfully, in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter. It’s just football – a fun diversion. But don’t worry about Tommy. He’ll be fine. I’m sure he’ll be coaching somewhere next year. And to soften the blow he will get a nice 3.5 million dollar buy out over the next 6 years. Too bad our state doesn’t put the same effort, energy, and money in, hmm, let’s see. . . education. When is the last time the leading news story on all 3 local channels was about the search for your son or daughter’s English teacher? Or when is the last time someone asked, “Did you hear who Clemson hired to teach Mechanical Engineering?” “I wonder who’s going to be the next law professor at USC?” I know, I know – it’s football that pays that professor’s salary. But we do live in an upside/down world.

Good luck Tommy! Go Tigers!

Ricky & his crew (Scotty & Pete) finished up the ceiling in the Youth Room late Friday. It’s looks great! Tell him so when you see him! It was quite a job. It really helps to update the look of the room and bring it out of the 80′s. Paint, bead board, and flooring will be next!

And then on Saturday Ricky’s whole family came over the clean the church. Alan & Christin (a very sweet, young engaged couple at our church) also worked hard cleaning and helped to put everything back in the Youth Room. You guys are awesome!

Sunday was just an overall wonderful day! Even though there are hurting families and heartache, at the same time the spirit of joy and service and community is all over our church right now. You can just taste it on Sunday mornings. People are inviting their friends. Guests are returning. These are exciting times. Many people renewed their commitment to Christ as hands were raised high all over the auditorium during the prayer at the end of my message. Last week I wrote about our offerings being down. Well this week Coastal responded by giving over budget. Way to go Coastal. Keep up the good work.

We kicked off our Deadliest Catch series on Jonah. This is going to be a great series. We talked about Jonah being a man on the run and how there is a little bit of Jonah in all of us. The Word of the Lord speaks to all of us and like Jonah we have a choice: obedience or disobedience. Sometimes God will send a storm to get our attention and if that doesn’t work He might just allow your worst nightmare. But it’s all because He loves you, has a plan for you, and wants you to come home. Good stuff. Or as I like to say, “That’ll preach!”

It was great having Wes’ parents with us yesterday. Very sweet people! His former Youth Pastor and his wife happened to be in Charleston over the weekend and were here as well. How cool is that? Charleston is just a great place!

Had a great 1st Impression Team meeting yesterday just to remind each other important that first impression is for our guests and to tighten up things a bit. Overall, this team really does a great job and even had a couple of new volunteers for this ministry yesterday.

Speaking of new volunteers, Janet is always looking for volunteers in Promiseland. A great way to get your feet wet and see how you can help is to do what Emily (my new Administrative Assistant) did yesterday during church. She arranged with Janet to simply observe. She visited each age group, Noah’s Park (Birth-2), Splash Zone (3-K), and Coastal Kidz (1st-5th) to get a feel for each age group and their environment, what they did, and how she could volunteer (I think she really liked Splash Zone). Talk to Janet and arrange a behind the scenes observation day! It’s a lot of fun and you might just discover your niche!

Well that’s about it. Trying to get as much done today and tomorrow before Wes and I leave for the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. We leave tomorrow afternoon and come back late Friday. Pray that God would use this as a time of learning, expanding our vision for Coastal, and sharpening our leadership skills. I’ll try to Twitter and Blog about our experience while we’re away! Speaking of conferences, if you are a volunteer here at Coastal, mark Thursday, March 12th on your calendar. That’s the date of Newspring’s Unleashed Conference. We went last year and took several people with us. We’re going again and as a gift to our volunteers (any volunteer at Coastal) we’d like to take as many as can go. We’ll be purchasing early bird tickets this month, so let me know if you can go! We’ll be signing people up at church!