Well, it looks as though the “Coastal Stomach Bug” has come and gone for the most part. Although it did finally decide to bite Wes earlier this week. The weekend was kind of busy after being sick most of the week. I was basically holed up in the office Friday and Saturday getting ready for Sunday.

Sunday’s attendance remained solid even though several were out sick. We continue to have 1st Time Guests each week. We closed out our “txt” series on Sunday. My sermon was on having a quiet time. It was kind of “seminar-ish” in nature – very how to. I said that our whole series on the Bible was a total waste of time if it did not lead more of us to spending time in God’s word. I didn’t want people walking out of Sunday only saying, “I ought to have a quiet time.” I wanted them walking out saying, “I can and I will have a quiet time.”

And that’s how I know that Sunday’s sermon was a success. Sunday afternoon I got a call from a couple of guys at the bookstore buying a Bible. They wanted some direction. And that was just the beginning. Sunday night we had 13 adults in our 201 Class and all week I’ve heard reports of people getting into the Word and spending time with God – that’s success!

Monday was my wife’s birthday. Birthday’s are a big deal in our house. We like celebrating and birthday’s are as good a reason as any. Honestly, the kids and I were feeling kind of guilty because we were not as prepared for Janet’s birthday as we usually are. The stomach flu kind of took care of that for us. But we made up for it on Monday. Because of the previous week Janet needed to do a little bit of school in the morning, but the rest of the day was all about her birthday. We got her the usual fare of flowers and cards and then we went out for lunch. After lunch we went to the Town Center in Mount Pleasant for a day of shopping and a movie. Evidently, they had a big sale at Anne Taylor Loft and we got Janet some great stuff. We then went to see, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” It wasn’t a GREAT movie, but it was cute and somewhat funny. We picked up some steaks on the way home and I grilled out. The shopping day might become a birthday tradition for the girls.

Tuesday morning I was up early and off to Oakland for my Monday morning Prayer Group. I had missed the Tuesday before being sick. It was the first time I missed the group all year. Boy was I missed. Now I’m not sure if it was me they missed or the coffee and doughnuts, but either way they all asked about me and were glad to see me back. Truthfully, I missed them. I love our group, but I love walking the halls, telling everyone, “Good Morning,” passing out coffee & doughnuts, and talking with the teachers and students.

This week we begin a new series entitled, “One Month To Live.” It’s based on the book of the same title by Kerry & Chris Shook. On Sunday we’ll have copies of the book for everyone to purchase ($15). Much like The Purpose Driven Life, the book is broken down into 30 chapters of daily reading. More about that later.

Sorry if my green “Smiley Face” grosses you out, but it’s a pretty accurate representation of life around the Rollins home and Coastal this week. I don’t think it would be an overstatement to say that about a fourth of our church has had some sort of stomach bug. Ours started late Monday night, early Tuesday morning. I got it first – then Janet. Before this week, I couldn’t remember the last time I threw up. We basically spent Tuesday in bed or in the bathroom. It’s Wednesday and I’m just now starting feel somewhat better. Just achy and sore. We’re praying the kids don’t get it.

I intended to post a Weekend Reflections post, but obviously that didn’t happen. We did have a good Sunday though. For a holiday weekend and the nasty weather, our attendance was pretty good. We continued in our “txt” series. The most encouraging part of this series has been the reports of people in our church reading the Bible for the first time or getting back into the Word. This Sunday we conclude the series and offer our 201 Class on Sunday night, 4-8PM. Childcare and dinner provided.

Being in bed yesterday did enable me to watch the Inauguration. Overall, it was very impressive. We live in the greatest country on the planet. I am definitely praying for our new President, his family, and the many challenges facing our country. I thought Rick Warren did a great job with his prayer. The bumbling of the oath itself was kind of funny to me. Didn’t really care for the closing prayer by Lowery. Hated the poem.

Well, that’s about it. Need to go to the bathroom. Just joking. Keep my family in your prayers. You are in mine. Lots of good things happening at Coastal. See you Sunday.

Many of you know that my daughter Lydia loves fashion. Okay, most 17 year old girls love fashion. Well, Sunday night after Youth Group we came home and ended up watching the Golden Globes – evidently to see what everyone was wearing. Yes, I temporarily turned in my “man card.” But any evening with my daughter is a cherished one and I think she enjoys my running “commentary” on the stars (at least she humors me).

Well, as we are watching the show, I remember that a friend of mine from high school works for NBC and Access Hollywood as a fashion supervisor. I said, “Hey, I wonder if Ryan is there.” Well, I check her Facebook page and sure enough she is there! She writes a blog for Access Hollywood called “Glam Slam.” We sent her a message via Facebook about what we liked and didn’t like. We told her that we didn’t like Drew Barrymore’s hair and asked her if she could comb it back stage. She sent us a nice message back. But here’s what she posted on her blog the next day:

“I was not feeling Drew’s ice blue Dior Couture dress, which was made especially for her. Her over-teased bouffant was not good either. People were literally emailing me on the red carpet asking me to give that girl a comb! Ouch!”

Now, I don’t think she was referring to our message, but it was still pretty cool. Your Fashionista Pastor! Actually, I subscribe to the Gilda Radner philosophy of fashion: “Wear what doesn’t itch.”

Sunday just seems to zoom by before I get a chance to post about it. And then Mondays are typically my day off, but they usually become just a catch all of everything I need to do.

On Sunday, we started a short new series entitled, “txt.” It’s all about the Bible. Is it reliable? How did we get it? How do you read and study it? Does it apply to your life? From the response, it seemed to resonate with a lot of people. I think people honestly want to know. Our attendance continues to remain strong. We had several 1st time guests with us.

But this weekend had something else – the unmistakable sense of forward momentum. Everyone is noticing it and talking about it. Some of it has to do with our service on the first Sunday of the New Year and my message on our Vision. Some of it has to do with our Saturday “FUEL” leadership meeting. People are just jacked about where we’re headed.

It’s been a reminder for me that one of my primary jobs the Pastor is to cast a clear vision consistently and passionately. And when I think I’ve said it too much, people are just starting to get it. Like Bill Hybels once said, “Vision leaks.” And with a growing church and the constant influx of new people, it is a continuous process – it never stops. Just like “txt”, people simply want to know. I’ve gotten several emails and had several conversations with people ready to serve, volunteer, and lead. I’ve met with someone who wants to volunteer administratively. I have a meeting with someone about leading our 1st Impressions Ministry. Jennifer had a couple of people volunteer for 3C’s Cafe. Janet has people coming to her for Promiseland. It’s very exciting.

One small thing that we changed this weekend is what we do “pre-service.” Typically, there were several small meetings with different groups of volunteers – worship, sound, and computer / Promiseland / 1st Impressions. But this past Sunday we got all of our volunteers together 25 minutes before the service for a 5 minute V.I.P. meeting (vision, information, prayer). It was like a pre-game pep rally! It’s a great way for me to remind everyone why we do what we do, that we do it together, and that everyone and every ministry is important. It was very inspiring.

Do you see it? New Year, new people, exciting God-given vision, passionate worship, intentionally developing leaders, regularly and consistently meeting with volunteers! This is just the beginning! We’re taking things to a WNL (txt for “whole nutha level”)!

Well, we kicked off our Leadership Community meeting called “FUEL” this morning. We had 28 adults show up! I was blown away. You could just sense the excitement and momentum. The purpose of FUEL is to systematically and intentionally create a culture of Leadership development at Coastal. We prayed. We worshipped. We laughed. We celebrated. And we talked about vision and leadership.

8 months from now I really believe we’re going to look back and recognize that this gathering was one of the keys to the growth of our church. You could just sense this morning that it is the start of something BIG! If you missed it, come next month – Saturday, February, 7th, 10-12. The meeting is open to all volunteers or those wanting to jump in and serve. Already, since our meeting this morning, I’ve received txts, emails, and had several conversations with people wanting to either serve for the first time or talk about taking next steps in their Ministry. Way to go Coastal! Can’t wait for next month! And remember everyone needs to be “Two Deep!”

(Thanks to Jennifer and Joe for providing our continental breakfast. Thanks to our Students, Nicole & Ashley, for providing childcare. Thanks to Christopher for running the computer.)

Wow! What a great way to kick off 2009! If today was any indication, this is going to be an unbelievable year at Coastal. Let me begin by saying that I was not feeling well. The “crud” that has been going around finally made it’s way to me over the weekend – scratchy throat, congestion, coughing, etc. (just grateful the stomach junk didn’t accompany it). On top of that, I took a pretty easy week this week to enjoy some much needed time with my family. Which means that I knew that on Friday and Saturday I’d be working overtime to finish up my message and everything else for Sunday. The only problem was that I didn’t feel like it – at all! I finally went to bed around 1:30AM and got up at 6:30AM. Funny thing though, I felt better this morning. Still some congestion, but I didn’t lose my voice today and I was “rarin” to go! Thanks for the prayers.

We have awesome volunteers at Coastal. This past year we definitely raised the banner of service here at Coastal. The sheer numbers of people who serve at our church is mind boggling for a church our size. Well, this year we’re going to take that to a “whole nutha level” in the expectations we have for those volunteers. And they are already responding. People want to know what the expectations are for ministry and if they understand the “why” and the vision, they tend to respond.

And that’s what today was all about – the why, the vision God has given us for Coastal. God has simply called us to change the world, to grow, one life at a time. Our mission is share and experience the LIFE of Christ with those who don’t yet have it. We must grow, we must reach out, we must include, we must serve, we must recruit and reproduce leaders – because people are lost and need Jesus. Jesus is the hope of the world. And if we truly believe that, we will do whatever it takes – short of sin – to accomplish that mission.

From the excitement, the emails, the comments, the txts – our people are in! They are ready! I’m ready! Honestly, I’m also a little scared. I’ve got a lot of growing and changing to do – systems, leadership, administration, the list goes on and on. And change is always scary. But I will not let my fear stand in the way of moving forward. The stakes are too high.

I shared a few specific goals today. One year from today, we will be a church of at least 250 people. Now for some that might not seem like a big deal. But for a church that is 18 years old and has NEVER been consistently over 150 – it is. It’s a very big deal. In many ways, launching a new church is easier than growing and changing an existing church. And the longer a church stays around 100 and never really experiences significant growth, the less likely it ever will. I know all those statistics and more. BUT, I also know our God and He has told me that He’s not finished with us yet! He uses the small to do the big!

So, like I said today, I’m writing it down, one year from now we will be a church of at least 250 people. This Spring we will test the waters with a third service – probably a Sunday night service. We will add a third service in the Fall. I can see 500 people without even building another building. Then, within the next 5 years, we’re going to build an auditorium on our campus that seats at least 800 people. There – I said it. Now let’s get busy. Pray. Build relationships. Invite. Serve. Lead. Let’s change the world – one life at a time! By the way – we had 160 people in church today.

(I can’t close this out tonight without saying what a great job Mike, Daniel, Tristan, George, and Prisca did! Way to go guys! You ROCK! Wes would be proud. I know I am! It’s so easy to cast vision following great worship!)

Here’s a great resolution for 2009:
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” I Corinthians 2:2