The Big News

So for the last few days, I've been promising BIG news regarding Discovery Church. Yesterday morning, we made the announcement during our worship service. So what's the big news?

This past week, I had the opportunity to sit down with an incredibly gifted friend, Christa Shore. Last spring she was named Evansville Woman's Woman of Influence. You can read her official bio here.

Christa and I sat outside of Starbucks and talked about the amazing things that we had seen God doing around us in the past few months. We celebrated God's provision for two new lungs for her husband, Mike. We shared about the joys and struggles in church planting. Before we left, I had asked Christa to pray about joining the Discovery team as our worship leader. The next day, she called and informed me that she felt God opening an incredible opportunity and was excited to be a part of that team.

Second Look @ Sunday

After a hard, long weekend at the gym doing renovations, I was dragging headed into the two services this weekend. Here's a few of my observations now that recovery has begun to happen.

• Christa Shore and the team at Beyond the Veil Fellowship are so great to work with.
• Was exciting to be a part of the record-setting service at BTVF. I'm sure it was because the word leaked out that I was teaching.
• After the band had led worship on Saturday night, I was done. I had been to church and spoke with God. Alas, I still taught.
• I found out that there is something worse than fish sticks. It would be burnt fish sticks.
• I was so worn out by the end of Saturday that I completely forgot to print the "World's Tiniest Church Programs." I think we made do at Discovery Church without them.
• Despite being beat, I think the message was communicated clearly.
• I've started a problem at a local middle school. Apparently a group of girls that were visiting Discovery this weekend took literally my phrase, "Jesus loves you; I hope you go to hell." Ooops!
• Had someone tell me that a friend came to Discovery Church this weekend. She felt like the message spoke right to her. She says it was the first time that she felt a sermon connect with her life.
• Excited to be wrapping up Philippians this weekend. Don't miss it!

Great Church Planter Event

At Discovery Church, we believe strongly in church planting. As Christians, we are called to reproduce. For churches, the same would hold true. From nearly the beginning of Discovery, we have been partnering with an awesome church planter: Vince Antonucci.

Vince and his family moved from Virginia Beach, VA to Las Vegas to plant a new church, Verve. The design was to reach those who were being overlooked in the status quo. It has been exciting to watch God work through Vince and the team at Verve.

This October, Vince will be hosting a (relatively cheap) conference in Las Vegas for church planters. He'll be opening up the Vault to share the DNA of why they have done things the way they do and how to reach people who do not like church. If you want more information about the event, you can find it here.

Shh Mom. I'm Reading My Bible

Got a text message following our first week of Children's Programming at Discovery. Here's what it said:

"She (5 year-old girl) did all the homework in her Bible she was supposed to yesterday. I read it to her and she did it. She came home today from (her aunt's) and got her Bible out and sat on the couch. She told her sister and me to be quiet. She is studying and has to get it done before church next week. :-)"

What an awesome story. Love it when little ones fall in love with the great story of the Scriptures. Love the work that our Childrens Ministry team is doing.

People are People

Why is it always easier to look down on someone with disgust than it is to begin to relate to who they are? I know...deep question to start thinking about this early in the morning. Here's why I am thinking about it:

I happened to talk with a friend yesterday who was being berated by a collections agency over a medical bill. It was a classic example of the lack of communication between insurance companies and health care providers. The person lost in the middle was the patient. The collector was

speaking with disdain and disgust to my friend because the payment had not been made. There was no real concern about the issue; it was a mere matter of finances. The person did not matter; the check did.

I feel like too often we (including me) get lost in

our own personal agendas and completely forget that there are multiple sides to any one story. The bankruptcy courts are not just filled with over-spenders, but with people who were down-sized, divorced and otherwise broken. The collection reports are sometimes those who were overzealous in their purchase agreements; they are just as likely those who are encountering situations they never dreamed would exist. They've just discovered a horrific disease. The other car seemingly came out from nowhere. The company has relocated their job far, far away.

In the early to mid-80s, electronic music was it. One band stood above all others in this particular genre, Depeche Mode. The British band hit it big in 1984/5 with their single, "People are People." Their message resonated in an era of proliferation and posturing. People matter. They might have a different hue to their pigment than you but they are still people. Their 401(K) might have less commas and zeros than yours but they are still people. Their lives might be messier and more confused than yours, however their lives still matter.

One of the core beliefs at Discovery Church is that there are no perfect people. In fact the sign outside of our worship environment says: "No Perfect People Allowed." This does not mean that we do not address our sin or shortcomings. We just enter that discussion with grace. The church needs to be leading the way to acknowledge brokenness, identify the systemic problems that have contributed and begin to address it in meaningful way. After all, people are people. All made to reflect and bear the image of the God.

Old School Connections

Shocking truth from my past: I was in the North High School Concert Choir. Even more shocking: we were good. It wasn't because of me; it was in spite of me. The Concert Choir gave me some great memories. In the midst of one choir solo, I went through the whole puberty experience...all in one song. I moved all the way from the Tenor I section to the Bass section in one song.

Here's the weird part. I would have never imagined that I would

one day lead a community in the study of God's word and worship with one of my Concert Choir friends. This past Sunday that opportunity presented itself. Katy (Branham) Olson came to Discovery and helped lead us in worship. Katy has an incredible voice and a dynamic personality. Her sense of humor is great...and she likes my jokes.

Thanks Katy for serving this weekend. You and Shari were fan-flippin'-tastic!

Second Look @ Sunday

Some of the highlights from Sunday:

• Our set-up team does a fantastic job of unloading and getting everything ready to go each Sunday. Thanks for all you do.
• Shari Devine and Katy Olson sounded great together. You guys should do that more often.
• Missed Bobby G and the rest of the band though. Looking forward to seeing them next month.
• Loved the passage from Sunday. Philippians 3 kicks series tail.
• The Connection Lunch was awesome. Over 30 people gathered around the biggest table in Los Bravos history to share chips, salsa and lots of great conversations.
• Told our waiter that Marty Smith was my dad. Marty's face was priceless.
• Had a great time seeing an old friend and her precious little (almost) 3 year old boy.

Follow a Planter: Kevin Wilson

One of my favorite parts about what God is doing through Discovery Church is our partnership with church planters across the country (and city). One of the church planters that we are currently supporting is Kevin Wilson.

Kevin & Esther Wilson are two of the most

talented and incredible individuals that I have had the privilege of meeting in the past five years. I've learned so much from them. They are great communicators. Esther is a fantastic administrator: making sure every "i" is dotted and "t" is crossed. They have an inspiring passion for dialogging with those exploring the claims of Christ.

They have recently moved their family from Evansville, Indiana to the Champaign/Urbana, Illinois area to plant Confluence Church. He's blogging his thoughts through the process. You need to be reading it. You can find it here: http://lifeconfluence.blogspot.com/. Check him out.

Awestruck by My Kids (Part Two)

So I told you the Morgan story yesterday. Incredible. Now for Alyssa's story.

The other day Kitten, my wife with really bad taste

in guys, and the girls were driving around town. Alyssa, the incredibly brilliant 6-year old, tells her mom:

"Mom, I love you but I can't love you the most. I love God the most. You'll have to be second."

My first thought: Wow! How did we manage to have such an awesome little girl who can so succinctly express the concept of Lordship? We are so blessed.

My second thought: Hey....wait a minute. What about dad?

Awestruck by My Kids (Part One)

My kids have left me awestruck a few times over the past week. Here's the first story.

We were headed up to the lake on Saturday to spend some time with my dad (aka Pops). On the way up, Morgan (the 2-year old) is chilling in her car seat reading from her Bible. Here is her interpretation of what the Bible says:

"Baby Jesus loves me all day, all day, all day.

Baby Jesus loves me all day."

"God loves me all day, all day, all day.

God loves me all day."

My first thought: I am so blessed. I pray that God will continue to fan into flame these first sparks of faith.

My second thought: I wonder if Morgan has ever seen this clip from Talladega Nights.

Back to School, Back to School

Most of the E-VSC starts back to school today including our first grader, Alyssa. Praying for the teachers, staff and students to have a terrific year. Praying that God would use Mrs. Allgood to teach Alyssa and help her grow "in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and all the people" (Luke 2:52).

To the right is the obligatory "first day of school" picture that we took this morning. I better head to Gander Mountain and buy a large firearm to keep on hand.

Second Look @ Sunday

Maybe the best I can say is: "whew!" It seemed like something/someone was throwing everything in our general direction this week with fists of fury. A brief recap:

• I tried to put the finishing touches on the sermon on Friday night. One small problem: my computer contracted the antivir pro virus. Basically it is a virus that acts like an anti-virus. It completely locked up my computer for hours. If you find yourself fighting this beast, check out the great help that I found here.
• I woke up with a wicked stomach ailment. Kicked my tail until the early afternoon.
• Dan & Stephanie did a great job of trying to teach some new music this weekend. If you liked what you heard, you can find more from their inspiration, Shawn McDonald, on his website.
• Our new Childrens (K-5) theater kicked off weekly this weekend. Kitten and her team did a great job but were caught by surprise when our attendance for that theater doubled any of the preview services that we ran this summer.
• Did a dedication for an awesome young family. Love the Harpers.
• Lots of guests: that has been the theme for the past month. Really excited to see so many keep coming back.
• My softball team took another beating but at least we hit the ball this week. The next two weeks should get easier as the pros start playing each other again and we can play equally talented (or lack thereof) teams.
• Prayer request: Lots of meetings this week that I can definitely use wisdom and discernment for. Exciting things in the works at Bob's Gym and Discovery Church.

Award Winning Morgan

One of the talented students at Discovery Church snapped a photo of Morgan while we serving at Riverwalk Communities on the 4th of July. She edited the photo and then submitted it for the Vanderburgh County 4H Fair. Her great photography and God's beautiful design combined to earn her a blue ribbon and the title of Reserve Champion. Personally, I think she was robbed. She should have won. What do you think?