He's So Good to Me

THANKSGIVING is over and CHRISTMAS is close. 

I had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving.  As I said Sunday, LuAnne and I had ALL of our kids and “in-laws” with us for Thanksgiving.  It was AWESOME.  We’ve never done that before.  We have for years gone to my home in Spartanburg for Thanksgiving.  Not this year.

This year we had Heather and Andrew and kids (Aidan and Rylee), Alan and Brycie, and Kayla all with us.  Jordan (Kayla’s fiancé) even dropped by for a while.

LuAnne cooked a BIG dinner for us – with help from us all, especially Andrew, who loves to cook.  Great fellowship, lots of love, plenty of games, a lot of laughter – unforgettable.

I won’t bore you with all the details, but I needed this.  My family needed this.  God knew it and blessed us all.  He is so good!

If you went to Sunday School or Children's Choir as a child, you probably remember this little chorus..."God is so good.  God is so good.  God is so good.  He’s so good to me.”  When your day isn't quite going as well as you had hoped, sing this little song as a reminder of all the great things He has done... and most of all, thank Him for Jesus.

Florida Baptists

Yesterday was a "less than stellar" day.  I love my convention and my denomination.  I have been a Southern Baptist all my life.  I LOVE serving the Lord in small ways through serving Southern Baptists.

I was asked by several of my pastoral friends several weeks ago to pray about allowing my name to be submitted as a nominee for President of the Florida Baptist State Convention. If you've been around McGregor, you may remember that we hosted this meeting at our church only two years ago.  It was a sweet time for all.

I was not elected – and by the smallest margin perhaps in the history of the convention.  12 votes. Less than one percent.

In my heart, my love for our state convention has only grown.

So I ask you to join me in praying for our new President, John Cross.  He is my friend and my brother in Christ.  John is the pastor of South Biscayne Baptist Church in North Port.

The highest calling in ministry is already mine – to pastor the greatest church on the planet – McGregor Baptist Church.  Nothing could deter my enthusiasm for that calling.

Can’t wait for the Lord’s day – it’s all for Jesus!!

Back to Blogging

Ok, Ok – I know, I haven’t blogged in … well, too long.    My deepest apologies.

Like my good friend, Mark Bricker, I re-commit to being more faithful to this thing.  Speaking of Mark, he's leading a group folks on a cruise for a marriage retreat.  Since I'm here on land, I hope the water's not TOO rough. :)

We have a group in Peru sharing Jesus in the mountains close to the edge of the earth.

We’re just doing our thing – what God has called us to do – win souls and disciple believers.

That part is going really well.  I talked to twelve – count ‘em – a smooth dozen -- folks this week who were new believers or new to the “discipleship” thing of following Jesus.  They are so fun to talk to – so hungry to grow.  It’s refreshing to be around them.   Pray with me for them, as they yield their life to the Lord – it’s all new to them.

DANGEROUS FAITH – fun series that really hits us ALL close to home – our heart of faith and trust in Jesus.  There seems to be a lot of interest in the blog site, mydangerousfaith.com ... Lots of comments and interaction – new to me, it’s cool.  Join the discussion!

My son, Alan, sang at 7 services at Saddleback this past weekend.  It was like a “special” song that went at the end of Pastor Rick Warren’s sermon.  So proud as a dad to see my kid singing for Jesus.  Love my kids – we’re blessed with three wonderful kids that love Jesus – and two spouses that are awesome –and another one “in line” – awesome.

My grandson, Aidan, turns two next week, so we’re heading to Tampa this weekend for the big party.

My prayers will be with the awesome RISK conference with almost 200 men in attendance.  Wish like crazy I could be there, but the family didn’t check my schedule when they planned this party.  God will bless big time in the hearts of those men.  Praying that lives will be changed!!

Life is good.  Jesus is awesome.

Isn't it Ironic?

Life is full of little ironies – if you don’t let them slip past you. 

As a church, we just celebrated our 50^th Anniversary.  It was by all accounts a GLORIOUS day.  Great stuff in the morning service: great worship, baptisms, testimony and a “look back over our shoulder” at where we have come from.   Yet, we GET IT that we still have much work to be done.  We have to FINISH the job of the Great Commission.  We AREN”T done – indeed, there is much work yet to be done.   Let’s be faithful. 

The choir and orchestra let us in a GREAT time of tremendous worship on Sunday night.  I personally told Pastor Rob what a blessing it was to me.  We experienced great and genuine worship in the presence of the Lord.  No one was performing, no one was “showing off” their talents or skills – it was all pure WORSHIP of the Lord Jesus.  It was tremendous. 

Here’s the irony – yesterday (Monday), I was sitting in a meeting of the International Mission Board's Trustees.  The IMB is our convention’s international missionary-sending agency.  One day I'm worshipping with my great church, talking, praying, preaching and singing about the need to continue our mission to win the world to Jesus, and the next day, I'm sitting with Southern Baptist leaders from all over our country talking about………our mission to win the world to Jesus.    That’s cool.

It’s great to be a part of a GREAT church that understands and accepts her role in the Great Commission.   It’s GREAT to be a part of a denomination that understands and accepts her role in that Great Commission.

Great partnership

Great fellowship

Great obedience

Great followship

Great calling

Great challenge

Great opportunity

Great ministry

 

Great irony.

 

The need to answer the call to the Great Commission is ………everywhere.     How true.

Celebrations and Divine Appointments

It has been way too long since I last blogged.

LuAnne and I are so happy for Hank and Dawn Garner. Baby Ashlyn is HERE!! She’s early, so she has to spend a few days in NICU. But we're trusting the Lord that she’ll be fine. I'm happy for the whole family.

I've been talking and praying lots for our upcoming 50th Anniversary as a church this Sunday, September 7. For some, it will be an incredible trip down memory lane. For others (many of you) it’s a chance to see where we have come from and what God has done in the past. These are certainly neat stories and awesome testimonies of God’s faithfulness. McGregor has a rich history of godly men and women doing whatever it takes to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ, and I know we'll all be blessed to honor God for their service and sacrifice. It’s going to be a GREAT day!!

God has brought several people into my path with some real needs. Many of our people are in need of jobs and financial security. Yet, all of this seems to be a great opportunity for God to do amazing things in people’s lives. The key is we have to walk faithfully with the Lord. As believers, we have so many chances to be a witness and a help to hurting folks.

I’m praying for our people to share Jesus as God gives us the chance.

Ask God to give you a chance to do exactly that. Share what God has done for you, in saving you and blessing you. So many need that and the fields are ripe unto harvest. You are the key. Tell others what Christ has done for you. God will give you the opportunity and the words. Be available. Be usable. Be blessed as you share.

Tell me about those divine opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Leave a comment on this blog or send me an e-mail.

We had a great day at church yesterday. God is so good.

Yet, my heart is very heavy. The Minister of Music at Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida died suddenly of a heart attack Saturday night. This is the same church family that recently lost their pastor in a plane accident. Pastor Forrest Pollock died only three months ago, and now this great church has to deal with the death of Simeon Nix. I knew Simeon as a great man who loved the Lord and loved to lead in worship. He was a huge man, with a huge voice and a big smile and an even bigger heart. A big "teddy bear" type, full of joy and love. He will be greatly missed.
Join me in praying once again for this church family.

Like so many at this time of year, our daughter, Kayla, has left for college. LuAnne drove her up to Liberty this past weekend, and she starts school on Monday. She is a great young lady with a sweet heart for the Lord. Many of you know her primarily as a singer. I know her as my baby. Pray for her to be a light for Christ at school. Pray for her and Jordan as they prepare for their life together.

Our 50th Anniversary as a church is less than three weeks away. Awesome.

God is good, all the time!!

Home Again

LuAnne, Heather and the two kids, Kayla, and I just got back from a whole week in Los Angeles visiting Alan and Brycie. Unfortunately, Andrew wasn't able to go with us.
It was AWESOME. We have such a good and relaxing time of doing………nothing or whatever.

Our goal was just to spend time with Alan and Brycie “on their turf” and to see the sights they call “home.”
That’s exactly what we did. We chilled at their apartment, went to beautiful Newport Beach (unbelievable!!), drove around the houses of the rich and famous (and in many ways, sad!!)
There, we saw the houses of J.Lo, Andrew Spelling (all 125 bedrooms!!??), Samuel L. Jackson and others.

More fun than that was the whole family going to church together at Saddleback Church. Even still, I missed McGregor. I can’t wait for Sunday – every Sunday!!

Thanks for all your prayers for my kids and their happiness. They are indeed one of God’s greatest blessings to Lu and me.

I’m rested, ready, and raring to go – see you Sunday!!!