So, yesterday was crazy. Between checking first quarter attendance for COLLIDE and MERGE, Ignite (two weeks away) planning, and message prep, I endeavored to try a little Twitter experiment. For those of you unfamiliar with Twitter, it is a social networking site that asks a simple question: "What are you doing right now?" You are given 140 characters or less to post what you're doing. Think of it as mini-blogging. We have several of our pastors who twitter (I'll give some names at the end of the blog), and we use it to communicate with each other on a frequent basis.
OK. Now that I've set-up the story, let's get to it. I needed to pull some attendance reports from our database called Fellowship One. Their technology is incredible, and it is an unbelievable tool for churches. For some reason, F1 kept kicking me out. It would not pull the report that I wanted. My morning schedule depended on this info, so I was getting frustrated. I decided to "tweet" my displeasure with F1. Thirty minutes later, someone from Fellowship One was following me on Twitter! This freaked me out. After calming myself, I decided to include the phrase "Fellowship One" in every tweet on Tuesday. I was challenged to complete 27 tweets. Long story, short: I did 30!
Here's the application of the story. By doing this, I added almost a dozen followers on Twitter. Now, I'm not trying to self-promote. I just wanted to have some fun. As a matter of fact, this little experiment caused a stir. If technology can be used to create a buzz about a computer program, why can't it be used to create a buzz about the amazing love of Christ. At Foothills, we are using technology in some amazing ways to share the Gospel. Messages on the web, a video campus in Toccoa, pastors who blog. Heck, we're even trying some "real-time" video teaching for our students in Toccoa (more tomorrow).
God has gifted our generation with incredible technology to tell the world of His love. It's our responsibility to use it wisely. So, I want to throw-out a little challenges to every Twitter fanatic. Let's make next Tuesday, May 5, a day the world of Twitter will never forget. Let's use the phrase "Jesus Loves You" in every tweet that day. Be creative. Be energetic. If I can create a stir by being an idiot, how much of stir can we create being evangelistic? I'm in...who's with me?
Here are some of our staff who are Twitter (user names are in parenthesis):
Greg Oraham (gregoraham), Lead Pastor
Shannon Chiles (playdemkeys), Campus Pastor-Toccoa
Eric Peters (EricPetersFCC), Worship-Seneca
Dave Odom (DavidNOdom), Worship-Seneca
Jonathan Bryant (JTB), Worship-Toccoa
Scott Chatfield (scottchatfield), Tech Arts Pastor
Paul Carr (paulcarrconnect), Connections Pastor
Josh Gregory (Josh_Gregory), Assoc. Connections Pastor/Creativity
Taylor Chandler (livelovelight), Lighting/Staging
Brian Rhodes (brianrhodes), Pastor of Student Ministry
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Rapid Thoughts (0)
Here are a few rapid thoughts about Sunday, April 26th:
-Had a blast speaking at Foothills yesterday.
-Talked about "Uncomfortable Love" from this passage.
-Yes. My dad has an uncanny resemblance to former president Bill Clinton.
-Yes. I got into an argument with the "Target Cop."
-Oops. I guess everyone knows which store I was in.
-Benefited from amazing sets by Eric Peters and Dave Odom. They had the crowd primed to hear the Word.
-Thanks, Greg for the opportunity to speak.
-Played softball for the first time in three years.
-We won.
-Played three innings in the field, and never batted.
-Yeah, you read that last one right.
-I never batted.
-BTW...I never batted.
-Last night's Night of Praise for amazing!
-Love seeing people forget about everyone else, and worship God with reckless abandon.
-Loved seeing over 500 people participate in the Lord's Supper.
-Thankful that I could be a part of baptizing over 40 people last night.
-All in all, an unbelievable day!
-In case you missed it, I didn't get to bat in the softball game. Labels:
-Had a blast speaking at Foothills yesterday.
-Talked about "Uncomfortable Love" from this passage.
-Yes. My dad has an uncanny resemblance to former president Bill Clinton.
-Yes. I got into an argument with the "Target Cop."
-Oops. I guess everyone knows which store I was in.
-Benefited from amazing sets by Eric Peters and Dave Odom. They had the crowd primed to hear the Word.
-Thanks, Greg for the opportunity to speak.
-Played softball for the first time in three years.
-We won.
-Played three innings in the field, and never batted.
-Yeah, you read that last one right.
-I never batted.
-BTW...I never batted.
-Last night's Night of Praise for amazing!
-Love seeing people forget about everyone else, and worship God with reckless abandon.
-Loved seeing over 500 people participate in the Lord's Supper.
-Thankful that I could be a part of baptizing over 40 people last night.
-All in all, an unbelievable day!
-In case you missed it, I didn't get to bat in the softball game. Labels:
Night of Praise (0)
April 26th @ 6:00
A Night of Worship, Sharing the Lord's Supper, & Baptism!
You and your family won't want to miss out on this special event at Foothills Community Church. We will be celebrating life! A life found in Christ. We'll be doing this through a time of worship led by our three worship leaders: Eric Peters, David Odom and Jonathan Bryant. We will also be spending time sharing in the Lord's Supper, remembering and celebrating the price that he paid on the cross for us. Following this time we will continue our night of praise with a baptism celebration. Please plan on joining us for this time of celebration. Child care will be available for those 6 weeks up to Kindergarten.
If you are interested in being baptized please contact our church office.
The Upcoming Week (0)
I'm freakin' stoked about this week! First, I will be answering the third question in our student series "No Stupid Questions." It's gonna be a good one. Middle school students do not want to miss MERGE on Wednesday at 6:30pm (doors open at six, so get there early and I'll take on all challengers in Wii bowling). This series has already been incredible. We've had six students commit their lives to Christ, and a ton of other decisions! I can't wait for Wednesday (high school students are off on Sunday night...I'll explain in a minute).
Second, I have the incredible opportunity to speak in our services this Sunday. The topic will be "Uncomfortable Love" as we continue the "When Love Comes to Town" series. While I've had the opportunity to preach on two other occasions, I'm really jacked about this one for some reason. Thanks, Greg for the chance to speak.
Finally, I can't wait for Sunday night. We're going to have a Night of Praise, and if you miss it...it stinks to be you. All three of our worship pastors (Eric Peters and Dave Odom - Seneca, and Jonathan Bryant - Tocoaa) will be leading an incredible time of worship. We will also be partaking in the Lord's Supper and having baptism. I'm really fired-up about the baptism because I already know of close to 20 students who will be a part of it! This promises to be an incredible night, so make plans to be here at 6pm. Labels:
Second, I have the incredible opportunity to speak in our services this Sunday. The topic will be "Uncomfortable Love" as we continue the "When Love Comes to Town" series. While I've had the opportunity to preach on two other occasions, I'm really jacked about this one for some reason. Thanks, Greg for the chance to speak.
Finally, I can't wait for Sunday night. We're going to have a Night of Praise, and if you miss it...it stinks to be you. All three of our worship pastors (Eric Peters and Dave Odom - Seneca, and Jonathan Bryant - Tocoaa) will be leading an incredible time of worship. We will also be partaking in the Lord's Supper and having baptism. I'm really fired-up about the baptism because I already know of close to 20 students who will be a part of it! This promises to be an incredible night, so make plans to be here at 6pm. Labels:
Easter at Foothills (0)
I finally have a few moments to write, but only a few. Get ready. Here comes the fast version of Easter at Foothills:
3,177 total attendance (Seneca and Tocoaa campuses)
Record attendance at both campuses
46 salvations!!!
130+ recommitments!!!
Over 650 kids total
1 out of every 23 people who live in Oconee County came to Foothills on Sunday
7 students committed their lives to Christ!!!
31 students recommitted their lives to Christ!!!
9 requested to be baptized!!!
Simply put - Jesus is alive, and Satan got his teeth kicked-in! Our student team had close to 80 contacts to make from Sunday. These included commits, recommits, baptism requests, membership questions and first-timers. I normally hate talking on the phone, but this week has been incredible. Hearing stories of life change from middle and high school students, and being able to point them toward the next steps that they need to take have been incredible.
So, if you're anywhere remotely close to Seneca or Tocoaa on Sunday morning, head on over. We'll be celebrating just like we did last week!
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3,177 total attendance (Seneca and Tocoaa campuses)
Record attendance at both campuses
46 salvations!!!
130+ recommitments!!!
Over 650 kids total
1 out of every 23 people who live in Oconee County came to Foothills on Sunday
7 students committed their lives to Christ!!!
31 students recommitted their lives to Christ!!!
9 requested to be baptized!!!
Simply put - Jesus is alive, and Satan got his teeth kicked-in! Our student team had close to 80 contacts to make from Sunday. These included commits, recommits, baptism requests, membership questions and first-timers. I normally hate talking on the phone, but this week has been incredible. Hearing stories of life change from middle and high school students, and being able to point them toward the next steps that they need to take have been incredible.
So, if you're anywhere remotely close to Seneca or Tocoaa on Sunday morning, head on over. We'll be celebrating just like we did last week!
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Uncomfortable Easter (0)
So much is happening around Foothills as we prepare for Easter services. We've had over 2,500 tickets that have been given-out for the services that will be taking place in Seneca. BTW...if you haven't picked-up your ticket yet, go HERE and click on "Easter Services."
While there is pressure to get so much ready for this weekend, I'm loving it! Stress, frustration, glitches, changes...who cares! We're talking about the possibility of over 3,000 people hearing the Gospel this Sunday, and the Gospel isn't comfortable. Besides, how comfortable was Jesus as He hung on a cross, dying a sinner's death for me and you? But He was willing to endure the discomfort, suffering, pain and death because He knew the cost was worth it. Why can't I be willing work a little longer, scratch-out old plans for new ones, and just flat-out DO WORK if it means that thousands of people will hear the life changing story of God's grace, mercy and salvation? That's worth a little discomfort for a week.
I'm JACKED!!! Can you tell? I'm praying that a thousand people come to know Christ this Sunday at Foothills, and if that requires life to be a little crazy for week, then let's get crazy! Labels:
While there is pressure to get so much ready for this weekend, I'm loving it! Stress, frustration, glitches, changes...who cares! We're talking about the possibility of over 3,000 people hearing the Gospel this Sunday, and the Gospel isn't comfortable. Besides, how comfortable was Jesus as He hung on a cross, dying a sinner's death for me and you? But He was willing to endure the discomfort, suffering, pain and death because He knew the cost was worth it. Why can't I be willing work a little longer, scratch-out old plans for new ones, and just flat-out DO WORK if it means that thousands of people will hear the life changing story of God's grace, mercy and salvation? That's worth a little discomfort for a week.
I'm JACKED!!! Can you tell? I'm praying that a thousand people come to know Christ this Sunday at Foothills, and if that requires life to be a little crazy for week, then let's get crazy! Labels:
Exhaustion Leads to Elation (0)
The last couple of days have been nuts. Our worship pastors (Eric Peters and Dave Odom) and I spent an insane amount of time blacking out windows in the Venue (our student facility). While the time spent with those guys was incredible, the work was rough. And yesterday...well, yesterday was a killer. We started the day at Waffle House at 6:30am, began working at 7:30, and finished at 5pm. On top of that, I was trying to get everything ready for our middle school worship event (MERGE). That included loading content on computers, editing a video, finding a spare moment to look over my talk for the night (I locked myself in the closet in my office for fifteen minutes...seriously), and taking a second to breathe. By the time 5:45 rolled around (fifteen minutes before doors open), I was exhausted. As a matter of fact, an hour and a half earlier I actually made the statement "It's not that I don't want to be here tonight, but I don't really feel like being here."
Yes, that's exactly what I said, and God immediately jumped all over me. Do you think Jesus "felt" like hanging on the cross? Do you think He "felt" like having a crown of thorns jammed into His head? WOW!!!
Long story short: by the time we wrapped-up MERGE, four students had committed their lives to Christ! As I was driving home, God flooded my heart and mind with vision. All of that work what done for those four students, and the thousands just like them in the area. By providing an environment that is attractive to their friends, we are giving our students an advantage when inviting them to church. It also allows us to program a worship event that is over the top insane when it comes to sharing the Gospel.
So, was the exhaustion worth the elation? I'll take it everyday! Labels:
Yes, that's exactly what I said, and God immediately jumped all over me. Do you think Jesus "felt" like hanging on the cross? Do you think He "felt" like having a crown of thorns jammed into His head? WOW!!!
Long story short: by the time we wrapped-up MERGE, four students had committed their lives to Christ! As I was driving home, God flooded my heart and mind with vision. All of that work what done for those four students, and the thousands just like them in the area. By providing an environment that is attractive to their friends, we are giving our students an advantage when inviting them to church. It also allows us to program a worship event that is over the top insane when it comes to sharing the Gospel.
So, was the exhaustion worth the elation? I'll take it everyday! Labels:
