Another Bible

Just after I preach a sermon on everyone having multiple copies of the Bible and not reading any of them, I went and bought yet another Bible tonight. I'm excited though, because I found one with the features I have been looking for. For the past year I have wanted to get a wide margin Bible that I could take notes in and use as my primary study Bible. I had trouble deciding on which translation and what "style" of Bible. Jenni and I stopped by the Master's Loft in Winston-Salem tonight and I found a Bible that I didn't know was available. It is a journaling Bible with a hard calf-skin leather binding in the ESV translation. For those of you not familiar with the ESV, it is a very good word-for-word translation that is excellent for serious Bible study and general reading. Although I love reading the NIV and NLT, they are both thought-for-thought translations that are not as accurate for serious word study. I will probably share a little more about Bible translations in my sermon this Sunday.

I love the ruled wide margins and the style of this Bible. The text is a little on the small side, but I still have good eyes so it doesn't bother me. It's a good size and it is definitely a sturdy Bible. So what features would be in your "ideal" Bible? As we talk about developing a hunger and thirst for God's Word, I pray that you will find a Bible that helps you to uncover the truth of His Word.

Are Wii Fit now?

Jenni got a Wii Fit from us for her birthday today. All of us have been playing on it today and surprisingly I have learned that I am fat and that I have no balance. It's actually been fun laughing at each other as we try to balance and hold all the different yoga positions. Jenni and I decided several years ago to get gifts that are good for our health and good for the whole family, and this is a good example. Jennifer is an awesome wife and an incredible mom to our children, and I am truly a blessed man. Go to Nintendo's site here to learn more about this high-tech bathroom scale.

Whiteboard Wrap-Up

I had a great time at the Whiteboard Sessions last week. The last week has flown by since I have been so busy. I really haven't had time to slow down and think through all the messages yet, but there were some great nuggets of truth shared. Here are some random thoughts.

• I read about the death of Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter right before the conference started and it weighed heavy on my mind throughout the entire conference. Apparently, I wasn't alone - see here, here, and here. Here is a web page where you can see a video of Maria and share condolences with the family.
  
• I'm so glad Jennifer was able to go and meet some other pastor's wives. They had a great luncheon get together and she was able to meet Ainsley and Jennifer. It was also good to meet up with Jennifer's uncle and her cousins after the conference since we don't get to see them very often.
• I was able to attend a blogger's luncheon organized by Terrance Crawford and Clayton Bell. It was like a who's who's of Christian bloggers. I sat at a small table with Chris Elrod and Kyle Bridges and another great young guy from Mississippi. We were packed in pretty tight at Uno's, so we really didn't have a chance to get to talk to everybody, but it was still a great time to meet each other. Here's a good list of the bloggers who were there.
  
• For me, the most powerful quote of the conference was by Ed Stetzer - it went something like this. "Conferences are like ministry pornography - they give you an unrealistic depiction of an experience you'll never have." Wow, think about that for a moment. How many times do we read books or see examples of ministries that God has incredibly blessed and then wonder why the same thing has not happened with us. Maybe if we stop trying to copy what God is doing somewhere else and start to seek what God wants to do where we are ... which leads to another great quote.
• Perry Noble shared that we need preachers who get their messages and ministry through revelation, not imitation. Too many pastors are trying to copy what God is doing elsewhere. Do you see a theme developing yet? There seemed to be an emphasis from several of the speakers (though not all) to really seek out direction and guidance straight from God instead of the latest and greatest fad.
• Perry was able to really involve the audience and communicate. I really think as a preacher, he is one of the best communicators anywhere. He says things that most pastors are afraid of saying. Another Perryism, "Do you want to be a prophet of God or a prostitute of money?". Say what God has put on your heart.
• Mark Batterson was the first speaker and he shared a great message about how our dreams are too small. I think his book, "In a Pit with a Lion" is one of the reasons I am full time in ministry right now. I was reading through his book right when I was faced with the decision about leaving my job. I tend to be cautious, guarded, and slow to move, but after reading it and thinking through how God was working in my life, I realized that I really only had one choice - complete and total obedience.
  
• Mark Dever represented the "tucked-in" generation as he so eloquently stated it. After he said that, I looked around and realized that there were no guys under 40 who had their shirt tucked in. The conference was mainly 30-40 year old pastors who gelled their hair, wore jeans and shirts from Buckle, and had at least one tattoo. Mark brought balance to the conference, and I really appreciate his doctrinal integrity, but I got the sense that he would struggle connecting to a younger congregation.
• Vince Antonucci has an incredible heart for evangelism, and he could get a job as a standup comedian on the side. He had a balance of both passion and humor throughout his message. His illustration about shark fishing really hit home with me. Even if we are catching tons of fish, are we being successful. Are we content with just catching fish (Christians from other churches), or do we really want to fish for sharks (non-Christians). When you go shark fishing, it will be messy, and it won't be easy. He shared the statistic that only 2.2% of churches are seeing authentic conversion growth. Do you have a heart to seek and save God's lost children? I just finished reading Vince's book and I was literally laughing out loud through parts of the book. It's a great and enjoying read to motivate us to reach the lost.
  
• Tim Stevens talked about leveraging the culture to be more effective. He shared quite a bit from his book Pop Goes the Church which I plan on reading in the next couple of weeks. He used several clips from a Desparate Housewives episode that showed one of the women really seeking God and trying to figure out church. I have to admit that it is one show that I have never watched, but the clips were very effective at making his point. That is the power of using pop culture. His big idea was either leverage the culture or risk losing your impact.
• Darrin Patrick shared about sin. Really, his talk was about sin and based on Romans 1, but it was powerful and he challenged all of us to really think about idols in our life. His main point was idolatry is the root of sin. When we elevate a sinful craving about the creator, then we are worshipping an idol. He went on to discuss root sins, the sin behind the sin.
• John Burke had a simple message - stay connected to the vine and fruit happens. This was the first time I have heard him speak, and I had mixed feelings after hearing him. I agreed with what he said at first, but as he got into his message I felt like he focused more on a model (his 60/60 experiment) and less on the main principle. I would still like to read his book, No Perfect People Allowed, but I really didn't connect to his message like the other speakers.
• And finally Ed Stetzer wrapped up the conference. Every time I read a book he has written or hear him speak, I realize that he is a speaker that speaks the language of my heart. He just gets it. He has a passion for reaching the lost, but he hasn't given up on the church like so many current authors have. I was expecting a message on contextualizing or contending for the faith, but he shared a message on working through doubt to faith based on Thomas. It was a great way to wrap up the conference and realize that ministry is not easy. God has not promised us our best and happy life, but he has promised us His peace. And that is all we need.

Can you trust the Bible?

I'm giving my blog readers a heads up to the message tomorrow. We will be taking a look at the incredible story of the Bible and answering the question, "Can the Bible be trusted." Here is the text message survey that we will be using tomorrow. You can go ahead and text in your answer now, or vote online here. Remember, this is anonymous, so answer the question truthfully.

Whiteboard

It was definitely a great day yesterday at the Whiteboard Sessions. So many ideas to digest and think about. It was also great meeting several other pastors that I have talked to online. I'll post some notes and thoughts about the conference later tomorrow. If you want to read about the conference, check out videos at http://www.conferencechannel.org or read some other blog posts that I have tagged over in my sidebar under the heading Great Blog Posts. I'll be shopping with Jenni all day today, so no blogging today (although I might slip in a few twitter updates)

Follow WhiteBoard Online

You can checkout the conference I'm at by going to http://www.conferencechannel.org
It's been awesome so far, although the lack of sleep has me dragging. You can also follow my twitter feed at http://twitter.com/faithengineer

sent from my Smartphone

Traveling Thoughts for WiBo

I'm sitting in Panera Bread this morning eating breakfast and catching up on emails & blogs before The WhiteBoard Sessions start. Looking around it's like an Apple Mac commercial. At one time this morning I counted 8 macbooks on the tables around me. I'm operating on only a few hours of sleep, but I'm glad I'm here. Jenni and I decided to not leave until late last night. Our kids have been attending our old church for Awana on Wednesday nights with Jenni's mom & dad and they had a special awards night last night.

We try hard to not sacrifice our kids on the alter of ministry. So we made the decision to stay for their program and I'm glad we did. Both of our kids got "Clubber of the Year" for their age groups so it special to be there to see them both grinning from ear to ear. We left Galax at about 8:30pm last night and arrived in Reston about 2:30am. I was seriously impressed by the hotel we stayed at. It was an old Holiday Inn that we booked through Hotwire, but it was clean, nice, and quiet. We slept until 5:30 and then drove over to the conference site since Jenni had to arrive early to help with check-in and registration. I can hear the band warming up and everyone is getting ready to learn from incredible communicators and pastors.

Eye Opening Statistics

I was reading in the February issue of Discipleship Journal and I came across a disturbing statistic. It was one of those wake up calls because it affects how we teach and how we communicate the truth of the Bible. I'm an avid reader and I think sometimes I assume that other people read as much as I do. Even right now at church we are trying to encourage everyone to start reading their Bibles. We can't forget the fact that many people struggle to read. To me this just reinforces the need to creatively share stories that teach the truth of Scripture. We also need to come up with ways to teach and connect to people who are not learning through books. How do we overcome this barrier and get people to continue learning throughout their adult life? This is not just a church problem, it is a cultural problem, and we must come up with solutions.

• One-third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives. Many people in the U.S. do not even graduate from high school.
• 58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.
• 42% of college graduates never read another book.
• 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year.
• 70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
• 57% of new books are not read to completion.

--Jerrold Jenkins.

from here

Text Messaging Polls in Church?

At Catalyst last year, they did some really cool surveys during the break using SMS (text messaging). They would put questions on the screen and then have everyone text in their answers. A few weeks ago, I read a blog post that showed how you could do the same thing using a free web service called Poll Everywhere. I have a passion for helping smaller and more rural churches use technology to connect to their people, so I started checking on how this could be used. Since most adults don't do a lot of texting yet, at least in our area, I thought this would be a perfect fit to use in our new Saturday night young adult service. Here are a few ways that you could use this in ministry

• You could do surveys, polls, or trivia while people are coming in
• You could have people text in questions during the sermon that you could answer in a Q&A time at the end
• You could incorporate the questions and the survey results into your sermon

The last idea is what we did at Cornerstone this week. I started a new series titled "txt" focusing on the Bible text and how it can impact our lives today. Just like a text message, it is personal, relevant, and current. I used free graphics from Lifechurch.tv, and then built a sermon around the importance of God's Word. I then used used a simple survey asking "How many Bibles do you have at home?" During my message I referred back to the survey. It was a great way to engage and get people involved into the message. During this series I plan on having a different poll each week.

Poll Everywhere is free for smaller audiences. If you want to poll larger audiences, then it can get expensive pretty quickly. Their website has all the info on how to use their service. I was able to take the survey and embed it into a powerpoint presentation that updated automatically every time a vote came in. It does require internet access. Unfortunately, the school we meet at has a policy against allowing any outside computers to connect to their network. To get on the internet, we used a program called PDAnet to connect my cell phone which has internet access to my laptop. It worked pretty slick, and it was fast enough to update the poll in real time.


Here is the poll from church this week. I expect even more people to participate next week now that they understand how this works. You can still text in your vote, or you can vote on the web here. This is just another way to use technology to really engage your congregation and make the service more participatory. I am always looking for ways to move people from spectator to participator.

Weekend Wrap-Up

It was a busy weekend, but worth it as usual. I just wanted to share some of my experiences from the weekend.

• Saturday night church meeting - we try to get together once a month just to share updates and pray. We also spent some time thinking of some things that need to be done at church. It was exciting to hear how the church has made a difference in the lives of several people. It makes all the hard work worth it when you see changed lives.
• Sunday Morning Service - it was definitely a crazy morning. The trailer with all our stuff was late getting to the school and then I realized that our audio snake was in my garage at home. After sending Travis to run and get it, we setup with just a few minutes to spare. The band got to do a quick sound check and then it was time for church to start. But through all the craziness, I felt like we had a great service. All the pieces just came together. Sometimes we need to be reminded that God is in control.
• Homeschool Cooperative End of Year Program - Some of you know that we homeschool our children. I don't talk a whole lot about homeschooling because we don't try to force our opinion on anyone else. We just make a decision each year about what we feel is best for our kids, either to homeschool and send them to public school (there are no Christian schools in our area) Our kids are part of a cooperative that meets one day each week for classes, and they had their end of the year finale yesterday afternoon. I setup our church projector and ran powerpoint through easyworship for them. The program was LONG!!! After a couple of hours the kids were getting restless and we were definitely ready for it to be over. Luckily I was over in the corner running the powerpoint and I had internet access. I was able to blog and twitter while watching all the kids share what they had learned. Sometimes being the tech guy has benefits!
• Youth and Another Local Revival - After the homeschool program, I rushed off to setup the church computer and projector for a local revival that our band was playing. It was supposed to be youth focused, so we moved our youth meeting time so our youth could attend. Most of our youth skipped out on the meeting which meant more pizza for me and then they talked themselves out of attending the revival. I was actually glad after going and realizing that there weren't any teens there. It's really strange in our area, there are very few teen events that are really focused on teens. The sad fact is that most churches try but are not effective in reaching out to teens. It just shows me how much of an opportunity we have at Cornerstone to engage the youth and young adult culture of the area.
  

After all that I was ready to crash yesterday. I just relaxed and watched a few episodes of Deadliest Catch. I love that show, there is something about guys being guys out in nature that I love. It was a great way to end up a crazy day.

Getting Ready for Wibo

I'm excited about heading up to Northern Virginia next week for the Whiteboard Sessions. It's a one day church leadership conference. The idea is great, 8 leaders, each given 30 minutes to share one compelling idea about the church. I have read books or listened to sermons from every single speaker, so I'm pretty pumped about getting to learn from them. I'm also getting to join a blogger's lunch during the break where I finally get to meet several of the bloggers that I have connected with over the internet. Jennifer calls them all my "fake friends", so this will be good to actually meet them in person so that they aren't fake anymore. Jennifer is going with me and she even gets to go to a special pastor's wife luncheon.

It's going to be a quick trip, we leave late on Wednesday night and will drive until we get there, sleep a few hours, and then head over to the conference. After that we are meeting up with some of Jennifer's family that live near D.C. On Friday we are heading over to ikea to pick up some furniture for the downtown building at church and then driving back. It's about 300 miles each way, so we will have a busy week.

Mac or PC?

I just realized that I have never posted about my switch to a mac computer. Switching was a big deal for me because I have been such a huge PC guy for years (see my post from a couple of years ago about all the PC's I have owned) In my engineering job, I did a ton of IT work in keeping all the software updated and fixing all the computer problems for our department. I have used multiple versions of DOS, Windows 2, Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11 for workgroups, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server, and now Windows Vista. All that is to say that I am very familiar with Windows, both it's strengths and weaknesses.

When I started at Cornerstone I decided to get a laptop. I wanted one with great graphics capabilities since we would be using this computer for our worship presentation software, but I wanted one that was still portable and light. After looking at everything on the market I kept coming back to a 15" Apple Macbook Pro. Knowing I could install both Windows and the Mac operating systems on the same computer finally pushed me over the edge. And since Mac computers now use the exact same processors as Windows computers, you can easily compare them to other PC makers. When I started using the laptop I was probably using 90% windows and 10% mac, now after almost a year, I am running almost exclusively in Mac OS X. The only time I boot up in Windows is to open an old Microsoft Publisher file or to run Easyworship on Sunday Mornings. Here are my thoughts about each

Microsoft Windows Vista: I actually really like Vista. The interface is easier to use for new computer users, and the search capability in the Start menu is great. Many of the new graphic abilities of the Aero interface are nice, but they don't add much to the overall user experience. But as always, with the good, there is some bad. Even on a fast computer, Windows Vista seems slow and clunky. It is just not very fast. There are still some driver issues for older hardware, and I have already had several registry problems. I even had one problem that caused me to reformat my windows partition and reinstall. I tried everything to get the problem fixed, including going to the text based recovery console, but my Windows Registry was fried and it refused to boot. Not good at all. But since reinstalling - no more problems.

Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard): It took me a few days to get used to the different terminology and icons, but once I did I was impressed. It boots fast, feels fast, and works like it is supposed to. I had used OS 9 in the past and I was not impressed at all, but they have really come a long ways. Now since Apple provides bootcamp to allow you to dual-boot with Windows or Mac, you really can't go wrong.

What apple does right:

• Industrial Design: the computer is sleek. It is incredibly thin and portable with all the features you need integrated in the computer
• Slot loading CD tray: why haven't all laptop makers switched to this
• Magnetic power cord: no more tripping over the power cord and killing your computer
• Back-lit keyboard: this is great to use at night
• OS X - It works great. There are too many features to list. Expose is one of my favorites.
• Running Windows: My macbook pro runs windows better than any PC I have ever used. That should really scare Microsoft.
• Bundled Software: iLife and iWork are great
• Compatibility with Windows Files & Networks: Apple has made huge strides in working with Office files and with sharing Windows files.
  

What apple needs to work on:

• Price: Apple computers are more expensive than their Windows counterparts.
  
• GIVE ME A 2nd Mouse button: I know I can tap with 2 fingers, but please quit being stubborn and just add a button.
• Why do font previews not show up in all applications. Windows has been doing this forever. It's really not that hard
• Heat: this laptop can get hot, it's hard to use on your lap
• More USB ports and a VGA port: I know I can use a USB hub and a DVI-VGA dongle, but it would be nice to have more connectivity on the laptop.

Final Thoughts:
More churches will be switching over to Apple Macs because of the graphic capabilities and user-interface. The computers are super easy to use and you don't have to worry about constant crashing and troubleshooting. They just work like they are supposed to. I also use parallels so that I can access Window's programs without ever leaving the Apple operating system. Microsoft needs to quit adding features that people don't want, and they need to start speeding up Windows so that it doesn't get in the way. As much as I hate to say it, Microsoft has simply been passed by their competition. Let's hope that the competition will improve both operating systems. I would strongly encourage you to think about macs if you are buying a new computer, especially if you don't have any exisiting programs that require Windows.

The Truth of a Four-Year Old

Drew was sitting on my lap yesterday and he started poking my belly. Here's our conversation:

Drew: is there a baby in there?
Me: (while laughing) no, only women can have babies
Drew: then what in there?
Me: fat
Drew: you need to workout

Nice. I know I need to drop about 20 pounds, but now I have a little more motivation.

Quote for Freedom

We just finished up our breaking free series at church and I thought this quote was perfect was last week's message.

"People fear the responsibility of being free. It is easier to let others made the decisions or to rely upon the letter of the law. Some people want to be slaves."
- Brennan Manning

(ht to Vince)

Structuring Your Church's Youth Ministry

I've been spending some time lately thinking about the youth ministry at Cornerstone. I have been involved with youth ministry about 12 years now, so I have seen several trends come and go. When I first started, in our area Wednesday nights were when all the churches focused on teen outreach. Schools in the area didn't have late practices and they never scheduled any games on wednesdays . Time have definitely changed. Now it is really impossible to do anything youth group related during the week because of the busy schedules that our teens keep. We currently meet on Sunday nights for a time of hanging out and Bible study. We try to make it very interactive and really get the teens talking and discussing what we are teaching.

Since I have joined Cornerstone full-time, it has been a little interesting. Trying to do both "big-church" and youth has kept me stretched pretty thin. I know we need to make some changes in order to allow the youth group to expand and grow and reach more teens, so I have been really thinking about what to do in the future. For our church, I think the first change we need to make is to add a Jr. High group. I wanted to share some of the concerns, challenges, and solutions that I have thought through in making this decision.

Interaction between youth of different ages: Younger youth stay intimidated by the older teens, and the older teens get frustrated by the immaturity of the younger youth. By splitting the groups, you enable both to grow and learn at their own level.

Losing some excitement and energy by going to two smaller groups: My current plan is for both groups to meet together for any large-group games, worship time, and teaching that applies to both groups. Then, we can split up into two groups by grade, or even split up by gender depending on the topic for the night. This will help build relationships between the groups, but still provide them a comfortable and safe environment to share without embarrassment or frustration.

Space: This has always been a barrier from doing this in the past. You can meet at separate times, but then the parents feel like a shuttle service. And you lose the ability to do activities, worship, and games with the bigger group. Also, this requires a greater time commitment from volunteers. Finally we have a solution to this problem. Our new downtown facility has enough space to meet together at the same time and split up into smaller groups for discussion. This was never a real possibility while we were meeting in my living room.

Leadership Development: The final thing that excites me about splitting the groups is the opportunity to develop additional teachers and leaders for our youth ministry. This format will allow me to step back and not do everything for the group. I can still teach and stay connected to the youth, but it allows other teachers to gain experience, to build relationships, and to develop their leadership skills. If you are starting out in youth ministry, listen to me on this one. I speak from experience. DON'T BE THE HERO! You do more harm than good when you do everything by yourself and don't allow any other adults to take part in student ministry. If the student ministry is built around your personality, guess what happens to those youth who you don't connect with. They're gone. And guess what happens when you leave ... the ministry will die. By developing leaders you are allowing more opportunities for youth to feel loved and accepted, and other leaders will simply be able to reach teens that you cannot.

I'm excited about the changes, and now it's time to work on the implementation plan to make sure this all goes smoothly.

A Summer of Weddings

I'm officiating at least three weddings this summer and maybe four. It's exciting to play a small part in such an important time of commitment. I think weddings should be happy and joyful, and I usually do my part by messing something up during the service. During Boni & Travis's wedding, I think I asked Boni to take Travis as her "lawfully wedded wife" Quite a few people started laughing and I got this strange look from Travis, but it was definitely a joyful moment.

Jenni and have now been married almost thirteen years and I still remember our wedding day clearly. I remember the music and our pastor and the family and most of all my bride. It's those kinds of memories that I enjoy helping create. I'm starting to plan messages for the weddings and it's a little intimidating. I want each service to be special, and there are so many little things to think about. It's exciting to think of the new families that are being formed. And since most of these weddings are for former youth group members, it makes me realize how old I'm getting. Weddings are exciting, scary, happy, and emotional, and that's just for the preacher! So keep me in your prayers as I try to figure out how to be a wedding preacher.

Youth Worship Service at Carroll County

This is just a quick post to let all the teens know about the youth worship service at Carroll County High School this Saturday night. This has been student organized and planned, and our young adult band will be leading worship. If you need, any info, shoot me an email. The doors open at 6pm, so come on and bring some friends.

Another Free Web Tool: Introducing Jott

Okay, I've introduced my readers to twitter, now it's time for Jott. Jott is tough to describe since it does so much. At it's core, Jott takes voice messages from your phone and transcribes them into text that is emailed or sent as a text message.

• You can call Jott and leave a message to send out a text message to a group of people.
• You can call Jott to record a blog post.
• You can call Jott to update your twitter status.
• You can call Jott to leave yourself a message and then have it emailed back to you.
• You can call Jott to add an appointment to your Google Calendar

and that's just for starters! And as you know, I like services that are free, and Jott is 100% free to use. I think this would be great to send out messages to your youth group, your praise team, your leadership team, or any other group of people inside your church. And you don't have to worry about getting some type of carpal tunnel syndrome in your thumbs from texting so much.

Here are some other posts that I have read about using jott for ministry
from Catalyst
from ChurchyMedia
from Leadership Network
from Oak Leaf Church

If you want to check out Jott in action, then take a look at this video that the guys from Sermonators put together. To show your appreciation, go over and signup for their blog and newsletter. They have some good ideas to improve your preaching, especially if you're from the south.

One Prayer

I wanted to share something that is still in the planning stages, but that we are working on. Starting in June, Cornerstone will be joining hundreds of other churches from around the world by participating in the One Prayer campaign. The premise of the series is, "If God would answer 'one prayer' for the church at large, what would you pray?" I will be preaching a message the first week on my one prayer for the church. Then for the next 3 weeks will hear messages from other pastors via video about their prayer for the church. It excites me to join with other churches in working together to promote unity within the church. Currently there are over 600 churches participating from around the world. Hundreds of pastors will be submitting videos to share with the other churches.

I like the idea behind the One Prayer campaign because it teaches us to be more kingdom minded. It shows us that many churches from different denominations and backgrounds can come together to learn from each other and lift up the name of Jesus. I like how this also incorporates technology and introduces video teaching. As churches grow and are able to add more services and move to multi-site, video teaching will be more prevalent. Almost half a million people from around the world will be joining together through prayer during the series.

I am also excited for our church to hear many of the pastors that I listen to and have learned from. We haven't worked out all the details yet, but here are just a few of the hundreds of pastors that are participating and that I currently am learning from.

• Greg Surratt from Seacoast Church
• Perry Noble from NewSpring Church
• Craig Groeschel from Lifechurch.tv
• Ed Young from Fellowship Church
• Mark Beeson from Granger Community Church
• Mark Batterson from National Community Church

Please be in prayer as we plan and prepare for this unique opportunity.

National Day of Prayer

I wanted to remind everyone that today is the National Day of Prayer. Here are some ideas for prayer.

• Please pray for our country
• Pray for our nation's leadership (in both political parties!)
  
• Pray for our church
• Pray for our sister church in Tonala, Nicaragua
  
• Pray for our community, especially those who don't know Christ
  
• Pray for the upcoming election, that God will be honored
  

2 Chronicles 7:14 says "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

I believe strongly in the power of prayer. If we want to see this world turned upside down for Christ, then it will start with God's people on their knees seeking God's will. Join with millions of others around the country and let's pray that the name of Jesus will be lifted up.