Things will be Great in 08

The year of great things has come to us in 08. As we enter 2008 we enter into a time of great vision and expectation for what is to come. God is doing something in our world today. The Bible says "Where sin does abound, that grace does much more abound". God is doing awesome things in our world and there is no doubt that He is looking to do great things with those that will give themselves to Him. That is what our call is, to give ourselves to the Lord. To make a difference in our world and to impact those around us. So let's make 08 a great year.

Merry Christmas

I would like to take a moment to just say Merry Christmas to everyone our there. I hope that you have a great time with friends and family over the holidays. Remember Jesus is the reason for the season.

Forty Years Old!

Throughout the Bible we see where 40 years has a great deal of signficance. Forty years is a time of new beginnings and a time breakthrough. In 2008 South Decatur and myself will become 40 years old. I know that God is going to do something awesome as we celebrate this landmark time in our destiny. God has been moving in a mighty way but I see that there is going be something great that happens in 08. Throughout the last couple of years I have seen that God is moving us and preparing us for something, and I believe that the time has come for that to take place. 08 is going to be something great.

IGNITE

Hey everyone........God is really awesome and He is moving in a mighty way here at the church. We are currently preaching in the 10:45 service on the subject of ignite. This is a series about what it takes to be used by God. Like everything meaningful in life there is a cost that has to be paid if one is going to be used by God. It is not enough to come to church and go through the motion and then have God use you in a mighty way. If we are going to walk in the anointing of God then you have to be willing to pay the price for that anointing. This series has help us here at the church take a close look at ourselves and ask the questions "In my life where I have placed God on my list of importance?" "When pressure comes, temptation how do I react?". Through this we have learned that our conviction and stance can not waver but must remain strong in what God has called us to do. If you would like to listen to any of these messages you can go to our website and listen at your computer, download, or listen on your Ipod.

Breaking the Barriors

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been a while but my Internet has been down for the last seven days. Today I learned that we had a record breaking attendance for the month of October here at the church. We broke through to the next level in attendance in every area of our church. Sunday morning was higher than it has ever been, as was Sunday Evening, Sunday School, and Wednesday LIFE night. God is truly moving in our church and we are seeing great growth come from everywhere. I am so excited about what is going on and I know that it is going to do nothing but get larger and larger. New families are coming into the church each week and people are excited about being here. God is doing something but He is about to BLOW THE DOORS OFF OF THE CHURCH. I can feel the presence of the Lord in the house and I know that there is great things about to happen at South Decatur. The power of the Lord is moving in the church and people are given their lives to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is moving through every service. A lot is happening and I am so glad that I am a part of the movement of God.

Moving Forward

WOW! What a great two weeks. As some of you may know last week was homecoming here at South Decatur, and it was awesome. We had a record number in attendance, and the service was incredible. Pastor Paul Meacham from Gordo, AL. did a great job preaching the Word and the altars were full (that's what it is all about). Everything went great and the only thing that could have been better was if we were in our new Family Life Center for dinner. Was a little crowed but we managed OK and everything turned out great.
Yesterday was a good day at the church. Our attendance was awesome and there was a great spirit in the church. We had a few guest with us and a large number in attendance. Our morning Bible Study (Sunday School) is really growing and Children's Church is moving forward. Overall we are really moving in the right direction. Sunday Night was a powerful service and God moved on people in the altar. Allot of churches are down on Sunday Night and some so much that they have stopped having service but we have a great number that come out and God always moves in the Sunday Evening service.
All and all the church is in great shape and we are moving forward in a mighty way. I am excited about what God is doing and even more excited about what He is going to do in the days to come.

Power Outage

As a pastor I pay cost attention to movements in the church world, even more so in the Pentecostal church world. One thing that concerns me is the lack of teaching and preaching that is taking place on the Holy Spirit. As we look across the church horizon we see that many churches have traded the power of the Holy Spirit for the acceptance of men. We have traded the power of Pentecost for being politically correct. Pastor talk more about being culturally relevance than they do about being Holy Ghost filled. The house of God has turned into a Coffee shop, and the pulpit into the family den. Now don't get me wrong, I understand that the method of delivering our message has to change with the times, but have we worked so hard to break away from the traditional that we have thrown the baby out with the bath water.
I am a wide open, on fire ten miles from water preacher. That is who I am, I believe that God has anointed me to preach the Gospel with passion, to loose those that are in prison (spiritual, physically, and emotionally). In the ministry that God has allowed me to be a part of I have seen many people delivered from all kinds of addictions and sin. I have witnessed as God has delivered drug addicts, sex addicts, alcoholic and many more from their addictions. I have seen God cure cancer, heart disease, brain tumors and many more things, and the one thing that has been in all of these is the power of the Holy Spirit. In every case there was a move of God that stirred the hearts of men and women, and through that brought them to an altar where God moved in their lives. My prayer is that the power of the Holy Spirit will become real to each and everyone of you.

Rate the Music

The New Casting Crowns Cd is very good. To me it was not as good as the first one but it very close. I really enjoyed listening to it, and would encourage you to purchase a copy.

Give Me More

Hello all you bloggers....
I was in a conversation the other day with another pastor about how that his church was about to do away with Sunday night service. He made the statement that it was a sign of the times and that he felt before long all churches would do a way with Sunday night service. That got me to thinking, Do we really need less Church? Is that what people in the church think? I mean we say it is so we can spend more time with our family, but lets face it most people spend it on the golf course or at the mall, and when was going to church not a family affair anyway. DON'T GIVE ME LESS, BUT GIVE ME MORE.
I know at South Decatur God is blowing the doors off of our church and some of the most powerful services that we have is on Sunday Night. Our crowds are great and with the tremendous growth that we are seeing in the church these days there is no way we are going to get rid of Sunday night church. I have found when you have people that are excited about what God is doing and that spirit of excitement comes together with the Power of the Holy Spirit then anything is possible. God has blowing our church up, and it is awesome to see all the things that are happening.
Last week Pastor Lynn did her first Women's Conference here at the church and that girl brought the house down every night. I mean there were women in the altar crying out to God, and the Lord moved in people lives. Pastor Lynn preached truth and the truth set people free...... What God is doing at South Decatur is exciting and it is powerful, and it is one of those things where you just can't wait to come to church. During September we have had our "See Your At Church" campaign and we are seeing record numbers coming every week. We are getting ready for Homecoming 2007 October 7 and I really don't know where we are going to put everyone. If you are ever in the Decatur area then drop by and see for yourself.

How Time Flies

I was looking at my children the other day, I have three by the way, and thinking how fast time has gone. I can remember what seems like just the other day bringing each of them home from the hospital. Now I am the father of three teenagers, though Ashley is about to be 20. Where has time gone? In the book of James he declares that "life is but a vapor", it is here today and gone tomorrow. As I thought about my children and how fast they have growth up, it once again made me realize just how every day is precious. The truth of the matter is that we have few days to make a difference in this life, and we shouldn't waste any of them. God has given us life, and in that life He has given us the ability to fulfill a destiny. I heard it said once that the average person lives to be 75, that means 75 Springs, 75 Summer, 75 Falls and 75 Winters, and that is all you have. Being almost 40 I realized that more than half of my seasons are gone, and I need to make the most of the second half. Life is a journey and we have to make the most of every step along the way. What are you doing to fulfill your destiny? What are you doing to make a difference in your life? How many more seasons will you have? Time is marching on and so take time today to make a difference.

May We Alway Remember

It is hard to believe that it has been six years since the horrible events of 911. I can still remember driving to a ministers meeting in Montgomery, and hearing the events unfold over the radio. I remember turning around and making the 1 hour drive back to the church and pulling up to see the parking lot full of people who had come to pray. Sometimes it is easy for us that were not directly effected to forget all the things that happen, but for many there is no forgetting. Today we have troops fighting in a war that was started on 911. We have men and women that have lost their loved ones to the attack or the war that followed. With all of this still going on in our country we should take time to remember those that have fallen and pray for those that have to live without them.

See You at Church

Did you know that over 73% of the people survey said no one had ever invited them to church. That is the results of a recent survey that was done by Thom Rainer. As a pastor in church that concerns me as much as anything that I have read recently, because it shows that the church has lost it desire to evangelize on the lowest level. I mean let's face it, there is not allot of effort in inviting someone to come to church. I mean if you don't have enough excitement in where you worship as not to want to invite someone to come and be a part of the service then perhaps you are going to the wrong church. We have to be doing all that we can to bring people into the house of God so that they can come in contact with our savior Jesus Christ.
In September we have kicked off a "See You at Church" campaign. In this campaign we have challenged each person that attends our church to go out an bring some to the house of God. We have a goal of breaking our attendance record, and I am glad to say we are well on the way. You maybe reading this post and thinking, when is the last time I invited someone to church? Well, when was it? You can start today, and together we can make sure that every person has been given an invitation.