Now Entering the Twitter World

Good morning to all!

This weekend I finally gave in to opening a twitter account. Pretty fun so far! If you would like to check it out...go to twitter.com...my screename is revkevq. It is neat way to keep up with folks and a cool way for me to communicate instantly with a lot of folks at the same time. If you are have an account, let me know and I will follow you as well.

Have a great week and look forward to tweeting with you!!!!

Yield

Yield means to slow down or give in to. Most of us struggle with the "giving in" part in our lives. Many of us wrestle with yielding everyday and don't even realize it. When is the last time you put your spouse first and yielded to what they wanted. For others, it is simply releasing control or power.

Spiritually speaking, yielding to God is something He calls His followers to do. Yet, we yield what it is easy and hold on to what we choose too. The Holy Spirit is central in this process. As Christ followers - we live with God inside of us every minute of every day. However, the reality of God living inside of us seems to be having very little impact on our lives as fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, and so on. What about witnessing to others and other commands of God we choose to omit from our lives too?

There is no doubt many of us who call ourselves "Christ-followers" who need to re-evaluate our spirit of yielding to God. We need to draw upon the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us to follow His guidance for our lives. May we push the spiritual brakes in our lives and slow down and listen to the still, small voice of God and yield to Him.

Next time you see a "yield" sign in the car, may we be reminded of what God call us all to do every day - Yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit!

Lost - Wrapping up the Loose Ends

This week began with the series conclusion of the tv show, "Lost". After six seasons of confusion, the show kind of ended the same way - lots of questions. I wasn't really disappointed in the end, but kind of wanted more. The show certainly was very entertaining, but the spiritual indicators were lacking.

Hollywood is filled with this non-offensive tolerance (except toward Christianity) when it comes to religion and God. Thus this show ends with most of the cast walking off into the light together. Stop the film!!! Come on now - let's get back to reality. The light!!! Give me a break!

Let me assure what the Bible says, (John 14:6) "Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." In the show, Jack was a good guy who did a lot of good things - but we must remember that good is not good enough. A relationship with Jesus is what determines our eternal destiny.

We must be reminded that our view of God can be influenced negatively from Hollywood, books we read, and other things if we are not careful and stay grounded in His Word - the Bible! Don't forget we wrap our "Lost" series this weekend at South Pointe with a final look at Jonah's life. Hope to see all of you there!
Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

"Do Something"

As a pastor, I often struggle with how some people within churches do nothing to serve the Lord. You know the old saying, 20% of the people do 80% of the work. For years I believed that was a myth, but it seems to be close in accuracy.

The Parable of the talents in Matthew 25 makes a good case for why it important to utilize our gifts instead of burying them. Certainly, this text can be viewed from a financial basis, but I also see the truth of it from a point of spiritual giftedness. We know from the Bible, that as a Christ-follower we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. We are also gifted after we are saved! The question is, what do most of us do with our spiritual gift?

Churches certainly provide ministry opportunities that make it easy for us to serve and use our spiritual gifts, but it is not the only place -(remember we are the church - it is not a building) to use your gift. This may go against popular pastor opinion, but God can use you outside the church atmosphere to serve and grow the Kingdom! Yes- it is true! However, for most of us that is not the issue - it is simply doing something at all.

For those who attend South Pointe or any church? Are you a spectator or contributor? Do you simply receive and not give back? Jesus gave it all for us and we have an obligation to serve Him and use the gifts He has blessed us with. This is not challenge for you to serve out of guilt, but from the stirring of the Holy Spirit in your life.

All of us as Christ-followers have one of two choices to make -

1. Bury our gifts and do nothing

or

2. DO SOMETHING!!! for the kingdom!

What do you choose?

The First 100

Have you ever done something crazy? Last week, I jumped out of the comfort zone and it was a blast. A new Chick-fil-a opened near my house and they were having a "First 100" promotion giving away free chicken for a year. I called my brother-in-law, Todd who lives in Spartanburg to come join me on my quest. Here are the rules - Chick-fil-a selects 100 people that have to stay on property for 24 hours before it has its grand opening. If you do that, you win. The catch was this - 170 people showed up at 6:00 a.m. to win. Therefore, the dreaded lottery was put in place and 100 were chosen. Todd was picked #1!!! I couldn't believe it! I was sweating it our for awhile, but was selected #50!!!

Todd brought a tent and sleeping bags and we set up camp in the parking lot. It was an absolute blast! They fed us free Chick-fil-a all day. We played all kinds of games - Check out this link for a suprise video of one game I participated in.

http://monroescoop.com/new-chick-fil-a-in-wesley-chapel-offers-free-food-for-a-year-contest-video-highlights/

It was a rough night trying to sleep. Temp was 46 degrees and it was a little noisy, but we survived. We got up at 5:15 a.m. lined up and walked in to the store around 6:15 a.m. to the sounds of pots and pans and cheers as we received our 52 coupons for a #1 combo valued at $310.00. It was a great time and something Todd and I will never forget especially as we eat 52 sandwiches for free this year.

Check out the victory pics to the right -

Chase for the "bat"

As most of you know, I love baseball! Always have! I loved playing as a kid and even love playing softball as an adult. I am also a big yankees fan! In the year 2000, I was introduced to this game called fantasy baseball. It was a little difficult to understand how it worked, but I once I got started I loved it.

There were 9 other college buddies that started this league that we call, "The Fellas". Five of the guys ended up being pastors and a great competition began. We called it the chase for the bat. The winner of the league gets to keep the bat for an entire year. One of the neat things about the league is the way it helps keep all 10 guys in contact with each other for almost 6 solid months. There is a lot of junk talk, trades, and much more as we have a blast keeping up with our players.

Needless to say, the bat is back home this year safely in North Carolina. I had a great team last year and won it all and I hope I can defend my title. The 2009 championship was my 4th title since we started in 2000.

So here's to my boys; the Fellas - Meetze, Mac, Ruppe, Big Daddy, Rice, Perrin, Bridges, Breshears, Priddy! I love you, but I can't wait to beat you this year for title #5! Go yankees!

How bout the ACC? Yeah - Right!!

As a diehard tarheel fan, last night was a big bummer. As much as I love UNC, I can not stand Duke. And that really is the way it should be, I would expect nothing less from my fellow Blue Devil comrades. Flashback one year ago - The Heels were cutting down the nets in Detroit - and now this year has the "Dookies" doing the same. Sounds like a bad dream doesn't it? As tough as this year was for the heels, the only thing worse that could have happened was the "dookies" winning it all.

Oh well! Go ACC! Sorry - I can't go there. Partly to blame is the NCAA committee (my fingers shutter at the word - from previous churches) basically giving Duke the easiest path to get there and then the other giants falling around them. I tell you what; if that last three from Butler had done down, I think I would have run around the house like a kid at Christmas. No what if's though...Duke is the champion and the biggest rivalry in college sports gets a little more blood to add to the mix.

Congrats...sorta! Can't wait for football season - somehow I don't see many dookies saying the same thing!! :)

April Fool's Day and Biscuits!

Did anybody get any jokes pulled on them on Thursday? April fools day has a lot of history in my family. One of the most memorable was when I was 14 years old, had braces and head full of curly hair, not to mention glasses. My mom cooked a real nice dinner and our family of four was sitting at the table enjoying a nice dinner when all of sudden everything broke loose. Mom had put some cotton in the biscuits and I took big bite of one and had cotton stretching about 1 foot out of mouth. It was a big hoot...needless to say my braces didn't really care for it as it took a while to clean it out of them. We still have a good laugh about the biscuits on April fool's Day!

Speaking of biscuits, we will have about 200 of them on Easter morning at South Pointe in Pageland. Plan on getting there early for some good fellowship as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ! It is going to be a great day of worship and I promise there will be no cotton is these biscuits!!! :)

Happy 93rd Birthday!

Today is March 23rd, 2010. In the year 1917, Max White was born. He would turn out be my grandfather. He served in the army and fought during WWII. He has always lived in Virginia and was my best man in our wedding 16 years ago. (Check out the pic)

Max was the only grandad I ever knew. Grandaddy Qualls died before I was born and there were many times because of health issues that I thought Grandaddy White would not be around long, but he endured.

Grandaddy White taught me to fish. We did a lot of pier fishing at Virgina Beach. I absolutely loved getting up with him at 4:00 a.m. and going to the Waffle House for breakfast and being on the pier for the sunrise. We caught so many fish over the years. Grandad would always take my sister and I to the candy store and then to the local 7-11 for a slurpee! What great memories!

I remember his surprise 85th birthday where Kim and I flew in to make the party. My son, Benjamin made the trip as well from the comfort of inside his mother's belly. Ben was born 2 months later. The look on grandad's face was priceless when we got there that day.

The highlight was seeing my grandad come to know Jesus when I was 10 years old and seeing him baptized. I think the Lord for working in his life and giving me 38+ years with the best grandad in the world! Happy Birthday Grandad!! I love you!

"Dinner with SBC President,Pastor Johnny Hunt"

Last week, I had the privilege of picking up several pastors from the airport for the Real Evangelism Conference at FBC Indian Trail. It was a real blessing to hear pastors such as Jonathan Faldwell, Ergun Caner, and Johnny Hunt preach, but even greater was the one-on-one time in the car and time spent for a meal. These men were just down to earth and "real". God is certainly using them to grow the Kingdom and blessing their ministries.

I had met Pastor Johnny in Nashville, TN in 2005 at a meeting to help launch a church plant in Las Vegas, Nevada. By the way, we did sponsor that church plant along with several other churches and that plant known as Gracepointe Church baptized 200 last year! WOW! I am sure Johnny did not remember our personal meeting, but even then I remember his attentiveness while we talked liked I was the only one in the room.

I learned a lot from Pastor Johnny that night, but the greatest thing I will take away from our few hours together was his love and passion for Jesus and sharing it to everyone. There was a kinship in that Chili's in Matthews, N.C through the Holy Spirit and was a night that I will treasure as long as I live. My prayer is that I will keep the passion and energy that Pastor Mike Whitson (FBCIT pastor) and Pastor Johnny Hunt have in 25 years when I am their age and to encourage younger pastors to see stay focused on Christ. (How does the suit look? I know some of you are thinking the same thing....save this picture..it might be a long time before you see me in one again) :)

The Harvest is Plentiful!!!!

Over the past three days I have the privilege of leading two young ladies to Christ. Wow! God is awesome in how He works in peoples lives and uses others to plant the seed and then at the right moment they give their lives to Him. I will admit there are times as a Christ-Follower I don't tell others about Him. I rationalize in my mind that they will figure it out in there own time......etc...

With the latest two ladies coming into the kingdom - Heather and Kerry, I am reminded how God is working in hearts and they are searching and we have to be available and ready to share and lead them to Jesus. I, like most of you can become too busy doing good things and miss these opportunities. May we slow down and see these moments where people are searching for answers and simply need to hear that God loves them and has a plan for their life. That no sin they have ever committed can keep them from the forgiveness God offers through His Son Jesus!!!

The Bible says, "the labourers are few". Will you join with me to be a labourer?

A Date with Dad

Our church just hosted it's first ever Father/Daughter dance last weekend! It was a blast! Over 40 father/daughter couples attended and danced the night away. My daughter is approaching those "dreaded" teenage years quickly and these moments are vital to show her how a date should treat her. As fathers - our daughters look to us as their rock and shield, a protector and example of what they should eventually look for in a guy. These opportunities pass us by all to quickly. May we all not miss out on these teachable and priceless moments with our sweet little girls.

Dads - Let's not do this once a year, but take regular opportunities to show the special ladies (our wife and daughters) in our lives how much we love them and express that through date nights. Yes- that does mean buying a few flowers every now and then too!

On a side note - most of us parents really make a major mistake when we allow our children and especially our daughters to date at an early age. Often, they are exposed to quickly to emotions and other things that really can wait a few years. That being said, it is personal conviction, but it is something parents should certainly pray about.

At the Cross

I love that old hymn...."At the cross". You remember - "At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my hear rolled away...." What a great song.

Too often we forget about the cross. Oh- we remember at Easter and maybe when we partake of the Lord's Supper, but don't think of it nearly enough! You see the cross is what separates us as "Christ followers" than any other religion or belief system in the world today. There are many beliefs in other gods, but Christianity is the only religion where God Himself comes to earth in the form of man and dies for you and me!

Even typing that - has an effect upon on my thoughts and my heart. WOW!

May we think of the cross each day and be reminded of how much God loves us and live that out by loving Him back and others we come in contact with each day!

It is about the cross.....period!!!!

Did I really say that?????

Hey guys! Sorry for the drought of blog posts -

As most of you know my tarheels are struggling in basketball right now. Did any of you catch the headlines where head coach Roy Williams was quoted as comparing the teams poor play to what recently happened in Haiti. I believe Roy has since issued an apology, however what a major mess-up on Roy's part.

Have you ever said something you regretted? I think we all have! The older I get the more sensitive I am to this type of thing and try my best to be clear with what I am trying to communicate. By the way - e-mails and text messages can easily be misconstrued and interpreted incorrectly. I have learned that it is best not to communicate with folks in this way if there is a hint of major conflict.

May we think before we speak. I believe the Bible even addresses this issue in the book of James:

"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry..." (1:19)

Words can hurt and it is something we can not take back! May we learn a big lesson from the UNC head coach and think before we speak!

SNOW DAY!!

The weather guys finally got one right!! We got pretty good with some and ice this weekend. I really hate that our worship services are called off tomorrow, but safety is the main thing. Matter of fact, I even tried to drive my SUV in my neighborhood and was all over the place. I had a hard time even getting back up my driveway...needless to say I never even tried to get out of the neighborhood.

Snow days are great for the kids and certainly bring back many memories of days gone by playing in the snow. Thought you might like this pic...pretty hilarious with the family sledding today. Pictured is Grace, Emma, Benjamin, and myself. I was the designated "big push down the hill guy".

Enjoy the break from the routine with your family and stay warm...who knows when we will see the next big winter storm here.

What's the Point? part II

The response to this series has been overwhelmingly supportive! The mission statement really sets the stage for how we are to live our lives for Christ. The reality is that some people/churches will get it and other will not.

This is a not new phenomena! Jesus faced the same types of people in His day. Our role is to obey what God has called us to do and serve Him to be the best of our ability.

Does this mean we will be liked by all? NO. Does it mean that everyone will like what we do? NO. However, at the end of the day, all that matters that day is that I did my best for God and lived a life pleasing to Him.

This past week we focused on Christ-centered worship at South Pointe. This message showed us that it has always been about Jesus in the past, is currently about Jesus today, and will forever be about Jesus tomorrow and into eternity. This week we look at value #2 - Focused Outreach.


Remember, it is always about Jesus!

What's the Point? part I

Have you ever heard that question before? I certainly have.....in many different circles. At South Pointe, we are unveiling our new mission statement now and it really has me thinking about what that means to me personally. I have been a part of several churches that all have mission statements. Most churches have them, but do they live them out? Over the next few posts, I will explore this thought further identifying the different types of churches and their thoughts about their mission.

In the church world, most churches are holding on by the skin of their teeth and many are on the decline. The 21st century church is in a state of flux....you have several scenarios being played out. Here is the first one:

1. Churches that are traditional in nature and are not reaching out to the younger generation. Note: This church could have a young pastor, in hopes of hiring him to draw young families. (please make a note here: THAT DOES NOT WORK!!) These churches may have been strong in the past, but that is the glorious past. They have nice big buildings and plenty of room to fill it each Sunday. They are program oriented and have a very rigid schedule that changes rarely. They are typically very committee/deacon led and will tolerate a young-wipper snapper as long as he plays by the rules. This type of church has money and more often than not thinks money is the fix to many of their issues. They are usually high in missions giving which is a good thing, but rarely do missions themselves. Image is important to this type of church - and membership is a really big deal! This type of church spends allot of time developing a mission statement, but has a hard time living it and selling there people people on it.

Please note the above graphic as our mission. I really like it, but more than that my goal and desire is to live it. A mission statement is more than just words on a wall or in a bulletin - it must be something we do and live. Here it goes - "Love and Lead everyone we meet into an everyday walk with Christ."

2010!!!

When I think of 2010, I think of the movie, "2001: a space odyssey" and the sequel "2010". Some far out date that would never come and if it did we probably would be riding in space cars. Nevertheless, we are officially in the year 2010. Have you made any resolutions yet?

Some of the top ones are dieting, exercise, saving money, etc....Most Americans will break their resolution in two weeks. Yes, by January 14th, it's all over. For some, they may take it a little longer, but most will be done before we hit the month of love.

I am all about goals and stuff, but I like to look at it more in line with commitments! You see commitments are harder to break than resolutions. As a Christ follower, commitments mean something.

Here are my top ten goals/commitments for 2010(in no particular order):

1. Run a 10k and a half-marathon
2. Spend quality time with each of my children
3. Treat my wife like it was the first year we were dating.
4. Read 20 books.
5. Continue to work the baby steps from Dave Ramsey to achieve financial goals.
6. Expand the ministry of South Pointe to reach the greater Pageland community.
7. Share the Gospel intentionally with a least one person a week for the year.
8. Be head coach for my son's baseball team.
9. Play tennis regularly with my daughter.
10. Spend more time in prayer than ever before.

Happy New Year! I will keep you posted as I attempt to hold to my goals/commitments for 2010.