The Gift

The last three Christmas seasons we have presented sermon series that were accompanied with drama sketches throughout the series. During that span, two of them we used from Northpoint Church in Atlanta, "Christmas With Grace" and "Velma's Diner". Last year we took Scrooge, (A full length Broadway production that we did for many years) and divided it up into a four part series. It was pretty awesome!

Well, this year we decided to write our own. After several brainstorming meetings our very own Dave Willis started writing the script and after a few re-writes and tweaks "The Gift" was complete. We are so blessed to have someone as talented as Dave writing for us. I also want to give a shout out to Tony Cooper and the entire cast for bringing the characters to life. You don't want to miss the last two episodes Sunday the 20th and Christmas Eve. It will be a Christmas to remember, I promise!

Third-Person Christian

This a blog I read this morning from Mark Batterson and thought you might get something from it.......enjoy!

I think some people are what I would call third-person christians. I'm not a grammarian, and I don't know if this metaphor holds up literally, but third-person christians read the Bible in the third-person. They think in terms of "they" instead of "me." They don't personalize it by reading it in first-person terms. And so Scripture is de-personalized.

Here's another example. Third-person christians attend church in the third-person thinking about the people in their life that "need to hear this message" rather than processing it personally! They talk about church in "they" terms instead of "we" terms.

Here's a thought. Simply insert the first-person "I" or "me" or "we" when reading the Bible. It helps you own Scripture. And more importantly, it helps Scripture own you.

Answers to a college students questions about ministry

I had a college student ask me to answer some questions for her about what my week and my ministry looks like. I thought others might be interested as well. So here you go!

1.) What is your weekly schedule like? Do you have creative team meetings? How do you run your music ministry on a weekly basis?

My week is filled with a lot of meetings. I work Sunday-Thursday and take Friday and Saturday off.

Sunday:

Sunday starts early at the Creek. Call time for my team is 7 a.m. We rehearse the performance songs until 730. From 730-8 we rehearse the worship set for the day. from 8-815 we try to have a tech run and run the drama sketch if there is one. We do drama maybe once a month or so. from 815-830 we take a breath and have a prayer time and get ready to dive into our services. We do three at our Augusta campus at 830|10|1130. I usually leave the church around 1. Very fast paced day!

Mondays:

Mondays are meetings pretty much all day that's why we call it Meeting Monday! I have seven staff members in several different areas so my first meeting goes from 10-1030. At 1030 I start my second meeting with my production staff (Graphic Designer, Web Designer, Video Producer, and my assistant and we talk through projects coming up. At 11-1230 I have a creative team meeting where I take the people who were in my production meeting and add my worship leader from our Grovetown campus and our teaching pastor who is a great writer to help with video and drama scripts. From 1230 -200 I have Executive team lunch meeting which consists of the Lead Pastor and the associate pastors which consists of me Kevin,and Dave. After lunch we usually come back and meet for another hour or so about upcoming events staffing issues etc...

After Mondays I am fried!

Tuesday:

I use Tuesday to get ready for Wednesday Worship and to put into action the ideas we came up with in creative team meeting for Sunday. I have a lunch meeting on Tuesday's from 12-130 these days because we are writing drama sketches for our Christmas season. After that I try to catch up on e-mail and phone calls and deal with some staff issues.

Wednesday:

Is preparing Musically and spiritually for Wednesday Worship and making sure things are coming together for Sunday. I have rehearsal at 6 and service at 7. Usually leave church around 9 P.M.

Thursday:

Thursday is what we call Thriday because it represents our Friday. This is a faced pace day to finish up and get everything ready for Sunday. Several meetings in the afternoon to make sure everyone is on the same page. Sometimes things aren't done and I have to finish stuff up on Friday.

2.) How do you deal with not burning out?

You have to take time off. I am very blessed to have a pastor who believes it's important to be away and take time off. I also think it's important to be somewhere you love. Not liking the people and the place you work will cause burn out QUICK!

3.) How would you handle a situation within your choir (or praise team) such as if two of your members are fighting or just don't get along?

Unity is one of the most important things for your team. If you don't have unity trouble is right around the corner. I would teach unity and make it a part of the culture so when times like this come up you can remind them of this.

4.) Do you have a mentor? How important is it to you to have someone in your life that you can call to be your mentor?

I have a lot of mentors. A mentor helps shape who you are. Mentors that I talk to on a regular basis are my dad and my friend and pastor of Stevens Creek Church Marty Baker. I also have mentors that I have never met like Bill Hybels and Louie Giglio who influence me through the books they write. Read and watch others as much as possible.

5.) What services to you provide to the community you currently serve in and what should you contribute as a ministering musician?

Our whole church is for our community. We do everything we can to create a place where people can come and hear the life changing message of Christ.

Calming The Storm Notes

I've had several people ask if I could post my notes from when I spoke on Calming The Storm. Here they are.

Incredible

CALMING THE STORM

That day when evening came, (Jesus) said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side (of the lake)." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" Mark 4:35-38

YOU ARE IN THE STORM

1) BY HIS DESIGN.

Possible storm sources:

· Storms from bad decisions.

· Storms from the enemy.

· Storms from a broken world.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Romans 8:28)

2) WITH HIS PRESENCE.

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

3) FOR HIS PURPOSES.

The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

Mark 4:38b

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

· In storms, we want God to do a removing job. He wants to do an improving job.

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:39-40

Yesterday was an amazing day! I was able to be at the Grovetown campus for the first time. We had a total of 210 people....WOW! I am so proud to be a part of such a great a church. My dad is doing a great job leading that team and Cliff and the band are rockin' it out every week. We are blessed! If you go to Grovetown, keep up the great work. If you don't, please keep them in your prayers as they make the name of Jesus famous in Grovetown.

A New Day!

It's a new day at the Creek. Sunday we added our second campus in Grovetown and it was awesome! The G-team worked so hard to get ready for the opening of this campus and the work paid off. We had 358 people show up. How awesome is that! Things went really smooth. A few bumps here and there but overall it was great! I can't wait to see how they continue to grow and reach the Grovetown area for Christ. IF you live in Grovetown check it out this Sunday at 10:30 at Grovetown High School. http://stevenscreekchurch.com/

It's finally here!

Well, It's finally here! Stevens Creek Grovetown launches tomorrow and it will be an historic day in the life of Stevens Creek Church. Thanks to all who have worked so very very hard to make tomorrow possible. I can't wait to see all of the lives that will be changed by the ministries of this campus. If you live in the Grovetown area check it out tomorrow at Grovetown High School 10:30. Go G-team!

Are You Ready For Some Football?

I love this time of year. College football is underway and Pro football starts this Thursday night. My team , the Tampa Bay Bucs, play this Sunday against the How 'Bout Them Cowboys. I think we will be awful this year but I still love to watch them. So don't expect to see me hanging around after the 1130 services this fall. I will be at out the door to get home to see the Bucs play. Happy football everybody!

A Great Heritage

This world lost a great saint last Saturday night. My pawpaw Sturgell left this world to join my mawmaw in Heaven after a long battle with cancer. What a great man of God he was. He served his church as a volunteer his whole life. I remember him being Sunday School Superintendent and driving the the church bus to pick up kids who didn't have a ride to church. Man, he loved being in church. He was such a faithful servant. He taught my dad what it meant to be a man of character and to love God more than anything and because of that I am the man I am today. I pray that I can transfer that same great heritage to my two boys. We will miss my pawpaw greatly but know that he has gone to the place that he had dreamed about his whole life. I love you pop!

Brand New Stevens Creek Church Website

The website is finally done. We've been trying to get a new website up for about two years now and this week it is finally up and running. Just wanted to give a shout out to Brennan Baxter who has put in a ridiculous amount of hours to make it happen. Also, to Jeff Brotherton who helped Brennan with graphics and creative direction. These guys are incredible and I'm honored to have them on my staff. Check it out at http://stevenscreekchurch.com/ You're going to love it!

Where did the summer go?

Where did the summer go? It seemed like yesterday my boys were getting out of school for the summer and now that same summer is GONE! We have had a great time though. We were able to go to the beach three times. The first time was just Me, April and the boys. We went to Myrtle Beach for a few days at the beginning of June. I love going with just us but it is no relaxing vacation with two boys under ten. They constantly want your attention....no really, CONSTANTLY! I had to keep reminding myself that in a few years I will wish they wanted to play with me. They grow up too fast.

Our second beach trip was to Oak Island, NC with April's family. We always have a great time there. We have gone for the last 8 years. It's a small beach town with nothing to do and that's what makes it great. Just rental houses all along the beach. It's always a very relaxing week. We love it!

Our last beach week was in Daytona Beach with my family. This one is the complete opposite of Oak Island. It was crowded and busy and all you could ever want to do and FUN! The place we stay has a lazy river, 3 huge pools, 4 Jacuzzis an outdoor putting green, a nine hole putt putt course on the 4th floor and I could go on and on. It was a lot of fun. My brother Ben was able to be there the whole week and the boys so enjoyed spending time with their crazy uncle.

Well that was my summer.....can't believe it's gone.

Stevens Creek Grovetown

I spent the first part of my day with Kevin, Jeff and Wes at Grovetown High School. It really got me amped up about what God is getting ready to do out there. What an opportunity God has given us. God is truly doing even greater things than we imagined at Stevens Creek. Get ready for launch on September 13th.

I Love My Church part 2

Today was another incredible day at the Creek. I love seeing people engage in worship to our creator. As many of you know we are in a series called “I Love My Church”. It has been awesome! Many of you have written your comments at stevenscreek.net and I have so enjoyed reading them. One of my favorites is from a guy named Jake.

MAY 14 
I have always struggled with faith. It was never introduced to me properly and I have shied away from it for many years. My wife has never given up on me and I started going to church in Ohio 2 years ago. I enjoyed the pastor as he was a fantastic speaker and he always found a way like Dave Willis to relate topics in a way that applied to my life. We moved to Georgia in the last year for my new job and we tried out the Creek. This church doesn’t\'t force anything on me like others have in the past, and I am able to come to Christ in my own way. There is guidance and support at every turn. Not to mention the band, sweet baby Jesus, I love that band. I cry every single Sunday listening to the music. Todd rocks out and April can flat out knock you down with those golden pipes. I am lifted up and I’ve learned to not only make room in my heart for Christ, but to empty myself so I can be saturated. Let Him work through me, not the other way around :) I love my church!

-JAKE

I just thought that was awesome…. “Not to mention the band, sweet baby Jesus, I love that band”. HILARIOUS!

The service today kicked of with an 80’s flashback with Danny singing a little Huey Lewis and the News, Power of Love. People loved it! Gary ripped the solo on that song. The set list for worship was:

Salvation is Here…..Lincoln Brewster

You Saved Me…….Gary Baxter

‘Til I See You……...Hillsong

Saviour King……….Hillsong

Dave did a fine job as usual. I bet you didn’t know he has pneumonia. He is a machine! Well, I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day. Make sure you take some time to remember those who have died so that we have freedom. We are blessed!

Baptism Tonight at 7

Tonight we will be baptizing 51 people. Every time we think we have a final count we get a call from someone else wanting to get dunked. This will be the largest baptism we have ever had at the Creek. How Awesome is that! This is what our church is all about. Seeing people who are away from God find hope in Christ. Don’t miss tonight! This is when we celebrate as a church what God is doing. We don’t need to take this for granted, it’s not happening everywhere. See you tonight at 7.

I Love My Church!

I wrote in my last post that I was working with the Langley Church of God's worship team over the weekend. While they had some great people there, it really reminded me why I love the Creek so much. I love my church.

Speaking of the Creek, we had an awesome day today. We had great crowds and the energy was through the roof! Jordan started off with a Remedy Drive song called "Something Made To Last". After that we had an Around the Creek video to give us the 411 on what's going on. Great job on that Wes and Christine. Then we had the Dance.......so fun! The dance team did a jam up job and the costumes were of the chain.

The congregational worship set list was: O Happy Day - My Glorious - The Stand

I thought it went really well. Band sounded great!

Marty did an awesome job reminding us what Stevens Creek is all about. At the end of the message I sang a Tenth Avenue North song called "Love Is Here". We put a baptism video with it that really brought an emotional touch to the service. Great job an the video Brennan. I could watch people being baptized all day.

Well I'm looking forward to another busy week around the Creek! I have the best job in the world!

Langley Church Of God

I have the opportunity to work with the Langley Cog's Worship team tomorrow morning. Working with other team's really gets me amped up. I will be working with their choir, worship team and band. As you can imagine, It's going to be a good bit different from the Creek. For example, in their band they have a flute and a tuba. Not really the instrumentation we use at the Creek, but I'm always up for a challenge. On Sunday night me and a few guys from the band will go and join with the worship team from Langley for their Sunday night service. Should be fun.....I'll keep you posted.

Mother's Day

I hope all the mom's out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. It was a great day at the Creek! Started with baby dedications which always throw a little wrench in the service. There is just no easy way to do them, especially when you have 10-12 you are trying to dedicate. It worked though and baby's are dedicated and I think most momma's are happy.

The singing portion of worship was powerful! The set list was, Sing Sing Sing, Everlasting God and Desert Song. During Everlasting God I read Isaiah 40 to encourage all of us to put our hope and trust in God who will never grow tired or weary. It was a good moment. I really felt like people were connecting especially in the first service. First service peeps, you guys ROCK! After that April and Melissa lead the Desert Song and it was awesome as usual. April prayed a prayer after the song that was amazing and so appropriate for the day. I love that woman!

Then Margie was back on stage for the first time in a long time presenting a monologue that I think all mothers in the place could relate to. She did a jam up job. After the sketch Marty came up and presented a very practical message on how we can honor our mom's. He did a great job. Speaking on Mother's Day is not his favorite thing to do.

At the end of the service we decided to do an old Rod Stewert song, Have I Told You Lately. We put it with some video of people telling there mom's how much they love them and how much they mean to them. It was a sweet moment in the service. Great job Wes! I was singing the song so I got to see all the ladies crying and that let me know that it was a hit. If you can get mom's to cry on mothers day, all will be well in the world. You can watch the service @stevenscreek.net.

Well now it's on to next week. Starting a new series called I Love My Church! It's going to be Awesome!