reading last years journal notes

I got my journal out today and read some notes from just after our launch service. Man was it depressing!!! I can just hear the suffering oozing from the pages. I listed everything that went wrong. I wrote how i was standing in the parking lot waiting for cars to come and they didn't and then i didn't want to go inside and when i finally got the courage to go in the count down timer had hit zero and the worship leader said over the mic, "Oh there he is, Pastor T". Every head turned to look at me and it was silent as i walked up to the stage to greet everyone. I was devastated!!! Maybe these stories (and there are more) can encourage some church planter somewhere because we are still here and growing and doing great. Lives have been changed incredibly and we are effecting a community. I think the big lesson in this is that God wanted this church here and I said yes to the call to join Him. It's not about me or my expectations or my plan. It's all about His vision, His plans and His work. It was before i got to Vegas and it will be long after i am gone from this earth. So if you are seeking to do ministry, I would ask myself one very important question first. is this His idea or mine.

One year weekend

I am sitting in my office and thinking about the very first service that we had at Destiny Church. MAN WHAT A DAY!!! I will never forget it as long as i live. (although most of it is a blur) I was a nervous wreck and all of my expectations were blown out of the water. Meaning.....i did not see the results that i expected. Leaving that day, I am thinking about this year and how we "found" our place as a church. I can see now that God didn't want us to have 300 people on day one. I know it sounds crazy but had that happened we would have gone into a mode of doing average church. not to mention the fact that we were no where ready to hold that kind of harvest. It has taken us a year to get a clear picture of how our vision would be practically walked out. This will be a great weekend. I believe that it marks a new season for our church. Pastor Duane White will be here and will deliver the prophetic word for the church and later that evening we will have a special leaders meeting that is open for anyone to attend. I am very excited to see what '09 holds for us.

impact players

We are finalizing plans for our one year anniversary service and i am so fired up. It's going to be a great day. There are lots of friends that will be attending. One of those couples is Tom and Tina Piche. Tina was my administrative assistant in Alabama and she was the BEST. Her husband Tom is in the Air Force and is moving up the ranks. I did everything i could to get them to move with us from Alabama but the United States Government kinda' over ruled me!! I have to say that i have really felt the impact of not having Tina on my team. i am not sure that i will ever find another assistant that had the attitude that she had. She was fast, competent, knew the next move and, most of all, put her family above ministry. She is now in California and has helped soooo much with things like series graphics, web design, calendar planning and on and on. I know that we live in a day and time where most admin stuff can be done out of an office setting but I know that our team would be GREATLY impacted by just having this family around. I am sure of it because of how my life was changed by having them as friends. Who knows what the future holds.........i am still working my magic to get them to Vegas!!!

A New Favorite Term

A few weeks ago a lady that attends our church dropped a term on me that i had never heard before. She was inviting an unchurched friend of hers to service and her friend asked a question. She said, "There not a bunch of religitards are they?" I almost fell out of my chair laughing so hard. One thing I love about doing church in Las Vegas is that there is this authenticity to people that call themselves Christ followers. They don't attend church on Sunday's because grandma told them to. They are here because they are genuinely seeking God. I LOVE the excitement that comes with seeing God answer prayers, save friends, bless financially FOR THE FIRST TIME in the lives of new believers. We are in the first week of a Daniel fast and for most of our church this is the first time they have every fasted in their lives. I am hearing reports already (almost daily) of how couples are spending time reading the Bible together and how husbands and dads are leading there families in prayer every morning! This is just the beginning of a God filled journey. I want to let everyone at Destiny Church know that I Love you and I am grateful to be called your pastor!