Gilbert Thurston

Random Thoughts About Life, Ministry and Whatever Else Happens to be on my Mind

Archives for July 2008

4th of July

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Well I was going to do a post about the 4th and how our true independence comes from having a relationship with Jesus…it does…but then I read Mark Batterson’s post this morning and thought it was a must read for you to understand the spiritual history of our country. 

Enjoy your day…don’t forget to invite someone to come with you Sunday, Steven Furtick’s message is going to blow you away.

1/2 Year Stats

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Wow it’s hard to believe that 1/2 of 2008 has already passed us.  Thought it would be interesting to see which blog posts and which Podcasts got the most hits in the first half of the year.

Blog Posts:  In total I posted 136 times in the first 6 months…here are the 5 most popular.

  1. Wow I’m Honored:   The post where I shared that Tim Stevens had asked me to help review the manuscript for his new book Pop Goes the Church.  By the time it was all said and done, more than 10 people helped out, but still an honor none the less.
  2.  Inside Today’s Experience (2/17 Edition):    Not sure what made this one so popular.  I will remember it as the day we tried an acoustic set and a certain friend of mine went that night to see the Blue Man Group without me…yes if I sound bitter I am.  :)
  3. Off the Top of my Head:  Overall when you look at what consistently gets the most hits, it’s the Inside Today’s Experience posts and any time I do random thoughts.  It amazes me that you like to hear so much about my personal life, but I guess it’s good in that you get to know me better as a person, not just some guy you see up on a stage once a week.  In any case, this Valentine’s Day post was about as random as they come.
  4. Inside Today’s Experience…Sort Of:  My thoughts of visiting ForeFront Church while on vacation in Virginia Beach.
  5. Inside Today’s Experience (4/20 Edition):  The morning that all of our technology stuff seemed to die beforehand and Andy was back stage soldering right up to the start of the Experience.

Podcasts:  Obviously we had 26 messages in the first half of the year.  I spoke 20 times and 6 guest speakers filled the other 6 weeks.  Here are the top 5 most downloaded messages of the year thus far.

  1. A Time to Run:  From the series, Take It to the Limit.  This was the message I talked about how to deal with sexual temptation. 
  2. Speak No Evil:  From the series, 3 Wise Monkey’s.  Guest Speaker, Cathy Pence shared how powerful our words can be.
  3. As Is:  From the series, Everybody’s Normal til You Get to Know Them.  Here I talked about living an authentic life before people.
  4. Be With:  From the series, Everybody’s Normal til You Get to Know Them.  In this message I talked about why small groups are such an important part of your spiritual growth and maturity. 
  5. Just a Little Bit:  From the series, IMPACT.  Here I shared the way Jesus wants you to begin to see yourself.

Karson Crawford

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I just found out that my cousin’s boy Karson died this afternoon.  Please pray for Deron and Megan and the rest of our family.  This was their first child and it’s got to be rough right now.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

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am PUMPED UP about this up-coming Sunday’s message from Steven Furtick!

  • It will sound vaguely familiar to some of you, but that’s OK.
  • By the way the 4th commandment doesn’t say “To honor the Sabbath unless it’s a holiday weekend.”
  • The 4th of July is Friday…you’ve got all day Friday and Saturday to celebrate until your little heart is content.  There is no excuse to miss on Sunday…none…nada…zilch…zero.
  • Ok, if you die…maybe….but as Ed Young shared last week…let’s at least pray for you and see what happens.
  • Seriously though….don’t miss this weekend it will be an incredible lead-in to the Unstoppable series that will be starting the following week where I’ll be sharing the next steps we’ll be taking as an Experience and as a church to continue impacting Franklin County and beyond.
  • Got an up-date on my car this morning.  It will take a week to get the part in, so I’ll be able to pick it up today and drive it around, just won’t have AC.
  • I’m such a baby sometimes….waaaaaa…I may break a sweat or have the wind mess up my hair…or in my case…hairs.
  • Just got done a brainstorming meeting for the series after Unstoppable….it’s going to be awesome…if you enjoyed the GodPod series last year, you’ll enjoy this one as well.
  • We’re starting to get some resumes in for our Pastor of Creative Arts Position.  While some look promising, most are terrible.
  • As a lesson for yourself, remember when sending resumes in the future to do the following:
    • Make sure you read the instructions carefully that your potential employer has asked.  It’s amazing how people aren’t following simple directions.
    • Make sure you fit the job description…again amazing that people who have no skills in the areas that we are looking are applying.  It would be like applying for a job as a secretary and saying you don’t know how to type and you’ve never used a computer and you hate using the phone.  Well then why apply?
  • In any case, we’ll weed out the bad ones and find the guy or gal that God would have for us.  If you know of someone who may be interested, they can get all the details here.