- Had a really good day.
- Today was the 3 year anniversary since I first spoke at United.
- A bunch of the United crowd threw me a surprise party last night which was really cool!
- Hard to believe its been 3 years already.
- That very first weekend we had 85 in attendance…now here we are 3 years later and not only do hundreds of people attend each week, but hundreds of people have come into a relationship with Jesus!
- This morning I came in early and couldn’t get the network or 3 screens to work…I panicked…oh no what are we going to do.
- Ummm…reach over and turn the power button on might be a start. :)
- At the beginning of the band’s warm-up, our drummer was running late so I sat down to at least provide a beat…everyone laughed at me…so I saw Aaron had come in to observe practice so I asked him to drum.
- He did the entire first song and wasn’t half bad…although when he was done I thought we might have to call the paramedics…he was wore out.
- It’s amazing how much energy our drummers expend and they just keep going and going and going. Many thanks to our drummers over the years, you guys rock (literally).
- Since Andrea was leading a bunch of songs today we also gave her the chance to do a lot of the speaking roles as well.
- I thought she did a great job…I think God has big plans for her…it’ll be interesting to see what they are.
- For the first time in a long while both myself and the team seemed to bring as much energy to the later Experience as we did the early one.
- In fact, we posted the 2nd message online.
- I’ve really enjoyed this series…hope you are as well!
- As I mentioned in the message, I’m going to be offering a class again on how to study the bible on October 10th from 9am-12pm. If you’re interested, please let me know. gilbert@unitedworshipexperience.org
- In the meantime, make sure you are in God’s Word everyday looking for principles, not promises.
- Had out of town friends visiting in the early Experience and some family members in the 2nd. Always great to have the support of family and friends.
- I dropped the hammer at 11:15 on the whole evangelism purpose…seriously God wants you inviting every week. People’s eternal destinies are at stake…what are you doing about it?
- Time for a nap and then dinner with friends…have a great week…see you and your guests next week!
Random Tuesday Thoughts
- Finally got confirmation that the number baptized two Sunday’s ago was 42!
- This past weekend was hectic but great.
- Friday night I was at church for the rehearsal of the wedding I was doing on Saturday.
- At one point one of the organ petals got stuck.
- Remember in “Dumb and Dumber” when they did the most annoying noise in the world…ummm yeah, I’m just saying.
- Had to call Earl so he could line up a repairman while I continued with practice.
- After practice I put the final touches on getting ready for the class I taught on Saturday morning.
- Had 45 people show up for the “Get Connected with God” class.
- I tried to cram it all into 2 hours, but ended up going 2 1/2.
- As I’ve been getting e-mails in response, the #1 complaint has been that the class wasn’t long enough.
- I said it before and I’ll say it again…this class is awesome!
- Here are some excerpts of just a few of the e-mails I’ve gotten…
- “I would recommended that EVERYONE take this class if you ever offer it again”.
- “I wish I would have had this class much earlier in my Christian life…I hate to admit it, but I still feel like a baby in the Word- but now that I have the tools, that is going to change”.
- “This class has given me a game plan”.
- “This class…will take us (husband and I) into a higher level of knowing our God and understanding our purpose”.
- “I guarantee you that everyone who took the Get Connected To God class today came out with a better understanding of what it takes to develop the habits we need to grow to spiritual maturity and how to bring that about”.
- The wedding went very well then in the afternoon.
- Congratulations to Ronnie and Kristy Yarnell!
- At the reception, we sat with the organist who was asking questions about United.
- Our table was about in tears with laughter watching this guys expressions as we kept sharing and you could just see the shock on his face.
- He kept asking, “Wait a second, you did that in church”?
- He said he wants to come visit…he’ll be easy to recognize…he’ll be the one with his mouth gaping open the whole time. :)
- Sunday I’ve already blogged about, but I’ve heard some really good stuff in the meantime about how people felt convicted and challenged by the Experience.
- The new web-site is also getting a lot of good feedback and a lot of traffic.
- One person I forgot to mention in my excitement of announcing it last Friday was Ashleigh Schwindt. Many of the pictures on the site she shot and I’m glad we have someone with her skills in the church.
- Ashleigh has her own photography business and I’m in love with one of her models!
- We are hosting Micah Brickner this week at the church to help him in his internship with our region of the denomination. Micah wants to plant a church in the next few years so he’s spending the week with us learning the good, the bad and the ugly (insert whatever staff person’s face you want with each:)).
- Please pray for Micah and my good friend, Chuck Frank as the region attempts to plant as many churches as possible in the next 5-10 years.
- If you’re interested in something like this, go here.
Random Wednesday Thoughts
- Been awhile since I did a random thoughts.
- Went to Rod Hockenberry’s funeral today. A few thoughts:
- Last year when we did the”Live Like You Were Dying” series, I sat down with Rod and interviewed him to get some perspective on what it’s like to know that you’re dying. I loved his faith! He knew he was going to heaven and was just enjoying every moment he had left. Who knew as we sat there that day that it would be less than a year.
- Vernon Edward who is our Visitation Pastor at the church always seems to have just the right thing to say…love that guy! Today he shared how Rod the other day said he felt trapped in his body and Vernon reminded us that now he is free and then quoted some relevant verses…very touching moment.
- I’m very rarely able to see the parking lot full…usually I’m one of the first to arrive and one of the last to leave on Sundays. So seeing it overflowing today was a treat. It’s a real testimony for how much Rod was loved. However, I felt God saying, “Why is the parking lot more full for a guy who died than it is each week for a guy who came back to life?” Wow!
- I’ve got some sort of seasonal allergy thing going…not any fun…very draining.
- I’m pumped about this weekend!
- First I’ll be teaching the “Get Connected to God” class on Saturday where I’ll teach on the importance of prayer and how to study the Bible for yourself so the words leap off the page. Not to late to join us…9-11am this Saturday.
- Next, I’m doing a wedding for a great couple.
- Then Sunday, I get to preach a vision message. I love when I get to remind people why we do what we do…usually there is at least one memorable line that comes out of my mouth that either gets me in trouble or is worthy of being on a t-shirt. Who knows what this week’s will be…but I look forward to finding out.
- I’ll also be making a big announcement about a couple of things I’m excited about.
- The Experience will be followed by a video shoot for the “Rewind” series and then we have a staff picnic.
- Wow this is already long so I’ll stop for now and will do another tomorrow to catch you up.