FREE Unleash Tickets

Susan and I are moving next week. It is amazing how God has worked everything out for us to move in to this new home a few blocks from our previous one. It is across the street from our kids school too!

I was looking forward to attending Unleash but we will be very busy moving next week.

I really respect Perry Noble and I think he is one of the greatest leaders in the church today. I am grateful God has allowed me the opportunity to connect with him regularly and learn from his ministry experiences.

I get fired up just watching the promo video!

Unleash is sold out but I have a few tickets I am willing to give away for free.


Email me if you are interested and I will pass them along to you.

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thought from Sunday at Elevate:

• We concluded the "5 Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life" series this Sunday with the topic: How to Drift from God.
• It was an incredible day at Elevate. We had someone give their life to Christ and it was one of the most powerful and visible life change experiences I have seen.
• We want to be a church that will do everything short of sin to reach the one lost sheep! (Luke 15:1-7)
  
• Volunteers: what you do matters! You helped someone step from death to life! Thanks for serving like Jesus.
  
• It was so awesome to see so many people repenting and turning back to God as they acknowledged they have drifted from Him.
• I always enjoy taking communion together as a church. It was another great reminder of the high price Jesus paid for us!
  
• The good news: God hasn't moved! Seek Him and you will find Him. (Jeremiah 29:13)
• Return to your first love! (Revelation 2:4-5)
• To get what you had you need to do what you did.
• Yes, I do like oldies music. :-)
• Thanks again to LifeChurch for this series. I'm very grateful that they provide their series resources for other churches to use.
  
• Too many of us are comfortable with wearing a cross around our neck but don't want to carry one on our back. We want to be comforted but just not disturbed. If we get disturbed by God, we might actually have to do something!
  
• Yes, our worship leader (Jeremy Hicks) fell off the back of the stage after the first set. It was so funny!
• Excited about our new series called "The Essential: James" that starts this coming Sunday.
• Also, excited about a mission team that is coming in town this coming weekend.
  
• We started sign ups for people to serve at our Eggstravaganza event. Very excited about those who already jumped in to help serve with the planning and the event.
  
• Greater things are still to come. Greater things are still to be done!
  

Random Friday

Here are some thoughts as we head into the weekend:

• It is the last week of our 5 Easy Steps to Wreck your Life series. I have really enjoyed this series and helping people think through what could happen before it happens.
• I went to the young couples small group this week. Really enjoyed hanging out with those guys and we had some great conversation about marriage.
• Easter is only six weeks away. We have already started planning out our EGGstravaganza event and Easter Sunday. Really looking forward to the great things God is going to do!
• God provided a Children's Director for us. You can read about it here. We like to start them off slowly like planning the EGGstravaganza event. :-)
  
• Next week we start a series called The Essential: JAMES. It will be the first time we've went through each chapter of one book during a series. It is filled with life application and I can't wait to share these upcoming messages! Five weeks. Five Principles. One Book.
• My Tarheels are not doing good this year so I have been watching a lot more of the NBA. I love watching Lebron James play. They got beat last night but for some reason that makes me glad too.
• Speaking of basketball, we didn't lose this past week! We also didn't play. We had a bye week. :-)
• I love my kids so much! Here is a picture of Ava I took with my phone last night. She is washing dishes.
• I can only imagine the way God feels about His Son and what He went through for us.
• We have a mission team coming in town next weekend. I am very grateful for all the churches that partner with us!
  
• Keep praying for Kate McCrae. She had a good report the other day.
• I started a Pastors Coaching Network this week. It is pretty intense. We meet once a month but then have a lot of "homework" between meetings. I love it!
• "The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives!" - D.L. Moody
• We move into our new house March 1st. The next couple of weeks will be busy!
  

Spiritual Leadership

I just finished reading Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders for a Senior Pastor's Coaching Network that I am in. It is one of the best books I have read on leadership. Below are some quotes from the book:

• "Our Lord made clear to James and John that high position in the Kingdom of God is reserved for those whose hearts - even the secret places where no else probes - are qualified."
• "James and John wanted the glory, but not the cup of shame; the crown, but not the cross; the role of master, but not servant."
• "There are only three kinds of people - those who are immovable, those who are movable, and those who move them! Leaders move others."
• "In the early stages of building a church, we cannot insist on maturity, but every care must be taken that those developing the work be stable in character, spiritual in outlook, and not ambitious for position."
• "Before we can conquer the world, we must conquer the self."
• "Vision involves optimism and hope. The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty."
• "Spiritual leadership requires spirit-filled people. Other qualities are important, to be Spirit-filled is indispensable."
• "No leader lives a day without criticism, and humility will never be more on trial than when criticism comes."
• "It takes a leader to embark on a dangerous venture. It takes a leader to build for the kingdom. That's why Jesus' words were so passionate: count the cost; take up the cross!"
• "The true leader is concerned with the welfare of others, not with his own comfort or prestige."
• "The frontiers of the kingdom of God was never advanced by men and women of caution."
• "The church needs saints and servants, not "leaders," and if we forget the priority of service, the entire idea of leadership becomes dangerous."
• "Nehemiah built up their faith by redirecting focus away from "the impossible" toward the greatness of God."
• "Faith builds faith. Pessimism dismantles faith. The spiritual leader's primary task is to build the faith of others."
  

Elevate's Children's Director

After much praying and searching for a Children's Director, God has provided!

Here was the original post about the position. Several people were interested, but we weren't interested in getting A person. We wanted to get the RIGHT person for the job.

As of this week, Lesley Mundis is the Children's Director for Elevate Church!

Greg and Lesley moved to San Diego about two years ago for Greg's job. They moved from Oklahoma where they faithfully served at The People's Church. They were members there from the early days as a church plant and were a part of the amazing things God has done over the last several years at that church.

Greg grew up as a missionary kid in Austria and is a spinal surgeon. They also have three very energetic and fun kids.

Their family began attending Elevate in May of last year. They immediately started getting involved at Elevate and the vision that God has called us to as a church.

Lesley began serving in the children's ministry shortly after they started attending Elevate and her passion for this ministry has grown tremendously. She met with our kids ministry volunteers last week. It is very exciting to see the passion she has to reach kids, as she was sharing with them about the vision for this ministry area. It is also great to see the volunteers excitement about what is to come!

We are very grateful God has sent Greg and Lesley to Elevate. We are grateful for their faithfulness, their servant's heart, their friendship, and their willingness to answer the call of God on their lives.

Welcome to the team! The best is yet to come.

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from Sunday:

• It was week three in our 5 Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life series. This week we talked about "How To Commit Adultery."
• God used the message to challenge many people. The marriage life is one of those topics that everyone is or is going to go through and want help with it.
• I believe that Satan wants to destroy a marriage and the Church more than anything else in this world.
• Getting people to be dissatisfied with their marriage and eventually commit adultery is the main way this happens.
• No one wakes up one day and says I want to commit adultery. It is much more subtle than that.
  
• The number one way to set yourself up to commit adultery is to believe that it could NEVER happen to you.
• If you are being tempted, read Proverbs 5. It is an eye opener of the destruction that could happen.
• Speaking of your marriage: are you the wind beneath their wings or the pain in their rear? Take responsibility and do something about it!
• The band did a great job and This is Our God is one of my favorites. Very powerful.
• We announced our new Children's Director that officially starts this week. Very excited and I will do a separate post about it.
• I met with several people after the service that are interested in our global partnerships. Super excited about what God is going to do through these opportunities.
• Still loving the new facility and set up is getting faster.
  
• Less than seven weeks until Easter and our Easter Eggstravaganza. We have people asking already to make sure we are doing it again this year. Can't wait!
• We had a policeman hand deliver a note from the Captain of the local police department. He thanked us for the coffee and goodies we gave to them. It was such a simple act of serving others that had a big impact! I enjoyed getting to know the police officer too.
• Elevate Church let's keep loving God, loving People, and serving the World!
  

Random Friday

Here are some random Friday stuff:

• It is week three in our 5 Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life series this Sunday. Who are you bringing with you? Don't miss this Valentine's Day special! :-)
• I can't wait to announce who our Children's Director is during the service this Sunday. It is a huge win for our church and I am fired up about what God is going to do in this area!
• Susan and I are going out tonight to celebrate Valentine's Day. Looking forward to an evening with my hot wife!
• Here is an update on Kate McCrae. Please keep praying for her and her family. Don't ever take anything for granted!
• We have the most fans at our basketball games but too bad that is not how you win games. We still have zero wins.
• My Tarheels got beat by Duke this week too. It was not a good week for basketball.
  
• I am loving the San Diego weather right now. I spoke with my mom earlier and they are expecting a few inches of snow in SC.
  
• Susan and I found out last Tuesday that the owners of the home we are renting are selling the home. They are giving us 90 days to move out. A house three blocks up from this home came open for rent on the same day. Everything worked out and we are moving in to our new home on March 1st! I am glad Jesus is in control!
• Very excited about some great opportunities coming up at Elevate!
  
• Heaven is glorious. Hell is hot. Life is short. Make a difference for Jesus before it's too late!
  

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from Sunday:

• It was week two in our 5 Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life series. This week we talked about "How To Be Addicted."
• Chris Reynolds preached and did a great job!
• The story of David vs. Goliath that Chris shared toward the end of the message was very powerful.
• What is your Goliath (addiction)? Even though Goliath is 9 feet tall and your addiction may seem insurmountable, it doesn't even compare to the God of this universe.
• You can't conquer it, BUT Jesus can.
• People received Christ and lives were changed. THAT is what this is all about!
• The band sounded great and Came to my Rescue after the message was very powerful.
• Super pumped about those who brought friends with them this week! It is so awesome to see our people getting it and investing in others.
• Set up and tear down went faster this week. In another week or two we should have it well under two hours set up.
• I am blown away by the number of people who have stepped up and started serving in different areas.
  
• We met with our Kids ministry team for a luncheon on Sunday and announced to them who the new children's director will be. It was an awesome meeting and I am so excited about what God is about to do through this ministry to reach more kids and families.
  
• We plan to announce who it is at church this Sunday!
• Elevate Church I love you! I am humbled to be a part of this journey and what God is doing!
  

Random Friday

Here is some random Friday stuff:

• This Sunday is week two in our 5 Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life series. We had an incredible kick off to the series last week.
• Here is the message from last week online or go here to listen through Itunes.
• It was also our first week of message based small groups. I received reports from several groups of God moving in some incredible ways. I love it!
• Ava has started pulling up. Here is a picture from my phone. Ava, please stop growing up!
• I am a die hard Tarheels fan. How would you know? They are terrible this year and I am still not ashamed to say I am a UNC Tarheels fan.
• Every church planter needs to read this by Perry Noble and part two is right here. Really great stuff!
• I am reading Primal by Mark Batterson right now. It is a very challenging book!
• Also, I want to remind you to keep praying for little Kate McCrae. She has a tough road ahead.
• Worship leaders read this. Great post about worship leaders truly leading worship!
• The faith of Pastor Matt Chandler is simply amazing. Read his story here that MSNBC did about him fighting brain cancer.
• Our basketball team lost again this past Tuesday. This one hurt the most. We lost by two points!
  
• I haven't been impressed with 24 so far this season. Come on Jack Baur, it's time to step it up!
• Naomi is giving away some of her money to help people in Haiti. I am not sure if she can make her dad more proud! I think that is probably how God feels when we are generous givers too!
  
• Jesus is alive AND He is incredible!
  

Living Water Campaign

One of our global partners for this year and for coming years is Living Water International.

Here are some statistics shared with me that truly disturbed me and I pray disturbs you too:

• A child dies every twenty one seconds from drinking contaminated water.
• More than 2.2 million people will die each year because of contaminated water issues. That is the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing every day.
• More people die each year from drinking dirty water than from the world's hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes combined.
• Over a billion people face a daily crisis of bad water.

To be honest, it is senseless. We can put an end to this devastation and that is exactly what we are going to try to do. Living Water is an incredible organization that builds wells to provide clean water in third world countries who wouldn't otherwise have access to clean water.

I also love this organization because they meet the physical need of people (clean water) AND they are intentional about meeting the spiritual need of people by providing the hope of the Living Water (Jesus).

I met with a representative from Living Water about a week ago and I am excited about the potential of what Elevate Church can do to make a difference globally through this ministry.

Join me in praying for God's leading as we team up with this incredible organization to share the love of Jesus in a practical way to many people.

Quotable - Give It All You Have

I saw this quote on Pastor J.R.'s blog. It is an incredible quote and a great challenge:

"It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or when the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

Don't fear failure. Fear never trying!

Give it all you have for the One (Jesus) who gave it all He had for you!

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from Sunday:

• It was our first week in our 5 Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life series AND our first week in our new facility!
• It was an incredible day! Our volunteers are simply amazing and I am grateful for all the people that came out on Saturday evening to help set up. It truly was a full team effort and it will continue to be.
• We baptized someone during the service too! It is awesome that we can now do baptisms during the service so I thought what a great way to celebrate our first Sunday in the new facility.
  
• This week we talked about "How to be Dissatisfied."
  
• Genesis 4:7 always scares me to death. That is exactly what sin wants to do.
• Don't ever think you are above something trying to overtake you. You can't BUT Jesus can.
  
• Sin starts out as something innocent but the end result is always the same: it eventually leads to death (James 1:14-15).
• Adam and Eve had everything they could ever need or even imagine but Satan wanted them to focus on the ONE thing God told them to avoid. Some things never change!
• If many of us were honest, we would say if we had a little bit more we would have a better life. It's a lie! If you aren't content where God has you now, what makes you think you will be satisfied when you have more.
  
• Don't tell me what you believe. Show me how you live! Many of us live as if what Christ offers is not as good as what the world offers.
  
• Imagine what it would be like if we stopped putting our hope in temporary possessions and placed them in eternal treasures. (Luke 12:15)
• Don't ever forget that the only thing each of us deserve is death and Hell. Anything other than that is only received by the Grace and Mercy of God!
• The moment you forget the incredible price Jesus paid for you is the moment you forget what He can and wants to do through you!
  
• Spring of Life has become one of my favorites the band has done lately. By the way, the band is doing an incredible job!
  
• The set up looks great! The place truly becomes transformed into an incredible place to have church.
• It is awesome how much more room we have for the Kids ministry too!
  
• I had numerous people say they felt like they were at a concert and others who said they truly felt like this was church not a volleyball facility.
• Can someone help me figure out how to do one of those time lapse things where you video everything and then make it go faster to watch in 2-3 minutes? People need to see this.
• I will also get someone to take some pictures for those who are following along with the journey of Elevate from a distance so you can check everything out too.
• It was great to be able to hang out after church and talk to more people instead of having to rush with tear down.
• We definitely have some things we are going to improve upon over the next few weeks but I knew it would be like that. It's hard to know everything you need to do until you actually get in there and do it.
• Sunday was an incredible time of celebration. It was definitely one of the best services we had and the energy in the room was awesome.
• God is doing some great things in our church right now and I can't wait to see what's next!