VBS facts from day one

Wow. Last night we kicked off Vacation Bible School at the new property, and it was a great night. Here's some observations and some facts from last night:

129 - the number of kids who were there

119 - the number of youth and adult volunteers who were there

10:30 a.m. - the time the first crew of volunteers arrived to begin set-up

Smiles and hugs - what I saw our workers giving freely to the kids

The Bible - was being taught in every small group at some point in the evening

Cool dancing - what Trey Frick did as he led the opening and closing celebrations, especially on the walking on water song.

300 grams - the amount of sugar that must have been in the extra delicious double doozie cookies that Mary Kauffman made for snack time. (yes, I participated in snack time!)

48 - number of miles Shelley Kauffman walked last night as she checked on how everything was going.

Thankful and excited - two feelings I had last night when I saw all that God was doing.

Sunday scripture

Friday is here, and I'm thankful to see it arrive. This has been a very productive week, and it is time for a little break. Here are a few things to look forward to, as well as a look back at things from this week:

I'm looking forward to continuing our message series Sunday on "The Basics". This week we will talk about "The Promise". For Dr. Waterfield and any one else who cares to prepare before they arrive, the scripture you need to read before Sunday is as follows: John 14:1-7 and 1 John 3:2

Next week is Vacation Bible School. This is always one of my favorite things we do at Freedom. This year's VBS will be extra special because we will be meeting at the new property on Hwy.290. That will give us a lot more freedom in how early we can set-up and what we can do.

There was a good bit of organizing and cleaning that went on in the office this week. Getting settled in and organized has been a big job. Robin Wellmon, our ministry assistant, has done tons of cleaning, sorting, and just moving things to their correct place. If you see her Sunday, be sure and thank her for all her hard work.

After a wedding tomorrow and hopefully some time to just relax, I will be looking forward to seeing all of you on Sunday!

Loose ends, important and irrelevant

Here are a few loose ends that need to be tied up. I'll begin with the important ones first:

- The office phone number never changed. A couple of weeks ago I announced in front of everyone at worship that when we moved into the new office our phone number would change. I announced this based on what the folks at Charter Media told us. Well, when they installed the new line we discovered that our number was exactly the same as it had been: 877-3604. We are glad the number is the same, even if the Charter people made a liar out of me.

- Opening on the trip to Botswana, Africa. Due to circumstances beyond any one's control one of the folks on our Africa Mission team has had to drop out of the trip. This means there is a chance for a lady, with a passport to go. The passport has to be current. If you are even remotely interested in going please contact Mark Johnson immediately: mark@johnsonfamilyweb.net

Now for the irrelevant ones:

- I just used the term heebie jeebies in describing how camel back crickets make me feel. As I said it I wondered, "What is the difference between the heebie jeebies and the willies?"

- If all goes as planned we should have a DVR installed in the house next week at this time. That way I don't have to watch the Carolina Clemson football game live this year. I can just wait until it's over and if Clemson wins, as they have most of my life, I won't have to watch it. It will be much better for my blood pressure.

- I'll be glad when this whole Michael Jackson thing blows over. How many hours can CNN milk out of this? A lot more than I want to watch apparently.

A Tragedy?

Many of you were probably as shocked as I was at the news of Steve McNair's murder. If you don't know the details here is the condensed (Cliff's Notes!) version: Steve McNair former NFL MVP, a married father of four, was apparently shot by his 20 year old girlfriend who then killed herself.

When the news of this first broke I heard many people classify it as a tragedy, and I would agree that there are tragic elements to it. It is tragic that two people died by being shot. It is tragic that one person killed another person. It is tragic that four young men will grow up without their father. It is tragic that a young lady with many years ahead of her decided to end her own life. Even considering all of those things it is hard for me to call what happened to Steve McNair a tragedy. In my mind a tragedy is something that was unavoidable and often unexpected. The murder of five people in Gaffney last week, one of which was a 15 year old girl, was a tragedy. If Steve McNair had been home last week with his wife and four boys and someone came into their home and shot him that would have been a tragedy, but the hard truth is that if he had been home with his wife he would still be alive. That's why I can't call his death a tragedy. It was avoidable. If he had put his marriage and kids before his own desires everything would be different now.

Another sad part of this story is that up until last week, McNair was known for his toughness, his community involvement, and his devotion to his family. Now he will be forever remembered for the way his life ended, instead of for what he accomplished.

A busy week comes to an end

I have decided that all weeks in my life are busy, except when we I'm at the beach, but this week has been even busier. It's been good, but I haven't had any problems getting to sleep at night. Here are some random thoughts and updates:

- Pray for Sherry's family today.
Sherry's grandmother, Allie Mathis passed away on Wednesday afternoon and the funeral is today. Grandma Allie had been in poor health for awhile and she was a follower of Jesus so there is no sadness over where she is now, but the service today will still be difficult. Also, pray for me and Jimmy Hawkins as we lead the service.

- My girls come home today!
Emily has been at Go Camp this week and Grace has been getting spoiled by my parents all week. This has probably been the best week for them to be gone since things have been so busy, but I will be glad when they are both sleeping at home tonight.

- I'm praying for the people in Gaffney.
I can't imagine what the folks who live in that community must be feeling this morning. I pray that the police officers there will be able to find the man responsible for the killings and bring him in before anyone else is hurt.

- Power Plant was great.
Thanks to everyone who prayed for me this week as I taught. I was very encouraged by what I saw in the lives of the teenagers and their leaders. Getting to teach them every morning this week was a real privelege. I'll write more about this next week.

- Sunday will be a great day.
It seems that every week I get more excited about what God does in worship on Sunday mornings at Greer High School. This week we begin a new series of messages called "The Basics". This week's basic is "The Call". You can go ahead and read the following scriptures if you want to be extra prepared for where we are going this month: Matthew 4:19, 8:21-22, 9:9, 19:21, and John 10:27.

- The Braves swept the Phillies.
Is it time to believe that the Braves can make a run for the division title in the second half of the season? We'll have to wait and see if they keep hitting like they have the last few games.

See you Sunday!

5 Jackson Classics

The last seven days have been very abnormal for the staff at Freedom. Last week at this time we were up to our ears in painting the new offices. Since then everything has been moved out of the old offices and gotten somewhat set-up in the new place. I spent all of yesterday afternoon putting together a desk from Staples. I got lots of good help from Donny's four year old son Johnathan. He was very good at finding what piece I needed next. Every morning this week I have been teaching to the 160 teenagers and adults who have come to Greenville for the Power Plant project. I will write some of my thoughts about that experience on here tomorrow or Thursday.

Since everything has been so busy I haven't had a chance to write anything about the death of Michael Jackson. In the last 15 years Michael was known for some extremely strange and disturbing behavior. In no way do I condone or even understand all of the things he was involved in, but I am 40 years old and that means that Michael Jackson's music is the soundtrack of my youth. As I thought about his death last week I realized that Micahel Jackson songs were important to me from the time I was ten years old all the way through graduating from college. Instead of talking about the crazy Michael Jackson here's a list of 5 of my favorite songs by him:

(I put these are in chronological order. They aren't in order of what my favorites are, because I can't choose a favorite. Also, I have only included songs he did as a solo artist)

- Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Every time I hear this song I think about Seven Oaks Elementary skate nights at Red Wing Rollerway in Columbia. This was a perfect rollerskating song because of the tempo and crazy sounding violin part at the beginning and end. Although I loved skating to this I never was able to "shoot the duck".

- Beat It
I was in the eighth grade and my friend Jeff Caldwell came to school and told me that Eddie Van Halen played guitar on the new Michael Jackson song. I told him he must be crazy because I couldn't imagine how it would sound, then I heard it and was convinced that getting Eddie to play on "Beat It" was an amazing idea.

- Billie Jean
What can you say about this song? It's probably the most well-known song of the eighties. The moonwalk that he did on the Motown 25th Anniversary special was one of those things that everyone was talking about in Mrs. Hilliard's homeroom the next morning. The bass line to this song is one of the best ever. I dare you to listen to it and not move.

- Man in the Mirror
The best part of this song is the lyrics which Michael did not write, but the way he sang it made those words come to life. Having the choir (featuring Andre Crouch and the Winans) sing in the background gave the song a gospel flavor that took it to another level.

- Smooth Criminal
Another song that I can't listen to and sit still. I don't have any idea what the lyrics are talking about, but I think they have something to do with the plot of a movie that Michael made. Either way it's a cool sounding song with a driving, frantic sounding beat. The harder rocking cover by "Alien Ant Farm" that was released a few years ago sounds cool too.

Have a great evening! I hope to write more here tomorrow.

Sunday preview

This Sunday we will finish up the One Prayer series by listening to a powerful message from Craig Groeschel. Those of you who have been to Catalyst before know that God uses Groeschel in a powerful way to communicate the truth of the bible.

Also, Chris tells me that the first song this week is going to blow you away. Sherry came home form band practice last night talking about it. That means you need to be sure and be in the auditorium by 10:30. If you are used to strolling in the atrium around 10:29 and then taking your time to get coffee and a bagel, you will need to change your regular schedule! There will be a countdown clock on the screen to let you know exactly when the service will begin. Invite your friends to be there this week!

I was shocked last night when I came in from working in the yard to hear Michael Jackson had died. This has been a crazy week due to celebrity deaths and the Mark Sanford debacle. Because we have spent so much time in new office prep this week I haven't had a chance to comment on these things. Hopefully, I will have some thoughts to share with you next week. In the meantime, check out Chris' blog to see what he wrote about the deaths of Michael, Farrah, and Ed.

Last, please keep me in your prayers next week as I have the opportunity to teach on the subject of church planting to 160 teenagers and adults. Greenville will be hosting a Power Plant project where I have been asked to teach. The first session is on Sunday afternoon with sessions on Monday through Thursday morning following. I would appreciate your prayers as you remember.

See you Sunday! Be there early!