Significant Church

Sunday afternoon Bud Plake and I drove to Houston to be with Jim Graff and discuss what it means to be a significant church. Jim is Joel Osteen’s brother-in-law and I believe it’s true that God works in families. Jim leads a great church in Victoria, TX and along with Joel they are some of the most genuine people in the world. They both speak so highly of John Osteen, founder of Lakewood and several years deceased. One of the great things I noticed in my short visit to Lakewood was the love that there was in that house for God and for others. We were treated with such kindness and love that made it tangible. My father baptized in the spirit at Lakewood Church under John Osteen 35+ years ago, so we have some history with that church. We got a tour of the new facility and truly it’s amazing what God is doing in Houston and around the world. It’s encouraging to see the next generation step to the front and take their place in serving their communities and the world. I am planning to host a Significant Church conference at HOF sometime in the future. I really have a heart to serve pastors in this day and time.

The President

Many of you will recognize Kevin Mawae, All Pro Center, of the Tennessee Titans. I’ve gotten to know Kevin over the last few years through a mutual pastor friend. I’ve gotten to spend some time with him and see what God is doing in his life. He is the president of the NFL Players Union and is a real leader among his peers in the NFL. You can tell from the picture how different an NFL body is from a pastor’s body. He has a real servant’s heart and apart from serving the NFL players, he is committed to his local church. The fact that such a great man is a former Tiger is just icing on the cake. It is just amazing to me to see up close someone who is employed in the NFL. His forte is his technique, quickness, and a great mind. His heart for God is just as impressive, and he will continue to make an impact on and off the field. Who knows, but one day he might be Pastor Kevin.

Thanking God

I’m sure most of you recognize Coach Miles as the coach from your own LSU Tiger National Champs. I am honored to be a part of Miles Men, a group of men who have committed to pray for Coach Miles. This all came about because Coach Miles is a protégé of Coach Bill McCartney. Coach McCartney is the founder of Promise Keepers and was in town doing a men’s event. He met with us 3 years ago when Coach Miles was hired to ask us to pray for Coach Miles as he would be in a very visible, stressful, and influential position in the state. We met this past Saturday to give God thanks for His grace and mercy to Coach Miles who has had the best record in college football of something like 33-5 plus SEC and National Champion-ships. It was a great time to hear Coach Miles humble, gentle and authentic spirit. I most admire that he’s family first in a job that often pushes family to the side. He was leaving our meeting to be at the ball fields with his kids the rest of the morning. We recommitted to pray for Coach Miles and his family, that he would be an influence in the lives of the young men he coaches and the thousands who cheer on from the sidelines. I am believing for many more crystal balls for LSU.

Back from the ARC

Vanessa and I ,as well as 9 second year interns, Wade and Cynthia spent Sunday through Wednesday in Birmingham at the ARC conference. It was a rich atmosphere of leaders in the Church of the Highlands sanctuary. Brian Houston, lead pastor of Hillsongs, was the featured speaker for the conference. His passion for the local church and gift of leading really spoke to my heart. I was challenged and dare I say changed during my time there. The second year interns served selflessly and were great. We all enjoyed a meal at one of my favorite places, PF Changs. I attended this conference differently than others in the past. This time I wasn’t desperate for “stuff” I could tell our church, but was more interested in catching the spirit of those God is using in an effective way today. I’m so consumed with living out the vision that God has for HOF and I know that immersing myself in environments like that only feed that passion that I feel for God and encourage my faith to believe for more. We ran into many old and new friends. It was great to visit with Van and Jan Ducote again. They are doing great in Gulfport and such a blessing to be around. 10 sermons in 2 and ½ days and it felt like a blur. See you Sunday.

If We Can Agree

The other day I picked up 2 of my children for a baseball game and offered to buy them a snack from somewhere, they only had to agree as we didn’t have time to make 2 stops. I listened quietly to them try to come to some kind of agreement. What one wanted, the other absolutely refused. When the other made a suggestion, then the first wouldn’t hear of it. I know they were hungry because they always are after school, yet because they couldn’t agree they went to the game hungry and irritated. I thought of the scripture where Jesus tells us, “If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.” Matthew 18:19 I wonder how many times we don’t get what we desperately desire because we can’t agree. Unity in a relationship, a business or a church is an incredibly valuable commodity. In fact, so much that Jesus spends the entire 17th chapter of John’s gospel praying for unity. What is possible when we have one heart, one vision, one love: the cause of Christ? Anything we ask. I’m in, are you?

We Passed

The Accreditation Site Team from ICAA and SACS just presented the staff of Faith Academy and the ELC with the news that we passed with flying colors. I’m so proud of the staff of both as I heard the site team confirm what I had suspected for some time now and that is we have a kicking school and ELC. The team was made up of principals and administrators from other Christian schools and was headed up by Phil Brown of East Texas. Each had a prescribed area of the school to evaluate and give commendations and recommendations. It is so helpful to have an outside, independent set of eyes look at what you are doing and they gave us some valuable feedback on ways to improve what we are doing. It all began on Saturday evening and required the teachers attending on Sunday followed by two hectic days of on site evaluation. It’s worth it as we invest in the most valuable resource we have: our children. If you haven’t checked out Faith Academy or the Early Learning Center then you owe it to your children to check out the finest Christian learning environment available. A big kudos to Kirby Veron and Leigh Braud who lead FA and the ELC.

Sometimes you need a little help

The boys and I went 4-wheeler riding over the Easter break at a place in St. Martin parish. It was 44 acres of mud trails and woods. Several times one of us would get stuck. I was reminded of the series we did on Breaking Free where we talked about people getting stuck and not be able to go forward in life. It doesn’t really matter why we got stuck just to know that someone is around to help us get unstuck. With the 4-wheeler we had to do several things: 1) Get close enough to help, 2) send over a tow rope 3) the stuck person needed to latch on and then just pull to solid ground. I’m so thankful that Jesus is there when we are stuck and offers His help and helps us to solid ground. God has used so many different people to pull me out of my stuck places and I’m thankful for relationships. I always want to stay close to those who are willing and able to pull me out of the mud. Let’s stay close church and help each other out.