Kind Words

Gary Lamb had some kind words about Palm Valley Church on his blog, along with Westridge and NewSpring, two other churches I have the utmost respect for.

This Weekend @ Palm Valley

Wow, what an awesome weekend! At Palm Valley, summer is officially over. Our kids all start school the first week of August, so we always start our “fall” programming this week. I know it sounds odd to talk about “fall” when it’s 110 outside, but it works for us

Here’s some keepers from this weekend…

1) Started a new series called “Parenthood”. The crowd was way up, with tons of first time visitors. Met a lot of new people who said they came because of our mailer. One grand-parent told me after the message that this “parenting” message was just as meaningful to him. That was huge for me, as I really want this series to apply to everyone in our body!

2) A lot of people committed their life to Christ this weekend. I don’t have numbers yet; but after each service I saw lines at the “Fresh Start” table. One gal hugged me in tears, telling me that getting our mailer, coming to church, and receiving Christ literally saved her life. She was ready to give up, and when she got our mailer she said it gave her hope and she believed that it was God “sending her a message”. I love that God is using us to reach people, and that we get to be a part of their life-change!

3) Our Elementary started a new series called “On The Trail”. It was very cool to see all of our volunteers dressed up in cowboy/cowgirl gear. They really took it to another level. I was pumped because my kids came home telling me how much they loved the new series, especially the new songs! Thanks to our volunteers for making this the best hour of every kids week!

4) The pre-school area was rocking. A big huge “kudos” to Lynn and Tracy for your leadership in the nursery. We had a ton of new kids yesterday, and you all made them feel loved and welcomed! We’ve got some big plans in store for the pre-school ministry under Adrienne’s leadership. All I can say is: if you’re looking for a place to invest your life for Christ, there’s no better place than the children’s ministry at PVC. Look out, this is going to be awesome!

Overall, it was an awesome weekend. I saw God at work in so many people’s lives. I love that Palm Valley is a church committed to reaching people for Christ, and that we’re willing to pay the cost to be a part of what He’s doing in the world! Thanks to all the leaders and volunteers who make it happen every week.

Suck It Up Greg!

Yesterday I went in for another round of shots (14 in the leg). I was sitting at my desk thinking about it, and feeling bad for myself.

Then I got a note that a young boy (3) in our church was going in for surgery Friday. He’s a special needs child, and participates in our special stars program where a buddy helps them participate in all of the children’s ministry (it’s one of the coolest ministries we have). Dallas (his name) always has a great spirit, and is a joy to watch. He’s an overcomer!

Anyways, I called his mom to talk, see what the surgery was all about, and how our church could be of help. She shared with me that he was having a very serious surgery (2nd time for this procedure) on his head. She also shared with me that this was the 30th (yes 30th) surgery of his young life!

As I hung up, I realized that my 14 shots were pretty minor, and that I needed to stop being a wimp and suck it up! So think about this today: what do you have to complain about? And please pray for Dallas and his family today!

RidgeStone turns 2!

One of my favorite people on the face of this planet is Gary Lamb, Senior Pastor of RidgeStone Church in Canton, Georgia. This weekend RidgeStone celebrates their 2nd anniversary of being a church.

From Lori and I, and the staff and people of Palm Valley Church, we want to say congratulations to Gary and Deanna, and the staff and people of RidgeStone Church! You guys rock!

It’s been amazing to watch Gary and his team start and grow “the stone”. Gary is truly a “I am what I am” kind of guy. He’s the real deal. In a day when so many pastors are trying to be like somebody else, I’m thankful that Gary has remained his same old redneck (self-proclaimed) self. That’s why they’re reaching people; they’re authentic and genuine.

A few months ago Lori and I went and spent a day in Canton having Gary and Deanna show us their mission field. I believe RidgeStone is poised to reach a ton of people for Christ.

I’m stoked that Gary has asked me to come speak at RidgeStone in the near future. I look forward to seeing the stone in action!

Helping Church Planters

One of my passions in life is church planting. When we started Palm Valley Church nearly 6 years I had no idea what was in store for us, how tough it would be, how incredible it would be, how unprepared I really was for this, and ultimately what a worth-while God thing it is!

I’ve tried over the last few years to encourage, equip, and help as many church planters as possible. I know the struggles they face, what their families are going through, and what lies ahead. I want to share what I’ve learned. Lori and I have made a personal commitment to doing this. We try to take young church planters to dinner, spend time with them, and be an encouragement.  

Why is this so important? Because church planters are on the cutting edge of reaching our culture for Christ. They generally are trying fresh new approaches, crazy ideas, and are willling to do whatever it takes.

I’m working on figuring out a way to have church planters visit Palm Valley for a week and learn behind the scenes. If you’re a church planter and interested, email kflanagan@palmvalley.org and we’ll see what happens! 

2 Timothy 4

Did some reading in 2 Timothy 4:1-5 this week. I love how Paul’s heart shines thorugh in this passage. Here he’s writing to his disciple Timothy, and Paul encourages him, loves on him, instructs and guides him, and lastly charges Timothy to be a man of God.

In verse 5 Paul writes…”But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at bringing others to Christ. Complete the ministry God has given you.”

I was encouraged by this passage to remember a few things…

1. Be a clear mind when others are emotional, irrational, or just unclear. Don’t be afraid of being unpopular. Leaders who don’t make the tough decisions are no longer leaders!
2. Focus on the mission of bringing people to Christ. We’ve got to keep the evangelism “white-hot” in our church.
3. Complete the ministry! I want to go the long haul in this. That means I’ve got to walk closely with the Lord, live with integrity, and be the leader Palm Valley Church needs. I’m committed to completing all that God has planned for us!

Weekend Reflections

Last weekend was awesome at Palm Valley Church. I felt the “vision” message was timely, and hit at the core of why we do what we do. It was a great reminder for all of us to keep our eye on the ball! If you missed it, you can watch it online.

Had a ton of meetings this week with preschool and elementary workers and leaders. We’ve made some changes in the last month which I’m pumped about. I believe we’re taking our children’s ministry to the next level.

If you have a child in our kids ministry, get ready! They’re going to be coming home pumped about their faith, and challenging you to be the same about yours!

To all our volunteers in the children’s ministry, THANKS! You all minister to over 600 kids each week, and you make it look fun. Thanks for caring, thanks for showing your heart, thanks for going the extra mile, and thanks for making a difference in the lives of those who are very dear to the heart of Jesus.

Catching Up

I apologize for not writing much the last weeks. Just being back from summer vacations, I’m working on a ton of stuff for the coming months, and haven’t had much free time.

It’s good to be back in the pattern, and promise to be writing tons of creative, innovative, gut wrenching, humorous, life impacting blogs on a more regular basis So…here we go…

Vision

One thing I love to talk about is the vision of Palm Valley Church. Why? Because it’s one area of my life I know that I heard from God about. Months before our first service at PVC, I wrote out the vision of what I believed God was saying to me about the type of church PVC would be.

As I’ll be sharing this weekend, that vision is the constant compass that guides my leadership, the decisions we make, and what we do and don’t do at Palm Valley. The way we accomplish this vision will constantly change, but the vision itself never will.

Hope to see you this weekend as I talk about “vision”.

Vacation Is Over

Drove 8 hours home today from Colorado. The trip was pretty easy, but the boys got a little feisty in the back towards the end. May have been some bad parenting, but  I had to laugh as they were taking out aggression on each other

It was a great week in the mountains; no email, no cell phone, just fun with the family. We had a blast, and spent some great time just enjoying life together.  I loved watching my boys experience some new adventures, like hiking through the woods, jumping off a cliff into freezing water, and white water rafting.

The vacation reinforced some of the things I feel strongly about parenting. I’m starting a series next weekend called “ParentHood”, and this week was a great reminder for me about how vital parenting is.