Offline Life

So, a couple of weeks ago, I cracked my screen on my iPhone -- for the second time in about two months.  There is much to this story.  I loathe cases on my phones.  I like it to be as slim and slick as possible to fit in my pocket.  That works well when it stays in your pocket.  Not so much when it doesn't.  Concrete and pavement do not get along with uncased iPhones.  This is fact.  So, this time, I cracked it good on a Friday afternoon.  The earliest I could get an appointment at an Apple Store was the next Tuesday night, so I went four days without a phone.  I learned two important lessons.

1. There is nothing 'out there' more important than 'right here.'  Our constant connectivity to the outside world has made us think that there is something more important going on 'out there.'  Will we miss something in our Facebook and Twitter feeds?  Is there something new going on at the websites I like?  Did I miss a blog post?  Oh no, I don't have a camera so I can share what is happening right here out there?  Not being constantly connected kind of forced me to focus on the here and what I was doing at that moment, whether it be hanging out with my kids and wife or focusing on something that deserved 100% of my attention.  Connection to the world is a gift, but there's nothing going on 'out there' that's more important than your 'right here.'
2. Listen to the people that love you.  My wife, children and mother all told me repeatedly to get a case.  I was stubborn.  It wasn't what I wanted, but it wasn't an unreasonable thing they were suggesting.  They were just trying to protect me.  There are a very few times in life when you may see a bigger picture than others in your life can't yet see, but MOST of the time, if the people that love you are telling you something, listen.  A phone is a silly thing, but this isn't silly for most folks.  When your child ask you to stop smoking, when a parent tells you to get your degree, when a spouse asked you to stop working so late, when a friend says that's enough drinks, when a loved one tells you they're worried about you...listen.  They love you.  Critics are sometimes right and sometimes wrong.  It's about 50/50 because they don't really know you.  People that love you are almost always right.  Listen to them

I got my phone fixed and a shiny new case.  But just so you know, the slam dunk I did in our driveway game of H-O-R-S-E on our 8-foot basketball goal that caused my phone to fall out of my pocket was EPIC!

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (9.17.15)

I hope you are having an awesome week.  I am super excited about this Sunday.  It's a Baptism Sunday, and we're going to baptisms at a few of our experiences.  I'm also pumped about this message.  God has been speaking to my heart and challenging me as I prepare.  We'll continue to be in the story of Abraham this week as part of our series "The People of God."  Understanding his story and character is so crucial to understanding God's vision for His people.  We're going to talk about a critical decision Abraham and his nephew, Lot, made and the character trait behind our decisions.  I hope to see you there!

Big Important News!
TAILGATE SUNDAY IS OCTOBER 4TH!
We will have 1 Worship Experience for ALL CAMPUSES at Harmony Grove Church of the Way @ 11:00.
No 9:45 or 5:30 service that day.
Outdoor Worship Experience.  We'll have chairs but you're welcome to bring your own.
Wear your favorite team gear!  Award for best outfit!
Bring some side dishes and desserts to share!  We'll eat while we worship!  Awards for best dishes!
Tell a friend now and invite them to this special day!

Thought for the Week
"He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself." Hebrews 9:26

You know, you don't have to keep beating yourself up.  You don't .  You don't have to keep re-hashing that mistake, that sin, that royal mess you made.  It's forgiven.  Jesus died once for it long ago, so why do you keep reliving it?  Why do you keep blaming yourself over and over?  Jesus forgot about it on the cross, so why won't you?  When you call on Jesus, your sin is done away with.  It's washed away in His amazing grace.  There's no tidying up you need to do.  It's over.  Finished.  Forgiven.  His sacrifice was enough, so stop re-living it.  Stop letting it own a part of you.  Live into today.  Live into forgiveness.  Live into His mercy.  Live into new life.  I know too many people who cannot get past their past.  They cannot see that things could be different for them -- that they ARE different for them because of Jesus.  They think there must be something else they must do.  They must clean up themselves.  Instead, what they end up doing is holding their lives prisoner to their past.  And we mustn't do this.  Jesus died once and for all.  It's over and done with.  So be the new you.  If you don't know about this forgiveness, you can have it for free.  If you have, use it.  Use it to propel your life into a new life, cleansed by the Holy Spirit.  If you've grown accustomed to it, don't ever, ever, ever forget how costly it was, how crucial it is, and how much we need it every single day.  This forgiveness -- your life -- was so important that Jesus thought it was worth dying for.  So why not live for Him.

Because of Jesus,
Carter 

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (9.10.15)

I am so excited about this Sunday as we begin a new series in our 10-month theme called "The Journey."  We're beginning a series called "The People of God" in which we're learning about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the birth of the Hebrew people.  What I believe is that we find much of our own story in these stories.  We'll be talking about God's initial call to Abraham to be the father of His people.  I can't wait to share with you and hope to see you there.

Don't forget about the Baptism Course coming up THIS Sunday after worship at both campuses for those interested in baptism.  Baptism is one of my favorite things to be a part of in ministry, and I'd love to celebrate this with you or your child.

Thought for the Week
"So we called out to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our cry and saw our misery, hardship, and oppression."  Deuteronomy 26:7

Are you at the end of your rope?  I know so many people that seem to be at the end of their rope.  They are on their last straw.  They are worn out and worn down.  They are broken.  Life has a way of doing that to you.  Parenting zaps you.  Work grinds you to a pulp.  Aging is relentless.  Stress is real, and burdens are heavy.  The world beats you up.  Your reality is not what you thought it would be.  The bills are stacking higher, the people that need you at work and home need you more and more.  You are being pulled in a million different directions.  You are in despair...barely hanging on.  I want you to know that when you are at the end of your rope is when God hears your prayers the clearest.  Maybe we pray our best prayers then.  Maybe the distractions are gone.  Maybe we stop pretending when we're finally broken.  Whatever it is, I hope you'll cry out to God then.  I hope you'll call upon the one who created you.  The Lord sees you hanging on, and He will hear your prayer.  And He won't let you fall farther than He can catch you.  I believe that with all my heart.  I've experienced it too many times myself. I've seen it with my own two eyes with too many people.  Cry out to the one who made you, even...especially...if you are at the end of your rope today.

In Christ,

Carter

Why it matters and why it doesn't

A few months ago, during the long dog days of summer in which college football fans like me wait for the season to begin while munching on every morsel of football news emanating from their beloved program, I caught a replay of the movie Fever Pitch on TV.  I'd seen it a couple of times.  I relate to it because my passion for college football mirrors the passion for the Red Sox portrayed in the movie.  In a pivotal scene, Ben is trying to explain why this is so important to him.  He has been attending Red Sox games since he first went with his uncle twenty-three years ago at the age of seven.  The crowd he sits around has become his family.  His friends jockey for the games they get to go to.  She's been to a few games, but she still doesn't get it.  He asks Lindsey a question:  "Do you still care about anything you cared about 23 years ago?"

One question explains the power of sports.  I suppose for others this could be movies or music (both of which I love as well), but for me, that passion has been college football.  I am enthralled by the atmosphere and nostalgia of it.  In high school you play for your school because you are zoned for it.  In the NFL you play for the team that picks you and chooses to employ you.  A college roster is filled with 100 guys who chose the school, and the stands are filled with alumni who also chose the school and local fans who grew up cheering for the hometown team.  They are still kids, but they are remarkably gifted athletically.

Each school has a fight and strange traditions.  In the SEC, most of the uniforms even still look the same as they did in the '60's and '70's.  This is why I love going to the games.  The bands, the colors, the pageantry, the tailgating...the electricity in the air.  And every time I walk into a stadium, I am flooded with memories of yesteryear.  I am reminded of the drive down Hwy. 106 from Carnesville to Athens coming from South Carolina.  I'm reminded of sitting with my parents and hugging strangers after a big win.  I'm reminded of my hand in my Daddy's back pocket walking through the crowd, so I wouldn't get lost.  I'm reminded of pre-game battles of touch football.  I'm reminded of eating BBQ chicken and 'talking football' with men 40 years older than me.  In the pregame, we were equal.  There is no age when you are worried about how healthy your tailback is or if the D can stop that passing offense they've got.  You are simply fans together.  And I hold these memories with my boys now.  I'm the dad, still caring about something I cared about 33 years ago when I saw Herschel Walker play live and in person.  My boys draw pictures of their favorite players like I drew mine.  And we celebrate with football friends that are like family and see the same faces around our seats, each of them amazed as they've watched my boys grow up with every passing September.  That's why it matters, because so few things in life matter beyond a few years.  We change jobs and houses.  We lose touch with friends and find new friends.  But we never change teams, and we share the same memories with our children that our parents shared with us.  It matters because it has always mattered, and besides our faith and our family, few things always matter in our lives.

But it doesn't matter THAT much.  I recently read an article about Greg McGarity's first five years as Athletics Director at the University of Georgia.  They asked him what was the most difficult moment in those five years.  I thought, "It had to be that Liberty Bowl loss to Central Florida, or the devastating loss to Alabama in the 2012 SEC Championship Game.  Or maybe it was when a string of players go arrested."  His answer was surprising, telling and humbling.  It was when Jonathan Taylor, an outfielder for the UGA baseball team, was paralyzed during a collision in which he and a teammate both dove for a ball.  Because that's the kind of stuff that matters.  These are just games.  They are supposed to be fun.  They should be fun.  They should be disappointing when you lose.  But they don't matter THAT much.  An athlete who can't walk ever again after giving his all while competing...THAT matters.

As another college football season draws near, let us remember (especially here in the Deep South), that the reason this matters so much really isn't about wins and losses.  It's the traditions, camaraderie and glory of it all that makes it matter each and every year, whether our team is champions or chumps that season.  And winning is fun, but it won't last.  There will still be bills to pay and life to live the next Monday.  It's a burst of joy, a few months of relief, but it's not life and death.  We'd trade a thousand wins for a kid to walk again.  Football and sports are about people and relationships.  They are about learning to compete and overcome adversity.  For those that are people of faith, this ought to be crystal clear, but when we are looking glasses tinted with our teams favorite color, sometimes it's easy to forget.

Enjoy the season!