Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (11.10.16)

Hey Church!

I hope your week has been great and you 'survived the election.'  As the world 'discusses' life in the political world, aren't you grateful our church is a place for all people, where we come under the banner of being image bearers of the God of the universe.

This Sunday, we're beginning a new two-week mini-series on personal finances called "Overdrawn."  As the holidays approach, a lot of our bank accounts will feel that way.  What can we do to handle our money in the way God intends?  Hope to see you there!

Also, don't forget to bring supplies for our Turkey Fry to either location this week.  Here are the things we need:

• Boxed Potatoes                    • Canned corn
• Canned green beans            • Jiffy cornbread mix
• Canned cranberry sauce       • Stuffing mix
• Brownie or cookie mix

Thought for the Week
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."  1 Peter 5:7

Any anxiety this week?  I can't remember a more anxious week in American politics, at least in my lifetime.  And I believe the week rivals some of the most stressful times in our history.  Slowly, things are returning to some sense of normalcy, but that'll take more time.  What is clear to me, though, is that some are still struggling with the anxiety of the election and where our country is.  Some are filled with anxiety because they see the cracks of a divided nation more clearly than ever before.  Some are anxious over the toxic atmosphere on social media.  Some of filled with anxiety because the candidate they voted for didn't win.  Others are anxious because their candidate did win and must deliver on leading our country.  A lot of just anxious because it's a mess.  There is a tension that exists among us in our country over what seem to be core issues.  The issues are real.  The anxiety is real.  Can I offer a suggestion?  Cast that anxiety on him...because he cares for you.  Some are feeling isolated, but he cares for you.  Some are discouraged, but he cares for you.  Some are tired and exhausted, but he cares for you.  Some are losing friends, but he cares for you.  Some of being shunned, but he cares for you.  And, maybe, just maybe, this election is the least of your worries.  You're dealing with illness, sickness, job loss, financial stress, heartache.  I want you to know He cares for you.  God cares for you.  When you feel like the whole world is against you, God cares for you.  I keep saying that because I'm not sure you believe it yet.  He cares for you, friend.  Cast your cares on Him, no matter what they are.

In Christ,

Carter

Thanksgiving thankfulness

I hope you are gearing for a great Thanksgiving with friends and family.  I hope you'll be able to make it back for worship on Sunday as we'll continue "Pointing to a Promise" by talking about David.  We have a lot to learn about character from him.  You might even hear some Christmas songs!

Thought for the Week
"I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."  Psalm 69:30

I've made it a custom the last few years to make a list each Thanksgiving for the things for which I'm most thankful.  I'll surely leave a host of blessings out, but here's the ones that come to mind this day.

I'm thankful for...

• The blood of Jesus that covers over my multitude of sins.
• The grace of God that sustains me each and every day.
• My sweet wife, Emily.
• My four wild boys, Morgan, Tanner, Walker and Brooks.
• To still have my parents with me, because I know so many that don't.
• Parents and in-laws that support us so much
• Our brothers, sister-in-laws, nephews and niece.
• My church family.  What a gift to serve a risk-taking and outreach-focused community of faith.
• For not having Christmas Eve services in high school in a month.
• For new friends at Harmony Grove that we didn't know a 18-months ago.
• For the faithful who have bled and cried with me for any part of the last 10 years in planting a church.
• For safety.  In this day and age, every day is a gift.
• to Disney for bringing back Star Wars and giving me and my boys the chance to see one in the theater together.
• For Southern winters that don't really start until about mid-December and end quickly.
• For the sunshine...for a while there I thought it had disappeared.
• To the mentors that have poured their cups into mine.
• For the light at the end of the tunnel in my school work.
• For pastor friends to laugh, cry and celebrate with.
• For Jeremy Pruitt, Jake Ganus and Sony Michel.  It would have been a long fall without those three.
• For Mello Yello Zero and Coke Zero.  
• For Pop Tarts -- I love those things.
• For my health, notwithstanding the pop tarts.
• For the opportunity to talk College Football each week on WJBB 107.1 in Barrow County.  It's been a blast.
• For coffee.
• For sleeping in.
• For warm socks.  I'm really starting to appreciate good socks in my old age.
• For the chance to do life every day.
• And I'm thankful for you.  It's people that make this world great and people that have so blessed my life.

In Christ,

Carter

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (11.26.14)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope your week is winding down and you're close to gathering with family and friends.  We're looking forward to doing the same.  This Sunday, we'll be beginning a new series called "That Awkward Moment" as we take a unique look into the lives of the characters of the Christmas Story.  Christmas is a great time to invite friends.  You can send someone an e-Card here.  

On Sunday, we made a huge and historic announcement.  Church of the Way has merged with Harmony Grove United Methodist Church in Auburn to form two strong campuses, giving us our first permanent home in Auburn and taking another step toward a permanent home in Gwinnett.  Beginning March 1, our morning worship will move to our new permanent home at the Harmony Grove Church of the Way (1385 Harmony Grove Church Rd., Auburn, GA 30011) with 9:45 a.m. Modern Worship & 11:00 a.m. Traditions Worship.  Our Gwinnett Church of the Way will meet on Sundays at 5:30 p.m. at the SE Gwinnett Co-Op.  This move is another step in the journey to be the church God has called us to be.  Archer High School has been so gracious to host us for nearly five years, and we're excited to still reach out to the Archer Community through One Way on Wednesday nights and connecting in the community, but we're elated to have a permanent place to be a mission outpost for ministry.  We're excited about new friends at Harmony Grove and partnering to increase our borders to reach more people.  God has given us a great gift, and the best days are ahead!  This will also free us up to truly find the best permanent location for a Gwinnett Campus.  I hope you'll be in prayer about the days ahead.  We've got an exciting season before us!

Thought for the Week
"Abundant peace belongs to those who love your instruction; nothing makes this stumble."  Psalm 119:165

On the eve of Thanksgiving, it's my tradition to make a list of things for which I'm thankful.  With the events in Ferguson, MO, it seems more striking this years.  I don't understand why we hurt each other.  I don't understand injustice.  I don't understand fear of one another.  I don't understand why we have such a hard time understanding people different from us...or why we don't want to.  There is a lot of ugliness happening in the midst of this mess, but I want to cling to God of peace.  All I can do is my part.  All I can do is love His instruction and embrace the peace that comes with it.  I'm thankful for that this season.  

I am thankful for...

• The blood of Jesus that covers over all my sins.
• The new life I have in Christ...daily.
• A wife who loves me more than I deserve.
• Four healthy children who love the Church and Christ's mission.
• The diversity in our community and church.
• Leading a risk-taking and missional church.
• Pastoring a church that is truly open to ALL people.
• Mentors.
• Friends.
• The people who have allowed me to mentor them.
• Music.  I love music.
• More food in my fridge and pantry than I can eat.
• A house that suits our family.
• Cars that run.
• Getting to do many of the hobbies I enjoy.
• My health.
• Good books.
• The new friends I've already made at Harmony Grove.
• The United Methodist Church allowing me to serve in ministry.
• Fried Turkey, dressing and my mama's pumpkin pie.
• My wife's mac'n'cheese.
• Football.  

We all have much to be thankful for.  May our nation find peace in the turmoil and in our hearts this Thanksgiving.

With Thanks,

Carter

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (11.13.14)

I hope you are settling into Fall and having a great week.  It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  I'm excited about sharing about "Living Generously" again this Sunday as we continue to learn from God how to live life with open hands.  In this season of counting our blessings, the natural response is generosity.  Truly, gratefulness breeds generosity.  Can't wait to see you Sunday!

Also, our Christmas series called "That Awkward Moment" will begin Sunday, Nov. 30.  I can't wait to dive into some Christmas stories from a brand new angle this Holiday Season.  Mark your Calendars!

Thought for the Week
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."  Isaiah 55:9

I don't know what I don't know.  I keep thinking that.  The farther along I get in my walk with Christ, the more I feel like I know.  There was a time I was certain about a lot of things, and my certainty has waned.  There was a time I could always come up with an answer; now I've figured out that there is a lot that is unanswerable.  I don't know a lot.  There's even more that I don't know that I don't know.  Did you follow that?  We get obsessed with certainty.  We want to carefully plan our lives.  And we want to understand everything that happens.  We want to just have God all figured out.  I thinking I've figured out that I don't have God figured out.  What I do have figured out what He has revealed to us in Jesus and His Word, the Bible.  I've figured out that God loves us so much he sent His Son to die for us. I've figured out that He wants His spirit to live in me and guide me.  I've figured out that 'spirit living in me' deal is kind of muddy and messy.  I screw up a lot.  And there are times I don't even know I'm messing it all up.  I don't know why some of my prayers are answered and others aren't.  I don't know why good things happen to people that are seemingly bad and seemingly bad things happen to good people.  I don't know why one person seems to catch all the breaks and another doesn't catch any.  I don't usually know why God puts me in the situations He puts me in.  I just don't know a lot...because his ways are higher than our ways, and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  And I don't always get it.  What I'm learning is that it's not what I know.  It's who I know and by whom I am know.  I am my beloved's and He is mine.  That's enough to know to walk through all I don't.

In Christ,

Carter 

What I hope my kids are thankful for

I have found that being a parent is one of the most challenging jobs on the planet.  You’re never exactly sure if you’re doing it right.  Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, you figure out that you don’t.  Parenting, I’ve learned, has to have an eye on the future.  If you live totally in the present, you’ll drive yourself crazy because children are children (and children are inherently crazy and irrational – right?).  What I try to do is see my children as adults, which is a challenge in the midst of wrestling matches and legos (I have four boys).  One day, though, they’ll sit around on a Thanksgiving holiday and think about the things for which they are thankful.  I hope their minds drift back to childhood and they see life a little differently as adults.  Now, they are thankful for going to school, playing with friends, or eating a yummy dinner, at least those are the things that constantly fill their night-time prayers.  But, here are the things I hope they’re thankful for when they get a little older:

• That we didn’t always get them what they wanted – because life won’t always give them what they want.
• That we made them eat their vegetables – because their health and nutrition were more important than their tastes.
• That we drove our cars for a long time – because saving for their college was more important than driving in a new ride.
• That their parents sometimes made-out in the kitchen – because that means they were still making out with each other and not someone else.
• That we had rules and we stuck to them – because it taught them how to be a good student, employee and citizen.
• That we read the Bible to them – because they learned there was a higher authority than their parents.
• That we played board games and watched animated movies with them – because we wanted to spend time with them more than do something ‘productive’ around the house.
• That we made them go to bed early – because mom and dad needed a few hours of sanity in the evenings, and it helped us be ready for another crazy morning.
• That the house wasn't always spotless -- because that would have meant less board games and fewer backyard football games.
• That we were honest with them about who they dated -- because their feelings as a teenager weren't as important to us as their heart and future as an adult.
• That we prayed for them – because we understood that they will be on their own one day.
• That we followed through with consequences – because life has consequences.
• That we’d drop them off with anyone willing to keep them so we could go on a date – because we understood that a strong marriage was a bedrock of our family.
• That we guarded who their friends were – because we understood better than they did how impressionable they were.
• That we guarded who our friends were – because we understood how impressionable they were.
• That we told them “I love you” a lot – because if they believed that, they’d be able to accomplish much more.
• That we hugged and kissed them a lot (even when they got older and it was embarrassing) – because touch matters.

Much of parenting is seeing into the future.  I’m hopeful my boys will be able to appreciate the things we did on their behalf when they are old enough to understand it all.  That may mean that they don’t particularly appreciate those things now.  I’m okay with that.  I’m thankful that I get to be their dad and take them on that journey with my sweet wife.