Family Carnival

Don't forget that this Saturday will be the Foothills Family Carnival. Tons of things to do for all ages. Rides, Inflatables, Rock Climbing Wall, Mechanical Bull, food, and lots of fun!

Lessons I'm learning

Over the last few weeks I have learned alot of new things and been reminded of some things I forgot. Here are a few of the things I'm learning:


** You can't always control your circumstances, but you can always control your attitude.

** When trials come, I am responsible for my response.

** I am never responsible for someone else's response (that's between them and God)

** Comfort breeds mediocrity

** Discomfort breeds growth

** God is more interested in my character than my comfort

** God sometimes puts us in situations that force us to grow/change

** People are people

** You will never please everyone

** Leadership comes with a price

** Leaders are often misunderstood

** There has never been anything that has taken God by surprise

** With faith nothing is impossible

** Our vision and passion to reach people that are disconnected from God is more white-hot than ever before

** I serve with the most amazing people in the world

** I can't wait for Sunday!

Christmas Eve

Can't believe Christmas is right around the corner. Our creative team has been spending a lot of time planning for those services. All I can say is, these will be the best services we have ever had at Foothills Community Church!

Here are some things you need to know:

Christmas eve services will be on December 24th (hence the name "Christmas Eve") at 4:00pm and 6:00pm in Seneca and at 6:30pm at our Toccoa campus.

Here's how it will work at Seneca:

* It will be a ticketed event

* tickets are free

* If someone shows up without a ticket we won't turn them away

* The reason we are using tickets is to manage crowd flow. We anticipate over 3,000 people showing up. If everyone shows up at 4:00pm we would be in trouble, so it will help us balance the attendance.

* Once all the tickets are gone, we will probably add a third service.

* Ticket will be available beginning around Thanksgiving

* The tickets will be available at The Stoop bookstore, and the Welcome Center and possibly a few more locations (I'll give you more info as I find out)

* Tickets are first come- first served

* you may take as many tickets as you need. So pick up enough for yourself and the people you will be inviting

* Yes, you NEED to invite people to come. They will hear the gospel, and we will see many lives changed that night!

* We will be providing our regular Children's environments (Planet Kidz and Discovery Kidz), so please take your kids to one of these rather than the main auditorium. (They will have a much more enjoyable time in an age-appropriate environment)

* The two times out of the year that people who don't attend church will come to church is Easter and Christmas eve---- so invite, invite, invite!!

Until then our services will incredible, so don't miss out this Sunday!

Sunday thoughts

Another stellar day at Foothills

** Talked about hypocrisy, and why it's so dangerous.

** Everyone struggles with hypocrisy (saying one thing and doing another)

** The best actors are not in Hollywood, they're in churches.

** Hypocrisy is one of the top reasons people don't go to church---too many hypocrites.

** People are not looking for perfection in a church, they're just looking for authenticity.

** Yes, it is true, I did have the leading role in The Gingerbread Man in kindergarten.

** The worship today was exceptional in both services.

** David Odom slam-dunked that Gavin Degraw song!

** Great energy in both services.

** Late Clemson home games affect church attendance! (congrats though to Clemson-- nice win!)

** Already excited about next Sunday's message.

** It was cool having my wife on stage with me today!

** Don't forget about the Family Carnival this Saturday at Foothills.

** Got to bow hunt this afternoon. only saw 1 small buck. Let him walk. Having a good year with my bow, 3 deer so far.

** Planning on waking up early tomorrow to play basketball.

wednesday updates

We had a great conversation in our Senior Management Team meeting this morning. The reason I love this type of conversation was because it was all about our vision at Foothills Community Church.

Here are some bullet points about what was discussed:

** Sunday mornings are a huge front door to the church.

** Our services need to be engaging and creative.

** The D.N.A. of Foothills Community Church is a church that is a lot of fun. A place where the unexpected is expected, and where lives are changing.

** We must always see our services through the eyes of the first-time guest.

** It is possible for services to become too slick.

** Humor is a good thing.

** People generally view the church from the vantage point of what they experienced the first time they attended.

** People are seeking a connection with God at some level every Sunday. They are wanting to be more than entertained; they want to be engaged!

** Are we taking enough risk?

** When people are excited about the church, the overflow is inviting their friends.

** How important are lost people? Really?

** Are we willing to tick off the religious for the sake of those that don't know Christ?

** Our best days are still ahead of us!

** The people that attend Foothills are the most amazing people on the planet.

** We need to spend money on things that will help us reach people!

In case you can't tell, I am fired-up about what's coming up at Foothills!

Sunday thoughts

A little different twist on my thoughts for Sunday, because I wasn't at Foothills this morning! I now it went great though.

Every once in a while, I will take a Sunday off from delivering the message and go and visit a church somewhere else. It's pretty cool, because I can be totally anonymous, and just worship.

This morning I drove to Lawrenceville, Ga. and visited 12 Stone Church. They are one of the fastest growing churches in America, and it's easy to see why. They had an incredible service. Great music, wonderful message, and some creative elelments that were awesome (No doubt, I came back with some great ideas for some future series!)

I have not been there in a couple of years, and this was the first time that I had been in their new facility---very cool!

I went to their 9:00am service, and I was surprised because it was packed--at 9:00am! Their auditorium seats around 2,500 people. They still had 2 more services after the one I went to.

The parking lot attendants did a good job of helping everyone get out pretty quickly, which was pretty amazing because it was full.

Every time I am away from Foothills visiting another church in another town, I always feel so humbled to be able to lead such a great church. I also come back with a new excitement.

Most of all, when I come back to Foothills, I realize how blessed we are. God is doing something very special right here in Seneca,SC and Tooca,GA!!

I love this!

Nothing more fun than a game of bowling. Nothing more funny than to listen to Jim Gaffigan talk about bowling!

monday thoughts

Lots of things happening at Foothills.

** This past Friday night we had Resonate, a benefit concert that was to raise money for some area ministries. It was INCREDIBLE! We raised over $6,000 and donated almost 3,000 diapers and I don't know how much peanut butter.
There is absolutely no doubt that God has blessed us with phenomenal talent. We have 3 outstanding worship leaders and multitudes of awesome singers, musicians, and technical people. They put in so much time to make Resonate the very best it could be. Thank you guys and gals.

** Sunday we started a new message series called, Zeros and Heroes. My message was on decision that we make. I talked about Adam and Eve and some of the poor decisions they made. We are the sum total of all of our decisions. let's make wise decisions today!

** This Saturday we are doing the Trunk or treat at Walmart. We have around 100 cars lined up to participate. Here's one thing we do need though, CANDY! Walmart will be donating much of the candy, but we need more. last year 8,000 people showed up---that's a lot of candy.

** On November the 14th we will be having the Foothills Family Carnival. This is going to be a blast. This is a great event to invite your friends to.

** We will be having our last baptisms of the year on December 6th during both services at the Seneca campus.

** Our Toccoa campus is working hard to complete the renovation of their new building. If you have experience with plumbing, electrical, painting, or are a good laborer, they could use your help. Call the church office and we'll give you more info.