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I am excited about what God is doing through David Pray.

I am excited about what He is doing through Abbye Printy.

I am excited about what He is doing through you.

I am beside myself excited about what He is doing at ROCK Church.

I can’t wait to see what’s next…

Are you ready?

In just 9 weeks, ROCK Church goes double as we move from one service at 10:00 to two services at 9:00 and 11:00. Why are we doing this? We are caring for each other. We are devoting Sundays to worship, honor, serve and learn about Jesus. We are preparing for the harvest. But, the most important reason is that God said. He said to get ready. So, that’s what we are doing.

We could never fulfill the vision God has given us without a church filled with “Yes AND” people. “Yes AND” people are those that say “YES!” to the direction of their leaders. They are whole heartedly behind the vision. There are many people who say “YES“. Then there’s the “Yes AND” crowd. Those are the folks that say “YES! We can do that! AND we will also…” They go above and beyond the call every week.

God has been taking me back to all of the places in Scripture where Moses and the Children of Israel immediately said “YES!” to God’s word. It’s powerful to see what happens when God’s people say “YES” and then go above and beyond. When God gives a strategy and we say “No BUT” it never turns out well. I don’t ever want to say “No BUT” to God’s plan.

I spent the last 20 years at ROCK Church serving the vision God gave Dad by saying “YES! We can do that AND we can…” Now I have the honor of leading a church filled with “YES AND” people.

We will not make excuses. We will not hold back. We are running head long toward the goal God has set for us.

ROCK Church, thank you for being “YES AND” people. I love you!

They could have eaten much earlier, but the boys wanted to wait until I came home so we could eat as a family. I thought you might enjoy a (somewhat) typical dinner at our house.

What is a typical dinner at your house?

He’s not completely well yet. He is on solid food. His blood counts are normal and he will finish recovering at home.

No surgery. No weird treatments (other than a tube up his nose). All God’s power.

Thanks for praying.

Keep praying. It’s working.

I’ll share with you a little later this week a prophetic word that was given to us while Dad was still in the ER Sunday night. It is amazing how accurate it was.

We know one thing for sure, God is our Healer.

Jennifer still has not passed her kidney stone. So, pray for her.

Thank you for praying. I’ll leave you with these lyrics.

I believe You’re my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You’re my Portion
I believe You’re more than enough for me
Jesus You’re all I need. – Hillsong

We didn’t pick this fight with the Devil. But, we’re about to punch back in a HUGE way. I can’t wait for Sunday.

It’s on now.

- – - – - – - -

Dad is feeling much better this morning. When I called to check on him, he was shaving and taking a shower.

The plan for this morning is to look at the blood work and xrays. If he is still making good progress, they will slowly start him on a clear liquid diet. If he tolerates that well, doctors will introduce solid food tomorrow.

If the blood work and xrays do not show signs of progress, we will look toward Duke and possible surgery.

We have had many people ask what is medically wrong with dad. Let me explain.

On Sunday afternoon, Dad started having severe abdominal pain. Mom called EMS and they immediately rushed him to the hospital. The doctors determined that he has a kink in his bowel in two places. They are working to get the bowel to relax and straighten out on it’s own. If this were not successful, surgery would be necessary.

This is where it becomes complicated for dad.

A little over 10 years ago, Dad had a hernia repair that had major complications. Because of the complications, his abdominal muscle wall was destroyed and had to be replaced with a very large piece of Marlex mesh. This mesh is sewn to very compromised fascia. Now, Pastor Ron must wear a very thick, uncomfortable binder around his body everyday and has a 10lb weight limit for what he can lift. This is to protect the mesh that is in his body.

Surgery on Pastor Ron’s abdomen is complicated because of the mesh and the compromised abdominal wall and fascia. This makes it necessary to have any thoracic surgery take place at Duke University Medical Center.

We still believe that God will use the medical team here at New Hanover to bring healing without surgery. Dad is making progress and we expect a full, non-surgical recovery SOON!

Thank you for praying. I will work hard to keep everyone updated here on the blog so everyone can get the latest info.

We love you all!

Click here to view the embedded video.

That’s right, this Friday night at ROCK Church is Man Movie Night!

Don’t miss it.

Where?          ROCK Church
When?           This Friday, June 26 at 7:00pm
What?            We’re watching Braveheart
Why?             Because we’re guys. That’s Why
How much?    It’s FREE! Plus, we’ll have junk food and drinks.
Who?             Men.

Can I bring my son? We ask that you do not bring small children with you. You may bring your older sons with you. Please remember that Braveheart is rated R for violence.

It’s going to be a great night of guys getting together, hanging out and enjoying an amazing movie. See you Friday!

This didn’t make sense, because Dad was feeling better. But, the blood work told a different story from how Dad was feeling. We needed to prepare for the growing probability of surgery. Possibly soon. Because of Dad’s past traumatic surgery complications, we would need to go to Duke for the surgery.

So, we waited… and waited… and grew anxious throughout the day. Until a resident came in and discovered that a clerical error had reversed the numbers. Dad’s white blood cell count was lower NOT higher! Basically, it’s not at a critical level. It’s actually normal.

This changes the ballgame. We are still not completely out of the woods yet. BUT, it appears we may not need to go to Duke.

Keep praying! We’re winning this battle.

I’ll update as soon as we know more.

It’s amazing how something as simple as reversing the blood work can change the game plan.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Well, I need to let something that I love go. Part of me is not happy about it. A big part. But, I feel like I need to clean a few things out of my fridge for right now.

So, let me just say it. We are not going to have the July 4th bash at our house this year. I want to do it again. I want to do it bigger than last year or the year before or the year before. Yet, I need to let go of it.

Every year for a long, long time, we have had this party at our house. Last year, there were north of 100 people in our back yard to watch our huge, musically synced, slightly illicit fireworks display. It was awesome! We did not even know many of the people who attended. They were friends of friends.

Were we unhappy with the party? NO! Is it about the money? NO! NO! NO!

We need some margin in our life right now and planning this event is big. So, I am saying no this year. Will we bring back the party in the future? I do not know. Cleaning this one out of my personal “fridge” was difficult. But, I believe it is necessary. Why? Dunno yet. When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.

If you’ve ever felt you could not have a July 4th party because it would compete with ours, then this is your year. If you are having a party where you are blowing stuff up this year, feel free to invite us over. Because everybody knows we love a great party. Especially if there are explosives involved.

Here’s a little slide show of last year’s event.

Do you have something you need to let go of? Why not share with the rest of us.

How did this happen? Our amazing church family brought tons of meals when Jennifer was out with her surgery. The food in our fridge was delicious. The only problem was that most of it was now old. We had too much of a good thing and that was keeping us from receiving the new. We couldn’t move forward while hanging on to the past.

For a couple weeks, we* had repositioned, crowded and crammed our fridge until it was a mess. The only way to move forward was to put away the amazing food that was now old. There are times in our lives when we must re-evaluate what we are holding onto. Are we cramming more and more in because we are unwilling to let go of something we love?

Recently, I have been grappling with letting go of something that I really love. I look forward to it. I take pride in it. In fact, many people will say, “Why would you let go of that? It was amazing.” But, I believe it is time to let it go. It may come back in a new fashion in the future. However, I must be willing to let go. Come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you what it is.

Here’s to looking for our next Isaiah 42:9 moment.

“Everything has happened just as I said it would; now I will announce what will happen next.” Isaiah 42:9

For now, what do you need to clean out? What are you unwilling to let go of in order to make room for God’s plan?

* By we, I mean myself and the boys.
Jennifer was recovering from surgery.

• Today was strong. Loved the music. Lindsey brought it today. In fact, the whole team did.
• DJ Defy was back on the turntables. I love the diversity on our stage.
• On a side note, diversity does not happen by accident. It must be intentional. Maybe I should blog a little about how to build diversity. Even better, maybe we can get Pastor Ron to guest blog about it.
• We just finished week two of One Prayer with a message from Pastor Francis Chan. Favorite Quote of the day?

“This is God’s universe. He does things His own way. You may think you have a better way – but you don’t have a universe.” J. Vernon McGee

• Five people gave their lives to Christ today. Wait, let me say that again…. FIVE PEOPLE GAVE THEIR LIVES TO CHRIST TODAY! That never gets old.

• We had 15 people in membership class today. We actually had a first today. Denise and Cassie Payton attended ROCK Church for the first time ever today. They just moved to town and instead of going into service, they came to membership class AND JOINED! When you know, you know. I thought this was important enough that is warranted a photo. If you see the Paytons around, welcome them to ROCK Church.

• This past Wednesday was Mary McCoy’s last day with us in our offices. She got a better offer and took it. I don’t blame her. Her better offer was to be a full time, stay at home mom. We will miss you Mary! I told Mary last week that, if she is ever ready to go back into the workforce, to let me know. We would love to have her back.
• Who is taking her place? None other than the amazing Sally Miller! Sally has been a part of the ROCK Church family for over 16 years. Sally is retired from a career in psychiatric nursing. So, she should feel right at home working with our crew. I’m just sayin’…
• Tomorrow represents one year that David Pray has been working with us at ROCK Church. We are all grateful to God for joining the Pray family to our church family. We love you guys!
• It’s only seven more days until Helen Fuller takes over as our new Director of Children’s Ministry. I will blog more later this week. For now, I’ll just say I could not be more excited about this change. Kid’s ROCK is about to go HNL (’Hole Nutha Level)! Woohoo!
• I pre-ordered the new iPhone 3GS this week. While everyone else is standing in line on Friday, I’m having mine delivered. Yes, I know I’m a nerd. I’m OK with that.
• Gabriel and a bunch of our FlipSide crew are headed out at an ungodly hour in the morning for Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, LA. Thank you Pastor Dino for hosting our teens as they serve your community. BR Team, know that I am proud of you.
• This only scratches the surface of what has been happening around here. God is not about to do something big. He is doing something huge right now in our lives, church and city. I am so excited that I just can’t hide it…

I have dreamed with amazing leaders, committed to even deeper training for myself and our staff, planned for the future, prayed, rejoiced and wept.

It has been an incredible week. So, I am sitting alone on the back deck quietly reflecting on what He has done this week. Thank you, God, for being… You.

Where is your quiet place?

This Sunday, we welcome Pastors Dony & Reba McGuire as they lead us in worship. The McGuires pastor The River at Music City in Nashville, TN. I am so excited to have Dony, Reba, Destiny and Israel with us. If you have ever been in a worship experience with Dony and Reba, you know this is going to be powerful and you do not want to miss it. Do whatever it takes to get here.

If that were not enough to get you here, we’ll also wrap up our Bailout series as we discover the Law of Multiplication. Want to catch up on all of the Bailout messages? You can watch them here.

Sunday can not get here fast enough. Somebody call somebody!

Helen Fuller jumped on Kid’s ROCK and knocked it out of the park yesterday. Thanks Helen!

I had planned last week to lead the charge to get ready for our Mom’s Movie Night Out last night. But, never fear, our team jumped in and made it an amazing event. When I say our team, there has to be specific recognition for the job well done.

Carolyn Mejia finished the setup for the sound booth and projector install. It looked awesome!

Lisa Matthews made sure the temp was just right, all of the acoustic treatments were in place and that the building was ready for our moms.

Matthew Ray led the FlipSide crew as they watched kids so that moms could have a fun night out.

Finally, Lori Capace, my amazing assistant, made it happen! I swung by the office on Thursday afternoon for about 30 minutes to check in and found the fellowship hall completely converted into a theater befitting our ROCK moms. Lori took the lead to arrange for every couch in the building to be relocated to the Fellowship Hall. She washed all of the necessary slip covers, oversaw the setup and then… went over and above. When I mentioned that I would pick up all of the drinks and snacks for the moms, she insisted that I let her do it. She did an amazing job.

What I love about our whole team is that they make it happen every week. Thank you guys for making the dream work!

Thank you to all of the dads who stayed home with the kids so mom could have a night out. You are awesome! I’m proud of you.

Thank you FlipSide Crew for watching the children who came with their moms. I love your generosity in giving freely to watch the kids. I’m proud of you.

However, no other men stepped up to help honor our moms. As your pastor, that was disappointing. But, that is OK. Gabriel (13) is helping with the FlipSide crew. Noah (11) stayed home to take care of Jennifer while she continues to recover from surgery. Adam (8) and I are spending the evening serving this amazing group of moms. If dad were not on a plane to Florida, he would be here with us. The McGee men could not pass up this opportunity to honor our moms by serving all of our ROCK moms.

I love this opportunity to give back to these incredible ladies. This is so much fun!

Bonus side note to all the guys: Watching a this movie with a group of women will teach you a lot about how a lady thinks. That is, if you don’t waste your time making fun of the movie. I am learning volumes by just listening to the responses of the crowd. If you were not here serving, you missed an opportunity to receive yourself.

Moms, thank you for giving so much to pour into your families. I love you!

MOMS ROCK!

Check it out. One of our Crazy Love stories got picked up by Business Week.

Go read it for yourself here.

How does that happen?

I think God is up to something in our city. I love generosity!

• Woke up at the hospital for the second day to Jen very nauseated in pain.
• Got a text from Matthew that Noah was very sick. Had Matthew bring him to me at hospital.
• Met them downstairs and then took Noah to the pediatrician.
• Found out he had fever of almost 103º and a raging case of strep throat.
• Took Noah to Dad’s house to hang out with his PaPa for the day. Thanks dad. You ROCK!
• Took about an hour and did a little, personal Crazy Love project that was insanely fun. I can’t stop smiling thinking about it. I only regret that Jen couldn’t be there with me to witness it.
• Headed back to the hospital to be with my beautiful wife at the hospital.
• Around 4:00pm, they took her down to surgery. It went awesome! She had two, pretty large cysts attached to her ovary. Also,  her ovary was twisted which makes me hurt to even think about it.
• She did not lose any blood and already feels a LOT better.
• Found out that Noah ate Zaxby’s chicken for dinner and is feeling better.
• We decided to stay tonight and go home tomorrow.
• It’s been an amazing day.

If we had approached this day with doom and gloom, how could God have lived through us? I want to approach every day like it was made by God for us.

Today He was glorified through Noah’s turnaround and healing. I believe He smiled through me when He saw the reaction to His Crazy Love project. His awesome power was magnified through Jennifer’s successful surgery.

I believe God lived vicariously through the McGees today. Did He live vicariously through you?

vi·car·i·ous (vī-kâr’ē-əs, -kār’-, vĭ-)
adj.

1. Felt or undergone as if one were taking part in the experience or feelings of another: read about mountain climbing and experienced vicarious thrills.
2. Endured or done by one person substituting for another: vicarious punishment.
3. 1. Acting or serving in place of someone or something else; substituted.
   2. Committed or entrusted to another, as powers or authority; delegated.
4. Physiology Occurring in or performed by a part of the body not normally associated with a certain function.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

This past Sunday, I gave our church the opportunity to give as well. We received another $2539 on Sunday to add to our initial investment in Life Community! Why am I saying investment? That’s because I am asking God to return our investment with another soul for every dollar given. After all, that’s what we are all about, right? Pointing people toward Jesus and seeing people come into the Kingdom of God. That represents 4539 people coming to know Christ through the ministry of Life Community! I can’t wait to see the return on our investment.

Next week, I will have the honor of meeting up with Pastor Tim Blevins at their new location to personally hand him a check for another two thousand five hundred and thirty nine dollars. I want to see the dream, rejoice in the vision God is giving their ministry and pray a blessing over them. It’s going to be awesome!

Thank you ROCK Church for being such a generous church. I love watching you discover the joy of giving. I’m having a blast. How about you?