Great day today @ The Ridge! Awesome worship time! The band did a fantastic job! Pretty good attendance for July. Several new faces today. That’s always great to see!

Lovin’ what God is doing through this Heroes Series. LOTS of people have been saying each week, “That message was for me.”  This week we looked at Peter as an Unworthy Hero in John 21. Even though he had denied the Lord, Jesus restored him to leadership. Peter found himself on the sidelines for a time, yet Jesus showed him grace and got him back into the game, where He used Peter to take the Good News to the world and established His church.  If there is that kind of hope for him, then there is hope for me yet. None of us are “worthy” to be heroes, but BY His grace we CAN be and BECAUSE of His grace we SHOULD be.

Some other highlights of a busy day:

• came home and my wife had me some afternoon jobs to do:  ran a cable down to the basement for the tv, then went to a friend’s barn to get some manure for her box garden
• after that I had my Dad’s study group for Raising A Modern Day Knight.
• following that, we had practice for The Ridge Co-ed Community Softball team. Fun times! We actually won our first game last Thursday 16-15. This is a new community league that just started this year. It is a great chance for us to get involved with folks in the community. We’re havin a good time…between all the soreness
• Tired now. Busy week ahead. gonna chill for a while.
• BTW – really disappointed that Tom Watson couldn’t pull off the unimaginable and win the British Open at age 59. Missed the last putt on the last hole. Great showing though!

We are finishing up our Heroes series with “The Unsung Heroes” next week. Guess what? ANY one of you might be one. I hope we get a chance to highlight MANY unsung heroes next week. Don’t miss it! God is doing some pretty cool stuff @ The Ridge!

What a difference a week makes! Last week was July 4th weekend and attendance was LOW. This week we were back up closer to normal…actually about 40% more folks.Here are some highlights and a recap of our teaching:

• We had a great worship gathering. Introduced Jerry Davison as our new Creative Arts Pastor. Great to have him on board!
• The band did an awesome job yesterday. Lots of energy and very engaging worship. Set up the message very well.
• It was great to see so many people back @ The Ridge yesterday
• We recognized and honored TEACHERS and all those who work in the school system as HEROES. Thank you guys for all that you do!
• We saw two more people follow Christ in believer’s baptism…a husband and wife! That NEVER gets old! By the way that’s TEN baptisms in the last 4 weeks!
• Had a great response from people handing out water and glo-sticks at the Paulding Co. Fireworks show Saturday night. I LOVE our volunteers @ The Ridge! You guys are awesome and you totally “get it” when it comes to the Great Commission! Angie Pruett did a great job of organizing for this event!
• Several people attended Sunday as a result of the Fireworks outreach. One person came with his family and put his faith in Jesus for the first time!!! THAT’S why we do those things! Awesome!
• In our teahcing time, we looked at the “Unwavering Heroes” of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Love studying these guys!

What makes Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego “HEROES” boils down to two words: UNWAVERING INTEGRITY. Integrity comes from the same root word as Integer which is a whole number. If someone has integrity, they are whole. They aren’t scattered, or fractured in any way. They are consistent…unwavering.

Godly integrity doesn’t waver …because of its foundation, it’s devotion to prayer  and it’s unconditional obedience to, and trust in, God. An unwavering Hero can only be so because of an unwavering faith in an unwavering God.

Talked about a guy I knew growing up, who was a missionary and was recently martyred in Mauritania in NW Africa. Read his story HERE. Chris Leggett was a young man unknown to most of the world.  Just a few weeks ago, Chris was brutally murdered by Al Qaeda assassins in Mauritania. He and his wife and four children had lived and ministered in Mauritania for 7 years. The group taking responisbility aired their motive for the slaying on the Arab satellite station Al Jazeera  saying:  “Two knights of the Islamic Maghreb succeeded Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. to kill the infidel American Christopher Leggett for his Christianizing activities.”

The Mauritania Minister of Justice said Chris’ death “was a great loss to Mauritania.” The Minister also said Chris was greatly loved and respected by the people of the West African nation.

Chris’ father Jay, Leggett said this after the funeral:
“Our family’s great hope has been that Chris will not have died in vain, but that through his physical death, thousands will continue to be challenged passionately to join him in demonstrating God’s love. We now know that that hope is being honored based on the comments of many who visited us last night. Our family again thanks everyone for their prayers and eagerness to share ‘Chris Leggett stories’ regarding how he touched their lives.We continue to request your prayers during this difficult time. May Chris’s memory be lifted up — but only for the glory of God. To God be the glory, to God be the glory, great things He has done and great things He will do.”

What kind of person becomes a “hero of the faith?” One who doesn’t waver in their faith. One who like Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Daniel…and Chris Leggett…and maybe even you…can say:

¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18)

Is there an area of your life where you have wavered in your faith? …in your walk with Christ?  Has God been trying to get your attention, but you have simply fallen back into a default comfort zone? Maybe it is in a specific area of obedience to Him…maybe it is in a relationship that you have decided to bail on…maybe it is in some selfishness… maybe it is in some habit…maybe it is in the area of laziness toward God…maybe you have wavered long enough on whether you are going to put your faith in Jesus Christ and follow Him with all your heart….

We are called to an unwavering faith in an unwavering God. THAT is what makes us a hero of the faith. It isn’t something WE can do…it is something only GOD can do. And you can’t just decide now that you won’t waver anymore. It has to be day to day and sometimes even moment to moment. But one thing you can be sure of, He will never leave his faithful children alone. When Nebuchadnezzar looked into the fiery furnace, into which he had just had the three young Hebrews thrown, he saw something that blew him away…

²⁵ He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Jesus Himself was with them…IN the fire. Trials in our lives don’t give us character, they reveal it. Jesus doesn’t always deliver us from the fire, but refines us through the fire.

Whatever you are facing right now, FIRST put your faith in Jesus..who will never leave you nor forsake you…THEN don’t waver in that faith because you can know that He NEVER wavers!

Today I marked something OFF my prayer list that I have een waiting to do so for over a year.  I am so thankful to the Lord and we as a church are blessed. I praise Him for His provision for us. This Sunday, will be the first day for our new Creative Arts Pastor, Jerry Davison! We are increadibly blessed to have Jerry with us. He was in the office for a little while yesterday, and it was such a blessing to have him there, even for just a couple of hours. This spot has been vacant since Doug Garvin left to plant Canvas Church in Savannah in April of 08. We have had some incredible volunteers carry this ministry team. They have done an amazing job! We are truly a blessed church to have such talented people. We also have had several people step in and lead over the last several months. Some for one or two Sundays, some for a month, some for several months. All of which God used to lead us here @ The Ridge. I am grateful for God’s provision and blessings.

Here is some more detailed info about Jerry:

Jerry & Cheryl Davison responded to God’s call and moved from Woodstock, GA in 2002 to help start a church in Las Vegas. It was a huge step of faith to sell everything and move their entire family across the country. Yet they did…and God blessed them! After two years of simply volunteering and serving at Hope Baptist Church in Las Vegas, Jerry was asked to join their staff full-time, where he has served in the Creative Arts & Media Arts positions for the last 5 years.

• Jerry has been responsible for all media, graphics, video production, drama, print design, and helps in the music and worship production at Hope.
• Prior to this ministry in Las Vegas, Jerry served in various volunteer ministry roles at First Baptist Church of Woodstock.
• He was “ghost-writer” of the biography From The Poolroom To The Pulpit for Dr. Johnny Hunt (Pastor FBC Woodstock and President of the Southern Baptist Convention)
• Through the late 80s and 90s he was the lead singer and founder of the Christian band Jacob’s Trouble.
• Jerry has written several songs, including These Thousand Hills which was recorded by the Grammy Award winning band Third Day
• He is a published writer and great communicator, teacher and speaker. Jerry has taught and spoken to college students and teenagers as well as adults in various churches, retreats, etc.
• He is a very well-rounded musician; singing, writing music, playing drums and other instruments.
• In addition to his duties in Creative Arts at Hope, Jerry and Cheryl were active in teaching and leading small groups and Bible studies. They are especially passionate about marriage enrichment, helping couples to grow together in their relationship with Christ and have even written a marriage curriculum.
• Jerry’s passion is to minister in the local church and use his gifts to lead people to Jesus Christ and to grow as His disciples.
• Cheryl is a Registered Nurse part-time and a dedicated mom and wife full-time
• Jerry is more than a musician, He is a teacher, and a leader. We are very blessed for the Lord to lead Jerry & Cheryl to The Ridge!

I am excited to have Jerry and his wife Cheryl and their three children with us @ The Ridge. I can’t wait to see what God is about to do! I am truly glad to have marked that off my prayer list! Thank you Lord!

It was good to be back teaching yesterday @ The Ridge.  We honored some special Heroes Sunday as we kicked off our “Heroes” series. We honored all of our active and retired military personnel as well as those who serve in the police, fire and EMT departments. Attendance was low because of the holiday weekend and I hate that so many people missed this special Heroes kick-off. Next week we honor the unsung heroes who teach in public, private and home school as well as all those who work in the school system. Invite one of these and join us @ The Ridge next week.

I taught yesterday on “Gideon: An Unlikely Hero” out of Judges 6-8.  It was one of those days that the message was so for ME. I really enjoyed studying Gideon the last couple of weeks. He is one of my favorite characters in the Old Testament because I can SO identify with him.  Things have been really challenging lately and what God has been teaching me personally through this study of Gideon has been encouraging. Honestly, June has been very challenging for us @ The Ridge financially…just as it has been for many churches. Yet I know that God is in control. He told Gideon to trust Him in some unlikely ways and in some unbelievable circumstances. He told Gideon, “I am with you…” Gideon was fearful and doubtful. He was reluctant, but as he took God more and more at His Word, Gideon became more confident…even though he struggled with unbelief. God was patient with Gideon. This is the most important takeaway. God was patient with Gideon because He saw what Gideon WOULD become, not what He WAS. Ultimately Gideon was humbled and he worshiped the Lord, acknowledging who the ultimate Hero is.

All of this has helped me keep in perspective, the challenges that we have been facing recently. God is in control, He is the one who will bring victory. God will save us, the Lord is with us…even when we are facing challenges that seem insurmountable. He is in control even if He is leading us into situations and seasons that don’t make sense…God will bring victory. He is the One in whom we can place our confidence…even when we are doubting and fearful.  He is so patient with us and He will use us to do extraordinary things…bringing about a victory that only He can do…if we’ll trust Him and take the Lord at His word. This is true for you too. No matter what you face, remember that God still looks at you and I, as He did Gideon, as what we CAN be, not what we ARE.

When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” Judges 6:12

You and I can be a mighty warrior, because we can have the confidence that the Lord is with us. We must acknowledge who the ultimate Hero is…Jesus Christ…then take Him at His word and trust Him no matter what. That is what a real “hero” does.

New Series Starting July 5th @ The Ridge!

Don’t Miss This Sunday…or any Sunday in July…@ The Ridge as we kick off this new series. We will be looking at Heroes of the Faith as well as honoring heroes in our midst. Below are the titles of the Heroes messages. The first person to leave a comment and correctly guess the hero for each week will receive a prize! (No cheating if I already talked about it with you ) Also, you’ll find the plan for the heroes we are honoring each week. If you fit into one of these categories or if you know someone who does, be there and invite them to attend with you.

• July 5th – “Unlikely Hero“  …???? … We are honoring all military, fire, police, EMT workers with a special reception and gift.
• July 12th – “Unwavering Hero“  …????…  We will be honoring all private, public and home school teachers as well as any school personnel (administrators, bus drivers, custodial workers, etc.)
• July 19th – “Unworthy Hero“  …????… We will be honoring all of our own Volunteers @ The Ridge who work so faithfully to fulfill God’s mission here! You guys rock! And you’re making an Impact!
• July 26th – “Unsung Heroes“  …???… Who are we honoring this day? That is up to YOU. Stay tuned…

If you can figure out what Hero of the Faith we are talking about each week, leave a comment. Here’s a HINT: you’ll find all of them in the Bible.   Everyone play along! See you Sunday @ The Ridge!

There are several things I’m “looking forward to” right now:

• …My oldest daughter coming home from a student leadership camp tomorrow. She’s been gone 8 days. Really missed her.
• …My #2 daughter coming home from a 2-week dance camp at “Ballet Magnificat!” in Jackson, MS. She’ll be home the end of next week. Really missin her too!
• …What’s next @ The Ridge!  Some big stuff on the horizon. Some of it I don’t really know what it is yet, but God does! I can sense as I pray about it that He is about to do something significant in our community and in His church @ The Ridge.
• …Our new Creative Arts Pastor, Jerry Davison joining our team next week! Yea!! After 14+ months of prayer and countless interviews and conversations and seemingly endless searching, God has brought His man to us to join our team. I am really excited to have Jerry joining us @ The Ridge. HERE is a BIO and job description of what he’ll be doing. If you are a Ridger, check out his blog HERE and leave them a comment welcoming them to The Ridge. They are currently in route from Las Vegas, NV. I imagine they are somewhere in Arizona or New Mexico right now!
• BTW – Some might have asked why we need this position right now. Well, I’d say we didn’t need this position right now…we needed it a year ago! All you have to do is read the job description and you’ll see all the things that I and a few other staff and volunteers have been juggling for all this time. Then you’ll see how incredibly valuable this position is to God’s work here and the void that was left by Doug when he left. In addition, Jerry is bringing so much more to the table, including some new areas of ministry we’ve never been able to do! You’ll have a chance to meet he and Cheryl and their kids soon and you’ll see that God has brought us an A-player to the team. Again, looking forward to what God has planned! He’s bringing specific people for a specific purpose!
• … to our Community Makeover Weekend August 1-2 as we join with 35+ other churches in our county together to go out into the community and “BE the church.” Can’t wait for this weekend! If you want to help or if you know of someone in need that we could help in our community, e-mail Brenton Lehman , our Community Ministry Intern,  who is running point on this project at brentonl@churchattheridge.com.
• … to Family Fusion Family Camp July 26-30. This is always a highlight of the summer for our church. we have currently 23 families attending. There is room for only TWO more families. Join us by registering HERE. It is a week you WILL NOT forget! It is a week that will impact your family like nothing ever has…guaranteed!
• …to our Summit @ The Ridge on Sunday Evening, August 9th. It will be a “family” picnic and a time of connecting for all Ridgers. It will be a celebration of baptism and worship together as well as a time of vision and a “town hall” of sorts for you to hear my heart and prayers for what God is doing and what He is laying before us this year.
• …a new principle at Austin Middle School. Not that there was anything wrong with the one that was there. Mrs. Tammy Allen has been a fantastic person to work with us @ The Ridge. She took quite a chance letting this new church come into her brand new school building 3+ years ago. She has been a great support and has partnered with us in making a difference in the community. We are very blessed to have had her in leadership at AMS. We will miss her as she goes to open and lead yet another new middle school in our county. As she departs, we look forward to a new relationship with Joel Slater as the new principle. I have had the chance to meet with Mr. Slater and am very excited about this new relationship, as is he.
• …Some REALLY exciting potential opportunities coming in 2010. Something BIG that could change, revive, and renew the hearts of every person @ The Ridge is in the works. Praying for this BIG opportunity to impact the church from the insideout.
• …to some changes in our staff structure that I have been praying and thinking through for some time. Praying for God to provide the resources to make these critical, necessary additions that will make a huge impact on our community.
• …some potential new directions in the areas of student ministry and small groups.
• …possibly returning with a team of Ridgers to Burkina Faso this October.
• …to whatever God wants to do in my life and in His church!

That’s just a few of the things I’m looking forward to right now. Praying for His wisdom and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Hang on Ridgers…pray hard…keep your fork…God’s up to something BIG! You kow how I know? His word tells me and the enemy is working. Sure sign that God’s about to do something HUGE! Don’t miss it!

Good day @ The Ridge as we wrapped up the OnePrayer series today. We heard a very timely message from Andy Stanley called “God Is…Certain.” When life is uncertain, God is not. I was very encouraged as many people were today.

Here are some more highlights:

• Attendance was better today, but still typical June. This has always been our lowest month of the year. Giving definitely has been reflective of that this month. Will be having to make some tough financial decisions soon.
• We saw FOUR adults baptized this morning! That’s what it’s all about! Never gets old.
• Last Thursday we had FOUR kids baptized too at the end of our Impact Week. Two more adults scheduled to be baptized in a couple of weeks! Praise God for changed lives.
• Interviewed a couple who are volunteers @ The Ridge. They were first exposed to The Ridge at our community outreach event last summer at the Paulding Co. Fireworks Show. As a result of us handing out water and glo-sticks to people, this family came to The Ridge last summer. Right before Christmas, both the husband and wife put their faith in Christ and in February were baptized! They’ve come full circle as they are now coodinating volunteers for THIS year’s fireworks show outreach. THAT’S what its all about! THAT’S why we do community outreach events! Love watching how God changes lives!
• Tonight, I hosted a small group study of 6 men in my basement. We are studying “Raising A Modern Day Knight” together. This was our first full session and it was a great time! Really lovin this group.
• My oldest two are away at two different camps and my number 3 child is spending the night at a friend’s house tonight.  What do we do with only 5 kids for the night?
• Can’t wait to actually be back teaching next Sunday as we strart off a new series: HEROES. We’ll be honoring heroes in our community all month as we look at heroes of the Faith in Scripture. Next Sunday, July 5th, we’ll be honoring active and former military personnel along with community heroes who serve in the police, EMT and fire departments. If you are one of these, come in uniform and allow us to honor you as we celebrate our country’s freedom and look at “An Unlikely Hero” in the Bible.

New Series Starting July 5th @ The Ridge!

What a great time we had @ The Ridge this past week! It was IMPACT Sports and Arts Camp Week and it was awesome! We had camps for soccer, wrestling, baseball, sewing, and hip-hop dance. Each night the kids spent an hour in skills, drills and instruction. Then the second hour was spent in what we called “jam session” where there was music and a skit which tied together the theme of the week: Faith. Following that, was small group sessions where we had a chance to look at scripture and reinforce and apply the teaching. Then we had another hour of skill development. Thursday night we ended the week all together for FamJam, our Family Worship Extravaganza!  Overall it was a great week! 59 kids participated and on Thursday 204 parents and kids participated in FamJam. We also had 4 kids baptized Thursday night! Dozens of volunteers from the Ridge were joined by a group of about 20 high school youth from Gray United Methodist Church in Gray, GA. These kids came a ministered in  our community all week and did an awesome job! Thanks to Jason Wade and his team for an outstanding job! Thanks to all you Ridgers who gave of your time this week to make and IMPACT on families in our community! Also, thanks and big props toWendell and to Brenton Lehman, our summer intern, for running point on this event. He came in the last week of May and hit the ground running on IMPACT Week and made it happen. Great job! Big Impact!

Here are a few pics of the week:

Soccer

wrestling

sewing

baseball

Hip-Hop at Final Performance

"Jam Session" Skit

small group time

Awesome Volunteers!

Ed Stetzer had a great summary and wrap up report on the SBC. As always, Ed has good insight, details and data. Check it out HERE.

Last night I watched the end of Jon & Kate’s marriage on national TV. What a mess! It was sad to watch two people who, by all appearances, totally can’t see the forest for the trees. I was amazed that they can’t seem to get a grasp on what some of the roots of their problems have been. I am no expert counselor, but as my wife and I talked about it, we were both saddened at the lack of perspective they had. Has anyone been counseling these people about anything other than money and ratings? I don’t know. I don’t condemn them and I would never put myself above them, but I think there are some lessons for all of us in this saga. I hurt for this family who claim to be brothers and sisters in Christ.  Here are a couple of thoughts and observations we had:

• Repeatedly they both said, “I don’t really know what happened.” Really? You’re kidding, right? Kate said that she didn’t think the TV show had anything to do with their break-up. Really?! The $$ and the fame and the invasion into their lives had nothing to do with it?
• Jon said that he had become passive and let her rule the roost. Perfect observation, just a little too late. They let their personality strengths become their weaknesses. This can be true in any relationship. It can be true in family, ministry, leadership, work relationships. Those unique personality traits that God built into us by His design, when not understood by oneself and one’s spouse and other relationships, can become a great weakness. We can easily fall into our natural default and the negative aspects of that trait will rule. Key to that in a marriage is communication, understanding, and SELFLESSNESS. We can let pride rule our lives and consequently our relationships or we can let Christ rule. Pride is most easily identified in the strong personality as arrogance or doing things in our own strength, but it is really anything that focuses on me. Shyness and passivity can be manifestations of Pride, because they are self-focused. Anything that is self-focused is pride and is sin. It’s a constant battle for me. Both Jon and Kate appear to have been struggling with pride. It just looks different in each of them.
• The seeming antithesis of this however, is in the statements that they both made repeatedly saying that “It’s all about the kids. I love my kids. Everything is for them. This show is for them. This new house and this land is for them. Everything we’ve done is for them. We love them more than anything.” That sounds like a pretty selfless attitude right? Well, that is a problem in most marriages and its a cultural phenomenon that has had a negative impact on more families and, I believe, on our culture…and even the church. It’s a philosophy that says, “Put the kids first. Its all about them. They are our future.“  Sounds logical. The problem is it isn’t biblical and it isn’t healthy for families and marriages. The first relationship God established was between Adam and Eve. At that point, they were a family. (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:22-25) The problem we have that I believe the Enemy has used for too long is that of what some call “child-centered parenting.” What this looks like is the children become the center of everything in the family.

• Imagine this picture: a husband and wife holding hands forming a small circle, a family. Then the first child comes along. A child centered philosophy places the child in the center of this circle. Sounds fine and for the first couple of months with only on child, it might work out okay. But as the child begins to understand (or even demand) being in the center of the circle, he/she realizes that they are the driving force. Self-centeredness (which we all are naturally bent toward) begins to take hold. The expectations rise. Everything becomes about them and their happiness. This is what seems to have happened to Jon & Kate. We call it spoiled, but it isn’t really something that is intentional most of the time. What happens as the child grows and more children come into the marriage is the most potentially devastating part of the picture in a marriage.
• Imagine the picture again of the mom and dad holding hands now with several kids in the middle of the circle who have all gotten bigger. It gets crowded. Mom and dad get pushed farther apart. Notice I referred to them as “mom & dad” not “husband & wife” any longer. You see child centered parenting pushes the original, most important relationship in the family farther and farther apart. The identity of those two individuals becomes all about the kids. Now the kids are important, but they are not the most important relationship in the family.
• Now imagine this picture: the mom and dad holding hands in a small circle. Along comes a child and instead of being placed in the center of that circle, he/she is held with one hand in mom’s and the other in dads, allowing the husband and wife to still stay connected. This makes the circle extend and everyone stays connected…especially the husband and wife. That relationship never changes. Children thus become an extension of the family, not the center of it. The only thing that needs to be in the center of this ever expanding circle is Jesus Christ. The most important relationship in any family, after each individual’s relationship with Christ, is the relationship of the husband and wife. Someone once said, “The greatest security any child can have is knowing that mom and dad love each other“, without question. Child centered parenting…”its all about them”…points the focus in a different direction, and pushes the parents apart ultimately, because the focus on their own relationship with one another becomes secondary.

• Those kids don’t need any of the things that they’ve been given. The more stuff we give our kids, the less content they will be. They need a mom and dad who love each other and will fight for their marriage.
• Finally, child-centered parenting is ultimately a pride issue, because it usually becomes about US. It can become, if we’re honest, about how we think other people see US and what they think about US and how OUR kids turned out. My focus needs to be on how people see Christ in my marriage, because it is a picture of His relationship with his bride, the church. My focus needs to be on the mandate of Deuteronomy 6 and the challenge of Psalm 78:1-8. My passion should be about raising up a generation that will impact another generation, not about their temporary “happiness” as seen in the world, right now.

Just a couple of observations that we made as we looked at a very sad situation. I pray for Jon & Kate. I pray that God might miraculously intervene and heal and restore their marriage. I pray that they would recognize that He loves them unconditionally and that He loves their family more than they do. I pray that we as parents might have a Christ-centered perspective on our family. I pray that each of us will focus on keeping that first relationship in the family a priority, second only to our own individual relationships with Jesus. Date your spouse as regularly as possible. Let your kids see how important that relationship is. That will give them GREAT security…and much happiness and contentment.