Shrimp & Grits

This will be brief. Last night, Macy and I made the most incredible Shrimp & Grits dish in the world! Words cannot describe, so I won't even try. Ever since my first visit to Charleston, SC, about 9 years ago, I have been a fan of this dish. Well, last night, we blew away any Charleston low country restaurant by a mile. Good stuff!

Thanks Macy for a fun evening in the kitchen. Oh, and of course, we finished it all off with a vanilla latte'!

Getting Wet

As a pastor, one of the things I love is baptizing people.

Not just because I get to wear a bathing suit in the worship service, although that is kind of fun. The reason I love baptizing is the opportunity to be a part of someone's life who has been radically changed by Jesus. Yesterday I has the awesome privilege of baptizing in all four of our services.

Bibianna, a fifth grader who just that morning asked Christ into her life, told me she went home and started calling her friends and telling them what she had done. Pretty cool.

J.C., a middle-aged adult, who asked Christ into his life on Wednesday evening, told me his friends already didn't like the fact he was talking about God. Radical life change. He still came Sunday, and let everyone know he was identifying with Christ through baptism.

The Byrds, a young couple who have been believers for several months, were excited about taking the next step of obedience and getting baptized. They too were excited about their new faith and wanted to grow in that faith.

These were just a few examples of the lives that I had a chance to be a part of yesterday through baptism. Thank you God for allowing me to be a part of a church where the focus is on seeing lives changed. It's awesome.

I hope you have a great Labor Day!

Another Great Hamburger Joint

Several months ago I wrote about a great new hamburger place in Fort Myers called Cheeseburger in Paradise. Well, I've found another great burger joint that might even be a little better. Last night Macy and I tried the new Red Robin located in the Gulf Coast Town Center.

Let me start by saying we had a great experience. Their hamburger selection is huge, with 22 gourmet burgers to choose from. I went with the Bleu Ribbon Burger and it was incredible. Here's the description of it: A juicy burger basted with a tangy steak sauce and topped with crumbled Bleu cheese. Served with onion straws, lettuce, tomatoes and zesty Chipotle mayo on an onion bun. Wow! The Bleu Ribbon is similar to a burger I've ordered several times at Cheeseburger in Paradise. The difference with Red Robin's is the added chipotle mayo that gives it a little extra spice. Served with every hamburger are their Bottomless Steak Fries - and WOW are they good! Click here to check out all Red Robin has to off with their online menu.

Equal to the quality of our food was the exceptional service we experienced. Everyone we came in contact was extremely friendly and very helpful, enhancing the overall dining experience. Our server was Brittany and she did an outstanding job, especially considering it was only her second day on the job! We even had a chance to invite her and her newlywed husband to McGregor and to our SS class.

Summary: Perhaps some of the best hamburgers in town along with some great service make Red Robin a winner. Can't wait to go back.

Nothing vs. Something

I have been looking forward to the weekend, and as it stands right now, I have nothing planned. And that is a good thing. Nothing can be good. I'm not saying that something is bad, but every once in a while, nothing can be really nice.

I take it back. There is something scheduled for this weekend, and it's very important. It's College Football! Yeah! College Football kicked off last night with several games and will continue through until Monday night. But in some ways, watching football on TV is still nothing. But once again, nothing can be really nice.

It's also becoming apparent to me that I have "nothing" to write about today.

Cubicles Video

The first of August we held our annual Leadership Conference at McGregor. Our Ed Team produced a video entitles Cubicles that we opened the conference with. At that time, I blogged I was working on getting the video available online where anyone could watch it (we actually had a lot of requests). Well, it's finally here. So enjoy (video is about 15 minutes long).

Changes...Part 2

I mentioned in an earlier post about some changes coming to our schedule at McGregor. Here goes the "more info" I promised...

Starting January 2008, we will make two major adjustments to our church schedule. First, we will no longer have a Sunday evening Worship Service. Second, we will start a brand new midweek worship service that is designed to help believers grow in their faith. There it is, two changes that have huge implications for those who call McGregor home.

Personally, I am very excited about these changes because of how they position our church for the future. Let me share with you several benefits I believe these changes will bring to our church.

• Focus - I mentioned this in an earlier blog post as being one of the major reasons I am excited about these changes. The new schedule is a way to help us focus our energy on the mission and priority of McGregor - making fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
• Simplicity - As we grow as a church, the tendency is to do more. When in reality, we need to do fewer things better.
• Stewardship - We always want to be wise stewards of all the resources God has blessed us with and this includes people resources. By putting our focus on Sunday AM and Wed PM, we are maximizing member's time by focusing on the two times when the majority of our members are on campus.
• Strategic - Sunday AM is all about connecting. Believer's connecting with God in worship and also providing a place for unbelievers to begin the process of connecting with God. Wed PM is going to be all about helping the believer grow deeper in his or her walk with God. It will be a brand new worship experience that will be totally discipleship oriented. I love the two-prong approach to these two worship experiences!

Let me conclude by saying that I know how hard change is for everyone. I am the first to resist change. But I try to constantly remind myself that without change, I cannot grow. To learn and to develop means I must change. And so while I am excited about the changes, I know for many, this will be a process of adjusting and adapting to. That's okay. As long as we are moving forward, we'll adjust and adapt together.

I can't wait for 2008!

Web Sites I Use Almost Everyday

We talked about this on the Mark and Miller show a couple of weeks ago, but I thought I would put it down for anyone curious. Here goes...

Pandora - Be warned. If you like music, this may become your home page. It is basically a music listening site that your get to customize with your own reviews. That's right. Somehow your feedback on songs it plays creates an evolving custom playlist just for you. Not sure how it does it, but it is awesome.
Google Reader - If you're reading more than 2 blogs a day, you got have a reader! Google's reader works great and it's free! This is how I keep up with Engadget, Steven Anderson, and many other wonderful blogs.
FoxNews - still one of my favorite places to get my daily news.
Facebook - I've not yet submerged myself into the Facebook world/culture. I guess you could say I'm a casual observer, trying to see how this could benefit me.
BibleGateway - I have started using this online Bible Software in place of the regular Bible software I have been using for years. It's faster and doesn't take up any room on my computer.
National Hurricane Center - I live in southwest Flroida anf its hurricane season - need I sway more.

Macy's Favorite: The Food Network - she actually uses this site quite often, looking up recipes and printing them off.

A Few Other of My Favorites:
Kayak - my favorite travel site.
Google Maps - never get lost again
Peet's Coffee - best coffee roasted and sold in the United States. I'm drinking right now Espresso Forte.
Amazon - I'm amazed at how often I still go here when I need something. They just get it done and with no hassles.

Changes...They Are A Coming

Today was an another awesome day at McGregor.

We had a great time in Worship in the AM services. I loved the time spent with my Bible study class this morning. We have an awesome group of young couples who are hungry to grow in their faith. I love being around them.

Tonight was really special. Our worship choir led us in an awesome time of praise and worship. We celebrated as a church family the Lord's Supper. And Pastor Powell shared with us the vision for our church as it relates to our schedule in January 2008. (I'll share specifics of the schedule changes in an upcoming post.) I am personally excited about the benefits the schedule change will bring to our church. We'll be more focused and more efficient with the resources God has given us. Will it be easy for everyone to adjust. No. Just ask my wife. But in the long run, it will position us better for "doing whatever it takes to make fully devoted follower of Christ."

We topped it all off by opening up Studio G (our newest building) for everyone to go over and look around. I've said it before here, but what an incredible space this is for our students, our school and our college and young singles. What a blessing!

Thanks God for another awesome Sunday!