Turkeys, spoons, and depression?

It’s been a while since my last post. Honestly, it’s been a nice break! I’d thought I’d bring you up to speed on random thoughts that are swirling around this ol’ head of mine.

• I’m pumped up about this coming Sunday morning. We will be packing 200 meals and delivering them to struggling families in our community. There is something special that happens when the church unites and serves together. A special thanks to our partners - Homefront Christian Outreach & Chester County Cares. 
• I continue to be amazed at the sacrifice & commitment of our people. In spite of the economy, people are giving & sacrificing! Praise God for the $3,000+ that came in for Unite. 
• I’m working on our next two sermon series right now. The next sermon series is called “Cradle to the Cross”. It’s a series that I’m working on with Jon Damon and Dan O’Deens. We met for several hours to hammer out the title, the theme, and the overall direction for the series. Each of us then took one of the three weeks and put together an outline that all of us will help put the final touches on. The final product is a collaborative effort that Elk Creek Church and Gateway Church will use at the same time.
• I’m also working on a 4 week sermon series that will begin on January 4th. I’m still working on the title, but it is going to be about a topic that tons of people deal with and few churches talk about. It is going to be about Depression and her twin sister…Anxiety. Please feel free to comment or email me specific questions that you would like to have answered during this series regarding this issue. 
• I’m excited about reading through the Bible again in 2009. Several people have committed to it already…you can read about it here.
• Just 44 days until 2009…can you believe it? I am so pumped up about what God is going to do in 2009! 
• I’m thinking that I need to get my fellow “spoonites” together for a massive game of holiday spoons…stay tuned

How about some Christian Cheese to start your day…

Disclaimer - This song will stick in your head and you will find yourself singing it all day…don’t hate me for it…you’ve been warned! 

When email is NOT a good idea

I’ve always been one to encourage people to not send an email that carries lots of emotion. It’s too easy to be misunderstood and misinterpreted in the translation. I call it “drive-by” communication. It’s usually passive-aggressive…it’s cowardly…and it’s a cop-out for handling conflict or difficult conversations.

Email is a great tool that has the potential to save tons of time, and help us get things done quickly & efficiently, but pleeeaaase don’t use it to communicate something that you know should be communicated face to face. 

By the way, This would be one example of when NOT to send an email to someone. Before you hit “send” ask yourself, should I handle this face to face, or at least over the phone? If you have to think about it, it’s probably best to hit “delete” and meet face to face…no matter how difficult the conversation may be.

A few things that have caught my attention lately…

• I’m really diggin’ Pandora. It is free internet radio that allows you to customize playlists of your favorite genres of music! Quality is excellent…no commercials. It’s available for the iPhone as a free App. 
• I’m really lovin’ Mark Batterson’s new book “Wild Goose Chase”. It’s about reclaiming the adventure of pursuing God. If you feel stuck in your relationship with God, and need a kick-in-the-butt, this is the book for you…In fact, here’s how much I love this book…I will give a copy to the first three Elk Creeker’s that comment to this post and request the book.
• I’ve immersed myself in the book of Colossians lately. My goal is to memorize the entire 95 verses by the end of the year! And in case you are wondering…my mind is a sieve…but I’m determined!
• This Worship album is my favorite right now…It’s worth getting!
• I’m excited about going to the C3 conference at Buddy Cremean’s church in NY. this coming Monday with a few others from Elk Creek. If you would like to go, we still have room for one more. We’re leaving Sunday after church and will get back late Monday night.