A few weeks ago, I wrote about the fact that we would start a new segment on the blog called Here, There, and In-between.  It’s basically just a 50,000 foot level look at where we are at Freedom, where we are going, and what we will do in the meantime.  It’s not designed to be a list of all the things we are moving towards - just a few that would be worth sharing…

Here and there…

Right now, there are a lot of people who are FOR us and FOR what God is doing.  That’s a great thing to have - trust me - I remember the days with 5 people in my living room so having people cheering on the move of God in this city is a big deal.  The next step in the process is transitioning the mindset of people so that they are WITH us.  There’s a big difference. 

The guys who saw Peter walking on water were for him - but they weren’t with him. 
Israel’s soldiers were for David as he took on Goliath -but they weren’t with him. 

We have amazing partners that have been with us since the beginning; however, now that initial group (which we disbanded as of January 27th) represents a small percentage of our weekly attendance.  The same passion, sacrifice, generosity, and whatever-it-takes attitude that became the culture of those during the launch team phase - is just now becoming characteristic of the other couple hundred people who are now part of FreedomChurch. 

The in-between thoughts will come tomorrow…

The family and I have been in Destin the past few days and will be able to hang here through the end of this week.  We’ve had a blast so far.  It was my first time not being at FreedomChurch since before launch team meetings began back at the end of September.  

It was weird not being there, but I’ve already heard how great things went this morning.  Our team did a fantastic job as they do every single week and I’ve heard Mark (starting a church in Flowery Branch, GA) did a great job closing out the One Prayer series. 

It was a good break - but I can’t wait til next week.  We are kicking off a series called Let Freedom Ring that I have been looking forward to for the past 2 months! Can’t wait!

I have a love/hate relationship with running.  Mostly hate - but I do have my moments.  I got into the groove a year and a half ago and was actually running in various races around Memphis.  Since the move to Acworth - I think I have only run in 1 or 2. 

Most of the time - I run on the treadmill at the gym.  Today I ran outside.  I read some posts about people saying it is a lot harder to run outside than it is inside.  I don’t think it was harder - but it sure was hotter!  I was sweating so much this morning I had to apologize to everyone who I passed cause they definitely received an unwanted shower! 

What’s the application?  There isn’t one - I just thought you would like to know…

I get the opportunity to speak quite a bit outside the context of FreedomChurch.  You never really know what you’re going to run into in various places.  Some audiences are more difficult to speak to than others. 

• Sometimes it’s half way through the message before you feel comfortable on stage.
• Sometimes the moment you open your mouth - it’s obvious that people are hungry for more. 

You can tell a lot about the church, ministry, or organization by gauging the receptivity of it’s audience.  This week I’ve been speaking to a group of great students at NorthStar.  Brad and Nick are doing a great job there!  We have seen 12 students accept Christ and 37 kids signed up to be baptized today after a “spontaneous baptism with a 24 hr. delay” type message yesterday.  All that and we still have one more day to go!  Great job guys - ya’ll are awesome. 

• Sunday was a great day.  Ginormous bouncy games and free ice cream = good stuff. 
• Having everyone in one service in the other building on campus was very cool - I didn’t like having just one service AT ALL - but it’s all good - and the place was packed. 
• It will be good to be back on our regular schedule this Sunday - 9:30 and 11:00!
• I have been  speaking all week at Leap (summer camp) for the students from NorthStar and First Kennesaw.  Great group of people!  More on that later on…
• I met a guy named C Bass. 
• Kenny might have to get a new radiator.  He is excited.
• Generosity has become more than a word that we throw around at Freedom.  It’s become part of the culture!
• I use the same plastic fork every day for lunch at the office.  I can’t just throw it away.   

We went to Maggiano’s last night to hang out with some extremely awesome people.  Eric is the only person to finish his meal and he did it like he was in a race. 

One thing is true about that restaurant - portion quantity is not an issue!  My gosh! 

It would be impossible to eat a full order of their pasta - and I eat a ton!  It is insane how much food they throw at you.  If you are craving Italian - then check it out.    

I saw this the other day at my friends site. 

One of the Google Maps camera cars was at a gas station in Acworth the other day.  

Google has been sending cars driving around certain metro areas to give a photographic view to Google Maps users.

It’s a pretty cool feature, and I’ve often wondered about how these cars are setup. This one was a Chevy Cobalt (with California tags). There was a laptop mounted in the front seat (like a police car might have), and the wires went through the back door window on the driver’s side up to the camera equipment on the car roof.

First, a look at the equipment mounted on the roof.

And then a few shots of the car.

Acworth is big time now ladies and gentlemen! 

Sitting in my office when I hear a knock at the door. Then, Blake comes in with a strange look on his face.  He tells me that the lady from our storage place called and said “Your truck has rolled down a hill, taken out an expensive boat, an expensive camper, a fence, and is in the shape of a V at the bottom.”

Not good news since there is a small cliff behind the fence of our storage facility.

Todd was at jury duty - where I freaked him out with the text I sent - so the rest of us headed over to check out the damage.  When we got there several people had already gathered around, a police officer, the storage people, and some high school/college age kids were there trying to get there boat out to the lake.  It didn’t look good. 

Long story short…

Kenny had rolled about 30 feet (with the help of a couple middle school kids with goofball parents - but that’s another story).  He hit the boat trailer, pushing the boat 15 feet and to the right.  The boat missed the camper (that we were originally told we had destroyed) by no more than 2 inches.  To sum it up - Kenny got hurt a little, but the boat, the trailer, and the camper made it out without a scratch and the people whose boat we hit - are coming to church on Sunday :)  Thank God for the exaggeration from the storage lady!

Pretty crazy day!  Not many people can say that their church just got in a wreck. Church planting at it’s finest. 

Can’t wait for tomorrow - remember this week only - ONE service at 11:00 am!

Madelyn, an 11 year old (about to be 12 so she doesn’t kill me) girl from church started a non-profit organization to help kids in area hospitals.  They have partnered with Build-A-Bear and are doing a cool event at The Melting Pot in Kennesaw on Saturday. 

Go visit their site and check it out.  I will definitely be purchasing a bear in the next few days :)  Pretty impressive stuff - especially from someone who has yet to become a teenager!

This quote makes me laugh…

“You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather is.”   (Irish guy)

                             In Other Words…                         

       Nothing in your past guarantees that you will continue growing toward and reaching your potential in the future.  I have to consistently remind myself that growth isn’t automatic.  It’s not something that simply comes with age and experience.  It takes a ton of work.