Music Set 9.28.08

Here is the music we used for 9.28.08

All We Need - Charlie Hall
O Praise Him - David Crowder
Open The Eyes Of My Heart - Paul Baloche

--Will

Music Set 9.21.08

Here is the music we used for 9.21.08

Give A Little Bit - Supertramp (as performed by The Goo Goo Dolls)
Glory Defined - Building 429
Glory Revealed - Candi Pearson-Shelton
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) - Chris Tomlin
You're Worthy Of My Praise - David Ruis (as performed by Jeremy Camp)

--Will

Music Set 9.14.08

Here is the music we used for 9.14.08

Are You Ready? - Creed

In The Light - Charlie Peacock (as performed by dc Talk)

My Glorious - Martin Smith/Stuart Garrard

God of Wonders -  Steve Hindalong/Marc Byrd

Word of God Speak - MercyMe

--Will

Monday AM Quarterback

I love the NFL! One of the things I love to do is look back at all the games that were played and see the TD celebrations and the big hits. Today, I get to look back at something more important and more exciting - our first Reveal gathering. Here's my expert summary of yesterday - WOW!

I know there are things that can be and need to be changed and tweaked. But for our first time, the whole experience went very well.

Like I said yesterday, it's been a journey to get where we are today and I don't think any of us truly know what God has in store for us on this path. I know that the journey is just now getting started. But I am incredibly excited about being a part of God's movement in Rock Hill.

--Peace, Jamie

Hog Jog

This morning I headed up to Charlotte about 7:oo to run in the Inaugural Hog Jog 5K. I haven't really been training specifically for a 5K. But I have been running 2-2 1/2 miles about 4 days a week for the past two months or so just to stay in shape. On Thursday I ran about 3 miles to see where I was compared to my past 5Ks. [For the record, my best 5K was 24.30 at the Greenville News 5K about 3 1/2 years ago. I was in the best shape of my life.] On Thursday, I was hoping for about 27 minutes. Then, reality set in. I'm 40. I eat chips/ fries for lunch almost every day. I drink two cups of sweet tea from McDonalds just about every day. And I haven't turned dessert down in a looooong time. My time on Thursday was over 31 minutes. WOW!

So I set off to Charlotte with some lowered expectations. I had two goals - one, finish the race without stopping and, two, don't die. Obviously, I accomplished one of those goals.

Here's a recap of my race:

My playlist for the race:

• Vertigo, U2
• Stars, Switchfoot
• Love Shack, B52s
• Check Yes, Juliet, We the Kings
• It's the End of the World As We Know It, REM
• Feels Like Tonight, Daughtry
• Like Whoa, Aly and AJ
• Awakening, Switchfoot

Pre-race - I stretched standing next to a tent that was cooking BBQ . . . at 7:30am. The smell of BBQ at 7:30am is not as good as it is at, say, lunchtime. I decided to loosen up by jogging up and down a couple of blocks. I had seen other people do this so I thought I'd give it a try. I was sweating when I got to the Start line.

Mile 1 - I get through Vertigo and I'm feeling really good. Most of the first mile is downhill. Stars kicks in and I'm feeling ok.

Mile 2 - Right after I start mile 2, I realize that the rest of the run is going to be uphill. As I near the half-point marker I pass a guy whose shirt says "You can't stop the Rock." He's walking so I guess you can slow him down even if you can't stop him. I make a tactical error at the H20 stop. I pour water over my head and it gets my left ear bud wet. I'll have to spend the rest of the race playing with it.

Mile 3 - As I begin mile 3, the course is going straight uphill. At some point during this mile, this thought crosses my mind. "If I could have any superpower in the world right now, I would want the super power of two extra lungs." Let's just say I'm strug-a-ling. Then things go really bad. Not only does the Rock pass me, but a little girl (maybe seven or eight) goes by me. I also make my second tactical error. "Feels Like Tonight" is a mistake on the playlist. How could I make that mistake? That's a rookie error.

The last .1 miles - I pass the 3 mile marker and hit the home stretch. I kick it into high gear, and by high gear, I mean I don't fall down and crawl the rest of the way. I cross the finish line in 28:59, well off my best time, even below my initial hope. But I didn't stop. I kept running the whole way. And I didn't die. So I accomplished both goals.

One other thought did occur to me as I ran. It's a 5K. Why do they set up mile markers? It doesn't say 3.1M on my t-shirt. It says 5K. It's odd that they don't set up kilometer markers.

Thanks for indulging me in my race recap. I think I'll go have a banana . . . or maybe some pancakes.


-- Peace, Jamie

Last Minute Reminders

• We kick off our Reveal Worship Gatherings with a series entitled "Reveal." For two weeks we'll focus on how and why God reveals Himself to us and how we are called to reveal Him to our world. This week we'll be looking at John 1:1-18 if you want to get a head start on Sunday's message.
  

• We'll have our two 10:30 small groups meeting this Sunday. Our college/singles will meet in room 318 with Paul Nigro teaching. Our couples will meet in room 319 with me leading a Bible study. If you didn't join us last week, it's never too late.
  

• If you you need childcare during Reveal, pick your children up from the classrooms and meet in the cafe outside the Apex by 11:40am. Sara Pryce is leading our childcare team and has a team to take care of the little ones. By the way, during the fall, we are going to need everyone to step up for a week or two of childcare doody, er, duty. So when Sara gives you a call, just say yes. That will allow ALL of us to experience Reveal and give our input into the planning. Sara, put me down for childcare on November 16 and December 14.

• We want everyone to be in the Apex by 11:40 this Sunday. This will help us get started on time and get us into the habit of respecting everyone's most valuable asset - time!

See you Sunday!

--Peace, Jamie

Admirable

Last week, Bulgaria lost to Slovakia 82-0 in a women's hockey game. You can read about here. That's right 82-0. I'm not a hockey fan. I've only been to a few minor league games and one Carolina Hurricanes game in person. I've tried to watch it on TV a few times. But I always have problems following the puck around (even when they had the weird blue glow on them). Plus, I'm not very familiar with the rules and strategy. So usually the only excitement that I have at hockey games are the fights and the goals. The best games were always 10-9 games with a couple of 30-45 second scrums on the ice.

When I read the 82-0 score, I started thinking what it must have been like to be on that Bulgarian team. Demoralizing. Demeaning. Depressing. Then I dug deeper and realized it was worse than the score indicated. Yep! Worse. They were outshot 139-0. 139-0! That means the Bulgarians skated around on the ice for 60 minutes and never once got a shot at the goal. Plus, they lost the first two games in the tournament by scores of 30-1 and 41-0. Finally, they were outscored in the tournament 192-1.

It makes me wonder why the Bulgarians even showed up for the tournament. At the very least why show up for the last game after you've been outscored 110-1 in the rest of the tournament? Then when it was 31-0 at the end of the first period of the game, why not wave the white flag, go to Fuddruckers and get a hamburger? Didn't someone on the team see the insanity of playing a game when you couldn't get a shot on the other team's goal nor could you stop the other team from scoring at will?

If we look hard enough, we can always find a reason to give up and quit playing or working or striving. We've all had days or weeks or months where nothing seemed to go right, where we spent the entire time futilely trying the stop the other side from scoring, where we couldn't even get a shot against the competition no matter how hard we tried. We've all had times in our spiritual journey when we've battled apathy, or found it hard to hear from God or struggled because we feel inadequate in our faith. Well, at least I've had those times. Thankfully, we serve a God who never gives up on us. No matter the score. There are a lot of perseverance quotes out there. Google them if you want to spend some time browsing them. But this is my favorite.

-- peace, jamie

ps - Unfortunately for the Bulgarian women's hockey team, perserverance didn't help them out at their tournament. With their losses, they were eliminated from 2010 Olymipics. Better luck next time, ladies.

tick, tick, tick

The countdown is on and 1145 at fbc is coming fast. The band had their final rehearsal last night. The creative team meets tonight for the final time before our first gathering. I'm exciting but sleeping better. Although, I am having a recurring dream of driving you, the Reveal launch team, around on a bus in the mountains as we desperately try to get the fbc on time. If you wake up with motion sickness, it's because I'm driving too fast around the curves.

Two requests as we get ready:

1. Pray for each other. We are engaged in spiritual warfare and I believe that Reveal will be used to reach people for Christ. Because of that, spiritual attacks are going to happen to try to tear us down individually and as a church.
2. Be in the Apex by 11:40 this week. We will get started right at 11:45 and want everyone to be there as we kick off. It may be tough to get away from conversations in the hall, but it will be worth it.

-- Peace, Jamie

THE Great Debate

Some stories are too good to pass up. Check out this link for THE great debate of the 21st century. I'm just glad that we got that cleared up!

-- Peace, Jamie

PS - Yes, I know it's fake but still good for a laugh. But the fact that it COULD be real is enough proof that churches either shouldn't have marquee signs or should be very, very, very careful with them. Enjoy!

Labor Day Weekend

I hope you and your family enjoyed the last long weekend of summer. My family took advantage of the last Sunday night without church commitments to go sightseeing in downtown Charlotte. We did some shopping at one of my favorite stores (World Market), then took the LYNX Blue Line from South Blvd to downtown. We stopped by the Museum of the New South and the Light Factory before grabbing some supper at Rock Bottom Brewery. Then on Monday, we cruised over to Matthews, NC for Matthews Alive for the afternoon before hitting one of my favorite pizza places - Wolfman Pizza - where we ate a Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger! and a Shrimp Pesto pizza.

I try not to spiritualize every event in my life. But having almost two full days with my family to play, rest, and chill at the end of a busy summer reminds me of how much God wants us to recharge our batteries by getting away from the stress, worries and busyness of everyday life. I hope you had a chance to do that this weekend.

-- Peace, Jamie

Creative Team Meeting

Just a reminder that the creative team will be meeting tonight at 6:00pm in the Rock.

-- Peace, Jamie

The launch of the Reveal worship gathering is getting closer. On September 14, we will have a two week closed launch. That is, we will have worship gatherings that will be open only to those on the launch team. To get ready for September 14, we need to do two things.

First, we will have a meeting on Sunday, September 7 at 11:45 am for every member of the launch team. At the meeting we will discuss what we will be doing on Sundays for the rest of the year as we prepare for a January public launch. This meeting should last about 30 minutes. If you will not be able to be there, I would appreciate knowing in advance (jamieb@fbcrockhill.org).

Second, we will begin two new small groups this Sunday. They will meet at 10:30am. One will be for college/ singles. It will meet in room 316. Paul Nigro will be teaching. The second will be for couples. It will meet in room 319. I will be teaching this class. Beginning this Sunday, September 7, these small groups will meet every week. If you are going to continue being a part of a 9:15am small group, you may join one of our 10:30am small groups or attend the contemporary worship before our 11:45am meetings/ worship gatherings. If you have any questions about the groups, please feel free to give me a call.

Again, thanks for being a part of the Reveal launch team.

-- Peace, Jamie