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${tag_author}$ Wednesday, May 23, 2012

In case you missed it....we BAPTIZED at Compass Church on Sunday during our series Call of Duty.

The past 3 Sundays of this series have been ABSOLUTELY AMAZING with people taking BOLD NEXT STEPS every single week to FOLLOW JESUS and respond to His Call of Duty on their lives!! Many Christians like the IDEA of believing in Jesus MORE than the actual CALL of "Taking Up Your Cross" and FOLLOWING Jesus WHEREEVER, WHENEVER, and WHATEVER. We saw Sunday God doesn't show you the NEXT STEP until you are willing to take the FIRST STEP.

I believe with all my heart God has been asking many of you to TAKE some NEXT STEPS to follow Him. I want to say THANK YOU to our STUDENTS who have been leading the way as next generation leaders - Boo Yah!! Praying for many of our adults to swallow their pride and courageously respond to God's Call of Duty!! What is on the other side will BLOW YOU AWAY if you will surrender and obediently TAKE your next step. As we heard several weeks ago, "DELAYED OBEDIENCE is DISOBEDIENCE."

3 Next Steps EVERY CHRIST FOLLOWER should take -

#1 - DIG IN to God's Word by spending time with Him every day

If you don't know where to start - a chapter of Proverbs each day is a great place to start.
Reading a chapter a day through the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) is another great place.
I recommend putting the YOU VERSION of the Bible on your phone or laptop - download the app here.
Read through the book of Esther this week heading into Sunday.

#2 - DIVE IN to the Local Church by using your gifts to serve

The best way to find out how to PARTNER and use your gifts to serve at Compass is to attend PARTNERSHIP CLASS.
Your last chance to come to PARTNERSHIP CLASS until August is TONIGHT from 6:30 - 8:00 at the church office.
Sign Up Online Here - It's not too late to attend TONIGHT
Childcare and food are provided.
Or, you can call the church office to sign up at 706-369-9431 and ask for Sheryl Graham.

#3 - DARE TO SHARE the Gospel by going public with your faith through BIBLICAL BAPTISM.

Click here to sign up for baptism or to find out more info on what it means to be BIBLICALLY BAPTIZED.

Some people take next steps, others don't!! Which one are you? You have SO MUCH POTENTIAL and God wants to do MORE through your life than you could ever ASK or IMAGINE but it won't happen until you Take and Surrender Your NEXT STEP!!

${tag_author}$ Friday, May 18, 2012

BAPTIZING this Sunday - Shaping up to be THE BEST SUNDAY DAY EVER!! Loving the CALL of DUTY Series. CAN'T WAIT to PREACH!!

Taught at ALL STAFF this Week about "PLAYING THROUGH PAIN" - Thanks to all of our AMAZING STAFF and COMPASS LEADERS who have been PLAYING THROUGH THE PAIN these past several weeks - God is SHOWING UP and SHOWING OFF through you in ways you don't even know!!!! Every Sunday I see you serving this city the way you do it FIRES ME UP to preach the best message I've ever preached!!

Can't wait for our next LEADER'S GATHERING - feeling all of you need to hear the same thing.

God wants to do a Great Work IN YOU before He does it THROUGH YOU!!!

So can I just say - My GIRL threw it DOWN last weekend on Mother's Day!! IF for some crazy reason you missed it, OR if you know a mom that is hurting, needs encouragement, or maybe just running on fumes - do WHATEVER it TAKES to get them to listen to last week's message. You can LISTEN HERE ONLINE or get the PODCAST!! Btw - GOD ALWAYS speaks through her in a POWERFUL WAY when she steps on that stage!!

BLOWN AWAY by all the MEN answering the Call of Duty and showing up at the Compass Office to launch Men's Small Group these past 2 weeks - BOO YAH!! God's Doin' Work and I'm PUMPED to see MEN who are humbling themselves and leading the way!!!! Can't wait for our 4 week Call of Duty mini series for the DUDES in June!! For more info on our Men's Small Groups contact Ed Bishop at skydiverdad@gmail.com.

Don't forget to dive in to ESTHER (especially chapters 5-7) as you head into preparing your heart for Sunday!!

${tag_author}$ Friday, May 04, 2012

Big SUNDAY....Big CALL...BIGGER GOD - HOO RAH!!!!

FIRED UP to begin our NEW SERIES!!
Don't Come Alone - if there ever was a SUNDAY or SERIES to bring a GUEST too - this SUNDAY, this SERIES is IT!!

WEEKEND BOOT CAMP
Challenging everyone to prepare for Sunday and our new series by reading as much of the book of ESTHER before Sunday as you can (take you about 30 minutes to read the entire story)....but, at least chapters 1-4. Embrace the Risk - Experience the Exhileration of THE CALL of DUTY!!!!!

LAST SUNDAY
There's a whole lot of SHAKING going on around us and the past several weeks have been a season where God has taken many of us, if not all, through a life changing SHAKING!!! We talked about 3 UNSHAKABLE FOUNDATIONS we can BUILD OUR LIVES ON when Life is SHAKING all around us. Listen to last week's message or catch the podcast here.

${tag_author}$ Friday, April 27, 2012

I'm at a loss for words...don't know that I've EVER been SO PROUD of our church, staff, and volunteers.
If you missed last Sunday - NOTHING I can say to describe.
It was one of the TOUGHEST & most AMAZING days in our church's history.
It was one of the TOUGHEST & most AMAZING services I have EVER been part of in my life.

SUNDAY MORNING

Sunday morning, during our TENACIOUS series, we hit the pause button.
We have walked through 5 people in our leadership family grieving, honoring, and celebrating 5 family members beginning their dance on streets of gold since Easter week (4 of them were fathers - some in their time, others unexpectedly before their time although "time" is impossible to define.")
I spoke about "Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People" and "Where is JESUS when SPIT HAPPENS in our lives?" - a podcast ALL of us should check out - HERE's THE LINK!!

JOEY'S HART'S CELEBRATION SERVICE

Sunday Afternoon we GRIEVED, HONORED, and CELEBRATED the life of a close friend and Compass Warrior - JOEY HART!! No words to to describe right now what we experienced together. If you didn't know Joey, he was someone God was Radically at work CHANGING his life day by day. Joey also was one of my closest friends.

He had turned his life around 8 years ago...when we met the Harts they had been married for 12 years and did not attend church together as a family which is the story of so many Compass-ers;
Saw him SURRENDER His life to CHRIST...;
BAPTIZED during our Be Bold Spontaneous Baptism Service 3 years ago during the VIDEO service @ Athens Campus;
We jumped out of a perfectly good airplane together during the DANGEROUS series;
We celebrated his 40th B day at the Thursday night Falcons game 2 years ago;
Did Small Group together for 5+ years;
The Saturday before the accident, my boys and I had just helped move them into their brand new home Joey had built for his family;
The last time I saw him was that Sunday before "high fiving" he & his 2 boys as we loaded the trailers!

I have NEVER been part of such an AMAZING CELEBRATION service in my life. It wasn't a FUNERAL it was a CELEBRATION because He KNEW JESUS!!!! And, because he had tried his best to live his life that way these past 8 years... instead of having to focus on the pain of death we were able to Grieve "NOT as people who have NO HOPE" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) BUT as followers of our Savior, Jesus Christ because HE Unexplainably yet Undeniably walks with us THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death, TENACIOUSLY holds on, and somehow someway turns TRAGEDY into TRIUMPH in our lives. We saw 20 people of all ages STAND, surrender their lives to Jesus and go public with their decision to follow Jesus - Boo Yah!!!!!

I'll NEVER forget his son, Blake, and our student band doing FOO FIGHTERS, "There Goes My Hero," and the dance to "Beautiful Things" - I looked at Lisa and said "We are going to have a RESURRECTION right here on our stage!!" HUNDREDS of people stood in the midst of their pain with Joey's wife, Tina, BOLDLY and AUDACIOUSLY WORSHIPPING GOD declaring with hands raised in the air "JESUS, I BELEIVE IN YOU, My Chains Are Gone, I've Been Set Free, Jesus has OVERCOME and the grave is OVERWHELMED. The victory is won, HE is RISEN from the dead!!" WOW - God showed up and showed off BIG!!!!

I'm not even sure HOW to say THANK YOU to our AMAZING Staff, Volunteers, and Production/Worship Teams for EVERYTHING you did. You SERVED this family well and most of all LIFTED HIGH THE NAME OF JESUS like never before.

Don't forget to Read Hebrews 11 & 12 and get ready for an AMAZING and LIFE CHANGING Sunday as we BAPTIZE, are led by our STUDENT BAND in worship, and I will be sharing a message about What Happens When Our Lives are SHAKEN to the CORE and the UNSHAKABLE KINGDOM we are part of!! Compass - THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST SUNDAYS EVER to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to BRING SOMEONE WITH YOU - God is going to do something BIG this Sunday!!!!!

CAN'T WAIT!!!!
THROUGH TEARS...LOVE our church and LOVE being your pastor!!!!

${tag_author}$ Friday, April 20, 2012

Compass Family -

WOW - one day can absolutely change everything!! On Monday, one of my best friends unexpectedly began his dance on streets of gold. Joey Hart was a WARRIOR for his family, his friends, and his faith!!

Lot of things I DON'T KNOW (and never will on this side)....one thing I DO KNOW - "(We) will not grieve like people who have no hope...we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again!!" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

2 Things I want you to know about this Sunday -

#1 - If there ever was a Sunday to INVITE and BRING a guest - THIS SUNDAY is it!!!! Strange thought I know in light of the circumstances, but as a church family, we have had 5 Compass leaders over the past two weeks walk through the deaths of 5 close family members - four of them fathers. I was asked to speak about DEATH to the ACS (Athens Christian) student body yesterday. Instead of Death, God asked me to talk about JESUS!! One of our staff members said, you should share exactly that with our church on Sunday. So, I am!! Going with the same title but COMPLETELY DIFFERENT message than we had planned for week 3 for TENACIOUS - those are usually REALLY GOOD!!! It's called HUGGED & SLUGGED and we are going to look at a question so many wrestle with - "Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?" or as Compass-ers have learned - "Spit Happens!!" If you know someone who is hurting, in the midst of some crazy stuff, maybe dealing with death, or just plain mad at God or church - do WHATEVER it takes to get them there!!!

#2 - Then at 3:00 we will be hosting JOEY HART's CELEBRATION SERVICE!! If you ever wanted to know the difference between a funeral and a celebration - come and find out!! Our hearts hurt big time but we HAVE HOPE because of JESUS!!!

If you didn't know Joey, he and his family were Servant Leaders on our Compass Roadies team and his two oldest boys are big time involved with our 706 Student Ministry!! We will be hosting as many if not more than we had in our Easter Services combined from his family, friends, his wife Tina's work family from the medical field, and ACS where he coached football and his 3 children attend. Many of you have asked "Let us know if you need ANYTHING!!" Here's the "Anything" - we need all hands on deck after the 11:15 service to help set up for the 3:00 celebration service and with the HOST/PARKING Teams and/or the Roadies Set Up/Tear Down Teams. If you can help, please email Steve Smith.

IN THE MIDDLE OF A STORM...

HUGE THANKS for all your prayers, texts, emails - they have been peace and assurance in the middle of the storm!!

I heard someone say recently "When you are in the middle of a storm, it feels like you will NEVER get out." All week long I have had NO WORDS (and, they would fall so short to explain or provide answers)...BUT I keep hearing God say "I've ALREADY WRITTEN the WORDS - use MINE." Here's a few -

But thank God! He gives us VICTORY over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)
“If your heart is broken, you'll find GOD right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath." (Psalm 34:18)
The LORD who created you says: "DO NOT BE AFRAID, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. 2 When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be WITH YOU. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. 3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, YOUR SAVIOR. (Isaiah 43:1-3)
“…after you have suffered a little while, HE will RESTORE, SUPPORT, and STRENGTHEN you, and HE will place you on a FIRM FOUNDATION.” (1 Peter 5:10)

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