Heads Below Water
So I over heard someone asking recently…”What is Midtown going to do when we cannot keep our heads above water…what happens then?” To be honest we have been there since day one and remain there. We currently have 3 Full-Time staff members and a few part time staff and over 600 people coming. We put a
huge focus on not just having a show on Sunday, but plugging people into biblical family as well as community transformation. With that being said we are way below the surface level of the water at this point. Sure there are times when we are lower and higher and even close to breaking the surface, but never truly above it. Is that OK?
I think it might be where God wants us. As soon as we think our heads are above water, we might just think we have this thing called ministry figured out and I am not sure that is where God wants us to be. So for now we will continue to have our Heads Below Water…
Any thoughts?
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Weekend Review
- Read back through the message for Sunday
- Headed to Charleston, SC with my wife Renie for a little rest and relaxation
- We haven’t had a lot of time together lately and were in desperate need of a a couple days from everyday life.
- Stayed at Patriots Point.
- We told no one that we know in the Charleston area that we were in town…on purpose. Not that we
don’t love you and want to see you, but honestly we just wanted to see each other this weekend. We hope you understand. - Friday Night we hit the outlets, ate at Fatz’ Cafe, and then checked in to the hotel and watched a little of the Olympics (I am addicted to the games…love them)
- Saturday we slept in…ate lunch at Mama Fu’s Asian Bistro.
- Headed to the beach at the Isle of Palms.
- Sat together, talked, walked down to the water a few times, read, and simply enjoyed the beach and each other.
- Back to the Hotel for a shower.
- Headed to the Charleston Crab House where we ate on the front deck at the water front. The weather was perfect and the seafood was great.
- Back to the Hotel for more Olympics…I offered to take her to a great dessert place in downtown, but she chose the Olympics.
- Sunday Morning we slept in…2 days in a row…good stuff. Some how I need to make that a habit.
- Sunday Night Gathering at Midtown.
- Things went well…band sounded great and it was good to see some of our college students back after not seeing some of them over the summer.
- Over 600 people in attendance tonight (most ever…but I have a feeling next week and the week after that will change that). We have a lot of work to do it as a staff to continue to connect people into biblical family as well as mobilize all these folks into our city on mission.
- God is at work and it is an absolute JOY that He invites us into His story and allows us to be a part.
- GREAT WEEKEND!
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Creativity Gone Bad
Ok, so I am all for trying new things in the church but this is just stupid on so many levels. Enjoy!
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MARK THE DATE
Homeless for the Homeless begins on Friday evening with a sleep out at the Fairgrounds as a demonstration of our support for the homeless community. We are inviting area service providers, community leaders, churches, the homeless, and the community at large to join us for a community wide event to educate and challenge our city to change the story of homelessness in Columbia. I know it’s 4 months away, but please make plans now to be in Columbia for this amazing opportunity.
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Someone Explain…
I am so confused…is this for real? Let me know what you think…I am lost for words, maybe you can provide some for me…hmmmmmm?
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Guest Post: Klash
This is a post from my friend and midtown staffer Klash Clements.
I had the privilege of spending this weekend at Camp Midtown with my church family. And more than ever before, I really mean family when I say it. It is not some light-hearted, southern religious word–no, it is for real. We are legitimately a family. A family that plays and prays together. A family that cries and laughs together, that fights for each other. A family that repents of sin against each other and seeks reconciliation in all things. A family that is willing to call each other out and offer unnerving grace at the exact same time. It really is happening, and it is truly miraculous. We are looking more and more like a Jesus-centered family on mission with Him, with our arms wide open to reconcile other lost children to their Father. Some incredible stories are being lived out, like piercing lights illuminating the darkness. The Gospel is breaking chains and freeing prisoners. Tonight at a random gathering, we collected close to 100 cases of bottled water to give out to the homeless. My heart swelled with joy at the mountain of plastic piling up, and I was reminded once more why I love my family so much, and why I feel the courage to fight alongside them against anything that may come along.
There are some really amazing things stirring in the waters of our family. I have a feeling that things are about to get even more crazy, and God is going to blow us all away at what He is doing. I get kind of giddy when I think about it. We might want to buckle up, because we are the sent people of God to bring hope to our city, and the call is going out from more and more lives every day:
Come, Columbia. Come out from your hiding places, from under your lonely rocks, your tvs and computers. Climb over your white picket fence, and come take a seat at the Father’s banquet table. Be reconciled to your brother and have a laugh with your sister. Pass the bread around, eat and drink freely as you begin to experience the healing of family. Bow your head and thank Jesus that He has called you out of your cold, miserable hiding place and into the light…and thank Him for the beautiful fact that His family is never full.
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CRAZY
Sorry for no post as of late…things have simply been crazy. Hopefully I can work some time in for writing and get back into a good rhythm soon. Thanks for your patience and keep checking back.
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Coming Soon…
I have some crazy stories from Mexico as well as some Midtown updates and there COMING SOON… Things are non-stop right now so I will post sooner than later. For fun below is Lauren Gossett’s sermon notes from the last sermon of the Chaotic Joy series…
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Monday in Mexico
Things are going well so far. Today was our first day on our mission sites. I will give a bullet point rundown of the last 3.5 days here in the Yucatan of Mexico.
- 2.5 hour flight on Friday.
- Cheese Enchilada lunch
- Visited our missions sites (we are split into 2 groups) We went from home to home inviting kids out for the kids programs we would be doing.
- We checked into the hotel which it right in the middle of downtown Cancun (not the Cancun you see on TV…the real city that is off the cost and host some 900,000 natives)
- Dinner: Tacos, Tacos, and more tacos. GOOD STUFF
- Saturday we made our way to Ecbalam (Miyan Village 2 hours from Cancun)
- We played with kids (baseball)
- Then we visited some amazing ruins. Climbed ALL 99 steps.
- Ate some PB & J and then off to the Cenote for some swimming and rope swing. It was awesome and beautiful and extremely unique.
- In the Yucatan area all the water/rivers runs under the ground. A cenote is an area where it has been blown out to create a huge swimming hole. Good Stuff.
- On our ride back we stopped in an awesome village where we ate grilled chicken and smothered fish along with rice and tostada chips. Great Meal.
- I feel like all I am doing at this point is eating.
- Sunday we went to the bilingual service and Cancun Life Church. The church missionary planted here in downtown.
- Allen Tipping from Midtown preached and did a great job. I did it last year and it is tough preaching using a translator, but Allen knocked it out of the park. I was proud.
- We ate lunch at the church. One of the ladies cooked for us. Very authentic.
- Following lunch we headed to the downtown market. Bought 2 things, both for Renie (my wife).
- While we were there my Dad led a guy to Christ…it was awesome (I will tell the whole story in a later post this week I hope)
- Then we went to church in the missions. Great to see some of the families I have built relationships with the last 2 years coming here.
- Following church we headed to Bronto Burger. The best burger on the planet. It is cooked on an open flame and topped with pineapple. They are huge and amazing. We are going back on Tuesday.
- Today we headed to our missions sites…it rained all day but at my site we still had almost 40 kids. It was a good start.
- Tomorrow we will paint the inside of the church building and hopefully have a ton of kids. Can’t wait..
I will post more later….everyone is doing great and we have an extremely strong team. Keep praying for us. Thanks
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Leaving on a Jet Plane…
I am leaving on a Jet Plane from Charlotte, NC @ 9:35am in the morning. Please be praying as we have a team of 24 going down to love and serve the people of the Yucatan Region. I will do my best to post some updates of all that is going on during our time.
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