Advance 09 and Weekend Review

Thursday

• We (staff + some extras) left Columbia for Durham, NC for the Advance 09 Conference.
• On Thursday, Tyler Jones, Matt Chandler, Bryan Chappell, & Mark Driscoll.
• All the talks were great but God used Chandler’s talk in my life during the hour he spoke a great deal.
• Then we ate at Pei Wei…I love that place….PLEASE come to Columbia.
• We stayed at a Double Tree that was awesome…huge rooms. Now granted we did sleep 6 to a room.

Friday

• Breakfast a Chik-Fila
• On Friday, Ed Stetzer, J.D. Greer, Eric Mason, Mark Driscoll, & John Piper.
• Lunch at a very local spot. Blue Mountain Cafe….Shrimp and Grits
• Dinner at a local Duke University hangout…burritos & tacos…always good.
• Back to the hotel…I rode the bike in the gym a little bit (still rehabbing the knee) and then read a little of the book Worship Matters. Great Truth in that thing.

Saturday

• Breakfast at Chick-Fila again…still good.
• On Saturday, Danny Akin and John Piper.
• We hit the rode.
• Renie and went to the grocery store together…We usually avoid shopping for groceries together, but we missed each other a lot so we went for it. I LOVE HER.
• We then headed over to the Kakaras’ to watch a little Clemson baseball…unfortunately they lost Game 1.

Sunday

• Bi-Lo brand Lucky Charms for breakfast.
• I then spent the next 5.5 hours working through the message for The Gathering. Being out of town cut down on my final prep time. Plus the message was a tough one that took a lot of focused prayer time and study.
• I preached at The Gathering.
• My parents drove up to hear my preach…it is such a blessing to have supportive parents who drive over and hour just to give support.
• It was heavy…very. I talked on worship…you can listen to it on the podcast later this week….
• I also found out that a Pastor I know had an affair on his wife with his assistant. It breaks my heart in so many ways.
• I will do a post later this week called “DON’T HAVE AN AFFAIR.” Be on the look out….seriously