Today was a weird day. A great day, but a weird one. We called it the Perfect Storm at Access. We’ve got Spring Breaks for the local colleges and all public and private schools this week, plus the time change. It was a triple whammy!

We kicked off a new series today, “Bet the Farm” and talked about our plans to really trust God as Easter approaches. I’ll write more about it this week, but for now, I wanted to leave you with this thought. Some things matter WAY more than how I feel about today’s church attendance, the quality of worship, and the delivery of today’s message. Please check this out and respond:

A few thoughts on an amazing day!

• First off, I LOVE seeing God’s Word take root in the lives of our people. That never ceases to amaze me.
• We concluded our series “Money Where Your Mouth Is” today. Jay did a great job closing us out!
• At the end, we did a fun Q&A. I managed to use the phrase “Tigerblood” in it. You’ll have to check out the video when it posts on Tuesday at http://www.access.tv/messages
• He talked about how most of us live with no margin in any areas of our lives – relationships, work, time, energy, marriages, money, etc.
• When we lack margin, our stress level rises and our focus shifts to the area of no-margin. 
• This is what tithing does – it creates margin in our finances. It’s God’s way of saying create space in your finances. 
• We honed in on the middle of Malachi 3:10, where God says to test Him in this area. It’s the only place in Scripture where God says we can test Him.
• So, we rolled out a new initiative – the 90 Day Tithing Challenge. Unlike some churches, we’re not offering a “money-back” guarantee, because that removes the element of trust. God says trust Him, period. We asked our church to step up and to test God for 90 days to see if He won’t bless and provide for us. 
• We didn’t make the 90 Day Tithing Challenge a guilt trip, we just created an opportunity, and TONS of people signed up. We even asked people to let us know how we could pray for them. We’ve got some serious needs in our church. Our staff and I will be praying for them this week!
• One thing we’ve definitely done in this series is to make sure it’s never been about Access getting money. We’ve always taken an inferring before we’ve preached about money, because we never wanted people to give out of guilt. 
• I’m not sure what the total is, but from what I heard, today was our largest day of giving ever. It’s as if God’s Word is really taking root in our lives.

A few other thoughts from today:

• Today is Spring Break for college students. I miss Spring Break.
• Jordan and Kristin Rippy are out of town for the weekend, so Mike led worship. Dude tore it up. I love when he leads worship. He sang, “I Exalt Thee.” I love that song. Love it when Mike does it.
• We keep connecting with new families. I love that.
• Had a girl come to us today who has never attended church – ever. Thankful for opportunities like that to pour into people who have never even heard about God.

I love our church. I want to keep creating ways for us to connect with God in new, beautiful ways!

Cell Phone Picture by Jordan Rippy

Today was a special day. Lots of amazing things happened. I’ll try to give a great run-down of it all. Today was just “on.” The band was rocking. Baptisms always blow me away. Overall a GREAT day! Here are some thoughts:

• First, and most importantly, we baptized two kids today. I LOVE THAT! That’s why we do what we do! It was extra special because both boys were baptized by family members. That makes it special and unforgettable!
• Had my good friend Jason Betler visiting today from Singapore – so don’t try to tell me you drive a long way to come to church Jason is an evangelist with an incredible ministry in Singapore and surrounding countries! Loved my time with him.
• Got to meet the new President of my alma mater, Southeastern University, Dr. Kent Ingle. I’ve heard great things about him and look forward to getting to know him better!
• We continued our “Money Where Your Mouth Is” message series today by redefining blessing.
• I got to eat, and pour out a ton of Cheeseballs today. You’ll have to watch online this week (available Tuesday) if you missed it!
• Blessing is a word that has been so abused by churches and Christian leaders. But here is the truth. God wants to bless you. Period.
• In Malachi 3, God says to Malachi that we’re robbing Him by withholding our tithes and offerings. He promises that if we return (give) our tithe, that He’ll bless. The phrases He uses are that He’ll “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe.” What it means is that God will be our provider.
• Then we looked at Luke 9, where Jesus feeds the 5,000 (there were 5,000 men – probably around 20,000 people total). What is so interesting about the story is that Jesus blessed the boy’s lunch, and gives it back to the disciples. The miracle happens in their hands – not Jesus’ hands. The principle is this. Our finances must first be blessed (honoring God by tithing), then for it to multiply, it must be given away!
• What would it look like for us to walk in the blessing of God?
• When God blesses us as He promises, we must learn to not just increase our standard of living, but increase our standard of giving!
• We showed this video from the Dominican Republic. As we’re blessed, we want to increase our giving to make a difference in the world! (Note: This was produced in the Dominican Republic, hence the spelling errors in translation)
  
• Finally – we are SO STINKING EXCITED ABOUT EASTER!!! It’s going to be great. More details in the coming weeks. Who are you bringing???

We had Banana Cream Pie at church today! Was an amazing day. Here are some thoughts!

• Kicked off a new series today – “Money Where Your Mouth Is.” If you missed today, I hope you’ll take 30 minutes and listen or watch online this week when they are posted on Tuesday!
• Today’s topic is SO important. The way we prioritize our money directly reflects how we view God.
• Money is a HUGE deal!
• The latest Gallup Poll says that unemployment is up to 10%. 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. The number one cause of stress and divorce in Americans is money. Money is a HUGE deal
• The key principle from today’s message was very simply this – God wants to be first in our lives.
• I compared our finances to a pie, but not just any pie – my favorite! BANANA CREAM PIE! Many of us pay out all of our bills, spend our money, pay our taxes, possibly save some, then if there is anything left over, we give something to God and/or others. We give large slices of our financial pie to things that serve us, then if there is anything left over, we give God our crumbs.
• We read from Malachi 3, where God commands His people to return to Him a tithe. He said that we rob Him by withholding our tithe.
• Then, we read from Matthew 6. Jesus said we can’t serve both God and our money. One has to be first.
• It is SO easy to worship God with our voices. It’s easy to lift our hands, sing out loud, and worship that way. It’s SO much more difficult to trust Him with our first 10%, then to live on the rest.
• Martin Luther conveys this insight, “there are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind and the purse.” 
• Let’s have the courage to honor God in every area of our lives – including our wallets!
• As everyone left today, we gave them a small cup of Banana Creme Pudding, as a reminder to put God first in every area of our finances! You should’ve been there. It was GREAT!

I can’t wait for the rest of this series. We’re going to redefine what it means to be blessed. Then we’re going to talk about practical ways we can create margin in our finances! I love it!

Happy Valentine’s Day Weekend to you! Today was an incredible day! Here are a few thoughts…

Lis & the Boys Valentine’s Day!

• We concluded our message series, “LOVE, MARRIAGE, BABY CARRIAGE” today. Pastor Jay knocked it out of the park by talking about God’s design for families.
• I work really hard at being a good dad. I LOVE my boys. I felt like I got my butt kicked today, in a great way.
• Kids learn from the way we walk and the way we talk.
• How are you showing your kids love, affirmation, and grace from the way you live?
• I love this principle. God’s design for priorities in our lives are: God, Spouse, Kids, Work. It’s important to know that our husbands and wives are a priority over our kids. It sounds strange, because our kids are our very own flesh and blood. However, your marriage will long outlast having our kids at home. Beyond that, showing our spouse love will encourage our kids to fully love and devote themselves to their future spouse!
• Secondly, how are you talking to your kids?
• We think that kids are like Teflon – that nothing sticks to them. Our words have power. The words we say have life and death. Our words can encourage and build up our kids, or destroy them.
• I don’t think I’ll ever forget Jay smashing the glass table. So powerful. If you missed it, please check out the video (available Tuesday) at access.tv/messages  
• One thing that is really cool to me is hearing how our podcast and videos are spreading. I heard from a couple new people in our church today who have been watching/listening for weeks, some from different parts of the country.
• It got me thinking – I wonder where else our podcast and videos are reaching. I looked it up. It’s surprising. We’ve got people in over 60 of countries all over the world listening and watching (SHOUT OUT TO THE TWO MOST RANDOM COUNTRIES I FOUND – QATAR & PAKISTAN!). It’s crazy.

• Another thing I loved was getting to walk around and see what our Children’s Ministries are doing. They’re doing an AMAZING job leading kids into a growing relationship with Jesus. I’m SO proud of what they’re doing.
• I hear from parents all the time, telling me how much their kids LOVE coming to church. That is a HUGE win!

God is up to something in our church. I love being a part of it. I’ve LOVED this series. Can’t wait for next week, when we start our new series, “Money Where Your Mouth Is.” I won’t spoil it for you, but I know there will be Banana Cream Pie involved See you Sunday.

Here are a few thoughts from an AMAZING day!

• Saw over 10 people make a decision to serve Christ today. WOW. LOVE IT.
• Had our largest first service ever today. Had our largest non-holiday and non-special guest Sunday (meaning we’ve had huge Sundays when we’ve had guest music artists or speakers).  God is up to something at our church.
• Had over 90 kids under the age of 12 today. That is CRAZY. We’ve got an amazing program for kids, with amazing pastors and volunteers. New families are coming. We’re ready for them
• Met a really cool couple before the second service today. They’d been watching online for a few weeks and decided to try it out. He was raised Mormon. She was raised Catholic. They hadn’t been to any type of church service in over 10 years. Amazing.
• Met another family who were Catholic, but hadn’t been to church in a long time. The man told me how much he enjoyed today, how his curiosity would bring him back, and how none of what I said today would’ve ever been said in his Catholic Church growing up. He said it was really raw – which was exactly what we needed! I love that.
• Today’s talk on sex was unbelievably straightforward.
• God made sex. Sex is great in His timing and context.
• You’ll have to watch this week’s message to understand this.I talked used Chocolate Syrup, Oreos, Marvin Gaye, and Wedding Dresses in today’s message. If you missed it, you’ll need to check it out later this week online! (New messages are posted on Tuesdays)
• We defined sin this way – anything we do that separates relationship, whether with God or others. Grace is what brings us closer to each other.
• Therefore, it is possible to be married and having sex with your spouse, yet still sinning. If your heart and mind are consumed by thinking of someone else, you’re driving a wedge between your relationship with your spouse. That is sin.
• Sex God’s way looks like this. To know and to be fully known. To experience intimacy through deeply communicating with each other. The act of sex is just an expression of intimacy that is already there.
• So many people carry tremendous shame and guilt into their marriages, when they were created to be free.
• I hope our singles will understand the refrain from the Song of Solomon. “Do not awaken love before its time” is so profound, simple, and true.
• True intimacy is fostered in the cauldron of purity, trust, and honor. I hope that married couples will honor each other, pursue purity in their marriage, and give themselves to each other in a way that honors God.
• If you are struggling with any sexual sin, please let us help you find freedom. Please contact us. It’s a huge deal. You were created to be free.
• Sex, when married, is an act of worship. As strange as that sounds, it is a gift from God for us. I hope you married couples will fully grasp that concept – and maybe worship some this week

If you missed today, Jordan Twittered the whole day from his perspective at the new Twitter page for Access’ Worship Band at http://twitter.com/accessworship

What a day! I am trashed. I’ll give you a few quick hits from a beautiful day!

• I’m LOVING this marriage series, “Love, Marriage, Baby Carriage.” Our church is ripe for this series. SO many couples getting married, newly married, or having issues. I’m even hearing from college students who feel like this is so important to where they are in life. I love it.
• Someone had a great idea of changing their Facebook profile picture to their wedding picture in honor of this series. We’ve had lots of couples upload pictures of their wedding. We did a quick collage. It’s fun to see. I’ve attached the image below!
• Today’s message was strong. Brutal at times.
• So often, when we get married, we allow our desires to shift to expectation. We expect our spouse to be/do/act/live a certain way.
• We read from Ephesians 5, where Paul lays out the roles for marriage. I LOVE the way The Message translation says it! Check it out here.
• I love how it challenges women to submit to their husbands and for men to love their wives as Christ loves His church.
• I love this verse, “Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting.” Guys, where is this not true in your life? Where have you pursued your wife for what you can get, rather than what you can give?
• Wives, have you actually allowed your husband to lead?
• I was strong on what it looks like for men to love their wives today. I asked Lis if I was too strong. Her response: “No, I just expect you to step your game up even more now, though!” Love it!
• I’ve already heard that several husbands have stepped their game up! Come on guys. Let’s do this. Our wives are our treasures. Let’s treat them as such.
• How beautiful would it be to see wives loving, honoring, and submitting to their husbands, and husbands actually loving their wives the way Christ loves His church?
• Please take the time to watch this message when it goes up on Tuesday! Check the blog this week for other ideas for ways to make this message very practical!

Other thoughts from today:

• Today is my birthday, and I’ve been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love. I love having a church community to call home! After the Night of Worship tonight, they had cupcakes for me. Joey destroyed one (or one destroyed him!).
• We’re having SO many new families visiting the church. I’m praying that we’ll always be a welcoming, inviting community!
• Small Groups launched the Spring Semester this week. I hope you’ll join one of our new groups!
• Night of Worship was UN-BE-STINKING-LIEVABLE tonight! Jordan, Kristin, and the band are amazing. We’re blessed to have such a beautiful expression of worship every week!
• Next week, we’re talking about sex. Can’t wait.

Such an amazing day today. I’m always blown away by love and support of the Access community! Here are some thoughts from today!

• We kicked off our new series, “Love, Marriage, Baby Carriage” today. We’re going to be VERY honest about love, marriage, sex, relationships, and having kids. If you missed today, please get on our website on Tuesday to check it out! www.access.tv/messages
• Had a huge turnout today. One of our best ever. However, the only number that matters is the several people who made a decision to cross the line of faith. LOVE IT!
• Wow, was worship awesome today or what? I’m SERIOUSLY excited for this! – Night of Worship. I hope you’ll join us next Sunday at 6 PM.
• Today’s message was based around a simple question – Can love actually stand the test of time? Falling in love is simple. Staying in love is hard work!
• Jesus spoke directly to our confusion in John 13:34. He said to love others the way He has shown His love to us.
• It’s so simple that many of us miss it. Jesus says that to fully understand love, you have to GIVE it. Love has to shift from being a noun to being a verb.
• We ended with this thought: VERB > NOUN
• Love has to be about action. In Ephesians 5, Paul says that we are to submit to one another. Simply stated, love in marriages that last understand this principle “You before me.”
• Can love stand the test of time? Absolutely.

What an UNBELIEVABLE day. Saw several people make a decision to serve Christ today – I LOVE THAT! I feel like I’m just coming out of my zombie-like-state from this morning. Normally, I share a brief recap of the day, but today I just wanted to remember one thing.

That is the number of people living within driving distance of our church that don’t attend church anywhere. These are our neighbors, co-workers, family members, friends, waiters, cashiers, doctors, teachers, classmates.

What are we going to do to reach them?

Tomorrow on my blog, I’ll share a few ways to really make this practical, but I wanted to leave you with this tension.

I love you Access Church. Let’s do this.

What a crazy, but great day! Today, I’ve preached twice, driven 75 minutes each way to do a wedding rehearsal for an amazing couple in our church, and then come back to do a short video shoot. I’m beat!

Here are some thoughts from a crazy good day!

• Historically, holiday weekends have really hurt our attendance. Even holidays where most churches swell, ours don’t. Today didn’t feel like that though. It shows that we’re really connecting with local families! 
• Worship was unreal today.
• I get tired of Christmas songs, usually the week after Thanksgiving, but I always love “O Come Let Us Adore Him.” I could sing that song all year – and our band absolutely destroys that song!
• We had a special treat today. Our kids from AccessKIDS came in and sang two songs for us. That is ALWAYS a highlight for me! (by the way, if you haven’t seen this video, check out Joey singing at his first Preschool Christmas Program. He wasn’t feeling the singing, but when he saw me holding the camera in the audience, he began screaming, “CHEESE!”) 
• Since Joey came home, he’s been trying to tell me that Jesus was born, but he keeps saying “Jesus was boring!” Makes me laugh.
• Today’s message was so important. Christmas is a reminder that what humanity needed was a Savior. 
• Our response should be overwhelming joy. 
• Fear is about what we don’t have. Joy is about what we do. Christmas is a reminder that what we have is a Savior.

I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!

As a reminder, there are NO services at Access next Sunday. Instead, we’ve got a special online service that will be available. I hope you’ll join us for that! More details coming later this week!