• Last weekend Rick did a great job speaking on one of our essential values: Synergy.
• I’m looking forward to speaking on Love this weekend.  Love is one of those topics that I really enjoy talking about. Love is so central to who we are and to life, that it connects with us on a deep, unexplainable level.
• Softball Championships are tonight. Win or loose, our team has had a great season. Come out to support them tonight at the Princess Anne Athletic Complex at 6:30pm tonight (Friday, July 16).
• Our staff is finally moving in to our office space one by one. I’m actually writing this post from my office. When you’re a church planter, your house becomes the default storage facility for everything.  Most of all I am looking forward to finally moving stuff out of my house to the office. This past winter when we got the new facility I was able to get my garage back and now I am looking forward to getting our spare room back.
• With Rick and I splitting the teaching load this summer, I’ve been able to work on my summer reading list which is: The Tipping Point, Freakonomics, The 360 Degree Leader, Too Busy Not to Pray, The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, Good to Great, Tribes, Practical Atheist, The Monkey and the Fish, and Wide Awake.
• One thing I have found to be true is something that Matt Damon said in the movie Goodwill Hunting, “…you dropped 150 grand on an education you could have got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library!” Having made it through the bulk of my doctorate degree I’ve found this to be true. Most of what you learn in school is from books which you could get at the library or on Amazon.com for less than $10. Half of my reading list is available at the public library…in audio format which is my favorite way to read a book.
• Great quote from Freakonomics: “Emotion is the enemy of rational argument.” This is why you can present the best rational argument to someone about God, Jesus, the empty tomb, moral absolutes, creation vs. evolution, the reliability of the Bible, and the like and still have someone reject the rational conclusion. If you don’t engage someone emotionally, you can’t convince them rationally.  This truth is said in other familiar ways, “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” or  as we’ll see this Sunday, “love is the context for mission”.

• Looking forward to Church @ the Beach this Sunday (July 4th). I can’t think of a better way to spend the 4th of July than getting together with over 200 friends for music, fun in the sun, and great food. Call a friend and ask them to join you. We’ll have plenty of food.
• Always love baptism and especially baptism at the beach. First, it’s just great to see people who have started following after God to go public with that commitment by being baptized. Second, I love that we have the opportunity to do it out in the open where people from all over come to hang out on the weekends.
• Our Co-Ed Church Softball team made it to the finals. Wow, what a season. The final game will likely be Friday night, July 16th at Princess Anne Fields, but check back for more information on that.
• Our youth mission trip is set for Washington, DC from August 23-29th. I went up there this past week to check things out and it looks like it will be a great trip. The cost per youth is $225.  You won’t find a better trip and you can’t beat the price.  Most of the cost will pay for food and transportation. We’ll be taking the train up from Newport News to DC. Should be a lot of fun and a great experience for the youth.
• I always pray with my kids when I put them to bed. Ever since Jackson saw the baptisms at the beach two weeks ago he’s been very interested in how someone goes to heaven. So last night when we prayed together, out of the blue he just starts praying for his brother and sister and then started naming his friends asking God if he can help them accept Jesus as their savior. Gotta love the faith of a child.
• It was great to see Chris preach his first sermon this past weekend. He’s got a great future ahead of him in ministry. In the 10:30 service Rick knocked it out of the park. If you missed it, well then you missed out.
• Read a great post this past week by Steven Furtick that you can read here.
• This is a song that kind of captures the message for this weekend on Authenticity:

• Had a great time at the beach on Sunday. Huge thank you to everyone who made it happen.
• I love the fact that we have the opportunity to baptize people in the ocean.  My 5 year old son kept asking me, “Daddy why were you ‘bath-um-atizing’ those people?”  I’m sure many other people at the beach were wondering the same thing which is why we do it at the beach when we can.  The following day I was able to explain to my son why people get baptized. I’ve shared the gospel with thousands of people, but there’s nothing that compares to sharing the gospel with your children.
• Another great part of the day was when Mark’s son Trent asked me if he could be baptized.  His older brother quickly came over to do the honors and proceeded to dunk him under the water several times. Each time asking me if he was doing it right. I’m not sure if he’s a pastor in training, or was just enjoying the opportunity to dunk his brother over and over in Jesus’ name… perhaps it was both.
• The name of the book I referenced in the message was What a Difference a Daddy Makes: The Indelible Imprint a Dad Leaves on His Daughter’s Life by Dr. Kevin Leman. It’s a great book and you can pick up a used copy of it for under $3 plus shipping.  Well worth it.
• Some of the stats I pulled for the message were from a Swiss study on how important the faith of the father in the home is.  Here’s a .pdf that give more of the study’s findings. Bottom line here’s what the study found, if a father does not go to church, no matter how faithful his wife’s devotions, only one child in 50 will become a regular worshipper. If a father does go regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between two-thirds and three-quarters of their children will become churchgoers (regular and irregular). If a father goes but irregularly to church, regardless of his wife’s devotion, between a half and two-thirds of their offspring will find themselves coming to church regularly or occasionally.
• This is Chris’ last week of his internship. Chris will be preaching at the 9am service this week. The message topic and Bible references will be the same at both services, but Chris will only be doing the first service. I am excited to hear him teach.
• Melissa and I took our 3 little ones to see Toy Story 3 this week. The first Toy Story movie came out 15 years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long. The story line of the movie involves Andy going off to college. I know that day is coming for our three sooner than I want it to. Life is short, enjoy each day you have with your little ones. I heard a great song for all of you parents that have one of your children heading off to college this year. It’s called “Everything is Yours” by Audrey Assad. You can watch the video of it below.

• I’m looking forward to our first Beach Sunday of the year. If you would like to be baptized at the beach, let me know by using the links on the Beach Sunday page.
• The reactions to last Sunday’s message on Pure Sex have been overwhelmingly positive. The boldness to speak a message like that comes from a deep conviction about the things which I had been studying. When you realize just how badly we’ve all messed up God’s intentions for sex it makes you more willing to talk about it all openly. I just felt as though it’s an area that the church in America has surrendered to and has decided it’s a battle it can’t win.
• This week we are looking at the second to last thing on our list that will give your family a boost. We’ve already talked about how children need your blessing, how parents need to be honored, we all need to give and receive forgiveness, the call to be loyal to your spouse, and of course last week was on the role of sex in marriage. The last two weeks of this series we’ll be looking at the two things that holds together all of the things we’ve talked about. If you know someone who doesn’t have a relationship with God, call them up and invite them to church right now!!! I’ll be laying out the reason why our relationship with God is essential.
• Not sure if you realized it, but the third song we sang last Sunday was written by Justin. God’s blessed him with so much talent. The picture below was taken on his first Sunday at Essential.

One of my favorite authors, Francis Chan, has written a great book about the Holy Spirit. This month you can download the audio book for free from Christian Audio. It’s an offer you can’t pass up. There’s no catch. There’s nothing to sign up for. Just enter the coupon code JUN2010 when you check out and it’s free.  Enjoy!

• We had a great time this past weekend at the Parade. There’s nothing like being able to praise God before a few thousand people. Oh, and we won 2nd place in the float competition.
• There were 300 people at Essential Church on Memorial Day weekend!!! Are you serious??? Normally that’s one of the lowest attendance days for a church. To put this in perspective, Easter which was our biggest day ever, was 315.
• I want to thank our intern Chris for organizing all the special activities for the weekend. He’s doing a great job, if you see him this week thank him for all his hard work.  I also want to thank all of you who helped out at the parade and the picnic. You are Essential!!!
• If you haven’t gotten a chance to download the free audio book Forgotten God, by Francis Chan… What are you waiting for??? It’s free and there’s no strings attached.
• I read a great book this past week on church planting called, Church in the Making by a friend of mine (Ben Arment). He’s the one who helped design our worship center with the big screen.  Anyway, after reading his book I must say that I agree with all of his observations about church planting. The crazy thing is, that based on his research and everything else I’ve read about church planting, Essential Church never should have gotten off the ground. I don’t know why God has chosen to bless what we are doing. It’s clear he has and is. I am thankful to be a part of it. By the way, the story of how we got started is mentioned in the book as well.
• I read this in a blog post last week. The context was, Why is it that you think God can’t use you? Think about who God’s used in the past: Noah was a drunk, Abraham was too old, Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly, Joseph was abused, Moses had a stuttering problem and committed murder, Gideon was afraid, Samson was a womanizer, Rahab was a prostitute, Jeremiah and Timothy were too young, David had an affair, Elijah was suicidal, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God, Naomi was a bitter widow, Job went bankrupt, Peter denied Christ, The Disciples fell asleep while praying, Martha worried about everything, The Samaritan woman was divorced more than once, Zaccheus was too small and hated by everyone, Paul was a violent man, Timothy had an ulcer, AND Lazarus was dead! Tell me why it is that you don’t think God can use you?

• I’m looking forward to the Pungo parade and cookout this weekend. I just got word that we’ll have the bounce house for the kids this weekend. I know my kids love jumping around in that. Invite your friends. They don’t have to bring anything to join us for lunch. We’ll have plenty of food. Just invite them. They’ll have a great time.
• Over the past two weeks I’ve been able to attend conferences with many of my favorite authors and pastors: James McDonald, Jim Cymbala, Charles Swindoll, Perry Noble, and several others.
• We have an amazing leadership team at Essential. I am honored to work with people who just embody everything that God wanted his church to be.
• Essential T-Shirts are here. They’re only $5. We didn’t get them printed to make a profit, but rather for you to help get the word out about what God is doing at Essential. Just this past week someone visited Essential for the first time because they saw someone wearing an Essential T-Shirt. That’s why I want you to get shirts for the family and wear them when you’re out and about.
• This weekend I’ll be giving you another value that can give your family a real boost. Last year in our marriage series (check it out here) I shared how saying “I’m committed to you” can be far more powerful than saying, “I love you.” This weekend I’ll be sharing something that goes beyond love and commitment. I can’t wait to share it. See you Sunday for another Family Boost.
• I’m loving the passion that Justin has for worship. I found some YouTube videos of him before he came to Essential. Here’s one of them:

Here’s the weekly run down for me:

• It was great to have Joe back from his trip and leading worship.
• Justin and Sarah are HERE!!!! We got them moved in Monday night. I’m looking forward to his first Sunday with us this weekend.
• Last week Rick and I got to go to a conference together. Since the conference was in Richmond the same weekend as the races, I brought him in to the world NASCAR. I think he’s hooked.
• This past weekend the message was on “the blessing”. It’s something that we see at various places in the Bible. It’s set me on a mission to find ways to give a blessing my children as often as I can. The three main elements of the blessing are: Meaningful Touch, Affirming their Value, and Casting a Preferable Vision for their future.
• Best thought on Scripture from the past week is realizing that God, the Father, said the words, “This is my son whom I love and am well pleased,” before Jesus ever did anything. His love and approval of his son wasn’t based on performance and neither should ours.
• This week we are looking at “Honor”.  It kind of is the balance of the last message. Blessing is what parents give to their children. Honor is what children give to their parents.
• Read this quote this past week from a book called Plan B, “God is most powerfully present even when He seems most apparently absent.”
• Tim Keller was asked by World Magazine about the growth of his church and gave the following response using a surfing metaphor.  When asked about the growth of Essential, I would have to say I agree with Tim’s thoughts, “We paddled out on our board and a wave came in. You can do all the same paddling and standing and then if the wave does not come in there is no surfing. We could have easily come here, done everything that we have done, and have very, very little to show for it. I know other people who have been every bit as faithful, if not more faithful than me, and do not have anything like the same kind of amount of success. I do not look at myself as being more effective than them, but I am more successful and therefore more blessed, for only reasons that God in His sovereignty would know.”
• Read an article about church planting that defined a “fast growing church plant” as one that reaches 250 with in 5 years. Essential hit that point at the end of our first year!!! I am humbled, amazed, and dumbfounded by it all.  As Tim Keller might say, this has been a great wave of God’s grace that we’ve been riding this past year.
• And lastly, this is mine (and Melissa’s) favorite Mother’s Day video:

Ok, so here’s what I’m thinking about this week:

• I’m blown away by the growth of the church especially the 9:00 service. It’s hard to believe that we’ve only been doing it for six weeks. The second week there was only about 20 people going to the early service. This past week the room was just about full. With the weather forecast set to be sunny and 88 on Sunday, I’m guessing the trend will continue.
• I’m looking forward to Justin and Sarah moving here in May. Justin’s first Sunday will be on May 17th.  If you’re interested in hearing some of the stuff he wrote you can check it out here.
• I’m not sure what to make of this video, but I’m so glad that what we do with kids on Sunday mornings at Essential is nothing like it. Our kid’s church leadership is top notch.
• Godspell is now showing on the main stage at Regent. Our own Jeff Fazakerley is in it.  I never knew he could sing. After hearing him in the musical I have to say, “We beseech thee… to sing at Essential some time soon!!!”
• I’m looking forward to this week’s message as we finish out our series, “You Found Me”.  I won’t give too much of it away, but it will feature a video with Steve-O from MTV that will help you get to know someone Jesus met.
• Just read a great book by a former Virginia Beach pastor whose now in Vegas planting a church with a friend of mine (Robb Overholt).  The book is Guerrilla Lovers and I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about it later either in a blog post or up coming series.
• Hope to see you this weekend at Essential!

Live for the Blessing,

Pastor Steve

Skeptical vs Skeptic

There is a difference between someone who is skeptical and someone who is a skeptic. A skeptic is someone who pretends to be an objective bystander wanting to know more before making a decision, but in reality they’ve already concluded that there is no God, the Bible is unreliable, and Jesus was just an ordinary man.

The skeptic has no intention of ever believing in God and want to shift focus from their unbelief to an endless string of questions. You know this person, because as soon as you answer a question, they move to another and another and another. There is no real seeking going on, it’s just a smoke screen.

Often we confuse the skeptic with the seeker. A seeker is some who asks a lot of the same questions, but hasn’t made any conclusions about God, the Bible, or Jesus. Faith is what I believe to be true, based on what I know to be true. The seeker would say, “Tell me what we know to be true and what remains a matter of faith.  Then I’ll weigh the evidence and make an informed decision about who Jesus is, the reliability of the Bible and whether or not there is a God.”

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