A good example is far better than a good precept.

A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian… and most of all, his family ought to know.

A rule I have had for years is: to treat the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal friend. His is not a creed, a mere doctrine, but it is He Himself we have.

Character is what a man is in the dark.

Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man.

Death may be the King of terrors… but Jesus is the King of kings!

Faith makes all things possible… love makes all things easy.

Give me a man who says this one thing I do, and not those fifty things I dabble in.

God doesn’t seek for golden vessels, and does not ask for silver ones, but He must have clean ones.

God never made a promise that was too good to be true.

I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man.

I know the Bible is inspired because it inspires me.

If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of me.

The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.

There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things.

There’s no better book with which to defend the Bible than the Bible itself.

We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.

We can stand affliction better than we can prosperity, for in prosperity we forget God.

A quick reminder:

Men’s Fraternity begins tomorrow. There are several opportunities for each campus:

Hendersonville Campus – Wednesdays at 5:45 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. in the Worship Center
Gallatin Campus – Wednesdays at 5:45 a.m. in the Worship Center
White House Campus – Wednesdays at 6:45 p.m. at the campus office located at 2759 Highway 31 Suite 3. For more info on Men’s Fraternity click here.

Also, iMom begins tomorrow at the Hendersonville Campus. You may choose morning (9:30-11:30 a.m.) or evening (6:15-7:45). For more info on iMom click here.

Here’s a post from my blog last week in case you haven’t seen it. I don’t do this very often, but I hope it will encourage you!

“Five Years From Now”

Can you imagine what you’ll be doing in five years? It’s probably a waste of time to speculate too much about that. The reality is that the future is in God’s hands. And even though we may not like to consider it, some of us will be dead in five years. I know that really blessed your heart!

However, we can make decisions today that will have an impact five years from now. Decisions that can affect our family, health, finances and spiritual life either for good or bad.

The same is true for a church. The decisions we are making now at LH will have a tremendous impact five years from now! Think about it…

How many orphans will be rescued in the next five years through the orphanages we are building? How many children & students will be impacted through our Next Generation ministries in the next five years? How many will be set free from hurts, habits and hang-ups through Celebrate Recovery? How many will experience authentic community through small groups? How many will come to know Christ here in the U.S. and around the world in the next five years as a result of our willingness to be an Acts 1:8 church?

There’s an old saying, “If it’s not going to matter five years from now, don’t worry about it.” Well, what we’re doing as a church is going to matter!!

Your investment of time, talent and treasure at LHBC is making a difference both now and in the future. If you’re not “all in” then let’s get going. Five years from now it’s going to matter big time!

I love you guys! Stay Fired up!

However, we can make decisions today that will have an impact five years from now. Decisions that can affect our family, health, finances and spiritual life either for good or bad.

The same is true for a church. The decisions we are making now at LH will have a tremendous impact five years from now! Think about it…

How many orphans will be rescued in the next five years through the orphanages we are building? How many children & students will be impacted through our Next Generation ministries in the next five years? How many will be set free from hurts, habits and hang-ups through Celebrate Recovery? How many will experience authentic community through small groups? How many will come to know Christ here in the U.S. and around the world in the next five years as a result of our willingness to be an Acts 1:8 church?

There’s an old saying, “If it’s not going to matter five years from now, don’t worry about it.” Well, what we’re doing as a church is going to matter!!

Your investment of time, talent and treasure at LHBC is making a difference both now and in the future. If you’re not “all in” then let’s get going. Five years from now it’s going to matter big time!

Here’s a quick update:

Staff Retreat

We just returned from a staff retreat with our ministry team. I have never been as excited about our team as I am right now. God has blessed us with some very gifted folks! They are the most spiritually focused and passionate group I’ve ever served with. Please keep our team in prayer and give them tons of love and support!

Record Attendance

We set a record this month in attendance. We had three consecutive Sundays of 6,000 or more (first time in LH history) and barely missed 6,000 on the fourth Sunday (5,936 to be exact). Those numbers represent people and people matter to God. Surveys show that amazingly most unchurched people will come to church if invited, but most active church members rarely invite anyone to come. Who can you invite to attend with you this weekend?

Generous Living

Thank you for your generosity in giving toward life change this year. We have done very well in our general budget giving, but please remember we are funding the budget with 50 weeks of offerings instead of 52 due to the flood and snow. If you could give an extra offering, or make up any you have missed it would go a long way in helping us meet budget. You can always bring your offering or you can give online. Click here to find out more about online giving.

Crazy Love

We are still in the middle of Crazy Love offering #4. Even though we’re not as far along toward our goal as in previous offerings, we have had over $434,000 given and for that we are so grateful. Since we are still short of our goal of $650,000, the offering will stay open for 2 more weeks so there is still time for you to give if you haven’t already. Would you please consider giving? You can also give to Crazy Love online here.

Real Life University

This Wednesday, September 8th, on the Hendersonville Campus Real Life University starts back up. This is a great opportunity for you to go deeper in your walk with the Lord. Check here for a list of classes.

Men’s Fraternity

Don’t miss Men’s Fraternity this year. It also starts back September 8th. We have a morning and evening option available. Check here for more info.

A Personal Note

Many of you have been praying for my mother this past year. She is doing much better! In fact, she was able to travel to see us a couple of weeks ago and even attended church. She was still troubled by my preaching attire, but other than that she had a good time. Thanks again for your prayers for her and her recovery.

Alright, I better shut ‘er down! Stay fired up!

I love you folks!

In Christ,

However, we are past due on our students having a place to call home. It’s time to get them back on campus and have a facility that will meet the demands of a growing student ministry.

I can’t wait to see all God does through our student ministry in this facility in the days ahead. Thank you Long Hollow for your love for students and the vision for this new facility!!

Don’t forget, part of your Crazy Love gifts are making this building possible. Please be as generous as you can in your contributions to Crazy Love.

Here we go! Great days are ahead!

Here’s some news you can use:

Crazy Love Offering 4

We had a good response last Sunday, but we still have a ways to go to reach our goal for offering 4. We are at 54% of our goal. If you haven’t given please pray about your gift. You can give online now or bring your offering Sunday. Watch a video about the importance of offering 4 here. We can do this if we follow the Lord’s leadership and everyone does their part!

Men’s Fraternity

Guys – Men’s Fraternity starts back on September 8th. We will have morning and evening sessions. Make plans to attend!

Crazy Love Commitment

How are you doing on your Crazy Love Commitments? There are helps for praying and reading the Bible on crazylovecampaign.com. Also, Resource Central has a number of Bibles that are designed to read through in a year. You’ve made some significant commitments and they will raise the spiritual temperature of your life. Stay with it! Learn more about the Crazy Love Commitment here.

Pastor’s Prayer Partners

Thank you to all of you who have signed up to be one of my Pastor’s Prayer Partners. I will be sending you some stuff soon via e-mail. If you would like to sign up to be a Pastor’s Prayer Partner e-mail us at pastor@longhollow.com.

Consider today the words of the Psalmist,

Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name;
make known among the nations what He has done.

Sing to Him, sing praise to Him;
tell of His wonderful acts.

Glory in His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

Look to the LORD and His strength;
seek His face always. (Psalm 105:1-4)

These are good verses to meditate on. I need to remind myself often to look to the Lord and His strength instead of my own. Have you called upon His name today? If not, find some time to do that and thank Him for His many blessings to you.

I hope you have a great week! I look forward to seeing you this weekend!

I love you folks!

In Christ,

Read the full breakdown of Offering #4 at crazylovecampaign.com and give online now!

How the Class of 2014 Sees the World

Here’s a few updates:

Saturday Night

Our Saturday Night Service is going strong! If you haven’t tried Saturday night at Long Hollow, come check it out this week. Some advantages of Saturday Night Worship are less traffic, more parking, sleeping in on Sundays, more music, and a Q&A about the sermon. I think you will enjoy it and at the same time you will help us have more room for guests on Sunday. This Saturday night we’re having a watermelon fellowship after the service. Amen?

Need More VIP Parkers

I want to encourage all campuses to leave parking for guests by parking as far away from the building as possible. In Hendersonville, we need more folks to park at the school and ride the bus. This weekend make every effort to leave room for those who will be visiting.

Crazy Love Offering

Crazy Love offering #4 is this Sunday. Have you prayed about what you will give? The goal is $650,000.00 and the family goal is $400.00. By God’s grace we can hit our goal, if everyone will contribute. Everybody bring something and let’s knock this out this weekend. You can also give online here. To see video of some of the places we will be using this offering for, click here.

That’s it for today! Here’s a good verse for Wednesday:

Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name (Psalm 97:12).

I love you folks! See ya this weekend!

In Christ,