I know many of you have been up all night wondering about our little “Golden Jumper.”  This morning a 11:37am he/she/it went to Heaven.  We never got a clear testimony from it about salvation, but circumstantial evidence suggest it was saved…(1)found him at church (2) he was golden.  Therefore we choose to believe in the positive aspects.

Sources within the office have said the golden jumber’s death was “abroubt.”  There were many at the scene and most eye witnesses have been interviewed.  Connecting all information is critical.  That last thing we want is for it to become a “cold case.” 

Here is what we know…things were fine then around 11:30am there were some dares and then double dog dares and out comes dollar bills.  Within 7 minutes it was all over.  Our only suspect is Charlie Bibb.  We may never know what actually happened this morning, however we will continue to be the best church we can be and not allow this tragedy to impact Sunday.

This morning we had a situation at church.  Two of our staff members were spray painting some material for Sunday’s Fusion production.  Well, during the painting a cricket “jumped in the line of fire.”  So, today at Southside we have all been kneeling down to the golden cricket.  And for the record he/she/it is doing great…for now

Sunday morning I had a young adult come to me and wanted to join Southside.  We talked for a minute and I could sense there was more to her story, so I invited her to come by the church on Tuesday and we could sit down and have a “real” conversation.  She came by last night and shared with us about her spiritual journey.  What was simply “divine” was her story was so identical to the other pastors with me, Charlie Bibb.  45 minutes later she made an intentional decision to become a Christ Follower.  It was a fun moment in my office.

Driving home I was thinking about all the “noise” in church.  So many people are consumed by “this person said this Sunday…” or “did you know these people left church X to join church Y.”  Why do we all fish in the same pond?  I can see why Christianity and church life can become inward focused and bitter…its when you stop fishing for men.  Jesus said he would make us into something we are not…”fishers of men.”  Are you becoming what Jesus said he wanted you to become or are you content with watching other’s fish?  That is fine if you are, just don’t begin to wonder what is wrong with you when everything becomes dull and boring…

Just a thought…

This is the second of two successful “sting operations” that Billy and I pulled off recently to bless some incredible moms in our church. 

And again, rather than try and say something profound, I think I’ll just let this video speak for itself.

Well, despite the hurricane force winds Saturday night, we had two great Mother’s Day services.  We thought we’d be down considerably, but surprisingly we had a remarkable turnout and amazing services on Sunday. 

One thing that stood out on Sunday though happened right before the pastor’s message. 

Earlier in the week, Billy and I went out on a few “sting operations” to bless some incredible moms in our church. 

And in the process, we made sure to capture their responses on video as they discovered a $1,000 check from the church. 

Rather than try to say anything else, I’ll let the videos speak for themselves. 

Here’s the first one, and I’ll post the second one in a my next post.