"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance." (1 Peter 1:1-2, NIV)
Month: June 2006
Baby Eleanor Photo Shoot
I hope that all of you had a wonderful Father’s Day! Especially those who are celebrating it for the first time as a Dad.I have had the priviledge of having a session with this one family, young couple "newly" married to me (I’m celebrating 10 years of marriage this year), and the Dad was so obviously "IN LOVE" with his newborn daughter. Just precious.

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Church Planter Assessment
I thankful that we had the opportunity to spend time last night with Dr. Bob Brown (Church Planting Strategist) and Dr. Hugh Richardson (Associational Missionary) with the Shelby Baptist Association. We enjoyed a great time of fellowship over supper and then went through a church planter assessment. This tool is used to evaluate various areas in a church planter’s life that will have an impact on the success of the new church. We discussed issues such as my spiritual journey, relationship building skills, building relationships with lost people, and how I relate to my wife. I was encourage as we were asked to share ways God has worked in our lives. I was humbled by the incredible task before us and reminded that God is in control. The assessment identified some areas in which I need to ask God to help me grow. Our time together was filled with laughter and tears as we discussed our journey through life. It was a wonderful time and I look forward to developing our relationship with Dr. Brown and Dr. Hughes in the future.
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1 Peter 1:1-12
We’ll be studying 1 Peter 1:1-2 in our Home Group this Wednesday (June 21st). Please read through the entire first chapter a couple of times to see where Peter is going with this section. Try to think in paragraphs. What are the main concepts in this chapter? Then read the passage for this week. Try to summarize the passage in a couple of sentences. Write down any questions you might have so we can discuss them Wednesday. If you have any questions before then, let me know. I’ll see you soon!
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Church Plant Update
April and I will meet with Director of Missions for the Shelby Baptist Association and their Church Planting Strategist tommorrow night for a Church Planter Assessment. It should be a helpful time that will clarify God’s call on our life and reveal some areas that we need to ask God’s help to improve. I look forward to working with the Shelby Association and the Alabama State Board of Missions as we seek to reach Shelby County for Christ.
Please continue to pray for wisdom and strength. Planting a church is spiritual warfare and we must remain close with the Lord through daily prayer and reading God’s Word. Pray for the lost in Shelby County. Approximatley 70% if the county is unchurched. Pray for those who God is calling to go with us. Pray for them to have courage and a peace about the task God is calling them to.
I’ll update you all in the days to come. God Bless!!
Angel Kiss
This is one of my favorite pictures of the girls. I am trying the flickr photo sharing service and like what I see. It has an easy to use interface and tools to organize and share your photos. We’ll see how it works out!
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1 Peter Bible Study
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SquareSpace
Thanks to everone who has given me great feedback about my new website. I think it’s a great way to share what is happening in my life and to hear from all of you! I have to brag on the company that has made it possible. SquareSpace it the hosting service I use that allows anyone to build a website like this with zero knowledge about website development. You can snap together building blocks for the various site components you want to use and it magically appears on your site! I’m sold on the service and would recommend it to anyone interested in have a website. If you have any questions, please let me know and I’ll be glad to help!
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Next Generation Leader

"It is both natural and necessary for young leaders to try to prove themselves by doing everything themselves. It is natural because, as a leader, you want to set the pace even as you demonstrate that nothing is beneath you. It is necessary because most of the time nobody is around to help."