New Blog Site

I am contemplating leaving Blogger for .Mac, so my new posts can be found here. See you on the other side.

News From the Groups

We are about a month into our new small groups semester and let me tell you...God is doing some amazing things.

The Auto Care group which launched for the first time this semester is busying sharing God's love by doing oil changes, routine car maintenance, and replacing my front struts on the old Toyota. That's right, I pulled into their garage on Monday and rolled out several hours later with new struts and mounts on the front end. My '97 Toyota with 154K feels like a new car (in the front). Next month, I'm planning on replacing the rear struts. I think this is one of the best ministries going in our church and is a fine example of EMPOWERMENT put into practice. These guys had an idea and a vision for this ministry, and they are making it happen!

Last night, I went to our small group which meets across from the football stadium. They are going thru the book of 1 Corithians and did an excellent job exegeting Chapter 11, sparking some good discussion. I met many people for the first time attending this group -- this is the way it should work -- small groups reaching new people, representing the front door to StoneBridge life.

I read some excellent comments and wall conversation on Facebook this morning coming from David's group meeting in South Park. Needs are being met, the Bible is being read and discussed (book of Acts), lives are being changed, and true biblical community is taking place.

Our other groups for the most part are going well also. I know Belinda and I are loving our Couples group which meets tonight. The other couples in our group are keeping us young.

iHappy

Gray Monday Thoughts

It was a good day at StoneBridge yesterday with several new faces, great giving, and a good spirit in the gathering. Song of Solomon is going to be a tough series, but a much needed one.

The biggest drawback to living in WV is the gray, wet weather that is so common this time of year. If you could combine the beauty and cool summers in WV with the sunshine in Arizona, you'd have paradise.

Ryan's basketball team is 8-0. They played another team from their school Saturday and won 20-2. Two games to go, and I'll say it now, they're not gonna lose. (unlike the Cheatriots :)

So glad the Giants beat the wicked regime of Bill Bellicheat and the Bradiots. Down with the dynasty talk. The Cowboys are still the greatest NFL franchise of all time, and their 90's Super Bowl teams (who didn't lose when they got to the big game) would run these boys off the field.

Song of Solomon Series

Sunday we begin our journey thru the "Love Book" of the Bible, the Song of Solomon. I am anxious to get this series kicked off, because there is so much biblical wisdom to be garnered in this book. Our church is pretty much a 35 and under crowd, and we al need God's wisdom in navigating our dating and marriage relationships, and what to look for in a potential mate. Tommy Nelson of Denton Bible Church has a wealth of good material and study notes and the Song of Solomon, which we'll be using as building blocks for the series.

11 More Months Like This One...

Our staff at StoneBridge entered 2008 with a sense of desperation, begging God to change lives thru the efforts of our church. We got off to a great start in January. I just sent a email out to our core group and shared with them what God did this month. Here it is:

- One person accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior thru the outreach of our Wednesday Night College small group

- Five people were baptized this month!

- Two new Small Groups and Four new Life Transformation Groups began!

- We had a record month of giving!

- We approved our 2008 Budget and added Kevin McCauley as a Church Planting Intern.

- We finalized plans to work with a Ministry Team of college students from Arkansas State University in March. They will be coming to Morgantown on March 15-20th to partner with us in various ministry outreach projects that week.

- A group of students from the University of Arkansas is interested in coming to Morgantown in May to do community outreach and help to promote our Sports Camp in July. We should know something concrete in February.

- We are finalizing plans to participate in Morgantown's Winter Carnival on Saturday, February 23rd, taking place on High Street. If you have ideas on how we can serve our community at the carnival, please let us know. We are going to need to put together a team of people from StoneBridge to work the Carnival.

Now we need 11 more months like this one...

This Seems Random, Can You Help?

So I'm cruising along enjoying reading the beginning of the book of Exodus, when I stop as this verse jumps off the page, (Ex. 4:24), "And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him (Moses) and sought to kill him."

Don't know how I missed this in my Old Testament classes, but what is going on here? Somebody enlighten me.

What It's All About

We had a great day yesterday, culminating with our baptism service yesterday at 4 PM. It is rewarding to see tangible evidence of disciple making. Abby, Andrea, and Anthony and Corey (husband and wife) were baptized yesterday. Here are some pictures.

Interesting Chart on Denominations in America

Thanks to Noah Lee for posting this chart on leading denominations in every county in America. I am not surprised by the results. Check it out.

What are your thoughts based on the results? How does this chart coincide with church planting efforts in America? Any thoughts or conclusions? Let me hear from you.

An Update on Ryan's Basketball Team

Ryan is playing in a 1st/2nd grade co-ed basketball league this year. This is his third year playing basketball, and he is really doing well. His team is 5-0 this season, and last week beat a team (all boys) who haven't lost a game in 3 years. They won the game 20-12. Ryan had 6 points, several rebounds, and 3 assists. Our coaches developed a great game plan to beat this team's devastating half court trap, which usually produces a ton of fast break points for them. We busted their trap and were able to run our offense. We also put in a triangle and two defense for the game which shut their boys down and forced a lot of desperation shots from the outside.

Baptisms and 17 Degree Weather

We've got our next Baptism Service planned for Sunday afternoon....indoors. The forecast is for Sunday is snow and a high of 17 degrees. Instead of doing a polar plunge, we're going to utilize the facilities at Morgantown Bible Church thanks to their continued generosity and kingdom mindset. I can't think of a better way to kickstart 2008 than to baptize new believers. Pray for Anthony, Corey, Jeff, Andrea, and Abby as they take this public step of following Jesus this Sunday.

Live From Burger King

Real posts coming soon...

Texas Highlights

Our family enjoyed a wonderful time in Texas with our families for Christmas and New Year's Day. Here are some highlights:

- running (literally) down the terminal in Pittsburgh to catch our flight to DFW. We were schedule to fly a connection to Chicago later in the evening, but caught this non stop....barely.
- eating my Mom's home cooking with organic food. good stuff. I think my Mom needs to be a spokeswoman for Whole Foods.
- our family received a Wii for Christmas from Mom and Dad. I can't beat my kids at bowling yet, which is a bummer.
- Christmas Eve with Belinda's family playing a new card game, GOLF. Lots of fun and I won.
- watching Belinda shoot a .17 rifle and her Dad's Colt 45...priceless
- riding the Titan at Six Flags over Texas with Belinda, a 255 ft tall steel coaster cruising at 85 mph
- watching Texas beat Arizona State 52-34 in the Holiday Bowl
- coming back to WV with 15 inches of snow on the ground at the Knight house...IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME

I'm Back

The Bloggers Association of America filed a missing person report on me, so I figured its time to post again. I've been in a emotional and spiritual funk lately, but after prayer and encouragement from several friends I am feeling refreshed and generally enthused about ministry again. Those of you who have been praying for me, THANKS!

Tejas Update

Wednesday evening we caught an earlier flight by flying standby and literally had to run thru the terminal to catch our flight as our names were being paged. Catching this flight got us into Dallas at 8 PM instead of 11:30 PM. Thank you Lord. We are enjoying our time here. Getting used to fighting Dallas traffic on the freeways and in the mall parking lots.

My Mom wanted our family and my brother's family to open our gift last night. We didn't argue with that and now the Knights are the proud owners of a Nintendo Wii System! I think I am just as excited as the kids about that.

Got started reading E.M Bounds on prayer on the plane. It's good deep stuff and its exactly what I need right now.

Texas

My family and I are headed to the homeland tonight for Christmas. I am looking forward to some down time with family and friends. I'm also going to dedicate some time with God for some much needed spiritual renewal. My spiritual batteries desperately need a recharge, so I'm going to read thru the gospels and read "The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer". Throw in a trip to Railhead Smokehouse and Joe T. Garcias in Fort Worth and this is going to be a great trip.

Governor Manchin on Coach Rod's Departure

Sunday, Governor Manchin issues this statement:

"The last seven years that Rich Rodriguez has been football coach at West Virginia University brought great excitement to our fans and tremendous and positive notoriety to our state, and I am truly sad that he has made the decision to move on.

I have known Rich for most of his life, from a boy whose only wish was to play football at WVU to a young man whose only wish was to coach at WVU. His dreams came true, and he brought back with him to West Virginia a love and a loyalty for our state that I thought would never change.

But, unfortunately, over the last two years, I have seen Rich become a victim of a college coaching system driven by high-priced agents that has turned those dreams into just another back-room business deal. Something is wrong with the profession of college coaching today when a leader’s word is no longer his bond, and it does not bode well for the student-athletes who entrust these coaches with their futures.

I wish Rich and his family nothing but the best, but I challenge everyone in our state and across this country to start looking more closely at the system that we’ve allowed these agents to create, because in the end, it serves no one well but them.


I can’t say enough about the WVU fans and financial boosters who have made such tremendous commitments to this football team, and I commend President Garrison and Athletic Director Ed Pastilong for having a program that is truly worthy of the national spotlight. I also trust them and the WVU Board of Governors completely with the coaching search that now lies ahead.

In the meantime, I encourage the people and fans of West Virginia to continue to show their support and respect for our tremendous student-athletes as they prepare to compete in front of a national audience in the Fiesta Bowl."

- Gov. Joe Manchin III

I am now a Buckeye Fan.

Apple Trouble

Even though my battery is charged, every time I pull the AC power on my MacBook. the laptop is powering down. Not cool. Any suggestions?

Lessons from Hoosiers

Hoosiers is one of my all time favorite movies. When it came on in HD last night, our family had to watch it again. Early on in the movie, I noticed a great leadership principle that has been shared in church planting circles: Run to Confrontation. When Gene Hackman takes over as the Hickory coach, there's a local yocal that still thinks he's the coach and actually tries to hijack the first practice.

Hackman pulls him aside and basically says, "Your coaching days are over." They have a heated exchange, but in the end, Hackman stands firm and entrenches himself as the leader in charge. This was a good reminder for me not to let friction in the church fester, but to confront the issues with people, lay our cards on the table, and hold firm as a spiritual leader. Too often it seems easier to ignore conflict for a time, (short term gain) at the expense of long term health in the church.