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.

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...

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.

New Small Group Coming...Honk for Service

For the better part of today, I have been spending time with fellow StoneBridgers David, Manny, and Dan as they helped Aaron Johnson put a new alternator on his car. I am so proud of these guys. They understand what the church is called to do and be, and they are living out these principles. For about a year, they have held an occasional "auto care" day, where they do routine maintenance, brake jobs, minor mechanical repairs, etc, for people in need. They have ministered to many people outside our church, and have experienced and built a bond of brotherhood with each other while doing it.

Now Dan is ready to launch this into a regular small group which has a mission of serving others. They will have a short time of Bible reading and prayer, and then get busy doing what they do. I am so excited on many levels: living out the mission of our church by serving others, and these guys starting such a great ministry on their own initiative.

The Heat is (Not) On

We have gone without heat at the Warner for our last two Sunday gatherings. Just found out today that it will take six weeks or more to get the parts necessary for the theater to fix the heat. Soooo, it looks like we've got to find a new home...and fast. I am trying to book the hotel ballroom and side rooms for Sunday's worship gathering.

I need everyone who happens to read this post to commit to pray that we will discover exactly where God wants us to go. I continue to find it amazing that just when great things began happening, Satan tries his best to throw us curveballs and slow us down. It must mean that great things are just around the corner for StoneBridge. Keep praying!

What's Up This Week

We had a great staff meeting at So.Zo coffeehouse on High Street on Tuesday. Good, open conversation and I believe we brought into focus the general direction that StoneBridge and the I-79 CP movement will head in the next two years. I can't wait to sit down with Pastor Devin and the leadership at FBC Inwood and talk about the future.

On Saturday, I will be flying out to West Texas, and driving out to Hobbs, NM to visit with one of our supporting churches, Vista Pointe. This church has been behind us 110% since the inception of what we are doing in Morgantown, and I am looking forward to catching up with them and sharing what God has done to date, and where we are headed in the future.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I will be attending the Texas State Meeting in Hillsboro. Many churches who support us will be represented here, and I am anxious to share what is happening here. In between these events, I'm looking forward to some of my Mom's cooking :)

Wish I had a ticket to WVU - Louisville tonight.

Birthdays, Flying Little Men, and Such

On Friday night, our family joined three other families from her office for a trip to the circus in Pittsburgh. It's been three years since we saw the Ringling Bros. show in Tucson, and it was great as usual. I'm proud of Janna overcoming her fear of fire, which started in a Japanese steak house in Morgantown several years ago. My favorite act was a group of about 10 Asian guys flying all over the building, juggling hats, forming human chains, catapaulting off of swings, and other crazy stuff. They were great. The tigers were tame, compared to those guys.

Didn't know what to expect going into yesterday's worship gathering at the Warner. Our church celebrated 4 years in Morgantown by kicking off a new series (Everybody), eating pizza and cake, and watching "Meet the Robinsons" (Rated G :)) with free popcorn and drinks. We had 104 people show up for worship, which beat our old record attendance by one. I couldn't help but notice how young the crowd was. Jason and I are now the old guys at church. God is stirring in the hearts of people here and it is exciting to watch.

Great Weekend

I enjoyed a great weekend with my family and friends. Friday evening our family went downtown to watch WVU's homecoming parade on High Street. This parade is probably the best one you'll find in Morgantown thruout the year. We enjoyed trying out DP Dough, a shop that specializes in calzones, then got some chocolate at Slight Indulgence across the street.

I got two 45 yard line, row 9 tickets from a friend for the WVU/Miss St game Saturday afternoon. Aaron Johnson came over and our section introduced him to West Virginia football. He took some ribbing for being from SEC country, but I think he had a great time. WVU 38 MSU 13.

Our small groups are firing on all cylinders and it is spilling over to Sunday mornings. Several people are being introduced to StoneBridge thru small groups and we had several come for the first time to a Sunday service yesterday. We had 60 in attendance and there was a good spirit in the house. If we could eliminate our monthly "mulligan" Sunday for attendance, our averages would look much better, spiking up to the mid 60's instead of the 50's. Talked to Tommy Duke at ICC about this phonomenon today, as he is experiencing the same thing. If anyone has ideas on how to avoid attendance craters, let me know.

We celebrated my daughter Janna's 6th birthday yesterday. There were kids everywhere at our house, and we had a blast. I had made a deal with Janna a few weeks ago, where she agreed to stay 5 forever, but it looks like she is going to break our pact. Bummer.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

Yesterday StoneBridge Church was clicking on all cylinders. We had a good crowd (69) and there was a great vibe at church. One college student, Mollie Burdette, has brought what seems like at least 15 friends to church with her over the last three weeks, so she gets two scratch and sniff stickers this week. :) We had five people go through StoneBridge Boot Camp (101) yesterday. Yes, I'm kidding about the name.

Saturday, our family went to the Mountain State Forest Festival in Elkins. The kids had a great time riding the carnival rides and eating corn dogs and funnel cakes. Belinda and I both commented that we wished there was more of a forest emphasis in the festival, other than highlighting the logging industry (boo!). Another disturbing sight was a Dolly Sods Land Sale booth in the city park. Seems like a land company is selling off 161 acres of privately owed land just a mile from Bear Rocks, a beautiful overlook in the Sods. They are subdividing this land into 2 acre plots, which I'm sure will be bought out by DC metropolitan sorts who'll build second homes on the property. No bueno.

I'll be glad when the summer heat wave in October leaves the area. When I'm sweating setting up church in October, something's not right. The temp is supposed to drop to a high of 59 on Wednesday.

In fantasy football news, I only need 43 yards from Marion Barber tonight to hang a BIG LOSS on Scott Bates, which will most likely put me back in first place in the league.

They're Back

Thousands of students have returned to Morgantown, moving in over the weekend, and they are affecting every aspect of Morgantown life as we know it. On the negative side of things, it took me 35 minutes to drive the 3.6 miles from the old Stadium loop downtown to University Town Center in Star City. On the positive side, it was evident that the students are back in yesterday's service. Lots of new and returning faces.

Yesterday, I finished a quick two part series called "20/20", dealing the vision that God has for our preferred future, and what the Bible has to say about sex, and dating and marriage relationships. I enjoyed preaching this series, and hope it makes an impact on our people.

Belinda's workload is coming back down to a manageable level. She is the Executive Coordinator for the Augusta on the Square apartments, a brand new complex that has been built literally a stone's throw away from downtown campus. Hillery, a fellow StoneBridger, is the new property manager and will be starting a small group for college females on site in September.

It's almost football season, and I can't wait to see how my teams are going to fare this season: Morgantown High, WVU, THE University of Texas, and America's TEAM, the DALLAS COWBOYS.

Kids Day

On Saturday, July 14th, StoneBridge will be sponsoring a booth at Kids Day, a Main Street Morgantown sponsored event. We're going to do some cool stuff for kids such as crafts, face painting, inflatables, etc. We're also going to have the chance to promote our Sports Camp coming in late July.

If you have any good ideas that we can implement at Kids Day, let me know.

New Website Almost Ready!

David is putting the final touches on the new stonebridgebaptist.com, which should be up and running by July 1st! I am pumped about our new look, which I think will more accurately portray who we are and why we are doing what we do in Morgantown.

Check out the progress here and let me know what you think.

Coming This Month at StoneBridge

This month everyone at StoneBridge is going to be challenged to live out the Acts 1:8 calling, taking the church to the streets. Jason is kicking off the series tomorrow by speaking on "Save the City", based on a passage in Ecclesiastes 9. Next Sunday our church planting coach Mike Prince is coming in from West Memphis to speak. On May 20th, Aaron Johnson is coming down from Washington, PA to challenge us from the Word. Our church supports both Mike and Aaron financially on a monthly basis, so it will be good for our church to see them again.

On May 27th, my Dad is going to run the anchor leg of the series by showing how the woman at the well pursued her missional calling. Also on the afternoon of the 27th, we're going to have an old fashioned West Virginia style baptism at White Day Creek south of Morgantown. My son Ryan and several others are going to publicly declare that they are followers of Christ by being baptized.

It's shaping up to be a great month...

Great Night at Chick-Fil-A

Tonight our church partnered with Chick-Fil-A to sponsor Family Night. We created a "Wilderness Adventure" theme and had several activities for kids including crafts, face painting, and a campsite in a grassy area adjacent to the building with a fire pit and smores.

Our team of people hit a home run tonight! Everywhere you looked you saw StoneBridge T-Shirts and people ready to serve. In a two hour time span, we had 60 kids come in the restaurant. Oh wait, Belinda is trying to be a backseat blogger and give me advice so I am shutting this post down.

StoneBridge T-Shirts Coming Sunday

Jason's blog displays the front of the shirt, but I thought I would show you the back as well. If you want a T-Shirt, contact me and I'll hook you up.

Seen at StoneBridge This Morning...

an empty Coors Light can in the third row and a fight between two teenage thugs who came in off the street. And almost a fight between Jason and the thugs. Never a dull moment when you're portable.

Date Night

Last night, I surprised Belinda by arranging an overnight date at Mountain Creek Cabins near Coopers Rock State Forest. I spent most of the day making the arrangements...getting world champion babysitter Loren to watch the kids, making the reservation, packing her an overnight bag, and planning dinner and breakfast at the cabin. For dinner, I planned to grill the best two steaks I could find in Kroger, saute' asparagus, boiled tiny red potatoes, and frozen white corn. I even made a homemade marinade for the steak with Lea and Perkins worchestershire sauce, olive oil, and balsalmic vinegar. I picked her up from work yesterday afternoon and unveiled the surprise when we pulled up to the cabin.

We had a great time, enjoying rare solitude without the usual distractions, watching Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest, and chilling in the hot tub on the deck watching the snow come down.

It is a rarity that Belinda and I get away like this, even for a night on the town. I'm going to do my best to plan date nights on a more regular basis.

Guys, we've got to go out of our way to romance our wives! Just like we did when we were dating. When the kids come along, it gets exponentially more difficult to do this, so we've got to gthe extra mile to make it happen. I am a firm believer that a little romance = healthy relationships with our wives = happier kids = healthier relationships outside the home.

Next Friday one of our college small groups is sponsoring a date night for couples by babysitting kids at the activity center of Morgantown Bible Church. I love the missional heart of these guys and girls. Hey guys at StoneBridge, here's your chance to leave your kids in a safe and fun environment and take your sweetheart out for a romantic adventure.

Coming to a Theatre Near You...

This Sunday we start a new series looking at the DNA of a true Jesus disciple. I am pumped about this series. Jason and I will be tag teaming this month, with Jason speaking on the first and fourth Sunday, and with me speaking on the second and third Sundays.

I believe that we all need to have a proper understanding of what true discipleship is all about. I'm praying that God will open my eyes and the eyes of the people of StoneBridge over the next few weeks.

David did another great job with the graphics. Pray for him as he heads to Beckley for a couple of days to continue recording his upcoming CD release.