As I said, it’s great to be back after so long away! A ten year sabbatical is nothing ti sneeze at! And I am ready and raring to go with so much excitement for all the Lord has in store for Southbrook Church! I’ve (unfortunately) had to ease in slowly due to coming off a flu bug and then catching another one this past week as it worked it’s way through the family. So, I’ve preached the last two weeks highly medicated!
Hope I didn’t say anything heretical as I tripped out on Niquil! Here’s some highlights since returning from my time with God…
- The staff retreat a week ago was the best ever! We actually had little in the way of an agenda, just a chance to spend the day together with staff and their spouses, capped off with a precious time of foot washing. The staff we have now is the most unified, vision loving, hard working, godly group of people I’ve ever worked with! And I really love you guys!
- People are starting to return from their summer vacations and things are really hopping at Southbrook. This is one of my favorite times of the year! Back to school brings new people and families to Southbrook–both those who will join us on the journey right away because they love the vision and those who will meet Jesus here and celebrate total life transformation!
- This past Friday evening was our first ever volunteer appreciation blow out! It was a full on black tie affair–a little like the Oscars (only without all the long winded speeches). Contrary to what you might have heard, I did not wear a suit! I just want to get that straight. It was actually a tuxedo! And can I say this? The staff pulled off the most incredible evening I’ve ever seen at a church! This staff team continues to amaze me! Seriously, ninety-nine point nine percent of this thing was planned and put together while I was away so even if I wanted to take some credit for it–I couldn’t. Not honestly anyway 🙂 Anyway, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Check out some of the pictures to follow.
Thought it was way cool how the early birds got to take their seats and watch all the honored guests arrive and get interviewed live before they came in! Just like the real Oscars!
The place soon filled up and Mia kicked things off with a Southbrook version of Pink’s “Let’s Get this Party Started.’ Or something like that. Not a huge Pink fan but I like that song!
Early on some of our honored volunteers came up front and competed for prizes on the Wii!
A side of Greg you probably never thought you’d see!
Each of us got in on the act…
Daryl claimed his teleprompter was too far away to see!
This was the big moment of the evening. Mr. Mike got the “Lifetime Impact Award” for leaving a lasting mark on hundreds of kids throughout the life of Southbrook Church! Michelle didn’t say anything because she couldn’t keep the tears back. Thank you, Mr. Mike for all you do!
And thanks again to all our AWESOME volunteers who serve tirelessly so that we might see those who are far fom God brought near through the power of the gospel and love of Jesus Christ! It’s an honor to serve with all of you! I hope everyone can make it to the next event like this—as we are planning the next one even as I type this!
- Diary of a Wimpy Christian (DOWC) begins in 2 weeks and I really believe it will be our best series EVER at Southbrook. Expecting God to move in ginormous ways and I hope everyone not only shows up for all four weeks, but invites, invites, invites!
- Pretty impressed by the sound guys this weekend. I was coughing a lot, and they actually anticipated these spastic fits pretty well and muted my mic enough so that it was at least bearable. I promise to try hard to get completely well by next weekend b/c, even I have to admit–that’s pretty obnoxious to listen to!
- Haven’t forgotten my blog series on, “Markers.” I will continue it but not every day. As you have no doubt noticed by now, I no longer blog every day. There’s more to life than blogging!