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Post Halloween Feed-back

I am so going to need a healthy dose of Pepto-Bismol tonight after the insanity that was Halloween in my neighborhood! My neighbors didn't disappoint. People were out in full force and they went all out. Brach's candy was like the creatures that lived in the woods in "The Village". It was "They who's name is never to be mentioned".

The candy dispensing was off the hook! Some people were giving out whole candy bars! Not the mini size, not the bite size... whole candy bars. It was glorious!

I introduced my niece Sarah to the joy of mixing Pixie Stix and soda. That's what it's all about. She was so happy as she explained the chemical explosion that her taste buds experienced.

Strangely missing from tonight's festivities: Hershey's Kisses (very missed), 100 Grand (The most underrated chocolate bar in America), and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (Were we the only people on the block giving them out - The Franquiz family doesn't disappoint!)

Pleasant surprises: Smarties made a nice comeback, Eyeball gummy bears were new to the mix, and Hot Tamales (another underrated cinnamon treat for all ages) made a surprise appearance in Sarah's bag.

All in all, it was fun. Sarah and I trick or treated my local pizza place to see if they'd give us a garlic roll or a mozzarella stick, they didn't. But they did give us candy (some chocolate and a nice surprise of Dots - well done Sal's... well done.)

Questions Portable Church Leaders Want Answered!

Over on our Momentum Blog, we're going to be posting answers to 7 questions that we asked portable church leaders to answer about being in a portable facility. There's even a give away if you decide to participate.

By the way, today is the last day of the $99 deal for our Momentum Conference. Some have taken advantage already. You know you want to come to Miami on March 1-2, 2007 and learn from some guys that are doing it; get to hang with a bunch of leaders who are in the trenches with you on this. I'm excited about this because I believe all of us are going to walk away with a notebook full of ideas, sketches, and layouts!

The $99 deal is only available when you email us directly.

Pastor's Appreciation Month

With all the talk about Pastor's Appreciation on the blogosphere (Perry got a treadmill for crying out loud. That's awesome. Ben got a new car - kidding), I've come to realize that in our 6 years nothing ever happens for me or the other Pastors at our church during Pastor's Appreciation month. So this can only mean one of two things:

#1 - The people we are reaching have never been to church before and have no idea what Pastor's Appreciation month is.

Or

#2 - We really suck as Pastors.

For all I know it could be a little of both :)

Halloween Thoughts

Every year I get asked if our church going to do something for Halloween. Usually that's code for "How do we deal with the Devil's version of Christmas?"

Here's my thoughts on the subject (feel free to disagree, but also feel free to not send me links to sites about witchcraft and/or the winter solstice):

#1 - This is a great opportunity to get to know your neighbors.

#2 - This is the one day a year everyone in your neighborhood is going to knock on your door.

#3 - Christians should have the best candy on the block. Brach's candy is for the elderly. If I find out anyone in our church handed out pennies, I'm going to egg your house myself :)

#4 - Halloween has bad roots, but I doubt that the 7 year old at your door dressed like Anakin Skywalker is actually a devil worshipper. He's heard that the people in his neighborhood are giving out candy.

#5 - Halloween is not a day for Christians to hide out at church. It's a day to be light and salt.

#6 - Once your kids get all the candy they can carry, this is a great opportunity to teach your kids about tithing. You get to be God. (Thanks to Scott for opening my eyes to this opportunity , I mean "truth" :)

Happy Halloween, Charlie Brown!

Eye, Eye, Captain!

I can barely type so please forgive any spelling errors. I had to go to the doctor today because my eye has been bothering me since last week. So I found out that I had Iritis (sp?)That means the iris has an infection. So this means I have all these eye drops I've got to put in my right eye, which is rendering me pretty much useless. The doctor said I won't be able to read for a few days until the infection goes away because the medicine is making me see double. I also had to cancel a speaking engagement I had for Thursday, which was a bummer. But I wouldn't be able to read my notes. Plus, I'd look like I was winking at the audience, which could get weird.

I went to dinner with some friends tonight and I couldn't even read the menu. I told Carey that I want an eye patch so I can be in the Halloween spirit as a pirate, but also because it will make it easier for me to see. She finds it easier to make cyclops jokes :) I did find out that I have 20/15 vision, that was good to know.

So if you get a chance , could you pray for your one-eyed friend in Miami whose wife is driving him around because he sees twice as many cars on the road? I just hope I don't miss the bags when the Trick or treaters come to my door.

We Thought We Were So Smart

I remember over the summer when we said that adding a Sunday night service would relieve our Sunday morning space problems. It hasn't.

Sunday night has turned into a church all its' own. It's amazing. There are moments I think I like Sunday night more than Sunday morning. The group is so excited to be there. It is primarily all singles and young couples. The band turns it up to 11. And of course, by 6PM I pretty much awake.

But it hasn't solved our Sunday morning issue. We're still out of space. So we'll be adding a 2nd AM service soon... I guess I'm not as smart as I thought. But had we added a 2nd AM service and it solved our space issue, I don't think we would have done added Sunday night. So I'm glad we did it, even if our solution to the problem wasn't a solution. God has used it to allow us to reach a lot of people that a 2nd Sunday AM service might not have done.

The $99 Momentum deal ends on Halloween

Halloween is the deadline for our $99 Momentum deal.

The way it work is this: send me an email that you want to attend Momentum and someone from our staff will call/ email you and work out the details.

I got some of the responses to the $99 deal, but I with all my email trouble over the last week I think I missed some. So if you haven't gotten a response, please resend.

Also, we got some great hotel news. Shula's hotel (yes, named after the Dolphins' legendary coach) dropped their rates for rooms during the conference. Call now...operators are standing by...

Rockin' My World...

I picked up the bass at 15, so music is a huge part my life. Because of that, lyrics to songs tend to get in head and work me during different seasons of my life. They create a soundtrack to every stage of my life.

Here are some of the lyrics that are speaking to me now:

"I'm 33 for a moment, still the man, but you see I'm a they...A kid on the way...A family on my mind." - (100 Years by Five for Fighting)

"Is there anyone who ever remembers changing their mind from the paint on a sign? Is there anyone who really recalls ever breaking rank at all for something someone yelled real loud one time? Oh, everyone believes...in how they think it oughta be. Oh, everyone believes...and they're not going easily." - (Belief by John Mayer)

"So scared of getting older I’m only good at being young. So I play the numbers game...To find a way to say that life has just begun." - (Stop This train by John Mayer)

I Knew it was Possible!

What a great feeling! I don' think it will last long, but I feel 10 pounds lighter!

October 27th in the Baseball Universe

Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals who shocked the world by beating the Detroit Tigers in 5 games. Almost everyone I knew (including me) thought the Tigers would make quick work of the Cards. But as is the saying, "Pitching wins in October." If you don't pitch, you go home.

But as far as I'm concerned, October 27th will only be remembered for 1 reason: The 2004 Red Sox. I have the words of announcer Joe Buck burned into my heart: "Back to Foulke. Red Sox fans have longed to hear it: The Boston Red sox are World Champions!"

Here's a video that someone put together (using my favorite song of all-time as the soundtrack).