You have probably heard of this website/movement before, but if you haven’t I urge you to check out I Am Second.  The project is awesome.  Their films focus on one person at a time that is dealing with….well, life.  Struggles, addictions, blessings, tragedies, you name it.

Many of the people featured in the films are popular actors, athletes or musicians.  Others are like your next door neighbor.  But they have all dealt with something in their lives that others can identify with.

The best part is that each of these people have realized that they could not be where they are today without Jesus.  It’s not about them. It’s about Him. They are second.  Here are a couple to watch, so you get the idea.

Brant Hansen – Radio Host, Mornings with Brant on WAY-FM

and

Vitor Belfort – mixed martial arts fighter

I want to be second.

For Jesus to truly change my life, I need to be second.

What about you? Are you first in your life or are you second?

What if we fed the hungry?

What if we gave drink to the thirsty?

What if we welcomed strangers?

What if we gave clothes to those that have none?

What if we took care of the sick?

What if we visited those in prison?

What if we helped those that weren’t like us?

What if we didn’t care what others thought about us as we served others?

What if we stopped to consider the needs of others before the wants of ourselves?

What if we quit talking about our faith and started walking out our faith?

What if…

As we continue to get things in place for Palmetto Gatherings, we are tying to increase the number of ways for us to share information and keep people updated on events, mission projects and gatherings. There are now two options.

Our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/palmettoathome

And now, our email updates.  Email updates will include Event information, Reminders, Announcements and general updates. Sign up now!

This past Sunday night at Palmetto Gatherings we talked about how we all have big, buts.  It’s true.  I used the video below to kick off the discussion.  Give it a watch first.

I bet you have an ugly but. Like me you could have more than one.

In fact, my buts are ugly.

As I told the group Sunday night, I believe God has called Michelle and me to be a part of launching this house church network – Palmetto Gatherings.  Through the whole process I have come up with a bunch of buts, especially as I dig further into the details.

But I don’t know what I’m doing.

But I’m not a pastor.

But I’m just a regular guy.

But how will we decide <fill in the blank>?

But there are other people that could / would do this a whole lot better.

But I’m afraid I will do something wrong as we determine the structure, by-laws, etc.

But, but, but…

Thankfully, I’m not alone.

Continue Reading…

Last night we were having our regular Palmetto Gatherings Wednesday Bible studies.  The adults and youth are currently going through a series called “Guy Talk / Girl Talk“.  This is a great study.  The ladies/girls are going through specific topics the girls are facing these days.  The men/guys are going through the same thing related to what guys face these days.

Anyway, last night’s study for the guys was about Relationships and how guys view relationships with girls and how they should view these relationships.  We came across a section of bible verses that men and women wrestle with related to their roles in a marriage relationship.   The passage is in Ephesians and has sparked many a deep discussion.  The passage calls for wives to submit to their husbands and husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church.

However, both sexes seem to get hung up on the first part of the passage related to submission and take the whole discussion out of context.   This occurred to me last night during the Bible study and I said the following.

“The only fruit in some Christian’s lives is cherry picking of bible verses to fit what they want”

Afterwards, I tweeted the statement and sent it to facebook.  I pondered this phrase all day and refined it a bit:

“The only fruit evident in some Christian’s lives is the cherry picking of specific bible verses to fit what they want.”

What do you think?

Am I being too jaded in my observation? Too generous?

I am excited to announce that Palmetto Gatherings Home Fellowship is now on Facebook!

Getting to this point has taken longer than I had hoped, but this whole experience has been a learning process.  The legal and organizational details associated with starting a church are very important and can appear overwhelming.  There are many details that still need to be ironed out and we want to be sure we take each step diligently.

A few years ago, the first step in establishing a web presence for PG would have been to set up a website.  The website would have contained all the key information but would have existed primarily as a one way path of information.   While a PG website will launch later this year, I believe the social web has changed how organizations need to communicate.

That is why Palmetto Gatherings launched a Facebook page first.  We want our web communications to be interactive and Facebook facilitates that almost perfectly.   PG will have the tools to post events, discussions, links, general information, and key organizational information in an environment where many people already spend a good bit of time.  We will also benefit from the social nature of Facebook as people use the available tools to spread events, posts, links and other information virally.

So I invite you to come on over, “like” Palmetto Gatherings and get involved in the discussion.

As I posted in late 2010, my family and I left our last church on a new journey.  We felt God leading us somewhere, but we weren’t exactly sure where that was.

Well. It’s official.

God has led us, and several other families to launch Palmetto Gatherings Home Fellowship.  A network of house churches or home fellowships throughout our area.

What is it?

Church….done simply.  Some call it House Church, others call it a Home Fellowship.

Each week, families and friends gather at different homes to worship and learn together.  At our home, folks arrive around 9 AM and we spend time having a light breakfast and sharing together.  Around 9:30 we begin our time of worship with a few songs we’ve chosen and then we join the Lifechurch.tv stream for more music. After the music, we enjoy an excellent time of teaching from Craig Groeschel – Pastor of Lifechurch.  To finish up – we spend time discussing the sermon and praying.

The small group dynamic is AMAZING and creates a wonderful support structure.

Then, on Sundays and Wednesdays everyone from the different home fellowships meet together for group times.   We have groups meeting together for Children, Youth and Adults.

Yes, it’s different.

Is it for everybody? No.

We ARE finding that people are drawn to the simple, small group environment.  With few expenses, the Network will be using our resources to meet the needs of those in the communities around us.

We are looking to grow and add more homes throughout 2011.

If you have questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section and I’ll do my best to answer.