Steven Gibbs

Dang!

Christmas Eve

We just finished putting out all of the gifts for the kids, and I cannot help but post something about our services tonight. Especially for those of you who were traveling tonight, I want you to get a picture of what happened (notice I did not say, what you missed!). I usually shy away from hyperbole. Let me say, it was incredible. Below is a blow-by-blow account of the night. It’s long, but worth it…

• I told you to be early. Did you listen?
• 4:00 service was the largest one-service attendance in our history. Thanks for those of you who came, and left, and came back again at 5:30. Double thanks to the hundreds of you who sat in overflow. God already told me you get a double blessing (smile).
• Did I mention I said to be early?
• 5:30 wasn’t far behind in attendance. I know, I know, you have never seen me post anything on attendance. It feels funny even writing that. But I wanted you to feel what we felt.
• Dancing Santa was a hit with the kids. Too many people laughing.
• Dave Smith knocked out the opening song. If you missed it, sorry.
• The light video really captured the moment. The scripture verses on light helped set the stage for the “Light” series finale.
• The opening number, “O Come Let Us Adore Him,” with the 50 gallon drums, and grinders, the sparks, the light, the protective glasses, and … well, if you missed it, it was a once in a lifetime event. But don’t feel bad…really.
• The carols rocked.
• I’m not sure how the offering was (smile). I’m sure it was great. I did hear there were ALOT of $1 bills…
• I heard that during the message someone recited the Christmas Story – Luke 2:1-20. Is that possible with kids squirming and adults stressing? Did anyone catch the word I misquoted?
• It was the BEST rendition of Silent Night I have ever heard. Chase Crandell KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK! I loved the way his voice blended with Ken Murphy’s on the 2nd verse.
• Candle lighting is always meaningful. My favorite part of the night was walking down the aisle, lighting candles, and saying Merry Christmas to so many people that I have gotten to know over the year. What was your favorite part?
• My wife and I want to know, why do men spit, and women don’t?
• Big shout out to Matt Brogden, Ken Murphy, and Mark Brown who made it happen tonight from a production standpoint.
• Lynn Miner, Ryan Martin, Jason Howard, Angela Cole, Kelly Matthews, Cindy Graves, Robyn Cavins, Christy Brogden, Cindy Tuttle, Lori Turgeon, Lisa Lockwood, Jennifer Elwood, and Monica Boyd. You never get enough credit. You rock.
• Thanks to all of our volunteers. You are the unsung heroes of the movement.
• Don’t forget to check out Dump Your Junk. We’re going to tackle some tough real life issues.

Merry Christmas.

Lights

Every year we throw on our p.j.’s, buy some french fries at McDonald’s, and go look at Christmas lights. These are the best I’ve ever seen. You need to check it out.

4730 Bryn Ridge Court, 30040.

I cannot wait for Christmas Eve. Here’s another clue:

Bring These...

Services are at 4:00 and 5:30. Come early. Volunteer if you can. This will be a great start to 2008.

Exciting News!

New Year Welcomes New Staffing Assignments in Splash!, Kidzu

Stonecreek is pleased to announce Christy Brogden as Director of Children’s Ministries. In her new ministry assignment, Christy will provide visionary and directional leadership to Stonecreek’s ministry to elementary children, grades 1 through 5. Christy has served churches in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Henderson, Nevada, and joined the Stonecreek team as Director of Preschool Ministries in February 2004. Christy and her husband, Matthew (Creative & Technical Director), make their home in Canton with their two sons, Cole (9) and Blake (7).

Cindy Tuttle is no stranger to Kidzu, Stonecreek’s Sunday morning environment for grades 1 through 5. Cindy has been promoted to Director of Kidzu Creative Arts. In her new role, Cindy will provide leadership to the creative expressions of Kidzu through adult and children volunteers. Cindy has served faithfully as a volunteer in Kidzu since its beginning, and as a staff Ministry Assistant to Kidzu. Cindy and her husband, Kevin, make their home in Canton with their two daughters, Rachel (10) and Kristen (12).

Stonecreek is also pleased to announce the addition of Jennifer Elwood as Director of Preschool Ministries to its staff team. Jennifer has served in Splash! as a volunteer assistant to former director, Christy Brogden, and takes her post January 1, 2008, to provide directional leadership for Stonecreek’s preschool ministry (3s, 4s, 5s, & K). Jennifer’s background is in public education, where she served as an educator and training specialist, with an emphasis in special education. Jennifer and her husband, Lonnie, make their home in Cumming, with their children Tyler (1) and Emileigh (3).

Christmas Eve Clue

I know, this is a gimme...

For you Stonecreekers, we still need some volunteers for Christmas Eve. As you can imagine we're expecting a large crowd and need a few more hands on deck. If you really love Jesus, contact Ryan Martin to volunteer. Thanks.

Caption?

Anyone got a caption for these?

Next Clue

Alright, now that the kinks are ironed out for Christmas Eve, here is the next clue...

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity hosted their regional banquet at Stonecreek on Thursday night. This is one way that we are leveraging our resources for Christ. Thanks to all of you who contribute to what God is doing at Stonecreek. This banquet is one of those unseen ways you are making a difference in the lives of those who Christ loves!

Christmas Music

This Sunday’s music is going to be a great way to kick off the week before Christmas. Our set will include a grand piano, a sax, and some kids. Kids singing are always a hit for Christmas. You don’t want to be late for this.

Also, let’s finish the year with a strong Gift Offering this year. Every year we have a special emphasis at Christmas to give our largest gift to the work God is doing at Stonecreek Church. This is part of focusing our giving on Christ and what he has done in our lives. It allows Stonecreek to launch several ministries into the new year. You can listen to the podcast from last week to catch up on some of our initiatives for 2008. Our generosity to The Gift opens the door for our church to continue it’s mission to connect with people and lead them into an authentic and growing relationship with Christ.

Character Matters

As we’ve seen in recent days, character matters. While I know that I don’t have all of the information, based on what I’ve gathered in the newspapers (I know it may be wrong), I have the following observations.

Lesson 1: With character, history repeats itself. Bobby Petrino was widely known for interviewing for the Auburn job while Auburn still had a coach, Tommy Tuberville. Tuberville was Petrino’s former boss. Petrino then signed a 10 year contract with Louisville, and opted out.

If you’re fooling around with someone who is married and hoping to marry them, odds are they’ll fool around on you, too. If you’re considering hiring someone who left their previous job for no good reason, they’ll leave you for no good reason. If you’re considering going into business with someone who talks bad about their boss, they’ll end up talking bad about you, too. If you hire a leader who has a predisposition for changing jobs, they’ll leave you, too. I know, I know, you're the exception. Yeah, right.

Of course the exception is redemption. You better be direct in asking about that.

Lesson 2: Finish what you start. Too many people bail out when the going is tough, and you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I recognize that there are times when gift mix or circumstances may necessitate moving on to another leadership position. But if that’s the case, then say so. Don’t pretend that things were beyond your control. The fact is, you couldn’t do it. It doesn’t mean you’re inferior or defective. You know what it means? It means you couldn’t do it. Let me tell you a secret: there are lots of things that you can’t do. For instance, if you’re a guy, you can’t have a baby (smile). That doesn’t make you inferior, well maybe it does… Anyway, FINISH WHAT YOU START. Sometimes finishing may mean saying I’m not the guy, but I’ll do my best to transition to someone who can get the job done, and I’ll be up front about it.

Lesson 3: The truth comes full circle. I learned this from Ken Murphy’s Dad. In the end, it will all come out in the wash. Hey Arkansas, welcome to Nebraska. Seems like I remember Nebraska firing a coach who had an incredible record, and now nobody will take the job. I’m sure Houston Nutt isn’t spotless in all of this (what university hires a head coach in just 4 hours?), but he did win a few games. The truth will find you out.

The big winner in this - LSU. Thank you, Les Miles. You gave up a job at your alma mater, following in the lineage of your mentor (assuming nothing is cooking in your kettle). If I'm a parent in Louisiana or Arkansas, my kid is going to LSU, or Texas, or Tennessee. There are some great character coaches out there - Mark Richt, Chan Gailey, Paul Johnson, Paul Hewitt, Frank Beamer, Duke's coach (I can't spell it), Roy Williams, etc. I think this may just get the attention of college athletics and put an end to the nonsense. (Oh yeah, unfortunately if you're from the University of Arkansas, you'll have to give up Mississippi jokes (smile)).

Anyway, that’s my rant. And maybe nothing we’ve read in the papers is correct. But the lessons still hold.

Lack of Information

One of the hard parts about staying in the waiting room when John is having surgery is the lack of play-by-play. I mean, in surgery the doctor’s are focused on John, as they should. But as the latest surgery stretched from 1 hour to 4 before we heard anything, your mind begins to run away. It’s crazy how you begin to ASSUME the worst.

You begin to think, well if I haven’t heard anything, something bad must be happening. Even when I know they have to get me to sign a consent form to do ANYTHING, it’s easy to assume the worst.

Maybe there was a complication. Maybe the doctor’s were wrong all along. Maybe the damage was worse than originally thought. The list of “maybe” and “what if” goes on and on. This is Satan's primary tactic. He attacks the mind with untruth, and we rationalize what we think as being absolute. Because it is not absolute, fear, anger, concern, and worry can creep into our mind. He is called the accuser, you know.

But whenever I have a question, all I have to do is get the receptionist to call back to surgery, and they give me an update with ACCURATE information, not my assumptions and fears. I get the clear truth.

It’s silly how that happens in every area of life. Someone makes a decision that we disagree with, or have questions about. Someone says, "did you hear what he did?" "Did you hear what he said?" We think we know the full story. We assume that we have all of the information in our puny little minds. Negative thoughts and feelings occur. Actions soon follow, all based on inaccurate, unsubstantiated and incorrect information. We listen to the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

There is a simple solution to this. All we have to do is ASK the source. Not someone who knows someone who has a friend whose aunt was involved. We don’t ask the wolf to check on the sheep. We need to check for ourselves. The only source that is trustworthy and reliable is THE source of information.

The silly little assumptions we make ruin relationships and grip our minds with fear and bitterness. They can cause us to make decisions that we regret later. These assumptions affect innocent sheep around us as we spread the assumptions.

However, asking requires too much work, and someone may point out that I don’t have the right information. I rushed to judgment. I am wrong. I hate being wrong. Instead, I’ll just let the wolf eat the sheep.