Steven Gibbs

Dental Work

Nothing like dental work to make your day. John has been waiting for his new tooth all summer. Debby has been waiting to get braces since she stopped wearing her retainer in 8th grade...

Saturday experiences

Everyone should live on the wild side!

Who to believe?

After the hail storms a few weeks back, we had a ton of roofers descend on our neighborhood. They began knocking on my door – because they’d looked at my roof through binoculars while inspecting my neighbor’s roof!

Of course, I needed a new roof, and some other very expensive repairs (according to them). So I called my insurance company, like many of you. According to them, I needed some housing repairs, but no new roof. Who do I believe?

Of course, we may jump to the conclusion to believe the roofers. The insurance company has a vested interest in our NOT needing a new roof. Now, I have had my share of struggles with an insurance adjuster. But if I am suspicious of my insurance company, why do I pay them every year for my homeowners insurance? Why would I trust the opinion of a roofer who is only in town to make some money, and then leaves? If I am that suspicious of my insurance company, I must not be too intelligent to pay them all that money!

So, instead of jumping to conclusions about the company, I called an independent third party who had a good reference. They helped clear it all up.

It seems so easy in life to believe the person we know less about. We hear part of the truth, and we run with it. It happens in businesses. A work associate of yours has been let go. Of course he had no idea it was coming. He’d been performing above average for years. The big, bad boss let him go, for no reason. Really? Oh, yeah, and come to find out, this was the third time.

It happens in our neighborhoods, and in our families, and with our friends. We find it easier to be angry with the people that are closer to us, than with someone we don't really know, and shouldn't trust. Of course, our friends can be in the wrong. But we should probably start with the premise that the person we know has his own view of the story. It would probably be the "polite" thing to call them and ask. And biblical. Always be objective. It’ll save you a ton of heartache.

Image of Sex Struggles

I knew that would get your attention. The title of Sunday's message is "Image of Sex." I'm struggling with so much info to teach on!

We'll be landing our Silhouette series. It's been great, and we have gotten great feedback from all of the creative elements and musical touches.

Checked Out

I've been checked out of the blogosphere for a while. We went to Jamaica last week with our high school students. We built 2 houses, poured 3 foundations, and moved A LOT of rocks. I’ll never look at a bag of cement or a shovel the same again. I’ll post some pics in a few days.

Also, we had a great time hosting John Eldredge last night. John is on a book tour, and spent a couple of hours talking through his book with around 1100 people. God has used the materials that his ministry produces to greatly impact my life, and it was great to be able to host that event.

Everyone who came continually talked about what a great church we had. Yeah, I know (smile). You guys rock.

Control Freaks

You may have seen Roger Clemens appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The chairman of the committee, Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), regrets holding the hearing, The New York Times reported.

"I'm sorry we had the hearing. I regret that we had the hearing. And the only reason we had the hearing was because Roger Clemens and his lawyers insisted on it," Waxman said.

How is it that a baseball player has the control to get a hearing before Congress? Last time I checked, baseball was America’s pastime, not lifeline. Now, I respect baseball, but it is a GAME.

In reality, a baseball player does not have that control unless it is given to him. You know what, we can give away control as well. We can feel forced into a decision by someone who makes us feel guilty, inadequate, defensive, or wrong. So we cave in to what they want. They make us feel like we have to. Their issue is usually not what is right, or the truth, but about control.

Jesus never did that. When someone wanted him to go to a certain city, he didn’t. When someone wanted him to establish his kingdom, he didn’t bow to the pressure. He stayed focused on his mission.

We don’t have to give up control to another person, either. Just because someone wants something from you doesn’t mean you should respond. It doesn’t mean that you should cower to those control freaks that want their way. Just like Henry Waxman, we’ll find that it isn’t just a waste of time, but actually damaging. Stay focused on what is important. Let those freaks work their control magic on someone else.

Upcoming Series

“Dump Your Junk” featured some pretty heavy creative elements. Our new series, “There’s Something about Benjamin” will be great, but with much more humor. While we value fun and laughter, I think this Sunday may be one of the funniest services we have seen in a while.

For you hyper-spiritual folks – laughter is in the Bible. We can still teach “deep” (note of sarcasm) truths, and we can do it while having fun. You definitely want to invite someone.

Curious

On Friday, someone dropped off a dog, with a bowl of food, at the church. They were driving a very nice Range Rover. What I mean by dropped off is "dumped." They did not come back to get the dog.

The dog is still around. We've tried to catch the dog, to no avail. We've called the appropriate authorities. I'm just curious, if you met this Range Rover driving person, what would be your reaction?

Scatter Shooting

Great post here on MLK. Love the imagery and message.

This Sunday will be an incredible opportunity to invite your friends and your One Life. Don't miss it.

I was frustrated when I couldn't find my keys. Imagine misplacing $7B!

What's up with Heath Ledger's death? It's always a time to reflect on the brevity of life and what we should be doing with the time we have.

Giants or the Patriots? I like the Patriots, but I also like an underdog. That's different than a loser, and I'll post more on the difference later.

I was an early reviewer of an upcoming book, Pop Goes The Church by Tim Stevens of Granger Community Church in Indiana. Because it has not been released, I can't use any material here. But it did have a couple of statements that I think will have some pretty strong impact. As one reviewer put it, "it is both engaging and provocative."

Sunday Services

We have cancelled services for Sunday, January 20th due to weather. We held off as long as we could. The Georgia DOT is suggesting that people stay off of the roads after dark. It doesn't seem that it will warm up anytime soon after that. We have cancelled mainly because we are concerned for our volunteers and staff. We are concerned that the road conditions that early in the day could prove to be hazardous for them.

For this week at Stonecreek and schedule changes, click here.
For message downloads, click here.
To give online, click here.
To invite a friend, click here.

Mind Dump

I should have written a few days ago, but the week kind of ran away from me:

• John has recovered well from Cincinnati. We’ll go back in a month and see how he’s doing. We’re continuing to work on his swallowing, as it can take some time to eat. Also, his voice needs a lot of work, so we begin speech therapy today.
• Pray for our insurance issues. We’re filing an appeal with our insurance company. Our prayer is that once they have all the information, they’ll have a better grasp of John’s case and provide full coverage.
• Thanks to all of you who parked around the lake on Sunday! Great problem to have. We’ll be opening some parking soon at the office park located adjacent to our building. We’ll keep you posted on that.
• This Sunday we’ll launch more people into Connection Groups than we have ever launched at one time! If you haven’t registered, contact Jason Howard. Groups are a great way to grow spiritually and stay connected into what God is doing in our church.
• We’re hosting Q100 and a self-defense seminar on Thursday night. See Ken’s post about it. This is a great opportunity to invite someone to Stonecreek. They can see the building and get a feel for the vibe that happens on Sunday.
• Visit www.dumpyourjunk.net and DUMP YOUR JUNK! I've got high expectations for these next few weekends. Our staff has really enjoyed hearing stories coming from this series.
• If you haven’t signed up for a Segue Live! Tour, we have added some tours to accommodate the demand. Contact Angela Cole. The tour will let you see all of our ministries and get plugged into a volunteer role.
• If you are not volunteering, now is the time. Contact Angela Cole.
• We’ll be baptizing on January 27th. Contact Jason Howard about this. What a great way to start the year spiritually!
• Our next series, starting February 10th is “There’s Something About Benjamin.” What is it about him?
• What about the Compassion display in the lobby? You need to sponsor a Compassion child if you haven’t already.

Sunday Night Rambling

• John and Debby made it to Cincinnati. They are staying at the Ronald McDonald house again. What a great place.
• Jason Howard did a great job speaking today. Who’s your group?
• The Compassion International display in the lobby is OUTSTANDING. If you haven’t sponsored a child, or are interested in what they do, stop by and take a look.
• We start Dump Your Junk next Sunday! Don’t forget to use one of the invite cards to invite someone you know.
• We’ve got a pretty cool surprise during the service next week. Stay tuned.
• One thing I do not like about the eastern time zone is how late football games start. I’m hoping to stay awake for the BCS game tomorrow night. I love the way they crammed what used to happen in one game into 3 months (smile).
• Our family had 5 basketball games yesterday. One of my kids had 3 games, then came home and proceeded to barf everywhere. Think it was the skittles or nachos?
• John has the FEES study tomorrow. Please pray that this goes well, and his swallowing continues to progress.

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!

Sunday Night Rant

My brain is fried. Cliff notes tonight:
• The Chorale was incredible. That may be the first time we’ve had 2 standing o’s in one service!
• The Backpacks of Hope in the lobby look great.
• John and Debby left for Cincy today. I’m going up for the day on Tuesday.
• The Lighthouse, a ministry to health challenged kids, had their banquet at Stonecreek today. Several hundred people attended.
• BCS makes perfect sense. Georgia doesn’t play and drops in the polls. LSU jumps 5 spots in the BCS. Missouri gets left out altogether. Kansas loses to Missouri, but makes it in. Oh yeah, pass me that bottle of stupid.
• I actually like LSU. Grew up very close to Baton Rouge. Their argument is that they were undefeated in regulation – meaning they lost in overtime. I’m sure there is some team in the country that could make a similar argument. Try this one: we won the first quarter in every game. We were undefeated in the first quarter, we just lost the last 3 quarters of every game by 599 points. Puuhlease. Last time I checked, overtime determined the winner, that’s why they have overtime. What about the teams that actually WON 11 games in regulation!
• Georgia Tech still doesn’t have a football coach. Nebraska does. Ole Miss does. Is that good or bad?
• I started a story today by saying, “I married a girl whose father was an alcoholic.” That should have been said, “I officiated the marriage of a girl whose father was an alcoholic” (smile).
• Christmas Eve is going to be something special. I’m going to give some photo clues to our services over the next weeks. The first one is below. It may seem obvious, but it is not. Keep your guesses until you see more clues:

Backpacks of Hope

Hope you guys have finished your Backpacks of Hope for Hope for Guatemala. We finished ours up last night. This Sunday is the last day to bring them in, so do not forget!

Sunday

Tough message topic yesterday on divorce, but some incredible steps taken by couples make it worth the struggle. This week we’ll hit parenting. While I have kids, I feel inadequate so many times. Studying for this message has been very good for me so far.

Send us your stories! We’ve gotten some great feedback on this Whole Family series. Email us at stories@stonecreekchurch.org, and let us know the impact it is having in your family. We'd really love to hear your stories about family meal time. I can only imagine there are some great thanksgiving stories about to happen!

For those who know me...

Check out this link. I couldn't agree more.

Grace and Truth

This week’s message is on divorce. So many people have faced this in some way, either experiencing it themselves, or knowing someone who has gone through it.

I cannot even think about the pain so many people have gone through when it comes to divorce – it makes me angry and sad, all at the same time. So much has been stolen from so many.

As I said Sunday, I am praying that this message will be one of the most healing messages that we have taught. You probably know someone who is in the middle of this, or is reeling from the pain. You should invite them on Sunday. When Grace and Truth collide, some pretty cool things can happen. If you have a story about a marriage being on the rocks and pulling through, I'd love to hear it. Please email it to me. Also, if you have been through a divorce and have some insight on it's difficulty, I'd enjoy your insight as well.

We’ve got some pretty cool things happening musically. Mark Brown will be leading worship, along with the Stonecreek Band. We are fortunate to have 2 gifted worship leaders on staff in our church. Mark, along with Ken Murphy, models what it means to be a Christ worshipper.

Also, check out Ken’s post from Sunday regarding Worship Songs on iTunes. I particularly am digging "O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing" from the album, "Remedy" by David Crowder Band right now. If you're not checking Ken's blog regularly, you need to make it a habit. He's got some pretty cool stuff.

Quote

I love a good quote. I may have posted this one, but it's worth a repeat.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein

John Update

The afternoon has brought some good stuff. John woke up a couple of times and nodded his head when I asked questions. I asked if he knew who I was, he nodded yes. I asked of he could squeeze my hand, and he did. I asked him if I was the most handsome man he’d ever seen…he shook his head no…

He has made some progress, and it looks like he may only lose one permanent tooth. They wired some of his teeth together to bring stability. His blood pressure is stable, and oxygen levels are good. The bleeding has slowed from his throat and ear. It is possible that he will have his jaw wired shut…ouch.

Hopefully he can coast on the ventilator until Monday, and they'll do a scope to check out his throat area. He's still on the ventilator, and about 100 different tubes are coming out of his body.

One of the things that my boys and I do is our secret “code.” Whenever we leave each other, whether I’m going to work, or they’re going to school, we fist bump and say “strength and courage.” That was the last thing that John and I said to each other as he pulled out of the driveway on Thursday. He may look rough, but he is strong and courageous.

God Thoughts

I’m sitting in the PICU room at Egleston, while my son has a machine breathe for him. There is NEVER a time when there is not some new concern. Blood pressure, amount of urine, CVP, etc. It’s very difficult to watch. The question I percolate on as a pastor is what does this mean for me spiritually? More importantly, what does it mean for John.

Compared to John, it doesn’t seem that I should need God right now – I’m sitting in a chair in good health. John needs God. He needs the life that Jesus came to bring.

But I do need God. I need some peace. I don’t need understanding, I don’t need answers, I can’t necessarily argue that He must intervene. That’s in His court. I certainly ask for that, could I even be so bold as to say I beg for that. But God is God, and I am not. He is a God of life, and I do have faith in God. Lord help my little faith!

I think I may also feel some pressure as your pastor. Not to be superman, but to model what it’s like to walk with God through difficulty. To acknowledge the help of other people. I don’t necessarily feel that consciously, but deep down I do want to please God. And deep down I want John healed.

Blogging

I'll be out of the blogosphere for a few days as my family and I go on vacation. I'm certain that I'll have some great stories when I return. Stay tuned!

Justin Land

Had a great opportunity to meet with a good friend of mine who now is on the worship staff at Newspring Church in Anderson, SC. Justin Land attended Stonecreek in the past, and his wife Rachel worked on our staff. Justin was formerly the lead singer in a rock and roll group called Honestly, and I was disappointed when they stopped creating.

I learn from Justin when we meet, and I honestly believe that we’ll be hearing so much from his ministry as he sings, writes, and creates. He taught me a lot about worship in the time we were together yesterday.

The Porn Talk

One of the guests we are particularly excited about hosting at Stonecreek during Simply Summer is Mike Foster from theporntalk.com. Mike has an innovative approach to ministry, and this topic is serious. He's bee on Fox News and CNN just to name a few, to discuss this topic.

Some people would say, why would you hit that topic on Sunday morning? Aren't there more relevant topics like money and family? If you don't think this is a HUGE issue, check out this article. I don't know about you, but I want to spare our kids the pain and devastation that comes through pornography. I can't make their choices, but I can equip them to make the right choices.

You don't want to miss any of our summer line up. Every parent needs to hear this message. Bring every teenager you can get your hands on. Offer them free food, it always works (smile).

Invite your friends, bring your kids - it may save their lives....

Sunday Night Ramblings

Happy Father’s Day. It’s been a pretty solid week for me. God has been teaching me some new things, and re-igniting my passion for doing what we do. Some of the highlights:

Lunch with Gary Lamb. Gary is the lead pastor at Ridgestone Church in Canton, meeting at the Riverstone Theater. Gary’s a unique guy, with a passion to see disconnected people come to Christ. We had a good lunch together, and I learned some new things and remembered some old stuff. Hebrews 10:24 says we should spur one another on to “love and good works.” Being around Gary always does that. (Well, o.k. Gary, at least the good works part :)).

I read Bill Hybels book Holy Discontent in 2 readings. I’ve heard his message on this topic, and the message was a turning point in my life. I really dug the book, and highly recommend it. His point is that deep down in all of us is something that “wrecks” us. One thing that we MUST do something about. He gives some good pointers on finding that “thing.”

Baby dedication was today. I love babies, especially when someone else is in charge of changing their diapers. We hold parent/child dedication twice a year, and it’s a time for parents to commit to raise their children in a manner that points them to God. Parenting is a tremendous responsibility, and we need all of the help we can get.

I challenged Dad’s today to take leadership in their homes. Not the macho “man-up” message, but more of stepping into God’s role that we are supposed to take in the family. In 20 years, when our kids are making career decisions and raising their own kids, they won't care that we spent a ton of money chasing them to all star games or cheerleading competition. They'll be glad if we showed them how to include God in their lives. I took time at the end of the service to pray over our dad’s.

Anytime you call out a particular group, you leave out another group. My hat goes out to single Mom’s, who wish they had father’s in their home to help raise their kids. These situations happen for different reasons, and it is always difficult. I have a heart for single Mom’s, and I hope in the future Stonecreek will be a place that will always help single Mom’s with their unique needs.

The Goal Is Up!

My kids have been BEGGING for a non-portable basketball goal. So, I found one on sale and took the plunge. It is now up and running. Definitely one of those guy projects that makes you feel like life is worth living!

Student Camp

Ken and I just got back from visiting the students at Bigstsuf camp. Is wow overused? The worship was incredible, and I am confident that many of them will come back changed. Keep praying for them, that when they return they will be on fire.

Sunday Night Ramblings

Wasn’t the beach in the lobby awesome! Anytime I get a taste of the beach, I immediately get in a better mood.

Yesterday marked the end of my 9 year old’s baseball season. We lost the 2nd game of a double elimination tournament. I love coaching kid’s baseball. It’s great to see kids get a personal victory – maybe a hit, or get someone out, or score a run. Even if we lose the game, if I see kids get some small victories, I am fulfilled. I know what those small victories can mean for them as adults. I am equally as crushed when something negative happens to them.

That’s what drives me as a pastor. I want to see people win. I know that following Christ can give people a win. I love seeing people leave our services encouraged and ready to take on their next challenge. It gives me energy and drives me to do it again next week.

What about you? What drives you to next week, or next month? Have you found it yet?

Jerry Falwell

Jerry Falwell passed away yesterday. I know several Liberty alumni, and they loved him. Most alumni that I meet talk about how he loved the students and spent time with them on campus. I met him on one occasion, and found him to be kind and authentic. I realize his public persona made him a flashpoint in our political world. This will definitely stir the pot in our media. It will be interesting how his legacy is portrayed to the world.