Connections

Hinge 2009 Recap Video

catalystmusicproject.com

Look at #8! David Walker, worship pastor at CRCC is about to get some nationwide recognition....like he should. Can't wait to see what the Lord will do with this song.

"Money Works" Workshop!

Starting a week from tomorrow, we are please to be offering a 4-Week workshop called "Money Works."  We are in an exciting season of growth and vision for our church and city.  Come join Financial Advisor, Bryce Covington as he will teach you how to handle your finances from a Kingdom perspective.  

"Money Works" will meet in the Adult Classroom at CRCC from 9:00-9:45 a.m.  We will end just in time to grab a cup of coffee and make it to the Encounter Service.  This is the season to get our financial house in order! Click here to register online for free!

CRCC "United Service" and baby Dedications

Tomorrow is the first day of our CRCC "United" that starts at 10 am.  We also have personal ministry, prayer and worship starting at 9:30 for anyone who would like to receive personal ministry or just spend some extra time in the presence of the Lord before the service starts.  We will also be dedicating the staff babies.  Make sure that you are there at 10 am at the latest, to ensure that you have a seat! See you there!!

School of Marriage!

At CRCC, we are excited to announce the School of Marriage starting Sunday 23rd @ 6 pm.

We have over 200 people registered from 13 different churches!  Please take advantage of this 12-week investment into your marriage.  Whether you are currently married or plan to be in the future, this class will equip you to fulfill God's plan for this most vital relationship.  The class is free! 

Read more and register here.

"Better Than I Know"

If you have not heard David Walker's music, you are about to get really acquinted with him.  He is our worship leader and has been writing some of the most most compelling songs for corporate worship that I have heard.  David just returned from Atlanta today mixing and laying down vocal tracks for the Catalyst Music Project CD.  

The Catalyst Conference is the nation's largest church leader's conference with almost 12,000 leaders a year gathering at the Gwinnett Conference Center in Atlanta.  David's song "Better Than I Know" will be on the Compilation CD that is going to be given to every attender at this year's conference.

Stop by David's site and pick up a copy of his new CD "Better Than I Know."

Hibernation is over....I think!

It's been so long that I forgot how to blog!  Well...forgive me as I remember on the World Wide Web.

Things have been moving at a lightening fast pace around here, but the journey has been wonderful. We have volunteers in the office buzzing around getting a ton of work done.  My goal is to blog with more frequency and the purpose is to give you an inside look into my life and ministry at CRCC.  Instead of writing a flowery post that fills the page, I will give some quick hits on what has been happening since we last had a cup of coffee.

* Moved from Associate Pastor to Lead Pastor of CRCC at the beginning of July.  

* It feels like all of our young adults at CRCC are heading into the mission field.  Our youth pastor is doing such a great job at leading his leaders that they are all leaving Greenville to serve the nations.

* Gearing up for the Hinge on August 29th.

* We hosted 38 pastors and church leaders downtown to pray, meet and fellowship.  This will be done quarterly as we learn to operate on Honor and link together to see God's Kingdom come in our city.

* Finished up the 3rd night of Hosting His Presence at CRCC.  We will be producing a live "Worship Album" to capture what God did these 4 nights.

* Learning a ton about guarding the culture that God creates in a local church.  The purpose of culture is to give it away to bless your city.  Freely you have received, freely give.  Learning to make everything we do....exportable.

* Learning to just be me...that is the hardest thing to do sometimes.

* Preparing for the "School of Marriage" this Fall at CRCC.  Click here to register.  We will have close to 200 people going through this 12-week course on Marriage and Relationships.

* Trying to get back into reading after a long book break.  Been trying to press into the scriptures for a while without the insight from other authors.

* Leadership is about empowering and equipping people for ministry.  It is so rewarding to see people discover their gifts and be released into ministry. Groups should be on-ramps and not cul-de-sacs! 

* Doing a lot of praying and meeting with leaders concerning our expansion process at CRCC.  Click here to listen to what we feel God is saying concerning our future at CRCC.

This is it for now!  Until tomorrow! 

Releasing the Sound!

Catalyst Music Project | Aaron Keyes from Catalyst on Vimeo.

This is a very cool opportunity that our pastor's son, Aaron Keyes is spear-heading with Catalyst called the Catalyst Music Project. David Walker, the Worship Pastor at CRCC is submitting one of his songs. Please pray that what David is writing would be exported to the world. The church will blessed by David's writing. By the way....if you haven't heard David's latest album Closer than Angels" then you need to stop what you are doing and purchase it here.

Reminded of the power of the Church!

As I was reading this article on CNN I was reminded of a story that I was honored to witness a few years ago.

Our Church was at a local swimming pool having one of our many summer baptisms when a wonderful new couple showed up.  They had been dating for years and had recently come to Christ after hearing the Gospel on TV....I believe.  She showed up walking very slowly with a cane due to a terrible back injury.  They were greeted at the door to the pool and stated that they had recently gotten saved and was looking to get baptized.  They googled Baptisms in Greenville, SC and ours showed up at the top of the list...they got directions and showed up.

The result of that Google search: 

-She was healed from her painful condition at the pool after being prayed for by a prayer team.
-She and her boyfriend were baptized as a ton of people that they didn't know cheered them on.
-They went through some marriage counseling a few weeks later.
-The church found out her wedding wishes and they were all delivered.
-She got a dress from someone at the church.
-A team of ladies made a beautiful cake.
-Another team purchased flowers.
-Another crew was in charge of makeup, hair and accessories.
-Another team arranged the music.
-The wedding was beautiful with family, friends and a new church family in attendance.

Never underestimate the power of the local church!  The Lord is great at granting the desires of your heart if you will delight in Him.

Core Values

I year ago, we started talking heavily as a staff about our personal Core Values and the Core Values of CRCC.  We wrestled, cried, debated and came to a conclusion.  It's so nice to have people around you that share the same Core Values.  It makes what you do for a living satisfying.  

One of my personal values and the values of CRCC is the Kingdom of God. This means that the Church at Greenville is more important than our local church.  It doesn't mean however that the local church is not important.  It is very important and adds a crucial element to the Body of Christ in your city. 

All that to say, I am so excited about two initiatives that we will be engaged in this summer.  One is Hinge that I have talked a ton about and the other is Kingdom Culture for students.  Click the graphic below and read the information about this "camp like" experience for Middle School and High Schoolers.  If you are a youth pastor in Greenville, we would LOVE to have you join us.