Awesome Prank

I friend of mine pulled off an amazing prank on his pastor last week. (don't get any ideas) This was hilarious. I thought you all needed to see this.



What is the best prank you pulled off?

Who are you?

Tim Stevens had some great thoughts about artist and leaders. Click Here to Read. It is interesting how we both think through things that we work on together. Tension can be a good thing between artist and leader. This can help sharp each other.


Who are you? Are you predominantly an artist or leader?

Are You Second?

Great stories. Check it out

I Am Second

Just for Fun

Todd Rhodes at Monday Morning Insight had a funny post about church bumper stickers. You should check it out. Let me know if you add any bumper stickers to the pile.

Link to the Post

My Bumper Stickers were:
Church Gossip!
I park in Guest Parking
I leave during the Invitation

New Creation

New Creation from FC Post on Vimeo.

I thought this video was a little crazy the first time I saw it, but it is rocking my world. I weep every time I see it because I am reminded how many of us have been made new by Christ. So many more await. Will we do what it takes to reach others for Christ? I want to see thousands of new creations!

Wow...this is a quote!

Here is a great statement made at catalyst last weekend. We should all really think through this both in the church and the business world.

Jim Collins had this to say about going from Good To Great:

A great organization is more likely to die of indigestion of too many opportunities rather than starvation of not enough opportunities. #1 sign of over-reaching and the start of decline: When you grow beyond your ability to have the right people in the right seats on the bus.

Who are in the seats of your bus at the organization?

Do you have indigestion?

Do you have people in the wrong seats?

What do you really mean?

Being in ministry can always be fun and frustrating. People will tell you things in the name of love and the reality is they are being hurtful. People will say things like, "well I need to tell you something........don't get mad at me." Truth is they have been gossiping about it to their three close friends for about a month and they don't want to admit it. I want to punch them in the throat and tell them to shut their mouth. Most of the time it would be more encouraging to know that people are supporting the cause for Christ then killing it. Perry Noble had a great post this week about statements people make and the reality of what they "really" mean. You should really check this out here.

Have you ever had someone say any of these things to you before? If yes, which ones?

I think I have heard them all at some point.

Post & Article Worth Reading-Second Part

Here is the second part of the article by Tommy Hilliker wrote a great article called God’s P.A.T.H. for parenting: part two. You can access it through our student ministry blog. It's worth the read. Have a great week!

2 Years Ago

Two years ago yesterday I was blessed to become the father of Jonathon & Nate. It has been a great two years, and it has gone by way to fast. I would call yesterday the day of fun and sugar.

Here is what the boys woke up to.


Enjoying the lute or however you spell that.


The destruction!


We went after that and enjoyed donuts, a haircut, chick-fil-a, and chuck E. cheese after the nap. What a day.

I love my boys.

10 Commandments

Bloggers and commenters are very interesting people. People who would never speak in public will write volumes about randomness. People seem to post or comment things they would never say to someone face to face. The cowards will post anonymously so they can bash someone. This ticks me off! There was a recent article written about what bloggers should not do. I thought it had some great insights for us all to keep in mind as we blog and comment.


Ten commandments for bloggers:
1 You shall not put your blog before your integrity
2 You shall not make an idol of your blog
3 You shall not misuse your screen name by using your anonymity to sin
4 Remember the Sabbath day by taking one day off a week from your blog
5 Honour your fellow-bloggers above yourselves and do not give undue significance to their mistakes
6 You shall not murder someone else's honour, reputation or feelings
7 You shall not use the web to commit or permit adultery in your mind
8 You shall not steal another person's content
9 You shall not give false testimony against your fellow-blogger
10 You shall not covet your neighbour's blog ranking. Be content with your own content

You can read the complete article here!

What is your biggest pet peeve about bloggers or commenters as a blogger or blog reader?

Focus?

Have you ever been so focused on things that you missed out of the immediate need at hand? We can sometimes get so focused on the agenda or project that we look over the problem that needs our attention currently. I have set in meetings before where it feels like we are only focused on the small things and not the big issues that need to be dealt with. Maybe you have been in a meeting that goes something like this?


Thanks Granger Community Church and Innovate Conference.

What is the craziest topic you have ever discussed in a meeting?

Post & Article Worth Reading

If you are a parent or hope to be a parent someday, Tommy Hilliker wrote a great article called God’s P.A.T.H. for parenting: part one. Part two will be posted later this week. You can access it through our student ministry blog. It's worth the ready. Have a great weekend!

I'm an Uncle Again!

I'm a proud uncle! My sister-in-law had a baby boy today. I don't know details yet, but I will pass them along as i get them. He is a good looking boy. David Scott.

Moving Video

This past Sunday The Brook celebrated 10 years of ministry. Thanks to everyone for all the hard work. It was an awesome day! God really moved in many cool ways. One of the most powerful moments of the morning was the cardboard testimonies. I hope it will touch each of you as it has touch each one of us.

Cardboard Testimonies from Jan Owen on Vimeo.
God is all about transforming lives! This is what church is all about.

How has God changed your life?

Every Leader Should Listen

Last week I was surfing either through website or iTunes and ran across a new podcast by Andy Stanley. It is highlightly various leadership principles and ideas. The first episode was very challenging as he talked about "assumptions." I believer every leader both in the church and outside of it should take a listen. Man...it has really made me think about things. It lays our the groundwork of how they changed kidstuf and ended 722, two very successful ministries at North Point. Great stuff! All in about 20 minutes. Thanks Andy. Check it out!

Here is the link!

10 Years of Ministry

This Sunday The Brook will celebrate 10 years of ministry. It is amazing that 10 years ago God begin an incredible work. God has truly blessed The Brook! I am so thankful that I have been a part of this congregation for 4 and 1/2 years. It has been an exciting ride so far. I look forward with great expectations to what God will do over the next 10 years.

You don't want to miss the celebration this Sunday at 10am at The Brook, 8573 Highway 72 West, Madison, AL 35758. There will be powerful worship, moving messages, and even a few surprises. You will want to be their early for the service, park far away and sit close to the front. We will need every square inch possible. I would encourage you to set your alarm at least 15 minutes earlier then normal.I believe the service will be one of the best ever. You should invite a friend to be a part of this day. There will be a picnic following the service. You will want to bring a lawn chair. Also, if you have a pop up tent bring it with you as well. The food will be provided so just come on.

I hope to see you at The Brook this weekend.

Love and Hate

Experts tell us that about 90% of communication is nonverbal.

So what's the big deal?

Well there is a huge love hate relationship going around. It is really important to us and something that most of us would die without (That could be a little extreme). Maybe just freak and be unable to work. We have become so dependant on email. Email is a great thing in most instances, but there are great dangers in this type of communication. If so much of our communication is nonverbal we need to be very careful what and how we communicate through email.

• We should never email about conflict.
• We should never email negative critiques of others.
• We should never email about negative situations.
• We should never email confidential information that we don’t want anyone else to see.
• We should never email when we are upset or angry.

Many of us need to learn to hit the delete key or at least read the email out loud before it is sent. It is amazing how so many people with just type things that they would never say to someone out loud or to their face.

I see so many people who have ignore these statements and it has landed them in some pretty warm water. Next time before you email ask yourself should this be communicated in another way? What could be misinterpreted or misunderstood?

I would challenge you to really think before you email it could save everybody some heartache.

what some worship leaders will do

I have great respect and admiration for worship leaders, but some never cease to amaze me! I believe this is one of the craziest things I've seen done in worship. I'm so glad our worship leader has never done anything like this. I imagine this would be one stinky service. This has to rank up their with snake handling. I'm glad I missed this time of worship.

Wednesday Night Recap

Last night was awesome!

Worship was amazing as Wendel S., Ryan J., Nathan S., Phillip K., and Corey B. lead us in worship.
The Setlist:
Mighty to Save by Hillsong
From the Inside Out by Hillsong United
Hosanna by Hillsong United

It was awesome seeing so many students connect with God in worship. I believe God's heart was blessed.

The big idea during the message was:
Excuses hinders God's work, but excellence honors God and inspires people. -thanks Mr. Hybels for the last part of this statement.

We have some amazing leaders that really care about students. I am so blessed to work with them.

Every parent should read Do Hard Things by Brett & Alex Harris. It will be well worth the time and it could be a great way to create a discussion with your student.

I want to encourage each student to think about someone to invite next week. It will change their life!

One for the History Books

This one is classic. Barack Obama is really more impressive then I thought.

glumbert - A Moment For The History Books

I hope this brightened your day!

How can I help people in LA

We are not talking about Los Angeles. We are talking Louisiana. You might be asking yourself how can I help people who have been devastated by a hurricane. Well this is a great way to help those in need. Check this video out!

Hurricane Torn Baton Rouge Needs Our Help!!! from Catalyst on Vimeo.

Send them a tarp or two.

Buy one or more blue tarps at TarpsPlus.com. What size? I figure any size will work. My family is going to by several.

Send the tarp(s) to the following address...
Healing Place Church
19202 Highland Roadd
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
225.753.2273

Let me know if you buy some!

A Good Laugh!!

I guess we should all learn to spell.

glumbert - A Warthog Emergency

Have a great Friday!

Link-O-Rama

I don't think of have done this before, but I plan on doing it from time to time. Below are a few links that i thought were well worth the read. I hope to meet all these people at some point during my life time. hopefully sooner then later. I would love to pick their brain. I believe each of these people God is using in a huge way. I know God has used them to challenge me.

First Time Guest-Nelson Searcy-a great article on how we treat first time guest at our churches. I know I have done this before.

Communication takes a Giver and Receiver-Kem Meyer-a great post about how we make people feel when we communicate with them. Great stuff to think about. I love the honesty in the letter. I have felt like writing a couple of those letters before.

Bob-Perry Noble-challenging entry about reaching out to others. God is really challenging me to seek out more Bob's to get to know. Do you have a Bob?

Are You Comfortable with being Uncomfortable-Tony Morgan-incredible post about how we create our services. It can be easy to get lulled into comfort. I hope we always stay on the edge of the next generation and not on the passing one.

I hope these are helpful and inspiring.

National Anthem

Here is a dude from our church. He is a great guitar player. Maybe we should call him Jimmy now. He didn't even show off any playing the National Anthem.



Dude.... I wish I would have known. I would have been their. Great job!

Breaking Boundaries

simple yet amazing! will you be bound or boundless?

Church Attendance and your GPA

Did you know that kids who attend church have a higher GPA?

This is a real reason to get your kids to church other then it can really be a great influence on your child's life. Check this article out! It is really worth the read. Very interesting stuff.

Free!

I am really enjoying Phil Wickham's music. I've known about his music for quite sometime, but just didn't really start listening until about 6 months ago. I would encourage you to check out his stuff. You can actually get a live album right now for free! (thanks Jan for the tip) You give them your email address and they will send you a link to download it. It is worth it. Let me know what you think.

Generous

This entry challenged me to the core. I wonder how many of us would be willing to give like this teenager. This read is well worth it and it's pretty short.

Generous Teenager by Perry Noble

It's been a blessing to see various students over the years give like this student did!

Sunday Night Thoughts

OnePray has been amazing!
Steven Furtick blew the doors off the building. That guy can bring it! (i'm going to try and find my white jacket this week. i think i could rock it.) What pomegranate are you sitting under? I'm about to get out from under mine.

It was my privilage to lead worship yesterday for our morning services. The place was rockin'. Other then I broke a string in the first service for like the seven thousanth time. Thanks to Bobby's guitar worship went on.

Worship Set
Majestic by Lincoln Brewster
Your Grace Is Enough by Matt Maher
Holy is the Lord by Chris Tomlin
Amazed by Jared Anderson
God of this City by Bluetree (performed by Chris Tomlin on the album Passion: God of this City)

RPM was incredible last night!!!!
We prayed over our new facility that God would move in the lives of students that would come. We prayed for construction to start quickly, that all the hurdles would be knocked down and mountains made flat. After the time of prayer we had a great time just talking about our ministry as a whole. The discussion was great. The students had some great insights and observations. I think we might do this kind of think every 8 to 10 weeks. It was very refreshing. The guests even participated in the discussion. We had like 7 guests last night. It was awesome.

Today there was a great blog by a guy named Tim Stevens. He is the executive pastor at Granger community church. I believe he had some great insight for parents raising teens. He has a few of his own so think speaks from some experience.

Here is just a highlight:

• The environments parents place their students in just before the teen years will often dictate the student's environments they pick.
  

• As they start middle school, don't give them the option to stay home from the youth program.

• Get them in situations where they are hanging with young adults who are following God.

• Let them participate in events where there is a good chance they might take a step spiritually, like summer camp, missions trips, or weekend retreats.

You can click here to read the blog in its entirety.

Another New Life

I believed we are to blessed for our own good. We have had 2 babies in 3 weeks. My sister Paula and brother-in-law David had their first son today at 2:13pm. We are all so pumped!!!! I'm ready to hold that little boy soon.


Micah is 7 lbs. & 15 oz. and 21 inches long.

I'll post more pics soon!

My Favorite Music and Maybe one of my Favorite Songs

In case you don’t know this my favorite genre of music is Hip Hop and Rap. This video is incredible. This should be our motto. Send Me. I’ll Go! I hope you enjoy it, even if Rap is not your favorite. The lyrics are on the screen so you can follow.


'Send Me' - Live at MHC Ballard from Mars Hill Church on Vimeo.

I think we should incorporate a little rap or hip hop in worship every once in a while.

Finally Back Online & Slingbox

I am finally back online. Our internet was down until late last week. Caleb is doing very well and the boys seem to be adjusting as well. I am looking forword to blogging again. Thanks to knology.

Does anyone know about or have a slingbox? I am trying to see if it is really all that the company says they are. They look cool. I can think of a few things that they could be used for that could really help churches. Comment me and let me know.

Day 3 Update and Misc. Fun

Michelle had a little more pain today, but is doing very well. Caleb is doing great! He's the best looking boy in the nusery.

Today was a great day for Dad because I got to spend some time with Nate and Jonathon. We went to the local airshow. We had a great time watching planes and enjoyed the people. The jet van was my personal favorite and boys liked everything especially the fly throughs.

I have uploaded some new pics from day 3, the airshow, and a few misc. fun ones.
Click Here to View Pictures.

The Good Doctor & More Pictures

A great Doctor with Caleb. Dr. Cimino delivered Caleb.

Here are a few more links to pictures:

• Day 2 Pictures
• Aunt Paula's Pictures from day 1 & 2

A Great Day-Day 3 Update

Today was a great day! Jonathon and Nate got to meet their brother today. Nate seems really syked about it. Jonathon just wants to sit with mom. After about 20 minutes we realized these rooms were not quite big enough for the boys, so i took them to the playground. we had a great time playing and running around. After playing hard they headed home to our house with grandma ann and aunty paula. Tomorrow the boys, papaw, and me will head to the airshow which should be a ton of fun considering the boys point and stare at every plane that flies over our house. Did I mention they love noise too.

It was great having friends and family stop by today. It was great help in broking up the day. Looking forward to tomorrow for a ton of fun.

Day 2 Update & Pictures from Day 1

we (mommy, daddy, and caleb) got some much needed rest last night. Michelle has gotten some good rest since the nurses stopped probing her. (the nurses have been awesome!!!) Caleb has been in and out with us throughout the night. He is sleeping like crazy, which I know will probably be short lived. He is looking forward to see his big brothers (Jonathon & Nate) later today! Below is a link to pictures from day 1. Thanks again for all the prayers and love. You are each welcome to visit.

Pictures-Day 1

He is Here

That is one good looking dude and one hot looking mommy!


Caleb Matthew Britt has arrived!!!!! He made it at 5:32pm on Thursday, June 26th, 2008. He is 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20". He is a big dude! We don't mind visitors but we ask that you call before you come. We want to make sure Caleb is available to see you if you get a chance to make it by. Thanks so much for all your prayers and support!

Update-5pm-heading in for the arrival

we are getting ready to head in for a c-section. Baby Caleb should be here just after 5pm. this will be the last update until he is here.

Update-1:46pm

We are still in Labor and Delivery room 1. We just saw the doctor. He says there is little progress with the natural labor so it looks like we will have a c-section later this afternoon. The Doc. will come in one last time at 4pm and see how things are, then we will make a final decision. I think at this point we are cool either way. Michelle is keeping us busy with all of her weather knowledge. You can post a great joke or a hospital activited so we can stay busy. Thanks so much for your continued prayers.

Noon Update

we are currently still waiting! We are hoping to see Dr. Cimino soon. We hear he is on the floor, but getting ready to do a c-section on another patient before he comes to see us. Michelle is very hungry but doing well. We will continue to keep you posted.

Arrived at the Hospital

we are at the hospital preparing for the birth of our 3rd son. No Caleb yet! Michelle is just settling in. We are not sure about a timeline or when Caleb will arrive. We are going to try induce labor but if it doesn't happen we will do a c-section at some point. I will try to update my blog from time-to-time with updates. Thanks so much for your prayers! We look forward to seeing and hearing from you all.

Sweet Links

Here are links to some of my favorite blogs and sites.

Life in Student Ministry-Student ministry site that has some great stuff. Tim has great insights.
Monday Morning Insight-Good site about things going on in church life. A lot of the things make me laugh.
Church Relevance-Great stuff about design, leadership, and forward thinking. It has some great research stuff but putting it into short form. Very Good.
The Swerve-great post on picking people today. Good Stuff!
Perrry Noble-Very challenging and encouraging. I've been following Perry Noble for about 2 years now. Great leader. Unleash was amazing.
Tony Morgan-Very good blog on innovation. He is an incredible forward thinker. Tons of great thoughts

I hope you enjoy them.

Worship Set

It was fun to play with Nathan, Dean, Robert and Alex. They really rocked it!!! It was a blast.

Playlist:
Awesome is the Lord Most High-Tomlin
Friend of God-Gungor
Blessed Be Your Name-Redman
You Never Let Go-Redman
Yellow-Coldplay

Personality Test

Have you ever wondered what your personality is? Here is your chance.

click on this link to take a short personality quiz:
Personality Test

The Animal Equivelant is:
Lion=Choleric
Otter=Sanguine
Turtle=Phlegmatic
Camel=Melancholy

Leave a comment and let us know what your personality is.

Here is mine.
Personality: Choleric Melancholy
Melancholy-18%
Phlegmatic-15%
Sanguine-10%
Choleric-57%

Kid's Music

this video made me laugh. There is nothing spiritual about it, but it is funny. Especially if you have kids.



It would definatly make children's music more interesting.

What do you think?

Reflections

Thoughts about today:

Music was sick! the student band killed it! Their set list was:
Sing to the King
Mighty to Save
From the Inside Out
Here is our King

All I have to say is:
You've Got It Now Use It!!!!!!!
spirit fingers, toe-touch, hercky (sp?)

Spiritual Gifts

You might be wondering how to find your spiritual gifting. These assesments can help point you in the right direction. Remember your these gifts are not exhaustive. God is Huge!

Check out these websites to take an online assesment:
Gifted2Serve
Spiritual Gift Test
Ministry Tools

Leave a comment to let me know what your top 2 gifts are!

Facebook and other stuff

I’ve been a little busy lately so I haven’t had a chance to blog recently. I’m hoping to do it more even though we are approaching the birth of our son. His name will be Caleb Matthew just in case you wanted to know. I know he is already going to be one of the best looking guys along with Jonathon and Nate. We will get a chance to see the doctor next week and probably find out just how close we are to this incredible life.

I finally gave in today! To facebook that is. I have purposely rebelled against it until now. Every one has raved about it, so we’ll see. I love tech stuff! I’d love to hear what you think is best about facebook besides all those people popping on screen for possible friend request that I have no idea who they are.

New Things

I am always trying to find new ways to get faster at what I do. Efficiency is very important to me. It seems as though there are never enough hours in the day. (like no one else is feeling the same pressure). Over the past week I came across an awesome resource called Jott. It allows you to email, send text messages, update calendars, blogs, etc all through voice recognition. It was been amazing to work with. I am still finding new things everyday. Group text messaging is something I am working on. People are so mobile and it is often easier to text them then email to get a response. You should try it out. It’s well worth the look. Jott

Favorite Quotes

two inspiring quotes that are on my desk that I think are worth sharing.

Erwin McManus shared on a Catalyst Podcast an African Businessman in Tanzania told him:
We've been doing so much with so little for so long; we can now do anything with nothing.

Howard Hendricks said, If it is a mist in the pulpit, it is a fog in the pew.

These have been very inpiring to me. Just thought I would share. I hope they encourage and inspire you.

Something a little different

This summer we are going to try something a little different during our sunday night gathering for students. We are toying with the idea of doing several mission/service opportunities. This is very different then our typical sunday night environment that includes music, media, speaking, etc. Our hope is to help our students get out of the box. We live in a world where people want to serve but don't always now how. We are finishing up a series called, Where do I fit?. We are hoping that students will begin to understand how they take part in God's plan to redeem the world.

Do you do things different during the summer?
What are some of the things you have done?
What is your favorite thing about the summer?
What do you dread when it comes to the summer?

Sunday Night Thoughts

Today was amazing and challenging all at the same time.

• The message today in the morning service was one of the hardest I have preached since I have been at The Brook. It was challenging to hear so many stories of brokeness.
• The worship was amazing today! Everytime I sing the line, It was nailed to the cross and i bare it no more, i get choked up thinking about the Savior's love.
• Tonight was a ton of fun as we talk about personality.
• Brian delivered one of the best messages on people's personalities and how it allows them to do great things for God.
• Wendel filled in tonight for Justin and all I can say is WOW!!!! It was a great time of worship.
• It was fun to get to check out everybodies personality results. We have some really awesome students.
  

Make sure to submit a youth room name idea at 72students.net and registar for The Verge and Move08.

Up, Up, and Away

Well...i am officially a part of the blogworld. We will see if I have anything worth listening too. Check back often for updates.