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Sunday is our 1-year birthday at Arrowhead. I’m so ready for it to get here!

1. We get to celebrate the work of God and thank the people of God. And share vision for the upcoming year.

2. We’re going to watch a video with highlights from throughout the year. I’ll probably cry.

3. The kids are making a surprise appearance in the service. And they’re bringing a little energy.

4. Tyler and the band are doing some fun songs, I like to watch him feel awkward and out of his comfort zone!

5. Cake. Mmm. Maybe you haven’t had any since December…

Invite a friend and be there. 9:30 & 11am at Rose Center.

Continuing in this series…today I want to highlight the 2nd church that was crazy enough to hire me. Sevier Heights Baptist Church in Knoxville.

As a college student at UT I visited Sevier Heights. And get this…I got a call from the pastor on Sunday afternoon after church. What? Dr. Hollie Miller, pastor of Sevier Height Baptist MegaChurch, is on the phone. Huh? I was so impressed. I continued to attend SHBC occasionally and for events, but eventually got settled at another church.

In my first year of seminary, I met Tim Miller. Over the next couple years we became good friends and he approached me about praying through becoming the Pastor to Students. It took almost a year, but it happened.

In addition to reinforcing my calling that the Lord had begun, I learned so much from SHBC, the staff, and people. Here are a few:

1. Relationships are everything. Working with students and volunteers, I saw the value of small group leaders and relationships within groups. It’s worth being very intentional about, because as life goes on we all need people and mentors.

2. Structure and systems matter. You can’t have 3,000 people at church and just let them show up and fend for themselves. You can’t expect relationships to just happen. It takes work. And ministry is more than hanging out. It’s also paying attention to detail and working hard to represent Jesus and His Church well.

3. Kids and students are worth funding. I think SHBC did an incredible job funding things that were important. I felt extremely empowered to do ministry, and I felt like our ministry to students was valued.

4. Tenure helps with leadership. Dr. Hollie Miller has been the pastor of SHBC for over 20 years. People have watched him live for that long. They have also listened to his sermons for that long. Watching him live has given him a voice to speak for God into people’s lives. He’s not perfect. He makes mistakes in life and in the pulpit, but he owns up to them. Integrity, honesty, and humility characterize his life.

Continuing through the series of churches that have personally impacted my love for the local church. Today let’s talk about the first church that was crazy enough to hire me: Lantana Road Baptist Church in Crossville, TN.

As a 23 year old fresh-out-of-college-newlywed LRBC took a chance on Sara and I as Youth Pastor. I wouldn’t be the same without them. We lived in Crossville for about 2 1/2 years, but it seems like so much longer because I learned so much and because we made life-long friends. Pastor Brian Branam was younger than I am now when he hired me and he had already been pastoring LRBC for over 5 years. He was young, more than a little brash (love you BB!), and a great teacher of God’s Word. After about a year, the Lord called Brian away and we spent about 6 months without a pastor, and I was the only one on staff (an interim did some preaching on Sundays). Sink or swim. I think I did a little of both.

Then the Lord called Scott Johnson as our pastor and I learned a ton from him in our time there, and even still to this day. The best thing I can do is summarize what LRBC and its leaders taught me.

1. Love people. The families at LRBC LOVED Sara and I. I mean really loved us. The took care of us. And they took care of each other.

2. Don’t let division linger. Both Pastors Brian and Scott were very up front with conflict. I watched them both bring parties into their office or go sit in their homes and resolve issues before they blew up. They were both very wise.

3. Reach people. This whole church and its leaders have hearts that bleed for people who don’t know Christ. My passion for evangelism was fueled at LRBC.

Seriously. This was the end of year 1? How can that possibly be true? What God has done in the last year has blown all of our minds I think. Sunday was a great wrap-up to our first 52 weeks together.

• Kicked off the Real Change Campaign series with a reminder that Jesus changes people 1 at a time. He cares for and loves individuals. Yes, the church is important, and communities, and even countries are important. But Jesus sees people face-to-face.
• We got to share the story of Jill Sweet through video in the service. We’ll post the video later in the week also, but she is living proof that God can take anybody’s mess and transform it. It’s a powerful story and the 5-minute video doesn’t get all the details, but what He has done is powerful.
• After the video, Jill’s husband Hank played her testimony song, which the Lord gave him as He began to change her.
• Other songs were You Are (Todd Fields), Not To Us (Chris Tomlin), and The Stand (Hillsong United).
• Some new setup stuff and first-time guest procedures were kicked off by a new and improved host team as well. Way to go guys!
• Great crowd in spite of the snow. I figured if you made it to church yesterday there were 3 options: 1. You have 4-wheel drive. - 2. You were going stir-crazy at the house. - 3. You lived in the north for a while.
• Ready for the CNC students to get back this week! Should be a packed house on Sunday for our birthday party. Wish today was Sunday!

This week I’m sharing with you the churches that have made the biggest impact on me personally in teaching me to give my life to the cause of Christ through the local church. Today let’s talk about First Baptist Concord.

One week into my experience at the University of Tennessee my roommate and I were invited to an on-campus Bible study through FBC. That night was the night after a high-school student who was a close friend of many at the Bible study was killed in a car accident. The day before she was killed, she wrote in her journal that she would be willing to die for Jesus if people would believe the gospel. Wow.

As an 18 year old lukewarm believer of one year, everything changed. The closest thing I have ever seen to revival broke out. Students met Jesus by the masses. I was already a Christian but what God did in me through her was life-changing. And, what He did in the lives of my new friends showed me that it was possible to give everything to Christ, even at a young age.

I was called into ministry as a student at UT, and Dr. Sager enjoyed ministry and preaching so much that I almost felt guilty because I knew I’d enjoy it that much too. I thought being called to ministry meant misery out in the bush in Africa. Little did I know that those called to the bush in Africa experienced joy too! I thank God for Dr. Sager.

Brian Smith and I were Morristown boys who came in on the action late, but the number of guys called to full-time ministry in that time and place were more than I’d want to count. A couple others are here and here.

It was a powerful time in my life and I’ll forever be grateful to FBC.

Over the next few days I want to highlight some churches that have played a key role in my love for the local church. Each of them has had a profound personal impact on me. They were gracious enough to pray for me and help me get immersed in the life there.

I’ll start today with Manley Baptist Church. At the age of 17 as a high school student in Morristown, I went to summer beach camp with the student ministry at Manley. It was there that Jesus saved me. I had great friends who had been taught to invite the people around them to church, and they did. Because of their faithfulness, I have a home in heaven. I’m grateful for their influence in my life.

My story didn’t begin with Manley at the age of 17, though. As a kid I can remember Dr. Richard Emmert faithfully visiting in the home of my family. He didn’t do it with an agenda. He did it because he loved people. I was always amazed to have a pastor in my home or my grandparents home, and his Christ-like Spirit has been an example for me for many years.

As a teenager, specifically right after my salvation, Dr. Emmert took time to invest in me and those friends who had invited me to Manley. He didn’t have to play golf with three 17-year-old punks, but he did. And he was fun to be around.

I love Manley Baptist Church. There are great churches in our community with great leaders.

Arrowhead Birthday Video from Arrowhead Church on Vimeo.

Great start to a new year! We were still in holiday mode a little when it came to attendance and energy, but still a great day nonetheless.

• Talked about personal vision for the new year and setting goals from 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. A good goal is S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-sensitive), balanced with grace, and empowered by the Spirit.
• I’m asking all of us at Arrowhead to consider a fast over the first couple weeks of 2010. You can fast from food, TV, Facebook, or anything else. The main thing is to abstain from something and spend the time you would normally spend on it focusing on Jesus. If you need more input on fasting, there’s a lot of great info here. Feel free to email or call us as well. When you’re fasting, take some time to pray for the church.
• Songs were Salvation is Here (Hillsong United), Enough, How Can I Keep From Singing, and Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone. The last 3 songs are all by Chris Tomlin. A friend who used to lead worship with Tyler R. in Knoxville affectionately calls him Tyler Tomlin. Very true. You should follow her on Twitter, by the way. She’s hilarious. No pressure, L-Mo.
• Tons of first-time guests even yesterday. I can’t wait to see what the Lord is going to do in 2010.