After being part of the Arc conference this week, I was reflecting on all that took place and quickly became overwhelmed.  We live in crucial, yet exciting days and are seeing the glory of God displayed through the local church like never before.  Life-giving churches are being planted all over the country—even the world—and a surge of God’s Spirit is changing the hearts of men everywhere.  David said, “I love your sanctuary, Lord, it’s the place where Your glory shines!”

Imagine what people thought when I graduated from college 13 years ago with a degree in Computer Science and told them I was going to be a youth pastor at my local church. It didn’t make any sense.  They thought I was crazy.  “I can’t believe you would forfeit all of your training and earning potential to chase teenagers all day,” they told me. “What a waste!!”  I remembered the woman with the expensive jar of perfume who anointed Jesus’ feet (Matthew 26).  She poured out her best on Jesus, and the disciples said the same thing, “What a waste!” 

Wasting my life on others has never been so fulfilling!! I couldn’t imagine doing anything greater or more significant with my life than making an eternal investment for the Kingdom. It’s a privilege to pour out my very best every day, so that someone else may know Him.  There is a movement in the earth today, and it is the heart of God reaching out to the desperation of man.  His glory is shining, and we get to be part of it—it’s called The Church!

The last two days, I have had the privilege of attending the ARC All Access Conference, hosted by C3 Church and their Lead Pastor Matt Fry.  It is amazing to see the leadership and growth potential in the ARC.  In 2008, ARC Churches gave $50 million to missions…what a great impact for the Kingdom!

I have heard from amazing speakers such as, Greg Surratt, and Chris Hodges, and I’m looking forward to Ed Young, Jr. this evening. My heart is full but my brain hurts!!   I feel like an amoeba in a sea of spiritual giants!  A highlight in the conference sessions so far, was hearing a slammin’ message from Pastor Dino this morning. He gave us three keys to longevity: honesty humility & honor.  What I love most is that he walks in all 3.  I love my pastor!!

We had a cool day yesterday; The Campus Pastors huddled at the Historic Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University and then we made a stealth entry into the Dean Dome at UNC.  We took some pictures, saw the UNC Basketball Team doing strength and conditioning and then we were busted and escorted out by security!  It was such a thrill!!  The HPC Campus Pastors would make for a great Special Forces reconnaissance…Mark Stermer would be proud!

If you would like to tune into some of the sessions you can log onto the live conference page: http://www.allaccessconference.com.  It is an amazing gathering…Check it out!

Last night, I was a part of one of the most humbling experiences I have encountered in all of my years of being a pastor.  I was invited to have dinner and hang out with the guys at the Ascension House.  This is a transitional living facility for men, most of whom are fresh out of prison and trying to put the pieces of their lives back together.  There are 17 men living together in close quarters, working together, and bonding as family to reach for a common goal.

When I walked in the fellas sat me down at the table, gave me the best piece of chicken, and offered me a second helping (no one else was allowed to have 2^nd’s).  I listened to their stories and was so encouraged by their faith for freedom from lives of drugs, alcohol, violence, and/or broken families.  As one guy began to talk, I didn’t know who he was at first, but then he said that his only church experience as a boy was our youth group back at Local 102.  Then it came to me…he was one of the 5-6 guys that I picked from the Moody Dixon trailer parks for years to bring to Crosswalk.  Out of prison, he had asked his parole officer if he could go to the Ascension House because the only church he knew was Local 102!  Now, he’s leading bible studies, writing songs, and playing with the worship team at the St. Amant Campus.

Then, in the middle of dinner, a homeless guy walks in…he just got out of jail and needed place to stay.  All the beds in the house were full, but immediately men began to look up other shelters, make phone calls and try to find a place for Todd who was in his 50’s and spent the last 3 years in Mexico.  They offered him their food, gave him a place at the table, and encouraged him in the Lord.

At that moment, Todd became the most important person in the room!  It was amazing to me the value ALL the guys placed on this one man.  Why? Because they knew the grace that had put their lives back together and were convinced God would do the same for him.  I was blown away at the kindness and mercy I felt in the room at the moment.  I saw the kingdom in action last night, and I can’t stop thinking about the Spirit of Jesus in that house.

I brought Alexa to LSU baseball game at the new Alex Box Stadium.  We had so much fun…just the two of us.  We ate at Quiznos before, then laughed, yelled and cheered all night long after.  I need to do this more often–date nights with my kids.

Nothing expresses love to our children more than TIME…uninterrupted, focused, intentional I-love-you-time.  It says you’re the most important thing going on in my world.  So many things pull for my time…I can’t afford to live life by my PRESSURES–gotta live by my PRIORITIES.

There is nothing more important to me than my family.  I want them to know my heart, values, passions and convictions.

I caught this snapshot of Trevor the other day…this is the most expensive landscaping business in town!!

This Sunday we had the opportunity to travel to The Crossing Place in Morgan City to be with Pastors Shane and Bliss Harris and their staff and leaders at their Leaders Summit.

Claudia Berry and I had the great privilege of investing what we are learning into them.  She did a teaching on team building, I shared an encouraging word on being a “Son of the House”, and Jordan Gautreau represented and did a little advertisement for HPSM…What a great time we had!

They embraced us like family.  I feel so passionate about investing in leaders and locking arms with other churches to share in the journey of building one of the greatest institutions on the planet…The Local Church!

The Crossing Place is a slammin young church.  They have been meeting together for about 2 1/2 years in the Morgan City Community Center, which is a gathering point for so many people in that community.  This Easter they had over 500 people in attendance!!  It feels so similar to HPC years ago, and they have a huge heart for their community.

We are believing God for some great things to come out of Morgan City.  If you are ever in the area you should check it out thecrossingplacemc.com.