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With all of speeches and writings on global warming,  I did not think we would see this happen. Last winter was mild for the Atlanta metro area.  Mild enough in fact that our small raised garden bed was overcome with bugs. I am pretty sure they ate more green beans than we did. But nonetheless,  we woke up Tuesday morning to 6F in the "Sunny South" and a windchill of -11F. As I bundled up and prepared to begin my commute into the city, my mind went to those homeless souls that live under the overpasses and congregate outside Chick-fil-a in the city waiting for a cup of coffee. I often get caught up in my own problems and struggles and overlook how blessed I am.  I spent the night in a warm bed under a roof and sheltered from the howling wind. But many do not enjoy that luxury. Whether a product of their own bad decisions or misfortunate situations,  I do not believe that anyone deserves to sleep under a bridge in 6 degree weather. As I scanned the...

Over the last couple of years, we have had the distinct pleasure of learning a great deal about the operations of food rescue programs and food pantries. And, we have been fortunate to work alongside some people with sincere hearts for ministry and yet are completely unconstrained by conventional wisdom for how a food pantry should be operated. Because of their heart for the families they serve, they have continued to ask the hard questions: Why has it always been done that way? How can we better serve these families? How do we need to change how we operate to better serve these families long-term? How can we equip these families to re-establish their independence? Steve and Suellen Daniels at Meals by Grace identified a group of families that sincerely needed food assistance. They put together meals for the families and invited them to come by and pick them up. When several families did show up for the food, they asked why not. A social worker assisting them provided the answer. Th...

We rise before the sun. I check the weather on my phone, its 24F outside. I shiver at the thought and dig out a thermal undershirt, fleece skull cap, gloves and jacket. Without much conversation, we crawl in the car and drive to a desolate parking lot. I crank the old diesel box van and it clatters to life. A few minutes of window scraping, and we are off. After what seems an arduous journey that's actually a 15 minute drive, we pull into a dark parking lot where a couple people are setting out cones and erecting a finish line structure for the brave soles that will run in this cold. "Crazy people", I think to myself as we unload our tent, tables, and a pallet of cardboard boxes. Volunteers arrive and begin assembling boxes in the cold darkness. As the sun begins to rise, I see more bodies begin to arrive and race registration begins to setup inside the warm building. I walk in and see that the early registration the day before has netted about 800 lbs of can...

Book Review: Unfinished: Believing Is Only the Beginning by  Richard Stearns Richard Sterns throws down the gauntlet in Unfinished. Believing is not enough. It is not OK to become a believer and then live the rest of our lives focused on ourselves. If Jesus meant all that stuff He said that we see in red ink in the New Testament, then becoming a believer and then devising our early retirement in the Bahamas is probably not what He is calling us to do. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We were commanded to complete the work He started when He walked the earth. Did we somehow miss that part? Many believers wonder when He will return. Sterns suggests that He has not returned because He is waiting for us to complete the work we were tasked to do when He left.  Over the last two years working in a nonprofit working to help eliminate hunger in our community, I regularly wonder why so many churches and so many believers seem so unconcerned with the sufferin...

Over the last couple of months, it seems no matter where I turn, there is a steady stream of sad news. During a routine visit to a physician, a high school friend of mine discovered she has a tumor on her lung. She has been a trooper enduring test after test and finally surgery to remove part of her lung. I took a day of vacation to make preparations for the big canned good drive our nonprofit was holding at the local fair. At the end of the day, we drove up to where my SUV was parked to discover someone had run into the passenger door. They did not feel obligated to leave a note and assume responsibility for the damage. The next day, I had my hand squashed between a pallet jack and a slab of concrete. Later that afternoon while loading supplies in my SUV, we kept hearing sirens. I turned around to discover a neighbor's house was on fire. Fortunately, the family escaped without injury, and the Fire Department got it extinguished before it spread to other homes, but sadly,...

A few weeks I go, I learned that I had been nominated for an Epoch award. If you have not heard of the Epoch awards, they seek to honor the unsung heroes that are quietly working to overcome poverty, drought, HIV/AIDS, sex trafficking, homelessness, and fear. There will be six winners chosen from a plethora of nominees and $50,000 will be awarded among the six winners. I had several reactions to learning of the nomination. First, I was humbled and honored to be in the nominations among the throngs of individuals and ministries. Every time I read the listing of the nominees and the work they are doing, I cannot help but feel like one guy trying to bail the ocean with a spoon. But I also am reminded that when an army of individuals do their part, a great deal of good can be accomplished. I keep getting hung up on the "unsung hero" part of their description, because I do not consider myself to be a hero with what we are doing. The real heroes to me are the volunteers that u...

Food Network showed this report this past weekend. If you missed it, it tells the story of hunger in our country today, and it illustrates the need that we are working to resolve with Feed the Hungry Forsyth. Our efforts are to recover food that would otherwise be thrown away and deliver it to food pantries to provide to the hungry in our area.

Barefoot Church - Serving The Least In A Consumer Culture by Brandon Hatmaker "Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." - Matthew 25 How many times have you heard someone say or maybe even you have thought to yourself, "The church ought to care for the poor and help the orphans and widows." But then ask yourself, "what am I doing?" Someone once said, "I want to ask God why he allows pain and suffering in the world, but I am afraid he will ask me the same question." This book tells the story of how a young pastor quit a comfortable job in a mega church and worked to form a church that puts its focus on serving "the least of these." Brandon challenges the reader to be the living epitome of the good news to the lost, broken, hurting world. He challenges the reader with Micah 6:8, "act justly and to love mercy". Mercy offers relief and compassion without judgement to those in distress...

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. - Exodus 17:10-13 NIV Over the last four months, I have been under a lot of pressure and at times feeling torn in multiple directions. Working a full-time job with a daily commute that is 1 hour each way, going to night school working on my graduate degree, leading a small group of 6th grade boys, leading a couples small group with my wife, and launching a non-profit. At times, I have wondered if I have over-committed and if I would have to drop something, which spinning plate would it be. But...

image source: http://www.valdosta.edu/~klflesher/Four_seasons.jpg As I get older, I have come to understand the concept of the seasons of life. Some interests or passions from earlier years seem to fade and new interests take their  place. As I think of what consumed my thoughts and time 25 years ago, I am amazed that I am no longer even casually interested in those things. Those chapters of my life are closed and I move on to new motivations. Through the 1980s, I was consumed with auto racing. My  brother began drag racing and i enjoyed helping him with the car. I followed  NASCAR with a passion. I went to truck and tractor pulls and monster truck competitions. I began working as a volunteer crew member on a dirt track stock car team. That led me to building, owning, and driving my own dirt track car. I then spent 10 years racing stock cars and dreaming of breaking into NASCAR as a driver. At one point when I had put racing on hold to start up my own computer c...

The wife and I are heading to Venezuela this summer to participate in a mission trip with our church. The trip is focused on a home for troubled boys in Barquisimeto, Venezuela that a partner church - Good News Church (Las Buenas Nuevas del Este) supports there. Most of the boys chose to enter the home after living on the street and running into all sorts of street life trouble. They range from age 7 to age 16. The workers in the home give the boys a disciplined life style, provide positive role models, and are actively helping them reshape their lives. While there, we will be working on renovations on the home that they all live in and working with the leaders in the home as well as the boys. I invite you to partner with us in this journey. We covet your prayers for the team going down, the leadership of the home, and for the boys themselves. If you care to support the team with a contribution, you may contribute by going to the Globalx website: GOglobalX.org click on GIVE on the to...

From a humble upbringing in Alabama, Millard Fuller graduated from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, and then graduated from the University of Alabama Law School at Tuscaloosa. With partnership from a college friend, Fuller launched a marketing firm before graduating. By the age of 29, Fuller had earned his first million dollars. But as he was enjoying success in business, his marriage and health were suffering. Things became severe enough that Fuller put his career on hold and re-evaluated his priorities. After reconciling with his wife, Fuller elected to launch into a new direction. Fuller and his wife sold everything they owned and gave the money to the poor. They moved to a Christian community near Americus, Georgia called "Koinonia Farm". With the founder of Koinonia Farm and small group of others, Fuller created a housing ministry building houses on a no-interest and non-profit basis for low income families. Homeowners were required to invest "sweat quity"...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like my new helmet? :) Around 50-60 Bikes showed up. The folks from XL supplied us with great music, good BBQ Sandwiches, homemade baked beans, home cooked desserts, and lost of ice cold drinks. The ride was 60 miles in the country side north of Rome. It was a gorgeous day and the ride was quite enjoyable. A good bit of money was raised for a good cause and a good time was had by all. After the ride and dinner, we hung around to XL's service and listened to the cover band and a message from Rev. Big Daddy. My buddy Steven rode over to Rome with me for the ride, so even the trip over and back was enjoyable.

XL Born to be Wild Sunday Aug 10, 3pm 3006 Martha Berry HWY Rome, GA Proceeds benefit "XL Gives Back" to help with remodeling and construction on homes for families in need in Floyd County. Born to be Wild - Ride Info I'm in, who's with me?

Rolled out of the house on Friday around 10:30am and began the ride towards Asheville, NC. As I left the commercial business and the metro expressways, the scenery quickly changed to farmland, horses, chicken houses and the like. I could feel myself relaxing the further I rode as the scenery seemed really familiar and comfortable to me. Just outside of Gainesville, GA I could smell the wonderful aroma of honeysuckle. I instantly remembered when I had 11-acres in South Georgia, and the honeysuckle would grow on the fence line and how I could smell it from the bedroom of the house. The weather was gorgeous, sunny but not too hot. And, yes, I remembered to apply sunscreen to my face before I took out this time! The further north I travelled the more beautiful the landscape as the North Georgia Mountains came into view. My travel path took me thru Dillard, Georgia. Every time I ride through Dillard, I remark about how beautiful the area is. If you are ever through the area, be sure to try ...

Up and out the door at 6:15am Saturday to head to Columbus to work with Last Chance Ministries. It had just stopped raining as I eased Rosie out of the garage and there were serious looking clouds hanging overhead. As I rolled down GA400, it started to rain. Nice cold and raining. But, the windshield on Rosie is just the right size to deflect the rain to the top of my helmet, so I stayed dry in my leathers and my visor stayed clear. I drove in and out of rain for about an hour until stopping for a cup of coffee at the Waffle House near Pine Mountain where it was snowing. Fortunately the snow wasn't sticking and the roads remained clear. Clear enough that folks were trying to drive 90mph on I-185, and I tried to give em room to do it and get far away from me. After meeting up with a couple of the other guys from Last Chance, we resumed the trip to Columbus. About 5 miles the windshield on Rosie looked about like the picture above. That really got my attention, I had to sit a little ...

The motorcycle ministry I work with, "Knights of Penetcost" is selling these shirts for $15 each. If you'd like to support the ministry, give me a shout and I'll hook you up with a shirt.

..ideas for shaping a more diverse, authentic, and transformation-centered church. Author Sarah Cunningham goes beyond outlining 20-somethings dissillusionment with the established institutional church and offers ideas for moving beyond the dissillusionment - taking the message to those who aren't walking in the doors of the steeple bearing buildings. A noteable except - 'We don't want to feel like we worship on an American Idol set.' ...'You know what gets our attention? Pure real-life humans in front of us and have them tell us about their real lives.' Boy that flies in the face of buying more and more subwoofers, bigger screens, and fancy video backgrounds behind song lyrics. Interesting...