So grateful to have Robert Sims with us yesterday. What a great message he gave encouraging us to prepare the way for the next generation! Sometimes I think we get so caught up with what WE want, what makes US happy, what turns US on, that we completely forget that there is a world out there that needs to experience the grace of God in perhaps a DIFFERENT way, or a way in which WE are not comfortable with.

It’s my prayer, as I hope it is yours, that we as a Church (capital C) will understand that God is so much bigger than the way even the most faithful follower can view Him and He can do so much more than we could ever expect Him to do! What a great day to be a born again believer and an ambassador for Jesus!

By the way, you can catch his message and even the special music, “Beulah Land” on our website. Click on the media button on our home page and then click on messages! You’ll be blessed!

We nearly increased our AWANA attendance last night by 50%. That’s awesome! And what’s even more awesome is that one of our leaders had the privilege of leading a little boy to Christ last night! THAT’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT! Increasing the Kingdom!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it ’til I’m blue in the face that God is doing some great things at DBC and He’ll continue to rain down His blessings on us as long as we remain faithful to Him!

This Wednesday night is going to be hopping with activity at Daventon, the ladies will be in their 2nd week of their study on Esther and the men will be beginning Men’s Fraternity! “The Quest for Authentic Manhood”. If you’re a man in our church, you need to make it a priority to be there! It’s going to be awesome! Our students will be gearing up for a tremendous time of worship and our kids will begin their practice for a special Christmas program. There will be SOMETHING for everyone! Please come and find your place on Wednesday! Jump in and get involved as our church grows in God together!

Special thanks to all who volunteered for our fundraiser Saturday at Simpsonville City Park! We were able to raise over $1,200.00 for our student ministry! I was so proud of our people as they served the community! Thanks Mike Conklin for your leadership! You’re hard work and sacrifice does not go unnoticed!

Hope that everyone has a great week! Remember to look for opportunities to share your story with someone who desperately needs to hear of the grace and love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

In His Grip,
Jon

SUPER, SUPER start to our AWANA ministry last night! We had 18 kids from age 2 to fifth grade! What’s going to be exciting is how many we’ll have next week! The kids are excited, the leaders are excited and I know the Lord is pleased with our efforts to advance his kingdom by telling boys and girls about Him! GREAT JOB LEADERS! JOB WELL DONE! It’s only the beginning!

This coming Wednesday we’ll be kicking off a ladies’ study on ESTHER by Beth Moore, ladies…..you don’t have to sign up for this study, there is no cost and it will be an awesome opportunity for you to learn more about your faith and grow in your relationships to one another! By the way, the men will also have their own study as well! Remember, it all starts at 7 PM. Make sure that you are in your place!

Can’t wait til this Sunday when we have our homecoming service! Jeff and his brothers will be bringing the special music and Robert Simms will be our special guest speaker! YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS DAY! Invite friends and family, it will be a super time! After church we will have lunch together, please bring a side dish to go with the meat the church is providing! Make sure to bring enough for your family and at least one more!

WE WILL BE HAVING CHURCH SUNDAY NIGHT! I know that usually after homecoming Sunday morning, there is no service that night, but we will stay with our normal schedule so we won’t miss a great opportunity to minister to our children and youth in AWANA and the youth small groups! For the adults, we will begin the second week of our study on the book of Philippians!

I will be meeting with Jeff and Mike shortly to talk about our goals and plans for 2011. Believe it or not, it’s just a couple months away! 2010 has been a GREAT year and it’s going to be a great 2011 for Daventon Baptist Church!

Finally, I just want to say how blessed me and my family are to be at Daventon! Such a wonderful church with some very wonderful people! Thank you for giving Jeff and me the opportunity to participate in our former church’s 20th anniversary celebration! You would have been so proud of Jeff as he led that church in worship. The place was electric because the Holy Spirit was free to move in hearts! You can see a portion of the worship here.

God is doing some GREAT things at Daventon, and He’ll continue to do great things as long as we remain faithful to Him! Let’s do that, okay!?!!!

Have a great week and see you on Wednesday!

In His Grip,
jon

So excited about this coming Sunday! AWANA is starting which will open up a brand new chapter in the life of Daventon Church. I believe with all of my heart that this ministry will bring many, many children to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ! So thankful for the volunteers who are heading up this wonderful ministry from the Commander all the way down to the listeners! Each of you have a vital part in the success of AWANA this year and I’m praying that you will all stay the course and run this race like you’ve never run one before! God will bless us if we strive to serve him and others with our whole heart, mind and soul!

Next Sunday is going to be a special day! It’s homecoming at Daventon! The Honorable Robert Sims will be speaking and The Hall Brothers will be singing for us. After the service, we will have dinner on the property! The church will provide the meat for the meal and each family is asked to bring a “fixin” to go with the meat. Looking forward to some sweet fellowship! If you haven’t already, start inviting family and friends to this special day at our church!

Next Wednesday, we are starting our Men and Women Bible Studies! The ladies are all excited about “A Study of Esther” by Beth Moore. Truly, this is a great study that EVERY lady in the church ought to try to go through! Martha McCuen will be facilitating the study. The men will be doing a study of their own as well. Thinking it’s going to be a great time to strengthen our relationship with the Lord as well as with each other!

Good things are happening! Are you on board? If you’re not, it’s not too late! If you are, HOLD ON, it’s going to be an AWESOME ride!

See ya Sunday!

IN HIS GRIP,

jon

It’s good to be back though and I hope to blog again at least once a week.

Mainly, I want to blog to give announcements about what’s going on in our church and then maybe give some encouraging thoughts.

So,here we go!

* This Sunday, make sure that you are in your place at Daventon, if the Lord continues to move me in the same direction, I will be talking about “Raising the Roof”. I will also briefly discuss the 13 reasons why churches are stagnant. Should be interesting.
* Also at 4:00 this Sunday afternoon, the leadership of AWANA will have a meeting. It is imperative that everyone who is involved with AWANA be at this meeting.
* Sunday night – “Ask the Pastor”…… If you have any questions about the Bible or about what we do or some moral issue that you have questions about, write them down or send me an email with the question and I will ATTEMPT to answer them on Sunday night!

* Sunday, September 12 is a BIG day at our church. We will be launching our AWANA ministry for our children. If you have not pre-registered your child yet for AWANA, please fill out a form at the church and turn it in to Jo Burdette. You will have a chance to register your child anytime you come, but we want to get as many kids to pre-register as we can!

AWANA will start promptly at 5:45…..*NEW TIME* and will last until 7:15 – Sunday nights!

* Wednesday, September 15 we will be starting our Bible Studies for men and women. The women will be going through Beth Moore’s study of ESTHER. It is an excellent study! Martha McCuen will be facilitating that class. The men will have their own Bible study as well!

* Sunday, September 19 – HOMECOMING SUNDAY!
Make sure to invite many friends and attend our Homecoming on the 19th of September. Former interim Pastor, Robert Simms will be our special speaker and The Hall Brothers will be the special music. There will be a dinner at the church afterward!

That’s about it for the month of September!

I want to close by saying that it is a joy and a privilege to pastor Daventon Church! God is doing some wonderful things here and will continue to bless us as we continue to Love Him and Love People!

Have a great day!

In His Grip,
Jon

1. They started off the season with one major goal in mind and that was to win STATE.
2. They trained hard during the preseason to prepare themselves for their goal.
3. They went through the entire season with the main goal in the back of their minds at all times.
4. They endured alot of pain, not only physical pain but mental and emotional pain.
5. Each player invested time and energy.
6. Each player came to the understanding of their role on the team and sought out to fulfill their role to the best of their ability.
7. They worked together, they were unified in their purpose.
8. They encouraged one another.
9. They shared their ups and downs with one another.
10. They never gave up, they never quit.

It’s everyone’s dream to be a part of a team like that (at least one time in their life) and it’s been a real joy for me as a dad to see my daughter Jessica participate on such a team.

When a group of people come together, set goals, work hard to achieve their goals, work together, encourage one another and never give up, AMAZING THINGS CAN HAPPEN!

As a church, amazing things can happen when we put all of those ingredients together. We are all players on a much bigger and more important team than just a recreational game. We are all on a team that God has wonderfully designed and each of us have a responsibility on the team in order to accomplish all the goals that God wants us to achieve.
We cannot afford for anyone to “step out of the game” we can’t afford to stray away from the goal, we can’t afford to not work together, we can’t afford to not encourage one another or fulfill our role on the team, for if and when we do that, we will not be able to accomplish our goal.

I Corinthians tells us that we all are a part of a unique body that must work together in order for it to be healthy and productive. If any part of the body doesn’t do it’s job, the body malfunctions.

What’s your part in the body of Christ…….specifically what’s your part at Daventon. Everyone has the responsibility to encourage, to invest time and energy, to endure the pain and hardships and to work together, and there are still others who must step up and complete their role so that we can accomplish the goal God intends for us to reach.
Be a player, not a spectator. Be a TEAM player and not an individual trying to achieve your personal goals. Support your other team mates, keep your eyes on the BIG goal and let’s see what God can do!

God is good! He is blessing our church in so many ways, I can’t mention them all in just one blog!

Will you join us? Henry Blackaby, in his study, Experiencing God encourages us to “find where God is working and go join in the work” God is working at Daventon, find your place and join the mission! Everybody has a place!

I’m extremely excited about AWANA starting up at Daventon in the fall. It’s going to be a huge undertaking but the potential that we will have to reach children and their families is staggering. Please be praying even now for God to give you direction as to where you will serve. We need leaders, readers, assistants, and prayer warriors! Everyone can participate!

Hope that you all have a great week and that you’ll have a chance to share your story of how Jesus changed your life this week!

In His Grip,
jon

10 Things Jesus Did Not Say!
Jesus made it pretty clear in John 13:34-35 as to how the world would know we are His disciples…notice He did NOT say, “They will know you are my disciples…

#1 – By the way you forward really stupid, ridiculous emails to one another…and if you refuse to forward them to everyone you have in your contact list then you don’t love me.
#2 – By the way you yell at people who don’t know me for living as if they don’t know me.
#3 – By your T-shirts and bumper stickers!
#4 – By the music you listen to!
#5 – By the political party you support.
#6 – By the denomination you belong to.
#7 – By the way you protest.
#8 – By the products and companies you boycott.
#9 – By the way you look down on those whom you perceive aren’t as good as you.
#10 – By the way you take from one another!

Nope…John 13:34-35 is clear, Jesus didn’t mix His Words…we are called to live this out.

Have a great rest of the week!
IHG,
jon

These sort of things can happen to seemingly good people. On the outside, their heart appears to be right, but on the inside, they’re filled with jealousy, pride, and other self-centered (not God-centered) ways which is feeding ground for the work of the Prince of this world and the result always ends up in destruction and division. I have personally been involved in such destruction and it’s not a fun place to be, especially when the effect of Satan’s influence on others has been directed toward you!
A word of advice and counsel for those who have been swayed by the power of Satan in your life. IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER! THERE WILL ALWAYS BE DIVISION AND CONFUSION! RUMORS WILL CONSTANTLY RUN RAMPANT! YOUR CHARACTER AND THE CHARACTER OF THOSE YOU INVOLVED WILL ALWAYS BE QUESTIONED! YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WILL ALWAYS BE TESTED! YOU WILL SPEND MUCH TIME ACCUSING OTHERS!
………………………….UNTIL…………………………….
you make it right!

How do I make it right? Well, I’m glad you asked, here are four things that you MUST do!
REPENT, beg God’s forgiveness and recognize that you’re WRONG, WRONG, WRONG in your behavior.
RESOLVE THE CONFLICT – you must seek reconciliation with those that you wronged. It’s one thing to get right with Jesus, the Bible tells us too many times that we need to be in harmony with one another. Personally, I hate to know that I’ve done someone wrong and I want to do whatever I need to do to make it right. Anyone who can just go on without being sensitive to the need of a brother that you hurt must be controlled by Satan rather than the Holy Spirit. Check these verses out: Romans 12:18, Matthew 5:23, Matthew 18:15,
RETURN to obeying God’s word, John 14:15
and
RESIST the devil James 4:7
Honestly, do the last two need any more explanation! Sometimes believers can be so boneheaded! I’m convinced that 100% of the reason why believers allow the evil one to control them is because their pride prohibits them to be controlled 100% by the Holy Spirit!

Hey……got any or all of the 10? Get it right this week! Get some peace in your life and the lives of those you effected! PLEASE!!!!!!

Have a great week! Pray for us as our revival continues through wednesday night…..and…..come on out if you can! starts at 7 PM!

In His Grip,
jon

What is the purpose of having “revival” services?
Well, when you revive something, you’re bringing something that was dead or near death, back to life.

Revival services are for believers and non-believers.

For believers, it’s a time to rejuvenate ourselves in Christ. To bring our relationship to God back to a point where it’s healthy and functioning. Many of us believers are stale, we’re complacent, we’re not going anywhere. If something is stale, complacent or still, it’s not moving forward. Stale Dr. Pepper tastes awful, old milk is rotten and not good for anything. Such is true for the believer. If we are still, we’re good for nothing. We need to be “revived”, we need a good kick in the pants or a good jump start! That’s my prayer…..I’m praying that God will kick us in the pants and get us moving again!

For non-believers, it’s an opportunity, an invitation, a plea, an urge, a beckoning to change. To make old things new, to pass from death to life. My prayer is that many non-believers will be made new through Christ Jesus this coming week.

IT CAN HAPPEN!

Daventon Church can and will be a beacon of light in our community around us. But it’s going to take each person doing their part to make it happen!

What will you do to advance the kingdom of God this week? Will you pray? Will you allow God to move you? Will you have a passion to see your friend, your neighbor, your government leaders, your family members begin a new and exciting relationship with God? Will you do your part?

When each member prays, does his part and allows God to move, then REVIVAL will happen! Let’s do all we can this week to prepare ourselves and others for Revival at Daventon!

IT STARTS WITH YOU!

God is doing great things at Daventon, and will continue to do great things in and through us as long as we find ourselves faithful to the cause and faithful to Him.

Daventon, “loving God and loving people!” It’s going to be a history making week! Are you ready?

Have a great week!
In His Grip,
jon

I LOVE MY CHURCH! The worship service yesterday was off the chain. Sam absolutely KNOCKED out her song! The band sounded awesome! and the preachin’ wasn’t half bad either! I felt a freedom yesterday in our service that we should feel everytime we come together for worship! Looking forward to a great day this coming Sunday. Praise God that Jesus took the fall and thought of us ABOVE ALL!

Hope that all have a great week! Spring break for my kids, lots of opportunities to get out and enjoy this great weather! Always be looking for opportunities to share Jesus with this week! Be encouraged! Jesus IS ALIVE and WELL! The Holy Spirit is ALIVE and WELL and working in our midst! God is going to do some great things in our lives as long as we remain faithful and obedient to Him!

I’ve made up my mind, I’m going to love God and love people this week! Will you?!

In His Grip,
jon