Monday Morning Thoughts

What a great day we had yesterday!    It was a long day, but still in all, it was a great day!

Our morning service was sweet.  We had the opporunity to share the Lord’s Supper and ordain three men and their families as new deacons in our church.   It’s always special for me to participate in the Lord’s Supper.  Gives us all a chance to reflect upon what Jesus did for us on Calvary and celebrate His goodness toward us.  Reminds me of the song “When I think about the Lord, how he saved me how raised me, how he filled me with the Holy Ghost how he healed me to the uttermost.  When I think about the Lord, how he picked me up, turned me around, how he set my feet on solid ground.  Makes me want to shout Hallelujah, thank you Jesus, Lord, you’re worthy of all the glory and all the power and all the praise.
Praise God for Geraldine Kelly!  She is a wonderful mother and grandmother to a family in our church.  God has been speaking to her over the last few weeks and YESTERDAY, she gave her life to Jesus!  Just proves that it doesn’t matter how young or old you are, Jesus loves us all and died for us all.   What a joy for Geraldine, her family and all her friends to know that one day she will be eternally in heaven with our Lord.

We will be baptizing her as well as two other people who were saved this coming Sunday!

Last night was AWESOME!!!   Johnathan Elrod came to our church and led us in a very intimate time of praise and worship to Jesus.  Johnathan is truly an annointed man of God.  I love him!!!  He’s been and continues to be a great personal friend of mine and I love his ministry!  Looking forward to many more times with Johnathan at Daventon!

As I reflect this morning over the weekend, my heart still is reminded of the Vaughan family.  Gordon went home to be with Jesus a week ago last Sunday and I’m still praying for the family that he left behind.  It’s wonderful to know that we can still hold on to the hope that one day we will see Gordon again and that his body will not be frail and corrupted with disease.  

I was reminded also yesterday that just as much as the Lord is pleased with the progress our church is making, the evil one is just as interested in destroying what we are trying to do.  We MUST be aware that the devil can use godly people in a deceptive way to destroy and divide.  We must be on our guard every moment of the day to not allow that to happen.

Looking forward to this afternoon where I will be meeting for the first time with five other pastors to discuss the things going on in our churches.  I’m anxious to glean off of the experiences of these guys so that I can be the best pastor I can possibly be for the sake of our church and for the kingdom.

Pray for us…..this is a great time for the devil to stick his ugly face in our business and try to destroy what God is building.   As believers, we are encouraged by the word of God that we should hold one another up in prayer and support during these times of trial.

God is good, his love endures forever, and we MUST stay on track and remain faithful in the battle that we’re in.  It’s great to know that whatever the outcome of any situation that we face, GOD KNOWS THE OUTCOME and for us, it’s important to know that “it’s gonna be alright!”

Have a great week, and keep on keeping on!

In HIS grip,
jon

Monday Morning Thoughts!

I’m not ashamed to admit that I am very tired.  It’s been an incredible month and yesterday was no exception.  We’ll keep plowing along praying to God that he sustains us with his strength and guidance.

• Yesterday was incredible as we celebrated 100 years of ministry at Daventon Baptist Church.
• At last count, there were 405 people that showed up for our worship service.   It was by far, a record attendance for our church.
• We were able to squeeze about 250 people in our auditorium and then the rest of the folks sat out in the food tent where we had “piped” in two big screen tv’s and a sound system so they could participate in the worship service.   What a Day!!!!
• The highlight of the service for me was when Mike McCuen, Roy Childress and the choir sang “Bowed on my Knees”.  They absolutely rocked out that song. 
• Four people prayed to accept Christ into their life yesterday!  Two young people accepted Christ during the week last week and they came forward yesterday morning to present themselves for baptism.  Praise the Lord!!!
• I’m so proud to be pastoring such a wonderful church.
• Our people knocked it out of the ball park in their preparation and planning.  Everything went better than we could have possibly wanted it to go.
• Next Sunday we will be ordaining three brand new deacons and sharing the Lord’s Supper together!  What a great opportunity to recommit ourselves to the direction and vision of the church, especially at the beginning of the new calendar year.
• And if that wouldn’t be enough, next Sunday night at 6 PM, Johnathan Elrod will be coming to our church and leading us in a very special worship experience.   It’s going to be AWESOME!   Johnathan is truly an annointed man who loves God and has the ability to inspire people to boldly come before God’s throne in an attitude of praise and worship!  YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS OUT ON THIS WORSHIP EXPERIENCE!!!!
• Pray for Shannon…..she has been dealing with some dental issues.  She was in bed all day Saturday and most of the day yesterday.  She made it to the 100 year celebration at our church and is back in school today.  Pray that her pain will subside!
• Pray for the Gordon Vaughan family.   While we were celebrating the Lord’s goodness yesterday morning, Gordon was entering the presence of the King of Kings.  He had struggled with some serious health issues for the last two years or so and yesterday he received the ultimate healing and is now resting in the arms of his heavenly Father.    A special service honoring his home going will be taking place sometime later this week.

Guess that’s about it for now, hope that all who reads this will have a blessed week!

 

In His Grip,

jon

Monday Afternoon Thoughts!

My, my, my……I’ve never been so proud to be the pastor at Daventon Baptist Church:

• Yesterday was friend day…..over the past two months we have never had a worship service attendance above 150…..(I think 148 was the largest crowd we had).  We made an attendance goal for friend day of 200…guess how many we had show up for worship yesterday?  TWO HUNDRED!!!!!!   WOWSIE!!!!  I never met so many new people … ever.   A member of the church told me that in all of his life, (37 some years), he had never seen the auditorium that full on a Sunday morning! 
• My good friend, Brad Booher, came in this past Sunday and did an EXCELLENT job leading us in worship!  WOW, the whole service was electric….filled with excitement and energy…..did you feel it?  If you weren’t there, trust me, it was AWESOME!
• It was amazing seeing so many people at the work day last Saturday. The newly painted and trimmed hallways, the rooms upstairs, the parking lot, the yard, the doors all look AWESOME!   EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT job!   It’s great to see people who have a mind to work……we could have never done everything we did if it weren’t for the work that EVERYBODY put it in!  
• While the stuff was going on at the church Saturday, there was a crew of 8 or 9 of our guys who were fixing up the house of one of our church families.  There was some electrical work, some plumbing work, construction work and yard work involved….and they knocked pretty much EVERYTHING out!  The family will be able to be back in their home in no time flat!   AWESOME!!!  EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT job guys!  
• IT’S SO GREAT SEEING THE CHURCH BE THE CHURCH!
• Sunday was just a rehearsal for what’s coming up next……This coming Sunday Daventon is celebrating 100 years of ministry!  We are expecting over 450 people to attend our celebration serivce and a dinner afterward.   There’s so many people coming that there’s absolutely NO WAY that we could hold everyone in the auditorium.   We’re setting up some tents and placing enough tables and chairs to seat 300 people.   We’ve decided that what we’ll have to do is wire up a video feed under the tents so that everyone will be able to participate in the celebration service.
• BTW, I (along with many others) have been talking with God about sunny skies next weekend.   Please talk with him as well!  uhh….we don’t have a clue what we’ll do if he decides to let it R_ _ _ _!!!  (i’m not even going to speak it!)
• Praying for teachers and students in greenville county and surrounding counties as most will be starting school this week……personally, I’m pretty excited about the school year starting up…..it’s going to bring a bit more structure in our home!!!
• BTW, another good friend of mine, Mike Conklin, has been working with our students the past few weeks.   Last night, we had more students attending their Bible Study than we’ve had since I’ve been at Daventon.   Mike’s doing a wonderful job and we are SO THANKFUL for his willingness to come in and help out!   TODAY IS MIKE’s 4oth Birthday!   Happy Birthday Mr. Mike……we love and appreciate you and your family!
• Another person I want to recognize in this blog is Nannette Greer!  Nannette is our nursery coordinator.   Nannette is doing such a great job making sure our babies and toddlers are getting the best care possible while church is going on……it’s a TOUGH job!     Seems like the last couple of weeks, there have been an abundance of little ones in the nursery…..we’re getting to the point where we’re going to have to look into adding extra nursery space to accommodate our needs!   Be praying about what we need to do about that!
• By the way, the bullet point above is an AWESOME problem to pray and think about!
• Johnathan Elrod, Sunday night August 30 6 PM….you REALLY need to be there!  That’s all I have to say about that!
• Hanging out again with some very special people who live somewhere downtown tonight! 

All I can say is that God is Good!  He never fails!  He’s always there (even when we can’t see him)!  He cares for us and that’s why we can cast our cares on Him…….and……..IT’S GONNA BE ALRIGHT! 

See ya soon!

In His Grip,

 

Jon

Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Can I just say that I love my church!?  We’re headed into the biggest part of the month, going to be quite exciting all the way to the very end.   This month is going springboard us into a great start to the new school year.
• It’s Hot!!!   Yesterday was the hottest day of the year thus far…….it topped 100 degrees! 
• Had a chance to go with a friend of mine to feed about 60 homeless people last night.  After we served some hot dogs and chips, I had the opportunity to speak some encouragement into them.  I don’t know why this never fails to happen, but it seems like whenever I try to bring encouragement to someone, they usually end up encouraging me.  We are so blessed to have what we have, even if it’s a little.  Some of these guys literally live on the streets.   Can’t imagine that kind of lifestyle, especially considering the hot days that we’ve been having.   It was VERY COOL to realize that what we were doing was exactly what Christ wants us to do….. check it out     Maybe this is something that God would have you to be a part of…….let me know if you’re interested!

DON’T FORGET:

• This Saturday – 8:30 Work day at Daventon.   We’re going to do some MASSIVE clearing out and cleaning up.  We’re also going to do some painting, rearranging, and even some work around the church.   Come ready to get sweaty!
• This Sunday -  FRIEND DAY!!!!  I am so looking forward to Friend Day.  I’m anxious to meet some new people and see some old familiar faces!   It’s going to be a great day……I’ve invited a special friend of mine to come and lead worship for us.   Brad Booher and I have been friends for about 6 or 7 years.  He has incredible talent matched with a sincere heart that wants to please and honor God.   You will enjoy Brad’s work Sunday morning as he leads us in worship!      Our attendance goal is to see 200 people in our worship service.  
• Sunday night – Session Three – “NEXT DOOR SAVIOR” with Max Lucado.    We’ve been having some excellent study and thoughts on Sunday night.   It’s never too late to join us.  If you want to deepen your spiritual walk with Christ, make an effort to be in your place on Sunday night.   I guarantee you’ll be encouraged to step up your committment to Jesus!
• Sunday AUGUST 23rd.  100 year annniverary of Daventon.    There’s just one word that I can think of that will describe this day……INCREDIBLE!  It will be literally the biggest day that Daventon has ever had.   We’ve stumbled upon some GOD SIZED problems which we are praying about and believing that He will take care of our issues…….(they are very, very SMALL in His eyes!)
• Sunday Night August 3oth – Johnathan Elrod in concert!   Johnathan has been a good friend to our family for many, many years.   He is incredibly gifted in worship and will be a blessing to all.   Starts at 6 PM…..there will be some food to chomp on afterwards!

Have a great rest of the week and remember, whatever situation that you’re in, “it’s gonna be alright!”

Tuesday morning thoughts!

*****WARNING  -   This blog is a little lengthy, sip on a cup of coffee while your read because you don’t want to miss what’s at the end!!!!********

 

For those who anticipate a Monday blog from me, (believe it or not, some of you do!), I apologize for not getting something out.  Here are some thoughts that have been rattling in my brain….some new, some old (referring to my thoughts!).

• Had a wonderful, wonderful worship service Sun. morning, the choir, the special music, the congregational singing all was up and energetic.   Shout to the Lord is one of my all time favs.  
• Angela hit a home run on her song and Martha kicked it on her solo part of the choir song.
• It’s so much easier to preach when the music is “on,” don’t know if I can explain it, but all you guys in ministry that are reading this can understand.
• “Take Up Your Cross” is something that we all must do.  As disciples of Jesus, that is our minimum expectation.
• Taking up your cross requires that you lay DOWN your life!  CHECK IT OUT!! We cannot “be all in” for Jesus until we “give up all!”
• Great to welcome new folks into our church body.  That kind of stuff should be happening every Sunday!  Praise the Lord for Caroline Thompson and Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy.  I’m looking forward to see how God is going to use them in our ministry!
• I’m finding, almost daily,  that there are some people that you encounter and situations that pop up that are simply there to try to distract you, as a pastor, from the vision that you have for the body of believers that you shepherd.  I woke up this morning to some distractions similar to that on my mind.  God knew though that it was the 4th day of the month and that I would be reading Proverbs 4.   Ya think it was just an accident that I read these verses today?  I think not!
• Got a lot of stuff happenin’ this month.  
• IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, we are having FRIEND DAY at our church.    I have invited many, many of our friends to come on this special day, our goal is to have over 200 people in our auditorium August 16th at 11 AM.
• I’ve invited a special friend to come and lead the worship on that particular day and I’m excited to see how the Lord is going to use him!
• ON AUGUST 23rd, we are celebrating the 100 year anniversary of Daventon……LISTEN TO THIS, our “Centennial Committee” has done a great job in sending out invitations to former members and friends and already we have…..listen to this….410 people who have confirmed to be here for that day.   WOW!  It will literally be the BIGGEST attended service that Daventon has EVER had.  Do you think that’s coincidence?  I don’t……God’s going to do something mighty wonderful at Daventon…..as I’ve said to our church time and time again, “hold onto your hats, we’re in for the ride of our lives! 
• I’m so excited about August 30th. 
• We are going to be introducing and ordaining our new deacons in the morning service, we will also be celebrating the Lord’s Supper together and then SUNDAY NIGHT……..JOHNATHAN ELROD will be at our church for a special worship service.  We’re hoping that once again we’ll be able to pack out our auditorium to celebrate all that God has done and praise him for all that he’s going to do.  

What a great time to be a part of Daventon Church!  I’m so blessed to be able to simply witness and take part in everything that God has planned for her!

Monday morning reflections!

I’m sooo glad that our family is all together again.  Last week, my oldest daughter Jessica went on a mission trip to St. John’s Island near Charleston.  It was a long hot week there for her, but the whole group worked hard and got alot accomplished for the glory of God.  She got back around noon or so Saturday and is getting back into the routine of things today!

I’ve heard from many different people and places that Monday’s are typically rough on those who are in ministry.  Often times men wake up after a full day on Sunday and “relive” the day all over again in their minds.  Questions pop into their head such as…. What could have I done better?  What could have gone differently?  Why didn’t “so and so” show up?  Was there a good spirit at the church?  What will happen to me when I get in the office?  Why has God called me to this ministry?  Who did I “tick” off yesterday?…… and I’m sure many, many more question similar to that.

I guess for the average minister thoughts like that pop into their heads every day of the week, but maybe they’re a little more sensitive to them on Mondays.  I must confess that those questions pop in my brain, I wouldn’t be honest if I said that they didn’t.  But on the other hand, I try to look at Mondays as a fresh start to a brand new week.  An opportunity to keep the ball rolling, to encourage the discouraged, to reenergize vision and direction. 

As I am going about my day today, I’m thinking of the sweet, sweet spirit that seemed to be at our church yesterday morning.  There was a spirit of unity and energy.  A spirit of openess and honesty.  I’m thinking “I can’t wait to get back into that church house again and be with God’s people. 

Can’t believe that July is over and August is coming in this week.  Got alot of important things happening this coming month.  August 16, FRIEND DAY, August 19, the first day of school for all of Greenville County, August 23, the 100 year anniversary celebration at the church.  Lots to look forward to, lots to plan for.  

As I’m thinking about that, it makes me realize that I don’t have much time to look back and ask all the “what if” questions.  Have you ever tried to walk forward while looking back?   If you have, you’ve realized that you’re not paying much attention to what’s ahead of you and the chance of you falling or stumbling will be greater.  If we MUST look back to see where we’ve been, the wise thing to do is to stop briefly and turn around, then face forward again and move on!

I think that’s what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote Phillipians 3:14-15   

Have a great week and keep looking forward!

Monday Morning Thoughts

I’ve been getting into the habit of having my quiet time out on the back porch each morning.   The last few days have been awesome.  Yesterday I almost had to go inside to get a sweatshirt or something.   It’s been quite cool (at least for July). 

• The worship service yesterday morning was the best service we’ve had yet.  I could sense the moving of the Holy Spirit in a very unique way. 
• We were blessed to have some very special guests in our morning AND evening service.
• Russ and Morgan Chambers, along with Morgan’s mom (Mrs. Libby) came to visit with us.  Russ and Morgan are going to California in three days to start a church out there.  Morgan and her family have been long time friends with our family.  We had the pleasure of ministering to her and her two other sisters throughout their entire middle and high school years.  Russ was my intern for nearly two full years and since then God has used him in many different ways.  I had the privilege of  officiating their wedding ceremony a couple years ago and am excited to see how God is going to bless their work out in Bakersfield.  I’m hoping that maybe one day, (once they become a big MEGA church), they’ll ask me to come out and speak!!!! 
• Last night we were surprised to have a “delegation” of sweet, sweet folks from our former Sunday School class at FBC Simpsonville.  Our family had to go through some MAJOR adjustments during the time where we resigned from our former church, and these guys were right there with us, every step of the way, encouraging us, praying for us and conditioning us for the next thing that God had for us!
• Please be in prayer for David and Amber!  Great young couple that needs to experience what true fellowship is all about!
• The students of the church where we served for 10 years have taken off to their “beach camp”.  They will be in Panama City Beach for a few days.  I’m praying that God will move in their lives and they will be able to see things that they’ve never seen before.  I mentioned before in one of these blogs that this is the first time in over 20 years that I haven’t planned a summer camp for students.   I’m kinda grateful for that, but I’m also kinda missing it a little.
• Looking forward to some BIG events happenin’ at Daventon the month of August.  DAVENTON, the best is yet to come!  I can’t wait to see where we as a church are going to be next year at this time……Are you excited?

Have a great rest of the week!

Monday Morning Thoughts!

First of all, let me apologize for posting my “monday morning thoughts” on Sunday night!    I’m so excited about what happened today that I don’t think I can wait until tomorrow to share it….so forgive me please!

• Today at Daventon, we kicked off our VBS campaign.  It started well this morning as we dedicated our entire worship service to children. 
• I really do get irritated when people say that the children are the church of the future…….when in reality, they are a vital part of the church right now!
• A church that welcomes children, welcomes Jesus ( Matthew 18:5 ).  I’m so glad that I’m involved with a church who values student and children’s ministry!
• Our attendance is continuing to increase…….it’s cool to see the auditorium nearly full…..brings an energy to the place that you can’t describe!
• I can’t believe how great they decorated the church for VBS!  Each area looks so “kid-friendly” and inviting!
• I think I undershot the goal for our high attendance for VBS this week, the goal that I made was 150 and we had 128 tonight!  
• Praise God for two families praying about joining the church and for a teenager who wants to be baptized!

I’m so excited to see how God is going to move this week at VBS!  We are simply praying that we will try to love children the way Jesus does!

 

Have a great week!

 

In HIS Grip

WOW, what a week.

As I’m relaxing in my recliner tonight, I’m going over the whirlwind of the week we just had.  

For those of you who do not know, my son, Preston, plays baseball for a travel team called the Carolina Cubs.  They are a 12U major team that is ranked number 1 in the state of South Carolina and #3 in the entire nation.  The cubs took their game up to Cooperstown, NY, (home of the Baseball Hall of Fame) to participate in a national tournament for the week.  They played a total of 10 games and placed 3rd of 104 teams.  It was probably one of the most memorable trips that Preston had his entire life.  They did a great job and I’m extremely proud of my son and the “Cubbies” for doing such an outstanding job.

While Preston, Shannon (my wife) and Jordyn (my youngest daughter) were up in NY, Jessica (my oldest daughter) and I held the fort down here in SC…….sort of.  Actually, our church had family camp down at the lake this whole week.  We were there from Monday to Thursday.  I came down in the mornings and went back after the evening worship time.    There’s a few things that I learned about our church while I spent time with them and I wanted to share them with you.

1. The people at Daventon Baptist Church are some of the greatest people I have ever met, and I’m so glad to be the pastor of such a great church.   I would say that there were probably a total of 40 or so people that had stayed the entire week with others that would come down whenever they got off work.
2. Mike McCoy is a certified NUT!  I’m really looking forward to getting to know him alot better, especially when he takes me fishing at the pond he was telling me about.
3. I still have not aquired a taste for fishing……..I just don’t understand how people can take pleasure in floating in a boat all night long and not catching a thing!
4. Of the four times that I went fishing……..about the only thing I caught was a hint of a cold and alot of jawing from the guys I went fishing with.
5. Still going over my mind that I need to hold the button down right up until the time when I want to cast……..can’t tell you how many times I cast the line and it went on the other side of the boat, or if I was on the shore, I would usually cast the line around a tree branch……
6. Daventon people can cook……usually when you go to camp, you come back a few pounds lighter……this week I came back a few pounds heavier.
7. On the last night, we cooked all the fish that was caught…….YUM, YUM……and the hush puppies were awesome as well!
8. Looking forward to see what God is going to do with all of us in the near future…….it’s going to be AMAZING!

This coming week will be busy as well…….we are starting up our VBS ministry this Sunday night.  We have a high attendance of 150 people by the last night of VBS.

Waiting on Shannon, Jordyn and Preston to get home, they should be here in about an hour from now!

GOD IS SO GOOD!  Thank you Lord for taking care of us this past week.  Looking toward next week  with some GREAT anticipation!

“AS WE WERE GOING!”

I was part of a mission team that went to Jamaica over a year ago.  Our theme for the week stemmed from the actual meaning of “Go” found in the Great Commission (“AS YOU ARE GOING).   We took that theme and tried to develop it all week long.  Here’s a cool story that came from our willingness to serve “as we were going.”

“Well I haven’t said anything for a month and I know that your ears are itching to hear my voice but since I probably won’t have time to call and tell all of you guys this, I’m just going to write it up here. A year ago and a couple days, I was given the opportunity to go back to Jamaica for a week. I went down there not knowing a single soul except for Marla, Finley, and Ruby. On my flight from Memphis to Montego Bay I prayed the whole way that God would just give me one friend that I can go to and confide in for the week. I didn’t care if they were a guy or girl, old or young, anyone would be fine. Well I got off the plane and made it through customs and was greeted with a smile by Mary the intern and Finley! Finley and I talked for a while while we waited for the other group to get there. The first guy that came out was Jon Lyles. Jon had the brightest look on his face and then if possible, when he saw the ACE sign his face lit up even more. Then came the rest of the crew: Mr. Bill, Mr. Greg, Miss Terri, Nathaniel, Courtney, Amanda, Bekah, Blair, Joel, Jessica, and Hannah. Within 20 minutes I had a friend. Nathaniel. After the Burger King stop I had another friend: Mr. Bill. By the time we had driven 10 minutes from the Burger King, God blessed me with not just one friend to confide in for the entire week but 12. The next day they renamed their group ‘Westside Church and Joey.’ I could write a Harry Potter book worth (the thick ones) on each person and how they befriended me and how I’ve been blessed thus far as a result of them and it would just be a skeletal view of what they did and how they had an impact on me. You know that verse that talks about God providing for all our needs? Or the one that talks about being blessed beyond measure? Or how about the verse that talks about His faithfulness? I experienced it firsthand that week down in Jamaica and the blessing keep on coming as a result of those 12 friends. I am now at North Greenville University in South Carolina as a result of those 12 people. After attending that school for a semester I have made even more friends that lift me up and encourage me. And I know that other people can see the difference that those 12 God put in my path have made in my life. All of that just in one year. So guys, when God says go: Go. When God says grow: Grow. When He says no: it’s not a suggestion. But when He says “I know”: You better perk your ears up and listen to what He tells you, cause it will change your life. The group from Westside changed mine. I don’t know how many times I have told you guys (Westside) this, and I don’t know if you will end up reading this or not but you mean more to me than you can possibly imagine and I thank God daily for every one of you.”

So, step out of that comfort zone and care about somebody today…..you’ll never know what kind of impact you’ll make!