Sunday was great! I'm really enjoying this series. I actually had someone come up to me after the service and say, "They ought to make a movie about Abraham!" Someone else said, "I used to think the Old Testament was boring. I didn't think anyone could make Genesis come alive, but you guys are doing it." Now the reality is God doesn't need our help. His Word is alive! But what really made Sunday great was changed lives! Several Connect Cards reflected people making decisions to leave things behind, renew their hope, or to continue to walk by faith. That's what it's all about! Read More...

I am a blessed man! Today is my daughter Lydia's 16th Birthday. Sweet 16 - I can't believe it! On top of that, she's driving! She's growing up on me. It seems like only yesterday she was the little girl in this picture.

Lydia, I just wanted to take a minute today and tell you how proud I am of you. I love you so much! I love everything about you. Second only to Mommy, you are the most beautiful girl I know. I love your smile. I love your sense of humor. I love "Daddy Daughter Days." I love all the inside jokes that only you and I get. I love your sense of style. I love what a great big sister you are. I love the kind of friend you are. I love our prayer times in the evenings. I love it when you come to work with me.

But most of all, I love your heart! You love Jesus, you love people, and it shows. And that's all I could ever ask. You are the answer to my prayers. In fact, you are more than I ever dreamed or imagined a daughter could be. I am in awe of the young woman you are and I am constantly amazed at who you are becoming. I pray you always know how much God loves you and how much Mommy & Daddy love you too. You will always be my little girl. Happy Sweet 16 Lydia!

Hey Everybody! We're baaaack! We had a great time. Hilton Head is a beautiful place - and now I know why. This is what we saw on our way home this morning. If you can't make out the words on the car, it says, "Pooper Trooper" 843-815-POOP. Our first thought was, "Who did this guy tick off to get this job." But then our conversation digressed pretty quickly. You think you've got a ****** job! How does he make an arrest? What if the lawbreaker resists or flees the scene? What does the CSI team for this unit do? I told you we laugh a lot. I actually know several Neighborhood Associations who would like to have one of these units.

Here's the story of the bride (Christi Groetz) that I married yesterday. Needless to say, it was quite a joyous occasion for their family. It was great just to be there and be a part of it. Rachel Ray and Oprah are talking to them about sharing her story. She's a walking miracle. And you know what? So are you! You were created in the image of God. If you are a Christian, you too have been rescued from death to LIFE. And He uses you and me to share the Greatest News in the world - there is new LIFE available in Christ! So live like the miracle you are today and share it with a friend!

Husbands, put this verse in your wallet, on your dashboard, or on your refrigerator - somewhere you'll see it. Ecclesiastes 9:9, "Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love." Let that sink in. Read it again.

Today I'm heading down to Hilton Head to do a wedding. I am so pumped! No, not about the wedding, but about the fact that MY bride is going with me! The kids are staying with some friends and Janet and I are going down together. Truthfully, I'm excited about the drive down and back. I just love hanging out with Janet - talking, laughing, sharing, and laughing some more. She is my favorite person to be with and my very best friend! We just have fun together. We enjoy life together. The best gift I can give my kids is a healthy marriage.

I'll do the wedding (get out of there as quick as possible - I know that sounds bad), go out to eat and run around Hilton Head together, spend the night at a nice hotel (got a great deal through Priceline.com), and come back tomorrow morning. I also love doing weddings when Janet can come, because I think about her and our marriage just a little bit more. I try to catch her eye during the ceremony. And I enjoy going down to Hilton Head because that's where we spent our Honeymoon 20 years ago. Actually, it was about this same time, because although we were married on Valentines Day, we went to Hilton Head a little over a month later during our Spring Break (she was teaching and I was still in school - she's much older than me).

Anyway, it's just a quick trip - about 24 hours, but I will enjoy every minute of it with my wife whom I love! If there's an emergency, call . . . . Jeremiah!

A few quick notes about Sunday:

- I've got a new song to sing (a.k.a. annoy people with) all week - "I'll Be Around," originally written and sung by the Spinners in the early 70's and rocked out by the Coastal Praise & Worship Team in 2007.

- Our Praise & Worship Team is awesome - they could be my Freaks of the Week every week! Now they'd be the first to tell you about their varying levels of skill and about the times when they make mistakes and get on each other's nerves. But that's not what makes them awesome. It's their servants heart. It's their faithfulness. It's their willingness to change and adapt and work on the details. It's their willingness to make room for new people and let them in to community. It's that they do all of this not just because they love to play - although they do and it shows. They do all of it because they love Jesus and they want people to know Him. I love you guys!

- We're having visitors every week. We had a family show up Sunday who saw one of our "stick in the ground" signs my son Christopher and I put out around Easter. The signs simply say, "Get a LIFE!" and then have our church website listed. They were simply meant to get attention and direct the curious to our website. And guess what? It worked! Christopher was so jacked! We need work on a new church t-shirt with our website on the back and give them away - great advertising! Some of you creative types get busy on that!

- Yes, your Pastor did have hair in the early 80's! Everyone has really enjoyed this part of our series - "Old School" pics of Coastal Folks (I still need more). I've put up a page on our Church Event Photos page with all of the "Old School" pictures used so far. Can you remember who they are? The names have been removed to "protect the innocent."

- The lava lamps are my secret way of hypnotizing you during my sermon - "You are under my power."

- We're covering some important stuff in this series. Sunday we talked about the doctrine of sin. We looked at the tactics Satan uses and the consequences of sin. But praise God that "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) This coming Sunday we're going to talk about Abraham and the covenant God establishes. These are "heady" subjects, but hopefully we're communicating them in a way that makes sense and makes changes in our every day lives. Get your friends and neighbors and co-workers and anybody you can to Coastal! Because every week we're going to introduce them to Jesus! He is the only answer to our problems! He is the only way to real life!

- And finally, this is actually a great theme song for our Small Groups (a new 6 week Small Group starts Thursday, May 3rd):

Whenever you call me, I'll be there
Whenever you want me, I'll be there
Whenever you need me, I'll be there
I'll be around!

No, this is not a picture of me. It's actually "Elvis" Eddie Powers in front of the "Say I Do" Drive Thru Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Sometimes I do feel a bit like this guy. I do a lot of weddings. In fact, I'm headed out to Kiawah to a Wedding Rehearsal in just a little while. I have two rehearsals and three weddings this weekend. I think I have like 8-10 weddings this month. I started doing weddings about the same time I started our church. I had no idea at the time how many people come to Charleston to get married. I also had no idea at the time how big an "industry" getting married is here in Charleston. Not to brag or anything, but I do a pretty good job. And now over time, places like the Sanctuary, Seabrook, Middleton Place, and people like Wedding Planners and Photographers all have my name. Read More...

I know this is a little late for my Sunday Reflections, but better late than never. Actually the power was out at my house until Sunday night. But thankfully it came on by the time we got home and the kids got to watch the Amazing Race. Beth Duckworth told me her power didn't come on until 10:30 this morning!

Our series, "Old School" kicked off in groovy fashion Sunday morning - literally! The band rocked out the opening song, "Hurt So Good" - great job Wyatt! This is a picture of the stage from practice on Saturday night. My family is especially ready for the next song. You see, I have this annoying habit of getting a song stuck in my head and then running it in into the ground. For several days now, in the shower, in the car, in the grocery store, I'll just burst out very loudly in, "Come on baby make it hurt so good!" I know, I need help. Everyone seemed impressed with our "Old School" decor in the auditorium - lava lamps, album covers, beads, polyester, video games, tie dye. Where did we get all the "stuff" you ask? The video games (80's) came from Ricky Spell. The album covers (70's) came from Eddie Evans. The beads, clothes, and other props (60's) came from Junk & Jive Retro Mart and the Footlight Players prop warehouse. Read More...

Every so often someone will ask me if we have any older adults at Coastal. And when they do, I'll rattle off a few names (don't worry - I won't name names here). And then without fail I'll say something like, "Oh, and there's Henry & Carol Biering, but they don't really fit in that category." You see, Henry & Carol are the youngest older adults I think I've ever met and they are my Freaks of the Week! I absolutely love this couple! I snapped this picture of them this morning cleaning the church - which they've done many times. They are great examples of humble servant leaders. Their rich spiritual journey, their love for the Lord, for Coastal, for others, for their family, and for each other is nothing short of inspirational. If you ever get a chance, sit down with them (if you can keep up with them) and ask them about their journey. What will blow you away is that they're still going and growing strong! You never get the sense that they think they've arrived or that it's time to be put out to pasture, which is how many people many years younger than them act. Retire? Slow down? Puhh-leeaase! There's too much still to be done. Read More...

Our WAVES Student Ministry(6th-12th Grade) has a cool event coming up - "The Amazing Race." They also have a cool new website that Jeremiah has been working on. Check it out at www.coastalcommunitychurch.org/WAVES. Speaking of Jeremiah, he and Cyndi tie the knot in one month - May 12th! We are having a church wide Wedding Shower for them this Sunday, April 15th, at 6PM. Now typically for me, wedding showers would fit in that category of "not a guy thing." But not this one! Church wide means that it is for the whole family and for the whole church. Come and show your love and support for Jeremiah and Cyndi and their ministry to Coastal and our Students. And we might even serve some "meat" for us guys!

Don't miss this Sunday as we kick off our new series "Old School - Today's Questions, Yesterday's Stories." It's going to be a lot of fun! We're going to do a lot of creative stuff with decorations, music, and multi-media. The band is really jacked! Come early - you're going to want to hear their opening song every week. Also, I need old pictures of Coastal folks from "back in the day" (High School, prom, sports, etc.).

Now obviously, "Old School" means different things to different people depending on your frame of reference. Andy Griffith or The Cosby Show. Poodle Skirts, Bell Bottoms, or Leggings. Albums, 8-Tracks, or CD's. Beatles, Bee Gees, or Backstreet Boys. The Twist, The Hustle, or The Running Man.

Romans 15:3 says, "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." That's what we're going to do in this series. We're going to go back and take a look at what was written in the past - the first 5 books of the Old Testament - and see how it applies to our lives today. The stage design, music, and multi-media that we'll be using in this series - these are just fun, creative methods of communication. These are simply tools that change with the times, just like music, fashion, t.v., dance, and technology have changed. The message, however, never changes. It is the message - the Gospel, God's Word - that changes lives. It is the message that teaches, encourages, gives us endurance, and hope. And that's what Coastal is all about - changing lives!

So, get your friends here this Sunday! Pray. Invite. Invite. Invite! God is doing something here at Coastal. Get on board and join us in this adventure! How quickly will we go to multiple services? How quickly will we average over 150 and then 200? How quickly will we add a 3rd service? And when will it be? How about a Saturday night service? How big is your dream for Coastal? See you Sunday! Join me in living the dream!

What a day! It's hard to express all of the thoughts I have tonight. Yes, our Easter Service definitely "Rocked!" First of all we had 241 people in church today! I know we set a goal of 250, but I was still blown away (although my son wanted 320 - he has a big vision for a our church). We even had a handful of people who were out of town or working today. Now I have to be honest, during the first service, especially at the beginning, I was a little nervous. But as usual, by the time I stood up to preach, it filled out a little bit. But had we not had that early service, we would have been in trouble at the second service. The first service also helped our team "tweak" a few little things. But what I was most jacked about during the first service is that some of my neighbors came today! And then, for the second service we were packed out. In fact, we should have made the announcement for everyone to "scoot" together to make room. The band was "on," the video and music was moving, and the message seemed to connect in a powerful way. Read More...

"Strap it on tight boys, today we're going to rock the world!" - Jesus

We had a great Small Group this past week. We ate. We shared. We laughed (very hard). We studied God's word. We cried. We prayed. It was awesome! I really look forward to Wednesday nights. If you're not in a Small Group, you're missing out.

Well, I want to tell you about someone in my Small Group, no, not one of the adults, but one of their kids. David Beam - a real cool dude - was in a Baseball Tournament in Lexington, SC last weekend. On Sunday morning during a game, he got "beamed" in the face with a baseball. Mom was here (in church, by the way - things like this only happen when you miss church David). Dad was at the game. David was playing second base, when smack, the ball took a hard bounce and hit him right in the face! Blood gushes, game stops. Dad rushes on to field. David gets up, brushes himself off, and guess what? He finishes the game! In fact, he played in the next game and it wasn't until they got home that night that they went to the Emergency Room. The opponent's coach was overheard telling his team that he wished he had 12 kids like David after he got up without a tear and finished the game.

The good news - it doesn't look like anything was broken. The better news - it doesn't look like anything was broken, which means that Kathy did not kill Matt (just joking Kathy). When Kathy told me about what happened and David's response, my response was, "It's a guy thing." You see, David is a "dude." Dudes finish the game. Dudes play hurt. That's the kind of guy I want on my team! David, for a Tarheel (whatever that is), you da man!

Hey, just for fun leave a comment about other things that are "just a guy thing." I'll get it started: Ultimate Fighting, The Godfather, Shawshank, not asking for directions, bodily noises, searching for the remote, paintball. What would you add? (Can you tell I was in need of a thoughtless mind dump?)

Well, the message is done! Actually, it's still too long. I need to go back over it, take some things out, pray through it, and just put some small finishing touches on it. And then there is still the outline and the Keynote presentation (kind of like, but much superior to Powerpoint, for you PC, Microsoft brainwashed Folks). Okay, there's still a lot to do. Then late tonight and tomorrow I'll just go over it. But here's what I want you to know - get some people here! It's a powerful message! After all, it's the greatest message of all - "He Came! He Died! He Conquered!"

It's been awesome all week hearing the stories of people in our church about who they're inviting! Keep it up guys! In fact, here's a thought! What if we didn't stop? What if every week we had the same intensity, the same anticipation, the same prayer, the same excitement? I'll tell you what would happen. The same thing Jesus said would happen - the gates of Hell would not be able to withstand the beat down we put on Satan as together we rescue people from the very pits of Hell and deliver them to life! I'm in - are you? See you Sunday!

Well Coastal, here we are - less than two days before one of the greatest opportunities we have to invite someone to church. Pull out all the stops! Go for it! Make the call! Walk across the street! What are you willing to do for Jesus today? That's the simple question I want you to ask yourself when you think about who you're going to invite and will you do it. What are you willing to do for Jesus? But before you answer the question, don't forget what today is. It's Good Friday.

This day has different names in different cultures. The Greeks called it the Friday of Preparation. The Romans called it the Friday of the Passion and Death of the Lord. In Germany it’s known as the Friday of Mourning. In Norway it’s called Long Friday. In other parts of the world it has been called Great Friday or simply Holy Friday.

We call it Good Friday. Obviously, for Christians this day is "good" because the price was paid for our sins during the six hours Jesus hung on the cross. But so often we gloss over the brutality of that event. We romanticize it. The cross of Christ is nothing more than a piece of jewelry. It certainly isn’t “good” in the sense of what Jesus went through. In fact, it’s probably the “worst” day in the history of the world. Jesus had a bad day so that you and I can have a good day. This cross was ugly. What happened on it was horrendous because real blood spilled all over it, and real nails were pound in it. There’s only one reason why Jesus went to the cross, because my sin and your sin was so serious that it could be paid for in no other way. Jesus went voluntarily to that cross, and he was thinking of you and he was thinking of me.

I'm not sure what your plans are today, but whatever you do, at some point take some time and think about what happened on that cross. Let it sink in. Let it change you. I've seen where some churches around the country are showing the movie, "The Passion of the Christ" tonight. Great idea. I think we might do that next year. Read through the end of the Gospels and take note of the seven last statements of Jesus and their meaning.

I'm going to be putting the finishing touches on my sermon today. By the way, have I told you yet that Sunday is going Rock! Well, it is! Get your unchurched, lost friends there! No matter what you do today, when you think about what Jesus did for you, how could you not reach out to someone and invite them to church. The song that's been on my heart this morning is "Once Again"

Jesus Christ I think upon your sacrifice
You became nothing poured out to death
Many times I've wondered at Your gift of life
And I'm in that place once again
I'm in that place once again

Once again I look upon the cross where You died
I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside
Once again I thank You
Once gain I pour out my life

Now you are exalted to the highest place
King of heavens, where one day I'll bow
But for now I marvel at this saving grace
And I'm full of praise once again
And I'm full of praise once again

Once again I look upon the cross where You died
I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside
Once again I thank You
Once gain I pour out my life

Thank You for the cross
Thank You for the cross
Thank You for the cross
My Friend.

As you can see from the title, this week's, "Freak of the Week" goes to more than one person. Twila Sabin & Teresa Spell are my "Freaks" this week. Just watching them on Sunday, I knew I had to recognize them. They are two of the most dedicated Promiseland servants that we have at Coastal! Just step in to the D.O.G.S. Class and you know that it is a labor of love. And speaking of the classroom itself - it's the coolest room at Coastal! They took it upon themselves to remodel (thanks Ricky), decorate, and supply their own classroom. They teach together every week - they never get a break. And then on top of that, they decided to add a Sunday night meeting once a month for their kids! From start to finish they take care of everything themselves - lesson, food, prizes, games, and activities. Read More...

Usually on Saturday nights my kids ask me about my sermon for Sunday. Yesterday I told them, "Strap it on tight boys, tomorrow we're going to rock the house!" That's Pastor Chris speak for it's going to be intense. As I said this morning - I called an audible. I had originally planned to finish up the series, "Facing Your Giants" today. The message was on Fear. It was a great message. I'll probably use it again later. Read More...