First Sunday 2009

Being off for the holidays I wasn't sure what to expect for the first Sunday of 2009. To be honest I was wondering if me and the everyone else would be a little off their game. Well that didn't happen.

It was a great day and here are some of my reflections:

1. The Band did a great job, really nailed it this past Sunday.

2. We did have a computer glitch with a program but the production folks handled it with speed.

3. We had a great crowd and there was a great excitement in the air.

4. I was really pumped about the response to the message. It seemed that everyone was really grasping the encouraging truth of where we all stand with God.

5. I really can not think of a better way we could have started 2009.

Thanks to everyone who make each week happen!!!!!!

Sunday's Thoughts

Here are some things about yesterday:
-I love kicking off the new series, The Great Unknown. It will be a awesome Christmas series.

-The stage look incredible. Good job Greg, Brad, and to all the production team. Heard lots of great comments.

-Amanda was unable to make and I hope she is better today. Because of Amanda being out the band had to make some serious changes to the morning and did a great job. Amanda you were missed, but my hats off to the band for making some worship great with all the changes.

-We collected a mountain of coats for the needy in Macon. I was blown away by the number of coats we had on the first Sunday of the drive.

-Had about 200+ yard signs about the Christmas Eve Service taken yesterday to be put up. Good job eveyone!!! Thanks to the Parking lot greeters for handling the distribution.

-The All-Star Kids leadership is raising up new leaders. Jana, All-Star Kids Original Host, was in the service yesterday..a first in a long time.


I serve along side the most incredible people on the planet...you guys are awesome.

Passion part 2

Ok, now what does Passion look like? First, passion always focuses energy. When we have a passion for something we focus our mental, intellectual, and spiritual energy in that direction. It is like going from a shotgun that sprays in many directions to a rifle that is focused in hitting a small area with a big punch.

When you are passionate about improving your marriage you focus energy in direction. On the other hand, if you are passionate about YOUR desires then you will focus your energy on making you happy, comfortable, and satisfied...often at the expense of those around you.

So what are you passionate about? Don't know? Ask yourself, where is your energy focused? Ask God to create and/or direct your passion to the things that really matter, the those things that will last, to pursuing Him, and to the things that will better the lives of those around you. Passion is a key part of living and not just existing.

Passion part 1

I was in Atlanta recently sitting at a read light. Standing on the corner in front of me was a guy holding a sign telling me of a sale at a local store. I am sure that you have seen those guys. He was actually sitting on a stool talking on a cell phone. It was obvious that is was just a job to him.

I then drove down to the next light and there was another guy. He was having a blast. He had a rectangle shaped sign and could throw it up and catch it. He was flipping it many different directions and caught it 90% of the time. I was captivated. I can tell you exactly what was on his sign. I wanted to get out and join him. It was very cool.

The difference between these two guys is one had a job, and the other had passion for his job. It is amazing that when you can near someone who has passion for something how that captivates us, how it draws us in, and makes what that person is passionate about more believable.

I challenge you to ask God to fire up your passion to know him, serve him, and pursue him. That alone will get people's attention. And what does it look like when we serve him with passion? We will answer that question in the next blog.

We own it

I keep being blown away but what God has done through this thing called Piedmont Church over the past year. To think that this 1-year old church just bought a shopping center is a pretty amazing compliment to the power of God and the work of our people.

It is awesome what can happen when you harness the power of a people all moving in the same direction. It is hard to keep it focused, but when you do, it is powerful. Leadership is so much more about keeping people focused, passionate, and chasing after Jesus, than it is about keeping people happy, making a decisions, or holding a positions. Many church leaders would do well to understand this.

Having said that...so much of Piedmont's present success is simply because God chose this time, this community of people, this leadership team, and this pastor to use for something that is bigger than we are. We have done a lot of things right, but what we have accomplish so far is more about the blessing of God that we do not deserve, than what we have done right.

This is why I am passionate and yet very humbled about leading Piedmont Church.

Thinking about Sunday

Here are some of my musings about yesterday:

1. The Band and vocals did great! After that Johnny Cash song I am now calling Greg Blasche-Johnny Blash. I don't get to hear real well backstage, but right before I came out, Amanda challenged everyone to sing "you are glorious" and the band and on-stage vocals toned down, it was AWESOME to hear the audience sing.

2. Raising now $660,000 in commitments to finish out our building is pretty dang awesome for a church a little over 1 year old!

3. We have a lot of kids in All Stars and I love it!

4. So many new faces ready to discover Christ and not play church

5. Big response to the Prison Break intro message, I feel this is going to be a good one.

6. I work with the best and most awesome staff and volunteers on the face of the planet!

Can it get any better!

My View

The view from my desk chair one morning this week. I love it!