I love BBQ! In fact, I think it’s required that all citizens of North Carolina love BBQ. To pay homage to the greatest food (not grilling style) on the planet, my boys Rhett and Link wrote this song about it:
For those of you who missed the Major League Home Run Derby last night, you missed an amazing event. Not because it is the last All Star game in historic Yankee stadium. Not because of the big names that were there and not there (A-Rod). Not because the first round record of home runs were shattered. And, not even because the guy that came in 2nd place hit 13 more home runs than anyone else. There are 2 main reasons you missed out:
1. Josh Hamilton’s story. If you haven’t read about his journey in and out of baseball, it is a MUST read. Josh grew up being a baseball phenom in Raleigh, NC, which lead him to be the #1 draft pick for the Tampa Bay Rays. After moving away from home at 18, suffering some injuries that kept him from playing, having a lot of money in his pocket, and as Josh said, “hanging with the wrong crowd;” Josh found himself severely addicted to drugs and alcohol. Eventually, his addictions consumed his entire life and got him suspended out of baseball. But, it was during this time that Josh found hope and life in Jesus, and fully surrendered his life to Him. Fast-forward to last night. Josh Hamilton is hitting balls left and right over the fence in Yankee stadium, one time hitting 13 in a row. After the entire event was over, and as the crowd was chanting Josh’s name, he said this, “I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” I know you’re thinking sports figures say this all the time during interviews. But, Josh didn’t stop there, “I just want to glorify Him in all that I do!” Wow! Josh Hamilton gets it.
2. Clay Council. Clay was the pitcher Josh selected to be his pitcher during the Home Run Derby. Here’s an interesting little side note: Clay is 71 years old. Josh first met Clay while playing American Legion ball in Cary, NC. Josh told Clay that if he ever made it to the Home Run Derby, then he wanted him to be the pitcher. Not only did that happen, but they now hold the record for the most home runs hit in a single round during that competition. Why is Clay’s part so interesting? Well…..he went to high school with my dad and they played baseball together. I called my dad after Josh and Clay finished the first round, and my dad said, “I’m so proud of ole’ Clay that I can’t even stand it!”
We just got back from Student Life Camp at Daytona Beach, FL, and it was an AMAZING experience! Here are a few things that stuck out to me the most:
-Last week was the fastest week of my life! I could have sworn we skipped a day or something.
-Stopping every 2 hours (or less) on an 8 hour drive extends the travel time quite a bit!
-Sam has a bull-ring piercing through his nose. As we stopped for lunch, I jokingly said it would be funny if someone put a straw through his nose and drank out of it. A few seconds later….Cody took me seriously.
-Since (I thought) we were staying in a hotel with kitchens, we planned on fixing lunch and dinner each day. The only minor catch was that this hotel didn’t have any full kitchens. No wonder they looked at us funny when we brought in all of our pots and pans. Anyway, we smuggled in a hot plate and worked some miracles just short of 5 loaves and 2 fish. Thank you Barbara, Kelly, and Publix for making it happen!
-Louie Giglio straight up brought it! I’ve heard Louie speak literally hundreds of times, but I’ve never heard him be so direct on on point. All 33 of our students and leaders were in awe of God after each session.
-3 of our students stood up and made public decisions for Jesus!!!!
-Chris Tomlin was rockin’! He has always been one of my favorite worship leaders because of his passion, heart, and authenticity. His songs “Sing, Sing, Sing” and “Jesus Messiah” are unbelievable!
-Worshiping with 6500 teenagers is an unforgettable experience. Seeing students with hands raised, neck veins popping, and weeping is incredibly moving.
-I hate the “We love Jesus yes we do” chant. Our group responds, “We love cheese puffs yes we do…”
-Daytona Beach is officially the most humid place on planet earth!
-Lifepoint students are amazing! It’s going to be scary to see how they point their friends to life in Jesus this year! They are ALL on mission!
-It never gets old seeing teenagers come to life in Jesus. We had several let go of anger, depression, insecurity, fear, self doubt, and sadness. I’ve already heard stories of our students telling their friends and families about what God did in their lives this week.
These are just a few, quick highlights. Later this week, I’m going to post some of Louie’s notes that really challenged me and our students.
With it being July 4th, the traffic around Wilmington is CRAZY! It took me 3X longer to get home today after work because of an accident on Hwy. 74. The 5 car pile-up happened on the Cape Fear bridge and backed traffic up for miles and miles. As I approached the drawbridge, I began realizing that I’m going to be at a standstill on the metal grate (aka- see through) part of the bride, which is about 70 feet above the river. That normally doesn’t bother me, but today, it was a bit freaky. As cars passed in the other two lanes, you could feel the entire bridge flexing and bouncing.
As I got off the bridge and past the accident, I noticed a broken down pickup that was also causing traffic to back up. Since we were going about 5 mph and I had to rubber-neck like everyone else, I looked at the two men in front of the truck, and that’s when I couldn’t believe what I saw. Instead of these men trying to fix the truck or just waiting around being miserable, they broke out their golf clubs and were hitting balls into the Cape Fear River. Come to think of it, I’m not really sure if they were broken down or not? Maybe they couldn’t wait to get to the driving range.
I would like to say these guys are crazy tourists. But, in all honesty, they are probably fellow Brunswick County Residents. I’m sure this phrase started the whole golf time, “Hey man, watch this…”
At Lifepoint, we feel God is about to do something HUGE! So, to prepare ourselves and get ready, we are doing anything and everything possible. I spent Sunday and Monday with Larry Brey from Elevation Church, who is an Assimilation and Systems guru! Lets just say he knows more about this stuff than anyone I ever met, and my head can’t take in all the info he’s giving me.
But, the great thing is that Lifepoint is the newest member of Elevation’s Ground Level Network, giving us an all access pass to their staff and resources. It’s awesome to have churches support one another so we can advance the Kingdom! Larry, please know you are officially on my speed dial!
I received a phone call the other day from an Ignite student. He called because he was pumped about getting his first ever paycheck. He was so excited that he said, “I just had to call someone and tell them.” But here’s the thing, he wasn’t excited about having money in his pocket. Instead, here is what he said, “I’m excited that I can start tithing now! I feel like I haven’t been able to contribute to God until now. It’s such an awesome feeling that I just had to tell someone.”
WOW! What did you do with your first paycheck? What were you most excited about buying? I told this teenager, “Man, you totally get it about tithing. Can you teach the adults about it?”
I’ve officially been on this planet 29 years as of today. I know some of you are older, but I remember being a teenager and thinking 29 was OLD! Now, here I am. But, I don’t feel insecure or weird about turning 29. It’s the next birthday that scares me a bit! The other day, I took an online “real age” test to see what age my body really is. The score….19. I was pumped until I started questioning the results. Was the “real age” referring to me physically or mentally?
