Behind the Scenes- South Bay Offices

One fun thing I am going to do on this blog over the next few weeks is give you "Behind the Scenes" snipets of my life and our church. Today's blog is just a short tour of the South Bay Church office where I spend a lot of time on a weekly basis! Enjoy!

Behind The Scenes- Part 1, "South Bay Offices." from South Bay Church on Vimeo.

The Power of Gratitude

I think that gratitude should be at the core of every follower of Christ's life. There are very few attitudes more powerful than gratitude. Honestly, I think that if we focused on gratitude we would love God more, love people more, give more generously, pray harder, serve more consistently and all of the choices God desires for our lives. Today I'm reminded of how much I'm grateful for...

Here are just 10!
1. I am grateful first and foremost for my salvation, that Christ would take my sins upon the cross and give His life for me to be free and forgiven!
2. I am grateful for my beautiful family- my wife Stacie and my son Caedmon are two of the biggest gifts in my life.
3. I am grateful for our incredible team here at South Bay Church- our staff and their families have made so many sacrifices for the sake of our church.
4. I am grateful to have parents and siblings that have loved me and believed in me all throughout my life. The encouragement of my father and mother have served as a source of strength and courage.
5. I am grateful for the people who a part of our volunteer team at South Bay Church. Each week so many people make tremendous investments in our church with their time, talents, and resources.
6. I am grateful for our church and each person who has made a decision in the past year to join us for this journey!
7. I am grateful that Stacie and I are privileged to be in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia.
8. I am grateful for the natural beauty of the SF Bay Area including the weather, the water, SF City, and so much more! I could go on and on about this!
9. I am grateful for all of the churches and families that have invested in South Bay over the last 18 months since beginning this journey. We would not be where we are today.
10. I am so grateful for all of the mentors and leaders that have invested in my leadership and in my life!

What are you thankful for today?

Love Out Loud!

We're so excited to introduce you to the Love Out Loud Offering at South Bay Church. Between now and January 31, 2010 our goal is to give $15,000 to causes outside the walls of our church. We will be working to do the following: help start Epic Church beginning in 2010 in San Francisco, give to global missions overseas, help fight human trafficking, and give towards our Easter Outreach 2010. For all of the details about the offering click here and download the Love Out Loud offering packet. Below you will find a short intro video. You can participate and give online toward the offering by clicking here and you can also give at the Sunday Service between now and January 31, 2010. Let's give generously and watch God use our church to impact the world!

Love Out Loud! from South Bay Church on Vimeo.

Reflections From Sunday

This past Sunday at South Bay Church we had the fourth message of our Marriage Redefined series titled, "Does Marriage Have to Limit My Life?" This has by far been our best attended series to date. I believe that so many people's marriages are in trouble and it so often it is extremely really difficult to find the kind of help we need with this super significant subject. On Sunday I talked about the "Death to Life Principle" from John 12:20-26 which is this, "when God calls us to give something up in life it is always so that He can give us something greater in return." In essence, at times God calls us to lay down our conveniences so that he can bless us with something far better than what we laid down. Marriage can be very challenging at times and can seem like a spotlight into the insufficiencies in our hearts and character. Married folks have to lay down many of the conveniences of single living. Every decision from what I wear to how many starbucks drinks I have in a week must be made in light of the most important person in my life, my spouse! In marriage there are many little deaths and sacrifices that have to be made along the way in order to make the relationship work. These deaths can often make you feel limited in your life. I meet many people who felt limited by marriage or parenting and instad of allowing God to develop holiness of character inside of us ran from their marriage. When I make a choice to die to some of my selfish goals and interests for the best interest of my family, I then find that God gives me a greater joy and peace on the other side of that sacrifice. On Sunday I challenged singles and married people alike to be reminded that the life God calls for is one of sacrifice. When we learn to live this and embrace it, we then can find life!

In addition to all of this we had exactly 240 present and 3 people publicly profess their faith in Christ through believers baptism. One of these people made a decision on the spot that morning to get baptized. It was so amazing to me as I watched her respond to God! I am so proud of the three ladies who took the plunge and identified themselves with Jesus. You are an example to so many. BTW, we didn't have any guys take the plunge... I challenged all the men in our church on Sunday saying, "you let the women kick your butt in responsiveness to God!" Next time I think we'll have a few men get baptized!

We're looking forward to the conclusion of the Marriage Redefined series on Sunday looking at "God's Definition" of marriage. We are going to address some very edgy topics. It's going to be great! Looking forward to all that God will do this weekend!