Rumors are swirling that Apple will soon release a new product that will highlight a  10 inch screen and will be a “kindle killer”.  I love my Kindle and I am already wondering how the new Apple product will work with Amazon digital books.

Get the low-down here!

Great article on Easter, Pinelake, and Chip in the article. I especially like the emphasis in the title on Chip’s age. In case anyone is wondering, both Chip and Robert Green are older than me.

Read the article here

It’s been a busy week and I haven’t taken much time to post.  So today is make up day!  In the spirit of David Letterman, here are my top ten favorite things about this past week:

10. NCAA Championship game between Carolina and Michigan State.  I was rooting for the Tarheels and they put the beat down on the Spartans.  We went to bed early as there was no drama.

9.  I had a great time with our good friends the Sushenias and the Seagos on Tuesday night.  We went to eat BBQ and took all of our kids.  That would be three couples and 8 kids.  6 kids under 4.  People were leaving our section and I didn’t blame them.

8.  Its Master’s week.  Enough said.

7.  Kathie Sanford had a birthday this week.  She is the Executive Assistant to Chip and has been incredible this week in coordinating much of our celebration of Easter.  Much gratitude for all that she does to help us.

6.  New music Tuesday brought a new album from Rascal Flatts.

5.  I had a great meeting with my dear friend S. N. on Wednesday.  He and his wife headed out to Africa on Thursday and will be of great use to our King.  These people are devoted, passionate, and called.  Wow.  I am committed to praying for them.

4.  The Seder meal experience was off the hook.  Great experience and a great reminder of all that God has fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  So thankful for the plan of God.  So thankful for the lamb who took away my sin.

3.  We had our all staff (all campuses) meeting this past Tuesday.  One of our “traditions” is that we have a time of sharing great “stories” of life change that is happening in our church.  It’s an encouraging time for all of us.  I left this Tuesday in awe of all that God is doing through our church in seeing real change in reall people’s lives.

2.  I have been reminded constantly this week of what a great staff team that our church has.  Our team has been exceptional this week and God has really used them to provide some great opportunities for our communities to experience a celebration of Easter.   In a one week period of time, our team will have led 31 different services (7 Sunday, 8 Seder Experiences, 3 Tenebrae Services, 3 Prayer Experiences and 10 Easter Services).  Lots of praying, thinking, working, and serving from our entire church.  I have been really proud of our staff this week.  By the way, unless it’s serious; don’t call us Monday.

1.  He is Risen! His life is in us raising us up to real life. “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”  (Romans 8:11)

We’ve just released a list of all the worship experiences that will we have at Pinelake for the week of Easter. It should be an amazing week of contemplation and celebration of the Cross of Christ and the Resurrection. Some of these events are ticketed and those tickets will be available at all campuses beginning tomorrow.

Monday, April 6th: Read the Passion Week Story
Prepare your heart as you read Mark 11 – 15
 with your family, group, or individually.

Tuesday, April 7th and Wednesday, April 8, The Seder Dinner:  A Celebration of Christ in the Passover

• Reservoir Campus:  Tuesday, April 7 at 6 and 7:45 p.m. and Wednesday, April 8 at 6 and 7:45 p.m. in the Activities Center
 (Childcare is available by online registration at www.pinelake.org/childcare for children age birth through 5 years old).
• 
Madison/Ridgeland: Wednesday, April 8 at 6 and 7:45 p.m. at the Madison Square Center for the Arts
(Childcare is available by reservation through the Preschool Ministry at madisonpreschool@pinelake.org for babies up to 12 months old. Limited space is available.)
• 
Clinton: Tuesday, April 7 at 6 and 7:45 p.m. in the Worship Center 
(Preschool childcare is available and with no reservation necessary.)

The Seder Meal will allow us to experience and learn about much of the symbolism held in the traditional Jewish “seder” meal held during Passover week and will illuminate history in a deeply meaningful way. The event is free, but tickets are required. Tickets are available at The Source or at the Madison/Ridgeland church office on Highland Colony. Please note that there will no Renewal service at any campuses.

Thursday, April 9 “Tenebrae — A Service of Shadows“

6:30 p.m. all campuses.  This will be a unique candlelight service including worship and Scripture reading that will focus on the emotional aspects of the Passion story.

Friday, April 10, “The Final Words — an interactive Prayer Experience”

The experience will be open from 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. all campuses

This is 
a come-and-go prayer experience in which you will interact and pray through the final words of Jesus from the Cross in unforgettable ways.

Saturday, April 11, A Day of Prayer & Fasting

Sunday, April 12, Easter Sunday Celebration

Reservoir: 6:30, 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m.

Clinton and Madison/Ridgeland: 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m.

There is a great article on MTV that reveals the trend of worship leaders showing up on American Idol. The article says that at least half of the people left on this seasons Idol are either worship leaders at their church or very involved.

Read the article here

There was a great article posted last week in Newsweek by Lisa Miller on the current trend of people who love and follow Jesus to call themselves “Christ follower”. Our leadership has actually had some conversation about this very topic. Our conclusion is that the term “Christ follower” is actually a great term for many of the reasons listed in this article. The term “Christian” can have a lot of baggage in our culture. That baggage comes in cultural, political, denominational, and religious wrapping.

I am pretty sure that God doesn’t care what we call ourselves. As long as we follow.

Click here to read the article.

Do you prefer Christian or Christ-follower?

I received my blood test results (taken last Friday) today. It was another positive report as my ALT levels (which measures liver health) went down again. I am still above the normal range but because I am making consistent progress they have decided to go ahead and begin the process of reducing my medication.

That’s a big deal for me. The medication is difficult and has considerable side effects so I am happy to be taking less of it. The process of tapering off will take a few months so I am really happy to start the journey of getting off the “junk”. That makes today a really good day. At the end of getting off of the medicine the doctors are still planning several wonderful cycles of Chemotherapy called CHOP-R.

We are ready to move through this season but are rejoicing in God’s constant presence. There have been a lot of days over the last three years that the news that we received could be classified as a “bad report”. These little victories (like today’s news) are God’s grace made present in our lives in real practical ways.

Last Saturday was an awesome day as over 2000 folks from Pinelake joined some other great churches in the Jackson area to meet some needs in inner-city Jackson.  It was a “win” for the Kingdom, a “win” for those who participated and a “win” for those who received.

I was at Poindexter Elementary with some great folks from the Reservoir and Madison campuses at PInelake. We worked with Mrs Yolanda Lloyd (Principal) and had a great time meeting her husband, Lorenzo, who has started a church that is meeting in the Clinton area.  Our partner church at Poindexter was St. Luthers MB Church and Coach Willis Bridges.  These are solid folks who really care for the people of Jackson and desire to see God do a work.

I want to say special thanks to David Hardin, Chuck Newton, and Nicole Stokes for helping our church participate in Shine 09. The folks who really made it happen at our site were: Cliff Osbon, Tim Nelson, Tip Dyess, Donna Osbon, Ken Robinson, Dennis Martin and the 24 small groups that were just incredible.

Thanks to my good friend Chris Smith I have posted some photos here.

On Monday a few of us are headed over to Dallas for a couple of days to connect with some other churches and learn from them.  This learning environment is put together by Leadership Network and features Pinelake and nine other churches who have experienced “rapid growth”.  This community of rapid growing churches is an amazing group of churches. This combined group (of all 10 churches) represents 60,388 people in average attendance each week.  The churches include:

• Celebration Church, Georgetown TX
• Church of the King, Mandeville LA
• Church of the Redeemer, Gaithersburg MD
• Christ’s Church of the Valley, Peoria AZ
• Cleveland Community Church, Clayton NC
• Healing Place Church, Baton Rouge LA
• Heartland Community Church, Rockford IL
• Living Hope Church, Vancouver WA
• Pinelake Church, Brandon MS
• Sagebrush Community Church, Albuquerque NM
• Seacoast Church, Mt. Pleasant SC

What a great challenge this “Why Serve?” series has been to me. Yesterday’s message was especially challenging as we looked at our responsibility to the “least of these.”  Some of you have asked me how you can do something specific to fulfill God’s call to us on Sunday (in regard to giving).

First, let em challenge you to give yourself.  You can do that through participating in Shine.  Call today and get involved in serving those people in our community and in our city.  Our church has embraced the call to lead out in updating both Barr and Poindexter elementary schools in Jackson this Saturday.

Once you give yourself away, there are some great opportunities for you or your small group to participate in by giving financially to some needs.  You can click on the links below and be taken directly to the sites where you can get more information or give directly:

Matthew 25 Fund The Matthew 25 fund goes to meeting the needs of the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the imprisoned and the poor in Jackson and the surrounding area.  This fund is overseen by our Pastoral staff and goes to the immediate needs of those all around Central Mississippi.

Pinelake Missions Fund.  One of the great needs around the world is for clean drinking water.  Our missions team continues to travel around the world to help provide wells that furnish villages with clean water.  As well, our teams are providing medical and dental clinics in both Mexico and Africa for those who have no healthcare.

Onemilllioncan One million can is a clearing house sponsored by my good friends at Passion Conferences where you can give to support a broad range of needs including refugees in Africa, those ministering to prostitutes in SE Asia, water development around the world and a host of other very specific needs.

Compassion Compassion is a fantastic way for you to be involved in supporting a specific child by giving a monthly donation for the support of that child.  It cost about $32 a month to support a child and Compassion is great about sending you information and reports on the child that you are supporting.

Feed the Children.  Feed the Children is a well known ministry that has given itself to feeding those who are hungry in the United States and around the world.  I also encourage you to check out on the site the ABC orphanage that they have in Kenya where they take care of abandoned babies.

My walk away verse was this yesterday:

“But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

God help us as we walk this out!