Once again, I have laid down the gauntlet - this is The October Challenge. Once before I challenged you to get 300 people on one Sunday, but it was tough because it was Summer and people were out of town and on vacation. Now I’m offering this challenge one more time, except this time it’s Fall and it’s much easier to reach this goal. It’s simple: You invest and invite and get 300 people to attend Forest Park Carthage on a Sunday in October and if you reach this goal, I’ll get a blue mohawk (Carthage blue color, of course). You’ve got 4 Sundays left to accomplish this. You can do it!

300. it’s the perfect score in a game of bowling. It’s the name of a great action movie. It’s also the goal we’ve been shooting for all summer. It all comes to a head this Sunday, August 28. I have laid down the challenge. You invest. You invite. You bring a friend and if we reach 300 people THIS Sunday, you we will see me get a mohawk in front of everyone at church. I’m writing this blog because I sincerely believe you can do it. If each of you just invites one person, you’ll knock this out easily and my head will be shaved. Let’s do it Carthage! 300.

Tomorrow is a great day for Forest Park Carthage as we go out as a church and bless all 5 elementary schools in our city. We’ll be bringing 150 gift bags to give to each of the teachers of the 5 schools, as well as special gift bags for all 5 principals. I hope you’ll join us as we show these teachers and faculty our love, support and respect for what they do in our community.

If you’d like to join us, come out to the church at noon tomorrow (Monday) - wear your FP Carthage t-shirt and come with a smile. We’re going to be the hands and feet of Jesus to our schools.

Also, don’t forget we’re collecting supplies to bless our school nurses. We’re giving them the 3 things that they usually have to pay for out of their own pocket (tissues, wet wipes and…

The past two weeks we’ve wrestled with and discussed God’s amazing grace - Grace that covers our sin and frees us from guilt, shame and regret. It’s my prayer that you have been forever changed by God’s grace and accepted His forgiveness.

If so, you need to share the Good News! We are still alive to demonstrate and share the amazing grace that’s been offered to us. When we fully grasp this grace and realize the Good News of the Gospel, we naturally want to share it with those we love and care for.

Who is this grace for? Well, for starters, it’s for you, your family, your neighbors, your classmates and your co-workers. Basically, God’s grace is available to all and we’ve made it our goal to proclaim it each week when we gather for worship. I, as your Campus Pastor, also encourage you each week to “Invest and…

At Forest Park Carthage, our Easter weekend kicks off tonight at 7:00 pm with our Good Friday service. This will be a special, meaningful and dedicated time of worship focused on the cross and Communion. If it’s been a long time since Communion or the Lord’s Supper has felt special to you, this night will be for you. If you’ve never celebrated Communion before, this night is for you. See you tonight!

As you know, this Sunday is Easter. We’ll be celebrating the resurrection and rocking the house at 9:30 and 11:00 am. Believe me, you don’t want to be late. I encourage you to be in your seat five minutes before the service begins (when you see the countdown start) and listen to our band play REM’s classing song “Losing My Religion.” Also, we have something special planned about five minutes into the service. Just take my word -…

Hello to my new Carthage family. Today I’m packing up and preparing to head your way on Monday morning. I’ll be in the office and working starting Tuesday. I can’t wait to be with you all on Palm Sunday. I’ll also be visiting LifeGroups throughout my first several weeks with you.

As I stated previously, I sincerely want to get to know each of you. If you’d like to meet with me, just call the church office and we’ll make it happen. For now, I’d love for you to be my friend on Facebook (several of you have already done this). Facebook is a great way to get to know the real me, see what I’m up to and follow the adventures of my family, music, movies and favorite places to eat. You can send me a friend request here.

Finally, I’d like to strongly encourage you to consider…

Well, we made it safely!

The flights were smooth and customs was crazy, but there were no problems entering Haiti. We were picked up by Pastor Paul (English Baptist Church of Delmas) and taken to our lodging for the trip. While it is a huge downgrade from our usual sleeping arrangements, I feel extremely blessed knowing that we are sleeping and eating better than most in Haiti.

Tuesday was our first workday. We went to the church and began to build upon a current wall. The church is trying to create a small play area for the kids (their old one is now three large tents that are used for school). As I came to find more than I imagined, since the earthquake many buildings, homes, schools, churches, etc. have been abandoned. Even some buildings that seem to be fine have been left to memory due to the fear of…

These photos were taken during the second day of Elevate 2010 and the Haiti Relief Rummage Sale.