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Years ago I was listening to Paul Harvey on the radio. For some of you that's that thing in the middle of your car that you keep shoving CD's into. And no, the stations are not just there for your iPod to play through either. As I was driving down the road, he announced that there had been an accident. A number of youth at a youth ranch were standing on the second floor balcony of their home when it collapsed. I thought some of it until he said that it happened in Little Flock, Arkansas. Hold it! I lived in Little Flock, Arkansas! (It's a suburb of Rogers.) Quickly I made some phone calls, (Hey! What else you going to do? No internet, no email, no texting!!) and sure enough the incident had happened just down the road. Well from that point on I became a fan of Paul Harvey whenever I could listen to him. What he said made sense, even though he was old enough to be my grandfather, he didn't speak down to me. He stood for something as opposed to a number of p

I am starting the series The Blessed Life this weekend here at FFWC. I am pumped up about it because I already know what it is going to do for your life and your financial future! God has a plan and it is gooooood! Thanks to MMI for posting this today. I thought you might enjoy it. It's nice to know that there are people out there crazier that yourself.

According to Fox News, which you can read here, Sen. Barbara Boxer, (D) of California, "...is urging the U.S. to ratify a United Nations measure meant to expand the rights of children, a move critics are calling a gross assault on parental rights that could rob the U.S. of sovereignty. Critics say the treaty, which creates "the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion" and outlaws the "arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy," intrudes on the family and strips parents of the power to raise their children without government interference." So if I am reading this right, parents would no longer be able to make decisions on behalf of their children, especially in areas of education and faith. They wouldn't even be able to enter their own room without their child's permission. Something is very, very wrong here. So what do you think? Comment below.

Over the years I have heard stories about how people return from their 20th or 40th high school reunions shocked and dismayed about what they have learned. Some people just don't turn out the way you thought they would. Well I have never been to either a high school or college reunion. (I asked one of my high school friends the other day why and I didn't get an answer.) But facebook has turned out to be much of the same thing for me. I am now having phone conversations with people whom I have not spoken to in 10, 15 even 25 years. What I am find out is shocking me to say the least. #1 - Just because they vehemently disagreed with something doesn't mean that they do now! #2 - Just because they vehemently agreed with something doesn't mean that they do now! #3 - Finding someone who is succeeding at what they said they would succeed at is difficult. #4 - The price people are willing to pay for happiness sometimes shocks me. #5 - Faith and friends don't necessari

Wow! What a great day in church!! One of the things that is great about worship and ministry is that you never know what is going to happen, but you know that it will be good. I really didn't think that the sermon would come off the way that it did today. I'm not griping, but I just thought it was going in a different direction. God, as always, knew what needed to be said at the right time and I was just glad I was there to experience it. 4 people responded to the altar call today. If you are reading this blog, email or call me! I would love to answer any of your questions or just get to know you better! The luncheon afterwards was awesome. I want to thank the great team of people that made all of that happen. You did a superb job ministering today!! Hopefully, I will get to blog a little more this week. Anneka and Betty had a case of food poisoning that caused havoc on my schedule last week - wow am I glad that is over!! They are better too!

I want to take some time this week and finish this series I started about the church. If the church is the body of Christ, then what kind of shape it is in? Does it really look and act like a real body? In many ways the answer is yes. While I am not going to get to all of them here, I do want to address some of the major points. Does the church look like a couch potato? Couch potatoes by definition is someone who spend much time sitting or lying down watching TV. Does the church come, watch and leave? Leaving behind a mess of crumbs because it ate everything in sight? I know that seems somewhat gross to embrace, but I've notice that some church services are treated like a TV show. People consume, but they don't respond. They leave during the "commercials", the parts they don't like or don't interest them. If the church doesn't interest them as much as they desire, they just change churches - their version of changing channels. Much of what ch

So we have been taking Anneka to the fair every year for the last 5 years. We knew that one day she would want to graduate up to the bigger rides, but when? Well if you are wondering it is age 5. She got to ride the ferris wheel, which we do every year. Then she saw a ride with a NASCAR theme. It was fairly innocent except when it would turn a corner it would be fast and sharp. The longer the ride went the bigger the smile got. I looked at Betty and said we have let the speed demon out and we are in trouble. Well after the tilt-a-whirl, the dragon, the flying elephant, the Himalayan, the fun house and the bounce house. We were done!! Next week, St.Lucie County fair. Oh No! I get pics from that one for you.

Yesterday is a great example of the power behind facebook. My wife wanted to get away from town for the day so she put on her status something to that effect. " I'm going to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Dallas." I don't know where she got the last one. But we ended up in Vero Beach. So we go to the mall in Vero and as we are walking across the parking lot, we hear someone shouting "Betty! Betty! You didn't go to Dallas?" A couple of months ago I needed to find someone to fill in at one of our AG churches in the section. I didn't have time to do it so Betty put on her status that we were looking for a couple of missionaries to fill in a this church. In 5 minutes we had more missionaries than we needed. When I had my kidney stone in December, just before I went to the hospital, I put on my status that I was going to the emergency room. When I got to the emergency room a few minutes later, someone was there and then others begin to call, email and vi

I am excited about tomorrows ministry from The Stevens Family. I know that you are going to enjoy their music and ministry. Bring and friend and make it a great day with us here at FFWC!!

So far we have taken the temperature of the church and determined whether or not that it is exercising. The next part has to do with an old adage some of us remember from the 70's. Part 3 - You are what you eat! What is the church, that's you and me, consuming on a daily basis? Many churches that I have come into contact with are a reflection of their daily lifestyle. While every Christian isn't the same, you can get a determination of what the group does as a whole. I have been in churches whose idea of ministry and discipleship is what happens on Sunday and Wednesday at church. While others not only embrace those opportunities, but they also "fill in" with daily bible reading and devotions. Small groups and other sources which feed their heart. So let's take a look at what we are suppose to be eating. Who is serving and who is eating? When we go to a restaurant the last thing we want to do is the waiters or waitress job. A few years ago I was at

Click here to see Tessa on television. She is the girl in class about :03 seconds into the video. Click on the video, "The Power of Pink."

All of us love to exercise, yea right! And for some of us our bodies are the result of our workout. Well the church isn't that much different. A church that is healthy and able to fend off infections that could do harm is a body that is in good shape. Part 2 - So how can you tell of the church is in good shape? Is it willing to grow? - Now I don't know any of us who are willing to put on another 20 pounds. But church growth isn't about how many people are in the pew but how many people are connecting to the church body. There is a difference. Never assume that because people come to church that they are a part of the church. Do people connect with this local body of believers? Can new people who attend here make friends with new guests? Can guests feel like a part of this church soon after attending? Does the body care for itself? - Ok this is where the health nut has to come out in us. When we feel sick we go to the doctor. When we cut our finger we get a b

I've been getting some schooling from life the last few days on this very subject! But it's more like, Doom and Despair - How church doesn't work very well. As I said Sunday, churches are organisms - living breathing things. (Don't read to much into that.) The point is that Paul calls us the body of Christ. All of us have had the cold or flu at some time. To say that churches haven't had their periods of sickness is also applicable. The question here isn't, how healthy is the church? The question is, how is the churches immune system? We all know perfectly healthy people who have come down with a bug or something worse. It is assumed that if everything is working well on the outside that everything is working well on the inside. Nothing is farther from the truth - ask any doctor. So how do you check up a church? Part 1 - What is it's temperature . I'm not saying that you should check and see if everyone in the church is breathing and has a te

Because Sunday was such a wonderful experience with God for all of us - I really didn't have time to tell you about our special guests this Sunday, The Stevens Famlly. They are a family oriented, Christ centered music ministry. I believe that you will really enjoy this Sunday! I would encourage you to bring a friend or two with you. Currently one of their songs is number 1 on the Radioactive Airplay's top 100. You can check them out at www.stevensfamilymusic.com

I want to spend some time this week talking about the church. After preaching this Sunday on , "How The Church Works", which is part of our Sunday Series, "Howstuffworks", I would like to take a deeper look into how the church works. What do I have to do with it? Well the bottom line is everything. When we talk about the church we should be talking about ourselves. Something that I have learned over the years is how to determine who I listen to and who I don't listen to so much. (Notice I didn't say ignore) But the bottom line is this. When someone walks up to be with a complaint or gripe I have to measure what they are saying based on the answer to this question. "Are they a part of this church or not?" You see, when you gripe about the church you are griping about the people. Not the organization, not the heirarchy, not the programs or anything else. The church is people - the Christians who believe that this is where God has called t

What an awesome service we had today! But you have to ask yourself, "For what purpose?" God indeed moved in our midst but why? Many times for Christians leadership we have to wonder what God is up to? It isn't that we don't trust Him, more of a curiosity question. So what did todays' service mean to you today? Well, here are a few things that come to my mind. - God really wants us to give us His best! How do you do that? With a life that is willing to do whatever God wants to do! If someone tells you that I danced in the Spirit this morning, I really did! Doesn't happen often but I am here to tell you that my feet couldn't contain themselves anymore. Now understand something. Dancing for me is something that just don't want to do - I'm not wired that way. Some people are and that's fine - I am not one of them. If I am dancing before the Lord, believe me it's from God. - How the Church works - was the title of my sermon. In

Wow what a ride! And I'm not talking about Tim's driving. This was an exciting class today. I really enjoyed teaching the Synoptic Gospels. I think that this is one of the best ideas for Christian Education we have going right now! The students come eager to learn and the material that we have to use is first class! Hopefully the prof today did a great job!! If you are looking for a way to expand your faith and potential for the Kingdom of God, I would seriously suggest that you look into the District School of Ministry.

Have you ever heard of District School of Ministry? It's for those who desire to go into the ministry and wish to fulfill the educational requirements for credentials with the Assemblies of God. But it is for those who just want to sharpen their skills and better equip themselves for service. you can attend one class or you can attend all the classes - it's up to you. You read your text, fill out your study guide, take your test and commit one Saturday a month to a practical application class. This month I am teaching Synoptic Gospels. Man this class is tough! But it is goooood! Really! We are going to have a blast tomorrow!! Want to know more? Click here!

This is how the story goes. A) Tim drops a pistachio. B) Pepe (the dog) eats said pistachio. C) Pepe now chokes on said pistachio. D) Teneal now has her arm down Pepe's throat looking for this pistachio. E) Pepes gums are turning blue. F) Teneal is now doing the heimliche on a dog. G) Teneal is now doing mouth to snout on a dog - Yech! H) More digging for said pistachio. I) Teneal throws dog at Tim. J) Tim does the heimliche and Pepe looks like somebody kicked the snot out of him. K) Pepe is now drinking water. A lot of water. Wow can that dog drink water. L) Betty now pleads the blood of Jesus on said dog. M) Pepe is breathing again. N) Pepe is now in his cage. O) Pepe throws up said pistachio. P) Everyone is so happy now!!! Part 2 A) Pepe drank too much water B) Pepe now has to throw up. C) Pepe throws up - Wow can that dog really throw up! D) Teneal is gaggin! E) Anneka has now turned the corner. F) Too late! G) Anneka is now throwing up. H) Betty is gagging! I) Anneka is now

I would have blogged earlier but apparently you need to have internet service for this to work. Hats off to AT&T who said we would be back on sometime tomorrow. Whew! I was about to go though some withdrawls. Superbowl Sunday Tailgate Party was terrific. As you can see from the pics below that everyone had a great time. The one thing that was surprising was how many cars we stopped on the streets. People would drive by and be in shock. We couldn't get any of them to watch the game with us though. We working on that problem for next year. But we sure did get a LOT of attention this Sunday. Thanks to Mark and his Sea Cow Cafe for the GREAT food!! Here is a great shot of our 10' x 16' screen!! Wow was it big! Anneka partied a little too much. Here is a link to an article that Betty sent me. At first I thought it was a joke but after a little research, it is in fact the real deal. Click here.