Defining Moments in Dallas

Last weekend, I traveled to Dallas, Texas, and had the opportunity to minister at Valley Creek Church's "Men of God" conference. Chris Boniol, my good friend and men's director at VCC, worked like crazy to put together this experience that would change men's lives forever. Nearly 250 guys took time away from their families and busy schedules and dedicated themslelves to becoming the men God intended.

The food was fantastic, the worship was strong, and the table discussion was rich! It's amazing what can happen when men possess the courage to be honest with God and with each other. I was so impressed with the number of small groups each man could get involved with. Friday night, I taught on overcoming temptation, and tried to expose some of the lies and tricks the devil uses to keep so many men in bondage. I saw grown men who had struggled with a lifetime of condemnation and shame, opening their hearts to a Divine love that could set them free. It was awesome! The next day we talked about building integrity and becoming men God could use.

I stayed through Sunday and ministered at all 4 weekend services...it was a blast! Lives were transformed, and many people made decisions for Christ. Pastor Kevin Evans and his family are dynamite--even though he did give me a hard time for being an LSU Tiger fan. God Himself loves LSU, since purple and gold are significant Biblical colors: purple is the color of royalty (King Jesus), and gold...well the streets in heaven are made of that stuff! I had to remind all those Longhorn fans that anytime you read about cattle in scripture, it was always sacrificed on an altar! Come on baby!!! Go Tigers!

A big thank you to all the great people at Valley Creek for making my weekend unforgettable. Vic--thanks for making me feel like Doug Flutie throwing a last-second touchdown pass in the YMCA end zone; Cedric--you're more than just an entertainer, you're the king of music theory; Dean--the joy of the Lord is written all over you face; Chris--my tag-team partner in wrestling with microphone wires 6 times in 48 hours; Ben--I love your passion...and your power to lift telephone poles; Connie--thanks for your patience...we Cajuns don't think real fast! Boniol--you and your family are the best...thanks for letting me stay at your estate; Pastor K--you are blessed with some amazing people, and it all flows from your heart for them!!!

Wild Weekend

Things seem to be "snap, crackle and pop!" this year already. On Thursday, we took our church leadership to LSU for a 2-day staff retreat, and it was powerful! Our friends from California, Rob, Brianna, Tyler and Michelle, came in town to be a part of the experience. It was so good to see our extended family from the west coast! Pastor Dino challenged us to be faithful and fully committed to the non-negotiables of our mission...and Doug Musso also taught us 101 different faces you can make while playing an inter-active computer game--nothing but love for you Doug! Watch the video here!

Part of our staff retreat included an outreach at our new Baton Rouge Dream Center location. We sent out several teams to pass out food to surrounding neighborhood homes and businesses and had a great opportunity to minister God's love in a very pracitcal, hands-on way. I love riding in the back of a truck with boxes of food--it felt like a parade where Jesus Christ was the main attraction!

The Friday morning men's Bible study at Vitality is rockin! It was standing room only (a typical HPC event) as Johnny Green did an amazing job teaching us the value and importance of fasting. This week we're launching into the book of I John and what it means to be spiritually alive.

We blew it up at Late Nite again, serving a little Mexican fiesta and highlighting 16 different life groups for people to be connected. It was cool to see so many college students, young professionals, and young married couples sign up to be a part. Everyone is working so hard this year and pressing into God's best for their lives. Job 5:9 says, "God does great works too marvelous to understand. He performs miracles without number."

If you're believing God for the supernatural, this is your year!

Late Nite 2007

We launched our first Late Nite service for the brand new year last weekend, and it started with a bang!! I felt like a kid on the first day of school...pumped to see all my friends and excited to just be together. With new opportunities for child care and children's church, families are now able to be a part of the Late Nite experience--including mine! (Rachel looks so pretty sitting on the front row--I think I preach better when she's there!) Alexa and Mikaela burned some adrenalin before church on the fun-jumps and inflatable games outside.

We had an amazing experience with God as hundreds showed up for this special night. We talked about the greatest enemy to our spiritual life being a word called "hurry." Our culture suffers from hurry sickness, and this busy mentality can creep into our relationship with Christ...I hope you drove in the slow lane on I-10 this week and even prayed for the drivers who passed you by!! During our afterhours party, we threw down on some jambalaya and watched the New Orleans Saints do something we've never seen before--win a playoff game! We are definitely seeing some amazing things this year already!

After only 18 days into this 2007 year, I already sense God beginning to do something significant in our midst. The Bible says in I Corinthians 2:9, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him." What a promise! God is cooking up something special for each one of us. As we commit to prayer, worship, fasting, and seeking Him those dreams will become reality.

Men in the Making

We had a cool start and a great turnout to the inaugural, history-making, men's Bible study at Vitality Nutri-Sport today--a big thanks to Jeff Simoneaux and his team for serving it up! I was amazed at the variety of stuff you can get at that place...everything from ostrich burgers and kelp tablets to organic coffees and protein drinks! Men young and old rolled out of bed early and journeyed down Coursey Blvd to start a brand new experience with God. Today marks the first of 10 Fridays we will travel together in our pursuit of spiritual fitness and developing habits of health. Just like David's final challenge to Solomon (I Kings 2:2), God wants us to take courage and be men. Being male is simply a matter of biology, but being a man is a call to courageous leadership. I'm believing this year to be an incredible opportunity to demonstrate courage in our relationships, our decisions, and especially our actions. If you missed it this morning, no worries...just jump in next week! We'll learn together as we explore the book of I John. In the meantime, look out all you bacon-and-egg boys from Franks...there's a lean, mean, protein team from Vitality that's looking to raise the spiritual bar this year!!!!

Makeover for Men

I was encouraged to see the awesome turnout this morning for Pastor Dino's Bible study on spiritual fitness. Over 100 men rolled out of bed early for some breakfast, fellowship, and a little exercise for the soul. I'm seeing a real hunger in the men of our church for a deep relationship with God and a desire to build authentic friendships. What's cool, is that we have a 6 a.m. Friday morning men's group to go along with the Wednesday study. Following the same gameplan, we'll meet in Baton Rouge at Vitality Nutri-Sport--a beautiful, brand new facility located on Coursey Blvd right next to the Clerk of Courts office. After a quick health kick of smoothies, energy drinks, protein bars and organic coffee, we'll pump up our souls with a little Bible-press!! Don't miss this great opportunity to grow in Christ, connect with others, and set yourself on a hot pursuit to live out your dreams in 2007.

New Year - New Fire

I always love the beginning of a brand new year, closing out one chapter and starting another...wiping away the pain of the past, saying goodbye to the disappointments of yesterday, and looking with hope to the promise of something better. God reminds us to forget about the things behind us and set our eyes on the new things He is doing before us (Is.43:18-19).

Our new year started with a blaze in Nashville, TN, as we gathered around a huge bonfire at the Mawae's. The kids were in high heaven, riding horses, feeding goats, playing football, jumping on the trampoline, riding go-carts, watching movies, and eating whatever their hearts desired--don't you wish you could go back to the days of endless adrenalin and high metabolism? Spending time with family and friends was a great reminder of the most important things in life--the love that we have and share with each other.

On Wednesday afternoon, a group of high-octane radicals (diagnosed with a severe case of "the sillies") loaded up the Boogie Bus and headed for the Superdome in New Orleans. The Sugar Bowl...how sweet it is!!!! The LSU Fighting Tigers were on fire!! Proud of our boys in the purple and gold. The Irish weren't so lucky--they may have a TV contract, but they sure don't have any recent bowl wins! Even in the midst of a 41-14 LSU thrashing, the highlight of the whole experience for me was the trip there and back. We laughed and cut up like a bunch of grade school kids....click on the Pics link to the right for more looks. Saturday nights at HPC are going to be slammin!! Late Nite is almost here (Jan.13 @ 7:30pm). I'm fired up about leading a men's Bible study on Friday mornings for the next 10 weeks at Vitality on Coursey Blvd. We'll start at 6am with smoothies and protein shakes, then engage in some spiritual fitness--a little exercise for the soul.

2007...it's going to sizzle!!