If you stop by at our Sunday experience, you will probably like the music, the people, and the message. Though, we have found that some do not like the large screen with twitter.


At our experience we encourage everyone to take out their cell phones…We display a huge image of live tweets and people text or “tweet” thru the service.
Some people have said, “Why do you do that??”
Three reasons and they are simple:
1. Coming to any new environment, let alone a church, is pretty intimidating. When we walk in to any room we quickly look for anyone we may even remotely know. People don’t like to be the immediate center of attention. Twitter allows people to start a conversation before they come to our experience on Sunday and they are able to recognize a familiar face.
2. Those that join twitter in our church, seem to be WAY more connected than those that are not. We have seen many unique friendships and opportunities for others to help each other out because they could communicate throughout the week and not just Sunday or a Thursday night.
3. We want people to engage in their faith, to join in a conversation no matter where they may be with God, and people can add their perspective to our experience.
If you haven’t seen it yet, come check it out here, or follow us at @imaginechurch.

Have you ever ran a marathon? I did once and it will definitely be my last! The run took place at Disney World and couldn’t have been better in terms of the environment. Goofy, Mickey, Donald Duck, cheered on all of the runners. We ran in between all the parks from Animal Kingdom to Epcot center…but I was not paying much attention to the surrounding environment at all! All I could think was, “OWWW”! (my knees hurt for 2 months after that race)


I noticed that we ran at the same pace about the entire race–until the end. There were thousands of people cheering, balloons, and tons of excitement! Almost every runner, including myself, ran that stretch way faster than the rest of the race. For some reason, we were more tired at that moment, but, yet, at the end, we ran the fastest. Why?
Most of us ran faster because we saw the finish line. We all tend to run faster in life, feel better about who we are, and are generally happier when we know where we are going. Although, where does that leave us when we are not sure where we are headed?

Ok, so my last mind dump is going to be a memorable one if only because Silas Joyce was born today! So happy for Kevin and Shaina. Let’s just go ahead and get right to it…

• Text received at 7:31A: “Hey guys! Shaina is in labor…going to take her to hospital, check her in, and then come speak” WHAT?!?!?
• Phone call at 7:36A, it’s Kevin, “Hey man, can you preach this morning so I can stay with Shaina?” Me, “Uh, yeah!”
• So I get up, walk to the office and start to go through some notes on a passage I had been reading for the last two weeks or so. I knew exactly what I wanted to speak on.
• So I read the passage four or five times, wrote down some notes and more notes and more notes, and then we’re off to Imagine.
• I didn’t set up with the guys this morning and I sort of regret it. Setting up with all the guys at Imagine is one of the best things about being part of this church. There’s nothing like making fun of them and getting made fun of. 
• I wasn’t worried about set up because my guys are good! I got to the Palladium at about 9:35 and it was all good! Band warming up, media is done, everything was perfect.
• I should probably point out that today is our last Sunday at Imagine. We attended the second service Imagine ever had back in November of 2007 and we’ve been hooked ever since. We went on staff a few months later and my life changed more than I ever thought possible.
• One of the things I’m going to miss most about Imagine is the band! They rocked the house like usual. I always love it when first time visitors walk out with that “wow” look on their faces.
• The relationships we’ve made over the last two years are what make Imagine special. When I was getting ready to speak in the first service, a number of people shared that they were happy I was getting to speak and I felt honored to be able to address such an amazing group of people.
• Even with only a few hours to prepare, I feel like I preached really good. Thank God for his grace and mercy. We (preachers) just get up there and try teach what we’ve studied and hope we don’t screw it up too bad.
• I spoke about how we respond when crisis comes. Here’s the amazing way God works and how this message came to be…
• About three months ago, the Jims’ Bible study guys and I started studying about the friction between Saul and David.
• We’ve studied 1 Samuel all summer long and this week we wrapped it up with 1 Samuel 31, a passage I’ve been reading over and over for the last few weeks.
• Shaina goes into labor this morning and I’m called on to teach, and so naturally I wanted to speak on the passage that hasn’t let me go for a while.
• God worked all of those circumstances out so that I could talk on a subject that really resonated with a number of people in both the first and second services. It’s always nice when people let you know that what you spoke about affected them.
• There are few things I enjoy more then realizing that God used me as part of His bigger plan.
• I love Kevin like a brother. I enjoyed so much the fighting, debating, praying, and learning. He’s been an incredible influence on my life. They say that imitation is the best form of flattery. Last week I noticed that Kevin had cleaned the inside and outside of his car. His car’s usually a wreck so the change was obvious. What did I do? I washed and cleaned my car the very next day.
• I’ve never met anyone that wants to see people introduced to Jesus more than Kev.
• Today was the first time I’ve ever preached back to back services and it was a little weird to do it all over again in the second service. Hats off to Kev for doing it every weekend.
• I started this post in San Antonio. I finished it in Las Angeles. I’m in Denver now finally uploading it. I miss home.
• It’s 3am in San Antonio and 2am here in Denver so please excuse the typos. 
• We are moving because my oldest daughter Kaitlyn lives in Corpus with her mom. Now that I’m done with law school, it’s time for me to be as close to her as possible.
• Not sure when we’ll be back but I can’t wait to be visitors at Imagine.
• I expect great things from Imagine Fellowship. You’re job is to fearlessly trust God and follow Kevin where he leads you.
• A few good friends got baptized today. So proud of them. I wish I could have been there but just know that I’m amazed at what God is doing in your lives.
• Kev would never say this but the most frustrating thing about leading a church is people who “love the church” but are unwilling to do the simple things that are asked of them.
• Three things, pray, read your Bible and show others Jesus in the way you live.
• If you haven’t gotten into a mentor relationship, you absolutely need to! The biggest catalyst to the change I experienced in my life over the last two years was having someone to personally challenge me. Having a person who would be brutally honest with me and who invited that same kind of honest was the difference.
• I’m gonna miss you guys. Farewell for now. 

Here is a small but powerful test. See if you can smile for most of today and tomorrow!  I tried it most of the day and some people smiled back as if to say, “thanks for smiling,” some looked at me strangely as if to say, “I wonder why he is smiling”, and some looked at me like, “why are you smiling at me?”

See if the people around you smile back, look at you funny, or look at you with an evil eye.  When you smile at someone, I think it brings a reflection of their heart out in the open.

By the end of the day, hopefully it brings a smile to someone’s face that really needed it!

When we were young, we were taught to stand in straight lines, fold our
hands, and keep our desks clean.  The people that taught that had their
reasons, many of them beneficial, but at the same time, I
think it killed some of us. There is a popular saying that “Curiosity
killed the  cat.”  I think I would rather be killed in a life of curiosity, then
lead a dead/boring life.

I think one of the main reasons we don’t experience excitement in
our lives is that we stop being curious.  We are afraid it will lead
to failure, a loss of time, or wasted energy.  But think about it like
this, what if that lurking curiosity is the next new adventure waiting
in your life?

There are many choices in life. The choice of which way to go to work, the choice of what to eat, the choice of 1, 2, or 3-ply toilet paper. All important choices. : )

Our choices are based on value. We usually pick the shortest way to work so that we minimize our time on the road. We usually pick things we like to eat as to get the most satisfaction. And well, I have no clue why people pick their type of toilet paper.

What I do know is that we live on this world a set amount of time. Because of that set time, there are only so many choices that we can make. With every “yes” to something, we are saying “no” to something else.

What will you value today?

All too often we like to define “who we are” with “what we do”… The first question someone asks at a party is, “What do you do?” From the answer, whether it be a construction worker, starbucks barista, or a realtor, we make many assumptions off that question. We gauge how much money they make, we guess their lifestyle, and we try to sum up who they are as a person with one question.

Simply put, you are not your job. I would agree that our actions help define us as a person, but our occupation does not.

Jesus was a carpenter, but no one seems to remember Him for that…

Today, there are reports all over the news, “Companies failing result in Job Losses,” “Homeowners Hitting hard times with Increased Payments,” and “Retirement Accounts Dwindling.”

Our new series “Need? Met.” is going to address these hard times and see if we all can play a part in being part of the solution.  We will be holding an anonymous “needs” auction, where each one of us can write down our need, or direct message our need on twitter, as @imaginechurch will be auctioning them off.  Feel free to direct message your need and meet a need even if you aren’t in San Antonio!

Join us this Sunday for our auction at the Palladium IMAX theatre off of Loop 1604 and I-10 at 11:00AM!  Follow @imaginechurch if you are not in town and still want to check us out via Twitter.

noun

As you can see above, there are slight variations on the word confidence.  And even though there are many different variations, I believe that there are few that truly live with confidence.  As even stated in the example sentence, “We have every confidence in their ability to succeed,” the idea of confidence is centered around one’s ability.  

It makes me wonder that if we are confident when things “go right” or “our way”, then what happens when they don’t?  Unfortunately, this is where most of us get into trouble.  We look at our current situation, or things that are not perfect, and become unconfident.

Most of us rely so heavily on our past successes for our future confidence.  Yet, what if your future success isn’t based upon your past?  Maybe you need a different type of confidence.

 Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.  1 Cor 10:12

If you could put three words to your name, what would they be?

Creative? Strategic? Futuristic? Truthful? Graceful? Commitment? Faithful? Silly? Funny?

Ask someone around you and see what three words they would use to best describe you…

If you know who you are, you will see your God given makeup and recognize what you have to offer others.

(I would love to hear your three words)