Learning From A Great Friend

Over 15 years ago, Lori and I had the privilege of serving in a small town in Oklahoma as Youth Pastors.  When we arrived at that church Brian was 13 and Alicia 14.  We had 8 incredible years with those students.  We watched them grow in their faith, be used of God, called to the ministry, and eventually fall in love with each other and get married.  Without a doubt, they were among the finest of young people we had known.  Last night Lori and I were reconnected with Brian and Alicia at Starbucks.  It was so great to see them and talk about all that God has done in their lives.  We are so proud of them.  BUT NOW I AM THE STUDENT.  For the past 7 years, Brian and Alicia have been a part of one of the fastest growing Church Plants in America.  Since their launch, they have grown to almost 2000 in attendance.  They are the executive/worship pastors.  As we sat and talked, I learned so much from their experience in church planting.  The teacher becomes the student.  We have so much admiration and love for them.  They are authentic people with big hearts for God.  As we drove away from Starbucks, I was so thankful for the rich friendships God has given me.

Iron Sharpens Iron

Kalyn-

Meeting Great People

Tonight was another fabulous opportunity to be a part of our community.  Our goal is to show people that we are a church that cares about them.  We care about the struggles in their lives and families.  We care about their kids.  We met some great people in the Olde City Park tonight.  Thanks to the team for building friendship with the great people of our community.  Thanks to the community for allowing us to be a part of your lives.  This is a cool thing.

-Kalyn

Elvis and Elevate

I just came back from an incredible outreach in Wylie.  I am so excited, I had to write about it.  Elvis and Elevate.  Don’t believe me?  Go to www.elevate2life.com tomorrow and see the pictures on the outreach page.  It was concert night in the park in Wylie.  We passed out free candy and cold bottles of water while Elvis was singing “Blue Suede Shoes” (actually it was an incredible impersonator – the best I’ve heard).  We had somewhere between 300 and 400 touch points tonight.  It’s all about serving our community and building relationships.  Plus, we had an incredible team of people from Elevate Church.  Way to go team!  I have never been more proud!  Next Thursday – Elevate and The Star Search!

-Kalyn

Bad Traffic + Bad Storms

Yesterday was the first day of a conference in Waxahachie.  Lori and I wanted to go but it seemed as if all signs were against our showing up.  It was really funny (just not at the time).  I left BOTH sets of keys in the car, which was at work with Lori.  We wanted to miss the traffic, so our plan was to meet at her work and go from there.  Well, that plan went out the window.  And I hate traffic just like everyone else living in the metroplex.  On top of that, there were terrible storms in the area.  Okay, bad traffic + bad storms = bad accidents and bad time.  We almost decided not to go.  Boy, would that have been a mistake?  God so enriched our lives with some old friends and a great worship service.  The lesson?  Many times when we reach out in faith for our lives, the devil is sure to try everything in his power to stop us.  Sometimes we don’t even recognize it because it shows up in lost keys, bad traffic, and storms.  God’s favor and goodness is waiting on the other side of the struggle if we’ll just  push past it.

-Kalyn

 

611 Faith Growth Challenge

Have you ever dialed 611 on your cell phone to get some information or check your balance?  I do that often just to see where I’m at in time spent on my cell phone.  This past Sunday, I talked about growing in our faith.  I beleive the real key to Faith Growth is a daily time with God.  So I am putting out a 611 Faith Growth Challenge.  It’s real simple.  Just spend 6 minutes with God each day.  Read one chapter each day.  Write one thing in a prayer journal each day.  We are starting this journey together today.  In the next 24 days we are going to read through the Gospel of Luke – 1 chapter a day.  You can go to www.elevate2life.com to get a printable journal.  It’s on the home page.

Growing Together

-Kalyn

Going Green

This one is going to be incredible.  It’s all about understanding God’s eco-system for your life.  Sundays @ 10 AM at Elevate Church.  Five messages beginning June 22nd.  Can’t wait…

-Kalyn

Thoughts From My Jesus Time

Okay, it’s been a little challenging this week for me.  I feel behind the curve in things that need to get done, down in the mouth about a couple of things, and frustrated at a couple of things I can’t do anything about. The truth is that pastors are real people just like anyone else with doubts, fears, and frustrations.  So in the middle of all of that, I read today in my “Jesus Time”  these words:  “Your mistake is that you don’t know the scriptures and you don’t know the power of God.”  Mark 12:24  “Have faith in God…”  Mark 11:24  Ever felt like God just gave you a friendly reminder (or a spanking) of just how Big and Awesome He really is?  These two verses reminded me to trust God more and me less – to put my faith in Him because HE has promised and has the power to accomplish anything we are believing Him to do.  We just have to have faith.

Have A Great Week!

Kalyn-