Random Thoughts About The Weekend

1.  We had a great outreach Friday night.  Thanks outreach team!

2.  Saturday morning was a great opportunity to run with friends.

3.  It’s was stinking hot this weekend (and we need rain).

4.  Sunday was another fabulous day at Elevate Church.  July was our highest average attendance since our Grand Opening.

5.  The most amazing:  Someone made a fresh commitment to Christ Sunday.

6.  I spoke on 3 statements:  God wants me to GROW.  I grow when I KNOW.  I must SHOW that I know.  Colossians 1:9-10 NLT

7.  Focused Visionary Leadership is essential to planting a church (or any other important undertaking).

8.  Prayer for my dear friend, Brian, who lost his mom. 

9.  Alignment is one of the most important keys to a successful team/staff.

10.  My heart is heavy for hurting people.  God is a healer – Jehovah Rapha.

Faith Lessons From A Five Year Old

We had such great fun in our time away.  The best part was watching my two girls have an absolute blast at Silver Dollar City.  It was so funny to watch Lauren (our oldest) ride roller coasters, spinners, and eat succotash (a hillbilly delicacy).  Maybe the best moment was when we took our youngest on the Water Toboggan Roller Coaster.  As we waited in line, we were so excited – except for Audrey.  She was so afraid.  In fact, she was so scared that she didn’t want to get on the ride.  The good thing was there was no backing out once we reached the front of the line.  As she boarded the boat, she held on to my leg like a clamp.  And we were off…  Down and around and soaked to the bone.  I really wasn’t sure how she would react when we stopped.  To my surprise, she had a blast.  Her first words were, “Dad, I didn’t realize it would be so much fun!  Can we do it again?”  Then it hit me.  How many times have I been so afraid of taking a step of faith in my walk with God?  The fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of disappointment, fear of the outcome, fear of reaching out to grow, serve, share, move, risk,  and try something new.  Three things I learned from my daughter: 1)  I must face my fears in order to overcome them.  Avoidance is not the answer.  2)  If I don’t risk, I will never knowthe joy of the ride.  3)  My Father is in the boat with me to hang on to in the journey.  Thanks, Audrey, for reminding me of some great faith principles.

Kalyn-

A Few Days Away

The family and I are off today to get away for a few days. It feels like we really need some time to unwind. This summer has been busy for us – not in a bad way but in a good way. This will give us a chance to focus on our family and recharge ourselves. It reminds me of how important times like these are to our longevity. Jesus would often steal away from the crowds and the busyness of the ministry to have some time alone with God and recharge. If He needed that time away as the Savior, how much more do I need that time away? We are going to visit my Dad and some close friends.
-Kalyn

Reaching Out To Care

Part of the Elevate Family

One of my most favorite things to do is serve our community.  Last night was our biggest outreach of the summer.  The Elevate Team hosted a huge booth at the Downtown Street Dance in Wylie.  It was so much fun!  We grilled hamburgers, gave away cotton candy, hard candy, hosted 2 inflatables, and touched over 500 people.  The best part was meeting all the great people who came to our booth.  We made so many new friends.  I thrill at building friendships with new people.  It was also totally amazing to watch our Outreach Team work so hard (thanks DB for all your help)!  As Lori and I were moving here 8 month ago, one of the dreams in my heart was not just to plant a church but to pastor a community.  I am watching that happen before my very eyes.  Even more,  Elevate is catching the vision to reach out to our community.  I am honored to be part of this cool happening!

-Kalyn

Mind Unwind

1.  Today was a great day.

2.  I ran 4 miles in the AM and 1.25 in the PM with Chester (my neighbor).

3.  I had some Jesus time and family time.

4.  My message is ready for Sunday (can’t wait for this one).  God’s Bio-Landfill

5.  We are almost ready for the biggest Summer Outreach on Friday.

6.  I am excited about the future vision of Elevate Church.

7.  I talked to great friends from Oklahoma.  Love to Kelly and Neva.

8.  Had a Milk Shake with the girl of my dreams at Sonic.

9.  Listened to my daughter talk about writing her first sermon.

10.  Prayed with my girls before bedtime.

Now I’m ready to rest.

KB – Tour Guide?

In my Jesus time this week, I have been personally challenged to become more of a tour guide than a travel agent.  There is a HUGE difference.  A travel  agent tells you about the trip, gives you a brochure, and says, “Have a nice trip…”.  But they never go with you.  A Tour Guide not only prepares you for the trip, he also takes the journey with you.  He is with you during the loading, on the bus, at the table, and helps with all the schedule discrepancies – all the way to the end.  He says, “Let’s take this journey together”.  When it comes to helping people in their journey of faith, many times believers (including myself) like the idea of being a travel agent but shy away from being a tour guide.  Why?  Because it’s time consuming, challenging, and you have to get involved.  It’s so much easier to point people in the right direction, give them a brochure about their journey of faith, and send them out on their own.  BUT JESUS WAS A TOUR GUIDE!  When you look at how Jesus invested time and effort into His disciples, you realize that He invited them to take the journey with Him.  When it comes to making disciples, my challenge is to invite people to take the journey with me.  Not just tell them about it and send them on their way.  “God, please help me to be KB – Tour Guide.”

Kalyn-

Yesterday At Elevate Church!

Monday’s are usually challenging for me after a very busy weekend.  I am usually a little slow to get around.  But today was different.  Today I had no trouble getting out of bed around 5:15 AM.  I dressed and ran 7 miles with enthusiasm.  I think it was because this weekend was so invigorating.  Once again we had a fabulous time at Elevate Church.  Way to go ELEVATE TEAM!  The new Vintage Tees were awesome, the picnic was fun, and we had another packed house in church.  We actually had 92 in service on a holiday weekend when most are out of town.  The church is growing and that is exciting.  Even more exciting is to watch people grow in their faith.  One of my favs yesterday was dedicating little Julia to the Lord in our service.  God is blessing our church family with so many young families and cool people (thanks Tony and Jessica for the privilege).   I am so honored to be doing this church planting thing.  I am honored to be called ‘pastor’.  I am honored even more to be one of God’s sons. 

Kalyn-

Chewing On Glass

Okay.  I know this is weird but you have to hear this.  Yesterday I was having lunch at Quiznos with a pastor friend who is also a Church planter.  As we sat talking about what God is doing, BAM!  The glass over the serving counter absolutely exploded.  Chunks of glass flew everywhere.  I could feel them hitting my legs and hear them rumble all over the store.  I didn’t know what happened.  I even looked around for some kind of bullet hole in the store.  It was freaky.  Soon, my friend and I settled down to finish our sandwich.  As I took the last bite of my sub, I realized that I WAS CHEWING ON SHARP GLASS.   It’s funny.  I wonder how many times I’ve chewed on words that were just as sharp as that glass (you, too)?  My prayer is that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart would be acceptable in His sight (Ps. 19:14).

Kalyn-

The Best Is Yet To Come

It’s so cool to see how God is bringing together the family at Elevate Church.  This past Sunday was a great Sunday.  We are now 18 weeks old as a church family and in the middle of the summer, we had 96 in attendance!  Even more, we had new faith commitments to Christ.  Thanks to all who call Elevate Church your home.  Lori and I are so proud to be called your pastors.  We are also grateful for every guest that comes our way.  You are special to us. We hope you always feel welcome.  Yet in the excitement of all of that, I believe passionately that THE BEST IS YET TO COME!  One day soon, the Golf Club House will be too small to hold our crowds.  We will be looking for property to make a permanent home for the Elevate Church family.  We will have new ministries that will be filled with people growing in the faith.  We will be reaching our community in ways we never dreamed possible.  Life change will be happening in the church as well as in the marketplace.  Yes, it is true.  We are not what we want to be yet.  We have vision from God that is becoming a reality step by step.  The best is yet to come – for Elevate and for your life as well.

-Kalyn