I have been married to my best friend Casey for 10 years. We have two beautiful girls Charli and Chloe, and I love being a dad. We started Foundations Church Sept. 7, 2008, I love our church, I love our people, and am blessed to be the lead pastor. Believe, Belong, Become.
1. Had a great day at Foundations this past Sunday. This fall is going to be awesome and I can't wait to see all that happens.
2. Had a great time seeing some friends on Saturday! Always fun to catch up.
3. Went on a date with my wife on Friday. I love that we are able to get away and just focus on ourselves. I love my wife and am very blessed to have so an incredible woman as my wife.
4. We got a TV up in the lobby for people who have to leave service for some reason. Love that they can still be a part of service.
5. I am ready for Sept. 12th, remember Found People, Find People!
6. I have decided my favorite sound in the whole world is hearing my girls laugh, I mean the hard deep belly laugh. So pure and full of joy, I love it!
7. Looking forward to our new series coming up Dirty Little Secrets. It really is going to be a phenomenal series. September 12 is going to be an incredible day at Foundations Church.
So for all of you that may have been wondering about our friend Marianne, who is a mom of 3 little precious girls and a wife to my friend Guy, she passed away last night. She was an incredible woman, loving wife, and amazing mom, and hilarious friend. Sometimes there are things that occur in life, things that happen that many times simply don't add up, they don't make sense. So what do you do? Do you walk away, do you get mad, bitter, hateful, and stay this way the rest of your life? I have seen Marianne's husband Guy live out what to do, show me what a true man of God does. He has stepped up and responded like Job. Job said "though you slay me still I will trust you." You may not understand, it may not add up, you maybe stuck asking why, and that is fine, but keep trusting. I can't imagine all that this family is going through, but I am watching them choosing not to go through it alone! This serves as a reminder to me and to you, things may not add up, things may not make sense at times, but don't go through it alone. Choose to keep holding on to Christ, because He won't let go of you. I love you Guy and Marianne, and Guy you are in my prayers and in the prayers of many people that call Foundations Church their home.
I hope all you have a great week! Great things are happening and even better things are coming our way. Woo Hoo!, now go drop kick this week in the face!
This past week I spoke on wisdom and then need we all have for it. Many people are knowledgeable, but few are wise. And this is why, because wisdom is the application of knowledge. Really I could have spent a few weeks talking on this topic and speaking about wisdom, because there seems to be such a huge need for it. But one of the things I said is that people that are wise will have a life that shows off their wisdom. In essence people who are wise don't just talk a lot and say a lot, and sound good, but their life is a reflection of their wisdom and their life is proof that they are wise. Their life is bearing fruit of their wisdom. Check out what James 3: 13- 18 says... 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
If you are going to allow others to speak into your life, if you are going to get advice from others, make sure they have a life that reflects verse 17, not a life that desires verse 17. Don't get me wrong it is great to desire it, but you have to be very selective on who you let influence your life period. And here's why, because there are a lot of people that have envy and selfish ambition like verse 14 says, and they are more concerned about themselves and have their best in their interest, even when they are giving you advice about you. Some people become concerned of how are you going to make them look, instead of how you are going to look and be. Wisdom always bears fruit and foolishness always carries carnage. Wisdom is free and is out there and Christ gives freely to those who ask, just be careful of who you do ask!
It was a very relaxed weekend at The Graves house this past week. Here are the highlights from the weekend:
1. Awesome time of worship at Foundations on Sunday. We are so blessed to have such a gifted and talented team that has a heart for worship. Shannon you are doing a great job man!
2. Our new 2 & 3 year old class is going great. Thank you to all our volunteers who are serving in our Children's Department, you guys make it happen every week.
3. Had a blast preaching on The Wisdom Toe. It was a lot of fun, speaking on the need for wisdom, what it looks like, why you need it, and how you acquire it. If you missed it check it out on the podcast. Our series is The Essential James and it is the 3rd sermon in the series.
4. The One Project is getting ready to be here on Sept. 12. It was awesome to read how Dustin and Ashley Jones have been used to reach so many people, just because they invited 3 people. Those 3 have turned into being more than 30! That is freaking awesome man, and that is what The One Project is all about, get ready to bring it Foundations.
5. Watched the Cowboys Saturday night and they looked awful! I hope they play a lot better during the season than they did this past weekend.
6. Had a great friend come by the house on Saturday and hang out. Nicole Pierce is one of my oldest friends and she is an incredible person, it was great to catch up with her.
7. My wife made chocolate chip cookies on Saturday! If you have had Casey's cookies I don't need to say no more but..."Oh Momma!"
8. I love seeing lives changed, transformed, and encouraged at Foundations Church. It is going to be an incredible Fall.
9. Got to watch The Empire Strikes Back with my girls! Yeah that's right a guy's movie. For some reason they are loving them some Star Wars, and I am great with it. Oh the Blessed Life!
I hope you have a great week and hope to see you at Foundations Church on Sunday. Going to be continuing our series on The Essential James, and you won't want to miss it. Bring someone with you and have a great week!
2 Timothy 4:2 - "So proclaim the Message with intensity, keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don't ever quit. Just keep it simple."
This verse has challenged me as a pastor. This is the charge Paul gives Timothy, one of the last things he tells Timothy about pastoring. And it is my goal to live this verse out as the pastor of Foundations Church. So today I want to tell you why we will keep things simple at Foundations Church:
1. People love God, but hate church. We think people can love both and are striving to be a church people love.
2. God called us to be about people. Not about money (though you have to have it to run a church), not about politics. His mission has to be our mission, and that is to find lost people and let them know Jesus has a plan and purpose for them, and He is still in crazy love with them.
3. Church can be fun and life changing at the same time. I am tired of church being boring, if I wouldn't want to go to our church, why would others. So this is a goal, challenge, and the reason we do church the way we do.
4. We don't want to make Jesus complicated. He isn't complicated, the church has just made Christ that way.
5. We don't want to water down what Christ said. The whole bible is God-breathed and inspired. We are about the bible and not about a denominational belief.
6. We will make it as easy as we can to be a first time visitor to Foundations Church. We won't be a church where regular attenders get special treatment and visitors feel exactly like a visitor. That is called favoritism, and we aren't about playing favorites we are about loving people.
7. A deep church is a church that is serving and applying the word, not just seeing how much you can know and not use!
8. We will not be a church that is just for other Christians. We will be a church where people can find Jesus and change their lives for the first time or rediscover Him. But we will be a church where Christians can grow, serve, and flourish in their walk.
9. We will be a safe place where you can bring your friends, co-workers, neighbors, and family. Their will be no banner waving, people trying to knock one another over by slapping their fore-head so hard their is a hand print, no snake handling. Jesus just real and simple, and we will love people, and let him do the changing. It's Christ job to change people, and it is our job to simply love them.
I love our church, love where we are going. If you go to Foundations Church, get ready for this fall because it is going to be awesome! Sept. 12th is The 1 Project, get ready to bring your friends, family, everyone you know for a month and let's get them plugged in. Everyone bring one and you can always bring more. It's going to be incredible and I can't wait to see what is going to happen. Hope you have a great rest of your week, see you Sunday!
Oh man what a fun but crazy busy weekend, here are the highlights:
1. Man Trip was awesome! Oh man it was so much fun. About 25 guys went to Beaver Lake this weekend and we went wakeboarding, jet skiing, tubing, surfing, and just having a great time hanging out.
2. Great Sunday at Foundations Church! We saw 13 people make Jesus Lord over their lives this Sunday, that's is just awesome!
3. Started our new 2 and 3 year old class this week. Thank you to all our volunteers that serve week in and week out. Thank you to Shanna, Carie, and Marci for starting us off and doing a great job with our 2's and 3's.
4. I loved getting to talk to some of the new guys that have been coming to our church recently. We have some incredible people coming to Foundations Church and I love being your pastor.
5. The Essential James went into week 2 and we are still in chapter 1! Just because you say you are doesn't mean you are. It was an intense message, but tension is good.
6. Had the privilege to go speak at the church I grew up in this past Sunday Night. My pastor growing up Jim McNabb asked if I would come speak at the Bridge in Mustang, OK. What a great church and pastor, they are doing awesome things and I was very privileged to speak there.
7. I loved preaching in shorts yesterday! It was very nice, and so glad you got to see my legs.
8. I got in bed at 11:45 last night and man I was tired, still feeling it a little today. A fun and busy weekend but I feel it now.
9. Thanks Michael Kepford for your help every week setting up and tearing down. You are a stud and we appreciate all the time and energy you invest in helping ensure our kids have an incredible experience.
10. This fall is going to be crazy amazing! The 1 project starts Sept. 12th, start getting ready now and be prepared for God to blow the roof off of Foundations Church. I love what we are doing and where we are going.
I hope all of you have an incredible week. Really go invite someone to come with you this Sunday, it's going to be awesome. See you Sunday!
So if you have been coming to Foundations Church the last few weeks, you have heard of The 1Project. This starts on Sept. 12th and I am praying and believing that it is going to totally and completely change our church and we are going to see God blow the doors off of our church. I am praying over this everyday, fasting and believing it's going to be an incredible movement in our church, and that many peoples lives are going to be changed. Here are just some of the reasons I am excited about it:
1. I am already hearing stories from people who are already inviting, already investing in people for the 1 project.
2. God is going to absolutely change people's entire lives.
3. Because our church is about people!
4. Foundations is not about reaching other Christians, we are about reaching people who are lost. Foundations is for sinners!
5. I can't wait to see God use our people to reach others.
6. The movement and momentum we are going to see happen in not just our church, but in the kingdom of God.
7. Because to pull this thing off and to successful, it is going to take everyone.
8. It's going to be awesome to see families made whole again, marriages healed, and destinies realized.
9. Can't wait for people who have given up on God to realize that God hasn't given up on them.
10. Life Change- because this is what it is all about!
11. We get to put words and action to our walk! We get to stop talking about being the church and we get to simply be it.
I can't tell you how excited I am about The 1 project. I wake up in the middle of the night and start praying about this, when I wake up I'm thinking and praying about it, working, in the shower, whatever I am doing I'm thinking about it and praying over it and our people. Foundations Church I am calling you out, let's see God do something awesome in and through us. Everyone get involved, everyone take ownership, and let's see what happens!
I had an all day staff day yesterday, and didn't have time to post soooooo here is the scoop on the weekend and all the happenings in Foundations Church and my family:
1. Saturday I had the girls (Charli and Chloe) all by myself and it was a blast! We went swimming, to a movie, made cookies, played a ton, and then played some more.
2. I am so crazy blessed to get to have a great family, and two beautiful and healthy girls. I love being a dad!
3. Sunday was an awesome day at Foundations Church. We saw 5 people give their hearts to the Lord, that is just awesome to see week after week.
4. I can't wait to see what happens through The 1 Project! Get ready church and get ready to invite, invite, and invite!
5. Shane Weber did an awesome job of filling in for Sammy Floyd our children's director while he was on vacation. Thanks Shane and all the Base Camp workers for doing such an awesome job.
6. I am believing that healing is going to happen in many people that raised their hands this past Sunday! God is BIGGER!
7. Flat tires are going to happen. In fact Matt Eigenheer had a flat tire on his way home from church!
8. Friday Night we watch Beauty and The Beast the old school Disney Movie in our bed. Casey, Charli, Chloe, and me we had an awesome movie night and our girls loved it.
A crazy busy week this week, but it is going to be oh so fun. Man Trip is happening this week at Beaver Lake starting friday morning at 6 AM! Wakeboarding, Tubing, Skiing, Surfing, and Golfing I can't wait for it. Make sure you are there this Sunday at Foundations Church you aren't going to want to miss it, and bring someone with you and have a great week!
So yesterday my wife Casey calls me and tells me that there is a problem with the Tahoe. So I go home because Chloe has a follow up doctor's appointment for her surgery. I come into the garage and quickly determine the problem, the problem is that there is a flat tire on the back left! So I start getting ready to change to tire with the help of Adam Crisp. As we were start the process of changing this tire, several thoughts hit me:
1. There is never a good time to have a flat tire.
2. It's really hot outside.
3. Changing tires gets you really dirty.
4. It's really, really hot outside.
5. I hate changing flat tires.
6. It's really, really, really hot outside.
And then this thought came to me, flat tires are going to happen why do we get upset when they do? Everything in life unfortunately doesn't always go as planned, and when it doesn't we get mad, we think life is unfair, and get all discouraged. Can I say this is part of life, and life doesn't always go as planned in many areas. As I realized this, I also realized a few things:
1. I had a friend their to help me change the flat
2. It was hot out but at least it was in the morning
3. At least it was in the shade of my garage and not on the highway in the sun
4. At least it was something that could be fixed
And here is the deal when I started focusing on the good, my attitude improved, my spirit improved, my talk improved, and I was fine with everything. You have to change your focus many times to improve your attitude and outlook. Today you maybe dealing with your own flat tire, you maybe dealing with something that didn't go as planned. But if you can change your focus and you can see the good still around you, chances our your attitude, spirit, and talk will improve as well. And the truth is you probably have the same things to be thankful for that I did. You have friends to help, it could always be worse, and usually no matter what you are dealing with it can be fixed. A broken heart may take time but it can be fixed, finances may be stressed but they can be fixed, almost everything can be fixed! I truly hope you have a great week, and make sure you invite someone to come with you this Sunday. We are kicking off our new series The Essential James.
What a fun and awesome weekend we had this week at Foundations Church and at home, here are the highlights:
1. If you missed this past weeks sermon it is a must listen to. Go watch it in the archive video or download the podcast! You can't miss this sermon.
2. Can't wait for our church to have it's OH MY MOMENT!
3. Believe, Belong, Become!
4. Had a great time Friday Night, ordered pizza for the family from Primetime Pizza in Jenks. Their supreme is unbeatable! And then took the girls out so they could ride their bikes around the neighborhood to the splash park. They loved running through the splash park with all their clothes on instead of a bathing suit.
5. Saturday we just hung around the house and had a very relaxing day, I like those days.
6. I love that our church gets as excited about the vision God has for our church. It is going to be an awesome fall at Foundations Church.
7. The 1 Project is going to take everyone! Can't wait to see what happens and how many lives are changed through this. Had a ton of people talk to me about this yesterday and telling me how excited they are! We can do this- Caleb!
8. I'm so glad to be leading a church that is not just content with having a vision but is all about chasing down the vision and seeing it fulfilled!
9. We aren't going to be just another dot! That map was crazy.
10. Casey made cookies for the first time in like a month, and OH Momma were they good!
Going to be a great week this week, we start our new series The Essential James and it's going to be awesome! Can't wait to see you there and hope you have a great Monday and great week!
Ok so there are those days, those seasons, and those moments that all of us have that we can hardly wait for something to come, for something to happen. For me, that starts this Sunday at Foundations! I can't wait for this Sunday to come. I am going to be talking about stuff that is getting ready to happen at Foundations Church......things we are going to be doing and I'm telling you it is going to be awesome. After this sermon on Sunday, Foundations Church is starting on a path, a journey, that is going to literally change the whole church. The beauty of it all, the crazy cool thing, is that the people of the church are going to be the ones bringing all the change. I'm telling you make sure you are at church Sunday. Don't go to the lake this weekend, don't go out of town, but be here for this one. If you're gone, then watch live on the web. Oh baby, I am so excited. I need to stop or I am going to say too much.
Also one thing we need your help with. We are starting a new series in September called "Dirty Little Secret" we have set up a tab on our home page where you can submit whatever secret you have. Here is the deal it is all anonymous, share what you are struggling with, what your addiction is, what you are doing, what feelings are deep down. We are going to be taking some of the secrets some of you submit and talking about what God has to say about them. It is going to be a killer of a series but we need your help, so start submitting and tell your friends about it too. I am excited guys, I can't wait for Sunday, can't wait to see you, and can't wait to see what God does. Have a great rest of the week.
Had a great weekend with my family and at Foundations Church, here are the highlights:
1. Finished our series Punctuation this Sunday. It was a great series, if you missed a week make sure you go online and watch or download the podcast.
2. I had a date with my wife on Friday night, and we had a great time. I love my wife and married way out of my league, she is way better looking than me and just an incredible woman. Love you babe.
3. We had two baby dedications on Sunday! I love dedicating children to the Lord, what an important and awesome step these two set of parents took on Sunday. Congrads Sam and Lindsey and Adam and Nadia.
4. We had a great attendance on Sunday. God is doing some great things at Foundations Church.
5. It's very cool to hear that a lot of our church is still reading The Blessed Life! Very excited for many of our Foundations Church folks who are tithing for the first time ever. The incredible thing is people are already seeing the blessings of God on their life! Awesome
6. Charil and I went swimming on Saturday and had a blast. We laughed and laughed until my stomach hurt. And then Chloe and I had an awesome time playing on Sunday, and once again we laughed until it hurt. I love my kids and am really working on enjoying every moment and the journey.
7. If your teenager is not going to Hybrid on Wed. nights you need to get them there! They need to be around other teens who love God and trying to live passionately for Him.
8. Let go and keep moving, so God can keep using! I loved this point. I also really liked the truth of, if Joseph wouldn't have gone through all he did, he wouldn't have gotten to where he did!
9. I am going to be speaking about vision this week. What all is coming this fall for Foundations, and where we are going as a church. It is going to be awesome and we are going to see some amazing things happen.
I hope you have a great week this week. Bring someone with you this week, start inviting now, it is going to be an awesome week!
This past week, I had the privelage to go to Destin, Florida and help run our 9th year of Camp Destin. Now I understand I am in Destin; however, it is a lot of work. Many people ask me why do you still do it, why are you still involved in youth camp? First off, I love it and truly want to help the next generation anyway I can as a pastor and as a church. The second is I know I won't be involved with it forever and am working to hand it off little by little. But while it is a lot of work there is one aspect I love about camp. No, it isn't the beach, although that is pretty rocking despite BP's efforts! Here is the part I love about camp, I get to go to service for 4 nights and worship and just take God in. I don't have to worry about preaching the message, don't have to worry about making sure all the departments are running like they should, not stressing about trying to meet all the new people. At camp I get to get in a corner in the back of the building and get my worship on; and for these 4 days I get to just take it all in, drink all of God in I can.
This is something that everyone of us have been invited to do a long time ago. That you are blessed if you are hungry and thirsty for righteousness for you shall be filled! The only reason many of us aren't full, is that we aren't drinking it in. Jesus gave the invitation to a woman at the well in John 4:10- 14, (verse 13,14..."everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.") Let me challenge and encourage you turn you phone off, close your computer, get off facebook for a moment, and take time to drink it in! Stop saying you are too busy and turn some worship music on ( I highly recommend Hillsong Live album Faith+Hope+Love), read your bible, pray, listen, and drink it in and stop being thirsty! (Exclamation mark)
It's been a while since I have been able to post. So I will be posting more regularly now, and will try and catch you up on events since I have been away.
1. We had a great Sunday service this week. I love our church, I love being the pastor of our church, and am loving where we are headed.
2. Our worship team did a great job. I love the song No Reason To Hide, and the line that says there's a city that waits for us. I am ready to be the church this city needs and to be the church and not just talk about church!
3. We have one more week of our series Punctuation. This week we are talking about the comma, going to be awesome.
4. It was great seeing my family after being away for a week. I missed them a ton.
5. We have some great and exciting changes happening in our children's department. Getting ready to do a class that joins our 2 and 3's together. A great change for our church and children.
6. Parents if your teenager isn't involved in our youth program, get them there. Our youth department is doing some great things and your teenager needs to be involved in them.
7. My littlest girl, Chloe, had her tonsils and adenoids taken out today! Very sad for her, but she is doing great. She is already home and eating popsicles, drinking, and watching Star Wars! Yes, Star Wars was her choice. I am blessed!
8. Remember to be at our church at 10:30 and be a part of service from the beginning. Our worship team is doing an amazing job at leading us in worship and you need it for your spiritual growth. Remember we aren't going to be dessert eaters. Church and worship isn't optional.
I hope all of you have a great week. I am praying you are used this week to help change someone's life. Invite them to church, bring them with you Sunday, and let's see God continue to change lives. We saw 8 people raise their hands for salvation this week, and that's what it is all about. Have a great week!
Usually on the first blog after a Sunday I will give a review of the weekend. All that has happened at the church, in my life, my families' life, etc. However today I want to simply revisit our new series we started on Sunday, Punctuation. This past week we talked about living your life without the nots and living it with an exclamation mark! And there were few points I just want to revisit:
1. If you won't risk failure, you'll never experience success. I don't know if you remember the movie Back to the Future, but the church (the people) have gotten The George McFly syndrome. We don't know if we can handle failing. We don't know if we can risk disappointment, and many of us just won't have the guts to man up to our fears. There are so many great things out there for many of us, but we won't see them happen because we aren't willing to step out into the unknown and get past our fears. Understand, you may not have the whole plan figured out, you may not know all the steps to get to the end destination, but all of the God size dreams and plans, first require obedience, even if you are scared. David had to volunteer to go against Goliath. Moses had to be willing to go to Egypt. You have to be willing and obedient if you are going to see the Goliath's in your life come down. Stop playing prevent defense with your life, and stop playing not to lose and start playing to win.
2. Stop waiting for it to make sense to others. Man oh man, God's plan for David to take down Goliath didn't make sense to anyone but David. It didn't seem possible or make sense to Saul or his brothers, and it didn't even make sense to Goliath. But it made sense to David because he was the one that was willing to attempt the impossible. Don't wait for the calling, the plan, and the life God has called you to, to make sense to everyone else around you! Otherwise you will be waiting the rest of your life, and all you will do is try to get the approval of others, instead of getting the approval of Christ! It's not going to make sense, you don't need others approval, just go do what God has called you to do! You are always going to have people telling you that you can't. Ignore them. The critic doesn't count, and be too busy for stupid people! (check out the podcast from sunday) Stupid people spew limitations into your life, and limit God's potential on your life. Be too busy to listen, and do the David and ignore them! I gotta stop, but go live your life with an exclamation point and stop waiting for everything to make sense to others!
I hope all of you have a great week, don't miss this Sunday, it's going to be incredible! Bring someone with you to church this week, invite, invite, invite!
I read a great quote from Pastor Perry Noble. It is a follows "Lot's of leaders want to dream big, few people want to pay the price and do whatever it takes to make that dream become realty." This is such a true statement. Everyone I meet has a dream, everyone wants their life to be __________ (fill in the blank), the want to be doing __________ with their life. And here is true reality is that all of us have the same chance to achieve our dreams. But what separates some from the others? Two things, hard work and discipline. The reality is there are a lot of lazy people out there, and there are a lot of lazy pastors too! It's true. I am in no way saying that I have achieved my dreams, that our church is where I always have dreamed, if that were the case I have some small dreams. But I am on the path, on track, and am chasing it down. But saying all this, dreams don't just come true because you want them to, it takes yes the favor of God, but also you getting off your rear and doing your part.
There are some people that are driven to work in stages. They get motivated for a moment, for a week, a month, and then they lose the discipline to work hard. Man it takes you working your rear off, every month, every week, and every day. The bible tells us to "work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than people" Ephesians 6:7. IF you want to get somewhere in your company show up every day, and every day show up to work. I want the dreams I have in my heart, soul, and mind to come about, but I realize it takes me being disciplined and working hard. I work hard like it depends on me, but pray harder because it depends on God. I am chasing down the dream.
I hope all of you have a great week, be there this Sunday our new series is going to be amazing. Punctuation start this Sunday, bring someone with you.
