• Go an extra week or so between haircuts. This will save a good bit over a period of time.
• When you and your family go out to eat, order regular tap water to drink.  For a family of four this could save as much as $400 over a year. 
• Talk to your kids honestly and openly about your finances.  You don’t have to share every detail with them, but let them know how things are going and use it as a teaching opportunity for how they should begin handling their money.  Talk with them about what God’s Word says about money and wealth and help them learn now how to “live frugally so they can give generously”. 

Memory Verse:
1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)
¹² Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

Action Step:
Seek a place to be a servant-leader with lasting influence for Jesus.

Random Thoughts:

• It was great to get away with the family and go to the farm where Jill grew up for our Thanksgiving break.  We had a great time with “Grammy” and “Papa”.  We also spent some time grinding sugar cane and making syrup with the Hall family and the food was good enough “to make you slap yo mama”!  As great as it was, it was good to get back into my bed at home.  I think that means I am getting old. 
• On Friday we had another Thanksgiving gathering with my side of the family at my mom’s house.  It was again great food and fun.  I enjoy being with my aunts and uncles and it is a blast to hang with Butch, Terri and their kids.  Meg Butcher (my niece) makes me laugh so much.  I am looking for a husband for her.  If you know someone that would like to apply let me know. 
• Saturday we were able to hang out with a cool family.  The Jordans love Jesus and love reaching out to people with the purpose of sharing God’s Love.  They go to a great church but I sure wish we had them at The Grove!
• Sunday morning was a special morning.  We ordained one of our staff guys, Nathan Boyd, into the gospel ministry.  We are a young church plant barely two years old.  I hope it counts!  It was great.  Nathan had a lot of his family and friends there and some of our sponsor church’s (Summit) leaders came to be a part of it.  Nathan is very gifted and mature beyond his age.  He loves Jesus and is really growing as a leader and a follower of Jesus.  I can’t wait to see how God uses him. 
• Nathan and Katelyn get married this coming Saturday!  I think it is at 2pm.  I should find out for sure since I am a part of it. 
• Our second annual “Shop with a Hero” is this Saturday!  I love it!  Bunches of kids, bunches of uniformed men and women loving on them.  Thanks to our church’s and our community’s generosity, we are able to meet some great needs. 
• Baptism and Communion this coming Sunday with a baby dedication as well.  I am pumped about us baptizing several people this Sunday!  YES! 
• Our community group had a blast last night with our final meeting and big-time bar-b-que and meal at Lee and Stacie’s house.  I am so proud of my friend Billy and his leadership with the group.  He has done an incredible job leading the group and it is a joy to serve with him.  I really enjoyed this group.  Those people can cook! 
• Yes the DAWGS lost!  I have to give the Jackets credit for playing great.  It hurts but life goes on. 

In his new book, Wild Goose Chase, Mark Batterson warns against one of the greatest dangers we face spiritually.  It is learning how, but forgetting why!

One of the keys to spiritual growth is developing healthy spiritual disciplines, but one of the dangers to our spiritual growth is going through the familiar motions but forgetting why we do it.  Batterson calls it “familiarization, habituation, and routinization. 

Batterson teaches that we tend to think and act in patterned ways and states that “the tendency to think the way we’ve always thought or do it the way we’ve always done it is called Heuristic bias.  It is an incredibly complex cognitive process, but the end result is mindlessness.” (pg. 59) 

We end up doing things without thinking about them. 

With Thanksgiving being a national holiday where we gather with family and friends and eat, is it possible that we do this routine without literally thinking about what we are thankful for?  I hope not! 

As we enter this holiday season, do something different!  Change the routine in a way that will help you think about what we celebrate and who we worship. 

Don’t be guilty of heuristic bias or simply “going through the motions”!

Memory Verse:
Matthew 8:3 (NIV)
³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

Action Step:
Invite someone to attend a gathering with you at Church at the Grove that you have previously thought would never attend church.

Random Thoughts:

• Yesterday was an incredible day!  Our regular offering was almost $6000.00 AND our STRETCH offering was a little over $8000.00! 
• I am so thankful and proud of our generous people. 
• Ric, Jordan and James did an incredible job. How is it that they can get that much sound out of 3 guys.  Part of it is having a top notch guy like Jimmy Spears running sound yesterday. 
• I am thankful for Jimmy, James, Shane and Gabe that run our sound.  Those guys are servants.
• I am also thankful for Billy and Tom that run our Media Shout presentation software so we can have words on the screen.  Those guys do a great job as well.
• Man!!!!!  Wasn’t it great not to have to break down yesterday. I am thankful for a Thanksgiving school holiday!
• I had to do a funeral yesterday for an old friend of my Dads.  My dad past away in August of ‘97 and “Buttermilk” Gibbs was in attendance when Butch (my brother) and I preached my Dads funeral.  He told his family that he wanted one of those “Butcher boys” to preach his funeral.  I hope I was able to give them some encouragement from God’s Word.  It was a joy to serve “Buttermilk’s” family.
• This week is Thanksgiving.  I will head down south for a day and a half to spend some time with Jill’s family and then we will be back Friday for Thanksgiving dinner with our family.
• I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and remember to “pay it forward” since we have so much to be thankful for.  Jesus gives us some to be thankful for everyday!

Here are some comparisons and characteristics of “institutions” vs. “movements”:

Movements                                                Institutions
Spirit Leadership                                       Person’s leadership
Aggressive                                                  Conservative
Love                                                            Fear
Active                                                         Passive
Outward                                                     Inward
Future                                                        Past
Influencing                                                Influenced
Crosses Boundaries                                 Guards Boundaries

I want to be a leader of a Movement rather than a keeper of an institution!  I pray that as Church at the Grove moves forward we continue in a spirit of a movement and we resist the DRIFT of institutions!

90 day giving Challenge:
We are asking everyone to began an exciting journey of surrendering and trusting God with our finances like never before.  We are asking our people to commit to 90 days of “tithing” our income, trusting God to meet our needs as we are faithful to give.  This is for everyone who is already giving and those that have yet to take this step of faith. 
Malachi 3:8-10 (NIV)
⁸ “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings.
⁹ You are under a curse–the whole nation of you–because you are robbing me.
¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

I have complete confidence that God will meet everyone of your needs if you respond to this exciting challenge.

I cannot wait to hear the stories!

STRETCH OFFERING
We are taking up a “one time” STRETCH offering that is over and above your regular giving that will STRETCH your faith, will result in STRETCHING God’s Kingdom through STRETCHING a dollar. 

What should you give?  That is a great question, but I believe it should be a STRETCH of faith, meaning it should not be easy.  It should be a sacrifice for you. 

I suggest that you simply pray individually and pray and talk about it as a couple. God will lead you.

We will be using this STRETCH offering for a few things:

• We will first give to mission work in our community and beyond. 
• We will set aside a portion as reserve just as we would counsel a faith to have reserves for an emergency.
• We will fund our “Shop With A Hero” ministry to children and families on December 6.
• Depending on the amount of the offering, we have several “capital” type needs to address for the church.

Please pray that God will use this series in the lives of our families and for the mission of Church at the Grove as we seek to impact the surrounding community.

One of the men asked about Church at the Grove and how we were doing and if we were growing.  I told him what was going on and he said “WOW!”  He then asked me to tell him in one minute the key to what God was doing in reaching people through Church at the Grove.  I felt like a kid in a candy store!

I began to share, to the best of my ability to stay within one minute, about our vision and heartbeat to reach people that are “the least likely to go to church”.  I got so excited as I was sharing stories and while I tried to keep it at one minute, it was impossible.  As I shared, the vision I have for what God can do in and through Church at the Grove began to “OOZE”. 

Here is the point:  Vision “Oozes”!  Whatever you are excited about simply “oozes” out of you.  You can’t keep it in.  You can’t contain yourself!

I love people and I have a vision to reach people in this community and beyond for Jesus!

I love “oozing”!  What is “oozing” out of you?

Memory Verse:
1 Timothy 6:18 (MSG)
¹⁸ to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous.

Action Step:
Make financial plans with the idea of doing ministry and making a difference this holiday season.

Random Thoughts:

My favorite quote of the day from yesterday:  “Our personal, private finances have public consequences”. 

• Thursday was a crazy day that began with a 6:30am Youth Middle School council meeting.  I enjoyed so much being with the principal, teachers and parents.  I was able to see a dear family at the funeral home to remember a father who past away late last week.  It is so hard to deal with a loss like this but they are doing well under the circumstances.  I concluded the night with my family at a “Medieval Times” dinner for families and children in my wife’s academy.  It was a lot of fun.
• We were blessed to have Jill’s mom with us Wednesday through Saturday.  She is such a blessing and she is a faithful prayer warrior and financial supporter of Church at the Grove.  She believes in what we are doing.  Man…..that lady can cook too!
• Friday night Jill and I were blessed to be a part of Rafael and Lydia Rosado’s 40th wedding anniversary.  Anita and Chad Spinks are one of the couple’s that helped us launch Church at the Grove and Anita has been planning this celebration for her parent’s marriage landmark.  What a testimony to God’s faithfulness!  Talk about Fireproof!  I had the privilege to lead them in renewing their vows.  We enjoyed a sweet fellowship and some great food with the Spinks and their family.
• Saturday was a slow, leisurely day with the family and doing a few catch up things around the house.  Jill and I worked on our financial plans and “prework” to get ready for Sunday’s “ReThink Money” workshop. 
• Sunday was awesome!  Casey Graham did a great job speaking and ministering to our people yesterday morning.  Ric and the Band were amazing as usual.  I am so thankful for our team of volunteers that do such an awesome job of creating our environment every week.  Our attendance is great and I can’t wait to see what is in store for this coming Sunday and our “STRETCH” offering.
• My wife worked in the preschool room with our children’s director Rosemary and she went on and on about how great Rosemary is at teaching our children.  I am so thankful for Rosemary and the job she is doing. 
• We had 48 people in attendance for our “ReThink Money” workshop yesterday afternoon at The Summit.  Casey did a great job and we had a blast.  We all came up with a “Monthly Spending Plan”, a “Kill Debt” plan with a debt free date listed and we learned how to save money and put more money away in savings!  Jill and I had a blast.  The only downside is I think people are on to me and my Starbucks addiction.  Gotta give it up!
• Sandy and Nathan did an awesome job, along with Rosemary in pulling off the workshop and making it run smoothly.  Please pat them on the back, and give them an “attaboy” when you see them next time.
• I can’t recommend Casey Graham enough to other pastors, church planters and church leaders.  Casey is a professional and he communicates well with all ages.  Check out ReThink Money and give Casey a shout.

• Marriage is hard and there will be challenges in every marriage.
• You can’t have a successful and growing marriage without outside help.  Parents, friends, and in my opinion, a church family offer needed support. 
• It is hard to have a great, long-lasting marriage without faith in Jesus.  Doing marriage without God makes the challenges much harder to overcome. 
• Unconditional love is necessary for both parties to make a marriage last.
• Never Give Up!
• Successful marriages that last long do so after resisting temptations.
• Individuals must be willing to see their own faults first in order to make the marriage grow. 
• People are watching and when a great marriage overcomes trials and troubles, people will see Jesus as a result.  God uses marriages to shine His light. 

Fireproof was a great movie and I recommend it to anyone.  My friends at Sherwood have something special going in their ministry and God is using them in a great way.

Memory Verse:
Luke 16:13 (NIV)
¹³ “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Action Step:
Spend some time reflecting this week on necessary changes in managing your money, wealth and stuff in relationship to God’s mission for your life.  Discuss with your spouse, and/or family how to use your money and stuff as a tool to lead people to Jesus.

 Reflections:

• Thursday night the ladies of The Grove gathered to hang out and have some fun and they had a great crowd.  I have been hearing RAVE reviews!  Thanks Sandy Terrell and others who put this together.
• Jill and I were able to get away for a day on Friday to look at some pretty leaves in the mountains (man we sound old don’t we?) and actually have a conversation without someone screaming, “Mom, Dad, she’s bothering me!” or “He took my purse!” or “Come wipe me!” Well…….you get the point.  We had some great conversation.
• I hate  it for Tom Kirby, but Georgia hung in there to beat the Kentucky Wildcats!
• Sunday morning was great!  Thanks to Brian and Trina Peart for help us break down some financial wisdom and put some feet on it.  I have heard great comments.  Remember www.biblicalprinciplesinc.org for some financial advise.
• I am having a blast with this “STRETCH” series and I am hearing some good feedback.
• Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just over two weeks away!  Christmas is around the corner.
• I can’t wait until this Sunday!  We have a special treat in store for everyone.
• I love Shane Smith’s (G Smitty) song and the video that Melissa Willet produced.  Awesome and fun!
• I love seeing so many visitors these past 2 weeks.  We had someone come as a result of our Halloween outreach in our neighborhood.

Let’s stay focused on what God has in store for these coming weeks and months.