Each week I will add a short update on the church. Thanks for checking in.

Gift of Family

My children's birthdays are only one week apart so every June we are scrambling to have two birthday parties in a week. Somewhere along the line Nathan and Kennan got in their minds that the party had to be a sleep-over and to invite multiple friends. As a light sleeper this means a couple of sleepless nights added to all the other activity generated by the birthdays.

It can be a frantic week - and Cynthia and I are glad to help make it happen for the kids to have a special day. Sacrifice for your kids is something that parents are always asked to do and usually eager to do. :) We are eager becaese we see the tremendous gift we have from God in our families.

God has blessed us with the Gift of Family. God could have created people to be individuals, or to live in random groups, or to not desire bonds to others - but in His wisdom He created us with a need and desire to be part of a family. It is a huge part of living the blessing of life that God has given us.

As we begin this new church we hope that as people give their lives to God that their families will be strengthened. When our lives are centered on God - He is able to bless our family relationships. It does not mean you will never have problems in your family - but it gives you the foundation to deal with problems and build the best relationships for the long haul.

Thank you Lord for the gift of Family and may we be a church that helps others expereince Your gifts and recognize the Giver.

A Movement

As we work to begin this new church it is very easy to get bogged down in the details with things like purchasing equipment, raising funds, establishing policies, or how to staff a children's ministry. While these are all part of the process - there is nothing excting about them.

The truth is that we are much more interested in starting a movement in the Bee Cave / Lakeway area than we are creating an organization or building a building. It is a movement of people who are in love with an amazing God and they live out the commands of Jesus to love thier neighbors and live with integrity. The movement is made up of people who are not focused on church services and comfortable buildings. Instead it is a movement of people who are willing to sacrifice and put the needs of others before their own desires - all for the purpose of bringing Glory to God.

It is the movement you see in the people who were impacted by Jesus. They did not know what it meant to start a church - but what they were living was a movement that soon became called the church. "Continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were beign saved."Acts 2:46-47

That is our dream: "Ordinary people who love the extraordinary God, transformed by His power and sharing His love with the world." If that is a dream you would like to see in Bee Cave Lakeway - join us in asking God to begin a movement.

What a great day our team had on Sunday. Joe and Nancy Davis came and shared from their experience in starting a new church. They brought their wisdom and reminded us of the great challenge and blessings that lie ahead. Chris and Austin came and led our worship time- thanks guys!!

On June 14th we will begin helping out at the Movies in the Park in Lakeway. We look forward to seeing everyone at the movie and we will be giving out free bottles of water and working the concession stand. The movie that night is "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" - a good one for the whole family.

Saturday was my last official day as Discipleship Pastor with The Church at Canyon Creek. I have been blessed to serve there for over 6 years. I am grateful for the support of Canyon Creek in starting this new church - and we look forward to being connected in the years to come. I look forward to the day when The Church at Bee Cave is able to send out people for a new church plant, and hope that we can be as supportive as Canyon Creek is to us!

Starting a new church can look much like someone starting a new business or venture. You have to plan, raise support, secure space and equipment, and so on. But that is where it ends because the church is to be all about Jesus and He is the head of the church. No CEO's, no presidents or owners - Jesus is the CEO, President, and owner of the church and it is all about Him or it is not a church.

As we begin this new church we recognize it is all about Jesus and it must be what He wants it to be or we are just a fledgling business doomed to failure. May we be faithful to Jesus Christ and be the people and church He calls us to be.

As God leads you - we pray that you will join us as we seek to follow the one and only Jesus Christ. Be sure and check out the info about our BBQ on June 22nd - you are invited to come!

Summer is definitely here! Memorial Day weekend was in the high 90"s and we were on the Lake Sunday eveneing. The kids got to go tubing and had a blast (with some great crashes) thanks to Jim and Nita my great In Laws - or Outlaws as they are affectionately called :)

This will be a very busy summer for our Team. In June we will begin serving at the Movies In The Park for the City of Lakeway. We are not sure yet what all we will do - but we will be there to help how we can and meet people.

On June 22nd we will be having a Summer Swim and BBQ at the Clubhouse at The Ridge at Alta Vista. This will be a lot of fun and we are hoping that many will be able to come. Look under "JOIN US" for more info.

We now have a contract on a house in Cardinal Hills and will be moving there at the end of June. God has blessed us and answered our prayers with this home! Now we will need to make it ours. Nathan is letting me know what needs to be done so he can skateboard there and Kennan is reminding me of the promise to build a playscape in the backyard (a giant one).

We know this summer will be full of activity, hot, lots of change, hot, some traveling, hot and one we will never forget. Thank you Lord for the opportunities you are giving us this summer!! Can we also ask for some clouds along the way?

We are finally on line. Thank you Steve for helping put together a great website.

What a great week we had last week. Midweek we found out that a family was contributing $15K to help with the start up costs for the church plant. This will help greatly with getting the equipment we will need. Praise God!

On Saturday our team met at the home of Dave and Debbie DeWitt - what great hosts and the food was great. The stuffed mushrooms were very good - but I had no idea that mushrooms could get as big as hub caps. Where did you find those?
Michael and Lindsey came and hung out with us and then we heard some of their story and what God is doing in their life. Michael then led us in worship and it was a beautiful end to a great night.

Our Men's breakfast group has been a real blessing for me. Even though it takes big coffees and tacos to get us going - each week we have really had great discussions over 1 Timothy 3 and what it means to live out the Christian life. I have been blessed by the way each of the men has opened up and been very honest about what has worked in their life and where they have struggled. We have learned from each other and been brought together.