10 THINGS I AM PUMPED ABOUT!

1. MY JOB!!!! I PASTOR THE GREATEST CHURCH IN THE WORLD! HANDS DOWN!!

2. MY STAFF!!! I DON’T THINK ANY CHURCH HAS MORE DEDICATED STAFF AS WE HAVE THEY GIVE  110%  FOR HIM EVERY WEEK. 

3. BLAKE FURGUSON BEING A NEW ADDITION TO OUR ROSTER OF STAFF PRETTY PUMPED ABOUT HIS LEADERSHIP AS HE WILL BE LEADING SYSTEMS 

4. UNLEASHED – WE ARE TAKING 40 OF OUR VOLUNTEERS TO NEWSPRING CHURCH FOR A CONFERENCE. BUT THE TRUTH IS I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THEM UNLEASHED WHEN WE GET BACK FROM THE CONFERENCE. 

5. ANTHONY AND BRITTANY MILLSAP I AM PUMPED ABOUT BROADCAST STUDENT MINISTRY CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT GOD IS GOING TO DO THROUGH THEM!!!!

6. CHURCH PLANTING THIS YEAR WE HAVE ALREADY LAUNCHED A HISPANIC WORK NOW WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH WITH GENESIS CHURCH THAT WILL LAUNCH IN ORLANDO. 

7. PRAYING ABOUT AFRICA TRIP IN NOVEMBER  WANT TO GO SEE WHAT KIND OF DIFFERENCE OUR WELLS OUR MAKING

8. I AM PUMPED ABOUT EASTER 3 SERVICES IS A MUST!!! CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT GOD IS GOING TO DO!!!

9. ABOUT THE DIRECTION OF THIS YEAR AND THE PLANS THAT GOD HAS FOR US!!!!

10. I AM PUMPED ABOUT HOW GOD IS GOING TO USE YOU TO BUILD HIS CHURCH!!!!!

Child of God

The other night about 3am my 3 yr old Jewel comes running into my room scared, screaming, and crying and I jumped up picked her up and laid back down. She was saying, ” I want you dad, I want you dad!” and I calmed her by whispering, ” Your ok, I’ve got you, I’ve got you!” She was in my arms clinging on to me like a monkey on a tree. And at that very moment God spoke to me and said, This is my response to creation.(mankind) “When you seek me, you will find me.” when your scared, I will pick you up. When your crying, I will wipe away your tears and restore your joy. When your screaming, I will calm you and bring you peace that surpasses all human understanding, and in my Arm’s I will give you rest! And assure you that “Daddy’s got you, you’ll be ok, I’ve got you now!” So we need to quit running from God and run to him, because Jesus came so that we may have life, and have it to the full. We have amazing God who brings comfort.

John 14:9

“Have I been so long with you, and yet hast thou not known Me?” John 14:9

I think a lot of times in life we claim a relationship with Christ but do we really have one? I could claim I have a relationship with my wife but if I never come home it wouldn’t be much of one; if we didn’t talk it wouldn’t be much of one. What Jesus is saying is “I have called you friends!” meaning identity in thought, heart and spirit. Anything else is not friendship it’s just an acquaintance. Listen, God wants your heart, mind, and soul. It’s called intimacy. When we get intimate with Jesus we will never be lonely, we will never need sympathy, and we can pour ourselves out because he fills us back up, when we are intimate with Jesus we begin to leave impressions of him instead of ourselves.

1st Thought of 2009

As I wake from sleep January 1^st, 2009 I am reminded how great God is!

• Who would have thought God would have blessed me like he has?
• Who would have thought that he would have trusted me enough to parent 3 children (sometimes challenging but more times rewarding)?
• Who would have thought that he would allow my love for my wife Gracie to grow stronger than ever before?
• Who would have thought that he would have done all the awesome things that he has done in 2008?  The many people that have come to know Christ, the notorious Egg Drop, the awesome motorcycle in the service, and the people that have experienced forgiveness and freedom from addictions.
• Who would have thought that we would have built a youth center that would serve as our offices, and used for many other functions like “Ladies Night Out”, and nights of worship?
• Who would have thought that we would have planted a church?
• Who would have thought that after two years my burden to reach the unchurched has gotten greater and not lighter?
• Who would have thought that we would have the awesome people that we have at Cross View?
• Who would have thought we would have people from all over the United States listening to our sermons online? And many who read my thoughts on this blog or follow us on Twitter.

Listen, I say all that to say, as we follow God our lives are blessed, It’s not easy, but it is blessed!  Let me just tell you in 2009…you better HOLD ON TO YOUR FORKS!

Sunday Recap

Today was like no other at Cross View. When I first got there at 5am the rains were pouring.  I was kicking myself for not just doing the one service after Christmas service like every other church was doing. But it was just too late I began to be concerned; it’s the holidays, people will be gone visiting family, and now on top of that it is raining cats and dogs. We set up with 5 people in 45 minutes!  That was a movement of God. Everything went perfect!!! I knew that God was going to show out, and that is what happened. Many of our folks were out of town for the holiday but for the people that stayed in town, they brought their family to church with them! When all was said and done both services was full and I heard God say,” You see I’ve got a plan and if it was for one service then I would have lead you to make that decision.” It’s so exciting when you see your people show out and bring their families!!!! Our people are great!! Tear down was the same it took 45 minutes and we had about 10 extra people that stayed around and helped to tear down today! God you are amazing!!! The music was off the chain.
Jeremy Lokey is a talented man that God is definitely going to use in a huge way at Cross View. Along with Tabby and Leanne the worship was awesome!! We did miss our fearless worship leader Jonathan Drake, our guitarist Ethan Purser, bassist Andrew Swanson, and keyboardist Dusty Brogdon. Today I finished our Christmas series with the story of David and Bathsheba. We talked about how that tied into Christmas and the Birth of Jesus; I felt God use me in a huge way! On top of that I drank this HUGE Monster drink before the service so I was off the chain jacked up! I am so excited about what is to come. This coming week is a week that you don’t want to miss as I share with you what God is planning to do through Cross View!!!! It is going to be an amazing time as we look at what’s ahead!!!! So you don’t want to miss!!

Rest

I know that alot of time we run and run and run through seasons of our life with out slowing down for rest. This morning I ran five mile and I was able to run 5 miles an hour for 1 hour but much longer than that and I believe I would have crashed! So now I rest! I replenish my energy! Even God took a day of rest when he created heaven and the earth. He did this not because he needed rest but to he did it because he wanted to show is how to have a healthy life. Sometimes we just need to slow down, chill, calm down!and allow God to fill you back up so you can run as fast as you can again soon!

What does God have in store this year for you

What does God have in store for you this year? See I think alot of people right now are looking at the struggles that they have had in the last six months instead of the victories. Maybe they feel like they have had no victory because they consintrate on the negative! If thats you, maybe this year you’ve not seen God show out in your life because you are runnng from him instead of following him. The Bible says ” if we will seek him we will find him!” and I believe that! I spent many years living distant from God running from his plan and trying to get him to buy into my plan but when I quit running and started following, God began to show out in my life. And I have found that true fullfillment happens when you are inside the will of God! So the question I have for you is do you want all that God has planned for you? If so, quit running and start following!

Anticipation

The wild thing about Christmas is the anticipation! Last night my girls wouldn’t go to sleep becasue they where anticipating what Santa was going to bring them for Christmas. So it was very hard for them to close their eyes because their minds were just racing and I am sure their dreams where filled with baby dolls and toys and candy canes. So it was hard to sleep because of the excitement. I am that way about God and the gift of life that he gives us everyday. Going into this new year I will choose to walk with the crowd of anticipation and know that if I get frustrated I need to get back in line with God because he is going to awesome things around us! I Pray as a church that we will all be awake with the antisapation of what God is going to do next!!!!! THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!!!

Revolution

I had a great opportunity to visit Revolution church and pastor Gary Lamb ( garylamb.org ) tonight and their new meeting place is really awesome. Gary brought a great message and several people gave their lives to Christ!! The music was amazing and I can’t wait to see what will happen with their new space. The lights and sound was also the best I’ve seen in portable church. Can’t wait to see what God is going to do through Revolution as they continue to lift up the name of Jesus! If you know any unchurched folks in Canton Ga send them to Revolution church to meet Jesus!

Merry Christmas

I pray that during the Christmas season that we are reminded that Jesus came and died so that we could live, and not just so that we could get by, but to actually “LIVE” abundantly. I pray that all of our families will experiance a new beginning and an awesome season that God has planned for us!!!! I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT GOD IS GOING TO DO AND TO BE A PART OF IT!”
Merry Christmas from The Echols Family.