Fat Babies

You ever seen a fat baby? I know, most babies are fat and their cute. But as they get older, fat is NOT always cute. Now, I know what your thinking, I am not about to make fat jokes or crude comments about that, but I do have a point. I also realize there are medical conditions that people cannot help as well. All that aside, a fat baby is not something you want. They are unhealthy and often are consumed thinking about themselves and what they will eat next.

Spiritually, we have the same thing. There are many people who consume and consume and consume great Bible teaching, have thousands of hours of classes and discussions. They are just full fat babies. They often time bounce around from church to church and graze off all the good buffets. After they get comfortable at a place they then want to start telling all the other people how they can grow and become like them. If you don't do what they do, then you will NOT be growing in your faith. They love religion and are good at it. But when it comes to living what their reading and doing it, well that's a different story. They want to tell others, but then don't want to do it themselves. They'll be quick to point out your flaws as your serving while their sitting.

This week our challenge has been to get off the bench and follow God. To be open and willing to do whatever He ask us to do regardless of maybe how unique or different the ask is. Today's reading we see Abram being asked to kill animals and then he hears about God's promise to them. (Genesis 15:12-21) His descendants will be able to get to that awesome place, but they will have to go through 400 years of slavery. One question that challenged me was, would I be willing to follow God if I knew that it would take that long for it to happen. Don't know if I would have that type of faith. I want it here and now. What about you? Could you continue to follow God if you knew that you would never get to experience his promise? I don't know. WOW!

Philip Thurman

Al Gore Is My Hero!

This is NOT a political statement. I am not endorsing a candidate or a party, but I am so grateful for Al Gore. Let me explain.

A few weeks ago my parents came and told me that they wanted to do something special for our family this Christmas. They want to give us a trip to Bangladesh and other Asian cities. So I made the call to a travel agent that I was instructed to call. After some research on the journey I had laid out, it came to be way too much money. So I made the call to my parents to inform them that the trip was way out of budget. I was honestly disappointed. I really wanted to be able to take my family to the world I grew up in.

After thinking and doing some discussing I decided to do some looking. Here's where Al Gore comes in. I got on the world wide web that he discovered. Man, I found some incredible deals that seemed unreal, so I did some research and they were all legit, but had to be purchased via the internet in order to get the deal. So get this. I have booked everything online. I booked all domestic and international plane tickets, hotel rooms in Los Angeles and Bangkok, Thailand. WOW! Thanks Al Gore. Without your invention, we would be paying high prices and may not be able to spend Christmas in Bangladesh.

Philip Thurman

Less Is More

As I have gone through this week I have been pondering a great deal about my life, my leadership strengths and weaknesses, time with my family and making the most of each moment. How am I doing in giving to things that matter and not doing things that will NOT matter. It has been a real challeng.

A few years ago I came across a thought that has challenged me and caused me to think about my life. I have a teenager in my life and another soon to be. How can I influnece them and help them be all GOd desires. LESS IS MORE. Our church has chosen as well to make certain sacrifices in order to help families. Part of it was out of need, but part of it was intentional. Instead of planning activities and events all the time, we chose less is more. We want to encourage people to be in small group, hanging out together and doing life. Lately I have been asked to speak at a ton of evening events and I am honored, but it has been freeing to be able to say Sorry I can't. I need to be home with my wife and kids. After this season of my life, I may be able to do more, but right now I cannot.

As you think about risk in your faith, could you truly follow God if He asked you to do something, or are you too busy doing so much you would have to tell Him to wait while you closed everything out. Less is more, as I spend more time with my teenagers I'm able to help and be in their world. As I say no to more, I am able to say yes to the family times. I really challenge you to think about what you would do if God asked you to do something sacrificial today, could you do it financially, spiritually? Tough words to think on.

Philip Thurman

Sacred Cows Make Great Burgers as well

I don't know if you have ever heard that comment or not, but when I did about 15 years ago, I just laughed ,but also reflected on the truth of that statement. Sacred patties and regular patties come from the same cow, therefore they should taste the same.

Your going, where in the world is this guy going. Well, we have been in a series called "Unwrapped" which identifies some of our core beliefs as a church. This past week we looked at the trait "Sacrifice." Not something our culture really challenges us to do. The truth be known, if we got serious about sacrifice, our spending and wasteful lifestyle would change, and marketers would have nothing to do. I don't have anything against marketers, but they convince us to buy things that we don't even need. We then take that stuff we bought and take it to storage and keep it for later, because we may need it. What would happen if we decided we were going to take the time and money we spent on that junk and invest it or sacrifice it for God.

We'll spend money and time yelling and screaming at ball games, going to movies, concerts and make huge sacrifices, which will NOT last. But instead, we could sacrifice and use our time and money to influence a culture, a people and see life change take place. That's something that will impact forever....that's a long time. What are you willing to risk or give up that you like or enjoy to potentially influence someone?

Philip Thurman

You Want Me To Do What?

My sophomore year of college was an interesting year. I was probably going to be the starting goalie for our division II team. It was going to be an exciting year for me, but what I was NOT prepared for was the training that it was going to take to get ready for it. As with all athletes we start the season with great pep and excitement that we are willing to put the hard work in to make the season a great success. The real reality comes when you step on the pitch (soccer field) the first time on two a days. I had really enjoyed my summer and was NOT concerned about training and getting ready. We did our stretching and light jogging to get the muscles loose.

Coach ordered us to get a partner about our height and weight and then to meet him at the bottom of the hill. Now this means nothing to some of you. The hill was a small incline, but it was steep. He said, you will carry your partner on your back up and down this hill ten times, switch and ride for ten times and repeat that cycle five times. "You want us to do what?" Have you lost your mind, there's NO way! He blew the whistle and off we had to go. It was ridiculous....we did it, no clue how, but I also remember the pain right after, but the season after that moment seemed really easy.

This morning in our reading as a church we were asked to read Matthew 5:38-48. WOW! These are really difficult things we are called to do. As I was reading them this morning, I went back to that day, "You want me to do what?" Love my enemy, pray for those who persecute me, don't just love those that love you, but love those who don't love you....then He closes out "But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." Why such tall orders? We cannot ever be perfect can we? Why does God give us such impossible task? Would love to hear from you today on your thoughts.

Philip Thurman

Hell no, not the Church!

Strong words, aren't they? Hard to believe you would hear that on this blog. This was a comment that was shot my way when I simply asked a leader in the community about why they never asked a church for help.

About four months ago a hospital in town had a patient that was from Bangladesh (where I grew up) who spoke not ONE word of English. She came in with all types of problems, but they could never fully understand what was going on. They searched a number of places and made calls to inquire if there was any one who might could help interpret. After days of searching they found someone at a local university who could help. When asked if they ever considered calling the church to see if there were missionaries, or common folks who spoke the language, his response was, "hell no, not the church. They don't want to serve anybody but there own." WOW! What a slam to the body of Christ.

In one scripture verse Jesus says, they will know we are His disciples by the love that we have for one another. When did the church loose it's service to the world, community? Why have we become so consumed with our own, or trying to convert the non Christian. What would happen if we simply served out of a grateful heart? Service is on of the greatest ways to grow our faith and belief in God. We get challenged and pushed. It is in those moments that we begin to take on the right focus or attitude. I believe the world would be blown away and ask us why we are serving. It would be in that moment we would be able to share the hope of heaven and they could confidently say, "HELL NO, heaven YES!"

Philip Thurman

UnWrapped

One of the greatest things to be able to do is brag on our people. LifeBridge has some of the most incredible volunteers. I truly believe with all my heart that they are the best in the county, no in the state. We have folks who constantly serve and go above and beyond the call of duty. Every week we figure it takes 30-45 volunteers to pull off our Sunday Environment. We have youth that serve in some critical areas as well. It is amazing to see our youth giving and giving. In fact, they serve every week. This week I heard about one of our youth volunteers who worked in the nursery. When everyone was gone, she was found staying behind and helping the teacher clean up the room and pack up the box to load onto the trailer. You know who you are.....I really appreciate your servants heart. We do NOT have LifeBridge with out heroes like many of you. After church today, I had a number of folks talk about the need to serve and get out of their comfort zone.

This week you heard about just one servant that said, God I don't have much, but what I have I give to you. I continued the interview to talk about serving, I wanted you to be able to hear the rest of it. Thanks to everyone who serves. You are my heroes.
PLEASE PAUSE THE MUSIC SO YOU CAN HEAR THE BLOG INTERVIEW.

Bottom Rungs

If you grew up in church, think about all the things you did that made church, church! If you did not grow up in church, you have a different and fresh view of church. Sometimes I wish that I could have those eyes, simply for the perspective of knowing what to do or NOT to do. However, I would never trade my upbringing. I loved knowing God all of my life. Anyway. Have you thought of some? You have to join something before you can be a part of making decisions. You can start giving MONEY right away, but we don't want your decisions until you join. WOW! Then we have this insider language. If you are new to church or God, you hear some of the words we use and you are clueless, again NOT your fault, but ours.

This past week I was reading a blog of a church that does NOT have any members. There are those who have Christ and those who are pursuing Christ. Once you accept Christ you become a part of the Family of God. Once you do that, hopefully you will give, serve and do your part for the local church. I love thinking through all the things and thinking about all the rungs we take off the ladder for those outside of a relationship with Christ. Why do we do that? Why do we make it so tough to know and follow Christ? Think about your relationships with the world. What do you do or say that potentially keeps someone from accepting this relationship? Busy schedules, sports activities, job, chores! Do these things keep me from helping someone know Christ? Challenging insights on this Wednesday. Read Acts 15 again. Rock your socks off!

Philip Thurman

What Could You Do?

Check this video out. Pause the play list music so you can hear the video. What could you do?

Benched from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

Anyone Reading This?

I want to see if anyone is really reading this or NOT. So I'd like to do a brief test....this is a test of the emergency managament..........just kidding. I enjoy being able to connect with you, but don't know if anyone is reading this. Writing is NOT one of my strengths, but I like to try it often. Please shoot me an email at philip@mylifebridge.com and let me know if anyone is reading this or not.

If I get NO replies, I'll probably stop for now.

More later, maybe!

Philip Thurman

What About The Back Door

A few days ago I was in conversation with two of LifeBridge Staff Team about the back door. If your not familiar with that term, it is the term us religious professionals (haha) us for people that don't stick. They come in and see what your about and then slide through the back door, drop out etc. I have been thinking about this a lot lately, so I began doing some interviewing with some folks about why they dropped away.

We like to think that they are not coming because we're NOT friendly, or the music is not clicking, or the speaker is not bringing it, or our coffee is NOT Fusions, or the kids program stinks. Well, I think all of those things for us are working well. Could they be improved, well sure they can. But does that stuff matter? Sure it does, but think about it. People can go to ITunes and down load the best music available. They can down load for FREE the greatest communicators in the world.....yes world. They can go to Fusions and get the best coffee in town. What would help us close the back door. I'm convinced it is one thing and one thing only.

It is the very thing everyone wants, but is NOT willing to pursue. It is a struggle to make time for it, it cost a ton in emotional energy and we have so little margin in our life. It could make us healthy, but we will choose to be unhealthy as opposed to live in this. This one thing is RELATIONSHIPS. I am convinced that the greatest healer, connector, fullier in Life is the relationship with have with God. I also believe the human relationships are the second greatest. If we could have genuine relationships with people in small groups we would see the back door closing. How do we do this with a culture that is moving so fast or doesn't see the need........? Maybe another blog for another day.

Philip Thurman

Life Sucks! You gotta read!

I have heard comments lately from people who have evacuated from their homes because of Gustav and said things like, life sucks! This is not fair, why are we always the ones to get slammed? I understand their frustrations to some degree. But I also don't understand it, because the choice is theirs to stay or go. We are going to always have hurricanes and they will come to land and destroy tons of stuff. It is just a fact of life. I truly empathize with our neighbors and friends and am willing to help any way that I can.

But as I think about unfair, I was reading about it this morning. In Acts 16 these two guys Paul and Silas are going from place to place and there is this annoying lady that follows them and saying out loud, these guys on on God's team. They are here making noise.....(my paraphrase) So Paul turns and cast the evil spirit out of her. Her owner is now p oed! His income (she was a fortune teller) is now shot. So what do they do, throw Paul and Silas in jail after they get a beating. NOW THAT IS NOT FAIR! No trial, no attorneys nothing. It's one thing to be thrown in prison for a crime you did, but to be thrown in cause you cast an evil spirit out of someone. How would you like that, stand before the jury and say guilty or NOT Guilty. uh sir or ma'am, I am guilty. What is your crime? Uh casting out an evil spirit.....WHAT? Is that not hilarious! I think so....the Bible is awesome. The rest of the story is incredible, check it out!

Philip Thurman

My Prayer

As I have been preparing this week and the news of the hurricane coming, all I could think to do was to pray instead of being overwhelmed. So below is an excerpt of my prayer from my journal.

Well, we're all bracing for what Hurricane Gustav will decide to do. Right now things are projecting just west of New Orleans. Our local shelters are starting to fill up with people moving north. It is times like this that we many times get to experience the goodness of mankind. I hope we will show kindness to many who may be displayed over the next few days and weeks.

Those of us who are at home in the safety and comfort of our own homes should find time to serve and encourage those who are away from their safe place. Find time to serve, encourage and love on someone who may need it this week. Don't listen to the twist that our enemy will try and whisper in to your ears such as "you can't do that, you don't have anything, don't smile, your inconvenienced as well...etc etc." Take some time this week to bless others who are being displaced.

May they see Jesus in your kind actions. This is my prayer for all of us these next few weeks.

Philip Thurman

No Food or Drink For Three Days

Stop and think about that for a moment. Three days with NO food. I don't know about you, but I wake up thinking about food and while I am eating breakfast, I'm thinking about where I will be eating lunch, etc. So to go three days with NO food or drink just blows me away. I cannot imagine anyone doing that unless it is some type of fast. In this case, it was NOT a fast that we know off.

What am I talking about? Two days ago I was reading in Acts 9:9. The story is the conversion of Saul. He is traveling down a road and is blinded by a light and is told to go to a city and someone will help him there. So he goes and for three days he sees nothing, eats and rinks nothing. What is that about. I wonder if that was his desire, or God's desire. I wonder if he was so in awe of God that he lost track of time or that all he could do was think about his life that he couldn't eat. I don't have a clue, but it caused me to pause and think....how'd he do that? I believe it was God sustaining him completely.

I'd love to get to that point that I did not have to worry about eating and drinking, but that I would fully rely upon God to be my provision. I want that type of faith.

Philip Thurman

Olympic Fever

Have you caught yourself staying up late at night watching the Olympics and wondering if another American Team will be able to win Gold or Silver? Have you ever seen yourself getting so excited about a sand volleyball game, badminton, wrestling or some of those less popular sports. Man, I have been glued and found myself cheering for sports and peoples stories that I would have never done.

The real stud to me is NOT the decathlon dude, although he is a stud. My man has to be the marathon dude. 26.2 miles wide open and the guy doesn't even act like he's winded. My heart was breathing harder for him than his was. What's that all about? Then last night I caught myself NOT wanting to miss a single moment of the closing ceremonies. WOW! Drummers hanging upside down and still playing, guys running up the side of a metal wall...did you see that? It was spectacular. China did a great job, but the last time I checked, their still under Communist leadership. WHAT?!

I guess the greatest truth was the closing comments by Bob Costas, btw, did he die his hair? Something looked different. Anyway, he said something to the effective of, "isn't it amazing how these two weeks the WORLD comes together as one. All differences are laid aside for the competition and recognition of an athlete." We are able for two weeks to put aside all that separates us and come together as one world to celebrate all that is good through Sports. WOW! Sports can unify the world. Stop and let that soak in. What would happen if people understood the Gospel and all it could do for them? How could that power change the world?

Today, let God speak through your life. The Olympics are over for four more years (At least the summer Olympics) but your story can just begin.

Philip Thurman

Project 1:8 is Rolling

I don't know if you have caught wind or not, but Project 1:8 is starting to gain some momentum. We have had a number of incredible outings that have created a buzz around town. I like what God is challenging and doing through each of you in this area.

P1:8 Madison served a few weeks back an incredible meal to the Madison Fire Department. They were blown away. Then a few weeks back when school started they were out by at the school handed out "Twisted" h20 to folks. It was incredible. We also had four folks helping with the parking and traffic flow.

P1:8 Canton is rockin! They had a school supply drive that ended up incredibly well. Last night a number of folks were at the Canton School for open house. Largest crowd they have had there in a long time. The team served food and did door prizes. Incredible job with Trinity Church.

P1:8 Homestead is making some contacts and working on future plans. Should have some ideas and thoughts very soon. Michelle is fired up about the direction of this team.

Last but NOT least P1:8 Haiti. Jim, Tracey and Kelly got back a week or so ago and are ready to go again. The stories of their trips have been amazing. Can't wait to see when and what happens there. Keep making a difference!

Finally, this weekend has a chance to be huge. Get there early. We have about 50-80 college athletes that are going to be in worship along with the usual big crowd. It's going to be an awesome day. Can't wait to hang out with you all

Philip Thurman

Greatest Volunteers Around

I know that I am prejudice, but I know we have the greatest volunteers around. I witnessed some of the coolest things happening this morning. As always the set up team is there on time ready to go and knocking it down. In less than 45 minutes they were done and walking out the door! WOW! The band, man, they sounded awesome as well. They come and practice and get everything ready.

Then at 9 I look up and our Children's team is throwing a party for their volunteers. Volunteer leaders throwing a party for their volunteers. How incredible is that? Then about 9:15 a room full of smiling and happy volunteers were there receiving thanks, food and then a bag that on the outside had Godiva Chocolate. That some serious stuff:) Then walked through the preschool and Nursery area and saw two guys working with a room full of four year old boys! They were having a blast.

Walked to the front of the school and the greeters were smiling and talking to everyone coming in the door. The building was smelling like coffee. I don't even like coffee, but it was smelling awesome. There was food on the back table that looked delicious. The sound was working awesome and the new video cable worked without a glitche.

MAN I LOVE THIS PLACE! If I wasn't the Pastor, I'd still go to this church. Then tear down.....flew by. Unbelievable is all I know to say. Thanks to everyone who serves and gives, but also Invest and Invite. I love you all!

Philip Thurman

Sunday's Scribbles

This has been another great day. School is back in session and everyone is back from all of their summer travels. Great to catch up on all the happenings of the last few months. Also, this past week we experienced many returning friends who had been gone for some time. Wow, love this time of the year.

Our Project 1:8 (Madison Team) handed out 500 or so bottles of water at Madison Station on parent preview night. Also Tommy, Van and Paul helped park some 2000 plus vehicles. Great job everyone.

Twisted started today with a bang, or so I felt. Open with the simple truth that we have an enemy that comes to steal, kill and destroy us, but God desires to give us a great life. Next week we will be looking at the twist satan puts on marriage and relationships. Hope you will connect over the next few weeks. Then we will begin focusing and celebrating our five year existence. WOW! God has allowed us to be around that long and we hope to see a ton more years if God so wishes.

Thanks to many of you who continue to "invest and invite." Today, one family introduced me to two guest families that they had invited and they showed up and seemed to have a blast. I love hanging with these types of folks who love what LifeBridge is all about. They take the risk and their friends respond. Man, keep it up.

Jim, Tracey and Kelly get back from Haiti this week. Excited to hear what LifeBridge can do in Haiti. Wow! Tons going on.

Have a great week.

Philip Thurman

Eight...yes Count it Out. EIGHT!

What an amazing morning. I woke up pumped about today and even after the fact, I'm still pumped. Satan did everything he could do to try and NOT make the day work, but it still came off. Not it wasn't as shiny and pretty as we would have like it, but it happened and it rocked. The youth shared with the church about their summer camp experience "Broadcast." Then we saw eight students get baptized. Well we only saw seven, but Friday night we had one guy get baptized, so a total of eight this weekend. If I am not mistaken, largest baptism ever. It was awesome.

Thanks to everyone who worked to make it awesome. Davis, thanks for your hard work to make this weekend happen.

Friday's Five

I know, I am on vacation, but I have so much to post, but will only list five.
1) Can you believe the kids go back to school next week. It is both good and bad. This means that we go back to full set up and tear down mode. It also means that life gets back to some sense of normal, whatever Normal is.
2) Jim, Tracey and Kelly leave SUnday for a preview trip to Haiti. They will come back all jazzed about our P1:8 opportunities in Haiti. By the way, our teams are starting to get busy with awesome chances for you to get connected and serving. Be at church Sunday to see what else is happening.
3) I've missed LifeBridge. Ready to get back in the groove. You guys are a special group of folks. I do not like missing my time with you all. You are really encouraging and awesome inviters. We have had an incredible summer. If the fall is anything like the summer, look out. We may be needing to find more chairs. Great problem to have, many people would love to be where we are. Let's keep pushing and doing this for God's fame.
4) I'm ready to get back and hang out with the staff team. I am able to serve alongside the greatest leaders I have ever been around. If you don't know them, I challenge you to invite them to lunch after church and get to know them. Some of the most talented folks around. (Davis Jones, John Chappelear, Johnny Ervin, Greg Miller, Scott Little, and then we have a million (okay a brief exaggeration) volunteers. You all are the best.
5) Baptism is this Sunday. This is the coolest service. We get to hear our young folks talk about their camp experience and then follow Christ in Baptism. Proud of you guys.....keep challenging us old folks to follow Christ.

See you Sunday

Philip Thurman

What's Its Purpose?

Have you ever had things in your life that you have wondered what their purpose is? Maybe you have even wondered that about yourself. Well, the latter is easier to answer cause we can look at past experiences, passions, heart etc. to determine possibly some of those things. If we have a relationship with Jesus Christ we also know what our purpose is, but enough about that type of stuff.

Have you ever wondered what the purpose of jelly fish are? I mean really, what good do they serve? They are slow and almost stupid acting. They wrap on to you and sting the tar out of you. What good do they serve? NOTHING that I can see. Then think about wasp, what do they do besides build nest in places that are so random and sting people. Huge rats, what do they do except hang out in nasty places. What about gnats, weird spelling, but what do they do? I'm sure someone has answers for these, but I see no purpose for them especially since I am on vacation and all of these things seem to be where I am.

Throughout history religious leaders have thanked God that they were NOT born a gentile, not born a woman and on and on. Today, why don't you thank God that you are NOT one of the above things, but the Bible says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. It also says that you were made in the image of God. WOW! Those are cool words, words that God has used to encourage me this week while I am on vacation.

Philip Thurman

Why?

This past month I have had this question asked of me many times. Why, is not a bad question to ask when you are part of a church like LifeBridge. We do things differently and we really have reasons for our madness. As a communicator I need a break. Sure I could speak 50 weeks out of the year and be exhausted with all the other things I have to do. One of things we value though is the ability to be able train younger teachers, but also to expose our family to other great styles and communicators. It also gives me a chance to get away and worship under some other men that I really respect and be challenged, but also to just be a face in the crowd. This past Sunday I had the privilege of being at northpoint.org Church. It was awesome to get to hear Loiue Giglio as well.

Another reason for taking time off was to be able to go to Panama City with our youth. Man, it is so important to get to hang out with the next generation. They are so fired up about their relationship with God. Honestly, in that group may be the next Pastor of LifeBridge, maybe the next President, Governor of the State of Mississippi. It is always an encouragement to get to hang out with them. It also allows me to get to spend some time with the kids and get to know them as well. Wow, we have some amazing young people. Some who have gone through great hardships, and some currently going through some hardships, yet through it all they are holding their heads up and following Christ.

It also allows me to focus some energies on leadership development. I feel strongly about being a strong leader and developing a team that desires to lead as well. We have a great team and I don't want to slow them down or get in their way. So it is a time for me to recharge and re-focus for the fall. I also usually get away with my family on vacation. So this is the last blog for a week. Talk to you when we get back.

Philip Thurman

Thursday's Ten

Thought I would take time to tell you ten things that are happening in my life this Thursday.

1) Working with the P1:8 teams about future projects for our church. This group is incredible. Let me introduce the team: Rhonda Powell is giving leadership to the Madison team, Canton - Jennifer Taylor, Homestead - Michelle Smith, Haiti - Christina Brossette. The overall leader is Jim Fries. WOW!
2) Hanging with our youth after Big Stuf camp. We had at least three kids say they wanted to accept Christ forgiveness. There wer also a ton of other kids who re-dedicated their lives to Christ. Go God!
3) Getting ready for our baptism Sunday. Man, this is going to be an awesome day. Put down August 3rd on your schedule to be present to hear our youth as they lead us in worship.
4) Preparing the teaching series starting August 10th called "Twisted." Man, it is going to be awesome. Take time to think about who you could invite to come to this great series. Truths that God has given us that have been twisted by the evil one.
5) Looking forward to a great fall. My oldest son is NOT playing select soccer. We will still have Saturday games, but they will all be home. Yes, we get time back together as a family.
6) My wife was talking with our pediatrician yesterday and learned something cool. Research has shown that families that eat together for supper have more children that turn out to be National Merit Scholars....WOW! We try and eat at least five or six nights together.
7) Watching a church grow. Man, this is amazing. This summer is going to be the largest season ever in the life of LifeBridge. Did you hear me, we're in the middle of summer! Wow, thanks for being such a great investor and inviter. Keep it up
8) Our building and finance team are cranking up talks with ministry leaders and teams. In the next few months we will start bringing you all some incredible information.
9) Love leading this awesome team. Get to know our staff team Greg Miller, John Chappelear, Davis Jones, Scott Little and Johnny Ervin. I also lead our Advisory Team made up of Greg Miller, Mike Traylor, Brad Webb, T.J. Williams and Wayne Williams. Finally we have Amanda Dodds, Glenn and Sherri Trammell, Melanie Osborn and Lori Thurman are giving leadership to our children's teams. Davis Jones leads our youth team.....WOW! Incredible leaders.
10) Getting ready for a much needed time of vacation. Headed to Perdido Key's, FL starting Saturday. Sorry, but I won't have email and I won't answer my cell phone. Love you all and see you in a week.

Philip Thurman

Ever have one of "those" kinds of days....week?

I've often wondered about what people have meant by one of "those" days, and I have also wondered who the mysterious "they" are as well. Know what I am talking about? They said the and fill in the blank.

Well this has been one of "those" weeks. When I say that, I hope your mind doesn't go to the negative, cause it hasn't been that at all. It has been a week that I have seen God clearly working in people's lives. Many of you attended baby Grayson's funeral yesterday and heard Joey share his thoughts. WOW! It was a God moment that will always be remembered on the hard drive of my mind. Gretchen's letter was so sweet. It was awesome to see the impact and testimony of this family in the loss of a special child.

We also found out this week that a dear friend from Hattiesburg gave up the fight of cancer and went to be with God. Jason Weathers was an incredible man. He lived his life well. Pray for Stephanie and their three kids. As you pray, pray also for his in laws, the Shows. May they Know God comfort and peace.

Tuesday we leave for youth Camp to Panama City. Please pray for the kids and chaperone's. It will be a powerful week. I hope God allows you to experience one of "those" kind of weeks.

Philip thurman

El Potrillo!

We often get questions about why we do things the way we do. Many times people don't believe it when we say that we will try anything short of sin to reach someone with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We do things in the service that you may not ever have seen done before. We may sing a song that you would not expect to sing in church. We may do a drama that makes fun of traditional things. Whatever the case, our ultimate desire is to try and communicate God's truth.

We may have the room set up in a unique fashion to grab your attention; we may change things up periodically so that it does not become predictable. A great example of this that you may have noticed is we are NOT doing name tags in the summer. We want it to feel loose and relaxed. In the fall we may start them again or may not. You will also notice that we have not been putting the handout cards in the chairs. People have gotten so used to them that they don't even pick them up anymore to take and hand out.

Another unique thing we're starting relates to food. Several weeks ago Greg and I were eating at El Potrillo Mexican Restaurant (in Madison, near Wal-Mart). The owner, Jon, came by our table and struck up a conversation. Somewhere as we talked he brought up the idea of El Potrillo giving back to LifeBridge a percentage of the food total from LifeBridge people who eat there. He wondered about some way to let them know who was from LifeBridge, and we suggested our handout cards and he agreed that would be a great way to know who was from LifeBridge.

So here's what you can do. Every time you go to eat at El Potrillo in Madison, take a handout card (similar to the one pictured here--either Comfort, Community, or Connect) and give it to the cashier as you check out. The cashier will write the total on the card and drop it in a box there by the register. At the end of the month they will give us a percentage of the total on all those cards. They will write a check to LifeBridge.

WOW! That's a sweet deal. So go out and support LifeBridge by eating some great Mexican food at El Potrillo.

Philip Thurman

Monday's Mentions

I find that coming out of the weekends I tend to have a million ideas to blog about. As the week progresses I struggle with trying to think about what to write. Every now and then I come across somethings that just rock in my reading time. This morning was one of those times. Many of you know that I read at least one proverb a day corresponding to the date. Today I was reading in Proverbs 31. It is said to have been written by a man who asked God for wisdom. He was loaded with cash and all the bling bling you could imagine. In spite all of that he still did not find full meaning in life, so he writes these brilliant sayings.

In the Message version there is a section entitled "Four Intolerables." He list four things that shake the foundation. WOW!
1) when the janitor becomes the boss
2) when a FOOL gets rich
3) when a whore is voted "woman of the year"
4) when a "girlfriend" replaces a faithful wife.
Wow, these are so true. Can you see the truth and power in these words? The he move on and talks about four small wonders.
1) ants - frail as they are, get plenty of food in for the winter
2) marmots - (what the heck is this?) (any bushy-tailed, stocky roden) vulnerable as they are, manage to arrange for rock solid homes
3) locusts - leaderless insects, yet they strip the field like an army regiment
4) lizards - easy enough to catch, but they sneak past vigilant palace guards.

I could go on and on, but see the wisdom of these words. Rock on!

Philip Thurman

So Little Can Make So Much of A Difference

It is amazing to stop and think about how fortunate we are here in Madison. Have you ever stopped to think about all that you have? The last two weeks we have heard about three areas that we are going to start trying to influence. Canton, Homestead, Florida and Haiti. Each of these areas require so little to make an impact.

In Canton, a simple gift of a basketball goal or pencils and school bags can make kids smile. In Haiti $30.00 a month can provide for one child in the orphanage. WOW! That is all it takes. We spend that much on one meal. What if we decided NOT to eat once a month out and use that to impact one kid. Could you imagine the impact that one gift could make on that one child. Next Sunday we will begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Amazing to watch and see all the people that are stepping up to serve on the P1:8 team.

Keep being the church that makes a difference.

Philip Thurman

Project 1:8

We're two weeks into our series called P1:8 and thus far it has been incredible. If you missed week number one, please go to mylifebridge.com and click on the tab "Experience a Service" and listen to Jim's story. It is amazing.

This week we looked at the passage in Acts 1:8 where the challenge was placed before the new church that when they received Christ forgiveness they would have power and they were to go an be His witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. At LifeBridge as we have pondered that passage we have asked the question, what is our Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. We know our Jerusalem is Madison and we feel we have been working well in it. We've expanded our sphere of influence now to Canton and specifically to Trinity Church. They are a new start up church in the Canton area that has a real heart for the city and it's people, specifically the young. They also have an incredible desire to influence the next generation. So they are strategically involved with a school where they are making a huge difference.

There are a million incredible ministries in Canton, why not get involved with all of them. First we are too small to spread ourselves to too many places. We feel a real desire to stay focused on one area and sink everything we have into it. This laser like focus will help us stay on task in our Judea.

This next Sunday we have two guest who will be with us from outside the state of Mississippi and even from outside this country. I hope you will be with us to hear about Samaria and the Uttermost parts of the earth.

Philip Thurman

New Life!

Sunday was an incredible day. We woke up to a fairly clear sky and the warm sun beaming down. We saw a great crowd show up for our first baptism of the new year. We had four ladies ready to follow Christ in baptism. We had each of their stories on video that just simply rocked. Johnny G. thanks for all your hard work to make it happen. Man, you do good work. Jennifer T,. Caresty C., Ember P. and Katlin R. you guys rock as well. I'm proud of each one of you and hope that we can help you grow in this journey with God.

This next week we start a new journey on SUnday morning for four weeks. We have never done a series like what we are about to do. The series title is called P1:8. All I can say is do NOT miss it. We are going to have some special guest the first three weeks and then the final week is going to be an amazing time of challenge for us all. I promise you, do NOT miss this time. We have some friends coming from outside of Mississippi to be with us on week three of this journey. It is going to rock. If you want to be involved with something bigger than yourself, this is it.

We are also in the throws of discussing in our building teams the needs we have for a new facility. Wow! We're actually starting to work through what this first building is going to look like. Exciting times around LifeBridge. We see awesome volunteers running many facets of life and the staff are working hard as well. Now is a great time to invite a friend, family member, neighbor or co-worker to church with you.

Philip Thurman

First?!

Do you remember the first time you went on a date? The first time you went to a movie with just your friend and no parents? Do you remember the first sport you ever played, first team experience? You know what I'm talking about. You get so pumped and the testosterone or estrogen begins to flow.....I guess ladies get fired up. Anyway, think about something that was your first, the plethora of emotions and thoughts running through your mind and heart.

This past weekend I took my 14 year old son for his first experience to get behind the steering wheel of a vehicle. The whole time from lunch until 3:30 p.m. he was acting like a nut case. I have never seen him so spastic and crazy acting. So we loaded up in my five manual 2002 Nissan Xterra and headed off to the wild blue yonder. Can't tell you where, cause some of my cop buddies may sit out and try to nail me. Got to our location and man he was pumped.

We talked about the rules, he nodded, we talked about how to work a five speed, he nodded with a look of uncertainty. We talked about speed thrills but kills, yada yada is what I felt like he wanted to say. So we made the switch. He adjusted everything, my heart is pounding and so is his. He gets in and revs the engine up and doesn't let the clutch off. Finally he figures it out and gets to going. Two hands on the wheel and off we go, his face just glowing. Man, you couldn't pay me anything for that moment. I would not have missed that for anything. A few weeks later I let him drive moms 2002 minivan (automatic) Man, he did well. He loved it. I asked him why and he said.....it doesn't require much work. I understand what he means, but here is my problem. We look at everything in life that way. We always want the easy way out....Why is that? Marriage, careers etc....we don't want to work at it. Let's do things as if it were our first time, let's put that type of energy into it. Could you imagine what life would be like if we all took that FIRST LOOK!

Philip Thurman

Random Holiday Thoughts

When was the last time you thanked an army service person for their service to our country? Have you been out of the country and seen how many of the world's people want to come to the US? It is amazing that we live in the greatest country of the world, and yet people find time to talk badly about it. THANKS ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE SERVED AND ARE CURRENTLY SERVING. There is at least one person that is grateful for your service. Oh by the way, I hope your memorial day is a good one. BY the way, you have this day off because.................think about it.

Getting ready for a busy week. We get to baptize three folks this next weekend. Man, it is an honor to be able to see life change taking place in people's lives. I hope you will continue to invest and invite. Yesterday, I had a family come up to me and share that they had invited their neighbors to come to church, and guess what, they all came. Family of four showed up. WOW!

Saturday we had an incredible work day in Canton. We cleaned some nasty abandoned apartments. You have never seen some of the stuff or smelled some of the stuff we smelled. Thanks Kevin and Caresty, Jennifer, Chris, Johnny, Jim, Chris, John and Rhonda, Brian, and Rachel. We probably had the biggest team present and we rocked. We cleaned up 8 apartments. I really appreciate everyone of you for what you did.

Pray for Greg, Nancy and the family. They are on a well deserved Alaska trip and cruise. They have not done a vacation like this. I'm really grateful for this family. They are incredible servants. They give and give behind the scenes. I hope they have a great time as a family. We love you guys, hurry back. Davis and Kathy have moved into their new house in Red Oak...WOW it is really nice. Great to have you guys in the Madison County Tax paying base:) John, Dawn and family are headed to North Carolina. Pray for a great trip and some R and R for them. Davis, Kathy, Johnny, Sylvia, Scott, Neece, Philip and Lori are left to hold the fort down. Do we get to go somewhere next week? :)

Philip Thurman

Generational Relationships

This past weekend I have been engrossed in a different type of relational zone. It's not one that I know or do very well. On the personality profile I am a high extravert. I find my energy with people and just being with the crowd. I love the face to face interaction and dialogue of friends and even people I do not know well. Recently one of my staff buddies asked me if I thought the younger generation saw us old guys as non-relational because we don't spill our guts in you tube, facebook, myspace etc. This has really gotten me to thinking about developing relationships. I watch my two older kids text all day long, non-stop talking to their buddies. I also watch them update their facebook constantly and checking out their friends. By the way, it is in the kitchen and they cannot get on without an adult present...so we do have boundaries.

Just this past weekend I got involved with twitter.com. It is a service where one goes and constantly updates what they are doing. I can follow some people I like or am curious about. They to in turn can follow me. Is this a way to build relationships? Then, I came across seesmic.com. It is a video community. Basically you can build relationships with people anywhere. It is basically video blogging. Some of the discussions are fascinating. My question to you all is, is this the new way of relating? Are we coming to the point where the face to face interact and touch are not going to be necessary. How then do we get a sense of belonging or becoming. When I sit down face to face with someone, I am able to see a lot. I hear your voice and watch your verbal as well as non verbal reactions. It tells me a ton about you. When I twitter or seesmic, how do you know that I am NOT faking it or am something that I am not.

I'm not knocking any of those avenues. I personally love the people of the world. But I also think there is tremendous value in developing relationships face to face. Sorry for the rambles. I'd be curious to know your thoughts....email me at philip@mylifebridge.com

Philip Thurman

Do You Twitter?

No, I am not calling you a bird.....tweet, tweet. No it's not a bad horn on a vehicle in southeast Asia. It is a new method of supposedly staying connected. I often have people asking me what I do. So I thought I would join www.twitter.com and try to write periodically throughout the day about some of things I am doing. I have two guys right now that I am following. They are progressive thinkers. You can have people that you follow and then there are others who can follow you. Your only allow so many words...shorts and sweet. You can have any updates from the people you are following sent to your cellphone, or IM.

I don't know where this is going, but you control how much you want to say and how often. It seems to be catching wind. So check it out and feel free to follow my day.

Philip Thurman

Incredible Heroes

I don't know if you all have noticed any changes around LifeBridge lately. There are some significant changes that have taken place. Three major areas within LifeBridge are Xtreme (Grade 1-5), Nursery and Preschool. We just decided we would try and see if we could make a go in these areas with volunteers. Man, we're seeing some amazing things happen. Our Xtreme is running incredibly well. The three team leaders are making it work. They are organizing and getting other adults involved. Amanda, Glenn and Sherry, you three rock!

The nursery is starting to take off as well. We had to come to the point to decide whether or not we would get serious about taking care of little ones. Man, we are stoked. We have two paid workers and 8 volunteers ready to serve on that team. This week we kicked off with two volunteers who rocked. Thanks Kathy and Marsha for stepping up. The final area is First Look (Preschool). It is starting to come together as well. We're starting to see families coming and having their kids connect. Everyone of you who serve in these areas are my hero. Thanks for standing in the gap and helping us carry the torch. We truly have the best volunteers around.

Partner's, remember we have a meeting next Sunday after church to discuss what is going on with our building and land process. We have some awesome days ahead. We are seeing God use you all in powerful ways. Keep investing and inviting.

Philip Thurman

Company Picnic

What a rocking time. Incredible to look around and see all the groups of people connecting. It was an incredible day. Our den team rocks. There are so many tremendous volunteers that serve every week, but today I want to highlight many of the den team.
The team leaders are the phenominal Jim and Tracey Fries, with a huge hand from Debbie and Keith Martin. The rest of the team consist of Jennifer Taylor and her dad Dale Carpenter (who came from Mobile, AL) to cook burgers and dogs. Also we had Kevin and Caresty Carpenter, Greg Walters, Russell Atkinson, Johnny Gilmore, Jay Gujrati, Jimmie and Karen Westby Gibson, Woody Osborn, Wayne and Kim Williams, Mike Traylor and Sean Dodds.

Please forgive me if I left you out, but it was NOT intentional. We had a number of folks who really seemed to connect and have a blast. I heard a ton of rumblings about the judging of the booths and that the Canton group rigged it that way....No comments from me, just passing along what I heard:) They had a great booth. There were a ton of great door prizes given out as well. If you missed it, you missed a great time. Hope to see you the next time we come together.

Two more weeks of the Office series. I hope you all will continue to Invest and Invite.

Philip Thurman

Soccer vs Church

I'm really ticked off at myself. I had a chance to possibly do something that has never been done, and did NOT do it. Looking back today, I could kick myself. How often do we stop and look back at the moments in our lives that we might could have made an impact in others lives. I called those "what if moments!" What if I would have __________ and fill in the blanks. Well I had one this weekend.

My daughters U-12 soccer team (Jaw Crushers) made it through to the Western District Playoffs.....We just barely made it in, but we got the chance of a lifetime. I am the head coach and it so happens that my assistant did not have his coaching license. So I had to coach on Sunday morning which meant I missed LifeBridge. I hate missing church for something like soccer. I hate it. I think it sends the wrong message to our kids. But did I do anything about it? NOT A SINGLE THING. I could have had a team devotional before the game with the parents and players, heck we could have done a service at the soccer complex. There were THOUSANDS of kids from Jackson, Clinton, Madison, Greenville, and Greenwood. It could have been a huge outreach experience.

I totally wasted an awesome opportunity. I'm really mad at myself. It never crossed my mind until this morning. I pray you and I will NOT miss too many moments to be a major impact for Christ. Sorry I missed you guys, but I am upset that I missed a huge chance to encourage thousands of folks. How many times a day do we miss that what if moment.

Philip Thurman

Company Picnic

Sunday, May 4th is set aside as "Company Picnic" day. It is going to be a blast. The Den team has done a tremendous job preparing this awesome event. They have worked out and planned a ton of details. They have thought through every possible scenario to make this thing a success. If you were in church yesterday, you saw their video. The nerve of them to play poker and then act like they weren't when I walked in. What are they thinking:)

The next two weeks will also have some pretty funny video's I have been told. So don't miss getting to see them. Also yesterday, we gave away a nice chair with a foot rest to Ryan Weaver. Go bro! You have to be present to continue to win door prizes.

We do these fun events NOT for ourselves, but for the chance of being able to invite someone who may NOT come to LifeBridge. I hope you will take this opportunity to invite someone that you have been investing in. It will be unlike any church hangout they have been a part of. We will have food, fun and free childcare for kids two and under.

Make plans now to attend.

Philip Thurman

"Takin' Care of Business"

If you were not at church yesterday you missed the band's performance of "Takin' Care of Business." WOW! They had their black and white attire on with those cool looking shades. Man it was strong. We started a new series about the place we spend the bulk of our time. Stop and think. We spend a minimum of 40 hours a week, 2,000 hours a year and 90,000 hours over a lifetime. That is a long time, but even worse, it is a long time if you hate what your doing. I would also say that it is a waste of your life as well.

I often have people tell me that they feel like their job brings NO value to relationships, nor does it make any difference in the grand scheme of life. I hear people say things like, "I need to go into full-time ministry" to influence people. I don't quite know what that phrase means, but I think what is being said is, if I could work full time in the church I would be able to make a huge difference in my life as well as others.

See here's the deal. Regardless of what you do, God has placed right where He wants you. The people you have a chance of influencing as an athlete, attorney, doctor, grocery store clerk, teller, student, home maker etc. etc. is far greater than I will ever have as a Pastor. Here is why I say that with all honesty. My job is the greatest job with the WORST title. It does not matter how creative you get with titles, the response is still the same. Usually right off the bat the question comes to me, "well, what do you do for a living?" When I tell anyone what I do, guess what their response is......"Oh, great to meet you and best of luck!" Off they go. I may NOT ever discuss the Bible or preach to them, but they are gone. You on the other hand have a chance to build a relationship and as you do that, you can begin to influence and lead the discussions to spiritual matters. They will often times listen to you and continue the relationship. You are in a great place, right where God wants you to be. You have a greater chance to influence through what you do, than often times through being a paid professional MINISTER.

Ranting by Philip Thurman

Sunny South Florida

I'm in sunny South Florida today (April 2, 2008) with Jim Fries and the forecast is breezy and a cold 83 degrees. We had lunch yesterday at a Dominican Restaurant and then went to the famous "Robert Is Here" fruitstand. Check out his website at www.robertishere.com It is incredible, the freshest fruit around. Jim and I both got to meet Robert yesterday as I sipped on a Mango milkshake and Jim had a papaya/key lime milkshake. WOW! It was an awesome experience. We'll have some pictures and video of it at church the next few weeks or month.

Your asking why we are down here. For about three years I have been praying and burdened about the need for us to be missional at LifeBridge. It is easy to become inward focused. We have bought land and are in the planning and dreaming stages of a building and what all that entails. It is all about us and one thing we constantly say is that we are NOT just about us. We want to constantly stay focused on those who have NOT yet walked through the doors. So a way to keep our eyes focused on God is to serve outside of LifeBridge. We have established a great relationship with Trinity Church in Canton where we will partner alongside of them to influence that city for Christ. We also feel God leading us in a powerful way to work with Haitians in Homestead, Fl but also in Haiti. So we are down here meeting with Pastor Frank, Reggie and Alex about the possibilities.

Last night we shared stories of God's faithfulness and calling for all of us. Pastor Frank is an amazing guy. He has a real heart for his own people in Haiti. They have a mother church that has planted five churches. Some meet in a simple thatched hut and others meet in homes. They have schools in a few of the churches and they have established an orphanage. WOW! There is so much to be done. Today we talk through more details about the partnership.

Jim and I plan on putting on our thong bikini bathing suits and heading out to South Miami Beach with all the other freaks. Pictures to follow in a day or two:)

Philip Thurman

Termites?

About a week ago I was in my bedroom and saw some holes in the wall of our bedroom. I walked over to the wall to see what was going on. The holes seemed to form a neat little line. As I applied pressure on them they began to cave in and form a line. I then stopped and looked at the window seal to find it covered with swarmers that were dead. I called Chris (who plays bass in our band) who works for Dependable Pest Control. Man, he came and did a thorough check of everything and gave the exciting news. "YOU HAVE TERMITES!" Can I say that I was pumped......NOT!

As I thought about what I happened I began to think about my life. How often do termites get into my life? The termite of anger, oh no one sees it initially, but at some trigger moment it becomes exposed. Or the mask that everything is okay in my life, but slowly the termite's eat through the sheetrock and wham.....everything falls apart and I can't do anything to stop it. This morning in my reading time in Proverbs 13:6 (NLT) it says, "Godliness helps people all through life, while the evil are destroyed by their wickedness." The pest guys are going to shoot a chemical into my house called termidor. It is potent stuff and guaranteed to kill these bad boys. In the same way, pursuing God gives us life, life at it's very best.

Lastly, today a number of men are helping Trinity Church (partner church in Canton) move out of their old building into storage. I also heard that a number of them are planning on coming to LifeBridge this week. God's doing some awesome things. It may be a week or so before I post again. Jim and I are headed Tuesday to Homestead, Florida to meet with a Haitian church about possibly doing some mission work with them.

Peace

Philip Thurman

What's The Big Deal?

Easter is an incredible time of the year. We see friends and family in church that we don't see for months. They come with their new outfits and hair dos and smiles in tact. Everything looks good on the outside, but I often ask myself how they must really be doing on the inside. You never get much time to dive into any major life issues. Everyone smiles and says Happy Easter and goes about their merry way.

In thinking about Easter, the Bible, Christianity it all points back to one thing.......A Relationship with God and with others. This morning God challenged us to think about three relationships and what we need to do. Let me recap quickly. I challenged us to think about one of these three and work on it for the next few weeks. 1) What relationship needs to be initiated? What about going out to eat, or inviting them over to your house. 2) What relationship needs to be nurtured? Date your wife, take your girlfriend on a fun date. Do things to make it grow. 3) What relationship needs to be restored? This is a difficult one. It requires us to forgive others even if we are the party that has been wronged....forgive! Don't live with that issue, don't take it to the grave with you. God desires for you to experience Life At It's Very Best.

We'll close out next week with HGH.....by the way, great job on tons of you freeing up parking for Easter Sunday. We had a great day and a great crowd. WOW! I heard a number of you talk about someone you had invited to church, great job. Keep investing and inviting.

Philip Thurman

Growing Pains

The last month we have been experiencing something new in our family. My youngest son has been in a great deal of pain on his right knee just below the knee cap. We often walk up to see him in tears because of the pain. We take him to the doctor and the only explaination they can give us is growing pains. He has grown a good bit. He must be growing faster than our older two because they never complained much about their growing pains. The doctors always say, "That's a great sign, he's growing."

Around LifeBridge we don't talk openly about numbers cause we know that the only people that get excited about that are the leaders who watch all that stuff. BUt do you know that every year we have had significant growth. You are investing and inviting and that is amazing. Over the last two weeks I have been able to walk around and see things that I do not normally get to see because of my teaching. This past weekend we had a big issue. I noticed that our front parking lot is full. So would some of you partners and regular attenders consider parking in the back to free up space in the front for our guest. Greeters, please help us direct some folks to the back.

This Sunday (Easter Sunday) we may also have a ton of guest. Please introduce yourself and show them why we are the friendliest church in town. Also, we may need you to give up your chair for someone new. Thanks in advance for doing that. See you Sunday. Let's keep experiencing Growing Pains.

Philip Thurman

Sunday Evening Reflections

WOW! What a day, what a weekend. The weather here in Central Mississippi has simply been fantastic. High of 74 and sunny! It just doesn't get any better than this. Along with that, we have some amazing volunteers. LifeBridge is only as good as its volunteers, and let me say the volunteers are incredible. Today set up team number one had three brand new guys present. They arrived early and ready to go. These three guys got to shadow three experienced guys. It was amazing to watch these new guys jump in and go after it. All of the guys connected and seemed to have a blast.

X-treme (grades 1-5) had there first meeting under the new leadership. Many know that John Mark and Sharon had their third precious baby. So I felt led to challenge some keys leaders to step up. Guess what? Three major leaders stepped up and said, we'll run X-treme, but you need to know we are going to recruit the fool out of adults. I said go for it. This morning at 9:00 a.m. the team met and there was 12 volunteers ready to go. Yes 12! We've never had that many ready and willing to serve. They launched the look today and it rocked. Today Glenn and Sherry, Amanda, Angela, and Mike and Diana brought it. You guys are my heroes. Thanks for impacting kids in a powerful way.

The preschool sign in table worked like clock work today as well. Man, I am pumped about all the incredible leaders God is bringing our way. I'm learning a ton by watching the seasoned veterans who know how to get it done and get it done with volunteers. Keep pushing and challenging us.

Remember Easter is three weeks away, so start thinking about who you want to invite to LifeBridge. Have a great week.

Philip Thurman

Stories That Excite Me

We all love to hear a great story. In fact, many evenings at staff meeting time, we share stories about you. Things that you are wrestling and working through. Sometimes it is habits that need breaking, other times it is the beginning stages of developing new habits. Either end, it is an awesome journey to be able to hear all God is doing.

Sharon has done an amazing job in our Xtreme ministry (Grades 1-5). She and John Mark are preparing for their third baby to come into the world. At the end of February she will take some time off, but God has raised up a number of incredible leaders. Glenn and Sherry are going to step up and lead out in this ministry team, with Amanda stepping way out of her comfort zone as well. Thanks guys, your faith and belief in this God really encourages me.

Last but not least, I heard about a guy who a year ago would have never been seen leading a life group. In fact, he says what all of us say. "I don't know the Bible well enough, what if someone ask me a hard question......etc etc" Well, he stepped out and is now having a ball leading people in his Small Group. God is pushing so many folks out of their comfort zones. My prayer from the beginning of this series was that God would do some gigantic things in people's lives. We'll continue to wait and see all that God will do. Keep up your great work and stepping out of your comfort zone.

Philip Thurman

unChristian

On an earlier blog I discussed what people outside the church from 16-29 years old thought of those in the church. They said a number of things, such as Christians are hypocrits, judgmental, too political and homophobic. What has happened to those who claim to be followers of Christ. Why do we not love and serve as Christ did? Well, check out this video from one fo the guys who did some real life research on this topic. I hope it makes you think like it did me.
Philip Thurman

We just finished a powerful series on "How To Be Rich." Our culture talks a ton about getting rich, but tells us nothing about how to be rich. How do we live once we are rich. We chiseled away many lies that marketers and retailers tell us about money and life. If you have not listened to the entire series, I cannot think of a better one you should burn and give away to friends.

I'm really excited about the next series "Shift Happens!" We'll be looking at three exapmles of men and women who made major shifts in their lives to obey God. God may call some of us during this series to make Shifts. Would you be willing to do something drastic if God asked you to? If God asked you to down size and give to the poor, would you do it? If God asked you to leave your massive salary to serve or start some new opportunity, would you do it? If God ask you to make some relationships right that are currently estranged, could you do it?

I hope these next four weeks, we will be willing to listen to God and then do what He ask us to do. See you Sunday

Philip Thurman

Been To The Land Lately?

We continue to see incredible growth at LifeBridge. Sometimes we take things for granted. Not everyone knows we have acquired land. We have 15 acres of God given land off Gluckstadt road about a mile and a half west of Bozeman and Gluckstadt, south of Providence Subdivision and east of Reunion equestrian center. Take a look at the new signs that went up today thanks to Greg Miller, Jay Criddle, Sean Dodds, Jay Gujrati, John Chappelear, Johnny Ervin, Jim Fries and Johnny Gilmore. Thanks guys for all you did to make this day happen. Please go to the property and see the prayer wall and take a prayer walk around the land.










There are some awesome days ahead. Better get to church early, the seats will fill up fast.


Philip Thurman

What's Next?

Every week I have men and women say to me, "Philip, what's next?" You may be saying, "NEXT, what is that all about?" Well a few months back we paid off our land and thus what's next. Well we have put together two men to lead the teams and they have started some amazing work. Sean Dodds will give leadership to our building team while Johnny Ervin will give leadership to our finance team.

They have had some preliminary meetings and over the next few weeks and months will share with others what God is leading the to do. I hope you will do a couple of things. First, please pray for them as they seek God's heart and direction for this incredible task. Honestly, both of these men are great leaders and up for the challenge. Secondly, would you begin praying what your part of the journey needs to be. Ask God now to begin to prepare your heart. Also, pray for these men as they seek to see who needs to help and serve with them on their team.

When we know more, we will get the word out. Thanks for your prayers and continue praying and asking God to do incredible things, cause He is able to do far more than we think.

Philip Thurman

We Have More Than We Need

Last week we started a new series called "How to be Rich." Our culture bombards us about getting rich, but then does not tell us how to be good rich people. This is tough because we don't see ourselves as rich. The problem is where is rich? It is always the next level up. It is never where we are, it is a moving target.

We said this week that we all have more house than is needed for shelter, more vehicle than is needed to get from point A to B, more food than is needed for health, yet we don't think we have enough. We admitted at the end of our service that we have more than we need, we are rich. Let that soak in a bit.

Now, what do you need to do? Do you need to re-evaluate what you are doing, what you are trying to achieve? Do you need to downsize, do you need plan better, do you need to re-prioritize? I hope in this series you will stop, evaluate and then determine what God wants you to do. See you Sunday.

Philip Thurman

Bring On The Throwdown

WOW! If you missed the throw down last night, you missed an incredible event. It was a night packed with fun and competition that was simply spectacular. We saw an amazing crowd turn out for the event as well. I saw many guest who were present as well and really getting into the action. In fact some teams got so into the action they got a ticket while driving down a road that is not open yet....oh and did I mention they were on the winning team. That should have been at least a 20 point deduction for breaking the law! 

I want to recognize a few folks that rose to the occasion to make it an incredible night. First off Jim and Tracey Fries came up with the idea and put it all together. They planned everything. Their leadership on this was incredible. You guys really know how to organize and throw a party. Thanks for making last night awesome. Johnny Ervin, our small groups pastor stepped up huge. He helped to challenge our leadership to be involved, worked out the food and kids stuff. Johnny, thanks a ton for your work. Davis Jones, Sharon and John Mark Coon, you all are also awesome for helping take care of the kiddos. I am forever grateful for all you do to help do to encourage the adults. Thanks to anyone else I am leaving out. It was an awesome night and Congratulations to Greg Miller's group for winning.