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
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
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
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
Sunday, July 6, 2008
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
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, June 30, 2008
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
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
Sunday, June 22, 2008
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
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
Monday, June 16, 2008
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
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
Monday, June 2, 2008
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
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
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