We have averaged almost 200 people in attendance this summer.     Last summer we averaged 145.  That means we have grown by almost 45%.   This is all taking place in a building that was built in 1952, occupied by two churches on Sunday and located on a dead end street.

On Sunday, September 12 we will move to the new Faith Christian school facility located on Dallas Road in Grapevine.   We truly believe that this move will result in even greater growth due to our new facility and much higher visibility.  

On top of it all, I have never in my life experienced such a great sense of community and fellowship.  The people of FOTP Grapevine are a loving, caring group.

I am reading a book by a pastor in Tulsa, Ed Gungor.  The title of the book is “One Small Barking Dog – Living a life that is hard to ignore”.   Ed owns a small terrier named Frank.   He said that when other people are around Frank gets pretty excited and starts yelping.   Gungor  states that Frank is not big or ferocious but he is hard to ignore simply because he is there.   It is his ‘thereness’ that is hard to ignore.

It is the ‘thereness’  of the people of FOTP Grapevine that is hard to ignore.  The ‘thereness’ stems from their love, caring, and passion for the Lord and others.   The people of FOTP Grapvine are living lives that are hard to ignore.   Others are taking notice and wanting to know more.   They show up at our services on Sunday and eventually they too are living lives that are hard to ignore.

I read this book because I was getting ready to preach a message on prayer and Phillip Yancey is one of my favorite authors.   When I got the book, I doubted that I would finish it simply because it was longer than most books I read.  One of the things I have discovered about developing the habit of reading, is to know your limits – know what you will and will not read and stay within those boundaries.   Even with all of that in mind, I bought the book.

I was right.  I did not finish the book but what I read was well worth it.  As always, Yancey inspired me spiritually.   I can’t say that I learned anything about prayer I did not know but the way he presented some of the aspects of praying, helped remind me of what it is all about.  Here are a few of my favorite lines from the book:

“Prayer allows me to admit my failures, weaknesses, and limitations to One who responds to human vulnerability with infinite mercy.”

“Prayer is the act of seeing reality from God’s point of view.”

“I am overwhelmed by the vastness of God, the imbalance of any creature’s relationship to such a being.  Since it is God we are speaking of, you do not understand it.  If you understood it, it would not be God.”

For those of you who have a longer attention span than I do,  you will read the whole book and enjoy it.  For those of you like me, you will read part of it and say it was worth it.

Wow!   We had another all time high attendance day with 227 in attendance.   We baptized 5 adults and 1 child.   Tonight we have two teens who will be baptized at our Fellowship at the Waterpark.

God is doing amazing things at FOTP Grapevine and we haven't even moved to our new location yet.  

God is good!

In his book IT author and pastor Craig Groeshel, states that even though it is difficult to describe what IT is, you can tell when a church has IT and when they do not.    In a sense IT is God’s hand of favor.   You can just sense that God is moving.  People are being saved.  Lives are being transformed.  The church is energized.

I do not know why this is the case, but FOTP has IT.  I know this it is not because of me or anything I have done.   For reasons unknown, God has chosen to bless the work going on at FOTP Grapevine.

This summer has been amazing!   We had 206 in attendance Sunday compared to 140 the same time last year.   This Sunday we will baptize at least 7 people (mostly adults).   Each day this week I have had someone contact me about baptism so we may have more by the end of the week.

We are moving to the new Dallas Road location on September 12.  We fully expect God to take us to a new level this fall.

Things are progressing on the purchase of property.   We are praying that the city will give us a special use permit at their regularly scheduled meeting in September.

In the meantime, we want to pray that God will continue to bless FOTP Grapevine and FOTP in general.  Our new Haslett campus which just launched a few weeks ago had over 200 people this last Sunday as well.

All I know is that I am blessed to be a part of IT all.

I guess I knew bits and pieces of Drew Brees story but reading his book I learned so much more about his life, challenges and the incredible story of the Saints march to the Super Bowl victory.   Brees is definitely one of the good guys in the sports world.   He has overcome the hurdles in his life including his parent’s divorce when he was a young boy, potential end of the career injuries, and his mothers suicide.  He has done it through faith in a God who is able to work all things out for His glory and our good.

Being from Louisiana (but a huge Cowboys fan) I rooted the Saints to win it all.   Having read this book I am even happier that they did.   Brees and his wife, chose to go to New Orleans because they felt they could make a difference there.   Their foundation has put $5 million into the rebuilding of the city.   I was inspired when I read about their commitment to helping children with cancer as well as the many other worthwhile causes in which they participate.

Anyone can enjoy this book.  However,  it is especially a good read for any football fan.  I highly recommend it.  

This is a simple, easy to read book.  No surprises here.  Resilient leaders act decisively and with integrity.  They also lead with optimistic vision.  I had difficulty with some of the people the author saw as resilient leaders.  On the other hand, reading about people like Civil War hero, Joshua Chamberlain was inspiring.

This book is a good book as far as leadership books go but not a must read.  I got some good illustrations and quotes by reading but not much new in terms of information.

We have all often heard it said that someone picked up a book and could not put it down, but I wonder how often that really, literally happens.   It happened for me last Thursday evening.   I went to Barnes and Noble to browse for a book and picked up Life In Spite of Me by Kristen Anderson.  I did not put it down.  I read the entire book (200 pages) while sitting in Barnes and Noble.  I bought the book and now my daughter has it with her on a trip she is on to your Europe.

Kristen Anderson was a 15 year old in a family that was much healthier in many ways than the average family.   She began to slip into a state of confusion and depression when she lost four close friends and her grandmother in a short time period.   She began to drink and lost interest in school.  Kristen was raped by a close friend.  She decided to take her life by lying down in front of an approaching train.  Miraculously she survived but lost her legs.

I was absolutely riveted to each page as I read about Kristen’s struggles after her failed suicide attempt.  In the midst of her recovery, a friend shared the gospel with her.  Even though Kristen had gone to church she really never understood what it meant to be a Christ follower.   All of that changed.   Even after beginning her spiritual journey the road to recovery was filled with pot holes including struggling with drugs and bouts with depression.

Today, Kristen has graduated from Wheaton College and has a ministry to people who want to take their lives.   She was interviewed by Oprah.   You can watch the interview at the link below.   As you watch, you will hear the audience gasp when she says that immediately following her suicide attempt she kept hearing the song amazing grace in her mind.   Right before Kristen comes out on the show, Oprah spots gospel singer Bebe Winans in the audience and has him come up and sing.   He sings Amazing Grace.

Watch the video.  Read the book.  Be inspired.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iRDt96Lu3Y

When my family and I walked out of FOTP 4 years ago, I asked my daughter Caroline what she thought.  She said, "I like it because they are reaching people."  She was so right.

We are so blessed to be a part of what God is doing at FOTP.  Check out this video and see what we are all about.

http://www.vimeo.com/12964372

Hallinan is a former writer for the Wall Street Journal and winner of the Pulitzer Prize.  Like many books that I read, I was intrigued by the title.  As it turns out, this is a fairly informative and entertaining book.  It is somewhat of the flip side to the book Blink which showed how we can make fairly accurate assessments based on a sliver of information.  In this book, we are shown how easily we can make mistakes and often do.

One of my favorite sections of the book dealt airplane pilots and what is called CFIT – Controlled Flight Into Terrain.  CFIT refers to a completely operational aircraft that is flown into the ground.  The reason in most cases is simply a lack of focus.  The example that was cited had to do with an Easter Airlines flight which was flown into the Florida everglades simply because the pilot and flight crew got so focused on an indicator light that did not come on, that they lost sight of the most important task at hand, flying the plane.   As a result, 99 people died due to a light bulb that cost $12.

This was a good read for someone like me who speaks often and is fascinated with human behavior but would not be or much value to many people.