Christmas has been good, tiring, surreal, fun, filled with laughter, contemplative, relational, and amazing to experience this season. Christmas happenings included....

- the trivial... mee maw supplied Rock Band for our family. I am practicing like crazy and I do feel that I will very soon be savvy for one of our praise teams!

- the highly anticipatory..... I love having a bunch of kids and living Christmas through them. From checking out every light in Crestview to celebrating with family on several occasions to swapping presents after AWANA night to seeing my son in my face at 4 dadgum 30 AM on Christmas morning. His eyes were ALIVE! It was a good month.

- the totally surprising.... Sheena, a friend of ours, shared an incredible gift with Lydia (our 9 year old). She traded her stuff and shared her love with our kid so that Lydia could have a guitar. This was one of the most sacrificial gifts that I have ever received. Amazing.

- the sacrifical..... it was incredible to celebrate the Advent with the Emmanuel family. Lives are being changed in our fellowship and God is using people in audacious ways. The Advent Conspiracy was incredible. We also managed to drop a couple of wells in W. Africa; sustain missionaries over the next year; and serve some local needs in Crestview.

- the surprising... we (our entire extended family) went to a homeless shelter in B'ham and served breakfast on Christmas eve morn. It was early and beautiful and amazing. I went to serve... I left having been served. The gratefulness that I saw and the hope that abounds in the shelter amazed me and humbled me. A poignant moment happened as we were cleaning up and prepping to leave. A couple of dozen women broke into song and 'wished us a merry Christmas'... It was the most beautiful and heart-felt singing that I have heard in a long time. Christmas was right in that moment.

- the cute... as in Susan and I had the opp to fulfill the role of Mary and Joseph at her home church during the Christmas eve service. Thus, Ella portrayed the Messiah... the baby Jesus. I must admit that she was quite the cute one! It was, honestly, a sacred and contemplative moment to consider that the Word really did put on flesh and the Word really was an infant.

I could keep writing of Christmas moments, but I really can summarize with the truth that I am so so thankful for Jesus Christ. I love Him and I am deeply grateful that He fleshed out God on this planet.

The Advent was intended to change the world. The advent of Christ evokes a conspiracy! I hope to give presence throughout this year.

I hope that your new year is anticipatory. This year, we get to follow Christ. This year, we get to experience the life of Christ in every day moments. This year, if we follow Him, we might just experience a conspiratorial 2009.

By Grace.... For Glory,

Mark

A few random thoughts from the past week:
- I watched 'church' Saturday morning. Our church had the privilege of partnering with two organizations in the area. A Christmas fest with 'HEROES' and Foster Families was incredible to experience. I am SO thankful to be a part of Emmanuel and to watch our fellowship serve our community. Amazing.

- Christ, Carols, and Communion always feels so 'right'. It was a great and reflective service. It was also an amazing service musically! We have incredible musicians at EBC.

- We baked all afternoon Sunday..... then, our family piled into the Suburban at dusk and went 'light' hunting. We drove for quite awhile and enjoyed each other and the lights around Crestview. Our kids managed to not kill each other and we ended up at BK for a feast of burgers and a fest on the playground.

- Our staff team is incredible. Our family team have truly brought it during this life conspiracy. I love this group of people that God has formed up at EBC.

- I received the most amazing gift. Words can't convey the meaning of this gift. A friend of mine heard that Lydia wanted to play guitar with her daddy (it will not take her long to surpass my skills!). So this friend, Sheena, proceeds to search for a guitar and to delve into relational gift giving by exchanging her stuff for the guitar.... all of this so that my kid could play! So, when I received the guitar and brought it home to Lydia, we were simply amazed.. overwhelmed. What a meaningful and thoughtful gift! So, here's Lydia's words about her future in music. She says, 'I want to play and write songs so that I can make Jesus famous!' Sheena, thanks for loving our family and for fostering my kids desire to make much of Christ.

Moments like these are why I love Christmas. Moments like these are why I love that I get to follow Christ everyday. Being a Christ-follower is meant to change the world!

Merry Christmas!

By Grace..... For Glory,
Mark

Life Conspiracy is just hopping. There were several passion-evoking moments this past weekend. I loved....

*Celebrating our small group leaders and hosts and the joy of knowing that our groups are increasingly becoming points of light and hope in neighborhoods across Crestview.

*Recognizing the amazing movement of God in the life of this church. As Ian, Kara and I were sharing multiple specifics of God at work through us, I was so thankful to be a part of EBC. God is on the move in the life of our fellowship!

* Standing and sharing of our future hope for the life of Emmanuel. We believe that God will do great things through us. We believe that we believe mammoth things from our God. We also believe that our wildest belief cannot possibly touch God's belief about His church. He longs to live, move, and have his being far beyond our best beliefs and our wildest imagination.

* Singing God of this City.... There was such a depth of passion as that song was sung this weekend.

*What I loved most was honoring those who launched the Emmanuel conspiracy. To recognize those who have been leading and serving and worshipping and giving and sacrificing at EBC for 27+ years was significant. I love that group of people. I love walking in their steps of faith!

Enjoy this season. May your life... our lives together... be conspiratorial! Merry Christmas!

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

The past few weeks have amazed me.... It has been phenomenal to see so many people who have arranged their lives around what matters most and also in a way that God has gifted them. Hanging out with preschool workers, several of whom have served preschoolers for more than a decade (one for over 3 decades!)... and others who give a dozen hours of volunteer time each week... that was an amazing time of worship for our fellowship.

Then, to know that there are hundreds of coach's pouring into our kids. The Word does not return void and our kids have hidden a couple of hundred thousand verses of Scripture in their hearts over the past decade. That could prove to be revolutionary. I thank my God for every worker who pours into the lives of our kids.

This past Sunday was phenomenal. I love Bruce Baber. He's been a friend for a very long time. I love the way Bruce has vested his life in our students. For 24+ years he has discipled students and gone to camp and hosted D-Now and had kids study the Word as they met on his driveway and he has loved kids and taught them to follow Christ consistently for a very long time. To see a 36 year old man that Bruce discipled as a teen and a 13 year old that he is currently discipling standing on the stage at the same moment truly brought home to me the profundity of the Advent. Bruce is 'fleshing out' Christ to students.... dozens of others are doing that as well. Thank you for teaching me about conspiracy!

I feel like I am surrounded by heroes of the faith at EBC. I watch people play their instruments and lift their voices and lead adult SG's and love our pre-schoolers and kids and students.... I watch people advance and advance and advance the name of Christ and I am amazed. I love our fellowship. I love that Christ is leading us more deeply into a conspiracy.

This Sunday will be incredible! We will give. We will provide clean water. We will sustain missionaries. We will open the door for the fame of God and the worship of Christ to increase. I think that is right. I think that is conspiratorial. I love this place and Christ among us.

Worship Abundantly. Spend Differently. Give Fully. Love All.

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

a few totally random thoughts from the past week....

- Proverbs 30.7-9 continues to waylay me...

- It was incredibly good to be with my family for a few days. We ventured to Jax and all of the Seagle fam was together. My mom is an amazing cook and I love my family. A good week of Thanksgiving was had by all in our clan!

- Kyle Boone sings better than the Bee Gee's.

- Did you ever think that you would hear the Bee Gee's in church and love it!?!

- I never see an image of an African child who is suffering without being under compulsion to be a part of the solution.

- If a 9 year old kid can provide water... build a school.... and change the future of a village in Africa, I think that we may have a role to play as well!

- I love the kids at EBC. It has been an incredible two weeks of Advent/Life Conspiracy. We have SO many people who are pouring their lives into our children.

- We have many who, in days to come, will join with our preschool, kids, or student ministry teams...... Let the conspiracy continue!

- 184,971 verses of Scripture in the hearts of our children over the past ten years. Because the Word does not return void, we should anticipate some pretty extreme Kingdom results!

- Christmas will change the world. It has. It is. It will. The word becoming flesh is pretty audacious.

- What will happen if every person in our fellowship discovers their spiritual niche and each of us chooses to relentlessly advance the Kingdom in the framework of how our creator formed us? What will happen when we actually experience a Life Conspiracy as a church? It could be radical!

- I am so thankful for sugar cookies!

- My son is so anxious to give money to help kids in need. I love that about him.

- I am loving the LIFE Conspiracy. Our family team is simply amazing!

- I think that I get to work with some amazing people. I cannot wait to get to the office each day. That is a pretty big deal!

- Is anyone else finding themselves singing "Glory to God... Glory to God... Glory to God, forever.."? I'm SO glad that song keeps rolling through my head.

- Okay, what will happen this weekend @ EBC? It's going to be fun... and life changing... and beautiful!

Christmas is meant to change the world. This year, give presence.

Mark

Several thoughts that are painfully challenging me of late...

- Proverbs 30.7-9....Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is my Lord?'

- I may die today. Arrange my life around what matters the most. Begin now!

- Life is a vapor.

- A man by his sin may waste himself, which is to waste that which on earth is most like God. This is man's greatest tragedy and God's heaviest grief.' - Tozer

- Christmas is intended to spark a revolution. It's a conspiracy. I am praying that my life is arranged around what matters the most. Chan writes in Crazy Love, 'a friend of mine has a particularly wise perspective on this subject (death). He was asked if he weren't spending too much of his time serving and giving away too much. His gentle but honest response was, "I wonder if you'll say that after we're dead."

- Read Proverbs 30.7-9 again.... It's a revolutionary prayer. A conspiracy!

I love you guys and I am praying for an incredible Thanksgiving across our fellowship. I am also praying that we show up next weekend with tons of food in hand and many homes having food through the season because we worship @ EBC. "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat." - Jesus

Happy Thansgiving,
Mark

I've been thinking about character in light of Daniel. Daniel 6.4 says that Daniel was incorruptible. There was nothing corrupt about him and he was not negligent. If character really is the willingess to do what is right, as defined by God, regardless the personal cost, then Daniel was loaded with character.

I am thinking that it would be pretty amazing to have something similar said about me. I have an aspiration that I am asking God to bring about in my own life. I am asking Him to draw me into such a radical intimacy with Him that there is simply nothing corrupt about me. Even more importantly, I am not negligent. My life is captured by the desire to actively live out the glorious presence and Person of Jesus Christ! When I see hungry, I am not negligent. Thirsty... no negligence. Suffering... zero negligence. Apathy, I bring life. Needs..... no negligence.

So, I'm praying that God will compel me toward a life of character, conviction, and truth. I long to be incorruptible. I don't think that is remotely feasible apart from a depth of intimacy with Jesus Christ. I know that I cannot possibly hope for life incorruptible apart from the context of community. Character is forged in the life of the Christ follower most profoundly in the community of faith. It could be quite fun and quite world changing to share life with a bunch of people who long to be transformed by the life of Jesus Christ. Let's go for it!

Christ is life. Life is a conspiracy. The next few weeks will be incredible around EBC!!! Life Conspiracy is here!

By Grace.... For Glory,
Mark

Never doubt in the darkness what God has spoken in the light! This past weekend was remarkable as we explored what a life of conviction and truth might look like and how it might play out for each of us. What could happen if we responded far less based upon emotion and feeling and far more on truth and conviction? Really, what could happen in those times when we just don't 'feel' like living with character (darkness), yet we respond based upon the truth of His Word and the truth of who we are in Christ and the truth of His life imprinted on our very own?

This weekend, Kricket launched her birthday conspiracy part II. THE SEQUEL. Kricket threw a party for her birthday (I'm thinking that it was #9 b-day) and she invited her friends. Just like last year, she did not ask for presents, but instead asked that the kids bring food for the hungry in Crestview. She collected over 200 cans of food. Don came by this morning to pick up our canned food given this weekend and heard the story. He came back by later today and said to me, "I tried to tell the story about the little girl who threw a party for those who are hungry... I tried to tell it down at Caring and Sharing, but I kept crying." I hope to add a picture to this story in the next couple of days. I hope that I can learn to be just a bit more like Christ as I watch an amazing 9 year old kid.

Sunday evening was crazy beautiful. Grills cooking. Kids playing. People laughing. Games going. We had a beautiful display of church. The tailgate fest was amazing and fun and it was just 'right'! Personally, I just loved the unhurried conversation that flowed out of that night. No rush.. just a rib in one hand and a friend to talk with beside me. Life was good! I hope to add a few pictures in the next few days from the gathering as well.
Advent Conspiracy kicks off this weekend. Gear up. Pray up. It might be bigger than a season of advent! Perhaps God is calling us toward a life conspiracy!! Enjoy today. I love sharing this journey toward Christ with you guys!!

By Grace.... For Glory,
Mark

Really been hanging around the question, 'what do you want?' I am asking God what makes me weep.... mourn... sing.... fast.... Honestly, what do I want? I've really enjoyed asking God what He wants so that I will know that what I want aligns with His wants! I think that the next few weeks will be quite compelling. I think that the next few weeks will really set the stage for the Advent Conspiracy.

Two thoughts will thread our next few weeks. Andy Stanley defined character as the willingness to do what is right, as defined by God, regardless the personal cost. Out of that truth, I long to live with much less reliance on 'emotion and feeling' and much more on conviction and truth.

When conviction and truth permeate my decision making, I just don't think that I will be easily deviated from my passion as a Christ-follower. I know that I 'want' this much.... I want to find my Calcutta and pour my life out there. I want to weep and fast and pray and hope and find, over and over, that I get to lay all of my life on the line for the glory of Christ.

Enjoy an amazing week. What do you want?

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

What makes the difference in life is not the ferocity of the storm, but the depth of our character. Who, of us, gets the inside track to our God (Psalm 15)? What an incredible question. It is a question that begs an answer from us. I love the bible, because we actually gain the answer.

David writes, in Psalm 15, that the person who is blameless and who does what is right and who is a truth-teller and who refuses to gossip and who fosters healthy relationship and who handles his resources and who treats people with dignity. Those characteristics give an inside track to God. A person with 'character' is after the heart of God. A person gains character by going after the heart of God. Romans 12.1 - 2 are such amazing verses. Paul is writing and begging that the reader will allow Christ's character to be formed in his heart. This character will find outward, practical, expression. As we prioritize our lives around Christ and His values and His truth and His ways, there is a heightened sense of the reality of God in us. His presence is revealed for those who turn toward Him.

Emerson wrote wisely, when he wrote, 'what lies behind and what lies before are tiny matters compared to what lies within.' Christ lies within and his life must create reverb for His glory and for His Kingdom. Over the next few weeks, we are going to hang around the truth and the challenge of living a life based on character. Character is not defined by emotion or feeling, but forged in the fire of truth and conviction.

Character is the willingess to do what is right, as defined by God, regardless the cost - Stanley Character is predicate upon our passion for the Word; for Christ; and for a conviction to live in His truth. Wow, I am impassioned that we deeply root our lives in His life and that those who see us... who see our fellowship see deep water and deep lives and deep passion and see a taste of the depths of the Christ-life. I hope that they meet a group of people who have an inside track with God and because we love Him with our core, that inside track is changing all of who we are!

By Grace.... For Glory,

Mark

"Go for it!" Release your God-ordained passions and go for it for God's greatest glory. I love the story of Christ and His invitation to follow Him, played out over and over in Scripture. He asks and invites people to join with Him in this great Kingdom endeavor. His invitation is an invitation to follow-ship. He asked people to follow Him without regard for consequence or personal gain. But, with great irony, those that chose to follow Him will gain the greatest good on the planet... the thrill of being with Christ the the joy of eternal hope! They gained the opportunity to change the world... to join with God at work.... to live with passion for something that matters and that echoes (Reverb!) in eternity.

Example... Jesus asked a man to follow him. His response was the desire to bury the dead. Jesus read the man's heart and realized that he was creating a facade that hindered him from advancing the Kingdom. So, Jesus answers in the most audacious manner. He said, 'let the dead bury the dead, and let's go for it together in advancing the fame of the living God.' In other words, yes there are responsibilities that could hinder you from vesting in what really counts. So, let's be irresponsibly responsible instead and give chase to God's great glory and His Kingdom advance. Reverb.

I am asking God to use our fellowship in profound ways. I feel like I am joining with God as I step out of the 'Duster' and say to you guys, 'Go for it!' Go for your greatest passion which is the thrill of knowing God with all that you are. As you know God, He will place a profound love for your 'neighbor' within in. That love will find a unique God expression through you. Release that passion in this planet.

Speaking of passion... I am so excited to watch our fellowship continue to steward our resources in such a way that God gains great honor. The economy is challenging. Applying God's principles to your finances will give you GREAT peace at this time. It is awesome to watch more than 60 Total Money Makeover books head out the door of our building and into our homes. It is even more beautiful to consider the financial freedom that God will give as we handle our finances as if they are actually His. It will be phenomenal to launch Financial Peace in January of 09. It is amazing how 'wise' God seems as it concerns stewardship when economic challenge strikes. What would happen if the body of Christ had no credit card debt or car payment or debt.... if we owned homes that we could afford? Reverb! May the body of Christ steward well and may we leave great reverb for God's glory. Yeah!

Go for it!

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

PS... Pray for an incredible team of bikers who will head to Daytona on Wednesday. God's glory creating reverb in Daytona is pretty sweet to consider!

Crash. I don't remember which book that I was reading that painted this incredible picture of rhino's. I learned that Rhino's move at 30 mph and they can only see 30 ft in front of them. Thus, a group of Rhino's are aptly called a 'Crash'..... They may not see very well, but they run straight toward what they do know and they seem to have very little concern about all that they do NOT know. Thirty feet in front of them should be pretty doggone aware that the crash of rhino's are on the move and coming their way! I am asking God to allow that to be true of us. Because we gather... because we worship.... because we teach and admonish....because Christ lives in us...because we love the church and we love Christ and we love His move in and through us, there is an impending crash as a result of our faith. Whatever is 31 feet ahead needs to care that we are coming, united in love and encouraged in heart and that there is an impending collision of the beauty and wonder of God.

Although the force of one person fully committed to God is tremendous, it pales in comparison to the force of God’s people moving together. One Christ-follower wandering through life can be described as nothing more than an oddity. But when members of this intense movement live as one, something amazing begins to happen. Dark kingdoms tremble; the dungeons and prisons that hold men, women, and children captive crumble; chains unlock; and multitudes come to freedom. When Christ-followers, en masse, walk through the city, the oppressed and the forgotten are soon found dancing in the street. How amazing to pray that there is dancing in the street and that there is great freedom because we are a community of faith!

So, I am really chewing on the last question from the weekend. What could happen if we move forward in what we do know? Thinking about our passion for the Word, what would happen if we moved forward with what we know in the Word? I have no doubt that there would be intense repentance and that there would be an intense crash of our lives advancing the Christ life. What if we moved forward in what we know about the love of Christ? What if we realized that there is hunger and thirst and trafficking of children and orphans and widows and lonely and oppressed? What if we unite in 'love'... the perfect love of Christ and that we move in that unity.

There will be a crash. Keith Green wrote, 'this generation of believers is responsible for this generation of souls.' May we be encouraged in heart and united in love and may we foster a collision of the need of this world with the grace and truth of Jesus, Messiah.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Reverb... 'a faint echo of the original source.' I love this new series. I really loved the way that we launched the new series.... 4 students playing buckets.... in one of the services, the crowd noise was so loud and so electric and so incredibly fun that I was knuckling Ian and saying, this is SO right. Then, to launch into "Did You See the Mountains" was crazy. Fling wide the heavenly gates was happening and our hearts, lives, and worship was a reverb as we responded to our God. I love Him. I love getting to love Him with the EBC family.

Reverb will be an incredible study. I loved the kick-off this weekend. I have a new heart. Christ gave me that heart. I share that heart with you guys. As the church, we have the heart of Christ! I long that we share in the rhythm of His grace and His love and His heart. The story of Caleb was incredible to read, study, and think about. That guy was relentless in heart.

What really moved me was when I was talking about Caleb being 85 years old and taking the largest hills and the biggest challenges. I love sharing life at EBC. Having been with at EBC for 11+ years now, we have grown together. The idea of sharing a long life in Christ and watching each of us dream and implement God-sized dreams is awesome. Sharing this Christ journey is awesome. Thinking that we might just get old together and, as a bunch of 85 year olds, keep asking God for big hills and big dreams and big assignments and big hopes and.... well, that we never stop pressing each other own toward this beautiful God-sized adventure.

As we walk through these years, I have no doubt that God will invite some of us to other parts of this planet... some to the nations... some with the military.... but, that we will all, with wholehearted passion, live, move and have being for the glory of God! I love this place!!

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

I was reading of an incredible moment this past week. I was reading a great book entitled 'Chasing the Wild Goose' or something along that lines. If I just butchered the title, sorry! Mark Batterson wrote the book and I am miserable with titles. Anyway, he was describing those who chase this huge Kingdom concept and whose lives are consumed for one singular passion. In a particular section, he wrote about 'one-way missionaries' from the early 1900's. Essentially, these band of mission-impassioned Christ-followers built their own caskets; stored their resources in the casket; bought one-way tickets to a foreign land; and left. Wow! So, I'm reading about a guy named Milne, who went to a place where those who had preceded him had already been martyred. Pretty risky and pretty impassioned. Casket and resources in tow, he bought his one-way ticket and left. 35 years later, he died. His epitaph read, when you came, there was no light. When you left, there was no darkness.

Wow. Oh my! As I finished that reading, I put the book down and I was undone before God. I am asking God, 'okay, what is my holy passion and glorious obsession that will reveal and unveil LIGHT in the midst of darkness?' I cannot think of a better epitaph. When I came, there was no light. When I left, no darkness. As I was praying for EBC, I am convinced that God has wired each of us uniquely and profoundly with amazing gifts, abilities, passions, and circumstances. He will use each of us to dispel the darkness. My heart-cry is that we build our caskets and give the rest of our lives away for the advance of the gospel.... as God uniquely expresses that through our fellowship in remarkable and "God-only" ways.

Out of that, we might just become the 'most humble people on the planet.' I love that verse describing Moses. May that verse describe us as well. 'That group of Christ-followers at EBC, they are the most humble people on the planet' BECAUSE we are experiencing so many God-sized, God-ordained, God-glorifying moments that we simply cannot point toward anyone but Him and His fame and His glory and Him alone. Yeah!

Perhaps, because we gather and because we are growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and because Christ is finding much room to be Himself in and through us and because we exist to ignite and inspire a passion for Jesus Christ.... because all of that is going on we will find that the darkness that abounds is being driven away by the ever-increasing glory of God's renown and His light and life living through us! May it be....

When you came, there was no light. When you left, there is no darkness! Amen. So be it, Lord.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Have you ever thought that your greatest spiritual moments were not solely for you, but for the advance of the Kingdom? God divinely orchestrates moments in order that I have these incredible experiences with Him. These moments serve to deepen me in my vision for and passion for God. That deepening vision should leave me under compulsion to live and share and express Christ in my sphere of influence.

As I make my way through this day (Monday), I realize that I get to read the Word today. That should have dramatic impact on my day and Kingdom advance. I get to worship today... impact. I get to communicate with Christ today....impact. I look back over my life and the myriad of experiences (camps; worship moments; personal encounters; retreats) and I realize that these moments have been used by God to give me deep conviction and a core reality that I am here in awe of Him and I have an incredible role to advance His fame in my generation. Impact!

With much privilege comes much responsibility! What if my greatest spiritual moments are not solely for me, but for the advance of the Kingdom? What if that truth catches root in our fellowship? What could happen?!?

Your Kingdom come, O God. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Hebrews 13.11 - 16 are phenomenal verses of Scripture and loaded with truth. These verses, simply by their content, are life-challenging and life-changing. However, over the past few weeks, this particular truth has impacted me (and the Emmanuel fellowship) in ways unexpected. God used the teaching of John Piper, on these particular verses and at a particular point in time, to galvanize Doug & Sara Whitaker's call to the mission field. Since that point, in the Spring of 08, the invitation of God and the immediate 'yes' from Doug has become more and more clear. It was a fresh encounter with God as I was able to sit with Doug at the front of our worship room and to talk about the next adventure in their family and the next adventure for the life of EBC. It is always incredible to watch as God calls and we respond in obedience.

These verses are compelling. As Doug stated yesterday, they invite each of us 'outside of our camp' of comfort and complacency. Because Christ stepped outside the camp and sacrificed His life for the sake of God's glory, likewise we are to step outside of our own camp of comfort and live a life that expresses our passion for Jesus Christ. So, I guess that I find it challenging to ask myself (and you) how God is asking you to step outside of your camp? How is He inviting you to uniquely live, move, and have your being for His glory? Your step outside will probably not look at all like Doug and Sara's. God is incredibly unique and creative and He has wired you to leave His life-impression on this earth in a very profound way. Will you step outside the camp?

I love Opie Watt. He is just an incredible guy and I am so thankful to count him a friend. He said, a few years ago, that God would love to use a small town and a small fellowship to lift up a great God. He asked the question, 'is it possible that God will elevate worship around the globe and that He just might use EBC?!?' Since that point, God has placed one of our team members on the African continent.. another on the Asian continent...another on the European continent... and now, we are sending Doug and his family to South/ Central America. Amazing! (Wow, we haven't touched the myriad of partnerships that we, as a church, are going, living, and doing!) God seems to be saying, "Yes, I'll use a fellowship whose hearts are turned toward mine and who love and live for my Kingdom!'

So, what will happen when an entire fellowship of believers step outside the camp and filet our lives for the advance of the fame of Christ? Could God use us to lead His worship parade around the globe? What will that look like? Honestly, I have no idea, but I think that it will be utterly beautiful and will involve a bunch of people whose hearts fully belong to God.

Willing to go outside the camp....

PS... the band was so so so good yesterday! Our 're:Group' band brought it with double barrels and it was the most musically eclectic service that I remember. How about the 'band-described' "Grannie Gospel" version of I'll fly away. Yeah, I loved that moment and I actually got in on that song six times during our three Encounters! I love our bands!!

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

Doug...

Opie Vision

Asking, answering, and applying the Best Question Ever (Stanley book) offers a grid through which all decisions are made. What is the wise thing to do? That is an incredible question that can be a lens for life-altering decisions. Pursuing wisdom is an opportunity to discover God's intense goodness and grace and truth for our lives. As we study Colossians 1.28 - 29 and we are challenged to seek PERFECTION through wisdom, it seems that asking, answering, and applying this question would be amazing and used to move us into spiritual maturity and Christlikeness. The pursuit of God's wisdom seems to be a pretty sweet lens as a life-view.
Amazing things around EBC:
- AWANA is totally insane. Almost 300 kids and leaders are on the campus the past two Wednesday. Kids are deepening in wisdom and truth as they discover God's Word together...
- Students are also hanging out and chillin' on the Word. Hanging out in their worship on Wed night is such a spiritual blast...
- We are connecting dozens upon dozens to our small groups. I cannot wait to re-launch our study of Yahweh this weekend.
- God is radically changing lives around here and that is good....

I love this place! Holy Spirit, stir!!

Just a a forward thought, the Advent Conspiracy is on the horizon. What if the Advent Conspiracy is not ONLY an Advent Conspiracy (Christmas)? What if God is calling us to a Life Conspiracy?!!?

After Wisdom Together,
Mark

After a few weeks away, it was remarkable to return to Crestview and to worship with the EBC family this weekend. Our family definitely enjoyed fantastic downtime while in B'ham for several days. Then, we ventured for 8 days to the coast. Honestly, is there anything more beautiful than running into the sunrise while watching the waves crash on the shore? Highlights, for us:

- watching the Birmingham Barons play the Montgomery Biscuits with my son! Perhaps the only team with a better mascot then the Biscuits might be the Toledo Mudhens

- eating Chicago style pizza from Tortuga's. When in B'ham, you must eat a slice (or 2 or 3)

- running the 'hills' or, better typed MOUNTAINS of B'ham

- a new Starbucks at the entry of mom's neighborhood. I broke that store in quite well

- enjoying family... I love my extended family

- Heading to the coast and spending an incredible afternoon with a few couples. Keith and Danise met us in Orange Beach. They are partners in life and in this great message of Christ and they are sharing that message in a remote part of the world. It was such a privilege to hang out with them for several hours.

- Okay, the girls were NOT digging this nearly as much as the boys, but Thunder on the Bay happened to be going on at Orange Beach while we were there and GET THIS... they were loading these testosterone filled fast loud boats into the water just outside our condo. The crane was lifting them off the trailer and placing them in the water and John Mark and I were enjoying this awesome display of power and might. We watched boat races....

- A big highlight was simply being away and settling in with God's greatest gift in my life... an amazing wife and 5 kids that we believe are a reward from our God. Sus was reading a verse and we both had a 'moment'.. of course, we have been watching the Olympics for the past few weeks and she was reading that our kids are a 'reward' from God. I mean, we bowed our heads to the King of Glory and He placed around our neck this ring of gold... the highest honor... we get to be called 'mom' and 'dad' and that is SUCH a reward! I love my wife and I am so SO thankful for my kids.

Then we returned to school launch... TONS of work.... and life moving forward.... I loved being away and I love the return.

Worship yesterday was crazy beautiful.... First, it did not rain.... none. It was a REALLY good night for a picnic last night.

But, a couple of moments really stood out for me...

- 11:20 AM, I watched students participate in the baptisms of children that they mentored into God's great salvation. That was a very sweet moment.

- During weekend Encounter, I mentioned a need... Food for the hungry in Crestview. I received a call at 3:30 PM from Chuck. He asked what I wanted to do with the food. I mentioned that I was heading that way at 7 PM to lock up and secure all food. He laughed and said that all tubs were full and that food was placed all over the concourse. So, he put that food away and I came up at 7 PM to put away MORE full tubs of food. I pulled 5 tubs of food into the Field House and shouted great praise for our God. You guys are an amazing 'church'! I love this place!!

- Perhaps, the best moment during our Encounter yesterday, was singing Greater things.... Honestly, clinging to God with intense heart-hope that greater things will be done and His name will be made greater through us. I am praying for great God-honoring, Christ-exalting things in and through us. I am praying for a fellowship who share a holy hunger for God's great fame. Greater things are still to come... Greater things still to be done.

It's good to be home. I love you guys!

By Grace.... For Glory,

Mark

Acts 2 shares, of the life of the early church, that there were wonders and signs and the magnificence of God was on display in their lives. People were awed by His life expressed through them. In light of that truth, a thought from this weekend has left me with much to ponder...

Something is wrong when our lives make sense to those who are not Christ-followers.

Thinking about that thought (is that meta-thinking?)

2 Verses leave me undone... Paul writes that I joyfully get to suffer for the sake of the gospel... willingly becoming a servant to the church of Jesus Christ... commissioned by God.... with the clarion call to make clear the word of God in its fullness. Honestly, that's a big deal. If these words find root in our fellowship, we might not make sense. We might leave a sense of wonder and awe for the living God. Holy Spirit, stir!

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

Grace amazing. God amazing. God is choosing to use our fellowship and it is such an glorious reality that He is using us to REVEAL Himself, His life, His purposes and His ways. We have this incomprehensible treasure that is held in us, as a jar of clay. It is absolutely crazy that God fully intends to use us to show that His all-surpassing greatness is for His glory alone and not for ours. We are fixing our eyes and our hearts and our passions and our purposes on God's great glory. His glory far outweighs any small aspiration or trouble or persecution or pain or suffering or sorrow that I face on this planet. (2 Cor 4.7 - 18)

You know, I really did not realize that this weekend was going to be an amazing celebration of God's grace in the life of EBC. We celebrated Christ! Christ has been....

- free to use us in Port St. Joe. We stepped into a move of God and reached kids... families...and encouraged a church (Faith Bible Church). We are praying that God will live and move and have His being in the life of this church. They are broadening vision and taking steps to reach the next generation. Pray for Faith Bible... for Michael and Audra as they lead.

- free to amplify His name in Brazil. The team has returned... a house church is planted in the interior. The vision is not clear. God's heart to reach this part of the world is clear. I cannot wait to process with Bruce and Rhonda in days to come.

- free to send a team to England Thursday. More kids. More families. More fun as Christ is magnified through a Vacation Bible School. Pray for Grace Fellowship as they host a beautiful and Christ-exalting VBS.

- free to grow and to change and to deepen our students in the knowledge of God's grace and truth. Perhaps my favorite line of the entire weekend was written by one of our students as she described the last night on the mission trip. She said, 'a group of us gathered and chilled on 72 verses that were recorded. Our favorite verse was from Philippians, that we would 'become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in which we shine like stars in the universe." She said that we also liked... and she typed about 15 other verses and 10 or so books of the Bible. I LOVE our students!

- Finally, Christ felt free to display His life and His transformation through baptism. Baptism amazes me. To be immersed in; made new by; freed by; saved through the blood and water of Jesus Christ is simply overwhelming. He is good. He is good. His love endures forever!

May we find such satisfaction as we reveal Him. Christ alone.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Wonder... Awe..... Amazement by the greatness and supremacy of Christ are excellent descriptives of our journey through Colossians 1.15 - 23. I really love that we are studying of His supremacy. What I love, even more, is that God continuously reveals His supreme life and His creative handiwork. Personally, these are beautiful descriptives of the Seagle family journey as we welcomed Ella Rebecca to our home. Ella joined the Seagle family on 7/11 @ 11:07. Sus loves numbers and Ella hit a walk-off HR in the birthing numbers realm. Wow, do I love my wife! Wow, I never cease to be amazed by the love of our God and the love that He gives in abounding goodness. I cannot fathom having more love for my kids.... then, He favors us with another glorious child and my heart bursts with love and joy. Welcome Ella! Thank you, Christ. Yeah, she is beautiful and I am praying for her heart to be aflame for the supreme One!

I think that I have been so hesitant to wrap up 'Supreme'. Honestly, I think that Paul's teaching in Colossians 1.15 - 23 are hinge to our faith expression. Paul is inviting us into true recognition of Supremacy. He is calling us to recognize that the only great good on this planet is Christ. Christ supreme. Christ satisfying. Christ abounding. Christ. May the echo of our lives and of our church be the great goodness of the King of Glory. May we be so well-known for knowing Christ well and of making much of Him. We closed the series by profiling the gloriously obsessed. I am praying that our fellowship will fit the profile of the Christ-obsessed.

Because Jesus Christ is supreme, this glorious obsession is for those who want more Jesus. It is for those who are bored with what American (better said, 'southern religion') Christianity offers. It is for those who don’t want to plateau. It is for those who would rather die before their convictions do. It is my hope that the picture painted in the Scripture of a supreme God leaves you with a longing for more God, even if you are surrounded by those who have enough God. Following Christ isn’t something that can be done halfheartedly or on the side. He is central and supreme His life shapes what we do and who we are. His passion and his life reign supreme over us. I never want to stop in my relentless pursuit of Christ. I long to share that unimpeded journey with an amazing group of Christ-followers. I love the church! I cannot think of a better way to venture through life, than in giving much glory to God and to watch as He uses us, together, to express His life and His hope and a taste of eternity on this journey through the temporal. Christ supreme.... Christ supreme.... Christ

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

I love these kids! I thank my God for you guys!!

I love EBC! I love watching as Christ leads His church. Honestly, VBS is one of my absolute favorite weeks of the year. It is so fresh to see:

- Hundreds of kids on the campus discovering, in a sweet way, wonder and awe of our God

- I love listening to hundreds of kids sing, together, "Here I am to Worship!'

- I love watching our student band lead our kids in worship

- I love Bill and Ted! Dude!!

- I love the incredible number of adults who show up and show off Jesus Christ.

- I love hearing comments like, "I've never seen anything like this... it's amazing!'

- I love having kids walk up to me and tell me, "Pastor Mark, I just made Christ my forever friend!"

- I love thinking about the rejoicing in heaven as salvation springs up from the ground

- I love being totally wiped at the end of the week, but loving being weary for His glory

- I love that the baptismal waters will flow with life-change in the next few weeks

- I love watching the church in action.

- I love that Christ is leading His church. He is doing a great job!

The summer is moving forward and the next venture will take the EBC family into Brazil and England and Port St. Joe. Christ lead! Supreme God, move us!!

This past weekend, there are a couple of statements that are sitting in my core. 'Christ cannot be exaggerated.' I really like that idea. We simply cannot make too much of Christ. It's impossible. Yet, I sure want to be a part of the church that gives its best shot at matching His magnitude! (Can't do it, but let's try anyway!!). I want to love Christ, not for what I gain from Him, but for who He is. I really want to be in love with Him. I want to be surrounded by Christ-followers who are in love with Him as well. That could be radical and world-transforming, which sounds much like Christ's plans for His church!

Go ahead, attempt to exaggerate Christ this week.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

On the Way! I am so loving as I watch God move our students along the Way. I love watching them as they are disturbed for the glory of God. I love hanging out with students and hearing them challenge me along the Way. I love hearing their stories and I really love watching them increase the story and fame of God as they challenge each other to be on the way. I love that their passion for the renown of Christ filters to many of us, who are a generation above them on the Way.

I was sitting in a prayer-encounter with our worship team this past week. It was utterly fresh to come together, across the 4 teams, and to seek the face of God. Carrie has died. We are missing our team leader. We gathered and we prayed and we invited God to reveal His presence. I gave a simple assignment before arriving that evening. I asked that each of us on the team(s) bring some truth from the Word and that we wash one another in His truth. Amazingly, one of our students opened the time by reading from Joshua 1. She said to us, 'where did God's people go when their leader had died? What did they do?' Then, she answered it by reading as Joshua picked up the mantle of leadership and challenged them to 'be strong and courageous... to not fear and to not be dismayed, but to trust that the Lord our God is with us!' What an incredible night of centering on our God. I love our praise team. I love our students. I love our God! I love that He is the sole supreme King of glory and that we follow Him. I will miss Carrie very much! Perhaps, the greatest honor that we give to her life of worship is to follow her in great pursuit of Christ.

So, as we move along the Way as a fellowship, I sense a clear call of God toward Him... toward His purposes and His passion. As we study and weave our way through Colossians 1 and as we realize that we are a part of this glorious movement called the 'church', we are also realizing that Christ is our leader. He is the head. He is the beginning. All of what we do and all of who we are is for His glory and for His supremacy. Because that is true, God is calling our fellowship to an ever-deepening place of prayer. He is calling us to seek His face. Stir Holy Spirit! Supreme God, move us.

Ian challenged our students to pray a simple prayer...'Supreme God, move us.' Move us more deeply in the Way. Move us, when we are in the midst of sin, away. Move us, as we see need, to be the way. Supreme God, move us! That is my prayer for our fellowship, as God plants an ever-deepening hunger for His life and His way in our hearts. I am praying that we are moved after the heart of God so that we will be moved for the heart of God. Pray...Seek....Live.....Become.

Supreme God, move us.

By Grace.... For Glory,
Mark

Jesus leading the church. Can you imagine? How would we live, move, and have our being, with Christ leading? What would we do? Who would we be? Would our lives and our 'church' and this movement be defined by 'Christ-only'? Really, would there be such 'awe' of God and wonder for Him birthed out of our fellowship? Could we find ourselves immersed in the inexplicable, apart from Christ?

What if.... What if, as a 'church' of called out people, we believe that Christ lives, moves, breathes and displays His glory through us. What if we really do release a taste of heaven on this planet? What if we fall madly in love with Him and His Word and His life? What is our reason for existence is to reflect Him? What if we do? What if......

Jesus Christ, supreme in the church.... supreme in His people. Supreme.

Mark

I'm pretty excited about:
- 96 kids rolling in who know The Way and who are disturbed by the Way
- Hundreds of kids hitting VBS this weekend
- Christ leading our fellowship

What if He does..... What if......

God is choosing to do pretty audacious things through the life of Emmanuel. I love the church. I love that Christ is our leader. I love that He is the head. I love that we simply need to watch for Him at work and to join with Him in this worldwide endeavor that He is bringing into fruition. He fully intends for every tribe, tongue, nation, people, on the earth, under the earth, in the sea... all peoples... all creation declaring His power, dominion, glory, honor, and fame forever and forever. Amen! I am asking God to mobilize the Emmanuel Fellowship into that song and into the everlasting story. I am asking our God to impassion our hearts for His eternal song!

I am excited about the church, because God is choosing to use us in the lives of kids and students in beautiful ways....He's using us to posture almost 100 kids at camp this weekend so that they can deepen in the Way of Christ.... He's using us to step into the lives of hundreds of kids on "Outrigger Island" (VBS) in a week or two.... to step into small groups through the summer and to chase Christ as we grow in His common interests.... to carry the name of Christ into Port St. Joe; Brazil; England and to Crestview. Amazing! Did I mention kid's heading to camp in July, and having Captain Jack Sparrow introduce them to Jesus Christ? Crazy good summer.

All of this is beautiful and what makes it beautiful is that Christ is the great and glorious transformer. He changes lives and circumstances and hearts in the middle of circumstances. He flips cardboards! The video, this past weekend, was astounding for me. I thought about the multiplied times that Christ has shown Himself and when He has changed the cardboard of a particular moment so that He found much glory in me as I found much satisfaction in Him.

So, what's your cardboard testimony? How is God changing your life? If you didn't get to watch the video this weekend in Encounter, check it out at http://youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ .

I love you guys. I love Christ. I love that He loves His church and I really love that He leads it. I love that He brings us into His amazing and transforming story. Pray... Expect....Seek....Dream... Glorify!

By Grace.... For Glory,
Mark

This past weekend was glorious. 4 times, we packed our worship room and we said 'goodbye' to Carrie. I will miss her. I will miss her love for worship, serving, creativity, encouragement, her voice, her worship, her amazing strokes of the keyboard.... I will miss her friendship and her love for God and for social justice and for His glory and for the needs of those around her. I will miss working together and dreaming together and thinking that God just might use us (EBC) to impact this world and to elevate the name of Christ.

Colossians 1.18 reads that Christ is the head of the church.... the sole purpose of the church is to make loud declaration of the supremacy of Christ. I watched the church this past weekend and we were loud and beautiful and glorious and Christ received SO much glory. You fed and loved and served and played and showed up and sang and cried and you made loud declaration of God's great glory in the midst of pain and sorrow. It was beautiful! I love you guys and I love being a part of this amazing deal called the 'church', which has the incredible role of lifting and lifting and lifting the supremacy of Christ. Christ supreme. Christ alone!

Jeff, Carrie's hubby, wrote the most amazing note Monday morning early. I thought that you would enjoy... Here it is:

Mark,

Please forward this to the staff and praise teams. Thanks man!

I have to tell you (again, I know) I love Carrie and am so thankful and blessed to have had her the time we did. One thing that is particularly cool about the blessing she heaped on us is our involvement with EBC. I didn’t want to come here when we moved back to Florida. We had established relationships at 1st UMC, her parents went there and I just wasn’t comfortable with all of EBC’s “wackiness”. It took one service to see Jesus present and one service to see what being here meant to Carrie. Getting to lead with Johnny was the second biggest reason Carrie wanted to be here; the first, Christ! Emmanuel Baptist very quickly became our home! Thank you!

Carrie cherished her “job” and the people she “worked” with. The depth of her faith was just expanded immeasurably by you guys and gals, ALL of you! I almost found myself jealous of her time with Mark. Her friendship with you is priceless! Carrie lived to sing and do music! The fact she got to do it with these teams of EXCELLENT and still growing musicians was most special to her. Carrie loved you ALL!

What all of you (staff and praise teams) did for her/us yesterday was awesome. It so much more than just about Carrie; just what she would want! People were touched by God yesterday and you all lead them to Him! Whether it was on the stage, a hug, spooning food, or just being a welcoming church to everyone; just what Carrie would want. Thank you!

Carrie loves you, I love you, Nate, Xander, and Maggie love you and we so very much THANK YOU for all you did! It was just what Carrie would want!

Jeffy

I love you guys! Enjoy this week and may God find much glory in and through you.

By Grace... for Glory,

Mark

Two things really struck me this past weekend. I am small. Really small. God is huge. Really, He is truly Supreme. Louie said something profound that has left me shaking my head at my own sinful pride. He said that I have a huge propensity to shrink down God to my level and to elevate my own life to His. That is sin. Sin makes that which is small big and that which is Supreme, small. Crazy! How can infinitesimal me attempt to make the story of God anything but the sole pleasing, God elevating story that it is? In light of the sheer awe factor of God, how could I do anything but lift His... His fame... His character... His life higher and higher? How could I do anything less than become smaller in order to elevate His greatness? I truly want to spend my life making much of a great and glorious God.


The vastness of God blew me away and I tasted a bit more of His supremacy this past weekend. But, the intimacy with God was so needed and has had such an impact on me. He holds us together. A protein molecule, in the form of a cross, is holding me together. Yeah! God is truly vast and huge and incomprehensible and big and magnanimous and any other adjective that connotes "AWESOME." Yet, He is also intimate and deeply acquainted with all of my ways. I am thankful for the intimacy that I have with this incredible God.


Christ is truly holding many of us together. Yesterday, Jeff called me to tell me that Carrie will leave this earth in a few weeks. I was not ready for that call. Jeff and Carrie are friends..... you know, the 'we share life and have kids and coach ball teams and laugh and cry and pray and do small group and actually work together' kind of friends. I wasn't ready for the doctors to tell me that her brain cancer was back. I really was not ready to hear that she had a short time to live. Less than 15 hours later, I was on the way to the hospital to say goodbye to one of my best friends. I love Carrie. I miss her. I am held together. Thanks be to God that He holds us together.


Isaiah 40.27 - 31 are verses of refuge in the past few days. I am leaning into God for strength. I am weak. I am standing in Him and His glorious might sustains, holds, and strengthens. I don't have a fraction of the answers about why this went down with Carrie. Yet, I have no doubt about Who Carrie celebrates and the reality that she is leading the worship parade in the presence of the living God! I can only imagine.....


I love you, Carrie. I thank my God for your partnership in the gospel. I miss you! Jeff, you have taught me much, over the past months, about how to serve one's wife at the deepest point of life. Thank you! I am committed to talk with God often about you.... about Nate, Xander, and Maggie. I am committed to tell them stories about their mom. I hope that we get to share much more life together.


God's glory alone.

Mark

Musings from the past week:
- Colossians 1.15 - 24 is finding much fertile soil in my heart and mind. According to Scripture, we simply cannot fathom the profundity of God's greatness. Yet, I want to give chase. I want to know Him and to seek Him and to discover more of Him and to be found in Him. His supremacy is consuming. I am enjoying studying and meditating upon Christ supreme. I am enjoying the Word studying my heart even more. What I really love is the way that the third service ended yesterday.... singing "How Great is our God" and asking, 'what if we seek to discover His greatness together?!' What if....

- A quote by Sproul continues to sharpen me. He wrote that, we are never touched and impressed with a conviction of our insignificance until we have contrasted ourselves with the majesty of God.

- My Bible Fellowship wrapped up our first trek through Yahweh (the Study) last night. I love my group! Really, I looked around the room a few times and I was so thankful for the friendships that God has given Susan and me. We read huge portions of Scripture via the story of Joseph. Rather than engage in much discussion, we simply read and considered the profound sovereignty of God in the life of Joseph. I felt 'bathed' in the Word when I left. I walked out challenged to trust God, regardless - good, bad.... I walked out thinking, what others often mean for harm, God will work for His great good and His glory if I will submit my life to His hand. My running thought is, what if I believe that God is with me today and that the circumstances around me don't surprise Him? How would I respond. How will God gain glory?

- I love kids! I received an e mail from one of our teachers and she had given her 1st graders a writing prompt. She prompted them with, More than anything else, I...... Amelia, an EBC kid, wrote that she longed for everyone to know God better. Then, she gave some terrific reasons as to 'why'. What about me? you? More than anything else, I.....

Christ supreme. Christ glorious. Christ in and through us, our sole hope of glory. What if we, together, give chase to His greatness lived through our lives. After all, we were made by Him and we were made for Him. Yeah!

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

This past weekend:
- we celebrated 'dangerous' women. It was wildly beautiful to listen as a mom and daughter shared of their Christ adventure, followed by every woman in our fellowship standing and declaring of their passion to live dangerously. Check out the Dangerous Woman's Creed/ Prayer

Dear God, Please make us dangerous women. May we be women who acknowledge our power to change, and grow, and be radically alive for God. May we be healers of wounds and righters of wrongs. May we weep with those who weep and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

May we cherish children, embrace the elderly, and empower the poor. May we pray deeply and teach wisely. May we be strong and gentle leaders. May we sing songs of joy and talk down fear.

May we never hesitate to let passion push us, conviction compel us, and righteous anger energize us. May we strike fear into all that is unjust and evil in the world. May we dismantle abusive systems and
silence lies with truth. May we shine like stars in a darkened generation.
May we overflow with goodness in the name of God
and by the power of Jesus. And in that name and by that power,
may we change the world.

Dear God, please make us dangerous women. Amen.
Excerpted from Lynne Hybels’ book Nice Girls Don’t Change the World

- Speaking of 'dangerous women', it was shocking to have Bonnie pop into the office last Tuesday. She is elevating the fame of Christ in W. Africa, so what in the heck was she doing knocking on our staff team door?!? Bonnie is taking a few weeks of sabbatical before heading back to W. Africa for another year. She is so fresh in her journey with Christ... praying, seeking, living, and displaying His radiance. I love Bonnie and I thank my God for her! I love that she simply follows Christ, wherever that road may lead. She teaches me to be a Christ-follower. I'm glad!

- Supreme could be a new series of thoughts in our worship Encounter or the central passion of our hearts or the profound word that describes the only Word... Jesus Christ. I so deeply long that we seek Him... the Supreme One. Jesus Christ. Glorious One.

Jesus tells a story about our response to His supremacy. The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. -- Matthew 13.44

May our lives be marked by the Supreme King of Glory. Enjoy this week.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Yesterday, we celebrated our graduates and their next step on this adventure in Christ. It was so stinkin' fresh to watch faces scroll across the screen and the song wail about being 'counted in' on this worldwide move of God. When I came to EBC, these Sr's were in the 1st grade. Yep, that really humbles me a bit. But, what is so cool is to see their faces and know that I had the thrill of sitting with many of the families as their kid embraced the story of God. Other faces popped across the screen who I know have already given their lives to Christ and to His heart for the nations. I love our students. I love their heart. I love that Christ loves them. I love that they love Him back!

As we were celebrating Seniors, my heart was also breaking for a family in our fellowship who are saying 'goodbye' to their 20 year old son/grandson/ nephew. An inexplicable gunshot wound carried him away from this earth. The void is palpable. Words are few. Prayers are many. What a dichotomy within worship.... wishing, with such passion, for the future of a bunch of seniors. Aching, with sorrow, for the unanticipated loss of an amazing kid. Life. It's challenging.

Maybe my favorite part of the Weekend speaks to both these situations. I am so deeply thankful for the Emmanuel family. In our years in this fellowship, we've walked in some pretty incredible highs. Intense lows have also made their way into the equation of our life. What we are most deeply grateful for is the deep sense of commitment that we share within the family of Emmanuel. I am not sure that we would make it without this fellowship. I love that we are devoted to one another. Our devotion to one another is birthed out of our intense devotion to our God in prayer, study, needs being met, and simply experiencing the journey of life together, in Him. That is good, in the midst of good and bad.

So, I'm asking God to compel us to wrestle with Him. To actually see Him face to face and to live to tell about it... about Him... about His wonder.... about His grace... about His magnitude.... about His life... about His worth..... Him. When we see Him face to face, all else fades!

I love you guys!

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

A few random thoughts from a week in the life of EBC:

Yesterday, I was sitting in a room with a couple and their three children who are giving their lives for the Kingdom in Brazil in the Amazon basin. Aaron sat in the front of our worship room and he wept for the sake of the gospel and the people that he deeply loves in NW Brazil. I love his heart. I love that God is inviting us to strategically partner in this area of the world. I am really thinking that this partnership is bigger than us. I am highly confident that it is not bigger than our God!

Walking through Colossians is incredible. Attempting to recognize the gravity and worth given for me is absolutely awesome. God has provided me with a glorious rescue. Yeah, it’s good to be free. As we talked about Lazarus, it is truly joy-filled to be called out of death. But, in Christ, it’s even better than that… Christ doesn’t just invite me to step out of death, but He brings me more and more and more alive. Christ invites me to remove my grave clothes and to run free in Him. I am continuing to allow the unfathomable work of the cross settle into my life, my heart, my minutes, my days. Daily, I have the thrill of tasting more of life and more of Christ. What a gift. Grace amazing!

As I type, I’m on the road to ATL to hang out with our family ministry team. Over the next few days, we will think “Orange.’ We will think about merging the family (red = heart) and the church (yellow = the flame), which creates a beautiful orange. We long to paint our families orange… our kids orange… our church orange as we leave greatest impact for God’s great glory. It will be a fun week.

This past weekend, I had the chance to sit in a room with a bunch of folks thinking about spiritual formation. It was so stinkin’ good to consider how to make much room for Christ to be Himself. This ‘roundtable’ was in Tallahassee and I had the chance to facilitate with a group of people from all kinds of places, with one commonality – elevating Christ. What a great discussion. Beyond that, I sat at Dick Howser stadium with my 6 year old son and watched the ‘Noles play Miami. Sadly, UM won but I still felt like I really won by getting to hang out with an amazing little dude who happens to be my son!

Hey, I love you guys and I love sharing this huge God journey with you. I am amazed by what God is doing in our fellowship. May he be free to be Himself in the life of our church.

By Grace… For Glory,
Mark

Prayer releases the Christ-life. I love prayer. I love the joy of entering a conversation with the creator of the universe. I love knowing that we step, with confidence and boldness, directly into the presence of God via prayer by the grace of Christ. So, we've asked our fellowship to engage in a highly intentional prayer for one another.

For the next month, choose two or three people and pray Colossians 1.9 - 14 over and into their lives. Jot them a note.... drop a text.... an e mail.... post on MySpace or Facebook.... give them a call. Simply take a few moments, over the next month, to let the few that you are praying for know specifically what you are praying for them. Use Colossians 1 as a great guide. This could be fun and profound! Prayer gives birth to the ridiculous!

This past weekend was crazy beautiful. For those of us who ventured through all 3 services, we had the thrill of watching 15 baptized as followers of Christ. Life change.... immersion in Christ. Baptism is such a beautiful and symbolic moment. The reality and truth that we are fully covered by the grace of Christ and we will never escape His presence is awesome. Watching someone explode from the water with the trust dripping from them that anyone in Christ is a new creation. Old is gone. All things are new.

It was a great day around EBC. I love Christ. I love His rescue. I love being in worship with a whole slew of people who revel in our rescue. I am praying that God will continue to awaken us to His presence and His holiness and His power and His life. As we awaken, may we be used to awaken others to the wonder of our God.

Enjoy today.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

What a great week around Emmanuel. I love receiving e mails and hearing about God at work in the lives of families. I love knowing that our families are experiencing the Word together and the Word is SO alive and it is shaping and changing families.

You should meet Hailey... She is so stinkin' cute and her mom sent me the greatest e mail about her. The fam is memorizing Colossians together, and Hailey was stepping up to the plate on the first two verses. Here is the e-mail that I received: wanted to share a conversation from our dinner table. Hailey, our 5 year old, was quoting Colossians 1:1-2. I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an opossum of Jesus just like God said. Our brother Timothy helps me write. We are sending this letter to our brothers and sisters in Orlando. At which point I said, “he’s writing to a church in Colosse. That’s why it’s called “Colossians”. Hailey said, “I know but I like Orlando. That’s where Disney World is and where Miss Danielle lives! You belong to Christ : ) This ranks as one of my favorite e mails of all time!

What a thrill to celebrate 6 people baptized as a symbol of their abandon and immersion in the Christ-life. I love LOVE baptism! We will celebrate this weekend with another dozen or so people being baptized. I love life-change and Christ and His radical revolution of our lives! I love the image and truth of the baptism celebration.

From the teaching Sunday, I am not surprised that I am decaying. (2 Cor 4.16) My hair grows in places its not supposed to and doesn't grow where needed.... my knees hurt... my daughter thinks that I'm too 'gray'.... my hands are wrinkly....... On a more serious note, as I make my way through this journey called life, it is so painfully clear to me that our outer bodies are decaying. I am disturbed by the decay of sickness and poverty and struggle and disease and pain and death. I love that there is an inner part of me that is being renewed every day and that will never stop growing and becoming and changing and, ultimately, being revolutionized by Christ in me! As I decay on the outside, I have the thrill of knowing that my inner core is exploding with more of Christ and more of life and more passion and purpose. I will never stop growing in my core. That is beautiful!

I am praying that we are a group of people who are well known for sharing an interior beauty. Our outside is such a small portion of our story, because our inner core is becoming more and more like Christ and that there is this sense of awe by the love and hope and passion that emanates in and through us. I love and long to be a part of a movement like that. May we invest more time on the strength of our inner core than we do on maintaining that which is decaying.

I hope that you guys have a massively great week. Enjoy Christ.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

It was good to be away last week. It's good to return home. I love driving back on Hwy 90 at Midnight last Friday and rolling up on the EBC sign. As I pulled into the city, I had such a rush of thanksgiving and love for what God is up to in our little hamlet. A few amazing things happened this past week while I was away.



- a new friend of mind, who has recently embraced Christ, is on day 5 of addiction recovery. She was so pumped to tell me about her steps during Weekend Encounter. Yeah, I love that Christ is an amazing redeemer.

- I love listening to worship back at home as I ventured away for the weekend. Our students are simply amazing and leading us in worship. It is beautiful for me as I am led to the cross by the generation behind me. I thank God for Doug Whitaker. He challenged our fellowship from the Word and left me with the desire to experience Christ. (and also to eat a bit of cheesecake!) We have an incredible staff team at EBC. Simply amazing!

- a team of 15 went to New Orleans and changed a home.... a life... restoration happened. It was beautiful! We partnered with Operation Noah (www.namb.net/noah) and I expect that we will partner quite a bit more. Check out our team.... they changed a bit of the world last week!

I'm still a bit challenged by the idea that I am biblically compelled to live a life that is congruent with the worth given for me. I have no idea how to pull that off. I love that Jesus will strengthen me and fill me and live through me. I find it a weighty responsibility to live worthy of this amazing gospel. The running passion of my heart is to hear the words of Christ, as I enter eternal glory, 'well done, you have been good and you have been faithful with all that I gave you.' Those words, flowing from the lips of Christ to me, are consuming and hope-filled!

I hope that your week is filled with the desire to pursue Christ... to know Christ.... to experience Christ...and to spill His life onto the lives of those around you.

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

A few reflections on Easter 2008...

- It's a historical reality, Jesus is alive. After all, we do have a date on our calendar celebrating a religious holiday. Easter holiday is a beautiful reality. Even more, Jesus is alive today. That is a profound present reality. Jesus is alive IN us. Now, that is a world changing reality!

- 4 of 5 wells that we contributed to at Christmas are now complete. Can you imagine villages in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda drinking fresh drinking water because we know that Jesus is alive!?!

- The music, yesterday, was so amazing. We had an intensely cool moment in one of our services. I call it a 'holy roar'. I was not sure whether we were going to stop cheering and it was loud and impassioned and the central figure in our cheering parade was Jesus Christ. I liked that moment alot!

- I had a few dozen conversations after services.... many of which described the profound work of God in each person's life.

- I loved the teaching moment in our middle service. Janae stood with me during my entire teaching moment. Janae loves God. She worships like crazy. She sings with passion. Her faith is So sincere. Janae has "Downs'. She teaches me what it looks like to love God with unfettered abandon. Janae has not one care about what those around her are doing, thinking, or singing. She worships for an audience of One. I want to be more like her!

- People were sitting in the foyer and on the floor in our first two Encounters. It was beautiful. You know, I'm actually thinking that it would be a pretty great heart-hope to gather with Easter anticipation and Easter 'crowds' weekly. Jesus is equally alive today as He was Sunday. I love that about Him.

- I love EBC. It was fun to hang out with you guys and celebrate the historical, present, and 'alive in us' Jesus Christ.

- The story of Christ cannot be abbreviated!! He is supreme in the beginning and He will be supreme as He leads the resurrection parade. He is beautiful!

- Here is what I believe... Greater things are still to come and greater things are still to be done in this city! Let His glory and His fame and His passion and His life arise in and through us.

Happy Easter. Happy Easter tomorrow. Happy Easter every day. Christ is alive! As a Christ-f0llower, He lives in you. Allow His life to flow through you. Change the world!

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark