New location now official…

Today we signed the contract and paid the deposit to move into a new storefront. I have included this map so you can tell where I am talking about. The "OLD" location is where we are now. The "NEW" location is the new storefront and the rectangle labelled "Land" is where the piece of land is located that is in contract right now.

Our new location is 1650 square feet which is more than double our 800 square feet location now. We will be able to have a Children's Sunday School class, a Youth class and an Adult class all going on at the same time. One of the features that our church members are most excited about is that the bathroom will no longer be behind the pulpit area! In our current location, you have to march yourself right past the pulpit to take a bathroom break!! It has cut down on people taking these breaks during church.

We will have to do some sheetrock, texturing, paint and air conditioning. It will probably take us a few weeks to get it ready. The A/C that we install here will be transferred to our new building, so we are not losing that investment. We were able to get February and March rent free to do the remodel. The ceiling in the Sanctuary area is 23' at the peak, so the A/C and all will be exposed and the whole ceiling painted black. We should start cleaning it out next week. The church is SO excited!! It is wheelchair accessible and SOOOO much newer than where we are now. We will have parking right in front of our unit and also at the back entrance. We will also have over 500 square feet of storage upstairs. So, really, it is over 2000 square feet.

We want to add a projector unit and Bro. Todd Shahan has offered to find us a computer to use. "Thanks, Todd!" We will also have to purchase new chairs since we only have about 30 besides our pews. I don't think we will use the two pews that we have. If you know of someone who has some nice chairs available at a low cost, let us know at gholleyjr@aol.com! We really need 75 or so.

I will post pictures as we go along. I will get the keys tomorrow or Monday. Right now, you have to look at the place through the eyes of faith! I told my wife before I took her in to show her around, "You have to trust me! We can make this place look nice." She caught a glimpse of it! After living with her Dad through building numerous churches and remodels; as well as us building several homes, she is now able to see past the ugliness to the final project. Sometimes she just says, "I'll have to trust you on that one!"

Beer and the Bible

I ran across this article today and thought it quite interesting. In trying to attract the non-churched to be exposed to the Gospel, some have stepped beyond what is considered moderate even in our world's standards. I could not believe the lengths that this church has gone to attract new people to their doors. They have gone to handing out beer…

Every month dozens show up at the brewpub to drink beer and talk about issues ranging from racism in St. Louis to modern art controversies to the debate about embryonic stem cell research. First-timers are invited to check out the church on Sunday, and Journey leaders say many have. Theology at the Bottleworks is just one of The Journey's ministries, but it has helped the church grow from 30 members in late 2002 to 1,300 today. ----more

The real Gospel still works for those who are really ready to make a change in their life. If we are just trying to attract a crowd, then I suppose handing out beer would be as good a game plan as any!? But we were not called to attract a crowd. We were called to bring people to a place called Calvary where they can find liberation from the addicting substances of this world. If we are feeding them more of what has them bound, we are sending the wrong message. God is still in the business of deliverance through repentance, baptism in the name of Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. I am thankful for the TRUE message that doesn't have to be peddled through secular means, it comes on the wings of love.

Happenin's

Let me first say that I am so excited to hear all the great reports from Life Tabernacle, our home church, and all the churches that we are associated with! It just seems that there is a special move of God sweeping across the land. The miraculous conversion in Wichita Falls and many souls being touched. Keith and Carla's report from today was incredible!! I talked with Kenny Prince on Friday night and God has just really opened up the doors for them to get started in a great way. (I'll let them blog about it....hint!) Jonathan and Brenda having 2 get the Holy Ghost a couple weeks ago. Doug and Lori's new daughterwork starting off with a bang. Some friends of ours here in Austin, Melvin and Lisa Reddy, started services last week in Cedar Park with 18 first-time guests. Don and Charity Ryan in Minerva, Ohio have had some great reports recently. I get so much excitement from hearing these reports. God is so good.

Today was another great time in the presence of the Lord. We had 28 in service, with 3 first-time guests. One was a neighbor of the McClain family. Jake Robertson and I knocked on the McClain's door on our very first outreach Saturday. Their whole family of five are now attending and brought a guest today. She said that she was very touched by God speaking to her directly. The other two guests were friends of the Sharp's, the older couple who started coming in December. They are also an older couple and they said they would be back Wednesday. Many of the saints were refilled with His Spirit today. The worship was so loud! It was great. We enjoyed eating lunch with Kim Dutton's sister and family (John, Mikki, Gavin and Katie Adams) today after service. God is so good.

Our land deal is progressing. It looks like that we will have 3.9 acres free and clear before long on Pfennig Lane (LOL- you gotta love it!) Pray that everything works as planned. God is so good.

We have a new storefront in the works. We should know for sure this week. It is double the size we have now. Hopefully that will carry us for the year until we can have our new building. I'll share more when we have something definite. We are very excited! God is so good.

I can't wait to see what God is going to do next. We are truly on The Great Adventure.

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FYI, we are taking on more jobs:

• Karla is now the Choir Director for the Bernard's church. It was official today. The current Music Director stepped down and Sis. Bernard took over the department. It is an interim position for this year. They are looking to add a full-time music director in the future. They had a music meeting today and signed up a bunch of new members to grow the choir. They only sing on Sunday night, so that will fit our schedule. She will have practice two Thursdays a month and two Sunday afternoons. She will do good. I realize I am a little biased! It will keep her current with songs and give her a place to use her choir skills. We don't quite have a choir YET!!

• I was voted in as the Austin Hill Country Section Home Missions Director at my first Sectional Conference here. I was told that there would not be a lot to do unless there was a Church-In-A-Day in our section. Then later I found out that the next three CIAD projects are planned for our section!!!! It will be interesting. Greg Steele of Johnson City is the South Texas Home Missions Director.

WOW now?

I was reading a favorite blog of mine by Seth Godin, a marketing guru, and came across the above picture from an article in The New York Times.

This article is written about the unveiling of Microsoft's new operating system, Vista. It has been a long time coming and has has many setbacks. It was expected to be released some time ago. Nonetheless, it is out! The marketers have created a curiosity in the computer world. “Will I like it? Will it make my life easier? Will it crash? How much will it cost?”

There are all kinds of ways to build excitement in marketing and Microsoft has the resources to create a massive splash across America. In fact, if you look at the article mentioned above, you will also see a picture of acrobats hanging off the side of a building in Manhattan to unveil Vista. WOW! The words on the presentation screen in the picture above state: “The Wow starts now.”

Seth's words were: “Not one smile in the bunch, never mind ebullience, mania or even pleasant anticipation. Just because a marketer says something is amazing, exciting or just plain wow doesn't mean it is.”

His comment struck a chord in my spirit. Take a look at the guys in the photo. They are from left, Kevin B. Rollins of Dell, Sean Maloney of Intel, Steven A. Ballmer of Microsoft, Hisatsugu Nonaka of Toshiba, Hector Ruiz of Advanced Micro Devices and Todd Bradley of Hewlett-Packard. These guys are the ones who are there to share the good news!

While the marketers are dangling people in mid-air to create excitement, the guys who really know what this is all about cannot muster a smile or at least a look of anticipation? I understand that they are not actors, but they shouldn't have to put on an act if this product is really supposed to give new life to machines across America and to their businesses! It should show. It makes you wonder if Vista is all that the marketers are saying that it is.

As the ones who have experienced God and His good news of a new life for us, we should never forget that we cannot lose the excitement of His presence. What do we look like when we stand before people to express our praise and worship to the King of Kings? Do they leave asking the question, “What's the big deal?” No, we are not actors, but we shouldn't have to be. When we really think of the life-changing “product” that we have in our midst, it will show in our enthusiasm. (This thought was also mentioned in Ronda's blog a couple of days ago about musicians and singers.)

While we are marketing our churches and promoting the ministries that we offer, we must remember that our expressions at church must mirror the promotion. When our flyer says “Exciting praise and worship,” we must make sure that we are excited about our God in each service. When we promote “Dynamic preaching,” we must make sure that our preaching is more than a warmed-over, lack-luster sermon. We must practice what we promote!

The great thing is that we can accurately describe the moving of the Spirit as awesome and it WILL be if we cultivate it! God always comes through. We are not promoting something that doesn’t produce. This new life experience is real! Let there be no question in the minds of the lost that we believe in it. Let us not lose the “Wow” as we share the good news.

The Great Philosopher

PHILOSOPHER—“a person who offers views or theories on profound questions in ethics, metaphysics, logic, and other related fields.”

If you are like me, you have been amazed by the great insights and interesting writings of Joseph James Ouellette. He just seems to have intriguing views and theories on the profound questions of life. Hence, the title of this post, “The Great Philosopher.” (And this paragraph is seriously written. I do enjoy his writing.) I have had the opportunity to scroll through some amazing pictures from the past on my computer. By using Photo Booth we have brought out the inward personality of our friends. These photos have given me much laughter each time I see them. Some of these pictures are of our very own profound professor of unique knowledge— so I thought I would share with you.

First off, we have a picture that explains why Joseph has such deep insights into our world. He is nosy; or should I say, an investigator of knowledge. And with a nose like this....

Our great philosopher is always ready and willing to share a laugh at the absurdity of the political left.

We must be very careful not to let him get out of hand in the folly of laughter
lest THE GREAT VEIN burst from his forehead!

I think these photos provide such a potpourri of who Joseph really is.
This is why we all love him and his diverse views.
(Joseph, go get a space heater. Summer is still several months away.)

A good day.

Today was a good day.

The worship was heartfelt. We used the two McClain girls pictured at the left. Taqueria (left) is 19 and Phylicia is 16. They were so excited to sing. We practiced after church Wednesday night and met at 9am this morning. One of the great things about it for me is that Phylicia can sing most of the songs in tenor. YEAH! I can LEAD worship - not having to sing every word! I could get used to that again.

The Word of God hit the mark. There was a great conviction and response. The altar service set some lives back on the right course.

I can't help but believe that our Men's Prayer and Breakfast had something to do with the solid feel of the service. I don't really know how to explain it, but maybe you can catch what I am saying. There was a completeness to the move of the Spirit.

In our bulletin today is a picture of a bobsled team in the midst of a run. It was used to point out that we have been called to a great adventure - as a team. If you have ever seen a bobsled team in action, you know that it is quite a team effort. God has already set us into motion, but we must all do our part. We are headed somewhere...we must gently maneuver this body of believers in the right direction. In a small church, just as the bobsled team, when one person moves in a wrong direction it quickly effects the whole operation! Each person has a mission to fulfill and we have to function in unity with every move. Together we are going to see the work done.

Last week, I was told by a senior member of the mother church that as they looked across the congregation at us, they were impressed that God had something beyond our wildest dreams planned and to keep believing.

I just have to say, "Thank you, Lord, for staying close and sending encouragement right when we need it. Thank you, Lord, for a good day!"

An exciting link...the Watts Family

We received an email from Jason and Karisha Watts, David and Kay Gilbert's son-in-law and daughter, letting us know that they had visited our website. In the email they included their church's web address. It was really neat to see what God has done in Franklin, North Carolina in the four years since they have been there. They just completed a Church-In-A-Day project, and I think it was the first one to be constructed in North Carolina! Bro. and Sis. Gilbert took their food trailer that they use at the Texas Church-In-A-Day projects to help out.Many of you have known Karisha for a long time, so I thought you might find this interesting! One of the things I found really interesting was…

"Since coming to Franklin, she has learned to play the keyboard, something she tried all her life but never could do! Now each service she leads in music and song the spirited worship at TRUTH."

When God calls and we answer...He provides the way. Our prayers are with them for continued revival!

That's MY President

As I listened to President Bush give the State of the Union address Tuesday night, I was again reminded of what an awesome country we live in. I may not agree with him on everything, but that's beside the point. He has taken a stand for what he believes is right and has not backed down in the face of strong adversity. You have to admire a man who stands up for his beliefs and who is not afraid to be a Christian in the White House.

I am proud to be an American, and I am proud to call George W. Bush MY President!

I've included several of my favorite pictures of President Bush. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

A chuckle...

A vendor transports poultry to a market in Xiangfan,
central China's Hubei province on January 22, 2007.

I got a chuckle out of looking at this picture I pulled off of a newswire! I got to thinking about these vendors trying to explain to someone how hard their job was. It would be quite a feat to keep these birds on this vehicle!! It looks like some of them may be dead already, but many of them look alert and anticipating a chance for freedom. Any bump would be a major cause for concern! I don't imagine it is a peaceful ride to the market. Whatever your job is, thank God. It could be worse...

Our First Youth Activity and Today's Service

Bonnie, Taqueria, Phylicia, Hannah and Cheyanne

We had a great time of fun and getting to know each other at our first youth activity. There were 10 young people present. We played card games, ping-pong, and sang around the piano. Today, we heard great comments about how much fun they had!

We are not as young as we were last time we worked with youth — but we're IT again! It was fun though. We discovered that several of the girls were in our Crusader Camp Choirs when they were young! They remember me handing out dollars to those who were really getting into worshipping. They also remembered why I handed them out. Some things DO stick.

You should have heard them when they sang around the piano- WOW - they were loud! We will be using some of them in church soon! In fact, we are planning practices now.

We had 25 in church today. There were 4 regulars out, but Todd, Julie, Madison and Mason Shahan from Wichita Falls joined us in service and filled in for the missing ones! It was good to see them, spend lunch together and visit for a while. We have new friends, but there is still nothing like the 'old' ones!

This coming Saturday is our Men's Prayer and Breakfast. The guys are looking forward to this event and I believe it will build unity. We made a few updates to our website about the Youth, Men's and Ladies' events. Our bulletin is also available on the website each week.

If you know someone in the Austin area that needs contacting, please let us know.

Chad, Cameron, Phillip (not pictured—Josh and Jake)