It's Official...

I have been waiting for this opportunity all my life. I can't believe I have the opportunity to seize this moment. It was just released today that the Yellow Wiggle is giving up his position due to health concerns. I have been walking around singing, "Fruit Salad...Yummy, Yummy" all day long. I have to get my yellow shirt pressed and my application filled out. It's the opportunity of a lifetime!

(Laugh at them all you want, they made $39 million dollars last year. For that amount of money, I am sure I could take whatever criticism people could send my way!)

Creative Team Meeting

I just got back from our weekly creative team meeting. This week we decided to meet at Starbucks, just to get a change a scenery. It was awesome to hang out with David, Jesse, Kelsianne, Ashlin, Auldon, Andrew, and Jeff. They were a tremendous help in preparing for this Wednesday night.

They have helped us to take our messages to a whole new level. They also help us to make sure what we are communicating to the students is relevant to what is going on in their life. Thanks so much for the time and energy that you put into making Wednesdays better. We couldn't do it without you!

The Deity Formerly Known as God...

Over the break, I read a GREAT book. The Deity Formerly Known as God by Jarrett Stevens helps readers to truly know and experience God, not some distorted and destructive image of God formed over the years.

He begins by helping us to understand what God is not...
1. The Cop Around the Corner
2. The Sweet Old Man
3. A Cosmic Slot Machine
4. An All-You-Can-Eat Buffet
5. A Talent Show Judge (This helped me the most!)
6. Your Parents...Supersized

Then he helps us to understand who God really is...
1. The Late Night Neighbor
2. Lord of the Boardroom
3. The Green-Thumbed Gardener
4. The Single Minded Shepherd
5. The Tired Eyed Father
6. An Equal Opportunity Employer

Looking for an easy read to help you in your relationship with God? This is it! You will not be disappointed.

Jarrett, please spell my last name correctly on the check. It's L-O-L-L-I-S.

New Emotions...

Things didn't go exactly like I planned on Saturday. Our defense gave up 31 points. We dropped 4 balls that would have been interceptions. Our quarterback continued to prove that he should only play quarterback on Playstation 3. And our kicker decided he couldn't make a field goal (which I can't understand because it is the only thing he has to do...just kick the ball).

The bottom line is this....THE TIGERS BLEW IT! It is something that I have come to expect from Clemson football. It happens every year. I don't know how many times I have said "This is the year!" Everytime, I have been disappointed.

Now Clemson will go to the Nobody Cares Bowl to play some other team that had a mediocre season.

To all my Gamecock friends, it has been a tough couple of days. I have had to deal with emotions that I haven't felt in 5 years. I forgot what it was like to lose to the Gamecocks. I guess I'll have to experience it again, somewhere around 2012.

PS - I really do love the Tigers. Perhaps I take it too seriously. But not as seriously as this guy.

Rats and Chickens...

We celebrated Brayden's birthday tonight at Chuck E. Cheese. I was actually looking forward to going because I knew it would be lots of fun for the kids. That part didn't disappoint. The thing that really shocked me was that the stupid rat serves beer in his restaurant. I think this is insane!! You have a place for little kids to go to have a birthday party and their parents are getting plastered. How stupid is that? Couldn't they give up just one night for their kids? I obviously do not understand. By the way, I was further convinced today that my son is the greatest kid on earth! Sorry I am a little biased!!

Tomorrow, Clemson plays USC. No not the real USC, the wannabes. I am hoping and praying that the Tigers spank the Gamecocks. I am not prepared to deal with all of my obnoxious South Carolina friends. I am a little more nervous than in the past few years. However, I do feel that Clemson will win, in a very close game!! We'll see what happens.

Family...

I wanted to develop an idea that I briefly mentioned in my last post. I have decided to be intentional about the one-on-one time that I spend with each member of my family. I have come to realize that we can constantly say, "I'll do something with them next week or sometime later." Eventually, you look back and you have wasted precious days, months, and (sadly) even years.

In my opinion, I have done a pretty good job of making sure that I spend time with my wife, just the two of us, on a regular basis. Sometimes this time consists of dinner, sometimes dinner and a movie, sometimes shopping, etc. It is important for my kids to know that their mother is my first love and priority (after Jesus, of course).

I have also done an ok job hanging out with Anniston. As I said before, I usually take the late feeding shift. This consists of she and I hanging out after everyone else is sound asleep. It happens the same every night: I feed her and we both fall asleep with her on my shoulder. (All the ladies say, "Awwwwwww..") We wake up an hour or more later and go to bed.

The area that I need more improvement is hanging out with Brayden. I don't feel that I am horrible in this area, but I recognize the need for more time with him. I have committed to him and Joni that I will do something with him every weekend.

Why? Because my family means more to me than my ministry, my job, my church, and many other things. I love them more than life and desire not to put anything ahead of them. Here's my question to you...how is your relationship with your family? What are some changes you could make to strengthen those relationships?

Things I learned while gnawing on a chicken mcnugget...

This past weekend, in a 24 hour period, I was able to spend some one-on-one time with my 3 favorite people in the world. Joni and I went on a date Saturday night. Anniston and I usually hang out together while everyone else goes to bed, since I take the late feeding shift. And Brayden and I went to visit ole' Ronnie. I know what you are thinking, but not Jack Ronald. Ronald McDonald. While I was there, I observed a few things that I would like to share with you. These things are not only true about Mickey D's, but also the church.

1. Parents will go wherever the kid wants to go. It was packed out when we arrived there. I drove around the building 3 times before I could even find a parking place. I decided to go in because I knew that it would be a fun environment for Brayden and I to hang out in. I don't know of many places that I would wait to find a parking space. I don't know of many places that I would wait in such a long line. I stayed because of Brayden.

2. Kids bring energy. It was so fun to watch the people there. (By the way, I think watching people is my spiritual gift.) There were french fries flying, balls bouncing, and people everywhere! It was such a fun place to be.

3. McDonalds uses their resources to reach kids. Most of their marketing is geared toward making the kids desire to get to McDonald's as soon as possible. This is interesting because kids don't have the money to purchase the happy meal with the new Blue's Clues toy. Why go after the kids? I answered this earlier but it is important to restate it. Parents will go where the kids are happy. You want mom and dad to buy a Big Mac, make them bring their kids there!

4. McDonalds realizes that reaching kids will be messy. I was there on the tail end of the lunch shift. By the time we left, the restaurant was destroyed! It was a pretty disgusting place. I am also quite sure that there were plenty of things that were broken. Ronald McD. understands that he is better off having those kids to come in and make a mess, than to be without them.

You want a healthy, fun, growing church? Invest mega-dollars into the children and students. They will bring their families. They will make a mess. They will break stuff. However, I can assure you that you will never regret the decision to invest in the next generation!! Everyone else is going after kids/students full speed. The church must do the same!!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of theYear!

Joni and I put up our Christmas tree and decorations over the weekend. I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I didn't enjoy getting the 45,343,545 boxes out of the attic. However, I did love the end result. Joni does a great job of making our home look awesome. We put up our tree early so that we could enjoy it more, since we are always out of town for a week or so for Christmas.

The only thing that I cannot bear to hear right now is Christmas carols. I cannot take more than a few days of the same old cheesy songs.

Without a doubt, Christmas is my favorite holiday. For anyone looking to get my a present, a plasma TV would be nice. Or a new car. Or $10,000. You decide.

My experiences with critters...

This weekend was an interesting one for a number of reasons. I mentioned yesterday that you should look for upcoming posts about all that happened. Today's post will help you to understand a little about what my weekend was like.

On Saturday morning, I decided to go running. I have really become addicted to it and feel as guilty as an ax murderer if I don't run on the weekends. I had decided on this particular day to run a 5k, or 3.1 miles, which is 2 laps from my house and around Brighton High School. I was about 1/2 way done, when something strange happened. This dog came running out of my neighbor's yard and started chasing me. Now, I would like to tell you that it was a big, ferocious attack dog. However, it was really only a little datsun looking beast. I was bitten by a dog when I was in kindergarten, so I have this phobia of barking canines. All I can imagine it their big, sharp teeth embedding themselves into my calves.

I tried 2 approaches to get rid of the dog. First, I took the "just ignore it and it will go away" idea. Didn't work. Finally, I decided to use the "kick the dog in the face repeatedly" concept. Didn't work either. By this time, I was really annoyed and trying my hardest to get rid of my new best friend. Finally, I think the dog got tired of chasing me and gave up. I felt a little bad because I saw this little kid walking the same dog yesterday. All I could think about was that I had just rocked that poor dog's face with my running shoes. Part of me felt like I should apologize. The other part felt like I should carry a big gun and shoot the dog in the face next time. We'll see who wins out!!

That night, Joni and I went out on a date to downtown Memphis. We decided to go to a movie after we went to eat at Bigfoot (for the 3rd weekend in a row). We went to see Stranger than Fiction, with Will Farrell. I propose a new name for this movie: Dumber than Real Life. For the first time ever, we got up and walked out. I couldn't take the stupidity any longer.

On our way home, a really strange thing happened. We are driving up Hwy. 51 at a rapid pace so that I could get over to Dan Craddock's house to watch the UFC fight (I love the stuff). I noticed that the truck in the left hand hit something. Then the car in front of me hit something. Then I hit something. It all happened so fast that I couldn't figure out what I hit. I just know that my car was attacked by some type of critter. I am unsure if it was alive or not. I just know that blood was splattered all over my car. It was pretty disgusting. So bad, that I had to go immediately to a car wash to get it cleaned. It was an interesting day for my and things with 4 legs!

So Much to Write About, so Little Time...

I have had an incredible weekend. It was one of the most fun and relaxing weekends that I have had in a long time. I am going to have to post some of it sporadically this week, because I have so much to say. I'll give you just a glimpse of how it got kicked off:

Friday night we did a scavenger hunt for middle school students at Wolfchase mall. This turned out to be a great event because a lot more students were there than I anticipated. We took 26 students and 5 adults to invade the mall, which was filled with holiday shoppers. It is amazing how competitive people can be when they know that a free meal is involved.

This was an event for the 8:00 small group, which normally has 12-18 people there. A huge thank you to Jesse, for doing most of the planning. Her husband, Vinai, was also a big help. Andrew and Jennifer Strange also volunteered their Friday night to hang out with Middle Schoolers. My wife, Joni, also led a team, not because she is the middle school pastor's wife but because she loves ministry and hanging out with students. She also happens to be my favorite adult leader!

I loved hanging out with the students. It is nights like Friday that remind me why I do what I do. It was a great time to connect with the students and hang out with some pretty cool adults as well. We even had some students come that do not attend our church. What better way to introduce them to church than by having them attend a fun event. I'll just say this...those three girls were here for small groups this morning. This further illustrates what I know to be true....MINISTRY IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS!

Look for upcoming posts about me and the attack dog, my car's fight with a critter, and things I learned from McDonalds.

Only in Middle School...

Wednesdays Rock!!

I love Wednesdays! I love the opportunity to connect with Middle School students. I love to hear them and see them worship. I love to watch their faces when they "get it" while I am speaking. I love to see students raise their hand, indicating that they began a relationship with Jesus. I love the energy and excitement they bring.

I have a theory about middle school students....either you love them or hate them. There is not much room for middle ground usually. I absolutely love them! I also have a team of people that love them, even when they are unlovable.

Tonight was a bittersweet night for a couple of different reasons. The worship was awesome, possibly the best it has ever been. However, tonight was Ryan's last night leading worship. I really hate to see him go, but his family has a great career opportunity in FL.

Ryan and Lauren -- We love you guys and appreciate the investment you made in the students lives. I am also grateful for your friendship. We wish you the best!!!

Has Brayden given up?

The routine is the same for every Saturday during the fall. If you are a male and you live in the Lollis house, you are required to put on a Clemson Tigers shirt. It's a must. This past Saturday, I got up and put my shirt on. I walked into the living room and noticed that Brayden was breaking the tradition. Joni shared with me that he refused to wear his "ball" (his word for jersey).

It caused me to think. Has he given up on the Tigers after a couple of bad weeks? Has he done what I have wanted to do so many times and thrown in the towel? I was somewhat disappointed but understanding, especially after the way they have played the past 3 weeks.

Then, like every fan, he changed his mind after Clemson scored their first touchdown. He was running through the house with his jersey. He is only 2, but he already has a love/hate relationship with the Tigers!

Baby Dedication

Yesterday we had baby dedication at Crosspointe. This is always a special time for families, as they get to show off their child and dedicate them to the Lord. This one was even more special for my family. We decided to bring Anniston and have her dedicated. Joni got here after church started and left as soon as the dedication was over to prevent Anniston from being exposed to lots of germs and viruses. We were glad to be able to finally show her off to the church. I know many of those people have spent many hours praying for Anniston and our family. We will be forever grateful for that!

Yesterday was also Anniston's due date. How weird was it that she was dedicated on her due date? It is so awesome to reflect back on all that God has done in our lives over the past 3 months. She has been the biggest blessing and we are so grateful that we got to experience all of the things that have occurred over that time period. GOD is so good!

Jacks

David Jacks, a senior in our student ministry, has just started a blog. A couple of days ago, he wrote this blog about me and JR. I wanted to be extremely mad at him but it was so stinkin' funny that I couldn't! Jacks---watch your backs!

Rutgers? Are you serious?

I just finished watching the Louisville/Rutgers game. I didn't plan to watch it but I was intrigued by the matchup of 2 undefeated teams. It was a great game, with Rutgers winning 28-25 with a last second field goal. As I was watching the game, there were some leadership principles that I was reminded of. Here we go:

1. Never ever give up! Rutgers was down 25-7 at one point in this game. They worked hard to get back into the game and eventually win.

2. It takes everyone working together to be successful. Rutgers does not have a single player that I have ever heard of. However, they all worked together to win together. None of their guys are superstars, just ordinary guys working really hard.

3. Hard work pays off. Those players gave their all. They beat a quality football team by giving all that they had.

4. People love you when you are winning. The stadium there was packed! I am sure you can look back to a couple of years ago and the fans weren't that faithful. People want to pull for a winning team.

5. Mistakes are hard to overcome. Rutgers' kicker missed the field goal to win the game. Fortunately, there was a penalty and they got a second chance. Mistakes are harder to overcome when they occur later in the game.

6. People are really excited after a win. It was evident that Rutgers hadn't won many big games by the response of the fans. It was cool to see them storm the field and going crazy.

7. College football is the greatest game on the earth. There are not many things that excite me more than what happened tonight! I love to see people overachieve.

Unrelated to Rutgers or college football, I saw something interesting. I was doing some hospital visits this morning at Baptist East and saw something that puzzled me. There is a wing of the hospital called the "Skilled Nursing Wing". Just for the record, if I ever have to go to the hospital, I want to be on that wing. The one with the skilled nurses.

Recap of Wed...

I am exhausted...here's the highlights from tonight:

The students were excited. There was great energy in the room.

The music was amazing. Ryan, Rick, Shane, Kelsie,and Josh worked really hard to make it awesome.

The lights were incredible. We just got new lights this week and they transformed the entire room.

We also had 3 students to begin a relationship with Jesus. That's 3 more people that are going to Heaven! One girl was crying as I talked about the crucifixion and the high price that Jesus paid for me and you. I don't know about you but that excites me more than anything else. That's why I do what I do.

I Don't Know What to Say...

Someone told me that this existed. I didn't believe them. All I can say is...unbelievable. Watch it...it's worth your time!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHU0LXYJdO8

I Cannot Wait!

As I wrote about yesterday, our students wrote down the names of 484 people that they know that needed to accept Christ. This has been all I have thought about for the past week. 484 people in need of Jesus. 484 people that we love and care about that are on their way to Hell, unless they have an encounter with Jesus. I am praying that our students bring many of those people over the next couple of weeks and they begin a relationship with Christ.

I really think tomorrow night's service is going to be awesome. The band has picked out a great set. I have spent hours preparing to speak. (Let me say this, I think it might be the most powerful message I have ever preached.) Also, we got some new lights in this week. Talk about adding to the experience. They are awesome! Thanks to Jeff Balentine and Jeff McLean for helping install them. The room looks cooler than ever before!!

As I was running today, I was thinking about how grateful I am for all that Jesus has done for me. Especially for the cross. I thought about how holy He is and how unholy I am. I thought about how worthy He is and how undeserving I am of His love. I thought about how perfect He is and how I am certainly not perfect. As I thought about these things, I began to cry and thank Jesus over and over.

So, for those of you driving down Hwy. 51...the answer is yes. Yes there was a man running in circles around the church parking lot. Yes, he could've probably used some oxygen. Yes, he was not only running but crying also. But I certainly couldn't help myself!!!

Overwhelmed...

JR and I have been very intentional about our message planning and preparation over the past few weeks. Probably more than ever before! Two weeks ago, we spoke about "the watchmen" in Ezekiel 33. This message created the need for students to go out and try to impact their friends' lives. Last week, we encouraged the students to "Walk Across the Room" and invite their friends to CrossOver/ H2O. This was a really practical challenge to just walk over and invite them to come and/or share your faith story.

Over the past couple of weeks, we have challenged students to write down the names of the people (friends, family, etc.) that they would like to see accept Christ. The students in the Middle School Ministry wrote down 484 names. Yes, I said 484! I was overwhelmed by their concern for their friends and family. I was almost weeping, as I typed in their names. Some students wrote down "mom" or "dad" and one student even wrote, "myself".

I want to invite you to pray with me for the people that are on that list. That's 484 people who, without Jesus, will be on their way to spend eternity in Hell. I don't know hardly any of them, but it breaks my heart to think about them dying without Jesus.

I told our students today that we have challenged them and equipped them, now is the time to do the work. It's time to do something with all of the information we have! Whatever it takes, we have to get them here!!

I'm Done...

Ok...it has taken me 36 hours to be able to write this post. I've had all I can take. Like my good friend Popeye says, "I've had alls I can stands and I can't stands no more." I've drawn my line in the sand. I'm done with Clemson football.

As much as I wish I could say all of that, I can't. I've said it over and over the past couple of days. However, despite the fact the Tigers have been beaten by unranked teams 2 weeks in a row, I will be back on my couch next Saturday cheering them on against NC State. Sometimes, it really is a love/hate relationship! You gotta love it!

Blue Like Jazz...

I just finished reading one of the most popular books of our day, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I can't believe that it has taken me this long to pick it up and digest it. Prior to reading it, I had heard different opinions about the book. I try to read all kinds of books, especially those that might challenge what I believe or stretch me a little.

I found the book to be boring in the beginning and end. The middle was really good. Not one of those that I will probably read over and over. However, it was certainly worth the time! Miller has an interesting perspectives on God, relationships, and ministry.

One of the things that I loved(there were many) was a statement that he made about helping other countries meet their physical needs, specifically hunger. Here it is: "Nothing is going to change in the Congo until you and I figure out what is wrong with the person in the mirror."

Related to that, I am reading Philippians and it is rocking my world!!!

Has there ever been a truer statement? How can we worry about "fixing" the world until we take the necessary steps to fix the things in our own lives. Church, we can't expect to see the world turn to God because of the poor representation that we are of Him. I include myself in this category! You know the thing that God has been telling you to do over and over? Do it! You know the sin that God has spoken to you about over and over? Get rid of it!

I am a big fan of 80's Michael Jackson(Yeah, yeah, I know!). I think Mr. Jackson had it right (for once) when he sang: "I'm looking at the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways. No message could have been any clearer. If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at your self and make a chaaaange. Wooooo. Wooooo. Nah nah nah na na."

Ted Haggard

Over the past couple of days, I have heard numerous news stories about Ted Haggard. All I can say is "WOW!" I don't know hardly anything about the guy, other than he's pretty influential. I don't know if the accusations are true or false. Seems as if at least some of it is true. Here's what a few people, whom I respect, had to say about the situation. They probably said it way better than I could have.

Mark Batterson

Mark Driscoll

Todd Rhodes (This guy is not named Mark, but he does have a pretty cool name!)

First family outing!!

As most of you know, since Anniston was born so premature, the doctors have basically told us that there is no place like home! Therefore, she does not go out except to go to the doctor. Today, we all jumped in the car for the first time as an entire family to take Anniston to the eye doctor. (Not exactly my idea of family fun, but it was necessary.)

We dropped Brayden off by the Meesomboon's house to play with Anela. Little did we know that we would wait for 3 1/2 hours before we would ever see a doctor. (Does an appointment mean anything?) The exam took 2 minutes and was literally one of the craziest things I have ever seen!!

Since babies don't know how to move their eyes to the left and right on command, the doctor had to help her. They clamp back their eyelids so that the whole eye is exposed. As if this wasn't bad enough, the doctor decided to stick a metal tool in her eye to turn it left and right. OUCH! She let out the saddest cry. It was like she was in distress.

Here's the crazy part. The doctor then says, "that cry is hurting my ears." What I wanted to say to him was, "Einstein, you have a metal object sticking out of her eye. What do you expect?" I bit my tongue and decided not to say what I was thinking. I felt really, really sorry for Anniston!!