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So today was the most encouraging staff meeting I’ve ever been a part of… not kidding.
The people I get to work with are ridiculously talented and sold out to Jesus.
The church I get to work in is committed to seeing unchurched people become fully devoted followers of Christ.
Life is good.
Here are some keys phrases I wrote down this morning, from various people:

-God doesn’t supply according to what I need, but according to His riches in glory. That’s a lot more.
-A big part of growth is acting like it.
-If you’re providing the energy for a task, you’re blocking the Spirit.
-(Speaking of a conversation with a hurting woman) God was saying to me, “There is no problem this lady has that I’m not the answer to.”
-Life Change = the next step. Not fifty steps, just the next one.
-As pastors, we have to always be on guard… we can’t give what we don’t have.
-We have to ask God everyday, “God, do what is not capable by anyone except You.”
-Christ in us equals unlimited power and influence.
-Four steps to a dying church – Starts with a MAN, God starts a MOVEMENT, we turn it into a MACHINE, and it ends up being a MONUMENT.
-It’s not my choice to tell God, “I can’t handle anymore.” That’s for Him to decide and provide.
-(Referencing the “people praying for Peter to get out of jail, and then him showing up and they didn’t believe” story) We can’t pray for something to happen and then when it shows up act surprised. We need to pray and then GET READY!
-Nothing of eternal significance ever happens apart from prayer.

So much more than I wrote down… I’ll be sharing in the coming days.
Just to go ahead and say it, I’M FIRED UP!

-Today was OFF THE CHARTS!
-I feel like we are hitting our niche lately, as far as music goes. I have really been in prayer about how our campus should SOUND (since that’s my primary task), and I think today was a great indication.
-Recognizable songs, but we put a bit more edge to them than is on the original recordings. I feel like this gives a better connection between people and the lyrics and music in a live setting. It feels good!
-Today’s set: Center of it All/Hughes – Freedom Song/Desperation Band – Marvelous Light/Hall – Stronger/Hillsong
-I have to stop here and say we have the BEST VOLUNTEERS IN THE WORLD! Thinking over this past week: the new building work day, set-up, Sunday morning, tear-down, etc. Wow!
-To piggyback on that, I asked one of our key volunteers if she was happy that we only had a few more weeks of set-up/tear-down and she said, “I really am gonna miss it.” ARE YOU KIDDING?! These people are great! THANKS A TON TO OUR VOLUNTEERS!
-I really liked the new show on ABC, Shark Tank. It could be my favorite reality show on TV right now. I hope it sticks.
-We had Mary Douglas from the Seneca campus on stage with us this week. She has an amazing voice and adds a cool dynamic… I hope to see her on stage with us again soon.
-We had a Worship Leader roundtable this past Thursday on the Seneca Campus. The three FCC worship leaders put together a cool group of guys and spent about 5 hours brainstorming, sharing successes, and encouraging each other. If you weren’t at this one, we’re planning another one for November… BE THERE!
-I’m out… gearing up for another great week at FCC!

So today was a great day and I’m barely able to type this… all my energy has been drained and I’m fading fast! Just kidding, not really.
Anyway, here are some pics from today! We got the whole front of the building painted and most of the demolition work on the worship area side complete. GREAT DAY! Thanks to everyone who helped out!

You can find the rest of the pics here.

We are going to have our first workday at the new building this Saturday. One of the first things we want to do is paint the exterior. We will be doing at least a coat of primer this weekend….maybe paint if I can get the color sample in time. We will also start some demolition of existing walls inside. We will be starting @ about 9:00am. Please bring paint brushes, rollers, ladders, and any other painting tools we might need.

For the demolition bring sledgehammers, saws, pry bars, etc.

It is going to be a hot one on Saturday so if someone could volunteer to bring water, etc to keep the workers hydrated that would be awesome!

If you have any questions call Sam McMillan @ 864-903-5137. Sam and Jody have agree to be the point person for organizing and directing all the remodeling activities! Please give them your support.

Ok, over the next few weeks, we’re going in implement a ton of ways for you to get connected with work days on the new building.

1. ANNOUNCEMENTS! Listen for the announcements on Sunday mornings about when the next work day is happening and what it involves.

2. EMAIL! We will be emailing work day information regularly. Please comment here, email us, call us, etc if you want on the Email list.

3. TEXT! We have set up a service that lets us mass text a bunch of you at once. We will not text you more than twice a week, promise. Please comment here, email us, call us, etc if you want on the Text list.

4. BLOGS! We have a few blogs that we will use to let you in on work day info.
-Shannon’s Blog – http://shannonchiles.blogspot.com
-Jonathan’s Blog – http://jonathanbryant.info
-FCC Toccoa Blog – http://foothillstoccoa.blogspot.com
These will all three say the same thing, so please don’t feel overwhelmed about having to look at all three.

Thanks I and look forward to getting connected with you.

-JB

-Ok, so this may have been my best day in ministry so far.
-By that, I mean I can’t remember another day where things went as right, as smoothly, as energetically, as purposefully, as exciting, as tiring, as laborious, and as much fun as things went today.
-Started off by sleeping in Toccoa last night. My buddy Podge is away on vacation and is letting us use his house on Saturdays for the next two weeks. It’s a little piece of heaven, I tell ya.
-So I woke up in Toccoa, which means I woke up at 6, instead of 4:45. It also means I drove 10min to the building instead of AN HOUR and 10min.
-Rehearsal was the best I’ve ever been a part of. My guys (Jason, Sam, & Bryan H) were ON THE BALL today. No sloppy notes. No botched punches. No wrong chords. They were on like Donkey Kong.
-Speaking of, Bryan Hartzog played with us for the first time today. He said he was ok and could probably do the job. Lemme tell you, he DID THE JOB! One of the better bass players I’ve ever played with. He’s now considered (he’s given his consent) part of the regular rotation. I’m pumped!
-Ok, back to the day… Run-through was also amazing. It was “service quality” and more!
-After the music, we checked the video one last time, and I must say, it was excellent. Scott Chatfield is putting out some high quality work!
-The energy in the lobby was great today! Tons of new faces… lots of first-time guests. After the service, every one I talked to said they’d be back for sure. Dang right.
-Transition during service were smooth as silk. Great atmosphere and people worshiped their tails off today.
-Best crowd interaction to date. No kidding.
-When I joined FCC as a staff member on January 25th, 2009, I told the pastors of the church that I felt it was going to be my calling to close the gap between the stage and the seats. I want Jesus to take over so hard that people felt connected to the King… and I think we took another step toward that today. Toccoa peeps, thanks for walking this journey with me… your willingness to worship is an inspiration to me.
-After church, we had a GREAT lunch with a bunch of friends at Los Amigos. Always good times when there are quesadillas involved.
-Then to set up the NEW BUILDING FOR OUR DEDICATION SERVICE! It was a blast. Greg and a few of the other pastors from FCC Seneca came out to support what God is doing in Toccoa, and it meant a ton. We worshiped (acoustic only) so hard that I could hardly hear my guitar over people singing so loudly. Seriously, you guys blew me away. Then Pastor Greg shared for a little while about the vision and purpose of FCC Toccoa and the new building. Then we had a time of prayer for our friends and loved ones that we’d like to see come to Christ. We wrote their names on the walls of the building and prayed for them. We’re gonna see those people step over the line of faith one day, I know it.
-Ok, enough of the play-by-play, you get the idea. Great day.
-I’ve been thinking a lot about our students at Toccoa Falls College. They get back to school in a couple weeks, and I wanna do everything I can to pour into them what God has poured into me. Some of them are going to be worship leaders for life… I’ve been praying for them tons.
-The band in Toccoa is really coming together. I was counting our players today and we have accumulated players. That’s only counting people that are Toccoa-exclusive, from Toccoa, live in Toccoa players. That also may not sound like a lot, but considering we use 4 players a week (sometimes 5) and only like to use people twice a month (even though sometimes we have to schedule more, like summer), that’s a month’s worth of players. Yea baby!
-Cool things happening all around!
-I can’t wait to see what the new building is gonna look like finished.
-There is a Huddle House across the road from it… looks like that may become a tradition. Uh oh.
-We took Abigail to McDonalds tonight to let her play and unwind from being in the car and everywhere all day. She loved it. We loved watching her. Win-win.
-Speaking of win-win, the biggest win for me right now would be going to bed. So I’m out!

Another month, come and gone…

No blog updates. I really don’t want to waste your time, so when I have something useful to say…

I will. Until then, I’m gonna get back to work.

-Wow, I miss blogging!
-It’s been a while now since I’ve posted a SNT. I did post a couple small things this past week.
-Here I go, wish me luck:
-Great day today. Shannon is on vacation, so I was the dude in charge today.
-Everything went smoothly, and people were excited to be at Foothills this morning.
-Great set, short, but great: All B/c of Jesus-Fee/All We Need-Hall/Oh You Bring-Hillsong United
-Oh You Bring is my new favorite song to lead, worship to, study to, listen to in the shower… ANYTHING! It just sets a mood and gets you thinking on who God is and what He does for us. Amazing song and people loved it this morning. This will be in our arsenal for a long time to come.
-My buddy Podge was supposed to play guitar this morning… instead, he was playing flu and ear infection. Boo. He’s on his way to recovery now that he’s seen the doctor today. Because of that, we went with a 3-piece today. Me, Bass, Drums. I had a BLAST… it may have sounded a bit thin, but Ron did a great job of fattening our sound up. It was cool, I’d do it again.
-Speaking of instruments, I got my new Strat this week. I traded my Gretsch G6120 for a PRS Goldtop (the story on that is coming) and a G&L S-500 Stratocaster. Daddy likey! It sounded HUGE this morning, and plays like a dream. I can see myself keeping this thing for a LONG time. And all that said… IT’S BEAUTIFUL! Click here for a pic.
-Ok, the PRS. First off, the guy shipped the PRS to the wrong zip code accidentally. Address was right, zip code wrong. So I’ve been calling to get it rerouted. It got rerouted. Everything was cool. I called Saturday (supposedly the delivery date) and the lady confirmed my address and said it would be there by 1p. Didn’t get the package by 1p. Called the FedEx people. Said everything was fine. Called back because I didn’t like that person’s answer. The second person called the actual driver and let me speak to him. The driver said everything was fine until that morning, when a lady (first employee I spoke with) called and said it was on the wrong truck and to have it changed. Long story short: It was on the truck, headed for my house on Saturday. The lady called and screwed it up. They stopped the truck and took my guitar off and sent it to Laurens, SC (about 2hrs away). Fedex doesn’t deliver on Mondays, so now I have to wait until Tuesday. Boo
-Long story huh?
-It’s gonna be good once it gets here though
-I’ve been thinking a LOT about leadership today, had these couple thoughts: 1. The best gauge of your leadership ability is the morale and effectiveness of those who directly report to you. 2.if everyone you’re in charge of is burned out… you’re doing something wrong.
-Things are going well in Toccoa… good things happening all around!
-I love it when people stick in because the work they do is too important to not do it. That gets me FIRED UP!
-I can’t wait for the Baptism & Lake Party this Sunday at 3:30p. Click here for details!
-Going to hang with the wifey… later.

We are having a big baptism party Sunday, July 5th starting @ 3:30pm. It is going to be at Josh Schaeffers lakehouse. Come ready to eat, swim, boat….bring tailgate games…..etc….it’s going to be a blast!!!

Here are the details:

Location: 538 Imperial, Martin, GA (map to follow)
Time: 3:30pm – ?
Food: Grilled chicken, ribs, sausage, and hotdogs will be provided. Bring a side dish or a dessert to share.
Drinks: Drinks will be provided.
What else: Bring lawnchairs, swimming stuff, boat, tailgate games.

If you don’t feel confident that you can find the location….we will have groups leaving from Toccoa Campus and the Walmart parking lot @ about 3:15.

Also…if you want to be baptized, please let me know!

See you there!
Shannon