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-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.

-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!

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

-Ok, first of all, I’m BLOWN AWAY by what God is doing at Foothills right now.
-Here’s a little story… I’m (as we speak) on RagamuffinSoul.com listening to Hillsong United’s new album, that drops on Tuesday. Los is signed with Integrity, so they let him preview albums on his sight, COOL STUFF! What’s even cooler is he asked where everyone was from in the live chat… I saw a person that said, “Toccoa, GA.” I connected with her and she’s coming to FCC on Sunday! WOW!!! God is working… and it’s bigger than any of us.
-People sang their faces off this morning!
-The set was: Awesome is the Lord Most High/Tomlin – How Can I Keep From Singing/Tomlin – Mighty to Save/Hillsong – Let Her Cry/Hootie & The Blowfish
-I had more comments about the Hootie song than I have in a LONG time about any of our worship tunes.
-Feature songs work…! People connect and it brings a connection that opens them up to hear/respond to the Word.
-Greg brought it this week. Can I Christian Drink Alcohol will be up on Foothills.cc early this week… listen to it. Everyone needs to. It will CHANGE YOU.
-I loved having a week off last week, but I LOVE WHAT I DO! Seeing everyone this morning was a relief, it had been far too long.
-That being said, I can’t wait to move to Toccoa… I need that connection.
-I’m pre-ordering Hillsong United’s new album Tear Down the Walls right now. I’ve gotta have it. We’re gonna start doing some of these songs VERY soon. VERY soon.
-Saw some people at church today I haven’t seen in a few weeks. That was awesome.
-I had a band made up of all Seneca players this week. They’re awesome musicians and great guys!
-I’m already missing the TFC students that have left us for the summer. I hope they’re having a great break, and I can’t wait ’til they get back.
-I’ll post pics from today’s service on the Foothills Toccoa Blog tomorrow when I get them from Ron. He does an amazing job, and we’re lucky to have him on board to FCC.
-We had lunch with Eric Peters and his family this afternoon… good times. Then a long nap and quality time with my family.
-I’m out.
-Did you see the first two installments of “Using Track/Samples in a Worship Environment” from this past week? The first one was on the Equipment we use. This last one is on Tracking is the program Reason. Check them out and let me know what you think. Post #3 (Tracking in Garageband/Pro Tools) is coming early this week, be on the lookout!

-Just saw a commercial for a new show called “I’m a Celebrity in the Jungle, Get Me Outta Here!” I’ll be watching that.
-I pulled a personnel report on my team last week and realized that, in taking care of my team members, I have lead 17 weeks in a row without a Sunday off. What an idiot.
-A good friend/mentor told me once that leading worship every Sunday without a break causes a couple things to happen: 1) Feeling like “I’m the leader and no one can do it but me.” Which is bullcrap. 2) Feeling like “I’m working all these hours and not getting paid what I deserve for the work I do.” Which is bullcrap. 3) Feeling like “What I’m doing is the right way, and if I take a week off it’ll be not as good.” Which is bullcrap.
-Pride is a monster that takes over the minds and hearts of those willing to let it in.
-Pastors, Worship Pastors, Kids’ Pastors, Campus Pastors, team leaders, ministry heads… TAKE A FLIPPIN’ WEEK OFF SOMETIME SOON! If for no other reason than to attack pride before it attacks you.
-I’ll be taking a week off soon. Just so you know.
-The worship on the week I take off will probably be better than when I’m there. I have an amazing guy lined up to take the lead for a Sunday.
-All that to be said, today was a solid day. Not great, solid.
-The set was: We Shine/Fee – Blessed Be Your Name/Redman – Marvelous Light/Hall – I Will Go/Starfield.
-Honesty: I think We Shine is a bit much for our people in Toccoa.
-Honesty: That doesn’t bother me one bit. People are people and it’s my job as their pastor to lead THEM into an encounter with Jesus. I love to worship to We Shine and some of the heavier stuff… but it’s not my job to lead myself into worship, now is it? I LOVE the process of getting to know my church and how they connect.
-We may try it again and see how it goes, but for now, that song’s on the bench.
-The rest of the set was great, including Scott Chatfield’s video backgrounds for We Shine and I Will Go. He knocked it OUT OF THE PARK with those this week!
-Honesty: I love what I do. I love what I do even when I don’t like what I do (certain parts), because it grows me as a person and a communicator.
-Case in point… after We Shine today, I did Welcome and Announcements. I love speaking to people out of the Word, and I love doing invitations, but I hate doing Welcome and Announcements. I hate it because I’m not good at it. I learned a lot about doing W & A today and I look forward to doing it again in the near future.
-I appreciate Shannon letting me find my niche in Toccoa. He lets me do what I feel is right, and is honest and open about the outcome when we meet together after the fact. I value his friendship and leadership.
-We went out to eat twice today. Now I’m miserable.
-We had a great time with a couple friends. They’re some of my favorite people.
-I feel like God is using Candice and I to stretch some Foothills people that aren’t really “hang-out people” into “sorta hang-out people.” I like that a lot.
-I’m praying for my friends Eric and Rachel and their family like crazy this weekend and into this coming week. Don’t ask why, just pray for them.
-Perry Noble had a twitter today that I thought was profound. It read, “PerryNoble: If you are being STRETCHED by God right now…He’s not punishing you…He’s preparing you…GET READY!”
-That blew my stinkin’ mind. I’ve know it, but it just hit me in a way it never has before.
-Carlos is doing a worldwide prayer service on his blog as we speak. What a cool guy… you should check him out at Ragamuffinsoul.com
-I’m about done for this day. I’m gonna put up some thoughts on Toccoa and how the campus is doing tomorrow or Tuesday, be looking for them! (You can subscribe to my RSS feed with the button on this page, or just check back to http://jonathanbryant.info)
-GOODNIGHT!

-Yeah, I know it’s Monday again…
-Yesterday beat me into submission, not even kidding!
-First off, Abigail is sick. She’s got a cough and drippy nose. I’m sick. I woke up and could hardly talk or get out of bed. Didn’t start off great.
-We stopped and picked up Warren and got breakfast. After that, I was feeling better.
-Practice went AMAZING and we were done way early.
-The set yesterday was rockin’: Power of Love/Huey Lewis – Everlasting God/Brewster – Everything Glorious/Crowder – This Kind of Love/Sister Hazel.
-It was cool having a Feature song to start with, and then one for the invitation also. I will be glad to have a stable worship set again next week, though.
-Speaking of, I got to do the invitation yesterday morning. I LOVE that. The message was great and people were READY to respond. Yea baby!
-So after morning service, we tore down, and grabbed lunch on the way home. We even ate it in the car so we could maximize our nap time.
-After an hour nap, I got up and loaded the car. Practice with the Collide band at 4p.
-Those teens are amazing and Collide went great! The set was: If Today Was Your Last Day/Nickleback – Awesome is the Lord Most High/Tomlin – Hosanna/Starfield Arrangement – From the Inside Out/Hillsong United
-I had some great quality time with my wife after Collide… Abigail went to bed soon after I got home and Candice and I had a couple great hours to talk. After my super hard week, it was good to debrief with her. She’s wise.
-By debrief, I mean talk about what happened during the week, dirty mind.
-Check out the Foothills Toccoa blog. It’s got pics of the services and upcoming events.
-Speaking of, here are Ron’s pics from yesterday… just kidding. You’re gonna have to go to the Foothills Blog.
-This week has a lot of great things happening: off-site planning, worship planning, brainstorming summer ideas, Toccoa strategic talks, etc. I LOVE what I do!
-I’m out. Have a great day. Visit the Toccoa Blog.

Do you love watching people show their faith through baptism?
Do you love participating in Communion with your Foothills family?
Do you love worshiping with all three FCC worship leaders?
Do you love fellowship before the service and after?
Do you love combining BOTH FCC CAMPUSES for a joint worship night?
Do you love seeing people on stage in worship from Dave’s band, Eric’s band, and Jonathan’s band in Toccoa?

If you answered yes to all these questions,
and you WANT TO MISS OUT ON SOMETHING AWESOME…
Don’t come this Sunday night.

IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO ALL THE QUESTIONS,
AND DON’T WANNA MISS AN AMAZING NIGHT OF WORSHIP, COMMUNION, AND BAPTISMS…

COME TO NIGHT OF PRAISE, THIS SUNDAY NIGHT, APRIL 26TH, AT 6P, ON THE SENECA CAMPUS!!

Trust me, you want to be there.

-AMAZING DAY! One of the best in recent months!
-I had an entire band from Toccoa today. Actually, they were all Toccoa Falls College students. I LOVE that.
-Ron Hartzog is one of our most dedicated volunteers… he sets up audio on Saturdays, does pre-service stuff on Sunday morning, takes pictures during service, and tears down hospitality and audio after service. WOW! Here are his pics from the service today: http://picasaweb.google.com/rn.hrtzg/FCCTC41909#
-The set today was: Salvation is Here/Brewster, Holy is the Lord/Tomlin, Beautiful Jesus/Stanfil, Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)/Tomlin
-Brent, Heather, Lindsay, Podge, and Scott played like PROFESSIONALS today. They’re the most talented college students I’ve ever seen, not kidding at all.
-Paul Carr brought it this morning!
-This weekend kicked my tail. Laid 6,000 sq/ft of sod at Paul Carr’s house on Friday (11a-7:30p), setup and practice on Saturday, then a GREAT service this morning. I had a nap and sushi tonight, so I’m set for a good week this week!
-By the way, we found a great sushi place in Anderson. Prices are fair and the food is AMAZING. Anyone wanna go sometime?
-I feel like Foothills Toccoa is reaching our stride.
-We were supposed to be in a building already… honestly… HOWEVER… 3 people got saved last week, 7 rededications, and 6 people wanna get baptized next Sunday night. We had 163 people in A GYM… A PORTABLE CHURCH… WHERE THE PARKING LOT IS HORRIBLE… EVERYTHING IS SET UP AND TORN DOWN EVERY WEEK… AND PEOPLE’S LIVES ARE BEING CHANGED! PRAISE JESUS!!!
-Shannon equated FCC: Toccoa to Susan Boyle. If you haven’t seen the YouTube video of Britain’s Got Talent, do it NOW! Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk
-You have no idea what is under the cover of a book until you open it. You have no idea how AMAZING Foothills Toccoa is until you walk in the door. God is changing lives and YOU DON’T WANNA MISS IT!
-This coming Sunday Night, April 26th, at 6p, at the Seneca Campus… we’ll be doing a joint campus Night of Praise and Baptism and Lord’s Supper. This will be a time of worship (Eric, David, and I will all be leading), baptism from both campuses, and communion lead by Greg Oraham (our lead pastor). BE THERE!
-Visit QuestionsUncensored.com and ask any question you want. Greg will be using your questions for our next sermon series, starting in mid-may.
-I’m going to bed. WHAT AN AWESOME DAY!
-Make sure to visit http://FoothillsToccoa.blogspot.com for updates and news on FCC:T. It will be updated every couple of days, at least.
-Also visit the new Toccoa pages on the FCC website.

Here are a couple of teaser pics from this morning:

-JESUS IS ALIVE!!!!!!!
-The services at FCC on both campuses today were off the chain! Hearts were changed and people stepped over the line of faith ALL – DAY – LONG! YEA BABY!
-We changed up our stage a bit this week. Drums in the middle instead of the side. Backdrops hanging off the drapes. Different colored lights, etc. I think it looked BOSS!
-Speaking of, check out the pics of today HERE. Ron Hartzog takes amazing pictures.
-I had a smoking band today! Jason, Blake, Scott, and Podge rocked my face off! I’m excited to have some of the same players on the stage with me for the next little while. Continuity is awesome.
-Set today was great: All B/C of Jesus/Fee-Happy Day/Hughes-When Love Comes to Town/U2-How He Loves/McMillan
-We butted the two first songs together. Same key and same tempo… great transition and people loved it!
-We had a sound guy come in for the weekend and he was great.
-I can’t believe how cool our volunteers are… they give time and effort, and all because they love the church and have caught the vision. They’re our secret weapon.
-The hospitality ladies added assorted teas to the snack tables this morning. This is great as I’m trying to give up caffeine and I’m on a diet, so I was in hog heaven today. Green tea w/ berry before you sing works wonders. Thanks you guys!
-Did I mention I LOVE our volunteers??
-It was good to have my parents, sister, and brother in law in church with us this morning. They visited from Virginia just for the weekend. They LOVED IT!
-I’m hoping to get my Hagstrom Guitar and Blackheart Amp sold this week so I can purchase a new acoustic. I REALLY need one pretty soon.
Need a new guitar or amp? Here’s some pics. Go to the album called “Hagstrom” and “Blackheart” $500 for a NICE LP-style guitar and case. $300 for a brand new Blackheart Amp and 1×12 cab.
-We had RECORD NUMBERS in Toccoa this morning. 83 in the first service, 118 in the second. 3 Salvations, 7 Recommitments, and 6 people wanna get baptized!
-Remember, we have a baptism service at the Seneca campus on April 26th at 6p! I’m joining Eric and David and leading worship, doing the Lord’s Supper, and BAPTISM! DON’T-MISS-IT!
-You should go to QuestionsUncensored.com and ask anything.

GREAT DAY BUT I’M BEAT… GOODNIGHT! THANK YOU JESUS FOR WHAT YOU DID FOR US!!