Sunday In Review

What a day! While I'm at it, what a week!

Today a2 Church celebrated its Grand Opening in our new digs at Vestavia City Center... The last few months have been quite an adventure. The place looks great and I'm thoroughly convinced it will give us the opportunity to do something unique in the city of BHM for the cause of Christ... It took us a while to get here.

Here's a "USA Today Snapshot" of all the action, along with a few "shout outs" for all that God has done.

First of all, I'm really thankful to Andy Lange from Signature Homes who served as our Project Manager during the entire build out. This guy has an incredible work ethic. He loves God like crazy, demonstrated grace under pressure and was thoroughly committed to the project. I'm convinced it wouldn't have been possible without him... Awesome job, Andy.

Second, God also provided Andy with an amazing "support cast." Ray Kemp of Construction Force and his entire crew came up HUGE in the build out. Ray has believed in the project since Day 1 and provided tons of "manpower" that made the impossible possible. He also provided loads of laughs along the way.

Billy Walters is "the man." Billy is one of the most inspiring "servants" I've ever been around. He probably logged more time on the project than anyone besides our Project Manager. His servant's heart, can do attitude, second mile mentality and commitment to excellence blew me away. Billy is the kind of "servant" I want to be when I grow up... This guy is a living example of Colossians 3:23 where Paul says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Thanks, Billy. You are "the man."

I could go on and on... A special "shout out" to the countless volunteers who assisted with demo, swept and mopped floors, cleaned toilets, windows, doors, etc. You invested loads of "sweat equity" and made the impossible possible... You are amazing. The words "thank you" seem inadequate, but "thank you."

Third, God has given us an incredible "tech team." David Watts is amazing! His knowledge, skill, insight, frugality and hard work enabled us to achieve "state of the art" sound on a "shoe string budget." Thanks, David.

Hats off to the rest of the tech team! Guys like Chris G, Jeremy G and Paul Baggett were invaluable when it came to running wire, installing the video projection system and assorted odds and ends. You guys rock!

Fourth, Bill and Nikki Robbins, Jennifer G and others did a great job collecting furniture and resources for the Children's Ministry area and making it happen in Children's Ministry. The ultimate compliment? My eight year old came running up to me after church and said, "Dad, today was FUN!" Thanks guys! You are a blessing.

Fifth, our Guest Services and Hospitality Team did a great job. Sunnish Matthew didn't miss a beat filling in for our team leader, Nathan Holladay. You guys provided a warm and loving atmosphere to all of our guests.

Sixth, today's music was "off the hook." Great worship. Mike Shaw brought it on "Little Wonders." What can I say? The dude can sing. Amanda knocked it out of the park on "Walk On!" Darlene who?

While we had a few technical difficulties, I was blown away by what our Worship and Tech Team were able to accomplish.

Seventh, the response to the message was good. I walked into the weekend running on fumes and was thankful to just get through the message without any major blunders... Well, there was one, but we won't talk about that..

Finally, I'm pumped about what God has done through this entire process... I'm pumped about the excitement in the air today and I only pray that God will help us partner with Him in what He wants to accomplish in bringing glory to Christ, the gospel to our community and hope to those who are hurting..

The story continues this week... It continues tomorrow as we hit the streets intent on sharing the good news of God's love with the people in our community.

Thanks for being a part of the story God is writing through a2.