Chris Elrod: http://chriselrod.com
Senior Pastor: Compass Point Church in Lakeland, FL

Personal Notes: Chris Elrod is one of the "most fun to be around" people I have ever met... Just a joy talking with him, and he has been a HUGE inspiration for me on this journey.

MAKE SURE YOUR WIFE IS ON BOARD!

In a marriage God doesn't speak to the one…but speaks to both concerning life-altering things.  If God has not led your spouse to church planting…then he hasn't led you to church planting.  Without your wife's approval and support you are not a church planter…you are a church forcer.  Forcing your "calling" on her will not only make her dislike the church…cause major strife in the marriage…and can also create problems in her relationship with God.  Your first and foremost calling and ministry…on this Earth…is to be a godly husband and father…ministry and calling falls WAY under that.  In essence, you can plant another church…or be involved in another ministry…but you can't have another wife…and stay valid in your role as pastor or shepherd.  If your wife isn't on board with planting a church…then you weren't being called by God to plant…you were being called by your own selfish desires and ego!!!

Tomorrow starts a series here @ ChrisReeder.com.

I will be hosting several guest bloggers... one each day for the next week or two.

These special guests will all be answering the same question asked by yours truly:

What advice would you give to a guy that has been called into church planting, but sometimes feels that he has no idea what he is doing?

Stay tuned... I promise... it is going to be good!

BTW; If you are not currently subscribed to this blog, now would be a great time for you to consider either subscribing by Email or by (RSS) to get the latest updates as they happen.

I have not been able to get these pictures off my phone until now...

So, that is why I have not blogged about my camping adventure until now.

That's right...

Friday night, I took my son, Jacob, camping for the first time. Slept in a sleeping bag on a lumpy ground.

We roughed it with his best bud Patrick (cousin), Rusty (Patrick's dad), and Papa (Jacob's Granddad).

There were several others there from Papa's church...

Great fun and fellowship.

Thanks Spring Valley for inviting us to hang out and making us feel welcome.

I (Susanne) got the idea of hijacking my KISA's blog from this blog.  (Thanks, Vince...uh, and Becky!!)

That's right folks... you're not dealing with the "stupid programmer turned church planter" today...  Just little ol' me.
But I have a challenge for you.

It started with this blog... then this one... and finally, this one.

So come on over here, and see what I am talking about!!!

Oh yeah, and if you decide to participate, leave us a comment on this post.  We'd love to be able to share this with you!

Ok... I have made you wait almost a week.

Starting next Monday, ChrisReeder.com will be hosting several guest bloggers... one each day for the next week or two.

These special guests will all be answering the same question asked by your's truly:

What advice would you give to a guy that has been called into church planting, but sometimes feels that he has no idea what he is doing?

Well... let's just say... this is going to be pretty awesome!!! I would tell ya the names of the special guests... but that wouldn't be any fun would it? (Guesses are welcome... just leave a comment)

Maybe if your lucky... you can find out who the guests are by them recommending to their readers to tune in @ ChrisReeder.com over the next couple of weeks... but I am not telling...

Jay shared a few quotes on his blog that hit home...

When you think Kingdom, you think 'What's the best way to reach our city,' not 'What do we need to do to make our church look better'. --Randy Pope

That really confirmed what God has been placing on my heart for the past few months. We have for so long been looking at how we, the church, can make ourselves more attractive to those far from God. "If we do this in the church.. they will come..." or "if we provide that... they will come". To use a quote from my pastor... "Ya gotta go out and get em!"

It's not about whether a chimney or a steeple is on the roof - it's about the relational vitality. -- Panel Member (either Bob Roberts, Randy Pope, Ron Sylvia or Neil Cole...not sure!)

It does not matter where the church meets... We can meet in a traditional church building, contemporary building, movie theatre, school auditorium, or a house. The church is not about a building... it's about the loving hand of Christ reaching outside the church building to minister to those hurting from a broken marriage or the financial struggles of a single parent. We, The Church, need to be about building relationships and investing in the lives of those not interested in church, Jesus, or any of God's people or ideas. The old adage is really true... People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care!

One of the greatest obstacles to church planting is great preaching. Great preaching can feed the idea that church is an event. --Bob Roberts

WOW... Another home run! It is my prayer that Revolution Church will not be known for the great preaching, no matter how awesome it is . The CHURCH IS A MOVEMENT. A JESUS MOVEMENT. Sunday Services, Sunday School, Small Groups... are all events... A Revolution is when the church is on the move. I pray Revolution Church will be known as the most loving, caring, and helpful place (not just church) in Florence, SC. I pray our membership will show so much love that people can't help but be drawn to Christ! May we see people accept Christ through showing love on the ball field. May see to see lives changed through the compassion at the work place. May see lives restored through people caring enough to invest their heart and souls to help someone in need. All this is possible if we let Jesus flow through us...

I will be writing more on the vision & mission of Revolution Church over the next month, or so.

Hang in there...

My kids have been on spring break all week. Being out of school with time on her hands... my daughter, Emilee, made a Spring Break Gift for me. (kind of like a birthday or Christmas gift)

So, knowing that my daughter loves to draw and create things... I could hardly wait to see what she had done for her loving and caring dad.

I open it. She quickly tells me it is a game. It's called "pin the tail game".
(I used to call it pin the tail on the donkey)

I was all cool with that until what came out of her mouth next....

"Dad... that face is a picture of you."

Not sure what to think...

Anyone for a game of pin the tail on a Reeder?

NO... I don't see dead people... (not today anyway...)

NO... I'm not Susanne's not pregnant... (that we know of...)

YES... The waiting may just tick some people off... (oh well...)

BUT... I wanted to let you all know that something pretty awesome will be taking place here @ ChrisReeder.com very... very soon... I have been wanting to do this for some time, and it is finally happening.

Thanks to Dave Anderson for giving me the motivation to finally do it.  Don't go emailing him to try and find out... He won't tell you... hold up... he might, if the pay off is big enough...

"I love it when a plan comes together" --Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith

Tune in next week for the official announcement.

Hint: Church Planters/Pastors will definitely want to stay tuned...

I caught the last 1/3  of the cartoon Barnyard tonight with the kids. Who would have thought it had such deep stuff... For those without kids, and those who have never seen it... read more here.

"a strong man stands up for himself, a stronger man stands up for others" --Otis the Cow

As I was watching this.. it reminded me of the call on my life to pastor Revolution Church. When God calls... we are to look out for those placed under our care.

In the movie, several of the chickens were captured to be devoured by the coyotes. Otis had to make the choice to do what was easiest for him (quit and let it go) or to go into the pit and fight for those poor souls captured by the enemy.

There are tons of people in Florence that are captured in a pit and they do not even realize it. God has called us to show others the hope that only Jesus can provide. It is up to me and you to be a stronger man (or woman) and stand up for them. Put ourselves aside for others.

Who would have ever thought God would use this movie to drive home His vision???  The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways!

(now... switching gears a bit...)

When the cows and other animals jumped on the Harley's and other nice looking bikes, and soared down the road while "Slow Ride" was playing... For some reason, I thought about David Putman @ Evolve.

One final thought...

WHY IN THE WORLD DOES A MALE COW NAMED OTIS HAVE UDDERS?!?!?!

Ok... Missed another Friday Five... So Here ya have it... Saturday Seven!

• This video about Cross Point Community Church is an example of what Revolution Church is going to be about! It is a great example of The Church at it's best!  Way to go Pete!!  It's so great to see what God is doing in your church and your life!!
• I was listening to a sermon this week by Steven Furtick, when he dropped this quote about how us parents look at our children. WOW!

What if we saw our children as more than a storm to survive.
What if we saw them as a mountain that God wanted to give you.
What if instead of your cross to bear, they became your destiny to share.

• Enjoying Twitting! I am now able to see what is going on in the lives of Susanne, Priscilla, Diana, Page, Chris, Dean, Chris, Pete, J.R., Adam, Tadd, Jay, & Boyd!
• Geek Alert: I got a free copy of Windows Vista Ultimate, SQL Server 2008, and Visual Studio 2008 last Tuesday at a Microsoft Launch Event.
• I know I have said this numerous times... but this will probably not be the last time. I so enjoy going to the baseball & softball fields. Pouring the love of Christ into those kids... Watching my own kids smile and enjoy themselves... Meeting new people... Hearing their stories of life... Celebrating their kids with them... Having great parents on my team to cheer us on... I think I will continue to coach even when my kids are out of it...
• Susanne & I have a friendly competition with Charles & Priscilla Russell (by the way... Charles, ya gotta get a blog!). What is the competition??? BIGGEST LOSER! We are on a mission to not only get spiritually fit... but physically fit too! After the first four weeks... I have lost 2.59% of my body weight! I am on my way. Thanks Shawn Lovejoy for your message on personal discipline.
• I celebrated loosing 4 pounds last week with a huge helping of homemade peach cobbler (yes... I make a mean cobbler) with two scoops of ice cream... yum yum good! It's my Grandma Reeder's recipe. And yes Priscilla... it was "low fat" cobbler!

2nd Place in the Church Planter's Bracket Challenge.

Can hardly wait for Fantasy Football!!!

I started using my Twitter account again... and then it happened...

I broke it!

I am not sure Twitter.com is ready for me!!!

When it gets back up an running...

Please feel free to follow me on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/clreeder

What a difference one day makes!

Before the Final 4 became the Final 2... I was 49th place in the Church Planter's Bracket Challenge. After two games and one night... Now I am 3rd??? 3rd???

Confession time! I really don't care for basketball. I have not watched a single game all year... (I did watch the last 3 minutes of the Kansas vs. UNC game). I was a shock to see Memphis was a #1 seed. (who is Memphis?) hehe...

I thought it would be fun to participate in this little challenge so I did... I started guessing... and guessing... and more guessing.

• Gonzaga will surly beet Davidson... Because that is the Alma Matta of John Stockton!
• Duke over Belmont for sure... ACC team! (plus... my father-in-law pulls for them)
• Georgia over Xavier for sure... SEC team! (plus... Gary Lamb pulls for them)
• Purdue over Baylor for sure... Because Joe Sangl went to school at Purdue!
• Villanova over Clemson for sure... Because Dustin Willis went to school at Clemson! (just kidding Dustin)
• Side thought... at least Clemson made it to the dance floor... My Alabama Crimson Tide were a "no show"... and the South Carolina Gamecocks were absent too!

Absolute guessing...

Who did I pick to win it? Kansas... 73 to 70 over Memphis (Yes I picked Memphis to make it to the championship... they were a #1 seed).

Whatever happens tonight... it was fun! Thanks for letting me play...

Now... When does Fantasy Football start!?!?

Who is that sharp dressed man sitting with my family?

YES... I do own a suit... and it looks good on me!

Last Sunday night (March 30th, 2008), I was Licensed to Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ by South Florence Baptist Church.

(Thanks Karian for taking and supplying the pictures)

It was a very special night!

So good to know that the church affirms God's calling in my life!

I was one of four licensed, which takes the total to 17 men licensed by SFBC in the past 17 years.

We are all starting a great journey. It was an honor to share the experience with these four guys and their spouses.

Tim Bonnett, Richard Pitts, Randy Butler, and Chris Reeder

Please feel free to contact/recommend any or all of us to fill-in preach/teach.
We are all rookies but have a great desire to share Christ with anyone who will listen!

I read the following in my new Bible before going to bed last night.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.  --Acts 2:42-47

That is my prayer for Revolution Church. For any of you that have kids or have been around kids for any amount of time... Kids fuss and fight with each other... As a father, it disturbs me that my children, who I took part in creating, can't always get along.

Ohhhhh... but when they do (see picture), it brings GREAT JOY to a father's heart.

When I fixed this cup of chocolate milk for Sam... Emilee and Jacob wanted to have some, too. Sam could have said, "It's mine!" but he didn't. He let them get a straw and join in! Awww... JOY to a father's heart!

Our Heavenly Father feels the same way about His children. Just as the kids, drinking from the cup together, had the enjoyment of that milk in common... We should all, drinking from The Cup, have Jesus as a commonality.

I pray that we will always seek Jesus and have Him as a common thread. Through that, we will experience God together, do life together, and turn Florence, SC up side down together!  And through that... many will come to know Christ!