News & Updates

My new book, “I Quit Being A Christian To Follow Jesus,” just came out on Amazon.com today.  In this work, I point to Cumberland a lot.  It’s a privilege to do so.  Would you take a look at something I wrote in chapter twelve?  As a result… if you haven’t registered for F.I.A. and this compels you, would you register?  I’ll provide a link after this brief excerpt: “When our church in Atlanta decides to go outside our walls on…

I love coffee.  I love coffee beans, coffee ice-cream, mocha shakes, dark roasted, hazelnut, cappuccinos, Starbucks, Land Of A Thousand Hills, Folgers, chocolate covered coffee beans, mugs, travel mugs, lattes, decaf, half-caf, tall, grande, venti — anything coffee.  I wasn’t always a coffee lover, but about 10 years ago the light went on.  Bam!   Now I carry a Starbucks gold card.  Pitiful. I love my early morning coffee.  I call it my holy brew.  Sometimes I wonder if coffee should…

PLEASE BE SURE TO REGISTER AND PRAY FOR OUR UPCOMING F.I.A. AT BRUMBY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ON MARCH 23RD.  TO REGISTER CLICK HERE!!! My daughter, Lauren, and I found a junky piece of furniture at an antique flea market in Powder Springs.  This thing was uuuuugly to the grain.  It was marked down from $36 to $28, and looked extremely lonely as if destined for a southern bomb fire. I asked one of our resident artists if he could dig deep…

I heard Gary Oliver recently say, “Without mission there will never be submission.” That little bomb has application all over the place. Work. Family. Marriage. Church. I also recently heard someone say, “I’ll never serve in kids ministry. It’s just not my thing.” Hmmm. I understand the whole spiritual giftedness, intentionality push. The question is, does God ever push us to just serve no matter our bends, gifts, passions, or energy (or lack thereof)? I’m certain the high calling to…

Sometimes you just show up. During the recent catastrophic, crippling, historic, BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS ice storm, my two youngest kids wanted to build an igloo from chunks of ice.  Michael and Morgan went to work, and within hours they were making great progress.   Within those same hours, the kids were also relentless on begging me to “come see” their igloo.  I went outside every time they asked, because sometimes as a dad, all you have to do is show up. Most…

COMBINED SERVICES THIS SUNDAY WITH SMYRNA FIRST BAPTIST We have a tremendous Kingdom opportunity this coming Sunday (Feb. 16th), and all you have to do is show up. By showing up at our combined CCC and Smyrna First Baptist church services this Sunday, you’ll be able to: show visible evidence of the glory of Jesus through His Church. be a part of Kingdom unity Jesus died to create. meet other believers who want to change Smyrna too. give your/our kids…

COMBINED SERVICES THIS SUNDAY WITH SMYRNA FIRST BAPTIST We have a tremendous Kingdom opportunity this coming Sunday (Feb. 16th), and all you have to do is show up. By showing up at our combined CCC and Smyrna First Baptist church services this Sunday, you’ll be able to: show visible evidence of the glory of Jesus through His Church. be a part of Kingdom unity Jesus died to create. meet other believers who want to change Smyrna too. give your/our kids…

Like so many in Atlanta, I was caught in Snowjam 2014 for twenty-two ding dang hours.  I drove nine and a half hours to go a ridiculous four miles.  My daughter, Lauren, and I were trying to rescue my first born, Brooklynn.  She was hopelessly stranded at Life University.  We drove ZERO miles per hour.  Our progress was measured in feet and inches.  At one point, Lauren got out of the car, walked into a RaceTrac, used the bathroom, and…

This past week I found out that my mother is dying.  My mom, who lives in Oregon, has been a diabetic for as long as I can remember and has never taken active steps in managing it.  She had a stroke just before Christmas, and then went into the hospital last week because she was “dangerously close to becoming septic.”  She goes through periods of decent health, but then just sort-of lets it go and her body declines. My sister…

I got my first letter from a friend doing hard time in a Colorado prison. There are three pages (front and back) of sloppy handwriting expressing doubt, difficulty, and demeaning circumstances. My friend’s surroundings are driving him deep into scripture. He’s praying like never before. His insights on blue-lined paper with messy, wet ink are intriguing. Sobering. My friend’s dilemma scares me. The thought of prison cuts to my core. Cold steel bars change your name into a number. Shame…