News & Updates

The tag on the side of the displayed recliner read, “Imitation Vinyl.” I thought to myself, “This is either a really, really good recliner or not.” There are no flowery words for something that is fake, phony, bogus or a sham. Those who are fakers have spurious titles like charlatan, counterfeit, fraud, imposter, or quack. I’m not a huge fan of the imitation or fake stuff. Fake news blurs lines of authenticity. You should probably knock it off when considering…

Because of Cobb County Schools’ Fall break this week, I was able to get away for a few days with the fam. We’ve been privileged to stay high atop a gorgeous mountain in Mineral Bluff, Ga. The air has been cooler here. The early morning coffee is richer. The morning conversations with the kids in the hot tub have been spectacular and funny. My connection to God at this altitude is good too. My journal entries are memorable. There’s a…

I watch Remember the Titans at least once a year. It was most definitely Denzel Washington’s best work. You can filter much of life through the lessons presented in this epic movie. In fact, I recommended RTT again this week to our staff. They moaned with the pain that comes from the lead pastor’s regular and relentless repetition. Now before September 23, 2000 (the illustrious date of RTT’s release), I was fully committed to another film: Honey, I Shrunk the…

I take a probiotic pill every morning that contains 30 billion strains of good bacteria. They say if you can keep your gut in good shape, the health of your body can follow more readily. I don’t really know if that’s true, but I do like using the word gut. I do six, one-minute planks and 60 push-ups every day—most days. They say if you can keep your core strength in decent shape, you will eliminate other whole-body problems later.…

My 10-year-old niece is a lot like my wife. My niece plays games like “organize the closet” and “make a grocery list.” She loves when everything is in place and organized. One day she overheard us talking about our weekly menu. On our refrigerator we list out every meal for every day that week. Each meal type has its own color: green for breakfast, red for lunch, blue for dinner. Sometimes we even write what snack we can have that…

On a weekly basis—it becomes time to cut the grass. On an almost daily basis, it becomes time for our kids to take a bath. That sagging mid-section beckons for the time to come for exercise and diet. Sometimes it’s just time. Our over-the-oven microwave quit working. It sat idle for several months. I finally took the piece of junk out. For several more months, that ugly, empty space stared defiantly at me. That space and my wife reminded me…

Have you met Gay Tucciarone yet?  Gay is our new Director of Preschool.  In my message last Sunday, I talked about Gay’s husband Lenny and the way God brings together Lenny’s passion and abilities with people’s needs.  I think I then said, “Lenny’s wife is Gay.”  This confused a few.  (Sorry about that!) Gay is passionate about preschoolers.  She won’t like it if you assume she is just “babysitting” our little ones on Sunday morning.  Have you ever seen a…

In Central Florida, on the Gulf side of the water, they have drum circles. We’ve seen some seriously large drum circles at Siesta Key. This rhythmic, primal pounding can attract upwards of one thousand people. On our last night of summer study break, we decided to check out the Friday night drum circle on Anna Maria Island. It was a few old guys on plastic chairs with plastic drums and toy tambourines. About 20 people stood around yawning. I made…