I was so blessed today to allow the Students Ministry (under the leadership of Pastor Billy) take over the service and minister to the Body of Christ. The Students are our future leaders and it was great to see them use the gifts God has given them to serve the Lord and His people. 

Pray with me… that the Lord would use CCPSL in a HUGE way to reach the next generation of youth who live in the PSL area.

This church is not a club where we as adults come to primarily get our social needs met… rather, we are all on a mission… to see people of all ages, including the next generation… come into a relationship with Christ.

Great job Students! - Mike

Friday Fun with the Family Pastor

I am just a regular guy who loves the Lord

Andy Williams sung the song, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”  That’s right; ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!! I enjoy watching football, especially my cheerleader.  Let me tell you about the most beautiful cheerleader I have ever seen.  On Saturday afternoon and Sunday after Church, she sets up the snack bar with chips, dip, drinks and lots of meat (protein) and she even check the batteries in the remote.  She lets out the foot rest on the lazy boy, if she not going to prepare the California King for me.  All this because she loves me so much and my friends:  Hamilton, Jackson, Grant and Franklin.  Men if you want to REALLY enjoy football season, then introduce your wife to my little friends.  Hey or give her some chocolate.

I love my pastor…but I just had to do it!!!

Viva THE MULLET ! ! !
In all seriousness, I am extremely thankful that we have a place for our students!!!

(Hang on, I’m actually thinking for a change)

Last night the band & singers spent a 2 hour practice on one new song (it’s a little harder than usual)… man, it’s gonna be a great tool for worship once we get it down. It’s a lot of fun for me personally to work on music I really believe will help you connect to God & understand His character. The one thing we must always be careful is to keep the Lord above the music. God is so much bigger & stronger than we could ever attempt to give Him due credit for in worship. Remember Isaiah? True worship involved Isaiah being ashamed at his state of sinfulness as the angels cried Holy, Holy, Holy… resulting in repentance & obedience (see Isaiah 6).

It was GREAT to sing “He Reigns/Awesome God” with CCPSL on Sunday (no doubt, a taste of Heaven), but to take it one step deeper it should cause us to see our sin in light of Holy God and offer a life of repentance & willingness to be put to work in ministry… that’s when worship becomes more than singing, jamming out on Sunday (even though I like that part), or an obligation. It then becomes a proper response to the amazing grace & love God pours out over His children.

D

When was the last time you were “wowed” by excellent customer service? The other day, Pastor Dave and I went to a local fast food restaurant for lunch. I know what your thinking… ;>) no, although I wanted a juicy square shaped burger and fries, I had Chicken Cesar salad and I think Pastor Dave had something similar.  What made this an unforgettable lunch was the way we were treated. The employees made us feel like we were actually welcomed there. The manager helped describe the salads that we were about to enjoy and said if it was not what we thought it would be, then tab was on her. As we departed the restaurant, we thanked the manager for being so kind to us. I will never forget her reply… ” No, thank you… if it were not for our patrons like you, I would be out of a job”.  Wow… In a world where the art of customer service seems to be a thing of the past, it definitely shined through the manager and her team.  When was the last time you were wowed by good customer service?

As you probably know by now, our staff has moved into our new offices. There are two reasons this is a big blessing:

1. We are now right next door to our church facility! It is so awesome for the staff to have quick access to the church building during the week and to our offices on Sunday mornings. 

2. The Students now have a big room in the back section of the offices… a place they can call their own… and it really looks cool.

This is a whole new “feel” for us and we’re really thankful to the Lord for His continued provision. By the way, the girl in the picture is my middle daughter Mandy. Isn’t she beautiful?! -Mike

I have been asked on occasion about what goes on in the sound booth.  If you have never had any experience in sound, video or lighting then let me explain.

The sound booth is the nerve center of everything that happens on Sunday.  Could you imagine Pastor Mike trying to speak to a crowd of 400 people with no support from the A/V team?  The A/V team is responsible for supporting the various ministries at Calvary Chapel Port St. Lucie (not just Sundays mornings although this one is important).

The main responsibilities for the Audio Engineer is to act as the other member of the band.  The worship team can play the greatest song however if the Audio Engineer does not mix them properly then overall impact is nil.  The Audio Engineer is an important cog in the wheel of the worship team as this person is responsible for mixing the overall sound of each song…from ramping the electric guitar up during an instrumental to providing a little more low end for the bass the Audio Engineer has their hands full.  The above picture is an idea of the type of notes we typically take…it’s a cheat sheet really.  It will give you an idea of what we are writing down and what we use to execute each song to give it a dynamic feel.

Next week I will tackle the Video Engineer.

I did some research because I was curious to now how much rainfall fell at my house. If you have a few minutes check out the South Florida Water Management Districts site. You will first need to find the local ’station’ that is close to where you live (click here to identify that station…this is a pdf file).

Next you will need to ping ‘DBHYDRO’ (the Districts online data management core). You can click here to access ‘DBHYDRO’. To do so you simply just input the station name and pull up the station that you want. Some stations have rainfall data and others do not. For giggles us statoin ‘BLUEGOOS’. When you pull up the records you will see that we had 1.96″ and then another 7.67″ rainfall event giving us a total of 9.63″ of rainfall for the Rosser/Gatlin area. Of course your particular area may be slightly different since rainfall does not fall in a homogenous pattern.

If you really want to geek it out check out the Florida Department of Transportations website or click here. You will find Intensity Duration Frequency Curves (or IDF curves)…what is this you say? Well if you take a look at the intensity of the rainfall (inches/time) you can determine what year storm your area experienced. Based on my calculations we were (on average) between a 25 year and 50 year storm. Roads are designed for a 10 year-24 hour storm (as a frame of reference).

Friday’s Fun Forum With The Family Pastor

My life’s mantra is “If I have not love, then I am nothing.”  Well, I once was told that I am nothing.  I love my wife and being a regular guy that loves the Lord, sometimes I stick my foot in my mouth.  There is a difference in being honest and brutally honest, the latter lacks love.  I have learned to be honest in a loving manner.  Here are some things that have helped me from turning date night into fright night.

The Hormone Hostage knows that there are days in the month when all a man has to do is open his big mouth and he takes his life in his own hands! This is a handy guide that should be as common as a driver’s license in the wallet of every husband or boyfriend!

So, men when all else fails the last thing that we do is to pray and pray is what we should do first. Enjoy your date night. Learn to recognize the signs.  If you are pulling into the driveway after a long day at work and there is a cloud over the house and the children are outside; tread lightly and carry a big Bible.

Yo,

was just cruising up from Jupiter this morning when I noticed a ton of new waterfront property in PSL One problem, I drive a Honda Civic. I think I held my breath for at least 20 seconds while crossing a few intersections, because everyone knows holding your breath keeps your car from stalling in deep waters threatening to drown car engines. So here’s to the SUV! Sure, it may cost more to fill that bad boy up with gas (or diesel, grease from Mickey D’s, or whatever you’re using these days), but neither does one have the threat of drowning one’s car after pesky tropical storms. Plus, you don’t even HAVE TO hold your breath. This is my opinion and I’m sticking to it. You know what I’m talking about? Yeah, you know. Peace Out.