Seriously. Church planter Morgan Clough, pastor of Outreach Across America – Worship Center, is in need of 100 chairs. He’s not picky – he just needs chairs.

Can your church help? Do you have extra chairs around your facility? Help me help Morgan. Let me know what you can do.

It is my pleasure to announce that Michael Wallace will be joining the Faith Promise family as Pastor of High School Ministry. Michael has served the past four years on the staff of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas in the role of 9th and 10th grade Pastor. Michael, Holly and their 20 month-old son Colt anticipate arriving in Knoxville this weekend.

It’s exciting to have the chance to share life with such amazing people! Michael, Holly and Colt, welcome to Faith Promise! I cannot wait to see how God uses you to reach more people for Christ and to make our team better!

Pray for the staff at Graystone! They have a lot to figure out this week as they prepare for the second weekend in their new home. Take a minute and pray for:

• Many of the people who attended last weekend to attend again and experience the life-changing message of Christ.
• The church to say “thanks” to God – it’s all about Him.
• The staff team to have strategic wisdom to process this past weekend and the changes needed for next weekend.
• The volunteers to have patience as they “figure things out.”

Jonathan, Jennifer and Graystone – Congratulations! We’re not surprised and cannot wait to see what God does through you!

As we were boarding, my stomach began to rumble. As the wheels lifted up off the ground and the seat belt sign was turned off, I began to feel sick. I ran to the tiny porta-potty in the sky that they call restrooms on planes and began to puke my guts out. This is not a joke: I had blue stuff from the plane toilet on my jeans. I puked for about an hour when Kim began throwing up. It was horrible – we both puked in between handing our terrified 18-month old back and forth to each other.

Okay, so why do I share this? Steve and Beth were on that flight and watched this all happening. They were leaving in a few days for Africa as missionaries. But as they watched us, they felt compelled to help. Steve stayed with me (I was in a wheel chair) in the baggage claim area while Beth took Kim to get a rental car. They stayed with us until he had loaded the luggage in the car and they had sent us on our way to the hospital.

We have told this story to people over and over. We were so thankful that they would have done this for us. They didn’t know us. They didn’t have to stop. They could have gotten sick and missed their departure from the states.  BUT, they followed the leading of Christ.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and there are people like Steve and Beth all over the story of your life. Have you stopped and told them that you are thankful for them?

Today, my friend Casey Graham and The Change Group launch their new website. More importantly, they are premiering a resource that I believe will change the way that church is done. The bottom line: The Change Group will manage your church finances for you – while helping you build a culture of generosity and giving. If you work with them, you will get:

• Weekly bookkeeping,
• Monthly updates on your finances, and
• Quarterly financial consulting

Casey and team know their stuff! If you are launching a church plant or in an existing church, you should contact the guys at The Change Group. They will give you a free 2 hour consulting session if you click HERE before October 31, 2009. You may ask,

• Why should I contact them? Because your church finances will directly limit your ability to reach people for Christ.
• Can I afford them? Many churches will pay them less than the cost of a staff person – AND you will get quarterly financial consulting you would not get from that staffer.
• Would you work with them? I’ve already met with Casey at Cross Point Church and have followed up with a couple of phone calls. I believe in Casey and The Change Group.

If you have any questions, leave me a comment. If you are still reading this, quit and click on the link above!

• Spiritual Walk – He told me about things that God was currently teaching him in his quiet time. It was great to hear about his walk with Christ.

• Leadership Development – He shared with me his 7 Ingredients to Leadership Development that he took directly from a study of the life of Christ. I was writing like a madman on post-it notes (I didn’t have my legal pad or computer with me). Awesome stuff!

• Multi-site – He started a website for multi-site leaders. You can find it here. Not to brag, but I received an email from Mac saying that I was #500 to create an account. I’ve always been a little slow.

If you want to grow in leadership development, follow Mac’s blog and become a part of Leading Multi-site. I honestly cannot wait to learn more from him.

Who is someone that you have met recently and what impacted you about them?