My Top 10

Whew...These past few days have been, needless to say, CRAZY! Christmas Season is always busy for people, but you can multiply that by 10 for Pastors who are married and whose parents and in laws both live several hours from their residence.

Today I want to reflect on my top 10 highlights of the year 2006, some of which are not so good and some of which are awesome!

1. Ozzie Vargas: Ozzie was a Senior at Apex High School and memeber of Apex Baptist Church where I grew up and worked for a few years. Ozzie fell from a zip line this past fall and was tragically killed during a Youth Retreat. God used that situation more than any other I have seen in a long time to bring together a group of people (ABC Youth of ~170 folks) and made them a community of believers. The loss of a close friend and child of God hurts more than one can imagine to those close to Ozzie, but God used this "homecoming" for Ozzie as a tool to reach a campus and community for the Gospel. Yeah God!

2. Preaching to 900: This semester I had the opportunity to present the Gospel to approximately 900 people at a Shawn McDonald concert here in Wilmington. I have long prayed that God would use me in a mighty way to reach the multitudes for His Kingdom. Thanks goes out to UNCW Baptist Student Union for having me!

3. Buying a House! *I should note here that these are NOT in any particular order.* In September my wife Katie and I closed on our first home. Now, that may sound like a little thing to some of you, but it has always been a dream of mine to own my own home and there's nobody else I'd rather own it with than my best friend and wife Katie! Our A.D.D. on Crack dog now has a backyard to run around in. Pray for me as I attempt to be a handyman.

4. WBBC Youth Leadership: I could not have asked God for a better group of people who love and care for our students than the ones we have now in place here at WBBC. These folks have stepped up way beyond the call of duty to go to games, do movie nights, lock-ins, discipleship groups, bible studies, and countless Wednesday Nights. You all are the reason this ministry is thriving.

5. The lady in the Car: Allow me to explain. I drive up to Wake Forest every Thursday for classes at Southeastern. On my way to the campus on Capital Blvd. in Raleigh, I noticed a woman in the car next to me making out with her dog. Now, I do not mean that she let her dog lick her face once or twice, but she literally licked the dog back on the mouth. Folks, I was so shocked that I began honking my horn at her and just started dying laughing....BUT SHE KEPT ON GOING!! I'll never forget that!

6. Dad's Race Car: My father began racing this year at the local tracks in the RDU area. He has long desired to become an official redneck, and I think this qualifies him in that category. Congrats Pops! You can find his racing club website here!

7. North to Alaska: One of my best friends and I planned a trip to Alaska for a fishing trip about 5 years ago. But that sucker got married and got a real job and was not able to get the time off to go........SO I WENT WITHOUT HIM!!!! His father and I spent a week together fishing in every man's dreamland. I have never had so much fun fishin in my entire life. Every man must travel to Alaska and become a REAL MAN.

8. 24 New Believers: This year I have had the awesome opportunity of watching God save 24 different people while I have preached the Word. I say this not to boast of my ability but because God is amazing. If it were on us, people would probably "exit right" as I began to speak. But because we serve an awesome God, He has been saving folks this year! Yeah God!

9. Watchman Nee: This year I began reading Watchman Nee as much as possible. Every Christian should have to read this book and this one as well. Order it, read it, and marinate on it! It's worth your time. I have fallen in love with this man's passion for God and his writing style.

10. The Blogging World: This is actually one of my favorite things I have discovered this year. I am so thankful that someone encouraged me to begin blogging, but even more than that I am thankful that I was introduced to others who are blogging. There are several people's blogs that I check EVERYDAY and I love hearing the different insights these men bring to life, leading churches, and preaching. I learn just as much from some of these men as I do from sitting down and reading books! Some of the blogs I check daily come from Perry, JD, Dr. Reid, Nathan, and Ken. I highly recommend these to you, but also realize that you must filter what you read. These guys all have different views on some things which is why I read them!