Fusion 07!

This weekend, about 400 people from 4 Sovereign Grace Ministries churches, arrived at Baylor University in Waco, TX to Gather.Connect.Change.

The Van Essens let us borrow the mini van so we could all ride together. Thanks David and Desiree!

Chowing down at the Baylor cafeteria

Preparing to worship and learn!

We had two pastors give awesome God-inspired messages: Steve Shank from the Gilbert, AZ church spoke on really recognizing God's love for us, by understanding the sin that He saved us from: "If sin is not seen as great (meaning large), neither is His love" and "the seriousness of the judgement (ie Jesus's death on a cross) reveals the seriousness of the crime (our sin). Steve also spoke about love and the family of God, of how we are to express "agape" or foreign love to our brothers and sisters. I enjoyed the way he delved into the meanings behind the different Greek terms for love and what the Bible uses for love in different books. "We want to be a blessing more than we want to be blessed".

My buddy Victoria and I cheering at the men's 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Sat. afternoon.

Our team came in 2nd place! Very impressive considering that they members were slightly older than the other teams. :) Great job guys!

Craig Cabaniss, the pastor from the Dallas (Frisco) church spoke on "Change". He gave an amazing message with a masterful background on the Jewish Feast of Booths, the origins, and how shocking it would have been when Jesus cried out "...if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37). The meat: "sin is seeking to quench our thirst from some place other than God". Craig then spoke of santification, which is the process of growing in our relationship with God after we have accepted Him as our savior. Change is santification. Sometimes we don't experience the change we desire because our repentance isn't for real- it is shallow. We have to deal with our hearts and not just say "Well, if I got to church X times, I'll do better" or "If a read this book that talks about God, I'll be more holy". Once you acknowledge and confess sin, you have to return to God, seek after Him.

My friend, sister, and mentor, Pam.

It was an awesome time and God certainly met His people. I met a lot of cool people from across Texas. I'm so grateful to have been able to attend and learn and was convicted in about 4 million ways. Keep me accountable and ask me how God is helping me to change and grow in Him.