GracePoint Church

Money does strange things to us, doesn't it? It certainly has a lot of power. We've all felt the rush of having. But like a drug, once it's gone, we're left wanting more. We try to control it, but it always seems to control us. We hide it under a mattress. We put it in a 401K. We "invest" in homes and second homes.  My last church was in a community that was filled with wealthy, retired people. I...

It was a deal I couldn't pass up! I walked away feeling like I just ripped off the guy. He had sold me a gym membership for a fraction of the actual fee. I wondered how this guy could possibly stay in business. He was practically giving memberships away. On my first day of "working out," I was surprised that the gym wasn't packed with people. Fast forward 8 months and I finally understood the busi...

It was a deal I couldn't pass up! I walked away feeling like I just ripped off the guy. He had sold me a gym membership for a fraction of the actual fee. I wondered how this guy could possibly stay in business. He was practically giving memberships away. On my first day of "working out," I was surprised that the gym wasn't packed with people. Fast forward 8 months and I finally understood the busi...

Prayer is a huge part of the apprenticeship journey. But have you ever stopped to take inventory on how you pray or what you are praying for? All too often my prayers are the "as I'm going" type of prayer, or the "help I'm in a crisis" prayer, or the "I guess it's my only option left" prayer. One of the prayers I pray is about "sin in my life." I'll pray and ask God to help me overcome my judgment...

ICE activity in Minneapolis, tension in Iran, unrest at the border, seemingly unending wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, a spiraling economy, violence in our cities... and now unpredictable weather. It’s a great day to be an apprentice of Jesus. Christians should never be surprised by a fallen world that produces fallen things. Distressed? Yes. But anxious? No. The Bible gives followers of Jesu...

I wanted to compete in the Olympics. I had just watched the 1976 Olympics and was so inspired that I determined that 1980 would be my year. I was ten years old. I had the vision of incredible athletes fresh in my mind. Our men's 4 x 100 relay team had just finished in 8th place.   I tore out a picture of the Olympic symbol and a flag of Canada...and put it on my dresser in my room. Then I ran. I r...

I could feel my face begin to turn red. My hands felt sweaty and got a little shaky. My voice was on edge and words just kept coming out of my mouth. I could feel the sound of my voice getting louder and people in the room beginning to stop what they were doing to look at what I was doing.  It wasn't my proudest moment. I wish it was simply "a" moment. Sadly, I have had too many "moments" where I...

Here we are, already nearing the second Sunday of a brand new year! We're grateful to already be starting this one strong together, and we’re thankful for each of you who make GracePoint such a gift to our community. In a world so easily divided–where people are slow to listen and quick to speak instead of the other way around, this Sunday's topic in our James series will be a good look at the ide...

Well...we've survived another season of the fire hose of advertising. In the midst of it all, we celebrated the birth of our Savior and ushered in a New Year. The change of pace can be crazy but it has also brought moments of reflection.  I've reflected on another year of rich and meaningful relationships at GracePoint. Relationships that are deep because of the Spirit in each of us who know Jesus...

I don't like waiting. When I see a yellow light...which means, slow down and get ready to stop...I tend to speed up. When I see a long line at a restaurant, I go to McDonald's.  More than once I have been in a grocery store and I'm ready to check out. More than once, I see another shopping cart out of the corner of my eye, heading to the same open check out line that I am heading to. I'm not proud...

Many of us will travel over the Christmas holiday. Whether it’s to the next holler, the other side of the mountain, or a journey that takes a plane, a train, and an automobile, it’s almost inevitable this season. I hope you’re not like me, but travel is only one of the many things that can make me anxious this time of year. Is it the schedule of events and family itineraries? Emotional stress tied...

My brother was in Nashville this week on business and invited me to join him. It's always great to spend time with my brother. Not only is he a friend, but his job is executive coaching. As a cheap Scotsman, I love getting free coaching tips to help me become a better leader.  He also had tickets to the Grand Ole Opry. As a cheap Scotsman, I love getting free tickets to stuff. (Do you see a patter...

Maybe it's all of the commercials. You know the ones, with soft music and slowly falling snow. The ones with the image of a crackling fire and a mantle hung with stockings. The ones with Christmas music heard from another room as a family bakes treats. Is it just me, or do these days between Thanksgiving and Christmas not line up with the reality the TV is showing me? I feel that we’re surrounded...

In 2003 we accepted a position to be the new Lead Pastor at a church in Northern California. When we began looking for homes to buy, we were disheartened. California is an expensive place to live. We began to resign ourselves to the reality of a small trailer park as our resting spot for the foreseeable future. (not to knock on any of you that live in a trailer park). But with three boys in tow, i...

A few weeks ago, just before the weather turned cold, my wife and I took the Kayaks out one last time. It had been a busy few weeks and we desperately needed some sabbath rest. We packed up the kayaks and sped to Lake Jocassee. We could not have asked for a better day. The warmth of the sun. The refreshing feel of cold water on hot skin. We had nothing but time and the lake practically to ourselve...

Parenting is a hard job! You work around the clock to teach your kids how to grow and be successful in the world. There are not many things more enjoyable than when your child "gets it" and they begin to live out what you have long taught. That being said, have you ever had that moment when you tell them how proud you are for learning what you've taught...only to have them give the credit to someo...

The water was cold. The material took on water and weighed me down. I was all of 4'10" tall...12 years old. I was about to be baptized in a huge robe.  Pastor Wilson came to my house a few weeks earlier to talk to me about it. He used some pretty big words that I didn't understand. Words like "salvation" and "atonement" and "propitiation." He said that my baptism was "an outward expression of an i...

I found out that someone was critical of me this week. I'd love to say that I prayed for that person and leaned into my walk with Jesus who loves me for who I am but, that didn't really happen. I let the criticism fester in my mind. I reasoned through all of the ways that that person was wrong and how I needed to guide them into a right understanding. In reality, I allowed it to get too much renta...

Entropy... a concept some of you may remember from High School Science class. It's the concept that works to measure chaos. It's used to describe how the world works: that everything is falling apart and that the natural direction of everything in the Universe is heading for disarray and disrepair. Here's an example, using my body as an illustration–it's a reality that I find more and more pronoun...

I was watching the news last night. My jaw dropped when I heard a certain politician take ownership for a huge mistake.   I opened my eyes and realized it was all just a dream. When was the last time you saw someone take responsibility for their actions? Sadly, we have to think very hard if we can come up with any example at all.  "The devil made me do it. It's just who I am. It's not my fault." W...

I met with my Financial Advisor this week. We crunched numbers and talked about the future. You may think I'm a great pastor, but I'm relatively certain that you don't want me serving in this position as a spry 93 year old. We calculated my Social Security payment at certain ages. We calculated the value of my home and looked at Life Insurance policies. We checked out my retirement accounts and ma...