WholeHeartedLife

A Quick, Not A.D.D. Driven...

...Friday post!!! I know that I am always acknowledging that my A.D.D. is kickin' on Friday's, but today, it's not - but I AM!! I am slammed as we pull close to the big Christmas weekend.

Not only am I slammed but I am pumped! We are going to have amazing Christmas services this weekend - here is what I would like for you to know:

• I encourage you to invite some friends! Statistics show that more people attend church on Christmas and Easter than any other time of the year. If you have non-church attending friends invite them to hyde park! We promise that if you bring them we will share the Good News of Christmas with them!
• Get here EARLY!!! You will not want to miss a moment of this weekend's worship experience!
• Sunday Nite is our Christmas Nite of Worship - 6PM. If you weren't planning to come I encourage you to join us for this wonderful Sunday before Christmas experience.
• Hyde Park Band and Choir: If you are part of the worship band and choir: one last rehearsal Sunday afternoon at 4pm
• Wear your Christmas Colors - let's make this place bright Sunday.
• Pray. Pray that lives will be changed, that directions will be altered, that life-decisions will be placed before God. Pray that Pastor would be filled with the power of Jesus to bring the words that God uses to change lives.

I cannot wait to be with all of you - it's gonna be a glorious weekend.

Rainy Monday Afternoon Update

Last night (sunday) I was so beat that I didn't even post - but we had an amazing weekend! With that in mind here is a quick Monday afternoon update (plus a music link) that is full of praise for Jesus concerning a great weekend:

• We had a great day at hyde park yesterday - Great crowds, great worship (so I'm told)...
• ...meaning that I never had the opportunity to join in our corporate worship as I spent the day serving over in the kidz place...
• ...which is a whole other praise: I led "KidzFaith 101", our salvation/baptism class for kidz aged 2nd to 5th grade who have not yet been baptized. I'm excited to tell you that after we completed the time and talked with the kidz and their parents that we have 9 KIDZ who have professed faith in JESUS and are awaiting baptism. AMAZING!!!!
• After that I led worship in "Kidz INC LIVE" which was great!!! We have one of the best kidz worship services possible. Our kidz were tuned in, our leaders were sharp and I loved it.
• Over in the worship center we actually began a new Bible Fellowship Group Initiative titled, "Connect3" and challenged those who attend but are unconnected to commit to be part of a small group for 6 weeks.
• 84 people said, "Yes - I will be part of a group for the next 6 weeks"! If you are one of those I am so proud of your decision to take a next step with us. To say that I'm pumped about that is an understatement.
• Worship music yesterday: Glory to God Forever, I am Free, Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone).
• Great job to the band and worship team for their ministry yesterday (so I'm told, again).
• Also, to our iServe team who really worked with our BFG Coordinator, Chris Smith, to make the Survey come off quickly and painlessly.
• We had our 1st annual "Kruzin' 4 Christ" benefit car show Saturday. It was a great success for a 1st time. I was so proud of all those who served to make it happen.

Wanted to close by sharing some of our new music that you'll be hearing over the next little while here at hp - Enjoy the rainy afternoon (take a nap for me )

Learn from these things

One of the bible verses that I have commonly heard people refer to when discussing trials 1 Corinthians 10:13: 

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Cor 10:13 NKJV)

One of the things that I see in the context of the whole passage (meaning v.1-13) is that the Apostle Paul shares many of the mistakes that the Israelites made. As he shares their failings with the church at Corinth, we are being told (v.11) that all of these things that happened to them are EXAMPLES TO US, learn from them! Don't make these same mistakes, quit doing the same things; and in the process, remember, the temptations that are coming against you has been tempting man forever - look for God IN the temptation who will give you a way to escape.

Over the years in ministry I have seen hundreds(!!) of people fall to temptation and regardless of my desire to help them, fall by the wayside. I'm tired of seeing "soldiers" fall - Satan is a liar.

This Sunday, we will really dig in and look at how you and I can truly allow God to deliver us from the temptations that come our way.

God IS at Work!!

Just wanted to touch base with you this morning...

The past seven days have been miraculous, God-filled as well as shocking (as many of you might imagine). 

• I spent the weekend leading worship with Henry Blackaby (life-changing)
• Sunday morning at hyde park was nothing short of exhilarating. (answered prayer) 
• God showed Himself strong on my behalf Sunday morning, proving to me that in my weakness that He is strong (affirming) 
• Sunday Nite was Nite of Worship where I witnessed my team lead hyde park to the throne in worship WITHOUT me being in the lead role (encouraging) 
• After "NOW" I witnessed my Pastor/Mentor/Friend announce his impending retirement. I love my pastor and can't imagine... (shocking/depressing) 
• Monday Morning I Listened to him share his heart about why he did it on Sunday nite (AMAZINGLY CHRIST-LIKE - beyond inspiring) 
• Tuesday Nite I spoke at UNCP and saw 9 students profess Christ bringing the total to 18 in a 2 week period on campus (PROPHETIC) 
• Wedenesday - had the most encouraging calls from a Pastor/Mentor 
• Thursday - Spent the day with prayer warriors listening for the voice of Jesus! 
• Friday - dreaming about the amazing day that we will have this Sunday!!!! Don't forget: "ONE" SERVICE - 10 AM - we're gonna sing the roof off that place and celebrate the sacrifice that saves us for life-everlasting. 

Hyde Park - GOD IS AT WORK!!! We better get ready because I feel that He wants to bring revival to this region. With that in mind:

• Pray.   
• Repent.  
• Return to Him. 
• Read the scriptures. 
• Listen for His voice. 
• Reconcile to those you are estranged. 
• REPEAT 

I look forward to celebrating with you Sunday!!!!  

From Pastor Harrell

The following is the official statement of our Senior Pastor, Dennis Harrell. Pastor announced to Hyde Park on Sunday evening that he would be retiring from the pastoral ministry within the next 6 months. You can see a few statements from me here. 

Though we are all still processing what this means I love his spirit and that he is excited about finishing strong.

Dear Church Family,

Last night (Sunday evening, August 30th) I shared with the church my intention to retire from the pastoral ministry at the end of February, 2010. It has not been an easy decision but one that I feel confident is the right thing for me to do. The hard part of this decision is knowing that I will not have the joy of ministering with you in the way that I currently do. My passion for preaching the Gospel has not changed and I plan to continue to preach and share God's message wherever and whenever I have the opportunity to do so. As I said earlier, I am retiring from the pastorate, not from ministry - we never retire from the call of preaching which was my original calling.

My desire is that I finish strong. My goal is that the next 6 months will be the very best 6 months in all the years that I have ministered at hyde park baptist church. Please pray for our church as we move towards the next season of ministry leadership and for my family as we adjust to this next season in our lives as well.

The Apostle Paul said in the book of 1 Timothy, 

¹² And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, ¹³ although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. ¹⁶ However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. ¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise,^[a]be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Tim 1:12-17)

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me through the office. Love you all and I hope to see you Sunday at our "ONE" Service - 10am.

Pastor Harrell

3 Reasons...

I am pumped about this weekend for 3 reasons!

REASON #1: 

Call to Me: A Southeastern NC Prayer Conference - it's not often that the Baptist State Convention actually hosts something in our region - it's even more infrequent that we have the opportunity to hear Dr. Henry Blackaby (Author, Experiencing God) and to have him to lead us to a deeper place as disciples of Jesus. I had this on my calendar to attend BEFORE I got the call to lead worship on it. I'm going - hope you are too! The conference is FREE - registration is not necessary. If your soul is thirsty, call to Him. You can see the schedule here.

REASON #2:

"Calm in Chaos - Week 4" - how many people have told me how encouraged they've been by this series? I'm looking forward to an amazing morning this sunday - you should be too!

REASON #3:

"Nite of Worship" - this Sunday Nite at 6pm we will have a special Sunday evening worship/concert. We're looking forward to an evening of worship and prayer as we end our Summer of Service 2009 the same way we started it... PRAISE! 

As you know, "Nite of Worship" is a perfect time to invite friends to experience a different kind of church.

I pray that I'll see you at all of these events!

Sunday Nite

A really, really great day at hyde park today - so many great things happened today. I'm gonna tell you about a few of them, however, I'm gonna be quick as I SERIOUSLY feel my bed calling out to me (wiped out doesn't even BEGIN to describe how I feel tonite). Anyway, here's what's on my mind on this Sunday nite:

• Week 3 of our "Calm in Chaos" series seemed to go well. I can't personally comment as I found myself serving in the Kidz Place Coliseum during the message today. I guess it's the podcast for me this week!
• By the way... do you subscribe to the hyde park podcast? You can use that to bring yourself and others up to speed on all things hp! 
• UNCP was definitely represented in the house!!!  I am so excited about what's happening over there and the part that I believe hyde park's gonna play in it. I heard that the Singles/College BFG at 2Guys Grill (after service) ran out of chairs!!!! YES!!! I feel a student Jesus revolution on the rise...
• ...and speaking of that - I CAN'T WAIT to speak at BSU House next Tuesday Nite! 
• Music today: How Great Thou Art (Newsong arrangement), Love the Lord (Lincoln Brewster), Your Name (Paul Baloche). At the end of service/invitation time we worshiped with "You are My King".  
• Justin did a great job filling the BIG SHOES of my main man, Regan Driggers on keys this morning... 
• And speaking of the band/singers, our singers did an amazing job this morning. Always proud of their service to the King. 
• Had the opportunity to hang with my bud, Chris Crain last night - we checked out his brother (and my former bandmate) Matt's band - I couldn't believe how much Matt has grown as a musician. Incredible show. 
• This evening I had the privilege of singing at the ordination of my friend (and former hyde park musician), John Spence. John is the new pastor of Barnesville Baptist Church. I reminded the congregation in song that God has called us to make much of Him.  
• Had a really great "iServe" Team leader meeting today. This crew is well on their way to becoming a hyde park dream team. The ideas presented in there are gonna make your Sunday's the best day of the week (even more so than it already is). 
• Where are all of the new people coming from??? We have had an unbelievable amount of visitors over the past 2 weeks! I likey... 
• Served up in the kidz place coliseum this morning - we sang... shouted to/for God... and talked about/learned about Nicodemus. The kidz takeaway: Jesus didn't come so that we could be good - He came so we could be saved. Simple, but the truth! 

That's it for me tonite - looking forward to a great week - are you? 

Take the "PLUNGE" this Sunday!

I love baptism days!!! This Sunday during the 10:30 service we will celebrate what Jesus is doing in the life of our church. In honor of Sunday's baptisms, I was thinking about my own baptism:

I was baptized on April 20th, 1997, the day after my daughter Madison's 1st birthday (I gave my life to JESUS on the previous Sunday, April 13th). One difficult circumstance that happened with my baptism was sharing with my family (mom and dad) that I was being baptized. Why? Because being raised Catholic, I had already been "baptized" (sprinkled) in the eyes of my family.

I remember the tension of telling them I was being baptized - why did I tell them? I HAD TO! Why? Because they were already planning on coming to church that day because Madison was being dedicated. I had no choice. (which reminds me that God does have a sense of humor - I probably would've wussed out and told them later otherwise).

The reason you always hear me ask, "have you been baptized SINCE you believed?" is because I know that many times a person has been baptized prior to conversion because of the denomination that their parents raised them in.

Is post-conversion baptism important? IT'S HUGE!!! It's literally the 1st step as a new believer! It's saying to the world, "Yes!! I Believe that Jesus Christ has begun changing my heart!". I am one of those guys of the persuasion who believes that you will never live a productive life as a believer if you won't even take the first step of obedience through baptism.

Personally for me, once I got through the difficulty of sharing the news of my baptism with my parents, the day was AMAZING FOR ME! I knew that I had begun a new journey, a new life with a new leader - I could feel it as I was lowered into those waters of baptism - when I come up LIFE BEGINS

If you've not been baptized SINCE you believed and would like more information or would like to be scheduled for baptism this weekend, let me know. 

Here are some baptism pics...

10 Years of Ministry - Part 1?

This weekend will mark my 10 year anniversary with Hyde Park. I have to say that it's hard to believe that I've been in the ministry for 10 years, let alone at the same church. It's been a journey to say the least; a good journey and a challenging journey. Here are a couple of interested things about my 10 years at hp:

• Did you know that I actually served as a hyde park lay-person before I was on staff at hp? It's true - for one day I was a lay-member of hyde park church. I officially started at hyde park on Monday, August 1st, 1999 but unofficially began serving as Minister of Music and Outreach at hp on Sunday morning, July 31st. It was on that morning, 7/31/1999, that Keyna and I joined hp, which made me a lay-leader for exactly 1 day    
• If "we" had "our way", I would've never ended up here! 3 different people told me about the hyde park position; I had no interest in hyde park because I didn't want to go to another church that was anti-change and assumed that hp was that kind of church. On the church's side, Hubert Waddell (search committee chair) was told about me by a mutual friend, my former pastor. Hubert never called, later stating, "if he was worth anything I would already know about him". Once again, I must say . If all had been left up to he and I then I would have never come to hyde park! Thank God that he doesn't always give us what we want!!
• When I decided to undertake our 1st Passion play, "The Promise" in April of 2000 I lost half of the existing choir. Consequently, when the play was over the choir doubled in size in spite of the mass exodus. Again, that would be a 
• Favorite event through the years? That's a hard one... I've had a bunch but the one that I believe stands out the most is one that most of you know nothing about... A mission trip to Upstate New York with about 15 of you to a church plant that we were supporting. Not only did we have an amazing time ministering, but the fellowship on that trip was life-changing. Those of you who were part of that... that was a great, great time for me.  
• Most memorable worship experience? Two actually (in no particular order). The first would be April 8th, 2001 - Palm Sunday. We were in the middle of our 2nd of 3 years doing "The Promise" and we were worshiping on Sunday morning. The Spirit of Jesus was thick in the place when one of our former worship leaders, Chad Fallin, took the stage to sing the song, "Watch the Lamb". As Chad told us the story of Jesus' crucifixion in song I found myself and most of the church weeping at what we were hearing/seeing/experiencing. When Pastor got up to preach he began to read his text, Isaiah 53 and as he did he couldn't even get through the text for weeping. I experienced the presence of Jesus in the most tangible way that morning - His presence was manifest among us that day. Unbelievable. The second would have to be September 28th, 2003 - the week before we kicked off the "40 Days of Purpose" Church-wide campaign. That morning I was really busy prior to the service and had not been in the auditorium in the 15 mins prior to starting. When I walked onto the stage the whole place was filled - shoulder to shoulder and "the buzz" of the people was unlike anything I had EVER experienced in a church before... people anticipating worship and all that was about to happen. Within 2 months we were forced to add another worship experience to accomodate all that was happening in our midst. 

Maybe you have some questions like this that you would like to ask - make them good ones and we'll answer/talk about them here this week as I reminisce about 10 powerful years.  

What's In-Store

I am really excited about this weekend as we continue our series, "30 Days to Live". I believe that this series is going to help many of us to live lives that count!

Last week's message, "Passion", was a challenging look at the fact that most of us live our lives as if our days are expendable - we waste days in our lives thinking nothing about it. The Psalmist says to God, "Lord, teach me to number my days"; notice, not my years (as most of us do), but days. Why? Because everyday is precious. If you missed last week's service I WOULD HIGHLY SUGGEST that you check out the free download or podcast here prior to Sunday morning - you won't be sorry!

Also this weekend is the 2nd weekend of our new schedule - just in case you've been in the land of no-communication, here's our schedule:

We have Services and Bible Fellowship Groups at both times. For a complete listing of what time specific classes meet go here.

Lastly, I'm looking forward to once again being part of the "iServe" team this Sunday! "iServe" is our revamped First Impression team - they are headed by Josh Shelley with team leaders Chuck Smith, Travis Pait, Dominique Brooks, Dolly Rhode, Toni Bryan and David Lovett. "iServe" is working hard to make Sunday the Best Day of your week. If you are interested in becoming part of this team you can sign up after worship in room WC101 (the room behind the Worship Center) or contact Josh directly.

See ya Sunday!