J.R. Lee

• I absolutely love being a follower of Christ, Husband, Father, and Pastor of Freedom Church!  Love it!
• This past Sunday was the first in over a month without some type of rain/ice/etc.  It was a great day!
• So proud of the 50+ people who signed up to partner!  It’s a privilege to team up with an incredible group of 300 partners (our version of volunteers) who enable us to pull off what we do on any given Sunday.
• We will only be at Barber Middle School for three more weeks!  I love what God has done in that school but I am very excited about the move to North Cobb High School beginning March 7th!
• Duke Vs. UinNC tonight.  Throw out the records for this one. It’s a rivalry game that promises to be intense.  Let’s Go Duke!
• I am a huge Duke fan.  I was recording the game one year when we lost in the National Championship.  I hit eject on the VCR (remember those?) and threw the VHS tape against the stone fireplace smashing it into a million pieces.  Not one of my finer moments as a middle school kid
• This coming Sunday is going to be a fantastic day.  Love the message I get to preach and can’t wait to see what God has planned!
• When we switched our Worship Experience Times to 9:45 and 11:15 – it really helped free up some seats during the later hour!  That worked for a few weeks but now we have filled them up again.  As a result,  I need another 50 people to make the switch from 11:15 to 9:45!  Thanks in advance!

I hear a story very similar to this ALL the time from guys starting churches.  “All Hell is coming against us.  No one has as difficult a journey as we do.”   These stories come in many forms.

• “A major church supporter backed out of a $55,000 promise.”
• “A key person our our team is getting the vision – just not the one for OUR church”
• “The people from the facility we want to meet in – keep telling us no”
• “Churches are popping up all around us so it’s keeping us from reaching our potential.

The list could go on and on.  Every church planter has a similar story.  Every one! That means your situation is probably not 10x harder than that of people around you.

You can complain and make excuses for mediocrity or you can move ahead knowing that God knew the situation He was calling you into.  Don’t give up!  God’s greatest miracles occurred when His people were facing insurmountable obstacles!

In honor of the Super Bowl, I thought that a good football illustration would be appropriate…

Following a victory, Tom Brady made a statement a few years ago that makes a great point. In reference to a young guy on another team who guaranteed a victory over the Patriots…Brady commented, “Well done is better than well said“.

Guaranteeing victory is one thing, but obtaining that victory is much easier said than done.  Theorist are far more common than practitioners.  Anyone can make a compelling argument or manufacture a convincing point. Choose your sources of knowledge wisely.    Learn from everyone but make a special effort to learn from those have “done well”.

Well done is better than well said.

I love where we are headed with this series!

It’s our last series at Barber Middle School and we are going to finish our time here strong!

This series outlines our 5 Core Values and this week it’s all about Partnership.

9:45 and 11:15.  Sunday arrives in 3 days – and it is going to be a fantastic day!

• Our 2 Yr. Anniversary was a lot of fun.  It was an authentic celebration of God and all that He has done!
• Our people at Freedom are passionate about inviting and bringing their friends and family with them to church.  I am grateful to be part of a church that will do whatever it takes so that people can hear the message of the Gospel!
• We signed the girls up for tennis lessons.  I hope that in a couple years that they can destroy me.  Trust me, it won’t take much.
• I have the unique privilege to be friends with many of the local Pastors in Acworth.  There is none greater than my friend Pastor Mike Linch at NorthStar Church!  He is a great preacher, leader, husband, and father.  He is the real deal and NorthStar has helped pave the way for churches like Freedom in our community!
• We celebrated Communion/Lord’s Supper with our staff yesterday.  Love the people God has surrounded me with and I am grateful for them and their families!
• Hard to believe that this is our final series at Barber Middle School!  Don’t miss Sunday at 9:45 and 11:15.  It’s going to be a great day!