Big stuff this weekend at Church at the Bay. If I am being honest, I am a little tired this morning. Didn’t do my best work at the gym. But- here is the download from the weekend.

• Saturday we met at the beach to party and baptize!
• We baptized 18 people (go God!) and then ate pizza
• The gulls attacked but we held them off
• I rode into CATB this Sunday on a Harley- our series Redline- When Life has you Floored
  
• I haven’t been on a bike in 5 years- last time it ended with a visit to the emergency room. Good news- no mishaps
• We had some cool electric and gas powered race cars outside- I am sure there will be pics on the Church at the Bay Facebook page
• ONLY 8 WEEKS AWAY FROM STEINBRENNER HIGH SCHOOL!
• I talked about creating margin in our lives. I am working on some of those principles today.
• We had another secret worshiper in this weekend. A local pastor who is a good friend. Sandy and I went to lunch with him and his wife. Got some good feedback.

• This is the last week for backpacks- have them there Sunday. Need to know more go here
• Our Men’s golf tournament is August 8th. Go here to register.

On a final great note- 3 people committed their life to Christ yesterday! Yes!

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It was great to get a chance to teach and celebrate the Lord’s Supper this weekend. As I sat backstage (in the locker room), I listened to you guys sing and engage and I loved it! It is a privilege to be the lead pastor at Church at the Bay. First week back here is what I saw going on!

• 1st, you couldn’t miss the monster truck as you drove up, Bear Claw. The owner, Joey, is a serious Christ Follower- here is his website.
• By the way- the cost is usually a couple thousand dollars- his charge to us… $0… He is very generous (He shares in video here, and turn it up)
  
• I do think he robbed the idea from my jeep! Compare pics

• The kids loved the truck and I think have a permanent smile stuck on their face. Don will be uploading pics to our Facebook page this week. Check it out-
  
• The crowd was ready to go in both services and attendance was solid.
• Backpack Bonanza is in full swing. Help us partner with Common Ground Church to reach the financially disadvantaged kids in their neighborhood. Here is what you need to do…
• This weekend is our Beach Party and Baptism- we will start at 10am on Honeymoon Island (Baptism about 11, Pizza at noon). Plan to come and PARTY. MAP.
  
• 10 weeks until the huge step of Faith called Steinbrenner High School Fine Arts Auditorium. If you missed this weekend please watch the 1st 10 minutes of the video I have embedded below- BIG VISION

Finally- Celebrating the Lord’s Supper together and praying with many people was very rewarding. Some people wanted to thank God for His goodness, others wanted prayer for job needs and still others asked for prayer for reconciliation. Father- would you meet their needs according to Your riches in Glory. (Philippians 4:19)

This Wednesday I plan to blog about the Vision God has given Church at the Bay- make sure you check back.

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We celebrated the Lord’s Supper this weekend and talked about what is Next for Church at the Bay. The Lord’s Supper was really a moment for me for many reasons:

• Watching 24 leaders serve the supper around tables of 6 was incredible
• The prayer time was really cool. People lit candles and the pastor’s of CATB prayer with scores of people during our celebration
• BTW- 2 people gave their life to Christ this weekend!
  
• We start a new series next week- Mutiny: Got a little captain in you? We will explore the life of Jonah and how God got him back on track. You can prepare by reading Jonah- its only 4 chapters long!

Let’s talk about the MOVE: (if you missed you can listen to the whole message here…)
After months of prayer and exploration God is leading Church at the Bay to move to the new high School- Steinbrenner. It is located at the new exit off of the Vet at Lutz/Lake Fern. This school is brand new and opens this August. Here are some details:

• When- September 13th will be our 1st Sunday
• We will meet in the Fine Arts Auditorium (9:30 and 11)
• I know you all love our plastic chairs- but you will have to make due with theatre seating!
• Set-up will happen on Sunday morning- more details coming
• By the way- Davidsen Middle School has always been incredible for us. There leadership has been very kind and fair.
  
• Got a question? Ask away

We also talked about Missions

• I go to India this January to look at a missions opportunity for CATB
• It looks like Cuba may be opening up to us
• We are enlisting SWAT (Servants Willing And Temporary) teams for this fall. These teams will go and help staff a church that is launching
  
• Home Teams will continue to engage in serving locally

I was thanking God this morning for the response we experienced this weekend at The Bay! Two words, ready….. A (wait for it…) mazing! I am so pumped to be chasing God in Tampa with you guys! Our plan is to make Tampa a hard place to get to HELL from! The vision is clear… Let’s do this!

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