How to sell a house in 2 days

Apr 17th, 09 / Comments Off

After accepting the call to Prince Avenue in Bogart, Mel and I immediately started the process of selling our home.  We had talked about it before, but selling a home is a first for both of us – so we weren’t sure what to expect.  Another factor in all of this was the current market.  Whenever we told someone we were putting our house up for sale, you could see them wince at the pain.  Many homes have been on the market for a year or more and still haven’t moved.  We were hopeful, but realistic that I might be commuting for a little while.

So, what does any good pastor and professor do?  I researched.  Mel and I both looked into all the things we needed to do.  We have an amazing realtor in Athens who has been a HUGE resource to us in helping us understand what to expect.  We de-cluttered, made sure everything was clean and the paint was all touched up.  My yard is immaculate, like a carpet.  We planted roses.  We were ready to sell this house.

The time came to find a Realtor.  It’s a more difficult decision than you would think – because truthfully they all do pretty much the same thing when they list your house.  I’m not a pro in the market, but at least with the 3 I talked to I am positive we would’ve had the same amount of exposure and marketing with all 3.  It just comes down to a matter of who is a better negotiator/advisor for you when you start getting down to the nitty gritty.  We interviewed 3 Realtors and found that they were very similar in most things, except price.  We wanted to be able to sell, not sit on the market – but we didn’t want to price it too low.  This number does have to be just right.

After much prayer and deliberation, we landed on the third guy we interviewed.  He’s a believer, has his act together, and he’s a younger guy – which I kind of liked.  He also happened to have a buyer looking for a home like ours in the area.  We signed the papers with him to sell the home on a Saturday and that very same day he showed our house!  We left for a quick vacation with Mel’s family, leaving the house as clean and nice as we could.  The buyer who saw it Saturday loved it, came back Monday and put an offer in on Wednesday.  Our house wasn’t officially on the market until Monday night/Tuesday morning and it had already had 2 showings and an offer on the 2nd day!  When we came home from our vacation, our house was already under contract and had even been inspected!

Was it all of the preparation we did to sell our house?  What worked best?  I’m going to be flat honest, God sold our home.  I like our Realtor, he’s a great guy – but God has put this together.  Of course we are only “under contract” at the moment and still have about 6 weeks until closing, but I am confident that God is in this.  All the stuff we did to prepare was our faithfulness in what God has entrusted us with, but God was faithful to us in putting it altogether!

Of course with the market we have lost money on the deal, but realistically speaking we think we sold the house at a fair price (though not the price I would like to have sold at).  However, I am excited to see how the other end of this story plays out.  All glory to God for His mighty works!  He can sell a house in 2 days in this market… that is one mighty God! :)

There’s no formula for you to sell your house in 2 days too… but how mine sold was through much prayer and the power of God!

(If anyone is looking for a good Realtor in Gainesville/Forsyth County or Athens, let me know and I’d be happy to recommend one to you!)

Now I want to do this…

Apr 13th, 09 / Comments Off

My friend Ben posted a link to a guys blog who projected some images on a church building a night.  This looks way cool, and I want to do it now!  Can’t you imagine how cool Prince’s new building would look lit up like this?  :)

Check out the pics here.

Lessons I’ve Learned, Pt 2

Apr 10th, 09 / Comments Off

The importance of imperfection.

Continuing with many lessons I’ve learned in church planting, I’d like to share one that is rather important to me – the importance of imperfection.  Now, I doubt that many of us would follow a leader anywhere who just came right out and said “I just don’t have a clue what I’m doing.”  Even the worst of presidents will sell you lines over and over if it will help your confidence in them.  In leadership circles, there is a phrase that’s common to hear: “fake it ’til you make it”.  In other words, if you don’t know what’s coming next, then you act like you do until something happens!

So, what I mean by the importance of imperfection is not that we place ourselves in a position to others in expressing we have no clue (even if that is the case sometimes!) but rather, it is sharing that we don’t always have all of the answers.  One of the most difficult responses for a leader in ministry is to simply say, “I don’t know”.  There are some theological issues that are just impossible to turn into a black-and-white situation – and too many guys go too far and fake it.  But a beautiful thing in life is to realize that though we may be called to vocational ministry – God has called every believer to be a minister.  We are not that different.

Sometimes when I meet someone for the first time I will hold back what I do for a living as long as I can.  People tend to change when you tell them you’re a pastor.  Almost as if they need to have better posture or more correct grammar.  What helps bridge the gap is when they realize that you are just as flawed and imperfect as they are.  The difference isn’t that we are perfect, but that we are forgiven.

I read recently that most critics are a lot like how Jesus describes the poor.  Most of them are needy and hurt, and often rather immature.  There are a few times in my life I wish I had heard and understood that principle.  The point is that we are all flawed and none of us are perfect.  We’re not perfect husbands, fathers, pastors, leaders — but we can strive to be more like Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our faith.  The importance of our own imperfection is to point to the grace of God.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself.  Admit when you are wrong.  Ask forgiveness when needed, and offer it freely – even if the other person doesn’t feel they need it.  Sharing the Gospel is not about telling others how perfect we have become, but how forgiven we are.

Up next… the role of your spouse in ministry.

Cool Video

Apr 8th, 09 / Comments Off

My good friend Judd who used to be a worship leader at our church posted this music video on his blog.  It’s probably one of the coolest video’s I’ve seen in a while.  Watch it below, then check out Judd’s blog – he’s a pretty great guy.

Click here for the video

Lessons I’ve Learned, Pt 1

Apr 8th, 09 / Comments Off

About a year ago I had the idea to write a book.  I think I’ve got one or two in me… and possibly one day I’ll have my chance to write one of them.  The book that I have been (loosely) working on is basically What I’ve Learned So Far.  It’s kind of a catch-all, but honestly my motivation is to write it for Shay – whether or not it ever gets published.  That way he can hopefully learn from my mistakes and share in my successes.  I won’t blog all of those, but this ‘series’ of mine will be a tad different.  I want to focus on a few major things that God has taught me at this church.

In the midst of transition to a new ministry, it’s difficult to not get your evaluation goggles on.  As I am looking back at all that God has been doing the past 4.5 years in church planting, here are some of the lessons God has taught me.

The Gospel must be the center of everything you do.

It sounds simple enough.  I mean, we are Christians and we do love the Gospel message, but often we focus too much on appearances or actions of others – and we don’t live, embrace, or truly experience the Gospel.  Years ago (many, many years) I had a Buick LeSabre.  My friends called it a Grandma’s car… and it kind of was.  It was extremely comfortable, but it’s not the coolest 4-door, 8-year-old sedan for a 16-year-old to drive.  As a new believer, I was so excited to share my faith that I got the idea to make a pinstripe along the entire car that was the Roman’s Road to salvation.  My revolution started and stopped with me, because to my knowledge I haven’t seen anyone else follow this trend of witnessing!  My third brake light lit up “Jesus Saves” and I had “To God be the glory” on the windshield.  Trust me, you would have loved it.

Around the same time I bought an answering machine.  In High School I had my own phone line at home, and my new answering machine had 3 different mailboxes.  So in my initial message, I said “and press 3 if you’d like to learn more about Jesus!”  Yep, there it was – on my answering machine!

To remember to place the Gospel in the center of all things doesn’t mean we have to cheapen it by slapping a pinstripe on everything we do, just so that the message is there.  If that’s all we do we are missing the point.  Every time we meet someone, you can tell if the Gospel is central by how we treat them.  The Gospel is about grace and forgiveness, repentance and humility.  It is not about guilt and shame, torment and pride.  It is our job to let the Gospel so penetrate our ministries that everything we do centers around showing the same grace to others that has been shown to us. It’s why our church had a ‘come as you are’ policy… not a ‘come dressed for church’ mentality.  God is in the business of changing lives, not in simply helping you revamp your spring line of clothes.

With every outreach, every service, every encounter – our church existed to make the Gospel more prevalent.  For Christians to be more encouraged, and for lost people to hear the Good News that only Jesus can change lives.

It’s not about programs.  It’s not about preferences.  It’s not about music, style, dress, or even whether or not you have a building.  It’s all about what we do with the Gospel that matters.  Those other things are way down the list in the area of importance.

More to come!

New Opportunities!

Apr 6th, 09 / 4 Comments

I have been excited to post this announcement as to what God is up to!  For the past 4 and a half years I have been a church planter.  When we moved to Forsyth county, we didn’t have a lot of money and we weren’t going to make a lot of money, but we knew it was what God wanted us to do.  God has provided in so many supernatural ways, and it is a tremendous blessing to have served at this church plant.  One day I am sure I will have a series of posts with my experiences here… which I am sure will probably be more for me than anyone else.

If you do know me well, you know I enjoy to be stretched and challenged.  It has been a good fit to be a church planter because I enjoy thinking differently.  However, our time here has come to an end and God has moved us on.  We have been praying pretty seriously about where He would have us to serve and more and more He has been moving our hearts toward a specific church.  And I am proud to today post that…

We will be moving to the Athens area to work with Prince Avenue Baptist Church.  I will be the Student Pastor and eventually focus primarily on High School students.  Mel and I are both excited at the honor to serve at such a great church that is making a great impact for the Gospel.  The previous Student Minister is retiring (yes, retiring) after almost 30 years at Prince and I believe close to 40 years experience in Youth Ministry.  Wow!  What an honor to follow such a great man of God, and I am excited to see what God is going to do through this ministry!

In the coming days I am sure I will have more posts as to how God has been working on this whole thing, to how He is still providing supernaturally. Please do pray for us through this transition and as we put our house up for sale and prepare to move to a new place.  I know that God is at work at Prince and I am beyond excited to partner with them in sharing the Gospel and living it to the community.

Big Weekend!

Apr 4th, 09 / Comments Off

This is a HUGE weekend for us.  I will post some more details this week, but the short story is that a ton of stuff is happening this weekend.  Those who know about our story know a little about what is going on, but I hope soon to be able to share on the blog how this year has really shaped up – and everything that God is doing.

The cool thing is that it is way obvious that God is at work!  I cannot wait to share all of the amazing things God is up to.  Hopefully I’ll have something posted soon, but we would really love and appreciate your prayers!

New Phone

Apr 4th, 09 / Comments Off

I am ready for a new phone.  The Blackberry I’m currently using is 18 months old and it’s on it’s last leg.  It was a nice one when I got it, but it randomly erases contact information and emails… not cool.  However, I have a few months on it before I can upgrade, and double-plus the rumor is that Apple will be releasing a new iPhone in June — so I’ll be holding out for it!

Random facts about me… this is my 3rd smart phone/Blackberry, and my 9th cell phone (and no, I’ve never lost one or had one break). :)

Clarification…

Mar 30th, 09 / Comments Off

So, I’ve gotten a little push-back on my comment about Switchfoot.  I called them sellouts… yes, I know.  But here’s the deal: with the Beautiful Letdown they had several great hits, which landed them into the limelight.  I am a fan of Christian artists who make it to the ‘big show’ and don’t compromise their values.  I don’t know enough about Switchfoot personally, but I’ve always felt that they kept their faith in spite of success.  However, at some point they compromised their ingenuity and just became a little more bland.  Don’t get me wrong, a bland Switchfoot still knocks a ton of bands out of the water; but Nothing is Sound and Oh Gravity were albums that didn’t compare to their predecessors in my opinion.

So, that’s my two cents – and I stick by it.  I’m looking forward to their new release where a studio exec at Sony isn’t telling them how to dress and what to sound like – and they’re able to be themselves.  Jon Foreman is still bursting with talent and I hope the new album reflects their earlier stuff and sees a little bit of growth.

Music to look forward to

Mar 29th, 09 / Comments Off

Just the other day I was telling my wife that I needed a new album to listen to.  Hello, my name is Patrick and I have a music addiction. Its probably more accurate to say I have an iTunes addiction, but either way, I listen to a lot of music.  And while there have been a few disappointments (ahem, the new u2 for one) – there are still a few albums I’m looking forward to in the next few months.  As is my custom, I thought I’d share some of them with you!

  • Jars of Clay. I missed seeing them in concert recently… twice!!  I have been to a ton of concerts, but somehow I have never seen Jars live, and they are one of my all-time favorite bands.  In fact, I think I have every album they’ve ever released.  On April 21st, The Long Fall Back to Earth will be released — ah, and just in time for my birthday!  These guys get better and better as time goes on.
  • Hillsong United.  These guys rock. My mom actually bought me their first disc back in 1999 (I think it was) and I’ve liked them ever since.  I look forward to each new album, and the last ‘best-of’ didn’t quite do it for me.  On May 26th, Across the Earth: Tear Down the Walls will be released and I am excited.  It’ll be perfect “top-down” music for the Jeep!  Of course they are playing in Atlanta in May… I need to ifnd out more about that!
  • Switchfoot.  I was a Switchfoot fan back when I worked stage crew for AtlantaFest in 1999 (or was it 2000?) at Stone Mountain.  They had just released their second album, A New Way to be Human, and I was an instant fan.  Plus they were way cool guys.  Then the sellout happened… and I was “that guy” that stopped listening to them when they got popular — but honestly, their music was nowhere near as good as their previous stuff.  However, they have finally gotten out of the contract and are on their own label now… which means, let the creativity flow!  Jon Foreman (the lead singer) has been releasing some superb sounds through his solo work and Fiction Family – so I am looking forward to this new evolution of the band.  Not sure when it will be released though.
  • Mute Math. Of course, Mute Math.  I’m sure I talk about them way too much.  I have seen them 3 times in Atlanta, and they are one of my all-time favorite bands.  Their recent EP was good, but it’s been WAY too long since they have released a full album.  I don’t think they’ve set a date yet (it was supposed to release last Fall and it keeps getting pushed back) but I think they are hoping for a summer release.  If you like infectious rhythm, creative sounds, and keytars… they might be a good fit for you!