So the other day I was in the living room with my stone cold fox wife, when our 9 month old son Isaiah decided he thought it would be a good idea to play rodeo on the side of his toy barrel.  In the barrel is a lot of toys, which at the time happened to be strung out all over the floor of our house, making it look like Toys R Us just upchucked in our living room.  Parents, you’ve seen this scene.

When he grabbed the side of the barrel, he went crashing down to the floor with his toys and the barrel landing on top of him.  Normally, we cheer when he gets a little bump or something and he laughs and then we move on.

This time, it was a little more serious and as soon as he realized he was hurt and in trouble, he looks up and reaches out for me, waiting for me to pick him up, hold him and tell him everything is alright.

That’s when God said, “See Bobby, when you fall, when you’re hurt, when you need me, and even when you don’t,  I want you to stretch out your arms and let me pick you up. Run to me, not from me.”

Sometimes we like to think if we laugh and act like nothing is wrong or nothing happened, we can smooth it over and skip out on the pain of need and recovery.  But other times, the situation puts us in immediate need and we need someone to tell us it’s gonna be ok.

I’m thankful for a Savior that we can reach up to, like a child wanting his daddy, and wait on him to sweep us up, hold us and tell us it’s gonna be ok. Colossians 1:17 (17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together).

Remember what Christ has saved you from and remember that even right now, at this very moment, Christ is holding the universe together.  And if He can keep that from getting out of control, He’s got you just fine.

• As we often do when necessary, we had to move our services to Oak Ridge High School, in which we will be for the next 2 weeks.
• Very thankful for ORHS who allow us to meet there when we need to.  Haven’t convinced then to let us there every Sunday, but we’re working on that
• Every time we get to be at ORHS, the creative juices start to flow and we try something new in our set up.  This week, we moved our screen around, changed up the piping, and a few other small things.
• Not only  did creativity flow in set up, but out band broke out a bass line being played with a violin bow and a grand piano for the entire worship set.  Yup…it was awesome!
• I quickly realized Sunday that I let too many things distract me and wear on me Sunday mornings when I need to push those off and deal with them on Monday morning.
• Small frustrations on Sunday mornings will equal large distractions when you’re on stage.  Let’em roll and deal with it on Mondays.
• It was AWESOME to see so many first time guests this past Sunday!
• We continued in the book of Ephesians with chapter 2 this week; Read it HERE
• On Wednesday, you can go to our Facebook page HERE and listen to the message
• Bottom line from this week’s message….God still chose to love you even though He knew how wicked we’d be.  That’s good news.

So when inviting your friends (you are inviting your friends aren’t you?) be sure to tell them to come to Oak Ridge High School instead of the Doubletree Hotel.

Help us get the word out so no one misses out!

I’ve always heard (and you probably have to) that leaders are readers.  I agree with that.  But I would also add that leaders have to rubber bands not twine.  You have to be willing to be stretched.  Rubber bands stretch…twine breaks when stretched.  Right now, I’m loving the feeling of being stretched.

Grab a book, dive in, and get stretched.  Need suggestions….how about Sun Stand Still, From the Top Down, Doctrine or THIS one….

We’ve been blessed to be building a stable of highly intelligent, able, capable preachers that can flat out teach.  There are many other pastors out there that would kill for pastor Rusty and pastor Caleb.  (Try and hire them away and I’ll throat punch you I kid…sort of…)  They take a lot of pressure off of me, being able to call on them to ask them questions, run illustrations by them, and then just lean on them to preach.  Not only does that give me a little break, but it also gives people attending the Ridge a change of pace.

I dig it.  And I think you will too.  Check out this past weeks message from pastor Caleb on Ephesians chapter 1 and what it means to be adopted into God’s Kingdom.  Caleb will break down how God choose you….you DID NOT choose God.  Have an open mind, dive in, and learn something new.  Check it out HERE

• Pastor Caleb Tipton preached through verses 3-14 in chapter 1 of Ephesians and nailed it.  He’s a brave soul for choosing to take on one of the toughest bits of scripture, and probably the most fought over bits of scripture in all of the Bible.  He did an awesome job of unpacking it so that people could see the Gospel in it and how it relates to their own lives, no matter what side of the boat they are on.
• The auido will be available by Wednesday HERE
• It was a beautiful thing hearing our crowd sing Hosanna louder than the band.  And if you’ve heard how loud the band is, then you know this is no small feat!
• Because we meet in a hotel, it’s always fun to see curious on-lookers come down the hall to check out and see what’s going on when the band starts playing.  Some have even stayed for church!
• You gotta hear pastor Caleb’s opening when he talks about test scores and what those test scores will predetermine in the mind of a teacher.  Made me literally laugh out loud several times.
• Sunday night we gathered our leaders together for some VIP…vision, information and prayer.  It was awesome to see them all in the same room again, talking about this upcoming fall and celebrating what God has already done.
• The best part of the night was when everyone shared what God was doing in their ministry areas.  God is moving…it’s gonna be a wild fall!
• Speaking of moving….this Sunday, and also August 1st, and 8th, we’ll be meeting at Oak Ridge High School for our Sunday worship experience.  THIS SUNDAY, AT OAK RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL.  Check out the website for more details and directions.

Growing up as a child and teenager, summer was always my favorite time of year.  Times have changed for many reason.  Now, I’m a fall kind of guy.  I start looking forward to the fall as soon as fall is over.  And for many good reasons….it’s the season I married my wife… football season is in the fall… the weather is AMAZING in Tennessee during the fall….Thanksgiving…..new life.  Yes, new life.  The fall is generally considered the season where things start to die off, but in the life of a church, it’s when life begins in many new ways.

This summer at Ridge Community Church, we are working very hard at getting ready for this fall.  It’s like double time actually, because we’re not resting during the summer at all.  We’re still firing on all cylinders and at the same time, preparing for the new life that will begin this fall at Ridge Community.

I wish I could outline every single new thing or new venture or new series we’ll be launching this fall, but if I did that, I’d ruin the surprise.  I will give you one nugget…community groups are coming this fall.  That’s all you get on that one.  Just know that this fall at Ridge Community Church is going to be one for the record books.  If you’re attender of the Ridge, or soon to be attender (you didn’t know that you would be did you), you’ll be talking about this coming fall for many seasons to come!

We are a church that does our best to operate on a lean budget, trying to maximize all that God has given us to impact the community with the Gospel, so those far from God will be awakened to life in Christ.  In the year and a half we have been a church (and even before) you have been more generous than you know.  Your impact has gone deeper than you realize and the love that you have shown travels further than you can imagine.  When you give, your money goes to things you may have no idea about.  So I just wanted to take a second and let you know the impact you are having.  Currently….

• You are supporting a local college student who is on mission locally to learn how to share the Gospel in her natural surroundings and getting a life experience that she would never get if not for this project.  When she returns to college, she will be beaming brighter with the light of Christ and countless people will see that light and experience the Gospel because of the summer experience you have supported.  The story is still being written…
• You supported another local student in a local mission journey where he was able to share the Gospel with high school students.  4 high school students accepted Christ during his trip, and now he is walking with them daily, disciplining them and helping them grow in their relationship with Jesus.  This will not only impact him, but the eternity impact on these 4 other students has no price tag.
• A family recently lost their home and because of you, we were able to help them get some breathing room and a place to stay temporarily while they look for a new home.  Your generosity and willingness to be the hands and feet of Jesus have made a HUGE impact on them, more than we’ll ever know.
• This school year, countless high school students will come to class and will only have one pair of jeans, a few shirts, and very few undergarments.  They will feel out of place, disregarded, and therefore will not be as engaged in class as they should be.  You are giving them hope.  Because of your generosity, we have the Oak Ridge Threds Closet set up, funded, and stocked.  These students will now have access to new jeans, shirts, socks, etc so they will not need to worry about having to wear clothes that make them stick out…in a bad way.
• Because of your generosity, in Liberia, schools are being built, education and literacy is taking place, and people are getting access to clean water.  But most importantly, as their physical needs are being met, so are their spiritual, as the Gospel is also being shared daily.  This is happening, in part, because of you giving to Ridge Community Church.

These are just a few of many stories that we could share.  Some of these are on going things, and some have been one time deals, but just know, that every time you write a check, or dig into your pocket, your money is smiled upon by God and it’s being used all over the world, to have Eternity kind of impact, so that people far God, will be (and are being) awakened to life in Christ.  That’s something to celebrate.

• I was really looking forward to this Sunday with anticipation. So much so I got  very little sleep.  But that happens a lot on a Saturday night.  I’m usually still going over my message as my head hits the pillow.  Doesn’t make good for a good night’s sleep.
• The band was back in full swing and they did not disappoint!  They came out swinging and led one powerful worship set.  Set included a song from Steve Fee and Carlos Whitaker called No One Higher/The Stand.  It’s on the Northpoint Awake album.  GET IT!  Amazing song for the church!
• Ever since we attended the Nuts and Bolts conference put on by Oak Leaf Church, our volunteers and staff have been implementing new systems.  Not only are they using them, but they’re working magic!
• We’ve got some lighting issues we need to work out.  Nothing major, but just figuring out when it’s best to go bright, bring’em down, how bright, what lights to use, etc.  We’ve done ok in this area so far, but have honestly been running by the seat of our pants.
• Started a new series on the book of Ephesians called United and spent this week focusing on setting up the series and giving background info.  This was a hard message to preach because I really didn’t have a good sticking point.  I went with the obvious…repent and commit to wrestling with the things that we think are hard to understand in the bible.
• Too many proclaiming believers are Biblically illiterate.  We’ve ran from the hard the things in the Bible because they were hard to understand or we are scared of the implications it will have on us if we try to understand it.  Ephesians will force us to deal with these things and I challenged everyone to dive in, buckle up, and get ready to deal.
• The message will be posted Wednesday HERE
• It was awesome seeing pastor Caleb take the stage and bring us home.  REALLY looking forward to hearing him speak this weekend on Ch 1 of Ephesians.  Trust me…you don’t want to miss this!
• Speaking of next week, get here and bring someone with you!  See you Sunday!

I started using Twitter when much of the world still thought Twitter was something obscene.  It took off quickly, and so as more of my friends started using it, so did I.  Here are a few reasons why I use Twitter…

• It allows me to keep up with people that I’ve met at conferences, that otherwise, I wouldn’t have the time to stay in touch with
• It allows me to make connections I would never make in the “real” world
• Twitter puts a ton more resources at my fingertips.  I can’t tell you how many great, fun, useful and good resources I’ve found out about thanks to Twitter
• Twitter helps me get the word out about things quickly by having it also linked to my Facebook account
• It helps me stay to the point so I don’t ramble…which I tend to do sometimes
• It’s fun and makes me laugh

So if you want to keep up with me and feel like you’re just not getting all you want out of bobbywilliamslive.com then look over <<<<< here at my Twitter feed, or follow me on Twitter yourself (twiiter.com/bobbywilliams or @bobbywilliams).