Jim Carpenter

Did something this summer I’ve never done before – I took a SABBATICAL BREAK.

What’s a Sabbatical? It’s like the “seventh year” in the Old Testament – an extended season to allow the land to regain it’s potency and the soil to restore its nutrients and minerals. God in Scripture designed Sabbaths (Geneses 2:2-3) and Sabbaticals to restore, renew, and refresh us for the purpose we’ve been created for.

For more info, check out “Leading On Empty” by Wayne Cordeiro – a Top 10 Leadership read and life changing book!!

We have the most AMAZING STAFF and VOLUNTEERS at Compass!! I’ve seen SO MANY Pastors burn out, fade, quit, and default through the years. I want to Finish Strong for my God, my Family, and the Vision He has placed deep inside of us here at Compass to impact a city for Jesus in our generation.  It’s stuff like this that helps leaders make it for the long haul!!  THANK YOU for encouraging and allowing us to take a much needed and refreshing sabbatical!!

So, one of my commitments is “shorter blogs” – ha…we’ll see how I do.  We’ll make this a two parter. That’s WHERE I’ve been…AWESOME to be back…CAN’T WAIT to preach…Tomorrow I’ll Catch You Up on the details.

PS – my 3 kids are ABSOLUTELY PUMPED about being at The 706 tonight!!!!

• YES – the Sabbatical was PLANNED, AWESOME and MUCH NEEDED to Refresh, be Renewed, & spend time with my family…3 things that are tough for pastors to do in the weekly flow…
• YES, I MISSED everyone – there’s NO PLACE like Compass!!
• And YES, I’m PUMPED to be back and READY TO GO!!

It was SO GOOD to be at Compass today and not as a speaker – we were scheduled to be at another friend’s church, but I MISSED you guys –  5 weeks is the longest I’ve ever been gone at once and then I heard GEORGIE was leading worship – that sealed the deal, we had to be at COMPASS today!!

I LOVE THIS PLACE, LOVE being your PASTOR, LOVE  ALL God is doing here, and CAN’T WAIT for all HE has planned for this fall!!

• GEORGIE WILKINS, one of our Worship Interns, led worship today for the first time and it was AMAZING!!!!
• Yes, her VOICE is INCREDIBLE but more importantly, her HEART and PASSION  to worship GOD with EVERYTHING she has are second to none - that’s what I LOVE about her!
• If you’ve hung around here for very long, you’ve heard me talk about our value/pillar of GENERATIONAL INFLUENCE – “We will GIVE our lives to HAND OFF a Healthy CHURCH and PASS ON a Godly Legacy for Generations to come.” (2 Timothy 2:2)
• Today was us living out that value. We’ve had 9 INTERNS the past two summers through our student and creative arts ministries and I LOVE IT when they get a shot to use their talents to minister.
• Georgie was one of our first and has interned with Matt and our Worship Teams the past two summers; beginning with The 706 as a high school student and now with our Sunday morning teams as a college student studying worship and music.
• This next generation has the Greatest POTENTIAL and RESOURCES to Connect and Point this World to Jesus than any other time in history – I want us to be a place that does whatever it takes to encourage, train, equip, and inspire them to the GREATNESS God has planned for them!!
• Interested in INTERNING at Compass? Email Sheryl Graham at sgraham@compasschurch.com and a staff pastor will contact you.
• STEVEN FURTICK brought it today talking about GOD’s UNSTOPPABLE POWER. Several thoughts that stood out -
  • When I want what God wants for the reasons God wants it, I’m UNSTOPPABLE!!
  • The MIRACLE happened BEFORE the message ever began (Acts 3:1-10)
  • It’s POSSIBLE God could use you to perform a miracle in someone’s life BEFORE THE SERMON ever begins.
  • Question – Are You making yourself AVAILABLE for God to use outside the temple gate?
  • When you give God ALL that you have – THAT’S ALL He needs to do EVERYTHING He wants to do THROUGH YOU!!
• I heard one time “the message begins in the parking lot!!”
• Compass VOLUNTEERS – THANK YOU again for ALL You do “outside the Temple gates” in the parking lots, hallways, and classrooms of Compass, bringing ALL you have, and ALLOWING God to change a city one life at a time through your time, treasures, and talents.
• Bottom Line – COMPASS would NOT EXIST without YOU!!
• I was told we had 4 New Volunteers take the VOLUNTEER FIRST EXPERIENCE today in Compass Kids – MADE MY DAY!
• Check out Compass’ next PARTNERSHIP CLASS, August 22 (click here) and find out how YOU can be part of ALL God is doing through the local church to ROCK THIS CITY and WORLD for JESUS!!

GREAT to be back!! Tomorrow’s Blog – we’ll catch up on the past 5 weeks….

Sometimes, God has to literally KNOCK YOU UPSIDE THE HEAD to get your attention. No pun intended, but that’s exactly what happened this past week…a line drive to the head, 28 stitches later, an afternoon stay in the ER, and some REALLY REALLY GOOD DRUGS… it was all about TRUSTING my team and being THANKFUL for all God is doing.

In leadership and in life, it’s hard to TRUST – we all have our stories of being burned, hurt, dissed, let down, and wounded. BUT, if we are going to lead the teams, have the marriages, build the homes, thrive in relationships God is calling us too, we’ve got to learn to TRUST.

I REALLY wanted to PREACH on Sunday…message was ready, it was a real good one, I was fired up and passionate about what God was going to do THROUGH ME on Sunday. That’s the Problem – iT’S NOT ABOUT ME – IT’S ALL ABOUT TRUSTING HIM and MY TEAM!! BUT, it’s SO HARD to LET GO.

I’ve said it before and I’ll scream it again – We are SO BLESSED to have the BEST STAFF on the PLANET at Compass. These guys are an AMAZING TEAM. I watched the 2nd service from the Green Room on Sunday THROUGH TEARS. Even two line drives to the head coudn’t have kept me away from Sunday’s service – WHY?…because I knew with all the interference, God was going to do SOMETHING BIG and I wanted to be in the stands cheering Him and our team on (AND…why some people just STAY AT HOME on Sundays…I get we all need vacation, 52-2 plan, taking a break – totally cool…BUT just staying at home because you had a long week when the God of the Universe wants to refresh, restore, speak, heal, change, and commune with you – I DON’T GET THAT….but that’s a different rant).

It was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING to have a box seat to see God at work and these guys in action, making last minute game time adjustments, stepping up to the plate, and knocking the ball out of the park – EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. I’m the ‘old man’ on the staff now with all these 20 Somethings and yes I was a PROUD FATHER.

Some of the highlights….

• 7 PEOPLE surrendered their lives to JESUS – why we do what we do!!
• BAPTISMS – we baptized 4 people….their life change stories of God’s POWER we’re AMAZING – I was in TEARS AGAIN
• WESLEY’s MESSAGE – God OBVIOUSLY had something POWERFUL to say through this Next Generation Leader…MUST HEAR – get it on the podcast if you missed it!!
• WORSHIP – this team is THE BEST – not just incredibly talented BUT THEIR HEART, PASSION, INTENSITY, and LOVE for JESUS is the REAL DEAL..AND, it’s not about them – somebody call somebody – WE NEED A COMPASS WORSHIP CD like yesterday!!!!
• COMMUNION – I got to watch this from the back and it BLEW ME WAY as we CELEBRATED JESUS’ sacrifice for undeserving people like us.
• COMPASS VOLUNTEERS – you were JESUS with SKIN ON as you rolled out the RED CARPET for a ton of guests, made COMPASS KIDS the best day of their week, and served in countless areas behind the scenes as SUPPORTING CAST for JESUS in an off the chain worship experience!!!!
• I could go on and on…..EVERYTHING that happened on Sunday was a highlight…if you missed it – it was a TOP 5 SERVICE EVER at Compass!!

God woke me up in the middle of the night Monday to remind me of 2 Timothy 2:2 “So, my son, throw yourself into this work for Christ. PASS ON what you heard from me – the whole congregation saying Amen!! – to RELIABLE (trustworthy) LEADERS who are COMPETENT to TEACH OTHERS.”

I TRUST these guys and what God is doing inside each of them with my life and am SO THANKFUL for all God is doing at Compass in your lives!! Just wish i wasn’t so HARD HEADED and actually had to be almost BLINDED for God to OPEN my eyes once again to the GREATNESS of this team and GOD’s AWESOME POWER and PLAN!!!

I hope it doesn’t take a LINE DRIVE to the head for God to speak to you but whatever it is He’s trying to say – LISTEN, OBEY, TRUST HIM, and BE THANKFUL!!

THIS SUNDAY AT COMPASS

Just a HEADS UP that 4th of July is going to be an AWESOME SUNDAY at Compass to CELEBRATE FREEDOM!!!I CAN’T WAIT to see all God does in you and through this amazing team!!!!!!

THANK YOU to ALL who serve, have served, and have given their lives on the field of battle for the GREATEST COUNTRY ON THE PLANET – the United States of America. EVERYTHING I have in life that’s FREE (my salvation in Christ and the privilege to live in this great country) cost someone’s blood…I owed a debt I could not pay – THANK YOU JESUS and THANK YOU U.S. Armed Forces!!

“A Picture is worth a thousand words”… Thanks for ALL your Prayers, thoughts, texts, emails, letters, and challenges to my manhood!!

THIS COMING SUNDAY…

ON A PERSONAL NOTE…

The Carpenter Family had an AWESOME FATHER’s DAY hanging out together – kicked it off with church – no better way to start a week!!…went to the lake and crashed for a while…got on the water and had some fun…saw the BEST TUBING WIPEOUT EVER (got 10′ off the water – NEVER seen that before..and yes, I was IN the boat NOT on the water)…ate some home made strawberry ice cream…ate some incredible FRIED SEAFOOD at Dockside Seafood House in Hartwell, GA with Lisa’s dad and family (yes, Father’s Day was created to EAT)…and topped the evening off with some more home made ice cream – oreo this time – BOO YAH!!

There’s a lot of BUZZ about Father’s Day @ Compass…talked to a lot of dads who want to be in church – that’s AWESOME!!

Father’s Day is one of my FAVORITE SUNDAYS to preach – LOVE talking to DADs!! Been BEGGING God all week to show up BIG!!

This is one we ALL NEED…it’s shaping up to be one of THE BEST Father’s Day weekends we’ve ever had!!

Let me encourage and challenge you to NOT come alone Sunday AND do WHATEVER it takes to bring someone with you. It will be WORTH IT and GOD WILL CHANGE LIVES!!

• Makes the Old Testament UFC Hall of Fame
• Valiant warrior from Kabzeel
• Chased a lion into a pit and killed it – that’s NOT NORMAL!!!

• LOVE our current series…LOVE what God did this past Sunday (we had a TON of GUESTS and LIVES WERE CHANGED – way to go Compass!!)…LOVE hearing the stories of how you are saying “Yes, Lord” and using your ‘ONE LINE’ to invite people to church so God can ROCK their worlds!!
• We’re welcoming FOUR new Part Time Staff members this Sunday…Andy Zuniga (The 706/Students), Zach Wetzel (Creative/Production), Mary Ann McKissick & Christina Schmelzle (Compass Kids). I LOVE all of them – they are PASSIONATE about JESUS and PASSIONATE about Connecting People to Jesus…great additions!!
• Had an awesome Staff Appreciation Dinner for Paul and Laurie Sims at our house last night – DANG – our staff CAN COOK!!  Compass – we really are BLESSED with the greatest staff on the planet and we are going to miss the Sims Big Time!!
• Got to Water Ski on an official SLALOM COURSE earlier this week – BOO YAH!! I DOMINATED it (ok…it dominated me, BUT my goal is to make every buoy by the end of the summer IF I get invited back!!)
• Go USA!!!!!!!