Wow! What a night!

If the kickoff for Celebrate Recovery is any indication, this is going to be awesome!

Tonight, we held a BBQ Kickoff for Celebrate Recovery at the Love In Action warehouse in Dothan, Ala. We had no idea how many people would come, but we prepared for a good crowd. We weren't disappointed. There were 67 people at the warehouse tonight. Praise God! Most importantly, at least two people accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior! That's what it's all about.

The altar call was awesome. A number of people came forward for prayer for a number of different issues. It was just an amazing night, and I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for it all.

Celebrate Recovery is a wonderful program written by Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California. It's for people who have habits, hurts and hangups. That pretty much covers everyone. For those with addictions, it's like a 12-step program, but with Jesus in it. It's an awesome program, and we're so thankful to have it as part of Love In Action.

We have Tabernacle United Methodist Church to thank for Celebrate Recovery. God placed this on the heart of one of their members, Emily Hinderliter. Then God brought our paths together. Tabernacle got behind Emily's vision for Celebrate Recovery and they are funding it, including the food. Now that's a great commitment to reaching the lost and hurting. Thank you Tabernacle! They have been friends of Love In Action for two years now. They are a wonderful church with a huge heart for reaching the lost.

One of the things I love about Love In Action is we always see the Body of Christ working together, and the results are always people getting saved and lives changed. People from at least five different churches, from Dothan, Taylor, Enterprise and Ozark, volunteered tonight. No church banner was raised, only the banner of Jesus Christ was raised and that's how it should be.

God's presence in the warehouse tonight was incredible. Our musical group tonight was the "Chosen Heirs." They were fantastic. They have servant hearts, and they really ushered in the Holy Spirit with their praise and worship. One of their members, Jerry Mills, gave his testimony. Wow, he is a walking example of how God can radically change people's lives.

Then Robert Risner preached God's Word. That brother is anointed and he preached from his heart. Everyone was glued to what he was saying. I have only known Robert for seven weeks, but I have quickly grown to love him. He has a great heart for reaching the lost and he likes to have fun. He fits in perfectly with Love In Action.

The food was excellent. Ms. Diane is one great cook. Her red beans and rice were "swinging!" The hamburgers and smoked sausage were delicious as well. About a half dozen of us men enjoyed grilling the burgers and sausage. Thanks Mom for the new grill!

It all added up to one awesome night. It was an answer to a prayer. I had prayed and talked about how cool it would be to have a Saturday night service. Well, we had one tonight. God put it all together. I know this won't be the last Saturday night service at the warehouse.

Our first regular Celebrate Recovery meeting will be next Thursday. Then we will change it to every Tuesday night. We had to change it so the men from Houston County work release can be there. Next week our regular Celebrate Recovery band, Root of Jesse, will be playing and I will preach. And, for the food .... Ms. Diane said it's Italian night! It's all going to be great.

Thank you to everyone who came out and volunteered tonight. And thank you to everyone who prayed for the event. Together, we all were God's hands and feet tonight, and we saw God bring a harvest. Wow! What a night!

Thank you Jesus!