Bobby Lepinay

Week in Review

As is our family tradition, after Christmas Day, we set out for a night in New Orleans followed by a couple days with family in Lafayette.

Some thoughts on a GREAT week....

• Deb and Tory got Touch IPods.  Man, are they MAJORLY cool!  I am still using my $67 48 song "elcheapo" from 5 years ago.  I think I may be breaking the 8th Commandment....'thou shalt not covet'????? :)  I really dont NEED one though, as all I use it for is worship on the treadmill.....but still......:)
• We got to New Orleans around 3 Wednesday and proceeded to walk down to the Aquarium.  We never made it.  Abolute DELUGE from the skies!  We ran into a place to get umbrellas, which was a joke, as the rain was 'sideways rain' and we were completely soaked within about 2 blocks.  We ducked into Canal Place and just drank coffee and talked. 
• Dinner at Ralph and Kaccos was great.  I love great waiters!  The place is loaded with atmosphere and has the best hush puppies on the planet.
• As is our tradition, we got beignets and cafe o laits at Cafe Du Monde late night.  Seriously, it wouldnt be Christmas without this tradition!
• Looking back over my blog, how many times have/will I say, "I LOVE Priceline!!!"  Got the Holiday Inn in the French Quarter for $52 a night......nuff said.
• We did the Aquarium and then ate at the very BEST Poorboy restaurant on earth, Acme Oyster House .  Oyster poorboy......my, my, my......with tabasco mayo.....if that doesnt make you want to slap yo mama, I dont know what will!!!
• With that said, I gained EVERY SINGLE pound I lost back.  The only advantage is that I am at break even now, but man......that was 4 HOURS on the treadmill walking!!!  How can it be so hard to lose, so easy to gain?????
• While on the subject of food, Deb's sis Celeste makes THE best gumbo ever!  Seriously damaging but oh, so, so, so, so good!!  Goose, duck, chicken, sausage.......again, nuff said.
• I am working on the message for Sunday morning already.  All points alert:  If you know ANYBODY who struggles with doubts about the Bible,....struggles with doubt, period, do everything you can to bring them Sunday morning!
• Got to run and get ready for "Meeting Day"......have a great New Years!!

Grace,

PB

Merry Christmas

It is Christmas Eve and I am looking to find a doctor open to bring Tory to. She has been sick a number of days now.  :( 

Why is it that this stuff comes up on weekends.....holidays???????...So as soon as I finish this post, I am off to drive until I find an open clinic...... 

$#%$*%(*^#@(**(@!@~!

That is not 'cussing'.........Just 'venting' on the keyboard.

We had a FANTASTIC weekend at Harvest.  The Harvest @ 5 service was easily one of the top services I can ever remember.  We were packed out and the combination of EXCELLENCE with ANOINTING made for a 'deep impact' service for sure!  As my dad said as I drove him home,...."I was overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit." 

But seriously......do we have talent or what???  I especially love seeing the younger set taking their places in the Body, and doing it with a strong level of anointing. 

It gives great hope for the future!

We are looking forward to having a full house over Christmas Day.  I hope you all have a sweet, peace-filled Christmas.  I will be checking out of the blogosphere for this week, but will be back next week.

A Christmas blessing from our family to you and yours......

May the Grace of God, the Love of Christ and the Intimate

Fellowship of the Holy Spirit Overwhelm You In This Season...

May a Sense of Great Expectation Fill Your Heart For

The Coming Year...

May Mercy Follow You and Those You Love.....

Pastor Bobby and Debbie and the Lepinay Family

A BIG Weekend at Hand....

To say the least,...............I AM EXCITED!!  :)

As you guys know, I am a former Catholic and have been asking God to give them to us. I just got home from an appointment where I got to lead a (now) dear Catholic brother to Christ.  He has faithfully attended Catholic church every Sunday and wants to now attend Harvest.  God is so AWESOME!!!

We are on a roll, folks.  Seriously, the harvest is coming in. 

Let me be bold and direct:  What are YOU doing???  I think most of us get complacent about the lost people in our lives.  We stop crying out to God for them.  We dont even THINK about inviting them to church.  We are just concerned about our little lives and all our problems.

WAKE UP!!!!!!

You may be the only witness in their lives. 

Do they see you excited about Jesus?  Do they see you excited about church??

When is the last time you lead ANYONE to Christ?????? 

When is the last time you begged someone to come to church with you????

I know I am hitting hard, but shame on us if someone connected with us ends up in hell and we never talked with them, invited them (again and again) to church to hear the Gospel!

This Sunday is a spectacular, perfect opportunity to invite a lost friend to.  Sunday morning, I promise you they will hear the Gospel CLEARLY presented, from a heart of love and concern, mine.  I am pumped about Sunday morning, yall.......!!! 

Partner with us:  You bring them.  We will present the Gospel!

Sunday night is one of the most special services of the year.....Carols, Candles and Communion.  This 1 hour service will be a time to Christmas memories with your kids and families. I promise you will get in the Christmas spirit MUCH MORE than just sitting at home, watching the tube!!

Soo......GET OFF YOUR DUFF AND HAUL YOURSELF AND SOME OTHERS WHO NEED GOD THIS SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

And pray.....pray that a whole bunch of people come to know Jesus for the very first time!!

See you Sunday,

PB

Insights On Marriage

I just got off the phone with a friend who has been married 25 years. 

Last week, I talked to a few husbands that have been married around 10 years.  The week before, I talked to another friend (divorced) whose marriage disolved at the 20-25 year mark.

Why do I bring this up?

I began to notice a few things that statistics back up.  Here are the statistics:  The national divorce rate is about 60%.  That covers ALL marriages.  But upon closer examination, the highest percentage of divorces happen within the first 5 years, and that by a long shot, with the most in that category happening in the first year. 

The couples were in 'lust' usually and when the reality of married life quickly sunk in, it ended just as quickly.

Interestingly, between the 5 year and 20 year period, the fewest percentage of divorces occur.  Why?  Sociologists note that internal issues and problems in the marriage that survived the initial period before children, are then 'masked', as the focus becomes on raising the children. 

The children become the center of attention, also known as 'the child-rearing years'.

But then, the divorce rates jump up drastically between the 20 and 30 year period.  I am sure you have known some like this.  I used to wonder, "Wow....how can that happen, when you made it all that time....?"   Its easy:  The children are leaving home and are no longer front and center.  The marriage itself comes back to front and center. 

Likewise, the individuals are hitting proverbial "Mid-life", a time when, as I told one of the guys I was talking to, "It's half-time.  You just finished the first half of the game.  You go to the locker room.  In the locker room, either your "1st half problems" are resolved and you come out encouraged, ready to play as a team for the 2nd half,.....or,......nothing gets resolved or fixed and you end in defeat."

Half-time is where games are WON or LOST.

We will be focusing on the subject of marriage in February at our Harvest @ 5 services, with a series called "Love and Respect".  I am already gathering what God's Word says, as I personally need to be reminded continually, as just like in a game,.... you cant go on "AutoPilot" and expect to win!

Hope this makes sense......at least food for thought??

PB

What WOULD You Do???

In reading thru various blogs last night, I ran into this from the worship arts Pastor at Northpointe in Atlanta. The scary thing is that this happened on the VERY SAME flight our family took in May when we went to London: Air Canada,... Toronto to Heathrow. 

Yikes!!

I of course thought about the fact that this occurance happened in the back section of the plane, which is about where we were seated.  The next thought, of course, was....

...."WHAT ON EARTH WOULD I HAVE DONE??? 

It is amazing that the Federal Marshall, which is supposed to be on every flight, never showed up.......disturbing.

We live in a different world, folks.  And as with the recent rash of shootings, etc....we need to as I Peter 1 says, "ALWAYS be alert and clear-minded.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion....."   We dont live in fear.  But the times we live in demand clear heads and pure hearts,.... walking in wisdom,... in faith....watching, praying, ....yet always resting in Christ.

Grace,

PB

WARNING:  Obscene language in video.....

Its Monday and COLLLLDDDD!!!!!!

Man, was it hard to get up or what??!?! 

Sundays are a LONG day for those in ministry and you usually have a 'holy hangover' on Mondays, but I have to say our down comforter combined with the nip in the air combined with staying up to watch "Forest Gump" with Michael made for a 'harder to get out of bed' day......!

Now THAT is a long sentence!  :)

Random thoughts going thru my tired head......

1. "Forest Gump" is one of my all time favorite movies.  It came on TBS around 11 last night and Michael and I watched the whole thing, as he had never seen it in its entirity.  Tom Hanks at his very best and what a portrayal of an innocent, simple soul. "Myy naammeeee is Forr-essstt....Forr-est Guuu-ump...!"
2. The Harvest CORE Christmas Party Friday night was a BLAST!  We had close to 120 of our people who serve packed into the Chapel.  I have to say, I have NEVER seen that ugly room look so fantastic!  Great job, Lisa and team on making it a memorable evening!  And as always, Mike, Gin and the culinary team......absolutely your best yet!  The roast beef with the horseradich sauce was amazing.  The pork roast likewise.  It was hard to pick one over the other!  And a big THANK YOU to our CORE who makes this church happen week after week......we love you!!
3. I have followed the Miami Dolphins since 1972, when I was a wee lad of 9 years old.  I have not admitted to it for a few years now, particularly this year, 0-13 start.  But the WON yesterday and avoided being the only team in history to go winnless.  Yaaaay??!?!
4. Likewise, my 2nd favorite, the Saints.  Oh, the Saints........ Can you say 'frustrating'???  They blow the first half of the season completely then play the 2nd half like a playoff worthy team but probably wont make the playoffs. "And that's about all I have to say about thaa-at" :)
5. I really had a good time speaking at the 5pm service last night.  I took the movie "Elf" and talked about something I have never really spoken on, "Loneliness".  I felt completely 'full' in the Lord as I spoke, happy.  I trust the Lord used it.
6. Our RAVE service was good, but a light crowd.  I am sure the down comforters were holding some of our folks hostage on a cold winter morning...! :)
7. Seven.....I just had to go there.  :)

Have a great start to your week!

PB

CORE Christmas Party Tonight!

Three times a year, our CORE (those who serve at Harvest at least once a month) gathers together to celebrate what God is doing.  We believe in BLESSING our servants, so we have a fantastic dinner fully catered for them each time!

With over 130 in our CORE, that adds up to quite a bill, but God keeps on blessing us because we sow into our people.  This is our way to say a big 'Thank You'!!!!

Tonight is our Biggie.....the CORE Christmas Party.  We are having to do it in the Chapel as the Family Room wont fit our CORE anymore, but trust me, this is going to be NICE!!  I took a look at the menu this week......by far the best yet. 

If you are a part of the CORE, I am looking forward to seeing you tonight.  We have alot to celebrate...!!

PB

How Do I FEEL About That....?

The 1st miracle the Bible records Jesus doing is changing the water to wine.  I love what Mary, Jesus' mother, tells the servants when asked what they should do:

"Whatever he tells you, DO IT!"

How different this is than how we all usually go about our day to day life...!!  Instead of listening to the LORD, we listen to our inner voice, asking the question...."Well, how do you FEEL about that???" 

....and that, folks, is where the CROSS comes in.....death to self:  The way you FEEL becomes what you do.  It becomes your WILL. 

Your will and God's will 'cross'.....

....Only ONE will can live in ONE body!

Whose "will" will it be in yours???? 

Case in point:  A person hurts and offends you,....really hurts you.  God says, "Forgive them.  Just as Christ in God forgave you, so forgive." Your feelings start to speak....."Well, how do you FEEL about that???" If you are like me, self answers, "I dont like it one bit!!!  They hurt me!  I really dont feel like forgiving them at all.  As a matter of fact, I hope God really gives it to them...!  I hope someone does to them what they did to me...!".....and on and on Self talks. 

"Self-talk".

Anti-God EVERY time!

The solution? "Take up your Cross DAILY....and follow Me!"  (Luke 14)  TWO wills cannot live in one body.  You have to shut your own feelings up...!

....DONT ASK YOURSELF HOW YOU FEEL...!  We will NEVER "feel" like doing the right thing!

You can apply this to eating those donuts.......saying that sarcastic comment......excercising.......just about anything: 

Stop asking how you FEEL and 'whatever He is saying, just DO IT...!"

Grace,

PB

Manning the Fort

  Debbie left this morning at 5:30am to fly to Atlanta with one of her very good friends.  This is a real blessing for her, as her friend is paying for everything!  That was her husbands gift to her for her bday:  a 2 day shopping trip with a friend, all expense paid!

Man.....how can I match that?!?!? :)

I am happy for her, as she works hard and is the one who always stays home when I go on conference trips, etc..  Soooooo.......me and Tory are planning out our next few days already!  So far, its Norma's (her pick...!) then go to the airport and watch jets come in from the top parking deck, followed by desert and coffee in the airport restaurant.  We are going to have fun I can tell!

Peace....joy!

PB

Confrontation

I keep up with a number of leaders blogs out there and it seems the subject of confrontation has been a major theme this past week.  'Tis the season', I suppose..?? :)

It may be with a child who is pressing the limits.  It may be with a co-worker who is offensive.  It may be a boss who treats you like garbage.  It may be a with friend, a spouse......a parent. 

Mark it: Conflict WILL arise!

Conflict and confrontation is a necessary part of life.  Thereby, we have to learn to do it well.

At Harvest, one of our Core Values is "relational integrity".  We work very hard to walk this out, keeping the air clear, walking in respect, honor and love toward each other.  That means we practice confrontation on a pretty regular basis! :)

Here are a few 'rules' in practicing the Art of Confrontation:... (thanks Gary!..)

• Realize Conflict Isn’t A Bad Thing - When we hear the word conflict, we automatically think negative. Conflict can be a good thing.  It resolves issues and gets issues taken care of.
• Run to confrontation - We should RUN to conflict if we want to keep the air from becoming toxic.  Guys are so afraid to confront people that they will let problem people hang around causing trouble for too long.  When we hear of an issue we should waste no time confronting and dealing with the situation, prayerfully, with counsel from those in our inner circle.  By confronting quickly you get the issue taken care of and you are able to move on in whatever way you decide.  When you confront slowly, you spend more time stressing over the issue and allow more time for that person to bring others into the issue.
• Deal with conflict face to face - Mark it:  90% of people with a problem will never tell you about the problem.  No one goes to Will about our music, no one comes to me about the teaching, etc.  When they do confront the person they are upset about, 99% of the time they do it through e-mail rather than face to face.  Avoid getting into email exchanges with people.  Set up meetings and handle the situation. Or, if it isnt too heavy, talk on the phone.   Just make sure things are clear.
• Don’t take it personal - This one is HARD.  I have learned when confronting people about their problems with me that their problem is normally something different.  It takes really listening OBJECTIVELY, rather than SUBJECTIVELY, where your feelings are in front.  Strain to understand what is really bugging them.  People don’t know how to discuss so they attack.  Taking it personally only makes you bitter.  Not worth it....
• Don’t confront while still angry - I normally try to give 24 hours to allow myself to calm down.  This is hard for me.  I am very passionate, very "French".  I am so thankful for the level heads around me that back me off til the anger part is gone.
• Have another person in the room if there is high potential for misunderstanding- I do NOT deal with conflict in our church that is big stuff outside of the meeting being with all 4 of our Pastors present. Too many people will take what you say and twist it and then it is your word against theirs.  I always have others in the room to see how things unfold, to give their perspective.  If I had done this many years ago, rather than waiting til the last few years, alot of situations would have been dealt with so much quicker and all enabled to move on easier.  It is amazing how long some churches will allow 'mess' to stay around.  Pardon the crassness, but its like a pile of dog poo being in the middle of the floor, stinking up the room, and nobody doing anything to clean it up.  Clean up the mess, air out the room, and get on with it!!!! 
• Say what you have to say - Too many folks don’t say what truly needs to be said and that is why they are in conflict with that person again in the future.  Dont allow what is bothering you to be glazed over and leave the meeting still frustrated.  Got down to the roots, lest the tree grows back!
• When it is over, it is over - When you leave the meeting, it should be done.  No more anger.  No holding grudges.  Not mentally rehearsing the thing again and again.  When the meeting is finished, all should have been laid on the table and nothing held back.
• Take the high road - After meeting, if the coworker or whatever is still bad mouthing you afterward, leave it alone.  You did your best, now entrust it to God and walk in grace, love.  Do NOT get into the 'he said/she said' thing.  Likewise, dont go around telling what happened to everyone who asks. 

Without question, every situation is different and must be handled differently, BUT, pulling out a few of the above principles can diffuse a potentially volatile situation and prevent little messes from becoming BIG messes that end with great (and unneccessary) pain.

To better and better!

PB