Between Monday and Sunday

I had the privilege of seeing Fireproof twice this weekend. On Friday with the department I work in at LifeWay and on Saturday with fifteen couples from the Church I serve bivocationally, Gladeville Baptist Church . I had seen the Fireproof movie several months ago in a screening here at LifeWay but I loved getting to see it again through fresh eyes. I was amazed at how Fireproof affected me emotionally even seeing it for a second and third time. I thank God for Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick who are both great story tellers. I thank God for a Pastor Michael Catt , Executive Pastor Jim McBride , and the Sherwood Baptist Church family who gave so much of themselves to bring glory to God in this film. I received this e-mail newsletter from the Fireproof marketing folks yesterday and rejoiced in the good news ... You made FIREPROOF the No. 4 overall movie in America this past weekend! In fact, if you look at per-screen average (and Hollywood does), you made FIREPROOF the second-...

I just uploaded a new PowerPoint template to be used with the Fireproof Your Marriage sermon by Michael Catt. You may access the free Fireproof PowerPoint template here I had fun working on this and hope it's useful for preaching and teaching. I created one for Facing the Giants last year and it had almost 7000 downloads.

I just published a new sermon by Pastor Michael Catt. Michael Catt has been the Senior Pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church, Albany, Georgia since 1989. In that role, he has served as Executive Producer for all three Sherwood Pictures' films: Flywheel , Facing the Giants , and Fireproof . For more information regarding Fireproof Your Life by Michael Catt, visit www.fireproofyourlife.com You may view the sermon Fireproof Your Marriage now You may also visit the LifeWay's Fireproof movie site here

One of the central parts of the new movie, Fireproof (in theaters September 26, 2008 and available on DVD in early 2009) is The Love Dare book that Caleb's father presents him when Caleb's marriage is spinning out of control. When Barbara (my wife) and I went to Albany, Georgia to watch part of the filming of Fireproof , and saw clips of the movie, we both began thinking of ways this amazing film could be used to impact marriages in our church family as well as marriages all over the world. During a break from the filming, Alex Kendrick, Fireproof Producer, and co-writer with his brother Stephen ( Fireproof Director) took us into a side room and asked us what we thought so far. Our questions turned to ministry impact and what resources would be available for pastors and church leaders. Alex felt the same way and shared that this was the vision of the whole team. They hoped that LifeWay would be involved. I am so proud that B & H Publishing Group (a division of LifeWay ...

In his new song "Love Is Not A Fight," Warren Barfield sings about the importance of staying true to marriage vows. Love is a shelter in the raging storm Love is peace in the middle of a war If we try to leave, may God send His angels to guard the door No, love is not a fight but it's something worth fighting for Click on the Warren Barfield video to view it ...

This is a great blog post by Craig Groeschel ( Pastor of LifeChurch.tv ). His blog is one that I follow very closely. This one was especially true and I think this is a good word for all of us who are teaching/preaching ... Craig Groeschel says, "Everything you say must be true. But everything that is true doesn’t need to be said." Then he lists several examples ( go to his blog post to read all of them ) Here's one example: "If you’re going to tell a story about someone in the church, get their permission first." I think that is true even if you are saying something good about that person. I added the following comment on his blog... This is a great follow up to your “Take Some Risks” post. I’ve been chewing on that and asking the Lord how I can do that more. As far as this post, I’ve been amazed at how much it raises the tension in the congregation if I cross this line of sharing a personal story about a church member - even if it’s positive. I don’t think it...

ALBANY, Ga., March 27, 2008 - " Fireproof ," the new action/relationship film from the creators of "Facing the Giants" and "Flywheel," releases this September from Sherwood Pictures and Provident Films. Already the movie is uniting marriage advocates from across the U.S. National groups such as Focus on the Family, Outreach, FamilyLife, The Marriage CoMission, America's Family Coaches, AMFM, Marriage Alive Communications, and MarriageToday endorse the movie and are urging their constituencies to see it. Influencers such as marriage expert Gary Smalley and Bubba Cathy of Chick-fil-A are also working to spread the word. It's no secret that U.S. marriages are in crisis. The U.S. Census Bureau and marriage organizations vary on the stats but agree that nearly half of all weddings lead to divorce—with rates highest in the Bible belt. Some 25 percent of U.S. adults divorce at least once; and given the abundance of poor marriages, many couples skip it out...

Face it, the thing that makes us want to quit the ministry more often than anything is our spouse's struggle with their role in it. A fascinating and engaging article in The Wall Street Journal caught my eye and my imagination yesterday. In fact, I read the entire article to my carpool pal and LifeWay colleague, Chris Ediger. The article, titled "Our Better Halves Sometimes Expose Our Worst Side," basically says that we should not seek business or career advice from our spouses. The article's author, Jared Stanberg, maintains that the love and support we receive from our family is invaluable for our well-being and our ability to do our work and advance in our career. However, because our spouse knows very little about what actually goes on at work or in our work world, they often provide faulty, short-sighted, and potentially disastrous advice. He calls them "badvisors" and recommends getting workplace advice from elsewhere. Mr. Stanberg quotes David Maiste...