Travis Johnson

new invite cards for fall schedule

5 Minute Mini-Vacation

This morning may have been one of the most productive mornings for me in months.  I hammered my "to do"
list.  I had one project that I thought would take me all day.  It was done in an hour and a half. Awesome. 

I walked out into the main office area and decided to take a 5 minute mini-vacation.  It was great.  I was in the Cayman's...crystal waters, no bills, no lists, no places to go.  Just a warm, humid, salty breeze.  OK.  Enough escapism.  I'm back.

Choose Your Own Adventure

Last night, Kelly and I ditched the girls and went to Coconut Grove with my buddy Matt (who is moving to Kansas tomorrow...bummer) as well as Taylor and Brannon.  It was a great night in one of my favorite places in Miami.

As we were having dinner, telling stories, and laughing at one another, we started reminiscing on something that had given me a passion for reading from my childhood, the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books.  You read to the end of the page and rather than turning the page, you make a choice.  Based on that choice, you go to one of three possible pages.  Within that single book, there are many stories.

My life and the life of our church is that book, now more than ever.  The decision to move to the theater caused us to take a radically new direction.  We fast forwarded to a completely new story.  We just finished negotiating the terms for running two services in the theater.  It is finalized.  It feels great to get that hammered out.

At one point today, I thought we might have been coming back to our building to pull it off.  That would have been another story with a slightly different ending.  It was something that we had considered as a possibility for several months now.

Our decisions are critical because our future is bright.  But, as much as I feel the burden of leadership and the urgency to make the right decisions, God has it all in control.  He knows our future.  He has plans for the Kingdom of God here in Homestead that are bigger than I could imagine. 

We are trusting Him much more fully than we trust in our own ability to navigate the waters of decision.  Still, I love the "Choose Your Own Adventures" and I love dreaming about our future and working out the details to realize the Kingdom of God prominently alive in south Miami-Dade county.

What is in a name?

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. - Proverbs 22:1

"Proper names are poetry in the raw" - W. H. Auden

Needing Help with a Name

Scott Hodge and his wife just had a boy.  His name is Alexander.  That's awesome.  I mean its great that they had a healthy, handsome baby boy.  But, it is awesome that he has a name. 

In roughly 80 days, we'll have our 3rd and final kid.  He'll be our first little guy.  He's nameless so far.  Kelly is about to kill me because I have some weird compulsion to not talk about any specific name.

Then, Kourtney thinks we should name him "Cookie Monster" or "Bob the Builder."  I'm on the fence about those names...they may be a little too out of the mainstream for me.  Time is running out on the name game.

On all of my personality tests, I am off the charts "judgmental."  I see in black and white and make decisions quickly.  But, I've got no decision here.  A good name is important.  So, what do you think?  Should we name my boy, "Cookie Monster?"  Or, "Bob the Builder?"

3 Free Tickets for 3 Lead Pastors

Over the past several months, I have been involved in a great coaching network led by Nelson Searcy of the Journey Church in Manhattan.  I've grown a lot in this environment.  I wanted to open the door for a few lead pastors to experience a little of what I've experienced.  So, I have 3 free tickets to a Stewardship Seminar that is being held in Tampa on September 11th from 9 AM to noon.  For lead pastors, this is a "can't miss seminar."

After the three tickets are gone, there is a cost of $49 to attend.  If you cannot afford to go, let me know and we will do whatever we have to do to get you there.  Either comment here or email me if you want one of the free tickets and I'll email you the code.  Otherwise, you can register here.

Lobster Mini Season

Lobster mini-season opened this morning.  We were in the water from midnight until 10 AM.  We scored.  I'm having grilled lobster this week.  Hopefully, I can share some with Paul before he leaves to pick up his family for their move down.  He joined us on the trip and is well on his way to being one of us. 

The coolest thing of the trip is that somewhere around 4 am, I got a Hog Fish.  You never (rarely) catch these guys on a line.  You have to use a spear.  I got him from above (through the spine and out the belly) in about 12 feet of water...a really crazy shot (in other words, "luck").  I also bare handed a lobster that was getting out of Phillip's net...wish I hadn't done that.  I also wish I hadn't shoved my arm up under fire coral...bad move.

The Jesus of Suburbia

We have a new series coming up (Aug. 19).  While I'm loving Hot Sauce, I am very much looking forward to this topic.  I enjoyed a couple books earlier this year, one by Mike Erre and another by Eric Sandras.  This series will be based loosely on their thoughts and will challenge our desires of bigger, better, more, and seclusion.  I can already tell you, this is going to be a heck of a lot of fun.

Survival of the Fattest

This isn't right.  Justice.  I thirst for justice!

Holy Hot Sauce Video

If Peter Popoff, Master Prophet E. Bernard Jordan, or Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda were broadcasting from Life Pointe and were hocking bottles of Miracle Hot Sauce from the Ancient City of Tabascus, this is what it would look like.