Relevant and Timeless

Sometimes people ask me, "What kind of church is Gateway?" What they primarily mean is, "What's your worship style?" Obviously, anyone who has ever seen our building on the inside has a pretty good idea that we're not like most churches in our area. There are no …

Excellence and Sincerity

Excellence... That's a big word that packs an equally big punch. It's a quality that all desire. Naturally, we all want to excel in the various areas of our lives. But excellence doesn't happen just because we want it to happen. Excellence results only when we work to …

3 things about worship everyone should know

3 Things about worship everyone should know...

1. God doesn't need our worship. He's still God whether you worship Him or not. Sometimes we get this hare-brained idea that God has a needy personality - that He requires constant affirmation from His people. I'm sorry …

Dissertation

Amy routinely asks me about two things:

1. Have I written a blog lately?
2. Have I worked on my dissertation?

Thus, in the spirit of her question, I'm writing today about my dissertation.

Many of you know that I am what they call in academic circles ABD. It's …

What is a worldchanger?

If you're wondering, "What's a worldchanger?," check this out...

"Worldchangers stand up ready to make a difference. They go beyond the usual expectations of Christianity and find the most intense demands that Jesus places on his disciples. They strive to meet those …

Catalyst

For those among you who may not know, Gateway is in the midst of a message series entitled Catalyst: Change Your World!

Deep down all of long to be worldchangers; we all want to leave the world better than we found it. The bad news is that most people will fall flat; …

Vacation

It's been two weeks since my last post. Sorry about that! A lot has happened since then... Let me begin with this.

On Saturday, July 28 our family left for vacation at Pawleys Island, SC. Now I grew up in South Carolina, and there are many beautiful places in the …

Talking to God

What do the Sugar Hill Gang, Chicago, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Mylon Lefevre have in common? They're all a part of Dave Morrow's message for Sunday, July 29 at Gateway. We're not exactly saying they'll physically show up at 118 S. Berkeley, but you won't want to miss …

Top 10 Reasons to Visit Gateway Community Church

Hello Everyone,

Here's a list of my favorite comments/questions I've heard about Gateway. Enjoy, and remember it's all about Jesus!

10. "Your band played Grand Funk Railroad's "Some Kind of Wonderful" to open your service?

9. "A lot of people I know wouldn't …

Saying, "No!"

"No" is a word I really don't like to hear. I'm really all about the "yesses." I suppose I'm not really all that different from most foks. We all like affirmation when we ask about ourselves and permission when we want something for ourselves.

We especially like to …

Miley Cyrus

"Hannah Montana." "Drake & Josh." "The Suite Life of Zach & Cody." "That's so Raven." "High School Musical." "Cory in the House." Some of you have no idea what I'm talking about. Others know very well.

My girls are so special to me, and, like any good father, I …

Beach Bums & a Message from a Dummy

Check out the recent pics of our trip to Atlantic Beach. It was a perfect day for it and we all had a great time. We all love the beach, but I could do without the cleanup afterward. We'll find hidden clumps of sand in our van for several weeks. Drag out the …

Working Hard

Most of you know that I have four girls that range in age from almost 10 to 2. They have been such a blessing to Amy and me, and each adds a unique dimension to our family. Julia, our oldest, is bookish. Bailey performs. Avery refuses to use the potty. And then there's …

Books

We all have certain things that we have put off for too long. Last weekend, I did something I should have done months ago. As many of you know, I had to pack up an office last August. I didn't have a lot of time to be careful in the packing and ended up with about …

Home Alone!

Sorry about the last post. It had a ton of funky characters where the apostrophes should have been. It should be fixed by now...

Amy and I had a wonderful time by ouselves last week. Of course, we went to Biltmore, but we also got to do a lot when we got back to …

Zaxby's, Nana & Papa, and Biltmore

I got a special treat on Father's Day. My hands down favorite restaurant is Zaxby's, and my girls made a special point to take me there after church. I'm one of those fairly adventurous types when it comes to trying new things off the menu. But I'm not that way at …

It's been a while...

OK, where to begin? You know it's time to post again when your wife says she's tired of reading about herself a two-week-old blog. We've done a lot since my last post. Here we go...

Two weeks ago, Amy attended Camp Kidjam along with the Gateway Kids in Winston-Salem. …

Amy

Have I told you lately? Amy Stamper rocks!!.. I consider myself blessed beyond measure, and I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am to share my life with her. This August, we will celebrate twelve years together--twelve extremely busy years. Four daughters, eight …

Baptism, Mythbusters, & Stamper Girls

Hey guys! Thinkin' about last Sunday night... Gateway had its inaugural "First Funday" celebration this past Sunday evening. As part of the evening, 7 people showed everyone they are Christ Followers by being baptized. Gateway has this portable baptistry that …

My Profile Picture

Since I started this blog, Amy has been after me to explain my picture to you. In it, I'm holding a match. Since our Life Group began this past October, we've had kind of a running competition with several other groups. One group said they were the best, one group …