Sometimes when surprises come they make us stand in awe – like the baptisms we experienced together this weekend – and sometimes surprises come that have the potential to knock us off our feet.

Tuesday night during Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium, Steve Angel — a terrific camera operator and a great guy who’s honored for his work — took a surprise hit out of the blue. (Steve is the brother of our Worship & Arts Pastor, Sharon Clements, and my Research Assistant, Connie Sanders.) Take a look at this hit that surprised him from out of nowhere:

Life is fast and hard, and sometimes it comes at you at point blank range. So…what do you do when it hits your life, your marriage, your kids, your heart, your finances? We have a God who says He protects us. He is your shield and He can keep you standing firm…no matter what comes your way.

Thrilled you’re okay, Steve!

I put a call out for responses to the question, “What did you see this weekend? What stood out?” and I gotta tell you…you went berserk. I loved your tweets and facebook messages. I cried with you over the extent of your rescue. And I’ve sat in circles with staff members and friends who, like you, can’t seem to talk about anything BUT the miracles we witnessed this weekend.

In fact, we’ve called an audible and switched up our midweek Celebration service to pour out our praise and thanks to God and celebrate God’s great work at ELEVATE tonight at 6:30!

If you don’t usually attend Celebration, I encourage you to be here. We’ll see incredible pictures, hear remarkable stories, celebrate the Lord’s Supper together…and worship the One who rescued us when no one else could!

I loved how spiritually alive it was this weekend…it felt like the ground was dramatically inclined toward the cross. From the 206 people who were baptized (more than 150 spontaneously!) to the 115 who placed their trust in Christ…it was a REMARKABLE weekend. A risk worth taking.

I was going to share more of my reflections today, but I’ve got page after page after page of incredible sightings of eyewitnesses who are just in awe of what God did this weekend. Here are just a few of your reflections…

• I saw my number one person on my impact list stand to receive Christ.
• I saw a friend from high school see Jesus for who He really was and run to Him and make it!
• I finally forgave my abuser and it made a way for him to come home.
• I saw dozens of people waiting in line to be spontaneously baptized!
• I saw everyone from a 6 year old little girl to a couple in their 60s recognize their need for Jesus and respond to Him.
• I saw a 50-year-old man turn from a life full of religion and degrees, drop all his pride and give his life to Christ!
• I watched a girl’s barriers collapse when you said, “God never made someone He didn’t love.”
• I heard an extreme long-shot who had been steeped in pride praying right behind me!
• I saw people leaning out of their car windows as they left between services – yelling, ‘You won’t BELIEVE this!’ ‘Incredible!’ ‘You gotta see it for yourselves!’
• I saw people respond to the reality that “Dead people who get resurrected remember it.”
  
• I heard a man say that when he heard an atheist share his story of coming to Christ, that was all he needed to take the risk himself.
• I saw five people visiting Quest Frankfort for the first time give their lives to Christ…and then watched four of them get baptized!
• I saw a family of four all stand to their feet to receive Jesus! (And watched three of them got baptized!)
• I saw my longest long-shot stand to his feet to ask Jesus into his heart.
• I am in AWE.
  

Come See For Yourself…what a series! People have taken it seriously and it’s been important. I loved every single week, and something irresistible broke open this weekend. I’m undone by what God just did during the conclusion. UNREAL!

• You may have read my tweet Sunday night…it was like Jesus showed up in a special way, and we were scooped up into the pages of Acts.

• Heading into the weekend, I asked Jesus to bring 3,750 people, but when all the counts were finalized, we didn’t hit 3,750. Instead 4,470 people witnessed this miraculous weekend for themselves! (Our biggest non-Easter weekend ever other than our Grand Opening!)

• I was praying for 100 people to take a risky step and ask Jesus into their hearts…and 112 of His lost kids gave their lives to Christ!

• Did you read that?? 112 people went from death to life before our eyes!

• I loved hearing you guys pray out loud in the room to receive Christ!
  

• AND…on this risky weekend when we had no idea what to expect, I begged God for 100 to step forward to be baptized. We didn’t get to baptize just 100 or 120, 130 or 150…we baptized 206 in the middle of this Acts 2 weekend!

• Carson and Ani took on Miracles like people who actually believed they were possible. And we were eyewitnesses to miracles EVERYWHERE! (Where did you see them? Send out a shout out on Twitter and Facebook!)

Who IS that kid, anyway?

• A HUGE shout out to Frankfort who hosted their very first live baptism services ever. What a day! Frankfort being at near capacity both services was a dream!

• Giving people a chance to respond in every service was a huge deal. Our of the 112 people gave their lives to Christ, six came to Christ over the web, 10 surrendered their hearts to Him in Frankfort, and 96 stood to receive Jesus in Lexington! Just remarkable!

• It was an incredible honor to baptize my own son, Corey (not to mention Sharon and Paul Clement’s son, Renner, and my research assistant Connie’s daughter, Regan.) I’m so proud of you.

• My prayer for Corey – and for all of you – is that, like Jesus in Matthew 3:17, you will always hear your heavenly Dad’s voice telling you, “This is my child whom I love and with you I am well pleased.” His heart absolutely bursts with love for you.

• Baptizing hundreds of you in one day was an incredible experience. I’m so proud of you for stepping forward! Listen for His voice and hear His well done. Way to go!

• Stay tuned for a continuation of this post tomorrow with more of my reflections and some of the miracles you’ve been posting on Twitter and Facebook since the weekend began. I LOVE how engaged you’ve all been. It really is just that REMARKABLE!

p.s. Can’t get enough? Watch again here now.

It’s going to be hard to boil down my favorite things from this weekend and this series to tell you tomorrow in my regular blog, but I still had to get something out right away.

There are times when you read the book of Acts and pray for it to happen. There are other times when you see pieces of it and it feels amazing, like you’ve stepped back 2,000 years and the Holy Spirit being poured out in fresh new ways. And then there are weekends like this one, where everyone kind of feels scooped up in an Acts 2 reality as God leads us out and does the impossible.

As hundreds streamed forward to be baptized and dozens upon dozens ended up giving their lives to Christ, we were eyewitnesses to the reality that when people see Jesus for who He really is, they want Him. It’s like they’re undone and they’re not going to be satisfied until they get rescued by Christ, lay their list of qualifications at the cross, and receive what He’s done for them. It’s just remarkable.

I think one of the baptees said it best when he said, when you have  moment like this, you remember it. It’s safe to say the dead who were raised to life this weekend will never forget it. Neither will I.

• I gotta tell you, our fall series, Come See for Yourself has been blowing my MIND…Hundreds and hundreds have come to Christ! And hundreds and hundreds more are exploring faith in Jesus and seeing Him in brand new ways. This weekend we’re wrapping up this series with our series conclusion: A Risk Worth Taking AND Our First Ever Weekend Baptism Service!!! Come see real life miracles…come experience a real life rescue. We’re pulling out all the stops! Seriously…you’ve just gotta COME SEE FOR YOURSELF!

• Come this weekend! And I want to challenge you to not come alone! This is a church-wide challenge from your pastor to bring a friend. Bring a neighbor. Bring your family member. And if you’ve been out of the habit and meaning to get back for a while…bring yourself! You want to be here for the conclusion of this remarkable series.

• Church pastors and leaders…I’m incredibly pumped to tell you that The Uprising 2011 is less than SIX MONTHS away! On April 14, 2011 Erwin McManus and Pete Wilson and other great leaders will join me at The Uprising as we come together to be inspired, envisioned and equipped to build irresistible cultures of redemption! The brand new 2011 UPRISING website launches Saturday afternoon with Super Early Bird tickets on sale for only $59!!! Mark your calendars now for April 14, 2011 and bring your whole team!

p.s. Get your Uprising tickets soon…we’ve made it as incredibly affordable as possible, but this price won’t last long!

You are a dearly loved child of the Most High God, and He loves spending time with you – talking with you and opening up His word with you. Your journey with Him is JUST BEGINNING! He has astonishing things in store. For reminders along the way, you can find all of the days of the 30 Day Journey here at PeteHise.com. Click on the links below for the first 25 days and see below for Days 26-30.

Days 1-5, Days 6-10, Days 11-15, Days 16-20, Days 21-25

Your First 30 Days with Jesus, Days 26-30 (& Bonus Day 31):

Day 26: Jesus gave His life…not just to change you, but to change the world through you. Let His mission be your mission. – Read Luke 19:10

Day 27: For all the treasures in your life, be sure you prize God beyond all…reorder and eliminate to make Jesus your first love. – Read Mark 12:28-31

Day 28: Only attach value to that which God values. Read Luke 15 and you’ll see that God’s treasure, His currency is YOU & ME. God is crazy for people! – Read Luke 15

Day 29: You have choices to make every single day that can bring you life or lead you down roads you don’t want to go…choose well. – Read Deuteronomy 30:19

Day 30: Your life was made to find its meaning, stability & purpose in one grand truth: YOU ARE A DEEPLY LOVED CHILD OF THE MOST HIGH GOD. – Read Matthew 3:17

BONUS Day31: Loved this 30 day journey with new Christians. Now…a bonus for those who’ve not yet trusted Christ. Everyone who runs to Him MAKES it! – Read Psalm 18:30

p.s. If you’ve given your life to Christ and haven’t been baptized since then, you’re invited to come ready to get wet this weekend:) and take your next step in following Jesus going public for Him in baptism! (We’ll make it as easy as possible as we do on the spot baptisms this weekend!)

This weekend is the conclusion of our fall series, Come See For Yourself…AND it’s our very first weekend baptism! I wanna encourage you now to just be here. It will raise your hope meter for the potential for real miracles in your life – and in the lives of people you love. You’ll be blown away by the stories you hear. Miracles are all around us!

Really…Do whatever it takes to GET HERE! Bring everyone you know who’s ever needed HOPE. This is one of the few weekends of the year to pull out all the stops and invite like crazy. Can’t wait to see what Jesus does in our first-ever weekend baptism!! Pray bold prayers!

P.S. If you’ve given your life to Christ, and since that day you haven’t stepped forward to be baptized, come ready to be baptized this weekend! (We’re making it easy! Invite your friends! Wear your bathing suit under your clothes – bring a towel – or just come ready to get wet – and SHOW UP!:))

Do you know what it feels like to be rescued? The eyes of the whole world are on the 33 Chilean Miners who’ve been trapped for 69 days half a mile below the ground. And today, one by one…life by life, they are being rescued!

It’s an astonishing picture. Late last night as the first miners were painstakingly brought to the surface, thousands upon thousands of people all over the world watched live as obscure, ordinary men were on the verge of a long-awaited rescue.

The Chilean government and whole world have pulled out all the stops – giving everything to rescue these men. It’s an astonishing glimpse at the heart of God. He saw His lost kids…trapped, with no way to rescue themselves, and the God of the Universe came up with a solution…He sent His boy in after us.

Remember He’s a lovesick Father trying to get His kids back…and YOU CAN BE FOUND! He’s on rescue mission for YOU!

If you know Christ…join the rescue mission. Go in after the ones Jesus gave His LIFE to free! And if you’re beginning to realize you just might need rescuing…get ready! Jesus is on a full-on, pull out all the stops rescue mission…for YOU! He will never give up on you!

Come this weekend and ask Jesus to get you ready to risk! It’s time to place your trust in the One who risked everything to go in after you!

p.s. Congratulations, Chile…we’re celebrating with you today!

If you’re a new Christ-follower and you missed one of the First 30 Days with Jesus encouragement tweets (or you’ve just given your life to Christ over the last few days!), here are days 21-25 of our 30 Day Journey.

New Christians and those of you who’ve walked with Jesus for decades…listen again for what God might want to say to you through these passages. The truths represented in just these encouragements could revolutionize the lives of all Christ-followers if we really believed them.

Your First 30 Days with Jesus, Days 21-25:

Day 21: Jesus wants to teach you how to live. “Walk with Me and work with Me–watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.” – Read Matthew 11:28-30

Day 22: God knows you inside and out! He MADE you, He loves you and His work in you is marvelous. Agree with Jesus about who He says you are! – Read Psalm 139:1-18

Day 23: Your walk with Christ is not a sprint…it’s a marathon. Your entire life is a journey in knowing Jesus and becoming known by Him. – Read Philippians 3:12-14

Day 24: Be wide open to the plans and opportunities God has for you…He has tons in store for you. Your job is to just Say YES! – Read Matthew 25:14-30

Day 25: When the storms come and the winds blow, don’t be afraid or discouraged. Lean into Jesus. He will never leave you or forsake you! – Read Deuteronomy 31:8