BLeach

No Place Like Home

It seems Jesus keeps prompting me to think about our church through the lens of family.

Last night I had dinner at PF Changs.  Wow.  Changs spicy chicken does not disappoint:)  Toward the end of the meal I asked our waiter how long he'd been working at the restaraunt.  He said two years, and then he added that PF Changs was the best company he'd ever worked for.  I asked him why.  He said that his managers and co-workers felt like family.  His reason: they all go out after work together to drink.

If our church can't beat that then we ought to sell our building, sleep until noon on Sundays, and then watch the Lions lose in our pajamas.

But we can. 

I know we can. 

I'm sure that Dustin's answer to my question had deeper implications then drinking.  Those after-hour trips to the bar are meeting a profound need in him.  It's a place where he's accepted, where he feels that he belongs.  For Dustin, the bar feels like home. 

That might strike you as odd.  You might want to point out that a bar is not a home, that it's actually a long ways away from home.  And I would tend to agree.  But that's probably because you and I have been blessed with a better definition of family.  What about the young men and women in our city like Dustin, who long for family yet have to settle for a few drinks with some friends.  Will we give them a better option?  Will we give them a better definition?

I know of a great church plant that meets in Dustin's neighborhood and I invited him to check it out.  I told him the church shared his dream.  They are trying to build a family.  And for a moment his eyes lit up. 

A church can be a family? 

I don't think the thought had ever crossed his mind.

Leading Your Family in Worship

So glad my dad was around to bail me out while I was stuck in Florida on Father's Day.  He did an awesome job. 

His message, Leading Your Family in Worship, was updated to our podcast this morning.  Check it out!

Or you can download the message here.

7-Eleven Redemption

When I woke up this morning and remembered it was 7.11, I recognized a familiar knot in my stomach.  July 11, 2006 was traumatic for me. 

Through the morning I wondered if I should give my favorite convenience store another shot.  After all, they've been so faithful to me by regularly stocking 2% milk and hot pockets.  On the other hand, there's only so much disappointment a man can take. 

I'm happy to say the risk paid off.  My store came through.  And I enjoyed a free banana flavored slurpee. 

So glad to say that 7-Eleven has regained my trust:)

Preparing to Preach

I'm spending my study day with our three summer interns; David, Sarah and Jonathan.  We'll be preaching a message together on July 22. 

I really enjoyed our prayer time to start the day.  I always try to start my own sermon preparation by asking God to do His preparation.  We might be crafting words, shaping stories and choosing illustrations, but God is getting all the important stuff ready. 

He's preparing the people we'll speak to in two Sundays.  He's stirring questions in them that the Holy Spirit will answer.  He's creating circumstances that will make July 22 strategic in their lives.  And He's using our people to invite friends who need to hear what He wants to say.

Most of all, He's preparing His preachers.  During the next twelve days God will graciously give us opportunities to practice what we're planning to preach so that His message and His messenger will be in unity.

You gotta love tag-team teaching with God:)

Note To Self: Don't Do That Again

Samson's story has always amazed me.  Before he told Delilah the secret of his strength (Judges 16), he told his first wife the secret of his riddle (Judges 14).  The guy just had a problem keeping his mouth closed.  Both slip-ups led to the Philistines gaining an advantage, but the consequences connected to the second were obviously much more severe.

The kind of life-altering sin that shipwrecks our future doesn't happen out of nowhere.  Monumental mistakes can usually be traced back to a pattern of small ones. 

I wonder if Samson ever thought back over his journey as he entertained the Philistines without his eyes, a shell of the man he was destined to be?  What might he have written in his moleskin? 

Small mistakes uncorrected can become large mistakes.

I don't think successful living is perfect living.  Success is simply gained by learning from our mistakes.  If we're honest when we fall, and vigilant about making the necessary corrections, we can turn one-time mistakes into ongoing victories.

And I love the redemptive ending to Samson's story.  He killed more Philistines by dying well then he did in the entirety of his life.  Good reminder that it's never too late to be the man you could have been.   

...But Now I'm Found

Yesterday all of my wallet drama finally came to an end.  When I got home last night my wallet had finally made it into my mailbox.  All my cash was gone but I've never been happier to see my Border's Rewards card.

The drama started over two weeks ago when I lost my wallet in downtown St. Petersburg.  One of the security guards at the pier called me Monday once I was home and told me that someone had turned my wallet into the security office.  Juan promised to mail it to me right away. 

Ten days later I called Juan to see why I hadn't received it yet.  He told me he'd been having car trouble and couldn't get to the post office:)  I told him I was tired of renting movies with my passport and would love to get my driver's license back.  And wouldn't you know, Juan came through! 

He even called me this week to see if I'd received it.  His message was hilarious.  He ended by giving me his cell phone number and asking me to give him a call next time I was in Florida.  He must have really liked my driver's license picture:)

The Weekend Whirlwind

Wow.  This weekend was a whirlwind filled with good, good stuff.  I'm still spinning a bit today:)

On Friday night we hosted a funeral dinner for the famiy and friends of Carrie Ritenour.  Her father Ed Ritenour is a retired police chief from the Southfield Police Department.  Our team did an unbelievable job of hosting the banquet.  Tal and Raina pulled out all the stops including parking lot attendants, greeters, servers and hosts. 

Saturday I was one of the general session speakers at the Freedom Center's Leadership Summit.  I really enjoyed the other speakers.  The best part of the day was hanging out with a great group of leaders from our church.  I'm continually blown away by the quality of leaders Jesus has brought to us.  He must be getting ready to do something amazing:)

Saturday night Johannes Amritzer and Peter Almquvst of Mission SOS came into town with their families.  We had a little Uganda reunion over dinner.  Then Johannes preached for me in our Sunday morning gathering.  Right word.  Right place.  Right time.  He preached a message he calls Chainsaw Faith.  Yeah, it was as radical as it sounds.  You've got to watch the podcast for this one.  The story about the time he and his leaders took over the night club was inspiring. 

Our Swedish guests ate lunch with our staff and then spent the rest of the afternoon with a group of young leaders in our church.  Then I took Johannes downtown last night.

Whew.  I'm tired just typing all of that:)

It was a breath of fresh air for me to spend a few days with Johannes.  He encouraged me, challenged me and built me up.  And he deposited some roof-breaking faith into our young church.

Now we're off to take over Metro Detroit for Jesus!