Been Thinking

It's really hard for me not to "work" when I'm away and "on vacation". Just ask Claude....I've probably called and talked to him 15-20 times since last Mon., not to mention the other calls I've fielded. Sometimes I think it's because I still don't know what to make of this "thing" we're doing in starting Discovery Church. I mean, I sometimes wonder why people would come to a new church that has no history and no real reputation. I wonder that almost every week....will people actually come today? But they do, and they leave encouraged and sometimes excited about what God has done or is doing in their life or through their life. It's really a strange thing.

Another thing I've been thinking about is how to connect more people with the cross. Everytime I read my Bible and look at how people flocked to Jesus, I wonder why they don't flock to church. Could it be because...it's hard to find Jesus in church? There, I said it. I think that in too many churches it's hard to find Jesus there. Could be any number of reasons...trying too hard to please the people already there, not being Jesus out in the community but inviting people to come "find Him" in church, or so much planning and programming and very little prayer. I certainly can't say we're perfect, but I know what we're working on and it's in each of those areas I listed. So how do we connect people? Work to build relationships with people outside of church - neighbors, co-workers, students and strangers. It takes work. It takes time. It will take commitment.

WARNING: change in seriousness
Also thought about how many people will end up with food poisoning this holiday season....heard it was expected to be around 48 million? And what about Larry Coker? Sure he was like 55-15 but he had a bunch of thugs and he's not the leader of that gang. Thought about "Black Friday" - tell me why normal people will get up at 4AM to go spend money shopping for presents? I might consider it if someone was giving away money, but not if I'm expected to pay them. Finally, I've been thinking about babies. They're so cool and I love mine, and now I've got former students who are going to be having babies. Aron and Cessie Rice just texted this morning that they had a baby girl! Congrats.