Now that's awesome...

Had an incredible experience this week...I had the opportunity to interview two people from Meck. Now interviewing folks and shooting videos isn't new to me - I do that pretty regularly with all that's happening in this place...but this one reminded me what it's all about.

Here's the recap - Meghan grew up with a void in her life that she knew was spiritual. She came to Meck while church shopping and found herself longing to fill that void even more. She did. She's a follower of Christ now and got baptized here a few years ago. Meghan knew giving her life to Christ didn't make her a 'follower', it just made her 'saved'...and she couldn't imagine not sharing what she discovered with her friends.

Enter Sara. Sara taught across the hall from Meghan at a local school. They became fast friends. Meghan was challenged at a service @ Meck to just 'walk across the room', she had heard it a bunch of times before...but this time she decided she would 'walk across the hall' to Sara's class and gave her a 'present': a packet of info about Meck.

Sara rolls her eyes but BECAUSE OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP doesn't blow it off. She takes the packet home and starts to read, A Search for the Spiritual. By the third page (and she can tell you exactly what sentence) she realizes the God she's reading about is one that she does not know . She finishes the book. She starts logging in to the internet campus and can't stop...she's there every week. And then she shows up at Meck - Meghan can't believe it (and Sara still remembers the look on Meghan's face when she finally showed up). Sara sits in the back row. She hears week after week about a God she didn't know existed and on the final week of the "Parent Child Turning Points" series, a single woman with no kids, commits her life to Christ after hearing the story of the prodigal son (she can also point to the exact seat she was sitting in...on the back row).

Sara got baptized last May...and Meghan was right there beside her.

Sara says that she was glad Meghan cared enough to tell her about Meck and that she didn't give up on her and all her questions (and sometimes sarcastic comments).

Sara's life is changed forever and she has no idea how she will ever repay Meghan.

Meghan can't imagine being a part of anything more significant than watching someone you love give their life to Christ. In her words, "this is the coolest thing ever".

So...who is waiting across the hall for you?

Faith and Worship

I read this article and thought it was worth passing on...

"Faith is the indispensible element of every individual’s worship. It is the foundation of every gathering of believers and the essential truth of every song and prayer.

You see, I do not come to worship based on my flimsy feelings or my radical experiences, but rather by the firm faith and deep conviction of my relationship with God. I believe in a holy, loving Creator-God and I have an abiding conviction concerning his worth. I trust in the love the Father through his dear Son, Jesus Christ. I come to him with confidence and boldness because of the blood of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in me. I do not require goose-bumps or mountain tops to engage in worship. In fact, some of my most profound worship experiences have come through great sorrow in deep emotional valleys.

I come to worship every week because of confidence. I try to bring my best every week, every day and even every moment because I have faith that God is for me, with me and in me. I honor Him with my songs, my prayers and my loving acts towards others because I believe he is holy, loving and worthy of all my worship..."

Faith and Worship. How cool that we not only have our own private opportunities to practice both, but we have a chance as a church to join together this weekend and lift our voices, our hearts, together to the only one worthy of our complete confidence! He is indeed holy, loving and worthy of all our worship.

Mondays

“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

- Matthew 11:28 - 30

I like Mondays,

but for most people it is the beginning of a work week: back to the ol’ drudge and tedium of office life. Back to Blackberrys, iPhones, WiFi hotspots, meetings, deadlines, and more meetings, and revised plans that required revised deadlines. You get the point.

I like Mondays,

but for some people, it is the crash back into a reality that was momentarily forgotten over the weekend. However, truth be told, the weekend - and the memory of it - is not always what it could have been. Expectations go unmet. Saturday and Sunday prove to be a little underwhelming once the parking garage is firmly placed in the rear view mirror on Friday afternoon.

I like Mondays,

especially this one, because at baptism last night, I had a friend who got wet in order to give evidence that his relationship with God was a done deal.

... because my friends Nils and Jamie became husband and wife.

... because my friends Nichole and David brought home a baby girl.

... because the weekend team was on it - from sound and lights to band and singers - and it showed!

I like Mondays,

because it gives me a chance to take Jesus at His word. My weariness, my burdens, my strained emotions, my breaking spirit - I can give to Him. And in return, I can receive His rest. I can learn from Him how to live my life. I can learn His gentleness, His humbleness. I can trade my yoke for His - one that is easy, made to fit me, and not one that I take from somewhere or someone else. One that binds, rubs, bruises, and scars.

Sometimes, I don’t wait for Monday. Sometimes, I have to do it with every breath, every step, every word I speak and thought I have. Because sometimes, Mondays don’t come soon enough. Or there's not enough of them.

R