We had a good time down in Georgia visiting with Laurie's family. Sarah and Emily weren't able to go (they had to stay home and work this week), so we're looking forward to doing a couple of day trips with them over the weekend. It's been good to just kick back, relax and enjoy my family. Speaking of vacation, I just read an excellent post by Mark Batterson that had me saying, "Bingo!" He wrote,

One of my three New Years Resolutions this year was to use all of my vacation days! I owe it to my family! And I also owe it to NCC. If there is any occupation that can become all-consuming it has to be ministry. It's more than a job. It's a calling. It's not 9-5. It's 24-7. And it's awfully hard for pastors to check out.

Vacations serve so many purposes. They clear our mind: change of pace - change of place = change of perspective! They give us a chance to re-create. But I also think they remind us that our churches aren't our churches. I am very careful not to call NCC "my" church. I think that is the wrong pronoun. It is God's church. And vacations are a healthy reminder that He can keep things going even when we're gone!

On Monday we drove down to Georgia to visit Laurie's mom. She and her husband, Bill live on a farm near Jasper. They have four horses and two dogs. It's been nice connecting with Priscilla and Bill, and I have really enjoyed the "down time." Today Laurie's two sisters, Sue and Carol (and their families), came in for a visit. It was so good to see all of them! Big family event + lasagna + nice weather = a super day!

By now you're probably wondering, "What is up with that bear picture?" Bill and Priscilla have a next door neighbor who has a big, 600+ pound bear for a pet! His name is "Chewy." Needless to say, Steve is a fascinating guy! He also has a pet coyote named "Wile E." (I have pictures and some video), a serval from Africa and a bobcat that lives in the basement. Steve invited me into the cage to pet the serval, that was fun! I was also able to see to bobcat, but she didn't want any company and I was happy to oblige!

Only Steve was allowed in the cage with the bear. He's had Chewy since he was a cub, so they get along great! Steve playfully "wrestled" around with him for us, it was great! Steve has a special license to have the animals and all of the cages are up to specification. Chewy has plenty of room to move around. His "pen" is surrounded by two 10 ft. chain link fences. The inside fence has three strands of electric wire to keep him from climbing out. We were able to go inside the first fence to get a really close look at him. Steve really takes good care of all the animals. He had a couple of really interesting stories about the coyote I'll have to share after I get home.

I wanted to remind our Christ's Church family that we have a PRAYER WALK scheduled for tomorrow (Sat. 7/21) at 10:00 am.

One of the highlights for the mission team who just got back from Chester, PA was the prayer walk through Highland Gardens.  The World Impact missionaries faithfully "prayer walk" through Highland Gardens every Tuesday morning, committing the people, homes, plans, their ministry, whatever God puts on their heart, to the Lord.

Our plan is to divide up into groups of 3-4 and simply walk through the neighborhoods immediately around our church property, praying as the Lord leads. It will probably last for 30-45 minutes or so (or feel free to pray for as long as you like!).  It's going to be a great experience!  I hope you can make it!

World Impact's president, Keith Phillips, will be featured on Focus on the Family's daily broadcast tomorrow (Friday, July 20, 2007). You can listen to his interview with Dr. Dobson online by choosing the Daily Broadcast link at family.org.

Would Jesus be allowed to be a Southern Baptist Pastor?

Dan Kimball asked this question in response to the following quote by Dr. Al Mohler: “I can assure you of this: if you are associated with the use of beverage alcohol, I think I dare exaggerate not to say that 99% of all doors of ministry in the Southern Baptist Convention will be closed to you.”

You can read Dan's post here.

Would what Jesus said here have any bearing on this discussion?

The attraction of legalism is that, despite all its complexity, it's mindless. It requires little or no personal engagement. It's sheer mechanics, simple arithmetic. You just follow orders. It's like paint-by-numbers: it requires no artistry, no imagination, no discipline, just dumb, methodical obedience.
- Mark Buchanan in The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring the Sabbath

Hockey!

I only have a few minutes before supper starts and we've invited the missionaries to eat with us tonight. I think there's an indoor hockey game scheduled for later between the Christ's Church mission team and the missionaries from World Impact. I'll be sure to get some pictures of the action.

We successfully finished our renovations at the house we have been working on all week - P.T.L.!! The ladies are sewing down to the wire, but they are going to finish up tonight as well. The Lord has given us a great trip! More details later. . .

It's been a long (but very productive!) day, so it's going to be a short blog tonight. We're coming down to the wire with our renovation and sewing projects, but I think we're going to be able to finish everything up by Friday morning. We're planning on getting another early start tomorrow morning.

Tonight one of the World Impact directors invited our team to join the missionaries at her house for a cookout. She lives in West Chester, so it was about a 40 minute drive, but we all had a blast. We've got some funny diving board pictures to show on Sunday! It was really enjoyable to horse around in the pool and enjoy a burger and hot dog at the end of the day. The other big plus was getting to just hang out and talk with the missionaries. It was a great evening!

Oh yes. . . one more interesting tid-bit! We had a hard shower right before we left for the cookout and the basement of the school flooded. It wasn't as bad (deep!) as it was on the first mission team four years ago, but had we not acted pretty quickly and started sweeping water, the guy's room would have been soaked. I think Roger took a couple of pictures of all of us "on deck" getting up the water.

We met with seven of the missionaries this morning and did a prayer walk through Highland Gardens. We divided up into teams of three and simply walked down the streets of the neighborhood, interceding for the people who live there. In the picture to the left, Andrew (one of the missionaries) and Robert are walking up a street that is now mostly abandoned. Following the walk, we met back in the home of some of the missionaries to talk about our experiences on the walk, and then we prayed together. I am really looking forward to the team sharing during the service this Sunday. Read More...

Today was HOT! Someone said that the temperature soared up around 100 this afternoon. I think we went through two cases of water while we were working today. But despite the heat, we had a TERRIFIC day! Most of our team worked in the newly acquired house that will eventually be the home of several of the missionaries.

Some of the tasks we are working on include: expanding a closet in one of the bedrooms (that's what Roger and Seth are doing in the picture); constructing a wall in another room; and completely remodeling the guest room. Practically the entire downstairs is being painted. Plus there are several small electrical projects as well. We left the school this morning at around 7:45 am and worked until about 6:00 pm. We were able to make a lot of headway. Read More...

We appreciated those of you who were able to make it out yesterday and pray with us before we left. We had a good trip up. We stopped for lunch in Lexington. Some of us grabbed a burger at Hardees, a few walked across the street to Taco Bell, but most of the team settled on McDonalds. It was a good break and we were back on the road. For supper we stopped at the Chesapeake House Service Area on I-95 in Delaware. It had a food court so there were plenty of choices. Best of all, there was a Starbucks!

Tim led our convoy the entire trip. He did a great job navigating. We arrived in Chester around 8:00 pm. After unpacking, we made a quick trip to Rita's to grab an italian ice. Good stuff! Before we called it a night, we gathered in the dining hall for a team meeting. Tim shared a devotion on faith from Hebrews 11. He did an excellent job. We're all excited about the opportunity to step out in faith and serve wherever we are needed this week.

This morning we worshiped with Through the Word Bible Fellowship Church. It was a great experience. They meet in the gym of the Frederick Douglass Christian School where we are staying. They are a wonderful group of believers. At the end of the service, each of us were asked to stand and introduce ourselves. After lunch, Andrew Lee, one of the World Impact missionaries, took the team on a tour of Chester. The oppressive poverty is literally overwhelming and heart breaking.

Some of the ladies have already begun sewing projects. Tomorrow most of the team will be helping to remodel one of the houses that will be a home to several of the missionaries. Some of the team members will be serving in the school, working with the children. We're all thrilled to be here. I'll try to blog another update tomorrow evening if possible. Thank you for praying!

We're packing up and getting ready to head out this morning. It's hard to believe that this will be our fourth trip to Chester. I'm excited about our team this year. We've got quite a few who are going for the very first time. Several of us have been before. . . my daughter has been every year! Go Emily!

Returning each summer has given us an opportunity to connect with the World Impact missionaries who are serving there full time. I like it that our missions support goes beyond just "writing a check" each month. We've developed friendships which have fostered on-going contact and prayer throughout the year.

The missions team is especially thankful for each of you who have partnered with us to pray this week - thank you! If I can get connected to their network, I am planning on providing daily updates through the blog, so be sure to check in each day. Thanks again for praying for us!

With the help of some friends I was able to surprise Laurie with a gift yesterday to celebrate our anniversary. Can anybody tell what it is? I emailed a couple of pictures out to a few family members and friends, and one of them emailed me back with the following comment:

"Very cool. At first I thought it was a purse and the hammer was just to keep you in line!"

(Scott knows me pretty well!) It is a special toolkit just for women. Now, before anybody questions my sanity for using the words "TOOLKIT" and "ROMANTIC" in the same sentence (or universe), you need to know that Laurie was thrilled with her gift! Someone in the church has one just like it and Laurie thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread.

So the gift went over big because. . . (1) It was a total surprise; (2) Hubby had been paying attention; (3) Laurie likes tools; (4) Laurie likes organized tools (i.e. she now no longer has to hunt for one of hubby's tools that he never quite manages to put back in the same place, but we're not going there...); (5) The words "creative" and "romantic" do go together; (6) Smiling bride + pink hammer = foxy lady!

Twenty three years ago today was a big day in my life. I said "I do" to my best friend. More importantly, she said, "I do" to me! Oh yeah!! One thing is for sure, I married WAY over my head!

I still feel that way. The last twenty three years haven't been completely bump free, but I wouldn't trade my marriage for anything in the world.

I love you, Laurie. Happy Anniversary!

"Christ's Church is a church for people who don't like church."

I'll never forget that conversation. I remember it as if it happened yesterday even though it took place many years ago. I was talking with someone who was new to our Christ's Church family. He was rattling off some of the things that he appreciated about the way we "do church." He mentioned our accepting atmosphere, our relaxed, contemporary style. . . and then he paused for a second and said, "Christ's Church is a church for people who don't like church."

I remember chuckling, because initially, I wasn't sure whether he was being critical or complimentary. But he went on to explain that he had never felt at home in a traditional church setting. He wasn't knocking the traditional –– but unfortunately, parts of the traditional had knocked him. He simply wasn't a 'coat-n-tie' type guy (plus he couldn't afford one). His longer hair often brought awkward stares. But oh, what a heart he had for Jesus! Read More...

Wow, yesterday was such a great day! We celebrated Hannah's baptism in the morning and had a picnic for Tom in the afternoon. The weather, turn out, food and fellowship were all "5-Star!" Kudos to all you behind-the-scenes servants who pulled the picnic together at such short notice! (Click on the picture for more picnic photos).

Everybody's encouragement, gifts, and warm send-off at the picnic yesterday meant a great deal to him. Stephanie, the scrapbook was outstanding! Randy, Tim and I met Tom at the donut shop this morning. After plenty of coffee, breakfast, some final laughs together and prayer, he headed north to begin his year long intern as a World Impact missionary in Chester, PA. Tom, we love you, brother! Our prayers and esteem are with you!