New and Old

For years the former quansite hut served as the worship home of Grace Community Church, as we grew we could squeeze 130 in, and then we went to two services. It was then that I realize that my sermon would change with the audience response and my sensitivity to the leading of the Spirit.

For a while I was troubled that I was not able to stay and watch the city reach its goals, but as I look back it was as it should have been, and my health issues have been better served where I am.

Today I write at the Gym, having finished 30 minutes of aerobic heart exercise and 30 minutes of weights and stretching. Glad I get to concentrate of making my body the dwelling place of God and not about bricks and mortgages.

A meaningful memory

Ten years ago today I led worship in a brand new building that took years of planning and giving and some borrowing to complete. It was the fulfillment of some of what I came west to do in 1989. I wanted to help a church reach another level of growth and usefulness.
In 95 when I began serving there were two buildings and a picnic shelter, yesterday I passed by five buildings, including a doubling of the size of that original new sanctuary. The whole area has grown significantly and they have a Christian School now, something we could not have foreseen or prepared for back then.
It was a rich and challenging time, I was able to have a home large enough for raising teens and a nice pool in the backyard, and we grew from 50 to over 200. Now they have multiple services and over 1000 attending, and that is good.
I would stay one year and enjoy the new building when I would know it was time to leave. There were some struggles to find the right leaders and a church merger that would allow things to go forward.

Queen Creek Dream

When I served a church in Queen Creek, the place was beginning to boom, there was one little corner and a huge triangle of empty space. Yesterday everything they envisioned has happened, including a by-pass around town that enables the downtown to have a feel of safety.

When I used to visit my poor friends, they were miles out in the middle of nowhere, now they are less than a mile from a McDonalds and a shopping center beyond them.

The other side of the story

Last week I shared the success of the Rainbow Acres vision, and how fortunate those are who live there. Today I stopped to see a family that had been part of the church I served a decade ago The family have various mental, emotional, and physical handicaps and with the passing of parents they are fending for themselves with a lot of governmental aid.

We all helped as much as we could, but both families have merged in that little trailer and it is meager.

I asked about their diet and she said, mostly mac and chess and hotdogs. Years ago they had a new mobile home but lost it, and things have been poverty level since then. Very sad, but they are doing the best they can.

Big Bang Theory

I love this picture.

Is one of the funniest nerd comedies ever written. The characters are so full of comedic possibilities that we laugh out loud each week. The brilliant but emotionally imbalanced one, the normal and love starved guy, the Indian lonely guy, the Jewish momas boy, the frustrated starlet. Great stuff.

Liver, love it or leave it

Today I had liver and onions from a family restaurant. It tasted good but I think I have had my fill for a while. I was on my way to our family owned music store called Milano's in Mesa to give my flute a check up and repair, probably the first one since Melissa was in High School, a key is sticking. I love seeing all the instruments and musical equipment in that place.

Had a good missions prayer meeting tonight, kingdom building around the world is vital and worth our concentrated prayers.

This post is done on my new Toshiba Satellite which finally has the software to run my internet link. Slowly this new machine will be my daily go to workhorse, and I like it.

Interfaith meetings

I just friended Johnny C recently, the guy of the left, one of the most naturally funny people I have ever met. These best men meant a lot to me during my college years.

I sat with an academic theologian a few days ago that described a meeting that produced the Cordova statement, which was inspired, she said, by a time in Spain where the three major faiths lived together in peace for a period of time.

Then I received an evangelical periodical which stated dogmatically that any Muslim talking about peace was being unfaithful to the Koran.

Its all confusing, because a Christian nation should be following the teaching of Christ about her enemies, should'nt we???? I just keep hearing the "them or us" showdown talk around me too much. I said I was not going there!!!!