Sunday Mind Dump - June 13, 2010

• It’s 7:30 PM and I just got home. It’s been a long, long day.
  
  
• I had the honor of teaching God’s Word at PCC this morning. I had a blast and I count it a privilege to do so. I never take this for granted.
  
  
• The congregation of Pace Community Church is the real deal. We are not perfect. We are not overly pious. We are simply a group of people who are seeking God and trying to live spiritual.
  
  
• I’m glad that so many people come to PCC on Sundays. It seems like every week I am meeting new people or seeing new people show up. They come from all walks of life; younger, older, married couples, singles, etc. I can only attribute this the God and/or the Holy Spirit drawing them. It is so good to see people that I went to High School with coming to PCC. People I havent seen in 30 years. This is a God-thing.
  
  
• A lady approached me after first service today – someone I have never seen – and told me how amazing she thought the church service was. She specifically commented on the message; how God’s Word spoke to her.
  
  
• The same thing happened after the second service too.
  
  
• In fact, several people were talking about “Ruth’s story” today.
  
  
• Only God’s Word can do that. His Word has universal application. It speaks to anyone and everyone who listens with an open heart.
  
  
• I must confess, I had a difficult time in the first service with the message. I struggled with my delivery. Renae said she did not notice anything unusual. I’m glad… because if anyone can notice something is wrong, she can. I can only put it in God’s hand because He said His Word will not return to Him void,
  
  
• My delivery was much better in the second service.
  
  
• What spoke to me most about the message today was the part about Ruth not living the life she had envisioned for herself; yet she stayed in the game and got on with the business of living.
  
  
• Sometimes we get to do what we want to do. And sometimes life throws us a curveball and we end of living a life that we never envisioned for ourselves. Either way, we must do what is right and live for God anyway.
  
  
• Thank you to everyone who gave me encouragement today. I need you as much as (I hope) you need me.
  
  
• I am so interested with kingdom advancement that I hope God raises up many more new churches in Santa Rosa County that focus on reaching the unchurched.
  
  
• I know God has PCC here for a reason and that is my focus.
  
  
• Renae and I have finally made the decision to move forward on selling our house. We are ready. We have to paint the walls, replace the carpet, and take care of a couple of other small items, and then we’ll be ready. We own five acres off of Berryhill Road and want to build a new home there. I would be our “empty nest” home. With that much property, it would be great for entertaining too.
  
  
• This is a big step for us
  
  
• When we get out there, I plan to roast a whole pig in a fire pit and have half the church over for a time of over-indulgence. Oh yea.
  
  
• Have I mentioned that it is so hot I could scream?
  
  
• Vacation Bible School is coming up and it’s going to be a blast. Christ Klein is spearheading this effort and is doing an exceptional job. The VBS team had a planning meeting after church today. Love to see that kind of initiative.
  
  
• The youth ministry is meeting tonight for a strategy session and making plans for the summer. Love to see that kind of initiative.
  
  
• The grounds keeping team is doing an exceptional job of keeping the PCC campus looking like it should look. Never take it for granted. When you drive onto the PCC campus on Sunday morning and it looks mowed, maintained, and well-kept, it is because someone has worked their fanny off during the week. Take the time to find out who is doing this, and tell them how much you appreciate it. I know I do. It’s so important to me, that if no one else was doing it, I would do it myself! Thank God, He has sent us willing men and women who take pride in their church.
  
  
• I got a report tonight that Cameron Patterson (the 24 year old who was in the motorcycle accident 2 weeks ago) is doing much better. He is just beginning to come out of his comma and is (slightly) communicating with his parents. This is amazing. I am very happy for Ray & Linda.
  
  
• A few weeks ago I was fully engage in a process of “changes” at PCC. Even blogged about it a little. But some family emergencies at PCC have kept me busy and away from that task. Soon we will be coming back to that “organizational” matter. As of right now we have made a few changes in the order of service, in the band, and in the age-level ministries area. A lot more is to come. This summer is the perfect time to pull the trigger on a few initiatives we would like to try.
  
  
• As a reminder – we are still planning to change the times of our Sunday services by moving them up 30 minutes earlier. Right now the times are 9:30 & 11:00 AM and would change to 9:00 & 10:30 AM. We think this will balance the attendance between the two much better.
  
  
• If you know anyone who is looking for a church home, tell them about PCC. The music is good. The worship is as safe or as radical as you want it to be. And the sermons from God’s Word are most often verse-by-verse – people actually learn what the Bible has to say.
  
  
• Oh yea, it’s one of the friendliest places in the county. You can wear jeans. You can wear a suit. You can wear shorts. And you can wear flip flops. We don’t care. We’ll even serve you coffee. And the people at PCC actually LIKE each other. Not all churches can say that.
  
  
• I’ve been watching World Cup – you know the world-wide soccer matches – but I just can’t get into it like I can American football or baseball. In fact, give me COLLEGE FOOTBALL any day.
  
  
• Father’s Day is going to be awesome. That’s NEXT SUNDAY you know. Invite YOUR MEN to be in church. The music and message are going to be just for them. We will continue in the Ruth series… and it will be R-Rated
  
  
• Let me say it again. Next Sunday is FATHERS DAY. Get them there.
  
  
• Jesus is not for wimps.
  
  
• Invite. Invite. Invite!