Sunday Mind Dump - Janurary 23, 2011

• God is doing some pretty neat things at PCC right now.
  
  
• No marketing, no signage, no advertising – zero, zip, nadda – yet God brings new people to us each week.
  
  
• Attendance today was 425. (305 in first service and 120 in second).
  
  
• I make no bones about this: I care about the numbers, but I care about the “right” numbers. People who come to PCC from another church because they got mad over there doesn’t mean much to me. I care more about reducing the number of lost people in our community.
  
  
• Giving was solid. We have seen a slight increase the last four weeks, but it’s still beneath the trend-line we need.
  
  
• Offering time felt a lot better today by having music provided. I failed to call the ushers forward before praying… in both services! I was a little distracted and defaulted back to a familiar pattern. Sorry guys. It was my foul up.
  
  
• We are in the process of restructuring our age-level ministries. Gene Tharp is now head overseer of that area, offering support, encouragement, and guidance. Among other things, the area is being renamed “Kids Zone” and each class is getting a new, unique name. Gene is also writing a Parents Handbook which will ensure policy consistency for the entire age-level ministries at PCC. In addition, the nursery is being expanded, a new toddlers class is being added, room reassignments might occur with pre-school and elementary ages, and high school teenagers will now attend the adult services on Sunday mornings.
  
  
• Denise Yates (who leads our high school teen ministry) is forming a teen leadership team. These teenagers, having demonstrated the proper signs of spiritual growth and leadership potential, have been selected for leadership development and leadership responsibilities. All of this bodes very well for the future of PCC.
  
  
• Another possible plan on the drawing board is to have a “teen Sunday” in which the teenagers will conduct the adult service; play in the band, lead worship, usher, greet at the doors, etc. They would be involved in virtually all aspects of the service except the preaching. Who knows, in time one of them might even preach for us!
  
  
• I’m pretty excited about the possibilities that 2011 holds for PCC.
  
  
• There are some very nice comments on Facebook about today’s church service.
  
  
• I’m always a little concerned that I might be coming across too strong when I'm teaching. I never want to be mean and try very hard not to be. Yet, at the same time, I want to be as faithful to the scriptures as I can be. That’s why I teach them “as they are written.”
  
  
• This much I know – it does no one any favors to skirt around the challenging portions of the scriptures. If it’s in the Bible, then it means God wants His people to hear it.
  
  
• Jesus Demands True Worship
  
  
• I really liked this story of Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well. He methodically confronted her on all the issues.
  
  
• Before Jesus offered her eternal life, there was a moral investigation and a challenge to her about a lifestyle correction.
  
  
• During the holidays a group of men got together one Saturday morning for a men’s breakfast. A few men, who didn’t know each other, got introduced for the first time that day. Since then, I’ve noticed that some of these very same men and now spending a lot of time talking to each other on Sunday mornings after service. A simple introduction (at a group gathering) has now formed into friendship. This is a good thing. Relationships are the glue that holds a church together.
  
  
• My new puppy, Sadie, is now seven months old. Love that dog.
  
  
• I love the diversity at PCC. We’ve got young couples, older couples, singles, addicts, life-time Christians, bikers, construction workers, a few lawyers, a doctor, a PhD, sinners, new Christians, established disciples, and any other thing you can think of. We are still predominantly white as a congregation, but more people of color are attending – something I like.
  
  
• BTW, everyone in the Bible was people of color. Heaven will be full of people of color too. Get it?
  
  
• This “people of color” thing is especially moving to me when I teach from passages like this mornings text – i.e., the Samaritan woman who was mixed race.
  
  
• Jesus shatters racial barriers.
  
  
• I wonder why there is no Chicago style pizza place in Pace. Would somebody please buy a franchise?
  
  
• I’m posting only one comment from Facebook today…..
  
  
• Carole B. says, “Great message today. I had the mental image of just me and God; that we will all (stand) before God to be judged - no matter who we are, gender, race, etc. Also had this discussion at the dinner table after lunch; we did not know that the Samaritans were half-Jewish…. They say you should read the fine print. Well, today I did. Also noticed that Jonathan wrote two of the songs we sang. Great job Jonathan. Today there were light bulbs going off in my head. My brain was really busy. I guess you can call that good preaching."
  
  
• I love it when “light bulbs are going off.” It means these people are deep thinkers and the Holy Spirit is speaking to them. Very often, when I am preaching, I observe this happening throughout the congregation. It’s an amazing moment for me.
  
  
• It’s God’s Word, the Holy Spirit is the active agent making it alive, and only He can make this miracle happen.
  
  
• I’m thinking about buying a boat soon.
  
  
• Got some stuff to say this week. Check back.
  
  
• Peace. Out.