Sunday Mind Dump - May 15, 2011

After seven hours Renae and I finally made it home from church. 

Sunday is a workday for us and our church staff.  Although it is the high point of our week and we love to worship with all our church family and friends, it is still a workday for us.  It begins very early in the morning before service begins and continues long into the afternoon after services are over.

Today was a great day at PCC

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The worship was great.  I think some of simpler songs are more engaging than complex ones, and the more vertically focused the lyrics are the more we get caught up in the Spirit.

The band was in the zone today, and Matt Lewis did an good job on electric guitar.

Several people told me how much they appreciated the stories I told about my father who died seven years ago and the family reunion I attended yesterday with Renae, my mother, and sister.

We had a blast at this family gathering.

Today’s message title was “Family Reunion” and centered on Joseph being reunited with his father who he had not seen in 25 years.  It was very insightful.

I especially liked the part where Jacob, Joseph’s father, built an altar and sacrificed offerings to God, seeking God’s will on moving his family to Egypt.  What an example for us to learn from!  Before we move our family from one place to another or even from one church to another, we should always seek God’s will.

HERE’S WHY:  Uprooting your family from one place and trying to establish roots in another place is disruptive and can take years to overcome.

After half a lifetime of being unplugged spiritually, being a passive parent and a failure as a father, Jacob matured into a wise and seasoned elderly gentleman.  We see him worshipping again.

Regarding PCC.  Things don’t always run smoothly.  I’m glad we were able to get a couple of things fixed today.  Hats off to the people who made it happen.

Like I said, Sunday is actually a workday for some of us.

Just so you know, I am ALL IN at PCC.  I have made a lifetime commitment to Pace Community Church and the PCC family.  I want my roots to run deep here

Some pastors change churches like changing socks.  I will not do that.

Just so you know, all the senior staff of PCC as well as so many others in the leadership team have made the same level of commitment.  They’re not going anywhere.

I’m also glad to say that a large segment of our membership is just as committed as the leadership team.  They are ALL IN.

One year ago I wrote this blog:  WHEN THE GAME PLAN CHANGES.   The game plan has changed at PCC and we are still not through with the transition.  PLEASE READ IT AGAIN, it is still applicable.

PCC has some of the most amazing Christians, disciples, servants, members, and volunteers I have ever seen.  There is no one I would rather do life with.  I really mean that.  WIthout them, PCC would not be possible.

And like any other church, PCC also has marginal types. 

I’m at a place in my life where I don’t have anything left to prove or anyone that I am worried about tying to keep happy, so I am now just enjoying the ride.

I realize that people are going to do what they are going to do, and there’s very little I can do about it, so I’m going to let them do it without me stressing out over it.  As the Bible says, A Ethiopian cannot change the color of his skin and a leopard cannot change its spots, neither can people do good who are accustomed to doing evil (Jeremiah 13:23).

Read my blog about this I wrote in 2008:  TRUE COLORS

I'm going to invest my life and time mostly in those who can be influenced by godliness.  It's a waste of time trying to change those who never will. 

Renae and I are really benefiting from some of the friendships and relationships that God has put into our lives right now.

I think I have finally reached the place where I will not do any more personal or private counseling.  Almost every time I agree to meet with someone for a private counseling session they end up telling me things that are too private for me to know, which usually results in their leaving the church because of embarrassment.  Plus it puts me in compromising position; either I cannot talk on that subject again, or if I do they think I am talking directly about them.

I will write about this soon, and it will become my practicing policy.

In fact, very soon I will also be posting about my Marriage Policy and Hospital Visitation Policy

If you would like to know our policy for Financial Assistance, Social Media, and Fundraising at PCC, then simply click the “Policy” option in the left column under the Index of Categories.

I’ve been watching a couple of episodes of Swamp People, those alligator hunters from Louisiana.  I think I am ready to try some nighttime alligator hunting myself.....

You’ve got to watch the video below entitled “Gossip.”  It is excellent.

I’m growing a lot of fruit this year; ten blueberry bushes, two fig trees, three scuppernong vines, eight blackberry bushes, and one lime tree.  I just might establish a vineyard.