perspective

I spent all of last week at local pastor's licensing school. To say that there was a diverse group of people there is to make the understatement of the year. There were people in our group of 53 that I would be proud to serve with. There were also people in our group who were the polar opposite of me in every way. (That's putting it nicely isn't it?) Regardless, however, it was very obvious to me that they all had a love for Jesus and a desire to see others know Him. I spent most of the week frustrated by a variety of parts of the school experience, but it was a great lesson to see that everyone there, regardless of the label that I would like to slap on them, had a heart to help others love Jesus. That's really the point, isn't it? It was a good reminder.

wincing quote

I've been reading tons of books for the Licensing process to become a local pastor. Most of them have been a waste of time. Here's a quote from one of the books that made me chuckle and wince, all at the same time:

"It is a sad commentary on our witness that the persons in our society who are most indifferent toward the poor, most enthusiastic about guns and war, most relucatant to rehabilitate prisoners or provide treatment for drug addicts and AIDS victims, [those people] make the strongest claims about having a Christian nation and argue for prayer in public schools."

True! Ouch!

At Journey, our hope is to break this cycle and truly follow Jesus' commands to love our neighbors, embrace peace, and offer the kingdom of God to those around us. May we be that kind of people!

logo and updates

Here's the almost completed logo:



This is pretty much the idea. The tagline will change color and we're good to go.

As an update on the finances...keep praying for money. The financial campaign at St. Paul's has been much more sparse than we anticipated and we're quite a ways away from the goal that we had. Keep praying that God will provide the finances so that we can get set up with a space and start-up equipment. We may have to push back the public launch of Journey, but we can still begin to function as the Journey community without a rented space and a public launch.

God will provide. He always does.

Journey Sunday - 7/9/06

Don't forget that this Sunday is designated as Journey Sunday at St. Paul's. This is the week that people will be giving one-time gifts toward start-up expenses for Journey, as well as making a long-term commitment to helping fund Journey.

Please be in prayer for the people of St. Paul's to seek God and what He is calling them to give (or not give). Also, please be in prayer for yourselves and what God might be calling you to give towards the one-time gifts. [Remember that we as Journey participants will not be giving commitments to the campaign, just for the one-time gifts. Our ongoing giving will be our commitment at the point that we shift to Journey full-time.] While you're at it, pray for the men who have our business plan in hand...that they would feel called by God to help us get our start with a generous donation.

See you Sunday. There will be a team meeting at 5:30 pm on Sunday evening. Lori will be leading since I'll be off to spend a week with the kids at church camp. Blessings!