Monday, June 18

Monday Morning Mind-Dump

* Had a great service last night... numbers were up some... more newcomers out, as well! We had a guest band (from Emmanuel Church in Calvert County), led by one of my best friends in the whole world, Ed Plater... they did an awesome job! Our worship leader, Brian, was out of town with his family... he deserves a rest!

* A newcomer from last night (roommate of one of our regular attenders) told me after the service, "You said some things that touched me... I really needed to hear that message. I'll be back next week." I met her Saturday at our outreach, and invited her out. She told me then that she really doesn't "do" church... so this is major.

* We are definitely hitting our target at Mosaic! Our launch team was entirely African-American... so far, since our launch Sunday, we've had Latino, Asian, and Caucasian newcomers. We're getting great feedback from them, and most are sticking around! Since we don't have anyone up front who's not black, we've been very purposeful with our music... let's just say, it's definitely not "Black gospel." :-) We do have somewhat of an urban flavor, though... and people are loving it.

* A few of us (a VERY small few) passed out bottles of water again this past Saturday. The "fish" weren't biting nearly as much this time... probably because it wasn't as hot. Also, I think people see "free" and automatically think there's a catch. I couldn't help thinking, though... as people kept declining the free water... how God must feel to see people constantly reject His free offer of salvation. That's major... wow.

* I'm feeling more and more comfortable in preaching weekly... still not where I want to be, but it's getting there. Yesterday, I tried Andy Stanley's "one-point" sermon style (although I still sneaked in some other "points"). I can definitely tell that having one point to hammer home time and time again really helps the message stick. The message yesterday was "The Secret to Success" from Psalm 1... and the one point was, "Your success (or failure) in life will be determined ultimately by who, or what, influences you most." It was clear... it stuck... and I'll be doing it again. ;-)

* Tomorrow morning, I'm meeting with Don Record, who's planting Action Church in Pennsylvania. Don came across my blog a couple of months ago, and has really been a great encouragement ever since. Can't wait to hook up with him!

* On the other hand, the lady in my life (of course, that would be my wife, Marquita) flew out this morning to Atlanta to meet up with one of her girlfriends. They're going to drive from there up to Ridgecrest, NC for a few days of some much-needed R&R. So, I'll be on Daddy-duty with "My Three Sons." THAT'S major. :-) I'm up for it, though... don't know how nutritious their meals will be from now until Thursday afternoon... pray for those jokers... ha!

* Next Sunday is our second Communion service... can't wait! We have more unchurched people coming out than we did last month, so it will be quite interesting. During Communion, I hammer home Paul's "communion warning" in 1 Cor. 11, because it's serious business. But it will be a great time, nonetheless... looking forward to having Brian back this week, too!

1 comment:

Walls Down Church Kids said...

Cool! Sounds like it went well!! Keep pressing forward!

3 boys? piece of cake...hahahahaha ;)