Rock'in at Christmas Time

Rock'in at Christmas time! Oh yeah....

Is Jesus Amazed?

During thegathering we've been in a series called 24| A day in the life of Jesus. It's been a great study to discover the way of Christ. Tonight's twenty-four hours with Jesus was when Jesus was amazed at the soldier's faith (Luke 7). Jesus was amazed two times in Scripture - this time with the soldier's faith and the other time when his own family and friends demonstrated a lack of faith.
It's interesting how close to home that still comes today. I wonder if Jesus is still amazed at our faith or lack of? I hope He still gets amazed at those who choose to go! And I pray more will rise to the call even when we can't see everything ahead. I hope Jesus will be amazed by the Christ-followers that are coming to Real Hope and for the faith they will demonstrate in the years to come.

If you haven't joined us yet at thegathering we hope to see you soon! It's turning out to be a great night each Wednesday. Also this Sunday at our house we are hosting our first Discover Real Hope Dinner where we talk about the mission and vision of Real Hope. We want Real Hope to be all God intended it to be and this is a place to understand how we can make that happen together. If you're interested in finding out more check the web site for more details under the events.

thegathering

Well, starting September 27 on Wednesday evenings we are beginning what we call thegathering. This will be the first place for people to gather who want to make Real Hope their church community. I'm excitied and nervous about it - my worst fear - what if no one shows up!

I realize though that there are a lot of broken vessels just like myself that are looking for an authentic community to belong too. And I know God has been preparing our hearts to offer a place full of grace and mercy for unperfect people to come and seek God. It is sometimes just so ovewhelming to think about who God will gather and watch lives begin changing. If you are in the area, stop by sometime and gather with us...you can come just as you are.

Walking in the Other Shoe

Ever since I started working at the Sheraton it's really helped me 'walk in the other shoe' with those who call themselves 'spiritual' or even 'Christian' but not following the way of Christ yet. For many the hotel is their friends and family - the ones they count on in life. Strangely, I find them the most accepting group of people to be around. It begs the question why the church can not be more like this, accepting people as they are?

Maybe it's the fact that to many times we think we have everything figured out and we assume that our perception is the reality. I've always hated the phrase 'perception is reality.' Yet so often we label our perceptions on people. And based on our perceptions we assign right or wrong to how they are living. Don't get me wrong, there is truth in Christ's way and when we discover a truth we need to live it out, but we aren't going to do it perfectly. The thing that bugs me is when we assign our reality to someone else and decide it's our mission to change everything we think is wrong with the person or we just stop pursuing the relationship altogether because 'it just wouldn't be worth our time.'

Luke loves to walk in my shoes. He thinks I'm pretty cool, tall, adventurous, fun...Really one of the most amazing people walking the earth. I don't argue to often with them on this point. That's his perception, thus his assumed reality. But the real truth is if he really was able to understand everything about my shoes he would feel the lately stress, frustration, loneliness, and fear of failure. I'm glad he's only two and hope his perception of reality continues for awhile. All I'm really saying is it's time for us to wear the other shoe for awhile and discover that someone's real reality needs someone who will take them as they are and encourage them to seek the way God intended us to be, not as we think they should be.

Roker Radar

Ok, so I didn't really believe it at first, maybe because he's lost so much weight and our security guard said to him, "Hey your Roker." Al was not very impressed by this comment and gave the security guard a "duh" look. I figured what an amazing close looks and this poor guy must get that comment all the time. It was only after his daughter came down to check out and ask me, "Have you seen my dad?" and I pulled up the profile and notice Al's name did I realize, it really was Al Roker!

I had wish at this moment I had told Al's daughter, "Your dad went out to check the weather." But my wits are not as quick at 7 am in the morning. Apparently Al passes through regular so watch for the Roker Radar to go off anytime!

And Mr. Smith Enjoy Your Stay...

Yes, I now work at the four star Sheraton Raleigh Hotel located downtown. It features 300 rooms with seventeen floors, presidential and governor's suite, club level floors, indoor pool, restaurant and bar. I work at the front desk checking in guest, checking them out, and making guest feel right at home.

I get to sport my stylish suits and ties, stand on my feet for eight hours, and enjoy guest coming to me with their complaints. It's almost like church used to be...Takes me back.

Really, I am enjoying it and having some great opportunities to be around people who don't know Christ. It is also giving me perspective on what people deal with outside the ministry. Usually I'm up at 5:30 am and in to work by 7 am and work until 3 pm. This week I work some extra hours and an evening shift. I'm starting to become quite the morning person!

It has it perks. I get lunch provided by the cooks, free parking downtown, eventually great health benefits, and hotel discounts. And yes if your family you can get the discounts too (just have to wait to after my first 90 days.)

Log Day 52 - Adversity

Log Day 13 - The Others

Last week Christie and I attended the National Church Planting Conference in Orlando, FL. The theme of the conference was "Risk" and that resonated very well with us. It was an amazing week filled with clarity. We came away hearing from great speakers like Ed Stezter, a church planting guru, and one of my personal favorites, Gene Appel. We also had some moments to spend with Donnie and Cinda Williams (lead pastor at LifePointe) and get some wise counsel and perspective from our friend, Brent Foulkes.

I think most exciting was to see the 800 others that are doing the same thing. It was encouraging to know there are others following this call, experiencing the same up's and down's, questioning it all, running forward with passion, taking the risk - and realizing that we are not alone. There are others!

Our destination is on the horizon and while the methodologies will change dramatically we are excited about what will be charted next in our journey. This is the biggest risk I have ever taken. The winds are blowing very strong change in our direction as we set out to plant a new church.

Log Day 1 - Stormy Days

Storms are blowing through tonight which seem to reflect my own dilemmas of late. The destination is very clear. The most confusing part is the journey to get there. The storm itself is not so half as bad, almost beautiful to watch at times, as long as you have a safe place to watch it and can remember where you are going. My wife and child are my safe place in these current storms that are passing by, reminding me of the beautiful moments that really do exist.

My intention on blogging is to navigate through such storms that come along in this journey with better clarity. This place will be a place for my thoughts to collect and be sorted like Professor Dumbledore's pensive, but for the unmagical. Perhaps look back and see the good moments that seem to find themselves among the bad ones. So dive in and enjoy the uncharted waters of my life.