I’m a blessed man. While I have some wonderful possessions, they are small in comparison to my relationships. The Lord has filled my life with some incredible people. The amazing thing is, I take my family for granted, I could be a better husband and father, and I’m a terrible friend. Just ask my friends, they’ll tell you.
Having said all that. I’m thankful for:
Jesus Christ, my wife and best friend Corrie, the 2 coolest little boys in the world-Cooper and Branson, my as yet unborn child, an awesome mom and dad- Bill and Kathy, a brother Jason who stretches me (good and bad), a patient sister in law Andrea who has to live with him, a sweet neice-Sadie, a great mother in law- Cindy, 2 sisters in law-Melissa and Stephanie, my brother in law Greg, 2 neices- McKenna and Audrey, a newborn nephew- Henry, awesome grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and some incredible friends.
I also get to serve at a church that’s the best kept secret in Atlanta with wonderful people, ministering to genuinely awesome students.
My dad has been with State Farm Insurance all of my life. Probably longer than that really. His dad, to my knowledge, had State Farm before that. When I got married I just transferred my insurance over without shopping around to…you guessed it…State Farm.
Something happened in the last few years though. I found out that I could save money by being insured by Geico. For the same coverage I paid about 20% less in premiums. So I switched.
I asked my dad the other night if he’d ever checked any other companies. His reply, “no, why would I?”
I don’t post this to choose one company over another or to paint my dad as anything other than the brilliant leader and savvy businessman that he is. I post it to show something I think I’ve always known but only recently noticed in greater detail.
My generation has no brand loyalty.
When shopping for insurance or cereal or cars, my dad’s generation, and those before, looked to the companies they’d always used before.
My generation is looking for the cheapest or newest or easiest. We start with the question how does this benefit me?
I’m not sure all of that is negative, though I do see this same attitude in church as well. For the most part, gone are the days of going to the same church all your life. A lot of people look to the church the same way they shop for insurance. “I don’t care where my parents went, or if you’re bapti-metho-costal. What can you do for my kids, what’s your worship like, and what do you require of me? Oh yeah, and even if I like you now, there’s no guarantees I’m staying if we find somewhere we like better.”
This forces most churches to compete for your “business” by being better marketers, with “sexier” series titles, and edgier methods.
I give my brother Jason a lot of grief, after all he’s my younger brother. But today I watched a clip of his message, on his blog, from this last Sunday at Rivercity Worship Center in Louisville, KY. Jason serves at Rivercity as their Teaching Pastor, and he is a dynamic communicator of The Gospel.
Sunday he spoke about worry and fear, using a passage from Matthew 6. I encourage you to watch this clip, and be encouraged and challenged. It’s more than likely the best use of the next 9:38…I guarantee it!
I’ve seen this a few places around the web in recent weeks, and never got around to watching it. I did today, and ouch!!! They nail us. It’s worth your time to check out.
Last night was an unusual night for us because we had a lot going on. Our students were split into 2 groups.
Group 1 was made up of students in our youth choir, drama, and dance groups who are participating in our Thanksgiving Dinner Theatre. Saturday and Sunday this week our church will be having our Thanksgiving Family Dinners. Everyone in our church will come on one of those 2 nights with their families, bring a covered dish and enjoy a meal together. It’s one of the coolest events at our church as a church where 3800 people call us their church home gets really small and homey for a weekend. So these students were doing a run through of the Broadway style musical they will present at the end of the meal for entertainment. They will be rehearsing again tonight and tomorrow as well. It was definitely a first night of full rehearsal so there were some issues, but they worked hard and we are going to see the fruit of that this weekend.
Group 2 joined with our Middle School group in the appropriately name Middle School Room. There, Pastor Markus and the Alive Band led them in an awesome time of worship and he shared his heart about worshipping when you don’t feel like it.
I was working between the 2 venues and loving every minute of it.
It’s tough to grade out the night, but I will say this: Our team, both paid staff and volunteers always rise to the occasion in the weeks like this where we are stretched thin and running crazy. A+ for them.
This is my personal blog. Most of what is written is my opinion, observation, original thought, or things I find interesting somewhere else. While I am employed by Mt. Paran North, the things expressed here are not endorsed or necessarily accepted by Mt. Paran North or it's leadership. So don't go sue the church because you don't agree with something I write. Just post a comment and tell me I'm an idiot. It'll just be better for all of us.
