One of our supporters is Clovis Christian Church. They have been sending us support checks for several months now, whih I deeply appreciate. Sunday, July 30 was the last available Sunday I had for visiting other churches, so they invited Bev and me down, and I preached.

I’m really grateful for the help they give us, and also for the opportunity to tell our story. I think it encourages them as much as us.

Their pastor, Michael Stipe, has become a good friend. We enjoyed having lunch with him and his wife, Suzanne, yesterday after church services.

One of the things I have loved about this church planting project has been the widening of my network of friends. It has made me more appreciative of how rich and varied the body of Christ is.

I had a “first” yesterday. I was invited to provide an in-service for an agency that provides home and hospice care to ill people. The audience was some of their registered nurses and nurses aides.

In order to get ready for it I wrote a former hospital chaplain and asked him what the must-read books were on the subject of chaplaincy care. He gave me a couple of titles, one of which I ordered. I took notes and reproduced some of the charts.

I was nervous about the in-service for two reasons. First, I had never done this before, and it was out of my expertise. Second, I figured all these nurses could teach me a thing or two on the subject of grief care.

On Wednesday I had a great idea. I decided to use selected quotes from the correspondence I had with a dying friend to illustrate what I was going to talk to them about. I had 44 pages of correspondence, so there was plenty to draw from.

I spoke for about 40 minutes. I told them at the conclusion, “None of you threw anything at me so it must have been okay.” I think it was a good refresher for the group, and it helped them to get to know me a bit better.

Recently a United Pentecostal Church on the southside of Chicago offered $25 to the first 75 (new) people who came to each of their two Sunday morning services. Jim Henderson at Off the Map asked me recently if I would interview the pastor at the church in regard to their “Money Sunday.”

I agreed to do it and completed the interview a couple of weeks ago. I serialized the interview into 5 parts, and I began posting them today at Ordinary Attempts.

I have hoped that the interview would show respect to the church while at the same time causing a lot of conversation about evangelism.

Reading the comments broadens my perspective on the subject, and helps me to see how far off the mark churches sometimes are in regard to evangelistic outreach.

Check out the blog and leave a comment.

Today was a very long day. It began with our going to church services at 8:30 this morning with our daughter and son-in-law. We left Merced about 10:00 for Santa Rosa to visit our son and daugher-in-law. It has been about a year and a half since that group was last together.

We enjoyed a delightful afternoon, most of which was spent sitting around a backyard table, eating, chatting, and watching the children play. I especially liked seeing our children being able to talk and enjoy each other. Because of living across the country from each other, that is a rare occurence.

At about 7:00 PM we left to take Angela and Derrek to a hotel in Burlingame, near San Francisco International. It is always sad to drop them off, but we’re already planning the next gathering.

We got out of the car about 11:00 AM. We returned about 6:00 PM. During that time we hiked from the Yosemite Valley floor to the top of Nevada Falls. Four of those hours we hiked straight up.

Our daughter, Angela, and her husband Derrek have been visiting us from Tennessee. They really enjoyed the ruggedness and majesty of Yosemite, and you could see them filling up their eyes with the vision, much like a thirsty person drinks water.

The first part of the hike went up the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls. The trail got its name for a reason. By the time you get to the top of the steps, you’re soaking wet because of the spray that is in the air.

The next part of the trip goes up a grueling set of steps that make your legs feel like rubber. You keep looking up at the destination wondering how many more switchbacks you’ll have to negotiate.

The view at the top of Nevada Falls is breathtaking. It feels like you are standing on top of the world. The valley floor is so far away, you wonder how you got there

We were happy to learn that there was an easier way down. The John Muir Trail is more gradual. You don’ have any steps to climb. You can hear your legs and feet shouting “thank you.”

After we got back to the car we started thinking about dinner and how good it would taste. We had to endure a rude waiter in Oakhurst, but the food and rest were still satisfying.

Derrek kept saying that he’d like to live in California. There is truly no place like Yosemite.

It’s 10:30 in the evening, and the last of our guests has left. It has been the sort of day that makes us feel incredibly encouraged and fulfilled.

We left the house this morning at 8:00 to drive to Stockton. I have been filling in a little bit for the Central Church of Christ there, as they wait for their new minister to arrive in August.

Today I got to tell that church more of the LifeSpring story, and I was gratified by the number of people who said something about the sermon. It seemed to me that I struck a chord with them and perhaps inspired them.

At 6:00 tonight the interns from the Playhouse came over to our house for a party. There were 10 of us in all. Bev served up Mexican Hat, and we had a fun game of Cranium, Turbo Edition. We both feel so at home with this group, and tonight’s fun cemented the relationship further.

I have found my niche, and I can’t imagine doing anything but this. I’m going to bed with a great sense of satisfaction.

July 4 is the date of the annual Pancake Breakfast that my ol’ Lodi Kiwanis Club sponsors. This year was the 37th.

No one except the chairman knew I was coming. He listed me on all the assignment sheets as the “secret flipper” because I was taking my usual place behind one of the grills cooking pancakes. Some guessed who the secret was, but others were completely surprised when I arrived.

This group is one of my favorites. I like the commitment to children that is present in the club. They all turn into big softies when offered the opportunity to do something good for children.

They are also thick-skinned. It is generally agreed that you won’t fit in the club if you can’t take teasing. It’s not mean-spirited, but you will get teased.

I also like the goofiness of the club. I told my wife it was an excuse for adults to act like high schoolers. I think that’s why we all like to go to the meeting–fun, uninhibited, and unpredictable. Attendance is generally pretty high because no one wants to miss out on the surprises in store.

I highly recommend community service, but it is nice to find a group that does that service in the context of fun and fellowship.

Last week I got an invitation to moderate the Ordinary Attempts blog at Off-the-Map.org. After I got the guidelines, I decided to think about it for a few days. This morning I accepted.

I really like the Off the Map folks. They are keenly evangelistic, but not in the usual way. Jim Henderson, the father of OtM, tells people that he’s trying to teach evangelicals to not be weird. I think that is a good description.

By weird he means the outrageous things that we sometimes do in the name of evangelism–things that totally turn off the unchurched. Ordinary Attempts are the commonsense, respectful, and caring acts done for another person, just because.

The interesting thing is that we now live in a time that is perfectly suited for OA’s. The knock-on-your-door, programmatic approach to evangelism simply doesn’t work for most folks.

OA’s require patience, but they produce relationships that are deep, genuine, and potentially the context for future discussions about Jesus.

If you want to read over my shoulder go to Ordinary Attempts and watch the conversation that goes on there.