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.

Last night was the first time that all of us had ever gotten together. Everyone’s schedule lined up so we had a potluck at my house.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss last week’s Preview Service and decide what we wanted to improve, add, tweak, or get rid of. There were 8 of us there, and that was ideal for the process.

As the group discussed the Preview Service I got a glimpse of something I’ve been dreaming about for years–a group of creative, energetic people released and empowered to complete a task. I think it’s fun to watch.

The group stayed for about 3 hours, and during that time there was no break in the conversation. It was like music as the room filled with “what ifs” and “how abouts.” I’ve got several good ideas that we’ll have to discuss some more to decide how to use them.

We’re going to add a drama to our second preview service and also better greeting as people come into the Playhouse. It’s going to be exciting to watch the ideas of this group take shape and become real through the participation of people.

Sometimes I think that the Christian community is like someone that has been invited to a grand party, but instead elects to throw their own. Their private party is smaller, only has people they know, and thinks it’s the only one in town.

I went to a ribbon cutting this week. Like many such events, the Christian community was missing. I don’t mean that there weren’t Christians there. What I mean is that the business community doesn’t really get to see Christians showing up “officially” to say “we care about you, and we want to be involved in your life.”

I don’t think that churches intend to cause that misunderstanding, namely that the two communities can’t or shouldn’t mix. It may be that church communities wear blinders and can only see what is right in front of them.

LifeSpring Church just got invited to participate in a program sponsored by a county agency. That says to me that opportunities to partner with and serve our communities exists, but only if we are willing to attend the party.

It wasn’t really that hot this morning, but I had rivulets of sweat running down my neck. I think it was actually liquid stress. Today was THE day. We had our first preview service.

None of us knew what to expect. Amanda generously provided nibbles and drink for sixty people. It turned out to be too much; we actually had about 15 adults present. But it was still a good morning.

I was grateful that my friend, Scott, took part of his vacation to spend with us and play in our band. Nancy sang beautifully and contributed a lot to the vocals. Tom led worship well and made the video look good. Erica gave herself fully to the care of the children. And Adam was the “roving short stop” who worked quitely behind the scenes.

Friends came to encourage us: Russ, Corinne, Suzanne, and Paula. I’ll never be able to tell them how much I appreciated their gift of presence. What pleasure!

I think one of the best things that happened was that we all could see how close we were to our target, and what we would like to tweak and change. We got good feedback from our guests. Many indicated pleasure with what we had done. One said, “let me know how I can help.”

I feel reaffirmed in my belief that what we are offering is seldom seen and greatly needed, especially in this town who’s median age is 27.8. It was neat seeing the genuine pleasure expressed by those in our target group.

I would have like to have had 50-100 people present. But this project has never operated like that. It has started small, like Jesus’ mustard seed, and it progresses in slow measured stages. It’s very unnerving, but I like that.

Tonight was the big night. Leadership Merced Class 21 graduated after 10 months of classes which concentrated on the life of Merced County. Twenty-one started but three dropped out.

Highlights of the graduation ceremony were the presentation of a $6800 check to the GREAT Program by our class, a slide show of class pictures, and the presentation of graduation certificates. I got to make a brief “speech” about the year. My remarks are included below.

We were each called up, and we received certificates from a line of dignitaries: Merced Mayor Ellie Wooten; the president and CEO of the Merced Chamber of Commerce; a member of U.S. Representative Dennis Cardoza’s staff; a representative from the Merced County Board of Supervisors, a member of California Assemblywoman Barbara Matthew’s staff; and a member of state Senator Jeff Denham’s staff.

I think we all came away from the class feeling empowered and informed, and we want to take the Chamber’s challenge to reinvest what we gained back into the community. Two of us in the class have been added to the Chamber’s Board of Directors.

Leadership Merced Class 21 is now a memory. There will be no more Fridays spent in class, no more retreats, and no more class projects. But I have full faith that something good was launched–good friendships and good service to the community.

My Speech

Well, we did it. We signed away 10 months of our lives. Took the risk. Made the plunge. We usta couldn’t spell leader and now we are one.

A final word. We think a great deal of credit…….or blame…….goes to Meg Kirby. Meg, you have been there every step of the way. Your devotion to this program is evident, and we deeply appreciate it. So please accept our appreciation for your contribution to the wonderful 10 months we just experienced. You are wonderful!

Asking is getting easier now. We have something to ask people to. “We’d love to have you join us for our first preview service. Here’s an invitation card.”

I like the card also because it gives a visual image of what we are imagining–a church full of 20’s/30’s. This is not “your father’s Oldsmobile.” I like the card because it’s not a stereotype of church. You have to turn it over to find out what it’s about.

Tonight at our small group Tom took a whole box of the cards. We have 5000 of the cards, and I don’t want a single one left over by the end of summer. Five thousand individuals invited to come share in the beginning of a new church. Imagine what even a small part of them could do together for God.

Asking just got easier. In fact, some people are coming to us and asking. “When is your first worship service?” “Where are you meeting.” One guy told me that he and his wife would be there on June 25. I can’t wait to see what happens.

Asking is getting easier now. We have something to ask people to. “We’d love to have you join us for our first preview service. Here’s an invitation card.”

I like the card also because it gives a visual image of what we are imagining–a church full of 20’s/30’s. This is not “your father’s Oldsmobile.” I like the card because it’s not a stereotype of church. You have to turn it over to find out what it’s about.

Tonight at our small group Tom took a whole box of the cards. We have 5000 of the cards, and I don’t want a single one left over by the end of summer. Five thousand individuals invited to come share in the beginning of a new church. Imagine what even a small part of them could do together for God.

Asking just got easier. In fact, some people are coming to us and asking. “When is your first worship service?” “Where are you meeting.” One guy told me that he and his wife would be there on June 25. I can’t wait to see what happens.

“How do you eat an elephant?” the joke goes. “One spoonful at a time” is the answer. True enough. One bite at a time is all anyone can do.

I was thinking about that joke as I came back tonight from San Francisco. I had delievered Bev to San Francisco International Airport, and was on the way home thinking about all I had to complete before our first preview service on Sunday, June 25. The size of this church planting project sometimes makes me feel like I am eating an elephant.

I took a bite this morning. I talked to Angela and to Lainey about our church’s signage. I had to describe the idea we all had in mind, and I had to approve or disapprove the proofs they sent us.

I took a bite a lunch too. I had my first Chamber of Commerce board meeting today. Actually I don’t become a voting member until next month when the new term begins. But today I got my feet wet.

I took a bite tonight when I e-mailed Lainey and said that I approved the final design she sent me. I can go to bed relieved that the signage will be here on Friday, ready to be put out for our first service.

One bite at a time is a good way to do anything. Each bite moves you closer to your goal, but one bite at a time won’t gag you either. How do YOU eat an elephant?