May I put this in your garbage bag? I gestured toward the new bag the lady had just put in the airport trash can. Why sure Darlin’, she said.

Darlin.’ I don’t hear that too much in California, but I hear things like that a lot in the South where I grew up and where I am right now at a church planters’ conference.

There’s a gentleness about such expressions that I like. It’s polite, warm, affectionate, and friendly. It makes you feel like family.

Tonight the waitress at Cracker Barrel asked me if I was ready to give my dinner order. Not just yet, I said. Alright Sugar, she said.

The speaker in a class I attended today said that even the meanest, baddest character melts when he is asked, Can I pray for you? He told us story after story of people who responded positively to the request.

I think that Sugar, Darlin’ and Can I pray for you? all have one thing in common–they show uncommon warmth and interest in the person to whom they’re said.

Darlin works best in the South It’s what you expect in this area of the Country. But Can I pray for you works everywhere. I need to say that more.

I am sitting in Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport right now. It is 8:00 am, eastern standard time, and I desperately need a good sleep. On top of that, I bought a roll and some coffee and sat down at an eaterie near my gate and was promptly shooed away by a power wielding employee. The establishment had only two customers, and I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t let me eat my little roll and drink my coffee there.

I’m still thinking about yesterday. It was law enforcement day at Leadership Merced. We began our day at the police station and heard from the new police chief, and one of the commanders.

From there we went to Sandy Mush prison where we got a tour. Sandy Mush houses both men and women. It has a few crazies as well as some murderers, rapists, and a smattering of all the other crimes one might commit. We got to hear from one of the inmates, but we all believe we were handed a bill of goods.

After Sandy Mush we went to the firing range where we saw a Swat team demonstration and got to fire two different assault rifles. The bomb squad also detonated two or three devices. I think this may have been our favorite time of the day.

We’ve only got two more classes and graduation. By late June Leadership Merced will be a memory. I’m thankful for the better than average glimpse that it gives me of community life and how I can plug into the community in an effective way.

On Monday I will be attending a 4-day church planters conference in Orlando, Florida. I’m looking forward to the added resources it will give me in large measure. But I’m even more excited about the idea of a good night’s sleep.

It’s official. Playhouse Merced is the new home of LifeSpring Church. It seats about 200 people and is a warm and intimate space. Some Sundays we’ll have the set of the latest Playhouse production as a back drop. How cool is that?

More and more people have asked me lately, Where is LifeSpring Church going to meet? The last two days I’ve cracked under pressure. “It’s not completely settled yet, but I’m 99% sure it will be Playhouse Merced.” Now I can say it without condition. We are definitely meeting in the Playhouse. Experimental services start in May.

I’ve enjoyed the reaction I get when I say, Playhouse Merced. Almost to a person, I get a response something like, “Cool.” One older person asked me yesterday, Even though you are targeting 20’s/30’s, can someone my age come?

Early in May we are going to start an “experimental service.” It will enable us to start meeting with the bar set really low. We’ll try out different forms, get critique and sand off the rough edges. We think that by early Summer we will be meeting fairly regularly with a congregation of excited and energized people.

Now we can tell everyone that we have a place and a time. Come join us.

Briefings started at 2:00 PM. I got to sit with the officers while they discussed the shift that was just beginning. Among other things they were two cars short, so they had to find replacements at a sub-station in the city.

I rode for four hours with a police officer. He allowed me to stand nearby and listen in as he conducted business: a stolen purse, an illegal muffler, a report of some drug pushing, a stolen credit card, and a group of homeless guys near a city building. Because of a work conflict, I wasn’t able to ride at the most interesting time – night. The officer told me I could call him and ride again, this time at night.

I was impressed by the officer’s professionalism. He was always kind to the people he dealt with, even when he had good reason to suspect they up to no good. A homeless guy he had to frisk got a kind word and a bit of humor.

The police work very hard. The area we covered was huge. I really wondered how he kept from feeling completely overwhelmed by the scope of his work. I appreciated the officer’s sense of humor. I think it is part of what helped him to do his job in the right spirit.

I am gaining immense appreciation for the people in Merced and other cities who give sacrificial service to their fellow citizens. Often without thanks or awareness. And often in spite of thoughtless complaining.

I’ve been reading Bill Easum and Pete Theodore’s excellent book, The Nomadic Church. It is one of the few books written on the subject of being a church without property or a building.

There are definitely challenges, but Easum and Theodore point out that there are also huge advantages. I’m so impressed, I decided to list a few of them for this blog. Enjoy!

Not having a building
…fosters creativity.
…encourages people to trust God.
…builds relational camaraderie, community and intimacy.
…always provides opportunities for every person to be involved.
…permits more focus on people, mission, and ministry.
…diminishes a “come to us” mindset and bolsters a “go to them” mindset.
…forces multiple worship services.
…smothers idolatrous “building worship.”
…encourages purposeful, missional budgeting.
…keeps people praying.
…forces decentralization into the community.
…fosters gratitude for simple things.
…allows money and time that other churches have to spend on buildings.
…allows for faster mulitiplication of churches to saturate a city.
…builds a sense of corporate excitement.

Wow!

I’m looking out the door at a flowering plum. The wind is blowing the petals off like snow. The sun is out, and people are in a decidely better mood after all the rain.

Most of the drinks that are going out the door are iced drinks, unlike the hot coffee that people were drinking last week to stay warm. Three or four people have come by my table. One stayed about an hour. Another by and we talked about leadership for a few minutes. He gave me a good idea for the training class I am writing right now.

I got an invitation to teach a class for a local agency. I’ve also gotten some other opportunities to help folks out. I like these opportunities.

Clouds are blowing in. The forecast is for more rain. God is the one constant through all of life. And life is good.

I’m a member of a business networking group. I am completely fascinated by the process.

The group gets together once a week to talk about each other’s business and provide business referrals to each other. In between meetings the members get together for coffee or lunch. What happens over time is that strangers become friends.

The group is really like a church. They look out for each other. Enjoy each other’s company. And become friends. Before and after the meeting the room is a filled with the noisy din of conversation. “How are you?” “I met someone who needs your services.” Or “How was your trip?”

Really being a part of the group requires making a contribution to the group. People who join just to GET the benefits of membership rather than GIVE to the welfare of others soon lose interest in it. Like the paradox of “Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns,” Ecclesiastes 11:1, receiving the grand benefits of relationships requires personal generosity.

We were greeted this morning with pictures of the flooding that occurred overnight in Merced. Most of this occurred on the west side of Merced, and we live on the east side. Still, it makes you aware of how little control you have when nature runs rampant.

The forecast is for light showers the rest of the week. We pray that the waters will recede, and the poor folks who got chased out of their homes last night will be able to restore some order to their lives.

I’ve been looking over our back fence off and on all day today–at lunch, when I got home from a meeting, and tonight. Merced and the surrounding areas have gotten pounded with rain, and some areas are flooded.

Rascal Creek flows along a paved walking path right behind our house. Most of the time it is a nice place to stroll, but today I wished it wasn’t there.

Actually, the creek has not gotten to a worrisome height, but some Merced residents haven’t been so lucky. Some have been flooded out. Some are sandbagging like crazy. Merced High School is taking overnight evacuees.

Bear Creek, a major waterway flowing through town, is threateningly high. I’m probably going to add flood insurance to my home coverage very soon.

I made a new friend on Friday night. Bev and I were at the Boys and Girls Club annual fundraiser, and he was sitting at the table next to us. It turned out that he was a pastor for a local African-American church.

We chatted for a good while and then exchanged business cards. Bev and I told him that we had been wanting to worship at an African-American church, but didn’t know exactly where to go. But now we did.

Worship started at 11:00 AM. We were there in plenty of time so we got to visit with several of the church members. They were very warm and hospitable to us. During worship the pastor even invited me up to say a word to the church. He said he was going to invite me back to preach.

The service was over two hours long. The preaching was passionate; the fellowship was sweet. We both left feeling very encouraged and have no doubt that when we go back we will be warmly received. Exactly the way being with Christians should affect you.