Top Seven

Here are the top seven things that happened to me this week (not necessarily in any order):
1. Being asked by my son, Justin, to come out to the 'shop' and feel a fender of a 1956 pickup to see if I thought he had sanded it smooth enough to paint. He is astonishing -- completely different basic interests than me, but I could not love him any more. I have no idea if he has the fender ready (not in my gifts inventory), but I love that he asked me.
2. Laughing my head off in the ER at the hospital last night with Milford Gibbs. That guy is really special to me also. I am watching God rework his DNA as a radical church planter right before our eyes. He is fine by the way.
3. Learned what church planters' DNA looks like in people by going to the Evolve Conference in Atlanta. I basically knew this, but it was clarified by God after driving 18 hours and 1100 miles over 3 days. They are people who cannot stand the thought that there are people in their community or a near community that don't know Christ and are going to hell. If you want to hear from one of them, check out this talk by Bill Cornelius the link . They are loyal and completely committed to mission and vision. But it is not for everybody. If you are not sure what the vision is, show up next Sunday night at 6:30 to be sure.
4. We had a very special family visit our church this morning. We have that every week, but this was extra special because they were spending time with my sister in Christ, Juanita Gray, who has just discovered that her youngest grandchild, Kyle, has Down's Syndrome. This couple's beautiful daughter also has Down's. I saw such look of hope in everyone's eyes. Juanita's eyes said, "This is doable." Their eyes said, "We are blessing someone."
5. I am writing the Easter sermon. I have never preached at Easter, and I am scared to death and excited at the same time. As usual, we are preparing and writing the unusual. One thing that never changes is the incredible Scripture record that God sent to us so that we could discover the events of that week and worship the One who carried out the most important act of love in all history that week. Studying God's Word is an honor and a privilege.
6. Seeing that a lot of people could not stay away from worship celebration this morning despite the weather. That did not happen because of the quality of our presentation; it happened because of the magnificence of the Object of our worship.
7. My wife told me that she loved me. Nuff said.