2008 has truly been the best year of our church life
We have merged with Inglewood Church of Christ and become Inglewood Community Church
We have started meeting at the Inglewood Civic Centre, which has seen us become a more visible presence in the community, and start to attract visitors on a consistent basis….People know where we are, and when we meet. We run programs such as the Artisan Markets, which are an incredible outlet for community presence.
I have learnt how to use Photoshop and Sony Vegas, two great high end programs which have helped me become more efficient and professional in my work.
Personal prayer, devotion and holiness…..these are aspects of my life I continue to work on.
When people from both sides of politics are villifying you, its probably a sign you are doing the right thing.
Rick Warren is clearly a biblical/conservative minister….yet Obama has picked him to pray a prayer of blessing on his presidency. I doubt Warren voted for Obama……
This quote from Warren from the LA Times speaks volumes for the wisdom of the man. I am so glad he is representing us in the media…
“I happen to love Democrats and Republicans,” he told the gathering. “And for the media’s purpose, I happen to love gays and straights. . . . Who ever came up with the idea that you have to agree with everybody on everything in order to love them?”Warren added: “And you know what my attitude is: You don’t have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand, and you can disagree without being disagreeable” (Source)
A few years back a few good friends and I went to Sacremento to study the incredible ministry of churches under Paul Borden’s leadership.
After the 14 day study tour, Wayne Field, Peter White and myself went on a driving tour, including such spots as Vegas, Yosemite National Park, Las Angelas, and a lot of the US in between…..
When I got to Vegas, and Wayne and I went on a tour, in our rented Chrysler Convertable….at 2am in the morning, I turned to Wayne and said,
“After seeing what God created for our enjoyment in Yosemite it’s a disappointment to see what man created for our enjoyment in Vegas.”
Wayne told me that U2 filmed their clip, “I still haven’t found what I am looking for” there….which just about sums it up.
“The source of confident joy and joyful confidence originates in the fundamental acknowledgement that “the Lord, he is God. It is He who hath made us and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.” Turning from divine praise to human dignity, the Psalmist celebrates the good news that we are neither alone nor autonomous. He confesses that God fashioned every single person, and that therefore every human being enjoys an inherent worth that can never be earned or even lost, and that therefore we enjoy His bountiful care. Many people, of course, do not view the world or people this way, and herein lies a great divide between two very different ways of experiencing life itself.”
This is a really good post.
Pastor Mark Driscoll had a really bad attendance at Mars Hill Church, a mega church in Seattle. He is a edgy young pastor, with a influential ministry. He writes on his church blog about a recent service when it snowed heavily in Seattle (you may have seen it on the news) and it affected attendance negatively….
“I preached to 80 people at the first service in a room that seats 1300, and the best attended of the four services today was about 250 people…..”
He has some pretty frank things to say… (Driscoll frank? Who would have thought!)
“Those who see it as a job are the first to call in and cancel their duties, not show up, dog it, or leave early. Those who see their service at Mars Hill as a calling go beyond the call of duty to cover for everyone else”
You can read the rest here
