Pay Day

It took almost one year, but I reached the $100 limit today on Goggle Adsense. They won't mail you a check until you earn $100 or more. So now I should have a check coming my way. What to buy?

Church in Tree Hill, NC

As I sat watching the season finale of the CW TV series "One Tree Hill" 2nite I realized I should have planted a church in Tree Hill. In one hour the magic touch of the writers made all wrongs right and a seasons worth of difficulties and tribulations were washed away as all the main characters finally reached their intended goals and destinations. It was beautiful!

Unfortunately it was also make believe. I know it is a bit cheesy that I watch "One Tree Hill" I blame working with teenagers and the fact that the show was shot in my former home town of Wilmington, NC.

Planting a church in the real world is difficult, this week has been an example of that fact. The first two weeks of our public gathering certainly went well and a general sense of excitement has been among us. However, beneath the surface our small core group has been struggling. This past Sunday did not help when only a handful of people showed up to our gathering. None of us expected miracles, but it felt a bit like a punch in the gut. 

It was only one week, but pray for us. It hit us hard and we are uncertain of what to do if we continue down that path. 

While planting a church in the real world may never end with a neat bow tied on top like TV land does, watching "One Tree Hill" 2nite reminded me of something. 

Believe dreams come true, because they do!

Travel Troubles Up Date

After our fiasco in late March with Delta I sent a strongly worded e-mail to their customer service department. Loosing the luggage was bad, but the multiple times people lied to me on the phone simply to get off the phone with me was what pushed me over the top.

Anyway, I feel obliged to inform you we got 3 $75 vouchers in the mail last week. Certainly Delta did not have to do anything, but I appreciated the gesture of this token offering. For us in our current situation it was well timed. We booked our flights back to Wilmington for the Jamie Miller wedding the same evening we got the $225 gift. Our tickets were still outrageous, but the $225 we saved was much needed.

Take a Deep Breath...and Jump!

Our public gathering began this week.

It was a success, much of what we are doing is unorthodox and unconventional so we have few examples from history to look at making it difficult to judge success. However, we have a deep desire to foster community, community in a deep and interpersonal way. I believe our first week was a step in that direction.

I was most pleased with the atmosphere of our first gathering. As we started it felt a little like a first date, awkward. However, quickly our group settled in and a sense of community filled the room. The vibe was open and engaged. I have no idea what to expect next week or the week after that. To confess, I long for a sense of control again. Ministry before now seemed very controlled. This is the advantage of working in long established places, work wasn't always easy but it was controllable. I have no control over what is occurring now, I simply trust God and follow my heart and values. 

I will hope things continue to go well, but for now I am thankful for the first week. It went well, we have a lot of work to do, but it went well.