Called It

Apple just announced they sold the millionth iPhone. They'll sell another million by Christmas. Stock is surging. Here we go.

In unrelated news...

Thanks to the weather in Dallas I may not get out of the Springs tonight. Great.

This Weekend

This weekend class was in session. I'll spend a long, long time processing with the Lord, talking with the Lord, asking of the Lord, everything I have learned and witnessed this weekend. Words don't do what God teaches justice. God is gracious. Glad I'm heading home to see my incredible wife and my beautiful children. What a weekend. New Life is a great church and God is no doubt doing something here.

Seeing Brady Set In

Quick Thoughts...

I don't like Starbucks anymore...it's a fad...their coffee stinks. Can anyone say Bon Giorno?

There's no one I'd rather be than me. What a seat I get to sit in.

Authority is God's design. Submission is His plan.

Ross is the real deal. He's built an incredible team.

Submitting to God's process will always beat out creating your own. Brady did this well for seven years.

It is God how New Life has accepted Brady. Amazing to watch.

There's real, there's fake, there's try, and there's do. Brady has stepped into a whole new anointing. He's not having to try...God is doing it...this is what it should look like.

Our elders have handled this incredibly. Authority I gladly submit to.

God's kingdom is very, very big.

God is alive and unfathomably active.

Take It For Granted

So I have spent nearly 10 hours at Panera in the last 36 hours and I just realized something about myself.

Between the ages of 15 and 21 I held jobs as a driving range ball-picker-upper/mower/register boy, busboy at a Mexican resturant, weightroom monitor, overnight security guard for an apartment complex (this was absolutely the most idiotic decision I have ever made...$8/hour...work all night...quit after 3 weeks when I heard a gunshot...horrible neighborhood...Phoenix equivalent of South Dallas...yes I am an idiot), campus security (top 3 best jobs...lots of overtime worked here), valet and bellman at the Arizona Biltmore, church youth intern.

I remember working in college at different places and when I was not busy doing something my mind would drift off to my dream of one day being paid to study the word, preach, minister to people. I thought of it often in those days. Even at the Biltmore where it was a spectacular job I would still get frustrated about not being in ministry. I sometimes forget what it was like to not be in ministry. After 7 years I have spent more time in ministry than I did working outside of it. As I watch the people working here change out the trash, get reprimanded by their manager, get short with customers, I am reminded of how miserable I was.

I am grateful. I have an incredible job. In my twenties it is a dream job. I get paid generously. I get paid to study, to preach, to walk with people and minister to them. This is the job I always dreamt of. Full-time ministry is a gift. I forget that sometimes.

Thank you Lord.

Isn't This What Church Is?

I just ran across something on the net. It's a coffee place in Kirkland, Washington. Wow, a coffee place close to Seattle, Pres you came up with a huge discovery. Curb the sacrasm shorty. There's something different about this little "coffee place".

Terra Bite Lounge is a "voluntary payment" cafe. That's right if you don't want to pay you don't have to. In fact on their website they make this statement "We also cheerfully serve those who cannot pay, in a non-stigmatizing customer setting, with no political or religious message, and with full-time availability."

The owner of Terra Bite says this about why they do voluntary payment "Terra Bite is not only an experiment into the level of public honesty, it is also a visible demonstration of that high level of honesty."

Interesting concept for a business. They don't make a killing, they just break even. But it's not because they can't turn a profit. It's because they choose to share the profit with the baristas. Wow.

I know this seemed to be a great social study on the level of honesty but this little business model has been employed by the church for centuries. That's why less than a third of the church tithes...because no one will know if they don't.

Cool way to prove a point though for Terra Bite.

Altitude

I had every intention of taking a little jog this morning. I thought I'd do just a little something nothing outrageous...a little 5k.

How about a little .5m? The altitude is a beast. It was so bad my teeth started hurting. I know, I'm a weenie, it's okay. I'm serious, I felt like I couldn't even make it a mile. It turned in to a sightseeing stroll in the Garden of the Gods. It is beautiful up there.

I'm sure there was a great post somewhere about preparation or climitization or something profound like that but I was hurting too bad to think that deep. So here it is...altitude stinks.

The sad thing was I was thinking about running in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure tomorrow morning before church. It's just a 5k but it goes through the Garden of the Gods. I thought it would be a nice stroll. Well, after this morning...nice stroll my behind. It would take me 35 minutes to finish a 5k in this altitude. I'm officially withdrawing from the race without ever registering.

Have I mentioned that altitude stinks.

theMill and more

Just got back from New Life's young adults group. Enjoyed it. They've got to be one of the largest young adults groups in the country. Not too many differences between theMill and Seven other than attendance, for now. They go about twice as long as we do but it's a little different feel so it seems to reach their audience just fine. Worship about 6 songs and 45 minutes. Message about 20 Scripture passages and an hour long. I like Aaron's style...easy delivery easy to receive. He reads Scriptures from his cell phone...it worked. Seeing them in their room actually made me look forward to us getting into ours. Atmosphere is huge. I have spent the last 6 months since we have been down in the sanctuary convincing myself that atmosphere really doesn't matter...wrong, for this generation it completely matters. I really wasn't there to critique, just wanted to maybe learn something and be inspired. After their service I am. They do a lot of great stuff and will no doubt continue to reach many of my generation in this area. I'll be praying for them.

Miss my wife, miss my kids. It's been great studying today. Spent about 4 hours at Panera studying...had a blast, got on a roll.

Got some great one-liners for the series in 6 weeks. Lot of great scripture. Can't wait for this one.