August 4th, 2008
How did we do it? How did we ever live without this guy Billy Mays yelling at us to buy all the junk he’s selling. Oxy-Clean, Kaboom, Handy Switch, Steam Buddy, Samurai Shark, Awesome Auger, Hercules Hook, Zorbeez, Engrave It.
Is anyone else sick of this guy? Quit pointing than boney finger at me and SHUT-UP!
OK… i feel better now.
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July 28th, 2008
This is the final note on our Core Beliefs - ”Relationships and Spiritual Growth Happen Best in Small Groups.”
If you want to grow a friendship, you spend time with someone. You get to know them better by asking questions and hearing their story. You find out what makes them tick; what their interests are, where their passions are directed.
In the same way, if you want to grow in your friendship with Jesus and see spiritual growth in your heart and life, the best way to do it is with other people on the walk of life. Being a Christ follower was never meant to be a solo act, something you do on your own. It’s all about taking next steps toward God together, where you can share struggles and failures and be a help and support for each other. That’s what it means to be in community with each other.
The Connexion provides opportunities to connect with others in these ways and plans to expand these opportunities in the future. So, how about it! Join in on the fun or maybe even start a LIFEGROUP group yourself. If your interested, let’s talk!
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July 21st, 2008
Yesterdays MicroMission was a splash as we did the $1 car wash. The twist was that we paid those who came in $1 for allowing us to wash their car and share God’s love with them.
The reaction is always one of disbelief and near shock. There was the older couple. She got out of the car and walked off to the side while the gentleman spoke with me. He tried to give me some money and when I gave him our card and the dollar he was speechless. He went over to his wife and told her about it and I overhead her say, “That’s crazy!” She ended up giving me a hug before they left.
There was the guy who came through and just wanted to give us money; said his car would fall apart if we washed it. We refused his money and had a nice chat about how he recently beat an addiction with God’s help, he just wanted to pay back someway. We ended up having prayer for him at his request.
Two bikers came through. The second one was big and burley and rough looking. When he received the dollar from us and the explanation for why we were doing this (to share the love of God) he got choked up and had to fight back tears. He said, “if you knew my story….” and then shared how his wife recently died. He said “this really touches me.” He shook my hand several times and thanked us all.
This is the beauty of sharing God’s love in unexpected ways and places. Although we washed just a handful of cars, each of those who we encountered tonight, encountered the living, loving, grace giving God. It was a pleasure for us to be his vessel.
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July 16th, 2008
It could happen to you!
We went out for our second Summer Sunday MicroMission last Sunday to the Coliseum Festival Giant Midway. Our mission… hand out free freezer-pops to the festival goers. We passed out maybe 15 pops when the carny boss lady came up and told us we couldn’t do it because it would take away from the sales they were trying to make. Ok, I can understand that. We had a brief conversation with her and when it was clear we weren’t going to be able to continue we packed up and walked to our cars, (amid the vocal crowd yelling “Thank You” to us for the freebies. While standing there trying to figure out where to go next we got swooped on by the police. Seems the carny lady told them we were giving her a hard time and were refusing to leave. After convincing the swat team this wasn’t the case I tried to get our $8 parking fee back. Well, then another group of coppers let me know that wasn’t gonna happen. One told me he couldn’t understand why we would be doing what we were doing. When I tried to show him our card explaining we were just trying to do something nice and show God’s love in practical ways he wouldn’t even look at it.
So… we went downtown to the festival and handed them out on the sidewalk. They went quick as the festival goers snarfed them up. We had a nice little crowd at times of grateful people. It’s always fun to do something nice and unexpected for people; its a rare thing these days to receive something for free with no strings attached. And as it played out tonight, sometimes risky and dangerous. As for me, I don’t want to be anywhere else in the Kingdom!
Festival souvenir $4
Elephant ear $6
Look on people’s face when they get something free - priceless.
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July 14th, 2008
Core Belief #4 - There’s always room for one more.
At the crux of this idea is that we, the church, are never fully complete until all are integrated into the family of God. There must always be an attitude of welcome and openness in the body of Christ for everyone - everyone. Too often churches develop “holy huddles” or an attitude of “us four and no more.” We get comfortable with people just like us and don’t make room in our lives and hearts for more people, more relationships. Worse than that is giving off the vibe to people that we think they aren’t as good as us, or don’t measure up because of something about them that is different from us. This is unacceptable.
The Connexion will always have room for one more, and then for one more, and one more, and for you.
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