- The smell of rain is amazing.
- Not sure how long it will last, so I’m enjoying all that I can while it does.
- Fun to see the kids go out and play in the rain yesterday.
- And crazy how people all flock to the windows when it does.
- Almost as though aliens have landed outside.
- Good, solid day at Gateway yesterday.
- Kind of a challenging message to preach (on the qualities of elders in Titus 1:5-9).
- Challenging in that it was a week of being reminded of the kind of character I’m expected to have as a leader in the church.
- Lots of opportunity to repent, trust Jesus, and depend on him.
- Was interesting to preach, too, in that not everybody is as interested in church leadership issues as I am (understandably).
- It was a pretty emotional day for me.
- If you weren’t there, I finished with a few requests that I hope will help our church from putting me or our other leaders on a pedestal.
- In the process, I shared how when a leader is put on a pedestal, he or she is tempted to fake godliness and actual repentance and faith gets harder.
- As a person who is driven and likes to achieve, one of my vulnerabilities is to try to appear to be something I’m not.
- So it was both helpful and a little bit scary to admit that in the message.
- I’m thankful for the other Redemption preachers and the conversation we had about it in our Preaching Collective a few weeks back.
- Helped me see that I’m not the only one who needs to live in the truth and be honest about my weaknesses.
- I was also encouraged to talk about it after I read this paragraph in Eugene Peterson’s book Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity:
- When I read that, I wrote “Yikes!” in the margin.
- I really don’t want to fake it.
- Pray for me — and for our elders and leaders — to consistently walk close to Jesus.
- By the way, if you want to read more about how elders work and function at Gateway, check out this page.
- I got an amazing email today from a person who attends Gateway.
- Back in our Mark series, he and his wife invited their neighbors to come to Gateway and hear about Jesus.
- Through their family’s ministry, and the experience at Gateway, the neighbors have now come to faith in Jesus and will soon be baptized.
- So cool.
- Such a great thing to hear anytime.
- And sets a great tone for this week.
- In particular, as I meet today with our architect again today to discuss next steps for building out our church’s property next door, it reminds me that we want a place where more people can be invited, be loved, and hear about Jesus.
- A few other things…
- Jordan Spieth’s collapse yesterday was agonizing to watch.
- His maturity and poise as he answered the media afterward was truly impressive.
- Made me root for him even more than if he had won.
- This Trevor Story kid for the Rockies is ridiculous.
- I’m trying to follow some of the reaction to Pope Francis’ new encyclical on marriage and the family, Amoris Laetitia.
- Trevin Wax has a good explanation and roundup about it.
- A few new podcasts I’ve been learning from:
- Building a StoryBrand with Donald Miller
- The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast (I have to keep pausing it to write down his amazing one-liners)
- Alright, gotta run.
- Have a great day and shine the light of Jesus.
