Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Learning To Pray

I want to pass on to you the most inspiring prayer resource that I have encountered in many years.  "Heavenward" is  a blog by Scotty Smith, pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN.  Each day he posts a prayer.  Each prayer is now a part of own my daily time with my Heavenly Father. There is no better resource for learning to pray from a "gospel of grace" perspective that I have been able to find.

You can go directly to the blog by clicking here.  Once there, mark that in your browser and then pray daily with Scotty, just as I do.  There is even a link on that page to have the prayer emailed to you each day.  Do whatever works best for you, but don't miss the opportunity to see your prayer life grow and the roots of your heart dig deeper into the gospel of grace.  Let me encourage you by giving you a taste of today's prayer:

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

We're (Probably) Not Headed To The Movie Theater

Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to walk through the Regal Cinemas near Central Park to consider a theater as a location for Christ Covenant's Sunday morning worship service and ministry.  It was arranged by Bonnie Smith, a national Regal employee who served for years as an EPC Women's Ministry leader but is now helping put churches and special events in Regal theaters around the country.  I got to meet Matt Foster, the local manager of the theaters.  Both are GREAT folks and would be wonderful to work with.

We walked through all the auditoriums with lights on and began to consider doing ministry in that setting.  There was a lot that I liked:
  • It was less expensive than Salem School.
  • The space was newer and jazzier.
  • The location is more accessible and known.
  • We could do GREAT video clips and art pieces.
  • Surprisingly, I could see the setting for our Children's Ministry as much improved there.
  • Bonnie's organization had expertise and help in making this change work well.
But for all of that, the Steering Committee has decided that this location would be low on our list, and we will continue praying and looking for something better.  What was the problem?  The architecture of a movie theater would significantly alter the corporate worship experience in a way that was counter to our stated vision and values in two major ways.  Let me explain them.

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