Wanted to share a huge win. The team of NCCers that went to build an orphanage in Uganda got back a week ago. They built the orphanage in 2 1/4 days! I guess they built it in record time!

Here is the huge win. I honestly didn't think we could raise $30,000 for the project, but thank God for people with more faith than me! As of yesterday, we've raised $44,287.41. All I can say is praise God. If I'm reading James 1:27 accurately, then this may be the most significant thing we've ever done as a church!

For pictures and a recap of the trip, check out the Uganda Blog!

I love so much about living in Washington, DC but running on the National Mall ranks right up there. Nothing like running early in the morning or when the moonlight is shining on the monuments. The mall teems with tourists during the day, but it is a quiet and peaceful place during off hours! It's also pretty cool having major monuments as your mile markers!

I usually don't blog about stuff that might not happen, but I'm so energized by this idea I can't help myself. We've been dialoguing with a new church plant in Edinburgh, Scotland called Eikon about the idea of taking the Buzz Conference across the pond to Europe. Actually, it was their idea. And I love the idea.

Praying about possibilities!

I hopped a train at Union Station early this morning and spent the day in Richmond, VA. About five years ago, I was invited to serve as a trustee for the Des Plaines Charitable Trust through some relational connections. Serving in that capacity is one of the great joys and privileges of my life. We aren't the largest trust fund on the block, but we make a difference. The focus of our fund is to give grants to upstart ministries. It is pure joy giving money away! Especially seed money that can help a vision get off the ground.

In the next few weeks we'll invite approximately 100,000 Washingtonians to church.

86 % of NCCers visit NCC because someone invited them. So personal invitations are the most effective form of marketing. But we have a simple marketing mantra: we don't want anybody in the metro DC area to be able to deny our existence. Sometimes a direct mailer can get you on someone's radar so when they are looking for a church down the road they know where to turn.

Just thought I'd share the design we came up with.

My friend, Buddy Cremeans from Northwaychurch.tv has started a really cool feature on his blog called Cremeans Couch. He's sitting down with some pastors--guys like Ed Young and Bil Cornelius--and having an unplugged conversation.

I'm on the couch this week.

It's t-minus three weeks till my first sprint triathlon. I've been training since June, but I'm trying to do more bricks as I approach the event. Swimming a 1/2 mile or biking 7.2 miles or running 3.1 isn't that difficult. The challenge is doing them back-to-back.

I've been doing quite a few bike and run bricks, but I did my first triple yesterday. I feel good about my times, but I'm a little concerned about going from a pool to the ocean! Very different ball game. And most of my bike training has been on a stationary bike.

My base line goal is to finish in 1:15. My big, hairy, audacious goal is to finish in 1:07. I'd definitely have to be hitting on all eight-cylinders. This is my first triathlon so I have no idea what to expect. I do know the adrenaline will be pumping!

This is our summer of new experiences so I've been intentional about trying to expose our kids to new things. So today we went to Thompson Boat Center near Georgetown and rented a canoe. Definitely recommend it for the Washingtonians out there! It was only $12.69 to rent a canoe for an hour and forty-five minutes!

We canoed under the Key Bridge and around Roosevelt island. We actually docked the canoe on the island and did a little exploring. We saw a lizard and a snake. That definitely added to the excitement.

Of course, it didn't hurt that the weather in DC was beautimus!

Nothing like preaching after a preaching sabbatical. Every summer I try to get out of the pulpit for 4-5 consecutive weeks. I think it's good for me and good for our congregation. It's an opportunity for NCC to hear other voices. And it's a chance for me to regroup and gear up for the fall season. And when I finally get back in the saddle I feel a renewed passion for what I do!

It was so good to be back with my spiritual family at NCC! Loved everything about this weekend. I preached a very straight-forward message on the economics of grace from Luke 7. And then we celebrated communion. I felt like we were overdue!

This is what I would call a back to basics weekend. I just felt like we needed to refocus on what we're all about--sinners saved by grace!

A friend just sent me a picture I haven't seen in two decades! This picture sent me on a trip down memory lane. I'm the kid giving the peace sign. Also pictured are my brother, my dad, and a couple friends.

What a time warp.

I went over to Georgetown to meet with the theater manager today and when I got back to get in my car there was a guy whose car was stalled--dead battery. As you know, I'm part of the junky car club. Our 95 Taurus has probably needed 25+ jump starts over the years. So I know the awkward feeling of trying to get people to help, so I offered before he even asked. He was incredibly grateful.

It was such a great reminder to me that kindness is such a simple way to share our faith. To be honest--I'm too busy or too distracted most of the time to see the opportunities that are all around me. But a simple jump start turned into a great conversation. I actually invited the guy to our new location in Georgetown and I think he may show up.

How much impact would we have if we simply played the part of the good samaritan?

I read Jim & Casper Go To Church on a plane to Kansas City this week. Just thought I'd share the cliff notes.

A longtime Christian, Jim Henderson, and an athiest, Matt Casper, chronicle their journey to eleven churches and share their evaluations. I'm not 100% sure how I felt about the book for this reason: some of what the authors perceived as negatives could be perceived as positives by other people so it seemed very subjective. And I'm not sure you can evaluate from one weekend service! I'd hate to have NCC evaluated on one weekend. Especially if my message tanked that week! I certainly don't want to be judged by one weekend service. So I felt bad for the pastors and churches that were profiled. Seemed a little unfair because I think about everything else they are doing for the kingdom--missions, outreach, small groups, compassion ministries, etc.

But I also think the book was a valuable exercise in church-reflection. It is so easy to become a closed system. The longer we are in a system the more we lose perspective. We stop noticing what guests notice. So in that respect, this book really helped me look in the mirror and evaluate NCC.

Here's the bottom line: if we want to reach people who are outside our churches then we need to view our churches through the eyes of outsiders!

Here are some personal observations:

1) You can be Too Excellent.

I'm all for excellence, but you can be "too contrived, too slick, too professional." There is a difference between soul-full and soul-less excellence. People perceive the spirit behind our preaching and singing and greeting! And anything that doesn't come from pure motives is seen as hypocritical. Excellence isn't enough! It's got to be excellence coupled with authenticity!

2) Actions are the Best Apologetic.

I really think justic issues present the church with an amazing opportunity to show what we're about. Yes, people need to know what we believe. But they would be more likely to believe if they saw what we do. We have a team of NCCers in Uganda right now building an orphanage. That may be the clearest expression of what we believe! That is a true apologetic! We need to silence our critics with our good deeds that are purely motivated by our love for Christ and His love for us!

We need to incorporate not just a call to worship but a call to action in our services. I think we assume people will know what to do with what we say. Bad assumption. We need to answer the question: what do you want me to do? Our preaching needs to be less theoretical and more practical. We need to be action-oriented and application-oriented.

3) Just Say Hi.

It's amazing, but one of the reminders from the book is that an entire church experience can be defined by one hello or the lack thereof! And it can't just be the greeters. It's got to be the unscripted, unplanned moments. There is no replacement for genuine hosppitality. Just say hi.

4) Keep it Positive.

Tone is just as important as topic when it comes to preaching. God speaks through our unique personalities, but there has to be an underlying humility. A negative tone is a huge turn off. We need to be more straight-up about what we believe to be right and wrong. But we also need to speak the truth in love!

5) People won't listen to us if they don't like us.

Lots of people have what I would call church scars. They have hurtful or irrelevant church experiences in their past and we can ignore that or acknowledge that. One of my favorite statements in the book was this: "When people like each other the rules change." That's a simple yet profound insight! People won't listen to us if they don't like us! I'm afraid the church's likability factor isn't super high because many people see us as judgmental and angry. We've got to get back to what should define us: love!

On August 29 I'm going to begin a 40 day season of prayer and fasting in preparation for our Georgetown launch. Just thought I'd throw it out there in case members of the launch team or anybody else wants to join me.

For what it's worth, I'm a goal-oriented person so I need spiritual goals to keep me motivated. If I'm not setting goals I usually feel stagnant spiritually. So I'm using the forty days to really challenge myself to keep going after God. And for what it's worth, you can fast just about anything. I'm not fasting food because I'm running a triathlon in September. I'll often fast TV or soda. But the key for me is really more intentionality and more intensity in my prayer life!

Had a blast speaking at Englewood Ministries last night. Over the years I'd had difficult sharing the same message multiple times. I start preaching it out of left-brain memory instead of right-brain imagination. Or I lose "the feel." But the chase the lion message isn't getting old. In fact, I feel like it gets into my spirit deeper and deeper every time I share it.

After the service we had what felt like a reunion. Hung out with Brian Ross, Dick Hardy, and George Westlake. Ate a little Mexican food and talked about the good old days! George was on staff at Calvary Church in Naperville back in the day when my father-in-law was the pastor and I did an internship there.

Fun to reconnect and reminisce with old friends.

While I was at Granger Community Church a couple weeks ago, I did a podcast interview with Kem Meyer. We talked a little bit about understanding your audience as a leader and communicator. I think it's worth the listen.

I'm definitely racking up the frequent flyer miles lately. I've got one more chase the lion stop in August then I'm home for a few weeks. I'm headed to Kansas City to speak at Englewood Ministries and hang out with their pastor and my friend, Brian Ross. Brian and I actually played basketball together in college. They kick off a chase the lion sermon series next weekend. I get to tee it up!

We had a quarterly Stewardship Team meeting today.

By the way, there is nothing worse than feeling week-to-week financial pressure. That is how we operated our first couple years. Our future literally depended on every offering! But the tough financial times really help me appreciate God's provision now. We budget pretty aggresively from year-to-year, but God's provision always seems to exceed our vision. We're at about 120% budgeted income for 2007. Praising God for that.

Towards the end of our meeting, I got a call from Josiah. He asked me where I was and I said, "Can you tell mommy I'm in a stewardship team meeting?" He tried three times, but he just couldn't quite say "stewardship team." It was too much of a mouthful. Finally Josiah said, "Can you talk to mom? I can't say that word."

You probably had to hear it, but I definitely got a good laugh.

Just had to give a shout out to Buddy Cremeans, his son Devin, and the crew at Northwaychurch.tv. Their hospitality this weekend was off the hook. They even got me a Saratoga Springs track jacket. Schweet. Not too many of those running around DC!

While I was there, we shot a video talking about life and leadership. I think it's worth the watch. Here's a link to Buddy's blog where you can check it out.

By the way, their media team is amazing! And you gotta check out the heroes trailer that Devin Cremeans produced. It rocks! And he's only fifteen! Wow.

Over the past few months, a men's ministry in Omaha, Nebraska called Band of Brothers has been reading In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day in preparation for the challenge 2007. They took fifty guys to conquer the highest peak in Colorado and the lion chaser's manifesto was their rallying cry. Love the way they turned the manifesto into a video trailer.

Got an email from David Reddel and he said the guys left the lion carcass on the summit and came down with the pelt.

Chase the lion!

Very cool to connect with some lion chasers at Northwaychurch.tv this weekend. And it was so great to hang out with Buddy Cremeans. He's one of those guys you can't not like. And what an incredible family! After the Saturday night service we shot a few hoops. Ate some Grottos pizza. And talked a little life and ministry.

There is such a unique comradarie amongst pastors. I think it's because of the unique set of joys and challenges we face. It's just good to be able to bounce things off of each other. Every pastor needs a handful of sounding boards.

I'm speaking at two Northway campuses today, then it's back to DC.

After sitting in the airport for three hours this morning, my flight to Albany, New York got cancelled and the only other flight to Albany was booked so I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it to speak at Northway tonight. Fortunately, I found a flight to Hartford, Connecticut which is about a two-hour drive from Albany. They were actually boarding the Hartford flight as we were looking for alternatives. They let me on without a ticket or boarding pass because we didn't have time to print one! If I hadn't been the first person in line when they announced the cancellation there is no way I would have had time to make that particular flight.

So a one-hour flight and two-hour drive and I made it here in the nick of time! Can't wait for tonight. When something crazy like this happens it gives you a sense of destiny. I don't want to over-spiritualize, but I really think God has something up His sleeve for this weekend and the enemy wants to thwart God's plans. God wins this round!

A very adventurous trip to say the least.

The "Chase the Lion" book tour heads north to New York this weekend. So excited about hanging out with my friend Buddy Cremeans at NorthwayChurch.tv.

Northway is one of the fastest growing church plants the Northeast has seen in a long, long time. Amazing story!

I'm invited to speak, but I'm going to learn.

Josiah and I took Mickey on a walk before heading to the airport this morning. Yes, Mickey is now walking! And it was one of those picture-perfect mornings. The air was crisp like a fall day; the sun was shining; and the city is relatively quiet on Saturday mornings. It's hard to describe, but I experienced what I would describe as a rush of gratitude. So grateful for so much! It was one of those "I'm just glad to be alive" moments!

It reminded me of Thomas Carlyle's famous caveman analogy.

Carlyle said imagine a man who lived his entire life in a cave and never stepped foot outside his darkened domain. Then, as a grown adult, the caveman steps outside to watch the sun rise for the first time in his life. Carlyle said the caveman would watch "with rapt astonishment the sight we daily witness with indifference."

In the words of G.K. Chesterton: "Grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. Is it possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon? The repetition in nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore."

I love that. And I think that's the point of Psalm 29:1:

Bravo, God, bravo. All the angels shout encore!

Just wanted to update our 30,000 Steps initiative.

We challenged NCCers to walk 30,000 steps to raise $30,000 to build an orphanage in Uganda. I really thought it was a big, hairy, audacious goal. In fact, I thought we should do 15,000 steps for $15,000. Just being honest! I thought it was more realistic. O ye of little faith! Fortunately, we have people on our team with more faith than me! Joel Schimdgall, our Pastor of Outreach, held out for a miracle. And the miracle just happened. As of today, we surpassed our $30,000 goal. We're at $34,125 raised for the orphanage!

Huge thanks to everyone who participated. So amazing to know that we're changing the course of children's lives via our investment. A team of 21 NCCers is headed to Uganda to build the orphanage today.

You can follow their adventures via blog.

Just thought I'd share a personal spiritual discipline.

One of my prayer routines is praying through the calendar. So instead of going into a meeting cold, I'll pray for the person. It helps put upcoming events on my prayer radar. And it just gives me a sense of destiny about the future.

One of the prayer challenges people face is not knowing what to pray for. All you need is your calendar. Your calendar is your life. It's a natural way to pray. It's a rhythmic way to pray! I just feel like I'm walking with the Spirit when I'm praying the calendar.

I wear lots of different hats as lead pastor at NCC. One of them is a marketing hat. I have no formal training in marketing, but I've read a zillion books on the subject. And one of the core convictions that drives us at NCC is: the greatest message deserves the greatest marketing.

There is no question that word of mouth is the best form of marketing. 86% of NCCers came to NCC for the first time because of a personal invitation. So we produce lots of invite cards that turn attenders into inviters. But we try to supplement word of mouth with mass marketing. The goal is simple: we don't want anybody in the metro DC area to be able to deny our existence! It's all about getting on their reticular activating system!

So we're gearing up for the fall and the launch of our fourth location. And our marketing campaign will play off of our movie theater motif. We have lots of ideas for a direct mail piece--MPAA, popcorn box, movie poster, etc. But I just thought I'd see if any theater churches would want to share some of their marketing pieces.

Why reinvent the wheel?

If you've got a mailer you'd like to share, post a link.

We finally got rid of our voice over internet phones (VOIP). It was my thorn in the flesh. For starters, I'm not a phone guy anyway. Why would you call me when you can email me? You know what I'm saying :) But the VOIP was terrible. I dropped calls all the time! Radio interviews would cut off. Conversations would end abruptly! And my podcast interview with Rick Warren was the straw that broke the camel's back! The line disconnected three times! Bascially, I hung up on Rick three times. Nice!

Just venting a little bit. Awfully glad to have a normal phone. I still don't want you to call me. Email me. Mark (at) theaterchurch.com. But at least I have that option! If you're going to have a phone, it might as well work!

Ah. I feel better now.

As requested, here is a list of top ten sayings. Actually, I'm not sure this is the top ten. These are the first ones that came to mind. But these are things I find myself saying all the time:

#10 Love people with they least expect it and least deserve

#9 Stop living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death

#8 The church ought to be the most creative place on the planet

#7 The healthiest, happiest and holiest people on the planet are the people who laugh at themselves the most

#6 Irrelevance is irreverence

#5 Criticize by creating--Michelangelo

#4 Live as if today is the first day and last day of your life--Fredrick Buechner

#3 The greatest freedom is having nothing to prove

#2 There are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet

#1 Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God

A few honorable mention:

#11 Your best thought about God on your best day falls 13.2 billion light-years short of how great and how good God really is!

#12 It's not about what you can do for God. It's about what God has done for you.

#13 God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go!

#14 The greatest message deserves the greatest marketing

#15 Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention

One of the joys of writing a book is that God can you use whenever and wherever He wants. It's sort of like blogging and podcasting. You ministry becomes asynchronous. When someone buys a book, I feel like I get to hang out with them for six hours! Just found out I'll be hanging out in prison. A chaplain in Florida is taking a group of inmates through In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.

Before the book ever came off the press, a team of NCCers prayed for everybody that would pick up the book. We prayed that it would get into the right hands at the right time. He keeps answering those prayers in amazing ways!

Had a blast speaking at Christian Life Center this weekend, and I think they set a book tour record. I'm never sure how many books to ship before I speak, but we went through 18 cases of books this weekend. I really perceived a tremendous spiritual hunger at CLC.

I think that creating culture is our most important and most difficult challenge as spiritual leaders. And there is no one-size-fits-all formula. But it's been amazing to see the way a book like In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day can have a huge corporate impact if lots of people are reading it at the same time. So exciting to see some churches experience a tremendous culture shift. Nothing like the church when the church is playing offense!

If you need a case, email resources@theaterchurch.com. We'll hook you up!

We picked up a Shichon puppy in Breezewood, PA, on the way back to DC today. Awfully cute and pretty calm! But it was really wierd--we couldn't get him to walk. I don't think he's ever been on a leash and we're not sure what to do. Where is Cesar Millan when you need him? I'm definitely not a Dog Whisperer.

Thoroughly enjoyed speaking at Christian Life Center tonight.

The congregation was so receptive to the message! In fact, we almost sold out of books tonight and we've got two more services Sunday. Really sensed a deep spiritual hunger and genuine love for Christ. And I think that is the testament to Pastor Jerry McQuay. In my experience, the spirit of a congregation usually reflects the spirit of the pastor.

I'm preaching two more services Sunday. Then we head for home. Long drive across the country, but we're picking up a puppy in Pennsylvania! That'll help pass the time!

What a great food day!

Had Carson's Ribs for lunch. I was so proud of Parker and Summer. They each ate half a slab of ribs; wore the rib bibs; and Parker licked his fingers like a real man after the meal!

Then we had dessert at Ed Debevic's. It's a Chicago classic. The waiters are super-rude which is super-funny. And they take dance breaks where they stop serving and start dancing. Debevic's is famous for the world's smallest sundae. You can eat it in one bite if you want. They serve it in a tiny sundae cup.

Then we topped the day off with a little Gino's East after preaching the Saturday night service at Christian Life Center.

One of the all-time best food days of my life!

It was so great to connect with the Schmidgall side of our family last night. Hung out with Uncle Ed, Aunt Judy, Cousin Julie, Cousin Kerry and all the kids.

We stayed with Kerry and crew last night. Nice to not stay in a hotel one night! Kerry even put chocolates on our pillows like a fancy hotel. One problem. I didn't see the chocolates. So I woke up this morning and there was chocolate all over the bed. I mean all over. And there was chocolate all over me. I must have wallowed in chocolate all night long. Great night sleep!

Off for some more Chicago adventures today!

What a joy and privilege to speak at Granger Community Church tonight. I have so much respect for Mark Beeson and the entire GCC staff. They are such a huge inspiration! It's incredible how many people are coming to faith in Christ at GCC!

I talked about chasing lions tonight and thought I'd post the manifesto I shared at the end.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion!

As you may know, the Batterson family has a summer theme every year. This year it's the summer of new experiences. We had lots of them today! A cross-country roadtrip is certainly one of them. It was really fun driving through the heartland of America on Route 31 from Indy to South Bend.

We also spent half a day at the Indiana State Fair. Ate an elephant ear. Josiah thought it was really the ear of an elephant! He also went on his first rollar coaster ride. We didn't just see cows. We stepped in cow dung. Did a little go-karting. Drank lots of lemonade. And took a few loops on the ferris wheel. There is something about going to a fair that makes you feel more American!

Topped things off with some pie from Baker's Fresh. I spotted one tonight and I couldn't resist getting a little pie. We don't have them in DC. That used to be a tradition after church services when I was growing up! Here's to Lemon Meringue pie!

I shared a session called carpe digital at last night's leadership seminar. Thought I'd share the main thought.

In 1893, a ten thousand dollar Congressional appropriation established RFD or rural free delivery. Up until that point, rural Americans had to ride their horse into town to pick up their mail at the general store. RFD provided mail service to rural residents for the first time.

Two entrepreneurs named Aaron Montgomery Ward and Richard Sears spotted a business opportunity. They saw a new distribution channel for their products. They produced so many catalogs that they were the second most widely read books in the country behind the Bible at the turn of the 20th century. They redeemed a new medium--rural free delivery--and turned it into a distribution channel.

That is what podcasting and webcasting and blogging are all about. Jesus told us to go into all the world, but he didn't specify how. It used to be traditional modes of transportation--ships, horses, and airplanes. But digital technology is a new mode of transporation, a new distribution channel, a new medium. We've got to redeem every technology and use it for God's purposes! The message is sacred, but the medium isn't.

I talked about a few distribution channels last night:

Podcasting is circuit riding at the speed of light.
Blogging is digital discipleship.
Video technology turns screens into postmodern stained glass.
Websites are virtual front doors.
Email is word of mouse.

As new technologies emerge so do new distribution channels for the gospel.

What a time to be alive! Our generation has greater potential to fulfill the Great Commission than all previous generations combined.

Carpe digital.

Had to share one thought from the leadership seminar at the Assemblies of God General Council. Dary Northrop shared an amazing story about a stripper that found Christ at their Church--Timberline church. And he talked about how when you're really reaching the unchurched it is messy! Then he shared a thought from the parable of the prodigal son.

If the younger brother had run into his elder brother first he would have never made it inside the house! Unfortunately, our churches are filled with the elder brother spirit. And sometimes it is the religiousity of elder brothers that can actually keep prodigals from reuniting with their Heavenly Father! That thought was worth the trip to Indy!

Dary also talked about the difference between loving people before they change and after they get cleaned up. That is the challenge and the trick! He said people won't change until they are fully loved. I think he's right!

Our entire family is taking a little cross-country road trip this week. I've got three speaking gigs. The first stop is the Assemblies of God General Council in Indianapolis. I'm doing three leadership seminars before the council kicks off on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then I continue the Chase the Lion tour with stops at Granger Community Church on Thursday night and Christian Life Center on the weekend.

Really excited about throwing in a visit to Chicago and Naperville! We'll take the kids by the old stomping grounds where we grew up in Naperville. We'll hit some of the hot spots downtown Chicago. And we'll eat as much pizza as is humanly possible! Hoping we can make it to Malnotti's, Gino's, and Eduardo's. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner baby!

The Batterson family may be adding a new member of the family. Summer has been on puppyfind.com every day for the past four months! She wants a puppy. Bad!

We've been looking at Bichon's because they are hypo-allergenic. But we just found a Shichon that is a mix of the Bichon Frise and Shit-Tzu. We really like both breeds so we might go for the mix.

Gotta admit--I have mixed emotions. A puppy running around the house sounds like a ton of fun, but the responsibility is a little scary! And then there is the potty-training issue :)

Anybody want to talk us into it or out of it?

Let me go on record: I'm absolutely convinced that God has blessed National Community Church because of our missions giving. Period. I still remember writing our first $50 check to missions before we were a self-supporting church. The next month we had a 600% increase in giving and never looked back. When we started giving to others, God started providing for us. We gave $300,000 to missions last year which is a long ways from that first $50 check. But the day will come when we're giving millions to missions every year. That is why we exist.

We continued our missions series this weekend. Did a "combined" service at our Ballston location that was awesome. Worship was a mix of Spanish and English and we subtitled the message. There was something unifying and expanding about a service in two languages.

We kicked off our week of justice tonight. I feel like this series is all about opening our eyes to the needs and issues and places we tend to ignore! We'll talk about everything from human trafficking to AIDS to homelessness.

We also challenged NCCers to make a faith promise. A faith promise is a financial pledge toward missions that is above and beyond the tithe. On a personal note, I'm convinced that the blessings I've experienced in the last two years are the direct result of faith promises Lora and I have made. As we've taken financial steps of faith, God has blessed us in ways we could not have planned or predicted. Few things are as exciting as financial faith. One thing is sure: you cannot out give God.

The American church is the most resourced church in the most resourced country the world has ever known. What would happen if we exercised our financial faith and invested in the kingdom the way we could or should?

Just got back from a week in Rehoboth Beach, DE. What a week!

A few of the highlights include catching a lizard, a pod of dolphins swimming about twenty yards from us, go karts, a little Princess Bride at a Screen on the Green, walking the boardwalk, Grotto's pizza, and body surfing with the kids in the ocean!

Lots of great memories!

One of the books I read on vacation was The Choice by Og Mandino. He alludes to the pricelessness of good memories. Thought I'd share an excerpt.

I am convinced that the greatest legacy we can leave our children are happy memories: those precious moments so much like pebbles on the beach that are plucked from the white sand and placed in tiny boxes that lay undisturbed on tall shelves until one day they spill out and time repeats itself, with joy and sweet sadness, in the child now an adult.

Memories. Love's best preservative.