Gilbert Thurston

Random Thoughts About Life, Ministry and Whatever Else Happens to be on my Mind

Inside Today’s Experiences

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  • Another great week…the move to 2 Experiences couldn’t have started out better.
  • Had a bigger crowd this week at 9:15 and a slightly smaller crowd at 10:45 than last week.  Altogether though it added up to be the second highest attended day we’ve had!
  • Had one more person give there life to Christ today!
  • I was reminded the other night that we are truly a part of something special.  That is now nearly 90 professions of faith this year!
  • My goal is still to have at least 365 in a year so we can duplicate the early church in the book of Acts where it says, “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
  • So far the execution of the Experiences and the transition time in between has been running very smooth.
  • The 9:15 Experience was way better than the 10:45.
  • I think unlike last week where I was so pumped up, I had a letdown after the first one today and didn’t get back into the right frame of mind.
  • I know this because adrenaline always forms in the body at your weakest spot once you’re done with it.
  • For me that’s my back…usually after speaking I feel immense pain in my back.
  • Today it started coming before the 10:45 started so I know that in the future, I need to keep it flowing between Experiences.
  • In any case, right now my back is killing me…please pray…it will go away by the end of the day, but right now it’s excruciating.
  • I’m posting the recording from 9:15 since it was better.
  • The popcorn machine was working better today as well…tasted good.  Thanks to Jeremy B. for running this…great will your popcorn reward be in heaven!
  • Gayle used my mic for VBS this week.  Her ear is shaped weird!  When I first put it on the mic almost pointed straight to the ceiling.
  • For those of you who think maybe it’s my ear…her husband said, “No it’s her.”
  • I though Andrea did a great job leading the Foo Fighters song, My Hero.
  • Some might ask…why do you do secular songs like that?
  • The answer is simple…we’re reconditioning your brain to now hear that song on the radio in a new way.
  • Next time you hear it, hopefully you’ll think of Hancock and how to defeat loneliness.
  • Can’t wait for next week!  Get Smart was a hilarious movie and I think the lesson I pulled out of it will not only surprise you but help you become more Christ-like.
  • Don’t forget to add some comments/thoughts in our forums section.
  • Time for some food then a nap.
  • Tonight we’ll get together with some friends for dinner….hmmm…think I heard somewhere that that is a good idea.

    • Quick Thursday Thoughts

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    • Wrapped up writing the God at the Box Office messages yesterday!
    • Can’t wait to share them all.
    • Decided to go a different direction for the next series because of some other exciting things that will be happening later this fall.
    • Hate doing that…but this will be well worth it…stay tuned for details.
    • VBS week has been tiring but well worth it.
    • Is it wrong that I can’t get these kids song out of my head? 
    • Do to others (clap, clap) whatever you would have them do to you!
    • I asked Lisa if she’s coming to the closing ceremonies to see what her kid (me) has been doing all week long.
    • She now knows as soon as I come through the door at night to put the DVR on pause and ask me about what craft we did that night and other VBS related stuff.
    • It’s been a great week, the kids are having fun…one more night to hopefully make an impact!
    • My costume is a little short…showing some knee…look out JT…who’s bringin’ sexy back now?
    • I’m digging the times we wear a yarmulke…it nicely covers my bald spot.
    • I’m all messed up this week because of VBS on my days…today is normally the day the band practices and we do our walk through of everything. 
    • I guess it’s not bad to shake the routine up though from time to time.
    • The band will practice Saturday, which doesn’t leave much time for adjsutments so pray everything goes smoothly.
    • This week we’ll look at the movie Hancock…don’t forget to invite someone to hear about a common but not talked about problem many of us face…loneliness.

    Chinese Characters

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    I was watching the Olympics last night after getting home from VBS. At one point they were saying that unlike our English alphabet where we have 26 letters that can be put into various orders to form words, the Chinese have no alphabet. Instead they use a character to depict every word. Right now that translates to about 50,000 characters to learn although a mere 3000 can get you by.

    Hmmm…which is easier to learn 26 things or 50,000 things?  What’s amazing is that at the end of the day they both accomplish the same thing…a bird is a bird, a house is a house, flying is flying…just two radically different paths to get you to the same conclusion. 

    Interestingly enough, churches do the same thing all the time.  Some churches offer so many different ministries and programs that it overwhelms people and the result is people don’t end up growing like they should.  The most successful ministries focus on doing just a few things exceptionally well and the results numerically and spiritually are incredible.  Both churches want to help people grow to be more like Jesus but one is harder than the other.

    At CFCOG this is something we always try to keep in mind.  What’s working, what’s not working…what needs to be added, what needs to be eliminated?  Pray for your leaders as we look forward to what our church will look like in 2009.

    Other Weekend Thoughts

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  • Did you catch the opening ceremonies for the Olympics?
  • Wow…now that was an Experience.
  • Wish we had that kind of budget!
  • Had relatives in from NC for the weekend.  They wanted to see the Dark Knight so we went again.
  • Gave me some more ideas for the message on the 31st.
  • We ate at the House of Kobe Japanese Restaurant in Hagerstown for dinner. 
  • It’s by far my favorite restaurant…and I’ll gladly accept trips to and gift certificates from there…subtle huh?
  • Found out that one of the persistent callers after the contest yesterday was my sister…some things will never change.
  • It’s neat reflecting back on the message from yesterday.  Although 95% of it was the same…it’s awesome how God lead me to say some slightly different things in both. 
  • VBS got off to a great start last night.
  • I’m a leader for the Tribe of Benjamin.
  • My costume is a little on the short side…showing a little knee!
  • Dianna and her team did an awesome job of transforming the church into ancient Galilee.
  • While our tribe was in the marketplace grabbing some food a woman whom I won’t embarrass by mentioning her name stopped me to say how much United has meant to her and her husband.
  • She starts crying as she’s telling her story and it was sort of weird…not her story, not that she’s crying, but that we’re standing in a make believe building in the multi-purpose room, in goofy looking costumes and we’re having such a serious conversation.
  • By the time I came home last night I had, except for lunch, been at the church for 14 hours…I was whipped.
  • Figured I’d use the DVR to quickly watch the NASCAR race. 
  • Wow I don’t like Kyle Busch but he is putting hurting on everyone this year.
  • Finished th race just in time to see the amazing finish the US had in the men’s swimming relay race…seriously what a finish! 
  • Slept like a rock…until a strange alarm is going off.
  • Turns out our weekend company had used the alarm in the guest room and didn’t turn it completely off…

    • Inside Today’s Experiences

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  • Wow what a day!
  • For the first time 2 Experiences and everything went off without a hitch.
  • I couldn’t have asked for things to have gone any better this morning. 
  • Everything from set-up to the execution of both Experiences went about as well as we’ve ever had them.
  • The worst thing that happened was the popcorn machine was slower than we expected and not quite as good as we wanted.
  • I had expected about 60-70 at the 9:15 and we ended up with 96.  Most importantly one of those became a follower of Christ!
  • The Welcome to the Movies song adaptation that Gayle sang was awesome.  I think it took people awhile to realize she was singing from out in the crowd.
  • In fact, during the 9:15 she sat down next to a guy and she said he didn’t even flinch…like she wasn’t even there.
  • It was great having my brother-in-law and sister-in-law at 9:15 up from NC.
  • My parents, sister, a great uncle, my cousin and his wife and a family friend were at 10:45….my mom was none to pleased with the story I shared.
  • 10:45 was another huge crowd…265.  Again the ushers were setting chairs up all the way to the rear of the room.
  • That makes a total of 361 in United which is our new record!
  • Again most importantly yet another person came to faith in Christ at the 10:45 Experience!
  • At both Experiences I couldn’t believe how many people were still calling me on my phone even after the contest was over…seriously it was starting to get distracting.
  • I met so many new people who were excited about United…the most common response was…wow that was so different, I can’t wait to come back.
  • Sounds like both of our new 10:45am Sunday School classes went well!
  • Again if you’re not involved with a current class we encourage you to switch over to the 9:15 Experience and then join one of these new classes.
  • I’d like to see more people switch over so that we consistently run 100+ and it starts to take on a life of it’s own…so make the switch if you can.
  • Also everyone keep inviting…let’s make it a goal to break through the 400 barrier by the end of this series.
  • It was great to see so many people volunteering today…many of them for the first time…thanks…you made a difference!
  • Afterwards we went out with my family to Red Robin.  It was as if though the whole church decided to go there…I know I stopped at at least 5 tables to say hi to people and then talked to two other groups on my way out the door.
  • My great uncle suggested to my cousin that they do something like United at there church.  He said though that with there budget it would be burning corn cobs for the haze and people waving flashlights.  He’s almost 90 and hilarious.
  • Speaking of waving lights it was so cool to see everyone waving their cell phones in the air during the 10:45 Experience.
  • Now were back at church…Lisa is zonked out on my couch getting ready for CAYA this evening and I’ll be sticking around to help with VBS.
  • Hmmm…200+ kids…maybe I’d better get a nap as well.